#everyone is mad at Danny but he's so clueless right now

[uniasus]

Date nights were sacred. Tim and Danny made sure they had hero coverage, so they could ignore patrol and just share a cappuccino bubble tea or whatever, thank you very much. Date nights were for them.

It was not for little siblings to crash. Especially not their two year anniversary.

Danny shared a panicked look with Tim, who simply shrugged, and continued to watch Damian and Dani. Damian's scowl had the maître d' step aside, and Dani dragged Damian through the fancy Italian place. They were at their table in seconds, uncaring of all the eyes of Gotham's elite on the four of them.

To Danny's horror, both Dani and Damian were glaring daggers at him. Danny swallowed, while Tim leaned back in his seat, curious and willing to let his boyfriend take the heat. At least Dani and Damian weren't hurt, just mad.

"Hey," Danny said. "I'm enjoying a nice dinner with Tim. Can this wait?"

"You've been lying to my brother," Damian snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.

Tim sat up straight and Danny's eyes went wide.

"And you've lied to me," Dani added, hands on her hips.

Danny flicked his gaze toward Tim, who had wiped his face of all emotion. Danny was lying to Tim - by omission - but he'd plan to come clean tonight. It certainly wasn't something to reveal in a restaurant full of people.

But Danny could read the surprise and hurt in Dani's aura. Whatever happened bothered her so much she couldn't delay this confrontation.

"You gave me freedom, Danny. Or at least, I thought you did." She sniffed. "My life, my rules. You wouldn't ask me to do anything I didn't want to. Gave me no expectations or responsibility to the Realms."

"And I meant that-"

"Did you? Because if so, explain this!" She thrust her hand into his face, and it took Danny a moment to recognize what he was seeing. A green band sat on her right hand, solid ecto. A contract symbol, faintly radiating his own ecto signature.

"What's that?"

"An engagement ring! Because you solid me off like a fairy tale princess and now I have to marry him!" Dani screeched as she pointed at Damian, who looked both put off and pleased.

"Excuse me?!" Tim sputtered.

"That lie?" Damian offered. "He's royalty, and an ally of Ra's."

Tim grit his teeth and stood, face cold.

Danny flipped his gaze between the three of them. "Babe, okay. So there's some things I haven't told you. But I sure as hell don't know any Ra's, and Dani, I promise you I didn't-"

She waved her hand in Danny's face, wiggling her ring finger, but Danny ignored it to watch Tim peer at a matching ring on Damian's hand.

"I got fucking summoned, Danny," Dani hissed. "This ring won't come off. You've got three days to fix it."

She spun on her heel and marched out, fluid enough Danny knew she used intangibility to make the route easier. Damian and Tim followed.

"Sooo," a voice drawled and Danny turned around to see Vicki Vale learn her chair back from a table on the other side of the room. Danny flipped her off and went to find the waiter. Dinner on him, tonight.

Double Edged Sword prompt

Dani x Damian

Ra’s Al Ghul had set up a contract that promised his heir to the heir of the Infinite Realms as a way to keep his access to the Lazarus Pits.

However, the contract didn’t activate for his children. In fact, it only activated after his grandson turned twelve. Apparently a new king had taken over, and he had an heir.

Damian was not expecting his grandfather to have kidnapped him to meet his fiancé. Nor did he expect his fiancé, the heir of the Infinite Realms, to be Danielle Fenton, the younger sister of Drake’s boyfriend.

Dani is just wondering why the fruitloop summoned her and how Damian got involved.

[blouisparadise]

Upon request, we’ve added to our friends to lovers rec list. You can find part one here and there will also be a part three (and possibly a part four!) up eventually, which will be linked here when it’s been posted. We hope you enjoy these fics! Happy reading.

1) Roses In The Rain | Mature | 5267 words

“Don’t- I know what you’re going to ask, and I… Harry, I can’t,” he said, his voice cracking. “Please. You know that I can’t.”

Louis had his six siblings and his old house with its falling-apart porch to take care of. This town was where people still approached him, 8 years after high school graduation, to tell him that they loved him as Danny in Grease. This town was where he had his pick of suitors, where he had his first kiss, where he took his first steps, where his mama lived, died, and was buried, and he couldn’t leave just to follow some man that he loved.

Harry, for now, seemed to understand that.

“Okay, baby,” Harry sighed, rubbing his eyes. “Okay.”

2) Candy In Your Mouth (I Know You Love Me) | Explicit | 6937 words

Things have shifted since last Christmas.

3) Glimpse Of The Silhouettes | Explicit | 7181 words

Harry isn't sure what the rules are for this. It's hard to believe that there are any, that's there's a handbook just waiting for him to buy: why is my best mate getting hard in my lap when I touch his arse?

4) Woke Up Feeling Knotty | Explicit | 7903 words

Beta Louis has a kink for knotting and the secret aesthetic porn blog he runs about it is more than proof.  When he accidentally finds out his alpha best friend Harry is one of his biggest fans, he knows he has to come clean after everything that has already happened between them.  Harry just might be willing to help him out anyway.

5) A Love Reaction | Explicit | 9968 words

It's never been a thing. Not until now.

6) Got It Right Such A Long Time Ago | Explicit | 9699 words

Four months into One Direction's hiatus, Louis comes to stay with Harry after a bad breakup.

7) (You're Gonna See Me In A) New Light | Mature | 13631 words

A fake relationship AU where everyone knows it's real but Louis.

