#that WIP ask game has had me grinning all day

[deanstead]

Marry That Girl

Pairing: Jay Halstead x Reader

Requested: no

Word Count: 600+

Tags/Warnings: none

A/N: Short one because I haven't released something for Jay in way too long! This has been sitting in my WIP drafts for the longest time so I finally got it written! An anon requested something similar for Will but since I had a half-written fic, I finished this and posting this instead! As always thanks to bestie @seatsbythepit for being my beta queen~!

JAY HALSTEAD MASTERLIST

You hadn’t thought this through.

It sounded like an innocent enough date when Jay had asked if you wanted to go watch the game. You hadn't been dating for long, and every day felt a little unreal in a ‘I can’t believe Jay Halstead wants to go out with me’ kind of way, and you appreciated every opportunity you got to spend with Jay especially since you never knew if he would have to go undercover or spend nights at the district trying to clear a case.

But now that the game was approaching, you were in a bit of a panic.

You enjoyed watching a game, but you didn’t always know what you were watching or doing, and you weren’t sure you were ready to let Jay see that side of you.

“Y/N, everything okay?” Kelly’s voice interrupted your internalized panic and you glanced up.

“Ah, I should have thought of you!” You proclaimed, earning yourself an eyebrow raise from the squad lieutenant. “I need your help.”

Kelly raised an eyebrow but chuckled before nodding toward his office.

You thanked all the stars that it was a quieter shift. After all, an entirely quiet shift didn’t exist at Firehouse 51. But at least that’s the way you liked it.

Kelly gave you a crash course, but not without reminding you that you owed him one. You spent the rest of the downtime studying it so that at least you’d have something smart to say, even though there were a few times you wondered what the hell you were doing.

Hard work indeed paid off.

You walked out of the game, feeling a little embarrassed as Jay’s friends gushed over you.

“Jay, you got a good one. My girlfriend doesn’t even want to come to games with me.” One of his buddies quipped.

Jay laughed, putting an arm around you and grinning. “Hey, should I be worried? What if you guys just call her for the games instead?”

The laughter rumbled through the group as they all nodded, teasing Jay that they’d rather call you instead of him in the future.

You really did owe Kelly one.

As his friends dispersed, calling that Jay had better bring you out for the next game, Jay’s phone rang.

You nodded at him, telling him he’d better take it, assuring him that you and Will wouldn’t leave him behind.

Jay took the call from Voight, glancing toward where you and Will were talking as he nodded. “Yeah, I got it. I’ll be right in.”

Jay could feel the dread in his gut, that felt just a little too much like guilt that he had to blow off again tonight even though he’d promised a nice after-game dinner and maybe some drinks and cuddling.

“This is why you don’t promise anything, Jay.” He mumbled to himself, before he walked back toward the both of you.

“Hey, Y/N, I…”

You glanced at the look on Jay’s face and just smiled. “Gotcha.”

“Sorry.” Jay couldn’t even say anything more because everything else in his head sounded like an excuse.

“I’m not saying I’m not disappointed, because I kinda am. But I get it. And if these were bells going off for the ambulance, I’d do the same thing you’re doing now. So, go.” You paused. “But you owe me a mind-blowing date.”

Jay laughed and nodded. “That, I definitely do.”

You shot him a huge smile and headed off toward Jay’s truck to wait because you knew he’d at least take you home before heading back down to wherever he was supposed to go.

Will watched the exchange with a mix of amusement and awe before he glanced at his younger brother.

“Jay?” Will called, before Jay and him headed off in different directions.

Jay glanced up at Will and Will smiled. “You better marry that girl.”

THANK YOU FOR READING!! PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THIS!!

If you want to support me, buy me a coffee!

[kingwuko]

Me @ everyone here. Wuko Nation thanks for following my blog, thanks all the likes, replies and reblogs, thanks for your messages and your asks and thanks so much for your interest in my fanfic. You're all amazing!!!!

[ladykailitha]

Not All That Glitters is Gold Part 3

Happy New Year to all those that celebrate on Jan 1st! I didn't get as much writing done as I wanted during my break because my son brought home the flu and I've been sick for most of the winter break.

That said, I still have a backlog of at least a dozen chapters spread out among my WIPs.

I will still be posting Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursday just nothing will have a set day. Meaning you might get this story on a Tuesday one week, and Thursday the next. So on and so forth.

In this chapter I get heavily into gender dynamics and how sexuality would work with second genders.

Part 1 Part 2

***

Steve slid into bed with a sigh of relief. His scent permeated the bedding sending out a calming signal to both him and the alpha. He wrapped himself around the alpha and felt as he began to come out of the tranquilizer.

Dillon hummed happily. “You smell good.”

Steve chirped in response, rubbing his nose on Dillon’s scent gland. Again he sighed in relief. The actor’s scent was coming through. Weakly, but it was there. It was a dark woody scent. Like a forest after the rain.

“I’m going to take care of you, alpha,” Steve purred. “Make you feel so good.”

Dillon pounced on him and he laughed. “So eager. Take it slow, you’ve got plenty of time, sweetie.”

Steve ran his fingers up and down Dillon’s spine, causing the man to arch into his touch.

“Does that feel good?”

Dillon nodded, biting his lip.

“You don’t have to keep quiet, alpha,” Steve murmured. “No one is here to hear you but me.”

Dillon hung his head. “You don’t mind if make noise?”

Steve kissed his nose. “Did they make you keep quiet when they forced you to have sex with other alphas?”

He nodded, tears streaming down his face.

“Don’t worry,” Steve said. “You’re safe here. No one knows this address outside of Starcourt Services.”

Dillon closed his eyes and let Steve take care of him.

Over the course of the next three days, Steve found out that Dillon’s guilty pleasure was fruit leather. Not the overly processed kids stuff, but the locally sourced fruit snacks.

Steve practically cheered. It wasn’t protein bars, but it was something. He also found that Dillon would drink the shakes if Steve gave them to him, but wouldn’t chose them on his own.

By the time Dillon’s rut was over, Steve had really gotten to know him and was a little sad to see him go.

He wasn’t even told where Dillon would be going, but he knew it was for the best.

Steve showered and was dressed before Robin came back.

“Thankfully his rut didn’t last too long,” she said pulling up his schedule on his tablet, “you’ll have two days to do whatever before the charity ball for the New Yorker.”

Steve sighed in relief. “Thank god for that. First ruts are so hard.”

Robin nodded. “And it’s so rare for Starcourt to do them at all with the whole legality of it usually being alpha usually being fourteen to seventeen years old when they get their first.”

Steve sighed. “That too.”

Robin got a notification on her phone. When she checked it, she laughed.

“I just got something to absolutely make your day,” she said with a giggle.

Steve raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Tommy’s last rut servicing hit him with a mini-heat. He’s out of the game for the gala.”

Steve winced in sympathy. “Better him than me.”

Robin laughed again. “That’s why you have me, babe. If the alpha has a history of blocker breaking, they have to do a lot to convince me to let you service them. Starcourt has a perfect record of whisking away omegas that have gone into a heat as a side effect of the servicing, but I’m not willing to take that chance with you.”

“And that’s why all the other omegas are jealous you’re my handler,” Steve grinned.

“Damn straight.”

They high-fived.

“So what are your plans for today?” Robin asked, putting away her phone.

“Pedro is coming in today for a final fitting for the tux,” he told her and she added it to his schedule.

“I’ll find out the exact time and get back to you,” she said.

“Then I’m having dinner with Max and Lucas,” Steve continued. “They just got into town this morning and wanted to meet up while they had time.”

“How goes Lucas’s law suit?” Robin asked, adding it to the schedule.

“They think it’s about to burst the NBA wide open,” Steve said with a devilish grin.

She grinned back. “It’s absolutely ridiculous to have six different sports leagues.”

Steve nodded. “Even the division between beta teams is dumb. But they’re working on one problem at a time. Get it down to two and then work on destroying first gender bullshittery.”

Robin nodded. “It’s especially stupid because that’s how it is handled in high school. If schools can handle the raging hormones of presenting athletes then professional teams can handle level headed adults on scent suppressants.”

Steve nodded back. “That’s their argument.”

“Good luck to them.”

“And then I plan on doing some shopping,” Steve finished. “Dillon’s rut depleted my stock more than I would have liked.”

Robin winched. “Well, at least your next servicing isn’t until the end of next week.”

He nodded again. “I’ve been messaging the alpha couple, they seem sweet.”

Robin rolled her eyes. “I am so grateful to be a lesbian to first and secondary genders.”

“There are so many sexualities these days it can make one’s head spin,” he lamented. “Are you an alpha that likes alphas but only alphas of the opposite sex and does that make you straight or gay?”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I simplified it to ‘no dicks’, but I know it’s more nuanced than that for a lot of people.”

Steve scoffed. “Like me?” he huffed, flopping on the sofa and crossing his arms. “Bisexual first gender, but I’ve never been attracted to other omegas, so straight secondary gender. And there are a lot of people that would say I’m not queer because I prefer alphas.”

“Yeah,” Robin said. “And I swear it’s getting worse with non-binary and trans people added to the mix, too. And of course the rest of the queer community is thinking they’re safe from the hoopla, when we all know these ass clowns won’t be happy until they’re back to one man and one woman betas.”

“Which has never been a thing,” Steve grumbled. “It’s ridiculous.”

She tapped her tablet. “Anything else?”

He shook his head. “Just when Pedro is coming and my day is set.”

She shot off a quick text and got an immediate response. “He says at eleven. Is that okay?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, that’ll be fine. Gives me time to shop before dinner.”

“Done and dusted,” she said, putting away her phone and tablet. “We still on for platonic soulmate day tomorrow?”

He grinned up at her. “Always. We’re going to binge movies and eat junk food and lament about our love lives all day.”

“I’ll bring over some wine coolers and stuff to make cocktails,” she said.

He hopped up and gave her kiss on the cheek. “See you tomorrow.”

“Have fun with Max and Lucas,” Robin said. “Give them my love.”

“Will do.”

*

Max looked around the fancy restaurant in awe. “I can’t believe you can just walk into a place like this and you instantly get a table.”

