#anyway. go read the fic. everything is very Shenanigans

[mispatchedgreens]

across every universe, you'll be able to hear wang baoxiang moaning for plot reasons.

a scene from the xianxia au fic by @thestoriesthatweweave !! another level of 'you do an art, i do an art' bc <333

[meetinginsamarra]

Fanfics I Really Liked in May 2024

So. Since I keep a list of what I´ve read anyway (there´s always a list), I will rec all the fics I´ve wholly enjoyed on a monthly basis. Old and new, canon or AU, big or small authors, long or short but nearly always Johnlock (-ish).

+++++

This May has been totally dominated by Calais_Reno's May Prompts 2024 writing frenzy. I've "only" read the ficlets/fics that have been created for this occasion. There are so many great stories!!

Here is the collection Calais_Reno made for this event  May 2024 Prompts Take a look, there are so many fics/ficlets in there!

+++++

Sherlockian Limericks of Dubious Memory and There once was a man lived in London... -- The Sherlock Holmes - May Prompts 2024 by Friday411 @friday411

May is for Limericks by helloliriels @helloliriels

Screw Spring, May is for Limericks by GhostOfNuggetsPast @ghostofnuggetspast

Four collections of limerick shenanigans! They come in all tastes but are always delicious.

+++++

Come What May by weeesi @weeesi

A collection of great ficlets for the prompts.

May Prompts 2024 Ficlets by Raina_at @raina-at

Another collection of great ficlets, some take place in one of Raina_at's AUs.

Trifles 3 (May Prompts 2024) by Calais_Reno @calaisreno

The ficlets our impresario of the may prompt event created.

Open Your Eyes by JRow @jrow

John fell and Sherlock's about to fall apart.

Angst, hurt/comfort and a happy ending in this fic that follows the 31 prompts.

May Has 31 Days by SophB_Holmes @bs2sjh

What if one day everything changed?

31 shorts as part of CalaisReno's May Prompt Challenge

The Luckiest Girl in the World by Lock_John_Silver @lisbeth-kk

Awesome idea to write one ficlet for every year in Rosie Watson's life, thus following her from baby to adult. So many lovely moments!

You're Not Designed to be Alone by thalialunacy 

A journey from friends to more, told in bite-sized pieces. 

Very tasty bites they are.

2024 May Prompts from @Calais_Reno by thegildedbee @thegildedbee

John had eventually figured out, post-Reichenbach, that Sherlock was alive and working on getting rid of Moriarty's network, and that he had strong-armed Mycroft into facilitating his being able to also go out on the road and help protect Sherlock on his missions.

This became an impromptu fic following the prompts!

What Hands Hath Wrought by emilycare @keirgreeneyes

With Ghast pilot John Watson by his side, can Holmes overcome a new threat offered by eccentric genius, Professor Moriarty?

This has become to be known as the Kaiju AU and boy to they wreak havoc on poor old London!

+++++

*self plug 🙂* I wrote two fics for the may prompts

The Perfect Place aka The Bed Shop Boys AU and White Pony Tattoo a tattoo shop AU. Both with happy Johnlock endings.

[heart2beom]

colon and a parenthesis

pairing: bestfriend!beomgyu x f!reader

genre: fluff, light hearted angst/comfort, best friends to ...lovers? drabble (an attempt), best friends who live together!!

synopsis: getting played has got to be the worst feeling ever. for you, you go through that heartbreak every other month. and now you're wailing on your best friend's shoulder again, for the hundredth time, ruining his hoodie. again.

a/n: "he doesn't deserve you" i'm such a basic bitch because the way i squeal over this line...was watching this show that is totally devoid of any romance subplot but i was okay with it because its a good show!! then this cute guy playing the best friend role just says this and im folding. like im being serious, i would've asked what we were. anyways ahahahahahaha, enjoy this as i slave myself into finishing my other bf2l beomgyu fic.

"Why do you look like that?"

You blink, processing his words before turning around, cereal box in hand. "What? What do I look like?" You pat your free hand around your face in attempt to figure out what incited that reaction. If it's an unwanted pimple, you're going to go insane.

Beomgyu huffs out a laugh through his nose, still eating his cereal. "I don't know, it's like you didn't get sleep for the past three decades."

He doesn't catch the roll of your eyes since he's focused on his phone, eating his breakfast but you still make sure to do it anyway. You pour the lucky charms in the bowl, the mention of your tired state gets you fighting the large grin overtaking your face. Reason?

You haven't slept a wink last night, inevitably a bad choice since you have morning classes, but digressing, it had to be the most magical of all nights. You recently got Mingi's number, the cute boy in your Music Comp class, who you've been notably crushing on for weeks.

Beomgyu knows this, obviously since you practically tell him everything, but what he doesn't know is that you've done some progression with your pining.

Other than the fact that he's cute, you find out he's also quite funny and witty, all throughout yesterday's overnight chat. Mingi's absolutely perfect. Like a prince charming. You don't even care that you have to spend extra time covering up your under eyes, it's what comes with the package that is Song Mingi.

You set your cereal on the kitchen island, sitting on the stool next to Beomgyu. Checking your phone for umpteenth time today, reading through the texts from last night still makes you smile a little too hard at the realization that yesterday night was in fact real.

You catch Beomgyu turning his head to you, brows furrowed like he was thinking of what to say, still chewing his food. "So?"

You lay your phone face down, "So what?"

"What happened?"

You realize he's talking about your dark circles. "Nothing, nothing happened. Was just studying all night," your eyes look up from your bowl of cereal to Beomgyu's doubtful eyes. "You know, pointing these things out to a woman is very disrespectful."

He laughs, and turns away shaking his head. Beomgyu was equally as tired looking so it wasn't like he had the right to make a comment. His ginger hair had strands poking out everywhere, dark circles even more evident under his eyes. It made sense, he worked late night shifts, and when he didn't, he'd stay up all night anyway, playing video games.

Yesterday he didn't have work, so you were very graciously blessed with having to hear his usual shenanigans through the walls of your room. He had an issue with keeping his emotions on the low when it came to games, which proved to be a nightmare. But thankfully, you were able to filter out his yelling with every response from Mingi.

"I heard you."

You furrow your brows, glancing to Beomgyu. "Huh? Heard what?"

He gets up, done with his breakfast, heading to the sink. "You were giggling all night. It was really weird," he mentions and your eyes widen, slowly chewing your food. Were you really that loud? How embarrassing. "Even weirder now that I know you were studying."

You throw your head back, groaning—of course he didn't buy your lie. "Beomgyu," you drawl.

"No, no, if you wish to keep your life private, keep it private." He was faking his hurt, but you also know there's some truth to it. Sharing things with each other, with no filter, has always been a staple to your relationship. And it's not like you were the type to be private anyway, so it worked out in the end.

"We were texting all night," you start, the dreamy vision of his face clouds your mind as your eyes sparkle at the thought, "Me and Mingi."

Beomgyu halts, his back faced to you— you don't read too much into it before he finally turns around. "Mingi as in... Music Comp Mingi?"

You flutter your lashes, nodding, barely biting down your smile. "He's a total A-plus heartthrob." you swoon.

Beomgyu lays his forearm on the countertop, standing across of you, tilting his head and a scrunch of his face like he’s willing to debate on that. "Yeah, but didn't Yeonjun happen like, two months ago?"

Yeonjun. The upperclassman you dated for six entire months, probably your longest relationship ever. Which is a little sad, at least for a sophomore in college. The added duration of your relationship made the breakup sting a lot more, as well as the fact that you wholeheartedly believed you'd end up marrying him at some point in the future.

Your smile droops, gaze fallen to the sad looking soggy cereal. "Hey, no, I mean, Y/N I'm just worried, but if you're—if you're over him, Mingi is good for you!" You slowly look up at Beomgyu, and you manage a smile on one end of your lips.

"You think so? Mingi's pretty nice, right?"

He huffs out a laugh through his nose again, he's been doing it a lot more often. "You stayed up all night talking to him, you're in love with him."

You break into a smile, eyes back on your spoon. "Shut up."

He points an accusatory finger, "Your ears just got red, oh my god, you are in love with him!"

You roll your eyes, quickly adjusting your hair to cover your ears. He shakes his head in awe, "You're actually hopeless."

"I'm sorry that he's literally the reincarnation of a prince charming. I can't help it."

"You say that about everyone." That was half true. You never said it about Sunwoo. "Anyways, you guys made plans, right?"

You fall quiet, eyes widening before quickly breaking eye contact with Beomgyu, clearing your throat. A few beats of silence and before you know it, Beomgyu grabs your phone, and is typing in your passcode.

You jump off your seat, "Beomgyu! Don't text him! I swear to god—" You have always made a mental note to change your passcode, but your memory fails you each time. And now you're bearing the consequences.

It quickly turns into a game of cat and mouse the more you go after him—each time, he's directly across from you as he focuses on typing as quickly as he could. Even when you calculate to run the opposite direction, Beomgyu is faster, quickly having the kitchen's island in between you both again.

"Mingi, the love of my life, I proposition you with a date at Gorae's—" he announces aloud, reading off the screen.

You rush to his side in his moment of weakness, reaching to grab your phone but Beomgyu's quick to react, raising his arm high enough for you to struggle to get your phone. God darn his height.

"Give me my phone you ass!"

"—and I want to marry you and have nine babies with you in a cottage far away from the world, my love!"

If he sent that, you'd jump off the balcony of your flat. No doubt. So, you attack him with your most effective weapon.

"And—shit. Oh my god, oh my god Y/N—" He wheezes, he's calm drowsiness dissipating, and he's quick to retreat, hands shielding themselves from your evil fingers. But you don't stop, a mischievous smile breaching your lips, because god is it fun to be the one to tease for once.

You aim for his sides, unprotected and perfect for your fingers to start tickling. His giggles are boisterous as he weakly attempts to stop your hands, but you don't let, "Punishment for being a little bitch."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry— oh my god, have mercy!" he manages to muster between his fit of laughter.

His contagious laugh bubbles one up from you until you hear a ping, and you realize that he might've actually sent that in! In horror, you grab your phone from Beomgyu's loose hold, who was still attempting to calm his laugh down, wiping under his waterline.

You check your messages, and it's in fact one from Mingi. "Beomgyu! Did you actually send him something?" you yell anxiously, eyes wide.

You don't give him time to respond, deciding to rip the bandaid, clicking on your chat. Hesitantly you read the messages after the 'goodnight' you've sent yesterday.

