#but I have like the whole idea of the AU I'm doing for big bang

[parmahamlarrie]

.

[miabrown007]

a minute of silence to my skills to estimate how long a project is ever going to take

[saekkas]

𝐎𝐇, 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐀 𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐁 𝐖𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐄

summary: itoshi rin has never been good at keeping secrets. this fact becomes increasingly clear when you catch him in the middle of his part time nightly activities of saving the world.

tags: f!reader, spiderman au, kissing, spiderman rin, childhood friends to lovers, fluff, stubborn rin, rin is touchy, hopeless fools in love

wc: 1.3k

prompts: "i'll carry you." + "when were you planning on telling me this?" + "you're not going alone." + "i'm coming with you whether you like it or not." + "i need to know if you're okay."

your childhood friend, itoshi rin, has always been stubborn. in elementary school, he insisted on giving his share of broccoli over to you every recess because he claims it'll finally trigger your growth spurt.

it never came even after eating his portions for a whole year, and you bickered every day because of it.

now, you're both turning 21, and he's still the same stubborn boy he was. the only difference is his height and the skintight spandex that now covers his face and muscular body.

"itoshi rin, put me down!"

your voice is shrill, your fists banging against his chest. he has you in his hold, one hand around your waist as he keeps you both suspended midair with a web in his other. "i swear! i'm going to tell your mother about this."

the rain drips into your eyes, blurring the image you have of him. you can't see his eyes, not with the mask covering them. you wonder how he's able to see from behind the horrid thing. you know he's going to scowl if you ask.

"ma'am." his voice sounds gruff from behind his mask, deeper than what you know it to be.

you roll your eyes, scoffing because the cover-up attempt is nothing but desperate. after all, if anyone would know the sound of his voice, it's you. "please be quiet, you might wake up the whole neighborhood."

"sir," you parrot, your tone drowning in sarcasm. "i think it's best to put me down before i punch your pretty face."

his silence does nothing to sway your glare, it only worsens it.

"ma'am-"

"quit it." the rain pelts against you both, and you eye him in anger and concern. you've seen the news, you know he's been soaked and drenched for the past two hours.

spiderman may be able to take a punch but rin, your best friend who sneezes every second when rainy season comes along, has always had a weak immune system. "i know it's you. let me go."

he sighs from behind his mask, and you perk, ready to finally feel the pavement under you again. you scowl when he wraps his arm around you tighter, shaking his head. "i'll carry you. just stay still."

he doesn't let you answer. the wind roars against your ears as rin swings you both through the busy street. you squeak, hiding your face in his neck as you latch onto him with all your strength.

you're trembling when you reach your fire escape and he doesn't let go, not even when your feet finally touch solid ground.

"hey."

his tone is smooth as he adjusts your position, moving so that the rain hits his back and not you. his hand glides from your waist, up your back, and to the side of your neck. it lingers there, a steady warmth you can rely on. "we're home."

your prolonged silence worries him more than the way you're shaking. rin can only sigh as he lifts you up, carrying you bridal style through the balcony and into your bathroom.

"what do you think you're doing?!" you gasp, floundering around in his arms before stilling. you watch as he treks puddles of water into your apartment and you sigh, deflating at the idea of mopping. "you're an asshole, spidey."

you feel his chuckle as much as you hear it.

your bathtub is big, a moving present from one of your grandparents. it functions as a stool when rin places you on the edge, slotting himself between your parted legs.

"i need to know if you're okay."

his lips curl around the syllables of your name and it sends a heat through you. since when has rin ever said your name so softly? "i need to know if you're hurt."

"i'm fine," you sigh. there are words unsaid between you, tension that threatens to snap like a coil. the ring on your finger is shiny, and you feel looking at it is better than looking at him. "thanks for the lift home."

a gloved hand encases yours. you watch, silently enraptured as rin leads your hand to the edge of his mask. his hand then trails down to wrap around your wrist, letting you do whatever you wish.

he's always been hopeless when it comes to you.

in one swift movement, obsidian hair tumbles down his face, covering the teal of his eyes. the color contrasts with the bright blue and red of his mask. you realize belatedly that his bangs have grown, covering the sight that's been your favorite since fifth grade.

silence stretches a minute into a lifetime, and rin can only watch as you pick and prod at the mask in your hand. his hand lingers on your wrist, gently squeezing before it slides down to your waist.

"how are you even able to see through this thing?"

your attempt of a joke is weak, and even rin knows this. he sighs, running a hand through his hair, before leaning down to press his forehead against yours.

"ask," his whispers, his voice raspy. his eyelashes flutter and you curse whatever god there is because the thought of keeping your relationship with him strained leaves a bitter taste in your mouth.

"when were you planning on telling me this?" your gaze moves from his face and you motion down his body. "were you ever going to?"

"i was," his reply comes, strained. you quirk an eyebrow because as stubborn as he is, rin's never been a good liar. "sometime in the near future."

"did you think i wasn't going to notice?"

you watch with amusement as rin huffs, blowing a breath of air to move his bangs. he shakes his head after, leaning his head down to press a kiss on your collarbone. "no. you know me better than anyone else."

"you're right." you let him pull you up to your feet, let him tangle his hand in your hair and around your waist. god knows you're as hopeless as he is too. "so, going to tell me about your double life?"

the moment rin stiffens, you think it's because of your words. you scramble to take them back only for him to dash out of the bathroom, out of your arms.

"rin!" you shout, watching with wide eyes as he runs to the balcony while quickly pulling on his mask until only his lips are visible. "where the hell are you going?"

your heart stops when an explosion sounds, the familiar red and orange colors filling up the sky, coming from somewhere across town.

"oh no, you don't," you grumble, marching towards the open balcony to take his wrist before he goes flying off. "you're not going alone."

the way he says your name, so soft and pleading, it almost sends you to your knees. he swivels to look at you and his mouth is twisted into a smile. you can't see his eyes and yet, you're sure you don't like whatever look he's giving you.

"you need to let me go," he sighs, lifting your hand to his mouth. he kisses every single knuckle with love, achingly similar to a farewell. for what is desperation if not the pursuit of love?

"i'm coming with you whether you like it or not."

he chuckles at your stubbornness, seeing the version of you from elementary school. he pulls you close, placing a searing kiss on the edge of your lips only to jump out of the balcony.

"itoshi rin!" you move, ready to climb down the emergency stairs only to realize the webbing connecting your hand to a heavy drawer behind you. "you little-"

the sound of his chuckle rings out and you only have a moment to react for when he tugs you into a kiss. it's awkward, confusing because of his position. he's hanging upside down from the rooftop, pushing against your lips with a bruising hold.

"i'll see you tomorrow." his voice comes out soft, airy compared to his natural gruff. he leans back slightly to kiss your forehead, whispering the three words you've been dying to hear for years.

and then he's off to save the world.

[vodika-vibes]

Hello again >:3 this time it's Alpha-17 for the same face gods au :3 big grumpy, snarky wonderful Alpha~ <3 Honestly summoning him would very very much be a bad idea for the empire. I imagine he'd be just as brutal as Fox had been if any imps are in the room when he appears, maybe worse knowing him.

Maybe the reader is an escaped prisoner and the empire were gonna use her for the ritual and she accidentally spilled her blood completing their ritual? But if this seems too much like the Fox one I say dealer's choice. ( the dice rolled off my table.. twice. It was a sign... choosing between Alpha and Boba is apparently illegal)

I Give Hope To Man

Summary: You’ve been a political prisoner of the Empire since you were a small child. You can no longer remember the feel of grass against your feet or the feel of sunlight against your skin. You no longer remember your parents' faces or their voices. You no longer remember your brother's laughter. You know it’s only a matter of time before you’re executed like the rest of your family. But you will not go gently into that good night…and the Empire will soon learn that.

Pairing: Alpha-17 x F!Reader

Prompt: Mystic AU - same-faced gods AU

Word Count: 2363

Warnings: Mentions of political prisoners (the Empire sucks)

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: Alright, so I'm not sure I'm happy with the ending, but I'm having a focusing issue today, so I think I'm overthinking it. Honestly, my typing is too loud, so I think I have a migraine forming.

You are intimately familiar with every single nook and cranny in your cell. You know that the pipes leak when it gets cold outside. You know that when it’s hot outside, the shower only runs in 10-minute intervals. You know that the cell door creaks loudly and that it doesn’t open as smoothly as it should.

You’ve been a prisoner here for the majority of your life.

Father was a politician who openly spoke out against Palpatine.

So, naturally, your whole family was arrested for treason.

To give the Empire some credit, you weren’t separated from your mother until you were ten, and you were allowed to get a basic education. Why they allowed such a thing is beyond you, after all, it’s not like you’re ever going to see the light of day again.

You’re not stupid, after all.

