#that you *don't* have to put up with on AO3

[mira-says]

Snooping Shadowsinger

Read on AO3

Summary: Azriel finds a solstice gift in your closet. He wants to open it.

Warnings: Fluff, anxiety, mild smut at the end

Word Count: 1.9k

Author's note: Let's pretend this came out before Christmas, okay? Okay, enjoy ❤️

💙🌲💙🌲💙🌲💙🌲💙

Azriel shuffled through the items in his drawer, searching by feel more by sight. He was running late, the warmth and softness of your body had kept him in bed later than usual. He recently discovered a new aversion to the cold skies of Velaris, or the cold anywhere. Not only for himself, but for you. He wanted you to feel warmth when he arrived back at the house after a long day to wrap you in his arms, and he honestly would prefer to just not leave you at all.

Spring could not arrive quickly enough. But first, Azriel would celebrate his first solstice with his mate. It was a week away, and he knew you were excited. He would keep his complaints on the weather to himself.

Sighing, Azriel closed his drawer and turned toward the closet. "Y/N," he called as he opened the door to the sizable space filled with a generous mix of both of your clothes. "Did you put my sheath somewhere?"

"Your... shit?" You called from the bathroom, the sound of water muffling your voice.

"No, love, my sheath," Azriel emphasized. "For my dagger? The one that goes over my ribs."

"Oh, no, you know I don't touch your daggers."

"I know, I-" Azriel crouched on the floor and spotted the dark leather mixed with the rest of his clothes from the day before. He'd been changing into a sleep shirt last night when you'd slipped into the closet behind him and, well, neither of you made it to bed with any clothes. "Found it."

You said something in reply, but Azriel didn't hear, his eye catching on a bit of silver paper deep in a corner of the closet. Pushing a pair of boots to the side, he discovered a small box wrapped up with an elegant bow. He blinked. A solstice gift.

The water turned off in the bathroom and Azriel quickly pushed the boots back to where they had been mostly hiding the gift from view. He picked up his sheath and the rest of his discarded clothes before exiting the closet. 

As he closed the door, you appeared in the bedroom, hair still wet and wrapped in a fuzzy towel. Azriel's heart jumped. You had been mated less than a year, and he wondered how long it would be before he could he could see you and not want to immediately pull you closer.

His desire must have been obvious on his face because you stepped towards him with a mischievous grin and leaned in to press a soft kiss to his cheek.

"You're going to be late," you murmured, stepping back.

Azriel reached out to grab your hips before you got out of reach. He tugged you back towards his chest, and pressed his lips to the top of your head. "I'm already late, what's a few more minutes?"

You chuckled and pulled away, but not before giving Azriel a deep kiss that set the bond humming in both your chests.

"You'll make me late, my love, and you know I can't be late today."

You were right. Rhys had told you at dinner last night that the deal with the Spring Court would go through after all. A solstice miracle, you'd called it. You had to be there to make sure the signing went smoothly.

"When do you think you'll be back?" Azriel asked.

"Around midnight, probably. Don't wait up for me, okay?"

"I won't," Azriel lied. He'd always wait up for you. Your eye roll said you knew it, too.

A few minutes later, you had winnowed off to the Spring Court and Azriel had finally trudged up to the roof of the House to train with Cassian and the Valkyries. But he found he couldn't focus, his mind kept drifting to the box he found on the floor of the closet. The solstice gift. 

Was it for him? Surely you hadn't been so careless as to leave his gift so poorly hidden. But then, it was your first solstice together, maybe no one had told you yet about his inescapable habit of peeking and prying. He was sure that he told you to give your gifts to Rhysand for safekeeping. Maybe you hadn't had a chance yet? Maybe you'd--

Azriel was startled from his thoughts as his back hit the dirt.

"Awake now?" Emerie's voice sounded above him. She was crouched by his side, an annoyed look on her face. "Aren't you the one always going on about keeping focused, even while sparring?"

Azriel huffed and to rose smoothly to his feet. "I also tell you to finish your fights. Don't let your opponent get back up."

"Who said I was letting you get back up?"

Azriel tried to brace his legs into a more study position, but there wasn't time as he felt another sharp kick to the back of his knees, sending him back to the dirt. He turned to see Nesta, meeting her too-satsified smirk with a glare.

"Leave the poor male alone, his mate had to leave town this morning." Cassian called over to them, unable to stifle his laugh.

Azriel bit his tongue. That wasn't an excuse he'd accept from any of Valkyries, and it certainly wouldn't be one he'd accept from himself. He stood back up, dusted himself off, and mumbled an apology to Emerie for being distracted.

He kept his footing for the rest of the session, but it wasn't easy. You'd left a gift in their closet. He needed to know more.

Cassian followed him down the stairs after training. "Are you okay? You know Y/N will only be gone a few more hours, and Rhys is with her. They'll be fine."

"I know, it's not that." Azriel knew you could take care of yourself even without Rhys.

Cassian put his hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "Then what is it?"

Azriel sighed. Maybe he was being ridiculous. Maybe Cassian could help him make sense of it.

"I found a solstice gift in our closet this morning."

"From Y/N?"

Azriel nodded.

"For you?"

"I'm not sure," Azriel admitted. "Why would she just leave it there for me to see?"

"Are you sure she meant for you to see it?"

"Well, I mean, it was hidden, but not very well." Azriel sighed.

"Brother, nothing is hidden 'well' from you. Maybe she didn't think you'd notice."

Azriel hummed uncomfortably. "What if... What if she did want me to notice? What if it's like a test or something to see if I would open it?"

Cassian laughed. "Well, are you going to open it?"

Azriel didnt answer. Cassian laughed harder. "Please tell me you're not actually going to open your solstice present from your mate a week before solstice!"

"I could redo the wrapping. She'd never know."

"She'll smell you on it!"

"It's in our closet, it will already smell like me." Azriel narrowed his brow thoughtfully. "But I guess I could have my shadows open it, and they could see what it was. That way I wouldn't really be looking."

Cassian's laughter died. "Azriel, you can't be fucking serious."

Azriel began to pace. "It's our first solstice, Cass. I just want it to go well."

"And you think snooping in your gifts will make it go well?"

"I... I don't care about the gift, but you know I don't like surprises. What if I don't react the right way and she gets upset? Or what if she's spent too much gold on it? Or not enough? Gods, it's not like I'd expect something expensive. But what if I spent too much on her gift in comparison and she feels bad?"

"Az-"

"Fuck, I did spend a lot of gold on her gift. Maybe--it's just--why would she leave it there in our closet?"

A shadow curled around his ear, whispering your arrival a heartbeat too late. Azriel turned and his heart dropped as you stood at the balcony with Rhysand, a mixture of guilt and amusement crossing your face.

"Surprise, we're back early," Rhys said dryly. "We thought Tamlin would want to make signing the deal more of an event, but apparently not."

"You were the one who wanted to make it more of an event," You accused. "Now get out, I need to scold my mate."

Rhys shot Azriel an apologetic look before taking back to the skies, Cassian following close behind. You chose to ignoring his muttering of "stupid, stubborn bat" as he he passed.

When they were out of earshot, you cocked your head at Azriel.

He sighed. "I guess you heard all that?"

You didn't say anything, just started up the stairs and gestured at him to follow.

In your room, you went straight for the closet. Azriel stood by the bed, feeling a wave of guilt as you reappeared with the gift in your hands.

"Y/N, I'm -"

"Read it." You held the gift up to his face, your fingers holding away the bow that he could now see had been covering the gift tag.

To Rhysand, From Y/N

"Oh." Azriel said lamely. Well, that explained why you hadn't given it to Rhys. You put the gift back in the closet, and he found he couldn't look you in the eye when you returned.

You pushed him lightly to sit on the bed and crawled onto his lap, tilting his face back and forcing him to meet your eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

You felt his anxiety through the bond. "Love, I'm not actually mad at you."

"But I said-"

"I know what you said. It's not a big deal, I promise. You found a solstice gift, and you were curious. Honestly, even if you'd opened it I wouldn't have been mad, but I guess I'd have to get another glitter explosion spell."

Azriel choked on his laugh. "You're getting Rhys a present that explodes glitter for solstice?"

"Yes," you said seriously. "He'll finally have something real to pick off his clothes."

Azriel couldn't help the grin forming as he thought of Rhys covered in glitter. He looked back to your eyes. Soft, warm, and light with love.

"I am sorry, really," Azriel began again. "I don't want you to think that I don't trust you or anything, I'm just... Nervous."

He cringed internally at his own words but you just nodded.

"I know," you murmured, running you hand soothingly down his cheek. "I know you, love. And Cassian warned me about your snooping before your birthday this summer."

Azriel felt a blush rise to his face. You smiled and kissed his slightly pink cheek.

"Also, I got you a very nice present," you teased. "It is appropriately expensive, I promise. And you can act like you hate it for all I care because I know you will still be with me no matter what."

"I will," Azriel promised.

"And I will be with you. You're stuck with me, my sweet, snooping Shadowsinger."

Azriel felt the last of his anxiety fade as he pressed his lips to yours. He rolled you onto the bed pressing you to the mattress as he kissed you harder.

"Maybe I can give you one of your solstice gifts right now," he said, kissing down your body, removing your clothes as he went.

"I don't think it counts as a solstice gift if you give it to me everyday anyway." 

"Smart ass." He shook his head at you before removing your undergarments and dipping down to lick at your core.

With your taste on his tongue, and your sweet moans reaching his ears, he knew you would be the best solstice gift he'd ever have.

💙🌲💙🌲💙🌲💙🌲💙

Thank you for reading, let me know what you think! ❤️❤️

[dcxdpdabbles]

I found and read this cute story on AO3, about Frostbite being Danny's legal parental guardian. In the story Bruce Wayne runs into Frostbite (in his full yeti glory no disguise) who is setting up for school bake sale. Got me thinking about what if Danny's past rogues took turns filling in and doing parental stuff especially at school functions. Like Frostbite does the bake sale, Pandora shows up for his games, Ghostwriter goes to all of the PTA meetings, Clockwork goes to teacher meetings, so on and so forth.

The 43rd Annual Gotham Academy Bake Sale by Faeriekit

Ohhh, that sounds good! I'll get it a read when I have some time. Thank you for the rec!

Danny Fenton is one of the lucky few who have a very involved household. His various family members would always sign up for any school event the boy needed support in. It didn't mean that the boy won everything, but as a teacher for nine years, Emily has come to learn how much it mattered to just have someone show up.

She had seen students whose entire faces light up after spotting someone in the crowd in the same amount she saw a student's hope crumble after they scanned the room.

Danny was a polite young man, a bit on the shyer side, but kind and not a troublemaker, his previous school had her believe. If anything, he seemed to struggle with fitting in, but no students blatantly disliked him.

The general opinion of Danny matched, as her students would say, "I know him from class, but I don't really talk to him. He seems cool though".

Maybe that's why so many people were supposed by his family to march into the auditorium during Danny's talent show. Seeing him wave at the row before starting his gymnastic act had been such a surprise.

Now, Gotham wasn't a close-knit community, not with the size of their city and the millions of people living within it, but everyone would have noticed that Danny was adopted.

After all, he was the only one that wasn't glowing or a large humanoid animal. They cheered the loudest among the crowd; uncaring Danny got bronze- having lost to Joey's tapping dancing for second and Damian's spectacular multi-instrumental cover of a meme song for first place- and Danny beamed back at them.

Gotham was known for not being meta-friendly, but that was only due to a few mean people who shouted the loudest on media outlets. Many of Emily's students were meta, had family that were meta, or knew someone meta. It wasn't a common enough trait one would encounter a meta on every outing, but you would see them in Gotham well enough.

Everyone knew, but no one said it out loud. In the same way, she knew which students' parents were in the country illegally but worked harder than anyone else. Saying anything would help the cops, or worse, the rich running Gotham.

Even the most prejudiced Gothamite would rather be spat on then give them aid. And those who were so prejudiced to help the poor man's enemies, well, Emily has lived here long enough to know they vanished rather quickly. The smart ones kept their mouths shut.

No one could forget what happened to that guy who accidentally insulted Penguin. His grandmother had been an illegal immigrant on his mother's side.

No one messed with that side of the family.

"Hello, Mrs. Jackson." Danny's adoptive father, Dr. Frostbite said, ducking down to avoid banging his head on the door. On one of his shoulders was a box of hotdog wieners; on the other were multiple bags of bread. "I'm here for my snack bar shift."

Emily tilts her head back to look the Yeti in the eye. He had been shocked the first time they met, but she could admit that Dr. Frostbite was a relatively gentle and wise soul. "Welcome aboard. The girls are just about to take the field. You can put that down by the crock pot over there."

The mountain of white fur brushes by her with the grace of a king as Dr. Frostbite does as she says. There were no customers at the window, so she leaned on the counter and offered him a smile. "Did you enjoy the game?"

"Yes. I was saddened our team did not win, but Danny hit a home run." Dr. Frostbite's sharp smile could have been frightening if he wasn't oozing parental pride. "I caught it all on video."

Emily opens her mouth to respond when a hand lands loudly on the counter with a loud crack. Her heart leaps, and she looks into Danny's Ember. She isn't one of Emily's students, though she does appear to be a teenager in appearance.

You know. If it wasn't for her hair made of fire. Or her blue skin. Or her glow.

"I set a boy on fire," She announces with a cackle.

"That's so?" Dr. Frostbite gently rips open the box, taking out the hotdog packages. With one large claw, he rips a hole into it and lets the few weiners slide into the crockpot with a gentle splash. "What did he do?"

"Tried to slap me on the butt." She huffs, rolling her eyes, but her smirk doesn't lose an edge of smugness.

"Well done." Dr. Frostbite praises placing the lid back on. It always surprised Emily to see such careful actions from the large creature. "I assume you did so out of Pandora's line of sight?"

"Naturally. I don't want her lecturing me in front of the whole community." Ember scoffs, crossing her arms. Behind her, the top of Pandora's head can be seen swinging side to side over the dugout, keeping an eye on the ball.

She was the best volunteer referee because even the parents knew not to shout insulting things when she was present. Emily doesn't think she has had such peaceful games in a long while. Hopefully, Danny will try out again for baseball next year so the woman can return.

"Oh hey, you're Danny's English teacher, right? Mrs. Johnson?" Ember asks, leaning on the counter to give Emily a curious look.

