#i’m very fond of him in this fic he’s soooo …

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

finally getting properly started with this :3c

[runawaymun]

So he needs someone with glorfindel type energy

“Yea babe your super capable and that’s soooo hot now BUT lie on the blanket in This fields of flowers with meeeeeee” or something???

EXACTLY

This is why for a canon character ship for him right now I’m leaning toward Dehya

Ignore the fact they’ve never met in game (this is me with Baizhu out in my team standing next to her). It’s theoretically possible that they could meet. Dehya is a merc and she goes traveling the world after the end of her main quest and there’s no reason she couldn’t end up in Baizhu’s area.

Reasons they should be a Thing

Bi4Bi

Canonical muscle girlfriend x canonically twinky physically weak boyfriend (he coughs when he sprints!) she could bench press him

Both of them pretend to be all about the money but they both actually care really deeply about people (especially kids)

Dehya pretends to be so tough and spiny and not care but she’s actually a big softie and I can 100% see Baizhu being her weak point.

Dehya has a very dry sense of humor and I think that would pair so well with Baizhu and Changsheng’s sass.

She’s always running off into fights and getting hurt and being like “ehhhh it’s just a scratch what’s the big deal” so there’s huge potential for Baizhu to be constantly exasperated (but fond) with her while patching her up and scolding her about getting into fights

She has experience with chronically ill people (she was a bodyguard for a chronically ill client) and canonically takes zero “no really I’m totally fine” bullshit and WILL sling people over her shoulder to carry them to bed if they’re not feeling well but still trying to push past their spoon limit (which Baizhu does…often…)

Baizhu’s a healer and Dehya is a DPS tank, and I can see Dehya being like “stand back, I’ve got this” while she absolutely wails on some attackers, but the second she takes too many hits Baizhu would RUSH in with his gossamer healing sprites and that gucci shield and be like “okay nope MY TURN” — in short they’d protect each other constantly.

I already have a fic half planned out in my brain of how they meet via Baizhu hiring her as a bodyguard while he does some dangerous ingredient gathering (the bodyguard hiring is against his will but the government in his area wouldn’t give him a permit to go collect in that specific location without extra muscle. Too much of a liability.)

They look hot together.

Tummy out crop top squad

[gnashingwailing]

Kept notes on a reread I was doing of The Art of Love and War because I am so obsessed with the gay little borrower darkfic... sharing with u @fireflywritesgt

it falls apart at ch12 because that is where i consistently turn into a puddle under my covers kicking my legs and making sounds only audible to shrimps.

I HOPE THIS IS A SMALL TOKEN OF APPRECIATION FOR HOW GUD THIS FIC IS, SINCERELY... LIKE I SAID PUTTING THIS IN SOMEBODY'S INBOX IS PROBABLY A WAR CRIME. SO.

There is soooo muuuuch I want to saaaay. I did a reread and excuse my being verbose but.

Ch10 where Harry reads about how tinies don’t ask for things and prefer to do favors for them — how extra insulting that makes his message in Ch1!! “Just ask” no wonder Joe was so pissed!!

ALSO him feeling “dirty, somehow” about accepting chocolate that didn’t kill him… was he having a little bit of feelings for “the kind man” and it got transmuted into self-loathing… 😭 oh internalized homophobia tag we’re really in it now…

Re: ch2 I would kill for Joe’s pov of this… I’m also so fascinated to pick up the detail that Joe apparently talked to himself regularly, for Harry to hear him through the radiator pipes… one assumes Joe doesn’t have guests. Poor guy! He’s really smart! He likes talking! The assistant job is perfect for himmmm.

Re: ch3, i wonder how much Captain Calloway’s “if you die it’s your own damn fault” has influenced Joe’s life ethos of fucking around and finding out (btw… Harry would be sooo horrified to know Joe had been poisoned 3 times and still tried that chocolate 😭 yet another fun! anecdote of his) … im also kinda curious about Gutters. What’s that guy’s deal. And OF. COURSE. How Captain got all his injuries. It’s also so very sad he feels this tension with the guys, what they’d do to him if they knew more about who he really was. I love this as a metaphor for homophobia…

Ch5 I’m still fixated on the giants who are guarding the place. Hundreds of tinies going there every day… you’d think there’d be snatchers all over the place 👀 and the other great worldbuilding… lab tinies… “they were corralling everyone everywhere and the women and kids went one way…” GOD. also them building tiny capitalism plus tiny race science is just 😭😭😭 noooo… the way Harry reinforces their shared dignity and humanity by showing genuine interest in Joe’s art.. ouuuugh it hits every time.

ALSO I WAS SO SUSPICIOUS OF HILL WHEN I FIRST READ CH6 BUT NOW THST I KNOW HE IS A BONA FIDE WIFEGUY ALL IS REDEEMED. I AM so curious as to why he keeps tiny town schematics in his office if he dislikes it…

Ch7 profoundly funny to me how Hill is like “miniature is the academic term” and Joe is like what. Tinies.

I really appreciate how Harry started off having some uh. Idk. Colonizer savior complex stuff + noble savage ideas about Joe? Like “oh it’s in mother nature’s hands whether he survives then… I see…” as if the tinies social constructs about Pets are some immutable fact of nature instead of. A social construct !! It’s really well-done, how you show him gradually understanding that he needs to listen to Joe, not assume he knows what’s best for him just because he read a 50yr old anthropology book!! It makes me love Harry all the more that he managed to grow through it out of fondness for Joe 🥺

AND OF COURSE. THE G/T GOODNESS. My god. I loooooove that Joe is so creeped out by giants that he has to keep his eyes closed to stomach it… just feels. Hmm. Realistic?? It would be so overwhelming. I love that his trust gets rewarded with the doctor not hurting him…

The rapport they establish being based on talking to one another… it’s just suuuuch a perfect central theme for this story… Joe being able to tame Harry’s anger by reminding him of Joe’s own humanity. “Please don’t do that, doc. This is mean. You’re being mean.” And “you’re treating me like I’m not even… not even…” UGH. RENT FREE IN MY HEAD, WARREN. “Maybe he could do it; maybe he could sit in the same room as a giant for five minutes. He would only have to do it once, and then he would never have to do it again, he reasoned.” Bitch u thought… get loved and cared for idiot…

Joe asking him “why not”, echoing Harry’s words that stuck with him…

And then him being sooo pissed at the phone it’s just absolutely amazing stuff. Wagging his finger at it/Dr Hill lmaooo. I was hootin and hollerin when I realized this foreshadows him being the assistant!!! He can talk on the phone just fine!!!!

His legs threatening to give way from the prospect of Harry seeing him at ground level after he escapes using the phone receiver… ouuugh. It’s SO GOOD. He’s come such a long way…

“Touching every wooden beam he passed for good luck” is INCREDIBLY cute mental imagery.., he’s happy… poor guy has awful luck tho so Harry is just pissed 😭 HIM NEARLY DESTROYING THE PLATES BECSUSE HARRY SCARED HIM SO BAD HAD ME FEELING.. SOME KIND OF WAY…

Ch8 also has the first mention of Joe’s books… I’m sooo curious where he got these.. did he perhaps make them…? 👀 YEAH HARRY SHOULD FEEL LIKE A MONSTER THO. YOU TERRORIZED A LIL MOVIE STAR!!! HE ONLY BROKE A FEW THINGS… Making him hide under his covers like he saw a monster… 😭

I love their first god awful handshake lmao. Incredible subversion of the usual g/t first meetings… Joe’s just like OK 👋 NOW GET THAT THANG OUTTA HERE

And then Joe going “I know about that!” Joe protested, his voice growing stronger. “It’s up to me, doc. If it happens, it happens and it’ll be my own damn fault.” … something tells me when Harry finally comes to understand Joe’s recklessness with his own life and what feelings about its worth may be underpinning that, he will be so sad 😔

Joe losing his toes to frostbite… realizing that could very likely be from when he was kidnapped and enslaved with O’Grady… uuuugh he’s so brave to want to connect with anybody at all let alone with Harry!!

Ch9 professor wifeguy moments… yesss… I love that he wants to hang out with another tiny too 😭 Joe is making friends!! I can’t wait to find out about Lorraine and what “other place” she knows about!!! Lmfao I can tell she’s going to be incredible just from the little bit Joe hears of her. I wonder too if she’s been marked… aahhh I’m so excited to learn more about these two. How interesting of a parallel, too, that Harry noted Dr Hill might also be a former soldier… something-something folks unable to fully integrate into society finding and building community with each other…

Also PROFOUNDLY interested to note on a reread that the tiny town on his wall says “a SAFE place to be” and the one in Riverdale said “a CIVILIZED place to be” 😬 a damn prison indeed… I also really wonder just HOW the tinies are paying their rent(?) to stay there, if they’re all as disdainful of “borrowing” as a career as O’Grady seems to be…

MAY I JUST NOTE that Joe stimming around is sooo charming to me. He’s kickin’ his legs. He’s pacing back and forth. He’s doing something like that in the walls when Harry was first listening to him. I LOVE HIM.. aND I love how this chapter we see him going from “that tall bastard (derogatory)” to “that tall bastard (amused)”

AND POOR JOE ON THE MOST CURSED FIELD TRIP IMAGINABLE. There is much to love here but I absolutely adore this imagery: “Joe buried himself in the curtain as the doctor, dressed to the nines in his work clothes and vaguely resembling a horse in a brown suit, sidled over to him and towered there and seethed.” HE’S TERRIFIED 😭 and Joe learns that other people value his wellbeing more than he does… wow Joe no need to ponder that any further until Ch15!!!

There’s SO much incredible prose in this chapter… the haaaaands oh my god the hands. The tinies are on the order of 2-3 inches tall, right? You really get a vivid sense of how big and dangerous everything is to them… absolutely A+ stuff.

This part also slays me everytime I think about it: “Joe was hidden inside [the pocket], and the thought of how unhinged his dear neighbour must look to his fellow giants as he walked and talked gave him no small amount of delight.” HE WOUUUULD.

The mystery of just what Joe created as a boy… what he can’t find it in himself to articulate… why he can hardly fathom talking about himself and his inner world to anyone …

PART 10… the difference in the way Joe confronts Harry here vs with the assistant in part 16 is somehow heartbreaking to me. I think the anger must just be displacement for how he’s really feeling (worried, uncomfortable…) and he’s more able to show his feelings to Harry with the assistants than he is now… but Joeeeee. I don’t ever want him to feel hopeless with Harry, like he just has to accept whatever he wants 😭 I love him in this chapter… Arms crossed, eyes narrowed… red faced… clawing at the air as he ranted Jdhdhdj GOD HE’S SO ICONIC: ““Nope. Not gonna happen! Veto!” Joe leapt up from the box, strode all the way to the edge of the table, and jabbed a finger at him. “I don’t know what kind of sick, twisted doctor things you intend to do to people but whatever it is, it’s not happening in my house!”” I guess I want him to still be comfortable with yelling veto at Harry lmao!!

And then Joe being like WHO GIVES A SHIT ABOUT YOU SAVING ME THE OTHER DAY. THAT MEANS NOTHING TO ME, A WILD AND INDEPENDENT TINY WHO HAD IT ALL UNDER CONTROL, AT ALL.

ALSO: the way he words this, I have a strong suspicion he does not know the word “patients”?! “”Let’s make a deal in exchange for patients. Give me something in exchange for patients.” Joe stammered. “You do that and I won’t make any trouble.””

Harry thinking of Joe as “the little bastard” in counterpoint to Joe’s “the tall bastard” really makes me smile too, hahahah.

AND THE FURTHER G/T TROPE INVERSION… just because he was willing to get in the giant’s hands one time doesn’t mean he’s suddenly fine with it!! I love how pissed they are at each other over this misunderstanding lmfao. He’s 👏 a 👏 wild 👏 tiny 👏 ‼️

And it’s so meaningful to me that the two of them bond more over sharing art with one another… Harry wants to introduce Joe to an amazing piano player… and Joe is so happy!!! The idea for a Charlie Chaplin bit with a rich miniature woman is SO inspired btw, I was as delighted as Joe was 😭 Harry being like “oh shit wait is this offensive” and then Joe just being like “THIS FUCKS SO HARD LMAO IT REALLY DO BE LIKE THAT”

And then the tragic aftermath… Harry NOTICING that he didn’t even know that he was doing anything wrong by bringing Joe there, it just FELT so dreadfully taboo (enough that Hill, who is MARRIED TO A TINY, also seems like he’s been caught doing something wrong when Harry first meets him)…. and then of course society reinforces that fear in a terrible way. Only a shared humanity regarding love of art saves poor Joe.. how lucky he’s gotten enough exposure to be able to speak in the presence of giants. You have to ponder how many tinies just as wonderfully complex as him have died for not having that skill. It’s so very sad!!! THE IMAGERY OF HIM ON THE LAMP LIKE IT’S A STREETCORNER JUST TWISTED THE KNIFE. Your writing really is so excellent, the way you can carry us through so many different emotions… Joe my belovedddd. I’m simply obsessed with the implications of him NAMING HARRY. WHAT IS /THAT/?? And the way that the narration in the story from this point on swaps to using Harry as his name… it speaks VOLUMES without you needing to elaborate on it at all. Joe has changed him! He’s becoming someone he likes better than Herman! A day we had good luck… Harry is good luck… Luck as a concept very different from what giants think of… I am absolutely enamored with how clearly he has a whole other world, another culture, that Harry can only guess at and be grateful to be included in.

JOE GETTING A NICE BATH AND A COMFORTABLE BED IN THIS CHAPTER IS JUST SO WHOLESOME (even if it will torment his Calvinist sensibilities later…) I am also so charmed to imagine how Joe must have woken up and been like “what the FUCK did I do last night. Where the HELL am I 🤨”

And then in Ch11 he’s like I WILL PROCEED NOT TO THINK OF THAT AT ALL. <- clueless

Ch11 is one of my favorites I think… we really get a good glimpse into how much heavy-duty rationalizing Joe is doing LMAO. “Taking food is fine, because I’m just using this tall bastard.” “It’s fine if I have leisure time.” “It’s fine if I like Harry and his company and I miss him when he’s gone and I want to give him a name.” “AS LONG AS I DON’T GET COMFORTABLE ALL OF THIS IS FINE.” This line is such a banger lol: “Joe Piccoli was many things as he went to sleep that night, but he was not a pet, and he was not comfortable.” And then the mouse!!! That Joe decides to draw rather than kill!!! Look at his needs being met!!!!!

IT ALSO ABSOLUTELY FUCKIN KILLED ME WHEN I REALIZED IN THIS CHAPTER THAT THE BOYS HAVE JUST. FULLY LEFT THAT FLOORBOARD OFF LMFAO??? THAT’S HIS SKYLIGHT NOW…

And then. Good god. The arm scene… it’s just. Soooo. 👌👌👌👌 I’m so … 😵‍💫💖❤️‍🔥…

“I’m a wild tiny!” “You’re going to be a dead tiny if that gets infected.” Their dynamic is so fucking funny. AND THE TENDERNESS OF HARRY TOUCHING JOE… Joe being so overwhelmed not exactly with fear but HMMM I WONDER WHAT EMOTION AND WHY HE MIGHT FEEL SO OVERWHELMED HE STILL NEEDS TO CLOSE HIS EYES AND PRETEND HE’S HIDDEN UNDER THE FLOOR AGAIN… 🤔🤔🤔 whyever would the touch of this kind giant make his hair stand on end and make him contemplate the reverence he’s being touched with and leave his cheeks burning… it is a mystery

And then Joe being so afraid the mouse would be hurt because in contrast to the kindness he’s been shown, he still has this long history of awful experiences with giants.. this part in particular made my heart hurt:

“Don’t kill the mouse, Harry, please don’t kill it. It’s just like me. It hasn’t done anything to you.” Joe begged.

