#human pet guy vibes in chapter 1 are quite a start

[baekuras]

Not me starting chainsaw man bc of how ppl were talking about it and I know there is a crowd of “omg Makima so hot” in a...nice way and ppl who are like “if only you knew ;)” and I went in expecting to be manipulated at least (because come on...those eyes are literally like hypnotising swirls that already bothered me every time I saw her but more in a “yes be a villain”-way) but also

just gonna be straight up about your plan here huh

Havent seen the anime yet so idk if it was worded the same/similar but like I think I need to imagine a new plottwist because Makima being a bad guy actually can NOT be it either that or people hype things up too much but I only ever saw them going all ;))))))))) oh honey if you knew ;))))))) in regards to her so??? idk aaah

[raccoonfallsharder]

Chapter 12/20+ Window Across the Galaxy (new 9/13)

girl falls first; raccoon falls harder.

“So, uh,” he starts quietly. “What’s up between you and Rocket?” She pauses. “Excuse me?” He clears his throat. “Well. You know. It’s clear you both care about each other a lot.” “Yeah,” she says blankly, and if she’s playing dumb, oh well. A girl’s allowed to have her secrets. “He’s my copilot. So what?” “Well,” Pete hedges, “there’s all the little affectionate touches, which he’ll only tolerate from you.” He coughs again, politely. “He calls you sweetheart and doll and princess - and it only sounds like he’s being a dick about it maybe, like, half the time.” She waits, sculpting the hair on the left side of his head. He pauses meaningfully. “And…okay, obviously, you guys share a bunk, even though it’s not - strictly necessary at this point. And…I know Rocket’s room here has the hammock, but Drax said the two of you shared a room on Xandar, even though you both had your own. And those rooms only had one bed apiece. So…” “Pete,” she says slowly. “Peter. Quill. Star-Lord. Brother-of-Mine. Are you asking me if I’m fucking my copilot?”

Chapter XII. So Much It Hurts. in which we try not to fuck up the vibes.

this is a beach episode without a beach (we're just getting from point A to point B here with some blah narrative) sorrryyy

General summary/notes + links to recently preceding chapters behind the cut. let me know via comment, message, or ask if you'd like to be added or removed from my fanfic/headcanon/doodle taglist ♡

General Summary~

Rocket is captured by a Ravager crew hoping to get rich off the excessively large bounty on his head. Throwing a wrench in everyone’s plans is the Terran girl they hired to do some freelance assessing on a recent haul of goods they’ve seized from a Xandaran luxury liner. Oops.

let me be real with you: this fic is really about wish-fulfillment. not just the eventual smut (but that too). mostly i just want someone to be nice to my best raccoon

Chapter I. A Delicacy. in which our reluctant heroes meet atop a crate of Sovereign porn in the bowels of a Ravager ship. Chapter II. Monster For A Pet. in which one hero wrestles with his inner Groot, and the other is quite possibly a moron. Chapter III. A Kindness.in which Rocket gets in his own damn way: not for the first time, and certainly not for the last. Chapter IV. Got There First. in which our heroes obtain an arsenal and street food. Chapter V. Things No-One Has Said Before. in which one hero refuses to babysit and the other refuses to leave. Chapter VI. Two and a Half Billion Units. in which we lean into the “they were roommates” trope. Jolie has misgivings, while Rocket has fantasies - about getting rich, of course. Chapter VII. I'm Here.in which we visit Knowhere. Chapter VIII. The Care & Feeding of Human Pets. in which our heroes practice breathing and we lean into a new trope: “there was (technically) one bed.” Chapter IX. Scrapmetal and a Dream. in which we redefine homemaking. Chapter X. Thin Fucking Ice. in which our heroes get fucked. Not in the good way. Chapter XI. Let It Be. in which Xandar is saved and good lives are lost. Chapter XII. So Much It Hurts. in which we try not to fuck up the vibes. Coming Soon: Chapter XIII. Don’t Wait. in which a lost sister is found and Drax grapples with the concept of sarcasm.

slight AU starting pre-GOTG volume 1 (but will hit most of the same major plot points). slooowww burn + eventual smut with a lot of pining in the middle. kinda enemies-to-lovers? (but only one of these idiots thinks they're enemies). elements of hurt/comfort because rocket is the saddest-angriest boy. rating will go up and tags will be added to as needed.

@evolvingchaoswitch ♡ @wren-phoenix ♡ @pretty-chips ♡ @suicidalshitstick

[oftenderweapons]

Mold Me New (1) – Taehyung

A Small Town Swoons story

Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

Wordcount: 3.2k

Genre: ceramic artist!Taehyung, divorced!reader, Strangers to Lovers, Fluff, Angst, Slice of Life

Rating: 18+ (for future smut and explicit thoughts)

Hello to my readers!!!  Welcome to the Small Town Swoons Universe! 🥰✨

In this episode: Introducing the reader’s backstory, exploring her life as a wife and then as a single woman who is slowly getting to know herself as an individual person.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: There are mild curse words, a bit of a sad vibe regarding falling out of love and getting a divorce, description of several bad dates and good ones that end badly, mention of getting drunk, mention of sex toys, mention of one night stand.

In case you like my writing, here is my directory for idol!AUs, scenarios and imagines, and in case you need it, here’s the Spotify music companion.

I forgot to mention, bc I’m dumb and bc we’re becoming one body with two souls, but this chapter (as most of the decent, edited things I post) was beta read by the magical @joheunsaram​ (she’s recently lost her previous blog and she’s rebuilding it, please go say something nice and YOU SHOULD FOLLOW HER SHE’S A QUEEN ,,,,, my queen 🥺✨)

Enjoy 💜✨

Navi: Chapter 1 — Chapter 2 — Chapter 3 — Chapter 4 — Chapter 5 — Chapter 6 — Chapter 7 

When you fall in love with someone, the feeling is like entering a chocolaterie. The scent engulfs you, full and rich and sultry, igniting your senses, the heat making your skin glisten in a light sheen of perspiration, making you exceedingly vulnerable to pointless stuff, like the way your lover exhales. Or their hands skimming your arms.

At least, that was what your best friend had told you.

You had none of that. To you love was a daisy being twirled under your nose, sharing cotton candy, the smell of crisp apples, flannel sheets, the sound of dead leaves crackling under matching footsteps, a sturdy but shiny steel band around your finger suddenly substituted by a golden one.

That had been the beginning of the end. When practicality and simplicity had turned into conventionality and disinterest.

When gifts stopped being things you loved and became things he thought you loved. And then things everyone loved.

When love became a chore, that's when everything crumbled. When kisses became just a good morning and a welcome back, when there were no more laughs echoing in the kitchen, when leaves kept falling but it was your footsteps alone making them crackle, when flannel sheets kept feeling warm but still something was missing — because someone was missing — when suddenly there was no more time for fairs and cotton candy, when daisies became roses, Love stopped making sense. It stopped having a meaning for you.

You were no longer sure of the life you had built with the man of your dreams, the boy you had fallen in love with when you were eight, the guy who had walked with you across the corridors of your high school, who had made you twirl under the lame disco ball of your prom, who had gone through college finals with you, who had spent three summers making your hangout spot into a home, turning the small old shack into a proper place for you to build a new life together. He was your first kiss, your first valentine, your first time. He was the man at the end of the aisle, the man who would walk with you until the last of your days.

But one day he started running and you still walked.

Or maybe you were both running in different directions, no longer on the path to the same destination, your priorities somehow switched.

Of course, it wasn't his fault.

It wasn't yours either.

You had both participated in this small unraveling, and you had both expressed the intention of changing, of finding compromise, an in-between, without either of you actually making the effort of fixing your trajectory, small habits and old pet peeves pulling you even farther apart.

The attempts — multiple ones — were painstakingly embarrassing. There were tears on both sides as you wondered what had caused this sudden rift that separated you — except it wasn't sudden, only your realisation was; the crevasse had been there for way longer. Maybe it had started as a small chipping the very day you met him, and it wasn't until now that you realised how the small sign had turned into an ominous presence, and then into unfathomable, inevitable doom.

And then the divorce.

It had been disgustingly easy, both parties agreeing on the procedures.

You didn't want the house. And you didn't need it. He didn't either.

Selling it had been exceedingly painless, you had shared the money, since he wanted to offer you stability. He already knew you would both suffer and he didn't want you worrying about rent. He was still your friend, after all.

Going back to being alone scared you at the beginning, until you realised that few things were truly bothering you. At least there wasn't this ghost of a human making you doubt all of your plans. You could plan dinner five days ahead or improvise. You could go to the restaurant as a last minute deal. You could go on long walks without the 'I'm sorry baby, emergency' making you rush back to town.

It felt like a bit of a liberation.

And your family's bookshop was doing well enough, since it was situated near the college and it also offered printing service.

Of course there were bad days. Sometimes you woke up searching for a body beside yours, however that feeling had significantly subdued after you had gotten used to the new bed. You missed human contact, being close, intimate with someone, having someone who knows you that deeply.

And then the true nightmare.

Finding someone new.

You were genuinely uninterested in dating. You had given it a go and it had sufficed.

It wasn't your world.

How could it possibly be?

You had never dated. You had basically offered your heart to the person that has always owned it. It's not like you had any experience in that labyrinth that is dating. All those unspoken social norms and the pining and tension. You only knew the comfort of a warm hug, the beauty of a kiss sparking from innocence and affection and slowly turning into steady, warm passion. You didn't like infernos, you liked candles. You liked the domestic hearth. You liked moderation.

And dating was all about extremes, from strangers to 'I'm inspecting your throat' on date one. And then suddenly it's date three and the same guy who brought you to a pizza place and a diner is suddenly going out of his way to bring you to a pretentious, expensive restaurant as a way to propitiate the possibility of you dropping your panties.

You had allowed this foolery only three times. Apparently all the suitable suitors were either really prone to pushing the pedal or had a passion for tongue gastroscopies.

The first one, Albert, had been quite the gentleman on date one. On date two he started making inappropriate jokes with a heavy body shaming undertone — a bit cliché for the stereotypical gym rat. And on date three he had dropped all pretenses at politeness and had outright palmed your ass in public, which made you rightfully uncomfortable. As you pointed that out, he proceeded saying that after all it was your third date and it was time to loosen up a little.

You didn’t even bother staying for dinner, left a bill on the table and left.

No matter the first disappointment, you decided not to let that disrespectful fool slow you down. And since your best friend knew everything about rat headed number one, you allowed her to set you up with one of her colleagues after she reassured you he was nothing like the one before.

Except somehow he was. The first date was at the local pub, and you somehow found yourself getting along well, his jokes were funny and he had good timing, he was relaxed, confident but still a bit clumsy and shy. He could be a good candidate.

But that was before he pushed his tongue to your tonsils as he kissed goodbye.

You gagged.

On date two he admitted you weren’t exactly his type. You were glad to reciprocate the statement after he told you his dream was having four children and a farm, alluding to the fact that his bride needed to be the perfect housewife.

You were pretty adamant that was not the kind of future you wanted for yourself.

Candidate number three was a guy you had met while grocery shopping, and somehow he had impressed you in an absolutely positive way on date one and two. Everything had been perfect, he was kind, considerate and well-mannered. Date three had been innocent, simple, down-to-earth. And then date four. Perfect dinner at his place. He had made you swoon and he had a very pretty cat he was very affectionate with.

He was the first man you had felt desire for in a very long time — almost eight months after your divorce.

The sex had been decent for being a first time.

And then he had entirely disappeared and never texted or called you back, which didn’t sit entirely wrong with you. You wished him all the best but you were actually glad. You liked being you and doing your own thing: having someone too much down your neck, getting in a relationship, having to check in with another person again felt more like a burden than a win.

Maybe it was just a coping mechanism to avoid facing the fact that he had been someone you could have liked, someone you could have built something with.

You were a happy woman, and it’s not like you really felt lacking or incomplete, like some of your single friends felt. And you had no intention of starting a family anytime soon, no matter if your old high school classmates had begun popping out kids left and right. You were more than happy to live the teen and early-twenty years you had spent in a relationship.

You were getting to know yourself in a way most of your friends didn’t have time to — you could already see them going through a midlife crisis after their kids became old enough to navigate life by themselves, which meant no more need for overprotective, and sometimes borderline suffocating, mothers, who suddenly found themselves with too much free time and too little tasks to complete.

