#weekly reading list 11
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
comfy-vember · 3 months ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Please refer to the pinned post for more information.
Prompts available in regular text below!
Comfy-vember 2024 - Prompt lists
PROMPT OF THE MONTH:
Healing wounds — Day together — Forehead kiss
“It doesn’t hurt when I’m with you.”
Song: ‘Safe and Sound’ by Taylor Swift
----
WEEKLY PROMPTS:
Week 1:
Scars — Mug of tea — Slow hug
“You know me better than that.”
Week 2:
Verbal affirmation — Movie night — Loving gaze
“Let's go home.”
Week 3:
Putting on ointment — Care for caregiver — Rain on the roof
“I've got you.”
Week 4:
Apology — Happy tears — Hot chocolate
“You aren't dead?”
----
DAILY PROMPTS:
Day 1: Breaking bad habits — New day — Train ride
Day 2: Favourite song — Holding hands — Walking and talking
Day 3:  Special breakfast — Spoon feeding — Forehead kiss
Day 4: Bed rest — Mug of tea — Soft music
Day 5: Saying their name — Hand on knee — Dressing fancy
Day 6: Weak crying — Trusting — Slow hug
Day 7: Eye of the storm — Sleeping on shoulder — First hug
Day 8: Found — Thunder shower — Fresh fruit
Day 9: Scars — Passing smile — Baking cookies
Day 10: Overcoming fear — Sharing a bed — Lullaby
Day 11: Verbal affirmation — Couch cuddles — Nose kiss
Day 12: Hand on shoulder — Practical gift — Movie night
Day 13: Relearning a skill — Surprise compliment — Fresh laundry
Day 14: After nightmare — Day together — Random gift
Day 15: Shopping trip — Storytelling — Laughing phone call
Day 16: Carrying — Reading aloud — Loving gaze
Day 17: Healing wounds — I love you text/note — Rain on the roof
Day 18: Coming home — Kitchen dancing — Sleeping in
Day 19: Putting on ointment — Thick blankets — Sunset
Day 20: Desperate hug — Sharing food — Care for caregiver
Day 21: Enthusiastic greeting — Late night laughter — Waking up together
Day 22: Bail out — Car ride — Lamplight
Day 23: Remembering medication — Art on fridge — Warm toast
Day 24: Apology — Palm kiss — Campfire
Day 25: Washing bloodstains — Hair brushing — Cheek kiss
Day 26: Confession — Crying hug — Picnic
Day 27: Promise keeping — Quick hug — Beach/waves
Day 28: Cast taken off — Sleepy kiss — Hot chocolate
Day 29: Showing up — Birthday gift — Bicycle
Day 30: In dreams — Happy tears — Dancing in rain
578 notes · View notes
thebestofoneshots · 1 year ago
Text
SERIES MASTERLIST
Gilded Constellations | (wolfstar x reader)
Tumblr media
Summary: You meet Sirius and Regulus at a family vacation in the Caribbean, but things don't go as planned and you end up losing contact once the trip is over. Years later your family moves to England and you get accepted at Hogwarts where you finally meet Sirius once again, along with all of his friends. One of them with a mysterious secret, that you'll uncover as you embark on your own Hogwarts adventure. Mostly canon-compliant. This IS a wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it.
Tumblr media
Read Gilded Constellations on AO3
Read the French Translation by @nagareboshi-chiyo
Paring: Sirius Black x Reader / Remus Lupin x reader / Wolfstar x reader
Chapter average: 5k - 6.5 k
Content: Smut in later chapters, Poly!Marauders, throuple, graphic descriptions of violence, MAJOR and minor character death (this is The Marauders Era guys, you know), jealousy, angst, pining, love triangle, LGBTQ+ themes, The Wizarding war 1.0, implied child abuse, possible proofreading errors, mental health struggles, hurt no comfort, hurt with comfort, period typical attitude, first war with Voldemort, canonical character's death, fluff, Requited Love, F/M/M, mostly canon-compliant.
Status: Ongoing (Weekly updates)
♡ Indicates SMUT
Tumblr media
PLAYLIST
01 | Summer Breeze
02 | Escape
03 | Bitter Sweet Symphony
04 | Rainy Days and Mondays
05 | Good times
06 | Crazy Little Thing Called Love
07 | Peaceful Easy Feeling
08 I Fooled Around and Fell in Love
09 | The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke
10 | Black Dog
11 | Do Ya
12 | You really got me
13 | Rebel, Rebel
14 | Maybe I’m Amazed
15 | No One Like You
Interlude (Q&A Event)
16 | Boogie Wonderland
17 | Tonight’s What It Means To Be Young
18 | Friends will be Friends
19 | Silver Bird
20 | Bad Moon Rising
21 | Fox on the Run
22 | Long Long Way From Home
23 | Hungry Eyes
24 | Peace of Mind
25 | I’ll get Even With You
26 | Hooked on a Feeling
27 | Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
28 | If You Want BIood, (You’ve Got It)
29 | With a Little Help From My Friends
30 | Bridge Over Troubled Water
31 | Strange Magic
32 | Come a Little Bit Closer
33 | More Than a Feeling
34 | You Belong to Me
35 | Chill of Desire
36 | Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy
37 | Gimme, Gimme, Gimme
38 | Let the Good Times Roll
39 | Running With the Pack
40 | Hot Stuff
41 | Urban Adventure
42 | Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
43 | Sympathy for the Devil
44 | No One But You
45 | Hold The Line
46 | Comfortably Numb
47 | Let Me Take You Home Tonight
48 | Dust in the Wind
49 | High Hopes
50 | Love the One You're With ♡
51 | Some Guys Have All The Luck ♡
52 | Twentieth Century Fox
53 | Too Much Love Will KiII You
54 | Sail Away Sweet Sister
55 | Noone Together
56 | Who Wants To Live Forever
57 | Play the Game
58 | Staying Power
59 | Break on Through
60 | Stone in Love
61 | Mr. Blue Sky
62 |
63 |
64 |
65 |
66 |
67 |
68 |
69 |
.
.
.
.
BONUS TRACKS:
Your Theories, The Note, The Costumes, Sirius and the Chimney, Sirius and Vix after the bad moon, Evans and Vixen, Remus and Vixen at the infirmary, Remus holding Sirius at DADA, Remus and Sirius’ height difference, the FOXSTAR picture, Art by @nineloseteeth, We're going French,
Tumblr media
Leave a comment telling me if you want to join the tag list
A/N: Most Poly!Marauders fics are oneshots, where the relationship between characters is already established, and they're all happy and pleased with it. No issues, no drama, but I WANTED the drama. Couldn't find it, so I set myself up to write the story behind the stablished relationship. I wanted to know how they started dating each other, the jealousy, the will they won't they, because getting into a poly relationship can't be an easy task, and I wanted to explore that story. If you're interested: Welcome to Gilded Constellations!
2K notes · View notes
captainkirkk · 2 months ago
Text
✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩
All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.
Marvel
how to return home by JBS_Forever
Flash Thompson is a good person, but not a great one, so when Peter Parker accidentally gets drunk at his house party, all he can do is say, “Shit.”
Or: the one where Flash is just trying to be a decent person and get a drunk Peter home. Peter, on the other hand, has different plans.
scandal of the century by joshriku
The headline reads:
STEAMY SEX TAPE BETWEEN MAGNETO AND PROFESSOR X LEAKED!
“All right,” Charles says. “I wouldn’t call it steamy, you know, that’s an exaggeration.”
“That is seriously not the point, Professor,” Jean answers.
(A sex tape is leaked. PR crisis ensues).
DC
two vigilantes carry a cake across gotham by JBS_Forever
Jason's had a nagging suspicion that Bruce keeps stalker-esque levels of tabs on all the places he’s lived, so when Tim Drake shows up at his apartment door, it takes only a half second for Jason to level his gun directly at Tim's stupid face and to say, bored, “Give me one reason not to shoot you.”
Honestly, he knew Bruce had a problem, but sending a bat to his doorstep? This is just ridiculous.
Or: in a scheming attempt to make them bond, Bruce forces Jason and Tim on what should be a simple quest: retrieve Alfred’s birthday cake from across town and make it back before the party.
But this is Gotham. And nothing is ever simple in Gotham.
racing on the thunder by merils
Fortunately or unfortunately, Clark Kent is kind of used to getting phone calls about his too-curious-for-her-own-good wife being held hostage somewhere. Superman usually handles it.
Conner Kent gets a phone call meant for Clark Kent, who is Superman, who is currently in space. Uh.... Have no fear, Superboy is here!
What could possibly go wrong?
Original Works
Halfway Home for Wayward Mages by hoebiwan
Part 24 of mage in a wolf pack (This whole series kills me)
He wouldn’t mind it if Lada collared him, if Khalida or Dimitri collared him, because none of them have forced him to hurt anyone, whether human or wolf. They mostly just want him to—
Live, Jaime. Live.
In which the wolves rescue Jaime, but he doesn't realize he's free.
the sin eater by whitegeraniums (puertoricansuperman)
Part 25 of mage in a wolf pack
Lada, alpha of the Hearthstone wolf pack, finds herself in possession of a captured, broken werewolf hunter.
ATLA
Keeping Ones Head Down by ApoplecticAtPeace
Part 3 of May You be Noticed by The Fire Lord
Bao lost his ability to walk when he was 19. Despite the prejudice of many Fire Nation citizens, he got a job as an accountant in the Royal palace, in the Department of Education. After 11 years of working quietly, keeping his head down and allowing his work to be claimed by others, he expected nothing to change when Fire Lord Zuko took the throne. He didn't expect the entire department to be reformed under the new Minister Shu-Lin, and Bao's overlooked position with it.
Clone Wars
Something in the heart beat like a drum by CombatBootsandDreams
Most Jedi only have to take three formal sexual education classes. Obi-Wan, in all their blessed biology has to take five.
Or: Obi-Wan growing up in a galaxy where Stewjoni are Succubi. This changes very little--but it does make certain things a hell of lot more interesting.
A Stewjoni are succubus au that has way less to do with sex, & is more about logistics, medical problems, and cuddling. Featuring Qui-Gon being an excellent master, codywan, aromantic Quinlan Vos, Obi-Wan using he/they/she pronouns, and plenty of costume changes.
219 notes · View notes
garagepaperback · 6 months ago
Text
curse
“So, that wouldn’t even work, but thanks for the grand heroic rushing in. A certain element of purity is needed to break it." Malfoy licks his lips, "You’d have to be a virgin.”
Harry keeps every muscle on his face particularly still, hoping it looks to Malfoy as absolutely blank as it feels to him. Half a minute passes.
“No,” Malfoy, already doing a poor job of sitting normally on his chair, bends in half, nearly falling out of it. He’s laughing. “No, Potter, no. No - don’t - you’re twenty-five years old!”
“And?” Harry asks, heat staining his face.
This late, the Ministry canteen is empty aside from the two of them. The room fills with Malfoy's breathy, strange laugh.
