#this is another one of those fics where I really just gotta...write out the whole thing

[justliketoreadsowhat]

Delusion Of Jealousy ꨄ

✰ this was a request from my Wattpad I abandoned, but I thought it’d be fitting since I’m still stuck on the leg sleeve physique ✰

oh!! and another thing, where the FICS AT?? I’m seeing a whole bunch of yapping and not enough strapping, no put intended ya’ll be killing me with the sm!ut. Where did all my good reads go?? I know the girls know how to WRITE. Either imma be fed with good literature or imma start feeding myself, that’s it that’s all.

ꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄ

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"𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐈𝐓!" 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐞t 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝟏𝐯𝟏 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐮𝐩.

You were never the athletic type of person but when it comes to Paige begging you to participate in her antics, you can't ever deny her. If it made her happy, you'd be down to do whatever.

"Alright that's enough of taunting me, you're a professional! It's just the inevitable" you sighed watching her dribble the ball with ease toward your feet.

"Aw don't sound so defeated mama, you just gotta get your skill game right" she stated in a confident tone. Her face twisted up into a sly smirk. Those "skills" she yapped about were far too out of your reach, but not because you didn't learn them, Paige just had a horrible way of teaching you them, at least in your defense she did.

"Well maybeee if you had enough patience to properly teaching me these amazing skills, I could probably beat you-"

Your statement laced with attitude was halted as you felt the strong impact of a basketball hitting your back. Spinning around on your feet nearly losing your balance from the unexpected force, who was no other than KK.

"DID I SCARE YOU POOKIE?!" She laughed pulling you into a tight hug. You solo forget about the stinging sensation you felt on your back. You absolutely adored KK but in all honesty, who doesn't??? Her energy always remains unmatched and unhinged.

"Not really but you definitely got stronger during this offseason cause that hit was low-key a little strong" You pulled back from the hug tugging at her arms in amusement.

"Girl boo now you're just yapping" She put your hand in your face dramatically and turned to Paige who was unimpressed by the conversation. "Fix your face Bueckers you know you're happy to be in my presence" she beamed twirling her twists in her face. "Why y'all are in here anyways ? Looking all sour-faced?"

You giggle at KK's words "Nothing much, just another day of me getting beat in a matchup by yours truly" you shrug nudging Paige in her side.

"Don't let her fool you, girl, she just likes to win at everything- she's not THAT good" The strong empahsis in her tone made a light bulb go off in your head.

"Now why are going to sit here and lie??" Paige questioned laughing at the statement. The two of them hardly ever took each other seriously, especially when it came to competition. "Baby the proof is in the pudding! Let me teach your girl how to win the right way" KK dramatically pushed Paige to the sidelines, flcking her forehead before running off towards you in pursuit, praying she wouldn't run after her.

"Woww I'm gonna get trained by the infamous KK Arnold, I'm so exciteddd" she giggled patting her shoulder playfully. Paige glared at the two of you with an unamused expression plastered on her face.

Kk cackled at the sight "Okay so boom we're just gonna ignore the big bear being mad over there, let me show you how a real one does it" dribbling the ball in between her legs swiftly, taking a smooth step back from the 3 point line, shooting the ball with her right hand, it drains into the net with ease. "BOOM! short, sweet, and simple" she beamed looking back at you.

You grabbed the ball attempting to mimic her dribbling skills but failed miserably. "Yeah, we're gonna need a little more practice I fear.." you said trailing off into uncertainty.

ꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄ

For the next 30 minutes, you and KK practiced dribbling and shooting the ball like your lives depended on it. You had become too engrossed with learning these skills, you failed to realize Paige had left the gym for god knows how long.

"I think I'm top 5 in the rankings now KK" you breathed out, "I gotta go find Paige".

"OH I know you are, don't forget to mention me when you win that Emmy award" she winked at me holding back her laughter. "Have fun tryna find P boogers"

How unserious can one human possibly be? because you were 100% certain she fit all the criteria for it. Shaking your head at your antics you gathered your purse and keys, dropping the basketball back on the rack, and headed out into the seemingly cold hallways of the facility. You thought you'd find her in the training room chilling but to your surprise, she was nowhere to be found.

Sighing to yourself, you pulled out your phone

𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 "𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐞💜".......

"Oh! Are you done practicing with your partner for the final 4?  Done so soon?" her voice swarmed with annoyance.

"What happened to hello?, why are you being so rude about it we were all just having fun"  Confusion roamed throughout your mind, she never acted like this towards you.

The line went silent.

"Paige? hello?'

"We must have two different definitions of the term rude considering the fact that you didn't even care to notice that I left" her voice echoed from behind you. Swiftly turning around you saw her leaning in the doorway. Her cheeks flushed as if someone sliced the color out of them. She was livid.

"Paige it was all fun and gamessss" you whined hopelessly, "I was just preparing to get my payback for you beating me- "You stopped yourself mid-sentence as the awareness of her irritation wasn't irritation at all. "Aw P are you jealous??" you questioned as your face turned up into a smirk.

She kissed her teeth in annoyance "I'm not jealous y/n... be so fr right now" she scoffed.

"Yesss you are! There's no way you'd be upset over me trying to learn the sport that you love" you poked at her face laughing "You just want me to give you allll the attention hm?" cocking your head looking up at her, you knew you were right, but she'd never admit to it.

"Now you're just chatting" shaking her head in disbelief, playfully mushing your face.

"Your pride is too big for you to admit that your jealousy got the best of you babe, happens to the best of us I suppose"  Resting your head on her chest you smiling to yourself, you had her hooked. "Since you're so jealous I guess I'll go get Canes by myself, wouldn't wanna focus my attention on bringing someone else with me"

"Nah never that! I'm ready to go right now" she shot back at you as she lifted you up into her arms easily, a little too easy for your liking. You never understood how someone so small was able to lift weight like it's thin air.

"Mhm, that's what I thought" you emersed, softly kissing her temple.

ꨄꨄꨄꨄꨄ

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[sordidmusings]

Switching Up Roles - Part 1/2 (Buggy x Reader)

A/N: So the request got insaaaaanely out of hand cuz I can't shut the fuck up about this stupid clown 🙃 In the future I gotta have requests ask for headcanons, full fic, or headcanons with drabbles in the future so I can put a cap on my brain lol I had also been wanting to write Switch!Buggy learning to embrace the sub part of himself. I wanted to get part of it out and the set up cuts off pretty cleanly here. There is a taste of smut in it, but it stays with the style of the exposition for the most part instead of really delving into it.

Word count: ~1760 (The draft is at 8100 rn 🧍🏻‍♀️)

Warnings: afab!reader (no pronouns), switch!reader, switch!Buggy, NSFW, p in v, creampie, they're like probably too into each other, Buggy leans towards opla Buggy, I have a propensity to just keep sentences going man

I hope you enjoy a taste and thank you for your patience 🙏🏻

Part 2

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You’d always had a hunch about Buggy. It started with little things like how his grunts and moans would sometimes slip in and out of something more whiny and breathy. How the look in his eyes would turn from something rabid and devouring into something desperate and uncertain. Maybe he was just more comfortable using the whole range of his voice than most men. Maybe that look just came from the insecurity in him that you were constantly trying to wring out with every lingering hug and reassuring whisper.

Speaking of those, he drank them up like an addict. Now, it’s not like you think it’s abnormal to enjoy soft touches and sweet words; everyone wants those from their partner in one form or another. The thing is, Buggy seemed to hang on those words with extra ardor. He’d focus on you like nothing else existed. He’d twist and turn both himself and his comfort zone in order to receive them. Whenever he accomplished something, whether it was as big as defeating a new enemy or as small as making a new joke, he would turn his face to seek you out like a plant’s leaves reaching to feel the sun. He’d go to you whenever he was uncertain. Difficult announcements were made with you within arm’s reach, vital decisions were made with you sitting thigh to thigh, and battles were fought with the two of you back to back.

Despite his status as captain, Buggy was always following you. Of course, he was the one in charge, the one who gave orders, but you were the one for whom he would change those orders or redirect his path. When you entered a room, he was the one to go to you. It was only on rare occasions that he’d order you to him like an owner would a dog. His calls for you were greetings, that is if he wasn’t getting up to lead you in himself. Buggy did know how to demand but he preferred to handle you with invitations. 

Even so, you were well versed in Buggy leading you to touch or lay where and how he wanted. The extending months of your relationship have been filled with the two of you pushing and pulling at each other, empty of any thoughts and aims other than the need you had for each other. He has growled out commands and desires, expecting you to do just as he asked and he fit the role of manhandling you into a compliant sub very well. There were times when it seemed to be just that though - a role. Not every time; the more starved for your body he seemed, the more he’d take you just how he wanted. Now that you were months in and the pent up “what if”s were easing into the new joy of deep connection, his need for your body settled to hunger while his appetite for connecting to You became insatiable. Being able to allocate more time to exploring each other let latent behaviors break through the frantic way that you two tried to consume one another. Buggy had always aimed for your pleasure, hitting steady bullseyes, but now he was consciously seeking it and looking for new avenues to sate you and file them away for the future. He gained the clarity to observe while he was flooding himself with you.

You also noticed that with this change of pace came his need to chase your movements. You don’t think Buggy was even aware of the way he would lean his body towards you no matter the time or place, the way he would follow your lips whenever you pulled away, or the way his body would seek out your hands and happily mold to their movements like you were an artist working with clay. There was the way he seemed almost relieved when you would guide him. It appeared that he savored the time to unload the responsibility of decisions onto someone else but he had never known anyone he could trust to give him that peace before.

You understood that need. The rush you got when you only had to think of pleasing him and then hearing him tell you how good you were at doing just that? It was euphoria all on its own. It had you feeling like you knew in your core that you were doing something right and that you were making your love feel good - feel proud and happy. While you enjoyed partaking in it yourself, you had no problem taking control to give that to Buggy. Honestly it was a dynamic that was sounding tastier by the day. Seeing him act out of need for your direction and approval made you crave it more each time. You were eager to see him when he loses himself in the role of being what you want. You’re positive he’d take to it well; all you want is him after all, but now that he’s given pieces of himself to you, you want all of him. You want him to expose his needs to you, right down to the core of his desires, so that you could feel the thrill of holding that trust and vulnerability. You want to prove to him that he is always safe with you and that you can fulfill all that he wants and more.

One night a few weeks back, you got the final evidence you needed to feel confident labeling him as a switch like yourself. It was one of the few times Buggy was letting you ride him when he was close (he seemed to be embarrassed of the way it would pull out higher pitched moans from him, no matter how you complimented them), and he had let himself fall further into acting without thought than he usually would beneath you. His typical grapple with composure was replaced by him melting into bliss, leaving you a Buggy who was slack-jawed, glassy eyed, and trembling. You could still feel some hesitancy in the way he kept making his eyes focus on you even when they wanted to roll back or the way he would reign in his volume after a particularly (and deliciously) loud moan. His hands still went through the motions of guiding your hips, but this time your hips were pushing into that heavy grip instead of his hold directing the bounce and grind of your body on his.

Even though the feeling of his cock splitting you open and rubbing deliciously from your clenching entrance to the deepest stretch of your cunt left you struggling for thought, you were determined to keep an eye out for his tells that he would try to flip you back over. Whenever Buggy blinked some focus back into his eyes, you leaned down and captured his panting mouth in sloppy kisses. His eagerness to feel your swollen lips and teasing tongue made it easy to kiss his mind back into a blur. When he planted a hand down and sat himself up, you tightened your core to clench down on him and changed to the heavy grinds that made him weak with the way he could feel every hot, plush inch of you gripping him. He fell down to his elbow, but when you followed him to nibble at his ear and fill it with moans, he lost all his strength and collapsed back on the bed.

You kept at it because you needed to cum on top of him. The promise of a body shaking orgasm always came to you in the squeeze of your thighs around his waist, the grind of his pelvis on your clit, the way you could change your angle to have the head of his cock massaging whichever spot felt the most electric in the moment. It took hold of your mind with the way you got to look down on him spread out beneath you while he looked up at you with that desperate face. You could see how steeped he was in pleasure and need from his furrowed brow and shining eyes. Buggy always fell into the most beautiful, incoherent mess when you were the one leading him. His long blue hair spread out wildly, the few strands sticking to his face bringing out his pink flush. His gorgeous eyes, highlighted by stripes of blue makeup and long fluttering lashes, glistened up at you. His painted red mouth looked all the more tempting with how his kiss-wet lips parted for him to gasp in air and breathe out moans.

With little warning, Buggy sobbed out an overwhelmed, “Fuuu-hah-huuuuck,” and the next thing you knew strong hands yanked you down and he trapped you close in an iron grip. His forehead dug into your neck and his humid breath tingled down your chest. All you could feel, hear, smell was Buggy - so much burning skin, jumbled curses, lingering sea salt. His hands scrambled on your back, pulling you closer like he needed it to live, and amidst all the sensation you felt his cock pressed tight into you, twitching heavily with each wave of hot cum it pumped into you. It shoved you immediately far over the edge and you curled into him, squeezing and shaking and grabbing and gasping. You got what you were promised and your body shook, letting you get extra jolts of friction against his still pulsing cock.

The come down was slow and lethargic with the two of you molded to each other and unwilling to leave the moment behind. Your breaths eventually slowed while you both enjoy giving and receiving little trailing touches. Your brain was high from the intense orgasm and the building joy that you can finally open the door on this aspect of your relationship where Buggy lets himself submit.

That is, until he ruins it. 

Both of you were too tired to say much of anything through the swift cleanup and release to slumber. You didn’t think anything of it, because it wasn’t the first time it happened. You did start to catch on to Buggy’s avoidance when he would find convenient ways to dance around the topic or disappear when you were leading up to it. It became unquestionable when he started to run out of clever escape routes. The final straw was when you approached him with an “I wanna talk about the other night” and he did a 180 with a panicked “forgot some captain stuff for the thing” yelled back to you. So you let it drop. For a time.

