#tethers of fate

[alexanderlightweight]

Greetings and loves lumine! I'm so happy you’re feeling better!

For writing wednesday: tethers of fate is my favourite, can you write more about Arawn and the unseelie court, please? Or anything about the mafia Au or possessive Magnus

Thank you!

thank you! Im so happy to be feeling better too that i'm writing even though I was supposed to try and sleep an hour ago, I had fun so it was worth it

this is for tethers of fate and a bit of a mix of things in that universe. kind of a tiered view of where things are at. I hope you enjoy and sending love back!

<3 lumine

tethers of fate

“Isn’t it getting more dangerous in the above?” 

“It’s more dangerous everywhere, tad.” Alec keeps his hands steady, carefully extracting the thin, delicate roots of the plant he’s digging up. His tad’s arrival is a surprise but not an unexpected or completely unwelcome one. “Magnus is powerful enough that I’m safer than most.”

“Most isn’t completely.” 

Arawn’s voice is snide and Alec can hear the rustle of leaves against his tad’s antlers, the way his hooves dig angrily into the ground.  Around him the plants surge in angry hunger and Alec sighs as roots and leaves cling to his fingers and wrist. 

“If I need sanctuary I’ll come here first. Always.  Even Magnus has agreed to such a pact.”  

“Oh, and here I thought he’d try to stash away in one of his dear warlock's lairs?”

Alec carefully digs his fingers into the earth again, feeling out to see which plant is most receptive to transplant.  

“Well he did suggest that, yes. I just pointed out that if he really wants me safe, a place that Valentine and his rogues have never heard of is far safer than the lair of someone he’s actively hunting.”  

“That easily? I’ve never known him to give in so easily.” His tad is testing now, seeing where the current coils and where the deep undisturbed waters lay.

“I leveraged it with sex, tad.  Just like you always tell us to.” While it's true enough that Alec used sex to convince Magnus, it didn’t happen quite the way he’s implying it.

However Arawn seems pleased, which was Alec’s goal and now that he’s reached it, Alec wonders yet again just how exactly he’s supposed to balance the two great extremes in his life.  

His family and his lover.

—

The moon is high when Alexander’s message arrives.  

Instead of fire it appears in a scattering of petals, a simple request for a portal that Magnus fulfills immediately.  The magic shimmers as Alexander steps through, arms filled with boxes of plants and for a moment images overlap — a bony hand with nails like talons clinging to his arm — before it blurs from existing as the portal erases.  

Alexander smiles at him, soft and sweet, as if nothing has happened and Magnus smiles back, fury flickering up his spine even as he welcomes a kiss to soothe his rage.  It’s over far quicker than he’d like and then Alexander is instead setting the plants down.  Realizing it will be a while before he can greet his lover properly, Magnus follows him, studying his bounty.

“You know darling, I’m surprised Arawn let you bring so many, these are rare even for a prince of the realm.” Magnus truly is surprised.  Arawn is petty and just knowing Magnus might benefit from these plants would normally be enough for him to revoke Alexander's permission to take them.

“Yes, well I distracted him by telling him I leveraged sex to get you to agree to my taking sanctuary if something goes wrong up here.” Alexander already has three of the plants in the ground, working quickly and efficiently as he keeps an eye on the height of the moon.

“He thinks you needed sex to get me to agree to something that keeps you from harm?” 

Magnus is outraged.

So what if he only agreed because against this particular enemy, Arawn’s kingdom is the safest for his love. There’s nothing wrong in being careful when protecting ones heart and Alexander is his heart.

“I did need to use sex to get you to agree.” Alexander is smiling up at him, smug as if assured of his own victory and Magnus can’t help but laugh as he runs his thumb over a streak of dirt on Alexander’s cheek.

 “I was always going to agree, darling.  I just wanted to see how far you’d go in your efforts to convince me.”

—

“He’s growing too close to him.” Arawn truly hates admitting that any of his children have fallen in love but it’s worse now that it’s Alec.  The only one of his children not born of his seed and blood — though claimed by his magic, word and deed — has fallen for someone outside of Arawn’s control.  

It would have been so much easier if Alexander had just fallen for one of Arawn’s steadfast guards or knights, or even one of the wild artists that perform for his court.  

“Magnus Bane isn’t a weed we can easily pluck, tad.” Auraline’s voice cuts through his daydreams of handpicking Alexander’s future faerie spouse and brings him back to dismal reality.   

“Even the seelie queen is leery of him.”Keiran takes a honeycake and breaks it in half, “and right now he has the upper hand.  He holds both Alec’s affection and interest.”

Arawn’s current youngest groans, Iolanthe’s riot of curls bouncing as she smacks her small fists into the table, “why isn’t he bored already?”

“Later, Iolanthe.” Keiran offers her half of his honeycake as the first of Arawn’s court join them. “Quietly watch the proceedings and I’ll let you ride my fastest warhorse at dawn.”

Arawn leans towards his youngest as the seats fill and murmurs, “neither are bored yet because your brother is immune to that kind of magic and Bane has protections against such things.” Arawn taps Iolanthe's nose fondly as her face falls, “I already attempted it at the beginning.”

