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ancha-aus · 2 days ago

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Bitty Surprise - Chapter 3 - Pov Nightmare

It is Sunday! and that means the weekly chapter update! We are back with the bitties <3

Third Chapter!

First Chapter: [Here] AO3 link: [Here]

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Nightmare chuckles as he looks at the list Cross and Killer gave him.

Cross rubs his hands together as he stands by the exit “And remember slow movements. We have only just managed to get him to agree to some soft pets after all these weeks. And first the fruit! Only after he ate some fruit some cookies. And make sure to leave double the amount so he can put some aside for his friend and-”

Nightmare puts a hand on Cross’s shoulder and he immediately stops. Nightmare gives him a reassuring smile “I know Cross. I have helped set up the routine remember? And this is not the first time I visit him.”

Almost two months had passed and they had settled into a nice rhythm. Throughout the week Cross and Killer would manage to visit Axe, they had managed to come to an agreement for the nickname after about two weeks, at least once or twice a day. Sometimes the two go together and they then spend quite some time in the shop. Some days they can only manage a short visit. Other days they can’t go together and then one goes in the morning and the other near the end of the afternoon.

Nightmare wishes he could spend more time with their bitty but he has his work to help the balance still, not to forget his responsibilities for the universes he rules. Through ruling is a bit of an overstatement as he mainly just owns the property. Either way, usually the balance doesn’t need a lot of maintenance. Normally it goes well but some days it shifts into either direction. It helps that Dream is now also actually alert and aware and helps with the balance.

Even if Nightmare wishes Dream would stop looking at him with only regret in his soul. Even if he wishes Dream would just be willing to see his side instead of just believing himself to be correct as he is trying to increase positivity.

Well it isn’t something he can fix. Dream won’t ever be able to accept that this is who Nightmare is now and not that he is just some corruption from the apples. Nightmare has peace with it…

It doesn’t matter.

What matters now is his new… family. Cross and Killer are his family now and he is happy they decided to stay with him. Nightmare is honestly not sure what he would do with himself if they decided to leave.

Yes he knows it is slightly sad how dependent he is on the two but neither seem to mind and both seem to actually enjoy living with him.

But he is getting off topic. Today is an unusual day as it is Nightmare will be the one who visits the store alone. Nightmare had finished all of his work earlier this week and Cross and Killer had agreed to do the maintenance for their tenants. All just to enable Nightmare to spend some quality time with their bitty on his own.

He truly appreciates both of them more than he can express correctly into words.

Which means that today it will just be Nightmare and Axe. Nightmare is actually looking forwards to it. He has packed the food for Axe and a good book for himself.

He is going to spend some time interacting with the bitty and when it seems like Axe is done Nightmare will go to the park to read until it is late enough to try again with Axe.

Killer pulls on Cross’s arm “We are going to be late. It is fine. Boss got this, he kept us both alive after all.”

Cross blushes and sputters before shooting Killer a glare.

Nightmare chuckles “Have fun on your mission.” Then as an afterthought “If you find any interesting books please take them along.”

Killer grins brightly “Got it boss!” and he pulls Cross with him “Say hi to Axe for us! And tell us what he thought about the present!” and Killer tugs on Cross’s arm.

Cross huffs as he takes out his blade. He shoots Nightmare one more look but visibly relaxes when Nightmare nods at him. Cross makes a slice in the air and a portal opens. Nightmare watches them go through together and the portal mends itself shut again.

The castle is immediately too quiet.

Nightmare quickly grabs the bag he had prepared; holding the food, presents and his book, and leaves himself.

Nightmare arrives early in the neutral universe and he takes a breathe of relieve. Isolation isn’t as tempting and reassuring as it used to be.

It is very early still but Nightmare doesn’t mind. He quickly finds the same bakery as before and enters it. A quick conversation later and he managed to place an order for some fresh cinnamon rolls for Killer and some of those cube croissants for Cross. All of which Nightmare will be able to pick up later on his way home. Nightmare also takes a fresh assortment of macarons, he has taken an liking to them himself and Axe seems to enjoy them.

Nightmare is rather picky about his food. He does not enjoy the activity of chewing and most textures. These work as they are rather light but have strong flavours for him to enjoy.

With that done he makes his way to the park to read the first chapter of his book. It is an interesting tale about someone having lost their memories and going on a mission to retrieve them. Nightmare reads for some time until the sun has risen far enough to imply the store would be open.

Nightmare packs up his book and makes his way to where Axe lives. He hopes all has been going well for the bitty. There have been people in the store before that said rude things about the tall bitty and his wounds.

Nightmare can admit he is curious himself but aside from the first time that Axe pointed to the wound he hasn’t referred to it again. So none of them had mentioned it either. Nightmare knows how annoying the questions about his tendrils get and won’t subject Axe to similar questions. He will tell them when he wants to and that is fine.

He gets to the bitty store and opens the front door.

Lambert, the child of the store’s owner and future owner, looks up from a list they are making. They smile brightly at Nightmare “Nightmare! It is great to see you again!” a curious look over his shoulder before their emotions turn hopeful “You… are alone today?”

Nightmare nods “Indeed I am. I was hoping to spend more time with Axe. I brought a few things we thought he might like.”

Lambert smiles brightly as they lay their list to the side and rush to his side “Of course! Honestly I am so surprised with how quickly you are bonding with him.” they walk towards the right cage together “It is amazing to see!” Lambert plays a bit with their wool as they keep glancing at Nightmare.

Nightmare still isn’t used to having others be… happy to see him. Much less the very specific interest Lambert feels near him. Nightmare tries not to encourage it, he isn’t interested in such things… At least not from Lambert.

They get to the right cage and Nightmare feels himself smile “Hello again Axe.”

Axe sits in his usual spot near the window but does fully turn around, still sitting cross legged as he stares at Nightmare. A small smile starts to grace his face but then Axe sees Lambert and Nightmare feels the familiar annoyance and irritations return.

Nightmare turns to Lambert “I got it from here, I wouldn’t want to keep you from your work. If I have any questions I know where to find you.”

Lambert stares before blushing and smiling “Of course! Yes! Obviously!” they wait a moment longer before pointing over their shoulder “I should… do my job… have fun!” they smile brightly at Axe “Have a good day and be good little guy!” and Lambert leaves.

Nightmare turns back to Axe and chuckles at the insulted look he aims at Lambert. “Do they still annoy you?”

Axe focusses on him and takes a moment before shrugging as he looks down. He is holding a small piece of very soft wood and an even smaller needle of some kind.

Nightmare pulls over the barstool they had moved into this corner and sits on it, it makes sure he is still on eye level with Axe but now he doesn’t have to stand “What are you doing?”

Axe blinks up and raises his two hands. Showing the wood and needle, or is it a very tiny knife? Nightmare studies it. It seems parts have been carved away, interesting.

Nightmare nods as he focuses on Axe “Are you wood carving?” Axe nods and Nightmare smiles “A present of your friend? Renegade?”

Renegade had been a name that Killer thought of for Axe’s mysterious partner in crime, as Cross called him. None of them had actually seen the second bitty but tiny presents kept being exchanged between the two and all the food was being eaten so they knew the other bitty was visiting. They had decided on the name Renegade because this bitty was someone wild and rejected the way things used to be for bitties. Or that is how Killer had explained it. Axe hadn’t shown any objection to the nickname for his bonded and so they kept it up.

Axe shoots him a look at his question but nods.

Nightmare smiles “That is very thoughtful of you. What are you making at the moment?”

Axe feels unsure and embarrassed for some reason but eventually pulls over an old looking cut out of a bunny. And now that Nightmare can see the reference he can see the ears starting to take shape. Nightmare nods and tells Axe as much.

Axe looks away and a tiny blush appears at the comment.

Nightmare frowns “Did no one compliment your carvings before?” the movement is practised and skilled. There is no way that Axe hasn’t done carvings before.

Axe shrugs and points to the window. Meaning that Renegade did.

Nightmare smiles “Well, I am sure that with Renegade liking them that is all the proof necessary to prove they are good.”

Axe dugs his skull even more and more embarrassment fills the air.

Nightmare can’t help but chuckle as he turns to his bag and searches it “Talking about you, your friend and presents.” He pulls out two tiny presents. Carefully packed by Cross. He turns back towards Axe. He raises his hand towards the cage opening and pauses “May I?”

Axe looks curious at the packages before nodding. Nightmare slowly opens the cage and lowers the two presents inside. Once the packages are down he returns his hand. He doesn’t lock the cage again as he is still planning on giving food and snacks later.

Axe keeps a careful eye on him until his hand is all the way back by his side before he rises to his feet and walks over to the two presents. Axe frowns at the packages before looking back up at Nightmare.

Nightmare smiles “The one with the red ribbon is yours. The one with blue is for Renegade but we all understand if you want to check his present beforehand.”

