#dex fic

[imyourbratzdoll]

Hello! I was wondering if you can do something with dex from zombieverse? I recently finished the show. Maybe like a zombie au version with fluff? Like how they protect each other and like little sweet simple cute actions if that makes sense like when she gets cold etc 😭 I feel like dex is being slept on since I haven't found anything like an x reader. He deserves some love 🙏

hi! hi! hi! thank you, thank you, thank you for requesting him!!!!! I've been wanting to write for him since I saw the show and how hot he was!! I really hope you enjoy this and feel free to request more of him in the future!

summary - the apocalypse strikes out of nowhere while you are shopping, thankfully there's a good-looking man that rescues you and makes you fall for him in a short amount of time.

warning - zombies.

I couldn’t find a gif, the picture isn’t mine:(, divider by @newlips (deactivated)

You thought going out and getting some essentials from the grocery store was going to be fine, what you didn’t expect to see was people being attacked or dragged into the back room with your hand still gripping your bag. “Hey! Hey! What’re you doing?!” You yell, slapping whoever’s hands are on you only to stare wide-eyed at a zombie coming in your direction, a small scream escaping you. “Okay! Keep dragging me! But quickly! We’re gonna die!” 

You both make it into the room, door slamming and you turn to finally look at who it was. Your eyes widen and your jaw falls to the ground. “Holy shit, you’re hot!” If it was even possible, your eyes widened even more, slapping your hand over your mouth as the rest of the people in the room laugh. You quickly bow your head and move over to the table taking a seat. 

Thirty minutes go by and everyone has come up with a plan. You can’t help, but sneak glances at the man in the green tracksuit only to turn away flushed when he continued to catch you. Someone snaps you out of your thoughts with a groan, complaining that they are hungry. “Oh!” You pull your bag up, waving it around as there’s some snacks and drinks packed inside. “I remember packing this in here so I didn’t have to grab a basket. Here.” You hand it over, watching them tip the contents out and go through them, sneakily you grab a bottle and some food before making your way over to the man that saved you. “Excuse me…” 

He turns, staring down at you. “I thought that you might like some before it’s all gone.” You hand the food and drink over shyly. Dex smiles, taking them from you.

“Thank you… I am Dex, by the way.” 

You grin, “Y/n. Thank you for saving me.” You continue to stare into each other’s eyes, only looking away when someone clears their throat. You both turn and pay attention, you feel a soft poke causing you to look over your shoulder and see that Dex is offering you some of his food. You didn’t know it was possible to fall in love so fast. 

“Huh?”

Your eyes widen even more. “Huh?!” Your head whips around, seeing everyone is staring at you with their eyes wide and jaws dropped. “Did I say that outloud?!” The women begin to giggle, covering their mouths before they direct the attention back to their planning. 

Dex taps you again, looking down at you with a gentle smile. Without any words, he offers his drink and you feel yourself become flushed when you realise he’s already taken a sip and it’s like you would be kissing him. You didn’t know what was wrong with you, you had only just met this man and you’ve already confessed your love and now your thinking about kissing him… He was very handsome though. “Thank you… I’m sorry about before…” 

He waves you off and you swear your heart nearly leaps out of your chest as his eyes drift over you, checking you out. Time passes, you and the remaining survivors have made it into a truck, tucked away in the back as two members of the group sit in the front, driving. You shiver, you weren’t expecting to be out all night so you didn’t dress for when it got extremely cold, your head was also drooping to the side from how tired you were, but you didn’t dare sleep. You didn’t want to fall asleep incase something were to happen. 

You don’t notice the recently nominated leader beside you, watching you or that he unzips his green and white jacket until he places it over your shoulders, giving you a smile. Dex pats his shoulder, pulling you closer gently as you rest your head against him. Slowly drifting off into a peaceful sleep, he smelt so good even though you’d been through so much. The group watched as you slept and Dex stared at you with a small smile on his face before looking out and watching for danger. Something inside him wanting to make sure you weren’t in danger. 

You wake when the truck comes to a stop, squinting out you notice there is another truck and a car blocking the road. Everyone gets out and you pull Dex’s jacket closer to you, slipping your arms through the sleeves so that you aren’t so cold. “What’s happening?” You cover your mouth as you let out a small yawn, leaning your head against his arm, subconsciously. 

“We can’t get through unless we move them, but we’ve noticed that this is a delivery truck so we’re going to check for essentials.” You nod, listening to him.

“Why don’t we just drive around? There is enough room?” You look at the road, wondering how you are in a group of not the brightest people. “But we take the delivery truck. We could either fit inside or find a secluded place to look through and find what we might need.” You look up at him, noticing he’s staring down at you with a look of admiration. “What?”

“Maybe you should be leader.” You shake your head with a small smile, “I mean it. We could lead together? I’m sure that the group would allow it.” He nods to himself and you stare at him, this is the most he’s talked this whole time together and you only just realise he talks the most when he’s around you and no one else. 

Lee Si-young appears behind you. “I am happy to give up my position, I didn’t really want it in the first place and you two seem like a better team.” She smiles and before you can think about thanking her, she disappears. 

“Zombies! Quick!” Dex wraps his arms around you, moving you away just in case. You whack him.

“You dumbarse, if you are protecting me, who’s protecting you?” Your cheeks puff out, glaring up at him.

