#This has been living in my head rent free since I started writing fics

[anironwitch]

Nitpick November 3

Okay, so how does James prosthetics specifically his arm and chest prosthetics work?

Over the years, because of characters like Yang, Mercury, and (Mostly TBH) James. I have gotten into learning more about how prosthetics work.

(Pardon about the image quality being ass)

I have an okay understanding of below-the-knee amputations and above-the-knee amputations (BKA & AKA.) With James and Mercury having AKA amputations, their prosthetics would probably connect with the residual limb in a variety of ways, with suction or connecting pin system being the most common I have seen.

The same applies to Yang and her arm prosthetic, but James not only lost his entire right arm. (Eventually, yes, he loses his left arm, Something, Something, there is no war in Ba Sing Se and Volume 7, 8 & 9. I count it, but how it was acquired is because of Ableism and Racism in the Writers' choices put a rancid taste in my mouth as a Disabled Asian myself.)

James seems to have lost a fair amount of his body, and considering the implant/sensor, James has probably helped him regulate autonomic functions. It makes me wonder how much can he remove his chest prosthetic parts? He has to have them removed when they get wet or dirty, need to repair, adjustments, improvements, etc.?

Are James's prosthetics water-insoluble? They must be since you know he has to shower and deal with snow and rain? Most amputees remove their prosthetics when going to sleep, so does James only remove his right arm and leg prosthetics? Is it comfortable for him to sleep? Knowing James, I could see him being so tired he sleeps with them on anyway? Now, as someone who likes to fanfic mostly in my head, in private, and publishes sometimes. This leaves me with more questions and research I feel obliged to do.

[you-will-return]

xo

[prettiestgrlinthemorguexo]

fic where baker reader and lucifer both really like each other but are too scared to admit their feelings so reader makes him a cupcake with a frosting duck on top as a surprise

Sweet duckcakes ( Lucifer Morningstar x Baker! Reader)

Thank you for the request anonymous! This is such a cute idea myself!!! Feel free to leave more request

Idk why but I feel like Lucifer would love the duck cake from Bluey.

I legit accidentally deleted this half way through writing it, I could cry

NOT PROOF READ!!

Warnings: stealing my baker reader stuff on how they started working in the hotel from my last fic, season 2 headcanon

⛧☾༺♰༻☽⛧ ⛧☾༺♰༻☽⛧ ⛧☾༺♰༻☽⛧

No ones POV:

Y/N has been working in the Hazbin hotel since day one, only then it was called ‘Happy Hotel’ Charlie employed them to be the head chef, prepare meals of staff and residents. It also meant Y/N could stay rent free so they accepted. Only then, back when it was only them, Charlie, Vaggie and the only resident, Angel dust. But as time has past, the Hotel has become more lively. Alastor, Husk and Nifty join the staff and another resident named Sir Pentious.

Even though Y/N was happy to see Charlie’s dreamed come true, but with each new person in the hotel mean more and more food to make, they were almost nearly in the kitchen all the time but they didn’t mind.

With the extermination looming closer, Charlie had no choice but to call her dad for help. Y/N was happy to know he accepted to come, To prepare for his visit Charlie asked Y/N to bake for his visit, which they happily did. They quickly run into the kitchen with Nifty following behind, she wanted to make cookies. Y/N and Nifty baked away, while nifty worked on cookies, Y/N chose cupcakes!

Nifty finshed first and ran into the main room while they stay behind so they could decorate the cupcakes. After 30 minutes they were done and they took them to the main room. As they turned the corner they see a rather weird sight…Alastor and Lucifer is a battle on who’s the better father. Y/N kinda stood there watching the two with everyone else till they were interrupted by someone named Mimsy, this finally allowed them to meet Lucifer.

“Dad, this Y/N, our head chef!” Charlie moves her dad over to them and they give a sweet smile to him. “It’s nice to finally meet you your majesty.”, as they said this they moved their tray to one hand and extended their now free hand, they took notice of Lucifer’s small blush. He took your hand, Y/N couldn’t help but notice his soft hands, “please call me Lucifer.” He said to you with a smile. “Why thank you..” they said to him as they remembered the treats. “Oh!” They said mainly to themself, they hold out the tray. “Please take one I made these for your visit.”

Lucifer took the treat in his hand looking over it, it had red frosting with a little apple slice in it. “Why thank you.” Lucifer said as he took one of the frosted treat and took a bite of it. He eyes life up as he tasted it. “This is amazing!” He said as he ate, Y/N couldn’t help but feel their heart race as this words. “They’re’s a reason they are the head chef! Now to the rest of the hotel,” Charlie continued to speak and show off the hotel. Y/N place the tray down on the nearby table and as they turn they couldn’t help but notice his eyes on them, they blushed and felt their own heart race.

Little did they know that was only the beginning. After his eventful visit, where him and Charlie both agreed to make an effort, he was in the hotel more. While he spent time with his daughter he always saw Y/N, he was great company to have, always so sweet. It was hard to admit they had growing feeling for him, how could they? He was her bosses father and the king of hell.

It only became worst after the hotel was destroyed and was rebuilt, during the process of rebuilding it, Lucifer moved in. Though Y/N believed it would be a blessing in disguise. You guys were frequently hanging out together, he was always so sweet, he loved to help cook and back with you. Y/N was very thankful for that considering how many more people were not in the hotel, but, this only has their feeling grow more…both their feelings. Lucifer would be lying if he said he didn’t like Y/N they were a dove…the light in the dark.

There were many nights they work yourself too hard and feel alseep in the kitchen only to wake up on one of the couches with a blanket they recognized…it belong to Lucifer. Each time they wanted to keep it, it smelled just like him, but, each time they returned it. They leave it folded with a nice little note. Lucifer loved the notes keeping them in a box, he also sleeps with each blanket, he smell of your are your perfume is intoxicating.

Though pretty much everyone was aware of both their feelings for each other neither would admit it, so in fashion of the residents of the hotel, they decided to help by dropping small (rather obvious) hints, though Charlie was the most discreet about her hints, mainly at hinting at things to you both like, similar interests you things both like. One thing Y/N took of something from Charlie’s and from Lucifer himself…he seem to really love ducks, from gifting them rubber ducks and leaving rubber ducks around the hotel.

One night after making up on the couch with a certain blanket on them, they had to thank him and a perfect idea came into their head. They Return the blanket back with another note, Y/N quickly made their way into the kitchen, ready to bake their morning away for Lucifer’s surprise.

TIME SKIP

Lucifer woke up to the sound of soft knocking, he recognized this knock, it was Y/N’s. He quickly shot up out of his bed running to the door. He nearly swung open the door to see your face, what a perfect thing to make up to, “good morning do-“ Lucifer stopped mid sentence noticing a gray with a cover in their hands, he looked back up at their E/C eyes. “What’s that?” He asked curiously. Y/N could help but smile he looked so handsome after waking up. (He wears duckie pajamas.) “may I come in?” Y/N asked happily, Lucifer blushed softly and nodded his head moving out of the way of the door “o-of course come in!”

Y/N walked in admiring his room, it was so elegant looking, they then turned to face him “I want to say thank you for always taking care of me, not leaving me to sleep in the kitchen floor means a lot to me, so, I want to say thank you.” They said as they placed the tray down on the dresser. “And I know you love ducks so..” Y/N them wiped off the cover revealing 6 cupcakes! Not just any cupcakes, they were Vanilla cupcakes with yellow frosting and on top were little ducks made of frosting. Lucifer looked wides eyed at them, before look at their smiling face. “You made these for me?” He asked softly.

“Of course!” They said happily, you’ve always helped me out and you mean a lot to me..” Lucifer stay quiet before quickly hugging them tight. “Thank you Y/N..” he said softly, the hug caught Y/N by surprise but they quickly hugged back a soft blush on their face. “Anything for you..”

Tag list

@reverse-soe @kazurami14 @netheris @musicb33nsstuff @rainycloud858 @yaimlight @erissco @aarkhamkknight @pooplyface1423 @purplethree @dog55teeth

[humanitys-strongest-brat]

Shoelaces

Summary: After three weeks apart, Hange plans a get together with the gang.

