#nhie ficlet

[heycoyotegirl]

early season 2 daxton ficlet

~650 word fix-it/justification for the weirdness of their first date (because while I think it makes sense for Devi to be Paxton's first real girlfriend, I was utterly perplexed by the decision to make him A: not know what a date is and B: treat a date with Devi like one with the other girls he's hooked up with, when he literally called off their sex agreement in season 1 because he knew she was special and he wanted something different with her) also I wrote this back in 2021, so it might not fit with their characterization in later seasons

“And when should I be expecting Trent and Marcus on this date?” Devi asks. She had aimed for light and teasing, but Paxton winces.

He chews on his bottom lip, eyes flicking towards her and then darting away again. She opens her mouth, about to make a joke and play it off (or more realistically, somehow make things worse), when he blurts: “I wasn’t totally honest about that.”

Her teeth snap together.

Paxton winces again. “Wait. That sounded bad. I mean, I— I should’ve been honest, but I—” He stops and lets out a frustrated huff, his hands clenching into fists on his thighs. He inhales slowly and then catches her gaze. “I was embarrassed. I wasn’t lying; Trent and Marcus come on my dates, but I left out the reason.”

When he pauses, she gives him a jerky nod.

He swallows, looking away. “I’ve been on solo dates in the past, and some girls get— handsy. And sure, sometimes I’m into it, but sometimes—”

Devi inhales sharply, and his eyes snap back to hers.

“It’s fine,” he says immediately.

The fact that he’s so quick to try to reassure her is another nail in the coffin. “Paxton—”

Paxton shakes his head, eyes wide. He reaches a hand out towards her before abruptly pulling it back. “I obviously knew our date wouldn’t be like that—that you wouldn’t be like that—but Trent and Marcus saw how nervous I was and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I probably should’ve tried harder, but I guess I’m just used to having them around. And it felt like less pressure. I’m sorry.”

All right. Several things clamor for her attention: 1. Paxton was nervous for their date. 2. He apparently thinks that her primary concern is whether he thought that she—the girl who asked him to have sex with her the first time they spoke and then spread rumors about them hooking up—might just want to use him, rather than the fact that girls have gotten handsy when he didn’t want that. 3. The way Trent’s mom had nearly felt him up even with two other people in the room had been weird before, but thinking about it in this new context makes her feel sick.

Oh no.

4. She’s been silent for too long; Paxton’s shoulders are climbing towards his ears, and he looks about a second away from bolting.

She just needs to say something. Anything. Be supportive. She opens her mouth to assure him that she’s not mad, but of course the first thing she blurts out is an overexcited, “You were nervous?”

Great. Foot firmly in mouth. But at least Paxton’s expression has shifted from hunted to baffled. Progress.

His brows furrow. “Yes? Obviously? But that’s not the point—”

She bites her lip to stop herself from grinning—this is a serious conversation, Devi! Get ahold of yourself!—and grabs his hand. He cuts himself off mid-sentence, immediately giving her his full attention.

She shakes her head a bit belatedly and says, “Paxton, you have nothing to apologize for. I’m not mad.”

“I should’ve told you sooner,” he says, voice low. “It would’ve saved me from a lonely garbage picking day.”

“Maybe, but you told me now, and that’s what matters.” Paxton squeezes her hand, and Devi’s voice is breathy when she continues, “And I’ll be your garbage partner whenever you want.”

“You’re too good for me, Vishwakumar.” Paxton's smile spreads until he’s shooting her that trademark blinding grin, and Devi drops her chin towards her chest, fighting not to curl her shoulders in and shy away from him completely.

She can’t keep doing this. She has to tell him about the kiss in Malibu, about her and Ben and the failed breakup attempt.

But then Paxton’s holding her cheek oh-so gently as he guides her into a kiss, and she can’t bear to bring him down.

Tomorrow she’ll tell him.

Tomorrow she’ll end things with Ben.

Tomorrow she’ll fix everything.

[basiltonpitch]

thinking about benvi x this love (taylor's version) edits after benvi endgame and going Insane.

