#at least the jury chat was fun

[toastsnaffler]

man i was planning on calling a friend tonight but they've blown me off completely with no explanation or apology. I would be annoyed but tbh I was kind of expecting them to do this 😮‍💨

[copperbadge]

Sam, I'm getting in my feels by watching people auditioning on the TV show THE VOICE by singing one of the judge's songs. And one of the videos one of the judges actually starts crying he's so verklempt about how lovely the adaptation is.

And now all I can think about is Buck on the British and/or Shidvah version of some sort of Pop Star audition show, absolutely weeping his eyeliner down his face at some kid rocking the hell out of one of his songs. Or Caleb's. Maybe that scrungy hopepunk version of "Hitsville".

Aw, that's kinda fun, watching people see others cover their songs -- like how Trent Reznor was mildly upset at the idea of Johnny Cash covering "Hurt" but then he heard the song (or saw the video, I don't recall) and had this thought like "Oh -- that's his song now" and was okay with it.

I don't watch reality television much -- I had a colleague who liked The Voice and I tried to watch it so we'd have something to chat about, but I just couldn't get into it. There's a lot of interesting game theory you can learn from some of the shows, but I can't engage for whatever reason, so I don't think I'd be great at writing about Buck participating in that. That said, I have been playing around with doing another Eurovision story eventually, if not a full novel at least a short, because Caleb does keep writing songs for it, it's like his second job now. I haven't quite sorted out how it will work yet but I think it'll be set up so that the National Final winner is given the option of either taking their own song to the semifinals or working with Caleb to have a song custom-tailored for them. Performing a song by Caleb Canto pretty much guarantees the artist will go viral on some level, whether or not they win Eurovision, so it's an attractive offer.

I could see Buck and Caleb getting to jury the Eurovision 2023 national final, especially since Gregory and Eddie are just barely new dads of infants, which makes concert attendance a low priority. I could see a performer covering a Buck Haverd single in part as a way to sass Buck -- you don't cover a song by the artist judging you unless you know you can knock it out of the park. And I could see Buck getting an attitude about it...right up to the moment the artist starts singing. Buck puts up a very convincing facade as a tough guy so I don't know if he'd go full on Colbert Weeping but he might get a smear of eyeliner or two :D

Currently, having discovered that wee Serafina loved his last drop, Buck is working on an album of punk-inspired lullabies. He's gonna call it Baby Rocker.

[kenziedrawz]

Hey, hey you!

Yeah you!

Do you want to join a fun, Multi-fandom rp Server? Then I've got the server for you my friend! Rosevein Academy! A magic school themed roleplay with a mystery twist! We have lots to look into so let's get to it! At the end of this post is a link to the server, so if you wanna skip to that at least read the rules first.

INDEX

❀1. Plot information. ❀2. Rules. ❀3. Dorms & Uniforms. ❀4. Extra.

❀ Plot information ❀

Rosevein Academy is an Arcane Academy known across many worlds and dimensions. It specializes in teaching the wonders of Magic and it's many forms. To whether you or your parents signed you up to the academy or the mysterious Headmistress had selected you herself, anyone is welcome here.

Each student will receive their very own Utility Wand to use and bond with, though we have yet to see a student other than a few dorm leaders bond with their wands.

❀ Rules ❀

ROLEPLAY RULES

❀1. If you wish to do some :sparkles: Evil Scheming :sparkles: then please discuss with the mods and the admins of any characters that are involved before going ahead with any plans. ❀2. All first years will have to go through the entrance ceremony and be sorted into their dorms. ❀3. On the note of dorms, if you are unsure of which dorm to sort a character into then don't be afraid to ask one of the mods for some help. ❀4. Please note that no characters are to die within this roleplay, however characters can be injured, but not too severely. ❀5. Have fun! And remember to take a break if you need one! Just inform us at least. ❀6. We have a character limit of 6 characters per person

GENERAL RULES

❀1. Remember to respect your fellow members and mods! ❀2. Please respect triggers by putting the appropriate warnings and censors. if you don't know how to censor then ask someone for help or look it up. [ just putting it here so people know but you surround the words with || on each side. ❀3. Please try to be active if you decide to take part in an event. ❀4. Please put spoiler marks over any and all spoilers! ❀5. Please do not spam any of the chats with unrelated things, unless it's the spam chat, then go wild. ❀6. I think this goes for everyone but PLEASE do not say any slurs, as they will not be tolerated. ❀7. If you are under the age of thirteen(13) or above the age of thirty(30) Then I will have to ask that you leave the server.

You will have to agree to follow these rules before you can roleplay within the server.

❀ Dorms & Uniforms ❀

Like most schools, Rosevein Academy has a student uniform with masc and fem variants. You can see them here down below.

As you can see, each Uniform looks different depending on the dorm the student wearing it is from. if a student has no Dorm then the color changing parts of the uniform default to shades of grey.

But we should get into the dorms, right? That's what you're reading this section for.

Iustitia, the dorm of Justice.

Iustitia is known as the dorm of Justice, members of this dorm tend to have a strong sense of justice and a strict adherence to rules.

Fun facts about this dorm!

In order to become Iustitia's dorm leader you'll have to go through a trial process, you and the current dorm leader will present your cases on why you/they should be/remain the dorm leader. It will be up to a jury of Iustitia students selected by the Headmistress( or Student Council President if the headmistress is unavailable at the time.).

There's a large Rose garden in the dorm, it's within the dorm's rules that the garden must be up kept by the students of the dorm. Nobody knows why they must do it, but they do it anyways.

Constantia, the dorm of Perseverance.

Constantia is known as the dorm of Perseverance, members of this dorm tend to never give up in their pursuits and also have lots of determination.

Fun facts about this dorm!

In order to become Constantia's dorm leader, you will have to go through a majority vote. The member's of the dorm will vote on who they will believe suits the position more after both parties( Challenger and Challenged.) Present their cases on why they should be/remain the dorm leader. If the votes are tied, then the victor is decided by a duel.

A Constantia member must be willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goal if they wish to become the dorm leader.

A special card game is taught to the Constantia dorm leader by either the Previous dorm leader or the Student Council president.

Callidus, the dorm of Intelligence.

Callidus is known as the dorm of Intelligence, whether it's street smarts or book smarts, members of this dorm tend to be very smart.

Fun facts about this dorm!

Near the main area of the dorm, there's a fairly large stage. if you come to this stage at night you may be able to hear a song being played from somewhere.

In order to become Callidus's dorm leader, you must be able to showcase not only your intelligence, but also your creativity.

Member's of Callidus can sometimes be quick thinkers and able to quickly get out of tough situations if need be.

Misericordia, the dorm of Empathy.

Misericordia is know as the dorm of Empathy, members of this dorm tend to connect well to other people for better or worse.

Fun facts about this dorm!

In order to become Misericordia's dorm leader, you will have to have many strong, positive connections with other people, you'll also need to have quite a bit of charisma and be willing to help others when they are in need.

Misericordia dorm member's excel in at least one of the three empathy types, Cognitive empathy, Emotional empathy and Empathetic concern. They also tend to be very helpful and easy to become friends with.

Fortitudo, the dorm of Courage.

Fortitudo is know as the dorm of Courage, members of this dorm tend to never let up in the face of danger or fear.

Fun facts about this dorm!

In order to even challenge the dorm leader of Fortitudo for their position, you will have to face your deepest fear. if you are unable to face this fear then you will be unable to challenge the dorm leader.

Like Iustitia, there's a garden within this dorm, abeilt it a bit smaller. At the centre of the garden seems to be a tombstone, but nobody has been able to read what it says.

Potentia, the dorm of Strength.

Potentia is know as the dorm of Strength, members of this dorm tend to be very strong either Physically and/or mentally( as in terms of willpower and not smarts).

Fun facts about this dorm!

In order to become Potentia's dorm leader, you have to win in a battle against the dorm leader. However, if you are found cheating in this battle then you will be banned from the dorm leader and vice dorm leader positions for good. If you are unlucky you may even be kicked out from the dorm and will have to be resorted.

In the dorm, there is a training area used frequently by it's members to hone their skills and strengths.

❀ Extras ❀

Congrats! You've nearly made it to the end of this post! But before we do get to the end, I have some extra information for you all.

Rosevein Academy students are ferried to and from the school by vehicles known as Traiciels. On the outside they seem to be a regular bus with large panels in the sides, but on the inside they look more like an old fancy train, y'know, the ones with booths. behind the pannels are wings that are used for flight.

We have our very own Lesson system! Which is important for helping you succeed on tests. Doing Lessons will also help you earn Lesson points which you can use in the server store to buy stuff!

Rosevein Academy has it's very own Student council! As you should know by me mentioning the Student Council President previously.

At the beginning of each school year, all the new students are sorted into dorms by an artefact known as the soul eye. If a Student needs to be reassigned a dorm, then the eye will handle it. So far, there has never been a case where a student hasn't been able to be sorted.

Before a student is sorted/ has been kicked out of their dorm, their uniform will have shades of grey as the accent colors which will change once they get sorted/resorted into a dorm.

And that's just about it! Here's the link to the server, I hope to see you soon! And if you have any further questions, we have a QnA channel for you to ask them!

[ilikepie21k]

i wanted to avoid getting 7th and getting evicted in the double, so of course everything teamed up to ensure i got both ♥

thanks @flirtyspy​ for hosting and congrats to @candicestewart​ for winning!

[soft--dragon]

Payback Purgatory

Inspired by this ask here

Word Count: 871

Warnings: None

This is a SFW tickle fic, if you don’t like that then don’t read :)

Now, to all members of the jury, Tubbo would like to point out that he didn’t think much before he spoke. It was why he had so many ‘Tubbo Moments’ on stream and had a whole compilation of them all over the internet. So when a silly bit on stream was chugging straight for Regret Station? Yeah, he leapt onto that train with absolutely no regard for the consequences. 

The silly bit in question, turned out to be taking the piss out of Ranboo and coming up with creative insults to make fun of the tall, faceless streamer. And surprisingly, it lasted a vast majority of the stream. Tubbo rode the euphoria high of the bit the entire time, laughing almost hysterically at his own genius and throwing all caution to the wind.

He really wished the wind turned direction and slapped his caution back into his face.

Ranboo had him tightly held to his chest, keeping him pinned against him as he prodded and scribbled into Tubbo’s skin mercilessly, speaking over the boy’s wild shrieks of laughter from the tickling.

“Gangly bastard? That ring a bell?” Ranboo thought out loud, face screwed up in faux concentration. “That seemed to be one of your favourites, chat loved it too, you were all omegalul-ling over it, weren’t you?”

Tubbo smacked at Ranboo’s fingers that kept rummaging into his hoodie to tickle his ribs and sides, squeaking with laughter at the playful attack. “R-RAHAhahahan! Rahahanbohohoo nohoHOHohoho!”

“What about the joke you made about me being the BFG reimagined?” Ranboo cutover Tubbo’s giggle filled protests. “What was it you said… Big Fucking Gay? Roald Dahl would be disappointed in you sir.”

Ranboo’s quips only made Tubbo laugh harder, almost doubling over if it wasn’t for the strong arms keeping him upright. He squirmed down into his friend’s chest, warm face trying to bury into his torturer's hoodie to hide. Ranboo was having none of it. 

“Oi, no, keep your head outta there, face your consequences like a man.” Ranboo drilled into Tubbo’s hips mercilessly, the boy immediately throwing his head back into Ranboo’s shoulder with a squeal and kicking out frantically in ticklish mirth.

“RAHAHAHAN!” He shrieked, grabbing at the couch cushions with a slipping grip to bear the tingling sparks racing through his body. 

“Sorry, who’s Ran? Did you mean Slenderman’s Cousin? Or maybe Jack’s beanstalk?” Ranboo raised a brow, only tickling Tubbo’s hips more. “Or maybe, you could be talking to a car sales balloon man? Ya know, the ones that move like this?”

Ranboo prodded and wiggled his fingers up and down Tubbo’s torso, waving his fingers in such a way they landed in different spots every time, leaving his poor, giggly victim to twist and squirm wildly in place.

“N-NOHohohOHOHO! P-Plehehease Rahahanbohohoo Ihihihim sohohorry!” 

Ranboo scoffed, rolling his eyes and squeezed Tubbo’s sides quickly, relishing in the high pitched yelp. “Should’ve thought of that before you called me Huggy Wuggy, prick.”

He plopped his chin on Tubbo’s shoulder, his wild, fluffy hair tickling the teen’s cheek and jaw and sending Tubbo into a flurry of happy squeaks. He had to suppress a smile at the laughter. 

Tubbo was melting into a puddle with the soft tickling close to his face and the fast scribbles over his sides and stomach, the nimble fingers taking him apart far faster than he liked. He scrunched his shoulders up in hopes that Ranboo would at least shift his head away from his neck, only to slam them back down with a squeal at a few well placed prods at his ribs. 

“R-Rahahahan- cohohome ohohon- ihihit wahahas ahahahall ahaha bihihit,” he whined out, trying to use his puppy dog eyes on the taller teen to sway him, but Ranboo had lived with this chaotic maniac for months. He was no longer controlled by those seemingly innocent blues. He saw right through them. 

“Right, and joking about how I’m the next Jack Skellington was all fine and dandy until I decided to strike back, hmm?”

Tubbo flinched as Ranboo’s breath tickled his ear, squirming away and giggling nervously. “Y-Yeheheah, Ihihi dihihidn’t mehehehean ihihit ahahahall.”

Ranboo paused his hands on Tubbo’s sides and the boy gratefully took in large breaths of air, leaning back into his friend a bit as he got his heart rate back under control. It was quiet for a moment then there was a suspicious, inquiring noise. 

“Didn’t mean it all, but you meant some of it, did you?”

Ah. Fuck.

Tubbo paused, quickly trying to come up with a fast escape plan and gave Ranboo the most charming smile he could, though it looked more akin to a guilty cat that got caught doing something it shouldn’t. 

“Uh… No?” he tried, his ‘charming smile’ widening into something more nervous and mirthful.

Ranboo deadpanned for a long moment, watching somewhat fondly as Tubbo broke into another fit of wild giggles despite the fact the taller teen hadn’t even touched him. He gave a sigh. “I’ll ask Tommy to speak at your funeral, man.”