Axe frowns but grabs Renegade’s present first and opens it carefully. Taking great care to not rip the paper or the ribbon. He folds away the paper and sliders open the matchbox they had used to conceal the present.

Axe stares in shock as he pulls out the bright blue hoody. And afterwards some pants and a warm red scarf.

Nightmare makes sure to keep his voice quiet as he speaks “We weren’t sure what size your friend is so we went for the standard size. If it is too small please tell us so we can switch it. We also figured Renegade would like some clean clothes with him roughing it up outside.”

Axe rubs the soft cotton carefully before folding it back into the matchbox and closing it, after which he takes the time to fold the packing paper back around the present and tying the ribbon again. It isn’t the same quality as it was before but it is still damn good.

Axe stares for a long time at the present. He feels confused and Nightmare is unsure about what exactly. Axe then turns to the his own present and opens it. Again with the same careful and controlled movements.

It is strange to see someone this tiny move with the care that Axe is, as if he is afraid of breaking something.

Axe finishes unpacking his present and retrieves the outfit they had picked out for him. Nightmare had notices the Axe always wore the same dirty shirt. They wanted to give him a comfortable, warm and clean outfit. Something nice to wear.

They didn’t go for anything too complex or restricting. The jacket they picked for Axe is a neutral blue, matching with the one for Renegade but instead it was filled with pure white fluff to isolate the material and keep him warm.

Nightmare knows that a headwound messes with one’s ability to regulate their warmth and with it becoming autumn they just want to make sure Axe is warm.

Axe studies the new outfit before quickly disappearing into this small hideout. Nightmare watches him disappear inside before he turns to the food he brought along.

Nightmare takes out the cut strawberries and bananas. He takes care to carefully open the cage and leaves the offering inside before removing his hand. Best to give it now before Axe returns, this way Nightmare won’t stress him with moving his hand into Axe’s space again.

Axe returns wearing the new clothes and Nightmare smiles “It fits you very well, you are a very handsome bitty.”

Axe blushes again and hides his skull in his little hood now.

Nightmare chuckles “I am happy you like it. I brought strawberries and banana today. I also brought some macarons but only after your fruits.”

Axe pulls a face and rolls his eyes. Familiar annoyance but he walks over towards the food and starts to eat, only after he carefully separated the offering into two different portions.

Nightmare watches him for a moment and Axe just ignores him. Nightmare waits until Axe is finished before asking a question that has been nagging him “Does Renegade not find enough food outside?”

Axe pauses before shooting him a frown. He shakes his skull before tilting it. Clearly confused.

Nightmare frowns “It is just. You always make sure to have a portion for him ready. I was wondering if that was because you thought he wasn’t eating enough or afraid he didn’t get enough.”

Axe frowns as he looks down at the food he prepared. Then he shrugs. Probably unable or unwilling to answer the complex answer.

Nightmare watches him for a moment before smiling “It isn’t bad in anyway of course. It is sweet you try and help him and take care of him. I am sure he appreciates your efforts a lot. I was just worried myself, that is all.” he doesn’t want to accidentally make Axe doubts his actions.

Axe waits a moment before nodding again. Afterwards he gets up and starts moving the dish with fruits over to the window spot along with the present for Renegade.

Nightmare watches him work for a moment before pulling out his book and picking up his reading again. It is nice to just have someone living and moving nearby as he reads. It is why he loves having the other skeletons in the castle as he works.

Makes him feel less alone.

A small tap on the bars and Nightmare looks over to see Axe right by his side. Axe notices he has his attention and points at the book. Nightmare blinks as he looks at it “It is a new book I started. I am still early in the story. It is about a person who lost all their memories and is on a journey to reclaim them and learn who they were. They have found another person to travel with who is looking for history on a tragedy that happened to their hometown. They are now traveling towards a mysterious labyrinth that is supposed to hold the answers.”

Axe looks considered and nods before looking away.

Nightmare frowns “If you want to, you can read along.”

Axe looks up, thinks for a moment before nodding. The next move surprises Nightmare as Axe just scales the side of the cage and uses just arm strength to get to the cage opening. He hangs on one hand and arm and pushes his hand between the bars and unlocks the small locking mechanism from the inside before holding the bar with both hands. Next he swings back and forth and just kicks the door open and afterwards he swings himself through the hole and climbs out.

Axe stands next to Nightmare, on the outside of his own cage, looking at him and waiting.

Nightmare blinks “I… I didn’t realise you could do that.”

Axe blinks and looks back at the open cage before shrugging. He takes a few steps over and sits on the side of his cage, his little legs hanging off the side of it before looking curiously at the book and back at him. Just waiting.

Nightmare changes the hold on the book a bunch and waits until he gets some kind of sigh that Axe is comfortable reading. Nightmare ends up getting a thumbs up.

The two of them read like this for a while. Nightmare taking a long time before turning each page as Axe just gives a thumbs up each time he is done reading. Axe is a slow reader but Nightmare isn’t surprised. He doubts the bitty gets a lot of chances to read things as books are slightly too big to just have in his containment. Maybe Nightmare can get some kind of small reading tablet for the bitty. Make it easier for him to read in peace.

Nightmare makes a mental note of it.

It is nice-

“Oh no! Wait! No!” Lambert rushes over and grabs Axe. Axe hisses and immediately bites which Lambert ignores as they place Axe back into the cage and locks the mechanism.

Nightmare frowns “What was that for? He was comfortable.” He places the book to the side and looks Axe over.

Axe just sits on the ground of his cage looking very annoyed as he glares at the ram monster. He feels unhappy and annoyed but luckily he seems unharmed.

Nightmare glares at Lambert “What was that for?”

Lambert looks up and rubs their hands “It is just Bitey- sorry sorry Axe tends to scare some of the other bitties if he is out and about. Not to forget that he very quickly gets a headache if he strains his eye too much and that happens with reading. It is better if he just… doesn’t you know?”

Nightmare frowns and he feels disappointment and more frustration from Axe. Nightmare tilts his skull and makes sure to look unimpressed “I hardly see the issue. Axe is very capable and seemed to enjoy the light reading we had been doing. He was also still on his cage and not anywhere closer to the other bitties than he has been.” A glance confirms that Axe looks up hopefully at him.

Lambert frowns as they look over before rubbing their hands “It is just… okay. I think I need to share a few details about Axe.”

Axe freezes and glares at Lambert. Very very unhappy.

Lambert doesn’t seem to notice “It is… about his skull situation.”

Nightmare frowns “It seems rude to talk about someone else’s health. If Axe wishes to share what happened to him he can share it when he is ready. I am not in a hurry to learn.” He is not going to betray the fragile trust he, Killer and Cross had been building with Axe.

Lambert looks apologetic “Sorry but… well… my dad said you kind of have to know so… if you can just come with me please?” they rub their hands “I figured it could wait a bit longer but if you are going to remove him from his cage you need to know.”

Nightmare thinks about telling Lambert about the fact that Axe can get himself out but thinks better of it. If Lambert doesn’t know that it may be because Axe doesn’t let them know.

Nightmare looks over at Axe “I am sorry, I will be back real soon.” He puts down the bag on his stool “Do you mind keeping an eye out on my things while I go with them?”

Axe looks up and nods his acceptance.

Nightmare follows after Lambert and they go to the counter. Nightmare frowns at Lambert “Yes? What did you need to share?”

Lambert thinks for a moment before taking a deep breath “Axe isn’t from this facility originally. He, and we think his bonded, were from a terrible place. Some cops busted the place and freed about fifty bitties all in terrible health and conditions. The exact numbers didn’t match with the numbers we got but we always figured that some went to other safe houses and recovery centers.”

Nightmare frowns “I assume his skull got injured there?”

Lambert shakes their head “No… that came later… it is just… Axe was brought to us with about ten other bitties. To rehabilitate and heal from their abuse.”

Nightmare frowns “Then I don’t see the issue?” Axe was clearly healing and getting better. Especially if his past abuse was by humans or monsters and he was now willing to interact and be near Nightmare.

Lambert rubs their face “He was always… bitey and aggressive which we knew why. The thing is, he had always been locked away and alone. We thought he didn’t have a bonded.”

Nightmare blinks “Wait, his bonded wasn’t with him?” Renegade hadn’t been with Axe?

Lambert sighs “Even the police reports never spoke of having a bitty near Axe. We thought he wasn’t bonded and so, after some time to heal and relax we gently introduced him to other bitties as that is what normally has to be done. It had looked promising at first! Axe would mostly just… ignore other bitties. He just didn’t bother with interacting with other bitties. But…

He would hoard food.”

Nightmare frowns still not seeing the problem. Axe still did that.

