#I get some major angst with the promise of a happy ending for my ship

[lukadarkwater]

Perfectly platonic location of Drifter’s coins next to Eris’ bed 😏

[nebula-remnants]

who wants to hear me ramble About a dca au? of course you do

so quick warning it's a sun x moon au/fic in the works. mainly doing this because I need to brainworms OUTTTT so I can temporarily focus on another sun x moon fic I'm working on with my buddy, @alynwrench.

(tiny tid bit from my current rough draft just as a showoff)

"Nonetheless, Show me your thorns, I'll show mine. I can’t promise I'll acknowledge the sharpness of mine nor the way your body withers and spreads its infection. We’ll embrace and till the end of our time we’ll slowly pierce through one another without taking the time to understand why. What starts as a harmless prick will grow until it’s too late to pull apart, too late to take any of it back."

Long have I been absolutely obsessed with psychology and accurately representing different sides to it. this has eventually lead me to where I am now, making a giant ass fic about a silly comfort ship. I've seen the ship interpreted all sorts of ways but when I look at them I see two stubborn and opposing characters that conflict so harshly yet hold the potential to be something truly loving if in the right environment. (COUGH this au is gonna have a lot of angst...)

this Au is going to cover serious topics, and keep a heavy focus on the psychological aspects and needs of a relationship, especially when trauma is introduced. Things are going to get MESSY, but I hope to end it off nicely when the time comes. (to be even more obvious I plan for this to be major hurt/comfort. I won't torture you guys FOREVER, there will be a happy ending. I at least hope that INTERESTS A FEW PEOPLE)

is it gonna stray from canon severely? yeah, but over time i've learned not to care as much. it's fanon made content, all of it strays from canon interpretation in some form. I know I got people's hopes up in the past, but I truly find myself in the middle ground of being obsessed with either side. All I hope is that I represent their personalities accurately enough in a way people can agree, even if it's in a completely different context.

I hope when I finally have everything together and I can share more about it. I kind of wanted whatever I said about this project to be better put together but I guess it's not time for an official introduction yet. I will say to anyone that read this far thank u for listening to me yap teehee, I'm getting really close with a draft I feel like I can finalize. i've been, very critical about this project your honor.

[hugmekenobi]

S2: The Bad Batch (16)

Chapter Sixteen: Plan 99

Gif by @dreamswithghosts

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Series Summary: Some time has passed since everything that happened at Kamino and you and the Batch are trying to figure out your place in the rapidly changing Imperial galaxy. And you're having to do all this whilst figuring out where your relationship with Hunter fits into it.

Chapter Summary: There was a mission gone wrong and then there's what happened during and after Eriadu.

Masterlist for S1

<Previous Chapter

Genre: Friends (idiots) to Lovers (we're in the lovers stage now)

Chapter Warnings: Canon-typical violence, swearing, MAJOR CHARACTER 'DEATH', HEAVY ANGST, my interpretation of thought processes, relatively detailed injury and torture descriptions, vomiting, slight hurt/comfort, brief kissing, Hemlock being a creep and just generally himself, I project my feelings again and reader makes a questionable choice but it needed to happen, no happy endings here

Word Count: 8.8K

Author's notes: If I have done my job right in any capacity, this'll be a rough one to get through. However, I promise I have a oneshot planned that'll fix some of what just happened and if S3 doesn't fix the rest, I will do it then!

You helped Hunter with opening the car doors and as you all saw the awful freefall that lay below you, you knew it was going to take a lot to get out of this situation in one piece.

“This… is not ideal.” Tech commented.

“At least we’re not hanging under the car.” Wrecker offered.

“This isn’t much better.” You said before you ducked as a round of blaster fire headed in your direction.

“Echo, get this car moving.” Hunter instructed as the rest of you fired back.

“The explosions must’ve knocked out the power to the rail line.” Echo theorised irritably.

You moved away from the edge of the doors back to the middle of the car. “What if I just take down their railcar? It wouldn’t take long.” You suggested.

Tech shook his head. “I do not think that would be wise. There would be no guarantee that the resulting impact of you destroying that line would not affect the terminal that we need to get moving. And we’d still be stuck here whilst the Empire can easily send more reinforcements and-”

“Okay, fine do it your way.” You interrupted as you went back to focusing your fire on the Imperials.

“I can try to reboot the system, but I will need to plug directly into one of the terminals on the track.” Tech said.

Hunter addressed the rest of you, “You four, give us cover, Tech up top with me.”

--

Tech and Hunter moved to the next level of the railcar and Hunter gave his brother a boost up to the roof so he could climb onto the track.

As Tech got underway, Hunter opened the other set of doors and opened fire, particularly on any soldiers that were aiming for Tech.

--

“I am plugged in. Stand by.” Tech said into his comm as he got to work.

--

You all were doing a decent enough job at holding them back. They had more numbers, but your squad was more skilled, so you were managing okay.

That feeling of things being under control did not last long as Hunter heard the familiar sounds of ships coming your way. “We’ve got three ships inbound.”

You muttered a series of expletives as you scanned the sky around you for them.

“Where? I can’t see them.” Omega asked fearfully.

“Tech, we need power!” You urged into you comm as you could hear them drawing closer with each passing second.

You all took up positions to open fire on them, but it did very little. The ships got a round of shots away and you had to fight to stay balanced as the car shook with the impact.

Tech stared at his datapad and finally the screen turned green. He tapped his comm, “Echo, now!”

Upon Tech’s word, Echo plugged back in, and the railcar finally came back online.

“Tech, get your ass back here.” You hurried as you saw the ships getting ready to make another pass.

Tech unplugged and got himself across to the main track and started running but he could hear the ships getting nearer.  

Hunter concentrated his fire on the oncoming ships. He was able to clip one in the wing and it collided into another which he thought would be enough.

It wasn’t.

The third ship came speeding through and fired a series off shots that found their mark. You all stumbled inside the car as it violently shook and struggled against the onslaught of blaster fire.

The explosion flung Tech backwards, and he fell from the track onto the roof of the bottom half of the car. He tried to stand but the resulting shot had seen to it that the back of the railcar was tearing itself away from the track and as it titled backwards, he went with it. He managed to hook his grappling cable onto one of the grates, but he was stuck hanging over the abyss.

--

“Come on, Tech! Hurry!” Wrecker implored as he peered down the broken end of the railcar.

“I am climbing as fast as I can.” Tech replied with a grunt as he started to make his way up the cable, but the additional weight and well-placed rogue enemy blaster fire exacerbated the fragile state of the car and it lurched backwards, sending him further down the cable once more.

“Tech!” Omega cried as she saw him fall whilst Wrecker debated the best way to get down the sloped hallway.

“Why aren’t we moving?” Hunter asked Echo as he took refuge from the blaster fire.

“The car’s being ripped from the track.” Another harsh vibration sounded shook through it as he tried to get it moving.

“Wrecker, get him on board.” Hunter pressed, desperation seeping into his voice, before he opened fire on the soldiers again.

Wrecker made to step down, but the car dipped significantly.

“Don’t!” Tech yelled as he fell down even further. “Any shift in weight could send both of these cars over.”

You glanced behind you at Wrecker and Omega and made the call that the others could hold the troopers off. You needed to help Tech now. Channelling the Force, you focused on the point where the two hinges met but it was already fragile, and it would take a lot of energy and focus to keep them together since they were wanting to do anything but and the circumstances were hardly ideal to have that focus but you had to make it work. You could hear more ships coming but you ignored them, you didn’t care.

“You must sever the connection hinge. Now!” Tech instructed.

“Not until you’re up here.” Wrecker argued.

“Tech, I can hold them, just climb or let Wrecker-”

“You can’t keep them steady and wait for me to get up there with the time we have left.” Tech interrupted you as he saw the ships in the distance closing in again.

“She’s got it, Tech.” Wrecker said, doing his best to keep the distress out of his voice as he edged his way forward. As he did so, the cart swayed forward, and he glanced back at you.

“Go.” You said through gritted teeth as you focused on keeping both carts level, but each moment of blaster fire and Wrecker’s added weight were making it harder.

Tech fell a few more metres as the cart continued to pull itself away from the track. He looked around and he knew what he had to do. He needed you all to get away. He wasn’t wrong about this. You all would make it out. He just needed to take himself out of the equation. “There is no time.” He pulled out his blaster. “Plan 99.”

Your heart plummeted. Not that plan, any plan but that one.

Wrecker’s heart filled with dread.

Omega felt nothing but panic.

“Tech, please-” You broke off as you channelled more of your energy into keeping both carts stable, but another round of shots meant the car swung again. Your knees buckled and your hold faltered slightly.

“Don’t you do it, Tech.” Wrecker ordered as he tried to creep forward once more but the cart continued to protest against the strain.

Tech sighed before he accepted his next course of action. It was, in a way, a rather easy decision. Omega had once asked him if they were a family. His answer had been yes, and it was true. He just didn’t think he’d really said it enough, but he loved his family. And what do families do? They protect each other… and that’s exactly what he was going to do. “When have we ever followed orders?” With that, he fired a shot through the glass of the railcar that met its mark, and the connection hinge was severed.

Even if you could hold it, you were out of time. The ships would make their pass at any second and you couldn’t prevent your section of the railcar reconnecting or else none of you would make it out of this.

And you hated it. You fucking hated it, but you were left with no choice; you dropped your hands, released your hold and watched in agony as Tech fell.

“No!” Wrecker cried out as he helplessly watched his brother fade from view and there was nothing he could do nothing to stop it.

“Tech!” Omega yelled.

The railcar reconnected to the track and sped away from the troopers on the opposite side.

Hunter grabbed Omega’s wrist as she moved closer to the open end of the car. “Omega-”

“Go back! Go back!” She said desperately, reaching out as if she could still grab him.

You felt numb. You couldn’t move. Every other noise around you sounded fuzzy. The skulking darkness that had been circling you since Saw Gerrera showed up was asking for a way in. It took every fibre of control to not let it. Hunter’s voice dragged you back to the current moment.

“The car’s going too fast.” Hunter said urgently.

“The system’s fried. I can’t stop it.” Echo replied, desperately trying to plug back in to do something to stop the rapid descent as the back wall of the station grew dangerously close.

You knew your help wouldn’t be fast enough either, and you felt Hunter’s internal conflict as his helmeted gaze darted between you and Omega. It’s Omega first, every time.

Hunter lunged for her just as the cart collided and smashed through the wall of the terminal.

--

Everything was grey, and dull and bleak.

If it wasn’t for the bitter scent of smoke in the air, she wouldn’t have been sure that she’d even opened her eyes at first.

Debris from the wreckage surrounded her.

And she ached. Her entire body burned with the pain it took to stand.

Tech. She needed to find Tech. He couldn’t be far. She called his name but only managed a few paces before she collapsed once more.

She tried to fight it, but it hurt too much, and the encroaching darkness was too tempting.

As the pain overwhelmed her, she didn’t have the strength to turn it away.

--

You groaned as you came to and immediately felt woozy as you attempted to sit up. Your hood had already come loose from the collision, but you pushed your mask down to catch your breath and breathe through the soreness radiating through your body.

You brushed the dirt off your face but felt something wet leaving a trail down your cheek. You took off your glove and touched it to find your fingertips covered in blood. You carefully followed the path of blood to the source and winced as you touched the oozing deep cut by your temple. Fighting the dizziness, you looked around to see the others pushing themselves up but then your eyes caught sight of an unmoving figure and your blood ran cold.

You forced yourself to stand, ignoring the shooting pain that coursed through your ankle, and staggered over to Omega. You dropped to your knees next to her and felt for a pulse, which thankfully you found but it was weak. “Omega, come on honey, open your eyes for me.” You begged her as her body shivered beneath your touch. You felt the others come by your side. You hung your head in relief when you saw her eyes flicker open, but she couldn’t stay awake, and you knew she was in bad shape.

“We have to get her out of here.” Hunter said, doing his best to not let the panic he felt upon seeing her like this come through.

Wrecker picked her up. “I got you, kid.”

“Incoming! Get to the Marauder!” Echo shouted as Imperial reinforcements arrived.

You picked up Omega’s bow and provided Wrecker and Omega cover fire as you all retreated back to your ship.

--

“Head to Ord Mantell. AZ can help her. Hurry!” Hunter instructed Echo as he made his way to the cockpit.

You watched Wrecker gently place her down on your bunk whilst Echo got the ship in the air and into hyperspace.

“You’re bleeding.” Hunter stated, worry etched in his voice as he brushed some of your hair back and caught sight of the mix of fresh and dried blood on your skin.

“I’m fine.” You said groggily as the fading adrenaline meant you had to work harder to fight against the light-headedness you were experiencing. You then noticed the awkward way he clutched his forearm and at the fact standing up straight appeared to cause him some issues. “Are you okay?”

Hunter didn’t answer directly. “Are any of us?”

You glanced around you and felt the anguish in everybody that you knew also resided in your own heart. “No, no we’re not.”

You focused on watching Omega’s chest rise and fall as a way to keep you grounded and willed the journey to go quickly.

--

“Cid, AZ, we need your help!” You shouted as you limped into the parlour.

Cid took in all of your various injured states and nodded, too taken aback to offer anything else.

AZ dropped the cleaning supplies he was using and flew over to Wrecker. “Follow me.” He led the way to Cid’s room.