Knowing your needs made you a stronger, better woman, and solitude had gifted you a level of introspection and balance that you doubted they could ever reach; maybe that was an arrogant consideration, but you knew there was no way knowing and loving yourself would ever bring you to crying over disrespectful, ungrateful youth whose only fault was that of growing up out of their mothers’ plans.

Unfortunately, there was no way your family — especially your grandmother — could ever tolerate the idea of you not needing a man and a family to be happy.

“Oh, come on, isn’t it time for you to bring a nice fellow back home?”

You shook your head as you and your grandma took a walk along the river, the sunny March afternoon feeling way too nice to stay at home. “Granny. There’s no people like Grandad anymore.”

“Oh, darling. You’re starting with the wrong role model. Not even back in my days we had men like him. He was the exception.” She nodded to herself with a sweet smile, remembering the husband she had lost a few years back.

“It’s so frustrating. And after all that happened… You know how it was. We were together for years. He was the only one I had. I don’t even know how to do these things. And books cannot teach you stuff like that. The more you read, the more you realise that most of these men had never even seen a rom com.”

“Oh, come on, but you have the internet these days! Can’t you find him in there? You have all these phones and computers and everyone has them, there must be a good one in the internet.”

She always said that “in the internet”. Like it was a physical place.

“I don’t even want to look in there, Granny. There are so many dangers in there.” You shuddered as you thought at the funny instagram pages where the people posted screenshots of the worst descriptions. All the embarrassing playboys and the fishermen and the lame wanna-be poets.

“Right… How can you know he is really is a person?” She considered, patting your back proudly. “You’re pretty. And you’ve always had the most perfect bum of all your cousins. Just like mine!” She grinned cockily, giving a playful smack to your ass, making you laugh loudly.

“It won’t last long.” You said, looking down. Solitude scared you sometimes. Being old and alone could be hard on the spirit and you had a feeling that old hag you would curse your dumb arrogance and inconsideration. However, for now you were still somehow making it through. Your divorce was finalised almost ten months ago. You could still consider yourself just fresh out of it.

“You’re smart. And I’m sure you have a lot to offer. You’re a good woman, and you’re far from being too old. There’s never a thing such as too old. Don’t let yourself be fooled. Look at me.” She said. “I’m still living a good life. Herbert has left me but I’m still here. Walking. Cooking. Drizzle keeps me good company.” She smiled sweetly at the mention of her dog, a lovely large poodle elegantly strolling at her side, its light grey fur finely trimmed by your grandmother’s expert hands. She had been a hairdresser for decades: learning how to keep Drizzle’s coat had been a cup of tea for her and he’d kept her distracted from grief after your grandpa passed away.

Her face formed a meditative pout. “Maybe you should just get a dog. Or even better, a cat. You’ve always looked like a cat child to me. So quiet and focused, like you knew some secret that nature would speak to you alone. You were always so attentive as a child!”

You smiled and looked at the path under your feet. Drizzle stayed unbothered as a loud, angry dachshund walked towards him, barking annoyingly. You had never felt sympathy for that small evil breed.

“I think I could get a kitten one of these days. Or a cat, from the shelter.”

“I’m sure you’ll find it in the internet!”

“So we’re really doing the party thing?”

“Listen, baby. It’s gonna be your first party as a free woman. Real mind blowing birthday sex.”

“I’m not a virgin, you know?” You stared at your face in the mirror, spreading some moisturiser over your forehead, inspecting the small lines there. You shrugged and let them be.

Maybe you would spend your best years single and find a sugar baby in ten or twenty years. Wait, weren’t those called toy boys?

Who cares.

Maybe it was time to get the post-grad you had always dreamed of. You would need to check your bank account before making that decision — maybe finally telling yourself yes could be the real birthday gift. That is, beside the huge dildo waiting in your drawer. Not being attracted to men or women didn’t mean you didn’t like sex.

You just found it difficult to imagine being with someone.

“Darling I’d bet an arm and a leg he never gave it to your right. You just need a bit more experience.”

All you needed was a hot bath, some candles and a good book. No man, no one night stand, no birthday sex could possibly make you as happy as decent jazz, wine and a novel.

“Why aren’t we doing that wine tasting at the winery out of town?”

“Because I want you choking on cheap alcohol, having all the fun you didn’t have on your twenty-first birthday because you were planning your own wedding. And I bet you’re the only one who wasn’t fucked in the bathroom of the Wickhead.”

Terry could be incredibly crude, but you loved her nonetheless. You loved her even more for it. She had never hidden anything from you, she had told you even the most embarrassing details of her own life. And she had always been the kindest, most faithful friend: she had driven you way out of town when you were eighteen and your period was late and you needed to buy a pregnancy test without all everyone and their dog knowing; she had chosen your wedding dress for you, spotting it and telling you it was going to be the one before you could even see it. When your marriage had started crumbling, she had spent countless nights with you, keeping you company when your husband was busy with his business trips. Though Terry had insinuated cheating, you knew he would never break your trust like that, and she had decided to trust your better judgement.

You had simply fallen out of love with each other.

And when you had moved into your new apartment, Terry had helped you repaint the walls and build the extra bookcases and install the shelves and fill your wine stand. Before leaving she had grabbed an unfamiliar box from her car, placing it on top of your bed, opening it and spreading out a set of “single necessaire”, as she called it. A couple toys, lube, condoms. To celebrate your re-found sexual promiscuity, she had said, though you objected, it was hard rediscovering something you had never had.

She had shaken her head and left you to “familiarise” yourself with everything.

“You know I’m not exactly a party person, Terry. This will end badly.” You said, sitting on your bed with your back against the headboard, your legs stretched out before you.

“You can allow yourself some fun once in a decade, you know?” You could hear her scoff on the phone.

“But I do have fun. Book. Wine. Bingo!” You explained, rolling your eyes as the booed.

“Come on, do it for me. Do it for your single friend who wants to get drunk and possibly sixty-nine? Please?” The other thing wrong with Terry is that if you ever met her in person, you would face the sweetest five foot three and a half — she insisted on the half — human being you could ever meet, with pretty wavy blonde hair and wide, sweet green eyes, the most boopable button nose and a sprinkle of freckles on her golden skin. She literally glowed in sunlight and her flowy gowns always made her look like a goddess: you could see men fighting for her, dying for her and going to war for just one of her gentle smiles.

“Don’t you have a FWB for that sixty-nine thingie?” You asked with an exceedingly inquisitive tone. It had been a while since she last updated you.

“Dumped him.” She replied curtly.

You tutted before exhaling. Emotionally constipated people — what’s wrong with them?

“He’s dating someone since he was ready for a relationship.” Terry sounded a bit colder than usual.

“And you weren’t?” You asked. You felt your tone hesitate with slight concern. You knew she would just put up a wall and ignore your question.

Fortunately, she didn’t. “I’m not ready to talk about that. It’s complicated, Frog.”

She was hurt and wanted a distraction.

“Okay, Terry. We’re going to get rip roaring drunk this Saturday.”

The line went silent.

“You know I love you right?”

“I love you too, sweetie. Now go to sleep, you have an early shift tomorrow.”

The line went silent after you bid each other goodnight, your body settling underneath the sheets once you realised your eyes were fluttering shut  as you tried to read a few pages to put yourself to sleep.

Placing down the book, you hugged the extra pillow, settling your face in the corner between your sleeping pillow and your spare one, the heavy woolen comforter acting like a weighted blanket. You placed another pillow behind your back, making a soft cocoon all around you.

Yes, sometimes you still missed being hugged to sleep.

The taglist is open!

Navi: Chapter 1 — Chapter 2 — Chapter 3 — Chapter 4 — Chapter 5 — Chapter 6 — Chapter 7

[wanderingthroughwonder]

Miranda’s Fic Recs

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while because I just have a lot of fics in different fandoms that I truly enjoy. These are mostly long fics because that’s what I read the most. Fandoms included: Teen Wolf, Harry Potter, MCU, Star Trek, Kingsman, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Find them below! (Some fanfic spoilers ahead)

So I’m starting with completed fics and then I have a few not completed fics at the end that I’m just really liking.

Embers by Vathara

Rating: Not Rated, Word Count: 704,200 Fandom: A:TLA

Dragon’s fire is not so easily extinguished; when Zuko rediscovers a lost firebending technique, shifting flames can shift the world....

This is an Avatar: The Last Airbender rewrite. It’s Zuko centric and it splits off while Zuko and Uncle Iroh are on the run and Zuko learns of healing firebending. The world building is so good and interesting and the whole fic does a great job of reimagining the A:TLA world. You meet a lot of new characters that are super well written and fit the world nicely.

The Debt of Time by ShayaLonnie

Rating: E, Word Count: 715,940, Fandom: Harry Potter, Ship: Hermione/Sirius

When Hermione finds a way to bring Sirius back from the veil, her actions change the rest of the war. Little does she know her spell restoring him to life provokes magic she doesn’t understand and sets her on a path that ends with a Time-Turner.

This fic is so good and I’ve reread it before. I love Hermione centric fics and this is definitely one. When she goes back in time she goes through school again with the Marauders and it’s so good you guys. I think the fic does such a good job of showing her grow with these new people. The relationships in this fic are so intense and I love them.

Hook, Yarn, Sinker by pprfaith

Rating: Not Rated, Word Count: 65,675, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Peter

Stiles is happy with his store, his hobbies, his friends. Peter’s just trying to figure out how to raise his nieces and nephews without fucking them up too badly.

Paths cross.

This is the first in a series of fics. It’s a Human AU with aged up Stiles and friends but with little kids Derek, Laura, and Cora. This fic is a good time and sweet and honestly low stakes which is so nice to have these days. I think a lot of Steter fics are more intense and I enjoy them but this is such a nice change of pace where you really get to know the characters in these fairly different circumstances. The whole series word count is 161,859.

A Sequence That You Never Learned by AnnaTaylor

Rating: E, Word Count: 64,624, Fandom: Star Trek: AOS, Ship: James T. Kirk/Spock 

“Spock,” Jim breathes out, completely overwhelmed by the gesture—not quite believing that Spock knows him so well, that he’s already started researching, that he trusts Jim with a member of his own endangered species.

When Jim gets it in his head to adopt an eight-year-old Vulcan, Spock presents a logical solution to the issue of Jim’s of humanity: marriage to a Vulcan citizen.

This was one of my first Spirk fics and I honestly love kid fics. Vulcan kids are so different from Jim, but I love the idea that Vulcans still love him anyway. This is such a great Fake Marriage fic.

If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out by mia6363

Rating: E, Word Count: 13,232, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles centric but technically Stiles/Peter 

Commander Stilinski looks like he fell out of a propaganda video, his armor still smoking as he pulled off his helmet and handed it off to First Officer Argent. He had a few bruises down his neck but his smile was bright.

“Glad to see you safe and sound, Mr. Hale. I’d hate for Derek to lose a member of his family.”

“I told you,” Derek snapped at his superior, “he’s not worth this, Commander.”

This is the shortest fic on my list but I love this take. It’s got a Star Trek vibe and I LOVE how everyone is made into these different aliens. Stiles being human here is so interesting and it reminds me of those “humans are the craziest of the aliens” posts. It’s got multiple POVs and I think they’re written really well and do a great job of coming together.

Where Thou Art, That is Home by ShanaStoryteller 

Rating: Various, Word Count: 94,108, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Derek 

Stiles is 10 when he saves the Hales from their burning home and Derek from a wolfsbane bullet, and this establishes a pattern that seems to continue indefinitely.

“Then he’s facing a burning home, and he wraps the hood of his sweatshirt around his mouth before he pushes the door open and steps inside. There’s Mr. Hale asleep - he hope asleep - on the couch, next to - Stiles thinks that’s his brother but there are so many Hales, who can keep track. He rushes over and starts shaking him, can see the rise and fall of the man’s chest so he knows he’s alive, but he’s not waking up. He shoves away his hood so he can shout, “Mr. Hale! You have to get up, there’s a fire! Mr. Hale, get up!” Nothing, he’s not even twitching, both of them taking in deep even breathes like they’re having the most peaceful of rest, and Stiles is going to cry. “Wake up, wake up, wake up!”

There’s a moment where all Stiles can here is the blood rushing in his ears and not the roar of the flames or the creak of wood, then with a violent, silent pop it’s all back and both men are gasping awake, eyes open and jumping to their feet.”