Lambert sighs as they look down “The other bitties didn’t like it… we hadn’t… we thought it was fine. We just gave more food and all the bitties ate enough so we didn’t think it would be a problem that Axe had a small food pile he would defend. We figured he had been starved a lot and just wanted him to feel secure…”

Lambert looks into the direction of the larger cage with many bitties.

“There was one night, and there was a loud commotion. Bitties screaming and yelling.”

Nightmare frowns as he turns fully “But they hardly ever make noise?” Bitties would normally talk to normal sized monsters and people but Nightmare had noticed most of them preferred to be quiet. Past abuse would also explain why Axe was quiet, his past owners probably didn’t allow him to speak or communicate.

Lambert nods “It is how my dad and I knew something was horribly wrong. We rushed downstairs and found a horrible scene. Axe was on the ground of the bitty housing, his skull cracked and bleeding, a large needle stolen from somewhere in the store nearby. And… another bitty, one wearing a piece of cloth with a tie used to cloak the bitty. The bitty had been stabbing another bitty repeatedly in the chest, neck and head. The other bitty wasn’t moving anymore.”

Nightmare blinks but listens.

Lambert rubs their face “We immediately removed Axe to get him to a healer and tried to catch the wild bitty, but he was slippery and immediately managed to twist out of our grip and made a run for it. We never even got to confirm what type of bitty he is.”

Lambert sighs “After returning from the healer we moved Axe into a solo container to not risk hurting him anymore and we looked at the security cams and found something shocking. Axe had been asleep and the bitty that had been killed had been the one to initiate the attack. She had climbed out of the cage and stolen a needle from our tools. Then she had climbed back in and gone straight to Axe and stabbed him through the skull.”

Lambert crosses their arms “The thing is… in the background, the whole time, you could see a tiny figure near the window, watching the other bitty go about the store. The second she got a weapon he had been working on unlocking the top window near the ceiling to get inside.”

“As she had stood over Axe he had gotten inside and went straight for the cage. He was only seconds too late to stop the attack.”

Silence around them.

Nightmare frowns “I don’t see the issue… Axe was attacked and his bonded tried to save him. Seems like rather good partner behaviour to me.”

Lambert raises their voice “A bitty was killed!”

Nightmare crosses his arms “It was a form of self-defence. Especially if they went through hell together and have been bonded since their last imprisonment. Or, Axe was only imprisoned and his bonded was still wild but still went to spend time with him.” a thought “Where were they originally from?”

Lambert thinks for a moment “A country over.”

Nightmare nods “So either, they were a bonded pair from the same hellish place… or, Axe’s bonded is a wild bitty originally from a completely different country, who willingly followed Axe all the way here to still be with him.” he tilts his skull “That are the two most likely options I see at this moment and to me that just tells me how much they care about one another.”

Lambert groans “Axe being out of his cage makes all the other bitties nervous! He caused the death of one of the bitties!”

Nightmare shakes his skull “No. The bitty who died attacked first. She started a fight with a sleeping unaggressive opponent.” He crosses his arms “She would have killed Axe if she had the chance.”

Lambert crosses their arms “I know it is just-”

Nightmare continues “And just because she was already popular in the bitty settlement and Axe wasn’t it would have gone over well. She would have probably not even received much punishment would she? It would have been seen or written off as her trying to defend her colony and community from a food scarce. All while ignoring she killed a hurt and traumatised bitty that should have not been thrown off the deep end or been left in a container with bitties that seemed to dislike him.”

More silence around them.

Nightmare stares Lambert down “I will continue to help Axe and make sure he is healthy. His health, both physical and mental is my concern foremost.” And he nods “Thank you for the information but it hardly changes anything.” And he turns away and walks back to Axe.

He gets to the cage and his stool and takes a seat. He doesn’t see Axe right away and that is fine. “I apologise for taking as long as I did.” He looks into his bag and concentrates on his magic. Axe feels insecure and ashamed. The poor guy no doubt heard most if not the full conversation.

But more curiously.

A curiosity not his own, from very high.

Nightmare keeps his face aimed downwards towards his bag but lets his eyesight find reflective surfaces.

He is very lucky.

Because he can see a very tiny cloaked figure near the top of the window. Near the ceiling window, a similar one to the one that Lambert had spoken about.

Nearby and guarding his partner it seems.

Nightmare thinks for a moment before taking his chance “Lambert told me how you got your wound.”

More shame and frustrations from Axe and clear worry from Renegade.

Nightmare makes sure to keep his voice calm “I am sorry that happened to you. That after you got to a seemingly safe space that you were hurt, especially after showing so much trust by sleeping and resting near them.” he considers his next move before going through with it as he feels his first set of words positively affect both bitties “And, I am happy to hear you have such a good bonded who immediately moved to defend you when you needed help. Those type of people can be rare to come by. I am happy you both have each other.”

That seemed to have been the right words as he feels disbelieve from two sources before Axe rushes out of his hiding hole and stares hard at him. Still distrusting and nervous and in shock but so hopeful.

Nightmare smiles “I mean it. I understand that you both are worried, especially after all that happened. But if either of you need something you can ask us and we will do our best to get it to you.”

Axe keeps frowning at him before nodding and disappearing back into his shelter. It seems like that was it for Axe for today. Nightmare risks another glance towards the ceiling window but it seems that Renegade wasn’t there anymore.

Nightmare ends up opening the cage to leave a few more macarons before rising to his feet “I will be gone for a little while but I will be back in the afternoon again.”

A small chirp answers him that he was heard and Nightmare walks out of the store for now.

Today had already been very successful.

“…”

“… Do you think he was serious?”

“I don’t know… He seems truthful…”

“…”

“I don’t like you being outside…”

“I don’t like being near big ones…”

“I know… sorry…”

“It isn’t your fault…”

“…”

“… I… I would understand…”

“…?”

“If you… wanted to be… with them…”

“Bunny…”

“I know… they would be good for you…”

“Bunny.”

“and they like you…”

“Bunny…”

“I just don’t want to… ruin this…”

“You won’t.”

“…I always do…”

“You won’t… please meet them?”

“…”

“Only if you want…”

“I don’t know… I just… I don’t know…”

“It is okay…”

“…”

“I love you…”

“love you more.”

#utmv #bittysurprise #bittysupriseau #nightmare sans #horror sans #Also in case it was confusing.#Axe/Horror is from a bitty fighting ring.#Dust/Renegade has always been a wild bitty #we good? :D #Bad Sans Poly #In the making and as endgoal :D

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onemorestory25 · 23 days ago

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Forgotten in Time

Posting a day early this week! But I would love nothing more than to get another chapter out by tomorrow for my regular Sunday release. We will see where this weekend takes me.

Chapter 6 is up now!!