Followed by him remembering that this is /Harry, his friend, who he knows/:

“The words hit Joe like the breaking of a spell, and he stood in the kitchen windowsill feeling downright foolish. Of course Harry wouldn’t kill the mouse, Joe realized - of course he wouldn’t do that.”

OUGH. This story is SO delicious I’m beyond obsessed…

The two of them having a much less Charged encounter after Joe has resolved some of his internal conflicts, at least for the moment… chatting away like they’re two normal friends while Harry touches him… 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 I LOVE THESE TWO SO MUCH‼️

Their motorcycle shenanigans… Harry showing Joe his precious Contraption and Joe absolutely hating it omg it was so peak 😭 PLAYING “WHO’S-MORE-BORING CHICKEN”… the way Joe is like “I would rather Die than have to listen to this guy talk about how he’s more exciting than me. Absolutely not.”

I also very much appreciate the foreshadowing of the street car on this re-read…

AND may I say I really love that they went on a little nature trip together!!! I have thought often of the potential of a g/t story set outdoors, where the normal sized person and the tiny are both made small by how all-encompassing the wilderness is. Something to do with camping or backpacking! Maybe something I want to write one day! This gave me a delightful taste of that.

AND ANYWAY THE ACCEPTING OF COMFORT EVEN AS IT FLIES IN THE FACE OF EVERYTHING HE’S BEEN TAUGHT TO ROMANTICIZE AND VALUE… ouuuughhh GET LOVED IDIOT!! GET SEEN AND KNOWN AND TAKEN CARE OF!!!

And then ch12… Harry’s realization that Joe won’t ever bring up anything if it’s just for his own benefit. Which by the way, on a re-read I can appreciate how cleverly you’ve set this up, if I didn’t write that clearly enough before! There’s something cultural there but also, I think, something uniquely Joe that Harry maybe can’t fully see yet. Harry’s watch from his parents breaking down at the same moment he’s trying to change his relationship with Joe, the new most important person in his life (at least I presume! He doesn’t seem to have other close friends/family) … very very good. This sentence is so evocative. Simultaneously funny and sad: “With the way Joe’s eyes shifted from side to side one would think the doctor had suggested they go rob a bank.” It’s very good angst realizing how much Harry is asking of Joe without him even knowing it…

BTW this part is so delightful. They’re so interested in each other!!! “When his footsteps announced his arrival, he could see the tiny’s movements through the missing floorboards as his neighbour crossed the floor and climbed back up to the windowsill above the counter.” <- guy who absolutely has NOT been gotten

“Joe smiling. A rare sight indeed.” JUST…. My heaaaart ‼️‼️

Also hilarious how Joe and now Harry have both had “mmm I do NOT like the way this guy is smiling right now” moments 🤣

GOD tho, Joe’s opening up about getting snatched… much like Harry, it made me feel absolutely beside myself.

^^^ AS YOU CAN SEE. I'VE FULLY FALLEN APART.

[virgil-my-emo-son]

*materializes into existence*

Hey there :D

Heard you were taking a few fic requests? If you're still up for one more, I have a lil idea.

Request: Prinxiety where Roman is not having a very good day cause of burnout and Virgil helps him rest? Hurt/comfort style.

If ya don't feel up to writing this, then think of it like a fun lil idea to look at :3

Have fun and take care :D

Hey!!!

Soooo I really liked your request and I wrote about 750 words in 45 minutes! This was quite therapeutic to write, I've been in a similar situation to Roman recently and this weekend/the beginning of next week is the culmination of all this work I've been doing for months, so it's been very very busy. I put out fic requests bc writing helps me to unwind, and writing this actually really helped me work through some of my stress and anxiety.

I hope you guys like it and it doesn't come off as just pure unadulterated projection 😅 Let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

TAKE A BREAK

Prinxiety, creative burnout, hurt/comfort

Summary: Roman's pushing himself too hard. Virgil knows it.

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54701638

Note: I'm imagining this situation being in some sort of college AU, where Roman's working on a giant project for class, but I intentionally kept it vague so that if you want it can be more canon-compliant and he's working on a video idea for c!Thomas or something too. Or interpret it however you want! That's the joy of writing :)

“Hey.”

Roman jumped a bit as a hand touched his shoulder. He looked up to see Virgil, who wore a concerned expression.

“What’s up?” Roman didn’t know what was wrong.

“Your foot is being a little loud.” Virgil’s eyes flicked to Roman’s foot, which was tapping an erratic rhythm on the floor.

Roman stilled his leg. “I apologize.”

“You only do that when you’re, like, really stressed. Really stressed. Dangerously stressed.”

“I’m not worr—Not—I’m not—” Roman paused, taking a deep breath. “I apologize, Virgil, for worrying you. I’m not stressed, I just don’t have the time to take a break from this.”

Virgil’s eyes narrowed. “Have you been sleeping?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Roman waved a hand in the air. “Unimportant. I need to keep working.”

“You’re mixing up your words.” Virgil crossed his arms. “You only do that when you haven’t been sleeping.”

“Truly, babe, it’s of no consequence.” Roman put on his most convincing smile.

Virgil recoiled. “Stop doing that with your face. It’s scary.”

Roman let his face fall. “I just have…” he sighed. “I just have a lot to do.”

“Can you take a break?”

“A break?” Roman hadn’t had that idea.

“You know. When you get some water—not coffee or energy drinks—and a snack and watch… I don’t know… Hercules or something.” He shrugged. “I prefer Tim Burton, but I can stand Hercules. I like the titans.”

“Are you offering to watch a cartoon with me?” Roman gave a small but sincere grin. “You object to most of my movie choices.”

“And then we watch your choice anyway.” Virgil smiled, a fondness in his eyes. “Because you’ll throw a fit if we don’t.”

“But, still, you suggested an uplifting Disney cartoon. That’s… that might be a first.”

Virgil rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling. “Yeah, yeah. Come on, you need a break. We’ve been sitting in here working for like three hours.”

“Yes, but…” Roman’s grin faded. “I’m not even close to done, Virgil, and this needs to be done. It needs to be done. I need to be done with it.” He didn’t know how he could impress on Virgil how much he wanted to never think about this project again.

“Do you need to be done tonight?”

“I should have it done tonight.”

“That’s not what I asked.” Virgil said, his voice soft, gentle.

Roman sighed. “I suppose I have a few more days to really finish it, but—what are you doing?” Virgil had crossed the room and was gathering his art supplies, putting them in his bag.

“Come on, we’re watching Hercules.”

“I really—I can’t—”

Virgil threw his bag over his shoulder. “You can, and you will.”

Roman sighed. “I need to keep working on this.”

“Can you keep working on this?” Virgil crossed his arms. “Be honest with yourself.”

“I…” Roman’s mouth was slightly open as he searched for the words. For the answer. “I can’t. Not right now. Virgil, I can’t. But I have to.”

“Okay.” Virgil nodded his head. “Then let’s go back to my place and we can make popcorn, and we’ll cuddle and watch the first half-hour of Hercules. And then you can get back to work for an hour, and I’ll sketch. And then we’ll watch more Hercules.”

“Okay.” Roman said softly, closing his laptop.

Virgil waited by the door as Roman packed up his things. “You’re working hard, Roman. You’re doing what you need to do. But you know as well as I do that you do better work when you’re fully conscious and energetic.”

“I suppose I’m not quite as bouncy as I usually am.”

“Not even a little bit as bouncy as usual.” Virgil shook his head. “It’s quite sad. You’re adorable when you’re excited about what you’re working on.”

“I know.” Roman grumbled, standing up. “Self-care makes my work better. But—”

“No buts.” Virgil bumped his shoulder. “Let’s go watch your movie. I won’t even complain when you sing along.”

“Really?” Roman’s eyes lit up.

“Really.”

Roman began to hum “I Won’t Say I’m In Love” as he walked out of the room behind Virgil, pulling the door shut behind him.

Virgil grinned. “You’re already starting to sing. I may have made a mistake.”

“I’m not singing, I’m humming. There’s a difference.” Roman said with mock offense.

“There’s my Roman.” Virgil said, and Roman couldn’t see his face, but he could hear the grin in his words. “A break will do you good.”

[reedroad]

Sorry to write a whole comment on tumblr ask but I'm too shy to do it on ao3 or twitter 😭

I've read the finale of your fic. twice in a row.

I LOVE the way you interpreted the reverse chase. Daniel understands at last where armand's insecurities come from, why he constantly makes choices that are self-sabotaging, and how this understanding convinces him EVEN MORE of their vampiric marriage/shared future. He knows that armand will continue to pull off some bullshit, and you can't fix decades of trauma with a few conversations, but he understands. He is willing to chase armand to the end of the earth to smack some sense into him. Armand needs to know this, and running away is basically the equivalent of him saying "are you certain?" in the books. And I'm. just. soooo happy that daniel will prove his sorry ass so wrong. Now he has forever to tell armand that he doesn't hate him. ARMAND GET HIM THAT BELATED RING ALREADY.

Also. Daniel being a ridiculously overpowered newborn vamp made me laugh so hard

One question - would you write a spin off chapter where they watch the rest of the tapes or a movie in the 70s by any chance (btw I love your reference to books, movies and poems). I want to know bc i became very fond of their little talks 😌

Again, thank you so much for writing this story 🙏🙏You are an amazing writer and I can't wait to read more stories from you!!

GHGH PLEASE DONT APOLOGIZE OMG….. it means a lot to get comments in general so i appreciate any form they come in. i’m glad you enjoyed the fic and the ending!!

i’ve been thinking of writing a bit more, maybe some shorter stories to wrap up loose ends, so it’s a definite possibility! i guess it depends. i’m sure when season 3 rolls around next year (PRAYING it’s next fall tbh) i’ll probably get possessed again.

also i have like a growing list of movies i want them to have seen together so lmao

[twistedappletree]

Hi there! I recently followed you from AO3 and love your fics so much. ‘Love You When You’re Such A Mess’ was so cute with the drunk juniors and I was wondering if you plan on writing more drunk shenanigans with them? Zhuiling or otherwise though I do love zhuiling haha! Anyways, just wanted to show some love and thank you for the wonderful aspec fics 💜

Hi hi! ✨💕🌸

Sorry it took a while to get to this but thank you so soooo much?!?! I’m so glad you like my fics omg 🥺 I’ve actually had a drunk zhuiling + junior ficlet sitting in my docs for a hot minute and this ask inspired me to finish it so this is just for you, friend!

Short, sweet and 100% ace.

🖤🩶🤍💜

Lan Jingyi slammed his jug of wine onto the table. “New game! We drink every time Mistress Jin complains about one of my ideas.”

Jin Ling glared at him and smirked arrogantly. “So we drink every time you say something stupid? Got it.”

Ouyang Zizhen quietly watched their fiery exchange and frowned. By these terms, they’d be passed out in less than an hour. He’d switched his own wine for tea some time ago and was already the most sober out of the bunch but Jin Ling and Lan Jingyi had been drinking the entire time.

“Fine,” said Lan Jingyi, flashing a challenging grin at Jin Ling. “We’ll just drink.”

Jin Ling leaned his cheek against his palm and quirked a brow. “And?”

“Whoever passes out or throws up first loses, of course.”

Jin Ling rolled his eyes. “What kind of a game is that? So boring.”

“Complaint!” Lan Jingyi took another swig of his wine and grinned. “Afraid I’ll out-drink you?”

Ouyang Zizhen sipped his tea and observed as Jin Ling sat up, grabbed his jug of wine and took a drink. “Stupid,” Jin Ling muttered.

Lan Jingyi drank again. “You calling what I say ‘stupid’ is still complaining.”

Jin Ling drank after him and glared. “And you saying what I call ‘stupid’ is complaining, is stupid.”

At this point, they were taking drink after drink while having a particularly heated staring contest. Ouyang Zizhen nervously bit his bottom lip and lifted his hand as though he wanted to speak in a classroom. “Um… maybe I should go get Sizhui—“

“No!” Lan Jingyi blurted. “If he joins in, we’ll both lose.”

Jin Ling furrowed his brow and huffed with dry amusement. “Sizhui, stickler for the rules, joining a drinking game? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You don’t know him like I do,” Lan Jingyi declared, his tone mildly taunting. A smirk passed his lips when he noticed the slightest hint of jealousy in Jin Ling’s expression.

Their heads were buzzing from how quickly they’d been drinking but Lan Jingyi was definitely having a harder time hiding his drunkenness. Almost instantly, his eyes felt heavy and the table beneath him was starting to look a lot like a pillow.

Jin Ling grinned and took another drink to rub in his impending victory. “Lan blood failing you already?”

His comment fueled Lan Jingyi enough to take one last drink before he slumped over and laid his head down, cheek smashed against the table. “Com…plaint…”

Jin Ling rolled his eyes at his quiet snores. “Lightweight.” He stumbled as he pushed himself to his feet, jug of wine still in hand.

Ouyang Zizhen frowned and got up with him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Jin Ling snapped, sounding more hostile than he meant to. He waved his hand dismissively at Lan Jingyi. “Just… look after him, make sure he doesn’t throw up everywhere. I’m going to bed.”

Ouyang Zizhen wasn’t given a chance to respond as Jin Ling swayed out of the room, sipping more wine as he went. He hadn’t gotten very far before stopping at another room and staring at the door for what seemed like ages.

He really should’ve just went to bed but his feet seemed to have a mind of their own as they carried him closer to the door. Can’t even drink with us, he thought. So good, so obedient… He leaned his forehead against the door’s surface and smiled with fond amusement. “So perfect,” he whispered.

Without another thought, he knocked.

Lan Sizhui was just about to snuff the candles and lanterns in his room when he heard the slow, messy raps on his door. He had no idea who could possibly need him at this time of night, especially since his seniors hadn’t traveled with them to Jinlintai.

It could only be one of his peers, which worried him enough to answer. “Jingyi, I swear, if you lit something on fire again…”

He made his way over and opened the door, fully expecting chaos… only to see an unusually calm Jin Ling slumped against the frame, face flushed and amber eyes half-lidded. His golden hair crown was crooked and his bangs were a disheveled mess around his face as he pressed his cheek against the doorframe and closed his eyes. “Hi.”

Dumbfounded, Lan Sizhui peeked down both sides of the hallway to see if any of the other juniors were with him but Jin Ling had apparently stumbled his way to Lan Sizhui’s room on his own. “Young Master Jin, are you alright?”

“Mhm.” The smell of alcohol on Jin Ling’s breath was unmistakable as he spoke. “How are you?”

Lan Sizhui sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “How much did you drink tonight?”

An offended pout soured Jin Ling’s face. “Two drinks at the most,” he whined. “I’m not even—“ His body lurched with a hiccup and his face went pale as he cupped his hand over his mouth and frowned, mumbling into his fingers. “—Drunk.”