Father was executed when you were still a toddler. Mother was executed several months after your tenth birthday. And your older brother…well, he was executed several weeks after he turned 21.

You sigh as you do your morning stretches. You’ve recently turned 21, which means, at best, you have a couple of weeks left to live. Assuming that the Empire treats you like they treated your brother.

It’s almost funny, how afraid the Empire is of your family. It’d be funnier if your family wasn’t wiped out due to it.

I give hope to man, and I leave none for myself. 

Your family’s motto. Written under your family crest, tattooed on your mother’s collar, and engrained so deeply into your genetic code that even now you can’t help but make escape plans.

You, and your family, you’re symbols to the people who still resist the Empire. And you’re the last one standing. 

There’s a bang on the door, “Morning, Princess.” A drawled voice, one of the guards, calls as he slides the door open.

You roll your eyes and return to your morning stretches.

“Brought you breakfast,” The guard says as he steps into the cell properly and places a tray on the table, “Looks like…an omelet with peppers and onions, some toast, a couple of slices of bacon, and your morning tea.”

You pause and glance at the tray, before arching a brow, “Ah, so I’m to be executed this week then?” Your normal breakfasts generally consist of toast, runny eggs, and watery tea.

The guard inclines his head, once, “Later today, before lunch.”

“Lovely.”

The guard is quiet for a moment, “If you wanted to throw your support behind the Empire, Princess, this would be the time to tell someone.”

You laugh, “I would much rather be executed, thanks.”

He sighs, “I’m trying to save your life.”

“I’m not interested. You can go now. I’d like to eat my breakfast in peace.”

The guard sighs again and shakes his head, “I’m afraid I can’t do that. I am to inform you of how today is going to go.”

You slide into your seat and take a sip of your tea, rich and floral, just how you like it. “If you must.”

“In a couple of hours, you are going to be escorted to the ritual chamber on the other side of the island. Once you are there, you will be asked to bathe with a specific soap, and you will be brought to the chamber itself.”

“How festive.”

“You are to be the sacrifice for a summoning.”

“Of course I am.” You take a bite of your toast, “Curious question, I assume this is how the rest of my family was executed.”

“It is.”

“Has it ever worked?” You ask with a tilt of your head.

The Guard flushes an ugly share of red, making him look like a large, misshapen tomato, “It will work this time.”

“Of course it will.” You say with a small smile, “Just because it’s never worked before doesn’t mean it won’t work this time.”

He scowls at you, “The world will be a much better place once your entire family is wiped from the map.”

“I’m sure you think so.”

His eyes narrow at you, though you cheerfully ignore him, “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

“Mmkay.” You don’t even flinch as the cell door slams shut.

If you remember your lessons correctly, rituals are ridiculously easy to throw off. Say the wrong thing, move the wrong way, and the ritual won’t work. Whatever the Empire is trying to summon, you’re not going to let them use your death to get it.

You take another bite of your omelet. This is probably exactly what your family did before they were killed, planned on how to make sure that the ritual didn’t work the way that it was supposed to.

Not the greatest family tradition, you suppose, but it’s better than nothing.

Slowly, you continue eating, trying to come up with a workable plan to keep the Empire from winning. It’s not easy, there are far too many variables for you to actually come up with a good plan, but by the time the cell door opens again and the guards come to escort you to the ritual chamber, you have a plan.

Or, well, an idea of a plan.

The guards chain your hands behind your back and they walk you through the brightly lit halls. For the first time in years, the halls are completely silent. 

Silent enough that the guards are twitchy and anxious about it.

A small smirk lifts your lips when the other prisoners start singing, a dirge of hope and loss and a better tomorrow.

I give hope to men, and I keep none for myself.

The guards swarm the prison, shouting at the other prisoners, ordering them silent, but they might as well be trying to keep the sun from rising for all of the effect that they’re having. 

You’re shoved through a door at the end of the hall, and the door slams shut behind you and the guards, but the song seems to have been picked up by the building itself, as voices echo eerily through the empty halls.

“Keep walking.” The guard’s voice is shaking, and you shoot him a disgusted look before you head down the stairs. 

They unbind your hands as you come to the ritual chamber, and you’re directed to a small shower. A woman hands you a bar of soap, soap that smells very woodsy and clean, and you’re ordered to bathe with that bar of soap specifically, including your hair.

You strip and step under the hot water, after shooting the woman a baleful look. Bar soap is not good for hair, but since you’re supposed to die in here, you suppose it doesn’t matter in the long run.

Once you’re clean, you’re draped in a dark blue cloth, which has been fashioned into some kind of dress, and you’re guided to the middle of the room and instructed to sit on a stone table. One of the guards chains you to the table and then scurries to the edge of the room. 

You scan the room thoughtfully. Despite being so far underground, you’re warm, the thin cloth covering your body should do little to keep you warm, you should be shivering like the rest of the people in the room, but you’re not. Which is surprising, as you can see your breath.

The room is lit by blue flames, not offering much light but dousing the room in eerie shadows.

Water pours down the walls, not affecting the flames in the slightest, and if you had to guess the water is the cause for the low temperature. 

Across from you is another table. There are several whisky bottles, a full set of ancient armor, and a bowl filled with a flame that you can only call angry.

You hear your name, and you turn to look at the Government official. “You have been found guilty of treason,” He says, his voice clipped, “Have you anything to say in your defense?”

You turn your gaze away from the government officials, “I wasn’t aware toddlers could commit treason,” you say. It’s all you say. Slowly you drag your knuckles across the stone table. Once, twice, three times.

The table isn’t sharp, but it is rough. Rough enough that with only three passes of your knuckles across the top, the thin skin of your knuckles split open, spilling your blood on the table.

Adding your blood to the ritual.

You hear the Government official sigh, “Begin the ritual.”

There’s the sound of a fire being lit, and then the sound of rushing flames. You expect to feel the heat of the flames before you see them, so you’re surprised when nothing changes. 

Pale blue flames encircle the room, shielding you from the prying eyes of the people outside the circle. Then the flames curve towards you and the other table.

You pull your feet up as the flames go under your feet, and absently you flick some of your blood into the flame.

Much to your surprise, the flame stops moving and then flares brightly as the fire turns a much darker shade of blue. You end up having to close your eyes as the flames burn bright enough that it’s like staring into the sun.

The bright laugh fades after only a few moments, and you open your eyes, expecting to see the flames slowly filling the ritual circle.

Only, that’s not what you see.

The flames burn brightly around the outside of the circle, but standing across from you is a man.

A massive man, heavily scarred, who is pulling armor on. 

You’d swear that the armor was too small for him, only it seems to resize and recolor to fit him as he pulls it over the dark, skin-tight, material covering his body.

Finally, he turns his gaze onto you, his eyes are dark and piercing as he looks at you, at the material you’re wearing, and at the chain around your ankle, and he turns to focus on you fully.

“My name,” He says slowly, “is Alpha-17. I am the god of retribution.”

You exhale slowly, you should be afraid, a god of retribution is not a nice god, after all. But you’ve never felt safer in your life.

So, you introduce yourself. 

Alpha offers you his hand, and you take it, allowing him to help you to your feet. The chain around your ankle dissolves as if it was never there to begin with.

“I have been a political prisoner since I was a toddler,” You say to the much larger man, “My father, mother, and brother have already been killed.”

“Is that right?” Alpha kneels in front of you, and you don’t stop yourself from reaching out and tracing one of the scars on his face with a light finger.

“It is. My father was a politician who stood against the Empire. He called them out for cruelty, and for being power-hungry. And he died for it.”

“Was he right?”

“Yes.” You watch, curiously, as Alpha-17 closes his eyes while your fingers explore his face, “This entire prison is home to Palpatine’s political prisoners. Entire families who aren’t allowed to live because we believe in freedom.”

“You don’t feel angry.” Alpha notes.

Your smile isn’t nice, “They don’t get to have my anger. Or my fear. Or my hate.”

“You summoned me, little one.” Alpha rumbles, “So what do you want?”

“I want them to hurt. I want to carry on my family’s legacy. But I can’t do it alone.”

“And what is your family’s legacy?”

“I give hope to man, and keep none for myself.”

Alpha smiles and catches your hands to bring them to his lips. His gaze locks with yours, “I’m happy to support you in all your endeavors. You are my priestess after all.” He presses his lips against the pads of your fingers and then stands again.

Alpha lightly pushes you so that you’re crouched behind the table, and then steps away from you. You have so many questions, but based on the look on his face, the questions will have to wait.

You peek around the corner of the table and watch as the flames burst outward. You see the government official approach Alpha, and you watch, stunned as Alpha moves and shoves his arm through the man’s chest.

You watch as Alpha slaughters all of the people in the room with an ease that should frighten you, but doesn’t for some reason.