“Shh, get back into the truck.” You comply, something in his tone makes you want to obey him and only him. 

You guys manage to get both trucks and drive to somewhere where it looks safe and secluded before you all begin to search the delivery truck. Dex finds some chocolates and begins to make his way over to you, clearing his throat so you can turn your attention toward him.

“Yeah?”

“Here…” He hands them over, looking down at his feet and your face heats up, a soft smile appears as you gently take them from him and grab his hand, pulling him somewhere away from the group and you sit, pulling him down with you. 

You open the packet and hand him one, your eyes connecting as you both take a bite of the chocolate. Neither of you notice that the group has hidden behind something, heads peaking out as they all watch you with giant smiles on their face.

thank you for reading!

feedback and reblogs are greatly appreciated.

[malama-art]

i miss alola

[tennessoui]

emerging from a fugue state just in time for wip wednesday

Vokara Che sits down across the desk from him with a pinched expression on her face. “I was under the impression that Master Kenobi called for this appointment, Master Skywalker.”

He did. Or, more precisely, his healing portal account did. Which Anakin accessed and then used to type out a missive in his master’s voice requesting to meet as soon as possible.

“Right, well,” Anakin says, shifting in his seat. “Something came up.”

Che does not look impressed. “Be that as it may,” she says delicately, “I am unable to discuss a patient’s medical history with a third party if the third party is neither present at the time nor has given me direct permission to do so.”

Anakin stares, feeling the first flickerings of real, dangerous fury well up in his gut. “But,” he says carefully. “He’s still sick. He, uh. Told me about it. And then we found a solution. To the problem.”

“The problem,” Che repeats, tilting her head and looking at Anakin as if she’s intent on studying him. 

“The hanahaki,” he spits. It’s a disgusting word. It’s one of the worst words he’s ever learned, and he can’t believe she’s making him say it. He can’t believe she’s being so—so cold when he’s telling her that Obi-Wan is still ill, that Obi-Wan is still dying, that Obi-Wan needs to be here to see her and he’s not. “Look,” he adds, leaning forward in his chair, “a few months ago a series of files were uploaded accidentally to my healing portal, but they were notes from one of Obi-Wan’s appointments. They were your notes from Obi-Wan’s visit. I know you know I know.”

Vokara Che looks at him and then looks down at the datapaad in front of her, lips thinned and lekku twitching. “I must apologize then,” she says, swiping through the files in front of her until she finds something that she lingers on. Her fingers dance across the screen of the datapaad, then it goes dark. “For the breach in ethicacy that you and Master Kenobi both experienced because of the Halls of Healing. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, Master Skywalker. All files that were incorrectly uploaded have been deleted from your healing portal.”

Anakin looks at her and bites his cheek hard enough to bleed so that he doesn’t start screaming instead.

[horribleprotagonist]

my favorite dex headcannon ever is that he has a peanut allergy. that's my stupid guy, he'll die if he eats a reeses cup

[myfairkatiecat]

Dexiana angst :)

Summary:

Biana Vacker joined the Neverseen.

She and Dex can't let each other go.

Tag list under the cut

@sparklenarniawizard @bookwormgirl123 @carmie122 @thatrandomlemononyourcounter1 @a-lil-rats-art @imobsessed123 @jedikeeper @randomity-101 @sunflowersandpuffs @stunning-mess @lucentstarss @justalunaticfangirl @alaydabug2 @thoughtlescat @swans-chirping-in-the-distance @permanently-stressed @periwinkle-the-11th @personnotofintrest @aspenaspenaspenaspenaspen @sketchy-potato @theleopardstalker @2857142 @sharksinyourswimmingpool @lostwarllock @ohmygoly @sophieswundergarten @rosenightmares @the-oracle-at-delphinitely-not @figure-skating-avocado @labaguetteisdabest @thishumanformislimiting @blooky8

(This list is compiled from responses to my first post asking what people wanted to be added to my non-Mirrored-Conflicts fanfiction tag list. If you're not on the tag list and want to be added, let me know! If you are and would like to be taken off, also let me know!)

[riordanverseaddict]

Last night, I dreamt of a kotlc fanfic. It was a three part fanfic the titles were "falling for you", "loving you" and "dying for you" and oh my god it was full of angst. I was kind of sad after I woke up that these fics don't exist. Now I'm contemplating that should I write them or not because that masterpiece (which I don't remember most part of anymore) needs to be shared

[ilikebookssomuch]

Hi! I have more angst for you all. As usual, here are the previous parts.

Now read! Enjoy! Cry, maybe hopefully! Also, please reblog this. It helps. A lot.

Edaline’s POV:

It had been 16 years since she’d worn this gown. It was a long, flowing dress the color of emeralds. Green was the color of life, so elves always wore green to funerals. 

But for the second time, Edaline was attending her own daughter’s planting. She studied her reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror: puffy red eyes, trembling hands, and a pale face streaked with tears.

As she turned away, Grady entered the room. He was wearing dark pine-colored pants and a matching jacket with gold thread embroidered along the seams. His bloodshot eyes met hers, and he attempted to smile. “You look lovely, Eda,” he said, taking her hand and walking to the door. The pair climbed up the stairs, past Sophie’s room, and to the gleaming Leapmaster. 

“Are you ready to do this?” Grady asked, hugging her tight.