8) As A Memento From Me | Explicit | 15817 words

Five lives in which Harry and Louis didn’t end up together, and one in which they did.

9) I Put A Spell On You | Explicit | 17525

A BBC/Secret Santa mashup featuring Captain Niall, our intrepid weatherman/amateur matchmaker, rather clueless sports reporter Liam, charming political analyst Zayn, and cheeky entertainment reporter Louis. Harry is the new fashion correspondent who prefers to dress like a flamingo. And pining. There’s a lot of pining.

10) Oblivious | Explicit | 19095 words

Where Louis gets a little crush on Luke and for some reason Harry starts acting weird.

11) Break Open The Sky | Explicit | 20372 words

Werewolf AU. Harry might be a werewolf, but he still wants to experience Uni like everyone else. Turns out he learns a lot.

12) Runnin’ Like You Did | Explicit | 20061 words

The college AU where Louis knows how to hold a grudge and is definitely not in love with Harry Styles.

13) UN(RE)SOLVED. | Explicit | 20873 words

The ghoul boys are back, but this time around there are some unresolved feelings involved. Harry is a skeptic, Louis is not. Watch them go on their ongoing investigation into the question: are ghosts real?

14) Hats Off To My Distant Hope | Explicit | 20990 words

Harry is in White Eskimo. Louis is in London.

15) The Way The Storms Blow | Explicit | 20649 words

Louis doesn’t have a habit of thinking about Harry’s dick.

That would be weird, seeing as they’re best mates, and they share a flat, and they’ve spent holidays at each other’s family homes. Their friendship hasn’t ever risen to a point where Louis should want to see his mate’s dick, and he’s happy to keep it that way.

Except, all that Louis can think about is exactly that. The size of it. The shape. The amount of people it’s been in.

Maybe it’s the tequila talking, or the fact that Louis’ just recently walked in to an eyeful of Harry taking turns on some slags that he’s never seen before, but. Louis’ mind can’t stop obsessing over the idea.

16) Love Like Wildfire | Explicit | 21774 words

Louis was an Omega and a Prefect. Harry was an Alpha and a little rascal. They were mates, drawn to each other since they first met in the Hogwarts Express. They worked well like that, or at least they tried, which only made their relationship way more interesting.

17) Indestructible | Explicit | 24423 words

“Hi,” Harry murmurs, and Louis hiccups out a sob.

“Hi,” he manages, still clutching onto Harry’s shoulders. Harry’s fingers drift across Louis’ cheeks, and there’s something off about Harry’s expression, but Louis can’t figure out what it is.

“I’m okay,” Harry says, and Louis is going to say something to that, even if he doesn’t know what, except Harry’s kissing him.

Louis freezes.

18) A Whole New World | Not Rated | 24967 words

Louis has moved into his new apartment to start his new job as a teacher. Things would be great. If only his arsehole neighbour didn't wake him up every morning by playing piano.

19) Another Day Gettin’ Into Trouble | Explicit | 25619 words

Harry’s drunk when the idea occurs to him. He’s also a pop star, so sometimes his drunk ideas turn into actual things instead of just ideas. The clone-a-willy kit is one of them.

In Harry’s defense, when he first thinks about it his intention is just to buy the kit and give it to Louis to make his own dildo with, because that’s what he wants anyway, right? To have a penis filling him up?

Then he realizes that it would be weird if Louis made a copy of his own dick to fuck himself with. It’d be super weird. Louis fucking himself? That’s a weird idea. Harry’s pretty sure Louis wouldn’t like that.

Clearly the only solution here is to use his own dick for the mold.

20) Brooklyn Saw Me | Explicit | 28537 words

In the cold and unforgiving city of New York, Louis doesn't have a home and Harry wants to give him one. But as their heartstrings become increasingly intertwined, and the snow continues to fall, home is getting harder and harder to find.

21) Rivers ‘Til I Reach You | Explicit | 29315 words

AU. Louis studies astronomy; Harry studies Louis. They spend their summers on the water and it shouldn't be complicated (spoiler: it is).

22) If Ignorance Be Bliss | Mature | 30429 words

Uni AU: Harry is too experienced, and Louis just wants to get to experience him.

23) Blind From This Sweet, Sweet Craving | Explicit | 31170 words

"So, I guess we'll go?" Louis asks later, when Harry has calmed down and eaten his weight in Chinese food. He plays with this chopsticks, spearing another piece of chicken and pops it in his mouth. "I mean, I wouldn't mind. We could make it an adventure."

Harry observes him, watches him seated across from him on their old living room carpet, with a container of food on his lap. He's fidgeting, avoiding meeting Harry's gaze–he probably knows that Harry's mad at him for ruining the one chance they had to get out of this situation. And he's not wrong, Harry is definitely very mad. Harry wants to strangle him and castrate him and smack him upside the head.

But he's also Harry's best friend, and despite everything, despite all the fuck-ups and the plot twists and everything just not playing out the way it should, he'd still rather be stuck in this situation with Louis than any of the other boys. He's got Harry's back, and in a weird, abstract way, he knows they'll be able to get out of this situation, together.

Harry sighs. "We're going," he says resignedly, his shoulders slumping.

Oh well. There are definitely worse ways to spend the weekend than pretending to be engaged to his best friend.

24) Welcome Back From The Friend Zone | Mature | 32354 words

The one where an idea to create a fake wedding with the sole intent to receive gifts from billionaires took a turn no one, but also everyone, saw coming.

