#behind the fics game

[dykedvonte]

I haven’t really talked about Jimmy’s hallucinated version of Polle but I do subscribe to the idea that that is the closest thing to Anya’s true thoughts and feelings along with the representation of the hypothetical baby.

Text color, the whole horse attraction and monsters based on pregnancy/female anatomy, it joking about calling Jimmy old man? It’s both Jimmy purposely trying to ignore Anya and what he did but also not being able to cause he knows, in the back of his mind it all links back to her. But the closet thing he can accept about it is that it fostered something that would be undoubtedly linked to him.

It’s not exactly Anya and it’s not exactly the child. It’s his manifestation of all the things he would’ve failed doing for it and have already failed to take responsibility for. He failed as a decent person, a captain and he would’ve failed as a father which are all things Anya would subtly acknowledge throughout the game in little ways.

It specifically being Polle, the mascot to the Pony Express is more likely a call back to how the pony express is used to mean things that were never going to make it or were rearing for an end. It’s all symbolic and it’s all in Jimmy’s head because he refuses to acknowledge the real person and events his subconscious is basing it on.

[nomazee]

dan heng x gn reader — 1.6k — long overdue continuation of my dumb delinquent au (and the two remaining fans cheer in delight), high school au, probably very americanized, probably ooc, very super incredibly vague implications to sad things but it's so blink-and-you'll-miss-it, himeko is dan heng's adoptive guardian in this au, do u guys hate me for the hoops i'm jumping through to squeeze every character in this au, reluctant friends-to-crush-to-lovers fast/slow burn unbearable unspoken feelings trope

drabble no. 1 of this series/universe, u should probably read this first heh...

notes: hi guys, i'm back after taking yet another unplanned year-long hiatus, hope u missed me! (the crowd stays quiet) i bring u another delinquent au drabble because the worms got to me and i couldn't help it OK, OKAY?!?! enjoy! :3

—°+..｡*ﾟ｡*ﾟ+.*.｡.—

Dan Heng hasn’t seen much of you in the last week. 

It’s unusual, he defends his worries to himself, very unusual. Despite not having a single class with you, he sees you often. In the last few months since he’s known you, he’s seen you at least three times a week after school, sometimes bloody and other times free of any injury, but the point is, he sees you. Talks to you, lets you walk him home (and pointedly doesn’t let you take him to any antique stores or overpriced tea shops on the way there). 

Today is Friday, and the fifth day straight that he’s stood in the courtyard behind the school for thirty minutes after dismissal, waiting for you to show up, appearing in a breeze of glitter and dust like a poorly-practiced magician. It’s the fifth day straight that you haven’t shown up, and he’s starting to realize how paradoxical your friendship feels. 

Dan Heng is hesitant to even call it a friendship. It feels weird—it’s like he’s known you for years, like he’s grown up with you on the same block in the same neighborhood, except in truth he’s only known you for three months, and he just learned your birthday last week after (embarrassingly) prying it out of you. He doesn’t know where you live, which front door to knock on so that he can check up on you, he doesn’t even have your phone number. All he can do is circle the perimeter of school grounds, waiting for you to show up, or looking for a top hat somewhere so he can pull you up out of it like he’s the poorly-practiced magician and you’re the bunny that he’s unethically shoved into a top hat. 

Luckily for him, though, fifth time’s the charm, and on his (miserable, lonely) walk home, he bumps into you as he rounds the corner to his block. Like, really bumps into you.

He hears a semi-familiar shout of horror as he stumbles back, the sudden slam of pressure on his nose making his eyes water, and he clasps his hands over his nose (it doesn’t hurt that bad, he swears), and then your hands are grabbing his shoulder and giving him a firm shake before he can even process that it’s you he’s just stumbled into. 

“Oh!” You shout, and he registers the tilt of your head through his watery, cloudy vision, “It’s you! I was looking for you.”

Dan Heng feels like— laughing, dryly, or maybe grabbing your shoulders back and shaking you until you reflect on how ridiculous you sound—as if he wasn’t the one wandering school grounds for an hour each day for the last week in search of you, like a lost dog, and god he really hopes no one caught him doing that, but at the very least March 7th definitely saw him, which means it’s going to hit the rest of his social circle eventually and he’ll have to hang his head in shame and stay silent when all his friends ask him why he was moping for five days straight. 

