#this is my Ace Rep fic

[mydirtyvalentine]

they’re putting pills in the podcasts, that turn the friggin’ listeners aroace

(genuinely though, i’m so grateful for this podcast and how affirming both the canon and fanon representation has been. for every fic writer or artists who’s depicted arthur as aro, and either written or drawn arthur in qpr relationships, thank you. i adore you)

[ty-bayonet-betteridge]

please exit your ableist harassment fandom right now

genuinely flabbergasted what fandom this could be about

[parmahamlarrie]

Welcome back to another post for the directory of fic recs on my blog! If you would like a specific theme or trope, let me know! As always, these are all fics I have read and loved, not all the fics out there. You can find more Asexual Character fics here, as well as Ace Louis and Ace Harry! **This post will be updated as I have more fics in this theme to recommend!**

a little, then suddenly || @holdingontochaos || 34k ** Friends to Lovers, Graysexual Harry, Roommates, Idiots in Love

Ace Drag Queen Louis Series || @musketrois || 16.6k Ace Louis, Make Up Artist Louis, Drag Queen Louis, New York City, Photographer Harry

balance between you and me || @beckydoesthings || 15.4k Omegaverse, Fluff and Humor, Courting Rituals, Demisexual Louis

It's Not That I Don't Want You || @parmahamlarrie || 12.5k Established Relationship, Ace Harry, Character Study, Fashion Designer Harry

in comes the rain || @starlitlou || 7.5k Omegaverse, Omega Louis, Omega Harry, Asexual Louis & Harry, Heats, Established Relationship

when we get intimate || rainblou || 6.5k Omegaverse, College AU, Ace Harry, Nesting

We Put Our Love First || @morethantonight || 4.3k Trans Harry, Ace Louis, Established Relationship

Peach Blossom Has Just Begun To Bloom || @chrysopon || 4k Pride Parade, Strangers to Lovers, Ace Harry

Talk with me, Walk with me || loulovehome || 3.6k Ace Louis, Drinking, Fluff

Change of Plans || @haztobegood || 2.8k Omegaverse, Non Traditional Omegaverse, Omega Harry, Beta Louis, Christmas, Asexual Harry, Queer Platonic Relationship

You’re Family || @neondiamond || 2k Ace Louis, Established Relationship, Christmas

I Trust You || @neondiamond || 1.8k  Established Relationship, Omegaverse, Ace Harry, Omega Harry, Alpha Louis

Baby, Don’t Apologize || @neondiamond || 1.8k Omegaverse, Established Relationship, Alpha Louis, Omega Harry, Asexual Harry

[greatalastoraltruist]

Trying to find a good Alastor fic on AO3 be like

ew

no

yikes

mayyyyybeeee

Oh yay a single one shot that's extremely short but at least isn't completely out of character

A lot of y'all really do not understand this character like at all and it shows blatantly

[not-yet-asleep]

Me (Aroace): *Trying to find a cute ship to hyperfixate on that doesn't have a shit load of horny fanart*

Jonny Sims: *Holds up Jon & Martin in his hands*

Jon: *Is asexual*

Me: :D

[daylightisviolent]

I need to write an aro and ace solidarity fic with Tanner and Kelly.. or I need someone to write an aro and ace solidarity fic with Tanner and Kelly..

[kokoskwark]

✿ Can’t you feel how much I love you? ❀ jeonglix ❀ rated M (for talk about sex), demigod au, asexual & sex-repulsed jeongin, fluff & angst, hurt/comfort ❀ sequel to What's on your mind? (but can be read separately!) ❀ Finished, 22.6k

[essektheylyss]

I sometimes think that there is too much value put on greyace or demi characters learning how to recognize feelings of attraction in general, and it does feel a bit like a veil for the idea that those characters need to learn to experience attraction "normally" as part of their character growth.

Recognizing that a feeling they'd like to act upon is attraction is all well and good—and makes both for fun plot and also is interesting to see, as a demi person!—but it does often feel like an emphasis is placed upon recognizing any attraction for what it is as the next progression. In my experience, that's a genuinely futile exercise—attraction is nebulous and also often different person to person, so it doesn't feel like a useful tool for a reader to figure out if they experience attraction, and is it necessary to identify that?

But on top of that, it feels even more insidious because consistently propping it up as the next step suggests that it is necessary to quantify all attraction in order to be able to properly experience any of it.

[tafadhali]

Fic Bookmarking Stats 2023

Top Fandoms

Link on fandom name goes to all bookmarks; fic linked after is a favorite read this year.

