#me? write about a game that's over a decade old? yeah.

[potatoesandsunshine]

they should invent a kind of WIP that is finished

[hysteria-things]

TREEHOUSE

based off of this, this, this, & this

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: soft dom!nate x virgin!sls!reader

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: reminiscing your relationship with nate where it all started: in his treehouse.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: SMUT, FLUFF, swearing, p in v, praising

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1,181

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: day ONE of nate week!

so pumped😇

creaking from the wooden panels of nate’s treehouse sound from underneath your shoes. some would say treehouses aren’t for nineteen-year-olds, but your boyfriend will strongly disagree.

it still stands after almost two decades, hundreds of memories made here with him and your older brothers. it’s been a while since you’ve been up here, but even if he doesn’t admit it, you can tell nate still hangs out from how tidy it is.

“you still have the pirate hats.” you giggle, pointing to them neatly placed on a shelf above the small sofa he has against the wall.

each hat matched your personalities, with your names written in your favorite colors. they’re faded by now, but you can still make the writing out.

christopher. matthew. nicolas. nathan. y/n.

your brothers are wonderful with you dating their best friend because nate liked you for years. ever since you were children; and he never gave up on you.

summer break is a kid’s favorite time of year. the sun is shining, the nice weather, hanging out with your friends day by day. it’s great.

four boys bicker in front of the ladder, and a young y/n is sitting on the porch steps playing with her dolls.

“dude, just ask already!” chris argues, holding a fake pirate hook in his hand.

“yeah, what’s taking so long?” nick chimes in.

matt’s arms are crossed over his chest. “he’s got a little crush on our sister, that’s why.”

“i do not!” nate yells, eyepatch over his eye and his pirate hat lopsided. he stomps his feet in a tantrum-like manner. “girls probably don’t even like playing pirates!”

they bicker for seconds more, until matt’s had enough and pushes the boy toward you. he hesitates, but walks to the stairs. “hey, y/n!” he exclaims, taking a seat next to you.

you smile, setting your toys down. “hi, nate.”

“would you— um…” he turns to the triplets, and they motion him to hurry up. he sighs, looking back at you. “would you like to play pirates with us? there’s an extra hat.”

bringing your finger to your chin, you think and then nod. “sure! i’d love to play pirates!”

nate grins from ear to ear, grabbing your hand and leading you toward your siblings.

that’s not the only heirloom hidden in plain sight. the screws are still stuck in the wall where the NO GIRLS ALLOWED sign used to be until you guys started hanging out alone and he threw it away immediately.

there are still old decorations from previous years, like the spongebob blanket or the mario and luigi plushies. as he got older, though, the decorating became more mature.

another core memory is when he asked you to be his girlfriend right where you’re standing. well, he tried to ask, but he couldn’t get the words out.

“can i ask you something?” nate questions, refusing to make eye contact as he fidgets with the gaming controller in his hand.

you nod. “of course.”

“so, um… do you want to, uh—” he stammers as your eyebrows furrow in confusion.

“what do you mean?” you giggle.

“um, y’know. do you want— uh, to be— um—”

“are you asking me to be your girlfriend, nate?” you ask, smirking while raising a brow.

his face heats up, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. “yeah.”

the sound from the small TV completely fades, your inner thoughts taking over instead. now, it’s nighttime, and the fairy lights in the treehouse make the room dimly lit.

your head rests on his chest, his heartbeat soothing to your ears.

even though you guys have been together for a while now, you’ve never done it. hell, you’re still a virgin. nate’s been patient with you every step of the way. “what’re you thinking about?” he asks.

shaking your head to snap out of it, you look up, already seeing him staring down at you. “nothing.”

he knows you’re lying, and patiently waits there until you sigh. “i’m ready.” you start as he listens intently. “i want to… have sex… with you.”

he smiles warmly, taking a piece of hair and placing it behind your ear. “are you sure?”

nodding, he then starts to lean into where his lips ghost yours. “yeah?” he whispers, your eyes set on his mouth, so badly wanting to kiss him.

the softness of his lips syncing with yours has your legs squeezed together. he leans more in, deepening the kiss while also laying you flat on the cushions. your knuckles turn white to how hard you’re gripping on his shoulders when he starts to remove your pants and underwear.

“you’re tense.” he points out, rubbing the outside of your thighs in a soothing motion. “relax.”

you didn’t realize how tense your body was until he pointed it out. taking a deep breath, he starts to untie his bottoms.

“breathe for me, okay?” he reassures, lining himself up before slowly moving his pelvis forward. it hurts for sure, but it’s more of a pressure feeling. “relax.” he says again, feeling your anxiety.

a pained moan leaves your lips once he’s in, and it just hits you that your childhood friend, who turned into a crush, and is now your boyfriend is inside of you. “you okay?”

you nod, taking his hand in yours. “i know you tell your brothers everything but—” he cuts himself off with a groan when his dick twitches, desperately wanting to move. he starts to thrust his hips slowly, low whines tickling from your throat. “for my own sake, don’t tell them about this.”

his thrusts get gradually faster, but they’re soft so he doesn’t hurt you in any way. the pain soon turns to pleasure, arms wrapping around his neck. he keeps asking if you’re okay every two minutes, so to shut him up you kiss him passionately.

“nate.” you exhale, licking your lips and lifting your head slightly to look at where you’re conjoined. his dick is coated with your juices, the slap of your thighs banging together.

“nathan.” you moan louder, throwing your head back and arching.

“you’re letting me fuck you so well.” he grunts when your walls clench around him. “you’re so pretty; i love you so much.”

your eyes widen in surprise. it could be the intensity of the moment, but that’s the first time he’s ever said those words. “i-i love you too.”

clenching again, your legs twitch with each movement of his hips. “i-i’m going to cum.”

he pecks your forehead. “go ahead, baby. you’re doing so good for me.”

you whimper, your orgasm flowing out of your pussy and onto his base. he fucks you a little more through your high, before pulling out and painting your stomach white.

whispering sweet nothings into your ear, he lays on top of you, rubbing his hands all over your body. “i meant what i said, by the way. that i love you.”

you smile, blushing at the same time. “so did i.”

that’s when you realized your relationship will only blossom from here, all because of this goddamn treehouse.

𝐭𝐚𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭!

@bunbunbl0gs @lexisecretaccx @thy-mission @angelic-sturniolos111 @sophssturn @mattsneezing @janiellasblog @blahbel668 @meg-sturniolo @mattslolita @sturnbaby @imwetforyourmom @tillies33ssss @sturnifyed @mayhem-72 @ripmattitude @p1xieswrld @alorsxsturn @txssvx @sttzee @multiluvr @delilahprentiss @matthewsspecial @sturnolio-luvs @sturniolho @suga-daddy-69 @tworosesblackthorn @luckistar-posts @gnxosblog @junnniiieee07 @sturnioloslurps @tylerthecreatorsrealwife @flowerxbunnie @imaslut4kehlani @sturniolosandmoree @hertvgirl @whoreforchrissturniolo @sturniolotriplettoplover @stars4matt @freshsturns @loverrsposts @sturnlcvr @elliesturniolo1 @tpvmz @user283926392 @lalalands86 @sukiipjs @sturniologirl813 @leahrab @chrissturniolosslut @h3arts4harry @sturnioloblogs @creamoncreamoncream2 @luv4kozume @ivyyyyyysposts @mirxcle1 @iluvm4ttsturni0l0 @catalina-island @mbsbaby @mattsdollie @pinkfarts @slut4mattsturn @thesturniolos @vickeyzloserz @nononopenono1 @bitchydragonparadise @gdsvhtwa @hrt-attack @bellasfavbisexual @dwntwn-strnlo @venusbabysblog @meerkatzthings @crazychrisl0v3r @maggieflms @strtuniolo @mutualsafe @riasturns @sturniolowhore @antpile00 @ashley9282828 @stingerayyy2 @sturnsjtop @luverboychris @yapperchris

[androdragynous]

I know i complained about the stardew valley penny and George cutscene at length but the it really is fucking. bizarre the lengths people will go to defend it because "the game lets you pick to side with him" (please do literally any reading about wheelchair use and realize why it's a problem that the game rewards you for moving someone without their consent.) or variants of that sentiment but then it's like. the rest of the cutscene is also So Weird

Like. Penny moves an old man in a wheelchair without asking him. He gets upset, she asks if you saw what happened The game prompts you to select from;

"I was. You did a kind thing there, Penny." (+50 friendship with Penny)

"I was. You should've asked instead of assuming George wanted help." (-50 friendship with Penny)

"I'm just taking a walk, minding my own business." (No effect on friendship.)

And these are the REVISED options. Before 1.4, the second option wasn't"you should have asked", it was "You should've left him alone. Now he's grumpy."

So already it's kind of shit. The person she's upset - who's entire existence in the game is experiencing inaccessibility, let's be real - because he was shoved without permission just for being in a wheelchair doesn't have his friendship level affected at all.

Regardless of which answer you pick, George apologizes (Penny does not apologize in every choice! But the guy she shoved does!) and says she was kind.

Once he's gone, she talks about how hard it must be to be old. It's worth noting, for what it's worth, that George has been using a wheelchair since a mining accident caused his immobility; it's not a result of age, and you learn about this whole he struggles with a bookshelf in his own home, where presumably he has been living with a wheelchair for at least two decades (given how he talks about his grandson), which is a whole different can of worms because why is this never addressed in a fictional community with multiple craftspeople who frequently do projects for each other?

Anyways. So Penny's like, damn, sucks that he's old. And the options the game gives you - all neutral in terms of friendship points - are:

"I'd rather not think about it."

"It's just a different part of life."

"That's why we should respect our elders."

"I'd rather die young..."

Like are you kidding me? You have a cutscene that's about being disabled - it's not about aging, because his disability was not caused by aging, it is explicitly and directly about the fact that he is in a wheelchair. And the game assumes your opinions will be "Not my problem,", "That's an old people thing,", and "I'D RATHER BE DEAD"? And this is something people just... don't remark on? Even in conversations ABOUT this cutscene? Like, George's mentions of being disabled are already Constantly Miserable -able-bodied writer standard quality - but the game is just like. Yeah you can say you'd rather be dead rather than express any positive sentiment about this guy surviving a traumatic mining accident. You can't say it's great that he's able to still be a part of the community in his chair, or renovate his house to make it accessible the way you can build ENTIRE HOMES for other characters. The community center you rebuild in the Good Ending for the community is only accessible by stairs. The path out of his home is dirt. It's the little things, y'know, like... obviously he wasn't thought about as his own character. The game's writing sees him as a source of conflict for others, and down to the very tiles of the terrain, he's irrelevant.

AND THEN THE TOWN DOCTOR DOES A HIPAA VIOLATION AND GETS SAD IF YOU SAY GEORGE SHOULD HAVE AGENCY OVER HIS OWN BODY. WHAT ARE WE FUCKING DOING HERE

[chosetherose]

"The Alchemy" = Karlie's POV of how she's going to take Taylor from Travis?

"I haven't come around in so long

But I'm making a comeback to where I belong"

Karlie showing up at the Eras Tour! Taylor didn't spend long enough with either of the beards for "so long" to make any sense as being about them. How do you make a comeback when you're barely a thing to begin with? Karlie's comeback was headline news though.

"So when I touch down

Call the amateurs and cut 'em from the team

Ditch the clowns, get the crown"

Her football fan baby ("fly like a jet stream") is touching down and coming to sweep away the understudies, users, narcissists and clowns. King of my Heart coming to reclaim her crown! We can only hope 🙏

"Cause the sign on your heart says it's still reserved for me"

Taylor can rewrite history all she wants, but Tratty was never a thing and no-one with a brain can buy the idea that he was the love of her life ten years ago, while Kissgate was happening right in front of him. Peak Kaylor era. When we all saw with our own eyes how she looked at Karlie! But, no, it was Matty all along! Sure, Jan.

Meanwhile, even the "anyone but Karlie" Gaylors who hate her can't deny Taylor has been writing songs about Karlie for a decade now. Even they think she's not over her. So who "still" has Taylor's heart and could make a comeback? Mmhmm.

"I circled you on a map"

Flashback to Taylor highlighting Kaylor-related towns on the weather map in the Lavender Haze music video. Uh-huh.

"Who are we to fight the alchemy?"

Alchemy is the process of turning things into gold. Are we really going to sit here and pretend this isn't Ms Gold Rush, Ms "it's like your eyes are liquor, it's like your body is gold"? Are we really going to pretend Karlie hasn't been gold coded since the beginning? But no! This is about Travis! Totally! Does your blindfold fit snugly enough, babe, or do you want me to tighten it some more for you? 🙄

"Hey, what if I told you we're cool

That child's play back in school

Is forgiven under my rule?"

The child's play is the bearding. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. It's getting so old to never grow up. Karlie is saying it all means nothing.

"These blokes warm the benches

We've been on a winning streak"

Her British beards have just been keeping Karlie's seat warm. While she and Taylor have privately been on a winning streak.

(Seriously, the construction of this song makes no sense if you believe it's about Travis. How could she have been "on a winning streak" with him, while "these blokes" were present-tense warming the benches? Or are we supposed to believe they're just waiting on the sidelines for Taylor to get back with one of them? Even though things are so great with 🚜 and she's said multiple times she doesn't want that? So . . . how is any of this working, exactly? What benches are they warming? Are we SURE the "we" is Travis? Hmm?)

"He jokes it's heroin but this time with an e"

People are so distracted by this "dig at Matty" they can't see what's right in front of their faces. Heroin with an e = heroine. As in, the female hero of a story. The joke is that the one to "save" Taylor won't be any of these jokers dressing up as kings. It's a woman. A HEROINE. Not a hero.

And then we get a football metaphor everyone will assume is about Travis, even though Karlie's love of football is well-documented. Do we really think Travis cares more about the beard he's made his meal ticket than he does about winning a trophy? Yeah, right. The days of wasted celebration with no Taylor in sight really give that impression. The thirst traps he was liking on Instagram while "dating" Taylor really show he only has eyes for her. Totally.

Meanwhile we have a million songs where Taylor tells us all her obviously-Karlie lover ever wanted was her.

I can't see The Alchemy any other way than as a Karlie comeback song. Bring it home, Karlie! We're all rooting for you! Go! Fight! Win! 🏆

Wow, Anon! I love this take! Lots of food for thought.