This is another series! It creates a Hales Survive AU and it’s got BAMF!Stiles. The Hales in this fic are so interesting and it’s an expanded family from what we see in canon. Magic!Stiles is written so well in this fic and things get intense but it’s so good.

Counterpart by sara_holmes

Rating: M, Word Count: 217,400, Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ship: Steve/Tony 

coun•ter•part [koun-ter-pahrt] [noun] 1. a person or thing closely resembling another, especially in function. 2. a copy; duplicate. 3. one of two parts that fit, complete, or complement one another. 

Just because Hydra used the DNA of a Captain America from another dimension to create a lab-grown, six-year-old super-soldier, it doesn't mean that said six-year old super-soldier is biologically Steve's, right? 

(Where Steve wants to ban Clint from bringing things home from alternative dimensions, until he doesn't.)

This is an amazing kid fic. Things are so messed up because of how the kids was raised up to the point they find him.I love Tony so much in this fic but also you sympathize a bit with Steve. The kid whose name I will leave out is my absolute favorite. This is also a series!

Fallout by Whisper91 kingsman

Rating: E, Word Count: 164,971, Fandom: Kingsman, Ship: Eggsy/Harry/Merlin 

As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Gary 'Eggsy' Unwin is a registered Dominant. It's on his driver's licence. It's on his National Insurance card. Hell, it's even on his bloomin' GCSE certificates. And the fact that it's all a load of bollocks is a secret Eggsy had intended to take to his grave. 

Course, he hadn't been expectin' a bloody sub-drop to sweep in and knock him on his arse in the wake of the Valentine Massacre. Turns out grief and adrenaline ain't a good combination.

I really enjoy the dynamics between the three of them. D/s fics are always so amazingly well built and I love fics like this where they’re hiding their dynamic. I think this fic does a great job of going further with the D/S world and giving it more biologically. I just reread this fic recently because I love how it’s done. 

It’s Insanity But... by rosepetals42

Rating: M, Word Count: 71,477, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Derek 

The doorbell interrupts what had turned out to be quite the epic shoe hunt but, really, he’s grateful for the break. Or at least, he is until he heads down the stairs to grab the door, trips over a stuffed animal of some kind, bashes his head on the wall and barely manages to catch himself from falling down the entire flight of stairs. As with all things, Stiles would like to state, for the record, that this is Scott’s fault. 

Or: Scott and Stiles are raising seven children. Derek is the entertainer they hire for a birthday party (not a clown though, he’s very specific on that fact.)

This fic is such a good time! I love two bro’s raising kids together. It’s a hilarious setup and also just so good for the Stiles and Scott dynamic. Each chapter is like a slice of life. Some chapters are more about the kids and some are about Stiles and Derek. It’s just a fun fic and I love that it’s still got werewolves because I think a lot of fics that focus more on regular stuff go full on human AU. Keeping werewolves is much more fun and it’s so well handled here!

So Wise We Grow by Deastar 

Rating: M, Word Count: 81,248, Fandom: Star Trek, Ship: James T. Kirk/Spock 

”Commander Spock, we have located your son,” the Vulcan lady on the screen says, which would be great, except Jim can tell by the look on Spock’s face that he’s never heard of this kid before in his life. “If it is expedient, the child will be sent to join you on the Enterprise within the week.”

This fic is two long chapters. Again, I love kid fic and this one does such a great job. We’ve got pining and hurt/comfort and all kinds of good feels here. There’s one line about t’hy’la that is just *chefs kiss* so good and hits you hard.

Play It Again by metisket 

Rating: T, Word Count: 63,206, Fandom: Teen Wolf, Ship: Stiles/Derek 

In which Stiles goes along with one of Derek’s plans and ends up in an alternate universe as a result. He should’ve known better. He did know better, actually, and that means he has no one to blame but himself. “Laura wants to lure the kid in with food and kindness and make a pet of him, like a feral cat. Derek wants to have him arrested for stalking. They’re at an impasse. (And the rest of the family is staying emphatically out of it in a way that suggest bets have been placed.)”

This is fairly Stiles centric. It really looks into the emotions of jumping universes. The alive Hale family is so good and it’s magic!Stiles which is always interesting. What I think makes it extra good is that in a lot of universe jump or time travel fics it’s more about adjusting to how things will be now. But this fic does that while also having the new universe with its own problems. It’s just fun to see Stiles deal with all these things.

Happy Lights by LadyShadowDrake

Rating: E, Word Count: 108,237, Fandom: MCU, Ship: Mixed 

An interdimensional portal opens over New York and drops a tentacled alien in the middle of Central Park. The Avengers are called out to investigate, and hopefully return the visitor home. Steve has been brushing up on his diplomacy, but he never expected to be a liaison to an alien in such an intimate capacity, or that the alien would be so friendly, and the unusual visit turns into the world's best team-building exercise.

This is a series that is so much fun. The alien (aka the colony) is so interesting and sweet in the long run. I love seeing the team grow and as you go through the series you really get to see more of them coming together. This is just a playful fic that you can have a good time reading.

Magpie by waldorph

Rating: E, Word Count: 57,648, Fandom: Star Trek: AOS, Ship: James T. Kirk/Spock

Spock met Jim when he was 7 and Jim was 6. It has since been generally agreed that this was a mistake (or: the one where they grew up together and things are simultaneously better and worse for it).

This is such a deep dive of both Spock and Jim. It’s them growing up together and it splits off some as far as events that happen in canon. It ends before they become Starfleet. I think this fic creates such an interesting bond between Spock and Jim. I also really love where it goes as far as Spock not having grown up alone on Vulcan.

These are the unfinished fics. The first two are in progress and the last one seems to be abandoned.

Survival is a Talent by ShanaStoryteller 

Rating: T, Word Count: 353,015, Fandom: Harry Potter, Ship: Harry/Draco 

In the middle of their second year, Draco and Harry discover they're soulmates and do their best to keep it a secret from everyone. 

Their best isn't perfect. 

~ 

“Are you trying to get killed, Potter?” Malfoy drawls, stalking forward. Quick as a serpent himself, he reaches out and grabs the snake just below the head. It thrashes in his grip, but is no longer able to bite anyone. “This is a poisonous snake, and I doubt anyone brought a bezoar with them.” 

Harry glares. He opens his mouth, and feels the beginning the snake’s language pass his lips, and this isn’t what he wants, what’s the point of insulting Malfoy if he can’t understand him – 

Malfoy’s eyes widen. He slaps his hand over Harry’s mouth, “Potter, what the hell–”

This fic is in progress updated within 2020. It’s a rewrite of the Harry Potter series where Harry and Draco are soulmates. As you can imagine, that changes some things. I love this so much, I’ve read it like 3 or 4 times now. The characterization is amazing and I love the differences we see. Harry is Indian in this fic and the way it ties in is so good. You really get to see the difference in culture as well between muggleborns and blood traitor families and the purebloods.   

You great unfinished symphony (you sent for me) by ketchupcrisp

Rating: E, Word Count: 227,792, Fandom: MCU, Ship: Steve/Tony and also the whole Team 

The last thing Steve Rogers ever expected to see on a Wednesday afternoon was his (their) dead submissive tumbling out of a portal and practically into Phil’s lap, very much alive and frantic about Soul Stones and timelines and some other version of the team.

This is an AU but like literally. Tony comes from the universe we know into a D/S universe. The worldbuilding here - again like I think a lot of D/s fics excel at - is so good. It starts with everything a mess and things are intense. There’s multiple POVs which I think is really helpful in a fic like this where the relationships are so tangled. 

Born From the Earth by venusm 

Rating: E, Word Count: 277,602, Fandom: MCU, Ship: Tony Centric, Steve/Tony 

Tony Stark's born an omega in a world where that means he's supposed to follow certain social rules. He becomes Iron Man anyway: Fuck biology.

If only his biology (and the world) would quit fucking him back.

To start off, some warnings: this fic gets a bit messed up. It’s an Omega verse in the worst possible way at certain points. It’s not a fluffy fic. It also doesn’t get that far into the Stony stuff because it’s unfinished. Honestly I’m worried this writer has died and I’ve gone through the comments and looked for them online to see if they’re out there and just not writing but I haven’t found any proof of that. BUT ANYWAYS. This fic is intense but it’s such an interesting take on Omega fics. It gets pretty dark but that darkness is pre-Steve and I’m hopeful that one day it might get finished so I can see where it was going to go. 

[bcatboy]

tagged by @wh1tman​ answer 15 questions, then tag 15 people!

1. are you named after anyone?

My given name was after a character from my mom’s favourite book at the time.

2. when was the last time you cried?

This morning, in therapy. my therapist said that any time you do something that would have benefited your younger self, such as having like better habits than them or just taking care of yourself in a way you weren’t able to when you were younger….that is healing for your younger self. Idk it just. Made me cry SO fast (we were talkin bout how I was looking back at my schooling career and how far back the like, mistakes started and I was getting angry about how fucked the system is that I was allowed to continue in the way I did for so long and we were talking about how I wish I could have done x or y when I was younger but I do them now…...yeah)

3. do you have kids?

No I do not I AM a child

4. do you use sarcasm a lot?

Depends who im talking to. But not really? Tbh I don’t really pay attention to the things people r saying n being like “yes this is sarcasm” so idk actually. No? maybe without noticing.

5. what’s the first thing you notice about people?

Not to be like, that guy …but their vibe, u know?  Like whatever energy they’re putting out into the world, if they’re anxious or upset or happy or Just Chillin in cedar rapids, u know?

6. what’s your eye color?

Blue. Not to flex but ive been told I have BEAUTIFUL eyes ;) 

7. scary movie or happy ending?

happy ending ! what the fuck else is the point. Also I can and will have nightmares for weeks if I watch a scary movie. It’s not so bad anymore but when I was a kid I used to get nightmares from horror movie TRAILERS. So I generally avoid them these days. 

8. any special talent?

Hm. Im very empathetic (I say while rolling my eyes) so I think I can be v good at picking up on the moods people r putting down. My therapist n I are working on turning that into a positive instead of just being constantly bombarded by the feelings of other people.

9. what country were you born in?

Canada

10. what are your hobbies?

In theory I like reading, I crochet/knit and sometimes other crafts, I play the guitar (and other instruments, occasionally), I play LOTS of Bideo Games, and I bake when I have the energy levels for it.

11. do you have any pets?

I do! I have a cat named Smokey, who’s about 7 or 8, he’s grey and white and I am his favourite human. Unfortunate for all the black clothing I wear. I also have a dog named Roddy (short for Rod Stewart bc my mom chose his name) and he is 3 years old and a west highland terrier. He has a lot of quirks but is a very sweet and submissive dog who FARTS SO MUCH OH MY GOD. But he likes to be around people ALWAYS n he is very stubborn—if u try n lock him out of a room, he will sit and scratch at the door presumably indefinitely, I’ve definitely never outlasted him. He’s fckn relentless. And then there’s Maggie May, she just turned 5 months old, and she is a black lab. She loves to bite everything and also jumps like, way higher than you expect a dog to jump. We call her a kangaroo. She was diagnosed with cancer when she was ten weeks old, and after some exploratory surgery, we found out it was terminal. The vet gave her six months, but we’re hoping that we’ll get a little longer with her before we have to say goodbye! It is absolutely heartbreaking, but since we removed the first tumor, she is showing no symptoms and acts like any other puppy. We’re just going to try and give her the bestest life we can, however short it is.

12. what sports do you play/have you played?

I mean I have tried….many sports …..the only one im gonna mention is that I did figure skating for about four years when I was a Youth, but quit once it started getting too competitive aka literally any competition. I just wanted to do lots of twirls!!

13. how tall are you?

I am. 5’4” and a HALf

14. favorite subject(s) in school?

English n chemistry, I think

15. dream job?

well there’s the one im actually working towards which is becoming a high school teacher!! I want to be able to be the teacher I needed when I was in high school, ya know? Other than that, I think I’d quite like to be a writer. But more in theory than in practice because FUCK writing is hard so maybe not lmao, I just want all the benefits of having written a book without actually having to write said book, ya know?  

no pressure to anyone! but i tag: 

@dawnofdreaming @chapter-eleven @xwingstarfighters @4kidsopfan @jostencredible @wugsnotdrugs @snakeningel @thegayestpepe

[lazingonsunday]

Tag Game!!