“Yes,” Edaline barely whispered. “The Wanderling Woods,” her voice was raspy, but the crystal still dropped down and made a shimmering path of light. 

Together, Grady and Edaline stepped forward, letting the light whisk them away.

The crowd at Sophie’s funeral was surprising large. Hundreds of elves were crammed in between the other Wanderling trees, all clad in green. Sobs rose throught the still forest. Edaline and Grady walked around the sides of the group, heads down. Along the way, they stopped at Jolie’s tree. It was so beautiful, and Edaline whispered, “Stay strong. I love you,” before continuing. 

When they got to the hill that Sophie’s tree would be planted on, they saw Kesler, Juline, and the triplets all embracing one another in a hug, crying. Juline looked up, met Edaline’s eyes, and raced to hug her. Grady walked over to Kesler and they exchanged sad, solemn-sounding words. 

After a moment, the air lit up and all twelve councilors appeared on the stage set up behind the planting sites. 

“As I’m sure you’ve all heard, the disspearences of two young elves  have been tearing at our hearts for nearly two weeks. After days of careful consideration and hope, we were forced to admit that Miss Foster and Mr. Dizznee are dead. The lost cities will mourn their loss forever. But now, it is time for the plantings,” Councilor Emery said, his voice carrying over the silent ground. 

Kesler pulled a small seed out of his suit pocket and carefully wrapped a strawberry-blond hair around it while Juline dug a small hole in the grassy hillside. Bex placed the seed in the hole, and Rex gently filled the dirt back in. When it was done, Lex poured a vial of green liquid over the planting. The liquid sank into the soil and a sapling immediately sprung from the earth. 

It had a slightly twisted trunk and spikey red leaves. Edaline even noticed a few periwinkle berries on the ends of the tiny branches. The whole Dizznee family was crying by the time they stepped away, and they sat against the stage, dazed, with tears streaking down their rosy cheeks. 

Now it was their turn. 

Grady prepared the seed while Edaline dug the hole. Grady filled it in, and Edaline sobbed as she opened the vial. Drink up, little one, she thought as the elixir disappeared into the ground. When she stepped back, a pale truck pushed its way up from the dirt. Soon, golden-yellow star-shaped leaves were unfulrling and tiny brown seed pods were sprouting. 

Grady cried and hugged Edaline.

She was devastated. It wasn’t fair. She already lost one daughter, why did the world insist that she lose another? 

She barely registered all of the families coming up to them and giving thier condolences. 

She was numb. 

Emotionless. 

Empty.

When they got home, Edaline barely managed to crawl into their bedroom before she collapsed onto the bed and slept. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to wake up. Not without Sophie by her side.

Tag list: @myfairkatiecat @alaydabug2 @ham-cheese-toastie @stunning-mess @sophie-pleasant @lisalovesapplesauce @ilov3b00kss0much @siennamakeschaos @mushroom-snake-coding @sophiefostersno1stan @upside-downish @aspenaspenaspenaspenaspen @permanently-stressed (Isa & Aspen I'm tagging you because we're moots now and it's my job to bother you)

[clarissaweasley-10]

Honestly, l find it soo weird that there are people out there writing smut about kotlc characters... Maybe it's because I'm uncomfortable reading smut, but these characters are LITERAL KIDS? THEY ARE GODDAM MINORS!! Ik this may sound weird but, sometimes l just feel soo protective of them... STOP WRITING OBSENE STUFF ABT MY KIDS...

[aceofwhump]

Hey Ace 👋

Do you have any good Rodney whump fics or Ronan whump fics to recommend

I am only like half way through season 2 of Atlantis but I think I spoiled most of the show for myself through the whumpy gifs and videos I see everywhere lol

(P.S may we see a pic of your cat? 👉👈)

Hiya!! Ooh I love Rodney and Ronan whump. Yeah let me see what I can find for ya.

Rodney Whump:

Desperate Measures By: angw Stuck in a mine shaft Rodney has to make a choice to survive.

Four Times Rodney McKay Got Shot Saving the Day By: LinziDay Four times Rodney McKay got shot saving the day and one time he didn't .

Guppy By: GateBiscuit Rescuing McKay from the lost, leaky Puddle Jumper was the easy part. Tag to Grace Under Pressure. Team fic

Reason #1 Why Rodney Likes Food By igiveup101 “Fine,” Rodney gave in, shoulders slumped. “But you’ll be sorry when I’m dying of hypoglycemic shock.” OR Sheppard and the team agree to sit and reflect for a few hours. It goes, predictably, horribly awry.

Soldiering On By: LilRicki In which Rodney gets severely whumped but is still awesome enough to save the team from certain doom.

Candle in the Dark By: Sholio An accident leaves Sheppard and McKay a little too dependent on each other.

Hypoglycaemia By: Alipeeps Hypoglycaemia or low blood glucose is a condition in which the level of glucose sugar in the blood, drops below a certain point... Special request fic written for McKayRocks! Featuring McKay and Shep whumpage in abundance.

Ronon Whump:

Silent Sacrifice by Daring Duo - John, Rodney, and Ronon try to survive after crash landing on an unexplored planet. Their injuries and lack of supplies begin to take their toll as they wait to be rescued.

Red Sands by kirsten999 - Stranded on a harsh, desolate world, John and Ronon learn that merely surviving is only half the fight.