Your brows crease flatten as you read the two messages Beomgyu sent.

"I had fun talking. Maybe we should hang sometime?" you look up from your phone, "Who says that?"

He shrugs, wiping his hand on his sweats, "Probably, I don't know, sane people. What'd he say?"

You smile, looking back at the text Mingi had sent in response. "I'd like that. He'd like that. With a smiley face."

A conflicting smile is on his face as he says, "He'd like that with a smiley face?"

You roll your eyes, it's a terrible attempt at a joke, "A smiley face. Colon and a closing parenthesis."

He lets out an oh of realization as if he truly did not know, nodding. "Good luck, thank me when the wedding happens." he comments, walking into the living room you think— you don't really care. Too far gone as you re-read three simple words. And a colon paired with a closing parenthesis.

You really wish it'd work out this time.

—------------------------------

You don't exactly remember when you started to consider Beomgyu to be one of, if not, your closest friend.

The time he had stayed on a call with you throughout the entire night, on a school night, falling asleep after the spell of drowsiness won against both of your wills to continue talking? It magically seemed like you could endlessly talk, about anything, everything and nothing at the same time, with Beomgyu.

The time your eyes miracally found each other, in heaps of awkward situations? Like when you both ended up being third wheels to your pining friends, or when a party seemed too much for comfort.

Or when Beomgyu confided to you that he spent days learning makeup through lengthy youtube tutorials to help you out with applying it for prom?

Maybe the time you celebrated your graduation by choosing to invite over Beomgyu's family? No, you think it's probably the time you realized the only person you thought of when meaning to ask someone to move in with you—possibly the biggest next life step— was none other than your goofy, sort of odd, friend.

Or maybe it's now.

When you open the door, a heavish Beomgyu with his chest rising and falling, like he just ran a marathon, iris darting quickly going over your state before crashing you straight into his embrace, a hand gently on the back of your head. "I'm here."

You were holding it before he showed up, really holding it. But the warmth of Beomgyu's body against yours is enough for you to break. Your shoulders shake as you silently sob onto Beomgyu's, and his hold on you loosens, the previous panic slowing as he pat your back soothingly.

You knew Beomgyu, he's always been hyper aware of feelings, his own and others. This time, he set aside his own to make it easier for you to let out yours—you always notice when he does this.

His breathing is unstable against your hair, still attempting to catch it. "Why are you here? Don't you have work?" your words come out as a muffle, especially with the way your head is buried against his hoodie.

"You called, idiot."

"I called to ask if you could get milk on your way." You were in the mood for hot chocolate, your comfort drink, but to your absolute dismay, there was no milk. And you strongly preferred your hot chocolate with milk.

Beomgyu only hums in acknowledgement as if to say, yes, you're correct. You did only ask him to get milk.

Your emotions are one of a rollercoaster, once again sobbing like a child, before you pull your head away slowly, sniffling as you look up at him, your hands still wrapped around his waist. "You called in sick?"

His silence makes you feel uneasy, he could just say yes. Or no. Your brows raise. "Did you just ...run out?" you yell, almost pulling away from him completely, but he has senses for things like this —quickly pulling your head into his chest again. You groan.

"Now's not the time to lecture me." he mumbles into your hair.

After a little thinking, you decide to not fight him, giving in to his embrace. You could talk to him about his rash decision skills later, now, you want to be a little more selfish.

You're not sure where it went wrong with Mingi, and you don't really want to think about it. Your lips tremble against the soft fabric, more tears spilling down your cheeks, snot running.

"Can I blow my nose?" you ask. Beomgyu's a tinge hesitant before he just sighs. "Be gross all you want."

It felt like eternity standing there, in front of your door, Beomgyu's hand wrapped around you, and yours around his. He doesn't ask questions, he only stays silent unless you said something first. Usually saying incoherent things about Mingi, how you thought it'd end well, how he was everything to you, your moon, the sun that shone brightly. All through the occasional hiccups and sniffles of your crying session.

"I swear, Mingi—"

Suddenly Beomgyu exhales, his hands falling from your back to pull your head away from his chest. You guess it isn't a pretty look, with your bloodshot eyes, and gross snot messy on your face. But he doesn't hesitate to rub a thumb over your cheek.

"You know he doesn't deserve a minute of your time, Y/N. He doesn't deserve you. Like at all."

You furrow your brows. You don't believe a word. "You've barely met him, how would you know that I don't deserve him? And he realized that, which is why—"

He cuts your self wallow of deprecation off with a violent shake of his head. "Stupid. I've met you. I know you. That's enough information for me to make judgement."

"That's..." tears well up in your waterline again before you bury your head in his hoodie again, "That's so cheesy Beomgyu. Thank you."

You can feel his smile, somehow, it's like you're both connected by a string. "I'm serious, you're the best person I know. Flaws? Everyone has them, you do too, but you're ...still somehow the best person I know. If Mingi can't see that— if, impossibly, no one else can see that, then they don't deserve you. You know that?"

You nod meekly, soaking up his words. Millions of things could be said in response, something that could tell him how much highly you think of him too, but the dry of your throat prevents you from so.

"Tell me a joke." you say instead.

He ponders a bit before landing on one. "Can I be the parenthesis to your colon?"

You look up at him, silent, before you weakly hit his chest, laughing. When Mingi asked you to be his girlfriend, he said those exact words, and you had came home, raving all about it to Beomgyu, even though deep down, you found it a little ...too cheesy for your taste.

Beomgyu held the same opinion, except he was vocal about it. Making fun of the line for an entire weeks worth.

"Too soon."

He scratches the back of his head, a sorry smile on his face, "Yeah?"

You don't know if this breakup would be worse than the one you had with Yeonjun—only time could tell. All you knew was that no matter what it'd feel like—hell, like you were walking on pins and needles, like drowning in hot soup; Beomgyu would be by your side. That alone is enough, something that reminded you that this feeling would go away eventually.

ending a/n: you're done!! this might have to be considered the longest proclaimed drabble ever lol (2.6k words this is not a drabble) but anyways, like always, thoughts are appreciated.

[cosmo-craftin]

Hey Night at Museum fandom you still alive?

If so do any of you read reader fics?

Cause I’m thinking of dropping an insert reader crack taken seriously, shenanigan story. Not gonna have a lot of romance but definitely adventures of an average over anxious night guard absolutely BSing their way through securing a paycheck.

Here’s a sneak peak,

———————————-

You lowered your mug from of tea from your face and turned around. Watching as the neat craftsmanship historical miniatures suddenly move before your very eyes and functioning like a small town. Moving hauntingly in way that could only be described as…well nothing, nothing at all.

Clearly there was something wrong with the amount of sleep you were getting, maybe one to many all-nighters. To much studying and not enough self care. You know what, Cristy was right those brownies were not quite so cosmic brownies. That Thomas the sketchy, suspicious, homie, who lingered in the alleyway behind the J building probably was a drug dealer. That his brownies were laced with malicious intent, suspicious powder sugar and cosmic anomalies not joy. Because clearly this was all one fever dream, clearly you were smelling colors and seeing stars. Because clearly there was no way the itty bitty little cowboy in front of you just started walking towards you.

“Oh hey! You’re the newbie Gigantor told us bout” Glass shattered.

It was going to be a loooong night.

——————

“Larry, come get me I’m scared” you said screaming in absolute despair into the phone, from your spot underneath the desk. “The miniatures are scrambling everywhere, Theodore Rosevelvet is making out with Sacagawea, there a civil brawl in the bathroom and I swear I just a lion shredding up the trash cans. And now there’s a T. rex! A FREAKING REXSOURES MONSTROSITY!”

“Calm down just throw the bone to Rexy, you’ll be fine. I know you’re scared right now, I was to my first time too but everything will be fine. I’ll be there in five minutes if you’re really truly struggling. You don���t have anything to worry about anyways, she don’t bite.”

Rexy? the two ton bone bodied dinosaur above the desk, the fudge muffin about to diy some ripped jeans onto your uniform, HAH, “Yes it do!”

——————-

“Sooo? I know what happened last night was a little odd. But I’ve read the manual properly now, yaknow terms, conditions, and everything. I’m pretty sure I can figure this out now.”

“Ahkmenrah said you hid in the bathroom stall, crying and listening to David Bowie for the rest of the shift.”

“Listen buddy, between you me. You know damn well you would be in tears, if you had to fight off a pack of wild animals simply to be get that of minimum wage.”

“I was not in fact in tears.”

“Well fuck you Larry.”

[gojonanami]

I just hit a very unbelievable milestone yesterday and I still can’t quite believe it—

10,000 feels like a number I can’t quite even fathom and I truly thank every one of you for being here. truly I started this blog because I had jjk brainrot and I was going through a lot of difficult life changes and writing has always been my coping mechanism

so the fact so many of you enjoy my work has made it so much more fun and so much more rewarding 🥹 and I don’t want to ramble too much (because I feel it’s very self congratulatory) but thank you for every reblog, comment, ask, and like you all have sent my way. it’s meant the world and this blog has been my oasis from just difficult life situations.

especially your asks — they never ever fail to make me smile or laugh—I still can’t quite fathom the amount of asks I get but I’m so glad I get to interact with you all so much. it literally is everything to me.

I will definitely do another follower celebration event (once I finish my 2K one because wow I’m still working on that one somehow 😭).

I want to also thank every mutual I have on here - I will only not list you because I am afraid I will miss someone and it will haunt me forever lol. but you know who you are and I love all of you.

also a very very special thanks to @laneysmusings and @gaylatteart who literally put up with beta reading and listening to me ramble about my fics and ideas and jjk in general (even though they are not really into jjk at all haha). I love them so much and truly my writing would not be the same at all without them and I cannot thank them enough for dealing with my shenanigans 💕🥹

anyway I said I wouldn’t ramble so I won’t so!! thank you all so much and I’ll be here still writing away!! 💕🥹 and I hope you guys will stick around.