“It is best if you leave, and I can work on her without distraction.” AZ instructed.

Neither of them really wanted to, but they didn’t want their presence to be a problem, so they did as he said.

“Where’s Goggles?” Cid asked as Hunter and Wrecker came back into the main parlour.

And it was that question that snapped you all out of what ever fatigued state of denial you were in.

You half collapsed into one of the booths and blinked back the angry, grief-stricken tears that threatened to escape.

Wrecker released a shaky breath and just shook his head as he sat down on one of the bar stools.

And Echo- now that he knew Omega was getting the medical attention she needed- just left the room. For the first time in his life, he needed the solitude.

“We- we lost him.” Hunter just about managed to say as the loss overwhelmed him and he sat down next to you. He welcomed the loving hold you took of his hand as you rested it in your lap and rubbed circles on the back of it and was grateful for tender way you pulled his head to rest on your shoulder. He ignored the slight discomfort the position caused him.

“I’ll give you guys some time alone.” Cid said quietly as she made her way towards the exit.

You all were in too much pain and too emotionally exhausted to notice the comm she took with her.

--

You’d lost track of how long you’d all spent waiting for AZ to come back with news so when he finally entered the room, the room was ripe with nervous tension. She had to be okay. She just had to be.

“AZ?” You said uneasily.

“Omega’s injuries were severe, but I have stabilised her and she should recover. It is just a matter of time of waiting for her to wake up.”

You all let out a collective breath of relief.

“Thank you.” Hunter said gratefully.

AZ nodded. “Now, what injuries of yours can I assist with?”

“(Y/N) has an actively bleeding head injury and a wounded ankle and Wrecker’s neck is causing him problems. Leave me for last.” Hunter said.

You knew disputing the order wouldn’t be helpful to anyone right now, so you let AZ come over to you first.

--

After you all were taken care of, AZ went back to monitor Omega and give you guys some space.

“What are we going to do now?” Wrecker asked as AZ left.

Hunter sighed deeply. “We have nothing to go on. No location, no leads. Nothing. And with Tech-” He broke off with a cough before continuing, “With Tech gone and Omega being hurt like that…” He paused for a moment as he considered his next words, “I can’t put her through something like this again. I can’t put any of you through it again. We’re done. We’ll find somewhere to settle.”

“What about Pabu?” Wrecker offered quietly. “She likes it, and we were going to settle there anyway… right?”

Hunter looked to you and you nodded. “He gave us another chance. We should take it any way we can.” You said, clearing your throat as the pain of the loss threatened to overcome you.

“Alright.” Hunter said before he got to his feet. “I’m going to go wait until Omega wakes up.” He left the room.

“Wrecker, will you be okay for a moment?” You asked as you also stood.

Wrecker understood. “Go.”

You bowed your head in thanks and followed Hunter.

--

You paused by the doorway and studied the way he sat in the chair as he watched over Omega. His posture was tense, and his leg bounced anxiously. You knew he was barely keeping it together, but he was making himself because he was still the leader and had to be. But you wanted to give him a chance to let himself drop the appearance, if only for a moment.

“You don’t have to be strong right now. Not in front of me.” You walked around to the front of the seat and kneeled in front of him. You placed your hand on his cheek to turn his face towards you as he was keeping his eyes firmly on Omega. At your words, it looked like a weight just left his body and he let his head and shoulders hang lowly.

“That plan was never supposed to be used.” He uttered, his throat bobbing as the mask of composure started to drop.

Your heart ached as you felt the guilt and sorrow within him. You reached up and placed your arms around his neck and just held him close to you. I’m so sorry.

“I only got two of them.” Hunter mumbled into the crook of your neck as he met your embrace.

“Hmm?”

“The ships. There were three and I only got two of them. If I had just made sure, he wouldn’t have fallen from the track. The third got the shot away that killed him.”

You pulled away as you picked up on the way the typical rasp in his voice got lower and more uneven. You cupped his face in your hands and rubbed away the stray tears. “Hunter, you can’t do that to yourself.”

“I was supposed to look after us. By taking that mission, I put everyone in danger and look what happened.”

“You went because you knew it was the right thing to do. It gave us a last chance to get Crosshair back. What happened-” You took a second to draw a calming breath of your own. “What happened was cruel and unfair, but it wasn’t your fault. I know that guilt may never truly fade, I’ve been there, but you still have the rest of us. You still have me. Whenever you need a reminder that this was not your doing, I will be there, I promise.”

Hunter couldn’t help but search for any doubt or lies in your eyes and voice but found none. He pressed his lips into your palm and the sincerity and love in your tone served to remind him that he could do this. “We’ve lost two brothers.”

You brought your forehead to press against his and whispered understandingly, “I know.”

“I can’t lose anyone else.” He breathed against your lips, but he could feel himself starting to regain the composure he knew he was going to need for what was to come.  

You placed a delicate kiss to his mouth. “You won’t.” You caressed your thumb along his cheek before you stood behind him with your hands on his shoulders as you both waited for Omega to come back around.

--

“Hunter? (Y/N)?” Omega winced with a groan as her eyes opened once more and saw you both standing by her bedside, the worry on your faces now becoming relief.

“Hiya, kid.” Hunter said warmly as he brushed some of her hair back and reached for her hand.

She let Hunter support her back as she tried to sit up and took in the various bandages that graced both of you and her own fading pain prompted the reminder that the mission had gone very wrong. “What happened?”

Before either of you could reply, AZ whirred into the room and Hunter delicately laid her back down.

“Hello, Omega. I am relieved you are awake.” He scanned her. “You each sustained multiple injuries. However, you all will make a full recovery with proper treatment and rest.”

His reassurance helped calm the anxiety you were feeling over her injuries. You tenderly hugged her as Hunter assisted in getting her upright.

“You’re- You’re okay.” Wrecker said with relief as he came into the room. He crouched in front of her. “Don’t scare us like that again.” He put an arm around her in a fond embrace.

You passed her some water. “How do you feel?”

Omega took it from you but didn’t drink it. “I don’t know. The last thing I remember, we were in the railcar when…” She released a horrified gasp as the images came flooding back. “Where’s Tech?”

“Omega, Tech didn’t make it.” Hunter said, his voiced laced with sadness at having to tell her this again. Part of him had hoped she’d remember so she wouldn’t have to go re-experience the hurt of the loss.

“We have to go back! What if he’s hurt? He- He need us. Tell him, Wrecker. We can’t just leave him!” But Wrecker only looked back at her with nothing but sorrow on his face.

“Omega…” Your voice cracked slightly as you attempted to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Omega hit your hand away. “No! Tech’s not gone! He- He can’t be!” Tears fell down her face.

Her reaction nearly broke you all over again.

“I- I know, kid.” Hunter said quietly as he moved to sit beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

Reliving it all got too much for Wrecker. He wiped his eyes and backed out of the room.

You glanced over your shoulder as Wrecker left and you knew Hunter needed to talk to Omega about what the rest of you had discussed. “I’ll give you two a minute.” You said, your voice still thick with emotion.

--

“Why did Tech do that?” Omega said tearfully after you and Wrecker had left. She wiped her eyes. “He didn’t let us save him.”

“He knew we were out of time.” Hunter explained as simply as he could. “Tech put the squad ahead of himself. He made a sacrifice, Omega, and we’re not gonna waste it.”

“What does that mean?”

“The galaxy has changed, and so have we. It’s time to put being soldiers behind us for good. The three of us think Pabu could be a good place to make a new life for ourselves. And the rest of it, well, we can figure out along the way. Omega, is that something you want?”

She thought it through for a moment before she nodded.

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Hunter said. This would work. You all could heal together and make it out okay. It would get better.

--

You pulled yourself onto the bar stool next to the one Wrecker was sitting on. “What can I do?” You asked caringly. You knew there was nothing you could say that would immediately ease the pain of grief, but if there was anything you could do to help, you would.

“Just being here is fine.” Wrecker mumbled roughly as he kept his emotions at bay.

You rested your hand on top of his- an act he gently mirrored with his own before he removed his hand. You know I love you, right? It was a sentiment you realised you had not shared enough with the others and you didn’t want that to continue anymore.

Wrecker breathed deeply. “I love you too… and it’s not just because you’re with Hunter. You became a part of this family long before that.”

The genuine and heartfelt way he said that touched you deeply. You swallowed the lump that formed in your throat. “It’s a pretty good family to have.”

“Tech would’ve been able to tell you the exact date, I’m sure he kept a record of it.” Wrecker said with a sad chuckle.

You managed a half smile at his words. “That would be in character for him.”

A natural quiet descended on the two of you.

“Did we miss something? Did we miss a way to save him?” Wrecker asked into the silence.

The question was one you had been torturing yourself with ever since the ship had left Eriadu. “What we needed was time, and- and Tech knew we were out of it by that point.”

“Yeah.” Wrecker released a dejected sigh. “He always was the smart one.”

--

“Here. These are on the house.” Cid gifted you both a drink.

“It won’t help.” Wrecker said as he nudged it out the way.

You did the same.

“I’m sorry about Goggles. I always liked him.” Cid said sympathetically.

“Yeah. Us too.” Wrecker said with a crestfallen sigh.

Despite her words, you, and Wrecker both noticed the way she kept avoiding eye contact with both of you.

“What’s with you?” Wrecker asked.

Cid gulped, “You know, I tried to look out for you guys. But you got too much heat on you. And you brought it here to my place of business. I had to make the best of a bad situation.”

You picked up on her awkwardness and agitation. “Cid, what did you do?” You asked as a hollow pit of dread sat heavy in your stomach.

“I’m sorry.” That was all she said before she looked to the door.

You and Wrecker followed her stare, and a squadron of Imperial troopers came marching through the door with their blasters drawn.

You both instinctively reached for your blasters, but both of yours had been lost in the crash.

Wrecker was unaffected by the first stun blast that contacted him, and he charged at the group, but his neck brace severely limited his mobility.

You dodged the stun shot that was sent your way and realised keeping up a pretence would be pointless now. You threw your vibroblade into the shoulder of the closest threat to you before you Force-pushed multiple troopers against the back wall and used your ally to snap the wrists of others that aimed for you.

“Stop!”

You turned in the direction of the voice to see Wrecker half-conscious, kneeling on the floor with his wrists bound and a trooper holding a blaster to his head whilst the squad regrouped and pointed their weapons at you.

Your jaw tightened but you did as he ordered and let them take you. A kick to the backs of your knees brought you down. They took your comm off you and, judging by the way the cuffs he put on you were slightly different to Wrecker’s, they’d come prepared. You weren’t going to have an easy way out.

“She was right, Sir. This is the Jedi.” One of the troopers that was holding you down by the top of your shoulder said to Doctor Hemlock as he came through the crowd to stand at the front.

You glanced up at the man you now recognised as Doctor Hemlock who was staring down at you.

“Wonderful.”

--

He’d acted quickly when he knew the Empire was here and he’d kept Omega safe. That’s what mattered first. She was in the mining tunnels and on her way to Echo. The Empire wouldn’t find her. He could now focus on getting you and Wrecker back.

Hunter rounded the corner to the main parlour with his blaster drawn but his heart stopped at the sight. Both you and Wrecker were cuffed and being held at gunpoint by Imperials and Hemlock was right in the middle. He advanced forward a few paces, but the troopers focused their blasters on him.

“That’s not very strategic, Hunter.” Hemlock cautioned. “You don’t need to use your enhanced senses to know you’re outnumbered.” He turned his attention to the owner of the parlour. “The Empire thanks you for your assistance. Our business is done. Leave.”

“You piece of shit.” You hissed as you fought against the grip the troopers had on you as you watched her take the case of credits and walk out the door.

“Please consider your next move very carefully. I would hate for this to end poorly for all of you.” Hemlock advised. He paused and studied your handiwork on the wounded that were now being evacuated from the building. “Such an exquisite creature.” He brushed the fingers of his ungloved hand across your cheek. “You chose well.” He complimented the Sergeant.

You recoiled from his touch.

“Don’t fucking touch her.” Hunter snarled.

Hemlock ignored the clone for now and kept his attention on you. He lifted your cuffs by the middle. “How can someone so powerful be limited so easily?” He dropped your wrists. “Please. Do me the honour of just trying to use it.”

You stared him down in refusal.

“Or both of them will be killed.” Hemlock said simply.

You gritted your teeth and hoped the message behind your eyes as you looked to Hunter was clear- he had to keep it together.

Hunter didn’t understand what was about to happen. You were telling him to stay calm and remain where he was, but he didn’t fully know why. What was Hemlock talking about?

You braced yourself as you did as Hemlock said. You were met with the expected electric current that shot through your system. You didn’t cry out despite the pain; you didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, but you couldn’t help but fall forward on all fours. You had to take a few deep breaths before kneeling upright once more. The binds themselves had also grown tighter.

“Incredible.” Hemlock mused. “Years spent studying your people and the Force and we have barely scratched the surface of understanding you, yet science still finds ways to prove itself. Go again.”

“No!” Hunter protested. Watching you do that once was bad enough and you were hiding it well, but he knew you were in pain, and he couldn’t let it continue. Instinct took over and he moved a half step closer to you, but the line of blasters stopped him from advancing.

