#that goes in this tag also bc it's mainly centered around him

[newtafterdark]

ILOVE YOUR FANFIC ON AO3 WHERE GORGGEOUS FREEMAN AND FREEMANS MIND AND HLVRAI AND HALF LIFE ARE INVOLVED

I'm so glad to hear you like "A Beautiful Mess"!! :D (Also, it always brings me a lot of joy when folks yell happily into my askbox like that! Never change! :>)

You also might be happy to hear that I've been working on a set of new chapters for a while now! They tend to take a while because A) life gets in the way and B) getting my specific versions of the characters right in dialog takes more effort than you'd think - but be assured that there will be a lot more chapters to come in the future!

After all, Beauty has not had many personal one-on-one conversations with folks yet... 👀

[pomegranates-and-blood]

Κατακηλέω (νοσταλγία deleted scene)

νοσταλγία Masterlist

Κατακηλέω: to charm, cast a spell over (Ancient Greek)

Pairing: Ivar/Reader, Narses/Reader but you know how that is

Summary: This is a deleted scene that happens between chapter 16 and 17, it centers mainly around Narses.

Word Count: 3.6k

Warnings: The usual, plus a graphic depiction of burning alive (or my best attempt at writing it anyways)

A/N: Yeah idk what to say here lol, I put this together mainly bc @xbellaxcarolinax​ made a point of there being little Narses on the story, and bc she was interested in a chapter more centered around him. I write a lot of rambles that I don’t post cause I don’t think people wanna read ‘em, but here it is one of em, in deleted-scene form lol. Hope you like it, and thank you! <3

Also yes I have Michiel Huisman as Daario in my head as a faceclaim for Narses, idk what to tell ya, I suck at describing characters so of course you had no way of knowing that, and I’m sorry.

Taglist: (I’m sorry if you don’t wanna be tagged in these kind of chapters btw, just lemme know and I’ll keep you on the main story ones only, or just the main story and Ivar PoV ones, whatever works for you) @youbloodymadgenius @heavenly1927 @toe-vind-ek-jou @xbellaxcarolinax @pieces-by-me @angelofthorr @samsationalwilson​

“It scares you, doesn’t it?” Freydis starts suddenly one night, and you lift your eyes to her but don’t say anything. So, she continues, “The reminder of what you could do.”

“If you mean-…”

“You know what I mean. You could lie, and I keep wondering why you don’t.”

“Lying is what you would do, is it not?” You snap, head tilted to the side.

The blonde’s smile turns smug, as if she just made you give away a card. Instead of saying anything regarding that, she shrugs,

“You have traveled a lot, lived a lot,” She states, moving carefully and taking a seat next to you, seemingly choosing to ignore your eyes following her. “Will you tell me you are unaware of what men are able and willing to do for a woman’s love?

She stops whatever it is she was going to say next when an elderly woman enters the apothecary, her blue eyes following the woman’s moves. You are reminded of that night when she shared her thoughts by a window and was interrupted -eyes and ears follow the witch-, and realize why she holds her tongue.

Instead of waiting for the other woman to leave, she stands up and asks you to follow with but a gesture of her head.

Certain steps take you both to the same elevated patch of cold and foreign grass that saw you lay on your knees and pray to whatever Gods heard you to give you an answer.

And so, Freydis continues on,

“Look at all Ivar did to get you to be at his side. Imagine what he would do with the promise you could love him,” Manic blue eyes meet yours as Freydis stops you with a hand on your arm. You pointedly look down at it and back up at her face, feeling a tightness in your chest, dread mixed with disdain. “Imagine what he would do if you pretended to love him and threatened to take it away.”

There’s only one answer you can give her.

“Get your hand off me.”

If you were your mother, you’d have a sword in your hands and a snarl on your lips. But you never wanted to fight like a man, and so you only let the cold of this land seep into your voice and harden your expression, your voice.

She remains frozen for a few moments too long, and you once again pointedly look at her hand and back into her eyes.

“I don’t like repeating myself,” You state, and only then does she comply, her eyes searching yours. You return your arm to be comfortable covered by the warm cloak, and turn to keep walking. “I do not want to hear another word of this, you hear me? Not another damned word.”

“Does that mean you’ve given up? You’ll let him keep you here?”

“I said not another word.”

Freydis swallows whatever her words are to be next, and nods her head, accepting your order as if she thinks you gave her a choice.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Freydis speaks again.

“You choose to protect him now, is that it?”

Her dainty and delicate voice loses none of the edge and the certainty, even as her eyes betray something more human.

“You are a smart woman,” You concede instead of answering her questions, and tilt your head to the side, “But a smarter one would know when to hold her tongue.”

“You don’t hold yours.”

“I never claimed to be smart,” You reply easily, before bowing your head in goodbye. “Goodnight, Freydis.”

She knows it is a dismissal, and a rude one at that, but she only returns the gesture. You could swear a strange sort of pride shines in the girl’s dark blue eyes as she takes her leave.

____

And now you sit alone overlooking that same cliff and you cannot get her words out of your head. You wish you could hate her, berate her for her games and call her names, say she is nothing but a liar, a whore.

But it is not so simple, is it? You seduced a man into giving you his army, did it so well Freydis trusted you to seek Freyja’s favor and do the same with the King, knew you had what it took with only but a look at you.

You promised your love to Narses only for the faint possibility that he could drive the Byzantine Christians off your lands, that he could bend his army and his strength to your will and give you the kingdom you deserved.

And you did to Narses everything that Freydis would have done to Ivar. You kissed, lied, and promised yourself; for the sake of a game.

Because when all you are told you can be is a warm pair of legs to wrap around a man, a pretty little jewel for him to keep and parade around, a quiet and beautiful maiden to stand beneath who the Gods deem you belong to; you learn to play games, all women do.

You wrap your legs tight enough he begs for mercy trying to escape your spell, you show them how even jewels draw blood if squeezed too tight in a fool’s hand, you let beauty carry you near him and your voice be a whisper as it reaches his ear. You play games.

But, as you sit on the cold grass overlooking Kattegat’s horizon, the sea and the sky meeting far away and reminding you strikingly of dusks and dawns spent on that temple overlooking the ocean and awaiting for those ships; you think about how no women speak of what happens when the game ends.

Because it always ends. It is a world of change, after all, a world of wheels turning and of days and nights and of seasons unending. It goes on and on, and the world changes, the games end.

Maybe you don’t hear women speak of what happens when it ends because few survive it. Those that do, maybe, just like you, refuse to speak of it, refuse to give voice to the pain and the shame that comes after playing with a heart not your own.

Refuse to admit the regret.

“You’ll do it?” He asks, eyes shining, “You’ll be my wife?”

