#not in an angsty 'adults in kids bodies' way (ugh)

[queenlucythevaliant]

Once, Always

(Edmund has an abundance of birthdays)

 .

“I say,” murmured Edmund sleepily as the fire burned low. “When do you suppose it is here? I mean—what time of year? Do you think it’s the beginning of September, the same as it was in England?”

“Summer,” said Lucy. “Certainly summer.”

Peter agreed. “I think it must be Highgrass, if I had to guess. Perhaps later. Greenroof?”

“If it’s Greenroof, then Edmund gets another birthday,” Lucy sighed. “Eleven or twelve, Ed?”

“Neither,” put in Susan. “A thousand, if you’re going to rationalize it that way. Now everyone hush, please, and get some sleep.”

.

Edmund’s birthday was the fifteenth day of Greenroof by the Narnian reckoning. Greenroof, late summer, when all the leaves were dark and broad. Narnian summers were long, but Greenroof was the last and best of the summer months. Greenroof was hunts through the dense foliage, blackberries heavy with juice, lazy afternoons, bonfires, wild romps, and the pleasant kind of sweat. Edmund’s birthday celebrations were always held on Dancing Lawn in the old days: the sort of long, laughter-bright nights that summer was made for.

. 

The second time Edmund celebrated his eleventh birthday, it was just past three months since he and his siblings had returned home from the country. Their house was glass-strewn and battered, but still standing when they arrived home. By August it was beginning to feel really safe again, but sometimes Edmund still woke in the night to find his mother standing silent in the doorway, drinking in the sight of her two sons returned to her.

The professor sent one of Ivy’s famous spice cakes for Edmund’s birthday. It arrived tied in red string, which made Lucy reminisce fondly about dear Mr. Tumnus. Edmund’s siblings pooled their allowances to buy him the new Nero Wolfe detective novel, and his mother gave him a new cap and an electric torch.

“How do you feel?” his mother asked over dinner.

“I don’t feel any older, if that’s what you mean,” he said. “Eleven feels just the same as ten did yesterday.”

. 

All four of them missed their birthdays the first year in Narnia. Too much else was going on at the time, and none of them was quite sure when their birthdays were supposed to be besides. The measurement of time was a thoroughly tangled issue.

The Narnian year had four hundred days even, divided into fourteen months of inconsistent lengths. Furthermore, the kingdom had only known winter for the last hundred years. The Narnians themselves were still remembering how the calendar worked in a world where the seasons changed. They didn’t have the words yet to explain it to their sovereigns.

. 

“Eustace,” said Edmund, “your journal is wrong.”

“Give me that,” Eustace scowled at once. “I know it’s wrong, but there’s no need to rub my face in it. Aren’t I trying to make up for how I was?”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant. The month is wrong. You’ve got September written here, but time works differently in Narnia than it does in the Other Place. Haven’t you noticed that it’s summer, not autumn?”

“Oh.” Eustace shrugged. “I followed Occam’s Razor and assumed that the climate here was different rather than time itself.”

“Occam’s what?” This was Lucy.

“Occam’s Razor: the simplest solution to a problem is the most likely—never mind. Well, go on, what month is it?”

“Highgrass,” said Lucy.

“July,” said Edmund at the same moment. “More or less.”

 .

They worked it all out one afternoon as the second spring of their reign was ending. Peter and Susan wrote out the English calendar on one stack of parchment while Edmund and Lucy sat down with the Narnian calendar and penciled in seasonal markers as best they could manage.

“The first crocuses came up right at the end of Cleardome, yes?”

“Yes, I think so. And the snowdrops were in their full glory that month too.”

“How do you want to deal with leap year?”

“Just forget about it. Narnia doesn’t have anything similar, so I think twenty-eight days for February is fine for our purposes.”

“Magnolia in Laceveil, yes?”

“Laceveil is a good marker in general. We ought to set that as May and go from there.”

Birthdays were guesses, no matter how much counting they did. Yet as memories of England receded and Narnia’s world blossomed into everything they knew, those guesses solidified into fact. Edmund turned eleven for the first time on the fifteenth day of Greenroof. He was the first of his siblings to celebrate a proper birthday in Narnia.

. 

The fourth time Edmund turned twelve, he received another electric torch to replace the one he’d lost. He laughed for half a minute, holding that gift in his hand.

“Really, you should have expected it,” said Susan primly.

"I did."

Their mother tsked and added something about keeping track of one’s belongings, but that was alright. His siblings understood.

Edmund flicked on the light and watched the beam land on the far wall across the living room. Bright at the edges and dark towards the center where the bulb was. He moved his wrist sideways and watched the spot of light follow.  

. 

Edmund might have forgotten about his birthday aboard the Dawn Treader if Lucy hadn’t remembered. She conspired with the cook to have a spread of Edmund’s favorite foods at supper (such as could be managed at sea) and coerced Rynelf into playing jigs on his fiddle afterwards. While they were dancing, Caspian called for a cask of his best wine, and soon the ship’s whole company was making merry like only Narnians could.

“Didn’t you have a twelfth birthday the last time you were in Narnia?” Caspian asked curiously as the party was dying down.

“Yes,” Edmund replied, “and the time before that too. Confused yet?”

“Ed has all the luck,” Lucy pouted playfully. “We always seem to return to Narnia in the summer, so he gets all the extra birthdays.”

Caspian's face lit up. “How extraordinary! When’s yours then?”

“Cleardome. There’s a year and a half between Ed and me, and he never lets me forget it.”

“It’s really not as exciting as all that,” Edmund added. “We’re not living our lives backwards, or unstuck in time, or any such nonsense. It’s more like—our lives are folded in on themselves, you see? But never the same way twice.”

