#I enjoyed seeing everyone's works and having a chance to share gen works :D

[arda-ancalima]

Fowl Language

Rating: G Characters: Kazuma Asogi, Gina Lestrade, Barok van Zieks Words: 1,293

For @tgaa-gen-week Day 7 - Free Day (just a little something silly to finish off the week!)

-

When the work day had come to an end at last, Kazuma tried to shake off his irritations. Van Zieks had been especially petty lately, at least it seemed to him, and his patience with the man was wearing thin.

Kazuma paid for the fish and chips and sat down next to Gina on a bench where she was winding her watch.

“Ta,” she mumbled, slipping the watch in her pocket and taking the cone he handed her.

Taking a bite of his piping hot chips, Kazuma watched her through the corner of his eye. She was idly munching on her food while watching people pass with a wistful look in her eye. It didn’t take a great detective to guess she was thinking about the watch’s previous owner.

“Lestrade,” Kazuma said, deciding to cheer her up. “I want you to help me with something.”

“Wot,” she said disinterestedly.

“I want to know how to swear in English.”

Gina glanced at him sidelong. “Come on. You must know. Ya learned English in that fancy university o’ yours, didn’t ya?”

“They don’t teach crude language in the classroom,” Kazuma said, crossing his arms.

“Sure, but weren’t you a sailor and all? You must’ve ‘eard ‘em all then.”

Technically deck hand, a much less impressive job, but he wasn’t about to correct her. “The crew communicated in English, but no one spoke it as their native language. I learned to swear in Russian, Chinese, and Dutch, but not English.”

“Then wot ‘bout while you’ve been livin’ ‘ere? Just go down t’ the pub or somethin’.”

Maybe if he had someone to go with, or had any energy left after a day of keeping up with his mentor’s unrelenting pace. “Look, I know a few words, but you have the most colorful language of anyone I know. I just want a handful of expressions I can use when Lord van Zieks is being a pain. Rattle him a little.”

“Oh. Oh, I get it. It’ll be a prank, then?” Gina got a little gleam in her eye. “I’ll help ya, ‘Sogi.”

Kazuma was pleased to see her perk up. “Great. So what’s a decent insult I could use?”

Humming, Gina considered a moment, then said something in his ear.

“Why are you whispering?” Kazuma said, drawing back.

“It’s impolite t’ say these in public, ya know,” Gina said. “There’s kiddies around.”

There weren’t any within earshot of their bench, but then again she understood British culture better than he did. “I guess so. But that doesn’t sound very rude.”

“Oi, you’re askin’ my advice. I’m the expert ‘ere.”

“Right, right.” Kazuma put up his hands. “How about an exclamation of surprise?”

“Surprise, eh? Ooh, I got one for ya!” She whispered something else to him.

“Hm. I suppose that does sound a bit off-color. Any others I should know?”

“One ya say when you’re proper angry. The worst o’ the lot.” Gina lowered her voice. “The F word.”

Kazuma was intrigued. “What is it?”

Gina glanced around, then pulled him close and whispered a word in his ear.

“Is it really that bad?” Kazuma pulled back with a raised eyebrow. “That sounds like two ordinary words.”

Nodding seriously, Gina said, “Oh yeah. That’ll scandalize ‘im for sure.”

“Good. Well, thanks. He’s going to be shocked when I throw these at him.”

“Oh, ‘e’ll be surprised, all right.”

“I can’t wait to see the look on his face.”

“Ha! I’d like to see that.” Gina went back to her food, munching with more vigor, and Kazuma was satisfied that he had accomplished his mission. At least the first part.

He didn’t have to wait long for the second part, as van Zieks was in a mood again the next day.

“Mr. Asogi, go pick up the autopsy report.”

“Yes, I’ll do that as soon as I’ve—”

“No, do it now.”

Every word of his since he arrived had felt short and prickly, and his instructions were more like demands. Kazuma had enough.

“Fine,” he said. Then just loud enough for van Zieks to hear, he added, “Son of a motherless goat.”

Van Zieks glanced up from his desk with a brief look of bafflement, but his ever present scowl slid back into place. “Why are you still standing there?”

Kazuma sighed and grabbed his coat. It wasn’t as satisfying a reaction as he hoped for, but it was a start.

On another occasion, they were at a crime scene where they learned of evidence that changed their entire understanding of the case.

Kazuma shook his head. “Gee willikers.”

Van Zieks narrowed his eyes as he took in the scene. “That’s certainly one way of putting it.”

Kazuma was a bit surprised van Zieks didn’t chide him for his rude language. It seemed like the sort of thing he would take issue with in his apprentice. But maybe he was so distracted by rethinking the case that he didn’t fully take in what Kazuma said.

Another day, Kazuma had spent hours working out an approach to their prosecution, writing a lengthy report explaining it and double checking his work. When he finished, he explained his theory to van Zieks, going point by point through his argument. Van Zieks listened without interruption, sitting back in his chair with his face as impassive as usual.

“Mr. Asogi,” he said at last. “The argument you have laid out is impressive, and you’ve improved in your presentation.”

Kazuma would have been pleased by the praise, had he not been able to hear the “but” coming from a mile away. He sighed. “What is it?”

“I wonder if you’ve forgotten the first witness we spoke to.”

It was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head. He had completely forgotten. It dismantled his entire case, and he would have to start over from the beginning.

He was so upset with himself that without thinking he swore terribly.

“Fiddlesticks.”

Van Zieks’ eyes were on him immediately and Kazuma realized what he said. He had been hoping to save that one for when van Zieks really deserved it, and this had been Kazuma’s fault entirely. He would just have to make the most of it.

But van Zieks’ expression changed from neutrality to mirth, and to Kazuma’s great astonishment, he laughed.

It was brief and quickly hidden behind the grim set of his mouth, but Kazuma knew he didn’t imagine it.

Once he had recovered from the shock, he remembered what had made him laugh in the first place and grew indignant.

“W-What’s so funny about all this? I spent all day on that report!”

“It’s not that, it’s—” Van Zieks’ lip quirked upward again. “Where did you learn that word?”

Trying to reign in his embarrassment, Kazuma said, “Wh— does that matter? It’s an expletive, everyone knows that. I might have picked it up in a pub or something.”

Van Zieks shook his head. “Someone has been pulling your chain. I had wondered where the sudden use of innocent exclamations came from.”

“Innocent?!” Kazuma tightened his fists. “You mean fiddlesticks isn’t a dirty word?!”

“I can’t say I know the meaning, but it is regarded as harmless.”

“You teach me something, then. Tell me the worst word you know!”

“No. Now I believe, Mr. Asogi, that you have a great deal of work to catch up on. You better get started.”

“Argh…” I have a certain Inspector I need to pay a visit.

When Kazuma stormed up to Gina’s desk at Scotland Yard, she took one look at his furious face and lit up in glee.

“Did you say ‘em?”

“Darn you, Gina Lestrade,” Kazuma growled, slamming her desk. “Darn you to hell!”

She laughed her face off.

-

Bonus incorrect quote:

Kazuma: Oh, spare me the sanctimonious lecture. You never cared about me. In the words of one of my actual friends: ya basic. It's a cockney insult. It's devastating. You're devastated right now.

Van Zieks: …?

[reconditarmonia]

Dear Trick or Treat Author

Hi! Thank you for writing for me! I’m reconditarmonia here and on AO3. I have anon messaging off, but mods can contact me if you have any questions.

The Locked Tomb | Motherland: Fort Salem | Sleep No More | Teixcalaan

General likes:

– Relationships that aren’t built on romance or attraction. They can be romantic or sexual as well, but my favorite ships are all ones where it would still be interesting or compelling if the romantic component never materialized.

– Loyalty kink! Trust, affectionate or loving use of titles, gestures of loyalty, replacing one’s situational or ethical judgment with someone else’s, risking oneself (physically or otherwise) for someone else, not doing so on their orders. Can be commander-subordinate or comrades-in-arms.

– Heists, or other stories where there’s a lot of planning and then we see how the plan goes.

– Femslash, complicated or intense relationships between women, and female-centric gen. Women doing “male” stuff (possibly while crossdressing).

– Stories whose emotional climax or resolution isn’t the sex scene, if there is one.

– Uniforms/costumes/clothing.

– Stories, history, and performance. What gets told and how, what doesn’t get told or written down, behavior in a society where everyone’s consuming media and aware of its tropes, how people create their personas and script their own lines.

Smut Likes: clothing, uniforms, sexual tension, breasts, manual sex, cunnilingus, grinding, informal d/s elements, intensity.

General DNW: rape/dubcon, torture, other creative gore; unrequested AUs, including “same setting, different rules” AUs such as soulmates/soulbonds; PWP; food sex; embarrassment; focus on pregnancy; Christmas/Christian themes; infidelity; unrequested polyamory; focus on unrequested canon or non-canon ships; unrequested trans versions of characters; breakups; focus on grief; unequal levels of investment in a relationship (including concerns about same that turn out to be unwarranted), or the idea of a character accepting something they're unhappy with as the most they're going to get.

I am requesting only fic, but open to art treats!

—

Fandom: The Locked Tomb Trilogy - Tamsyn Muir (Treat, Trick)

Character(s): Matthias Nonius

Nonius was one of my favorite new characters in Harrow the Ninth. His whole impossible arrival via evocation-by-poetry, battle with the Sleeper, and epic departure to fight the Beast made me very, very happy on levels I have trouble explaining. It was so heartwarming?! Because it was impossible, and because poetry won, and because they went off to do the best they could…I don’t know, exactly. (Iiiii also just love that he’s named for the Redwall mouse.) I’d love to read more about his life - being unprepossessing and very human but also paladin-like and really fucking good at being a swordsman, representing the Ninth House in slightly less decrepit times, his mysterious past with Gideon the First (and Pyrrha, sort of), however it happened that he died far from home in an unknown place and couldn’t be recovered for burial, “chickenshits don’t get beer”? Or, er, his afterlife - going to fight with Marta, Ortus, and Pro, re-encountering G1deon as allies…

—

Fandom: Motherland: Fort Salem (TV) (Treat, Trick)

Character(s): First Bellweather Ancestor, Original Historical Witch Character(s)

The alternate history that the show has created is so interesting and I’m craving expansion of that through fic! Tell me about the Bellweather ancestor who was a slave and ended up powerful and influential enough to begin a dynasty, and how she met and was recruited by Alder. Or other enslaved witches, witches in the American Revolution or the Civil War, or the founding of Fort Salem and standardization of American military magic with its various influences, or Chinese or Jewish or Mexican immigrant witches who maybe came from different magic traditions and might have had to make the choice of whether or not to reveal that they had magic (if the system knows you because of your descent in the country?), serving their country but also binding their daughters and granddaughters forever.

Not that there's any need to include present-day characters as a frame story, but on the off chance you do, I do ship Abigail/Raelle, with Abigail/Adil as a particular NOTP and Raelle/Scylla as kind of a soft NOTP.

Fandom-Specific DNW: I didn't enjoy the overt eugenics plotline this season and would prefer that nothing about breeding witches for stronger magic or particular traits (as opposed to any social reasons for arranged marriage and high society matching) be present in the fic.

—

Fandom: Sleep No More (Treat, Trick)

Character(s): Bald Witch, Sexy Witch

One of my favorite things about Sleep No More was the idea of this world of darkness and magic that’s underlying or intertwined with the social world, rather than in a separate space - I loved seeing the Witches at the ball and, holy shit, Bald Witch pulling off her wig after the ball in her solo ritual thing! (I hadn’t realized it was a wig until that moment.) So -

how do either of these witches interact with the normal world (Paisley/the hotel/etc.) or deliberately carve out other spaces (like the apothecary shop)? For that matter, I love the apothecary shop and Bald Witch's scene in it so more about that would be awesome.

How did the Witches find each other - before or after they were witches?

Are they immortal, and if so, what’s that like for them?

How much do they have a day-to-day life vs. witching all the time?

If you want to ship them together, and/or with Hecate (or both) I’m very up for that as well. Some sexy prompts if you go in that direction -

ritual sex magic to make something happen or share power?

If they have non-witch personas and sleep together while they’re being normal people, is there still magic?

Sex in one of the play locations - the apothecary, the ballroom, the bar that’s the empty shell of the real bar?

Slow dancing nude, or another inverted version of something in the normal world?

Fandom-Specific DNW: f/m ships with requested characters

—

Fandom: Teixcalaan - Arkady Martine (Treat)

Character(s): Three Seagrass, Twelve Azalea, Twenty Cicada

I found these characters delightful, and I would love to see any of them in some slice of life that tells us more about the City and Empire worldbuilding. Honestly I would probably read an entire novel about Reed and Petal in college doing absolutely nothing (to be clear, the fic doesn't need to include both) - what are some other things they do for fun, or places they like to go? Shit they accidentally got involved in in school or while working in the Ministry? (A scene is fine, I know the exchange has a 300 word minimum and am not trying to box you into writing a whole plot.) And on the flip side, Swarm's entire existence as the Teixcalaanli officer par excellence, the loyal adjutant, who's also a very visible minority doing minority things is really interesting to me. What are some other practices in the homeostat-cult and how does he manage to do them in his job? (Or Teixcalaanli things he doesn't do?) More about how he feels about being a part of Teixcalaan?

Fandom-Specific DNW: Swarm's canon fate makes me sad so I wouldn't want fic about it.

[jadeile-writes]

Fanfic Progress Update 65

Heya, you beautiful people! It’s Saturday, so it’s time to see what I’ve been up to. Stay tuned to the end of this post for a spoiler-y glimpse into the next chapter of Adventure gone Mini.

Current WIPs:

Adventure gone Mini

Fandom: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild / The Minish Cap

Summary: Sidon is given his very own Sheikah Slate, the first replica Purah has managed to make, and sets out to travel with Link with the intention of registering warp points for convenient travel in the future. However, when a malfunction shrinks them down to the size of bugs, and they meet little people called the Minish, they have to change their plans from “fun adventuring” to “getting out of this mess”. Not that those two have to exclude one another. Link/Sidon.

Progress: Chapter 38 is the current latest chapter and was posted on 6th of May. Chapter 39 is only missing a couple of paragraphs and is scheduled for 27th of May.

I post a new chapter every three weeks on Wednesdays. These updates always include a sneak-peek for the next chapter, slowly getting longer over the three weeks waiting period.

—–

That month of the year

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary: Every year, for a single month, the Radio Demon gets… emotional. His antlers are in velvet and he’s pumped full of hormones that make him behave quite unlike himself: suddenly, everywhere he looks, instead of seeing fellow demons all he sees are helpless little fawns that nobody is taking a proper care of! Solution? Adopt them.

Husk, Niffty, Camille, Honey, and the rest of the older Fawns put up with their Mom/Dad’s nonsense every year, but this time there’s a new, rotten apple in their midst and they have to protect Alastor from this crook. Without Alastor knowing about it. As Husk likes to put it: “This is fucking bullshit. …I mean fudgy nonsense.”

(Crack taken seriously. Gen)

Progress: The first two chapters are finished. The third chapter is more than halfway done. I want to have a few chapters written before posting anything. No progress since last time, ugh. Lazy author is lazy.

This fic is co-authored by Maximillian!

—–

Hah! Our afterlife is the most hilarious bushwa, dearest

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary: This is not a stand-alone story! This is a oneshot/drabble collection in the universe of “Shit, the Radio Demon is a part of my afterlife”. Read the main story before bothering with this one.

I decided to give my readers a chance to throw Radiohusk prompts at me, and had the Afterlife-verse as an option to set the stories in. Everyone liked that, so this fic is now a thing. Enjoy the extra mischief from these two dorks!

Progress: Chapter 16 is the current latest chapter and was posted on 22nd of May. Chapter 17 hasn’t been started yet, but the scheduled posting date is 29th of May (posting Mini this Wednesday, so opting out of Tuesday right off the bat). A sneak-peek will be posted the previous day.

I now have a whole bunch of new prompts, roughly 20, so we have plenty of chapters to look forward to again! : D

This fic receives a new chapter once a week on either Tuesday or Friday. Honestly, usually Friday.

—–

Secret drabbles and ficlets!

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary: I’ve occasionally written completely random Radiohusk fics and shared them with a bunch of friends without posting them on AO3 or here. I’d like to rectify that and start posting them here at random for everyone to read. I won’t be posting them on AO3 because I don’t want to, so keeping an eye on this blog is even more rewarding than before for a while ;)

Progress: I have four separate ficlets at the moment, and a few nearly finished ones that I’ll probably get done sooner or later (with one exception that I’m unlikely to actually finish at all). I’ll post them at most once a week, on whatever day I feel like doing it (though obviously not on a day when I’m posting something else already). Basically, keep your eyes open.

—–

Other WIPs I’m not currently working on but intend to get back to someday:

PoE Drabbles (Pillars of Eternity)

DC Drabbles (Justice League)

Diaphanous Relations (Forgotten Realms, R.A. Salvatore’s books)

Experiment in Romance (Hazbin Hotel)

—–

That’s it for the WIPs! Here are the promised sneak-peek into Adventure gone Mini (Note: the text may end up slightly different in the fic itself due to more editing happening before publishing). Enjoy!

Mini

"Excuse me, sir? Where can we find the city hall?" Link looked around the nearby stalls with great interest while Sidon had a conversation with the least busy looking Minish they had spotted from the food tent they had just exited. Ah, he really wanted to forget all about their quest and simply mill around and do some souvenir shopping! Or just shopping, without necessarily needing to tack on the part about souvenirs – he liked buying things to himself the most, if he was being honest. Everything looked so neat! From where he was standing he saw a stall that sold little braided bracelets, another that sold baskets, and one that had some kind of wooden objects that he couldn't see well from where he was. And that was just the stalls he could see! The marketplace had looked enormous from a distance, so who knew what kind of treasures he would find with a little time to explore. "Link?" He turned his wistful gaze away from the wood-object-stall and looked at his boyfriend. "I got the directions", Sidon said, looking pleased with himself. "Shall we head that way? We need to walk right through the marketplace, so we can look around a little as we move."

—–

That’s it this time. See you next Saturday!

AO3    FFnet    Purple Crayon    Ko-fi

[coffee-obsessed-writer]

When You Least Expect It: Part Five

Jensen x Musician!Reader; Nathan (OMC)

Also featured this chapter: Jared Padalecki, Gen Padalecki, Rob Benedict, Briana Buckmaster, Dee Harris, and mentions of Kim Rhodes, Mark Pellegrino, Jason Manns, Richard Speight, Jr.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

A/N: This is a slow burn fic that I have been working on for a while. Its a story I wrote for myself and just wanted to share with everyone. Yes, the “Dee” in the story is who you think, but there is no intended hate on her or their actual marriage. It is a work of fiction, that is all. Part five is from Y/N’s POV. There is also a playlist to go along with the series.  Series Playlist: “When You Least Expect It” (Spotify). Two songs linked in this chapter, “Do I Move You” & “Up Cripple Creek” go back directly to this playlist. 

A HUGE shout out to @closetspngirl​ for putting together Jensen’s & the reader’s gorgeous wardrobe for the NYE party. Also for not only being my beta, but helping me write the G-D thing. Your input, suggestions, and overall inspiration has been a game changer.

Chapter Summary: Reeling from a visit with her Ex while home for Christmas, Y/N goes back to Austin to get ready for the Padalecki’s New Year’s Eve party. That event turns everything upside for both Y/N and Jensen.

Chapter Warnings: Language, Talk of Break-Ups, Angst, Fluff, 

WC: You don’t wanna know... Trust me.

*Banner created by me; pics & gifs found online

Y/N stood at the kitchen counter, her fingers gripping the butcher’s block so hard it was turning her knuckles white. She tried to regulate her breathing, which would help slow the relentless pounding of her heart being fueled by the adrenaline rush of seeing Nathan again after so many years.

“It’s really good to see you,” he started, the tenor of his voice instantly drowning her in memories. The quiver that lived beneath it wasn’t lost on her either. In fact, she relished that he was nervous. Y/N hoped he was scared as hell.

“What do you want, Nathan?” she asked, finally turning to face him.

“Just to talk. To—”

“Bullshit. If you wanted to talk, there are phones for that.”

“You would have taken my call?”

“Probably not,” she shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest.

“See. Figured the drop by was better.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket and began to slowly walk around the bungalow. “Wow, the place still looks exactly the same. It's crazy…” he trailed off and snorted a laugh when he gazed at the pictures along the walls. “I actually miss it.”

“What?”

“The bungalow. You. Our life.”

Y/N rolled her eyes and felt the urge to scream at him to go. Her fingers crawled up and once again clutched her charm. “I won’t ask again, Nathan. What do—”

“…I want… yeah, I’m getting there. This isn’t easy, okay?” He sighed dramatically, something he had always done and plopped down onto the couch.

���I couldn’t care less how hard, whatever it is you wanna say, is for you to say. You ran out of sympathy from me when I came home and found every single one of your belongings gone. Hell, even before that. Because of you and your debts that you left me with, I had to borrow ten grand off of Leo. I’m still paying that back!”

“I know, I’m sorry. I’m working now and I promise I’ll repay you. I was such a dick for leaving how I did. I was fucked up, babe. I was gambling and drinking and using—I was a mess.”

“I remember,” she sighed, exasperated and tired. She wanted him to go so she could melt back into the happy state she was in just after getting off the phone with Jensen. “So last chance to tell me why you’re here and bringing back those bad memories.”

“They weren’t all bad,” he said with that crooked smile. “We had some good ones.”

“Nathan… if you don’t get to the fucking point, I will call the police and remind them of the restraining order—”

“Ok, ok… I came to try and make amends. I’m twelve stepping my way back to a better life. It’s taken a while, but I’m finally in a good place. I need to apologize for all the terrible things I’ve done. Especially to you. I’ve hurt you—”

“You have,” she interrupted. “Honestly, I don’t know what hurt worse. When you left without a word or when you broke my nose.”

“Y/N—I…” he trailed off again and shrugged pathetically. “I was a horrible person then. I know it’s not an excuse. If I could go back in time and change everything, I would. We’d be married, have kids… we’d have a life together here.”

“Well, thank God you can’t. Look, Nathan, I’m glad you got yourself straight. I am. But my life right now is good, and I wouldn’t want to change a thing.”

“I heard. Got yourself a fancy new job,” he said with a smile, but Y/N knew him well enough that behind that smile was a fit of pure, seething jealousy. It was always there in him; lurking.

“Who spilled the beans?”

“Leo. I ran into him last week when I got back. I asked about you, and he said that you had moved to Austin temporarily for work.”

“Did he?” She reminded herself to thank him for that later. “Well, then you know I’m busy. I’m only home for a couple days—”

“He said a week.”

“Leo was wrong. I’m cutting the trip short. I have an event to go to on New Year’s that I need to get back for.”

“Oh,” he replied. There was a lot packed into that ‘oh’. “Y/N, I know I don’t deserve to ask you for anything. But for a long time, we loved each other. We’ve been together since we were kids. Me, you… Dave. We were a little family, especially after your mom left.”

The mention of her mother and brother turned her stomach.

“If you want to apologize, bringing up my mother and dick of a brother isn’t the way to go.”

“Dave isn’t a bad guy. I know he did some shitty things, but babe, he’s your brother. He loves you.”

Y/N finally moved from where she was frozen in place and slowly walked into the living room. “You still talk to him?”

Nathan nodded. “I do. He misses you, asks about you. A lot.”

“Good. I hope that shit for brains realizes now that I will never talk to him again.”

“I still don’t understand why.”

“You don’t understand... Nathan, you were here for the bullshit they put me through after dad died. That bitch swooped in and took my entire inheritance! If not for Leo buying the bungalow from her, I would have been homeless. Then, to find out later that my so-called loving brother, HELPED HER?!” Y/N was shaking now. The act of dredging up these memories was not exactly how she wanted to spend Christmas morning; especially not after it started so well.

“Babe…” Nathan consoled and rose from the couch to come closer to comfort her.

“STOP CALLING ME BABE!”

Nathan froze in place and swallowed hard. “Y/N, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… I just came here to try and apologize. For everything I’ve done. I was supposed to be the one person you could trust, who protected you. I’m sorry that I failed you.”

Much to her own surprise, Y/N didn’t cry. She wanted too, but she wouldn’t in front of Nathan. There had been enough tears shed for him over the course of twenty years. Her phone began to buzz from deep within her robe’s pocket. She tried to ignore it, but just before it stopped ringing, she pulled it out and saw Jensen’s name flashing on the screen.

Without hesitation, she answered the call. “Hey,” she greeted and hoped there wasn’t any residual tension in her tone. “Miss me already?”

Nathan’s head picked up, his gaze intense and curious. But he saw the warning look Y/N passed him and forced himself to stay quiet.

“If I did?” Jensen asked playfully. “No, I was calling to tell you that as soon as we hung up, Jared called me to say Merry Christmas and all that. I asked him about the party and his exact words were ‘whatever makes you happy, doesn’t matter so’s long as you’re there’. So there’s your dress code.”

Despite her current mood, she laughed. “Well, that doesn’t help at all.”

“Yeah, I know…” he hesitated for a beat, “are you alright? You don’t sound as chipper as you did twenty minutes ago.”

“Um, yeah. I’m fine,” she lied and tried to put herself together. “Just getting ready for the day, you know.”

“Sure? If you wanna talk, or—I can find a quiet spot and—”

“No, Jay, it's fine. Really. I do gotta run though. Few things I need to wrap up,” she said and hoped he would take it as wrapping last minute gifts for the holiday.

“Ok.” She could tell instantly he didn’t believe her. “Well, you know where to find me if you change your mind. Talk soon?”

“Yeah, definitely. Enjoy your day and if you talk to Jared again, or Robbie, tell them I said Merry Christmas.”

“Will do, bye, Y/N.”

“Bye, Jay.”

She ended the call and kept the phone hovering near her mouth, almost as if she was trying to hide from Nathan.

“Who’s Jay?”

“Jensen. He’s my boss,” she answered then slipped the phone back into her robe.

“Jensen? Some name,” he sneered. “And he calls on Christmas morning? What a pretentious dick.”

“Fuck off, okay? You don’t know him.”

“I do though. He sounds like every rich, asshole Bennie that tears up our beach every summer. Comes down with his crap, his money and thinks he gets whatever he wants—”

“Nathan! You wanna apologize, make amends? Attacking my friend will not help accomplish that.”

“Your friend? I thought he was just your boss.” Realization dawned on him then, and she noticed his body stiffen. “You have a thing for him, don’t you?”

She didn’t expect that and stammered before she could find the words she wanted. “I—no, he’s been a good friend. It's business. That’s all. Besides, you put me through enough. I couldn’t deal with anyone else after you.”

Nathan cast his eyes to the floor. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I never intended for you to be hurt so badly. I never wanted for you to hate me.”

“Yeah, well. Your intentions don’t mean shit, Nathan. Look, I should hate you… but I don’t. God only knows why, but I don’t. You’re right, we did have some really great memories. Being friends since we were little kids and all the years we spent together as a couple; it’s not lost on me. Even though you left like a coward after you hit me—”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you… I needed the money and—” he stopped himself from going down that path. “It’s not an excuse. I should never have touched you, especially not at the club. Mama Mia nearly put me in the hospital that night.”

“You deserved it.”

He nodded and let her continue.

“Anyway, all that aside, I’m just in a place where I don’t want to be with anyone, Nathan.” Y/N paused and realized now she was not only lying to him, but to herself. “I appreciate your wanting to make amends. I’m glad the twelve-step thing is working for you, and that you’re here for your mom for Christmas.”

“But?”

“But, nothing. I am honestly glad for you and for your mom. She didn’t need to lose you.”

“What about us?” he asked hesitantly, bringing his bright blue eyes to meet hers. For the briefest moment, she could see what she used to see in them; kindness, compassion, and hope making him look more like the first boy she ever loved.

“Us?” Y/N laughed and sighed all in one breath. “Nathan there is no ‘us’. That ship sailed years ago. But I am glad that you’re getting your life back together.”

His phone pinged from down in his jeans pocket. “That’s probably my mom wondering when I’ll be back. She’s got breakfast waiting.”

“Then you should go.”

“Do you wanna come with? I’m sure she’d love to see you.”

“No, I promised Leo I would be there today.”

“When do you go back to… Austin is it?”

“Yes, Austin. In a few days. I have some work to do while I’m here…”

“So, in other words, you aren’t free on this trip to make any plans with me.”

Y/N nodded. “I’m sorry. Maybe another time.” She once again crossed her arms over her chest. It was a mannerism Nathan knew well; she was putting up her wall, and while he couldn’t blame her, he felt his hopes of any reconciliation being quickly dashed.

“Could I, maybe, call you from time to time?”

She exhaled slowly, expelling the breath through pursed lips. “Nathan…” pausing when she saw the seemingly honest, pleading look in his eyes. “Sure. But, if it becomes obsessive, or intrusive…”

He held up his hands in relent. “I promise, it won’t. I just…” he took a few tentative steps closer to her. As he approached, she took one step back and he stopped; afraid he was scaring her. “I just want to get to know you again. This you. I still love you, Y/N. I know you don’t love me, but at least give me the chance to prove to you that I’ve changed. That I can be the guy you used to love. Or at least the one you used to like.”

His phone pinged again.

“You should go, Nathan. Tell your mom I said Merry Christmas.”

Nathan nodded and went towards the door. “I’m not gonna ask you to wait, but maybe you don’t rule me out completely.”

“Rule you out of what?” she asked.

“Your future.” He lingered for a moment longer, then left and quietly closed the door behind him.   

The daylight hours of New Year’s Eve was packed with errands, including trying to find something appropriate to wear to Jared and Gen’s New Year’s Eve party. Jensen didn’t exactly help with his recon efforts; having the perimeters of “whatever makes you happy” to go by wasn’t much to go on. Finding nothing while in New Jersey, she frantically searched for any shop that was open in downtown Austin on her way home from the airport.

Finally, in the very last shop, she found the perfect one. The moment she laid her eyes on the turquoise colored dress with a lace overlay from the neck to the hem, she fell in love. It was a little fancier than she’d normally go for, but attending this party in one of the most beautiful Country Clubs in Austin seemed like the occasion to do so.

Once all the accessories had been chosen, Y/N rushed back to her townhouse to shower and get ready. As the hot water cascaded down through her hair, she closed her eyes and thought about the last few days back home. She had finally gotten to a place where her life didn’t feel so suffocated, where she could have reconciled her past while looking towards the future. Now she was uncertain if she would be able to ever really move on from Nathan, or if she would always be scared because of the marks he’d left on her heart.

