#this was very much not beta'd at all except by me so uh

[too-young-to-fall-in-love]

A Letter From Moscow

summary:

He’s apologized a hundred times in a hundred ways, but now it’s time for Napoleon to hear what he has to say. Or, some of chapter 11 of Love is a Losing Game, but from Illya’s perspective.

notes:

inspired by Love is a Losing Game by @cha-melodius

tags:

Reunions, Alternate Universe, 60s Chess AU, Mutual Pining, Confessions, POV Illya Kuryakin, the happy ending to don't you try and make some fool of me, inspired by another fic

excerpt:

He thinks he might actually be hallucinating, that maybe the exhaustion has finally gotten to him, when he sees Napoleon standing outside the bar. He’s on his feet almost before he’s aware he’d moved. Their eyes meet and his heart drops to his stomach at the unfettered pain swimming in Napoleon’s eyes. He’s no idea how he can make it out from this distance, and it makes him sick to see it. The bell chimes cheerily, announcing Napoleon’s presence with the sort of store-bought joy that neither of them feels. It seems almost mocking, as though the universe knows that Illya’s about to lay his naked heart at Napoleon’s feet and watch it get trampled.

read more on ao3

[yesbutmakeitgay]

Lifelines Intertwined

Chapter 1

Valkyrie x Reader

Summary: You are sent to New Asgard to help King Valkyrie protect her Kingdom. Soulmate AU.

Word count: 1.7k

Soulmates, Slow burn, Fluff, Angst.

A/N: Been working on this one for a while, hope you like it :)

Beta'd by @cordeliasdarling <3

Masterlist | This Work's Masterlist | AO3

Ripping Wings Off Of Butterflies

Soulmarks. A permanent imprint on your body that matches that of the person you’re destined to spend the rest of your life with.

Everybody has one, you have one, your partner has one, or at least, you hope you do, have a partner, that is.

They are simple, discreet, and easy to hide, but clear enough that you can spot your soulmate with the utmost certainty once you see it. Except, your mark is anything but. You were born with what can only be described as a hieroglyph expanding the entirety of your left forearm, in a tint so light, it almost blends in with your skin.

Your soulmark is so strange and in plain sight that it turns heads every time you're out in public, so you've learned to hide it underneath a hoodie, no matter the weather.

Having gone your whole life with such an odd mark has turned you cold, distant, emotionless. You joined S.H.I.E.L.D. hoping to be a productive member of society under the assumption that your coworkers would have a similar worldview to yours, but, it turns out, even the superheroes have found their life partners.

It has come to a point in your life where you are convinced you don’t really have a soulmate, and you are working towards being okay with that.

"Fury, do you copy?"

"What is it, Danvers?"

"The Kree are targeting New Asgard, you have to do something about it."

"Do I?"

"You need to send backup, quickly."

"Can’t you deal with it yourself?"

"I would, but I can't be in two places at once."

"The King hasn't contacted me at all."

"She’s more stubborn than me, please say yes so I can let her know."

"Fine."

You were called into Fury’s office first thing this morning, but you’re not really feeling so lively today, much like every other day, so you take your time. You slowly drag your feet into his office and slump on the chair in front of his desk without saying a word.

"You’re late," he states flatly.

"Okay."

"You’re not gonna half ass an excuse?"

"Uh, traffic?" you shrug.

He crosses his arms out of habit, "You live in this building."

"You said, 'half ass,'" you retaliate.

He starts to wonder why you were his first choice for this, but soon remembers you’re the most qualified for it, so he hands you a folder, "I have an assignment for you."

"Do you ever bring good news?"

"I think you might actually like this one."

The trip to New Asgard was longer than you expected, which gave you enough time to hype yourself up. For some reason you were determined to not be an asshole in front of The King.

As soon as you land, you can feel your heart beating faster and your hands begin to sweat. The pilot opens the door for you and wishes you luck on your mission.