-

Alec is politically neutral. He’s the safe zone in a game where there are no rules. His siblings are already very fond of him and the fact that there is no maternal family/faction behind/backing him up is a huge bonus because any debts incurred stay in arawn’s court which is what’s safest. He’s also great because he’s arawn’s favorite.  None of arawn’s kids want to be his favorite, not even alec. Mostly because the meddling happens and not just how he usually is it’s times 5000. So yeah, alec is the safest sibling and also the mediator etc.  he’s also the only one who doesn’t even have to give up his claim to the throne, he just doesn’t have one.  Alec meanwhile has a lot of siblings. thankfully all he needs to do for these siblings is give them affection, a little advice sometimes (which is generally just common sense nothing complicated) and sometimes stop them from trying to kill each other.

if Alec seems more obviously sly in this, then good. he's meant to because he was raised by unseelie. all that political strategy got melded into unseelie plottwisting loophole mannerisms. he and Magnus are constantly playing little word and power games with each other. Alec is also trying to play chess with his dad and Magnus while his dad and Magnus are playing checkers with each other

alec: I just want to live with my boyfriend five nights a week and spend weekends with my family. is that too much to ask?

the unseelie court and Magnus: yes

alec is calling arawn tad which is Welsh for father

[alexanderlightweight]

so this is super helpful because i didn't really look up much about Arawn other than his description so i didn't have much knowledge or understanding of how the courts and the hunt worked in shadowhunters.

especially because i'm more familiar with Arawn the lord of Annwn, so i just have been going off that lore and some other things that i know from other unseelie myths. (it's why Alec calls Arawn 'tad' because it's welsh and the Araw n i know best and am interested in is Welsh) though i like his horns in his picture

this is super helpful btw, ty. i'm going to pick and choose from that definitely.

also in this arawn is definitely more interested in his kids in a very... asmodeus way i think.

his kids are an extension/expression of his power and he delights in being praised through their deeds and also works very hard to ensure his children adore him above nearly all else. arawn really hates when his kids find lovers outside of his court (those relationships dont normally last unless his kids get bonded without permission) and if he could kill magnus for (in his opinion) 'tricking his son' then he would tbh. he's also not happy about how much alec's not his kingdom since you know, he lives with magnus.

it's not healthy at all by human standards but they're also not human and things are much more either intense or boring and so it works for them.

the other thing that is implied in the fic but not outright stated is that there is a general issue with time here. alec's gone back in time centuries and no one knows that yet because of how time works for faerie rings.

also alec is super favored but he's also incredibly favored because he's never going to be an heir. he's the one kid who will never be caught up in any kind of power struggle and arawn appreciates the idea of that. he also is having a bit of a power trip at having stolen a nephilim babe as his own son

alec's also incredibly receptive to arawn's magic because it saved him and latched on and that also forms a bond. also, tbh arawn's the kind of dad where at some point the kids are just like 'please don't pay us any attention so we can do things without you knowing every single detail' and alec is a consistently shiny distraction for arawn.

especially after he bonds with magnus

arawn lovingly interrogating some of his older children about what they've been up to and five minutes in someone goes: has alec visited recently, i haven't seen him in forever

cue a 3 day rant on magnus bane being the bane of arawn's existence while alec's siblings nod in agreement because 1) they miss their baby brther and 2) life is so much easier with alec around to distract arawn and 3) you don't disagree with arawn about magnus and arawn wont realize for months that he never got any new information.

he continually falls for it not because he's unaware of the manipulations, but because his anger at magnus is so great that a switch is just flipped.

thanks again for the info dump btw, i'm excited to use some of it!

<3 lumine

Tumblr is being fucky with asks so throwing my "random book canon faerie info" here @alexanderlightweight

Ok rant and TDI spoilers incoming below the cut. Not really a prompt more...random info to be used if you think it fits?

Arawn is definitely more of an asshole in the books. He doesn't really care that much about any of his kids but:

His favorite was Erec, very sadistic, loves abusing his siblings, got jealous when he realized one of them was more popular than him and convinced the king to give him to the wild hunt. Probably would not react well to Alec being the new fave

The wild hunt doesn't belong to either seelie or unseelie courts but is willing to deal with them. It's led by Gwyn ap Nudd, who out of all the faerie "leaders" is most likely to get the "tough love" title. very similar to your Alec now that i think about it, esp considering he started bending his own rules as soon as he met Diana (bit similar to mirai) bc he's that in love. Actual members of the wild hunt can only leave if permitted by him. They also have one eye color changed (black/gold/silver)

The wild hunt sibling is Kieran! He's a pretty important character but for now he ends up taking the throne, and he's dating 2 shadowhunters one of whom is Helen's younger brother, Mark, who was also in the wild hunt.