You spotted your opportunity just over three weeks after you’d dropped the subject. Buggy continued to slip around you for almost two of those weeks, approaching you with the same caution a child would when entering a haunted house on a dare. He held the same nervous excitement and insatiable curiosity too. The whole time, you pretended that you hadn’t noticed. You were well practiced in the art of playing blind; Buggy wore his emotions on his sleeve whether he wanted to or not, and he loved that you would let him pretend some of it didn’t happen. Even though he knew you sometimes played it to your advantage and still let most of your comments and cackles out during his outbursts and foibles. He just paid you back for those with his own tricks and teasing and all’s fair in love and war.

You knew not to strike right away. You needed to reaaaaally let him settle back into normalcy between you two so that The Incident wasn’t on his mind. Not that you’d been able to get it out of yours; you were endlessly replaying the memory of him being seized by instinct and impulse so violently that he clung to you like he could never be close enough while you made him cum so hard that his dick felt like someone was jolting a toy inside you. Whether the imagery came to you on purpose or involuntarily, it always had you squirming and looking for some way to get off.

Today had been especially filled with that memory, but luck was on your side, finally ready to reward you for your patience. Buggy had been getting a bit exhausted recently, prepping the crew, the ship, and everything on it for a risky raid happening next week. It would be the culmination of a few months planning, and he had been running himself ragged making sure that everything would go smoothly. And, when it didn’t, there was a backup plan and at least two more backup plans for that one. 

He had been seeking rest from you more than interaction the past few days - falling asleep almost immediately after getting back to his room late, giving you long hugs where he’d close his eyes if only for a minute and let you hold up some of his weight, scarfing down his food so he could power nap with his head on your thigh while you finished your own meal. If he was doing something that only needed one hand, he’d send the other to you so he could have the comfort of your touch and the pick me up from feeling your occasional squeeze on it. He had to find and stop you the time you decided to massage his overworked hand, because the relaxing feeling had him zoning out through full conversations.

All that to say, the man clearly needed someone to force a break on him and take care of him. Just as clearly, Buggy was needing that care from you so much that he was allowing himself to seek you out in ways that he (wrongfully) feared would annoy or drain you. His exhaustion outweighing that sea-sized insecurity of his was the cue you’d been looking out for. If he really didn’t want to be submissive to you then that’s fine, but you’d be damned if it was just his own negative self-talk keeping the two of you from feeling that way again or from bonding even closer with another dynamic to exchange trust and affection. After all, that act of trust being met with affection is one of the best ways to chip away at his self-doubt and self-loathing.

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More to come - hope you enjoyed 🤍

[anyasathenaeum]

Home

A/N: I'm basing this off of this drabble I wrote as part of my 100 follower event, I really wanted to write a whole fic about it because Vash deserves to be taken care of and loved and lowkey told off for being reckless. Did I channel myself through this? Hell yeah I did. Enjoy friends!

Warnings: Explicit mentions of wounds, blood, violence

Word Count: 6.6K

"Well, this is definitely not how I expected today to go!"

You found yourself shouting to Vash over the sounds of yelling, blows and glass shattering, the two of you hiding behind the bar in the town saloon as several angry and drunk patrons decided to have an impromptu brawl, cornering the both of you with no way out.

The two of you had drifted into this quaint little town, looking forward to a couple days of peace and rest. You two had gotten a room at the local inn and decided to go for a drink in the saloon, and then next thing you both knew, you were hiding behind the bar during a fight. Several other patrons hid behind the bar alongside the two of you, all of them clearly afraid or trying to figure out a way out, too.

"I'm sorry, (Y/N)!" Vash yelled back to you over the sounds of chaos, his expression sheepish, "I didn't think-"

"Don't worry about it!" You cut him off, flinching as glass shattered right above your head. The patrons were getting more and more reckless as they fought, clearly showing no thought to their surroundings.

You felt Vash's arm wrap around you as he tugged you closer to him, likely to shield you as he usually tried to do.

"We gotta get outta here! Before those idiots end up hurting themselves and us!" You exclaimed, glancing up at your best friend of many years as he looked around, clearly trying to figure out the best way to get out of this situation unscathed. Unfortunately, as a healer, escape strategies were not your forte.

"Alright," Vash replied after a couple moments, his expression resolute as he looked down at you with a nod, "On 3, follow me, and whatever you do, do NOT let go of my hand!"

All you could do was nod as you took his prosthetic hand in yours, clutching it tightly as you felt Vash squeeze your hand in return, as though confirming the plan with you one final time as you waited for his countdown.

"One..."

You felt your heartbeat in your ears as you prepared to sprint with Vash as fast as possible to get the two of you to safety.

"Two..."

The cries of the angry patrons were growing louder, all of them undoubtedly approaching the bar in midst of their fight, and you flinched again as another glass struck the bar near your head, a piece of broken glass flying free and striking your cheek.

"Three!"

Without a second of hesitation, Vash bolted forwards and away from the bar with your hand gripped tightly in his, the two of you sprinting as fast as you could to get to safety. You felt Vash tug your arm hard so you followed him, and you watched him flinch as a glass was thrown and suddenly struck the wall where his head had been merely a moment prior.

"Go, (Y/N)! Go!"

Vash quickly pushed you ahead of him, a yelp escaping you he promptly shoved you through an open saloon window. You tumbled to the ground rather ungracefully, groaning as you landed on your back, the wind getting knocked out of you. However, after a couple seconds of recovery, you realized that Vash hadn't followed you.

"Damn it!"

You cursed as you quickly scrambled to your feet, glancing through the window you had just been pushed out of only to see Vash trying to diffuse the situation and protect the other townsfolk.

"Come on, guys! Can't we figure this out in a way that doesn't involve violence?"

You watched Vash promptly dodge a glass bottle that was thrown at his head after that statement, his smile not even faltering for a moment.

"Now, now, that's not very nice!" You heard Vash say almost playfully, a soft chuckle coming out of him, "Come on, guys, you're scaring all the other nice folks. Why don't you guys go outside, talk it out, maybe drink some water?"

Vash's kindhearted suggestions were met with some choice rude words, angry hisses and yells of anger from the drunken patrons, who you could tell were beginning to turn on Vash rather than each other, now. You wanted to yell at him to shut up, to stop being so... so... good, and to get the hell out of there. You could feel your heart pounding in your chest frantically as you realize just how much danger Vash was putting himself in at that moment.

"Vash..." You found yourself whispering nervously under your breath, to nobody in particular, as your gaze remained glued to your best friend.

You suddenly lost sight of Vash from your window as he approached the drunken patrons, and a couple seconds later, you heard a yelp from Vash followed by a loud crashing sound. Then, the sound of several heavy blows and another loud crashing sound, as well as the sound of glass shattering. Your heart all but stopped in your chest as your mind began to go into overdrive, picturing all the things that might've been happening then and there. You were a literal second away from diving back into the saloon from the same window Vash shoved you out of when the saloon door slammed open and all the drunken patrons were promptly thrown out into the street.

As soon as you realized the instigators were no longer a threat, you sprinted back into the saloon, desperately looking around for your best friend and praying you would find him in once piece. Thankfully, to your relief, you saw Vash helping some of the other patrons who had been hiding behind the bar to their feet, smiling comfortingly at them all. Many of them thanked him profusely, some shaking his hand and others even patting his back or hugging him.

Out of nowhere, a bunch of emotions shot through you. Anger. Frustration. Fear. Despair. Relief. Happiness. You didn't know exactly what you were feeling, and you weren't given time to figure it out as Vash's gaze fell on you and his blue eyes widened behind his round, oversized yellow lenses.

"(Y/N)!"

Vash dashed over to where you were standing, and before you could so much as open your mouth, his arms were wrapping around you and he was pulling you into a tight hug, a clear sigh of relief escaping him. Your emotions continued to swirl within your chest as your face pressed against Vash's chest, your own arms coming up to wrap around him in return in a tight embrace - at least he was safe.

"Your cheek..." You heard Vash say gently, both his tone and the expression on his face worried as he looked down at you, his eyebrows furrowed and his hand coming up to gently touch your cheek.

As he touched it, you winced slightly as a stinging sensation suddenly registered - the piece of glass that struck you earlier must've cut you.

"Don't worry about me. It's no big deal, I can patch it up easily," You brushed Vash off, your eyes sweeping over him from head to toe, frantically searching him for any signs of injury from the skirmish, "Are you alright, though?"

"I'm right as rain!" Vash replied, chuckling sheepishly as his hand came up to rub the back of his neck.

You could suddenly feel the bottled up anger beginning to boil inside you as you glared at Vash, hissing under your breath at him, "What the hell were you thinking?! Y-You... you shove me out a window, and then you try to stop the fight yourself?! Vash, are you crazy?! You're so goddamned lucky you're not hurt, or I would've-"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Vash immediately held his hands up in surrender, his expression a mixture of sheepishness, guilt, and nervousness, "I didn't mean to shove you that hard. I just... I wanted you to be safe."

The way Vash's voice fell as he spoke those last words, becoming quiet and serious as he looked at you, let you know that he was being genuine in his apology. You couldn't help but feel your heart flutter in your chest at Vash's concern for you, and despite your irritation and worry for the man known at the Humanoid Typhoon, you couldn't bring yourself to stay mad at him. He held your heart entirely in the palms of his hands without even knowing it.

"You're way stronger than any human, Stampede. Be a little gentler next time you're shoving me out a window to safety, alright?" You grumbled instead, shooting Vash a look that immediately told him your words held no heat.

The smile that Vash gave you in response was borderline blinding, and you couldn't help but find yourself smiling, too. It wasn't your fault - Vash's smile was just extremely contagious.

"I really am sorry, (Y/N)," Vash said more quietly, so only you could hear him. He let out a heavy sigh as his fingertips just barely grazed over your injured cheek, and you could practically sense the guilt radiating off of him as he gazed at the cut on your face.

"It's okay, Vash," You replied, your voice soft as you took his hand into yours and moved it away from your face, "This wasn't your fault. Plus, I got lucky. A tiny cut on my cheek is within my healing skills to handle."

The grin you gave Vash at your joke made him chuckle softly, relieving him of some of the guilt he had sitting in his chest. He knew very well that you were a very capable healer, one who had spent many years studying how to help people with various illnesses and injuries and one who had patched him up more times than he could count. Yet, still, Vash couldn't help but worry for you a bit. He always worried for you. How could he not, when you were nothing short of everything to him?

"If you say so, O Wise Healer!" Vash responded, quickly regaining his goofy, outgoing persona and bowing to you in an exaggerated gesture that made you sigh in playful exasperation and nudge him hard.

"Yeah, yeah, enough of that, Stampede. You're embarrassing me in front of the townsfolk," You mumbled half-heartedly, your cheeks heating up as you tried to stifle a laugh, "We should get back to the inn. I need to clean this up."

You tap your cheek and wince at the gentle sting from the cut, and Vash immediately nodded before wrapping his arm around your shoulders, "Right! Let's go."

With that, the two of you set out, making your ways back to the inn where the two of you had been staying during your stay in town. However, as the two of you walked through the town roads, you began to notice, out of the corner of your eye, a tenseness in Vash's body as he walked. You could even make out a wince here or there when he moved his body in a specific way, and that confirmed your suspicion - Vash hadn't come out of the conflict unscathed.

"Where are you hurt?" You asked suddenly, your voice low and firm.

You watched as Vash's eyes widened as he looked at you, and as he opened his mouth to contradict you and brush off your concerns, you immediately cut him off, your anger bursting forward as you snapped, "Don't you dare say you're fine, Vash. I can see you wincing and you trying not to move your body specific ways. You only do that when you're injured."

Vash immediately closed his mouth, his lips pressing into a thin line and his blue eyes betraying the guilt and shame he was feeling at being discovered.

Knowing better than to butt heads with you, Vash simply gave in and whispered quietly, bowing his head and looking like a child having been caught causing mischief, "My right side. One of the patrons had a broken glass bottle, they caught me on the upswing. It doesn't feel too deep, but it'll likely still need stitches."

You felt your anger spike, but rather than yelling at Vash in the middle of some small town with a bunch of strangers watching you, you held your tongue and continued to walk towards the inn without so much as a word of acknowledgement. However, as you replayed the incident over and over again in your mind, the sounds of Vash's yelp and the blows and the screaming of the fight you couldn't witness echoing in your brain, anger gave way to fear. Complete, overwhelming fear.

'Vash could've died today and I wouldn't have known. I would've been too late,' You thought to yourself, your heart squeezing painfully in your chest as you forced the images your mind had conjured out as best you could. 'He could've died protecting others and I would've been unable to save him or help him.'

Like an endless hurricane, your fear drove your anger, which in turn worsened your fear of losing Vash someday because he was too selfless and believed he wasn't worthy of aid. Your mind became a storm, and you were completely lost to it as you and Vash walked back to the inn.

Vash felt himself beginning to sweat nervously as you walked silently by his side, not uttering so much as a single word about his injury. Usually, you would yell at him or scold him immediately, your face gaining colour as you told him off for being reckless and too self-sacrificing and thoughtless, etc. etc. as you worked on patching him up. But now... you hadn't spoken a single word, which absolutely terrified Vash. And scarier still, your face had become a mask of cool indifference, giving no insight as to your true feelings.

"(Y/N)... I'm really sorry," Vash spoke up softly, keeping pace with you as you both approached the inn, his heart sinking in his chest as you didn't even bother acknowledging his apology.

Instead, you continued walking silently until you got to your shared room, and once you were both in the room, you closed the door behind Vash, locked it, and went to your bag to fish out your healing kit.

"(Y/N)?..."