You come down from the aircraft and immediately spot King Valkyrie making her way to you in all her mighty glory. She greets you and shows you around while her assistant takes your bags to your room.

"Marv speaks very highly of you," she comments as you’re walking into the palace.

"I try my best," you hesitate a little embarrassed.

"Thank you again, for making the trip and for helping me out here, New Asgard will really appreciate it."

"I hope I can do you justice."

"I’m sure you will," she opens the door to her office and gestures for you to come in, "do you have a codename?"

Every second that passes helps you feel more at ease with your surroundings, "I don't subscribe to such performative crap."

She laughs, "What should I call you then?"

"Whatever you'd call someone in my position, Agent? Soldier?"

She gently shakes her head, "You’re gonna be my right hand man, you need a more respectable title than that," her eyes fixate on yours, "how about 'Princess'?"

Your heart skips a beat, "If it is to your liking." You clear your throat.

"Alright then, my assistant will show you to your quarters, I will see you back here first thing tomorrow," she instructs with a smile on her face.

"Yes, Your Majesty, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance." You bow your head.

She chuckles at your behavior, "You can drop the manners now, I already like you," she reassures you, shooting you a wink, "see you tomorrow."

You get to your room and unpack your stuff, you’re feeling good about this, maybe a change of scenery is exactly what you need to get your mind off of your imminent loneliness.

The King sits at her desk, reflecting. When Carol first made the suggestion, Valkyrie was unsure about having an agent in her Kingdom for support, but, after your introduction, she wonders why Carol didn’t bring it up sooner.

The next morning you get up as soon as the clock rings feeling your feet bounce on the ground, making your every move easier. It’s the first time in years you get up without snoozing your alarm even once. You get ready with your trusty hoodie on and knock on The Kings office at 7am sharp.

You walk in as she instructs and are surprised to see she’s already working. You stand by her desk, waiting for her to acknowledge you. After a moment, she lifts her head to see you, "You look hot."

"Thanks," you smirk.

"I mean temperature wise." She gives you a cheeky look, before going back to her work.

"Oh, no, I’m okay."

"It’s the middle of summer." She raises a questioning eyebrow without making eye contact.

"You’re wearing a three piece suit," you retaliate as you sit down in front of her.

She finally puts her work to the side to give you her undivided attention, "I am The King, what's your excuse?"

You feel as if you’ve been put on the spotlight, "It’s my emotional support hoodie?"

"Are you not wearing anything underneath?" she pries as she leans on the desk.

"If I say no, will that get you off my back?" You really hope she isn’t gonna make you take it off.

"I’ll take that thing off your back." She stands up and opens one of the drawers behind her to produce a uniform, she turns around and hands it to you.

You extend your arms and take it without even thinking, then unfold it to reveal a costume similar to her battling one, cape and all, "Do you have anything less…dramatic?"

"You work for The King now, you must look the part." Your brain starts racing, looking for a way to conceal your soulmark in such a bold outfit.

"Can I at least get sleeves?"

Sensing your unease, Valkyrie arranges a visit to the royal tailor, so you can adjust the uniform to your preference, with some restrictions. You compromise on a shorter cape, and manage to get your hands on a pair of gloves that go almost up to your elbows, seamlessly concealing your mark.

For the rest of your first day, King Valkyrie takes the time to show you how things work around the palace and to work out what your responsibilities will be during you stay.

"Do you have dinner plans?" Valkyrie asks when the sun sets.

You’re surprised by the question, "I just got here."

"Let me rephrase that, you are coming to dinner with me."

You can only nod obediently, "Okay."

You both take a short walk to a quaint little restaurant near the palace, as soon as you enter, your nostrils are invaded with the most delicious smell you've ever experienced.

A waiter soon greets The King, "Welcome, Your Majesty."

"Thank you, we're having the usual, please." Val walks you to what seems to be the table she always sits at in the far right corner of the building.

"We?" you repeat after you sit down.

"Yes, part of the benefit of being your boss is I get to decide what you eat," she jokes.