[anna-scribbles]

hey anna! the wait for kwami’s choice part 2 truly is abysmal and it’s so hard to navigate through the tag with all the leaks about, do you have any fic recs to tide us over until gloob puts us out of our misery?

not only do I have fic recs, I also have way too much to do rn and therefore will spend an inordinate amount of time crafting a detailed rec list for you 😘 (we can also just consider this my 2022 ao3 wrapped lol)

goes without saying perhaps, but ANYTHING by @peachcitt is gold and also uniquely devastating, some of my particular favorites being:

metamorphosis - 97k, enemies, sleepovers, you get it. i'm normal

those benevolent stars - 23k, ladrien thief/prince/soulmates au. what more do I even need to say

chat noir's white french man hit list for feminist purposes - 7k, hilarious and devastating, this fic is a child to me

double dare - 32k, ladrien, absolutely everything. cemented my friendship w/ peach bc I had to scream at her everyday abt it

I thought the plane was going down - 11k, attuned to my tastes specifically, adrinette having a History while on airplanes

@carpisuns also puts out banger after banger like it's her dayjob, specializing in understanding the ridiculous nature of the lovesquare to such a degree and also being the funniest person alive. some of my faves from her are:

tell me something I don't know - 120k, the marichat fic EVER, mar's dissertation on lovesquare and guess what she's right

pink - 14k wip, adrien loves marinette, SOFT

two idiots and a hamster (collab with @botherkupo) - 24k, adrinette roommates, makes me cry laugh

@picayunearts is a goddess on earth. she bends word and image flawlessly to her will. recently she has enraptured me with

final girl - 41k, marichat, au where marinette succeeds in giving up her miraculous to alya in origins. INCREDIBLE marinette character study

@rosekasa invented ladynoir and i'm not afraid to say it. check out everything on her ao3 but just note the following

when things were good - 15k wip, breakup fic/post hawkmoth takedown, has been ruining me in a SPECIAL way

new marinette 12k, post-guardianship memory loss marinette, a classic

like poles of a magnet - 12k, enemies au, hurts my feelings

ya'aburnee - 13k, ladynoir, HURTS ME VERY MUCH. I'VE NOT RECOVERED

@buggachat's fics always feel like i'm attending a course on adrien and marinette's true characterizations explained to me by someone with a PhD in lovesquare and I walk away enlightened. she has an incredible gift for storytelling and just Getting It. anyway read

maintaining a professional distance - 43k, ladynoir hotel room shenanigans, god-tier characterization

when you're near 10k, ladynoir dating but adrinette have never met, a classic

@sha-nwa should honestly quit her career and write lovesquare fanfiction for me full time. proof:

the way I loved you - 68k, marichat break up fic, will be cemented into my mind forever

photograph - 1k, sweet adrinette, abby loves making me cry

things WOULD be amiss if I did not mention @officialratprince (carolinaa on ao3) bc their fics derailed my homework schedule on several occasions last semester, though I'll be honest that their fics are not for the faint of heart or those who wish adrien agreste to have a good time. my faves are

I will take it / it can't go wrong series - 3 fics at 16k, 25k, and 39k, adrien's journey through experiencing child abuse and his friends being there for him, culminating in gabriel's court trial

home sick - 14k wip, adrien gets pneumonia and Everything Is Really Bad

other various fics I love for various reasons:

how hawkmoth got his groove back series by @agrestenoir - 2 fics at 3k and 1k, one of my favorite crack fics i read last year. had me crying laughing

1 step forward, 3 steps back by agnes writes - 10k, breaks my heart every time I read it. also makes me legitimately angry at adrien while still keeping him in character which is a feat in and of itself

the last day on earth by reiaji - 10k, chat blanc keeps happening as marinette gets older, I am incapable of not recommending this fic

okay now go forth and don't do your work<3

[kirk-says-wah]

𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐬

is this three months worth of fic recs? Yes it is because I’m so bad at remembering to post 🫠

Also, if you suddenly just got a comment from me, it’s because I’ve been really terrible at leaving comments lately I apologise but putting this together reminded me to do it!

I also haven’t started any multi chaptered fics in a while because I just don’t have the time right now to get invested in them 😭 but hopefully once I’ve finished Don’t Cry and my halloween fic I’ll be able to start reading longer things 💕

Anyways, here you go!

Purgatory by @aimbuddylist

- an interesting fic where Dave and James see each other in rehab. Their relationship is so dynamic and interesting! I absolutely adore it!

Too Far Gone by @thenaughtynun

- ahhhh a devilishly good threesome between Dave, Lars and Daddy James 🥵

The Problem With Flying by @ju1ian

- Dave and James meet on a plane. Shenanigans ensue. Someone throws up on someone. I love it

I Need Your Love by @taracsacum

- beautiful fic about Kirk and James working things out and getting closer. It’s so sweet 😍

Quarter After One by @ride-the-hammett

- omg this fic has me in a chokehold! It’s just so good! And theres so much drama! 😍

Eat Me Alive by @n3wstxd

- robbery gone wrong, or maybe it went right? 😆 anyway this literally has the best line of smut I’ve ever read in it!

spotlights by nopeleafclover

- UFO HUNTING!!! The vibes are just immaculate and I feel like I’m being pulled along for the ride in James’ truck

Of Wolf And Man by @ju1ian

- serial killer AU!!!! This is written so well! The characterisations are just *chefs kiss*

Spine Of God by @msgwendolenfairfax

- demon Robert Plant!! This is just so good, of course it was Kirk that summoned a demon 😆 but it’s so interesting to see how the demon approaches each of the boys!

A Viking’s Prize by @thenaughtynun

- Lars captured by Jarl James! A battle for his love! A strong hardened James finally letting himself open up to Lars’ love? GIVE ME MORE!!!! This fic is so gorgeous and I am eagerly awaiting the next chapter!

Suspicious Of Your Touch by @2ooled

- very hot Dave/Lars sex, I just love Dave using Lars to get off 🥵

chomping at the bit by @gorehoundhammett

- I don’t even know what to say, this fic just left me speechless, in a good way of course! The writing is immaculate and it’s also very hot. I could read it forever and ever

It Started With A Kiss by @ride-the-hammett

- HOT KLARS SMUT 🚨🚨🚨 honestly this fic is so good at teasing you and then giving you everything you’ve been waiting for at the very end! I enjoyed this a lot!!

Movie Night by @n3wstxd

- very hot, drunken smut, with a funny ending! This was so good!

Not For All My Little Words by @aimbuddylist

- I think I actually needed a lie down after the latest chapter oh my god! The writing is so very good, and very detailed, and it just makes me want to bash James and Jason’s heads together 😆 a very very good fic, and grief is also written so beautifully!

What He Deserves by @dethtallica

- James can’t control himself when Jason walks around in tight pants and I don’t blame him! Super hot Jameson sex 😍

[grif-hawaiian-rolls]

Anyways the “essay” about the energy sword to character development pipeline below the cut

Ok so like yea tucker-crunchbite-junior is, obviously, the first instance of the sword-quest-companion theme/trio that im like, rattling in my head rn

Tucker finds the sword, crunchbite shows up and theres the “quest” that challenges tucker both in the false intent (you need to be the hero) and the true intent (SA leading to Junior which is not handled well but it IS important) which is a push against tucker’s character thus far in that he’s the comic relief, make everything a sex joke archetype— he doesnt take it seriously, he doesnt see himself as important beyond getting just enough recognition to be “hot” and now he’s made to be the so called “hero” and the true plot puts him in the one position that he probably never thought could be him. Bc he wants to get laid so… yeah. Pushes his character if you give it like three seconds of critical thinking and not just the standard “haha alien baby bullshit” (that said, i do enjoy fics that explore crunchbite more and play with the potential of the “joke” shitty character into someone less sinister, but im doin my best to stick to canon rn)

And JUNIOR, oh man, because theres the thing that really solidifies this for me like

The dude who doesnt care doesnt bother is all jokes and ‘man whatever’ energy is a dad, and it starts with him trying to avoid it but he really fucking quickly steps the FUCK up for Junior and its the start of his development that people are like “oh he learns to be a leader on chorus” which i mean kinda yeah but he never struck me as a Leader even on Chorus even tho he does decidedly lead, its not the same as when kimball leads or when wash leads or carolina

He’s leads as a dad bc he is a dad

Not always a good one, but he’s trying and yea sometimes that means being the asshole, sometimes that means screwing up but it also means you fucking care and you take responsibility and you put yourself in danger first (the rescue mission, leaving the lieutenants behind)

And that doesnt start on chorus! Its the most evident there sure but

it starts with junior

It starts with him going after tex to protect his son, it starts with him trying to be a diplomat so they stay together, in sending junior away so he is safe while tucker buys time protecting the temple, it STARTS with him looking at church and going “leave my kid out of this” and yeah the way rvb was written and approached does Not take that seriously bc it wouldnt and if it did it would be a very different show but the implications are there and its acknowledged with tucker’s photograph of junior with his 5th grade basketball team (“i know right? Who carries actual pictures anymore” -tucker) which i could go on about THAT too but suffice to say its very clear that tucker cares so gd much about his kid and yeah his character development isnt super linear but you can basically pinpoint when it starts with the sword and junior

The second run of this trio of things is actually grif which is admittedly, a stretch, a big ol reaching for straws (okay, TECHNICALLY grif is the third run, but i’ll address that in a minute) largely a stretch bc grif… does the pattern backwards

This IS S16 stuff so if ur a shisno paradox hater i respect that, i however am gnawing on it with everything i have and will be going feral so this is your warning thank u for reading the tucker side of it mwah appreciate ya

Anyways

Grif does his plot backwards during timetravel shenanigans

He gets the alien companion/friend who contrasts his character first in Huggins

Grif is a loyal friend, but he is lazy, even after s15’s breakdown and apparent change of tune, he’s still looking to take the path of least resistance, avoiding the call, trying to keep things from moving

Enter Huggins: zippy, full of energy, excitable and just so different in that she is not only so proactive she puts herself in danger (which helps everyone in the long run/plot but its the principle) but shes so fucking lonely

As far as she knows, her family is dead, except for muggins who is so dettached from her, he might as well be a coworker and not her brother

Compared to grif, who has a family even when he tries to push them away (the reds, the blues, KAIKAINA) but hates taking action

Huggins is the start for grif’s arc of “it sucks but someones gotta do it” which in their case is best shown as the trudge across the bottom of the english channel which is so fucking funny to me but it really pushes both of them and puts them firmly in the friends category

Huggins cant zip ahead without grif, grif cant stop moving because huggins wont let him, so they find their little balance of gas vs brakes and together they cruise along p well

The actual push of the “quest” is grif having to be the one who steps up (kinda like tucker but its to the left) he’s the one who starts getting everyone together again across the timeline, even if he is very,,,

Well he’s very Grif about it, but it is still fundamentally, the change in character

Tucker isn’t a always good dad, Grif isn’t always a good instigator of action

But theyre trying and theyre working on it and grif’s arc suffers a Little from being so late in the show and thus not having much of a parallel to pull on but you could argue he gets the parallel from s15 anyways with the refusal of the call (from fake church/loco) and rescue mission but i hesitate to call that a parallel bc its literally back to back but an argument could be made for it which i love

Enter part two: the alien quest giver

“Wait wasnt that huggins”

NOPE huggins was alien companion! The Bestie in grif’s case,

The alien fetch quest comes from atlas, in that stupid wishing sequence but cmon it wouldnt be rvb if the character development wasnt sandwiched inbetween obnoxious gags and stupidity

The quest is less important here admittedly bc again, with grif doing this in reverse its not the challenge to his principle character that it was for tucker, his connection to huggins was the challenge, and this becomes the final push into the development, the “you have a role, now play it” that gives grif the final shove into Doing Things literal!! And his prize? For this character development arc? An alien sword

And thus the inverse version reaches an end, sort of (im pissed that technically he loses his sword, im also ignoring that he loses it in canon bc he fucking earned it okay this is a bit of canon i will ignore and loophole my way around it)

And now we track back to Chorus and to the second iteration of the sword-quest-companion plot

Locus

Now okay i will admit this is conjecture and pepe-silvia-on-corkboard-with-red-string fuckery at this point but hear me out okay!

