#spqr never misses and that is a fact

[furiosophie]

What were you going to say to me? Jayce wants to demand, a million times. That night under the rubble together was the only time Viktor ever tried to talk to him, dying. Jayce, I — what? — but he bites his tongue. It’s enough to spend his rare restful nights in Viktor’s bed, swathed in his smell, that cold nose buried against his bare chest and that bony body bundled up in his arms. Jayce sleeps — not without nightmares but certainly with fewer than before — and he’s pretty sure Viktor sleeps too. He seems better-rested, at least. Steadier.

It’s strange, when Jayce slows down to think about it, how well Viktor is taking all of this. Jayce knows that he’s not the same man Viktor remembers — how could he be, having lost him? — but Viktor seems remarkably unaffected for a man who’s died every day for the last fifty. Jayce sometimes has to excuse himself from the lab to go splash water on his face, just to stop from having a panic attack at the memory of his own death, of Viktor’s; but his partner never falters, never mentions any of it except obliquely — what happened yesterday, the way we went that morning we stayed in bed — never wakes with a sharp inhalation the way Jayce does almost every time they sleep.

run it back

by spqr / @andthepeople

ship: jayce talis/viktor

words: 11,223 (completed)

tags: time loop, fix it but fix it by making it worse, sharing a bed, angst with a happy ending, friends to lovers, temporary (and repeated) character death, not beta read, sentence structure? i don't know her

[callunavulgari]

Top 25 Fics of 2022

1. all that and more by Euphorion | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji | 20k

His first thought is that Lan Zhan meant them for someone else. That he just woke up at—he checks the timestamp—6:30 am on a Sunday and decided to go absolute full nuclear seduction option on some poor boy he met on Grindr, who would now be missing out on the best thing to ever happen to him because Wei Wuxian had a bad habit of distracting—of—oh.

Heather Says: So, I don’t normally go for the “dude thinks he’s straight and is increasingly dense about wanting to fuck his best friend” trope, but whew, this one here is an exception. The way Euphorion writes Wei Wuxian is this perfect storm of chaos and VERY in character. Also, it’s really sexy.

2. A Thorough Reassessment by veilchenjaeger | The Untamed | Song Lan/Xue Yang/Xiao Xingchen | 37k

Xue Yang looks up at him, his usually piercing eyes softer, almost shy, under hooded lids. It’s just a fleeting glance, but it’s intense, and when his eyes return to the ladle in his hand, his smile is sticky sweet.

Oh, Song Lan thinks. Xue Yang is in love with me.

Heather Says: Okay, just trust me here. I fell in love with this OT3 last year as the wangxian hyperfixation was slowly easing, and this was a really delightful fic. I secretly love fics where Song Lan and Xue Yang are sharing Xiao Xingchen and end up accidentally falling for each other.

3. haarlem by spqr | Hannibal | Hannibal/Will | 6k

“Hannibal,” he thinks he says. He gets told later that he doesn’t really say it at all, but that the entire police station—most of which is waiting outside in the rainy parking lot—hears his voice clattering around inside their skulls like someone standing on a roof banging pots and pans and screaming at the top of his lungs: HANNIBAL, HANNIBAL, HANNIBAL.

Heather Says: Okay, so this is first of a truly shocking amount of @andthepeople’s work that made it onto this list. I will not apologize. I’d considered limiting it, and to a certain extent I have, but restricting it more than I have didn’t feel honest. Fact of the matter is that their fic blew me away this year. I haven’t even really thought about Hannibal in ages, but I had a brief spell earlier this year where I clawed through as much of it as I could get my hands on. This one features a Will Graham who is a telepath, which is very obviously my cup of tea.

4. here's a story by mimilamp | The Untamed | Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji | 45k

Wen Qing tells her about the couples’ retreat and Wei Ying laughs like, Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!, like that, four times in a loud row. Wen Qing says, “So that’s like, a rude no?”, and Wei Ying says, “Biiiiiiig no. No thank you. Nooooo thank you.”

Heather Says: Rule 63 Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, featuring the sexiest butch Lan Wangji that I have ever read and typical disaster Wei Wuxian with bonus lady parts. Mimilamp writes the best rule 63, it is known.

5. A Twist of the Knife by RC_McLachlan | The Untamed | Lan Xichen/Nie Mingjue | 14k

Xichen, do you remember when we were younger—before Sunshot, before our brothers gagged on the metallic taste of war—and I stayed at the Cloud Recesses that spring? On the first morning, you woke me at that ungodly hour and dragged me to the crest of the mountain that overlooked Gusu to the east. As the first rays of the new day touched your cheeks and cast you in gilded vermilion, I felt the strangest feeling in my gut. A shifting and settling. A sense of finality.

When I picked up the brush to write this, I felt it again. It crept into my fingers and eased the tremors that seem to plague them constantly, which explains the sudden improvement in my penmanship.

This will be my last letter to you.

Heather Says: Lan Xichen/Nie Mingjue is a pairing that I typically appreciate in an aesthetic sense, but don’t often actively pursue. This though, was just really lovely—and yes, tragic—all the way around. Told from Nie Huaisang’s POV after Nie Mingjue’s death, he finds a series of letters that his brother never sent to Xichen.

6. Heal Thyself by @astolat | Harry Potter | Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter | 46k

"Are you going for the course?" Lovegood asked. "You have the NEWTs.”

“What course?” Draco said, then, “No, don’t be ridiculous,” when he realized she meant the notice pinned up on the board he’d been staring at: Applicants To The Introductory Mediwizard Course For The Coming Term Shall Present Themselves In The Chief Mediwizard’s Office By August 24th.

Heather Says: I love a good Draco redemption AU. I also am very, very weak for every single thing that astolat produces. This one was honestly probably my favorite that she’s written in a very long time, featuring found family and a very long pursuit towards redemption.

7. heat lightning by spqr | Avatar: TLA | Sokka/Zuko | 9k

It’s a text from Toph. Heads you socks and cookie mocap again – which with Toph’s shitty speech-to-text software means Heads up Sokka and Suki broke up again.

Heather Says: And here we have the second and certainly not last of spqr’s fics to feature on this list. This one is a blast from the past Zukka in a delightful modern setting featuring sexting and messy boys. spqr is a master of characterization, and it really shines here.

8. Coral Bone by @kaikamahine | Arcane | Silco/Jinx | 57k

"It's not like you to leave a vacancy," she said. "Let me be useful."

Heather Says: Okay, okay, okay. Let’s talk about toxic relationships and how with this particular one, all I really wanted out of fandom was a fic where Jinx tried her damndest to throw herself at Silco and be (mostly) neatly rebuffed every time. Or, the even more bad wrong option, successfully seduce the old man, but the dubious consent being entirely on Silco’s side of the equation. Eh, eh? Nobody else came out of Arcane wanting that? Anyway, this fic is amazing and is basically exactly what I was craving. 

9. Grenadier by @kaikamahine | Arcane | Violet/Caitlyn(/Jinx) | 24k

Then, yesterday morning, Caitlyn had walked yawning into the bathroom and found Jinx sitting on her vanity, swinging her heels and eating the cucumber slices right out of her waiting face mask.

She put her hands up immediately and bared teeth. "I surrender! Cuff me, sheriff, I'm at your mercy."

Heather Says: Okay, so all that I said up there about what I came out of Arcane craving? This was not that, at all. I came out of Arcane with no real inclination to ship Violet/Caitlyn in any real sense because they’re too put together as a couple for me to really pursue the ship outside of canon, but apparently when you add Vi’s crazy sister to the equation, I get incredibly interested. Also, I got THREE whole Elizabeth fics this year and am ecstatic about it. There’s another one where Jinx lives in Ren’s ceiling and I just! It’s so good! They’re all so good!

10. 1-800-ROBIN by spqr | Batman | Tim Drake & Jason Todd | 12k

“Gotham Youth Mental Health Hotline, this is Jason speaking. Can I ask who I’m talking to?”

Heather Says: Oh look, the third one. Like I said, this is probably going to get embarrassing but look. Sometimes one author dumps a series of bomb one-shots over the course of the year and like ten of them make your top 25. It happens. Anyway, I had never once considered venturing into the Batman fandom, but I trust this author with my life at this point. There are several other Batman ones from the same author, but this one was my favorite. Found family is very much my weakness.

11. Lifeline by astolat | Fast & the Furious | Dom/Brian | 37k

"Vampires dominate by biting, alpha wolves dominate by fucking. What the hell’s going on between the two of you, I don’t even have a clue."

Heather Says: Another fandom that I have never once had an inkling to delve into, but again, I trust astolat and would basically read anything she’s written. Also, I love the vampire trope so so so much, and this was astoundingly hot.

12. what survives of us by @wildehacked | The Magnus Archives | Jon/Martin | 32k

I don't forgive you, Tim says, and then there's a click.