Read Here on AO3

Draco Malfoy POV | WIP | Dramione | Enemies to Lovers | Weekly Updates

~~~

Draco was not evil. A bit of a prick on occasion, sure—especially when it came to her—but his morals had always been pure. He certainly didn't ask for any of this.

Following Voldemort's return during the Triwizard Tournament, Draco's life is upended in ways he never anticipated. The last thing he needs is Granger nosing her way into his business. Or, perhaps it's exactly what he needs. But in these trying times, destiny calls. Decisions must be made. Even if that means choosing to enter the villainous world of depravity and leaving his old life behind.

#hermione x draco #dramione #dramione fanfiction #dramione fanfic #dhr #dhr fanfiction #harry potter fanfiction #ao3 #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer

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mi6-cafe · 4 months ago

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It's Next Chapter November!

Our challenge is quite simple this month: write your next chapter! Finish that artwork that's been stuck in WIP hell! Whatever it is, let us be your inspiration to make progress on your current project. For bonus accountability, share your progress with the community on WIP Wednesdays, regardless of what fandom it is for.

Tag us in your posted Bond-related creations so we can reblog them. As always, all ships, gen fic, and genres are welcome! You can also add anything to our AO3 collection.

Festive Fanwork Fiesta is on the horizon

Signs ups for this year’s Festive Fanwork Fiesta will run November 16-30. During this fiesta, we send you three prompts and give you a week to create something. This will run for three weeks and it's your chance to give someone in the fandom a little gift as you fill a prompt which has been sitting on the prompt sheet for a while. For more information see here. Don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions!

Saturday Cafe: Nov 2, 16, and 30

Come join us in the fandom Slack as we write, draw, sprint, plot, brainstorm, cheerlead, and generally have a good time trying to get things done together. If you’d like an invite to the Slack, go ahead and message @castillon02 or @spiritofcamelot!

Bond Book Readalong, Saturdays at 9pm ET

The longfic readalong crew is taking a break from fanfic to go back to the source material. We will be taking a couple months to read Diamonds are Forever. This is a proper detective novel full of diamond smuggling, Felix Leiter, and a really over-the-top bad guy. Not to mention our latest Bond girl: Tiffany Case.

We will provide a digital version of the text for you to follow along, but we also recommend seeing if your local library has a copy. We’d love to see you there. You are welcome to listen if you don’t or can’t read aloud!

When: Saturdays at 9pm eastern/6pm Pacific.

Where: We’ll be reading on discord in the readalongs channel. (Invite to discord here)

Please join us to read or just hang out.

Other social events

We have loved all the movies, game nights, even TTRPGs that happened during Fest this year and we hope to see more of them throughout the year!

We will happily promote other watch party events of spy movies or whatever else you would like to organize.

Weekly events:

WIP Wednesday: You can post an excerpt of your WIP on our post or make your own post and mention the @mi6-cafe. Either way it’s a fun way to show people what you’re working on, Bond fandom or otherwise.

Weekly Bond movies: Hosted by womble every Sunday at 8am Pacific time, join us in Discord to watch one of the Bond movies. Keep an eye on the watch party calendar linked below for updates.

Want to host your own event in the Discord or elsewhere? Let us know about it so we can add it to the calendars!

Calendars

Watch Party Calendar MI6 Cafe Calendar If you need help adding these calendars to your personal one, check out this post.

#monthly post

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thatdesklamp · 1 year ago

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Intrinsic Warmth News (+ Sappiness from Me)

THE BIGGEST INTRINSIC WARMTH NEWS EVER GUYS GUYS GUYS

THERE IS A FANFIC OF MY FANFIC YOU GUYS I HAVE BEEN FREAKING OUT ABOUT THIS PLS PLS PLSP LS

Sunday September 7th, 2014 – 1:43 a.m.: Lovely, lovely ao3 user late_night_secrets has written Satoru’s POV for the beginning of the latest chapter of IW; it’s truly so so so so so cool and I am literally never going to shut up about this. Please please go and read it. Please please please. It’s such a beautiful brief insight into his head at that moment and I’m in love with it. One of my favourite lines, when Satoru tries to call out for Hebi: “What was it? Had it been so long that he had forgotten to pronounce her name?” GODDDD IT HITS IT HITS

This is properly such a huge thing for me. It’s crazy and I’m not sure how many of you have noticed/checked out other works I’ve written, but the first thing I ever published to ao3 was a fanfic of a fanfic; I wrote it based on ‘Spite’ by wellitcouldbeworse3, the best Levi x reader I’ve ever read. I will sing its praises forever—as well having a full ballad for wellitcouldbeworse3’s praises; she’s an incredible author, please go and read her stuff, tell her I said hi. She’s amazing, updates weekly (!!), and is currently releasing a Levi x reader Alice in Borderland AU. With ‘Spite’, I read it weekly since like the tenth chapter (of 50), commented every week until comments took me literal hours to write (you’ll be able to see our correspondences in the comments section; I was deep into my Eng Lit A Level at this point), and I wrote my fanfic of a fanfic because of how brilliant ‘Spite’ was.

Writing IW has been insane, because I’ve been seeing all of the things I’ve done as a reader done to my fic, with me now as an author. I did get a little emotional, but it’s because I started on ao3 writing what I have just received, now based off my own writing. Thank you everyone for reading and interacting with IW, and thank you again to late_night_secrets for writing this; everyone, please go read it, please. Thank you <3

#intrinsic warmth

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farfromstrange · 1 year ago

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Update

I have to admit, I was not prepared for the mental load that comes with university and growing into an adult who is just trying to survive in a world that seems utterly terrifying. And I was not prepared for it to kind of take away my spark when it comes to writing.

Nevertheless, I have decided to bring a little structure to my life. I want to write again. I want to find that spark again. And I want to interact more with you again. I want to read the amazing fics I have bookmarked on AO3, and I want to write for myself as much as I want to write for you guys to read it.

Starting next week, I will try to stick to the following schedule. (And I hate to admit that structure actually does work sometimes)

On Fridays (possibly not every week), I will be posting an update for Do No Harm.

On Saturdays, I will update my Michael Kinsella series Chaos Theory. Again, possibly not every week.

And on Sundays, I will try to update Foreigner's God. No guarantees on weekly updates here either.

Total Eclipse Of The Heart will remain on hold for a little longer while I try to focus on the plot and plan it out a little more. The juices are not flowing as they should, and I don't want to write something mediocre that I'm not happy with.

I'll keep cleaning out my inbox one by one, but I want to focus more on quality, so I'm going to listen to the little voices in my head and make sure I don't disappoint neither you nor myself.

If I start posting random drabbles and One-Shots, don't mind me, I'm just trying to get that happiness back I used to get from writing those silly little fics.

Thank you for bearing with me.

#lizzi updates #matt murdock #daredevil #matt murdock x reader #michael kinsella x reader #charlie cox #foreigner's god #do no harm #chaos theory

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recurring-polynya · 10 months ago

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Summary: Long ago in Inuzuri, Abarai Renji broke his arm. It healed. At least the bones did. His kidou ducts have never been the same. Now that Renji's finally having the surgery to get them corrected, Rukia is determined to make sure he gets the love and care he deserves during his recovery-- whether he wants it or not.

Starring: Rukia and Renji, of course!! Featuring: Their Inuzuri pals! All the (good) lieutenants! H-a-n-a-t-a-r-o-u! The hard-working staff of Kuchiki Manor! (...is byakuya here? unfortunately, you know he is)

Rating: Teen, for violent trauma, cussing, and sexual innuendo.

Updates: Weekly

This time: Sunday turns out to be much more peaceful and relaxing. For Renji and Rukia, anyway. Byakuya has an Entire Day.

Read Chapter 11 on ao3!

#my writing #renruki #ductwork #i know this i billed this as a hurt-comfort fanfic but it's actually a long exploration #of whether or not byakuya could run a successful grift #turns out the answer is surprisingly yes but only if it's on one of his own aunts #he deserves at least six nii-sama gold stars for this chapter #oh no next-to-last chapter 😭😭😭 (not counting epilogue)

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iwriteasfotini · 6 months ago

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Jegulus Excerpt

My third Jegulus days celebration post. I know it was yesterday, but is there really such a thing as too much Jegulus? Nope. Another excerpt from Book 3, written from James’ POV. It stands alone from the excerpts I shared for day one and day two and is from Chapter XXI. More budding Starchaser for your entertainment.

Showered and changed, the team left the locker room arm in arm. There were still many people milling about the lawn, as it was such a lovely day. And soon the team was scattered among friends who wanted to recap the match. James looked to the lake, where he thought his mates were most likely to be. All three were there, Remus skimming stones while Sirius and Peter lay in the grass. But they hadn’t spotted James yet, so he took another sweeping look around the grounds and saw what he was looking for, a shadow shifting near the locker room entrances.

