#i think everyone should know the joy of writing a fic and sticking as much of your own personal interests in it at least oncs

[sleepynenes]

pov you’re about to get asked “did you do it”

sorry for the dtau renaissance my brain has been full lately

(inspo under the cut!!)

i saw this sc and immediately got hit with a MUST DRAW THIS beam

ive been thinking a lot about dtau like retrospectively and i think its a little crazy thinking its. 3 years old. i was a sophomore in highschool (i feel like you can tell by reading it LMAO) and now im gonna be a sophmore in college,,,,crazy

it’s definitely not the best thing written and if i were to do it all again now it’d definitely be very different but i look back on it fondly for what it was,,like i truly was just writing to make myself happy and i did! i remember laughing to myself while i was writing and i had such a fun time. and for whatever reason its my most popular fic on ao3! how wild

idk why im getting so reflective and sentimental on this post but!!! i do hold a lot of love for this fic and dumb world i created. maybe we can revisit it more in the future ;3

[604to647]

Fics that Live in My Mind, Rent Free (Pedro's Version) - Part 2

Welp! It seems there are link and tag limits? Who knew? Not this newb 😂😂 When I said that I've read so many good fanfics, I really meant it. Again, below the cut is a continuation of the list of some of my fave Pedro character fanfics that I've read on this site - ones I think about and revisit often. These are all fics I should have/would have reblogged if only I wasn't so weirdly nervous about it; in 2024 we will muster up some courage and reblog (it will be slow, probably, but I promise I will be trying!). This is a good time for me to also say that one of the reasons I am motivated to step out of my comfort zone on this is because of the genuine joy every comment/reblog/like has brought me this year as a new writer - thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the kind reception on anything I have ever posted. 🥹 ilysm 😘

Anyways, we press forward (Part 1 of Rent Free PPCU fics can be found here):

Din Djarin (The Mandalorian, GOAT)

Of Shadows and Roses by @the-scandalorian (Bodyguard!Din x Royalty!Reader)

All Mine by @mellowswriting (Possessive!Din after Reader uses herself as bait)

Narcissus by @bits-and-babs (Armour/mirror sex)

Looking out for you by @beskarandblasters (Jealous!Din after Reader uses herself as bait)

Cherry Liqueur by @decembermidnight (Reader teases Mando in public)

Breaking in the New House by @beskarandblasters (I love Husband!Din and Wife!Reader fics)

Javier Pena (Narcos)

Sweet Dreams by @javiscigarette (Javi can't sleep)

Phone Sex...amiright? by @tightjeansjavi (Reader calls Javi at work)

Sharing is Caring by @ezrasversion (Corrupt DEA Agent!Javi, Mafia AU!Joel Miller, Reader Threesome)

The Saint, the Sinner, and the Devil by @joelsgirl (Corrupt DEA Agent!Javi, DBF Mafia AU!Joel Miller, Reader Threesome)

MIA by @itsharleystuff (Jealous!Javi with Undercover!Reader)

Surprising Javi P with a Lingerie Set by @swiftispunk

Not here...not now by @gracieispunk (Reader visits Javi at work)

Bunny by @whatsnewalycat (Sex Phone Operator!Reader; Part 2 is great too!)

Ease by @javiscigarette (Javi takes care of Reader after a bad day)

Joel Miller (TLOU)

Say It Right, Peeping Neighbour, and Right Place, Right Time by @chaotic-mystery (All the DBF and BFD fics are amazing; these are my fave)

Quickie by @joelscruff (This falls in the middle of the Boyfriend's Dad series, but it's the first one I read and I was hooked!)

That Funny Feeling by @bluebeary-jay (Joel loves pet names 🥹)

I've Got Lust on My Tongue by @itgetsdark-x (Bratty reader a la Maddy Perez)

The Babysitter, Part 1 by @proxima-writes (There's a Part 2 as well!)

Under the Table by @toxicanonymity (A lot of good Joelkemons, but Speakeasy is a classic and maybe my fave?)

Online Friends, Sticking it to the PTA, and Caught Sunbathing by @walkintotheriveranddisappear (All of Emma's Joel fics are really hot [honestly you can't go wrong], but these are my faves)

Late Night Smoke by @bettercallwillow (Dbf smoking. sigh)

Calling Joel Daddy by @inkedells (I honestly love it when authors bold the dirty talk 🤭)

Gimme What I Want and In the Next Room by @atticrissfinch (The masterlist is some of the hottest Joel fic, if I may say so; these are my faves)

An Open Window by @velvetmud (Joel being a peeping tom; I also always hope for a sequel to this one!)

Crave by @toxic-seduction (Part 2; Reader finds Joel in the QZ)

Good Luck Charm by @javiscigarette (Joel watches the football game)

Ravish by @psychedelic-ink (Webcam Model!Reader; Part 2 is also incredible!)

I Know it When I see It by @bageldaddy (Pornstars!Joel and Readers. This series has me and everyone else, I think, in a chokehold. Reading, as well, the writer's thoughts and feelings about the porn industry and the care put into the characters is such a joy and makes the fic that much more rich)

Chaser series by @livingemkayde (Nanny!Reader and a love triangle; not finished but so good I'm happy to wait forever)

Right my Wrongs by @chloeangelic (Father in Law!Joel)

In A Feud with Her Neighbour by @proxima-writes (Read this delicious fic and the bonus scenes will be the icing on top)

Kiss and Tell by @toxic-seduction (Stepdad!Joel and mom goes away for the weekend)

Peaches and Cream by @javiscigarette (Joel buys reader peaches)

Didn't Cha Know by @chloeangelic (The Joel Reader has been pining for is her boyfriend's brother)

Gif to breakup the text block:

Camgirl by @phuckinphia (Another Camgirl but this time she's Sarah's friend 🫣)

The Right Wrong Number by @proxima-writes (Sarah's soccer coach!Reader)

Nightmares by @fruispunk (QZ!Reader has nightmares that Joel hears and mistakens for something else)

Damage Done by @bluebeary-jay (Joel accidentally triggers Reader; mind the tags. Heavy angst, heavy topic that is beautifully written)

Yes, Mr. Miller by pedropascallme (Babysitter!Reader, Part 2 Thank You, Mr. Miller is also excellent)

How Long series by @gracieheartspedro (Link is to Part 1; series is complete and wonderfully hot and emotional. Reader's boyfriend Tommy is a cheat😢)

Francisco "Catfish" Morales (Triple Frontier)

Fictional Death by @psychedelic-ink (Frankie comforts Reader)

Well Fed by @the-ginger-hedge-witch (Frankie is HAPPY 🥹)

Forest Ranger AU by @the-ginger-hedge-witch (I'm not an outdoorsy person but this AU makes me wish I was)

It's Always the Quiet Ones by @thot-of-khonshu (Frankie surprises Reader)

Pero Tovar (The Great Wall)

Kinktober 2022 - Breeding by @moralesispunk (Guard!Pero and Royalty!Reader)

Bodily Exchange by @absurdthirst (Mafia AU!Pero and daughter of mafia boss Reader)

Damnation or Salvation by @absurdthirst (Pero is sent to retrieve Reader)

Dying Wish by @absurdthirst (Pero makes Reader's father a promise; okay at this point, just all of Keri's Pero fics 🤭)

Marcus Moreno (We Can Be Heroes)

Beat Poetry on Amphetamines by @psychedelic-ink (Marcus comes home hurt)

[luckydicekirby]

would love any director's commentary you may have on The Only True Thing if slightly older fics are on the table here bc lowkey it changed my brain chemistry forever. I read it on a whim like four years ago at 1 in the morning and ever since then I've been hooked on making all my fav pairings miserable for no reason. this sounds like sarcasm but I'm being completely sincere the schadenfreude is exquisite

okay first of all I’m SO glad to hear this because making your favs miserable is I think one of the most rewarding activities on this earth so I’m really glad I could help share that joy. thanks also to sylvain for just making it so easy. anyway, here’s some assorted thoughts, hopefully some of which are edifying!

(the only true thing for reference for anyone playing along at home.)

this fic affectionately named the darkling au due to this tweet which I feel like I should put in a hall of fame someday. anyway this entire thread showcases the origin of this fic which was me catie and lily bullying each other on twitter about sylvix, a pastime left behind in 2019 which i really miss.

the thing that really first made me Crazy Cuckoo about sylvain is his B support with Byleth--I'm obsessed with that moment where he very coldly threatens to kill you and then laughs it off, and that was pretty much the jumping off point for Sylvain's characterization in this au--what if he was like that all the time? answer: it would be bad, but also pretty sexy!

One thing I miss about writing for fe3h is the hero’s relics were sooo nice as like. shortcut symbolism. the lance of ruin comes preloaded for you! It’s familial cycles of violence! Easy! and there's a mechanic for it breaking ALSO preloaded into the game mechanics! I wrote like three versions of the ending and the lance getting busted moved around a bit--it originally happened a little earlier.

For a while when I was still femblempilled I was idly thinking about two sequels to this—a sylvain pov sequel about the war, which would have been fun but also Yikes, and then epistolary dorothea/ingrid ideological divorce fic. sorry to dorothea and ingrid who really get the short end of the stick in this universe.

oh there's a playlist. I can’t claim to have put a ton of thought into it it’s just all my fav bad ya boyfriend songs <3 actually dead girl walking reprise is like. yeah that's the fic.

ANYWAY. I feel like a lot of my commentary on this has been washed away by the sea (the passage of time) so a few extras. I apparently wrote like 400 words of sylvain POV of the training yard scene also? Last edited September 26th 2019, here you go:

Felix has always been smaller him, ever since they were kids. Still is these days, to Sylvain’s delight. He wondered about it plenty, these past two years--maybe Felix had a growth spurt. Maybe he caught up to Dimitri. Maybe Sylvain would meet him at the monastery and they’d see eye to eye. Of course they don’t. Felix is a head shorter than him, and he’ll never see things the way Sylvain does. Still. Sylvain thought about it. He’s had a lot of time to think about Felix since the last time he saw him, since Felix ran away. Still a crybaby at heart, no matter how sure he was he’d grown out of it. Not much has changed, Sylvain figures. Felix might have everyone else fooled with that delightfully sharp-edged exterior of his--a pretty decent feint, Sylvian should know--but Felix can’t hide from him. Sylvain sees him down to the bone. The two of them are a matched set: liars at heart.  Like right now. Felix is trying so hard not to cry, his back to the wall of the training yard, his grip tight around the wood of his training sword like he’s actually going to use it. Sylvain hopes he will. He hasn’t gotten to see Felix fight yet, really fight. He bets he’s gotten better. He bets he’s elegant and controlled—maybe less so with Sylvain, and wouldn’t that be nice? That’s how it goes sometimes, when Sylvain dreams about their last day together. Felix’s sword at his throat, biting and cold, ending all this before it began. It would have saved everyone a lot of trouble. Sylvain wouldn’t have had to spend such an awfully long time missing him.  He bets Felix could make him hurt. Nothing seems to do that anymore, except for thoughts of Felix, the ones he can never stop worrying at like a bruise.  Sylvain doesn’t want much these days, and maybe that’s why it’s so hard: he wants Felix in a way that aches, delirious and unstoppable. It doesn’t matter so much how. Felix is welcome to cut him open or kiss him quiet or anything in between. As long as he never stops looking at Sylvain like he is now, hateful and just on the edge of tears, so clearly focused on nothing else. As long as Sylvain can have that, the rest doesn’t matter.  That’s love, Sylvain figures; the cheerful facade he gives the girls is nothing. He forgets about a new one every week. But Felix? He’ll be dead someday, and Felix will still have a grip on his heart, as tight as he’s holding his sword and just as dangerous.