Pairing: LevixFem!reader

CW: This one shot heavily revolves around the use of alcohol. mentions of smoking and related language. 18+ MDNI.

wc: 3.5k

a/n: First, I'd like to thank @tobbi-loves-levi She has been here to hold my hand through all the sweat and tears of writing my first Levi fic, I truly cannot express how much I appreciate the help and advice I was given. If you do like this, please send some love her way. This cute lil fic is loosely based off of this song, and the scenes were living in my head rent free for weeks prior to writing it, enjoy~

“Took you long enough.” Erwin teases as you hop into the passenger seat, He texted you fifteen minutes ago letting you know he was out front waiting for you. 

“Don't be dramatic, it was only ten minutes.” you huff, pulling the seat belt over your chest and clicking it into place. Erwin gave you a once over, his gaze halting before turning back and shifting the car into drive. 

“You did your hair for this?” he comments, raising an eyebrow. Doing your hair was a generous observation on his part, you just spent extra time on it for tonight. 

“Yeah, and what's that look for? We haven't been able to get together like this in so long, so I wanted to look a little nice.” It's been three weeks since the five of you could all hang out together. Miche got a new job and Hange had a change in shifts, making it nearly impossible to do something collectively. It just so happens that everyone has the day off tomorrow, so Hange suggested getting together to drink and catch up.

 “It's just us, you never cared like that before. Besides, if this is like any other time your hair’s gonna look like shit by the end of the night anyways. Like that time Miche set your hair on fire lighting that cig for you.” He laughs. You cringe and brush your fingers through your hair in the same area that was singed short, only just recently were you able to make it look like it blends in with the rest of your hair. “Or, that time Hange-” Erwin starts but you quickly interrupt. 

“Okay! I get it, I'm accident prone.” you mumble, giving him a playful glare. “Both of those are better than the time me and Levi had to drag you out to the car which, by the way, wasn't fun.” you smirk, watching his dumbfounded expression illuminate under each street light you pass under

 “Like that compares at all, it was one time, and my birthday” Erwin retorts and gives you a gentle nudge. You shrug in response, looking out the window to see you're already turning down the street that leads to the house that Levi, Hange, and Miche share. “We’re late again, you know how much shit we’re going to get?” 

 ***

“Finally!” Hange raves when you walk in with Erwin. You make your way in and take your bottle of contribution to the cooler that was already set up in the living room, stuffing it in and shutting the lid. Almost instantly after, you were met with a fierce hug from Hange. “Late, as always. What was the hold up? Anything interesting?” They beamed, their eyes gesturing hopefully towards Ewrin. You parted from Hange’s hug, shaking your head at their silent accusation. This wasn’t new for the two of you. For as long as you could remember, you both have been teased about your friendship. Everyone constantly begged for you two to finally get together. Erwin is your best friend, and has been for years. The thought has never crossed your mind. The only person who understands that is Levi, he's the only one who never pokes and prods for something more. 

“Thought I heard the lovebirds were finally here.” Miche announced as he emerged from his bedroom. He makes his way into the living room and grabs two beers out of the cooler and tosses one to Erwin as he walks past him. “Catch up” Miche enthusiastically demands, cracking the tab on his can and raising it up to Erwin in a faux cheers. 

“You guys really started without us?” Erwin groans followed by the sharp hiss and snap of his own can. 

“What, were we supposed to wait for the two of you to stop sucking face in the car?” Miche laughs and gestures to you and Erwin both. Erwin rolls his eyes but just as he was about to respond the whole room collectively flinched at the sudden piercing interruption of music that gradually dimmed down to an appropriate volume. All eyes fall on Levi who’s standing in front of the speaker with his phone in his hand. 

“Cleaning playlist, forgot to turn it down earlier.” He explains candidly and takes a swig from the cup in his opposite hand, seemingly unapologetic for the disturbance. 

“Jesus, Levi. When did you get out here?” Miche groans, rubbing his ear melodramatically. Levi ignores him, instead he turns to face the group. “Didn't realize this party was about celebrating Erwin sucking face. I would have stayed in my room had I known.”

 “No one’s staying in their room!” Hange chimes as they make their way to Levi “it’s been three weeks, we should do something fun!” they place their hands on Levi’s shoulders and grin “like a drinking game.” they suggest, approval spreads across the room. 

“Pass.” Levi scoffed, rolling his eyes like he was above the activity. “Looks like you're outvoted.” Hange sings, squeezing Levi’s shoulders and quickly moving to drag the coffee table away from the couch for everyone to sit around. Miche was already on his way in with the bottle and a shot glass.

“Fine. I’ll play but I'm not sharing that shot glass with any of you, I’ll get my own.” he sighs, heading straight for the kitchen. Hange cheers and grabs chasers out of the cooler, lining them around the circular table as everyone settles into their chosen spots. Levi returned shortly after with his own shot glass, you notice a clean rag hanging out of his pocket as he sits in the space left open for him. Miche chooses the game for the group, the rules are simple and easy to follow. It doesn't take long, just a few rounds in and everyone around the table seems to have a pink flush across their cheeks, slurring their words, and laughs at anything anyone says.

***

“Damn!” Hange rasps out with a cough, slamming the shot glass back down onto the table. At this point in the game Hange was doing horribly, the last 3 rounds of the game they were the one to take the losing shot. They pick up the bottle and shakily attempt to fill the glass up for the next victim. Liquid splashes around the glass as they miss a couple times. 

“Okay,” Erwin says and takes the bottle from them “I’ll fill them from now on.” He adds. “it’d be nice if someone else could start taking the shots!” Hange complained, folding their arms over their chest. 

“That’s entirely on you, Hange.” Erwin pointed out as he finished pouring for them. His hand was stable despite being just as drunk as anyone else at the table, he was always the one who handled the liquor best. 

“Stop losing and you won’t have to take any more.” You laugh and watch Levi lean forward, pick up the glass, and quickly wipe underneath with the rag he’d brought to the circle. Even tipsy he was concerned about keeping things at least a little clean. 

 The next round, Hange takes the losing shot again. “of course!” They spout, taking the bottle from Erwin’s side, forgetting that he was in charge of filling the glass after each shot. Before he could register that Hange had taken the bottle, they were attempting to fill the glass again. With shaky hands Hange tips the bottle too far, causing the rim of the bottle to clash with the shot glass, tipping it over. The jolt alone was enough to cause them to drop the bottle as well. You watch as it rolls off the table, its contents spilling out. 

“Come on, Hange.” Levi groans as he lunges forward. He fails to catch the bottle, forced to watch it spill out and seep into the rug. “Games over.” He announces, immediately going back in with the rag. Levi sets the bottle back upright on the table and Miche gathers up the remnants of their game, wiping the liquor off the cards as he organizes everything back into the box. 

You thread your fingers between Hange’s after they stand up. “Kitchen, Hange.” You sang, guiding them out of the living room. Despite their protests, you decided you both need a water break. You let go of Hange’s hand, and they lean against the counter to the right of the fridge. You grab two glasses from the overhead cabinets and pull the ice tray out of the freezer. “Sooo,” Hange coos as you as you cracked the tray, haphazardly dropping ice into both cups. 

“Yesss,” you mimic back in the same tone, opening the fridge. 

Hange pushes off the counter and leans over the open door “Erwin looks cute tonight, huh?” They try, grinning. 

“Not this again,” you laugh at them and set the first filled cup on the counter behind you. 

“Give me a break!” Hange groans, dropping their head onto their forearms. “You always avoid talking about it, when will you guys give up the act?” You look towards them and your attention is immediately drawn to Levi, who is discarding an arms worth of cans onto the counter. He kneels down in front of the sink and starts digging through the cabinets underneath. 

“It’s not like that, and it never has been.” 

“bullshit, there’s got to be a reason you haven’t just gone for it yet. We can all see how it is between you two” they pried for more. 

“And you’re all wrong” you say as you set the second cup down next to the first. 