[slashersteve]

Dream Girl

pairing: Walter “Keys” Mckey/Female Reader

summary: Keys helps you pass a seemingly impossible boss battle in a video game you’ve been playing.

warnings/extra tags: cursing, a kiss kiss, probably ooc keys? I tried 😔, poor hacking things i got very vague but for this imagine just trust me bro, beta read, edited by me so if i missed anything pls ignore :')

note: Consider this my debut to writing Keys and who knows…maybe I’ll write more of him 👀 also yall this has been in my drafts for decades and today i was like?? it's bri's birthday, so i should post this right??? happy birthday @userdjo !! Thank you for reading and enjoy ♥️

✦ ✦ ✦

“I'm not doing it.”

"Why not?”

“Uh, because it's too risky?”

“Seriously? Too risky? Do you hear yourself right now?”

Keys was standing across from you, leaning on the kitchen counter holding a cup of coffee that he had only taken a single sip of seeing as the moment you heard the coffee maker come to life you stalked out of your own office to try to convince him to do what you wanted him to do all morning.

“Keys!” You were exasperated when he didn’t reply to your rhetorical question.

He just wanted to spend a bit of time during his break to look at something that wasn’t a screen of codes he could read like the morning paper. He wanted to talk to you in this kitchen like you always did throughout the day and unfortunately your conversations had to be this.

“We could get into a lot of trouble, I could get into a lot of trouble,” Keys told you firmly, to which you scoffed and crossed your arms, “I’m serious.”

“Only if you get caught, which I know you won’t,” you replied, before huffing and adding, “Where did this goody two shoes attitude come from? You literally took down an entire gaming company by causing trouble with Millie.”

Keys sighed, turning away from you as he set his mug down and brought one hand to his face to remove his glasses just so he could properly pinch his nose. That was different, and you knew it, but still wanted to try and guilt him into helping you.

“And you can’t do it yourself?” He asked, fully knowing that you couldn’t because you wouldn’t be asking him otherwise. If you could you wouldn’t be bugging him so much, pushing him to do what you wanted.

“I’d get caught, we both know it. Nobody can do it but you- Millie probably, but she’s not here,” you explained, “Come on, please? If you do it I’ll do every coffee run for the rest of the month.”

You were trying to bargain now, which amused Keys as he wiped the lens of his glasses before sliding them back over his eyes.

“Yeah me hacking into a game of another company is definitely worth you doing coffee runs,” he said sarcastically, resting his eyes back on you. You shrugged weakly and shot him a sort of sheepish smile, not caring that he was obviously irritated with you.

“I think it is- unless anything else is up for grabs? Anything you know…you would like?”

You wiggled your eyebrows at him, and he felt his chest tighten slightly, unsure exactly what you were getting at and suddenly being afraid that you did know. The sight of his expression had you smirking before you said, “She is my best friend- like yours- but girls mostly listen to each other…I could potentially lead her in your direction. You know…get that date you’ve always wanted lover boy.”

Keys blinked, understanding after a moment or two that you were talking about Millie and the hopeless crush he had on her, something he had confessed to you a while ago. Just that, nothing else…thank god.

“Don’t-“ Keys laughed awkwardly, “Don’t. I actually don’t like her like that anymore.”

You gave him a look, and he felt his cheeks heat up, embarrassed by the mention of his old crush on her. Not because he was embarrassed of being in love with Millie once, but because he had thought you had known something else now, that had nothing to do with Millie but with the woman standing in this kitchen with him.

“Oh…when did that happen?” You questioned him, not believing a single word that just came out of his mouth. Truth be told, long before he confided in you his crush, you had been aware of it. How could you not be? It was the way he looked at her, brown eyes longing and yearning. He had it bad for her, for years, so it was hard to believe he’d moved on, that he’d fallen out of love.

“A while ago, actually, just sort of happened one day,” he replied awkwardly, eyes flashing to his watch. He had a few minutes left before he had to go back in there and start coding again. You both worked from home, made up your own hours and he liked to keep a more timely schedule than you did.

“Huh,” you said, still curious as to how that happened at all, but knowing he was going to be escaping back to his office/room was enough to make you set it aside and continue your prior conversation bargain.

“Anything else then? I’m really desperate here Keys, I wouldn’t be asking you to do this if I wasn’t, you know this,” you continued, watching as he picked up his basically untouched coffee and pushed himself off the counter, ready to return to his coding.

“The coffee runs do sound nice, but like I said, not worth it,” he told you again, this time a bit more firmly and now it was you getting frustrated with him as you followed closely after him through the living room.

“Oh come on! I can do it for longer? The rest of the year- Keys!” You grabbed his arm, the one that wasn’t holding a coffee thankfully as it definitely might’ve spilled, “I’m begging you, do you want me to get down on my knees and beg to show you how serious I am?”

He cheeks suddenly became flushed as you started to descent to your knees and he had to catch you to keep you from doing that. The last thing he needed was to know how you looked when you’re on your knees in front of him. The last thing.

“No! You don’t have to-“ he said a bit too frantically. You stared at him, confused by his sudden behavior (even noticing his suddenly very pink cheeks and wide eyes underneath his glasses). Keys blinked rapidly for a moment, before he turned his head and cursed, “Alright alright, it may take a day or so- we need to make sure our schedules are clear- which means you gotta do work.”

He gave you a pointed look, knowing your tendency to move away from your work computer to what you called your fun gaming one whenever you felt like it.

“Oh yeah of course!” you replied like you did work all the time, “If that’s what it takes then hell yeah, I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”

You didn’t say it like a joke, which made him swallow thickly at your words and push down some thoughts he’d been having about you lately. Some romantic, some not so romantic and more in the carnal sense. Both equally terrified him and made him feel a sense of guilt.

It didn’t help that your favorite lounge at home outfit was a sports bra and biker shorts you usually paired with a zip-up hoodie that you never zipped up. It was mostly that pretty silver chain necklace you wore all the time and how it would fall underneath the fabric of your bra, making his eyes and thoughts wander to forbidden places.

Something he was doing right fucking now. It was almost like getting caught in a spell of some sort, which embarrassed him greatly.

You were too distracted by the fact that he technically agreed to helping you out to notice his eyes resting on your chest area, “I can’t believe you’re going to do this for me- okay- okay you get back to work and we’ll meet up tonight?”

You were giddy, almost bouncing in your spot and Keys suddenly snapped out of his trance caused by you, and he quickly forced his eyes to meet yours, realizing you’d just been speaking and that he wasn’t listening.

“Uh- yeah- yeah totally,” he told you in an attempt to not sound like a creep. You didn’t notice though, you didn’t notice a lot of things actually, and you merely flashed him an excited grin before you turned and jogged back into your own room, for the first time being excited to do some work and actually complete it.

Keys just stood there long after you had slammed your door shut, long after you probably sat at your computer and started replying to messages or reworking some mods like you were supposed to.

He felt like an idiot. A fool. Yet another hopeless fool who developed feelings for somebody he was close to, somebody in the same friend group.

He hadn’t intended for it to happen. It had always been Millie, not that anything was wrong with you of course, he just had some odd attachment to her because for a long time he considered her to be his dream girl, but after a long hard look at himself and their friendship he knew that’s all she would ever be.

And he was okay with that…eventually. Eventually his heart stopped fluttering in his chest when their eyes would meet, eventually his mind was no longer foggy and warm when they spoke. Eventually, he felt nothing but a platonic love that would always be there to stay.

With you, he wasn’t anticipating feelings like that to come up. It honestly came out of no where one day. Millie and Mouser had left, and you decided to stick around a little longer.

Keys wasn’t used to being alone with you, as at the time you were closer to Millie only and you two were like a package deal. So when you said you’d stay, Keys suggested you two play a game of your choice as an ice breaker. You chose this shooter game, 1v1, or on a team together online. That would be his choice and he decided to go with 1v1, not wanting to deal with teammates he didn’t know as he wasn’t up for a headache or trash talking from strangers or kids who aren’t being monitored by their parents and cursing like sailors.

He didn’t catch the wicked look in your eyes when he chose that one.

Keys learned very quickly how much you liked shooter games, even ones at the arcades. Your aim was impeccable and your sportsmanship was completely out of the window. You quipped back and forth like old friends, teasing him when he’d lose, cursing him when you lost, which wasn’t as often as Keys would’ve liked.

It was fun, very fun, and you ended up spending the entire night with him, playing your favorite games, and his favorite ones. Then, you just talked and got to know each other better.

Keys had liked you before that, and it was after that he started to like you more. And when you and him moved into together- things changed. They changed a lot.

He really liked you, but like with Millie, he was probably forever going to keep it to himself because how could you ever like him in return? He was your friend, and you knew he had been hopelessly in love with your best friend- he couldn’t see that working out. Not one bit, even if it broke his heart knowing that it wouldn’t.

Like Millie was, you were just another dream girl, and like her again, he eventually learn to be okay with that. It’s what was keeping him going, honestly, but he knew it would take longer as you were around him constantly. Eventually, he told himself as he took a sip of his now cold coffee, eventually.

✦ ✦ ✦

Keys had gone to bed the minute he finished up.

He washed his face, taken off his shirt and put on his pajama pants, took off his glasses, and laid spread on his bed under the covers on his stomach. One side of his face was nuzzled into his pillow, heavy eyes shutting on their own accord, mind ready to be overcome by well deserved sleep.

Just as he felt sleep wash over him, something had weighed down the mattress from his left side. Well, not something, more like somebody had.

He opened one eye to see you on his bed, and he quickly sat up, moving away from you as he asked what the heck you were doing in his bed like this. You were taken back by his reaction, but then raised a brow before saying, “We agreed to meet up tonight, remember?”

Keys just stared at you, blinking wildly as he tried to remember if that was true. You shifted in your spot, spreading your thighs a little more so you could actually sit on his bed. He let his eyes move down for only a split second, though his vision was blurry, before forcing them back up at you.

“I seriously don’t remember, just-“

“God relax,” you suddenly said, a smile starting to grow on your lips, “You’re so nervous by a girl being in your bed.”

You were teasing him again, and he coughed into his hand before he shook his head and said in an attempt to change the subject, “I told you it might take all day, we can’t start tonight we’ll be up for hours.”

You frowned now, “Then why’d you agree tonight? You said ‘yeah totally’ I remember.” You pointed at him, and Keys suddenly recalled that he did say that to you- he had just been distracted that he didn’t know what he was agreeing to.

He cursed under his breath, knowing that you weren’t going to go away at all, but thinking he should keep his word as well, especially when you titled your head and gave him what could only be described as puppy dog eyes. You even fluttered your lashes and stuck out your bottom lip.

“Fine, get everything set up-“

“Already done,” you replied, already moving to stand, and you gestured him to follow you as you took long strides out the door. Keys could only grab his glasses, forgoing a shirt, so he could keep up with you.

Everything was set up, the game, the laptop with the games codes there- he was sure you made sure IP addresses couldn’t be tracked as the last thing your guys new gaming company needed was a scandal that involved one of the key founding members hacking into a game made by a separate company. Why on earth did you want to do this? It was insanely risky.

You moved to sit on a stool you had brought in from the kitchen, leaving your vibrant teal gaming chair to Keys. He sat in it, eyes glossing over the game and he asked you for clarification what it was you wanted him to do exactly.

“I’m having trouble with the items- okay so every time you buy one the price goes up and it goes insanely high- insanely that it makes it impossible to buy more,” you explained, “So I need you to either keep the prices from going up, or to give me infinite items or coins. That one sounds great.”

Keys ran his hand through his hair and laughed at your request, and said teasingly, “You know you can just earn all those coins by being a better player.”

He felt your hand lightly smack his shoulder, “I’ve been on this for weeks, Keys, and I’m desperate. This boss is kicking my ass and I’d like an infinite amount of healing potions.”

Rather than going to the coding, he actually moved to the game instead, starting it up and waving you off when you asked him what he was doing.

“I just want to see which boss is kicking your ass so much that you want to cheat,” he told you, and you started to protest, knowing that this was one the games he actually introduced you to and would definitely tease you when he found out which one it was.

Keys promptly ignored you as he loaded up to your last mission, and as his eyes danced around the screen, taking in the familiar surroundings and music even, he started to laugh and shake his head- doing exactly what you were afraid of.

“Alright yeah laugh it up-“

“No, no I actually don’t blame you,” he said with another shake of his head before he pushed his hair out his face, “I think I stopped playing for a while because of this fight. Have you gotten asked to play easy mode yet?”

He was looking at you now, and you moaned in distress before nodding. Keys laughed, remembering how this particular boss battle had humbled him and other players who thought they were god at video games greatly. He leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands together and resting them over his chest.

“It’s a bad idea,” he told you again, this time more firmly, “Also I’m sorry- I’m not going to let you cheat. We’re beating this guy here and now.”

He was turning away from you to look back at the screen, and you groaned.

“Keys there’s no way- no fucking way we’re going to beat him- you said even you had trouble,” you tried, “Just let me go the cheating route.”

You grabbed the laptop, but Keys had taken it from you swiftly, shutting it and setting aside as you grumbled at him.

“No you’re going to beat this guy fair and square, we just need to replay missions, get every objective checked off…” he trailed off as he started moving the character away from the boss battle zone. You just sat beside him, dreading the idea of having to go back to do all that.

“Keys…” you moaned in complete despair, “That’ll take too long.”

“It won’t, I’ll help you,” he replied back, and dropped your head on his shoulder while he grinned, amused by your reluctance to replay any of this.

“Fine, fine, we’ll take turns,” you said, lifting your head up so you can look at the screen. Keys agreed to these terms.

A few hours had passed, you and Keys switching off who plays and who watches- and Keys was a much better player than you were at this particular game, getting through past battles you also had trouble with and barely passed with ease, slicing through the bosses like butter, and going on his merry way. You were almost embarrassed honestly whenever it was your turn, but he sat beside you on that stool, and just helped you.

Normally, whenever you played together or watched the other play a single player game (a sort of ritual you two had every other night when you were both available) you’d go hard on each other for every little mistake.

“Uh triangle is the top button Keys? Need to study the controls a little longer there big guy?”

“Haha- if you’re just going to be so critical the door's over there…”

All would end with a laugh and you leaning back on his bed as you continued to watch him, teasing him within the next few minutes.

Right now though, he’d still occasionally tease here and there, but it wasn’t condescending or serious enough to irritate you. You actually liked it, liked him sitting next to you, leaned in slightly so he was closer to you and the screen, telling you directly in your ear what to do, when to trigger your characters power, what weapons you should go with- you liked him being so close, and especially liked it when you did good and he praises you.

It really urged you to play well, wanting to hear those words again.