When the blond nods, holding out her hand for a shake. "That's right. It's nice to see you again, Ember."

The girl's hair flairs a little as a grin grows on her face. Her hand is ice cold to the touch, but she's got a firm grip that her husband would appreciate. "Likewise. I got a message for you from Ghostwriter. He sent the notes for the last PTA meeting to you and the revision playwright for the musical you two were working on."

Emily's mood brightens up. "That's wonderful. Could you tell him I'll check it out when I get home and get to my laptop since my phone broke in the last Two-Face attack?"

Ember's hair flickers in the wind when she nods, but Danny bounces right up behind her just as she opens her mouth to speak. He's wearing his Gotham Acadamy Baseball uniform with pride despite them losing. "Hey, Frostbite, can I go with Tim and Duke to get Peoeria Pizza? We'll be back before the girl's game ends."

"Only if you take Ember with you," Dr.Frostbite says, nodding to his daughter, who looks alarmed to be included. "She needs more friends."

"Hey!"

"Sure. Come on, Ember, you'll get along with Duke. He likes old-school rock."

"It's not old-school!"

Emily laughs, watching the two siblings bicker as they stride away, blending into the crowd with no one batting an eye at the glowing girl anymore. How blessed that boy was.

"I'm glad Danny has gotten comfortable here. I always worried he never was going to have a normal childhood." Dr. Frostbite confesses to swirling the hotdogs around in the water to ensure each one is cooked.

"I think you and the rest are doing a wonderful job. You're a great father." She assures him, thinking wistfully of her William. He's been on deployment for a few months now and will likely miss the holidays again, but his contract is almost up. They may try for a child when he gets in the reserves. "How are things at the clinic?"

"Oh, wonderful. I'm grateful that Mr. Wayne has allowed the expansion of Thomas Wayne Memorial Clinic. Dr. Thompkins will be covering the east side of Gotham while I help those on the west. It's much more fulfilling than working in some hospital that demands funds for the silliest things. Back home, that would have been illegal. The people would have burned me at the stake if I had allowed anyone to pass away due to greed."

"My kind of people." She laughs. A sharp crack sounds from the field as the bat makes contact with the ball, and the crowd goes wild. It's a wonderful day.

[leighsartworks216]

As If In A Dream

Zayne x gn!Reader

Sooooooo I had a thoughtttt..... I'm sorryyyy ;-;

@comatosebunny09 Here's the fic for the idea I told you about 💀

Warnings: fluff, angst, domestic fluff, children, cooking, kissing, blood, open ending

Word Count: 1,463

Main Masterlist

First Love and Deepspace Masterlist

Second Love and Deepspace Masterlist

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"You two! Stop messing around and eat your breakfast!" You turn to the children at the table, hands on your hips. Even though you're trying to scold them, you can't help smiling. The round faces of a boy and a girl smile back at you, cherry-cheeked and giggling. You step away from the stove to kiss both their heads. "C'mon, eat up, you gotta go to school soon!"

With chimes of "Okay!" they pick up their forks and dig into the pancakes you've made. You ruffle their hair and get back to the stove, flipping another pancake onto a plate. Strong arms wrap around you.

"Are they giving you a hard time?" Zayne's chin rests on your shoulder, light kisses peppered behind your ear and on your jaw.

You laugh at the ticklish feeling, but you lean into him all the same. He holds you tighter, as though holding you so close could transfer all the emotions he's feeling into you. Not that he needs to - you know him like the back of your hand already.

"Nah, they're just excited. They're bringing in those cards to school today - of the little monsters, you know?" You add more batter to the pan and kiss his cheek. "You can go ahead and make your plate, I'm almost done."

He hums, shaking his head. "If you're almost done, I'll wait for you."

"Daddy!" your little girl calls out. She managed to get all your energy. Zayne said as much when she kept refusing to be put down for naps, wanting to keep playing all the time.

He gives you one last squeeze and kiss before he pulls away. Your daughter is practically bouncing in her chair with unbridled excitement as he walks over. "What is it, snowflake?" He smooths down her wild hair as he kisses her head.

She points to two cards on the table that sit in between her and her brother. "What one is cooler?"

"What is this about?" he asks, all too aware of the mess he's being invited to step into. Still, he picks up the cards to look at them both.

Your daughter opens her mouth, but your son quickly taps her on the arm. "No, don't say anything!" he reminds her in a hushed voice (though quite loud, enough for you to hear over your cooking). "Just pick what one is cooler!"

He's fighting a smile as he compares the two monsters. Having played with them a few times, he recognizes them both, but feeling strongly one way or the other about either of them isn't exactly his forte when it comes to their designs. "I think they're both cool," he says instead.

Your son gapes up at him. He got your stubbornness. "Nuh-uh!"

Zayne nods. "They both have unique and interesting qualities that make them stand out. See-" He points to the long, catfish-like whiskers of the first monster, crouching down between them so they can both see what he's doing. "This one has very cool whiskers that it uses to sense things around it to see. And this one-" He points to the drill-point arms it has. "It can use these to dig through the dirt really fast. I think these are both just too cool to compare."

You turn off the stove and walk over with a plate full of pancakes. "What do you think?" Zayne asks before the kids can. They watch with eager eyes as you take the cards and look at them.

"Hmm..." You purse your lips, squinting playfully at the little monsters. "I think... You're gonna be late for school." You smile as you hand them back their cards, which they hurriedly shuffle back into their decks. "Go brush your teeth and get your shoes on.

"Okay!" they chime in tandem again as they rush out of their seats to run down the hall.

“And don’t forget your homework,” he calls after them. Then, Zayne smiles up at you. "That's cheating." He stands and rounds the table, his arms finding their way around your waist once more.

You wrap your arms around his neck, playing idly with his hair. He needs a haircut, but you quite enjoy messing with his longer hair. It slips between your fingers so nicely. "The drill one is much cooler," you tell him quietly.

He chuckles softly. "I rather liked the whiskers one myself."

He leans forward to rest his forehead against yours. Down the hall you can hear the patter of feet and chatter as they get ready. The warm aroma of pancakes fills the air, tinged sweet with syrup. They'll be cool by the time you both get back from walking them to the bus stop, but you don't mind. Not really. Not when you get to heat them back up and eat them with your husband, teasing him for the amount of syrup he uses and stealing sweet kisses.

His smile is infectious. His green eyes are warm and shining. He’s so handsome. You press a light peck to his lips and let your eyes close in bliss.

He says your name. You hum. He says it again. It's muffled. It's much harder to open your eyes now.

When you finally manage, his face is right there. But... he doesn't look the same. His hair is the same length it’s always been.  His eyes are sharp, flickering all over your face. His brow is furrowed. He's worried and... he's scared.

You try to speak, but no words come out. Instead, harsh coughs punch out of your chest. Something hot and wet lands on your chin with each cough. He holds something over your nose and mouth; an oxygen mask that eases the strain in your lungs.

"You're alright." He lifts the mask for a moment and wipes your chin with medical tissue. You can feel the rubber of a glove covering his hand, stained thoroughly red. He sets the mask over your mouth again. "Just take deep breaths. We're almost at the hospital."

Hospital...?

Oh.

Right.

There was a Wanderer attack. While you and Zayne were eating lunch, the Metaflux went off the rails and suddenly a whole swarm of them appeared. You forced Zayne to focus on getting everyone else out of harms way while you dealt with the Wanderers. It's your job, after all. It shouldn't have been a big deal.

You try to look down at yourself. There's a lot of red. So much red. Is that all yours...? How can it be? There's so much...

He uses the back of his gloved hand to press against your forehead and lay your head back down. You weakly grab onto his arm. More red.

"Did... everyone get.... out?" It's so hard to speak. Your throat burns. You feel cold.

He nods. "Everyone else is safe. The Wanderers are gone."

You let out a relieved sigh and try to nod.

He looks down at your body. He looks pale. Paler than usual. His attention shoots back to your face when you laugh, weak as it may be.

"Zayne..." Your hand slides down his arm, fingers interlacing loosely with his. He holds on despite the blood. "You should... smile more.... 's pretty....."

He only frowns deeper. "We can worry about that later."

You shake your head. It lolls upsettingly from side to side. "Now...? Please....?"

You look at him and your brain is confused. It keeps searching for that Zayne from moments ago, that looked at you with so much love and warmth in his eyes. The only Zayne here, now, has cold, calculating eyes that try to see through you to figure out exactly what needs to be done to treat you. Maybe if he smiles, you can get even a fraction closer to that Zayne. Your Zayne.

"If I smile now, do you promise to make it through this?" he asks. It's a silly question for how serious his voice is. But you nod regardless.

"Promise....."

It's difficult. Trying to smile when you're fading away right in front of him. He's determined not to let that light fully leave your eyes - he can't let that happen. He swallows, bites his cheek, and does his damndest to force even a slight smile. Whatever he manages to produce seems to be enough for you, because you smile right back, dopey and unfocused.

"So... handsome....." Something akin to a giggle gurgles from your throat, fading off as your eyes flutter shut. His smile falls instantly.

The ambulance stops. He wastes no time opening the doors and helping the EMTs and nurses as they wheel you to an already prepared operating room. He refuses to let that be your last smile. Your last words. Your last anything. He will save you. He has to save you.

---

Tag List:

@the-golden-jhope @deepzombieyouth @huen1ngk41 @armycaratlover @cheesemachine44 @nyx2021 @angel-jupiter @thelittlebutton @pikachuzhc @pomegranatepip @cordidy @an-ever-angry-bi @thejysemongko @deusfoundry @hawtlineblingz

[jokeroutbigbang]

Announcing: Joker Out Big Bang 2025

Did you enjoy the JOblr Secret Santa gift exchange? Are you already looking forward to the next event? Do you enjoy creating together and for each other, for other fans, as a community? And do you want to go bigger and bolder with it?

Then look no further, because the first official Joker Out Big Bang is here! You might have seen these events happen in other fandoms, but if you have not, you might ask:

What is a Big Bang?

To put it simply: It’s a coordinated posting of fanworks. The general idea is to post a whole lot of fanworks, all at the same time and thus create an “explosion” of fanworks, aka a Big Bang. (Maybe it’ll even get the band tag trending. #GlobalDomination /j)

For the most part, the centre of attention in a Big Bang are fanfics paired with fanart, but works can also include other mediums such as moodboards, collages, edits, gifsets, etc. The point is that a writer's work gets paired with an artist to get visual additions to their work.

All works are united under one hashtag both on tumblr and in one collection on AO3 and are shared by the other participants and the official blog – so everyone gets to be part of one big collective.

This year's Big Bang event will have a Creation Phase up until the end of March, and works will be posted from the 7th - 13th of April.

Interested?

Sign-Up will start tomorrow and then you have until the 20th of January (late arrivals until the 25th, but we suggest you don't wait until the last minute) to join, afterwards the Sign-Up will close and the fun of creating will begin – Well, the planning stage of it, at least!

Before you sign up, please read through the general information, the detailed event timeline and our FAQ first. (We included convenient clickable links there). If you have any questions at all, our inbox is, of course, always open, so please don't hesitate to reach out!

And in case you're worried about real life taking up the majority of your time, you can always sign up for a Mini Bang – Smaller word count, less of a stress to find time for.

The event will have openings for Beta-readers, too; we'll update you on that as the time comes.

[scariusaquarius]

rehab. 3.

Avenger! Bucky Barnes x Winter Soldier! Fem! Reader

Summary: While on a mission to find any more possible super soldiers that were a part of the Winter Soldier program, Steve and Bucky make a discovery in an abandoned HYDRA base that was cleared out a few years prior to their mission. They discover the Reader, a long-forgotten soldier that was still asleep within a functioning cryostasis pod; still awaiting orders. While Bucky isn't happy about it, he is put up to the challenge of helping to rehabilitate the soldier in Wakanda where she may be able to become a person again.

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A/n: I had someone on Ao3 ask me about how often this will get updated and my answer is that I don't know. My IRL can be pretty unpredictable and I do deal with depression on a daily basis. I'm going to do my best to update this while still working on my Leon Kennedy fic, Unlikely Salvation! Please do bear with me as I try to figure out where I want this story to go!

This is an au where Bucky joined the avengers but still rehabilitated in Wakanda (sometime before Infinity War [canon divergent cause NOPE]). I am NOT fluent in Russian, so I did use google translate cause I couldn't find a good translator that I trusted. If anything is wrong, PLEASE let me know!! Also, I tried to list as many warnings as possible so you know what the story will contain as chapters are posted. Stay safe!

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Genre: Slowburn, Enemies to Lovers/Friends to Lovers, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Humor, Drama, Dark Content Rated: Explicit Warning: Angst, Dark Content: Graphic Depictions of Sexual Assault, Blood and Gore, Mentions of Manipulation, Kidnapping, Canon-Typical Violence, Body Horror, Nonconsensual Body Modification/Scarring, Emotional and Physical Abuse, Mentions of Murder, Mentions of Suicidal Thoughts/Ideation, Graphic Depictions of Human Remains, Mentions of Sexual Coercion/Manipulation, Death, Misuse of Drugs/Forced Drugging, Self-Harm (Graphic Depictions and Mentions), Nightmares

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Author: ScariusAquarius

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rehab masterlist. chapter 1 / chapter 2

The lab was hustling with scientists, the Wakandan sunrise filtering through the enormous windows with an intensity that made Bucky eyes hurt as he stood by the cryostasis pod where the Winter Soldier would soon be housed.

The whole trek to the lab had been uneventful: not once did the soldier fight back. It seemed that the failure to complete her mysterious mission had caused her to shut down, and Bucky was tense as she was strapped down with multiple magnetic cuffs like the ones he and Steve used back in the quinjet.

Even with the super soldier serum coursing through her veins and whatever other enhancements she might naturally have or that HYDRA might have given her would prove useless. She was strapped down nice and tight.

There was a machine hovering over her knee, the tissue and bone beneath crunching and grinding as it was fusing back together, her expression unchanging despite her kneecap and patella being exposed. The air was beginning to smell of singed flesh and hair, and Bucky felt slightly nauseous.

Bucky hated knowing how much damage his arm could inflict; how unforgiving his grip was and how hard it was to regulate the strength at times so he would break yet another glass just by holding it and trying to take a drink.

And it had been so easy to crush her flesh like it was nothing.

"Howard? Howard, oh god...oh god, Anthony...!"