“Looking for me?” he mumbles, repeating your words instead of coming up with a thought of his own because he’s still sort of reeling from the sudden sight of you and the buzzing ache in his nose. “Am I bleeding?” 

“Oh,” you say, yet again, and he feels your hands take his wrists and pull them away from his face so that you can get a good glimpse of him. “Nope, no blood. Thank god. I’d feel really bad if I had to return you to Himeko with your face mangled.” 

“Return me,” he echoes again, and in two seconds flat he sobers up and straightens his posture and finally gets a good look at your face. “What? Where have you been?” 

“Around,” you answer vaguely, like you always do, and Dan Heng is now half a step closer to actually shaking you by your shoulders and turning you upside down until the truth falls out of your pockets like cartoon coins. “I’m back now, though! I wasn’t going to get a perfect attendance award anyways, so it’s kind of whatever.” Your lips quirk up into a stupid smile, and your eyes are scanning his face and his potentially bruised nose bridge. “Did you miss me?” 

“Yeah,” he admits, like an idiot, and he unfortunately doesn’t miss the sudden stalling of your expression, the way your smile freezes for half a second and the twitch in your brow. “No,” he quickly rights, but it’s a moot point by now, “whatever. What do you mean, around? Have you been at school at all this week?” He finally looks down at your clothes, which are very much not any kind of school-uniform-adjacent garb, but rather a collared shirt with some kind of logo on the top left. 

“I’ve been working,” you say, and it’s maybe the most honest and straightforward answer that Dan Heng will ever get from you, so he relishes in it for a moment. “You know, a job. Have you heard of that before? Jobs? Employment?” 

“That’s allowed? Are we allowed to work?” 

“Well,” and you do it again, glance off to the side before coming back to him, “I hope so. I’m not looking to quit this job so soon. They hired me, so it’s all good. I just had to miss school this week so they could train me, but I’ll be back on Monday. You’ll get your daily dose of me again soon, don’t worry!” 

Working. Dan Heng doesn’t know much about your schedule, what you do after school besides annoy him and walk him home and get into fights with seemingly invisible and untraceable and unnameable people, but this feels like one more piece in a thousand-piece puzzle where half the pieces have been drenched in water and bent. He feels two steps away from knowing more about you at the same time that he feels miles away. 

“I’m at the movie theatre,” you tell him, “so you should come visit with your friends some day. Four to ten P.M. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. You can introduce me to your friends properly, you know,” and you have that nearly-tense, nearly-dishonest quirk of your lips, and you’re looking right at him like you’re trying to tell him something without saying it, “unless you’re too embarrassed to let them meet me.” 

This is not the first time you’ve said things like this, not by a long shot. Dan Heng thinks back, and is sure that you say something along the lines of aren’t you embarrassed at least once for every two times that he talks to you. Scared you’ll get caught with me? you asked him just last week, like being with you was a surefire way to get cursed or shunned or ostracized. Dan Heng doesn't get it, and it doesn't sound like you want him to. 

“No,” he says, steadfast, realizing belatedly that your hands are still around his wrists from when you’d tugged them down off his face, and his skin beneath your fingers is heating up rapidly, but so are the tips of his ears. “That’s not it,” and he really doesn’t have the strength to say anything deeper than that, so he dodges, “what were you doing on my street? Did you go to my house?” 

You’ve been caught. Sheepishly, you let go of his wrists, one hand going up to scratch the back of your neck instead, looking at his neighbor’s dead half-dead rose bush next to the sidewalk. “I kind of figured maybe I’d check in on you, or something. Ask to hang out. But when I came at three, you weren’t home yet, so I just kind of hung out with your mom. I was leaving just now. Figured you were busy, or something?” 

It’s an open-ended question, one that Dan Heng is very unwilling to honestly answer—if he did, he’d have to admit that the task that was oh-so-arduously occupying his time after school was sitting in the courtyard like a grieving wife waiting for her spouse to come home from war. He shakes his head instead of explaining anything—that should be enough of an answer. 

“She gave me cookies,” you continue in lieu of a real response from Dan Heng. “Seriously, am I the only one that eats them, or am I, like, stealing your only source of food every time I come over?” 

“The first one. I hate those things. They’re dry. I don’t understand how you eat them like that.” 