His shoulders shake - but there’s something off, the noise doesn't feel particularly related to amusement. It sounds like the joy has been scraped out with a butter knife. More of a hollow, mean lament, closer to the sort of groan forced out by a particularly tenacious foot pressed down hard on the ribcage. 
“You’re head Auror.” A moan, then, fully. He sounds genuinely upset. Harry shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “You've been plastered at the top of Witch Weekly's Coven's Most Coveted list for more than half a decade - last time they included that bloody photograph of you gallantly throwing yourself down a rope off a fucking cliff with your wand between your suspiciously straight teeth.” Malfoy pulls himself back up. He wheezes, nearly angry, “Look at your shoulders!”
Harry rolls his eyes and draws them into himself, uncomfortable with the paid attention along with every other element of this. Clearing his throat, he runs his tongue along his teeth - which are a normal amount of straight.
"Shut up. You're twenty-five, too, you tosser. What are you doing reading Witch Weekly?"
for day 11 of @microficmay
286 notes · View notes
pandora-writes-one-piece · 1 month ago
Text
The Meet Cute - Law's Story - 10
Tumblr media
Source for pic
The Great Pretender 10 🔞
Word Count: 4329
Tags For The Whole Story: Fem!Reader; Law is a soft dom; you have bratty tendencies (not all the time); voice kink; praise kink; cursing; very suggestive behaviour and innuendo from the start; sexual tension; teasing; so much flirting; romance; slow-burn; fluff; slight angst; mature audiences (though explicit NSFW moments will be properly tagged on the chapter); possessive Law; protective Law; soft Law; teasing Law; manipulative Doflamingo; inappropriate Doflamingo; fake relationship trope; only one-bed trope; reader has some anxiety issues; reader is a control freak and perfectionist; modern day AU; Mention of ex mentally abusive relationship;
Special Warning: English is not my first language, I apologise for any possible spelling or grammar mistakes.
Summary: After moving away from the hustle and bustle of Grand Line City to help your father around the property following a horse-riding accident - and in the hopes of healing your broken heart after your asshole ex-fiancé cheated - you settle into the country calmness of the Calm Belt. You and Law (your father's doctor) start to build a flirty friendship because of your father’s procedure. So much so that when he’s invited to Baby 5’s wedding (his cousin), he asks you to be his date. His uncle Doflamingo - who is filthy rich - is very adamant on finding a suitable wife for him. Seeing as he wants to avoid that, he asks you to pretend to be his girlfriend for the weekend.
Notes: Forgive me guys, I haven't really had the time to write a lot this week, and I'll be teaching a course near the end of the month so, limited time again. I might have to stick to one weekly update instead of two. Sorry! Also, the 🔞 is for very suggestive talk. I hope you enjoy this one!
Masterlist |Chapter 9| | |Chapter 11|
“The game is pretty simple!” Baby 5 begins, a microphone in hand. The bride has rounded up all the couples on today's guest list - there are around a dozen, from younger couples to older couples - and she's explaining the rules of the first game. Law tried to shy away from the festivities, but Baby 5 wanted her favourite cousin to enter the games. You're pretty excited about it too, it might be fun. “One of you grabs a heart-shaped balloon and writes a love message on it. I'll collect them, inflate them, and read the message. It's the job of the other half of the couple to guess which message is meant for them.”
“Oh, this is fun!” You say while reaching for the balloon. 
Law takes the balloon from your hand with a smirk. “Very fun, let me.” The glint in his eyes tells you that his message will be interesting and you're both dreading and anticipating it. 
Law turns his back on you when he catches you peeking at what he's writing and you stifle a giggle. When Baby 5 comes to collect the balloon, she raises her eyebrow. “You let Law write the message? Oh, this is going to be interesting.” Law smirks and you gulp. 
“Alright, I have all the balloons here! Now, when I read what you think is the message for you, you come and claim your balloon, got it?” The crowd agrees and she claps excitedly. “Partners who wrote the message, no cheating!” 
Law senses your excitement and he chuckles, placing his hand on your lower back and pulling you closer to him. “This is a silly game.” He says, but you notice the slight amusement in his tone. 
“You don't have to pretend that it's annoying you, Law, I can see you're entertained.” You awe and clap at an older couple whose message was part of a love poem: ‘She walks in beauty, like the night, of cloudless climes and starry skies.’
“Oh, I will be entertained, alright. Pay attention, sweetheart, you don't want to miss my message.” He sounds so mischievous that you have to giggle. 
Baby 5 keeps reading the balloons and the messages are all heartfelt confessions and love poems. You can almost bet your savings that Law would never write something like that, and his smug smirk confirms it. 
As you look at him, your heart flutters slightly in your chest and, once again, you feel like you’re part of a real relationship. Your lips are still tingling from the earlier kiss - public claim? - and, suddenly, you feel bad for having pushed him too far. His reaction was unexpected and you were only thinking about yourself in the moment. Perhaps it wasn’t your brightest move.  
“Law?”
He hums softly near your ear, sending a ticklish sensation down your neck, his eyes never leave his cousin. 
“I owe you an apology.” You both clap as another couple guesses the message right - ‘If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you’ - and then Law fixes his amber gaze on you with curiosity. 
“Why?”
An exasperated sigh leaves your lips. “I pushed too far this morning.” A light blush tints your cheeks and you look back at Baby 5 to avoid Law's piercing gaze. “We… we were both vulnerable with each other yesterday, baring our insecurities and fears and I… foolishly joked about…” You gesture around with another sigh. “Mingling.” 
Law doesn't speak, and though you're still watching Baby 5, hearing her read ‘I love you more than chocolate. But please, don’t make me prove it’, you can feel his gaze burning your face. 
A laughing girl walks towards Baby 5 and her girlfriend gives her a very heated kiss that gets the crowd cheering. Law pinches your chin with his index finger and thumb forcing you to look into his eyes and, for just a second, you're scared of what you're about to find there. 
Which is silly, because there's only tenderness. 
“Sweetheart, I love the way you push me. Trust me, it was nowhere near far enough.” He dips his head, his lips hovering just above yours. “I can read you like a book and I know when you're testing me playfully. Don't worry on my account, okay? I'll be honest if anything rubs me the wrong way, as long as you do the same.”
You nod, too stunned because he used the word love and it's still bumping around your head as if it were a ball and your brain the pinball machine. 
“Oh, my.” Baby 5 has just inflated another balloon and she's giggling into the microphone. “This one is interesting.” Somehow you know this has to be Law's message and he must sense it too because you both look back at the bride, your heart hammering with such violence that you think it might just jump out and start walking on its own. “It just says: ‘Mine’” She turns the balloon towards the crowd, some laugh, some gasp, you flare up, turning beet red. Your hand flies to your mouth to stifle a gasp that turns into a giggle. This is so Law! 
You take a deep breath and shake your head as you stride forward to retrieve your balloon, ignoring whistles from the crowd as they realise who wrote the message. “Oh, I should've guessed!” Baby 5 laughs as she hands you the balloon. “Look out gentlemen, I think this was more a warning than a message!”
You're still blushing as you return to Law's side, feeling all eyes on you. You especially notice a pair of flaming red ones piercing you from behind tinted sunglasses. 
“Mine, Law, really?” His smirk is impossibly smug. 
“I told you people shouldn't stare. Now they know.” His eyes scan the crowd and he grunts again, enveloping your waist with both arms and pulling you closer to him. “Or maybe not. Maybe I should tie that balloon to your dress so everybody gets the message.”
You giggle at his silliness - especially because nobody is paying attention to you at this point - and you playfully wrap your arms around his neck, feeling more like a couple than ever and trying to convince yourself that you’re only doing this for the sake of your ‘fake relationship’. “So I would be walking around carrying your heart, Law?” You tease him with another giggle, your fingers playing with the hair at his nape without you giving them permission to. The stare he pins you with is serious and unwavering. 
“What if you already are?” 
A rush of heat travels through your body at his words and you swear your heart stops for a beat, restarting again, pounding faster and harder. What? The smile on your face is quickly erased as you're trying your hardest to read Law's expression. He didn't use the signal. He didn't even say his ‘if this were true’ motto. Is he being real? 
You open your mouth to answer when you're interrupted by Baby 5. “Guys, I already called everybody for the next game! Come on, you can suck face later.”
You smile wearily and let go of Law, taking his hand instead to follow her. Yet you can't stop the loud beating of your heart or shake away the kaleidoscope of butterflies swirling in your stomach. 
Is this real?
-*-
You've been playing silly trust games, like walking blindfolded and only following your partner's instructions and answering quizzes with questions like, ‘what’s your partner’s favourite colour?’ or ‘what’s your partner’s favourite movie?’. Safe to say you got all of those right and passed with flying colours. 
Now, Baby 5 announces yet another game and Law groans, looking at his watch. “Got somewhere else to be?” You ask with a grin. You’re actually enjoying this way too much while Law looks more miserable by the hour. Doflamingo hasn’t addressed any of you since his earlier interaction, so you’re feeling confident since everyone else takes you for a real couple who’s madly in love. 
“Anywhere but here?” He smirks at you.
“I think this might be the last game, then you’re off the hook.”
“Alright, alright, everyone gather round! So for this final game, we’re going to have one partner blindfolded…” She pauses for dramatic effect and the guests cheer. “And, in complete silence,” she emphasises the words, “they’re going to have to find their better half by touch alone while navigating the crowd. Now, this is where it gets fun! I’m inviting the singles to join in on the disruption! We don’t want the game to be too easy, do we?”
Watching Doflamingo and Bellamy join the area, you tense up again. It’s time to step up your game. You’re not going to fail this. Law is also visibly tensing and you sense his uneasiness when he reaches for the blindfold and tells you to turn around.
“You’ll find me. I know you will, this is just a silly game and we’ve already proven that we’re very good at silly games.” He whispers near your ear before setting the silk material over your eyes and tying it up in a tight knot. Your head jerks back softly with the motion and you can’t help but let out a small gasp. Law notices it because in a heartbeat his lips are back near your ear. “You like that, sweetheart, being blindfolded by my hands?”
The voice! 
Swallowing the lump that suddenly formed in your throat and wiping your sweaty hands on your dress, you nod slowly, not trusting your voice enough to grace him with an answer.
“Noted.” He slurs and places the lightest of kisses on your neck, making you shiver as you try to focus more on the task at hand and less on the throbbing between your thighs.
“Everybody ready?” The crowd cheers at Baby 5’s words, but you remain silent. You’re not ready. This is losing control to the extreme, and Law is not near you anymore. So you’re already feeling lost and overwhelmed, because losing control to Law is one thing, losing control, period, is another. “Begin the search for your partner, couples! Singles, disrupt!”
You take slow shallow breaths to try and calm the beating of your heart. You know there are no obstacles in the area around you, just people. A lot of people. Some bump into you, making you gasp from the sudden contact, others snicker and laugh around you to try and confuse you and it’s all too overwhelming.
Maybe you shouldn’t have done this.
“Focus, sweetheart.” You hear him somewhere to your right, so you turn in that direction.