25) The List | Mature | 32074 words

'In the weeks that follow, Harry opens his old journal more than he has in the past two years each time he remembers Venice or thinks about Louis. He always flips to the same random page in the middle of the book, marked by the picture of himself that Louis sent him a few days after they got home. There’s a message on the back that says, ‘Spontaneous looks good on you! See you soon,’ and it makes Harry’s chest warm each time he reads it. He wedges their list out from between the worn pages, and it feels silly staring down at a folded up piece of paper with a strange sense of nostalgia for experiences they’ve yet to have; for places they’ve never even been.'

26) Mark My Word (We Gon’ Be Alright) | Explicit | 35524 words

An A/B/O AU featuring an oblivious Harry as the pack leader, a pining Louis as his second-in-command, and an entourage of friends and family who are a little too good at keeping their mouths shut.

27) The Sun Will Rise With My Name On Your Lips | Explicit | 37927 words

When Eleanor breaks up with Louis he finds it hard to keep pretending that Harry isn’t what he’s wanted since the day he first met him.

28) Runner On Third | Explicit | 39643 words

Note: The sequel to this fic is not BL.

The AU where Louis and Harry were best friends growing up, but lost touch after Harry moved away. Ten years later, Harry has moved back to town, but he and Louis don't pick up where they left off.

29) My Sweetest Downfall | Mature | 42048 words

Louis is a retired guardian angel. After the death of his last charge, he became jaded. Humans die—what use is prolonging the inevitable?

He's more than happy to forget about humanity altogether until one day, when Louis is pulled from his desk job for a new assignment: protect One Direction's Harry Styles. It doesn't help that there's something about Harry that Louis can't resist, and it's making him question everything he's ever known. Humans are strictly off limits, and breaking that rule means risking everything, but Harry just might be worth it.

This is a story about forgiveness and discovery, featuring an angel who wants to be a little more human and a human who is so much more than he seems.

30) For the Sake of Propriety | Mature | 52360 words

Louis Tomlinson is the caretaker of an estate that is not truly his, and when his Uncle calls upon him to take it back, Louis knows he will soon be out on the streets with four overly zealous sisters to care for.  His only solution: wed the eldest two off and pray for the best.  When an even better solution unexpectedly presents itself in the form of the charming Mr. Styles, Louis is faced with a difficult choice.  But as with all things in the regency era, reputation very well may threaten to outweigh the fleeting matters of his heart.

31) The Bachelor | Explicit | 53953 words

The one where Harry dates six other guys and still falls in love with Louis Tomlinson.

32) We’ve Got the World in Our Hands | Explicit | 54964 words

Note: This fic has been locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

A mutants/superpowers AU. Louis and his friends attend the Cowell Institute for General Education and Mutant Training in London; when Louis meets Harry, the newest student at the Cowell Institute, he immediately recruits Harry to help play matchmaker for his friend Zayn. Harry and Louis are so caught up in meddling in Zayn's love life, though, that they don't notice that their own friendship is progressing into something more. Meanwhile, an ominous threat up north grows slowly until suddenly, no mutant - or human - is safe.

33) Waiting For The Tides To Meet | Explicit | 49873 words

Soulmate AU. Everyone is born with heterochromia — one eye is their own eye colour, while the other is the colour of their soulmate's. It's only when they meet their soulmate for the first time that their own eyes match properly. After a hazy night at a frat party, Louis wakes up to blue eyes and the shocking realization that he had met his soulmate, without any sober recollection. Seven years pass where Louis comes to terms with the fact that he'll never know who his soulmate is. Then one fated summer, a beautiful green-eyed photographer arrives at Louis' workplace, with promises of endless laughter and a familiar feeling in Louis' heart.

34) Since I’ve Found You | Mature | 74005 words

Louis woke up on the morning he was meant to volunteer at the Feed the Homeless program at St. Mary's church hoping for an opportunity to give back a little to a city that has given him everything he could ever want. Little did he know, there was one more great thing waiting there for him; a boy with radiant green eyes in a weathered jacket and a beat-up backpack slung over his shoulders.

35) Saving Symphony Hall | Mature | 124766 words

Note: This fic is a sequel to this fic.

“I think I have an idea,” Louis said. Slowly, and reluctantly, but with a growing sense of the inevitable. “God damnit, I think I have a really good idea.”

“Oh christ, that's the problem-solving face,” Babs said. “Last time we saw that face, he sold a company.”

“Wait, what?” Zayn asked.

“Right place, right time,” Louis said. “Also, fuck my life,”

“What?” Zayn repeated. Niall patted his hand.

“I usually just roll with whatever Louis is about to do,” he said. “It’s better for us all.”

“That’s the attitude,” said Louis, “I’ll tell you tomorrow. Tonight, I need to do some research. Zayn, give me your number. I’m gonna save our symphony.”