Heather Says: Considering there’s twenty-five of these, I obviously can’t pick just one, but if I could, this one would definitely be in the running. This brought me all the closure that I never knew I needed after the Magnus Archives finale, every gorgeous, heart-stopping word of it a love letter to this podcast that stole so many of our hearts.

13. Royal Flush by astolat | GOT | Jaime/Brienne/Margaery | 85k

Robb Stark had swept his entire hand of cards off the table, and Tyrion couldn’t see how to make a single play at all.

Heather Says: Oh, look, another astolat fic. I’d say I’m surprised, but I’m not. Her Game of Thrones fics have always been long, epic, and usually incredibly compelling in more ways than one, but I THINK that this one may have been my favorite. I really like the way that she writes Jaime and Brienne together, and adding Margaery to the mix really worked. I mean, I’m downplaying the sheer amount of politics and world-building and just about every other reason to love this story, but the shippy parts were a delight.

14. if i stare too long by @brawlite & @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger | Stranger Things | Billy/Eddie/Steve | 191k

After the end of the world, Billy Hargrove is a mess. But at least he has company.

Heather Says: Okay, I know that it’s long. It is very, very long. But, it was my first real taste of this OT3 after I finished the most recent season and it’s really, really good. Character’s voices are spot-on, and I love their Eddie. I love the way their Eddie is with Billy, in particular, but obviously with Steve too. 

15. Lovesick in Loch Nora by red0aktree | Stranger Things | Eddie/Steve | 62k

Even though Eddie's name has been cleared legally, he's still very much on trial in the court of public opinion. Dealing drugs isn't a lucrative occupation anymore, and getting a legitimate job in a town who still considers him a killer isn't much of an option, either. Eddie is beginning to think skipping town and starting over somewhere no one knows his name is the only chance he has left. Steve has another idea.

Heather Says: I think this was the first Steve/Eddie fic that I read this year that I really sat down and enjoyed (in a non-OT3 context). It’s really good and super sweet and just all around a fantastic fic.

16. The 1,000 Hour Sleep by spqr | Star Trek | Spock/Kirk | 27k

“You’ve been exposed to a novel form of radiation,” M'Benga explains. “It seems to prevent you from sleeping, and yet requires sleep in order to leave your system. One thousand hours of it, by my estimate.”

“Hell of a catch-22,” Jim jokes, but his smile feels weak.

Heather Says: I do love how Star Trek just kind of spawn and catch me with my guard down. I never seem to have to go looking for Star Trek fics, they just find me when I need them most and boost my mood for like a month and a half after. At the risk of sounding like a broken record - this is really good! Characterization! Sleeping together (in a non-sexy way!) as a plot point!

17. (feel like i die) ‘til i feel your touch by decideophobia | Star Wars | Obi-Wan/Anakin | 15k

Their bond, ever since Obi-Wan had gone to the Halls of Healing, sits eerily silent at the back of his mind; mute in a manner it hasn’t been in years, maybe ever. Anakin hasn’t touched it since the—diagnosis. Obi-Wan keeps running careful fingers over it, wondering if he’ll feel anything. He never does. With Anakin’s side of it so tightly shut, the once vibrant connection is void of—anything; nothing there to even give him a slight zap at the contact.

Obi-Wan has never considered himself a masochist. Now, a little pain is lightyears more preferable to the dead nothingness that’s constantly lurking around his connection to Anakin.

Heather Says: Ahhh, tragedy! Touch starvation! Curses! So much to love in one perfectly sized 15k fic.

18. Heat Wave by spqr | The Sandman | Dream/Hob | 6k

“Sounds like you’re horny to me,” says Matthew.

Heather Says: The Sandman was SUCH a delight this year. I did fall in love with the whole cast and was intrigued enough by the Hob/Dream pairing that I hunted a couple relatively unsatisfactory ones down, and then this one (and the two-three others by the same author) found me! I really loved everything about this, particularly the dream settings. 10 out of 10, would read again.

19. oh it's not real (if you don't feel it) by BeeLove | Stranger Things | Chrissy/Eddie | 31k

In which Chrissy Cunningham gets the chance she deserves to take control of her life and also maybe falls in love with a too-cute-for-his-own-good, tattooed rocker boy along the way.

Heather Says: I really fell in love with Chrissy Cunningham this year. We had for a small portion of one episode, had her and Eddie together for even less time, but you know? It woke something within me.

20. sick part of a sick thing by betts | Stranger Things | Chrissy/Eddie | 45k

“Gotta say, I didn’t have ‘sneak into Chrissy Cunningham’s room at three a.m. to help her come down from a bad high’ on my senior year bingo card. Excuse me if I’m a little in over my head here.”

Heather Says: This was actually the fic that made me fall in love with Chrissy. I read it all in the span of a day and had some incredibly severe emotional bleed-off (mind the tags), but you know what, it was a great ride. A lot of this fic colored my characterization of Chrissy. It’s sexy and sweet and takes an abrupt dip into very angsty before coming out the other side. 

21. Dirtbag by betts | Stranger Things | Chrissy/Eddie | 10k

“Eddie,” Chrissy says, looking away like she’s shy, like he hasn’t dicked her down in every way imaginable a thousand times. “We haven’t seen each other in a year. Don’t you want to get caught up before we start?”

Is that how she sees the obligatory pre-fuck small talk? Getting caught up?

“Health, good. D&D, good. Band, good. That’s all I’ve got.”

Heather Says: I ALMOST didn’t read this one. The tags spooked me a little and after the last Chrissy/Eddie fic from this author, I was very concerned about more bleed off, but I’m really glad I gave this one a chance. It is sweet and yes, angsty, and the infidelity, while not to be ignored, is a lot more nuanced than I was expecting, with a couple surprises.

22. In A Year by tenddisorder | The Untamed | Song Lan/Xiao Xingchen/Xue yang | 58k

When Song Lan wants to defy the natural order of things, there's only one person he can turn to.

Heather Says: Another long one, this fic did a VERY good job at bringing the Hozier song “In a Week” to life. It was immersive and slow and dreamy in all the best ways. Again, there was angst, but it was such a perfect sleepy kind of angst that you almost don’t notice how saturated in it things are until it comes out the other side into something sweet.

23. dirtbag by spqr | The Goldfinch | Boris/Theo | 10k

y did you do that, he types out to Boris, meaning why did you kiss me and why are you reminding me about it, why aren’t we ignoring it like usual, then deletes it and slams back the rest of his drink with extreme prejudice so he doesn’t have to remember what his best friend tasted like. He tasted good. Fuck.

thx 4 the tix, he texts, frowning hard.

💋, Boris replies.

Heather Says: I read The Goldfinch in 2017ish. I watched the movie a couple months after it came out. I haven’t really thought about it since. Then spqr published this fic and it basically punched me in the throat. It is unapologetically horny and so, so incredibly good. The characterization is the stuff of legends.

24. i like my empty life (but dang!) by @wildehacked | What We Do In the Shadows | Nandor/Guillermo | 15k

“Speak to me,” Nandor says, sounding portentous. God, he has a good profile. Just, Guillermo doesn’t know how someone can have a perfect forehead, but Nandor has a perfect forehead. A really good brow bone. “Remind me you are a rational creature.”

“...I am speaking to you,” Guillermo says. “Actually, I spoke first.”

Heather Says: It was really, really hard picking only one of these WWDITS fics. But as much as I love the slice-of-life’ness that is wilde’s other WWDITS fic, this one really, really took me by the throat and shook me. Characterization obviously means a lot to me since I can’t stop talking about it, but the characters really come to life in this one.

25. Clear Blue Sky by spqr | Suits | Harvey/Mike | 17k

Whenever Mike’s allowed herself to think about Harvey and sex, she’s mostly imagined: Clooney and Lopez in Out of Sight, Bruce Wayne and Bond girls, clandestine choreographed encounters in anonymous hotel rooms, gorgeous Italian and Russian and other such intimidatingly foreign supermodels peeling him carefully out of tuxedos with price tags that would make Mike’s eyes water – neat, elegant encounters that left the women as puddles of goo and Harvey cooly unaffected, lighting a cigar on the balcony and looking appraisingly out at the city while his partners recovered.

She’s gratified to discover that she was completely, totally wrong.

Heather Says: Yet another fandom that I did not expect to make any kind of comeback since I haven’t thought about Suits since.. god, 2013? Maybe? Anyway, rule 63 where Mike has always been a girl. There is trauma. There is also some REALLY sexy moments of pure UST before you even get to the sex. It was. A DELIGHT. 

[scarthefangirl]

The perfect pair

Jason grace x twin!(g/n)!reader

Description: What is it like to be twins with one of the seven?

Warnings: mentions of broken rib, play fighting, fluff

A/N: Taglist is open (linked below fic) and requests open! I write for pjo, marvel, Harry Potter, and more!