and what exists of the sylvain POV sequel I never wrote:

Felix looks like shit. Of course he’s also beautiful. He’s radiant, for all that his hair’s a mess and his face is drawn and he’s got the kind of dark circles that only come from weeks and weeks of exhaustion. He’s Felix, right? He can’t be anything else. “You look like shit,” Sylvain tells him, because honesty is what Felix thinks he wants from him. He hasn’t seen Felix in six moons, but that probably hasn’t changed. “What are you doing here?” Felix asks. His horse stamps her feet and shakes her head, moving uneasily under him. Felix has never been a good rider. It’s clear he doesn’t appreciate his mare, and she doesn’t appreciate him. Sylvain wonders how long Felix has been making his way across Faerghus like this. He wonders if he stole the horse. It’s awful not to know. “Looking for you,” Sylvain says. “They say you’re searching for the king.” Felix never could stop himself from chasing ghosts. Sylvain hates that about him. It’s just as unfair as everything else: it’s the only reason Sylvain is still here, after all.  “I am. And you should be defending Gautier territory.” “Got a message from your father,” Sylvain lies. He slides off his horse, patting her flank. Felix, clumsily, does the same. “He wants you to come home.” That part’s probably true.  Felix scoffs. “My old man can send all the messages he wants. I’m going to find the boar.” He means it. Sylvain can see that he means it, in the flinty look in his eyes, the fold of his arms, the jut of his chin as he looks up at Sylvain. It’s the saddest thing Sylvain’s ever seen, and he’s seen a lot of shit. “Felix,” he says. He reaches out. He can never help it, not when Felix is like this, not when he believes. Felix doesn’t flinch from Sylvain’s hand on his cheek anymore. “Sweetheart. You know he’s dead.” “Don’t call me that,” Felix says. But when he swings himself back in the saddle and Sylvain does the same, he doesn’t tell Sylvain not to follow. That’s more than good enough. 

[rorywritesjunk]

Let’s be one another’s present tense

Buggy ‘rescues’ you from an abusive situation, and after a less than stellar introduction, he has you audition for his crew to keep you safe. You want safety, security, and joining a circus seems like the best idea.

Rating: This chapter NC-17. MDNI. Warning: Everyone is consenting in this. There's roughness, brattiness, whines, everything. Again, everyone is consenting. Buggy gets uncertain in the end and needs some comfort because I can't not write him that way. Word Count: 2.6k A/N: Everyone. Is. Consenting. I enjoyed writing this chapter though because I knew I wanted to finally write a chapter based on the original prompt of this fic, you know. And while Buggy is in charge, Cupcake is also very much in charge as well.

Title comes from “Crater Lake” by Lady Lamb

Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4 + Chapter 5 + Chapter 6 + Chapter 7 + Chapter 8 + Chapter 9 (NC-17) + Chapter 10 + Chapter 11 + Chapter 12 + Chapter 13 + Chapter 14 + Chapter 15 (NC-17) + Chapter 16 (NC-17) + Chapter 17 TAGLIST: @lostfirefly @neuvilleteismybby @fluffybunnyu @sinning-23 @the-angriest-angel @ane5e @fanshavegottensotoxic @honey-deerling

Chapter 15

When the ship set sail, Buggy had shot off a Buggy Ball into the previous village as a send off while you said nothing. What was there to say? He even checked in with you, making sure you were okay leaving your home. Your response was to kiss him. Why should you stick around?

Thankfully there was only one stormy evening while the crew traveled to the next location. You were buried under the blankets while Buggy helped his crew manage through it. It wasn't pleasant but you were relieved when he came to bed, drenched and frustrated. You made sure he dried off and got warm under the blankets.

It took a few weeks to get to the new place: Orangetown. You weren't a pirate, you just did their laundry, so Buggy had you stay in your shared quarters when the crew attacked, blasting the village, attacking and killing anyone who got in the way. You tried to ignore the sounds of chaos and destruction but it was hard. After all this time, it was weird to think of Buggy as dangerous when he was so sweet and tender with you.

When they finished attacking and setting up the tent, Buggy sent for you. It was a little surreal to be entering the tent once more, same people, smells, but new noises, faces in the audience. The only familiar thing was the energy: fear and panic from the audience mixed with the excitement and joy from the crew. They were happy to be on land again to practice their routines, show off to a new crowd. You found Buggy in the middle of the ring, barking orders at the crew as they fixed the lighting, restrained the crowds, and led Richie to his cage.

His face lit up when he saw you, his hand reaching for you and tugging you over to him before he kissed you on the cheek. “Well, whatcha think?”

“Think about what?” You asked, leaning into him as you looked around. It was pretty impressive. He put one hand on your shoulder while the other gestured to the scene in front of you. 

“The setup! This is it, all brand new and ready to go!” Buggy replied, looking quite proud of it. You glanced up at him before shrugging.

“It's okay.”

“See, I knew you-” 

Everything stopped when Buggy realized what you said. He tightened his hand on your shoulder, digging his fingers in. You winced and looked up at him. He was smiling, but it wasn’t the playful friendly one you were used to seeing. It was the smile he used when he wasn’t happy, when he was going to make an example out of someone for saying or doing something incredibly stupid. 

“Care to repeat that?” He asked as you looked up at him, trying to think of the right response. Was it worth it to anger him?

“I said it was… okay.” You replied. No one seemed to be paying attention to the two of you, which was perfect, because Buggy turned you around to face him. You swallowed heavily and looked up at him. “I mean, the lighting looks a little off, one of the bulbs is flickering, not to mention you, Buggy, need your clothes washed if you want to stand out to this new crowd. I don’t think you look that impressive right now.” You shrugged again. “I mean, your crew did most of the work anyway, what did you do besides scream at them?”

That did it. 

He patted you on the cheek a little too hard before calling over to Cabaji that he was going to show you where your room was. You wondered if maybe you went too far, but he had asked what you thought and you were honest about it. He let go of your shoulder, taking your hand instead, leading you out of the main area and to where you figured was your bedroom. He didn’t say anything, obviously choosing his words carefully, but you wondered what he was thinking.

Buggy brought you to a room with your shared bed in the middle, his vanity to one side and the wardrobe to the other. This would be your space for the next few months until he decided it was time for everyone to move on.

“You hurt my feelings back there, Cupcake.” Buggy told you as you turned to face him. “Got pretty mouthy about how I dress. That wasn’t very nice of you.”

“Yea, well, you-”

“Shh, no, I didn’t say you could talk.” He said, bringing his hand up to grasp your chin, tilting your head upwards as he grinned at you. “Cupcake, babe, sometimes you forget your place, you know?” 

“You asked-”

“No-” He tightened his hold, the position becoming uncomfortable, “-talking, do you understand?” 

You swallowed nervously and nodded. He looked in your eyes, searching for any resistance, before his free hand began to unbuckle his pants. He finally let go of your chin and you took a small step back, rubbing the back of your neck. His hand grabbed the front of your shirt, jerking you back over to him as he smirked down at you. “Where do you think you’re going? I need you to learn a lesson, babe, about treating the captain with respect.”

“Look, Buggy-”

“Captain.” He corrected as he let go of your shirt, pointing his finger down. “Knees, babe.”

“Wait, Bug-”

“Now.”

You hesitated for a moment too long. His hand was on your shoulder, forcing you down on your knees. You winced as you hit the ground, eyes widening when you saw he had already pulled his cock free of his pants, hard. You glanced up at him as his hand went to your head, smoothing your hair back gently as his other hand took hold of himself.

“C’mon, it’s pretty obvious.” He chuckled as you shook your head. “No, no, you need to be taught a lesson, Cupcake. You were disrespectful to your captain and I need you to understand that it’s not acceptable behavior, got it?”

When you didn’t open your mouth, he rolled his eyes and grabbed a fistful of your hair, yanking upwards and causing you to cry out in surprise. He took the opportunity to shove his cock into your mouth, causing you to gag and choke as you tried to pull back. He was stronger than you, it wasn’t hard for him to hold you how he wanted. He kept a hold of your hair as he pulled back just enough for you to gasp for air, eyes watering, before he snapped his hips forward, shoving his cock down your throat.

You couldn’t stop yourself from gagging, putting your hands on his hips for balance as he fucked your mouth. He started a pattern of thrusting a few times before pulling back to let you breathe, admiring the tears in your eyes, how wet your lips were, the spit and cum that was spilling out of the corners of your mouth and dribbling down your chin, before he would push his cock back in with a groan.

“That’s it, baby, are you learning your lesson?” He grunted as he pulled you off, keeping a firm hold on your hair as his hand reached down, caressing your face gently. “Are you going to be a good girl?”

“‘M sorry, Buggy.” You managed to whimper. He sighed and shook his head in disappointment. You shouldn’t have called him by his name. You reluctantly opened your mouth, sticking your tongue out, wincing when he took his cock and slapped it against your tongue. 

“Such a brat.” He muttered, stroking his cock against your tongue before he forced it back down your throat, your nose pressing into his pelvis, buried in the blue pubes at the base of his cock. You let out a muffled whine, putting your hands back on his hips, digging your nails into him as you were held into place. “Y’know, been a while since you’ve had to hold your breath, babe… how long can you hold it with my cock down your throat?”

He laughed, pulling you off his cock long enough for you to get air before he thrust back into your mouth, holding your head in place as he started to count slowly, gripping your hair tightly. You shut your eyes, trying your best to do what he wanted, but it was hard. His free hand had detached, moving to the waistband of your pants and slipping down your pants. It was hard to focus when his fingers slid over your clit, surprising you, eyes opening wide as you whined around his cock.

“Oh, babe, no underwear? Really?” Buggy chuckled as his fingers slipped past your folds to tease you. “And already wet… is this turning you on, me using your mouth to warm my cock? D’you want me to fuck you next?”

Another muffled whine, eyes pleading with him as you tried to push off him. It was almost too much. You needed air. He held you in place for another ten seconds, counting down, before he pulled off and let you breathe.

“I really wanted to cum down your throat…” He sighed as he looked down at your tear streaked face. He let go of your hair and caressed your cheek gently, a contrast to how he was just handling you moments ago. His other hand continued teasing you, ghosting over your clit. “You know what, I’d rather fuck your pussy than your throat, so get on the bed and on your knees.”

“W-What?” You managed to get out, trying to catch your breath as his hand was pulled from your pants. He grabbed you by the front of your shirt, pulling you to your feet and shoving you toward the bed. “B-Buggy-”

“‘B-Buggy!’” He mocked as he started stripping off his clothes. “Get your ass naked and get on the bed now.” He had to take a moment to admire that you actually listened to him, starting with your shirt, using it to wipe your face before kicking your shoes off and letting your pants drop, stepping out of them to kick them aside. You stood and looked at him, biting your lip before he snapped his fingers and pointed at the bed once more. 

You did as you were told, climbing onto it and positioning yourself on your knees, hoping it was right Apparently it wasn’t because there was a hand on your back, between your shoulders, shoving you face down into the mattress, leaving your ass up in the air. Buggy chuckled softly as he climbed onto bed behind you, giving your ass a slap, causing you to yelp. 