For the next few days, she went on an emotional journey that she knew had to be done, but not one she expected just then. Nathan had been such a big part of her life since she was a kid; he’d been there through some of the worst times to comfort her and support her. It was also true that he was the root cause for a lot of bad times, and though he was the one that made the bad choices, got wrapped up in things he shouldn’t have… wasn’t there a part of him that was still the same boy that held her through the night her mother left, then her brother and again when her father died?

Y/N turned off the shower and wiped away the steam on the mirror. As she watched her reflection in the glass, Jensen’s face floated into her mind’s eye. His beautiful green eyes, full, round lips, the way that he smiled at her made her breath hitch and her skin tingle in ways that felt extraordinary. Mostly, it was how he made her feel calm and in control; like she could accomplish anything she wanted. Yet, whenever she allowed herself moments to daydream about him, and what it would be like to be with him, fear set in and she would pull away.

“You’re a fucking mess,” she accused at her reflection. “Seriously, get your shit together (Y/L/N). You have a gorgeous, generous, amazing man about to pick you up for a fancy party. You got a new dress, new shoes and a wonderful night ahead. Don’t self-sabotage before you even get in the car.”

She gave herself an affirmative nod, tightened the towel around her chest and moved away from the mirror to get finish getting ready. Halfway out of the bathroom she paused and went back to the mirror.

“Also, don’t let Nathan and his bullshit ruin a good night. He’s not here, he won’t be here. It’s just you, Jensen and a hundred of his closest friends. If anything is going to freak you out, it should be that.”

Y/N hung her head dramatically and sighed. No matter how hard she tried not to think about Nathan, he was just there now, living somewhere in the recesses of her mind and slowly inching his way back to the forefront.

Two hours later, when Y/N heard the knock at the first door, she looked over at the stove clock and realized it could only be Jensen. Seven on the dot… Mr. Punctuality. Y/N took a deep, calming breath, nerves quickly igniting as to how things may change if she opened that door. She froze with her hand on the knob.

You should say you’re sick… jet lag? No, stupid, it’s only an hour time difference, jet lag wouldn’t--

He knocked again. Stopping the freight train of doubt that ran on a constant loop, she exhaled slowly and opened the front door.

“Hey!” Jensen greeted upon seeing her. “You ready to…” he trailed off as he noticed how she looked and took a moment to drink her all in. Jensen was dumbfounded, as his eyes glazed over her from how her hair was twisted up off her neck, to the color of the dress and how it hugged her just right, flowing out to a skirt that fell a few inches above her knees. She was wearing heels, and as he admired how her legs looked while wearing them, he realized he’d never seen her in anything but her old sandals.

“Wow… You--you look amazing,” he breathed. “I--that’s not even the right word. You--”

His gaze softened the longer he looked at her; and the more he looked, the more she was becoming affected by his stare.

“Ok, ok. Easy tiger. It’s just a dress,” she laughed but was barely holding it together as she noticed how good he looked, as well. Jensen showed up dressed in a black sport coat and slacks, beneath it, a nicely fitting shirt that complimented his strong and lean figure. The color of which, just happened to be a shade off of matching her dress perfectly.

“Hey, we match!” she smiled, lighting up her whole face. “People are going to think we did that on purpose.”

“Fuck ‘em,” he said, the corners of his mouth pointing down. “Besides, no one in that whole place will even notice me once you walk into the room.”  He waggled his eyebrows and moved aside so she could walk out.

“You’re such a dork,” she teased and rolled her eyes. “Though, I gotta say,” she paused and spun back around for a minute to face him, “you do clean up pretty nice yourself, Hollywood.”

 Heading towards the party venue, Y/N was quiet. She could feel Jensen continuing to steal glances in her direction. He had never been shy before about asking her something when it was on his mind, but now he hesitated. She finally caught his gaze and sighed.

“You want to ask me something, so ask,” she said, startling him with her accuracy.

“Alright… what happened on Christmas?”

Boy, he’s blunt, she thought. She furrowed her brow and tried to play it off like she didn’t know what he was talking about. “What do you mean?”

“C’mon Y/N. I talked to you and you were… you. Twenty minutes later I called back and you were completely different.” Jensen’s eyes flickered back and forth between her and the road. “Then, I don’t hear from you all week. Just seemed like maybe something was wrong.”

Y/N could just brush him off, she thought about it. She didn’t want to get into a big conversation about Nathan solely because it would lead back to their past and she didn’t want to go back to that headspace. She also didn’t think brushing him off was the best idea. Jensen was more than just a colleague now, he was her friend; a friend that she had come to care about very much.

She swallowed nervously, her tongue darting over her polished lips. “I had an unexpected visitor after I hung up with you. Just an old… someone, that I wasn’t expecting to see.”

“Oh,” he replied, his eyes now transfixed on the road ahead. “A recent, old, someone?” he asked, and thankfully she caught his meaning.

“Yes. Sort of. It’s been a few years.”

“Oh,” he said again, this time as more of a sigh of relief. “How did it go?”

“It went. He just wanted to catch up. He was in town visiting his mom and had run into Leo. I guess Leo told him about Austin, and he wanted to say congrats on the new gig.”

“Ah.” Jensen’s gaze drifted to catch her expression. Y/N appeared unaffected, but there was something in her eyes that told him that maybe wasn’t the whole truth. “Exes… huh?” he quipped and tried to get her to smile. “I got one, too.”

“An ex?”

“Yup.”

“Don’t we all?”

Jensen laughed. “I guess.”

“How recent is yours?”

“Last Spring. I got back from a con and came home to an empty house. She was just, gone.”

“Ouch,” Y/N winced, knowing the pain of that feeling. “Did you ever find out why?”

His reaction took her off guard. Jensen smirked, then it faded and his eyes seemed to drift a million miles away. She saw him force the lump in his throat down to a place where it wouldn’t stop him from choking on the words that he tried to say.

“She… uh,” he snorted a laugh, “she met someone else.”

“Oh,” she breathed, waited for a beat, then muttered. “She’s an idiot.”

Jensen’s lips formed a tiny little grin of satisfaction and gave Y/N the hint that he heard her after all.

“Well, I’m sorry your Christmas was ruined by an ex,” he said, turning the subject back to her.

“It wasn’t ruined,” she replied quietly and cast her gaze out of the passenger side window. Her hand went to her neck, to where the necklace had resided since she clasped it around there Christmas morning. “Got to open the best present I ever received while watching the sunrise over the ocean.” Turning her attention back to him, her features softened as she lifted the charm from her neck. “That’s what I’ll remember most from this Christmas.”

The Country Club was far larger than Y/N thought it would be. Even in the shadows of the evening, she could see how beautiful and expansive the grounds and golf courses were. It was lit up in soft whites and golds, and there was a buzz of activity in and around the entrance.

After the valet parked the car, Jensen linked his elbow with hers and escorted her inside. Her nerves were starting to show, barely, but they were there. She’d been to more than enough events like this for Leo’s business, and she’d played the boardwalk stage to a crow of a few hundred people. Somehow, this was more nerve-wracking, and Jensen could feel it radiating off her.

“Hey,” he whispered but kept his eyes focused ahead. “You know this is low-key, right?”

“You mean despite the fact that the party is in Wayne Manor? I swore that was Alfred who parked the car.”

Jensen laughed. “Yes, despite that. These are all just friends, wearing fancier than normal clothes.”

“Your friends. I know them through Skype or email.”

“They’re gonna love you. Alright? Robbie already does. He won’t shut the hell up about meeting you tonight.”

“Says you. I feel like I’m going on an audition and this is my call back for the role of Celebrity Assistant…”

“Hey,” Jensen interrupted and pulled her to a stop. “You know that’s not what you are, right? It’s important to me that you know that.” Using her own words against her made her relax a little. “You’re not my assistant. You work with me. And as for tonight, well darlin’, you are simply my date and easily the most stunning woman in the room.”

His features relaxed, the small bunches of wrinkles deepening around his eyes and the peek-a-boo dimples on the corners of his mouth showing themselves. “Relax, have a drink, dance a little and have a damn good time.”

“I thought we established that me dancing is hazardous to everyone’s health,” she joked, feeling her nerves dissipate a little.

“Hey, it's New Year’s Eve. If you can’t do something new and out of your comfort zone on a night like tonight… then you never will. Besides, I am way worse at dancing than you. I’m more than happy to prove it. After a drink or two, that is.”

Y/N exhaled as steadily as she could and straightened her shoulders back and tightened her linked arm around Jensen’s. She was going to make the most of the night and go in with her head held high; ready to push herself well beyond her limits.

They breached the entryway and stepped into the main room where the Padalecki’s were hosting a jam-packed New Year’s Eve party. Faces were floating by at a rapid pace, some she recognized, some she didn’t. Names were thrown at her, and she smiled at each one, shaking hands with those who offered and returning polite smiles to those she didn’t. It was overwhelming and yet exhilarating, especially when Jensen was introducing her as the Music Director for FBBC’s Hometown Music & Brew Fest. For the first time in her life, she was being looked upon as someone respected; someone who was spending their time trying to make a difference; not slinging drinks, not pushing papers or hustling pool just to make ends meet. What made it even more special, was having him be the one who helped her find this place in the world.

“Well it’s about time!” a woman’s voice squealed over the music piping in through the generously spaced out speakers. As you both spun around, you saw a beautiful, petite woman with long dark brown hair and eyes the color of dark chocolate. “I was starting to think you were going to be late, Jensen. You’re never late!”

“C’ mon Gen, you know better than that,” he laughed and released her arm to embrace Gen and leave a kiss on her cheek. “Where’s the big jerk you married?”

“Oh, mingling, you know him. I’m sure he’s got half the place in hysterics already,” she laughed. When she turned her attention to Y/N, her eyes grew wide and she clapped in excitement. “You must be Y/N! It’s so good to meet you in person! This one doesn’t shut up about you or the festival. I think he may have imploded if you didn’t come on to help.”

“I’m just glad I could contribute something,” Y/N replied. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Gen.”

“Have you met everyone else yet?” she asked excitedly, taking Y/N’s arm much the way Jensen did and led her away into one of the rooms that jettisoned off the ballroom. “I think they’re all hiding away in here.”

She led Y/N in, with Jensen following closing behind. The room Gen lead them into was large enough to fit approximately twenty people comfortably, with a baby grand piano at the center. There were windows along the back wall that overlooked the deserted golf course, but the cream and deep beige draperies were pulled and hid the view from the party goers. In each corner, was a tall, potted decorative tree, with hanging white lights that cast an ambient glow over the room. Scattered throughout the room were overstuffed armchairs and a few leather love seats. A perfect place to sit and listen to someone play on the baby grand while enjoying the view of the grounds.

Y/N searched the handful of faces that were standing around the piano but none were too familiar. The moment Gen spoke, the man at the keys stopped playing. When he stood, Y/N smiled wide, instantly recognizing Robbie as he started walking over to them.

“Hey man!” Rob greeted Jensen excitedly. “Was getting worried about you! Thought you were gonna stand me up.”

“I could never do that to you, Rob. You know I love you too much,” Jensen teased, giving Rob a wink. “But, if I tell you Y/N is here to finally meet you, do you forgive me?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” he grinned and reached out for Y/N’s hand, bringing the back of it to his lips and giving it a barely-there-kiss. “It is a pleasure to finally see your face sans computer screen.”

“It really is,” she said, trying not to giggle at his overindulgent greeting.

Robbie kept her hand and began to move her away from Gen and Jensen. “Here, let me introduce you to the whole gang.”

Jensen just shook his head, his arms open wide and mouthing, “Really?”

Ignoring him, Robbie pulled Y/N around the room and one by one introduced her to people from both the show and the regular con circuit. Y/N’s head spun as she met Jason Manns, Kim Rhodes, Richard Speight, Jr., and Mark Pellegrino among others. It took nearly twenty minutes to make the rounds and by the time Rob had brought Y/N full circle, Gen and Jensen were no longer alone. Jared had just joined the small group, drink in hand and a smile that was more forced than genuine.

Jared leaned closer to Jensen’s ear just as you sidled up next to him. “Hey, I need to talk to you,” he whispered.

Jensen furrowed his brow and snapped his gaze up to catch Jared’s eye. They had a silent exchange, one that could only happen between two people who knew each other explicitly well. When Jensen turned back to Y/N, she waved him off before he could even speak.

“Go, I’m fine. I have Rob to keep me company,” she said, not without a little spunk.

“Hands above the waist, Rob. Remember you’re with a lady, not one of your women of the night,” he warned and gave Y/N’s shoulder a little squeeze before he was whisked off by his best friend.

“I should go check on everything in the kitchen. Will you be alright?” she asked Y/N.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Rob interjected.

Gen shook her head and gave Y/N an apologetic smile. “Welcome to our weird, little family. Please don’t judge us solely on our Robbie.” She patted Rob’s arm lovingly before turning and heading back out through the ballroom.

“She’s one hell of a lady. Throws a damn good party, too. Come on, let’s mingle.” 

Jensen followed Jared down the long clubhouse corridor and down to the double doors that led into the game room. Once inside, Jared shut the door but didn’t bother with turning on the lights.

“What’s up?” Jensen asked. “I barely got in the door, didn’t even get a drink yet.”

“Here, have mine. You’re gonna need it.” Jared held out his glass of bourbon. “I tried to get a hold of you earlier--”

“Why?”

“Because man, Gen invited Dee. She’s coming, and she’s not coming alone.”

Jensen sighed heavily, his head rolled back on his neck and his mouth hung open. “Fuck. Really?”

“Mhm. I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I mean, I know they still talk and hang out, but, I didn’t think she was going to invite her.”

Jensen gulped down the rest of the bourbon from the glass, wincing at the burn as it hit his throat. He turned abruptly and headed through the game room to the small bar that was kept there. Rummaging through the bottles, he found a bottle of Jim Beam and refilled the glass.

“Is he here with her?”

Jared nodded. “I don’t know. I just know she’s coming.”

“Does Dee know I’m here?”

Jared shrugged. “Gen and I… we try not to talk about her with each other.”

Jensen considered this and shrugged, too. “I hate that what happened between me and her put you guys at odds.”

“It really didn’t, not until times like this.”

“You know what? It’s fine. Not like I’m here alone, right?”

“Right. About that… You’ll have to introduce me properly when we head back.”

“I will,” he said, and just knowing that Y/N was out there waiting for him, suddenly made the Dee situation seem somewhat tolerable.

“What was that?” Jared asked, looking at him curiously. “What did you just do with your face?”

Jensen scrunched his face in ignorance. “What… face?”

“That face! That face you make when you get all dreamy and shit.”

“Dreamy fa--” Jensen scoffed. He was getting flustered, so he drained his glass. “Shut up.”

“Ha!” Jared laughed and clapped Jensen’s shoulder. “So, you gonna be able to be cool with Dee?”

“As a cucumber,” he promised.

Jensen had disappeared with Jared, Gen had disappeared back into the crowd of people in the ballroom, and Rob had just disappeared. Somewhere in the middle of crossing the big room’s dance floor, Y/N had lost him and when she broke through the sea of people, she didn’t want to go back in. Meandering alone through the party, she felt suddenly out of place and all her earlier nerves settling back in for the long haul.

She wished Jensen would come back from wherever he disappeared too. But as the minutes ticked by, Y/N found herself back in the room with the baby grand. It was completely empty now that the music had stopped; for this, she was suddenly grateful. As she slowly walked along its side, she ever-so-lightly dragged her finger against the ebony lacquer of the lip then followed along the edge and down to the keys.

Y/N hadn’t seen or touched a piano of this caliber for a lot of years. Guitar had been her true love since she was five years old, the piano came later. When she was little, and her mother was still around, she would take her to the most luxurious of all Leo’s hotels up in the wealthy area of Spring Lake. These were the ones with professional piano players in the lobby and a bellhop that came when you rang. Y/N would sit for hours, watching that old man with the sandy blonde hair play the keys like a magician, and pulling some of the most glorious melodies she’d ever heard.

Her mother was a maid back then, cleaning and stealing from most of the rooms upstairs. Leo would find Y/N a lot of times left alone, sitting in the lobby and listening to the piano and felt sorry for her. On her seventh birthday, Leo bought her a small electronic keyboard to practice on. She took to it easily, and by the time she was ten, was recording tracks on the keyboard, they play along with them on guitar.

She exhaled softly as she slid onto the bench and smoothed out her skirt. Just as she hovered her fingers over the keys, and pressed the first few, she was no longer alone in the room.

“Found you! Took me damn long enough…”

Y/N’s head snapped up, to see a beautiful blonde woman, with long, wavy curls approaching her. Her big, dimpled smile lit up the room the second she entered, and Y/N couldn’t stop admiring her.

“I tried to wrangle Robbie before when he was parading you through the room, but that little man is too fast for me!” She sat down on the bench beside Y/N in an exasperated huff. “Woo! I’m beat and it isn’t even midnight yet! I’m Briana, by the way. Briana Buckmaster. You’re, Y/N, right? Working the music side of Brewfest? I’ve heard a lot about you from Robbie.”

“He’s one hell of a cheerleader,” Y/N said. Something was familiar about her, but she couldn’t put her finger on where. “Are you doing work for it as well? You just seem so familiar, but I can’t…” as she trailed off, it hit her why. “You have an album of covers out, right?”

Briana was taken aback, her sweet smile dimpling as it grew. “I do! You’ve heard it?”

“Hell yeah! Back in Jersey, I was a musical director for a burlesque group. Some of the girls were playing it for a routine. It was hot. Your voice is seriously magic.”

“Burlesque? How fucking cool are you? Did we just become best friends?” she roared with a throaty laugh and threw an arm around Y/N’s shoulders. “And here I was just coming over to ask you about Jensen. Had no idea I’d find a fan and a new friend in the mix!”

“You definitely have a fan in me, Briana.”

“Oh please, call me Bri, everyone does. This dress, gorgeous, by the way. And please tell me that Jensen matched you on purpose because I will both love him and tease him for eternity because of it!”

“No! It wasn’t on purpose. But I knew someone would think it was.”

“I guess you two are just on that wavelength, huh?” she wiggled her eyebrows and poked Y/N’s arm with her elbow. “I did see you guys when you walked in together.”

“Oh?”

“Mhm. So, you gotta tell me something,” she said and leaned in a little closer. “How good a kisser is he? Cause, I may be married, but I ain’t dead. And that boy is… mmm mmm!”

“I don’t--I haven’t… We’re not…” Y/N laughed nervously shook her head slightly, trying to shake the embarrassment off and form a complete sentence. “We’re just friends, we work together on the festival. That’s all.”

“Oh, I see,” Bri said and cleared her throat before turning back to Y/N. “You guys are in the denial stage! Ok, I get it.”

“What? No! It’s…” Y/N searched for the right word. Damn this woman is perceptive, she thought before finding the winner. “It’s complicated.” she sighed, surprising herself that she gave any kind of real answer.

Y/N was instantly comfortable with Briana. Her spirit and fiery personality felt familiar, and something she’d been lacking in her life since leaving New Jersey months before. She felt that she could say something like that to this virtual stranger because she felt like Bri wouldn’t be a stranger for much longer.

“Yeah well, complicated can work itself out,” she nudged her shoulder into Y/N playfully, then motioned down towards the keys. “You play?”

“I do,” she replied, relieved Bri moved the subject off of Jensen for the moment.

“What do you like to play?” she asked, but not in the way where one is curious. She asked because she looked like she was scheming.

“Just about anything really. Why?”

Bri slid out off the bench and walked around to stand in the curve of the piano. “You sing, too, right?”

“I do,” Y/N replied and started to play with the keys around middle C. Finding the melody of something soft but familiar. “Robbie tell you that?”

“Nope. Jensen did. Did he tell you that he sings as well?”

Y/N’s fingers froze and her breath caught in her chest. “No… he didn’t.”

Bri’s face light up as she leaned against the piano, letting her hands slide along the edges in each direction. “Oh, he does. And he sings, goooood.”

She forced her fingers to continue playing the song. As she played on, she didn’t realize the song that she’d been playing just then was the same one she had been strumming on the guitar the morning Jensen shared her sunrise.

‘Ooo-ooo-ooo honey, you’re the one that I want...’ Y/N sang silently along to the melody in her head.

“I know this one… I did a stint as Rizzo at the Citadel Theater,” Bri squealed excitedly. “This was a fun one to perform.”

“Pink lady here,” Y/N laughed, and quickly changed up the melody, not wanting that one to get wedged in her head again. After she played it that morning, it stuck with her for days after. But instead of it making her think of the play, now it just reminded her of sitting on the floor with Jensen and talking through the night.

“But I wanted to play Rizzo,” Y/N continued. “She’s clearly the most relatable.”

“We really are kindred spirits! So, new friend…” she brought her arms back to center, and rested her elbows on the piano, cradling her chin in her palms. “Play me something.”

Y/N thought for a moment and began to pick up a melody. Bri’s eyes lit up as she recognized the beginning notes to “Do I Move You.” They exchanged a knowing glance; Y/N knowing this had been one of Bri’s covers, and Bri realizing that Y/N chose it for that reason.

Starting it acapella, Bri sang the first line, “Do I move you?”

Y/N played, finding the groove of the song. It wasn’t hard for her, all she needed was a place to start and she could slide right into it.

“Are you willing? “Do I groove you? Is it thrilling? Do I soothe you? Tell the truth now… Do I move you? Are you loose now? The answer better be…” Bri drew out the last word, soft and sultry and looked to her accompaniment to finish the first verse with her.

“That pleases meeeee….” They sang together.

The song played on, just the two of them at the moment. The party noises were all but a second thought, as these two new friends found an easy rapport with each other through the music. With every few lines, Y/N increased the tempo of the melody, her fingers beginning to move across the keys with speed and accuracy. She was ensconced in playing and vibing with Bri, relishing in the rich grit and tenor of her voice. Both of them solely just going with the song and building it from an intimate conversation to an all-out war cry with the depth, and fullness of Bri’s bravado.

“When I touch ya? Do you quiver? From your head right down to your liver If you like it, let me know it Don’t be psychic or you’ll blow it The answer better be…. Great God Almighty, that pleases meeeee….”

Bri hit the last note in her full voice and a roar of applause ripped through the room. If Bri had seen the people funnel in, Y/N didn’t know; but she hadn’t. Getting so lost in playing freely, not worrying about anything more than feeling the song at that moment, she had no idea that the small music room had filled up with at least twenty different people. Among them, Jensen and Rob, whistling and clapping along with everyone else.

Jensen stood at the opposite end of the piano, holding Y/N’s gaze as the small crowd began rumblings of play more, something else, keep going… the way he watched her made her nervous, yet euphoric. Y/N could feel him beaming with pride, and while she didn’t play with him in mind, it made her feel good to know he got to see her play.

“Hot damn, girls!!” Rob shouted over the crowd. “I knew this was gonna be a good night! You’re amazing!” he ran over and planted a big kiss on Bri’s cheek, then Y/N’s. “I’ll be right back, don’t move!” He was excitable and bouncing all over the place, then finally disappeared back into the crowd.

Y/N took the chance to slide out from behind the piano. Bri grabbed her the minute she was upright and pulled her into a hug.

“That was fucking fantastic!” she squealed and gave Y/N a squeeze. “We have got to hang out and do that again sometime.”

“I am down for that anytime. Your voice… that rasp you have. I’d kill for that.”

“Don’t let her fool you Bri,” Jensen said, rejoining them. “This girl has got some soul when she sings.”

“Oh, I believe it,” she said, “I just can’t wait to hear it.”

“Another time, maybe? Come by my place here in Austin. We can sit around and gig all day if you like. I am happy to spend an afternoon like that.”

Jensen opened his mouth to say something, but Rob’s re-entrance into the room caused some commotion. The moment he walked in with two guitars in hand, the chatter grew again. Rob handed one of the guitars off to Jason and someone else had already slid behind the piano. Stopping at a handful of the guys, including Jensen, he whispered something quick in their ear and went back to stand near the piano.

“Be just a second,” he said as he placed a hand on each of Y/N’s shoulders as he slid around behind her through the people, giving her a gentle squeeze as he did.

The guitars started, piano joined in, and Y/N picked up the first few beats of The Band’s “Up On Cripple Creek”. Bri squeezed in close and tapped her arm.

“I love when they do this song,” she whispered. “Just wait, you’re gonna love it too.”

The moment Jensen’s voice filled the room, Y/N’s mouth fell open at the sound of it; completely in shock with what she was hearing. He sang the first verse, while his friends picked at the guitars and played along on the piano. Jensen kept up with them effortlessly, though his attention was fully on Y/N. From the first line, he locked eyes with her, keeping a grin at bay while he sang his verse. He had a soul and a tone to his voice that tickled the deepest part of her, arousing both the creative and the lustful sides of her. Y/N didn’t know what to expect when Bri told her Jensen could sing, but it certainly wasn’t that.

The song went on, but Jensen just continued to sing along with the chorus, letting each of the other guys take another verse. When it was over, the crowd once again strongly approved of the impromptu performance. Y/N subtly backed her way through the crowd and back out into the corridor to get some air, still reeling from how good Jensen could really since. She saw him shaking hands, making pleasantries and small talk as he made his way towards her.

When he broke through the barrier of people, his arms were outstretched low and he was smiling. “You’ve been holding out on me, Trix. You can play…”

Y/N snorted a laugh. “You can sing!”

Jensen shrugged, not just with his shoulders, but his entire face. “I guess we’ve both been holding out, huh?”

“Looks that way,” she loosely crossed her arms under her breasts and gave him a challenging look. “Feels like maybe we should rectify that.”

Jensen thought about it for a minute, then held out his hand for her to take. “Come on. Let’s get a drink.”

“Good God, yes please…” she sighed and took his hand without hesitation, happily following along beside him as he whisked her through the ballroom.

The next hour or so was spent drinking and eating with people coming and going from the table. Around the third whiskey sour, and multiple helpings of the barbeque pork potato cups, apple brie crostini and mini beef wellingtons, Y/N needed to stand and stretch, allowing the food to settle.

“You alright?” Jensen asked, standing up too, reaching for her elbow to hold her steady.

“Yeah, fine. Just head rush from the booze. Also, this dress wasn’t made for gorging oneself on whiskey and crostinis.”

“Lightweight,” he teased.

“Hey, I don’t live in a brewery, okay? It doesn’t take much to get me--”

“Drunk?”

“Unencumbered,” she corrected.

Jensen leaned closer. “Does this mean I could maybe convince you to dance with me now?” his voice was low and raspy as if it had been denied water for days.

“Let me venture to the ladies’ room first. It is getting close to midnight after all. Then when I get back, we’ll see…” she narrowed her eyes at him.

When he narrowed his eyes back at her, mimicking her expression, she felt her breath begin to get shaky. “Hurry back. Or I’ll tell them to play the Macarena.” Jensen began to do the dance, but subtly, just enough to tease her with.

“Don’t think for a second I wouldn’t whip out my phone and record you doing it,” she warned. “It would be a nice addition to my video collection.”

He stopped cold and stood still. “So, that’s a no, on the Macarena?”

Y/N patted his cheek lightly and let it linger against his stubble for a moment. “Good boy. I’ll be right back.”

She turned to go, and just before she was out of earshot, he called out. “Don’t take too long, or it will be the Chicken Dance!”

Y/N didn’t turn, she just shook her head and kept walking. She didn’t want him to see how much he made her smile.

 Just after drying her hands in the ladies room, Y/N was about to leave and bumped into Bri as she was coming in.

“Oh, hello new friend!”

“Hi Bri, having fun?”

“Yes! I love being with this group. You and Jensen should come over to where Kim and I are sitting. She’s a fucking blast, I think you two would get along fantastically. Just give me a sec, I’ll walk back out with you.”

Bri was quick and within minutes she and Y/N were heading back out towards the ballroom. The music was still playing and people were still dancing and having a blast. The music room was still full of passersby, and a different mix of faces at the piano and playing the guitars and singing. Y/N scanned the area where she had left Jensen, but it was now vacant. She tried to search the rest of the room for him, but there was no sign of him.

“Oh shit,” Bri mumbled, then pulled on Y/N’s lace sleeve. “Looks like you might need to go save your boy, there.”

“What?” she asked, her head whipping around to where Bri was motioning. Just past the bar, she found Jensen, talking animatedly to a petite redhead in a shimmery dark green dress. She was also being over-animated in talking back to Jensen. “Who is that?” she asked, but deep down she already knew.

“That’s Dee. Jensen’s ex-girlfriend. I knew they broke up last year, didn’t realize they still talked.”

Y/N’s stomach dropped and she remembered their very quick conversation about her in the car. “I didn’t either.”

Bri and Y/N watched from a distance until Jensen laughed at something she said. It wasn’t a genuine laugh by any stretch. Glancing pensively at Bri, Y/N bit on her lower lip. She didn’t know if this was a case for her to interfere or simply let the man work out his own business. The longer she watched and saw his body language change to stiffen and defensive, she knew she couldn’t be complacent.

“Maybe I should…” she trailed off and looked to Bri for some kind of sign.

“You probably should.”

Y/N gave her a small, appreciative smile and nod before she began to approach Jensen and his ex. The closer she got, the more of their conversation she could hear, and when she finally was standing beside him, they’d already found an argumentative pit and had fallen in knee deep.

“Well, well. Good to see you still make bad decisions,” Jensen scoffed at Dee, his voice slightly louder and more accusatory as it needed to be.

“Just stop, Jensen,” Dee pleaded. “It’s enough, alright?”

“You knew I was gonna be here. You had to know that. He had to come with you, right?”

“We’re together, Jay. I’m not going to hide that.”

“I wish I could… hide it… from my face,” he muttered.

“Not like you’re here alone,” she retorted and motioned to Y/N.

Jensen finally saw her standing there, and moved closer to her, exchanging his scowl for a grin. “Hey, you’re back.”

“I am. So, whatcha say we go get some air? Uh, Hollywood? I think some fresh air will do you good.”

“I’m good, Y/N. I swear. I got a few things I wanna say--”

“Nope, no, not gonna happen. Say, Happy New Year and let’s go,” she encouraged and tried to pull him away.

“You know who that is, don’t you?” he asked, in what he thought was a whisper, but everyone could hear.

“Yes, I know who it is,” she replied and looked up at Dee with a wan smile in greeting. “Hi, it’s nice to unofficially meet you.”

“Hi,” Dee replied with an apologetic smile.

“Then you know she’s a bit--”

“Don’t,” you warned, cutting him off. “I don’t care who it is, it is not like you to talk to anyone like that.”

“But—"

“Doesn’t matter Jay, you don’t. You’re better than that,” she said, her eyes pleading with him to just follow her out.

