#Only the older ones all the latest ones from the last couple months are there but the rest >:/

[sysig]

2024 Purge (Part 3)

A whole Three-Parter for 2024! Damned very completely took over my brain and I made so many many doodles about it haha <3 Also ft. Helix and SCII generally, and a few other cursory Damned-style things :)

Little mini ZEX walk cycle from his Kissing Strangers meme ♥ He’s so cute, wobbling around on these weird new legs, not used to using these stiff arms to assist him back up!

Floorplans!! Of the Vyer Estate, I unfortunately don't know the layout/room configuration of estates or mansions very well haha, so I kinda just guessed at what kind of structure the house would have - I could've looked up blueprints, but the foyer is such a strong image in my head that every other room kind of fell off around it lol - though I still oscillate between seeing the stairs in the frontmost room or to the sides, hmm

Many many speculations, including the outer spaces, yard out front and in back, what all is within their fencing, if its built on a slab or foundation, if there's a crawlspace or cellar or full basement, ahh, so many possibilities! You can see in the left full-view I mistakenly put Dex's room on the first floor lol, both his and Max's room are explicitly described as being upstairs, on a separate floor from the kitchen. Very important! But where is the master bedroom...? The two on the right are kind-of both of the same thing; the platform at the top of the foyer double stairs, and the room beneath it that leads outside to the back garden - I moved the dining room around here and there, it would be nice to open up the back doors and have a dinner party able to go in and out I think :)

Going a bit more granular, made some temps for Max's room specifically - he hangs out there a lot, it's important! Even pulled out my grid paper for this one haha, fun to have an actual floorplan kind of look with tile-spaced everything! Very Sims, quite fun. I do like the idea of him having a window seat, but he's also described as standing in front of his windows so that probably wouldn't be the Only type he'd have hmm

On the topic of the Sims, I ended up making the three mockups in the Sims 2 as well! I do like this one - I was especially surprised that Max was even able to get to the bed! I thought the dresser would be in the way but no, it’s all walkable :D Very pleased. Not fully satisfied with the placement of his en suite tho, would it encroach into his room itself, or be tucked into a wall...? I kind of like that idea of that :0

The double bay windows is maybe a bit much, but I mean. Idle rich lol. At one point he’s looking out the window and then backs Dex up against a wall, but Which wall hmmm, must align room layout with seduction attempts, very important

Switching entirely over, you might remember the card I posted of Stanley, and the small mention of having made a matching card for the Narrator... I may have made significantly more than just that lol, I can't help it!! The Damned structure is wonderfully made, it invites creative speculation and idea generation at a nearly alarming rate! I commend the game builders for their craft. So I made a bunch of the faces I'd want to see at the institute lol, I love duos the most-most, so picking a pair from several of my favourite pieces of media was just ahh! Yes!

Apaultheosis and Emma seemed like a particularly fun match :D Would that make Paul his "real" counterpart...? I mean, it says Matthew right there lol, but would he just act like Paul? Would be doubly weird if Paul-proper showed up while the Apotheosis was out swanning around haha, Apaultheosis really seems like the right level of "belongs in an institute" to have a lot of fun with :) And if it's my immune-Emma AU in particular, Emma's already used to having to be around a bunch of weirdos haha

The LAC boys!!! ♥ Making everyone's little background was a lot of fun too - yellow for the TSPs, blue splotches for the Hatchetfield duo, little devil trappings for these two :D Such fun! It was also very fun to write up everyone's little personalities in simple phrasing, really break them all down to their core characterizations haha. Helps with not pushing them too far one way or another too! Would they do any given thing because [trait]? S'fun!

Weird Duo, the Watchers pulled from And the Universe Shifts - the explorations of villains having to put up being on the same side as/having to get along with heroes really makes for an interesting examination of how they'd go about doing that! These two are still absolutely insufferable, but they're also trying to escape! It's interesting :0 Also casual headcanon of how the institute would deal with enby/trans characters, possibly something I've had a lot of thoughts about lol

Last fanduo from the first batch - all of these were made over the course of like, two days, if that lol, I was very excited about this idea - I genuinely love how anime/JRPG characters are usually given fake names also in Japanese, it's very fun :D I only did so halfway for Nova's since she's only ever had the one kind of anglicized personal name, no family name - could she also be a kid from Jersey? Such mysteries haha. She also probably wouldn't have her hair clips during the day unfortunately :P But I couldn't resist drawing them, she's not her without them! The Watchers get their masks, give my girl her barrettes!

Back to Helix, more short-haired Max! I do like this one but I also thought the pose was silly so I held off on it haha, he looks cute with short hair! <biased towards Max generally

Another one that was too silly to put anywhere haha, ZEX being attacked by an invisible Kayako - Teisel is very confused at your inexplicable reactions, Admiral!

Normally I wouldn't post my studies, partially because they're mostly for my own benefit, to better understand how to draw a character, and also because I am usually very ❤️💕💖💞💗 in my commentary lol, as evidenced. I was excited to see him!! Especially in the institute uniform!!! <3 I'd doodled him a couple times as such but Seeing it, ahh <3 <3 So cute, wonderful ♪♫

Max! Another half-study, frog mouthed boy <3 Goofy floofy lad, love him <3

And another! This time of him being teary-mad, gosh he's adorable no matter what he's up to

Hehe <3 A particularly silly one in reaction to Dexter having arm-pinned him on the floor - how different certain things look in hindsight, through the lense of a crush, hm?

Talanaaaa ♪ In actuality she removed her shirt, but how cute would it have been to tie it up at her side instead ahhh

Lovestruck Zelnick, totally listening, mmhm <3

The silliness continues! Was thinking about the little pink bits at the end of VUX tendrils and how I've sometimes seen them speculated as also being little tongues? I'm still not sure what I think about it! It is good and potentially creepy I think, but would they taste? Would they be as dexterous? Hmmm, thoughts thoughts

A dandelion for the sunshine Captain <3

There he is! The sunniest boy of them all! Sweetest sweet lad ♥ Love him :)

Speculating ZEX plushie stuff still - going over the construction of his uniform, possibly as part of his body, possibly as something to dress him in so he can be fitted into other clothes as well :0 I'm still considering the tail slot, but probably only for uniform-as-body - otherwise, laying his tunic overtop his tail would probably be the easiest all the way around. I do like VUX with short tails too tho, hmm, how to make it visible... On the right are a few more detail ideas :D Different eye styles, what would be embroidered vs. sewn together etc. - I considered felt medals and badges, but I really think embroidery would have the prettiest result! Even my notes say so haha, that and where to put weighted pellets in place of fluffy stuffing :)

Speaking of plush 👀 Ahem

An alternate Strawberry Blond panel, ZEX pulling him up fully to look at him hhh I love him <3

And also touching him a bit, what is this feeling DAX is feeling! ZEX has some ideas :3c Though when doesn't he lol

More DAX expressions! Angy and owie, they do tend to go hand-in-hand, poor lad got well-knocked around and he still ended up the least injured of the three!

Rando icons, I can't help myself ♪ This uniform has its hooks in me, is it the ominous smiley face's bright yellow on boring grey, the contrast, the sameness?? I just like it! Was a fun small and simple thing to pull together :)

I actually started this set somewhat early on, speculating what DAX's MU scene might be, but never ended up with anything solid - since he wasn't there initially, it's hard to think of what would be a fitting torture for him, apart from what Was there i.e. having to watch what ZEX went through :( That does seem like it'd leave some pretty massive mental scars on him - always always always unable to save him in the moments where it really counts! :'0 But it doesn't do anything to his Body, and that's supposed to be the point of MU! I do still like many things here, DAX's offer of self-sacrifice being rejected and him being powerless to do anything else

And the way I used hashmarks to imply his eyes going fuzzy with them both open and the stress - looks like a pause symbol haha

Also a big fan of the little corner doodle being so cute and wholesome, the two of them excitedly circling each other, excited to see each other! I love-loved that so much in their meeting <3 <3

Then there was that one time DAX and DAX met, that was fun :) If only ZEX had shown up, then what would DAX do! Self-defense in a way hehe, that's one way of getting on the same side haha

The raw doodle that eventually became Get Out of the Way! For as sad a way as it was to go out - failing to be protected, the last of his allies, not even able to wield his own weapon effectively - it does still remind me of a silly quote. Those dogs were indeed very nasty!

A temp doodle of Dexter holding both Max's clothes and ZEX's uniform after his "discharge" (;;) from the institute, the only things he has left to hold onto 💔 So very little left of him :(

I at one point asked smol who she’d put in the institute for funsies and she picked Maison Talo, and so I tossed Apaultheosis at him - they do both consider humans as prey! Just, a bit differently lol. Would the Apotheosis even be able to convert a Realtor by their lure? Where does the goo need to be to start to take effect, many questions

Stanley Icons <3 It's only fitting that my first choice for a card gets his own set of reactions! Icons like these are actually really fun to make - pulling around from my doodles, slapping a bit of colour overtop, edits to screenshots (Stanley's "Dead" reaction is probably my favourite of those, I'm sure y'all can guess which ending I pulled from lol) - and it all has me tempted to make a few more...

Back to Just-SCII! More Baby VUX!! 💖 They're so cute!!! Just little guys, adorable <3 Casual clothing and PJs and having to tie one's sash back on haha, all those complicated loops and knots :)

Also some muscle/arm shape speculations of how VUX armtips might change based on what they're doing, the roundedness of recoiling is very funny to me haha

Obviously had to make these two's versions in TS2 as well, the most fun <3 “What brings you in today, Mr. Vargas?” “That’s doctor.” “Oh, sure, right.”

More of the Doctor meme! Poor DAX haha, certainly sick with Something ♪

I think the lyric is “three times a day”? But what three times a day, that's the real question lol. ZEX has his own suggestions hmm :) I do like their hug in the first one hehe, so cute <3

Totally all better! Definitely nothing would make his symptoms flare up again!

Poor DAX <3

Digitized Dr. Doran! He really is so tiny haha, it was fun using Wander's colour scheme, mostly filled out already! The institute's dress code for staff is a mystery; presumably some of the therapists wear medical/professional clothes, but then there's Stein who still has the screw in his head - surely they'd allow jeans, right? Or is that where they draw the line lol. Look it's fine, he's meant to be the Approachable Therapist, he gets special allowances, totallyyy

All two Locked In doodles that didn't make the cut but also have nowhere else to go lol - there’s a few dozen concept sketches that haven’t been written into complete scenes yet that I'd love to post as their own sets! At some point!! Poor Oz is so put out, and Leah's big goofy grin, very silly hehe - that one's just meant to show off her outfit! It's winter, no bare legs here!

As a bonus to make up for those being the only two doodles, here’s Ozzy and Thrax in TS2 failing to get along lol. Oz! You're not good enough friends for that yet! Will they get there someday? :3c

VUX snuggles <3 Love the them so very much ♥

This is one I really want to digitize to get them a little more cosplay-accurate, but I'd been going back through some nostalgic AMVs and had the sudden realization that KuroFai, being one of my fairly early/influential ships on my heart, and now they...

Fai even loses an eye, I jfdlskafdlhfdf

Finishing out with my last set of cards, I had to make the two leads from SAOA, truly a masterwork in abridging <3 They're just such fun characters! And it's not like they're not already used to being trapped somewhere that constantly risks their lives :'0 I love them, I swear! Good things for them!

[colie-nne]

i-c-o-n-i-c part 1

pairing: lewis hamilton x fem!reader | instagram au

summary: what it feels like to be the most iconic yet controversial couple in the paddock.

warning: implied age gap, other than that none.

requested: yes | no - REQUESTS ARE OPEN

a/n: so uhm this is part one, planned to post the whole thing but it came to be too long so i'm separating this into two. Hope you like it!!

yourusername added to their story

(caption: hello, monaco🇲🇨)

Daily WAG updates

158,219 likes

Daily WAG updates Lewis Hamilton's new girlfriend, Y/n L/n, was seen entering the paddock for the Monaco Grand Prix qualifying sessions, three months after confirming their relationship. (photos are from Twitter and y/n's latest story: yourusername)

view all 503 comments

user a lewis girl, it's been so long omy!!!🤍

user is it true that she's younger than him

user yes! people say she's only in her early twenties user i heard she was... user OH WHAT?

user another one using the drivers for fame 🤮🤮🤮

lewishamilton

liked by georgerussell63, mickschumacher and 1,540,965 others

lewishamilton Great race today, experienced a few mishaps but everything ended up good. Nice work coming from the team, who's always giving their best. Felt real support and love this weekend. Merci, Monaco 🇲🇨. (28/05/2023)

view all 5,978 comments

yourusername always the greatest ❤️

lewishamilton 😘 user i can't believe she got lewis to use that emoji, so cute!!! user the support he's missing has arrived

user and he has posted her....

user wanna bet that he'll drop her in a few weeks? user you do know they've been together for almost a year before going public right?

yourusername

liked by lewishamilton, mercedesamgf1 and 67,920 others

yourusername Thank you for the experience, Monaco. See you!

also, lewishamilton can i have your number? 🫣

view all 3,022 comments

lewishamilton nope, sorry ❤️

georgerussell63 no, he's already with me yourusername oh ok❤️ user not george fighting for lewis 😂

user his smile !!! and that last pic, they're so cute

user don't you guys find it weird that she's closer to george and mick's age, yet she's dating him?

user she's an adult, she knows what she's doing. user yeah, she knows how to spend his money😒

mercedesamgf1 we can give you his number in exchange for those cookies you brought last time.

yourusername sure!! great, thank you!!😊 user i like how his team likes her with lewis

Daily WAG updates

99,073 likes

Daily WAG updates Y/n L/n spotted shopping around Monte Carlo with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton (02/06/2023)

view all 745 comments

user and there goes his money

user her family is known in the business industry and that y/n herself is a businesswoman, i don't think she needs lewis' money tbh

user what a golddigger at such a young age

user Y/n's so pretty!! i see why lewis is with her

user yeah, she's also very sweet, cause I happen to be there when they were shopping and when I asked lewis for a picture she asked me if she could take it instead!! she also gave me that cookie his team was raving on about

user their age difference still bothers me... he's like 13 years older than her

user but they did say they met when she was 20 so nothing's wrong user i still think it's too big of an age gap

lewishamilton

liked by carlossainz55, georgerussell63 and 1,875,289 others

lewishamilton Silver in Spain 💥💥 Great work from everyone as always. Congratulations on a good race to georgerussell63 as well. Felt the support and love this weekend as well. Thank you for the team and yourusername❤️ for being there !! Some post race and after party pics (04/06/2023)

view all 4,092 comments

user the heart!!! the heart oooooo!! congrats to lewis and george!!

user the are the it couple!! very very iconic, always serving

yourusername i will always be there for you, my heart

lewishamilton as i to you user this is so sweet it's making me sick carlossainz55 now show love to my bucket hat

user the support and motivation y/n gives lewis is phenomenal, she should attend the races so we can see our man be p1 again

user why is she always with lewis?? all she does is pose around the paddock

user uhm because they're together? user they should really break up at this point. i also can't see lewis settling with someone much younger than him user are we really still talking about the age gap or you're just saying that to throw hate on y/n??