“Oh, come on, that wasn’t that hard.” He chuckled, slapping your ass once more while his other hand took hold of his cock. You were quite the sight, ass in the air, you craning your neck to look back at him, face red as he dragged the tip of his cock through your folds, causing you to whine. “Fuck, just look at you, babe. You like me choking you with my cock? You’re fuckin’ dripping all over yourself.”

“S-Shut up!” You huffed, glaring at him as he pressed the tip of his cock against you. You squeezed your eyes shut, trying to ignore the bit of discomfort, but he suddenly pulled away for a moment. Confused, you opened your eyes, ready to say something, but you felt his tongue instead, moving through your folds, tasting you as you let out a cry, fisting the bedsheets. “Buggy!”

He pulled back, giving your ass a sharp pinch. “Say my name one more time.” He warned as you whimpered. “It's Captain Buggy, you brat.” 

“‘m sorry!” 

“Are you?” Buggy asked as he straightened up, taking hold of himself once more to press himself against you. “Should just get this over with, I got shit to do after this.”

He kept one hand on your hip as he pushed himself in, grunting at the tightness. He moved his hand to your back, keeping you pressed down as he bottomed out, letting out a groan as you whined and moaned for him, wriggling underneath him as he stilled for just a moment.

“Aw, fuck, babe.” He groaned, pulling his hips back before snapping them forward, jolting your body with his movements. His pace was slow, pulling back to thrust forward, dragging his nails over your back. You let out a whimper as his hips moved, closing your eyes, gripping the bed sheets tightly. It was almost too much, the position you were in, the way he angled his hips, his cock brushing over the sweet spot that had you seeing stars-

He pulled back, the tip still in, before slamming his hips into you. He leaned over you, your knees buckling under his weight, as he reached down to brush your hair out of your eyes. “Aw, babe, you're not supposed to be enjoying this.”

“C-Captain-”

“Oh, there we go, finally sinking in?” He chuckled, hands gripping your hips, fingers digging in and leaving bruises, his speed increasing as you moaned and cried out under him. He wasn't sure he would last much longer but he needed to be sure you learned a lesson. “Maybe… maybe next time I'll do this in front of the crew, let them know that sometimes even you have to be punished.” He felt your muscles clench around him and he laughed. “Oh, you like that idea, don't you, babe?”

“N-No, I don't!” You whimpered as your body responded to his words. The idea of anyone seeing you fucked like this by Buggy, them hearing the words he said to you, was too.much. His pace picked up, hitting your g-spot, as his hand reached under to play with your clit. It didn't take much to have you crying out as you came, clenching around him. He came after a few thrusts, holding himself against you, not letting a drop of cum out before he started to pull back.

“Fuck, babe, are you okay?” Buggy asked as he helped you onto your back, brushing your hair out of your face. His tone was different, softer than before, as he looked you over. “Was that too much?”

“‘m good.” You mumbled as you grinned wearily at him. “You? Are you okay?”

He hesitated for a moment before nodding; you reached for him and pulled him onto the bed, pulling him to you as you kissed his temple. Honestly, you weren't concerned for yourself but him. You two collaborated on this scene, knowing what was to be expected, but he still seemed unsure about being rough with you.

“You were wonderful, Buggy, thank you.” You assured him as he wrapped his arms around you. “I love you so much.”

“You're okay then?” He asked as he glanced up at you. “I didn't hurt you?”

“No, no, you were fine.” You told him as you removed his bandana and tossed it aside. “Do you want me to get you anything? Something to drink? I need to get you cleaned up.”

Buggy just shrugged, tightening his arms around you as he settled himself in your arms. He just needed a moment, he wanted to be sure you were okay. You let him stay in your arms for a bit, running your fingers up and down his arm gently, letting him relax. Honestly, you loved every second of it and hoped you could do it again, but you wanted to make sure he would be okay.

[jerzwriter]

If it's not late, it's probably not me! Not for all things, but for a whole lot, so it's with my sincere apologies that I post this "Countdown to 2024" on the 9th day of the year!

Now, I'm going to be honest: I started to write this, and the list got huge. HUGE. And while I like to spread the love and be as inclusive as I possibly can, at some point, it began to look like an amalgamation of everything I've read in the year. So, I decided to scale back and follow the rules (gasp!) ... sort of... lol

See, I don't think writer appreciation should be limited to these events. Writer... creator... appreciation is a living, breathing act that should take place year-round. Each time you comment, share, or even leave a little ❤️ on a fic, you're showing your appreciation, gratitude and, honestly, you're serving yourself, because that simple act may be the very thing that tips the scale and makes your favorite say, "You know what, yeah! I'm going to keep doing this."

So, to every single writer in the fandom - thank you. I tried to show you love throughout 2023, and I hope to do more of that in 2024... you all mean so much to me!

But, I'm limiting this to three (and lawd that really was NOT easy) lol

When I closed my eyes and thought of the last year in fics, this is what came to my mind...

One...

@alj4890 - Seriously, I feel she is a writer who deserves so much more love than she gets. And, if y'all were smart, you'd take the time to change that in 2024! I love the passion that she has for every one of her pairings, even though she knows my favorite will always be Tobias x Chris (OH). Whether being light and witty or delving into deep emotion, your fics are always touching and beautifully written. I'm excited whenever I get a tag from you! Some of my favorites in 2023 were Visceral Reaction, Holding On, Nope (I had to give Trystan x Cameron some love, too!) and you know I was just crazy about The Wake. What a great concept! But I wouldn't be mad if you got back to Mixed Signals. Selfishly, I hope 2024 brings you more time to write, but honestly, I just hope it brings you joy!

Two...

2023 will always be the year that I fell in love with Crimes of Passion, and with that, I discovered another corner of our community and the many talented writers within it. I will forever bow to the queen of Crimes fics (yes, you @inlocusmads - there needs not to be a vote; it has been decreed! And New York, June 2014 was one of the first things that came to my mind when recalling this year's fics!) I got to learn about some writers I was not familiar with previously (shout out to @shreyamistry - your Trystan x M!MC Fanfic lives on in my mind, and I'm always hoping for a follow-up!) It gave me the opportunity to see some of my old favorites soar in a different place (hello @storyofmychoices @trappedinfanfiction and @lilyoffandoms - Lily, can we please have more Trystan x Gabriel all day every day??? PLEASE). And it did something I love more than anything: it allowed us all to see new creators step up and share their love and talent with us, and right now, I'm looking at @stars-are-within-me and @moominofthevalley Crimes wouldn't have been as enjoyable without you. @stars-are-within-me, I appreciated you taking the time to give us parts of the story that Pixelberry failed to address. In my opinion, the best was The Favorite Brother, and I may be a little biased, but I loved the beautiful trio of stories you wrote for me in the Secret Santa (Airport, Angel, and Cookies). You're so supportive of everyone, I'm so glad you're a part of our fandom! @moominofthevalley your writing is just beautiful, and I have found myself lost in your Trystan x Emily stories on so many occasions. It's hard to pick a favorite, but Heavy is Her Heart , The Girl With The Glass, and Turpentine stick out in my mind. You are masterful in conveying emotion, and these fics are perfect examples of that.

Three...

(You see how I cheated here, sort of? lol) I will never be able to look back on 2023 and NOT think of the hijinx of Ethan x Merida, Bryce x Olivia, and Tobias x Casey. They wouldn't have been possible if not for the vision and talent of the incomparable @lilyoffandoms and @storyofmychoices. Sure, "they" were born in the end of 2022, but they grew up in 2023! The way I smile when whenever I see a notification for another story with our babies! I love every single one of their shenanigans, but two that stand out to me were Mystery Unlocked by @storyofmychoices and When Husbands Become Prey by @lilyoffandoms (the way I CACKLED when I saw that title! lol). These six were a highlight of 2023, and I know there is much more to look forward to this year! Love you both, and love our babies!

And four... because I be like that lol

I can't not mention @mydemonsdrivealimo because 2023 was the year of Jensen in my book. And while I loved your works from earlier this year (looking at you Your Love and What I'm Becoming), I have to admit, Halloween owns me... and not jus because of the connection to Noah. lol Your descriptive writing and the way you convey painful emotions are just brilliant.

Thank you to each and every one of you for bringing a smile to our faces or tears to our eyes this year, and thank you for helping the fandom move along! ❤️

@choicesfandomappreciation

[scribbly-artist]

So You Can Laugh

~2.7k words. No trigger warnings. Just cute, tooth-rotting fluffy tickling.

Author’s Notes: After owning this side account for god knows how long and being extremely nervous to even make tickle content, let alone post it, I present to you this fic I made. Originally written for my OCs, I swapped the names for dummies and edited a few details so it makes sense.

I’m not the best writer, it’s been quite a long time since I’ve written for myself in general. I apologise if anything is written strangely. But I hope you enjoy this little piece of pure self indulgence from me. :) Please let me know what you think. Who knows, I might write some content for fandoms I’m interested in if I feel up to it. Or I might go straight back to lurking, lol.

“Is it too tight, honey?”

“No, it’s okay. Nice and soft, too.”

***

Now that both Nathan and Kathleen have calmed down from their rather dangerous lives, they finally confessed their love for each other and are now an item. After everything was over and the dust settled, they moved in with each other. To no longer having anyone interfere with their personal business and to unwind has helped them both immensely. Now that they don’t have the suffocation of eyes and rules upon them, their love for each other could finally blossom. They cared for each other deeply.

As days go by, Nathan started to notice a few things about Kathleen. One major issue in his mind is Kathleen’s inability to let loose.

She’s always been such a stoic person, that’s just in her nature. Now that they were together all day, she was smiling much more often. However, he wanted to hear the beautiful sing-song of her laugh. It was definitely a rare treat for him, and didn’t come often.

When she laughed, it filled his heart with so much love for her. The way her eyes crinkled with joy, how her cheeks flushed, and how if something was particularly amusing, she’d squeak.

But this was a rare sight to behold, and Nathan had been longing for it. He’d crack jokes, tell funny stories, pop on her favourite shows. Sometimes she’d laugh and let herself be free. Most times when she found something funny, what came out of her was more of an amused exhale from her nose than a laugh.

He needed more of her unfiltered laughter, he craved it.

One day when he was trying to get her to laugh, he had exhausted all of his options. He told so many funny moments of his past, as many funny jokes as he read from his joke book. He even reminisced some of the funny challenges they both faced when they had to hide their feelings for each other from everyone else. But she could only give him a smile.

“C’mon, Kath, you’re killing me here.”

She merely shook her head. “You’ll have to try harder than that, hun.”

His cheeks flushed just slightly at the affectionate nickname, but his eyebrow raised with a smirk. “Is that a challenge? You of all people should know not to do that.”

“Try me,” she gave a wink. “Give it your best shot.” She grabbed a book from the coffee table as she stretched in her seat, making herself much more comfortable on the couch, Nathan standing somewhat over her. She buried her nose in her book.

He wracked his brain for options. He was all out of his usual tactics, so he scanned his mind for moments when Kathleen had laughed in the past and see what stuck out. Way back when, she would give the odd smile, and dare he say, giggle, when he was in close proximity to her. She was always rather ‘giddy nervous’ around him, trying to hide her true feelings. He tended to up his charm just so she could cutely smile and blush. Now that he was thinking about it, one thing in particular was sticking out to him.

When his hand had gently brushed past her side.