Pronouns and sexuality of Y/N not used!

Requested by: @seaofcereal3

Being twins with one of the seven is stressful.

Jason always worries and stresses about you

When he was gone during the events of Gaea he always made sure you two kept in touch

demigod safe phones, letters, iris messages, ect.

He was determined to make sure you were safe.

He was separated from you for years,

Until you both met when Lupa introduced you to each other

It was an emotional moment for you both.

You two weren't sure how the separation had happened but all you knew was that you were glad to be back together.

Then you both grew and trained together at SPQR.

You watched proudly as he quickly went up the ranks.

Then randomly you woke up too the whispers of the people around.

Everyone was talking about one thing.

Everyone was asking one question.

Where is Jason grace?

You were bombarded with questions that you didn't know the answers to.

"Where is your brother" "is he alive" "did he run away" "is he okay?"

You passed out at breakfast and then threw up during dinner.

Everyone felt a great deal of pity for you and it showed.

6 months of not seeing your twin takes a great toll on a young girl.

You cried every night and always made sacrifices to all the gods praying and begging them to bring him home.

But they remained silent.

Eventually a strange boy comes to camp and is immediately a praetor.

He is nice and funny but something is off.

He only knows Greek terms and is set on the fact that he has a girlfriend he can't remember.

In fact, he only remembers few things.

Skip time to finding Jason.

He meets you at camp Jupiter.

Luckily he can remember more now, so he knows you.

You hug him tight (an unusual occurrence)

Then he introduces you to Piper, his girlfriend.

You two become good friends and you quite like her!

You wait at camp Jupiter for the war.

Eventually you migrate to camp half-blood.

You fight hard beside the other demigod and eventually you all when.

If you were to get even slightly hurt Jason would flip out.

Lets say you have a broken rib.

"Don't move I can carry you." -Jason

Not just after fights, always.

He always freaks out when you get even slightly hurt.

Once, he made you get a paper cut checked out.

He also always makes sure to invite you to the game nights so he can destroy you.

But you always win

Monopoly? You dominate.

Mario kart? Again, you win.

He really just wants his twin to get along with his friends and not feel left out

He knows sometimes you worry you'll loose him again

You get nightmares that make you think that way.

You remember when your mother abandoned you and your twin

And when you miss Thalia the thought and dreams are more common

Meeting Thalia.

That was a crazy time.

You and Jason were gobsmacked when she met you again

You love her to death and never want to loose her again.

Jason is a bit overprotective as well

He doesn't even like when you look at the person you might potentially like

If he thinks your flirting with someone?

Walks up and says something embarrassing

"Oh hey! Y/N I was just remembering that time when we were little and you ate your birthday candle because you wanted to have fire come from your butt." -Jason

You turned bright red with embarrassment and hit his arm.

Another story he told was of the time he asked you who the first president was and you immediately without hesitation said "Abraham Lincoln!"

So you made sure to tell Piper the embarrassing stories of Jason.

You and Jason also say things in sync

"Pizza?", "We get it", " That's dumb", ect

Then you catch yourselves

"Stop saying the same thing I am saying", "jerk", ect.

Then it would spark a wrestling match

You and Jason often have full blown fights.

Once Piper walked in on you pinning Jason down by sitting on his chest, knees on his arms, and you were slapping him.

But in the end you two are the perfect pair.

You and Jason have great memories and some not so great ones.

But in the end, after all the fighting, all the broken bones, all the tears and laughter, you and Jason love each other.

The best twins at camp (no offense Conner and Travis)

~

Tags: // @misselsbells06 //

Taglist is open | requests open

[door]

dinluke fic recs

hey. i’ve been going through it here, as you may have noticed. here is a list of my fave dinluke fics. this is not to say they are the only good dinluke fics, but i am very picky about the things i like here, as in all other things. you might also like some of those things!

but home was a dream by redyucca T+ 39k wds

Din takes off his helmet and learns how to put it back on. Which is, like, a metaphor.

i enjoy fics that dig into the fact that both din and luke represent very old religious orders and how they reconcile that. how they figure out what they owe them. this does a lot of that, and well.

staring down the barrel of the hot sun by magneticwave G 25.7k wds

“Gone to a Child of the Watch, the Darksaber has,” Grand Master Yoda announces in his creaky little voice. “Peace, there is not, and yet peace, there must be.”

this is an AU in which mace windu chops palpatine’s head right off and 30 years later luke, having been raised by his parents and the jedi order, accompanies obi-wan to mandalore on a diplomatic mission. it’s GREAT. and there’s no anakin present, which is great for me personally, bc i find him boring

The Storm by shirazora T+ 45k wds

Din Djarin needs a new ship.

Greef Karga makes him a deal - do some work for the guild and he'll get a brand new gunship. One such job takes him to a planet with a volatile storm system to track down a double-crossing bounty hunter. What he doesn't know is that the bounty hunter is there to loot an ancient Jedi temple. What neither of them know is that someone else is also on the planet searching for the temple.

And then the storm rolls in.

din and luke stuck in a crumbling temple with a captured bounty hunter for several days yes, please

The word is help. by spqr M 9k wds

In a flash, Fett has his blaster out and pointed at Luke’s head.

“You’re right,” he says. “Turnabout’s fair play. So maybe I oughta shoot you.”

Din’s voice comes from somewhere behind them. “Try it, Fett.”

this is a din-goes-to-stay-at-the-school fic, but it starts with a very satisfying h/c sequence and the voices are very good.

Light by xpityx T+ 4k wds

The landing area was so small and well-hidden that Din almost missed it, despite having been there before. It was always in imminent danger of being taken over by the surrounding jungle, but there was also just something about the place that made him overlook it. Din was sure it was more of Luke’s Force magic but had never asked.

this is a slow, lovely little fic

who carried the hill by spqr M 22k wds

Din’s about to head up the ramp onto the newly-repaired Razor Crest when a string pulls taut around his heart and yanks him into the sky.

this is both a soulmate fic and a original trilogy-era fic, neither of which i have much interest in, but it pulls both off in really good, interesting ways and then shovels a huge pile of pining in near the end. i had a great time

Let me stand by you, loneliest light by passingsunlight G 1k wds

"Whenever we do this, we can’t ever rush, with the armor. It’s not just the helmet. And it’s not just because it’s beskar. The gloves, the boots, even my vibroblade; all of it –"

"It’s a part of you"

"Yes."

inspired by this ngozi art

Hand in Glove by rinwins G 737 wds

“Here,” Luke says, “help me with this?”

“I’m not really a mechanic--”

“That’s fine, I just need your hand.”

inspired by this ngozi art

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

A collection of fics I’ve read (/reread) and thoroughly enjoyed in the past week-ish from all kinds of fandoms and genres.

ATLA

Heat, Wait, Steep, Repeat by Haicrescendo

[Zuko’s greatest failing, not his only but just one that stands out the most in a very long list, is that he’s never known quite what he had until it’s gone. Or, on the opposite hand, he covets the things that don’t matter, that seem to matter so much at the time and turn out, in the end, to be something that Zuko’s made up in his head.

And then Zuko finds, of all things after it all, that he misses Uncle Iroh’s tea.]

Or: Zuko screws up his life and in the process of fixing it, figures out some tea wisdom along the way.

enmity (isn't for heroes) by blueseam

Part 1 of new ways

Zuko stands to leave, only to waver, swaying just a little. His blood pressure shifts, and Toph can feel what’s about to happen a moment before it does.

“Someone catch him! He’s gonna –“

With a crash, the dish tumbles from suddenly limp fingers, and Zuko crumples to the ground.

“…faint,” Toph finishes.

-

The Gaang’s journey to trusting Zuko is anything but smooth.

(Slight AU after Boiling Rock)

A Second Chance by araluen_x

Aang's energybending fails, and the war is lost. But before the gaang can blink, they wake up in the past, on the day that Katara and Sokka found the Avatar.

The war's a lot easier to win when your biggest enemies are on your side from the beginning.

Ft. the gaang's antics, loads of dramatic irony, and literally the entire Fire Nation being confused as to why, when, and how the banished prince got happy emotions and friends

Harry Potter

Flashes From a Brighter Time by noqueenbutthequeeninthenorth

1986: After Harry's power starts manifesting, the Dursleys want nothing more to do with him. Dumbledore decides to find someone better suited to raising him.

“I thought perhaps you might raise Harry.”

“Me?”

“Who better? I had my reasons for sending him to the home of his relatives, but I am not so hard-headed an old man that I can’t admit when a plan is not working.”

The Witcher

The god of scraped knees. by spqr (+ podfic)

Jaskier’s been pretending to be human for so long now that he hardly remembers what it feels like to be a sorcerer. He doesn’t want to remember what it feels like to be a sorcerer. But people still murmur his name with reverence in certain dim halls; Dandelion, Dandelion, destroyer of worlds. 