“I would love to marry you,” You lie, you lie, you lie; and it burns your heart, “But I don’t want to bring our children into a world that will push them into the dirt for the Gods they follow, Narses.”

And just like that, promises, vows, oaths, fall from his perfect lips like he cannot help it. And you believe him, because if you hold your breath and dive past the smoke into the memories of your past, you can recognize that the way Narses looks at you now is the same way your father used to look at your mother.

You remember Sieghild’s teachings about Freyja, about her ways of persuasion and seduction, and wonder if, even if you are foreign to her, the Goddess looks over you. You wonder if she would smile or frown at your games.

You fall down on the grass, keeping your hold on Narses’ hands to tug him down with you. Narses falls with a laugh, legs and arms holding him up above you, dark green eyes shining as they look down upon yours.

It is remarkably easy, to surrender to his kiss. You close your eyes, letting your fingers go up into his hair, and allowing your lips and tongue to dance with his.

When his impatient lips move down to your jaw, your neck; you let him, craning your head back so he can have more access to your skin. If you clear your mind, you can almost feel nothing but pleasure.

When you tug particularly hard on his hair as Narses bites at your collarbone, you feel a breathed laugh leave his nose.

Lifting himself up in strong arms on each side of your head, Narses looks down upon you. His words should not hurt like they do by now, as you are so familiar with them you know what they will be before he even opens his mouth.

He steals another quick kiss, and whispers, “I love you.”

As a lover, as his future wife.

You smile through the pain, and answer, “I love you.”

As a friend, as the protector of your people.

As an instrument of war.

You are reminded of the safety of Narses’ embrace, however suffocating; and you can almost taste your name on his lips, bloodied as they were the last time you saw him alive.

“You are in the Elysian Fields, I know,” You start telling the wind, hoping it can carry your words to him, “Or maybe these Varangians’ Gods are fighting with ours to take you with them to Valhalla. Either way, I hope you can hear my voice one last time, my friend.”

You laugh brokenly to yourself, lowering your gaze to the grass under your body, caressing the dark tresses of nature.

“I know I don’t make much sense, I-I never did to you. Ramblings about Fate and empires fallen and tales of Gods and heroes; things that you had no interest in hearing. And yet you still looked upon me like something…something out of a dream, Narses,” You tell him, pain clawing at your heart, reopening wounds you thought you closed long ago. You smile sadly still, and reminisce, “You used to tell me I was your dream, and…I wish I could tell you that you were mine, I truly do. But I can’t.”

And regret fills you, the useless and heartbreaking gift of hindsight showing you that the path you took led only to pain and war. Narses was sent by your choices, by your games, by your mistakes, to die; and you…you were sent here. To what?

You dare think not even the Gods have an answer to your present, or future. But you do have answers to your past, and if someone deserves to hear them, it is Narses, wherever he may be.

“Returning to Eleusis choked me with the smoke of all the fires lit before I left and during my time away. I…blinded myself with ambition and I thought the only way I could fight was through you,” You explain, honestly, brokenly, the only way you know how to, “I knew that if I had the heart of Thebes’ Strategus, I could get what I wanted. I just had to have enough guile, enough lies, enough poison; to trick you into giving me your heart.

You offer the wind a hollow chuckle, bitter and angry and oh so filled with regret you can feel your heart poisoned with it.

“And I did exactly that. Maybe Aphrodite and Peitho blessed my lies, maybe Sieghild was right and Freyja watched over me,” You look over Kattegat’s horizon, facing the truths of your past when you don’t know what you want out of your future, “Either way, I used you, I hated myself but I still did it and…I got what I wanted.

As the agony of the flames crawls over your legs, scorching your skin with the inferno, blinding your eyes with the smoke, flogging your throat with your screams; you turn your gaze to the sky, blackened and barren as it is, and plead the Gods you have fought and bled for to grant you a moment of mercy, a painless death.

And flesh being charred smells awful, making your poisoned lungs heave for unattainable retrieve. You hold a moment of clarity in your mind to beg for Sieghild’s forgiveness, that you left her in this world alone after she sacrificed so much for you. You hope her Gods let you visit her in Folkvangr.

With one last ragged and angry scream, you let your strength leave you, your agony leave you, your regrets leave you.

When you awaken you find yourself in too much pain to accept this is the Underworld. Before you open your eyes, a moment of panic and dread fills your heart at the thought that the Christians left you alive to torture you, but you hear familiar voices, smell familiar fragrances.

Sieghild’s hand over your forehead, gentle and loving in ways she rarely is, makes a small smile tug at your dried and bleeding lips.

“I know you are awake, open your eyes,” She chastises, gruff even when relief clogs her voice. You do, and her smiling inked face settles your quickly beating heart, makes you forget the pain for a moment. “I love you, you stubborn child.”

You allow yourself a smile, closing your eyes again and focusing on breathing for a few moments, before whispering, “I love you too, minn móðir.”

The shieldmaiden chuckles brokenly, pressing rough lips on the crown of your head. After a few moments of silence, she sighs.

“By the way, you mad woman, you did it.”

“Did what?” You ask raggedly, wincing as you lift your head to accept the cup of water she offers.

“Listen, little one,” She instructs, and when you do, you hear the rustling of armor plates, the heavy steps of soldiers outside your door. The Viking woman shakes her head in almost disbelief, “The Strategos, that boy, he saved you from the flames.”

“Narses?”

“His soldiers came with us, we have nearly a thousand men here.”

“I did so many things wrong, Narses. I lied and manipulated and pretended, and maybe because the Gods are cruel, or maybe because reaping what you sow is an empty promise; I succeeded, and I got what I wanted. I knew I wouldn’t win, not against the Empire, not against the Christians, but…I wanted them to remember me, to remember our names and our Gods and our ways. To remember we don’t die silently.

And even if it hurts, you admit to yourself that you would do it again. You wish you could have loved Narses the way he deserved, you wish you could have been honest, you wish you could have found other ways to fight for your kingdom; but…you understand why you did it, and feeble and useless as it is, you want to forgive yourself for it.

Where there is war there can never be love, right? And you wanted war, you will not lie to yourself and say you truly wanted peace all along.

No, you wanted to see those Christians that came to take your home bleed at your feet, you wanted Attica to be free again, and Laconia, and Macedonia, and Arcadia, and many others. And you would wage war for your freedom for a thousand years if needed.

You would promise Narses your hand again if it came to it. You know you would, because the person you were when Attica was yours…she would have done that and much more for a chance at freedom. Now, you know better. Now, you let yourself be softer. Now, the world is a lot bigger than it seemed back then.

Now, things are different. Maybe you are, maybe the world is, maybe your heart is. Maybe Ivar is.