“Wha- RAHAHAHAHAN!”

Tubbo’s laughter burst through the house again, Ranboo’s fingers spidering all over his sensitive skin and sending him into hysterics. It was going to be a long day.

[bewareof12metersfrogs]

MDZS Nie Bros + Nieyao reincarnation AU where NHS is the only one who remembers their past life BUT it' romantic comedy instead of angst

So hear me out. They get reincarnated but NHS somehow is the only one who remembers their past life (maybe because he felt guilty? Because of his hatred? His desire to become NMJ's little brother again but better? His desire to protect his bro? Idk u choose), and he's determined to protect NMJ. It starts with dreams and then visions since he was a kid. The bros are gonna have a bigger age gap than in canon because of reasons and also tiny angry NHS is adorable. So instead of 5-6 years older than NHS, NMJ is like 8-12 years older. Maybe NMJ and MY/JGY can have a smaller age gap? Idk suit yourself.

Cue adorable little NHS going "NO! DAGE CAN'T GO!" and clinging onto his bro's entire body everytime he tries to go anywhere. After a few years, he remembers most of it but still in pieces--and it makes him absolutely loathe the short dimpled man clothed in gold who played cursed music for his dage (maybe he only remembers the face, the clothes, the music, and not the name? Idk).

But boy oh boy does life already have a short, sweet, smiling, music playing, golden loving, dimpled surprise for him.

Enters Meng Yao! (or maybe Jin Guangyao or even Jin Ziyao).

They meet somewhere, through Lan Xichen like in canon maybe? In college? At some coffee shop or store? I don't know but they meet somewhere and, like, are instantly attracted to each other because their bodies and souls are literally bound together inside a coffin for like a century. So yeah, they meet, talk, and after several exchanges of shy glances, awkward flirting from Mingjue, offerings (flowers, cakes, exotic and healthy treats for Baxia the cat and little trinkets for Huaisang, fancy dinner which means fancy meat) from Meng Yao, even more (slightly less) awkward flirting, and so many delicious lunches (which Mingjue absolutely makes with love and care) together, Nie Mingjue is ready to introduce his new bf to his little bro.

The big day comes and Mingjue tells Huaisang that they're gonna have a nice dinner together with his new bf. After preparing everything and sitting down, Meng Yao rings the bell and Huaisang answers it and--

All hell breaks loose :)

Huaisang screams ("YOU! HOW DARE YOU COME HERE! HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY DAGE AFTER YOU KILLED AND DISMEMBERED AND BETRAYED HIM!") and tries to attack Meng Yao. Mingjue is horrified and also extremely confused. Meng Yao is mostly confused and only a bit scared because what's this tiny kid gonna do? Bite him?

Yes.

After a lot of screaming, crying, scratching, and biting, Mingjue can finally free his bf from the vicious clutch of his little brother. Dinner is officially ruined and Meng Yao is officially awed. Just, how can something so tiny contain so much energy and hatred? Also he falls deeper in love with Mingjue after watching him gently calming his little bro down and Mingjue falls deeper in love with Meng Yao after watching how gently he treats his demon spawn of a brother. So Huaisang's anger only "worsens" the situation.

After that, the comedic "little brother tries to sabotage his elder brother's relationship" part starts. Huaisang tries everything, from attacking and trying to murder Meng Yao (which he mistakes as playing and bonding, which is totally a normal thing to do between a normal child and their normal future sibling in law) to crying and begging Mingjue to dump his "stupid evil murderer boyfriend". Alas, Huaisang is a child and Meng Yao is scarily smart at picking and giving offerings (mostly because he's determined to marry the big brother so the little brother has to at least tolerate him).

After a lot of candies, paints, pretty fans, bird miniatures, an actual bird (prolly a cockatiel), going out to parks and petting zoos and whatever fun places that kids like, Nie Huaisang eventually starts to tolerate him (Mingjue's treats and heart-to-heart convos with him also help a lot). So, the "learning to forgive and move on to be able to build a new life" part starts.

It'll be comedic. It'll be wholesome. Maybe it'll be angsty cause nie bros and nieyao you know BUT it will have a happy ending. They're gonna have their happy ending.

(Wangxian still exists in the background, having playdates and petting bunnies. Jiang Cheng is still trying to kill Wei Wuxian but it's all platonic and full of love. Wen Ning is a gentle cutie and is trying to mediate between them. The elder siblings + Mian Mian (cause she's essentially Jin Zixuan's nanny + elder sister) have a group chat and are constanly sending pics of their baby bros and having a little "which little bro is the cutest?" competition with Mian Mian as the jury (Wen Qing and Nie Mingjue are odddly competitive). Nie Zonghui exists and is the bros' cool distant cousin cuz I love him. Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan have a plant store together and are living happily and several years later, they're gonna meet their daughter A-Qing. Jin Zixuan is less of an asshole but he still has negative game and he's trying his best. He and Jiang Yanli love each other so much. Mo Xuanyu, Qin Su, Meng Yao, and Jin Zixuan go out together every Saturday (I call this "Weekly F*ck Jin Guangshan Party"). Nie Mingjue, Lan Xichen, Jiang Yanli, Wen Qing, Mian Mian, and Qin Su (+ Song Lan probably) are bffs cause they rock and I love them so much. They're all happy.)

Also, the real star is Baxia the Monstrous Maine Coon, the only cast member with a braincell.

[storiesbyjes2g]

As the pie baked, and the sweet smell of warm cherries filled the air, the kids got increasingly restless. First, they bounced in their seats. Then they graduated to jumping around the living room chanting, "Pie, pie, pie!" I didn't need to see Ali's face to know he regretted his decision to use sweets as bribery. I did my best to calm them, but it was like trying to reason with someone after hits on the bubble blower. I guess that's yet another thing we need to discuss after dinner.

The pie was delicious. Ali definitely sold himself short that night we put a title on our relationship. He made his "special" bread for me and said it was one of the few things he made well. Honestly, everything he made was delicious.

The kids had their fill of pie and were very satisfied customers. I only hoped all that sugar wouldn't escalate their behavior later. Ali got up to take care of the dishes, but I beat him to it. I smiled softly as I remembered how we used to try to wake up before the other and make breakfast back in the early days of our marriage. We fought playfully about who gets to cook. Other women would kill to have a man who plotted and schemed to take care of them. (sigh)

"Please, sit," I said. "It's the least I can do since I crashed the party and all, heh."

He glanced at me, eyes full of regret. "You know that's not what I meant."

"And you know I'm kidding. Why don't you go relax? I can handle the kids tonight."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! We'll have a little chat and do homework, bath time, read some stories, and I'll put them to bed. Besides, you look like you could use some you time."

His baby blue eyes said so many things, but mostly they were relieved. "Thank you. I think I do need that."

I smiled. Making him happy still delighted me. "Don't mention it."

And with that, he disappeared upstairs.

I found Alessia outside climbing again and discovered a part of the problem. They haven't learned about time management or responsibility and want to have fun all the time.

"Lessi, come inside, babe. We need to talk."

"Ok, Mommy!"

She hopped off the monkey bars and ran inside immediately, something she probably never did for Ali. I gathered them back at the table, and we kicked off our discussion with balance. I asked them to imagine a scale—one of those old fashion kind lawyers use in their ads. When the scale is empty, it's balanced because both sides are on the same level. One phrase they use a lot is "tip the scales of justice." That means they will overwhelm the jury with truth, so the verdict comes out in their favor. This abundance of truth fills one side of the scale so much so that it weighs it down, therefore tipping the scale. Life is like that too. When we have too much of one thing, the scale isn't balanced and things get out of whack. My babies might grow up with tunnel vision, only pursuing things that bring them pleasure and never seek to better themselves. Or maybe they'll get lazy and quit things when they get hard.

"Hard things are good for us," I said, remembering my triumph from earlier.

"How?" Luca asked.

"Because we learn something new, and learning new things makes us smart. Life is so much easier when you're smart. When you've completed something hard, you'll feel really good because you accomplished something you thought wasn't possible. And if you keep doing hard things over and over, eventually they're not hard anymore. Do you know what the best part is about doing hard things?"

"What?" they asked simultaneously.

"Sometimes, you get rewards."

"Like pie??" Alessia shouted.

I laughed. "Sometimes like pie, but not all the time. Sometimes a reward is a simple feeling of satisfaction."

They groaned at that, but I think after a few examples, they saw how intangible rewards maybe weren't the worst things ever. But at their age, I wouldn't expect anything else. I only hope they remember this chat, and when they're older, they'll see.

[gotham-ruaidh]

Little Bit Better Than I Used To Be

This story takes place during the summer of 1987. It’s the time of the Cold War, and heavy metal, and Just Say No.

Ten chapters, each with a specific song as its soundtrack.

I’m so excited to finally share it with you.

Catch up: Chapter 1 (Starry Eyes) || Chapter 2 (Save Our Souls) || Also posted at AO3

—-

Chapter 3: Dancing On Glass

I've been through hell // And I'm never goin' back // To dancing on glass // Going way too fast...

Need one more rush // Then I know, I know I'll stop // One extra push // Last trip to the top...

Soundtrack: “Dancing On Glass,” Mötley Crüe, 1987 [click here to listen]

Three P.M.

Group.

Claire’s hands wrapped around the hard sides of the plastic chair, holding herself upright, watching about two dozen fellow patients? inmates? addicts? shuffle into the room.

Two people stood at the door – greeting others as they entered, handing out small packets of tissues and bottles of Coke.

Today’s facilitator – a middle-aged, bearded man – stood to one side, chatting with a few people.

“Hey!”

Claire startled – and turned to her right to see Jamie slide into the chair beside her.

“How’s it going today? Day two, right?”

She nodded. “Met with my therapist this morning.”

“That’s great! Who’ve you got?”

“Gillian.”

Jamie cracked open a bottle. “Oh, she’s great. Been here a long time. She’s married to the director – did you know that?”

Claire’s eyebrows raised. “No, but that’s really interesting.”

Jamie gulped about half the bottle in one shot. “Yeah. We owe everything to them.”

“Yeah, well. I got assigned to dinner set-up duty.”

He beamed. “Great! I’ve been on that rotation for the last few weeks. I’ll show you all the ropes.”

“Few weeks? How long have you been here, if you don’t mind me asking?”

He set down his Coke. “I don’t. And I’ve been here eight weeks. The best eight weeks of my fucked-up life.”

“Don’t say that,” she chided. “Surely everything can’t be so terrible.”

He stared at her for a long moment.

“It can be, if you were the reason why a sold-out European tour couldn’t happen, and it cost your backers and buddies tens of millions of dollars, and it pissed off countless thousands of fans.”

Now the greeters took their seats within the circle.

“Couldn’t, or didn’t?” Claire hoped her words were gentle, but when her head split with pain like this she could never tell. “And what do you mean by ‘tour’?”

His eyes narrowed. “Couldn’t. My manager said I’d come back from Europe in a body bag. He’s a bloodsucker but he had enough sense to not kill the golden goose.” He finished his Coke in one long gulp – flexing the tattoos swirling on his forearm and elbow. “And I’m a professional musician – in case you couldn’t guess from the way I look.”

“I see.”

He grinned. “How about that – someone who doesn’t recognize me.”

She folded her hands in her lap, closing her eyes against the pain, so desperately wanting to disappear. “I guess between medical school, and being a surgeon, and my ex-husband…and the pills…there are a lot of things I haven’t paid attention to.”

“Hey.” Softly he reached out to touch her knee – and she looked up at him.

“I’m not making fun of you, Claire. It’s just…I don’t know. Refreshing.”

She smiled tightly.

The facilitator clapped his hands. “Everyone – are we ready?”

People around the circle nodded, and the man sat down in the last empty chair.

“Great. Well, hi everyone. For those of you who don’t know me – I’m Murtagh. Been clean for just about eleven years now. Before that I spent a small fortune that I didn’t have – ”

“ – on enough blow to kill an elephant,” Jamie and several others chorused.

Murtagh smiled. “Wiseasses. Now – today’s topic is: clarity.”

“Can you be more specific?” A heavyset, bearded man across the circle piped up.

“You mean – provide more clarity?” Geneva snickered from somewhere near Jamie.

“Easy,” Murtagh interjected. “And yes, Rupert, of course. What I mean is: something I hear a lot from people here is that being away from substances gives them clarity for the first time in years. Clarity of thoughts – meaning, you’re logical and rational. Clarity of judgment – meaning, you feel like you are empowered to make good decisions. And overall, clarity to step away from all the bullshit that the substances made you do, or made it easier for you to do, and say – damn, what the hell was I doing?”

Across the circle, Rupert nodded. “OK. Oh – hi everyone, I’m Rupert, and I’m an alcoholic. Yeah – I can definitely relate. I wanted to not have clarity, so that I didn’t have to think about how much I was screwing up my job, and my marriage.”

“Good,” Murtagh praised. “And now that you can’t avoid it – how do you feel?”

Rupert stroked his thick beard. “Like shit. I love Scarlet so much, and I fucked it all up. I understand that now.”

“I feel the same way,” Jamie added. “Hi, I'm Jamie, and I'm an alcoholic, too. I drank because I’ve always felt so responsible for everything going on in my band – because I’m the guy that brought us together, and I’m the guy who writes the songs, and I’m the guy who’s across the table from the record company executives, advocating on our behalf.” He bounced a long, thin, jean-clad leg rapidly up and down. “I felt like I was being used, and that I was the only one who cared. I felt that really clearly. So I drank to…to avoid that clarity.”

Claire carefully watched the others around the circle. What Jamie was sharing could make any one of them a quick buck – all it would take was one phone call to a tabloid. But everyone was listening raptly – clearly thinking about parallels in their own lives – and it began to dawn on her that Jamie had one thing she didn’t have much of for herself: respect.

“And then when I drank, I’d just get really mean,” he continued. “I’d say things to rile up my drummer. I had a fling with my manager’s girlfriend, just to fuck with him. And yeah, I’d destroy hotel rooms.”

“Your reaction was to want to hurt people,” Murtagh said gently. “You had had clarity – clarity that you were shouldering too much, for too many people – and you reacted by wanting to push them away.”