“This is a silent game, people!” Baby 5 admonishes Law without singling him out, but it’s alright because his voice grounded you and you do as he says: you focus. 
You move tentatively, small steps at a time, hoping people get out of your way before you bump them. You reach out your hands so you can try to discern guests, trying to find Law. Here, a suit, shoulders, it’s not him. Too short. “Nope.” You mutter and move forward, step by step. Your fingers grip against a tie and you dismiss another person, Law’s not wearing a tie. “Not you…”
Slowly you begin to gain your confidence back, quickly dismissing guests because you can easily feel they’re not Law. Until you bump against someone who doesn’t get out of your way. Muttering an apology, you extend your hand and find a hard, steely chest. But it’s too high. It’s not Law. “Not you.” You make a move to continue your path, but the person grips your hand before you can completely pull away. A small intake of breath parts your lips as your hand is pressed firmly against the chest again. 
“Are you sure I’m not who you’re looking for, princesa?” He whispers and your legs wobble while a cold shiver runs through you. You try to remove your hand, but Doflamingo’s grip is strong. “Check again.”
“No, sir.” You wince as he grips your hand harder, but you know he won’t do anything else, you’re in public. “I’m looking for Law, not you.” You say as you pull harder and he releases you with an icy chuckle. 
“Are you sure about that?” His question follows you but you pretend to ignore it as you trek forward, nerves rattled, panting breaths and wishing for this to end. 
And then you feel the lightest brush of fingers against your waist. You’re not quite sure the direction it came from, but it doesn’t matter because your instincts take over and you’re drawn to Law as if you are magnets. Your hands collide against his chest and a jolt travels up your arms and settles gently in your chest. “Law.” You whine in relief as his hands remove the blindfold from your eyes.
When his gaze meets yours, you see a hint of worry in his golden eyes. “Hey, it’s over. I’ve got you.” You nod, your fingers digging into his shirt as his arms wrap around you in a warm embrace. “Lost too much control, sweetheart?”
You stifle a resigned chuckle against his chest. “I never want to play this again. I hated it.”
His presence grounds you and soothes you. His scent envelopes you in a comforting embrace while his arms pull you back into the controlled environment your mind had wandered away from. You're still basking in his comfort when Baby 5 approaches you both with a wide grin, dragging Sai by the hand. “Congratulations, you two. You won our games contest!”
“Contest?” You ask, pulling yourself away from Law with a tremendous effort. 
“Yeah, silly! Maybe if you two stopped being so lost in each other, you would've actually listened to what I said.” She rolls her eyes and sighs. “You won a private photo shoot with my wedding photographer - the best in Grand Line City!” She squeals in excitement. “So go change into your formal attire for the rehearsal dinner and meet the photographer by the greenhouse in half an hour, got it?”
A photo shoot? For you two? As a couple? 
Your heart warms at the prospect of keeping a memento of the wonderful time you are having with Law. But your mind tells you that it will just be a memory of something that is bound to give you heartache when you eventually fall apart. 
“Sounds fun.” Law says near your ear, and his words are such a contradiction to the scowl on his lips that you can't hold back a laugh. 
“You could've fooled me. We'll be there, Baby 5. Thank you.” The grunt Law exhales only makes you laugh harder. 
-*-
You had previously selected the dress for the rehearsal dinner - or Nami did, actually - and it's gorgeous. The dress hugs your body perfectly with strategically placed slits to enhance your figure. Its colour makes your eyes pop and your hair stand out. It's perfect. As you look at yourself in the bathroom mirror, you can't help but feel a tingle of excitement at Law's reaction. He always has a compliment ready for you, but you've never looked so gorgeous as you do now. 
Closing your makeup case and adding the finishing touches to your hair, you glance at the half-open zipper on the back of your dress. Maybe if you really tried you could've closed it yourself, but you decide to ask for help instead. 
Today things with you and Law have been going great. You've bonded, you've kissed, you've flirted… It feels like a real relationship. Maybe… Maybe you can take this one step further, why not? You're both adults, if you like each other what's stopping you? 
‘Nothing’ is the word that keeps repeating in your head as you open the bathroom door. Your heart was already thumping dramatically against your chest, but one look at Law dressed in a complete suit has you salivating on sight. 
Your legs almost lose their strength when he locks eyes with you. He looks so handsome. 
“You look-... - you’re beautiful.” His eyes burn into your figure and a blush creeps its way to your nose and cheeks. 
“Thank you. You look very dashing yourself, Mr. Trafalgar.” You imitate a posh accent and he chuckles. Then you turn slightly. “Can you help zip me up?”
You hear a confirmation as he approaches you with large strides. You're in front of the vanity so you can see him behind you. And you're mesmerised by him. You watch his throat bob up and down as he stares at your bare back, his eyes darkening with a haze and you feel a tingle in your skin even before he raises his hands. His mere presence commands you and then you make the mistake of taking a deep breath. He smells divine. 
Law's hands touch the back of your dress and his fingers are light as feathers. He's breathing near the curve of your neck and each of his rapid breaths brings a shiver down your spine, a clenching to your heart, and an ache between your thighs. 
“You're driving me insane…” He murmurs against your skin and you close your eyes, the deepness of his voice enveloping you like a lover's caress. His fingers graze your back as he slowly pulls the zipper up. “You look gorgeous…” Law brushes his lips against the exposed bone at the nape of your neck. “You smell delicious…” Burying his nose in the curve of your shoulder, he takes a deep breath. “You look ready to devour.” Then he exhales near your earlobe, making you arch your neck and grip the vanity so hard with your hands, that you almost sense the wood cracking. 
“Law…”
He pulls the zipper all the way up and you see him grin at you in the mirror, that particularly unhinged grin that makes you weak in the knees. “What is it, sweetheart? If you don't say what you want, how do I know what to do?”
Since his hands are no longer occupied with the zipper, he brings one of them to your belly, opening it flat against your stomach and pulling you flush against him. You can sense how much he's aroused by this moment and, judging by the ache between your legs, you're equally turned on. 
But what do you want him to do?
“Law!” You whine, not sure what to ask for but wanting him to give you everything. 
“Yes, sweetheart?” His hand traces patterns against your stomach and teases the underside of your breasts and, even without touching them, you can feel how hard your nipples are from all his teasing. 
“I don't know what I want, just… Please!” His low chuckle caresses your ear and sets you ablaze. 
“Maybe I can tell you what I want. How about that?” You can feel the deep rumble of his timbre coming from his chest vibrating against your back. His voice makes you throb and gasp and you nod. “That's good sweetheart. Open your eyes.” You do, chest already heaving from shortened breaths and cheeks slightly flushed. “You're going to watch your face in the mirror as I tell you all the things I want to do to you, got it? If you close your eyes, I'll have to punish you.” His thumb grazes your nipple again and you whine because the touch is not enough to soothe and it only serves to ignite. “I need a verbal answer.”
“Yes, Law. I got it.” You train your eyes on your expression and flush further at how vulnerable you appear. Your breath catches at the way Law's hand covers you and at how long his fingers are. 
“Take a deep breath, sweetheart.” You obey. “I’m going to tell you step by step what’s been playing on my mind on repeat.” Anticipation builds in your core and you clench your fists, holding your breath “I want to start by slowly licking every inch of skin on your body, worshipping you like the goddess you are and leaving no crevice untouched. I will take extra care with your neck, learning just how sensitive you are, and leaving you breathless.” His tongue traces a sinful pattern against your neck and you gasp. “And when I slowly get to your breasts, I will roll your nipple against my tongue, take it between my teeth and bite you in a way that's going to have you dripping down your legs. You won't know if it's pain, pleasure or both. And you'll want more of it.”
Your legs start to wobble at the vivid image he’s painting. The sensuality of his words is further enhanced by his voice and his touch. Law has you under his spell and you can't - nor do you want to - break from it. 
His other hand wraps around your neck, thumb pressing against your artery so he can feel it flutter under his skin, so he can sense how lost you truly are in this moment. You look at your reflection in the mirror and the throbbing between your legs only intensifies. “My hands will follow the trail my tongue creates with a gentle caress. I will have you arching your back, leaning against my touch, squirming and begging for more even before my tongue touches your clit.” 
An unbridled moan escapes your lips as you think about Law's head between your thighs and you close your eyes for a beat, too lost in the moment. Law presses your neck gently and pinches your nipple making you jump and mewl. “Law!” A gasp escapes you and he smirks deviously. 
“Eyes open sweetheart.”
“Fuck!” You mutter, your mouth half parted and your hands clenched into fists against your sides. 
“I know, I know.” The smugness in his voice only makes you wetter and by heavens above, you need this man to touch you. “You'll be cursing too, when I place my fingers inside of you just to find out how much you need me. And how ready and willing you are for me.” He lowers his hand, his pinky going lower than your abdomen and you throb incessantly, yearning for his touch. “Hot. Tight. Slick. Taking my fingers so well.” His words brush against your ear but they might as well be caressing you everywhere. This is unbearable. You need some sort of release. He's just building you up, his flames licking higher and higher and it's taking up all the oxygen. You need more. So much more. 
“Please, Law… please…”
“Yes, sweetheart. It's okay. You would behave so well, being such a good girl. You know what would happen?” You mewl a weak reply, something unintelligible even to you. “You'd come on my fingers once, and on my tongue again, until I bent you over this vanity and buried myself so deep in you that you would barely keep your eyes open.” His hot breath caresses your ear before he whispers, “And then you'd come on my cock. Twitching and squirming and taking all of me so, so well.”
Fuck, it's too much. His filthy talk is making you want to close your eyes and give in, touch yourself or rub against something to stop this ache, this need, this insane desire he keeps weaving with his sinful words. You need - want - everything! You…
“I want it all, Law.” You confess, breathless, as you turn your head to the side, facing him with hazy eyes and parted lips. Absentmindedly there's a little notification in your brain that pops up reminding you neither of you used the signal before this interaction. 
But who cares? 
Because Law's fingers tighten on your jaw tilting your face towards him, the hand on your stomach grips harder, fingers protruding your skin and he smirks smugly once more, though you can very well read the hunger in his eyes. “Can you handle it all?”
You nod for a second before you turn in his embrace and dig your fingers into his scalp, pulling him down to your lips into a heated kiss. He's as pent-up as you apparently, because his tongue latches immediately onto yours and his hands hoist you up, setting you on the vanity again in a repeat from last night, though this time there's no lingering hurt or unwanted vulnerability. There's not even the haze of alcohol between you. 
There's just desire. 
And maybe something more… 
This time there will be no what-ifs. This is true. You know it, you feel it. 
And it's happening. 
Law's hands caress your thighs and you open your legs for him in a silent invitation. The slits of the dress are there for his use, and he doesn't hesitate. Without parting the kiss, Law's fingers travel the inside of your thigh and you moan in anticipation. You know you're soaked. You need his touch. You can practically feel the tips of his fingers near your panties… 
Until Law's phone rings with a sound so loud it makes you gasp, your heart pounding harder against your chest as you both part, breathless and dishevelled. 