The Witcher Wolf by im_fairly_witty

It’s been two weeks since Geralt shouted Jaskier away from him on that mountain and Jaskier has been handling it like a champ by forlornly wandering alone in the wilderness with his lute. When he (literally) stumbles across an injured white wolf he decides to take a chance and see if he can help it, appreciating the irony of the situation but not quite realizing why it is that the wolf’s golden eyes look exactly like his Witcher’s...

Untamed

You, Asleep and Dreaming by etymologyplayground (+ podfic)

Wei Wuxian chuckles and starts pushing Lan Wangji's outer robes off his shoulders. "Poor Lan Zhan, subject to such earthly miseries. You must be exhausted, come to bed, come to bed."

"Mm," Lan Wangji says. He raises his arms so that Wei Wuxian can keep undressing him. His clothes will end up on the floor, but no matter. Wei Wuxian's deft hands at his belts are worth wrinkled robes.

"... Goodness, Hanguang-Jun, you wear too many damned layers," Wei Wuxian tells him after a while. "Would it kill you to stop after a reasonable five?"

--

Wei Wuxian moves into the Jingshi. They sleep together.

sugar stains by lanjingyeet

Jiang Wanyin’s face slowly takes on a kind of horrified expression that Lan Wangji would find funny if it wasn’t for the fact of the actual situation. He’s clearly noticing all the same things Lan Wangji did that first time: the same slope of nose, the light in the eyes, the messy mop of hair. Jiang Wanyin, after all, was far better acquainted with Wei Ying around this age than Lan Wangji was.

"Hanguang-jun, what the f—”

a yiling laozu who lived [PODFIC] by exmanhater, isweedan, miss_marina95, Opalsong, RevolutionaryJo, Rhea314 (Rhea) 

The ancient and powerful villain may have had a calm and gentle face as he spoke, but he was furious, not at the hero, but the gods for continually sending kids and teenagers to fight their battles.

from me to you by Ceta

Wei Too Cool ✓ @wei-wuxian correct me if i’m wrong but i’m pretty sure that’s a love song @LanWangJi #AtFirstSight

Or; Three-time Golden Globe recipient Wei WuXian and seven-time Grammy award recipient Lan WangJi’s love story through the eyes of the internet.

Inquiry by incendir

Part 1 of Resolutions (Note: I haven’t finished this series yet, but so far, I’ve found some great fics in there)

Sizhui cannot fall asleep for a long, long time that night. He hears the ever-familiar melody again. He thinks perhaps he has memorized it by now.

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

His Blood Runs Gold III

Percy is a God: Part III

Here’s my masterlist for the next part and my other stuff

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they made you into a weapon

and told you to find peace.

They travelled for hours by the light of the moon. Conversation was sparse and restricted to the quest, made clear only by Jason’s refusal to answer anything beyond that.

“I don’t know how long to follow the star for,” The demigod was mumbling, staring into the skies.

“Leave it to a prophecy to be as vague as possible.”

“Can’t you use your godly-hood to help?”

“You know it doesn’t work like that.” Percy frowned.

“Yea I know but it was worth the shot,” Jason sighed.

“What do the arrows look like?”

“Hah, you should know the lovely divine would never tell us such helpful details.”

He laughed, “I remember frantically searching for Zeus’ lightning bolt on my first quest. We didn’t know how it would appear and then suddenly it was in my backpack while we faced the God of the Underworld. Fear had never tasted so deadly before.”

“Tell me about it. Trying to slay that damn Trojan monster felt like a one-way ticket to the end of the road.”

Percy shuddered as moments from various quests reeled through his mind.

“Guess nothing much changes, hey?” Jason huffed. “I’m still going on fatal quests for spoiled Gods.”

“At least this time you have one of those Gods by your side,” He joked

“Are you admitting that you’re spoilt?”

“Am I?”

“I don’t know Percy Jackson, are you?”

He turned his head, to see blue eyes piercing into him. “This is a pointless conversation.”

Jason mumbled something under his breath before turning forward again.

“What have you been doing these last years?”

“I’m sure Reyna has kept you updated.” The bite in those words tore at Percy’s gut.

“She just told me you were volunteering for every quest or burying yourself in camp activities.”

“Yea well it’s a good distraction from the flaming pool of horror that is my life.”

“What?”

Ignoring the question, the blonde gestured to the land below them, “You think you can use your godliness to find the arrows, so I don’t have to do this?”

“If I knew I would have gone to get them myself.”

“Well what’s the point then?” Lightning flickered in those eyes.

“What’s the point of… me?”

“Yes.” Jason glared, “What is the point of you Percy?”

“You asked me to protect you?”

“I asked you,” The demigod gritted, “To guide me.”

Percy swallowed the snap of pain, “What was the prophecy?”

Jason gave him a look, but recited the words:

Go north and follow the brightest star

Retrieve the arrow of foe but gain a scar

When you move on to the land of old

Find what you seek in a heart of gold

Indeed Son of Jupiter and Child of Greece

When this is over you will find peace

“That actually seems nice. It says you’ll find peace.”

“When does the prophecy ever say something it actually means?”

“Well I don’t know what else that could mean?” He frowned, confused.

“It probably, most definitely means I’m gonna die, but fuck it right? There’s not much to live for these days anyway.”

“Jason what are you talking about? This isn’t like you at all.”

“Yea well I stopped being like me three years ago when my best friend faked his death, and my other best friend left me to become a god, and my girlfriend admitted she didn’t ���love me that way’ and she ‘needed space’,”

Percy reeled back in shock as blow after blow was delivered.

“So I’m sorry I’m not really ‘up to life’ these days. Forgive me.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me any of this?” He asked softly, willing Zarya to move forward.

“How could I have told you I was breaking apart when you were finally starting to stitch yourself back together? You had just become a God, and you and Annabeth were so– so happy.” Bitter was a horrid taste.

The Son of Jupiter turned to face the God once more, “You guys were even going to therapy together. You seemed care-free for once and I didn’t want to ruin that. It just seemed better to drift away, to keep myself.” Tears pooled and spilled over golden cheeks.

“Oh Jase,” Percy whispered, and with half a gallop the demigod was in his arms.

“I can’t believe you’ve felt so alone all this time. I’m sorry you thought you couldn’t come to me. I– I should have been a better friend.”

At this the sobs increased, wracking his whole body.

It may have been seconds, or minutes, or hours while the two sat on their mounts, embracing each other, pulling themselves together.

When they broke apart, it was Jason who gave a watery smile, “Thank you.”

“I missed you Grace.”

“I missed you too Jackson.”

And as the sun came up the half-blood and the God used those rays of light to fill in the cracks of their friendship.

When Jason lolled forward in exhaustion Percy picked him up and with a nod to Tempest and Zarya, descended to the earth once more.

From what he could tell they were still in the North Atlantic Ocean but fast heading towards the South. If he had to guess, they would reach the equator within another night’s travel and Polaris– the North Star– would disappear.

If his hunch was correct, they would find Eros’ arrow at the place that separates the earth’s hemispheres; and the half-blood in his arms, who was born for the skies might dismay that it rests between the African and South American coasts. Percy would think on it all tomorrow. For now, he formed a bubble around Jason and dropped him into the sea before diving after him.

He didn’t need to rest really, not anymore, so he kept watch as his friend slept. He spent the time talking to the creatures that passed; helped a little seal who had got caught in a fishermen’s net, and munched on some ambrosia. It was weird to not have to monitor how much of the godly food he was eating– weird that the burning sensation after eating more than one small piece didn’t race up his throat.

He didn’t have to eat as much unless he was expending power. He supposed it was convenient that he really only needed these golden squares to survive, but he missed gorging himself on cheeseburgers after a fight and washing everything down with coke.

With a sigh, he tucked the rest of the ambrosia into the folds of the waves, and watched as it disappeared. He knew it floated in the between, waiting to be summoned once more, as with everything he had but didn’t need. It reminded him of the tool-belt Leo Valdez wore.

Percy smiled softly as he remembered his reunion with Leo. The demigod had knocked on the door of Sally’s apartment, Calypso in tow, and demanded to know why Percy hadn’t been at camp-half blood or SPQR for almost six months. When his mom had explained that he was a god Leo had burst into flames because he was so excited. Percy popped in just in time, pulling water from the kitchen taps and dousing the demigod and the plants that had caught alight. After a long and bruising hug, the two had talked for hours.

He was surprised to find that seeing Calypso again wasn’t awkward. In fact, after they had gotten teary catch-ups and soft squeezes out the way, her and Sally had disappeared to the garden leaving him and Leo to tackle the enchiladas his mom had been making for lunch.