He remembered that day very clearly. It was shortly after they had started dating. Kathleen was standing in the kitchen, busy cooking something. Nathan, the charmer he is, snuck up and gave her a hug while she was preoccupied, not knowing he was even in the room. He snaked his arms around her waist and wrapped them around her stomach. This motion, as well as not being on guard, caught her by surprise. She squeaked at the sudden contact, spinning right around with a bright blush on her face, holding his wrists in her hands.

“Hey! B-Be careful!” She gave him a playful glare, pouting at him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I’m just a bit sensitive, is all…”

“Is that so?” He grinned. “I’ll keep that in mind…”

And he definitely did. If this were an illustration, he’d have a light bulb above his head right about now.

‘Sensitive’? More like ‘ticklish’. Why didn’t he try this before? He guessed that someone like her couldn’t really be ticklish. With how she made herself seem so tough, that wasn’t even something that came to mind. But she has softened up since they made everything official, she’s kind of like a cat. She’d snuggle up to him, appreciate holding hands and loving touches. She was just really good at hiding her ticklishness.

And he wasn’t going to let her do it any longer.

While Kathleen was nose-in her book, Nathan reached down and gave her a bit of a poke. She paused, eyes wandering up to him.

“What’re you doing?”

“Just testing something.” He gave her another poke, this time in the ribs. She flinched, her arm pressing against her side, protecting herself. Her cheeks started to flush.

“Yeah, no.” She puffed out her cheeks.

Nathan continued to try, giving her random pokes here and there, nearly making Kathleen drop her book. But she steeled herself, taking a long, deep breath. It was easy to control herself by squeezing her arms against her body.

“God, you’re a hard nut to crack, woman!” Nathan let out his mild irritation. He just wanted to hear her laugh. She let out an amused exhale from her nose once again. She knew what he was up to.

“Sorry, it’s just funny watching you try so hard.” She smirked. His face flushed. If only she wasn’t blocking his attempts, maybe she’d laugh.

***

Which now brings them to this point. Earlier in the week, Nathan had tried again and again to try to tickle her, but she wouldn’t laugh. So, Nathan wondered if he could get her to laugh, only if Kathleen was restrained. He had asked her if he was allowed to test this, and he was surprised when she gave him her consent. She did feel a little bad that he was trying to hard, she knew where he was coming from. So, to give him that little bit of joy, she gave him a chance.

Nathan had ordered some fuzzy cuffs online and had shown Kathleen when they arrived. She was a bit reluctant at the sight of them, but he assured her it would be a-okay. They discussed a safe word and general procedure for after everything was over. They proceeded to the bedroom.

“I am a bit nervous… but I trust you.” She gave her wrist a slight tug, she was strapped in tight. Nathan fastened the last cuff at her right ankle, shuffling on the bed.

“I just want you to let loose and laugh, love. And you make it very hard with you blocking everything, so I figure this’ll work out a lot better,” He climbed on top of her, taking a seat on her thighs, pulling his knees against her legs so she was locked in just that little bit tighter. “And I’m happy to have some reassurance that you won’t accidentally punch my teeth out.” He let out a nervous chuckle.

“I’m a dangerous woman, you know…” Giving him a sly grin, she looked into his eyes. He looked back at her, smirking. A fuzzy feeling was growing in her stomach. Was this butterflies?

“Now, you let me know when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Say the word, and I’ll stop.” His hand gravitated towards her face, cupping her cheek in his hand, stroking her cheek with his thumb. She leaned into the touch, closing her eyes, her cheeks growing red.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.” She nodded. Her cheeks seemed to get just a tad bit more red with her response.

“Good, I’ll start.” He grinned, averting his eyes from her face. He looked down at her body, where should he begin? Her sides seemed to make her squirm when he poked them, so that’s a good place of a place to start than any.

He reached down, and gently started to skitter his fingers against her skin. Kathleen let out a gasp, biting down on her lip. Her reflex was to bring her arms down at the soft touch, but the restraints worked against her, holding her wrists fast. He was going awfully slow, which was starting to drive her crazy. But she was silent.

“C’mon, Kath.” His voice lowered as he smirked, tracing random patterns into her sides. A quiet squeak escaped her at the loving nickname. “Don’t hold out on me now. You can let it out.”

“I-I’m… I’m not going down that… e-easily…” She drawled, trying to keep her voice under control. It was super hard to concentrate when your beautiful partner was giving such a charming and slightly devilish smile down on you while pushing your buttons. It didn’t help that she was extremely stubborn. He knew this too well. “Do y-your worst…”

“Then I guess you’ve forced my hand…” He spoke as if it pained him, but it was quite the opposite. He was giddy with delight. He sped up his fingers, scratching with more intent.

Kathleen only bit her lip harder, her head shaking to the side, her eyes closed tight. Nathan merely tutted at her resistance. “Maybe somewhere else might work better…” He mumbled, studying her face.

His annoying, persistent scribbly hands moved up to her underarms. Her short sleeved shirt gave her no protection. Her arms began to tremble. How she wished she could pull them down right now. But she didn’t give in, she didn’t laugh.

“You’re a tough cookie, though I expected as much.” He mused, chuckling. “Keeping it all inside isn’t going to help you. You’ll spill over eventually. And then you’ll be laughing your pretty little head off.”

Her cheeks burned at his teasing. “S-Shut up…!” This was all she could muster, her concentration one-hundred percent focused on not letting a single laugh out. He was fine with playing the long game.

“Oh, am I getting to you? Did a hit a nerve?” His grin turned devilish, his hands moving to prod at her ribs. His nimble fingers tweaked at them, driving her up the wall. “Does teasing you like this make it all the more harder to keep it all in?” He added a teasing lilt to his voice as he targeted the space between her ribs.

She shook her head once again, trying very hard to hide her face in the pillow. He tutted.

“Ah ah ah, you’re doing none of that.” One of his hands moved from her ribs to the side of her neck, giving it an extremely light scribble. She squeaked as she scrunched up her shoulders. Targeting two spots at once made everything much, much worse.

“Sh… shut the h-hehehehell uhuhuhup…!” She growled. Finally, some giggles were slipping through the cracks.

“Hey, that’s not very nice…” He frowned, but it turned back into a smile just as quickly. “I should teach you some manners, little lady.” Both of his hands shifted to her stomach, resting upon it. She caught some of her breath back as he paused, her stomach filled with nervous energy.

“Don’t… don’t you dare…” She warned, giving him a burning look. She didn’t really mean it, though. When she tried to look scary, it just made her look cute in his eyes.

“You haven’t told me to stop yet…” He spoke his thoughts aloud, giving a small smile as he studied her face. “I thought you would have, I didn’t think you’d let me do this for this long. Maybe… you like it?” He pondered, his eyebrows wiggling up and down.

Her whole face turned red.

“No, I-I don’t! Stop talking…!” However, her face betrayed her. He could only laugh at her response. She glared up at him, then pouted. “…Maybe a little…” She admitted.

“You’re absolutely adorable, you know that?” He could only smile at her, his heart so full for his partner. But he couldn’t forget his goal.

“Now! It’s time to get you really laughing, love.” His hands that were resting on her stomach whirred back to life at his words. He wanted to go for the kill, so he started rolling up her shirt, revealing her stomach underneath. She tried to protest, but she couldn’t form proper words. He placed a hand on her bare stomach. He noticed she was developing quite a bit of a belly.

He gave her stomach a gentle pinch, cooing. “Aww, look at you. You’re getting all pudgy and soft.” He grabbed at her a little more. His touch wasn’t meant to be tickly on purpose, but she was far too sensitive. The awful teasing didn’t help. He continued to grab, grab, grab, both of his hands gently pinching.

This made her break.

“Shihihihit—“ She couldn’t even hold back her giggles anymore. Her walls were broken down, and all she could do was laugh and squirm, shaking her head profusely. Not being able to protect herself was driving her insane. She couldn’t bring her arms down or curl up on herself, and it made her all the more ticklish.

“Isn’t it good to laugh?” He was laughing quietly alongside her, it was a bit contagious since he had never seen her like this before. Even his cheeks were burning a bit red. He skittered his fingers upon her skin, making sure to leave no part of her ticklish skin untouched. Her eyes were shut tight, he could see there was a slight dampness at the corner of her eyes. At some points his touch would become a little rougher just to hear her squeak in surprise.

An idea popped into his mind, forming a sly smirk on his lips. “Hmm… I think I could get you to laugh louder…” Still tickling her with his hands, he shifted his weight so that he could lower his head down to her stomach. Kathleen opened one of her eyes, both of them shooting open as she realised what he was doing.

“Nathan!! Don’t y-you freaking dare…!” She threatened, but that certainly wasn’t stopping him.

“You know what to do to make me stop.” He flashed an evil smile as he buried his face in her belly. He gave her stomach loving, tender kisses as his hands continued to work. His scruff on his chin really, really didn’t help her from not going absolutely insane from the ticklish feeling. She burst out in loud belly laughter, starting to thrash.

“AAAAHAHAHA!!” She threw her head back into the pillow. All she could do was laugh. She couldn’t think straight anymore. All she could think about was how much it tickled. Her nerves were set alight. He laughed along with her, struggling to continue his trail of loving kisses from his own snickering.

“Doesn’t that feel better? Letting it aaaaaall out?” He asked between kisses. He even blew a raspberry or two to keep her guessing. His fingers scribbled up and down her sides and stomach. He was basking in her laughter, his heart full with love. She was loving it as well, though would rather die than admit it. However, she was hitting a breaking point, her voice growing hoarse and her red face damp with tears.

“RED— HAHAHA!! REHEHED LIGHT!” She gasped out between her frantic laughter.

It ended as soon as it started. Once those words left her lips, Nathan immediately stopped, giving her stomach a pat with his hand.

“I’ve got to admit, you lasted a lot longer than I thought.” He beamed down at her, shifting on the bed so he could get up. He made fast work of loosening her restraints, taking them off of her tired limbs. She curled up on herself once she was let loose, rolling over onto her side. Her breathing was heavy after the brutal lung workout.

He chuckled, climbing back onto the bed to cuddle up to her. “Did you like it?” He questioned, planting his chin on her shoulder, taking in her scent that comforted him.

“…Yes…” She admitted, hiding her face with her hand, not daring to glance over and look at him. She was exhausted, but her heart was fluttering.

“We’ll have to do it again some time. Your laughter is like beautiful music. You should do it mo— haha, hey!” He laughed as she elbowed him in the ribs, rolling over to face him.

“You should really have a taste of your own medicine.” She stated as her hands reached out to his torso, giving him quick scribbles and pokes. He couldn’t help himself as he laughed, but he was quick to grab her eager hands by the wrists to get her to stop.

“Heheheh! Look, you can get your revenge another time,” He let go of one of her wrists, his hand settling under her chin. “But right now, I just want to lay here with you.” He leaned in, giving her a passionate kiss on her lips, his heart swelling. She reciprocated, her hand moving up to the back of his neck, burying her hand in his hair.

“I’m happy with that.”