As the last body hits the floor, barely recognizable as a person, you stand and hurry over to him. “You killed them all.” You marvel.

“Is that a problem?” Alpha asks as he flicks blood off his hand.

“Not to me.”

“Good.” He gazes at you for a moment and then moves so he’s almost pressed against you, and he ducks his head so that his face is only an inch away from yours, “I’m going to take great pleasure in making you mine, ad’ika. But I suppose we’d better get you safe first.”

“Yours?” You ask, unable to help yourself.

“Mine.” He confirms, “Did no one teach you about your responsibilities as a priestess?”

“Uh, I’ve been a prisoner since I was a toddler, and my education was very targeted.” You counter wryly.

He chuckles, “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you. It’ll come naturally. That’s part of the binding that happens with the summoning. I just have to complete it.” He wipes his hands on a cloth that he got from somewhere, “Now, how many guards upstairs?”

“A couple dozen. Maybe more.”

“Easy then.” He drops the cloth and lightly grips your chin before he leans in and presses his lips against yours. You sigh into the kiss, and his lips curl up into the smile. “I suppose I’d better teach you all about sex too. I’m looking forward to it.” He murmurs against your lips.

“Yeah, probably.” You agree.

Alpha pulls away and turns to the stairs, and it’s only then that you realize that you can still hear the song. “Well then,” He murmurs as he glances at you, “Give hope to man, indeed.”

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: @thisusernameisunavailable01! Thisusernameisunavailable has 85 fics in the Stranger Things fandom on AO3 and 69 of them are in the Steddie tag!

@dame-zoom-a-lot recommends the following works by @thisusernameisunavailable01:

blue skies over suburbia

friday night bible study

be kind & rewind (the only prison I see here is time

dumb, delusional, and maybe a little desperate

it came from beneath Hawkins Lab

"I have yet to read a scene in their fics that didn't end up sticking with me in some way. If you look at their catalog, you'll see so many different kinks, so many AUs, so many degrees of angst. And they're all incredible.

"They don't only write taboo / dead dove subjects. But when they do, they're so good at showing both the appeal of dead dove fantasies, and what the consequences would look and feel like in real life. I have a lot of squeaks, but I'll always at least give my squeak a try if they wrote about it. It's like watching a masterfully crafted train wreck-- beautiful, bleak, and something I just can't look away from." -- @dame-zoom-a-lot

Below the cut, @thisusernameisunavailable01 answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I have been a fan of Stranger Things since season one. Steve has always been my favorite character, but he never had a ship that stuck with me quite like Steddie. Once I started writing, I couldn't really stop and it brought me back to Fandom culture, which makes it even more enjoyable to create. 

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I actually don't think I have favorite. I will read almost anything if it's Steddie. I guess I can be a sucker for fix its, and I do like when there are sci-fi/upside down elements to a story too. I like a little of everything. 

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Oh, I have a lot. Strangers or even Enemies to Lovers is probably my favorite. I also enjoy writing Eddie how I really see him-, charming, in his own way, but a little socially inept and awkward around Steve. Also, liking steddie has enabled me to explore so many crossovers and that has been fun too.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

I have so many. The first steddie fic I ever read, I still love is & it's- that's one romantic poltergeist by appledagger. My newest favorite is from this year's bb- It's Only Forever by Hbyrde.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I'm writing omegaverse for the first time, if that counts. It's fun so far 💖

What is your writing process like?

Honestly, I have ADHD. My process is usually…get an idea, write obsessively about the idea until it's done, or procrastinate for several months until I'm finished with it. Sometimes projects die off and never see the light of day ever again (unfortunate)

Do you have any writing quirks?

I write complete first drafts using only my phone.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

My schedule is more like…post three chapters back to back…sit on the rest for 8 months (apologies)

Which fic are you most proud of?

The benefit of not wanting to run away this time. It's older steddie and I put way too many pieces of myself into it, but it is definitely still my favorite project.

How did you get the idea for it came from beneath Hawkins Lab?

I love old sci-fi and horror movies. I also always wanted to write Eddie coming back as a monster. The trope was something I had loved since I first started reading steddie fics, but every time I started one it never came out right. So while I was watching a movie one day I ended up writing the whole opening scene to the fic and in my head, I imagined it in the style of an old horror movie, in black and white. Then it was my entry into the big bang that year, which made me actually finish it.

When writing it came from beneath Hawkins Lab, what was something you didn’t expect?

The fact that at first I had written Eddie as Kas or at least as a vampire. That changed during the writing process and he ended up being more like a Frankenstein esque monster.

What inspired dumb, delusional, and maybe a little desperate?

My insatiable love for Steve Harrington…I feel like most of my PwPs could be derived from that very same reason.

What was your favorite part to write from be kind & rewind (the only prison I see here is time)?

Exes To lovers never gets enough hype and I also got to write a little platonic Eddie and Chrissy, which I adore. I guess I just liked making the boys fall back in love again.

How do/did you feel writing friday night bible study?

Haha…it was a sequel to my kinktober/PriestSteve fic and honestly, I feel like we all need more Priest Steve.

What was the most difficult part of writing blue skies over suburbia?

Setting up the scenes. It's told from Steve's POV but he is an unreliable narrator. You are never really sure if what he's describing is accurate, but you start to believe it too because of Eddie's not so sweet characterization. At the end, even I was asking what just happened.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

Anything under the tag crack treated seriously…also writing Eddie's inner thoughts gives me pure joy. I also loved the AIM chatspeak scenes I wrote for this year's bb fic. 

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

Sure! for anyone who enjoys #metaldeputy (Eddie Munson × Gator Tillman crossover) I'm currently posting soothe, which is a 4 part omegaverse piece. I'm also working on finishing the sleaze series & hope to post another #metaldeputy series around Christmas time. For good ol steddie, I already have a very classic, sharing the bed trope fic planned for the holidays. 

Thank you to our author, @thisusernameisunavailable01, and our nominator, @dame-zoom-a-lot! See more of Thisusernameisunavailable's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[mac-ann-cheese]

Again with fur coats

I'm sorry for irregular posting, I've been snowed under with my uni work lately ( Ó⁠╭⁠╮⁠Ò )

Nevertheless I'm always grateful for your support!!!!! ( ⁠＾⁠ω⁠＾)

Under the cut lots of thoughts on current manga arc (I've got no one to talk about it,...)

I like to imagine that in gangsta au they still use flip phones. But it got me thinking about how that universe works,... Are there any transnational corporations? Is history in general the same just with criminal elements?? Like there should be some sort of grand gang bang I and II if the United Districts organization exists (the analogy to the UN, of course). And the Big five is just the security council.

Moreover, in the same strip, the fall of the USSR is brought up as the permanent members of UD discuss whatever they should keep or kick out newly formed Russia (or district 7. It's cute that they call each other after the first number of the nation's phone code. One thing bothers me with this fact. What were the districts called before the invention of telephones? Countries received permanent telephone codes only in the mid-20th century. Or in terms of au the actual number of the district isn't connected with phones and just a number?? Another bit of useless info: Kazakhstan also uses +7; will they be [I doubt that they would make an appearance in au, but let me DREAM!!!] also a part of the whole district 7 like NA bros with district 1???). Buttttt I was talking from the perspective of our history being pulled over on the lore of gangstatalia, cause we don't have those events described in canon, which IS interesting!!!!!

Also, the sputnik was mentioned, which means the whole cold war (or at least the space race period) had happened... Um. Do districts own nuclear weapons? It's just a theory. a MANGA theory!

Considering in that the characters aren't probably immortal anymore (well, I can make that conclusion only from the panel with young Alfred literally saying, "oh so you're the representative of the 86th district? I'm the new representative of the 1!", it means... that there was someone before him ruling the district.............), the timeline of parallel events shortens.

Therefore, the events are closely packed together; there aren't gaps of decades between them, but more likely a couple of years.

How does this world work? Judging from the map, the districts are on a Pangaea-like continent. Or are they districts of some bigger country...?

Is there a ruler over all districts? Who is it then? Flying mint bunny? Tony? GRANPA RO-

Was there always the gangster's paradise in the regions, or was the government more authoritarian before??????? WHY IS CRIME THE NORM? Why did they decide to regulate everything with the help of playing cards?

And lastly. The electric collars. How? How did the idea even cross Alfred's mind? If I'm not mistaken he is, well, not the creater, but the person who suggested wearing them. "Let's fry our brains to crispy nuggets!!!" Haha. Fun.

And others in the big five agreed to it. Like that isn't totally bucknutty. Not at all. Electric chairs would be much better...

Oof my head hurts just thinking of it

Maybe I'm not the first one to ask these kinds of questions, but still. I need answers.