You smile at the barren horizon that doesn’t seem so foreign and intimidating now, and whisper, “I could do it now, I know. I would end up dead when he knew the truth, that’s for certain, but the victory would be mine, our people’s, by the time Ivar could catch up with my lies. I could, Narses.

“We need Stithulf’s support. We will ally with him, and even if you scream and fight it is what will happen.”

But you are shaking your head before he even finishes speaking.

“As Anassa of Attica I ca-…”

“As the commander of your forces, as the man you’ll marry, I’m telling y-…”

The hostility, the command, in his tone startle you to attention, and you narrow your eyes as you step closer. You don’t reach his shoulder, but the years have taught you there’s few things a man fears more than a woman that refuses to fight like a man but still fights.

“If you try using that to silence me, I fear you will not live long as my husband.” The threat drips from your lips like wine, but Narses doesn’t cave for once, and he drags a hand over his face.

“You always fight me, why do you…why can’t you be…?” His words die in a sigh, and you lift your eyebrows.

“Why can’t I be someone I’m not? Would you love me if I were anything other than me?”

“Sometimes, I wish you were,” He sentences, a hand over his eyes as he grunts out the words. Your heart drops, and so does your guard. He sighs again, and a hand reaches up and cups your cheek, unaware your whole body tightens to a coil the moment he touches you. “Sometimes, I fool myself into thinking I still see the woman you once were in you. The woman that wanted a life surrounded by Eleusis’ warmth, the woman that cared not for war, for vengeance.”

You grit your teeth, and step back, closing your eyes tightly as you croak,

“That woman was never all I was. I wanted Eleusis, I still do, but that doesn’t mean I never wanted revenge, Narses. Those Christia-…”

When you feel he finally drops his hand from your cheek, you open your eyes and watch his hand clench into a fist.

“Why do I have to love a woman like you?” He hisses, turning his back to you and slamming both hands on the weak table in front of him. “I’ve asked the Gods why, you know. Why I have to love a woman arrogant and ambitious and…Hera help me, a woman that is not mine. Never was, never will be.”

“I-…What are you saying?”

“Do you think I’m enough of a fool to think I can make you my wife? If the Fates don’t stop me you will,” A humorless chuckle leaves his lips, “Lord Hades might split open the earth and drag you to the Underworld before I get to call you my wife.”

“Don’t say those things.”

“It is true! I was not Fated to have you, even if the Gods know I was Fated to love you,” He shakes his head, teeth gritted and eyes failing to meet yours, “We both know what made you say yes to me, and it is what is keeping you from saying yes to Stithulf. It was never love.”

Shame chokes you, keeps the next words form leaving your lips. Your lips tremble and your eyes cloud with tears as you look at his tense back, nothing but regrets shining in your eyes.

“Are you-…will you l-leave?”

Will you leave me? Is the question you dare not ask, because you do not have the right to believe he should want to stay at your side, not after everything.

You still don’t want him to leave you alone here.

But the Thebesian takes a deep breath, straightening his back again and turning to you. The same anguished softness you saw so many times in his eyes still shines in them now, and he shakes his head.

His voice when he replies feels like warmth, like safety and nostalgia,

“I will always be at your side. Until Hades summons you home, I’ll be at your side.”

You look into his warm eyes, and with shame still burning your chest, you ask,

“Why? The Gods know I do not deserve it. Why do you stay?”

The answer leaves his lips with the same certainty it always did, with the same hope and the same truth,

“I love you.”

You like to believe you would have loved Narses, you like to believe you would have been content remaining as Eleusis’ Priestess. You like to believe you could have birthed him children for you to teach the way of the Gods and he to give the fame of his family.

Problem is, you fear now, with the taste of this strange freedom still fresh and sweet on your tongue, you don’t think you could have ever lived with the binds of what Narses wanted to make out of you. A priestess, whose ambition is forgotten when he wills it so; a woman, whose eyes will need to lower from his; a wife, to be quietened when he speaks.

And you don’t want that, to be what Narses wanted you to, what Galla wanted you to, what Freydis wants you to, what Ivar wants you to. You want to be you, and you want to fight, and be compassionate and revengeful, and be soft and relentless, without needing to choose one or the other.

You want nights of stupid arguments and infuriating talks, you realize around a broken chuckle, you want foreign languages and even more foreign customs, you want…you want Ivar. In all his vitriol, in all his bloodthirst, in all his awkward gentleness and in all his armored heart, you want him.

Tears of regret and the path not taken fill your eyes, and you find yourself sobbing out a small laugh, “But the person that lied and tricked you, that could do the same to Ivar…she died amongst the flames, left me in her place, I think.

The Priestess is dead.

Taking the small knife Ivar gifted you what seems like a lifetime ago, you hold a lock of your hair in front of you, and cut off the wind-blown and tangled strands, holding a short tress in your hand that weights like a decade of apologies and promises made.

“I’m sorry. For everything I did and everything I didn’t do,” You promise him, closing your eyes and almost seeing his smiling face before you, his eyes shining and his sun-kissed skin weathered around a smile. “In another life, I may have loved you like you deserved.”

You open your palm, and let the strands of grief be carried off by Kattegat’s winds way across the sea.

And in another world, on another land, a dead man takes a breath.

____

So, hope you liked it, hope that last sentence got you wonderin’, and hope you have a nice day/night!

Thank you so much for reading, see you Tuesday with the scheduled update: chapter 18 :)

[river-bottom-nightmare]

Would you happens to know any good kon fics?

I’m not sure if ris went on anon and asked the same question twice, or if this is two different people. Either way, ask and ye shall receive.

There isn’t enough Kon content out there, in my opinion. He’s such an underappreciated character, both by DC and by the fandom. Most of the works out there that feature Kon only have him as a background character, and then most of those are centered around Tim. But I’ll try to find the ones that focus mainly on Kon. 

1. The Mystery of the Superboy Shirts by Aviatricks Tim/Kon. 4,000 words. You can’t have a Kon fic rec without including this one. There’s a very high chance that you’ve already read it, but I’m going to add it anyway because it’s one of my favourite DC fics of all time. It’s from Tim’s point of view, but it’s centered around Kon, and honestly, just one of the most hilarious things ever. Read this if you want a short, feel-good, happy fic that will make you laugh.

2. On My Chest, On My Heart by dnawhite76 Tim/Kon. 20,000 words. Now this! This is an absolutely wonderful Timkon fic that’s actually centered around Kon and is from Kon’s point of view. Amazing. It’s a Love Simon High School AU of sorts, featuring lots of superfam and Kon being a gay disaster, and an incredible coming out sequence. Kon feels a little lost, a little out of place, and not at all happy (at the beginning), but the way the author wrote his family and friends’ support and his character development was the BEST. It’s a little lengthy, but so worth it.