“Then what is it? You still have that thing for Levi?” They joke. Your eyes immediately flicker back to Levi, he’s frozen, still knelt down at the sink. You swear you can feel all the color drain from your face. Hange has already started mumbling about a new topic you couldn’t focus on. 

“Hey, four eyes.” Levi stands up from his position, peeling out the trash bag he was digging for. “Keep me out of your fantasies and come help me with your mess” he says, his tone was flat, as usual. He turns away without looking at either of you and walks out of the kitchen. 

“Shit, he heard that?” Hange asks, looking back at you. It's obvious by their face how embarrassed you must look because Hange immediately starts assuring you that it’s fine. 

You walk back out to the living room with Hange, still fighting off the embarrassment from the kitchen. You watch as Hange picks up the various chasers that were still left over from the game. When you turn your attention to Levi your face burns, you wonder if that made everything weird now. “You good? You look like you could use one of these.” Erwin interrupts your thoughts, handing you a new can. You accept and pop the tab.

“You have no idea.” You confirm, taking a drink.  

“What a mess.” He comments and shakes his head, watching as Hange and Levi clean. Just as you open your mouth to reply, Miche caught your attention as he made his way across the living room, careful to walk around the chaos that Hange and Levi were cleaning. When he catches your gaze he raises a hand up, flashing a lighter and gestures towards the back door with a nod "smoke break?" 

"Count me in!" Hange yells, quickly standing and discarding the handful of cups on a nearby side table and making their way out, followed by Erwin. You tip your can back, finish the beer, and make your way to the back door. you lazily slide your shoes on not even bothering to pull the backs up over your heels, you glance behind you to see Levi gathering up the empty cups and beer cans and throwing a couple unopened cans into the cooler placed in the living room. You think for a moment about staying inside and doing damage control with him, maybe you could convince him that Hange was just being dramatic, or using it as a means to prove that they’re right about Erwin. "Come on! What're you doing?" Hange interrupts, pulling you away from the door and sliding it shut, dragging you over to the group. 

"Hange, you really couldn't have said that a worse time." You groan and squeeze your eyes shut, willing another wave of embarrassment away. At this point, you didn’t care about bringing it up in front of Erwin and Miche. You figure Hange would tell them on their own anyway. 

"Said what?" Miche mumbled around the cigarette hanging off his lips, passing the lighter to Erwin. 

"Well.." Hange drawled, a shit eating grin on their face "I may have spilled the beans on her little crush on Levi.. right in front of him." Now both Erwin and Miche were looking right at you, a few moments of silence pass before Erwin raises a brow and glances between you and Hange

"Crush?" His tone was so flat it didn't even sound like a question.

"Levi?" Miche interjected quickly, waiting for you to say you were joking. When the silence began to linger Miche let out a quick snort "like, Levi?" He asked again, his hand gesturing towards the house. "No shit, way to pull the rug from under our feet." He shakes his head in disbelief and nudges Hange with his elbow "you knew and still said your piece about Erwin this whole time? Evil." he laughed 

"Hey, I was told in confidence that she thought Levi was hot one time!" Hange spills out. It was true, months ago you hung out with Hange alone. The two of you decided to have a night in with movies and wine since no one else could join. After a couple glasses you let it slip that you had a small crush on Levi, making sure to paint it as fleeting so the two of you didn't get the same treatment as you and Erwin. "Hey," Hange places a hand on your shoulder "are you alright?"

“I’m just worried about it, I never would have told him that. You saw him in the kitchen, everything is probably going to be so awkward now.” 

"Oh stop, it's Levi!" Hange encourages and pulls you in close by your other shoulder "he doesn't care, he probably won't even mention it" they try to reason with you, but it falls on deaf ears. you were so full of doubt. How could things be normal after this? Were you just supposed to continue on while pretending it didn't happen? That's exactly what you plan to do because there was no chance you could bring it up to his face.  

"I'll be back" you mumble at Hange as you spin on your heels and make your way inside through the back door and decide the bathroom would be a more private place to pull yourself together. 

***

You admire the photos that hang unsystematically in the hallway, tracing waves on the wall with your finger as you glide through, the music slowly starts to fade the closer you get to your destination and completely muffles as you close the bathroom door. 

"uh, hi?" 

You snap your attention towards the voice, meeting a sharp but forgiving gaze. "Levi, I didn't realize you-." you start, feeling the heat in your cheeks as you stammer for the words to apologize. Levi's stare is unmoving for a moment. He looks down, swiping the cloth off the hook to dry his hands. His eyes dart back to your face. "Your shoelaces are untied." 

What..? 

You take a moment to register what he just said, double checking that you heard him correctly and glancing down to see the strings loosely hanging off each side of your shoes. "That's how I like them..." When his expression doesn’t change you curse yourself for sounding so dumb. 

"And you're walking through my house with shoes on." he states and you can feel your face burning even more. Duh, Why wouldn't you have remembered to take them off as you came in. Just as you part your lips to muster up what would probably sound like another pathetic attempt at an apology, you notice the small smirk pulling at Levi's lips "Save it. Hange's party, Hange’s mess to clean" He assured you.

You hum in response and started to turn back towards the door to leave "Was that true?" He asked, you can hear a subtle eagerness in the question "What Hange said, I mean" he corrects his tone this time. You’re completely still while a wave of embarrassment washes back over your whole body trying to think of something to say, but you're stuck speechless. Muffled music and Hange’s voice chanting at Erwin to chug from outside quickly fill in the silence. You take a deep breath, realizing that now is your chance to give context. 

“Yeah, but that was so long ago,” you stammer your words and finally turn to face him, he’s closer now. 

“Yeah? How long?” He’s smirking now, arms crossed over his chest, like this is amusing to him. 

“Months.” Was all you could say in response. 

“So what happened? You let eyebrows take my spot?” He teases. 

“You’re starting to sound an awful lot like Hange, It was never like that anyway,” you scoff, not realizing his implication of having a spot. In your attempt to explain yourself you hadn't noticed Levi closing the space between you. 

“You done?” He interrupts, glancing down at your lips then back up. Your eyes meet his and you nod, not trusting yourself to speak. Levi leans in, his fingers brush against your jaw as he reaches out resting his hand at the nape of your neck. He pulls you in gently and pauses briefly before your lips meet. You hear his breath shake before he closes the small space between the two of you. Warmth spreads across your whole body and the intoxication rushes back in. You drape your arms over his shoulders and relax into it, tilting your head to follow his lead. Levi rests his other hand on your hip, pulling you flush against his body and snaking his fingers through the hair behind your head. He guides you back up into the door, his hand acting as a cushion for your head as he moves his lips against yours. Your breath hitches at the gentle impact against the door, you pull your arms back in to cup his face just as he parts from you. He rests his forehead against yours, his breaths coming out in soft pants. Your eyes meet again and just as he parts his lips to say something you hear the back door slide open and shut. Levi quickly pulls back from you, a quiet ‘shit’ falling from his lips. You realize how long you have been missing from the group. Grabbing the door handle you turn back to Levi, he responds with a gestured nod toward the door. A silent agreement that you leave first. You twist the handle and exit the bathroom quickly, closing the door behind you. As you step away from the door Erwin turns down the hall and stops at the sight of you. 

"There you are.” he starts, sounding relieved. “We got worried when you didn't come back and," he stops speaking when you hear the bathroom door click shut behind you. You watch as Erwin's eyes flicker back and forth. You press your eyes shut as Levi slips quietly past you. When the back door slides shut signaling that Levi is outside, you open your eyes. Something is different about Erwin’s posture; he seems stiff and his expression indecipherable. "Oh, looks like that worked out for you then?" He questions, referencing Hange’s slip of the tongue earlier and offering a wistful smile.

"Yeah, I guess it did." You agree, biting back a grin. 

***

The night died down fast. Miche made sure Hange had more water and got into their bed without issue then retreated to his own room. Erwin has the couch, and you have the recliner, your usual arrangement for nights spent over. The music was silenced, the only light now coming from a single lamp on the side table keeping the room just lit enough for Levi. He paces between the living room and kitchen, picking up the last of the mess left behind from the night. Erwin hasn’t said much since coming back inside. You assume he's not feeling well and decide to leave him alone for the night, you could fill him in tomorrow. You spend your wind down time curled up on the chair, your eyes flicking between your phone and Levi as he moves around the room. "You always had a staring problem, now I know why." he teases.