[eusuntgratie]

2025 wips

thank you for the tag @anincompletelist <3

i am a perpetual too-many-wips disaster so i'm always grateful for an opportunity to lay out what i'm working on.

malex pretty woman au (roswell new mexico)

my next big project is the malex pretty woman au. alex is the rich, detached businessman, michael is captivating in tiny blue shorts and thigh high boots. do you see the vision? i need to make a banner and pick a title!

(i make ONE comment to @bigassbowlingballhead about craving a certain type of fic and suddenly i'm being enabled into my next longfic 🙃). i am genuinely so excited about this one. i've got about 5k written and the whole fic is plotted. i'm thinking this will be in the 25-30k range? maybe? honestly jon is better at estimating my word counts than i am so who knows. still not sure if i'll finish writing this one and then edit and post chapter by chapter or what i'll do, but i think i'll be able to get this one up this year.

firstprince exes (rwrb)

if i have another big project in me i would LOVE to finish my outsider pov firstprince exes fic. i love love love this weird little fic but it is a real challenge to write.

sequels & additional chapters

part 3 of conformation (rnm) will be just alex and michael after their fun with maria at the club. maybe alex will make good on his idea of tying michael up and seeing how much he can take. i could write millions of words of sub!michael please do not tempt me.

chapter 3 of after hours (first prince/rwrb) aka mechanic alex will be alex and henry's first date.

one shots

come back inside is a malexa morning after the airstream scene fic...what if michael convinced alex to stay? this is probably more than half written. malexa my beloved 😍

hunting guide au (tknp, men's hockey rpf). tk hires pat for a guided hunt with his young daughter.

these might not happen 😐

shadow is a buddie fic that was gonna be a big bang fic (which will never happen) but i *could* finish and post the first few chapters as a one shot. featuring baby eddie having his mind blown by a slightly older, extremely gay buck at a college party while visiting his sister.

i wanna be adored is an elliott/marco, marco gets dropped into crystal valley fic that i've written about 5k for but can't quite get to do what i want. when i started writing it there were no kissingchambers fics, but there are lots now! so if you like them you should probably just read those bc this bad boy probably won't see the light of day even though i've got about 5k written.

dumotanger omegaverse college au (men's hockey rpf) - y'know i really love this one and i am unhinged about dumotanger but i think there's just something missing here that i haven't been able to figure out. i'd love to finish it if i do though! i've got maybe 3k written.

okay those are the ones with something significant written. i have LOTS of other abandoned wips and ideas, plus i always like to do some kind of short prompt series. i haven't done femslash february in a while so maybe i could write a few ficlets for that? maybe do some shuffle prompts again? hmmm. we'll see, we'll see.

my askbox and dms are always open for questions about my fic, wips, ideas, etc. <3

open tag for anyone with wips they wanna share!!!

[aziraphales-library]

hello! i just recently read the rainbow road series and its absolutely amazing would definitely recommend it to anyone :) it's about crowley (AJ) and aziraphale (ezira) both being f1 drivers and it's been so fun to read so i'm wondering if you know other fics with these two involved in some sports as athletes or something??

thank you!!

Hi. We have a #sports tag. Here are more to add...

Holy Warrior by AlwaysDoe (M)

When a rookie introduces himself with a bang at AJ’s Boxing Gym, owner Crowley is reluctant to invest in him as the potential champion they so badly need. As it turns out, stepping into the ring isn’t nearly as terrifying as trying to fight your own feelings.

Big Wave by snae_b (E)

Aziraphale has been champing at the bit to ride the big waves off the coast of Nazaré. It’s a shame that when the opportunity finally arises, it means teaming up with his nemesis. And that in this tiny seaside town, there are only so many available hotel rooms...

To be Your Prince by Phoenix_Soar (T)

It was their shared dream to stand together on the Olympic podium, as figure skaters, rivals, best friends. But a twist of fate has Aziraphale and Crowley pursuing different paths, the former as a Singles skater and the other an Ice Dancer. It wouldn’t be so terrible, Aziraphale thinks, if he didn’t have to watch Crowley skate with someone else day after day. Someone that isn’t him, and to know he’ll never get to be with Crowley like that, in front of the whole world. (Figure skating AU)

Upon This Rock by Eowyn1846 (M)

Crowley and Aziraphale meet as teenagers participating in a youth curling league. Years after losing touch when Crowley's family moves away, the two former friends are reunited at a major tournament...as competitors on two very cut-throat teams, whose captains seem willing to win at any cost, even to the detriment of the sport.

Angels on High by Santillatron (M)

Aziraphale takes up a new sport. It's all going rather well until he inadvertently takes the top spot on the leader board and ends up accidentally starting a feud with the previous holder of the title. The man is arrogant, rude, and seems to think Aziraphale has somehow targeted him specifically. Not the kind of man Aziraphale wants to get to know at all, really.

Strike Three: You're in Love by AnnaTheHank (E)

The company baseball league was the last place Crowley wanted to be. But after meeting one of the opposing team's catchers, Aziraphale, he's a little more commited to the idea. A happy little low-stakes AU in which Crowley and Aziraphale awkwardly flirt at the plate and have some fun off the field.

And the first fic in the series you mentioned, which we have recommended before...

Sit Tight, Take Hold by nieded (E)

The summer of 2022, Ezira Phale is a rookie Formula 1 driver out to prove he's one of the best racecar drivers in the world, but everything gets turned upside down when he falls in love with his real-life idol, AJ Crowley. Or: The one where Crowley does not go too fast for Aziraphale. _____ This story uses a multi-media format with CSS and HTML. It's best read using the workskin so please make sure that you are enabling user workskins. If you do not want to use the workskin, I will also be posting a .pdf of each chapter and a final .pdf once everything is posted! I’m not so cool as to know how to do podcasts, manips, and videos, but this will feature scripts, news articles, text messages, tumblr, and race programming! So strap in and put your seatbelt on! This is going to be one fast ride of romance, competition, and over-indulgence.

- Mod D

[n7punk]

2024 Writing Wrapped

Buckle your asses in because this is a long one (when has it ever been a short one)

Stats:

Fics posted this year: 32 (it honestly feels like way more)

AUs: 25 Canon: 7

Updates (chapters, one-shots, etc): 97 (damn I thought that was higher too lol but that's an average of posting every 3.14 days for the 10 months I wasn't on hiatus and and posting 1.87 times a week if you include my hiatus period, and my goal this year was to hopefully update 1.5-2x a week on average, so that goal was definitely met!)

Total word count: 600,179 (my goal was 600k and I got it in with only a few hours left)

AUs: 400,695 Canon: 41,235

Fandom events: 4! (Big Bang, Sapphic September, AU-ctober, Sheratober)

Novels: 1

Personal projects: 2 (misc)

Writing streak: 730* days

I haven't actually written every day in there, I have a couple of rest days thrown in that I only allow myself if there are extenuating circumstances (power outage, sick, etc) where I give myself a word count of 0 because my counter still picks that up as writing. Having this streak is extremely motivating to me so it's worth the "inaccuracies" to have it force me to write on the days I normally wouldn't because I don't want to break it. Removing the freebie days from this year, they're 6, and going back to 2023 it looks like I had 1 since the streak started, so the "real" count is 723. When I port over my streak to next year I'll use the reduced number so it will be more "accurate". I want to keep those freebies in the single digits every year and I'm happy with that.

Retrospective:

1% of Catradora fics!!

that's how I started the year, posting 'stardust, glitter, and love', which let 'freak occurrence: confluence' become my 117th Catradora fic that took me to 1% of the tag (as of writing this I'm 1.17% even after taking nearly two months off lmao). This was a huge goal of mine I was honestly hoping to hit at the end of last year, but kicking the new year off with it was great too.

In late January/February I was working on EtB(LtF), but I got a little ahead and as I was slowly posting the final chapters, I also joined my first fandom event EVER! and wrote Lightbeam for the Big Bang.

The Big Bang was so fun. I want to shout out karo-lynn again for the absolutely GORGEOUS art that went above and beyond with multiple illustrations. Kitten Catra is soooo cute and the way the glowing effects came out is just 🤩 Getting to do Lightbeam for the Big Bang was really great because it was a "milestone" event for the 4th anniversary and the fic I got to write for it was almost a follow-up to my "milestone" fic because they were the only couple in freak occurrence: confluence that hadn't had their "home universe" fic come out, and Lightbeam was the genesis of a long-standing idea (kinda headcanonish) about Adora being the goddess of Etheria that I had, so thank you so much to Tippenfunkaport for arranging it because the final fic and art means so much to me <3 (and also even if I'm still working my way through them, there were a lot of good other fics that came out of it I loved reading!)