Finding Home by LadyShelley - Free of the Wraith, Ronon must decide if he is going to stay in Atlantis or leave to seek vengeance alone. While still trying to make up his mind, he and Rodney are trapped in one of the city’s towers, and each starts to learn more about the other as they wait for someone to find them.

A Light In Dark Places by LordVaako - Where was Ronon? Carson’s head felt like a boulder had dropped on it. The low ringing in his ears, coupled with a throbbing headache, made him touch his temple. He removed his fingers and inhaled in surprise at the crimson smears. ** Ronon is sent to bring Carson back to Atlantis, but the good doctor wants to spend more time with a village’s healer. When the village is attacked, Ronon and Carson are badly injured. They must rely on each other to get back to the Stargate.

Red Sands by kristen999 - Stranded on a harsh, desolate world, John and Ronon learn that merely surviving is only half the fight.

Febuwhump Day 1: touchstarved By Yesimevil After living for seven years as nothing more than a hunted animal, settling back into a form of society was… difficult, to say the least. Ronon suddenly became overwhelmed with people and things and safety, and no idea what the hell he was supposed to do with any of it, and from his inability to hold a conversation to the alien feeling of a toothbrush in his hand, he supposed that he had, in a way, forgotten how to be human.

Whumptober 2022 day 31: a light at the end of the tunnel By Yesimevil Takes place after Broken Ties. Ronon struggles to recover from the events of the episode, but his friends are there for him.

And yes I'd love to share a picture of my kitty! Her name is Sable and this pic is from the last time I took her outside

[frizzle-mcshizzle]

Copper mares (Stinex) to me

they wouldn’t get together until they’re young adults, they both have a lot pf growing a maturing to do

Stina is a head taller than Dex not because hes short, shes just that tall

Dex fell first and was head over heels, he realized she didn’t like him back but didn’t care. he would press her buttons just to get her attention. so she would get into his face or make him back into a corner. because hes an angler fish with an intense step on me complex

and he loved her attention, he loved being close enough to count her eyelashes, and if pressing her buttons was the only way to do that, then he would press her buttons every chance he got.

he discovered an easy way to make her blush was to call her darling and he did it whenever he got the chance, it caught her off guard, her retaliation was to call him Dexter which made him jump just as much as it would make him blush

it went on for months their squabbling that sounded more and more like flirting the more time went on

then Stina fell so hard she tripped over her emotions leaving a hole in the floor loony toons style, sitting at the bottom crying with her feelings because how dare she fall in love with him

how dare she fall in love with that stupid boy and his stupid hair, with those stupid freckles that formed constellations on his face, and his periwinkle eyes with dark blue flecks that she could get lost in for hours- oh no she was staring again

Stina didn’t think she deserved to be loved especially by him, not after how she treated him all those years, no she deserved to be miserable, she deserved to be hated, why would he ever love her

so she confessed to him in french during their arguments making it sound like she was insulting him, he thought she was, called a coward for insulting him in languages he didn’t understand, he was half right she was a coward.

Dex would fight back angry he had to love the girl (who he thought) hated him back

when they’re not fighting Dex is over on the other side of the room, staring at her thinking how beautiful she is, and how much he wants to kiss her. he forgives her because she’s grown as a person he knows she capable of being more than that mean girl from foxfire. shes passionate, and loves her friends, loves her parents.

he can see how soft she is underneath the shell she uses to protect herself from a world that hates her for things she can’t control, the same world that hates him for the same things.

she starts to get softer around him without meaning too, going from making fun of him for how he tied his cape to pushing Biana out of the way to fix it herself. she just wanted to be close to him, without the bickering without the fighting, even if it was only long enough to adjust his cape, or his pins.

Dex started intentionally putting his cape on out of place, and pins on crooked, just so she would adjust his pins for him, as she stood over him and schooled him for putting his pins and cape on wrong he would find his gaze linger oh the crinkle between her eyebrows, the curved tip of her eyebrows, the way she bit her lips when she was focusing, the way her lipgloss sparkled in the chandelier light.

once Stina caught him staring at her lips, he had been distracted, thinking of what it would be like to kiss her, he had never seen turn so red, she was probably redder than he was, she tried to find a insult but stumbled over her words before rushing away. every time he looked at her during the Gala that team Valiant was forced to go to she would look at the floor. it made him wondering if she was staring at her to

Stina seemed to be trying to insult him more during their next team Valiant meeting, but none of her insults had as much heart as usual, it was like she was trying to prove a point she didn’t believe in. she kept muttering things in french and Sophie was staring at her wide eyed. Dex couldn’t tell if it was because Stina was saying some nasty insults or was saying something different. he hoped the second guess was right, or she would at least stand over him again while she insulted him.

Stina couldn’t handle the thought of Dex liking her. why was he looking at her lips like that? he couldn’t like her, he had to have been hit in the head, or used himself as a test subject for some new exiler. he would have to be sick in the head to love her of all people. she didn’t deserve it, why would he love her.

but Dex was persistent, she could have sworn he was trying to make her flustered in their fights (he was), she did her best to ignore it (she was horrible at it)

when they where in the middle of the neutral territories on a mission for the black swan, they where attacked by some leftover members of the neverseen, Stina was horrible in fights, she acted tough but when her life was on the line all she wanted to do was cry. that was until she saw a black cloaked figure sneak up behind Dex with a massive dagger when he was riffing through his bag for another bomb

without thinking she tackled the figure getting the knife plunged deep into her sidem it bruned the throgh her veins, as she passed out she swore there was something on the knife to make it hurt more, to make it hard to move, before the neverseen member could strangle her, Dex stuck a melder into their head, making then crumble to the ground ticking.