“I’m sorry you have to deal with this,” Dee started. “I didn’t mean to upset anyone. He just can’t let this all go.” Her tone was genuine but her words were enough to make Y/N turn around and glare at her.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I just mean that--”

“Maybe, if you hadn’t treated him like a piece of shit, he wouldn’t be this way. Maybe, if you had the balls to have had a conversation with the man instead of just walking out, he wouldn’t want to call you a bitch. So, if I were you, lady, I’d scoop up the boy toy over there and move along.”

Dee’s mouth was agape, but then it seemed as if she may fire back some offhand comment or quip. Instead, she turned, linked her elbow with her man’s and walked off to the other side of the room.

She could feel Jensen’s lips by her ear before she actually heard his words. “You’re my hero,” he rasped.

The feeling of his hand on her shoulder only fueled the adrenaline that was coursing through her. The incident didn’t sober her up, but it definitely put a mild damper on the good feeling she had before.

Y/N went up to the bar and asked for two shots of bourbon.

“You wanna talk about what just happened there?” she asked Jensen and watched as he leaned both elbows on the bar, and rubbed his hands over his stubbled cheeks.

Jensen shook his head and finally looked her in the eye. “Nope. Not right now.”

The bartender lined up the shots, and Y/N passed one to him. Without a word they touched glasses and threw them back down their throats. Once the burn wore off, Jensen’s smile returned.

“One more?” he asked.

“You may have to carry me out of here if we do,” she chuckled.

“That would be my pleasure.” Jensen motioned for one more round.

From the corner of her eye, Y/N could see Dee and her companion off on the other side of the room, but continuing to look over in their direction. She didn’t want to spend the rest of the night exchanging accusing glances from across the room.

“Hey, you wanna take a walk? Get out of here for a minute?” she asked Jensen, just as the bartender refilled the shots.

“More than anything,” he said and tossed it back, Y/N doing the same.

Y/N was the one to take his hand this time and led him away from the ballroom.

It was mere minutes to midnight by the time Y/N had pulled Jensen away from the party. He was clearly more than a little buzzed when they stumbled into the elaborate game room and Y/N quietly closed the door behind them, so as not to draw attention to their departure.

She found the light switches on the wall, and turned on a few, illuminating the four corners of the club’s game room. The soft glow of the neon-lighted beer signs gave the space a warm, rich burst of color. In the middle, was a large pool table, made of dark mahogany wood and blue felt. The pockets were made of netted silk twine and gold inlaid etchings around the bumpers. On the far side of the room was a string of videos games with lifeless screens, and foosball table half draped with a soft leather cover.

More pool tables followed that, along with a collection of high top tables and chairs, a small bar that was fully stocked and four dart boards along the wall. One of which was open with all the darts still stuck in the corkboard target.

“Wanna play?” he asked, unbuttoning his jacket and shrugging it off before laying it on the pool table. He walked over to the board and removed the darts before she could answer.

“I gotta tell you, I am no good at darts. So, you best steer clear when it’s my throw,” she warned.

“I can teach you.” His smirk wasn’t even trying to be subtle as he approached her, four darts with red tails in his outstretched hand. “I’ve played a time or two.”

“Oh, I imagine you have. Something tells me you’ve done everything a time or two.”

Jensen stood next to her, leaning against the one pool table where the billiard lamp’s soft lights lit up the midnight blue felt. He rolled his neck to the side where she was and leaned down close enough that she could smell the hint of bourbon on his breath. Normally it wouldn’t be enticing, but on Jensen and in her own partially inebriated state, she let her mind wonder how it would taste off his tongue.

“Not everything,” he rasped, then gave her a wink.

Three minutes to midnight…

Pushing off the mahogany, he took a proper throwing stance and explained how to plant her legs. Y/N chuckled as he swayed a little before launching the dart at the board, striking the edge of it instead of the middle.

“That’s just a warm-up,” he scoffed, waving it off. “Let’s try that again.” He glanced over his shoulder to see her expression before launching a second dart.

Normally this is when she would look away. The more time they spent together, the more she found herself avoiding making eye contact in situations like this. She knew that one day she wouldn’t be able to look away, and unless she’d been reading the signals wrong for the entire span of their partnership, it would end up turning into something else. As much as she may want that, she didn’t know if she was ready for it.

“Ok Trix, your turn,” he said and took her hand, pulling Y/N off the edge of the table and positioning her to face the dart board. He made sure she was holding the dart correctly. “Pinch it here between these two fingers…” he configured her pointer finger and thumb on the dart. Gliding his hands down the length of her arm, she could feel him on her skin through the lace of her sleeve. When he paused at her elbow to bend it back at the right angle, his other hand gingerly touched the outside of her left leg. “Move your leg back, just a little,” he instructed, and as she did, he left his hand there, and despite the fabric of her dress between them, the heat of his hand felt warm and inviting.

Hyper aware of all the sensations her body was experiencing, she could feel herself simply melt back into him. The day’s earlier concerns weren’t gone but being wrapped up in the night as it had gone so far, Y/N pushed it all away to enjoy these quiet, close moments with Jensen. She needed it, and she suspected he did, too.

“Now, pull back your arm,” he continued, “almost like a slingshot. Okay? Then eye up on the board where you wanna aim for.”

She did as he said, closing one eye and targeted the bullseye. “Okay,” she said, biting down on her bottom lip in concentration.

One minute to midnight

The partygoers out in the rest of the clubhouse began to get louder with their anticipation of the stroke of midnight building. Y/N tried to block them out and launched the dart at the board. It wasn’t lost on her that Jensen’s hand was still hovering over her leg, and the other was now resting against her back where the dress she chose was bare of fabric.

The dart hit just off center, and she jumped up, arms raised in the air in triumph.

“Yes!” Jensen cheered and clapped as she danced around victoriously. “See that!”

“Well, the things you can do with a good teacher,” she shrugged.

From beyond the game room doors, they could hear everyone start counting down.

20...

19...

“It’s not too late to go join them,” she said and motioned towards the door.

17…

16…

“Here’s good,” he replied, the smile fading from his lips. He took a few steps towards her, and when he reached out for her hand, she gave it willingly.

14…

13…

12…

“Here’s very good,” she breathed.

Their eyes were locked, as the countdown continued from the other room. Y/N felt what he wanted from her, and despite any of the worries she had, she wanted him; denying that any longer would just be self-inflicted torture. But still… it could hurt.

10…

9…

8..

They were counting it down together. As the numbers dwindled down towards one, Jensen cupped her cheek and let his fingers slide down her jawline and onto her neck. Ever-so-lightly, she could feel his fingertips brush against her hairline at the nape of her neck, sending waves of electricity to course down every vein.

5…

4..

“Happy New Year, Y/N,” he rasped.

“Happy New Year, Jensen.” Her voice was shaking in anticipation of…

2..

1.

His mouth drifted the last couple inches to hers. By the time the rest of the party goers were hootin’ and hollerin’, shooting off poppers and kissing everyone around them, his lips touched against hers for the first time.

Everything faded; the party sounds, the soft hum of the circulating air in the game room, the fireworks going off in random places throughout the city… all either of them could sense was the other. Jensen’s fingers began to press into her neck, encouraging her closer, as her lips opened to accept more of him. A soft moan escaped her, as he walked her back up against the pool table. More than just a New Year’s tradition, this was months in the making and neither of them wanted to pull away.

Jensen’s lips were as soft and luscious as she dreamed they would be. She relished in how they formed against her own, how easily she moved along with them, and how well she fit when pressed against his body. His hand stayed gripped on her neck, while his other ran roughly down the length of her body; coming to rest just about where it had when they were throwing darts. Now, inch by inch he began to lift up the fabric of the skirt, bunching it in his hand until her flesh was exposed to the heat of his hand and the coolness of the air.

Lips parted, and the sensation of his tongue on hers was dangerous. Her head was fuzzy from the alcohol and his touch. Little gasps and moans came from both of them, as the kiss continued to deepen, finding more fuel the longer his hand pawed at her thigh.

His teeth grazed her lip and it was enough of a rush for her to break free of him and slowly roll back at the heat of his touch. Jensen didn’t waste a second and sunk his teeth into her neck while she wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders, dragging her nails against his skin. He nipped at her and trailed his tongue lightly up towards her ear, then peppering wet, lingering kisses back down towards her collarbone. Waves of goosebumps rippled beneath the lace of her dress and brought on a flush of heat between her legs.

Y/N mewed deeply, which pulled a soft growl from deep within his chest. His fingers continued to creep up her leg as the fabric now fell down around his hand, covering it. He reached the edging of the lingerie she wore beneath it, he brought his fingers to follow the hem around back to the swell of her ass, cupping it gently. Y/N felt him there and slowly raised her head back up, making him do the same.

“Jensen…” she whispered; unsure herself whether it was a plea to stop or to keep going.

Jensen closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers, desperately wanting to kiss her again, but not here. He wanted to be home, his or hers, with no onlookers or distractions. He wanted more… he wanted all of her…

He was about to go in for more when the doors opened behind him, the sound of which made them jump apart like two teenagers getting caught in the dark. She had a moment--it couldn’t have been more than that, though it felt like an eternity--where a very clear voice screamed in her head to run. This was wrong, she was drunk, he was drunk, they were in a public place, and she had no business starting something up with him.

The flood of anxiety-riddled doubts crashed into her and physically caused her to step back from him. She didn’t have time to register the hurt and confusion on his face before Y/N was turning and bolting for the door. Little hot pinpricks of tears stung at the corners of her eyes and by the time she reached the door and saw that it was Bri standing there, she could barely see anything at all.

“What happened?” Bri asked, her brow furrowed in concern when she saw how upset Y/N was. She looked across the room to where Jensen stood, still staring in confusion.

“Nothing… I just… can you please take me home?” Y/N’s voice was small, and her entire demeanor was far different than it had been ten minutes earlier.

“Uh, I--” Bri paused and looked back to Jensen again, who just shrugged. He started walking towards them and Bri just held up her hand to tell him to stop. She gently shook her head, silently asking him to give Y/N space. He stopped but Briana could see he wanted to go to Y/N. “Sure, honey. Let me just get my stuff.”

Bri wrapped an arm around Y/N’s shoulders and left the game room, and left Jensen standing there alone in it. As she walked with her new friend down the corridor, Y/N was aware that running out like that wasn’t the best plan; but she needed to get out. What happened with Jensen wasn’t anything like she expected it to be. It was far more intense and meaningful than she thought it could be. The way he touched her, kissed her… It was a game changer.

“Leaving so soon?” Gen asked as they passed her near the coat check.

Y/N tried to reply, but she was still trying to process what almost happened.

“She’s not feeling good,” Bri covered easily. “And I think stud muffin in there has had one too many to try and drive home. Would you and Jared take care of him? I got this one.”

“Of course! I’ll let him know you got Y/N home,” Gen said with a sad smile. “Hope you feel better!”

“Thanks,” Y/N replied quietly. “It was an amazing party, thank you for inviting me.”

Once the pleasantries were passed, Bri quickly shuffled Y/N to the valet stand and handed him the ticket. While they were waiting for her car to come around, she put an arm around Y/N’s shoulder.

“So, did it just get a whole lot more complicated?” she asked.

Y/N rested her head on Bri’s shoulder and sighed. “That, is the understatement of the New Year, my new friend.”

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[hp-nextgen-fest]

2018 HP Next Gen Fest Anonymous Masterlist

Here is the complete Anonymous Masterlist for the 2018 @hp-nextgen-fest​!

Reveals will be going up this Friday on November 30, so there are still a few days left to make your way through any entries you might have missed. Don't forget to leave some comments on these amazing creations to let the authors and artists know how much you've enjoyed their hard work! :D

ART

Sick Day [James Sirius/Teddy & Albus | General] Albus insists he’s not sick, James and Teddy say otherwise.

Every Christmas From Now On [Albus Severus/Scorpius | General] While decorating their flat for the holidays, the new couple discusses where they should spend Christmas day.

Deep Roots, New Growth [Draco & Teddy Gen | General] With Draco’s help, Teddy learns about his Black Family ancestry and helps to restore the damaged tapestry.

Ebb Tide [Rose/Padma | Explicit] Rose, normally very shy, finds the courage to get what she wants at a masquerade ball.

SHE ROCKS!!! [Dominique & Roxanne | General] Summer 2016. Roxanne and Dominique never get tired of playing Quidditch together. The rest of the family does get a little tired of hearing Dominique yell "SHE ROCKS!!!" everytime Roxanne scores a goal, but they don't say a thing.

On Holiday [James Sirius/Teddy | General] It's their first holiday together without the family, but they haven't done much sightseeing. Correction: they haven't done any sightseeing.

Pining [Lily Luna/Rose | General] It's a wonder no one besides Hugo has noticed that Lily Luna is pining for Rose.

ART + FIC

Swim To Me [James Sirius/Teddy | Teen] Nestled within the Lake District, among rolling green hills, spindly birch trees and tall pine trees, lay Teddy’s cottage, just a stone's throw from a serene lake; the perfect place to swim in the warm late-summer sun. There was just one problem: James’s fear of swimming. "I’ll teach you", Teddy said. "I’ll make it fun." James was sold on the idea pretty quick. Being in close contact with the half-naked object of his crush? It was a no brainer.

FIC

Drink Me [James Sirius/Teddy; Albus Severus/James Sirius/Teddy | Explicit] Before going to bed on his 18th birthday, Albus drinks one of Weasley Wizard Wheezes' newest wish-fulfillment potions, his gift from Lily.

Lavender's Iris [Lily Luna/Lavender | Teen] Lily does some hard thinking before her upcoming wedding. What she discovers is a bit of a surprise to her.

Close To Me [James Sirius/Teddy | Explicit] “I can’t believe you want to suck your own cock.” “No, the other way around. I wanna see me suck my cock. It’s a world of difference, Tedward. Keep up!”

Activate [Draco/James Sirius | Explicit] Draco always figured he was a common Beta, and though he may have had childhood dreams of presenting as an Alpha, after forty years of living he's made his peace with his lot in life. He had a loving relationship with his late Beta wife, has an amazing son, and his work at his Apothecary and Potions shop keeps him occupied. Draco has a very pleasant life indeed, until one day his son drags James Sirius Potter into his life and everything gets turned on its head.

Waiting for You [James Sirius/Teddy | Explicit] When James was sixteen, Teddy agreed to take his virginity if he made it to eighteen without losing it. He never thought James would make it the two years without shagging anyone, but now James is eighteen and asking Teddy to fulfill his promise.

My Potter Boyfriend [James Sirius/Scorpius | R] Scorpius has a Potter boyfriend, it’s just not the one everyone thinks.

On the Same Side [Charlie/Teddy | R] Teddy is heading to Romania to protest a proposed anti-dragon law. He finds an interesting ally there.

It's Just A Little Bond. Bond. [James Sirius/Teddy | R] When James and Teddy are pushed to the limits of their relationship, which include a bonding charm and several secrets, will they feel as strongly when everything is out in the open?

Where The Apples Grow In Winter [Albus Severus/Scorpius | Teen] Albus was determined not to join in with the Owl Exchange at first, but he didn't count on the awkward charms of a sweet, lonely boy who, by history's reckoning, he was definitely supposed to hate.

Mile Markers and Wizarding Wonders [James Sirius/Teddy | Teen] James plans a road trip to see the Seven Wizarding Wonders and Teddy ends up coming along. Cue weeks and weeks of bed sharing, accidental cuddling, Teddy's musical selections, a bit of stargazing and lots and lots of figuring each other out during long drives across Europe.

Neapolitan [James Sirius/Scorpius/Teddy | Explicit] Scorpius never felt bad about fancying both James and Teddy, because he never thought he had a chance with either of them. So when it turns out that they both like him back, what’s a bloke to do? (Take advantage of the situation. Obviously.)

Alt Er Love (Everything Is Love) [James Sirius/Teddy | Teen] There are sparks flying between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Albus and Scorpius are sure of it. So they do the most logical thing everyone would do in their situation: They ask James and Teddy for their help playing matchmaker. Thinking about love 24/7 comes easy for Albus and Scorpius, but for James and Teddy, it makes it harder and harder to pretend the feelings they hold for each other are strictly platonic... This is the one where the boys try to set Draco and Harry up five times and one time they don't.

Love Our Way [Albus Severus/Blaise | Explicit] Blaise loves Albus. He also loves Albus' pale skin and how it contrasts so well with his own rich colour. Fortunate for him, it is just the same for Albus.

These Hearts They Race... [Albus Severus/Scorpius | R] Albus thought that three weeks without his secret boyfriend had been hard enough, but now that Scorpius has arrived the lack of privacy in the Potter house may actually kill him.

Show Me Where Your Love Lies [James Sirius/Teddy | Explicit] At 23 James is one of the top Seekers in the world, Witch Weekly's most eligible bachelor 4 years running and never far from the front pages of the paper. Oh, and he just so happens to be a virgin desperately in love with Teddy, both facts he plans to take to his grave. But when the Daily Prophet runs a story on "England's Most Eligible Virgin" all the secrets James has worked so hard to conceal begin to come out.

Can You See Me? [Albus Severus/Teddy | Teen] Albus has been watching Teddy since he was fifteen.

Dreams Do Come True [James Sirius/Teddy | R] Teddy has it bad for James, but he knows that James is completely off limits and not interested. When a date with James is being auctioned off for charity, Teddy realizes he may not be able to keep his feelings quiet.

The Clock That Changed Life [Draco/James Sirius | General] James is reluctant to come out, but when Draco gets cursed, he realises what's truly important to him.

my youth is yours [James Sirius/Teddy | Explicit] At twenty-eight years old James is a respected Auror with a comfortable life. And alright, perhaps his love life is a bit lackluster and something has always seemed like it was missing. But he’s got a job he loves and Teddy as his Auror partner and best mate. That's more than enough for James. At least until an Auror raid gone wrong leaves James in his eighteen-year-old body grappling with feelings he thought he’d left in the past.

Chess and Gobstones [Albus Severus/Scorpius | R] James sighed and shook his head. “You want to run with me because you have something you want to ask me. You’re not asking Scorpius, which means it’s about Scorpius. I’m right, aren’t I?” Albus scowled at his brother’s smug expression and muttered the most unenthusiastic confirmation he could. James’ grin grew wider as he started gesticulating with both hands. “So it’s about your boyfriend, and you’re not asking Mum, like you did when you needed help with his Christmas present, which means it’s about sex.”

Let it Bloom [Lily Luna/Pansy | Explicit] After their one-night stand, Lily had thought she wouldn’t be seeing more of Pansy. She’d never been so happy to be wrong. 

They would have told me, right? [James Sirius/Scorpius | Teen] Albus had heard the rumours. It was hard not to when his best mates were the subject. He loved them. Scorp and James. He really did. But he wouldn't complain if they decided to take it down a notch, though. Snaps with the people they presumably actually dated. Maybe a statement to the press. But Scorpius would just laugh in that disarming way he had from years of PR witches' work to smooth out the awkward. We're just mates. And then turn around and he would have Jamie on his lap, handsy as only two boys living out of suitcases and Quidditch locker rooms could be. They were up in each other's pockets so long now, it was impossible to think of one without the other. The press had a name for that: Scames.

The Boyfriend Look™ [James Sirius/Teddy | General] General reviews for Teddy’s taste in clothes include: a sartorial travesty (Albus Potter), absolutely painful (Lily Potter), very 80s (Hugo Granger-Weasley). James just sees Teddy.

Love and Letters [Albus Severus/Scorpius | Teen] A series of letters between Unspeakable Scorpius Malfoy and Professor Albus Potter.

Rarely Pure and Never Simple [James Sirius/Teddy | Explicit] James really enjoys his life. He likes sharing a flat with his best mate, Teddy. He likes being work-partners with said best mate. He likes going out at the weekends and shagging random girls. At least, that’s what he tells people. The truth isn’t that simple, and when James accidentally manages to get hit by a curse that makes him unable to lie he learns that hiding the fact that he’s completely and utterly arse over tit in love with Teddy is more complicated than expected. 

I Have To Tell You Something [Lily Luna Gen | General] Lily used to love family dinners until divorce, Quidditch contracts and one too many arguments ruined the atmosphere. Now that things were finally getting better, she's forced to bring her own problems to the table. Because even her tough-woman act isn't strong enough to hide the demons in her mind anymore.

Everything He Ever Wanted [James Sirius/Teddy | Teen] James has had a lot of favorite things in his life...or has he?

Out of Hand [Albus Severus/Harry | Explicit] Al gets into constant trouble at school and Harry is at his wit's end. Maybe a firm hand will set him right.

Hallo Spaceboy [James Sirius/Teddy | Teen] “If this mirror could talk,” James remembers declaring, already one drink down and trying to tidy up his ridiculous costume eyeliner, “it would say we look bloody amazing.” Teddy’s arm was warm when he wrapped it around James’s shoulder, pulling him closer. “We always do, love.” Teddy tugged on a long curl of James’s hair before tucking it behind his ear, then smoothing the whole lot of it back. “We’re the fittest blokes at the party, us.” James’d had to give up on the eyeliner after that; he was grinning too hard, flushed and happy and basking in Teddy’s attention (fit blokes, we’re fit blokes, that’s us), and he couldn't bloody stop.

the salacious ideas of peculiar boys [Albus Severus/Scorpius | Explicit] Albus and Scorpius have never been lacking on the idea front, but this time, rather than trying to change time and consequentially resurrecting a great darkness and eternal gloom, they've decided to try out something a little more... sexually experimental. alternatively titled: fellas, is it gay to jerk off your best friend?

The Frame [James Sirius/Sirius| Explicit] What are the ethical complications of falling for a person you're named after? How about the logistical complications of falling for someone who shouldn’t be alive? James would rather, he finds, not look too closely at either, not when Sirius makes him forget anyone else exists.

[madaboutmerlin]

Merlin Writer Month: Round up

Hello Merlin fans! We hope you’ve had an amazing week and that you found some new fics to enjoy! 

Again, we want to remind you to use the hashtag: #MerlinWriterMonth2018, so that we may reblog all of your wonderful recommendations. Also, we noticed that some of you recommended authors instead of specific fics, so you’ll find them at the end after the GEN cut.

And without further ado, enjoy!

Arthur/Merlin

1. Rules For Roommates by Pickitup  Length: 41,235 Summary:  Modern AU. Arthur works in publishing and is ashamed to tell anyone he’s secretly editing erotica, and being bullied by one of his authors - the arrogant ‘Lake Anders’. He’s also just taken in a new roommate, the adorable Merlin Emrys, who is definitely Not His Type. Or is he?

2. The Oncoming Storm by  Diana_Prallon Lenght: 133,914 Summary: The only thing the Republic isn’t ready for, is war. Everything in their power is being done to appease the systems that have joined the Separatist Movement, to try and keep the peace among all. The Jedi Knights have been sent all over the Galaxy, trying to solve conflicts and stop more and more planets from leaving the Republic, with mixed success. King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot, however, doesn’t believe that avoiding war will be that easy and has devised a scheme to help boost the Republic’s defenses – if he can survive the many attempts on his life and remain hidden under the custody of Jedi Padawan Merlin long enough for his master, Mordred, to figure out who is behind the attempts.

3. Let’s Ruin The Friendship by silver_etoile Lenght: 24,564 Summary:  Desperate to get Merlin over his breakup with Lance, Arthur makes a suggestion that surely can’t backfire–sex with no strings attached. Arthur’s perfectly capable of controlling his own feelings, so why does this feel all wrong and more than a little bit right? 

4. Close Quarters by RocknVaughn Lenght: 3,948 Summary:  Albion University’s rather unique “Get to Know Your Roommate” exercise has Merlin seeing red…and blue, and yellow, and green. 

5. The Dreams Inside by winterstorrm Lenght: 9,959 Summary:  Arthur had always held back, not trusting himself. After all, he’d been in love with Merlin since he was eighteen years old—and Merlin had been with his sister. Now that Morgana was off the scene, could Arthur be blamed for taking his chance with Merlin?

6. Everything by beckybrit Lenght: 5,970 Summary:  Arthur wants Merlin to let go and hold nothing back. The result isn’t quite what he expected.

7. Arthur Pendragon and the Philosopher’s Sword by  a8csock (ladysockalot), ladysockalot  Lenght: 60,941 Summary: Arthur Pendragon was living a normal, mundane life, when he received a mysterious letter inviting him to the magical University of Camelot. Despite his scepticism before long he found himself being whisked of to a world of magic, mystery and destiny. His life would never be the same again.

8. Crisis Muffins by flowersheep Lenght: 2,334 Summary:  Merlin needs to stop having crises at ungodly hours of the morning.

9. Meant to Be Heard by jessicamdawn Lenght: 4,768 Summary: Arthur Penderson meets the eccentric Merlin Emrys when he is twenty. While getting to know him, Arthur happens to hear strange things coming out of Merlin’s mouth when he isn’t looking but can’t figure out what they mean. Reincarnation fic.

10. Clouds On The Horizon by Diana_Prallon Lenght: 49,975 Summary: The Golden Age has arrived.It’s been three years since King Arthur Pendragon legalised magic once again in Camelot. Side by side, magical and non-magical folk have worked to rebuilt the land that was torn in the war against magic just as the King and his sister try to heal the rift between themselves. In times of peace, Albions prospers. Prosperity, however, brings a new threat to the land, one that Camelot cannot face without the aid of its allies. Meanwhile, Arthur and Merlin have to figure out how to live with each other now that there are no more secrets between them.

11. Sail Thou Forth (The Untold Want Remix) by fifty_fifty  Lenght: 37,070 Summary: Trapped in a marriage of convenience, Merlin Emrys doesn’t believe in love at first sight - or true love at all, for that matter.That is, until he meets Arthur Pendragon, an extraordinary man whose courage inspires him to begin the career that he has always longed for, and in whose arms Merlin begins to hope for better things.But society isn’t kind to men like them, and both must overcome tremendous obstacles before they will be free to live the life they’ve been dreaming of.

12. Touch by autumdragon Lenght: 2,596 Summary: It’s not black. Not really. It’s more shades of blacks: constant silhouettes floating in and out of his vision. It’s all he’s ever known. Black. But then he meets Merlin. And he sees colour for the first time.

13. A Rose in Spring by daylighthour Lenght: 3,746 Summary: Merlin is fed up with doing all the hard work and getting none of the credit. When Arthur lashes out at him in a fit of anger, it’s the last straw.

14. Death Invades Camelot by yourrockyspine Lenght: 19,665 Summary: Camelot’s Police Dept. is facing a multitude of problems: A) A series of brutal murders in a small town. B) An exhausted DCI connecting said murders, much to the derision of his fellow officers. C) A homeless, petty criminal hoping to share his observations (and possibly land himself the DCI in question). D) The DCI’s half-sister, who senses someone is following her.

15. Silhouette by rotrude Lenght: 12,409 Summary: Though his father objects, Arthur wants to become a poet, not a lawyer. Moving from London to the country, he finds his muse, in more way than one.

16. The Sidhe Prince by Caite Roswen Lenght: 67,207 Summary: When Prince Merlin of Avalon visits Camelot, King Arthur is confident that everything will run smoothly. He does not expect to come face to face with a destiny that never was, or to find his most closely guarded secrets unravelling around him. Merlin disarms Arthur with his unexpected charm, lays bare his charade as easily as if Arthur’s whole kingship were made of glass, and accompanies him on a journey which will change Camelot forever.

17. The Door at the End of the Hall by tamerofdarkstars Lenght: 6,998 Summary: Sometimes, what the human mind perceives as reality is different than what is actually there. A debilitating virus has decimated the nation, turning people into vicious, bloodthirsty creatures, and for Merlin and Arthur, trapped in the complex they used to work in and racing together to find a cure before the worst befalls them both, the line between reality and perception is blurring. 

18. M.E.R.L.I.N. by Lunadeath02 Lenght: 30,666 Summary: Captain Arthur Pendragon mail orders for a companion robot to keep him company and provide him with sex while he’s exploring the galaxy for unknown worlds; he didn’t plan on getting MERLIN. 

19. Time’s Up by Detochkina * Lenght: 31,700 Summary: Is there anything in common between drugs and excellent grades? Or business and psychology?  The answer is simple – in the world of big money a lot can happen when you’re bored to tears. Under pressure from his father, Merlin becomes involved in a strange relationship. At first, he can’t get out of it; on second thought – he doesn’t want to. “When they ask me in court how I got into this,” Merlin said slowly, trying to recover from the initial shock, “I’ll just tell them I was too busy snorting crack to notice. Think that would move them to tears?” Gwaine tossed his head back and laughed.”

*You’ll need to log in to AO3 to read this work. 

20. To You I Pledge by beren Lenght: 45,009 Summary: Merlin lays his life on the line to save Arthur yet again, only this time there are witnesses, lots of them. Only Arthur prevents him going to the headman’s axe straight away, but Arthur alone cannot save him. That is up to both of them. 

21. Learning by Touch by Capriccio Lenght: 802 Summary: Arthur might be a simpleton, but he’s not stupid. He sees the look in Merlin's eyes: soft and fond and sad, like he wants something he can't have. (Set during 4x12.).

22. One Sheet to the Wind by Capriccio  Lenght: 753 Summary: Merlin is just a plain white sheet, happily drying on the clothesline, until a gust of wind tangles him with the arrogant blanket next door.

23. Where This Road May Go by batgurl88

Summary: Arthur is a royal who can’t remember his past. Merlin and Gaius are con-men, hoping to return Arthur to Uther for a hefty reward. Little do they know they have the real deal on their hands.

24. I Win. by Kitty_Kanneas Lenght: 4,476 Summary:  At the summer faire in Ealdor, Arthur tries his hand at what he terms a 'peasant' game. When he isn't pleased with the outcome, he makes sure everyone knows it's just not really the way things are.

25. The Untold Want by Cookie Lenght: 18,572 Summary: Arthur Pendragon was the down-trodden son of the Duke of Camelot. After a break-down he goes to Cascades, a sanatorium, and begins to learn how to live his own life. That becomes even easier when he meets aspiring architect, Merlin Emrys.

26. Cold as the Wind Blows by arthur_pendragon Lenght: 1,780 Summary:  Every year on the first day of spring, Uther lets Arthur and Morgana and the rest of the nobles and servants do as they please, just for the day - and this year, Merlin finds himself invited to the best picnic of his life.

27. Ydill by arthur_pendragon Lenght: 2,955 Summary: One serene day where they're all as happy as they can be.(In which Merlin and Arthur are abysmal at hiding their emotions, Gwen has a big heart for her friends, and Morgana does, too.)

Arthur/Gwen

1. Shatter into the Hope of Tomorror by Mara93 Lenght: 48,000 Summary: Arthur casts Guinevere out of Camelot for the treachery of his heart. When the true treachery begins, and his beloved Camelot is lit ablaze, he is forced away from his home. Without kingdom, his heart must face fate’s greatest fear.