“I think it’s more like music than anything else,” Lucy said, a kind of fond wistfulness in her voice.

“Yes,” said Edmund. “I know what you mean.”

. 

On the thirteenth of Greenroof, the Telmarines laid down their arms and surrendered to Old Narnia. The next day, messengers were sent forth across the land with news of the surrender and with terms for the Telmarines. Caspian’s coronation followed, and then Edmund woke and it was his birthday again.

Breakfast that morning was long and languid, for Peter and Susan knew that they must say farewell to Narnia, even if the younger ones did not. They lingered round the table with Caspian and Trumpkin and the rest, and presently Peter offered a toast.

“To my brother King Edmund, who is eleven and twelve and sixty-three and thirteen hundred years old today.”

Everyone raised their cups and repeated, “King Edmund.” Caspian nodded and added, “Long live the king,” with an almost ironic tilt to his head.

Naturally, Edmund nodded back. “And to you, King Caspian. Long may you reign.”

Another round of assent followed, and then Lucy cleared her throat. “But also,” she said, “To late summer and the rebirth of Our Narnia. And to the land, the sea, the hills, the trees, the sky, Cair Paravel-by-the-sea and Dancing Lawn and all the flowers that are still in bloom. And to the color green. To all of us here today, and to those who are gone. And to Aslan.”

“Here, here.”

There were tears in Susan’s eyes now. “Happy birthday,” she whispered, and squeezed Edmund’s hand tight. Edmund looked down at his plate, fiercely overcome with love for this place and these people. In a strict, chronological sense, it had been less than a month since his last birthday, but how did the saying go? Time was just a tangled string, or falling snow, or whatever else Aslan told it to be.

. 

“Bother,” said Edmund, “I’ve left my new torch in Narnia.”

Everyone chuckled at this, but Susan said, “Wait a year. We’ll get you a new one for your next birthday.”

#Edmund has a late August birthday #which means that Lucy's must be early in the year if 'really there was only a year between them' holds #AND we still choose to go with the birth years from Jack's timeline #and idk i just really love the idea of the Pevensies repeating their birthdays and just kinda reflecting on it #not in an angsty 'adults in kids bodies' way (ugh) #but just in a sort of 'huh. what a neat opportunity to think about #who i am and who i've been and who i'm becoming' kind of way #that pulls out the growing up themes from the series and examines them #idk i hope that's what i've done here #this is a veeeeerrrrry loose re-write of a really old middle school piece about Lucy having multiple eleventh birthdays #it just makes more sense if it's Edmund given the setup with Prince Caspian #anyway #narnia #the traitor who mended #leah stories #pontifications and creations #working on crossposting to ao3 (hopefully w/i the hour)

[dxrkdreamer]

How I nearly killed Sukuna... A narrative (Yuji x Reader x Sukuna Crack)

Part 1/?

Word count: 1.3 k

Genre: crack and a bit of fluff and a bit of angst and a sprinkle of crazy

Warnings: mentions of blood and a car accident

A/N: Hi everyone! This was inspired by the show Dead to me (if you haven’t watched it you’re missing out *cries*) and I thought it would be fun to write my own version of the story but with men from JJK.

---------------------------------------------------------------

“Ugh I’m a grown fucking adult why am I being treated like a fucking 5 year old!” you yelled to yourself in your car, the angsty music blaring loudly. Yep, what a great way to start your day at 6 am. You had gotten into a dispute with your mom when you came downstairs in the early hours of the morning to bake muffins. And now you were rage driving down a forested path just off your town, it was a common path for early morning joggers because it was peaceful and usually vehicle free. And usually free of crazy girls driving above the speed limit.

You had finished your final year of your undergraduate, and like most you had no idea what the heck you wanted to do with your life. So you came back to the town you grew up in…. To live with your parents until you figured something out, or atleast found a job related to your field. Annoyingly enough, most of the kids in your highschool seemed to have come back too, and you ran into a few familiar faces, much to your dread.

“First fucking Mai has the audacity to tell me I dress like I’m stuck in the 90s, then my mom has to say I should slow down on my fucking eating. I’ll eat whatever the fuck I want, its not hurting anyone!” you rambled on “The 90s had good fashion! And my outfit was cute! And I’m trying to grow my booty, ofcourse I’ll gain some fucking weight- WOAH” you yelped swerving your car as you hit… a deer, shutting your eyes tightly as your car came to a halt. Praying that it was a pink deer you hit. Okay, breathe in, breathe out (Y/N), you gulped opening your eyes as you stepped out of the car. Your shaky legs carried to the scene as you repeated the deer mantra.

“It was just a pink dear that was standing on its hind legs… s’okay it's just a possibly dead-”

You froze as you felt your soul leave you, and it seemed even the angel of death was disgusted by you and had thrown your soul back into your body as your vision cleared and your mouth started trembling.

“A possibly dead Sukuna….” well fawk “Yeah no way am I getting caught for this” and with adrenaline pumping in you and a new found strength in your legs, you jumped in your car and drove off to the nearest clearing, hopping out and jogging back towards the body, pulling out your phone.

“Hello, 911 what’s your emergency”

“Hi! There's, uhhh there's-” you stuttered as reality was hitting you in waves as you stared down at the horror “There’s a body… It’s still breathing and there's a lot of blood…”

-----

You drove back home in silence, and went straight to your bed without uttering a word to your family.

You were terrified because you almost killed a man. Fucking Sukuna of all men. He was the very handsome high school bully. Very loved and feared. “He had it coming from someone anyways” you grumbled, he had definitely harassed and made at least half the student body cry. He was two years older than you and relentless as ever.