Over the next years Percy often found himself walking into his mom’s house only to see Leo, and most times Calypso, sitting around the kitchen table or on the couch playing with Estelle. Sally had practically adopted the two, claiming that having Leo around reminded her of Percy when he was young- so full of buzzing energy and always busy, busy, busy with his hands. Paul, who by now could see through the mist relatively well, was fascinated by Leo’s power and Calypso’s extensive knowledge of history so he was happy to have them there too.

It was entirely ludicrous that fire and water could become such good friends but there was something about Leo that made Percy feel energized, awake, alive. in the rare moments that Percy had more than a few days on his hands, the two would get lost in video games, egging each other one, and creating general chaos in his mom’s house. It helped that the demigod made a mean plate of tacos and used his power to make the cheese all melty.

He was grateful, beyond grateful, that he had found someone who reminded him of his old life. Who kept him tied to the fun, child-like wonder he had so long possessed. He feared if he ever lost that, he would truly be a spoilt god indeed.

Pulling himself from his memories he turned to check on Jason and sighed softly at the peaceful look in the half-blood’s face. It was times like this, when he was surrounded by sea with only his thoughts to keep him company, that he felt most godly; strange he knew. But something about currents matched the constant push and pull of his mind. He became more ocean than being.

So Percy Jackson, God of protection and guidance, floated in the blue Atlantic waters and waited for his protégé to rest.

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[scarpool-gmk]

Epilogue

Title: Godly Marine: Killed Author: Scarpool Fandom(s): NCIS, Percy Jackson & the Olympians Pairing(s): Gen Rating: PG/K+ Summary: Epilogue (13/13) — Staff Sergeant Michael Kahale, Marine Corps Mechanic and Son of Athena, was murdered. Annabeth Chase is determined to find out who did it and why. She, along with Percy Jackson, Grover Underwood, and Clarisse La Rue, infiltrate NCIS where they team up with NCIS Agents Leroy Gibbs, Anthony DiNozzo, Timothy McGee, and Ziva David. Complete Genre: Fanfiction, Mystery, Drama, Humour, General, Action Warnings:  N/A

Abby searched around the smokey room. This was one of her favorite places to find all sorts of bits and bobs. It's where she found that epic wolf skull, the gorgeous black rose pillowcase that was currently laying in her coffin, and, of course, Bert. But this time, she wasn't here to get anything for herself. She spotted a couple boxes thrown in a pile. Weaving around the clutter, she made her way over. Each one was different but the swirly print of "Mythomagic" was printed on every one. So many choices! How could she choose? She started going through and reading descriptions.

"Do you need help?"

Abby's attention flashed to a small, pale boy who looked to be deeply regretting speaking at all.

"Yeah," Abby admitted. "It's for a friend. I am doing this for a local children's hospital. Getting stuff for some of the kids' birthdays. There's a girl that is really into card games like this. Do you know anything about this game?"

The boy hesitated for a moment before slowly opening up.

"If she's a beginner, go for the standard Olympian deck. It provides a good amount of basic instruction and application, sticking to the basics. It doesn't get complicated but still allows the player to make some flexible plays. The hero pack is way more complicated and is harder to customize, though an experienced player can really dominate using them. If the girl loves continuously long math problems, that deck is perfect. The expansion packs are for more experienced players looking for special customizations or who are playing challenges. I'd advise focusing on mastering the basics first, getting used to the standard packs."

Abby smiled. "You really know a lot about this game!"

The boy wrinkled his nose. "I used to play it when I was a kid."

"Well, thanks for helping me, um…"

The boy gave her a look-over. "It's Nico."

"I'm Abby. Thanks a bunch, Nico."

Nico twisted a jar in his hands. "It's no problem."

He shifted and, for a moment, Abby swore she something clipped to his side. It disappeared when he moved to leave. Her gut tingled.

"So, Nico," Abby said, feeling victorious when the boy turned back around to her, "What are you searching for in here?"

Nico lifted a brow and held up the jar. "I'm no longer searching."

Abby became genuinely interested. "What do you use that for?"

Nico's sigh sounded of defeat. "I'm looking for... a friend."

"They're lost?"

"He's always lost," the kid was quick to snark but recomposed himself with another glance at who he was talking to. "More like he's missing."

"And you think Misty's Freeze-Dried Tuna will help?"

His shoulders drooped. "It's a stupid idea," he said.

"Is he a dolphin or something?" Abby joked, trying to perk up the gloomy boy. Of course, you should never feed a dolphin Freeze-Dried anything.

Oddly enough, the boy looked to seriously consider it. "Well," he drawled, "If the shoe fits."

Abby thought about that. She guessed Sister Alba's laugh sounded Dolphin-like, especially when she got a strike. Still, Abby was confused. She jolted as her phone dinged. It was Tim. There was another case. Another body. She had to get back to headquarters.

She glanced back up. "It was good to meet you, Nico, and thanks again for helping me out. I hope you find your friend."

Nico shuffled to the door. "Thanks."

"And by the way, sweet Bomber."

Nico smiled and slipped out.

Abby stared at the closing door. Right there, as Nico left, she saw it. It was slid into a black sheath hanging on his hip. That kid was walking around with a three-foot-long sword!

-Ντόναλντ-

Ducky stared down at the poor man who now occupied the autopsy table. Gibbs would want answers soon. As Ducky worked on opening the body, he dutifully educated his young assistant.

"…Indeed, if troops would stay long enough in an area, it had the potential to grow into a village. Many modern villages- hold it steady, Mr. Palmer- in the Middle East are there because of U.S. forces. Troops provide protection and also quickly build secure, structured bases. If left- hand me the scalpel- long enough, the local population will start settling down, populating the area, and expand, making a place for themselves to stay. This isn't a new phenomenon. It has been happening- a clamp, if you would- since ancient times. In fact, many English cities are thought to have been created due to Roman Military camps, such as…" Ducky wavered.

Roman?

"Doctor?"

Ducky looked back at the tattoo on the victim's forearm. SPQR. Senātus Populusque Rōmānus. Could this man be?

"Doctor Mallard?"

Ducky blinked.

"Oh, yes. My apologies, Mr. Palmer. I was just thinking that- er- you should give these shrapnel pieces to Abigail."

"Now, Doctor? We aren't done with the procedure."

"I can handle it just fine, Mr. Palmer. Don't you worry. You know how Abigail gets. I don't want her rushing to call me for more work."

Jimmy chuckled, and Ducky forced one out, too.

Making sure that Jimmy was off in the elevator, Ducky hurried to his desk.

If his hypothesis was correct…

He went back to the body and made a small mark on the shoulder.

Oh, dear.

He examined the cut he made with the Celestial Bronze dagger.

He would have to tell Jethro. Immediately.

-Λέρωι-

Jethro got off the phone with Ducky. Hopefully, there wasn't anything supernatural related to the victim's cause of death. They would have to prepare for the possibility anyway. He sank in his chair. Wonderful.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spied McGee loitering in the middle of the bullpen. He refrained from rolling his eyes.

"What is it, McGee?"

"Um, Boss?" Gibbs mentally shook his head. Tim really needed to outgrow his timidness. "I just got a new e-mail from- uh- Agent- er- Anne Lima."

Jethro snapped to attention. McGee jumped. "I just, you know, thought you should, well, be aware, and…"

Jethro opened his own e-mail. He had one, too. Jethro guessed she must have sent it to all four of them.

He was proven correct as Ziva said, "Gibbs, I've also been contacted." Tony responded in kind, too.

"McGee," Jethro interrupted the rambling, "Put it up."

"Right." McGee scrambled over and soon had the message up on the plasma.

There was a moment of silence as they all read.

"What do we do, Boss?" Tony asked.

Jethro looked at his team, all eyes on him and ready to follow his orders.

"We have a missing Agent. Find him."

Previous Chapter Chapter List

[irondadfics]

Hey! Do you mind telling me some good irondad and spiderson fics? But not like the classics or most knowns because I’ve most likely read them all and that’s why I’m asking. Bonus points if the irondad relationship is the main without secondary relationships 😂 Thanksss💜😁

UNDERRATED FIC LIST 

Putting this list together was both hard and rewarding. We got to read through a lot of new fics while simultaneously trying to find ones that our followers may not have read before. ENJOY!

(ALSO, we’re going to start trying to tag the fic authors here on tumblr as well when we mention their work in a post. However sometimes we may not know the authors tumblr account so your help is appreciated. If you see the fic of someone you recognize and we didn’t tag them, feel free to!) 

Multi chapter/Series:

The Mistakes We’ve Made by emavee @ema–vee

Wanda hung her head. “I don’t… No one’s coming to rescue me, Peter, and you know what? I think I deserve that. I don’t deserve to be rescued after what I did.”“No, Wanda! That’s not true! You deserve a second chance. You deserve to figure this out! Make amends! Don’t—”He didn’t get the chance to finish before he was torn away again.or: When Peter wakes up in a Hydra cell, he figures all he has to do is keep his identity a secret, not tell them what they want to know, and wait for someone to realize he’s missing. But he’s not the only one there, and it doesn’t take long for Hydra to realize they’ve lucked into something much, much bigger.