There are two separate cases where Arawn used dark magic and spells to give heirs extra power and strength, which is probably something he'd do to Alec:

The first case was Auraline, a child of both him and the seelie queen who was supposed to inherent both their thrones until there was a prophecy and he sent the riders of mannan (near invincible, loyal to the unseelie king and do whatever he wants, would definitely cause trouble if asked to go retrieve Alec) after her. She ran away, married a nephilim, and their descendant was actually adopted by Tessa and Jem, so Magnus sending Alec to them actually tracks with canon a bit.

The last unseelie heir we care about is Adaon. He's probably the "nicest" but what REALLY matters is that he and Magnus had a thing (implied in the books but confirmed by CC) that i assume Alec would not react well to

[annemarieyeretzian]

laudna’s thread was silver??? now it’s gold??? now it’s connected to imogen’s???

[buckevantommy]

bucktommy ghost au! 👻🫀🧑‍🚒

Tommy dies in that gas explosion; Howie gets him out but it's too late. Meanwhile across the country, young Buck crashes his motorcycle and gets more than a broken arm: he needs a new heart. Fortunately there's a match in LA.

So young Buck gets Tommy's transplant heart, and during recovery is where he finally finds some direction in life.

option 1: Buck learns all about his donor and decides to become a firefighter too, wants to help save people.

option 2: Buck ends up in LA training to be a firefighter all on his own. It's only when he joins the 118 that he realises his donor worked there too.

(i prefer option 2, so more on that..) Buck learns all he can about Tommy, learns as much as he can from Chim and those who knew him, meets Sal.. and people ask why he's so interested and Buck lies through his teeth. He can't explain how he feels connected to Tommy, like he was meant to be a firefighter because Tommy was. Can't explain why he took art classes and a workshop on jeep maintenance and developed a taste for a particular brand of craft beer. He's never been a movie guy but he watches a few romcoms and feells things he's never felt before.

Buck visits Tommy's old house - now up for sale but struggling in this economy, plus there was a bad storm that caused damage and they're waiting to get repairs. So Buck squats in Tommy's old house for a few weeks.

And then he starts seeing him.

It starts after everything goes to shit: losing a victim, the thing with his therapist, a first responder stalking him.. Tommy appears when Buck feels more alone than he's ever been despite being surrounded by people and having a great team and captain.

It's not the first time he sees Tommy, he just didn't remember it until now. Tommy was there in his hospital room when Buck woke up from surgery, a figure in the room, and beyond the glass. He was there his first day at the 118, just another blue shirt among the rest, in the background. He was there the night Buck lost his first victim, sad eyes in turnouts on the tarmac.

And he's here, now: in his old house looking right at Buck. It's the closest he's ever been and Buck is now sure it's Tommy. They talk for the first time, but it's mostly Buck doing the talking. Tommy doesn't say much. He seems confused, and when Buck gently explains that he's dead he witnesses a bit of bitchy Tommy for the first time, too. Tommy knows he's dead, what he can't figure out is why he's still.. around.

note: eventually there's the reveal that Buck can see ghosts - but Tommy is the first. Maddie has the stronger sense. There's also the reveal about Daniel but that's all background stuff.

[sangre]

water, running down my face / water, running different ways water, like a billion waves / water, just a tear in space. ✧

for my ffxiv oc, eden mercure. prior to enw, he was not a little predisposed to world-shattering grief and causing problems bc of his weary heart. SO, when i got to elpis, it wasn't long before i decided that he was a hermes shard rather than one of azem. it's just too perfect a story.. anyway, please enjoy my love letter to him before dawntrail! and go listen to this song, it's so good

[xenosaurus]

I have a page for my worldbuilding projects that’s a huge WIP, but in the mean time, here’s a list of the ones I can remember off the top of my head!  I’ve done my best to split these by genre, although some obviously fit in multiple categories. You can also browse through my "original stuff" tag for things that haven't made it as far as a concrete project, if you can tolerate the mess.

UPDATE: Tumblr changed their tag system, so I had to fix the links.  They SHOULD be working, but chronological links don’t cooperate with mobile, so I’ve made them general links.  Please add /chrono to the url if you can, a few of these are very weird out of order (looking at you, Boar’s Blood).

Urban Fantasy

Witchmouth General; comedy about a hospital in a city that is mostly monsters and aliens

Freedom Over Gold; a comedy-drama about a trio of homunculi killing their masters

Immortality and Tax Fraud; a comedy about gods who possess people and the hosts that are still resisting them (slightly NSFW)

Mundane Motherhood; a slice of life/recovery story about a woman who adopts a kid who was being raised to fight demons

The Empty City; a drama about a limbo world entered in dreams by people who compete for “days”, which give them another day of life in the real world

The Mortal Forge; an adventure story about a group of cursed people putting together an expedition to find a legendary cure

Tethered; a slice of life story in a setting where everyone has a familiar, starring two teenagers who are “tethering” their familiars, allowing them to become more physical and sentient

Fallen Angels in YOUR Area!; a comedy about a group of angels who are banished to earth for gaining too much individuality

Arlan Kingslayer; a comedy about classic high fantasy book characters being brought to the real world and not wanting to leave