[bibiana112]

HIIII ive seen you mention your ztd aftermath fic a few times in tags and id rly like to know more... feel free to yap about it im curious

Hiii hellooo SO!!! Something that always sticks out to me with fics that touch a little on the immediate post ztd reactions is that things just kind of sort themselves out and everyone chills out for a little bit which I cannot see happening like no wayyy it's okay for the purposes of other people's fics but personally I'm a staunch believer in effort going into the smallest things in life especially when it involves a group of people and especially when you're fucked up as they'd be after that and it's something I love exploring in my writings like expanding in gross detail on the more mundane ups and downs between all the high stakes stuff like I don't think they'd walk out of there working in harmony at allll there'd be so many factors going into how everyone would be thinking and how they'd interact with each other and how the lives they've lead would inform the new trauma after that and how each of them would react to their immediate circumstances like on a physical level

I mean. Diana is completely new to any of this stuff and she's supposed to just transition seamlessly into a sudden new commited relationship and a daughter her own age? Phi has not gotten a single break since she experienced the events of vlr and has a whole complex about where she comes from and she's supposed to feel uncomplicated joy at finding out these are her parents and that the motherfucker that made the virus that's been making her life hell for a week is related to her? It's just been one week for her and that's so long but so little too she'd still have a connection to most of her old life? That shit isn't true about Sigma what's he supposed to do since Akane lied to his face about not knowing what happened at the test site for decades? It's not even something she remembers doing to him but he remembers spending a lifetime with her I love the ztd booklet scene of them interacting during d-com he asks Akane not to let her future self lie to past him point blank and she just says what he wants to hear and Phi stands in silence like she can't wrap her head around why he thinks for even a second that she'd be honest about being honest but stil extending enough goodwill to silently wait and see if she will. the man would be having a whole crisis of faith

Where do they leave Sean? Should he just stay with Q-team wouldn't he need maintenance and therefore stay in contact at least with Sigma? Eric doesn't remember much so he'd shockingly be one of the most calm people there, he'd have to deal with some revelations but Sean informed them of it in a good enough way that he seemed to take it well enough and even if that's not true he's the most high masking mf of the entire cast he wouldn't let himself step on other people's toes, if anything he'd only be set off by how everyone would have something to hold against Mira now, she kills everyone once except Carlos and Akane and she doesn't remember but they do, in fact there being a serial killer in their midst memo never gets to c-team delta never tells the whole snail story to every team. Would Mira just turn herself in without any resistance? Wouldn't someone have to talk her into it or at least make sure that's what she's really going to do since the stakes are so high? It's her fucking fault rad-6 got out too the characters have no reason to trust she's just gonna beeline to a police station. Carlos would probably be fine for the most part but he wouldn't be around long to keep everyone else sane especially Junpei and Akane because he'd probably go check on Maria as soon as possible especially since we're led to believe avoiding the apocalypse helps her recover

Akane herself would be all sorts of fucked up about it, there'd be so much pressure on her by everyone there and she'd try to be forward thinking and work on the extremist stuff immediately without processing anything and overcompensate the new recent failure to foresee dange and her revictimization by being even more controlling and inconsiderate to the others which is an energy Junpei would match I think especially going off his enneagram they'd be immediatly set in like an unhealthy loop of behaviors that push each other's trauma buttons on accident until they're hurting cause they're both trying to rush things and put each other in idealized boxes they imagined and having things their way Junpei is gonna come off much worse probably cause he's not a pov character and he's canonically an underhanded asshole when he has reson to be and he would not trust akane or her brother wouldn't be trying to pull another fast one on him so soon especially if we assume he has restored memories of the c-team ending too he'd like get keyed up and paranoid of being away from her for even a second

There are so many logistics involved in transporting and keeping in contact with people while simultaneously making sure no one leaks any sensitive information and that's probably important for Crash Keys and would fall mostly on Aoi to keep track of but he would in my opinion not be doing very okay either be it out of separation anxiety a level of psychically feeling like shit because of what akane goes through or just stress from preparing for an apocalypse more likely all of the above lol And he'd be working with half the info everyone else has cause if Akane doesn't pace herself in passing the new info to him he's gonna snap

Like I don't think these issues would be a slow burn to boil over, I think everything would feel like it's all going wrong from the get go and that kind of stress can be palpable in a group setting even if they're not under direct threath of death anymore I mean that's what ptsd is it's when you get fight or flight or freeze levels of fear in an entirely safe environment due to perceived instability and then they'd eat and rest and deal with it better for the next day, be more functional and levelheaded about everything going forward and even perhaps apologize and help each other out, and they'd be like that for a good while until underlying issues start to surface again in individual relationships cough mostly the junepei cough

[justagalwhowrites]

I literally just logged in to find chaos and mayhem and at least two of my favorite writers are gone. Checking on people individually to make sure you’re still here 😭❤️

Obviously people should take care of themselves and do what is best for them, so no hard feelings to those who left, though I will truly miss them and hope they return.

I just wanted to show you some support and thanks for what you do. I think you’re probably my favorite fic writer. You could slow to a crawl and I’d still be checking in hoping for an update, happily.

I’m not really sure what happened, but I hope you stick around and continue to enjoy sharing your work. It’s beloved. ❤️

Hi Bestie,

I'm so sorry some of your faves have gone! I know things are a little crazy right now. I am still here and I have no plans to go anywhere!

I feel like I've gotten off pretty easy so far (knock on wood!) and everyone has been incredibly kind to me so staying is, for me, very easy. Not everyone has been so lucky, though, and I don't blame anyone for safeguarding their peace. As much as these stories and all of you mean to me, mental wellbeing is more important.

Thank you so so much for such kind words! It means so much to me to hear that what I share matters to people. Writing and sharing with you all brings me a lot of joy, thank you for sticking around and reading it.

I hope the authors you love feel safe and comfortable enough to come back soon!

Love you!!!!

[loosesodamarble]

Happy Birthday Josele~!

The Emotion Mage of the Grey Deer squad.

The Heartless Witch of the Black Bull squad.

Host to the Blight Devil Almatra.

Jo. Joey. Jojo. Sele. Josie.

Morgen's Beloved Heart. The song of his soul. His treasure. His dearest.

Nacht's North Star. The light guiding him home. His angel. His darling.

Josele Canty.

Here she is depicted in her major stages of life. -First as a child, before she's met Morgen and Nacht. She's shy and withdrawn but all it will take is one chance meeting for her world to be changed. She grew out her hair as a child, thinking it would make her look more girly. -Second as a Magic Knight in the Grey Deer squad. She carries with her the grimoire she received alongside Morgen and Nacht. The sword on her belt, being a little big for her at the moment, was a gift from the twins as well. -Third as she is cursed by the Locked Heart spell and hosting Almatra. Her grimoire has lost color as her latent magic gets locked away along with her feelings.. She reaches for her heart, knowing that it beats strongly but without passion. -Finally, as someone freed from both devil and curse. Scars of the past mark her body but she doesn't mind them as she also wears with her reminders of a bright future. She is not like what she once was, but she is more than happy as she is. (So are her friends~!)

Her heart has broken and mended many times over the years. And though one of her loves is not living beside her and the other is weighed by great tragedy, Josele loves Morgen and Nacht equally.

I didn't expect Josele to become as popular as she did on my blog. And maybe it's because I'm constantly making content for her... But there is so much to her story and she's so full of potential. Some of my friends have inspired thoughts that I didn't consider before. Her story/character arc has remained largely the same since her initial creation but the details of her life have evolved so much.

I'm so glad with how Josele is turning out. How her relationships with the Fausts and the Bulls and even other people's ocs have been turning out. I'm happy that people are able to understand what I'm trying to get across with her. Sometimes I worry that I do too much with her but then my friends are like "lol, good for her" or "hey I like that idea."

While I may never do a multi-chaptered fic describing her whole journey, I hope the fics I do write convey her story well (and what she shares with Morgen, Nacht, and her other friends). I admit, I need to feature her being cursed more often since that's how she's meant to be most of the time the Bulls know her. It's just that my friends and I have been really into exploring her relationships and life (see her future kids with Nacht) after the curse is broken.

Hopefully I do get around to making more cursed-Josele content. I should also make more Grey Deer era stuff...

Thank you to everyone who has watched me create and write for Josele. To those who have helped me develop Josele with their own ideas. To those who have made a little Josele content of their own. And thank you to the people who simply show an interest in her character, it's a small thing with big impact.

Whatever becomes of Josele from here on out, I hope everyone is willing to stick around for that.

Art by @cringeyvanillamilk. (Literally this art has blown me out of the water. I look at it and it fills me with so much joy~! Also, I think I've fallen in love with my own oc./lh)

[astaralys]

Update!

heeellooooooo......? 👀

I may have suddenly remembered I have a tumblr. And that I write Frozen fic. except......

oops.

Short story: I have been incredibly busy but well! I'm healthy! I'm still writing and creating! I hope everyone reading this is doing great!!

Long story:

"girl what on earth have you been doing" Career change, moved house, masochistically started a postgrad degree while working full time, working on original story projects when I have time AND AND AND started a two-person creative studio with @lianthuss!! We have a webcomic oneshot releasing in the coming weeks!! More info on that below :D

"are you still working on TNU??" First of all, thank you for sticking around for this story! The fact you enjoy it means so much to me. I know exactly how frustrating it is to be invested in an unfinished story. I have every intention of finishing the fic, and the thought of it still brings me a lot of joy, which is all I need to keep writing. That said, the honest answer is I've been so busy I haven't worked on it for almost a year now. I didn't even remember where I was up to in the next chapter until I opened it and saw 1000 words (that I now want to entirely overwrite 🥲)

"when do you think the fic will be finished?"

Funnily enough, my mental goal was to have TNU finished before Frozen 3 comes out... and I might still make it! There are (I think) 5-7 chapters left to go, so not far. The question is when I'll have time to write. The second question is what else I'm working on - I have a lot of original story ideas in development that motivate me more than TNU right now. TNU is like my fun corner. I pick at it when I miss it, or when I need a change of pace from other projects. I know it might be disappointing to hear TNU isn't my highest priority and truly appreciate every reader. I do absolutely plan to keep writing this fic, but I'm also having so much fun with original stories and the new studio. I hope some of you will be interested in supporting this other dimension of my creative pursuits too :)

"so tell us about these other creative pursuits" Why I'm so glad you asked! I actually discovered a passion for game development :O I've only made one little one for my partner so far but I have lots of other game ideas brewing that I'd love to turn into reality and share with the world. I'm especially pulled towards concepts that have compelling narratives (I am a writer hehe) that use gameplay to create a story that can only be told in the game medium. (yes, playing Nier: Automata changed my life and you should play it too) And!! I got into 3D modelling and pixel art! Super fun. Please behold this fat chocobo I modelled and got 3D printed

"how do we keep in touch with you before you come back 7 years later and tell us you're an astronaut now" I go by wiredforwords on twitter and instagram. Also just started up a ko-fi if you'd like to support me. Someday soon I'm going to share some free pixel emotes and other updates on there!

nice! now what's this about a studio? and webcomic??

why, I'm so glad you asked!

STUDIO POINT9 is mine and @lianthuss' new baby. It's where we work on and produce our original stories. Our first project is MIDNIGHT HOUR, a oneshot webcomic based on a moment in a larger sci-fi fantasy epic (which will be a webcomic series in the future!) I wrote a 2k oneshot on a whim and lianthuss brought it to life with her incredible storyboarding and art. Coming super duper soon! As in WITHIN ONE MONTH soon!!

We have big plans for STUDIO POINT9 and appreciate any support! You can follow us on twitter and instagram (@studio.point9). Cool website to come!

I'll try to be more active here and not forget tumblr exists. Might be TNU related. Might be random pixel art. Might be studio updates. Might be martians.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for enjoying my stories!!