[psychiccatpanda]

Tony Stark Bingo Party - Never have I ever written anything comics-compliant or comics-adjacent

I am really hoping that I catch up on these NHIE posts before our next party! 😁 And TSB party people - if you want your work included in these kind of rec lists, join us during the next party for a round!

@illogicalkat - The spaces in between. (fanfic) Rating: General. Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply. James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark. He should really invest in a bed, at least. He’s getting too old to sleep like this.

“If you’re getting old, what does that make me?”

Tony whirls, hands out, ready to call his suit, even as he recognizes the voice.

@polizwrites - Behind the Mask. (fanfic) Rating: General. Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply. James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark. Bucky didn’t know how he’d managed to fall so hard for a man whose face he’d never seen and whose voice he’d only heard through an electronic filter.

@tinystark616 - Stevetony Games 2023 Ficlet Compilation. (fanfic) Rating: Explicit. Archive Warnings: Major Character Death. Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Natasha Stark. Note: this particular chapter is not explicit, but DOES include the MCD. For team Present, square: "consequence", challenge: "it's canon", 300 words. (using the canon quote "it wasn't worth it" from Civil War: The Confession).

@illogicalkat - After All the Dreaming, I Come Home Again. (fanfic) Rating: General. Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply. James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark. Tony stares at the notification for a solid three seconds before authorizing the purchase. He knows the offer will be accepted; cash purchase, quick closing, and offering nearly $70,000 over asking. Most importantly, the buyer is not obviously connected to him; he knows Bucky would refuse any offers to help that involve money. And Bucky must need that kind of help, because why else would he decide to sell his childhood home?

@deehellcat - Loving You Never Felt Like Falling. (fanfic) Rating: Teen+. Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply. James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark, background Natasha Romanov/Pepper Potts, background Steve Rogers/James "Bucky" Barnes. Wealthy science whiz James Rhodes meets Army vet and recovering alcoholic Tony Stark, and neither of their lives will ever be the same, they just don't know it yet.

@psychiccatpanda - Desire Is Hunger Is the Fire I Breathe. (fanfic) Rating: Explicit. Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply. James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark. Bucky Barnes has tried to keep his crush - if raging lust can be called that - on Iron Man a secret. It's worked... for the most part, but that's not helping anyone these days. Then Bucky throws caution to the wind and asks The Daily Bugle's Enemy Number One on a date when the opportunity presents itself.

@illogicalkat - New Year's Eve. (fanfic) Rating: General. Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply. James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark. Of course, the year Bucky finally convinces Tony to spend New Year's Eve in Shelbyville instead of Manhattan, the weather decides not to play along.

[catty-words]

So, I was scrolling in your ao3 profile for the thousand time, as one usually does, and playing with the filters to see if there was any nhie fic I hadn't read before or if I was in the mood to reread any of my favs, when something kinda surprised me: apparently you wrote 34 nhie fics and devi is a character in 29 of them and ben is a character in 30 of them, even though you claim devi is your fave. Just wanted to point that out cuz it made me laugh, especially bc my mind immediately pictured them bantering about it like ofc they would bicker even about who is the most featured character in cori's fics xD

so many points i want to respond to. first - someone suggesting that my bestest blorbos, ben and devi, would care about being the most featured in my fics is possibly the cutest thing ever said to me. top contender, for sure!

second - gahh, i know, i haven't posted anything since last fuckin year, and even then, late last year was pretty quiet on the fic front. i haven't been reblogging prompt games or indulging any of my 'quick' one-shot ideas because inspiration has been very touch-and-go for the last year and i am stockpiling it for 'a lie away from getting you into the mood', the longer installment of the bitty spark 'verse. at the pace i'm moving now, there's a reasonable chance i'll start posting around june. which probably sounds like a long ways away to you, but will be a monumental feat of will on my part - if i pull it off.

thank you for reading my work. thank you for rereading my work.

third - the implication that devi being tagged in fewer of my fics than ben points to her not being my favorite character is reductive. the context matters.

that said, the opportunity to be obnoxious about my fic catalogue is invaluable to me. again, i thank you.