Bucky clenched his jaw, swallowing harshly as Maria Stark's voice whispered to him, and he was broken out of his trance by Shuri announcing.

"Once we are finished with her knee, I would like to begin deconstructing her mind. If efforts are fruitless, I would like for you to activate her again if possible. We might be able to figure out what her previous orders were and her intentions, history, anything that would prove useful to the eradication of HYDRA."

Steve frowned, asking as T'Challa simply stayed quiet, observing the Winter Soldier as she sat complacent and quiet; seemingly not hearing a word that they were saying.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? What if it doesn't work?"

Shuri replied confidently, flicking her eyes over to Steve before gesturing towards Bucky with a nod of her head.

"We will have to reset completely and start over. Sergeant Barnes' rehabilitation was easy due to the flaws within his programming that HYDRA was unable to remedy. However, we do not know what improvements have been made to HYDRA's algorithm since then. It will be challenging to separate the core person that this woman was before her programming, but not impossible."

T'Challa then asked, raising an eyebrow at Shuri as she shined a light into the Winter Soldier's eyes, taking down notes and recording her vitals.

"What if you are unable to separate the identity from the programming?"

Shuri sighed deeply, shrugging.

"She will have to be built from the ground up. This woman will be like a completely clean slate down to a new name if we are unable to figure out who she was before. I am already running the best biometric identification programs within our arsenal to figure out who she could have been. I would assume that Stark is also doing so?"

Steve nodded, replying as he watched the soldier closely as her eyes inconspicuously flicked to a scientist that readying a syringe.

"Yes, he's also got Nat looking through the database that we downloaded and coursing through any previous databanks we obtained from previous HYDRA raids."

Shuri then turned to Bucky, making him quirk an eyebrow up slightly as she regarded him with a raised brow.

"What is your take on this, Sergeant Barnes?"

All eyes were on him, and Bucky sighed slightly he stared down the soldier, watching the way her brow began to tense slightly the closer the scientist got. The second the syringe touched her skin, the soldier began to freak out.

Due to the cuffs restricting her movement, she resorted to smacking her back against the chair over and over, hissing and yelling loudly as the scientist jolted and stumbled back. T'Challa immediately shoved her down, Shuri exclaiming profanities as she snatched the syringe from the scientist and shoved it into the soldier's neck.

The soldier hissed and yanked her neck away, breaking the needle, and Shuri groaned, gesturing with her hands wildly.

"Really? Now I'm going to have to dig that out. You make things harder for yourself!"

Okoye quipped, her spear pointing towards the soldier as Steve and Bucky stood tensed and ready should the Soldier somehow get out of her binds.

"How primitive! She is like a wild animal!"

The sedative began to kick in, the woman's bucking gradually stopping, and she went limp within the chair, head rolling to the side as her eyes rolled into the back of her skull. Bucky's heart was racing slightly with adrenaline, and Steve observed.

"Seems like she knew what the syringe meant."

T'Challa frowned deeply, leaning back and brushing his hands off slightly as he glanced back at Steve.

"An important but grave detail: she must be remembering...or perhaps, it is a recent memory."

Shuri plucked the broken needle from the soldier's neck, humming.

"I will take it as a good sign that there is at least someone beneath the rubble. I promise you, Mr. Rogers, that I will do my best to find her."

Steve nodded before clapping Bucky on the shoulder.

"You going to be alright?"

Bucky glanced over at Steve, muttering truthfully.

"I don't want to do this, but I'm only doing it for you. I'm worried that she is going to somehow lead HYDRA to me and it's gonna be a shit-show all over again."

Steve was firm, declaring quietly.

"You know I wouldn't let that happen. I'd have to miss that big head of yours again."

"You're a goddamn punk, you know that?"

Bucky couldn't keep the smile from gracing the corners of his lips, and Steve smiled at him softly before hugging him firmly and backing away.

"Alright, I'm going to leave you to it. I'll check in periodically; let you all know what we find on our side of the world."

T'Challa hummed, walking towards Steve.

"I will accompany you. I would like to discuss some things before your departure."

Steve nodded, and the two men walked out of Shuri's lab. Bucky turned back around, making a slight face as Shuri cut away pieces of the woman's clothing, revealing a black and tight-fitting compression camisole.

There were numerous scars and marks all over her body, some jagged and unforgiving while others were clean and precise. Shuri hummed softly, muttering as her fingers grazed a jagged scar that ran beneath the woman's neck.

"The things this woman must have been through...HYDRA is truly despicable."

Bucky couldn't speak. Hell, he couldn't even think outside of the boiling hatred and rage that was beginning to consume him at the sight of the gruesome scars that covered her upper body. Bucky could only assume that it got worse beneath her uncut clothing, and he had to bite his tongue as hard as he could.

Whip scars, burn marks, mutilated flesh that never regenerated, her body was a canvas; a horrendous painting that HYDRA had taken delight in decorating. This was more than just punishment, it was a warning.

A warning that disobedience will not be tolerated.

How many times did they slash her throat for the scar to become so prominent? How many times did they burn her skin to the point that the serum couldn't work to regenerate? How often did they beat and prod and jab and shoot and stab at her until she was too weak to fight back?

In a morbid way, Bucky took it as a sign that despite her being activated and still dangerous, her history of resistance let HYDRA know that the person that used to be there still existed.

There was someone still underneath the rubble, as Shuri had put it, and Bucky hoped that Shuri could pull her out.

But even so, would it help? Would it be right to let this woman have to live with the memories and nightmares of what had happened to her? Was it right to subject her mind to the torture of HYDRA even after being rescued?

Was it right to try despite knowing how traumatized and desolated the woman was going to be once she was free? Hell, there were times were Bucky could still smell the scent of the cologne his Handler wore when punishing Bucky, and now Bucky couldn't stand to smell the scent without being pushed into a panic.

"Don't worry, White Wolf. I am going to do what I can to help this woman."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

His voice was choked, cracking slightly as he rushed to respond, and Shuri tilted her head at him, asking Bucky with a curious gaze.

"Then what is it that plagues you?"

"I just...is it right to do this when she's gonna have to live with the memories and the nightmares?"

Bucky felt ashamed by the frown that crossed Shuri's face, but was slightly relieved to know that the disappointment that flashed within her eyes was not directed at him.

"I understand the concern, and I understand that it will not be easy for her...but that is why you are here. You have survived HYDRA and are free of the programming they worked hard to instill within your mind. With living proof that persistence yields peace, I truly think that she may become a person again...it will just take time and a lot of work."

Bucky nodded, and Shuri was quiet for a moment before she murmured.

"While it may not seem fair to save her...it is truly a tragedy to deny her the chance that HYDRA never gave her."

The words left a profoundly bitter taste within Bucky's mouth, and he could distinctly taste copper from him biting into his cheek too hard. Shaking his head, Bucky looked away from the woman as Shuri began to assess her further.

"Reactivating her will come with a risk. I would only be able to activate her, but I don't have the knowledge to deactivate, if that's even possible. When I was activated...the longer I was out of cryostasis and hadn't been wiped, the easier it was to resist the programming. I don't know if it will be the same for her."

"As I said: reactivation will allow us the ability to communicate with her. She has not been wiped, it would seem, so it is possible that this woman knows something."

Shuri grabbed a butterfly needle and a vial, putting on gloves and tying a tourniquet around the woman's arm so that she could find a vein. Once she found it, Shuri inserted the butterfly needle, taping it to the soldier's skin.

"I am now going to collect bloodwork to run DNA diagnostics and input the data into the biometric identification program to see if we may be able to identify her this way. I'm also going to do some testing to see what serum she might have been injected with to trace it back to the creator."

Bucky nodded and sat back, watching and listening intently as Shuri described what she was doing and what the programs did on a deeper, intellectual manner. While Bucky was listening and trying to absorb the information, he couldn't stop glancing over at the scars that lined the woman's body.

Horrific couldn't even describe it. It made him sick to his stomach. If Shuri noticed that Bucky was slightly distracted, she gracefully didn't comment on it. Instead, Shuri tried to distract him the best that she could while the machine she was operating was taking a scan of the woman's brain.

After a moment, Shuri hummed, a perplexed look on her face as she sauntered around the hologram of the woman's brain, tendrils of red seeming to pulse all over the organ, and Shuri's brows furrowed as she thought to herself. Bucky asked with an intrigued look on his face.

"What is that?"

"This is a digital recreation of the woman's brain as well as the areas most affected by HYDRA's programming."

Shuri looked proud as she began to move the hologram around, zooming in and out of different areas and lobes before breaking it down into layers.

"Thanks to the work that I did for you, I was able to develop an AI that was capable of identifying HYDRA's programming, as well as detect the intensity and depth that it runs. It gives possible solutions and suggestions on what to work on first...and tells me when something activates the program."

Shuri's voice seemed to lower slightly, side-eyeing him for a moment before she looked back at the hologram, but Bucky didn't notice. Bucky was floored, in awe at the ingenuity of the AI that he couldn't help but to whistle lowly.

"That's incredible, Shuri."

"Please, compared to her, you were like a walk in the park."

Shuri waved him off before she hummed, pointing to a area that was largely red within the hologram.

"However, unlike your programming, her programming is much more complex. There are multiple layers where the programming intertwines with core pieces and memories, which will make unraveling the ties difficult. There might be parts of her that will not be salvageable."

Bucky pursed his lips slightly, shaking his head as he replied gently.

"Like you said: from the ground and up if needed."

Shuri smiled widely at Bucky, her eyes crinkling as she teased gently, pointing at him.

"See, now you are beginning to understand."

Bucky rolled his eyes before he asked as Shuri began to work, a screen popping up and flashing slightly.

"So, what is that?"

"If we are going to salvage as much as we can of the core person she was before she became a Winter Soldier, we will have to analyze every piece of her psyche. Unfortunately, I cannot do much with HYDRA's program basically firewalling me. It is like they added some sort of encryption to her so that any attempt of undoing their work would be unsuccessful or too risky."

Bucky tilted his head, becoming slightly confused as he pointed to the red parts of the woman's brain.

"Is that why those areas are red like that?"

"Yes. If you look closely, it is almost as though these red areas are wrapping around the parts that are otherwise untouched by HYDRA's program. If we can get past the encryptions, we might be able to get through."

Bucky nodded along, crossing his arms before he glanced down at the woman, asking apprehensively.

"Are you going to make me activate her?"

"For now, no. I do not think that it will be necessary. All I need to do is bypass the encryptions, break them down, and then I will begin to root out the memories with the most significance to her."

Shuri spared Bucky a glance, relaying to him honestly.

"If possible, I would like to keep you from doing so because of the mental repercussions activating her will have. I will entrust the process to Okoye if activation is the only option we have left."

Bucky shook his head, murmuring to Shuri as he glanced down at the woman again as her face scrunched slightly.

"No, I'll do it...let's just hope that I don't have to."

Shuri became quiet, staring Bucky down for a moment before she turned away and suggested.

"Perhaps you should see the Captain off. Breaking through the encryption will take time, and I can tell that you are starting to become brain-dead listening to me."

Bucky chuckled before bowing his head slightly, shaking his head.

"I'd rather not upset your brother by leaving you with her by yourself."

Shuri made a face at him, the expression reminding him of Steve pre-serum.

"Do you think I am not capable of defending myself? This is my territory, white boy."

Bucky raised his hands in surrender, wincing slightly.

"I'm sorry, your highness, but I've been on the receiving end of your brother's foot."

Shuri barked out a laugh, and Okoye made her presence known by snorting while a couple of the Dora Milaje stood by the entrance to Shuri's lab.

"At least he knows what he would be up against. Do not worry, Sergeant Barnes, I will stand watch. The Captain is about to make his departure."

Bucky nodded before expressing his gratitude, nodding gently to Shuri.

"Thank you. I'll be back shortly."

Bucky turned and left quickly, his steps quick and urgent as he arrived outside. However, the quinjet was already flying away, making Bucky purse his lips. T'Challa's voice greeted him, making the man look over at the King as he spoke.

"You just missed him."

"He's always running off on me somehow, so I'm not entirely surprised."

T'Challa chuckled slightly, before he glanced over at Bucky.

"How are you feeling about all of this?"

Bucky glanced over at T'Challa, regarding him with an exhausted look before he turned back front, watching Steve leave again.

"I'm worried, honestly. There's so many things that could go wrong. What if HYDRA is trying to find me and was using her to do it? HYDRA must know that the Avengers have been raiding the old facilities that aren't in use anymore, so why not leave her to be found and taken in?"

T'Challa hummed, clasping his hands together as he replied.

"Let them try. They will not make it very far."

Bucky pursed his lips slightly before he murmured.

"It's...strange, honestly...seeing this from an outside perspective. I knew that this was serious, but I wasn't aware of how bad it actually was. Standing on the other side of the glass...it's almost poignant."

T'Challa nodded, replying with a hum.

"When my father was killed and I was under the assumption that it was you in Vienna, a deep hatred rooted within me for HYDRA. While I understand now that it was Zemo's schemes...that hatred for HYDRA has never wavered. Even now when knowing the dangers that lie beyond those doors, I still hope for peace."

Bucky was quiet, listening intently to T'Challa's words as the king spoke, his brown eyes downcast as he continued.

"Nobody deserves to be subjected to such horrific torture."

Bucky wasn't sure on how to respond. Instead, the man just nodded and took a moment to breathe before he settled, glancing over at T'Challa.

"You're right, and if we have to start from scratch, then I'm willing to help how I can...both with rehabilitating her and eradicating HYDRA once and for all."

T'Challa nodded quietly before turning to walk back towards the lab, suggesting over his shoulder.

"You should get some rest...and maybe put that on ice."

At the mention of the wound on his temple, it began to pulse, and Bucky just sighed.

"I'll sleep it off...and thank you for listening."

T'Challa didn't respond, but a smile graced the king's lips as he disappeared through the doors. Bucky's shoulders sagged slightly, and he rubbed his temple gently, wincing when he pressed down to hard.

He had to admit: that woman could give a mean right-hook.

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STORY NOTES: Bucky, T'Challa, Steve, and Shuri are all within her lab with the Winter Soldier. So far, the Winter Soldier has made no move. Shuri is using a machine that heals and reconstructs the soldier's knee, and Bucky is perturbed by the damage he had inflicted. He reflects on the hardship it took to regulate the strength of his grip in his metal arm; reminiscing about the difficulty of clutching a glass of water.