He doubled back, if anyone asked he’d say he had left something behind. He hustled back to the locker room, and slipped through the door. And James should have been surprised, but he wasn’t to find Regulus standing in the middle of the room, hands in his pockets. He was decked out in Slytherin colors, and the emerald green contrasted wonderfully with his pale complexion and dark hair.

Before James could say so much as “hey” Regulus began speaking very fast, “I know I shouldn’t be here. I know you are my brother’s best friend. I know you hate me and the rest of my house. I just wanted to say I’ve enjoyed watching you fly this season. You are really good James. And you are a team player.”

James could tell Regulus was rambling out of nerves. So James cut him off, “well I train really hard. You should come fly with me. Not like you need the practice.”

Regulus bit his lip and smiled sheepishly. James had rarely seen Regulus show an emotion that wasn’t disdain or aloofness. He had a really nice smile, and it reached all the way to his eyes, just like Sirius’ did. James’ stomach did a little flip and he felt some color creep into his cheeks. Thank goodness his dark skin didn’t show blushes as easily, what would Regulus think of him?

“You had better enjoy the Quidditch Cup while you have it, because next year we are going to be wiping the floor with you.”

“Oh really,” James took two steps forward. “I don’t know, the Slytherin’s looked pretty tame this year. Maybe you all have lost your touch. And for as little as I’ve seen you training, who’s to say you are even as good as I remember.”

“I’m excellent,” Regulus replied, eyes narrowing. But James shrugged.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Regulus pursed his lips, which were slightly less full than Sirius’.

“Fine, Wednesday morning. I’ll come fly with you, as long as -”

“Regulus,” James held up his hand, “I’m taking your secrets to the grave. You can trust me, yeah?” They stared at each other, then James watched a smile creep across Regulus’ face. James smirked back, and to keep the situation from getting any more awkward, he spit into his right hand and held it out to Regulus, who did not hesitate to mimic the gesture. They shook with a squelch.

And when neither of them had let go after a solid ten seconds of shaking, James looked at their hands and said, “so, um, we gonna stand here all day or…”

Regulus went crimson, and he dropped James’ hand.

“Wednesday,” James called after him as Regulus made to leave out the back door of the locker room. Regulus nodded and gave him a small smile. James stood in the empty locker room and then put his hands into his pockets, palm still slick with spit he didn’t feel the urge to wipe off.

…

You can find more info on this series in my pinned post. Unfortunately, this is from Book 3, which is fully written but doesn’t have an announced posting date as of yet. But it’s coming to AO3, I promise! On Sunday I'm announcing the title, POV, and posting date for Book 2 in my Weekly Update.

#marauders #fanfic #james potter #regulus black #harry potter #marauders era #our love is written in the stars #jegulus #starchaser #sunseeker #year three #james POV #james potter loves regulus black #regulus x james

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haedrean · 9 months ago

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Haedrean Fics!

Haedrean fics (tags #hd-fics) are exclusively on Ao3 because I suck that way. My fandom ranges from PJO (Specifically on my Nico/Alabaster/Jason trope or like I love to call them Jalico cause it sounds like a cat's name), Jason Todd specifically because I'm a sucker for him and recently Naruto fics centred on Orochimaru and Uchiha Obito. I have a type and it's traumatised, dark and me convincing myself they're misunderstood.

These are my active fics: 1) Her Majesties Champions - A fic beginning around Post-Titan's Curse adventure of Nico, Jason and Alabaster Torrington. It's an AU whereby Nico and Jason are both also the demigod of Persephone and Juno due to reasons.

It's also an examination of if Primordials have proper power scaling and not just defeated from being dangled like a fish. And also if Triumvirate Holdings makes more sense because how on earth will they control the future if Gaea won? Bonus includes Butt Load of OCs just to fill in Camp Jupiter and all the other unexplored backstories because we're exploring that too

This fic was a result of me snooping around @drksanctuary's tumblr and getting sucked into Nicobaster hell. For some reason, Jason got dragged as well but that' because I was in the Jasico fandom when House of Hades came out.

2) Jason's Adventure in God Hood (Heh-God Hood) - This is a continuation of Great Hades (I'm Dead!) where Jason Todd is the son of Zagreus and Thanatos from the game Hades and must now navigate a life as a god while trying to face his past from Gotham City.

3) How To: Jason's Guide to Parenting Your Multidimensional Terrorist and Vainglorious Pretty Boy - This fic focuses on Obito and Satoru by the power of some Unknown God (Not from Genshin Impact) are now fraternal twins and seven years old as they climb out of the Lazarus Pit bearing the DNA of none other than, you guessed it, Jason Todd. DC won't know what's coming to them.

If you guys have any ideas for me to write, please do drop them out in my asks and I'll get to it! I enjoy reading everyone's thoughts and attention.

Scheduling!:

Her Majesties' Champions updates weekly on the range of either Friday to Sunday South East Asian time. It will end next week at Chapter 11 and I will take a month hiatus to draft Book 2!

JAIG updates every two Sundays on interval with Jason's Guide To Parenting!

#hd-rambles #hd-fics

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corneroffandom · 29 days ago

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Weekly Writing Update #135 (February 2nd, 2025)

Hullo. What a week, huh? Survived another Royal Rumble, lol. It was fun enough, I suppose. Still waiting for AEW tickets to go on sale for my date, but we're getting closer I think! Anyway I'm pretty sleepy and it's getting late, so I'm not going to waste our time much with a long update here. Writing's going pretty well, hopefully I'll have a decent amount of stuff to upload the week ahead. See you next Sunday!

Back to Basics: 213 World Wrestling Digidestined: 405 Encontrar una Manera: 245 Encontrar una Manera bonus story: 0 New Years 2023: 0 New Years 2024: 0 New Years 2025: 0 The Split: 0 Exhaustion: 0 Spiraling: 0 Strangers: 0 Searching: 0 Bringing Cheer: 0 Grief: 0 Here For You: 0 Ilja's Plan: 0 Bad Day: 0 Decompress: 0 Free Pass: 0 Introductions: 0 Never Easy: 0 Our New Home: 0 Reclaim: 0 Revenge: 0 Roommates: 0 Rough: 0 Safety: 0 Six Months: 0 Songs: 0 Curiosity: 0 Partners: 0 Challenge: 0 Poems: 0 Scars: 0 The Cost: 0 Training: 0 One Wrong Step: 0 Choices to Make: 2403 Emptiness: 0 Family Dinner: 0 Comfortable In One's Skin: 0 Checking In: 0 Insecurities: 0 Visitor: 0 One Step At A Time: 0 Decisions: 0 Senerchia Christmas: 1713 Awake Til Midnight: 0 Wallpaper: 0 Chill: 1468 Frighten: 0 Headache: 0 Sixteen: 0 Renatus: 0 Passenger: 0 Evidence: 0 Sensatus: 0 Contineo Multus: 0 In total: 6447 Current 2025 word count: 33497 New fic plot notes: 6 Team Work chapters booked: 0 Old fics uploaded to AO3: 0

Find me on Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/corneroffandom Any questions or comments, please let me know!

#fanfic #writing #wwu

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slytherhys · 2 years ago

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Cruel Summer III

A/N: I truly appreciate everyone who waits for my updates because I know how long I usually take to update my stories. Unfortunately, my writing will sooner answer to inspiration than schedules and routines, so let's just accept that and not give up on Cruel Summer. (please) 🥹💜

TW: Explicit Content, Mature themes, Strong language.

AO3

Prologue - I - II - III

Adriata had always seemed like the perfect place to Elain - a piece of paradise stuck in time, waiting for her return every summer just as school was over. No matter 9 months had come and gone, the sea would still be there, blue and sparkling under the sun, the peach and lemon trees offering shade in the warmest of days, their scent filling the streets leading to Nana’s house.

There would be summer fairs and the weekly Adriata market Nana insisted on visiting every Sunday, dragging Elain and Feyre along as she walked from stall to stall, buying freshly caught fish and local produce. Nesta, of course, got to stay in bed and sleep in - something she could do because she was older, Nana explained every time. It had seemed unfair at the time, but now Elain wondered if it had been simply easier for Nana to let Nesta sleep instead of dealing with her mood swings during her teenage years.

Truth was, no matter how much Elain changed every year – how much they all changed - Adriata had remained the only constant in their lives, a reminder that not all was bad, that somewhere in the world things simply were. No matter the heartbreak, the change, the sadness… her favourite pistachio ice cream would still be there, as would the sun and the waves and Nana’s warm smile.

Elain found herself getting out of her hotel room, out into the streets of the seaside city, as soon as the first sunbeams shone through her white curtains. Maybe it was the nostalgia, or maybe it was the restless energy coursing through her body, but Elain was looking forward to spending one day exploring the city, - and if that delayed her return to Nana’s house by a few hours, so be it.

Truth was, two years had come and gone, and for the first time in her life, Elain wondered if this time around, not even Adriata had managed to resist the passage of time. She certainly hadn’t - and neither had her sisters.

But as Elain walked down the streets of the city, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of nostalgia run through her body. It certainly looked the same – cobbled pavements, colourful buildings with clothes hanging on the washing lines, centuries-old shops that seemed to tell stories of old… But there was no Nana. Her sisters were home, probably planning a wedding, Rhys and Cassian helping whenever they allowed. And Elain was still running, after all these months.

She should’ve listened to Nana when she said that there was no point in running, because when something – or someone – was meant to find you, they would.