 "Shut up" you roll your eyes at him, setting your phone down as he walks back towards you. 

"Let's go." He says as he yanks the blanket you were using off of you, tucking it under his arm. 

"Where?" You ask.

"My room, dumbass."

Taglist: @ackerbootytobbi @amywritesthings

[javipispunk]

Bush of Rhododendron Flowers

Jackson! Joel Miller x f!reader

Summary: In the language of flowers, the rhododendron symbolizes danger and to beware. Fitting plants for the meanest man in Jackson to have in his front yard. You wish you had listened to their warning, too late for that now.

Word count: 1.2k

Rating: Explicit. MDNI

Warnings: Joel and Ellie never go to Salt Lake, Allusions to smut, angst, Joel is mean and a liar and a little rough, manipulation by Joel and reader, self-loathing, self-sabotage, unrequited want, unhealthy attachment, one use of the word ‘darlin’, NO HAPPY ENDING

A/N: The second I saw @morallyinept May challenge I knew I had to write about Joel and Rhododendrons. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh has lived in my mind rent free since I read it for the first time over a decade ago, so heavy inspo from that. Also the song Rhododendron by Bella White played a large role in the making of this fic. Highly recommend both! Divider by the ever lovely @saradika-graphics

masterlist

You sit on your front porch and stare holes into the pink flowers in Joel Miller’s yard that mock you. Spring has arrived and made itself a home in Jackson. Flowers are blooming and cover the landscape like flecks of paint on a canvas. The sun is bright and birdsong echoes in the crisp air, a soundtrack to the movie that plays over in your mind.

Beware, beware, beware, the rhododendron chants at you.

You think back to the first time you met Joel. It was mid-Winter and the earth was covered in a thick blanket of snow. You’d been walking down the street when you heard a bellowing yell. Everyone that was around turned their heads towards the man that had yelled Tommy Miller's name. You’d never seen him before and Lord was he a sight for sore eyes. His graying hair was a mess on the top of his head and his denim clad legs looked sturdy underneath him. If he wasn’t in the middle of a reunion with his brother you would have gone up to talk to him right then and there.

Your opportunity to talk to him came a few days later when you both walked out of your houses at the same time, he had recently moved in across from you. You’d heard rumors that he was gruff and brash, but that didn’t deter you, in fact it only made you want him more. Something about the chase and all that. He didn’t acknowledge you on this particular morning, not even a glance in your direction, so you mirrored his actions.

It happened a few more times, both of you turning onto the street at the same time before he finally accepted that he would be seeing you often. One day he cleared his throat loudly, causing you to turn your head towards him. He gave you a curt nod, you replied by looking him up and down and nodding back at him. A truce of some sort, still neither of you had spoken a word to each other.

/ / /

It continued on like that for a while until you went a few days without seeing him. You’d become weirdly attached to your ritual and his absence worried you, you would later come to find out he’d been injured pretty bad on patrol and was instructed to take it easy. The first time you saw him again after that you decided to finally talk to him.

When he gave his signature nod you spoke up. “Was beginning to wonder if you died or somethin’.”

He froze, obviously caught off guard by your disruption of the routine he had become comfortable with. Then he ran his fingers over his chin and really looked at you.

“Got pretty damn close.” He mumbled and started walking away. Usually he was a few paces ahead of you but with whatever injury he’d sustained he was walking slower than normal. This meant that you were now walking side by side, much to your amusement and his dismay.

“Care to enlighten me?”

“No.” was all he said, unsurprisingly. You chuckled and that was the end of that.

/ / /

It all came to head when you were sitting at the Tipsy Bison. It had been one of those days and you just needed some relief. Like every other time he saw you outside of your shared morning walk he pretended like you didn’t exist. You’d had enough of it and at this point it didn’t matter if you wanted to kiss him or not, he was just being plain annoying. So you walked up behind him and whispered in his ear.

“It’s not very neighborly for you to not say hi to me Joel Miller. I thought we had a nice little thing goin’ on with our walks there.” You didn’t wait for him to reply and swiftly walked away out the door into the cool night. Barely three steps out the door you felt a firm grip on your arm pulling you around the side of the building. Hook, line and sinker.

Joel grabbed your face in his large hand and made you look at him, square in the eye.

“Neighborly huh? I ‘ont think thats what your wantin’ outta me darlin’”

You winked at him and his lips were on yours in an instant. He was rough with you, biting and pulling your lips with his teeth, like a wolf devouring a deer. And just like a deer you were caught in the headlights, not sure which direction you should go. You let him take the lead, willingly pliant under his touch. It was too cold outside to take any items of clothing off so you stopped there and he walked you back to your house.

When you got back you could tell he wasn’t sure if you wanted him to follow you inside. You bit your lip and looked at him seductively, eyes hazy with lust.

“Well? You just gonna leave me out to dry like that?” you said. He hurriedly followed you inside and your clothes had been shed before the door was even fully closed.

/ / /

That was the beginning of the end really. Once you’d had a taste of Joel you needed more, you were insatiable. The more you sought him out the more withdrawn he became. It was on and off for nearly three months, secret rendezvous between weeks of avoidance. When he was with you he was so sweet, he took the time to clean you up and would whisper sweet nothings in your ear. But in the in between times you were insignificant to him. He even started leaving his house an hour early, just so he wouldn’t have to see you.

/ / /

You’d asked him about it on one of those rare occasions you found him in your bed.

“I’m sorry darlin’, just busy.”

You knew he wasn’t sorry and you knew he wasn’t more busy than he usually was. And he knew that you knew but that was the end of the questioning.

As Spring came, feelings changed. You were more irritable than ever with his back and forth. You couldn’t tell what was truth and what was a lie. One moment he was saying he wanted to settle down with you, the next he was saying he had rotten luck with that kind of stuff so he didn’t even wanna bother trying. There were lots of empty sorry’s passed between you two those last few weeks. You wanted it to end, but you never wanted him to leave.

/ / /

Right now as you sit on your porch, coffee long forgotten on the stoop next to you, you know it’s over for good. Just a little while ago you watched him walk out of his house with a pretty blonde woman. He gave her a kiss and a pat on the behind. Her giggle was like a blood curdling scream to your ears.

Your heart is sitting in a million little unfixable pieces at the bottom of your abdomen, the wreckage of a ship left to rot on the sea floor. You brought it upon yourself, you know that, holding onto someone that never really wanted to be there in the first place. How horrible to grieve someone who is still alive.

Beware, beware, beware, the bush of rhododendron flowers continues to stare back at you.

[sciencewife]

The portrait is familiar, but the reality is warped and twisted, like a reflection in a broken mirror.

Happy 1st Anniversary to Schrödinger’s Cave!

(A big thank you speech under the cut)

It’s impossible for me to express just how excited I am to celebrate this anniversary, or how grateful I am to everyone who’s been with me on this journey. It’s been a wild ride so far, and I’ve accomplished a lot with this story over the past year. But I couldn’t have done it without everyone’s support and encouragement.

I’d like to thank:

My beta readers, for not only spotting mistakes I missed, but also giving me live reactions of the events in each chapter draft I’ve sent.

My Bearers of The Knowledge, for signing Aperture NDAs promising not to divulge spoilers and keeping SC’s greatest secrets from day one.

Everyone who has made fanart and memes for SC. One of the greatest joys is seeing that someone took time and energy out of their day to make something to celebrate something you made. You have made me smile, cry, and kick my feet in glee. I have every piece you all have made saved, and I will treasure them—and you—forever.

Cave Johnson and Caroline, who have lived rent free in my head since the beginning of my Portal obsession. This divorce fic extravaganza would not have been possible without a good dose of Caveline brainrot.

My Portal mutuals who supported and encouraged me as a new writer when I first broke ground on this fic. Without y’all this fic would’ve gotten nowhere!