“Woah! Rude! Whatever, more for me. Hey, you’ll help me with all that schoolwork I missed, right?” You punch him in the shoulder playfully, which might’ve knocked the wind out of him had it been aimed any closer at his sternum. “I think we have almost all the same teachers. And I'm a quick learner, so it won't be so bad for you."

“Fine,” he says with a faux reluctance that would really only be convincing to a child, “I can walk you home.” 

“Haha,” and you punch his shoulder again, soothing it this time with a pat before you trail your hand up to the side of his neck, clasping the side of it with your warm palm, like you’re holding his pulse in your hand, and Dan Heng holds his breath so you won’t easily feel the rapid thump of blood underneath his skin, “maybe next time, champ.” 

You’re smiling again, laughing when you look at the paling expression on his face, like you know something he doesn’t, and he barely has time to feel disappointed at your easy rejection before you laugh, breathy, one more time, and say goodbye. 

(Himeko, to Dan Heng’s utter misery, hounds him for “details, the whole story, what did they say, Heng?!” the second he steps into the threshold of his house, keys still dangling from his hand. Terrible, awful, miserable. He does in fact, tell her everything.)

[toobusybeingdelulu]

No because if that absurd theory that’s circulating on Twitter about Sangwoo actually surviving the squid game by being saved against his will and forced to partecipate as a guard turns out to be the big plot twist in s3……. y’all will find me on the news, but the Sangihun angst would be INSANE.

[bigfootsmom]

Tease tidbit Tuesday

I was tagged by the lovely and talented @loserdiaz, @devirnis, @smallandalmosthonest, @tizniz, @bidisasterevankinard

I have….started a new au. Girl dads bucktommy with transmasc buck getting to be a seahorse dad so content warning for trans pregnancy and mentions of labor. this au has bewitched me body and soul and I’m dragging @try-set-me-on-fire down with me <3 <3 so here’s a doodle of happy dads with their fresh baby (Bobby took the picture)

And a snippet! :3

When Eddie grabs Tommy by the crook of his good elbow, Tommy falters. He feels off balance, his stomach swooping and head spinning as he tries to keep up with Eddie’s rapid pace. “Eddie— wait, wait— what’s going on?”

Eddie stops, staring at Tommy before his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “You don’t know? Fuck— of course you don’t know, shit.” Eddie smacks his forehead with the heel of his hand.

“Don’t know what?” Tommy can feel his stomach sinking, “Eddie, what don’t I know?”

“Buck is here at the hospital. He’s in labor.”

It feels like the world shifts under Tommy’s feet and no amount of hospital grippy socks will keep him from falling. He sucks in a shuddering breath, and then another when it feels like the first one doesn’t ever reach his lungs.

“Wh–what? But, but he was fine– he wasn’t–” The backs of Tommy’s knees hit the edge of the bed and he sways, only his white knuckle grip on the bed rail keeps him from crashing backward. His next breath comes in too quick, whistling between his teeth as his vision tunnels.

Tags <3

@usersiren, @honestlydarkprincess, @swiftietartt, @holdmygum, @morganofthefairies

@underwaterninja13, @father-salmon, @giddyupbuck, @monsterrae1, @bibuddie

@princessfbi, @mellaithwen, @homerforsure, @bisexual-buck, @maygrantgf

@boykisserbuckley, @loveyouanyway, @watchyourbuck, @eddiebabygirldiaz, @shyaudacity

And YOU if you’re reading this and want to post <3

[exy-shmexy]

I commissioned the absolutely lovely @anthemisarts to draw King, Sir, Neil and Andrew from my fic Paw and Order and when I tell you I kept having to pick up my jaw from the floor whenever Sira sent me updates, I wish I was kidding because LOOK HOW INCREDIBLE THEY LOOK!!!

Thank you again my dear Sira for bringing these two to life so perfectly, I will never stop looking at them (especially Neil’s eyelashes, he is so pretty and foR WHAT???) thank you for being an angel whom I will cherish every single day I love youuu 🧡 GO WORK WITH HER EVERYONE

You can read my very silly cat café AU here

[catboygraveunboxing]

a sixth yinyang art dump ?!? in THIS economy ?!!?!??

some pieces in this one are eyestrainy, like having a bright pink background

do not tag this as trophy x yinyang for the trophy stuff pleak. i support enjoyers of it but they r being drawn as sibling bond here

other art dumps

[dangerpronebuddie]

😭😭😭😭😭😭

i check for this fic so often, i can not wait until it’s done!!