As you wait for your food, The King takes the opportunity to get to know you better. You’ve never been a fan of small talk, often opting for curt, sarcastic responses, and you can bet that this time will be no different.

"What do you like to do in your free time?"

Stare at a wall and rot, try not to think about dying alone. "I like to go on walks where I can be alone and reflect on life," you admit, surprising yourself, "what about you?"

"Drink," you hum in complete understanding, "I also enjoy visiting the children of The Kingdom and teaching them the ways of the sword, for recreational and self defense purposes." That's very sweet, you think.

"Do you enjoy children?"

"I suppose I don't really think of them as children, they're just small people." You're pleased by her answer, you never understood people belittling children merely for being small.

"You’re a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, right? What drew you to the job?" she follows.

The prospect of an early death. "I guess I always felt that life could be more than just self serving, I wanted to help people."

She gives you a soft smile, "I may not have chosen my jobs, but I feel quite the same."

Maybe you aren't so good at lying to The King.

"What’s royalty like?" You feel an uncharacteristic interest towards her.

"Mostly paperwork these days, which is probably why Marv thought it would be best to have you around, cover all our bases."

"Do you ever miss being a warrior?"

"One does not stop being a warrior simply because there aren’t any more battles left to fight."

Are you telling me you’re a pacifist now? "Doesn’t mean you can’t miss it, though, some of the biggest pleasures of my job come in the form of being allowed to be violent," you snark, making her chuckle.

The food arrives, and you have your first taste, "Oh my God, this is even better than it smells!" You exclaim with your mouth full.

Valkyrie grins knowingly, a feeling of pride washing over her, "It’s a power move," you look at her, confused, "whenever I have a diplomatic visitor I bring them here and order for them, makes them more inclined to trust me."

"That’s pretty clever."

"I know," she smiles.

"Why are you telling me your secret tactic?"

She stops in the middle of taking a bite of her food, "I actually don't know, perhaps this time it worked in reverse."

Chapter Two

[safyresky]

Fanfic Writer Emoji Ask: ALL the answers!

Got sent this ages ago, just found it again today and ah. Decided that I'm feeling especially unhinged and I will answer all of them, whether you like it or not (and whether it is asked or not). Sticking it under a read more so that I don't clog up dashes :)

😅 What’s a story or scene you’ve created that you’re a smidge embarrassed exists?

Somewhere on one of my old harddrives. There exists a snippet of the start of a smut scene between two of my characters from my sim city I turned into a story. It is only about. 300 words. but it makes me blush very much these days

There also exists, in an old notebook, a draft of Crystal Springs in which PYROS was Jack/Jacqueline's real Dad and no, I will not elaborate

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

Any sibling bonding. Makes me soft.

Same with the fucking uh, GIRLFRIENDS (Dite and Jacqueline). ANY time they are romantic I die.

And I wrote those bits

I am dying mySELF! Fuck!

🤡 What’s a line, scene, or exchange you’ve written that made you laugh?

So fucking many, but my all time favourite that nobody caught is the following:

"There's another thing," Curtis said. "The clause involves a sort of de-Santafication process. As we get closer to the date, Santa becomes less Santa and more, well, himself. Before the Santa thing happened. What do we do if Santa notices and finds out about the clause?"

"We send him to Utah," Bernard said. Curtis made an odd noise.

The joke here being that for WHATEVER reason in the Santa Clause 2, the marriage is valid anywhere EXCEPT for in the state of Utah. Why? Idk. But I thought this line was so funny and nobody seems to have picked up on it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

any Elle mentions in Frostmas are written with the intent to cause physical damage, especially to Ana (sorry not sorry boo ;)

When Jacqueline breaks out of Pyros's control and tells Jack to kick his ass, and promptly goes into magic coma >:)

✍ Do you have a beta reader?