Steve barked out a laugh. “It’s not that easy. They had a cancellation and was able to get us in.”

“I bet they canceled the other reservation to give it to you,” Lucas said.

“Ooh...” Max said. “I bet they did, too. Steve Harrington, omega escort to the stars wants a dinner reservation at our restaurant, lets boot some D-list actor so we can have him instead.”

Steve laughed again. “Really, guys. It’s not like that. I’m not some Lonnie Hansen or Roxie, I’m barely a middle of the road escort as far as how much money I make.”

Max and Lucas shared a glance before they broke out laughing.

“Guys!” Steve protested. “I’m serious. There are other escorts that make way more than me.”

Max raised her eyebrow. “Name five other than Lonnie and Roxie.”

Steve counted them out on his fingers. “There’s Nicole Jawara. Koo Sing Ma. Mirabel Diaz. Uh...” He tapped his third finger. “Um...”

“Admit it,” Lucas said. “You can’t think of any more. And the ones you have named? They’ve all been in the business for longer than you and have had time to be higher paid. You rose through the ranks like a shooting star and everyone knows it.”

Steve blushed. “Yeah, okay. I love doing what I do, though.”

“Which is why we’re fighting the NBA about Lucas’s secondary gender. He should be allowed to play in the national league regardless whether he’s an omega or not,” Max said. “As an alpha I can do whatever the hell I want and only mildly looked down on because I’m a woman. But being a male omega makes it hard to do anything outside nurturing jobs.”

“Which I’ve never got,” Steve growled. “They don’t force female omegas into those jobs, just male ones.”

Lucas sighed. “Add to it being black and I’ve been fighting an uphill battle my whole life.”

Steve nodded sympathetically. “Tell me what else is up with you two. Any chance of bonding on the horizon.”

Max scoffed. “As if. We want to get this suit over with first. Then we’ll talk.”

“What about you?” Lucas asked. “Surely there have been alphas that have offered to buy your contract. You could settle down with one. Adopt pups.”

Steve ducked his head. “I’ve had offers. But as...” he huffed trying to find the right word. “Concubines? Sex toys for when their mates are pregnant or nursing. Not actual relationships.”

Max snorted. “I bet Nancy Wheeler tried.”

“Twice,” Steve agreed. “The only thing that would lure me from my job is falling in love with an alpha. And the chances of that happening are slim to none right now.”

Lucas sighed. “It’s because anyone you do meet is just going to want sex, huh?”

Steve nodded. “It’s really frustrating. But that’s why most of my friends are from before I became an escort. It’s just too hard to trust someone now a days. People wanting to be friends only want it for the perks,” he waved around him, “and not because they actually like me. People who want a ‘romantic’ relationship are one of three categories: only in for the sex. Only in for the sex and all the perks that come with being me. Or they want to shame and control me.”

Max and Lucas share a glance and have the decency to look mildly chastised. Because, yeah they used the perks of Steve’s job on more than one occasion.

Steve sighed. “So have you guys seen the latest superhero movie?” he asked, eager to move on.

Max and Lucas took it as the life line it was and starting chatting about what movies they’ve seen.

*

Steve loved his days were it was just him and Robin sans Starcourt business. Where they could just be two lovable goofballs and talk about their love life.

“Vickie is an omega, Steve,” she whined, ripping into her gallon sized bucket of Red Vines. “She’s not going to want to be with someone who can’t help her during her heats.”

Steve scoffed. “I’ve never had an alpha service my heats, and I’m fine. If she cares about you, she’ll use toys and heat aids. And don’t discount the pleasure of your fingers, babe.”

Robin made a gagging sound. “Don’t talk to me about sex, dingus. I don’t think I can handle it.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “It’s literally my job, Robs. Like you can blow me off all you want, but you know you’re not going to get better advice from someone outside the medical field.”

“I hate it when you’re right,” she sighed.

“So you’ll ask her out this weekend?” Steve pressed.

“Yes, Steve,” Robin said, rolling her eyes “while you’re out there looking gorgeous on the arm of Nancy Wheeler, schmoozing it up with the rich people, I will be putting my heart on the line to ask a really cute girl out on a date.”

He kissed her cheek and stayed in her space. “And then when she says yes and you two are making out on her sofa, spare a thought for your poor single platonic soulmate who was soooo right.”

Robin pushed him away from her. “God, you are such an ass.”

“Yes, but it has been praised by many an alpha,” he teased, “so I love flaunting it.”

Robin threw her Red Vine at him.

He took a huge bite out of it and then grimaced. “I don’t’ know how you can stand eating these things. I think they taste like soap.”

“Just because your tastebuds are out of wack,” Robin said, snatching it away from him and munching on it, “doesn’t mean the rest of us should be forced to eat those tasteless sticks called Twizzlers.”

Steve pouted. “But I like the chocolate ones.”

“Further proof of your lack of taste, dingus,” she said. “It just means that this,” she held up her bucket, “is all mine.”

He just shook his head and grabbed the remote. “It’s a vampire romance, you ready for this?”

“Hell yeah!”

***

Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17

The Red Vine vs Twizzler debate was something that me and my best friend argued for years. And yes there was a period of time when Red Vines tasted like soap. They don't anymore, thankfully. But they did.

The TV show they are watching is "The Scholar That Walks By Night" a Korean drama my sister is obsessed with.

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @chaoticlovingdreamer @lexirosewrites @goodolefashionedloverboi @messrs-weasley @maya-custodios-dionach @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @emly03 @bookworm0690 @itsall-taken @bookbinderbitch @redfreckledwolf @littlewildflowerkitten @vecnuthy @scheodingers-muppet @mira-jadeamethyst @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @genderless-spoon @yikes-a-bee @anne-bennett-cosplayer @awkwardgravity1 @irregular-child @nburkhardt @apomaro-mellow @yellowdevilkitten @lingeringmirth @rememberthatiloveyou @demolvr @ellietheasexylibrarian @slowandsteddie @mangoinacan13

[kippipies]

Calculation of U for the wip game?

lmao this one is gonna be a crack romcom one-shot that i really want to try and post for valentine's day, and it's a tomarry au where they attend hogwarts at the same time. Basically, Harry gets a potion from Fred and George that gives him the ability to temporarily see the percentage of people's romantic interest in him (like a dating game lol). He's all surprised by the amount of people that are interested in him, but what's most surprising to him is that Tom somehow has the highest percentage by a wide margin. Here's a snippet if anyone's interested --

“Tom Riddle is in love with me.” The words don’t have the dramatic effect Harry’s hoping for: Ron sluggishly blinks one eye, then the next, still deep in the dregs of early morning exhaustion. Hermione doesn’t even look up from her perilous stack of books, mumbling under her breath about one thing or another. Ginny, knees pulled up to her chest on the bench next to them, pulls an automatic face at the mention of Riddle’s name, then continues her laborious task of wedging out a shard of bacon out of her teeth with a toothpick. Harry clears his throat, then tries again. “I said, Riddle’s in love with me.” “Are you feeling alright, Harry?” Hermione absently places the back of her hand against his forehead, without looking up from her studies. “You weren’t up all night working on one of Hagrid's projects, again, were you?” Harry grimaces as he bats Hermione’s hand away. He was, but that’s beyond the point. “Or, did you accidentally swap out your pumpkin juice for firewhiskey?” Ron suggests. He gives Harry’s goblet a dubious swill and sniff. “No, what? I’m completely sober here!” Harry protests, waving his arms about frantically, and flinging eggs straight into a Hufflepuff's unsuspecting hair. They all squint at him, and Harry defensively bristles. “You’re talking about Tom Riddle,” Ginny says, jabbing her toothpick out accusingly. “Tom Riddle, you mean, the bloke that’s had it out for you since fourth year, and literally just docked you ten points yesterday for sneezing too loudly in the hall?” “Er, yep. That’s the one.” “In Riddle’s defense, it was a wicked sneeze,” Ron grins, leaning forward excitedly. “Nailed Goyle right on the back of his lumpy head - you shoulda seen his face.” Harry guffaws, and Hermione hides a smile behind her hand. “Look, I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true, alright?” Harry insists. “I can’t really say how I know, but I do.” Ginny flicks her toothpick away. “Well, no use waffling on about this. Let’s just ask and see.” Before Harry can comprehend what she’s saying, or recall the spell that will toss them all out the nearest window, Ginny’s already clambering up on the bench and cupping her hands around her mouth. “Oi, Riddle!” she calls out. “Harry thinks you fancy him! Is this true?” Harry’s jaw drops to the floor as the whole hall goes deathly silent. Like a sentient wave, everyone turns as one to regard Riddle. He's sitting in his usual place at the foot of the Slytherin table, his sycophants practically lapping at his feet as he blabs about one thing or another. Clusters of younger students hover around him in the distance, clutching pink notes and chocolates in sweaty hands. Riddle pauses, then carefully sips at his goblet. For the briefest moment, his dark eyes flick to Harry, and Harry feels his heart wedge somewhere in the vicinity of his throat. "And where did you get a silly idea like that?" Riddle says, tilting his head innocently. Harry's face flames as the hall erupts in chaos and laughter. He jumps to his feet - probably to take it out on Malfoy - but Hermione and Ron wrestle him back down. His teeth grind as he glares down Riddle, who's already settling back into his conversation as if nothing had just happened. The eighty-five percent dances over his head like a mocking beacon. The absolute bastard is lying straight through his perfect teeth. And if there's one thing Harry knows for certain -- it's that he's gonna get Riddle to eat his own words, even if it's the last thing he does.

[sherlockruiningmylife]

My Merthur (Merlin) fics masterlist:

Decided to redo this list from scratch because I hadn’t updated the original in an age. Listed from my newest works to my oldest. All fics are linked to via the title. Should just be able to click to open them.

-Bleeding Gold (T | 3,865)

Merlin bleeds gold. Every time he is injured he has to hide it from any prying eyes.

Small excerpt: It's a simple cut that wouldn’t require more than a few stitches. If it were on one of the knights it would be no big deal. But on Merlin… The problem is, Merlin isn’t quite human in the way the others are. He’d been aware of this for a long time and it always irked him. But now it was especially apparent. As blood dripped from his arm in the shallow cut. It dripped gold.