High Fantasy

Boar’s Blood; an adventure story about a magical society built on the grave of an undead dragon that is rapidly falling apart (NSFW)

The Phoenix Bride; an adventure story/romance about a woman exploring an ever-expanding magical tower to confess her feelings to the woman who created it

God Hunters; technically closer to magical steampunk, an all-women drama about monster hunters (NSFW)

Scales and Bonedust; in a setting where some humans live in dwellings draped over the backs of dragons, a man and a dragonling try to find their way home after their whole community is killed

Rabbitheart; a fairy tale of sorts about a young jester (and would-be sorceress) trying to reclaim her familiar to earn a princess' hand in marriage, with a large section of backstory about the setting's version of Arthurian lore

The Mayfly; a dark fantasy about a mortal half-elf prince learning the truth of elven immortality

Whalefall; merfolk dark fantasy about a "bloodsalt knight" (a soldier who bites themselves to draw attacking predators to the blood and away from their school) who is separated from her people

Mark the End; trope manipulation on 'everyone grows up and has babies' endings where the children are the reborn god-monsters their guardians fought as teenagers. heavy on monster lore and character drama

Vampire Prince Walter; a romantic comedy about childhood sweethearts (who have since become a vampire and a werewolf) being arranged to marry each other... as long as their fathers don't find out they like each other too much to spy on the other.

Science Fiction

New Apocalyptia; a comedy about a world where all movie apocalypses happened at once (slightly NSFW)

Salt Water; an adventure story about a group trying to reach the bottom of their world’s incredibly deadly oceans, also mermaids and surfing as a death sport

Peppermint Circuits; a gay love story set in a world where everyone has a chip in their brain to influence their behavior (slightly NSFW)

Spycaller; a murder mystery about humans who interact with the intergalactic community from within mech suits

Superheroes

Superfish; a traditional coming of age superhero story about an LGBT group for college-aged sidekicks

Isaac is Okay; a very gentle story about a timetraveling superhero that traps himself in the past to raise his younger self away from their abusive father

Villain Risk; a superhero drama about an illegal hero team being arrested, told after the fact by a social worker, a kid in juvenile detention, and a shapeshifter who killed a cop and stole his life

Fate and Switch; a soulmate au fakeout about psychically linked superheroes who have been brainwashed, and their partners’ attempts to find them

Tooth and Nail; a superhero/kaiju mashup about bioengineered superheroes fighting monsters, and the protagonist’s attempts to protect his new apprentice from the horrors of their work

You Can Keep the Mask On; a superhero story intended to be told through sexual encounters between characters, obviously (very NSFW)

Overpowered; a comedy about a city's extremely, well, overpowered supervillains

Abelsons; a superhero story focusing on the "support" members, such as the people who make costumes and the medics

Bonus Individual Posts

that one about the destiny orphanage that one about the silkworm aliens

[ludinusdaleth]

something about ludinus coming so close to being a druid, to being a force with nature, to being a keyleth of his time (especially seeing how parralelled their beliefs, lifespans, & weights on their shoulders are). but being so terrified of giving in to a cause. of not having full control of it. he creates & toys with synthetic nature because he cannot control it otherwise. he butchers ashari practices & slaughters fey to gain their abilities. he doesn't even want the power. he just needs it because the calamity showed him what being powerless in the face of infinity meant. calamity cannot happen again. what the gods did cannot happen again. but he ensures it does, as he chooses to face infinity with all the power he now has in tow.

to be a wizard in the age of arcanum was to take. was to create anew by taking. was to scoff at druids & their pathetic thoughtfulness to the old ways & their slow softer ways of life in the face of "progress". to chase a way to prove to the gods they were equals or better, because to face the idea they were just small specks in the universe and that was okay was terrifying. ludinus is terrified of being a person. he's terrified of admitting he could be small. because he knows what he's done to those under his boot, and he knows it is ugly. surely everything bigger than me, is a predator like predathos. like me. surely everyone would rend the world apart to feel whole like him.

somewhere in the luxon ludinus covets, desperate to escape fate, theres a side of the dodecahedron, saying: you could have been a druid.

and it's making me weepy.

[yeonban]

Unprompted: Valentine's Day.

@cinderlynx asked: / v day ask for tobias ofc !

❝ if cupid dares to come stompin’ around on my turf , i’ll waste that annoying little pervert without a second thought . ❞ generally speaking , ash has no discernible feelings regarding the day of love . sure , it’s always a hassle having to evade golzine’s attempts at delivering sickeningly expensive gifts that’ll only get traded for a whole buncha pizzas . yeah , receiving flowers &. chocolates from squealing girls he’s never seen before in his life definitely gets in the way of his daily obligations as a cold - blooded leader . the whole day feels like it’s just an elaborate ploy orchestrated to tank his reputation . regardless , ash knows there are worse things in the world than eye - sore teddy bears &. heart shaped cakes , so he usually treats the day with cold hard indifference despite his personal grievances . this time around , however , the blonde appears abnormally agitated for reasons unbeknownst to even the genius himself . enough to get him talking considerably more than usual - willingly , to tobias of all people . ❝ i mean , just who the hell does he think he is ? someone’s gotta be blamed for the obscene amount of couples shamelessly standing around , practically eating each-other’s faces off in the damn subway . i’m sick of it , man . they should wipe this stupid holiday off the freakin’ calendars &. burn down all the stores robbin’ people of their dime in the name of love , or whatever the hell - ❞ ash , suddenly very aware of the one sitting beside him , makes the swift decision to cut his petty tangent short , despite the plentiful mountain of irritation yet to be alleviated through bitching to a friend .

