#new s2 au just dropped

[addledmongoose]

Best of 2023 Good Omens Fanfiction

This is my list of the 20 best Good Omens fanfiction works I've read in 2023.

A few notes:

These are all complete works; there are no WIPs in the list.

Please feel free to let me know if a link stops working

It's not an ordered list. That would be far too difficult.

You'll probably recognize some of the most popular ones. They're popular for a reason, after all, but I hope you find something you haven't yet read.

The majority are full-length works, but there are definitely some shorter pieces.

These are certainly not the only good works I've read, but they are the ones I'm most likely to read more than once

Click the Keep Reading to see the list

If you're the author of one of these, first off, thank you! But second, if you want me to add your tumblr name to your story, let me know, and I'll edit.

This first section, all the stories are canon-compliant or canon-adjacent. In other words, it's at least somewhat set in the Good Omens universe.

a lighthouse (burning) (108K; Rated M)

This one is canon-adjacent and set in the 19th century. Aziraphale goes to a lighthouse to figure out where all the lighthouse keepers disappeared to, and Crowley follows along. This one is a bit of a spooky mystery along with the romance, and the writing style is simply beautiful. You really get a sense of being trapped in this lighthouse in the middle of nowhere.

***

The Grindr Logo Doesn't Even Have a 'G' In It (79K; Rated E)

It's honestly hard to remember that this one isn't human AU, but they're still just as angelic/demonic as ever. Aziraphale joins Grindr and starts texting (and then sexting) with a charming young man. It's no secret to the reader who this new hookup is. This story is genuinely funny at times. I like the funny ones.

***

The Whole Damned World Seemed Upside Down (103K; Rated M)

This is one of the best reverse omens stories I've read that isn't technically a reverse omens. Crowley wishes things were different after leaving the bookshop, and the universe gives him his wish. He finds himself in a world where Aziraphale hates him, Death has trouble taking lives, and basically everything you knew about the world of Good Omens is upside down. It's very funny. It uses inline footnotes (which is good, because it has a LOT of footnotes), and Death is hilarious.

***

it's a new craze (5K; Rated T)

Another one that seems like it should be human AU but isn't. Crowley and Aziraphale start up a podcast after the Notpocalypse and gain a loyal fanbase who can't figure out if they're a couple or not. They often forget who their audience is and often reference events in their shared history that make no sense to the humans listening.

***

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a demon in possession of a mobile phone, must be in want of attention (6K; Rated G)

And yes, that is the entire title. Another funny short story where a couple of podcast hosts receive a call from a certain angel whose demon trapped himself in his phone and won't leave.

***

In Mixed Company, or the Corporate Retreat of Heaven and Hell (52K; Rated M)

I've read this one at least three times, and it's probably my favorite of all. Every 300 years, Heaven and Hell share a company retreat on Earth during which angels and demons surrender their celestial powers and hold retreats. It has a great new angel friend of Aziraphale's; Hellish Powerpoint presentations; Gabriel being annoyingly chipper; and Aziraphale and Crowley sneaking around like teenagers trying to find some alone time.

***

How To Woo A Demon (24K; Rated T)

Aziraphale researches demonic courtship rituals and starts implementing them in order to convince Crowley he wants to take their relationship to the next level. Crowley is very confused by Aziraphale's actions. Another cute, funny one.

***

Factory Settings (107K; Rated T)

This one is famous for coming out practically as S2 dropped, making people think whoever wrote it (the author is anonymous) had something to do with the production of the show.

This is the only one I'm going to say anything negative about. There are a lot of spelling errors and typos in it. It needs a hard editing pass. Despite that complaint, I devoured this story as fast as I could scroll. It's that good, and even knowing all the errors are there, I'll probably still re-read it. I'm usually pretty picky about errors like that, so for me to overlook it and even recommend it, means I really liked it.

Crowley gets reinstated as the angel, Raphael, with no memory of his time as Crowley, and Aziraphale struggles to return him to his demonic self. It's heart-breaking and wonderful and I absolutely loved it.

***

One Night In Bangor (And the World's Your Oyster) (17K: Rated E)

Much like In Mixed Company, Heaven and Hell come together for a corporate retreat on Earth. In this one, some totally random demon who's name definitely doesn't rhyme with Bowley created a wager in Hell to see which demon could bed an angel first.

Another funny one. This time, a lot of the humor comes from the demons doing their best to pick up the angels with really bad pickup lines.

***

We Only Said Goodbye with Words, I Died A Hundred Times (9K; Rated E)

If I could learn to write even half as good as this, I'd be ecstatic. The emotions the author packs into this story are mind-blowing.

Crowley receives a cursed amulet that creates an ever-increasing need for the person he wants the most and goes to see Aziraphale.

***

To reveal my heart in ink (29K; Rated E)

Aziraphale starts writing letters to Crowley by mail. The letters they exchange slowly get more and more explicit.

***

Pray For Us, Icarus (66K; Rated G/T)

The author wrote this one as a series, so each one varies in chapter count and rating, but they tell a single, contiguous story.

This was the first long-form GO fanfiction I read, and it was way too close to the ending of S2. I really should've waited a while, because holy cow, is this one heartbreaking.

For three hundred years, Crowley has been reincarnated over and over as a human with no memory of his past. Aziraphale has spent those three hundred years trying to restore him to his true self.

The author, Atalan, is probably one of the best writers on the site. This story is stunning in the quality of its writing, in the pacing of the story, and in the emotions evoked. I normally don't like being sad (like I said, I like the funny ones), but I've saved this story off to make sure I always have it.

***

Pretend For Me (53K; Rated E)

In a panic, Aziraphale tells the archangels that he survived hellfire due to his soul mixing with Crowley's because they're in a romantic and sexual relationship, but now they want them to prove it.

I'm a sucker for fake relationship stories, and there aren't a whole lot of them where the characters are still angel/demon, but this one is. It's another fun one, though a bit more angsty than some of those I listed above.

***

The following are all human AU. Good chance you'll recognize all or most of these.

Married At First Sight (147K; Rated T)

One of the most recently completed stories in the list, this is a fake relationship story where Aziraphale and Crowley join a reality show that marries complete strangers off to each other. Their new marriage starts off on a less than idyllic foot and they decide to fake it for the show. The author is a master of making you want to scream "for fuck's sake, just talk to each other, you walnuts!"

Probably one of my favorite fake relationship stories.

***

Postcards From Paris (12K; Rated G)

The author, ghostrat (@mrghostrat), is a fantastic writer of human AU, and it's worth going through his entire backlist (and read his current WIPs, too).

Crowley moves into his Mayfair flat and starts receiving postcards addressed to the previous tenant from one A.Z.F., who is in Europe hunting for bizarre bibles and rating wine. Sweet and fluffy and the perfect antidote if you've just been on an angst binge.

***

Or Be Nice (151K; Rated E)

I stayed up until 6:30 in the morning reading this one, crashed for three hours, then read until I finished it. Then that night, I started it again.

This is, without hesitation, my all-time favorite human AU. It's funny. I love the author's version of the characters, and I will probably end up reading it again in just a few months. I probably already would have if it wasn't for the length of my Mark For Later and Subscription lists.

Crowley and Aziraphale are neighbors who get into a noise war. They both have their reasons for their actions, though to be honest, Crowley is a bit of an ass at first. Once they really start talking, though, they are absolutely wonderful together.

Even if you've never read a human AU, I recommend at least giving this one a try.

***

What We Make Of It (Shotgun Wedding) (213K; Rated E)

This is the third charlottemadison work on this list. 15% of this list is just this one author. That's how good they are.

Aziraphale works as an English teacher. Crowley is the guardian for his nephew, Adam, and works for a school testing company. Crowley can't risk his job dating his nephew's gorgeous and charming teacher. Unless...

Crowley comes up with a crazy plan. Now he just has to convince Aziraphale to go along with it.

Again, another very popular human AU. One thing I love about this story is how there's a lot less angst between the two characters, and how they both really care for Adam.

***

Slow Show (95K; Rated E)

The very first human AU I read. Didn't even think I'd like that specific genre until I read it. Now, as you can see, it's about half of my reading list.

This is an actor AU. Aziraphale (named Avery here) and Crowley are actors working together on a new show. Avery is an award-winning, straight-laced, well-respected actor; Crowley is a mess who immediately falls head-over-heels for him and somehow has to get through the show without letting his (apparently straight) costar realize that.

***

South Downs (76K; Rated E)

Another actor AU. This time, Aziraphale is an openly-gay actor, well-respected for his period drama work. Crowley is a once-blackballed actor who jumps at the chance to star in a gay Regency romance with Aziraphale in the hopes it can restart his career. The trouble is, Crowley is struggling to play the romantic lead opposite a man.

I love the growing friendship between these two as much as the romance. I love how comfortable and confident Aziraphale is here; and how caring he is toward Crowley's growing awareness of his sexuality.

***

This one doesn't really fit either category, so I'm putting it here.

The Rose and the Serpent (56K; Rated M)

By the same author as Pray For Us, Icarus comes a GO retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Aziraphale is sent off by his older brother, Gabriel, into the forest to be held hostage by a giant snake in a cursed castle. Turns out, neither the snake nor the castle are what he was expecting.

Light-hearted and with very memorable characters, the relationship between Crowley and Aziraphale is simply stunning. I love how Newt and Anathema are used here. The quality of this one is as good as Icarus, and I loved this one so much I could easily have read 300K more words.

***

And bonus: mine!

The Beginning of the End (Again) (79K; Rated M)

The first fanfiction I've ever written and the first book I've written in a decade. I had the first two chapters in mind after finishing S2, and the story grew from there. I actually have a sequel in mind after I finish another, separate fake relationship story.

Crowley spends months drowning his sorrows after Aziraphale accepts the Supreme Archangel position, until a group of demons shows up one day and tells him the Second Coming is nearly upon them, and they want him to stop it. Turns out being a demon isn't much fun if there are no humans left to tempt.

Aziraphale has spent these last months in Heaven looking for ways to stop the Second Coming while mourning the way he and Crowley left things. After discovering that Hell's minions have been tasked by the Metatron to escort the son of God on a tour of Earth in preparation for his Second Coming, he hurries down to see what's going on, fearing the worst.

Instead he discovers Crowley escorting the Messiah around Earth. Is his demon taking the son of God on dates?

[calqlate]

THE LOVE & DEEPSPACE MLS AND THEIR KDRAMA ML COUNTERPARTS

INCLUDES: rafayel + sylus + xavier + zayne

WARNING(S): might be ooc bc i don't really keep up with the lore so there might be some inconsistencies (oops) (pls be gentle) (it's 10pm here and my brain is running on adrenaline) + contains some canon lore drops ig

MASTERLIST

NOTE(S): i will never stop inserting my fandoms into kdramas bc i love seeing worlds collide. anw pls partake in this brainrot with me 🤩

— RAFAYEL

ryu sunjae from lovely runner - they are both absolute losers for their respective lovers. i can picture rafayel in that one scene where sunjae was blowing kisses towards sol's house. no matter how hard his beloved tries to cut him out from their life to save him, he will always find his way back into their life.

jeong guwon from my demon - similar to sunjae, guwon is also another loser for his wife. (tbh i can imagine rafayel as a down bad simp for his lover; cue thomas sighing and shaking his head.) i can picture rafayel in the scene whereby guwon and dohee were doing that tango while fighting off their enemies too?!?!

lee yeon from tale of the nine-tailed - continuing the loser boy train, we have yeon as the final dude to add in this group. (specifically yeon from s2, bc the way he wanted to go back to his timeline so badly to see jiah matches rafayel's "the only person i'll ever love is my lover" energy.) their backstories also match in the sense that yeon never stopped searching for jiah and rafayel never stopped waiting for his bride.