“Are you feeling sick?” Lan Sizhui watched him with concern and opened the door wide. Warm lantern light flooded Jin Ling with an ambient haze and the remnants of incense revived his senses as Lan Sizhui stepped aside and invited him in. “I have some medicine that can help—“

Jin Ling stumbled inside and almost tripped over his own feet on his way towards a large pot in the corner of Lan Sizhui’s room. He dropped to his knees and wretched into it, a small whimper escaping his throat as though he were about to cry.

It reminded Lan Sizhui of all the times he’d woken up his seniors in the middle of the night every time he felt sick as a child. Something soft tugged at his heart and he hurried to Jin Ling’s side, holding his hair away from his face and gently combing his fingers through the strands to comfort him.

Jin Ling gripped the sides of the pot and took a moment to breathe, his nausea slowly subsiding. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, more worried about how gross and embarrassing it was while Lan Sizhui was simply worried about him.

Lan Sizhui chuckled to lighten the mood and make him feel better. “Do you think I’ve never had to do this for Jingyi? It’s really no trouble.”

Jin Ling scrunched his nose at hearing Jingyi’s name. “Gods, don’t mention him right now.”

A knowing grin spread across Lan Sizhui’s face. “Let me guess. You two were competing again?”

He kept hold of his hair as Jin Ling lifted his face from the pot and glared miserably at the wall. “Not really… it was just a dumb game.” His words slurred together and his eyes felt heavy.

“Oh? Did you win?”

“I’dunno. Don’t really care. I’m so tired.”

Lan Sizhui nodded and let go of his hair. He pushed himself to his feet and offered Jin Ling his hands. “I can take you back to your room if—“

Jin Ling accepted the help to stand but once he was up, he clumsily swayed over to Lan Sizhui’s bed and splattered face-first onto the surface.

Lan Sizhui stood awkwardly next to the pot, mouth hanging open and hands suspended in the air. The minute Jin Ling’s body sunk into the bed, he knew any attempt to get him back up and guide him to his own room would fail miserably.

With a defeated sigh, Lan Sizhui took a moment to place the pot out into the hall, then fished several blankets and pillows from a nearby trunk. Jin Ling squinted and watched curiously as the blankets were laid onto the floor, creating a small make-shift bed. “What’re you doing?”

Lan Sizhui looked up at him and nodded courteously. “Giving you the bed, of course.”

Just as Lan Sizhui laid down and pulled a blanket over himself, Jin Ling pushed through his drunken exhaustion and sat up with his brow furrowed. He huffed and lazily rolled off the bed, padding over to Lan Sizhui and dropping down to lay next to him on the layered blankets.

“Ah—Young Master Jin?” Lan Sizhui stared at him in disbelief, waiting for an explanation.

“I’m not gonna take your bed,” Jin Ling muttered. “If you’re sleeping in the floor, so am I.”

Lan Sizhui blinked at him, utterly perplexed by his drunken logic. “We can share the bed, then. It’s more comfortable—“ He was about to stand up when Jin Ling’s hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back down to the floor.

“Stop making me chase you,” he droned. “I’m too tired, just shut up and stay.”

With his arm trapped in Jin Ling’s grasp, he couldn’t get up even if he wanted to so Lan Sizhui fell quiet and laid back down, catching the moment Jin Ling’s eyes fluttered open to look at him. Lan Sizhui lifted his brows curiously. “I thought you said you were tired.”

“I am,” Jin Ling slurred.

“Closing your eyes tends to help with that.”

They stared at each other in silence until Jin Ling loosened his grip on Lan Sizhui’s arm and reached over the run his fingers through his long, loose hair. “You look good with your hair down.”

Lan Sizhui froze in place, his face growing warm. “Oh, um—thank you…?” He panicked when Jin Ling inched closer to him, the heavy scent of alcohol still on his breath and half-moon eyes clearly trained on Lan Sizhui’s lips. Before he could lean in further, Lan Sizhui cupped his hand over Jin Ling’s mouth to stop him.

The gesture stunned Jin Ling for a moment before his expression sank and he mumbled something into Lan Sizhui’s palm. Lan Sizhui lowered his hand and frowned. “Sorry—“

“Did I do something wrong?” The dejection in Jin Ling’s voice was unmistakable, his face plagued with genuine sadness.

Lan Sizhui shook his head and offered a small but reassuring smile. “You didn’t. It’s okay. But we can’t… do that. Not when you’re drunk.”

Jin Ling deflated and pouted into the blankets. “If you don’t like me, you can just say it.”

“A-Ling,” Lan Sizhui reached over and brushed his thumb over the back of Jin Ling’s hand. “I like you. That’s why I stopped you.”

Everything Lan Sizhui said sounded like riddles to Jin Ling’s intoxicated mind. Confusion scrunched his face as he spoke. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

Lan Sizhui chuckled and nodded in agreement. “It doesn’t right now but it will in the morning. I promise.”

“Whatever,” Jin Ling murmured, letting his fingertips idly trace the lines of Lan Sizhui’s palm.

“Are you feeling better?” Lan Sizhui asked.

Jin Ling shrugged, still looking hurt and confused by the rejection. The soft lantern light complemented Lan Sizhui’s warm smile. “Can you look at me?”

After a few more seconds of pouting, Jin Ling’s amber eyes flicked up at him, slanted in a glare. Lan Sizhui blinked and laughed nervously. “Er… maybe with a little less hostility?”

Jin Ling narrowed his eyes even more, causing Lan Sizhui to bubble with laughter and Jin Ling’s expression to soften at the sight. Something about the pure joy on Lan Sizhui’s face made his senses buzz and he genuinely couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol or not. “You make my head feel like bees.”

“Wha—bees? Is that bad?” Lan Sizhui tried to stop laughing but it was hard with Jin Ling saying such ridiculous things. To his surprise, Jin Ling responded by scooting even closer to him until his head was resting right under Lan Sizhui’s chin.

“It’s nice,” Jin Ling whispered. Before Lan Sizhui could respond, he’d already drifted off to sleep, his quiet breaths warming the small space between them.

Lan Sizhui adjusted the blanket so it covered Jin Ling’s shoulders, then relaxed and rested his hand over the other boy’s jaw and neck. “Bees, huh?”

He closed his eyes and breathed in the soft scent of scarlet peach and clove on Jin Ling’s hair, smiling against it as he gently brushed his thumb across his cheek. “Sweet dreams, A-Ling.”

{ 🖤 }

[ave09]

Ooh may I please request a cute romance fic in which Tommy Lillard (Harrison Ford’s cowboy with a heart of gold character in the hilarious comedy movie The Frisco Kid) gets married to sweet fem!Reader after getting to introduced to her through his friend Rabbi Avram Belinski?

yes!! omg i just bought this movie to watch again bc i love it 😭 cowboy harrison is my weakness. i love tommy and i’m soooo excited abt this fic!

this will be a two part fic. this is part uno, part dos will be posted tomorrow maybe… idk. i started this when i was sick so it might suck and idk what the ending is but it’s my trash and i love it.

forbidden

tommy lillard x female!reader

part one

when you first met tommy lillard, you were immediately taken by him. maybe it was the devilish good looks of his, or his slight southern accent, or his whole cowboy aesthetic.

he was just like the men you’d read about in your books.

he was everything you could ever want in a man… but there was only one issue.

it was already arranged for you to marry another man. it had been set up just a few months ago. gabriel was a good man, of course, very friendly. but, there was something about him, you couldn’t pinpoint it, but something about him was off. you did not want to marry him. 

it had been a week or so since avram belinski and tommy lillard arrived in san francisco, and tomorrow avram and rosalie bender, one of your close friends, were to be married.

the rising excitement was causing you to become more nervous. all the preparations reminded you that your own wedding was coming up soon. 

it was overwhelming. 

and you needed an escape. 

which is why you found yourself slipping away from the festivities. you exited the bender home, sighing deeply as you ran a hand through your hair.

a sound caught your attention. you glanced up, noticing the beautiful brown horse tied up a few feet away. a soft smile spread across your lips as you took a few steps toward the creature.

you’d always loved horses. they seemed to be so peaceful, so kind. 

you lifted a hand, gently placing it against the horse’s muzzle. you didn’t want to overwhelm the creature, so you took a gentle approach. 

“hi there.” you greeted.

the horse huffed, as though greeting you back.

“nice to meet you.” you said with a laugh, you were talking to a horse for goodness sake! your hands traveled across the animals sleek coat, admiring its beauty. 

“you’re a pretty one, aren’t you?” 

“i think he likes you.” 

you jumped, startled by the sound. you turned to see tommy lillard approaching you, a smile on his face. 

“i-i’m sorry, i hope i’m not bothering-“

tommy shook his head, “no, no, not at all.” he assured, now standing beside you. 

“so.. ya like horses?” it was awkward. this whole encounter was awkward. but you’d rather have an awkward encounter with a handsome cowboy then return to the festivities.

you nodded, “i’ve always been fond of them.” tommy nodded, “ya ever ride one?” “goodness no, my parents would throw a fit.” 

the man arched his brows, “and why is that?” 

“riding horses is for the men. not the women.” 

“bullshit, anyone can ride a horse.” you watched as the man crossed in front of you, untying the reins. you furrowed your brows, “what are you doing?” 

“i,” he paused, taking the reins, “am going to teach you to ride.” your eyes widened in surprise, “pardon?” 

“you heard me, darlin’.” you felt a blush creep

up your neck at the name. you couldn’t believe it. tommy lillard was going to teach you to ride a horse! 

he beckoned you over, “now, to get on, you’re gonna put your foot in this hole here, and you’re gonna hold onto that knob on top of the saddle, ya following?” you nodded, watching intently as he pointed to the specific parts of the saddle. 

“once you’re steady, you just pull yourself up. got it?” “i think so.” you replied. “well, go for it.” 

you took a step forward, your eyes locked on the saddle as you remembered what tommy had just said. but one thought lurked in your mind, “what if i fall?” 

the man sent you a smile, “then i’ll catch you.” now seeing that you were in good hands, you lifted your foot, placing it where it needed to go. you then grasped the knob, holding it tight.

“good, now pull yourself up.” you exhaled deeply, suddenly feeling incredibly nervous. you felt tommy’s hands graze your waist, “i’m right here, i won’t let you fall.” he assured. you nodded, adjusting your grip on the handle before using your strength to heave yourself onto the horseback. 

a wave of relief washed over you as you steadied yourself, glancing down to see tommy beaming at you. “there ya go!” 

“i did it,” you whispered with a chuckle. 

“hell yeah, ya did!” 

the man then climbed onto the horse, surprising you as he settled behind you. “whatever are you doing?” you asked.

“teaching you to ride,” he said nonchalantly, taking the reins, “now, place your hands over mine.” you did so. his hands were far larger than yours, warm, you found comfort in his touch. 

“right, so what you do now is you just take the reins, and give ‘em a gentle pull, not to harsh unless you want him to take off, okay?” he explained, demonstrating carefully in order to not set the horse in motion. you nodded slowly. 

“well, go for it.” he urged, removing his hands from under yours and instead placing them atop, enveloping yours. you took a deep breath, gripping the reins, tugging them softly. the horse let out a soft neigh before it began trotting forward slowly. 

tommy let out a laugh, “look at you! you’re a natural!” 

“i’ve hardly done anything.” you said, your face flushing red. 

“you’ve done enough to show me how good you are.” his voice was soft, gentle. you felt your heart flutter as he moved closer, you could feel the warmth radiating off of him. 

“now, let’s see what else ya can do.”

— — — —

“no!”

“yes! i tell ya darlin, i still can’t believe we made it here.” 

you let out a laugh, the story of his and avram’s adventure to san francisco still fresh in your mind. 

you shifted on the hay you were currently resting on. after riding around with tommy for a while, it had started to rain. it was nice at first, until it began to pour. you’d found an old barn to take shelter in, and now, you were listening to tommy’s stories about all the adventures to go on. 

“you live such a crazy life, it’s so eventful.” you said, glancing over at the man laying beside you, who smiled, “yeah, it’s pretty nice.” 

the two of you fell into a comfortable silence, the only sound being the rain pounding on the roof. 

but this silence was broken quickly, “and what about you?” 

“what about me?”

“what do you want?” you furrowed your brows, “huh?” 

“what do you want? where do you want to go? what are your desires? i’m a curious fella.” 

you let out a sigh. 

never had someone asked you that-not the way he was asking it now. but you found them to be the easiest questions in the world.

what do you want? to be with him.

where do you want to go? wherever he goes.

what are your desires? to live a loving life with him.

but you couldn’t say that. could you?

“i don’t know.” you whispered. tommy furrowed his brows, rolling over to face you, “you don’t know? whaddya mean you don’t know? everyone wants something.” 

you bit your lip, sighing deeply. “what i want is something i can’t have.” 

“and what is it that you want?” his voice was low, he was now gazing at you in a way you’ve never been looked at before. 

you felt your heart race, palms sweat. “i..” 

he leaned in slightly, “what is it that you want?” he repeated, a little slower this time. your eyes darted to his lips, “you.”

it was a leap, but, you took a chance.

tommy remained silent for a moment, which scared you. were you reading into this too much? had you misunderstood?

“and who says you can’t have me?” 

he dipped his head, connecting his lips with yours. you felt as though you were dreaming. never in a million years did you think you’d be here, kissing tommy lillard in a barn of all places. 

after a moment, he pulled away, leaving you breathless. you smiled softly, “wow.” “wow is right…” he brushed a stray strand of hair away from your eyes, “you’re a damn good kisser.” you felt your cheeks flush, turning your head slightly.

“hey now, let me see that beautiful face.”

“tommy..” 

“darling…” the man grasped your chin gently, lifting your head to meet his gaze, a soft smile toying on his lips, “there’s those pretty eyes.” 

why couldn’t it be him? gabriel never complimented you in this way. why couldn’t it be tommy?

why couldn’t he be the man who you were to marry?

— — — —

you didn’t remember falling asleep, but sure enough, you woke up on tommy’s chest, his muscular arms wrapped tightly around you. 

the sun was shining brightly, and it was now avram and rosalie’s wedding day. you had awoken tommy, and the two of you had rushed home on horseback, the events of the night going unspoken.

the wedding ceremony had been beautiful. absolutely beautiful, and you’d be lying if you said you hadn’t shed a tear. 

you were so happy for avram and rosalie, but you once again found yourself being uncomfortable at the thought of the next wedding beings your own. 

the celebration began quickly after, everyone was dancing and having fun, except rosalie’s mother, who hadn’t stopped crying. 

and once again, gabriel had been glued to your side. this time, you could not escape. “would you like to dance?” he asked, sounding somewhat annoyed. this was his fifth time asking you. it wasn’t that you didn’t want to dance with him persay, you personally just didn’t enjoy the sport. 

“i don’t like to dance, gabriel.” you replied as politely as possible. the man let out a huff, “well would you like a drink then?” 

“yes, thank you.” gabriel then left your side for the first time in hours, and you felt somewhat grateful. 

you heard someone clear their throat obnoxiously behind you. slowly, you turned, unable to hide your smile. “hi tommy,” 

“hey darling. you look very nice today.” 

“you don’t look too bad yourself.” you replied. he smiled, hazel eyes flitting from the dance platform to you. you caught on immediately, shaking your head rapidly. 

“no.” 

“oh come on! it’ll be fun!” he exclaimed. you continued to shake your head, “i don’t dance.” 

“everybody dances darling.” you pursed your lips, watching as he extended a hand toward you. “i’ll give ya a kiss if you give me one dance.”

there it was.