“How touching.” Hemlock mocked, internally thrilled that the reaction from both of you had been as he predicted. It made the process far more enjoyable. “But if you value your fellow clone’s life, you will not stop this.”

“I can- I can handle it.” You said breathlessly as a way reassure Hunter and stop him from doing anything reckless- you knew this torture was as much for him as it was for you, and you needed him alive. But you couldn’t prevent the pained grunt that left your mouth this time and you fell forward once more, and the cuffs pinched the skin of your wrists.

“Again.” Hemlock ordered you.

“Don’t.” Hunter pleaded, but he wasn’t talking to Hemlock, he was looking at you. This wasn’t something you should have to handle. There had to be another way. He should be the one to take that pain.

Whatever it required to keep them both alive. “It’s okay.” You said, your voice hoarse. You did it again and an audible cry fell from your lips.

Hemlock waited until you sat up. “Again.” He demanded.

You inhaled with a wince and did as he said.

The cycle continued until Hemlock said otherwise.

--

Hunter wanted to stop it. Despite your words, his resolve was weakening by the second. The only thing stopping him from doing something was that Wrecker’s life was also involved here but he couldn’t stand that all he could do was watch you go through this torment over and over again.

Wrecker struggled against his captors as he watched, but they were too many securing him.

“Stop.” Hunter finally growled at Hemlock after this last round saw to it that you were barely able to right yourself. He saw your arms give out from beneath you with the effort it took to remove yourself from the ground. And from the way you were trying to flex them, he guessed you were losing feeling in your fingers.

Hemlock smirked, “I am merely giving her a preview of what’s to come. I need to know what it’ll take to crush someone like her.”

He kneeled beside your crumpled body and spoke into your ear. “I will look forward to breaking you.” He kept eye-contact Hunter.

Hunter was clenching his jaw so hard that his teeth hurt. The thought sickened him.

You believed him. That quiet, menacing tone in his voice told you he truly meant what he was saying and… and that brought out a level of fear you’d never felt before. But you wouldn’t let that happen yet. Your arms trembled as you braced your palms against the floor and you panted through the throbbing discomfort in your body, but you managed to get back to a kneeling position. In a way, you were also grateful for the harsh but secure hold the troopers resumed since it meant you weren’t required to keep yourself stable.

“Such resolve.” Hemlock whispered to you. “And now onto the other matter at hand.” He said breezily as he stood upright once more and addressed Hunter. “Here’s how this is going to go. You will lower your blaster and hand over Omega. And I will allow you to keep breathing.”

“Omega’s not going anywhere with you.”

The fierce protectiveness of the clone brought out a soft snicker from Hemlock. “Oh. Well, who knew clones are so paternal? Fascinating.”

To hear that observation come from that man had bile rising in your throat.

“I was saddened to learn of your friend’s demise. What was his name? Oh, yes. Tech.” Hemlock taunted cruelly.

“Don’t fucking say his name.” You spat as you strained against your captors. An act Wrecker joined you on.

Hemlock merely reached his hand out to one of the soldiers and took the object. “I’m afraid this was all I could salvage. Consider it a gift.” He tossed the broken goggles across the room to Hunter’s feet.

Your strength was returning and at Hemlock’s actions, you attempted to lunge for him, but the troopers acted quickly and, with a strong grip on your shoulders, they forced you back to your knees.

Hemlock was unphased and stepped forward a few paces. “To lose one of your own, it must weigh heavily on you as their leader.” He signalled back to his men who pressed their blasters against the back of yours and Wreckers heads. “And if you don’t lower the blaster now, you will lose more.”

Hunter looked past Hemlock and you and Wrecker.

Wrecker did the best he could do to shake his head.

“Hunter, n-” The sharp tap of a blaster interrupted you.

He wasn’t losing any anyone else. And with Omega gone, the rest of you could find a way out.

You helplessly watched as Hunter put the blaster down and delicately picked up and studied Tech’s goggles.

“Wise decision.” Hemlock praised before he waved his men forward.

Hunter let them pass and allowed himself to be cuffed and brought over to join the two of you.

You and Wrecker were pulled to your feet, and you attempted to wriggle out of their grip, but they wouldn’t give.

“Sir, the girl’s not in the office.” The troopers informed Hemlock as they came back out.

You and Wrecker glanced at Hunter who subtly nodded at the two of you.

You and Wrecker shared a small breath of relief. As long as she was safe, you could manage whatever came next.

“She’s long gone. Like I said, Omega’s not going anywhere with you.” Hunter said to Hemlock.

Hemlock merely hummed. “We’ll see.”

The three of you were escorted out but what you couldn’t work out was why you were still being physically restrained whilst the other two got to walk normally.

--

Ord Mantell was in chaos.

People were screaming and clamouring to get out of the way of the Imperial soldiers and AT-AT walkers that were making their presence known.

 A series of warning blaster fire halted you all from continuing. You turned in the direction of the fire and your stomach dropped as you saw who was on an upper platform staring down at the rest of you. No, she wasn’t supposed to be here.

“Lower your weapons.” Hemlock instructed his soldiers before he called over to the young girl, “Hello, Omega. We were just talking about you.”

Omega kept her bow activated. “Let them go!”

“Omega, run!” Hunter shouted before he got held back by one of the troopers.

“I won’t let them take you.”

“How about an exchange? If you come with me, your friends will live.” Hemlock negotiated.

“You fucking bastard.” You seethed as you pulled against the hands that were holding the upper part of your arms.

“I don’t believe you.” Omega replied suspiciously.

“I did not come here for them, Omega. I came to return you to Nala Se. She needs your help.”

“He’s lying. They killed the Kaminoans.” Hunter countered.

“Incorrect. Nala Se is alive and well care for.” Hemlock retorted before he returned his attention to the girl. “As you will be.”

“I’m not going with you.” Omega affirmed but she didn’t sense the clone trooper behind her.

“Omega, look out!” You shouted but it was too late.

All of you watched with devastation as Omega met the receiving end of a stun shot and her limp body got picked up by the trooper.

“Scour the city. When you find the third clone, send them back to Eriadu. Governor Tarkin wishes to question you personally.” Hemlock walked over to you. “But you…” He smiled coldly at you. “Your use lies elsewhere.”

Your heart shattered as you realised what that meant.

Hunter’s head turned sharply to look from Hemlock to you and the pained panic on your face mirrored his own. He reacted instantly and ran for you, but he didn’t make it far before the troopers separating the two of you got in the way and shoved him back. He continued to try and fight his way through, but the cuffs limited his effectiveness and a strong punch to his stomach winded him and he hunched over in discomfort. He took a few deep breaths and wriggled free of the two soldiers that had come to bring him back in and tried again but this time he was met with a kick to his already wounded torso.

You were shouting unintelligible sounds of protest as you writhed and struggled against the strong hands holding you back and attempting to drag you away. You managed to stamp on the foot on one of your captors and elbow one of the others in the stomach and their grip faltered.

But they regrouped quickly.

A swift hit of a blaster on your still wounded head had you blinking away black dots. You could do nothing to stop the severe grip one trooper took on the back of your neck, forcing you to hunch over whilst the others grabbed your arms and got ready to take you away.

“Let them.” Hemlock held a hand up to stop the actions of his soldiers. It would only help with his process. Let the two of you have the chance at a last moment together dictated by him and stopped by him. The emotional turmoil it would create would play beautifully.

Still half-dazed, when the troopers let you go, you were left with no choice but to fall to the ground.

Hunter shoved past the line of soldiers and knelt before you. As gently as he could manage, he placed his hands under your chin to push your head up. “I love you.” Hunter choked out.

Hemlock signalled his men.

You wanted to say so much more but you didn’t have the time. “I love you too.” You replied, your voice cracking. Your lips met for the briefest of moments but that was all you managed before you got hauled to your feet and they yanked you away from him.

As he watched your fading figure, Hunter didn’t have the strength to fight the troopers that lifted him to his feet and led him and Wrecker in the opposite direction.

--

The only thing that was keeping you from giving into the pounding agony that was bouncing around your skull was that Omega was now being carried alongside you. You would hang on for her.

“What are we doing?” One of the remaining troopers asked as he saw the group split off.

“Doctor Hemlock wants her getting a separate shuttle in case the others get away and come looking for them.” The clone in charge of the group answered.

“Please.” You begged with a broken breath as you saw the group separate and Hemlock disappeared down the street with Omega. “Just let me go with her. I won’t-” The butt of a blaster meeting your cheekbone shut you up and you groaned with the stinging pain it left you. Your vision kept blurring in and out of focus.

“Quiet! Keep walking!” The trooper ordered you.

You had so little resolve left. Hopelessness had overwhelmed you, so you followed their orders, your feet dragging as they led you in the direction of wherever the other shuttle was.  

--

Hunter could feel the fight leaving him as he and Wrecker were escorted to the shuttle that would take them to Eriadu. So much of what he cared about had been ripped from him and now the remaining people in his life that he loved would pay the price for his failure. The echoes of explosions and blaster fire grabbed his attention, and he looked up to see a walker come stomping round the corner but it’s aim was directed towards the Imperials.

“Echo?” Wrecker asked.

“Gotta be Echo.” Hunter agreed as he dug deep for the energy to fight back.

Wrecker broke his cuffs open on the top of his knee and Hunter landed a kick to the trooper behind him to give Wrecker time to undo his cuffs.

The two of them worked on taking care of the remaining troopers and stole their blasters and fired on the clones that were aiming for Echo’s walker. What they couldn’t stop however, was the next walker that rounded the corner that fired on Echo’s.

Echo went to the hatch and jumped out of the walker just as it collapsed to the ground.

“Where are the other two?” Echo asked as he emerged from the downed walker with AZ and took cover with his brothers.

“That Imperial took them.” Wrecker answered.

“It was Hemlock. We’ve got to stop his ship from leaving.” Hunter said.

The three of them scanned for ways out but reinforcements were arriving from both sides. It was then though that Hunter noticed a platform that ran above the landing pad where Hemlock’s shuttle must be and the group of them made their way up to it, avoiding enemy fire as they did so.

--

Hunter ran ahead to the edge of the platform and could only watch with despair and agony as Hemlock’s shuttle took off. He paid no attention to the surrounding sounds of blaster fire; he couldn’t turn his gaze away from the departing ship.

Half his life was on that ship.

Hell, his heart was on that ship.

And he couldn’t stop it.

He couldn’t stop any of it.

And it broke something in him.

It killed him.

Echo’s voice dragged him back.

“Hunter, we have to go!”

Hunter managed to find his voice. “Get to the Marauder!” He ordered and the three of them started to run once more.

--

They made it to their ship and managed to take off but there was no relief in the feeling. The air was thick with grief and loss.

“There was no way to track Hemlock’s ship. He could’ve taken them anywhere.” Echo said forlornly from the cockpit.

Hunter glanced back to where Omega’s room was, then he saw Wrecker cradling Tech’s goggles. Then he found himself fiddling with the cord around his neck and his fingertips grazed the small symbol attached to it. He’d failed so many people. Everything he’d promised both to himself and to his squad had fallen apart so quickly before his eyes and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. Well, no more. He refused to let this be how things ended. “We are going to get them back.” He said darkly. “And we don’t stop searching until we do.”

--

The shuttle you were being taken to was on the other side of the city, but you had finally arrived.

The ramp lowered and you didn’t resist them as they nudged you towards it.

You walked a couple paces but then you spotted the smoke bomb thrown at your feet.

Fog engulfed you.

You were set free but all you registered were the panicked shouts and shots from blasters around you.

The Imperials didn’t last long, in rapid succession you heard the thud of each body that had brought you here.

Then everything went quiet.

A hand from behind grabbed your shoulder.

You reacted quickly and swerved out of the grip and whipped around to land a punch wherever you could reach. You heard the satisfying thump of your fists meeting bone and the figure backed away a few paces.

You readied yourself for the next attack, but it didn’t come.

“That’s a hell of a punch you’ve got. Would hate to see what you’re like when you don’t have cuffs on you.”

You recognised that voice and you pushed the faintness away and peered through the smoke at the figure approaching you, sniper rifle on her shoulder as she massaged her jaw. You relaxed your stance. “Lyra?”

“Hey, stranger.” She greeted you as she began picking the locks of your cuffs.

“What are you doing here?” You massaged your wrists as your binds came loose and you felt the Force start to flow through you again, but it felt… tainted. You searched in the Force around you for any sign of them, but there was nothing there. You really wished that meant they’d found a way out and escaped safely but everything felt disconnected. You weren’t yourself; something had shifted, and you weren’t sure if you would be able to right yourself anymore.

“Rescuing you, kinda thought that much was obvious. Where are the others?”

You felt your throat tighten as you searched for the words, but you couldn’t find them, and your stomach turned with both the aching in your head and your heart. You braced your hands on your knees and threw up.

The smoke had cleared, and Lyra was able to take you in properly. Your ankle was strapped, the skin on your cheek had broken and a purple bruise was starting to take shape and the stitches by your temple were starting to tear open as specks of blood escape the wound. It also wasn’t just your obvious injuries she saw- your body looked heavy with defeat. “What do you need?” She asked kindly.

“I need a ship.” You rasped as you wiped your mouth and stood up.

“You have one.” Lyra pointed to the shuttle right next to you.