3. Boys of Summer by MarbleAide Tim/Kon. 5,500 words. A summer camp AU that follows Tim and Kon through the years. Again, from Tim’s point of view, but he’s so in love with Kon, it’s so cute. It’s a cute fic with a healthy dose of pining. The prose is a little simple, and the pacing’s just a bit too fast, but the overall universe this fic (along with the rest of the antics of the core four) is adorable. 

4. Close to Home by iesika Multiple pairings. 65,000 words. Ooooooh boy this is a LONG one. AU in the form of canon divergence. There’s a murder in Smallville High, and Kon and Tim attempt to solve the mystery together, while Kon goes through normal high school stuff (and some abnormal hero stuff.) It’s very very plotty, with a mystery that drives the whole thing. It’s got some pretty cool OCs, though I’m not usually a fan of that stuff, and it’s sort of kind of Timkon? It’s got an ambiguous ending, both of which I tend to shy away from. Overall, not my cup of tea but still a pretty great fic, and if you’re looking for Kon centered fics, this is the one to check out.

5. Gonna Be A Better One (A Thousand Miles To Your Door) by @traincat​ Tim/Kon. 18,500 words. I haven’t read this one in a while, but I do remember really really loving it. It’s classic take on the problems that come with being two teenagers dating while simultaneously being two teenage vigilantes. A little bit of cute core four stuff, the few instances where Steph shows up, she’s pretty well characterized. The two of them are hopelessly besotted, but also dealing with a lot of issues and they’re trying to figure out if their love is worth it. I loved this one, definitely worth a read. (Also unrelated but traincat is the spideytorch queen and spideytorch is like one of my top ships of all time so even if you’re not into marvel comics you should go read them anyway because I love them.)

6. Boys in Leather Jackets by @merelymine​ Tim/Kon. <3,000 words. I. Um. Yeah this is just PWP. I am completely unashamed. It’s cute at first, and then it’s hot as hell, and I will not apologize for reccing it. 

7. Curse of the Red-Heads by @pupeez4eva (sorry if this is the wrong link, their tumblr wasn’t linked on the fic so I did a little digging) Multiple Pairings. 5,000 words. I’m a little hesitant to rec this because it is mainly about Tim and Kon, but it’s told from Damian’s point of view and it’s got a fair bit of him as well. Regardless, Kon is actually hilarious whenever he shows up, and I loved him, so I’m reccing it anyway. Damian doesn’t understand how relationships work, and meddles in people’s love lives. It’s absolutely hilarious, if you’re up for a laugh, give it a read.

8. Three Little Words by timkons Tim/Kon. 10,000 words. Once again, centered around Tim, but features Kon being an incredible, loving husband so I’m not complaining. It’s a little angsty, and dives Tim’s emotional vulnerability. Tim and Kon fight, Tim is Emotional and Hates It, and it takes you on a ride of feels. But it ends happily, so that’s nice. (Sort of) Domestic and older Timkon, I really enjoyed this fic. 

9. Through Another Lens by animegoil Tim/Kon. 7,000 words. Mind the tags on this one, it’s a little bit triggering, and has a tad bit of non/con. This one isn’t one I really love, but it’s not bad overall. It’s a bit too wordy, and a tad anti-climatic? In a sense? But it’s from Kon’s pov and it shows his thought process pretty well. There’s a little bit of angst, followed up by Talking About Feelings and a hint of hurt/comfort. Overall, a decent read. 

10. Class Differences by wisia Tim/Kon. 13,500 words. Ooooooh man this was a good one. I was expecting silliness and fluff. Instead I got a ride of feels and some really really well written words. This fic centers around Kon dealing with the publicity that comes with being “Timothy Drake”’s boyfriend. And man is it rough. I just loved it though, absolutely incredible. I might reread it sometime and make a moodboard idk.

11. Matters of the Heart by @nyerus Tim/Kon. 13,500 words. This one is a case fic, with Kon realizing he’s in love with Tim and having to deal with that. Very plotty, but the action was done super well, so it added to the overall vibe of the fic. Kon is so in love with Tim, he’s hopeless, it’s great. Also, the author got Kon’s point of view down, like damn it’s incredible. Definitely worth a read!

12. What’s in a name? by dancingsweetheart129 Tim/Kon. 21,000 words. This one is more of a character introspection, as Kon learns to let his old name go as he grows up. I wasn’t really a fan of the writing style, it was too fast in some places and too wordy in others, and the prose got a little messy at times. But it is a really good character study, so if you’re looking for Kon centered fics, this is worth a shot.

13. We’re Not Dating by @dianaraven (once again, i’m not entirely sure this is the right url bc it wasn’t linked in the fic and I had to do some digging. sorry!) Tim/Kon. 5,500 words. Exactly what it says on the box. An old trope but a good one, fluff, pining, and people not realizing they’re in love with each other. Just a good, wholesome read.

14. Reveries by @nyerus Tim/Kon. 5,500 words. Another fic by nyerus, but this one’s short and sweet. Again, focused mainly on Tim, but it features the two of them being super in love and adorable and I love it. Read it if you want Cute Boyfriends being Cute Boyfriends (and tim getting some sleep for once in his life).

Alright, here are 14 fics to get you started. I also recommend you check out the individual authors fic recs, I really only put one of each on there (except for nyerus, they get two bc they’re great), but all of them have some really good DC fics. Once again, if you want more fics, or ones with a different ship/fandom, don’t hesitate to pop in my inbox. Happy reading!

(Also, I’m going to link my Kon-El aesthetic that I made bc it never hurts to get into the mood before you start diving into fics.)

[moon-o-magic]

its funny that u mention people reading ur tags bcause i came here to ask if u are going to post the notes on your ed + kanker headcanons bcause kanker friend headcanons are the best

The Kankers are a bit hard for me to imagine for since I have almost no info of them in my spreadsheet compared to the Eds but here! I hope this works! I added a buncha more headcanons than I originally had bc I first made this when I had little to no idea how the Kankers operated but now I’ve got more so I hope it all still makes sense! I can hardly read at this point! :D

Ed & Marie are friends bc they’re both artistic/creative and they get together to storyboard and film little movies on her camera. She enjoys being able to act like a guy from time to time for the sake of their movies. Also, Marie holds the same fascination of mechanics as Dee so goes bonkers when he brings over his Model Kits and lets her help him build + paint his models. Both think that all toys are better with flamethrowers. Ed’s also probably half-decent with makeup since he’s an Ed and he’s got a younger sister so when her sisters are pissy he’s her makeup helper. Marie has a bad habit of insulting ppl but Ed’s 1. Used to it and 2. Willing to set boundaries so she backs off more with him.