-The servant god (G | 3,275)

When Merlin and Arthur get into an argument, Merlin reaches his wit's end. He blows up and confesses to Arthur before storming off. Now it is Arthur's turn to try and win him back

Based off of a post I had drafted on Tumblr but never actually published. Not used entirely verbatim in here but almost the same lines are there: Merlin gets frustrated one day and explodes into a rant about how Arthur treats him. Merlin: Do you even know who I am?! I am Emrys, Arthur! I am a God! Arthur: (scoffs and crosses arms) God of ineptitude maybe. Merlin: (glares then storms out leaving a trail of flames behind him)

-Becoming a god (G | 6,367)

The knights and Merlin stumble upon a shrine to Emrys in the woods. Merlin realizes, too late, that it may be more than just a simple shrine.

-How to pick a fight with your soulmate (G | 2,353)

Soulmate AU where your soulmate shares your pain every time you get hurt. This is how I imagine the market fight in the first episode would have gone had soulmates existed.

Small excerpt: “Do you want to give up?” Merlin yells. “To you?” Arthur asks as he backs away. Hoping sooner rather than later that this foolish man would hit himself with the mace he is swinging so wildly. “Do you? Do you want to give up?”

-Till death do us part (E | wip currently 50k+)

Stuck in an arranged marriage contract, struck before either were old enough to have a say, can Merlin and Arthur find any happiness in their inevitable partnership? With one being a sorcerer prince, and the other raised to despise sorcerers it seems doubtful.

This one is my baby, my love, my passion. But she is currently on a little hiatus. Will be back once I quit getting distracted.

-To know all of him (T | 4,307)

When Merlin and the knights get captured by a sorceress, Merlin is forced to take a truth serum. After revealing his secrets, will Merlin be able to regain the trust of the king and his knights?

Short excerpt: The sorceress growled, “Enough games, now answer! What is your biggest secret?” Merlin frowned, trying to fight off the serum, after several long moments of silence Merlin looses the battle and says quietly, “I have magic.” Anthea grins, “there now, was that so hard?” Lancelot winces but Arthur looks puzzled. Arthur, who had been observing the interaction with confusion finally chimes in with a cut off laugh.

-Hidden Talents (T | 19,755)

Modern with magic - Aithusa/dragonlord fic. Merlin and Arthur are roommates in uni. Arthur likes to complain about Merlin's appalling lack of a social life, using this as an excuse to take Merlin with him everywhere he goes. This is convenient for when Merlin is needed to protect Arthur from his own misfortune, but it does make it difficult to keep certain parts of himself hidden.

I definitely tend to write for myself and this is a prime example. I reread this one often, it makes me happy :)

-A Grain of Truth (M | 12,179)

Merlin and Arthur travel to an outlying village in Camelot seeking a stolen amulet. What they find is a thriving magical community with druids wandering the town's market freely. Unfortunately for Merlin, he is recognized as Emrys. How will Arthur respond when he finds out? Set somewhere in the midst of season 3.

-Camelot’s Protector (T | 5,632)

Camelot is forced to battle Essetir when Cenred's men invade. Merlin does his best to stay at Arthur's side when the battle begins, but Arthur is insistent that Merlin get to safety. Both refusing to cooperate, they get themselves into trouble and end up revealing more than they'd planned.

-The Role of Servants and Masters (G | 3,476)

Thomas is a new servant in Camelot's castle. Before today, he had only heard stories of the prince and his manservant. He had thought them to be the result of the castles working rumor mill, blowing them out of proportion. He will soon find out first hand just how true those stories were.

Small Excerpt: So far, Thomas knew that the Prince, Arthur, and his manservant, Merlin, were a bit of an oddity in the castle. Their relationship could not be described as that of a servant and his master. Instead, people described it as… well no one was quite sure. Prince Arthur gave Merlin orders, but those orders were either ignored or done begrudgingly. From what Thomas gathered, Merlin did follow the law, he just didn’t seem to adhere to the spirit of it.

Another one I reread often :)

-The Trouble with Soulmates (T | 17,774)

Arthur Pendragon is a famous actor, Merlin Emrys is a maths teacher. The chances of their paths crossing are slim to none. That is until Arthur sets them on a rather frustrating journey. Who knew that soulmates could be so troublesome.

-Not According to Plan (T | 2,294)

While out on patrol, Merlin, Arthur, and Elyan are ambushed by bandits. In order to fight them off, Merlin must use his magic. When one of the bandits cries 'Sorcerer', Merlin is faced with a tough decision. Caution is thrown to the wind, and Merlin is a badass.

-The Legend of Emrys (G | 4,801)

As the king of Camelot, Arthur is seeking to undo his father’s laws against magic and right his wrongs. As the final step in this process he seeks an alliance with the druids. They inform him that he already has their allegiance because Emrys is at his side. There is only one problem with that, Arthur doesn’t know who Emrys is.

-Once and Future Merthur (T | 11,832)

While escaping from bandits, Merlin and Arthur find themselves transported to a different version of their lives. Throughout their journey secrets are revealed and emotions are uncovered. Will they be able to handle the truth once it is unveiled?

This one is a bit out there admittedly, but I stand by it.

-The Unwanted Gift (G | 5,649)

Merlin is, by his nature, a kind and gentle hearted person. When a young sorceress sees this in the warlock, she seeks to help others to be able to see this in Merlin as well. She gifts him with an enchantment that bears Merlin’s soul to the world, which leads to some rather unintended consequences for the warlock. Inspired by this artwork from 2018 by tumblr user @cypress-ess: https://cypress-ess.tumblr.com/post/177981059209/snow-white-au

-Visiting Home (T | 3,016)

Arthur and Merlin travel to Ealdor to take part in a harvest celebration. Arthur has known about Merlin’s magic for a while, and Merlin has been named the Court Sorcerer. Wanting to get to know more about young Merlin, Arthur asks Hunith for some stories. OR – tooth rotting domestic fluff

This is 2 years worth of my writing/my life which is quite crazy for me to think about. Hope y’all like some of these, I love this fandom so much!

[atths--twice]

Hello!! For the WIP ask game: Arcadia :)

Ohhhh this is a fun one I started a few years back.

It’s different from my other stories as it’s in first person present tense, and it will be solely from Scully’s perspective. We will see the in between moments we didn’t see on the show. Moving in, unpacking of sorts, how they handle the aspect of living together and dealing with one another that way, and get Scully’s thoughts about it all.

Now, I know not everyone loves first person, but I thought it would be fun to explore.

Because I know it will be awhile before I post this, I’m going to include two little snippets.

The first is from their arrival to the neighborhood.

The second is from a discussion they have in bed when Mulder comes back to the room, claiming that the couch had been uncomfortable the night before.

Hope you enjoy!

______________

February 24, 1999

I hear Mulder humming, and immediately I’m back to loathing this assignment, my recent feeling of being okay with it, although a little nervous, disappearing.

I’m trapped in a minivan with him, on our way to an undercover assignment, and the thought of running away as soon as I possibly can sounds like a fantastic plan.

He’s been humming “Here Comes the Bride” and “Chapel of Love” sporadically under his breath for the past couple of days, and it’s beginning to drive me insane. I’ve tried glaring at him, telling him to stop, and even threatened him with physical harm, and yet he has continued.

With a wink to me no less.

The bastard.

“Mulder, seriously,” I say with force, as I simultaneously scowl at him, hoping that will be what does the trick.

“Scully, we are going to be portraying ourselves as a happily married couple. I’m just trying to lay the groundwork for us. Get us in the mood, so to speak,” he explains with an innocent tone.

But I know him, and that aw shucks attitude of his isn’t going to stop me from wanting to smack that cheesy grin off of his face. I sigh and he smiles, obviously believing he has proven his point and won this battle.

Looking out the window, I sigh again as I think of spending days and nights with him pretending to be his happy little wife. I know he was not exactly thrilled with the assignment, but in the past couple of days that we have been here in San Diego, he seems to have gotten into the spirit of it.

At least the ‘annoy the shit out of your pretend wife’ spirit of it.

He’s called me honey more times than I can count and every one of my admonitions have fallen on deaf ears. Seeing how gleeful he is when he gets a rise out of me, I’ve seen a glimpse into my very near future.

I wonder if I would be hurt too terribly if I just jumped out of the car now.

_____________________

He looks at me and I stare back. He nods his head and then looks away. The room is silent again as we both contemplate what it would be like to have someone waiting at home for us while we lay in this bed, together, though not together.

“These rings, though,” he says with a tone of changing the subject. “Mine is fine, but is that ring something you would pick? It hardly seems like a Scully type ring to me.”

“God no,” I say in horror. “It’s a beautiful ring, but it’s not my taste at all. I would want something much more…”

“Simple,” we say simultaneously, and I look at him as he grins at me.

“We should go on the Newlywed Game,” he says, waggling his eyebrows. “We would make an absolute killing. We would beat all the other couples hands-down. I know my wife.”

I laugh and shake my head. “And yet, you were the one who picked out this ring for me to wear.“

“Hey, I did exactly what I was supposed to do. I picked out the most un-Scully like ring I could find,” he says defensively. “Because you’re not Scully, you’re Laura and that is exactly the type of ring that Laura would want.”

“Oh, so you know Laura pretty well?” I tease him and he nods vigorously. “So what else do I need to know about Laura?”

“Well, for starters, Laura likes to sleep in the nude.” He looks at me with a sly expression and I laugh again, shaking my head and raising my eyebrows.

“Keep dreaming, buddy,” I say to him, still laughing at where his mind would go immediately.

“I’m just letting you know in case you wanted to get into character,” he says by way of explanation.

“Mm-hmm.”