“tommy, i can’t-“

“says who?” 

you averted eye contact, trying to figure out how to admit the truth that tommy had failed to notice. 

“come on darling, i like you, you like me, i’m a sort of respectable man, it would be-“

“tommy, i’m engaged.” 

his brows furrowed, hazel eyes narrowing, “you-you’re engaged?” you nodded slowly. the man took a moment to register your words, “so that’s what you meant when you said you couldn’t have what you wanted..”

“i’m sorry, i didn’t think this would go that far..” you were terrified of his reaction. but you ended up feeling surprised.

“well who gives a damn. can’t you call that shit off?” 

this was all becoming far too messy. because what you truly wanted was to call off the wedding and be with him. 

but you couldn’t. you couldn’t let your family down.

“tommy, i’m sorry… we-we can’t do this.” 

you turned to walk away, feeling completely overwhelmed, but felt him grasp your wrist, whirling you around to face him. 

he was silent for a moment, his adam’s apple bobbing, “dance with me.”

“i-“

“please. just one dance.” desperation laced his voice, almost begging. you sighed deeply, nodding. he smiled softly.

and for the first time, you danced. you danced the night away with tommy lillard, wishing that you could live in this moment forever…

but it was not to be.

or so you thought. 

[mochiwrites]

GETS MY RABIES FOWM ALL OVER THE FLOOR EHRNEHRBRHRBHRNRBDHEHSHSLNs I'm so. The fucking circus. It's so fucking nice to see how you're taking an extremely traumatic event for Grian and actually keeping it. You've always been one of my literal fucking favorite ever fic writers but god is it still refreshing to see a traumatic situation not used as shock value. Grian being affected through nightmares, flashbacks, looking over his shoulder, being even more glued to Mumbo, it's so. GOD!!!! I can see all the ways it's gotten to him and how he's trying so fucking hard to just move on bc he doesn't want to be miserable and scared. He's so tired of being scared. It's so clear

yeah !!!!!!

one of my biggest things in writing is portraying trauma accurately. it’s the ex-psych major in me DHFHTHTGG

but showing the after effects of the circus is so important to me because that is grian’s first real traumatic experience and you don’t. Just get over that. I mean, he had that whole bit of having never really ??? thought about death before ???? but now the circus forced him to and it’s a big thing.

and I 100% feel you on the treating traumatic events being used as shock value and nothing more because it. Happens so often. and it’s so ???? very frustrating to see as a writer. and like — oh my god I didn’t realize how much impact the circus has on the story. because the circus hasn’t just impacted grian. it’s impacted mumbo as well.

there was a fic I was writing that I didn’t go anywhere with, but there was a scene in there that showcased the impact the circus had on mumbo and I’m just. gonna through this snippet here because I probably won’t use it for anything (?) soooo!

“I don’t need babysitting!” Grian snaps at him, looking at him with offense. “I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself, thank you very much!”

“Mate, I hate to be the one to break it to you but you are notorious at this point for getting into trouble,” Mumbo retorts, deadpan. “The last thing we need is you getting into trouble while I’m not there. And there’s quite a bit of monsters that live in this area … so, Scar.”

“May I remind you that this is the same guy who kidnapped me and tried to kill me, Mumbo?” Grian reminds him with a rather unhappy look. He and Scar may be building some sort of friendship, but he’s not particularly fond of the idea of being left alone with him. For who knows how long.

“Hey, I thought we were past that!” Scar cries, gaze falling on Grian.

“I never said I forgave you. Or forgot,” Grian smoothly replies, turning his frown to Scar. “But seriously Mumbo, I appreciate the concern but I promise I’ll stay wherever! I won’t run off,” he swears. “Scar does not need to stay.”

“Yeah!” Scar agrees. “You know I’ll be helpful in whatever information we can get. I’m not a charmer for nothing, after all.”

Mumbo sighs quietly, “I’m just… worried, alright?” If he’s being honest the idea of leaving Grian alone for more than ten minutes makes him anxious. A million different situations run through his mind, and Mumbo can’t stomach the thought. “The last time you were left alone you were kidnapped, and it,” he lets out a small little self deprecating chuckle, “well I’m worried about something happening to you. And I trust Scar to keep you safe.” He gives the fae a pointed look.

Something in Grian immediately softens at that, as he takes in Mumbo’s slightly crestfallen expression. He knows the vampire still feels guilty about the circus, but Grian never really stopped to think how else the circus may have affected him. He’s noticed the way that Mumbo has seemed a bit more jumpy lately, the way he seems so reluctant to let Grian leave his sight.

and just. AUGH T^T

but yeah. Yeah. grian is Still feeling that impact from the circus, and so is mumbo. and mumbo’s thing is def smth I want to work in but yeah. yeah

[asterdeer]

i finished it………….holy shit why was beating the literal elder brain easier than fighting cazador and viconia the proper ways. anyway i am Bereft. i miss them already (is about to start a new playthrough as we speak) (and this time i am SAVING LAE’ZEL)

favorite bits

- treeboy was too distraught over the idea of losing karlach so he and wyll moved to avernus with her and they are TRULY tres horny boys (because i made loreleaf a tiefling, get it). based on the dialogue options in the epilogue it sounds like its assumed that was the karlach romance option??? treeboy did not get to brag on his boyfriend at all. but i am into them being a queerplatonic little polycule of sorts so i’m mostly okay with it.

- halsin is still so horny for my treeboy and it delights me. loreleaf got to be so loved on in this game and it makes me very happy. i would literally do another treeboy run just to do a halsin romance (or maybe the halsin/astarion??? i WILL figure out how to make astarion love my boy. i will figure it out. or maybe just write fic about it idk.)

- when karlach says she adores tav as she’s about to die 😭😭😭😭😭😭 i too almost died

- jaheira is soooo slept on she’s such a good character. i adore her.

- i think loreleaf would mount another adventure just to get lae’zel back. she got so fond of him after the party rescued her and i will be daydreaming the second, even more terrifying lae’zel rescue for a while. because i refuse to believe that’s how she ended up, okay, we went through TOO MUCH CULT SHIT to lose a family member to another one

- the emperor is a little bitch baby. “ooh why won’t you kill a man who hasn’t done anything to us, why don’t you trust me, wah wah” even lae’zel let the guy live temporarily, you ass. i’m glad astarion one-shotted you.

- in the final battle i literally lost loreleaf and shadowheart completely and lae’zel knocked herself prone and astarion was too far away to hit the brain, it really was just orpheus doing my dirty work in the end, poor guy.

- uhhhhhhhhh i’m going to cry about halsin if i think about him too long, i’m just. he got his family and his home 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

- i’m a little sad that shadowheart didn’t get more for her epilogue, especially considering how close she and loreleaf were, but at least i got to hug her again (which was very funny because his horns stabbed her directly in the eye both times they hugged)

- i. i love this game. so much. i can’t wait to do it all over again :’)

[the-bat-collector]

SUPERBAT Rec List!! AU NO POWERS ish PART 2

No Powers or No Capes (There are some minor exceptions but I think this still applies)

Soo it’s become harder to find these fics and I kept postponing making this list just in case I found moreeeee. After some time convincing myself I decided that If I find more I’ll just make a part 3.

Here is the link to Part 1 Post

So without further ado. Here you go!

Storge by ichikonohakko @ichikonohakko

G - 3,310

Storge (storgē, Greek: στοργή) is liking someone through the fondness of familiarity, family members or people who relate in familiar ways that have otherwise found themselves bonded by chance. An example is the natural love and affection of a parent for their child.

Or the story of how Clark Kent meets the Wayne family children.

So this was in my mark for later and I read it as I was making this list and it’s very cute and adorable and highly recommend it! 

don't you know an apparition is a cheap date by knoxoursavior  @clqrkkent

E - 39,385

Clark has been able to see ghosts since he was eight, just a few days before his Pa died in his sleep. Years later, after having moved to the city with Martha to pursue writing, Clark meets Bruce Wayne, who takes an interest in his work and Clark in particular. Not long after they meet, Bruce asks Clark to marry him and Clark moves into a mansion that has more ghosts than it has people.

So I couldn’t find more AUs for this list, I was about to quit looking and yesterday I ran into this one and it gave me so much hope that there might be more out there (part 3?maybe?) I think of this as Ghost Whisperer Clark 

Stories for the Loved and Lost by MatchaMochi @renaimori 

M - 9,681

The first chapter leads Clark to another, and another. He turns the pages, eating the words up hungrily and feeling them, pored over the story as if he was reading someone’s personal diary. And the thing was, he knows it, he knows this story. He remembers flashes of memory that aren’t his, thrown in yesterday’s weird dream or last night’s nightmare.

or in which Bruce is an author and Clark is his fanboy.

I WILL read every single SOULMATE AU FIC I CAN FIND CAUSE I’D DIE FOR THIS TROPE. This is beautifully written <3 <3

Ghastly Murders in the East End by dippkip @dippkip

T - 38,227

London, 1888. A vicious killer known as Jack the Ripper has begun haunting the district of Whitechapel. In light of Scotland Yard’s inability to solve the case, intrepid reporter Clark Kent has made it his mission to track down this fiend and bring them to justice, though he may find himself more deeply involved in the affair than he bargained for.

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne, a seemingly irresponsible and eccentric duke, remains largely unconcerned about these atrocities. The Batman, however, has taken special interest, and spends his nights relentlessly hunting the new murderer at large. The paths of these men will converge as the body count begins to rise, and their investigations and growing affections will cement their bond, intertwining their fates with that of the most notorious murderer in all of England.

OKaaaay this is one of the exceptions, Bruce is Batman but it’s a different century and Clark is powerless, I think it compensates. Usually I prefer when they’re both “capeless” but this was such a fun read. 

As You Grow by dnawhite76 & Prubbs @prubbs​ 

M - 59,946

After the death of his wife and children, Clark returns to the United States after spending years abroad to reconnect with his friends and their families. And while trying to gather what little remains of his old life and possibly move forward in his grief, he ends up falling into old habits with his first love and best friend, Bruce Wayne.

A story about grief and acceptance.

So I want to point out how good this fic is. I hate sad and this story has a lot of grief and I felt it was very grounded on its depictions of feelings. I tend to avoid this type of fics buuuuut this was so good. I couldn’t stop reading even if the grief got to me. It’s very wholesome and does have a satisfying ending. 

A good start by BlueAlmond @discretocincel​

G - 1,253  

Clark loves being an elementary school teacher, but it breaks his heart to see any of his students hurting. So, when he notices Jason waiting over forty minutes every day for someone to pick him up, he decides to have a word with his father.

Absolutely love Professor Trope!!! Sooo you could argue this is ficlet but doesn't feel like one to me so I’m not putting it in the ficlet section. 

Engraved In Our Souls by Nixie_DeAngel @nixie-deangel​

T - 9,004

It started with pain, with warm blood and bold, black letters. How was he to know it'd lead to a pair of gorgeous eyes, shimmering with the promise of life long happiness and love?

Or, after years of waiting, Bruce finds his soulmate in the least likely of places.

Little cute soulmate AU<3  AS I SAID I WILL READ EVERY SINGLE SOULMATE AU OUT THERE CAUSE I LOVE THEM

Ghosts by ren_makoto 

T -3,067

Wayne Manor is haunted. Clark doesn't mind.

Here is another of the exceptions, this is neither No Powers/No Capes, but they’re not relevant to the plot or we don’t see them using them (I don’t think they are mentioned but its implied). The Fic’s whole focus is on the ghosts! and absolutely loved it I LOVE REN MAKOTO FICS

There is Little Danger by ren_makoto

T - 5,327

"It's tradition," he said, one inch from Clark's mouth. "Yes," Clark said. "Tradition."

Or, where Bruce and Clark are trapped in an elevator

another Ren Makoto cause I can’t help myself

Semi-Permanent Couplings by ren_makoto

E - 10,463

"So, Bruce, how do you feel about one-night stands?"

Ren Makoto <3 <3 <3 This fic contains Adultery soo Read the Author’s Notes

Hubris by ren_makoto

M - 20,197

"This is turning into a routine," Bruce said breathlessly. "What can I do for you, Clark?" "Please," Clark said hoarsely. "I just want to get some sleep."

I really like the writing on this fic, this is a 100% NO CAPES, Clark does have powers and he’s starting to process them. Ren Makoto stole my heart with this one.

Not so Perfect Afterall by tekowrites

E - 6,966

AU: High school, Senior year. Clark thinks his life is nearly, if not already perfect. Then he overhears a conversation that changes absolutely everything. Bruce is there to pick up the pieces.

Red, White and Blue by melmel_79

E - 3,639

He works for the Secret Service, and it's best that no one knows he is in a relationship with the president. At least he hoped no one would know...

He grips the envelope tighter and knocks on the door to the Oval Office.

This was a mistake.

Late Night Feelings by the_butler @the-butler-fanstuff

M - 9,283

It was a little past one in the morning, the phone the only light in his room. He glared at it, then threw it to his side on the bed, not caring to see where it landed. A few seconds after, he patted all along the side to find it and looked at it again. He pulled up the messaging app, scrolled down, and then sighed. He exited the app and threw the phone on the bed again. He repeated this several times until some minutes later the phone chimed and he hurriedly sat up and felt for it on his bed. He opened the messaging app again and finally breathed a sigh of relief when he read the reply he’d been waiting for the whole night.

“Be there in 30 mins.”

I LOVE CLARK HERE, GOOD FOR YOU. He’s such a good adult looking out for himself! self-loving and self-respecting Clark here everybody.

it took me by surprise (I know you felt it, too) by jessequicksters @jessequicksters​

G - 1,124​

In which Clark and Bruce fall in love in between study sessions, track races, grocery shopping at Whole Foods and romantic student dinner dates, burnt lasagna and all.  

FLUFF, could argue this is a ficlet buuuuut dont care, it goes here.

Towards You by tekowrites

E - 22,607

AU where Clark is a new transfer student at an elite high school, and he encounters Bruce Wayne. Clark doesn't fit in, not anywhere it seems, and his crush on the star of the football team? Only serves to shows how much. Jealous girlfriends, misunderstandings, hormones and lurking trouble are just some of the challenges he's going to face.

I LOVE THIS , basically this fic made want to make a PART 2, just had to find 15+ other fics to add to the list. 

Read the tags, this does contain some heavy topics towards the end

The Game (of Love) by KaizokuHime @kaizokunohime

E -12,288

In WayneTech VR Augmented Gaming, a guild of superheroes has arisen who volunteer to help police that reality. One of these superheroes, Superman, has had a crush on his fellow member, Batman, for many years, but thus far has had little success on asking him out, even as fellow guildmembers. How will their relationship progress? And how intimate can they truly become without knowing the other's identity offline?

A Game You Can't Win gave me hunger for gaming fics, then I found this one and I WANT MORE GAMING FICS

Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang by ShowMeAHero @andillwriteyouatragedy

E - 8,354

Clark Kent is a professor at the same university as Bruce Wayne. Not that it matters, because Bruce doesn't really speak with his co-workers - they're there to work with, not befriend. That is, until Clark and Bruce are assigned to teach a class together in the fall, and start spending more and more time together, and Bruce starts to realize, maybe, he just might need a friend - and maybe, he just might need something else, something Clark-specific.

YES YES PROFESSOR TROPE. They are the best together!