Second, you lied to the fucking cops. And you were the first witness on the scene. They wouldn’t call again would they? You gulped hiding under the covers. I need to leave town! You thought, but as you checked your bank account you realized without a job it was not ideal to do.

“Ughhhhhh, I almost killed a man holy shit” you groaned, slumping and hiding deeper. “I can’t leave my house ever again” The dread settled in and pulled you deeper into your guilty consciousness and you felt like you would throw up for the millionth time today.

That lasted about 3 days until you realized you were hungry and wholesome home cooked meals were not cutting it. You needed fat and sugar.

“All dressed chips or… barbecue” You wondered, your thumb played with your lip as you analyzed your options “or maybe even cheetos?” It may be awhile until you leave your house again so you piled all three in your arms, your basket already full of other goodies. You took another glance at the aisle as you began walking down towards the checkout, passing by the produce section “And I guess strawberries…. For health” you grumbled picking up the small container, barely able to balance your basket, the chips and berries in your two hands.

“Almost there… almost there” You kept walking, rounding the corner and-

“Fuck! Ouch!” You groaned as someone’s cart banged against you and you dropped your chips, much to your horror, oh and dropped the berries too that were now crushed under the cart’s wheel, staining the floor in red, almost like blood... you grimaced.

“I’m so sorry I should have watched where I was going! Are you okay! Again, I’m so sorry!” you heard a familiar voice and saw a tuft of pink hair crouching down to pick up your items. And for a second time you felt what it was like to have your soul leave your body, and then be rejected and thrown back down.

“Uh, it’s okay” You mumbled, grabbing the things from his hand, turning around, ready to run away and never come back.

“Hey, wait (Y/N)?” he grabbed your elbow turning you around to face him “Hey! How are you?! Did you forget about me already!” he smiled brightly and then pouted at the end.

Dear God…. “What! Yuji! Sorry I couldn’t recognize you for a sec!” You cringed at how shrill your voice must have sounded. “How’s uhh..” How’s Sukuna? “How was university? Are you back too?”

“Oh yeah, I just came back a few days ago, I was looking for a job where I was living before but my brother sort of... got into an accident” he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Oh I heard” Shut the fuck up for two seconds please “I mean, I saw him on my morning jog” I hit him I’m so sorry I’m such a pussy.

“You what” his eyes were wide “Were you the one who called? Oh my God, thank you so much (Y/N)! He’s probably only alive because of you!” He gasped and pulled you in for a hug.

He’s also almost dead ‘cuz of me… You shook your head and hugged him back, wrapping your arms around him back and pulling him in tightly and rubbing soothing circles on his shoulder. “Yuji…” you mumbled about tearing up, his strong arms and warmth soothed you and you wanted to rest your head against his chest and confess your sins. But he had enough before you could open your mouth and pulled away shortly after apologizing for his outburst.

“It’s no problem Yuji, How is he anyways…” You asked, biting your lip nervously.

“Well, he’s alive” he chuckled dryly “but he’s in a coma, but the doctors said he’d wake up soon, hopefully” you noticed how he was clenching his fists in his pockets. “If anything he probably had it coming anyways” he laughed

“That's what I thought too!” You yelled and then covered your mouth from embarrassment of your inappropriate outburst, but Yuji just looked at you and burst out laughing even harder.

And his next words hit you hard.

“Wanna hang out? I could use the company, my parents are driving me mad” he shyly asked, trying to act casual about it.

And for the nth time today your mouth spoke without permission “Sure! That sounds great!”

#sukuna x reader #yuji x reader #yuji itadori x reader #ryomen sukuna x reader #ryomen sukuna #yuji itadori #jjk x reader #jjk #jjk crack #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen crack #jujutsu kaisen x reader #yuuji itadori

[enmy-writes]

My Rock Star

Request: Anon: hii can i request a zuko x reader fic where the reader is in a famous girl group (like blackpink for example) & the whole gaang is backstage while the reader is getting ready for a performance & its just super fluffy & cute? Thanks!!

Word Count: 2,646

Fandom: ATLA (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Pairing: Zuko x Fem!Reader

Genre: All fluff. It’s some nice fluff time

Rated: 18+

Content Warnings: swearing, mentions of abuse (not detailed though), suggested themes but nothing bad

****My first request!! Sorry, anon, if I didn’t capture everything you wanted, but I hope it is! I am a sucker for music and bands, and instead of a blackpink approach, I gave the band instruments because I simp for instruments lol I might do a part 2 if this turns out well so lmk! Also, I learned how to make the “keep reading” line show up so that’s exciting yay me. Enjoy :)****

_______________________________________________________________________

It was about two hours before the show was supposed to start and Y/N was doing her normal self-routine before she had to go to her ‘Band-Team-Gang’ (or BTG as her and the girls liked to call it) pre-show rituals. 

Y/N was a part of a famous girl group who had just recently started making it big in Ba Sing Se and were on their first huge tour. Normally, this would make any performer nervous of the attention and putting on a big show, but this was the environment that she thrived in. 

Suki, Mai, Ty Lee, Azula, Yue, and herself all knew each other from an all-girl’s private school that they grew up in together and bonded immediately over their love for creating music. It was inevitable for them to become a group. 

They spent most of their high school days writing songs and joking around in Y/N’s backyard bungalow her parents had gotten her for her twelfth birthday. To this day, they still go back there and do hot (dumb) girl shit.

“Why would we stop? That’s our home, of course we’d still go back there!” Ty Lee answered the interviewer with her signature hair flip and giggle. 

Azula rolled her eyes at the girl, hiding a fond smile. “At this point, It’d be weird not to go back to that little corner of hell we made.” Yue smacked her arm quickly, “Azula! Don’t act like you haven’t written most of our top hits in the bean bag we definitely didn’t steal from the school lounge.” 