Then, you got to the boss you’ve been having so much trouble with you wanted to cheat your way into beating him. By now it was past midnight, closer to 1 in the morning, and you have both been at it for at least another hour or so- switching spots again and again as you did your best to fuck the boss up. He was the only one who got closest and you at least got farther than you normally would…more than half of his life had been down before you were taken out.

“Yup- I’m dead,” Keys said with a sigh. He leaned back, pressing the back of his head on the gaming chair and you grumbled, knowing you were next to try.

“Don’t even move,” you said in a gruff voice as you moved from the stool and sat onto his lap. Keys eyes widened when he felt you there, hands moving to grasp your hips almost instinctively but quickly dropping them as if it was a crime to hold you.

“What are you-“

“I’m going to die real quick, so you moving would be a waste,” you said, shifting slightly before you restarted the mission. Keys just say there staring at the back of your head, trying to fight the heat that was overcoming him.

You weren’t putting your weight fully down on him, your own feet touching the floor and holding yourself upright as you clicked away at the keyboard, too concentrated on the game to notice Keys having a slight panic attack underneath you or how tense suddenly became.

Curse words were slipping through your lips toward the game, and you shifted in your spot again, making him hold onto you once more, deciding to look over your shoulder now and focus on the game and not how you felt on his lap.

You were doing pretty well, actually, dodging with precision, getting well aimed hits on the boss. Your characters power bar was growing drastically, and when the bar was full you managed to trigger it at the perfect time.

“You know, for somebody’s who not even trying you’re doing pretty damn good,” Keys mumbled, leaning forward so his head was over your shoulder. Focusing on the game had been successful in distracting him from your current position.

You merely hummed in response, acknowledging his compliment, and the villain’s health bar was so low- it was in the red and Keys said, “Holy shit! You almost got him!”

He held his breath, and also you, as he watched you dodge some his quickest attacks that you struggled with before triggering your character's power again and putting the boss to sleep with one final blow and a final scream.

You just stared at the screen, in pure disbelief, and perhaps a dash of denial that you’d finally beaten this fucker who had been haunting you for weeks now, taunting you every time you looked at your computer screen. You did it, you beat him - or did you?

"Did...did I actually beat him? Or did I fall asleep watching you play and this is a fever dream? Please tell me this is fucking real-"

“It's real! You kicked his ass!” Keys was practically hugging you from behind and you threw your hands up and shouted with excitement, the smile on your lips wide as you really took in that you finally beat him.

"See! You didn't need to cheat," Keys told you from behind, making you laugh and move to stand, making Keys let you go as you did. He stood up too, and you were turned around to hug him tightly, which seemed to have taken him off guard.

Keys settled into your tight embrace, returning it by wrapping his arms tightly around you before you tilted your head up at him with a wide grin on your lips.

He looked down at you, “He wasn’t worth hacking into a game, right?”

"I mean if we cheated it wouldn't be almost...2 in the morning right now," you joked, making him laugh, his lips pulling into a sweet smile as his brown eyes held your gaze, "But...no you're right...totally not worth that."

He nodded, happy that you agreed with him.

"Thank you, Keys, I mean it...just thank you, I know it's just a video game but you know...this stuff is basically our life, so just...thanks," you told him truthfully.

Keys sucked in a tight breath before he nodded, "You're welcome, anything for you honestly...except you know...hacking into a beatable game."

He made you laugh, again, and because he was pretty sleepy right now with the adrenaline rushing off, he couldn't really hide the way he was looking at your lips.

There was little light in the room, with only your bedside lamp and the light emitting from your computer screen behind you. It reflected back at you slightly, courtesy of those cute glasses Keys wore, but you could see his eyes weren't on yours.

You honestly don't know what compelled you, the adrenaline that still coursed through your veins from the win, or maybe the fact that you were still holding each other like a separated couple reunited- you couldn't really pinpoint it, but you were starting to lean forward as if you were going to kiss him...well...you were going to kiss him.

Until he was leaning away, causing you snap out of it. Your eyes widened as they snapped upward to rest back on his. He looked so very confused and your felt your cheeks heat up immediately with embarrassment, feeling like an idiot that you just about almost stole a kiss from him without asking.

“What...what was that?” Keys asked you, attempting to keep his voice as steady as possible as he felt his heart start to race and his stomach between to twist and turn with nerves.

You were pulling away then, saying in an exasperated tone, “Nothing- sorry- I think I just got too caught up in the moment.”

You were trying to laugh it off, make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal what you were about to do and you stumbled backwards, wanting to shut the game off for the night and lay under your covers in your own embarrassment.

Keys just watched you, piecing together exactly what you were close to doing- how close you had leaned in, how your eyes had looked- were those what they call kiss me eyes?

His heart nearly swelled in his chest and he grasped your arm gently, making you turn to meet him with a curious expression and he asked, “Were you about to…kiss me?”

Your expression turned horrified.

“What? No,” you said, panic rising in your voice before you cleared your throat and continued to say, “I wasn’t- no- did it…did it look like it? Because I wasn’t...”

He blinked a few times, knowing that you were lying. He knows what he saw, and he knows you and your tells, the way you refused to keep eye contact, and would press your lips together as if conflicted. You were lying, and you were embarrassed. He didn’t like that you were.

"Well! Anyway! Thanks for helping me, I really appreciate it and uh- we should totally do this again. Well we probably will but-"

“No wait I wasn't finished," Keys said, making you pause and look up again to meet his gaze. He looked serious now, less shocked and more...determined. You didn't know what to say or do, just standing there and waiting for him to finish.

"Just..if you were trying to kiss me…I’d be totally okay with it,” he said, his voice a little softer. Your eyes widened softly at this statement.

"Really?" you asked, and he swiped his tongue across his bottom lip before he nodded.

Things had suddenly grew tenser, the room quieter and darker, more intimate. You hadn't ever expected to be in a situation like this with Keys, sure you sometimes thought about Keys romantically, but you quickly stopped those because you had always known Keys was in love with Millie.

He was cute, he always had been, you had thought so since you first met him. He was funny...smart, the best video game partner, and roommate, coworker...friend, it always struck you as odd that Millie never saw him the same way he saw her.

And here he was, looking at you how he looked at her, except it felt like something even more and he was basically asking you to kiss him. And you wanted to, you wanted to so bad suddenly, but conflict raised in you because of the fact you thought it was always Millie he loved, wondering in these split seconds if he was suddenly into you because he couldn't have her.

He must've seen this, your hesitation, and he swallowed thickly before starting to speak, "I've actually...liked you for a long time now, you asked me when I lost feelings for Millie and...I think- now I know...it was when I met you because...yeah...it's you."

He trailed off awkwardly, and you watched as his cheeks dusted pink and his eyes shifted away from you. You couldn't really believe what he had just said, but when he finally got the courage back to look at you...you knew he was telling you the truth.

And you were leaning in, tilting your head upwards so that you could press your lips gently against his. You practically felt his breath get taken away as your lips touched his, just before he returned your gentle, almost shy kiss.

You both leaned away at the same time, your heart pounding in your chest and your eyes fluttering open as your eyes met. A small smile had returned to his lips, and suddenly you felt his hand in your hair as he grew more confident and you both leaned in to kiss a second time, this time the kiss was longer, your lips melding together tenderly as you titled your head to deepen it.

Then, things went further...because of you mostly. Your hands planted against his bare chest as you made him walk backwards, your lips never leaving each others and he was on your bed with you settling into his lap, straddling him.

Keys looked up at you through his lashes, his hands placed onto your waist, in almost the same way they were placed moments before when you on his lap playing and defeating the boss. His body felt so warm against yours, and you were sure your body was just as warm against his.

You moved your own hands to his hair, and said, "Do you want to keep playing, Keys? Or do you wanna keep doing this?"

He seemed taken back by your suggestion, but laughed breathlessly as he said, "Yeah...yeah let's keep doing this."

[bloodycyrano]

Gifts I think the DAO companions would appreciate, outside of giftable in game items! (Pt1, I think this will be a long post if not sectioned)

Sten-

Incense and expensive tea, possibly imported. He talks about how he hates the smell of Ferelden, and misses home; Tea and incense being the most notable scents that stick out to him.

Cookies, or a good recipe for cookies. Everyone in the Fandom has had the dialog where Sten reveals that he enjoys cookies, and that in his homeland, there is no such thing. I think he would greatly enjoy a recipe to be able to bring such a thing back with him- Even if he may not be able to make them himself at home. My memory is fuzzy on qunari custom, but I don't think he'd be particularly allowed to bake.

A wardog of his own- I don't think he'd be permitted to keep it, upon return to the qun. But he has immense respect for Barkspawn, and I think if he were here in 2024, he'd be a great dog dad. I think he'd probably give it to his closest companion upon his return, but he would keep a detailed sketch of it with him always. He'd probably give it a specific title in his native tongue.

This is sort of a separate headcannon, but I think in a modern AU, he'd really like pumpkin spice lattes.- It's always the ones you would never expect.

Shayle-

Obviously, we know they like crystals. They like being pretty, and *sparkling*. So it's not too farfetched to assume they would appreciate gold ore or other shining metals fitted to some of their stone bits- Sort of like.. Magically grafted on with heat? Morrigan could weld them, or I'm sure Sandal could potentially do it.

I think, while they couldn't really read themselves, I think if you brought them books and such, they would enjoy hearing you read it to them. Especially if you manage to find some old records of their own lineage after the orzammar quest line.

I think they would also enjoy being given I big, stone bowl to keep shiny trinkets in- Like a crow, almost. Crystals, cute pebbles, coins, keys, etc. Pretty things for them to look at.

Leliana-

She would love it if you wrote her a poem, regardless of what it was about. I think she'd just be so happy you thought of her and wrote something lovely- I honestly think she'd love it even more if it wasn't the best quality. After all, that would mean you were inspired by her to write something of which you had no prior experience and still tried your best. She'd think it was cute.

I think she'd like it if you gave her one of your own personal favorite books or fables, with little notes on your commentary and theories. She'd love that, honestly.

A ceramic nug. No explanation needed, she loves Nugs. I've got animals I love, too. And if someone gave me a ceramic or plush critter of my choice, I'd be over the moon.

A little on the weird side, I think she'd like a type of porcelain harlequin doll. I can't think of the specific type, but they don't make them the same way anymore.. they're usually from overseas in Germany or Russia or France, you know? The ones that are really glossy and have beautiful line work in the paint? I feel like you found one in the denerim marketplace, imported from Orlais, and it would remind her of another experience she had there or even just of her time as a bard. After all, they weren't *all* unpleasant memories.

Alistair-

A golem doll. Like a little poppet. I don't think it's rare dialogue, but the other day is the first time I noticed it since I first played the game rented from a family video over a decade ago, so.. Yeah. Point is, Alistair mentions in front of "Wonders of Thedas", that Arl Eamon (I think) once bought him a little golem doll as a child, and how he adored it and wondered if there would be one like it at the wonders of thedas.

A griffon figurine. He's a Grey Warden, I think he'd like it. The wardens have always been his real home, and it's truly where he belongs. I think a memento of that is something he'd hold dear.

A book of poems about honoring fallen soldiers. I feel like it may bring him to tears, and perhaps make him confront some extra grief after ostagar, but perhaps it could also bring a sort of comfort. Maybe he isn't the most religious, maybe he has a bit of trauma from the chantry.. But I think he still prays, if only for the ones he's lost.

Again, I think he'd like a war dog. I'll never let him take Barkspawn, but he'd love a pupper of his own. If you gave it to him as a puppy to raise and train all his own, he'd probably be overjoyed.- Off topic, but I headcannon that all companions to the wardens have an extended lifespan, and live and die with their humanoid counterparts if they don't die in battle, kind of like the animal companions do with the avatars in ATLA. Far fetched, and backed by absolutely no real lore as far as I know, but I like to think it's true.

[beevean]

The whole "you're just sexist" response to Lanolin really rubbing a lot of fans the wrong way is the last thing I want to hear from a fandom that spent over two decades perpetuating shit like portraying two female characters being catty and antagonistic towards each other over a guy when it came to Amy and Elise(and still do it to this day), and Amy and Sally, when the characters in question never did any of that to each other in canon.

I may be old lol, but for me sexism in the Sonic fandom was (is, in some instances):

reducing Amy to an insane stalkerish yandere based on one (1) line in Sonic Heroes, a game that did everything but take itself seriously. Did anyone portray Espio as a callous gangster for lowkey threatening Cream to give away her pet? Yeah.

slutshaming Rouge to the point that even in Archie she was written as a cold, manipulative femme fatale willing to kiss the likes of Locke to get her way - ignoring that she uses far more than her feminine charms to achieve her goals and she can be kindhearted

reducing Maria to Shadow's trauma button, fully indulging in the "Stuffed in the Fridge" trope. What do you mean, we could flesh her out? She's only good to cause a man pain!

treating Elise like the worst character of all time for the crime of being a perfectly normal girl with a crush on a cartoon animal. The first part is what I want to focus on right now: Elise didn't karate chop her way out of Eggman's grasp, so that makes her a weakling. She is not #girlboss enough. Women can only be physical badasses and mean af.

Flynn himself propping up Blaze and Tangle as the only worthwhile female characters in the series purely for their fighting prowess, while dismissing Amy, Rouge and Cream for being "all over the place", too sexy, and too young (the same not said about Tails and Charmy: this is reflected in his writing, where only Cream gets infantilized).

So forgive me if I don't feel guilty for pointing to an unlikeable character who happens to have boobs and saying "wow, that character sure is unlikeable". Because I remind you, the stuff most people say about her was also said about male characters when relevant. Sexism would be slutshaming her for her big chest, for example, not pointing out legit grievances in the writing.

[writingsbychlo]

UNDER THE MISTLETOE (prologue)

summary; a surprise gift from your allies in the Winter Court brings a brand new opportunity for you and the shadowsinger. word count; 2106 notes; this is the beginning of not only a new series, but my first az series! I'm writing as I go, it's not all done, so stick with me on this one, okay? happy holidays, this series is my gift to you all x

Swilling around the last of the wine in your glass, you watched the sweet liquid glitter under the low faelights of Rhys’ sinning room, chuckling on cue at another retelling of one of Cassian’s favourite stories. Alright, you’d heard this story every solstice for almost three decades, but it was practically tradition now. Listening to the general recount ‘that one time Mor fell in the Sidra with all her gift-bags and had to repurchase everything’ somehow never seemed to get old, he had a way of telling stories that made them brand new every time.

However, the recent addition of Feyre to all of these new stories made it that much more touching, watching her face light up as she discovered everything about the group with a fresh perspective. “Wait, doesn’t the Sidra freeze over in, like, October? Did you fall clean through the ice? How did you survive?”