To The Moon And Back by Ellie_Elizabeth (Series)

In March of 2010, Tony Stark’s life was forever changed when an alien child fell from the sky and landed in his swimming pool. Now the two are just trying to navigate life as father and son, while also maybe figuring out some of the clues to Peter’s past.

Chaos Theory by finem (Series) @wipdfic 

“Please,” Peter was practically choking on the word. “My uncle…” It’s all he managed before his body finally ceased functioning. He didn’t remember hitting the floor. Couldn’t hear the panicked voices surrounding him, barely registered the panicked face of Tony Stark as it hovered above him. Could only manage one final warning before the darkness took him.“Osborn…” -or- What if the spider bite were less of an accident?

Peter Parker is young, dumb and reckless (and also in constant pain) by Minkey222 (Series) @minkey222

It was about the time in the night where Peter started to think about going home when a shrill noise enters his ears.

Elemental by macabre (Series) 

She constantly calls Tony a child of excess and Peter a child of absence. It makes Tony cringe every time. “He’s not used to having all of these things, and the things that he was offered in previous foster situations came at a price. You know this. Just be careful.”

Oneshots:

everything i wanna say about you is more than enough to write a novel by magnetichearts @parkersedith

in the aftermath of thanos’s snap, tony works. he waits. and he remembers.or; tony, peter, and the color red(title from “parallel” by heffron drive)

 take me home, by spqr 

Peter has EDITH sweep the Sanctum for drones and projectors and unknown tech two dozen times before he forces himself to accept the fact that Tony is real. Tony is here. Tony is alive. Tony has been in a magical coma for five years and Dr. Strange never thought to tell anyone. Tony’s going to wake up. Tony’s going to look at Peter and probably smile and maybe even say, “Hey, Pete. Are those my glasses?”

5 times Peter gave Tony a heart attack and the 1 time he gave him a surprise. by inkinmyheartandonthepage

5 times peter gave Tony a heart attack and the 1 time he gave him a surprise.

the one who made it out by tiaylasglass

“It’s finished. We’ve completed all the research and experiments.” “So, what now?” “We dispose of him. He’s fucked in the head. Won’t be any use to anyone now.” ~After seven months of torture, Peter is saved.

forty miles by peterstank @peter-stank

“I love you,” Peter says. “Father-son styles.”Or: the one where Morgan is sick and Tony is in way over his head, so he calls his spiderson for a little bit of help.

A Tremendous Thing by ExpectoPatronum

“Daddy’s read this to me hundreds of times,” Morgan confesses around a yawn, snuggling closer until she can see the first illustration clearly, “but he accidentally ripped out the ending, so it doesn’t have any pictures.”Startled, Peter flips ahead to the last chapters of the book – sure enough, the final two chapters are missing. “Are you sure you want to read this one?”By the time Tony checks in on the pair of them, Wilbur is beginning to feel lonely in his pen, Peter’s arm is full of pins-and-needles and Morgan is fast asleep.–Peter spends Father’s Day at the lake house. He tries not to overthink it.

[belphegor1982]

…it’s done. Finished. My monster Mummy fic, the one I started in 2003, started publishing in 2004, and left dormant since 2008 – I finally completed it o.O Weirdly (or not), this is the chapter which gave me the most trouble, if you don’t count chapters 16 and 17 (which took me 2 and 16 years to write, respectively). It was hard to say goodbye to this story and these characters, even though I knew I literally just had to get an idea for another story :-/

FAIRY TALES AND HOKUM

Summary: 1937: Two years after the events of Ahm Shere, the O’Connells are “required” by the British Government to bring the Diamond taken there from Egypt to England. In Cairo, while Evelyn deals with the negotiations and Rick waits for doom to strike again, Jonathan bumps into an old friend of his from university, Tom Ferguson. Things start to go awry when the Diamond is stolen from the Museum and old loyalties are tested… (story on AO3; on FFnet)

(Chapters on Tumblr: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)

Chapter 24: Departure (on AO3 here; on FFnet here)

London, September 1937

A little off Paddington Station, almost in Marylebone, was a small pub called the Stars and Crown, its red brick façade almost exactly similar to the others along the street. It was an unassuming little affair Jonathan liked to patronise every now and then, and not just because it happened to be situated not too far from his flat.

It was a balmy mid-September late afternoon and one of the double doors was wide open on the quiet street. Jonathan and Tom were seated by one of the stained-glass windows, drinking – G&T and a ginger beer, respectively – and talking. Jonathan, remembering the promise he’d made after blowing up Hamilton’s lorry, had bought the rounds.

But for small details like the mostly healed-over scratches on Tom’s hands, the old scar in Jonathan’s left palm, and all the subtler little ways the past two decades had changed them, they might as well have been twenty year old students again.

Well, apart from the subject of their conversation.

“I got off easy, if you ask me.”

“Nonsense. You were the only one who tried to fix this bloody disaster. It’s only fair that you didn’t… You know.”

“…Pay for my mistakes?”

“That is not what I meant and you know it.”

Tom gulped a mouthful of ginger beer, still looking glum.

“I suppose – I know – I should be grateful I didn’t end up like Hamilton, at least.”

Jonathan winced.

Charles Hamilton had made it back to England in a slightly better state than he had made it out of the pyramid, but that wasn’t saying much. From what they had heard, he was lucid for about an hour a day, and that was it – and not very coherent at that. Which made the fact that he allegedly hung himself in his cell a week before his highly sensitive trial very suspicious indeed. The man didn’t appear capable of putting on his trousers on his own, let alone do anything as complex as a slipknot.

The Lord Chancellor’s Department had issued a statement half-heartedly lamenting Hamilton’s demise, the newspapers had stayed surprisingly quiet about it, and Evy had fumed for an entire fortnight. And that had been it. Hamilton had taken the gentleman’s way out. Case closed.

At least Gabriel Baine had been tried, convicted, and sent behind bars for a lengthy period of time. Jonathan didn’t particularly care where he was, as long as he could be elsewhere.

Baine had stated a few times that there hadn’t been anything personal about shooting and ordering his men to shoot Jonathan, Rick, and Tom. Jonathan had silently begged to differ. Baine’s shouts of “Kill them” followed by the sudden excruciating pain in his back, not to mention the confusion and terror as he fought not to die and lost, had felt pretty damn personal.

Tom stared into his glass for a while, then looked up with a brighter expression.

“But enough about this fiasco. How’s your family? I seem to remember your sister’s birthday was coming up, you were lookin’ for a present when we bumped into each other at that bazaar. Did you find one, in the end?”

Jonathan perked up. “I did, actually. Got her a signet ring. She seemed to like it.”

Now that memory he would treasure as long as he lived.

An inventory of his pockets had revealed a hodgepodge of small trinkets which he was still trying to trace. The little medallion with the amethyst cameo must be early Regency, stolen by the pygmy mummies from some unfortunate Napoleon soldier’s corpse; the lapis earring was probably from the Ramesside period (a few Rameses had sent their armies to find or reclaim Ahm Shere, Jonathan had found); the couple of gold and silver rings bearing the Roman SPQR were a little incongruous but easy to chalk up to Julius Caesar’s expedition. There were also some 4th Century Persian coins, proving Alexander the Great’s men had also reached Ahm Shere – the Oasis, anyway – and a number of little amulets from various Egyptian expeditions, mostly heart scarabs made of red and green jasper, copper, quartz, bronze, or gold. He hadn’t determined the nature of the green gemstone yet, saving it for last.

Jonathan had been so excited by his find that he hadn’t gambled a single object. Tracing their origins took time, but he had not even told Evy about it yet. Instead he had not only called on every scrap of expertise he had concerning treasure, but also on every book he could lay his hands on. Evy would have been very surprised – not to mention highly suspicious – if she learned how much time he had been spending at the British Library lately.

He had always enjoyed a good riddle. For some reason this one looked promising enough to justify doing some actual work for. Besides, having the artefacts authenticated meant he would be able to get a much better price selling them.

The only thing he had parted with was the (probable) Napoleon coin, the soft gold nibbled almost beyond recognition by the pygmy mummies’ teeth. Another look at it the morning after his resurrection had given him an idea.

Before they left the Medjai camp, Jonathan had obtained from Ardeth a sketch of Nefertiri’s personal cartouche and the address of a talented goldsmith in Cairo; once back in the city, he had wandered down to Kerdasa, the coin and the folded paper safe in the inside pocket of his (whole and clean) jacket.

Just before he reached the little shop, however, he heard a yelp and a startled cry, and was knocked off his feet by something large and hairy. His vision was filled by long camel’s lashes and lips drawn back on long yellow teeth in what Jonathan might have taken as a smile if he hadn’t known better.