Vash's voice was quiet and filled with concern, although you couldn't tell if the concern was for you or for himself. You looked up at him, and your heart twisted at the sight of Vash looking a lot like a kicked puppy. His big, blue eyes were wide and filled with worry and pleading, as if begging you to say something to him, and despite his height, his shoulders slouched and made him seem... small. Vulnerable. It hurt your heart to see him looking like that, but you couldn't bring yourself to address it due to still-swirling storm of emotions in your mind.

"Move your shirt so I can get to your injury," You said, your voice level and betraying nothing of the emotional torment inside your head, not sparing Vash another glance as you began preparing your equipment to tend to his wound, setting things down on one of the bedside tables with practiced routine and precision.

Vash sighed heavily as he watched you prepare your healing equipment, and he winced as he shifted slowly to take his turtleneck off, wriggling out of it to allow you access to his wound as he sat on a chair, waiting for you to begin your work. He couldn't help but feel extremely guilty for not telling you upfront that he had been injured, and every second that you spent silent was a second that made Vash's heart hurt a little bit more.

You had been Vash's best friend for many years, and you knew and understood him better than anybody else. You understood how he operated, how he thought, how he acted and reacted, and you had accepted him without question, faults and all. You were always there by his side, through thick and thin, to comfort him and support him and yes, even patch him up from time to time. Well, maybe more often than just time to time. Despite it all, though, you never once gave up on him. The two of you had always been a team. But now...

'Maybe this is it,' Vash thought to himself mournfully, his heart aching in his chest, 'Maybe I've finally gone too far and pushed (Y/N) away, too.'

"This first part will hurt."

Your voice snapped Vash out of his self-loathing for a moment, and he gazed down at that neutral mask you kept on your face as you explained to him what you were going to do, your eyes trained on the wound on his torso. To his surprise, you had already mended your own cheek - when did you even do that?

"I'll inject a local anesthetic into your skin around the slash, and then I'll stitch it up properly. You shouldn't feel anything but pressure and slight tugging once the anesthetic kicks in."

Your voice didn't so much as wobble even once, and it scared Vash. He had seen you go into your "healing mode", as he affectionately referred to it, many times in the past, but it had never been directed at him. This cool indifference was terrifying to him, because for the first time in a long time, he had no way to gauge what you were thinking or feeling. You had shut him out completely.

And Vash hated it. He hated every second of it.

"Thank you for taking care of me, (Y/N)." Vash's voice was quiet, so quiet you almost didn't hear him as you began your work, injecting the anesthetic, "I don't deserve you."

However, instead of your usual "Shut up!" or "Don't say that!" or "Enough of that!" responses whenever he said something like that, Vash was met with complete silence. You didn't acknowledge his statement, instead laser-focused on adequately numbing him before starting the tricky act of stitching his wound.

Upon assessment, the slash wound wasn't deep, just as Vash had told you, but it was decently long and definitely required stitches. Once the anesthetic had a couple moments to set in, you poked Vash with a needle near the edge of the wound.

"Feel anything?"

Vash just shook his head, watching you carefully as you nodded in response, your face still a mask of complete neutrality.

"I'm going to start the stitches now. Stay as still as possible."

Vash took a deep breath and stilled himself as best as he could, allowing you to start your work. True to your word, he felt no pain as you patched him up, but rather pressure and tugging as you tied off stitch after stitch. Your work was done slowly, meticulously, but as your hands worked, your mind spiraled out of control.

'The self-sacrificing idiot won't ever stop. Why won't he stop?'

'How many times has he gotten hurt without telling me?'

'How many more times will I patch him up before he dies?'

'Will I lose him soon?'

'Why, Vash? Why?'

'Please, Vash, don't go. Don't go. Stop this, please...'

'Stay with me. Please, Vash. Stay.'

While your mind spiraled, Vash sat on the chair silently as you worked, lost in his own thoughts and emotions. He couldn't shake the deep-seated feeling of guilt for lying to you about him being alright, and although your mask of indifference gave him no indication of your current thoughts and feelings, you hadn't been able to hide a flash of hurt before your mask went up. Just that split second had been enough to make Vash feel like a knife had been driven into his chest. He had never wanted to hurt you. That was never his intention. He loved you far too much to even think of hurting you, and yet, he still had. He knew lying to you hadn't been a good idea, but he did it to buy you peace of mind, even if only for a moment.

But now... with you closed off and feeling so far away from him, Vash regretted it more than ever, the fear of losing you for good spreading like wildfire through him. He should've just told you and been upfront about being hurt. He owed you that much, especially given that you'd always stuck by his side and never once complained about patching him up, even though you always scolded him about getting hurt afterwards.

"(Y/N)?" Vash's voice was small and shaky as he spoke, and he took a deep breath as he tried to keep his emotions from running wild as he tried to reach out to you, to get past your mask once more, "(Y/N), listen, I-... I'm... I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. I should've told you that I was hurt immediately, I don't know why I didn't, I guess I just... I thought-"

Vash's words died on his lips the moment he looked down at your face, his eyes widening and his heart shattering at the sight of tears streaking silently down your face as you diligently continued your work. Your mask had disappeared and the fear, the anger and the sadness you felt were all on display for all to see. How long had you been crying for?

"(Y/N)..."

Vash's voice was gentle and filled with concern for you as he turned to look at you, his hands taking your own into his and holding them close to his chest. He could feel your hands shaking as he held them, and he knew that you were unable to continue your work right now, too shaken by everything to keep going. Sure enough, you seemed to realize this yourself as you pulled back from him and put down your tools on the table next to you before promptly dissolving into full-blown sobs, your hands coming up to cover your face.

"(Y/N)!"

Vash immediately shifted and kneeled down so he was level with you, pulling you into his arms without hesitation and holding you close to his bare chest as tears welled in his own eyes. His heart completely broke as you sobbed against him desperately, your cries so filled with pain that it physically hurt Vash to hear them.

Had you been feeling this pain the whole time you were stitching him up? No... there was no way this pain was from just today. You must've been feeling this way for a long, long time and just never told him, likely for the same reason he hadn't told you he was hurt - to spare him the worry.

"Oh, (Y/N)... I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!"

Vash found himself beginning to sob with you, the guilt of being the reason for your pain becoming too overwhelming as he held you close. All he wanted to do was hold you in his arms and beg and plead for your forgiveness and apologize to you over and over again until you understood just how sorry he was. He did this to you. Your pain was his fault.

The moment Vash had said your name in that worried and gentle tone, all the walls you had put up to try and do your job came crashing down as you began to sob, your fear and anger and sadness overwhelming you completely. You had felt Vash's arms pulling you into his warm and comforting embrace, and you found yourself clutching onto him with desperate need, your fingers digging into his skin as you tried to calm yourself down by reassuring yourself that he was still there. Vash was still there, still alive, and you were patching him up.

But as soon as you heard Vash's tearful apology, that set you off in another round of broken sobs, burrowing into his embrace and just holding onto him as best as you could, wanting nothing more than to just stay there indefinitely, stay in this moment where both you and Vash were safe and alive together and nobody could hurt either of you.

Eventually, you managed to calm yourself enough to pull yourself back together into one piece and to finish your task of stitching Vash's wound, pulling away from him and wiping your face with your hands. Vash himself was still trembling as you pulled away, his face stained from his tears, his beautiful blue eyes reddened and swollen and still filled with pain.

He looked at you desperately as you pulled away, as if pleading with you not to let go of him just yet, and you sniffled pitifully in response, "I-I have to finish... stitching you up. I-I can't... leave you like this."

That alone made Vash dissolve into tears again - here you were, in the middle of a breakdown because of all the fear and anger and sadness he had caused you, and yet you pulled yourself together so you could continue to take care of him regardless of the pain you felt. Tears began to spill down his cheeks once more as you said that, and he looked down in shame as sobs escaped him.

Despite how much your heart hurt from the fear of potentially losing Vash, seeing him cry before you somehow hurt worse. You found yourself now being the one pulling him into your arms, running your fingers gently through his hair and letting your fingertips drag over his scalp to calm him as he wept into you.

"Shh... shh..." You whispered to Vash gently, your own voice still thick from your tears, "It's alright, Vash. I... I have to move fast, before the anesthetic wears off. Okay?"

As you pulled away, Vash restrained himself from clutching onto you, instead nodding and wiping his face as he sat back on the chair, allowing you to finish up your work despite his whole body trembling.

With a deep, calming breath, you centered yourself and separated yourself as best as you could from every emotion that was coursing through you. You left your emotions behind for as long as possible as you picked your needle and medical thread back up and continued your stitching, throwing a couple more stitches before finishing up. Then, you gently applied a healing balm to the newly-stitched wound and covered it with a dressing, applied with a gentle yet firm touch.

Once you were done, you shakily stood from where you were sat on the ground, brushing your hands off and packing up your healing kit and trying to figure out how you were going to explain yourself to Vash. Yet, when you turned to look at him, you found Vash hunched over as he sat in the chair, his face in his hands as he propped his arms up on his knees, his whole body still shaking. You could hear quiet sniffles and broken sobs escaping him, and it broke your heart all over again. It was clear the last thing he needed right now was an explanation.

Before you could stop yourself, you walked over and kneeled down in front of Vash, pulling him into your arms and hugging him close. Immediately, as if seeking out his lifeline, Vash reached out and clutched onto you, wanting nothing but to keep you in his arms for the rest of eternity.

"I'm so sorry, (Y/N), 'm sorry... 'm sorry, (Y/N)," Vash sobbed on repeat, and all you could do was squeeze him tightly and press a kiss to the side of his head as he sobbed against you.

You shushed him gently and continued running your fingers through his hair soothingly like you had done before.

"It's alright, Vash. It's alright. Don't apologize... I should be apologizing to you," You whispered to him gently, your emotions coming under control as you focused on supporting the man in your embrace. "I shut you out, and I'm sorry, Vash. I just... I didn't know what else to do."

Hearing you apologizing to him for doing the only thing you could to cope with your pain made Vash feel like somebody was tearing his heart from his chest and crushing it slowly. He fought to keep him emotions from spiraling completely out of control, instead letting out a soft whimper as he hugged you tighter, shaking his head.

"N-No... It's my fault. I should've told you. I should've told you I was hurt instead of hiding it, and I'm... I'm so sorry, (Y/N). I didn't want to make you cry. I didn't want to hurt you, I-... I never wanted to hurt you. It's all my fault."

Vash's voice was filled with despair and you could feel how genuine each and every word he said was, how desperately he wanted you to understand how sorry he was for what he had done and how much he wanted your forgiveness. How badly he wished he could repent for the damage he had done to you.

"I'm scared, Vash."

Your words began to spill forward as tears slipped down your cheeks once more. You pulled away from Vash, looking up at him with fear obvious in your eyes.

"I'm scared that one of these days, you're going to use yourself as a shield and get hurt badly and you won't tell me. And because of that, you'll die. I'm scared because every time I lose sight of you in a fight, I don't know if it's the last time I'll ever see you alive. I'm scared that I'm going to lose you because you were too good and too self-sacrificing and you wanted to save everybody and you wanted to grant me a moment of peace. Losing you isn't worth a second of peace because if I lose you, I'm going to lose the only thing in this world that matters and makes sense to me, Vash. If I lose you, I'm going to lose the one person who brings me happiness and peace. If I lose you... I'm going to lose my home."

Vash's eyes widened and his heart lurched in his chest as your feelings poured forward, and despite you not explicitly saying those three little words, he could feel them in every single sentiment you expressed. As if those three words were the only thing you were telling him, over and over again.

"I'm scared because every time I lose sight of you in a fight, I don't know if it's the last time I'll ever see you alive."

I love you.

"If I lose you, I'm going to lose the one person who brings me happiness and peace."

I love you.

"If I lose you... I'm going to lose my home."

I love you, Vash.

When Vash didn't answer you, you inhaled shakily and continued, sniffling and wiping your face as you tried to keep calm.

"I know there were innocent people involved, Vash. I know that. And I know you always want to save everybody. But... you count, Vash. When you get hurt, it counts, because despite what you think of yourself, you're innocent, too. And if you keep this up, eventually, you won't be around anymore to protect people. Your body, though extraordinary, can only take so much damage and I can only fix so much. I can't... I can't bear to think of what'll happen if I can't help you, Vash. I don't even want to imagine it."

By the time you finished your rambling, you were fully in tears again, despite your best efforts. Your hands kept wiping your cheeks, but to no avail, and your whole body was shaking as you sobbed softly. Even though you were crying, part of you felt better now that your fears were finally out in the open, no longer hidden or kept secret.

As you sat there, sobbing in front of him as you told Vash how afraid you were of losing him, his heart swelled and cracked in tandem for you. You worried for him. You were scared for him. Your pain came from the care and affection you held for him and him alone. A warm arm and a cool arm both wrapped around you and pulled you back in against a familiar, warm and firm chest, and you felt a gentle kiss being pressed to your forehead before Vash nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck. Though his cheeks were still stained, his tears had stopped as he held you close once more, wanting to never let you go ever again.

"I love you, (Y/N)."

There they were. Those words he had never spoken aloud to anybody else in his entire existence. And yet, as he spoke them aloud, Vash knew that his words were never truer than they were in that moment. He loved you. More than anything else in this world, he loved you. You were everything to him, and the pain he felt when you wept in his arms was something he never wanted to feel ever again. He'd been shot, stabbed, burned and injured a million different ways, and he would take any of those a hundred times over seeing you cry because of him.

"I love you, (Y/N). I'm... I'm sorry I hurt you. I just... I didn't want you worrying about me. I figured that... if I didn't tell you, I was sparing you. I was protecting you from the pain you feel when somebody you care for gets hurt. But I didn't realize that in doing that, I was hurting you worse than I would've if I'd just told you. I promise that I'll try to be more careful, (Y/N), because I don't want to lose you, either. I promise I'll try for you."