1. 🆕 Dimension 20 (135): let the heavens falter, by allapplesfall 2. ⬆️ Nine Worlds (75): A Most Restful Vacation, by Quasar 3. ↔️ Ted Lasso (45): in the cards, by jedusaur 4. ⬆️ Good Omens (37): Chemistry, by Twilightcitysky 5. ⬇️ DC Comics (33): Gardens of Wayne Manor, by mithen 6. ⬇️ Stranger Things (28): Take the Money and Run, by thisapplepielife 7. ⬇️ Murderbot Diaries (15): Extended Disconnection, by lick 8. ⬆️ Goblin Emperor (14): Sweet Hope, by baladric -. ↔️ Star Trek (14): Sugar in Your Hand, by WerewolvesAreReal 10. 🆕 Crashing (8): The Right Person, by imperfectcircle -. ⬆️ MASH (8): both sides now, by yukiawison

[Pairing and character lists below cut.]

Top Pairings

Five-way 10th place tie is the Zac Oyama zone.

1. ⬆️ Fitzroy Angursell/Cliopher Mdang (Nine Worlds, 41): For Practice, by Penguinity  2. ⬆️ Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens, 37): Covenant of Salt, by thingswithwings 3. ⬇️ Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson (Stranger Things, 25): So Newly Charming, by glorious_spoon 4. 🆕 Ayda Aguefort/Figueroth Faeth (Dimension 20, 20): Starlight, by pigflight 5. 🆕 K.P. Hob/Delloso de la Rue (Dimension 20, 19): if you should like it you shall have it in full, by pomgore 6. ⬇️ Keeley Jones/Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt (Ted Lasso, 18): Second Nature, by MoreThanSlightly 7. ⬇️ Trent Crimm/Ted Lasso (Ted Lasso, 16): home is where, by oliviacirce 8. 🆕 Evan Kelmp/K Tanaka (Dimension 20, 11): make the heart a grave, by AgentStannerShipper 9. 🆕 Fred Patini/Sam (Crashing, 8): This Room Is Our Universe, by J 10. 🆕 Ragh Barkrock/Gorgug Thistlespring (Dimension 20, 7): actualize (the first attack), by SolaSola -. 🆕 Zelda Donovan/Gorgug Thistlespring (Dimension 20, 7): Please Ask, So I Don't Have to, by crabravioli -. 🆕 Ricky Matsui/Esther Sinclair (Dimension 20, 7): savior complex, by hysteries -. ⬇️ Thara Celehar/Iäna Pel-Thenhior (Goblin Emperor, 7): Two Living and One Dead, by Sphragis -. ⬇️ Julian Bashir/Elim Garak (Star Trek: Deep Space 9, 7): in sweetly dark and silent bowers, by sahiya

Top Characters (gen fic)

As ever, absolutely dominated by the Batfamily.

1. ⬆️ Cliopher Mdang (Nine Worlds, 13): Embers, by algifu 2. ⬆️ Tim Drake (DC Comics, 12): This Is No Funeral Horn, by Cymbidia -. ⬇️ Dick Grayson (DC Comics, 12): Right Through My Walls, by wingdingery 4. ⬆️ Bruce Wayne (DC Comics, 10): Staying for Tea, by frozenpotions 5. 🆕 Aelwyn Abernant (Dimension 20, 9): and it would break my family’s heart, by sleepdraught -. ⬇️ Jason Todd (DC Comics, 9): The Time Before, by Cdelphiki 7. ⬇️ Murderbot (Murderbot Diaries, 8): Past Warranty, by quintessence_of_dust 8. 🆕 Adaine Abernant (Dimension 20, 7): Flashbacks and Flapjacks, by thisaliennerd -. 🆕 Gorgug Thistlespring (Dimension 20, 7): greatest artificer of our age, by SolaSola 10. 🆕 Ayda Aguefort (Dimension 20, 6): sometimes a mystery, by mapped -. 🆕 Riz Gukgak (Dimension 20, 6): The Thistlespring Binder, by chaya

[cosmicallyavg]

me wanting to always write the doctor to be asexual vs me wanting to write thasmin in a non-asexual way vs me trying to combine the two constantly vs me coming up with the same story/dialogue/scenes every time because of that FIGHT

[the-great-kraken]

was listening to mag 106 on the bus today and got overly emotional at "according to georgie, jon... doesn't." so now it's time to play the eternal game of 'am i starved for representation or is it just my period'

[bougiebutchbinch]

hiii, question, what does stone mean in context of stone!top trans logan? coz i think i know but im not quite sure

Stone can mean different things to different people - obviously, I can't speak for everyone.

But often for transmasc folks & wlw, it's someone who only likes topping and strongly dislikes being penetrated (so, all focus is on their cock/strap/clit/t-dick/whatever terminology or equipment they're using)

OR

(the slightly more common definition, ime) someone who doesn't like their genitals to be touched at all during sex - meaning all their focus is on reducing their partner to a quivering wreck >:3c

They might have big bottom dysphoria. They might be ace. They might just prefer things that way! They might get themself off while their partner watches, or masturbate in private, or not enjoy getting off at all - but they're often the perfect partner for a pillow princess!