Aaah and gosh in general.... I feel like it’d be a whole lot of chaotic fun if they joined in on his L&W campaign or any other roleplays the Eds do. Part of the Kankers characterization makes them feel incredibly lonely and that they want to cause mischief with everyone else but they don’t have a good outlet for that so they end up just harassing everyone since they’re often at the center of something creative. (I’m thinking the pirate episode for this mainly.... they dressed up and everything :(((( they want to join the fun.)

Dee & Lee are friends bc they’re both the most mature out of their respective trios and it’s kinda nice to have someone else see how Fucking Stupid this plan, is you guys- and also they’re character foils so they both try to get each other to change slightly, with Lee trying to get Dee to actually Consider Not Getting Beat Up and Dee trying to show her that Violence Isn’t Always The Answer Ma’am. Dee is probably a calming presence at first and Lee’s like “oh okay cool” but when he starts to get snarky with her is when she starts to Really like him. The two get together and make food for the others when they get together to watch Fishbowl 2 together or something but Lee (somewhat friendly-like) bullies him into doing more of the work. Dee likes to bake and Lee is more than willing to both help him and to kick everyone outside so she make a peaceful memory for once.

I also feel like (in general) Dee greatly respects the stuff they make like!!! Remember the pirate ship with a functional flag! Swoonable. Making stuff with the Kankers is a blast. They are creative masterminds like the Eds and being able to collaborate with even more knuckleheads is so much fun for him and shit gets done really fast (Eddy’s pretty lazy so just Ed & Dee can be slow but I feel like the Kanker’s all work in unision as to not miss the commotion of the cul-de-sac kids when something’s happening).

Eddy & May are friends bc of Younger Sibling trauma and May enjoys being able to eat and be herself around someone who won’t instantly call her fat or stupid and Eddy kinda tries to boost her confidence at times with small compliments and they make her go !!!!! everytime. May has a habit of saying dumb shit and Eddy‘s just like Ah Yes A Normal Tuesday. He’s so used to it. Also May does have knowledge abt science and Eddy has a lot of experience in listening to ppl just go on and on abt stuff they are passionate abt so he listens to her and the first time she does she’s super embarrassed but it gets to the point where he’s the first person she goes to when she’s excited abt something bc like yeah sometimes he doesn’t react positively but at least he’s not gonna like beat her up or anything. They do poke fun at each other but May has to adjust how much she mocks him bc she’s so used to instantly going for sore spots.

In general, remember the episode where Eddy fucked up Jimmy’s characterization for the rest of the show by teaching him scams???? YEAH!!!!!!! Eddy fucks up immensely by letting himself pass on his Bro’s knowledge of scams & pranks to the Kankers but its all good (between them at least dhdkdhskdb).

On a less fun note, Eddy would definetely have the hardest time out of any of the Eds connecting with the Kankers. Both Ed & Dee are much more forgiving than him once someone shows remorse, but he’s genuinely on edge around them a lot of the time. He’s heard empty promises of change from someone much worse and it really fucks with him. When they first start acting nice, he probably acts similiarly to the “Eddy is a no-necked chump” episode where he’s panicked about their behaviour, but the feeling doesn’t go away for the longest time.

I really do feel like May would be the first, and maybe only one he gets somewhat comfortable with. May is the first to make an effort to change. Theres also something abt how well she & Dee get along that helps to take away the edge, especially since they meet up on Wednesdays for Science Talk so both he and Ed have some time to potentially interact with her. She’s a lot like Ed and Eddy enjoys being able to interact with someone who’s willing to do stupid shit with him.

[pallases]

favorite fictional character + why you love them

ugh i can’t actually choose a single favorite fictional character but jem is my top character tag and he’s at least one of my favorites so! we’ll go w him & i’m going to summarize this by saying jem appeals so much to me bc he acts mainly as inspiration

he’s a musician, like me. he’s not really my inspiration in that regard bc i have a different piece of media for that that centers entirely around music, but it is something we have in common and the way he treats his music is relatable. it’s a way to express himself where he can’t, it’s a piece of himself, it’s a comfort for himself, it’s almost a lifeline. ofc there are specific reasons behind some of these in relation to his history, but in general it’s smth that a lot of musicians can connect with

jem goes on all the time about how bad he is with words but his quotes are amazing. i throw this one around a Lot but “whatever you are physically...male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy—all those things matter less than what your heart contains. if you have the soul of a warrior, then you are a warrior. all those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside.” !! yes! it’s just a nice reminder

also “there’s more to living than not dying” — personally i am someone who struggles very much to let myself go. i think a lot about how much it sometimes feels like my life is passing by and i’m left watching without doing anything to change it. it just doesn’t always feel like living when i’m so cautious and routine about everything. this quote is both smth i agree with and smth that i strive to remember as motivation to be more outgoing and to take more risks

and “we are all the pieces of what we remember. we hold in ourselves the hopes and fears of those who love us. as long as there is love and memory, there is no true loss.” i haven’t truly needed this quote yet but one day i will and it will help me then

jem is just the type of guy you want in your life!! he’s caring and considerate and a great friend and a great husband and a great dad and an all-around great person. he tries to do the best for everyone else no matter what

despite this, he isn’t perfect. he loses his control and even temper as shown through his addiction and when he strikes will respectively, he occasionally and dangerously overlooks others’ flaws because of his overwhelming tendency to see the good in people as shown (and outright stated) when he and will find church, he has struggles w himself and doesn’t always have the best self esteem as shown in gotsm, etc. he’s complex

even though he deals with all these horrors in his life, he ultimately receives a happy ending. he loses his youth and parabatai, but he’s lucky enough to have tessa as company throughout it all. he hates being a silent brother, he hates how he gradually and inevitably fades from humanity and emotion, but he eventually comes back from that in cohf. he falls in love, he achieves his centuries-long goal to find what he’s been looking for, he has a child, he finds a nice town & home to live in. it may be unrealistic or exaggerated in some ways, but the overall message sent by it is clear and important

i love him

— sleepover saturday monday!

[shut-up-im-jay]

PEEPS THERE IS MORE

WHAT ARE. THE. FUCKING. REPRESENTATION. OF. PAIN. IN. ART.

Sorry I’m overly excited rn

I love this. And I’m sorry but I’ll tag peeps here too bc it’s really interesting, tell me if you want more in the future or if you want me to stop tagging me lmao

@whumpthisway @whumpster-dumpster @untilthepainstarts @ashintheairlikesnow 

Let’s dive into it.

SOO how does art represent pain and how does it allow us, spectators, to feel it and why do we represent it in art?