Shuri then tells the group that she would like to begin deconstructing the Winter Soldier's mind to get an understanding of her intentions, and suggests activating the Winter Soldier again should Shuri's efforts fail. Steve is apprehensive, and Shuri voices that if neither efforts are successful, then she will have to completely reboot the Winter Soldier.

Shuri elaborates that she is currently attempting to figure out the identity of the Winter Soldier, and makes a remark that she hopes Tony Stark is also doing the same. Steve comments that Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, is also combing through the databank Bucky had downloaded, as well as previously recovered databanks.

When a scientist attempts to inject a sedative into her, the Winter Soldier begins to resist; causing a scene and consequently breaking the needle of the sedative within her neck. Steve observed that the woman understood what the syringe meant, and T'Challa points out that it might be a sign that she is remembering.

Before Steve's departure, Bucky voices his fear that HYDRA is using her to get to him, and Steve reassures Bucky that he won't let HYDRA get their hands on him again. Steve exits with T'Challa, and Bucky and Shuri are left alone within the lab. Shuri begins to remove a bit of the woman's clothing, and more scars are revealed.

Bucky becomes upset by the sight of the scars, understanding what they meant, and Bucky begins to become apprehensive about saving the woman. Shuri reassures Bucky that what they are doing is right. Later, Shuri shows Bucky a digital rendition of the Winter Soldier's brain and explains what she is going to do in order to save the woman's core identity.

Shuri comments that Bucky should see Steve off, and though Bucky tries to get to Steve before he leaves, he is unsuccessful. Instead, he meets with T'Challa. They begin to converse with each other, Bucky revealing his concerns, and T'Challa reassures him that HYDRA would not make it far into Wakanda if they attempted to retrieve him. Bucky makes a final thought on the woman and reflects on her strength. End scene.

TAGLIST: @vicmc624 @tilldeathripsusapart

[prettyboykatsuki]

oh gosh i agree so much with u on the intercrural part for isagi, had to search for the meaning as well lol

there are also others like him who are very careful (and they also find it so hot and dirty) : karasu, kunigami, sae, and chigiri who at the same time does not want a child

that was so hot thinking abt it ngl pls indulge more on this even if it's just isagi thank you very much

as much as i want the others like nagi, shidou, rin, aiku, etc. to like this, i fear some of them would just simply prefer p in v after minutes of intercrural, cough, aiku , cough, and nagi who become very impatient (and shidou i think does not mind a child lol)

jfjfdsfsdfkjsd i did not know it was such an unknown word it is in tags a lot on ao3 but yes intercrural = thigh fucking

i think there are probably several bluelock men who find it hot for different reasons. the only people i would switch is oliver and sae on these lists jkfsdkj. disregarding the risk of pregnancy in general tho bc i <3 birth control and contraceptives etc

i think oliver is like. a certifiable, tried-and-true FREAK. like in the traditional sexual way, that guy is really loose with sex and he likes to get into some freaky shit. i always say this but he sluts around for the love of the game, so while he definitely wants to be putting his dick somewhere

he can and does get very into thigh fucking because of the like,, teasing element. him and isagi are kind of the same in the sense they both do it so hard and so long - you end up desperately begging them to just fuck you already because of how frustrating it is and just how much they seem to like it.

isagi fucks your thighs less intentionally. he's just trying to get as much sexual contact as he can after his dick feels like it's going to implode. its usually after foreplay - when he's used his mouth for long enough that your thighs and pussy are embarassingly soaked and it feels especially nice for him to fuck through them. does it while laying behind you, very intimate - but very, very intense because he's basically grinding against your pussy. squishing your thighs together so much that that it feels like he's fucking through them. head against your shoulder, panting - precum covering your legs like he's just into It.

but you really, desperately want him to fuck you and he just. keeps saying to give him a little longer.

oliver does this one purpose but he likes doing it from above so he can see his dick reach through the other side when he does it. and he probably does it after fingering you like he's going to fuck you but then not going quite there. he just kind of... holds you. presses against you like you're going to get fucked and then... doesnt it. and it does feel good because he's using that same brutal, rough pace he does when he fucks you. the longer he does it, the wetter and slicker it gets the better it feels. so then, he keeps doing it because it feels good. he thinks its cute also, watching you go back and forth before finally caving bc you want him to Fuck you.

i think sae in general prefers giving u the most stimulation as much as he can if he's gonna have sex. he can be teasing if he wants to be, but overall - he likes to sitmulate you again and again and again and mess with your head that way. but he does all that so ultimately you'll be so wet it feels like you don't resist his cock at all. doubly bc i think his dick is Big.

this is too long to be talking about thighfucking. but ye dsjsdjk

[takaraphoenix]

I truly can not put into words how much I hate the tag limit on AO3.

Look, I get it, they put it up back then for a good reason with the bullshit spam in tags. But could we lift it again? Or at least raise it to a reasonable amount?

Because 75 tags is nothing.

Not when it is total tags. Not when you are writing elaborate multiple chapter fics.

Between character tags, relationship tags and additional tags? It is so damn easy to reach 75 tags.

Hell, if you are writing am OT3 BDSM fic set in the ABOverse, you are already 17 tags in with just the core basics (3 character tags, 4 relationship tags if you tag the OT3 and the individual relationships among them, alpha/beta/omega dynamics, Polyamory, Threesome - [constellation], BDSM, 3 tags for the characters' ABOverse designations, 3 tags for their Dom/sub roles), that is not even including what kind of kinks or sexual themes will be in it and those can, depending on how much fun you're having, easily take a dozen tags too. If you also have important side characters or pairings? Or platonic dynamics that matter? And if you also have... you know... plot? Tropes or other things that would be great if findable through a tag?

I get it, 75 tags sounds like a lot. If you're posting a oneshot. But a lot of things tend to happen in longer fics. I find it impossible to contain a 50k fic to 75 tags, I have no idea how people whose stories range in the 100k+ length handle this.

If it were, at the very least, just about additional tags? If relationship and character tags weren't included in that count? I think that would actually be a more realistic number. It'd still limit spamming, but it'd also give more freedom to actually tag the important parts of the story.

Because I do want to cover the things I think are important for people to be able to filter, either to find or to avoid a story. I don't want to have to choose which thing to leave untagged, just because the story is long, elaborate and contains a multitude of themes, kinks and tropes.

[shalscumbunny]

Could I maybe get some Noncon uvogin crumbs if you like writing for him, if not Shalnark crumbs 🙏🏻

Hungry | Uvogin X Female!Reader

Summary: Uvogin clearly loves you, needs you, he is completely obsessed, your body is a treasure, the best appetizer that life can offer him, your body is simply so beautiful, so sensual, it makes him hungry for you.

Pairing: Uvogin X Female!Reader

Warnings: Vaginal sex, aggressive sex, female reader receiving oral sex, nipple sucking, vaginal bleeding, cumflation, pet names, stomach bulge due to penetration, non con, body manipulation, dacryphilia, impregnation kink, size kink

Author’s note: Good news! We will do both and start with Uvogin! because you deserve it! ❤ I hope u like it!

Sites: AO3

Being captured by Uvogin was a far cry from what the other members of the Phantom Troupe would have done. While the others would opt for discretion, leaving no traces and avoiding trouble, Uvogin literally had no problem capturing you in broad daylight and carrying you off like a rag doll thanks to the significant size difference. Even with all your strength, you wouldn't have been able to put up any resistance. 

And now you'd regained consciousness and your breath caught in your throat as you saw him standing at the foot of the bed where you lay, that giant, muscular figure, even bigger than a bear. You couldn't even swallow, your eyes fixed on him.

"You're a heavy sleeper, I like that" His deep voice made you tremble. 

"Please... let me go... I don't have any money" You begged, looking at him fearfully. 

"I don't want money, I don't use it" He replied mockingly. 

For someone so big and heavy, you were astonished when, in the blink of an eye, he was on top of you, pinning you to the bed. You only just noticed then that the bed was his, no one else would have a bed that big.

For the first time in your life, you were genuinely scared. You recalled the countless wildlife documentaries you’d watched during idle hours on television. For the first time, you identified with those small animals in the jaws of their predator.

“I’m a thief, thieves just take what they want…” You jumped as you felt his large hand grab your lower hip. “I want you, from the first time I saw you… so I’ve decided to take you.”

“I’m not an object you can possess” You tried to defend yourself, completely terrified but indignant.

You heard his deep, rumbling laugh. He seemed amused, as if he were playing with his prey, mocking your boldness at this moment.

And indeed, Uvogin was enjoying himself. From the first time he saw you, he liked you, he liked you a lot. Beside him, you were small, like a rabbit next to a bear, but it wasn’t just your appearance, he liked your personality a lot too.

He always saw you arguing, shouting, and being so stubborn, which was charming. He was surprised by how much naughtiness there was in such a small and... delicious... body.

“I should teach you how to behave in front of me. You’re mine now, you must obey me and respect me, especially obey me”

You froze as you watched his left hand wander and position itself on your abdomen. The hand was bigger than your torso; he could literally grasp your entire body with just one hand. You wanted to scream at him to stop, but you didn't have the courage when you looked into his eyes.

You twisted as his hand moved up your chest, his heavy fingers playing with your breasts aggressively, your legs trembling.

"W-wait... d-don't do that" You gasped, trying to turn away.

You wriggled trying to avoid him, but it was literally easy for Uvogin to rip your clothes off in a second, leaving you in just your panties. Your eyes filled with tears, and your face flushed.

"Do you really think you can stop me? Come on! Keep trying, it's fun to watch you struggle" Uvogin removed your bra, revealing your breasts, your nipples erect from the stimulation and the sudden cold.

"Let go of me!" You whimpered between gasps until his mouth captured one of your breasts, sucking and biting aggressively.

You were speechless, only forced moans came out of your mouth, while your legs managed to kick him, but you didn't really hurt him in any way, on the contrary, you began to feel a terrifying bulge forming in your kidnapper's crotch.

Your body trembled as his teeth tortured your breasts, as if they were flavored gum, a flavor he loved, while his big hands obscenely massaged your hips and ass.

Your weak hands tried to force him back, scratching and pinching, but that only excited him, it excited him to see you so tearful and defenseless, so much his...

One of his hands left your hip forcing you to open your legs revealing your wet panties which made him smile, he was hungry, hungry for that wet treasure on your legs.

“I don’t think you’re hating this” He whispered in your ear licking it and at the same time making you whimper.

Completely stupefied you saw his large middle finger caress your wet underwear making you move your hips involuntarily at the feeling of need.

“Are you wet, bunny?” He whispered caressing your clit with the wet fabric of your panties, the friction stealing your breath

“No! Please not there! Stop!” You begged between desperation, shame and pleasure

Uvogin was having one of the best times of his life, his middle finger roughly massaging your pussy, which looked tiny and small in his hand. Ecstatic to hear your whimpers and shame. It pleased him to be the one who inspired pleasure and terror in you, he was proud.

You couldn't hold out much longer, you came in your underwear between cries and begs and Uvogin was quick to take them off, revealing your excited and sticky pussy, you couldn't even anticipate Uvogin's animal acts, he took your breath away by sticking his finger inside you, already filling you completely.

Your cry of pain and pleasure made you open your mouth, which Uvogin took advantage of to plant a dirty kiss on you, inserting his tongue in your mouth and capturing yours.

All you could do was whimper on his tongue while your pussy squeezed his finger completely needy, you felt like it was pumped inside you quickly and roughly, making you cum several times.

“Good bunny, you see, you wanted it” He congratulated you with a growl in your ear, pulling his soaked finger out of your dilated pussy.

You saw him stand up, so you thought it was all over, however, the relief didn't last long, as you saw how he spread your legs and positioned his face between your thighs.

“I’ve been starving for hours” He murmured, licking your pussy with his tongue, making you shiver

“Please… no more” You begged, overstimulated

“Calm down bunny, now that you’re mine, we’re going to improve the stamina of this delicious pussy” Uvogin kissed your clit “My name is Uvogin, yes bunny? That’s the only name you’re going to moan from now on”

You tried to kick weakly, but with no effort Uvogin spread your legs wide and began to devour your pussy as if he hadn’t eaten in years, within seconds you had already cum for the first time, your insides were moving as he sucked on your clit, red with excitement, and his tongue penetrated your rubbery walls, it was more than you could handle, your head was clouding over and you were losing your mind.

At first you were just begging him to stop as you came on his tongue and chin, but every time you came, you started to lose track of the fact that you were literally being raped by your captor.

But soon Uvogin’s middle finger started pumping into your tight pussy as his tongue tortured your raw clit, making you cry for more and more as Uvogin greedily tasted your pleasure juices.

“Ah! Uvogin! Uvogin” You moaned his name, practically screaming it, exploding with pleasure

Uvogin proudly stood still, proud of the mess you were, seeing the bed all wrinkled from your attempts to escape and then the writhings of pleasure he caused you, because only he could, because you were only his.

You looked so silly with your mind clouded with pleasure, innocent even, like a submissive little bunny to him, adorable and tiny next to him, yes, you were definitely a bunny, his bunny.

“You know, I love bunnies, they’re so cute and pretend to be innocent, just like you” He purred in your ear as he pulled down his pants, your mind was so clouded with pleasure that you didn’t even notice the giant, hard cock between your thighs, completely swollen, veined and throbbing to be inside that fertile little pussy of yours.

His huge tip throbbed at your soaked and needy entrance, he knew it wasn’t going to fit in the easy way, so he would get it the hard way and teach you to take it the hard way, from now on that would be your duty.

“But bunnies are just like you, little whores eager for someone like me to fill their cunts and impregnate them” His deep voice made you writhe in pleasure

Uvogin took your chin, opening your mouth, kissing you once and at the same time giving you a deep thrust with his huge cock that knocked the air out of you, causing you to bite his mouth in the kiss, but he didn't care.

The strong stab brought you down from the cloud of pleasure, your body trembling from the pain, you even felt like you were going to faint, everything upset you, even feeling the blood from Uvogin's lips in your mouth.

You managed to break away from the kiss in tears, the unbearable burning and pain making you kick to separate yourself.

“Ah! It hurts! Please I don't want to” You begged between cries, watching your pussy bleed from the aggressive and huge intrusion

Uvogin loved you in the end, as much as he wanted you, so he comforted you by kissing your hair and caressing your clit to help you cope with the pain.