It's a really interesting queer dynamic that is often maligned as 'unfair' when it's actually what some people thrive on (so long as folks don't presume stones are somehow less emotional/unable to be hurt/that their consent or vulnerabilities or trauma doesn't matter/that stone characters in fiction are somehow less lovable or less deserving of development/etc. Your butches and stones and transmasc daddies and studs have feelings, just like you do - and you should honour and respect them).

Being stone is a big part of the lives of multiple transmasc folks I know (and I am including myself in that bracket, because hoo boy, am I discovering things about myself through the medium of Wolverine). But there's precious little rep in fandom.

I've only read one fic with a stone transmasc top x cis!guy, and only a few with stone tops where it didn't low-key feel like the character was being reduced to an unthinking sex toy so the narrative could wholly focus on the bottom. Which like, can be sexy in a kink scenario - don't get me wrong! But still.

So uhhhh yeah...... more well-developed transmasc tops in fandom please. And stone transmasc rep in general!!! It's a really interesting aspect of sexuality to explore! And Poolverine just feels like THEE most blatantly obvious pairing for transmasc stone!top Logan x bratty bastard pillow princess Wade in my mind, haha

Thank u for coming to my TED talk, etc. etc. etc.

[tj-dragonblade]

[FIC] Past the Wit of Man (or, Bottom's Dream)

Fandom: The Sandman Pairing: Dreamling Rated: M Word Count: 3657 Tags: comedy, attempted comedy, comedy devolving into feels, identity reveal, sex worker Hob Gadling, advancing my Men In Lingerie agenda, long-haired Hob Gadling agenda, stretching timelines like taffy, Desire and Dream get along AU, but Desire is not actively in this, Dead Boy Detectives comic spoilers mentioned, miscommunication, Dream of the Endless finally uses his words, happy ending

Notes: Kudos props and huge thanks to everyone in the Mr Sadman discord who creatively interpreted a snippet I posted of something else and launched the whole idea of Hob working for a supernatural escort service; this would not exist without y'all and your beautiful brainstorming. ❤️

This fills the August monthly @dreamlingbingo prompt Identity Reveal, replacing square A2 (creature: Veela) on my bingo card

Summary: Hob is nicely settled in a new career and a new identity and does not expect to see his Stranger until 2089. The universe, apparently, has other ideas.

On AO3

~ "Your client is Dream of the Endless. He is extremely ancient and extremely powerful, an underpinning concept of the universe. Absolutely terrible about loosening up and letting himself relax."

"Don't think I'd be much good at relaxing if I was an underpinning concept of the universe either," Hob jokes, opening the profile that the Agency rep has just airdropped to his phone and thumbing through it.

The rep, a foppish vampire with curly white hair and impeccable fashion sense, arches one elegant eyebrow at him. "Apparently his most recent girlfriend dumped him quite harshly and his sibling has arranged this booking on his behalf; he's—and I am quoting here—'absolutely incompetent at managing his own happiness'."

"He knows he's been booked though, right? I'm not gonna catch the fallout because no one told him what kind of appointment this is?" It's only happened once, a prank played on a shy ace nixie by her well-meaning but ill-informed friends; all the same, Hob does not care to repeat the experience—particularly with someone potentially more dangerous.

"He is very much aware and in agreement, yes. We promised him our top companion." The rep dimples at Hob, a smile of saccharine sincerity that shows only the barest hint of fang. "And that's you, sweet Nick."

"And that's me," Hob agrees matter-of-factly, frowning at his phone, then turning it to show his guest. "No photo?"

The rep glances at the screen and makes a commiserative noise. "Oh, yes. Unfortunate, that. Cameras have a very hard time with this fellow, something to do with his general relationship to reality." His tone takes on a simpering air of great melodrama. "We were forced to use an artist's rendition instead! Tragic, really; it doesn't do him justice."

"Huh," Hob says, turning his phone back and studying the cartoony hand-drawn image. Guy looks like he's got some sort of steampunk insect for a head, dark and bolt-laden and bug-eyed, with a trunk that's strongly reminiscent of a disembodied spine. "Dream of the Endless, you said? Looks more like a bloody nightmare."

The rep gives an exaggerated roll of his shoulders, as if shrugging off his delivery duty now that it's done, and turns to leave. "Well whatever the case, an Endless is far above the average client, darling. Give him your best."

"'Course." Hob grins. "That's why you brought the assignment to me, after all."

"Just so." The Agency rep gives a lazy wave in parting and Hob closes the door, still scrolling through the profile as he makes his way to the kitchen.

"Dozens of titles and names", he murmurs, glancing through the list of them. "King of Dreams and Nightmares, alright. Contains the entire collective unconscious of every living being in. Every…universe…?" He shakes his head. "Has never taken a vacation ever. Bested Lucifer Morningstar and oversaw the reassignment of Hell—okay, wow. Billions of years old." He whistles, a long sound of awed disbelief. "Maybe I throw in a free massage for this guy; sounds like he could use it."

He shakes his head again, pockets his phone, carries on with getting breakfast together.