@the-dangerous-mute-lunatic, whose test subject Cave art inspired the creation of this AU.

@wiezumbeispiel, for being my combuter expert and helping me design a Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System. And worsening my brainrot about this fic /pos.

And last but not least, I’d like to thank my readers. Whether you’ve been with the fic from day one or you just started reading, it is a privilege to share my story with you. Thank you for writing comments (whether an essay, a sentence or two, or unhinged keyboard smashing. It all brings me joy), for leaving kudos, and staying with this fic so far. I’m excited to have y’all along for the ride wherever this fic goes next!

[tourettesdog]

It's been entirely too long since I dropped some fic recommendations, so here are some DPxDC fics I love!!

(Part 2 here!)

Unearthed, Reborn by QueenOfTheQuill

Quill writes the best dialogue. The words just flow so organically, and they have such a nice balance of humor and sincerity. Cannot stress enough how funny their character interactions are. I'm also a sucker for Everlasting Trio, and they write it so well.

We're Longing for Daylight by AKelaNakamura

Akela has such a masterful grasp on writing emotion and tone. I love how she describes emotion so much, and weaves it into lore with ectoplasm and ghosts. She has several other DPxDC and DP fics to enjoy, all of it slaps.

Shovel Talk by SummersSixEcho

This is a dead tired (Danny/Tim) fic and I love how Summers crafted their relationship for it. The fic is so funny, with lots of fun puns. It's just two boyfriends being goofy and going through awkward situations and I love it dearly. I love all of Summers' DPxDC works, and she has great DP only ones too!

Recognized by AgentIanLegend

This is one of the first completed fics I read for the crossover, and it still lives in my head rent free. It's complete, very well written, and the story is interesting throughout with a bunch of twists and turns.

Premeditation by Chromatographic

Super interesting fic with neat lore throughout. I love the dynamic between Danny and his friends and Jazz in it, with the roles they've carved out. The general plotting nature of the story is very neat.

Noise and Light by TheWritingOwl

I'm so soft for this fic, it's SO sweet. Deaged fics have a special place in my heart, and I love the emotions throughout this fic. It's ripe with family feels and Owl describes it all beautifully.

Family Friction by Halfagone

Halfa has SUCH a prolific library of DPxDC fics and all of it is quality. I need to read more of them. Tis oneshot in particular has a special place in my heart. The premise is just so fun and goofy and I love how it's executed.

Build-A-Boyfriend by NightShiftShenanigans

I spent my entire time reading this fic with a goofy smile because it is just insanely fun and cute, with great dialogue throughout. I love it.

A Halloween in Amity by spite_sapphic_starlight

I love this poly ship, I love the scenario, I love the dynamics and the dialogue and-- it's just a good time. Just the occult shop alone is enough reason to love this.

Knight of the Boyking by Milaley

I love the angst in this one and the general setup from the beginning. The start of it has such a hook and it's just great throughout from there.

The Curious Case of D. Grayson by brothebro

I LOVE the Everlasting Trio dynamic in this fic and the shenanigans throughout. God, there's so many shenanigans and they're all great. Just a thousand misunderstandings and the domino effect of each lol. I love it.

Afterimage by TorScrawls

The descriptions in this one are just plain wicked. It still really stands out to me, as just being such a neat way to describe how mortals perceive Danny and his powers.

Close Enough to be Whole Again by hailsatanacab

Literally the twin fic that inspired me to write my own. The fic has insanely good descriptions and carries emotion so well. I love Hail's writing style a lot.

Vacation Crashers by Imp_y

I love everything about this one from the premise to how the story unfolds to the conclusion. This was another one of the first finished long DPxDC fics I read and I still love it dearly.

Voices That They Left by catmiint

This one has such an intriguing build up, with a lot of concerning things boiling beneath the surface. I'm not caught up on it atm, but I need to fix that soon because the story is really neat.

Liminal Familiarity by isitcowboytimes

This fic goes heavy on the angst and is wonderful written. There's this like really melancholic, liminal feel throughout the fic and it really sticks out to me.

To Join the Whispers by ayamari_no_goshi

Another one of the first completed long fics I read for the crossover (I think the actual first, based on bookmark date). I feel like this fic was the first one for a lot of people, and I definitely think it set the bar for Jason and ectoplasm shenanigans.

Ghosts Don't Go to Highschool by Evandarya

This is the first DPxDC fic in my bookmark history and I love it. I love the premise, the underlying story, the building relationship between Danny and Tim. I've had the pleasure of betaing for the most recent chapters and it's been a blast also!

Have You Heard of Danny Wayne? by FortunateCookie

This one has fantastic dialogue and I love the building shenanigans in it. All around a fun read, especially the chatfic portion.

Memories Lost in Time by MidnightsFury

The building lore and story in this one is so neat, I can't wait to see where it goes. The fact that it's a twin fic too has me vibrating with excitement, just waiting for the shenanigans to really settle in. I don't care how long it takes these nerds to find each other, I'm here for the shenanigans.

I would add more, but I really need to get some sleep before I pass out at my desk lol. I also plan to make a separate list for DP and non-DC crossover fics I love too!

[emkaii]

in a random thought (more like this plot bunny has been living in my head rent free since this "what if" fic started and now i cant stop myself from sharing it after so many months? years? idek)

thank you to @feynites for the wonderful fic above that i continue to go back re-reading again and again

(also tagging @wangxianficrecs even though im not sure they share scum villain fics *sobs*)

! tw: death !

WHAT IF SCENARIO

og!sj dies the night of yqy & lqg wedding because of heartbreak? (because real heartbreak can literally kill in this fanfic universe) just, like, he dies. that's it. no shen yuan to transmigrate in his body as replacement.

so, og!sj was in seclusion punishment during that night right? and he was only allowed outside to attend the wedding itself. (am i right? or if not, meh)

so shen jiu dies in his bedroom, alone. lbh tries to enter his room to help him prepare for the wedding but doesn't get an answer (bc og!sj is ded), so lbh leaves bc he's obviously afraid of entering the room without og!sj's permission in fear of punishment.

the wedding is completed without sj arriving and everyone just assumes that he's bitter about the whole thing and doesn't attend as a show of rebellion.

also, since he's in secluded punishment and the servants doesn't like him, no one approaches or even tries to enter his room. lbh tries to tell the upper servants that it has been almost a full night & day that og!sj hasn't responded to anything outside his room, but of course, they don't listen to him.

so, he tries to directly report to yqy. who at this point is feeling disappointed? relieved? (even he himself doesn't know) that sj did not cause any problems to his new wedding. so, he goes to check on sj.

he tries to ask permission to enter the room, no answer.

tries to lengthen sj's punishment if he continues to be stubborn, no answer.

tries to threaten that he will break the door, no answer.

yqy gets nervous. something doesn't feel right.

sj is not the type to stay quiet.

he forcefully opens the door.

and he finds sj looking peacefully asleep.

but there's something wrong in the picture. sj was too quiet. too still.

yqy realizes that he can't hear sj breathing. he can't see any movement. at all.

he flies to sj's bedside.

tries to take his wrist to check his condition, and whole body-flinches at the cold skin. sj's body was stiff. and as a highly accomplished cultivator, yqy knows the state of a dead body more than a few hours after death.

he whispers, "a-jiu?"

sj' body would look peaceful in death, if not for the dried tear tracks in his face.

(I don't know how to describe/write it but i want yqy's reaction to be utter devastation, something similar or worse than his reaction in this fanfic's og novel when sj died in the original timeline)

minutes or hours later (yqy doesn't know, doesn't know or aware of his surroundings anymore), after mqf arrives and checks the situation after a frantic lbh tells lqg about sj and lqg flies to have mqf at their estate, mqf states:

"his body showed signs of grief sickness. in this case, his lungs decided to stop taking in air, his mind decided to stop all functions of his body, and his heart just decided to stop beating. i can say that it occurred around 24 hours ago."

24 hours ago.

24 hours ago was when sj tried to convince yqy not to proceed with the wedding for his new husband.