“No. I wouldn’t get out of the system in that. They’d find me immediately.” You reached down and took a blaster from one of the unconscious bodies.

“So, you need something off the grid that would not pass any standardised mechanical check?”

“Add in an already scrambled signature and yeah pretty much.” You inhaled deeply as another wave of nausea hit you.

“I know someone who owes me a favour and makes a living from selling ships like that. Can’t promise we’ll get very far but it could work.” She paused as she saw the way you still swayed on your feet. “Are you sure you’re up for that? I can go myself and meet-”

“I’m not getting separated from anyone else.” You said sharply before you straightened your shoulders. “Lead the way.”

--

You waited as Lyra squared up deal and studied your way out of here. The ship did look like a hunk of scrap metal, but it would get you out unnoticed and that’s all that mattered.

“Okay, let’s go.” Lyra said as she came over to you.

You sighed, “Lyra, thank you. For all of this. But you can’t come with me.”

Lyra placed her hands on hips in defiance. “I have nothing here, they wrecked my stall and raided the other stores. I’m going with you. At the very least, you need someone to treat that serious concussion properly.”

Dealing with your injuries were way down on your priority list. You could feel it creeping in again and you weren’t sure you had the strength to oppose it anymore. “What I am… what I’m going to do, you shouldn’t be around for. I can’t-”

“Can’t be worse than what I’ve seen already. Come on, we gotta get going.” She said with finality as she walked past you and up the ramp to the ship.

On her head be it. You thought to yourself as you followed her up and she got the ship in the air.

--

Omega walked out the Imperial shuttle with a deep sense of unease. She recognised Mount Tantiss and the presence of Nala Se troubled her. She feared for what this doctor had planned for her.

“Have Emerie see to her injuries.” Hemlock ordered the assistant that came to greet them.

Omega didn’t follow the woman, she just looked to Nala Se. “Why did they bring me here?” She didn’t get to hear a reply for the trooper behind her prodded her back to make her go inside.

Hemlock addressed the Kaminoan after Omega was out of earshot. “Your prime minister mentioned you had an attachment to the young clone, so I’ve returned her to you. Perhaps now, you will reconsider working on the Emperor’s project.”

“What he seeks is not possible.” Nale Se argued.

“Make it possible. If you refuse or fail, Omega will suffer the consequences.” Hemlock threatened.

Satisfied that his threat had landed effectively, he waved the Kaminoan away and went to go inside but a clone voice stopped him.

“Sir, we’ve heard reports on an attack on the squad escorting the Jedi and the shuttle never checked in. It would seem she escaped.”

Hemlock had to hide his surprise. Clearly something had happened he had not anticipated. “That is… unfortunate, but we’ll make do… for now.”

--

Omega was led into a lab and what she saw horrified her. There were tubes and rows of unconscious clones strapped down onto testing tables. Then her eyes caught sight of someone she knew. “Crosshair!”

She ran over to him and tried to rouse him, “Crosshair? Crosshair?” He showed no signs of movement. She heard the sound of oncoming footsteps and turned to see the woman that must be ‘Emerie’ standing behind her.

“You must be Omega.” Emerie said.

“What did you do to Crosshair?” She asked angrily.

“He’s recovering. I tried to warn him what would happen if he did not cooperate with the doctor.”

“I want to talk to Nala Se.”

“Ironic. You trust the Kaminoan, but not me.”

“I don’t know you.”

“No?” Emerie kneeled in front of the young girl and removed her glasses. “You might know me better than you think.”

Omega furrowed her brow.

“We’re sisters, Omega.”

--

Lyra finished tending to your head and cheek before she went to the cockpit to give you some time.

As you stared down the corridor and out into the blue clouds of hyperspace, you gained a true moment of clarity. The galaxy and the Empire had taken much from you, but you’d always been able to push through.

In a strange way, you’d even thought you were better off because of where you’d ended up. You had gained a greater sense of purpose, you had room to properly care for the people in your life, you had a family.

But now they’d gone too far. Too much had been taken from you, your family, from the people you loved, and you weren’t going to let it happen anymore. You couldn’t let it happen anymore.

You weren’t as strong as you’d thought you were. Something gets cracked enough times enough times, it’s bound to break.

You were done hiding.

Your arms fell to your sides and your fists clenched and the darkness you had been running from since Eriadu came flooding back. Only this time, this time you weren’t going to fight against it.

This time.

This time, you embraced it.

Oneshot>

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @fuckoffthanos, @tpwkcalli, @graciexmarvel, @arctrooper69, @nightmonkeysstuff, @brujaporfavor, @flyingkangaroo, @sunkissedclones, @ladytano420, @keep-calm-and-drink-caf, @yyourmotherr, @xxeiraxx, @dragonrider9905, @skellymom, @lokigirlszendaya, @starwarsnerd111

[mdhwrites]

In your opinion does "The Owl House" have any re-watch value? Does the story, characters, characterization, writing, etc. hold up over repeated viewings or is the show played out after the first time through the series?

So I want to acknowledge that this is actually an awkward question. Not with how you phrased it or anything just... Period? Because whether something is rewatchable will mostly come down to personal taste and enjoyment. Some people find Horror movies to be great fun to rewatch while others may not see the point because you already know all the scare moments or answers to creeping dread. Some might find action movies exciting to rewatch while others need the novelty of a first rewatch. As such, my answer is very much so is going to be biased by the fact that I ended up not liking the show.

But... I broke essentially on rewatch in a way. A lot of people have shattered on TOH essentially from having to reconcile what it says versus what it does. A lot of this because TOH constantly kicks payoffs down the line and hints at potential it will reach. It is constantly making the journey suffer for the promise of a grand finale. And, well... A lot of people have agreed that the shortening did not force their hand to break multiple themes in the finale, or take Amity's character or a bunch of other things that bloated the series and never got a proper payoff, such as the Collector.

This format of TOH I think is actually what makes it so hard to rewatch unless you are the ultimate fan of it who will notice nothing. S1 is labeled as boring, a complaint I even agree with as someone who mostly likes S1 still. It spends the most time setting up plot lines though in episodes that are a pretty safe seven out of ten, or worse. Amity episodes can escape this problem decently often, being fun in their own right, but that's why the fandom only acts like half, at best, of S1 even exists. Most of it is easily forgotten because it's very forgettable. Not like in a S1 of Amphibia way where it's all so much fun but also so much of it that they can blur and be hard to separate but just in a "I just wasted 20 minutes of my life watching an okay kids cartoon" way. The only thing that helped those episodes not feel that way was this idea that it was building towards something with these characters.

And... After the shock of things like the Lumity Kiss being real, I don't think S2 holds up for being the majority of those payoffs. Amity and Willow? One of the most explicitly kicked cans? Seen interacting on the same side before either addresses the "We're not friends' thing because of Eclipse Lake, so that's pre-shortening and they still didn't decide to address and then address it badly. Luz's magic is wrapped in a plotline she's not a part of and has no real reaction to even. It's just "Oh, we're just making bullshit up now instead of finding glyphs? K." Amity's parents are wrapped up, in the same episode, early S2, in a very similar way where Amity is barely a part of that episode but now her core angst and excuse for being a bad person? Dealt with and out of the way, at least until they randomly decide to try and say Alador TOOOOOTALLY wasn't a bad guy. That he hated Odalia too. Totally doesn't contradict literally everything that came before, something that would be much more sharply noticed on a binge rewatch. Like... It cannot be understated that by the point most plot threads in TOH wrap up, they were introduced and left to rot for so long that half the time, the fandom was starting to get UPSET during the runtime for the lack of any exploration or conclusion. Long hiatuses didn't help but at its core, even when it was running people were wondering when we would get satisfying answers to thing and rarely were they happy about it.

I think this is a core part of why ONLY the shipping community seems to have clung to TOH. That or people who are exploring the show's missed potential with characters like Belos or the Blights. The fandom has had to either commit to the one thing TOH did do well, its shipping (that comes with so many fucking asterisks) and its potential baiting. But the latter also means you have to recognize why it failed in the process of doing your exploration of the work.

So will some people enjoy rewatching it? Of course. There are people who probably like rewatching the AtLA movie though because the die hards are die hards. Do I think from a casual perspective you get much out of rewatching a random episode, let alone binging the series again?

No. I just think disappointment that the main series will leave you, which will eventually no longer be tempered by the reputation of it having been shortened, will only get worse. It is not a tale worth seeing again, so I hope I see you in the next one.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[girltigerclaw]

breaking into ur house rn

top ten characters and bottom ten. reasons are optional

I just finished this chart thing i think i actually stole from your blog a few months ago <3 Slightly edited to my own prefs.

If anyone wants the template check the reblogs, and feel free to add you own. I'd love to see. I'm just rambling under here:

Leafpool: She is more special and sacred than the virgin mary. She has everything. Daughter of the first protagonist, ex boyfriend for me to hate, TONS of wlw situationships<3, a lifetime of tragedy, and some of the most gorgeous canon art to exist.

Crookedstar: Crookedstar is a trans woman to me. Her life is genuinely just so tragic and fucked, I love it. The erins asked: “How much truama, death and misfortune can you fit into a single cat?” and then they wrote Crookedstar’s promise.

Tawnypelt: GIRLS WHO HATE THEIR FATHERS. The erins dont love her like I do.

Tallstar: I love old men… I fucking love seeing older characters and how much they’ve changed from their younger selves. Tallstar is considered one of, if not the most peaceful leader in the clans. But also when he was like 19 he went on a quest to fucking murder a guy :3

Cloudstar: I rlly do not care abt anyone in Skyclan(I like Leafstar but she's not a fav yknow?) Cloudstar... he was based as fuck. Why did Starclan get away with this shit for real??

Scourge: It’s fucking Scourge. He’s awesome

Briarlight: I’m disabled and I love her. She has such a consistent fun, sweet personality and she makes me happy!!<3

RavenBarley: It deserves all the attention and hype it gets. Though I wish mlm ships didn’t overshadow wlw ones in this fandom, RavenBarley is genuinely well written and makes me very emotional even if the publisher didnt allow it to be explicitly canon.

CrookedBlue: TRANS WOMEN CROOKEDSTAR YURI. Two leaders having a forbidden relationship and kits is way more interesting than Oakheart. The angst of Crooked and Blue sitting next to eachother every gathering while the entire forest has their eyes on them. Don’t look for too long, don’t let the mourning slip into your voice. You have to pretend your lover is a stranger. You… have become strangers. You can never be together again. You're enemies now. This is what we wanted, isn’t it? …We’ll never be happy again.

Mothwing: Her novella delving into her relationship with Hawkfrost was so good and heartbreaking.

Heathertail: Daughter of leader, sister of a major villian, and former love interest of a protagonist! Why did she fall off the second po3 ended. She’s shown to be very compassionate and willing to put her own feelings aside for the sake of others. Would’ve honestly prefered her as a mate to Lionblaze or get a pov herself over the nothing we got.

Blackstar: *Murders an elderly woman trying to stop me from kidnapping children. Supports a dictator openly abusing/neglecting children and the elderly. Murders a man for refusing to kill mixed raced children- then tells said man’s sister that she will never be safe.* Man…. i sure do feel bad for abusing and killing all of those people…. Good thing I will face no consequences and proceed to be made leader, where I will have even more power over the wellbeing of others.

I hate. This guy.

The New Prophecy: A classic. My first series was actually tnp! i feel more attached to first arc cats tho, if you couldn't already tell by my list lmao

Johanna Map- Best Tawnypelt content out there

BlueQuince: My personal handcrafted, homemade Yuri. Bluefur feels terrible about Tiny going missing and promises Quince she’ll help her find him. They never did, but they had a very… fleeting but intimate relationship. Quince is grieving and Bluefur feels so overwhelmed by the duties in her clan. They’ve always thought of eachother since but never met again.

Tigerclaw: My name sake<3 The angst of his earlier life is so, so facinating to me. Starclan being straight fucked up and decided killing him is their only option? He was a kid and they saw him as a lost cause from the start. They never tried any other methods, never tried to steer him in the right direction or… even just take it into their own hands and kill him themself, which they have SHOWN they’re capable of.

They watched all the the horrific crimes he commited, entirely aware they were going to happen. Thats. Fucking. Horrifying. Starclan is scary as shit… and his death? FANTASTIC. I only wish he’d gotten lives from cats he killed so that him coming back to life to suffer over and over was an actual curse from Starclan and not blessings. They knew how he would die and they gave him the lives to torture him for his sins…

Flywhisker: Adhd girlies. Painfully relate to that feeling of the constant scolding for never being “good enough” because I prefer to do things a certain way or struggle to focus. So, SO happy for her when she left the clans! You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone! Hope she’s happy and warm indoors with her brother💕

(P.S. I was very suprised to find she actually had an official art piece!)

Bluestar: Get behind me women with mental disorders. I will defend you. Beautifully complex and tragic character, my favorite written in the series. Literally can't think of a single other female character in handled as seriously and with the complexity of Bluestar. (Although her super edition was a bit of an L with how others treated her, it ultimately makes her breakdown even more painful.)

Exile from Shaodwclan: Nightstar my beloved! He's such a great guy. The rightful leader of Shadowclan, always and forever.