Bug-headed workaholic foundational concept of the universe. Won't be the weirdest client he's ever serviced.

~

It's been ten years since his stranger showed up late for their meeting and smiled so openly and named him friend. That had been their longest meeting yet, lasting all afternoon and on into the evening and it wasn't until the Inn had started closing up for the night that they wound down. His stranger had spoken briefly of the missed appointment in 1989, making clear that something at least mildly traumatic had kept him away and also that he did not wish to elaborate, and Hob had let it go. There was so much to tell of his own century past, his friend remarking with interest on a great many of his stories, and it was enough. His stranger, his friend, had come back, and they'd had a lovely long meeting. Perhaps in 2089 he would be comfortable sharing more of his own story, but even if not, Hob didn't mind. He was confident once more in the friendship he'd declared back in 1889 and willing to coax it out bit by bit, meeting by meeting. He had all the time in the world, after all.

Within a year of that meeting he'd wrapped up his teaching career, arranged for ownership of the New Inn to transfer to a 'relative' in the States who'd keep it running the next few decades, and started searching for a new career for his next identity.

He stumbled quite by accident into the broader supernatural world after being stalked by two dead teenagers helping that de Rais creep who wanted to steal his immortality. It all turned out fine in the end but opened Hob's eyes to exactly how much the supernatural had integrated into the modern world around him. And once old Hettie clued him in to the existence of a certain Service Agency catering to supernatural clients, his next career path was all but decided. What was he going to do, not seize the opportunity for fantastical sexual exploration when presented with it? Life was for living! Werewolves, vampires, sirens and fae and merfolk, the occasional ghost and even an extra-terrestrial or two; scales, feathers, tentacles, knots—Hob's shown them all a good time and earned a stellar reputation among the Agency's clientele. He doesn't plan to do it forever, but he enjoys exploring new avenues and stretching his limits and 'Nick Bottom' is the perfect persona to let him do so.

And now sweet high-priced in-demand Nick has been booked to rebound-fuck an uptight concept in humanoid form who looks like something straight out of a nightmare.

Hob can't wait to completely take this guy apart one orgasm at a time until he's a boneless puddle of satiation and send him home afterwards a brand new man.

Concept. Entity. Whatever.

~

The booking is scheduled for the following day and when the time comes, Hob is fresh and clean and set up in the Agency's most lavish suite. He's let his hair grow the last few years, sports a proper Hozier-like mane at this point, is wearing it down for this appointment. His beard is several weeks old, trimmed to artfully-scruffy perfection and well-groomed. He's lounging on the bed in a short open silk robe and a pair of lace panties that hug his hips and leave most of both arse cheeks exposed, a popular outfit in his repertoire sure to please the classiest of clients with the most discerning taste. Both pieces are a matching vibrant cobalt blue that complements his skin tone beautifully. He's wondering what fucking a concept is like, idly massaging his dick now and then to keep it primed, when finally there's a peculiar displacement of air and then a figure in dark robes with a weird spine-trunked bug-eyed head is standing in the middle of the suite. He's taller than Hob and inhumanly rail-thin; the robes plunge deep from the neckline, displaying milk-white skin without a hint of chest hair and clavicles that beg to be nibbled on. He's in profile, angled slightly away, and Hob has the distinct sense that this is a deliberate pose meant to make an impression, to instill awe and possibly fear in him.

So Dream of the Endless has a flair for drama, got it.

"Hello," Hob greets in his best breathless-and-sultry tone, rising from the bed to approach his client. He layers in a suitable amount of awe, pitching his voice toward 'smitten' with a subtle ring of sincerity to support it. "Oh, wow. You must be Dream of the Endless; I'm so delighted to get to meet you! I'll be taking care of you today; you can call me Nick."

The guy, the concept, Dream of the Endless, he goes stock-still as Hob speaks, and it's like the air in the room pauses with him. He turns, slowly, until Hob is face to face with his…oh, possibly that's a mask, then; the bug-eyed lenses are somewhat translucent in the light though Hob still can't see beneath them.

"There has been some mistake." The voice is deep and distorted through the helmet-mask, bone-rattling in an almost-pleasant way and, somehow, somewhat…familiar? "I was meant to be meeting with 'Nick Bottom'." The quotes around the name are audible.

"That's me!" Hob says, raking a hand back through his hair and shaking it to settle around his shoulders attractively, flashing his most charming smile. "At your service, love, whatever you need. I'm here to make sure you have a very good time, and—"

"Hob Gadling."

That draws him up short. He's currently Robyn Gadrin for tax-paying purposes in the outside world, but the Agency wouldn't give out his current identity let alone his true name, so how—

Hob's brain is babbling insistently about the note of familiarity in that voice and he finally lights on why as Dream of the Endless reaches up to remove his helmet.

Hob finds himself staring at the slightly-more-than-human-but-still-very-familiar face of his Stranger, his centennial touchstone, his friend.