24 hours ago was when sj tried to tell yqy that he'd rather die than let yqy have a second husband.

yqy ignored him.

and now a-jiu is dead.

"A-Jiu couldn’t survive his husband marrying another man. That person died the day Yue Qingyuan married Liu Qingge"

AND THIS IS THE LINE FROM THE ORIGINAL FIC THAT INSPIRED THIS PLOT BUNNY.

i really do sometimes love making myself cry with my thoughts and ideas. now im sharing these to the world. and now i want to re-read, for the 8th? 9th? time, this whole wonderful series.

[about-faces]

Hi so I don't know who Gilda is, can you explain? You seem to enjoy her and I like hearing from people who enjoy what they're talking about

It’s hard to convey the series of emotions that went off in my head. You might as well have asked me, “Hey, please tell me everything you love about this Harvey Dent guy, I’m interested to know more!”

Gilda is Harvey’s… well, “canonical love interest” is the easiest way to put it. She was introduced alongside him in 1942, right on the same page and everything! At that point, she was his fiancée, and they later got married after (the first time) Harvey got plastic surgery and reformed. In the rebooted continuity from the mid-80’s, they were already married when he became Two-Face. In that continuity, she was already briefly renamed “Grace,” which carried over into the character of Grace Lamont in Batman: The Animated Series. Gilda is most famous for her appearance in the comic Batman: The Long Halloween, which completely redefined her character in ways I do not like. I can now appreciate that Gilda on her own merits, but I lament the fact that the original version has largely been lost as a result of TLH’s popularity.

Gilda is a character who is extremely important to me, as someone who has loved Harvey since he was a kid. I started writing a retrospective of Gilda’s entire history a couple years ago, which I think I’ll be editing and posting here soon. I need to finally continue the series before too long, given the upcoming release of Batman: The Last Halloween this year. If you’d like more in-depth thoughts about her and why I think she’s so important and misunderstood, those posts would be an ideal place to start!

I’d love to go into more detail here about just WHY I love her and why she’s so important to me, but unfortunately I’m low on spoons at the moment. Hopefully those posts (or my upcoming edited versions which I’ll post here sometime soon) will help explain why I’m currently just as fixated on her as I am on Harvey.

Oh, and I’m also writing fic about her too, although I only have one story posted at the moment, with about a dozen WIPs in my drafts! Hopefully, between all this, you can glean some insights as to why this obscure supporting character of a supporting character lives in my brain-rent free alongside Harvey.

[foggieststars]

how do u think a younger!charles and older!max dynamic would be different than same age!lestappen? ever since u mentioned ur new wip… i’ve been going a little insane

yeah. me too anon...

ok i'm putting a cut in here because i rambled for SO long abt like. just lestappen to be honest

honestly i think my fic is probably not the right place to like. properly explore this because it's a time slip au so like. charles knows what His max is like and they've still grown up together etc but his big dilemma is trying to marry that together in his head with older max. because charles knows like. pre-world champion borderline mad max era max and then when he's confronted with a more mature older max it's difficult for him to reconcile......like i've been doing research for the winner's room au and in 2019 seb and lewis were still publicly saying that they race max differently to others because he's fucking crazy so LMFAO

but also charles in 2018 was still very much. a bit of a hater.....like i know for the past couple of years they've been all smiles and like oh we have a good relationship! in the past it was tense :))) but we're all good now! but in 2018 charles was very much like. i can't say we have a good relationship but I'm Not Here To Make Friends .... and max was literally silent abt it....so from the perspective of an age gap it's very much charles trying to be like. how the fuck is my older self in a relationship with MAX VERSTAPPEN and also why's he so soft and goofy and genuine and charming oh......dear.....what if he fucked me so i can get back to my original timestream.......

but honestly for a proper age difference au i struggle to say. bcs so much of lestappen to me is their history so divorced from that i think their dynamic would be very different and like. i hesitate to say not as compelling.....like. i'm so sorry to quote jos verstappen but this quote about them during their karting days lives in my mind rent free

A PROPHECY................ like to me this is why age gap lestappen is honestly for me. purely about getting to write older max fucking sauber charles. because sauber charles was still like. not that charles is exactly a rippling muscle monster now but like. in 2018 he was a tad more twinky....and max is like. Bigger now. so for me it's about aesthetics literally just because of the fact that like. to me it's always about the History.

ALSO i can't remember who said it i think it was one of my mutuals so full credit to whichever big brained beauty said this. but they pointed out that like. when max started driving lewis and seb and kimi etc always described his driving as over the line but charles has ALWAYS described driving against max as 'on the limit' and like. they know each other well from their karting days and they know how to race each other.............god. much to think about

however i think a true age gap au would have max being irritated by charles treating him exactly how max used to treat older drivers and just being fucking crazy. because max might have the mad max rep but like. charles is not exactly the epitome of safe sane and consensual racing himself.....anybody remember monza 2023

having said all that. please go and read frechheit by @additiva . i find lestappen age gap SO unbelievably compelling in this fic like. it is absolutely delicious and i think will satisfy your need for age gap lestappen and like. still somehow draws in all the regular lestappen insanity....being soulmates and knowing exactly how to race each other even sort of divorced from their history and it is just Brilliant !!

sorry for not answering your question at all. i'm so glad ur excited for the fic though ily <3

[evilwickedme]

This wasn't asked for because nobody in their right mind would ask for this but this is a fic rec list of fics I cannot stop rereading

Just started yet another reread of Inimitable Verse by deniigiq and I fully plan on rereading their into the multiverse series which occasionally crosses over also - this is a Spider-Man/team red focused series, think comics canon infused early mcu-spidey since only homecoming had come out for a non substantial amount of time they were working on the series and the daredevil stuff is explicitly tv show AND comics. Also the multiverse series is how I got into Murderdock and therefore how I got into Spider Gwen

Unpretty's Sorrowful And Immaculate Hearts series which is just a loosely interconnected series of DC fics. My personal favorites are Empty Graves, in which Martha Kent keeps killing time travelers trying to kill baby! Clark; any of their clois fics but especially Third Wheel; and Anti-Social, which is a social media fic mostly about Tim and Bruce that made me cry laughing. Catch Bruce trying to get Walmart's employees to unionize. Also shout out to unpretty's only fic with Jason in it, it looks awesome but is tragically incomplete

This particular Reverse Robin AU which put in the work to reverse every single younger generation and is chef's kiss I LOVE this version of Tim he's wild

Both of Shoalsea's fics are in constant rotation for me I talk about Into The Brighter Night all the time in the tags of reblogs and stuff it truly lives in my head rent free. Anyway Tim gets kidnapped by aliens and the batfam have to watch as yj98 saves him and it's angsty and funny and such a good take on what could have been if the new 52 hadn't happened. And Compassion Builds No House is about Tim and Pru from Red Robin. Ugh they're both so good

Speaking of Clois (I did you've just forgotten this by now) brilliant (like a confession) by kathkin (penny-anna on the hellsite) is so fucking good I'm. Okay. Anyway it'll be listed as inspiration if/when I finally post my two person love triangle fic for them

I'm too anxious to catch up on this before it's done but jumble sale chic is hands down the best spideydevil fic series despite and because of the omegaverse

Make A Little Birdhouse In Your Soul is my favorite take on Jason, period, and has a lot of fantastic Damian stuff going on too. It's updating every few weeks still! Sometimes more often! I love you bacondoughnut it's me JustGail the person who will not stop commenting on your fic you're stuck with me forever

I lied above Rumspringa Murderdock is what got me into Murderdock but that series is second place. I found this one while scrolling through the tv show's mattfoggy tag, thinking I was safe

Speaking of Murderdock mattfoggy, The Lawyer All the Wickedness was written early on in spider-gwen's history and so diverges from canon really early in ways that I think are super interesting and creative

Oh also straight on 'til morning by merils (Tumblr url mamawasatesttube) does SUCH a great job unpacking Kon's trauma and building up healthy relationships around him including a budding timkon romance and yeah it makes me sad and happy at the same time

We're getting into poisonivory territory so just trust if you like the pairing and poisonivory is writing it you'll like it. Ok rapidfire

Like A Handprint On My Heart mattfoggy soulmate au with a twist

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? Damijon future fic/au. Jon came back from the future when both of them were 19. Demisexual!Damian at its best. Damian's terrified of being abandoned by Jon again and it made my heart hurt

I feel like I've already recommended every JayRoy fic by poisonivory and genuinely I do reread them all, sometimes in order of publication if I'm in a particular mood. Maybe the one I've read most though is I've Got the Feeling You're the Right Thing After All which is about Roy and Jason starting a fwb thing while Roy still harbors old feelings for Dick. Can't see anything going wrong here lmao

Mmm this post is long enough so I'll leave it at just superhero fic for now but I do in fact have the ability to do a whole post just for the Witcher or Leverage so I might do that. Anyway thanks for following me on yet another burst of insanity it will happen again

[anthrotmnt]

A Second Dance: PhoomVicha, ArmArc Reincarnation AU

Since PhoomVicha now live rent free in my head, and Perfect 10 Liners has started airing, I've been brainstorming a reincarnation AU with @kexing!