The rest of the girls laughed, remembering how they had to hop the gates and sneak past the night guards to be able to get the bean bag. The plan would’ve been a total waste of time and definitely would have gotten them all expelled if anyone had caught them, but thank Mai’s ability to pick locks (which no one knows where she learned to do but they do not question it). 

“Plus,” Suki chimed in. “Y/N’s dad makes the best snacks and meals for us. It’d be a federal crime to not take up that offer for as long as we can.”

Needless to say, the six girls were so comfortable with each other that every performance was just like every group practice with, like, thousands of extra guests of honor. They even have a couch lounge area as part of their stage set props. It just makes sense.

Even though those were her best friends ever, sisters even, Y/N had another friend group that she was super close with. Azula had introduced Y/N to her brother, Zuko, back when they were in their sophomore year of high school and the two instantly clicked. It had only taken a year of being friends and hiding crushes for them to get together, and the two were still going strong. Through him, Y/N met a gang of (crazy) people that he had spent his whole public schooling years.

Aang, an enthusiastic and bald, vegan kid who loved life and enjoyed everything around him; Katara, his pre-med and feminist girlfriend; Sokka, her hilarious and amazingly smart brother (though, sometimes his ideas are questionable); and Toph, a blind and tough girl who is on her way to ruin the top 1%. With Zuko, they were the tightest and happiest little family that automatically accepted Y/N when Zuko brought her over one night. 

She was there when he went through a pyromaniac phase, his varying hair styles, and when he tried to get his father’s love back.Ozai, their father, was the owner and CEO of a massive weapons corporation. He had burned Zuko’s face on a hot stove and kicked him out of the house for suggesting that he raise the wage of all his employees to a comfortable living wage because many of his employees struggled to provide for their families even though they worked their asses off. Thankfully, his kind Uncle Iroh instantly picked the boy up off of the streets, letting him live with him and run his successful tea shop called the Jasmine Dragon. 

Azula had been shoved away by her father mostly for sexist reasons. Ozai would never pass his company down to his daughter, no matter how smart and dedicated she was. He threw her in the private school where she lived year round. She had never told Y/N or any of the other girl’s any of this, Y/N had found out through Zuko.

Y/N’s mother was a successful lawyer and her father was a district attorney who were very very passionate about bringing justice to those of racial discrimination, domestic abuse, abuse in general, and orphan rights. Her mother was an orphan who was plain lucky to get adopted by a loving old couple who used their life savings to get her the education and life she deserved while her father was a victim of domestic abuse. 

So, after months of convincing Zuko, Y/N told her parents about the two siblings. Long story short, they got Ozai arrested for his abuse crimes, bribery history, employee mistreatment, and many more crimes. They also adopted Azula herself and gave full custody of Zuko to his uncle. 

Since then, the world has been peaceful for the group. Azula has started to recover from her trauma with the help of her friends, therapy, and love from two caring adults; and Zuko was glowing year round in the company of his uncle and friends. 

A smile forms on her face, thinking of her large family and all they’ve gone through to get here, when the door to her personal backstage room opened up. The loud voices from Aang and Sokka met her ears next. 

“I LOVE YOU SO MUCH YOU REMEMBERED THE HAM SANDWICHES WITH NO CRUST.” A kiss to her cheek and Sokka is instantly at her snack table.

“Y/N! How’d you know I was going to bring Appa and Momo?!” Aang walked his huge, white dog and lemur (don’t ask how he has it. It might be illegal, but no one can tell him no) to the pet bed corner she had put in. 

Not answering them, Y/N just smiles at her friends who barged in and turns back to her mirror where she’s trying to decide her earring combination for the day. Warm arms snake their way around her waist, a body sliding up against her back soon after. 

“What’s your ideas for tonight?” Zuko’s voice speaks quietly into her ear, causing her to hum and lean back against his chest slightly. 

“I’m not sure. We’re going for the edgy look tonight, but we all know Ty Lee is still going to wear pink. Man, our manager is going to kill her...again.” They both laugh. “Ugh, why did you let me pierce my ears, like, ten times. There’s too many combinations to choose from!”

“Me?! I did-- never mind. Just grab a handful, no one can see them from the stage anyways.” Despite his attempt to seem like he doesn’t care, one of his ring-clad fingers starts moving his favorite pieces over into a little pile by themselves. Y/N rolls her eyes and starts putting his choices in random holes in her ear, pushing him back lightly so she can bend over closer to the mirror to see better. 

“It’s the fit Zu… if the fit is a vibe, the confidence is there. If the confidence is there, nothing can stop my hot girl shit.” Her words cause him to let a huff of jealousy, flicking her arm playfully. 

Their eyes meet in the mirror, and he can clearly see the mischief in them. Calming down, he jokes back. “Yeah, well, you may do your ‘hot girl shit,’ but no one can steal you from me. We’ve been here too long.”

Toph cuts in from across the room with a loud laugh. “Please, fire brains, I could steal Y/N if I tried.” 

He whips around to face the short girl, “No you could not!!” 

“Actually, she makes a point.” Katara says, nodding along in hopes to pick fun at the boy. 

Sokka adds his two cents. “Honestly. Toph would just have to pick Y/N up and slam her against the wall or something and she’d tell her manager to send you a letter of resignation.” 

The whole group laughs, save for the angsty boy, and Y/N wraps her hand around his wrist. She pulls him towards her and reaches for a peck on the cheek. “While that may be true,” she gets a glare. “I’m too big of a simp for you… and Uncle Iroh’s dinner and game nights.”