He gets the sword with Felix’s death. We know this. What we dont know is how the fucking hell he gets off Chorus! We just see him show up later with A’rynasea. The vaguely alien (maybe sentient?? AI? Its implied with the way he addresses her but we literally have her for like two episodes) ship that seems to be the driving force (literal) (bc shes his ship) behind his chosen redemption arc where he pushes himself to help others at no apparent benefit to himself, but because it is, and i quote “the right thing to do”

Arguably, Santa could be Locus’ quest giver, seeing as how he is the one who triggers the whole shift in view for Locus in the first place and that is, technically, what crunchbite does and what atlas finalizes for grif! But the problem is we simply dont have enough of A’rynasea to draw the parallel between her and Locus as personalities, as companions for it to work for me??? But that might just be me overthinking? But it does make Locus’ version is a bit messier depending on who you consider his quest-giver but as far as I’m concerned, he’s still on his quest snd its just up to interpretation if A’rynasea is his companion?? or if theres a secret third alien for Locus that we never wouldve seen even if they planned for that bc its red vs blue and im just delusional about locus and his role in plot and this is just me firing concepts blindly into the sky at this point like - yeah i could still theorize what kind of companion characterization i think locus would work well with bc its more about the wielder than the companion in this sense (sorry junior and huggins i love yall i promise) but thats a completely separate rant at this point and not nearly coherent enough at this exact moment to add it PLUS its ridiculously self indulgent and only marginally canon compliant/adjacent but i will never not be amused by this very specific plot beat happening enough to draw these parallels, as tenuous and vague as the parallels are

[space-mermaid-writing]

You cat stephen fic was perfect!💘

I was wondering If you could write a cat tony fic where stephen accidentaly casts a spell on him cuz he was being annoying😅

I did my best to write a cat!Tony story that lives up the cat!Stephen fic. I hope you like it 🐈 (As so often, this got way longer than planned; and that's also why you had to wait so long for this...) Beta by KJ :)

Summary: Stephen looked at the pile of clothes from which a very clearly not amused cat looked back. “Well, shit…”

Tags: cat!Tony, magical shenanigans, panic attack, normal cat behavior, fluff, fun, bordering on crack, don’t take this too seriously, just the regular everyday weirdness of magic man and engineer guy

Ko-fi | Masterlist | Cat!Stephen | Read it on AO3 | Word count: 5.4k

Cat for a day

Stephen looked at the pile of clothes from which a very clearly not amused cat looked back.

“Well, shit…”

His previous anger was forgotten, replaced by mild annoyance,  as always when Tony touched something he wasn’t supposed to touch.

Well, he hadn’t touched the relic per se. Not with his hands anyway. But something in his aura – or Vishanti knew what – had triggered the relic and activated it mid-argument.

It hadn’t been anything important they had been arguing about, merely another technicality. Sometimes Stephen wondered why Tony bothered coming over into the Sanctum he loved to criticize the interior of; when they almost always ended up arguing about something.

It might have something to do with the fact that they were dating; which was a recent development. Tony could always change his mind… until then Stephen would happily welcome him into the Sanctum.

Anyway, that wasn’t the point here. The point was that Tony was now standing on four legs instead of two. And he was way more furry than he should be.

Stephen did this thing where he raised his brow totally unimpressed. “That’s what you get for touching stuff you shouldn’t,” he said in his best ‘I told you so’-voice.

The cat huffed and the noise he made sounded rather hoarse; as he had yet to figure how to use his new voice. The intent of his words was clear though. At least to the sorcerer.

“Well, you did something to that globe, because I didn’t use magic and I’m pretty sure you didn’t spontaneously develop a shapeshifting talent in the past five minutes.”

The cat climbed out of the pile of fabric. More noises came out of that tiny mouth. Stephen had no idea what he said but it sounded a lot like complaining. He waited until Tony was done and stared up at him, expectantly.

Only then did Stephen move his hands for a spell. “Stand still while I get you back. And don’t yell at me when you find out you are naked. None of this is my fault.”

He performed a simple counter spell; it was standard procedure really.

It did nothing.

Stephen tried two other spells – Tony remained a cat.

Something wasn’t right here and for the first time, the sorcerer felt uneasy. Turning Tony back shouldn’t be this complicated. He didn’t like to not know what was going on.

“I need to do some research,” he hesitantly admitted.

His words seemed to trigger something in the feline. Tony suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe. His chest was too tight, and everything around him too big. His little body tensed and a weird noise escaped him, some kind of wheezing from deep within his lung.

“Tony.”

The cat didn’t seem to hear him. He was shaking and looked like he was five seconds away from running off. Stephen's hand gently grabbed the feline’s neck – right at the spot where a mother carried their kittens – and he applied soft pressure.

Tony had never been a kitten, but he stilled anyway.

“Deep breaths, Tony. In…and out… in…”

The cat slowly but visibly relaxed. He was still not making a move, but his eyes were more present; not as clouded as they had been moments before.

“You with me?” Stephen asked and got a small meow in return. He let go of Tony tentatively. The cat remained pressed to the floor for a second. Then he sat up, the shaking not yet completely gone, and looked around as if embarrassed by the panic attack.

There was no one around; they were all alone.

“Let’s go to the library.” The cat nodded, then yelped when he got scooped up into Stephen's arms. “I got you,” the sorcerer soothed him.

He was careful not to touch Tony’s chest since he was pretty confident that this weak spot had been transferred to the new body.

Tony was smart enough not to wriggle. Instead, he snuggled into his arms.

Tony was actually quite a cute cat; a brown and black tabby. Funnily enough, his facial hair had been translated into the fur pattern.

Stephen turned to walk away, but then remembered something: he shouldn't keep clothes lying around randomly in the relic room. With a flick of his hand, he teleported them ahead into the library.

He himself took the path on foot so as not to expose Tony to any more magic.

Besides, it wasn't far.

Once in the library, he set Tony down next to his clothes on a couch. "I need to get some books. Make yourself comfortable. It won't take long."

He disappeared between the shelves.

Tony looked after him. Another wave of panic rose briefly, but he quickly swallowed it down.

It was fine, he told himself. Stephen would fix this.

He decided to simply not think about the fact that magic had affected his body without Tony’s consent. His mind was still the same; it was only just his body that had changed.

He let out a frustrated noise, that sounded very much like a growl.

Oh yeah, and he couldn’t talk anymore. At least not with his normal voice. Stephen seemed to understand the sentiment well enough though.

That reminded Tony of something and he searched for his phone in the pocket of his pants.

It was difficult to pull out the device if you had no thumbs. Or any fingers at all. But after a few slippery attempts, he finally managed it.

And was immediately facing the next daunting task: using the touch screen.

It took him a while to figure out that his nose worked quite okay with the tech. Tony opened the app for writing notes – he had never used it before. Normally he talked to Jarvis. That was way faster and Jarvis knew how to filter his waterfall of words.

Now writing with his nose one letter at a time was frustratingly slow. Jarvis had been alerted when Tony unlocked the phone, but probably kept his quiet to wait for what happened because he couldn't identify Tony's voice nor his fingerprints.

Tony was halfway through his explanation when the A.I. finally spoke up. “Sir, am I right in assuming that you got turned into a cat but you are still able to understand English?”

The cat looked into the camera and nodded. “Meow.”

“I need you to confirm your identity,” Jarvis nevertheless demanded the safety measure that Tony had introduced to him.

The cat typed the combination of numbers and letters into his phone. They vanished as soon as he finished.

“Identity confirmed. Do you require medical attention, Sir?”

Tony denied it and told Jarvis to put his calendar on hold for the day until his situation got sorted out.

It was inconvenient to spell everything out, but this was his only way to communicate at the moment.

By then Stephen was back with his pile of books. He noticed the cat's head peeking over the back of the couch.

“You alright there, Tony?”

“Meow?”

He took that as a ‘yes’ and sat down to open the first book.

Tony curled up but soon enough he was bored. For one, he wasn’t in the mood to relax. Plus, he had never been one for idly sitting around; not as a human being, and not as a cat either.

He stretched; first his front, then his back legs. He then yawned widely.

His new body felt more agile. Lighter. His chest still hurt, as well as his left front leg. His shoulder had never fully healed.

Nevertheless, he had no trouble jumping off the couch silently. His tail flicked.

Everything seemed taller; the furniture, the ceiling. Tony had to crane his neck up; and decided immediately that he wasn’t a fan of this fact.

If Stephen noticed he left his place, he didn’t react and Tony took that as an invitation to leave the library in order to find food. Getting accidentally transformed had kicked up his appetite and he felt hungry. Purposeful small steps led him to the kitchen. Fortunately, he had no problem operating on four legs instead of the usual two.

On his way downstairs he heard a noise and his ears perked up. The Cloak of Levitation hovered at the top of the stairs. It had no face but its collar was tilted, watching the feline with curiosity.

“Mrew.”

The cloak flew down to him to prod the cat, who tried to evade it. Tony made a disgruntled sound and fended off the fabric with his paw.

He had already noticed from Stephen’s interactions that the Cloak of Levitation showed little understanding for personal space. And apparently, it wasn’t yet quite sure what to make of this cat. If it even recognized him as Tony or perhaps thought this was a new pet.