“Yeah.” Claire spoke without thinking. “Um – hi everyone, I’m Claire, and I’m addicted to pills. Halcions, mostly.”

“Oh, those are the best,” a woman to Claire’s left remarked.

“Hey – no positive talk,” Murtagh interjected. “You know better than that, Letitia.”

Letitia huffed.

Murtagh turned back to face Claire. “Tell us more, Claire, if you’re comfortable?”

Now that she’d started, she couldn’t stop. “I was – am – a trauma surgeon for an emergency room. I love it – I love the adrenaline of it, and of course being able to help people on the worst day of their lives. I love being able to heal people. But…but it’s pretty heavy stuff. People die, no matter how hard you try to save them. People wake up and they’re not happy that they don’t have a leg anymore – and I say, would you rather be dead?”

“And you wanted to get away from that?” Jamie asked gently.

She closed her eyes. “I had to have clarity to do my job properly – it’s hard to describe, but it’s like having a laser focus on what’s in front of you. Getting in the zone. Shutting out everything else. And then when it’s all done – I would crash. The whole world would come rushing back, and I’d be covered in someone else’s blood and barely able to sit down before I had to work on the next person. That was so, so hard to deal with.”

“I understand.” Claire opened her eyes – it was an older man speaking right next to Jamie. “Hi everyone – I’m Ned, I’m a lawyer and crack addict, and there are a lot of jokes I’m sure you could make based on that.”

Claire managed a small smile.

“I’m a defense attorney – I’m that guy you see on TV arguing in a courtroom and presenting to a jury. I totally get what Claire said, because I needed to have that kind of really focused clarity, too. It was kind of like acting – I had to remember my argument, and I had to present it to the jury, and I had to pick up on cues from them to see how well I was doing. And then afterward I’d just crash. But I still had to have energy to prep for the next day, and that’s where Miss Crack came in.”

“So what I’m hearing is that clarity is something you already had – and then you turn to substances to get away from it.” Murtagh folded his arms. “Because it’s hard to flip that ‘off’ switch. And then eventually, the substances change from being something to take a vacation from that clarity, to completely blocking out that clarity altogether.”

“Exactly.” It was easier for Claire to focus on Murtagh than the sea of faces surrounding her. “And it’s a deliberate choice. I’m sure, Ned and Rupert and Jamie, that you deliberately sought out something to prevent that clarity. I know I did – I wrote the prescriptions for the pills that I consumed.”

Rupert nodded. “The bottle didn’t pick itself up and pour the liquor down my throat. And you’re right, Claire – at first, at least, it was a conscious decision. Until it became something I had to depend on.”

“I think that there are ways for this to happen more positively.” A woman seated beside Rupert quietly spoke. “Oh – hi, everyone, I’m Marsali, and I’m an alcoholic. What I mean is, there are ways to flip that ‘off’ switch that aren’t so…destructive. You can go for a run. Listen to music. Cook a meal. Watch a movie. Make love to your significant other.”

Murtagh nodded. “Marsali brings up a good point here. I’ll repeat something that I’ve already told many of you before, because it bears repeating. Substance addiction is addiction, first and foremost. All of us are here because our brains are hard-wired for addiction. We can’t change that. But we can change what it is that we’re addicted to.”

“Like what?” Letitia had calmed down a bit, but clearly she was skeptical.

“Whatever works for you,” Murtagh shrugged. “Jiu Jitsu. Flower Arranging. Reading. Playing the drums. Writing. Riding motorcycles. Not all addictions are bad – we just need to find the addictions that help us, and don’t hurt us or the people around us.”

Everyone’s heads nodded in agreement, quietly reflecting.

“So – that’s my homework assignment for all of you.” Murtagh pulled a small spiral notebook from his pocket, flipped to a fresh page, and began scribbling in it. “To think about the thing that you can become positively addicted to. Something you already enjoy, or something you’ve never done before. But I hope that even just thinking about it will give you focus. Improve your clarity.”

“Got it,” Ned said quietly.

Murtagh flipped back to an earlier page in his notebook. “Now – I have here my notes from the last time I facilitated Group. OK if I start going around and asking people for follow-up thoughts to those? Rupert?”

Rupert nodded, and began to speak.

“Facilitators take turns hosting Group every fourth day.” Claire started a bit, but held steady as Jamie leaned in close, spoke quietly into her ear. “We talk about things, and we’re assigned homework, and then the next time the facilitator is back we talk about it.”

“Thanks,” Claire murmured.

Jamie didn’t pull away. “If you ever just want to talk…”

She swallowed. “Thanks. I do. I just – it’s a lot to process.”

“It is. But you’ll get there. Talk more at our dinner prep.”

With that he pulled back, and a low buzz settled somewhere between Claire’s ears as the people around her chimed in to the conversation.

[dreamsmp-au-ideas]

Okay, so, I’m an absolute fool for the Immune AU. Something which has only been strengthened by more recent streams with Sam really becoming Tubbo and Tommy’s tired Dad as well as Tommy at the very least having what looks like a true immunity (jury is out on Tubbo). When I have the time I fully intend to write an Immune AU fic! I just have a couple additions I want to make.

I think Karl and Foolish should absolutely be Immune as well. In fact, to me it feels like they should have been the ones to build the portal but they had to stay behind to make sure the others got to the other side safely. This adds in a lot of interesting angst potential since the characters of Sapnap and Karl are technically canonically engaged. I strongly dislike shipping when the people playing characters share so many similarities with the characters themselves, but I think in honor of it technically being canon there’s room to forgive if people want that kind of angst. Otherwise it can just be regular angst over having had to leave Karl and Foolish behind. Maybe just making Karl, Quackity, and Sapnap a really close platonic trio instead for the people who still don’t really want to involve any hint of shipping, canonical to the story or not.

Another idea I’d like to purpose is the idea of partial, full, and pseudo immunity. Full immunity is found in the people like Tommy or Sam who outright are ambivalent or hateful towards the egg. Even locking them into the room with the egg for hours on end wouldn’t change their opinion (just significantly piss them off in the case of Tommy). Partially immune people are the ones like Puffy or Skeppy who find the strength to resist it but will slowly wane over time if they’re exposed to it too much. We can even add Punz to the partial immunity list and add in hints of the overprotective mercenary big brother au, possibly being more loyal to Tommy than the egg but ultimately loosing his life to protect the group. Finally we have the pseudo immunes like Eret and in my own opinion Tubbo. Either they’re so loyal to someone that they can refute the egg or they have a special blood line that gives them some protection, but their ability to rise above the egg’s manipulation is more so through sheer force of will than an actual immunity and even they too eventually start to crumble. Hell, maybe Tubbo stayed loyal to the very end and Punz sacrificed himself to give Tommy and Tubbo an extra week together so that Tommy could come to terms with things.

If you’re looking for SBI hurt/comfort then make Techno pseudo immune because of chat and Phil partially immune. Techno could hold out super long and we get an emotional heart to heart between Tommy and Techno only for Techno’s greatest weapon against the Crimson, Chat, to become his greatest weakness as the Crimson figures out how to make chat be quiet and in turn lulls Techno into its grasp. Phil on the other hand might have partial immunity but after being captured is tricked by the Egg into thinking that it can bring back Wilbur (which it kind of does by capturing Ghostbur and reviving a super messed up Wilbur.) Where as Pogbur was mentally ill, he genuinely loved Tommy. The first time Tommy confronts him in the button room there’s tnt under the room and it’s implied Wilbur doesn’t press the button because he doesn’t want Tommy getting hurt. He got really sick at the end, but he still loved Tommy. While I am all for an evil and abusive Wilbur during the Pogtopia arc within certain aus (cus sometimes Villain Wilbur is fun), canon Wilbur really was just sick and while that doesn’t excuse all of his actions, it speaks to a redemption arc and it isn’t fair to demonize him if a fic wants to go the route of him being sick instead of a villain. Crimbur would be the exact opposite. Only further edged on by a now sick Phil essentially trying to “repair” his family as a twisted way to make amends to his two youngest (something we might even see mirrored in an infected Techno who could perhaps realize how fucked up some of his actions were. Like offering to sell Tommy back to Dream for the favor, bluff or not it wasn’t a chill move y'all.)

I have a couple more interesting ideas/plot points that I would love to share, but, well, since I’m actually planning to turn this into a fic it wouldn’t be any fun if I spoiled everything. If this tumblr’s curator is chill with it I wouldn’t mind dropping a link here when the first chapter goes up.

~Snapdragon & Firefly

[nebulousneuroticism]

I slept okay last night, and was able to be up for my meeting.  Afterward, I did fall asleep again, though, dozing for a couple hours on the couch, half-listening for the maintenance man to knock.  The maintenance man did not knock; it’s been almost two weeks since I requested him, and my faith that he will ever come is waning.  Perhaps I will have to use a screwdriver to turn on my shower forever.

After work, I ate some soup and then logged on to play more Wildermyth with my friend.  We didn’t play for that long, but it was fun.  After we finished the campaign we were doing, she wanted to chat for a while, and I felt kind of awkward... I’m a really bad conversationalist.  I did my best.

For the rest of the night, I flitted between activities, not willing or able to concentrate on any one thing for long.  I played a little Trails in the Sky SC, and I tidied the living room a bit (moved some junk to the closet so my sister doesn’t think I’m a slob when she visits).  I took a shower and listened to some music.  Just... random stuff.

I don’t feel great tonight, physically or emotionally.  I should have eaten some real food today instead of just canned soup.  Emotionally, I feel a sense of dread.  I think it’s a combination of many factors: the interview I have to give tomorrow, my endless anticipation of the maintenance man, chores I still have to do in advance of my sister’s visit, and then the visit itself, of course, and then jury duty the following week.  There’s just a lot going on.

At least I’ve had slightly more energy, lately.  There’s no way it’s sustainable: I’ve been staying up too late for that.  It’s probably just a side effect of all my worries, a nervous, unfocused energy.

Speaking of staying up late, it’s almost five am.  I should be asleep.  I won’t be able to nap tomorrow because of that interview, so I guess it’ll just be a bad time.

[seraphicstrings-a]

the tea was not yet brewed, but that didn't stop the two from chatting in the dimly-lit kitchen anyway, the scent of tea leaves and honey accompanying their conversation. orin leaned against the counter and tilted their head to study the other, more inquisitive than anything. "we haven't talked in a while," they said, and in the silent way they seemed to communicate most things, they raised their brows to add: what have you been up to?

"You were at least yay high last time I saw you." Gesturing a little above his short stature. "It's been what, a few years? Or has it been longer? Oh stars, I can barely keep track of the living anymore, it's so difficult!" He laughs, the sound resounding like a distant chime of a door being opened into a jury hall.

"Ah well."

"As usual, everyone is a bunch of idiots. Aside from the people that I live with, of course. And you." He shrugs. "Do you know how hard it is being impassive towards people who always come to you when they're so awfully desperate for the same things? It REEKS of the same old game. It's boring. I'm kind of glad for having Delun around. They make this repetitive a little less inane. Make things fun for me. Make the nighttime, fun, in a way. I won't bombard you with that, because I know that flusters you." He chuckles.

"Or at least, I know you don't want to hear the sexual escapades of your elders again, for the third week in a row. As much as I love to talk about it."

"Even so. One of my smaller deals got interrupted for no good reason. All because some girl didn't decide to talk it all the way through with me and then got upset when it wasn't what she wanted. Young dragons and their nonsense. I swear, I should just make it a personal rule to only deal with ancient dragons who KNOW what they talk about and how to make a deal. Their kids rush into things. And get this! That girl's friends got mad at me too. What a sore loser of a friend group. Like I'M the one at fault for her getting her britches in a twist over not being better at negotiating terms of agreement and reading through the fine print. I even did what I always do and offer to rearrange the whole deal at least once. She STILL got upset. Kids."

He rolls his eyes.

"Now I have a stars-cursed void reality bender trying to get into my head with some psychology tricks or whatever, thinking that he's some hot shot or something. He's no better. Like I haven't been alive for the birth and death of more than a few universes. Like I haven't seen beings like him come into existence and then be killed and eaten and torn to bits. He is nothing to me. I'm more scared of that Pisces fellow than I am of him."

He shakes his head.

"Anyway, how are you doing lately, Orin? Develop your powers yet?"

-- @thorrned

[eulersfeverdream]

All’s Fair in Love and Calculus - Chapter 10

A PP high school AU.

Read here on AO3.

Chloe's phone let out a hushed buzz from beside her, the soft fabric of her comforter soaking up and silencing most of the vibrations that leaked out from the device's body. She picked it up and tilted the screen towards her. As the screen lit up the sight of Beca's name quickened her heartbeat. The book Chloe had been studying fell to the bed beside her hip, forgotten, as fingers hastily danced to unlock the screen.

QT Math Whiz: Hey, I just got home. Wanted you to know I was safe, or whatever.

Beale: aww, thx!!!

Beale: i miss you already

QT Math Whiz: I miss you too. Thanks for inviting me to stay for dinner. I had fun.

Beale: well i do make the best puttanesca

QT Math Whiz: Not quite what I meant.

Beale: no? well wut did u mean?

At the bottom of the conversation the telltale ellipses popped up and disappeared several times next to Beca's name. Chloe couldn't help but grin as she pictured Beca typing and retyping nervously. After a few moments with no progress Chloe giggled to herself and decided to take pity.

Beale: if you meant the kisses then i had fun too

QT Math Whiz: You are the worst Beale.

Chloe leaned back onto her pillows, wiggling her shoulders to sink into a more comfortable position as her weight settled against the headboard beneath. An image of Beca's grumpy pout and the soft smile that the tiny woman was powerless to fully hide too hold in Chloe's imagination and the thought filled her stomach with a warm, tingling sensation.

Her fingers drifted over the screen as the two settled into conversation, the time vanishing as the night aged outside her window.

 After a time the muted chimes from the clock in the front hall made their way through her bedroom door signalling midnight.

Chloe looked up at the clock in the top right of her phone's screen in disbelief, cursing softly that it was so late. A handful of notebooks peered out of the opened zipper of her backpack in mute accusation. She let her head fall back heavily her pillow as her chest deflated in a long, frustrated sigh. After indulging in a few seconds of self-pity she shifted to sit up and eyed her phone, missing Beca just at the idea of saying goodbye.