------------------------------------------------------------------

SORTA KINDA MAYBE FITS THE CATEGORY

The Gift by tmelange

E - 5,564

University student Clark Kent is on a field trip to Gotham City where he meets a creature of the night.

VAMPIRE AU, soooo Clark has powers but he is not superman so NO CAPES on his part. Bruce is a Vampire and I’m not really sure if he’s Batman but he’s some sort of vigilante. This felt very AU and sorta? fit the category, so I decided to add it anyways but it’s worth to mention this is an outlier on this list.

------------------------------------------------------------------

SPECIAL MENTION CAUSE I HAVENT READ THIS ONE BUT IT WAS RECOMMEND TO ME by @just-add-butter​

Spoils of War by littlechinesedoll @cumdumpsterbrucie

“If I go with you as a spoil of this pointless war, will you leave?” Bruce stands his ground, terrified and shaking, but he keeps eye contact with the warlord.

“Excuse me?” Kal must be hearing things.

“If I go with you, if I serve you, will you let my people live? Will you let my brother live?”

This is not finished buuuut it’s a Medieval AU. I just need to get myself in the right mindset to read an unfinished fic but will get to it! love what llittlechinesedoll writes.

------------------------------------------------------------------

FICLETS 

This section was accidental. I like my fics long and rarely read ficlets but here are a few that came across my way when I forgot to set word count filters.

Snapping the Chats by littlechinesedoll @cumdumpsterbrucie

G - 2,278

Clark tries to use the Snapchat filters on Bruce.

General Check-up by littlechinesedoll @cumdumpsterbrucie

T - 906

One where Brucie is getting a check-up from Thomas Elliot and he touches Bruce more cause Clark is obviously jealous

Subway Providence by the butler @the-butler-fanstuff

G - 400

A short drabble about art I did of Clark and Bruce waiting for the train on a subway platform.

So my first list was me coming across and realizing I love this kind of AUs and this second list is me carefully looking for them! Even tho my 1st list has some of my favorites, I hold this one closer to my heart. Hope you Enjoy it. 

Also if you know of any that I haven’t included on these lists, please I beg you send them my way <3 

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

Omg im sorry I’ve already sent a whole essay to ur inbox but 😭😭 I was listening to laufey (because when am I not) SPECIFICALLY let you break my heart again and. I couldn’t help but think of your sugu fic where you invite him in for tea and.. :,( I know you said it could be taken platonically or romantically but in the instance that it was taken romantically I think the lyrics fit super well :(((

“still you take up all my mind, I don't even think that you care like I do. I should stop, heaven knows I've tried” // “One day, I will stop falling in love with you. Some day, someone will like me like I like you. Until then, I'll drink my coffee, eat my pie, Pretend that we are more than friends - Then of course I'll let you break my heart again” // “I'm just tryna understand What I am to you More than songs we've exchanged, midnight calls, Sunset views, mm”

Sugu is very Mitski coded and very laufey coded in this essay I will !! ^_^ n e ways,, I have done my part now I’m going back to my corner <33 APOLOGIES AGAIN FOR BARGING INTO YOUR INBOX DHEHEHSGS

OLLIEEEEE first of all never apologize for barging into my inbox u are always welcome here <333

AND AAAAA I GOT SO GIDDY READING THIS i’m so overjoyed that it made u think of my beloved tea geto fic 😭😭 IT’S SOOOO THEMMM YOU’RE RIGHT i just listened to the song and sniffled a bit…. even just the instrumental is sooo lovely and soft and perfect for them :< AND THE LYRICS GODDD

feeling kind of sick tonight // all i’ve had is coffee and leftover pie // it’s no wonder why

ooh, still you take up all my mind // i don't even think that you care like i do // i should stop, heaven knows i’ve tried

one day, i will stop falling in love with you // some day, someone will like me like i like you // until then, i’ll drink my coffee, eat my pie // pretend that we are more than friends // then of course i’ll let you break my heart again

some day, one day // i will stop falling in love with you // until i do // i’ll be thinking of you // let you break my heart again

aaaaa they’re so…. i really am so so fond of these two :((( the yearning and resignation…. the warmth…. yeahhhh they make me cry and this song does too T_T…….

HE’S SO MITSKI / LAUFEY CODED IT’S INSANE he’s genuinely every singly sadgirl artist ever …. been listening to a lot of girl in red recently and he’s soooo girl in red too ….. rip geto suguru any of their first albums could’ve saved u 💔💔

BUT AAAA TYSM FOR DROPPING IN OLLIE and for thinking of my silly lil fic 🥺🥺🥺 THIS MADE ME SO HAPPY feel free to drop in literally whenever!!! i love talking to u !!!! <33333

[valewright67]

Melizabeth Week Day Three: Team/Strength

Short, simple, and not QUITE a fic, more of a headcanon. Pre curse break.

Also, sorry I'm posting so late, it took me way too long to get an idea on this, much less get started. But it's still 10:55 pm for me, soooo. I'm technically within hours.

_-_-_-_-_

Sometimes, when no one's looking, Mel will catch himself watching Elizabeth with this soft, fond look. Like. Peak love. Radiating goo. A piece of him always melts a little when he sees her, but now it's not only visible, but OBVIOUS.

And one time, because he's starting to relax more, he does it in front of the sins, but schools himself quickly, and is grateful none of them caught it.

He didn't realize Gowther, the surprisingly observant - despite being so oblivious - asshole, saw it.

Now this is the same time that he does the whole "Is the Princess in love with the Captain?" And then lists off a bunch of evidence Thing.

Except this time, he follows it up by saying "To follow up on that question. Is the Captain in love with the Princess? He has shone an increased want to protect her, and, despite his rough teasing, I've caught him looking at her with an expression usually reserved to... what is the term? Honeymooners!"

Meliodas flushes a little and tries to change the subject, but the other sins are out for BLOOD now, they have caught the scent, and they prod at him mercilessly, demanding a straight answer.

Elizabeth is doing that thing where she sits very quietly, staring wide eyed at her lap with a BRIGHT red face as she processes All Of That.

Gowther is looking between the two with that one expression he does where he doesn't understand a thing, and is frustrated about it.

"It is clear they both love each other. They exhibit all physical symptoms, and most mental that I have observed, of wanting to form a pairing. Why do they not just do so?"

And Elizabeth finally squeaks and retreats inside, up to their room, because she needs a bit to recover in solitude.

Meliodas does that thing where he was smiling, but his teeth are also gritted, and he feels a tick mark forming. "Gowther. Drop it."

"But why? If you want to form a relationship with the princess, I'm almost positive she would accept your advances."

"I understand that. Drop. It."

"Very well. But why is she so important to you? She does not have many skills, and has poor coordination. She does not seem the kind of person you would typically be interested in. Especially given the few glimpses I have seen of your past lover, the pink haired woman, was strong and competent."

His face goes hard. "Elizabeth IS MY strength. Do not insult her, nor me, by demeaning her."

He just cocks his head, nods, and drops the subject like nothing happened, in typical Gowther fashion. Meliodas sighs, and returns to his ale.

[harveyscape]

IM BORED. my top three farscape eps from each season::::::: looking at these i think season two has the best EPISODE concepts (it was hard choosing faves from that season bc i love so many) but season 4 is my favorite for just,,,,,,, the hecking Yearning + domestication in each episode but i dont particularly favor the episodes themselves 

Season 1:

through the looking glass - i always saw this ep as being the first completely filler ep that really felt like farscape with the crew all working together and having a VERY CUTE little laugh about it at the end. i love the vagueness of it, it’s not annoying or cliche??? and i’m particularly fond of the yellow moya scenes like rygel’s like “shall i disrobe so it will be memorable” is one of my fave lines from him.

a human reaction - mY TRASH. MYYYY TRASH. just one of those farscape eps that are so Abstract in concept, they are just Default Faves for me like Always haha. so many good little j/a crumbs, the kiss in this ep is one of my BIG FAVES, i love everything about that scene and the ones leading up to it. LOVE THE RAIN SCENE. it’s probably the very first time john is like ‘maybe Earth bad’ and,,, ‘maybe space girl Good’ and i love that thruline of the show. this ep stands soooooo far apart from the majority of season 1 for me.

nerve: the hidden memory - “THE RADIANT AERYN SUN.” stark isn’t unbearable in his debut episodes woah! i like him as a sad boy who isnt a plot device! love gilina, love her death (rip), love seeing how far john and aeryn have come since they’d last seen her, love aeryn and crais’s interaction in this episode like YES GIRL SLAY, love whenever aeryn has to juggle with feeling WEAK and having to put her big girl pants on to save her himbo, love any interaction between d’argo and aeryn LOVE THAT.

Season 2:

crackers don't matter - the DIALOGUE in this episode is Insane and i LOVE IT i think there are so many line deliveries in this ep that are so memorable and Iconic they all just live in my mind rent FREE. i wish the commentary for this episode wasn’t about the more practical aspects of it because UUUHUUH i genuinely would love to just Absorb the mindset behind it. GOD TIER FILLER. 

out of their minds - i am such a whore for body swap tropes it’s humiliating. another ep with a lot of iconic line deliveries! i love cb playing as john! love that for her! bb as rygel too is amazing i love all their stupid accent switching SO MUCH. love the skeksis love that they joke about them looking like skeksis because it’s jim henson and they can DO THAT. 

won't get fooled again - any time i think about this ep im like man how Opened Third Eye was it to have john just immediately be like “haha ok this is fake lmao” like it’s so SUBVERSIVE in what it does pretty much right off the bat in introducing the moya crew as “normal” humans. eps like these are just ALWAYS my faves in tv series because of how crazy they can get and this one does and i love it so much for that.

Season 3: 

scratch n' sniff - any time i get the moya crew on a pleasure planet or at a rave im like HELLO. :) I LOVE RAXIL she’s such a funky little freak. describing this ep is so weird its like Oh Yeah The Boob Juice Sucking One. JUST JOHN AND D’ARGO BEING BACHELORS, WHAT BLISS. i wish i got more john + d’argo shenanigans in this show ‘cause they are like such a fave together dynamically mwah mwah mwah. <3 

into the lion's den: wolf in sheep's clothing - its a little crazy how much i Hate the first half of this two-parter which is super PANDERY AND BAD and then the last half is like so Insane and such a good close for the season. EVERYONE’S SO MISERABLE. the scorp shots with the imploding ship and the water UGHGUGHUGH <33333 love aeryn in this love her trying to save the Peacekeepers, love JOHN, love the little scientist nerd who works under Scorp i forget his name WHOOPS he has a nice design. THE CRAIS + TALYN DEATH IS SO GOOD;;;; LOVE THAT FOR THEM;;;;; <3333

 dog with two bones - i think the fact that literally no other tv show has pulled THIS MESS off really speaks to the uniqueness of farscape and its ABILITY TO TELL ROMANCE??? theres so much in this that is just like WOWOWOWOW THIS EP IS SO GOOD. the part where they kill the rogue leviathan and rygel is celebrating on the comms and it transitions to aeryn Going Insane in her prowler over everything that’s happening. FIRE. the dog with two bones analogy UGHGUGHGUGH <333333 I LOVE THE AERYN > EARTH THRULINE WITH JOHN SO MUCH ITS JUST AT ITS PEAK HERE WHICH MAKES IT GREAT BY DEFAULT. the coin scene is SOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOD THE ENDING SCENE OF THIS EPISODE IS SOOOO GOOOOOD.

Season 4: 

john quixote - MY FAVE EP OF THE SERIES LOL. love the COSTUMING love the POP CULTURE REFERENCES love that its SEASON 4 love that we GET A ZHAAN CRAIS JOOL AND STARK CAMEO. another conceptually abstract episode so of course i love it lol. love the scene in the end with john and zhaan where he’s kinda a sad boy!!!!! actually funny story about this ep the first time i watched this i was in elementary school still, i grew up on this show this is my Nostalgia Baby series, and did not know what the word “porn” was so like for a very concerning amount of time i always assumed “porn” was an Alien Word and not a real word. BECAUSE LIKE, in context you see chiana holding up a Gooey Boy and going “and this? porn!” and that was all i had to go by the end.

crichton kicks - I LOOOOVE SAD JOHN. I LOVE HIM. I love the character beats we get out of a john that CHOSE THE GIRL over his home and instead of GETTING HER he is punished for it, losing his chance at BOTH OUTCOMES like mentioned in “dog with two bones” despite him having chosen One of the options and not both. love the introduction to 1812 whenever john gets a named thing i am like Yes. :~) my boy, my little man. he’s a little crazy and a little sad.

terra firma - the YEARNING in this ep man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this ep waters my CROPS one of my Biggest Fave scenes is when Aeryn and Jack are in her prowler talking about john and he’s like Do You Wish You Were Human and she doesnt answer and im like LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! more of that John Not Vibing With Earth Anymore trope which I LOVE. literally all fics surrounding this episode i will SNORT LIKE CRACK. 

[authenticcadence18]

“Can’t Help Falling in Love” Ch. 11

AO3

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

…

HIIIII HELLO EVERYONE!!!!!!! It’s been. Quite some time. 😅 If you’re still here THANK YOU!!!!!! It is greatly appreciated!!! I hope this chapter was worth the wait, lol!!

I posted the first chapter of this fic one year ago yesterday! Consider this chapter a celebration of that 😊. The past year has been…wild, to say the least, but writing this fic and getting to share it with you guys has been one of the biggest highlights of it!!!😁💕

Thanks as always to my lovely beta and friend @youruinedmylifebynotbeingreal, and thank YOU so much for reading! I hope you enjoy!!!

...

“Wait a minute!!!”

Phineas froze in place (which was ironic, considering his realization struck in the middle of removing the crumb cake from a very hot oven).

“You called me your little crumbcake in your letter! And we just made a crumb cake! That wasn’t a coincidence, was it?”

“It was 100% not a coincidence!” Isabella called over her shoulder as she rummaged through a cabinet across the kitchen. “I wanted to make a crumb cake with my little crumbcake!”

A handful of silent seconds passed. And then she shuddered, a frothing wave of decade-old secondhand embarrassment cascading violently over her shoulders.

“Okay, I’m never calling you that again,” she announced dryly (since said frothing wave of secondhand embarrassment was purely metaphorical). “It’s way too weird.”

“What?? No!!” Phineas gently set the crumb cake on the counter, taking care to make sure it wasn’t going to fall, before turning to face her. “Isabella, it’s not weird at all!! I think it’s cute.”

“You only think it’s cute because you like me so much,” Isabella replied with a grin. “Trust me, there’s PLENTY of better pet names out there. I’ll think of some new ones for you.”

She crossed to his side of the kitchen and set the plate she’d retrieved on the counter. “Alright, all we need to do now is add powdered sugar. Do you have a sifter?”

“I sure do!”

Phineas retrieved said sifter from a drawer and turned it over in his hands a few times.

“….I’m actually an expert powdered sugar sifter, you know….” he whispered conspiratorially.

“Oh, really?” Isabella replied amusedly.

“Yeah! A few years ago, my mom put me on beignet duty for the Mardi Gras block party,” he explained. “I built a machine to actually COOK the beignets but figured out pretty quickly I’d have to powder them by hand to avoid making a huge mess…it took FOREVER. Aaand I still ended up making a mess. But now I’m an expert!!”

“Those beignets DID taste really good,” Isabella mused. “I remember thinking the powdered sugar to dough ratio was perfect!”