forth - let's get obnoxious!

fics tagged ben but not devi:

- double vision, in a rose blush (three times ben unexpectedly finds himself in the middle of a daydream about devi and the one time it makes perfect sense to him)

- birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it (howard gross does two things right: eats pussy and gives useful sex talks)

- (you have become a) constant (without headphones and a proper distraction for the bus ride home, ben compiles a list of weird things he easily might have said to devi while drunk on grigio)

fics tagged devi but not ben:

- are you sure you want to delete this photo? (cute af daxton prompt fill)

- meet me where you are (on top of the world) (another prompt fill, one that asked for kamala & devi, but then mr. k spilled all over my inspiration)

fics not tagged with either of them:

- the two fabiola/eleanor ficlets i've written

what does it mean what does it all mean: devi's still very much a part of both 'double vision' and 'constant', but she's not tagged because the version of her that we're seeing doesn't exist outside of ben's head. i mean, that's truer of 'constant' than 'double vision', she honestly could have been tagged in the latter, and the devi that lives in ben's head is still very much a real aspect of devi. but since she's not devi on her own terms, it felt/feels disingenuous to tag her as a character in either fic.

so, that makes 'birds do it, bees do it' the only ben fic in my catalogue that doesn't have anything to do with devi. both of the devi-not-ben fics have nothing to do with ben.

if we're going to take away anything from this exercise, though, let's appreciate how my first fic ever, my entry into writing for the show - 'constant' - is about examining devi from ben's pov. it felt/feels most comfortable to me because i'm just as in love with her as he is. because she is undeniably my favorite character.

[lilolilyr]

Have you ever written a scene that contained swimming in the ocean?

I'm sure I did but I honestly can't remember a specific fic... Ohh if we're counting (almost)drowning and trying to save drowning immortals, I've got a bunch of fics with people in the ocean in TOG fandom? I can't think of any where ppl are swimming in the ocean for fun though, but I have a bunch where people are swimming in pools! Milippa and Avorah fics immediately come to mind.

Oh, I did find one with the ocean while looking for those! It's a fluffy post-canon fix-it everybody lived Gunpowder Milkshake ficlet :)

Thanks so much for the ask!

Fruit&Veggie ask game | fic author NHIE | book worm ask

[timeisacephalopod]

Never Have I Ever

A Peter Q/ Tony/ Bucky AU in which they play NHIE at a party. Hence the name of the ficlet lol. (Also this was written on my phone if formatting gets weird I’m sorry 😭😭.

***

“Okay,” Tony says as he sits down. “We’re playing never have I ever hard edition. No mention of sex, drugs, or alcohol,” he tells the group. Everyone groans but it’s Clint that says what they’re all thinking.

“Dude, what the hell? That’s literally the whole game.”

Tony rolls his eyes, “well it gets fucking boring when you used to do a shit ton of drugs, had a lot of sex, and used to be an alcoholic. I’m tired of drinking like five jugs of apple juice because thirty five years of life hasn’t resulted in a single one of you finding a drinking game fifteen year olds don’t play. Also Peter used to deal drugs so he ends up taking way too many shots and I worry about his body’s tolerance, and Bucky is asexual so he’s fucked out of ninety percent of the game. No pun intended,” he adds when he realizes how that sounds.

“I’m asexual and I have no problem playing this game,” Sam mumbles, glaring at Bucky.

Bucky flips him off, “oh fuck off, just because you’re slutty doesn’t mean the rest of us are.”

“Don’t be rude,” Tony tells them.

“No, fight, I want to see which one of you wins!” Peter says excitedly. Tony gives him a look a but it doesn’t seem to curb Peter’s enthusiasm.

“Fine,” Natasha mumbles. “Never have I ever kicked a dog,” she says.

Steve takes a guilty shot and they all frown at him. Tony would have guessed Peter if he guessed anyone. “I was running late for work so I was trying to hurry and the dog wasn’t there and then it was and I almost died tripping over it,” he says, staring at the table.