[yorshie]

🌸🐝🏜️☁️🐚🧸?

Hello Nonnie! I'm sorry these sat for a few days, but thank you for sending in an ask!

do you have any pets? If you do, post some pictures of them!

I do not have any pets currently, so sorry! While I will confess I should probably get one to help with anxiety and missing snuggles, I just haven't met a dog or cat that was right for my family yet.

Tag your biggest supporters and say one nice thing about them

My biggest supporters are the Turtle Fam, both my moots and the gremlins in the trash pile. Really, I never thought I'd have people to cheer my writing and tmnt art on, and I'm so thankful (still a little baffled too to be honest) that you guys like my writing this much. I'm not gonna tag all my moots but even if I don't speak directly to them, they're part of the reason (a very big part) I have so much fun creating.

what's your favorite type of comment to receive on your work?

Really any comment, I know different people are comfortable with different things. The fact that there are comments at all fills me with such joy, whether they're in my ask box or on the fic itself

what made you choose your username?

Oh! My username came from a book called The Last Dragon! It's the name of the main character and is one of my favorite books! I still double take when someone calls me Yorsh or Yorshi though lol, because I'm so used to thinking of it in regards to the character Yorshkrunsquarklejolnerstrink (which. fun fact, was my name for like two weeks on here before I switched to the shortened version lol)

do you like or dislike surprises?

Hm irl surprises, no, because I find they are hardly ever good surprises. Surprises in fanfic/stories/games/etc I love them as long as they're carefully thought out and make sense! Doesn't matter if they're good or "bad" surprises lol

whats the fastest way to become your mutual?

Have an active TMNT blog (artist or writer, doesn't matter) lol. I'm a bit slow and I like to let ppl stick around for a little bit before I follow them because I get shy, but yea that's the main type of blog I follow. I have no idea how I got so many mutuals so fast (that is a blatant lie. Thank you Sam) but yeah, I don't usually check out tags but if I see fanfic or art that's how I usually find new people. And I look at everyone that follows me. If I see something cool or just see someone having fun, chances are I'll follow.

thank you for asking!

[elizacinnamon]

In “Moving towards the light” there was Freddie, AJ, Carla and Eliza Joy.

But if you were to pick other names for the barchie kiddos what would they have been?

I always stick with Freddie because for its obvious reasons

As there would be no doubt a conversation between them on what names their kids will have, and the most obvious being that their first born boy would be named after Fred. But the subsequent children their names would be a struggle to figure out which ones they like that fit their family. As well as do they really want to name all of their kids after members in their family. I can just picture them sitting late at night with a baby name book going through all the names, and deciding whether or not they like certain names…

That could be a cute one shot / missing scene for if you still write the S6 fic where B is actually pregnant, and they have to decide both boy and girl names… maybe because they are trying to wait for the surprise about if its a boy or girl. As that would be another thing, would they want to wait to find out, or find out right away for all their kids.

Oh I love baby name talk! I put so much thought into my Barchie baby names, you’d think I was naming my own kids.

My main goals in naming the Barchie babies in my fic were for the names to have some sort of meaning and go well together. I intentionally wanted all the kids to have J middle names. I also wanted the boys names’ to end in “ie” like Archie whereas the girls both ended in an “a” (I originally wanted them to end with Y like Betty before the show gave us the name Carla).

As for other names, I truly don’t know! I almost didn’t name AJ Artie because I felt like two male family names might feel repetitive. I briefly thought of Archie Jr., AJ for short, based on Betty wanting to name her baby Archie in 6x02 but decided I liked Artie better. But the nickname AJ originated there.

For girls, I thought of Polly (like in 6x02, 6x19) or Lizzy instead of Eliza as the “lil Betty” character.

I def should think more and include finding names as a scene in my Season 6 fic, which I am still planning to finish. Thanks for the cute idea!

I already had the idea (minor spoiler maybe) for them to not find out the gender. I think Betty would have no desire, especially early on, bc she would be scared to get attached. Would love to hear anyone and everyone’s baby name ideas or headcanons!

[x0x0josephinex0x0]

RULES <3

ok so. firstly this is a new list because i've been having some feelings about it recently and felt like for my *health* and *wellbeing* or whatever i should probably set some boundaries.

first things first, i won't be writing smut. i tried it once and it was okay but i've decided that i just am not comfortable with it. i absolutely read and support all u fantastic smut writers but this is just not for me to put into words, it does not spark joy for me, it is not my passion, etc etc. i'll do suggestive, but smut and i are parting ways for the foreseeable future. so no smut asks <3 which means that most everything i post from here on out is going to be sfw! yay! (my only smut is in part 4 of my mingyu long fic if you wanted to read my feeble attempt. i am nothing if not a shameless self-promoter.)

i'm also sticking to the "no member x member" rule i had before. got a lot of feelings and opinions about this one, which i will not share bc i know i'm gonna get hate for it, but it's just not for me, i will not do it, it's not happening. and please do not message me privately about your real-life ships.

thirdly: if you are homophobic, transphobic, racist, misogynistic, genocidal, or any other unacceptable behaviors on my page, please leave. you will not enjoy being here anyway.

and finally, if you have criticism for me, i am genuinely open to things that will make me a better writer and a better person. i'm committed to being more inclusive in my writing, owning up to my mistakes, and growing in both my passion/talent and my empathy. but, like everyone else here, i do this for fun, for free. i literally beg you guys to take it easy on me. i am a human being trying her best to survive here (and if we're being honest, it's not going great! i have been very depressed! and in a very dark place! extremely recently!) so if you want to criticize, please think to yourself about the tone you use before you send it in. i am receptive! i promise i am! and it's not that i think i don't deserve/need the help! i am setting this boundary bc i am at the end of my rope and there's part of my experience here on tumblr that makes it better but then occasionally i get messages that make it so so so much worse. so just be careful. with everyone, not just me. everyone is struggling with something.

i hope this doesn't seem too unreasonable, i'm literally just trying to make this an easier time for me. i love you all (especially everyone who reads and reblogs and likes and comments, PLEASE talk to me more, i love having conversations with you), have an amazing new year, and look forward to more writings from your dear jo in the future <3

[recurring-polynya]

Do I mind if I ask how you approach writing longer fic? I've always struggled to write anything more than maybe two chapters long and I'm curious if you have a particular method to how you approach such stories.

Thank you so much for this ask! I absolutely love it when people ask me for writing advice because it makes me feel like a Smart Person Who Knows Things.

Before we start, here is one grain of salt to take all of this with: I have a naturally long-form brain. It is very hard for me to write something less than 1k. Short fiction is great, and there is nothing wrong with sticking to short things if that's what your brain likes to do.

So. You have decided to write a story. This is going to focus on "stories". Some people write fic that's more freeform or whatever, I am not going to cover that. What I mean by a story is this:

It starts

Some stuff happens

It ends

It is highly probable that your story contains a change of state, which could be that a villain is defeated, or a goal is reached, but it could also be that character falls in love with another, or someone learns to like broccoli.

I like to start out by completing the sentence, "This is a story where _______". This is basically like coming up with a summary for an ao3 post, except that it doesn't need to be catchy. Lots of different kinds of things could go in that blank! It could literally be what happens: This is a story where Ichigo goes back in time and punches young Aizen in the nose. It could be about what you want to explore: This is a story where Hitsugaya gets a better understanding of his zanpakutou. It could be about the vibe you want to achieve: This is an AU where everyone is in a punk rock band and has cool hair and outfits. The idea of this is to clearly define what you, the author, is interested in writing. Make sure it feels right! Maybe you pick the first one, but when you say it out loud, you say, "You know, I really just want Ichigo to go back in time so he can horse around with young Renji and Rukia and punching Aizen in the nose is just an excuse for that." That may sound dumb, but it's fine, actually! Most people don't read stories strictly for the plot, they read stories for the implications of those plots! Will my favorite two characters kiss? Will there be funny interactions between these two groups of characters? Will there be sick fights? Stories are excuses to have scenes. Sometimes, you will have a story where the interesting sequence of events is the draw, but the point is to know what you're about.

Once you feel happy with your "mission statement", you need to decide the bounds of your story: where it starts and where it ends. It may be easier to start with the end. In some cases, it may be obvious from your mission statement: everyone gets home, a villain is defeated, Kenpachi realizes the meaning of friendship. On the other hand, let's look at that punk rock AU. You've picked a vibe, but you don't really have a natural story arc. It has to have a destination, though, otherwise, it's not really a story, it's a recipe for 3 chapters of an abandoned fanfic. So brainstorm a little: Maybe they get a record deal? Maybe they win a Battle of the Bands? Maybe Byakuya accepts that the band is actually good and tells Rukia he is proud of her. Do not settle for a plot just because it works. Pick something that makes you excited! You're the one who is gonna have to write it!

I said that we needed to pick a beginning point, too, but I'm actually going to skip that for now. The next thing I do is think of all the Big Scenes I want to write, the ones you are hype to write, the ones that pop in your head as you think about the premise. Make a bullet list. They don't need to be in order. The descriptions don't need to be super detailed, but write down anything about it that is important to you. If there's a mood or a snippet of dialogue or a joke you want to make, go ahead and jot that down so you don't forget it later. What you're doing now is putting broad blotches of color on a canvas, filling in space and leaving the detail for later.

Once you are pretty happy with what you have down, try to arrange it in chronological order. Put your end at the end (if it wasn't one of your big scenes, add it now). The next task is figuring out how to traverse your scenes. You've already picked out where you want to spend the majority of your energy. The rest, I regret to tell you, is your slog writing. Now, it often happens that you will find joy in some of these scenes and your best writing may occur there, but that's serendipity. These are the scenes that you are gonna have to make yourself sit down and write, so you honestly want to limit them to just the ones you need.

So how do we do this? Look at the first thing on the list. Can you start there? If so, congrats, that's your beginning. If you can't, what needs to happen to get to there? Where can you start so that you can get to your first fun scene as soon as possible? There. That’s it. You’ve picked your beginning, good job! Now, go through the rest of your list, and add in things that must happen, even if you don’t particularly look forward to writing them. The characters need to travel from geographic point A to point B. Shuuhei needs to say something that Izuru hears and misinterprets. The Central 46 makes a new law. If you have a good idea of how these things happen, go ahead and write them down, but it’s okay if you don’t know yet. Fill in all the blanks so that if you think of each bullet list as a scene, you could read it as a story, start to end. Once you get writing, you might add more scenes, or move things around or whatever, but you should have a thing that functions as a story.

If you struggle with this, an alternative is a story with a very strong structure that is going to guide you though what you have to write.Here are two examples from my own stories Hold On, Hold On (which is only one chapter, but the principle is the same) is structured around the 5 stages of grief. Not Broken, Just Bent takes place over roughly a week, and I just decided what happened every day of the week. See You on the Other Side takes place in the middle of a bunch of canon events, which worked at mile markers.

Congratulations. You’ve just made a rough outline!

Special note for avoiding burnout!: I am a slogger. I will drag myself through the broken glass of an interminable plot to get to a single thirsty scene. That's why, at this stage, I try to look at the ratio of what I want to write to what I must write. It's gonna vary for everyone, but this is a hobby, and if looking at this proto-outline makes you feel deeply tired, maybe this isn't a good story to be devoting your time to! Can you carve it down? Can you chuck two scenes you really want to write and get rid of 80% of the slog? Or maybe you can't! In that case, just write that thirsty scene as a standalone drabble! Or just go work on something else! Maybe in the future, this one will come back to you and you’ll have a fresh idea or a renewed enthusiasm for it.