The High Lady was all but gaping at your blonde friend, who only smirked, while Amren scoffed lightly. “Oh, no, Mor here likes to do all her shopping in advance. She’s late to practically every event, but she’s always prepared for them.”

“It’s called being fashionably late, Amren, not that you’d know anything about fashion. You exclusively wear monotone drab!” Mor snipped back, and when Amren’s eyes narrowed at her, ‘challenge accepted’ silently exchanged, you leaned back to get more comfortable in your seat.

“You exclusively wear red. Do not preach to me about fashion choices, girl, when half of your wardrobe consists of what can only be described as scraps of fabric.” Her words were harsh, and yet somehow, there was an underlying warmth to them, to soften the blow, and Mor held her gaze for a second, before both broke out into grins. 

“I don’t know how you do it,” Feyre sighed, shifting her son from his high chair and onto her lap as he gurgled and sucked on the tips of his own fingers. “I can never work out what to get for anyone, no matter how hard I try, I always end up last-minute panic-buying!” She sighed at herself, and you twisted to face her. 

“That’s not a you thing, that's a mate thing. Just another thing you and Rhys have in common.” The lord scoffed, turning to stare at you past Cassian as he and Nesta kicked at one another under the table in the world’s most aggressive game of footsie. 

“What are you trying to say, exactly?” Violet eyes narrowed on you, and you only shrugged, Under that mock-glare, shadows curled protectively over your shoulders loosely, from the shadowsinger sitting on your other side.

“All I’m saying, Rhys, is that in every other aspect of your life you’re incredibly prepared. Yet I have watched you turn up on my doorstep for decades in a row, in a total mess because you realised that you had no gifts at all the day before Solstice.” You shrugged, and he only huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and slouching back in his seat like a petulant child.

“Oh, yeah? Well, perhaps I should have held out on delivering this one.” You didn’t even get a moment to be confused, before he was waving a hand and from the tendrils of smoky darkness, a box fell into your lap, rattling the cutlery as it caught the tablecloth with its entrance. 

“What’s this, an early solstice present? You should have waited for tomorrow night.” You beamed, and all attention around the table seemed to shift to you. Lucien and Elain pulled away from their happy chatter on mumbled breaths, Nesta and Cass seemed to call a truce on their foot war, and Feyre stopped her baby-talk. Even Nyx’s babble ceased momentarily, eyes wide and chubby fingers grabbing at the glittering remnants of his father’s magic on the air. Azriel leaned over, the earthy scent of cedar and mist washing over you in layers as he examined the box. 

Turning to look at him, you got a split-second of an uninterrupted view, close enough to pick out the tiny marks along his skin, the shadow of stubble that was freshly shaved along his skin, the healed-over holes in his ear from his younger phase of having rings decorating it. Then, he turned, bright hazel eyes flicking between yours, a frown sitting on his lips. “It’s got a Winter Court seal.”

“It arrived this morning.” Rhys broke the tension, Azriel leaning back into his seat and out of your space, and as you smoothed your fingers over the pretty box, you watched shadows dart around the seams, trying to break in. You swatted at Azriel’s leg, smirking at the breath he rushed out. 

“Stop prying, let me open it before you know what it is.”

“Stop making us all wait, darling, we’re practically dying of anticipation.” He finished off his drink, and Mor only hummed in agreement. “It seems you made an even better impression over there than you let on. We should send you to make more alliances. Now open that box up, that’s an order.”

“The key is to see it as making friends, not alliances, my lord.” He didn’t bother to give an answer, and you tugged on the tightly knotted bows holding it all closed. The second you free the lid from the box and set it down, a single shadow leapt inside, sweeping through the tissue paper and investigating whatever lay underneath, before reporting back to its master. He seemed satisfied with the findings.

Pushing the coloured tissue out of the way, the first thing revealed to you was an embossed envelope. Lifting it up, you flipped it, finding the pale blue wax seal on the back. Cassian gave up on patience, swiping the box from your lap as you thumbed under the wax stamp to pop it open. Rifling through the package and leaving a heap of torn gift wrap in his wake, Cassian cheered as he pulled out a box of chocolates. “Mine! I called it!”

“You can’t just call it on someone else’s gift!” Mor argued, grabbing for the box as she leaned across the table, and Cassian only smirked. 

“Don’t be jealous just because you didn’t get there first.”

“Now, now, share children,” Rhys muttered, and Nyx picked up one of the ribbons from the table, squealing happily s he waved it around in the air, watching the tail end move. “There’s enough chocolate there to go around.”

“Look at this pretty scarf!” Mor cheered, pulling a hand-knit scarf from the box. It was white, black threads woven through every so often with shimmering glitter barely visible, and tassels adorning the ends. 

Pulling the letter out from within, your eyes scanned over the page, and you could practically feel stoic curiosity pouring out of the man next to you. His impatience was almost stifling. Twisting in your seat and leaning over to him so he could read the letter at the same time as you. That same dissatisfaction turned to placated joy, and the moment you finished reading, his fingers brushed yours as he took the letter from your hands. As soon as he finished reading, it was disappearing from his grip altogether, reappearing in Rhysand’s hands so he could read it too. 

“I've been sent a traditional gift for their version of Solstice celebrations.” The scarf was still being passed around, Elain currently awing over the stitch-work as her mate watched her fawn, and you puffed up with some contented pride at the gift you’d been given. 

“It seems you’ve also been invited to join them for these so-called ‘Christmas’ celebrations.” All eyes once again turned to you, and silence fell across the table again, save for the crinkling of foil when Cassian unwrapped another truffle to pop into his mouth. You could only shrug in response, words escaping you. When you didn’t reply, didn’t offer the enthusiasm he’d clearly been expecting if the furrow in his brow was anything to judge by, he continued; “I think you should go.”

“You do?” 

“I do.” Folding the letter back up carefully and placing it down on the table, he folded his hands together on the surface, and you felt like you were being scrutinised as he took you in. His gaze then moved, only briefly, to Azriel behind you. “It’s a great opportunity, for many reasons. You’d not only be able to reaffirm the Night Court’s alliance with Winter, but you’d also be taking some much-needed time off. You work hard, don’t think I don’t appreciate it, but every time you take ‘time off’, you always end up working in some capacity. Clearly, the only way to get you to truly get some rest is to remove you from work entirely.” 

That made him smirk, and you couldn't disagree. It wasn’t that you were work-obsessed, or that you didn’t have hobbies and guilty pleasures, but it was simply that the work never stopped. When you watched it all pile up for your return, the appeal of taking time off was utterly diminished, until everything seemed easier to just keep going.

“You should take Azriel with you.” 

“What?” It was the exact thought going through your head, but it wasn’t your voice that spoke it. No, it was a much deeper voice, rough and heavy, so soothing it was like a weighted blanket wrapped around you with every word he spoke. “Why?”

Rhys didn’t deign to respond immediately. No, instead, he smirked at the way he left you hanging, refilling his wine glass with what was left of the fifth bottle of the night, and he took a long and slow gulp before putting it down. Licking his lips, you felt like you were seconds away from groaning out loud when he finally took a breath, “It’s a chance for Az to get out of the court for some desperately needed R&R too.”

“That’s it?” Azriel asked, and for the first time tonight, you didn’t agree with him. Twisting in your seat to stare at him, his arm bracketed you, sitting on the back of your hair, the other on the table to your side, and his attention moved swiftly from his brother to you. 

“What do you mean ‘that’s it’? You say that like you don’t deserve a break.”

“It’s not that, it’s just that it doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to send me away.” He shrugged, and you frown at him, watching the edges of his lips flicker up in evident amusement. “You’re staring at me like I kicked a puppy.”

Your eyes rolled. “I’m just.. you deserve a break too, Azriel. You don’t need any reason to take a break, never mind a good one.”

“So, it’s settled then. Azriel and (y/n) are going to the Winter Court for ‘Christmas’.” Rhys confirmed, a finality to his tone that suggested no arguing, and Azriel gaped at his brother. Some silent conversation seemed to be taking place between their gazes, and for a second, you wondered if it really was, but Rhys’ eyes didn’t go as vacant as they did when he was within someone else’s mind, and Azriel seemed entirely present too. “Oh, don’t look at me like that, brother. Think of it as work, if you must. You’re going to Winter as a guest, you’ll be granted a lot more access and many more privileges, and you can focus on nothing but understanding Winter Court more. We don’t know much about them, their culture, or their beliefs. It could be useful one day. Go and observe.”

Az seemed to want to argue, to object, and he moved his sights down from Rhysand to you. There must have been something on your face, your cheeks felt like they were stretching to form a smile, and the harsh mask he almost always wore softened just a touch as he looked at you. With a deep breath, Azriel simply muttered, “Okay.”

“Okay?” You echoed, cheeks pulling more, and you knew you were grinning now, especially when he gave a breathy laugh and dipped his head in a nod.

“Okay. We go to Winter Court.”

“Excellent! Rhys cheered, straightening at the table, and his son repeated the vague sound of the word in a baby-babble equivalent of his father’s enthusiasm. “I’ll make all the arrangements myself, you can leave right after Solstice.” With one more look at Azriel, you turned back to him, stealing two chocolates from the box Cassian was working his way through quickly, and passing one to your best friend behind you. “Now, how about we have some dessert?”

[starlightswordfight]

"jeremy if this is another hc post I'm going to kill you" bad news

castaway nonsense PART TWO

– schnauz is deathly afraid of water. it unsettles him deeply, largely because of past experience. do you SEE his treasure catalogue entry for the blue paint?? who "swims out" for the "last time" in a swimming pool???? someone fucking DIED

– on a slightly similar note, he laughs when he's nervous!

– he is Perpetually Nervous

– I think molly would REALLY like the evil skeleton wizard memes that have taken over my brain for the past several years. "not me being evil shadow skull" and no one knows what the fuck she's talking about

– molly writes fanfiction

– will let people borrow her camera if you ask nicely

– speaking of molly. her and patch and dash should be best friends forever. same home planet and they all do stupid shit. jin is also involved and they're the voice of reason

– dash has a lot of fidget toys. on him at all times

– wears those jackets where it's just an anime character wrapped around them all the way all bizarre like. he doesn't think it's a good design by any means it's just really funny

– frisé's favorite instrument is the didgeridoo

– also she's intersex. I can do whatever I want

– hitting frisé with the singing/humming/tapping on stuff as stims beam

– construction work is super fucking loud so I think corgwin just would not be bothered by sudden/incredible noise anymore. it just reads as background stuff to him! that or he like genuinely isn't picking up on some of it at all, it doesn't register. frequent tinnitus haver. he might be going deaf

– corgwin is tumblr famous. the pikmin universe tumblr equivalent anyway. inspired by the headcanon generator that told us in the pikmin server I'm in that charlie lit a school on fire and got away with it and that the rescue corps killed princess diana

– think about it. he'd share fun building facts. niche internet micro celebrity and everybody loves him

– lapi is also tumblr famous

– he likes frolicking around outside For Enrichment but he also does it in the rain and sometimes comes home sick

– guilty of making sketchbooks into renderbooks and taking several years to complete them. "but it has to be perfect" That Is The Devil Talking

– horatio is not immune to the fog

– he has a VERY specific skillset. like. like stupid specific. the guy is the most proficient xylophonist you've ever met but he can't cook. knows how aeronautics works but his phone call game is BAD. give him an old movie from decades back and he can tell you what it is and who acted in it and exactly where he was when he first saw it, easily. if you ask him for directions anywhere he'll crumble and die

– he wrote his ID badge like that. it was fully and completely on purpose. horatio thinks it's funny as hell

– françois really likes bugs! sees them all the time in his work even if his studies are flora centric. while on pnf-404 he probably talks about it a LOT with dalmo. botany/environmental science major who minored in entomology

– I just do not think he'd be afraid of them and that is beautiful. he allows nothing to dissuade him. he has pet spiders it is wonderful

– OKAY YOU KNOW THOSE THINGS YOU CAN GET AT THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER AND IN OTHER PLACES WHERE IT'S LIKE ROCK SAMPLES FROM FOREIGN SPACE BODIES?? AM I INSANE??? in the little capsules and shit ????? yeah kit has those

– astrophysics lover. adores space science. worked at a planetarium before meeting osa. I don't remember if this contradicts the established lore and I am too tired to go back and check so if im wrong you can pelt me with stones and tomato

– osa lets him ramble on about it but in all honesty he does not know what the fuck kit is talking about half the time ever. ever

– vice versa! osa also has a huge nerd thing and it's world history. which makes sense for an archaeologist. I don't mean modern history either I mean ANCIENT

– fawks would unironically endorse the idea of a cybertruck but it never comes to fruition because everyone says it's stupid and he feels insulted and he gives up and sulks about it

– but he'd specialize. I know he would. he gets specific with it. good for him! my money is on prehistoric archaeology, stuff back before written text, and language, and any history that could be recorded with the power of words. which is why travelling to pnf-404 was so fucking important to him, he's been trying to construct something that would fill in the gaps of that lost starfolk history and this WAS the exact sort of thing that he was looking for

– technically they're doing geoarchaeology together. yes that's a subfield

– he is a tech bro and everybody thinks this is stupid and dumb also

– chewy

[thefairywithboots]

Welcome To My Blog

Hi there! ;)

Welcome to my fanfic blog. My primary places to post are AO3, Wattpad, and Dreamwidth, but I have moved a lot of my stuff over here to Tumblr because I love the community and friends I've made over here!

All of my NSFW work fics will be labelled as such. I am not responsible for any minors who ignore the warnings and read such fics anyway.

Requests are closed

About Me

Hi there! ;) You have managed to somehow stumble upon my little corner of the internet. So welcome!

My name is Rita, and I have written fanfiction ever since I was 11 years old - by hand in spare spiral notebooks that I had - back before I even knew what fanfiction was. I’d just sit scribbling alternative endings to video games whose canonical endings had left me emotionally traumatized (Twilight Princess, Valkyrie Profile, etc.) But I didn’t start writing fanfic to post for the public to read until a full decade later.

I have always used writing as a form of escapism, to create worlds when I felt like the one I am in was too restrictive. This blog will be my safe space from the world, and I want it be just as much as an escape for others as it is for me. I want this to be a positive vibes only blog. 🌻

I am a hopeless romantic at heart, and spend a lot time trying to spread positivity, peace and love. ❤️ 🌻

My other interests include crochet (I often post pictures of clothes that I make,) painting/drawing, video games, fantasy/mythology, and most importantly music. Music is my catharsis. The reason I am alive.