I was tagged by @gretavanfic and @bigthighsandstupidguys , thank you, lovelies!! 💛

1. What is your middle name?

Starts with G lol

2. How old are you?

20

3. When is your birthday?

Dec 2

4. What is your zodiac sign?

Everyone is putting like moon and sun and rising and I have no idea what that mean lmao, sorry! I think I’m a Sagittarius though

5. What is your favourite colour?

Orange or Yellow 🧡💛

6. What’s your lucky number?

Don’t really have one, but I always tried to be #10 on my volleyball jersey

7. Do you have any pets?

An old border collie named Riley

8. Where are you from?

Canada! 🇨🇦

9. How tall are you?

Like 5’7 ish

10. What shoe size are you?

Usually 9.5 or 10. I got big ass feet :(

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Way more than one human being needs

12. What was your last dream about?

I went to IT chapter 2 last night so safe to say I was having some freaky clown dreams all night lol

13. What talents do you have?

Um, I can say the alphabet backwards, which is super random lol. I can also kinda play guitar, bass, ukulele, and harmonica, but I’m not very good at any of them yet lol

14. Are you psychic in any way?

I used to think so when I was little, but not so much anymore

15. Favourite song?

Ooh, this is hard. Right now I really love When The Curtain Falls by GVF, but I would say an all time fave might be Forever in Blue Jeans by Neil Diamond because it reminds me of my mom

16. Favourite movie?

Oh, also a tough one! I think either Rocky IV or The Sandlot

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

Jake Kiszka, obviously. But in all seriousness, anyone who is genuinely kind that I feel comfortable and happy around.

18. Do you want children?

I never thought so, but now a bunch of my older cousins are having kids and they’re pretty cool, so maybe one day if I found the right person to raise them with

19. Do you want a church wedding?

No, even though my mom will kill me if I don’t lol

20. Are you religious?

I was raised Catholic, but I don’t consider myself religious anymore.

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

Yes, I’m asthmatic af lol, and prone to breaking my fingers playing rugby

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

No, I am a well-behaved child

23. Have you ever met any celebrities?

I met the magicians Penn & Teller if that counts haha

24. Baths or showers?

For practical purposes of actually getting clean, showers, but I l o v e baths

25. What colour socks are you wearing?

Black

26. Have you ever been famous?

No

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?

While I daydream about it frequently, realistically I know I would hate it

28. What type of music do you like?

Literally the most random taste in music, it changes all the time. I don’t even have certain genres that I like, just certain artists or albums from a variety of genres

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

Yes. I was very drunk lmao

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

Three normal ones and a body pillow

31. What position do you usually sleep in?

On my side cuddled up with the pillows

32. How big is your house?

Typical white suburban neighbourhood house

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

I typically pout in the kitchen for 10 minutes before I give up and make something completely inappropriate for breakfast lmao. Usually grilled cheese. This morning alphagetti. I hate breakfast so much lol

34. Have you ever fired a gun?

Nope. No desire to.

35. Have you ever tried archery?

Yes, we did it in school a few times

36. Favourite clean word?

Love

37. Favourite swear word?

Idk if it’s a swear word, but I say ‘goddammit’ a lot

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

Not long, I’m a sleepy bitch. Probably 24 hours

39. Do you have any scars?

Yes

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

In 9th grade I found out this guy had a crush on my and told literally everyone but me lol

41. Are you a good liar?

I don’t lie very often, but mostly because I am a terrible liar

42. Are you a good judge of character?

Yes. I frequently get such strong vibes off of people and I can tell right away if they’re the kind of person that’s gonna stress me out

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own?

Not well

44. Do you have a strong accent?

I guess I probably have a Canadian accent, but not super strong. The region I’m from has a pretty neutral North American accent

45. What is your favourite accent?

Certain regions of Irish accent are so beautiful. Like Hozier’s accent

46. What is your personality type?

Quite shy, but generally very kind

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

I have a shirt that I got for work that was like a hundred bucks and I never wear it cause I sprayed foundation on it once and now I’m scared I’m gonna ruin it lol

48. Can you curl your tongue?

Yes

49. Are you an innie or outie?

Innie

50. Left or right handed?

Right

51. Are you scared or spiders?

Not really scared of them, but I don’t like them to be close to me if that makes sense

52. Favourite food?

Probably burritos

53. Favourite foreign food?

Mexican

54. Are you a clean or messy person?

Fairly clean

55. Most used phrase?

I really don’t think I have one?

56. Most used word?

Completely. I say it like to agree with someone or acknowledge what they’re saying

57. How long does it take for you to get ready?

Depends what I’m getting ready. For school or something I don’t really care about, maybe half an hour. For work or going out, probably over an hour.

58. Do you have much of an ego?

I don’t think so

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops?

Suck until I get bored and crunch it lol

60. Do you talk to yourself?

Yes, a concerning amount. Like full conversations with myself at full volume, constantly when I’m alone.

61. Do you sing to yourself?

Occasionally

62. Are you a good singer?

Not really

63. Biggest fear?

Never learning how to make meaningful connections , pushing all my friends away, and dying alone.

64. Are you a gossip?

No, I hate it! My friends try to tell me about people we went to high school with, and I just genuinely don’t care and don’t want to know lmao

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?

Idk what classifies as a ‘dramatic’ movie, but I guess the Rocky movies again

66. Do you like long or short hair?

I love long hair, I’m so jealous of people with really long hair. Mine grows so slow :(

67. Can you name all 50 states of America?

Maybe, if I thought really hard about it? I can barely remember Canadian provinces lmao

68. Favourite school subject?

I always really loved some topics in science, but then hated others. I was probably best at English.

69. Introvert or extrovert?

Introvert af

70. Have you ever been scuba diving?

No, even snorkeling freaks me out. The ocean is some scary soup

71. What makes you nervous?

Pretty much everything lol. But mostly any social situation where there’s people I don’t know, or I don’t know exactly what to expect.

72. Are you scared of the dark?

Really depends where I am. Usually no, but if I’m outside then usually yes, and after watching It last night, yes lol

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

Depends who it is and what the mistake is

74. Are you ticklish?

Honestly, not really

75. Have you ever started a rumour?

Not intentionally

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority?

Kind of? At work they have like hourly leaders who are in charge of the sales floor, and I did that a lot, but it’s not really a lot of power or responsibility. Also babysitting I guess

77. Have you ever drank underage?

Yes

78. Have you ever done drugs?

Honestly, this is gonna sound so stupid, but I’ve never done anything other than alcohol and cigarettes. I actually high key wanna try weed, but again the whole ‘not knowing what to expect makes me anxious thing.’ Not even so much that I’m nervous to try the drug but that I’m nervous to try to buy it or get it, even though it’s fully legal in Canada and there’s a dispensary on every corner lmao

79. Who was your first real crush?

The first one I remember was a boy named Evan in first grade

80. How many piercings do you have?

Just my ears, and I rarely wear earrings so I always have to stab through them again when I do

81. Can you roll your R’s?

No, and I can’t whistle either! Which is deeply infuriating!

82. How fast can you type?

Fast enough to not look foolish

83. How fast can you run?

Not fast at all. I’m asthmatic and out of shape lmao

84. What colour is your hair?

An ugly medium mousy brown. I always wanna dye it a little lighter, but I go to the hairdresser like once every two years so it would look stupid when it grew out lol

85. What colour are your eyes?

Hazel-y greenish

86. What are you allergic to?

All sorts of environmental allergies; dust, pollen, animal hair, etc. I’m always sneezing and watery eyes lol

87. Do you keep a journal?

I carry a notebook, but it’s more like an agenda than a diary

88. What do your parents do?

My dad owns a drywall company and my mom is a stay-at-home mom, but she volunteers a lot now that we’re older

89. Do you like your age?

No. I think that being in your late teens and twenties can be really stressful because you feel like there’s certain things that you should have accomplished or experienced and it can be very overwhelming, feeling like you’re competing with all your peers to get your life together

90. What makes you angry?

Rude and disrespectful people

91. Do you like your own name?

Not really

92. Have you thought of baby names, and if so what are they?

I’ve definitely thought about it but I don’t really have specific favourites

93. Do you want a boy or girl for a child?

I don’t have a preference. I’d probably like to have one of each

94. What are your strengths?

I think I’ve become a lot more kind and open-hearted in the last few years.

95. What are your weaknesses?

I feel like I have let fear dictate my entire life, and there’s so many things I haven’t done because I’ve been afraid. I need to step outside my comfort zone more often.

96. How did you get your name?

There was a character on a TV show called my name that my parents liked

97. Were your ancestors royalty?

Not that I am aware of

98. Do you have any tattoos?

I changed the question because scars was an earlier one. I have two tattoos on my right arm

99. Colour of your bedspread?

Because it’s summer, I have a lighter blanket that’s light blue. My winter duvet is navy

100. Colour of your room?

Light blue

That was LONG lmao but really fun! I’m too lazy to bold the questions so sorry if it’s hard to read!

Tagging: @frcmthefires @sweetkiszkadreams @okietrish @sammyscherub @gretavanbobatea @jake-thomas-kiszka @mr-stank-i-dont-feel-so-dank and anyone else who wants to do it!!

[alitheamateur]

The Grind-Chapter 5

Warnings: Language. Mentions of nudity.

A/N: First of all, I’d like to extend a bear hug to the ones who are showing any love at all to this piece!!!! I can't begin to express my gratitude. And secondly, I know to some, the plot may be bit slow right now, but HOLD ON! I can assure you, there is LOADS TO COME, so buckle up, buttercups.

The Grind-Chapter 5

I had to make a visit to Danny Mendez’s training spot for article research that morning, per Ryan’s demands.  Colton had playfully teased me, suggesting I run his opponent over with the car, or slip him something to ensure he’d fail the pre-fight drug test, to give him the guaranteed upper hand on Danny. I had originally intended for the piece to be strictly centered around the life, and journey of Pittsburgh’s silent underdog, Colton. However, my nagging objections hadn’t convinced Ryan, and he’d instructed me that the piece would be better received by the public if I covered both competitors. Although I had never worked directly with Mendez, word around the office from coworkers who had sat down with him in the past, was that he was quite the bombastic pig. Oh, lovely. As if having to appear completely unbiased wasn’t already going to be enough struggle, now I’d have to spend my entire morning penning notes as he stroked his own roaring ego.

I checked the given address Danny’s trainer had emailed me, taken aback with surprise when I wheeled into the parking lot. It was a far cry from the gritty, seedy vibe at Mac’s gym. I glided through the automatic doors of the tawdry, two level complex and was greeted by a clearly well-trained receptionist.

“Hi, uh… I’m Liv Elliot with the Pitt Pilot. I have a meeting this morning with Danny Mendez.”

She escorted  into the glass box of the elevator, where I kept any further communication with her to the bare minimum. The entire drive over I stewed and fretted over the dread of having to even look Mendez in the eyes.  My chest puffing with quite the prejudiced attitude, and a newly protective girlfriend instinct kicking in. I withheld an airy squeak at the thought “girlfriend.” Until this instant, I prided myself in the stern, professional ethic I displayed in all aspects of my work life. But now, I was struggling to sort through, and control all the newfound feelings that Colton had provoked in me as of late. The ding of arrival sounded when we had reached the second floor, opening to reveal a painfully illuminated gym facility. Treadmills, and weight benches, and therapy bikes, oh my.

“Mr. Mendez is right over there, Miss Elliott. He’s expecting you.” She pointed her manicured finger to the left toward a huddle of men.

I readied the recorder on my cell, and boldly marched in their direction, the subtle clack of my black pumps announcing my approach. He was waylaying into a battered speedbag, but turned his smug face to me without ceasing his blows, obviously in shameless effort to impress me. Danny had countless tattoos much like Colton, but his height towered over me at least double the distance his challenger did. He was a very large man, however not quite as amply defined.

“Afternoon, Olivia. Come to get the word from the real champ for your story?”

He indeed impressed me alright. With only a handful of words he had already tempted me with lacing his open water bottle with a certain substance that could easily disqualify him from stepping into the ring with Colton.

“Actually, it’s just Liv, Mr. Mendez. How are you?”

One of his pathetic goons promptly handed him a towel to wipe the sweat from his slick, hairless head, and I tagged along on his heels to find a seat next to the empty caged octagon.