— SYLUS

myulmang from doom at your service - not me choosing myulmang bc they both made contracts to their beloveds [clown emoji]. but nonetheless they're similar in the sense that they won't think twice about eliminating someone who hurts their lover.

shin wooyeo from my roommate is a gumiho - again, another contract situation. wooyeo is a "classier" version of sylus imo, and one who uses less pet names. if sylus were the ml in this kdrama, he would defo keep an even more watchful eye on his beloved so that she doesn't go about losing his fox bead. (aur naur iw to write a gumiho au for sylus now...)

lee youngjoon from what's wrong with secretary kim? - similar to youngjoon, sylus will never let his lover leave. they want to leave his mansion? he will try 101 (legal) ways to make them stay. they will find snacks they like in their room more often. they will find new (and expensive) clothes in their wardrobe. heck, even an all-expenses-paid vacation! he wants to keep them close to him; he's afraid of them upping him to leave.

— XAVIER

goo yeonjun from a time called you - like yeonjun, xavier has literally went back in time to save his beloved. he wants to see then safe and sound, and as long as they're happy, he's happy. as long as they're alive and breathing, he's fine with not being by their side. just watching them live their life is enough for him.

haru from extraordinary you - totally not projecting my all-time fav kdrama on him (or am i?) but xavier and haru have similar mannerisms and personality traits. yk how in the first few episodes danoh was dragging haru around and this guy just remained silent and followed along until one day he just started speaking? yeah that's the same with this guy. the person he likes could yap all day and he would willingly sit and listen.

moon seoha from see you in my 19th life - similar to seoha, xavier loves once in his life and he will only ever love his little star. he would never get over their death and if he's the one responsible for their death, he would be all the more upset with himself. he would throw himself into work all day and refuse to love again, thinking he shouldn't be able to fall in love ever again since he took his beloved's one chance of staying alive and happy away.

— ZAYNE

moon suho from black knight - they're both so overprotective of the one they love. the way suho essentially told sharon that haera is the only woman he would ever love is something i can picture zayne doing. if someone is out there trying to harm his beloved, you'd best believe zayne would do his best to prevent that from happening, even if it means giving up his own life.

lee suhyeok from bora! deborah - when zayne loves, he loves hard. like suhyeok, he's clumsy at expressing his affections, choosing to keep everything to himself and wait until he's 100% certain it's the right time to say whatever he wants to say. and sometimes, that can lead to disastrous endings (see also: suhyeok getting dumped on the same day he went to buy an engagement ring for his girlfriend). both men are careful to a fault, all the more so with their beloved because they're scared of losing someone precious to them again.

yoo jihyuk from marry my husband - zayne, like jihyuk, would willingly stand aside and watch the one he loves fall in love with someone else. he would be supportive and wouldn't try to fight for their affection. his motto is "if they're happy, i'm happy" and he can live being an unmarried old man as long as he sees them happy.

© CALQLATE. all rights reserved. please do not copy, modify, repost, or translate my works on any platform.

[writingsofwesteros]

#irl freddie

Gwayne who has married Rhaenyra’s younger sister in the show, and fans have already gotten to know the younger princess as an adult during the second half of season 1. She’s like Rhaenyra: very cheeky and witty. Fans know she is married to Gwayne and get so excited once casting news is released about Freddie for s2. Fans get like one glimpse of Freddie in costume but boy do they get a lot of modern au inspo with the actress’s instagram pics. She’s always posting pics of the cast in Spain together and Freddie is always somehow by her side, always touching her somehow. Paparazzi pics are taken of the cast eating out on night and they capture the way Freddie has his arm slung around the back of the actress’s chair. Phia posts a story where Freddie has his arms wrapped around the actress in a group pic (thinking the angle wouldn’t show their tight embrace) and he doesn’t even know about it bc of his lack of social media.

The trailer drops for season 2 and everyone gets so hyped up to see Gwayne and his Targ wife and their little brood of children (the writers would totally make the kids have silver hair though to make the Velaryon boys more obviously bastards - rip redheaded babies). The pair have the healthiest on-screen relationship in the whole show and the actress’s instagram comments are always filled with comments about her and Freddie being together… when asked in an interview she just smiles and nods no, though some notice a glint in her eyes.

THE CUTEST!!

(the writers would totally make the kids have silver hair though to make the Velaryon boys more obviously bastards - rip redheaded babies). !! SO SAD! Another time!

They have so many cute babies its unreal , sweet things adore their mama and follow her around.

Their relationship is so healthy and loving. Gwayne's love language is touch as well, he's too cute

[catandrabbitt]

King of Diamonds

a one shot au where the main four stayed in the borderlands as citizens instead of returning

yandere! king of diamonds chishiya x gn! reader

warnings: not much LOL, kinda s2 spoilers (more like references) but not really, manipulation, mentions of character death, references to starvation, kidnapping if you squint, let me know if i missed any

You were definitely in a pinch.

It was just you and the King now, as the two men and the woman had lost long ago and were melted by the sulfuric acid.

The King, who's name you had discovered to be Chishiya from the game announcer, was acting differently now that it was just the two of you.

"Let's take a break before we continue on, shall we?" The King smiled with malice. "I'd like to talk."

"What is there to talk about?" You raised an eyebrow. You were incredibly intelligent, which is why you had allowed yourself to enter the King of Diamonds game, knowing exactly what situation you’d be getting yourself into. You wouldn't allow him to manipulate you.

The King leaned forward a little, allowing his elbows to rest on the table. He was silent for awhile, his feline eyes never leaving your figure.

"I've been observing you for awhile." His statement was blunt, and it definitely caught you by surprise.

"I would hope so. This game is about observing your opponents and predicting their next move, is it not?" You were off put by his statement.

A small smile reached his lips, but it was anything but comforting. "That is correct. But that's not what I mean." Chishiya leaned forward a little more. "I was an executive at The Beach before it was burnt down. I've kept a watchful eye on you for a few months now."

You kept calm, only narrowing your eyes at him. "For what reason?"

He sighed and leaned back a little, eyes wandering around the room as if he were deep in thought.

"You're interesting." He finally said, meeting your eyes once more. "Very intelligent, and not to mention you're not too bad to look at. I've been waiting for you to inevitably show up here after The Beach burned down, since your best suit is diamonds."

"Get to the point." You shut him down, not willing to listen to his nonsense anymore.

He quirked his eyebrow, a sly smirk forming on his face. "Feisty too." His fingers drummed against the table, before continuing. "You remember Kuina, don't you?"

"Of course I do." You replied, a twinge of worry forming at the back of your throat. Hopefully he hadn’t done anything bad to her. "I've been searching for her ever since The Beach burnt down. She seemed to completely disappear once the Ten of Hearts game ended.”

A dark look flashed across his face. If you didn't know any better, you would have assumed that it was a flicker of jealously. It was gone as fast as it arrived, replaced by a cruel and wicked smile.

"You want to know where Kuina is?" The grin on his face made you nervous.

"Do you actually know, or are you just wasting more of my time?" You fired back, growing irritated at his small talk.

Chishiya laughed dryly, before all emotion on his face dropped. "She's the new Queen of Clubs. Are you surprised?"

You were dead silent, not wanting to believe what he was saying. Yet, his statement made sense as to why you couldn’t find her anywhere. You didn’t like Club games, which is why you tried to avoid them at all costs. "Yeah, I am." You replied after a few moments, raising your eyebrows once more.

"I had Kuina keep a close eye on you as well at The Beach. Any information you told her was immediately relayed to me." Chishiya was smirking again. "I know more about you than you think."

"Why would it matter to you?" You were confused on why Chishiya had such an interest in you.

"You want to know?" He replied, quirking an eyebrow. "I'm very interested in you. Dare I say, in love with you?"

"You're lying." You were fighting back laughter, and Chishiya could see it. His face went stone cold, no trace of amusement on his features. "I don't know anything about you, but you're spouting all this nonsense? Do you really think—"

You were cut off by the Kings' fist slamming into the table. He was furious that you were dismissing his emotions like that.

"My love for you is very, very real Y/N. Don't ever assume otherwise." He sneered at you. "You have no idea how many strings I've pulled to keep you alive."

You scoffed before he could continue. "I'm alive because of my own volition and efforts." You were getting irritated as well, only wishing to continue on with the game at this point.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Why do you think the King of Spades has only came after you at Shibuya crossing, and never once more?" Chishiya narrowed his eyes at you. “Or that the Jack of Hearts gave himself up so easily? The fact that you were the only one to survive the Queen of Diamonds game?"

"I didn't ask you to do any of that. I didn't even know who you were before now." You glared at him. "Are you finished? Can we continue the game now?"

The King's eyes were cold and filled with malice as they stared you down. A smirk formed on his face after a long silence.

"Of course, my dear. Let's hear the third and final rule." He spoke coldly, relaxing his body and leaning back a little in his chair.

"Rule 3: If the remaining player defeats the King, they are allowed to leave the building. If the King defeats the player, the player must stay with the King until he is successfully defeated."

Your eyes met the King's once more, annoyed at the smug look on his face. "You planned for us to be the final two, didn't you?"

"Of course I did. You're one of the smartest people I know." Chishiya cooed out. "Unfortunately, you're not smarter than me. You were stupid to think otherwise.”

You were definitely in a bind. You had -8 points and Chishiya had -7.

Round 12: The winner is Y/N.

Round 13: The winner is Y/N.

Round 14: The winner is Chishiya.

"Round 15. This round will be the last." Chishiya taunted. "Are you going to kill me, or be mine forever?"

You didn't respond. You had a sinking feeling that you’d lose this no matter what.

Chishiya's eyes never left your figure until you input your answer. You clicked 1.

Chishiya smirked. He pressed two.

"The time for this round has finished."

The results flashed on the board. You felt your heart drop as you saw the results.

Y/N: 1

Chishiya: 2

1 + 2 = 3 x 0.8 = 2.4

"The winner is Chishiya. There is now a player with -10 points. The game is over for this participant."

You met eyes with Chishiya, who had a annoyingly smug look on his face.

"You're sure you can't just dump the acid on me?" You sighed, raising an eyebrow. This definitely caught the King off guard, not expecting that response.

"Shouldn't you be grateful? I've saved you from having to participate in other games." Chishiya scowled. "I already owe many of the other citizens favors just because I wanted to save your ass."

Chishiya's lock around his waist came loose, but yours stayed locked. Panic rose in your throat as he slowly made his way towards you on the other side of the table.

"As my 'prize'," he began, snaking towards you. "You're technically 'dead' to the other game masters. You won't have a visa anymore, and thus won't have to play other games."

You averted your gaze from his figure as he was inches away, only to feel a hand harshly grip your chin back towards him.

He brought his face closer to yours, your noses almost touching.

"Don't forget your place, Y/N. I may love you, but I am, in fact, the game master here." He smirked, his eyes scanning over your features. "I'll keep you in that spot until you're begging for forgiveness."

"I think I'd rather starve to death before that happens." You scoffed, rolling your eyes at him.

"We'll see about that." He was unwavered, his smirk never faltering. And with that statement, he pressed a kiss to your forehead before releasing his grip on your chin.

You had no choice but to sit and watch as he turned around and left you alone at the table, dread rising in your throat as you began thinking of ways to get out of here.

[bettyfrommars]

Pick Your Poison:

A Person/Place/Thing Blurb Game

Thanks to @oneforthemunny for encouraging me and always making up such fun games of her own! I've been writing so many long series lately, I wanted to connect with y'all more and bring some playfulness back to my brain and my dash. Also big thanks to my dearest @somnambulic-thing for all of the help with Places and Things.

18+ONLY

read the finished blurbs here

Other than being able to choose Eddie or Steve, you won't have much of an idea of what you will be getting in this game.

I think it will be fun, here are the rules:

Hi loves! As of today, 6/3, I am still accepting asks for this game! But please read the "updates" in red.

First, you'll need to pick one letter (E or S) & a number from 1-5 to blindly pick an Eddie or Steve from one of my au's.

For Eddie:

Choose E1, E2, E3, E4 or E5

Update: I won't be writing anymore requests for E3 or E2 as they have been very popular boys.