Elain blinked once, twice, not fully understanding what, exactly, she was seeing. Because by the end of the street, just to the left of Tharion’s Ice Cream Parlour, stood Azriel. Eating a pistachio ice cream, his eyes covered by a pair of sunglasses that did little to hide to where, exactly, he was looking at – mainly because Elain could feel it. She ignored the way her heartbeat raced, ignored the way it suddenly seemed entirely too hard to think rationally. He wasn’t supposed to be here, and she certainly wasn’t supposed to react like that. Still, before Elain could ever realise what she was doing, she was making her ways towards him, as if she had any say on whether he should be here or not.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, slightly out of breath. Her voice sounded meek, weak, and she was relieved when he didn’t comment on it.

The left corner of his lips lifted slightly. “Good morning to you too, El.”

She ignored him, frowning down at his hands. “Are you eating ice cream?”

He raised an eyebrow. “It would appear so.” He said, raising the cone slightly and taking a lick out of it. It was downright appalling, the way her body reacted. She frowned a little bit harder.

“It’s 10am.” She pointed out, completely aware she shouldn’t be this concerned over his eating habits. But she knew that wasn’t what was bothering her – and from the way Azriel smiled, he knew it too.

He pushed his sunglasses up, his eyes immediately locking onto hers. Elain looked away. “I’m aware.” He smirked, swallowing hard before asking, “Is there a right time to eat ice cream?”

The words rang familiar inside her mind, yet so unlike something he’d say that Elain simply shook her head, clearing away any foggy memories that threatened to break free. “There’s definitely a wrong time to eat ice cream.”

Azriel chuckled, tilting his head. “Can I keep you company?” He asked instead of replying, probably aware that she was just trying to pick up a fight. Elain tried not to huff in annoyance at how easily he still saw through her.

Still, she raised her head, locking eyes with him. She ignored the urge to look away again, far too aware of how his eyes seemed to lighten up as he watched her. It was all in her head – it always had been all in her head, hadn’t it? “Sorry?”

“You’re going to market, right?” He nodded towards her tote bag – the one she always used for shopping ever since Nana had gifted it to her. How he remembered that was beyond her.

Elain frowned, suddenly uncomfortable by how close they were standing. “How do you know about the market?” She stepped around his body, walking away without waiting for him to follow. But of course he did, his long legs eating up the distance between them in a matter of two steps.

“I pay attention.” He shrugged, taking a bite out of his sugar cone.

She watched his tongue dart out to catch a crumb from the corner of his mouth and quickly looked away frowning, cursing the blush she could feel warming up her skin. “It’s not exactly a popular attraction.” She mumbled, not entirely sure why she was suddenly so combative about so many different things.

“I’m not paying attention to tourist attractions, El.” Azriel said nonchalantly. Far too nonchalantly.

She eyed him, her heart picking up its pace inside her chest. A cold sweat ran through her body, and not for the first time since arriving to Adriata, Elain felt entirely too unprepared for Azriel Rosehall. “Then what are you paying attention to?” She asked, ignoring the soft tremble in her voice. Luckily, Azriel ignored it too.

He shoved the rest of his ice cream cone inside his mouth, smiling cockily down at her. Why her body seemed to heat up, Elain didn’t care to understand. She raised an eyebrow, fighting to recover whatever little control she had in this conversation. But Azriel shook his head, walking towards the first stall of the market with a dramatic sigh. “Ellie, I don’t believe you’re quite ready for that answer yet.”

She stopped in her tracks, frowning at his walking figure. “What is that supposed to mean?” But Azriel was already too far ahead, strolling through the different stalls and eyeing each piece of fruit like he was truly looking for something specific. The sight of it – of him - as so painfully domestic, so painfully familiar, that Elain had to look away, even as he asked:

“What are we looking for, exactly?” He eyed her, frowning as he saw her turn away.

Elain cleared her throat, walking assertively towards a familiar stand. “We are not looking for anything.” She looked back at him, surprised to find him so close to her already. He was off to her left side, hands behind his back as he looked over the fruit in front of them. His eyes found hers, but Elain quickly looked away. “I never invited you.” She reminded him.

Azriel shrugged. “You didn’t send me away either.”

She supposed she hadn’t, but alas. “Peaches.” She said, a bit more loudly than intended. “I’m making a pie.”

“And pistachios,” He said, eyeing the sweet old lady working behind the stall, who was eyeing them with amused curiosity. “For the cannoli,” He smiled, earning himself a blush from the vendor.

Elain scoffed. “I’m not making cannoli.”

“Why not?” He said, as he gently threaded his hands through the bundles of flowers. Elain said nothing, simply watching him as he picked a handful of bluebells.

“Because you’re the only one who eats them.” She said absentmindedly. She knew for a fact that had never stopped her before.

“And do I mean that little to you?” He handed the bag of peaches to the vendor before turning to her with a raised eyebrow. Elain found herself speechless, with no proper answer to give.

He was joking, of course, but what could she truly say? That no, he absolutely did not mean that little to her – on contrary, even though six months had come and gone of self-inflicted isolation and misery, the very sight of him yesterday had nearly made her forget all the promises she had made herself. All the pain they had shared, all the secrets, and the lies, and the heartbreak.

And wasn’t that entirely too much to say over a witty request of a pastry?

So she’d simply laugh and pretend the request wasn’t followed by the heavy weight of their shared memories, and they’d forget all about it. They could keep pretending nothing had ever happened – that Christmas hadn’t broken everything they had built in the months prior. Wasn’t that what he seemed to be doing? Making jokes, and bantering and smiling?

But by the time Elain remembered to react, entirely too much time had gone by already.

She sputtered, nearly flinching when she saw his smile falter. “Azriel-”

Az cleared his throat. “I’ll go get the peaches.”

• ───────────────── •

When, a few hours later, Elain parked her car in Nana’s driveway, she wasn’t surprised to find her sisters already waiting for her at the front porch – she had called ahead, letting them know she was finally driving back after lunch, and Nesta had promptly announced she had kicked the men out of the house so they could have some sisterly bonding time. Elain had been all for it – mainly when Feyre had hugged her, kissed her on the cheek and dragged her to the terrace, handing her a glass of wine before she could even mutter a hello. Nesta had said nothing either, simply taking Elain’s groceries to the kitchen and joining them seconds after, a mug on her hand. Elain highly doubted she was drinking coffee, but she chose not to ask.

Now, two hours and as many bottles of wine later, as they snuggled against each other on the terrace’s couch overlooking the sea, she could admit that she had missed her sisters something fierce. It wasn’t really a surprise – staying away from them had been an herculean effort, but some way, somehow, she had convinced herself that being away from them wasn’t all that bad. How wrong had she been.

“We have my dress fitting this Friday,” Nesta said from where she sat, looking down to her agenda as if she hadn’t memorised every single thing written on it by now. “Followed by cake tasting.”

“When’s the bachelorette party?” Feyre quipped, making Elain snort into her cup. Nesta levelled them with an unimpressed look, and both Feyre and Elain sat a little bit straighter under her cool gaze. “What?” Feyre asked indignantly. “You’re getting married, it’s a valid question.” She said, looking at Elain for support. Elain avidly nodded, making Nesta roll her eyes.

“I was thinking of just planning a night out.” She said, her eyes dropping back to the notebook on her lap.

“Just us three?” Elain asked hopefully. The last time they had gone out just the three of them had been when she was twenty-two – the very same night Feyre had met Rhys and changed their lives forever. She missed having fun with them, but she couldn’t exactly complain about it when she was the one that had made it impossible for the last six months.

Nesta, clearly, had other plans. “With all of us.” She added with a shrug.

“Really?” Feyre asked with a smile on her face, obviously excited to spend yet another night by Rhysand’s side. Elain, however, stood frozen.

“Why?” She asked in a less friendly tone. Her sisters both turned to her, questioning looks on their faces. They were right to be doubtful – months ago, Elain would’ve been just as excited as Feyre at the thought of spending more time with Azriel.

“There’s like two bars in Adriata, it’s not like we won’t end up bumping into each other.” Nesta reasoned.

“And Nesta loves Cassian and wants to spend time with him, which is something she forgot to mention.” Feyre quipped with a cheesy smile on her face.

Elain could hardly complain about that, mainly as she saw Nesta trying to hide the blush covering her cheeks. Even if the thought of mixing alcohol and Azriel’s presence sent a bolt of dread cursing through her bloodstream.

She faintly heard the sound of the terrace door open and close as she asked, “Will it be just us six?” Will Azriel be bringing someone? She wanted to ask instead.

Nesta tilted her head slightly. “As far as I’m concerned.” Then she frowned. “Are you thinking of bringing someone?” She asked, earning a gasp from a tipsy Feyre. She was suddenly too aware of a familiar presence behind her, aware of who it was as both Cassian and Rhys joined their respective partners.

“To the wedding?” Cassian asked as he pressed a gentle kiss to Nesta’s cheek.

Nesta’s head snapped to Elain, eyes calculating. “You’re bringing him to the wedding, too?” Elain felt the panic clog up her throat, crushing down every single word that dared leave her mouth. As it was, she could feel Azriel’s hazel gaze burning into the right side of her face. He still hadn’t sat down, she noticed reluctantly.