____________

I really am enjoying putting this one together. Yes, it’s been a few years, but… I think it will be good once it’s all done. ❤️

[missmagooglie]

For the WIP Wednesday game, @infinitybits87 and @h-i-raeth requested a Therapy Baby snippet, so have some "Buck defending his poor life choices" paired with some "Firefam defending Buck"

“Buck as a father, I never thought I’d see the day,” Chim grins at him. “Though in hindsight, maybe we should have seen this coming. Which of your sexcapades resulted in this little bundle of joy? Did his mom have to reach out to you on Tinder?” “Oh, please tell me this child was not conceived in the rig,” Hen begs. “Was it snake girl?” Chimney asks. “I need to know if we have to prepare for a hereditary love of reptiles.” Buck laughs awkwardly. “No, she wasn’t anyone I met while I was on duty,” he says, trying to ignore the way Bobby looks skyward and mouths the words thank you. “It was, um. Do you guys remember when I was having a hard time after that roller coaster rescue that went bad?” “Of course,” Bobby says. “It was your first time losing someone on the job. You took it hard.” “Right, yeah, and you suggested I see someone for counseling,” Buck says. “So I went to her office, and it turns out she’d seen me on the news, and, um, I guess you could say we tried some non-traditional treatments?” He braces himself for laughter and teasing, but instead the room goes quiet. “Buck, are you telling us that Danny’s mother was your therapist?” Bobby asks, his face pinched. “It was only one session,” Buck says, his body curling defensively around the baby in his arms. He suddenly recalls the visceral hatred and disgust that came off Dr. Wells’ husband the day he had picked Danny up. The pure disgust he’d shown when he learned that Buck had been a patient of his wife’s, “and we didn’t exactly do a lot of therapy. It’s not like I was a regular patient of hers.” “That doesn’t make it ok,” Hen says softly. She says it in the voice she uses to reassure victims in the field, and Buck has no idea why she’s using it now.  “Look, I get that it wasn’t the classiest thing I’ve ever done," Buck says in an effort to downplay the whole thing, "but it’s not like we did something illegal." “At the very least it’s sexual misconduct,” Athena chimes in, and her voice is serious, too. “Depending on the circumstances, it could even be considered rape.” “Woah,” Buck says, stepping back in alarm. “Hey, no, it was very much consensual. I would never-” Buck looks around and catches Bobby’s eyes. “Bobby, I swear,” he pleads, “I know I did a lot of stupid shit, but I never did anything that the other person wasn’t completely on board with. I would never try to take advantage of-” “No one is accusing you, Buck,” Bobby assures him. “You would have been the victim. If your therapist slept with you, then as the patient you’re the one who was assaulted.” Buck snorts at the wild absurdity of that statement. “I think I’d know if I had been assaulted.” “If she violated her duty of care -” Bobby starts to say. Buck shakes his head. “It wasn’t like that,” he insists. “I flirted, she flirted, and one thing led to another. That’s all.” “Ok, let’s all maybe take a breath,” Eddie says, stepping in and stationing himself between Buck and the frowning faces all around him. “This is a baby shower, not an inquisition. Let’s just eat some cake and tease Buck about his very pretty baby sling.”  He plucks at the floral fabric wrapped around Buck’s chest – which Buck got for free on facebook marketplace, thank you very much – and gives him a reassuring smile. The rest of the crew chuckles lightly and are willing enough to move on to other topics of conversation - though not without some pointedly concerned glances at Buck - as the stork cake is cut and served.  “I’m stealing your kid,” Eddie says, plucking Danny out of his arms as soon as everyone’s attention has been successfully redirected. “Go talk to Bobby.”

[lordoftherazzles]

Oooooh Golden Hearts Bleed Faster and Unnamed Alice In Wonderland/Oz AU for the wips game, please!

THANKS FOR ASKING ABOUT THESE!!!!

I'll share a snippet from GHBF and then some information about the other!!!

“You’re welcome to cozy up with me in the reading nook if you get bored,” Bilbo hummed playfully, flashing a grin and twirling his fork between his fingers. “I tell great stories that may even captivate you, Mister Oakenshield.” “Fairytales of trolls and dwarves?” Thorin drawled, rolling his eyes and letting the sultry pass that came his way pass him by. Not to say it didn’t bring a small dose of warmth to his cheeks all the same. “Rain check.” Gesturing to the window at the pitter-patter of actual rain to accompany his words, Thorin was grateful their chatty breakfast had fallen to silence, just as it usually did. A little banter, and sometimes nothing at all. It was comfortable, to a certain extent. This was still a job, and no matter how cozy or domestic it felt, Thorin was keeping everyone and everything at a professional, arm’s length, distance. (Golden Hearts Bleed Faster, COMING LATER THIS YEAR!!)

Now the other AU, which has been sitting on my wip list for like....2+ years lmao.

In a nutshell, here is my idea:

One day, Smaug would be slain by a hero in king's armor, with the heart of the mountain as his weapon.

Smaug, an enchanter (he's the wizard role here, but bad), takes the three kings, Thorin, Bard, and Thranduil, and essentially takes some of the best parts of them away (heart, smarts, courage), and curses Middle Earth into forgetting that prophecy - for all anyone knows, Smaug has, and always will be, the king.

Bilbo crash lands into the picture, a reluctant and unlikely hero who must help the three lost kings find themselves again - who have been physically altered as a part of the curse. Instead of a set of ruby slippers, as those are hardly adequate to a hobbit...how about a shirt of mithril rings? A kingly set of armor, if you ask me.

It will have various Oz elements, and Alice in Wonderland inspiration across the way - and I'm looking forward to finally getting to this one!

And yes, Gandalf is Glinda.

Fun Fact: my sibling REALLY wants this one 🤣 so I hope she likes it.

Ask me about my AUs!

[monsterrae1]

Too late for Wip Wednesday it’s practically Thursday Tag Game

(It’s an hour away from midnight and I’m just getting around to sharing anything)

Tagged by: @shortsighted-owl @panbuckley @eddiediaztho @prince-buck-diaz @rogerzsteven @alyxmastershipper @spotsandsocks @hippolotamus @honestlydarkprincess @folk-fae @jesuisici33 @exhuastedpigeon @wildlife4life @heartbeatdiaz

So I have a magic prompt sitting on my inbox, and it was too late for me to turn on my laptop to work on Girl dad buck and my tablet died so I can’t work on the angst fic. Instead I’ve been fucking around with this on my phone notes app. Idk when I’ll finish it but here it is.

Not tagging anyone cause it’s late AF again 💀

Snippet:

Buck was 6 years old when he found out the coolest secret about his family: they had magic! He had caught his mom enchanting her pen to take down notes while she was walking around the kitchen making a grocery list, but when he gasped in awe she told him he hadn’t seen anything at all, and to go back to his room. But Buck knew that he had seen, he was so sure the pen was moving on its own! And that night when Maddie came back from her extracurriculars he asked her about it.

“I know the family secret,” he had said with a grin, Maddie went white for a second, her eyes wide open and staring at Buck “we have magic!” He whispered at her, or whatever 6 years old would consider as whispering.

“Evan,” she said slowly, “did you do anything?”

He shook his head and told him about what he had seen in the kitchen, and insisted it had been real! He knew that he has seen!

And Maddie… Maddie told him everything, about their family, about their magic and how it would present itself when Buck was a little older.

“I was nine,” Maddie said, “when mine started”

And then, the most amazing thing happen, Maddie made all the feathers from the pillow float, filling the entire room, and Buck just stared at them and giggled and giggled and told his sister that he couldn’t wait until he had his powers too.

As soon as he learn how to read he devoured every single book about magic he could get his hands on, he watched all of the shows and all of the movies and when the clock struck on midnight on the day of his ninth birthday he waited for something to happen. And on the night of his tenth birthday. And the eleventh. And the twelfth. And on and on.

Until he was 14 years old, and Maddie had left for college with her boyfriend and Buck was all alone in their big house, and none of his books had the answers as to why he was the only one in his family without magic.

“It sometimes skips a generation, Evan” Maddie had told him once, but when he told her that meant she shouldn’t have magic either she never brought it up again.

His parents refused to talk about their magic at all, pretending it didn’t exist; but Buck felt how they looked at him, how this was just another disappointment in the long list they had from him.

When he was 19 he left Hershey and his family behind, but part of him still hoped his magic would kick in on the night of his birthday.

[savage-rhi]

I wanna know about your WIP Everything Zen!

@krisssssssy Big thank ya for asking! I don't have much written up yet for this one, but this is what I have thus far and this is the song that inspired the story:

Summary: It is said in the holy book that when Lucifer fell from heaven, he was plunged into the depths of hell and awaits the apocalypse. What if hell wasn't a firey pit of despair, but in fact, living as a human being for all of eternity?

Zen--the most recent reincarnation of Lucifer--after several lifetimes has finally pieced together a way he can break free from the reincarnation cycle. With the aid of a woman with her own troubles and tribulations--Zen seeks the legendary 10 crowns or "horns" of The Beast to return to heaven.

There's paranormal and supernatural elements in the plot, and a lot of existential themes that both the characters go through. I'm also playing around with throwing in some psychology elements too.

I'm not sure when I'm going to go into full sandbox mode with this one, but I jot down concepts and ideas for the major plot points quite often.

Below is a snippet I wrote a while back. The name Sawyer is going to be used for my fanfic Duality, so I might change this characters name later on:

I imagine Zen looking like Tom Riley.

"So," Sawyer let out a sigh. "When this little road trip of ours comes to an end and you go home. What happens next?"

Zen raised a brow and shrugged. If he were more honest with himself, he hadn't thought that much ahead of the game. Not that he'd admit it out loud.

"I suppose I try and break bread with my father," Zen scoffed. He then smirked as another amusing thought came to mind. "Maybe sing kumbaya with Michael while I'm at it. Hell, maybe pops would like a souvenir from--"

He paused and frowned, looking at the inside of the diner trying in vain to find something that popped out. "Bumfuck Montana, or wherever we are right now."

"Bumfuck Montana," Sawyer repeated. She sounded so unimpressed that Zen could feel his pride take a few steps back. "That's original."

"Oh yeah?" Zen smirked. "You think you can do better?"

"I probably could," Sawyer admitted with a grin. "But I don't need Satan on my ass for the next decade or however long I got left."

"Eh," Zen's eyes scanned over Sawyer in a scrutinizing manner. "You don't have much going on there, ass wise. I wouldn't fret."