Ravenpaw's Farewell: HE DIED IN BARLEY'S ARMS, TELLING HIM HE WILL FIND HIM, NO MATTER WHERE HE IS. FUCK.

Crookedstar art: So beautiful. I genuinely think she's one of the prettiest cats in the series. This along with her official art by Wayne Mcloughlin.

Leopardstar: As a kid I hated her and loved Blackfoot, now I hate Blackfoot and love her. #feminism. But seriously I think she has way more going for her than he ever has. Her father is a medicine cat who hates violence, the DRASTIC change in Riverclan's view of outsiders upon Crookedstar's death and her leadership. Her already having a position of power before proving she's unworthy of it. (Unlike Blackstar who gets rewarded for his racism and violence by being made leader afterwards) and the fact she has to interact with her victims on a daily basis after what she did.

The writings attempts to redeem her are really lame and dismissive of the actually damage she did, but at the very least they TRIED to do something else with her. Personally, I would have loved to see her assassinated by Mistyfoot. Just like her mother Bluestar was almost killed all those moons ago by Tigerclaw... The parallels of violence for power and violence for peace. A victim repeating the actions of the very man who killed her brother to put an end to what he started in Riverclan.... A shadow in Riverclan, if you will. (<-Pretending erin hunter has hired me to rewrite their series)

Windclan: Tunneling as a concept and inviting outsiders into their clan so friendly and casual makes the clan seems so much more diverse than the others. It always stuck out to me!

Andddd there are my current warrior cat options as of 2023! If someone actually read this whole ramble ily<3

[hoziernaturalevents]

Hoziernatural Recs: Rare Pairs

Sign-ups for the 2025 round of the Hoziernatural Multi-Ship Bang will open March 1st!, and people will soon be working to create a whole new batch of Hoziernatural content! However, for those of you who would like something to read between now and posting, we have some recs to fill that need 💜

Everything listed below are Rare Pairs, but if you're a person of varied taste, then stay tuned for our Wincest, Destiel, and Gen/Character Study rec lists!

Honey, There Is No "Right" Way by @rauko-creates

Beta: @petrichoravellichor

Hozier Song: Someone New

Rating: Teen and Up

Word Count: 10,181

Pairing/s: Balthazar/Castiel, Past Castiel/Dean Winchester, Past Balthazar/Hannah

Warnings: Internalized Acephobia, Internalized Arophobia

Additional Tags: Ace!Castiel, Aro!Balthazar, Demiromantic!Cas, Demisexual!Balthazar, Queer Themes, Fluff and Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Best Friends, Friends to Lovers, Roommates AU, Domestic Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Character

Summary:

“That’s not how you feel about her.”

“Castiel, that’s not how I’ve ever felt about anyone. This whole…” He waved a hand in the air and propped up against the arm of the couch, “in love business...it’s complete bollocks. If you ask me, people’ve just seen too many blasted movies, got so hopped up on the rush of getting to know someone that they think that's it, that’s love, but it isn’t. Love is…” He glanced down at Castiel. “Love is choosing the person you get on with best, someone you’re able to be mates with and that you find attractive. All this ‘romance’ rubbish is just propaganda.”

Castiel looked at his friend. He thought about the warm feeling that grew inside him when they were together, the way his heart beat just a little faster every time Balthazar was close. “Yes...perhaps you’re right.”

i prayed my mind be good to me by @withthekeyisking-writer

Hozier Song: In the Woods Somewhere

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 4,789

Pairing/s: Lucifer/Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester

Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Emotional Manipulation, Coercion, Conditioning, Stockholm Syndrome, Disordered Eating, Suicidal Thoughts, Victim Blaming

Additional Tags: Hallucination Lucifer, Post-Episode 7x15 Repo Man, Episode 7x17 The Born-Again Identity, Lucifer's Cage, Horsemen's Rings, Hurt Sam Winchester, Sam's Cage Trauma, Sleep Deprivation, Groping, Hand Jobs, Anal Sex

Summary:

"You know you want to, Sammy. You know you miss me. You know you should come get me out."

"No. No, that will never happen."

His hallucination hums, looking at him with dark eyes and something almost resembling pity. "Oh, Sam," he says. "Yes, it will."

Mid-Youth Crisis by @sunshine-zenith with art by @rauko-creates

Beta: @rauko-creates

Hozier Song: Jackie and Wilson

Rating: Teen and Up

Word Count: 9,162

Pairing/s: Rowena MacLeod/Mary Winchester, Dean Winchester & Mary Winchester, Castiel & Mary Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Lily Sunder & Kelly Kline

Warnings: Minor Blood/Injury, References to Past Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort

Additional Tags: Oblivious Mary Winchester, Humor and Fluff, Finding New Love

Summary: Resurrected and thrust into a strange modern world, Mary finds herself frustratingly connecting with a certain red-haired witch. After watching Cas decide to fall to be with her son Dean, Mary starts to wonder: is she happy? WAS she ever happy? Does her chance at happiness happen to lie in an unexpected place?

Someone New by @nickelkeep with art by @deancodedcastielenby

Beta: @iambiowaresbitch

Hozier Song: Someone New

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 11,647

Pairing/s: Cain/Castiel/Benny Lafitte/Dean Winchester

Warnings:No Major Content Warnings

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Polyamory, Foursome (M/M/M/NB), Non-Binary Character, 5 Times, Explicit Sexual Content, Light BDSM

Summary: Cain has been mourning his wife Colette for two years. Despite the promise he made her, he hasn't attempted to date again. Enter his best friend Crowley with a devious plan to help him find Someone New.

[nellie-elizabeth]

Thanks @awildwickedslip for the tag!

I think I've answered this or a similar prompt like many many years ago but I want to do it again because I've kept writing!

1. How many works on AO3? 107

2. Total word count on AO3? 2,076,505

(holy shit lol)

3. Top five fics by kudos?

tales from a bookshop (Good Omens) 8,690 Kudos

Lover's Touch (The Magicians) 2,067 Kudos

Promises (The Magicians) 1,055 Kudos

Maybe This Time (The Magicians) 1,022 Kudos

The Point of You and Me (Good Omens) 783 Kudos

I think it's funny that 2/5 of these are my only two Good Omens fics, since that's really not what I typically write at all lol. Also I'll never surpass my brief flash-in-the-pan popularity for the top one... over 8,000 kudos... yeesh.

4. What fandoms do you primarily write for?

atm I'm in a real dry spell. But, The Magicians and Roswell, New Mexico are the two I'm most active in, in the recent past / "currently" if I could just get myself to come up with new words lol

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! Almost always!

6. Angstiest ending?

I wrote Queer as Folk fic once where Justin died, but tbh I like the angst to go in the middle and then everyone gets to be happy in the end.

7. Fic with the happiest ending?

a work of fine art was my happiness magnum opus in my own opinion, the whole thing is just a big long Queliot and then eventual Marqueliot smut-fest where all three of them are happy and safe and rich and get to follow their dreams and have lots of amazing sex with each other. One of my more underrated fics, I feel like y'all are missing out on this one... hehe.

8. Do you get hate?

I have, but not as a rule. There was a troll in the Roswell fandom who came at me a few times.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes! Not exclusively, but the majority of my projects, if it's not just a quick lil' one-shot, is going to have sex in it to some degree.

10. Do you write crossovers?

No. I've never crossed over characters from multiple properties before. I have done the thing where I wrote the characters of one thing into a plot or world of another. (My Queliot When Harry Met Sally AU is one of the works of which I am the most proud.)

11. Ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

At this point, as strange as it is to say, yes! A few times.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Yes! With @portraitofemmy, our mega-giant Roswell, New Mexico series is co-written.

14. All time favorite ship?

uhhhhhhh. Mean. Kirk/Spock? But if we're doing stuff that I've been more actively involved in as a writer, then Queliot probably.

15. WiPs you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I'm going to cheat on this one a little bit because I haven't actually posted these incomplete works, but they're sitting in drafts and I want to get somewhere with them... I have this Hedge AU Magicians thing where the beginning parts are written and I think it's really hot and fun but it needs a lot of plot and idk if I have the energy.

16. Writing strengths?

Dialogue... and I've been told I'm funny? Which is cool. Probably also just melodramatic angsty moments, I love to indulge.

17. Writing weaknesses?

All the shit that more polished and skilled writers in craft can do but that I write fic to avoid doing: specificity of detail in the setting/atmosphere, making the world feel "real" outside of the character's heads. Idk if I'm explaining this well lol. A magic trick I do not possess.

18. Thoughts on mixed language dialogue?

I haven't really done it beyond like, a word or two in Spanish or something when it made character sense? Honestly it usually feels unnecessary as part of the prose, unless there's a really specific reason to do it, instead of just indicating "so-and-so said in [language]" while keeping it in the dominant language the piece is written in.

That said, I've been reading War and Peace recently and I'd argue that's a good example of why writing a novel in two languages was like... important. So. There are exceptions.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Twilight.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

This answer changes a lot but honestly I gotta shout out my last Magicians longfic, where the real road lies, which I think has some of my finest writing and features the boys at their true messiest. Still has a happy ending tho.

Tagging whoever wants!

[sugareey-makes-stuff]

It's that time of year again. Turning another year older means age is just a number, right? I'm not doing anything crazy today (sadly I'm working rn), but hopefully I can enjoy the rest of the evening and make it into a birthday weekend, as long as RL cooperates. It could certainly be a better year for me, but I'm grateful with what I have. Since fandom has helped me a lot throughout the years, blessed me with some of amazing friends and made me who I am today, I thought I'd give back and do something simple and slightly different for this year's birthday fic rec list. Some of you follow me for Harry Potter, Teen Wolf or both (or maybe you just appreciate my dry humour, sarcasm and shenanigans, IDK). And so, here's are 14 multi-fandom and multi-ship fics that I like rereading on repeat because they're made of awesomeness. There's Drarry, Perciver, Wolfstar + rarepairs and Sterek, with the occasional dash of hurt/comfort and angst I love so very much. As always, please give these authors some love by leaving kudos and/or comments!

Maybe you'll find a new fic to add to your TBR (or ship/dynamic you want to explore more of). Check out last year's rec list for your HP fix (lol, get it?). Cheers, and happy reading!

HP- Drarry

🎉 And an Owl Named Romeo by Rickey (E, 26.5k)- Romance, Comfort, Coming Out, Case, Case Fic, Drama, Epistolary, flangst, Auror Fic, Animals, Drama/Light Comedy, Owls, Magic

Draco breeds owls, Harry's an Auror, and an owl named Romeo is going to bring them together.

🎉 Bound To You by agentmoppet | @agentmoppet (E, 28.1k )- Accidental Bonding, Cursed Bonding, Curse Breaker Draco Malfoy, Cartographer Harry Potter, unusual careers, lots of sass, Mild Angst, Pining, Slow Burn

Hag magic is capricious and unruly, and Harry and Draco are bound to stay by each other’s side until they can solve the riddle. In between long car trips, misty rain, and midnight star charts, they begin to understand each other.

🎉 you've got the antidote for me by Kandakicksass (M, 20.7k)- AU - Soulmates, Soul Bond, Red String of Fate, Heavy Angst, Terminal Illnesses, Major Illness, Angst with a Happy Ending

When Harry Potter unintentionally severs their soulbond before it can fully form, Draco Malfoy resigns himself to a slow death and decides not to burden Harry with a soulmate he's made it very clear he doesn't want. He's never been selfless before, but for Harry, he can try.

HP- Perciver & Rarepairs

🎉 A Journey Home by edelweissmar (Perciver, T, 28k)- Post-War, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Post-Hogwarts, Falling In Love, Weasley Family, Family Drama, Cute Kids, Fluff and Angst

Almost ten years after the war ended, Percy Weasley is Head of the Department of Magical Transportation and buries himself in work. It is the only way he knows to forget for a while about the mistakes he made, the family he failed, the brother he lost. Oliver Wood, once the promising keeper of the Puddlemere United, had his hand badly injured in the Battle of Hogwarts, and could never play professionaly again. But if there is one thing Oliver doesn't do, it is giving up. (Or, in which Oliver performs illegal magic on his broom and Percy, instead of having him arrested, falls in love)

🎉 Still Standing by eleventy7 | @tinyhistory (Perciver, G, 16k)- Slow Burn, Eventual Romance, Isle of Skye, Scotland, Witness Protection, War-related PTSD

After the war, Percy testifies against his corrupted Ministry colleagues and is sent to the Scottish lowlands to live under the protection of a witness security program.

🎉 What Keeps the Stars Apart by MangoMartini (Perciver, E, 8k)- First Time, Blow Jobs, Light Angst, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Canon Compliant, Post-Canon

Percy Weasley attends his brother George's wedding, even though he has doubts as to if he's really wanted there. The night takes a turn from bad to worse to surprisingly better when he runs into his old best friend, Oliver Wood, whom he hasn't spoken to in five years.

🎉 that's all i'm asking. by Idnis | @idnis (Deamus, T, 20.3k)- Angst, Kissing, Spin the Bottle, Pining, Emotional Hurt, 6th and 7th year, Wizarding Wars

‘No,’ Seamus replied in a hurry. ‘No, it’s not. Come on. When’s the last time we played something stupid like spin the bottle or seven minutes?’ ‘Really?’ Hermione said. ‘That’s what you want to play?’