While the rest of them laugh, Zuko’s eyes soften and he presses his lips to hers in a short, soft kiss. Uncle Iroh adores his girlfriend and everything she has done for Zuko and Azula where he had no power to do anything. The man calls her more than he does Zuko himself, and he’s pretty sure Y/N convinced him to download Words With Friends on his phone to play with her for when she can’t make it to the weekly game night dates. 

Y/N smiles up at him and pats his cheeks lovingly before moving to the wardrobe area of her room. She pulls out ‘Cards Against Humanity’ from a duffle bag on the floor before joining the rest of her friends around the lounge area, patting the seat beside her for Zuko to join them.

Everyone cheers at the sight of the black and white box with the many expansion packs that they have collected over the years. While Katara deals, everyone else makes bets on who is going to win this time. Y/N slides back into Zuko’s side as his arm comes to rest around her shoulders, playing with the ends of her H/L hair.

It’s about fifty minutes before the show is starting, and Y/N knows she has to start getting dressed and ready for the concert. Sighing, she slips from her boyfriend’s grasp (a small whine coming from him) and moves to her dressing corner. Suki, Ty Lee, Mai, Azula, and Yue had made their way to the room shortly after they started due to Sokka texting his girlfriend (Suki) to come over and join. 

The rest of the girls notice you get up and leave as well, much to everyone else’s dismay. You reassure them to keep playing a few more rounds, not wanting to ruin their fun with you putting clothes on. Y/N quickly shoves her outfit choice on which is very hot, black, and riddled with chains. To top it off, she had thick-heeled combat boots on with numerous buckles on them. Her hair, makeup, and accessories have already been done so she heads back to the group.

‘Cards Against Humanity’ has been packed up neatly and her friends are lounging around, getting last minute snacks and quality time before they go to their special seats right in front of the stage. Nothing but the best for her friends. Sokka and Katara are the first people to see her, and the former lets out his own wolf whistle in his own way to hype Y/N up. 

“DAMN, my best friend is HOT AS HELL. Zuko, you lucky ass man.” Katara hits him, but shoots her a wink as the rest of the gang look over. Y/N laughs giddily through their praises and hyped words (Toph in good spirit rather than actually seeing her outfit), as she makes her way back to her spot on the couch.

Zuko, who hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her yet, quickly grabs her bare waist and tugs her onto his lap to hold her tight. “So… this is what you meant by ‘hot girl shit.’” Letting out a loud laugh, Y/N turns her head and gives him a quick kiss. “I’m a rock star, baby, what can I say.” 

Aang cheers out of nowhere. “Yes! I’ve always wanted to be a groupie!” More laughter and jokes ring throughout the room, keeping the atmosphere as light as always, 

A knock at the door interrupts them. A man is standing there in all black with a headset on and a sleek, red (with little sparkles that only gleam in the light), electric guitar carefully caressed in his hands. While they are a girl group, their success has mainly come from being a girl group who also plays all their instruments. With Mai on the drums, Ty Lee on the keyboard, Azula and Y/N on electric guitars, Yue on the acoustic guitar, Suki on the bass; the band is truly a sight with all of them sharing the vocals and their enthusiastic (near crackhead) energy that give their crowd a good show. 

“Miss L/N? This is your five minute warning.” He tells them, not bothered by the usual group of people who are constantly in these rooms with her.

“Thanks Lee!” Y/N hops up to get her pride and joy (her child as Suki and Mai like to joke about). “I’ll be right out.”

Knowing these are the last pre-game minutes, everyone starts getting up to leave the room as well. Zuko lingers by Y/N who’s busy making sure her instrument is tuned perfectly for the numbers she’s about to perform. 

“I can feel you staring, Zu,” She smiles, still looking down at her strings. He huffs out a laugh, reaching out to push a piece of hair back to see her face.

“Good luck out there, my rock star. Don’t do too much hot girl shit.” 

“Oh, I’m doing all the hot girl shit.” A glare. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding… unless…?” She laughs at his fed up face. Reaching up, she presses one last, lingering kiss to his lips, enjoying the feeling of his fingers clutching her sides firmly and the feeling of his heart beat under her palm that’s resting on his chest. 

“Bye, love. I’ll see you after the show.” She whispers, sealing the promise with a kiss before moving back. “Alright kids! Get the hell out of my dressing room.” Y/N shouts at her friends and they all leave together, laughing away. 

The rest of them wish her luck before moving away, Sokka sprinting to find Suki one last time. Zuko holds onto her free hand, watching her laugh at ‘Simp Sokka’ with his small smile on his face. He kisses her hand, pulling her attention back to him. 

“Bye, rock star. I’ll see you after the show. Break a leg, yeah?” His cliche words make her laugh more, pulling away from him and towards the rest of her band who are chanting “BTG! BTG!”. 

“Zu… I don’t break legs. I break hearts.” And with one last mischievous look, she mouths ‘hot girl shit’ and struts away in that way that makes Zuko want to make her cancel the show completely. 

His phone buzzes a few minutes after he caught up with his friends in their special closed off section on the floor. He opens the notification and it sends him to Instagram where Y/N had tagged him in a post. The smile grows on his face with every second he takes in the post. 

Katara must’ve taken the picture. The angle, lighting, and quality could only be done by her. Y/N was on his lap, dressed to go on stage. Zuko’s mouth was almost touching her ear, definitely when he was whispering to her, and her face was wide in a smirk. They looked good, perfect even. The caption is what made him laugh, warmth and pride that she is his spreading through his chest. 