I'm so happy you're excited for this one dear 🥰. You helped me write quite a bit! I'm hoping it won't be too much longer before this one's done.

“He's our grandson,” Helena says. “He needed us.” “And I'm your son,” Eddie hisses. “I needed you, too.” And that seems to be the story of his life. He's never been their priority. Never been someone they worry about. At this point, he doesn't even know if he wants them to worry about him. He's never been anyone's baby. Why start now? “What you needed was to forget about Shannon,” Ramon says. “I won't,” Eddie declares. “What I needed was the chance to grieve her. Something you never let me do.” “She made your life hell,” Ramon insists. “We both made difficult decisions. Neither of us was perfect,” Eddie says. “That doesn't mean I didn't love her.” “Then why did you separate if you loved her?” Helena asks. “Christopher needed his mother and you let her walk away.” “That's what she wanted,” Eddie says, trying desperately to keep his voice even. “She needed me and I was gone.” “You were serving your country,” Ramon says. "What reason did she have to abandon you and Christopher?"

"Her mom needed her," Eddie defends. "And I wasn't there for her."

"So she ran from her responsibilities," Ramon huffs.

Before Eddie can open his mouth to defend her, his mother speaks. “It's become hereditary,” she drawls. "So it's all my fault Christopher’s first instinct is to run?" Eddie protests.

[becausebuckley]

several sentence sunday!

@tizniz shared a lovely snippet and tagged me, so here i am, offering the next little bit of the marriage of convenience au <3 no-pressure tagging @playinginthunderstorms @kejfeblintz @unlifeira @serenelystrange @inell @smilingbuckley and @team-118!

“Sure.” Eddie blinks. He looks a little bit like he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t do, which is silly. This is Eddie’s house, after all. Eddie’s couch, Eddie’s bed sheets, Eddie’s best friend turned husband. Eddie can stare at whatever he likes. “Just- I don’t think you should sleep here tonight.”

Dread curdles in Buck’s veins. He’s still tingling, but not in the fun just-been-kissed way. 

“Of course.” He swallows around imaginary bile and sits up, the blanket falling off him in a heap. “I’ll see you at work, then?”

“Wait, I- no, Buck. That’s not what I meant.”

“Well, what do you mean, then?” Buck asks, confused. Does Eddie not remember how many beds are in his house? There’s really not that many, it shouldn’t be that difficult to remember. There’s Eddie’s bed, and Christopher’s bed, and the couch, which is basically a bed these days. Eddie sleeps in his bed. Buck sleeps on the couch. That’s how it’s always been.

Neither of them has ever suggested that he sleeps in Christopher’s room. That’s been strictly off-limits, and though going in there now would certainly not hurt as much as it would have a few weeks ago – which is good, because Buck imagines it’s in dire need of a deep clean – it’s not an option, and they both know it. 

“You should sleep in my room,” Eddie decides. “In my bed. With me.”

[johnslittlespoon]

tas john's havin the best day of his life in ch8 btw

[desired-misery]

🌹🌹🌹

Three for luck

RDR2 for you! And a few sentences:

“He’d never do that,” Hosea says, touching Arthur’s good shoulder to try and head off this fear-inspired spiral.

“He did,” Arthur insists, speaking instead of catching his waning breath, his trembling hand tighter than a vice on the wooden bedframe. His voice rises in a ragged wail. “Dutch left me!”

[feraelancunin]

ok but the fact that Astarion was not saved by any heroes or monster hunters or smth

Astarion was saved by a madman and their insane plan to use mind flayers to genocide the entire population of Toril

and i am feeling SO INSANE ABOUT THIS

[horrorosier]

fic author self rec !

when you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written. then, pass on to at least five other writers. spread the self love.

thank u sm @velanavis @star4daisy @futurequibblerjournalist @messymoony <3

show me those pretty white jaws (rosekiller, E, 140k, wip)

barty falls from the hands of god, and finds eternal glory in the arms of another boy.

 like smoke behind glass (rosekiller, E, 4.6k)

something about cigarettes and fucking on the windowsill finally gets evan in barty's bed.