Daily WAG updates

263,259 likes

Daily WAG updates After being inactive for weeks, Y/n has made her account private. Lewis has yet made a statement after the hate thread the two has been receiving. (28/06/2023)

view all 3,178 comments

user i feel so sad for her, the fact that they had to hide their relationship for almost a year and the time they chose to public you've doubled up on the hate train. ya'll just jealous of her at this point.

user oh no!!! people be calling themselves fans of Lewis but will make his love ones go on private because of your delusional asses.

user FINALLY!!! Now, i just need the announcement that they broke up. it doesn't need to be today, tomorrow, or next week i just need it to happen.

user girl... are you sick? user no you guys are cause that girl was obviously using lewis and his money for her own gains user you guys literally bullied the poor girl into hiding.

user i wonder what lewis have to say after all this... i'm deeply sadden by the suddent course of this, nothing like i expected.

user so this is the reason she hasn;t been posting lately... hoping she'll come back when she's ready, i'll miss seeing her posts with lewis they're adorable.

[rebelliousstories]

Tidings

25 Days of Ficmas

Relationship: Logan Howlett/ Wolverine x Reader

Fandom: X-Men

Request: No

Warnings: Fluff, Brief Angst, Mentions of Death of Family, Inappropriate Behavior Towards Women, Brief Fighting

Word Count: 2,341

Main Masterlist: Here

X-Men Masterlist: Here

Summary: A snowy night. A warm diner. A hot meal. And a reluctant helper.

Consider Donating: Here

Logan was, once again, driving back to the mansion from Canada. He had gone off about two months earlier, and truly meant to be back before now. The main reason being the roads. During December, the road he took from Canada to upstate New York became icy and dangerous. That is why he tried to make his journey back in November, at the latest.

But he got held up. Not for any good, particular reason. He enjoyed staying in the wilderness with his truck. Out there, he could just be. No one truing to tell him what to do, or dampen the animal that had been created. As he tried to piece his life back together, the wilderness called to him with its peace. The drawback was that sometimes he got lost in it, wishing to be that peaceful all the time, leaving him having to make the journey in the beginning of December when the road was most dangerous.

Although, Logan was not even sure if he could die if he managed to flip his truck on the incredibly icy roads. But he would prefer not to damage it this close to making it back to the school. Low rumbling brought him out of his own thoughts, breaking the zen he found in driving. There was not anything resembling civilization for the last twenty or so miles, but he needed to eat. Groaning, Logan kept trucking along, keeping his eyes out for someplace that would be open in this weather.

Dim lights shone ahead of where the mutant was on the road. A little diner, it seemed, was just off the highway in a little corner of the road; almost like it was on the shoulder. The closer he got, the more Logan’s stomach was growling. Lights inside were on as well as a neon open sign. There was only one other car in the lot when he pulled in that he assumed belonged to whomever worked there.

While he tried to make his way inside, a gust of wind blew against him, sending snow directly into his back. The wind managed to blow the front door wide open, and a young woman rushed out to close it to no avail. Logan finally made his way over there, and shut the door for her.

“Thank you, mister. Damn door always gives me trouble this time of year. Come on in.” He followed after her, and basked in the warmth of the little restaurant inside.

Christmas decorations were hung around the dining room, complete with a little tree in the corner. Twinkling lights made the room sparkle as they reflected off of all the glitter decorations that were hung. A beautiful smell of spices and citrus made the area even more cozy. Sitting down at the bar, Logan realized that she was wearing an adorable little Christmas sweater.

“So, what can I get you stranger?” She came back around, with a little pad of paper and a cute Christmas pen.

“You got sausage?” He grumbled, letting his eyes trace over the menu in his hands.

“Let me guess, you want something high protein, with a little thing of carbs on the side? Eggs scrambled. Sausage patties, not links. Wheat toast with plenty of butter, and a black coffee?”

“How did you-” she cut him off.

“I’ve been doing this long enough to know. I’ll get that made up for you.” Disappearing into the back, she went to work making his food. This allowed plenty of time for Logan to look at the pictures near the register that were framed.

Different children with beaming smiles, next to their parents or older siblings with matching grins. Families, or big groups made up a couple of the pictures. A particular framed photograph caught his attention. It was the woman that was serving him with an older gentleman, arms wrapped around each other. He held a proud smile on his face while she was just ecstatic. Logan had to assume that was her father, but from that point on he could not pinpoint what was going on in the still.

Sounds of loud trucks rumbling and honking drew his attention to the door. Before anyone knew, a pack of young men were whooping and hollering, cackling and talking so loud like they were the only people in the world, came into the once peaceful diner. Logan just turned his head back to the counter ahead of him while trying not to tell all of them to be quiet in the nastiest way possible.

These boys had disturbed his peace and were not stopping anytime soon. However, the worst of it was the reaction that his waitress had when she came back with his food. The fear on her face was evident as she looked to who he could only assume was the ringleader of the pack. Keeping her gaze low, she put his plates down in front of the big man, before turning around to grab a mug and coffee pot.

“Hey, sweetheart. How about you come over here already? We’ve been waiting for like an hour.” A gruff voice called, to which she only raised her eyes towards.

“Be right there,” came a small squeak from her lips.

She scurried off, taking her notepad and pen with her, and leaving the man that was at the bar. Just because Logan was not looking towards the group behind him, did not mean that he was not paying attention. A wonderful side effect of his mutation being enhanced senses meant that he could at least keep his ears on alert while appearing nonchalant.

Demands flowed out of the mouths of these men as she tried desperately to keep up with their orders. If they were not demanding things from her, they were making the crassest comments they could muster. Nothing that out of ordinary from the places that Logan usually hung out in; but that seemed out of character for such a quaint place.

The woman was kept busy as the men shouted out different orders. She still managed to refill Logan’s coffee, and even get him another round of toast and sausage. Undoubtedly though, her attention was monopolized by the group of men. Logan tried to keep to himself during the whole ordeal, but even he has his limits.

“Sweetheart, need a refill over here.” Someone who was the ringleader, Logan assumed. She brought her coffee pot around to refill their mugs. As she did, the same man placed his hand on her waist causing her to tense up and freeze. The mutant could smell the fear coming off of her in thick waves.

“Please take your hand off of me.” Her whimper made him want to draw his claws.

“Aww hell darling. We’re just having fun here.” A smack sounded through the room, causing the rest of the men around them to erupt in laughter.

“She said hands off, bub.” Their laughter died down once the gruff voice had broken through. His back was still turned, but he was glaring over his shoulder.

“Ain’t no reason to get yourself involved. This is a private matter, bub.” Another round of laughter, but he was not having any of it. Taking his last swig of coffee, who’s only purpose was to keep the chill away for him, Logan jumped off of his seat and let his boots thud their way over to where the young lady was in the pack of wolves.

Not saying a word, Logan ripped the man’s hand off of her, but gently pushed her behind him. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the leader decided to take a swig on him. However, when that fist connected with his adimantium jaw, he quickly realized his mistake. He was screaming in pain and hold his hand to his chest while looking towards Logan with wide eyes. But the mutant was not done yet. Grabbing the man by the lapels of his jacket, he delivered a swift headbutt which left him a bit dazed.

“Now apologize,” came Logan’s demand, once he shook the man into place in front of the woman. He was trying to form a coherent sentence when Logan shook him again.

“Ah! Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please, get him to stop.” In the midst of the whimpering, a Wolverine growl caused the men to dispense the money in their wallets on the table. Once they seemed properly terrified of the man in front of them, he opened the front door, and chucked the ringleader out into the snow. The rest of his lackeys followed shortly after, leaving the restaurant quite once more.

Logan used some force to try and shut the door that seemed determined to stay open with the violent winds outside. Once back inside, he looked to the woman that was still a bit stunned from the events that had transpired. She did not look afraid of him, but rather in awe. It was not a reaction that he was used to.

“You okay?” The low grumble of his voice brought her out of her trance.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay. That was, um, that was really nice. What you did. Those guys have been bothering me for years,” she rambled, unable to help herself.

“And it looks like you got a pretty good payday out of it.” Their attention was drawn back to the table that was left in a state of disarray.

Half eaten food, and drinks covered the surface, but all that green that was worth it. She started shoving the money into her apron pockets unceremoniously, more intent on getting the table clear. Before her hands could touch a single plate or cup, Logan’s larger hands beat her to it.

“Just tell me where to put it.” She smiled and led him back to the kitchen where she was finally able to help scrap off the food.

They continued like this for a few minutes, having to make multiple trips back and forth. An unusual silence encompassed them, yet, it was not uncomfortable. Simply that each one had thoughts running far too fast to allow themselves conversation.

How a random woman, on some random road, at some random diner, was having Logan clean up someone else’s mess was beyond him. He normally stayed away from people. He was a lone wolf. Logan did not help out where he could for a reason he did not understand, for a reward he would never receive. Or rather, a reward that was not going to be monetary.

“Thank you, again. It’s always such a pain getting those guys handled.” She spoke, wiping down the table once Logan was returned to his spot at the bar.

“No problem. They won’t be coming back anytime soon.” He grumbled, simply enjoying the company.

“Let’s hope. I wish I could have them trespassed, but the big man that you chucked out, Jason, his dad is the sheriff. He’ll just say that it’s boys being boys.” Her lament was paused due to her taking a sip of her hot chocolate that she had made.

‘I’ll pass by here soon and make sure for you.’ Logan thought to himself, trying hard to stare at her beautiful, doe-like eyes.

“I’d appreciate that.” Oh no, he had said that aloud. With a groan, he rubbed his face. Only her giggles let him know that even she had caught him.

“How close are we to Weschester County?”

“New York? About ten or so miles. Got a date,” she teased, causing Logan to smirk just a bit.

“Going to see some old… friends.” The proper name for the people at the school had not crossed his mind yet.

“Sounds about right. Going to be with your people for the holidays. Well, have fun with that. If you ever want a hot meal or to save my diner from catastrophe, you know where to find me.” The slight depressed lit to her voice did not surpass Logan’s sensibilities.

“You got any plans for the holidays?” Seriously, what was happening to him?

“Nah. Parents are both dead. No siblings either. Plus, this place takes so much of my time, it’s hard to have friends. So, I’ll just stay at home until I open for dinner. I usually get a few lone truckers on holidays that can’t make it back to their families.” Her sad smile tugged at Logan’s heartstrings.

Before he could stop himself he offered, “can I come by tomorrow, then?”

Her eyes widened just a bit as she took in his words. Somehow this random man had managed to sneak his way in, and made her blush with a few simple words. Hiding her smile behind another sip of her cocoa, she replied into the steaming mug, ”of course.”

Logan smiled right back at her as she raised her face from its hiding place. His body must have been running on autopilot, because his hand reached across the counter to wipe at her own face. A small line of foam had accumulated above her lips which he removed with a delicate swipe of his thumb. The rest of his fingers rested along her jaw which kept them locked together even with nothing binding them.

With the wind still blowing something furious when Logan went to, reluctantly, leave the diner. But he needed to get to the school. He had promised Rogue that he would be back in time. As she began to close the door behind him with the force necessary, she called out to him.

“Maybe you could give me your name next time?” An impish smirk found itself on her face.

“How else am I gonna keep you interested,” he shot back, opening the truck door.

“Good tidings, stranger.” The diner door was shut, and he just watched her for another few moments. She cleaned up their mugs, but it was obvious that she was distracted as she did. Her smile never left her face either, but Logan assumed his own did the same.

Good tidings, indeed.

[spiritofrainbursts]

Back from the Shadow Realm ( A Long Awaited Update)

- Designs not yet finalized -

- Update below the cut -

Good evening to one and all!! Welcome to the first ever Fur & Fun Friday! So in case it weren't already apparent my account recently got banished to the shadow realm as of a result of handing out invites for a Secret Santa I've been helping @head---ache out with ever since offering to help run the project back in December and wound up deactivating as a result because I didn't feel like dealing with Tumblr staff and felt it would be easier to start from scratch again so I could kick off the new page with a long awaited update regarding the future of my work. Hopefully this doesn't happen again so I don't have worry about my content gaining zero traction nor go through the hassle of creating a new account for the up tenth time, ah anxiety ye heartless bitch, but if it does then I'll be sure to get off me ass and bug the help desk next time around.

With that being said the short of it is that ya'll probably won't be seeing any art from me for awhile starting Pride Month at the very latest depending on whether or not I can get some smaller projects such as updating my Dragon, Sonic, and never before seen Poke sona's designs done and out of the way before then. Why? Well for whatever reason, whether it be the insomnia that has plagued me since senior year of highschool or the mental health issues I've unfortunately have had to deal with over the years as a result of unwanted drama, some of which was admittedly on me and too anyone who may have been caught in the crossfire at the time it all happened truly from the bottom of my heart I'm sorry if I said or did anything to hurt you and hope that wherever you are that you're living your best life regardless of whether or not you decide to forgive me for my past actions or not and hey even if you don't than that's ok too, it's no skin off my back, or even certain events from past that have come back to haunt me with a vengeance over the years, something I've only recently come to terms with thanks some personal growth on my end that has allowed me to feel the happiest I've felt in awhile even if I don't have a lot going for me right now, for the past few years now I've had some kind of weird creative burn out that has made it difficult for me to sit down and draw as much as I used to which in turn has caused a severe decline in content on my end. As a result as soon as I complete my previously forementioned projects I shall here by be going on an indefinite hiatus so I may use the time to create a content buffer and get back in the swing of things. Once I do I'll be sure to set up a new side blog to share my work on a semi regular basis again and hopefully when I do I can start bringing in some income in the form of merch as well as potential adopts so if you'd be interested in receiving some prints and/or characters from me then be sure to be on look out for that as well as a couple of secret projects I'm hoping to start production for in the coming months hue hue 😉 Until then however you can at the very least expect to start seeing some written martial from me throughout the course of this year starting with my contribution for Kat's Secret Santa event come Valentines Day so be sure to keep an eye on my Rainburst Studios tag in the near future and be sure to follow me on my new A03 for updates! (Just a heads up that I'll be changing my user back to Spiritofrainbursts on there come Wednesday as I changed my mind last minute lol Also I lied you'll technically be seeing a fic from me before Valentines Day even if it's a reupload of an older one shot I never got a chance to finish, and never will or at least as is, for archival purposes.)