Tony continued on his way, with the cloak following him. Tony glanced over his shoulder at it but didn’t object.

In the kitchen, he faced a new challenge: doors. More specifically, cabinet doors.

Tony jumped onto the counter and tried to get into the upper cabinet that he knew stored toast. He had to stand on his hind legs, and reach up with his whole body to try and open the cabinet door.

It turned out to be rather difficult.

He barely kept his balance  and pushed his paw into the narrow gap to swing the door open. It opened a little – and fell back close immediately.

The cat huffed in annoyance.

His gaze fell on the coffee maker. He needed one of those drinks. However, the mugs were also stored in one of the upper kitchen cupboards.So he was back to the same problem there.

Suddenly he understood why cats liked to push things off counters. He was very tempted to do the same with a nearby vase; out of sheer frustration.

That was when the cloak – which so far had simply watched him; or whatever it was that it did, hovering in the middle of the room – came over to him and opened the cabinet Tony had failed to pry open.

The cat meowed a thanks.

Now, jumping up into the upper cabinets was complicated by the fact that the compartments down low were fully packed. Tony stood on his hind legs and stretched up again to analyze his options; but before he could even try to start something, the cloak had taken out the bag of toast and set it down next to Tony.

That gave Tony an idea and sure enough, after some trial and error in communication, Tony had a decent sandwich and coffee in front of him shortly afterwards.

Tony took back any quip he ever threw at the cloak; that thing was a saint.

He ate his sandwich with relish. The texture felt weird in his tiny mouth. It wasn’t really made for this kind of food. But it tasted passable enough that he wasn't bothered by it.

The Cloak of Levitation stayed at his side, fascinatedly studying him. With a corner of its fabric it petted the cat’s head, and this time Tony let it happen; only his ears flicked, irritated more by the gesture than the actual action.

He heard voices approaching. It was a conversation between two sorcerers who entered the kitchen and Tony looked up. He did know apprentices came to the Sanctum for their studies or to do whatever it was magic people did around here – so he wasn’t alarmed when he didn’t recognize their faces.

They, on the other hand, stopped right in their tracks when they saw a feline on the counter right in the middle of what seemed to be the Sorcerer Supreme’s lunch snack: open packets of cheese and ham, a glass of pickles and toast and butter.

The butter knife didn’t quite make it to the sink but was lying on the edge of the sink, turned so that the blade reached dangerously far over the edge of the counter and threatened to fall off at any moment.

They were also pretty sure coffee wasn’t supposed to be served in a cereal bowl.

Hovering next to all the chaos was the Cloak of Levitation, who did nothing to prevent the cat from eating food that wasn’t for felines.

“Hey!” One of the sorcerers shouted sharply, and that triggered something in Tony’s cat brain.

He froze for a second. Then he took what was left of the sandwich in his mouth and bolted. He jumped on the floor and zipped right through the sorcerer’s feet. They tried to catch him but Tony was way faster, dodging their grip.

He ran down the hallway and through an ajar door. The room was unoccupied by people; Tony went under the couch anyway. Only then did he stop and catch his breath.

His little heart was beating fast in his chest. It was a strange feeling: it hadn't been fear that had made him leave the kitchen. However, it still felt like a fight-or-flight reaction. He didn’t want anyone to come between him and his food.

It was very atypical of him – but then again, it was a weird day. So Tony let it slide.

He peaked from under the couch and found that no one had followed him. Not even the cloak, which was – honestly – a bummer. It had been very useful.

Tony turned around to continue his meal when he noticed a pair of eyes in the darkness back under the couch.

They glowed yellowish with an eerie intensity, piercing through the darkness. Focused on Tony they seemed to follow his every movement, every breath, every heartbeat. And they were way too large for any creature to fit under here.

The shadows clung to it like a shroud, an inky blackness that seemed to devour the faint light falling under the couch.

This wasn’t natural.

The hairs on the back of Tony's neck stood up and his instinct yelled: danger! He held back a hiss, but was ready to bunk off at the slightest sign of an attack.

The eyes didn’t come closer. They did glance at the rest of the sandwich though.

Cautiously, Tony stepped to the sandwich, not taking his eyes off whatever it was that lurked in the shadows. He pulled the top part of the bread off and pushed it towards the creature; the yellow eyes watching the movement. Then it opened its mouth and for a moment Tony saw sharp teeth and a long tongue.

Then the bread was gone and Tony heard a satisfied noise. The yellow eyes close and don’t open again. They were gone.

The shadows were still present.

Tony took the leftover sandwich and moved out from under the couch back into the light. The feeling of imminent danger was gone but he wasn’t taking any chances.

_______________________

It was already dark outside when Stephen leaned back and rolled his neck and shoulders. The research had taken him longer than anticipated, mostly because he was diligent and thorough.

“Tony,” he called over to the couch.

He got no reaction.

Maybe he had fallen asleep. Yet, when Stephen thought about it, he had never seen Tony be quiet for so long. Normally he was always talking, mumbling to himself, and sharing his thoughts half-aloud.

The sorcerer stood up and stepped around the couch. He saw the reason why it was so peaceful: the couch was empty; there was no cat in sight.

Stephen looked around. “Tony?”

Still, no answer.

“I swear to the Vishanti, if he walked through the wrong door and fell into a black hole, I will call pest control to get him out.”

He left the library and reached out mentally to the Sanctum to figure out where Tony was. He felt several presences in the building – not surprising, as apprentices often studied here. But all of them were gathered in groups; he couldn’t make out a single figure alone.

Worry spread through Stephen and he set off to search for Tony.

“Tony?”

_______________________

“Meow mreew.” [“Anyway, it has a base plate of pre-famulated amulite surmounted by a malleable logarithmic casing in such a way that the two spurving bearings were in a direct line with the panametric fan.”]

Tony elegantly dodged the hand that wanted to pet him. He didn’t want to be touched by someone he barely knew for an hour.

“I’m pretty sure it’s from another dimension,” one of the apprentices said about the cat that they had found in the Sanctum. “Maybe it came with Master Reese. He recently went to Ektra’vall. This cat is way too smart to be a regular feline.”

Tony turned his head towards the young man, who stared at him.

“He just winked at me!”

Tony laughed, which came out as some weird purring noise.

He had found this group of young wizards and their books in one of the study rooms. They probably should be doing some homework or whatever task they had been assigned. But as soon as they spotted the unfamiliar cat they had coaxed it onto the table.

Tony liked the attention, thrived under it even. He had lectured them about turbo encabulators; not that they understood a word he meowed. Still, they were delighted by the chatty cat and talked to him. The result was two different conversations going on.

At one point, one of the apprentices conjured a packet of string cheese out of thin air and fed it to the cat. Tony was pretty sure that Wong would get an aneurysm if he saw the food right next to the ancient-looking books – but that wasn’t Tony’s problem.

He was just a cat. It was liberating. There was no pressure; nobody knew it was him. There weren’t any expectations.

Tony humored the wizard kid who used a pen as bait for him to play. He pounced at the end of the pen with his paw. Being a cat helped his mind to stop running a mile a minute.

His ears perked up when he heard the door open and he spotted a speck of blue. Oh, this was going to be fun.

“Shouldn’t you work on your evocation studies?”

The apprentices hadn’t noticed the Sorcerer Supreme approaching and his voice caught them by surprise. They winced and turned towards him to bow respectfully.

“We are working on it,” the boy that had fed Tony pointed at the scripts. It didn’t help their case that a) he still had the string cheese in his hands and b) the tabby cat was sitting on one of the books, washing its face by licking its paw and preening his face.

The feline seemed unperturbed, like a regular cat. But Tony couldn’t fool Stephen.

“Really?” Stephen raised his eyebrow. “Because it rather looks like you all got distracted by Tony.”

The apprentices exchanged glances, throwing their attention at that piece of information.

“The cat’s name is Tony?”

“Is that short for Plutonium?”

“Will he stay longer at the Sanctum?”

They were all talking excitedly to each other.

Stephen tilted his head. His eyes met Tony’s, who looked way too smug. He was clearly enjoying the situation. Well, at least one of them had fun.

“The cat will not stay. Go back to your studies. I expect them by tonight.”

“Master Doctor Strange, it is already night.”

Huh, Stephen hadn’t noticed.

“Then you better hurry up. Tony, come with me. I have a few spells for you.”

Tony yawned before jumping off the table to follow the sorcerer, while one of the apprentices gasped quietly. “Dude, Plutonium is totally the Sorcerer Supreme’s new familiar pet.”

Tony turned back to him and made a displeased sound. He was no pet of anyone.

Holding his head and tail high, he walked at Stephen’s side. The tall sorcerer made big steps and Tony had to hurry to keep up.

He didn’t like that.

From this new perspective, Stephen was freakishly tall.

“Good to see you’re still a menace bothering people.” There was a smile on Stephen’s lips.

“Mrew miaow.” [“It’s called being bored. It’s not like there’s anything better to do around here.”]

Back in the library, the pile of books on Stephen's desk seemed to have grown even more. Tony jumped onto it. An easy task; he had perfect control of his body by now.

From the higher ground, he looked expectantly at the sorcerer.

“I did some research on the relic. Although it is stored in the Sanctum Sanctorum, it is occasionally used for teaching purposes in Kamar-Taj to demonstrate the fusion of different types of magic from several dimensions. Therefore it’s not surprising that it showed unprompted activity … anyway, you should be back to normal in no time.”

Stephen called upon his magic and used it to draw glowing lines into the air. It was a delicate pattern that formed into a sphere. When it was finished, Stephen let it fly over the cat and with a snap of his fingers it burst into golden sparks that rained down onto the feline.

Tony looked at it in awe. It was beautiful. He lifted his paw to catch a sparkle. It felt cool and melted into his fur, like a snowflake.

He still was a cat afterwards. Judging by Stephen's face, this was not the desired result. He looked distraught and tired. But it was gone in a second; then the determination was back.

“Maybe if I adjust the parameter.” The sorcerer reopened a book. “When you consider the magical volume... and that the relic may have stored traces of extradimensional magic…" Stephen mumbled further explanations to himself.

Tony didn’t even understand half of it. He watched and waited.

Stephen tried a new spell. And then another.

Sighing, he dropped into the chair and ran his hand through his hair, avoiding looking at the cat.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured. He wasn’t used to failure. “I will fix this. I promise.”

The ball of fur jumped onto his lap, letting out a high-pitched “Chirrup” to get his attention. Warm feline eyes met Stephen’s.