Everything about his reality tips a little bit sideways, dominoes crashing one after the other in his brain until all that's left is that awful ringing alarm tone that features in emergency broadcast alerts on American telly.

Between them, the silence stretches awkwardly, until finally Hob breaks it, the first thing that comes to his tongue spilling out while his poor brain is still rebooting.

"Six-hundred some-odd bloody years, and this is how I learn your name?!"

~

It is five minutes later. Hob is sitting on the side of the plush bed in his short silk robe and lace panties, clutching a bottled water and seriously considering availing himself of the bar in the next room because his emotions are all over the place. His Stranger—Dream of the Endless, apparently—is seated next to him. His eyes are not the blue that Hob is used to, are fully black with actual stars winking in and out of them; it's gorgeous but uncanny. He's currently not looking at Hob, has got the weird bug-spine helmet gripped tightly in both hands. Which are still so pretty, Hob can't help noticing, his fingers longer and more spindly than normal, splayed wide around the curve of the helm, nails painted black. Or maybe not painted, maybe they just are black.

Pretty, regardless.

Not a helpful thought at this juncture.

It's not like he'd thought his Stranger was actually human, obviously, and okay yes the possibility of meeting up with him via this particular career choice had crossed his mind once or twice, might've featured in a private fantasy or two; but also he'd never seriously imagined it because it felt so entirely implausible that his prim and lofty Stranger would ever engage in something so mundane. So casual.

Apparently, Hob was wrong about that.

He's not sure how to feel about it, either.

The smooth inhumanly-pale chest on display in the plunging vee of those artfully-draped robes is also not helping anything.

His Stranger—Dream— moves slightly, glances at him with those starry eyes, flexes those pretty fingers on the helmet. "I will. Arrange. For another. To take your place, Hob, you need not—"

"Now hold on a minute," Hob interrupts, sudden direction presenting itself for his floundering emotions to flow. "What do you mean, 'arrange for another'? What's wrong with me?"

Dream, his name is Dream of the Endless, Dream looks perplexed. "Our. History—"

"Oh yes, our illustrious storied history wherein we have met all of seven times before now and, may I remind you, you took offense to my suggestion that we might be friends until you'd had time to digest it properly, yes."

"Eight."

"Eight?"

"I visited your dream, before undertaking a daunting journey from my realm to another. We shared wine. You gave a most thoughtful toast."

"I. Okay." He remembers that dream, yes; he remembers the wine that followed him out of it, and now with the knowledge that his Stranger is apparently King of all dreams and nightmares suddenly it all makes brand new sense. But he will process that later. "Eight. Still not a factor in my ability to do my job."

Mostly. It is his Stranger, after all, and it's not like he hasn't ever wanted—

"Sex would be. Awkward," Dream insists, and Hob loses it, never mind he'd half-thought the same thing until a second ago; Dream saying it makes him refute the assertion with everything he's got.

"You dare," he says, setting aside his water.

Dream boggles at him, cosmic eyes wide, mouth slightly parted.

"You. DARE. To disdain my professional services just because we know each other?!"

"Hob— "

"No. No, your booking was very clear that you were to have the very best, and that. Is. Me. So you will not be re-booking with another companion on the grounds that our acquaintance makes it 'awkward'; if you mean to partake of the services you've hired you will partake of them with me."

"My sibling."

"What."

"My sibling hired your services. Did they know—" He's half talking to himself and Hob sighs, forcefully pulling the conversation back on track.

"Yes, right; your sibling booked you and here you are. Did you want to get laid today?"

"You need not be so crude about it."

"Forgive me. Of course. Did you come here hoping to have a sensual skillful sexual experience with a stranger intent on your pleasure with no judgments or expectations placed upon you in return?" He makes a valiant effort to rein in his sarcasm. "Because I can still provide that. Minus the bit where we're not strangers."

Dream looks positively miserable, a sodden wet cat of a man in sex-appeal robes hunched on the edge of the decadently-plush bed, and there is certainly an understandable element of embarrassment to the situation but Dream is taking it so seriously. Hob is not surprised, exactly, but christ—he's more than willing to follow through never mind any feelings he may or may not want to admit to, and Dream is the one who'd agreed to the booking in the first place. You'd think he could handle this hiccup with a little more grace.

"It was my intent to. Do, as you say," Dream says at last, and Hob sighs.