36) Falling Into You | Mature | 143517 words

In the grand scheme of adolescence and boyhood, Harry was still working himself out, so far with little luck. But four things he could say for certain: 1) he'd been at the top of his class all through primary and secondary school, 2) he was the shittiest alpha to ever walk the earth, 3) Liam Payne never let him forget it, and 4) he’d been in love with this boy, Louis Tomlinson, ever since he was fifteen years old.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

[manythingsoflittlesignificance]

the one where the pack is a #fail

Ok so AU where the pack is all alive, in their mid-20s, done with college. Scott, no longer wanting the responsibility of being Alpha, figured out with Stiles’ help how to magically transfer his status to Derek and joined his pack. Most of the group have moved back to Beacon Hills after graduating and have local jobs while the remaining members (Lydia, Danny, Kira, and Isaac) stay in contact and try to come home a couple of times a year. It’s during one of the super rare times everyone is home and they’re having a pack barbeque and movie night in the rebuilt Hale house and they’ve all been drinking a little so they’re loose and happy and having fun, when Danny innocently asks Stiles and Derek to stick out their hands because he wants to see something. The two, confused but unsuspecting of any mischief from Danny (maybe he’s taking a crack at palm-reading?), immediately put out their hands and before they know it, they’re shackled together with handcuffs. Danny crows in victory and Jackson is just sitting there grumbling “I can’t believe it was actually that easy what the hell.” Everyone is laughing and Stiles and Derek are just stunned and have no idea what’s happening.

Stiles is the first one to say something. “I don’t understand… was this some type of dare? Am I being punk’d?”

And Scott responds, “you two are going to stay like that until you get your shit together because We the Pack are collectively sick of you guys.”

Instead of looking surprised or annoyed, both Stiles and Derek just look even more confused.

“What do you mean? Stiles and I are fine, nothing’s wrong.” says Derek and now Erica has just about had it with this bullshit.

“GOOD LORD, just admit you’ve been pining for each other FOR YEARS and this will all finally be over and the rest of us can go back to watching Boyd and Jackson cry about Elle Woods while you two make out.”

There’s a beat of awkward silence. Derek and Stiles and exchange a brief look and then Stiles says “Erica… Derek and I are going to admit no such thing. Because it’s not true. I mean what we have is definitely one of the most important relationships in my life but—”

“—we’re pack. Of coursewe have love for each other. We work well together and we understand each other’s priorities. It’s significant, obviously, but we certainly have not been pininglike characters in some cheap harlequin novel.” Derek looks annoyed.

“You do spend an awful lot of time staring at each other when the other isn’t looking,” observes Boyd.

“I mean come on, you guys can’t really be this clueless!” Allison explodes. “You basically run this pack together. You go grocery shopping together, you cuddle.”

“Yeah, so? I cuddle with everyone! I’m a tactile guy, don’t judge me! If you’re going to follow that logic, the why doesn’t anyone think Scott and I have unresolved feelings?” He turns to Scott and waggles his eyebrows.

Scott is unperturbed. “Nothing unresolved about us, bro. But don’t deflect. I know you, ok? You haven’t dated or hooked up with anyone new in ages! You’ve been too busy obsessing over taking care of this pack and hanging out with Derek all. the. freaking. time!”

“Yeah and it’s been ages since Derek’s last been with someone, too, and you both always smell sickeningly happy around each other” Malia pitches in.

“Watch it, Malia, unless you want everyone to know how your last fling really ended,” Derek snaps back.

“Derek do NOT bring that shit up again, it’s been more than two years!”

“So you’ve been single for two years and yet nobody seems to think you’repining after another pack member?”

“Yeah! Malia and Isaac have been single even longer than us! So how come it isn’t Isaac who’s cuffed to Derek right now, huh?” Stiles tries. But at this, both Derek and Isaac experience a full-body shudder and Jackson grimaces. “That’s just wrong, Stilinski.”

“Yeah ok, bad example, I take it back.”

Kira pitches in more gently. “But Stiles, you spend 70% of your time here in this house. You make everyone food and you send us care packages with cute little notes. You made sure to schedule each of us individual training time with Derek. You made us follow a chore chartand you tell us to ‘be nice to Daddy’ whenever you leave for Emissarys-related business. I mean, to the rest of us it seems like you’ve been wife-ing Derek up pretty hard.”

“WIFE-ING? This is blatant pigeon-holing! I didn’t realize caringfor the packmeant I’d be strapped to this…this narrow-ass label. I may have mother-hen tendencies but I am nobody’s wifey.”

It’s at this point that the lupine members of the pack begin to realize that neither Derek nor Stiles have had a single errant heartbeat throughout the entire conversation. No elevated pulses, no betraying smells. They’ve just been calmly and comfortably sitting next to each other on the couch, like they always do. The pack starts feeling awkward and wrong-footed. Were they wrong, after all? Maybe Stiles and Derek really were just good friends. Really, weirdly close,  platonic friends.

“Listen, everyone, I think you’ve just been reading this all wrong. Stiles and I are not mad, but can you please just uncuff us so we can forget about this and continue having a good night?” Derek tries again.

But Lydia doesn’t want to accept defeat so easily.

“There’s just one more thing we haven’t addressed. You guys are clearly attracted to one another. Stiles, you’ve even told me as much.”

“Well, sure. Derek is a handsome man, I think that’s just an objective fact.”

“You once told me you wanted to rip off his shirt and lick his nipples at least once before you died.”

“LYDIA oh my god! I was drunk! Ugh. Fine, ok, so I think Derek is sexy, what of it.”

“So? You’re best friends…” she ignores Scott’s indignant shout, “…you have domestic routines, you find each other sexually appealing, why not explore the potential? Give it an honest attempt, test the waters.”

“And how do you expect us to test it out, exactly? What, are we supposed to make out or something?” asks Derek.

“Hmm, or something,” Lydia murmurs.

She’s met with complete silence in the room. She tries to stare down Stiles, implicitly challenging him, and is surprised to see that he looks... smug? He has a faint glint in his eyes and she can’t quite place what it means. Something along the lines of “challenge fucking accepted.” She supposes that will work in her favor. The idiot wouldn’t understand romance if it bit him in the ass, and it was her job as his best friend to force him to view his relationship with Derek under a different light.