The five possible options will be nightmare!Eddie, darkSiren!Eddie, vampire!Eddie, gargoyle!Eddie, or drifter!Eddie

For Steve:

Choose S1, S2, S3, S4, or S5 You might get biker!Steve, hybrid!Steve, nightmare!Steve, werewolf!Steve, or hustler!Steve (hustler!Steve is my shared bf with @allthingsjoeq)

2. The next thing you need to give me is a Place by choosing ONE of these 10 symbols: @ # $ % * + = ? ! &

3. Third and lastly, you'll need to choose one of these 10 heart emojis to represent a mysterious Thing: ❤️🖤💙💜🧡🩷💚💛🤍💗

Here is an example of how your ask should look: "S2, *,💙"

UPDATE: I won't be writing any new requests for "%, *, ?, 🤍,💙 or 🖤" because they have been really popular.

5. Based on your choices, I will decide whether it will be fluff, smut, or angst, and write a wee blurb just for you. If you send the request on anon, it won't be smut unless you message me privately to let me know who you are.

6. There is a chance most of these will be fluff, but there is always the possibility for monsterfucking, so please keep that in mind if you decide to play.

I hope this makes sense, please don't hesitate to drop into my messages if you have any questions! Much love xoxo

[iceysnow]

Yeah no, where tf is my fic of Invincible ending up in the boy's world in s2 e8 and Homelander saying "Yep, this is my brother/son/colleague". I JUST WANT TO SEE MARK NERVOUSLY LAUGHING AS HOMELANDER LECTURES ON ABOUT BEING GODS.

Mark: Heh well...we're gonna save them now... right...?

Homelander: Y'know, that's the thing we're God's Mark, we don't have to do anything- (delusional lecture)

Mark: (trauma-induced flashback to his dad beating his skull into the side of a mountain)

it doesn't matter which season he spawns in, ANY IS GOOD.

season 1: Mark spawns in and the public goes "Yo, new rando supe just dropped! he claims to be from a diff dimension!". Vought freaks out cause Marks actually doing a good job (better than homelander- looks at a certain flight 👀) AND he doesn't have a chip. they convince Mark to work with them and Homelander adopts befriends him after realizing they basically have the same powers (minus the lazers) and marks 17-18(depending on the season). the boys are trying to figure out his deal before realizing Vought hired a teenage, traumatized, depressed, Alien (????????), Dimensional traveler(Nobody actually believed him), whose dad is a space nazi.

Season 2: similar concept except mark could be found by bought before making his presence in public as a anomaly. he's pushed in to a lot more advertising then he is comfortable as he realizes he's not doing any ACTUAL hero work. Mark gets Omniman vibes off Stormfront. He surprisingly gets along with Ryan. mark interacts with the boys for the first time in the sewers (also his first hint that homelander's a maniac). Yada-yada- THERES SO MUCH MORE TO THIS AU.

season 3: IDC WTF HAPPENS I JUST WANT HOMELANDER GIVING THE OMNIMAN SPEECH AND SOLDIER BOY GROSSING OUT MARK. also, Mark carries the final battle tbh (after a very wet cat esc emotional arc involving his belief in heros.)

i will carry this Au if i have to.

[markantonys]

i'd watched the first 2 episodes of ROP s1 when they first came out, but i found them boring and so didn't continue. however, i've been hearing that charlie vickers is eating and leaving no crumbs in the new season, and that is my sweet boy guglielmo pazzi from i medici (2019) and i've Got to see him killing it in a huge role, i'm so proud of him!!! always a delight when a previously-unknown actor from an obscure show you love ends up making it big

so i decided to give it another shot and dove straight into 1x03 after reading a summary of the first 2 eps to refresh my memory, and idk if 1x03 really is that much more interesting than 1&2 or if it's just that i happen to be in a different frame of mind now that's more predisposed to getting interested in this show, but WOW i am loving it!! i'm an extremely casual LOTR fan (in fact i wouldn't even rightfully call myself a fan, more just "i've watched the movies a few times and like them" haha) and so whatever complaints the fans have about ROP obviously are not things that bother me. i'm just here for a good time, and i'm having one!

the galadriel & halbrand plotline is definitely my favorite (heck, if the numenor stuff had arrived in ep2 instead of 3 i might've been on board with the show the first time around). i already know he's sauron, of course, so i was like "i won't get attached to halbrand since he's not a real person, just sauron's disguise" but fuck, i'm attached, and it hurts!!!!! loving a character who starts out good and turns to the dark is one type of pain, but loving a character who was never real at all because they were evil the whole time and this "character" was never anything more than a facade - it's an entirely different and perhaps even worse type of pain! i can't even soothe myself imagining an AU where halbrand never turned evil, because halbrand was never real! genuinely in immense anguish over this. but once i reach s2 and get to the Unabashedly Evil Sauron Era, it'll be so sexy that i might immediately go "oh no! anyway" and forget all about my anguish jdkjfg

............wait a moment. do i now know how show!rand must be feeling post-s2? attached to someone who was never real because they were always just an evil person's fake persona? oh rand honey i'm even sorrier for you now!

speaking of WOT, it really has broken my brain because i try to polyship everything all the time nowadays. why did i go "wake up babe new polycule just dropped" during that scene when galadriel, halbrand, and miriel had a meeting lmao girl you KNOW this bitch is sauron! but i already knew people were shipping him and galadriel, so i went in to my new watch expecting to see the vibes, and indeed seeing them, and i ALSO unexpectedly saw vibes for galadriel and miriel (two leaders overburdened by duty, oh it's my kryptonite), so how can i help creating a polycule? oh well, i'll enjoy it while it lasts and then once galadriel finds out he's sauron i will instead get some angst to enjoy! and she will still have her girlfriend to comfort her (as long as nothing happens to miriel.........i haven't heard any spoilers about her, so we shall see!)

back to halbrand, the "he's the lost king of the southlands" idea is such a clever misdirect because it allows halbrand to demonstrate unusual skills in combat/diplomacy/manipulation that we wouldn't expect a seeming peasant to have, but provides a cover for it and so we think this one "identity reveal" is all there is to it, and aren't suspecting a second, bigger identity reveal! and actually, as far as i can remember, he never actually confirms that he's the lost king, he just plants a clue to lead galadriel to believe it and then responds to her assumptions in ways that seem to confirm them but don't actually. very aes sedai of him! and hey, if the southlands used to serve sauron, wouldn't it technically be accurate for him to be considered their lost king? very aes sedai of him x2. liars who lie without technically lying are the best kind (gen from the queen's thief also). anyway, because of this misdirect, i don't think i'd be suspecting him of being sauron at all at this point if i didn't already know. on the other hand, there aren't really any other sauron candidates except adar who clearly isn't him. but back to the first hand, the show never set up a "one of our major characters is sauron, who is it?" mystery so i might just be assuming he was hanging out offscreen yet to show up, if i didn't already know.

i'm enjoying the other plotlines too! i remember feeling that the hobbits & the stranger plotline was the weakest link in the first 2 eps, but totally changed my tune now, nori and the stranger (who i'm guessing is gandalf, but i'm not sure, so don't tell me if you know) have the most wholesome friendship, i could die!!

or rather, the second most wholesome friendship after elrond and durin, which i remember was my favorite storyline the first time around. they are so pure!! and disa is a delight! she and elrond have impeccable sibling-spouse energy (yes we've got another polyship in the house, of course we do)

i'm trying not to get too attached to bronwyn because i know they kill her off between seasons due to the actress leaving the show, but i really like her :(( her son's kinda annoying, but he's an angsty teen, so i can't hold it against him. and arondir!! what a man, i'm swooning constantly over everything he says and does. i really like how in the most recent episode i watched they had a Good Guy (bronwyn) genuinely consider giving up her principles of honor and going to swear fealty to the bad guys in order to survive, it feels more realistic and it really sells us on just how desperate and hopeless the situation is (and on how sauron is able to get supporters by creating such situations).

it's also a visually gorgeous show, very decadent (i was practically drooling the first time they showed numenor haha i love white stone seaside cities, and the ancient greek aesthetic vibes are the cherry on top!), and the MUSIC!!!!! you guys know i'm a tv soundtrack fanatic, and my god, this is the best tv soundtrack i've heard in a LONG time. i'd put it as second to WOT because it's traditional fantasy orchestra whereas WOT's soundscape is so different and unique. but "traditional fantasy orchestra" isn't a knock here, because it's done INCREDIBLY well, so it does feel unique instead of generic like other, lesser Traditional Fantasy Orchestra soundtracks do. it's sumptuous, it's lush, it's rich, it's got very distinctive Themes for each character/location that always play in the appropriate contexts (which is one of my favorite aspects of WOT's soundtrack too). i'd been listening to the s1 soundtrack for quite a while before now, so i'm well-primed to recognize all the different themes!

my favorite has gotta be the halbrand theme, i have a character in my WIP who's a sad mountain prince (and a gawyn knockoff <3) and this theme just reminds me sooooo much of him, i cry. but if we dispense with the halbrand pretense after s1, we might not get to hear this theme anymore!!!! it's also the southlands theme, though, so hopefully we'll keep it, and i did hear it crop up briefly in a track from the s2 album. also, shoutout to the fact that the halbrand melody is an inverse of the sauron melody, bear mccreary you son of a gun (the sauron theme is another one of my favorites, the first time i heard it i assumed it was his theme from the original movies because it just had the feel of an Iconic Villain Theme, but no, it's new to ROP!)

anyway! i've watched up through 1x05 now. pacing's definitely still a bit slow, but i'm enjoying it nonetheless, and it's picking up now that galadriel & co are headed for the southlands. and i've heard that s2 is a big step up in many respects (a la WOT s2), so i'm excited to get there!

[artymcartist]

ALRIGHT because someone did want em My post s2 drabbles for the group au we're doin

I'll paste most of em here, but here's an AO3 link to the rest of the stuff!!

LUKAS SCRIVENS

- Takes up mentoring Radar in F!Jesse's absence

- He writes to her and Petra often about how things are going in town

- The new Ocelots don't disband, but with so many members, Lukas starts running it like a guild.

- He builds a little guild hall in town for people to submit requests to and for members to take them. Probably helps take a load off of Radar's shoulders as the current Hero in Resident

- Either stays with Radar or Jack and Nurm during long stays, his house out of town still stands. He's home less often. Eventually he'll possibly make a little apartment either on top of or behind the guild hall. Maybe.

- Helps in managing Beacon Town

- Surprisingly takes leading the Ocelots and helping with Beacon Town pretty well, despite his independent nature.

- The Ocelots guild gains some notoriety outside of town, and they begin getting long distance requests via traders dropping them off at the Guild Hall. Possible adventure?

---

- He's not sure how to feel about Jesse's brother at first. It's kind of weird having a near carbon copy of one of your best friends with the exact same name.

- Observes the little man for quite a while. He slowly becomes more comfortable with him. Its like Jesse and Lukas got reversed from S1

- Allows him to live in his house on one of his couches. Dewey doesn't like him for QUITE a while.

- Enjoys having another parental force for Radar. Single parenting the hyperactive young adult could be a nightmare on his own some days.

- Having Jesse around allows him to write a bit more often.

- Totally diaries about the man and his eventual acceptance of him into his life.... and eventual feelings. Because you know it's gonna happen eventually. LMAO

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

JESSE DOS MINECRAFT

- Was living out in a little village far from Beacon Town on the world's edge before his sister called him to town.

- He's never been in Beacon Town before, and is slightly overwhelmed by it at first. He quickly learns to settle in however.

- Bro is covered in scars, some you'd wonder how he even got.

- A little more blunt and reckless than his sister, but to be fair, he hasn't really seen anything she has other than the Wither Storm.

- Speaking of, he's spooked by dreams of the Wither Storm. He only ever saw the beast when it was split in three.

- After the Wither Storm was defeated a second time, he attempted to return home. It was entirely destroyed. Not a single thing was left. So he set off to find somewhere else.

- A small town, practically just the size of a village, to the far east is where he finally settles down. He helps out with basically everything in an attempt to earn his keep.

- He's initially skeptical about returning to the resting grounds of the beast, but immediately forgets upon arriving (mostly due to being entirely overwhelmed by the two towns now residing there LMAO)

- He IS amazing by how they were able to bring life back to the entirely barren wasteland the monster left in it's path. Proud of his sister's great job assisting in building the place back up.