His flesh-and-blood hand came up to cup the back of your head, gently stroking your hair as he spoke to you, his voice low and gentle as he explained his actions to you in return. You deserved to understand why he did what he did, and that he genuinely hadn't intended to hurt you.

Yet, not a single word he spoke really stuck in your brain as the words he spoke initially echoed loudly in your mind.

I love you, (Y/N).

He loved you. He loved you! Your heart sang in your chest at the revelation, and when you looked up at Vash's face, all sound in the world fell away, the only thing you could hear being the thrumming of your heartbeat in your ears. You took in every detail of his face; his beautiful and expressive blue eyes, swollen from his tears, his blonde hair, the mole under his left eye, the curve of his lips, his tear-stained cheeks, the furrowing of his eyebrows, the edge of his jaw, the slope of his nose, every tiny piece of him that you committed to memory.

"(Y/N)?"

"I love you, Vash."

You whispered it so softly that at first, Vash wasn't sure if he'd heard you right. But as you gazed at him, your eyes glistening, Vash realized he hadn't misheard you, his own eyes widening and his heart thundering in his chest.

Neither of you are sure which one of you leaned in first, or if both of you leaned in in tandem, but soon, soft lips pressed against your own in a gentle, tender and loving kiss, sending shivers down your back and making your heart feel ready to burst. You found your fingers burying themselves into Vash's hair as you pulled him closer to you, wishing to be as close to him as you possibly could be. You felt Vash's arms squeeze you a bit tighter, pressing you against him with a bit more force, making it clear that he, too, wanted you closer to him.

When the two of you broke away, both of your faces flushed and your hearts racing, you couldn't help but smile at Vash, who smiled back just as warmly and as lovingly. His hand came up to cup your cheek gently as he leaned down to kiss you again briefly before pulling away.

"I love you, Mayfly."

There was no hesitation in Vash's voice as he said it.

"I love you, too, Vash," You smiled up at him warmly, blushing at his use of a term of endearment before chuckling softly. "That being said, you seriously need to stop using yourself as a shield. If you ever get hurt again and don't tell me, I'll drag you somewhere safe and then wring your neck, Stampede. No matter how much I love you or how many other people are in danger. Understood?"

That drew a genuine laugh from Vash, who hugged you tightly to him once more and kissed your temple gently before letting his cheek rest against the top of your head.

"Of course. I'd expect no less from you, Mayfly."

"You'd better," You grumbled in response, burrowing further into his arms and sighing softly, allowing yourself to finally relax, letting go of the fear and the anger and sadness you had been feeling.

After a couple moments, you pulled away from Vash and stood up, which caused Vash to whine immediately at the loss of you and your embrace.

"(Y/NNNNN)..."

You couldn't help but giggle softly at the puppy dog eyes Vash was giving you, his pout making your heart flutter in your chest as you rolled your eyes at him playfully.

"Calm down, Stampede. I promise we can cuddle all night, okay? You need to get into bed first, though, so we don't reopen your wound or anything, okay?"

As soon as you mentioned cuddles, Vash perked up and smiled at you, making you laugh softly. You watched over him as he stood up from the chair he'd been sitting on while you'd stitched him up, and despite knowing he could do it on his own, you couldn't help but take Vash's arm in your own and support him as he moved to the bed and sat down slowly.

Vash winced slightly as he laid back on the bed, the stitches pulling and the wound aching, but as soon as his head hit the pillow, his exhaustion hit him. If it weren't for you puttering around the room, he likely already would've been fallen asleep.

"Hang on, love."

Your gentle voice reached Vash's ear and he watched sleepily as you took off his boots and put them down next to the bed.

"You don't need to-" Vash tried to argue quietly, only for you to shut him down immediately.

"You're exhausted, love. Just let me take care of you, okay?"

Vash's gaze was filled with warmth, affection and love as he smiled sleepily at you and mumbled in response, "You're too good for me, Mayfly. Thank you."

"Oh, shut up."

Ah, there was the you Vash knew well. He couldn't help but smile as his tiredness began to take over.

After a couple minutes, the room went dark as you turned out the lights and you slowly got into bed next to Vash, ensuring to lay next to his uninjured side. Your head rested on the same pillow, and you nuzzled your face into his neck as Vash slowly placed his arm around your waist and pulled you gently into him. You could feel his nose gently resting in your hair as he took a deep breath, inhaling your familiar scent and allowing your presence to comfort, calm and soothe him.

"We're not done talking about this. You know that, right, Vash?" You asked quietly, looking at the man you loved carefully.

Vash simply nodded and looked you in the eyes as he answered softly, "I know, Mayfly. We still have a lot to discuss. But for now, I'm just going to hold you. You're all I need in my life, (Y/N)."

And he was all you needed, too.

[aerequets]

I really liked the scene you drew for the fanfic Once more with feeling. Do you have other fanfics recommandations? PS. I love your art :3

thank you! :D and yes of course i do 😎 i have this list (twiyor) from a while ago but i have amassed more than enough new faves to make a new one!

i will try to get a mix of fics w/ different vibes, and different lengths, as well as those that you may not have heard of before. most if not all of them will be twiyor tho, bc that's what i read most.

i'll put them under the cut!

FUN FACT i spent like 45 mins writing a list and SOMEHOW DELETED IT ALL. so this is take 2 😭😭😭😭 ANYWAYS

The Woman in Red by @nightofnyx8

rated M, 7/7 chaps, 47.9k words

this fic feels like a book to me if i was already invested in the characters. it revolves around yor, who gets an assignment to find out where a bunch of trafficked girls are being kept by the asshole of the millenium, vito cohen. it is also post reveal, post relationship twiyor. this fic has dark moments just by virtue of the subject matter, but none of it feels gratuitous if that makes sense? like every bit of violence lends to the whole picture. there are also some Steamy ™ twiyor moments, which are easily skippable if that's not your thing, but their whole relationship here is just written so well. the trust is there and the protective loid vibes are 👌 i m m a c u l a t e

Smoldering by @julphines

rated G, 1/1 chaps, 2.1k words

i freaking love the look into post reveal, pre relationship twiyor we get here. it's not overtly romantic but instead them getting to know each other. i especially love the details of them having to make themselves be vulnerable in some ways because they just aren't used to it. a really nice, in-between sort of fic :)

In Love With the Distance by Newt on ao3

rated T, 37/37 chaps, 21.5k words

this one is formatted as a collection of letters and i am OBSESSED. i think the author does a very good job getting the character voices down, and the fact that the progression in their relationship is clear despite being in this letter format will never cease to amaze me. it's also incredibly consistent and has cute 'ciphers' at the top that are used to disguise the letters. this one is also post reveal, and kinda follows what happens immediately after. some bits are outside the letter format, but for the most part, it's loid and yor writing to each other. love

La Vie En Rose by @jubileen

rated T, 1/1 chaps, 3.7k words

i love me a good ol 5+1 fic, and this one did not disappoint 😌 i especially liked how the thing that is being counted here (you know, the "five times x and one time x") is not explicitly stated each time. it's something that is as slowly revealed to the reader as it is to the characters, which is a nice touch. and there are more things you catch after a reread, which i am also a great fan of!

An Ever Fixed Mark by Spiraling (Stormwind13) on ao3

rated T, 3/3 chaps, 3.8k words

soulmates that share wounds!!!!!! need i say more?? ALSO, there's some GORJUS artwork in this fic! actually, the first "chapter" is just the cover page, and then in the third chapter is another illustration which is so well done! so that's a plus :) this fic has the nice ol heartwrenching mix of backstory and present for the characters, another plus!

this fic is restricted tho, so u gotta be logged into ao3 to read it 🙏

Love, He was Certain by toteally on ao3

rated M, 1/1 chaps, 3.2k words

this one is so funny and good to me bc loid goes head empty seeing fruit juice dribble down yor's chin KJFDHSJ i love when overthinking characters suddenly can't form a thought at the most mundane of happenings. ALSO the thing fics/books do when the title comes up and you're like OHHHH THERE IT IS!!! yeah that as well

Macabre Theme and Variations by @piracytheorist

rated T, 15/15 chaps, 66.6k words (lol)

WOOOO TIME LOOP FIC! yet another thing that i am a fan of :DD although HEED THE WARNING because there IS violence but there is also a happy ending. this fic follows twilight as he goes through the same day over and over again and tries not to die a horrific death forever. mans gets more trauma, BUT he also gets character progression and a happy ending so fair trade off right 🤔 (yes. the answer is yes)

anyways, this list is hardly even the tip of the iceberg. there's also my bookmarks which, at the time of writing this post, are at 354... most of which are sxf/twiyor.... so yeah LMAO obviously i couldnt put all of them into this post but definitely check those out. i've also got my own works if you're interested but hopefully this list contains fics you have not yet read, and that you will like 🙏🙏

(if your fic is on this list and you haven't been tagged + would like to be, pls let me know!)

[xxsycamore]

👻🕸️🦇 IKEVAMP SUITORS IN A HORROR-MOVIE SETTING ! 🦇🕸️👻 (headcanons)

Happy Halloween! Yes, this includes all 17 suitors. I'm no expert on the genre but I thought this might be fun! Some of them die. I'm sorry. Warnings: everything that can appear in a horror movie really, including mentions of death, mass murder, blood, gore, torture, cults.

If you feel like reading something more goofy where everyone lives, try Pumpkin Carving Competition At Saint Germain’s Mansion or maybe even “Welcome to Saint Germain’s mansion, please have a fang-tastic night.” 

𝐍𝐀𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐎𝐍

The "okay guys, we need a plan" guy and welp, he has a sword, he is willing to walk in front, why not trust him? 👍🏻✨He's totally the one to hide being infected because come on, how are they gonna get out of there alive if the leader is down? Has a dramatic scene where he's fighting off the transformation in secret. Ends up being saved by someone and survives.

𝐋𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐎

Leonardo is the one you find along the journey, mistaking for an enemy at first as you get into his trap... when it actually turns out he's been there long before you, surviving all alone in this post-apocalyptic setting, adapted to it, prepared for every danger out there with gadgets he made himself! He might not stay alive until the end but plays a key role in the plot.

𝐌𝐎𝐙𝐀𝐑𝐓

He tried to warn them not to do anything stupid... He's now stuck suffering from the group's bad decision-making. He doesn't even know how he ended up there. Mozart is that one character that you're supposed to hate for being an asshole. At one point he falls in danger that specifically relates to a fear of his, and when everyone expects him to sacrifice another person to save himself, he does the opposite. He seemingly dies right there, breaking everyone's hearts, only to be revealed at the very end that he managed to survive!

𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐀𝐂 (credits for the idea goes to @scummy-writes guys she can write a whole fic of those I swear,, it's been such a pleasure listening to her)

Isaac needs to be saved five minutes into the movie... which writes him off as the weaker one from the get-go. This is going to be bad if the situation comes to "we gotta leave someone behind or we all die here!" - but hey, DON'T LEAVE ISAAC BEHIND IF YOU WANT TO SURVIVE! Because the next thing you know everyone falls into this deadly trap that only HE can figure the way out of, using his big brain skills. His worth has been proved! Everyone loves him now! And all he wants is to go back home and never go on a trip with these guys ever again!

𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐑

I'm sorry, Arthur dies first. The others are trying to warn him about the cases of victims who've been sucked to a dry husk and he's like "later virgins, i have a date tonight". Yeah his date totally killed him. Bonus points if we're dealing with vampires here, because irony. It's fine though, he's still important to the plot after he dies, because we find his writing diary and he left important cues there while trying to escape from his killer. Maybe he even came close to the truth! He knows his mystery genre stuff after all...

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐔𝐒

Theo just does NOT believe paranormal exists, not even after witnessing it with his own two eyes. Worst part, he tries to convince the others too. "My broer IS NOT POSSESSED!" Uhuh! Okay Theo! You just saw cryptic images appear on his canvas without him even moving the brush but I guess he was just trying a new painting technique!! And he levitates too and his eyes are tar black but what do we know... Once Theo realizes the situation, he's out there swinging a bat (sexy), ready to beat the shit out of whatever caused this, and he's good at it. Don't worry about him dying.

𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓

Poor baby Vincent is every sinister ghost/demon's number-one target. Vincent listens to the voices. He sympathizes with them! He makes friends with them! Maybe he doesn't even need to be possessed at this rate... Same story with joining a cult, honestly. When their bad intentions begin to come to light, Vincent puts up a fight and is suddenly not as easy to control as they thought.

𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐍

Jean might take some bullets from our main cast while someone shouts "IT WON'T DIE!" but it's fine he's used to it... he's been dead for quite some time and not just inside. Jean is probably the result of some sick experiment about making an immortal army of warriors and. It's sad. But it's fine because he joins the protagonists now! He's friend! I hope they apologize for calling him a monster. No, he doesn't die by the end of the movie, but at what cost?

𝐃𝐀𝐙𝐀𝐈

"Oh, it was just Dazai." Of course it was, someone has to be that one idiot that scares the shit out of everyone until he becomes the boy who cried wolf. Which usually ends with death! I'm sorry Dazai. At least they can take him seriously now and pay some more attention to the strange things he kept on saying.

𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐄

A very old-school villain! Bonus points if the setting is modern yet he still has a villain's lair and all that. There's something beautiful and tragic about him and he probably dramatically lets himself be defeated even if he had a chance to escape. Everyone will remember him. Mostly for the mental and physical torture, but still.

𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐓𝐄

"But we have one hour left until the curse kills us all, how are we gonna get there on time?!" *sounds of safari jeep pulling over* "Someone ordered a ride?" - yeah. Comte is here to save the day with the power of money friendship. And not just that! Who is the one who suddenly remembers a family heirloom that is as old as time and suspiciously shaped exactly like the key they're searching for? I also want him to lose an eye or a limb for some reason... just for a little touch of gore maybe?