2.  Sound and Smoke by sneetchstar Lenght: 27,129 Summary: The newly-crowned King of Camelot gets some assistance in his rule from an unexpected source. With unexpected consequences.

3. Striking a Balance by sneetchstar Lenght: 75,807 Summary: Princess Guinevere and Prince Arthur are promised to one another as toddlers, but never meet again until their wedding day.

4.  Growing Up with Benefits by scarlettpeony Lenght: 46,949 Summary: Arthur and Gwen have always been close. As children, they were secret playmates and as adults, they are secret bed-mates.

5. To You, An Admirer (Remastered) by sneetchstar Lenght: 6,376 Summary: When Guinevere and Arthur unwittingly exchange love letters not only do they fall in love but also their entire world is set to change forever as the Kingdoms of Albion teeter on the verge of war. Many obstacles stand in their way, especially once they come to the attention of King Uther Pendragon and Arthur’s aunt, the powerful Queen Anna Lothian. Elsewhere, Merlin tries to help Morgana decode a recurring dream prophesising imminent doom.

6. Be of Good Cheer by schweetheart Lenght: 935 Summary: Canon AU. Camlann is over, and Arthur reigns triumphant over Albion. Gwen basks in the beginning of Camelot’s Golden Age.

7. Here by loveandthetruth Lenght: 422 Summary:  It’s barely past midday and there’s not nearly enough shade here to hide them but Arthur just doesn’t care.

8. Plus ca change (plus c’est la meme chose) by loveandthetruth Lenght: 35,649 Summary: Merlin’s hopes to have left the past behind come under fire when destiny intervenes and history appears to be repeating itself. Chaos and adventure ensue as Merlin tries to stop this story ending in the same tragedy. 

9. The Moment I Saw You by sneetchstar  Lenght: 62,777 Summary:  “Hi, I’m Arthur. Will you marry me?”

10. Broken Shackles by AngryPurpleFire Lenght: 26637 Summary: An invasion on Camelot leaves everyone in shambles. Unlikely alliances unfold in hopes of rebuilding what has been lost.

11. Touch by sneetchstar Lenght: 7,259 Summary: After a car wreck, Arthur needs to see a massage therapist.

Gwaine/Merlin

1. Dust of Snow by AkakoDukes Lenght: 503 Summary: Merlin and Gwaine during the first snow of the season on their way to Ealdor. Fluff.

2. Discovery by Luthorchickv2 Lenght: 1,371 Summary:  Arthur follows Merlin on an herb picking trip and discovers the source of Merlin’s good mood.

3. Riversong by ViridianJane  Lenght: 402 Summary: Merlin’s hands are soaked in blood; poison seeps under his nails and turns his dreams against him. He’s killed with these hands. He’s held death between them and couldn’t bring himself to mourn when he felt nothing inside of him shatter.  But Merlin’s hands are also loving.

4. A Type of Heaven. by leashy_bebes Lenght: 2,685 Summary: Gwaine has to be off doing knightly things. Merlin pines. But then "Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven.” Canon future-fic.

5. The Gravity of Love by VTC Lenght: 9429  Summary: Gwaine zeroes in on the burdens Merlin seems to carry on his shoulders, and embarks on a mission to discover them and alleviate them. It does not go as planned, but it is so much more.

6. This is Just To Say by Heronfem  Lenght: 4,510 Summary:  Merlin can track all of his relationships through the books on his shelves.

7. Time Enough by CanaryPaper Lenght: 738 Summary: “I always feel like we’re trying to conquer time,” Gwaine whispers into the soft shell of his ear. Darts his tongue out for a taste.

Balinor/Hunith

1. Back To Where It Began by LittensTinyMittens Lenght: 818 Summary:  After Kilgharrah has been sent away, Merlin takes his father back to Ealdor.

Gwen/Merlin 1. Kiss Me When I’m Down by sadpendragon Lenght: 937 Summary: We were each other’s first after all.

Freya/Merlin

1. The Love That Binds Us by rubberglue Lenght: 3,593 Summary: Camelot’s greatest strength was the love that connected her people. Nine snippets of love in Camelot.

Arthur/Gwaine/Merlin

1. Hidden Dragons by LittensTinyMittens Words: 103,388 Summary: When the Purge began, the Dragonlords fled to the mountains and created their own little society with the dragons. Merlin is born and raised with his family and his people, only learning of his destiny when he is 16 years old. No one knows how he will meet the Once and Future King, since these days leaving the mountains can be a death sentence.  Lucky for him, the Once and Future King finds him, but to everyone’s shock, it is Arthur Pendragon. Merlin can’t help but feel drawn to him and is then tasked with the mission of teaching the Prince all about magic and their people. Along the way, they’re joined by a handsome traveler named Gwaine, and Merlin feels the pull of destiny with him too…or is it really destiny?

Gwen/Mithian

1. A Delicate Thing by freezerjerky Words: 1,569 Summary: Mithian comes in person to give her condolences.

GEN

1. A Mother’s Eyes by SheWhoStumbles Lenght: 1,598  Summary: It had been three years since the messengers had brought news to Ealdor of King Arthur’s death. It had been three years since magic was restored to the land and Albion entered her golden age. And it had been three years since Hunith had last heard from her only son.

2. Don’t Drink if the Mead Tastes Funny by KaterinaRiley * Lenght: 7,155 Summary: It’s all Arthur’s fault! Merlin didn’t want to drink the mead -it tasted funny- but oh no, Arthur just insisted that Merlin quit acting like a girl. So what happens? They get kidnapped and Arthur’s about to be sold as a slave, that’s what! It’s all Arthur’s fault.

*Canon compliant pairing and hint of slash, but they’re not the focus of the fic.

3. Testament of Weapons by shamera Lenght: 3,569 Summary: Four years and Merlin still had a hard time keeping a sword in his hand for more than a minute in a fight.

12. Problems by MayGlenn Lenght: 40,216 Summary: “Gwaine’s sixth problem, which may have been and always would be the greatest, was his complete and utter refusal—nay, inability—to accept help from others. It tied into his hubris, yes, a bit, and also his pride—for Gwaine had a great deal of pride, contrary to popular opinion—it was shame he didn’t have, which was different."  Gwaine has had worse scrapes than this: he just can’t think of any right now.  A boar hunt with the knights goes terribly wrong, but as things progress, it turns out that that’s the least of his problems.

Writers

1.  AO3 user flammablehat 

2.  AO3 user triste

[gigmusicdscvr]

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED: THIS IS HOW GEN-Z RESPONSE YOUR CRITICISM CREATIVELY 

Sometime ago, Instagram recommended us to a magazine called Aspirants Magazine. Their instagram account is heaven for visual enthusiasts, with alluring color grading and beautiful portraits. Let alone, their commitment to pick interesting individuals to be featured. We contacted the editorial team and that was totally surprising to know that they are juggling this promising magazine with high school and managing the task mostly through computers and internet connection. 

We ended up talk to Danielle (D), Ndemazea (N), and Ry (R). So, prepare yourself to erase pessimistic ideas about millennials, specifically gen-Z, as they definitely do things and make changes too. This is #GIGCHAT, please enjoy! 

Tell us brief history about Aspirants Magazine? Also how do you manage the task among you three? 

D: Aspirants is an idea I had bouncing around in my head for a couple years before it was realized. One day, I was waiting in line in a grocery store and took note of the magazines and tabloids on the rack in the checkout line. I started thinking about how celebrities we’ve all seen hundreds of times before repeatedly get the spotlight. What about that person—that musician, artist, model, actor, filmmaker, photographer, athlete, what-have-you—who works just as hard but just hasn’t been given the same opportunities? Doesn’t every hardworking creative deserve a chance to be on the front cover of a magazine? I think they do. Hence, Aspirants Magazine. 

N: As cliche as it sounds, my involvement in Aspirants can be pinpointed into one specific instance: a text. I had received a message from Ry and Danielle talking about an idea they had been working on for a while, and from the moment I heard about it, I knew that Aspirants was something different and special. Naturally, with that in mind, I sent my response. The rest is history. 

R: Aspirants works to spotlight creatives who never really have gotten their time in the light before. By doing so we are also acknowledging differences such as class or race that lend themselves to differences in perception and experience. In terms of managing tasks, we have delegated roles among the three of us and team members that work with us on each issue. Ultimately though, everyone on the board is sort of a renaissance person in the sense that we’re all able to help each other outside of our delegated roles if needed.

Do you consider/refer Aspirants to be called as magazine or zine?

D: In terms of the publication, we prefer to call it a magazine. However, in November we are expanding our brand from just Aspirants Magazine to Aspirants Co, so you may refer to us as Aspirants Co!

N: We prefer to call the publication a magazine!

R: Publication is a magazine!

How do you choose or pick artists to be your feature story?

D: We keep a log of artists we collectively update. Usually, we’ll stumble across someone on social media or across the internet and recognize their good intentions and good work. Additionally, submissions are open for every issue!

N: It’s probably the easiest part of the job. The internet has made it easier to share our talents, and with so many talented people in the world, we don’t have to throw the stone very far to find leagues of people to feature. And of course, sometimes those people come to us.

Other than musicians/artists, do you also bring up socio-political activists in your magazine?  

D: Aspirants in itself tries its best to be nonpartisan, but we aim to amplify the voices of those who are fighting for what they believe.

Among artist/musicians/figures that you feature and interview, what you could learn from them? 

D: So, so much! I’m so inspired by all of them. For example, I interviewed Maunder, a musician featured in Issue Three, and what he had to say about his music really inspired me. His music emphasizes honesty. To me, also patience. He wasn’t in a rush to release music just because he could; he took his time until he felt comfortable to do so and is now making awesome jams. I think I need a reminder that sometimes it’s okay for me to take my time. 

N: I’ve learned so much from each and every feature we’ve done, but as a whole, I have seen that there’s nothing conventional about being an artist. Each issue will show you multiple ways to express yourself and there’s no wrong way to do it. Our features have taught me that being genuine is key to success. 

R: Each of the creators featured here are inspirational. At their core, many of our creators emphasize other people. They emphasize community. I think that we—as a publication—are incredibly privileged to be able to work with creators who so closely share our vision. 

You also make a printed version of your magazine, how do you distribute it and how do you perceived the printed version ones in this digital era? Anyway, for me myself, printed magazine might be bulky and spacy, but it really feels nostalgic and real, we love it.

N: We distribute and publish our magazine with the self-publishing company Lulu. For us, the difference between looking at something online and holding something in your hands is immense, and everything feels much more real when you can touch something that you’ve created or see your face on the page.

Do you guys do this magazine as a side project and looking at the development, do you consider to make it your full time focus? 

D: We’re juggling the high school grind alongside this company, so I suppose it could be considered a side project for now, but I think all three of us want to be able to make it a full-time focus of some kind. 

N: Aspirants is a full-time job that, because of the aforementioned high school grind, is our “side project”. But it’s our passion and as soon as we can, Aspirants will become a full-time gig. 

R: Right now, Aspirants is a side project in the sense that I’m currently in high school. However, Aspirants is honestly something I always have my mind on, and it will always be one of my top priorities. 

How do you create and manage this team, as for some reasons finding and having people with the same amount of passion and sacrifice for something like magazine or blog or certain projects with almost zero profit (in the beginning) is quite hard?  

D: Google Drive, ClickUp, and Discord. Without those three applications, we’d probably be significantly more scatterbrained than we already are. But to delve deeper, the passion thing is a great question. I have a lot of struggles with mental illness so finding that passion is often difficult. However, I just try to keep in mind that I have people counting on me and people that have been positively impacted because of what I do. It allows me take a deep breath and move forward, even if it’s slowly. Profit was never the ultimate goal to us. We agreed on that when we started. It’d be a great benefit and it is an aim, but it’s not endgame. I don’t rely on Aspirants for income, and I hope one day I will, but in the meantime I am okay with where things are now. 

Now, what advice you would like to give to anyone/readers who wants to create change and inspirations through media or magazine specifically? 

D: Find some people you trust and can bounce ideas off of and go for it. Get feedback, work hard, and take advantage of your resources. We live in an amazing transitional age of technology where each and every one of us has an opportunity to create something unprecedented through the internet. Use it. 

N: Never stop creating. There will be days when you feel like it’s not worth it and there will be days when you want to quit and there will be days you will lie down on the ground, staring at the ceiling, wondering why you ever decided to start. But it’s worth it. Because there will be days where you’ll get a comment from someone giving you a compliment on your work or you’ll sell your first piece or you’ll have a larger turnout than expected at your event, and you’ll realize why you do it. And you’ll keep going. 

R: As cliche as it sounds, I would tell people to just start doing. It’s different for each person depending on our access to certain things but ultimately, get started in whatever way you can, as soon as possible. 

We really love your social media and website layout also art works, they're really cool and we fancy the color grading.

D: Credits to Ry, the one and only. 

R: Thank you so much! 

Last, share your favorite songs/musicians/music with us!

D: Dude, that’s like the hardest question for me to answer. Right now I’m digging the music of Disclosure, The Internet, MANON, and Twenty One Pilots’ new album. You can keep up with my favorite new music on this Spotify playlist. 

N: “Favorite” is a hard word, but if I have to choose, it would be any song made by Noname ever. She’s a beautiful artist that has done nothing but be true to herself, and her newest album Room 25 is a work of art. 

R: I honestly can’t tell you what my favorite songs are—this is an incredibly hard question to answer. At the time being though, my favorite song is Generation Why by Conan Gray.

Aspirants Magazine is online and printed magazine. Order here if you’re interested to purchase their publications. 

[theonyxpath]

Hi, everybody!

It’s good to be back after a week away post-Gen Con. So I’m going to tell you a little bit of what went on there, from my point-of-view, of course, but I’m also going to intersperse some quotes from some of our Onyx Path folks who were there helping us.

Of course, the first big thing we announced there was that we’re publishing Chicago By Night for Vampire 5th Edition!

We actually did feel kinda bad that we couldn’t tell you about it sooner, in that we do try and keep our inner workings pretty transparent for all of you. This was one of those times where the nature of working with White Wolf on this made it impossible to reveal it until the con. Their efforts and emphasis had to be on getting V5 out as promised, so we put our efforts towards getting V5 Chicago By Night written.

And as you see it mysteriously appear already in Redlines in the Progress Report below, you’ll realize we’ve been rolling on this for a while. Right now, we expect to have the text ready for editing in time to have a Kickstarter for it in October.

Kind of a fitting month, actually.

One of that Kickstarter’s goals will be to get this traditionally printed and into stores, where it can join V5 on the shelves. So, that’s a cool thing for us to try out with a WoD book, and we’re looking forward to how that will work out.

  “It’s so refreshing to interact with fans in person and hear about all the games that excite you! Every one of our games got some love in conversations I had with you folks, and that was awesome to see. Thanks especially to all those Changeling: The Lost fans who came to chat with me. :)” – Meghan Fitzgerald

  Like I mentioned in a previous blog, our booth was across the aisle from White Wolf‘s this year, and they, of course, were selling Vampire 5th Edition like fanged and bloody hotcakes. Or maybe just “bloodcakes”.

Besides V5 Chicago By Night, they announced several other projects from other licensing partners, including V5 Makeup, which was a huge hit with some of the folks I talked with. Others, who seemed to have missed WW‘s whole “we’re going to license all sorts of things for all sorts of fans” stated intentions, felt like this “cheapened” V5.

Back in the day at WW, we licensed out VtM zippos and license plates. Action figures. Just sayin’.

      Scion: Hero illustration by Michele Giorgi

    The gang at the WW booth were also fantastic at directing the throng buying V5 over to our booth where Mighty Matt McElroy had arranged that entire side of our booth with our 20th Anniversary WoD books on display. That worked really well, and further illustrated how the current team from WW are both gracious and fun to be next to for many, many, hours!

  “I really enjoyed talking to fans about Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Fetch Quest, and Dystopia Rising: Evolution! I love watching people have fun around a table, and this year I got to see that directly, which is always wonderful. I just wish I had more time to talk to everyone and do everything!” – Eddy Webb

  Our demo tables in the booth were really well attended, particularly on Saturday, and we were really glad to be able to walk folks through different games. I think this is even more important with games like Fetch Quest which is very much a card game, or They Came From Beneath the Sea! which adds a bunch of fun extras to the base Storypath System in order to create an “enhanced” TTRPG experience. It really helps to play through them a bit.

We’re used to getting gasps and excitement with a lot of our demos, it’s great to hear that both of these two games also had demo players laughing, as well.

    PtC Tormented illustration by Tilen Javornik

    We shared our booth with our friends from Eschaton Media, the Dystopia Rising creators, and not only were they great booth-mates who really helped make booth tear-down a breeze, but we were able to trade some fantastic ideas about rewards and stretch goals for our Dystopia Rising: Evolution RPG Kickstarter coming up next week. We think fans of our RPGs and fans of their previous DR projects like the LARP are going to find this Kickstarter pretty interesting!

We were also able to talk about the challenges of running a “franchise” business model for their LARPs, which is similar to licensing each venue out (as opposed to the “fan club” method used by old WW), and how they continue to evolve that system.

Since I am always trying to find ways for Onyx Path to evolve and improve, it is really good to be able to compare notes with folks who are also able to clearly look at how they did things in the past and actively try and improve on them. Maybe more on that at a later time.

  “It’s always wonderful to interact directly with our fans and customers. I found myself answering a whole load of questions about They Came From Beneath The Sea! and V5: Chicago By Night, but also being able to just chat away about all our other games and roleplayer experiences is a joy. I had the chance to run several games, including They Came From, Pugmire, and Wraith 20 at the booth, and even Werewolf: The Forsaken in the hotel bar! In all, I had a fantastic, busy convention.” – Matthew Dawkins

  We also announced our latest license, Legend Lore, based on the comic book world of “The Realm” and “Legend Lore” from Caliber Comics. The system is going to be D&D 5e based, and we’re sorry if an early press release said something different, but there is one key aspect of Legend Lore that we think will make it a very unique game.

The primary setting plot point is that the protagonists are people from our world transported to the fantasy world of Legend Lore. Now this is a pretty common trope in the fantasy fiction genre, but less so for TTRPGs. And pretty much the basis for that translation that I’ve seen in other games was to look at things like your Strength stat and ask how many weights you can bench press, or your real world IQ translated between 3 and 18.

We’re not doing it that way. More on how we are doing it as the book begins to be previewed. We’re also keenly aware of not minimizing anyone’s real-world challenges and disabilities. More on that too, in the months to come.

  “As always, fans are why we do this Con, whether it was meeting fans of our stuff for the first time, making new ones out of interested folks, or seeing old friends after yet another year.” – Neall Raemonn Price

  Our “What’s Up With Onyx Path?” panels went really well (although I had to miss most of the second one on Saturday), with some really excellent Q&A after the big points announcements. That was where we could delve deeper into the specific projects folks in the audience wanted to hear about. Both the “Freelancing for Onyx Path” panel and the “Developer Bootcamp” were super well attended and folks seemed really engaged.

Dixie, Matthew, and Eddy recorded both the “What’s Up With Onyx Path?” panels and edited them together into a semi-coherent whole that went up on the Onyx Pathcast last Friday. As always, you can hear them on PodBean or your favorite podcast venue.

They had to edit them, though. Even though we didn’t have whole swathes of the recording drowned out by trains like in previous years, we still had some outside noise break through, and I’m sure I talked away from the mic plenty of times!

  “It’s always such an amazing feeling to get to interact with new and old fans, as well as my peers in the gaming industry I don’t get to see often. I love how excited everyone was! Thank you to everyone who stopped by the booth to chat or say hello.” – Dixie Cochran

  Like every year, there’s never enough time to talk with everyone on a business level – nevermind all the friends and members of our community who want to chat and catch up. Like last year in particular, I think you’ll be seeing some amazing results from a bunch of the meetings and chats I did have as the year progresses. But there’s not a lot of details I can share.

In general, I talked with several translation partners about pretty much all of our game lines, sat down to hear a bunch of pitches for new games or licenses, discussed our upcoming art needs with several of the illustrators in attendance there. I had a very quick but very focused meeting with Jaunty James Bell, our Kickstarter Concierge in order to be sure that he was still loving his job. He is.

I counseled way too many creators with Imposter Syndrome, a different depressed artist, and let an old and dear friend know that I was going to be a grandparent like she has been for a few years already. “Any tips?”

I was sitting in the Indy airport finishing my last blazing shrimp cocktail and wondering how that thing we had planned for for so long could have gone by so fast. It is just so packed with sights and conversations and games and late nights and early mornings.

It’s Gen Con, baby!

    Monarchies of Mau art by Pat McEvoy

    Here’s a handy link list from Impish Ian Watson, who set up the blog last week. Thanks, Ian, and also to Matthew Dawkins who wrote the texty part.

Onyx Path’s 2018-2019 Publishing and Storypath Brochures are now available

Onyx Path is publishing Chicago by Night for Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition

Onyx Path is publishing a Legendlore RPG in partnership with Caliber Comics

Onyx Path and Pugsteady are collaborating with iThrive Games and the Bodhana Group to create the Critical Strengths Engine, a ruleset based not on physical strength, but emotional resilience, motivation, understanding, and communication. The first published adventures will be written by Eddy and will be officially licensed Pugmire products.

Check them out and see the proof of our motto:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

  Dystopia Rising: Evolution art by Mark Kelly

Our next Kickstarter will be for Dystopia Rising: Evolution starting on Wednesday the 22nd at 2pm EDT.

  ELECTRONIC GAMING:

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking!

Here are the links for the Apple and Android versions:

http://theappstore.site/app/1296692067/onyx-dice

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onyxpathpublishing.onyxdice&hl=en

Three different screenshots, above.

  ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue you bought it from. Reviews really, really help us with getting folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Endless Ages Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage II (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Ascension: Truth Beyond Paradox (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: The God-Machine Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Curse of the Blue Nile (Kindle, Nook)

Beast: The Primordial: The Primordial Feast Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Beast Within Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: W20 Cookbook (Kindle, Nook)

Exalted: Tales from the Age of Sorrows (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Tales of the Dark Eras (Kindle, Nook)

Promethean: The Created: The Firestorm Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Demon: The Descent: Demon: Interface (Kindle, Nook)

Scarred Lands: Death in the Walled Warren (Kindle, Nook)

V20 Dark Ages: Cainite Conspiracies (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Strangeness in the Proportion (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: Silent Knife (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Dawn of Heresies (Kindle, Nook)

  OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there!

https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

    Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://theonyxpath.com/press-release-onyx-path-limited-editions-now-available-through-indie-press-revolution/

And you can now order Pugmire: the book, the screen, and the dice! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296

SPECIAL W20 and M20 SALE! Huge savings on our Deluxe printing overruns until 8/31!

https://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Deals-and-Specials/

    DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

  This Wednesday, we will release a series of Wraith: The Oblivion Journals on RedBubble!

    CONVENTIONS!

From Fast Eddy Webb, we have these:

Eddy will be speaking at Broadleaf Writers Conference (September 22-23) in Decatur, GA. He’ll be there to talk about writing for interactive fiction, and hanging out with other writers who have far more illustrious careers. http://broadleafwriters.com/3rd-annual-broadleaf-writers-conference/3rd-annual-broadleaf-writers-conference-speakers/

Eddy will also be a featured guest at Save Against Fear (October 12-14) in Harrisburg, PA. He’ll be running some Pugmire games, be available for autographs, and will sometimes accept free drinks. http://www.thebodhanagroup.org/about-the-convention

If you are going and want to meet up, let us know!

    And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM FAST EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Tales of Excellent Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Witch-Queen of the Shadowed Citadel (Cavaliers of Mars)

  Redlines

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

CofD Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

V5 Chicago By Night (Vampire: The Masquerade)

  Second Draft

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Aeon Aexpansion (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

C20 Players’ Guide (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

In Media Res (Trinity Continuum: Core)

Changeling: The Lost 2nd Jumpstart (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

Wr20 Book of Oblivion (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Adventures for Curious Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

  Development

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

Fetch Quest (Pugmire)

CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Dystopia Rising: Evolution (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

Night Horrors: Shunned by the Moon (Werewolf: The Forsaken 2nd Edition)

  Manuscript Approval:

  Editing:

They Came From Beneath the Sea! Rulebook (TCFBtS!)

Dog and Cat Ready Made Characters (Monarchies of Mau) (With Eddy)

  Post-Editing Development:

Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)

GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)

M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Night Horrors: The Tormented (Promethean: The Created 2nd Edition)

Guide to the Night (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

  Indexing:

    ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

  In Art Direction

Dystopia Rising: Evolution – KS finals rolling in.

VtR: Guide to the Night

M20: Gods and Monsters 

Geist 2e

The Realm

Trinity Continuum (Aeon and Core)

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Ex3 Dragon Blooded

  Marketing Stuff

  In Layout

Scarred Lands Trilogy Novels – Converting to PDF and PoD.

PTC: Night Horrors: The Tormented

Fetch Quest

Cav cards

  Proofing

Scion Hero 

  At Press

Changeling: The Lost 2e – incorporating errata and getting it ready for indexing.

Monarchies of Mau – Press proofs signed off… now printing.

Scion Origin – Out gathering errata.

Cavaliers of Mars – Printing.

Wraith 20th – Prepping the Deluxe files.

Monarchies of Mau Screen – Printing.

Cavaliers of Mars Screen – Printing.

Wraith 20 Screen – Printing.

Scion Dice – At fulfillment shipper.

  TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: And we’re back! A bunch of us got some down time after/during Gen Con, and we’re feeling gooood.

[redrobin-detective]

The Long Way Around 12

Here's the start of the Sports Festival! Very excited to share, this was a thrill to write so I hope you enjoy. There's a lot that goes on here so there's not too much I have to say. Let you know what you think!

Fanfiction/AO3

Chapter Twelve: In His Own Quirkless Way

"Alright students, line up!" Chiura-sensei says. "We'll be heading out onto the field soon so I want you all to be ready. Yamada will be heaping praises onto 1-A but that doesn't mean you should be slacking," their teacher announces. "This is your chance, boys and girls, don't waste this opportunity."

"And here come classes C, D and E from the Department of General Education!"

"That's your cue, make your class proud," Sensei says as Izuku forces his legs to move forward with the rest of his class. This morning has passed by in a blur from waking up and getting dressed, dealing with the crowd and the security checkpoints to the quiet, hushed conversations with his friends a few minutes ago in the waiting room.

It all sped by so quickly until now, Izuku squints slightly as he steps out onto the field and into the bright sun. Izuku thinks his heart is going to give out for a second as he sees just how enormous the stadium is. It didn't look nearly that big on TV. And he was going to compete in front of these people, in front of cameras which were livestreaming the event all over the country, maybe even the world?

"Hey," Kyoshi says to his right, smiling shyly as she links their pinkies together for an instant. "Take a deep breath, it'll be fine."

"Yeah, I mean it's not like anyone is looking at us," Korudo says bitterly with folded arms as he glares over where 1-A is gathered. "I can't believe they gave that huge introduction for 1-A and the rest of us barely got a mention."

"And Yuuei's supposed to be equal opportunity, what a crock," Motome remarks in annoyance, clearly more upset by the fact that she's required to participate than anything. By the time the last class has gathered on the field, Izuku has calmed down and come to terms with the millions of eyes staring down at them. He thinks of his mother at home, undoubtedly glued to the TV trying to spot him.

"Now, now, let's play fair everyone!" Midnight announces as she saunters onto the small stage. She smiles for the crowd and strikes a little pose that doesn't leave very much to the imagination. Izuku turns beet red and keeps his eyes firmly trained on her face.

She cracks her whip and points over to 1-A. "Let's have the player rep for the first years, Bakugou Katsuki of 1-A!"

"Jerk he may be but I heard he placed first in the entrance exam," Taketsu whispers unhappily, her hair tied up in a messy bun.

"Yeah, in the Heroics exam," a girl from one of the other Gen Ed classes sneers. Korudo looks he's about ready to stomp up to the stage and give a speech himself. Izuku and Taketsu link their arms with Korudo's just in case he decides to do something stupid. Izuku exchanges a look with his friend behind Korudo's back.

"Everyone," Kacchan begins solemnly, looking up to the crowd with determined eyes. "I'm going to place first. You all are going to make excellent stepping stones." Izuku buries his face in Korudo's shoulder rather than face the utter disaster of Kacchan's speech. Around him, the whole field is alight with threats and jeers while Kacchan rudely gives them a thumbs down in response.

"Kacchan," Izuku sighs, unhappy but unsurprised.

"What an overconfident bastard!" Korudo shouts, straining from within their hold. "Let go of me, I'll show him how hard this 'stepping stone' can hit."

"He's not being overconfident," Izuku says as Kacchan walks calmly off the stage with his head high and his eyes resolute. Maybe Izuku isn't the only one who's grown up these past few weeks. "He's painting a target on his back; he wants people to throw everything they've got at him so he can prove himself the best."

"Hmph," Taketsu snorts from Korudo's other side. "I never thought I'd find something you two had in common," she says, giving Izuku a cheeky smile. Before Izuku can even think of addressing that loaded statement, Midnight is talking again.

"All right, now that that's done, we can move on directly to our first event! These are our preliminaries, a lot of our students end up choking on their tears at this event! And this year's first round of destiny is..." Izuku's holds his breath, please be something reasonable, please be- "an obstacle course!" Midnight announces, causing the crowd to launch into cheers.

An obstacle course huh, he could, maybe, do that...

As Midnight goes on about the rules of the race, Izuku finds himself seeking out all his friends. He catches their eyes and they smile back at him, it makes him think of their last discussion in the waiting area before they exited onto the field

"Good luck everyone," Izuku said with barely contained energy. "You're all going to do great."

"You shouldn't wish us luck, we're direct competitors now," Korudo remarked before clapping Izuku on the shoulder. "But I'll do it anyway, Midoriya; you'll need it more than all of us."

"Is it even possible for you to give a compliment without making it insulting?" Taketsu sighed.

"We don't have time to be arguing," Patrick said, grabbing Shinsou and Korudo by the shoulders and pulling them into one-armed hugs. "We'll be going out soon and, yeah, we'll all be trying our best to win but can we promise at least not to sabotage each other?"

"I'm going to use my quirk to pass the preliminaries so as long as you stay away from me, you'll be safe," Shinsou said before looking at Izuku. "I won't make any promises for the one on one fights."

"Aw, Shinsou, you do care," Taketsu preened.

"Stop it you guys," Izuku urged, forcing the circle closer. "Look, I just want to say that no matter what happens out there, you guys have been the best friends I have ever had. No matter who wins or loses, if we stay or transfer, you'll always be my friends."

"And you'll always be our friend, Midoriya," Taketsu said warmly. "This semester has been insane but you made it so much better. We're in for the long haul; you can't get rid of us even if you do become a big, famous hero."