🎉 Fire On Fire by WolfstarGarden (Wolfstar, E, 11.3k)- AU - Modern Setting, AU - Ballet, AU - Non-Magical, Ballet, Smut, Rimming, Anal Sex, Control Issues, Social Anxiety, Desire, LGBTQ Themes, Comfort, Crushes, Getting to Know Each Other, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Pining, Romance, Dancing, Bottoming, Feelings, Light Angst, Remus Lupin & James Potter Friendship

Sirius’ frown deepened. After a moment he murmured in a low voice, “I don’t understand you at all, Remus Lupin. Oh, but I would so very like to.” A flush crawled boiling heat up Remus’ neck as he fumbled for an answer. “Goodness Sirius ... I’m no one special.” Sirius’ gaze didn’t waver. He said simply, “I think you could be very special to me.”

🎉 quite like us by alarainai | @alarainai (Jegulus, T, 67.3k)- AU- Modern Setting, Texting, Wrong Number AU, Background Wolfstar

[18:12] Seriously, wrong number. Don’t send shirtless pictures to strangers. [18:13] Padfoot, this rejection hurts. [18:16] What’s a Padfoot? [18:17] Wait, is this actually not Padfoot? [18:19] I don’t even know what that is, but no. I’m not a Padfoot.

🎉 Leathers and Lace by doshu | @vdoshu (Flintwood, E, 7.7k)- POV Marcus, Post-Hogwarts, Professional Quidditch, Injury Recovery, anger issues, Toxic Masculinity from side characters, Misunderstandings, Idiots in Love, Getting Together, Explicit Sexual Content, Lingerie, Anal Sex, Exhibitionism, St Mungo's Hospital

Things were much less complicated when Wood played for a different team. “Fuckin’ twat,” Marcus mutters, glaring at his teammate. Wood can’t hear him, but it still feels good to say the words. He wishes he could punch the git but knows that doing so here, at St Mungo’s, when the Keeper’s out cold and there’s a Healer standing hardly three feet away, wouldn’t be one of his finest moments. No. He’ll wait until Wood’s released, and they’re back on the pitch. Not even on the pitch—the second they run into each other in the change rooms he’ll get Marcus’s fist in his stupid face.

Teen Wolf- Sterek

🎉 it took new york to make me a cowboy by piratetattoos (M, 15.2k)- Post-Season/Series 03, AU - Canon Divergence, Derek Hale Leaves Beacon Hills, New York City, Recovery, Trauma, Writer Derek Hale, Photographer Stiles Stilinski, POV Derek Hale, Healing, Slow Burn, Postcards, Vonnegut References, Long-Distance Relationship, (kind of), Poetry, Identity Porn, AU - Writing & Publishing, Photography, First Kiss, Getting Together, Inevitability, Happy Ending

After Beacon Hills, Derek heads back to New York. He doesn’t look back, lest he be turned into a pillar of salt. He leaves it all behind, a monument, a tomb, a thousand fuck ups and betrayals left to gather dust and slowly rot away to nothing. He read somewhere once, that time is cyclical, that the universe repeats over and over, and that he will be reborn and make the exact same mistakes over and over again, helpless to change anything. He thinks Stiles told him about a Vonnegut novel like that once. He doesn’t think about Stiles. (or: Derek leaves Beacon Hills, finds himself, and waits for Stiles to find him.)

🎉 Don't Talk About the Bachelor Party by snarkatthemoon | @snarkatthemoon (E, 29.5k)- AU - Canon Divergence, Post-Canon, Future Fic, Scott is a Good Friend, Deputy Stiles Stilinski, Pining, Angst, Fluff, Weddings, Stag Nights & Bachelor Parties, Emotional Constipation, Drunken Shenanigans, Getting Together, Sex, Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, Stiles Stilinski Deserves Nice Things

“Hey look, I kinda need to run something by you,” Scott starts, sounding sheepish, “You know how I said the venue only has eight rooms?” Stiles ‘hmm’s’ absentmindedly, half-distracted by his work phone that’s pinging with emails. “Well, my Dad has decided he wants to stay the night of the wedding now, so we’ve had to make a few changes to the sleeping arrangements.” Stiles groans, throwing his work phone across the bed. He has a feeling he knows where this is going and he knows that Scott knows he’s got him backed into a corner. “Really, Stiles, we couldn’t figure out how to do it another way, and I know it’s not exactly the best timing in the world—” “Just come out with it, Scott.” “We need you to share a room with Derek.” Or, the one where Stiles tries to deny that he's emotionally constipated, there's a wedding, and no one will shut up about what happened at Scott's fucking Bachelor Party.

🎉 Hale of Heart by Nahara (E, 23k)- AU - Future, Future Fic, Witches, Falling In Love, Emissary in Training, Stiles Stilinski, Bad Poetry, First Time, Blow Jobs, OCs, Jealous Stiles, Derek Feels, Derek Hale Has a Heart

Derek’s heart is cursed into a jar (because why the hell not? this is Beacon Hills) and Stiles is an Emissary (in training) who finds himself heart-sitting for Derek. Stiles would like to make it clear that while yes, Derek did give him his heart, he obviously didn’t mean it like that, so stop making those faces, guys.

🎉 Loving You (Losing You) by whentheywrite (T, 11.9k)- AU - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, oblivious idiots, Curses, Pixies, Canon-Typical Violence, Monster of the Week, BAMF Stiles, Protective Derek, Idiots in Love, Memory Loss, Mind Manipulation, Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, Stiles Stilinski Deserves Nice Things, Scott McCall is a puppy, The Pack Being Idiots, slight angst, Crack, Stiles Stilinski is Derek Hale's Anchor

Derek is cursed to lose what he loves, the pack doesn't know how to react, and Stiles is concerned. Rightfully so, since nothing seems to happen. And then everything goes wrong.

[the-francakes]

20 questions for fic writers!

Thanks for the tag @schmem14 - sorry this took me so long!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

28: 27 finished and 1 WIP

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

350,018

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Harry Potter. sometimes si consider others but ideas never hit me like they do for hp

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Five Times Draco Malfoy Accidentally Apparated into Hermione Granger's Bed… And the One Time He Meant To (Dramione) - every time draco masturbates, he ends up in hermiones bed 2. An Overly Considerate Friend (Jegulus) - james confronts regulus about spying on their quidditch practices and ends up liplocked instead 3. Both (Hermione/Fred/George) - the hermione and the twins fuck or die DVP PWP 4. I WANNA SEE SOME ARSE (nottpott) - theo is on an island vaction and somehow sharing a bed with harry who has an amazing arse 5. The (Third) Worst Year (drarry) - draco has one year to kiss his true love, harry potter, or turn into a dragon... so he picks dragon like a dumb ass

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

Yes.I do my best to because i think the converation is important and im grateful so i want readers to know. i havent lately because i get overwhelemed and im on a hiatus but yeah i try to

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

You & Lily - regulus is so tired of being used by james, he gets his mark and only tells james after they have sex to really fuck james up. then years later he returns to james to apologize by promising to save harry and its open ended but like... also cannon compliant

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

all of them are happy endings tbh... while i like writing angst, i dont like writing unhappy endings or dead dove sort of things. so pretty much any of my fics will leave you happy

8. Do you get hate on fics?

nah not really. i think its cause im in happy rare pairs world. every now and then i get the off the wall comment like 'telling somone to come is SO overdone' and im like cool bye.

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

all the smut. mostly vanilla-ish? i like to change up positions or what the sexual act is, but i dont cross into anything kink mostly cause i just write what i know/like/is comfortable.

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

nope. probably never will either.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that i know of...

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes! The Quidditch Pitch Incident is in Russian Five Times Draco Malfoy Accidentally Apparated into Hermione Granger's Bed is in Chinese

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

No! But im open to it with the right person

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

I dont really have one. It always changes for me. I like trying a new ship so i think the majority of my fics are different ships.

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

honestly, Im starting to think Echoes wont be finished. i havent had the want to write it all year and i dont think the first parts are really my best writing. so part of me might even delete and rewrite it if i start getting the vibes to pursue it again.

16. What are your writing strengths?

characterization. i love fanfic because i can use the base of what we know and grow from the tiny details to make fully developed ones. its hard for me to read some fics that the characterization doesnt match what i know from the books without explanation. like its hard for me to see hermione as a sugar baby for money and loves being doted on because i dontt hink that matches her from the books but like if you can explain she gets her strength and independence from manipulating men then im like yes okay im on board.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

im awful with commas. everyone else loves them but i forget them so much grammarly is always yelling at me.

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

nah. i've been living in italy for a month now and the only words i know are ciao and allora LOL - if i want it i ask someone to translate for me

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter and twilight at the same time back in 2004 ish

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

I cant pick just one so here are my faves that are not my most popular because of the ships but probably some of my best writing and get really good comments. Locals Only (draco/blaise/theo) A Saving People Problem (draco/james potter snr) The Quidditch Pitch Incident (ginny/blaise) A Good Night for Whimsy and Love (ron/luna) tis the damn season (Pansy's version) (pansy/ron) Maid of Honor for a Day, Best Friend for Life (susan/blaise)

tagging whoever sees this and also @crazybutgood @vukovich @holygnocchi @phdmama @sailtomarina

[soft-girl-musings]

20 Fanfic Questions

ty for the tag @virtie333, sorry for the delay!

How many works do you have on AO3?

7, so far!

2. What's your total AO3 words count?

17,707 (that number makes me unreasonably happy)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

currently: Moon Knight (2022) previously: The Arcana (dating sim, pre-Dorian butchering), The Hobbit franchise (I'd like to continue this one tbh!!) potentially: the Lokiverse (mans has been in too much), Spiderverse

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

An Unexpected Proposition (Kili x Fem!Reader - 43 kudos) Strawberry Cordial (Muriel x Apprentice OC - 37 kudos) Last Night (Jake Lockley x Fem!Reader - 26 kudos) Perks of Being a Wallflower (Jake Lockley x Plus Sized Fem!Reader - 17 kudos) Unfamiliar Territory (Muriel x Apprentice OC - 15 kudos)

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

ABSOLUTELY, it makes me happy to do so. I love telling writers how I feel about their works (all good things i promise). and i love when folks take the leap and share their feedback.

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

oh golly, technically Frankincense & Myrrh (The Arcana, Muriel x Apprentice OC). bc it's 1) unfinished and 2) will deal with a lot of the post-resurrection trauma Tamar (my Apprentice) will go through. it'll still be fluffy and more comfort than hurt if i ever get back into it, but man i really miss seeing her go through it.

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

i'd have to say Perks of Being a Wallflower! no angst, just insecurity leading up to the ending lol

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I'm not popular enough to attract the haters

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

i don't <3

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

i feel like the closest thing to a crossover i'd attempt is something in the mcu, since every major event affects everything else in some way

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

great heavens i hope not

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nah

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

not in the strictest sense of the word. but in the future, i plan on crediting the folks i share hcs and thots with, they've had a huge hand in shaping the world of my stories.

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

the only thing that comes to mind is Matt Murdock x Claire Temple but i 1) have not finished Daredevil and 2) fully respect her for distancing herself from that disaster boy

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

Frankincense & Myrrh - the Arcana fandom was spiraling when i entered in 2020, and while i love all the research and outlining i did for that story, it would take a lot for me to dive back into the game/lore to flesh out that story. Tamar Ufam you will always be famous to me.

16. What are your writing strengths?

i'd have to say dialogue and my attempts to make the stakes believable

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

(actually writing lol) in all seriousness, taking the time to string together the little story pearls i come up with. i burn myself out sometimes and end up not writing anything.

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

i enjoy seeing it! what i don't like is people going "lol no hate on my google translate spanish/whatever language" (mostly when the language is poorly applied) bc we not only have the technology/better websites to use, but real people online willing to assist with translating/contextualizing. if you're going to do it, give it its due diligence. fingers crossed i can follow my own directive on that.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Cats the Musical. I don't want to talk about it.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

published: tie between Last Night and Perks of Being A Wallflower. the first 2 fics i've published for my new fave Jake, and i see a lot of myself in Reader. these two will always be near and dear to my heart. unpublished: Relic to Relic (Loki x Fem!OC), outlining that story got me through my junior year of high school. while i'd need to rework some aspects of my OC's arc/abilities, i wouldn't mind writing for these two again.

tagging @cchickki @hon3yboy @mrs-lockley if you'd like to brag on yourselves!!

[quite-right-too]

20 Questions Game

Thank you for the tag @demdifferentstories-29 I want to add that most of my old works on AO3 have since been deleted unfortunately so I'm basically starting from scratch on here.

How many works do you have on AO3?

Currently 4 (but I have some plans for more)

2. What's your total AO3 words count?

15,718

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I write almost exclusively for Doctor Who but I'm considering doing other DT crossovers like Broadchurch.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

I only have four up right now so I'll just list them in order from most to least.

Dona Nobis Pacem (TenRose modern AU)

TenRose Ask Box Ficlets (ongoing inbox prompt ficlets)

Last Words (post-Journey's End nightmare drabble)

Grand Finale (one shot of @sneakertin's dark!Tentoo AU)

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

I will always respond to comments. I love the engagement and being able to talk to the readers of my silly little stories. The validation really gets me in the mood to write more.

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

That title will easily go to Grand Finale because it's DARK. Chapter 17 in TenRose Ask Box Ficlets is also really heartbreaking.