To my memory, February/March was a little slower working on MMaM and SYE, but I went a little crazy with OLIG in April/May and had so much fun on that project. I really, really needed it. I'm not going to get into it, but with stuff that happened in my family... this was honestly one of the scariest years of my life. I was trying to figure out why I have vague negativity associated with the OLIG project and then I remembered what was happening around then and realized it had nothing to do with the project itself and in fact that was the only thing that kept me sane. That's probably why I was having one of my troughs in mid/late-May through July. Everything I picked up after OLIG/the Big Bang I just couldn't spark my interest the same and I was tired, but I eventually settled on Slipstream and slowly wrote that for... ages. But I don't want to make it sound like I was depressed that whole time. March-June were really hard, but the main reason I didn't write much in July was actually because I was having so much fun, because I got to meet up with a bunch of friends IRL for almost two weeks. It was so incredible and ugh, I'm committed to making a meetup happen again because I miss them so much.

I think I finally finished Slipstream in August, and that's when it happened. I saw the Sapphic September prompts. I already did individual retros on Sapphic September and Sheratober/AU-ctober, but needless to say: I went fucking insane. The unhinged era returned. And I had a fucking blast. I do want to do more fandom events in the future, but we'll get to that in the future plans section.

I will say, after those events, I honestly felt a little tapped for solid fic ideas. So like, I have a list of 7 ideas I'm interested in (and 1 WIP I'll try to finish and post in January), but I have no thoughts for an actual plot for those 7, it's literally just a tagline, like "Wedding Crashers AU" and that's it (using What a Beautiful Wedding as an example). So there's something there but plot calling to me. The Catradora whirlwind combined with future plans I'll get into later (I promise I'm not going to keep saying that) motivated me to finally pickup my novels again as my next project after the month was over.

I also did something new this year and wrote fanfics without the intention to publish them at any point. I talked about how I lied to myself I wouldn't do it with SB,WCFM to make me start it but lowkey knew the whole time I was going to. That wasn't the case with these other two. One I knew would be bad and had no interest in making good, and the other was for my OCs. For both I wrote 10k in one day. And it was bad. But it was also good. It felt good and the quality or missing scenes didn't matter since no one but me would ever read them. I'm not going to make this a "habit" but I'm definitely open to doing it again, especially for my OCs lol. And though one day I would love to turn them into published characters, I think there's some kind of conflict of interest issues or something with me posting fic of them on the internet, so they will probably continue to stay just for me, but hey, let's talk about novels!

Novels: Oh My God What The Fuck is NaNo Doing

Alright. So, if you don't know, NaNoWriMo used to be a huge thing for me. I won it 4 years straight 2012-2016, and picked it back up in 2020 when I got into writing again because of Catradora. In 2020 I just did a collection of fanfic for it (SLAS/OTOS/misc), and in 2021 I did my first original novel since 2016 in it. When 2022 came around I was burnt out from writing a whole novel that year already, revising the one from NaNo, and trying and failing to start a third novel that summer, so I didn't do NaNo. And, uh. Well. In 2023 there was no way I was finishing even a fanfic project at 50k with adjusting to my new job, so I ignored it.

And can I say, what the fuck. Shit went down. If you don't know, there are plenty of rundown posts and like a 2 hour video essay on it. It's fucking insane. A lot of people lost the motivation to participate, and thus the motivation to write at all for some of them. Not me. I got these emails throughout the year begging and pleading they've changed and it made me actually consider writing a novel on my own - outside of Nano - for the first time in 2 years. I hit my stride and was feeling really high during Sapphic September and was like you know what I can actually do this, and god knows NaNo is continuing to pull garbage every day to keep that motivation up. Once I knew I was doing the events for October I thought it was perfect to do those two theme months and then take a break for my novel on my own.

I now have a week to finish the last two chapters by the end of the year (my goal) and I swear to god I'm going to do it. I'm at almost 90k (I know, I'll trim it in revisions, y'all know how I am). My Novelember 2024 retro post has more details on how that has been going. I just hit a run of writers block over ONE SCENE, but I'm past it now and hopefully these last two chapters will be fast. That's like 3 days each I should be able to do that.

And then... let's talk about

Future Plans:

For the first part of January, I'm actually going to be working on outlining a second draft for that novel I wrote back in 2021. It's a sister book to this one so I want to get it to a stronger place. I do want to finish and post the one Catradora WIP I have tho (brace yourselves it's very stupid). Once the Femslash February prompts go up, I'll start working on those and posting throughout February. I miiiiiiiighht do the Big Bang again if I have an idea I think will be long enough and "cinematic" enough for art. I know I'm going to be super busy 2025-2026 (doing a training course for work 6 hours a week this spring, probably changing roles in the summer, hopefully going full-time in winter of 2025/2026, definitely moving in 2026 and maybe doing a smaller move in summer 2025, etc) so I'm trying to be realistic about what I have time for while also trying to set myself up to hit my big goals anyway because I'm honestly so scared to go full-time because I worry I won't have any motivation or time to write. After the last year and a half of letting my novels languish I'm really concerned I'll never write them if I'm fighting through the difficulty of a full-time job while disabled too, so I want to set myself up for success with being ready to query by then because if I had an actual agent/book deal I think it would keep me motivated (or at least force me to work on them lol) and I want to get these novel out there, the characters are super important to me and the thought of never trying is horrifying.

My big goals for next year are this:

Participate in Femslash February of course, hopefully for at least 20 prompts, though I'd love to do them all if they're good ones for me (After February, I'll either work on Big Bang fic - which means I won't be posting anything - or I'll go back to revising novels).

Participate in one more writing/fandom event (whether it ends of being the Big Bang or something else like Sheratober).

Update/post fic at least 32 times (usually my goal is 1-2x a week, but I'm probably going to be on hiatus working on novels for a few months, so I'm kind of halving 52 weeks and then adding a bit more to it for this goal, hopefully I actually still end up with a weekly "average" but I don't want to set up myself for disappointment).

Revise my novel from 2022 at least once.

Get one novel to the state where it's ready to query by the fall (probably requiring 2-3 revisions, unsure if it will by my current novel or the 2022 one yet).

That's all I can think of right now, but I do want to end as I always do with my thank you for reading because without y'all I don't think I ever would have gotten the confidence to actually pursue publishing but all your kind comments and messages have really changed my life and helped with my imposter syndrome so much <3 Ignoring the confidence thing, I would not have written as much as I do with the motivation I do without those comments, so thank you so much 💖

[tossawary]

It was absolutely insane how you dropped a juicy chonky chapter everyday for servant to a different king. Nothing but admiration and respect. How did you do it? What was the planning behind being able to release a chapter everyday? How long have you been working on the piece?

Thank you! "Servant to a Different King" was part of the Moshang Big Bang 2023 event. Traditionally, a Big Bang is 50k words (or more), and pairs up an author who wants to write a fic and an artist who agrees to create art for that fic. (Moshang BB23 had a minimum expectation of 10-30k words.) The sign-ups for this event were back on January and February, so that was when I created a full base outline for the fic and started writing seriously, on and off, in between other stuff. The fics all had to be finished by a certain date back in September.

Big Bang events often also release the whole fic all at once, with each author posting on a scheduled release date. That's what I did for a separate Big Bang event fic, my Bingliushen Stardust AU "Catch a Falling Star", but I have noticed that authors seem to get fewer comments when the fic is released all at once and there's a higher chance of readers accidentally missing the entire fic. The Moshang BB23 mods allowed for a daily release schedule if so desired, and I decided that was a good compromise between a more spread-out release schedule and the rush of a Big Bang release schedule.

While the outline for "Servant to a Different King" was complete early in the year (I think it was 8,000 words long), containing the most basic beats and some vague ideas for more specific character moments, I was originally only planning for... okay, I knew from the beginning that the fic wasn't going to be only 5 chapters, but I had it sectioned into 5 "chapters" as the distinct division of situations (Moshang reuniting, Moshang being forced into the bodyguard situation, Moshang getting to know each other at the Underground Palace, Moshang in the Northern Desert, and Moshang back at the Underground Palace). Whenever I write a fic, I know that I'm going to discover a lot of the details as I go, especially exploring the flow of conversations, and in regards to what worldbuilding and background characters I end up adding for atmosphere and humor and thematic parallels.

The Big Bang event had check-ins to keep authors on track with a certain minimum word count expected by a certain date, which helped me monitor where I needed to be in my fic writing. I think I did most of my fic writing in the last couple of months, however, because I had finished posting the other fics I've done this year. This was why I was not really "active" for a couple months over the summer. If I'd been posting chapters on a weekly basis instead of daily, "Servant to a Different King" would have been like 4 months of fic.

I don't really think that I have good advice for "how to write a lot". I have a decent amount of free time and my responsibilities generally allow me to daydream about story plots while I'm working. I generally aim for 200 words a day, if I'm able, but I don't sweat about it. I have things set up so it's easy to share documents between my computer and my phone, so I think I ended up writing most of "Servant to a Different King" on my phone, which was a first for me, because the computer was just too distracting for my focus.