I usually keep to myself in fandoms to avoid drama and fights, but am a really nice person as long as you are not an asshole, so please don’t be afraid to slide into my DMs if you want to chat.

Fic Requests

Stuff that I write:

• Fluff

•Smut

• And most importantly, angst because I love torturing my characters/muses as well as myself.

•X Reader inserts

•x OC

•FxM (fluff and smut)

• FxF (fluff and smut)

• MxM (fluff)

Stuff that I will not write:

•Obviously icky stuff (pedo/necro/rapey shit)

• Jimbert - nothing against people who write or enjoy these kinds of fics - there's actually a few fics of this ship I enjoy myself - and people can write whatever fictional scenario they want. It's just that a very small handful of people on here take things way too far insisting that this is not fantasy, and these two had very real feelings for each other. So... yeah. That shit ain't for me. So I won't be writing this ship. I'll read others' fics though, and any other MxM ship is open for requesting. :)

So... yeah. Other than that, I'm willing to write anything. So feel free to send in requests.

My Fanfic Library

Iron Maiden

Dave Murray x Janick Gers

Fates Warning (Book 1 of Into Darkness) a Dave x Janick fic that follows their relationship throughout the 1990s.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Led Zeppelin

Robert Plant x Reader

Your Most Sacred Place (Smut)

Submissive Robert (Smut)

Aftercare (Smut)

Fire At Midnight

A Little Deal (Smut)

Way Down Inside (Smut)

Who’s In Charge (Smut)

Daddy, I Just Can’t Wait (Smut)

Far Too Long (Smut)

If You Wake Up With The Sunrise

Just Pretend

Just Pretend - part 2 (Smut)

Relaxations

Until You Forget (Smut)

Robert and Evanna (OC ship)

Depollute Me, Gentle Angel

Steal Away Now (Smut)

I'm Gonna Put You Down For A While (Smut)

I'm Gonna Crawl (Smut)

Song Fics

Tea For One

Crack Fics

What Is And What Should Never Be

Legend of Zelda

Link x Malon

Welcome Home (Smut)

Original Works

The Hurdy Gurdy Man

Recommended Blogs

@bijouxcarys writes incredible Robert Plant fics, is such a prolific writer, and is also the sweetest person ever. So check her out. ⚔️🌈

@firethatgrewsolow @brownskinsugarplum76 and @nature-and-music have also written some of my favourite Robert fics, and just overall extremely talented writers who inspire me to get better at my own. So please check them out. 🌻

[ladydorian05]

Fuck it weekend because this is a whole fic

BI BUCK IS CANON!!!!!!

I started writing this fic before the episode aired. This was inpired by this post.

I don't know what this is, but it's the first thing I've written in a while so, hope you like whatever this is.

Big shout out to @made-ofmemories for beta reading and helping me write some parts of this.

Also, special thanks to @wikiangela @daffi-990 @thewolvesof1998 @hippolotamus @your-catfish-friend @theotherbuckley @exhuastedpigeon @wildlife4life @pirrusstuff @neverevan @giddyupbuck @bidisasterbuckdiaz @jesuisici33 for still tagging me in the weekly wip games even if I haven't been that active in a while (also, consider this your no pressure tag❤)❤❤ (and I'm sorry if I'm missing people I lost the list of people that used to tag me) I hope This will be my come back to writing.

Eddie's UNO Reverse

AO3

Summary:

“You know, he’s different, not only because he’d be the first man I’d try to date in, let’s just say a while. Spending time with him feels good. Like-” Eddie pauses, purses his lips the way he does when he’s thinking about something and then he says it. “Like he sees me.”

And just how the fuck is Buck supposed to take that? Here’s Eddie, literally contemplating a future with a man he just met, a complete stranger, and saying all of this to Buck’s face!? He’s really going to consider a stranger over the person who has known him for years, to the person who can basically read his mind with just a look! To the man who actually sees him because he’s known him for the better part of half a decade and now that he can be honest to himself, the man who’s been helping him raise the most amazing kid in the world!?

He hasn’t been hyping himself up to ask Eddie out on a date for weeks just for a stranger to come waltzing in and steal his partner right in front of him. Not again.

Or the one where Eddie speaks with Buck about Tommy the same way Buck talked about Natalia. And Buck doesn't take it well.

Word count: 3k something

Tags: Jealousy, Eddie's pettyness backfires (in the best way possible), getting together. It gets a bit spicy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I didn't expect to get along with Tommy so well, he's been nice.” Eddie comments as he lets his duffle bag drop to the floor next to the door.

“Yeah, he seems like a cool guy.” Buck follows him inside, he leaves his own bag next to Eddie’s and makes his way to the open space that makes up the kitchen area of his loft. He watches as Eddie opens the fridge and grabs two beers.

They just came back from the basketball court, they invited Tommy to hang out with them once things settled down after the cruise rescue. They all promised to make an effort to hang out more, and apparently Hen and Chim’s old teammate made a good impression on Eddie.

”We made plans to go to next week’s baseball game, said he had an extra ticket.” Eddie passes him his beer, their fingers brushing.

“Really?” Buck takes a long sip of his beer, hoping that he sounded normal and not upset. It was his idea to invite Tommy to their regular basketball hang out in the first place. He wanted him to feel included, to let him know that they appreciated that he placed his career on the line to help them get to Bobby and Athena. And well, even if he’s no longer with the 118 he should still be considered a friend, family. He just never considered that he’d be the one feeling left out.

He might not be a big baseball fan but they could have asked even if just to not be rude.

“You know, I might just try something with him,” Eddie says, far too casual. Buck chokes on his beer, thumping his fist against his chest twice before he regains his composure. “It’s been almost a month since Marisol and I broke up, so might as well.”

“What?” Buck croaks, carbonation from the beer still burning at the back of his throat.

“I mean, we have a lot in common. He says he’s good with kids, has been in the army, he’s a widower like me, he likes sports, has a good sense of humor, since he was a firefighter and now a rescue pilot he most definitely won’t have a problem with my crazy work schedule. Plus he’s nice as we previously stated and he’s not bad looking.”

“I guess.” The fact that Eddie is considering dating a man doesn’t come out of nowhere, they’ve had more than one conversation on their interests and on Eddie’s part on how he’s never felt like he could act upon those feelings or even mention that he’s interested in men before. The wonders of going to therapy.

Still, this is the first time he ever mentioned wanting to go on a date with a guy. With Tommy. He’d say yes, of course he would. Who wouldn't say yes to Eddie!

“You know, he’s different, not only because he’d be the first man I’d try to date in, let’s just say a while. Spending time with him feels good. Like-” Eddie pauses, purses his lips the way he does when he’s thinking about something and then he says it. “Like he sees me.”

And just how the fuck is Buck supposed to take that? Here’s Eddie, literally contemplating a future with a man he just met, a complete stranger, and saying all of this to Buck’s face!? He’s really going to consider a stranger over the person who has known him for years, to the person who can basically read his mind with just a look! To the man who actually sees him because he’s known him for the better part of half a decade and now that he can be honest to himself, the man who’s been helping him raise the most amazing kid in the world!?

He hasn’t been hyping himself up to ask Eddie out on a date for weeks just for a stranger to come waltzing in and steal his partner right in front of him. Not again.

“What do you mean he sees you?” Buck asks, placing his beer on the counter.

“You know, like he understands the struggles and sees beyond what I let people see.” Buck sees him shrug his shoulders as if what he just said is the most obvious thing in the world. “Well, any other person that's not close to me.”

”Eddie, you’re sounding crazy right now.” 

“What? Why?” Eddie asks. 

“Why? You’re really asking why?” He raises his eyebrows incredulously at his best friend.

“Yeah, you just agreed that he’s a nice guy.” Buck watches as Eddie also leaves his beer on the side and crosses his arms in front of him.

“But you just met him.”

“Yeah, but there's the fact that we almost died together in that hurricane and he also risked his job to help us rescue our friends, that says a lot about him. To me it says he’s loyal.”

“There were 3 other people on that chopper that almost died with you and that you’ve known for years.” Buck takes a few steps away from the counter and starts pacing as he speaks, he needs to move or else he’s going to, to… Okay he doesn’t know what he’ll do if he doesn’t move but he needs to just not stay still. “How can you say that someone who you’ve met twice and only really spoken with once ‘sees you’?”

Why does this whole situation feels familiar? It’s like a deja vu. Like Buck’s heard something similar before, like he's had this same conversation in the past but different.

And then it hits him.

He’s taken back to a couple of months ago, when they were standing at a graveyard.

‘There's something... different about her. I-I feel like she sees me. You know? Like she-she really sees me for who I am and what I've been through.’

Oh.

OH.

He said the same thing about Natalia after just one coffee date. And Eddie, Eddie just listened to him, he let him speak and didn’t question his reasoning. However wrong it turned out to be.

And here he was, criticizing his choice to find happiness, ready to try and live his life without caring what anyone may think of him for dating another man.

All because he's jealous, because the man in question isn't him.

Shit.

“Oh my god, oh my god, Eddie. I’m an idiot, I’m such a hypocritical idiot! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“Wait what? Buck-”

“No, no, I am. I said the exact same thing to you about Natalia months ago and you just listened to me and-and supported me.” He stood still for a moment once the realization hit him, but now he was back to pacing.

“Buck.”

“You didn't question me like I was doing a moment ago. It doesn't matter that my relationship didn't go anywhere, because that's just me, forever cursed to fuck up and act on impulse. But it doesn't mean it'll be the same for you, if you say he sees you, he sees you, that's fine I believe you.” He knew he was doing that thing when he talks and gestures with his hands that most of his teachers used to find kind of annoying, but he just could never control it. Even less so now that he’s sure Eddie must think he’s a horrible friend for not being happy that he’s putting himself out there trying to find a romantic partner.

And he really is such a horrible friend, he should be putting his feelings aside and encouraging Eddie to look for happiness. He must do that, he’ll fix it, from this moment on he’ll be all in.

“Buck.”

“I'll support you, even if it kills me inside I’ll deal with it. I’ll be your wingman. My jealousy is my problem. I want you to be happy even if it’s not with me, even if I stay your friend and nothing more for the rest of my life I’ll learn to deal with my feelings I swear, Eddie. And-”

“Evan!” The use of his name and the weight of Eddie’s hands on his shoulders stops him abruptly from continuing his pacing. “Hold on, I'm the one that should be apologizing.”

“No, why? I was the one being-” 

“Evan, I’m sorry. I- I said that on purpose to mess with you a little, I didn’t think it’d upset you this much. I’m so sorry, it was such a stupid and petty thing to say I just,” Eddie sighs, “You actually just voiced just about everything that went on in my head when you said that about Natalia, with the exception of you using nicer words than I would have, had I voiced my thoughts back then.”

“You- back when- what?” He feels Eddie’s hands leaving his shoulders, missing his touch for the few seconds it takes for them to move to his face.

“Okay, Buck. I need you to listen closely, I do like Tommy, he seems great and when I got invited to the baseball game I did consider trying to have something with him. That was before, before I learned that you were jealous, that maybe I could have a chance, because he’s no Evan Buckley.”

“But if- you were jealous back then, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Well, it had been a while since you told me you were Bi and I told you that I’m also into men even if I don’t really like labels. When our relationship stayed the same after that and when you started dating Natalia I just thought that maybe you didn’t feel the same way or weren’t into me like that. And so I- I invited Marisol on a date.”

“You’re kidding, right? Shit, Eddie. We’re both a pair of idiots.” Buck huffs in exasperation. “I tried to make it work with Natalia for the exact same reason.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah, fuck.” They stare at each other for a moment, processing all that has been said in the last fifteen or so minutes, before bursting into laughter. “So, we could have been dating since last year?”

“Guess we’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for then.” Eddie smirks and Buck becomes very suddenly aware of just how close they are. One of Eddie’s hands has moved to cup the back of his neck, fingertips brushing against the soft hairs at the nape, the other has started to trail down Buck’s arm. All he’d have to do is tilt his head just a little bit.

Eddie beats him to it.

The kiss is chaste, barely more than the press of Eddie’s lips against his own before they pull away again. 

“Sorry, I just- and you-” Buck worries at his bottom lip, tasting the bitter malt of Eddie’s preferred beer brand that lingers there as his best friend fumbles with his words. “You have no idea for how long I've wanted to do that.”

“I can guess.” Buck whispers before capturing Eddie's lips again. in a deeper kiss. Having no more reasons to restrain himself he pours all of him into the kiss.

It's messy and kind of uncoordinated but so good. He's not sure  who deepens the kiss first or when it happens, but figuring out the details is not high on his list of priorities when Eddie is licking into his mouth like a man starved. It's messy and uncoordinated, teeth colliding when Buck tries to suck Eddie's bottom lip between his own with a little too much enthusiasm and Eddie returns it by smiling into it, but it's perfect. And Buck wants more. His hands wander, leaving their anchor on Eddie's waist in his mission to map out every dip and ridge of his body, keen to touch everywhere he can in a way he's never been able to before.

Buck leans down a bit until he can get his hands on the back of Eddie's thighs and lifts him up, his legs immediately going around his waist most likely on instinct, he takes a few steps until he reaches the counter behind Eddie and places him there.

“Oh shit.” Eddie pants, breaking the kiss. Buck takes the opportunity to lavish his neck with kisses.

“Buck.” He moans as Buck sucks on a spot just below Eddie's ear. “Hold on, Buck. We're going too fast.”

He stops immediately, he would never do anything or go further than what his partner would allow. Even back in his wilder years, he prided himself in always making sure his advances were wanted.

“Sorry, sorry. You're right. Too fast.” He takes a deep breath and lets his forehead rest on Eddie’s left shoulder as Eddie cards his right hand through his product free blonde curls. Eddie taps his back twice, it’s all the indication he needs to understand that Eddie wants to get down from the counter. Buck takes a step back to give him just enough space for that, not wanting to actually leave too much space between them. He really wants to stay as close to him as possible right now.

Once Eddie’s feet are back on the ground they stay still for a moment, their foreheads resting against each other.

“Just for the record,” Buck says, breaking the peaceful silence between them, “I love you. I’m in love with you.”

His words are rewarded with Eddie’s blinding smile, the big unrestrained one he’s only seen when they’re either alone or when they’re with Chris. That one smile that reaches his eyes and lights up his whole face. He loves that smile, he loves everything Eddie.