I'm calling this "A Second Dance" and it's a Peaceful Property/Perfect 10 Liners Crossover fic, doubling as a Reincarnation AU fic. Not sure how many parts/chapters but I have several key points already drafted out. It's an AU for episode 7 as the events of Peaceful Property are going to play out in a slightly different order to make this crossover work since the focus of the Home/Peach and Phoom/Vicha parallels inevitably shift to Arc/Arm themselves (but don't worry they still are not beating the BL allegations).

Also, sprinkle in a touch of Until We Meet Again in there for fun.

This was conjured up mostly after the premiere episode of Perfect 10 Liners but may borrow from episode 2 that aired today and others as I continue to write for it and Arc & Arm's relationship continues to expand and showcase. This is not based on the novel as I have not read it and likely will not be reading it at this time with the show now airing, so creative license has been taken there with regards to some things potentially, sorry about that!

Part 1 - A Dream (AO3 Link)

[kmackatie]

shadowgast fic rec list: the modern au edition - part one

This has been a long time coming, and hopefully the start of a few, but I have been intending to make some fic rec lists for a while. I am time-poor and generally bad at remembering to bookmark fics, but I figured I shouldn't let that stop me.

I have a love for modern au's, I write many of them, and I often see arguments against them when the source material is fantasy based for a number of reasons. But, I wanted to shine a light on some out there that tickle that box for me of being delightful.

Listed below the cut are a bunch of fics I have enjoyed, in no particular order and of varying lengths. I will of course forget some, but I hope to do some more lists in the future as I have more tabs open than I can reasonably fit in a list.

Fundamental Forces Other Than Gravity by mllekurtz (TheKnittingJedi)/@mllekurtz (1/1 chapters, 40,676 words, E, no warnings)

- A shadowgast college au with great characterisation and weaving of the Nein throughout. This one has chronic pain Essek, and I love how it is handled. As a note, Essek is briefly one of Caleb's professors, however, there is little power imbalance between them.

the fire kept closest (burns most of all) by mousecookie/@ariadne-mouse (3/3 chapters, 21,822 words, M, warnings: MCD)

- The fic that created the vocaleb tag. Essek is scientist on a research team studying a volcano, for which a tragic accident occurred years prior. It's told in a series of present and past, and the slow build of the relationships throughout the fic are gorgeous. For those eyeing the MCD warning, know that it is also tagged with 'angst with a happy ending'.

I've been lost before (and I'm lost again, I guess) by toneofjoy/@fireryn (21/21 chapters, 165,080 words, E, no warnings)

- The boys are rock climbers in this one. I know, it sounds odd, but trust me and read this. It has incredible characterisation and conversations about sexuality and gender (I hold the cafe scene in my hands so gently), as well as some wonderful sexual tension that builds until it bursts. This fic also got me into recreational rock climbing and I owe the author for it big time. As a note, Essek is Caleb's coach in this fic and this is a plot point for the background of their developing relationship.

starting with your heart (bright heart) by 2manyboys/@cluelessheroes (1/1 chapters, 9,914 words, E, no warnings)

- This has the sentence "Have you been taking four legged showers with Essek Thelyss?” in the summary and it has lived rent-free in my head ever since. Modern-wth-magic university au where they are both students with some lovely build-up of sexual tension between them. Hot smut to go along with it.

disputable presumptions by hanap/@callingvoicemail (3/? chapters, 9,606 words, E, no warnings)

- The corporate lawyer au of my dreams where they are friends with benefits and hiding it from the rest of the Nein. This has a delightful background of plot, along with ambiguous not!wizards hiding their true feelings behind an air of casualness, and snappy writing that keeps you reading.

Inside Edge, 3 Turn, and Closed Hold by MithrilWren/@mithrilwren (3/? works, 16,060 combined words, T/G/M respectively, no warnings)

- The shadowgast figure skating au I didn't know I needed until I read it. I've reread this one so many times and keep coming back to the characterisation and the way the story is slowly told across all three fics. There's a richness of the world behind what we see, and I adore coach!Beau in this one. Another with chronic pain Essek, and generally a careful understanding of the risks that go into the sport.

Labor of Love by OMGitsgreen (6/6 chapters, 43,331 words, M, warnings: CNTW)

- Bakery au. It's a classic, and it's done so well here. This is one of the earliest fics I remember reading, and it's a warm hug on a cold day that is great for when you're wanting something nice.

fermata by canyon_wizard/@canyon-wizard (8/8 chapters, 65,403 words, E, no warnings)

- A classical music au (there really needs to be more of these, please) where they are both piano students. The focus of this one is less the music world and more the character dynamics, and they are incredibly well done. The smut is hot, there is delightful miscommunication, and tense dynamics (ha) throughout.

(your face in my hands is) everything good I need by mllekurtz (TheKnittingJedi)/@mllekurtz (8/8 chapters, 25,884 words, M, no warnings)

- Professor au where they meet at a conference, Caleb a professor of modern history and Essek an expert in Latin. This fic has everything--wizards being nerds in every universe, first kisses, developing feelings, long distance relationship, emotional stakes, and dramatic declarations of love. I adore Mlle's writing (it really should not be a surprise at this point) as they have a way of capturing emotions and turning them into stunning pieces of prose. This one is also a love letter to Paris and Berlin, and please give it a read!

[thisapplepielife]

Thank you thank you thank you for writing the masterpiece that is 'Tuesday's Gone with the Wind' 💕 I think I've reread it 4 times since it was posted, it has carved a space in my chest and taken root. It has sincerely changed the way I listen to live music, what I listen to and how I think about these characters! The love, the story, the found family is truly something I think about all the time.

A thank you for letting me live in the universe a little longer with 'Wildflowers and All the Rest' it's such a great companion piece, it's always bittersweet finishing it cuz I want more but I know it's time.

I love all your writing (TTMAR also holds a special place in my heart) but this story is a masterpiece!

Thank you so, so much!! Truly, sincerely. To know that you've enjoyed it enough to re-read (4 times!!) is just beyond amazing. Hearing that it has connected with a reader is always the best feeling in the world. It's my favorite thing I've written. It might not have been as read as Take the Money and Run, but it changed me, getting to spend that time writing and getting to know those versions of the characters.

And it changed the way I listen to live music, too! The drums in any given song now stick out like a sore thumb for me, all because of this version of Gareth. It's still so weird that I had no strong feelings at all for Gareth when I started Tuesday's. Now he lives in my head rent-free and doesn't seem to have any intention of leaving soon, haha.

Wildflowers was my opportunity for him to flourish a little further, take the forefront. The fact that you wanted to follow him, and the rest of these characters, for a little longer means so much to me. I knew it wasn't for every reader. Hell, Tuesday's wasn't for every reader. So, Wildflowers was always going to be a niche of a niche from the jump, and that was a-okay with me. Because Gareth wanted his side of the story to be told, and I wanted to hear it. In some ways, I feel that I was just along for the ride.