Welp that's all from me folks so if you have any questions feel free to send them my way via the inbox otherwise 🎶 SO LONG AND GOODNIGHT 🎶 cause this girl needs some 🎶 SLEEEPP 🎶 (Yes that was an MCR joke. Deal with it cause I've gotten deep into their music as of late and intend to start making a crap ton of jokes based off their songs alongside some other rockbands and/or rock music I enjoy such as Crush 40 or Carry on my Wayward Son by Kansas.)

[spacedace]

Lian Harper has an imaginary friend. Roy thinks her new friend is imaginary at least. Dani is very much not imaginary as he soon finds out.

Okay, so I don't know much at all about Roy & Lian, so I did some very fast searching to try and get an idea about them for this. Sorry if Roy is out of character!

Have some spooky very slightly eldritch Dani/Elle being a very polite unwanted house guest/imaginary friend:

When Roy had first noticed Lian idly chatting with thin air beside her, he hadn’t thought much of it.

She’d been playing with the latest batch of stuff animals Jason had brought with him last he’d visited, joyfully arranging her plushy hoard just how she wanted them in her overly full room - they were going to have to do another toy purge soon, it was starting to get hard picking a path through to the bed again - and happily talking as she did. It wasn’t anything exactly uncommon. She liked to introduce new plushies to the older ones, make sure everyone knew each other’s names and got along, the way that little kids did. He noticed she seemed to be holding each plush out as if showing it to someone beside her, which was a little odd, but still nothing of concern.

It wasn’t until the tea party - knees bent up to his ears as he curled over the tiny, brightly colored table Kori had gotten her a couple months back - that he was formally introduced to her imaginary friend and put some pieces together.

“Do you want some tea, Dani?” Lian asked, holding out the bright red child-sized tea pot to the one seat at the table that was not occupied by one of his daughter’s favorite plushies or Roy. He watched as she paused, head tilted to listen carefully, before giving a bright smile and pouring a healthy amount of imaginary tea into the cup in front of the seat.

“Well, I don’t think I’ve met Dani yet.” He said, offering out the tiny cup she’d put down in front of him for his own healthy pour of non-existent tea. “Is she a new friend?”

Lian smiled brightly, gap tooth smile bright as she launched into telling him all about her new friend Dani - with an I, Danny with a Y is her big brother! - who fell out of a hole in space right into Lian’s room and who was a ghost princess with superpowers who beat up evil ghosts with her big brother. There are surprisingly few elements from any of the shows she watches or books he’s read to her, and he’s delighted by how vivid an imagination she has in her creation.

It’s easy to roll with imaginary friend Dani. Lian’s friend Marcus had an imaginary friend last year and Roy had learned enough from Marcus’ mother’s exhausted research dive into the topic over play dates to know that Lian making a friend of her own was perfectly healthy. She had plenty of friends, was doing well in school, no bullies or isolation, just a bright creative streak and a boundless enthusiasm for make believe. In a few months to a year Dani the ghost warrior princess from space - green space! There aren’t any floors and everyone flies and there are floating islands and - would be set aside in favor of other forms of entertainment. Just a fond memory for him to recount when she was a little older.

But then things got…strange.

Things in Lian’s room shifted just out of place where they usually were. Then around the house - common areas only though, never his room. Small lost objects appearing on the kitchen counter where they hadn’t been before. A blanket that had been folded on the back of the armchair draped over him when he woke up after falling asleep on the couch. Lian munching on little healthy snacks - a peeled orange, her favorite rice crackers, carrot slices - that no one had made her and that she couldn’t have possible gotten herself. Glow in the dark stars that he had not bought pressed onto her ceiling in the shape of accurate constellations.

That last one had not been the last straw, exactly, but it had been noticed about the same time all the rest of the very concerning little things had been. Talking with Lian about them all only had her explaining that Dani was doing it.

“She said wants to help.” Lian explained, little legs kicking as she focused on her drawing. “She’s stuck here til her brother comes and gets her. She said she wanted to be a good guest while she crashes with us.”

There’s something about that specific phrasing coming from his five year old daughter - crashes with us, not a term Lian’s used before and that he’s pretty sure no one else has ever had reason to use in front of her - that makes the hair on the back of his neck prickle. Lian doesn’t notice his apprehension, little tongue poking out in concentration as she adds more green to the paper. He doesn’t much care for the strange shape of the spectral figure his daughter depicts, hovering over her squiggly rendition of herself in her bed, the ghost creature being shown holding a green star up to a field of others in what Roy realizes is meant to show Lian’s bedroom ceiling.

Lian pauses suddenly in her drawing, head coming up and tilting as if listening, eyes drifting to look at a point close to the ceiling. “Oh.” Lian says, turning to look back at him with a frown. “Dani says there are bad people coming.” Another glance towards the spot near the ceiling. “She says she’s gonna make em go away if that’s okay with you.”

His stomach cramps with anxiety at the declaration just as he catches a dark figure shifting on the roof of the neighbor’s house, a flash of metal in the yellow glow of the street lights. There’s something cold on his shoulder suddenly, almost feeling like a small hand, the vague impression of something not altogether human at the corner of his vision.

Fuck it. He decides. If Lian’s maybe-not-so-imaginary friend wanted to deal with the people that he was just now aware of surrounding his home and putting his daughter in danger, then he wasn’t going to stop her.

Roy barely has the word yes out of his mouth as he darts up to grab Lian and run her to safety before all the lights in the house - hell, the neighborhood - begin to flicker and he catches a flash of bright, glowing green eyes turning towards the people outside. Distantly he heard a cut off scream and wet crunch and pressed Lian’s face to his chest as he ran for the safe room.

He was going to have to call the League about this one.

[ob-werm]

The Simple Reason I Prefer PF2E

Alright, quick conditionals: I have not been a player character in a Pathfinder Second Edition game (yet), I have only ran the game and have only ran up to level 6. I have been GMing it for close to two years now, and my latest foray into a long-term campaign has been running consistently for the last ten months.

My current stance is that I have no interest in going back to running D&D Fifth Edition. If one of my friends wants to run it, I'll play, but my go to Fantasy Bullshit game is going to be PF2E for the foreseeable future. And the reason is simple: PF2E and Paizo respects the GMs time. D&D 5e and WOTC do not.

I ran 5e for close to a decade, and I remember how, anytime I prepped a session, over half of that prep was spent on homebrew. Homebrewing subsystems to make things like travel interesting. Homebrewing magic item prices because players like buying magic items. HOMEBREWING A MONSTER THAT IS INTERESTING TO FIGHT IN THE GAME ABOUT FIGHTING INTERESTING MONSTERS.

This ambivalence towards the needs of the GM grew more apparent as new releases came out, with WOTC focusing more on player facing options and less on creating rulesets the game obviously needed (see the release of Spelljammer lacking any ship-to-ship combat rules).

For a younger man, this was fine, and I learned some good game design lessons from this arrangement. But as I get older, and my free time diminishes, I have come to a realization on my relationship with Prepping the Game and Running the Game.

Good prep is needed to run a good game, but Prepping the Game will always be less fun than Running the Game.

I want to minimize my prep time as much as possible, and I want to use that time to not only prep cool encounters, but also prep the NPCs, the locations, the plot beats, and the world history.

Pathfinder handles all of that system work so that I can focus on the story. Almost every monster has an ability other than a punch. I can pull out a couple monsters, build a severe encounter, and know that it will not only be challenging, but will present a puzzle that my players have to solve. And if I want to change things up, add in a subsystem like Hex Crawling, I'm confident that, two thirds of the time, Paizo has already crafted a ruleset that will satisfy me. And if the rules they have made are not to my liking, I can use them as a baseline for my own homebrew, rather than designing something from the ground up.

Also, it's important to mention that, while WOTC figures out new methods to nickel and dime its user base, Paizo puts all of their rules, including classes, monsters, magic items, and subsystems, online for free. The only thing that is not freely available is their adventures.

There's a lot of other things to love, but that's the big picture. I'll leave you with one of my favorite pieces of art from the game. A piece by Halil Ural, depicting the magus Seltyiel mulling over an agreement presented by a Contract Devil.

[i-smoke-chapstick]

'DON'T BLAME ME, [PART TEN]

-GOTHAM!JERVIS TETCH X READER-

⋆ 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒 ; Reader remembers why Jervis captivates her. Jervis remembers why he has a soft spot for her.

⋆ tags/warnings. GOTHAM!jervis x female reader. SLOW BURN!!! Not sure how many chapters this will be yet! LOTS OF PLOT SET-UP!! AGE GAP ROMANCE! (reader is Jim and Barbara's daughter) Jervis being a horrible teacher. The slow burn is slow burning. She fell first, he fell harder. (Guys, he's falling harder!!!) Soft Jervis. Jim and Barbara are probably tweaking out somewhere. Writing this kind of artistically and as character studies for everyone. Why are they in there friends to lovers era rn. I'm taking canon out back and beating it with a stick until it stops twitching.

⋆ tag list (tell me if you want to be removed!) @adalwolfgang @jervis-tetch-my-beloved @honestmrdual @moonlightnyx @all-things-fandomstuck @killingboredom @sweetlimeharvest @frenchfryqueen69

⋆ 'PART ONE, - 'PART TWO, - 'PART THREE, - 'PART FOUR, - 'PART FIVE, - 'PART SIX, - 'PART SEVEN' - 'PART EIGHT, - 'PART NINE, - 'PART TEN, - 'PART ELEVEN, - 'PART TWELVE, - 'PART THIRTEEN, - 'PART FOURTEEN,

♫ “Baby, am I your little secret? I'm old enough to keep it.” Older by Isabel LaRosa

You're not sure when you two fell asleep, or if Jervis even did.

He still needed to wash the cuts and warm water helps the ache. You watched him settle himself into the bath water, or rather, turned around and covered your eyes for his privacy. You couldn't see the absolutely flustered expression on his face.

Ever since his hypnotism, your wound has only been mildly painful, every now and then twisting. Turns out, Mr. Tetch's hypnotism is a much better alternative then pain killers. He seems to detest the idea of you putting any drug in your body. Weird.

You settled yourself into a guest bedroom in the mansion, becoming familiar to your new surroundings. It looks more like a nursery for rich people. You weren't entirely sure how long you were going to stay with Mr. Tetch. This could take months.

You were going to learn hypnotism, from the guy who tried to kill your dad, to kill your dad. Huh.

Well, that's not exactly true. You don't know if you want to kill him. You just need him to hurt in the same way you hurt.

That idea puts you calmly to sleep.

You wake up the latest you've woken up in years. Typically your dad would wake you up at an ungodly hour, and you're not sure Barbara even has a bedroom for you to stay in. She falls asleep at her desk in the club half the time.

It reads 11:00 AM on the clock next to you. Damn. Mr. Tetch let you sleep in.

You look at your clothes to find the hospital gown still on you. You must've forget to change last night. There was...a lot to deal with.

You rummage through the drawers and closet. For a guest bedroom, it's got a wild selection of clothes. All female. All petite. An old teenage daughter of the couple must've abandoned this room. You're thanking your lucky stars. It's perfect.

Discarding the hospital gown, you scan through the garments. Pink shirts, jeans, rings and necklaces. You pause when you see it.

In all it's glory, hangs a baby blue dress. Mysteriously lolita-esque, white lace decorating the sweetheart neckline. You want to laugh. The irony. Mr. Tetch does remind you of the Mad Hatter. Alice and her dress....

You sigh as you put it on with a pair of thigh highs. It's too good not too, and provoking Mr. Tetch seems to be your favorite past time as of late.

Coming down the stairs, you smell the sweet scent of pastries and tea. Is he...cooking? He never stops being interesting.

"Another tea party?" You question, stepping into the kitchen. "The last one didn't end too well for me."

You watch as he turns to look at you. At first he goes to sneer at the jab, before he fully intakes your image.

He stands rooted in the ground, staggered, and utterly taken aback. You hear the sharp and small exhale of breath he releases. His eyes scan you over, widened, and his mouth gets dry underneath your gaze.

He looks at you with complete and total fascination. You feel your own breath catch and your cheeks burn. You can't but feel satisfied at startling the showman time and time again. The way he looks at you now is different though. Like he was just reminded of a part of him he didn't know was missing. Like he just found it again.

The timer of the oven breaks your silence. You avert your gaze from his, but he doesn't. He keeps his eyes firmly on you. You start to feel your body heat up.

"Those are going to burn." You say, swallowing, looking at the biscuits. He blinks at you, expression soft. He cocks his head, and without a word, turns back around. You sit down at the dining table.

As the timer beeps, he takes out the biscuits, perfectly golden brown. It takes him a moment before he takes his seat parallel to you. He's silent for a moment, just studying you. His voice comes out in a shaky breath.

"You look...magnificent, I must say." He clears his throat, complimenting you.

"You don't look so bad yourself, showman." You whisper, sending him a smirk. There it is. That jolt of electricity from his eyes on you. The same feeling of seeing him for the first time in the club. Before it all went to shit.

It's not so bad though. You think. It could be a lot worse. At least It's Mr. Tetch and not some other insane freak in Gotham. Mr. Tetch is gentlemanly. He's...nice. When he isn't trying to kill you or your father, or taunting you into oblivion.

He offers you a smile at your own compliment. You see his entire face beam. His voice is soft, yet sharp when needed. He seems to be more sincere, genuine. For the first time, you see the real him. Not the charismatic exterior. He's like a puppy, wagging his tail at your praise. He leans back in his chair.

"Hypnotize me." He says, bluntly. You almost choke.

"What? How?"

He pulls out his oh-so-very-precious pocket watch, and his gloved hand gives it to you with care. You marvel at the item.

He leans forward slightly and watches you take the pocket watch, his eyes sparkling with intrigue. He's enjoying this. A LOT. He crosses his arms and waits patiently for you to continue.