"Is that still what you want, then? I promise I'll take good care of you." He's actually really warming up to the idea, not that he was cold to it to begin with. It's his Stranger after all. He's been willing to say yes for centuries. "They really did book you the best, and I would love to show you how well-earned my reputation is—"

"Hob—" Dream sounds pained, gives an artfully-dramatic shake of his head. "My wants are. Manageable. If no one else is available. I cannot simply engage with you so frivolously—"

Hob leaps up from the bed, stalks a frustrated few steps away and whirls back, spreads his arms. "Am I not appealing to you, Dream of the Endless?" He tosses his head, shakes his hair back, gestures at the blue silk and lace that he knows looks absolutely spectacular on him. "Would you like me to change clothes? I have a dozen more ensembles I'd be happy to put on if you'd rather peel me out of one of those. Would the Prince of Stories prefer roleplay? Golden-age pirate, biker bad boy, Mr. Darcy or Elizabeth, cowboy, librarian, Starfleet officer—I'll dress however you like." He's fired up, he's…it feels like anger but it's more like alarm; he is absolutely not about to let a colleague fuck HIS Stranger if Dream's looking to unwind. Not with all the thoughts he's entertained the last couple centuries, not when Dream is looking so entirely miserable about the whole experience. Hob wiggles his bare toes in the plush carpet, forcing a deep breath; he is jealous and possessive and protective all at once and has no idea how to safely navigate this storm to get Dream what he wants without pissing him off.

"Your…clothing becomes you greatly, Hob." He's sneaking a glance as he says it, like he's not allowed to look but can't help it. "Your clothing is not at issue."

"Then what is?" Hob rakes a hand back through his hair, frustration fizzling, careening toward concern. "If you're truly that put off by me, I'll let it go. But you're here, for sex, which you did say you wanted; this is my job and I'm good at it and you clearly need—" Someone to take care of you, he'd nearly said, and while Dream has been giving him so much leeway in this conversation he thinks that might be one straw too much for this particular camel's back.

Nice to know he appreciates Hob's hairy chest and his dick in blue lace, though.

Dream levels him with a look that almost puts him right back to 1889, and Hob has half a second to start panicking before Dream closes his eyes, draws himself up, sets his bloody weird helmet on the bedside table with a soft leathery clunk. When he opens his eyes again, they are resolute, resigned, the eyes of a man headed for the gallows despite the stars winking hopelessly in their depths.

"I do not wish to be intimate with you. When you view it as simply a job. I. Would like—but not. If it is a transaction. If I am merely a client."

Oh. Oh.

Oh shit, really?

Impossible.

Really?

"You want. You want it to mean something?" Hob is embarassed at how small his voice comes out.

Dream closes his eyes, something like shame written all over his beautiful otherworldly-pale face. "I had thought. At our fifth meeting. That perhaps there was the possibility of. Attraction, between us." He opens his night-sky eyes again, meets Hob's resolutely. "Had we not been interrupted…" He shakes his head. "I pondered the idea until next we met, anticipating the possibility of. Seeing, where we might have come to. But you named what was between us friendship, you named me lonely; I perceived your words as mockery and acted accordingly. I spent the next century with a surplus of time to wander my own thoughts. They turned to you, Hob Gadling, with regularity. As I expressed when last we met, I regret leaving our previous meeting so abruptly, so harshly. Your friendship is of great value to me. I am content to let it remain friendship, in the interest of keeping it. But I am unwilling to engage with you, who named me 'friend', as I would a lover when I have yet to fully bury the wish. That you might have been my lover in truth."

Hob is desperately trying to keep from bluescreening again and while he's focused on that, his mouth runs along without him. "You never even gave me a name, but you wanted us to be lovers?"

"I am. Aware, of how foolish my wishes—"

"No, oh no. Dream. Love." He absolutely cannot let him think that. "All you ever had to do was ask."

Dream looks at him, starry eyes full of misery with the faintest spark of hope underneath, glimmering with unshed tears. "I. Could not—"

"That was then. Water under the bridge. What about now."

Dream shivers, his more-than-human face wary and pleading and resigned all at once and the last of the fight drains out of Hob. He approaches gently, until he is directly in front of Dream on the edge of the bed again; he half straddles Dream's lap with one foot still on the floor and a bare knee sunk on the mattress beside him, threads both hands into Dream's hair behind his lovely ears, tips his pale face up.

"Ask me now. Please."

Dream's hand settles above his bent knee, a gentle, tentative touch; his eyelashes flutter, and the sound that leaves him steals Hob's breath. That hand travels softly around to grip the back of Hob's thigh, slides hesitantly higher, and then it's Hob making the helpless noise as Dream's fingertips card beautifully through his leg hair, run up beneath the short robe. Dream's spindly black-nailed hand caresses up over his exposed arse cheek, squeezes, and all the while Dream's beguiling uncanny eyes are fixed on him, wet and wondering, full of blossoming hope.

"Hob Gadling." His voice is hushed, almost reverent. "I should like to have you, as my lover. If you are amenable." His face is tipped up, so close between Hob's hands, and Hob.

Hob's shaking. He's actually trembling, pent up, a little scared; daring, as he leans down and his hair falls around them both, hoping—

He brushes his lips to Dream's.

He kisses his Stranger, his friend, his touchstone.

And Dream of the Endless, who is all of those things, kisses him back.

It's nothing like he might have imagined, and ten times as wonderful, and over before he realizes he's ended it.