Stina had never seen him act like that, she had never seen him so angry, except for maybe when some kids beat up Rex at foxfire, the worried look in his periwinkle eye made the butterflies in her stomach do a dance. but it just had to be because she was bleeding, blood was terrifiying on anyone, it had nothing to do with the fact that it was her.

Stina had to get stitches because of something that the knife was coated in kept the wound from healing with ant amount of Exilers, even when Dex made special doeses just for her, he would have done that for anyone though it wasn’t because it was her.

he looked at her differently afterwards, she was trying and failing to convince herself it was just because it was because she got stabbed on his behalf. Dex was constantly trying to sit next to her, even glaring down anyone who took the last seat available next to her, she waited for his appreciation for saving his life to wear off but it just seemed to get worse

and the way he looked at her made her like she hung the stars in the sky just for him to see made her stupid brain wonder otherwise, maybe, just maybe, he loved her back.

@doodle-do-wop i promised to tag you when i was done

[imyourbratzdoll]

Warnings and Reminders - Please do not plagiarise, copy, repost/republish, adapt, or translate any of my work on any social media platforms, apps, or third-party sites. The only platforms I post my work on are: Tumblr and Wattpad. I do not own any character of any franchise (Marvel etc.) All my works are fiction and may be dark or triggering content: READ ALL WARNINGS BEFORE PROCEEDING.

𝐊𝐈𝐌 𝐉𝐈𝐍-𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆 (𝐃𝐄𝐗) 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓:

 ♡ 𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒇𝒇 ➳ 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒕 ❥ 𝒔𝒎𝒖𝒕 ❦ 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌

೫˚🖤❀ *ૢ🥀೫˚🌑

𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐩𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤 ♡

summary - the apocalypse strikes out of nowhere while you are shopping, thankfully there's a good-looking man that rescues you and makes you fall for him in a short amount of time.

೫˚🖤❀ *ૢ🥀೫˚🌑

[thelavendernarwhal]

I received an ask that a person wanted answered anonymously, so:

But I really, truly cannot stop thinking about this one scene in Legacy. It’s around page 351.

“You mean having Dizznee pull some money from your birth fund and then hitting up a shop for a couple of minutes?” Keefe asked. “Yeah, Dex told me all about how not exhausting that was last night, when he checked in to tell me how things went for you two in London, while someone was off doing something with Mr. Forkle…”

So what I’m hearing is sleepy Dex on call with Keefe? Dex telling Keefe that he’s tired? A cute little nightly convo?

Side note, why was Dex tired? Does his ability make him tired? I need more elaboration, Shannon.

This scene is hella interesting to me since you look at it and it immediately seems like a Sokeefe scene, but in the middle, it has this seemingly random shift into talking about a completely different character dynamic. The context this snippet falls into is Keefe trying to cheer up Sophie after she had an argument with Mr Forkle. It all makes sense within of their relationship and dynamic, but this bit of dialogue is communicating something pretty different. It’s pointing out that Keefe and Dex have a close friendship that Sophie isn’t super aware of and that Sophie doesn’t spend a lot of time with/pay attention to Dex. 

Both of these things can be chalked up to the fact the story is from Sophie’s perceptive. The big plot details have to happen or be explained to her or else they won’t make it to the reader. That doesn’t leave a lot of page time for banter, especially for a character like Dex who’s narrative role can mostly be done off stage. Of course, Dex’s character can be used for a lot more than ‘cool gadget guy’ (ie class divides, matchmaking/queer allegories, parallels to many other characters, etc), but that’s a whole different can of worms. Having moments like this that show things happening outside of Sophie helps establish a larger, more lively world. It shows that Sophie isn’t the center of the universe. 

But these little moments can be established with many different characters. There are so many background dynamics and friendships that can be leveraged for this purpose which makes it interesting that specifically Keefe and Dex are highlighted. In fact, these two are highlighted in this way fairly often. Back in book 3, the two of them hit it off quickly and spend more time together outside of a group setting which then translates into many Keefex moments (including getting their team/ship name). Late night calls are probably pretty common. 

But what really gets me about all of this is the casualness and I think it's because few other relationships in this series have that. Even characters that are established to be best friends have a good amount of tension between them (ie Fitz and Keefe, Sophie and Dex, Stina and Marella), but Keefe and Dex don’t have that. There’s a sense of stability and trust. They hang out and talk to each other without a practical reason to do so. Dex feels okay complaining to Keefe about projects and, presumably, feelings of isolation. Especially seen in Unlocked, Keefe trusts Dex to help him and hear some of the ugly things he doesn’t want to say to Sophie. There's definitely a lot of room for cute late night conversation on call, but also for a chill relationship in a sea of high-tension dynamics. 

The length of this thing kind of got away from me but that's my take :) 

(Also, I'm exploring a lot more of the mechanics of technopathy in my own writing, so I think that it's possible that Dex’s experience is something very similar to Keefe’s as the Forbidden Cities has more integrated technology that seemingly ‘speaks’ to Dex. That could be very overwhelming for him, hence why he's tired.)