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

Dona Nobis Pacem is still a WIP but it will be having a happy ending, I promise.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I haven't really written enough to get any hate yet, but I do get a lot of heartbroken readers when I post angst.

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

I haven't but I do have some planned for the WIP I have going on right now.

It'll be F/M simply because that's the ship I write for and how my fics are written. I don't know if I'll write any F/F or M/M in the future, but it's always a possibility.

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

I have no yet, but wait til y'all see all the little things in my brain.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't believe so but you never know.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I can confidently say that I have not.

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

I haven't done a legitimate co-written fic yet. I would love to, but I'm not entirely sure of how it would go, especially since most of my work in the past has been educationally related and I've been the sole person working on it.

However, the wonderful @demdifferentstories-29 has been beta-ing Dona Nobis Pacem and she has added a substantial amount to it so I would basically consider it a co-writing situation. Lily is an amazing author and I'm legitimately still giddy to have one of my favorite fic writers beta-ing my silly little thing.

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

All time favorite ship will always be TenRose. Obviously, TentooRose is in there mixed in, but that's simply semantics. He IS the Doctor so...

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

I don't know that I have one that I don't intend on finishing, but I always worry that my muse will just disappear on me and I won't be able to finish the few that I have started right now.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like to think that my angst is pretty damn good. I used to do a bit of writing for an old OC RP I used to do and the angst of that was heavy.

Also, making sure things are accurate. Doing my research, reaching out to more knowledgable people on the topic who can better assist, and just overall covering my bases to make things as realistic, accurate, and respectful as possible.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm more of an essay/research proposal writer versus a novel writer, which means I have a lot of issues with telling and not showing. Another major issue is, again, being able to give accurate and intimate descriptions of the actual scene so the readers are able to visualize it themselves.

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

I don't know that I would do great since I would have to rely on Google Translate for it, but I would absolutely be willing to add it in there.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

It has always been Doctor Who. I know my old fics are still on this blog somewhere, as well as probably on my old laptop wherever it is.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

The obvious answer would be Dona Nobis Pacem, but I have a lot of plans for the Grand Finale AU in the future. That is one I'm super excited to work on this coming winter.

Tagging: @thirdeyeblue @tenroseforeverandever @rudennotgingr @lastbluetardis @gingerteaonthetardis

[ao3feed-drstrange]

Collateral Hearts

by Bishovapls My take on what happens after Avengers: Age of Ultron! This story dives deep into the emotional wreckage left behind, exploring trauma, love, and redemption, with a heavy focus on Natasha Romanoff and Wanda Maximoff. As they try to heal from their haunted pasts, their complex relationship takes centre stage. But don’t worry—plenty of fan-favourite characters and ships make appearances, with some chapters dedicated to their own arcs, too! Natasha carries the crushing weight of her guilt from the Red Room, while Wanda is still reeling from the loss of Pietro and her traumatic time with Hydra. Both of them are battling mental health issues, and let me tell you—it’s a rollercoaster. There are moments of pure joy, others of heart-wrenching pain, and some downright brutal lows. Yet, they’re constantly working through it. I’m pouring all of my personal trauma into these characters, and honestly, it’s cruel, but in a way, it’s also healing. I’ll admit, I haven’t finished writing this story yet, so I can’t promise you a happy ending—but here’s hoping we get there. Who knows what’ll happen? This story tackles some major heavy topics, so please check the tags for potential triggers and take care of yourself! Words: 3253, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English Fandoms: Black Widow (Movie 2021), Scarlet Witch (Comic), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Marvel (Comics), WandaVision (TV), Hawkeye (Comics), Young Avengers (Comics) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: F/F Characters: Wanda Maximoff, Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Tony Stark, Clint Barton, Clint Barton's Family Members, Pepper Potts, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Thor (Marvel), James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Carol Danvers, Scott Lang, James "Bucky" Barnes, Vision (Marvel), Jennifer Walters, Matt Murdock, Yelena Belova, Kate Bishop, Peter Parker, Cassie Lang, Michelle Jones (Marvel), Kamala Khan, America Chavez, Stephen Strange, Dreykov (Avengers Marvel movies), Antonia Dreykov, Maria Hill, Nick Fury Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Natasha Romanov, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Avengers Team Members & Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Yelena Belova/Kate Bishop, Avengers Team Members & Young Avengers Team Members (Marvel) Additional Tags: Angst, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Natasha Romanov Needs a Hug, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug, Nightmares, Triggers, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Red room abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts, Eating Disorders, Do not read if you could be triggered!, this is rough, Working Out My Feelings Through Fic, Post-Movie: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Canon Divergence - Movie: Black Widow (2021), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Lesbian Wanda Maximoff, Lesbian Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Bisexual Kate Bishop, Lesbian Yelena Belova, Gay Bucky Barnes, Gay Steve Rogers, LGBTQ Themes, Literally There Are Gays Everywhere, Heavy Drinking, Major Character Injury, Canon-Typical Violence via https://ift.tt/4VjE7Px

[craniumflight]

i've been looking for fidel x klay posts on twitter and i kind of want to share why i like them too

first of all.. i thought nothing was going to happen between them because I'm used to dynamics like these.

I ALWAYS SHIP DYNAMICS LIKE THESE

They're popular in shonen manga. They're the type that think they're opposite but are actually quite similar at core. Then they get closer and closer because they share many important moments together, they fight with each other, stick by each other side

BUT THEY NEVER TELL EACH OTHER WHAT THEY REALLY FEEL.

Instead everything is hidden under banter, under denial, under conversations with other people, under using each other's tactics to solve problems.

Usually this dynamic would never amount to anything other than becoming the bestest weirdest platonic best friends with a toxic will-they-wont-they dynamic that is never resolved. OR it would go the other way and they'd be the worst enemies and actually kill each other in cold blood.

I've shipped all of that before. i've enjoyed and hyperfixated on all of those before

What surprised me at first was the character of Fidel acknowledging his feelings early on. That was a rare. And for a proud character like him who was initially of the antagonists, him actually acknowledging that he has fallen in love was frkn rare.

What's different about him was that it took him quite a long time of exposure with klay and slow internal change to get to the point where he acknowledged that he liked her and wanted to pursue her romantically.

AND THEN AFTER THAT... he just continued to support her in everything?!?! (tho he denied being public about his feelings or showing and telling it properly to klay)

SO OK... that was fine. it seemed one-sided. at least she trusted him enough to rely on him all the time (even though she kept denying that he cared and worryed for her)

at least they can finally admit that they're friends?!?! i would have been already very happy with that.

and then he confessed HE ACTUALLY CONFESSED. and it was... darcy-like but better

(because unlike darcy, fidel's heroism wasn't a third act. he'd been supporting her and ibarra from the start. you just need to shift perspective and watch closely what he has done and how he has been a silent hero from the start)

and yet he still needed to grow coz ofc he was still a proud pompous egotistical idiot (with a heart of gold). he still needed to improve. it was slow back and forth, regression and progression

until both klay and fidel did the things they promised they would never do just to save each other.

okay fine. i've seen that.

but.

then there was still more

they continued to grow and mature even after that?!?!?!?! and their dynamic shifted to... trusting/confiding with each other despite the longing and impossibility of their situation.

and like i said i've shipped these kind of dynamics before. I even have an OTPs that have more toxic banter than them

anyway what made them truly unique was that they acknowledged they love each other. when klay finally accepted her own feelings for him, she matured too and was able to handle him carefully (tho it took some work).

let me reiterate, they put in the work for each other. and it took so so so long. but what is great was that it was built up from all the moments they spent with each other (in good and bad, in sickness and in health)

for someone like me who is fond of cat/dog dynamics. they're a treat and, as i said, a rarity

they have the sincere honesty and willingness to work communicate with each other properly that is so, so, so hard to find in cat/dog dynamics (and hard to pull off without sounding too therapy-ish)

to me FiLay proved that the kind of dynamic could work and may end up together (press x for doubt)

they're my light at the end of this angst tunnel

(also the writing is just TOP-NOTCHED, man. The characterization of was so consistent. Each character had a major throughline that they always followed and never deviated. i dont even know where to start. this was a miracle really. a masterclass. this is the only show i liked where i haven't nitpicked ANYTHING about the plot other than fidel's badly fitted wardrobe.)

[zukka-fic-recs]

Zukka Fic Rec List - Recent Reads

Just some fics I have read (or reread) and really enjoyed lately! 💕

Unpathed Waters, Undreamed Shores by @onmyliteraturebullshitagain

Available on Ao3, Complete, Teen, Internalised Homophobia, Colonialism, Selkie/Seal-merman Sokka, H/C, Blue Spirit Zuko, Blue Spirit Sokka, Betrayal, Zuko Joins the GAang Early, Slowburn, Enemies to Friends to Lovers

Wordcount: 141,659

Sokka is a sort of merman/seal-shapeshifter who gets caught in a net by Zuko's ship just before canon, and canon events unfold from there. This fic is amaaazing. And owwwww, my heart, their relationship is so freaking sweet I can't even describe how it makes me feel, I'll tear up, don't look at me. The plot, the premise, and the characterisations, all shine through. There's even a cute komodo rhino! One to reread for sure.

it's just me and you by capt_snoozles / @capt-snoozles

Available on Ao3, WIP, Teen, Trans Zuko, Single Dad Zuko, Fluff, Trans Author, Izumi (!!!), Coffee Shop AU

Wordcount: 35,104

Zuko is raising Izumi in Ba Sing Se in this AU. One day while working at Suki's coffee shop he bumps into Sokka. Tiny bits of angst here and there, but overall this fic is a wonderful source of fluff and happiness. Love it.

Boomerangs and Rainbows by mindbending

Available on Ao3, Teen, Complete, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death (for more details the blog @boomerangs-and-rainbows has spoilers), hopeful ending, Panic Attacks, Torture, Child Abuse, Slowburn

Wordcount: 67,555

This fic is about Zuko haunting Sokka from Season 2 onwards - basically Zuko joins the GAang early, but as a ghost. Don't let the tags or summary scare you away! I know they're heavy, but I promise this fic is worth a shot, I love it with all my heart. The premise is so great, very creative, and all the little relationship facets and cultural things that the author put in are so interesting. There's humour, there's angst, there's love, there's grief. It's an excellent fic. Another one I love to reread.

when the prison doors are opened by alternatedoom

Available on Ao3, Complete, Explicit, Mostly Canon-Compliant with slight Divergence, Underage, Dub-con, FWB, Fuck buddies to Friends to Lovers, Animal Death, Humiliation, Dubiously Consensual Voyeurism (Toph)

Wordcount: 164,644

The GAang agrees to Zuko's offer to be their prisoner at the Western Air Temple. This is... Whew, hothothot for one thing. Also, the feels, oh the feels. While the relationship is explicit from the start, it is very heart-warming as the connection between them begins to grow. The interpersonal relationships and interactions are great, and fantastic characterisation which felt very grounded in reality. Well-written.

I'll Share the Moon, If You'll Share the Sun by @anarchycox

Available on Ao3, Mature, Complete, Past Zumai, AU - Canon Divergent, H/C, Lies

Wordcount: 86,514

Arranged Marriage AU. Iroh staged a coup against Ozai and ended the war early. He and Hakoda arrange a marriage that will link their two nations. This fic is sweet, steamy, and well-paced. Love Zuko and Sokka's relationship here.

Some Say Love is a Burning Thing by @paintedlight

Available on Ao3, Explicit, WIP, Canon Divergent, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts and Implied/Referenced Suicide, PTSD, Enemies TO Lovers, Minor Zumai, Past Yuekka

Wordcount: 77,642

Inspired by The Handmaiden (a film which I also adore, so you can imagine how much I'm enjoying this fic!!!). Sokka makes a deal with Mai to help her capture Zuko in exchange for Hakoda. This fic is... So. Good. The angst, the yearning, the treachery, the characterisation, the plot, ugh. I highly recommend giving it a shot. Also, Boiling Rock! What's not to love?

through the ice, darkly by chuffystilton / @volkswagonblues

Available on Ao3, WIP, Teen, Biopunk, AU - Canon Divergent, Role Reversal, Mystery, Kid Fic, Southern Water Tribe, Airbenders

Wordcount: 44,705

This series is so cool!!!!! The world-building is amazing, and the way the author skillfully allows the plot to gently unravel is so compelling. The execution of the role-reversals is so perfectly thought out and makes perfect sense in this 'verse. Reading this makes me want to hold my breath, it's fantastically well done.

The Art of Burning by @hella1975

Available on Ao3, WIP, Gen, Slowburn, Dadkoda, SWT Fleet, Blue Spirit Zuko, OCs, Kid Fic, Azula Redemption, Torture, Imprisonment, Internalised Homophobia, Angst, H/C, Food Issues, Zuko Wump

Wordcount: 336,447

This fic... Man, this fic is good. Zuko gets kidnapped by the Southern Water Tribe fleet. A lot of bonding and angst and character development. I love the OCs in this and the platonic relationships are great - the Zukka is very very slowburn, but what there's been of it so far is fist-clenchingly lovely. A lot of angst and it gets quite dark, but also a lot of comfort. And look at the wordcount, so much fic to enjoy!