“Shhh… shhh… you’re taking it well” He whispered hotly to you pulling out a little and again penetrating you all the way “You’re going to like it, you’re going to get used to it”

You didn’t even have the strength to fight, you just whimpered into his hairy, big chest, amazed because only half of his huge cock was inside you, you even felt like you were going to die, you saw his fat cock stretching your rubbery, aching walls while you clearly saw how your belly was slightly bulging in its shape.

This time it took you a long time to get used to it, you cried every time he entered and exited your sore pussy that at least wasn’t bleeding anymore, but the stimulation on your clit managed to make you finally cum after a long time.

“See how you’re getting used to it, bunny, look how well you’re taking me” Uvogin congratulated you, increasing the pace of his thrusts

Your pussy squeezed him in such a delicious way that he felt lucky, it was a dream to see you so pretty and so small receiving his huge, fat cock while his heavy balls contracted, eager to release the semen they held.

All you could do was gasp and whimper, your nails digging into his shoulders and back, the intrusion was no longer so painful, your clit was so needy that it enjoyed Uvogin’s attentions and your pussy squeezed his cock as if it were begging for more, you didn’t even last long when his head hit your sweet, rubbery spot that made you forget the pain.

“I can’t anymore… ah… ah…” You begged between moans

Uvogin also knew that he wouldn’t last any longer, so he didn’t care about hurting you, he began to penetrate you with more force and kiss you needily.

“Pretty bunny, I’m going to fill you up, just like you deserve it, okay?” Uvogin’s muscular arms held you tight to him “I’m going to impregnate that pretty womb of yours, I’m going to make you a pretty mother of several children so that you remember who you belong to forever”

You didn’t even understand it well, your mind was clouded, completely lost between pleasure and pain, Uvogin wanted to impregnate you? Who cares! You only needed that thick, hot semen to satisfy you, to end the hot need of your body, even though your mind and heart cried out for help.

It finally happened, you rolled your eyes in pleasure as Uvogin filled you to the brim, brutally hitting your cervix, while hot, copious loads of thick cum filled you, starting to bulge your belly.

“Good bunny” Uvogin moaned in pleasure as he licked and bit at your neck “I was so hungry for you”

Thank u so much for reading this shit 🖤

Shalnark version-> HERE

[27spoons]

CRUSH | ACT ONE: DO I WANNA KNOW?

pairing: natalie scatorccio/fem!reader

summary: You're studying on a Friday. Natalie doesn't like that.

wc: 4200 (blaze it) (im not funny)

warnings: none. I think.

a/n: happy birthday 2 me. here is another chapter. lowkey i wasnt planning on have two chapters in a row with a ? in them but oh well yolo and all that fun stuff. anyways this chapter is basically just two losers yapping (next one will b longer promise)

ao3 / masterlist

PREVIOUS - ACT ONE: HOW CAN I MAKE IT OK?

NEXT - ACT TWO: (idk yet titles are hard) (WIP)

The thing about Natalie Scatorccio is that she always seems to find you when you least expect it. It’s like she has a sixth sense, some radar that tells her exactly when you’re trying not to think about her—and then she shows up, smirking like she knows all your secrets. 

Today is no different. You’re sitting on the steps outside the library, flipping halfheartedly through a history textbook, when her shadow falls over you.

"Studying on a Friday, Princess?" She lets out a low whistle, "Now, that's tragic."

You roll your eyes and let a scoff fall from your lips, "Listen, not everyone can afford to just… throw caution to the wind or whatever. Some of us actually need to study."

Nat snorts as she fishes a cigarette out of her pocket, bringing it to her lips and lighting it, "I do study, just not on Fridays, like a nerd." She gives you a pointed glare, but it lacks any actual heat.

Without giving you a chance to object, she throws her duffle bag down on the steps next to you and sits down with a grunt. "Seriously, though." She ashes her cigarette, "Why're you sittin' alone out here, head in your…" She glances at the cover of your textbook, "history book when you could be doin' anything else?"

You shrug and close your textbook with a sigh, "I dunno. I guess it's just… the way things are, or whatever. Never really been the type of person who goes out on Fridays." Nat nods in understanding as she takes a slow drag from her cigarette, "Yeah, I get that. Nothin' wrong with that. But it gets boring after a while, yeah? Doin' the same thing every week, set in some constant routine?"

"I guess," You sigh and move to put your textbook into your backpack, "But don't you have routines? I mean, soccer and all that?"

"Yeah, I got some routine. Some days, I get up earlier than others to make it to practice. Some days, I spend some time after school kicking around a ball in the field. But that's not my point." Another drag of her smoke, "My point is that you can have some routine, but life is so fucking boring if that's all your life is." She rolls the end of the cigarette between her thumb and pointer finger for a few seconds before looking at you, squinting against the harsh light of the sun that beats down from behind you. "You gotta have something to shake it up every now and then, yeah? You don't gotta go to a party every week, but what's stoppin' you from goin' to one now and then?"

"It's just never been my scene, I guess. My friends and I don't really… do parties, you know? Like, we have small get-togethers or whatever, but we don't party. Never really seen myself as a party person, either." You shrug, zipping up your bag and moving it to rest on the step in front of you, "I dunno. I guess the…" You wave your hands around as you think of the proper words to use, "loud music and annoying people isn't exactly what I consider fun." A fond shake of your head and a gentle laugh, "But, hey, all the power to you if that's what you do find fun."

"You ever been invited to a party?" Nat chimes in after considering your statement for a few seconds.

You have to think about that question for a few seconds. "Yes." You finally manage, which earns you a skeptical look from the woman sitting next to you.

"Then why'd you have to think about it?" 

"Oh my God." You roll your eyes, "Because it's been a while since I got invited to one, alright? Like I said, I don't hang out with the type of people that go to parties. So…"

Nat hums at that, seemingly accepting the answer you've given her. "Alright. So what do you do on Fridays? Or the weekend? Or whenever you aren't with your nose in some book." She gestures to your backpack and the textbook inside of it by extension. "Nothin' wrong with it, but you gotta do something else, yeah?"

A huff leaves your mouth before you can stop it, "Well, you've caught me sketching once or twice, yeah? I'm a pretty big fan of that. Uhhh…" You think for a few seconds, feeling like this is an awkward first date where the person is asking, "What do you do for fun?" and it takes everything in you not to give out the most generic answers possible. "I think I mentioned meteor showers to you before? I, uh, I like stargazing. And I guess I kinda play games sometimes? Although it's usually just… simulation games or whatever. The mindless stuff."

"Right." The girl smirks to herself as she muddles over your hobbies in her head. "Drawing, stargazing, and simulation games. Yeah, you, my friend, are a walking funfest, you know that?" One last drag from her cigarette before snuffing it out on the step, "That stuff is fun and all, but you need some more excitement in your life."

"What? Like… stealing BuzzBalls from corner stores?" A faint smirk tugs at your lips, "Or taking joyrides in stolen Maseratis?" 

"First of all," Nat cuts you off before you can continue, "It was a Mazda. There's a huge difference. Second of all…" She hums and leans back, resting her elbows on the next step up. 

She looks over you in a curious sort of way, appraising your form and being. "You could skate. Could convince Kev to teach you a thing or two at the skatepark, as long as you aren't gonna cry if you fall. If you play simulation games, you might not be half-bad at pool or darts. Hell, even thrifting or something. Refresh your wardrobe. I swear, every time I see you, you're basically wearing the same thing, just in different variants." Then, a sly grin. "But the fun stuff? Bet I could teach you to tag stuff without getting caught. You're already an artist; you should leave your mark on some places, yeah?" Her grin widens, "Maybe I could even convince you to bust into an old factory with me." A beat, "Unless… you're afraid of ghosts?" Then, she's laughing to herself.

You try to fight the grin on your face, but it's hard when you find her smile to be one of the most contagious things you've ever seen. "I'm not afraid of ghosts, thank you." A dramatic roll of your eyes earns another laugh from Nat, her smile wide and plastered on her face like she's having the time of her life. "But, also… I dunno. Maybe I could be convinced to try something new." "Maybe?" Nat parrots, still half-laughing. "Nah. I will convince you to "try something new"; you just haven't seen how convincing I can be yet." A self-satisfied grin replaces the smile she was wearing, and she leans in slightly, lowering her voice. "And I can be real convincing, Princess."

And… yep. You're blushing again. Nat, of course, notices this. Her grin gets ten times toothier, clearly satisfied with herself, and she leans back again. "But," She shrugs—as if she didn't just fluster the shit out of you with a single sentence. "That's for a later date."

Before you get a chance to respond to that, you catch sight of two girls wearing practice uniforms approaching—a simple grey shirt with the mascot's name on it and some shorts. You've seen them around before; it's a small town, after all. 

Jackie Taylor—homecoming queen and captain of the girl's soccer team. Beside her, Shauna Shipman—who you… honestly don't know much about. You're pretty sure the two of them are best friends despite the fact that they seem like polar opposites. 

Something something opposites attract, or whatever.

"Nat." Jackie stops in front of the two of you, regarding you with a half-assed smile for a fraction of a second before turning back to Nat, "You will be at practice today, right? You aren't gonna ditch again to do—"

"Yes, Jackie. I will fucking be at practice, alright?" Nat cuts her off with a scowl and a roll of her eyes. You swear she's gonna add something else but opts against it.

"Well… good." Jackie nods, then glances at you for much longer than she did initially, a curious expression on her face. 

You don't have to guess why the expression is there, either. You aren't that dumb. You don't really look like the type of person Natalie Scatorccio hangs out with—not with your textbooks, sketchbooks, and meekness. No, you've seen the people she hangs out with. Misfits, mostly. There's that one goth kid, that guy with curly hair, and the redhead chick—who also plays on the soccer team with Nat. Then there are the… less than savoury characters. The people who she isn't seen around as much, but everyone knows she is around. Not hardened criminals per se, but people who are very, very rough around the edges. People who have longer rap sheets and far more "experience" being criminals than Natalie does.

Either way, Jackie doesn't comment on the stark difference between Natalie's usual crowd and you.

You give the team captain a tense smile as she looks at you, which she quickly returns before looking back at the girl sitting next to you, "We start in thirty."

"Yeah, I know, Princess." Natalie rolls her eyes, "I'm well aware what time practice starts, thank you."

"I was just trying to—" Jackie huffs and crosses her arms, "Whatever. Be there." Then she walks off, seemingly pouting, and Shauna gives Nat a shrug in apology before following.

Once the pair are out of earshot, Nat groans and pushes a hand through her bleached hair, "See, that's someone I call a princess in a derogatory manner."

You snort, "But it's not derogatory with me?"

"Nah." She shakes her head, "With you? It just… feels right. Dunno. Like that one chick we called "Crystal the Pistol" a few times. It's an affectionate nickname, or whatever." She waves a hand dismissively, "Not my point. Point is, when I say it to you, it's…" A beat of hesitation as she tries to find the right words, "Ugh. I don't know. I'm not good with words. Just know it's a good nickname, not a bad one."

"Right." Your eyes narrow slightly at that, but you don't push the topic further.

Which Nat seems grateful for, anyway. "Anyways. What the hell were we talking about?"

"Uhhhhh… hobbies, and how mine are, apparently, drastically boring?"

"Oh. Right." She nods, thinking about the previous conversation for a minute, then she gives a fond roll of her eyes and turns to you with a soft grin, "I mean… you said it. Not me. I just said you need some excitement. I'm not the one that goes stargazing for fun."

"Right. And most of your suggestions were…" You hum in mock thought, "Illegal, no?"

"'s only illegal if you get caught, actually." Nat shoots back, "And where's your sense of adventure, huh?" She nudges you with her elbow, "Gotta live a little, Princess. I know that BuzzBall was probably the first time you've ever… partaken in something illegal."

You roll your eyes and lean your back against the railing as you turn at the waist to face her, "Sorry, I don't willingly rob stores for fun in my free time. My bad."

You think you see Nat's jaw twitch at the comment, making you think you said the wrong thing, but before you can dwell on it too long or too hard, she lets out a hollow laugh. "Yeah, well, certified adrenaline junkie and all that. What can I say? Robbing stores gives me a rush." But the words come out slightly strained—like she's not telling you the whole story.

She clears her throat, clearly eager to move on from that particular line of conversation. "Whatever. Still. Like I said, I can… get Kev to teach you how to skate. Or… hell, you ever kicked a soccer ball around before?"

"In PE, yeah. But that's about it."

"Hmm." The blonde considers this, "You any good at it?" You snort, "Hardly varsity material, but I'm not, like, terrible at it or anything."

"Yeah? Well, maybe I can show you how to be junior varsity material. Shouldn't be that hard to play better than a few freshies, yeah? Maybe I'll even teach you some soccer tricks." She grins to herself, "Teach you the basics of freestyling soccer balls."

"Mm, promising a lot here, Nat. First, you're saying that you'll teach me to play good enough to beat some "freshies" in soccer, then telling me you'll teach me tricks?" You click your tongue, "How do I know you aren't gonna completely bail on me?" "Oh, make no mistake, I don't go back on my word. If I say I'm gonna do something, then you can bet your sweet ass I'm gonna do it, yeah?" A toothy grin, "And that's the Scatorccio guarantee."

You snort, "Yeah, you say that like your last name holds a lot of value when it comes to trust—" 

The words are meant to be teasing, they come out in a teasing tone, but you still feel like a piece of shit the second they leave your mouth.

"I… I didn't mean it like that. Sorry. I wasn't thinking—"

"Nah, no," Nat shakes her head and waves her hands, "no. Don't worry about it. I'm not mad at you or anything." A grin, likely to ease your nerves, "You're not exactly wrong either. But I'm giving you my word anyway. Which… you should take." 

"Hm." You take some mock consideration to that, "I will take it for now. But I make no promises for whether I keep it or not."

"Won't regret it." Her grin becomes slightly more genuine, "Promise."

You spend the next… ten, fifteen minutes? talking to Nat on the steps of the library, actually getting to know each other, rather than those single-minded adventures that the two of you have been on the past little while.