Why did every single camel have to have such foul breath, he wondered.

“ʾAhlan1, Djem,” muttered Jonathan with a sigh that was half annoyance, and half amused resignation.

And was astonished when the camel immediately disappeared from view, replaced with a familiar face. Satiah’s big brown eyes went wide when she saw him.

“Oh, it’s you, bāša2. Hello,” she said with a smile.

Jonathan got up and dusted himself off, irritation quickly fading away. The jacket could survive a little dirt; besides, Satiah’s smile as she hung on to Djem’s bit had lost some of its previous shyness. Considering how fearful she had been the last time – and who could fault her for that, really – it almost made getting knocked over by a foul-smelling bag of hair and wind worth it.

“Good morning, Miss Satiah,” he said in Arabic, picking up his hat from the ground so he could salute her with a flourish. Her hand flew to her mouth to hide a giggle. “It’s a stroke of luck finding you, really. I wanted to thank you for your help the other day, and for, er…”

He reached his limits of the language, and finished in English, “I mean, thank you for returning my wallet to my sister. That was very kind of you.”

“You’re welcome,” Satiah said in Arabic, her cheekbones a little pink. “I’m glad you and your friends got away from those men.”

Jonathan’s smile slipped a notch or two, but he rallied quickly enough.

“Yes,” he said just a little wryly, “we did, at that. In the end.”

He cleared his throat. “Well, I’ve just reached my destination,” he added, pointing to a door above which hung a sign saying something about gold in painted Arabic script, “so I’m going to wish you a—”

“You’re going to see Cousin Ashar?” Satiah interrupted, her eyes shining. Immediately afterwards she clamped both hands on her mouth and cringed. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s all right. Small world, eh?”

She gave a small smile and led the way into the shop, stopping only to tie Djem to a post.

Ashar – the goldsmith Ardeth had recommended – was a tall, wiry man with a long face, his hair going grey at the temples. He welcomed Satiah warmly and sent her to the backroom to get what she came for. Before she closed the door, she gave Jonathan a little friendly wave, which he returned with a smile. Ashar gave him an odd but not hostile look, eyebrows raised.

Jonathan placed his order, left the coin, and was about to leave, when Ashar called him back, frowning slightly.

“You’re one of the O’Connells, aren’t you.”

Jonathan’s mouth opened and closed as though of its own accord.

“You could say that, yes,” he said finally. “Why?”

“Because word of the second raising of Anubis’ Army made it to Cairo recently.”

This time Jonathan’s mouth dropped open and remained like that for a handful of seconds. Ashar gave something that was almost a smile.

“Not all of us wear the ritual tattoos, you know.”

“I do know,” Jonathan articulated with only the slightest difficulty. Dr Hakim was a Medjai, and his face was devoid of any tattoo as well. Dr Bey had been the same, now that he thought of it. His gaze went to the door that led to the backroom. “Satiah, too…?”

“Yes. But her mother’s family has lived in Cairo for fifty years. The girl has never seen the desert. She will get good schooling and find a trade, inshallah3. The time for living legends is coming to an end.” Ashar looked at the cartouche Ardeth had drawn for reference. “I know what this says. Who the name belonged to. Your commission is either a hollow trinket or a great gift.”

Jonathan drew himself up and said, as dignified as he could, “I’m rather hoping for the latter.”

His own signet ring had been gambled and lost in some card game or another, years ago. His parents would have been so disappointed had they still been alive. The least he could do was make sure his sister had a ring of her own, one that paid tribute to the woman she was and the woman she had been, three millennia ago.

Evy’s reaction when she opened his present proved him right, and even surprised him.

She stared into the box long enough for Jonathan’s brain to go into overdrive. Her silence made him panic ever so slightly. Then she looked up at him, her eyes very bright, lower lip trembling.

Jonathan barely suppressed the need to shuffle like a schoolboy and buried his hands into his pockets, hoping his face didn’t give too much away.

“I know I wasn’t… there – or, you know – then,” he said, almost sheepishly. “But I thought… Well. I hoped you’d like it. The cartouche must be right, I got it from Ardeth, and the goldsmith was a bloody good artist, as it turned out, but—”

Evy cut him off by launching herself at him and flinging her arms around his neck, throwing him off balance. As usual, Jonathan stumbled, but managed to catch her in the end.

“It’s perfect,” she whispered into his neck. “Thank you, Jon.”

If his smile was a little wobbly, his eyes a little moist, nobody seemed to notice. Rick and Alex had picked up the little box; Rick’s face lit up in strange recognition, while Alex deciphered the cartouche slowly and grinned.

“Nice one, Uncle Jon. That’s a pretty good present.”

“Yes, about that,” said Jonathan irrepressibly while Evy broke away and wiped her eyes, “I hope you realise that this is the last birthday present you’ll ever get from me, old mum. Since – judging by your reaction – nothing I could give to you could ever top this, I have decided to simply refrain from trying.”

Evy had slapped his arm and called him an idiot with a big smile, then hugged him again. And he had hugged her back, just because he was alive and able to.

The ring hadn’t left her finger since.

“Jon?”

Jonathan was abruptly pulled back to the present, the Stars and Crown, and Tom’s curious smile across the table.

“Hm?”

“You were a thousand miles away.”

“Sorry about that. What about you and Lizzie? Dorset been treating you well, I hope?”

Tom shook his head with a smile.

“It has, sort of, but we’re moving to Oxford. Did Liz tell you she’d been replaced while she was gone?”

Jonathan nodded. Lizzie disappearing for two weeks had not gone unnoticed in her little town, but since the police didn’t have the beginning of a clue and nobody was able to reach Tom, they had moved on to other things and her boss at the telephone exchange had hired someone else. There had been a subtle but definite irony in Lizzie’s letter as she described her and Tom’s return and the scrutiny they’d had to stand up to in order to prove her husband hadn’t killed her and stashed her body away – or vice versa – before his former Chamber of Horus hierarchy stepped in to explain things.

“Well, they needed an operator at the exchange on Pembroke Street. And you know the interview I had this morning at Whitehall? I won’t be too far, as it turns out.” Tom took a deep breath, then said with one of the goofiest smiles Jonathan had ever seen on his face, “I’ll be workin’ from the Bodleian.”

This could only mean one thing. Jonathan grinned.

“The British Antique Research Department accepted your application, didn’t they? Congratulations, old chap. That’s fantastic.”

He downed a mouthful of his G&T and laid an elbow on the table, his chin in his hand.

“Haven’t been to Oxford in almost fifteen years,” he said thoughtfully. “Not since Evy finished her degree. I wonder if the city’s changed.”

“It’s Oxford,” said Tom quietly, looking like his mind was straying down the same path Jonathan’s thoughts were. “I can’t imagine it’ll ever change that much.”

Jonathan smiled quickly into his palm. Then he raised his glass.

“To the two of you, then. And to publicans hopefully not holding grudges, otherwise we’re still banned from half the pubs in Oxfordshire.”

Tom snorted and raised his own glass, now almost empty. “To the three of us, and testing that theory sometime. And let’s not wait two decades this time,” he added with a twinkle in his eyes.

The two glasses clinked.

For just a second, the decades fell away, and Jonathan was twenty years younger.

Lizzie was already waiting for them on the platform by the time they finished their drinks and walked back to Paddington. She carried a shopping bag that looked entirely too small compared to what should be expected of a woman who’d just spent a few hours in the old metropolis. Tom raised an eyebrow.

“Didn’t you say you planned to go to Harrods while we were in London?”

“I also said I only needed a new suit and the latest Agatha Christie novel,” she said, light teasing in her tone. “The next one will be out sometime in November, I think. Have you heard what the title will be? Death on the Nile, of all things.”

Jonathan gave a mock shudder. “I might just give this one a miss, then.”

The train’s whistle pierced the air, cutting the rest of the conversation short. Tom picked up his wife’s bag and Lizzie turned to Jonathan with a smile.

“Goodbye, Jonathan,” she said softly.

The use of his first name had always been a signal that the game was paused and the masks were off, as clear as a referee blowing halftime. Jonathan answered in kind, his throat just a little tight.

“Goodbye, Elizabeth.”

They hadn’t even actually said ‘goodbye’ last time. They had just stood there, she leaning out the train window in her brand-new nurse’s uniform, he and Tommy on the platform amidst the soot, the steam, and the throng of people, until the train departed. The memory was an old hurt that still twinged sometimes, like his left shoulder when the weather was bad.

He cleared his throat and smiled.

“See you on the next Christie novel, then?”

What Lizzie did next might have shocked twenty year old Jonathan, who thought he knew her well, and as such very much surprised his current self, who had a little too much experience of the world to truly get shocked anymore. She took his hands in hers, flying in the face of propriety and what had been her rules of conduct in public, and kissed him on the cheek near the corner of his mouth with an aching sweetness. The old Lizzie, so shy and unsure of her self-worth that she was terrified of what people may think, would have been appalled.