Art and stuff, when I use the word it’ll be about every representation of it, paint, fanfic, writing, films, series.... everything.

first of all, maybe when we experience art we aren’t just communicating with the author and the characters but also with the other readers somehow. Like there is a community behind any form of art

heroïc pain, comical pain and the experiment of pain in stories about real people --> restitution of sensation of pain, (recent phenomenon apparently)  are the three main thing we’re gonna talk about here

What is a hero and what is its link to pain?

stoïc heroes are the ‘best’, those who take pride in toughening up, very often a mannly trait, there is historically a superior power in play. They’re heroic bc they fight till the end knowing that they can’t do anything (see La chanson de Roland, the agony of Charlemagne’s nephew, it’s apparently a really good agony/whump thing)

Action is superior to affection when you’re a hero (martyrs hello, we’re talking about st Sebastian, our true gay icon, I love him)

------ Tbh this is basically the base for whump, but not the cool part. We want our whumpee to go further. The strength is cool but I don’t just want this, I mainly wanna feel the pain and no one is that hero. It’s often more the tipping point that gives me whumperflies --------

Philoctet here. Who is the guy? Heroic af, but he is an ass. So anyway he is wounded and he has an ulcer and yeah that’s why he screams and smells and his friends just let him to die on an island (lmao) bc he has invincible weapons so they just go away with it (savage)

So he is the metaphor of a patient isolated in their pain, that’s cool. Also there is a caretaker in the story. True antic whump peeps.

-----------Now comical pain(?)  (not whump related here)

Can we really laugh about pain? we’re talking about the ripping a bandage kind of comical pain in caricature. How can some kind of pain affect us while other makes us ‘laugh’ or at least be amused...

We then laugh more about the idea of humiliation, for example in comical theater, laughing at the pain as punishment for the ‘bad’ characters. Also laughing makes people superior, so when we laugh together it binds us together, and then pain can be bounding but anyway that’s not the point.

The real question is: how the fuck do we have an insensibility to pain when there is a comical situation?

let’s talk about someone who falls and it’s funny cause they slipped on a banana peel or smtg. bc there is a social convention in the funny situation. Also pain isn’t really obvious, it’s often ambiguous and we can’t really have empathy so yeah, we maybe don’t relate that much? and also small kids don’t seem to find it funny apparently bc they’re not really aware of the comical situation. 

I think that this kind of things would be more interesting to do it as a psychological/social study on why we find things funny related to culture and our background, more than our relation to pain

------------ Now, the historically modern kind of pain tale, the one more related to whump, when the goal really is to describe the pain, often trying to get the spectator to relate.

The body has a new place in art. Historically the soul was really the center of art while nowadays we are more in a somatic art, the body is the focus.

Cenesthesia is the internal perception, the general sensibility we have toward our internal feelings. And it’s a general tendency now, Hunger, K.Hamsun, Nausea, Sartres, they focus on those internal feelings. Another great book: ‘La doulou’, Alphonse Daudet (he suffered from syphilis) and he described in a diary all the pain he was feeling, and he tried to be really accurate. Again, great writing material ig. 

Léon Werth: The white house is an auto-fiction, basically the story of a guy that has an ear infection and his surgery then the fever. The whole story is about post-op sensations. Interestingly enough, the character doesn’t even have a name, the whole story is only to describe the pain, and the main character is really interested in his own pain. He uses GREAT analogies tbh, like there is an industry in his ear and everything, that’s.... that’s good shit. But like, he isn’t bad about it, he is just weirdly okay with it? he only describes things as he feels them, he has some kind of dissociation from his pain. 

This is basically one of the example of pain descriptions in modern art, when the person in pain becomes the spectator of its pain

Dolor y gloria, Pedro Almodovar --> good PTSD shit, how emotional pain becomes physical pain. Two narratives at the same time: the main character with chronic pains as an adult, but then there is the other story: how, as a child, MC was influenced by his past

on an unrelated note, the teacher just said that main character and his mum are hot lmao that’s bi energy af

Well now she’s dissecting a cinematic scene and it’s not really interesting so I’ll try to express what I took out of this. 

Seriously, it wasn’t as cool as I expected it to be, I thought she was going to focus more on how we relate to pain. That’s unfortunate, bc I’d love to have an external pov on whump. The actual psychological effect of seeing pain, and why it’s truly appealing to us. Why the fuck do we enjoy it.

It was more of a dive in the representation of pain in different arts. Some good whump references in it I guess. But nothing really psychological and it’s kinda a shame tbh.

Oh but some cool things maybe(?), some interviews of neurologists:

WHAT IS PAIN AND HOW DOES IT INTERACT WITH THE MEDICAL WORLD?

(also there are people specializing on pain out there which is fucking rad and metal lmao)

Scientific pov: Pain is an experience. Sensorial, emotional and physical. the pain isn’t really localized in a part of your brain. Sure, things are processed in the thalamus but it’s a very large zone already, there are so many ways to feel pain, and so many structures in our brain, it’s almost as complex as memory(!)

-The facial expression of pain and why it’s ambiguous? How to see the pain? There are literal descriptions of non-verbal cues, and how to detect pain (there are even photo stocks of facial pain expressions lmao to try and educate our brains). And often, the more you’re affected, the more you’re ambiguous in the way of expressing it. 

Frowning is one of the first ways of expressing pain, muscles have a kind of order in the way they react.

Our anatomy teacher now: words of pain. As doctors, it’s often unclear how to understand the levels of pain based on patient expressions. So we have precise forms to help, but we need patients to be really educated to have enough vocabulary. Unfortunately sometimes as we already stated, pain can be anesthetic in a way, and hard to describe, and trying to fix the pain in time is near impossible. We would even need to do a linguistic study on pain and stuff to make sure we can be precise (and write more whumpy things lmao)

Here, a take on pain as an alarm system. Dramatic consequences ensue when there are lesions of nerves, so it is obviously a very useful and protecting tool. But then what about neuropathic and chronical pains? They’re basically when in a house, the alarm goes off all the time for no reason. And then the definition of a protecting system is really wrong

What are the bias medical professionals have? The more a patient says he’s in pain, and the less they’re believed (it’s almost an auto protecting factor: we shut down our empathy and it conducts us to underestimates the pain, and this is terrible bc the more you’re in pain, the less you’re going to be actually taking care of!) 

The logic and chaos of pain: either persistence of a physical issue or malfunctioning of nervous systems In a western, there is a tendency to have pain representation when an arrow gets in the flesh, then when it’s extracted, but we mostly won’t even blink when the character just isn’t in pain anymore bc we have that representation of pain being linked to trauma. (whumpers, I think there is where we have something to say: we actually understand the role of pain after the trauma)

And knowing that pain is linked to something is a very relieving factor for most patients. Thus the known placebo effect: if we actually say to patients that there is a cause to their pain, they almost always have better results with pain management! 