It’s Erica who breaks the silence. “I mean, it’s not a bad idea. I certainly wouldn’t mind watching,” she says, leering.

“This is not what I was expecting to happen, but I fully endorse the proceedings,” Danny chimes in.

“Are you telling me, if I make out with Derek right now, we can put an end to all this nonsense?”

The pack all seem to be convinced, all of them shrugging and nodding their heads as if this idea makes complete sense.

“You’re all fucking bonkers.” Having expressed his indignation, Stiles turns to face Derek. “Let’s get this over with?”

“You don’t have to act like it’s torture, Stiles, we’ve done scarier things.” Derek turns to the pack. “What, are you all just going to watch?”

He’s just met with impatient glares.

“I’m going to incrementally add 5 suicides to your workouts every day for the rest of the year.” And before anyone can respond he turns around—and carefully maneuvering their positions because of the handcuffs—he picks Stiles up, deposits him on his lap, and kisses him.

They kiss. And they keep kissing. After a few seconds, the pack realizes there hasn’t been any elevation in either of their heart rates, and neither of them seem particularly aroused. There’s no tell-tale blip of excitement. In fact, their pulses are weirdly sedate, almost calm. The two are somehow…completely unbothered.

The pack slowly feels awkwardness creep back in. Isaac looks away first. Lydia looks absolutely bewildered and defeated. Allison looks like someone kicked her puppy. Even Boyd looks somewhat disappointed. They’d all hoped…

Jackson’s the first one to break. “Ok! God, stop, you’ve proven your point. So you guys have not secretly been lusting after each other. We were wrong.”

Stiles turns back around to face the pack and he looks fucking victorious. Lydia was right, his wide-grinned expression is as smug as she’s ever seen it, like he just won some game. She just doesn’t understand, if this was all just a stupid misunderstanding, why was proving them wrong such a big deal to him? He’s practically vibrating with his success and frankly, it’s unfitting to the situation at hand. He climbs off Derek’s lap and looks expectantly at Danny. “Unlock us now, please?”

Danny quietly obliges, and Stiles and Derek breathe out simultaneous sighs of relief and go back to sitting with their arms around each other on the couch. Everyone else kind of lingers awkwardly for a few seconds, nobody making eye-contact until Derek says, “All right guys, sorry your little experiment didn’t work out but more importantly, we just missed the entire Bend-and-Snap routine.” And with that, everyone settles back into their positions and turns back to the movie.

A few minutes pass before Lydia hears Stiles stifling giggles behind her. She turns around to glare at him, only to see that now Derek is also straining to fight back his laughter. At seeing her bemused face, Derek loses it. His loud bark of laughter disrupts the just-settled atmosphere.

“What is so funny?” Erica seethes, “please share with the class.”

“I can’t! I just can’t—believe—” Stiles is gasping, struggling to get out words. “—I can’t believe you all honestly thought—we’ve been pining for years. To be honest, I am severely disappointed in your skills of observation and deduction.”  He turns to Derek who is clutching his stomach and trying to calm himself down. “Derek, you really do have to up the game with their training. I mean, to have all the pieces and arrive at the completely wrong conclusion, I just don’t understand.”

Everyone is watching them, completely confused. Here it comes, Lydia thinks. She can’t believe that there was something she had missed. Derek, his laughter finally dying out, grins at his pack.

“I honestly don’t know how you all failed this badly. Guys, Stiles and I have been boning on the regular since he graduated.”

“Yeah and I especially don’t understand how you missed this fucking RING that I have been sporting for the last WEEK. complete failwolves, iswtg”

the pack’s reaction: 

***If you liked this ficlet please go to my page and read the new Sterek story I wrote! And feel free to like, comment, reblog! Much love <3

[tracies-tales]

Letter by Letter

Dear Arin...

Dan’s pen paused. He pinched the tip and wiggled it as he surveyed his work. He’d written plenty of love songs in his day, comedy variety though they were. Writing out an actual love letter was basically second nature. Although, it wasn’t helping him get his feelings out and onto a tangible page as he’d hoped it would. He’d heard that pouring one’s soul out in words was a way that helped some people manage their emotions.

Looking at the letter again, Dan was pretty positive this had only deepened his infatuation.

It reminded him of everything he loved about Arin. It was filled end to end with the feelings that he tried to convey to Arin every day. Once he’d begun spilling the things he desperately wished he could find the courage to say out loud, he’d found it difficult to stop.

Because this letter also contained his terror.

As much as his heart was laid out in ink, so too was the underlying fear that this letter could mean the end of their friendship. He didn’t truly believe Arin would shun him if he knew how Dan felt, but he knew things would never be the same. Not really. You can’t just confess your undying love for a person and not experience a change one way or another. 

A sigh parted Dan’s lips as he folded the paper and laid it on his chest beneath his hand. Somewhere, deep down, a piece of him yearned to give Arin the letter. The worst that would probably happen was Arin would apologize and say he didn’t feel the same way. Then they would go back to their lives, recording Game Grumps sessions, laughing at dick jokes, doing his best to hide the pain behind a smile.