It had taken a while for Jonathan to truly grasp how much the years had changed Tommy and start thinking of him as ‘Tom’ to account for that change. Through this apparently simple gesture – simple only to someone who didn’t know Elizabeth Ferguson, née McAllister – Lizzie became ‘Liz’ in an instant.

“I can’t bear to think you died,” she said, her voice shaking ever so slightly. “When I think… Without that – that book…”

She took a deep breath. Tom caught Jonathan’s eye and gave a small nod. Of course he had told her. Knowing Liz, she’d take the secret to her grave anyway.

“Take care of yourself, Jonathan, please. The world would be so dreadfully dull without you in it,” she added with a tentative smile, to which he replied with a smile of his own, one that hopefully looked steadier.

“Likewise.”

Her hands tightened around his. Just for a second or two, he softly ran his thumb on the back of her hand, an echo of the old intimacy that used to bind them; then their gazes fell away, their hands separated, and the moment was over.

Tom held out his hand with a smile, and Jonathan’s mind was whisked back to that sunny afternoon in Cairo, almost two months ago, and a chance encounter that had reshuffled the cards in a major way. Tom’s handshake was slower this time, steadier, warmer.

“Bye, Jon.”

“Cheers, Tom,” said Jonathan, determined but failing to swallow the lump in his throat. “Have a pint at the Oxford Arms for me.”

Tom nodded, and added his left hand to the handshake, not saying anything. He didn’t need to. As usual – almost – everything he meant to say was on his face and in his eyes for the world to see.

The train let out a burst of steam. Tom hastily let go and made for the train door, stopping only to help Liz aboard. Jonathan looked wistfully at the train for a minute and was about to turn around and go home when he heard his name being called over the din of the locomotive and the running gears chugging into motion.

Tom and Liz were leaning out of a window, wearing identical wide smiles. Liz was waving, her other arm wrapped tightly around her husband. The light in her eyes and her curly hair whipping around her face made her look like the girl from Jonathan’s memories.

“Send my love to Evelyn!” she called. “And say hello to your brother-in-law for me! You’re all welcome anytime for tea!”

“I’ll make sure they know!” shouted Jonathan as the train gathered speed.

The blatant disregard of platform etiquette made several passers-by turn and stare at him with a touch of glower. Jonathan ignored them and kept his eyes on the departing train. Tom’s and Liz’s beaming smiles remained in his head a long time after they had gone back inside the carriage.

He would see them again. This time he was determined not to leave the possibility of a reunion to chance and the vagaries of life. They had been through too much – both twenty years and two months ago – to just go their separate ways.

Besides, Jonathan mused as he left Paddington behind to wade through the bustling streets, he still had some research to do before he set out to sell the objects he had found at Ahm Shere. The Bodleian Library was as good as the British Library; at least he didn’t risk meeting Evy there and being subjected to her prodding curiosity, which he wasn’t ready to face yet. At least not before he unravelled the mystery of the little gemstone. It looked like an emerald and felt vaguely familiar, as though he had seen it somewhere or heard a story about it.

This required some investigation, if only to be prudent.

After all, he was particularly well placed to know that you can only go so far on fairy tales and hokum alone.

THE END

.⅋.

1(أَهْلًا): informal “hello”, “hi”.

2باشا (bāša): “sir”, “mister” in Egyptian Arabic.

3ʾin šāʾa llāhu, (إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ‎) – literally “if God has willed it”, “God willing”

Don’t look for the Stars and Crown in Paddington, or the Oxford Arms in Oxford. Unlike the Turf Tavern they’re entirely fictional.

Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile was indeed published on 1st November 1937. I couldn’t resist, I mean, come on ;o)

The Bodleian Library is the main research library in Oxford and one of the oldest in Europe.

If you’re wondering, yes, that little gemstone might be the basis for a sequel of sorts, but I haven’t really started to plot it. Considering my track record for these things you might see that story sometime in the next decade and a half :P

Writing and publishing Fairy Tales and Hokum has been such an adventure. I was 21 when I started writing it; now I’ll be 38 in four days. Much as I miss the old crowd of 2003-2006, reposting and updating the story here on AO3 allowed me to know some awesome people. I’m so glad these characters somehow – FINALLY – sneaked back into my head and my heart again with their quirks, their (updated) backstories, and their voices and allowed me to finish this story the way I wanted to. Like I’ve said before, whenever you started reading this, I hope you had a good time now that you’ve reached the end. If you’ve read and left a signed comment – if you’ve read and left an anonymous comment – if you’ve read and left no comment at all – know that I wrote this for you and I hope some of it made you smile.

Take care of yourselves, love you all, and see you on the next fic? :o)

[pantheon-pjorp]

Isaiah Eli Brooks | 18 years old | Son of Janus | Fourth Cohort | TAKEN

↳ T h e  l i f e  o f  I s a i a h  B r o o k s  —

Isaiah was a trouble-maker right from the start. With bright eyes and a big smile everyone thought he would wind up being the one to keep Isabella out of trouble. From the start, they even believed that. To the others he seemed completely straight laced, a kid who could do no trouble, but his mother and sister knew better. From a young age he found this impulse that he just couldn’t control. He’d find himself lying about stupid little small things, like his favorite color and where he last saw the cat. Though his mother didn’t enable it, she didn’t particularly do anything to stop it either. ‘Boys will be boys,’ she’d say, shrugging it off.

She hadn’t known that their father was a god for years, though it seemed odd the kind of things that the twins seemed to be able to do. Even when Isaiah wasn’t around her, he’d be able to go off on some tangent on the things she had done. When they were 8, she was visited by Janus, who finally told her the truth about who he was. He told her about the camp, about the wolf house, and then disappeared. She didn’t believe him for months but after the monsters started coming after them, she gave in.

At first it was Isaiah that took to the camp, almost instantly making friends and earning both him and his sister a spot in the fourth cohort. As time went on, others started to see him for who he really was and though that didn’t really make him an outcast, it got him into a lot of trouble. He was one of the ones who supported Octavian, but he wasn’t disappointed when the camps did join together. There were a lot of new potential relationships for him to build with a completely new camp, and he didn’t see anything wrong with the Greeks.

↳ C a m p  J u p i t e r ‘ s  8 – m o n t h   l o c k d o w n —

Though he was disappointed at the missed opportunity with the Greeks, not much had changed for Isaiah. He spent a good portion of that lockdown time starting (and definitely not completing) a series of novels about their camp. The novels were titled “A Series of Centurions.” It would be a five part series about the current centurions of the Legion. He spent ages plotting, only to stop after writing the first chapter of “Mike and Kendall.”

↳ P e r s o n a l i t y —

Most people find it difficult to make heads or tails about Isaiah. While he seems to be an open book– extremely energetic and open, very positive about what the world has to bring– he has a genuine problem with lying. He has a genuine optimistic outlook on life, but often times he tries to lead people astray. Most of the time it’s harmless lying, such as telling someone that he’s taller than he actually is, but his lies have been harmful at some times. Because of this, Isaiah as gotten into a lot of trouble over the years. He can often be seen doing some kind of menial chore, if Isabella hasn’t managed to get him out of the trouble.

He isn’t great at keeping friendships or relationships, believing that the beginning of any relationship is truly the best part. In fact, over the years, he’s ruined more relationships than he’s managed to keep. To him, it’s better to keep a relationship in that beginning stage– else he grows fearful of the commitment and drops them.

↳ A b i l i t i e s  a n d  w e a k n e s s e s —

✔ Isaiah can see into the past and is pretty good at hand to hand combat.

‣ Like most Roman demigods, Isaiah suffers from ADHD (to keep him alert to threats) and is dyslexic.

✘ He’s a compulsive liar and a procrastinator.

↳ T h i n g s  t o  r e m e m b e r —

Goes by Isaiah or Eli.

He doesn’t have a particular love for anything, though he will claim that he loves everything.

His tattoo has the SPQR insignia as well as the two faces of Janus. He has been at the camp for 7 years.

He spends a lot of his time picking up new projects, but almost never finishes them. 

His birthday is on January 5th.

↳ R e l a t i o n s h i p s —

Kyle Jensen: Kyle is one of the few legionnaires that Isaiah hasn’t dropped at one point or another. He fully enjoys Kyle’s company and humor, but they definitely have one of those friendships where they go weeks on end without saying a word to each other before picking it back up as if nothing changed.

Charlie Montgomery: Charlie is a little ray of sunshine, just like him. He admires her positive attitude and how quickly she forgives. He also kind of likes how gullible she can be.

Oz Parker: Like minded in how they view people, Isaiah genuinely likes Oz. There was a point in time where he even had a crush on her. But after Isabella convinced him that she was the kind of girl who liked commitment, he lost interest in pursuing her

FC: Luke Newberry