[zimms]

new york city

you called me last night on the telephone and i was glad to hear from you cause i was all alone you said, "it's snowing, it's snowing! god, i hate this weather" now i walk through blizzards just to get us back together

Derek twists the telephone cord around his finger, straining to hear Will's words down the phone. "Sorry, you're cutting out. The landline's a little dodgy."

He definitely doesn't fail to hear the crackle of Will's laughter down the phone. "A landline? What is this, Nurse? The eighties?"

"Shut up! My moms prefer it for some reason. And, I don't know, it has a bit of je ne sais quoi, a bit of nostalgia, a bit of style, y'know." To emphasise the point, even if only to himself, Derek winds the cable around his fingers a couple more times.

"I don't, but I'll take your word for it."

Derek huffs his own laugh before softening his voice. "Look, the point is that I missed what you said the first time. Please could you repeat it, babe?"

Will's voice comes through the phone. "I said that it's snowing here."

"Isn't it always snowing in Maine in December?" Derek says, "Like I thought that was a given?"

"Yeah, but it's the first time I've seen snow since I last saw you." Will's voice goes quietier. "I miss you."

"That was literally two weeks ago, Dex." Derek rolls his eyes, knowing full well that Will can't see him. "You can't possibly miss me that much; you literally went almost two years without talking to me between leaving Samwell and the spring." He sighs and grins to himself "But- I miss you too."

we met in the springtime at a rock and roll show it was on the bowery when it was time to go

One second Derek is bouncing along to the song that the band is playing, the next, his gaze is fixed on a very familiar head of red hair that's darting through the crowd at the gig.

Dex?

Derek is too packed in by the surrounding crowd to do anything but watch, tracking the figure of a man who, two years ago, he never thought he'd see again. Well, maybe not never, after all they'd been to two weddings together this summer alone. But the point is, it would never be just the two of them again.

He allows himself to be swept back up in the words of the song, singing along with the rest of the crowd, but he never truly stops staring at the back of Dex's head. It's fine; Derek will catch him at the bar after the show. He has to.

The gig is in a tiny bar that masquerades as a club/concert venue, packed to the brim with people here to see bands make their first stumbling steps into the music industry. Derek first listened to these guys in his Senior Year at Samwell and fell head over heels in love with their music. They were even the soundtrack to his alarms for the year, greeting him before every 5am practice (because Dex was a total hardass).

After the final song, the crowd starts to disperse and Derek seizes his moment to chase after Dex.

He can't let him slip away from him.

Not this time.

Derek pushes through the crowd, apologising every step of the way, until Dex is finally within reach. Naturally, as soon as Derek goes to close his hand around Will's shoulder, the man in question takes a step forward and Derek takes a big handful of just air. "Dex! Hey! Dex!"

Will spins around and suddenly they're chest to chest for the first time in- Derek doesn't even know how long.

He forgets how to breathe.

"Nursey?" Dex's eyebrows furrow in that familiar way: the way they would when he couldn't figure out the problem with a particularly tricky bit of code, or when he was trying to figure out the best way to shut down the opposing team's attack. Derek hasn't realised until now just how much he missed that expression.

"Dex!" he says, trying desperately to sound normal and not at all breathless and relaxed. "How are you? I didn't- I didn't know you were in New York?"

Dex rubs the back of his neck. "I'm, erm, I'm not really, but I guess, I am?"

"Dex, I say this lovingly, but genuinely what the fuck does that mean?" Derek takes the opportunity to step back, breaking the physical contact between them at last. He can finally breathe.

"I'm living over near Lincoln Park, but I'm working for a start up here."

Derek laughs. "Dude, you could have just said that!"

"I was suprised to see you, okay!" Dex mumbles. "Though I'm not sure why I'm that surprised considering that you were the one that got me into this band, but it's whatever."

Derek pauses and considers what to say for a second, looking Dex up and down to try and gauge how much interaction with him Dex would be willing to stand. He takes another second to throw all of that consideration out of the window and just say fuck it.

He grins up at Will. "Can I buy you a drink?"

we kissed on the subway in the middle of the night i held your hand, you held mine, it was the best night of my life

One drink turns into two and two turns into four and so on and so on until the two of them stumble out onto the Bowery and into the open air at 3am.

Derek doesn't know how to describe it, but everything always feels easier at 3am. As they walk along the street towards the subway station, he brushes his hand against Dex's once, twice, three times until finally Will takes his hand in his.

They tangle their fingers together, relaxing into the easy rhythm that they lost at some point during senior year, and falling into each other's orbits yet again.

Derek tugs Will towards the Houston Bowery Wall, gravitating towards the explosion of colour in the night light. "C'mere." He squeezes Will's hand. "This is the Bowery Wall Mural. It's one of my favourite pieces of art in New York, especially this one."

"This one?" Will's voice trembles a little as if they're in a holy place rather than stood on the intersection of two busy streets in New York.

"They change the wall every so often, a constant fresh start, constant new opportunities. Sometimes they decide that a mural has had its time, sometimes other people decide for them, covering up the work with graffiti, showing the world what matters to them. But the wall always comes back with a newer piece of art, a never-ending cycle of hope and new beginnings."

Derek looks down at his and Will's interlocked hands and gives them another squeeze. "Last year, they decided to stop commissioning new murals because they kept being destroyed, but out of the ashes came this mural."