“Fuck!” Law curses, uncharacteristically rattled, and picks up the phone with a grunt. “Baby 5, I can literally see you. We're waving at you. Open your eyes!” Then he disconnects the call, places his hands on the vanity one on each side of your legs and sighs as his eyes search yours. “We have to go…”
You're still slightly addled. Your heart is still out of rhythm and the throbbing hasn't stopped, but you both know the moment has passed and you need to go. So you smile reassuringly at him, your hands resting above his, ignoring the way that touching him sends a jolt of electricity up your arm. 
“Raincheck?” You try, turning your smile into a smirk. 
A chuckle escapes his lips as he helps you get down from the vanity. “Definitely.”
Taglist: @rosidaze @beachaddict48 @armiliadawn @jintaka-hane @sprinkklz @baby5555 @hopelesslover06 @mars-mizuko @sleepykittycx @nerium-lil @eustasscapitankid @jqperi @rainbow2312 @ren-ni @alexturnersgirl
|Chapter 11|
147 notes · View notes
tin-wufborf · 3 months ago
Text
Tin's Favorite Sterek Fics (Part 16)
Hi there, and welcome back to Tin's Favorite Sterek Fics! I'm sorry it's been so long between installments this time. I started a new job last Wednesday which I absolutely love and am so grateful for, but it's got me working more and longer days (but with much higher pay), so I have been exhausted. Just a heads up, I'm probably only going to manage these on a weekly basis for the foreseeable future unless my workload suddenly lessens for some reason (which I have been assured that it will not).
Thank you all so much for your continued support of this series. It means the world to me. As always, I hope you're all having a good a day as you can, if not a great one.
Smoochies and squeezies, my darlings!
List and links to previous/next part(s) below the cut.
************************************************************************
DISCLAIMER: This is me warning you all that some of the fics I've included in this list may cover explicit, dark, and/or "taboo" subject matters. I cannot express enough how little I care what anyone thinks about any of that; all I want is for you to use caution when reading anything I've listed here and to please review and heed whatever tags the authors have provided in order to keep yourselves safe. Your experience from this point on is your own responsibility, not mine and not the authors'.
************************************************************************
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Que Dis-Tu? by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella) (G | 1/1 | 2,594)
“What, are you gonna tell me you know Russian next?!” Stiles demanded, flailing one arm, other hand still closed around the spine of his book.
“I do know Russian,” Derek confirmed, still looking confused.
Stiles dropped the book so he could flail both arms in the air. “Of course you do! Why wouldn’t you know Russian?!”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your Royal Assholeness by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella) (T | 1/1 | 3,327)
The second he walked in, Derek growled loudly and was beside him in an instant, reaching out to lightly touch his neck.
“Who did this?”
“What the hell is going on?” Stiles hissed in response.
“Your majesty.”
Stiles turned when the woman spoke, positive he’d misheard, but she was on one knee with her head bowed, and the wolves who’d all followed had done the same.
“Your what?” Stiles demanded, shocked, turning back to Derek.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You Have Reached... by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella) (G | 1/1 | 5,074)
“Why did you listen to the voicemails?”
“I like hearing you talk,” Derek said.
There were many things Stiles had been expecting after asking that question. That answer hadn’t been one of them.
“Any time we ever spoke before, it was always about what next problem we were facing and needed to solve. The voicemails are just you... talking.”
“Oh.” Stiles had never considered that.
(SNYE - January 10th - Long Distance)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In meeting his is born, In absence he has grown by lookingforatardis (T | 1/1 | 6,191)
The witch’s voice turned dark, powerful. Her head fell back as she chanted:
So it is written, so it becomes A debt for a debt A life for life, In the darkest of times With a mate by thy side In meeting he is born, in absence he has grown A son for a son, for the Highest Power, Her goddess the Moon draws balance once more With a love that endures. And so has been, and so it is, and so it will be.
- Or, A witch gives Derek a toddler after Stiles leaves Beacon Hills, and Derek definitely does not freak out about it and beg the Sheriff to call Stiles for help because he's his anchor (he definitely does)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Choice by Omni (T | 1/1 | 8,613)
Derek knows what it feels like to not really have a choice, what it's like to be manipulated. He'd never take away someone's right to choose freely. The fear of even accidentally doing so is enough to hold him back from acting on his own feelings.
Stiles has never had a problem making his own choices, and fuck anyone who would try to tell him he can't.
(Or: Stiles gets bitten by a different alpha, but of course would prefer to have Derek as his alpha. And also just, you know, have Derek.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wake Up Call by SylvieW (M | 3/3 | 10,084)
Derek has nightmares and now that Laura is gone there's no one to wake him up and comfort him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes is a World by jezziejay (M | 1/1 | 10,207)
When the nemeton casts a protection spell over Beacon Hills, Stiles can finally go to college. Derek thinks this might be a good thing.
In which Stiles falls in love and Derek learns a lot.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Five Times Derek Heard Something He Wished He Hadn't, and the One Time He Did by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella) (T | 1/1 | 14,841)
“This place is hell,” Derek decided. “This place is absolutely hell.”
How was it possible he’d gone so many years of his life without hearing anything nearly as over the top as he had just visiting Stiles at school? This had to be some kind of record for the most disgusting things he’d ever overheard.
--
(I mean really, the title says it all lol)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sigh No More series by elementalv (3 works | T-M | 16,472)
1. Sigh No More (M | 1/1 | 5,532) Scott respects Stiles’ decision not to take the bite right up until the day he doesn’t. That night, with the help of his father, Stiles leaves Beacon Hills for good. Warnings: See the Notes section at the end for warnings and possible triggers. The AO3 options don't quite cover what I need. 2. The Cave (T | 1/1 | 6,415) Chris has no idea how to salvage what was intended to be a diplomatic mission with an unknown alpha. 3. Winter Winds (T | 1/1 | 4,525) He hadn’t taken any particular pleasure in killing Peter for once and for all, though he was glad he’d thought to ask Deaton about what to do to make sure Peter couldn’t come back. Lydia wasn’t exactly thrilled with the countermeasures, but since it meant she wouldn’t have to raise him from the dead ever again, she dealt with it by making Scott pay in small ways and large. He accepts her treatment of him without comment, knowing that a lot of the mess the town is in could have been avoided if he hadn’t been such a dickhead all those years ago. And really, he thinks, as he’s patrolling near the Nemeton, dickhead doesn’t even cover what he did to Stiles.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Sound of Silence by Asterekmess (Livinginfictions) (E | 6/6 | 17,279)
Everyone is so sure Derek is dead, but Stiles can't accept it. Not when there are so many loose ends.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
doesn't weigh me down at all by kellifer_fic (T | 2/2 | 17,657)
"Your brother is cool. What happened to you?"
"Har, har, hilarious," Stiles says as Scott grabs him in a head lock and rubs the top of his head. "He's going to hold this one over me for ages," Stiles sighs after a few minutes of the sounds of just their feet shuffling through the undergrowth.
"Could've been worse," Scott says.
"I guess so."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children of the Wild Ones by bellefire (M | 2/2 | 18,081)
One turned corner was all it took—a single split second decision. A death. Stiles could never decide if that turn had been a wrong one or a right one.
In which Stiles is turned, gets a pack and takes a roadtrip to Mexico with people he used to not even like but are now somehow family, but first: murder.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
discretion's not what i need to sell series by marinbel (3 works | T | 18,492)
Told in three parts, in three perspectives.
1. discretion's not what i need to sell (T | 1/1 | 2,024) Stiles raises an eyebrow. “So am I not correct then that I saw you leaving Allison’s place this morning? From her bedroom window?” His eyes give Scott a once-over. “I’m sure the healthy flush is just from the run, and no other activities. And- oh, hey, is that hickey on your throat also from the run? I didn’t know that could happen.” Scott’s jaw locks. Fuck. Stiles shoves his hands into his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels. “Sorry, just curious. Since I thought you and Kira were still a thing, and all.” 2. one more confession (T | 1/1 | 7,395) He’s talking to someone on the phone. She hears him. “We’ll think of something. Don’t- hey, don’t worry about it. We’ll work it out. Okay? Okay. See you tomorrow, Babe.” The crack of light expands, Scott opening the door. He stops in his tracks when he catches Kira’s eyes blinking back at him. “Hey,” he says. “Hey,” Kira says back. “Who’s Babe?” “Hmm?” Scott goes, flipping the light off and coming back to bed, crawling under the covers and looping an arm around her waist. “You were on the phone with someone,” Kira says, like maybe saying it out loud will remind him of what he was just doing. “You said Babe. Who’s Babe?” . Alternatively, Kira finds out. 3. keep those tired eyes closed (T | 1/1 | 9,073) “You gotta let him go.” Derek watches him from the peripheral, dejected. He sees it just beyond his eyes, the ruminating and mind whirring and Derek says, “Hey. With me, breathe in.” He breathes in and Stiles follows along. “Breathe out,” they do so together, Derek saying on the exhale, “now let him go.” Stiles’ exhale is shakier but he gets through it. “I’m letting him go.” . Alternatively, Derek's trying his very best at being a supportive boyfriend.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Falling Up by PalenDrome (nerherderette) (E | 1/1 | 18,522)
Of all the things Stiles imagined could happen, he never thought he’d end up packless.
*****
Derek picks up his coffee and drains it slowly. "My place is a twenty-minute drive from here. I could show you, if you'd like," he says once he finishes. His tone is studiedly casual, but Stiles knows what a big deal it is. It's an offer to re-establish a connection with a former pack member. To invite Stiles into the new sanctuary Derek created for himself.
Stiles looks at his empty cup. He thinks of the miles he's driven. Of the motels and hotels and cheap campsites he's crashed at, and tries to keep his desperation to have something familiar, of not feeling so goddamn lonely, from his voice.
"Yeah. I'd really like that," he says, and if his heartbeat does a little swoop, Derek's too polite to mention it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To Find You Again by nightlight9 (E | 1/1 | 23,788)
The man standing on his porch waiting for him is unmistakable even after six years. Though his hair has grown out longer and there’s a scraggly beard covering his once bare chin, the unexpected guest is undoubtably Stiles.
Derek swallows and tries to subtly catch a whiff of his scent. Then he swallows again when he smells nothing but the Colorado trees.
“Stiles?” His mouth is dry. "What are you doing here?”
Despite the bags under his eyes, Stiles’ smile is bright. “Hey, Derek. I-. It’s been a long time. Can I come in?”
That's all it takes. Derek opens the door.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If These Ears Could Talk series by HappyJuicyfruit (11 works | G-M | 39,686)
Stiles is hard of hearing, that doesn’t stop him from running with wolves. Doesn’t stop him from dating one either.