Another thing I sometimes like to do at this point is to write out some notes about my characters and their motivations and moods. Character A is homesick. Character B is so determined to defeat the enemy that they are having a hard time being sympathetic to Character A. Character C cares for both A and B and is trying to support them both. This is sort of background info that you want to keep in your head as you are writing. Depending on the type of story you are writing, this might actually be the main plot, or it might be happening subtly, but adding to the emotional impact of the story. It’s very easy for me to write these sorts of emotional arcs, but if you struggle with that, you may wish to go ahead and made a more detailed outline for that, too.

Now, it’s time to start writing! I am great at beginnings-- it is very often the case for me that the opening scene was one of my Big Tentpole Scenes. (Before you hate me too much, I make up for this by being double horrible at endings; just let me have this) Usually, I will start at the beginning and write linearly for as long as I can until I get stuck. Then, I will look forward on my outline and do the next chronological scene that I feel like writing. In general, if I sit down to write and there is something I have an urge to write, that trumps everything else. Inspiration is a precious commodity, and you should embrace it when it hits! You can slog any day. I will occasionally hold off writing a scene that I really want to, because I am saving it, like a prize for myself for getting that far. This is a very personal process of figuring out what motivates your brain and then giving your brain what it needs to be its most productive.

Eventually, you will run out of things you are excited to write, but the good news is, you’ve got a bunch of story now! Odds are that what’s left is going to be a lot of those connective tissue scenes, and you’re just going to have to do them, except that now, because you’re connecting two concrete points instead of two abstract points, it will be a lot easier. You can continue running jokes you’ve started. Maybe you invented a cafe in an earlier scene where your characters hang out and you can have them return there. Try to think of ways to make these scenes more fun, both for yourself to write and for your reader to read. 

Around this time, I like to start refining that rough strokes outline into what I will call an “as-built” outline. (This is an engineering term where you update your plans or models for something to reflect any changes that had to be made along the way). This is a great activity to do at times when you feel like you have writers block. I write down every scene I have written as a 2-3 word blurb, in order. I break the scenes into what I think makes logical chapters, and I will do a word count on those prospective chapters and write it down. As you do this, you will realize that maybe you can move a scene from here to there, which will make it 1000% easier to write. Things may be happening too much, or you’ve got the characters eating three times in the same chapter. If you have subplots and dangling threads, this is where you make sure they get closure. I know this sounds very headache-y, but you are so far along in the story at this point that it’s really not-- it’s a way to look at the problems you have left. Use some sort of formatting (I like to bold things I haven’t done and sometimes I put them in red) and it gives you a very visual to-do list.

You specifically mentioned multi-chapter fanfics and I admit that I don’t tend to think in chapters, I tend to think of the story as a whole and just break it up where it feels natural. The as-built outlining I described is very helpful in making sure that my chapters feel balanced. They don’t necessarily need to be the same length, but I like them to have the same amount of stuff in them. One chapter may basically contain one long scene, and other may contain many short ones. I don’t tend to, but you can certainly have a fanfic that varies between short and long chapters, that can actually be an interesting effect. But like I said, I always like to know what I am doing, and so having it mapped out, you can say “welp, this is what I’ve done, how do I feel about that?”

Polynya, you may be saying at this point, do you write the whole fanfic before you post any of it? and I regret to inform you, the answer is yes. A lot of people write as they go, and I have made one attempt at this and I didn’t like it. I don’t like locking myself in, I just need to be able write out of order and go back and change things. Here is the story of a little in love: someone gave me an AU prompt and I got mildly obsessed with it, and wrote 5 snapshots drabbles in that universe, ending with a slight cliffhanger ending. I probably should have stopped there, but I decided to keep going. I wrote out an outline of 5 acts where the first act was detailed to the degree of each chapter being specified. The chapters here were much smaller than I usually make chapters: 1-2k. I wrote act i and ii and it was actually great, and then I hit act iii which required a lot of set up for misunderstandings and a mini romance arc. I couldn’t wing it, but nor could I figure it all out with outlining. I write dialogue in almost sort of an improv “Yes, and...?” style, so until I do it, I don’t know what’s going to happen. So, what I did was treat the second half of act iii as a complete story in the process I describe above, wrote the entire rest of it, and then posted it. One might notice that the chapter lengths grew to 3-5k each. I have two more acts to go, and I haven’t decided how I am going to do them yet, but I suspect I will treat each of them as their own mini-stories.

(I will admit that in Heart is a Muscle, I tend toward chapters that are about 10k long, and this is honestly too long, someone should smack me. If you like punchy chapters, 1-2k is good. I think 3-6k is probably an ideal chapter length. Is this how long the chapters are in my latest fanfic? Absolutely not.)

Okay, so there’s one more step, which is quality control. I am habitual re-reader-- I read my fanfics-in-progress over and over and over while I am working on them. I understand that not everyone does this, but I am usually the primary audience for my own writing, and this is the actual fun part for me. Nevertheless, you should re-read your work at least once, to make sure it hangs together.

This is purely optional, but I recommend it: get a writing friend (if you don’t like re-reading your work, I recommend this even more strongly). If you can get a full-service beta reader, that’s great, but if you can’t find someone, or if receiving that level of critique stresses you out, it’s perfectly valid to just find a friend who will read your stuff and a) shower you with compliments, b) reassure you about parts you aren’t sure about (or suggest ways to help) and c) point out any huge problems you missed. When I am writing a long fanfic, it is a huge motivational factor for me to be able to send my beta chapters as I finish them. If you are already an established writer, and you have people who consistently comment on your fic, they might be overjoyed to get a sneak peak at your work.

And that’s it! That’s the way I do it, anyway! Some people are able to sit down and write a very detailed outline and the write it start-to-finish. Good for them, I say! I have tried this and it doesn’t work great for me. I will admit that some of my fics (especially my early ones) I just sat down and banged out whole-cloth like an insane person and they are generally better than the ones I actually plan out, but that’s not a reproducible process.

As one final mechanical note, I usually write in Google Docs, which I can access on multiple devices (I used to write a lot on my phone), has convenient sharing functionality, and I use the ao3 html formatting script add-in. I generally have two documents for a single story-- one is the outline, and any other notes I want to have handy. I’ll usually put a trashcan space at the bottom for scenes that got cut but I don’t want to lose. The other is the fanfic itself.

I hope this is helpful! Please feel free to follow up with other questions and good luck with your writing!

[zackcollins]

wanted || shohei ohtani

masterlist

Author’s Note: Heya, everyone! I’m back with another fic! This one was actually an anonymous request someone sent me, so I hope I did it justice for whoever sent it in. This is also my first time writing for Ohtani so I did the best I could so please be gentle. I have 3 more requests lined up to be written--one more for Ohtani and 2 for Bo Bichette. So, look out for those in the next few days! Anyways! GIF credit to youmustlovehim!

Warnings: I don’t think there’s any. But, as always, feel free to let me know if you disagree and I’ll add a warning for anything anyone feels needs one!

Word Count: 1.7k+

Title: Wanted by Hunter Hayes

Additional: The reader is gender-neutral this time! I can’t exactly remember if the request specified what gender the reader should be because my memory is awful. I also couldn’t seem to find the darn thing on my blog while I was in the process of writing this, so I just went for gender-neutral to be on the safe side. I hope that’s okay for whoever sent in the request! For whoever sent this in: I can always write a feminine or masculine fic if that’s what you actually wanted. Just let me know and I’ll get on that for you as soon as I’ve finished with my other requests, okay? Anyways! I hope all of you who read this enjoy it! As always, feedback is appreciated. I love knowing what everyone thinks of how I did.

Christmas was right around the corner and you were insanely excited for it. It had been your favourite holiday since you were a small child. Seeing all the light displays, getting to eat all of the delicious treats, spending time with family, and opening all of the presents had always appealed to you. All of it sparked an immense joy within in you that nothing had been able to match.

Nothing until you met your boyfriend, Shohei. You met him when you were on vacation to Disneyland in Anaheim. You had been stuck together on one of the rides because both of you had been in line alone. Riding with Shohei had been so much fun that you had exchanged numbers and even agreed to met each other for lunch later that day.

That had been around the first week in January. From that moment, you had struck up a friendship that turned into a romantic relationship right around the end of February, beginning of March time frame. You wouldn’t have it any other way because Shohei brought you so much happiness and joy; you loved him a lot and you were grateful to have him.

Now that your first Christmas together was approaching, you knew you had to get Shohei the perfect gift. There were a few things that you could think of—they mostly consisted of things related to baseball or Japanese trinkets so he could feel closer to home—but nothing concrete was sticking in your mind. Buying the first Christmas gift for your boyfriend was going to be an ordeal. You knew it would be worth it in the end because you loved Shohei and he loved you; he would no doubt love anything you gave him. That didn’t stop you from still wanting to get him the perfect gift. You figured the best way to accomplish that would be to do your best to ask him what he wanted without making it obvious that you were asking him what he wanted. It was a genius plan. So long as Shohei didn’t catch on to what you were doing. And you were pretty sure he wouldn’t. He had told you that around Christmas and New Years was when he started getting back into the baseball mindset. Meaning, he would most likely be too distracted to fully catch onto what you were doing. It was perfect.

With about a week and a half to go until Christmas, you approached your boyfriend. You had a plan in mind that you were going to strike up a conversation with him. You were still in Los Angeles because Shohei had asked you not to go back to your home in New York after the season had ended. You had agreed but now you were getting homesick. The purpose of this conversation was to see if he would be willing to come home with you to spend Christmas with you with your family. You thought it was about time for him to meet them anyways. You were starting realize that you felt serious about him—more serious than you’d felt about any of your past boyfriends. Your parents were also eager to meet the man you had gushed to them about for the last two months you had been in California.

“Hey, Shohei?” You had been sitting on the couch, watching what was essentially the Japanese version of Law and Order when you tried to grab his attention. Shohei looked over at you briefly but his focus went right back to the television where one of the detectives was talking to the prosecutor about the evidence she had collected on the defendant. “What would you say about coming back to New York with me? I want you to meet my parents.”

Shohei sighed, though he nodded as he wrapped his arm around you and pulled you closer to him. “I can do that. It would be nice to see where you live since you have seen where I live.”

You hummed in satisfaction before you kissed Shohei’s cheek. Shohei smiled as he squeezed you even closer to him, running his hand comfortingly along your upper arm in the process. He looked back over at you long enough to press a soft kiss on your temple before he focused back on what was happening on the television.

“I’m glad you said yes,” you chuckled as you slid away from your boyfriend. You reached into the pocket of your pants and pulled out two pieces of paper, handing one to Shohei. “I already booked the plane tickets from LAX to Laguardia. We’re on a red eye flight two days from now.”

Shohei huffed a bemused breath, placing the plane ticket on the end table beside the couch. “What would you have done if I said no?”

“I would’ve asked one of your teammates. Maybe Max Stassi? I’m sure him or one of the other guys would’ve been willing to spend Christmas with me in New York City. Rockefeller Square is a big thing after all.”

Shohei looked away from the television and over at you. He had a look in his eyes that you could only describe as something halfway between jealousy and anger. The longer he looked at you, the more intense the look became. You swallowed thickly after a few moments and started to fidget under the intense scrutiny of the gaze.