---

- A little put off by Radar's immense energy at first, but comes to enjoy the lil fella.

- Lukas... man. He's got no words. Insanely curious about the blonde.

- Enjoys the stroll from Lukas' house to Beacon Town. He'd probably go insane living in the town itself. He occasionally stays with him and Radar when needed.

- Starts stealing Lukas' bed at night after they've gotten comfortable with each other. Though, admittedly, he got comfortable quicker knowing this man was a friend of his sister.

---

- Occasionally also writes to his sister

"DUDE you didn't tell me you knew a sick ass blonde, he's pretty cool. Not getting over the leather jacket anytime soon."

"Sad I didn't get to see Reuben again before he died. Lukas and Radar tell me he died a hero. The memorial you built for him is nice. P.S. gonna beat up whoever this 'Romeo' guy is for destroying it"

"They're telling me about this portal network you guys explored. Sounds pretty cool. Lukas doesn't like to talk about the robot thingy though. Does this 'Ivor' fella still have that atlas? I'd love to go exploring sometime."

"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME JACK LIVED HERE TOO. I'm so going to beat you up next time you visit."

- He's not nearly as big of a fan as Petra is, but word goes around. Even to his itty bitty village on the world's edge

[its-an-obsession]

Book Smart

Full Masterlist | Supernatural Masterlist

Part Two

Request: Hey, if it's all good with you, I'd love to put in a request for a S2 Sam x-reader? Kinda of an AU, but not necessarily out of the series. They met at a library. Y/N is an eclectic reader. She just knows the most random stuff and overhears Sam and Dean arguing, where she can solve a little hole in their case? She's a lot like Dean, but more caring and emotional if that works (getting laid is not her idea of fun, however)

A/N: I'm hoping this makes sense. I was worried that the 'case' the two were working on was a little confusing. Enjoy!!

Summary: You had recently moved to a small town a few years ago. When moving, you had done an extensive amount of research on the town. That led to you spending more time at the library. One normal day at the library, you were reading a new book when you overheard an argument between two brothers, but one of the brothers caught your particular eye.

Notes:

Set in season two (brief mentions)

Y/F/O: Your Favorite Order

Warnings:

Mentions of injuries, blood, gunshots, etc

Long imagine

Sam Winchester x-reader

Y/N stood in the library, almost her second home, looking for a new book to read. She already had a couple in her arms. Y/N had been to the library so much the librarian, Jenny, knew her by name. "Just five today, Y/N?" she asked, pushing the books to herself. Y/N nodded her head. Y/N handed Jenny her library card before setting it back into her wallet.

"Do you have any more..." Y/N's sentence began.

Jenny reached beside her and pulled out a patterned reusable bag. Y/N smiled as the woman handed her the bag. "Thank you," Y/N said. She set her books into the bag and looped her arm through the strap. Y/N thanked Jenny, walking towards her usual reading spot.

She dropped her backpack on the chair beside her, putting the reusable bag on the table. Y/N took out her sticky notes and pens from her backpack. She smiled to herself as she settled in for the next few hours. Y/N usually spent a couple hours at the library after checking out a few books.

I guess checking out books and then staying at the library to read the books defeated the purpose of checking them out. But she had been to the library so many times she didn't mind hanging out there. This time, it was different. Two brothers, Sam and Dean, sat at the table a few down from hers.

They appeared to be having a heated conversation, with one boy talking over the other. She glanced over her shoulder at the two of them. One seemed to be more organized than the other, that being Sam. He sat in front of a silver laptop decorated with blue stickers.

There were a few newspaper articles scattered over the table, a brown leather notebook in front of them displaying different Supernatural beings.

Y/N smiled softly when she caught the eye of Sam. Dean smirked at the little interaction. Y/N chuckled to herself, returning her attention back to her book. The more she tried to continue reading, Y/N couldn't stop herself from listening in.

It seemed like they were trying to solve some of the murders in the town, brainstorming about ghosts or entities. "There's a pattern, Dean," Sam stated. "Okay, then what's the pattern, hmm?" Dean shot back. They went on and on for a couple more minutes. Y/N covered her giggle with a cough, flipping the page in her book.

She set a sticky note on the side of the page and wrote a little note, drawing a heart at the corner. Sam huffed and leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. "I just can't figure it out," Sam sighed. "Figured," Dean grumbled.

"Jerk," Sam said.

"Bitch."

Y/N sighed and closed her book, partially frustrated that she wasn't getting silence, and maybe because she was interested.

After all, she had been living in the town for a while and was also curious about the mysterious deaths. Like most small towns, everyone knew everyone. She had only been living there for a couple of years but was aware of the town's history. After moving, Y/N had spent hours in the library researching the town's history.

Y/N sighed and stood up from the table. She left her books there to find the records she was thinking about. "Aha," Y/N muttered to herself, taking out a file of newspaper articles. She searched through the pages before approaching Sam and Dean.

"1976. Thomas Gates was found murdered in his living room. A hit to the head, then a stab in the chest," Y/N set the book down, "Then, in 1981, Franklin Gates Jr. and his wife, Mary Gates, were found the same way. There were a couple more after that, but then just a couple days ago, Eliza Gates was found murdered the same way."

Sam and Dean looked up at the stranger who stood beside their table. The two of them exchanged a glance, both confused. Dean smirked to himself and leaned back in the chair. "Sorry, um, I couldn't help but listen in," Y/N said. "Huh," Dean replied, sitting up in his chair. She was about to turn around but was stopped when Sam cleared his throat.

He smiled, motioning to the seat beside him. Dean watched the interaction closely, surprised that his brother had even offered her a spot. "Um, I'm Y/N, by the way," Y/N introduced. "I'm Sam, and this is Dean, my brother," Sam said, pointing to himself and then his confident brother.

Dean saluted and leaned back in his seat yet again. Y/N saluted back and opened the file to show them what might help. "You were here the other day, right?" Sam asked. Y/N glanced at him and nodded. "Yes. I'm here almost every day. You can ask Jenny," Y/N pointed behind her.

The sweet librarian sat behind the desk, eating some orange slices with a book in her lap. Her glasses sat at the bridge of her nose. Jenny looked up to send a wave after feeling their eyes. "I'm here so much that Jenny sets up a table for me," Y/N added.

Sam looked at Y/N with the same smile on his face, chuckling (GIF Above). She smiled as well, oddly feeling safe when they locked eyes. Dean cleared his throat, which broke their gaze. "So, what's this file?" he tapped the top of the paper file. Y/N sat up straight and faced him.

She pulled out a few articles. Sam leaned to the side so he could properly read them. "I heard you two talking about the murders," Y/N said, "Kind of like you were saying, you're missing a pattern. See."

"Well, I guess there's more than one pattern," Y/N said. Sam furrowed his brows. Dean sat there in silence, loving the glances between Sam and Y/N. "More than one pattern?" Dean inquired. Y/N hummed in response. He leaned forward to see the papers, trying to make sense of it all.

He looked at the circled word as Y/N pointed to each of them. "The first pattern is about the rooms. Most of them happened in the living room. I'm not sure if that's relevant, but it's common," Y/N said. Dean took the clipping from Y/N to see for himself. Sam noticed the other articles.

"The second pattern is all of these murders took place in the same family," Y/N added.

The two of them nodded along. "Mind if we take this?" Dean asked. Y/N shook her head. "Not at all. Jenny won't mind. I can just tell her I checked them out," Y/N answered. Dean smiled and thanked her. "So, Y/N, do you know anything else?" the older brother questioned.

"Just that the Gates family has a history of scandals and, well, murders," Y/N answered. The boys chuckled at her comment. "Thanks, Y/N, this helps a lot. You have no idea how much we were struggling," Sam said. He saw her take out a red-covered book.

Y/N didn't have a specific genre that she loved, but some of it had to do with the paranormal. She knew that some people believed a ghost of some kind followed members of the Gates family throughout generations. Y/N read a book with a similar storyline.

He took the book from her, looking at the title before flipping to the back. "As much as it sounds crazy, some people think that there's a ghost that haunts the Gates family," Y/N said, "I'm a part of 'some people,' by the way." The two of them turned to her at her comment. Y/N chuckled at their expressions, slightly regretting even saying that.

Sam went to the first chapter, skimming over a few of the words. "Anyways, I've read the book back to back; it's one of my favorites, but I noticed some similarities between that case and the one in the story," Y/N continued, "It could help if you're into that type of stuff." Sam handed Dean the book after he was done looking at it.

Dean folded the corner of one of the pages. Y/N withheld herself from telling Dean not to do that. "If you two need anything, I'm a pretty big reader, so if anything, I think I'd be a good source if you need help," Y/N said. She grabbed her notepad and a pen. Y/N wrote down her phone number on the lined piece of paper.

She folded it and handed it to Sam. Sam smiled and took the paper from her. "Thanks," he said, "I'll-we'll definitely call you." Y/N smiled for the millionth time and nodded in response. Dean's eyes darted between them with himself smiling, too. He cleared his throat, interrupting their gaze yet again.

"Feel free to keep the files. There are more in the back next to the desks," Y/N said. "Great. Thanks, Y/N," Dean broke the silence. She got up from the table, leaving the book and files. Y/N said her goodbyes and hoped that she'd speak to Sam again.

________

(The Next Day)

Y/N had just gotten home from helping her friend move. She hummed to some music from her radio. After the song was over, she walked over and changed the CD before continuing to cook dinner. She finished pouring the sauce on top.

She turned on the oven, popping the Lasagna in. Y/N set a timer and started to clean up after herself. She was just about to set a pan on the drying rack when her phone began to ring. Y/N wiped her hands on a towel and grabbed her phone from the kitchen table.

"Hello?" she dropped the towel beside the sink. "Y/N. It's Sam," Sam said, running a hand through his hair. Dean, who was lying on the bed, perked up when he heard his brother on the phone.

Y/N smiled when she heard her new friend's voice. She stepped away from the counter, checking the dish in the oven. "Hi, is everything okay?" Y/N asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's great. We were just wondering if we could pick your brain about something," Sam said. He sat down on the edge of the bed, trying his bad to ignore his brother's reaction. Y/N nodded and stepped back over to the oven.

She opened it slightly, not wanting her dinner to burn. "Sure," Y/N said. "Is now a bad time?" Sam asked. "No, no. I was just about to eat dinner," Y/N said, then thought of something, "Actually, if it's not too soon, I have enough food if you and Dean want to swing by."

There was a long pause on the other end, but Y/N could tell Sam was asking Dean. "Sure. If you don't mind," Sam said. "Not at all. I'll send you my address," Y/N responded. Sam thanked her and hung up the phone. Sam turned to Dean, who was still lying on the bed, his hands behind his head.

"Get up," Sam walked over to his shoes. He sat on the chair and began to put his sneakers on. "What? Why?" Dean asked, sitting up with confusion on his face. "We're going to Y/N's," Sam answered. "Oh, that cute chick from the library?" Dean guessed.

"Yes. That cute girl from the library," Sam nodded, correcting him. He grabbed his jacket that draped over the back of the chair. Dean pointed at Sam with a sly smirk on his face. "I knew you thought she was cute," Dean got up from the bed, ignoring his brother's glare.

________

(Later)

"Y/N, what beers do you have?" Dean sat at the kitchen table. Sam leaned to the side and punched him in the shoulder. Dean reached a hand up to his shoulder, sending a look in Sam's direction. Y/N stepped away from the kitchen island to look.

"Um, Miler light, Coors, Heineken..." she listed. Dean sat up in his spot as she held open the fridge door. Sam shook his head at his brother's sudden admiration for their new friend.

"Heineken," Dean said. Y/N grabbed a bottle for Dean and herself. "Sam, do you want anything?" Y/N asked. "Just a water," Sam answered. She poured Sam a glass of water. She walked back over to the table, handing each of them their drinks before checking on the Lasagna.

Sam had set up the table with his laptop and the pieces of evidence they had gathered. "Need help with anything?" Sam looked away from his laptop. Y/N grabbed the oven mitts from the drawer. "You could set the table," Y/N said, pointing to the side.