Beale:i just realized its after midnite. gtg. see you tomorrow babe!!!xxx

QT Math Whiz:Okay, good night. Have good dreams.

Beale:u2

The chat blinked away, quickly being replaced by Chloe's favorite study play list. As soon as the music started pouring out of her wireless speakers Chloe locked the phone and blew a raspberry at the blank glass, plugging its charging cable into the bottom before sending it sailing onto her bed in a gentle arc.

She eyed the backpack, mentally organizing her homework before deciding to tackle the most important assignment first. A pen and her history notebook soon joined her phone on the bed, followed by Chloe with her textbook in tow. An afghan over her lap completed the arrangement and Chloe set to reading the chapter her teacher had assigned, humming along to Dirty Paws as she did.

Beca cracked her eyes open to the chirping singsong of fake sounding birds coming out of her cell phone. She blinked rapidly, willing her eyes to focus as she tried to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. The usual corner of her dresser where her phone should be was a void.

Puzzled she turned her head one from side to side, trying to localize the insistent chirps. The sound was coming from her sheets. She sat up and rummaged her hands through the folds of cotton. Eventually her fingers bumped into hard plastic, the offending noise pitching up in intensity as it was freed from her bedding before falling silent as Beca muted the alarm with a groan.

The previous night swam back to her and she recalled that she had been drifting to sleep with her phone in her hand, thinking about Chloe's last messages. She played through the previous night in her head, a silly smile spreading across her face. Memories of warm lips and the weight of Chloe as she leaned into Beca. The reverie was interrupted with a series light but resolute knocks on the bedroom door.

When no reply seemed forthcoming the voice of Beca's mother came through the door, muffled by the obstruction. "Beca, honey, are you up?"

Beca eyed the door, feeling a prickle of irritation. Her mother was probably going to tell her she'd have to work late again tonight. Another extra shift to help a friend. Beca nodded without thinking, then sighed as she reflected that her mother had no way of seeing her. Not feeling very much like shouting, Beca rose without saying a word, sucking in a breath sharply as her feet touched the cold faux hardwood floor. She quickly crossed to the door, scrunching her toes in order to arch as much of her foot away from the cold as she went. Opening the door Beca spotted her mother, neatly made up for work and smiling.

"Yeah mom, I'm up," Beca said, her voice husky and tired. "What do you need?"

Beca covered her mouth as she tried to stifle a yawn, apologizing quietly under her breath as she waited for her mother's answer.

Smiling, her mother said, "Melissa needs me to cover her night shift again tonight. It's the last time, but her husband has been stuck on jury duty and she's had a miserable time trying to find child care."

Her mother smiled apologetically as if she realized she had been rambling before she finished. "Anyway, I'll make it up to you, I'll be home for the rest of the week."

Beca shrugged in answer to her mom's expectant expression, understanding the decision. She didn't even know if she could have explained what bothered her about the recent string of lonely nights. Beca was always quiet, barely talking even when her mother was home.

Yet even so, Beca missed her mom's presence. Even if it was just quietly watching television together or listening to her mom recount her day while she enjoyed the dinner Beca made, at least she was there. Lately it felt like her mother was just missing.

"Yeah, sure mom," Beca said. "Whatever."

As soon as the words slipped off of her tongue Beca realized they were sharper than she meant. Her mother's hopeful smile fell slightly and Beca grimaced, not quite sure what to do about the strike of guilt she felt. Her mother tried to gather herself and leaned in for a quick hug, used to Beca's stiff reception.

"Well, have a good day honey. Do you need any money for dinner?" she asked, earning a silent shake of Beca's head. Her mother nodded and stepped away, turning towards the stairs and the first few steps of her commute.

Beca closed the door, her shoulders slumping as she played the conversation over in her mind, wishing she'd offered her mother more patience, or apologized. Her thoughts soon turned to school, however, and Beca was mollified as she realized that she'd get to see Chloe in choir today, and the thought made it very difficult to dampen the smile that threatened to dominate Beca's face.

Chloe came to a stop at her locker, bouncing up on her tiptoes as she did. Her fingers made short work of the lock, four years of muscle memory making the action almost subconscious. She tugged upward on the metal tab above the notched wheel after the last number was set, the door swinging open against the adjacent locker with a clang.

Chloe let her bag swing around her, the weight balancing on shoulder so she could swap out the books and notebooks she wouldn't need today and trading them for the binder of music for choir. As she slid it carefully into the now vacant space in her backpack Chloe angled her head to peer lower, looking her hair over in the mirror. She felt silly, it was the end of a long day at school, but she still wanted to make sure her hair looked tidy.

"Hey there stranger."

Chloe didn't have to turn to know the face that was connected to the honeyed, sing-song voice beside her belonged to her best friend Aubrey.

"Hey Bree," Chloe replied.

She decided to ignore the stranger remark. It was true that she hadn't seen Aubrey outside of school in almost two weeks. Between her tutoring and all of her classwork as they inched towards graduation she hadn't really seen anybody. Instead she opted for flattery.

Chloe turned to face Aubrey and asked, "Is that a new blouse?"

Aubrey looked down at the yellow silk that fell from her shoulders into a flattering but conservative neckline.

"Yes and no, I think it's the first time I've worn it, but it's been in my closet for a while."

Chloe nodded, slipping her free arm through the vacant strap in her bag and sliding the bundle onto her back. She gestured with a nod toward the direction of the rehearsal hall and Aubrey fell into step beside her.

They chatted as they walked, Aubrey regaling her with some of the comings and goings of their friends at school. Chloe nodded along but kept finding herself distracted, looking for a messy brunette bun hiding under bulky headphones as she walked through the thicket of students. She registered a change in Aubrey's tone of voice and met her friend's eyes, clearly lost.

"Are you even listening to me?" Aubrey questioned, the naked irritation in her voice unmistakeable.

"Yeah, sorry. I just zoned out. Run that by me one more time?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes and let out a huff.

"I said that Stacie and I are going to Luke DeLaney's party tonight. Should I have Stacie pick you up, or do you want to meet us at my house?"

Chloe vaguely recalled being invited, frowning as she thought about it.

"I don't know about that Bree. I'm so stressed with classes and applications and everything, I just-"

Aubrey cut her off with a dismissive wave of her hand, her vibrant pink fingernails flashing.

"All the more reason to come! You need to let loose and relax."

Chloe tried to fight the grimace she was sure was trying to take hold on her face. She had a hard time pretending she didn't hear hints of her mother in Aubrey's tone of voice, and it didn't take much imagination to picture her mother insisting that Chloe should go out, rub shoulders with people. Invest in the connections that supposedly made the world run.

"I don't know, I've got my tutoring and then I think I'll just stay home."

Aubrey recoiled as if Chloe had told her that she was planning to spend the night dissecting small animals.

"I don't know what's up with you Chloe, but you need to figure out your priorities."

Without another word Aubrey picked up her pace, leaving Chloe in her wake. Chloe allowed herself a small sigh, wishing she could figure a way to make Aubrey understand her.

Choir rehearsals were about halfway done and Beca stood patiently in her section flanked by a few other altos. They had just finished the first section they were practicing today and the director, a sympathetic looking man named Mr. Walsh had told them to take a five minute break while he excused himself to take an emergency call in the office that butted up against the front of the rehearsal room.

As soon as Mr. Walsh had closed the door students started milling around, like gas atoms expanding to fill the volume they were in. Beca stood still, casually watching as everyone drifted to and fro. She gripped her sheet music, the familiar feel of the heavy paper stock grounding her. Beca liked the routine nature of class schedules, it made things simple and organized, and she couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable with the interruption. She didn't like the confusion that swept in to replace their teacher.

Beca turned toward the section where she knew Chloe would be, craning her neck as she stretched onto the tips of her toes. She looked for the telltale shock of auburn hair in the sopranos that would mean she'd found Chloe. The idea of her bright, cerulean eyes made something inside Beca's chest flutter. They had said hi for a few moments before class started, but Beca found herself eager to see her smile all the same.

Without warning someone bumped into Beca from behind, impacting her shoulder painfully and sending her music to the floor. Beca crouched down to pick up the bound sheets up.

"You should be more careful spaz."

Beca turned around as she rose back to her feet. A tall, imposing blonde loomed over her, talking Ashley, the alto who stood behind Beca. Recognition flooded into her brain as Beca recalled Chloe talking about this girl and how long they had been friends. What was her name? Abby? No, she thought. Aubrey. Beca ground her teeth for a moment, not happy with the situation.

"You walked into me," Beca said quietly, her voice flat.

"What did you say?"

Aubrey had turned back around, clearly unhappy, although Beca didn't really understand why. The taller woman squared herself to Beca, both hands poised haughtily on her hips.

"I said-" Beca paused, taking a breath as she tried to figure out what was expected of her. It was obvious to Beca that she couldn't have done anything to avoid their collision. Had the girl not seen her? Beca frowned, wishing again that Mr. Shaw hadn't left so she wouldn't have to worry about people who walked into her.

"I was just saying that I couldn't be more careful," she repeated. Hoping to clarify she quickly added, "Because you walked into me."

Aubrey scoffed, eying Beca up and down. Beca spun her thumb ring, feeling the polished inner metal glide over her skin easily. She dropped her eyes to the floor to avoid Aubrey's glare, noticing the girl's shoes instead. They were clean and barely showed any wear. They looked expensive, the same as her clothes.

"What's with your voice?" Aubrey asked. The abrupt shift in topics confused Beca.

"What?"

"Your voice," Aubrey repeated. "It's like you're a robot, your voice never changes. It's distracting"

"What? I don't-" Beca began stammering, completely unsure of how to respond. Aubrey just stared, her eyebrows creeping higher.

"Does she even sing?" Aubrey asked, turning to Ashely who said nothing but snickered.

"I sing," Beca said, her voice becoming strained.

Aubrey crossed her arms, her dusty green eyes locked onto Beca who squirmed under the continued eye contact. She scoffed again, disapproving and cold. "Bullshit," the older girl said, hovering far too close for Beca's liking. She took a half step back out of instinct. The move seemed to embolden Aubrey who grinned like a hyena leading a pack to close in on a kill.

She started to repeat the first line of the piece they were practicing, her voice held in a monotone. The imitation was met with laughter by a number of the closest students.

Beca glanced around before dropping her eyes to the floor, her breaths coming shorter and faster. Several of the other students laughed at Aubrey's impression. Beca started nervously plucking at the edge of her choir notebook, the slightly rolled plastic edge catching in between her fingernails.

"See? That's not singing," Aubrey said icily. "Why don't you just leave so we don't have to listen to your weird robot voice," Aubrey questioned.

Beca squeezed her eyes shut. Her chest felt like it was being crushed and all she wanted to do was get away, but she couldn't get her legs to move. She couldn't do anything, it felt like she was trapped in time, watching herself from outside. Aubrey uncrossed her arms and reached out, her finger harshly tapping Beca on the forehead twice, her fingernail catching Beca's skin. She flinched at the unwelcome contact.

"What, are you deaf too?"

Beca's stomach tightened into a knot, and she hated herself for feeling the bloom of heat on her right cheek as a tear crept down it.

"What the fuck Aubrey!?"

Beca and Aubrey both jerked their heads to the side in the same moment, turning their attention to where Chloe was standing a few feet away.

[bbtagawardsofficial]

That Concludes the BB22TagAwards!

Thank you everyone for participating in the Tag Awards! This has been such a fun year, regardless of the season itself or whatever happens in the finale tonight. 

On a personal level, I’m genuinely so incredulous at all of the friendship and community that develops in the tag each year. Especially in these *cough* unprecedented times *cough*, the friendships I’ve formed have meant so much. 

I’m very pleased that I got to organize the bb22tagawards and provide this service for our community and keep this tradition going. I hope everyone who won and everyone who lost and everyone who voted feels appreciated, because I’m personally grateful for all of you. 

I’ll be excited to improve this process for BB23TagAwards, next year. Assuming there is another season after whatever this was. a;lksjdlkfjsdl. So if you have a moment, the post prior to this one links to a short anonymous survey that I would be very grateful if multiple people took to give me feedback. Were you pleased, were there things you felt could be improved? Questions, comments and snide remarks are all appreciated. Please, as always, feel free to reach out to me directly if you want to chat with me. The primary blog I communicate through is @kidnappedbyacrow. 

And with that, see you around the tag and see you next year. <3 Also if you are holding onto the bb23tagaward handle, I’d love if you could release that back to the void and let me know so I can nab it. Love y’all. <3

View the Masterlist of BB22 Winners are Below the Cut: 

Part One: Tag Community Awards

Favorite Tag Gate: Petgate!gate (the drama)

Favorite Blogger: @negrotti-natalie

Mx. Congeniality: @bathroom-sand 

Chillest Blogger: @bbfloss

Thirstiest Blogger: @peterbrownismydaddy 

Shadiest Blogger: @stanningbb

Funniest Blogger: @kaysarsupremacy

Pettiest Blogger: @knightjackie 

Gayest Blogger: @nerdphobic 

Hardest Stan: @remember-caltoru

Best Content Creator: @shaolinbynature 

Best BB22!Themed Handle: @jaysar

Best Host: @iliketodothethings & @vetoslut 

Favorite Newcomer: @kaysarswhore

Best Selfies: @transpokenerd

Messiest Blogger: @maxdoesbb 

Most Likely to Actually Win Big Brother: @whats-bb22 

Most off topic: @charlchen-moonves 

The Season Survivor: @rogers-davonne 

Unbreakable Duo: @bbyikes & @iliketodothethings 

Best Trio: Trio From Hell TM @charlchen-moonves, @maxdoesbb, @stanningbb

Part Two: House Awards 

Most Deserving of the "All-Star" Title:

1st Place: Da'Vonne Rogers

Runner Up: Janelle Pierzina

Favorite Pre-Jury Boot:

1st Place: Kaysar Ridha

Runner Up: Bayleigh Dayton

Favorite Houseguest:

1st Place: Da'Vonne Rogers

Runner Up: Kaysar Ridha

Least Favorite Houseguest:

1st Place: Memphis Garrett

Runner Up: Christmas Abbott

Most Strategic Houseguest:

1st Place: Kaysar Ridha

Runner Up: Da'Vonne Rogers

Least Strategic Houseguest:

1st Place: Christmas Abbott

Runner Up: Enzo Palumbo

Messiest Houseguest:

1st Place: David Alexander

Runner Up: Kevin "KC" Campbell

Best Social Game:

1st Place: Enzo Palumbo

Runner Up: Da'Vonne Rogers

Worst Social Game:

1st Place: Memphis Garrett

Runner Up: Nicole Anthony

Biggest Coaster:

1st Place: Nicole Franzel

Runner Up: Christmas Abbott

Biggest Physical Comp Beast:

1st Place: Cody Calafiore

Runner Up: Christmas Abbott

Biggest Mental Comp Beast:

1st Place: Da’Vonne Rogers

Tied Runner Ups: Ian Terry and Kaysar Ridha

Best HOH:

1st Place: I simply do not care about this question

Runner Up: Week 8 pt 3: Tyler Cripsen

Worst HOH: Tied for first place!