in the company of quite literally anyone else , he ain’t gotta worry about spur of the moment complaints resulting in genuine plans to enact violence or destruction on those who’ve soured his day . maybe he’s being paranoid , but the blonde sure as hell ain’t willing to risk it - no way , not when that bastard’s said shit like ‘ do you want me to kill your enemies? ’ &. ‘ i'll do it, i mean it. ’ with his full fucking chest . ❝ . . . that ain’t a suggestion , ‘ case you were wondering . ❞ nothing more than a small sigh preludes the gentle collision between ash’s palm &. the side of the brunettes head - a little toss for good measure . seems the lynx has grown bored of seething , if his blossoming smirk means anything at all . luckily for valentines day , ash has sized up a new target to occupy his mind with . he’ll just have to continue cursing out cupid some other time . ❝ so , what about you , your majesty ? spirit of love got you all swirly eyed for anyone just yet ? don’t tell me you let that fuckin’ baby with a bow stick some arrows in you . infidelity’s a real twisted thing , y’know ? don’t go breakin’ my tender little heart , now . who knows what the boys’ll say . ❞

Not a peep leaves Tobias' mouth while he listens earnestly to the other's complaints, many of which he himself has also uttered months or years prior, and it's a mixture of satisfaction at their growing similarities and amusement at Ash's vehement anti-romantic spirit that has the brunette staring at the blond with a captivated smile on his face all throughout the other's protest. Though rare, or perhaps because of that rarity, hearing Ash dominate the conversation instead of the other way around is a surprisingly pleasant change of pace, and the topic that has pushed him into this frenzy being such a childish one only adds to the appeal of the situation. This big bad gang leader genius, overflowing with grievances about harmless, heart-shaped things and loving relationships... heh, Tobias doubts he could have chosen a more ironic subject for Ash and his loving little heart to grumble about if he'd tried.

The complaints suddenly come to a halt however, and it doesn't take half of his IQ to figure out why long before the other decides to clarify the benignness of his criticisms out loud. Of course dear ol' Ash would overthink himself into the worst-case scenario after having been privy to Tobias' dedication, and it's a positive thing that he's come out and verbalized these concerns now rather than let his worries fester further. After all, it won't do for Ash to thread on nails whenever they're together thanks to whatever incorrectly preconceived notions he's come up with in his head; not when Tobias seeks to bring the exact opposite outcome to fruition and lead Ash into ultimately feeling at complete ease around him. ❛ Don't think yourself into a headache, worrywart. The whole point of my decisions is to make your life better. If I went and got rid of those stores now, won't you just feel guilty for robbing these poor local business owners and their lovesick customers of the Valentine's Day experience? I mean, what if those stores were their only source of income? What if it was those couples' first date? Why, the sheer horror of having something that precious ruined! ❜ Despite his dramatically aghast tone, Tobias cares little for these trivialities. Whether someone's livelihood is grounded to dust, or a romance is led astray, his heart does not budge and his brain thinks nothing of their plight. Still... although he wouldn't have bothered to contemplate such boring circumstances were he on his lonesome, this is unfortunately something that Ash is assuredly going to take into consideration every single time; and thus something Tobias ought to account for as well.

It must be a rollercoaster to despise something but nonetheless have the heart to not wish ill upon those partaking in it, and to even go the extra mile to ensure that nothing shall take their happiness away in spite of it clashing with Ash's own. Tobias can't relate to any of this benevolence, of course, but it appears he does care enough to go out of his way and placate the blond even when, had the object of his affections not been as kind-hearted of a person as Ash is, the mafioso would have picked the easier solution and brought merciless ruination to anything worsening the other's day as soon as such a fact would've become obvious. ❛ Listen, Ash... I know your sweet little heart could never accept the idea of me shattering those random people's lives, so don't worry. You can keep blowing off steam around me without having to think about the potential fallout. I'll be a good boy, I promise. Not even one frown will come out of you 'cause of me, 'kay? I'm being real attentive to all of your cute little quirks to make sure of that, so no need to walk on any broken shards around me. I know what'll make you happy and what won't. ❜ And, thankfully, he already has several ideas in mind come next Valentine's Day. Ash's gripe seems to rest mainly with the obnoxious atmosphere outside, but if that's the only thing bothering him... well, it shouldn't be too hard to peacefully resolve it. Money can do wonders, whether to create a specific environment outside of NYC and pay businesses to move over there for the day, thus bringing their customers along as well; or to provide couples and spouses with free tickets to various expensive romantic spots outside of NYC on the day of. That way, Ash should be spared the guaranteed nausea, and Tobias the constraints of having to keep his ideas restricted to the inside of their houses.