𝐒𝐄𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐍

Gods, Sebastian is the only prepared one, bless him for that. He's read all about that urban legend while everyone's been busy denying its existence. He is not scared at all, too... you might wonder if he's just geeking out during all of this bloody mess or something. He's so important, please don't let him die please don't let him die... he died.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐄𝐒

The villain's aide that infiltrates the protagonists' group. By the time his betrayal scene happens and he nearly kills three members of the group with a chainsaw, we get a glimpse of his trauma and that's the key to sucessfully talking him out of doing it, eventually disarming him and catching him. He manages to escape and maybe later returns as an ally! Yay!

𝐅𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐓

Gods he's scary. I'm not watching this. Of course he's the killer, what did you expect? Has a tragic backstory of being used by an even more fucked-up killer in the past to do the dirty work for - and kept doing it even after getting rid of them himself, because that's the only thing he knows how to do. You can't fix him.

𝐕𝐋𝐀𝐃

IT'S HIMMM he's the scary little boy from the photos and the same scary little boy that always shows up in the rose garden and his soul just won't rest in peace!! Shows up in his adult form plenty too, just expect his expression to twist into something horrible every second. He needs to be sealed forever somewhere and it would take three sequels to get to know what would actually defeat him once and for all.

𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐊𝐄

... I'm sorry but there definitely is a lighthouse in this movie. And you can totally trust Drake! The poor guy's body just washed up for you to discover, tragically drowned-oh, wait no, he's breathing. He's totally not the same sailor who died around here many, many years ago. He's gonna keep you good company in the lighthouse alone for miles.

𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐎

Galileo is the one who saw the Thing™ with his own eyes, while he was watching the stars one night ages ago. He dedicated not only his massive research but also his life to this, yet noone believes him. If he somehow manages to find that one missing piece that connects everything together, he will die a horrifying death before he can even share it with the main cast. Rip...

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[theminecraftbee]

ok so idk if you’ve answered this before but anyways,, i really love the way you write horror!

i read stuffed bird for the first time over a year ago now but i still think about the world you created on a regular basis. i rarely read au fics and it’s even more rare for me to remember them for an extended period but seriously, no joke, this is about a stuffed bird might genuinely be one of my favorite fanfictions of all time.

anyways, shameless fanboying aside, i actually wanted to ask if you had any good tips with writing horror? im a huge fan of the genre and have always wanted to create something myself but i have no clue where to even start. i feel like every idea i have is either weirdly cheesy or just unauthentic. so yeah, do you maybe have some pointers on how to get over that first threshold of not being “good enough”? or maybe just sharing what goes into your creative process when you write your stuff?

anyways i’m sorry for rambling, you’re really cool and i hope you have a good day. happy halloween!

oh goodness, thank you! i'm so glad you liked stuffed bird, and read it despite not normally liking aus! that's a big compliment!

as for the "how to write horror" tips. okay so first: it's gonna feel a little cheesy. the thing is that when you're writing it, it's gonna be less scary to you. you're going to go "well this is just silly/inauthentic/absurd" and you're going to feel like "well surely this can't scare people" and you've gotta push past that. you've gotta push past that to "well what about someone who DOESN'T know i'm trying really hard, what will they think of it?" and that can help you out a lot.

my second tip is... you've gotta know when to show the monster and not show the monster. like okay you're going to hear that things you don't show the audience can be scarier than those you do. and that's TRUE, but sometimes also you do really want to show the audience the thing. it's all about "what will cause the correct kind of impact in this moment". so, uh, example, most of the stuffed bird monsters i only describe a few aspects of, not the whole monster, and that's because the audience can fill in a scarier description than what i can come up with. however, i still describe what i personally think are the scariest/most impactful parts of the monster! because in order for it to do the thing i wanted i still NEEDED some of the gorey/horror description, i just couldn't try to perfectly describe every inch. this goes especially for horror that relies on physical description/gore actually; if you know when to show the gore, you can make it have impact. if there are certain things you describe in detail and certain things you don't, it will tell you stuff about your characters, AND it will make both of those things have more impact for the audience! so i guess that's one of my big horror tips.

my other big horror tip is that a lot of horror is emotional. doing things that reflect your character's mental state can really help sell whatever you're trying to make scary! this can both work in the "if your character is scared" sense and in the "if your character is NOT scared" sense--for example, if you are describing something scary is happening, but your character has a very happy/lighthearted emotional tone, that's one kind of scary, but if you're describing something scary and your characters are terrified, that's another! and it's useful to know when to use which.

okay and the last tip: don't worry about being "not good enough" just write what you write and post it! you will never get better without practice. the main way my horror ends up working is that i keep writing it, i think; if i never wrote horror, i'd never get used to writing horror, and it would never get scary. plus, you will be your own worst critic. get yourself some friends to help cheer you on, and then just go for it!

this is a lot of paragraphs ;-; but i HOPE IT HELPS!

[the-bloody-sadist]

Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "the bloody sadist"?

YOU FUCKING BET!!!! I love having the opportunity to list my favorites for anything, though I'm also incredibly picky about fanfics, so I don't actually know (until I start scrolling my bookmarks and listing them) if I'll reach a whole 10 favorites!! But I might! (Note: these are in no particular order)

What I Want From You is Sweet by VampireFaun (Heaven Official's Blessing) [And basically every other work that she's written! But some of my other top favorites of hers are The Thing That Was Not His Highness and Beast With Two Backs]: When I can't get a fanfic out of my head, I usually end up drawing an illustration based on it, if I'm bold enough to risk depicting an author's precious words (rare). This is my MOST re-read fic and I won't ever stop. It doesn't help that VampireFaun/Deer is a WONDERFUL PERSON and I love her personality so much. She's an incredible writer!

Tenfold by dgalerab (Bungou Stray Dogs) : Baby's first fic! This was one of the writings that immediately roped me into the fanfic world. When I first was into it, I was under the impression that everyone just went there to write half-assed explorations of sex between characters, and that wasn't so appealing to me. When I discovered that some people can write entire 25-chapter PLOTS with the level of literacy that matches what I hoped to read??? I was hooked. Obviously you can see in this list that I have strong devotion to a handful of fic writers and my favorites are just the top best fics that I return to of their writing. If I find a great writer, I subscribe to them and go on a rampage of consumption through their list of fics, my fandom or not! Please consider doing the same for those authors that I mention like that!! You'll find so much gold. Everything by dgalerab is good in some way, I have almost all of their fics bookmarked. :') My only complaint about this particular story was that HOLY FUCK THE AUTHOR CUT SO MANY SCENES WAY TOO SHORT LMAO. Please let me have a full comfort scene for more than two paragraphs T_T I worked so hard for it. I cried so much. ANYWAY, STILL A HUGE INSPIRATION FOR WHAT I WENT ON TO WRITE!

What You Have Tamed by Parsnipit (Heaven Official's Blessing)

Love is Hard, Life Sucks by gev_ao3 (Bungou Stray Dogs) : A painful inspection of the nuances of domestic abuse. This one rang true to reality so much that I don't think I can re-read it without having a depressive episode. It's not finished, but it's Fyozai, and you know how I feel about that. Also side-plot SKK! I usually can't stand AUs, but this one fits the situations very well. It's the type of fic that only someone who knows a little too much about how abuse works on a victim can write.

Careful Fear and Dead Devotion by intimatopia (Trigun Stampede) : Yet another fic that I couldn't help but draw for! And intimatopia was kind enough to link it in his fic summary T_T - A super angsty sadomasochistic fic about Vash needing pain and Wolfwood needing to give it. If I don't list any other fics by him on here, it's because I'm such a huge enjoyer of his writing (one of my favorite fic authors), so nearly all of them that don't hit on personal triggers are in my favorites category. He's a master at pinning down the PERFECT depictions of characters that make them feel as canon as possible while also becoming more tangible and real. The ZhongXiao, AyaThoma and Kaeluc fics are incredible. Read them all! However, I will mention that one of his fics that first stuck with me was his Kaeluc AU Northbound & Reaching ! Carys has done a lot of BSD fics too, of which a few stick out to me like They Say You Gotta Fake It and that one Soul Eater AU he did where Dazai was a knife in Chuuya's drawer who gained a body. I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT WENT CUZ I CAN'T FIND IT TO LINK YOU BUT GO LOOK THROUGH ALL HIS FICS FOR IT. IT'S REALLY UNIQUE.

Top 5 works, I guess?? As I mentioned several times while gushing, three of these account for entire lists of the author's works that you should enjoy if we share the same taste! VampireFaun, dgalerab, and intimatopia are my top fic authors, and I've read everything they've posted as long as it didn't contain anything personally triggering - and have learned about new fandoms even! Also, Alaruya didn't make it on this list, but they have a Fyozai fic that really inspired me with its imagery and language. I link it in my Sinner fanfic if you're interested!

I have quite a few other random fics I enjoy, but most were from a Heaven Official's Blessing craze recently and then BSD works that inspired me in some way, but they're not very unique or long, so I felt like this was the best collection to list. Most any fic that explores Dazai struggling with self-harm or neediness or asexuality has my attention. It just has to be written well!

AS FAR AS MY NAME - YOU'RE THE FIRST TO ASK THAT QUESTION! I'm a big fan of...how to explain...slightly dehumanizing titles?? Something that isn't really a name, but a description of me in some way. Something that makes me feel mysterious and yet also gives everyone who reads it an idea of the type of works I'm creating. Of course, my main personality trait is being sadistic, and I love the word sadist, and I love putting THE in front of literally any title because I DON'T KNOW LMAO...I'm THE ONE. That kinda thing. I'M THE GUY!! YEAH I'M THE BLOODY SADIST GUY! THAT ONE! I also love smashing words together, so I was like, I can't just be THE sadist....what else do I like....and that's about it. If I name myself I tend to have trouble ever using anything else in reference to me, so Sadist has stuck from the very beginning. It's going to be very hard to part with that name once I publish a novel and have to use a first and last name...

THANKS FOR THE ASK!! I HOPE YOU ENOY THOSE RECS.

[steph-schuyler]

hi all!

was rewatching ITH and decided to write a little fic because yk-motivation

type-angst??i guess :)

warnings:mention of death,mentions of harrasment/catcalling

anyway hope you like!

Vanessa Lost

I stood,frozen to my feet as the lights blazed different colours.I felt dizzy from being spun around,a mix of dinner and alchohol making me feel sick.I looked around as everyone continued to dance and my head pounded,my vision blurring a little.

I shook my head and began to walk in the direction of the bar,my heels making a click-clack against the floor.The club was like an oven,and it was jam-packed with people.

“Excuse me..”I muttered as I squeezed myself through the crowd.

“Ay,Vanessa!”I heard someone yell,but it was too loud for me to see who.

Suddenly,the lights went out,and everything was dark.

“Oye,que paso?!”shouted someone in the crowd.My head spun as I heard people scream.Someone shoved me and I toppled over into the crowd.

“Blackout!Blackout!”yelled a man.”No shit,Sherlock.”I thought to myself.What had happened?

“Vino el apagon,ay díos..”shouted a woman melodically.

The whole club was frantic as people waved torchlights.I thought of Abuela Claudia in the apartment..she meant so much to the barrío,but was she alright?

“Usnavi?”I yelled at the top of my lungs through the din of everyones manic yelling.

I heard him faintly shout my name and shook my head.Too far away.He shouted my name again and I yelled back as I pushed through the crowd.

Thousands of pops sounded as someone set off fireworks.I looked up at them and smiled.At least there was lights…

Where the hell was Usnavi?Or anyone?

I caught a glimpse of him and rushed up,pent-up anger and frustration in my voice.He left me!In a hot club,full of randomers who just wanted to get with me for my body!

“Usnavi!”I yelled,frustration in my voice.

“Yeah,Vanessa!”he spun around and I walked towards him.

“You abandoned me!”I spat,justafiably upset.He had just left me there!

“Yo-What are you talking about?”he asked me as I began to walk away,my hair swaying in the cool night breeze.

“Usnavi,all night-you barely even danced with me!”I muttered as I stormed off,shoes clicking against the pavement.

He cut in front of me,looked me dead in the eye.

“Dont make me laugh!I’ve been trying all night!You’ve been shaking your ass for like half of the Heights!”he responds.

I shake my head.So he was exactly like all those other boys,who say shit like that.I’m an idiot for thinking any different.

“Real nice.”I shoot back,poison in my tone.

“You barely gave me a chance all evening!”he retorts.

“What?”I yell.He’s the one going off with that girl,and he pulls that shit!

“Do I get another dance?”he asks me hopefully.

“Im leaving.”I shoot back as I begin walking away.My hair blows in the wind and although I’m frustrated and upset,I have the power.

“Vanessa!”he calls after me,drawing out the E as I keep my eyes ahead.

“I gotta go!”I yelled,my voice staying steady.No matter how much I-If I-loved him,I wasnt going go crack.

“Dont walk away from us tonight.”he yells.Oh,really nice.Who is us?Its just me and him now,the world spinning as we argue.

“I dont need anything tonight.”I mutter,as I begin to walk back to him,up close and personal.

“I can find my way home.”I shoot at him,up in his face.I didnt care if I was being rude,but on the inside I was hurt,and he was too.

“Keep running away from home.”

“Without you!Without you!”

___________________________________________

On my furious walk home,my fingers cross a piece of pink ribbon.I pull more and more out and stuff it in my hand,brain flooded with ideas.

As I reach my apartment I sit down at my desk,my face and desk illuminated by my crappy phone torch.I furiously scribble designs upon designs,nimbly tie bows with my fingers and I smile to myself.Maybe this blackout and argument had its upside.

I tried to push Usnavi and all thoughts of him from my mind as I distracted myself with my work.

And I resent him until I hear the news.

And my heart breaks for him.

____________________________________________

Abuela Claudia’s heart gave out.