He gave her a thumbs up and stepped to where she directed. Sam grabbed some napkins and silverware. Dean pushed some of the papers away so his brother could set the table. After a few minutes, they were eating dinner and researching. Dean had already finished two plates of Lasagna, about the same as Y/N.

The three of them had already figured out what and where the next murder might take place, using the book Y/N had let them borrow and the files. About an hour had passed, and Sam stood beside Y/N as he helped her clean up.

Y/N smiled at him as he handed her a plate to dry. Dean was packing up the papers in the dining area. "Thanks again for helping us," Sam said. "Not a problem. I'm glad I could help," Y/N set a dish on the rack.

Sam turned off the sink once they finished cleaning. Dean cleared his throat, holding the strap of Sam's backpack. Y/N walked the brothers to the door. Dean winked at Sam before walking down the hall outside Y/N's apartment.

"Are you and Dean staying in town, or..." Y/N said. "I don't know," Sam set his hands in his pockets, "We'll probably finish our case then head out." Y/N slowly nodded, glancing at the ground and then up to Sam's eyes.

"Well, if you're here on Friday, I'm off work if you want to get di-" Y/N began. "Yeah, yeah. We're here on Friday," Sam interrupted. Y/N smiled at his response. Sam took his hands out of his pockets, swaying his arms slightly.

He hadn't noticed that he interrupted Y/N, focusing on the fact that she had just asked him. "Great. There's a good Italian place near my apartment if you want to go there," Y/N said, "Or, we can go someplace else, there's another good--"

"No, no. Italian sounds great. Love Italian."

Y/N could see Dean leaning against his car with his arms crossed. Dean tried to look away, but the conversation between Sam and Y/N was so intriguing to him. Sam looked over his shoulder to see his brother wander his eyes away.

Sam chuckled and turned back to Y/N. "You should get going. Dean seems to be getting more impatient," Y/N stated. He nodded in agreement. "Thanks again for the Lasagna. I'm pretty sure Dean ate half of it," Sam said. "He did. I don't blame him, though," Y/N responded, laughing.

It fell quiet between them again. Y/N reached up and kissed Sam on the cheek. "You have my number if you need any help," she said. "I will," Sam said, nodding. Y/N waved and stepped into her apartment, leaving him there with a smile on his face. Sam walked over to the car where Dean was waiting.

Dean shook his head as he got into the driver's seat, with Sam stepping in as well. "What?" Sam put his seatbelt on, clicking it into place. Dean put the keys into the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot. "I didn't say anything," Dean said. "Yeah, but your face did," Sam pointed.

He happened to glance at his phone, mainly because he wanted Y/N to call or text him. "Thought we could finish this case then head to wherever on Friday," Dean said, driving in the direction of their motel.

Sam looked away from his phone at Dean. "Actually," Sam began. He cleared his throat, fixing the seatbelt. "Y/N and I are getting dinner on Friday," he said. Dean's smirk grew. He turned to look at Sam once they were at a red light. Sam rolled his eyes at his brother's expression. "Don't," he pointed at Dean.

Dean raised his hands as he held the steering wheel. The light turned Green, and the Impala sped forward. "Don't, what?" Dean asked. "That look," Sam continued, "That look you get when I'm talking to any girl." Dean's brows furrowed in response to Sam's claim.

"I don't do that," he insisted.

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't," Dean fired back. There was silence for a split second. "Jerk," Sam leaned back in his seat, arms crossed. "Bitch," Dean replied.

_______

(That Friday Night)

Y/N sat in front of her mirror after changing for the millionth time. She wondered why she was focused on looking good. I guess everyone before a date wants to look their best. After four frustrating hours, Y/N decided on a white shirt with a green dress overtop. She looked back at her closet and then at her reflection.

She shook her head, stopping herself from choosing a completely different outfit. Y/N didn't have time to rethink everything. She grabbed her purse and slipped on a pair of black flats. Y/N played with her hair in the mirror, again, not knowing what to do.

She had been on a few dates in her town, but this just felt different. Just then, there was a pattern of knocks on her front door. "Be right there!" Y/N shouted. She took one last glance at herself in the mirror, applying a layer of lip gloss.

Sam stood at the doorway, looking very put together. He held a small bouquet of flowers. A pretty ribbon had been tied around the middle of the bundle. "I didn't know what flowers you liked but figured these were good. The florist said they were," Sam said. "They're wonderful. Thank you, Sam," Y/N grinned.

She opened the door for him. Sam bowed his head as he stepped into her apartment. He looked at a few pictures on the wall, surprised that he hadn't seen them the last time he was there. Y/N closed the door with the flowers in her hand. "Who's this?" Sam asked.

He pointed to a picture of her and her older brother, Alec. "Oh, that's me and my brother," Y/N answered, "I think we were at the Grand Canyon for his twentieth birthday." She stepped into the kitchen to put the flowers in a vase.

He followed her into the kitchen, looking at the pictures now on the wall in the dining area. Y/N stood on her tiptoes to get a vase from the top shelf. Sam reached behind her to help grab it. "Oh, thanks," Y/N softly smiled.

She turned on the sink, putting some water into the vase. After that, she carefully arranged the flowers into the glass vase and set it on the kitchen table. "Ready for dinner?" Y/N asked, looking at Sam, who was already looking at her. "You bet," Sam replied.

They left the apartment with Y/N almost forgetting to lock her front door. Sam opened the car door for Y/N. She thanked him, getting into the seat. He walked around the front of the car and got into the driver's seat. Dean was nice enough to let Sam borrow the car rather than Y/N picking Sam up at the motel.

A few minutes passed, with the two of them listening to music and talking about random things. Y/N had gone on and on about a new book she read. Sam sat in the driver's seat listening, just enjoying her talk.

It had been a while since Sam had been on a date. After Jessica's death, Sam didn't feel like meeting someone, but of course, Dean insisted that Jessica wouldn't want him walking around all lonely. This time with Y/N, Sam didn't feel forced or like he had to go on a date.

This time. He wanted to go on a date. He felt almost drawn to Y/N, but he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because of her constant talking about the books she read, her references to her favorite bands similar to Dean's, or just how she handled herself. It was weird how much Sam noticed about Y/N.

Sam was an observer, something that he and Y/N shared. He noticed how she'd play with her rings as she talked or sighed when there was a pause between conversations.

It was almost like she was trying to fill the gaps when they weren't speaking. Which was the truth. Y/N enjoyed talking on dates, but sometimes, when it came to those pauses, a sigh or random comment was what popped into her head.

With a few more random topics later, they arrived at the Italian place. Sam parked the Impala in front of the restaurant.

Sam shut the car door, offering his hand. They held hands for a brief second before separating for Sam to open the door to the restaurant. The hostess greeted them with a welcoming smile.

"Reservation for Y/N," Y/N said.

Cara, the hostess, looked down at the notebook on the podium. She flipped a few pages before finding Y/N's name. "There you are, Y/N," Cara said, "This way." She grabbed two menus and led them to a table on the side.

The restaurant was nice. It was one of Y/N's favorite restaurants. Sometimes, she'd come just for the people-watching aspect and mainly because their pie was good, surprisingly. "So, what do you usually get?" Sam scanned over the options. Y/N looked at her menu.

"Well, their linguini is really good. Jenny gets it all the time," Y/N said.

Sam nodded. Their waiter stepped over to their table. "Hi, I'm Jeremy. And I'll be your server for tonight. Can I get you two started with our wine menu?" Jeremy asked, holding the small menus in his hand. Y/N glanced at Sam and then at the waiter.

"No, thank you," Y/N looked at Sam, "Unless you wanted to--"

"No, no. I'm okay," Sam interrupted. Jeremy nodded and gave them a moment to decide. "I don't even like wine," Y/N said, shaking her head. Sam chuckled and nodded in agreement. He set the menu to the side when he figured out what he wanted. Jeremy came back over to their table.

He took out his notepad and pen to write down their orders. Sam ordered the linguini per Y/N's request. "And I'll take Y/F/O," Y/N said. The waiter nodded while he wrote their orders. He tucked his pen in the apron's pocket. Jeremy grabbed the menus from them and walked to the back.

Y/N took a sip of her beer, glad that she had gotten that instead of wine. "So, how did the case go?" Y/N asked, setting her drink beside the basket of bread. "Good," Sam said, "You were right about the pattern." Y/N looked up from the table with her eyes widening.

"Really?" she said.

Sam chuckled at her expression, nodding his head. He took a roll from the basket, putting it down on a smaller plate. "That's great," Y/N handed him a knife for the butter.

Sam nodded in reply, taking a bite of the roll. It was silent, yet again, between the two of them. There was music playing in the background, but not loud enough for anyone to understand.

A waiter walked over to their table with their orders. Y/N leaned back slightly as they set her food in front of her. She thanked them, setting her napkin on her lap. "So, how do you like solving these cases with your brother?" Y/N asked, putting her fork and knife on the side.

He chuckled to himself and began cutting his pasta. "It's a journey for sure," Sam said. Y/N smiled. "Why do you say that?" Y/N asked. "Well," he took a bite of his food, "Dean can be....well Dean." She laughed at his comment. From the conversation she had with them, Y/N could tell where he was coming from.

"But it's nice. I mean, we're helping people when we close these cases," Sam said. "That must be nice working with your brother," Y/N took a sip of her beer. Sam nodded. The smile on his face never left. "I'd love to work with my family, but that's a whole other story," she said.

Sam looked up from his plate at her comment. She noticed his glance. "Long story short, my family, including my older brother, didn't approve of me moving to start a new life in a far away town," Y/N answered his confusion. He slowly nodded in understanding. "Why'd you move?" Sam asked, digging into his side salad.

Y/N thought to herself, thinking about how she should answer without bringing down the mood. "I lost someone close to me and needed to get away," Y/N explained, "My family was handling his death a little bit differently than me. I know some people say you shouldn't run away from your problems, but that seemed like the best option."

She paused to put some butter on a roll. Sam watched her closely, softly smiling that she was telling him about her life. "But! I'm glad I left because it introduced me to new things, a new job that I love," Y/N added.

Sam didn't ask her further questions, knowing that that was already a hard subject to begin with. "Enough about me, tell me about you," Y/N said. And so he told her about his family, disregarding the Supernatural, and why he was doing this 'road trip' with his brother. Y/N reached over and set a hand on top of his.

He returned the gesture by holding her hand across the table. "I'm so sorry," Y/N said. "It's okay. I've gotten better, and I've learned from it," Sam replied, "Just like you said, it introduced me to new things." Y/N's cheeks grew pink. She didn't want to, but she was first to let go of his hand.

The rest of the date went great. They talked about different things: where they went to school, where they grew up, favorite colors, favorite foods, and things like that. Sam parked the car in front of the apartment building. He walked her up the stairs and to her apartment door. "Thank you," Y/N stood in front of her door.

"Of course," Sam nodded, "I enjoyed it."

"Me too," Y/N said, fixing the strap of her purse.

She debated on offering him to come inside, but she didn't want him to take that the wrong way. "I know it's the first date and everything. And we just met the other day, but," Y/N swallowed down her nerves, "I really like you. And, I don't usually go on dates, but I'd like to go on a second date or keep this going if you-"

Her sentence was cut short by the feeling of Sam's lips on hers. Her hands went to his shoulders, losing grip of her purse. Y/N couldn't stop the smile from appearing on her face as they pulled apart.

"I'd like that," Sam said, "A lot, actually."

Y/N nodded, grinning from ear to ear as he looked into his eyes. "When do you leave?" Y/N asked. "I don't know," Sam sighed, repeating the same answer from the other day. There was a pause between them. "But I could stay for a couple days. Work can wait," Sam said. Y/N nodded again and leaned up to plant a kiss on his cheek.

Taglist: @nix-rose @nyotamalfoy

[rachelsshowerthoughts]

Not Aware AU exactly but kinda tangential. I always toyed with this idea of "Kagami was transferred into Adrien's class when she joined the school."