He shifted to lay down on the Grump couch, utilizing the space while everyone else was absorbed in their own projects. He rubbed his hands over his face and groaned into his palms. He tried to get himself to accept the fact that Arin’s gay jokes were just that--jokes. But he said them too often, the inflection of his tone always just lilted enough to make Dan’s heart flutter and his thoughts turn to static. The way Arin’s hand would always linger on Dan’s arm or shoulder, or ass, on special occasions, made Dan unable to help but wonder. 

“Whatcha got there?” Arin asked.

Dan jumped and snatched the letter off his chest, crumpling it into his fist. “What’s what?” he asked, far too quickly to be convincing. He hadn’t even heard the door to the studio open.

Arin’s eyebrows shot skyward. “Ooohhh, secrety secrets?” he prompted as he shut the door behind him.

Dan snorted, unable to help but chuckle at his tone. He figured he might as well play along. “Yes, the tippitiest toppest of secrets.”

“My favorite kind!” Arin walked over. Dan didn’t miss the way his eyes glanced to Dan’s hands as he sat up.

Dan shook a finger at him, “No siree, they’re secrets for a reason, Ar.”

A pout immediately overtook his features. They almost made Dan feel guilty enough to show him right then. “Dannyyy,” Arin whined, sitting next to him and leaning heavily into his shoulder. “Come on, at least give me a hint.”

Dan hated when he called him Danny--it was so damn cute. “Dude, cut it out,” he smiled, ruffling Arin’s hair with his free hand. 

“Not until you tell me,” Arin looked up at him.

Dan pursed his lips. He was distracted just long enough by Arin’s puppy eyes for the letter to be snatched from his grip. “Hey!” Dan yelped, leaning to try to grab it back.

Arin stretched his arm to its maximum limit and leaned away from him, holding the paper out of reach. “Dan, come on, how bad can it be?”

“It’s just stupid song lyrics!” Dan blurted, immediately cursing himself for such a blatant lie.

“You’re never ashamed to show me your ideas for new lyrics,” Arin retorted. However, he relented and shifted back up, holding the letter out. Dan grabbed it, but it felt like some otherworldly force was stopping his hand from yanking it away.

Dan frowned down at it, refusing to meet Arin’s eyes. “I know,” he said, feeling his cheeks warm up with a tingling blush. 

“So...what is it?” Arin asked, his tone much less jovial than it was a minute ago.

Dan bit his lip. He shut his eyes and said, “It’s...a letter. To you.”

That made Arin’s brows knit in confusion. “To me?” 

“To you.”

“So why the hell were you so adamantly against showing it to me?”

“Because, I-” Dan’s voice got caught in his throat. “I wasn’t...sure if I was ready for you to know,” he replied, letting the paper go.

Arin glanced to his hand and back up to him. Waiting for approval. Dan grinned in spite of himself, through all the roiling fear tearing his guts apart; he was touched that Arin was actually double checking to make sure he had permission. Dan nodded, but he couldn’t meet Arin’s eyes. He tucked his knees up to hug them as he heard the crinkle of the paper being unfolded and straightened out. Then Arin began to read aloud, which only made Dan’s grip on his legs tighten.

“Dear Arin, 

Where do I begin? I guess all letters have to start somewhere. So here it is, greatest intro to a letter there ever was. Smooth, Avidaniel

How was I supposed to know? I need to stop starting lines with questions How could I have known how big of a part you were going to play in my life? 

Maybe it was your charming smile. Maybe it was your musical resounding laugh. Maybe it was the way you wanted me, a 38 year old nobody, to be your Game Grumps partner in crime. I don’t fucking know, but somehow you took a hold of me and never let me go.

No amount of words in pen, text, audio recording, or verbal assault will ever be able to quantify what it means to me. What you mean to me. Because, fuck dude, you mean the world. 

You deserve everything you have. I mean it. The internet popularity, the lovelies, the job, you’ve worked your ass off for this. Everyone is so proud of what you’ve accomplished, and I couldn’t be happier or luckier to get to see you shine so brightly. I don’t care that the spotlight isn’t on me--you’re more of a star than I’ll ever be.

Shit, I’m running out of paper already. Curse my own large-print hubris! 

I suppose there is one way I could have summed this up rather than write a whole ass essay about the subject.

What I’ve been struggling to write this whole time, because once I’ve written it I’ll know for sure it’s true:

I love you, Arin. 

Nothing’s ever going to change that, whether or not you do, too. 

You can count on it, Big Cat.”

The silence in the room that followed gnawed at Dan’s stomach like acid. Maybe giving him the letter wasn’t the best idea after all. Was he mad? No, he was probably thinking of the gentlest way to turn him down. The waiting was agonizing, driving Dan insane.

The horrendous ache was quelled by Arin’s arms wrapping around him. They encompassed Dan entirely, legs and all, into a snug embrace. Dan was shocked enough that he forgot to adjust to help as Arin hauled him into his lap. The paper had left Arin’s hand and fluttered to the floor.

A sniffle made Dan turn his head. “Arin? Are...are you crying?” he asked.

“Fuck you, what do you mean am I crying?” Arin laughed, the sound broken up with gentle sobs. “How the fuck am I s’posed to read shit like that and not get emotional?”

“I’m...fuck man, I’m sorry, I didn’t even mean to give it to you, I...”

“So you were just gonna bottle it up like some kind of dumbass?”

Dan blinked, “What?”

“Like I haven’t been hinting this at you for years,” he scoffed. “Years, Daniel! I spent this entire damn time thinking the same shit, more or less.”

Dan was dumbfounded. He felt tears start to well up in his eyes, as well, “Really?”