The smile on his face persists even as Ash gently smacks him, and he lifts a hand in kind to reach out and playfully ruffle the blonde's hair in pacifying response. Not that he needs a cue anymore before going ahead and touching Ash at this point in their friendship, but there is no world in which Tobias will turn down what he perceives to be an opportunity to be even more touchy with the other than he would have been had Ash not initiated a touch first. ❛ Why all this Cupid hate, though? You've been talking about the despicable love in the air for a while now. It's starting to sound more like jealousy than anything else. What happened, princess, upset that you don't have someone to be lovey-dovey with? Is that why you've filled out that Valentine application for me? Aww-- ❜ The snickers that follow sound obnoxiously mocking, though the brunette wholeheartedly believes this is at least part of the reason behind Ash's dissatisfaction with the couples roaming the city. For him specifically, it must look like yet another display of what he is forbidden from ever experiencing, and thus act as a reminder that he is different from those people. Or however else that self-induced delusion of his goes. From Tobias' point of view, the barriers Ash continually sets between himself and what he wishes for are beyond inane, and it's taking quite a while for the older teen's carefully worded declarations and fastidiously taken actions to set the blonde's messed up brain back on the right track again after such absurd thoughts have made their home out of it for what is likely the better half of his life.

The topic switches to Tobias though, and the smile he dons becomes more theatrical with each passing second, the hand previously busying itself in Ash's hair returning to his own side to rest atop his heart in usual feign. ❛ So you are attached to our relationship after all! Phew, everything in the world is well again. You've taken a stone off my heart with that one. ❜ And while everything points towards a staged reaction (which it is to an extent), Tobias truly does feel a smidgen of relief at Ash's unexpected fondness of this spur of the moment decision they've agreed on months prior. It isn't the first time, nor the second, nor even the third, when the blonde has referenced this "relationship" of theirs despite having had no third parties present to notice what a good job he's been doing as a fake boyfriend, and it leaves Tobias wondering if Ash has begun to foster similar feelings to the ones plaguing himself, because few other hypotheses can explain why jokes such as these have been making such constant reappearances. It's too early to tell for sure though, and while Tobias prides himself on his rationality, he doesn't entirely trust his opinion on this particular issue just yet, not when he's aware of just how easily his own biases could have wiggled their way in and clouded the actual reality.

Ash's question prompts a hum, somewhat irresolute, and the mafioso supposes it won't hurt to test those waters right here, right now. If he's wrong about his guess and nothing is out of the ordinary, then Ash should simply go about business as usual, and perhaps tease him about his crush 'til the novelty of the news wears off. Alternatively, if Ash has started to care about Tobias' love life more than a regular friend would, it should be easy grounds for a more assertive approach from his end in their near future. ❛ But I'm afraid I have to bring bad news. I might have left my window open overnight or something, 'cause I think Cupid did manage to shoot his shoot on me. I've never understood the concept he stands for though, so maybe you can tell me if what I'm going through is love or not. That way, we'll be sure of it. ❜ It's partially the truth, since he really doesn't know what can qualify as love or even what love means at the end of the day, but it's also an indirect manner through which to study Ash's reactions without blatantly piquing his suspicions.

With a finger tapping at his temple in what appears to be idle contemplation, and with his gaze falling lower into seemingly the void of introspection, Tobias begins to list off his "symptoms". No longer focusing on Ash anymore should make the enigmatic recipient of his fondness more of a mystery than staring Ash dead in the eye the entire time would. ❛ Let's see... what got my alarms blaring was how often I'd find myself thinking of this person. I mean really, what business do I have linking everything back to them, day in and day out? It's like I'm working overtime and never clocking out. 'sides, whenever I think of them I start losing interest in whatever else I'm doing at the moment, and I immediately want to get up and go see them. Don'tcha think that's just a biit troublesome for someone in my position? Honestly... I think my business partners have started wondering if their ideas are boring enough to be the cause of me leaving five minutes into their presentations every time. ❜

Another hum, intentionally more troubled-sounding than its predecessor. ❛ What else is there... ah, right. I've been in a real good mood lately. You probably don't know this, but I've been bored beyond measure since as far back as I can remember. I don't think I've ever been in a good mood for longer than a week. Well, at least not 'til now. ❜ Fleetingly, he wonders whether this tidbit will tip Ash off about the mysterious person's true identity, or whether his self-doubts will stand in the way of even that. After all, if Ash has barely ever seen Tobias in anything other than a good mood, and if the brunette's latest words are to be taken at face value, then it should mean the one creating Tobias' good moods is at least located in NYC, if not currently right in front of him. ❛ Something I'm sure you did notice, though, is that I like doing whatever I want, whenever I feel like it. But lately even that's changed a bit. I've found myself considering how the things I want to do will affect this person, and I've even cut back on some of them. Bewildering coming from me, right? Even I'm still shocked by this. ❜