“Y/N_L/N: for him? I’m always on my hot girl shit”

#zuko #zuko imagine #zuko x reader #avatar zuko #atla x reader #atla #fanfic #Avatar The Last Airbender #atla fanfic #alta x reader #atla x you #zuko x you #zuko x y/n #x reader #enmy-writes atla

[thelastspeecher]

Spy AU - Toxin, Finale

I got an ask earlier today that was about the situation in the Spy AU where Ford gets de-aged temporarily to three years old.  And it reminded me that even though I’ve discussed how that situation gets resolved, I never actually wrote it.  So, here it is.  Enjoy, for once, some legit fluff in the Spy AU.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

              The phone rang.  Stan began to get up from the couch.  Angie gently pushed him back with one hand.

              “No, darlin’, let me,” she said firmly.  Stan didn’t protest, instead sinking into the cushions silently, his eyes reddened from crying.  The both of them were struggling with the news that HQ had been unable to find a cure for Ford’s de-aging, and as such, he would be forced to grow up again.  Though it didn’t make Angie happy in the slightest, Stan was much more greatly affected than her.  She was more than willing to take on a few tasks to make things easier on her husband.  Angie headed over to the phone and answered it.  “McGucket-Pines residence.”

              “Angie, you didn’t get anything started with preparin’ fer Ford, did ya?” her mother asked over the phone.  Angie blinked.

              “Uh, no, not yet.  Why?”

              “Don’t.”

              “Why not?”

              “You don’t need to.”

              “We don’t-”  Angie covered her mouth.  “Ma, is-”

              “Like the toxin, the cure had a delayed reaction.”

              “What?  Really?”

              “Yep.  Now, he ain’t quite back to himself yet, but he’s definitely better.”

              “Is he awake?”

              “Yep.”

              “Lucid?”

              “That, too.  We’ve debriefed him on what seems to have happened, and he wants to come back to stay with you two while he returns to himself.”

              “Is that the wisest idea?  I mean, Kate-”

              “She signed off on it, don’t worry.  Look, just grab Stan and come over.  We’ll debrief the both of ya as well once ya get here.”

              “Got it.”  Angie hung up the phone.  She turned around.  Stan’s head was in his hands, his shoulders shaking with sobs.  Angie sat next to him and rested her hand on his back.  “My love, that was Ma.”

              “And?”  Stan’s voice was thick with tears.

              “It worked.”  Stan’s head jerked up.  “Apparently, it’s delayed, but he’s already better.”

              “He’s-”  Stan swallowed.  “Ford’s gonna be okay?”  Angie nodded. “Oh, thank god.”  Stan slumped against the back of the couch.  “That’s- that’s the best thing I’ve heard since this bullshit started.”

              “Yes, well, apparently he wants to stay here while he recovers, and Ma wants to debrief us more thoroughly at HQ, so…”  Angie wiped Stan’s cheek with her sleeve.  “Collect yourself a bit and we’ll leave.”

----- 

              Angie and Stan followed Ma McGucket into medical wing, where Ford had been housed in for the last week or so, after his condition had deteriorated to the point that he needed around-the-clock surveillance by the team working on his case.  Ford’s specific room was one of the private ones in the back of the wing.  The door was closed when they arrived.  Stan frowned.

              “Where’d the sign go?” he asked.  After Ford had moved in, one of the people on his team had made a sign for his room at his request, with Ford’s name on it and an option for Ford to indicate whether he wanted visitors or not.  Stan and Angie had become used to the colorful sign during their daily visits to check up on Ford.  The undecorated door seemed almost ominous.

              “Ford took it down himself when he packed his things up,” Ma McGucket answered. “Don’t worry.”  She knocked on the door.  “Stanford, Stan and Angie are here.”  The door opened.  Peering up at them through thick brown curls was a young boy approximately six or seven years old.  Stan dropped to one knee to get a closer look.

              “Ford?” Stan asked quietly.  The boy nodded.  A broad smile broke across Stan’s face.  “You look a bit older now.”

              “Yes,” Ford said proudly.  “I’ve been told my age will double every day until I return to my proper self.”

              “Not exactly,” Fiddleford said, walking over.  Stan saw Ford abruptly blush, then duck his head to hide his red face.

              If Ford remembers how he followed Fiddlesticks everywhere, can’t blame him for feeling embarrassed.

              “Yer age has doubled once, and we expect it to double again,” Fiddleford continued, either not noticing or pretending not to see Ford’s behavior.  “Once you turn twelve, you’ll have another boost, to about fourteen or fifteen.  But yer agin’ will slow down then, prob’ly due to puberty-”  Ford’s face turned an even deeper shade of red.  “-so you’ll only age ‘bout a year a day.  Once you hit eighteen, you’ll have two more multiple year jumps to get to yer original age.”

              “So how many days is Ford gonna be re-aging?” Stan asked.  Fiddleford shrugged.

              “About a week or so.”

              “Should we be concerned about emotional and mental re-aging keepin’ up with physical re-aging?” Angie asked.

              “We’ll have a better idea of that once he hits twelve tomorrow, but right now, it doesn’t seem like that’ll be a problem.”  Fiddleford handed Angie a piece of paper.  “Some instructions from Kate, fer how to accommodate his re-aging. As well as what to do if his emotional and mental maturity seem to be lagging.”  Angie nodded.  One of the doctors assigned to Ford’s case, Jen, joined them.  She crouched down to Ford’s eye-height.

              “We’re gonna miss you around the wing, Ford,” she said cheerfully.  “You were a ray of sunshine for us.  But we’re happy you’ll be back to yourself soon.” Ford embraced her.  “Aw, thanks.”  Jen stood up and handed Angie another piece of paper.  “Kate’s instructions were psychological, these are physiological. Ford’s gonna struggle a bit, since each age has its own ups and downs.  Be sure to follow these to ease the growing pains as much as possible. Particularly once he hits the teenage years.”

              “Understood,” Angie said.