Placebo also works the other way around peeps, if you think that smtg is going to be painful, oh boi. It’s gonna hurt like hell. Like more than it should... you get the hint

The human mind is fascinating 

[friyeoles]

NCT as Youtubers

idk man i just felt like these fit really well with the boys (featuring sr16g) 

-okay so first off i just want to say this is just my opinion and please don’t come for me if ur fave isn’t who you thought they would be

-lets begin

- johnny and ten would totally be a prank channel and its always a full blown war no one is safe even their apartment neighbors fear they might get dragged in by the odd duo 

-haechan and chenle would be hella chismosos and have a drama channel always spilling tea and indirect people they are also bffs with ORL (lol just scroll)

-sr16g would be a collab channel similar to O2l (Our 2nd Life) but ORL (Our Rookie Life) with the girls posting videos with a theme each day of the week

-yuta is the wokest youtuber always calling out other channels or celebs bs he even makes conspiracy theory videos (Proof Mark from MarksAbsolutelyCapableGaming died and was replaced by a clone)

-winwin would somehow be featured in an ORL video and the fans liked him so much he ended up creating his own channel dedicated to beauty (haircare, makeup, skincare, etc.)

-jisung oh lord this lil boy would have a toy review channel but he also reviews games, foods, places, etc. and occasionally rants when the stores are sold out of a new plushie

-taeil and doyoung have a music channel where they do covers and will play music games like 1 second song challenge, whisper challenge, hum only, etc.

-taeyong is a lifestyle youtube who does hauls and goes to cafes he also enjoys making videos with his friends (Shopping in Myeong-dong with Sicheng from BeautyWinWins)

-jaehyun has a reaction channel and often over edits his videos like pewdiepie bc he thinks he is a meme lord he also does occasional gaming with MarksAbsolutelyCapableGaming which is just 10 minutes of them screaming at each other to revive one another

-mark does gaming and comedy and although his preferred method in winning is to “scream until the buttons listen” he is really shy at meet and greets and his comedy is mainly centered around bad puns that he makes on twitch with JungJaeOfficial

-jaemin has a lifestyle channel which mostly consists of vlogs and stationary (he has a HUGE collection jeno thinks he has a serious problem) but he is most well known for his boyfriend tags where he drags jeno in once a month to mess around 

-kun has an art channel and is hella loved but only uploads once every 3 months and forgets he has an instagram 80% of the time

-hansol has an anime review channel but 50% of the time its actually him bashing on everything he wanted to happen instead and screaming at the producers for killing his favorite character (How Akame Ga Kill! SHOULD Have Ended) he is also friends with lots of other channels and often collabs with dancers on the dl because he uses a different name when dancing

-lucas and jungwoo have a baby channel maybe only like 1K but they upload hella quality so their fanbase is super dedicated they like to call themselves a mature channel but they literally uploaded a video called Becoming Fairy Princes and Finding the Love of Our Lives (it was halloween and they just handed out candy while petting every dog in sight) 

-renjun has an art channel which mostly consists of him doodling and making videos like How to Be More Productive, The Best Watercolor Techniques, Where I Buy My Fineliners, etc he also does fashion like the artsy lil shit he is giving tips on how to thrift and where to go

[thepsychicclam]

Hi love! What would you say the top ten sterek fics you've ever read are?

This was REALLY HARD. Mainly bc it’s hard to choose only 10. Because I’m leaving off some great fics (which is why there are more than 10 on here :3)! And some I get mixed up bc I read them so long ago and near each other. (You can always browse my fave fic list here) But I’ve narrowed it to this list. These are the fics that really left impressions on me. They’re all amazing and deserve to be read and loved!!! So…have a TOP 27 FAVE STEREK FICS list :DDDD

1. Cry Havoc by ladyblahblah

In Beacon Hills, the two-year war that’s been raging between werewolves and hunters has begun spilling over onto the civilian population. Meanwhile, in Boston, when the tattoo on Stiles Stilinski’s back is damaged on a late-night hunt he begins to have dreams that lead him across the country, drawn by an inexplicable conviction that he’s needed there. When he discovers that Derek Hale began the war after his mate was killed, Stiles finds himself being offered a strange deal: figure out how to bring the alpha’s mate back, and peace talks can begin.

2. Where the Inevitable Isn’t by Survivah

Stiles has a magical thingamajig that’s supposed to get him out of danger. Trouble is, it took him really, really far out of danger. Like, to the point where he isn’t in the same universe anymore.

“A part of Stiles had been thinking that he’d come home, and just go, ‘hey, Derek, are we mates and you just haven’t said anything about it?’ and Derek would reply, 'now you mention it, we are indeed! Now come to my bedchamber, where we will have super hot sex and then cuddle after!’”

3. Pack Up; Don’t Stray by the_deep_magic

AU – Werewolves are an enslaved underclass, collared and tagged by human masters. Detective Stilinski’s on duty the night they bring in an untagged stray.

4. Our Memories Are Numbered by rufflefeather

Stiles’ Jeep grinds to a halt, he sees someone running through the rain, he’s not expecting it to be Derek. He’s not expecting a Derek without any memories either, or an Alpha pack that’s coming for all of them. He probably should’ve, because lately nothing goes the way he expects.

5. Ad Astra Per Tentaculum by morganoconner

Space contains a multitude of different species, and Derek has seen and helped a lot of them in his time taking down branches of the slave-trade organization. But this is the first time he’s seen an Aloshrivnik. It’s not the tentacles that draw him in; it’s the goddamn eyes that stare at him without backing down.

“Stiles,” it says to him. “My name is Stiles.”

6. Part of My Melody by hayesgeneration

Derek is a professional classical musician who has found himself lost without a muse, without goal and without even a hint of spark. He’s almost settled nearly contently (if not slightly unwillingly) on having to live his life as a recluse, when his sister finally grows tired of his antics, giving him a Christmas ultimatum.

7. Littlest Alpha by triedunture

Derek and Stiles have taken out the Alpha Pack and pretty much saved the world. Okay, the town. Okay, their remaining friends. But the Alphas left something behind: a baby. And this baby is an Alpha too. Derek is determined to take care of the abandoned child, and Stiles is stuck going along for the ride.

But Stiles doesn’t expect the ride to include seeing another side of Derek, or to find another way to say “family.”

8. Holding Your Own Weight by zjofierose

Stiles Stilinski is the best trapeze artist west of the Mississippi, but that doesn’t do him much good without a catcher. Enter one quiet roughneck who calls himself Derek and knows maybe a little too much about circus arts for someone who was hired to schlep tents. But Derek has his secrets, and so does the new girl, Allison. Who’s being hunted and who’s being haunted, and will Stiles ever be able to convince Derek to help him fly again?