You trade off on the typical "first date" questions: Favourite food (Hers is apparently pizza, which you said was boring, then she rolled her eyes and dropped "Ribollita" and refused to actually tell you what that means.), fast food (Said "Taco Bell" immediately.) music (Matches her. Veruca Salt, Blondie, Nirvana, The Pixies… you get the idea. You asked her if she played the music on tape decks. She said yes. You don't know if she's joking or not.), books (She called you a nerd. Then proceeded to say, "The Anarchist Cookbook".), least favourite teacher (Mr. Miller, who teaches Auto Shop and keeps telling her repair work is sloppy.), and most importantly: the meaning of life ("ask me after I've had a tab or two"??).

After spending the past three minutes trying to convince her you don't get straight A's in every class, you decide just to show her your most recent in Physics and you… realise you left your binder in your locker.

"Crap." You sigh as you peer into your backpack, "I think I left my Science binder in my locker."

Nat snorts, "Didn't you open your bag earlier to put away your textbook? How didn't you notice it then?" "Because I wasn't thinking about it then." You sigh and close your bag, "I need to grab it from my locker. I don't—" "I'll come with you. Need to head to the locker room and change into practice gear." She cuts you off, pushes herself off the stairs, and, much to your surprise, actually waits for you before she starts walking. You try not to act surprised by this as you grab your backpack and throw it over your shoulders. When she does catch you acting surprised, because of course she does, she grins and rolls her eyes. "I said I was coming with you. Which means I am following you, and you aren't following me. Therefore, I have to wait for you. I still don't wait for people to follow me, Princess."

You can't fight the way your eyes roll and lips purse at that comment, "Right." Once you're standing, the pair of you head off in the direction of your locker.

"Dude, your locker is all the way in the old science hall? Who the fuck goes here anymore? There are zero classes near this place anymore. It must take five minutes to walk from class-to-fucking-class." She mutters, more to herself than you, and shakes her head as you two reach your destination. "Yeah, if I could have chosen my locker, it would be in the English hall. Right in the center of all my classes. I'm also pretty sure I'm the only person who has their locker in this hall." You sigh as you start to fiddle with the lock, "I've basically only seen the janitor up here. I don't know what I did to piss off whoever assigned lockers, but here I am." A sigh leaves your lips as the lock clicks open, "Admin won't even let me move lockers." Nat snorts and leans on the locker adjacent yours, "Yeah, sounds about right. They don't actually give a shit about the students here. I mean, for all the money going into athletics, you'd think they'd give us uniforms that don't chafe." An exasperated roll of her eyes, "So stupid."

"Sounds about right. Didn't the money go to the boy's baseball team or something?" She seems slightly surprised you know that but gives a nod of her head. "Uh, yeah. That's right. Which makes no sense considering we won states last year, and this year we actually have a good chance of—"

Her eyes zero in on the binder you're grabbing. "Holy shit. Is that colour-coded?" Her jaw drops in awe (or shock?), and she takes it from your hands, flipping it open. "H-o-l-y s-h-i-t. It is."

"I like having things organized by unit, whether it's a worksheet or notes!" You defend yourself, grabbing the binder back from her with a huff, "Sue me, okay!"

"Shit, I should." She lets out a low whistle, "Damn. All this for a…" She peers at the test you were going to show her, "B? Damn, Princess. That's unfortunate."

"You're making fun of me." You murmur petulantly, slamming the binder shut and shoving it into your backpack, "What's your GPA then, huh?"

Nat hums as she considers that answer, "Three point three."

"Wait." You turn to look at her, "Seriously?"

She laughs, "Yeah, seriously. I can't play soccer if I'm failing all my classes. Just because I don't show up to class doesn't mean I don't do the work for them." A roll of her eyes, like it was an obvious answer. 

"Mm. And do you do the work for them, or do you pay some unsuspecting nerd—"

"What makes you think I have the money to pay anyone to do anything?" The girl cuts you off with a snort and crosses her arms, "Trust me, I do all my work myself."

"Hey, who said anything about money?" You grin at her, "You have… dubious tendencies. For all I know, you're paying them some other way." You offer a teasing shrug, "Like stolen BuzzBalls or…" A faux gasp, "Oh my God. Am I the unsuspecting nerd?" Nat scoffs once and looks away, "Yeah, right." Another scoff. Then another.

…wait. Is she blushing? Did you just fluster Natalie Scatorccio? On accident? 

Between the way she won't meet your eyes, fiddles with the hem of her shirt, her usually pale cheeks now with the faintest hint of colour in them, and she swallows nervously? Wow. You think you did. How the tables…

You don't get too long to reflect on that before she's seemingly recovered and trying to act unaffected. "What if I am, nerd?" She leans into your personal space, "Maybe I'm looking for an unsuspecting nerd to do more than just my homework."

Now you're the flustered one. Again. "Uh—"

"I mean, think about it." She licks her lips, "The unsuspecting nerd and the resident burnout. Talk about opposites attracting. I could show you so much shit." A feral grin crosses her features, and your entire body heats up without your consent, "I could make you feel real—"

You take a step back, putting up both a metaphorical and physical space between you two. "Natalie. I don't—"

"Don't what? Oh, come on, Princess. Don't act like you haven't been thinking about it. I'm not dumb. I've seen the way you've been looking at me. Don't act like—"

You look visibly uncomfortable. Flustered, yes, but also uncomfortable. You're wringing your hands together in a subconscious act of anxiety, and whether that's because of her proximity or the situation, you aren't quite sure. Either way, Nat notices this.

You swear you see something like guilt flash behind her eyes once she realises she made you uncomfortable, but no outward attempt at an apology is made.

Natalie clears her throat and takes a small step back, the bravado dropping in an instant. "Whatever." She crosses her arms again, "Whatever. Let's just…" Her jaw tenses, and she shakes her head. "Nevermind." 

There's some very tense air that passes between the both of you as you awkwardly close and lock your locker, neither of you bothering to glance at the other, letting the awkwardness fester.

It probably would have kept festering, too, had the sound of Natalie's phone vibrating not broken the silence.

"Goddammit, I swear to God if Jackie is—" Her mouth snaps shut as she looks down at her phone, and a slow grin finds its way onto her mouth. "Ooooh, fuck yes." She looks up at you, "Say, Princess, you doing anything tonight?"

"Uhhhh…" You shake your head, "No? I was just planning on staying at home and…" You shrug, "I dunno. Relaxing, or whatever."

"Mm. I have a better idea. You should come to a party tonight."

"Oh." 

"Oh? That's it?" Nat rolls her eyes, "Come on. What was it I said about needing to get out of your comfort zone? A party is the perfect time and place to do it!" She shakes her head (and hands), "Look, it's a bonfire. If things go poorly, you can just… sit and stare at the fire and ignore everyone."

An unsure breath leaves your lips as you consider all the possibilities in your head. Of course, your mind heads to the worst-case scenario first, like a completely normal person would.

"Dude, seriously." She says, softer this time. "No pressure. It's just… a bonfire party… no, get-together, with some friends. That's it, yeah? Not like the entire town is gonna be there." She reiterates, throwing some emphasis on the fact it's "just a bonfire get-together," as if that will soothe all your nerves.

More hesitation on your part, but you can't deny the curiosity that seeds its way into your mind at the idea of seeing Nat in her element for once. "I… I don't know, Nat. It really isn't my scene—"

"It doesn't have to be your scene. It's just gonna be the place you spend a single Friday night. That's it. Don't ever gotta come to one again if you decide you hate it. Won't even bring it up again. Promise."

Even more hesitation. Even more curiosity you can't shove down and hide, for better or worse.

You don’t belong in the scene she frequents. Not really. But the way she grinned—like you were some project she couldn’t wait to take on—made you want to, even if it was just for one night.

"Come on. Drinks are free. Maybe they'll have more coolers you can try. Really dip your toes into the world of alcoholic beverages." She snickers.

Man, peer pressure does work, doesn't it?

You’re not a party person. But then again, Natalie Scatorccio isn’t just a person—she’s the reason you’re even considering it.

"I can't believe I'm gonna say this…" You shake your head and sigh, "But… fine. Fine. I'll… I'll go to this stupid party."

A wide grin crosses her face. Wide and very pleased with herself. "Perfect. Good choice. Best choice, really. Won't regret it, promise." She pushes herself off the locker beside yours, "I gotta get to practice. But I will… see you tonight, yeah?"

"Yeah. Yes." You sigh reluctantly, "I will… see you tonight, Nat."

"Hell yeah, you will. Maybe I'll even convince you to crack a beer or two. Smoke a cigarette. Real delinquent shit." She laughs at that as she begins walking off toward the gym, "See you tonight, Princess!" Nat calls from over her shoulder, "I'll text you the address!"

You watch her leave, blinking a few times in shock that she was able to convince you to go to a high school party so quickly.

"Well." You mumble to yourself, "Guess senior year isn't the worst time to go to your first party." You rub your forehead, mildly frustrated with yourself and your ability to say no, "Goddammit."

Well. Guess you have a party to prepare for, huh?

a/n: can i be so real with yall for a sec

every time i type in "natalie scatorccio" on pinterest i start feeling weird after the first few minutes cus I'm like "damn I'm fr just staring at photos of sophie thatcher rn" but I suppose it could be worse. could be staring at photos of (insert ugly celebrity name here)

[cha-melodius]

May I ask you about your writing??? First of all and possibly most importantly, how do you do it? How do you find inspiration and such? How do you make it happen? Because I sat down with a really juicy idea not long ago and I was excited and it was incredibly hard. I deleted it, I was embarrassed. So how do you first, come up with a great idea (which you do you write such cool stuff!) and then bring it to fruition? I’ve always been a decent writer but I was really frustrated with the fic I set out to write!!!

Hey anon! Sorry for sitting on this for a while but it came in the night before a big academic conference for me, so I've had almost no time for anything, sadly.

First off, thank you so much for the compliment on my writing! A lot of the direct answers to your questions are not very satisfying, tbh. Ideas come to me from everywhere—things I watch, read, random internet things—and how I bring it to fruition mostly involves a lot of planning. I got a lot happier with my work when I started making outlines for my fics, so I always know where I want to go with the story and how I'm getting there, versus meandering around aimlessly.

I'm guessing that there was something about your idea that was particularly challenging, since you said that you've always been a decent writer but found what you produced frustrating. Since I don't know the details I'm gonna give some advice that will hopefully cover a few different aspects. And first, a short list, and then the details under the cut because I'm a wordy bitch.

Just keep writing. It can take a while to find your voice.

Get help. Seek out 'subject experts' and people who you think are good at writing the kinds of stories you want to write.

Read a lot, and broadly, especially in the genre you want to write.

1. Just keep writing. It can take a while to find your voice.

I started writing fanfic (or, re-started, because I wrote when I was young and then took a looooong break) to get the stories out of my head, and my first fics were not great lol. They were also for a rarepair and approximately 5 people read them, so there wasn't much pressure I suppose. I was just putting them on AO3 because I figured why not? And then I just kept writing, off and on for different fandoms, until the writing bug really caught me and I started producing a lot more, about five years ago. But it probably took me ~20 fics (several of which were quite long) before I'd consider my stuff to be decent. Whether you share your early works or not is up to you, but in general I'd recommend it because there's a good chance someone will love it (even if you consider it to be substandard) and that can help you feel better about your own writing. I didn't start out good at writing action, but I wrote (and read, see below) consistently in a lot of action-heavy fandoms, so I got a lot of practice. I also feel like the more I wrote, the more ideas I got, and the more unique ideas I got.

You occasionally see someone in fandom who's like "this is my first fic!" and it gets really popular or and lots of hype or whatever, but that's not the typical experience. Most of us start out writing like crap. It's ok. It gets better.

2. Get help. Seek out 'subject experts' and people who you think are good at writing the kinds of stories you want to write.

Ok, so you wrote a first draft you were disappointed in. Ask yourself what was disappointing about it? Do you feel like the beats aren't hitting, or the action is wooden, or the language is awkward? The great thing about fandom and fanfiction is that there are so many people that are willing to help out as beta readers or even just someone to talk to. I understand that getting a beta reader can seem daunting. You don't want someone to criticize your work, or it might seem embarrassing to show someone else a work you feel bad about. But if you get someone else to read it, you'll have the chance to both hear good things about it and also get advice about things you're uncertain about. People come to fandom from all walks of life and I'm a big fan of asking for help if you're writing about something you're not super familiar with. I've never actually been to therapy, so getting help from @celeritas2997 was absolutely critical for me to feel good about my couple's therapy AU. Also you can ask people for advice if they write the kinds of fics you want to write—I've had multiple people ask me for help with their action scenes, and I'm always happy to lend an eye and give advice.

Also, related to this: it's ok if you don't like your first draft. But don't delete it! Put it aside, whether you ask someone else to look at it or not, and come back to it a while later with fresh eyes. It may not be as terrible as you thought! Or maybe there are parts you still hate, but there are other parts that you can work on and revise.

3. Read a lot, and broadly, especially in the genre you want to write.

Want to write sci-fi? Read a lot of sci-fi novels. Read a lot of sci-fi AUs. Break out of your fandom and read fics in fandoms you don't know—I used to do this a lot and it was one of the most important steps in my process of finding my own voice as well as understanding how stories are built. When you read in only one fandom, you get used to a lot of the same voices and types of stories, but there is SO MUCH out there. I've been known to scroll through the 'Enemies to Lovers' tag on occasion, but also I will go into fandoms for media I know but have no strong connection to, don't want to write in but know the characters, and read those. I spent a lot of time reading X-men, Good Omens, Witcher, even MCU juggernauts like Stucky even though I don't really ship them. I know it probably sounds crazy to tell you to go read other fandoms when (I'm assuming you're RWRB) there's so much in this one, but I do think it's valuable. This one is not only for getting exposed to a lot of writing styles, but also lots of ideas. I've definitely gotten a lot of ideas that spun off from something else I read.

I feel like none of this is particularly revolutionary advice, but I hope it at least gives you (and anyone else who manages to read this far lol) some confidence to keep going and go after those stories you want to write. Everyone—me, popular fandom writers, professional authors—started out just writing a lot, and they improved over time.

Most importantly: just keep going. You can do it!!

[wolfofcelestia]

╰┈❥ Contains: Zayne/MC. No real plot. Just a fluffy moment. Slightly tsundere MC. Unnamed female MC. Third person POV. [AO3. WC: 723. Fluff.]

The image of Zayne with an armful of colourful plush bears and penguins came into sight as she turned the corner of the pediatric wing.

“Zayne?” she called out softly with a slight giggle.