Feyre was still gaping at her. “Is that why you’ve been radio silent? You met someone?”

To her right, Azriel had gone still. Yet, Elain refused to look at him.

Rhysand raised a brow, pulling Feyre to his lap as he sat on the love seat to her left, its dark blue fabric already pale from the sun. “Is it the guy you opened the bakery with?”

“What guy?” Azriel's voice was deadly quiet. She ignored it.

“No guy.” She said finally, laughing nervously. “There’s no one.” Her eyes met Azriel’s for a second, quickly darting away as she noticed the intensity burning there. She turned to Nesta again. “I was just wondering if you were inviting your friends or Cassian’s friends.” Or, perhaps, a friend of Azriel’s.

But Nesta seemed to see right through her, eyes narrowed before she finally said, “Just us six.” She shrugged, blue eyes darting to the man to her side. “But I can’t promise you there won’t be any add-ins.”

Elain frowned, setting down her glass of wine on the coffee table. She tried not to glance at Azriel again, failing miserably when he finally sat down on the armchair next to hers. “What do you mean?”

“Azriel.” She raised her eyebrows, as if to say obviously. Elain wasn’t proud of the way her head snapped towards him, mainly when Azriel smirked at the movement.

Cassian snickered, making Elain turn her gaze away. “Remember last summer in Cretea when he took someone home?”

Elain frowned, meeting Azriel’s eyes once again. No, that wasn't possible. Was it? They had already been sleeping together by then and she had been there for most of the trip. Not at all of... But still. Had he already been lying to her? Had he been making a fool out of her the entire time? A part of her said he'd never do something like that, but another part - a more jaded one that seemed to haunt her with unwelcome memories - begged to differ. Azriel’s smirk dimmed at whatever he saw in her face, all humour draining from of his eyes.

Feyre, oblivious to their interaction, groaned. “Oh, I remember.” She said. “Rhys and I were sleeping right next door.” She shuddered dramatically.

Her stomach seemed to hollow out. She had only been able to meet them days later, too busy taking care of the bakery in Velaris. When she had finally gotten to their rented villa in Cretea, the very first thing she had done - although she now recalled it with a bit of embarrassment - was sleep with him. Evidently, completely oblivious-

Wait.

“When was this?” She asked, mindless of her tone or of how strange her curiosity would seem to all of them.

“You should remember, you also shared a wall with him.” Feyre added with a snort, draining her glass of wine in one small gulp. Oh. Oh fuck.

She felt her entire body flush, entirely too aware of his eyes on the side of her face. She dreaded what she’d found on his face this time around.

“I have to give it to her, she did try to keep quiet.” Feyre kept going, making Elain feel a little bit sick. She glanced at Azriel, hating the proud smirk on his face, the victory that now shone in his eyes at the realisation she knew Feyre was talking about her - Elain had been the one trying to keep quiet. And failing miserably, it seemed.

“You want everyone to know how much you’re liking this, El?” His calloused hands seemed to be everywhere, dragging along her sweaty skin, his hips thrusting against hers in a maddening rhythm. She had missed this, had missed it so fucking much. “Or do I need to gag you?

She turned her head, unable to keep her eyes off of him. The memory of that night seemed to pulse between them, a heady reminder of all the ways they used to come alive under each other’s touch, how the secrecy had been intoxicating before it had become suffocating. Something seemed to shift as his eyes met hers, his darkening pupils seeming to say I remember it too. I remember everything. Elain squirmed in her seat, feeling too hot under his stare. He seemed to track that movement too, clenching his hand where it hung.

“And there was Bharat,” Every name was a flood of memories coursing through her mind. “and Dunmere and-”

“I think we get it, my love.” Rhys interrupted softly, subtly taking Feyre’s wine glass away from her. Elain silently thanked him, trying to push back the intoxicating assault of their memories away. It seemed impossible with Azriel standing so close.

“At least this time around we won’t be the one listening to anything.” Feyre’s smug voice snapped her away from her scrutiny but it still took a few seconds for Elain’s brain to truly understand what her sister had said. Azriel growled, and Elain tried to ignore the way her body seemed to react to the familiar sound. “I’m not going to bring anyone.” Azriel started.

Realisation seemed to hit Elain. There were only 4 rooms in this house – and only two of them had queen-sized beds. Nana’s and Nesta’s. But if Feyre wasn’t sleeping in her room… “Where are you staying?"

Feyre shrugged, glancing at Nesta as if confused by the sudden intrigue. “In Nana’s room.”

“Why?” It was a stupid question - Nesta’s unimpressed stare said enough - but she couldn’t help but act stupid. If her maths were correct… Well, the universe didn’t seem to be on her side.

“There’s two queen beds, Elain.” Nesta pointed out. “And no matter how much I’d like to see Rhysand sleep in the basement, it only makes sense that he sleeps with Feyre.”

Rhys rolled his eyes, but Feyre leaned against him, kissing him sweetly. “I’d sleep in the basement with you.” Feyre drunkenly murmured against his lips, making everyone quickly look away. They were sickeningly in love - Elain thought it was adorable.

“Who’s staying in Feyre’s room?” Elain asked, undeterred. Feyre’s room – the one that not only shared a wall with Elain’s, but also a fucking door. A simple, cobalt-blue ratty door.

Elain looked at Nesta hopefully, already dreading the name that was about to come out of her sister’s mouth. It was the obvious answer, Elain knew that. And there was little she could do, or say without arousing much suspicion.

“Me.” Azriel answered instead, a hint of finality to his tone that had Elain clamp her mouth shut, completely aware he was waiting for a reaction – almost daring her to react in front of her entire family. But she had already given him enough of that earlier that day – and she knew anything about to come out of her mouth would only make the distance between the two of them grow bigger.

She didn’t want to jump back into his bed, but she refused to let her - no matter how painful it was to admit - deeply unresolved feelings ruin Nesta’s wedding.

Her sisters eyed Azriel and Elain with enough interest to make her uncomfortable, making her squirm in her seat for any entirely different reason. Luckily, neither said anything, simply rising with pleased smiles on their faces and walking to the kitchen – probably to start dinner. Rhys and Cassian followed suit.

Elain stood as well, thinking back to the pie she still had to bake. Baking would do her good – it’d bring her some peace, at the very least, baking for her sisters after so long. And if she were lucky, she would find the keys to the door among the forgotten kitchen drawers Nana never came around to clean.

But Azriel seemed to have other plans, rising as well and standing entirely too close to her. His clean scent surrounded her, so familiar her heart clenched inside her chest.

“You know damn well it was you.” He said, his voice pure midnight and sin against her ear. “It was all you.”

Elain gulped, trying to bury the bitterness threatening to burst out of her skin. “But that’s not the truth, is it?” She dared, hating the way he flinched - a confirmation, if there ever was one.

“It is, Elain.” Her name sent a shiver down her spine. “It was you with your hands tied behind your back in Cretea, and it was you with your pretty legs wrapped around my shoulders in Bharat and it was you bouncing on my cock in Dunmere.” His took a deep breath. “There’s always only been you.” He said, the message in his words clear enough.

But still, Elain took a deep breath, refusing to give in to his games. None of it mattered now, did it? It was too late. “Not anymore.”

Azriel opened his mouth to say something, the intent on eyes obvious: a challenge accepted, if there was ever one. Elain ought to push him away, refusing to let him see exactly how easy it would be to convince her – she should feel embarrassed about it, but the heat burning under her skin seemed to scorch any remaining rational thought.

But Feyre’s yelp quickly pulled them apart; Elain breathing loudly, cursing herself under her breath, Azriel’s jaw clenched, eyes conflicted. There was little to say as her little sister came running out of the kitchen, a small bag of ingredients in her hand, Rhysand’s sweater reaching down to her knees. Elain froze where she stood, refusing to even glance at the man who had gone still next to her. “You’re making cannoli?” She asked, excitedly.

Elain felt her cheeks burning, Azriel’s smug arrogance so evident she could almost feel it. With the incriminating bag of ingredients and the stifling conversation she had had with Azriel, she could hardly pretend it was anything other than cannoli. Still, she only said, "Maybe.” as if she wasn't admitting defeat all the same.

Feyre cheered drunkenly, quickly running back inside without a glance back. Azriel chuckled softly, a heartbreakingly beautiful smile on his face as he turned to face her. She hated how much she loved it. He almost looked boyish - something anyone else would think was a ridiculous notion associated with Azriel, but Elain knew better.

He started walking backwards, his eyes never leaving hers. "I’m starting to think you’re a liar, Elain.” He said, smiling. He then turned smoothly around and left Elain dumbfounded where she stood.

Worst part was, he was absolutely right – she was a liar. And a terrible one, too, let alone with Azriel - the one person who saw her, who listened to her, who knew her better than anyone else. There was no hiding, no secrets between them- not on her end, at least. Which meant that, in whatever twisted game they seemed to had started playing, Elain was already losing.

#elriel #elain archeron #pro elriel #azriel #elain x azriel #elriel fanfic #elriel fanfiction #cruel summer #my writing #acotar fic #acotar fanfiction #acotar fanfic #elriel fic

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fountainpenguin · 1 year ago