“Is this where you train for every fight, Danny? I know most fighters tend to find one gym they favor and stick to it.”  

“it is, yes. I own the place, in fact. None of the shit hole facilities in the city had the right feel for me. So, I took it upon myself to build this one. I’m a firm believer in doing something yourself if you want it done right, Miss Elliott.”

My eyes may have rolled instinctively in obvious hatred for the guy. I wanted to get what I needed as soon as possible and bid riddance to this prick.

“I was just about to hop in the cage with my grappling partner, you mind? You can pass the word to that amateur asshole Ritter about what he’s got comin’ to him next weekend, huh?”

To say I wanted to rattle the stupid, snide smile right off his bearded face would be an amplified understatement.

“Please! Don’t let me stop you. I’m here to see what a day in the life of the champ is like, right?”

He chuckled at my statement, dumbly oblivious that it was intended as 100% sarcasm.

I wasn’t at all pleasantly surprised at what happened in the half hour I had spent there. He was indeed the middleweight champion, and I learned very quickly why. He, in my opinion, wasn’t what I would call more talented than Colton on any level, but he definitely wasn’t the scrub I ignorantly assumed he would be either. Unlike the utter animalistic indignation Colton displayed in the cage, Danny was so poised and light on his feet. His expression was focused, yet calm. I noticed instantly he was the type of fighter who paced himself for the duration of rounds, making sure he kept his breaths as even as possible, analyzing every move he made, and why. I wouldn’t say that I left the gym with doubts that Colton could come out on top. However, I feared the victory wouldn’t come served to him on a silver platter as I’d hoped. Mendez unquestionably proved every bit of gossip that insinuated he was a dreadful human being. Unfortunately though, he wasn’t the slouch I needed him to be on the mat.

I went back to my quaint cubical at the Pilot to compile the very limited, nearly useless comments Danny had given me for the spread, but my protesting mind had other plans. Colton had yet to reach out on the report he had gotten from the doctor, and there was no chance of me focusing on anything aside from him. I promised to him I wouldn’t pry, so texting him was a no-go. But, he did tell me that anything going on with him, was indeed my business as well? My over-worked, over analytical brain had nearly reached over-heating, when a gentle buzz rattled my tiny metal desk.

Message from: Colton

How soon can you make it over to Mac’s?

It was almost as if I had willed the text into existence. I raised the rose gold watch on my wrist into view, 1:57 p.m. Getting an early start this morning with the commute to Danny’s gym, meant I would be able to add drive time onto my hours for the day. Sure, I’d still be shy roughly an hour shy from a full days work, but Ryan would understand if I explained that one of the competitors from the match I was covering may be facing a detrimental injury, and he would shoo me to catch the happenings. I hoisted my black, alligator skinned satchel over my shoulder, laptop in tow, and trudged impatiently downstairs to the parking garage.

The short drive to the gym, I couldn’t seem to still my tapping fingers on the peeling steering wheel of my silver SUV. I tried to occupy myself with the radio in attempt to build a blockade from the piling thoughts racking my mind, but it was entirely useless. He knew I was working, why had he needed me at Mac’s? Was the hand injury worse than both of us imagined? Had the doctor advised him to bow out gracefully from the fight against Mendez? My tripping mind, and the fussing over a doomed lost of hypothesis nearly teleported me to Mac’s before I even knew where I was.

I pushed through the double doors of the building, and slowed to a more casual pace giving off the illusion that I wasn’t an eager, panicky mess. Colton was easing his half naked body into a scuffed silver tub resembling that of a horse troth like Mrs. Bishop, the widow down the street from my childhood home in Westfield, had transformed into a flower bed. There was a vicious wince spread wide on his lips as he lowered to be seated, and my eyebrows upturned in evident concern.

“Hey doc, mind comin’ over for a second?” He motioned the salty-haired man over to where I now stood at his side, petting back his combed over hair.

When I had gotten a closer look, I realized the painful twitches of his face where thankfully caused by the rigid ice bath he sat in, the cold therapy submersion aided in the healing of his exhausted muscles.

“Dr. Cooper, this is Liv. The pain in my ass who insisted I let ya’ take a good look at my hand here. Would you please tell her what we talked about earlier? I know she’s too hard-headed to believe it outta my mouth.” The smart-elic tone of his voice generally would’ve set me off, but the way he intertwined his fingers through mine when he spoke to the doctor was his saving grace for the moment.

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss. As Colton said, I did take a good look at the hand earlier this morning. I took an x-ray, revealing no broken bones, which is obvious good news. And after observing him in the ring a bit, it seems Mr. Ritter does have some severe inflammation going on. However, with a series of cortisone shots, I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t proceed with the fight.”

My eyes met Colton’s with a nod of relief, happy for the weight of worry to be finally lifted from my chest. “Thank you so much for the explanation, Doctor. And thanks for taking such good care of this one.”  

Dr. Cooper returned to the conversation he was previously having with one of the other fighters Mac was working with, leaving Colton and I to ourselves. I retrieved the large towel he’d laid to the floor in close proximity to his bath, handing it to him, but yanking it back swiftly before he could pry it completely from my hands, “Well, well. Looks like now that we know your hand is fine, you’ll have to come up with another excuse when you lose to Mendez.”

A wide, wicked smirk danced over his handsome face, and with one instantaneous motion, I was plunged into the subzero pool of ice. The fitted material of my wool pencil skirt now clung tighter to my figure, and the collar of my blouse now heavy from saturation.

“Oh God, I didn’t mean to pull you so hard. Guess I don’t know my own strength, baby. Sorry...” His shoulders shrugged mimicking innocence in the matter of my now trembling appendages, as he patted dry his own wet chest.

“I probably had that one comin’, huh.” I reasoned.

He guided me to the locker room, offering up a change of some spare sweats that obviously swallowed me from his cubby, and he wrapped his arm over my shoulders as we shivered into the nighttime streets back to my place.

 I was dangerously teetering on what I swore was frost bite after travelling the 11 blocks to my place, so my now extremely apologetic boyfriend had taken it upon himself to run me a scalding bath. I stripped off the damp cotton leaving a trail of articles from the living room to the bathroom plopping onto the floor, in urgent effort to dive into the water as quickly as possible. Sadly, the bathtub in my miniscule home wasn’t nearly large enough to fit the both of us, so Colt had dropped his clothes in the dryer then situated himself in the floor near the tub, propping his back against the wall to keep me company while I attempted to regain feeling in my toes. 

“How’d it go with Mendez today?” Colton asked pulling off the unraveling toboggan from his head.

“Oh, he’s just a modern day, prince charming, that one. Let me tell ya’.” He widened his eyes in agreement, no words needed to express his agreeance.

He’d given me the run down from everything else with Dr. Cooper this morning, and reenacted the “crunch time” sermon Mac religiously gave him when the closeness of fight night approached.

“So, your parents… Will they be coming next Saturday?”

We had limited conversations about our families up until this point, but one thing he had told me, were his parents, Michael and Beth, were his biggest supporters. Granted, his mother had definitely resisted the idea when she discovered he had taken such a violent career interest, making him promise to “use his head, and hang it up” if things ever got too rough for him on the mat.

“Yeah, they’ll be here on Thursday dad said. I wanted to talk to you about that…” I boosted up out of the now cooling water, my full attention on him. “I’m supposed to meet ‘em for dinner, and uh, I’d like you t’ come. Unless you think it’s too soon, then I totally understand.” The antsy man kept his eyes on the sage colored shag of a rug he was seated on, pulling nervously on some strands of the soft material.

I reflected back on a remark he’d made about his mom in a talk we had regarding her bout with cancer, and now 6th year in remission, where he’d said he wished he was half the warrior she was. And then, informed me that he had never actually taken any girl home previously because there were none he considered worthy of his mother’s company.  The sudden realization that apparently, I was deemed “worthy” had me buzzing with pleasure, my head swimming with overwhelming delight. Was this what the blindsiding smack of love felt like?

“If you want me there, then I’d love to. But I don’t want you to feel like you have to invite me, Colt.”

He leaned his arm into the tub to clutch my bubble covered hand. “Liv, do I seem like the type of guy who feels like he has to do anything? Let’s be real here, girl. You ‘n I both know, I only do things I want to do, that’s just the type ‘a guy I am.”

Boy, did I know that. He hadn’t been shy about his bull-headed tendencies in the passing months we’d spent getting to know each other, and who was I to belittle him for the very same attribute I carried myself. Cupping his check in sheer admiration, I accepted. “Name the time & place, mister! I’ll be there.”

Lifting me from the bath, he tucked my now very toasty skin into bed, insisting that if he stayed over, there’s no way he’d let me get any sleep so he should head home. A lingering peck to my lips, followed by the same to my nose then forehead, topped off with a playful “noogie” to the crown of my head, Colton Ritter had smothered the urge to say, that no matter the resistance he had tried to muster up, he was in fact unequivocally falling in love with me.  Rather than unveiling those very sentiments, he secured the door to my now dark apartment, doubling back to check to lock, spatting murmurs of regret as he walked to his tired old Chevy truck, wishing he wasn’t going home to a bed without me in it. 

TAGLIST: @torialeysha @eap1935

[mareebrittenford]

The Extra Fakes- Shadow Mirrors Chapter 4

The story so far… Lyse is drawn to the charming old house over on Orangethorpe, but when she tries to point it out to others, it’s like they can’t even see it. After a terrifying moment when her little sister disappeared into the house Lyse seeks out the one person who has been acting just as weird about it as she has. David, the twitchy new guy on the running team.

He’s got a lot more of a secret that she bargained for, especially when he starts changing into... something not human.

Here’s links to the previous chapters 1, 2 , 3

Please let me know what you think, I love feedback! 

I should've expected this. I mean, he pretty much spelled it out. But despite all the weirdness around this fairy house, and the predatory vibes he throws out almost accidentally and the fact that today it feels like anything could and will happen I still am legitimately surprised that David is in fact, a werewolf.

It's not fast like they change in the movies. It seems to take focused effort, as if he's willing each thing to happen. First hair appears all over his formerly not very hairy body, it's a variegated brown, seeming to spread down from his head to cover his pale skin. and then he drops down to his hands and knees, and it's like a ripple, spreading out from his torso, his limbs changing shape, and his face distorting and reforming itself into something more elongated, and finally canine.

And then there stands before me a wolf. A wolf with a pair of red checkered boxer shorts on, it's tail sticking awkwardly out of one leg hole.

I think that's the clincher. Because I start to giggle.

David is a werewolf. Of course he his. The modest kind who keeps his underwear on when he changes form in front of a girl.

"So should I be worried about you biting me and making me into a wolf too?"

I swear it rolls it's big yellow eyes.

"So can you understand me in there?"

It dips it's head, like a nod.

"Okay, so not really seeing the scary part. Can I pet you?"

He cocks his head to the side, nostrils flaring. Is he smelling me? What an uncomfortable thought. I'm sure I don't smell good, too sweaty and stressed. But he trots closer, and I lay my hand on his head. The fur is coarser than I expected, thicker and bigger around his neck and shoulders, like the mane of a lion. He stands there and lets me run my hands through it, and down his back, not just letting me, leaning into my hands like he's enjoying it. I remember that I'm actually petting David. I'm putting my hands all over him to his apparent enjoyment.

I take a couple of steps back.

"Umm, I think I'm ready for you to change back now."

I pick up the flashlight and click it off. Somehow it seems like a bad idea to have it turned on him, like a spotlight as he goes through this transformation. What if someone is watching?

He's right, it does take longer for him to change back. It's several minutes until he's fully human again. And this time I do feel pervy seeing him in his underwear. He seems equally uncomfortable as he quickly grabs his clothes and throws them on.

"I'm still waiting for the scary bit."

"I can't believe you. I mean, I can, I can smell fear, so I could tell you weren't scared, but I don't know why. I just defied physics and turned into a dangerous wild animal right in front of you. Plus I'm clearly a horrifying supernatural creature.  And you wanted to pet me."

"Before I thought maybe your big secret was something really awful. Now I know it's this you're a whole lot less frightening."

And he laughs. I don't think I've ever heard him laugh before.

"But, you know, I think we could really freak out Lionel with this."

"I clearly haven't been thinking hard enough about the prank potential."

"That's what you have me for."