Now, approaching two years since I wrote the first words for this universe, I've spent so much time with these versions of the characters in my head, that knowing that they managed to reach even a handful of readers has been beyond anything I could have ever asked for when I put it out into the world.

I wrote every word of that universe for myself. I don't think I had the option not to, really. It was just...there. I was the lucky one that got to tell their story. That might sound crazy, lol, but it feels true. Yes, I researched. A lot. But the story? The characters? Maybe it's rose-colored glasses, with time and distance. But they feel like they came easy. And getting to share the finished fic with those of you that wanted to read it has been a delight. Thank you, thank you.

Also, I really appreciate you letting me know that you still think about this story and these characters. I think about them, too. ❤️

(I just threw on the Spotify playlist for Tuesday's, just to hang out with them for a little bit longer today. Thanks for allowing me think about them again today. ❤️)

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

For the 1k word fics, maybe one where Ed finally talks with Lucius? The more angsty the better >:)

This prompt has lived rent-free in my head since you sent it in. I had a lot of fun with it!!

(Pretty much always taking prompts for 1k word fics! I love 'em because they're great to write when I have writer's block on other projects, so don't be shy!)

--

Enough was enough.

Ed had been out of his probation period for a few days now. Most of the crew seemed to be comfortable enough with him again; they came up to him with questions, they invited him to sit next to them at dinner, they talked with him and invited his input. Lucius had…stopped flipping him off every time he saw him out on deck.

Thing was, Ed was genuinely trying to leave all that awful dark scary Kraken shit in the past, and pushing Lucius overboard to the sharks? That had been the worst thing he’d ever done during all that nastiness. Lucius had only ever offered him support and friendship, and Ed had pushed him overboard for it. And now Lucius made a point of talking over Ed, shouting at him, dismissing his suggestions, insulting him, and just generally proving at every opportunity how much he hated him.

And Ed knew he deserved all that and worse. But if he was going to leave the Kraken behind, something would have to give.

When he overheard Roach talking about something Izzy had told him at breakfast, Ed knew his game plan.

It only took Ed a few seconds to get everything he needed set up, and then he found Lucius up on deck. When someone flips you off that enthusiastically at every opportunity, you can’t really miss them.

“Hey,” he said, making a beeline up to him. “Can you come with me for a sec?”

“Absolutely fucking not,” Lucius said immediately.

Ed’s pleading desperation must have shown on his face, because Lucius made a sort of go-ahead gesture, and he let Ed lead him to a space he’d cleared out in the empty galley. He’d already set up bottles of antiseptic, gauze, and everything he’d figured he might need.

“What’s all this?” Lucius frowned at the equipment Ed had laid out, and he shouted in alarm when Ed thrust the old saw into his hands.

“Izzy said you suggested cutting my leg off,” Ed said, plopping down on the bench and stretching his bad leg up in front of him at what he figured was an ideal chopping height. “Have at it. I’d prefer this one, but, uh, dealer’s choice.”

Lucius just kept blankly looking at him.

“I expected some reluctance, but don’t worry,” he said, holding up one hand to show the length of rope he’d looped around his wrist. He put his hands behind his back, slipping his other wrist into the knot he’d prepared, then tugging at his arms to prove to Lucius he wouldn’t be able to get free. “See? Not gonna try to hit you or anything. Whenever you’re ready.”

He hoped Lucius wouldn’t be able to see how hard he was shaking, and he jumped a mile when Lucius just tossed the saw onto the table.

“You fucking idiot,” Lucius spat, “I’m not doing that!”

“It’s okay,” Ed assured him, “I know I deserve it -”

“I don’t want to chop your leg off!”

Ed just stared up at him. This had been his last hope. “Then what do you want?”

“Oh, uh, I dunno,” Lucius said, “maybe a fucking apology?”

Ed snorted disbelievingly. “That’s all you want? You just want me to say, I dunno, oh, Lucius, I’m so sorry for what I did to you, and it was the worst time of my life but that’s no excuse, I was scared and I hurt you and I’m sorry, and I think about it often, and I feel terrible, and I wish I had a way to tell you how deeply I regret hurting you, and could you please forgive me?”

“Yes,” Lucius said simply.

Ed blinked.

“Oh, Lucius,” he said softly. “I am so sorry for what I did to you. It was the worst time of my life, but that’s no excuse. I was scared and I hurt you because of it and I’m sorry. I think about it often, and I feel terrible. I wish I had a way to tell you how deeply I regret hurting you. Could you please forgive me?”

“See, that’s a fucking start,” Lucius said, crossing his arms and nodding primly. “Follow-up question. What did I do to deserve that? What did I do to you that made you do that to me?”

Lucius’ voice wobbled, a bit, and Ed looked at the floor to avoid having to meet his eyes.

“So, uh,” he started haltingly, “you remember how you listened to my lyrics? And you gave me advice and shit?”

“Mhm.”

“Izzy kinda said that he should’ve let the English kill me and I better watch my fuckin’ step -”

Lucius reeled back a bit. “Shit, did he really?”

“Yep,” Ed said, with the best shrug he could manage with his arms behind his back. “And if I had to go back to being Blackbeard, I figured you were the only one who could’ve seen through me.”

“That is fucked up,” Lucius said with a loud groan. “That is so fucked of you, that is such shit.”

“Yeah.” Ed went back to looking at the floor. “I was having a really shitty time of it, and I wasn’t thinking right. I’m sorry, man.”

“For what it’s worth,” Lucius sighed, “I was kind of having a really shitty time of it when I said the whole chopping your leg off idea. I didn’t really mean it.”

Ed let his shoulders relax. “Could you maybe untie me? This knot is really tight, I can’t feel my fingers.”

“Yeah, sure,” Lucius mumbled, grabbing the pair of medical scissors on the table.

Ed still held his breath as Lucius moved behind him, but he just cut the rope without even attempting to stab him in the back. Progress.

“We’re not good,” Lucius said when he crossed back in front of him again. “We’re nowhere close to good yet.”

“Understood,” Ed mumbled.

“But.” Lucius held out a hand. “Crewmates?”

Ed beamed, taking his hand for an enthusiastic shake. “Crewmates.”

[maibluemen]

it's been a hair over a year since i last posted any fic/updated last light (look. i know the exact date bc it's also my sister's birthday i swear i have not actually been obsessing over this lol). i'll probably? be able to update this month, the next chapter is mostly done and then needs to be edited. mostly i need to sit down and just write it lol

it's felt a lot like the past couple of years, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, and it sucks to add all of that to a laundry list of pre-existing mental health Issues (the combo of adhd/depression/ocd deserves a special place in hell). social media has been....really rough, especially with the ocd. i simply don't have spoons to deal with it much and it doesn't take a lot to make me spiral in such a way i've nearly called 911 on myself a few times. i've unfollowed and blocked people over genuine grievances but also because i simply can't deal with it. and i'm going to keep doing that, and likely cycling between using socmed a fair amount and avoiding it for long stretches of time. i'm going to keep running the horror week, tho i think i'm going to have to put a pin in rusliet week for the time being, btwn my mental health and feeling really pessimistic about participation for numerous reasons (mostly the mental health tho, and also not knowing what my schedule is actually going to look like any more than a week out at a time atm). and all of this isn't getting into everything that's been going on offline either lol

but i did want to say that i appreciate everyone who has stuck with me, and stuck with my fics. and especially thanks to the people who comment, seeing ao3 emails about getting a comment have made me tear up lol and there's some of you i need to still reply to on ao3 proper but for now please take my thanks here

i also wanted to say that although i haven't posted in (just over) a year doesn't mean i haven't written, either, because i write things out of order and also write snippets of other things....if i can find my outline for the fra/pol/pru murder mystery fic, i'd like to start working on that for real and have it up by halloween, and then also get back to working on oneshots, too. and rework the LL outline...i was going to do that in scriv but i'm a bit hesitant to pay for scriv rn so i might be messing around with pen and paper a bit before typing it up nicely in word lol....anyway. i haven't actually lost interest in writing fic, though there are definitely patches there....but these story ideas and characters live in my head rent free and what can i say i like to write! so it will be exorcised from me eventually lol