1. Clueless (G | 1/1 | 4,748) After everything they’ve been through together, all Derek wants is for his pack to be connected with strong, thriving, pack bonds. And for the most part, its working. The pack is growing, healing, happy. He just needs to figure out why Stiles hates him so much. 2. Pack is Pack, No Matter How Far (T | 1/1 | 9,927) Derek tries to deal with his pack moving away for college. Stiles helps (a lot). 3. Come Light A Candle With Me (G | 1/1 | 1,804) Derek celebrates Hanukkah with Stiles. 4. Worrywolf (M | 1/1 | 5,470) After a few worrying text messages, Derek decides to go check on his boyfriend during midterm week. 5. Memories From You and From Me (G | 1/1 | 3,070) On the anniversary of his family's death, Derek tries to distance himself from the pack. Stiles doesn't let him. 6. It's My Party, I Can Yell If I Want To (G | 1/1 | 5,496) Derek has made a lot of mistakes in his life, and he has a lot of regrets. Currently, his biggest regret is forgetting his boyfriends birthday. 7. I Can Help With That (M | 1/1 | 3,277) “You can’t be the only hard of hearing person on the campus.” Stiles shrugged, “so?” “So, why don’t you make a club or something? You don’t really know anyone else hard of hearing, it could be really good.” “Did Derek Hale seriously just tell me to make a club?” 8. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do (G | 1/1 | 2,340) 8 years. Degrees, Master degrees, vet school, law school... It took 8 years, but finally, the Hale pack was together again in Beacon Hills. 9. As The Years Go By (I Just Love You More) (G | 1/1 | 1,811) It started with Becca, but it did not end with her. Or, how Derek and Stiles end up with a house full of kids. 10. Baby, I Was Born This Way (G | 1/1 | 1,051) He knew Stiles like the back of his hand. He knew that this silence wasn’t him. This stillness was unnatural. He’d been married to the man for twenty years. He had 8 kids with him. Stiles was a force of pure energy, he was a fighter to his core. It couldn’t end like this. 11. Oh, To Grow Old With You (G | 1/1 | 692) Derek yawned, looking out at his bird feeder as he waited for the kettle to boil. He would go out and refill it after breakfast. Do a morning walk around their territory. It would be a while before Stiles woke up, insomnia kept him up late most nights. And Derek’s bad back woke him up early. Werewolf healing didn’t fix everything, when you were old. Or, a very fluffy retirement.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No Time Like the Future by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella) (T | 1/1 | 40,590)
It wasn’t until he was ten that the full explanation came to him, because every year when a group of kids turned ten, schools had a one-day course specifically about soulmates, what they meant, and why everyone had weird writing on their arms.
Derek remembered sitting in that all-day class, completely horrified, and absolutely devastated. The course leader made it sound like a good thing. Soulmates were the other half of your own being, they were the person you were supposed to love and cherish, who would understand every part of you, and all that other garbage nonsense. He was not here for this.
It wasn’t that Derek had any understanding of love—not romantic love, and certainly not at ten years old—but he read a lot of books and watched some shows and movies with his family, and love looked like something different in those environments. Love looked like a choice, like the meeting of people, and the getting to know them, and actively falling in love with a person because they were amazing and nice and just fit.
Soulmates didn’t sound like that.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nature Red In Tooth and Claw series by HaleHathNoFury (My_Trex_has_fleas) (4 works | T-E | 47,930)
1. Mockingbird Smile (E | 1/1 | 3,554) Kate has come to Beacon Hills to seduce Derek Hale and kill the Hale pack. Maybe she should have done some more research first. 2. Dirty Paws (T | 3/3 | 6,309) Every fairytale starts with a beginning. 3. In Our Town Of Halloween (E | 6/6 | 28,168) It's Halloween, the one night of the year the Hale wolves and their pack get to let it all hang out. Unfortunately for them, someone is on their trail and looking for revenge. What happens next will change everything. 4. Silver Bullet, Silver Arrow (E | 3/3 | 9,899) The Argents have come for vengeance. They're about to get what's coming for them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It Was a Wednesday by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella) (M | 2/2 | 80,129)
“What happened? Where are you? What’s that sound?”
Derek jumped, having momentarily forgotten Scott was on the phone with him because Stiles had started moving. He’d stalked over to the other side of the cave, still eying Derek warily and growling, then settled protectively over a mass of clothes, leaves and animal innards. It was probably where he was sleeping.
Lovely. No wonder he smelled like death.
“Stiles,” Derek said, answering Scott’s question. Or, one of them, at least.
“Stiles? What do you—Stiles is making that noise?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“How fast do you think you can make it to the south lot of the Preserve?”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pretty Little Wolf series by ItsMe_Basil (3 works | T-E | 88,628)
1. Pretty Little Wolf (E | 35/35 | 82,164 ) Derek has heard stories about the Spark -the kind of stories that would have his younger self cowering under the blankets. The kind of stories that had Derek stick close to the pack. But when Derek is in trouble, and the pack isnt around, Derek finds himself in the care of said Spark, and he finds out fairly quickly that he's not all he seems to be. Stiles, he finds out, isn't a villain at all. Derek's only heard one side of the story for four years, and now it's time for him to hear the other side from his mate. *-* "Pretty little wolf," he hummed, stepping closer and kneeling beside Derek. Even in his death fogged brain, he recognized the words spoken. The words that were tattooed along his hip bone. The man reached a hand out, long bony fingers brushing against Derek's jaw. That's when recognition dawned on him. He knew this boy -not personally, but he'd seen pictures. This was the Spark. The one Scott had warned him about since Derek had returned to Beacon Hills four years ago. His mate. "Fuck me," Derek gasped out, dropping his head on the step. "Let's get you better, first, shall we, Puppy?" The Spark hummed. 2. Pretty Little Wedding (M | 1/1| | 3,650) Its been two years since the Hale pack moved to Hood River, and Derek couldn't be happier with his life now. He has Stiles, his family, and a town that treats them like family. Its everything he could ever hope to have. Almost everything at least. 3. Pretty Little Niece (T | 1/1 | 2,814) Cora and Lydia have a baby, Stiles and Derek fight about having children of their own, and Stiles slowly warms up to being an uncle! Part 3 of the Pretty Little Wolf series! If you haven't read thd first I recommend you do so!! These are just little snippets into the Hale packs life after they leave Beacon Hills!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
************************************************************************
63 notes · View notes
bakuhatsufallinlove · 9 days ago
Note
Hope you’re well. Do you know how much extra content volumes usually have compared to the number of weekly pages? Apparently we’re getting 60 extra pages. Is that a lot more than normal?
Hello! Thanks for the well wishes.
You've come to the right person, because I'm a weirdo who has done a ridiculous amount of research on Shueisha's tankōban releases and how they differ from WSJ serialization, so I have a good idea about how some of those pages are going to be used. I'm also gonna compare what we know about this final volume to those of other series.
Strap in for the spreadsheets and data party, pal!
First, here's a look at a selection of MHA volumes.
Tumblr media
EDIT: These numbers come from Shueisha's official listings of the volumes and their table of contents, cross-verified with the MHA fanwiki's chapter page counts, some of my own physical copies, and online fan scans.
As you can see, roughly 20 pages is typical. 58 seems wild in comparison. I wanted to know what those 20 pages were usually used for.
So, I went through my copy of volume 37 and did a breakdown of its contents.
Tumblr media
Now lemme explain some things:
Every tankōban will have between 4-6 pages for legal disclaimers ("this is a work of fiction", etc.), table of contents, and copyright information.
A "door" is a printing term for what one might call the volume title page or chapter title page (example in link). Not all chapters have "doors," most have their titles integrated into the first page, like so:
Tumblr media
The vast majority of tankōban have page counts that are divisible by four. This is related to the physical mechanics of printing and binding books, so it is unusual to find ones outside this format. Volume 11 is an outlier in this regard with 210 pages; in fact, the English language release cut those two surplus pages.
Tankōban may have dust jackets. MHA tankōban with dust jackets often have a second, internal "sketch cover" and a final page promoting the next volume. These are not included in page counts, and are thus not included in my breakdown.
Manga is of course read right-to-left; this means if you hold a tankōban open, odd-numbered pages will be on the left side and even-numbered pages will be on the right.
In professional publishing, chapters are structured so their first page of actual story content is on the left. Page planning, which is taught to new artists and enforced by editors, involves the odd-numbered page ending on some sort of "pull." Basically, page 2 might be drawn to lead your eye across the book, but page 3 has to make you want to turn the page and find out what happens next.
Basically everything published in Weekly Shonen Jump has chapters with an odd-number of pages, so it'll have 15, 17, 19, or 21 pages, instead of 16, 18, 20, or 22. This allows the chapter to both begin and end on the lefthand side; even-numbered pages before and after the chapters separate the different series with promotional ads.
What we think of as bonus material is mostly what I personally call adjustment pages: in order for every chapter to still begin and end on the odd-numbered page in the tankōban, they must be separated by at least one page that fills the even-numbered gap.
Sketches, quotes, doors, all that extra stuff is really just there to make the structure of the tankōban a little more appealing to the reader. In my breakdown, "adjust" refers to an even-numbered page that is totally blank except for a MHA logo in the bottom corner.
So, 4-6 pages for legal stuff and at least 1 page separating each chapter (typically 8-12), plus a few pages of extra art like character pages or chapter doors, you can see why we end up with roughly 20 pages more than the total of the chapter pages combined.
With this information, let's imagine what Volume 42 might look like.
Tumblr media
In this estimate, I just guessed it would have the same pattern of extras as Volume 37, since we know the final volume will have the results of the last WSJ popularity poll. This totals 146 pages, so basically, even accounting for the inter-chapter sketches, that's 38 pages of new, unknown content!
I've seen people guessing that the final volume will include the 2008 one-shot Horikoshi used as the basis for My Hero Academia, but I can basically guarantee you that won't happen, because when it was published in Akamaru Jump (which is now called Jump GIGA), it was 47 pages long. Yes, I went and found a Japanese blog post from January 2008 to verify this page count.
126 chapter pages + 4 legal pages + 8 adjustment pages between chapters + 4 pages for popularity poll + 47 one-shot pages = 189 pages, 5 pages too many. They would have to remove the adjustment pages to make it work, which totally fucks the flow of the manga.
Furthermore, the word used in the WSJ ad to describe the bonus material for the final volume (描き下ろし) specifically refers to drawings newly made for a special purpose. They simply would not use this to refer to a previously published manga being included.
For comparison, I researched the tankōban releases for a number of other WSJ series.
Tumblr media
Dr. Stone and Mashle's final volumes were basically identical to their regular volumes in terms of extras and content. I also researched The Prince of Tennis and Naruto as older comparisons, but I couldn't find information exact enough to warrant inclusion, but what I saw more or less matched Dr. Stone and Mashle.
As you can see, Demon Slayer is the weird one here, and it's obvious why. The series ended during the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Gotouge mentioned having a family member they needed to care for; a lot of people felt these issues contributed to Gotouge not being able to end the series as they had originally intended.
Demon Slayer chapters were typically 19 pages, but the last two chapters were 26 pages and 24 pages, uncommonly even-numbered. If you look at the final chapters and the epilogue in the tankōban, just numbers-wise, the ending could have been four 19-page chapters. But for whatever reason, that wasn't how it went down during serialization.