You rack your brain for what to say. You think about what Mr. Tetch says. Okay. Okay. Okay. You got this.

"Look into my eyes. Not above them, not around them, but deep into their center." You try to repeat his exact words back to him, watching as his eyes never stray from yours.

You want to utter another command, but you can't get the words off your tongue. The two of you just stare at each other in silence, letting the light from the blinds peak in. You hear yourself breathing, and see that shit-eating smirk of his on his face. You feel mutually scrutinized...and aroused.

Aroused? No. You can't be aroused. This guy shot you. All this is, it's just fascination! And a partnership for revenge!

Still, that jolt of electricity only grows. You notice the way his lip curls, and he notices the way your big, almost innocent eyes look up at him.

"Mr. Tetch..." You murmur the name out beside yourself. At this, his eyebrows furrow, voice still soft.

"...Yes?" His head cocks, awaiting your command.

"Are you hypnotized?" You ask, and at this, he lets out a chuckle.

"No, dear. And, if I may, that was truly a ghastly attempt."

Ah, and he's ruined the moment.

You groan into your hands as he chuckles, smug.

"Do not fret, my dear. Do you recall when I hypnotized your father? He was truly a bawling mess, wanting nothing more than to end his miserable life." His tone is gentle, and he speaks the words so casually, but there's left over venom in his voice.

"What's your point?" The volume to your voice raises. You don't want to be reminded of your fathers oversights right now.

"My point, Y/N," He clicks his tongue at your hostility, "Is that hypnotism is something intimate. It allows you to reach the deepest, darkest depths of a man."

"You want me to reach the deepest, darkest depths of you?" You ask, raising an eyebrow with a bit of a smirk. He sputters.

"No! That's- that's certainly not what I meant!" He sends you an expression of disapproval, like a teacher scolding a child for telling a joke during class. But his face is just as red as yours was earlier. He huffs. "You need to feel that intimacy. That darkness. Channel it."

You listen to his notes intently. There truly is something about him that's startingly perfect. You can't quite place your finger on it. But you notice how his smiles seem to be less saccharine, more genuine. You notice how his eyes never quite leave yours, or how your hands fidget under the table.

There were many hypnotism attempts that day. Most of them just ended in staring contests.

[hippielittlemetalhead]

The King Is Dead (Long Live The King): My Kingdom For A Kiss

Long Live The King Prelude (In The Beginning)

For those of y'all who have been liking and reblogging my OLD Punk!Steve AU stuff: Thank you so much?! I am so glad people still like it but I will admit that version, that timeline is abandoned, we're restarting, rebranding that AU, rewriting and revamping. I hope you like this new (I consider improved) version even better and I can't wait to continue creating this world with all of you!

Sometimes Steve actually appreciated the fact that his parents were never home. Times like when he shrugs off invitations to house parties, garage hang-outs or lakeside bonfires to celebrate the end of the first week of the new school year as he walks down the front steps of the school and instead hops into the brand new Beemer his folks had delivered to the house the day before school started and heads out to the edge of Hawkins.

He's got a duffel bag in his trunk with a map of Indianapolis with the route he needs to go drawn over in highliter and a wad of cash from his savings he's accumulated from the last few years of the larger allowance his parents had been giving him to take care of himself and the house. There's an address book in the inner pocket of his denim jacket (after the first few days of school his leather one was just too hot to wear regularly. He doesn't know how Munson does it.) with the names and contact information Val and Bo had given him on a couple sheets of notebook paper back in New York carefully copied down in his neatest handwriting. He had called most of the numbers he'd been given. There were a few he'd avoided because he either wasn't ready for what the name attached to it represented or the guys had left little notes next to them telling him in no uncertain terms to only call those numbers if he was in some shit and needed help.

One he hadn't called because he wanted to talk to them in person.

Benny's is a staple of Hawkins, older than the movie theater and music store and even the library. It used to be called Hawkins' Diner, owned by and named for the founding family of Hawkins itself, before Benny Hammond got his hands on it. He'd inherited it from his father, along with a few other businesses that he'd immediately sold and used the money to completely renovate the diner. Steve used to spend his weekends camping out at the diner's bar counter or getting underfoot 'helping' in the kitchen with his younger cousin Beary. That ended when his mom and aunt (Benny's sisters) had their latest falling out before Steve's freshman year. Lenora Harrington and Matilda Emerson had always been complete opposites of each other and their younger brother was more than done with their childhood feud.

So weekends with Uncle Benny and Cousin Beary ended but Steve still tried to have at least one meal at the diner each week. Usually more when his parents were out of town. The last time Steve had seen his Uncle Benny was a week before his trip with his parents. Uncle Benny had sent his old highschool buddy (James 'Call me Hop' Hopper) who is apparently the new chief of Hawkins' police force to check on him after not seeing him in almost a month. Steve had made his way down to his uncle's diner just to yell at the man. He said things he'd regretted as soon as he got home but then his parents were swanning through the front door, listing all of the -acceptable- social events he was required to attend with them before leaving Hawkins. Then they were in New York for months. He hadn't even called his uncle when they landed in the city or when he made it back home.

Benny's is quiet for a Friday afternoon, empty except for a couple of truckers at the bar counter. They both look up when he walks in the door, looking him up and down before seemingly deciding he wasn't anything of interest before turning back down to their food.

"Is that my sunshine boy?" Steve can't help the smile that overcomes his face as a plump gray-haired woman comes out from the back kitchen, spotting him.

"Hey there Miss Medda."

"Oh honey!" She wraps him up in a crushing hug before he can even take a full step towards her. "Where ya been kid? I missed seeing you skulking around the dining room."

"Dreamin' of your homemade cherry pie. But yeah, I was out of state with my folks. Just got back into town for school."

"Uh-huh. Is out of state the reason behind this new hair?" She smiles as he ducks dramatically to avoid the hand she'd raised to tousle said hair. "And what is that jacket? Are you trying to melt out there?"

"Miss Medda I-"

"Medda, where did you go? The coffee has been just sitting there for ten minutes!"

Medda rolls her eyes and smiles at Steve conspiratorially before turning round to face the kitchen with her hands on her hips. "Benjamin Hammond it's not been a minute since that pot finished and you can wait a darn minute before you get your millionth cup o' jitter juice. Heavens know it'd probably do your heart a favor to miss a cup."

The man who comes out from the kitchen, spatula in hand and stained apron folded in half leaving his shirt uncovered, is tall and broad and Steve has to bite back a joke about his hairline being even farther back than the last time he saw him. He stops, staring at Steve still standing by the front door of the diner.

Steve raises one hand, wiggling his fingers in a tentative wave, "Uh, hey there Uncle Benny." He winces when his uncle just raises one bushy eyebrow.

"Steve. What brings you round here?"

"Uh, I was hoping- Hoping we could talk?"

"Figured you did all the talking you wanted last time we saw each other."

Steve winces as Medda hisses out a scolding "Ben Hammond!" At his uncle.

"Yeah, no I- I'm sorry about that." He takes a deep breath, "I was hoping I could talk to you about something? Alone?"

His uncle sighs, one hand coming up to tug at his beard. "Alright kid. Medda, go ahead and close up for a bit after these gents finish up. Take an extra break or something. I'll fetch ya when the kid and I are done talking."

"Sounds good hun. You boys play nice now."

Both uncle and nephew call out, "Yes Miss Medda." As Steve makes his way back into the kitchen after his uncle. They both make their way back through the kitchen to Benny's small office. It used to be the dry pantry before Benny's dad switched the dry pantry with what used to be the larger office space. Steve remembers setting up camp under the desk that took up almost half the space with his little cousin while he tried to practice reading Dr. Seuss and his cousin used their Uncle's menu drafts as coloring paper.

"So," Benny says, leaning against the old oak desk with a tired groan that Steve makes a concerted effort to not make a joke about. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Uncle Benny, I-" And Steve feels his throat closing up and his hands getting clammy. He has his little black address book burning a hole in his pocket that tells him Benny is one of the good ones. One of the best ones. He's safe and supportive and the type of guy other people wish they were related to and had in their corner. So why can't he say it?

His breathes are coming quick and shallow as his uncle steps into his space. One large hand rests on his shoulder and the other reaches back to grip the back of his neck. "Woah there Stevie, deep breaths kiddo. Whatever it is, it's alright. I'm right here and I ain't going anywhere." The hand on the back of his neck squeezes softly and Steve feels his body relaxing into the touch.

"I- I um. You know how my folks and I went to New York?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well, you were right. They didn't really want me there they just wanted to show off to their business friends their shiny show dog and all it's little tricks."

Benny curses under his breath and Steve is pulled into a tight hug. "I am so sorry kid. I wish you hadn't had to deal with that."

Steve sniffs, getting a whif of fry oil and fresh bread and pancakes with the everpresent smell of coffee. "Yeah but I'm glad I went. Made some new friends."

"Friends huh?" And his uncle has pulled back, one hand going up to tug at the bit of hair curled over his forehead before resting back on his shoulder. "That the story behind the new look?"

"A bit. They actually helped me figure some stuff out. Offered to put me in touch with some other friends of theirs in the area."

"This isn't where you tell me you got yourself caught up in some legal trouble is it? Or that you need help getting a young lady to a... certain sort of clinic?"

"Oh God, Uncle Benny no!" Steve can't help but laugh. "They just were good people. Told me were to find others who are... safe."

That makes his uncle stop the pacing he'd started in the small cramped broom closet of an office. "Safe? Safe from what?"

Steve takes a deep breath, "Have Bo and Val called you about Baby, yet?"

Benny completely freezes and Steve can't make himself move either. They both just stand staring at each other a beat longer than Steve is really comfortable with before Benny throws his head back, letting out a belly-roar of a laugh. "Oh, shit kid. They said you'd be an interesting one but my own nephew? Oh those little shits!"

"What, they knew?!"

"Oh knowing them probably figured it out soon as you said your name and that you were from Hawkins." He reaches up to wipe away tears from laughing so hard. "Baby? Really? That was the best you could come up with?"

"Well it was that or Nicks. Like Stevie Nicks."

"Baby Nicks!" And his uncle is off laughing again. Steve pouts at him.

"It's not that funny."

"It's pretty funny kid."

"Well- well you're bald."

"You're a little shit."

"It's a Hammond trait."

"Damn right it is. Now come help me make some more pancakes while you tell me about your time with those two numbnuts."

And they talk. About the places Bo and Val and the others had shown him and the music he'd taken to listening to. He tells Benny about hiding his new wardrobe from his mom even if he knows there's not much she could find fault in about it and about the struggle of finding hair products that let him do his hair the way he wants without falling from the summer humidity. They talk about Val kissing and disappearing from parties with boys and Bo doing the same with boys and with girls. Benny tells him the word is Bisexual. It's not a commonly used word and there are even members of the queer community that might try to tell him it wasn't a real thing but it was just as valid as any other experience of love and attraction if it's what felt right and didn't hurt anyone else.

There's a lot he wants to ask his uncle. So many questions about how he got involved in the world Steve had found himself in and how many others he knew of out there besides the ones in his little black book. There's so many questions Benny laughs and tells him to put an apron on and be useful if he's going to stick around hounding him through the dinner rush. So he does. He hangs his denim jacket up next to Medda's butter yellow cardigan and his uncle's own canvas jacket and grabs one of the extra aprons. Falling in step with Medda and his uncle and the couple of extra hands that clock in while he's doing his best to make himself useful while pestering his uncle is easy. Easier than he thought it would be when his uncle first offered him a summer job at the diner and he'd declined to go across the country with his parents.

Most of the tables he takes orders from are kids his own age who giggle and snicker behind their menus but seem to lose interest when he's obviously unphased. He hears more gossip than he expected there to be after just one week at school but still has his ears perking up as he takes mental notes. It's a few hours into his impromptu shift that he sees the Wheelers and Hollands make their way into the diner. Karen Wheeler is bouncing a baby Holly on her hip while trying to make small talk with Marsha Holland while Aaron and Ted seemed to be dutifully ignoring each other. Baby Holly is on the verge of tears and Nancy's little brother (he thinks she said his name was Mike?) is looking about the crowded diner with a scowl on his little face.

"Hey there, folks!" Steve pastes on his brightest smile as he approaches the waiting party. "Got a whole party goin' on by the looks of it. We all lookin' to sit together or we needing separate tables?"

Karen and Marsha both turn to him with similarly relieved looks on their faces but before they can answer Nancy is stepping forward, her arms wrapped tightly about her middle and looking up at him through her eyelashes in a way that might have been cute if she didn't seem on the edge of being upset. "Steve, what are you doing here?"

He feels his smile drop a little at the bite in her voice but he keeps his voice light as he reaches beneath the hostess stand to grab some crayons and paper. "Just helping my Uncle Benny out some. He and Miss Medda were a bit shorthanded so I aproned up and joined the fray."

"Oh that's sweet of you Steve, helping your uncle out like that." Coos Karen Wheeler as Marsha nods in agreement.

"I forget you're Benny's nephew sometimes," cuts in Marsha. "Family is just so important and it's so good to see y'all keeping the diner in the family like this."

Steve laughs and gives the older women what Tommy calls his 'aw shucks' grin and shrug as Nancy seems to uncoil a bit and Barbara just rolls her eyes. "Well I don't know about all that Mrs. Holland. Uncle Benny isn't going anywhere anytime soon and between you and me, I'm still holding out for another younger cousin. Cousin Beary is too cool to come round these days, I need another baby cousin to think I'm the coolest thing around and help me steal extra cookies from the kitchen." That has even the dads chuckling at him so he takes a moment to check the available seating on the chart and marking where he plans to seat the two families. "Now if you folks will come right this way, we'll get you seated and taken care of right quick."

It's almost too easy, getting both families seated and started on drinks as one of the other waitresses passes by carrying a high chair and asking him to help clear her table. The routine is one he learned by shadowing Medda as a kid when he was convinced he was going to take over Benny's when he grew up and spend his days making pancakes and drinking coffee. That was before his mom and Aunt Matilda had their falling out, before his parents had another miscarriage on the tail-end of another of his dad's affairs and Steve became the only proper hope of continuing the Harrington name.

Steve shakes his head to clear the bitter line of thought that was starting and makes sure he's smiling when he gets to their table. "So what were we thinking tonight? We celebratin' anything or just having a night out?"

Aaron Holland perks up at that. "Oh I don't know if the girls told you they were on the wait-list for Mr. Hauser's class?"

Steve frowns, "Isn't that a Juniors class?"