The barrío lights up candles,and we raise them to the sky as we sing.I walk alongside Benny,who’s heart breaks for Nina.

“Alabanza..Alabanza Abuela Claudia..”

We gather outside the door and as I look into Usnavi’s tear stained face I cannot feel angry.He stares out on everyone singing Claudia’s praise and shows no signs of happiness.Just pure pain.

We meet eyes for a minute and he looks away.My heart feels like a porcelain statue that has been dropped from the Empire State.He turns away and I shake my head.

We lower our torches and I give a silent prayer to Abuela Claudia.I pray that she went in peace,and that the De La Vega’s and Rosario’s are really,truly okay.

____________________________________________

Authors Note:Hi all!I hope yall liked this but Ive never really written fanfic before so I hope this is okay <3 I am rewatching ITH so thought I’d write a fic.Drop some requests-working on the Weeks Au fanfic rn :)

[italeean]

A stick(L)y situation

Kaveh invites Cyno and Tighnari to his place after the delicious lunch at Pardis Dhyai... better yet, he invites them to Alhaitham's place

A/N: Hellooo!! How're you doing? 🥰 Just as I promised, the fic is coming out today and I hope it's as awesome as the characters I got to write for!! This is a request for one of those followers that was here from day 1 and has always supported my writing and has encouraged me during the times in which I lacked inspiration 🌸 Non ci sono parole per dirti quanto apprezzo il tuo sostegno 💚🤍❤️ (there are no words to tell you how much I appreciate your support)

DISCLAIMER: This is a tickle fic, if it's not to your taste I don't suggest you read it

"I still don't understand what this is all about..." Alhaitham mumbled as he prepared his Sabz Meat Stew with such a grumpy expression that the bad mood could be felt in the whole kitchen. "I told you already!" Kaveh's voice resonated louder than necessary "Cyno and Tighnari invited us to celebrate Collei's academic progress, it's nice to invite them back."

"Oh so invited them to MY place without telling me about it until two hours before their arrjval?" The Acting Grand Sage said with such a sharp sarcasm that could've cut through titanium. "Well... I knew you'd say no... and I live here too, so it's kinda our place now! Even if no one knows I actually live here... b-but I'm older anyway so you gotta listen to your senior..!"

The younger man let out a dry laugh at Kaveh's nervous tone. If that was meant to be authoritative, he couldn't imagine how he handled nasty clients. "I suppose it's too late to cancel the invitation anyway, so you better finish that Fatteh quickly and set up the table. What are you even doing? It's food, not a model of your buildings."

"Ugh you..! Cooking is a form of art, and the presentation is essential when you serve something to a guest!" The blonde exclaimed with such indignation that one would've thought Alhaitham had just said something blasphemous. "Whatever... food is supposed to be digested and decomposed, I don't see why the effort should be worth it..."

A knock interrupted the philosophical debate about how the food should be served. Kaveh quickly fixed his hair and went to the door. "Welcome guys! Alhaitham was so nice to offer his own place to have this dinner!" He exclaimed with such a rigid tone that Alhaitham internally facepalmed.

A great way to not let them understand that the two of them were roomies...

Fortunately, the Archons were on the architect's side and he managed to quickly change topic. "Oh? Where's Collei?" Tighnari sighed "A friend of her had invited her to Mondstadt to celebrate her progress some time ago and she forgot to tell us... but she made some Pita Pockets for us to make us forgive her." The fennec fox handed a cute package full of Pita Pockets made like only Collei was able to do.

"Oh well... that's a shame, but I'm glad she got the opportunity to travel again and that she made such a nice and caring friend!" Kaveh said cheerfully. "Oh yeah, that Sucrose girl seems really nice, although she's a little shy... actually really shy..." the dark-haired guy added.

"That probably makes her the perfect match for Collei though..." Cyno thought out loud, "although her deck is no match for Collei's one... for example, have you seen how she deploys..." After ten minutes of rambling, Tighnari managed to stop the long haired guy's monolog about the smartest way to play TCG.

"Anyway," Kaveh continued "celebrating Collei's progress without Collei doesn't make much sense... so we should totally make another dinner! I'm sure Alhaitham would be delighted to have us here again to bring life to this place!"

Alhaitham sighed, already annoyed by all that noise and all that chattering. He breathed deeply and tried to put on his usual poker face. It was just a dinner after all... a couple of hours and they'd be gone...

Four hours had passed, it was 11 pm, and a very grumpy Alhaitham was sitting on his couch witnessing the match between Kaveh and Cyno to decide the TCG champion.

Kaveh was destroyed in three quick rounds, which made the Scribe let out the first chuckle of that evening. The older student, on the other hand, pouted at that humiliation. In his defense, Cyno had brought a special liquor from the Desert and he had gone a little overboard with drinking, so he wasn't exactly in top shape when he dueled against the King of Invokations.

"Shut up Alhaitham! This isn't funny..! I just had bad cards and bad luck with the dices..!" The blonde tried to justify himself, although that didn't affect the smug smile that was adorning Cyno's face. "Please, even a Sumpter Beast would've played a better match..." the silver-haired man replied without hesitation. Even Tighnari had to chuckle at that comparison, the idea of a blond and fancy Sumpter Beast sounded hilarious.

Kaveh became red in the face and squinted his eyes at his (secret) roommate. He was just a little tipsy, so he was sober enough to have control over his thoughts, actions and movements. "You wanna laugh, you brat? I'll give you something to laugh about!!" His hands found the Scribe's hips and they squeezed roughly and mercilessly.

Tighnari and Cyno looked at the scene with a dumbfounded expression while Alhaitham kicked the air with his legs, doing his best to hold back his laughter.

"You didn't even smile throughout the whole dinner and the first laugh you have is at your senior?? This will teach you some manners!" The blonde gestured his friends to join him, and surprisingly they looked at each other and actually did.

"Yeah, you absolutely need to laugh more. It's good for your health, you know?" The fennec fox grinned as his hands latched on the Acting Grand Sage's knees and squeezed gently but firmly.

"Well..." Cyno's voice behind him made Alhaitham jump, "it seems like you're in a rather... stickly situation..." Everyone sighed... better yet, Alhaitham would have if he hadn't been busy holding back his laughter. "Do you get it? People usually say 'you're in a sticky situation' so I put the word 'sticky' and 'tickly' together"

After the lack of reaction, Cyno gave up on explaining his joke and let his wiggling fingers descend on his friend's neck. A snort came out of the Acting Grand Sage's mouth, although he didn't really have the composure of an Acting Grand Sage in that moment, and the dam finally broke.

Low pitched giggles came out in a stream as the poor Scribe squirmed and tried in vain to get away from the six evil hands that were gently and playfully tormenting him. "Thihihis ihihis childihihihish!!" He whined between his giggles, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"That's what you get for laughing at your senior!" Kaveh yelled proudly while he poked all over his poor roommate's torso. Tighnari chuckled "I wonder what happens if I get behind here..." His nimble fingers sneaked behind his knees and scribbled relentlessly, making the silver-haired man go into another fit of cackles.

"Thihihis ihis thehe lahahahast timehe Ihihi invihihite yohohou herehehe!!" Everyone let out a fake gasp "You don't mean it..!" The architect exclaimed, now fully in his drama queen mode, "I didn't wanna do this, but you left me no choice. Behold my final ace up my sleeve guys!!"

After that probably ridiculous battle scream, probably dictated by the liquor, Kaveh sneaked his hands behind his roommate's back, targeting the back of his ribs. The shriek that left Alhaitham's lips didn't even sound like it could come from him, but Tighnari and Cyno quickly recovered from the surprise and followed the blonde's lead.

With six hands all targeting his most sensitive spot, it took less than a minute to make Alhaitham's body go limp. His laughter got completely silent and even a tear formed in the corner of his eye. The three friends took it as their signal to stop, which they did.

After the young Scribe recovered from the merciless tickle attack and the embarrassment, Kaveh looked at him smugly once more and said in a proud tone "Now that you got something better to laugh about than your senior, wanna play another round of TCG?"

Cyno immediately agreed, and he quickly convinced Tighnari with a pair of wide puppy dog eyes, and Alhaitham ended up joining too.

Although he'd never say it out loud, he was sure he'd invite the guys and Collei one more time for a nice dinner and a night of genuine, lighthearted fun.

[moonspirit]

Hello! I'm super late to the aot and aruani train (having just binged the entire show start to finish like 2 months ago over 4 days lmao) but I just gotta say that I really enjoyed your Fort Salta series! Annie and Armin were legit my favourites already during my first watch of the anime, and it really saddened me to know that it seems alot of people online really hate Annie? Like (no hate on any other characters) but Annie is legit best girl how tf can people hate on her ;-; Anyways, I've been ecstatic since I've found your fics and blog along with many others (shoutout to distortedclouds and flailingkittylover too!!) bc it felt like I finally found my people - good to know I'm not the only one brain-rotting from this show and especially over these two xD I've been dying to talk to someone about this recent discovery of mine since I've started reading the manga though...did you know that Armin has been taller than Annie since even before she was crystalized?? In the anime he's like the shortest person pre-timeskip beside Historia, but turns out it's not the case in the manga! In volume 8 when Armin confronts Annie in Stohess, he's clearly drawn to be slightly taller than her in the scene - I thought it was just a perspective error, but it's drawn that way over multiple pages so it's definitely intended! Makes the whole height/size difference thing even more adorable omg ;-;

Ahhh hello there! First off: Welcome, welcome to the Aot fandom, and the AruAni fandom in particular! No time is too late, we're all happy to have one new aruani fan join in haha xD

I agree that while it's very sad seeing the Annie haters, it's best to ignore them. They may have their reasons or not (tho tbh, those of us in the Annie/AruAni fandom would say they just have a very poor or nil understanding of her character). Annie's an extremely well written character honestly; @distortedclouds and I once had this conversation where she was talking about how Isayama managed to give Annie flawless character development in spite of portraying her as the non-typical badass female (in that she doesn't have huge, heroic ambitions and etc) - and I agreed wholeheartedly. Annie's very strong and lethal, but in her vulnerability and desire to be loved and wanted, I think we can all see a bit of ourselves.

Wait I digressed xD My point: Annie's best girl, and we stay away from the haters and stick to worshipping her. Strengthening the Temple of Annie Leonhardt must be our ultimate goal.

I would go on a rant about Armin too being the best, bestest, bestestest boy, and of our other goal of strengthening the Temple of Armin Arlert, but that is for another post, maybe xD

Regarding the height difference! I believe it's an established fact that Armin has always been taller than Annie, right from the beginning. If I remember right, the official Character Guidebook (2014) which was based on the first 11 volumes of the manga, listed Armin as 163cms while Annie was 153. While he's one of the shortest among the boys in general (and post-timeskip he's taller than Levi), he's been at least a whole head taller than Annie ever since they joined the military. Post timeskip, he's 169cms while Annie remains apparently unchanged, so the gap is larger, and likely to grow an inch or two more (since he's only 19). Anyway, yes it's fucking cute, and don't get me started on the size difference 🫠🫠🫠

Once again, welcome to the aruani fandom here, there's lots of lovely people with great blogs writing fics, making art, brainrotting 24/7 and posting about AruAni all the time, and we're very happy to have you be a part of it, here!

And thank you so much for reading the Fort Salta series T/////T I'm very grateful.

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

So I'm bored again and I've come to take it out on you per usual.

Now, since my last ask touched upon darker(ish) ideas, today I figure I'll give you some lighter soulmate prompts this time around, the ideas all my own but any individual soulmate au is just one I plucked off of the internet. I may or may not end up writing them who knows:

When your soulmate is hurt, you grow flowers wherever on your body it happened. Her whole life, foreign flowers have sprouted from Neytiri's flesh and she doesn't know why. His whole life, foreign flowers have sprouted from Jake's flesh and he doesn't know why. (Just a cute flower fic. Obsessed with the idea of these two trying to explain their respective planets' flowers to one another.)

Ao'nung and Rotxo have known they were soulmates since before they even had any actual clue as to what a soulmate was. They have been promised to each other for over a decade. They have a plan, a life they're going to build together. Neteyam was never part of that plan. A third soulmate was never part of that plan. (Just like the idea of Rotxo literally doing the gods' work. Ao'nung: why is Neteyam here? Rotxo: Oh, I just thought it'd be fun to bring him along. Ao'nung: to our make-out spot? Neteyam: . . . I can go. Ao'nung: yes. Rotxo: no. Neteyam:  👀)

Neteyam and Tsireya are not soulmates. Not by a long shot. Their soulmate might as well be duty, and if that means becoming mates for the sake of an alliance between the sea and forest people after centuries of conflict then so be it. They'll find a way to come together. (I love stories of people fighting against the path chosen for them, don't get me wrong, but every now and then a sprinkle of the opposite fascinates me and I think these two would be perfect for the concept.)

Jake was born with the sentence "you should go away" on his shoulder and the sentence "don't thank. You do not thank for this" on his upper arm. Tsu'tey was born with the sentence "nah, you'd miss me too much" stretched across his abdomen. Neytiri has the sentence "hey wait, don't" on her lower arm. It isn't until the two go to the Augustine school that they even learn what it means. (Love the potential this has.)

From the moment they meet it's as if they can read each other's minds. It takes months for Jake and Norm to pick up on the fact that Kiri and Spider can actually read one another's minds. (They basically know each other better than anyone else, might as well crank that shit up to 11.)

A one-shot where Kiri and Tsireya are literally the lighthouse of soulmate relationships and all of their friends come to them to receive advice about their own soulmates. (Really random pairing but tbh I can dig the energy these two would bring to the table if dating.)

Spider has known that Neteyam is his soulmate since he was 7. Neteyam has known that Spider is his soulmate since he was six. Neither of them have told the other yet. (Bonus points if Tuk is literally the only one who knows and keeps on trying to play cupid.)

And I'm out for now folks.