I simply do not care about this question

Week 5: Christmas Abbott

Best Gameplay:

1st Place: Da'Vonne Rogers

Runner Up: Cody Calafiore

Worst Gameplay:

1st Place: Nicole Anthony

Runner Up: Tyler Crispen

Best Season Twist:

1st Place: Triple Eviction

Runner Up: Safety Suite

Worst Season Twist:

1st Place: Neighbor's Week

Runner Up: Triple Eviction

Best BB22 Julie Chen-M**nves Eviction Night Sign Off: Tied for First Place!

Don't judge or you too will be judged.

The Golden Rule -- do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Favorite BB Era:

1st Place: Era 2: Classic - BB2 to BB7: Twists were changes to structure of the cast itself, no interaction with America

Runner Up: Era 3: Post-Classic - BB8 to BB14: Profound game altering twists to the format of the game, with some unique powers introduced

Favorite Season of BBUS or BBCAN or a Variant thereof:

1st Place: BBCan 5

Runner Up: BB17

Which All-Star are you most upset wasn't cast in bb22:

1st Place: Vanessa Rousso

Runner Up: Danielle Reyes

Favorite Friendship between Houseguests:

1st Place: Bay and Day

Runner Up: Jaysar

Honorable Mention: The friendship between Jaysar and Bay&Day

Best Alliance:

1st Place: Black Girl Magic

Worst Alliance:

1st Place: The Committee/The KKKommitee/Whatever the white people called themselves this year

Bye, besties! <3

[bewaretheidesofmarchyall]

Soulmate Shenanigans Part Three: Return Of The Shenanigans

Let’s do this!

At this point, you probably know the drill (and, if not, parts one and two are here and here!)

Basically I found some prompts for September, and now I’m doing them in October just because

Prompt #3

You have an animal that only you and your soulmate can see.

Warnings: Death mentions, brief mentions of drowning (I pinky swear that I’ll stop drowning Janus for the rest of this challenge), brief mentions of house fires (I pinky swear that I’ll stop setting Patton on fire for the rest of this challenge)

World Building

Soulmates had always been an idea bubbling in the back of humanity’s brains. A sort of “hey, this romance thing is complicated, could we just kinda know?”

It was starting to annoy the fates

Do you expect them to do all the work? I mean, what with the spinning, and the looking ominous, and the lack of dental, their job is a hard one, and you want to make it harder by having them weave two people’s stories together?

One day, a fate heard yet another “please, let me meet my soulmate tomorrow” prayer and went nuts

Fine. Fine! You want soulmates? We’ll make soulmates.

The plan was to create two soulmates, make them fall in love

And then kill them.

Just to remind humans where they stood on a cosmic scale. Just to remind them that every story ends tragically, when you get down to the end.

They reviewed a few couples (Some Romeo and Juliet people had promise), but in the end decided. Feuding families? Check. Opposites attracting? Check. Tragedy? Inevitable.

Characters

Patton: Patton grew up inside the hedges.

Hedges were his family’s specialty, so the house was surrounded by them. He rarely got to leave, but he could get lost in the gardens and talk to his imaginary pet, so all in all things were okay. Sure, maybe it was weird to have a blue jay that only he could see, but he was lonely!

See, Patton’s family liked three things

1. Having heirs (but only in theory)

2. Increasingly elaborate hedge mazes

3. Fighting a blood feud the goddamn lawyers

Patton wasn’t really on that list, but he wasn’t on the list of hated things either, so there was that.

List of Hated Things

1. The goddamn lawyers

2. Anyone who associates with the goddamn lawyers

3. Anyone who is descended from the goddamn lawyers

4. Anyone who gets in the way of the blood feud with the goddamn lawyers

5. Dandelions. They’re not serious gardening.

Janus: Janus was, of course, a child of the goddamn lawyers

The lawyers weren’t a clan of blood like the gardeners, but one of merit. And having kids was seen as a conflict of interest, and therefore frowned upon.

Of course, it’s illegal to murder or criminally neglect children, so he was allowed to stick around and have a childhood vaguely reminiscent of John Mulaney’s “one black coffee”, “over on the bench”, and “getting accused of murdering Princess Diana” skits

Most of his childhood was spent accusing his pet blue jay (that couldn’t be seen by anyone else) of crimes and then debating himself about whether or not the bird was guilty, like a normal kid.

However, when it became clear that someone else was stealing his blue jay, he had to find them and give them a piece of his mind, even if they lived behind formidable hedges

The Plot

Patton (about eight at this point) was wandering around the grounds, talking to Sunny (his name for the bird), like every other day, when the strangest kid he’d ever seen in his life appeared through a small gap in the hedges and informed him that the bird was his and he’d be leaving soon

A bird custody battle ensues

Janus uses a lot of legal terminology, which Patton pretends to understand. The debate ends when Patton’s aunt shows up and threatens to chuck Janus over the garden walls if he doesn’t get out immediately.

Janus runs off, but Patton sees him through the hedges later, and he looks kind of sad about the whole thing, so Patton offers to share custody of Sunny. 

Janus perked up at this solution, despite claiming that the bird’s name was really Iago, and a friendship was born.

It was hard for them to chat when both their relatives would love to murder at least one of the kids if they could get away with it, and Patton was separated from him by the hedges, but they managed.

Sunny/Iago was decent at carrying messages, Janus was good at finding secret passages, and Patton had adequate aim when tossing packages over the hedges.

They were best friends for years and years, confidants in their crazy worlds.

At around sixteen, Janus convinced Patton to leave the grounds for an afternoon. The two of them saw the sights (which meant buying/stealing bread) (you can guess who actually bought the bread and who stole it) and had fun

The evening ended with the two of them sitting under a tree, chatting. The dandelions were in that in-between stage where some of them are flowers and some seed-heads, so Patton was able to weave a crown of flowers and make a wish at the same time.

Take a wild flying guess who he wished for (hint: they were currently wearing the flower crown and pretending to not like it, but would secretly never take it off. Ever.).

Patton claimed he’d wished for world peace (which, on further reflection, he felt bad for not thinking of first), and Janus claimed he’d wished for solid gold coins, but they were both lying.

Eventually, Patton had to go home.

Sunny-Iago: Sunny-Iago had gone by many names before. As one of the extra-dimensional lords of fate, they’d been called things like, “THE FUCK IS THAT”, “IT HAS SO MANY EYES”, and “Oh, fuck, that raven’s back again”. It made perfect sense for them to have at least two, despite being in the flesh prison of a blue jay this time.

A damn blue jay.

At least ravens have a little class.

Anyway, their job was to guide two sweethearts together and then drive them into a metaphorical (or literal? It could always be literal) brick wall. This was proving harder than expected, since the most important thing was to not get attached to either of them and well

Sunny-Iago had gotten attached to both of them. It was hard to see kids grow up and be fine killing them off, okay!

But they knew the drill. This had to end in some kind of tragedy. 

So, they had a plan. Instead of having them both killed off because of miscommunication, they’d merely never see each other again and pine after what could have been, eventually turning into a bittersweet story they’d tell to....someone younger and more naïve, or something. They were still working it out!

So, they grabbed a quill pen in their beak and wrote a note to Patton’s aunt (it took several tries. Beaks were not meant for holding quill pens). 

The note said something along the lines of “You know the goddamn lawyers? Of course you do. Your nephew fell for one, last chance to fix the situation is at 10:00 at the gate”.

Back To The Plot

Patton and Janus got back to the gardener grounds. Neither wanted to leave the other’s company, so they lingered at the gate, chatting and finding excuses to stay.

After a few minutes, it was obvious that Patton had to leave. Before doing so, he quickly kissed Janus on the cheek, just in time to get caught by his aunt, who came close to stabbing the both of them with a garden trowel.

When Janus came back a few days later, wilted dandelions still in his pocket, Patton was gone, sent far away from lawyers and love. All that was left was the bird. A stupid bird that no one else could see.

Time-lapse! Seven years later!

Janus was working on the most important legal case any lawyer had in a solid three years.

A gardener had murdered one of his relatives (he kept forgetting which one, which was a bit of a problem, since half of his job was to look tearful about them) with a wheelbarrow, and he was attempting to get them arrested for it. 

If it worked, the gardeners would have consequence for committing murder, which would hopefully tone down the blood feud a little.

Half of the jurors had been rigged by both sides, some paid to vote one way and some paid to vote another. There were, however, six undecided jurors out there.

The Jurors

Logan: Logan is the only person on the jury who knows anything whatsoever about law and what can be done in a courtroom. He actually wants the most just and logical thing to happen. 

Weirdo.

Roman: Roman is an actor in a touring production of Much Ado About A Midsummer’s Ham (Cooked As You Like It)

He just wants this trial process to be over so he can get back to rehearsal-wait, nevermind, the guy with the glasses is cute and he’s going to make this court case last as long as possible.

Remus: Remus is here to cause as much legal chaos as possible

He might get arrested for contempt of court.

Virgil: Virgil gives 0 fucks about anything that happens, but knows more about law than Logan, who knows more about law than anyone else in the court.

Remy: Remy heard from people that court cases are full of juicy drama.

Those people are wrong. It’s just a bunch of legal stuff. He’d rather be at Starbucks!

Emile: Emile is psychoanalyzing everyone else on the jurors section. Especially Remus.

Back To The Plot

The case progresses normally

Well, normally for this town anyway, which means that the goddamn lawyers are dying off fast (mostly of poison).

Janus, however, has managed to dodge every assassination attempt. He’s lawyering like Billy Flynn here!

Late in the afternoon, everyone’s a little tired and a lot bored when yet another witness is called. Janus was pulling his hat over his eyes for shade from the sunlight streaming into the court, when he heard the witness’s voice.

After a seven year disappearance, Patton stood in the courtroom.

Remy leaned forward. He saw the look on Janus’s face. At long last, drama had arrived.

After the court got out of session, Janus dashed down the steps of the building to catch up to Patton. He offers to get a coffee with him, but Patton turns him down, insinuating that he only offered to get information on the gardeners. Janus left, dejected.

Over the last seven years, Patton’s was in the far away land where his family started: New Jersey. While in this cursed place, his family attempted to change him from a dandelion to a venus flytrap, and nearly succeeded.

Nearly.

But when, the next day, his aunt poisons Janus’s water glass (gleefully explaining that this poison doesn’t show up on the standard tests and precautions), he just so happens to be clumsy enough to knock it over before Jan drinks it, and ends up volunteering to get coffee to make up for it.

Coffee meet-ups lead to coffee dates lead to rekindling of old romances (all under the utmost secrecy)

Eventually, the court case comes to a head. 

The six pre-decided jurors work quickly, but Logan debates, and Roman stalls because he’ll be missing Logan, and Remus is forcibly removed from the courthouse, and Emile forgot to take notes, and Virgil sleeps through most of it, and Remy couldn’t care less about this, only caring about what happens with Janus and Patton.

They make their decision

Since they saw like 47 murder attempts over the course of the trial, it’s not a stretch to assume that the gardeners did kill that guy with a wheelbarrow.

Janus and the rest of the prosecution celebrate, and in the excitement of the moment, he and Patton end up sharing a kiss.

That’s the moment the gardeners went from Lowkey Trying To Murder Him to Highkey Trying To Murder Him

Both of them walk home with their head in the clouds

When your head is in the clouds, it’s easy to get kidnapped and thrown in the harbor to drown, especially if you happen to be a goddamn lawyer who just won a case.

And when your head is in the clouds, and you overhear your relatives talking about how they threw the person you love the most into the harbor to drown, it’s easy to make rash decisions

Like grabbing a torch and running into the middle of a prized hedge maze, and threaten to burn it all if his aunt didn’t tell him where Janus was. 

When the answer was “dead, obviously”, Patton took the torch to the shrubbery, and the estate burned.

Problem: Janus crawled to shore and survived. 

Secondary problem: Patton’s not trying especially hard to escape the fire.

Janus got to the house, saw it was on fire, and ran into the grounds. He eventually found Patton (who was still alive and in the hedge maze), but....it’s a very intricate hedge maze, and now there’s smoke everywhere, and they can’t find their way out.

At the last second, Sunny-Iago swooped over their heads, pointing to the exit, and they run after them.

They’re almost out of the burning grounds when Sunny-Iago falls to the ground, still, and they find themselves in another place entirely.

The Fates

The Fates had bet on how good old birdie would kill Janus and Patton off

Knife? was the most common bet, followed by Wolves. No one bet on them living in the end.

Except Meghan (alternate name: The Lurking One), and nobody liked Meghan, and nobody liked losing money. 

So, they were going to do the job personally.

Back To The Plot

Janus and Patton find themselves in a tomb where every grave is theirs. A tomb where every grave is theirs is essentially the office space of the fates, who enjoy the atmosphere.

The Fates themselves take a multitude of forms: Animal, vegetable, mineral, eldritch, you name it.

And they all bicker amongst themselves about how to best kill off the couple.

Knife? Wolves? Triscuits? How??

Janus tricks them into debating the subject round and round in circles, but they eventually come to their senses.

As a last ditch hope, Patton says that they’ll pick the method of death for them if they give the couple a chance to plead for their lives.

The fates agree, and the Final Court Case begins.