This could be in S2, or be because Tomoe saw Adrien was attending school and she's got those later season machinations & sends Kagami to make sure he's not snagged by a gold digger.

(In the former case its just in S2, while in the latter it starts after Princess Fragrance.)

This was fine and fun at first, but Kagami is more willing to start shit with Chloe & much less patient with Adrien's continued softness.

Plus, Adrien can't really explain why he's fond of Chloe cos its a mixture between he can't imagine his life without her (Sibling coded) & stuff like, "She was there for me when mom disappeared & got me into school".

This leads to her at some point losing her patience and dragging both off to a classroom and basically saying "Either she needs to improve or you need to drop her, because this cannot go on."

You'd expect it to be a two on one but Adrien's efforts to play peacemaker lead to Kagami arguing with him as well.

Then when one of Chloe's major blows lands hard against Adrien, "Our parents harm more people every day than I do in a year and you still love them, hypocrites!"

It does nothing to Kagami, because she doesn't love her mother, she respects her, obeys her and fears her wrath but she doesn't love her even a little and she assumed Adrien was the same.

He is not the same & is in fact kind of defensive of his father at such a blatant rejection of one's own family and how uncomfortable it makes him.

It basically descends from there, cos I love slow burns but sometimes its just like, "Hmm what if they all started screaming their issues that they do not realize are issues at the top of their lungs?"

None of these kids know therapy talk so their languages on it is already going to be shit even before we remember literally not a one of them has much in the way of healthy communication or good social skills outside of formal events so:

So you have Chloe defending stuff like destroying Roses' letter because "That's how Mama handles it when I give her bad gifts, she's telling me to do better and one day I'll get it right!" As well as "Why would Papa want to see me when he doesn't need me for something? He's not a lunatic control freak like your parents."

Then you have Adrien defending stuff like, "I know my dads cold and has impossible standards and barely lets me do anything I want but he is protective and just wants what's best for me!" & "My mom was always kind to me, she was perfect even if she never let me go out or have a birthday either!"

& Kagami defending Tomoe with, "It doesn't matter how I feel about Adrien, or my instructions, I act as I do because it is for the good of my family. My emotions, my life don't matter at all before that duty!"

So its just three incredibly fucked up abused kids steadily airing each others and their own families laundry list of abusive traits and experiences under the pretext of saying "No my family is normal & OK yours is the bad one" and "How dare you call 'that' bad, when your parent does this!"

(Also Chloe may think Gabriel killed Emilie or otherwise would rather have Adrien sealed in amber forever than as an actual living boy,)

With this continuing until it either gets physical or they basically collapse.

Meanwhile the class is just watching in mounting horror and disgust and discomfort. (Nino is likely especially pissed) Like even with Chloe it may not justify her behavior but it puts so much of it in a new deeply messed up context where it kind of makes sense she doesn't even know how to be nice.

To quote a friend of mine:

The rich kids have taken knives to each other. They've cut open their festering wounds. The rot is exposed, scrubbed raw. While they lie angry, bleeding, crying, and dying [inside], they have the opportunity to look upon themselves once more and apply new dressings.

I can see it, but unless Gabriel is ACTUALLY out of the country, all three get Akumatized. My thoughts are a weird mix Grimm Brothers Fairytales - Cinderella, Snow White, Hansel & Gretel, etc. Not in specific, but like. More fairytale tropes?

Adrien is the "Cinderella"-style. Rapunzel, Snow White-style, "One Day My Prince Will Come"-style. The type of character that has to sacrifice and sacrifice, and will eventually be rewarded. If he does one more photo shoot, one more public appearance, *scrubs one more floor*, his father will finally love him. He'll finally have the happy ending he wants. He just has to stick it out - cause his dad DOES love him, right? (As a possession, if at all.)

Chloé is more of the "Trials"-style. Complete this mission-style. Knit twelve sweaters from nettles, and your brothers will become human again. Find the right goose, and get set free. Defeat the evil witch, and the spell is broken. If Chloé tries hard enough, does and says the right things, her parents will love her, show her affection. She'll finally be worth something. (All of it performative and shallow, until they raise the bar to another impossible height. Always keeping her dependant on them.)

Kagami, weirdly, I see as more endurance, or contract style - like a flipped version of Adrien. She isn’t really trying to "change" her situation the way Chloé or Adrien are, (for value of "trying to change it", ie, playing along with their parents games because that’s all they know to do) she's accepted this is the way it is, and is simply trying to endure it. Go through the motions. Hold up your end of the bargain. Work within the bonds of your deal, to do as little harm as you can, while still fulfilling your end. One day, you'll be out. You'll be free. (As if her mother will ever set her free.)

[triscribeaucollection]

Slowly losing my mind, there are now six whole stories I want to write that involve dropping people from future timelines/alternate universes into the DCAU, mostly specifically between Justice League Unlimited seasons one and two, but I can't settle on which I want to write fiiiiirst

Within the shared universe:

-Batman Beyond's Justice League comes back in time for an unintended visit, the usual handful plus a few of my OCs, including a new Amazon princess aka Bruce/Diana's grown daughter, who argues with Terry incessantly but she will dropkick the first person who says anything disparaging about the next Bat, that's her psuedo little brother thank you very much (and also her half-sibling but shhh they don't know that yet)

-I've got this very convoluted AU for a Batman Beyond Nightstar that I won't bother explaining all of right now, but I want to take that iteration of a 14yo Mar'iand'r Grayson from the future and toss her waaay back to Batman: The Animated Series, when her dad is still Robin and her grandpa hasn't really socialized with any other heroes yet, and this poor kid is not well versed in the past that's now suddenly the future, but as long as she's stuck with this much younger and smaller version of her family she is Going to Do Her Best to make sure things work okay

-There exists a background character in the Elseworlds comic of Kingdom Come confirmed to be the daughter of Supergirl and Brainiac-5, and I have thoughts about this kid, I want to make a DCAU version of her to be yoinked from the 31st century back a thousand years to meet her Uncle Kal-El, BUT with a friend with a mystery background and this one is sad, guys, I made myself cry at work thinking about ultimate sacrifices and failing to save someone at the last moment and honoring the memory of those who are gone but not forgotten

Then from *alternate* universes, I've got the newest brainrot of picking up 22yo Clark with Lois and Jimmy from My Adventures with Superman to gently deposit in this world, and let all three of them squeak over the differences (older Clark! Plus Kara! The whole League!) and this includes a moment of Jimmy seeing this more mature Superman and immediately going "Ohhh no, nononono, you are not allowed to get BIGGER and BEEFIER! I am putting my foot down!" to the general amusement of everyone else nearby.

Not quite as shiny but just as funny is the thought of nabbing Jon Kent from the comics and tossing him across the path of DCAU Lois Lane, give her a chance to shine while getting the kid in touch with someone who can help send him home, only to find out Oh Hey there are a bunch of other superhero kids who came along with him, including a rather prickly Robin who demands "Where have you been, Kent?" which causes Lois to bluescreen for a minute (cue Clark somewhere off screen going 'oh I'm in danger')

And then, I want to go back and do a re-write of my old Young Justice S1 dropped into JLU S2 fic, my skills have improved a fair amount over the past, oh, six-ish years, and there are some different ways I'd handle various introductions. Not to mention I think I'd actually include an ending, this time, instead of losing steam over a plot I didn't really vibe with and leaving the whole thing unfinished...

Just. The DCAU, folks. I'm stuck ping-ponging between ideas that I sadly don't have the energy to work on right now, but eventually that will change and then WATCH OUT

[ladybracknellssherry]

I haven't shared any fic recs before but I was so excited to see a new chapter drop after an intermission for the fic that has driven me crazy for weeks now. So here are a few that are just...my favourites right now.

All Good Omens, mostly current multi-chapters with new chapters on their way. (I love that anticipation.)

The one that made me make this post. Give me Death in a Big Cup by @indigovigilance. A human AU (eyebrows wiggle) that is absolutely gutwrenching and gorgeous. It's definitely on the serious side. A lot of angst. A lot of brilliant academic tidbits so you will learn while enjoying a beautiful story. Very mature themes, but very graceful restraint. So far not spicy, this is plot plot plot! (no idea if it will stay spiceless though?) M rating.

Lord, just, help me. In Knowing, In Silence by LollipopCop / @obsessivelollipoplalala. One of plenty of fics out there processing feelings about Aziraphale and Crowley's relationship through the ages...built around their relationship in the days before the fall. It's romantic, angsty, plot driven. I actually cried. It has been slow goings with updates. Five chapters over more than six months at this point. But good things can often take time. E rating.

I love absolutely every word written by indigoangels on A03. Flaws is a Post-S2 / S3 Speculative and it is epic. The author was born to write. Angst, heartbreak, horror, very serious, dark. Tender moments, so much tension, another plot plot plot! Seriously, read all of their fics while you're at it. I mean very dark and serious though. I do love the tag "I'm guessing there will be sex and violence in this - there usually is in my stuff!" Exactly. E rating.

The Season of Nightingales by @nosferatini. Whoosh. Post S2/S3 speculative fix-it of sorts. Excellent, fun and clever plot about attempting to thwart Armageddon The Sequel with some unexpected allies. This is sweet and fluffy and not spicy but very romantic. T rating.

And the very very spiciest!

This has a lot of hits, but it deserves them. Tether by Ginger_Cat / @gingiekittycat. It's very spicy in a little bit of a silly way. I was expecting silly and spicy. And it is. But it really shocked me with a brilliant plot that gets quite serious at times. It checks all of the boxes. Absolutely E rating.

Aziraphale's First Orgasm by @thebiggestnope. Ineffables finally open up and love each other out loud. So much romance and hurt and angst and trauma and love and ... human corporations. It's not JUST spice. There are a lot of feelings. I mean, really. It's a beautiful examination of interpersonal communication and working through anxiety and past trauma etc. E rating, of course.

[cssns]

Please welcome @laianely to the CSSNS!

How long have you been in the CS/OUAT fandom?

I love CS since OUAT was first aired but I became active member of fandom just in the beginning of 2023.

When did you start shipping Captain Swan?

When s2 ep6 was released) That moment with the scarf, how he looked at her and she was like "Omg, what's going on?!" =D

What drew you to this event?

I want to try something new. All my ffs are in canonical setting (even if it's AU, they are still in fairytale world of EF). And supernatural theme is so interesting!

What inspired your topic?

Once I made video edit with the song "My Oh My" by Camila Cabello. The lyrics was sooo about Killian. But also I see people, who wrote "This son is about Damon from Vampire Diaries!". And I thought that Killian would be great as sexy badass vampire)

If you would like to share a snippet/sneak peek/summary of your fic or artwork, please use the space below.

There has been a brutal murder in New York City. The victim's heart was ripped out, and detective Emma Swan was determined to find the murderer. But bounty hunter Killian Jones interfered in the case, talking nonsense about vampires and wanting to get involved to find the murderer and avenge the events that happened centuries ago. Emma thought he's a psychopath, but his help was her best option when she didn't have many leads.

What are you looking forward to most about participating in this event?

Interesting experience in writing something new, fun communicating with other participants and great fresh stuff)

Vampires, detectives, and bounty hunters, oh my! Can't wait for this to drop on 7/25. Make sure to say hi to @laianely on Tumblr and Discord.

[thissortofsorcery]

💞A different type of rec list ask game, to rep your own fics and other authors you enjoy.💞 Spell out your user name with fic recs. If the letter correlates to one of your fics you rec it (no duplicates use a different fic for repeat letters.) If you get to a letter you don’t have a fic title for you rec one you‘ve liked from someone else. 💖Send this to someone who might need a little love on their own fics or just like spreading the love.💖

Oh, my username is LONG, this is gonna be HARD (haha get it). Keeping it Harringrove to keep it simple (for myself. I have over 3k bookmarks on ao3)

The Green Hawkins Tigers Sweatshirt, by me. 1k, Steve comforts Billy after a run in with Neil.

Hook Possum, by @platypanthewriter. 16k, Steve's a camp counselor and there's a guy Possum Mascot he's very friendly with. This fic had me laughing and giggling from start to finish. It's ART.