[sidekick-hero]

Get to Know Me Tag Game

I was tagged by @augustjustice and @steviewashere thank you both for the tag 💜

Favorite Color - To wear, mustard or coral. In general, all shades of green or purple.

Last Song - You're gonna go far by Noah Kahan

Currently Reading - bookwise I'm listening to an audiobook, power to the people - how open technology arms the terrorists of tomorrow by Audrey Kurth Cronin. and ficwise a lot of shorter fics here and there but also working my way through the maginificent fic "he'll see I'm not so tough" by @alivingfire which is simply gorgeous and which I can't recommend enough, even though I'm only half-way through. One of the best stories I read in a good while. Oh, and I have the honor and the pleasure to beta read for @vthx who is also insanely talented and I can't wait for y'all to see this fic. And I'm also beta reading for @multidimensional-wavelength and his @steddiebb2024 fic. Let me just say, it's my favorite take on the fake dating trope so far, it's so much fun to read and he is super talented.

Currently Watching - Right now, Pride and Prejudice. Also I'm always rewatching Stranger Things it seems 😅 it's great to play in the background.

Currently Craving - Nothing, actually. Maybe sleep? Although I shouldn't be tired, I had a 2h nap today lol.

Coffee or Tea - always coffee. you can wake me up in the middle of the night and I take a coffee. Which is also why it's not really working anymore. I only feel the effects if I don't have enough.

A Hobby You Would Like to Try - No idea. My days are super full with work, trying to have some kind of social life, my mom and my dog, reading, writing, running, podcasts, watching something on TV sometimes... seriously, I don't think about hobbies much.

An AU You're Working On/Thought Of - I'm taking a writing break right now but I really, really, really wanna write my wolf!steve AU I started during steddie love month. It was supposed to be my steddie big bang entry but I dropped out. I have the whole thing planned in my head, it's a love story, of course but mostly an adventure with a conspiracy.

Tagging, no pressure: @hbyrde36, @matchingbatbites, @just-my-latest-hyperfixation, @klausinamarink, @medusapelagia and everybody else who wants to do this!

[readingadream]

Twisted High

Pairing: Bang Chan X OC Alexa/Alex

Summary: Alexa's favorite thing is Ice skating and hanging out with friend's. Chris's favorite thing is Hockey and working for the family business. What happens when these two get paired up for a school project and become each others new favorite thing.

Genre: Mafia Au, Hockey Au,

Warning and Tags: Drug use, violence, eventually smut, fluff, angst

Word Count: 1948

Chapter Five

Alexa's POV

My head was pounding as my eyes tried hard to open, but for some reason the muscles just weren't cooperating. Not only that, but my neck and back hurt like crazy, despite the hella soft bed I was in. Was my bed always this soft, I just have a hard time remembering? After a few minutes, I was finally able to open my eyes. I freeze in shock at the massive room I was in with cream colored walls. There was hockey memorabilia and band posters and albums everywhere, but in a neatly organized way as if it was professionally done. Who could live in such an organized place like this?

My answer came in the form of Chris walking out from an adjoining room with nothing but a towel around his waist and phone in his hand talking with someone in hushed tones. I try not to stare but I couldn't help myself. I take one last longing look up and down Chris's toned chest before making eye contact with him as he promptly hangs up his phone.

"Alexa, good morning. How are you feeling?" Chris walks over to his dresser with a big smirk knowing I was checking him out this whole time. I look down at my feet to advert his stare.

"Uhm, good, I guess?" I was so confused. How did I end up here, assuredly in Chris's house, let alone his room? What? Was this some kind of dream? A nightmare? I don't know which is more probable. Maybe a dream with how Chris looks with that towel. I look over to him one last time before he puts a shirt on making his way to his closet closing the door I assume to put some pants on.

"You guess? Are you feeling okay? Nauseous at all?" He asked, making his way back into his room. He stepped close, reaching out a hand. Just him being so close to me so early in the morning without me mentally preparing for such a random occurrence. I jolt up to try and stand up and create some space between us. But a sudden throbbing in my head made my knees buckle and forced me to lay back down on his heavenly soft pillows.

"Where am I? Why does my head hurt?"

"Do you always wake up with so many questions?" He tried to tease, but I must've made a face because he cleared his throat and tried to look elsewhere, scratching his neck nervously. "Well, in short, we got ambushed while picking up flowers for our project. You somehow got knocked out before you made it to your car and could escape, so I brought you to my house, to safety." He ends with a dorky smile.

His recap of the day prior made me freeze up, both in fear and shock because I thought it was a dream, it was so bizarre. Then my cheeks went aflame in embarrassment because I totally went nuts and knocked myself out with my own damn car door. God, if anyone else saw that instead of that jerk, I would likely die of embarrassment.

"Anyway, it's just past dawn. I should get you out of here and take you home. Is there anywhere you can go that wouldn't get you in trouble? I'm sure knowing you spent the night at a boys house will not go well with your parents."

Just the thought of my dad finding out I spent the night at a boys house especially Chris's house made a violent shiver of fear ripple down my spine. He couldn't find out, I would be killed. My brain was still trying to recover and think logically, but the pain was becoming too much. Thankfully Chris was quick and was able to get me a bottle of water and some medicine for my headache. Silently thanking him, I took it and tried taking a few deep breaths to center myself. Then, I thought of an idea.

"Chantel lives just down the road, right? Could I get a ride there? I can say we had a study session last night and it got too late to go back home." I look up at him with a big smile like a kid in a candy store because my plan is actually genius.  

"Oh, I suppose so. But doesn't she have a consistent schedule with work? She worked last night, wouldn't your dad question you?" 

"Not with Chantel. He knows she's serious about her studies. If I tell him she's working on a big project and starts freaking out asking for my help, he won't even bat an eye... maybe. Anyway, I think that might be the best solution."

"Okay, that's fair. Let me give her a call real quick, see if she can get you."

Third Person POV

Secretly, Chris was astonished that she could think of such a brilliant thing right when she woke up, especially with a headache from that nasty bump. However, he quickly called his cousin and explained what happened, practically begging her to get him out of this pickle he found himself in. Despite her being exhausted from work, as soon as she heard Alexa's name, she quickly changed and headed over to pick up her friend.

While he waited for her to arrive in approximately 15 minutes, he gave Alexa some ice for her head and a granola bar to snack on, doing the normal checks for a concussion. Finding no obvious signs of one, he breathed a sigh of relief and gave her the rest of her stuff, along with the portion of the project they worked on the day before. It was mostly silent while they waited for Chantel to finally arrive at the house, though it wasn't much of an awkward silence between them. Both comfortable with the silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

In fact, she so casually strolled into his house without anyone batting an eye. Even his father said hello and she wasn't accosted for every little thing. Must be nice being a favorite niece, but he was actually thankful for her this time around. She would be able to smoothly get into his house and figure out a way for Alexa to get out without anyone the wiser.

A couple moments later, the devil herself swooped in like a tornado and took her friend with her own form of telling him off for putting her in danger the way he did and the two were out the door and driving away in the car within the blink of an eye, leaving him to his own scattered and disheveled thoughts.

The drive back to Chantele's place was a silent one, much to Alexa's gratitude, since her head was sore and she was still tired. Resting her head on her friend's car window, she thought about the day before and what could've happened, about Chris fighting all those guys at once by himself, and being able to escape with her without so much of a scratch, at least to her knowledge. Who was the guy, and was he the same Chris she has known all these years? What is it about him that made him know what was about to happen, and know what to do in that kind of scenario? All these thoughts were whirling around hopelessly in her brain, her focus was blankly on the road and surrounding areas.

Alexa's POV

"So are you going to tell me WHY THE FUCK I HAD TO GET YOU FROM MY UNCLES HOUSE ?" Chantel yells at me in shock and worry. I take a deep breath before I tell her all about my confusing night with her cousin but before I could even start I was interrupted by a phone ringing. Scared, I look at the caller ID to see my favorite picture of me and my dad together on a camping trip. I smile at the memory but then my smile goes away pretty fast when I remember why he is calling me. I show Chantel my phone to prepare both of us for what might go down.

"Hey dad don't worry Chantel is about to drop me off right now as we speak okay." I move my phone from my ears being ready for the screaming that is about to happen.

"WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN? YOU KNOW I DON'T MIND YOU BEING AT CHANTELS ON A SCHOOL NIGHT BUT JUST TELL ME." I can feel the heat of his anger threw the phone. I sink into my seat ready for the disappointment to come at me full swing. 

" I know dad I know. I'm sorry we were helping each other after the stream and I just got a headache and fell asleep." Trying not to fully flat out lie to my father.