 cold as ice (hands so warm) (bartylus, T, 4.8k, for MWPP)

regulus black has devoted his entire life to being on the ice. it just so happens that a particular someone gets a kick out of lingering in the stands during his rehearsals. one thing is for sure, don't mess with regulus on the ice. and if he shows up at barty crouch jr's hockey game and proceeds to corner him outside the locker rooms? it's nobody's business but theirs.

 cherry bomb! (bartylily, E, 5.7k)

the summer of 1980 is when barty meets lily for the first time. nothing more than a quiet girl with fiery hair. but as the months fly by, forcing the two of them into the same spaces more than once, all barty can think about is this elusive woman. little does he know, he's on lily's mind just as frequently as she is on his mind. a story of getting high, chasing your passions, and doing everything your father told you not to.

 dripping satin, slow dance with me (wolfstar, E, 5.5k)

it started with an offhand comment. one that sirius couldn't seem to forget, no matter how hard he tried.

doing yet another open tag because i have no idea who has already been tagged in this, but if you want to join, tag me in all your favs, so i can make sure i've read them all !

[mystxmomo]

One of my voice claims for Vhaeraun comes from my semi-niche bad 4v1 gatcha game. I don't think it's a perfect match (I think he honestly sounds a little older than this, and that he sounds a bit echo-y) but the cadence and mania here feels very 🤌

[watchyourbuck]

Tease Tidbit Tuesday 𑁤

tagged by @sunshinediaz @exhuastedpigeon @honestlydarkprincess @wikiangela @evanbegins @smilingbuckley @daffi-990 @tizniz & @diazsdimples thank you my darlings!✨

I think I’ll start posting soon about my other wips but for the time being I haven’t been able to part ways with Arcane, so here’s a lil snippet!!!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

“Stop,” Buck said suddenly, placing his unoccupied hand on top of Eddie’s. “You’re over-worrying again.” Eddie’s knees gave out, kneeling on the grass now. He took Buck’s hand with both of his, warming it up. “You’re bleeding, Buck. We’ve been sitting here for like a minute- and you’re… there’s so much-,” “I know,” he said as calmingly as possible, “but I won’t die. Not after everything we’ve been through.” He nodded, fighting the tears that were gathering in his eyes. “Promise me you’ll stay awake while I’m gone.” Buck nodded. “And that if you see something or someone, you won’t- won’t approach them.” “Not without you, I won’t.”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

tagging in return @fortheloveofbuddie @honestlyeddie @buckleyobsessed @eddiiediaz @spagheddiediaz @puppyboybuckley @hippolotamus @loserdiaz @jesuisici33 @monsterrae1 @steadfastsaturnsrings @your-catfish-friend @911-on-abc @eowon @devirnis @bigfootsmom @spotsandsocks @eddie---diaz @eddiebabygirldiaz @urfactual @butraura @thewolvesof1998 @theotherbuckley @hoodie-buck @disasterbuckdiaz @kitteneddiediaz @tsunamibuckley @bucksbackwardcap @cal-daisies-and-briars @fionaswhvre @bucksbirthmark @wildlife4life @lover-of-mine @giddyupbuck @nmcggg (let me know if you wish to be added or removed!)

[decaflondonfog]

one, two, three, four, five

love and gratitude to @vykio for the tag 💞 passing this along to my pals @littlefoldedpaperstars @aristocrating @nanatsuyu @seasy33 @thetrojeans @skeptique @fluxweeed and @sillyunicorn

rules: give us the links to your fics with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the least words

fic with the most hits: the benefits of a broken air conditioning unit and other summer lessons [aftg, andreil, 3k, E]

second most kudos: geometric equilibrium [aftg, kandreil, 9k, M]

third most comments: depraved heart [aftg, kevin-centric, kandreil, 7k, M]

fourth most bookmarks: transferable skills [aftg, jerejan, 11k, E]

fifth most words: this one is also transferable skills, although the word count on that is fairly close to the wordcount on a stark trail of blood on fresh snow [aftg, rikoneil, 12k, M] which i will mention for the sake of variety lol

least words*: celly [aftg, gen, 800 words, T]

[*for the sake of this game i'm not counting all my microfics and ficlets under my shorts pseud because there are 30 works tied at 50 words, and 3 tied at 750 in that profile lol]

[pansexybitch]

What is the zukka fic you would drop anything for ?