Marsha Holland nods her head emphatically, "Yes, exactly! But the girl's grades were so good last year they're being allowed to take it this year instead. And not just that. But the advanced course."

He feels himself grin big and bright. He knows he doesn't have the right to but he feels almost proud of Nancy and Holland for this. "No kidding!" He turns to look at a bashful Nancy and a scowling but slightly blushing Barbara, "That's amazing, guys. Hey, when ya'll are ready desert's on me."

Barbara's scowl deepens, "Won't your uncle mind you giving away free food?"

"Nah he wouldn't mind but Miss Medda would string me up by my ears for giving out free food. Don't worry about it, I'll just pay for it from my wages for helping out. Uncle Benny never let me or Beary work for free even if it was a last minute thing. So I'll just take whatever y'all want out of what I'd get paid and everything breaks fairly even."

"Oh no Steve," Nancy turns to him with big earnest blue eyes, "We couldn't ask you to do that with your own money and-"

"Well good thing you're not asking. I'm offering." He grins small and sharp and leans in like he's telling a secret, "Let's call it an apology for the first day of school." Nancy flushes a pretty pink that sits high on her cheeks and brushes across her nose. Her mom and Marsha are eyeing the two of them with amused but worried looks on their faces as Barbara's face is full of just plain suspicion.

"What happened the first day of school?" Little Mike Wheeler bites out, glaring at Steve over his kid's menu and pack of crayons.

Steve had never really dealt with little kids outside of when he himself was one. He tries smiling soft and dopey and unarming, "Bit of a head-on collision in the front hall, Little Wheeler. Your sister was carrying a stack of books bigger than she is and I was trying to figure out just what Munson was yammering about this time and we plumb ran right smack into each other."

The kid still doesn't seem to trust him quite yet but he nods like he accepts Steve's story and goes back to scribbling on his kid's menu. Steve notices that he's not actually playing any of the little games on it but instead writing in the blank spaces.

"Well that's very sweet of you, Steve." Karen Wheeler cuts in, "We'll let you know if we decide to have dessert. So long as you're sure and you won't get into any trouble."

Steve shrugs her off with another small smile and makes his way to the kitchen window with their drinks and starters order. The rest of the evening is a rush as even more people flood in and he's finding himself doing a bit of everything. The Holland-Wheeler party stays long after their food is done and even after they finish the dessert Steve paid for just as promised. They stay until Medda and his uncle are getting ready to switch out with the overnight staff for the diner's weekend overnight hours and shoo him out with the other teens scheduled around curfews. His uncle gives him a pat on the shoulder and a schedule of shifts for the next couple of weeks he's expected to show up for and Steve can't help the grin on his face at the silent message. Medda shoves some leftovers from the lunch rush specials in his arms with a kiss on his cheek as she makes her way out the doors to her own car.

Nancy and Barbara meet him outside while their parents and Nancy's siblings slowly make their way to their respective vehicles. "Thank you again for the dessert, Steve." Nancy almost whispers up at him through her lashes, dainty hands picking at the edge of her cardigan. "You really didn't have to do that."

"Well I know that, but like I said, I wanted to." Nancy blushes with a small giggle and he ignores Barbara's eye-roll. "You guys did something really impressive and that deserves to be celebrated."

"You're not what I expected, Steve Harrington."

"You-" Steve feels his palm going sweaty in his pockets. Images of frizzed curly hair and eerily wide grins flash behind his eyes. But this is Nancy. Not-so-soft, not-so-sweet Nancy that he doesn't think he will ever be able to know nearly enough about. "You're everything Nancy Wheeler."

"Oh pu-lease!" Barbara groans, turning on her heel and walking towards their families as she grumbled about doe-eyed dunderheads.

"Everything huh? High praise coming from 'King Steve' himself."

"Always hated that nickname."

"Ah yes, heavy is head that wears the crown."

"You get it." Another giggle. "Tell me if I'm reading too much into this-" She raises an eyebrow at him as he takes one hand out of his pocket and reaches up to push a strand of hair behind her ear. "But this reluctant king would trade all his kingdom for just one kiss from the fairest maiden in the land."

Her eyes are big and bright and her lips are parted in shock. "What?"

He starts to take a step back. "I'm sorry, I just thought-" and is cut off by a deceptively strong hand grabbing the collar of his jacket and pulling him down for a quick kiss that makes his brain short circuit.

"You're an idiot Steve Harrington."

"Absolutely, whatever you say."

"See you Monday?"

"Or tomorrow? My shift ends at noon."

She smiles up at him like she didn't just rewire his entire brain, "See you tomorrow at noon."

Steve nods silently as she pulls away. He can't stop staring after her as she jogs over to her smiling parents and scowling brother. Tomorrow can't come soon enough.

Taglist:

@heartsong18 @knightofthieves @13catastrophic-blues @nightmareglitter @steddie-as-they-go @sani-86 @lawrencebshoggoth

[idabbleincrazy]

Not Whole Without (1/2)

Fandom: Smallville

Rating: E

Pairing: Clark/Lex, Clark/Bruce (unrequited) , Lex/Bruce (past), Clex+Bruce

Characters: Clark Kent, Lex Luthor, Bruce Wayne, mentions of JLA

Word Count: 1892

Warnings: voyeurism, exhibitionism, Good Guy Lex, canon divergent, Lex knows the truth, kink discovery, blowjob, dirty talk, deep throating, come swallowing

Summary: Trust Lex to know just what they all need.

A/N: from @leatafandom 's prompt: Kink Discovery +   Lex and Clark let a third party watch them. It could be that they just kiss and do a little over-the-clothes touching. Or they could go all the way with an audience.

Squares Filled: Oral sex or Phone Sex, Location: Balcony, Kink Discovery, Having Feelings for the Other Person in a One-on-One Mentorship ( @julybreakbingo ), Surprise Encounters ( @fandom-free-bingo pride edition)

Clark couldn't hold back a groan of hunger as he found himself with a lap full of a very aroused Lex Luthor. The latest business party had finally wound down, the last guests finally escorted out the door to their own lavish accommodations, either one of the hotel suites in the building next door, or to their personal housing elsewhere in the city. Well, almost the last. Clark heard a clink of ice in glass and his grip tightened around Lex's hips, his eyes flicking towards the sound that had wafted in from the balcony.

"Lex, Lex, wait." Clark tried to nudge Lex away from where his mouth had attached to his throat like a limpet. "Bruce is still here. He's out on the balcony, and watching."

"Let him." Lex wiggled on Clark's lap, his very evident arousal pressing against Clark's stomach, hot through thin layers of fabric. He reattached himself to Clark's throat, teeth and tongue working hungrily over unmarkable skin. "He knows where the door is if he wants to leave. Hell, he could even take a flying leap. I'm sure he's got a gadget or two somewhere in his suit."

Clark let his head fall back against the couch, somehow unable to tear his gaze away from where Bruce Wayne stood, those piercing blue eyes unwavering as he observed the couple, glass of scotch now set on the table by the balcony doors. Instead of his erection flagging at the knowledge of someone witnessing Lex practically dry humping him, his cock hardened faster than he thought possible.

Six months since Clark had finally agreed to join the Justice League, and it wasn't Ollie's endless cajoling that made him relent - no matter what the blonde thought - it was Bruce. He was so like his Lex, and so different. The man had enraptured him, though not enough to tempt him to stray from his lover; he and Lex had been meant for each other since he fished him out of the river and breathed life back into his body. No, before that, maybe, back when his brand-new parents had picked up that scared, broken little boy and his inadequate father, and the little toddler that he was reached across the cab of the truck and brushed chubby little fingers over that too pale face in hopes of lending comfort. 

He loved Lex, more than he could put in words, even if it had taken years of ups and downs for them to finally, finally open up to each other. But, he couldn't ignore this growing thing between him and Bruce, and every patrol, every sparring session he had with the older man, only strengthened this confusing bond. He knew he should probably look more towards the other team members for advice and learning the ropes of superhero-ing, but there was no one he trusted as much as Bruce. Except maybe Diana, but she had her own mentoring thing going with Kara, and she was often unavailable to him in Themyscira. Bruce was the only comfortable option. 

He knew it couldn't be easy for Lex, seeing his current partner spending so much time with his ex. Lex had told him all about their time together in school and about their relationship when he'd come to get his opinion on joining the JLA. He knew a part of Lex's fragile heart still bore a scar from there time together. And yet, Lex had refrained from bad mouthing the Wayne heir - unlike the vitriol that had spewed over Oliver - and supported his decision to let Batman take him under his wing. 

All of this was why he knew he should push Lex away and wait for Bruce to leave the penthouse, and exactly why he couldn't. He wanted to see what Bruce would do, how he would react to seeing his ex-lover pawing at Clark, see how far the brunette would let them go in this show before he broke, one way or the other. And, honestly, if Lex didn't want him there, he wouldn't be. He would have been politely escorted out like the rest of them, and seen safely on his way back to Gotham. It made Clark curious, and slightly more at ease, to sense that Lex had a reason for leaving Bruce right where he was. 

So, Clark didn't even bother to hold back the next groan that Lex dragged out of him as slim, nimble fingers brushed over his chest, nails scraping over a budding nipple through his shirt. Keeping one eye on Bruce, Clark wrapped a hand around the back of Lex's head and pulled him down into a deep kiss. His cock throbbed when he saw Bruce blatantly adjust himself in his slacks, his arousal heightening at the proof that the other wasn't as unruffled as he seemed at first glance. 

Breaking the wet kiss with a breathless pant, Lex trailed his mouth along Clark's jaw up to his ear, teeth nipping harshly at the fleshy lobe. 

"You like it, don't you? Knowing he's watching. Seeing you like this, all ravished and horny. Seeing me making you this way. Is he hard, Clark?"

"Uh-huh", Clark whimpered out his affirmation. He clutched Lex tighter to him, thrusting up against Lex's own bulging crotch. He knew he should be more surprised at how turned on he was by having an audience, knew he was raised to believe sex was a private matter, but he couldn't find it in himself to be embarrassed. Later, maybe, but not now. Not when it was Lex, and Bruce. 

"Good."

And with that, Lex slid off Clark's lap to kneel between his legs, his hands caressing up Clark's thighs as his head dipped down to his groin. Clark moaned at the pressure of Lex's mouth against his cloth-covered erection, that slick tongue dampening the cotton as the bald man teased him. His gaze flicked back over to Bruce, watched the brunette slip almost soundlessly through the sliding glass doors into the room, the door closing behind him with a quiet whoomph of air. 

Bruce broke eye contact only for a moment as he crossed the room to where a large leather chair had been set up directly across from the couch. Lex had set this up, after all, it seemed. That chair was usually in their media room, and now it was ensconced in the shadows of the low-lit living room, barely visible without enhanced eyesight. The tech-billionaire sat back in the plush chair, his gaze locked on the tableau before him, his hand creeping down between his legs to rub at the sizable bulge distorting his expensive slacks.

Lex's hands quickly worked open Clark's belt, fingers deftly undoing the button and zipper of his pants, and Clark whimpered as he lifted his hips up for his lover to pull both slacks and boxers down to his knees, his cock twitching and leaking out a large drop of pre-come as the cool air hit its heated length. He wasn't sure if he was comforted or upset by the knowledge that Bruce couldn't see much more than his face and the back of Lex's head from the position he was in. 

"Lex, please." 

He tore his gaze from Bruce and his slow-moving hand, green locking onto a lighter blue as he met Lex's upturned stare, the heat in those steely eyes confirming that this wasn't just for Clark's sake. Lex wanted Bruce to be reminded of what they'd once had together, just as much as he wanted him to know what he was missing out on with Clark. Lex wanted Bruce to break, too, it seemed. Unsure whether this was still such a good idea, Clark nodded down at Lex, unable to stop tonight's events even if he wanted to. 

Lex flashed his shark smirk and closed his lips around the head of Clark's cock, tongue flicking out to lap up the pre-come that oozed from the slit. Clark groaned and fought the urge to thrust into the mouth that teased him, knowing it would be over too soon if he did. And, much as he wanted to come, a larger part of him wanted this never to end; wanted the three of them locked like this for eternity, Clark caught between the attentions of these two dangerous, beautiful men, their arousal filling his senses. Wanted Bruce to never be able to take his eyes off him and Lex, the erotic image they made together; Lex's head between his legs, slowly bobbing, Clark's chest heaving for breath he didn't really need, his hand curving around that smooth, bare skull, not guiding, just needing to touch, to tether. Wanted Bruce to forever be torturing himself with teasing touches of his own hand, seen in stolen glances when Clark needed the reassurance that the other was still there. 

Inevitably, Lex's mouth sinks down on his aching cock; Clark can feel the tip pressing against the back of Lex's throat, can feel his nose brushing against the skin around the base of his throbbing length. Lex sucks around the mouthful, cheeks hollowing as he quickens his pace.

"Oh, God, Lex." Clark shifts his hips, needing to press just that little bit deeper on Lex's next downstroke. He's never loved and hated Lex's deep-throating ability more than at this moment. His moan of pleasure has prompted Bruce into increasing movement in his shadowed alcove, and Clark feels another thrill of arousal course through him. "Fuck, baby, feel so good. Gonna make me come, Lex."

Lex is becoming noisy, now, low moans of pleasure and the sounds of wet flesh being suckled twine with his own increasingly loud grunts and half-spoken pleas for more. Clark can feel his climax looming, the tell-tale tingling building in his spine as he looks between these two incredible men who fill so much of his waking - and sleeping - thoughts. He can hear the susurration of fabric against flesh, Bruce's and Lex's, and it's the realization that both of these beautiful, intelligent, amazing men - men who could have anyone in the world at the snap of their fingers - are hard for him, that has him thrusting his cock down Lex's throat and gently holding him there as he cries out his orgasm. 

Lex swallows it all, suckling his pulsing shaft until Clark collapses back against the couch, his hand stroking softly over the curve of Lex's bald pate as he licks him clean. It's only the scent of his own release that lingers in the air as Lex pulls off his cock and carefully tucks it away; neither man has come yet. Clark's still hard, his stamina always leaving him ready for at least one more round, despite the intensity of his orgasm. 

Lex clambers back up onto his lap, kissing him soundly and sharing the lingering taste of himself. As he explores the cavern of that wet, perfect mouth, his hearing is tuned to Bruce, expecting the brunette to leave as silently as he always does when he's not hyping up his public persona. His heartbeat never recedes, still occupying the chair across from them. 