The sorcerer raised his hand to Tony and the cat headbutted it, prompting him to scratch the cat behind his ears. Contented, Tony leaned into the touch. He was purring soothingly as if he wanted to reassure Stephen everything was fine.

The sorcerer would have smiled at that sight if he wasn't so worried and disappointed in himself. He couldn’t let Tony down.

“I will go over everything one more time. Maybe I missed something.” That would be a first. Stephen was very accurate regarding research. He turned back to the books. Tony stayed on his lap, curled up.

_______________________

Stephen browsed every single script on the table but couldn’t find any mistakes. One of the spells should have worked.

He concluded that he needed more books. The answer was somewhere in the library. It always was.

Stephen stifled a yawn. Hours spent pouring over dense volumes had taken their toll, leaving his mind heavy and his eyes strained. His concentration had waned, and the words on the page blurred before his weary gaze.

But he had to pull through, for Tony’s sake.

Tony wasn’t a fan of magic. Understandably so. He had told Stephen about his encounter with the witch. Or at least parts of it.

Stephen was pretty sure he had downplayed it. From what he had heard, Stephen was still furious about the violation. What the witch had done to Tony was basically torture.

Tony only tolerated some magic because he liked Stephen. They took their relationship slow, step by step.

But now Stephen had screwed up and he wouldn’t be surprised if Tony hated him after this. Or at least wanted to take a break from the sorcerer and magic in general.

Stephen's eyes were unfocused in the distance, his thoughts drifting off. He didn’t realize it until something gently touched his beard.

When he looked down, he noticed Tony was watching him.

“Sorry,” Stephen muttered. “Go back to sleep.” He rolled his shoulders. The tension from the responsibility had settled in a knot between his shoulder blades that ached intensely. But it was no use; he had to pull himself together.

Tony tilted his head and then – as he came to a decision – he shook it. “Meow.”

“Not yet. But I’ll find the right spell.”

Apparently, that was not what Tony meant. He jumped off his lap and pawed at Stephen’s pants, motioning him to follow, meowing loudly.

"What is it?" Alarmed by the cat's sudden stubbornness, he followed him to the couch, where the engineer's clothes were still lying.

The cat hopped onto the cushions and patted them with his paw.

Stephen frowned, not sure if he understood correctly. “You want me to sit on it?”

“Mrew.”

“Why?”

Tony just stared at him and waited.

Stephen was too tired to argue and with a sigh he gave in. Tony was back in his lap as soon as the sorcerer sat down. He circled once to find a good spot before he moved into a perfect loaf, purring again.

Stephen petted the soft fur. “Now what?” he asked.

Tony blinked up at him with one eye.

“You want me to take a break?”

“Brrep.”

Stephen sighed again – this time because his body relaxed a bit. “Fine. Five minutes.”

It didn’t take a whole five minutes until the sorcerer's breathing became deep and even. His fingers moved slower and slower in Tony's fur until they finally stopped altogether; Stephen had fallen asleep.

Happy with that result, Tony closed his eyes as well.

_______________________

There was a noise on the other side of the couch that alerted Tony. He hadn’t heard anyone come in and decided to investigate.

He climbed onto the armrest and stared at the table Stephen had occupied. What he saw should have surprised him, but somehow it didn’t.

A ghost version of Stephen hovered in the air – cross-legged - browsing the books. The books seemed to be regular books and not ghost books; at least they weren’t transparent.

Ghost-Stephen turned a page and that had to be the noise that Tony had heard.

Tony knew about astral projecting; he had seen it before when Stephen's body looked like he had fallen asleep meditating. But he had never caught a glimpse of the sorcerer’s astral ghost version.

“Mreewp.” [“You know that’s called cheating.”]

Ghost-Stephen looked up, surprised, when he saw that Tony was addressing him. “You can see me?”

“Mroow.” [“I’m looking at you, ain’t I?”]

“Huh.” Stephen put his book down and floated over to the feline. “That’s interesting. We assumed cats to be able to perceive several planes, but we never had proof.”

“Groow mrem.” [“That’s great for you. Can we go back and focus on the problem at hand: getting me back?”]

“Yes, pardon.”

“Thank you, I-…” Tony stopped mid-sentence, staring at Stephen in that weird non-blinking way. “You understand what I’m saying?”

Stephen paused as well, realizing that – yes, he did. “It appears so. It must be because I’m currently in the astral dimension.”

“You mean ghost town?” Unimpressed, Tony jumped onto the floor and then walked over to the table with the books. There he first got on the chair and then onto the table. Truth be told, he was relieved to finally have a normal conversation. One where both sides knew what the other said.

“You’re still cheating on the taking a break part,” he remarked.

“Are you complaining I’m trying to find a solution to your problem?” Stephen floats around the table. He reached out to pet Tony and the cat leaned in the surprisingly solid touch.

“I didn’t say that,” he murmured. “Just pointing out a fact.”

“Mhm.” The sorcerer didn’t sound convinced. He continued to give back scratches all the way to that sweet spot right before the tail.

The cat got low but stretched his butt upwards. Purring louder than ever, he then flopped onto the side and was about to stick his belly out at Stephen when he realized what he was doing. Scowling, he pulled himself back up, ignoring Stephen's smug smile.

“That’s definitely some kind of cheating.”

“We had a lot of cats on the farm I grew up on.”

Stephen rarely talked about his childhood. Tony mostly knew the basics. Therefore he absorbed these kinds of snippets of information, adding them together like a big puzzle. There were still many gaps.

“More volunteers for your Hogwarts transmutation class?” He tried to dig deeper.

Stephen was quick to correct him. “You did not transmute. You shapeshifted.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Everything but the result. It’s a completely different course of action. You see, with shapeshifting a person shifts into a different living being. In most cases into a different species; although not always. While during a transmutation it changes the substance – regardless if it’s a living being or a objec-…” Stephen paused. His face told Tony an idea had struck him.

And he was right.

“Metamorphosis… I haven’t thought about metamorphosis. Normally, it wouldn’t be relevant, but since the source of magic lies in a relic, it’s actually quite possible.” He floated over to the shelves, looking for a specific book.

Tony stayed on the table, watching him. “Do you know how to reverse it?”

“Oh yes, it’s rather easy – if you know what you’re looking for. Ah, there it is…” Stephen thumbed through the book until he found what he was looking for. "Metamorphosis explains how you were able to have such good control over your new form straight away. Without any familiarization phase. And why there are some striking matching features between your forms.” Especially the facial hair and eye color.

Stephen returned to the desk.

“Whenever you’re ready.”

“I was ready five hours ago.”

Stephen’s face fell, sobered up, and the guilt was back. He mumbled another apology.

Tony felt awful for mentioning it; being a cat hadn’t been that bad. Even if it hadn't been voluntary.

Ghost-Stephen disappeared into thin air and a second later human-Stephen stood up. Some magic was safer to perform when he was on this plane.

He stepped to the cat, who was waiting for yet another attempt. Only this time, he actually felt something.

The magic wrapping around him was bright and he had to close his eyes for a second. It felt like he was stretching after sitting in the same pose for a long time. His joints were cracking like he had slept uncomfortably.

It didn’t hurt, rather it felt right.

Then it was gone and Tony opened his eyes. He was still sitting on the table, but now as a human again. The air suddenly felt more chilly.

Oh yeah, his clothes were still on the couch.

And Tony was naked as on the day he was born.

He noticed the dark blush spreading on Stephen’s face. They hadn’t reached that stage of their relationship yet, but Tony didn’t mind showing off. Plus, it was nice to know that his body still got that kind of reaction.

Stephen realized he was staring and cleared his throat, averting his eyes. “You should…” He trailed off, vaguely gesturing towards the pile of clothes.

Tony slid off the table. “Don’t play coy. This is what you get.”

His words made Stephen blush even more. Tony hadn’t taken his partner to be this shy. Somehow it was endearing.

He grabbed his pants. “Well, it’s good to be back.” He pulled his pants over his butt, when suddenly there was something in the way. Confused, he turned his head – and found a cat tail attached to him. Human-sized, very fluffy and in black and brown.

It twitched, nervously.

“Stephen…” He looked at the sorcerer, demanding answers.

“There might have been a slight mishap.” Stephen’s voice was hoarse and not in the slightest apologetic. He was back to watching Tony. Watching the top of his head in particular, Tony noticed.

With one hand still holding his pants in place, Tony reached up. He flinched when he touched fluffy ears. Feline ears.

Stephen licked his lips. He wasn’t blushing because he was shy. It was because he was very much turned on by the unexpected turn of events. But he didn’t dare to say anything since he wasn’t sure how Tony would react to yet another magic-caused alteration.

Only when he heard a chuckle escaping Tony’s lips, did the tension leave him.

Tony found the situation absurd. He had had a long day and honestly, he was just glad to have his thumbs back. “I hope you have some alternative clothes for me. Otherwise, I have to go naked from the waist down and possibly traumatize Wong for life.”