No, I do not. I read everything three times before I post; and then a couple days after I post to catch typos I may have skimmed over

Do I want a beta? Not particularly! I already update in long increments of time as is, could you imagine if I had to wait for fics to be beta'd as well? YIKES

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

Evil Uncles (idk why. My two uncles are not evil; one is weird in a bad way and the other is a jerk butt. But not evil.)

Families that communicate their issues; fuck miscommunication as a plotline, all my homies hate miscommunication as a plotline

Pathetic fallacy. I'm always a slut for pathetic fallacy >:)

Hurt/Comfort, Humour, healthy doses of angst

The most chaotic scenes you could ever imagine (perks to writing about magical beings!)

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

FROSTMAS!

This fucking FIC I SWEAR

She has given me migranes. She is a game I play, in which I have to give the heroes a chance but also let them fail bc the real villain of Frostmas is ME

And like. We KNOW Frostmas happens for 12 years, ok, so like. BMan and Jacquie Beans cannot win! Not until Year 12 and even then, THEY DON'T DO THE WINNING

I have to stay three steps ahead of them at all times and it is EXHAUSTING, villains do NOT get paid enough/sppreciated enough, geezus

��� Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

the dialogue is AMAZING

the humour fits in WELL

and man am I good at portraying siblings or WHAT

and why do tsc ocs i write fit so well into the universe, wtf is up with that

💋 First kiss fics. Love em or hate em?

They're nice :)

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

I do indeed!

Panic at the Disoc was on loop for Fusion AU as a fun fact

Usually it's instrumentals tho

LATELY Weezer's been on loop, with their SZNZ collection!

Frostmas has it's own playlist, and usually it's angry loud stuff :)

🛠What tools/programs/apps do you use to write?

Word/OneNote. Nothing fancy. I have it for free from work so, y'know, it gets used :)

⛔ Do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

SEVERAL SMILE SHOTS

They weren't so much as SCRAPPED as they were LOST TO THE VOID when my hard drive got dunked on by a stone floor in 2016

There were two I can recall off the top of my head:

1. When the Twins Met Jack: this one had a solid like. 1k to it. It was a smile shot about the day the Twins realized hey, there's this dude in old photos who looks very similar to us? Whomst tf is he? And rush to ask Jacqueline about it

2. A Trip to Gstaad: Jack takes Jacqueline to Gstaad for skiing/snowboarding. Nasty storm hits and they get stuck at the top with a handful of mortals. shenanigans ensue, mainly "do we magically poof off? stay with these guys? or magically help these guys? decisions, decisions. all of them mediocre. I think the Twins popped over at one point to help keep the humans warm. It was a wild ride

One that I completed then SCRAPPED was Jacqueline and Elle seeing Frozen. They go a lil crazy with the references, and it was funny to indulge in ages ago but when I went back and read it I was like wow! that's cringe, Dani! So it's being reworked to be less cringe. Instead of going full fandom, Elline decides to approach frozen with SCIENCE which, of course, gets everyone very interested.

It's very, CAN WE MAKE CLOTHES WITH JUST SNOW, AND NO BASE? HOW MUCH EFFORT IS A GIANT ICE PALACE? That sort of thing, lol

🙋‍♀️ Do any irl people know you write fanfic?

A handful, yes! My fiance, my best friend, my Mom, and my sister, too. I've opened up to a few other friends about writing fanfic but got poked fun at and it made me less inclined to share with IRL folks, so I don't do that as much 🙃. It took me a LOT to open up to my newer friends and they're so sweetly supportive lmao, I love it

🍦 What’s the sweetest fic you’ve created so far?

Probably the snippet where Dite Comes Out as Ace, or Diteline First Kiss, or an amalgamation of snippets from Crystal Springs's B Arc, which is Jack being home and making amends. OH there's also a Blinter fic that follows their meeting and courtship and shit. It's cute. And unfinished. And has been so for like. 5 years?

🍷 Do you drink and write?

Not frequently, no! Maybe done it once or twice.

🍆 Do you write the spicy stuffs? If so, what’s your most popular nsfw fic?