              “To make things easier, we already bought all the clothes Ford will need as he re-ages.  They’re in his bag with his other items,” Jen continued.  “Keep us updated.”

              “You got it,” Stan said, standing to his full height again.  “Don’t worry, Ford’s gonna be in great hands.”

              “I know.”  Jen playfully ruffled Ford’s hair before walking away.  Ford looked up at Stan eagerly.

              “I’m big enough that I don’t need to use the car seat anymore!” he bragged. “Mrs. McGucket told me so!”

              “That’s great.  Great enough that I think we need to stop for ice cream on the way home,” Stan said. He looked at Angie.  “Don’t you agree, Ang?”  Angie rolled her eyes.

              “I think the stop we really need to take on the way home is a haircut fer Ford, but yes, we can get ice cream.”

              “Hooray!” Ford cheered.  Stan beamed again.  “Race you to the car!”  Ford immediately took off.

              “Wh- hey!”  Stan chased after him.  Angie chuckled softly.

              “I’m so happy things worked out,” she said to her mother.  Ma McGucket nodded.

              “I agree.”  Ma McGucket eyed Fiddleford.  “Fidds, please keep Ford’s behavior when he was three a secret from him fer a while, will ya?  I think he might die of embarrassment durin’ the teenage days if he finds out he followed ya ‘round like a lil duckling 24/7.”

----- 

              “So the haircut we gave you yesterday was pointless, huh?” Stan asked. Ford glared at him.  After being a cheerful, hyperactive twelve-year-old the day before, he had woken up that day as a sulky teenager.  Stan didn’t remember Ford being this grumpy when they were teens the first time, but he figured the re-aging process was enough to put anyone in a bad mood.  Ford poked at his breakfast, a bowl of cereal.

              “My hair seems to be growing at a rapid pace to match the rest of my body,” Ford muttered darkly.  He blew a strand of hair out of his face.  “I look like one of those emo teens.”

              “Only if you dye your hair black,” Stan said.  He took a sip of his coffee.  “I wonder if either of the girls will go through a phase like that.”

              “Youch!” Ford yelped.  Someone had pulled his hair.  “What-” Ford turned in his seat.  Angie stood behind him, a brush in one hand, a clump of his hair in the other, and multiple hair ties wrapped around her wrist. “Angie-”

              “Do you know how to put hair into a ponytail?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.  Ford was silent.  “Let me do my work.”

              “You could’ve asked,” Ford grumbled, turning back to his breakfast.

              “I already did.  You groaned ‘fine’ and then stormed away ‘fore I could even grab a hair tie.”  Angie gathered the entirety of Ford’s hair in one hand and began to brush it.  Ford let out a few more small yelps.  “I told ya to use conditioner.”

              “I’ve never used conditioner in my life.”

              “When ya have long hair, it’s a necessity,” Angie said firmly.  She finished putting Ford’s hair into a ponytail.  “There.”

              “That hurt…so much,” Ford moaned.  He slammed his head on the table, jostling his cereal bowl and causing a few stray marshmallows to dive over the sides.  “I don’t ever want to go through that again.”

              “Okay, drama queen,” Stan said calmly, setting his newspaper down.  “Do you want us to cut it again?”

              “No.  The haircut you two gave me yesterday was dreadful.  I don’t want to look like that.”

              “It’s either long, loose hair or a ponytail, then.”

              “Ugh!”

              “How about I do your hair tomorrow?” Stan suggested.  Ford raised his head just enough to frown at Stan.

              “Why would I ask you to do my hair?”

              “‘Cause I do Danny and Daisy’s hair,” Stan said with a shrug.  “Never got a complaint from them about it hurting.” Ford let out a long, dramatic sigh.

              “I suppose.”  He rested his head on the table again.  “Everything sucks and I hate it.”

              “Sounds good,” Stan replied, picking up his newspaper and turning it to the sports section.

----- 

              “Stan, quick question.”  Stan turned off the TV and looked over at Angie, standing in the entryway to the living room.  “What was Ford like as a teenager the first time?”

              “Uh, kinda quiet and nerdy.  Basically the same as he was as a kid and adult.  Ford wasn’t really the kind of person to go through phases or whatever.”

              “So this is definitely new, then,” Angie said, crossing her arms.

              “What’s new?” Stan asked.

              “The loud music and the attitude and the sneaking out at night,” Angie said, gesturing towards the guest room, from which angsty music seemed to emanate day and night.

              “Wait, he snuck out?”

              “Last night.  Luckily, Fidds was makin’ a midnight run to the gas station fer emergency batteries.” Stan raised an eyebrow.  “I didn’t ask what for.  Could be a robot, could be a smoke detector-”

              “Could be somethin’ he wouldn’t want his little sister to know he owns,” Stan interjected.  Angie rolled her eyes.

              “Anyways, he saw Ford tryin’ to buy alcohol.”

              “What the fuck?”  Stan rubbed the back of his neck.  “That’s not something Ford ever did.  I did it when we were teens, but not him.”  Stan frowned. “We don’t have any of the fake IDs we use for work in the house, do we?”

              “No.”

              “How did he get his hands on a fake ID, then?”

              “He didn’t,” Angie replied shortly.  “He was tryin’ to buy alcohol without an ID.  His big plan was to just convince the person to let him buy it without showin’ a card.  Of course, the cashier wasn’t havin’ any of it.  Fidds showed up right before the cashier called the cops.”

              “Hang on, hang on.”  Stan held up his hands.  “Ford didn’t have any sort of ID, let alone a fake one?  Okay, that’s it.”  He got up from the couch.  “I’m gonna have a talk with him.”  Angie frowned at her husband.

              “That’s yer big concern?”