T’Challa pats his back, “I don’t think that counts,” he says sympathetically.

“No,” Steve mumbles. “It counts.”

“If it makes you feel better cats are the superior animal,” T’Challa offers. It doesn’t seem to help.

“Birds are the superior animal,” Sam says. ���Specifically falcons, none of this budgie apologist shit.”

Clint flips Sam off, “fuck you, hawks. Ok then. Never have I ever laughed so hard I threw up.”

Everyone but T’Challa takes a shot. T’Challa looks mildly horrified. “Um. Never have I ever punched an extremist,” Tony says, trying to find something ridiculous that he hasn’t done. He’s unsurprised when Steve takes a shot, when Bucky takes a shot he wants the story, but when Peter takes a shot he really wants the story. That disappears when T’Challa tentatively takes a shot too. They all stare at him and he sighs.

“Wakanda has a problem with an extremist group of isolationists and one time I got fed up and punched my former best friend. In my defence he tried to assassinate me,” he says and all their eyeballs just about pop out of their heads.

“Dude you’re a badass!” Peter says.

“What’s your story?” Bucky asks him.

He shrugs, “asshole drug dealer who was also a white supremacist, not nearly as fun as fun as T’Challa’s but there was two million dollars of meth so I feel like I should earn brownie posts,” he says.

Steve blinks rapidly, seemingly unable to process that. “What do you even do with all that meth?” He asks

Peter squints, “sell it, dumbass.”

“What about you?” Tony asks Bucky to break the tension.

He sighs, “I saw a guy with a swastika tattoo and panicked. I’m a gentle Jew and I was threatened. Ok so I instigated the fight but still.”

“Are you talking about Schmidt?” Steve asks. Bucky nods. “Fuck that guy, he was a piece of shit.”

“Well I guess he deserved it,” Tony mumbles.

Sam squints, “the swastika didn’t tip you off?”

“Some people make dumb mistakes,” he says even though that’s an admittedly extra dumb mistake to make. Like unfathomable, really.

“I swear to god if you have a swastika tattoo...” Sam mumbles.

“He doesn’t,” Bucky says. “I’ve seen every inch of his body, including inches he probably wouldn’t want me to see.”

Tony frowns, “what’s that mean?”

“It means your booty hole isn’t pretty,” Peter tells him bluntly. “What, don’t look at me like that. No one has a pretty booty hole.”

“Ok Natasha is glaring at me we’re moving on. Never have I ever been abducted by aliens,” he says no no ones surprise. Bucky and his fucking conspiracies. Dude has an obsession.

When Peter takes a shot though they all squint at him suspiciously. “What? Like I wanted to be abducted after my mom died. That big blue bastard was an asshole. He was always ‘when I picked you up on terra my boys wanted to eat you, they ain’t ever tasted no Terran before. But I stopped them-‘ it continued for a bit but I tuned it out and eventually they decided I was useless and dropped me off in Medicine Hat, Canada. Yeah, that’s a real place.”

“Medicine Hat was the most believable part of that,” Sam tells him, frowning.

Bucky laughs, “that was some world class meth, Peter.”

Peter squints, “drug dealer 101- don’t fucking smoke your supply. Also I was nine, nine year olds don’t- okay most nine year olds don’t sell drugs,” he says. “Or do them,” he adds.

T’Challa looks horrified, “you knew nine year old drug dealers?” He asks.

Peter shrugs, “I was into some shady shit.”

“This country is in peril,” T’Challa mumbles.

“Ok chill it black panther the youngest dealer I knew was 13 but they probably go younger, I don’t know, I refused to deal with anything that wasn’t in the double digits,” Peter says like this is an improvement. “But back to this seriously bullshit game that obviously displays our total lack of creativity. Never have I ever eaten out of the trash.”

Bucky takes a shot and everyone makes a disgusted face. When Clint takes a shot no one reacts. “How come you guys think I’m gross but Clint isn’t?” He asks.

“We expect you to have standards,” Tony says. “Please don’t kiss me with your garbage mouth.”

“Seconded, I love you but fuck that noise with something hard and prickly,” Peter says.