“Then, just for the record.” Eddie chuckles. “I love you too, Evan.” He can’t help but lean in and capture Eddie’s lips with his own again. His hands that were previously on Eddie’s hips, playing with his belt hoops, pull him by them so that they can be as close as humanly possible while still being clothed.

Eddie is sucking Buck’s tongue into his mouth and god damn it if they don’t stop right now he’ll have to take the longest cold shower known in history. The fact that he can actually feel Eddie’s hardness against his own doesn’t help at all.

“Slow.” He manages to break the kiss with a wet pop. “We agreed on going slow.” He knows he sounds wrecked and so out of breath and really, if they hadn't agreed to take their time he’d already be guiding Eddie towards the stairs to his bed.

They take a moment to get their breathing back to normal.

“Yeah, you’re right, we’ll go the pace we feel like going.” Buck gives him a questioning look at that. “Hey, I reconsidered and slow is for people that need to know each other, to figure out if they’ll work out. I’m completely sure we don’t really need all that time. We’ve been partners for years, we were just missing the kissing part and… the other stuff too.” Eddie says that last part at the same time as his hands trail down the panes of Buck’s back to land on his ass.

“We’re going to be so bad at slow.” Buck groans.

“I know.” Eddie snorts. “We did transition from enemies to friends in the span of one shift.”

“Alright, alright. Are you hungry?” Buck watches as Eddie gives him a once over and he already knows that whatever Eddie is about to say is going to make the situation going on in his pants worse.

“Starving,” the little shithead has the gall to smirk. “But I can go for a pizza or chinese.”

“Jesus, Eddie.” He pushes away from his laughing… boyfriend? Okay, mental reminder to talk about relationship labels later. “You’re killing me. Just for that, you’re stuck ordering our food, meanwhile I’m going to take a shower.”

He starts making his way up to his loft to grab comfortable clothes to change into after his shower.

“Leave some of that cold water for me, babe!” Eddie calls from the kitchen, his voice laced with mirth.

“Shut up! And that’s not how it works, that’s for hot water not cold! You can’t run out of cold water!” He knows he completely failed to sound annoyed, he’s just too happy to be anything but elated at the turn of events.

He confessed to Eddie, he told him that he loves him and Eddie said it back. He’ll be walking on cloud 9 for the rest of the month. Hell maybe even for the rest of his life.

After dinner and with Christopher spending the night at a friend’s house, Eddie decides to stay for the night and it’s only after they’re both tucked into bed that Buck remembers the catalyst of the night’s events. 

“Eddie?” He gets a noncommittal humm in response. “What about your date?” 

“What date?” This time Eddie does answer sounding so sleepy and confused.

“Your date with Tommy.” Did he forget? He gets that a lot of things just happened tonight but to completely forget what started it all?

“Oh yeah, about that, it was never really a date, I did say he invited me, but I never said it’d be just the two of us. Chim is coming too.”

What. Did. He. Just. Say.

It wasn’t a date!?

“Don’t you think you should have started with that!?” 

“Sorry, love. Think about it this way, if I had mentioned that Chim was also invited, we wouldn’t be here now. Who knows how many years it would have taken for us to finally get together.”

“Then why didn’t you guys invite me?” His bottom lip just out in what is definitely not a pout and the rough pad of Eddie's thumb traces over it.

“Buck you don’t like Baseball, you’d be fast asleep during the first inning.”

“Still, you could have asked.”

“Next time. I promise,” Eddie says, his hand has moved, no longer tracing the plump line of Buck's lower lip but now trailing a lazy line down one of Buck's arms under the covers. 

“Are you still going?”

“I plan to. It’s a free ticket after all.” Eddie shrugs one shoulder and Buck takes the momentary pause in Eddie's movement as an opportunity to lace their fingers together. “But before that, I plan on taking you out for dinner this weekend. Would you like that?”

“I’d love that.”

“Alright, then it’s a date.” The end of Eddie's sentence is slurred with sleep, his eyes already closed. 

Buck gives Eddie's hand a squeeze, their fingers still interlocked and watches the corner of Eddie's lip quirk up in the ghost of a smile before he lets his eyes slip closed, mind filled with thoughts of their date. Buck can’t wait.

[yonpote]

sorry i dont have anyone to talk to this about lol so it's going in your inbox but i'm in my mid-20s and only now for the first time in my life have i changed my mind on rpf specifically because of phanfic. i'm a returning phannie but like.... the last time i watched them was all the way back in 2012. and was very ani-rpf then and have continued to be through the years. and i think in a lot of cases i maintain that position. but after falling back in love with dnp and the phandom and caving into the urge to read some phanfic knowing that dnp themselves encourage and respect it im kind of shocked to find it's actually a really beautiful, metatextual, interactive creative outlet. i think youve talked a bit about how phanfic isnt really rpf to you and i kind of agree, because dan and phil to me are like.... an idea, a mythology, a narrative, that theyre aware of and have built as well as being aware that we're aware of. like the idea of dan and phil has been constructed by them and their fans hand in hand for over a decade. and i find that phanfic itself is very aware of this and exists to expand upon those ideas. lol. yeah that's it sorry for this ramble. i just find it surprising that something could change my mind on that in this day and age but it's been a very cool experience.

hello welcome youve come to the right place for this yap because i COMPLETELY understand you. like genuinely i am not this attached to any other "rpf" content like this? ok i had an egobang phase but honestly arin and danny have grown to share a similar but not exact same connection as dnp BUT I DIGRESS

but yeah i think a lot of it is due to the contrastive relationships between the brand of Dan and Phil™, their separate individual brands Daniel Howell and AmazingPhil (particularly dan), the Phanon dnp, and the actual real people dan and phil. i always go back to the fanfiction segment of tatinof but its just such a perfect example of what i mean. like, the entire idea to have a fanfic scene was ofc the real people's idea, and they used tropes they would see in the phanon to convey the audience interactive story, but at the same time had to keep it at least Somewhat appropriate for the Brand™ at the time being very pre-teen and teen focused. honestly idk how much you've gone back and watched of what you missed, but i would suggest doing that not just cuz theres some incredible stuff from those eras, but also seeing the intersection of the brand, fanon, and real people and when they split apart. you see it a lot especially in gaming videos imo where theyre unscripted, and once they got more comfortable in the gaming channel roles the energy shifting away from Brand but never too far... until ofc now where what even is their brand anymore just Chaos and Queerness i guess

OH ALSO go read some old fic and compare to newer ones like its not just that writing styles changed or that dnp themselves have changed, but the like. energy and intent put into fic has changed. i would say in the past it was more exploratory, putting dnp in AU's and imagines, or exploring what Could have happened. whereas now, yes ofc there are au's and fic for the purpose of exploring a concept or world, but also its a lot more introspective. exploring the inner world a bit more. idk i just thijk dnp are funny lil guys and they accidentally created some freaky lil creatures in a lab somewhere...

[jev-urisk]

Morreial's heist supplies: Tag Game ✨️

Original game by @thecomfywriter (Post HERE). Thanks for the tag @the-golden-comet!

Premise: Write your OC using these tools (from Ch. 18 of Throne of Vengeance) to commit a heist involving an armored vault. A piece of string, a lantern, oil, matches, a book, a cup, an enchanted shovel, and a pair of gloves. And, a navy blue Henley

Love, LOVE this prompt. It's perfect for Kazimier💋, my shapeshifting incubus OC from my WIP 🌐7 Circles🌐

It's kinda spoiler-y, because it goes over some of Kazimier's abilities and really shows the kind of bastard he is. You've been warned.

Tonight is your final meeting with this criminal. Kazimier smirks behind his drink, an appraising glint in his mismatched eyes. "You wanna know how I did it?" he teases. He knew you did, but wanted to hear you say it anyway.

"How did you steal it?"

He leans back, swirling his glass. "So the safe in this fancy hotel was owned by a Nexi couple, right? They shipped the damn thing down from Nexis years ago an' had it installed in their always-booked penthouse suite. I woulda' sacked it a decade ago but this safe has an arcane lock, capisce?"

You shake your head no, and he rolls his eyes.

"Magic technology, unpickable. An' the only way to open this particular lock is to touch their wedding rings to this weird circle on the front, yeah? So the first thing I do is track down a mediocre fairy lantern replica."

"Wait, what?" you can help uttering, and it earns you a scoff.

"What? It's not like faeries are real, an' if they were they'd appreciate how stupid some folks are over their alleged arda'facts. The husband was one such stupid folk, and after broadcastin' that someone on the black market found a new lantern, a few fake death threats, and a well-placed comment made by a poker dealer- I got him to agree to a meeting in a car. One of them fancy Nexi ones that comes with a driver an' I made sure the person at the wheel is one on my payroll. I arrive as a representative of the auction house, shapeshifted to look like a vampiress."

"Wait, so you-"

"Had tits, yes. Along with long brown hair, skinny ankles, and a pencil skirt shorter than your attention span."

You grimace, "I wasn't going to ask about you having, uh.."

"-AAAnnyway, the moment I set down my briefcase bag it starts leakin' a sleeping gas and I keep him distracted. Soon enough he's out like a light and I crack open the hollowed out copy of 'Auctions Uncatalogued: A Dry Fuckin' History Book' for a few supplies. I knew he was a thicc bastard, so I came prepared with some oil and string to get the ring off, as well as gloves to keep the guy's taste outta my brain."

"What does that mean??"

"I'm not gonna explain how to get little rings offa big fingers, bud. Ask the internet. OH, I also filched his shirt- a blue henley kinda' thing, and his slacks. The car keeps movin' and I use his weird-Nexi-phone to call his broad, who is very occupied in some high-stakes gambling and tell 'er using her husband's voice that I need her ring to make an exchange of some Nexan technology in the safe for the super legit fairy lamp some vampire just showed me. I shapeshift into the husband, put on his clothes, and am in and out of the casino without the broad suspecting a thing. She hands me the ring, I complain bitterly about her not spendin' enough time with me, she tells me not now and goes back to her gambling. Perfect marriage. An hour later I've exchanged their top-grade arcane technology for a dinky old lamp and am waitin' around for the wife to show up." Kazimier finishes, quirking his brow as he drinks some of his cocktail.

After a few moments it seems like he;s truly done, but it might be another instance of him leading you to egg him on. "Well what happened when the wife showed up?" you ask, hooked despite yourself.

Kazimier's grin widens, "She found a brown-haired vampress in her penthouse wearing nothing but her husbands blue henley." He takes in your expression and keeps going, "The broad probably would've killed me if I didn't 'confess' that her husband had just left for the bar in the lobby with the other girl. Boy did that lie get her back out the door in an instant. From there I put a little oil in a glass cup, light it with a match, an' drop the little moltov offa' the balcony. A signal to get in position. I count to sixty and jump off myself- make my getaway."

You lean back, taking in the convoluted mind you're sitting with tonight, somewhat stunned. "Wait- Why did you need to borrow my enchanted shovel, then?" you add, happy that it was returned to you clean and unharmed the moment you sat down but curious since Kazimier said it was needed for this heist.

"Oh, that? I killed the husband." Kazimier says with a casual shrug.

"You used my shovel to bury a Nexan?!" you hiss, leaning forward. This wasn't what you expected at all when Kazimier offered you a deal.

Kazimier leans forward, all the humor gone from his face, only the tilt of his head hinting at his amusement. "I used your very unique shovel to kill, a Nexan, sunshine." He kills his drink and with a parting chuckle you and your shovel are left behind, tools that have fulfilled their use and you realize with ice in your blood why Kazimier just told you everything.

Tonight is your final meeting with this criminal.

Taggames: Taggames: @katenewmanwrites @smellyrottentrees @wyked-ao3 @lychhiker-writes @cowboybrunch @zackprincebooks @urbiggestfan-01 @quillswriting @tragedycoded

[xspeter]

Can you plz write a Finnick Odair x reader with the prompts #10 and #23??? Thank you!!!

CARDIGAN

finnick odair x fem!reader

synopsis: when your bestfriend won the hunger games you had been ecstatic, but now years later, you realize the person he was had died in that arena.

note: i know that technically finnick is supposed to mentor the tributes but we’re just gonna pretend he’s not for a little bit ok…

𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 ❦ 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐧 ✧ 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 ༅

you're not sure you'll ever be able to forget how it felt when your world stopped spinning. it felt as if all the air had been knocked out of your lungs, it felt as if you were dying.

“our male tribute this year is… finnick odair!” you watched as the boy tensed, then with his chin held high, walked onto the stage as nonchantly as possible, as if being reeped was child play.

but you knew him better, you could see the fear in his eyes. he could never hide it from you.

even as he shook the female tributes hand, you could still see the slight wobble to his knees, the way his shoulders tensed.

you had never ran faster then you had when you’d been informed you could say goodbye, bursting through the doors with so much force you’re sure the knobs left a hole in the wall.

“finnick…” you whimpered, rushing to hug the boy. he held you tighter than you’d ever been held before. when you pulled away you could see the slight gloss in his eyes as he sadly smiled at you.

“finnick.” you whispered, “you have to win.” the boy bit his lip and avoided your eyes, “y/n-” he attempts but you cut him off, “no finnick. you are strong. stronger than any of them! who cares that you’re only fourteen, you’re the strongest fourteen year old i know.”

finnick let’s out a sob at that and you quickly pull him back against you, “you’re going to win finnick. i know you will.”

✧

running a flower shop in the middle of a fishing district may have not been the best idea, but you didn’t really care. the customers who did come were loyal and kind, and you loved taking care of the flowers.

there was no buisness today though, because of the 74th hunger games reaping. you had long since aged out of the competition, but that didn’t mean your chest didn’t tighten for the children who would be forced to fight to the death.

you sighed as you made your way to the plaza, solemnly taking your place amongst your peers to watch another child sacrifice.

as the mayor steps on stage your district sponsor is quick to follow, as well as the previous winning tributes.

the first is annie cresta, who you still had a hard time understanding how she won, mags flannagan, an older woman who had won decades ago, and… finnick.

when finnick won, you had been over the moon, crying and jumping and screaming in joy. when he arrived back home, you had been waiting on his doorstep. you had hugged him so tight, you were positive you might suffocate him but he didn’t care, he had hugged you back with the same force.

“i told you you could win.” you whispered and he smiled against your ear. “i thought of you every day,” he whispers, “you’re what kept me going.” you cheeks burn scarlet as your eyes widen.

he pulls away from you and winks, grabbing his suitcase from the trunk and walking past you into his house.

after that, finnick began to flirt with you more. you enjoyed it really, you did, but you also found it a bit weird.

finnick had never been a shy kid per say, but he had never been bold.

everytime you talked to finnick now he was either flirting with you, boasting about his win, or just flat out ignoring you.

you understood, really, you did. you know going through something as horrible as a literal fight to the death would change a person, but finnick had become a cocky, mean boy.

you found yourself dreading hanging out with him because you knew you weren’t going to enjoy yourself.