"You two I swear, just call one of you, I don't care I just need to know. I almost called uncle Jeff at the station to do a full search. So you are on your way home right?" His anger and worry coming down a bit. I start to sit back up in my seat as I wave to Mr. Holms outside his house with his dog. 

"Yes dad passing Mr. Holms house. "  

"Hi Mr. Tibbits, we are very sorry." Chantel yells at my dad threw the phone making herself laugh. 

"Hello C bear when you drop off my daughter both of you come in and have some breakfast. Sounds like we have to go over the ground rules." And then just like that my father hung up the phone. Right as Chantel stopped and parked the car at my house. I let out a deep breath bringing my hands covering my face. 

"We will talk about this, you aren't getting out of that easy. I mean my cousin's house." I take another second to collect myself. 

"I know. C trust me. I need to even figure it out myself." 

I knew damn well she would make me tell her everything, she wasn't someone to just let this slide. Especially when her best friend had slept at her cousin's place. I was going to dread the conversation with her later on. Though now I had to face my father. Taking a deep breath before getting out of her car, walking up the path leading to the door. Pushing the door open.

"Mr. Tibbit's it smells good in here." Chantle storms in with a great big smile slowly fading into a frown when we both see my dad at the front door with his arms crossed. 

"Ladies next time just fucking call me, Please don't give this old man another heart attack." He looks like he hasn't slept. I drop my bag running to him giving him a big hug. 

"I'm sorry daddy. It won't happen again I promise.  Right Chantel." I look over to Chantel giving her a look a please. I have a feel after last night it might not be the end with those guys. She gives me a nod understanding what I am telling her with my eyes. 

"Yes sir, promise. Now how about we eat some breakfast I am starving." Chantel runs to the kitchen making my dad and I laugh. 

"Alexa I trust you I really do. But please don't scare me like that and just call or even a text." I give him another hug appreciating him more than he will ever know. 

"I know dad, I am sorry that I scared you and that you lost some sleep over this. It won't happen again." We let go of the hug, making our way to the kitchen to join Chantel for breakfast. 

Series Masterlist

Pervious

[sunshine-embry]

A Silly Little BMC Au :D

I got lazy and didn't do any art but I'm too excited to post this.

So it's called opposite au, and I'm gonna yap about my idea a lot so press read more if you wanna be flash banged by text :)

.・゜-: ✧☾　☽✧ :-゜・.Characters.・゜-: ✧☾　☽✧ :-゜・.

Jeremy: He is now a popular punk kid. Still friends with Michael, but hates Rich and Jake - he actually bullies them - and still has a crush on Christine. Instead of his parents divorcing, his mom died. Personality wise, he's now super super mean and that's important.

Michael: BIG EMO. Still friends with Jeremy, but is now player 2 iykwim. I have nothing else to say about him :/ Also has homophobic parents while he's gay idk :/

Christine: Anti-social math nerd. Very shy, yet somehow very popular. She doesn't actually like Jeremy all that much, mainly because he bullies Rich and Jake. Also hates Michael, but that isn't plot relevant. Also very minimalist.

Rich: Nicest kid in school. Can you see the plot so far? Anyway, just overall very very nice. That's his entire personality. Also imagine his entire closet being those types of shirts that say "in my mind I am holding a frog' and things like that.

Jake: Stereotypical anti-social nerd. That's basically it. Also his entire closet is just sweater vests . Also also still best friends with Rich.

Chloe: Second smartest girl in school. Basically hella cutecore. I don't have many ideas for the girls :/

Brooke: Smartest girl in school. Also tomboy

Jenna: Prettiest and most popular girl in school. Girly-girl

.・゜-: ✧☾　☽✧ :-゜・.Plot.・゜-: ✧☾　☽✧ :-゜・.

Act 1

Jeremy likes Christine who in the mathletes. Michael manages to convince Jeremy to join the mathletes, in which Jeremy asks Christine out. Christine obviously says no because Jeremy is a bully ect ect.

So Jeremy goes to the bathroom to take a break from the nonsense math where he sees Rich washing his hands. Rich introduces Jeremy to a SQUIP to make Jeremy more nice.

So Jeremy and Michael go to the mall and buy a SQUIP for Jeremy, which need to be taken with lemon & lime Sprite. So he takes that and goes to the mall store(?) and sees Brooke and Chloe.

Since they never really talked before, and since Brooke's impressed by how nice Jeremy is, she asks to take to him on a date to Denny's (I REFUSE TO CHANGE HER TAKING HIM TO DENNY'S)

Jeremy politely accepts, even though the SQUIP tells him not to, but then ghosts Brooke.

So the next day, Jeremy goes to the mathletes meeting again and Christine tells Jeremy that she has a crush on Jake who's also there because he's a nerd.

Christine and Jake start to date, making Jeremy big sad, so he dates Brooke to get back at Christine.

Act 2

Jake throws a Halloween party at his house because he's trying to become popular. Basically everything is the same until Rich sets a fire.

Rich goes around not so politely asking if anybody has any cherry Sprite.

Of course, nobody does, so he sets Jake's house on fire. It makes sense. So the rumors go spiral like usual, blah, blah, blah.

So Rich - after he leaves the hospital - holds a sleepover at his house, inviting Jake, Jeremy, Brooke, Chloe and Jenna

So the Squip starts being not so nice to Jeremy and tries to force him to Squip his friends, in which he does.

The Play happens but it's in a sleepover scenario, Michael breaks in through the open window once Jeremy calls him, the whole thing (I kinda wrote myself into a corner by making Christine in the mathletes instead of the play so just work with me)

And yeah. I kinda didn't know what to do with the second half. that's it :/ Might write a fic about this.

[stabbyfoxandrew]

Hey Aerie! Did someone really just fucking stole an idea from you??? Wtf I'm mad about this.

If you don't want to talk about the werewolf (!!!!!!) Neil au bc of that I totally understand, but I would also listen if you'd talk about it! (I'm maybe a little bit feral about werewolves... I know you like vampires a lot ;-) but I am a slut for werewolves...)

I hope you are asleep right now but have a great day when you read this!! Love you <3

Unfortunately I was not asleep when I got this last night. Lol. It was 2am and I had just laid down. :') <3333 But I love you! <33 Also omg werewolves were my shit when I was younger, then somehow it swapped to vampires? :'))

Also if you want I'll tell you about the 'fic-stealing incident'. It was really annoying but it all worked out and I will now be writing it for the Paranormal Fic Fest instead. YAY! So nothing truly terrible happened but it was stressful and annoying at the time.

Beware: super long ramble under the cut. Unless you're Cody c-lion you probably don't wanna open that. :'))

The reason I never talked about this on my blog is because I figured somehow people would think I was in the wrong and send me mean shit. :') But what happened was... I signed up for the big bang again this year.

I wasn't going to because last year my artist partner literally disappeared and the mod didn't bother to tell me they dropped until I asked if they could check on them. But I figured I'd try again anyhow. So I came up with two ideas. (One being demon neil, which I submitted for the bang. And the other was werewolf neil, which I am SO insane about.)

I wrote outlines for both and decided to use the demon neil one. Then I got my partner assigned and they... Hardly ever responded. I mean, I answered them within minutes. It would take them several days to reply. Every single time. Then it got to a point where they just didn't answer at all for two whole weeks. I figured they were ghosting me, like last year.

They message me the day before the check-in and ask if the art idea (that I suggested) would be alright. Like. They hadn't started at all. I hadn't either, since they had disappeared. I didn't answer. Instead I told the mod I was dropping. And they said they would have another writer write my fic for me. Like...

Uh... It's the first check-in. The artist hasn't done shit yet. Why on earth would you give my fic to someone else? Like normally, this might not have been a problem. If I had been really vague with my idea. But when I wrote out my prompt I gave a lot of detail. I thought the more the better, so the artists would know what they would be working with. However...

Since I gave so much detail, they would've been writing My Fic. Not just a random au where Neil happens to be a demon. I mean I gave a simplified version of the plot? So. That would've been so suckish. But I explained to the mod that I wanted to keep my idea and they said they'd reassign the artist to a different writer instead.

So everything worked out in the end. But I was very, very upset when it was happening. Like... I had a bit of a panic attack. Which sounds stupid I guess. But I had planned this all out and I was in love with it. You don't kidnap a baby and hand it to some rando? TwT (My writing is all I have. I'm aware that it's sad, but it is true.)

Anyhow! I won't be doing a random partner event ever again because the last two have sucked. :')) (This is no shade to the mods or anything. I get it must be hard to run stuff. But partners disappearing and stuff... Sucks major ass. I don't wanna have to depend on a random stranger for a partnered thing.)