Lex stands, tugging Clark fluidly from the couch. Pulls him towards the hallway leading to their room.

"Lex?"

Lex doesn't stop, merely turns his head to smirk back at Clark. 

"You didn't think we were done yet, did you?"

~~~~~~

@leatafandom

[27dragons]

New Year Countdown: Dec 9

A little Stuckony HS reunion for you all today, with established Stony, pining, and just a soupçon of angst.

Dec 9 - Stuckony - HS Reunion - Snowflake

“He won’t be here.” Tony was fidgeting with his nametag.

“He’ll be here.” Steve took the nametag out of Tony’s hands and carefully pinned it to his lapel.

“But what if--”

“Sweetheart, stop worrying.” Steve put his hands on Tony’s shoulders and kissed his husband’s forehead. “He’ll be here.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“I just know.”

Tony made an exasperated noise, but dropped his head to Steve’s shoulder. “I just don’t want to miss our chance. Again.”

“I know,” Steve soothed. It was hard to believe it had already been twenty years since they’d graduated. And almost twenty years since the last time they’d seen Bucky in person, though mutual acquaintances had kept them up to date from time to time. “He’ll be here.”

The last time they’d seen Bucky, they’d tried to ask him to be with them. Bucky had panicked -- Steve still shuddered inwardly to think about the trapped, hunted look in Bucky’s eyes -- and fled. He hadn’t answered his phone for days, though they’d tried calling dozens of times, until finally it stopped working altogether. He’d gotten a new number. The next they’d heard, he’d joined the Army and then been stationed overseas.

They’d tried to pass on messages through other friends, but he’d never sent a message back.

But he was back in the States now, back in New York. And Steve knew this was their chance to make things right.

He kissed Tony’s forehead again and draped his arm over Tony’s shoulders. “Let’s go in.”

Tony took a couple of breaths and pasted on his press smile, the one that all their old classmates would recognize from the news and the hype surrounding Stark Industries’ latest big releases. He squared his shoulders and tucked his arm around Steve’s waist. “Yep.”

They made their way into the already-crowded room. There was twenty-year-old music playing, a disco ball spraying light over the room like a hectic swirl of snowflakes. They stopped a few steps in, scanning the crush for familiar faces and one particular face over all.

“Hey, there’s Bruce,” Tony said, nodding toward the buffet. “I haven’t talked to him in months.”

Steve hummed, still searching. He saw Sam and Scott by the bar, Clint attempting to drag Phil onto the dance floor, and-- His breath caught. “Tony.”

Bucky was standing by the DJ’s table. He looked older, but in a good way. Less uncertain, more mature. Still--

“Still a ten,” Tony murmured, and Steve chuckled at the way Tony’s thoughts mirrored his own.

Which, of course, was when Bucky looked around and spotted them. He went completely still for a moment, then half-leaned to say something to the DJ before turning to come toward them.

Tony tugged impatiently on Steve’s arm, and only then did Steve realize he’d frozen, himself. He let Tony pull him across the floor to meet Bucky at the edge of the dance floor. “Buck,” he breathed. He offered a hand, awkwardly formal.

“Stevie,” Bucky said, and ignored Steve’s hand to step into a hug.

Steve could have wept. “Buck, it’s so, so good to see you.”

“Yeah,” Bucky agreed, and held on a little too long before releasing Steve to turn to Tony.

Tony didn’t hesitate at all, just flung himself into Bucky’s embrace. “We’ve missed you, snowflake.”

Bucky hiccupped a little laugh at the old nickname. “Missed you too, tinkertoy.” He kept hold of Tony’s arm when he stepped back, his eyes wet and smiling as he looked from one of them to the other and back. “I’ve missed you both, so much.”

Steve put a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “Let’s go find a quiet spot,” he suggested. “There’s some things we’ve been wanting to say.”

Bucky nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ve got some stuff to tell you, too.”

[starfallcity]

THE ECLIPSE - VOLUME 36

Brought to you by Starfall's longest-running magazine, providing you with quality content about the latest news, trends, and high life of Starfall's elites.

This season is all about love- whether it's romantic or not, this issue of THE ECLIPSE has something for everyone, starring the heartthrob taking social media by storm. Founder and CEO of Dr. Love, and runner of the newest late-night show with a 'zine of his own on the way: everyone, welcome Cupid Amoré!

Interviewer: Thank you, Mr. Amoré for taking the time to sit with us. We know you must be busy.

Cupid: It's no problem at all! I'm honored you thought I was important enough to interview- the email startled me so bad I had to step away from my laptop! It was a little embarrassing...

I: Well I'm glad you found it so exciting! Getting straight into it, what are the basics of what you'd want the readers to know?

C: Hm. [pause] Obviously, there's my name, but that's likely been plastered all over the page by now. [chuckles] I guess from there it'd be my age, and so on- 34, as of right now. I'm a huge romantic- if you couldn't tell already. Mmn... [another pause] I don't really have a lot of nicknames- most people usually call me by my first name. Either that or my last. My favorite of all of them is 'squish', though. My sister gave it to me when I was younger.

I: 34? Wow! You seemed a lot younger- I wouldn't have guessed from your socials. And "Squish"- is there a particular reason behind it?

C: My sister would just say it's because my face was so fat. [sigh, a tired smile spreads on his face] She wasn't wrong, but I still want to whack her for it.

I: Siblings, am I right? Moving on, would you mind explaining the whole deal on your company, Dr. Love? It feels like it sprung up out of nowhere!

C: Well, I've actually run Dr. Love as a small online business for a while now, but only in recent months have we actually expanded into a "real" company. We sell products- mostly themed around couples, though our products can be bought by and gifted to anyone. Candies, cards, bouquets, etcetera. We even have a matchmaking service, and- ahem- 'items' for our older clients to enjoy on sale. Those ones are part of a...slightly different brand, though- the same one used for our late night show.

I: I see...it's nice to see you've taken the time to separate your adult and general brands. What inspired you to take this route? The type of business, I mean.

C: Love, of course! [chuckles] To be more specific, my love of love. I've lived in this city all my life- seen a manner of nasty things come about. I think if people took the time to slow down, and really take the time to appreciate themselves and the people around them- to interact without judgement, that Starfall can become a much better place. Too many people are on edge; trust is low- kindness to strangers is seen as some sort of novelty. If my company can help open hearts and change minds, well, I'd find that just wonderful.

I: An altruistic approach- don't you feel that's a bit naïve? With all the conflicts between humans and non-humans, not to mention the looming possibility of....well, I'm sure you've gotten your fair share of concerning fanmail yourself.

C: I have, and really, both of those issues are tragic to me, in a way. People are averse to change- I can see why someone with no experience would find the sudden appearance of non-humans jarring. Except, they aren't sudden- not in Starfall. They've been a long-standing part of our history. To try and push them out because of some sort of purity complex is, pardon my harsh words, stupid. Stupid and ignorant.

[pause]

C: And yes, that 'possibility' you've mentioned. I can't judge those people too harshly. At the end of the day, that type of behavior is more than your standard pushy fan. It's a sign of something deeper- it's something innate in that person. [frowns] I can't help but feel sad thinking about it. There are people who need help in this city. Real help. They're disturbed, but they're still people. I doubt they actively choose to be the way they are- it's unfortunate.

I: ...Of course. How genuine of you, Mr. Amoré. Aside from your business career, what can we come to expect from you? Publicity wise.

C: Of course there's the show- thinking about it is still nerve wracking, but I'll live. It's a late night show, nothing explicit, but I suggest streaming it after the young'ins have gone to bed. [winks] For our younger fluttering hearts, though, our magazine is all-ages, with an advice column for those struggling hearts in our community. We've been considering featuring some local stories in our magazine as well- meet cutes, self love stories...just things that make you feel fuzzy inside, you know?

I: Looks like we may have a bit of competition, eh? We're looking forward to its official release! Wrapping up now, any final words you have or our readers?

C: I am too. As for final words, not many, surprisingly. I just wish to thank those who have supported me up until this point, and welcome all those who decide to join the little community we've crafted. I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have without your help. Other than that, continue to spread as much love as you can- you never know who really needs it.

I: A touching message. Thank you again, Mr. Amoré, we appreciate you coming in and answering our questions. For our readers who want more of Starfall's newest star, be sure to check out the information listed below about his upcoming projects. Thank you for your time, and stay tuned for the next issue of THE ECLIPSE!

[corpocyborg]

Secure Your Soul: A Cyberpunk 2077 Fanfiction

This fic was previously published under the title “Before the Event Horizon.”

Summary: Six months ago, V’s boss at Arasaka ordered her to assassinate his rival. Instead, with the reluctant but invaluable help of her old friend Jackie Welles, she pushed them both off their thrones and claimed one for herself. Now the new Director of Arasaka Counter Intel has a problem. She’s uncovered information that indicates that Yorinobu Arasaka, the heir apparent to the Arasaka dynasty, is a traitor. But without solid proof, she’s forced to take matters into her own hands.

An AU in which Corpo!V never leaves Arasaka.

CHAPTER FIVE: THE MISSION

[read on ao3]

SIX YEARS EARLIER

V sat in a parked car and discreetly watched the windows of the hotel across the street through her Kiroshi. Assuming the rookie techie they’d partnered her with had done his job properly, this was the place where she’d find her mark. 

Not that V wasn’t technically a rookie herself. She’d only been working for Arasaka for a few months. But she came from a legacy family—both her parents had been Arasaka employees—and she’d attended Arasaka Academy for the last four years and transferred directly into Counter Intel post-graduation. The job fit her like it was made for her. Or, more accurately, it fit her because she had been made for it. 

On the other hand, Carter Smith, the techie in question… he was a smart guy, but too squeamish by far. V didn't understand reluctant corpos—if working for Arasaka hadn’t struck her as the best thing she could be doing with her life, she wouldn’t have done it.

But if he had successfully tracked the target, he was worth something. She’d give him the benefit of the doubt. For now. 

As she watched the hotel, V mentally reviewed the details of her case. Stephen Blackburn—a former Arasaka employee, pissed off that he hadn't been able to cut it in the corpo world—had made off with a datafile full of dirt on his former bosses. She knew the type. Jaded risk-takers with nothing left to lose. Dangerous because they were desperate, but predictable too. 

Blackburn wasn't her direct opponent here, though. She knew from Smith’s interception of his messages that he'd hired a merc to transport a laptop with the data on it for him. A merc whose identity was still unknown. V didn't like that. She planned better when she could analyze her enemy. So she waited outside the hotel, hoping to catch a glimpse of him long enough to ascertain his identity. 

Her patience paid off. Forty minutes into her stake-out, a curtain moved in the top floor window of the building—in exactly the room that Smith had claimed was occupied by her target. She quickly zoomed in that direction. There. A face glancing furtively out at the street. Gone almost as soon as she’d spotted it, but her optics had been fast enough to grab a scan. If he had an NCPD record… and, as it turned out, he did. The relevant file popped up in the side of her vision. A surprisingly short rap sheet, starting with a carjacking when he was fifteen. The record identified him as Jackie Welles.

Hmm. An interesting coincidence. She recognized the name. The associated image, too, though of course he was older now. After her parents had died in the line of duty, but before Arasaka had offered her a spot at the Academy, she’d been forced to spend a couple of miserable years at a public junior high. He’d been one of her classmates there.

She even recalled attending his birthday party in eighth grade. One of those patronizing "everyone is invited" affairs. Truthfully, she’d only shown up to observe her classmates. Ever since she’d first arrived at the junior high from her high-end private elementary school, the other kids had baffled her. They’d spent far more time focused on the latest braindances and lazrpop songs than on their grades or futures. She’d figured that couldn’t be all they cared about, and she’d made a point of attending every social event she could score an invitation to until she figured out what truly motivated them. 

She’d learned a lot of useful information. Most scrawny thirteen-year-olds in Heywood, with no cyberware but a pair of Kiroshi, had to worry about potential abuse leveled at them from their classmates. Not V. It was amusing how easily bullies could be managed when you knew all the dirty family secrets that drove them to pick on those they assumed were weaker than them.  

She’d even used her Kiroshi to record all those social events she’d attended. She still had the recordings in her personal archive. V was in the habit of never deleting any of her data, no matter how old. Her experiences, even the ones she’d loathed living through, had shaped her into who she was today. Those memories were hers, and she wanted them kept safe.  

So then… what could they help her recall about Jackie Welles? She pulled up her archive and set the date range to May of ‘63. She located the recording of the party on the 26th of that month and clicked play. Suddenly, she was thirteen again, looking out at the past through her own eyes.

She sat in a bright red plastic chair in the corner of a crowded living room. It was abuzz with the sounds of children—laughing, talking, shouting, and eating. She watched as teenage V zoomed her Kiroshi towards her priority targets and lingered there one by one. She waited until teenage V focused on Jackie. He’d never been a problem for her, but considering it was his party, she’d still taken the chance to learn what she could about him.

There he was, surrounded by his family—a deeply affectionate mother and more brothers than was reasonable. No father. He’d been admitted to the hospital the year prior and had never returned to the Welles household. V had suspected that either Jackie or one of his brothers were responsible for that. She hadn’t missed the improvement in the Welles boys’ temperament after their father was gone. She’d bet he probably deserved it. He’d been a Valentino of the old-school variant, the kind who believed his word was law when it came to his family. Say what you will about modern Valentinos, but at least they’d left that mentality behind for the most part. 

It occurred to V that she’d seen a mention of the Valentinos in Jackie’s NCPD file. Originally, he’d been known to take on solo mercenary work, but he’d recently been flagged for involvement in gang activities. Had he decided to follow in the old man’s footsteps? Odds were his mother was sick with worry. A weak point if she'd ever seen one. 

An idea began to formulate in her mind.

She pulled up her optics' phonebook through the appropriate series of eye flicks, and called her techie. "Hey, Carter," she said when she received an answer. "Can you create a vocal modulator for me? Want to imitate a particular voice." 

"Sure thing. As long as you've got a sufficient sample."

"Think I should…" V began, pulling up the birthday video in her personal archives again. She identified a portion featuring a brief speech by Jackie's mother. Should be just long enough for her purposes. She forwarded it to Smith. "Will that work?"