(She wasn’t just saying that for Phineas’s benefit, though she knew he would appreciate the compliment. As a former-Fireside Girl and baked goods’ extraordinaire, identifying quality desserts was practically in her blood!)

“Thanks!!!” Phineas replied. “I’m surprised you remember that!”

“Well, YOU made them. Everything you make is extraordinary. Of course I remember,” Isabella replied with a soft grin.

“Well, I’m not sure I’d say they were EXTRAORDINARY…” Phineas chuckled sheepishly. “…but thank you.”

“They WERE extraordinary,” Isabella insisted. “And you’re welcome!”

“It actually took awhile to get the ratio right, I’m flattered you noticed!” Phineas replied. “I did a bunch of calculations to figure it out…”

Isabella just listened with a smile as Phineas rambled on about the intricacies of beignet preparation and set to sifting sugar over the crumb cake.

And if his focus faltered a little when she hugged his middle from behind and nestled her head on his shoulder to get a better view, he didn’t show it.

….perhaps getting a better view wasn’t Isabella’s primary motivator in this situation. But she’d been waiting over a decade to indulge in coupley activities with Phineas as an actual couple: she wasn’t going to let this opportunity to do so pass her by!

She was so enamored with his closeness and the gentle lull of his explanations, so caught up in the sweet domesticity of the moment, it took her a few minutes to realize…it had been a few minutes.

Was Phineas taking his time with this (relatively simple) task on purpose?

“…hey, how long does it take an expert powdered sugar sifter to sift sugar over a crumb cake?” she murmured into his ear.

“Normally? I assume it would take about half a minute,” Phineas replied matter-of-factly. “ …but . If said expert powdered sugar sifter is being hugged by the love of their life, it usually takes longer. Could take minutes. Hours, even.”

Isabella giggled (and bit her tongue to keep from squealing at being referred to as the love of Phineas’s life because aAAAAAH!!!!) and brushed a quick kiss to his cheek before stepping back and standing at his side. “As much as I’d love to hug you for hours, we don’t want the crumb cake to get cold.”

“Eh, I’d take a hug from you over warm crumb cake any day. But you do make a good point.”

Phineas gave Isabella a smile before pouring the excess sugar into a bag and setting the sifter down. Then, his eyebrows shot up, seemingly in realization.

“Hey....what if I started calling you ‘my little crumbcake’?” he asked. “Or just ‘crumbcake’? I don’t mind if you don’t want to call me that, but would be a shame to let such a cute nickname go to waste.”

Isabella hit him with a playful glare. “If you do that, you’ll find yourself on the receiving end of an ominous patch-related threat. Just because you’re my boyfriend now doesn’t mean you’re exempt from them.”

“Boyfriend, huh?”  Phineas grinned, not deterred in the slightest by Isabella’s ominous patch related threat-threat. “That’s the first time you’ve called me that!”

“Well, we’ve known our feelings are mutual for...what, over half an hour now?” Isabella shrugged. “And we’ve already talked about being in a relationship, so I figured you being my boyfriend was implied.”

(She definitely hadn’t been trying to figure out how to casually call Phineas her boyfriend without outright asking him if he WAS officially her boyfriend. And she certainly wasn’t very relieved that he’d taken being referred to as such well. No way.)

“Soooo…” Phineas slid his hand across the counter until it found Isabella’s. “…if you’re officially referring to me as your boyfriend….does that mean I get to officially refer to you as my girlfriend?”

He’d WANTED to be the picture of suaveness in this moment, to state the obvious as succinctly and matter-of-factly as possible.

…..but the quiver of excitement in his voice had likely ruined any chances of that.

Isabella beamed down at their entwined fingers and then back up at him.

“…yes. Yes it does.”

For a handful of seconds, they just gazed at one another fondly, hands still together, neither trying to conceal how happy they were.

Maybe titles like “girlfriend” and “boyfriend” were arbitrary, especially for two lifelong best friends who were already well aware of how much they meant to one another (both in a platonic and romantic sense).

But….it still felt incredibly special to finally get to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Partners. Together. Officially.

Isabella eventually broke the awe of the moment with a wry smirk and a joke.

“I like ‘girlfriend’ a lot better than ‘crumbcake,’ that’s for sure!”

Phineas’s eyes lit up at the latter nickname, and Isabella groaned as she realized what she’d done.

“....why did I say that...” she grumbled. “We’d moved past the crumbcake thing, why did I say that???”

“I think it’s because you secretly like that nickname and wanted to remind me of it...crumbcake,” Phineas replied with a playful nudge to her side.

“WELL….maybe you’re not completely wrong there…” Isabella admitted, resting her head on his shoulder with an over-dramatic sigh. “I guess it’s kinda cute.”

(She had to admit it was sweet that Phineas was fond of a silly nickname she’d come up with so many years ago. Perhaps it was a little embarrassing, but in a nostalgic, sweet way. And she knew Phineas wasn’t teasing her maliciously...it was all in good fun. And he genuinely thought her childhood antics were endearing!)

“I knew it!” Phineas exclaimed. “You like when I call you ‘crumbcake’!!”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t let it get to your head,” Isabella replied, leaning back and reaching up to ruffle his bright red hair with a chuckle.

“Too late, it’s already up there!” Phineas gestured to his head matter of factly.

“Well! I guess I’ll just have to stand here until your brain short circuits and it leaves your head, then! Because, in your own words, your brain short circuits if you look at me for too long because I’m just soooooo beautiful.”

“True as that may be, if you really want to short circuit my brain, I think a kiss or two from you would do the trick faster.”

Phineas said this without thinking about it.

And subsequently flushed beet red once his brain caught up to his tongue.

…perhaps his lack of a filter would be enough to short circuit his brain.

Isabella, fortunately, didn’t seem phased at all by his suggestion. “Hmmm….” she murmured, tapping her chin thoughtfully and scooting closer to him. “In that case, I guess I’ll have to kiss you. It’s the only logical conclusion.”

“Uhhh…yup! It’s only logical!” Phineas agreed, trying his best to play nonchalant as Isabella wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a knowing smile (and failing pretty miserably at nonchalance because HE STILL COULDN’T BELIEVE SHE WANTED TO KISS HIM, HOW COULD HE PRETEND TO BE PLAYFULLY NONCHALANT WHEN ALL OF THIS WAS SO MONUMENTAL???).

Isabella burst into laughter at his thinly veiled enthusiasm.

Because this moment—this entire evening—was full of moments she’d always dreamed of but that had seemed like just that: dreams!

PHINEAS FLYNN was asking her for kisses, and he was smiling at her as if sharing a brief romantic moment together in the middle of his kitchen was as exciting and enticing an idea as, say, building a super-computer in his backyard.

It was so incomprehensible, so utterly opposite from the oblivious-to-a-fault Phineas she’d grown up with, that she couldn’t HELP but laugh.

Phineas laughed with her, though he didn’t quite understand what was so funny.

(Her joy and close proximity were more than enough to give him butterflies, though, so he didn’t mind.)

“Sorry, sorry!!” Isabella managed to breathe between giggles. “It’s just!!! If I could tell my younger self that you’d actually be asking me to kiss you someday, I think her head would explode.”

“I get that!!” Phineas replied. “If I could go back in time to last night and tell my slightly-younger self that I’d be asking you to kiss me this time tomorrow, I think his head would explode.”

He chuckled before getting a far off look in his eyes.

“Huh....I COULD do that…” he mused thoughtfully. “Go back in time. Talk to my past self about all this. It would certainly alleviate a lot of the anxiety I experienced before I confessed to you.”

“But you shouldn’t do that,” Isabella replied quickly. “Because it could change this timeline or zap us out of existence. I’d rather not be zapped out of existence. Especially not right now. And, besides...getting to confess to one another was worth all it took to get there, right?”

“You’re right…getting to learn about your feelings from YOU was the best!” Phineas assured her.

(This was one of the reasons he needed Isabella, to keep some of his more extreme ideas in check.)

“And I’d hate to zap out of existence. But….”

He blushed a little, suddenly feeling a bit bashful as he recalled why Isabella’d begun laughing in the first place.

“…..I’d still like a kiss from you, if that’s alright.”

“Just one?” Isabella teased.

(She hadn’t forgotten why she’d begun laughing in the first place either.)

Phineas blushed more than a little.

How could Isabella be so coy and collected about all this??

(And why was he even so flustered right now? They’d kissed a handful of times at this point, so there was no legitimate reason to get flustered….but Phineas was flustered anyway. Maybe because he’d never outright asked Isabella for a kiss before? And the mere fact that he could do that at all was a tad overwhelming?? And every few minutes he had to keep reminding himself that all this was really happening because he was still getting the hang of this whole relationship thing and despite everything it still felt too good to be true??? …who knew.)

“Well, more than one would be just fine! But—but at least one!! If that’s okay.”

VERY smooth, Romeo. Fantastic job. A+ flirting technique.

“It’s definitely okay,” Isabella whispered with a smile, tenderly cupping his face in her hands and drawing him close. “Though I appreciate you asking.”

Not much took Phineas’s breath away. He’d spent his life making the impossible possible, after all!

…but Isabella’s kisses did the trick.

And they weren’t just kisses, anyhow. They were promises, assurances, declarations of love he could feel, warm grins and soft caresses and genuine affection courtesy of his best friend (and girlfriend, now).

….frankly, he noted as said-girlfriend gingerly pulled away and coaxed his eyes open with a lilting giggle, it was a miracle he still remembered how to breathe at all.

She was smiling at him, the same smile he’d felt nestled against his and heard in her bubbles of laughter only moments ago.

He’d never realized how versatile smiles could be before today.

“Hey…guess who has hearts in their eyes now?” Isabella crooned, gently stroking his cheek with her thumb.

Phineas blinked, taking a bit longer than normal to come up with a suitable answer.

(He wasn’t used to thinking on his feet in situations like this. He wasn’t used to situations like this at all.)

Isabella’s pupils appeared to be heart-free. So she must have been referring to….

“….me?”

“Yup!” Isabella grinned and gave his nose a playful “boop!” “It’s like they always say: couples who break the laws of physics together stick together.”

She brushed a final kiss to the corner of his mouth before pulling away from him entirely and turning towards the counter.

Phineas trailed behind her as she cut a slice of crumb cake (presumably for the two of them to share, as it was quite large) and slid it onto a plate, still a little dazed.

He was also interested in discovering a scientific explanation for the heart-eyes phenomenon he and Isabella had both experienced in the past half-hour…but he’d save solving that mystery for another day.

“…..how are you so good at this?” he managed to ask.

“At what? Cutting crumb cake?”

“No, I mean…” He rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish chuckle. “…the flirting, the banter, basic relationship stuff.”

(Because Isabella WAS good at basic relationship stuff. All of it was seemingly effortless for her, especially considering she’d never even been in a relationship. Phineas supposed he himself wasn’t COMPLETELY hopeless when it came to flirting—his comment about Isabella’s kisses earlier was proof of that—but he’d done that without thinking.)

“I’ve just had more practice!” Isabella replied cheerfully. “Waaaaaay more practice. I flirted with you a LOT when we were kids, you just never noticed.”

(That was probably good, all things considered. Isabella’s attempts at flirting when they were kids had left her with quite a bit of retrospective embarrassment.)

Phineas winced at the reminder of all he’d missed out on, on all the pinpricks of affection that he hadn’t caught and had instead flown far over his head.

“….sorry about that….” he mumbled.

“Hey, wait a minute. We’ve already been over this!” Isabella said sternly.

(She’d just been trying to offer him a logical answer to his question, not make him feel guilty.)

“There’s absolutely no reason to be sorry, romantic feelings are never an obligation. And besides!!”

She took a step closer to him…then another step…then another…until she was near enough to turn Phineas’s stomach to Doonkelberry jelly because was she planning on kissing him again???

But she didn’t kiss him again, instead just smirking and whispering, “…you’re very cute when you’re flustered…” before leaning back with a bright laugh.

For a few moments, Phineas was struck with the desperate need to HIDE and ESCAPE before Isabella noticed how red his face was.

…but then he remembered that she was, in fact, his girlfriend (a minute ago they’d been smooching, after all) and that his undying love for her wasn’t a secret anymore.

And, since he apparently looked cute when he was flustered, she was likely enjoying this immensely.

Whew.

“Well, I mean, you’re ALWAYS cute, don’t get me wrong,” Isabella continued. She grabbed the crumb cake-laden plate and two forks. “But when you’re flustered you’re ESPECIALLY cute.”

“Oh yeah?” Phineas countered. “Well…uh….you’re always especially cute!!! So there!!”

Isabella slowed to a halt and tilted her head at him with a chuckle. “Wait….are you trying to one-up my flirting? Or…are you trying to fluster me?”

“…..mmmaybe?” Phineas replied hesitantly. “…why, is it working???”

Isabella considered his question, taking note of the cheerful warmth spinning in her chest (and likely reddening her face a bit).

“…maybe just a little.”

Phineas didn’t attempt to hide his excitement this time, pumping his fist in the air with a whispered, “YES!!!!”

He quickly regained his composure, though.

“Well it’s GOOD that it’s working, because if it wasn’t working, I’d have to remind you that your cuteness is a scientific fact.”

“BELIEVE me, I don’t think I’ll ever forget about that,” Isabella replied with a snicker. “That was the closest you ever got to calling me cute when we were kids.”

“Hey! The mere fact that I acknowledged your cuteness at all when we were kids is a testament to just how cute you are,” Phineas stated matter-of-factly. “Because, well…you might not have noticed this, but I was just a tad oblivious to romance when we were that age.”

Isabella feigned a gasp. “WHAT???? No way, I had no idea.”

“It’s true!!!!” Phineas insisted. “….just like your cuteness being a scientific fact is true.”

The two of them burst into giggles at that.

“You know…” Isabella pointed out with a wry smile, “…for someone who claims to be bad at flirting, that was some pretty good flirting.”

(She was quite impressed, actually!)

“Well, I’ve got someone incredibly special to flirt with,” Phineas replied cheekily. “I couldn’t have done it without her.”

Isabella’s eyes widened at that, cheeks flushing bright red (because PHINEAS WAS TALKING ABOUT HER!!!!! HE THOUGHT SHE WAS INCREDIBLY SPECIAL!!!!!), and Phineas grinned eagerly before placing a hand on her shoulder and leaning in to kiss her.

That seemed like the right course of action here, to follow up a jovial round of flirting with a kiss.

(And it was the right course of action, judging from the way Isabella smiled and kissed him back.)

Perhaps he was getting the hang of this whole relationship thing after all.

…

Isabella took a moment to catch her breath as Phineas gently pulled away from her and gave her the world’s most adorable smile (and to overcome the temptation to just forget about the crumb cake and indulge in more kisses instead).

“…alright,” she exhaled. “…as lovely and sweet as all this flirting has been, are you ready to go outside?”

“Oh, definitely!!!!” Phineas replied, taking a step back. “I mean, it feels like it’s been ages since we made this crumb cake, it’s about time we actually eat it. You go on outside, I’ll clean up a bit! Just in case Ferb and my parents get back while we’re out there.”

“Sounds good!!”

Phineas made his way to the living room a few minutes later….only to find Isabella standing in front of the screen door, a blank expression on her face.

“Hey, everything okay?” he asked as he walked over to her. “I thought you were going to go outside.”

“Well…I was,” Isabella articulated slowly. “But….”