Ha, no.

🌞 Do you have a preferred time of day to write?

Yeah, during work hours. VERY inconvenient. Either then or well past midnight. Also inconvenient 🙃🙃

💖 What made you start writing?

This is a good question! I don't have an answer! I've made stories in my head as long as I can remember. My very first story was about a hippy who lost his magic button and had to find it. The hippy looked very much like Shaggy Scooby-Doo, lmao.

Once my cousin showed me ff.net, all hell broke loose. I made so many lil OCs for me to experience fun stories in various universes! I was too afraid to post and started with original content (not fantasy, think like. Debbie Macomber Cedar Valley or w/e it was called books) and that was a GOOD experience, but for WHATEVER REASON, it was the freaking Santa clause movies that really had me writing nonstop and posting. I've yet to know why, but I know that these blorbos are now mine and I love them very dearly lol

💌 How do you feel about comments and feedback?

Love love LOVE them! All comments! I love paragraph long comments talking about fave parts or waxing poetic about different little allusions or similarities or symbols and shit I sneak in >:)

I've received ConCrit before and it was okay, but a lot of their criticism was because of like. Names for characters and such and why they were similar to place names and such, and things like. Like for example, someone being like "Why is Blaise still leading Crystal Springs? He abolished the monarchy? but is still leader?" And sometimes it's like, thanks for the crit, but like. Suspend ur disbelief/google Mayor Hazel McCallion lol. If I ever receive proper ConCrit I'll see how I feel about it then! I know it's supposed to be constructive, but the only ones I have seen forget the constructive bit and are just criticisms. Wild.

❌ What’s a trope you will never write?

ANYTHING to do with miscommunication. FUCK miscommunication, all my hommies hate miscommunication 😠😠

💲 Would you ever open commissions?

Ugh, that's a toughie. On the one hand, maybe! I'm decent enough a writer for decent fics and such. but on the other hand, I feel as though writing commissions are hard and I worry too much about getting other characters in character, you know? so probably no

🧐 Do you spend much time researching for your stories?

Not really, but when I do it's always something weird like, filing systems in the 1700s or weather patterns in Australia in the 2000s. that sorta shit.

🏆 What’s your most popular fic?

So if we base it on reviews, Crystal Springs definitely. But if we base it on QUALITY of reviews and readers, it's Frostmas. Frostmas has a lot of readers who don't read CS, so it's a bit more popular! I've also done some Danny Phantom one shots and those get a good amount of notes on tumblr :)

🎃 Do you write fics for certain holidays? Which is your favorite holiday inspired fic?

The only fic I write is for holidays, baybee. And it's Frostmas I think lol.

🎯 Have any of your readers accurately guessed major plot points? Care to share which?

YES! One of them guessed like, in Year 6 that Jacqueline was gonna do the big freeze! That was excellent! Here's the moment in question:

ON THE MONEY!

🎨 How do you feel about fan art of your stories?

I've only started getting fanart this year (that is, in big quantities) and I fucking LOVE it. It's been such an ego boost and helped em make new friends and feel really loved and appreciated! 💕💕💕

📈 How many fics do you have?

like 7 or 8 published on ff.net. But one is a collection of onehsots. So like, maybe more??? Also ItS exists but isn't posted and isn't written past Chapter 1 lol, though it is planned through to chapter 7 or 8 rn I believe. So maybe 9????

🦅 Do you outline fics or fly by the seat of your pants?

Bit of both! I list scenes I wanna include, or the general idea I want to explore, and go from there! Lots of point form notes that are almost writing. For example:

I am a srs writer, i swear (she claims after reading Blaise say "wtf is up son")

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

Okay, so! We have the sequel to the Santa Dump, AND the proper sequel to the Clifton Manor incident: the highly anticipated Clifton SOCIETY Incident. you can look forward to lots of funky things, including:

Charlie/Jacqueline friendship and being badass mother fuckers!