"So are we ready?" Patrick asked, his skin lighting up. "Let's go beyond! Plus Ultra!"

XxX

Izuku's lungs are burning, his clothes might be too from that crazy and nearly suicidal stunt with the mines, and his legs feel like they're going to give out at any second but he can't bring himself to slow down. He can see the end of the tunnel up ahead and the thumping footsteps behind him tell him that Kacchan, the Todoroki kid and the rest of the school are right on his heels. He grits his teeth and forces himself to go faster.

This whole obstacle course was designed to test the toughest of quirks with gigantic robots, perilous tightropes and minefields. Izuku saw dozens of people being tripped up trying to accommodate their quirks to the environment but Izuku had to struggle just to survive. There has never been a quirkless kid in the Heroics department and he's starting to see why, it was nearly impossible for someone like him to succeed in this quirk-oriented world.

Lucky for him, it was only nearly impossible.

"I actually cannot believe it folks, who would have imagined this outcome when the race began?" Present Mic announces somewhere far above him. "The first one back to the stadium is..." Izuku bursts through the tunnel into the sunlight and he's absolutely stunned to see his face plastered on all the screens, no way, he couldn't have...

"Some green haired kid! Who is the heck is that boy, Eraser, what department is he in? I'm pretty sure he's not in any of the hero classes." Izuku is still looking around stunned, panting and wiping his brow as the other students begin pouring back into the stadium. He briefly catches sight of Kacchan's glare before he's swallowed up by the crowd.

"His name is Midoriya Izuku and he's a General Education student, this will be the first time in recent memory that a non-hero student has placed first in a preliminary."

"You heard it here first! History is happening right before our eyes. He might be one to keep your eye on, especially since he hasn't revealed his quirk yet!" Mic announces. "And here come the rest of the students crossing the finish line one after another. We'll have the results in a minute, remember, only the first 42 get to go on!"

There are people around him, slapping him on the back and congratulating him; some of them he knew from Gen Ed but many more he didn't. The friendly hero girl, Uraraka, smiles and gives him a thumbs up as she leans over on her knees and tries to get her breath back. He looks around and is relieved to see Taketsu and Korudo in the crowd.

"You made it! Have you seen Shinsou or Pat-" Izuku cheers as he runs up to them before Taketsu sweeps him into a bone-crushing hug.

"You were amazing Midoriya! I couldn't believe it when they announced you came in first! I made it by the skin of my teeth at 41st." Her cheeks are bright red and she's a bit sweaty but otherwise seems fine as she releases him.

"It was close for me too," Korudo says, wiping at the sweat beading on his forehead. "I don't know about Shinsou but I passed Takamitsu near the tightrope fall and I was the 39th to get through. It's probably safe to say he didn't qualify. By the way," he gives Izuku a friendly punch on the shoulder. "Good work out there. You're tougher than you look."

"Oh no, poor Patrick," Taketsu says even as Izuku looks at the ground. He knew not everyone would qualify but the reminder of how cutthroat this competition was a bit terrifying. Yes, he did well this first round but what about the second? Izuku gulps as Midnight appears on the big screen.

"The top 42 are allowed to advance, I'm sorry for those who didn't pass but be sure to enjoy the rest of the Festival! We'll continue on to the final section of the preliminaries." Midnight says with a smile as she gestures to the screen, "and what will this final challenge be? I know but let me show you." Taketsu reaches out and grips Izuku's hand tightly.

"Behold! A human cavalry battle!" Midnight announces with a flourish. Izuku doesn't know whether to sigh with relief or vomit. It could have been worse, he supposes, but it also could have been better. "It'll function just like a normal cavalry battle with teams of 2-4 people. The only change is you all will receive headbands with points on them based on your performance in the obstacle course. Whoever has the most points at the end will win!" Izuku feels dread begin to creep up his spine, slowly but with practiced ease.

"So if you placed 42nd you get 5 points, 41st gets 10 and so on all the way up to our first place winner who is worth 10 million points! This is the chance for the low to replace those higher up, welcome to a battle for survival!"

And just like that, there are 41 pairs of eyes boring into him. 41 kids with amazing quirks capable of surpassing that hellish course all coming after the quirkless kid worth 10 million points. There was no way in hell he was getting through this intact, not to mention no one was going to want to team up with him.

"Let's team up, Midoriya," Taketsu says with a bright smile.

"Taketsu!" Izuku says with tears pouring out of his eyes as he gazes at Taketsu like she's just handed him the key to heaven. What has he ever done to deserve such good friends? "You mean it? You know everyone will be after my 10 million, right?"

"I trust your ability to strategize and keep our headbands safe besides, sorry to say, but no one else is gonna want to pair with you since they either don't know your quirk or know you're quirkless. Us Gen Ed students need to stick together." She says with a thumbs up. "Now we just need one more and we'll be all ready to go."

"Two more," Korudo says quietly, looking pained. "I like you Midoriya and I have nothing but respect for you but I'm in this to win and I can't place my faith in a team I don't believe in." He steps away slowly, looking uncomfortable. "I wish you both the best but I can't afford to let friendship get in my way."

"Well, shoot," Taketsu sighs as Korudo leaves. "Oh well, we'll figure out something. The teams can be 2 to 4 players," she eyes him up and down. "What do you weigh? I could probably carry you myself." Before Izuku could stammer out why exactly that plan won't work, muscular arms are pulling him backwards into a large pair of breasts.

"And here I knew you'd be useful eventually, Mr. First Place," Hatsume says, leaning her face down right next to his. "Let me join your team! Everyone will be watching us so I get the chance to use my babies and show them off to all the big companies. You owe me a favor for making your gear and besides," she reaches forward to loving stroke the gloves on his hand, "you know how useful my babies can be."

"H-Hatsume, yeah! We'd love to have you on our team," Izuku says, edging out of her hold with a bright blush. "If uh that's alright with you, Taketsu?"

"Beggars can't be choosers plus I'm sure she's got some crazy invention we can use," Taketsu says with a grin. "Now we just need one more."

"I'm going to be pretty much useless in this battle, you have some offense capabilities with your blood manipulation and with Hatsume, we now have access to both offensive and defense technologies." Izuku mutters to himself, tuning out the chaos around him.

"What we need is someone with a good defense, someone who can evade or defend. That should balance out the weaknesses in our group and give us half a chance at qualifying for the finals. But who would work?" Izuku thinks out loud, it's not just a problem of finding someone willing to team up with them, though that is still a significant issue. But there's not a lot of combative or defense quirks among the people he knows, he wouldn't even know who to ask.

"If I may, I would like to volunteer myself for your group," a stern voice says and Izuku looks up to see a dark haired boy with glasses. Izuku is struck suddenly as he recognizes him as the hero student as the one who calmed everyone during the time reporters broke in.

"I am Iida Tenya of Class 1-A. I was very impressed with your performance in the obstacle course and I believe I have the power you lack," Iida says, bringing his hand down in a chopping motion. "My quirk is engine which means I can maneuver and evade quite easily which you will need to do in order to keep your 10 million points."

"Yes!" Izuku replies enthusiastically. "Yes, that's exactly what we need! You'd be a perfect addition for our team, I'm Midoriya Izuku and this is Taketsu and Hatsume." Despite the joy he feels, Izuku can't help the niggling sense of doubt. "But um why would you want to work with us? I mean, it's much more practical for you to work with another group to take our headband."

"Ah, I'm sorry, I wasn't aware I was so transparent," Iida says, adjusting his glasses a bit. "With so many strong quirks in 1-A, I don't feel like I've had to chance to showcase my capabilities. I wasn't even there for most of the attack at USJ. With your 10 million points, I know everyone will be after you and so I want to challenge myself." Izuku hums, he wasn't exactly surprised and, after all, wasn't he also trying to prove himself?

"I understand, Iida and it's fine. Nice to meet you." Izuku says as he hears Midnight announce that they're getting ready to begin. "Ok, we need to work on our strategy. Hatsume, do you have anything that can work with Iida's speed? Ensure that we're able to move around easily?"

"Oh boy do I!" Hatsume says with a toothy smile that almost makes Izuku regret asking. But soon enough they'd worked out their plan and Izuku steps into his teammate's hands and becomes the mount, the 10 million point headband secured around his head. He warily eyes the other groups around him, keenly aware that they'll all be on them the second the battle started.

"Midoriya, I didn't get a chance to see your quirk during the obstacle course. Would you mind sharing it so we can incorporate it into our plans," Iida asks. Hatsume promptly bursts into snorting giggles while Taketsu shoots him a worried look. They only have moments before the battle begins and Izuku doesn't want to dishearten Iida before they even start.

"It's hard to explain, you'll see in the battle," Izuku responds enigmatically as Taketsu bites into the flesh of her free hand and draws blood, ready to unleash her power. "Let's stay focused; all we need to do to advance is keep this headband. Our primary goal is to protect the 10 million."

"Start!" Midnight announces and, despite expecting it, Izuku startles when most of the other teams come barreling their way.

"Okay, Hero we need to get out of here and fast." Taketsu yelps before, suddenly, they begin to sink into the ground. The groups are closer now, close enough that someone is able to use their quirk apparently. "It's got to be the guy in the front of that group; we need him to distract him, Taketsu!"

"On it," his friend hisses as a stream of blood shoots out and strikes the kid in the face. He reels back in surprise causing his whole group to stall and, more importantly, for the ground to return to normal beneath Izuku's team. "Come on motor boy! Get a move on!"

"Hold on, all of you!" Iida shouts as he races around the oncoming groups at what may be a slow pace for him but is still much beyond what the average person could do. Izuku had braced for the speed and, with the girls wearing Hatsume's mechanized skates, they were easily able to glide out of immediate danger.

"Good job, Iida. The battle is only 15 minutes, we just need to keep this up for that long. We can do that."

Maybe, Izuku thinks with trepidation as he catches sight of Kacchan charging across the field. Iida's rival, Todoroki, also looks like he's going to be trouble. Right now their main advantage is Iida's speed and also the fact that most probably don't know what quirk to expect from a nameless Gen Ed student.

"And look at that ladies and gentleman," Present Mic says from the commentators box. "Only 2 minutes in and already we have a melee of tumultuous proportions! As you can see, headbands are already being taken and it's fine strategy to settle for second, third or fourth and not go after the 10 million!"

"Let's slow down a little Iida, I don't know how long you can keep up this pace but I think it's a little much for us." Izuku says, starting to feel the strain from the wind and pressure. Iida obediently slows down to a normal person's jog.

"Apologies everyone," Iida announces. "I noticed Todoroki had been behind us but it looks like we've put a bit of distance betw-"

"Give me your fucking headband, Deku!" Izuku turns to see Kacchan raging close by, his red eyes locked onto their group as his team rapidly approaches. Izuku's hand twitches towards the staff strapped to his back but decides against it. Not only will it be cumbersome to maneuver it but the weapon all but announces that he doesn't have a combat quirk.

"Keep moving, I've got Kacchan." Taketsu says with a dark look on her face, "We still have a score to settle." Blood flies through the air, she'd aimed not at Kacchan but at his redheaded front rider. The boy's skin hardens instinctively at the blood flying into his face. It can't stop him but the surprise does slow the team down long enough for Iida to put some distance between them.

"That's quite the impressive quirk, Taketsu," Iida says sincerely as he shoots Taketsu a quick look before concentrating back on his run. Taketsu gives a weak smile in return.

Izuku practically jumps out of his skin as something pink, a tongue he thinks, shoots past his face and narrowly misses his headband. The tongue retracts and he sees that it's coming from a boy with many arms with three people protected within. A shadowy figure pops out from the shelter and dives toward them.

"That's Shouji, Tokoyami, Asui and Mineta from 1-A," Iida announces, immediately turning and going in another direction before the living shadow can reach them. "Asui is dangerous with her tongue as is Mineta who can release adhesive balls; we would do well to avoid them."

"Thanks for the heads up, Iida," Izuku mutters, feeling paranoia beating him down from all sides. They can't catch a moment to breathe.

"And all Team Midoriya can do is run away! Not that I blame them with that juicy 10 million to protect!" Present Mic's commentary was starting to get very grating. "Seven minutes have passed and, whoa, look at those scores! Class 1-A, the Festival's darlings, aren't doing so hot and Class 1-B is really heating up!"

"You know I hadn't planned on going for the 10 million, second or third would have sufficed but you look just like a sweet little lamb that I couldn't help myself." Fingers brush gently against the back of Izuku's head, loosening the headband and panic become the only reality he knows. Izuku spins, smacking the thief's arm away and further dislodging the headband until it slips down to Izuku's neck.

"Watch out Midoriya!" Iida yells, "Monoma can copy your quirk!" Izuku almost smiles, oh no, what will he do?

The other boy, a blond with a pinched face, grins. "Thank you for giving me the chance to test out whatever quirk helped you to win the obstacle course." The wannabe thief, Monoma, raises his hand, clearly expecting something great.

"Huh?" Monoma blinks and looks down at himself when nothing happens, "I definitely touched you so why didn't I copy-" Izuku punches him hard in the face and the boy dazedly falls back and is only kept upright by his teammates. Taketsu further drives them off with blood whips. In a split second decision, Izuku reaches forward and grabs two headbands from around Monoma's neck.

"What an upset from Team Midoriya! Not only were they able to evade Monoma's copy quirk but they also managed to steal some of their headbands, putting Team Monoma down to sixth place. Does this Midoriya kid ever stop?" Izuku isn't listening to the rest of the commentary as he secures the two new headbands, 665 and 120, around his neck. He reties the 10 million but keeps it with the others to confuse any other potential thieves.

"Amazing Midoriya! I made a wise choice when I teamed up with you," Iida shouts. "How did you manage to avoid Monoma's quirk? It's very effective, he used it earlier to take Bakugou's headband."

"I'll tell you later, come on, we have to keep moving. There's six minutes left and we still have everyone after us!" Izuku answers as he hones in on one team moving forward purposefully, it's Todoroki. Izuku feels his insides twist a bit as he thinks of the boy's terrifying power during the obstacle course.

"That headband," Todoroki announces once he's close enough, "I'm taking it."

"We need to move," Taketsu says quietly enough that Izuku tears his eyes off the dual toned boy charging towards them to look down at his friend. She was pale and tired looking, breathing through her mouth. He glances down at her palm which is still bleeding freely. Between the obstacle course and now the cavalry battle, she's got to be feeling the effects of her quirk.

"Taketsu, close your wounds before you lose too much blood!" Izuku shrieks and he really isn't surprised when there's ice cold fingers at his neck grasping for the headbands.

Todoroki is driven off by a weak blood stream and Izuku's maneuvering so he only manages to get away with one headband. But, surprisingly enough, Izuku couldn't care less right now. "Taketsu please, you've done amazing so far but please don't push yourself, winning isn't worth it!" He practically begs.

"Midoriya, did he get the 10 million?" Iida demands, not seeming to care at all about Taketsu's health.

"Who cares about that when she could be bleeding to death?" Izuku shouts even as he angrily looks down at the headbands strapped around his neck. "But no, he didn't, he got one of Monoma's, the 665 point one. Not that a stupid piece of cloth matters," Taketsu squeezes his foot with her hand.

"Thank you for your concern but I'm fine, I'm just a bit weak. Having these skates has been a lifesaver. I can hold out for the rest of the battle, you just focus on getting us through." She says with a tired smile and it's hard work for Izuku to pull his eyes from her to evaluate the big players left on the battlefield.

Todoroki is still pretty close, wiping off Taketsu's blood from his arms and looking ready to attack again at any moment. Kacchan looks like he's gotten some points back and will probably be coming their way soon. Izuku sees Shinsou being carried around, but his friend has plenty of headbands and likely won't make an attempt on them. The rest of the groups are pretty disorganized and focused on each other.

"Yea, you can do it, First Place! You have to get us through so I can continue to show off my babies!" Hatsume pipes up.

"Alright, let's do this." Izuku says resolutely, tugging on the two headbands around his neck to test their security.

Todoroki suddenly charges forward and it looks like he's pulled a blanket out of nowhere? What's that going to- Iida is speeding away quickly from Todoroki who electrocutes the teams nearest him before icing them in place. Izuku yelps, what kind of quirks does Todoroki have on his team?

"That's Kaminari's doing, he has a lightning quirk," Iida says in a subdued tone. "He also has Yaoyorozu who can create anything she can understand molecularly and that's Uraraka up front, her quirk is Zero Gravity so I imagine she's lightening the load of the team for maneuverability. They're a very efficient and dangerous combination."

"Hey, First Place, isn't that your friend over there?" Hatsume asks, pointing over to Kacchan who's also racing towards them with deadly intent. Izuku's team is caught in a triangle between bad and worse with not many places to run to. Izuku looks at Todoroki's passive face then over at Kacchan who is practically frothing at the mouth with rage.

"I say we go for Todoroki, if we go quickly enough we can avoid the ice and the lightning," Izuku says.

"I agree, if I may point something out. Todoroki can create both fire and ice but he's vowed never to use the fire from his left side in battle. I'm not sure if that helps in any way," Iida supplies as he begins to run at Todoroki.

"Only two minutes left and it looks like it's down to three! Todoroki and Bakugou of Class 1-A and the wild card Midoriya from Gen Ed who still hasn't shown us anything about his quirk!"

Todoroki brings up an ice wall on Izuku's left, not just blocking off their only escape route but also cutting off Kacchan's advance. Honestly, Izuku kind of wants to thank him for that.

Present Mic's commentary reminds Izuku that his unknown quirk is still an advantage, if he pretends that he's bigger than he is, he just might be able to drive Todoroki off. It's a gamble but it's all he can do since retreat isn't an option anymore. Todoroki doesn't appear put off by their advancement and instead readies himself for whatever Izuku can throw his way.

Iida is careful to stay on Todoroki's left and, true to form, Todoroki keeps shifting to try and accommodate the ice on his right. Why isn't he using his fire? Is he afraid of hurting his teammates? Either way, Izuku is going to take advantage of his opponent's stubbornness.

Izuku borrows a technique from Kacchan and shifts his weight over to Hatsume, pulling his foot out of Taketsu's hand and delivering a strong kick to Todoroki's midsection. It startles the other boy enough that he doubles over, leaving his headbands exposed.

"Todoroki!" Uraraka shouts as she tries to retreat but Izuku's already grabbing at Todoroki's headbands while Iida and Hatsume struggle to keep him upright. Izuku's hand lands on Todoroki's neck but before he can grab anything, a small amount of flames bursts from Todoroki's left. It's snuffed out just as quickly but Izuku instinctively pulls back at the intense heat. Grey and blue eyes look at Izuku with something approaching horror on his face.

"Midoriya and Todoroki are right in each other's grill but nothing is happening! What's going on down there? Team Bakugou is going around Todoroki's barrier and is charging toward both teams, looking ready to launch! 30 seconds left and it's anyone's game at this point!"

"Iida, get us out of here!" Izuku shouts because Todoroki's only going to be stunned for so long and Kacchan was fast approaching. Izuku's words seem to snap Todoroki out of his daze and his arm darts forward quicker than Izuku can track.

"Hold on! Recipro Burst!" Iida shouts, revving his engine before speeding off faster than Izuku can even comprehend. The girls shriek below him and Izuku is aware of fingers at his neck. The next moment, they're halfway across the field with good distance between them and Todoroki. Kacchan is screaming as they get away again and there's a limp headband hanging in Todoroki's hand.

"I'm out, my engines have stalled. Midoriya, how are we doing?" Iida shouts, looking up at him.

"5... 4... 3..."

With shaking fingers, Izuku slowly turns the only remaining headband over in his hand and looks at it. Kacchan is close now, he'll be upon them in a few more seconds. He either didn't notice Todoroki grab the headband or he doesn't care.

"You're fucking mine Deku! You can't run away any more!" Kacchan shouts as he launches himself into the air.

"2... 1... Time is up everyone! Let's tally up the points!"

His momentum lost, Kacchan falls flat the ground and proceeds to pound his fists into the ground in frustration. Todoroki lets out a deep breath, bringing the fist holding the stolen headband up to rest against his forehead. Meanwhile, Izuku is too busy staring at the numbers on his headband.

"And in first place is, once again, Team Midoriya with 10 million points! Absolutely unbelievable, who is this kid!? In second we have Team Todoroki, Team Bakugou in third." Kacchan screeches even louder from his place on the ground at that announcement. "And in fourth is eh? Team Shinsou? When did that happen?"

Izuku bursts into a grin as the shock wears off, they made it! It was only due to dumb luck but they made it! And Shinsou did too, he'd have to congratulate his friend later!

"Taketsu, did you hear that? Shinsou made it through, maybe Korudo was with-" Izuku begins to sway as Taketsu's grip on him loosens. Iida and Hatsume steady him while Taketsu sinks to her knees. "Taketsu!" Izuku shouts, jumping down to the ground and supporting her back before she falls over. She's even paler in the light, her hands are cold and trembling slightly. Her hair has mostly fallen out of its bun and is dusting the ground. She tries to smile at him but her lips barely twitch.

"So we made it, huh?" In the background, he can hear Iida calling for a medic but Izuku can't tear his eyes off his friend. There's no way he can lift her alone, maybe if he and Iida work together. She touches his arm.

"I'm glad. I can't go on but I kind of knew this was a one-shot deal. Quirks like mine, we have limits and sometimes they're too much," Taketsu whispers as people start to rush towards them. "But that's what's so great about you Midoriya, you don't have any limits, there's nothing stopping you from going all the way to the top."

"Please move, I need to take her to Recovery Girl," a medic bot announces.

"I'm going with," Izuku pleads, stepping back anxiously as Taketsu is loaded over onto the stretcher. Shinsou runs over and looks at Taketsu with large, fearful eyes. Izuku doesn't think he's seen him so shaken up before.

"No, stay here, both of you. You have the one on one matches, remember? I'll be fine, really, and I'll be cheering you on from the nurse's office. Good luck." And with that said, one of Izuku's best friends is rushed off the field, worn out from blood loss because Izuku hadn't paid her enough attention to remind her not to overdo it.

Around him the crowd is still cheering, hell, they're probably excited by the added drama of a student being taken away by a stretcher, and Izuku doesn't even hear it. All he can think about is victory and the high cost that comes with it.

[whitecometofakagi]

Forgotten

An Initial D Fanfiction

Rating: PG+

Warnings: References to depression, Suicidal thoughts 

Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Family Dynamics

Word Count: 9,188

Summary: 

Rin knows that he only has himself to blame for the tension that still exists between him and his family and friends. After all, two years is a long time to run away. But is it really long enough that everyone has forgotten his birthday? Even Gou?

Read on Ao3 | Read on Fanfiction.Net 

Thank you to @lifeonvega for beta-ing!

It was always a bad sign when Rin's father was being the most considerate of anyone. But at least Rin had been given the afternoon off work -- "on the hospital director's orders."

It had been quiet and direct. There was no reason, and, of course, no congratulations provided with the order. And while Rin knew his father had not been at any meetings that morning, and could have relayed the message in person, he had, of course, sent his assistant, Yuki, in his stead. But, at least, his father had the decency to recognize him -- however impersonally.

 That, unfortunately, was more than he could say about anyone else.

 He hadn't expected anyone to remember his birthday. After all, he'd been gone from the hospital for two full years, and that was far longer than the memories of most of the doctors and nurses. (Save the few whose long-term memories seemed reserved solely for gossip.) And frankly, he didn't have many friends left -- if he'd ever really had any in the first place. But, he couldn't let go of the fact that he was disappointed in Gou.

 He had thought their relationship had been coming back together. Slowly, of course; and for good reason. He had lost his brother's trust, and as tough as Gou acted on the outside, he had a certain softness that had always been obvious at home. He wasn't one to forgive easily after being hurt.

 But, lately, the two of them had returned to something Rin considered normal. Rin had come to watch him practice racing just the other day -- giving him tips and timing his runs. He'd met all the new members of Team Sidewinder, and Gou had even named him their honorary captain. (Although it did feel rather undeserved, considering all his antics as Shinigami and his lack of a car.)

 Despite the progress they had made, Rin still felt hesitant around Gou at times. Frankly, he didn't think Gou had any business forgiving him. No one did, honestly. But his therapist had stressed the importance of being open to other's goodwill, so he was trying his best. But still, it felt impertinent to ask Gou for any favors, after he failed to be there for him.

 So he had invited Gou to dinner. Casually -- without demanding or even pleading that he come, and without once mentioning that it was his birthday. He figured Gou would know and want to join him for the celebration. But Gou had "respectfully" declined, saying he thought they should spend the evening at home instead, and that was that. No acknowledging that it was a special day for Rin. Not even an apology.

 Was it so much to ask for his own brother not to forget his birthday in just two years? Was he being unfair? Was this all his fault again? Or was it really, as it seemed, quite a sorry state of affairs that no one -- not even Gou -- remembered that it was his birthday?

 Slowly, Rin ambled through the parking lot until he came upon a plain, black '91 Efini MS-9 -- the sort of car that lost its luster of luxury with each passing year's new designs and technology.

 With a sigh, he produced the key and took a seat inside. What to do with his free time? He pulled out a small, black flip-phone and stared at it for a moment. Part of him was tempted to call Gou and try again. Maybe if they couldn't do dinner, a small trip to the café in the late afternoon. He knew that Gou had the afternoon off from his classes. He could feel his hand shaking, and gripped the phone tightly. It was worth one final chance.

 He pressed the contact and held the phone to his ear, muttering a silent prayer under his breath for Gou to actually look at his phone. Yet, when heard Gou's voice answer "Aniki?" in a tone of confusion and concern, Rin realized he hadn't actually planned on him picking up.

 "I'm sorry to interrupt you, Gou," he began. His pulse was elevated.

 "That's fine, aniki. Why are you calling? Is everything alright?”

 "I'm fine, don't worry. Father let me take the afternoon off." (For my birthday, he wanted to finish. But he refrained. It would be fishing for pity to remind him.)

 "Ah, that's nice," Gou replied. For some reason he still sounded rather worried, despite Rin having explained the situation. "Are you coming home, then?" he asked.

 "Well, I was thinking that, perhaps, since you didn't want to have dinner tonight, we could stop by a cafe this afternoon," Rin replied.

 There was silence for a moment. "That's a great idea, aniki, but...I'm a bit tied up at the moment. You know, school work and stuff. You should go, though! Treat yourself, you know. You don't get a free afternoon often. I'll still be here when you get back."

 Rin felt his fingers tighten around the phone. His heart still pounded. His throat was heavy and dry.

 "Right," he said. He regretted how cold his voice sounded, but he couldn't muster the energy to summon feeling into his voice. He never cared for feigning contentment when he only felt displeasure.

 "I'll see you at dinner," Gou replied. "Don't stay out too late."

 Rin’s entire body went rigid, save for a tremor in his gut. Don't stay out too late? Since when did Gou get to decide what Rin could and could not do? The brothers had always done as they pleased; it wasn't as though Father had been around to stop them. And now, after spurning Rin's invitation to spend time together -- not once, but twice, and on his birthday no less! -- Gou had the audacity to tell him to come home for dinner and not stay out too late!?

 He wanted to bark back at him that he'd be out as long as he pleased, but he knew it wouldn't do. It was another of the things he'd been working on with his therapist -- thinking his words through before he spoke. No matter how upset he was at Gou, he wouldn't make things better by isolating himself from his brother again. Their differences aside, they had always been one another's best allies.

 He exhaled between gritted teeth. It was best to wrap up this conversation soon, as it was taking all his self-control not to talk back.

 "Yeah. See you," he grunted. It was so conciliatory he wanted to puke.

 "Later," Gou answer, apparently content with that answer, as the phone disconnected a moment later.

 Rin snapped the phone shut, so it made a satisfying clack, and shoved it back into the pocket of his pants. Well, what did he do now?

 If he still owned his GT-R, the answer would have been obvious. But the mere thought of taking the MS-9 to the touge seemed to put the absurdity of his situation into perspective. Imagine seeing a fully licensed physician barreling down the road in an automatic, aging luxury sedan. It was pathetic, no matter how you looked at it. Almost as pathetic as the fact that he was steaming over a forgotten birthday like a child. …And yet, that didn't change the way he felt about the situation at all.

 His eyes trailed over to the clock. 15:00. Perhaps it was a bit early, but he could use a strong glass of bourbon...he shifted the car into drive, and let his muscle memory take him down the roads as clouded thoughts continued to stew in his mind.

 He found himself in the parking lot of an all-too-familiar location. In truth, he hadn't been here in almost a year. Yet, in many ways, it felt like he had never left.

 His hands shook as he switched off the ignition. Part of him wanted to immediately turn the key again and drive away as fast as he could. But he had decided he needed a nice, refreshing drink, and there was no better spot in town. Still...what if someone recognized him? Did they remember him here? Would they judge him?

 He shook his head. Places like this had quick turnaround. The bar staff was likely completely different than the last time he'd come. Slowly, he pulled the key out of the ignition, and opened the door. Driving away wouldn't make the memories magically disappear. Now that he was here, in this parking lot, they already were flooding back.

 He locked the door to his car and walked into the bar, as casually as possible, trying to keep his head high. He sat down, in front of a young bartender with brown hair, cherry red lipstick, and an alluring smile. To his relief, he'd never seen her before.

 "Welcome, sir," the woman said with a bow. "May I get you something to drink?"

 "Some bourbon on the rocks would be excellent, thank you," he replied.

 He looked around as she grabbed a glass off the shelf and filled it with ice and his drink. Nothing about this place had changed at all, since the first time he came here, over three years ago, maybe approaching four -- at this point, it was difficult to remember.

 It was the first time Ryosuke had come with him to Hakone. The two of them had driven all the way from their university in Gunma, and were somewhat weary from the journey. Rin had never stopped here before, but enjoyed how far off the beaten path it seemed from everything else around. They shared a drink and then stayed out for a few hours in the parking lot, smoking, staring at the stars, talking about futures that didn't turn out the way they had expected. It had become the bar he frequented most after that night.

 It was somewhat ironic, then, that it was exactly the place he had come to when he first found out about Ryosuke's involvement with Kaori.

 He'd gone home first, and scared Gou half to death by breaking an ornamental vase in his room. He was never able to forget the look of terror on Gou's face when he walked over to his room.

 "Do you know how expensive that probably is?" he had tried to scold him, voice shaking. "Father's going to kill you when he gets back."

 "Father isn't in my room long enough to remember we even owned it," Rin yelled back.

 "What's wrong with you?" Gou shouted. At the time, Rin felt Gou could have at least shown some sympathy, considering he knew full well what had happened to Kaori.

 "It's none of your business," Rin said, pushing him aside and slamming the door to his room.