I Had to See You, by me. Almost 2k, Billy and Steve broke up three weeks ago, and Steve shows up on Billy's doorstep. One of the fics I'm proudest of.

sad-eyed lady of the lowlands, by @whenyouwishuponastar7. 94k, Steve is a professional babysitter, and is hired to look after Max after she and her older brother move to Hawkins. This was the first fic I read from her and I FELL IN LOVE. Absolute masterpiece. Every time she posts new fics I run to read them so fast.

Shout At The Devil, by @writerwhowritesao3. It's actually a series (155k) that has me by the balls, but the first fic(68k) can be read on its own just fine. It's a retelling of season 2 and it's delicious. It also gives Susan a personality. I would tag just the first fic, but I don't have a J in my username and I HAD to.

Of Cats and Men, by @ihni. 39k, Billy hits a cat with his car, and has to take care of three little kittens. Steve helps. This fics is EVERYTHING to me. Billy and cats get me every time, right in the heart. You will need to hug your pet when you read this, though.

Run for the Shadows, by @shieldofiron. 36k, this fic is DELICIOUS. Friends with benefits to lovers, OBLIVIOUS STEVE. So oblivious. Pure of heart, dumb of ass. I had such a great time reading this fic.

Towel Talks, by @weird-an. 10k, after s3, Steve finds Billy in the community pool sauna. I love this one because An does caring Steve SO WELL. I was like this 🥺 the whole time I was reading it. It's so so good.

On Loving Billy, by lilpeas. I don't know their tumblr. 16k, this is THE break-up and make-up fic. It hurts SO GOOD, their emotions are so beautifully written out. It wrung everything out of me. Love.

for what you have tamed, by skoosiepants. Don't know their tumblr either. 10k. Billy is a cat and a dragon, and he keeps saving Steve's life. I LOVE magical realism, and this fic builds the world incredibly well. It's such a good read.

Sideways, by @robthegoodfellow. 46k. THIS FIC. It spins season 2 on its head so fucking well, oh my god. Rob is such a good writer, I've read this fic more than once and it gets to me every time. Their Billy is incredible.

Only The Freaks Come Out at Night, by shippingmyarmada (idk their tumblr). 67k. GREAT post s2 fic. You know I cry from happiness when I find a post s2 fic. This one is really, really well done.

Rotten Apples, by @weird-an. 14k. It's. a. WITCHER. AU. Do I need to say anything else???????? I love this so much. So much. You have no idea.

Camaro, by @lovebillyhargrove. I'm cheating a little on this one bc I don't know the name of the fic and I wanted to include it, and it's about the Camaro coming alive after season 3 and going on a killing spree to avenge Billy. It gets EVEN BETTER from there. Ana wrote this so well, whenever a chapter dropped on tumblr I lost my shit.

every night fucks every day up, by anonymous. 8k. It's a modern AU, and you know I love my modern AUs. Steve and Billy interact through snapchat. I have a soft spot for snapchat because i first heard about this app reading a Sterek fic in january 2014. This has nothing to do with the fic.

Read to Me?, by lemonlovely (idk tumblr). 12k. Someone leaves books with marked passages at Family Video for Steve. It's SO CUTE. SO CUTE. I love it.

Yeah, It's Me, by @callieb. 29k. Another fic that's between s2 and s3, and this one is SOOOOO GOOD in that their relationship starts as a FWB that's kind of unhealthy and I just about died reading this. Happy ending though. Trust me, it's worth it.

And that's done! It took me over 2 hours to put this together lmao so go give these fics and these writers some love! They deserve it.

[consultingcompanion94]

Once Upon an Eternity

Chapter 1

Months after Aziraphale left for Heaven, Crowley finds himself waking up back in the bookshop after months of coping with his broken heart. But… is it the first time he’s been back? Why does it seem like there’s something he’s missing? When he’s reunited with the new Archangel for the first time since that day, he can’t stop the overwhelming dread that something is very, very wrong… AU of my interpretation of S3 as inspired by the show Once Upon a Time. If you’ve seen it, no spoilers for anyone who hasn’t!!! If you have, hope you enjoy my little mash-up!!!

Notes:

Hello everyone! Welcome to my first fic in the GO fandom! I fell in love with the show after binging the whole thing just in time to dive right into S2 when it aired (and experience all the devastation that brought us all). I was finally inspired enough to dive back into fanfic after a very long hiatus by the show and by Rebecca Flutter’s amazing GO podfics on Youtube (seriously, do yourself a favor and check them out!) I couldn’t stop picturing certain scenes from another one of my favorite shows, Once Upon a Time, with Crowley and Aziraphale, and this is the result! Hope you enjoy, and let’s get on with the show!

The storm must have been what finally caused Crowley to come to. Lighting lit the sky as rain beat against the windows, thunder crashing just far enough away to not be an immediate concern. 

Speaking of immediate concerns…

Now that Crowley was slowly regaining awareness, he shot to his feet from his current position on the floor. Not his floor, mind you, his flat strewn with bottles as it had been for months. Not even the floor of one of the hotels of questionable quality he vaguely recalled bolting to the numerous times he couldn’t bear being anywhere near Soho since…

Since he’d last been here in the bookshop.

Tensed and alert, Crowley fled from the back room. He was fully set on outrunning the memories ready and waiting to spring like arrows notched and ready to fly, before freezing at the sight of another figure slumped near the register.

“What the…” the flash of panic and concern that struck Crowley seemed out of place (at least in its intensity), considering how comparatively little he’d had to do with the small Scrivener to warrant such a reaction on their behalf. “Muriel?”

Apparently his words did what the storm had not, Muriel shifting weakly as Crowley crossed the room and bent to help lift them from the ground.

“M-Mister Crowley?” Muriel groaned, eyes still unfocused and leaning against Crowley for support. “W-when did you come back? I- I thought you’d driven off after Archangel Az-”

“How many times have I gotta tell you to drop the Mister? I’m ancient, not old,” Crowley cut them off with a huff, and where the Heaven did that come from? As if it was a long standing argument? He very pointedly shoved aside acknowledging that his interruption also served to prevent Murial from saying his name (He included himself in the list of people he was very good at lying to.)

Frowning Muriel questioned again, “When did you get here? How did you get here?”

Having no answers, Crowley could only shrug noncommittally. His eyes darted around the room, taking in every inch as he’d done when assessing the bookshop after the Armageddon that wasn’t. He failed to find even the smallest of changes this time around, but that didn’t stop his hands from twitching uneasily as he felt the air faintly stir with an energy he could only describe as wrong.

Both beings jolted at the sound of the front door’s bell ringing, Maggie and Nina stumbling their way into the shop looking as if they were in a similar state of disorientation.

“What the hell have you gotten us into this time?” Nina snapped, marching up to Crowley and crossing her arms with a pointed glare.

“Does it look like I have any clue what’s going on here?” Crowley retaliated, only stopped from advancing on Nina when he saw Maggie place a calming but firmly restraining arm on Nina’s arm.

“She’s just tense and jumping to conclusions. Can’t blame her really. Both of us woke up in Nina’s shop with no idea how we got there, on top of it being the first time in months we’ve seen your car hanging around rather than just passing through…” Maggie paused her explanation, brows furrowing before she continued questioningly, “It.. it is the first time you’ve been back… right?”

“Course it is, what kind of question…” Crowley trailed off, matching Maggie’s state of confusion. 

Now that he paid attention, he had that feeling of an unexplainably increased sense of familiarity, eerily identical to what he’d felt with Muriel and equally as uncountable. Not only that, but how was he so much more unaffected than he should have been by being back in the place he’d had his heart obliterated? He hadn’t expected his first time back (assuming he ever did come back), to feel anything less than agonizing, yet here he stood, heart still unmistakably raw and scarred over far more than he expected but not actively bleeding out.

“See, not as far of a stretch to link you to whatever's going on as you thought, wouldn’t be the first time you’ve meddled in something and caused a right mess,” Nina grumbled, still visibly on edge but less openly hostile.

“Excuse you, but if you recall, you know very well the main meddler last time was…” Crowley swallowed, flinching at coming even close to mentioning him.

“What’s that lovely human expression? Oh yes- guilty as charged,” a posh voice replied from the shadows near the front door as they all whirled to face the intruder. Crowley shivered at the familiar cadence he’d know anywhere, though not from pain as would be assumed, but from the unfamiliar iciness he’d never heard from that voice.

“Aziraphale?” Crowley breathed, frozen to the spot as he took in the figure walking into the dim lighting the storm had brought on. 

“Speak of the devil as they say,” Aziraphale smirked, stopping just shy of the group clustered in the middle of the shop. The sterile white of the new suit was less surprising than the harsh, sharp angles of the design that contrasted so severely with the soft lines and curves of the Angels usual ensemble. It was nowhere near what Crowley would have imagined from the new Archangel, had he been in any state of mind to ponder such things, anymore than the flecks of dark gray mixed in with the halo of blond curls that had never changed until now.

Unsettling as all of that was, what caused Crowley's blood to freeze in his corporation was when he finally met Aziraphale’s eyes. Gone was the ocean blue Crowley had gotten lost in far more times than his sunglasses would have allowed anyone to know. 

The gaze that met his eyes now was not the lavender he wasn’t sure if he would have recoiled from due to its association with a certain former Archangel, or embraced despite everything because it still would have been his Angel gazing back regardless of the hue of his irises.

What Crowley saw now was a twisted shadow of that same flowers vibrant shade, if left uncared for to grow dark, decayed, and withered, long since abandoned to rot. 

“W-what are you doing here?” Crowley stammered, breathing erratic as Aziraphale slowly continued his progress towards the group, “You’ve been plenty content to piss off to Heaven without a backward glance until now, don’t let trivial little connections like ours hold you back now Archangel,” Crowley spat, doing his best not to shrink away every step closer Aziraphale advanced.

Chuckling darkly, Aziraphale lifted his hand to caress Crowley’s cheek, smirking at the shiver his touch was able to cause in the Demon even now. 

“Ah, you see, therein lies the problem. I admit that you were right in one respect. My newly appointed position wasn’t exactly as I expected. Some… Changes were required,” Aziraphale paused with a curl of his lips. “However, I suppose you could say that leaves us even, considering I was also right.”

“In what way?” Crowley barely managed to choke out, stomach dropping as the Archangel snickered sinisterly.

“That you had no idea what I was offering you,”  Aziraphale sneered. One of his hands fisted into Crowley’s lapels as the other rested on his face, a lovers embrace that should have been warm and tender but was instead forceful and possessive. Breaths mingling for only a moment, Aziraphale hissed quietly enough only Crowley could have heard it, “And I’m going to ensure you regret turning me down, that you beg me for another chance. And don’t worry, when you’re ready, I’ll be waiting.”

Breaking the embrace, there was a flash of blinding light, and the Archangel was gone.

Thank you all for reading! If you want to read more now, here’s the link to what I have up so far on AO3. See you all in the next chapter!

Next Chapter

[queenendless]

❤️‍🩹Lost in a Moment (AU!Adult!Gojo Satoru x Adult!Geto Suguru)❤️‍🩹

A/N: Listening to Lost In A Moment from Stray Gods the Role Playing Musical helped put me in an emotionally wrecked state.

Yet watching yesterday's new episode ... that topped it. 😢🤧

CW: DEFINITE ANIME SPOILERS; UP TO S2 E9 NOW! AND YEAH IMPLIED MANGA SPOILERS BUT NOT IN MUCH DETAIL! Angst, hurt/comfort, reincarnation into modern age AU with retained memories of canon lives, cliche corny cheesy sappy lovey dovey feels, and yes Imma make more for this AU with the rest of my JJK babies ... and put in some x Reader soon. When the next episode drops... cause God that's gonna be a ride. OF FEELS! 😭

Credit for JJK goes to Gege ... despite all the madness they've put our babies through!

* Please DON'T plagarize, translate, or repost my FANFIC content. Reblog, like, and follow instead.

More JJK content coming as daily as this season runs. I hope you enjoy.

So much blood shed.