“Of c--of course really! What the hell do you think I was implying? I was hitting on you but really what I wanted was to bang Ross?”

The curse of the static-brain returned. “Hitting on me?”

“Holy fuck, you really were clueless,” Arin laughed, snuggling his face into Dan’s shoulder. He sniffled again and said, “This is only about a couple years too late, but I love you too, Dan.”

Warmth blossomed in Dan’s chest, and his heart raced with no indication of slowing any time soon. He had succumbed to tears as well, beaming at Arin before he shifted his torso and threw his arms around his neck. When Arin lifted his head in curiosity at the adjusted posture, Dan pulled him into a kiss. 

When they parted, Dan noticed Arin now shared his blush. “I’m glad,” Dan said, unsure that he could manage to say anything else.

They both turned their heads when they heard the door opening to Ross, who said, “Woah, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.” His gaze drifted to the floor as he noticed the letter. “What’s that?”

“Nothing,” Dan and Arin said.

cliche? maybe a little

regrets? none

this was inspired by the book “to all the boys i’ve loved before" :) ps i know dan’s 39 i just picked 38 bc idk

edit: this additional little note is to let y’all know i really am taking writing suggestions almost always so if you have ideas or a prompt from somewhere else you want me to tackle, pitch it to me! the worst i can do is say no (and I probably won’t, unless it’s too terribly nsfw) :D

[someinstant]

Ok, Scott Moir vs The World and 14! Also 8 clearly needs answering :P

Bless you.  I’ve been rocking a migraine since Thursday, and my ability to write anything creative right now is limited by my occasional lurching to the bathroom to vomit– but I desperately want to write something today.  So this will be it.

14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?

Oh, gosh.  I mean, the temptation is to say, “No, of course not, this is fanfiction, not a dissertation,” but– dude, ALL writing is about creating new knowledge of some sort.  So, if I had to pin it down, I’d say that there were a couple of things I was trying to express through this story:

Scott Moir is not a clueless donut.  Like, that read of his character really bothers me? Because it takes all of about three minutes of watching an interview with him to be able to tell that the dude is smart as hell, emotionally aware (now, if not when he was in his douche phase during his late teens and early twenties), and empathetic in the very best sort of way.  So I wanted the story to be a bit of a repudiation of the whole Tessa-is-brilliant-and-Scott-is-a-goof thing.

Misunderstandings don’t have to be the center of a love story. When I was writing the fifth and sixth chapters, which is when the really ‘shippy bits of the story start, I decided that I wasn’t going to do the whole thing where conflict is the product of characters not communicating.  Couple of reasons for that: (a) T and S have undergone a shit ton of counseling over the years, and communication has been a massive part of their training for years. They’d talk about shit, even if it was uncomfortable.  And (b) as much as I love pining, slow burn stories, I admit that I get So Damn Frustrated when the only reason the characters aren’t together is because they just won’t fucking TALK to each other.  So! Not being a clueless donut, Scott talks to Tess (and Dorothy and Danny) when he figures out what’s up with him in chapter five.  Emotional competence: it’s attractive, guys.

In order to hustle at pool, you should: keep the stakes plausibly low, be earnest, and shoot for mediocre (rather than fucking awful) in your first couple of games. Be prepared to walk away and leave the money on the table if the other guy is bigger than you. Don’t gamble anything you can’t afford to lose.  And try to rotate your hunting grounds.

Everyone should have airplane rules.  Because when you’re crammed in a tube hurling through the air at 36k feet with a couple hundred other people, the only thing that makes the experience even moderately bearable is adherence to basic common decency. Whenever I travel with students– and I do this a lot, and internationally– we go over the first and most important rule of travel before we board the plane, and that rule is: don’t be a jerk. We tend to go over this rule in public, in front of the other travelers, just so that (a) the other people on the plane know that I know that seeing a bunch of teenagers board with you is horrifying, and (b) so that they know what standards I have for my kids, and © so that maybe THEY remember the cardinal rule of travel as well. 

Scott Moir’s musical taste is broad, enthusiastic, and somewhat suspect. Sigh. I’m still mad about his playlist.

Truth is a construction of narrative, and reality is subjective. Obviously.

So. I think those were pretty much the things I was trying to get across in that story.

And as to the other:

8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

Um.  Well, I don’t know how to tell y’all this, but Scott and Tessa are not original characters.  They’re based on these real people, who compete in this sport called ice dancing and….

Beyond the obvious, though: I do actually have running playlists in my head for most of my close friends and family, so that’s a real thing.  Um, Tessa’s “Holy shit” and subsequent giggle attack after Scott’s preposal is 100% based on my BFF’s response when her now-husband proposed to her.  Scott’s antipathy towards listening lab is based on how much I hated that in my Spanish classes.  I watched Sense and Sensibility (for the millionth time) on a trans-Atlantic flight while the dude next to me watched The Revenant and Leo got mauled by a bear for, like, twenty minutes and we both were watching the other person’s screen for about 90% of our respective movies. And the initial scene I knew I wanted to write was the brief sequence where S and T are in the Kiss and Cry in Pyeongchang, and he squints and thinks about how he needs his glasses, because that is what I immediately thought when I watched their free dance: I don’t think he can see the scores clearly, I wonder if he wears glasses? Followed immediately by: damn, he would be hot in glasses. 

And then I wrote, like, 16k words about it.