It's worth noting that the pages added to the tankōban do not change the ending, they merely provided greater emotional closure.
Side note but if anyone's gonna try and bring up Attack on Titan, I'm just gonna point out that AOT was a monthly manga published by Kodansha, a different company entirely. I imagine they have their own approach to marketing tankōban or special releases. You also have to consider the tastes and intentions of the creator, and hot take but I have absolutely no fucking positive opinions on that dude or his work, so it was no surprise to me that anything he added just made the ending worse.
TL;DR: Yes, it's a lot more than regular volumes! Content-wise, we'll probably get beautiful new illustrations and some revised page art that add details which improve pacing or themes. We might get a few extra chapter pages where a single serialized page gets turned into a big double-page spread, like we saw for Katsuki's fight with AFO.
There could be a couple new panels that bring more closure to things that were hinted at in the final chapters, who knows.
The only thing I personally want is a true bkdk handhold.
I'd love a double-page spread of Izuku taking Katsuki's hand and beaming up at him. Just insert it right there at the end before we see them all scampering off to make the world a better place. That would do my heart good.
35 notes · View notes
wordsofhoneydew · 7 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
fic rec time!! lfg
here i compiled a list of 11 amazing fics under 500 kudos!! you have angst, smut, fluff, pinging, grief, hurt/comfort. you fucking name it, it’s here.
happy reading!
Invisible by @nocoastposts [100, G]
For the Brownstone Discord Server's weekly drabble prompt "invisible".
Total Eclipse by @myheartalivewrites [1k, T]
Alex is not sure what the fuck is happening here.
“And if you only hold me tight…”
A man—probably the most beautiful man he has ever seen—is up on stage in this karaoke bar, absolutely murdering Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart and he’s pretty sure the guy is crying and it’s one of the most horrifying things he’s ever seen and Alex cannot. Look. Away.
Be Mine (And Be Yourself) by @itsmaybitheway [9k, E]
It starts with a misunderstanding, the way it always does with them.
Early on in their relationship, when there wasn’t even a relationship to speak of, the misunderstandings used to feed the animosity.
Then they’ve turned into something softer when their relationship turned into something softer. Purposefully misunderstanding each other just to take a jab, messing around for the fun of it or turning an innocent comment into a filthy innuendo and watching the other squirm.
But this? Oh a misunderstanding has never been this delicious, this appetizing. This one feels like the door to fucking sexy Narnia and Alex can not wait to eat those delicious Turkish delights
OR Henry just wants to be Alex's pretty little princess and Alex will make sure he gets his wish! AKA my Valentine's Day fic with housewife!Henry
it's so hard to get to heaven with my head in my hands by @anincompletelist [6k, M]
His mother would have a fit if she could see him now, taking comfort he isn’t owed from men he shouldn’t want it from. But Henry wipes his tears with the back of his hand and Alex begins singing the dulcet tune of a Spanish lullaby and George feels, perhaps for the first time in his life, like he belongs.
the tragic flaw is that they hide the truth (that you’re enough, you’re enough) by srrafoxjournals [6k, NR]
Alex has been staring.
For weeks now, actually.
Henry had originally chalked it up to Alex being, well, Alex. But lately, Henry can’t help but take it in as more than just his boyfriend's usual oddness.
Or: After gaining some weight, Henry feels self conscious. Alex however, loves his tummy.
blurred lines. by seafloor [5k, E]
Henry is a lovesick writer; Alexander a charismatic bartender. They’re still fated to fall into bed at some point.
I will/I will/We will by @tintagel-or-cockleshells [6k, T]
Alex's wedding planning business is going from strength to strength, but if he never has another wedding at Mountchristen Manor it will be too soon. He just can't get along with Henry, the venue coordinator, and the feeling is mutual. But when push comes to shove, the couple's big day has to come first.
I’ll be with him again soon by mymistakesweremade4u [3k, T]
It's sometime in mid-January, just a couple of months shy of his 95th birthday, when Henry finds himself surrounded by family in his and Alex's bedroom.
Or, Alex and Henry grew old together.
beg you on my knees (to stay) by @littlemisskittentoes [13k, E]
“Up.” Henry keeps the tone low. Controlled.
Alex is often frantic to follow commands, his limbs falling over themselves in his haste to obey. There’s no sign of that rushed need now. He takes his time, unfolding himself leisurely.
“You’re bold,” Henry monotones. He takes calculated steps forward, punctuating each slow stride with the unbutton and roll of his shirt sleeves. “I’ll give you that.”
“You’re only now realizing? Thought you were brighter than that, baby.”
keep me up all night / i wanna scratch your surface by @firenati0n [1k, M]
They step inside, greeted by moonlight streaming through the windows, illuminating their living room in a dreamy light; it’s enough to see outlines and shapes, enough to keep everything just a little bit secretive, a little softer around the edges.
Henry moves his hand to flick on the kitchen light, and Alex’s hand shoots out to grab his wrist. Henry looks down at him questioningly, blue eyes sparkling even with the absence of light. Alex always feels a little off-kilter around him, Henry both his center of gravity and his reason for vertigo. He’s stabilizing, and dizzying, and everything.
Alex’s thumb and index finger circle Henry’s slender wrist, exerting the slightest pressure. He feels Henry's pulse jump under his thumb.
“Get on the couch.”
don’t let me get drunk again by @getmehighonmagic [3k, E]
Alex had never wanted to cancel plans as much as he had while watching Henry pull a pair of light wash, tight jeans over his stockinged legs and bare ass.
Christ, he’s getting hard thinking about it now.
137 notes · View notes
daily-writing-challenge · 3 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
DAILY WRITING CHALLENGE 2024 IS BACK!
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO USE THE ACTUAL WORD FOR THIS CHALLENGE, YOU MAY SIMPLY BASE YOUR STORY AROUND ONE OF THESE IDEAS!
Choose one or both words/IDEAS and write a story, drabble, poem, or anything else once a day, every day, for a week!
Tag @daily-writing-challenge so we can reblog your stories.
Write the number day/challenge somewhere on your story.
LIST CONTENT WARNINGS VISIBLY ABOVE STORY! (Use a ‘read more’ line if content gets too graphic.)
Tags that will be used: #augustdwc2024,  #augustdayX2024 (X=whatever number day you’re writing for), #yourtumblrurl
There will be no optional challenges for the weekly DWC’s, but please feel free to make up some of your own challenges!
The next writing challenge will be in NOVEMBER 2024 and last one week!
CLICK HERE FOR OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION!
Good luck and more importantly, HAVE FUN! Encourage your fellow writers and show them some love and support with likes/reblogs/comments!
We look forward to reading some amazing writing!
((Written word list below the cut))
Day 1 - August 11 Melee, Tournament
Day 2 - August 12 Violence, Tenderness Day 3 - August 13 Fatality, Journey
Day 4 - August 14 Ego, Coincidence Day 5 - August 15 Mistake, Wild Day 6 - August 16 Corruption, Fulfillment Day 7 - August 17 Enigma, Victory
36 notes · View notes
adrl-pt · 3 months ago
Text
Saving Activist Andrey Gnyot. VPN Protest. Charity Lecture by a Political Philosopher.
You are watching the news from the weekly rally at the Russian Embassy in Lisbon. Today is August 24, 2:30 PM.
Since the end of last week, Belarusian and Russian activists have been holding a protest demanding that Belarusian activist Andrey Gnyot not be extradited to dictator Lukashenko. On August 21, Andrey and his lawyers shared the details of his case on the European Radio channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-upcgkIwWSA
On August 25 at 2 PM, we will gather in front of the Serbian Embassy in Lisbon at Rua de Alcolena 11. https://www.facebook.com/events/1043644033328903/
If you cannot come, please take photos with posters and send them to us at [email protected].
Sign and share the petition that could help Andrey in the Serbian court. https://www.peticije.online/slobodazaandreja
Also, support the fundraising for his legal defense. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-andrey-gnyot-save-his-life
We believe it is important to support Andrey because we understand the problems that dictator Lukashenko creates for Belarusians. Recently, with great difficulty, the rock band Bi-2 was saved from deportation to Russia. https://www.change.org/p/thailand-free-bi-2-rock-band
Currently, Russian citizen Vladislav Arinichev is under threat of deportation from Croatia. The reason is that Putin labeled him a "terrorist" and "extremist" for his anti-war statements. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU2JQ9NArqo
In April, Novaya Gazeta Evropa reported that Rosfinmonitoring is adding both people suspected of terrorist activities and, for example, employees of an Orenburg gay bar in a case about the alleged "extremist LGBT movement" to this list. This list already contains more than 14,000 people, including well-known journalists, politicians, and theater figures. https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2024/04/02/s-nachala-2024-goda-spisok-terroristov-i-ekstremistov-rosfinmonitoringa-popolnilsia-na-rekordnye-669-chelovek-17-iz-nikh-nesovershennoletnie-news
Back in 2018, Novaya Gazeta reported how law enforcement agencies find "extremism" in social media posts. https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2018/08/21/77560-etot-spisok-grazhdanskaya-smert
In the Freedom House Internet Freedom Rating, Russia ranks fifth from the bottom, while Belarus is seventh. https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-net/scores?sort=asc&order=Total%20Score%20and%20Status
On August 23, the director of the "Internet Protection Society" Mikhail Klimarev reported disruptions in the work of Telegram, WhatsApp, and Viber. https://t.me/zatelecom/28739
On July 26, he shared two working methods for bypassing the blocks and slowdowns of YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbTGhCYFIsY
These are the Ceno Browser and VPN generator. https://censorship.no/ru/download.html https://t.me/vpngeneratorbot/?start=BrSh2607
The Telegram channel "Tech Talk" published a link on how to purchase Amnezia VPN while bypassing the blocking of their main site. https://t.me/ru_tech_talk/543
They also provided instructions on how to connect MTProxy, which helped with Telegram blocking in 2018. https://t.me/ru_tech_talk/544
While Russians are protesting by installing VPNs, Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov burned the files of Russian draft dodgers at the Sudzha military registration and enlistment office, calling them "smart people." One of the comments under this video reads: "One Ukrainian soldier helped these people more than their native Russia." https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qaeEidnquCE
On August 27 at 7 PM, we will hold a charity lecture on what a revolutionary situation is. The lecture will be given by political philosopher Ilya Budraitskis. We recommend registering using the phone number listed on the poster so that we can better understand how many viewers will attend. https://www.facebook.com/events/1021147643042506/
We are holding this event as part of our regular support for the Netherlands Orphans Feeding Foundation, which works to return stolen Ukrainian children. If you can't come, please make a donation from home. https://www.every.org/orphans-feeding-foundation/f/help-us-return-the-deported
Proofs and links are in the description. Subscribe and help!