___________

Tony's secret code to identify himself to Jarvis: -y0u kn0w wh0 1 am-

[frozenjokes]

i continued being unable to sleep so i continued shoving as much of your writing into my brain as possible, by which i mean i just read alllll of the mumbomaid au pretty much at once and am being Normal about it

i love them all, i love all of them so much, i'm very invested in their shenanigans, i love how almost nobody understands gender and they all misunderstand it differently

i am ALSO aro in the "no i don't have feelings for anybody, yes i would date basically any of my friends" way and everything surrounding scar's aromanticism is so well done, i kept being soo exasperated with grian and the like. the incredibly allo misunderstanding of aromanticism, and not listening when scar and cleo try to tell him he doesn't get it, i have friends i've had almost those exact conversations with (but slightly less messy because of varyious factors including but not limited to Not Being Desert Duo, Thank Fuck) just ajfhdjdhjshdjfsk

also also i love textbook monsterfucker scar and i'm convinced bdubs thinks etho grew up in a cult or some shit (i'm throwing words at this ask box like spaghetti)

anyway uh. i'm probably gonna keep wanting to say words about your fics as i keep reading them and the ao3 comment section scares me so. i will probably be back, feel free to tell me to buzz off if this is not a preferred communication method

-guy that said mapleshade=p!scar (maplescar? scarpleshade? there's gotta be something here, did i mention the sleep deprivation sorry if this is all insane rambling lmao)

maplescar is a really cool tortie kitty name I like that a lot. maplescar would go crazy. ALSO PLEASE KEEP SAYING WORDS!!!!! say words FORWVER!!!! spam my ao3 comments and I will respond to them 9/10 ten times!!!!!!! I love talking I love when people talk to me THANK YOU!!!!!! you could send me an ask every single time you finish a chapter and I would kiss you on the lips each time but my followers might be killing you with hammers so. Pick your poison.

yeah my favorite part of mumbomaid is that no one knows what a gender is and they misunderstand in all different ways you put it 100% perfectly. I also find Grian to be frustrating but he’s also a vessel to explore More Feelings and in his defense a little outside of complicated aro/allo interactions scar is a bit of an asshole. They are both assholes. Two guys they Will have their cake and they Will eat it too and they are exploding because of it. I too thank god every day I am not desert duo I! hate them. Generally though I do not feel bitter about allo misunderstandings of aromanticism because I spent 21 years of my life also not understanding. Which. Is the fault of a normative society. However. It is deeply difficult to understand the internal experience of someone who functions differently than you on a chemical level. This is a bit of a tangent but my mom and I’s ability to communicate has been drastically improved by the acceptance that I am autistic. She sees me and we reflect on my life together and it makes Sense that the way I experience the world is Different so whenever we talk about something my mom doesn’t understand in relation to me her mind is so open because she knows my perception of the world is not the same as hers. neurodivergence isn’t entirely related to queerness but it has genuinely opened up so many doors for our communication. she goes aromantic? oh yeah that makes sense. I think she catalogs it with the autism which is correct because to me autism and Every Other Way I Experience The World is related. This is say I have a very amusing experience with one of my trans friends where he was like: …so you’ve never questioned your gender,,, like…. Ever..? and I said nope. and he like couldn’t believe me. He did obviously but it’s the idea that our experiences are so integral to the people we are that it’s extremely difficult to imagine it any other way. can you tell I’m a psych major yet. what was I talking about.

I haven’t thought of exactly what bdubs thinks about etho’s past but it’s probably something like that. Deep down, it doesn’t really matter. Bdubs just wants to protect him. He’s so worried, but he just wants etho to feel safe.

lightly suggestive under the cut bc I talk about the monster fucking a little bit and I don’t know your age/if my elaboration is unwarranted I’m just talking. I’m here for a silly time not a sexy one.

monsterfucker scar is dear to me. extremely important. Grian will never be able to do to him the, frankly, deranged things he fantasizes about. they can try but the mood is going to be ruined when scar is like :( your tentacle dick isn’t real. and Grian is going to sigh with his dumbfuck strap and the blue curtains and lights they hung up to make it look like they were underwater. Their entire experience in the bedroom is going to be a series of extremely comedic extremely unfortunate events to make up for the fact that scar is never getting any fish pussy 😔 scar will be put off the mood because Grian just isn’t Convicning enough like COME ON if I don’t believe I’m going to die THEN what’s THE POINT??????? their home life is just increasingly deranged. grian has accepted that he will never be able to compete with the horrors of the ocean and you may think that’s a ‘but he’s still a little jealous though..’ but he’s not. He’s accepted it. Full acceptance. The kind of worn down you get from fishing for a mending book for weeks on end but without the agony and more just. Amused. goodtimeswithscar is going to die young and by drowning but you’d better believe he’ll do it in ecstasy.

[mlbigbang]

2022 Marichat Fic Rec List

It's the end of the year which means it's finally time for the ML Big Bang's yearly fic rec lists! We're really excited to bring you our contributors' favourite fics from this year to supply you with plenty of reading material while you're waiting for the Big Bang fics' publication in January.

Asking the important questions by @ultrakart 1,397 words, General, 1/1 chapter

After having returned home from Shanghai, Marinette and Chat Noir have some important questions for each other.

"Platonic Marichat shenanigans, resoundingly reminiscent of canon in the absolute best way."

final girl by @picayunearts 41,310 words, Teen, 10/10 chapters

Marinette has ninety-nine problems, and the superhero trio of Paris counts for a hundred. [AU where Marinette follows through on giving up her earrings after Stoneheart, but becomes the Guardian to protect her replacement.]

"This one floored me. Characterization is on point. I love the premise of Marinette giving up the miraculous and being guardian. Wonderfully executed in my opinion. And the writing. THE WRITING. :chefskiss:"

"Another amazing au. I love the take on "Marinette gives up on being Ladybug" and teh way it's written is chef's kiss."

Everything's Not Fine by @flightfoot 976 words, Teen, 1/1 chapter

"Why’s mother down here? What- what is this?” “Still committing to the bit?” Gabriel snorted. “Really now, I thought you were smarter than that. Adrien was compelled to obey the order Nathalie gave via his amok - you would not have been.” “My WHAT?!” -------------- After the events of Risk, Adrien makes his way down to his father's secret lair. Gabriel catches him. Unfortunately, he cares even less about Felix than he does about Adrien.

"An alternative follow-up to 'Strike Back' that packs twist after twist after twist into a very short space, leaving you a little breathless as you read it and sorry that it didn't happen this way in the show."

The Dating App by leadernovaandthemacabre 14,960 words, Teen, 1/1 chapter

Chat Noir and Marinette cross paths on Paris’ newest dating app and keep crossing paths until secrets slip. - [MDC]: why are you here [OfficialChatNoir]: we matched! shall we go out for sweethearts ice cream? [MDC]: i’m blocking you [OfficialChatNoir]: wait wait marinette wait *[MDC] has blocked you*

"I loved the bonding between these too and how naturally everything flowed and how open they became with each other and aaaaa"

NSFW works

Patient is the night by @mostlymoony 72,243 words, Mature, 31/31 chapters

Beware the Cat Knight, he demands a price For this fallen prince, gold shall not suffice Fear the Cat Knight, as he trades life for life Cry pretty girls, for the cat needs a wife. When Marinette's small farming town is attacked by Hawkmoth's army of night creatures, Marinette rides for the dread Butterfly Castle, seeking aid from the mysterious Black Cat Knight and his band of masked fighters. She's determined to save her town, even if that means handing herself over to a strange man with wild, green eyes and a penchant for cat-related puns. There will be smut, and this is my first time writing smut. I'm so sorry.

"Such a good gothic romance/fairy tale vibe to it and I just found the plot/progression very enjoyable. The magic and world building is unique and vague enough to make it important but not overwhelming. They also made some great artwork for it!"

Pink Really is Your Color by @inkmousey 2,811 words, Explicit, 1/1 chapter

Marinette really hates that dumb Cat. Until he's pressing her against a wall and making her forget Adrien Agreste ever existed.

"It's amazing!!! So very amazing and it has a great dynamic that's great for Marichat!"

I’d Never Forget About You by @inkmousey 3,400 words, Explicit, 1/1 chapter

Adrien thinks everyone forgot about him on his birthday, and by everyone— he means the only person who ever remembers it anyway, Marinette.

"MariBlanc is such an interesting pairing and the fic handles them so amazingly!!!"

[habken]

🥲 I love your art and vibe in general , I was wondering if your ao3 bookmarks are public??? I just feel like you have some BANGER fics to browse through

Thank you ! This is embarrassing lmao I read a lot of fics and I think a have almost 500 public bookmarks 😭 my username on there is just habs if you wanted to browse them, a huge chunk of them are quirk accident stuff

my personal recommendations:

si vis pacem by athenoot - 70k incomplete - john wick reincarnates as deku, it’s so good and also a Very Funny concept to me

the dispatcher by bovie - 18k incomplete - deku’s like a semi omnipent god and also ten years old and also works as a dispathcer for underground heroes! The dedication the author has put into the fic is insane there’s so many maps, the disaster management and just everything is so well thought out and researched it’s honestly really impressive

permanent ink by maxine - 117k complete - it’s a bkdk soulmate fic, you get words on your arm at a certain age, something that your soulmate has said to you that’s important. Bakugou knows it’s deku but doesn’t know how to tell him. It’s bkdk but it also lowkey really made me like bakukami too

vacation by literalpieceoftrash - 10k incomplete - the last update was Awhile ago but I recommend it wholeheartedly anyways. Basically planes trains and automobiles except all for one accidentally kidnaps deku when he steals inko’s rental car and so all might (posing as a civilian) and her are trying to get deku back, and everyone is collectively trying to make their way across the country to get to california for the hero convention (to top it off, it’s also dad for one) 10/10

seeping through by ashenice - 6k complete - I love fics with the one for all holders so much, anything with the quirk haunted tag I will gobble up and this one is super funny. Summary is deku starts developing traits/skills from the past users starting with a shellfish allergy

the fine line (between you and me) by azureflowers - 50k complete - bkdk sharing a body I love bodyswap shenanigans so much and this one was so fun to read ! Little angst, little goofy, deku’s body technically kicks it but,,, it’s fine

cat’s paws on calm water by floating cow - 19k complete - pro hero!deku goes back in time to stop villains from attacking his class, tries to do so wothout being found out but it doesn’t fully go as planned. One of my favourite time travel fics ! I’ve reread it at least once I like it a whole bunch

a bunny and her son by wonhaebunny - 2k complete - this one is topical because of the bunny bakugou stuff I drew, but bakugou’s a big miruko stan and doesn’t know how to act when he meets her it’s just very cute and sweet and deku’s a little shit <3

gingerbread cookies by necroesthe - 14k complete - I originally read this when I was looking for peanut allergy!deku stuff and it’s so sweet I love it a lot. It’s shindeku and summary is deku get too many cavities so his mom (and everyone in 1a) bans him from eating sweets, he finds shinsou making cookies and decides to kick it with him during lunches

[meetinginsamarra]

Fanfics I really liked in August 2023

So. Since I keep a list of what I´ve read anyway (there´s always a list), I will rec all the fics I´ve wholly enjoyed on a monthly basis. Old and new, canon or AU, big or small authors, long or short but nearly always Johnlock (-ish).

The Traveller by Calais_Reno @calaisreno

Sherlock works for the ministery as a time traveller in oder to prevent an apocalyptic event happening. But his adversary is a traveller too and when timelines begin to change and mingle one John Watson enters the game.

Great idea and impressive writing!! Everything and every timeline is coherent and guessing how it will evolve (and being proved wrong, LOL) has been a lot of fun and intrigue.

Last Words by PrettyArbitrary  and Final Hours by bendingsignpost

“You should die faster,” Sherlock recommends. “We’d both be better off.” Even as a ghost Sherlock remained an obnoxious dick. Very delightful and without angst. Two companion pieces.