But now it really is full dark, and I can't see anything. I hear some rustling coming toward us, and I belatedly remember the dog. It makes sense now why it's afraid of David, but I still don't feel good about it.

"Can we go back inside now?"

"Yeah, sure. I just can't do that indoors. It's too scary."

I sense rather than hear him moving away from me, and I belatedly remember to turn on the flashlight I have in my hand. "Hey! Can you see in the dark or something?"

"Not as good as I can when I'm a wolf, but yeah, a bit."

"So far I'm not seeing a downside to all of this."

"Ha ha. You better be kidding."

I'm not actually. So far all of this seems really cool. I mean, he turns into a regular, not monster wolf, without loosing his mind, and he can see in the dark and can... wow. Practically leap tall buildings. Or at least, make a standing jump up to grasp the railing of his balcony and pull himself up and over with astonishing ease. Pretty impressive for a guy of his height.

"Did it occur to you that I can't do that?" I call up. "Should I go round to a door?"

"Oh." And then he rolls over the railing and comes right back down again, as easy as if it's a flight of stairs.

"Here," he says, dragging over a patio table. "Try standing on this."

"Yeah, fine, but I can't pull myself up like you did. I can't even do a pull up in gym."

"Don't worry, I'll pull you up."

He springs back up onto the balcony, and I eye him dubiously.

"I don't think you can lift me."

"Trust me. I'm stronger than I look. Super-powered."

"Wolf boys have super strength?"

"Seems like."

So I stand on the table and jump, and he catches my hands and pulls me up as easily as he pulled himself.

"So, how long have you been a werewolf, or do you prefer wolf shifter?" I ask, once we're settled back inside.

He laughs again. "I don't know what I'm supposed to be. I don't think either is quite right, from what I've read anyway. It's just sometimes I'm a wolf."

"Shifter then."

"Is that why you're being so cool? Do you mainline werewolf romance or something? Because honestly? I've read some of those recently and I am nothing like that."

"Damn, and I was hoping for a love triangle too."

An awkward silence falls between us. David is curling into himself again and I watch him. I really should be more... something over this. Frightened doesn't seem right though, he's not scary. Disbelieving? I suppose I should be trying to find ways for this to be faked, or a delusion or whatever, but that doesn't feel right either. I saw it and I don't know why I shouldn't believe it.

Maybe I'm not reacting strongly because I can't find the right reaction to have. I'll probably wake up screaming at 3 a.m. But for now all I can see is that David is scared and I need to help him.

I tuck my knees up in front of me and lean forward. "So what happened? I'm guessing you weren't born this way."

"I was stupid. At the start of summer my parents took us camping, up north, in Oregon. My aunt lives up there. They were always trying to get me outside, enjoy nature. Believe it or not I used to be the sort of guy who never went outside if he could help it. My brother's always been the athlete."

"So wait, are you saying that this only happened a few months ago?"

"Yeah. My brother had a couple of his friends along for the trip, and they wanted to do this multi-day hike into the back country. My parents made them take me along which no one wanted. And then, I don't know, I got lost, I don't remember much. I just woke up naked and alone in the woods about twenty four hours later."

"Oh!" All the joking drops away as I think about how I'd feel in that situation. Terrified. "Do you think you were actually bitten, Or?"

"I don't know. I can't remember. I know I didn't have any obvious bite marks and I was alone when I woke up."

"So what happened? How did you get home?"

"I just knew how to find Slater. I could smell him I guess. I didn't think about it like that, but even as a human I have this sense of where people are. Like I always know where you are at school."

I think about how weirdly often I've looking up to find him watching me. "That explains that then."

"Crap." He rubs his face. "I didn't mean to be creepy. I'm sorry."

I wave my hand. "It's fine. I've mostly been annoyed with you because you're avoiding me and always watching me. If you stop staring at actually talk to me we're cool. Anyway, so you just wandered back to your brother stark naked? How did that work out for you?"

"They were as freaked out as I was, but at least they had my pack, so I got clothes."

"Had they sent out search and rescue or anything?"

"No. Slater was still trying to find me himself, the idiot, but no one had called the forest rangers or anything. Stupid, I could've died because they didn't want to get in trouble. But whatever. It was better for me. We didn't tell mom and dad I got lost at all. And no one knows I can turn into a wolf, not my parents, or Slater. Just you."

That feels heavy. He's putting a lot of trust in me.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

He nods, like he was expecting that. I guess he wouldn't have let me see if he didn't think he could trust me.

"I didn't know I could become a wolf either, not then at least. I didn't change until a few weeks later."

"And what, you just suddenly turned into a wolf?"

"Pretty much. It built up, I know what it feels like now, but then I was just feeling miserable, like a combination of coming down with the flu and that feeling, you know, where you just have to run?"

I find myself nodding. I do know that feeling, like I have too much energy inside me and I have to use it or burst.

"And one night I was asleep, and I woke up and I was a wolf. I panicked, really bad. I was all tangled up in blankets and clothes and I shredded it all, and broke the window to get out." He points to the new pristine pane of the window.

"How did they not know then?"

"They thought I had a panic attack. I haven't exactly been myself since that hiking trip."

Before I think, I jump up, go to him, and lean into him and hug him. He startles, flinches, whatever you call it, and then he's grabbed me and pulled me closer.

"Thank you for not being frightened of me."

"You can be scary as you walk me home."

"Sure."

I grab my backpack, making a show of looking around the room for stray items, even though I didn't open it. That hug, I meant it for comfort and solidarity, but it feels like more. I don't want it to be more. Especially not now. I feel for him, I do, but, I cannot get involved in that.

#

His mom is sitting in the living room reading a book when we pass through, can it be that less than thirty minutes have passed? It seems like eternity.

"I'm going to walk Lyse home," David tells his mother, and she frowns.

"I'm not sure I want either of you wandering around at night, especially alone on the way back dear. Didn't I tell you that Marcie next door is sure she saw an enormous coyote in her back yard the other night?"

I give David a sidelong glance. Coyote? Or Wolf-David?

David sighs. "It's barely dark mom. How about I walk her home and then call an Uber to get back?"

She nods, but she's still hesitant.

"My mother worries about me," David says.

"Of course she does. She doesn't know you could eat anyone who bothered you."

He pulls his cap down. "I don't eat people. Cats. I've eaten cats, and yes, it's as gross as it sounds."

"Oh my God! Why?"

"It's like I have to let the wolf out to run periodically, otherwise I go crazy. And eating cats sounds like a great idea when I'm a wolf."

"I thought you were still in control? That you were still you."

"Yes and no. I'm not a mindless beast, but I'm not quite the same as human me either. I'm wolf me. Like before when I changed with you, I knew who you were, and I wasn't going to hurt you or anything, but it was different. At first I wanted to run away. Humans make me jumpy when I'm a wolf."

"Humans make you jumpy all the time David."

"Yeah yeah."

The neighborhood is a hive of activity at this time of early evening. People are grilling on their tiny front patios and balconies. Kids are running around and playing. It's difficult to feel unsafe at the moment, even though there is a group of men standing on the corner watching us. I still hurry on, and lower my voice.

"So this explains why you're so weird, but it doesn't explain that house."

"I can tell you what I thought."

"Please."

"I thought you and Lionel were like me. Or not quite like me, I would think I'd be able to tell if you guys were wolves too. But I figured you were different in some way too."

"No way. I'm completely normal."

"You sure? Because you seem different to me. And felt like I had to know you, I had to be near you."

"That's called a crush loser."

"Haha. I guess I've also got a massive crush on Lionel? There's your love triangle then. The three people who can see that strange house."

"Four. Four of us can."

"Who?"

"My best friend Georgia. I showed it to her yesterday. She can see it just fine, and she wasn't surprised or confused like you were."

"That makes sense. The three of you being close makes sense."

"This is all crazy. You're saying that the four of us are being what? Drawn together by that house? But Lionel and Georgia and me have been friends for years. You're the only new element."

"Because I wasn't different, not until three months ago. Now I am. So now I'm one of you."

My heart thunders in my chest as I remember that thing I read earlier. Only the monsters can see other monsters.

"I'm completely ordinary. There is absolutely nothing special about me."

"Yet you can see this thing that no one else can see. And you knew what I was too. That's why you haven't freaked out. Because you knew. The first time we met you looked at me and saw what I was."

"I did not."

"Then why weren't you surprised when I changed?"

I chew on my lip, not wanting to acknowledge that he's right. Didn't my instincts scream at me about him being something that hid in the shadows? Wasn't I on some level expecting something like this?

"Here's a thing that sounds great, but really isn't. A thing that comes with my new abilities. You can't lie to me."

"That sounds like a threat."

"It's not. I just, I can read people like a book now. It's a combination of body language and smell I think. Anyway, I know that you knew what I was the first time you looked me in the face, and it scared you."

"I didn't go 'Wolf!' though. I just thought that it would be a bad idea to be alone with you in the dark."

"Yet here we are." He waves his hands around. I hadn't been paying attention as we walked, but we're out of his neighborhood, and onto East Street. Cars are wizzing by, and there are streetlights, but I have no doubt that if he wanted to hurt me, he could do it here without anyone noticing.

"I'm not scared of you any more, obviously." If I ever really was.

"Why? Why aren't you? You should be terrified. I'm a monster. Why aren't you scared of me?"

I stop and turn to him. We'd be eye to eye, if it wasn't for that stupid cap. I pull it off his head and he stares at me, with those strange compelling eyes.

"Because now you make sense. And the truth isn't something I need to be scared of."

He grabs the cap back and jams it down on his head again.

"What is with the hat? Is the eye thing a werewolf thing? Are your eyes different now?"

"They look the same to me, boring brown. But people keep commenting. What exactly do you see?"

"I can't even describe it. I mean, your right. They're just brown. But there's something special too. Compelling I guess you'd say."

"Great. I really am straight out of a werewolf romance." He turns his head away, uncomfortable with the scrutiny.

"And you don't like the attention. And right now it's obviously a good idea to keep the cap on because of the way they glow in the dark."

"What?" He looks utterly horrified. "Are you saying my eyes are glowing right now?"

"No I mean, not like glowing glowing, but like, you know, a wolf I guess. You know how animal's eyes seem to glow when you catch them with a light at night."

"Great. Just great. Now I have eyes that glow in the dark. As if I wasn't weird enough."

"Just, keep the cap on. And don't look into the incoming cars lights. In fact..." I turn into a house tract, even though it's not mine. "Let's cut through here. Less traffic."

He's breathing heavily, and I'm afraid he's going to panic and take off.

"David. David. Calm down. Please." Crap. I wish I'd thought to ask what I should do if he panicked. I take both of his hands as if I can anchor him here. "It's going to be okay. You'll get through this. Don't leave me alone here."

Slowly his breathing calms, and he stops clutching my hands quite so tightly.

"What is it you said about me? That I'm nonstop drama? I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I was just scared you were going to take off and leave me to walk home alone in the dark."

"Sorry. I just got overwhelmed."

"It's okay. Really. I can see why the eye thing would make you freak out."

"My eyes really glow like an animal."

"Yeah. Sorry. It's a very nice golden color, if that's any consolation."

"yeah, because how would I cope if my eyes glowed a weird color?"

"Exactly. Did you know kangaroos eyes glow pink? I mean at least you're not stuck with some girly color like that."

"That makes all the difference in the world." He forces a smile, and takes a few more slow controlled breaths.

"You okay now? Ready to go?"

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry." He seems to suddenly become aware that he's holding my hands, because he drops them like they're on fire, and starts walking, leaving me skipping to catch up.

"So anyway, yeah, I think that there is something happening, to apparently all four of us, I'm the new addition because I've been changed, but the three of you have had something weird happening to you for a while I'm guessing. Maybe years. Is there anyone else that you feel drawn to? Or that can see this weird house?"

"I don't know. I keep trying to show it to people, but they react all sorts of strange ways. Some people seem a bit confused, But most people, they seem to be like Bradley Paz, they just don't see it, or they see a freaking model train store for some reason."

"I'm telling you, I know there is a train store there. I've been inside it. I can almost see it out the corner of my eye, like it's still there, somewhere."

"My sister, she saw the train store. And then she disappeared."

"What! Is she okay?"

"Yeah, it was only for a few seconds, but it freaked me out. It's why I hunted you down."

"Hunted me down?"

"You said you like the river trail."