Janus is quite a lawyer, but there’s literally a saying about how hard it is to argue with Fate, so its a nail biter of a case. Patton manages to give a passionate defense and Janus brings up evidence, but it’s still anyone’s game how the jurors will vote.

Steve votes for death

The Great Rot votes for not death

Spatula votes for not death

Karen votes for death

Meghan votes for not death

A Clump Of Petunias votes for death

Broken Taco Shells And Broken Hearts votes for not death

That One Relative At Family Reunions That You Pretend To Know But Don’t votes for death

Microwavable Lasagna votes for not death

The Ghost Of Richard III votes for death

That Sock That Always Disappears From Dryers chooses not to vote. What a jerk.

At this point, it’s tied 5-5. Enter Remy, who just wants to go to the extra-dimensional Starbucks.

He deliberates. He hems. He haws. He draws out the moment unnecessarily long for drama’s sake.

But, at the end of the day, he was always rooting for these humans.

Remy votes for not death.

Conclusion

Patton and Janus get to live. Time is very short for humans, and eventually they would both die, but right then and there, they got to live.

Dandelions eventually took root where the carefully trimmed hedges had once been.

And Roman noticed, after his performance was done, that a certain nerd was in the audience.

And he could also see Roman’s blue jay.

Hope you enjoyed!!

[spn-mediabigbang]

Mobile-friendly Rules

Welcome to the SPN Media Big Bang Rules!

Welcome to the third annual SPN Media Big Bang, a collaborative fan creation challenge similar to fandom bangs that you’re probably used to, but with a movie, TV, book, or video game twist! Writers are free to write SPN fanfiction based on the media of their choosing - that means fusions, AUs, cross-overs, and ‘inspired by’s! Artists will anonymously claim these fics, then create two pieces of art and a banner. We’ve allotted authors several months to create a piece of fanfiction of at least 20k words, and given artists several months to create glorious companion pieces of art.

This time we’re doing the art posting and promo'ing a bit differently, so please read the art rules, regardless if you are an artist or author. ;)

Sincerely from the Directors of SPN MBB,

MalMuses, jscribbles, and Blueeyesandpie (Sunny)

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About the Mods

Meet your Directors!

“Aaaaaaand cut!”

Meet the three freaky-deaky minds that will be running this year’s SPN Media Big Bang. This wacky trio will be the point of contact for teams participating in this year’s challenge.

Jscribbles and MalMuses run all social media for SPNMBB, moderate the Discord community, and will act as support for all people involved in this bang.

Blueeyesandpie (Sunny), this years spectacular addition to the moderator team, will be the first Art Director of this challenge! Sunny will be overseeing the art channels, acting as first point of contact for all artists, and will be generally supporting all the artsy needs of our artsty-fartsy folk.

The Directors are judge, jury, executioner, cheerleaders, fangirls, and a shoulder to cry on - though they hope there is minimal crying unless it is crying with joy because the challenge is so fun.

MalMuses (Director)

MalMuses will be your whiskey aunt, your mom, your best friend, and now, potentially your very own Director. Mal has been in the SPN fandom since Season 9. A late-bloomer by fandom standards, but fully enthusiastic!

Her favorite movies include V for Vendetta, The Village, Shaun of the Dead, and Dale and Tucker vs Evil. In terms of fic taste, she’s the token darkfic, murder-husbands fan, but outside of that, Mal loves her fic as tropey as they come!

Jscribbles (Director)

jscribbles has been watching SPN since the first episode… It’s been 84 years. She remembers watching the first Castiel episode and thinking, “Who the hell is this guy? I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.” It only took about one episode’s worth of Cas screen-time before she was hopelessly obsessed with that trenchcoated son of a bitch.

Her favourite movies involve anything that’ll give her nightmares, a mental breakdown, or fits of laughter that last three days. Some would include Bridesmaids, The Evil Dead, The Time Traveller’s Wife, Galaxy Quest, and The Lion King. Her favourite fanfics involve anything where one or more of the boys is crying and/or having a bad, bad time – with a happy ending!

Sunny (Art Director)

Sleep? I don’t know her! Sunny’s your personal solar-powered battery: hit-her-up for a pick-me-up, any time of day or night. She only got into SPN two years ago, but she’s happy to share who and what she loves with anyone who will listen.

Her current favorite non-SPN media includes Good Omens, Stranger Things, and American Gods, but her faves list is miles long. When it comes to fic she gravitates toward Endverse!Cas…give me that snarky nihilism any day, baby!

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Discord Rules

All participants will be required to join our Discord community. If you are not part of the Discord community, unfortunately, you will not be considered officially signed up for the bang.

Authors and artists will receive a link to our Discord server in their welcome emails.

This community will serve as a home-base for all participants of the SPN Media Big Bang to share resources, cheerlead, find betas, brainstorm ideas, and chat in general. This community will be an inclusive space for creativity, and of all people, identities, ships, and ideas.

The directors will be there for you as cheerleaders, support, to answer questions, and to clarify rules. Participants in this community are expected to behave like adults, especially since this is an 18+ community and are expected to deal with their interpersonal issues themselves. That being said, directors will step in if a complaint is made, or someone is discussing their fics/art in the wrong room. Our priority is to keep the claims process as anonymous and fair as possible.

General Discord Rules

Our rules are very simple:

Authors: Do not discuss your fics at all in ‘The Green Room’ (General Chat) or ‘The Red Carpet’ (Introductions). These rooms are open to all server members and any discussion of your fic or fic ideas will jeopardize the anonymity of the claims process. All fic chat is to be in the ‘The Writer’s Room’, the portion of our server dedicated to inter-author communication.

Artists: Do not discuss your art in the ‘The Green Room’ (General Chat) or ‘The Red Carpet’ (Introduction). These rooms are open to all server members and any discussion of your art or art ideas will jeopardize the fun and surprise of posting day. All art chat is to be in the ‘The Art Department’, the portion of our server dedicated to inter-artist communication.

Everyone: Everyone is entitled to their opinions. We do not police what is discussed in the chats, because we believe everyone is an adult and can handle themselves. That being said, we do strive to be an inclusive server and expect participants to be respectful of each other. The directors reserve the right to step in and intervene if they feel the need. Sexism, homophobia, racism, xenophobia, and other forms of offensive disrespect and intolerance against participants may result in disqualification.

Please note: If you sign up as both an artist and author, you will have access to all the rooms, however, you understand that if you decide to sign up as both, you will be restricted to claiming a fic (as an artist) only on the second day of claims. If all fics are claimed on the first day, then that may mean you won’t be able to claim a fic if there are none left. Also, you may register as both an author and artist, but you may not make art for your own fic.

Furthermore, if you are participating in any other fest or bang, please respect their rules and do not use our server to discuss your fics from those fests.

Roles

When participants enter the Discord server, they will be asked to disclose the following information:

What role did you sign up for? Artist, author, both.

Preferred Pronoun?

How did you find out about the SPN MBB?

Authors, once you get your role, please pop into the general author’s chat and introduce yourself to your new author family:

What media(s) do you plan on basing your fic(s) on?

Link us to one of your fics/arts, if you’d like!

General Channels

The Red Carpet: This is our introduction channel. Once you answer the above questions, a director will welcome you and set you loose into the server to be with your people!

Announcements: Only mods can post in this channel. Any new announcements, including reminders of check-ins, general news, and rule updates will be in this channel.

The Green Room: This is a general chat. Every participant will have access to this channel. No discussion of your fic or art here, please.

SPN Spoilers: Season 14/15 spoilers go in here.

The Director’s Studio: A director’s only channel.

The Writer’s Room (Writers Channels)

General Author’s Chat: As with anything in The Writer’s Room, this is authors only. Anything goes in General chat, but if it’s very NSFW, please take it to the General NSFW Author room.

Sprints: This room is for sprints – surprise! A sprint is a timed speed-write. Writers usually record their word count before and after the sprint to see progress.

Looking For Beta: This channel is for authors who need help finding a beta or an alpha.

Author’s Brainstorm: This is a channel where you can get specific help on parts of your fic, so that the general author’s chat doesn’t get bogged down with discussion about one person’s fic. You can post entire passages, get grammar help on something specific, etc.

General NSFW Author: Be as raunchy and inappropriate as you want here. This ain’t your momma’s channel – unless it is, in which case, your mom is invited.

The Art Department (Artists Channels)

Artist’s General Chat: As with anything in The Art Department, this is artists only. Anything goes in General chat, but if it’s very NSFW, please take it to the General NSFW Artist room.

Artist’s Brainstorm: Feel free to post your bang WIP pieces here for critique and help from other artists.

Artist Beta Search: This channel is for authors who want help finding a beta.

Artist Resource: Please feel free to post helpful resources in this room. Sharing is caring.

General NSFW Artist: Be as raunchy and inappropriate as you want here. This ain’t your momma’s channel – unless it is, in which case, your mom is invited.

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General Rules

These are the rules for the 2021 SPN Media Big Bang. These rules are in place to make sure that this bang runs smoothly for all of our participants and readers. If you are unclear on any point, please contact the mods. The excuse “I didn’t know” or “other bangs don’t have those rules” don’t fly, so please ensure you read and understand the rules. The Director team is very nice, very chill, and very open to communication, so please ask if you have questions.

Please note: any of the following rules may be changed or be amended. We’ll let you know in the server if there are any major changes, and always refer to this rules page for current rules if you’re questioning anything.

Please also note: The mods reserve the right to subject individual participants to additional checkins if they have previously participated in one of our bangs and missed checkins without prior permission, skated around rules, or exemplified otherwise problematic behaviour that is not conducive and is unfair to an project that has you as part of a team. We also reserve the right to subject individual participants to additional checkins if they are late to/or don’t submit a check-in during first-check-in. We may also remove the participant from the challenge if the reason for missing the check-in is insufficient.

Director? What’s a director?

Great question. Here at the SPN Media Big Bang, we refer to our mods as Directors, because duh, movie-themes…and because it’s fun. (And because we’re nerds.)

Once registered, any issues, comments, concerns, and random exclamations of love and affection can be directed to your mod.

Who can sign up?

Anyone, although you must be over 18 on the date of your sign up.

How do I sign up?

You must register on the sign-up form. We will post the link to our registration page on our Tumblr. You must provide us with the following information, so please be prepared with this once you click into the form:

AO3 username (a requirement for authors).

Artists may sign up with whatever username they want to be known by and referred to within the required Artists Note; they may use any site they wish to host.

Are you an author or artist, or both?

Are you 18 or over?

Do you understand the rules?

Do you understand that you are required to use Discord?

Any questions or concerns for the mods?

Directors! The SCHEDULE! Please, tell us all about it.

Mods will send out reminders over Discord, but it is your responsibility to know the schedule.

Participants must meet all check-in points and submit drafts on time.

The schedule is determined right at the beginning of the challenge and will be both posted in the Discord server as well as on the Tumblr. Again, “I didn’t know about this-and-this date” is not an acceptable reason to miss a check-in or posting requirement. Please be organized; we suggest adding these dates into your calendar.

We are open to talking about changing/moving dates. We want this challenge to be fun for participants, so if there is a general consensus on a date change, we’re open to negotiating that. :)

Something in the rules is unclear… Help!

All participants are expected to follow all the SPN MBB rules. If you do not understand something, it is your responsibility to contact a mod for clarification.

I would like to ask a question before signing up! Where do I ask?

Please submit an Ask through the Tumblr page. Because we receive many questions before sign ups, we’ll answer your question privately so as not to clog up the feed with individual questions. If there is a common question, we may reply publicly with a rule amendment or separate post.

Does the fic have to be written in English?

Yes. If some characters do not speak English, please provide subtitles.

Communication

Participants must communicate with their artist/author and the mods in a timely and civil manner.

We have a pretty firm rule about civil communication in the Discord. Participants are expected to reach out over DMs if there are issues they are having, and understand that the public chats are not the place for that. Similarly, the mods will not scold or embarrass someone in the public chat if they’re doing something wrong, we will handle that in the DMs. It should be understood that goes both ways. Everyone is human, we all make mistakes, we are all adults, so let’s be kind to each other. Teamwork makes the dream work!

The BEST way to reach us is through Discord. The SPN MBB email will only be used to receive sign up, check-in, and posting confirmations. If you email us a question, it may be a while before we see it. Please DM on Discord whenever possible, and remember to tag a @mod if you require help from us, it ensures we see your question when we’re online next.

Pairs are required to do an initial check-in with their partner during the first 48 hours of being assigned to each other. There will be several check-ins throughout the bang. These are mandatory.

Internet and Email Access

Participants must have reliable internet and email access. The mods will not be able to help you in case of software or equipment failure. Have backups and a plan.

Can I talk about and promo my fic anywhere?

Do not talk about your fic until the first art & excerpt post goes up. Do not create your own promotional material outside of the art posts (i.e you may reblog or tweet a link to the art/excerpt post, but do not post any other unofficial excerpts. If you are unclear about this, please ask a mod in the Discord server and we’ll further clarify.)

To ensure the anonymity of claims, please don’t reveal any details of what you’re working on publicly prior to claims. It is perfectly fine to discuss privately one-on-one with your alpha or beta reader, or in the official Discord server.>

Can I pick my own partner? How do claims work?

You will be teamed up through the art claims process and may not pick your own partner.

As for how claims work; all authors will provide information (details will be posted on the server) and a summary which the mods will then assign an author-less ID tag to. A few days before claims day, all artists will have access to the summaries, and can pick their top three fics for which they’d like to create art for. On claims day, the artists will submit their top three choices to the mods, and once all fics have been claimed, the teams will be announced on the Discord server to participants. We do not announce pairings live.

What if I need to drop out?

If you drop out before Art Claims, there is no penalty.

If you drop out after Art Claims, you will be barred from participating in any future rounds of this Bang or any Bang run by this mod team.

Help! My artist disappeared/dropped out. What happens now?

We hope that this never happens, but unfortunately, we always have a couple. Don’t fret, little birdie, the Directors will ensure you have art!

We will assign a pinch hitter artist. The artists in this community have been awesome so far and no one has been left behind in the past. <3

Disqualification is a thing. What sort of things could lead to a disqualification?