Also, random thought but I just realized how much literally everyone in atwow needs a Rotxo in their life like seriously you could pair this guy with anyone from the group and I wouldn't bat an eye. Kiri? I get it. Ao'nung? I get it. Spider? I get it. Neteyam? I get it. Lo'ak? I get it.

Good god, yes, we nEED some happy aus and you know I love love soulmate aus. I'll be waiting for you to write them, we're all waiting for your other stories Boredom Anon.

-Gotta say, I've never vibed with those flower wound aus because I have a hard time conceptualizing it. However, I adore the idea of Jake and Neytiri both explaining differences in their worlds to each other, but focusing on one type of thing. That's why I lOVE a daemon au for them, because the daemons would be animals that the other isn't used to and that's interesting.

-KSKKSKS THE IDEA OF AO'NUNG BEING TRICKED INTO THIS BY ROTXO. That's a pairing I have yet to see, I'll be honest!

-Honestly, as someone that doesn't care for Neteyam and Tsireya, I do love the idea of non-soulmates bonding. I've been thinking about it since the Spider ghost fic I mentioned yesterday. How many people's soulmates are dead and are ghosts? If it's a lot, they have to end up in some relationships. There's something so sad and beautiful about meeting someone who's soulmate is also dead, and building a life together that might not have been predestined and is also a little haunted, but still is nice all the same. Sorry, I'm still stuck on the ghost shit.

-lOVE Neytiri/Tsu'tey/Jake having first sentence soulmarks, I love the confusion of the Na'vi being confronted with English they don't understand on their children. I love it so much.

-Kiri and Spider reading each others minds is basically canon already, but it just would mean Spider can't hide all of his darkest feelings from Kiri. None of that loneliness or desperation for family can slip through the cracks; I think it would result in a Sully child revolution at a way younger age lol. If Spider being Kiri's soulmate didn't already change things.

-I have totally seen Tsireya and Kiri shit, they are super fun. I also loooove a couple that is flawless and in everyone else's business all the time.

-I think nocorro might have taken over locorro for me, but I cAN'T say this yet it's too much to do to my boys. This concept, man, it's got so much comedy and tragedy potential. It depends on what the soulmate au is, you know? Is it soulmarks, is it shared dreams or shared pain; what is is changes the outcome. I won't go into more detail cause I have something I'm cooking up that's a little similar to this, but I won't forget it, we'll come back to it.

As always, thank you for our soulmate au food boredom anon. I am lOVING them.

[touchoflaughter]

Little Secrets

[Ragnarssons Tk-Fic ]

Summary: It's one of those typical dinner table talks between the Ragnarssons when troublemaker Ivar chooses violence over peace again. So Björn decides to step in and put him in his place. Again.

Ticklish!Ivar ; Lers/Björn, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd

sfw nsfw

words: 2364

Warning: This is a TickleFic! Noncon tickling & vulgar language (It’s pretty mean, folks) If that's not your thing I suggest you to skip this one.

"You gotta be kidding!", Ivar chuckled while taking the jug of mead right in front of him.

"Come and think about it, this makes sense.", Ubbe took another bite from his chicken drumstick while making a pensive face.

"Halfdan? I really can't imagine him with another man.", Sigurd shook his head. "The very thought fills me with nausea."

"Calm down! What's wrong with preferring men over women?", Björn looked around one. "He's nothing less of a fierce Norseman."

"Do you want to confess something to us, too?", Ivar stimulated his eldest brother with a sassy grin.

"Funny.", Björn countered, with a drained look on his face. He was so over his youngest brothers attitude.

"I agree with Björn on this one. Halfdan is a great man who had our back quite a few times.", Hvitserk acceded.

"I don't know. Still seems weird to me.", Sigurd shook his head disapprovingly.

"Oh come one Sigurd, don't make a fool out of yourself.", Ivar darted a knowing look towards his older brother who just wanted to continue eating but paused at his words.

"What?", Sigurd looked at his brother with Irritation.

"We all know you like men. No need to hide it.", Ivar grinned and pointed at Sigurds lute that's always right by his side. "I mean you even compose sentimental ballads and I definitely didn't miss that one time you went to the tanners apprentice for him to quickly fix your coat, only for you to get back home with your shirt the wrong way up.

The whole table turned silent for a few seconds, everyone paused in their movements. Sigurd threw an angry look at his younger brother, who was the only one to continue eating as if nothing happened.

"Cut the bullshit! He also fixed my shirt, that's why!", Sigurd banged his fist on the table. Everyone continued eating, trying not to get involved into the two wranglers fight.

"A likely story!", Ivar couldn't stifle an amused laughter. "Just so you know, I got loads of problems with you but being homosexual is none of them. So calm down."

Sigurds head has turned deeply red when he continued eating his soup in a tensed way. "You're crazy."

"I shouldn't have told you about it.", Björn regretted his decision already. "What did I even think would happen?"

"Well it was quite obvious what would happen.", Ubbe laughed, looking at his younger brothers, one eating his soup in silence, the other satisfied with how everything went.

"I hope all of you know this information is just between the five of us.", the eldest instructed with a serious look.

"What exactly? Halfdans homosexuality or the shirt fixing thing that means nothing?", Ivar continued making digs at Sigurd who looked up immediately. It was way too easy to trigger him.

"Shut your mouth!", Sigurd impulsively threw the carving knife towards Ivar, who only just managed to dodge it. The youngest chuckled, as if the sharp weapon didn't get stuck in the wooden armrest, right where his forearm has been seconds before. "Poor Sigurd, are you mad now? Go make up for it by writing an angry poem or- well I guess you know an even better option."

"You clearly don't know when to stop.", Ubbe tried to enter shallow water again. "Sigurd you need to lern how to ignore his teasing."

"Why are you like this, Ivar?", Björn sighed like a failed parent who gave up long ago.

The youngest continued eating in satisfaction with a gleeful smile plastered on his face.

"Oh you think it's funny to torment every living being around you?", Björn leaned forward, looking at Ivar directly. "Probably you need to taste your own medicine in order for you to stop harassing others."

The three brothers scouted the scene when Ivar put his fork aside and returned Björns look bored. "Go on. Your poor treasury of words and repartee isn't able to match mine anyway."

Björn dabbed his mouth with a napkin before he got up and walked towards his brother who slowly began to realise, the eldest had no interest in talking it out.

"All of that is just warm words, little brother. You always forget you're pretty disadvantaged when the time of talking is over.", Björn looked down at Ivar, who didn't seem to be frightened at all.

"Calm down. You know that's just how he is.", Hvitserk tried to comfort Björn, aligning himself with Ivar as usual.

"Yeah don't beat him up just because of a few meaningless words.", Ubbe agreed with Hvitserk, being the arbiter once again.

"I don't mind you teaching him a lesson.", Sigurd leaned backwards, eyeing the scene gleefully. "He totally deserves it."

"Coward.", Ivar hissed at him, before looking up to Björn, who was still glancing down at him. But something in his expression has changed. He seemed to have a plan. Ivar swallowed hard and started considering how he'd make it out alive without eating his words.

"Hit me already! I won't apologise for telling the truth!", Ivar leaned backwards with his guard down, hoping his brothers pride will prevent him from beating up an unarmed cripple.

"You sneaky rascal. You know damn well I'd never be able to hit you, looking like this.", Björn grinned down at him, knowing exactly Ivar acts helpless on purpose.

"That's a low trick Ivar! Just take it like a man!", Sigurd commented, disappointed with how things were going.

"You two! Cut it out!", Ubbe instructed, having enough of that bunfight. "And you, Sigurd! Stop being a chicken-hearted shit and face him yourself!"

Everyones but Ivar's jar fell. Ubbe hardly uses foul language and he also rarely chooses Ivars side.

The youngest started cackling at his words, approving with his second eldest brother for the first time in forever. Hvitserk had to stifle an amused grin as well when Björn turned back towards Ivar: "You're lucky Ubbe decided to come to your relieve. Are you going to behave now?"

Ivar gave a snarky laugh, feeling too secure for his own good again: "Since when is telling the truth a misbehaviour?"

"Ivaaaar.", Björn sighed his name long-drawn-out with a tortured undertone. "Don't do this to yourself."

"Do what?", the youngest asked confusedly. "You gotta face the fact, you can't do shit, brother. And now go back to your seat and let me finish my plate!"

"That was a mistake.", Hvitserk murmured when the youngest continued eating as if nothing happened.

Then, all of a sudden, Ivar was bowled over and fell from his chair to the ground. Before anyone realised what was happening, Björn swooped down on Ivar, who laid flat on his back, gasping under the weight of his gigantic brother.

Right when the youngest opened his mouth to let off steam, a high pitched scream came out of his throat, followed by forced, loud laughter. The remaining brothers needed a moment to understand what was going on: Björn tackled Ivar to the ground and instantly started a rigorous tickle attack!

Everyone of them knows about this big weakness of their little brother. Even though they take advantage of it quite often, the youngest goes bright red with shame whenever he finds himself in this vulnerable position. Somehow it doesn't stop him from being a bratty bully and he also seems to forget about that effective punishment whenever he decides to make fun of one of his brothers.

"Björn have mercy with him!", Hvitserk tried to drown Ivars hysterical laughter out.

"Kill him!", Sigurd encouraged their eldest brother, looking down at the Ivar who was laughing and screaming uncontrollably. Björn dug right into his upper ribs, one of the killer spots. Ivar tried to curse and threaten through his laughter but he didn't manage to form at least one coherent word.

Ubbe, who tried to decide wether this was funny or serious, watched the scene with a little smile playing on his lips. "Easy, Björn! You know he can't handle it well."

"That's the whole point!", Björn grinned in a devilish way while getting his younger brothers hands out of the way by pinning them above his head. "Sigurd come help me with this little rascal!"

There was no need for him to repeat that. Sigurd bounced from his chair and placed himself immediately in front of Björn to keep Ivars strong arms in place. Now Björn had both his hands to tickle the crap out of his stubborn brother, who wasn't able to defend himself the tiniest bit.

Ivar, who had a short break while the positions were changing, was hopping mad at his brothers. He couldn't help but giggle during his threat, due to the previous tickling anyways: "Gehet off! Don't touch me Sigurd! You gutless cohoward! This is nohot fahair!! Björn you piehiece of- wait what- NO!"

Ivar paused his cursing when his oldest brother pulled up his shirt, revealing the youngest toned upper body. Björn started squeezing into Ivars strong obliques, enjoying him freaking out about it: "FUHUCKERS!! AHAHAHA I HAHATEE YOUHUHU! NOHOAHAHAHA!" He tried to press his lips together, to not give them any satisfaction, but after not even a second he bursted out laughing even shriller: "I'LL KIHILL YOUHUHU! FUHUHUCK STOHOP! AHH NAHAHA FUCKING IHIDIOTSAHAHA!"

"Ahaww look at our baby brother, trying to be serious.", Björn mocked, staying at the same spot but increasing the speed and pressure even more, putting his brother through agony.

Ivar turned to Hvitserk and Ubbe who were watching the scene from the table: "DOHON'T JUHUST SIHIT THEHERE! HEHELP MEHE!"

Suddenly, Björn changed positions and started digging into Ivars upper ribs and the wide latissimus. Ivar started screaming and yelling, begging them to stop but whether Björn, nor Sigurd seemed to have enough yet.

"Hey that's enough! He clearly can't take any more.", Hvitserk got up from his chair to succour.

"I decide when he has enough!", Björn clarified, starting to scribble his big hands up and down ivars whole torso, driving him mad.

"Cut it out!", Hvitserk placed his hand on Björns shoulder and pulled him backwards to underline his call.

Björn stopped the torture for a moment and turned towards his little brother who immediately stumbled a few steps back.

"Listen: You better stop bothering me or you're in his place at once, got it?", Björn gave him a warning glance. Hvitserk swallowed hard and looked over to Ivar who was looking back with tears in his eyes.

"Come on, Björn.", Hvitserk tried to negotiate, while recognising the begging glance on his little brothers face. "He clearly learned his lesson.

"Ohh you think so?", Björn grinned. "You suppose he wouldn't humiliate others for entertainment anymore?"

"Well, that's kinda how he is. You won't tickle it out of him anyways.", Hvitserk shrug his shoulders, looking from one to another. "Come on, let him go."

"So you think I don't have to punish him anymore and it's alright he's putting his needs top priority?", Björn asked with a vicious undertone.

Hvitserk knew he was up to something but still he tried his best to get his brother out of that. "If that makes you let go of him, yes.

"Alright. One last test. Let's see if our stubborn rascal learned his lesson.", Björn, still sitting on Ivars waist, leaned over him, their ice-blue eyes facing each other. Ivar was still breathing heavily and sweating, his face and upper body had turned bright red and there were several marks where his brothers fingers dug into the muscles.

Björn started scribbling and spidering his fingers lightly all over his brothers belly and chest, forcing him to make a tortured noise that slowly turned into involuntary giggles. "Tell me Ivar, would you like me to stop?"

"Stuhupihid quehestion frohom a stupid persohon.", his brother answered, as sassy as always. Björn had to get ahold of himself, not to tickle him to pieces again. "Even though you clearly ask for more, I'm willing to let you. There's only one condition."

"Fucking ahahanything!", Ivar pulled on his arms, that were still secured by Sigurd, trying to get away from Björns unbearably ticklish movements.

"So you're fine with Hvitserk taking your place?", Björn asked while mischievously increasing the speed even more, teasing out a yell and even louder giggles that turn into helpless laughter pretty quickly.

Hvitserks jaw dropped when he heard what his brother just said and he quickly increased the space between him and the rest. "W-Wait. Ivar- don't!"

Ivar didn't ponder for a second. He immediately nodded as forcefully as he could. "Yehehes! Fuhuck lehet goo!"