37 notes · View notes
hauntedhokage · 1 year ago
Text
Tumblr media
Established!Kirishima/F!Reader & Kirishima/Bakugou
Slow burn Bakugou/F!Reader for eventual poly!Kirishima/F!Reader/Bakugou
series summary: you’re a successful news woman in a very happy relationship with top 5 hero Red Riot…who’s boyfriend is very hard to read and you low key think he hates you. Eijiro knows him better, though, and knows that Katsuki just has a crush but doesn’t have the emotional capacity to do anything about it. All it takes are some well placed nudges, and a little patience.
series warnings: slow burn (like…very slow), Bakugou & Kirishima have an open relationship, miscommunications galore between reader and bakugou, smut in part 04 (so far)
{ao3} | [tumblr masterlist] | {ko-fi} | [spotify playlist]
New chapters posted weekly on Wednesdays - chapter list below the cut
01: Stolen Shirt
02: Introductory Lunch 
03: Awkward Encounters
04: Date Night
05: Corrective Measures
06: Fight Night
07: Aftershock
08: On the Mend 
09: Planted
10: Patching Up
11: Dance
12: Early Mornings
13: The Date
14: Proposals
15: Proposals pt 2
16: Delivery
17: Smitten
....other parts TBA
Said "sugar make it slow and we'll come together fine"
All we need is just a little patience
315 notes · View notes
medusapelagia · 6 months ago
Text
Other events: General, Rare Pairs, Character Centered Events - May Update
Stranger Things Big Bang ( @strangerthingsbigbang) The authors sign up are closed but the Artist sign up is open till May 11! Event info
Strangers Things Monsterfucker May challenge (@aidaronan) An event for the monsterfucker lovers! Event info
Hawkins microfic ( @hawkinsmicrofic) Here it is! Get ready to challenge yourself with a prompt and a defined number of words. May prompt is: Eyes - 528 words Event info
Billy Hargrove Big Bang ( @billybigbang2024) Billy Big Bang is back on under a new management! Join us! Writer Sign-Ups Close: May 15 Artist Sign-Ups Close: July 6 Event info
Stranger Things Sapphic Mini Bang ( @sapphicstevents) Writers Sign Ups are closed, but Artists Sign Ups are open till the 14th of June Event info
Corroded Coffin Fest ( @corrodedcoffinfest) This even will take place from July 1st thru July 31st but there are going to be some warm up events! MAY 15TH - GET A JOB JUNE 15TH - BAND ON THE RUN Event Info
A Stranger Summer ( @astrangersummer) A Strange Summer it's finally started! Have fun with some weekly prompts through the months of May, June, July, and August! Event info Prompts list
Summer Things Fest ( @summerthingsfest) A prompt base fest open to all ships! Prompts open on the 26th of April Claim from from the 10th of May Event info on AO3
BUCKLEWAY APPRECIATION WEEK Do you think it was a pity that Robin and Heather never got time together on screen? Here is your occasion to make it happen! Run from MAY 19 - 25 Event info
Metalsandwich Movie Mania ( @now-showing-at-the-hawk-events) Post-2000s Metalsandwich Movie Mania will take place June 9th-22nd Pre-2000s Metalsandwich Movie Mania will take place November 10th-23rd!  Event Info and prompts!
Eddie Munson Big Bang ( @eddiemunsonbigbang) It’s still a bit early but get ready to sign up to the most metal Big Band ever! Sign ups open on July 1st, 2024 and close on September 9th, 2024 Event info
Stevie week ( @stevieweek) A week were all Stevies are welcome! Non-binary, genderqueer, cisgender, gender fluid etc. From the 4th of July to the 10th of July Event info
Metal Sandwich Bingo ( @metalsandwichbingo) The bingo will take place 1 Oct - 31 Dec, 2024, more info closer to the event! Event Info
Steve Harrington Big Bang ( @steveharringtonbigbang) Finally we have some info about this Big Bang that was postponed to 2025! Sign Ups Open -- January 01, 2025 Sign Ups Close -- March 21, 2025 Event info
Stommy Big Bang ( @stommybigbang) It's still a work in progress but keep an eye on their page for more info soon!
StrangerThings Reverse Big Bang ( @strangerthingsreversebigbang) This year Big Bang was such a huge success that I can't wait for the next one! Sign-ups opening September 2025!
As always feel free to reblog and add other events!
Under the cut the past events if you want something to read!
Stranger Things Reverse Big Bang @strangerthingsreversebigbang Here is the AO3 collection !
Rare Pair Roulette ( @st-rarepair-roulette) Find all the fics in the AO3 collection!
Stranger Things Femslash ( @strangerthingsfemslash) Here is the AO3 Collection
42 notes · View notes
philocalistherz · 3 months ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
«───« ⋅ʚ Semester reset ɞ⋅ »───»
➴"August 11, 2024" ༉‧₊
Tumblr media
I'm no academic weapon, whoever; I challenged myself to do a semester reset again and I wanted to share it here, so, enjoy!
ೃ⁀➷ reset checklist ༉‧₊
🤍 Clean up my desk and college supplies.
🤍 Declutter my google drive and create folders for this semester's classes.
🤍 Delete old files from the previous semester and archive the ones that i might need later.
🤍 Write down my weekly classes and set up a study routine to keep the bundaries with my school hours and my personal hours.
🤍 Bring back my uni journal for my schedule and appointments in paper form.
🤍 Clean up the notion page where I keep my master list of assignments.
ೃ⁀➷ semester goals ༉‧₊
🤍 Start making some flashcards for my finals.
🤍 Schedule study sessions with my friends or myself at a cafe or library
🤍 Trying to finish my bible for this year's short film
🤍 Attend all my classes and stop scrolling through twitter while I'm at it.
🤍 Follow my academic progress here on my blog and in my digital journals.
🤍 Start an commonplace notebook for my ideas and thoughts.
🤍 Find time to return to my storyboard journal.
🤍 Keeping up with the readings and actually taking notes from the textbooks.
🤍 Create a study plan for my sessions.
Tumblr media
I think that will be all, trying to keep it simple for my mental sake. Good luck this semester to anyone reading this!
Tumblr media
25 notes · View notes
badbatchposts · 5 months ago
Text
Quiet Corners of the Galaxy, Ch. 14
Fic Teaser: While on a routine mission for Cid, the Bad Batch encounter a woman fleeing from the Empire. Crosshair suspects her seemingly free-spirited, nomadic existence is actually a cover for something else, but struggles to keep his attraction toward her in check as their personalities and ideals clash.
Relevant tags/content warnings: Crosshair/Original Female Character, Slow Burn, Enemies to Lovers, Periodic Smut, Canon-Typical Violence, Alcohol Use
Chapters posted 1-2x weekly!
Read the full fic so far on AO3
Read all chapters on Tumblr: Ch. 1 l Ch. 2 l Ch. 3 l Ch. 4 l Ch. 5 l Ch. 6 l Ch. 7 l Ch. 8 l Ch. 9 l Ch. 10 l Ch. 11 l Ch. 12 l Ch. 13 l Ch. 14
Chapter 14 summary: The squad makes their way through the villa. Everything goes according to plan, until it doesn't.
Tech was pleased with how things were going. Inside the villa, all was quiet: their surveillance had revealed that security was posted exclusively at the mansion’s entryways, in addition to one patrol circulating the perimeter at regular intervals, and the interior was monitored only by cameras and automated systems. With those disabled, they were able to enter easily through a darkened window and proceed entirely unmolested through the shadowy hallways, footfalls sinking quietly into the plush carpets. By the time the Batch had rendezvoused with Dara in the villa’s control room, the stunned workers were already expertly bound and propped securely in an out-of-the-way corner.
In fact, Tech allowed himself the brief luxury of privately celebrating how well this first phase of the plan had gone, even as he mentally catalogued the skill with which Dara had fulfilled her role, adding it to his mounting list of clues that, he believed, would ultimately aid him in deciphering the mystery behind the woman’s origins.
He was well-aware that, despite his expertise in many areas, others often believed him to be unable to read social cues, always distracted by his datapad and perhaps even ignorant of his surroundings. However, because these skills had so frequently been a challenge for him growing up, he had actually dedicated an extraordinary amount of effort to improving them. Crosshair and Hunter were both especially observant in their own ways, aided by their enhanced senses, but Tech, for all he might lack, equaled them by being attentive, thorough, and analytical. Even when others thought he wasn’t altogether present, he paid attention. He collected evidence. He formed hypotheses. He tried to understand.
At present, Dara remained largely beyond his understanding. He was not bothered by this. She had been an asset to the team thus far. He would continue to collect evidence.
Of course, he had one hypothesis that, by this point, he considered more or less proven: Crosshair was entirely taken with her.
If Crosshair’s reaction to their teasing, his obvious jealousy towards Hunter, and the bruise he had left on Dara’s neck had not been enough evidence for Tech, he would have been convinced entirely by the way Crosshair looked at her when he didn’t realize anyone was paying attention. Similar to most soldiers, none of the Batch were strangers to desire, and Crosshair, like all of them, had taken plenty of advantage of rest days between missions and their infrequent bouts of shore leave to find a happily willing partner for the night. Tech had therefore seen Crosshair look at pretty individuals of innumerable genders and species with lust, hunger, even charm—and sure, he had directed at least the former two toward Dara often enough. But more than that, Tech had noticed that, when watching their new traveling companion, his brother’s gaze frequently held a rapt fascination. So often solitary, Crosshair had even taken to hovering in their common areas more, keeping to the edges of conversation and pretending to focus on some task or other, but—especially when Dara appeared to be ignoring him—often eyeing her, as though he could find her secrets written somewhere on her face.
Tech knew that his brother was a difficult man. Whatever was brewing between Crosshair and Dara, Tech was certain that the sniper would be the last to acknowledge it.
In any event, Tech mused, perhaps he should speak with Hunter and suggest that he back off on the flirting, for the sake of Crosshair’s inevitably repressed feelings, and preventing a fistfight. Even now, as Tech was tapping away at the control room’s array to better evaluate the security measures protecting Prium’s private laboratory, Hunter and Dara were engaging in a playful banter that Crosshair was certainly listening to over the open comm channel and, Tech imagined, likely seething over.
“Ah,” Tech interrupted them. “It appears that security for the laboratory—and, we may presume, the archive vault—is maintained via a separate network than this control room.”
Echo sighed. “Are you saying that there’s another control room—somewhere not on the floorplan—that we need to find?”
Tech tapped his finger thoughtfully against the edge of his datapad. “Yes, I do believe that would be the wisest course of action. There may be more workers monitoring the laboratory from there. Additionally, in the event that a security measure is triggered, I would need access to the network to shut it down.”
“Make it quick,” Crosshair urged over comms. “Before the other guard comes looking for Dara.”
Hunter glanced around the room, assessing their options. “Tech, stay here. Look through the camera feeds and floor plans to see if you can identify where the secondary control room might be. In the meantime, the rest of us will conduct a physical search. I’ll take top floor, Wrecker, take this floor, Dara and Echo, check the basement,” he ordered.