“yeah, and then i crept up on him from behind and i took my knife and- are you even listening?” he scoffs.

“what?” you question, “oh, sorry, could you say it again?” you mutter and finnick narrows his eyes at you.

“what’s wrong with you lately? you barely even listen when i talk anymore.” he says and you can’t help but agree with him. but it was only because everytime he talked, he was telling the same exact story you’d heard a million other times.

“i’m sorry, i’m just out of it i guess.” you sigh, running a hand through your hair. finnick glares at you and grabs his coat, “whatever.” and he leaves.

you watched him retreat in shock, surely he wasn’t mad at you was he? and mad he was, because everytime you talked after that he was short and rude, always ignoring you and pretending you didn’t even exist.

“okay, seriously what is wrong with you!” you yell and finnick rolls his eyes, “dunno.” you inhale as you try and calm yourself, you need to remember that he was processing trauma.

“look, finnick, i know the hunger games had to have taken some mental toll on you-” you try to sympathize but his icy glare is on you in seconds, “don’t be dumb, y/n! i won. why would i be traumatized?” he growls and you stare at him in shock.

“finnick-” you reach out to him but he smacks your hand away and you gasp, “whatever, i don’t need this and i don’t need you!” he hisses and walks away, and you never see him again after that.

you chew on your bottom lip as the first tribute is called, a sixteen year old girl named lori. finnick smiles at her as she walks onto the stage, her eyes wide.

finnicks eyes scan the crowd, and when they land on you, they stay there for a moment, before he swallows and pulls them away. you ignore the ache in your chest.

once both tributes are called and have shaken hands, the crowd disperses and everyone is told to head back to work.

you weave through the crowd, trying to ignore the loud wails of a mother who just lost a child, and instead focus on opening shop for the day.

as you enter you’re not sure why you don’t just close up on reaping day, you never get customers and always end up drawing at the counter.

and just like every other year, you yet again end up closing shop early. you sigh as you make your way back home, thankful it’s spring and not winter.

when you enter your house you’re surprised to see a man on your porch, and though you know it’s probably just your brother, you still pull out your keys and prepare yourself to attack if necessary.

“can i help you?” you say, keeping distance between you and this mystery person.

when they turn around though, you wish you never would’ve said anything.

it’s finnick, except he doesn’t look like himself. he stumbles a bit as he walks over to you, and you can tell by the haze in his eyes that he’s drunk.

you sigh as he stands in front of you, and even if he’s drunk you can’t deny that he grew into his features quite nicely.

“what’re you doing here?” you mumble and he shrugs, “miss you.” he slurs and you nearly topple over.

“you’re drunk finnick.” you hiss and he shakes his head, “yeah, doesn’t mean i don’t miss you.” you run a hand through your hair, ignoring the burning in your cheeks at his confession.

“where do you live? i’ll walk you there.” you ask but he shakes his head, “no- no can’t go home. s’too much.” he mumbles and you tighten your lips into a thin line, if he won’t go home you’re not sure where else you could take him so he could sleep for the night, so against your better judgment, you decide to let him stay for the night.

you look for any clothes he could change into as he collapses onto your couch, and your happy to find one of your brothers old shirts and a pair of shorts you had bought that ended being too big for you, but looked to be a decent size for him.

“here.” you murmur, handing him the clothes and he sluggishly takes them from your grasp, and begins shamelessly undressing in front of you.

your eyes go wide as you quickly turn around, and finnick barks out a laugh. when he’s finished, you fetch a cup of water for him to sober up, and he chugs it in one big gulp.

you hand a pillow and a blanket so he can sleep for the night, and as you go to turn out the light he calls out your name.

“yes?” you reply, and he’s silent for a moment before he whimpers, “i’m sorry.”

✧

when you wake you almost forget that finnicks on your couch, until you step out of your room to make your morning coffee and are met by loud snores.

you roll your eyes playfully, and continue as quietly as possible. but clearly not quiet enough, because as soon as you open the cabinet he shoots up, eyes wide and breathing rapid.

you stare at him with wide eyes as he swallows and runs a hand through his hair, and winces. hangover you think and smile amusedly as he stands, and makes his way towards you.

“think you could make me a cup of that?” he asks and you nod, pulling out a bottle of medicine from your cabinet. he thanks you and takes them, and you both sit in silence for sip your coffee for what feels like ages.

“i meant it, you know.” he says suddenly and you furrow your eyebrows, “what do you mean?” you question and he shrugs, “when i said i missed you. and that i was sorry.” you try to glance at him as nonchalantly as you can, but he can see right through you and you know he can.

“why are you telling me this?” you question, and he bites his bottom lip and keeps his eyes trained on the floor.

“after i won the games, i didn’t want to admit that i was getting nightmares. or that everytime i heard a loud noise i was back there, in that arena, so i pretended it didn’t bother me.” he explains and you nod as you listen, “but you were just so… so persistent. i knew i couldn’t lie to you for much longer, so i stopped talking to you instead.” he says and you furrow your eyebrows.

“okay, finnick, why are you telling me this?” you question, running a hand across your face. he laughs, confused. “what do you mean?”

“i mean, why are trying to explain this to me? do you know how long it took me to get over you? and- and now you’re just trying to come back into my life like you didn’t practically ruin me for anyone else?” you fume and finnick stares at you, his mouth hanging open.

“y/n-” he tries to say but you interrupt, “don’t! just- just don’t.” you mumble as you brush the tears out of your eyes, walking past him and slamming your bedroom door.

he seems to get the message because the next thing you hear is your front door opening and closing, and you finally allow yourself to sob.

the next day at work you’re exhausted, and every customer that comes in can clearly tell because they look at you with sympathy.

you try not to think about your conversation with finnick. you really do try, but everytime the bell rings you think it’s him, but it never is.

until it finally is, and he’s standing there, looking at your numerous flower displays when he picks one up and brings them over to the counter.

“how much are these?” he asks and you stumble over your words as you answer. “um, 10 dollars.” you finally manage and he smiles and hands you the money, and then hands you the flowers.

“finnick…” you sigh and he nods his head. “i know what you said, but i-i really do miss you. god, i miss you. i’ve never been able to stop thinking about you, and i regret what i said to you every time i breathe.” he says and your breath catches in your throat.

“take me out to dinner if you really mean that.” you swallow and try to ignore the blush coating your cheeks, his eyes widen and he smiles, “i’ll pick you up at seven then.”

✧

you’d like to think the past year was always meant to happen. that you were made for finnick and he was made for you.

after he took you on your first date, you two had slowly reconciled your friendship, until eventually he confessed his love for you. you reciprocated of course.

you groan as you wake, finnick is next to you, an arm thrown across your stomach as he huddles into your side. you smile.

you brush your fingers across his cheek, memorizing his features with your touch.

last night the 75th quarter quell had been revealed, and you want to throw up everytime you think of it.

they were bringing back the victors for the next game.

considering there were only two other male victors in your district, the chances of finnick getting reaped were extremely high. you feel your eyes tear up at the thought of losing him again, when a hand runs up and down your waist, and you're met with finnicks piercing blue eyes.

“what’re you thinking about?” finnick asks, his voice is raspy with sleep, but by the way his jaw clenches you know he’s thinking about the same exact thing.

“just… how much i love you.” you whisper and he smiles and begins playing with the ends of your hair, when his eyebrows furrow and he inhales.

“y/n, listen-” he begins but you interject, “don’t, finnick. you’re not going to leave me again i’d rather die than let you do that. if you get reaped, you’ll win. you’ve done it before and you can do it again.” you mutter and he tightens his lips into a thin line.

“it’s different this time, love. these people- they’ve all gone through this before, they understand how this works. i can’t promise you i’ll come back.” he sniffs, pulling you against his chest as you begin to sob.

“don’t you dare say that, finnick. you will come back. you have to promise me you’ll come back.” you cry, looking up at him through teary eyelashes.

he frowns and kisses your forehead, “i promise.”

hope this was up to your expectations! thank you for requesting!

[sazzujazzu]

Hello, as the days count down and the Bad Batch finale draws closer, may I show to the fine folks of tumblr my first Star Wars OC in 20 years, created thanks to this show? 😃

Too bad, I'm showing them anyway 😊 somberly chilling while listening to their bestie talk.

Please excuse the poor background (I got lazy) and half-finished Tech (I got sad)

there's, uh, a big mess of words under the image because I wanted to put into words the importance this show has for me, and I am bad at doing so.

I want to get some thoughts off my chest, because I have no one in my day-to-day life who cares about the animated Star Wars shows, and especially the Bad Batch. (well, other than my mom, but I don't want to bore her with my rambling too much. she already banned star wars from me once, i won't let that happen again lol)

I can't stop thinking how much I don't want Bad Batch to end.

This show has been so dear to me. I can't remember the last time I've loved something this much.

Before the second season started, I had an artistic block that had lasted way too long. Anything I drew or wrote, mostly turned out a horrible mess after staring at a blank page for hours and hours, if I ever managed to create anything at all. For someone who tends to draw whenever their hands aren't otherwise busy (aka all the damn time), such a block weighed down on my mental health.

Well, then season two happened, and full-on gave me back my love for Star Wars, a love that had somewhat gone out over the last few years. Then, Plan 99 happened, and broke me because again my favorite character "died" (I'm in team Tech lives until I draw my last breath or until proven correct. That chocolate-eyed cutie-pie is alive nothing will convince me otherwise). Pretty much after finishing the episode and staring at a wall for another 30 minutes, I said "nope" and began writing.

I wrote for hours. I believe it's been well over a decade since I last wrote fanfiction, but here I was, creating a Star Wars oc, something I'd last done as a ten-year-old. And now, roughly a year later, I think I've written over a hundred pages of (very self-indulgent) fanfiction with the Batch, and with my oc that I've come to love.

And drawing, oh boy, have I been drawing!

(... Sure, I've mostly been drawing Tech, over and over again, to a point I once actually considered lying and saying "yeah that's my boyfriend haha!" to a man at my job last summer, when asked who it was that I was drawing for maybe fifth day in a row 😂 likely would've been a more acceptable excuse for someone my age. But, I mean... I just really love drawing him, not only because he is my favorite character of maybe all time, but because he is just so fun to draw! And most of all, at least I draw again!)

And it is all thanks to this wonderful show about a bunch of defective and effective copy-paste boys and their sister.

It's probably something many say, but I've always felt like a bit of an outsider. I've felt like I have no place; when I was a kid, my interests were very different from the other kids of [gender assigned at birth], and trying to play with them while inserting my own interests into the games, often didn't go so well. I was... kind of an odd child (although now, older and questionably wiser, knowing that I might actually be autistic, many things make more sense now. me kind of discovering this about myself is also partially thanks to Bad Batch)

Also, growing up trans/non-binary, while not even knowing what that is or having a word for it, didn't really do much to help with the feeling of "I'm different and an outsider because of it". Perhaps it was one more reason I fell in love with Clone Force 99, because I could see some of myself in them. Being different from the "regs".

I love this show, and these fictional people have become my family, and I am not ready to say goodbye to them.

Alright, weird pile of thoughts over. In case someone read all this, uh... thanks 😊

[lunawho47]

Hold Me Like You'll Never Let Me Go -- a Fourteen and Rose One Shot

A/N: Okay, so for the first time in actual years, I was bitten by the writing bug. And, as I should have expected, it was Doctor Who (and specifically the possibility, however small, that I may get a Doctor and Rose Tyler scene at some point) that nipped me. I am firmly on the Metacrisis Ten and Rose lived happily ever after train, but this is a scene between the Fourteenth Doctor and Rose and is canonically how I think a scene between them would play out. Spoilers for what we know about the upcoming episode of The Giggle and a lot of supposition based on what I remember from the First Doctor story of The Celestial Toymaker. Spoilers also for the Titan Comics story of Empire of the Wolf and the short stories about the Metacrisis Doctor done by Big Finish Audio. The only thing that's not canon is that rubbish short story Jenny Colgan wrote for Target Books.

Give it a read and let me know what you think!

<0>

The Doctor could feel the buzzing starting underneath his skin. Multiple times throughout his battle with the Toymaker, his next self had already come through; in truth, it was only by using the differing skill sets of both incarnations that the Doctor felt he was going to regenerate again and not just simply die. But, oh...he was now so, so tired. The artron energy shot through him again and he watched as reality flickered in and out around him.

The Doctor's legs gave out from under him and he collapsed on the sofa in Donna's house. His best friend and her family were all safe. They weren't unscathed, of course -- that was nigh on impossible when it came to playing inter-dimensional games with a Celestial being -- but they were alive and Donna could remember him. The Doctor even lied to himself for a moment and promised himself that he would come back and visit her with his next face, that a regeneration would not stop him from keeping up his friendship for once. But with the next burst of arton-induced pain, he stopped lying to himself. Donna would need to move on with her life and protect her daughter, Rose. As long as he kept showing up at her doorstep, she would be in danger. And Donna would never turn him away. And one day, she would let him in and it would be the time that would get her or someone close to her killed. No, the Doctor would tell Donna goodbye and then he'd slip away.

After a nap, maybe. Yeah, a nap sounded good.

He lay down on the couch and closed his eyes. Goodness, he was running through regenerations. This most recent one, even though it had been manipulated into its appearance by the Toymaker, had only lasted him a few days. As the Doctor thought about it and remembered that he had no idea how many new regenerations the Time Lords had gifted him with, he mentally schooled his future self to try to live as long as possible. His Thirteenth self had only lasted a few decades, and most of those she had been in prison. No, his next self needed to last at least three hundred years because otherwise he would be really dead before he could find a way to restore what he could of the universe. And he needed to fix what the Flux had destroyed.

When the Doctor coughed, even more energy burst from his lungs. As he lay on the couch in Donna's house, he couldn't help but remember another regeneration with the same face. *His* Rose had sat beside him then, dealing with an alien invasion while he had slept and healed himself. Up until Jackie had made him a nice cup of tea anyway. He had been so hopeful then. With his pink and yellow human beside him, he had felt like he could run forever, and he had foolishly thought that that particular Christmas would be a day that felt like every other day. But Rose was gone and she had been gone for millions of years. However, over the previous few days, the Doctor had seen his old face return, come across one of his oldest enemies he had never thought to see again, had gone on an adventure with his best friend again and seen his old friend Mel working at UNIT. Why couldn't he see the love of his lives show up again, too? The Doctor smiled a bit at the thought.