He's silent for a few moments.

"How would you feel about going to check out this place right now?"

"Now?" I look around. It's fully dark, and this residential street we're on doesn't have a lot of street lights. I feel like the last person on earth. I wish David hadn't let go of my hands.

"Just to check it out. It's only about a mile away. We can be there in less than fifteen minutes. Faster if you want to run." He bounces a bit, making it clear that even if I don't want to run he sure does.

I'm not dressed for it. I like being dressed appropriately. But I've got sneakers on.

"Sooner we get there the sooner we get home."

If you’ve made it this far thanks for reading, As always I appreciate any support for my writing, so if you’re enjoying this please check out my novels #1, #2, patreon and ko-fi!

tagging @pinehutch @focusdumbass @timeenoughforamasterpiece @maximillianvalentine @q-oetry @rosy-writes @sunsetsrmydreams @goddessofnothingatall

As always if you’d like to be added or removed from this list please shoot me a message or comment on this post!

[seven-oomen]

I JUST SAW THE NEW PREVIEW AND I AM SCREAMING!!!!!!!  I’m so ridiculously excited to read the full scene!  It’s entirely possible some of the noises I made were not entirely in the normal human register.  There was probably some blushing and flailing (read: there was definitely some blushing and flailing.)  Peter being all shy and trying to cover it with sass.  Chris being so confused about just what the implication of the offer was.  Noah being amused at both of them but also not even fully letting Peter ask before bursting out with an emphatic yes.  My precious awkward turtles, I love all of them so!

And if you would like my perspective as an American who would have been just a few years behind the boys in school, I will say that it’s highly likely they would have known about some methods of contraception and such, even if their parents weren’t the type to bring it up.  In that sort of post-emergence of the AIDS crisis time period, safe sex became a thing that was hammered into you in health classes, after-school specials, etc, unless you lived in the much more rural, conservative areas (so I guess with Chris it would depend partially on where all he lived growing up?)  Now their ability to (legally) access anything like condoms, etc, would have been much more iffy (though the idea of John, Talia, or Deuc offering to get some for Peter is hysterical to imagine.)  How much they would have cared about/been stopped by this lack of access is really a matter of character interpretation, though :D

I’m so down for attempted family prank shenanigans.  (Also, side note, the best way to find Linden’s Insta is actually through links from his Twitter.  He had to do one of the variation things, like Hoechlin, because someone was already using his name for one.  His vibe is pretty much a combo of aging surfer dude and MASSIVE dad energy.)  Actually speaking of family shenanigans, may I put forth the idea of game nights?  Can you imagine them sitting around playing Apples to Apples or Monopoly (and how many fights between Stiles and Jackson this might cause)?  Or even better, when the younger kids are off at a sleepover, or at least busy in another room, the older kids and the parents sitting around playing Cards Against Humanity?  Seeing who can manage to make the group break through card chosen or the reading of said card (and boy are there some doozies to choose from)?  I feel like the best at maintaining a complete deadpan presentation or reaction would be Noah, Jordan, Erica, and Lydia.

I had to look up some of those music ideas (and boy are my YouTube algorithms probably confused right now), but yes, I love all of those.  Especially Peter’s, because it reminds me of a headcanon/scene I thought of for a fic I will never actually write because I am a coward where Noah wanders into the kitchen one morning to find Peter making breakfast and full-on rocking out to Wham’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” in nothing but an ancient BH Sheriff’s Dept t-shirt and a pair of boxer briefs.  With Chris I just keep going back to the ball thing because one of the few Nickelback songs I know is “Something in Your Mouth”. XD  So, I have a fun story for “Never Gonna Give You Up”!  When two of my friends got married, they had a friend of the groom’s be the officiant.  Rgiht before he got to the part with the vows and having them repeat after him, it only took me like one or two lines into his lead in speech to go “…wait a minute this sounds familiar…”, at which point he began having them recite the lyrics to that song as their wedding vows.  Pretty sure everyone was cracking up (I mean, the ceremony took place in the middle of a zombie walk with all of us in full costume.  no one was expecting anything normal, but still.  that was hilarious.)  But oh god, can you imagine if any of the kids ever figured out Chris liked that song?  The sheer amount of rick-rolling that would occur boggles the mind.  The things Jackson could try to talk Danny into using his tech skills to do.  It might be one of the things Stiles and Jackson could bond over.  For Noah, maybe he heard them while he had some kid pulled over one day and was like “well that’s stupidly catchy” (because it is), or maybe Stiles had some of their albums at one point, and he kept hearing them and realized he rather liked it, so snuck in and burned himself a copy at some point?  I also considered suggesting ABBA, because that also seems like one of those out of left field choices.  And omg, yes, on the Caramelldansen.  I feel like they’d play it up even more once they notice how horrified their older kids were, because they’re assholes like that.  (Related if you want it to be note: Did you know YouTube has a 10 hour loop of the Swedish version?)

The funniest thing to me with the kids eating the dog cookies is how often it happens and how rarely it gets noticed.  And they always pick the nastiest ones, too.  If they’re gonna do it, they should wait until Christmas, that’s when we get the ones that are basically like the blandest sugar-style cookies ever (I will neither conform nor deny having taken a plate of those to a party once, because I, too, am sometimes an asshole)  And yeah, I don’t get the cat water thing either, particularly since the tap water in our area is actually really good quality.  Some other entertaining stories I forgot last time:

1) Our corporate office told us we had to start carrying snakes, so now we have a ball python named Julius Squeezer.

2) Speaking of eating weird things, we once had a group of college kids come in on a scavenger hunt and one of them bought and ate a feeder fish to check an item off their list.

3) A guy who worked in one of the other businesses apparently lost a bet of some kind and had to come up to our front doors after hours, dressed as a cat, and rub all over them and generally act like a cat wanting back in the house.  We know this because the whole thing was caught on one of the security cameras, and it ended up getting shown at the company holiday party, and one of our cashiers was like “Hey I recognize him.”

4) We have a cardboard stand-up of Rachel Ray (a celebrity chef) that we have to have out because we just started carrying her pet food, and this thing is the stuff of nightmares.  It is technically life-size in that it is about as tall as I am, but the proportions aren’t quite right.  All the employees are weirded out by it.  Every time you walk past it, you can feel it’s soulless gaze following you, mocking you with it’s dead eyes and rictus grin.  Recently it got damaged, and my boss had to temporarily move it until it could be repaired.  Unfortunately (and perhaps coincidentally) the spot he chose was directly across from the employee entrance, so that was the first thing they’d see entering the building.  I witnessed some great reactions that day.  I wish I’d gotten to see the ones from when he took my suggestion back when we first received it to slide it behind one of our propped open warehouse doors so that the face was right where the little window in the door is.  Apparently one of my coworkers jumped a solid two feet when someone pointed it out to him.  I was probably more proud of myself for suggesting it than I should have been, but oh well.

Glad you were spared having to attempt public transport.  I can’t imagine how nerve-wracking that would be right now.  Hope your day has somewhat improved (I know other people who work tech support, I understand there’s only so far up that part of it can go), at least!

That makes me so happy!

No seriously, my workday was absolute shite and I come out of work and I see this wonderful message and my god my friend. You made me smile today. I smiled for the first time today when I read this.

I’m so excited to read your response to this chapter, I’m just so excited and that’s what’s keeping me going. Because I really feel like crying and giving up for a bit. But this, this means so much to me. Thank you <3

I’m definitely going to need people to have a little bit of suspension of disbelief I guess. I mean, yeah, teenagers can do very stupid things and technically only Chris & Peter did the stupid thing, but I might need a little bit of suspension of disbelief. Now that I read how well-known birth control was in the US during that time. I know it was a big thing in The Netherlands (where I’m from) but I wasn’t sure about the US.

I like to think werewolves would be pretty open about these things and Talia and John were definitely like; wrap it up. Deuc definitely bought Peter a whole box of condoms after they found out Chris and Noah were knocked up. ‘Just to be helpful’. 

Talia definitely talked to Chris and Noah about birth control more and educated Chris on sex and what’s going to happen now that he’s pregnant. I might actually include that in the story somewhere or in the prequel. I like to imagine that due to moving so much he never really got much education on everything and when he did he was probably tired from hunting and couldn’t focus much on school.

DUDE

I wanted to put Cards against Humanity in the story but the game doesn’t come out until May 2011, the story takes place in January XD

But yeah, game nights are definitely a thing, especially CAH, Monopoly, Life, Clue (Cluedo in Europe), Trivia Pursuit (Stiles, Lydia, and Noah rock that one), I actually don’t know Apples to Apples but it looks like fun and definitely something they might play!

During Monopoly, they have the general rule that no-one can flip the board and Allison is the bank. (she’s the fairest and most level headed during Monopoly.) Although that role is passed to Kira when she starts playing.

Noah wanders into the kitchen one morning to find Peter making breakfast and full-on rocking out to Wham’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” in nothing but an ancient BH Sheriff’s Dept t-shirt and a pair of boxer briefs.

This is one image where I’m like, yeah, this is going into the story because it is awesome! I need it more than life itself. 

Also, I can see the three of them swapping clothes quite often too. Like Chris wears Noah’s BH Sheriff’s dept jacket or cap and Peter’s Stanford Hoodie, Peter wears Noah’s worn BH Sheriff’s dept t-shirt and Chris’s worn Metalica/Green Day sleeping shirts, Noah tends to wear Peter’s leather jackets and Chris’s sunglasses. (Because Chris’s shirts are a little too tight for him and his pants too short. He does occasionally steal those loose sleeping shorts from Chris)

Occasionally he’ll take Chris’s weird pens (from Argent Arms or places like BK that Chris collects) with him on patrol. His favorite Pen to steal is a pink feathery one while on late DUI patrols where he can write tickets with them. 

And dude the rickroll at the wedding is brilliant! I should have done that at my friend’s wedding.. damn.

But yeah Jackson would enlist Danny into helping them. Stiles still pitches Derek shirtless to use as leverage against Danny. (Which to me is extra funny because Derek is actually their cousin.) Derek is okay with it because he gets to extract revenge on Uncle Peter for that time where Uncle Peter gave him the talk by just throwing condoms at him.

At some point there’s just a rickroll VS Carameldanssen battle, it needs to happen XD

All of these stories are wonderful, honestly, they really made me smile and if I wasn’t this tired I would’ve shared some from my vet tech days too. Those days were wild man. But I do want you to know, I’ve read all of them and tell Rachel Ray she’s awesome and Julius Squeezer he’s a ball and I love him <3

[raccoonfallsharder]

Window Across the Galaxy ✧*:･ﾟ updated 11/14

18+ only | rocket x oc | 19/25 Chapters | WIP | Word Count: pending.

girl falls first; racoon falls harder.

She can see Rocket darting from camera to camera, catwalk to catwalk: legs a blur, tail flicking for balance or streaming behind him. She rises from her crouch and drifts toward the screens, chest hollow, wanting to be as close as possible to what she’s seeing. She traces a shaky, nervous finger over the edge of one screen. “I can’t believe he gets so mad at me for going off on my own,” she tells Yondu, “and then pulls shit like this–” “I’m not gettin’ in the middle of that,” Yondu interrupts her, and whistles again. Every time Rocket disappears from frame, Jolie catches her breath. This time, when he reappears, Yondu’s arrow is hovering over his shoulder, and that makes her breath a bit easier. He exits one screen, and then launches into view on another – the catwalk that Taserface is stalking down.

[NEW 11/14] ✧･ﾟ:*Chapter XIX. He Was Loved. in which a planet is killed, a friend is made and lost, and nobody still has any frickin’ tape.

angst & cw for the vague description of a hand injury. as a sidenote i appreciate those of you who have stuck with me this long. i reread my first few chapters this week and i fuckin suck at beginnings. i don't know how you all lasted this long but i am grateful ~ ♡

General summary/notes + links to recently preceding chapters behind the cut. let me know via comment, message, or ask if you'd like to be added or removed from my fanfic taglist ♡

Rocket is captured by a Ravager crew hoping to get rich off the excessively large bounty on his head. Throwing a wrench in everyone’s plans is the Terran girl they hired to do some freelance assessing on a recent haul of goods they’ve seized from a Xandaran luxury liner. Oops.

slight AU starting pre-GOTG volume 1 (but will hit most of the same major plot points). slow burn + eventual smut with a lot of pining in the middle. kinda enemies-to-lovers? (but only one of these idiots thinks they're enemies). let me be real with you: this fic is really about wish-fulfillment. not just the eventual smut (but that too). mostly i just want someone to be nice to my best boy raccoon

*･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:*✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*

Chapter I. A Delicacy. in which our reluctant heroes meet atop a crate of Sovereign porn in the bowels of a Ravager ship.