[hoziernaturalevents]

Hoziernatural Recs: Rare Pairs

Sign-ups for the 2024 round of the Hoziernatural Multi-Ship Bang are open, and people will soon be working to create a whole new batch of Hoziernatural content! However, for those of you who would like something to read between now and posting, we have some recs to fill that need 💜

Everything listed below is a rare pair, but if you're a person of varied taste, then check out our Wincest, Destiel, and Gen/Character Study rec lists!

Honey, There Is No "Right" Way by @rauko-creates

Beta: @petrichoravellichor

Hozier Song: Someone New

Rating: Teen and Up

Word Count: 10,181

Pairing/s: Balthazar/Castiel, Past Castiel/Dean Winchester, Past Balthazar/Hannah

Warnings: Internalized Acephobia, Internalized Arophobia

Additional Tags: Ace!Castiel, Aro!Balthazar, Demiromantic!Cas, Demisexual!Balthazar, Queer Themes, Fluff and Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Best Friends, Friends to Lovers, Roommates AU, Domestic Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Character

Summary:

“That’s not how you feel about her.”

“Castiel, that’s not how I’ve ever felt about anyone. This whole…” He waved a hand in the air and propped up against the arm of the couch, “in love business...it’s complete bollocks. If you ask me, people’ve just seen too many blasted movies, got so hopped up on the rush of getting to know someone that they think that's it, that’s love, but it isn’t. Love is…” He glanced down at Castiel. “Love is choosing the person you get on with best, someone you’re able to be mates with and that you find attractive. All this ‘romance’ rubbish is just propaganda.”

Castiel looked at his friend. He thought about the warm feeling that grew inside him when they were together, the way his heart beat just a little faster every time Balthazar was close. “Yes...perhaps you’re right.”

i prayed my mind be good to me by @withthekeyisking-writer

Hozier Song: In the Woods Somewhere

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 4,789

Pairing/s: Lucifer/Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester

Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Emotional Manipulation, Coercion, Conditioning, Stockholm Syndrome, Disordered Eating, Suicidal Thoughts, Victim Blaming

Additional Tags: Hallucination Lucifer, Post-Episode 7x15 Repo Man, Episode 7x17 The Born-Again Identity, Lucifer's Cage, Horsemen's Rings, Hurt Sam Winchester, Sam's Cage Trauma, Sleep Deprivation, Groping, Hand Jobs, Anal Sex

Summary:

"You know you want to, Sammy. You know you miss me. You know you should come get me out."

"No. No, that will never happen."

His hallucination hums, looking at him with dark eyes and something almost resembling pity. "Oh, Sam," he says. "Yes, it will."

Mid-Youth Crisis by @sunshine-zenith with art by @rauko-creates

Beta: @rauko-creates

Hozier Song: Jackie and Wilson

Rating: Teen and Up

Word Count: 9,162

Pairing/s: Rowena MacLeod/Mary Winchester, Dean Winchester & Mary Winchester, Castiel & Mary Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Lily Sunder & Kelly Kline

Warnings: Minor Blood/Injury, References to Past Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort

Additional Tags: Oblivious Mary Winchester, Humor and Fluff, Finding New Love

Summary: Resurrected and thrust into a strange modern world, Mary finds herself frustratingly connecting with a certain red-haired witch. After watching Cas decide to fall to be with her son Dean, Mary starts to wonder: is she happy? WAS she ever happy? Does her chance at happiness happen to lie in an unexpected place?

Someone New by @nickelkeep with art by @deancodedcastielenby

Beta: @iambiowaresbitch

Hozier Song: Someone New

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 11,647

Pairing/s: Cain/Castiel/Benny Lafitte/Dean Winchester

Warnings:No Major Content Warnings

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Polyamory, Foursome (M/M/M/NB), Non-Binary Character, 5 Times, Explicit Sexual Content, Light BDSM

Summary: Cain has been mourning his wife Colette for two years. Despite the promise he made her, he hasn't attempted to date again. Enter his best friend Crowley with a devious plan to help him find Someone New.

[valenhell]

From the studio that brought you “I can’t find good Byler fics in the ao3 tag”, comes:

"The Definitive Byler fic rec list"

Literally no one asked for this but because I spent the majority of last year (...and 2019, and 2018...) reading byler fics and coping with life, I thought I’d make a list of some of my absolute favorites. 

The other day I was basically starving for some byler fics and the angel @magicalfairy provided me with some of her faves so I thought I’d do the same, because I love reading, and I love all of these fics and I appreciate their writers💗 And fic writers in general, come on!

- This is a mix of long works and one-shots/short stories. - Everything is mostly fluff with a tad of angst and a lot of internalized homophobia conflict.  - Every fic is completed, except for the ones I mention that they are not. - I try my best to lay out the stories in a way that I won’t spoil you the plot but also warning you of some stuff you might don’t like. Either way, all of these fics are correctly tagged by their respective authors/owners, so read at your own risk. For better understanding, in between brackets I denote Rating, Words and quantity of Chapters. - I feel like I should clarify, none of these are narrated in the singular first person. None of that “And I told him...”, no. 

Long fics

a dream always the same (T, 99k, 35 chapters) What happened in those few weeks between the Battle of Starcourt and the Byers leaving Hawkins. Literally a satisfying and very needed fill in of season three, with a good dose of Mike’s thoughts and conflict. Mike’s characterization is specially amazing in this one. The writing style is amazing and I know the author put everything into making it historically accurate, and it was really sweet. You probably read it, it’s by the amazing sevensided here on Tumblr🧡

Spring Break (T, 120k, 14/15 chapters) The slowburn of my dreams. Lots of internalized conflict and conflict with each other. Conflict within the Party (uhh kind of), conflict with Mike and Will. Byers family has moved and the kids are visiting! Chaos. Characterization is on point. Yeah, I know it’s unfinished, but the fourteenth chapter actually serves as a pretty nice ending. 

This is where it starts (M, 148.8k, 24 chapters) Aged up characters. The Party is in college and Will disappears again, but now it’s different. Mike knows he didn’t vanish from thin air, and the discovery he and the Party end up making is pretty insane. Mystery solving/fantasy/third dimension, throw in a bit of D&D and Mike realizing some shit, and you get this marvelous fic. It’s a breath of fresh air. The world building is definitely one of the elements that stands out the most, because it’s very nicely described, it sounds like a dream and it’s completely immersive. Absolute gem of a fic. 

there’s a Starman waiting in the sky (M, 30.6k, 8 chapters) Do I need to say anything? Will is out there living his best life and Mike realizes that wow, umm, maybe his best friend looks a bit too nice with that costume... and wait, is he getting horny? It’s actually really fun and sexy.

The Evening Speaks (T, 23k, 7 chapters) In where Mike is a late-night college radio host and Will is the art student that stays up till late to catch up with Wheeler on the Mic. They flirt through songs y’all, this one is really sweet. 

heads or tails? (E, 24k, 3 chapters) Aged up characters. I know most people don’t enjoy sex in fics and with specific characters but this one is insanely well written. It’s a slowburn that commits to the tension and with every word you are grasping and anticipating their next move. I think you can find the author here on Tumblr as yousaidyes🧡

The Man of Average (M, 56.7k, 5/? chapters) Aged up characters. No but you don’t understand, the writing here is absolute gourmet. The story is exciting as well, it’s super interesting. Weirdly enough, for being very aged up characters, they are well characterized but they don’t feel like teenagers. They are naturally Mike and Will. The author really captured Mike and Will’s essence. I know, it’s unfinished and it’s updated very rarely, but this is the typical fic you can’t believe someone just posted on the internet for free. I will say though, I think it’s definitely not for everyone. Read at your own risk.

Heartstrings (E, 82.8k, 24/? chapters) Aged up characters. By the same author of The Man of Average. A collection of memories, the road to Mike and Will’s happy ever after. And fucking hell!!!!! You’ll cry and get angry, you’ll cheer for them, then you’ll want to crash their faces together because god dammit you love each other!!! But yeah, same thing here. The writing and the way the story is laid out as a nonlinear narrative is brilliant. And I also think this is one of the best Will versions I’ve read. The author might as well be the og creator of this two characters tbh. You can find the author here as mylesimeblr🧡

Sinners behind the walls (T, 1.5k, 1/1) And because I can’t stop recommending this author, a little thing of Mike tormenting himself but also being too deeply committed to Will. 

The Red Envelope series (T/E, 167K, two completed works) Something happens that Will thought was impossible and from there, pure drama and romance. Anything by this author has the potential to become your absolute favorite fic, but this series in particular is amazing. I doubt that any of you haven’t read this, but it doesn’t hurt to put it in this list. I’m pretty sure the author is serendipitous-magic on Tumblr🧡

A New Fight series (T, 91k, two completed works, one WIP) And finally the Star Wars AU that we all needed. But this isn’t your typical “Mike is Han”, “Will is Leia” and “El is Luke”, it’s way more interesting than that, and the author has appropriated the Star Wars world like no other. I’ll admit I’m not a 100% fluent in SW lore but this is amazing to me either way. This author is also on Tumblr, tea-for-one-please🧡

- Yes, most of these are (if not all), in a way, canon compliant/canonverse/canon continuation into fanon. (In a way)

One-shots and short stories

Sundae for Two, Please (G, 4.8k) Steve being the supportive friend and older brother these kids collectively need. (not Jonathan erasure, we love him). Steve is very sweet himself, and this little cute thing through his POV is gorgeous. Yes, it’s byler.

Backstage (T, 10k, 2/2) Jonathan, you forgot to mention to Will how hot your new band’s guitarist is, dude. Now he’s hyperventilating and weirdly flirting with him in the corner. Background Stonathan because why not.

102 Peach Street (G, 3.8k) Established relationship, but not only that, they are married :’’))) PURE fluff. Extreme fluffiness. Diabetes. 

sweatshirts and bottled up feelings (T, 3.2k) Or, Mike thinks that the sweatshirt Will wears looks insanely good on him. And kitchens are for lovers. 

kiss it better (T, 16.3k) Basically one of the best character studies of a few precise moments of Mike and Will’s relationship and feelings. 

will wonders ever cease (T, 11.3k) #i ship will and happiness. Omfg what a beautiful piece of fanfic. Will centric, this kid really deserves all the good in the world.

The Calm After the Storm (T, 1.6k) Tooth rotting fluff, boyfriends in love. Boyfriends being lazy, cuddling, love words, kisses. Boys loving each other’s company... Basically, Mike and Will in their element. What more can you ask for?

neither of us ready to let go (T, 4.8k) That scene from season three, but a bit of a fix it. 

Still in love (G, 1k) Domestic, married life au fluff. Y’all, I’m a sucker for established Byler, even if I can’t find many fics with it. But this is very sweet. It takes place in 2020, but I don’t think there are any mentions of the COVID-19 crisis that I remember.

I Nver Find Out ‘Til I’m Head Over Heels (G, 12.5K) Classic 5+1 fic. If you haven’t read it, where have you been? This is your moment. In where Mike keeps inviting Will to the school dances and Will thinks it’s just a joke until he realizes it’s not. 

Before You’re Gone (T, 5.9k) Will is leaving Hawkins and Mike thinks this is a great moment for a confession. This one I discovered last friday, thank you friend @magicalfairy 💗

You’re weird Wheeler (M, 4.5k) Mike unintentionally starts a tradition of going to each other to talk about their sexual encounters just after they finish. Will keeps getting more explicit with the details he shares, and he makes his best friend interested. This one is really fun y’all.

Out-Of-Town Friends (N/R, 4.6K) It’s not rated. I haven’t re- read it but I’d say it would probably fall in a T rating. So cute!! Will has new friends and sneaks off every friday and the Party doesn’t know where he is going, so Mike decides to follow him and is surprised. 

Snowed Under (G, 1.3k) By the same author of The New Fight series. Mike is spending christmas by himself in college because a snowstorm hits Chicago and Nancy can’t drive to see him, but then he has a surprise visitor. Ahhh just a lil sweet holiday fic. Super cute. 

you love me anyway series (T, 7.1k, three completed works) Literally just the cutest thing ever. Established Byler. Will loves to take pictures and he loves taking pictures of Mike. It’s adorable. 

you wanna be friends forever (i can think of something better) (T, 9k) This one is so amazing. So. Amazing. From Will’s POV, my kid deserves the world and he gets it. 

okay not to be okay (T, 4.9k) Mike is a bit sad but then everything is okay. 

can’t hold out forever (G, 18.4k) Y’all!!!!! 5+1 sweetness. Mike has been falling in love since kindergarten. And it’s long af, you’ll enjoy it. 

even if it takes forever (G, 1.3k) College short AU, they miss each other, they love each other, they promise all to each other. It is sappy y’all.

clear as day (N/R, 18.4K, 4 chapters) It’s not rated, but I’d say it falls in the T category. Strangers to friends to lovers. And also, everyone is pretty gay; we have our dynamic trio Mike, Max and El as disaster lesbians (and gay). Will works at the library and he is also gay. Lucas and Dustin and Will are the best friends we needed. It’s very sweet and the Party is kind of formed here!

I went overboard with the one-shots, so you must have realized how much I love long one-shots and I favor them over long works lmao but they are all amazing!!! If it’s on this list, I probably read it at 2 am, sobbing in my bed. So. Hope you enjoy it☺️🧡