9. And You Say You’re Alone by taelynhawker

Between the kanima, the Argents, and Peter’s untimely return from the dead, everything has fallen apart. Stiles and Derek try to put their lives back together once the crisis has passed. Stiles deals with the aftermath of being tortured, and the distance growing between he and Scott. Derek attempts to become a stronger alpha and keep his pack safe, and that includes Stiles.

10. DILF by twentysomething

“Today is Scott’s first day of kindergarten and Derek is terrified.”

Okay - so here are some other favorites that I COULDN’T LEAVE OFF because they’re also my faves I just have more than 10???

11. Make us laugh (or nothing will) by rohkeutta

When Derek Hale left Beacon Hills at 18 to become a kickboxing champion, he thought he would never return. But here he is, seven years later: trying to salvage something from the ruins of his life, eighteen months after the house fire that killed his parents and left him limping and without a future. Enter Stiles, a college dropout Derek might or might not have been friends with in high school, and the unexpected interest he manifests towards the love of Derek’s life. 

12. Caged Humanity by ember

The other factors sounded like complete bullshit. Like about Companions having certain dispositions for submission, and a personality built around wanting to please. Fuck that, Stiles was a strong independent man who didn’t need no wolf. Submitting was straight up taught in classes. Don’t talk back, try to reason not argue, never run away when your Mate was in heat. Mate? More like owner. There was a reason Companions were called pets. God Stiles hated it all, the hypocrisy. It was an honor? More like a life sentence.

An AU where werewolves are given humans as pets called Companions, and a very begrudging Stiles is taken in by Derek Hale, much to both their displeasure. And then pleasure. Very, very sexual pleasure.

13. Ain’t Nothing So Good  as the Cake and Eating it by sofonisba_found

Derek thinks he’s doing alright in life, with his family at his side and a job he loves. Despite his family’s concerns he remains adamant that he doesn’t need a mate, afraid to take the risk of letting anyone close enough to try to hurt his family again. That is until he realizes that his true mate has been right under his nose for years, and that now through his inaction he may lose him.

14. The Boy and the Beast by dsudis

In which events in Beacon Hills go rather differently from the start, and a Beauty and the Beast (ish) story ensues. (Scott is not a teacup and no one sings about their feelings.)

15. The Moon’s Gonna Follow Me Home by turningterrific

Derek doesn’t want to call the window repair guy. He doesn’t want to sweep up the glass. He’ll inevitably miss a few shards and pull them out of the bottom of his bare feet for weeks.

He doesn’t want to try to make this place feel like home when it isn’t.

Derek stayed in Beacon Hills and tried to make it work because he wanted pack, wanted purpose. He gave his best effort and found himself back where he started: alone, with a few begrudging allies. He’s tired, and even though his werewolf body heals quickly, he feels the weary ache down to his center.

He packs his car with the few things he cares about enough to drag them from place to place. He locks the loft and calls a realtor about listing the building he’d bought in a misguided attempt to secure a future.

And then he leaves.

16. Sell Your Body to the Night by dsudis

“No,” he repeated impatiently. “I’m not a cop. I’m someone who wants to exchange my money for your sexual services. I was told you were in that line of work.”

“I, uh, yeah, sorry,” Stiles said. He glanced around again and then up–the full moon was almost directly overhead. Just one of those nights, maybe. “Yeah, I am. I do that.”

17. Constantly on the Cusp by alisvolatpropiis

Stiles is gay, out and proud, and a Beacon Hills deputy. Derek is a firefighter and war veteran who thinks he’s straight; or, Derek and Stiles have lots of semi-public hatesex on the road to Love.

18. Now as Ever (All That Is and Has Been) by venis_envy

Stiles can’t remember what happened to rearrange the time-space continuum, or how he ended up being pulled into the past. All he knows is that he’s there now, in 2003 Beacon Hills, with a teenage werewolf and a possibly-crazy veterinarian as his only allies.

19. Important Things by suzvoy

Stiles learns that even with werewolves, giant lizards and psychopathic hunters on the loose, life can still find other ways to screw with you. Case in point: everyone keeps assuming he and Derek are a couple. What the hell?

20. According to Plans by eldee

Five times Stiles and Derek pretend to be boyfriends, and the one time they didn’t have to pretend at all. (Or: in which Stiles’ plan for senior year is completely ruined by a supernatural creature stalking him.)

21. The Road to Self-Actualization is Littered with F-Bombs by blue_fjords

It’s Stiles’s final Spring Break of his college career, and he’s got plans to do a whole lot of nothing. But Derek has other plans for him, and before he knows it, Stiles is joining Derek to go undercover at a couples’ retreat in a bid to catch a ring of thieves. It’s the world’s most perfect plan! Nothing could possibly go wrong!

22. In This Twilight How Dare You Speak of Grace by secondstar

Zombies. Stiles always knew the world would end this way.

23. Time to Begin by triedunture

Stiles learns some heavy-duty magic, and Derek convinces him to send him back in time to fix all the mistakes he’s made. But Derek ends up making things worse, and Stiles has to think creatively to save him. And everyone else, including their younger selves.

24. Losers by stilinskisparkles

Where Derek is new to college, eager to spend his time learning, and Stiles is everything he didn’t want in a room mate. He’s loud, he’s into sports, and he keeps trying to make Derek do things.

Or, the one where Derek falls for a jock, Erica will cut you if you disturb her studying, and Jackson is a closeted romantic who pretends to hate everything.

25. That Unfortunate Situation by 74days

Derek Hale, 3rd Duke of that name has an unfortunate run in with the young Baron of Stiles - accusing the young man of being a fortune hunter. Regency Romance meets Sterek.

26. Reach Out by weathervaanes

Or, In Which Stiles Falls in Love Twice…With the Same Person

-0-

Stiles sees the flyer on his very last day at Beacon Hills High School. It’s hanging, unassuming, in the hall near the front entrance along with bulletins and other flyers, advertisements, posters for free student concerts, but the fact that the word “sex” is written in a font two times larger than the rest of the page catches his attention.

It’s an advice hotline for a whole range of things, from teenage angst to how to deal with your parents telling you you’re adopted and a whole mess in the middle. Stiles thinks it’s funny, though, that they offer advice on sexuality and sex education. It makes sense on the one hand, since high school sex ed does jack shit for actual learning, but anyone who really wants to know stuff has an infinite source of knowledge right on their phone—the internet.

So it starts off as a joke.

27. Between Men and Lions by standinginanicedress

“I thought we could be friends,” Derek offers, to which Stiles gets an odd smile on his face.

“Friends,” he repeats, an odd inflection.

“Yes, friends.”

Stiles laughs, just barely. It’s more of an exhalation of breath than it is genuine mirth or anything else, and then he smiles. “I’m pretty good at friends,” he says with a tilt to his head, and Derek clears his throat and has to look away.