"Asshole," Sawyer growled under her breath.

"You walked into that I'm afraid." Zen snorted.

Although Sawyer smiled and laughed off his counter, Zen could sense a little more of herself closing off to him. The way her shoulders firmed and the subtle twitch of her fingers against the coffee mug had him uneasy. His therapist from the late 1800s stated such unease from physical tics was due to abandonment issues. He remembered laughing himself to death over that, but admitted perhaps they had been onto something. He hated it when someone pulled away. It demonstrated a dishonesty that infuriated him to the core.

Zen felt eager to verbally rip Sawyer apart, but reminded himself of how fragile her current state of mind was. He gave credit where it was due. She was certainly a phenomenal actor, pretending nothing got under her skin. That was a quality he had come to admire about humans over the centuries. How their resilience was impeccable. He couldn't say the same for himself as he ruminated on his earlier feelings of disgust.

What happened at the truck stop bothered him a great deal, and he wasn't the one who had been assaulted. He may had "saved the day", but the damage had been done. It was clear in Sawyers eyes and the way she had carried herself since then.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Zen murmured.

"Not really," Sawyer replied. Her eyes scanned over the diner, reminding Zen of a meerkat scouting the plains for hyena. "It's not the first time something like that has happened to me. I'll get over it."

He felt the hairs on his neck stand, and blinked a few times as his mind pondered more than it should've on Sawyer's remark.

"You're not alone in your misery. If it's any consolation."

Sawyer's eyes landed on him, sensing a familiarity in his cadence. It took her but a few moments to register the weight. "You too?"

Zen nodded. He sunk further into his seat as he relaxed and stretched. "You seem surprised."

"I didn't think…since you're, you know who, that you'd know what that's like--"

"I've lived many lifetimes. I'm not a stranger to bodily harm of the highest. Be it male or female." He interrupted, offering a small grin to soften the blow of his confession for her sake. Zen felt something akin to shame shortly after, and dismissively waved his right hand. Trying to tell Sawyer without words not to think too hard on anything. He focused on the birds in the parking lot outside the window. Watching them peck at stale leftover french fries someone had tossed.

"I'm sorry," Sawyer softly replied. He didn't have to see her face to tell she felt foolish for whatever assumptions she had held of him.

"It's whatever," Zen shrugged with a grin. He realized how odd that must've looked considering the circumstances, but didn't linger upon it.

Once the birds took off, having their fill, did he look at Sawyer again. He bit the inside of his cheek.

"You don't me owe me your past or anything you've been through, but I do want you to know that so long as we travel together, that won't happen again."

"How can you be certain?"

"I'm not," Zen admitted. "But contrary to popular belief, I keep my word if you'll have it."

[airplanned]

WIP Wednesday Thursday

Zoro and Sanji are both dumbasses, just in different ways.

--

Zoro's in the kitchen being underfoot, and just because he's in the damn way and he knows Zoro will hate it (haha!), Sanji smacks a kiss to his cheek.  Loud and popping and as annoying as he can possibly make it.  He's expecting Zoro to flail out an arm, to snarl at him and shout at him, and Sanji would laugh and laugh and laugh.  

He's not expecting Zoro to whip around in one smooth movement and slap his ass. Loud and popping and as annoying as he can possibly make it.

Sanji's soul jerks out of his body, leaving him stiff, wide-eyed, and frozen for a beat too long before he explodes with, "You fucking shitty lump of mold!"  

But Zoro's already out the door.  He shoots Sanji a grin over his shoulder that for a moment makes him look his age, and even as Sanji's skin and bones vibrate with indignation, the rest of his insides melt at the sight.  He should go after that idiot and drag him into a storage room.

He should go after him and punt him into the ocean.

It's impossible to decide which one is the more appealing option.

Fucking asshole.

He sighs and turns back to his meal prep.  But maybe his sigh was a bit too wistful, because Nami clears her throat.  He looks up to where Nami and Usopp have been sitting at the kitchen island.  

Sitting and watching.  

Usopp gives him a look like he's trying to do long division in his head and also has to sneeze.  Nami just looks exhausted.

"Please tell him not to do that in front of Luffy.  We don't need him getting ideas."

"Forget Luffy," Usopp says.  "Y'all shouldn't do that in front of me.  My eyes are delicate!"

Sanji laughs.  "No argument from me."  Except now that Sanji's had a moment, he's actually not against whatever that was happening again.  And, yeah, without other people around.  Yes.  Good.

"You did start it," Nami says.

"And Zoro finished it," Usopp adds.  They give him weirdly identical pitying looks.  Clearly, they've been hanging out together too much.

Sanji shakes his head.  "Look, he may have won that battle, but he won't win the war."

Nami blinks at him.  "The...war?"

"There's a winner?" Usopp asks.

Sanji nods. "That's what he says."

For a moment they both stare at him, but he's in agreement with them that it is an absurd game and Zoro makes no sense at all. While they're working through it in their heads, he chops more onions.

Nami's eyes are narrowed in thought as she slowly asks, "So...how does one win the war?"

"Oh!" Usopp jumps in. "Okay, so they're gonna get worse and worse until one day Sanji dares Zoro to marry him. Not just dare him, but double dog dare him.  That means you have to do it.  And then Zoro will say--" in what he must think is an impression of Zoro, Usopp frowns and glares off into the distance and says , "I never back down.  And then they'll get married!"

This explanation (although amusing) does not answer any questions and does not clear up anything for Nami.  "...That sounds like they both lose. No offense."

"None taken," Sanji says.  As if he'd dare Zoro to marry him.  We would never.

Well...actually... he could see picture it if he was in an extremely competitive mood, and he could see it if their fights escalated without Zoro backing down until they got to that point.  

But it's not like that would happen any time soon or anything.

"No no," Usopp explains. "You see, they'll both write their own vows, and whoever cries first when they read them loses."

"So...Sanji," Nami says.

"Oh yeah.  No doubt."

They both turn to give him pitying looks.  Identical pitying looks. 

"You're going to lose eventually," Nami says.  "No way around it."

"Yeah. Sorry, man."

"Just give up now and save us all from...that."  She waves a hand over her shoulder.

Sanji's not quite sure where to start with this.  They're making a big deal over nothing, and he has everything under control.  "Nami, it pains me to disagree with you--"

She throws her head back and groans.

"--But I will not be bested by sentient moss.  Don't worry.  I'll win before it escalates that far."

Now both of them are trying to do division and need to sneeze.  They turn to look at each other, holding some telepathic conversation.  (Way too much time together.)

"Okay, I'm out," Usopp announces, and Nami agrees with a, "Yep."

They both vanish from the kitchen without a decent goodbye.

[freewayshark]

Wip Wednesday

Tagged today by @rewritetheending but also lately by @heartbeatdiaz @panbuckley @alyxmastershipper and @clusterbuck and probably other people going back even further than the last few tag games but hey! I have something to share today, and it’s a little bit longer chunk since I haven’t been sharing much stuff. It’s hot off the presses so still v rough and yes I am doing the annoying thing where I don’t say what this is for no apparent reason

When he gets to the site where the pair had apparently decided to set up camp, it isn’t a mystery as to why he’s been called in for a med check on day one.

The man is sitting in the dirt next to a pile of dry tree limbs, and his foot is covered in bright red blood. The dirt around his foot has turned into a burgundy mud where the dry ground has eagerly soaked up the blood spilling from a nasty wound on top of the man’s foot. A wickedly sharp machete lies a couple feet away, its glistening crimson edge giving it away as the culprit.

Eddie kneels next to the man and starts unpacking the necessities from his kit.

“Hi, I’m Eddie. You mind telling me what happened?”

The man grimaces, more out of embarrassment than pain.

“I was using Michelle’s machete to hack up some of this wood into smaller pieces for our fire. I didn’t realize it was that sharp, so it went through the branch and, uh, well, kept going. Guess cutting away from your body is useful advice for more than just using safety scissors in the first grade, huh?”

The guy laughs at his own joke, which is something Eddie would usually find to be a precursor to jackass behavior, something he is unfortunately all too familiar with on this job, but something about the guy’s self-deprecating grin belies that assumption.

The bright blue eyes probably don’t hurt.

Eddie redoubles his attention on the injury.

“You didn’t try to stop the bleeding?” He asks, brow furrowed.

“Ah, no. I could tell it wasn’t bleeding too bad, and there’s not exactly an abundance of gauze or anything clean out here, so I figured better to not get a bunch of dirt in it,” he says, holding up his hands to show his dirt covered palms.

Considering it hasn’t bled an alarming amount, that probably was the best course of action, but he’s not sure he likes the idea of this guy out here free bleeding if he gets hurt again because it worked out this time. But most people wouldn’t even have thought about it before trying to stop the bleeding.

“Do you have medical training?” He asks as he starts flushing the wound with saline. The machete itself still could’ve introduced dirt or particles of the branch it had already passed through, so better safe than sorry. The man doesn’t even wince.

“I do! I’m a firefighter with the LAFD,” he answers proudly. “My name’s Buck, by the way.”

I haven’t been on a lot today so I’m sure I’m tagging people that have already done it but I’m tagging the people mentioned above and @sibylsleaves @fiona-fififi @transboybuckley @gayhoediaz @elvensorceress @mysteriouslyyounggalaxy @transbuck

[steves-strapcollection]

grow back your sharpest teeth (you know my desire) [WIP Wednesday Snippet Part Zwei!]

Annnnnd here is a snippet of my Steddie Week fic for Day 7! AKA Transmasc Steve's Strap Collection. The premise is Eddie is a tattoo artist, Steve is very much into him. Also Steve is trans and has insane strap game, and also only xenodicks. It's.... a very self-indulgent AU I've created where I get to live my dreams as a trans man in love with Eddie Munson, okay? also Robin is trans, stobin is t4t platonic soulmates ;p

Also I got impatient so I'm posting this at lunch instead :)

“Hey! You’re early,” Eddie said as he walked out to greet them properly. “I’ve got a couple designs done for you to choose from.”

Soon they were huddled around a battered iPad, discussing the designs Eddie drew up based on the Barbie logo until they decided on one they both liked the best.