His name in her voice had always cut through any other distraction to capture his attention. He turned to face her, causing a plush polar bear to slip from his arm.

“Ah, I wasn't expecting you here so early. Is there a blue moon tonight?” he asked, neatly placing a plush penguin on the wall display.

There was a large cutsey sign in pastel colours in the middle of a pyramid of plushies, all of which the doctor and the hunter had in their own plushie display at home. It seemed to be a plushie donation drive sponsored by Twinkle Toys.

“If you're going to be snarky every time I'm not late, I'll drink your latte,” she threatened, taking a sip from one of the two coffee cups in her hands.

Zayne chuckled at her response, his lips curling into a smile as he turned away from her to pick up the fallen bear. He placed it in an empty seat on the wall display before patting it on the head.

“If you drink two cups of coffee at the same time, you'll be on the toilet all night. I’ve stocked up on Pepto Bismol, so there's no need to worry. If you want to give yourself a stomach ache, I'll take care of you.”

She beamed at him, watching him straighten out the crooked plushies on the display as his words warmed her with a soft and fuzzy feeling that may or may not have been from the coffee.

“But I reserve the right to say 'I told you so',” he added with his usual nonchalance.

Her smile dropped. She tucked one cup of coffee into her arm to free up a hand and swat him on the ass in retaliation, the sound of the impact echoing through the hospital halls.

His body stilled, his hand nearly crushing a penguin’s face in.

“...There are children here,” he reminded her, his voice steady as he pushed his glasses up with a finger. “Apparently, there’s a child here with me as well.”

“Just take your coffee,” she huffed, a smile threatening to break through her annoyance at him.

Zayne took the cup from her and stood back to admire the now-neatly organized plushie display. His hand settled on top of her head, much like how he had patted each plushie on the head when he placed them in their slots on the wall.

She didn't react, merely staying close to him as the warm sunlight poured through the hall to surround them. The bustle of doctors and nurses rushing through the hospital seemed a whole world away in their secluded hallway of soft plushies and the sweet scent of vanilla lattes.

“Why are you in charge of the plushie display?” she asked in earnest, her voice softer now.

“I’m not,” he answered simply. “I was just passing by when I saw a penguin about to fall off. I thought it looked like you when you get hungry—” He was cut off by the incredulous look she gave him, but he continued with a smile. “So I put her back in her seat and made sure her friends wouldn't fall off either.”

His hand trailed down to her shoulder, moving slowly to the small of her back as he led her down the hall. “Let's go. You'll be late for the appointment if you stay here any longer.”

She looked up to meet his gaze, confused, but her body responded out of habit, her feet carrying her in the direction Zayne had set. “I don't have an appointment today.”

“We do.”

As they walked back to his office, Zayne nodded to a passing nurse, who did a double take once she saw his arm around the hunter's waist.

“All-you-can-eat desserts. Our reservation is in an hour.”

Zayne didn't have to look at her to know that her eyes were sparkling at the surprise promise of sweets. It was always so easy to make her happy. And whenever he felt her squeeze his arm just a little tighter, it always flooded his chest with a warmth that he quickly grew addicted to.

╰┈❥ Note: The sweets restaurant I had in mind was actually Cafe Ron Ron, a place I had visited once before. After some googling, I realized that it seemed to be the only one of its kind in the world and is actually now shut down, so I had to just generalize it to an AYCE place. Zayne and MC would've loved that place tho

[broareweabouttoviberightnow]

Hi!!

I don’t know if your ask box is still open but if possible can you write an angsty Sodapop and Dallas fic? I don’t see enough of them and they are one of my favorite duos!

OH! I LOVE THESE TWO!!! I think I'm going to write a longer fic of them for ao3 but I LOVE this prompt!!! Fic below the cut!!! ty for the ask!!! (also if you would like to be tagged for the longer fic feel free to comment anon!!! if not NO problem at all!!)

"Soda, c'mon." Dallas puts his bony shoulder under Soda's, unsurprised when he feels Soda put a decent amount of his body weight on him.

Soda blinks up at him and his eyes are all blurry and wet and Dallas thinks shit, I let him drink too much. Three shot glasses are lined up in front of each of them, half a beer on Soda's side, two empty on Dallas'. Darry was goin' to kill him.

"Let's get out of here." Soda shrugs, grins that blindin' toothy smile up at him.

"I'm fine, Dally." And his words aren't slurrin' or anythin' so Dallas gives him one hard look over and lets it go. He'd cut him off for now. Soda always was a lightweight. Pony would claim it was 'cause Soda was already drunk on plain livin'. That sounded like poetic bullshit to Dallas but the plain facts were Soda 'n alcohol didn't mix well. Dallas didn't know what had compelled him to ask Soda to Buck's tonight.

Darry was gonna kick both their asses.

"Dallas?" Dally eyes two men, still mostly boys, at the other end of the bar and tries to assess whether they'll kick up a fight. Dallas knows what lookin' for trouble looks like.

"Hmm?" Soda tries to reach across the bar to get another drink and Dallas bats his hand away. Glory, those Curtis boys were makin' him soft.

"I don't think I've ever met anyone like you before. You know that?" Dallas pulls up short, furrows his brow, turns himself fully back to Soda. Steve had once described the look on Soda's face like starin' down the headlights of a Mustang 'n not bein' sure whether it was gonna hit you or not. Soda was prone to sayin' the damndest things outta nowhere.

"Yeah, you have." Dallas grabs a water Buck had poured for someone else and stubbornly ignores the glare the man shoots him. "You've met a thousand guys like me. Now drink this."

Soda takes the water Dallas shoves into his hand with a quirked brow. "No. I've met a hundred guys like the one you pretend to be. But you're one of a kind Dallas."

Dallas feels his nails dig into his palms. "That's it, man. You're cut off. You're gettin' sappy on me." Soda's laugh sounds like a gunshot and it jars Dallas' suddenly shot nerves.

"Now, what do we have here?" The line is so corny and overused Dallas can't help but flash his teeth in annoyance. When he glances over to tell the owner of the one-liner as much he catches a wave of whiskey breath and the two men from the end of the bar. No. Boys. Up close they're not even older than Darry.

"Beat it. We're not lookin' for company." He puts his hand down on the switchblade clipped to his jeans. Buck's was rough. Rough enough even havin' it in a pocket could slow you down too much.

"Dallas! Don't be rude." Soda flips around and he's showin' every damn tooth in his mouth and Dallas thinks glory he's worse than Pony the second you put a drop in him. No sense at all. Then he shakes himself because he sounds uncomfortably like Darry.

"Listen to you're friend here." The boy closest to Soda leers down at him with a smile like a broken bottle. "We're not lookin' for trouble. Just a bit a money." Soda cocks his head, waverin' slightly like he's just realizin' somethin' is wrong.

Before either of them can react Broken Bottle slides a knife out of his sleeve and against Soda's stomach. Soda tenses hard. Sobers instantly. Dallas thinks several things at the exact same time.

Fuck.

Darry was goin' to dig up their bodies 'n kill them.

Get the fuck away from my brother.

Dallas moves entirely on instinct. He grabs the boy closest to him, has his switch out 'n leveled against his gut before any of them blink. Soda doesn't move, back ramrod straight. But then he catches Dallas' eye 'n grins.

"Woah man, we're not lookin' for a fight." Broken Bottles' partner is white as a sheet, he's got his arms up like Dallas' got a gun aimed at his head. Even Broken Bottle looks suddenly unsure.

"C'mon Dallas." Soda's eyes are shinin' in the dim light and he looks like the fuse on a firework as it burns down to the gunpowder. "They don't want a fight. But, hey, give me your St. Christopher. I wanna do my last rights anyway." Dallas grabs his pendant with one hand, not movin' his knife at all, 'n pulls it right over his head, droppin' it in Soda's hands.

Broken Bottle jars his knife closer to Soda and he pauses. Looks at him with the full force of those headlight eyes. Soda wraps the chain around his knuckles like a rosary, Christopher out. Closes his eyes like he's gonna pray. Both boys shoot each other looks. They picked the wrong fight. Dallas 'n Soda were made for nights like these. But they were goin' to find that out by themselves.

"Glory," He opens one eye and his smile is like a Roman candle, "Forgive us for this." Soda's hand shoots out, connectin' with Broken Bottles' eye, the other hand comin' down on his knife, wrenchin' it free 'n tossin' it clear over the counter. Soda preferred a good skin fight. Dallas would happily go at it with anythin'.

Dallas moves the knife up to his boy's throat when he jerks to help Broken Bottle. The kid freezes instantly. New to this. Not from around here. He reeks like the middle class holdin' up a pair of Greasers for nothin' better to do.

He spares Soda a glance but he doesn't need any help. He's thrown his full weight at the man, sweepin' him onto the filthy bar floor and layin' punches wherever he can reach. Dallas hesitates for a second too long.

He feels the fist connect with his side before his can tense. It only knocks the wind from him for a moment. He pulls the knife back up and thinks about usin' it. Hard. But then the kid puts his fist up and in front of his face to hide his tremblin' lip and Dallas thinks, not for the first time, fuck Tusla's stupid fair fights. He tosses the blade onto the bar and cracks his knuckles against the kid's jaw.

Dallas has his partner backed against the bar, arms up again. God, what was the point of a fight if you were just gonna give it up before it got good. Soda clambers off the ground, tosses Dallas back his necklace and he catches it out of the air.

The fight doesn't have time to get interestin'. Soda slams Broken Bottles' head against the floor and he stops fightin' at all. Middle-class losers. Soda gives him more grace than Dallas would ever have. His knees pin the boy's elbows down as he lands one final belt straight to his eye. One to grow on. When he pulls his hand away the outline of St. Christopher is indented in the flat bone of the boys cheek.

He puts his foot down beside Broken Bottles' head and he looks just like a paintin' Pony had once shown Dallas in one of his art books. What the hell had it been? Michael. Warrior angel Michael. He shakes his head.

"You think they're done, Dally?" Dallas shoots them a cold glare and they both scramble back and away the second they can.

"They better be." Soda drapes an arm over Dallas' shoulders, wipes blood from his busted lip. They're both gone before the door can slam. Dallas turns when Buck's hand comes down on his shoulder. He passes him his discarded knife, pats him on the back twice, gestures for the door. Some hurrah.

Soda doesn't take his arm away as they both hit the street again. Dallas doesn't fight it.

"We should have cleaned that up before we left." Dallas gestures to the dryin' blood across Soda's mouth. He grins and licks his lips and runs a hand across his face.

"I think it makes me look tuff, don't you think?" And it does. Soda always left fights lookin' like the tragic JD with a heart of gold in those corny movies they showed at the drive-in. But Soda always had preferred beach flicks.

"Tuff enough Darry's gonna know we were in a bar fight the second we hit the porch." Soda howls his laughter and Dallas can't help but join in.

"Guess we'll have to take our chances. I wanna go home."

"Yeah, home." Dallas can't explain it. How it hits him sometimes. He didn't know how he'd ended up here. Somehow part of this dysfunctional little family full of greasers and hoodlums and kids just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But that wasn't true, exactly.

"You know Soda," Soda shakes his hair from his eyes, grins at Dallas and out into a world that jumped you in bars just for lookin' like a grease like nothin' could touch him, "I think I owe everythin' to you, sometimes."

He'd followed Soda home from a corner store in '62. Then he'd turned around one day and ended up someone's kid brother. Life was funny that way.

Soda stops, studies him with those big eyes and Dallas thinks headlights. He's got that glow about him he always got after a good fight or a bad fight or a lame joke or a real smile. A car swings onto the street and Dallas blinks away the glare.

"Nah, Dally, you don't owe me anythin'." And he grins with his whole face, splittin' the dryin' cut on his lip 'n makin' it bleed again. "But next time we go to Bucks? Don't let me have any tequila shooters."

[demiurge-mck]

So, here's the tricky thing with Spite - I think what we see in the few cutscenes he has is actually a merging of two rather different character concepts, who each had a different attitude about Rook.

My theory is that most of Spite's scenes were written recently, after they finalized Spite as a Spirit of Determination. This final version doesn't have romantic or sexual feelings towards Rook, but they're still his favorite person since they're the boss that Gets Things Done™.

THAT SAID, there's one cutscene that I'm 100% convinced was written and recorded back when Spite was meant to be a spirit of Passion turned Obsession*, and originally lead to a Spite who wanted Rook in an unhealthy, possessive, narcissistic, and (possibly) carnal way.

You know the one - when Lucanis first arrived at the Lighthouse, brooding by the fireplace and talking to the mages about the demon. Spite is pretty charasmatically sassy, especially with female/NB Rooks**, but the sassiness goes away once Lucanis refuses to let him talk to Rook (very specifically Rook, and not the other companions). At that point, the demon completely flips out and throws hands at his human host, almost breaking his nose.

Pretty much nothing in this scene is followed up on: from that point onward, Spite becomes a plot device for Lucanis's PTSD recovery, singularly focused on him fulfilling the deal on "freeing them from their prison" (clarified in Inner Demons about being free from the mind prison) and getting revenge on those who put them there. Whatever Spite's feelings for Rook were, they transform into respect for a favorite boss.

And thus, many fans who are disappointed on the lack of spice from Spite flock to Tumblr and AO3, making up for whatever Bioware couldn't or wouldn't do with him in Veilguard.

*= the onetime plan for Spite to be a spirit of Passion turned Obsession is confirmed through datamined character descriptions, go look it up!

** = I don't know if anyone's made a proper comparison video, but for female/NB Rooks, Spite's 👍 and 🎭 reactions are basically "Aw, Rook is so sweet, she won't hurt you" and "Oh, Rook's funny, I like Rook! :3", while male Rook gets reactions that are sharply rewritten to all dunk on Lucanis, like "Oh, Rook doesn't want to hurt you, but everyone else does" and "Rook's funny, not like you, you're never funny". Basically erasing any OwO-ness that come with female/NB Rooks. And all this is exclusively to the benefit of the player - Lucanis is firmly not listening to anything Spite is saying, and Rook canonically never finds out about any of this.

Sooo... Do we think Spite is in love with Rook too?

I'm honestly so curious about what everyone thinks about this... Seriously.

I'd really love to see what everyone thinks about this. I'm even thinking to do a second poll to reflect more on the winning option, we'll see how this one goes.