 As large as the house was, his room only had so much space. And of course, he didn't want to confront Gou again. So he left -- took his GT-R and came here, where he drank himself into a stupor for the first time.

 He had fully planned on driving home after escaping the house for a while, but instead he found himself vomiting on the bathroom floor, sobbing uncontrollably. For a long time he stayed like that, unaware of the passage of time.

 When he finally managed to look at his watch, he realized it was time to return home. Whatever part of his brain was still functioning told him that he couldn't drive home drunk. In this state he'd certainly have little control of his car. But a small voice, in the back of his mind, said: "What if you drove? What if you crashed and ended it all right now?" Shaking it off, terrified, he ran out to the pay phone and called Gou, barely able to speak over his slurred speech and messy sobbing.

 He managed to get himself outside and stood outside the building, smoking, until he saw Gou's NSX pull up.

 "Aniki!" Gou shouted. There were clear streaks of tear stains on his cheeks, but in the car, he refused to let any tears fall. "You have to get over yourself. You can't expect me to keep bailing you out like this."

 "You don't understand," Rin cried, but Gou didn't seem to respond at all.

 A week later, Rin had left home for good.

 He became a more frequent patron of the bar than he'd like to admit, though he never drank that much again. Drinking only made the increasingly prominent intrusive thoughts worse. The car had always been his release, though he enjoyed it less and less. Yet, driving was part of his routine, the only thing he could find the energy for.

 He only drank to the point of becoming drunk once more -- after he'd already gotten a reputation as Shinigami. By then, the atmosphere was much different there. No one would make eye contact, aside from the bartenders. He could hear them whispering. "Is that Director Hojo's son?" "That's Shinigami? Thought he was a legend?" The intrusive thoughts were getting too strong -- he drove himself that night, not caring if he lived or died. Somehow, there was no traffic on the road.

 He hadn't come back ever again after that. He had found the resolve to stay alive until he could race Ryosuke on the anniversary of Kaori's death, and let Kaori decide his fate. And now, somehow, he was back here. Back and alive.

 The bartender returned with his drink. He quickly said thank you, then downed a large sip. What was he doing back here? How was he planning to get home this time?

 Perhaps, Rin thought, he had made the wrong decision to come. But he was just as troubled by the idea of returning home. He rested his arms on the high-top table of the bar, trying to relax the tension in his back and shoulders. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help but remember how resentful he had felt towards his family back then. His father was, to this day, always absent. And he hadn't helped matters by telling Rin that he was better off with Kaori gone. Gou, meanwhile, didn't seem to understand what he was going through. He just told Rin to stop yelling, stop crying, stop drinking, stop whatever it was he was doing to numb the pain. As though it were that simple -- as though Rin wanted to be doing any of those things.

 Since that fateful night on Hakone, he had told himself that those initial feelings were too harsh on Gou. He had left the house before giving Gou a chance to understand or help. And Gou's insistence that he stop certain behaviors only came from how much he had scared and hurt him. Rin never once apologized for the way he behaved or for the messes Gou was forced to clean up because of him. He still hadn't...not really.

 But...he couldn't help the familiar dread that Gou was never going to understand him or his troubles. As children, Gou had always looked up to him and wanted to be just like him. Seeing Rin so distraught must have shattered Gou's entire image of him. But would he ever be able to adapt to or accept his imperfections? Was he really happy to have him home again, or was he just happy to have back the "perfect" Rin, who worked hard as a doctor, and mentored his racing, and acted the way he was supposed to act?

 Rin exhaled slowly and took another sip of bourbon. The fact that Gou had forgotten his birthday hurt so much more than he could possibly realize. And what of Ikeda, Ryosuke, and the rest of his friends? Did any of them remember, or did they only care about making him act like a functioning member of society again?

 No, he couldn't go home right now. Not with this sort of burden on his mind. But he'd be careful not to drink too much either. He flagged over the bartender and asked if he could see a snack menu. He'd drink slowly, have something to eat, and return home when he had put these thoughts to rest. Fighting the urge to snap at Gou for the rest of the evening would be even worse.

 The TV above the bar began to show baseball, and though Rin had never particularly been a fan, he found himself consumed in the game as a distraction. He finished his drink and snack and ordered another. Minutes turned to hours. Afternoon turned to evening, and the next thing he knew, the sun was setting over the horizon.

 Rin set down his now-empty second glass and leaned back on the stool.

 "Would you like another?" the bartender asked, as she came over to clear his place. "My shift ends soon, but I can grab you something before I go."

 "That's alright," Rin replied. "I think I'll cash out now, if you wouldn't mind."

 "Certainly," she replied, walking over to the computer to grab the credit card for his open tab.

 Suddenly, Rin felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He frowned. Few people texted him with any regularity, and right now, he wasn't in the mood to socialize. His eyes narrowed when he flipped open his phone and noticed that the new message was from Gou:

 Aniki, it's getting late. I thought we were going to have dinner? Is everything ok?

 Rin snapped his phone shut. He didn't want to deal with this right now. He'd be back home when he was ready. For now, he'd find somewhere else to visit. Perhaps a quiet cafe, or, if he could stand it, a slow drive through the mountains.

 But he suddenly felt a pang of guilt, remembering those two years he'd left Gou in the dark. He knew he couldn't leave his brother in fear of his safety. He shook his head and flipped the phone back open, typing a simple: I'm fine, just out on my own. I'll be back later.

 He closed the phone again and stuffed it back in his pocket, as the bartender returned with his bill.

 "If you could sign here, sir."

 "Certainly. Thank you for your service, ma'am."

 He reached for his wallet, to put away his credit card, when he felt his phone vibrate again. Hopefully it was just Gou responding “ok” to his message. He ignored it and finished paying the bill.

 When he was done, he headed out to the parking lot. It was much fuller than it had been before, now that evening had finally come. He could tell from the busy chatter and the clumps of people walking together that many friends and couples were out for dinner or a drink. It reminded him, again, of how he was all alone, so he pointed his head downward and walked to the car faster.

 As he did so, his phone vibrated again. With a sigh, he pulled it out and checked the new messages.

 Gou: You should come back, I bought dinner for us.

 Rin hit the next button.

 Gou: I also picked out a movie for us to watch. Can you please stop moping and just come home?

 Rin let out a low, dark chuckle. So Gou knew he was upset, but he would have much preferred if he understood why.

 I want to spend some time alone. I'll eat the leftovers tomorrow. Rin replied. Honestly, Gou was the one who had declined the offer to spend time together twice. He couldn't simply reject Rin's plans and then act like he was entitled to having Rin come home for dinner and a movie. He had been the one to reject spending time together, and he'd have to face the consequences of his own stubborn behavior.

 Rin shoved the phone back into his pocket as he approached the MS-9. He opened the driver's side door and sat down, leaning back in the seat. He honestly wasn't sure where to go from here, and needed to weigh his options. The phone buzzed again.

 "What is it now, Gou?" Rin mumbled as he pulled out the phone for what he swore was the last time.

 All the newest text said was: What's wrong?

 Rin scowled and snapped the cover of the phone shut even harder than before. What's wrong? The fact that Gou couldn't figure out for himself what was wrong was exactly the issue!

 He set the phone down in the cup holder on his left, instead of in the pocket of his pants. He didn't want to feel if it vibrated again. He had already informed Gou that he was safe and out for the evening. He didn't have an obligation to answer to the rest. Yet, no sooner had it done so, the phone started vibrating even more vigorously, not stopping this time. It was an incoming call.

 "Will he give it up!?" Rin groaned, picking up the phone again. Normally, he always left his phone on, in case of emergency. But if Gou was going to pester him like this, he had no choice but to turn it off. He flipped open the phone to access the power button, but stopped his fingers as he skimmed over the screen.

 Incoming call: Takahashi Ryosuke

 Rin quickly pressed the green answer button and pressed the phone up to his ear.

 "Ryosuke?"

 "Hello, senpai. I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."

 "No..." Rin replied, trying to hide the surprise in his voice. "I can talk right now."

 "I can call back later, if it would be more convenient," Ryosuke continued. "You're not still on your shift, are you?"

 "No, my father let me off early this afternoon," Rin replied, trying to level his voice so Ryosuke would stop questioning him. The damn kid was too perceptive. "I'm free."

 "That's wonderful," Ryosuke replied. Rin could almost picture a small, wistful smile spreading across his face. "I hope you were able to do something special to celebrate tonight, then," he continued.

 Rin's heartbeat picked up pace suddenly. Celebrate? ...Had Ryosuke...?

 "Did you see your gift?" Ryosuke asked.

 Rin sat for a moment in stunned silence.

 “Senpai?”

 "No, I haven't been home yet today," Rin finally replied. He shook his head, looking out into the distance beyond his windshield. Takahashi Ryosuke. He was truly something else. He was so certain no one had remembered his birthday, but he should have known that Ryosuke always managed to exceed his expectations.

 He felt a heaviness well up in his throat, as he tried to picture Ryosuke's soft, wistful smile and those all-knowing eyes. What had he possibly done to deserve the respect of someone so pure and kind?

 "Oh, did you go out to celebrate after work, then?" Ryosuke asked.

 "Mmhm," Rin murmured. He didn't want to spoil the conversation by bringing up what had really occurred.

 "Where did you go?" Ryosuke asked.

 "Just to the bar on the outskirts of town."

 "It's still there?" Ryosuke asked, fondly. "That brings back memories."

 "It hasn't changed one bit," Rin replied.

 "Did Gou go with you?"

 Rin froze. "No, he was busy," he said quick and to the point, hoping to avoid the subject further.

 "Do you have plans for dinner, then?" Ryosuke asked. "Surely, he needs to eat."

 Rin sighed, taking the hand not holding his phone and using it to massage a sudden ache in his forehead. "I invited him to dinner, but I'm afraid he declined my offer,” he said. “But, now, he's begging me to go home and eat with him."

 "So will you?" Ryosuke asked. Damn him.

 "I had been hoping to do something more celebratory," Rin groaned.

 "Ah, I see," Ryosuke replied, as though contemplating, "like solitary drinking in the afternoon?"

 "You're rather impertinent at times, you know that?"

 "I'd like to say I learned from the best."

 "Should I feel accomplished or concerned?" Rin teased.

 "You know I admire you, senpai," Ryosuke replied, the teasing tone gone from his voice in favor of something calm and genuine. Rin shook his head. That kid was too kind-hearted for his own good, at times.

 "Even if I drink alone in the afternoon?" Rin teased.

 "I could use a little whisky myself," Ryosuke replied.

 Rin laughed, a small smile crossing his face.

 "But more to the point," Ryosuke continued. "Why are you still out? I understand you're disappointed that Gou couldn't join you for dinner. But wouldn't it be better to spend your birthday with him at home, than by yourself?"

 Rin heaved a large sigh. "It's not just that he's busy, Ryosuke."

 "Then what's troubling you?"

 "He's forgotten my birthday completely."

 "Are you certain?" Ryosuke asked.

 "Well, he certainly hasn't said a word of congratulations," Rin scoffed.

 "I see…" Ryosuke replied.

 "What are you contemplating now, Ryosuke?" Rin grumbled.

 "Correct me if I am mistaken, senpai, but Gou doesn't strike me as the type to normally “beg you to come home,” as you phrased it earlier."

 Rin thought about it for a moment. Aside from when he had abruptly left home and his quit his job, Gou usually pretended he didn't care what Rin did. Of course, this wasn't true -- Rin could easily tell that Gou occasionally wanted his company. But ever since he'd left, Gou had been seemingly afraid to ask -- as though expecting anything from Rin would only end in disappointment.

 "It is unusual," Rin replied. "But if you mean to imply he wishes to celebrate my birthday, you may be thinking about this too naively, Ryosuke. I asked him this afternoon if he wished to join me at a cafe after work. When he declined, I was rather upset with him, and disappeared on my own. He seems concerned about me, from his texts, despite my assurance that I am fine and just want to spend some time alone. I'm sure he only fears that I will disappear again. I shouldn't have to bow to his every whim to assure him that I won't."

 "Pardon my saying this, senpai, but I still think you assume too much. I thought you said that Gou was busy? Why were you upset with him? And did you invite him to a café or to dinner? Your story doesn't quite line up."

 Rin let out a sigh into the phone. He hadn't wished to rehash the entire story, but Ryosuke left him no choice.

 "Last night I invited him to dinner, but he refused my invitation. He didn't say anything about being busy at all, or I might have understood. He just said he'd rather stay home, hence why I have told you that he doesn't remember my birthday at all.

 “I decided to invite him to the cafe this afternoon, after father let me off work, as a second chance at spending time together. But he declined that invitation as well, this time saying he was busy. He told me that I should go by myself," Rin laughed, bitterly. "What a kind thing to tell someone on their birthday."

 "And did he say anything else?"

 "Not to stay out late," Rin replied, rolling his eyes as he recalled the words.

 "Hojo-senpai..." Ryosuke replied, his tone suddenly very steady and serious. "I think you should go home."

 "Fine, take his side," Rin spat. He pounded a fist against the steering wheel.

 "I'm not taking anyone's side," Ryosuke replied, calmly. "But I think you may be mistaken about all of this. I don't think Gou is asking you to do whatever he says...but I think he wants you to trust him. Is that something you can do, senpai?

 "I could explain further," Ryosuke continued, when Rin said nothing, "but I think it's better that you go home and see for yourself. Gou is as stubborn as you. He has something in mind, but you'll need to go home and trust that it won't disappoint you. You underestimate people, Hojo-senpai. Including yourself.

 “If nothing else, you'll get my present if you go home. It's worth it either way.”

 Rin contemplated Ryosuke's words for a moment -- though it frustrated him to do so. He wasn't eager to concede defeat, but he had to admit that Ryosuke's logic was sound. He would likely enjoy a movie with Gou and his present from Ryosuke more than driving the MS-9 on the touge and burying himself in sorrow and regret. The only things keeping him from going home at this point were his own stubbornness and his refusal to give Gou any satisfaction by capitulating to his request.

 "Alright," Rin said, "I'll go home." He inhaled slowly and exhaled through pursed lips. He was going to have to confront Gou eventually. He might as well get it over with and move on.

 "I'm glad," Ryosuke replied. "Do call again when you have time. Let me know how it goes, and how you like the gift."

 "Of course," Rin replied. "I'll talk to you later."

 "Goodbye."

 "Bye..." Rin pulled the phone away for a moment, but stopped before his fingers reached the end call button, and pressed it back up to his ear. "And thank you, Ryosuke."

 "Thank me when it's all said and done," Ryosuke said.

 Rin chuckled. "Very well then. Goodbye, Ryosuke."

 “Goodbye.”

 Rin ended the call, noticing, as he did so, that he had received one more message from Gou during his conversation.

 Aniki -- I hope you aren't answering me because you're driving home. Otherwise, I'm going to drive to all your favorite spots in town and drag your ass back here myself. You've been warned.

 Rin couldn't help but smile reading it. As upset as he was with him, he was proud of the determined young man Gou had become. Even if he felt like their relationship was still strained, Gou was a good kid. Ryosuke was right. He didn't always trust in him. He opened up a reply window.

 No need, he wrote. I'm coming home.

 For the first time that day, his heart felt a bit lighter. He started the MS-9 and pulled out of the parking lot. As he drove, he made a small game of trying to imagine what Ryosuke's birthday gift might be.

 He arrived at the house some minutes later, and took a few minutes to collect his breath in the car. He exited, then walked to the door of the house. He would do his best not to immediately snap at Gou, and to give him a chance, as Ryosuke had suggested. However, he wasn't going to bury his feelings either. If Gou had forgotten his birthday, he was going to confront him, somehow.

 He walked up to door and searched his keychain for the correct key. But as he reached out to unlock the door, it opened from the inside.

 In the doorway stood Gou, welcoming him with a stern expression. He said nothing, but beckoned Rin into the vestibule with a small nod of the head. Rin's eyes narrowed as he followed him inside.

 No sooner had Rin stepped inside, Gou quickly closed the door and stepped in front of Rin, blocking his path to the living room.

 "So, aniki," he said, crossing his arms, "how was your visit to the café?" The way he emphasized the location made it clear that he knew Rin had gone somewhere else entirely.

 Rin's hand rolled into a fist at his side. "Perhaps you if you had come, you wouldn't have to ask," he retorted, bitterly.

 "I was busy this afternoon," Gou replied, calmly, his eyes still focused and his voice level. "But this isn't just about the café...or dinner? Is it?"

 "I thought you wanted me to come back to watch a movie, not for an interrogation?"

 "I did," Gou replied. "But first, you have to tell me what's wrong."

 Rin's eyes narrowed. "The fact that you can't figure it out is exactly the problem!" he snapped back. He made a move to the side, attempting to walk around Gou so as to enter the living room. But Gou stretched out his arm and stopped him with a firm hand on his chest.

 "What?" Gou replied, an inexplicable smirk on his face, "The fact that you think I forgot your birthday?"

 Rin stepped back, his eyes widening, as he fought to hold back a gasp. "You... knew..."

 Gou had remembered? Then... then why...? His sense of shock faded back to anger as he remembered what had transpired earlier. If Gou had forgotten his birthday, then he would understand why Gou did not feel obligated to go out with him to celebrate. But if Gou remembered...was it just not important enough to him? He glared. "So why didn't you take up my offers to celebrate?"

 "Hmm," Gou replied, in an irritated tone. "I don't seem to remember you saying anything about celebrating when you asked me about dinner last night. Or even this afternoon, although I was occupied."

 "I figured you knew! And that it would matter to you!" Rin shouted, making another push towards the living room. He had had enough of this.

 Gou reached out his hand and stopped him again.

 "You mean you were testing me," Gou replied.

 "I was doing nothing of the sort."

 "Then, when I told you I'd rather spend the evening at home, why didn’t you mention your birthday? Why weren't you more insistent? Why didn't you say anything this afternoon? Why did you almost make me wonder if you had forgotten your own birthday, until the moment you ran off?"

 "I didn't think I should have to,” Rin said.

 "And why shouldn't you, aniki? Why shouldn't you explain your feelings when you are upset? Because you think that I should just be able to figure it out myself? Because that's exactly what I mean! You wouldn't tell me it was your birthday, because you wanted to see if I remembered! And when I didn't go along with your plans, that meant I failed. Even if I had forgotten, I could have still celebrated with you, if you had reminded me. But that wouldn't have been good enough for you, would it, aniki?"

 Rin felt a tremor in his chest at Gou's words. His eyes were focused on him so intensely, that Rin had to divert his gaze. He had never seen Gou confront him with such unwavering strength -- even when he had first returned to Hakone.

 But, surely, Gou had it all wrong. He wasn't trying to prove anything, he had just assumed Gou would want to spend his birthday together with him. And he had assumed it would be important enough for Gou to remember. But how would he have felt about reminding Gou? His thoughts trailed back to the earlier conversation with Ryosuke: wouldn't it be better to spend your birthday with him at home, than by yourself? Ryosuke had asked. Surely, Ryosuke had a point, but Rin found it hard to accept. Why?

 …He didn't want to remind Gou. He didn't want to face the possibility that his brother had forgotten him. He didn't want to feel like he was an afterthought -- something that needed to be attended to only out of duty and not out of genuine desire.

 "Answer me, aniki," Gou barked.

 Rin looked down at the floor. "No," he replied, coldly. His chest ached, but there would be no use in lying, at this point. "It wouldn't have been."

 Gou's hand was still firmly placed on his chest, preventing him from moving forward. He stepped away again, but Gou followed.

 "You can't go in there," Gou said, his voice curiously softer than before. "My gift for you is in there, and I'm not letting you see it until we're done. I've been working on your birthday all afternoon. But you thought that because I didn't accept your half-assed invitations to do something with you, that I didn't care about you."

 Rin's eyes widened in shock again, and he stepped further away from the living room, causing Gou to finally put his hand down.

 "If you had told me that you really wanted to go to dinner -- if you had pushed back, or told me it was your birthday, or asked me if there was any way I could reschedule my plans -- I could have moved things around for you. But instead you accepted it, and didn't act like anything was even wrong until you drove off and went drinking by yourself. You never told me what you wanted; you just forced me into a situation where if I didn't agree, it wasn't good enough for you."

 Rin looked down again, his throat feeling heavy. "I just wanted you to remember..." he said, through a labored breath.

 "Why? Because it would mean I cared about you any less if the date had slipped my mind? Because if I dropped all my plans when you told me you wanted to do something for your birthday, that would have been any less thoughtful than having a date written on my calendar?"

Gou’s voice was becoming louder and more animated again. "You're using this as an excuse to confirm your own fears, and I'm sick of it! I've thought so hard about what I could do for your birthday. Takahashi Ryosuke sent you all these damn presents, and you're out in dad's old car with your head in your ass, singing ‘woe is me.’ Why is it so hard for you to just accept that people love you?"

 Rin looked up at his brother's last words, his heart jolting as Gou spoke them. His pulse spiked, his palms sweat, and a terrible pit grew in his gut. Yet, his cheeks felt warm.

 Gou's façade of strength had faded now. He twisted his palms into fists and turned his piercing gaze away. His body hunched towards the floor, and his breaths became harsh and audible.

 That's what this was all about, wasn't it? Rin had assumed that no one cared about his birthday, because no one cared about him. That somehow, he wasn't loveable, and never would be.

 A single tear trickled down Gou's face. Rin stood silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. Gou’s face tensed, as he fought to keep his expression strong.

 "Are you going to say anything?" Gou asked, more tears falling now. "You're a real shit brother sometimes," he continued, followed this time by a sob, "but I love you, aniki. Even when I'm mad at you."

 Rin felt his breath catch in his throat. It hurt to see his brother reeling in the pain he had caused with his own selfishness. What could he possibly say to fix the damage he had done, over so many years?

 Before he could think of anything, a slight creaking sound came from the living room.

 "Hojo-san, are you ok?"

 Gou wiped away his tears with one hand and quickly forced a stern look on his face as he turned around. "Shinji, I told you to stay in the other room."

 The young 86 driver Rin had met briefly walked into the room, in a t-shirt that looked too large for his small, childish frame, and -- curiously -- a party hat. Rin's breath faltered again.

 "But I heard you crying," Shinji said, as his forehead creased. Of course, he probably had never seen Gou upset like this before. Gou always tried to keep his cool, stay in control of his emotions… unlike him.

 "It's okay," Gou said, forcing a smile. "I just needed to discuss something with my brother. We'll be there in a second. If you want to help, you can make sure the food is still warmed up."

 Shinji nodded, gave a small thumbs-up, and then scurried back into the living room.

 Gou sighed and shook his head. "Well, that ruined the surprise a bit."

 Rin watched with wide eyes. Gou had thrown a surprise party for him? His hands clenched the side of his pants tightly, his shoulders becoming tense. Ryosuke was right. He'd just made assumptions.

 He suddenly remembered the strange way Ryosuke had acted on the phone -- telling him sternly to go home, and warning him that he'd gotten it all wrong. That clever bastard had figured it out. Then why... why couldn't he? He took a deep breath. Gou was right. It was because he didn't believe that anyone really cared. …Even Ryosuke. Even Gou.

 He stared at the empty space where Shinji had been standing a moment earlier. Gou had matured so much in these few years -- from a boy always seeking his approval to a young man mentoring his own team. But, he wasn't on his own. The kids on his team cared about him so much. He was truly surrounded by wonderful people who supported him.

 But what about Rin? He wasn't there for him at all. Gou had made such a heartfelt confession and here he was, standing in stunned silence, not even able to muster up a trace of empathy for his own brother. His throat felt even heavier, tears threatening to burst from his own eyes.

 "I'm sorry, Gou," he said, his legs trembling. He fought to hold back the tears -- falling apart always did more harm than good with him. He wanted to be strong, like Gou had become. The tremors spread to his arms, and he curled his hands into fists. "I'm sorry for everything. I never said it before, so I'm saying it now. I'm sorry for leaving you, and Father. For becoming Shinigami. For trying to hurt the people who loved me -- the people I loved. Because I was ashamed of myself. Because I thought you'd be better without me."

 Tears had returned to Gou's eyes -- he could see them through his own, blurred, damp vision.

 "I spent two years without you, aniki," Gou said softly, inching closer and placing a hand on Rin's shoulder. "I changed a lot, but I wasn't any better. I had to take care of myself, and maybe I needed that. But I became so obsessed with defeating Project D that I forgot to have fun racing anymore. It was affecting the way I coached Shinji, too. But your advice -- and that team Takahashi Ryosuke put together -- you guys reminded me what it was all about.

I had convinced myself I didn't need you either. But I always missed having my first coach around... aniki."

 Though his hands still trembled, Rin closed the remaining distance between them, wrapping his arms around Gou's back and pulling him into a tight embrace.

 Gou didn't return the gesture, keeping one hand frozen on Rin's shoulder and the other tightly at his side. But he made no motion to escape, either... for a few moments, anyway.

 "Hey, don't get all mushy on me, now, aniki," Gou said, stepping back, finally, with a lightly flushed face. "You're going to turn into Ryosuke."

 Despite the weariness in Gou's tone, a slight smile had crossed his face. Rin smiled back as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

 "Well, speaking of Ryosuke, I'd like to see these gifts he sent," Rin said.

 "Alright," Gou replied, drawing out the syllables in a tone of mocking exasperation, "but mine first."

 "Alright," Rin agreed, "yours first."

 Gou stepped aside, clearing Rin's path to the living room. Rin carefully wiped his sleeve against his face once more, making sure to brush away all his tear stains, before taking a deep breath and walking forward into the room.

 He entered the room and turned to the left-side wall, which was completely hidden by the walls of the vestibule. There stood all the members of Team Sidewinder, sporting party hats, cheering as he entered the room. Ikeda also stood at their side, clapping, while sheepishly holding a party hat that he didn't seem to want to wear.

 Rin had promised himself not to cry again, but seeing his and his brother's friends all here, cheering him on, made something well up in the back of his throat again. He smiled, weakly, a small "thank you," escaping his lips.

 Behind them stood a colorful buffet table, lined with snacks and desserts. At the end of the table sat a few packages and a bouquet of blue and yellow flowers. All around the table were balloons and streamers, and on the wall hung a sign that said "Happy Birthday, Rin!"

 No wonder Gou had declined his invitation to the cafe. He must have spent the entire afternoon putting this all together.

 "So, what do you think, aniki?" Gou asked, entering the room after him.

 "I'm speechless," Rin replied, turning to face his brother. "Thank you, Gou."

 Gou smirked, then walked over to the side of the buffet table. "Well, this is just the party. I have a gift for you, too," he said, picking a small box off the table and handing it to Rin.

 Rin took the box into his hands and examined it closely. It was a small, black velvet box, which was covered in a thin layer of dust, as though it had not been touched in some years.

 He cracked it open, revealing a beautiful silver plated watch, with a race car logo printed on the watch face and a date from over two years ago engraved in the metal just below.

 Rin looked up at Gou, curiously. "Gou... is this...."

 "Two years ago, I entered the local gymkhana -- like we had agreed -- to practice my skills. When I won, they gave me a trophy and this watch. I already wore a watch that Father gave me for my birthday, so I would only have used it for decoration. So, I hoped instead to give it to my coach..." His eyes were shimmering again, but he was holding back the tears. "...But... you didn't come home..."

 "Gou... I'm sorry," Rin said, clutching the box close to his chest. Gou shook his head.

 "I kept it on my shelf. I thought about putting it on display but... I couldn't. After a year, I never thought you were coming home, but, still, I never touched that watch. I guess, maybe a small part of me never lost hope..."

 "Are you sure you want me to have this?" Rin asked. "It's your accomplishment, not mine."

 "Please," Gou replied, nodding. "I couldn't have done it without you. It was your victory as well."

 Rin reached out, and placed a hand on Gou's shoulder. Perhaps it was best not to force him into another hug, but it was important he convey his feelings sincerely. "This is the best gift I could have asked for," he replied.

 Gou blinked a few times, the water settling in his eyes, and he smiled.

 "So," Rin said, setting down the watch on a nearby table and pointing at the other package on the buffet, which appeared to have come through the post, "I assume that one is Ryosuke's."

 Gou nodded, "And the flowers," he said, rolling his eyes, "and a card."

 Rin chuckled to himself, examining the blue and yellow flowers in a vase on the table. Only Ryosuke would send a present like that.

 Gou walked over to the table and fetched the box and a small envelope which had been sitting underneath. He handed them to Rin, who placed the box on the table and pried open the letter carefully with his finger.

 To a dearest friend on his birthday, read the gold-colored characters on the heavy, cream colored card. It was just the sort of sentimental thing Ryosuke would spend money on, wasn't it?

 Hope this year will bring you many blessings and great joy, read the rest of the printed text. Underneath, was a note in quickly scrawled, but still pristine handwriting.

 Hojo-senpai, my best wishes on your birthday. I would love to see you next time that I find myself back in the area. I have included a small gift for you. Perhaps it's a bit sentimental for your taste, but I hope it will bring back good memories for years to come. Sincerely yours, Takahashi Ryosuke

 With a shake of his head, Rin set the card down and opened the box. The inside was covered in tissue paper, which he threw aside to reveal the contents.

 He reached in and pulled out a small, die cast replica of a white RX-7 FC3S. He set it aside and looked down into the box. There were two more tiny cars -- a grey R32 and a red NSX. He smiled, setting them all down next to each other. It was a bit cheesy, but Ryosuke was right. He never wanted to forget those moments they had spent racing.

 He looked back into the box, and noticed one more object that was wedged into the side. It was a photograph.

 Prying it out, Rin found himself looking at a grainy picture that featured him and Ryosuke, arm in arm, in front of his GT-R. They looked so young and foolish -- Ryosuke with round, reflective sunglasses, dressed to the nines, of course, but with a cigarette in hand. And him, with an oversized hoodie and pants covered in metal chains. He shook his head at his younger self, but not without smiling as he did so. He'd need to get this framed.

 "What a sap," Rin said out loud with a chuckle, setting the picture down. He looked back over at the buffet table and smiled. "How about we get something to eat?"

 Cheers erupted from the crowd.

 Rin spent the rest of the night enjoying the company of those present. Ikeda took a seat next to him on the couch and struck up one of his long, philosophical conversations, while the members of Sidewinder laughed and yelled at one another noisily in the background. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Even Shinji, who had always seemed shy and awkward, managed to start a long conversation with Gou.

 Late into the evening, the guests began to leave one-by-one. Most of the members of Sidewinder were the first to go, each stopping by to offer Rin a word of congratulations before they left. Sometime after, Ikeda ended their conversation and bid him farewell, saying he had a few things to take care of before retiring to bed. That left just him, Shinji, and Gou.

 "Shinji, it's getting pretty late," Gou said, as he noticed Ikeda shut the door. "Don't you think your mom will be worried if you don't get home?"