“Don’t look at me like that! People throw away perfectly good food away in your neighbourhood, it’s a fucking sin to let that go to waste,” Bucky tells Tony.

Tony sighs, “you’re the one the homeowners association keeps whining about,” he mumbles more to himself than Bucky.

“Alright Bucky nope, can’t do it, I gotta dump you,” Peter tells him.

Bucky looks offended, “I didn’t dump you for claiming to be abducted by aliens!” He says

“Aliens that are inexplicably from the southern United States if that speech pattern is any indication,” T’Challa adds.

“That’s a real story! His name was Yondu and he was the ugliest sonofabitch I’ve ever seen,” Peter tells them. “Except maybe Taserface, he looked like uglier Hagrid.”

Sam throws his head back and laughs with the rest of them. “Taserface? What the hell did nine year old you drink?”

“Why did he name himself after a human weapon?” T’Challa asks.

“Also how come these aliens seem to follow the human gender binary?” Steve asks.

Peter rolls his eyes, “I was nine, assholes. I wasn’t about to sit down and have a fucking discussion about gender theory with a blue fuckstick making vague threats about letting his crew eat me. I was shitting my damn pants.”

“Who thinks this is a more dumpable offence than liberating food from rich people’s trash?” Bucky asks. Everyone but Clint raises their hands. “Clint doesn’t count because he’s gross,” Bucky says. “So everyone has voted that you shouldn’t dump me,” he tells Peter.

“That’s not at all what we just voted but fine. Canada is a fake country also, Medicine Hat can’t be a real place,” Peter says.

“I remember why we play this stupid ass game now,” Tony says.

“So I can find out I choose to waste my precious time with two dumpster divers and a man who claims and alien named ‘Taserface’ abducted him?” T’Challa asks. “Don’t look at me like that, I’m a prince. My time is precious, that is an objective fact.”

“Yondu abducted me, Taserface was just there,” Peter corrects.

“I’m dating two out of the three mentioned people. How do you think I feel?” Tony asks. “But no, it’s because we all have ridiculous stories we’d never tell unless asked and this game never fails in its quest to make us reveal dumb obviously made up alien stories.”

“That was real!” Peter says in his own defence.

“Sure honey,” Bucky tells him, patting his thigh.

[cupcakesandtv]

33 please

33) Would you ever kill off a canon character? lmao i feel like everyone’s parents are potential targets when i’m writing nhie. feel like i killed a fair few of them doing angst-y ficlets. Actually that’s probably true for most fandoms i’ve written in.  😬 let’s not read into what that says about me

Send me a number from questions for fic writers

[basiltonpitch]

i have had this headache for five hours now i think it's time to just accept my fate and Die

[heycoyotegirl]

looking through my docs from 2020 is wild because most of them are like bits of meta or characterization notes or ficlets

and then out of no where i’ll be hit with something like “concept: zoe is a lesbian and paxton is her emergency beard when annoying guys won’t leave her alone”

[basiltonpitch]

nhie followers it's ur time to shine plz send me asks + ficlet prompts etc im ready to re-immerse myself in the benvi brainrot <3

[catty-words]

my fave fic of yours is "feel like a hot air balloon", bc i am obsessed with ben and devi's childhood rivals backstory and your version of their freshman year feels so real!

mm, it holds a special place in my heart as the first nhie fic i got deep into writing. it also holds a unique place as a first-in-a-new-fandom fic of mine. usually i don’t like revisiting those because i refine my ability to capture the characters’ voices so the first couple i post feel off, looking back. and i haven’t actually revisited hot air balloon in a while, but i did expend over 10,000 words on a nhie WIP that will never see the light of day. so i got the super clunky, exploratory writing out of the way on that, leaving hot air balloon to be more polished.

anyway, THANK YOU! and not to, like, be a peddler of my own fic or anything, but if you’re interested in more pre-canon stuff by me, might i suggest this silly halloween ficlet.

tell this fic writer what your favorite story of theirs is

[fishyyyyy99]