Chapter II. Monster For A Pet. in which one hero wrestles with his inner Groot, and the other is quite possibly a moron.

Chapter III. A Kindness. in which Rocket gets in his own damn way: not for the first time, and certainly not for the last.

Chapter IV. Got There First. in which our heroes obtain an arsenal and street food.

Chapter V. Things No-One Has Said Before. in which one hero refuses to babysit and the other refuses to leave.

Chapter VI. Two and a Half Billion Units. in which we lean into the “they were roommates” trope. Jolie has misgivings, while Rocket has fantasies - about getting rich, of course.

Chapter VII. I'm Here. in which we visit Knowhere.

Chapter VIII. The Care & Feeding of Human Pets. in which our heroes practice breathing and we lean into a new trope: “there was (technically) one bed.”

Chapter IX. Scrapmetal and a Dream. in which we redefine homemaking.

Chapter X. Thin Fucking Ice. in which our heroes get fucked. Not in the good way.

Chapter XI. Let It Be. in which Xandar is saved and good lives are lost.

Chapter XII. So Much It Hurts. in which we try not to fuck up the vibes.

Chapter XIII. Don’t Wait. in which a lost sister is found and Drax grapples with the concept of sarcasm.

Chapter XIV. Exactly Like a Flower. in which comfort is shared.

Chapter XV: Galaxy-Breaking Shit. in which more comfort is shared, and life is good. Briefly.

Chapter XVI. Run. in which Rocket falls victim to his superstitions.

Chapter XVII. A Seedling. A Fox. A Little Girl. in which the party is divided.

Chapter XVIII. I Happen to Know a Guy. in which our heroes get fucked. Again. Still not in the good way.

Chapter XIX. He Was Loved. in which a planet is killed, a friend is made and lost, and nobody still has any frickin’ tape.

Chapter XX. Some Nerve. in which an ultimatum is given.

Chapter XXI. I Very Still. in which our heroes get fucked. In the good way, this time. Finally.

Chapter XXII. Got There Worse. in which Rocket does not say "I love you."

Chapter XXIII. Space Would Be Better Off. in which Rocket ~ discreetly ~ claims the title of boyfriend.

Chapter XXIV.

Chapter XXV.

Epilogue: Interviewing Rocket & Jo. ten years after Window ends. short/drabbly, silly fluff.

taglist ♡ @evolvingchaoswitch ♡ @wren-phoenix ♡ @pretty-chips ♡ @suicidalshitstick

[raccoonfallsharder]

Window Across the Galaxy ✧*:･ﾟ updated 11/7

18+ only | rocket x oc | 18/26 Chapters | WIP | Word Count: pending.

girl falls first; racoon falls harder.

“It's time for the Ravagers…to rise once again to glory…with a new captain!” Taserface bellows, and then howls his own name like it’s not an utterly laughable moniker. It’s too bad that Rocket used up all his best insults on this dumbass when he was previously locked up here. Now would’ve been an ideal time, with a better audience. But before he can make a crack about everyone hailing Captain Scrotum Hat, the douchebag in question is squeezing Jo’s shoulder again. “Lass,” he booms. “Would ye like to have a drink with a captain?” The crew roars its support for the proposal and the space behind Rocket’s eyes goes hot. The cheers just sound like static and he can’t even think — there’s only the instinctive urge to commit arson. When he can see again, his gaze finds Jo. She’s looking up at Taserface — and then she smiles that wide, fake smile that never reaches her dead eyes.

[NEW 11/7] ✧･ﾟ:*Chapter XVIII. I Happen to Know a Guy. in which our heroes get fucked. Again. Still not in the good way.

i'm pretty happy with this chapter? i think? fuckin taserface tho ~ ♡

General summary/notes + links to recently preceding chapters behind the cut. let me know via comment, message, or ask if you'd like to be added or removed from my fanfic taglist ♡

Rocket is captured by a Ravager crew hoping to get rich off the excessively large bounty on his head. Throwing a wrench in everyone’s plans is the Terran girl they hired to do some freelance assessing on a recent haul of goods they’ve seized from a Xandaran luxury liner. Oops.

slight AU starting pre-GOTG volume 1 (but will hit most of the same major plot points). slow burn + eventual smut with a lot of pining in the middle. kinda enemies-to-lovers? (but only one of these idiots thinks they're enemies). let me be real with you: this fic is really about wish-fulfillment. not just the eventual smut (but that too). mostly i just want someone to be nice to my best boy raccoon

*･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:*✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*

Chapter I. A Delicacy. in which our reluctant heroes meet atop a crate of Sovereign porn in the bowels of a Ravager ship.

Chapter II. Monster For A Pet. in which one hero wrestles with his inner Groot, and the other is quite possibly a moron.

Chapter III. A Kindness. in which Rocket gets in his own damn way: not for the first time, and certainly not for the last.

Chapter IV. Got There First. in which our heroes obtain an arsenal and street food.

Chapter V. Things No-One Has Said Before. in which one hero refuses to babysit and the other refuses to leave.

Chapter VI. Two and a Half Billion Units. in which we lean into the “they were roommates” trope. Jolie has misgivings, while Rocket has fantasies - about getting rich, of course.

Chapter VII. I'm Here. in which we visit Knowhere.

Chapter VIII. The Care & Feeding of Human Pets. in which our heroes practice breathing and we lean into a new trope: “there was (technically) one bed.”

Chapter IX. Scrapmetal and a Dream. in which we redefine homemaking.

Chapter X. Thin Fucking Ice. in which our heroes get fucked. Not in the good way.

Chapter XI. Let It Be. in which Xandar is saved and good lives are lost.

Chapter XII. So Much It Hurts. in which we try not to fuck up the vibes.

Chapter XIII. Don’t Wait. in which a lost sister is found and Drax grapples with the concept of sarcasm.

Chapter XIV. Exactly Like a Flower. in which comfort is shared.

Chapter XV: Galaxy-Breaking Shit. in which more comfort is shared, and life is good. Briefly.

Chapter XVI. Run. in which Rocket falls victim to his superstitions.

Chapter XVII. A Seedling. A Fox. A Little Girl. in which the party is divided.

Chapter XVIII. I Happen to Know a Guy. in which our heroes get fucked. Again. Still not in the good way.

Chapter XIX. He Was Loved. in which a planet is killed, a friend is made and lost, and nobody still has any frickin’ tape.

Chapter XX. Some Nerve. in which an ultimatum is given.

Chapter XXI.

Chapter XXII.

Chapter XXIII.

Chapter XXIV.

Chapter XXV.

Chapter XXVI.

Epilogue: Interviewing Rocket & Jo. ten years after Window ends. short/drabbly, silly fluff.

taglist ♡ @evolvingchaoswitch ♡ @wren-phoenix ♡ @pretty-chips ♡ @suicidalshitstick

[raccoonfallsharder]

Window Across the Galaxy ✧*:･ﾟ updated 11/30

18+ only | rocket x oc | 20/27 Chapters | WIP | Word Count: pending. ♡ check the masterlist for expected updates ♡

girl falls first; racoon falls harder.

He glares. “Use a fuckin’ medpack tomorrow,” he orders. “Use two.” He can feel the fur and skin on his nose wrinkle as he snarls. “And I’m guessin’ I gotta tell you to use one on your frickin’ ribs, too.” “But - “ He’s hot and furious right down to the blazing tips of his ears, tailed puffed with a wrath he’s too tired to hide. For fuck’s sake. For fuck’s sake. All he wants is for Pete to bring  Groot down so Rocket can tuck the kid in, and then he can climb into bed with Jo the way he had last night, face pressed between her shoulder blades or breasts or thighs. Curled up around her in whichever way she’ll let him.  Instead, he has to deal with this shit.  Resolved if you fuck her boneless before every battle and mission, he thinks to himself, and struggles to stifle the images before they can become more of a problem.  “–it’s not a big deal. I’m healing already–” But she’s still fuckin’ fighting him. About a frickin’ medpack, of all the stupid shit.

[NEW 11/30] ✧･ﾟ:*Chapter XX. Some Nerve. in which an ultimatum is given.

our last chapter before the smut. lots of explicit fantasizing/internal dialogue type of stuff. (｡ꏿ﹏ꏿ) i think i'm pretty happy with it? not anxious at all ~ ♡

General summary/notes + links to recently preceding chapters behind the cut.

let me know via comment, message, or ask if you'd like to be added or removed from my fanfic taglist ♡

Rocket is captured by a Ravager crew hoping to get rich off the excessively large bounty on his head. Throwing a wrench in everyone’s plans is the Terran girl they hired to do some freelance assessing on a recent haul of goods they’ve seized from a Xandaran luxury liner. Oops.

slight AU starting pre-GOTG volume 1 (but will hit most of the same major plot points). slow burn + eventual smut with a lot of pining in the middle. kinda enemies-to-lovers? (but only one of these idiots thinks they're enemies). let me be real with you: this fic is really about wish-fulfillment. not just the eventual smut (but that too). mostly i just want someone to be nice to my best boy raccoon

*･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:*✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*

Chapter I. A Delicacy. in which our reluctant heroes meet atop a crate of Sovereign porn in the bowels of a Ravager ship.

Chapter II. Monster For A Pet. in which one hero wrestles with his inner Groot, and the other is quite possibly a moron.

Chapter III. A Kindness. in which Rocket gets in his own damn way: not for the first time, and certainly not for the last.

Chapter IV. Got There First. in which our heroes obtain an arsenal and street food.

Chapter V. Things No-One Has Said Before. in which one hero refuses to babysit and the other refuses to leave.

Chapter VI. Two and a Half Billion Units.in which we lean into the “they were roommates” trope. Jolie has misgivings, while Rocket has fantasies - about getting rich, of course.

Chapter VII. I'm Here. in which we visit Knowhere.

Chapter VIII. The Care & Feeding of Human Pets. in which our heroes practice breathing and we lean into a new trope: “there was (technically) one bed.”

Chapter IX. Scrapmetal and a Dream. in which we redefine homemaking.

Chapter X. Thin Fucking Ice. in which our heroes get fucked. Not in the good way.

Chapter XI. Let It Be. in which Xandar is saved and good lives are lost.

Chapter XII. So Much It Hurts. in which we try not to fuck up the vibes.

Chapter XIII. Don’t Wait. in which a lost sister is found and Drax grapples with the concept of sarcasm.

Chapter XIV. Exactly Like a Flower. in which comfort is shared.

Chapter XV: Galaxy-Breaking Shit. in which more comfort is shared, and life is good. Briefly.

Chapter XVI. Run. in which Rocket falls victim to his superstitions.

Chapter XVII. A Seedling. A Fox. A Little Girl. in which the party is divided.

Chapter XVIII. I Happen to Know a Guy. in which our heroes get fucked. Again. Still not in the good way.

Chapter XIX. He Was Loved. in which a planet is killed, a friend is made and lost, and nobody still has any frickin’ tape.

Chapter XX. Some Nerve. * in which an ultimatum is given.

Chapter XXI. I Very Still. ❤︎❤︎ in which our heroes get fucked. In the good way, this time. Finally.

Chapter XXII. Got There Worse. ❤︎❤︎ in which Rocket does not say "I love you."

Chapter XXIII. We're Gonna Need a Bigger Table. * in which Rocket ~ discreetly ~ claims the title of boyfriend.

Chapter XXIV. Space Would Be Better. ❤︎

Chapter XXV. Little Love Stories. *

Chapter XXVI. Other Side of the Window. ❤︎

Chapter XXV. The Most Beautiful Thing in My House. ❤︎❤︎

Epilogue: Interviewing Rocket & Jo. ten years after Window ends. short/drabbly, silly fluff.

explicit lines or references* abbreviated explicit sequences ❤︎ detailed/prolonged explicit sequences ❤︎❤︎

taglist ♡ @evolvingchaoswitch ♡ @wren-phoenix ♡ @pretty-chips ♡ @suicidalshitstick ♡ @glow-autumz