 Shinji looked down at his feet with a small pout.

 "Are you avoiding your homework again?" Gou sighed.

 Shinji crossed his arms.

 "Shinji-kun," Rin said, standing up. Shinji turned around, looking at him curiously. "Everyone needs to study sometimes. Even if you become a racing driver, you'll need to eventually study theory if you want to really improve and perform your best. School can be boring, but it's best to get into good habits now -- kind of like racing. You've been so successful because of how well you know your home course. Knowing how to study and get things done that you don't want to do is something you get better at as you practice too. Just ask Gou."

 Gou nodded. "Aniki's right. I didn't like studying, either, but Kubo-san and I go over data all the time now. It's a good habit to learn."

 "Ok," Shinji replied with a sigh, getting up off the couch. "I'll go home then. Thank you for inviting me, Hojo-san. I had fun and the food was delicious."

 "It's no problem," Gou said with a laugh, ruffling Shinji's hair. "Thank you for coming. Now hurry along."

 Shinji nodded, but before he left, he turned and walked over to Rin. Then, suddenly, his eyes turned over in the direction of the flowers, and he stared and them for a moment, before looking back.

 "You know, Hojo-san,” Shinji said, addressing Rin now, “my mom knows the meaning of all sorts of flowers. If you want, I can ask her what those mean," he said, pointing to Ryosuke's bouquet.

 "Thank you, Shinji-kun," Rin replied, out of politeness. He wasn't really sure they meant anything, outside of being a nice color scheme, but it seemed best to indulge the kid.

 Shinji smiled excitedly and pulled a small cellphone out of his pocket, quickly snapping a photo of the flowers before putting it away. "Happy birthday, Hojo-san," he said to Rin and quickly, with energy that Rin didn't realize the kid still had, bounded out the door.

 "Thank you for helping me with Shinji," Gou said, moving next to Rin on the couch, after a moment had passed. "I'm still learning from you."

 "I'd say you're becoming a pretty good leader yourself," Rin replied. Gou smiled at that.

 "There's a lot to put away," Gou said, standing up and walking towards the buffet table. "I'll clean up everything, though. It's your birthday. You shouldn't have to do the work."

 "It's only fair that I help," Rin replied, standing up as well. When Gou looked at him sternly he replied, "it's the least I can do."

 Gou's expression relented. "Well, maybe if we make quick work of it, we can watch a movie after all," he said.

 "Sounds like a plan."

 A half-hour or so later, as the last of the dishes were being dried, Gou's phone buzzed in his pocket. He flipped it open, read the message he had received, and smiled to himself.

 "Hey, aniki," he teased, "want to know what sappy flowers Ryosuke sent you?"

 Rin laughed. "What is it?" he asked, bracing himself for something rather absurd.

 "Apparently Shinji says the flowers are daffodils and bluebells. They mean respect and gratitude, respectively."

 Rin felt his pulse quicken again, remembering suddenly the unnaturally calm, peaceful expression on Ryosuke's face after their battle on Hakone.

 "I'm grateful too," he said quietly, "to have such wonderful friends."

 "Okay, okay, don't get all sappy on me again, aniki," Gou whined, flicking a wet towel in Rin's direction and spraying him with the excess water.

 Rin brushed the droplets off his face and scowled. "If you keep making fun of me, I'm not going to give you any more advice," he warned.

 "Well, that's what Kubo-san's for," Gou said with a shrug.

 "You think that old fart gives half the advice I do?"

 "Well he certainly gives it more succinctly, with less crying," Gou retorted.

 "Says the kid who cried at age thirteen when Father said you were too old to sleep with a teddy bear!" Rin cracked back.

 "You still have yours hidden in your top drawer," Gou replied, pointing at him angrily, "and an angsty diary."

 "What were you doing in my drawers at all?"

 "I'm your younger brother, it's basically my job."

 Rin sighed and Gou ran up the stairs towards their room with a snarky grin. Gou could be a handful, sometimes, but he hadn't seen him look this happy in years. And truth be told, Rin hadn't felt this happy either.

 Perhaps it was all right to let his little brother have his way... sometimes.

 The End

[cyanmnemosyne]

Yuletide Letter (2017)

Dear Yuletide Writer,

First of all, thank you for taking the time to write me a fic!  This is my third year participating in Yuletide, and I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with. :D

If you have matched with me on one of these small fandoms, I figure chances are pretty good that we share some tastes as well. :D So while I’ve tried to provide at least a bit of commentary for each one, please feel free to ignore all my meandering suggestions if your inspiration takes you in a different direction.  :)  I feel certain I’ll love whatever you write, either way. <3

I also have no preferences as regards length, tense, or POV -- feel free to write the story however it works best. :)

AO3 name: darkcyan

Requested fandoms:

Shirobako

Mouretsu Pirates | Bodacious Space Pirates

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

Machineries of Empire Series - Yoon Ha Lee  

[ hiding the rest under the cut, because as usual, it got long. :) ]

General Preferences:

Yes, Please:

fluff, found family, deep friendships, established relationships, brand new relationships where everyone’s trying to feel their way through, drama if it’s not gratuitous or inspired only by misunderstandings, hopeless pining, hopeless pining that turns out to be reciprocated.  People already trusting each other, people coming to slowly trust each other.

basically if it’s emotionally warm, I will probably love it

and if it hurts but resolves in an emotionally warm place, I will love it while crying

AUs.  canon-fork or otherwise.  I like it best when the characters still feel “true” to their canon personalities, as filtered and changed through the different lens of how the AU differs from canon.  For AUs that involve significant worldbuilding (e.g. sci fi AU), feel free to spend as much time as you want on the worldbuilding in addition to the characters.

Actually worldbuilding in general is great if that’s your thing.

Missing scene / other POV / canon continuation fic are also great. (I think what I’m trying to say is I like basically all kinds of fic?)

time travel. is a guilty pleasure of mine.  Primarily when used as an excuse to abuse one’s future knowledge to help put the past on a better track (though of course, it wouldn’t be as fun if the changes didn’t start piling up eventually. ;) ) Time travel paradoxes are an interesting thought experiment, but in my fic-reading I’ve got a strong preference for the “eh, changing the past forks the future, don’t worry about it too much” mode of time travel.

Female characters being their awesome selves.

Happy endings.  (Bittersweet is fine too :) )

Shipping is great, queerplatonic relationships are great, deep friendship is great.  Relationships are great! (I’ve called out my preferences or lack thereof on a fandom-by-fandom basis below in case it helps.  Anywhere I say “relationship”, feel free to assume that I’d be just as thrilled by anywhere in the spectrum from “really good friends” through “queerplatonic” to “romantic”)

Humor is good too! I’m usually not terribly interested in true crackfic, but the occasional lighthearted fic – or a dash of humor in something otherwise dramatic to lighten the mood – is great.

I feel certain I’m missing a lot, so let’s just say that anything that’s not otherwise called out in my maybe/no lists is fair game :D

Maybe:

issuefic (which seems to include things like alternate sexuality / gender headcanons? not 100% sure on the preferred terminology here?) I like my issues to feel organically part of the story rather than being a transparent soapbox, but other than that, I think that sort of story can be really interesting :D  This is in the ‘maybe’ category mostly because I guess there’s a risk that we might not happen to agree on said issue?? But if it’s the sort of fic you love to write, go for it! :)

Kidfic.  Haven’t really encountered much that interested me, but if you want to, go for it. :)

Please, no:

Onscreen sex. Fade to black or references are fine if you feel it’s critical to the characterization / plot, but if we’ve gotten to the point where we’re talking about limb positions, my reaction is almost certain to be somewhere between bored and extremely uncomfortable.  

(but honestly I’d prefer no sex at all. comes of being both asexual and a prude *shrug*)

Even if it’s not explicit or onscreen, please no rape / noncon / dubcon. *eyes list* Do I need to call out “no incest”? I don’t think so? But just in case: no incest either please. :)

Not a huge fan of drug / addiction plots either

Relationships, romantic or otherwise, where there’s a significant power imbalance (especially if it’s abused) really bother me, especially if it’s played as acceptable.[1]  (If the story shows it as deeply problematic and works through the implications, I’ve been known to have an intellectual appreciation for it, but it’s still not something I really want to read about.)

Most significant age difference fic falls into this bucket for me.  

I also feel pretty strongly about free will and freedom to choose, so “I’m taking away your choices by hiding things from you / doing things behind your back For Your Own Good” narratives mostly just make me want to punch things, no matter how good the supposed justification is on the part of the person doing it. So. I’d recommend avoidance. :)

… Emotional manipulation in general, to be honest.  Especially, again, if it’s played as acceptable.

Cheating and other forms of deliberate, sustained dishonesty within a relationship.  If the characters are lying to each other, they’d better have a really good reason, and chances are I still won’t like them quite as much after.  [2]

Gratuitous drama.  If the drama could be resolved by the characters just sitting down for five minutes and talking to each other, and the only reason they don’t is ~*~reasons~*~, then I start getting really annoyed, really quickly

Plots revolving around jealousy.  It’s a human emotion, but I hate it when characters let it eliminate their capacity for rational thought

Anything that uses “they couldn’t help themselves” as an excuse for making bad decisions. Like. I’m sure there are exceptions.  (Actual mind-control?) But in general my response to that excuse is “You’re an adult.  Act like it.“

Character bashing. Even the characters I hate are the heroes of their own stories.  

Not a huge fan of relentless grimness / Crapsack Worlds.  I enjoy some grim sometimes, but I prefer at least an occasional dose of hope with my grimness. I need to have some faith that the ending will be a happy one, or at least cathartically bittersweet.

Related: If I wanted to hear about awful people being awful all the time and how awful everything is as a result, I’d go watch the news. (... Someday I would like this statement to be less true than it was the previous year, instead of more. ;___;) There can be awful people, they can do awful things, but I’d really prefer they not be either the majority or the focus of the story.

[1] BDSM in which said power relationship has been consensually agreed on ahead of time is entirely different, of course. :)

… But it’s also not generally really my thing. :P

[2] For the record, I do not count poly relationships in this bucket at all.  All I ask is that everyone who’s involved is aware of and reasonably happy with what’s going on.

Fandoms:

Shirobako

Crunchyroll

Requested character(s): Miyamori Aoi, Yano Erika

Spoiler notes: I’ve watched the show and read the first several chapters of the prequel manga

Preferred pairing(s): gen or Erika/Aoi (side relationships between whatever set of the characters that suits your fancy are fine too - aside from my soft spot for Erika/Aoi I don’t have any strong ship feelings.)

THIS SHOW.  I love it to pieces. When I first started watching it, I was in the middle of a bit of a professional crisis of my own (trying to decide whether to change jobs), so this show hit basically all my “I love this” buttons, from laughing and crying about how well it depicted how hard it is to get a lot of creative people to work together (I’m a programmer, not an animator, but the similarities are pretty scary), to laughing and crying at its depiction of writer’s block, to adoring all the little in-jokes it slipped in about anime as a whole (I wish I could remember the name of that harem show …), to loving all the insights into how making an anime actually works, to empathizing like no one’s business with Aoi’s insecurity about whether she was “enough” for the job and whether it was okay to not have everything figure out yet, to Ema’s struggles with imposter syndrome, to Misa’s angst about whether she should stick with a stable job she knows or try for something more like what she really wanted, to …

just.

THIS SHOW.

I re-watched it last year and was struck all over again by how much I love Erika’s casual mentorship of Aoi; she’s one of my favorite characters, and I’m always sorry to see her disappear and I always cheer when she comes back.  

So what I’d really like to see this time is a story that focuses on their relationship.  A scenario where Erika helps point Aoi in the right direction?  When Aoi realizes Erika needs some support?

During that long gap when Erika is away caring for her father, do she and Aoi still stay in contact?  Does Aoi ever come visit?  

I’d just love to see more of these characters and their friendship.  

(Note: I do low-key ship Erika/Aoi, but I also am pretty iffy about workplace romance, especially in such a small workplace, and Erika especially seems like the sort to be level-headed about that sort of thing.  

So if you want to take things in a shippy direction, I’d like to request that it either stays at mutual pining or -- if they decide to make a go of an actual relationship -- actually addresses the workplace romance issue. One of them moves to a different company? idk.

But I’d also be 100% happy to see a fic that is completely gen, if that’s what you’d prefer. :) )

(And one final note: Hiraoka. I’m not sure I like him, exactly, but I’ve been uncomfortably close to where he is emotionally, so he gives me lots of complicated feelings.  So, if you choose to include him, please be kind?

And if you, too, have dealt with burnout - Erika and Hiraoka had a very interesting conversation at one point that made me think that Erika’s also uncomfortably familiar with it, but has just stabilized in a healthier place. If you wrote a story centered on that I’d probably love you forever, but I’m not sure it’s one even I’d be willing to attempt …)

Mouretsu Pirates | Bodacious Space Pirates

Requested character(s): Lynn Lambretta, Jenny Dolittle

Spoiler notes: I’ve watched the show and the movie.

Preferred pairings: Lynn/Jenny

… Yeah, no, I’m not even going to pretend that I’d be happy with gen when this is an actual canon relationship that is one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen.

(… Like, my high-pitched yelling about this pairing almost reaches the level of Uranus/Neptune back in my peak Sailor Moon fan years.  … … And that’s a lot. XD)

I meannnnn you can do gen if you reallllllly want to. :D I’m sure I’ll still enjoy it.  <3

But yeah, insofar as I have OTPs anymore, these two are definitely one of them. XD (And I’m hoping that if you’re offering these two characters, it’s because you ship them too. XD)

Ahem. Where was I?  

I really enjoy this show in general - it’s just so refreshingly, unabashedly fun; a lovely warm show about a bunch of ridiculous, adorable, and really damn competent girls being their awesome selves. (With a handful of fond, long-suffering adults on the side.) (And also piracy.)

And I love Jenny and Lynn in particular because even though they’re secondary characters, they exemplify this - every interaction Marika has with them, they’re being their competent, awesome selves, and it’s a true treat to watch.  

So please give me these two characters being being their badass competent selves.  Or give me something adorably fluffy with the two of them doing nothing in particular.  Give me them working together and sometimes having to remind each other to take a break and eat or sleep - or give me that year they spent separate, and their wistful pining, wishing they could reach each other through their holographic displays.  

(Okay, ngl, I have a special category of high-pitched yelling reserved for that phone conversation!! When Jenny is giving Lynn advice on being president!! And Lynn’s wistful-but-fond smile as she hangs up!!!)

In summary, please give me more of these adorable canon lesbians. <3

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time

Requested character(s): Nel Zelpher, Clair Lasbard

Spoiler notes: I’ve played the game and am ~ halfway through the manga and seriously wtf did you do to my favorite character less blushing more badassery for Apris’ sake!

Preferred pairings: Nel/Clair

Speaking of high-pitched yelling on the scale of Uranus/Neptune, I am fairly certain that Nel was my official first ever video game crush. This was a bit difficult for me to explain to myself, as I was convinced I was ~straight at the time, but she was so cool that I didn't bother to think about it in too much detail.

And when we are introduced to Clair as her partner, and every single scene in which the two appear makes it clear how strong their bond is -- it was a foregone conclusion that I would start to ship them as well. And Adray's obnoxious insistence on trying to find a husband for Clair just made me even more determined to headcanon them as lovers (or at the very least secretly pining for each other) in addition to partners.

As I said above with Lynn/Jenny -- if you don't ship them romantically, but just think they're great platonic partners, I'm sure I'll still enjoy it whatever you come up with. But in case there’s any doubt, I also very much ship them. :D <3

And either way, I just love their dynamic -- these two strong-willed, intelligent, fiercely competent women, working towards a shared goal that they both believe is more important than themselves. How deep and unshakeable their trust is -- and how even though it clearly tears Clair apart to send Nel out into a situation that they both know may not be survivable, she'll do it anyway. And Nel will go.

I don't have any specific prompts in mind -- if you want to write about a mission Clair has to send Nel off on, and the tension between their fear for and their trust in each other (and the knowledge hanging over both of them that they're doing something that they see as more important than them both), great! Want to just do fluffy interactions during a brief break from the action (do they get vacation? How many people do they have to bribe to get vacation at the same time?), or after the war is done and things are a bit more settled, go for it. In the narrative path where Nel goes with the party into space, does she think of Clair and all the stories she's going to tell once she gets back (if she gets back)?  What does Clair think, being left so much farther behind this time than any other time before?  What stories does Nel tell when they're reunited?

Got an idea that's burning in your mind and has nothing to do with any of these? I'm sure I'll enjoy whatever you come up with. :)

Machineries of Empire Series - Yoon Ha Lee 

Requested character(s): Kel Cheris, Shuos Alaia

Spoiler notes: I’ve read both Ninefox Gambit and Raven Stratagem, and a decent number of the other vignettes/short stories in the world.  If you want to check whether I’ve read a specific story, feel free to shoot me an anon ask. :)

Preferred pairings: Cheris/Alaia

Ah, these books. Ninefox Gambit is one of my favorite books I've read this year, and its sequel, Raven Stratagem, was an entirely worthy follow-up. I'm really looking forwards to how the trilogy concludes in Revenant Gun, but in the meantime: fanfic! :D

I debated what I wanted to request, since there's a lot about this series that I like -- the fact that pretty much all of the characters are competent and Done With Your Shit, the way it sets up a horribly broken system and then doesn't flinch away from both how broken it is, and how the vast majority of people have just ... accustomed themselves to the situation, and make do while tolerating the horrible. It makes the system feel sustainable enough to have lasted this long, while still making it very clear why multiple someones would have gone to so much effort to try and tear it down. And yet, it also doesn't flinch from the consequences of the actions that the various characters take to try and tear it down, either. (One of the many reasons I'm looking forward to Revenant Gun -- I'm very curious to see what the consequences arise from the events in Raven Strategem.)

I really enjoy how many characters are queer (including trans!!), and how casually the narrative treats this fact. And the way that many characters' families are factored into their thoughts, even if they're not on the page, in a way that felt very true, but that I feel like doesn't often come up in other novels that aren't explicitly about something family-related.

The casual inclusion of dyscalculia and ADHD is also pretty great -- how it’s clearly an aspect of the characters that have shaped them, while even more clearly not being all their character is.

... So what do I decide to request this year?

Cheris and that one ex-girlfriend of hers who shows up for, like, a paragraph of flashback in Ninefox Gambit. XD

I just ... really liked that little bit of insight we got into Cheris’ history, and would love to see more.  How did they meet? Why did they break up?  What was the actual most ridiculous drama they watched, and how late did they stay up making fun of it?

Feel free to go in a more serious direction as well (what sort of training incident gave Alaia her nervous tic? what is being Shuos like to someone who didn’t go the flashy assassin route? How did being Kel and Shuos inform their interactions with each other, and the world around them).

And, as always, feel free to ignore my prompts entirely if there’s something you’d rather do instead. :D

[franeridart]

Who is your favourite villain in bnha??

I don’t... really... like the villains in bnha... sorry - the one I’m the most interested in is Twice, I feel like I could end up liking him soon enough, and the one I like the design of the most is Overhaul? I’m waiting for the day Horikoshi will make Dabi interesting to me, since as of now he’s a pretty bland and anonymous character and if I knew him more the chances I’d like or dislike him are more or less equal, but that’s about it for now

Anon said:i am just going to say that i am really inlove with your bakushimanaris (like, all three of them, any one of them, tbh you just opened my eyes on bakukami though, they're so cute and love!!!) and bakusquad i hope you draw more and more and more of them and never ever get tired of them

Awwwww thank you so much!!!! And I’m super glad you like my squad stuff!!!!! I’ll definitely draw more of it soon, don’t worry about that, they’re my faves to play with at the moment~

Anon said:Every time I see one of your drawing from a new show I'm like welp! Looks like I'm starting a new show. I think I started watching like three different shows and read the entire bnha manga just to understand more of your comics because I love your art!! Seriously it's super amazing and beautiful!!

BOI thank you!!!!!!!!!! I hope you liked all that stuff you started because of me hahaha and if this ask was about my latest LWA sketches, I hope you’ll enjoy that too!!! The girls are all amazing and both art-style and animations are incredible, it’s a really fun show!

Anon said:At the very least, I'm praying for "die you bacteria fucks"

I hear Bakugou’s vocabulary has been censored a bit in the anime (lmao good god son) so who knows! And how you translate swears from japanese depends a lot on the translator too, so who know x2! I hope it’ll be there tho, I love it haha

Anon said:Your Kosei is ADORABLE (not that all your drawings aren't, you amaze me). So glad he's getting some love

He’s such a good one, I hope with the anime more people will notice him!!!! I’m glad you like how I draw him!!!!!!!

Anon said:I feel like I'm the only one who hasn't read the actual manga for bnha! But I rly like ur art a lot even when I don't always get a reference or recognize a chara. Keep drawing I love it a lot (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ

Thank you???!!!!!! And don’t worry anon, you’re really not, there’s a lot of people who prefer anime to manga and there’s nothing wrong with that! Also... not getting or remembering the 1B kids...... isn’t unheard of from manga readers either.......... they’re seriously minor characters................. rip

Anon said:monoma x everyone this is the new ship 4 me, dekubowl got another contender

!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m glad your multishipper heart found a new victim, anon!! haha

Anon said:your tags literally give me life. honestly, they never fail to make me smile even if im having a shitty day. especially that stray kiri in your class b post like. kiri is literally my life saver i think

GOSH I’m glad I can help you like that!!!!!

Anon said:I just finished bnha and I'm going back trought all your art bc now I understand all the bnha ones and I'm happy with this

OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I’m happy you still like them after knowing who the characters are hahahaha might mean I’m doing something right with the characterization lol

Anon said:I had to go Google Sharkboy and Lavagirl and I've never been happier that I follow you

LMAO happy I could introduce you to the masterpiece that is that movie anon hahaha

Anon said: I'll probably regret sending this in the morning but I had a weird ass thought. What if Kiri accidentally activated his quirk when Baku was leaving a hickey and Baku straight up got stuck there. Unable to pull away. And they're both mortified.

Oh my god anon I don’t think that’s how Kirishima’s quirk works hahaha

Anon said:I JUST READ CHAPTER 133 OF BNHA AND ALL THE OTHER NEW CHAPTERS OH MY GOOOOOD thought i'd let you know ahah bc i know you must have died reading it too idkk. Also your last Kuroteru art !!!!! Gives me life !!!!! I LOVE YOUR ART SO MUCH and oh your comic abt tsuyu's and kaminari's hair had me laughing so hard you're a gIFT

Oops i forgot to put it in my previous ask : do you have any favorite bnha fic you'd be okay to share ? thank you !! (again you're a gIFT ily you seem like such a kind person and your art is awesome)

BOI SO MUCH HYPE IN JUST ONE ANON I LIKE YOU A LOT FRIEND !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for all the compliments!!!! And sure, of course I do I don’t read anything that isn’t bnha lately - try there

Bakushima

Bakushima

Also Bakushima + second part

More Bakushima

BakushimaNARI

You might notice I’m really into Bakushima

Kamishima!!!

MORE Kamishima

Another Bakushimanari

lOOK another Bakushima

BAKUNARI !!!!

Bakushima but also Gen/Kiri-centric

BAKUSHIMA

Agaaainnnn

These are just some of them guess who my faves are - btw anything by authoress is worth giving a shot, same for eggstasy and poteto 👍👍

Anon said:Your art is so cute and pretty it's starting to piss me off!

Please don’t be pissed off anon!!!!! °O°

Anon said:i'm so happy, i went to a con today and got a mystery haikyuu print... it turned out to be Teru and i nearly cried it was so good

OHHHHHHHHHH that’s super great for you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:whispers you said you're far from your favourite artist so i just wanted to say that you're My favourite artist

G o D that’s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! such a huge honor!!!!!!!!!!! I’m dying a bit don’t mind me aaaaHHHHHHHHH thank you!!!!! 

[jadeile-writes]

Fanfic Progress Update 66

Hellllllo, everyone~! It’s Saturday, so it’s time to see what I’ve been up to. Stay tuned to the end of this post for a spoiler-y glimpse into the next chapter of Adventure gone Mini.

Current WIPs:

Adventure gone Mini

Fandom: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild / The Minish Cap

Summary: Sidon is given his very own Sheikah Slate, the first replica Purah has managed to make, and sets out to travel with Link with the intention of registering warp points for convenient travel in the future. However, when a malfunction shrinks them down to the size of bugs, and they meet little people called the Minish, they have to change their plans from “fun adventuring” to “getting out of this mess”. Not that those two have to exclude one another. Link/Sidon.

Progress: Chapter 39 is the current latest chapter and was posted on 27th of May. Chapter 40 1/4th done and scheduled for 17th of June.

I post a new chapter every three weeks on Wednesdays. These updates always include a sneak-peek for the next chapter, slowly getting longer over the three weeks waiting period.

—–

That month of the year

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary: Every year, for a single month, the Radio Demon gets… emotional. His antlers are in velvet and he’s pumped full of hormones that make him behave quite unlike himself: suddenly, everywhere he looks, instead of seeing fellow demons all he sees are helpless little fawns that nobody is taking a proper care of! Solution? Adopt them.

Husk, Niffty, Camille, Honey, and the rest of the older Fawns put up with their Mom/Dad’s nonsense every year, but this time there’s a new, rotten apple in their midst and they have to protect Alastor from this crook. Without Alastor knowing about it. As Husk likes to put it: “This is fucking bullshit. …I mean fudgy nonsense.”

(Crack taken seriously. Gen)

Progress: The first two chapters are finished. The third chapter is more than halfway done. I want to have a few chapters written before posting anything. No progress since last time.

This fic is co-authored by Maximillian!

—–

Hah! Our afterlife is the most hilarious bushwa, dearest

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary: This is not a stand-alone story! This is a oneshot/drabble collection in the universe of “Shit, the Radio Demon is a part of my afterlife”. Read the main story before bothering with this one.

I decided to give my readers a chance to throw Radiohusk prompts at me, and had the Afterlife-verse as an option to set the stories in. Everyone liked that, so this fic is now a thing. Enjoy the extra mischief from these two dorks!

Progress: Chapter 17 is the current latest chapter and was posted on 29th of May. Chapter 18 hasn’t been started yet, but the scheduled posting date is 5th of June. A sneak-peek will be posted on Thursday.

I now have a whole bunch of new prompts, roughly 20, so we have plenty of chapters to look forward to again! : D

This fic receives a new chapter every Friday.

—–

Secret drabbles and ficlets!

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Summary: I’ve occasionally written completely random Radiohusk fics and shared them with a bunch of friends without posting them on AO3 or here. I’d like to rectify that and start posting them here at random for everyone to read. I won’t be posting them on AO3 because I don’t want to, so keeping an eye on this blog is even more rewarding than before for a while.

Progress: I have four separate ficlets at the moment (yes, still four, because another one wrote itself), and a few nearly finished ones that I’ll probably get done sooner or later (with one exception that I’m unlikely to actually finish at all). I’ll post them at most once a week, on whatever day I feel like doing it. Basically, keep your eyes open ;)

—–

Other WIPs I’m not currently working on but intend to get back to someday:

PoE Drabbles (Pillars of Eternity)

DC Drabbles (Justice League)

Diaphanous Relations (Forgotten Realms, R.A. Salvatore’s books)

Experiment in Romance (Hazbin Hotel)

—–

That’s it for the WIPs! Here are the promised sneak-peek into Adventure gone Mini (Note: the text may end up slightly different in the fic itself due to more editing happening before publishing). Enjoy!

Mini

Link and Sidon were man-handled through a hallway into another part of the building. Whereas the first room had been vast and grand looking – and thus perfect to play tag in – the next place had a more… sacred temple kind of atmosphere. There were ornate pillars all around the place, mystical yet peaceful looking paintings hanging from the walls, and an altar against one wall. There was also a small fountain in the middle of the room.

Before the fountain stood an adult Minish dressed in the same robes as the children were. They turned around to look when their rather noisy group entered the room.

—–

That’s it this time. See you next Saturday!

AO3    FFnet    Purple Crayon    Ko-fi

[simlovinggirl]

Not So Berry Challenge - Sims 3 Version

Hey guys! So I wrote up a Not So Berry Challenge version for the Sims 3 :) This is for all those sim lovers out there who don’t have the Sims 4 like me <3 If you would like to do the original challenge by @lilsimsie and @alwaysimming the information is below.  I am not taking credit for the original challenge, but I wanted to offer a Sims 3 version for people who would still like to have fun with the challenge.  If you do the challenge use #notsoberry and #notsoberrysims3 so we can see all your amazing stories! Have fun! <3 :D

Original Credit for creating this challenge goes to @alwaysimming and @lilsimsie. Find the original Sims 4 Not So Berry Challenge here!

Basic Rules:

1.   Each heir must represent the color of the generation (i.e. hair, makeup, clothing), but brightly colored skin is not necessary (these aren’t actually berry Sims, that’s the joke)

2.   The colors of the spouses don’t matter as they aren’t part of the challenge. Unless otherwise stated you can do whatever you please with them.

3.  Money cheats can be used, but not excessively. Suggestion: use freerealestate for you first home, but no cheats afterward.

4.   You may live wherever you please unless something is specified in the rules of a generation.

5.  Keep the lifespan on normal.

6.   If you play this challenge and want to share it with us, go ahead and post with #notsoberry and #notsoberrysims3 so everyone can see them!

Generation One: Mint

You're a hot-headed scientist that really loves the color mint.  You're career driven, but still make time for outings with your closest friends.  You love luxury and want the best for yourself and your family.

Traits: Vegetarian, Diva, Ambitious, Hot-Headed

Lifetime Wish: Become a Creature-Robot Cross Breeder

Career: Science

Rules:

Reach Level 10 of Science Career

Master Logic and  Science skills

Complete the Gem and metal collections

______________________________________________________________

Generation Two: Rose

You had everything you wanted as a child, but longed for more.  As an adult you have a hard time committing to relationship as you're focused on your career.  You have no maternal instincts whatsoever, but you still love your child with all your heart.

Traits: Workaholic, Snob, Hopeless Romantic, Irresistible, Schmoozer

Lifetime Wish: Heartbreaker

Career: Politician

Rules:

Reach Level 10 of the Politician Career

Complete the Heartbreaker LTW

Have only one child

Leave someone at the alter

Get married as an elder

______________________________________________________________

Generation Three: Yellow

Growing up you never had a close relationship with your mother and spent the majority of your time alone in your room obsessing over space.  You just really love space.  You'll do whatever it takes to become an astronaut and visit the future.