Her voice trailed off, and Phineas followed her gaze into the backyard as he finally came to a stop at her side.

“…..oh.”

The backyard was empty.

No stars.

No lanterns.

No light.

Even the picnic basket was gone.

All that remained was their blanket, still laid out beneath the tree, the only remnant of the last hour.

“Well.” Isabella cleared her throat. “I suppose we should’ve seen this coming, huh?”

Phineas didn’t respond, instead sliding the screen door open and stepping past Isabella and into the yard.

He just focused on walking, step by step by step. It was easy to keep his mind occupied with the mechanics of movement...that is, until he knelt beside the tree to collect the blanket.

Because tonight he’d had a second chance at a longer picnic with Isabella, which he’d initially chosen not to pursue when they were kids due to worries he hadn’t been able to explain back then...but the universe had taken that second chance away.

And now he had nothing tangible to express his affections to Isabella with. No inventions, no cozy sanctuaries for the two of them to snuggle up in, no physical manifestations of how much he loved her.

All he had was a blanket. Which hadn’t been enough to prolong their picnic when they were kids. And it hadn’t been enough now.

Their first moments as a couple were gone forever. He couldn’t get them back.

And this wasn’t the first time he’d built something for Isabella, only for it to disappear.

...why did it hurt even more now?

Was this going to be a normal occurrence for them? Phineas creating things, only for the world to irreverently take them away with no explanation as to why?

Because it was one thing to muse that kisses were as meaningful as big ideas while sharing a kiss with Isabella amidst one of said big ideas.

It was quite another to face Isabella without a big idea to prove the authenticity of his feelings.

And perhaps he could build something else right now, but….what would be the point?

A few tears stung at his eyes, throat burning and chest tight.

How could he build a relationship with Isabella if the world was just going to tear down his attempts to show her how much he cared?

“Gosh…it kinda feels like we’re kids again, huh?”

Phineas flinched as Isabella’s voice drew closer. He hugged the blanket to his chest as he stood, willing himself to not cry because he couldn’t cry, it would be silly to cry, all these thoughts of his were illogical. Isabella didn’t sound upset, and she hadn’t been upset when her birthday party disappeared all those years ago, she was fine, and this WAS a pretty regular occurrence for them in the grand scheme of things, so he needed to be okay. Plus, he KNEW she knew how much he loved her, he didn’t need inventions to tell her that but…..a part of him still hurt just the same.

“I mean, it genuinely takes me back! I feel like your mom’s about to offer us pie. And…..”

Isabella’s voice trailed off as she reached his side.

“Phineas?”

Phineas shut his eyes, but he could hear the rustle of grass as Isabella moved to stand in front of him.

“...Phineas, what’s wrong?”

Now her hands were on his shoulders.

He could’ve tried to pretend that nothing was wrong, to smile and laugh it off.

But...Isabella would probably see right through that.

And he was tired of keeping secrets from her, anyway.

“It’s just…..”

His lip quivered, and he sniffled before finally opening his eyes.

“....it’s gone. I planned everything and set up the picnic for you, so you’d know how much I care about you….but it’s gone…..and I wanted to keep spending time with you out here, at our picnic, because the last time we had a picnic it ended too soon and….I thought this time would be different, that we’d be able to end it on OUR terms and not because of it getting dark or anything. But it’s not. It’s like last time, and all the other times inventions disappeared before we were done with them and, I JUST!!!! I just….I’m sorry, Isabella….. I’m so sorry…..”

“Phineas Flynn. Look at me.”

Isabella took his face in her hands and gazed at him intently.

“You have nothing to apologize for. It’s okay! These things happen! And we still have the memory of our picnic, right? Didn’t you say that memories are your favorite things we made when we were kids?”

Phineas pondered that for a moment.

“.…yes…” he finally whispered.

“This is the same,” Isabella insisted. “We’re building memories! The inventions may come and go, but the memories will stay. And I will stay. Believe me, if disappearing inventions bothered me, I wouldn’t be your best friend.”

She smirked a bit and added, “And I wouldn’t be your girlfriend now, obviously.”

“I know, and you’re right!” Phineas replied quickly. “….but…..I just…..I wanted to show you how much I love you, Isabella. That’s what the picnic was for, really. I mean, I know I TOLD you how much I love you too, but for me, it’s always been easier to say that kind of thing when I’ve got an invention to back my words up….I guess, it’s a little scary to say those things when it’s just me. You’re braver than me in that regard.”

“You HAVE shown me how much you love me, Phineas…” Isabella whispered, caressing his cheek with a gentle grin. “You’ve been showing me since we were kids. And, if it makes you feel any better, I don’t love you because of your inventions and big ideas. I love you because you’re YOU. You’re Phineas Flynn! The kindest, most creative, most caring person I’ve ever met!! Everything that makes you you shines through in all your inventions, they’re an extension of who you are; but they aren’t you, you know? If I had to choose between spending a day using one of your most amazing inventions alone OR spending an invention-free day with you doing something super boring, say, watching paint dry, I’d choose the invention free day every time. I just love spending time with you….”

She trailed one of her hands down his arm till it found one of his, twining their fingers together with a comforting squeeze.

“I’m sorry our picnic disappeared, though. It was important to us, and it’s okay to be sad about it. ...do you want to set up another one? I can make paper lanterns, and I’ve got to have a picnic basket at my house. And there’s plenty of stars in the sky if you don’t have any more to spare.”

Her offer lingered in the air for a handful of seconds, and she herself seemed posed on the tips of her toes, waiting for Phineas’s answer.

“….no…” Phineas finally whispered. “….it’s okay. I know we have homework to do, building another picnic would take too much time. ….and you’re right. Spending time together….that’s what really matters. And you being willing to rebuild our picnic means a lot to me.”

“You know I’d do anything for you,” Isabella replied with a gentle smile. “And we can just sit at the table, it’ll be like…an elevated picnic! With homework! So…an elevated study date picnic!”

She patted his cheek before withdrawing her hand from his face and turning towards the door.

But Phineas wasn’t ready to go inside just yet, wasn’t ready to put aside all the emotions tumbling around inside of him.

“Wait!”

Isabella whirled back around, head tilted ever so slightly.

“Yes, Phineas?”

Phineas took a deep breath.

How could he even express how he was feeling? How could he express his gratitude towards Isabella, express how loved and cherished she made him feel, express just how much her willingness to recreate their picnic meant to him?

“I…I just…...thank you, Isabella. So much.”

To punctuate his gratitude, he lifted the hand he held and pressed a tender kiss to Isabella’s knuckle.

“I’m really, just, so lucky. Lucky to be your friend, lucky to be your boyfriend…you know that, right?”

Butterflies whirled in Isabella’s stomach, stirred by the sincerity in Phineas’s voice and the warmth of his lips still lingering on her hand and the way he was looking at her.

She eased in closer, close enough to lay a reassuring hand on Phineas’s shoulder.

“…..we’re both lucky. Incredibly lucky.”

Phineas and Isabella weren’t sure who kissed who first. Perhaps neither of them kissed first, perhaps it was simultaneous, both of them knowing instinctively what the other wanted.

This kiss was different from their first, which had been a rush of new, giddy emotions, a celebration of their reciprocated feelings, the resolution to a lifetime (or, more specifically, nine chapters) of longing.

And it was different from the playful, giggly kisses they’d given one another inside.

It was slow, purposeful, intentional. A way to say thank you, for Phineas to convey to Isabella just how much he cherished her, and for Isabella to do the same for Phineas.

It wasn’t a happy kiss, necessarily. But it wasn’t sad either. They stood nestled within the complicated space between those emotions, mourning the loss of their picnic and summers gone by even as they celebrated them.

And though the ache in Phineas’s chest didn’t disappear completely, even after Isabella murmured a reassuring, “I love you...” against his mouth as she kissed him, it faded a little with every instant he spent close to her, memorizing the way her words felt and made him feel.

“I love you too.”

He loved her, he loved her, he loved her.

Ardently, incredibly, deeply so.

Perhaps someday, he’d find a way to express that love flawlessly, with an invention or words so breathtaking and perfect, he’d eliminate the ache, the feeling of misunderstanding, the disconnect between his affection and his ability to convey it, forever.

But for now. Beneath the stars…in this quiet, plain, utterly ordinary backyard…..Isabella seemed to understand well enough.

For now, just Phineas was enough for her.

And, though he hadn’t grasped it just yet (and perhaps wouldn’t fully grasp it for quite some time), just Phineas would always be enough for her.

…

Ferb spent the ride home from regionally-renowned restaurant The Boiling Pot trying not to laugh as his parents discussed how the complimentary breadsticks had tasted good but not great and how it sure was a shame that Phineas and Isabella hadn’t tagged along with them because they would’ve loved the fireworks! And where had those fireworks even come from, anyway? What did “Gitchee Gitchee Goo” mean?

Ferb, of course, knew Isabella and Phineas were likely getting along just fine on their own.

He also knew precisely where the fireworks had come from. And what they meant. (He was a founding member of Phineas and the Ferbtones, after all.)

But he wasn’t about to spill the beans to his parents: Isabella and Phineas would have that honor.

“Have you heard from Phineas at all?” Linda asked.

Ferb glanced down at his phone and cracked a smile while scrolling through the messages he’d sent to Phineas over the past hour.

Phineas hadn’t responded to any of them, which wouldn’t have been a surprise even if Ferb hadn’t known he was spending time with Isabella. His brother wasn’t the greatest at replying to messages that didn’t need replies, especially when he was attending to other matters.

“I have not. I’m sure he’s fine, though.”

Ferb had done his best to stall at the restaurant, to be quite indecisive about his order and insist on buying dessert and give Phineas and Isabella as much time alone together as possible to figure out their feelings (because it was Phineas and Isabella: they needed all the time they could get), but one could only prolong the inevitable for so long.

Thankfully, the inevitable was about to happen.

(Well. Technically the inevitable had likely already happened, considering the fireworks. But Ferb couldn’t be absolutely sure until he got home because, again: it was Phineas and Isabella.)

“I wonder what Phineas and Isabella have been up to…” Laurence mused as he pulled in the driveway.

Ferb stifled a snicker in his elbow.

“Probably smooching,” he thought. “Or having heartfelt conversations about their feelings. Or just being sappy and sweet. Actually, it’s likely a combination of the three.”

He sent a quick text reading, “We’re home!” to Phineas before climbing out the car and heading for the door.

(Just in case they were partaking in the first of his proposed activities.)

Fortunately, Phineas and Isabella were not, in fact, partaking in the first of his proposed activities.

…but Ferb was more than a little perplexed by what they were up to instead.

He found Isabella and Phineas huddled over a textbook, graph paper, and calculators at the kitchen table, with an empty plate and two forks strewn off to the side.

Ferb’s eyebrows furrowed at the sight, confusion and apprehension prickling at his gut….because all of this seemed suspiciously platonic.

Sure, his brother and neighbor were seated QUITE close to one another. And the single plate and two forks seemed to indicate they’d shared food.

Both of those activities could be interpreted as romantic.

But they could also be interpreted as totally platonic (or, well, “totally platonic” in Phineas and Isabella’s case).

And Ferb also couldn’t be sure Isabella had seen the fireworks. Maybe they’d gone off too soon. Or too late. Maybe she’d been inside while they went off. Or asleep. Anything was possible in Danville.

Thus, Ferb couldn’t be absolutely, assuredly sure Phineas and Isabella were officially together until they told him. Or he asked them.

But he knew he shouldn’t just ask them, because if they hadn’t figured things out yet, asking them would just ruin the surprise and the four years he’d spent in silence about their mutual feelings would be for naught and HE WAS INCREDIBLY TIRED OF ALL THESE SECRETS—

“Woah! Hey, Ferb!!! I didn’t even hear you walk in the door!! How was the restaurant? .…and….how long have you been standing there?”

Phineas’s words rang hollow in Ferb’s head. He only barely comprehended his brother’s final sentence.

“….long enough to wonder whether you two have finally figured things out….” he muttered.

“OH! We sure did!!!” Phineas replied eagerly.

He gestured to a particularly complex-looking equation and continued, “This problem right here stumped us for awhile, but Isabella finally figured out we have to use the general Leibniz rule to solve it!!!! Honestly I can’t believe I didn’t think of that sooner, though I guess my brain has been a little preoccupied tonight…”

Ferb was going to fall over. He was going to fall over and then stand back up and grab a pillow and wack Phineas over the head with it because HE’D HAD AN ENTIRE ROMANTIC PICNIC AND FIREWORKS AND CONFESSION PLAN AT HIS DISPOSAL, HOW COULD HE BE TALKING ABOUT CALCULUS RIGHT NOW???? HOW HAD HE AND ISABELLA NOT FIGURED THINGS OUT YET??????

Isabella, meanwhile, glanced between Ferb (who looked about ready to snap something in half) and Phineas (who seemed blissfully unaware of that) before giggling. She placed a hand on Phineas’s shoulder and patted it gently, prompting him to look back at her.

“Phineas, sweetheart,” she voiced matter-of-factly, “I think Ferb is trying to ask if we started dating.”

She turned to Ferb and brightly added, “We DID start dating, by the way!!!!”

“Oh!!! Right!!”

(Phineas felt a little silly for not grasping that on his own, but it was alright.)

“Yeah, we started dating!!! Surprise!!”

And just like that. Relief. A mountain’s worth of pressure, over a DECADE’S worth of pressure, lifted from Ferb’s shoulders.

He sank into a chair opposite the happy couple and exhaled.

“….oh thank the stars.”

…

At last….Ferb can rest 😌.

ALSO MASSIVE SHOUT OUT TO MY BETA FOR COMING UP WITH “THE BOILING POT”!!!! I wanted to make a pun based off “The Boiling Isles” for the restaurant name (any Owl House fans here? 👀), and she came up with that and a couple other options and I LOVE HER THANK YOU FRIEND.

I sincerely hope you all enjoyed this chapter!! (And I sincerely hope the next update doesn’t take so long😅. But no promises, lol!) The end of the story is in sight…might take a couple more chapters to get there, but WE WILL GET THERE👏

As always, comments/reblogs/tags/likes are very much appreciated 😊💕

EDIT: OH ALSO!!!!! I owe a massive shout-out to @palizinhas. They write FANTASTIC Phinbella fic, and their story “Another Plan” inspired me to add the hurt/comfort scene into this chapter (I’d previously written it and decided to cut it).

[cyclogenesis]

For the writing ask (you don’t have to answer all of them since I probably picked too many, sorry!): 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 19, 20, 26, 30, 31, 32, 36, 38, 39, 40. (Thanks 💜)

I did it, I answered all of them!! (Yes, it took me a couple of days aha.) Thanks for asking anon! 😘

1. Which of your fics would you keep the basic plot of but rewrite completely?

Generally speaking I would rather die than rewrite anything ever, and most of the stuff I’ve written I can look back on and be like “nice”. I did recently reread a few bandom fics I wrote and felt mildly horrified by the fact that some of the writing was so spare that the dialogue sections were like reading a screenplay, so I’d have to say those would come the closest. Like I wouldn’t actually ever rewrite them, but were I to write them today they would read very, very differently.

2. Anything that you’d like to write but feel like you’re unable to?

Honestly I read soooo much Hydra Trash Party stuff and would love to vibe with Bucky’s sexual trauma in fic more but I feel like I’d really struggle to write that kind of background given my usual writing style. That’s the kind of super iddy thing I usually do in chatfic, but unfortunately I don’t have anyone to do that with in this fandom, so I’ll just keep whining internally about the lack of HTP Sam/Bucky while doing absolutely nothing to address that glaring lack.