The wall is painted in a bright array of portraits, depicting people of all shapes and sizes. It takes Derek's breath away as he looks at it, even though he walks past it every week; there's something different about bringing Will here.

Will's voice catches in his throat. "It's beautiful. Thank you for bringing me here."

Derek grins back at him. "Thank you for coming with me."

Will's expression shifts and his eyes begin to dart around. "I should be going."

"What? All the way back to Jersey at this time? You're not going to get back until like 8am. Seriously, come back to my place; you can take the guest room."

(Internally, Derek kicks himself.)

"No, no, I can head back; I wouldn't want to impose."

"No, seriously I insist," Derek says, slowly beginning to steer them towards the subway station. "We're like ten minutes from my place on the subway; way better than going back to Jersey."

Will huffs a sigh, knowing that he's lost this battle. "Okay, fine. But I'll pay you back somehow, y'know."

Derek smiles at him as they enter through the ticket barriers. "I know."

(Derek will unashamedly admit that they made out in the empty subway carriage. Like c'mon, how could he resist waiting until he got home?)

because everyone's your friend in new york city and everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty the streets are paved with diamonds and there's just so much to see but the best thing about new york city is you and me

Derek wraps his arms around Will's waist and pulls him in closer, letting their bodies slot together in the warmth of the bed. "I'm so glad that I spotted you at that gig," he whispers into the crook of his neck. "I couldn't let you get away again."

Will leans back into the embrace. "I'm glad you found me too." He wriggles a bit, getting more comfortable. "It feels like I was stumbling blindly around the city before you found me. Like New York and you are so intertwined; you are New York, New York is you. It was weird to be in the city without you, to be honest.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.” Will turns around to look at him. “Seriously, Derek. I’ve loved the past four months of you dragging me around the city.”

Derek tickles his sides and Will squirms in his arms. “Drag?! I seem to recall you were the one that made a whole list of places that you wanted to see, including Co-Op City.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Will mutters, ducking his head. “Maybe we shouldn’t have trekked all the way out to the Bronx just for it, but I thought I should see it, okay? It was a big case study in my urban planning class.”

“I know, I know. I’m just teasing you.” Derek leans down to kiss his boyfriend. “I think it’s sweet, honestly. Especially considering you didn’t think to do any of this stuff in your first two months of living here.”

“I was getting used to a new city! I wasn’t trying to sight-see; I was trying to survive!”

Derek hums to convey his total belief in Will’s statement. “Uh, huh.”

“It’s true!”

Derek hums again and grins down at him. “Anyway, do you still have that list somewhere? I need to figure out what’s left on your New York bucket list.”

Will blindly flails his arm onto his bedside table. “Yeah, yeah. Lemme just find it.” He rummages around a bit more, before finally producing a crumpled-up piece of paper. “here you go.”

statue of liberty, staten island ferry, co-op city, katz's, and tiffany's, central park, brooklyn bridge, the empire state, where dylan lived, coney island, and times square, rockefeller center

“Okay, I think I have the perfect idea for what our final stereotypical New York sightseeing trip will be,” Derek says.

“Mhhm, am I allowed to know what it is?”

“You’ll find out in, like, three months, I promise.” Derek can’t resist and gives Will another peck on the cheek. “It’ll be worth it.”

wish i was there

Derek finally removes his hands from where they’ve been covering Will’s eyes for the past ten minutes. “Surprise?”

They’re stood just outside the Rockefeller Centre ice rink, which is filled with a hurricane of screaming children and couples desperately trying to keep their balance whilst holding hands.

Will chuckles. “I’d say yes, but somehow the fact that you blindfolded me when you caught me looking at a sign for the Rockefeller Centre says otherwise.” He pauses. “Also, the fact that I caught you stealing my skates from my apartment the last time we were there.”

“Okay, you got me,” Derek says, “but it was good choice, yeah?”

“Yes, definitely.” Will threads his hand in Derek’s. “It was a great choice. Plus it’s like full circle, y’know. We first met at an ice rink and it’s nice to bring the list to a close with an ice rink too. Especially considering how much our relationship has changed over the past seven years, though it was a bit touch and go for a while, eh.”

Derek can’t help himself; he laughs. “Eh? Have you been spending too much time with Jack, huh?”

“Shut up.” Will lets go of his boyfriend’s hand so that he can elbow him instead. “I’m trying to be romantic and poetic and shit; don’t make fun of me.”

“Okay, okay.” Derek says. “You said exactly what I was gonna say, is all.”

“Oh?” Will mock-gasps. “So, I was in fact being poetic and shit?”

Derek kisses him – mostly to wipe the smug grin off his face – and then pulls back. “Are you ready to go and show these kids and tourists how it’s done?”

“Aren’t we technically tourists for this exercise?”

“Shhhh.” Derek kisses Will again, just for the fun of it this time and as they break apart, he feels something wet on his cheek. “Wait, are you crying?”

“No, you idiot, it’s snowing.”

Oh.

So, it is.

Derek feels a little stupid right now, but he can’t tell if that’s because of the kiss or because he was so obviously wrong.

Will taps him on the shoulder. “Come back here, idiot. This feels like a pretty perfect ending to my first year in New York.”

Derek waggles his eyebrows at him. “Yeah?”