“I want mine in baby blue, and Steve wants his in the Barbie pink,” Robin said and Eddie laughed warmly at that.

“Listen, normally I don’t care about the tattoos my clients get, but since you’re friends I’m really curious,” Eddie confessed, gesturing at the design. “Why the Barbie logo?”

Robin laughed a bit nervously and Steve spoke up. “I mean, you know we’re both trans, right? Well, Barbie is the ideal, she’s everything, so especially for Robs here, she’s kind of a huge deal. Y’know?”

Eddie nodded with a grin. “That’s sick, I love it,” he said before turning a sly look on Steve. “Wouldn’t you be Ken, though?”

Steve had hoped Eddie would ask a question like that and he had to refrain from punching the air and ruining his punchline.

“I come with all the coolest accessories, so obviously I’m Barbie,” Steve retorted, his voice going just a bit deeper as he leaned closer to Eddie.

Just as he’d hoped, Eddie blushed lightly and he glanced at Steve’s mouth, just like he always did when Steve flirted. Then Eddie laughed breathlessly and he smirked suggestively.

“I bet you do, big boy,” he teased and Steve had to hold back from cheering loudly as once again, Eddie played into the little script he’d practiced all week.

“You can always come over sometime and see for yourself,” Steve offered almost innocently if not for the way he nudged Eddie’s ankle with his foot. “Maybe even take a couple for a spin?”

Eddie’s eyes widened and his face turned a gorgeous shade of red before he cleared his throat. “Stevie, if I didn’t know better I’d think you were asking me out,” Eddie said with an almost nervous laugh and Steve nearly screamed in frustration. Why was this man so oblivious?

“You apparently don’t actually know better,” Steve pressed...

Annnnnnnd I'm only tagging a couple people: @scarcrossdlvrs, @patchworkgargoyle, @steve-harringtits, @rugbertgoeshome (tagging u bc ur tags on the post i linked made me laugh VERY hard), @scoops-stevie (tagging u bc u originally reblogged the og post like 👀 pls do not feel like u HAVE to interact w this xkxndkmsjd)

[tuulikannel]

...so, @lazytoday went and asked for all the wips in the wip ask game XD Here we go, then! (This isn’t all of them, yet, though. Just the Gakushuu-centric AC ones: tabula rasa, secrets, Yotsuba, and Dangan... well, Dangan isn't quit Shuu-centric, but he is important in it.)

tabula rasa

One day, after summer break, Gakushuu wakes up to find his father in oddly good humor, humming happily in the kitchen as he’s preparing breakfast. Everybody else seems to be having a great day, too. After the nearly perfect day, he’s almost forgotten how weird the morning was, but then the following discussion takes place.

“On a day like this, one could almost forget that the E class exists,” he said lightly. “The what now?” Ren asked, and he gave a little laugh. “Heh, good one. But we can’t afford to forget them for real. They’re getting cocky after their victory. We need to make sure that…” He noticed the way his friends were looking at him and frowned. “What?” Ren met his eye, looking confused. “What are you talking about, Gakushuu?” His frown deepened. “What? The E class of course! 3-E!” he specified as they kept on staring at him in growing confusion. “There… is no E class, you know?” Araki said. Others nodded. “A, B, C, D,” Ren said. “And that’s it.” “What the hell are you… okay, this joke isn’t funny. I know they beat your asses and won that stupid bet, but pretending they don’t exist isn’t going to fix anything, so stop.” His friends stood still, watching him in silence. Something about their absolute stillness was nearly terrifying. “Gakushuu,” Ren said, his tone very kind and gentle. Suddenly it brought to his mind his father’s kind smile from the morning, and he took an involuntary step back. “There is no such class. And besides, this is school, not competition. The exams don’t exist for us to beat each other, but to measure our growth.” “But…” Gakushuu looked from one face to another, each of them looking kinder and friendlier than the other. “But… the E class? You know, the… the untouchables of this school? Who stay at the old campus…?” “At the old campus?” Ren was shaking his head. “Does that make sense to you? Cause it sure doesn’t make any sense to me. Why on earth would any class of this school be separated from the rest like that?”

So what do you do, when everything is right, and yet nothing is right? ^^

secrets

I’ve written barely anything for this fic, but it’s about Gakushuu deciding he truly wants to find out 3-E’s secret and setting out to do that. I kinda want to do this as a choose your own adventure thing. XD

Yotsuba

Well, yes. Obviously a crossover with Yotsuba&! Gakushuu has promised to keep company to the daughter of his dad’s business associate while they’re having a meeting. He’s waiting for her at the hotel, growing impatient. Then a green-haired girl finally shows up.

Gakushuu stared, a sinking feeling in his stomach. “Miss Kawai?” he called out, just in case. The girl blinked and glanced at him. “Kawai Yotsuba?” he asked again. Her face broke into a grin. “Thank you!” she exclaimed. He sighed. “You’re… Yotsuba?” he asked once more, just to be sure. “Yep! Koiwai Yotsuba! I’m five!” She held up four fingers at him. Gakushuu sighed again. A little girl who could barely either talk or count… just his luck. Why had his father lied to him about the girl’s age? She was supposed to be the same age as he. Or… had the man been mocking him when he had said that? He put a smile on his face. Oh well. Five, fifteen, so what? He could look after a kid, sure.

In other words: a story where Gakushuu accidentally kidnaps a 5-year-old but ends up having a great day.

Damn I love Yotsuba. ^^

Dangan

Again, kind of obviously, a crossover with Danganronpa. I've posted a snippet of it before, here.

So, I've combined Kunugigaoka and Hope's Peak for this fic. Or, to be exact, the school is Hope's Peak, but Gakuhou is the principal. Those who've played the second game can probably guess what role the 3-E kids have here (not saying it, cause spoilers. ^^ For the game that is!) The story sort of combines the two canons. Add the exploding moon and the escaped Reaper (who doesn't become Korosensei) to Junko & Ultimate Despair, and there are fun times ahead, indeed. ^^

(Incidentally... I realized that I could make Gakuhou the chairman of *censored cause spoilers* and keep Jin Kirigiri as the principal. That’d make perfect sense, really. I'm still torn about this... cause that’d mean I’d have to scrap one plot point I'm really fond of. I don’t know, we’ll see.)

[freesidexjunkie]

WIP Wednesday but it's Friday

A small snippet of chapter 7 for Din'an All Elgara 💕 rough draft, WIP, etc etc (the chapter is almost entirely typed up now, just need to edit it into a version i can live with). For context, this takes place in Haven in the very early game.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“No,” he said with a little smirk. “No, I fear I am boring you with my prattle.”

Shit. “No! No, I was…” I was what? Lost in your eyes? Distracted by the warm timbre of your voice, by the shifting glow of the magic as you worked it with ease? “I was just… distracted by the Mark. The way it moves, and all.”

“Ah, of course,” he said, though his tone suggested that my wandering gaze had betrayed me.

I felt my cheeks grow warm as a nervous laugh escaped me. “Oh, shut up,” I said, pulling my hand away as I scooted back. “I was listening, for your information. I don’t get many chances to talk about magic like this back home. It’s just me and the Keeper, and sometimes giving lessons to the Second. Dalish magic is just…”

“Lacking in imagination?” He said.

I swatted him on the arm as I tried to suppress my own grin. He wasn’t far off, but I couldn’t just up and agree with him. “Watch it, you. Dalish magic can get plenty imaginative if you get on our bad side.”

Solas put his hands up in mock surrender. “Of course,” he said, “my apologies. I certainly would not want to be on the wrong end of one of your spells, at least.”

I rolled my eyes again, trying to give the impression that his approval of my spellwork only gave me the normal amount of butterflies. “I was going to say it’s very practical. Healing and day-to-day stuff. A few rituals. There’s less time to explore magical theory when you’re always on the move, trying to keep a clan healthy and safe.”

“Naturally,” he replied, folding his hands behind his back. Even in a war camp, he always managed to look so… regal. Like there was an elegant ease about him. “Well, it is gratifying to know that you aren’t just humoring me, then, by letting me drone on.”

I flashed a coy smirk, the feeling bubbling up in my chest lending me a bit of boldness. “Or maybe I just enjoy listening to you talk,” I said.

“I… ahem.” He looked away to clear his throat, and I almost swore I saw a bit of color rise in his cheeks. “Thank you, lethallan. Though I suspect you may be the first.”

“Besides yourself, you mean?”

That earned a real, honest-to-gods laugh from him as he threw his head back. “I see. You flatter me in one breath and humble me with the next. Like a rose, luring people in with beauty before pricking them with your thorns.”

Beautiful? I tried to calm the flipping in my stomach. He might have just meant beautiful words, after all; but…

“Please,” I responded, “I’m not that prickly.”

His teasing smile softened into something a bit more like fondness. “No, you are not,” he said. “You have a way about you of putting people at ease, I think.”

“Of course,” I replied, affecting a haughty air. “I’m a born diplomat, Solas.”

“Hm. I wonder if Lady Josephine would agree with that?”

Now it was my turn to be affronted as I clutched a hand to my chest. “Ha! Now who’s thorny?”

Before Solas could made any kind of reply, a young human boy ran up to us; one of the Inquisition’s scouts, if I remembered correctly. He bowed a bit awkwardly before addressing us. “Your Worship. Sister Leliana sent me to bring you to the Chantry. There’s been a… situation of sorts with the Chancellor."

Roderick. Of course. According to Cassandra, he was little more than a glorified clerk, but that hadn’t stopped him from calling for my righteous execution near hourly since I woke up. I groaned loudly as I got down from my spot. “Dread Wolf take me… Doesn’t he have anything better to do?”

I heard Solas snicker at my misfortunes from behind. “Would that I could assist, but I am not the ‘natural born diplomat,’ unfortunately.”

“Don’t be so quick to joke,” I warned. “He’s got a stick up his ass about heathen elven mages. I might tell him you’re here just to keep him out of my hair.”

The young scout spoke up again. “Apologies, my Lady, but I do believe it was somewhat urgent.”