My dudes, we don’t like to do this. As a matter of fact, if this could be avoided, everyone would be immeasurably happy. However, sometimes it happens. What types of things could lead to a disqualification?

If you act like a dick. What qualifies acting like a dick? Being nasty, name calling, repeatedly rude to your fellow participants, mods, or your partner qualifies as Dick-age.

Racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, hate-speech, transphobic etc. rhetoric.

Not reading the rules, disregarding rules that you don’t like, and/or failing to follow them. As we’ve said: “I didn’t know” is not a valid excuse for dropping the ball when rules are clearly posted in advance and reading them is a requirement of registration.

Failing to provide the requirements for art and/or fic.

Failing to communicate with your author/artist and not replying to the moderators in a timely fashion. If you go missing and do not communicate for 7 days of someone trying to reach out to you, you will be disqualified and a pinch hitter will be assigned.

Final Thoughts

Finally, please use common sense. Your mods will do the best they can to make sure this challenge runs smoothly. So, if a rule says you can’t do X, don’t try to find a loophole that allows it.

The Moderators also reserve the right to bar future participation for inappropriate behavior toward any mod, author or artist, or for breaking any of the other rules of this bang. If you are unsure about anything, please just talk to us!

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Fic Rules

SPN Media Big Bang? What does that MEAN, Basil?!

For this challenge, we are looking for our authors to write a SPN fanfiction based on a movie, TV show, video game, or book. The works created can be a fusion, canon, an AU, it can be 'inspired by’, or a crossover. Please see the links below for more information on the differences between those type of crossovers:

Fusion

Crossover

AU (Alternative Universe)

'Inspired by’: These fics are fics that are based on media but don’t share the characters or even necessarily the setting, but do follow a similar plot structure or series of events. Some characters, events, or entire scenes may parallel the media’s scenes. If you need an example, please message a Director.

What are the content requirements for fics?

Fics: minimum of 20,000 words, and no max.

All genres, all ratings, all characters, all ships & gen, all kinks (barring underage) allowed.

RPF and underage is not allowed. Please don’t DM us asking for an exception, it won’t be granted and we won’t argue with you about it. It’s a hard no. All characters in your fic engaging in sexual activity must be at least 18 years old, and graphic, dark violence against minors is also heavily discouraged. If the violence is absolutely necessary for your fic, it can only be mentioned in passing, and cannot be a focal point of the scene/overall story/plotline.

The title of your fic does not have to be the title of your media (movie/book/tv/game), however, the original title must be included in your AO3 tags and summary, e.g. “Inspired by That Movie”, “A That Movie AU”, or “An SPN/That Movie Crossover”.

You must tag/warn for any of AO3’s major archive warnings. Please tag fics appropriately. The Mods reserve the right to disqualify any fic with deliberately misleading tags.

You MUST have a beta reader go over your fic before your posting date.

Dub-con, non-Con, and other darkfic staples are also allowed, but they must be appropriately tagged. These situations are only to be described in graphic detail if the parties involved are over 18, as per previous rules.

You cannot submit more than one fanfic.

Co-writing is allowed.

Your fic must be at least 50% complete, with the remainder outlined, in order to qualify for artist claims. “I don’t outline” is not a reasonable excuse for not meeting these requirements.

If you are co-writing a fic, each author must register individually.

Your work should be brand new for the challenge or a previously unpublished WIP.

There will be an official AO3 collection and all fics are expected to be added. The mods will do these in bursts every few days during posting, so please be patient if your fic doesn’t show up in the collection right away.

Your fic must be posted in its entirety on your posting date (i.e don’t post a chapter every few days.)

You cannot commission or request more art from other artists for this fic after the bang. The fic has been written for this challenge, and part of that includes being in a strict partnership with only your assigned artist for this project.

If you are uncertain whether your fic qualifies in any way or have circumstances not outlined here, please email the moderators with details. Again, “I didn’t know” is not a reasonable excuse for oversights, so please ask, ask, ask. <3

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Art Rules

Participants may register as both an author and artist, but may not create art for their own fic regardless of circumstance. Artists will be granted one fic in the first round of claims. Additional fics may be claimed in the second round of claims if desired. By participating in the claims process, artists are agreeing to create a minimum of one promotional banner AND two pieces of artwork per fic claimed. Artists may create more art if they desire, but they are not required to do so. Additional banners, text separators, icons, and other decorations are welcome, but do not count toward the minimum art requirements. Banners must be original artwork at a minimum size of 540x360 pixels. (This is a 3:2 aspect ratio if you prefer to work at a larger size and then scale down.) Banners should contain the fic title, author, and artist. They should not contain any elements that may spoil the fic for readers. Artwork should be a minimum of 540px wide if posted to Tumblr. Final size and orientation are up to artist, with the understanding that extra large artwork may not display properly on mobile devices. All fics will be required to have an artist’s note, which will be included with the fic at all times. This note should include links to the artist’s chosen website(s), as well as include a line or two about the artist’s experience creating the art–inspiration, process, etc. At each art deadline, the artist will post their completed piece with an excerpt from the fic underneath (excerpt will be the authors choice ultimately, but it’s always nicer in the spirit of teamwork to choose together. ;)) The banners will not be posted until the fic posting date. At final posting of the entire fic, art must also be embedded in the AO3 fic itself. The artist is responsible for hosting art on a service that allows remote linking. Authors will be responsible for embedding the art in their fic. More information on that will be posted closer to the posting dates. Artists must regularly communicate with their authors. This is a partnership, not a commission; frequent progress updates will ensure everyone involved has a good, non-stressful, experience. Please note: If you sign up as both an artist and author, you will have access to all the rooms, however, you understand that if you decide to sign up as both, you will be restricted to claiming a fic (as an artist) only on the second day of claims. If all fics are claimed on the first day, then that may mean you won’t be able to claim a fic if there are none left. Also, you may register as both an author and artist, but you may not make art for your own fic.

[tonystarkbingo]

TSB MIV Week 26 Roundup!

IT’S THE LAST ONE, Y’ALL!  And there are so many amazing fills that came flooding in this past week!  We’re in the process of getting badges made and sent, so please be patient with us.

We are taking the rest of the month off, but in May and June we will be doing month-long flash bingos!  We’ll keep you posted about those, and in the meantime go give some love to these wonderful content creators!

Title: Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun Collaborator: Politzania Card Number: 4007 Link: AO3 Square Filled: Adopted: KINK: Threesome Ship: WinterIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: dimensional shenanigans, fluff, fade to black smut Summary: Thanks to some multiverse experimentation, Bucky now has two genius billionaire boyfriends (and their libidos) to deal with. Word Count: 717

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Title: A Good Date and a Bad Idea Collaborator: gottalovev Card Number: 4077 Link: AO3 Squares Filled: Chapter 1, R5 - Winteriron Chapter 2, A4 - Justin Hammer Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: Attempted kidnapping Summary: Chapter 1: Tony is on what he hopes is a first date with Bucky. He didn't expect it to be so rudely interrupted. (Tony POV)  Chapter 2: Justin has waited for his moment, and this is it. (Same events, Justin Hammer's POV) Word Count: 7918

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Title: Adjust The Pecking Order Collaborator: camichats Card Number: 4049 Link: AO3 Square Filled: R5 - AU: western Ship: Clint Barton/Laura Barton/Tony Stark Rating: Teen Major Tags: polyamory Summary: Tony knew that he wasn't the most adjusted man in the world, but there was something hot about a woman in a pretty floral dress confidently pointing a shotgun at him. There was nothing wrong liking a woman with a gun. The messed up part was where she was surely Laura, Clint's wife. He shouldn't be eyeing his friend's wife, no matter how sure her hands were on that gun. "You with the bank?" she asked. "No, ma'am," he said. Since his hands were already up by his head, he took his hat off, tipped it in her direction, then put it back on. "Name's Tony Stark. I believe your husband sent for me?" Word Count: 1211

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Title: Finals Collaborator: hereandnowwearealive Card Number: 4085 Link: Tumblr Square Filled: R4 - James Rhodes/War Machine Ship: Gen Rating: IronHusbands Major Tags: art Summary: An image of Tony and Rhodey studying for finals, long overdue for a break

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Title: Something like fate Collaborator: Gottalovev Card Number: 4077 Link: AO3 Square Filled: Adopted - Sent to a Different Dimension Ship: Stony Rating: Teen Major Tags: Universe hopping, getting together, CW fix-it but no discourse Summary: Tony and Steve go alternate-reality hopping by accident (Fine. It's Tony's fault: he touched something he shouldn't have in Reed Richard's lab). It's an eye opening experience. Word Count: 8411

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Title: DtP —> DtF - Chapter 1 Collaborator: Politzania Card Number: 4007 Link: AO3 Square Filled: A3 - free space Ship: WinterIron Rating: Explicit Major Tags: dimensional shenanigans, eventual smut, threesome, selfcest, oral sex, anal sex, Tony POV, First Person POV, Present Tense Summary: Thanks to a bit of dimensional travel, Tony takes the chance to find out if he really is as good a lover as his Bucky says (as well as get another Bucky’s opinion on the matter).. Word Count: 681

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Title: The Courtship of Death Collaborator: MagicaDraconia16 Card Number: 4019 Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - Tony Stark/Loki Ship: FrostIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: Crack treated seriously, AU canon divergence, courtship and rejection thereof, canonical character death, BAMF Hela Summary: ...goes a lot easier when you do some research first. Otherwise entitled: "Why Torturing, Brainwashing And Murdering The Father Of The Person You're Trying To Court Is A Bad Idea" (trade mark pending, by Tony Stark) Word Count: 2351

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Title: Things Develop (in the Darkroom) Collaborator: 27dragons Card Number: 4027 Link: AO3 Square Filled: R4 - Photoshoot Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: AU: No powers, photoshoot, photographer!Bucky, lingerie, budoir photoshoot, oblivious!Bucky Summary: Bucky was happy to agree to a private photoshoot with his favorite client... at least, until he realized what kind of photoshoot Tony wanted. Word Count: 775

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Title: The Heartbreaker Collaborator: fightingforcreativity Card Number: 4004 Link: Tumblr Square Filled: R2 - Au: Hydra won Ship: none Rating: Teen Major Tags: AU: Hydra won, Hydra Iron Man, Angst, Mark 17 (Heartbreaker) Summary: Red Skulls voice resonated from everywhere, “Oh might I have the honour of introducing you to Hydra’s newest and strongest agent? Say hello to ‘Heartbreaker’. I’m sure you’ll find the name befitting.” And just like that, the Avengers came face to face with the one man they had hoped to free, wearing an armour they’ve never seen before. “Tony?”, Rhodey’s voice was broken, just as his heart and he could bet everything he had, the other’s weren’t faring better. “Been a while, Rhodes. Nice of seeing you all again, sadly you can’t stay for the party~” replied Tony, voice cold and devoid of emotion.

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Title: Family Date Night Collaborator: JehBeeEh Card Number: 4058 Link: AO3 Square Filled: A1 - Drive-In Ship: Stony, Superfamily Rating: Gen Major Tags: fluff Summary: Date night plans get changed at the last minute. Word Count: 714

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Title: The Supplicant Collaborator: 27dragons Card Number: 4027 Link: AO3 Square Filled: R1 - AU: Royalty Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: AU: historical/fantasy, warlord Tony, tribute Bucky Summary: Bucky wondered, sometimes, if King Alexander had not intended Bucky to stand at the throne’s right hand as the kingdom’s general, or at its left hand as chief counselor, why the king had even bothered to sire another child after his first had proven hale and of sound mind. He rather suspected that the king, too, wondered that same thing. But as it turned out, there was a reason for the king to have sired a second child: to be given as tribute to the terrifying warlord threatening the entire kingdom. Word Count: 2966

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Title: They didn't cover this in the Academy - Chapter 1 Collaborator: camichats Card Number: 4049 Link: AO3 Square Filled: T2- “Damn it, Stark!” Ship: Gamora/Tony Rating: Teen Major Tags: Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, marriage of convenience Summary: Tony might be a pain in his captain's ass, but he never goes out of his way to make problems for her. And really, how was he supposed to know that the engineer he spent all last night talking to was a princess? Gamora wants to get off planet, and Tony is willing to help. While heading back towards Federation space, they pick up a distress call from inside Romulan space. Word Count: 10,206

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Title: Anything for you Collaborator: Gottalovev Card Number: 4077 Link: AO3 Square Filled: S3 - Pining Ship: Steve Rogers/Natasha Stark (universe 3490) Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Getting together, porn with feelings Summary: Steve has one certainty: he has a crush of epic proportion on Natasha Stark, and it's becoming quite a problem. Word Count: 4083

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Title: The Futurist Collaborator: periwinklepromise Card Number: 4053 Link: AO3 Square Filled: T2 - Edwin Jarvis Ship: Tony & Edwin Jarvis Rating: Gen Major Tags: Implied Child Abuse, drabble Summary: Perhaps it is time to look to the future. Word Count: 100

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Title: untitled Collaborator: chel Card Number: 4011 Link: Tumblr Square Filled: Adopted - Wrong Number/Booty Call Ship: IronHusbands Rating: Gen Major Tags: None Summary: Moodboard-ish Word Count: N/A

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Title: Takin’ What They’re Givin’ (‘Cause I’m Workin’ for a Livin’) - Chapter 2 Collaborator: PoliZ Card Number: 4007 Link: AO3 Square Filled: K3 - Kink: Sex Compulsion Ship: Stucky Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Phone Sex, Identity Porn, Anal Fingering, Dildo Play Summary: Bucky's little camboy sidegig - where he plays 'Special Agent Jay' -- gets him attention from an unexpected quarter. Chapter 2: Bucky's one on one chat with BrooklynBorn heads in a very different direction than he expected; offering instruction and support as well as release. Can he keep his emotions in check? Word Count: 3912

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Title: Save My Soul, Spare My Heart Collaborator: summerpipedream Card Number: 4045 Link: AO3 Square Filled: A3 - Free Space Ship: Pre-Stuckony Rating: Teen Major Tags: Angels and Demons Summary: “Are you hurt?” “The jury’s still out on that. Who exactly are you and why the hell are you in my apartment?” An angel and a demon walk into Tony’s apartment. Supposedly, both of them were tasked to protect him. Whether Tony can survive their bickering is another question entirely. Word Count: 2242