GOD TIER Jack sass

Santa being sweet to kids

Jack and Jacqueline kicking ass and taking names

The sane Cliftons thinking Jack and Santa are married, courtesy of Jacqueline and Charlie flubbing their cover story lmao

BUT I ALSO HAVE A REWRITE OF THE CALL COMING UP! Along with the part 2 to the original. But with updated lore and ideas and some fun Mother Nature moments and BABY SEASON SISTERS? HELLO?

🤗 What advice would you give to new fanfic writers that are just getting started?

Write for yourself, first and foremost

Mary Sues are FUN. Go crazy!

Double and triple check for grammar/typos :) They sneak by sometimes, and I know it's TEDIOUS but you'll thank yourself in the long run (war flashbacks to snow BOARDER)

PARAGRAPH BREAKS ARE YOUR FRIEND! NEW PARAGRAPH EVERY TIME SOMEONE NEW SPEAKS!

Said is NOT dead. Said is invisible, that's the real secret :)

💞 Who’s your comfort character?

I don't have an answer for this one, lmao. I don't quite have comfort characters like most people seem to have them? I have comfort movies! Comfort VIBES! but no characters :) All of my babies give me comfort tbh!

🧠 Pick a character, and I’ll tell you my favorite headcanon for them.

This one's more of an ask box shenanigan so instead I'm just gonna casually put the Crystal Springs FACTS tag right here 👀👀

🤩 Who is your favorite character to write?

Blaise and the Twins! Though I am LIVING for the vibes Jack and Winter are giving in Chapter 18 >:). See:

🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip?

Another one? Well alright, if you insist 😏😏. Have some fucking uh,,,, Clifton Society Incident?? 😏😏

😬 Which of your fics would you be most horrified for friends, family, or coworkers to stumble upon?

Probably The Clifton Society Incident. I mean, they're straight up myth hunters. The Head Dude wants to torture Santa and Jack. That's all shades of ah, fucked up lmao. You all saw what I did to him in the Santa Dump. It only gets worse >:)

🎉 What leads you to consider a fic a success?

Long ass reviews and a feeling of happiness with my me, unrelated to the reviews! If I post it and I like it and reading it makes ME happy, then the fic is a success :)

✅ What’s something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don’t mean to?

Evil Uncles? Idk why? Communication, but I know why THAT is. Bad puns, and sass between siblings, and also, a lot of witty snapbacks. Which I can't do on the spot IRL so I guess they have to go somewhere :)

📚 Would you ever want to turn writing into a career?

ABSOLUTELY! I'd love to separate Crystal Springs from it's very itty bitty fandom ties (at this point. this world is so developed y'all I'm. WHEW) and write it. I;ve got like 6?? Crystal Springs stories/spinoffs planned??

⌛ How long does it take you to write a fic, or a chapter?

A week at my most productive, 3 months to a year at worst. A year or two for Frostmas. That thing is a monstrosity.

🤯 What’s a genre you struggle with as a writer (ex. romance, action, etc.)?

Definitely mystery and like. Drama/suspense! I don't vibe with those and they don't vibe with me.

💔 Is there a fic of yours that broke your heart?

The Smile Shot "They Said it Couldn't be Done". That fucked me UP. ANYTHING with smol Jacqueline pre-Day of Darkness gets me heartbroken, but this one ESPECIALLY hits bc it's Jack's POV and hits home how bad curses do be ):

�� How do you feel about criticism?

Can't live with it, can't live without it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. And the gentler it is, the more it sticks! Being rude/cruel/dehumanizing in your crit makes the reciever less likely to take it and improve! If you're kind and gentle and remember the positives to mention, it'll stick more :)

🤭 Do you have a favorite tag to use when posting your works?

Dani writes! That's where ALL the writing is!

🥰 How do you feel about reader interaction? Are you open to receiving questions about your fics?

YES YES YES AND YES! PLEASE INTERACT I LOVE IT I LIVE FOR IT! IT'S FUN! :D