"Do you mean it." His voice is breathless, the words spoken directly against Dream's mouth. It's a stupid question, in light of the entire conversation gone before and the hand still on his arse, but he can't help asking. This entire turn of events is just too good to be true.

"Yes."

But true it is, apparently, and Hob's heart soars.

"Then. Dream of the Endless. My Stranger. My friend." He presses soft kisses to those plush pink lips between each moniker, dizzy that he's allowed. "Let me add another title to the list, darling. Take me to bed; the suite is ours 'til tomorrow. Let me learn how you would have me. Let me show you how I would treat you. And let me, at long last, name you mine."

= Started: 8/21/24 Drafted: 8/27/24 Posted: 8/30/24

If you're looking for a spicier take on this concept, @delta-pavonis has you covered: Dossier 54392 - please, give it a read, it's delicious.

(and here, have a post-script-y epilogue-exchange of sorts that did not quite fit:)

= "You chose to name yourself Nick Bottom?"

"What better name for a callboy to the supernatural than the bloke who got unwittingly embroiled in a fae lovers' spat and ultimately survived the entire encounter unscathed? Feels pretty relevant to me. Empowering, a bit?"

"Nick Bottom was less 'empowered' than simply lucky, perhaps."

"Perhaps. I'll not turn my nose up at good luck, either. But a name like Bottom in this business is also too good a pun to pass up, and I figure old Shaxberd would approve."

"I believe he would, indeed."

"The irony being that fully half of my clients want me to top them, heh."

"I do not wish to speak of your clients while you are in bed with me."

"Got better uses for my mouth, have you?"

"Other sounds I would prefer to hear from it, yes."

"Fair enough. Why don't you tell me what you want, Mr. Sandman, and see if I can make your dreams come true."

"Must you be so cliché?"

"You love my clich—mmph—"

"Stop. Talking."

"Yes love."

(Dream will tell him about commissioning A Midsummer Night's Dream at some other time 💖)

= Nick Bottom's lines from A Midsummer Night's Dream that lent themselves to the title: I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was and also The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream: it shall be called Bottom's Dream

[mrghostrat]

i wanna add to this post, but i don't wanna hijack with my personal take in the reblogs because it's so 100% valid on its own and this might derail it

i think in a grand scale/societal way, this is true, and one of the reasons ace rep is so important. we gotta add more ace content and flesh out the genre and show how fun and diverse it can be.

but i do wanna give a ~disclaimer~ i guess, since someone @'d my blog as an ace space, that yes i'm ace and love advocating for ace love, but i also enjoy the fuck out of smut and allo representations of the ineffables. i prefer to read them allo, honestly, but my personal reasons for it are very intentional and different to the screenshot above

i guess more than anything i wanted to post this as a warning, for anyone wanting to follow my blog for ace content, that here there be sex thtphtptthh

ig i like my fic to be easy to consume. fic is meant to be easy reading, bc we already know the story and the characters already, so we can jump straight to the dopamine. for me, the expressions of yearning hit me right in the chest, give me full body feels, and make me feel a bit like a rat smashing the cheese button over and over and over until i explode.

and when i say yearning, i'm including ace yearning in that. heart-ons as much as hard-ons, moments of near kisses and catching each other's eye across the room just as much as hands on thighs and carnal desire. but for the sake of easy reading, it is much easier to find allo scenes that hit that button, because there is more of it, because the stakes are higher (physically, anatomically), and a so-so written fic will still often manage to hit that dopamine button for me. but those non sexual moments usually have to be written really well -- or, really specifically -- for me to feel the same response from it.

so i'm personally just vibing with supply and demand. i want to reiterate that i think non sexual depictions of intimacy and love are just as interesting and just as exciting as sexual ones, but they can be harder to find, and harder to get right. i love ace ineffables and think that's much more in character honestly, but for the burst of feelings i crave from fic, i like the broader spectrum that sex positive and allo presents.

[ineffable-kelpie]

Adding on a few of my fics where Aziraphale and Crowley are on the aro or ace spectrum, and it’s discussed explicitly without quoting the dictionary definition of “asexual” and “aromantic”:

A Demon’s Guide to Love and Curses (11K, rated G) - Both are aroace and aware of it

On Metaphorical Butterflies (3K, rated G) - Both are ace and trying to figure out what romance is and whether they feel it (ok this one does quote the dictionary definition of "aromantic," but only to point out how unhelpful it is)

Velocity (1.8K, rated G) - Aziraphale is aroace, Crowley is ace and alloromantic, they’re both just now realizing this about each other

I wish I liked aro and/or ace fanfictions, but most of the ones I found are just... not written naturally. So many of them make the cold, emotionless character be the aro/ace one, and they'll inevitably have a scene that goes "Tabitha, you know that as an aromatic and/or asexual, I do not have attraction towards other people. However I desire a relationship for social connection." Why must it sound so clinical each time? The character doesn't talk like that in canon???