A sigh heralds the (temporary) end of his "woes" and the tapping stops; while grey eyes rise to once again meet Ash's and thoroughly examine each of his microexpressions. ❛ There's probably a bunch of more developments I forgot to mention, 'cause I just can't tell if they're relevant or not, so how about you ask me about the usual tell-tale signs of this disease, doc? I'm sure everyone will want to know if it's terminal or not. ❜ And, although he'd planned to dip soon anyway so he could finish his surprise for the other, Tobias opts to phrase things more vaguely now that Ash has shown interest in his love affairs. Rather than use a meeting or something of the sort as the excuse for his soon-to-be departure, he instead allows for a more open-ended conclusion. If Ash's mind jumps directly to the possibility of Tobias heading for a date with someone else given the holiday at hand and the fact that he is going to willingly leave Ash alone when he allegedly has the option not to, then all the better for figuring out what Ash's actual feelings on this matter are. ❛ By the way, I want to leave in an hour, so if we're going to get to the bottom of this, you should start firing away. Either that, or we can hang out again later in the day. ❜ If he'd heard himself without holding prior knowledge of why he wants to leave, even he'd have thought he had hit his head on something this morning.

[greektragedybitch]

my sexual orientation is fictional characters that have the potential to go insane and be unhinged

[godihatethiswebsite]

I’m with that one anon: f the other omega, time to put ourselves first😅I mean, how would she even be able to compete with the omega who is their true scent match? Best she just runs along and finds herself a new pack🤗

Anyways, I am so excited for the new chapter! Love, love, love your writing

Ya'll are so vicious I love it! 🤣 If it's any consolation: omega isn't the only one going through it...

Hope you enjoy the new chapter! ❤️

[annemarieyeretzian]

imogen saying “laudna is everything. you can see it. she had her fate thrust upon her. it was something she didn’t ask for, but she’s embraced it and become strong with it and overcome it.” 🥺

[whitedahlia13]

We were sewn Into the fabric Of a fate Stranger than fiction And we frayed At our ends Again and again Disillusioned by a phantom Of greater possibility We were two threads Tethered end to end Caught between Oceans and islands Entangled by moments Of nothing And everything

-Words from the Fire, Two Threads

[botanists-little-cookie]

Oh hey I don't think I ever posted this here. Family flowchart moment.

Familial day seemed like the perfect day to drop it <3

I can't believe I forgot to add Jasmine, my wonderful and lovely sibling-in-law Jasmine who I love to death <3

[zanzanne]

amy is teaching me their "telepathically send your food to people" power. to make myself feel better i'll believe this silly little landmine is actually psychic

[impossible-rat-babies]

I wanna do like. lore heavy gpose bc both return to oblivion and last words of a shooting star have been haunting my brain

[arkive78]

One Piece Fic Recs that occupy my mind nonstop

After really getting into One Piece this past spring, I've been reading as much as tumblr and AO3 have offered me in terms of One Piece content. It's been hard to keep track of everything that I have read, however, certain stories/headcanons/posts linger in my mind and I thought I'd share them with you!

Minors DNI with fics marked as NSFW and for anyone, be sure to read the content warnings the authors have mentioned!

Hope y'all enjoy!

Updated: October 1, 2024

Killer

Childhood Crush by @analogwriting

does involve violent themes, please be sure to read content warnings for each chapter

Will You Let Me? by @fanaticsnail

NSFW, Pollen AU

Dreaming of You by @fanaticsnail

this also includes Heat and Kid

NSFW

The Break (Kid x reader x Killer) by @standfucker

Gore, graphic description of injury/pain/first aid, hurt/comfort, confessions, highly oblivious reader

Rotation (Heat, Kid, Killer, Wire x reader) by @standfucker

explicit NSFW content

Loving you is easy by @sheerxfiction

NSFW

Three Times Killer Tried to Confess and The One Time That He Did by @nina-ya

SFW

Acid, Salt, Fat, and Heat (w/ Kid) by @fanaticsnail

NSFW

Ace

SFW:

A world we are both in by @my-love-is-sunlight

Kiss by @my-love-is-sunlight

Patching Up Ace's Wounds by @nina-ya SFW

there are more of this prompt with different characters btw!

Help by @sanjisprincesswifey

Blinders On by @froggiewrites

Taking the hit for him by @grandline-fics

NSFW:

Open Flame by @willowbelle

Ace + back dimples by @tetzoro

Fated Reunions by @tetzoro

Coward by @mimi-ya

Need by @maddddstuff

Ass or Tits? by @cloudzoro

Follow Through by @froggiewrites

My Pretty Little Thief by @turtletaubwrites

Zoro

SFW:

Bloom by @tetzoro

brazen by @mydearlybeloathed

"we should get married" by @grandlinedreams

wake him up! by @sleepymarimo

He Loves Me by @clare-875

Got me losin' my cool by @bitchimasnake-sss

Insomnia: owner's instruction by @revasserium

NSFW:

The Right Direction by @willowbelle

with hearts aligned by @eelnoise

2 years overdue by @heyitsdoe

pumpkin by @cloudzoro

beg for me by @angel1010xx

Waterflow by @otkuhotgirl

Law

SFW:

touch-starved Law by @maroronoa

the death of me by @weneeya

too sweet for me by @my-love-is-sunlight

there are no conditions by @cozage

Hidden symptoms by @escenariosinfumables

Unspoken affections by @avocadorablepirate

NSFW:

Tethered Together by @tetzoro

Luffy

A secret by @missmugiwara

18+, suggestive

SFW:

you can talk to me, but you already know by @mydearlybeloathed

clueless by @grandline-fics

Bachata by @fanaticsnail

Mihawk

Sapsorrow by @fanaticsnail

has both SFW and NSFW so make sure to read the chapter warnings!