“Right, yes. I’m coming,” I said with a sigh. I turned to speak to Solas as I walked back towards the Chantry. “Wish me luck. I’m sure he’s going to argue for wasting all your hard work again.”

“Dareth shiral, lethallan,” he replied with one last smile, picking up his book. “If you need anything further, I’ll be here.”

Feeling a bit emboldened, I threw a little smirk at him over my shoulder as I left. “Oh, I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

Anyways, thank you if you read this far!! Let me know what you think of it, if you have any thoughts? I hope to have the full chapter up by this weekend; if not, fingers crossed for early next week!!

[unfriendlyamazon]

wip wednesday for real (heist au)

so @alectoperdita got me watching leverage for the vibes and i will say it has motivated my writing of the heist au. still in the early stages, but i've knocked out more words in the past 24 hours than i have since i first came up with the idea. i've posted a little bit before, but i cleaned it up, changed some things, and figured out what i needed to. still excited to be writing when it felt like a month of being clogged, so i'm going to share it.

and if you want to listen to the heist au soundtrack i do have a spotify playlist for funsies

The flight from Tokyo to New York was a beast, but Yugi didn’t mind. He curled up in his first class seat, headphones on as he tapped away at his computer. The lights were dimmed for the late crossover, and the business man that sat across from him was slumped over in his sleep, two vodka sours and a sleeping pill knocking him out entirely. Most of the other passengers snoozed as well, or shifted uncomfortably in hour eight of the sixteen hour excursion. There was the quiet noise from a few headphones, the soft snores of the passed out businessman, and Yugi’s fingers flying across his keyboard. A stewardess walked the rows. She brought a water to Yugi, who smiled at her gratefully.

“Oh,” she said, “you’re playing that game. My son loves it.”

Yugi dipped back his headphones to hear her better. His character stood idly on the square landscape. Creative mode boxes took up the screen, and a building was taking shape.

“It’s a hobby of mine,” he admitted with a sheepish grin. “My grandpa runs a game store, so I get into all of these.”

“That’s so cute,” she said. “Are you building something? A castle?”

“Oh, no.” He moved his character back so she could get a better view of the tall gray structure. Window panes had been meticulously placed, and she couldn’t see it, but the interior included beds, a pool, and a reception desk. “It’s the Nippon International Hotel in New York. Do you know it?”

She blinked, smile turning confused. The stewardess looked again at the screen as though deciphering a puzzle. “I know of it. A lot of our passengers stay there.”

“I’ve only seen it in pictures myself.” He tapped a few buttons, pulling out steel blocks from his inventory. “I’m trying to get a good view of its layout.”

“Can I ask,” she said slowly, “why?”

He shrugged. “It’s a long flight, I don’t have much else to do.”

“And why the Nippon?”

“I’ve got some business to attend to there.”

She nodded, plastering on her best service smile, and quickly shuffled away. It’d be a while before they walked around again. At this point in the flight, the crew was taking a rest as well. Yugi finished aligning the blocks he’d been working on and glanced over at the businessman. He’d removed his jacket, and it slumped over his shoulders.

Eight more hours to go. Yugi felt the telltale twitch of boredom in his fingers. Saving his work, he stood up from his seat. As he sidled into the aisle, he kicked the plastic edge of the airplane seat and jutted forward, grabbing himself on the businessman’s shoulder. He stuttered out apologies, but it was unnecessary. The man slept through. Yugi gave an apologetic pat to the man before straightening up and heading to the bathroom.

He swung the door shut and looked at himself in the dull light that hung over a small mirror. He pressed a finger to the bags under his eyes and stuck out his tongue. He hadn’t slept much before this flight, spending the last week making preparations, and during it his mind was racing too fast to hope for any rest on the way there. Boredom was always a danger to Yugi. It kept him from building a path in high school, and dropped him out of college only a year in, and now it kept him awake at night with thoughts whirring in his head. He spent his days behind the register at his grandpa’s game shop, and in his time off, he hustled the chess players in the park, or practiced his sleight of hand. He still played with the magic show tricks he’d learned when he was young, but these days those skills went to different uses.

From his hoodie sleeve he removed the wallet he’d shifted off the man’s coat. Inside were a number of yen, a few credit cards, and a picture of his daughter, Yugi assumed. He shifted through the bills, counting out 30,000 yen. He pocketed half of it, tucked the rest back inside, and left the wallet on the counter. Someone would find it and return it later, no harm, no foul. It wasn’t really about the money anyway.

Yugi returned to his seat, admiring the build he’d done in Minecraft. It was a little weak compared to what he’d seen others do, but he had the time to spend on it. Tabbing over to another window, he opened the floorplans again and admired them.

Eight more hours to go, and all sorts of trouble to get into on the way there.

—

Joey Wheeler sighed as he climbed the stairs to his apartment. He closed out his voicemail, his landlord’s gruff voice still ringing. Rent was going up in Flatbush. When wasn’t it. Scrounging together the last few dollars he needed was getting harder each week.

He pushed it aside for now. He had other bills to pay, work to worry about, and he needed to stop by his dad’s place, just to make sure he was showering and staying sober. Serenity had texted him. He was reading her message when he jammed the key into the lock, and he paused. The door was pulled back from the frame a fraction of an inch. It stuck like that all the time. You really had to push it to make sure it closed properly. He did it every day when he left. Joey tucked his phone back into his pocket and swung his keys into his fist, shoving the door open.

His box of an apartment wouldn’t look any different for a breakin. This morning’s dishes were still in the sink, the egg and grease caked onto the plate. His shoes were kicked off next to the door in a haphazard pile. A pile of hoodies draped over the patched couch, and his books and DVDs were scattered on the coffee table, alongside week old mugs. The TV and Playstation were untouched, and his laptop, a few generations out of date but still functioning, was exactly where he’d left it this morning.

Joey let out a breath, stepping quietly through the door. Maybe his landlord had come by to see if the place was sellable. He hadn’t given his dad a key, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t drop in if he could manage it. A sound from his bedroom startled him, and he peered through the open door. Diesel Kane might be bold enough to trounce him in his own flat, or maybe it was Tetsu hitting him up again. Joey puffed up, fists curling, and he marked forward, ready to bluster and intimidate. A figure appeared there, a head shorter than he’d expected, and his hands reached for their collar, bringing up the face of--

“Yugi!” He gasped and let go. “Sorry, man, I thought--”

Yugi stumbled back, but he was smiling. “It’s my fault, Joey. I should’ve let you know I was dropping by.”

“Yeah dude.” He slid his hands through this hair, releasing the tension in them. “I didn’t even know you were in the city.”

“I flew in today,” he said. “I thought you’d be home.”

His grin was bright, round eyes warm. He looked like he did in his Instagram photos: vest pulled over his long sleeve shirt, a backpack slung over his shoulders, his usually spiked hair pulled back with the curls of his bleached bangs framing his face. Usually he was standing in front of his grandpa’s shop in Domino, or posing with cool kids in Harajuku. He must’ve just gotten off the world’s longest flight, looking exactly as cheerful as he always did.

“You shoulda told me.” Joey waved him into the living room, kicking aside the mess. “I’ve gotta shift in like three hours, but we could grab something quick. I know a great burger place--”

“Joey,” Yugi said, still smiling. “I didn’t come to visit.”

He stopped and looked at him. “Yeah?”

“I’ve got something lined up,” he said. “And I really need your help.”

Excitement jolted in his veins. “A job?”

He nodded.

“How big?” Joey asked.

Yugi grinned. “You have no idea.”

—

There was a lot to Joey and Yugi’s friendship, too much to be packed into a simple explanation. The truth was, Joey owed Yugi his life, and Yugi could never let down a friend, and the two had been inseparable for the brief time they’d both lived in Japan. Joey left when he turned eighteen, but they stayed close, and it was only a year later that Yugi called him up, saying he needed a favor.

Joey’d been staying with his dad at the time, and things were going bad. He took work where he could get it to pay the bills, and Diesel had come skulking around again, always with a carrot in his hand and a stick behind his back. Yugi had appeared, staying with another one of his friends who went to NYU. Over dinner, at some sandwich shop over in Park Slope, Yugi had asked for his help. It was important, he claimed, and he could only trust him with it. He asked him to come back to Japan with him. Joey couldn’t say no.

The first time Yugi had laid out his master plan for Joey, he hadn’t known what to make of it. They’d been in his bedroom above his grandpa’s shop, and Yugi showed him a small replica of the art gallery two blocks over, using figurines sold in little plastic bags from the game store. The security had a major flaw in it. He’d pointed it out to Joey, who nodded numbly. He listened to his whole spiel, and then Yugi sat down across from him and asked him what he thought.

The next day they’d stolen a ten thousand dollar antique vase. Joey played his muscle when he and Yugi went to the fence. They split the take even. It didn’t really hit for Joey what they’d done until he was on the flight home, and an excitement thrummed inside his chest.

That was four years ago. The jobs got bigger. The payouts were good. It wasn’t like kicking over corner stores for Diesel, or brawling against street gangs. The people they stole from were rich, the things weren’t important, and most of all he trusted Yugi. Joey would lay down his life for the guy.

So when he told him there was a job in his own backyard, Joey didn’t even have to think twice.

“Who are we meeting again?” Joey asked as he stirred the hot chocolate he’d ordered. November in New York was already feeling the chill. He hitched up his jacket as the cool breeze hit. The coffee shop sat across the street from a shiny hotel.

“Anzu’ll be here any minute.” Yugi checked his watch vintage 90s watch shaped like a Tamogatchi. “She’s probably just hung up on work.”

The whipped cream on Yugi’s caramel macchiato was almost as tall as he was. A third drink sat ready for their lunch date, a pumpkin spice latte.

“Anzu’s that girl, yeah?” Joey said. “You’ve known her a while.”

“Since the third grade.” Yugi smiled as he watched the building across the street. “She’s been my friend practically my whole life.”

“She, uh, in the business too?” he asked.

“She’s an actress,” Yugi said. “Which doesn’t exactly pay the bills, so she’s helped me out.”

Joey followed his line of sight. The front doors to the tall white building opened, and a woman stepped out, pulling a fluffy jacket over her dress. “Is she a good actress?”