The Master of Latham Hall by Kryptaria @kryptaria

A re-read. Awesome ghost story and casefic mix which is very suspenseful. Also, while the story unfolds, parallels between the past and present begin to appear which will lead to much appreciated conclusions.

A Rock, An Island by stopthat

It's that fateful moment in Bart's lab when Sherlock tries to get rid of John via claiming Mrs Hudson is in danger. But this time John notices something's off and things go very differently compared to BBC canon. Thankfully.

Ever the Strange Case by DAngeles @dangeles

A XO fic where Sherlock and John stumble into the multiverse and meet Dr. Strange and Mr. Ross. Shenanigans ensue. So much sassy funny and on point in character dialogue between them. Great!

Fallen series by mamishka 3 fics @the-mamishka

The series follows canon episodes 1-3 closely. However, Sherlock is a fallen angel and a lot of the other characters are supernatural beings as well which gives the storyline a new twist.

[odyssean-flower]

i think what i love so much about your fic is how you made reader a normal person. just a normal person. she is the most relatable y/n I’ve ever come across in all my years of reading fanfiction. she’s not beautiful, she’s not special, she doesn’t have your average cliché tragic backstory, she tends to come off as abrasive to her peers more often than not—it’s brilliant. she’s just your average woman who really means no harm, doesn’t have any big aspirations and knows her place in life. she knows she’s better off than most but she’s still riddled with insecurities. i think that’s what resonates with me most about your mc. im not beautiful, im not special, i also tend to come off wrong to people during first impressions—and then you connect that person with someone like neuvillette? kind, thoughtful, unbiased, untainted, tender, empathetic neuvillette? gosh you’re an actual genius. you and your writing, author, is exactly what fiction, as a whole, needs more of. more characters that are just people. normal people. normalcy. it’s a beautiful thing, really. something painfully underappreciated. it’s getting tiring seeing every female lead be this gorgeous woman who’s “the chosen one” or something and can do everything and everyone falls at her feet, particularly the men. it’s so unrealistic and tedious and, most of all, impossible to relate with for most people. your mc is the exact opposite of a that and it’s such a breath of fresh air. im sorry for rambling but 😭 i could go on for days why your mc is literal perfection, but i’ll leave it at this!! i love you and your work very much <3 never stop writing and i hope every blessing in the world comes your way 🫶

omg im so happy that you like my mc! sometimes i worry that she's a bit too developed to be a y/n haha

yeah i always intended to write a fic where neuvillette gets with an ordinary person, partly because i didn't really feel like making up an elaborate backstory or powers, and partly because i thought it'd be an interesting thing to write about. now I'm not saying there's anything wrong with overpowered mcs who are the center of the universe--far from it. fanfiction is inherently self-indulgent after all and i think everyone should write what they want. but maybe it's because i grew up on YA novels featuring chosen ones that I'm starting to prefer more ordinary protagonists as i get older haha. i said this before but a lot of my fic is inspired by jane eyre, one of my favorite books.

anyways there's still a lot of obstacles that come with writing an ordinary mc with no powers or mysterious backstory as you can see haha, like coming up with stuff to further the plot and romance, since there's no real reason she would get involved in dangerous shenanigans lol

[thegrimreaperisanerd]

hi :) binge read your de fic that you have posted on ao3 last night and really enjoyed all of it! excited to see any updates. was wondering if you have any rec for other fic youve read and enjoyed-- i am not god's bravest soldier and do not enjoy trudging through tags and was wondering if you had read anything yourself that you really enjoyed lolol

Hey, thanks so much!!! Sorry it's taken a couple days to answer this, I'm poor as shit and have two jobs now wah... capitilism...

I'm working on the next 46' chapter, It's about 70% complete and I generally let it sit for an evening once it's done then re-read it the next day to catch the vast majority of mistakes (I edit everything myself) so I'd say expect that in the coming days.

I have some thoughts! I... Have never been asked for fic recs before so I'm gonna list a bunch in no particular order that I enjoyed, and reasons why. I will note that I tend to enjoy meaty plot-based works over fluff, so that's what I'll be recommending. Anyway!

Paddling Out (THE REPEATER CORPSE CONUNDRUM) - @transhitman - So this is the first DE fic I read and it set the bar pretty fucking high. YOU'VE GOT: a very cool and insular setting (don't get me wrong I like fics where they travel around Revachol too, but there's something to be said for building a set and living in it for a while) YOU'VE GOT: extremely harrowing tension and pale-fuckery YOU'VE GOT: some genuinely beautiful, heartfelt moments (I don't want to spoil anything but "people don't need your permission to care about you" kinda undid me) YOU'VE ALSO GOT: Amazing art?! Always a bonus, I wish I could draw people lol

Have You Heard The News That You're Dead? - Wizardlover - Time Loop shenanigans hell yeah! Basic premise: Kim is *unable* to save Harry's life after he's shot at the tribunal, each time he dies he Reawakens in Martinaise on the first day and desperately has to try and find a way to either prevent the Tribunal entirely, or survive it. I think the major draw to this one is how well it's characterised and how well that lends to the major source of tension: trying to convince THE WORLD'S BIGGEST SKEPTIC that you *a man he 'has only just met'* is actually stuck in a time loop. Juicy shit.

The Case Of The Man Who Two-Thirds Wasn't There - @glisteningceruleaneyes - We got another case fic here, gang. This is one of those "they travel around Revachol" numbers I previously mentioned. A lot to love about this fic; the minor OCs are all loveable (or at least well-written, looking at you Mr. Bigot-All-Rounder), the elements of writing in the game's style (particularly use of Harry's 'to do' list that you find in the ledger, you don't see that as often!) are all fantastic. Also without spoiling too much I'm a sucker for hurt/ comfort :) I like when bad things happen to our specialist guy :) ALSO! alternating chapters, Kim vs Harry's perspectives contrast REALLY well! Just a super enjoyable read. - On that note I also wanna include a special mention: there's a podfic for this one and since I mentioned my two jobs, I've been listening to audiobooks at work (I'm a cleaner. It's very boring) and that was a fun change of pace!

The Emergent Causeway - hal_incandenza - Now you KNOW this one is good because it's the only *unfinished* fic I'm recommending. Again, We've got art! We've got a brand new (non-Revachol!) setting that still feels excellently Elysium! We got that excellent balance of humour and misery from the get go! EXCELLENT murder mystery so far, I am intrigued AND also there's a fucking puppy. Hell yeah. This one's from Kim's perspective and does a really good job of it, nothing like a man being begrudgingly sent on holiday and being somewhat relieved to have a corpse to deal with.

A Spilled Kaleidoscope - @spilledkaleidoscope - I'm actually recommending a series here. Real definition of "came for the art, stayed for the writing" I mostly have a soft spot because I got to watch a few "haha, what if-?" musing text posts become a series of written chapters and INCREDIBLE DRAWINGS HOLY SHIT. Like, you really just draw hands for fun, huh? This person made a pact with some sort of devil beasts to draw hands very good, at the bare minimum we can read their fiction.

Nothing To Lose But Our Chains - Lepak - I almost forgot this one and I honestly can't believe it because this is one of these ones that you need a cigarette afterwards. Good fucking god. This is probably the best fic I've ever read in terms of not shying away from the heavy themes that make Disco Elysium such a beautiful, moving game. It tackles a racism in many forms, particularly how people like Kim (in working for the RCM) and immigration laws do their part in upholding racist systems, despite the way it hurts him too. Of course, it's also excellently written with tense scenes and some real funny moments. A real good'un here.

The Catacomb Killer - SupposedToBeWriting - Give Harry more memory loss. Make him convinced he killed a kid. Make *Kim* convinced he killed a kid... Then the plot thickens. I won't lie I can't remember fuck all about this one because I was mostly drunk when I read it, but if it was good enough that I kept reading instead of smoking a spliff or something then it must have been excellent... I will re-read it when I have the time, lmao.

MURDER ON THE AIRWAVES - @randomisedmongoose - I'm just a really big fan of murder mysteries and gore. You show me somebody with brain matter pouring from their earholes and I'm like "yum yum, more of that please." I am a sucker for curious methods of murder and this one's good for that. Lots of trekking back and forth like in the game again. More ACAB - always good.

I did not mean to include this many...........................

Oh well. Here's my list, there are plenty of others I've enjoyed but these are just the ones that came to mind! Thanks again for reading my fic! Always makes me happy when people let me know they enjoy my writing :3

[floofymeow]

so close to finishing this madatowa fic!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cbcjdjdjskzkzfueies ssjjsjssms

Sitting here like thinking about omegaverse madatowa like guys. I need people to understand this is my Roman Empire. Or rather, how like madatowa fic ideas are my Roman Empire in general. Like I swear these are 1000x for me than anyone else but like im so excited for ppl to read them regardless!!!!!!! If I can write them…… fast….. enough….

It takes everything in me to not just tack on omegaverse onto every madatowa fic from now on btw like im kinda addicted .

Ok anyways tumblr void hear me out here’s like some of them if ur interested lolol

1) madatowa mmorpg fic feat. Friends with benefits, very brief not knowing they are each other in game, and lax modern slice of life au w/o takasato-gumi, phone shenanigans and also on the more mild side

2) madatowa haircut angst short oneshot fic feat. literally just angsty fanon(IM PROJECTING IM LITERALLY PROJECGING) in between of like Towa growing out and cutting off all his bleached hair bc it reminds him of Madarame (END ME )

3) madatowa short oneshot that would just be me once again projecting over how I think they would have met or maybe like what their day to day life was together in the takasato-gumi

4) madatowa seven deadly sins fic which you have to like hear me out; towa is sloth and Madarame is greed and they kinda embody their sin in an alternate world where theyre known for it -> absolutely diabolical in terms of smut content

5) madatowa model towa x new body guard hire au -> so much like reverse power dynamic jgjfdjs gjgjjdssss I literally daydream im like,,, wow,,,,,, towa as a model? He would be a model *swoons*

6) madatowa aquarium au -> THIS ONE IS LIKE. I THINK ABOUT IT SO MUCH. like literally they are just coworkers and it’s once again non takasato-gumi au where Madarame just like—ghosts him post car crash where he loses his eye AND ALSO THEY HAVE THE WILDEST AQUARIUM SEX EVER. Also Madarame would love the penguins whilst towa is big on the jelly fish and the sea plants. And also all the main charas work there with supporting cast coming to visit as guests hshffhjgkssigrieewssss

ok that’s it bye gonna go write <3