He tried to picture what his Rose would be like now. He imagined his Metacrisis self would look a lot like his fully Time Lord self currently did. He would be thinner in the face, a bit more salt and pepper in his hair, and he would probably have to wear glasses because he needed them and not just to look clever. Rose, he was sure, would be beautiful. He hoped she would have laughter lines around her mouth and crow's feet at her eyes. He also hoped that by this point in their lives, Rose would have a couple of rings on her finger. Maybe they even had children together! The more he thought about it, the more clear the image became in his mind. He was sure that if he thought about it long enough, he'd even be able to hear her voice.

Even sooner than he could have hoped, his imagination provided him with a crystal clear rendition of an older Rose Tyler's voice.

"Yes, Mia, you can stay the night at Yvonne's. Just don't...I know you get tired of me telling you to stay away from the Cybus kiosks, but it's better than listening to your dad tell you the entirety of that adventure over again, isn't it? And it's definitely better than having to listen to your Granddad's rendition of the tale... Yes. Yes, I will tell your father you love him. Yep. Yep. Be good and I'll see you tomorrow. Love you, darlin'. Goodnight, sweetheart."

The Doctor kept his eyes closed. He had pictured his former love's voice many times over the centuries and this was as clear as it had ever been. Her voice was a bit scratchier than he remembered, and she spoke with a much more cultured tone than she'd had at 19 years old. His mind had even taken the motherly tone he'd heard Donna use with her daughter and molded it on to Rose's and it melted his heart completely. If his imagination was right and Rose was a mother, then Rose was a remarkable one he was sure. Definitely a better mother than he was a father.

"Oi! Sleepy head, it's time to get up! Aliens to battle and young, teenage girls to raise. Though you get a bit of a break on that one this evening. Lucky you."

The Doctor felt Donna nudge his foot. He tried to raise his head, but felt no desire to open his eyes. Donna's words could match Rose's voice if he kept his eyes closed. But if he opened them, then the fantasy was over and his regeneration would knock away all the happiness he had brought back to himself over the previous few days.

"Doctor! Wake up, you numpty!"

"Sorry, Donna, I just really wanted to rest my eyes."

"Donna? Have you been dreaming again, Doctor?"

The Doctor forced his eyes open. His imagination had done a very good job constructing a realistic fantasy. The Doctor's eyes were looking up at a pair of honey brown eyes framed by light brown hair and a face that was rounder than he last remembered seeing it four lifetimes previously, and a body that possessed less curves than he remembered, but that looked healthy and warm.

The Time Lord then moved his eyes around the room as much as he could without moving his head. He was no longer in Donna's house. Instead, he was in a living room painted a dark blue and in the window over Rose's shoulder, he could just glimpse a zeppelin floating across the London skyline. As with his best friend's home, fantasy Rose's house looked lived in and comfortable, with various knick knacks spread across the coffee table adjacent to the couch and what the Doctor guessed was a television mounted on the wall. It looked like the flat screen he was familiar with in the 21st century, but was see through instead of black.

The Doctor praised his clear memory of everything Rose Tyler related because he adored that the fantasy version of her managed to raise her eyebrows at him exactly the way her real counterpart had always done. He had often feared that his memory of her was fading, but everything about her at this moment was in high definition visual and stereo sound. He theorised that maybe his regeneration sickness was helping to make his illusions more detailed.

"You feeling okay, love? You're staring at me like I've grown another head. And of the two of us, I'm the one least likely to do that."

"Rose," he muttered. It was a name he'd said multiple times over the previous few days, and after centuries of not saying it at all if he (or she) could help it, it felt like a revelation to be saying it to the face that word always conjured to mind. Without warning, he was seized with pain again and he saw the regeneration energy encircle his hand.

His illusory Rose stood up, her eyes going wide as she stared down at him.

"Oh my god, you're regenerating! How are you regenerating? I thought you couldn't regenerate! Does this mean Mia can regenerate? Wait, why are you regenerating? You didn't even go into Big Ben today! I know you didn't because Mum was complaining that you weren't around to stop Melvin disrespecting her when he came through the canteen earlier today. What did you do? Pick a fight with a Weevil? No, you couldn't have done. No bite marks or anything. Doctor, answer me. What's happened? What do I tell Mia when she asks me why her father looks like a completely different person when she gets home tomorrow? Oh god, what happens if you go full alien?"

The Doctor wanted to answer her, but in addition to not being left any room or space to throw his voice into the ring, he was also taken aback by how detailed his mind was being about the kinds of questions a parent version of Rose would ask. As he breathed out more energy, he saw the room and Rose flicker in and out, the flashes interspersed with Donna's living room.

"Wait," Rose said, her voice slowing down and getting softer as she sat down on the edge of the couch next to the Doctor's torso, her hand reaching out to grab the Doctor's own. The Doctor held his breath as he felt two warm fingers reach down to his wrist and put themselves against his pulse. The Doctor allowed his dark brown eyes to meet the lighter brown of Rose's as she then put both her palms against the two sides of the Doctor's chest and felt his heartsbeat. "Doctor," she muttered softly.

"Hello, Rose Tyler," he whispered. Rose took in a shaky breath as the Doctor let out another cloud of energy. The room flickered again, but the Doctor noted that the warmth of Rose's skin was still present against his own body. The Doctor couldn't help but acknowledge the truth then. His imagination was good, but it wasn't as flawless as what his senses were telling him now. He didn't understand fully how it had happened -- doubtless the Celestial Toymaker's machinations with dimensions had thrown things briefly out of whack at the quantum mechanical level and the Doctor was reaping the most unbelievable benefits from it. He may be regenerating, but he was getting one last wish out of the bargain. Oh, if his Tenth self could see him now. His tired, regeneration sick mind couldn't quite work out all the whys and wherefores, but he knew a gift from the universe when he saw it, and damn it, he was going to take advantage of it.

"I should have known it was you and not my husband. You have a slightly different dress sense than he does. Oh, and the wedding ring is missing, of course."

"Of course," the Doctor agreed. His eyes went down to her hand and he smiled to see that his Metacrisis had done what the Time Lord had always dreamed of doing and made a full life with his favorite human woman.

"So, I take it you were with Donna still when you found yourself here. Is that why you thought I was her?"

"Well, more like with Donna again. It's complicated."

"Oh, of course it is. Wouldn't be you if it was simple."

The Doctor watched Rose as she took in his ensemble and his face after all their years of separation.

"Wow. You and my husband look exactly the same in the face. I mean, I know you did last time we saw each other, but I didn't think you'd age. God, how many years has it been? I mean, it has to have been awhile because you've changed your outfit a bit and I didn't think you did that very often."

"Oh, I'm not the same incarnation you remember. I've regenerated a few times since we last met. Ended up with this face again earlier this week, but it turned out the fact that I came back with this face was a bit of a setup from an old enemy. It was more like I got paused mid-regeneration and I can feel the next one fighting to come through."

Rose and the Doctor both looked down as he said this and saw his hand pulse with energy and shift to a black hand and back to white again.

"Okay, so you obviously don't have long. I won't ask how you ended up here because I don't think we have time for that explanation, but...how are you? All these years, that's the main thing I've worried about. I knew one day you would regenerate and I'd never know, and I worried you'd be alone."

"Sometimes I have been. I've lost people. I've lost a lot of people. I found out I saved Gallifrey." The Doctor almost laughed at how wide Rose's eyes got at that point. "And then I lost it again two lifetimes later when the Master -- I'm guessing I've told you about him -- destroyed it when he discovered that the Time Lords had lied to us. We didn't get our regeneration gift naturally. They got it from me and then they scrubbed my memories -- whole lifetimes I may never remember -- and then they destroyed over half of the universe to cover up their mistake. I've blown up the TARDIS numerous times. Fell in love a couple of times..." The Doctor sheepishly looked up at Rose's face as he squeezed her hand. He was happy to see that she only smiled softly, squeezed his hand back with her right hand and used her left hand to brush his hair back from his forehead.

"What were your incarnations like? The ones after I last saw you, I mean?"

"Well, there was one who looked like a twenty year old professor who liked to wear tweed. You actually met him once -- he came to tutor you in maths back when you were in year 4 and I was so proud of how quickly you learned what you claimed made no sense -- and then I became an angry, white haired Scotsman, and then a young, blonde Yorkshire woman. And then I got this face again."

"You were a woman?"

"Yep!"

"Bet you were a babe."

"Oh, I'm always a dish, Rose Tyler." He paused. "I take it that is still your name, isn't it? I didn't make you Rose Smith or something when I married you, did I? Because that would be absolute rubbish! To work so hard to make you fall in love with me and save you from marrying Mickey Smith, only to saddle you with the same name."

"When you married me, you said, and I quote, 'You have always been and will always be Rose Tyler,' and then you asked if you could take my name. You had been going by John Noble on legal documents up until then, but you didn't have any sentimentality for the name, outside of your connection with Donna, so you didn't mind giving it up. I agreed that you could take my name as long as we could remember Donna through at least one of our children, if we ever had any."

"And then came Mia?"

"And then came Mia Donna Tyler."

"It's a shame this dimensional breakdown is only working with me because Mia has a cousin who I know would really love to meet her. I've spent the last few days getting to know Rose Noble and she is so much like you. One of the first things I heard her do was ask about an alien's pronouns. You would have loved her."

"I already do. Just listening to the way you talk about her."

"What's Mia like? Is she more like you or me? Just whatever you do, don't say she's like Jackie."

Rose laughed the loud belly laugh that always made the Doctor smile in response.

"Well, she's too smart for her own good, like you. She's more than a bit rude, like you. And she has a tendency to wander off, like me. She also cares about everyone and everything, like you."

"Oh no, Rose Tyler. That kind of caring isn't from me. That's all you."

"Agree to disagree on that one, love."

The Doctor seized again. He could feel his insides morphing, the change becoming insistent.

"What can I do, Doctor? What do you need?"

"Nothing. I just needed to see you. I need to tell you something. This particular incarnation has one thing about it that's very different from my previous self. I'm not afraid to say things anymore. I've lost too much now for it to scare me. I know now that not saying things doesn't help me let them go. I spent days wondering why this face came back. And I kept thinking I had figured it out and then I would be proved wrong. But I understand now.

"The last time I had this face, I didn't want to let go of it. And it made me a vengeful, frightening, reckless god and other people paid the price for it. But I didn't want to let go because I was terrified of what person I would become without you there. Because you had been there for me before I had even met you -- it's a long story, don't worry about it -- and I held on to you, to the memory of you and all the things I wanted to say that I was too afraid to, and as long as I had this face, I thought there was the possibility I would see you again. And then I saw you for the last time, do you remember?"

Rose furrowed her brow and tilted her head to the side in question.

"2005. January the First. I told you that you were going to have a really great year."

"Cognitive dissonance most likely. You weren't thinking at the time about the fact that one day I'd be without you, so why would it occur to you that I would ever go back in time to see you?

"Oh my god. I held on to that message from what I assumed was a drunk for months. Until I met you in Henrik's. Of course that was you. I can't believe I never put that together before. That was your voice. How did I never recognize it when you first changed?"

"Anyway, within hours of getting this face again, I found myself face to face with Donna, and then I met her daughter, Rose (whose name nearly gave me a hearts attack at first, let me tell you), and then I came across an enemy I haven't seen since just after I first left Gallifrey! But in these last few days, everything my Tenth self was terrified to say has come pouring out of my mouth. Any person I find attractive -- male or female -- I say it! The love I've always felt for Donna and her family? I've admitted it to them. The feelings I had for the wife I had after you -- River -- and for my friend, Yaz -- I've talked about them with other people and without having to be prompted!

"The one thing I haven't done is tell you -- my greatest love -- how I feel about you."

"Doctor, you don't have to ---"

"And I know you know. I know the version of me that is your husband tells you every day. I know because I would have even then, if I wasn't so afraid of what losing you a second time would inevitably do to me. But I need to say it. Not because I think you need to hear it. But because I need to say it for me. I need the memory of having the words come from my lips just one time."

Rose leaned over the Doctor's prostrate body. Her right hand disentangled itself from his and reached down over his face to caress his cheek. It was at that moment that the Doctor realised, much to his embarrassment, that he was crying.

"Then say it."

"I love you, Rose Tyler. I always have. And I always will."

"Quite right, too."

"I guess I deserve that one."

"Damn right, you do. But I love you, too, you daft alien."

The Doctor felt the heat under his skin start to itch the familiar tones away. Despite the pain, he was soothed by the briefest touch of Rose's lips against his own. It wasn't the passionate kiss he'd witnessed between she and his Metacrisis all those years before, and it wasn't what he had fantasized about for many a lonely night on the TARDIS, but it comforted him. This was the kiss from someone he loved and who loved him and he felt the warmth of it through every inch of his body and soul.

"Y'know, Rose Tyler...For the first time ever, I think I'm ready to go."

"Then I guess this is goodbye."

Rose's voice broke and the Doctor noted for the first time that she was crying. And oh, how that hurt him. Every time they said goodbye, she was crying for him. He just wished he could find some way to stop breaking her heart.

"Oh, it's never goodbye for you. This face will be coming through that door to greet you before you know it. It's never over for you. You get my forever, lucky girl."

"I am a lucky girl. Because you loved me enough to make sure I would get a happy ending you couldn't get. Know this, Doctor. I love you. All your friends love you. We will always love you and if you ever need any of us, no matter what face you wear or what trouble you bring to our door, you are always welcome. I may not have met all of your friends. But I know what kind of people you take with you, and I can guarantee you, you never have to miss any of us.

"Until we meet again. Goodbye, Doctor."

"Goodbye, my Rose."

The Doctor closed his eyes and felt Rose's lips once again chastely embrace his own. After a few moments, the warmth of her mouth faded, along with the solid build of her body. When the Doctor opened his eyes, he once again saw the familiar surroundings of Donna's living room. He still was not entirely positive if he had really slipped through dimensions or if he had merely fallen asleep, but the tingling in his lips from Rose's kiss made him inclined to believe the happier of the two options. After all, the Toymaker had shown him twice in his lifetime that reality is shaped by how people perceive it, and the Doctor's desire and will to see his former companion had been the strongest thing he had ever known.

In the quiet hours of the early morning, the Doctor slipped out of Donna's house and took the TARDIS to an isolated beach. As he stood outside, watching a sunrise in this too short regeneration for the last time, he smiled. As he had told Rose, for the first time that he could remember, he was ready to go.