Submitted June 14, 2023

[runawaymarbles]

9-1-1 fic recs

because if I do nothing but read 9-1-1 fic for a month solid I feel like I should. Since my bookmark notes are all spoilers. Buck/Eddie unless specified otherwise.

to your front door by hammersmiths | G | 3k

Buck and Pepa are bridge buddies and Pepa is happy to arrange everyone's lives.

i'm headed to the mountains by hammersmiths | 8k | G

a.k.a. Abby Clark does deserve rights

pick me, choose me, love me by trysetmeonfire | T | 9k

It is some kind of hell, it seems to me, to be forced to choose one irreplaceable thing over another. Buck and Chris get stuck and Eddie has to get one of them out first.

brick by spqr | E | 10k

9-1-1 fic I read and loved before I knew anything else about 9-1-1. Post lightning strike, Buck and Eddie are not at all on the same page.

i love you, ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard? by rarakiplin (gmontys) | T | 10k

"Because, Evan" is actually a love confession, but Buck's with Taylor. They handle it great.

the stick-around by derryfacts2 (winchysteria) | T | 10k

Buck is bleeding out. It's surprisingly funny.

Ace of Hearts by glorious_spoon | T | 10k

The poker night was a date but Buck doesn't realize it until later.

darlin', i'm just tryin' to tell ya by archerincombat | T | 10k

The station adopts a dog that has cancer and Ravi has some feelings about it.

still by brewrosemilk | T | 10k

Eddie is standing on a bomb.

the light's been out though, baby by hattalove | M | 15k

There's a video of the shooting.

like a hole in the ground by clytemnestra | T | 15k

Buck shares his feelings but they still don't know how to communicate.

maybe love won't let you down by sibylsleaves | M | 15k

Buck tells Eddie he loves him; Eddie thinks he himself is terrible at relationships and so he dodges the question. Things are OK until they aren't.

False Start (timing’s everything) by Morgane (smilla840) | E | 16k

Buck and Eddie hook up, and then Buck gets back together with Taylor. Ouches all the way down. It's great.

i would like a place i could call my own by maybeamystery | E | 17k

Buck and Eddie hooked up at the end of season 3. It does not make things better.

find a way to you (if it kills me) by foxwatson | M | 20k

Buck doesn't realize he has feelings for Eddie until Eddie lets Linda set him up. They both suck at coming out.

stay soft; get eaten by eddiediass | T | 20k

Ramon Diaz is dying.

every time we stop talking (the universe starts screaming) by withmeornotatall | M | 20k

Buck is being reckless, Eddie's pissed about it, and Natalia is asking a lot of questions about everybody's trauma.

where there's smoke, there's fire by wakeupnew | T | 24k

You're really not supposed to be secretly dating your coworker. Luckily, they have a union rep.

into the fire by brewrosemilk | E | 27k

Cheating fic (complimentary); Buck and Eddie sleep together. It's messy.

Tick Tick Boom by ChasetheWindTouchtheSky | 30k | T

Buck's having a breakdown; he's not talking to his parents; he doesn't tell Maddie this but he does go to drag brunch.

I Kinda Fell Half In Love (And You're To Blame) by orphan_account E | 33k

Eddie is dating Ana and Buck can't figure out why he doesn't like it. Also, Chris is trying to return to school after COVID and they're really stressed about it.

the going water and the gone by trysetmeonfire | T | 30k

Eddie is lost at sea and presumed dead. The logistics of death are complicated and custody isn't as easy as saying you want your platonic bro to raise your kid without telling anyone.

i don't swim and you're not in love by hattalove | T | 30k

Eddie is dating Ana, Buck tries to get over himself, and there's a sewer leak at Abuela's.

listen to you breathing (is where I wanna be) by Yavilee | T | 40k

Buck goes down in an earthquake and is missing, presumed. He and Eddie leave each other voicemails.

everything (nothing) has changed by bizarrestars | E | 50k

Buck goes to therapy, tells Eddie that he's in love with him but he's going to get over it, and Eddie has a meltdown for 50,000 words except this is from Buck's POV and Buck's an idiot.

across our great divide (a glorious sunrise) by catchingpapermoons | M | 50k

Buck and Eddie go to couples therapy in s5 and I? Cry.

a blaze in the dark by woodchoc_magnum | E | 117k

Buck gets caught up in Natalia, Eddie starts dating someone else, it goes about how you'd expect. Hurts in a delightful way.

tell me about despair by hattalove | M | 150k

THEEEEE Eddie Diaz fic.

just to be with you by woodchoc_magnum | M | 150k

Buck and Eddie keep their relationship secret for months and it turns out it's hard to come back from that.

The things we lost in the fire by SunSpell80

Buck's uncle molested him when he was a kid. Buck's relationship with his parents is complicated in a way that doesn't villanize them, but is still messy as fuck. I am rotating it in my brain. (Note: the author presumably wrote this before we met Buck's parents in canon, but got tired of changing the names a couple chapters in.)