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Fanfic Schedule News - 2024

You can find this post later in my Pinned Post links

Overview

- Fairly OddParents - On hiatus while buffer building. Weekly Friday updates when ready, probably in summer. Origin and Knots are planned to alternate to show both sides of the war, but can be read independently. - WordGirl - On hiatus while buffer building. Weekly updates when ready, but lower priority than FOP. I'd like to post a few one-shots in spring and summer. - MCYT - Weekly Tuesday updates (Dog's Life until Chapter 30, then other 'fics while Dog's Life is on break). I'm also posting on Friday, but am moving towards posting on Sunday. - Total Drama - I'm not writing new content for the TD fandom, but I have 40+ 'fics I posted on FFN, but not AO3. Now that many are 10 years old, I'd like to archive some on AO3. - Every year I say I want to post my Mario drafts, but... I don't think 2024 will be that year. We will see.

Fandom-Specific Series

I post 'fics under my AO3 account, FountainPenguin.

If you'd like to get notifications for new works but don't want to follow me as a user, consider subscribing to some fandom-specific series:

Fairly OddParents

130 Station - All pieces in the 130 Reasons Why I'm Fairy Trash series.

These are further broken down into "Trains" (Ex: Main cast, Anti-Fairies, Pixies, shippy stuff, etc.) - Find info HERE

Notable pieces that are not 130 Prompts include Origin of the Pixies, Frayed Knots, Come What May, and Reedfilter Rules, which may be best subscribed to individually- They do not have a series at this time.

WordGirl

Heroes' Journey - Stuff about WordGirl and Huggy learning to share Fair City with Kid Math

28 Million Degrees - Character studies

MCYT - Not RPF, but the 4th Wall is very thin

Pixels Imperfect - Pixel people (who are all mob hybrids) live in a server hub and roleplay with their friends. Lots of interpersonal and social drama mixed with humor.

Neighborhood Watch AU - A serious take on the Life series lore and mechanics, ft. a semi-medieval world where the first 5 Life seasons take place in a single timeline.

Roundabout - Misc. MCYT content

These pages also have links to character relationship series.

Total Drama

Riddle's Drama - Total Drama 'fics I wrote 2013-2016.

These are also on my FFN, where I cross-post my FOP and WordGirl content as well.

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Fairly OddParents

I'm working on a buffer for Origin of the Pixies and Frayed Knots chapters so they can alternate during the war. At the moment I'm posting content for other fandoms, but once the buffer is ready, these will roll out weekly. Hopefully by summer.

- Origin is caught up and ready for the war meeting next chapter, so we're just wrapping up Anti-Cosmo's school and relationship drama in Knots :) - We're in the era of 2016 draft chapters, so it's a combo of "Lots of stuff is already written" and "Lots of stuff needs to be updated."

Origin and Knots will update on Fridays when the time is right (alternating weeks).

The 130 Prompts wrapped up Arc 2 in December and is on hiatus.

If you missed the Arc 2 finale, check out "Grudge"- It's about Happy Peppy Gary and Crocker striking a dangerous deal and I think it's cute :)

Ideally, I'd like to finish the whole Come What May draft before I post more chapters (so we don't have more of these long lurches between chapters), and Reedfilter Rules is in a similar boat.

Origin and Knots are my priority, but once Come What May starts, I'd like to do weekly or bi-weekly updates until it's done.

WordGirl

Factor It In - I'm very happy with how the story has come out so far. It's fully outlined, but this is a "serious and fluffy" story and I've been on a "silly and angsty" streak lately, so the mood isn't there.

- I'd like to circle back to it soon, but don't want to post more chapters until I have a nice buffer. - I'd like to post again in autumn 2024 and keep up weekly updates for several months. Origin and Knots are higher priority, but I really like this story and look forward to more.

I have some WordGirl one-shot drafts I've been sitting on for months. I haven't been satisfied with them enough to post, but you might see them soon as I finalize them. There's no schedule for these, but they include:

- Local alien girl is SO brave about Rex's problems while they lie in the grass discussing love and culture - Local alien boy loses his fawn spots, comes of age, and hits up Hal Hardbargain for alien-strength deodorant - Character study for Victor Best (My horrible son) - Character study for pre-series Rex living on Hexagon (My somehow more horrible son) - Other drafts from 2018 that need polish

I so desperately want to show the world my "Hopelessly romantic life planner since he was born" x "She can't commit to anything including this" marriage of convenience superhero drama... He's oblivious... She's dying inside... He is so embarrassing... Do u understand my vision?

MCYT

- Dog's Life Session 2 will end with Chapter 30. I've finished up to Chapter 28 and just need to tweak the remaining chapters. It will then be on hiatus for a few months while I work on the Session 3 buffer and other projects.

Edit - Session 2 will actually be 37 chapters, so another month

Expecting 4 to 5 months of hiatus from regular updates with some intermission chapters a few weeks apart (Full moon arc, my beloved). I have 'fics I look forward to posting (including new multi-chapters that already have nice buffers and will post weekly), so there will be plenty of MCYT content, but it seemed wise to leave Dog's Life on break to avoid burnout. I hope you enjoy these new stories! When Dog's Life returns, it'll be with weekly updates for several months as per usual :)

My "first half of 2024" goal is to close out as many of my existing MCYT multi-chapters as I can. Thank you for your patience with multi-chapters that have slow updates- I plan to finish them soon :)

I recently completed For Sale: Bird Wings (Never Worn) with weekly updates and am on track to finish One and a Half Birds with weekly Friday updates.

After this, I would like to finish the last 2 to 3 chapters of Criminal Experience (which has always had Friday updates as well). I don't want to post the next chapter until I nail down the story's end, so there's been a delay, but I'm glad I've wrapped up other multi-chapters and I look forward to finishing this soon.

After this, I plan to post MCYT content Tuesdays and Sundays, leaving Fridays for my other fandoms.

What's on Tuesdays?

At the moment, Dog's Life for 7 more weeks. Session 2 ends with Chapter 30 on April 9th.

Edit: Chapter 37 on May 28th

I've started new multi-chapters while chasing inspiration bursts, but I held back from posting them, so now I have buffers for those. I look forward to sharing them throughout 2024. Two notable ones are:

- Chalaza - Quick story about Martyn arriving in New Star Station. Bdubs voice study, some practice writing short scenes, and this is the story that helped me nail down pixel person anatomy. ^ Highlights include Bdubs trotting around with Martyn's dissolved soul in a fishbowl and regaling Etho with tales of how the Phantom Dragon carries phantom hybrids in her mouth. Also, Martyn hides under Etho's couch for 4 days. - Herobrine's Guide to the Between Dimension - A meta story about my Between lore, hybrid anatomy, and hybrid culture. No plot, but I think it's fun.

These are expected to post Tuesdays while Dog's Life is on break :)

What's on Sundays?

At the moment, nothing- I'm posting on Fridays (weekly updates to One and a Half Birds for the next several weeks).

I've also got a draft called "Scar's Castle" that's about Grian doing chores during 3rd Life... we'll see if that turns out nice.

Now that Secret Life is over, I've been able to do more worldbuilding and story planning for Neighborhood Watch AU. I plan to post some one-shots soon. Highlights include:

"Goodchild Oscar" - Oscar Goodchild's lovely parents put out a hit on his soulmate. He drags Grian around the Hearts Club Ball in his attempts to thwart it. Title's subject to change, but this is a fun one :) "They Never Found the Desert" - Local Green Life parrot can't get Red Life soulmate motivated for anything. Desperate times call for desperate measures. "Ethograms, Etho Slab, and Something About Ethics (Probably)" - Joel studies wolves... and the single(?) dad who keeps coming around with his kids.

I've also been working on the big multi-chapter for this universe, which centers around the Clocker family: Arsenic Waltz. It's fully outlined and I'm 5 chapters into the buffer, but it doesn't feel "fun" to read yet, so... Hmm.

- If anyone wants to beta read the first 10k words where Martyn arrives at the Clocker residence and meets his soulmate Cleo for the first time, lmk? Been struggling with the pacing of action vs. world lore for months and it'd be nice to get outside thoughts. - My plan was to start posting in April after Dog's Life ends, but it might need more time. With weekly updates, it should finish in December or January, but I'd like a nice buffer first. Possibly, this story will start in the summer and end in early 2025.

EDIT - I ended up killing all these darlings and moving them to a separate story, which will be released at a later time. The pacing was just not working :)

Additional multi-chapters to wrap up:

Closed Door Policy - Can't finish until Criminal Experience is done. Will post Tuesdays or Sundays as appropriate (Expecting 2 or 3 more chapters).

Dear Future Captain - Waiting for Dog's Life to catch up to this part of the timeline (Between Sessions 4 and 5?) - I like my draft for Chapter 3, but I'd rather wrap up other stories first.

With Acid In Your Eyes - Outlined and expecting 10 chapters. This is a high-tension story I was excited for, but it's on the backburner while finalizing lore, social dynamics, and plot points. It was ambitious to post this one before things were solid, but I look forward to returning when I'm ready :)

If you're interested in being a beta reader for any of my work, you can get in touch. I've not worked with beta readers in fanfic before, but if you're interested, we can talk about it!

Thanks for reading! Happy 2024!

#Fairly OddParents #FOP #WordGirl #ridwriting #Dog's Life #FAIRIES!#Pixels Imperfect #Long post #Neighborhood Watch AU

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