So many lives lost.

Panic and disgust at all that carnage yet enjoyment enacting violence against those special grades.

Roughly a thousand transfigured heads rippled through the blood-soaked station, trapped in his Infinite Void, within two tenths of a second.

Then came the Prison Realm.

The cube swishing open to take its true form.

Its wrinkly red skin stretched out into an X, wires stretching out its shrunken warm colored eye dripping with blood.

His instincts screamed to turn tail and get away.

"Yo Satoru."

That waving, closed eye smile sent unsettling, too trusting tremors through him.

"Huh?"

"Long time no see."

A fake?

A transformation technique?

No … the Six Eyes burned it onto his brain.

It all came flowing into him.

Three years' worth of his youth.

Smiling at that face.

Eyes full of hope.

Taking a minute to unfold in his head.

Enough time for the Prison Realm to merge with him, jutting out of him, keeping him hanging and pinned.

"You shouldn't lose yourself in thought, in the midst of battle, Satoru."

I can't sense any cursed energy. I can't get my body to move, either. This is checkmate, huh?

"So, who the hell are you?"

"I'm Suguru Geto. Don't you remember me? How sad."

"Your body, your cursed energy … all the information provided by these eyes is telling me you're Suguru Geto. But … my soul is rejecting all that! Now answer me already! Who the hell are you!?"

"Creepy." Pulling on that near invisible thread. Lifting the top half of his head off. Revealing the mouthed alien brain; juices dripping down his face, his wide ass toothy smile pissing him off. "How could you tell?"

"That's my technique you see. I can pass from one body to another by replacing its brain with myself. Of course, I'm also able to use that technique etched into the body I inhabit. I really wanted this man's Curse Manipulation and this situation, too. You didn't have Shoko Ieiri handle the disposal of Suguru Geto's body that day, did you?"

He couldn't … he just couldn't bear it.

Watching his one and only best friend being buried … or even cremated … after all those years spent apart on opposite sides … his selfish grieving heart had to keep him.

Plopping that head cap back on, squelched noises were made, it all churned Gojo's guts.

"That was an odd time for you to show consideration. But thanks to that, I was able to obtain this body with ease."

Pulling the thread to hold its creped hold back in place.

"You needn't worry. I'll release your seal eventually. A hundred… no … maybe a thousand years from now? You're just too strong. And you're in the way of my plans."

"Hah! Have you forgotten? Who was it that beat the crap out of that body before I killed him?" His stubborn pride and confidence in his distant relative turned aspiring pupil knew no bounds.

"Yuta Okkotsu, huh? I just don't see as much appeal in that boy as you do. Copying techniques without any conditions, and a bottomless well of cursed energy … both of those were just effects obtained from binding the soul of his most beloved with a pact. Sorry to say this, but Yuta Okkotsu can never replace you."

False Geto …

No ….

Kenjaku.

Damn him.

"Goodnight, Satoru Gojo. We'll meet again in the new world."

His pleading hopes that his one great weakness – his greatest strength – would respond to his desperate cries to come back and end the madness were all dashed.

Betting all his hopes that Suguru was still in there somewhere, trying to break free like himself, and that someway, somehow, something blessed would arrive amiss all this cursed madness.

Yet, even as the instincts of keeping him safe ingrained in the overtaken body of his best friend surfaced just to choke his hijacked being, it was a lost cause.

Lost in the moments of the times he missed most of all.

Lost in the song of their laughter, their fights, their banter, when they could be kids and nothing else.

Being each other's strength.

Making up for what the other lacked.

Each other's missing piece.

And to have that cursed Kenjaku make him relive the hell of a life failing Suguru. Tainting his entire being. Not even in death could the suffering end for his lost and lonely other half; matching Gojo's inner suffering for over a decade long in a world without Geto.

The strongest one, the honored one, defeated by the greatest curse that is love.

Failing his moral compass, his one and only friend, who needed someone in his time of need when he fell apart over his struggling morals after witnessing the cruel truth of their world. Expected to protect those that don't deserve it. Losing those that are too pure for that horrific reality.

Unable to protect his students, allies, and friends from the onslaught of hell that came for them that bloody Halloween night.

Unable to resist the moment that monster greeted him in Suguru's voice.

Unable to save the one he loved most of all.

Three years spent trapped.

Trapped in isolating hell.

Swallowed whole in suffocating, soul crushing darkness.

The muffled voice of someone pulled him out of the murky pulls of deep slumber. The jostling shake in his being, the solid digging of fingers in his shoulders, the overwhelming heat shoving back the freezing sunken teeth of the nightmare.

The muffled sound became clear out in the open as the most familiar voice of all was yelling out his name desperately.

"Satoru!? Wake up! Come on, please!"

Rescuing him from that insufferable reality.

Awakening him in a new one.

Blinking his eyes up several times, heaving and catching his breath as he broke out into a sweat.

Non vibrant eyes darting all over as he took in everything. Late at night. The AC humming in the background. Streams of moonlight creeping in through the skinny gap of the curtains. Trickling along the hunched form of Geto over him in their shared bed, wearing a long-sleeved charcoal sleeping shirt, an all-knowing concern written all over his face.

"What was it this time?"

No stitched-up forehead.

No more lies.

Looking into those enriching, trusting eyes.

Gojo shakily breathed out, draping an arm over his eyes. "Me being sealed away."

It is him.

Really, truly, his Suguru.

Breathing.

Safe.

Free.

Gojo felt his walls collapsing.

His vulnerability surfacing.

"The price a do over gives us." Geto murmured somberly.

"Yeah." His throat constricted, his eyes watered up, gritting wrecked grunts left him as his hand enclosed in a shaking veiny fist. Trying to keep it all in, not wanting Suguru to see him falling apart over a bad dream. But the contents of said dream made him want to behold to hold Suguru and never let him go again.

Alarmed by panic, Geto leaned down immediately to lay right atop him, embracing his emotional love with his own tightening grip, shushing him insistently as his hand brushed through those lovely white locks. "It's okay. I'm here. We're both here."

Recollections of their past lives flaring up in dreams is but one of the few downsides to reincarnation in this new modern age. But shouldering that burden with another makes it less of a struggle.

"This better not be a dream." Gojo lifted his arm, revealing the pain flashing in those emotionally teary blue eyes which tore at Geto's heartstrings. "Or I swear to God," Gojo sobbingly hiccupped as he clawed at Geto's clothed back, distraught battling relief within himself as his face nuzzled into Geto's strong neck.

"It's real. All of it. And this." Geto's tender, warm firm lips pressing to his cheek felt too good to be true. "I'm real, Satoru. As are you."

Breathing in Suguru's scent to calm his irrational state of mind, easing down just hearing his name spoken in that cozy voice from the genuine article. "This is real." Whispering that mantra over and over slowly kept Gojo grounded in the here and now as it did with Geto.

Gojo's next words struck a chord within them both. "I … I'm sorry Suguru."

"What?" Geto pulled back enough to look into those normal yet breathtaking blue eyes.

"For everything. For ignoring your pain all those years. For not letting you go when I … I killed you. If it weren't for me, that bastard wouldn't have taken it over and everyone … everything … wouldn't have turned out so wrong. I ... I was never the same without you." Gojo's voice cracked, braving himself to look him right in the eye even in this harried sorry state, when a gentle peck to his lips halted his words.

Geto's almond eyes narrowed as they became murky with lament. "Don't blame yourself. I'm … sorry too. For leaving you. For not divulging all my troubles to you. I just … the weight of the world was already on your shoulders. I believed I alone could find a solution to my problems … and that of our world … even if it meant becoming the worst curse user of our age. Yet after all that time …" His smile had Gojo at a loss of breath as Geto's other hand cradled his tear-stained cheek, rubbing calming circles with his thumb. "You still trusted me to the very end. After all the damage I had caused. After I hurt you … envying your power over seeing you for the person I always knew you to be deep down inside." Geto shut his eyes, letting his own tears trail down freely, sparking from the sliver of moon beams hitting them, mesmerizing Gojo.

To him, Geto Suguru never looked more radiant.

Gojo dug his fingers in Geto's back to pull himself up enough for their faces to be a mere inch or so apart, wiping away his tears in kind. "We've both suffered. All of us did. Doomed in that world from the start. Trying to change it all our own way. Prepared to lay our lives down for that dream. And yet, here we are."

Geto chuckled in wry amusement, resting his forehead against Gojo's. "The irony of it all."

Both ready to welcome death when their times came. On the same day. Their anniversary. Only to reawaken in a whole new world, one with no cursed energy at all. No cursed spirits, no sorcerers, nothing. With everyone else coming along for the ride. And all the memories attained from their past lives. Whatever higher power intervened to bring it all to fruition, neither knew at the time whether to be thankful or resentful.

And yet … finding their grown-up selves seeing each other again in the flesh … instinctually running to each other, collapsing in each other's arms, heart ruled over reason ever since.

Such as now.

Sitting up on their legs and calves, their embrace was as cathartic as the first one shared in the pure light of a new venture. Looking into each other's eyes, the sparks of hope reigniting.

"I forgive you, Satoru." Geto gently rubbed his nose against Gojo's.

"I forgive you too, Suguru … my one and only." Gojo's endearing grin had Geto laughing softly.

"Same old Satoru."

"Of course. It's still me, after all." That cheeky smirk says it all.

"How I have missed that sight …" Geto's gaze gleamed with amour that made Gojo's heart soar. "We have a second chance. We all do."

"Let's not waste it, then." Gojo's sculpted strong hand weaved through those silky raven locks, cradling the back of Geto's head. "I'm willing to fight for this life if you are. Nightmares, memories, and all." The conviction rose to meet his newfound dream.

"I'm not going anywhere. If I must live again, I'd rather live a long life worth living … as long as it's with you." Geto's own firm resolve gave him the urge to just come out and say it.

"We are the strongest duo, after all~!"

Geto's free hand playfully wacked Gojo's white long-sleeved shoulder, chortling, "Idiot."

"You love it, though." That drawn out kiss lingered between them as their half-lidded eyes stayed connected. "Admit it."

"I do." Geto's warm breath made Gojo want to kiss him again, longer, deeper, relishing his taste.

Drowning in the overwhelming pleasure as he pulled Geto even closer by the head, wrapping an arm around his body, meshing perfectly together.

As their tongues battled for dominance, Geto pushed Gojo to lay fully down in their big welcoming bed, laying down atop him once more, parting their panting mouths, connected by a line of their saliva, burning puffs hitting each other's mouths. "I love you, Gojo Satoru. All of you."

His soul told it to be true.

"And I love you Geto Suguru … I always have. In our old life… in this one …. if it's with you, that's the only place I want to be."

"So sappy. Even for you." Geto teased.

"Hey, you're stuck with me for life. Deal with it." Gojo stuck his tongue out, feigning annoyance.

"Like I have any other choice," Geto sighed, resigning to his fate, but his smitten grin displayed how fine he is to it all. The loud yawn released from his taller lover had him cup his cheeks to give a goodnight smooch, moving to lay on his side, cozying up to Gojo. "Good dreams should await you now."

"Having you here with me is a dream come true~" Gojo purred, intertwining their legs together as he wrapped his arms around Geto's shoulders.

Geto rolled his eyes, exasperated. "God the corniness."

Gojo laughed mirthfully before kissing Geto repeatedly, speaking in between the breaks. "I mean it. I do."

Wrapping his own arms around him, Geto could relax completely knowing his dear Satoru was so happy. Thanks to him. Because of him. Return those kisses in kind, humming at how good it felt. "Well, I do too."

Embracing each other under the sheets, lulled by each other's warmth, their even breathing and synchronized heartbeats became the telltale signs that they both fell fast asleep.

The catharsis was profound.

For that night would be followed by many others.

Where dreams come to fruition.

When living peacefully was possible.

Waking up to the early morning sunrise and seeing themselves in each other's arms brought sleepy smiles to their faces, kissing soundly before snuggling even closer to each other, falling straight back to dreamland.

Lost in a moment.

Lost in a song.

Their moment.

Their song.

Of a new beginning.

Together.