Rest of the answers behind the cut!

7. Your favourite ao3 tag.

I cruise the Bottom Bucky Barnes tag like a 50s kid dragging Main.

8. How slow is a slow burn?

HERE’S THE THING. So if I ship something super hard, like hard enough to write or read fic about it, then I have already interpreted the canon itself as a slow burn because presumably they haven’t kissed yet, and I’m writing or reading fic because I’m ready for the kissing to be happening. I also don’t tend to read a whole lot of long fic. So basically I’m gonna need kissing by at least the 15k mark unless it’s like, masterfully written.

10. Top three favourite fic tropes.

You know, I’m honestly not usually drawn to stuff that’s very traditionally tropey! I don’t write it too often either, usually with fic I’m just a simple gal who wants to look at canon and then figure out a way to get them to acknowledge they want to kiss each other. I do love fake relationships though!

19. Share a snippet from a wip without giving any context for it.

“There’s more than one Loki,” Sam is disturbed to tell him. “A bunch more. One of them is a good guy now.” Actually, Strange had described him as ‘moderately helpful and uncomfortably sincere’. “Another one, uh, broke time, and now there are multiple timelines that have created different universes.”

“Got it,” Bucky says, in the tone of someone who in no way has it.

20. Do you work on a single project or many at the same time? How does that work for you?

I usually have a couple of things going at once that I bounce between until I decide that I’m Going To Finish Something, Dammit and force myself to focus on just one. It’s generally fine because I’d rather have too many ideas than none at all, though I’ll sometimes inadvertently cannibalize myself and have to edit out things I’ve used in two different WIPs.

26. What would you describe as OOC?

I’m honestly pretty forgiving about that, having been trained to suspend my disbelief by liking really dark fic hahaha. One weird thing that tends to throw me in not-dark fic is a lack of humor in the dialogue. I tend to like fandoms with pretty funny characters or people, so I like to see their sense of humor reflected in fic. Sam and Bucky in particular are really funny characters in their own ways - gimme the banter, please!!

30. Describe a fic that almost happened, but then it didn’t.

In so many fandoms I’ve had visions of an OTP epic spanning years and years, and in zero of those fandoms have I ever completed one of those stories.

31. What was the most difficult fic for you to write (but in the end you made it)?

There is a point where every fic feels like the most difficult thing I’ve ever written. Something particularly cute that I do, which I love, is writing very intensely up to the sex scene, and then getting shy about it and wandering away and not working on it again for a little while, despite the fact that usually the whole point of the fic is that I want to get to the sex scene!!!

32. Do you have a word/expression that you always use in your writing?

I’m sure I have plenty of things like that!! I try to edit repetitive things like that out because when I’m reading a lot of a writer’s stuff little phrasing quirks always stand out to my copyeditor brain. That said, I know when I’m doing it and still tend to huffily be like “well that’s the best way to phrase that action!!” so, whatever.

36. How do you come up with fic titles? What’s the one you’re most proud of?

I either have a title from the jump or I’m combing my music library for a lyric snippet I can use like ten minutes before I post the fic. I’m pretty fond of This Is A Song About Fucking in that I committed SO deeply to jacking myself off there; it’s a phrase that Brendon Urie used to say to introduce Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off during the Nothing Rhymes With Circus tour (I had to look that tour name up. Thank GOD I had to look that tour name up) and I used it for a 5SOS group sex fic posted a cool eight years after that tour (which I went to multiple dates of, oh god) ended.

38. “This never happened” fix-it fics or “this happened but” fix-it fics?

Definitely the latter, when a canon makes a lousy choice I’m usually like well here we are, let’s talk about where we go from here. But I don’t really look for anything with the fix-it tag in general, once the canon breaks something I loved I’m usually so moody that I just abandon ship and stop reading fic haha.

39. Wildest AU scenario you have written?

I verrrry rarely write AUs for posting, but have chatficced some truly bonkers nonsense in my time. My old writing partner in bandom and I used to get weird with Brendon/Ryan - the satyr/fairy and fisherman/selkie days were really something.

40. Write a 9-word fic.

I’m too invested in the thing I’ve written 5k words of these week to think of anything new, so here’s a snippet from that instead.

“Come here,” he chokes out, and the helpless hope on Bucky’s face in response nearly undoes him completely. He sits up to meet Bucky halfway, grabs at his shirt the moment he’s within reach and drags him close, Bucky climbing onto the bed all long limbs and graceless need. The kiss is a surprise only in how rough it is, a hard press of lips like Bucky’s greedy to touch Sam any way he can, like this is just another way for them to collide.

[rainydaydream-gal18]

Thorin x Siren!Reader: Sink or Swim

(Author’s Note: Soooo, I was conflicted about writing a non-human reader, but here we are!  Just so you know, the reader isn’t necessarily a “siren,” like the type to drown sailors: she is more like a regular mermaid.

Anyways, hope you enjoy!  Thank you for being so patient while I take forever to publish new fics!  I’ve had a lot going on, and I appreciate the support!)

   Thranduil was suddenly very quiet, blue eyes flickering from Thorin to you.  You withdrew, hugging your torso as if you could hide.  The Company leader beside you noticed your fear and stepped forward in an attempt to shield you from the blonde elf’s probing gaze.

  The Company were now prisoners of the Mirkwood realm after wandering the mysterious forest for some time and having a gruesome encounter with giant spiders.  You had fortunately been rescued by the Mirkwood guard only to unfortunately be captured and brought to the halls of Thranduil.

  Thorin had been summoned to speak with Thranduil himself, and for some reason you were dragged along with him.  Now you stood before the Mirkwood ruler with Thorin seeking to protect you and your identity.

  “Please,” Thranduil scoffed.  His robes trailed elegantly behind him as he took strides across the floor.  “Do not think you can hide from me, Siren.  Elf eyes see things that many others cannot.”

  Your heart was thumping wildly in your chest.  With one look, he knew who you were.  You had never encountered Mirkwood dwellers before, and you had no idea they had such good eyesight

  The question was: what would he do with this knowledge?

  As was your fear during the entirety of the journey so far, you wondered if he might keep you prisoner.  Sirens were sought after for the treasure that was inlaid in their scales.  It wasn’t uncommon for these gemstones and pieces of gold to drop off for a fortunate individual to find in shallow waters; however, if someone had the skill and means to capture a siren, they’d end up very wealthy.  Not to mention sirens in general were rarely found, but when they were, they’d sometimes be kept by the extremely wealthy for entertainment.  What if you were separated from the Company and kept here?

  “Fear not,” Thranduil halted your spiraling train of thought.  “I have no use for you.  I do not seek the riches of the seas.”  He looked at Thorin.  “You seek the Arkenstone, that which would bestow upon you the right to rule.  There are gems in the mountain that I too desire…white gems of pure starlight.  I offer you my help.”

  Thorin raised a brow.  “I am listening.”

  Thranduil tipped his head to the side, eyes fixed on the Company leader.  You could see the rigidity of their rivalry that had built up over generations.  “I will let you go if you but return what is mine.” 

  Even with the situation at hand, you felt a minnow-sized dash of hope.  Thranduil didn’t seem cruel, just eccentric.  It was clear that he simply wanted to cut a deal and be done with things.  Perhaps the situation would work out after all.

  “A favor for a favor,” Thorin mused, turning his back to Thranduil. 

  That bit of hope you felt earlier diminished like the setting sun behind the sea line.  The Company leader had a strange expression, and you got a funny feeling he would refuse the deal even at the cost of the journey.  He hadn’t been very fond of Rivendell, and the inhabitants there were very kind and generous.  Something told you he wouldn’t take too kindly to being bribed by this fellow.

  Your heart sunk as Thorin turned down Thranduil’s offer.  The willowy ruler maintained a cold stare at the Company leader before giving the order to have him thrown in the dungeon with the others.  You were to be put in a cell alone.

  Despite Thorin’s stubbornness, his eyes softened when he saw the fear flashing in your eyes for a brief moment.  He knew very well why you feared being captured and contained, since you had told him in confidence a while back.  You tucked away the feeling, and a bitterness took its place.  Bitterness that Thorin could not be rid of his pride even in a situation like this.  Not only did you feel he was betraying you, but he was jeopardizing the mission he claimed to care so much for.

  As you were being pulled away, Thorin bellowed your name.

  You paced in the narrow cell, arms folded.  Your only comfort was the occasional, echoing hollers of the rest of your Company somewhere else in the dungeon.

  Your feet ached.  It was so dry here.  How you longed to swim in the deep again!

  This journey only seemed to cause you pain.  From the beginning, you were chosen to leave your home and accompany the group to reclaim Erebor.  

  You did it for your people.  

  Long ago, sirens and dwarves were distant trading partners.  A fraction of treasure that the dragon Smaug so greedily guarded was indeed siren jewels and goods.  When Erebor was taken from its rightful people, it was a financial blow to the sirens who dealt in land-goods.

  Upon hearing of the opportunity to restore Erebor and resume trade, the leader of your world called on very few that he trusted to join the Company on this expedition.  The others refused to travel on land for so long.  Only you were willing to go to such lengths.  Even so, you weren’t entirely enthusiastic about it.  It was a job, a duty.

  So, here you were many months later, locked in a cell, so close and yet so far away from the nearest body of water surrounding what they call “Lake-Town.”

  Oh.  Also...  As if things weren’t complicated enough, you had fallen for a certain Company leader, too.

  Which also brought more heartache when he was the reason for you being locked in this cell.

  Sirens used to be a romantic bunch.  It wasn’t entirely surprising for them to forge bonds with land-dwellers.  It was curious, but not unheard of, since they have a history of being fascinated with the world above.  Nonetheless, as times grew darker on land, it became less common for such things to occur.  They hid from all but dwarves, and even then contact was limited.

  It made you feel silly.  Every time your heart skipped a beat, you felt silly.  Every time his voice gave you comfort, or you sought to comfort him in return.

  Hours passed.  At one point, you had curled up on the splintery bench for a nap.  At least you could enjoy the sound of the waterfall.  Your eyelids shot open when someone whispered your name.

  “Bilbo?” You mumbled.  “Is that you?”

  “Shh,” he hushed.  “Yes, it’s me.  Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”  Keys jingled, and the door popped open.  You emerged from the cell and wrapped your arms around the little hobbit.  “Thank you, Bilbo.”

  He glanced up at you, cheeks red and eyebrows raised.  “You’re very welcome.  Now let’s go.  There’s not much time.”

  Thorin was waiting off to the side, and as soon as Bilbo scurried to lead the others out of the dungeon, he was in front of you.  “_________,” he said, gazing deeply into your eyes, his own filled with regret.  “I am sorry.”

  You knew what he meant, and while you appreciated the gesture, now was not the time.

  “It’s alright, I forgive you,” you replied.  “But let’s discuss this later.”

  He nodded and turned to follow the others out.  Inwardly, you were pleased that he paused even for a moment to acknowledge his prideful mistake.  You hurried after the group, tired.

  The rest was a bit of a blur.  Before you knew it, you were hiding in a barrel with the others arguing and complaining in their respective barrels around you.  Bilbo had led you all there, and Thorin insisted that you trust the hobbit.  

  You already did, but the others still needed convincing from time to time.  They tended to underestimate him.

  Suddenly, the barrel was rolling. 

  And then you were plunged into freezing water.

  Once you had recovered, you were able to comprehend the relief you felt at being in the water again. The transformation happened so quickly. Soon, you glanced down and saw the familiar glistening of (favorite color) scales and the sparkling treasure that was inlaid. You gave a powerful kick and swam out of the barrel into the strong current of the river. The current was no match for your experience in the water. You were able to pause and glance up at your friends being thrown around in barrels on the surface.  The poor dears.

  You glided forward, looking ahead to see the river gate closing.  Someone must have sounded an alarm above signaling the prisoners’ escape.  The others were scooped up against the gate in their barrels, but it looked like Kili was making an attempt to pull the lever to open it.

  Through the surface, you saw him get shot by an arrow.

  An orc arrow.

  As if escaping from Thranduil’s prison wasn’t difficult enough…

  It was time for the others to see what you could do.  You’d told them stories, but now they could see what you were talking about.

  Breaking through the water’s surface, you looked to Thorin.

  “Cover your ears!” you yelled.

  He nodded and barked the order to the others.   

  You went underwater to gain momentum as you swam up again.  Mid-air, you reached deep into your chest and let out a screech-soong. It was a way to ward off predators in the ocean, and you were told it could do some serious damage to land-dwellers who heard it.

  Some orcs fell over, ears literally bleeding.  The stronger ones (or perhaps they simply had bad hearing) remained standing but were knocked back by the sound.  It had halted them long enough for the Company to regain control of the battle.  A few of your friends had stolen orc weapons and were using them against the enemy.

  You ducked underwater as a few arrows whizzed by.  Your move made you a target.

  Fortunately, the Company came to your aid.  Thorin cut the orcs down swiftly, glancing at you to ensure you were safe.  Fili and Kili also pitched in, throwing you a barrel to use as a shield of sorts.  After using it to block some arrows and a sword attack, you continued to put it to good use.  You launched it from the water to hit a group of orcs, knocking them down.

  Bofur nodded, impressed.  “Very nice!”

  “Thank you!” you nodded back.  With a wave of your hand, water shot from the river and knocked down another orc that was ready to throw a blade at Thorin.  You were intrigued when you saw the she-elf with the long, red hair aiding the Company.  The one who you recognized to be Thranduil’s son also joined in the effort.

  The number of orcs dwindled as the river’s current carried the Company farther away from Mirkwood.  It was easier for you to swim at this point, but without a current, the orcs would catch up to the others.

  Thorin ordered that all head to the shore, and you sighed.  How wonderful.  More land.

  You floated into the shallows reluctantly, closing your eyes to enjoy the feel of the cold water for just a moment longer.  When they opened, you saw two boots on the shore in front of you.  Thorin knelt down, eyes soft, as he reached forward with his hand.  In the past, when anyone reached toward you in the water, your fight or flight instincts kicked in.  But for some reason, you remained still.  It was most likely because you finally had grown to trust Thorin immensely. 

  His movement was careful as he reached into the water beside you.  When his hand returned, it was grasping something.  He relaxed his fist to reveal a piece of gold resting on the palm.  His beautiful blue eyes that reminded you of the sea stared at you in wonder.

  “Does it cause you pain?”  The question was asked so gently, like one far younger than he was.

  “When the treasure falls?” you clarified.  “No, I don’t notice.  It only hurts if it’s taken off forcefully.”

  Thorin nodded, thinking this over as he presented the gold to you.

  You shook your head.  “Keep it.  I have nowhere to keep it anymore.”

  While he hesitated, you pulled yourself up to the shore and focused on returning to your land form.  Your pants had been torn down the middle in the transformation, so now you were left with something that resembled a tattered skirt.

  “Here ya go, lassie,” Bofur spoke up beside you, tossing a new pair of pants.  They were soaked, like the rest of the leftover supplies, but they weren’t ripped at least.

  “Thank you,” you chuckled.  A warm hand wrapped around one of yours, pulling you to your feet with ease.  Thorin’s gaze lingered for a moment longer before you finally convinced yourself to break away to change into the new clothes.

  What a journey this was.