[iamanartichoke]

I don't know who needs to hear this, but as a creator -

I am fine with "the audience" -

downloading my fics

printing my fics

copy/pasting or screenshotting my fics

sharing your saved copy of my fics with anyone else who might want them in the unlikely but never impossible case that my fics are no longer available on ao3

making a book of my fic(s) and running your fingers across the pages while lovingly whispering my precioussss

doing these things with anything I create for fandom, such as meta, headcanons, au nonsense like 'texts from the brodinsons,' etc

I am not fine with "the audience"

doing any of the above with the purpose/intent of plagiarizing my work or passing it off as their own in any capacity

feeding my work into ai for any reason whatsoever

Save the fandom things. Preserve the fandom things. Respect the fandom things.

Enjoy the fandom things.

[landwriter]

Hi! I hope you feel better soon!

This is a great prompt by @academicblorbo about Hob Gadling being the landlord of the Dead Boys. It has a wonderful fill already by @omgcinnamoncakes but I’d love to see what you come up with for it!

Alternative prompt from me if that doesn’t work for your brain: remember the date between Jenny and Maxine? How about one between Jenny and Esther? Poor Jenny is going to really question her taste in beautiful blonde women 😭

Thank you! I saw ‘landlord’ and ‘decades’ and blacked out. I love Hob having them as tenants. Maybe even before the modern day meeting in Sandman.

The Sandman/Dead Boy Detectives, 2.4k, G Dream/Hob, pre-slash, alternating/outsider POV, found family, a reunion and revelations etc.

---

Hob did not, strictly speaking, have tenants. It was more of a minor haunting. Pun intended.

The small room above the pub and below his flat wasn’t worth charging anyone rent for; when he first bought the building he had put a handsome oak desk in there and some bookshelves before wondering who he was possibly keeping up appearances for. Who was he going to take back upstairs that would stop and say, Wait, can I see your office? So he’d left it as more or less an abandoned room.

When he realized a pair of boys were using it as their clubhouse, he didn’t do anything at first. He saw them quietly coming and going a couple times, disappearing around the corner of the first landing. Brazen things. He meant to call after them, but the shout had died in his throat. He’d been young once. He still remembered the need to get away from it all. It was only when he went to check if they’d been making a mess of the room that he discovered it was still locked.

He’d crouched down and inspected the latch and found no marks at all. Huh, he’d said, and jiggled it again, and been a little more interested in whatever clever way they were getting into it after they disappeared up his stairs. Then he didn’t see them for weeks, and assumed they had gotten bored and stopped.

Until they came back. In the middle of an argument, striding through the pub like they owned it. Hob straightened up as they passed him.

“I cannot believe you broke the mirror.”

“I was in a rush! It’s not my fault you forgot you needed Arcana Incantatum after we arrived at the church. And found the demon.”

“I hardly forgot, I only made the mistake of assuming you would know to pack it by now.”

Hob raised his eyebrows. The boys disappeared into the back hallway. He followed them as they went upstairs, too preoccupied with their drama to notice Hob. They turned onto the landing, still carrying on. Even as they walked through the door. The locked, closed door.

Hob blinked. Then he drew his keys from his pocket and opened the door. The boys were still inside. One of them was pulling a mirror out of a backpack that was several times too small for it. They didn’t even look up, and Hob wondered how he couldn’t possibly have put it together earlier. He cleared his throat.

“Hello, boys.” That caught their attention. Hob grinned. “Seems we’re neighbours.”

---

Edwin abhorred getting involved with the living. He and Charles got along perfectly well on their own. They were a duo. An intrepid pair. Best mates, like Charles often stressed whenever he was about to ask something particularly ridiculous of Edwin. They were solid together. As solid as two ghost boys could be. The living, though, were messy and unpredictable.

Perhaps the most salient fact at present: Charles invariably became attached to them.

“He’s sad, mate. I can see it in his eyes.”

“You said those exact words in ‘94 about a dog. At least ask Hob himself.”

Before you decide to adopt him too.

Hob Gadling, irritatingly, was unobjectionable on every ground Edwin could think of. He had made no imposition upon them. When he found them, he only asked them their business, and then told them he was usually downstairs, or upstairs, if they needed anything they couldn’t procure themselves. He had an interest in rare and old books, as it happened. In explaining this, he had also hinted at being far older than his looks would suggest, which vexed Edwin twice over. He knew his curiosity would not be slaked until he talked to Hob, but then he would be the one getting involved with the living, and Charles would hardly let him forget it.

“Do you think he’s really immortal? Mate’s far too calm. Last week I saw him stop a fight downstairs by stepping right between these huge blokes. He just said something and smiled and they backed right off.” Charles lit up. “Do you reckon he’d teach me how to do that? Conflict de-escalation, innit? I could show him some moves with the cricket bat, I bet. Oh, do you think he’s a cricket fan?”

It was obviously a hopeless case, and since the Dead Boy Detectives never took on hopeless cases, there was only one course of action that remained. Edwin had long since disabused himself of the notion he needed to breathe. He had no beating heart, yet when he was startled, he would find himself clutching his chest. Now, he exhaled slowly through his nose in an entirely superfluous sigh of resignation. “Well, Charles, shall we go talk to him?”

---

When the millennium came around, Hob found himself celebrating it with his accidental tenants. There was something gloriously satisfying about being able to make a toast to the next one and have it taken seriously. He’d asked them if they had something better to do - spectral trouble to get into et cetera - and they both looked at him with almost identical put-upon and incredulous expressions.

Hob had a terrible suspicion they thought they were taking care of him as much as he thought he was taking care of them.

Edwin, with his insatiable curiosity and, deep underneath it, something Hob thought he recognized from himself: a sharp animal ferocity and a refusal to go until he’s good and done, natural laws be damned. Charles, still brightly, painfully alive for a ghost - who should be alive still, by all rights, but nothing of this life was fair - who joked to cover up hurt in a way Hob knew too, and glowed any time Hob turned so much as a kind word to him.

He wondered what they saw when they looked at him.

The year ticked over, and technology kept working. Charles grinned innocently and said he could probably possess the telly and break it that way if Hob wanted?

Hob’s heart twinged. He knew they weren’t his, not to keep, but it seemed that teenagers didn’t change at all over the centuries, even if the boys were only sort of teenagers in the way Hob was only sort of in his thirties. It didn’t change that they’d been punted from the mortal coil before having a chance to grow up, and figure out the kind of men they were, and make their own choices and fuck up and try to be better than their fathers, and everything everyone deserved. Hob had made more than his share of mistakes. They hadn’t been given the chance to make nearly any at all.

So they made toasts to the new millennium, to the detective agency, to themselves, all stuck out of time in different ways and refusing to move on for different reasons, and Hob allowed himself to think of Robyn and privately pretend that they were his all the same.

---

A week later, Hob was reminded of the other universal traits of teenagers when he mentioned his stranger and both boys began to grill him with terrifying alacrity. Before turning to his dating life, like ravening bloody wolves. When Edwin had asked, in a specifically nineteenth century manner that Hob remembered all too well, if Hob had always been unmarried, he’d nearly put his head in his hands.

“It can be hard for me to associate with the living too, you know. For obvious reasons.”

Charles had turned to Edwin and hissed “See? I told you.”

Right in front of him. Nobody had taught them manners.

“Manners, Charles,” replied Edwin loftily. “We will, of course, respect your privacy. A man is entitled to his secrets.”

“You’ll go upstairs and rifle through my personal things, is what you’ll do,” said Hob.

Charles coughed to hide his laugh. Edwin flushed and looked away. Hob snorted, and told them about Eleanor and Robyn. Properly. It was a strange relief. He’d told the story wrong for plausibility’s sake so many times he had been worried he’d forget the truth of it one day.

They had listened, and been remarkably quiet until Charles piped up and offered to set him up with a ‘really fit’ ghost. Hob had roundly shut that down. Woefully, not all explanations were satisfying enough. Charles cornered him again the next morning while he was cleaning the bar.

“No, mate, I still don’t get it.” Hob was about to say he no more wanted to be with someone who couldn’t feel pleasure from his touch than someone who would grow old and be taken from him while he stayed the same, when Charles went on, bafflingly, to ask, “Why don’t you meet your mysterious friend more often than once a century?”

Hob sighed. “Adults are often busy, Charles.” Nevermind that he had begun to wonder the same since the eighteenth century. He’d always just assumed time passed differently for his stranger.

Charles just laughed and perched himself on the bar top. “Ooh, low blow. We’re busy too, you know. Plenty of cases to solve.”

“Really,” said Hob. “You’re busy. Right now.”

Charles waggled his eyebrows.

“Charles, I am not a case,” said Hob, sternly as possible. “I’m not even a ghost. He’s not a ghost. No ghosts.”

“We could investigate. Maybe ghosts are involved. What even is he? Why every hundred years? Is it some sort of Persephone situation?”

Hob bit his lip against shouting I don’t know! I don’t know anything about him! Instead, he tried to smile, and felt it come out as a wince instead. “He’s very private.”

Charles scowled. “Yeah, obviously. You don’t even know his name. He can’t be that good of a friend if he’s too busy to see you more than once a century.”

Hob couldn’t see the expression on his own face, but he saw Charles’ shocked reaction well enough. It was so long ago for him, and still Hob knew at once what Charles saw now: that first time you manage to visibly hurt a grown-up’s feelings, people who seemed too old and too stern to actually feel pain, when you’d been going around kicking at them like a new foal, just to stretch your legs.

“Sorry,” said Charles, instant regret chasing his surprise. He was a good kid.

“It’s alright,” said Hob. He meant it. He looked down at the shining bartop. His hands were restless with the urge to light a cigarette. He gave in. It wasn’t like Charles would be dying of lung cancer any time soon if he decided to follow Hob’s example. “I don’t think he would say he’s very good at being a friend either. Truth is, I’d love to see him more often. But we had an awful fight the last time we met. If he forgives me, I’ll have to ask.”

“Mates always make up,” said Charles earnestly. He was such a good kid.

“I suppose they do.” Charles still looked sorry, and Hob clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey. Thanks for looking out for me, Charles.”

Charles beamed at him. “Always. We’ve got your back, me and Edwin.”

---

Charles couldn’t bloody believe it. Hob’s friend was here. There was nobody else it could be. He and Edwin were watching from a nearby table, pretending to be absorbed in their own conversation. Neither man noticed them. They were too busy looking at each other.

He couldn’t imagine spending more than a century apart from Edwin. The way Hob had talked about him and his stranger over the years, it sometimes seemed like they were best mates too, no matter how little they saw each other. He was dead sure that’s what had Hob looking so gutted when he thought nobody was looking. He had known they would make up, though. Maybe now Hob would be happier.

“Charles, we really ought not eavesdrop,” hissed Edwin. Right as he scooted his chair closer, the cheeky hypocrite. Hob and his friend were talking too quietly to properly hear, their heads bent together. Lots to catch up on, Charles reckoned. A hundred years. He couldn’t stop thinking about the number. It seemed impossible. Funny, he couldn’t imagine that long away from Edwin, but he could imagine spending that long being best mates. There was nobody he’d rather hide from Death with.

Hob’s face was doing something strange as his long-lost friend talked. Then Hob moved and grasped him by the shoulders, so tight that his knuckles stood out in relief. The man said something in low tones and Hob shook his head, and then pulled him in for a hug. The man stiffened and then relaxed, and his arms came up around Hob’s.

Their cheeks both looked wet.

Charles swallowed and it felt suddenly a little like he was choking. He should look away, only he couldn’t.

“They must be great friends,” said Edwin softly.

“Yeah,” he managed to croak. We won’t ever need to have a reunion like this because I’m never going to lose you, mate. I won’t let them take you. It was stuck behind the phantom lump in his phantom throat. His hand, without him telling it to, reached out and grabbed hold of Edwin’s. Edwin squeezed it hard, and Charles knew he didn’t have to make his voice work after all.

Then the man pushed Hob away, but only far enough to grab his face and pull him back again, thumbing over Hob’s cheeks, and beside him, Edwin honest-to-god gasped, and then Charles momentarily forgot how thoughts worked too.

---

It happens thus: in the New Inn, just next door to the White Horse, some 639 years after they first met, Hob Gadling and Dream of the Endless share their first kiss. Neither, if they had bothered to think about it, would have intended to have an audience, but it’s a well-known fact that some kisses cannot wait, and theirs was chief among them, being that it had so much to say, and was so very long overdue.

I missed you, it said, and I came back, it said, and Please don’t go away from me again, and I could not.

And atop them, like blankets, were laid invisible the daydreams of those who saw them, including two long-dead boys, whose dreams were woven from the fresh and unaccounted-for possibilities of Hob kissing his mysterious stranger. Another man, thought Edwin. His best friend, thought Charles. Dream was the only one who could have heeded this, but he did not, because Hob Gadling was holding him tight and daydreaming loudly of this kiss and more, of this today and tonight and tomorrow, ever greedy and ever easily pleased, and Dream could hear nothing at all over their clamouring and comingled joy; the bright gold daydream between the scant space of their bodies that sounded so much like at last.

[erinwantstowrite]

I've been meaning to ask, but is the title for LoF a reference to something or a song lyric?

<3 <3 <3

the chapter titles are references to songs (all of them are meticulously chosen) but the title itself is a reference and a connection to the story itself.

"Leap of Faith" comes from Spider-Man's 'Leap of faith" quote (mostly inspired by Miles in ITSV), and it also sort of ties in to the fact that Dick is a Flying Grayson and etc. It symbolizes how many times Peter has to put his trust into people and himself during the story.

"Catch Me, if You Can" is directly from Peter. Peter's taking a leap of faith as both Spider-Man fighting his first big enemy and as Peter Parker, trying to trust people. He's trying to trust the Bats to help him in this strange universe, and also trying to trust Tony and the others back home to come looking for him. He's asking them to catch him when he jumps for it (which is also a reference to the Flying Graysons, being acrobats that have to trust their partners to catch them).

((Basically, the title could be shortened to 'Trust Fall' lol))

In the chapter where Batman and Spider-Man play tag with the sticky notes, "Catch me if you can!" is a reference to the title (*cinema sins ding noise*) and a hint that it connects to Peter and everyone trying to catch up to him. They've basically been playing tag this entire time, with Peter being a few steps ahead of them, and this is the turning point. Batman catches up to Peter because Peter finally decides to play the game the way it's supposed to be played. It's one big metaphor for how the arcs have been going