This fic is so good! It's pretty sad that the show never addressed how creepy the way Trent's mom acted, was. Also, Fabiola talking about her mom rear-ending a bus because she saw Paxton wearing gray sweatpants, was quite disturbing too!

early season 2 daxton ficlet

~650 word fix-it/justification for the weirdness of their first date (because while I think it makes sense for Devi to be Paxton's first real girlfriend, I was utterly perplexed by the decision to make him A: not know what a date is and B: treat a date with Devi like one with the other girls he's hooked up with, when he literally called off their sex agreement in season 1 because he knew she was special and he wanted something different with her) also I wrote this back in 2021, so it might not fit with their characterization in later seasons

“And when should I be expecting Trent and Marcus on this date?” Devi asks. She had aimed for light and teasing, but Paxton winces.

He chews on his bottom lip, eyes flicking towards her and then darting away again. She opens her mouth, about to make a joke and play it off (or more realistically, somehow make things worse), when he blurts: “I wasn’t totally honest about that.”

Her teeth snap together.

Paxton winces again. “Wait. That sounded bad. I mean, I— I should’ve been honest, but I—” He stops and lets out a frustrated huff, his hands clenching into fists on his thighs. He inhales slowly and then catches her gaze. “I was embarrassed. I wasn’t lying; Trent and Marcus come on my dates, but I left out the reason.”

When he pauses, she gives him a jerky nod.

He swallows, looking away. “I’ve been on solo dates in the past, and some girls get— handsy. And sure, sometimes I’m into it, but sometimes—”

Devi inhales sharply, and his eyes snap back to hers.

“It’s fine,” he says immediately.

The fact that he’s so quick to try to reassure her is another nail in the coffin. “Paxton—”

Paxton shakes his head, eyes wide. He reaches a hand out towards her before abruptly pulling it back. “I obviously knew our date wouldn’t be like that—that you wouldn’t be like that—but Trent and Marcus saw how nervous I was and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I probably should’ve tried harder, but I guess I’m just used to having them around. And it felt like less pressure. I’m sorry.”

All right. Several things clamor for her attention: 1. Paxton was nervous for their date. 2. He apparently thinks that her primary concern is whether he thought that she—the girl who asked him to have sex with her the first time they spoke and then spread rumors about them hooking up—might just want to use him, rather than the fact that girls have gotten handsy when he didn’t want that. 3. The way Trent’s mom had nearly felt him up even with two other people in the room had been weird before, but thinking about it in this new context makes her feel sick.

Oh no.

4. She’s been silent for too long; Paxton’s shoulders are climbing towards his ears, and he looks about a second away from bolting.

She just needs to say something. Anything. Be supportive. She opens her mouth to assure him that she’s not mad, but of course the first thing she blurts out is an overexcited, “You were nervous?”

Great. Foot firmly in mouth. But at least Paxton’s expression has shifted from hunted to baffled. Progress.

His brows furrow. “Yes? Obviously? But that’s not the point—”

She bites her lip to stop herself from grinning—this is a serious conversation, Devi! Get ahold of yourself!—and grabs his hand. He cuts himself off mid-sentence, immediately giving her his full attention.

She shakes her head a bit belatedly and says, “Paxton, you have nothing to apologize for. I’m not mad.”

“I should’ve told you sooner,” he says, voice low. “It would’ve saved me from a lonely garbage picking day.”

“Maybe, but you told me now, and that’s what matters.” Paxton squeezes her hand, and Devi’s voice is breathy when she continues, “And I’ll be your garbage partner whenever you want.”

“You’re too good for me, Vishwakumar.” Paxton's smile spreads until he’s shooting her that trademark blinding grin, and Devi drops her chin towards her chest, fighting not to curl her shoulders in and shy away from him completely.

She can’t keep doing this. She has to tell him about the kiss in Malibu, about her and Ben and the failed breakup attempt.

But then Paxton’s holding her cheek oh-so gently as he guides her into a kiss, and she can’t bear to bring him down.

Tomorrow she’ll tell him.

Tomorrow she’ll end things with Ben.

Tomorrow she’ll fix everything.