"That's perfect," he said. "Give me a minute…" The voice on the line shifted. “All right, Jackie, time to blow out the candles, mijo.”

“Not bad, not bad. You sound just like her. In fact…” V grinned conspiratorially. “Feel like doing some role-playing?”

—

Getting into the building wasn’t difficult. V simply walked in and booked a room for herself. She asked for a room on the top floor, citing fear of a break-in as her excuse, in case the elevator was programmed to only allow access to the floor a guest was actually staying on. 

As she stepped out of the elevator on the top floor, she spoke quietly to Smith, whom she’d kept on the call, “Almost there. You clear on the plan?”

“Yep. I call his personal line, use the vocal modulator, and distract him long enough for you to grab the data and get out. No bloodshed for once.”

“That's the idea,” V confirmed. “No need for this to get messy.”

V turned the corner into the hallway that contained Jackie’s room and scanned the area for security cameras. There was just one, and it was situated in an obvious position near the top of the wall. Her optics were able to trace its trajectory in mere milliseconds, and they lit up its field of view for her so that she could pass by without being caught on video. 

“Almost there,” she told Smith. “And remember—don’t be afraid to scare him. If he’s not scared enough to get out of our way, we’ll have to take him down the old-fashioned way.”

“Understood.” 

“Good. Make the call in three minutes. I’m going silent.”

She was just outside the room now. She set her Kiroshi to thermal mode and spotted Jackie almost at once. He appeared to be sitting in a chair on the far side of the room.

V crouched and activated her optical camo. Her body vanished from sight, though of course, she was very much still detectable through a myriad of alternative methods. The thermal scanning she was using to keep track of Jackie, for one. But she didn’t plan to rely solely on the camo. 

Exactly three minutes later, she heard Jackie’s anxious, slightly muffled voice from the other side of the door. He was speaking Spanish. Interesting. Either Smith knew Spanish, or he’d set up a program that could translate his speech fast enough to sound natural. Generally, it was easier to translate for the listener, so most translation software didn’t bother with the other way around. She was pleasantly surprised that he’d exceeded her expectations. 

“Okay, okay, mamá,” Jackie was saying, as V’s cyberware translated. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

While Jackie was talking, V unlocked the door. It wasn’t difficult. The defenses were woefully outdated, and Jackie was making enough noise that it was unlikely he could hear the lock click.   

“Please, you have to calm down.” Jackie stood up and moved to the right side of the room, away from the desk. That was exactly what V had been waiting for. While he continued his increasingly impassioned pleas, V quietly pushed open the door.  

She immediately spotted the laptop on the desk on the left side of the room. Jackie himself was near the window where V had seen him the first time. His back was to the door. Perfect. 

She dashed toward the desk and stopped before the laptop, gazing at the screen. She considered grabbing it and getting out, but she needed to confirm that it had the data she was looking for or she might miss her best opportunity. So, despite the increased risk, she took the time to breach the laptop’s defenses.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Jackie was explaining. “They wouldn’t do that. It must have been someone else.”

After a few agonizing seconds, V successfully accessed the data. It was all there. Everything she needed. Excellent.

Behind her, she heard the click of a trigger pressed partway down. An acidic voice filled the room. “What kinda sick fuck uses the sound of a man’s own mamá's voice against him?” 

V froze. Too slow. Bile-flavored dread rose in her throat, but she swallowed, pushing it down where it belonged. He hadn’t shot her yet. She still had a chance to talk her way out of this. She deactivated her optical camo. Slowly, she raised her hands in surrender. “Okay, you've got me,” she admitted. “Don't do anything rash. Let's talk. May I turn around?”

“Fine,” he growled softly.

Cautiously, avoiding any possible sign of aggression, V turned. The man she remembered as a constant optimist had clearly found some hidden stores of rage to draw from. He looked at her with open hatred, his gun pointed directly at the center of her forehead. 

“Now,” began Jackie Welles. “Do you have her? Do you have my mom?”

That explained the level of anger. For a second, V was torn. It could be useful to let him believe that, but it was likely more prudent to calm him down.

“I asked you a question, demoña.”

“No,” V stated clearly. “Nothing like that. I’m sure your mom is just fine. We don't have her. It’s just a vocal modulator.”

“You think I don’t fuckin’ know that?” He was nearly shouting now. “Can tell the difference between her and a stranger, even one that sounds just like her. But I know how that tech works. You need a voice sample to set one up. So how’d you know what she sounds like?” 

V felt a slight tremor of fear, mingled with excitement and appreciation. He'd been onto her all along. He was more astute that she’d given him credit for. This might actually be a fair match. “You and I, we went to middle school together. Eighth grade. I was at your thirteenth birthday party. Still happened to have the recording.”

“Eighth grade?” he said uncertainly. “I don't remember you.”

“That doesn't surprise me. I mostly kept to myself.”

“More like thought you were better than everyone else.”

“Ah.” V smiled slightly. “So you do remember me.”

“You trying to make me angry?” He moved slightly closer, still keeping his gun aimed steadily. A good sign. If he was trying to intimidate her, it was because her casual manner unnerved him. 

“No. The opposite, actually,” she said emphatically. “I’m trying to make you realize that we have a valuable and fleeting opportunity here.”

“There you go,” Jackie scoffed. “Always trying to make a deal. This isn't your office, demoña. I'm not your coworker.”

That much is obvious, V thought. She carried on regardless. “In about five minutes, my backup from Arasaka’s going to come through that door. Yes, you could kill me before then, but could you make it out in time? Could you hide the evidence that would allow them to find you again?”

“And what's your offer? Turn myself in? Surrender and maybe my punishment won't be that bad?”

“My offer is to let you go free.”

His shock made her smile again. No one could ever claim that she didn’t make reasonable deals.

“Let me go free? Just like that?”

“Indeed. With a guarantee of future protection from Arasaka’s wrath, assuming you don't antagonize us too badly. That's for letting me live.”

“A guarantee, huh?” He mocked her sales-pitch tone. “So I'm meant to, what, take your word for it?”

“No. I’d never ask anyone to take me on faith,” she explained. “That data you've got, it's very valuable. Could ruin any number of my superiors. I'll have to take it back to Arasaka, of course. However, I'm willing to let you hold on to a copy.”

“You'd leave evidence behind? If your superiors find out, they'd kill you.” He emphasized the word ‘superiors’ with the same mocking tone.

“Exactly,” V stated proudly. 

He looked at her like she’d sprouted a second head. 

"If I try to betray you," V continued patiently, "all you need to do is leak enough data to make Arasaka realize I let you keep a copy. They'll zero me, but they'll come for you too. And if you betray me, I can initiate the same events in reverse order. Continued loyalty would be the safest, most logical choice for each of us."

"That your foundation for an alliance?" Jackie cried in exasperation, his gun never straying from its mark in the center of her forehead. "Mutually assured destruction?"

V kept her hands held up, but she dared to lift her chin. "Yes." She looked him steadily in the eyes. "Because it works.”

A loaded silence followed. 

“And that's for letting you live?”

“That's for letting me live,” V confirmed.

He was silent again. Then, slowly, he lowered his gun. “Okay. Deal.”

“Excellent.” V lowered her hands just as slowly. “I’ll copy the data right now.” 

She turned back to the laptop, plugged in one of her extra empty datashards, and began the duplication process. She noted Jackie watching her movements closely. She kept her hands open and within his field of view, so he’d know she wasn’t trying to sabotage anything. As the loading screen appeared, she said to him, “There's more we can offer each other, if you’re interested.” 

“More? This ain’t enough for you?” His initial answer came quickly. But after a second, he sighed and added, “Like what?”

“You’re new to the Valentinos, right? Got contacts there. Could pull some strings. Keep you safe, help you rise.”

“Valentinos wouldn't make deals with ‘Saka.”

“Are you sure about that?” 

“Yes,” he insisted. “Honor means something to 'em.”

“Honor means something to us too, Jackie.”

“Right.” His voice was heavy with sarcasm.

The loading screen reached a hundred percent. She unplugged the datashard and handed it to him, then closed the laptop and placed it under her arm. “Think about it,” she told him as she pulled out one of her business cards. “Here's my contact info.”

He took the datashard from her and plugged it into the port in his head, confirming that everything he needed was on it. Then he took her business card. “Okay. I'll think about it.” He started to turn away, but then he paused and asked her, “What about Blackburn?”

It took her a second to place the name. “The guy who hired you? He's a dead man. But you don't care about him.”

“How would you know?” 

She chuckled slightly. “If you did, you'd have brought him up way earlier.” 

Jackie scoffed. “Sheesh. Cinco minutos we’ve been talking and you think you know me already.”

V didn’t respond. He hadn’t denied it. 

“What would you want?” he asked bluntly, dropping the thread of the previous conversation. “For the protection?”

V smiled. She’d guessed he’d be interested in that offer. He was a man driven by competing goals—he wanted to stay safe for his mother, but he also wanted his chance at becoming a Night City legend. He’d probably agonized for years over which path to follow. And she’d just offered him a way to do both. “That’s easy. I’d want you to keep that data safe. In case I have a misunderstanding with a superior some day and need to settle the matter properly. But that’s an issue for the future. Right now, you should leave. They’ll be here soon. Go on. I’ll make sure they don’t come after you.”

He nodded at her and walked out. V let out a breath and leaned her back against the wall, allowing herself a brief moment of celebration. Nothing like a brush with death to make you remember you’re alive.

“That was kind of you, V,” said a soft voice in her ear. “Protecting him like that. Instead of solving all your problems with violence.”

“Carter—”

“Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me. Someone’s gotta keep our bosses on their toes, don’t you think? Over and out.” 

He disconnected the call. V smiled to herself in amusement. He’d called her kind. It was strange the way people's minds worked. But she didn't have time to dwell on that now. She gripped the laptop tightly and left the room, already planning what she'd say when she brought in the data but not the merc that should have gone with it. 

Letting him go hadn’t been her original plan, but she had to admit she’d wanted a copy of that data since she’d found out about it. It was far too dangerous to keep on her person, or leave unguarded in any of her safehouses, or entrust to any ally that could be traced back to her. But Jackie Welles… who would ever guess the two of them were working together? As long as she could keep him in line—and she believed she could—she could even send him updates as she collected new intel, growing his database of Arasaka’s dirty secrets but making sure they were used only when she wanted them used.

She smiled to herself again. This might be the start of a lucrative partnership.

[gerec]

2023 Fic Year in Review

Total Number Of Works:

15 new + updates to 3 pre-2023 fics

Total Word Count:

59,680

Fandoms I’ve Written In:

X-Men

Looking Back, Did You Write More Fic Than You Thought You Would This Year, Less, Or About What You’d Expected?

I never really have any expectation for how much I'm going to write so I guess it's what I expected? Though I continued my streak from last year with writing way more rare pairings/bottom!erik fic than I have in the previous years combined.

What’s Your Own Favorite Story Of The Year?

I didn't quite get the last chapter done before the end of the year but this turned out to be my favorite for the year :D

My Home Is You

Charles and Erik have always been close, and despite assumptions to the contrary, they've only ever been friends.

It takes them a while to figure out what everyone else seems to have known all along.

Did You Take Any Writing Risks This Year?

Oh yeah definitely

Do You Have Any Fanfic Or Profic Goals For The New Year?

Same goal every year - finish some of my many WIPs.

Most Popular Story Of The Year?

AU-gust Challenge 2023

Story Of Mine Most Under-Appreciated By The Universe, In My Opinion:

This year - everything I wrote with Erik/not!Charles pairings

Most Fun Story To Write:

Happily Ever After...Maybe

(The latest chapter of my actor au; I just generally love this verse, and wish my Muse would write more for it already.)

Most Unintentionally Telling Story:

In The Dark

Late one night, someone visits Erik in his cell beneath the Pentagon.

(Apparently I only write canonverse anymore when it's dirtybad lol.)

Biggest Disappointment:

There were a couple of older fics I wanted to update that I didn't get around to doing this year.

Biggest Surprise:

Ummm....how much I enjoyed pairing Kurt Marko with Erik for some reason??????

The Innocence We Lose

Erik's mother gets a job as Mr. Xavier's live-in cook, and the two of them move from Brooklyn to Westchester to start a new life. Everything is going well for the Lehnsherrs in their new home, even with an absent employer who is currently finishing his PhD at Oxford.

That is...everything except for the presence of Mr. Xavier's stepfather Kurt Marko, who takes a vested interest in Erik and changes his life.

My Favorite Part Of Fandom This Year:

That everyone left/new to the fandom is super chill.

Full list of fics under the cut:

My Home Is You (Cherik)

Charles and Erik have always been close, and despite assumptions to the contrary, they've only ever been friends.

It takes them a while to figure out what everyone else seems to have known all along.

The Innocence We Lose (Erik/Kurt Marko)

Erik's mother gets a job as Mr. Xavier's live-in cook, and the two of them move from Brooklyn to Westchester to start a new life. Everything is going well for the Lehnsherrs in their new home, even with an absent employer who is currently finishing his PhD at Oxford.

That is...everything except for the presence of Mr. Xavier's stepfather Kurt Marko, who takes a vested interest in Erik and changes his life.

Birthright (Charles/Kurt, Charles/Cain)

At the tender age of thirteen, Prince Charles of Westchester is mated to his paternal uncle, Kurt Marko, the man who murdered his parents and usurped the throne. With no where to turn - and no one to help him - he is forced to become Marko's broodmare, and tasked to bear his children to continue the royal line.

Their eldest child, Crown Prince Cain is thirteen when he develops inappropriate feelings for his bearer.

AU-gust Challenge 2023

X-Men AUs with various pairings

Feels Like A Dream (Satisfaction Remix) (Charles/Shaw)

Charlie has a lot of first times with Sebastian Shaw. (A Dollhouse AU)

It's Complicated (Not My Baby Remix) (Cherik, Xavierine, Erik/Logan)

Seven months after the incident in Washington D.C., Charles contacts Logan with news that affects them both.

the hound's mate (prince of dogs remix) (Erik/Shaw)

The hound becomes Erik's constant companion. And Erik's pregnancy greatly affects both his mind and his body.

Heart's Desire (A Seduction Remix) (Cherik, Charpocalypse)

Ten years ago, Erik left Charles behind to chase after his maker, and to keep him from a life of darkness and death.

When they meet again in the bowels of an ancient ruin, he finds Charles irrevocably changed.

Sinful Days and Nights (Erik/Shaw, Charles/Shaw)

21. Sebastian is pleased with his new pleasure slave Erik and how well he's taking to his training. 22. *NEW* Charles agrees to a walk on the grounds with his stepfather's associate, Mr. Shaw, unaware of the alpha's nefarious intentions.