The first bang I ever did was amazing! It was for a different fandom, back in like 2017. But the partner I had for that was awesome and really sweet. We were friends for a while afterwards. So I guess my expectations were too high I guess? :')

But yeah! That was all that went down. Nothing terrible in the end. I just got very autistic-ly upset about my baby almost being snatched. (My friend's dms were... full of me blubbering about it:')) That being said! I will definitely have to come and talk about werewolf neil at some point! (And... maybe... add him to wipw... Eventually...)

If you read this far you're a saint. I love you! <3 Muah.

[hearteyespierce]

2 and 30 for the 2024 in review asks!

Thanks for the ask!!

2. What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year?

Not sure if this counts, but I did my first multi-fandom exchange this year for the Rare Pair Exchange, and while I did get to do my main gift for the fandom I signed up for, I did my first ever pinch hit and it was for a fandom I wasn't a part of (a book series I have read, just not involved in the fandom side of it). While I prefer to write for fandoms that I'm excited about, it was a really interesting challenge, and I was so pleased that my pinch hit giftee loved it!!

Alternatively, I tried doing some shorter fics. I struggle with brevity - I always need to have everything explained/get into a lot of detail/my plots tend to get very complicated and involved, and so my fics always either end up very long or they languish unfinished in my wip folder. So I tried a couple very short fics, intentionally aiming to keep them short/limited to one scene, and it was an interesting experience! I think I have more fun with the long, complicated plots, but the mini fics do give a nice little boost/that sense of accomplishment of "finishing" something, which is really nice!!

30. What would you like to write next year?

I have SO many wips and/or ideas that I want to get off the ground, but here's the ones I am most excited about in no particular order: For DGHDA:

Continue the Pushing Daisies AU - idk if people are still interested, but I had a lot of fun making the intro to the series for the Big Bang and I have a lot of plans for where I want to take things!

Hanahaki AU - I've had this wip in progress for like 2 years now and I've written the first ~2ish chapters. I have about 8 others planned and I've been kind of struggling with the first ~4-5 chapters following the plot of S2 and worrying that I'm having a hard time striking that balance of following S2 without feeling like a boring rehash, if that makes sense? I'd really love to finish it and get it published though. I've done some worldbuilding with the trope to fit it into the canon of DGHDA in (what I think is) an interesting/believable way, and I'm excited to share it with y'all!

For MASH:

Hawkahy Slowburn Longfic - I wrote what was supposed to be a PWP oneshot this year but then (see aforementioned allergy to brevity) my brain decided it needed a very long slowburn to lead up to and then also decided it had an angsty end which means I now have to extend it further afterwards too to get them to a happy ending lmao. But I'm very excited about the porn I wrote lmfao so I'm hoping to get the rest of the longfic written so I can publish it all next year!

Hawkahy Taking The Fifth Oneshot - Basically that episode but where Mulcahy is the person behind "Chastity's" note. Another WIP that I've had going for about 6-8 months lmao. This one shouldn't be too hard to finish I just need to focus some time on it.

Beejhawk Queer Club Angst - This is actually one of the first fic ideas I had when I joined the fandom and someday I'll write it lmao. Basically post-war Beejhawk, they go to a gay club and it gets raided by the police. Will have a positive ending bc I can't do angst with no happy or at least hopeful ending, but the whole idea was heavily influenced by my favorite book of all time, Stone Butch Blues, and I want to reread it before I dig into that fic.

Sidhawk San Francisco AU - This is a fic that @siriusnebulae and I spent some time plotting this year with the intention of co-writing and I'd love to get back to it! Won't get into too many details since it's not just mine, but it's a canon-divergence where they meet post war instead of during it and I'm very excited about it!

There are more but those are just a few that I'm particularly excited about!

2024 In Review Fic Asks

[remyfire]

just had to pop in and say hello to a fellow animorphs kid. the animorphs to mash pipeline is real

spRINTING in and sliding into home base all cool and stuff yes hello :D :D

Animorphs my beloved. I started reading it way too young, probably, and we could only get maaaaybe 12 books out of the whole series in my library. I think I first found it before it was completed, actually, so maybe that's partly why, idk. But when we were dating, my wife nabbed me all of them in a big lovely digital package, so that's how like 20-year-old me got to finally finish reading the series and then cry my eyes out and stare at the ceiling for an hour processing it. Goddamn. Beautiful shit ;v;

Amusingly I had an Animorphs MASH AU pop into my head once, and it's going under the cut because I'm gonna go off at the mouth about it and I don't think many people will care about it, but you activated me and I'm excited now :D

It was specifically circling around Hawkeye being the only person to have this ability (no I have not yet decided how the escafil device got there before Elfangor did, don't worry about it, that's for later me to decide if I ever wrote it) and ending up morphing into Sophie for recon purposes because he could get away with a lot more scouting out of a suspected Yeerk installation as a wild horse than as a human in a jeep. Unfortunately the Sophie instincts make him too happy just to runrunrunrunrun. I think I had Radar as the only person who knew that Hawk had this ability, so when someone brought horse!Hawk back like "Oh hey I think the colonel's horse got out," Radar was just sweating and trying to pretend he wasn't hiding Sophie in her stall like "OH HOW WEIRD IS THAT," while Hawk who was rapidly approaching the two-hour mark was trying to very subtly trot into the barn and not panic Sophie as he morphed back out, bless them.

THEN my brain took it a couple of different routes! One was the variant of Frank's breakdown between S5 and S6. I posited the idea that a casualty that came in was the first to be infested, probably by a Yeerk scouting ship that went down somewhere deep in the forest, and when its alien host was dying on the ground and being investigated by a panicked American soldier, he didn't notice the lil slug creeping up his boot, over his pants, closer closer ever closer until it touched his face, and while he was in a panic and tripping over himself trying to get this thing off of him, he stumbles and bangs his head on something, and while he's reeling from it, that's when the Yeerk infests him. His host is now bleeding profusely from a head wound, though, and about to pass out, so when he ends up on Frank's operating table, this fucking Yeerk has already had a hell of a day.

So Frank manages to get infested by this Yeerk—again, I futz the details, they're not important rn hfkfd I think I posited Frank leaning down to hear what this gasping soldier is trying to say and the transition happening that way somehow—and the Yeerk is struggling to operate Frank's very poorly medically trained brain, so he is maiming and murdering casualties left and right. Everyone thinks he's cracking up because of Margaret's recent marriage, so they send him off on R&R. And the thing is that this Yeerk is starving and has been already for a full day, so the second Frank is there in Tokyo, his Yeerk has started to go insane from the lack of kadrona rays, and god bless Frank, but he was fragile enough already, and his conservative little mind was already paranoid and keen for conspiracies as it was, so he goes straight off the deep end. He does not get sent home with a promotion. He just happily believes that he did.

And then my brain took it a beejhawk route as I am wont to do where Hawkeye needs to know who is trustworthy around him, and he desperately needs to know if he can talk with BJ about what he's seen, what he's experiencing, so he gets them three-day passes and takes him to Seoul, and for the very first time...Hawk seduces him, and barely within minutes of arriving. And there's this brief pause before BJ surges into him with this low hum and unabashed, languid desire, and Hawk ends up pinning him down on the bed and making a quiet choked sound before he looks up at him with a feline grin and murmurs how he wants to play a game with BJ.

And this is how Hawk ends up tying BJ to a chair tight as he can in the middle of a Seoul hotel room, all while whispering the filthy things he's gonna do to Beej once he's got him secure. And then once he's checked all the knots and knows BJ can't get out of them, Hawk catches BJ by the chin and grins and looks him right in the eye and whispers, "I've got just under three days here alone with you. And you're gonna die the slowest, most excruciating death possible. And when you're squirming free, doing everything you can to find just one shred of food, I'm gonna laugh myself silly over how pathetic you are. And then I'm gonna grind you into a puddle for daring to get your disgusting little slime all over this fella's perfect fucking brain." Because he knows Beej wouldn't have drifted that easily into an affair with him, not without at least some degree of grief and self-directed frustration.

And unbeknownst to him, BJ—who has been so goddamn careful the entire time he and Hawk been working together to not let a lick of his desperate desire show through and tempt him, really tempt him—had intentionally pushed all those wet dreams and fantasies and hunger to the forefront of his mind just so his little Yeerk would bypass the sharp reluctance that BJ has to cheat again, so that it would instead think it was being incredibly clever, about to really wrap Hawkeye around its finger and find a way to make him another lovely host as well while his current one is all tied up with nowhere to go.

Something something watching the man you love writhe in agony for three days straight as his little parasite is using his voice to call you the worst fucking things possible with all the knowledge he has of what hurts you more than anything. Something something hearing him cry and plead and beg and promise you everything you've ever wanted with him if you'll just untie him, having to sit there against the wall with your head in your hands and whisper it's not him it's not him it's not him.

Man. What a fucking series, am I right? I'm really normal about it. Thank you for unlocking my babbling :D