[someraesofsun]

All the OC children Rose and I made bc I spammed ya with their aesthetics

Ivy -little sister to Jack and Jake -adopted from India -Good™ girl who is super good at makeup and crying -ran away from home once because her fucked up sister told her that she was the only adopted one -besties with Cole and Jenny -marries the shit outta Cole after a good decade of not even realizing he liked her whoops -the only Straight™ in her goddamn family -named by her florist dad because tattoo shop dad wanted to name her “Khaleesi” and that shit wasn’t gonna fly -becomes a model and actress in New York City

Jake -SCIENCE!!!! -twins with Jack -adopted from Puerto Rico -eldest by five minutes -Gay and Sensitive™ -he’s the responsible one -he’s in love with Chris no reason just thinks he’s neat -neither parent really is “”“"like”“”“ him, unlike his sisters, so most of the time he’s just doing his own thing -loves books ask him about Kurt Vonnegut -he’s basically Neil from Camp Camp but with less cursing -pun master -he becomes a chemist and a college professor and his husband lives in fear of how smart he is

Jack -Horrible™ -Jack is short for Jacqueline she’s a girl -the town punk butch lesbian -would sell her twin for three corn chips -loves tattoo shop dad the mostest and is low key a daddy’s girl (plz don’t take that in the weird way you fools) -eats trash and has horrible eyeliner skills like a raccoon -her and Casey are soulmates Jack adores her -has a slightly lazy eye and when she was in fifth grade and cut her hair short like her brother, that was the only way to tell them apart -has broken at least five bones -chilled the fuck out in adulthood and became an internet personality and now she has like, five podcasts and a company -low key would die for her family

Casey -her father owns the entire tattoo shop and her mother owns the flower shop -resident spoiled rich girl -body positive as fuck -Jack is the only person who will buy her anything she asks for -bisexual princess -has the singing voice of an angel -i fucking love her more than any of these trash fires she’s MY trash fire -she loves burgers more than her own father -Alicia Silverstone’s long lost daughter -the only three movies she watches is Clueless, Legally Blonde, and Heathers -Jack is high key her entire world and she would die for Jack -Marina and the Diamonds realness (the Family Jewels era, not Electra or Froot) -she becomes a lawyer because she spent her entire life arguing people and worshipping Reese Witherspoon -not a real blonde

Alex -Fuck Boy™ -Part one of Casey’s demon younger twin siblings -yeah that’s right there’s more twins -he plays soccer and is the worst -when he was younger he hid his pet snakes and lizards in Casey’s room to scare her and she ended up just adopting them as her own and he’s still mad about this -he really has a heart of gold truly really -he’s the worse twin -Jack and him get along great and she’s the only one who will spar with him -Jack kicks his fucking ass though -he made varsity on the soccer team his freshman year -he loves Jenny but Jenny straight up ignored him all of high school because he was so………… Aggressively Male™ -they meet again in NYC when he mellows out and she goes on five (5) dates with him before falling in love -he changes over a new leaf and calms the fuck down -he becomes sports commentator and a dad I love him………

Danny -less worse than his shitty twin -slightly -still a fuck boy but actually gets girls somehow -he plays football -Alex is his closest friend and they love each other -arom with a high sex drive -he moves to California on a scholarship and gets super into trees so he starts studying environmental science -he’s fine with being stag and likes the freedom of it -actually really nice and happy -he throws the best ragers hell yeah -mommas boy

Cole -ruins all other men -probably looks like John Krasinski -he loves his tall model girlfriend -his parents were also a couple a gay dads and he, too is the Lone Straight™ of his family -hopelessly in love with Ivy for YEARS -i swear he isn’t Jim Halpert in disguise -he has a sister but she’s not really present in the au sorry………………. -loves photography and writing -part of the "let’s move to New York” squad -he went to NYU and wrote a bunch of great musicals with Jenny -Ivy fell in love with him finally after he gives her a starring role and makes her feel like the best actress ever -he’s now a Tony award winning writer and director and probably knows Lin-Manuel Miranda. -he’s super nice and comfortable in his masculinity -loves pop music and thinks everyone needs to stop shitting on it -shorter than his wife aw… -they’re MARRIED Harold

Jenny -could fucking end your life -she’s interested in fashion design and death -has zero time for any of your sexist nonsense -she had a spooky single dad who was probably a serial killer when he wasn’t busy working in the flower shop -another Bisexual™ icon -she moved to New York with Ivy because Ivy is too nice for New York and needed someone to beat on any creeps who tried shit -she’s not really that angry she just knows she deserves better -art ho bangs -Alex only gets with her after he changes for the better and cuts the bullshit -she becomes a boutique owner and designed for Lorde once. She’s also a kickboxing instructor who yells because she cares

Chris -my oldest still active OC actually I gave him to Rose because he’s important to me -Uh Oh Not Another Sport Man…… -Chris is a swimmer -his father is a conservative senator and a business owner -his mom is a real estate agent and a demon from hell -seriously she emotionally berates the shit out of him and pushes him way too hard to be good -he’s got issues… -Jake is the only person he trusts -he’s gay but he isn’t open about it because his dad is um,,,,,,, -no bueno -toes the line between narcissism and self-hatred every day of his life -bpd diagnosed because I love inserting myself into characters -him and Jake start out rocky but over time they figure each other out -he had a stint with drugs but cleaned himself up because he knew he personally deserved better of himself -once he escapes his family in college he slowly becomes his own actual person who isn’t afraid -hes an Olympic swimmer now and that kinda transformation is what clears my skin