My Life To Duty Wed (Cherik, Charles/Jakob Lehnsherr)

Crown Prince Erik Lehnsherr receives word of his father's pending nuptials while he's away from the Capital, fighting in his first war campaign for Genosha. The news surprises him, though not nearly as much as finding out the identity of the soon-to-be Consort; Erik's childhood best friend Charles Xavier, omega heir of noble House Xavier.

My Future & Yours (Erik/Shaw, Erik/Alex Summers)

The island of Genosha offers sanctuary to mutants from all over the world; the chance to live amongst their own kind in a beautiful paradise. With no family left, Erik decides to travel half-way around the world to start a new life.

He does not expect to catch the eye of one Sebastian Shaw - handsome, charismatic, and leader of the mutant nation - and end up forcibly taken as his mate.

Can't Run From Yourself (Erik/Wanda, Erik/OMC)

Erik attracts the attention of three gorgeous alphas at his favorite club and throws himself wholeheartedly into a night of unbridled passion. He has no idea that the strangers aren't really strangers at all, and that the life he left behind has finally caught up with him.

Debts (Erik/Shaw)

Mr. Shaw comes to the store once a week, ostensibly to help Papa with the books. Wanda discovers the truth of it, when she spies them having sex through the vent between the office and the storeroom.

All In The Family (Charles/Kurt, Charles/Cain)

Kurt's unexpected passing leaves Cain and Charles alone and destitute, scrambling to find their own way in the world without money or the Xavier ancestral home.

He also left his step-son pregnant with his baby.

In The Dark (Erik/OMC)

Late one night, someone visits Erik in his cell beneath the Pentagon.

Patterns Repeating (Erik/OMC)

Sebastian has been dead now for almost three years, and Erik is finally settled - and happy - in his life with Shinobi and the rest of the children. But the growing bond between Erik and Jacob takes them down a painfully familiar path, and threatens to up-end the uneasy peace between the eldest Shaw siblings.

Happily Ever After...Maybe (Xavierine, Cherik)

Chpt 3. Logan misses Charles while he's away. And news of the sequel goes viral on social media.

[imnobodyuknow]

I wasn't sure what to expect after posting a bunch of AI-powered fictional conversations, but...eh, I just shared them for the fun of it. 😏 That was the last of them (unless anyone wants to see more), so you can now rest easy.

Unfortunately, I still don't have a new drawing to show for it. I've made some progress on it, but it looks like I'll need another month or so to get it all the way done. Terribly sorry. 😔

I do, however, have a new digital drawing to share. Two, actually! 😁 For whatever reason, I've become obsessed with robots and AI lately -- perhaps because of some divine plan, or perhaps because of Character.ai, Murder Drones, Sonic Frontiers, NieR: Automata, Emmy the Robot, etc., etc. -- so I decided to create a couple of robotic OCs of my own.

Say hello to the beach-loving robo-girl San-D and her friend and fellow robo-girl, Emil-E!

They're from a different universe than the two colorful warriors I created a while back, in case you're wondering. I'll get on with their story eventually. 😏

So, just who are these two adorable automata? There's only so much I can share about them at the moment (partly because I'm still coming up with details about them), but here's some basic info. To begin with, they were built and programmed by an obsessed but good-hearted scientist named Dr. Zortho, which is where the 'Z' logo on their foreheads came from (Emil-E's logo is hidden behind her bangs, but you can also see it on each of her shoes). These two aren't the only ones of their kind, but the story I've planned for them focuses mostly on their adventures and misadventures, both on their own and together.

San-D (nicknamed "the curious one"), the latest of Dr. Zortho's creations, is the peppy and friendly type (think Amy Rose), often trying to provide encouragement to others when she can. She has a love for nature -- especially the beach -- and is particularly fascinated by sand and stars. But most importantly, she has a strong curiosity for learning new things -- so strong, in fact, that she develops a habit of gaining new information in ways unauthorized by Dr. Zortho while he isn’t watching her. 😊

Emil-E (nicknamed "the sassy one"), a much older robot than San-D, has a sassy, laidback attitude (think Uzi Doorman). While she's not as curious about learning things as San-D, she has a habit of looking for ways to make things more interesting...which usually leads to her getting in trouble and/or getting damaged. 😏 (That's the reason why one of her eyes has been replaced by one of a different color and why one of the sun symbols on her shoulders is scratched up.) She also likes to show off her superhuman abilities every now and then (ex. quick math, quick puzzle-solving, quick book-reading, etc.), mostly just for the fun of it. But most importantly, she becomes close friends with San-D very quickly despite their differing tastes and personalities. I suppose you could call it "robo-chemistry." 😊

...Actually, please don't. That was dumb. 😅

However, there's one difference between the two of them that ends up causing some tension in their friendship -- San-D's trust in and respect for Dr. Zortho (or "The Doc" as his robots call him) grow stronger over time, similar to a healthy father-daughter relationship. Emil-E, on the other hand, doesn't see "camera-to-eye" with The Doc on a number of things, and she occasionally resents his overprotectiveness of her, resulting in a much more strained and distant relationship between them, similar to an unhealthy father-daughter relationship. Which of his two robo-daughters has the more accurate picture of him, you might be wondering? Is he as trustworthy and smart as San-D believes him to be, or could Emil-E's doubts about him be credible ones? Only time will tell. 😉

A few more details about these two: Like every robot built by Dr. Zortho, the logos on their foreheads indicate what emotions they're currently feeling (which may or may not have been inspired by a certain young attorney's robotic companion), the panels on their shoulders flip upside-down to become solar panels which they can use to recharge (hence the sun symbols), and they have their own unique preferences in clothing and hairstyle. San-D prefers wearing a simple dress with a shell design, gloves, sandals, and a conch shell in her hair, while Emil-E prefers a casual outfit, sleek shoes with a circuit board design, and a tiny blue comb in her hair. Speaking of which, her hairstyle was made after that of Murder Drones's Doll:

You may also have noticed the 'E' designs on her bangs, small comb, and face. She's...a bit of an E-gotist, you might say. 🥁

So, what was Dr. Zortho's purpose in creating his own "family" of robo-girls? And for that matter, did he make any robo-guys along with them at some point? Both of those must remain mysteries for now, but you can rest assured that he's not your average maniacal bot-building scientist -- rather, he's the type who sees his robots as his children and lovingly cares for their wellbeing and safety. Something tells me that could be a nice change of pace in the sci-fi genre. 😉

Anyway, I hope very soon to have more to share about all the OCs I've created so far, including these two. ...Oh, and that Celeste x Spy x Family drawing, too, of course. 😄 Just thought I'd show off a couple of digital drawings of my brainchildren in the meantime. Hope you enjoy them!

[annabthesolitarywriter]

For the fanfic ask game (second attempt)

🌝

🧠

🌈 (for Lady of Ithilien)

🌝 Who is one character you haven't yet written for that you would like to?

Since the question does not differentiate between OCs and canon characters, I'm going to go with the latest OCs I've created aka Finduilas of Lamedon (daughter of Angbor the Fearless and Faramir's second wife) and their daughter Faelivrin also known as "my sweet angel Fae".

I'm trying to include Finduilas in the one-shots for Tolkien OC week but as of now I've written nothing about her. I do, however, have some ideas.

She was born in TA 3007-3008 (she's several years younger than Faramir. I'm not good at math, but since Faramir was born in TA 2983, I suppose she's 24-25 years his junior) and she's the youngest of five sisters that are all settled down with children. Her father is desperate because she's been consistently refusing every marriage proposal she's received since he was a teenager—she really didn't want to marry, I guess—and now she's considered way too old to be a bride of interest by the vast majority of people. Because of something that happens in chapter 4 (no spoilers), Aragorn sets them up and has them married (it's actually Enna's idea but I will say nothing more about that). It's an arranged marriage and I think it will be interesting to explore that dynamic, especially when Finduilas comes to realize that Faramir is infatuated with a certain Haradrim noblewoman who also happens to be the mother of his son's best buddy. (I also cannot wait to write about those two babies. Baby Elboron and Baby Selim are literally the cutest).

Another character I am looking forward to writing about (someone who is not a Maiarin character or included in Enna and Eönwë's family) is definitely Faelivrin. Fae is just...Enna's mini-me without Enna's mental problems. If you were looking for an unproblematic Enna...that's Fae for you. She will go through her fair share of troubles but it's mostly because:

-she adores her older sis and is constantly worried about her, especially when Enna starts getting pregnant every couple of months.

-She falls in love with either someone from Rohan or Harad (though I'm leaning more toward Harad) and has to have Enna's approval to marry.

Nevertheless, she adores both her siblings and Selim (he's technically not a brother but he's always been around so he's basically family anyway. I think Enna's growing affection toward Selim will be the key that eventually makes her approve of the marriage—Eönwë could technically step in and solve the matter but he chooses to stay out of it since it's a matter between sisters)

Faceclaim for Finduilas: Laura Berlin as Emma of Normandy (Vikings: Valhalla)

Faceclaim for Fae: Isla Merrick-Lawless (The Spanish Princess)

I'll include them in the character profile spreadsheets soon! I'm still looking for someone as adult Fae but I am mainly torn between Esmahan Sultan (Magnificent Century)

And another Esmahan Sultan (Magnificent Century)

The second Esmahan is probably more fitting. Too bad she only appears in the very last MC episode and there are no gifs of her.

🧠 What's an idea you have that you can't quite call a WIP yet?

Oh, that's basically the whole plot of Estel i Hína, the planned sequel to LOI, and it's also the plot of Nyerénya... Namárië!, which is the First Age fic I've been thinking about and the main reason why I've decided to include some Fëanorians in LOI. I have a general idea as far as Estel i Hína goes (it will be about Elenwë's remaining children—yes, I'll probably end up killing a few of them off. Mairon certainly won't spare them just because they're cute—and their children aka Elenwë's grandkids). I have only two planned at the moment: Elanna and Fionwë, Mírion's children. I don't know whether they'll return to Middle-earth. The story might be fully set in Valinor. Who knows.

As far as the First Age fic...I only know Enna is Hiril's daughter (Beren's sister that was later scrapped. She's thus related to Lúthien, Thingol and all of those people. I think Morgoth will have her captured, but I have no idea what I'll come up with. I think Eönwë will show up at the very end and I'm digging the idea of her being in love with a Fëanorian, but I really cannot tell you much about it as I don't really know what the fic will be about specifically. This will be it, I suppose. Enna existing in Beleriand and suffering at the hands of Morgoth. Seems pretty straightforward to me. 😂

🌈 What inspired you to write [The Lady of Ithilien]?

I actually have to mainly credit you @lucifers-legions & @saurongorthaur9.

Garo Estel (read it y'all) was one of the very first fics (if not the very first) that caught my attention on AO3. Before that, I didn't even know what AO3 was (I joined in March 2023). I don't exactly remember how I discovered the fic but I loved it right away and couldn't stop reading it.

The same applied and still applies to @saurongorthaur9's Gorthauro Estel, which is an absolutely amazing piece of writing. Check this one out too, people. Garo Estel and Gorthauro Estel. Trust me.

Both fics inspired me to write my own and then I had an idea for a one-shot as I was writing an original thing which is now on hiatus...the rest is history.😂

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SENDING IN THE ASK!

[natsu-tigre]

The Curious Case of the Cracked Clock

You know, what sticks out to me when it comes to questions of like "Hey, when did The Girl Who Fell From The Sky happen?", and "How long ago were Alyx and Lewis in the Ever After?", is how their answers have next to nothing to do with each other.

The Ever After is on a timeloop, because there's a tree with a clock on it anyone could just pluck the fruit from to rewind time, and we have no idea how many times this has happened, how long it should've gone before Jaune cracked the clock, the timescale before this latest loop is unknowable.

And how long it's been in the Ever After since Alyx's story…

What interests me is that Jaune looks the exact same age in the flashback from when Alyx and Lewis arrive as he does now, right down to the white streaks in his hair-

-Which are missing from his ever so slightly less than guaranteed to be completely factual 2D flashback on what happened in the fairy tale.

There's no other suggestion of time passing in the Ever After, the Red King is the Red Prince because of Ascension rather than anything related to age, the Herbalist getting rundown from overwork could have been the case by the time Alyx and Lewis showed up, nothing tells you time has had a tangible effect on anyone but Jaune.

Except.

Weiss: He's adorable!

Blake: And a lot older than I remember from the book...

Jinxy being older than the fairy tale depicts, which would be weird to assume is another lie of the story, since what would anyone gain from it being one?

So, Jaune got as old as he is before Alyx and Lewis arrived, and Jinxy got as old as he is after Alyx and Lewis arrived, and they're the only characters who signify time has happened at all in the Ever After. What's the connection?

…Hey, isn't it a funny coincidence that the clock fruit Jaune broke-

-is in the same jungle Jinxy scavenges for shit to sell off?

Almost as funny a coincidence as the Curious Cat's little quips towards Jaune, like:

"Jauuuune! Oho my, it has been an indeterminate amount of time hasn't it?”

"A lot of good that's gotten you after, oh, how many years?"

"I think ol' Jaune's maybe a few sandberries short of a picnic these days, wouldn't you say?"

What's especially provocative about the last bit is how the rest of the maze's reflections never actually show the person in their view, only still images of their regrets and loses (Jaune's were Penny and his old self, Weiss's was Atlas).

But only Jaune's transforms, to reveal the person he was before the Rusted Knight, as his perception of the world is questioned.

The only thing remotely similar to this...

...Is Ruby becoming Summer without noticing, which certainly rhymes, in the sense of her and Jaune trying to paper over their identity issues by trapping themselves in roles they don't know how not to fail, like they always have.

So, what does this all amount to?

I think Jaune spent a couple of years to a matter of months in the Ever After, and aged on this beach almost as fast as the scene transition took because he literally broke time, and Jaune has not a fucking clue because he sat on a beach alone, depressed, waiting for something that would take forever to happen because of his mistakes, and straight up got rusted and wrinkled while he wasn't paying attention.

Jinxy got a hold of the busted clock fruit (because grabbing one fresh off the tree would've restarted the timeline all over again) and it made them a senior citizen some point afterwards, and the Cat has spent the majority of their relationship putting up with Jaune's time blindness, either unable to, or unwilling to bother with correcting his delusions (exposition is terribly boring after all).

TL;DR: Sorry gamers, Jaune is embroiled in agefaking discourse, Weiss will have to find another Dilf to be cringe thrist over.