“Good enough to get the job.” Yugi waved his hand widely, and the woman bustled across the street to them. She huffed as she came to the table and plopped down in the seat, swinging her bag over the back of the chair. The dress she wore was black, clean, with a pink fuzzy coat and eggshell scarf wrapped around her neck. Her auburn hair was cut short around her ears, and her wide eyes were certainly expressive.

“Who’s that?” she asked, pointing to Joey.

“Joey Wheeler, Anzu Mazaki.” Yugi spread his arms wide. “Now shake.”

Joey stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet ya.”

Anzu looked him up and down and limply took his grip, pulling away with one shake. She picked up the latte thankfully and downed it right away.

“How’s the new job treating you?” Yugi asked.

“Awful,” she said, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. “I can’t believe I agreed to this.”

“To what?” Joey asked. “What’s going on?”

“Does he not know?” Anzu asked.

“I was going to do a whole dramatic reveal,” Yugi said. “Give me a chance here, I’ve been planning this for a minute.”

“Just tell me already,” Joey said. “I’m dying of suspense.”

“Okay, okay.” He pointed to the brick across the street. “You see that building? That’s Nippon International, very fancy hotel, club, and spa. Lots of wealthy Japanese people use it, and it’s most likely the location chosen to stay by any Japanese business man traveling abroad. There are club rooms, a pool, and onsen, the works. If you’re going to host an event as a Japanese executive, it’s the spot to pick.”

“And that’s where you work,” Joey said to Anzu.

She shook her head. “Nope. But I do have to get back soon.”

“Let me finish,” Yugi whined. “I swear I’ll be fast. So a while back, I saw that several important historical items were being shipped from Japan to New York. A charity auction, international style. The company putting it on has a lot of business ties to America and probably thought they could attract a wider audience here, I don’t know, I barely know how business works.”

“You run a business,” Anzu said.

He shook his head. “My grandpa does. I just run the cash register. Can I finish, please?”

They both settled silently into their seats. Yugi cleared his throat.

“Anyway,” he said. “It’s all good for us. ‘Cause about a month ago I saw that the business in question had a lot of openings in their New York office. High turnover, it seems, with a need to fill positions quick. It’s a company with a lot of sway, but I know Anzu’s worked plenty of temp jobs and was in need of some extra income. I tell her to apply, forge a few reference letters from some good looking corporations, but really I think it’s the fact that you’re born in Japan that won them over.”

“I like to think my natural charm and charisma had something to do with it,” she said with a flip of her hair.

He grinned. “I bet. So now we have a lot of really high priced items being stored in that hotel, where Anzu is now, what is it, third assistant? She knows where they’re stored, what security is like, and how to work around. Best of all, the security of the place hasn’t been updated in years. It’s a sitting duck right now. And I already have a buyer.”

“What does that mean?” Anzu asked.

“It means we’re funded,” he said. “I got contacted through some third party means to run this job. All we have to do is steal one thing, and that’s it. We’re set for life.”

“How set?” Joey asked.

“Depending on how smooth everything runs,” Yugi said. “It’s $600,000 for the job.”

“Holy shit,” Joey said.

Yugi grinned. “Each.”

“Holy shit!”

“Holy shit is right,” Anzu said. “It’s better than what I’m getting paid for this job.”

“Wait, okay.” Joey held up his hands. “So who are we stealing from?

“Big company in our home town,” Yugi said. “Kaiba Corporation.”

“Kaiba, Kaiba.” He sounded out the name. “Why does that sound familiar?”

“The company restructured a few years back,” Yugi said. “They make games now, you’ve probably played a few. So it turns out the previous owner of the company was into really shady business and they’re still going through his assets. So a few months back they announce this big charity auction with items questionably attained by the family. I’m guessing they’re trying to wipe their hands clean of the whole situation, and use the money to make themselves look good. Now, there’s a lot of valuable items in the catalog, but the one we’re going after–”

“Is this.” Anzu produced a booklet and threw it down. She folded back the page that featured ancient Egyptian statues, and on one side was a large white porcelain dragon. Valued at 3 million yen. Joey felt his jaw drop. “Part of an original set by some famous guy in some dumpy place. There’s only four of them in the entire world, and here’s your chance to own one.”

“It’s the centerpiece of the auction,” Yugi said. “Our client is paying us to retrieve it. So, here it is: the Kaiba Corporation is storing all their priceless valuable artifacts in the Nippon International’s safe until auction day, where they will be paraded out for rich people to drop oodles of money on, and then that money will be used for tax breaks that line the pockets of the wealthy. That means…”

“Victimless crime,” Joey said with a grin.

“See,” Yugi said. “He gets it.”

“Victimless might be a strong word here,” Anzu said, “but I’ll admit it’s a tempting situation.”

“Anzu’s covering our bases on the outside,” Yugi said, “and I booked a room at the Nippon also, just to stay centrally located.”

Joey snorted. “Our benefactor buy that for you?”

“If some people can’t keep track of their credit card information, that’s on them,” Yugi said. “Now we’ve got a week to pull this together. The auction happens Saturday. The Kaibas are arriving…”

“In two hours,” Anzu said, looking at her phone. “Look, I can feed you whatever information I’ve got, but they’re not giving me security codes. As far as I can tell it’s all going through the Kaibas until the day of. Staff is purely set up and maintenance, and making sure the Kaibas have enough mineral water to drink.”

“It’s in a safe too,” Joey said thoughtfully. “A big one. Neither of us are picking a lock like that. We need a guy who knows hardware.”

“I don’t have anyone like that on this side of the ocean,” Yugi said.

“I do.”

Anzu gave a dubious look. “Is it someone you trust?”

“Probably the only person more than this man.” Joey slapped his friend on the shoulder. “What’s the take split four ways instead of three?”

Yugi did the quick math in his head. “$450k, give or take.”

“Still a pretty good nest egg,” he said.

“Not bad,” Anzu admitted. “Okay, I have to get back, or they’ll fire me. I’ll tell you what I learn when the Kaibas land.”

“One week, huh.” Joey smiled to himself. “Then it’s half a mil for each of us.”

“Yup,” Yugi said. “All we gotta do is bypass the hotel security with a bunch of high value targets wandering around, and smuggle out one of the rarest artifacts on the list, all under the nose of the some of the most powerful businessmen in Japan.”

Anzu rolled her eyes. “Well when you say it like that, it sounds so easy.”

He grinned wide. “It always is.”

—

Yugi and Joey took the train out of Manhattan towards the Bronx. They found themselves in a row of industrial shops, welding, plumbing, and body shops on a cracked concrete path. Off to the side was a garage with a barbed fence around it, and a sign that read Taylor & Sons, now grayed and weathered. As they approached, a dog bounded towards them, barking and biting the air. Joey jumped back from the German Shepherd that paced the fence line.

“Blankey, stop,” Joey grunted. “This stupid dog never recognizes me. Taylor, come get your mutt!”

The door swung open, and out stepped a tall, broad man. Packed into his workman’s jumpsuit were stacks of muscles, and a sharp coif of spiked hair on top of tanned skin. He slapped a grease stained rag over his shoulder, walking to the gate.

“Which one?” he said as he grabbed Blankey by the collar.

“Don’t be a dick, man.” Joey leaned against the gate and put on his most winning smile. “I got something good for ya.”

“I never like when you say shit like that to me,” he said. “What kind of trouble you getting into today?”

“The best kind,” he said. “The kind that pays.”

To say Tristan Taylor and Joey Wheeler had been through hell and back was something of an understatement. There was nothing the two hadn’t faced together, fists raised, grins stretched on their lips. It was the sort of brotherhood forged in fire, strong as steel. It also meant Tristan knew when Joey was bullshitting him, and when he meant business.

“So this is Yugi, huh,” he said as he put on the electric kettle. “You take tea?”

“Sure,” Yugi said. “Joey’s talked about me, huh.”

“He’s said a few things.” He glanced up at his friend, tossing him a cola. “Nothing incriminating.”

“He’s being nice,” Joey said, snapping the tab on his soda. “Tristan’s helped me out plenty of times. He’s my go-to man.”

“That’s me,” Tristan said, dropping onto a couch in what had once been a waiting area. “Joey’s gopher.”

“Is it just you?” Yugi asked. He looked around the shop, but most of the furniture had been yanked out, leaving only the comforts of a few worn loungers and an employee kitchen with just a few amenities. “The sign says ‘& Sons’.”

“Hopeful on my dad’s part,” Tristan said. “My sister runs a bar not far from here, but the garage is closed. I use it as a workshop now.”

“Tristan’s a fixer,” Joey said. “Anything and everything.”

“Electronics, cars, other stuff.” He shrugged at the implication. “Pays the bills, barely.”

“Oh, yeah?” Yugi said. “How do you feel about safes?”

The kettle gave a long beep behind them, and steam poured from its spout. Tristan got up without a word, pouring two cups of green tea and handing one to Yugi. He settled back into his spot like a mountain settling, and he sipped from a peach colored tea cup with the painted image of a manatee curving around the base. He set it down on the table between them. Yugi and Joey glanced at each other.

“How big?” Tristan said finally.

“Uh, pretty big,” Joey said. “Yugi’s got schematics and shit.”

“It’d be on site,” Yugi said. “Quietly, best bet. And what’s inside is fragile.”

“Should I ask,” Tristan said, “what’s inside?”

“I can tell you what it’s worth,” Yugi said. “And I can tell you your cut.”

He did. Tristan let out a low whistle. He took another drink of his tea, setting it back onto the coaster, and he stood up.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go to the garage.”

Tristan’s workshop was spacious, and some of the car stands and equipment was still hooked up. An old Dodger was still being worked on in the fear slot, but the rest of the space looked like a junk yard. Old video game equipment piled next to ham radios, crates with shipping labels stacked up high, car parts, welding tools, and scrap metal was organized and displayed in patterns around the space. Yugi recognized the less than legal items for what they were, especially the materials for explosives carefully put away on industrial shelves. Tristan pushed some things aside, sitting down at an antique wooden desk with an old computer that’d been completely rebuilt.

“Okay,” he said. “Tell me the score.”