“Why would you ask my teammates?” Shohei asked. His voice sounded eerily calm but his face, still staring at you with that intense look, gave away that he was unimpressed with you. “They are not dating you. I am. It is my job to spend Christmas with you.”

You nodded, swallowing again. “Yuh—yes. You’re right. I just thought you might say no because you’d want to go home to Japan to be with your family. So, I’d just want someone with me. I already told my family I’d be bringing someone; I also told them it might not be my boyfriend because he might be heading back to Japan to visit his own family.”

Shohei’s expression softened and he grabbed your hand, running his thumb along your knuckles. “I am sorry for overreacting.” He sighed before he brought your hand up and pressed a soft kiss to the back of your hand. When he dropped it, he looked longingly into your eyes as he continued to speak. “Maybe I am a little homesick and wish to visit my own family. It is just so far away that I think the better option would be to visit your family instead.”

You leaned forward and wrapped Shohei in a hug, patting him on the back a couple of times in hopes that that would calm his nerves. Shohei relaxed into your embrace, dropping his head against your shoulder. He placed a couple of kisses against your shoulder blade before you pulled back and looked at him. You motioned to the plane ticket he placed on the coffee table.

“Why don’t you look at the ticket again.” You smiled awkwardly as you folded your hands in your lap and started fidgeting with your thumbs.

Shohei raised a questioning eyebrow but leaned forward and scooped the ticket off of the table. He examined it for a moment before you saw his facial expression shift from neutral to shock. He dropped the ticket in his lap as he leaned forward and wrapped you in a tight hug. He dropped his head in the crook of your neck, sniffling a few times as you could tell that he was trying to hold back some tears. You took one of your hands and carded your fingers gently through his hair, stopping briefly to scrape your fingernails against his scalp. Shohei hummed against your skin, his warm breath sending a chill down your back.

After a few moments of silence, filled only with the occasional sniffle from Shohei, he pulled back from your embrace and looked up at you. His eyes were slightly wet, though his cheeks were dry; that told you that he had managed to fight off the tears. You took your thumbs and wiped away the tears that had accumulated, smiling softly when Shohei leaned into the touch. You pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, brushing some hair behind his ear before you grabbed his hand and started running your thumb along the pulse point on his wrist. You smiled again when you felt him shiver at the action, leaning once again into your touch.

“The ticket is for a red eye from LAX to a Japanese airport.” Shohei finally spoke after what felt like an eternity of silence. You nodded, bringing his hand up and pressing a gentle kiss to his knuckles. When you dropped his hand, he smiled weakly at you. “Do your parents know you are not coming home?”

You nodded again, running your thumb along Shohei’s wrist. “We’re going to celebrate with them when we get back Stateside. The return flight is from the Japanese airport to Laguardia.”

Shohei placed his free hand on your knee and rubbed it a couple of times. You looked down at his hand and then back up at him. He was smiling weakly and his eyes were fonder than you had ever seen them. You brought his hand up and kissed his knuckles again, revelling in the fact that you felt him shiver again. When you dropped his hand, you ran your thumb along his knuckles a couple of times. Shohei smiled more confidently at you as he ran his thumb a long your knee.

“You know?” He looked at you with caring eyes. “I can honestly say that you are the best early Christmas present I have ever received. I love you.”

You smiled as you returned Shohei’s caring look, bringing his wrist up and pressing a kiss to his pulse point. He shivered a little which made you smile weakly. You reached up and brushed a piece of hair out of his face. Shohei grabbed your hand and directed it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to your knuckles. You smiled a little brighter, running your thumb along his knuckles again.

You leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Shohei’s lips which he reciprocated. You kissed for a moment before you pulled back and looked him in the eyes again, the same caring expression on both of your faces.

Then, with a fond smile on your face, you replied to your boyfriend’s question in the only way you knew how.

“I love you too because you’re the best thing I’ve ever received full stop.”

[fawad-khan]

birthdays and wonders

A/N: heyyy so this is an entry for @hollandsrecs tom’s birthday fic fest! hope u enjoy and let me know how this was!

Masterlist

(edit is mine!)

Pairing- Tom Holland x reader, both are married here :)

Word Count- 1.5k+ (yea i should practice writing more)

Prompt-  your birthday present for tom: telling him you're pregnant

Warning- just mentions of sickness and vomiting in the beginning, nothing too much.

Summary- on tom’s birthday, you have a certain special gift for thomas this year.

You tossed and turned on your bed as you felt something come up your neck and would come out of the mouth any moment. You felt nauseous. You opened your eyes and sat up. You climbed off the bed, trying not to make noise and wake Tom. You made your way towards the bathroom, covering your mouth so that you could avoid puking on the floor.

Quickly, you opened the bathroom door and jogged towards the toilet and lifted the seat and emptied the contents of your stomach inside the toilet bowl. As the contents left, you could feel a bit better.

When you were finally done, you flushed and rinsed your mouth thoroughly to get rid of the taste of vomit. You walked back to the bed and got inside the covers beside Tom, who stirred a bit in his sleep and subconsciously pulled you closer towards him. Closing your eyes, you drifted back to sleep.

----

This continued for a week. You didn't tell anyone about this, as it didn't seem like a big deal with you. Also because Tom would make a really big fuss, although that was also something that made him so adorable. You thought maybe this was a flu bug that was in the air and decided to dismiss this and focused on the upcoming days. 

Tom's birthday was approaching and you wanted to keep a small and homely affair with all of his family and best mates.

Right now, you were discussing the food menu and decorations to do. Since Tom was out doing some work, this was the perfect opportunity to plan everything out and hence you had called Harrison, Harry, Sam and Tuwaine to help you out and discuss the food, time, drinks, etc.

You suddenly felt an urge to pee real bad. This was weird, considering you had just gone to the bathroom ten minutes ago.

"Shit" you muttered, hurrying towards the bathroom again. You came out five minutes later, feeling very suspicious. This happened a bunch of times in the previous day as well. You were trying to wrack your brains.

Then it struck to you. You took out your phone and checked the calendar, and sure enough, your period was late by a week already. Now, just to be sure, you needed a test.

You went back to the living room, where the boys were chatting and planning.

"Hey Haz, could you come here for a second? I need to talk about something." He nodded and walked towards you. You gestures him to follow you to the kitchen so that you could get some privacy.

"What's up, (y/n)?" 

You took a deep breath. "Well, uh, I really don't know how to say this, but um I've been feeling some things over the last few days and uh" you looked down for a minute, wondering how were you gonna speak the words you were about to say next.

"I think I might be pregnant." You bit your bottom lip nervously as you looked at his face for his reaction. He held a bewildered expression, his eyes widened as he tried to process what you just told him.

"Wait, really? You're pregnant?" He asked, still confused.

"I think so, I'm not really sure."

"Oh, I see. Well, do you have any tests lying around? You could take a test and check."

"Well, that's what I called you here for. Could you just maybe purchase some tests from the nearby store? If it's possible?"

"Of course! I'll be glad to help you however I can." He smiled, making you smile too.

"Thanks Haz, you're a lifesaver."

"Anytime. I'll just go now and bring them for ya."

"Oh and Haz? Can you just not tell anyone right now? Especially Tom? I don't want anyone to know just in case this was a false alarm or anything."

"Of course, my mouth is zipped. You have my word."

"Thanks. Now hurry along!" With that he went out and made a simple excuse of getting a phone call and quickly went to the nearby medical store and bought a small bunch of tests. He came back carrying them in a small bag, entering inside quietly and sneakily placing them in your room, without anyone seeing him. He came back and nodded at you, you mouthed a thanks to him.

Later, when the other boys had gone, you decided now would be safe to test. Harrison, of course, stayed back as he wanted to know whatever the outcome was, and be there for you.

You went to the bathroom and prepared yourself to pee on the stick. Luckily, you made sure to drink a decent amount of water just in case so that this would go smoothly. 

You waited for five minutes and checked the tube. Surely, it showed two lined, which indicated that the test was positive and you were indeed, pregnant.

"Oh my god." You could not help saying to yourself.

"Is everything ok?" Haz asked, knocking softly at the door.

"Yeah, yeah it's alright." You replied, heading to the door and opening it.

"Well?" He asked, looking at you.

"It's positive."

"Oh my god is it true?"

"Yes it is Haz! You're going to be an uncle!" You smiled as he jumped a little in excitement like a kid. He gave you a tight hug, which you responded by hugging him as well, giggling and smiling.

"Hey, uh let's just not tell Tom yet. Or anyone. I think I know the perfect time to tell him." You looked at him knowingly, hoping that he could get the drift, which he did.

"You got it, chief."

----

"Happy birthday to you, Tom!" You sang as he cut his cake. The party turned out to be a very and cozy affair, with everything going well as planned.

You were yet to give your gift to Tom. You decided that it would be better when you both were alone and had your privacy to do it.

While the others were busy on distributing the cake and food for each other and taking their share, you went to Tom and hugged him from behind, making him grin and hold your hands wrapped around his waist.

"Happy birthday, darling." You mumbled in his ear, giving him a sweet kiss on his lips.

"Thanks love." He chuckled, turning around to give you a proper hug and pull you closer to him, his head resting on your shoulder and taking in your scent which always reminded him of home and comfort, what he always felt when he was with you.

"Hey, wanna come to the room for a second? I wanna show you something." He nodded and you took his hand in yours and walked to the bedroom. You walked to your cupboard and took out a small, neatly wrapped box which you had kept for this particular occasion.

"Here's my present. Happy birthday, baby." You whispered to him, handing him the gift. 

"Thanks, angel. Wonder what's in here." He sat on the bed and unwrapped the box, wondering what could be there. You could feel your heartbeat go faster as you waited for his reaction. He took out the box and opened the lid, his eyes scrunched in confusion as he saw a pregnancy kit there.

He picked it up and observed it closely in his hands and noticed there were two lines, which made him gasp in surprise and look at you. He got up, taking the pregnancy kit in hand walked to you, hoping he had read the situation right.

"Darling, is this what I think it is?  I mean, is it true? Are you h-having a baby?" He looked down gently at your belly and looked at your face again. You smiled and nodded, taking his hand and placing it on your belly.

"Yes Tom. We're having a baby." You smiled softly, waiting for his reaction.

"Oh my god, babe this is so amazing! We're gonna have a baby, a mini you or mini me in our arms in a few months, I just- wow!" He chuckled softly, running his fingers through his curls. He gave you a big hug, holding you close to him. You could hear him sniffle a bit as you hugged him back, wrapping your arms around his neck.

"I'm so happy and excited, darling." He mumbled in your ear.

"Me too, Tom. I'm excited for this." You could feel tears of joy coming out of your eyes. You pulled away from the hug and cupped his cheeks and pulled him in for a soft kiss. His soft lips moved with yours as he squeezed your waist gently. You pulled away and placed your forehead on his, looking into his eyes filled with happy tears. 

You both could not help but giggle, feeling so ecstatic about having a child, two years into your marriage, and were ready to welcome a little baby into your world.

"I love you, (y/n)."

"I love you too, Tom." You smiled.

"Now wanna tell the others?"

"Yeah, let's do that. Although, Harrison knows." You winked. With that you walked towards the door to break the news to everyone, while Tom muttered a 'hey!' before coming to join you to break the news. 

This certainly had been an amazing birthday, he thought. You were both looking forward to having your child and what the future held for you.

The End

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