Traits: Clumsy, Ambitious, Loner, Absent-Minded

Lifetime Wish: High Tech Collector

Career: Astronomy (Available in Oasis Landing)

Rules:

Master logic skill using only telescopes or books

Visit the future and Master advanced technology skill

In the future: join the Astronomy career (Space Explorer Branch)

Unlock the “Travel to Simulon V” and travel there at least once

Never have any close friends other than grandparent from Gen 1

Can't marry until Grandparent dies

______________________________________________________________

Generation Four: Grey

You always felt you were different.  While the rest of your family was busy messing around in the lab, you just wanted to be outside playing basketball.  You're very good at sports and you dream of becoming a professional athlete.  To make up for your nonexistent relationship with your parents you want to be there for your own children as much as possible.  Oh, and you love to play an instrument.

Traits: Athletic, Slob, Virtuoso, Family Oriented

Lifetime Wish: Superstar Athlete

Career: Athletic

Rules: 

Master either Guitar, Piano, Bass, or Drum Skill

Master Athletic Skill

Reach Top of Athletic Career

Complete the Superstar Athlete LTW

Have three failed relationships before finding spouse and marrying a neat sim

Be good friends with all of your children

Have family video game night with your spouse and children every Sunday

______________________________________________________________

Generation Five: Plum

You've always been good at everything you tried.  It's hard to choose a career, so why not try a few?  You work as a doctor for much of your life, but as an adult realize your true dream is to become an Magician.  You quit your job and join the Magician career. Basically: You're an indecisive oddball.

Traits: Genius, Commitment Issues,

Lifetime Wish: Renaissance Sim

Career: Bookstore Clerk, Medical, Magician

Rules:

Master Charisma skill and two other skills of your choosing

Must reach at least level 8 in six different skills

Get divorced and then remarry the same sim

Quit medical job as an adult to become a magician

______________________________________________________________

Generation Six: Orange

You're the black sheep of your family (but with orange hair) and you were raised in a hectic household.  You've always wanted to cause mayhem.  You enjoy breaking into your neighbors' houses and spray painting their belongings.  You spend the majority of your time tagging buildings around town and just getting into mischief.

Traits: Evil, Rebellious, Charismatic, Mean-Spirited, artistic

Lifetime Wish: The Emperor of Evil 

Career: Criminal

Rules:

Master street art skill

Live in a cheap, run down house entire YA life

Reach highest standing in the Rebel Social Group

Have twins, but only those two children (may cheat for this)

Have at least 6 enemies

______________________________________________________________

Generation Seven: Pink

You grew up poor and are living paycheck to paycheck working in the business career. You long to write romance novels, but are too afraid to quit your steady job to follow your dreams.  You're very practical and you know the chances of making it as a writer are slim, so you stay working your nine to five.  As an adult you finally decide to pursue your dreams. You're a hopeless romantic, but your unflirty nature makes it nearly impossible to find love.

Traits: Neat, Unflirty, Artistic, Hopeless Romantic

Lifetime Wish: Professional Author

Career: Business, Self-Employed Writer

Rules:

Master Writing skill

Have a well maintained garden

Quit day job as an Adult to pursue dream of being a writer

______________________________________________________________

Generation Eight: Peach

Your mother always taught you to follow your dreams. You’ve always wanted to be a detective and you’ve always wanted to be a piano player. Well dang it, you can do both! Detective by day, pianist by night, you can do anything you set your mind to.

Traits: Perceptive, Good Sense of Humor, Virtuoso

Lifetime Wish: Pervasive Private Eye

Career: Private Investigator

Rules:

Marry a co-worker

Master logic and piano skills

Reach the top of Private Investigator Career

Use "play for tips" with keyboard or piano at least 4 times a week

______________________________________________________________

Generation Nine: Green

You've always been a fan of Criminal Minds and you take after Penelope Garcia.  You're dedicated to your work, but that doesn't stop you from going out and having a good time.  You're the kind of person that will be at a party at 3am and then at work at 6am.

Traits: Party Animal, Computer Whiz, Social Butterfly

Lifetime Wish: Forensic Specialist: Dynamic DNA Profiler

Career: Law Enforcement

Rules:

Accept every invitation to parties/outings with your friends

Have at least 5 good friend and 5 enemies

Master Mixology, Social Networking, and Laser Rhythm skills

Reach top of Law Enforcement Career - Forensic Specialist Branch

______________________________________________________________

Generation Ten: Blue

You have the perfect life.  White picket fence, loving spouse, beautiful children.  But why do you still want more? You have a one time secret affair and will regret it for the rest of your life.  Afterward you pour your soul into raising your children and fixing your marriage. You never admit the affair to anyone and dedicate your life to being the perfect mother.

Traits: Grumpy, Perfectionist, Family Oriented, Natural Cook, Good

Lifetime Wish: The Culinary Librarian

Career: Cooking

Rules:

Adopt at least one child

Master photography, cooking, and athletic skills

Marry high school sweetheart and stay with them until you die

Have a one time secret affair

Quit your job after the affair to become a stay at home parent

[tcsnextgen]

How I met my Irish criminal, part one.

Ignore that bad title, I’m just sharing a little blurb that came to me and that I scribbled during my short offtimes at work today. I needed some more Vicrory and I also wanted to somehow shape out their first meeting a little, just for a start, and also for the fun of writing a bit of some of my older Present Gen characters. :D

(Settings/happenings are likely to change. This is, once again, really just a first rough scribble.)

________________

Vic meets Rory for the first time in Dublin. She has just turned 21, she grew up and still lives in Boston with her successful lawyer mom and it’s just likely that she’s in her last year of University or so, and she wants to take some time off and start exploring the world on her own. A classic scenario of some sorts (hey, I never said that my goal was to be super original, lol).

She’s on really good terms with her „aunt“ Charlie in Dublin. The two e-mail each other regularly and also talk via internet calls a lot, I think, and while Charlie offers to stay with her and Kieran (and Livie), I think Vic decides to rent a hostel room instead. She wants the whole student-travelling-overseas experience and not being pampered (it’s probably still James who pays for the trip, but hey, Vic works really hard and her stupid father swims in money and thinks she deserves it SO WHAT, logic has no place here). She’s confident and adventurous and looking forward to spending some time on her own in another country, but it’s still good to know that she has friends in town whom she can meet up with. So it’s settled. About four weeks in peaceful Ireland - a perfect plan!

Rory ‚travels‘ through the entire country and can also be found in England (and probably Scotland) at times but Dublin will be his 'base' (I just can’t see him staying in a small town like Galway for his purposes, lol). No one ever knows where exactly he is but of course he happens to be in Dublin by the time Vic is there.

(Charlie - who actually learned to drive properly over all the years, lol - insisted to pick up Vic from the airport and have her spend at least the first two days at their place so she can recover a little from her jet lag in a more familiar surrounding. Vic was happy and thankful for the suggestion so she agreed.)

SO, when Charlie pulls into the driveway to O’Connell manor, she already sees from afar that something is going on. There’s Kieran, seemingly arguing with someone in front of the house and, after another closer look, that someone turns out to be Rory. Charlie, having a rather bad feeling about this, parks the car and gets out. Kieran and Rory are indeed in the middle of a heated discussion but Charlie can’t make out what it is about. She will ask Kieran later.

Vic takes her backpack and gets out of the car as well and she overhears Kieran letting out a rather threatening sounding hiss, „Get to the fuckin’ point, Rory.“, and she can’t help but lean over a bit, to hear what’s going on, but Charlie urges her to come inside. Not before she drops a rather dry greeting, though.

„Rory. Great to see you.“

Rory grins at Charlie. „Right back at ya, gorgeous.“ He pauses for a second. His eyes wander over to Vic and he gives a little nod in her direction.

“Who’s that?“ he asks, his emerald eyes curious.

Startled because of the unexpected eye contact, Vic just stares at him.

It’s that moment.

(Her mom, Sophie, often jokes about how Vic was supposed to go through the ‘Attracted to Bad Boys/Girls' phase at some point but, for some reason, she never did. Sorry Sophie. Here it comes. Just a little later than expected)

It’s something about his attitude and his expression, Vic can’t really tell. The stranger named Rory isn’t tall. In fact, Kieran towers over him and yet Rory doesn’t seem to be impressed in the least. Despite his street tough looks, he is rather cute and has an adorable smile. Vic wonders why Charlie and Kieran are so tense around him. He seems easygoing and chill but she’s sure that the two know things about him she doesn’t.

And still. She can feel her heart beating faster. There’s something captivating about him, something that demands all her attention.

„No one.“ Kieran’s voice cuts into the moment. He sounds impatient and irritated.

„Oh c’mon Kiers, she’s hardly ‚no one‘. Show some damn respect.“ Rory insists.

„Yeah, I’m not ‘no one’ and I can speak for myself!“ Vic blurts out before Kieran can say anything but she instantly regrets it as she sees his stern expression. 

Rory however cackles at the remark and flashes another bright smile at her and Kieran now gives her a bland little smile. „Now’s not the time to pull a James, Vic. You go inside, I’ll join the two of you in a second.“

His tone is not harsh or unfriendly but Vic still feels that it is probably for the better to drop the subject and go inside.

„C’mon, sweetie.“ Charlie nudges her. With one last glance, Vic spies how Kieran gives Rory a firm slap to the back of his head and she hears him hissing again, „Don’t even fuckin’ think about it.“, but she eventually goes inside.

Vic drops her luggage in the entry hall and lets Charlie guide her to the kitchen. She takes a seat at the kitchen table, stretching her long legs a bit.

“You want something, sweetie? Coffee? Tea?”

“Coffee would be great!” Vic smiles. She feels a bit tired now that she has a chance to relax and a little energy boost seems like the right thing. Charlie smiles and nods and as she turns around to get the coffee mugs, Vic decides to address what she had just witnessed. She is most certainly curious and simply ignoring the subject seems weird to her.

„Who was that?“ she eventually asks while Charlie pours the coffee, trying to sound as indifferent as possible. „I mean… if I’m allowed to ask?“

Charlie sighs. „As long as you ask me, it’s fine, I guess.“ She bites her lip. „It’s a bit of a touchy subject for Kieran. That’s Rory, his nephew.“

Vic had already spotted the likeness and she remembers a few moments just now, when someone had mentioned Rory’s name. There weren’t many. She knows almost as much about the several O’Connell’s lives as she knows about her own but she now realises that everyone hardly ever talks about Rory and apparently there is a good reason for that.

Vic decides to not pry any further but Charlie turns out to be surprisingly talkative, almost as if she had been longing to talk to someone about it.

„He’s a bit… difficult. Left home early, met some really shady and crappy people. We don’t really know what he’s doing but he sure ain’t doing good.“ Charlie presses her lips into a thin line and takes another peek outside the window. The spot where Kieran and Rory stood was now vacant.  

„I’m sorry to hear that.“ Vic says as she hears the front door falling shut. „Must be hard.“

„It is.“ Charlie nods. „Well, I’m still hoping that someone’s going to give him a little nudge one day, one that points him into a different direction.“

„He doesn’t need a little ‚nudge‘, he needs someone to break his fuckin’ skull.“ Vic hears Kieran snarl from the entrance hall. „I happily volunteer.“ he adds, apparently more to himself because his voice now sounds a little lower, but Vic can still hear it and she can’t help but giggle to herself although the matter is hardly anything to laugh about.

„Darling.“ Charlie chides her husband, who now enters the kitchen. She glances at Vic and then looks back at him.

Kieran rolls his eyes. „You know I can’t get enough of you and your big heart, love, but y' gotta stop understating shit that doesn’t need understating.“ He ruffles Vic’s hair a bit as he walks by and gives her a smile and Vic looks at the two sharing a sweet kiss and hugging each other.

„I’m not trying to understate anything.“ Charlie mumbles against Kieran’s neck, placing another kiss. She pulls back and puts a hand to his cheek. „I’m just trying to not scare our girl here with crappy family stories.“

„Is the fuckwad gone?“ the husky voice of a teenage girl now calls from upstairs. All three of them now look into the direction where the voice comes from. Kieran lets out a cackle but his wife gives him a stern look and he bites his lip, albeit still smiling. „Sorry.“

„Olivia, language!“ Charlie calls right back.

16(/15)-year-old Olivia clomps down the stairs and heads to the kitchen. “Sorry, Ma, but you should really stop beatin’ around the bush at times. Everyone knows Rory is a fuckwad, including Rory himself.” She shrugs at her mother and then throws herself at Vic who happily returns the hug with a laugh.

Charlie gives her daughter a funny look, apparently at a loss at what to say in regards to that rather bold remark.

“It’s what I said.” Kieran mumbles out of his corner, now leaning at the windowsill with his arms crossed and Charlie rolls her eyes and lets out an exasperated sigh.

“Alright, I really don’t need you two teaming up against me. My house, my rules. You help Vic taking her stuff upstairs,” Charlie demands her daughter, “and you,” she now turns to her husband, “at least pretend you’re not enjoying the prospect of our kid turning into a total savage.”

“Ma, what the fuck?!” Livie looked at her mother, baffled.

“Yeah, yeah, shush now. Take Vic upstairs, your father and I need to talk about something.”

----

A few hours later, Victoria lays awake on her back on the guest bed in Livie’s room. Charlie had offered her the guest room in advance but Vic figured she would enjoy the younger girl’s company a lot and looked forward to having someone to chat about silly things with after a long flight.

That was before the thought of Rory occupied her mind. Vic felt a little bad for only half-listening to Livie’s ramblings but she couldn’t stop wondering about what had happened for things to turn out like they did.

“... thing is - it was so dull. I mean, ain’t that stuff supposed to be fun? Yeah, sure, his lips moved, my lips moved, we did all sorts of stuff if ya catch me drift, he had his hands in places any guy would dream of layin’ his hands on, I tell ya, but there were no fuckin’ sparks flyin’ anywhere and all I could think about was- Vic? You still listenin’ or have you passed out? Vic!”

“Oh. Oh. Sorry, Liv. My mind drifted off.”

“You tired? Sorry, once I start rambling-”

“No, I’m not tired. Not really.” Vic thinks about it for a second before she props up on her elbow, now facing Livie. “Liv?”

“Mh?”

“What happened?”

“What? What d’ya mean?”

Vic shifted a bit into a more comfortable position.

“With Rory.”

“Oof. I’ll be damned if I knew. All I know is that everyone turns to stone just at any mention of his name.” Livie makes a face.

“But why?”

“I don’t really know either. I think...” Livie bites her lip. “I think he’s doing some really fucked up stuff. No one ever tells me anything but I see it in their eyes. Which is all really weird because, well. Any time he talked to me so far, he was... nice. Really lovely, actually.”

“You called him a ‘fuckwad’ earlier.” Vic said, amused.

“Yeah, he seems to like that. No, kidding. I mean, I know he’s a bit of a creep and it really freaks me out how Pa acts any time he’s around and honestly, I think it’s better for everyone when he isn’t around. But he always treats me good, y’know? He never says anything bad. Asks how I’m doing at school and such. Treats me like an equal, actually. It’s really weird.”

“Sounds really weird. Does he live nearby?”

“I don’t know where he lives. Pa does. Town centre, I think.”

Vic isn’t entirely sure why she cares about it so much. It is none of her business after all but even those few moments with Rory earlier had left quite an impression on her. She feels a bit dizzy and decides that now is the time to distract her mind a bit.

She lets out a hearty sigh now.

“Okay, Liv. Sorry for not really listening earlier but I’m all yours now. Do tell me about making out with Corey Owens again, alright?”

Livie clicks her tongue and smiles. “Prepare for some steamy details.”

______________

There will be another part eventually, but it’s going to contain a rather suggestive bit and I’m going to post that on my pseudo-NSFW blog because of the folks here who don’t enjoy the thought of OCs screwing their brains out. :D I, however, am complete trash and thinking about OCs doing that kinda stuff is an essential thing in my own little trash world so yeah. Can’t wait to get to the trash part, lol. 

[nerdarchy-blog]

Hello! The Nerdarchy crew is back home from Indianapolis and back to work on all our nerdy projects. Gen Con 2018 was an incredible experience for Nerdarchists Dave and Ted, Nerditor Doug and Intern Jake, and we wanted to share some of the highlights from our excursion to the Best Four Days in Gaming. Our favorite thing about conventions is meeting up with and hanging out with friends from all over the place; seeing all the awesome roleplaying games, art and other swag; and the incredible costumes and cosplay. But more than anything, the best part is hanging out with thousands of fantastic folks from around the world to celebrate nerd culture. Down below you’ll find links to a lot of the stuff mentioned in this recap, in case you’re interested, plus a photo gallery of our adventures at Gen Con 2018.

Working vacation at Gen Con 2018

Rolling into downtown Indianapolis for Gen Con 2018 was a special treat for all of the Nerdarchy crew in attendance. For Nerdarchist Dave and me, the now-familiar territory felt like a home-away-from-home. The Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium, the Gen Con Block Party and all the surrounding hotels were decked out as always, ready for the tens of thousands of us to enjoy the Best Four Days in Gaming. For Nerdarchist Ted and Intern Jake, it was their first time attending so they got to experience the wide-eyed amazement at the size and scope of the event.

After hotel check-in, the crew wasted no time getting down to business though — we were there to enjoy ourselves, sure, but we had serious work to do. With the studio equipment in tow, we set up a makeshift studio in the hotel room to shoot as many videos as we could over the weekend. With so many amazing people in town, we had to get some of them on camera. Intern Jake scheduled set visits like a champ, contacting and coordinating a ton of creators who stopped by to talk nerdy with Nerdarchists Dave and Ted.

Instead of doing interview-style shoots though, we produced a string of videos like our regular daily content to discuss the same kind of helpful topics, tips and tricks we usually do, except with a special guest sitting in for one of the Nerdarchists. Stuff like designing monsters for D&D, live streaming roleplaying games, creating pantheons and deities, running the best game ever, and creating an urban campaign (with a bit of insight into the upcoming Waterdeep: Dragon Heist) are just a few of a videos you’ll see in the coming weeks. There were so many guests, it’s hard to remember them all! But here’s a few to watch for on the Nerdarchy YouTube channel in the near future:

Keith Baker

Monte Cook

BJ Hensley

Ryan Schapels

Dan Dillon

James J. Haeck

Sarah Dahlinger

Brian Stillman

Andrew Armstrong

Rob McCreary

All in all we shot about 24 videos between Thursday and Sunday! There’s a bunch more cool people who swung by the set and we’ll be posting those videos in the weeks to come. Stay tuned to Nerdarchy for those!

Hanging with friends new and old to celebrate nerd culture

Pretty much everywhere we went, the crew ran into someone we knew and had great experiences spending time with them. If you enjoyed any of the official video content from Gen Con 2018, you can give thanks to our buddy Bill Allen. He and his crew handled videography for the official Gen Con Twitch channel. Bill was super busy all weekend making sure everything ran smoothly. But we managed to sneak in some time with him on Wednesday night. He’s an awesome guy, and his job as an educator means he brings student creators along to learn while doing. How cool is that? His students get fantastic experience behind the scenes at big events like this, plus chances to network with industry professionals and help build their future in the field.

Along with Bill, we hung out with our friend Cody Lewis from the Taking 20 YouTube channel. Cody was there with his wife, who got to see another side to her husband’s endeavors. Fans of Cody’s work stopped to say hi and thank him throughout the weekend, which is an awesome feeling for any creator. On top of all that, his wife played her first RPG session at Gen Con 2018! She played a barbarian in a Second Edition Pathfinder Playtest game and genuinely loved rolling her first critical hit against a kobold.

Another night, unMadeGaming’s Mike Hunt co-organized a Twitch streamer meetup with fellow streamer Speedy, where a whole bunch of people showed up to celebrate together and get to know one another. Andrew Armstrong from Dawnforgedcast, Grant Ellis, MsGingaNinja, Jorphdan, Askren, Ted from Nerd Immersion, Eric Vulgaris, and a whole bunch of other people hung out. It wasn’t just for Twitch streamers exclusively, or even gamers. There were streamers who make pottery, streamers who make quilts, authors, game designers and more. It was really terrific to meet and spend time with so many creative people.

On Saturday night, Nerdarchist Dave and I wound up at a party hosted by Peter Adkinson. There were a ton of people at the shindig. Our friends Satine Phoenix and Ruty Rutenberg were there, Kyle Vogt, Matthew Lillard, Dwarven Forge founder Stefan Pokorny, Ivan van Norman, filmmaker friends Kelley Slagle and Seth Polansky and a throng of others. I had a wonderful time geeking out about layout design and editing with Chris de la Rosa from Hunters Books, and Nerdarchist Dave did what he does best — making new friends and talking shop. (Okay, maybe tied for best — he’s a pretty good Game Master too!)

Nerdarchists Dave and Ted ran into a ton of people they know on the convention floor, and fans stopped for photos or to say thanks to the guys for doing what they do. So may awesome people we know had booths at Gen Con 2018 too! Everytime we turned around, there was someone we knew. Creature Curations’ Brian Colin, the entire Starcalled Studios crew, Jetpack 7’s Aaron and Sarah Hubrich, Dan Dillon and Stephen Rowe manning the Kobold Press booth, Rone Barton at the booth for…you know what? I don’t recall exactly. There was a bunch of different stuff there.

A very special sighting for me was Jared Sorensen at the Burning Wheel booth. I’d been hoping to catch Adam Koebel there, since he was sharing the booth with his Dungeon World RPG. He wasn’t around, and as I turned the corner I caught sight of an indie RPG called Lacuna Part 1: The Creation of the Mystery and the Girl from Blue City. I literally exclaimed “Holy $**t!” when I saw it. Years ago, after I saw the film Inception, I immediately felt like I had to find an RPG similar to the world of the movie. I discovered Lacuna Part 1 while searching for such a game. It’s a really terrific RPG where you travel into dream worlds looking for anomalies and insidious thought-creatures. The guy at the booth asked me how I knew the game and I was gushing about it before realizing he was the creator, Jared Sorensen! This was one of my most fond convention memories right away. Jared was super cool and we talked about games for a while, and he gave me a sticker and patch of his game company logo, Memento Mori.

Lauren Erwin (@ThatSaltyGinger on Twitter) and Nerditor Doug, two original members of the Iron Dabbers.

Oh! And I ran into D&D party fam! Late one night heading back to the hotel I spotted Lauren Erwin in the hall. She is an original member of the Iron Dabbers, a D&D party from the live stream Secrets of Castle Greyhawk game I play in every Thursday on The Greyhawk Channel on Twitch. It was super cool to see her. I love that campaign and although Lauren wasn’t able to continue (she’s a busy lady!) she’ll always be an OG member of the crew and I am happy to call her a friend.

And we got to see the premiere of Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Dungeons & Dragons! Nerdarchist Dave and I were among the first people anywhere in the world to see this phenomenal documentary by our friends Brian Stillman, Seth Polansky and Kelley Slagle. IT IS AWESOME. If you have ever played D&D, you will love this movie. They traced the history of D&D art back to the beginning and talked with dozens and dozens of artists whose iconic work has been bringing the game to life for over 40 years. And I’m not the only one who thinks this film is the most — it won the Gen Con Film Festival award for best documentary.

All of this only scratches the surface of everything and everyone we saw at Gen Con 2018!

Awesome RPGs and other stuff

For me and Nerdarchist Ted, filling out bags with new games, minis and other swag is one of our favorite convention activities. I don’t have a complete rundown of Nerdarchist Ted’s haul, but I know for sure he got a whole slew of minis. On top of his own gets, many creators donated items to add to the Nerdarchy giveaway vault. Make sure to check out the Saturday Quests & Adventures live chats on the Nerdarchy YouTube channel and stay informed about these giveaways. We do them all the time so there’s lots of chances to get all sorts of great stuff.

This year I tried to be a little more conservative with my purchases. Usually I come home with twice as much luggage as I arrive with, but I reigned it in a bit for Gen Con 2018.

For starters, I picked up two Kickstarters I backed. Masters and Minions from Jetpack 7 and Kids on Bikes deluxe edition with the Powered Character Deck are two things I couldn’t wait to get my hands on. The PDF versions were sent out already, but there’s something special about having the physical books in hand for any RPG product. Masters and Minions is gorgeous. No surprise there, as the artwork in Jetpack 7 stuff is always top notch. The book is packed with detailed NPC creatures and the forces serving them, featuring design work from Aaron Hubrich, Jim Pinto, David Adams and one of my favorite creators, Dan Dillon. I’ve been waiting to get my hands on this one particularly to check out Grissek’k The Orc Queen, which does not disappoint. My other favorite master and minion combo is The Created. Check out this book if you like fleshed out villains for your Fifth Edition games!

Kids on Bikes is another one I hotly anticipated. Anyone who knows me knows I’m one of those D&D nerds who is comfortable using those rules for all sorts of genres beyond fantasy. So beyond the D&D ruleset, my favorite sorts of RPGs are modern-era (or close to it) games featuring regular folks in extraordinary circumstances. Kids on Bikes is all about regular people confronted with irregular situations like the supernatural, along with a group-controlled character who has special powers. It’s a toss up between this and Tales from the Loop for the one I like the best. But if I’m honest, after reading through them both I might take a bit from column A and a bit from column B. Kids on Bikes contains a ton of awesome ideas for creating characters and group dynamics, making it a valuable resource for roleplaying games in general.

Outbreak: Undead Second Edition from Hunters Entertainment and Renegade Game Studios is the other RPG I added to my collection. Truth be told, I didn’t know anything about it but the book is slick, and after flipping through it looks like a suggested style of play is taking the players themselves as characters and imagining a zombie apocalypse in your own hometown. Told you I like those sorts of games 😉 What really sold me though is the layout and design of the book. It has a lot of cool thematic and artistic elements making it fun to look and read through. And guess what? The person who wrote it and contributed to graphic design and layout is Chris de la Rosa — the guy I would wind up talking with the next day at that Peter Adkinson party!

On the same whim I picked up Arboretum, a tabletop game by Dan Cassar. Never heard of it, didn’t demo it but got it nevertheless. Why? The art intrigues me. The cover has a big purple tree and a multitude of colorful symbols around it, and the back shows the various card types, also trees of various colors. The goal of the game is to “create carefully planned paths for your visitors to walk as they take in the colorful explosion of buds and leaves.” Doesn’t that sound wonderful? It’s a competitive game, but with all the players competing to create something beautiful, it sounds like a delightful way to spend 30 minutes.

One game I did demo was the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game. I loves me some Final Fantasy, so I had to try it out. It’s really fun! Cards feature all the characters you’d imagine like Cloud, Lightning, Squall, Tidus, Yuna, Garland, Sephiroth and pretty much every character from all the games including Dissidia, Tactics and more. It was easy to understand and pick up, but of course like any card game there’s deeper strategies to discover. I got two decks so I’d have enough to play with friends, one featuring Lightning and the other Cloud. Also, I got a free Kain card for doing the demo. Dragoon FTW! On a side note, it just struck me while at Gen Con that many FF protagonists are named after atmospheric conditions. Derp.

I also came home with two Atmar’s Cardography dungeon decks from Brian Colin/Creature Curations. These are really special to me, because I was part of the team that brought them to life! Brian is an amazing person, and I did some editing work on the project. These are very cool products, basically huge dungeons with a room on each card. You can play through the whole thing following a preconstructed pattern, or follow small mini-dungeon setups, or just deal out rooms randomly as you go. There’s one for the Fiery Pits, a volcanic dungeon, and another for the Icy Divide, a frozen labyrinth. PDF guidebooks are available for both Fifth Edition and Fate. The adventures are designed to take place in Brian’s World of Revilo, a fantasy realm he created with his son while telling bedtime stories. It’s really amazing. Coming up, he’ll be launching a Kickstarter for three more sets as well. While at the booth, some passersby stopped to take a look and since the booth attendant was occupied, I explained the decks to the two people who came by. The attendant made their way over and commended my on the salesmanship. (I’m pretty familiar with them!) Also I got to meet Isaac Skaggs in person, another creator on the team.

Of course, I had to get myself some dice because…dice. It’s a tradition for me at any convention. For Gen Con 2018 I went with Elder Dice: Astral Elder Sign. They’re pretty snazzy and come in a spell book box you can use for a dice tray. Hopefully I’ll be able to snag a Yellow Sign of Hastur set at some point too. I missed the Kickstarter for them but maybe with a little eldritch luck things will pan out.

The last two things I picked up are both pieces of art. The first was a print from Voidbug, an illustrator who had an awesome selection of vibrant, ethereal art. Choosing one from everything she had to offer was tough, but I’m more than happy with the one I got and can’t wait to hang it up in the office. The second piece of art was one of Chris Seaman’s Cameo Creeps. Chris is a phenomenal artist who’s done a bunch of work for D&D, Magic: The Gathering and other games. One of my favorite pieces of D&D art is by him, the tiefling Star Pact warlock from fourth edition D&D. His Cameo Creeps are tiny monster paintings inside cameo frames. There’s a ton of them, making this choice even harder than my Voidbug print. In the end I went with Lady Wanda Glubberneck. She’s got an aquatic look reminiscent of sahuagin, one of my favorite D&D monsters that I’d been talking with someone about earlier that day.

Best part of Gen Con 2018

All parties, get-togethers, events, games and fun new stuff aside, there’s one thing about Gen Con that’s better than all of it combined. Being a nerd and enjoying this culture with so many others is absolutely priceless. By and large, the nerdy community is supportive of one another, encouraging, and welcoming. When we invite others to our games or accept invitations to theirs, we’re making new friends and connecting with new people. They might look different, or see the world different, live vastly different lifestyles or whatever. But overwhelmingly, one similarity is despite any of these differences we can all come together to share these fun and often deeply personal experiences. You can always find a fellow nerd to remind you that you can do anything you set your mind to, you can be you — the best you — and that’s a great thing. Maybe I have rose-tinted glasses on a bit, but I know there’s a heck of a lot more good out there than bad, and my fellow nerds do a fantastic job of showing it.

Round up and wrap up

Here’s a bunch of links to check out some of the stuff I mentioned above. And I also want to know about you! Did you go to Gen Con 2018 and have some awesome stories to share? Or have you gone in the past, or plan to go in the future? I’d love to hear about your best Gen Con memories, or any of your favorite convention stories in the comments below. And if you got any photos of the Nerdarchy crew from the convention, please share them and tag us on social media!

Official Gen Con Twitch channel

Hunters Books/Hunters Entertainment

Kids on Bikes

Jetpack 7

Arboretum

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game

Atmar’s Cardography

Elder Dice

Voidbug — Keep an eye on streams with me, Nerditor Doug, to see which print I got!

Cameo Creeps

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The games, cool swag, parties, and Nerdarchist Ted polymorphed into a cow #truestory there's one thing above all else making #GenCon2018 the Best Four Days in Gaming Hello! The Nerdarchy crew is back home from Indianapolis and back to work on all our nerdy projects.