Björn let go of Ivar, stood up and turned towards the intimidated Hvitserk, who slowly but surely stepped backwards, trying to leave the hut without the eldest noticing. A knowing grin playing on his lips: "Poor Hvitserk. That's what you get for turning against me, trying to side with a lone wolf."

"I-I'm sohorry, Hvitty.", Ivar stuttered, still laying on the ground. Then, all of a sudden he seized Björns legs and managed to knock him down. "RUN!"

Hvitserk didn't think about it twice. He turned around and made a quick getaway.

"You devious nag! Let go or I swear I tickle you to death!", Björn threatened, starting to squeeze into Ivars ribs at once. The youngest flinched hard and had no choice but to release him. Björn jumped up and chased after Hvitserk who left the hut a few seconds before.

"Why can't we just eat in peace for once?", Ubbe sighed, picking at his food in frustration. Then he went over to Ivar, who tried to catch his breath and helped him get up and back on his seat.

Sigurd, who had taken his seat already, looked at his younger brother gleefully. "Hopefully you learned your lesson."

Ivar, who felt deeply humiliated already, looked at him with a warning glance: "Careful."

"Look who didn't make it." All heads turned to the open door, where Björn just entered the room with Hvitserk in tow...

Ready for a part 2?

[killershrike]

I want to say to all writers or would be writers; we gotta stop comparing ourselves to other authors. Take inspiration, absolutely!!! I have taken sooo much inspiration from media in my fic Dark Suspension. Not just from books, movies, tv shows, songs, paintings, everything. I think it's absolutely so important to use the things that inspire you to create and not be afraid of "ripping off." Obviously if you copy and paste a whole paragraph and just change the names then maybe rework it a bit. But, personally, I see absolutely no problem in having direct inspirations. Yes I have a lot of original lines and things, but I also have reworked some of my favorite moments and lines into the story.

Two examples from me specifically:

• Cersei Lannister and Margaery Tyrell speaking together. "Gone, a gentle word, why not say slaughtered?" reworked into So-yin saying "Force, a gentle world, why not say slaughtered?" When Ghost tells her about "forcing" Bad Bloods to give up info.

• In The Terrfier 2 Art the Clown brutalized a victim and two of the ways is by snapping the victim's arm in half and tearing it off her, and another way is by tearing her hand apart so it rips down the middle. This was reworked into Ghost, tearing an arm off a corpse and snapping it in half to create a "knife" to throw at someone escaping. And then directly tearing a man's hand apart so it rips down the middle.

Someone could argue this isn't Changed enough, not Original enough, I disagree. This is where it comes to opinion and where I hope to help me and other writers or potential writers to feel some ease. I've been seeing a lot of people saying they're too scared to post their fics cause of people saying things like "copying too much," "too much description," and "too much dialogue." And really, at the end of the day, everyone is wrong. Even I am.

Art has always been subjective, but I feel like writing can be some of the most subjective of all. One person can read Homer's Odyssey, a literal world renowned classic, and say it's boring. Someone can read The Lord Of The Rings books and say they're stupid, even though it's arguably the most popular book series to date.

No matter who you are or how "good" or "bad" your work is, there will always be people who either love it or hate it or don't care. We have got to stop comparing ourselves and holding ourselves back from sharing the things we want to because of other people's stupid little "writing rules." Those dont exist.

You know what the only rule of writing is? You gotta write. To be a writer, you have to put words down somewhere. That's it. That's all. Whether it's me, you, or Stephen fucking King. We're all just silly Little Guys with thoughts in our head that we put down and share with other people because they mean something to us. Just because you aren't a published author and Stephen King is doesn't mean you're a worse writer, or shouldn't bother posting your stuff. He just had the opportunity, luck, or possibly both, to end up in a position as a famous and published author.

But even he didn't start that way. So many authors don't put their stories out as a way to get famous or attention, I definitely didn't. I use my story as a way to work through my own pain and hopefully come up with some fun and interesting ideas along away. I'm not saying one way is right, go for that bag if you want! Or just post your story for fun! Just don't feel like you can't post your writing or people will hate it or won't read it because these stupid "rules." Someone will read it. Even just one person. And you never know, maybe that one person could turn out to become a friend!

I've found so much happiness by posting my story and characters. Yes, I've received some hate, but the love and support I've gotten so outweigh that. Sometimes, I get caught up in the negative and the anxiety, but overall, I don't regret posting my writing and will continue to do so. I hope you can too!

[dystini]

For the August prompts: 14 - suffocatingly tight jeans! Writer’s choice: either James with whomever or Josef/Alex bc I just read your fic and I’m fascinated by this pairing (and I could see either of them being the right jeans wearer)

xoxo firestoneslicks

This was more fun to write than it had any right to be. I don't understand why Josef/Alex works but I'm going with it.

Josef yanked his jeans up, wriggling to get them over his thighs, growling the whole while.

“Problems?” Alex drawled from where he lounged on Josef’s bed.

“No.” Josef snapped, giving the jeans a vicious yank, his fingers slipping off the denim.

He flailed as he lost his balance. Alex barely scooted out of the way before Josef fell onto the bed.

“Looks like a problem.” Alex smirked, looking down at him.

“Fuck off.” Josef snarled. “I don’t understand. These jeans fit the last time I wore them.”

“And when was that?”

“Not that long ago.”

At least Josef was pretty sure of that. He’d been in a hurry when he was packing, tossing clothes from his dresser into his suitcase without really looking at them. He hadn’t gotten laundry done so he’d been digging deep into the drawers. Maybe these jeans were older than he thought. He struggled to his feet and tugged on the jeans. Fuck, they were tight. He managed to get them closed and stood up straight to assess the situation.

“They do make your ass look good.” Alex purred.

Josef snorted as he tried to take a step, then another, waddling like a penguin.

“On the other hand, that’s not attractive at all.”

Josef sighed, or tried to, the jeans cutting off the attempt. This was not going to work. His balls felt like they were being crushed. Fuck it. He could get away with sweatpants today. His breath gusted out of him when he got the jeans open again. He pushed them down, growling when they got stuck on his thighs. He pushed and tugged, twisting back and forth. They didn’t budge.

“Fuck.”

Alex chuckled on the bed behind him. “Need some help?”

Josef growled, hating the word about to come out of his mouth. “Yes.”

Still chuckling, the bastard that Josef thought of as one of his closest friends leisurely got up, sauntering around the bed. Alex paused, looking Josef up and down, before pushing on his shoulders.

“What the fuck, man?” Josef yelped as he fell onto the bed.

“It’ll be easier this way.”

Alex wedged his fingers between the denim and Josef’s skin, working the jeans down Josef’s thighs fractions of an inch at a time.

“How did you even get these on?” Alex huffed, moving to the backs of Josef’s thighs to work the jeans down to match the front.

“I don’t know.” Josef’s whined. “You were there. You saw.”

His ankles rested on Alex’s shoulders, the man’s nails scrapping Josef’s skin as he finally got the jeans to Josef’s knees. Alex stopped, looking at Josef over the jeans wadded up between then, the most evil smirk Josef had ever seen on his face.

“This gives me ideas.”

“Alex!”

Alex stood, grabbing Josef’s ankles and pushing them toward his head. “All helpless, aren’t you?” he snickered.

“No!” Josef swiped at his friend but Alex just leaned back a bit and he missed.

“You look pretty helpless to me.”

“Alex, I swear to god…”

“Fine, fine.” Alex lowered Josef’s legs, extending a hand to help him up. “But I’m remembering that for later.”

“Whatever.”

Josef held onto Alex’s shoulder for balance as the man knelt and shoved the jeans to Josef’s ankles and helped him step out of them.

“Toss me those sweats, would you?”

Said sweats smacked Josef in the face. He didn’t even bitch, swiftly pulling them on.

“I gotta go.” he said.

Alex caught him with a hand to the chest. “Shirt?”

Shit. Josef turned and snagged the first one his fingers found, yanking it over his head.

“Good?”

“I suppose.”

Alex followed Josef through the bus, both of them pausing to put on their shoes.

“Dinner tonight?” Josef asked as they headed out the door.

“Sure.”

“See you later.”

[mapsareforbraindeads]

gonna infodump about the lawmane kids now!!

So, I decided that there are 3 kids living, and one deceased. they all have Misa’s last name, and their names are [in birth order] Saeko Amane, Keiko Amane, and Loe Amane. Mind you, they’re all teenagers.

Saeko and Keiko are twins, born like an hour apart.

Saeko is the eldest Amane child, and he is also the one he resembles his father the most. He has a similar facial structure to his father, as well as his father’s pale complexion and black hair. He has his mother’s blue eyes, and his dress style is more similar to his mother’s rather than his father’s. He was born deaf, but he has hearing aids now. He knows sign language as well. He’s definitely the smartest of the Amane children, and he spends the majority of his time goofing off rather than doing schoolwork. It comes natural to him anyway, so he doesn’t need to study. Another trait he received from his father is that same protective nature, he’s very protective over his family. He also looks up to his father a lot, and he wants to work in forensics when he’s older.

Keiko is the second eldest, again only younger than Saeko by a little less than an hour. She’s trans [MtF] and her family is very accepting. She’s a little less bright, more similar to Misa in terms of intellect, but L and Saeko are very willing to tutor her. She’s very androgynous looking, with chin length blonde hair and blue eyes. She has a more alt-ish dress style, regularly wearing band tees and stuff like that. She’s also freckly and actually really pretty [🤭], but if you tell her she won’t believe you. Her relationship with Loe is much better than her relationship with Saeko. Keiko aims to be a lyricist when she’s older.

Loe is the youngest kid, and the one who resembles Misa the most closely. Pretty, popular, and preppy. She’s alright in terms of smarts and intellect, and she definitely resembles Misa more than L in terms of intellect. She’s a bit mean, and very intimidating, she just can’t communicate very well. She has a better relationship with her mother than her father [and so do her siblings]. She really likes toxicology and is probably secretly raising Foxglove in her room. She has a pretty singing voice, and she’s a nice actress as well, so she would make BANK a model like Misa, but she’s just more interested in studying toxicology. She’s probably one of those high school “mean girls”, well, she’s perceived as one, but she isn’t really one. She has a better relationship with Keiko than Saeko, the reason being that both Keiko and Loe envy Saeko and feel that their parents favor Saeko.

L is also a bit of a crappy father, sorry. He’s just at work all the time and never around to spend time with his wife and kids. But, on the occasion that he does get a break, he makes SURE to make it up to them. His does favor Saeko internally, but he feels horrible about it and he tries not to let it show. He just always wanted a kid that was just like him, and Saeko was like that for him.

Also, for the aforementioned deceased Amane child, there was one kid that ending up dying either when they were a few months old or due to Misa having a miscarriage. I haven’t decided on their name or the circumstances of their death yet, but it’s big angst fuel because “G--d-mnit, L, why couldn’t you have been home when it happened?!”

I just really need to write a fic in the Happily Ever After AU where Misa and L get married and have these kids. It would be quite cute, actually. If you have any ideas for these kids, tell me!!

We gotta ramble abt them together!!

OH MY GOD I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS

i’m so glad that you acknowledged that L wouldn’t be a good parent because he 100% would NOT be. he dedicates so much time to his work and barely even gave thought to his successors, so he’d probably prioritize cases and work over everything else. however, he’d still try and make it up to them, you’re right.

i’ve always headcanoned misa as having her whole life planned out since she was a little girl. she had her wedding planned, her kids’ names, her job, her husband, everything. so when it comes to the miscarriage and all of the little imperfections in her family, she kind of struggles with not being able to live a perfect happily ever after like she wanted, but it’s as close as she’s getting.

i immediately took an interest in L and saeko’s dynamic. L having a mini-him running around would give him some sense of pride, although a bit uncanny at first *cough cough* beyond. saeko's super perceptive, so he definitely notices his dad's subtle favoritism and tries to shift his dad's favor to his siblings, which barely works. he'd probably feel some guilt over being, essentially, the only child his dad really gave a second thought in his eyes. you and i both know that would 100% not be L's intention, but it would come off that way to the kids.

i don't have much to say about keiko and loe imma be honest. they seem like they'd be pretty close, like you mentioned. i can imagine misa taking them out shopping and/or going out to places while L watched over saeko.

i’m sorry, i wanted this to be longer lmao. it’s just late (yes, i’m going to bed, gn. don’t come after me)

[clearwillow]

1, 9 and 30!

Hi anon!

1 - What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again?

Probably exploring the body swap trope in Mercury's in Gatorade? Honestly, I didn't think some of the things I've done with it would be received well XD It was always teased as a really silly idea, but I kept digging as I've worked on it. The whole idea was how would they react in that situation outside of the obvious responses. Or how would they handle not having total control over what's happening, and those moments of realizing that they never truly understood everything about the other person.

Would I do it again? I mean I've gotta finish the fic, but I don't think this would be one of those tropes that I could write again without ripping myself off.

9 - What fic meant the most to you to write?

The Unofficial Guide to Getting Screwed. I know, it's not an IY fic which you probably were looking for, but hear me out. My inspiration to create bottomed out in a bad way this year, and only a couple people really knew. In the past I'd just start another IY wip but it wasn't working this time. Just didn't feel like I belonged anymore cause I couldn't write. Then this plot came along. It was such a dumb idea, but it was the first thing I'd written in a while, and it made me excited to create again.

30 - What’s something that you want to write in 2024?

There was another mini plot for another Bastard!! fic but if I do write it, it may never be posted. I've drafted the first chapter of a new fic where I'm gonna let my patrons decide how it goes, and I'd like to get back to a place where I can start that up. Otherwise I'd like to finish some wips, like Mercury. I know there's at least one more story in the Nailed It universe, but I need to finish the body swap because it's hard to switch between that plot and others. I've posted more samples of wips on my patreon over the last few months that I'd like to work on, but again, it comes back to finishing Mercury.