The team set off to their tasks, leaving Tech alone. As he looked closely through the building schematics, trying to identify any areas that seemed architecturally inconsistent, where a space large enough for a concealed room might be located, he wondered exactly why Prium had such a deep distrust of droids. Echo would have been able to make much shorter work than himself of scanning through the camera feeds for clues, but the array here didn’t even have a scomp port. As such, he doubted that Echo would be able to help them access the lab or counter any further security measures. Hopefully the keycard that Dara had stolen would be enough to gain them access.
Fully capable of multitasking, Tech switched to a private comm channel with Crosshair to check in while he continued his work.
“What?” his brother drawled in answer.
Like usual, Tech chose to ignore Crosshair’s rudeness. “How are things outside?”
“Boring.”
“I am serious,” Tech chastised. “I am beginning to think that this may require more time than we have allotted ourselves.”
Crosshair sighed over the line. Tech could imagine him rolling his eyes.
“Guard is a bit antsy. He keeps testing to see if comms are operational again. Perimeter patrol just checked in with him. They seem relaxed.”
“And you?” Tech pressed.
“Just peachy.”
It was no surprise that Crosshair was being as taciturn as always. No matter—Tech had no trouble getting to the point.
“Are you concerned about Dara?” he asked.
Silence on the line. Then, “I don’t see how she could get away with betraying us here. Or what the point would be.”
“Ah,” Tech replied. “That is not what I meant. Are you concerned for her safety on this mission?”
More silence, silence that went on so long that Tech briefly thought that Crosshair may have gotten annoyed and disconnected. Finally, Crosshair asked, every word dripping with disdain, “Why would I care about that?”
The corners of Tech’s mouth twitched. “Well, I had presumed that perhaps your opinion of her had changed as a result of whatever events led to your giving her that hickey.”
Another pause. “That didn’t mean anything. Besides, she’s with Echo—there’s nothing to be concerned about.”
“Mmm,” Tech mused. “Yes, Echo will ensure that nothing happens to her. And I presume that you are tracking their progress through your infrared scope.”
Crosshair muttered something unintelligible that Tech, with a sense of smug satisfaction, could rightfully assume was a rude comment about him, before raising his voice again. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing something important right now?”
“I am, and I have successfully achieved it while simultaneously carrying on this conversation.” Tech switched to the open comm channel to inform the rest of the team. “I have pinpointed the location of the secondary control room. It is in the basement, two corridors away from the entrance to the laboratory.”
“Great work, Tech,” Hunter acknowledged. “We’ll meet up there.”
***
Echo and Dara’s search had begun at the lab, where they were able to confirm their assumption that the absence of a scomp port meant the cyborg would be unable to unlock the door himself. The basement was significantly more utilitarian than the rest of the villa. Gone were the lavish trappings of wealth; white tiles and gray durasteel replaced velvety red carpets and elaborate wall hangings, while functional, stark lighting panels stood in for warm wall sconces and crystal chandeliers.
As they combed the rooms and corridors, Echo examined Dara closely. It was the first time he’d seen her with her weapon drawn. She had a DH-16 blaster pistol—her small hold-out blaster, a CS14, remained safely hidden under her poncho—and was holding it correctly, with a secure, two-handed grip and good trigger discipline. That was a good sign that her skill in taking down the troopers the first day she had encountered the Batch was more than a fluke, which was something of a relief for Echo. While they rarely planned on getting caught in a shoot-out, every job the Batch took on for Cid did seem to have odds that leaned that way. He knew he’d be able to protect Dara if it came down to it, but he preferred her being able to defend herself.
Dara opened a door, letting Echo take point to clear the room. It was an industrial kitchen with gleaming appliances, completely empty. He motioned to her to enter so that they could check out another door leading off of the main area—likely a pantry and not the control room they were looking for, but Echo was always thorough.
“So,” he began, nodding toward Dara’s outstretched weapon as they carried on with their task. “You have some training on how to use that?”
The woman was aghast. “Of course. How irresponsible would it be to carry a blaster and not know anything about it?”
The cyborg chuckled. “You’d be surprised what you see with civilians. Where’d you learn?”
Dara relaxed, giving him a wry smile. “My fieldwork took me to some pretty hostile planets. The people I worked with were always agreeable. The fauna, less so. I took a training course.”
Echo nodded, satisfied with the explanation. He didn’t have Hunter’s ability to hear someone’s pulse jump when they were lying, but her story had a ring of truth to it. He was relieved; he had put himself on the line advocating for Dara to stick around, and so far it was paying off. Once they’d gained her trust enough, he was sure that she would come clean about the parts of her backstory that she was keeping quiet. And maybe then she would even be willing to help out with a few missions for Rex’s clone network. The clones couldn’t help having the most recognizable face in the galaxy, and they were all terrible liars as a general rule. They could use someone who could go where they couldn’t, blend in where they stuck out.
“Glad to hear it,” he replied. “Makes me feel better to know you won’t accidentally blast me.”
She laughed. “No. If I shoot you, it’ll be on purpose.”
“Well, that’s a comfort.” They exchanged grins as they exited the kitchen and moved on to the corridor. Echo decided to test out a more difficult subject. “Luckily for me, I don’t think I’m at the top of your list of people to shoot right now,” he continued.
Dara rolled her eyes. “Yeah. I don’t know if you’ve realized this, but your brother’s a bit of an asshole.”
The cyborg raised an eyebrow. “Which one of those assholes do you mean?” When Dara smirked at the joke, he gave a knowing shrug. “Listen, I can’t exactly say Crosshair means well. He can be pretty harsh, and he doesn’t let many people in. But for those he does, you won’t find a more protective or loyal clone anywhere. And that’s saying a lot—loyalty is what clones are all about.”
The woman looked like she was considering his words. She sighed and opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the comm from Tech, announcing that he’d found what they were looking for. They were only a corridor away, and so Echo led them down the hall to wait silently for the others outside the secondary control room.
Only minutes later, they were joined by Hunter, Wrecker, and Tech. Hunter signaled to the squad, who lined up on either side of the door as he took point. When it opened, a solitary, bored-looking worker with his back to them was staring, chin in his hand, at a datapad, ignoring the camera monitors on the wall in front of him completely. The Sergeant stunned him.
“Come on. That was too easy,” Wrecker lamented as he gently lifted the worker from his chair and tied him up in a corner.
“You just had to say that, didn’t you, Wrecker,” Hunter complained while Tech took the man’s place at the controls and set to work.
“This will take a few moments,” Tech informed them. “The rest of you should go and prepare to enter the laboratory. I will join you shortly.”
While Echo remained in the control room to watch Tech’s back, the others approached the door to the lab in the next corridor. Dara fished Raab’s keycard out of her pocket and waited. A few minutes later, the comm crackled to life with Tech’s voice.
“Security for the laboratory has been disabled. You may proceed.”
Dara swiped the card. The sensor blinked once, twice. For a long, tense moment, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, a blast door closed, hiding the entrance to the laboratory behind a thick wall of durasteel.
“Tech, what is happening,” Hunter growled over the comms.
The genius’s voice wasn’t exactly panicked, but it had lost its calm assuredness. “It appears that Raab does not have the type of access that he led Dara to believe. An alert has been triggered.”
Tech was no longer pleased with how things were going.
Next chapter
Tag List: @stardusthuntress @skellymom @megmegalodondon
27 notes · View notes
microficmay · 5 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
Microfic May 2024: Roundup
You guys, we made it!! Another year of microfics is complete. This May, we had 950+ microfics submitted through Tumblr and AO3! The collection is now closed. We are so so so grateful to everyone who took the time to participate. Truly, you are the best 🫶💖🫶
You can read all of the microfics in our AO3 Collection or on our Tumblr with the tag #microficmay2024!
Looking for something in particular? Try sorting by one of our tags: #drarry, #dramione, #hp rare pair, #hp femslash, #gen
This will be the last year with the current mod team. We are, however, looking to possibly hand off Microfic May to a couple of new mods. Things are still up in the air, so for now... peace, love, and happy microficcing from the Microfic May mod squad 🫶
@lumosatnight, @crazybutgood, @sugareey-makes-stuff
Find microfics tagged by prompt under the cut!
Prompts List 2024
Day 1: Create
Day 2: Resplendent
Day 3: Horizon
Day 4: Decision
Day 5: Dreams & Reality
Day 6: Flare
Day 7: Innocuous
Day 8: Will
Day 9: Agony
Day 10: Rise & Fall
Day 11: Curse
Day 12: Vivid
Day 13: Talisman
Day 14: Humility
Day 15: Nothing & Everything
Day 16: Squabble
Day 17: Worthy
Day 18: Healing
Day 19: Impatience
Day 20: Push & Pull
Day 21: Unhand
Day 22: Precious
Day 23: Mistake
Day 24: Elation
Day 25: Day & Night
Day 26: Vex
Day 27: Dandy
Day 28: Fetching
Day 29: Thrall
Day 30: First & Last
Day 31: Fulfilment
Alternate Prompts
Alt 1: Evolve
Alt 2: Superfluous
Alt 3: Idle
Alt 4: Warmth
Alt 5: Life & Death
Weekly Challenges (Optional)
Week 1: POV Challenge
Week 2: ‘A/An’ Challenge
Week 3: Format Challenge
Week 4: Alphabet Challenge
Week 5: BONUS CHALLENGE
34 notes · View notes
choicesmonthlychallenge · 6 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
There are so many great resources for Choices content creators, but it can be hard to keep track of all the different things. So here is my attempt to compile a list. Please message me here or @lovealexhunt​ if you know of something else. I’ll keep this updated as new things open too.
⟢Monthly Challenges⟢
October — @choicesmonthlychallenge [Prompts] *late entries until 11/06
November — @choicesmonthlychallengenov2024 [Prompts]
Upcoming:
December — @choicesdecember2024 [Prompts]
January 2025 — Open
Prompts for the monthly challenges usually post around the 20th of the month prior. If a host drops out, I note it here. Please be patient as we all have lives outside of Choices. 
⟢Celebration + Themed Events⟢
November 29-December 7 Choices Reheated [Event Info]
November: Angstgiving: @choicesprompts [Prompts]
November: Transgender Awareness Month @choicespride [Prompts]
November 15-19: King Liam Appreciation Week: @kingliamappreciationweek [Prompts]
November 24- January 4: Winter Holidays @choicesholidays [Prompts]
Know of any celebration weeks? Send me a message!
⟢Other Events & Things⟢
Non-Canon Secret Pal Exchange @choicescommunityevents
Fall Choices Book Reading Challenge @choicescommunityevents
@choicesficwriterscreations: Fic/Art of the week, WIP, Throwback, and other special events
@choicesprompts
@choicesholidays
Fandom Birthdays​ 🥳  [list here]
​Choices Book Club : @choicesbookclub​ [Event Info]
⟢Not Currently Active⟢
@moodmusicmonday​ (Monday music prompts)
@choicesflashfics (weekly dialogue prompts)
⟢ Past Monthly Challenges ⟢
2024 Monthly Challenges
2023 Monthly Challenges
2022 Monthly Challenges
2021 Monthly Challenges
2020 Monthly Challenges
22 notes · View notes