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Title: The Perfect Solution Collaborator: Fighting_for_Creativity Card Number: 4004 Link: Tumblr Square Filled: T4 - Kink: Cuckolding Ship: IronHusbands, Rhodey/Carol Rating: Mature Major Tags: AceTony, bisexual Rhodey, friends with benefits, Carol knows what she wants, caring boyfriend Rhodey Summary: Tony never really enjoyed himself during the more intimate moments in bed. Naturally Rhodey had figured him out and after meeting Carol the perfect solution came to be. Word Count: 482

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Title: Time Loopy Doopy (Fake News already in 2009 Collaborator: Fighting_for_Creativity Card Number: 4004 Link: Tumblr Square Filled: S5 - Paparazzi Ship: (Hinted) WinterIron Rating: M Major Tags: timeline- what timeline?, Avengers, Kid bucky(?), fake news, time trouble Summary: Despite what the News tweet says, Tony and the Avengers all knew the truth and that was Tony trying to protect his current boyfriend’s kid self from the past. Now he just needed to find a way back into his own time with his own Avengers. Word Count: N/A

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Title: My Darling, you are my poetry Collaborator: Sagana Rojana Olt Card Number: 4046 Link: AO3 Square Filled: T4 - AU: Artist/Muse Ship: WinterIron Rating: Explicit Major Tags: NSFW art, nude modelling Summary: Bucky absolutely didn't plan to go to art classes, but his therapist insisted. So here he was creating nude art of the young Stark heir, while blushing furiously. Word Count: N/A

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Title: This light that I hold, speaks to you Collaborator: Sagana Rojana Olt Card Number: 4046 Link: Tumblr Square Filled: R1 - Kink: Candles Ship: WinterIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: Candles Summary: A quiet night spent together, playing with supersoldier senses. Word Count: N/A

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Title: The Wrong Dress Collaborator: cami-chats Card Number: 4049 Link: AO3 Square Filled: T1 - Kink: Interfemoral/Intercrural Ship: IronWidow Rating: Teen Major Tags: None Summary: Natasha's dress might not be good for events, but that doesn't mean she looks bad in it.  Word Count: 933

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Title: They didn’t cover this in the Academy - Chapter 2 Collaborator: cami-chats Card Number: 4049 Link: AO3 Square Filled: T3 - Kink: Messy/Dirty Ship: Gamora/Tony Stark Rating: Teen Major Tags: Major Character Injury (not fatal) Summary: Lieutenant Commander Tony Stark of Eden and the continuing adventures of having a ship that’s falling apart around him.  Word Count: 7385

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Title: Nighttime Shadows Collaborator: Khentkawes Card Number: 4091 Link: AO3 Square Filled: S3 - Pepper Potts/Rescue Ship: Pepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: vague discussion of PTSD (very vague), emotional hurt/comfort, nightmares, angst and fluff, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts Summary: Tony’s nightmares never fully went away. But over the years, Pepper likes to think she’s gotten better at helping him cope with them. She doesn’t always have the right words to say, but she can at least be there for him. And usually, that’s enough. Word Count: 1555

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Title: Status: Iron Man dead/Tony Stark alive (it’s complicated) Collaborator: Khentkawes Card Number: 4091 Link: AO3 Square Filled: A3 - Free Ship: Pepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: discussions of possible death/funerals, Endgame Fixit, funeral, fake funeral, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts, Canon divergence Summary: The Avengers ‘accidentally’ fake Tony Stark’s death. And Tony finds it hilarious. Word Count: 4749

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Title: Spin Me Out Collaborator: 27dragons Card Number: 4027 Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - AU: Sci-Fi/Futuristic Ship: WinterIron Rating: G Major Tags: AU: Sci-Fi, space opera Summary: Tony keeps his head down, working on the ships that come through the station, trading on the grey market, listening to the gossip, and quietly planning to reclaim the technology that was stolen from him years ago. His chance may finally have arrived, but is immediately complicated by Winter, an impossible fugitive from a galactic empire that controls its people with forbidden Old Tech. Word Count: 1391

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Title: Secret Identities and Super-dads Collaborator: Khentkawes Card Number: 4091 Link: AO3 Square Filled: A2 - Futurefic Ship: Pepperony Rating: Teen Major Tags: Minor violence, post-Avengers Endgame, not Avengers Endgame Compliant, BAMF Tony, BAMF Pepper, Rescue!Pepper, not-dead Tony Stark, Morgan Stark, family, attempted kidnapping Summary: When armed men attack an elementary school in New York, attempting to kidnap eight-year-old Morgan Stark, no one expects that “Roger the chauffeur” will be the one to take out the bad guys—with some backup from Morgan Stark herself and a very pissed off Pepper Potts. The public have believed Tony was dead for the past four years, and Tony never expected his big secret would get out like this. He didn’t mean to blow his cover as “Roger the chauffeur.” But when people try to mess with his family, they get what’s coming to them. Word Count: 6104

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Title: Celebration Collaborator: Ducky Card Number: 4013 Link: AO3 Square Filled: S1 - Victorious Ship: IronFalcon Rating: Gen Major Tags: Paintball, First Dates, Fluff Summary: After a victorious paintball exercise, Tony and Sam celebrate on their first date Word Count: 835

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Title: A Look Into the Mind Collaborator: Ducky Card Number: 4013 Link: AO3 Square Filled: S3 - Sent to a Different Dimension  Ship: ThunderIron, one-sided Amora/Thor Rating: Teen Major Tags: Alternate Dimension Summary: Thor and Tony are sent to the Enchantress’s consciousness. Word Count: 323

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Title: The Stars May Not Accept Us Collaborator: PoliZ Card Number: 4007 Link: AO3 Square Filled: S1 - Hot Water Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: Non-Powered AU, Space AU, amputee!Bucky, fade to black smut, Summary: People come and people go -- that’s the way a spaceport works. Especially one out on the edge of known space; some stay a few hours, some a few years, but everyone moves on eventually. Bucky knew that going in, but he fell hard anyways. Word Count: 2790

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Title: Visions, Not Reality Collaborator: JehBeeEh Card Number: 4058 Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - Nick Fury Ship: Stony Rating: Teen Major Tags: None Summary: Tony's conversation with Fury at Barton's Farm leaves him second guessing his relationship with Steve - which no one was supposed to know about. Word Count: 1915

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Title: What, Like It’s Hard Collaborator: JehBeeEh Card Number: 4058 Link: AO3 Square Filled: S1 - Movie Retelling Ship: Stony Rating: M Major Tags: Omegaverse, Asshole Ty Stone, Even more of an asshole Stane (in future chapters) Summary: Omega Tony Stark has it all, until his alpha boyfriend breaks his heart. In an effort to win him back, he follows the alpha of his dreams to Harvard Law School, where he discovers there might be more to being the first omega at the prestigious school. He also meets another alpha that might just make him forget the one he drove across the country for. Word Count: 1629

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Title: You Should Date My Boyfriend Collaborator: JehBeeEh Card Number: 4058 Link: AO3 Square Filled: Adopted - Sharon Carter/Agent 13 Ship: Stony, Sharon/Steve Rating: Teen Major Tags: None Summary: Sharon makes sure Tony knows her boyfriend might be interested in someone else. Word Count: 1090

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Title: Heart jewel Collaborator: Sagana Rojana Olt Card Number: 4046 Link: AO3 Square Filled: S3 - Sucker Bet Ship: None Rating: Gen Major Tags: Magical Jewels, Ravens Summary: Loosely based on the Cornelius Sigan episode of BBC Merlin. Word Count: 100

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Title: The Persistence of Memory Collaborator: Sagana Rojana Olt Card Number: 4046 Link: AO3 Square Filled: T3 - Art Format: Cubist/Surreal Ship: none, implied past Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: Reincarnation, Grief Summary: Stephen Grant, art student and docent at the Smithsonian is doing the last of his rounds, when he meets a wealthy gentleman who looks very familiar. Word Count: 300

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Title: Would Robot Eyes Rust if They Cried? - Chapter 6 Collaborator: JacarandaBanyan Card Number: 4064 Link: AO3 Square Filled: A3 - Free Ship: Stuckony Rating: E Major Tags: Established Relationship, Sexual Content, Angst, Robot Bodies Summary: Steve tries again with Tony. It doesn't go a whole lot better. Word Count: 2376

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Title: What, Like It’s Hard? Collaborator: JehBeeEh Card Number: 4058 Link: AO3 Square Filled: S2 - Evil Exes S4 - First Kiss Ship: Stony Rating: M Major Tags: Omegaverse, Asshole Ty Stone, Even more of an asshole Stane (in future chapters) Summary: Omega Tony Stark has it all, until his alpha boyfriend breaks his heart. In an effort to win him back, he follows the alpha of his dreams to Harvard Law School, where he discovers there might be more to being the first omega at the prestigious school. He also meets another alpha that might just make him forget the one he drove across the country for. Word Count: 20,611

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Title: Short Drabbles - Chapter 5: Hand holding Collaborator: Card Number: 4046 Link: AO3 Square Filled: K1 - Holding hands Ship: WinterIron Rating: Gen Major Tags: summer heat Summary: Tony enjoys the metal arm keeping it's cool at all times. Word Count: 100

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Title: Daisies on Your Nightstand Collaborator: raslbecket Card Number: 4056 Link: AO3 Square Filled: T2 - showoff Ship: Stony Rating: Mature Major Tags: Rough sex, exhibitionism, choking Summary: Tony Stark's exhibitionist streak rears its head when he's in the middle of rearranging Steve Rogers' guts. Word Count: 1462

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Title: The Eye Of A Spy - Chapter 2: Interlude - How Everything Began Collaborator: Fighting_for_Creativity Card Number: 4004 Link: AO3 Square Filled: A3 - free space Ship: IronFury Rating: Mature Major Tags: IronFury, movie retelling, MIT Era, Mostly Fury Pov Summary: Fury gets his mission. Word Count: 869

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Title: A Fairytale, This Is Not - Chapter 2: All Pieces But No Solved Puzzle Collaborator: Fighting_for_Creativity Card Number: 4004 Link: AO3 Square Filled: K1 - shared trauma Ship: WinterIron, Merlin/Arthur, Merlin/Morgana, Merlin/Gwaine Rating: Mature Major Tags: Reincarnation, dreams, visions, canon typical violence, ok Howard, kidnapping, (HYDRA in later chapters), team as family, trauma Summary: Tony makes some friends, is being betrayed, and keeps dreaming of a man named Merlin, who apparently has magic and that fact isn't known to his friends until he tells the black-haired woman about it. Somehow everything works out ok for them all though. Word Count: 3584

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Title: Five Tuesdays and a Wednesday  Collaborator: LBibliophile Card Number: 4090 Link: AO3 Square Filled: Adopted - Fortune Telling Ship: WinterIron Rating: Gen Major Tags: Time Loop, Groundhog Day, Coffee Addict Tony Stark, 5+1 Things Summary: Bucky is stuck in a Groundhog Day loop. He has many things to achieve, to make right, to try and end the loop - but top of his list is saving Tony from the dreadful fate of terrible morning coffee. Tony appreciates his efforts. Word Count: 2820

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Title: body getting tense (nothing like the others) Collaborator: starksnack Card Number: 4073 Link: AO3 Square Filled: K5 - Dressing Room Ship: Stony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: None Summary: Steve and Tony steal a quick moment in their dressing room before their next shoot. Word Count: 1000

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Title: Half of Love’s Duet Collaborator: ralsbecket Card Number: 4056 Link: AO3 Square Filled: T1 - Height Difference Ship: Stuckony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Threesome, Age Difference, Art Summary: A glimpse of college student Tony and his married professors, Steve and Bucky. Word Count: N/A

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Title: Clint Gets A (New) Job Collaborator: celtic Card Number: 4035 Link: AO3 Square Filled : T1 - Occupational Hazard Ship: Tony Stark & Clint Barton & Bucky Barnes Rating: Gen Major Tags: Modern Day AU, No Superpowers, Mild Angst, Canon Character Death Summary: Stane Industries has taken over Trickshot Incorporated, which means Clint is out of a job. Until he meets a third player, the man who will build Stark Enterprises with what remains of his father’s legacy. Word Count: 4236

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Title: Girl’s Night Collaborator: celtic Card Number: 4035 Link: AO3 Square Filled: S2 - Darcy Lewis Ship: Pepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: None Summary: Tony and Pepper need a babysitter for Morgan for date night. Word Count: 1635

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Title: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble, Evil Clones Are Such a Struggle - Chapter 2 Collaborator: Cinna Card Number: 4060 Link: AO3 Square Filled: A3 - Free Ship: Tony/Bucky/Winter Rating: Teen Major Tags: Selfcest (Bucky/Winter) Summary: When taking down a Hydra base, you should probably avoid touching anything weird-looking and potentially magical. (Or, Bucky and Winter both have the hots for Tony, and a newly-embodied Winter decides to finally do something about it.) Word Count: 2695

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Title: No Pets Allowed - Chapter 4 Collaborator: Cinna Card Number: 4060 Link: AO3 Square Filled: R4 - Team Bonding Ship: background Pepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: Minor warning for non-graphic mention of off-screen animal death. Summary: Tony Stark is not a cat person. (this is a lie.) Word Count: 894

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Title: Trouble with a Capital T (And That Stands for “Tiny”) Collaborator: Cinna Card Number: 4060 Link: AO3 Square Filled: T2 - Precognition K5 - Deaged (Tony) Ship: background Pepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: featuring Actual Good Dad Howard (not really a warning, but you should probably be aware or you might be confused  ) Summary: Tony gets de-aged by magical fuckery, and five-year-old Tony and gets to meet his future self, in AI form. AI Tony thinks this is a hoot. Everyone else is less convinced.  Word Count: 19082

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Title: Six Months Earlier - Chapter 7 Collaborator: Cinna Card Number: 4060 Link: AO3 Square Filled: S1 - Canon: Armoured Adventures Ship: None Rating: Gen Major Tags: Grief, Medical Trauma Summary: Tony recovers from the plane crash that damaged his heart and took his father from him, and struggles to come to terms with the aftermath. Word Count: 1044