Creative Cures by @discordantwritings

NSFW

Shanks

SFW:

Remember Me by @fanaticsnail

Dancando Lambada by @fanaticsnail

NSFW:

Always return to you by @discordantwritings

Sanji

NSFW:

Citrus by @otkuhotgirl

Multiple characters

Hey Doc by @fanaticsnail

some NSFW themes depending on the drabble

so very very funny

The Kissing Booth by @fanaticsnail

Paulie, Luffy, Hongo, Smoker, Aokiji, Heat, Crocodile, Sanji, Shachi, Law, and Zoro (right now)

my favorite ones are: Luffy, Smoker, Heat, Shachi !

Competency, Stupidity, Duality by @fanaticsnail

kid, zoro, and killer

SFW

Post Injury by @standfucker

law, shanks, rosinate, blackbeard, mihawk

gore content warnings

Gremlin Reader by @standfucker

Straw Hats, Whitebeard Pirates, Heart Pirates, and Kid Pirates

literally the funniest fucking thing I've ever read

they hurt you while controlled by a devil fruit by @grandline-fics

zoro, law, shanks

angst, descriptions of injury, and hurt/comfort

Beauty scars by @cozage

law, kidd

borderline NSFW

Truth or Dare by @cozage

Ace, Shanks, Luffy, and Law

SFW + NSFW, the NSFW section is clearly marked by the author

Oblivious flirting by @cozage

Law, Luffy, Ace

SFW

A Plushie Substitute by @cozage

Zoro, Luffy, Sanji, Ace, Law

SFW

Five things he says when he thinks you're asleep by @imasimpforshanks

Law, Ace, Shanks

SFW

the moment they knew you were the one by @imasimpforshanks

Luffy, Zoro, Ace, Sanji, Shanks, Law, Sabo

fluff

Falling in love with them by @imasimpforshanks

Ace, Law

SFW

OP to you being clueless to their flirting/feelings part 1 by @astelren

Ace, Luffy, Sabo, Zoro Sanji, Izou, Cavendish, Rayleigh, Law

fluff

there's a part 2!

Being scared to have sex with them by @strawhatsoraya

Zoro, Law, Kid, Ace

obviously NSFW

Calling them my love by @lehguru

Law, Sabo, Ace, Kid, Killer, Bartolomeo

SFW

Kid, Zoro, Law, & Sanji with a s/o afraid of having sex by @eustasskidagenda

NSFW

there are 2 other parts with different characters!

A celestial dragon wants their fem!s/o by @uramakimochi

Zoro, Sanji, Law

SFW

there's another part too!

Hand placement by @cloudzoro

Ace, Crocodile, Law, Mihawk, Nami, Reiju, Robin, Sanji, Tashigi, Zoro

NSFW

god the ones about the girls are SO GOOD

affectionate + strawhats by @lehguru

SFW

OP boys in a relationship by @moonydustx

SFW

growing old together by @usernameforaboredcat

Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, Ace, Sabo, Law, Kid

SFW

sobbed

one piece boys rescuing you by @badgerbl00d

law, zoro

sfw

heartstopper by @sleepymarimo

luffy, sanji, zoro, law

sfw

party games they'd play as an excuse to kiss you by @imasimpforshanks

luffy, zoro, nami, ace, law, shanks

sfw

Op characters reacting to you kissing them and running away by @princeoftheeternalbog

luffy, zoro, sanji, nami, robin, usopp, ace, marco, izou, sabo

slightly suggestive, mdni

Number Games by @turtletaubwrites

multi-chapter story with Cross Guild x reader

very NSFW, read the tags very carefully

Random Flirting Headcanons by @feral-artistry

Shanks, Buggy, Sanji, Ace, Law, Zoro

SFW

Here's part 2 with more characters

Jealousy fueled kiss w/ “Do you have any idea how much I want to kiss you right now?” by @grandline-fics

Ace, zoro, law, kid, lucci

sfw

Thinkin about: the monster, trio, ace ‘n law! Vs breeding kink! by @bitchimasnake-sss

luffy, zoro, sanji, ace, law

nsfw

Habits of touch by @clare-875

Zoro, sanji, luffy

sfw

Butterflies -- how they realize they have feelings for you (touch edition) with Luffy, Zoro, and Law by @radishaur

luffy, zoro, law

sfw

multiple versions! this one is just my favorite hehe