He’s met with an eyeroll, but Will also rewards him with a “yeah” and another world-stopping kiss.

Derek has to agree with Will: with the snow falling down on them and the hubbub of the city around them, it does feel like a pretty perfect ending to their first year in New York together.

you wrote me a letter just the other day you said, "springtime is coming soon so why don't you come to stay" i packed my stuff, it's on the bus, i can't believe it's true. i'm three days from new york city and i'm three days from you.

Will has to laugh when his mom hands him the mail stack, an envelope with his name on it sat on top. Did Derek seriously send him a letter for the two weeks that he was back in Maine? Well, yeah, clearly – that much is evidenced by the fucking letter in his hand.

In fairness, the gesture does have Derek written all over it.

He carefully rips open the letter, thankfully not wax-sealed like some of the love letters that Will had watched Nursey send in his earlier years at Samwell, and the contents spill out.

Will pick up the letter first and begins to read it.

Dear Will,

It’s hard to believe that it’s only been nine months since I found you again at that gig on the Bowery; it feels like we’ve been exploring New York together for years. But springtime is coming soon again and I’m hoping that I’ll never have to find you again, but instead that you’ll always be in easy reach by my side. You know how you said one night that to you New York is me? Well, in the past nine months, New York has instead become You and Me. I feel like you’re pulling back the curtain and I’m seeing the city I’ve lived in for my whole life in a completely different light. Everything is suddenly so much brighter and more beautiful with you around. I hope that this new light continues with the dawn of this new spring, a third new beginning for us perhaps, but just to make sure, would you do me the honour of moving in with me? I mean, if nothing else, it saves you (and, rather selfishly, me) the commute the Lincoln Park every other night.

I know it’s only been a week, but I miss you so much.

I love you.

Derek.

The other item sitting on the kitchen table in front of Will is a keyring with two keys and a picture of the one of the windows from the current Bowery Mural. The keys are engraved with the numbers #24 and #28 and Will can’t quite hold back the mistiness that begins to gather in his eyes.

Of course, after everything, Derek brings it back to hockey, back to Samwell, back to that period of time when they were inseparable, but constantly at odds with each other, so similar, but so different.

Will carefully threads his old keys onto the new keyring. A third and final new beginning sounds perfect to him.

because everyone's your friend in new york city and everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty the streets are paved with diamonds and there's just so much to see but the best thing about new york city is you and me

[myfairkatiecat]

I wrote some Dexiana fluff :)

Summary:

Biana tells Dex she isn't going to register for the Match.

Then she tells him why.

@aspenaspenaspenaspenaspen @permanently-stressed @alaydabug2 @lisalovesapplesauce I know you guys are dexiana fans!! <33

[the-way-astray]

a cool way to show keefe's early-book unserious-yet-meaning-well persona would have been for him to be the one to spill dex's technopath secret instead of sandor, in my opinion

[sysig]

Delusions (Patreon)

"Could I have your hand, sir?" Max didn't move, which Dexter was, sadly, getting used to.

"Sir?" Max jerked, then turned and stared at him, lost and blank. "Your hand, please."

Max's hand lifted shakily, and he laid it gently in Dexter's upturned palm. Dexter gave a quick and quiet "thank you," then turned it over in his own hand, observing him closely.

Too closely - his knuckles were rough and his fingernails were dull and cracked in places. His once-soft, not-a-day-in-his-life-subjected-to-hard-labour hands were now, already, toughened and split and scarred in places, especially the heel of his palm. He turned it over again, this time to stop looking so intensely. He had only wanted to give it a cursory glance to begin with.

"Do you know what I see, sir?" he asked as conversationally as he could manage, running his fingers along Max's abused flesh. He seemed to be at least half paying attention, his eye gazing down between them, and he'd occasionally twitch, encouragingly Dexter thought. He seemed to want to curl around him, then stopped and shook, his hand squeezing into a fist. Dexter coaxed him back out, encouraged him to hold himself lightly.

"What do you see?" He was almost startled by Max actually continuing their conversation, that happened so rarely now, shaking and quiet as it was. He took a deep breath, was he really going to do this?

"I see a hand, with five fingers." Max remained quiet, though his brow curled, and a guarded look came into his eye, though he still wasn't looking at Dexter. He felt a pang of guilt, but he had to try. "What do you see?"

Max's eye unfocused and began to water. He looked up, but not enough to reach Dexter's gaze in return, instead staring through his chest, and he felt just as hollow and empty as he must look to him.

"Do you take me for a fool, DAX?" Quiet and as close to angry as he'd heard since they'd been here.

No, not angry.

Betrayed.

He swallowed down the stinging lump at the back of his throat. He had to put on a brave face, had to keep his composure if he wanted Max to get better. That was the only thing he wanted, more than anything.

"Of course not, sir. Genuinely, what do you see?"

Max pulled his hand away and turned his body, his bandaged side facing Dexter. Shutting him out, pointedly. Dexter's empty hand curled into a fist, he was no better.

"Please, don't..." Max took a shallow, shuddering breath, and several beats before he spoke again, even quieter. "Don't ridicule me." Dexter could hear his breath catch, and he wanted nothing more than for this all to just stop.

"Sir, I didn't-"

"I've had enough of that." He shook his head stiffly, the action strange and wrong, like he had forgotten how. He stilled, his head turned even further away. "More than enough."