              “Well, yeah.  It’s just plain stupid.  Buying alcohol before you’re twenty-one isn’t that bad, but I’d hate for him to get caught.”

              “What if either of the girls pull the same stuff when they get to be teens?”

              “I’ll tell ‘em the same thing I’m about to tell Ford,” Stan said firmly.  “If you’re gonna break the law, be smart about it.”

              “In that case, hopefully they take after me and don’t cause any trouble,” Angie grumbled, looking away.  Stan chuckled and kissed her on the cheek.

              “That’s bullshit, babe.  You’ve always been a troublemaker.”

----- 

              “Wait, I did what?” Ford asked.

              “Took a page outta the ole Stan Pines Book of Teenage Rebellion,” Stan said jovially.  He flipped a steak on the grill.  Ford had returned to his proper age yesterday, but was having some issues with his coordination and mental processing speed.  Everyone at HQ was convinced Ford would be back to normal eventually.  He just needed some more time off.  Ideally, with someone around in case he got lost or injured himself due to his new clumsiness.

              “Geez.”  Ford rubbed the back of his neck.  “Why would I do that?”

              “Beats me.”  Stan grinned at Ford.  “But I kinda liked having a practice run in taking care of a teenager.  I’m gonna have to deal with two at once, after all. Maybe even more, depending on how soon Angie and I get to work on our next gremlin.”

              “You want another child?”

              “Yeah.”  Stan frowned at Ford.  “I know I told you that while you were stuck.”

              “Yes, well, my memory of that time is hazy at best.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to recall it at some point.”

              “Uh, I dunno if you really want to.”

              “…Fair point,” Ford conceded.  The door leading to the backyard burst open, slamming against the wall.

              “Uncle Ford!” Danny and Daisy shrieked, bolting to where Ford sat on the patio.  Ford chuckled.  He ruffled his nieces’ hair.

              “Hello, my dears.”

              “You weren’t at our birthday,” Danny said quietly.  Ford nodded.

              “You’re right.  I wasn’t. I’m very sorry.  Did your mother tell you what happened?”

              “You got sick,” Daisy said.  Ford nodded again.

              “Yes.  Extremely sick.  That’s why you had to stay at your grandparents’.  Your mother and father were helping me get better, but they didn’t want you to be exposed to my germs and get sick, too.”  Ford playfully poked at Daisy’s nose on the word ‘you’. Daisy giggled.

              “All better now?” Danny asked.

              “Mostly.  I’m not sick anymore, but I’m still not fully recovered, so I’ll be staying here until then. If that’s all right with you.”

              “Duh!” Daisy shouted.  Ford laughed.

              “I have presents for you two somewhere, actually,” he said.  He started to get up.

              “No, let me,” Angie said.  Ford looked over.  In the ruckus of his nieces’ arrival, he hadn’t noticed Angie exiting the house as well. She stood by the door, smiling fondly at him and her daughters.  “I know exactly where Stan put ‘em.”  She opened the door.  A blur of dark gray and black ran outside.  “Apple-” she started.

              “It’s fine, I’ll handle it,” Stan said.  Angie nodded once before heading back inside.  Apple ran over to Ford, cocked his head, and then whined loudly. Ford smiled and patted the dog. Danny and Daisy stared at him in shock.

              “Apple…likes you now?” Daisy asked.

              “It appears so,” Ford replied, deciding to keep to himself the many hours he had spent with Apple while he was de-aged, one of the few things he remembered clearly.  Danny turned to Stan.

              “Daddy, Apple likes Uncle Ford!” she shouted.  Stan looked over.

              “Yep.”

              “Did Apple help Uncle Ford get better?”

              “Eh.  Only partly. Mostly, it was magic.”  Stan wiggled his fingers in an exaggerated manner. Danny scoffed.

              “No.”

              “It wasn’t magic,” Ford agreed.  “It was medicine.  Which isn’t magic, but rather, a form of science.”  Daisy climbed into his lap.

              “Tell!”

              “My dear, I don’t have a medical degree,” Ford said, stroking her hair.

              “Fine.  Tell dif’rent science.”

              “Different science?”

              “Yeah!” Danny cheered.  Ford smiled.

              “Very well.  I’ll do just that.”  He cleared his throat.  “Long ago, there was a brilliant man named Nikola Tesla.”

#ngl it was v v fun to write angsty teenage Ford #esp angsty teenage Ford with long emo hair #but even MORE fun was writing wholesome Uncle Ford at the end #I just LOVE writing Ford gushing over his niblings #Spy AU #Stanley Pines #Angie McGucket #Stanford Pines #Ma McGucket #Fiddleford McGucket #Stangie #Stangie Family #Daisy McGucket #Danica Pines #my writing #ficlet #speecher speaks

[multiversestony]

GRAND FIC RECLIST

Favorites will be marked with a *

------------------------------------------------------------

Deep in the Heart of Me by Finely Honed***

(E, 265.5k, AU, secondary buckyclint)

tw: discussions of past child abuse, war/ptsd imagery including blood, alcoholism

Summary:

Veteran single dad Steve runs a tattoo shop. For his 40th birthday, Pepper arranges for Tony to get that tattoo he always wanted, and he winds up with the mother of all crushes instead. Jumping out of airplanes is one thing, but falling in love is something else entirely. Steve struggles with the idea of actually letting someone into his life. Tony is left trying to keep his heart from being broken while Steve figures things out.

Commentary:

this is my all-time favorite stevetony fic. its so beautifully written! i actually cried reading this, which is a bit embarrassing, but well-written fic about my favorite characters makes me super emotional. i absolutely loved steve and tony's characterizations. and peter was so well-written he is adorable. it's set in mcu verse but clint's characterization is clearly 616 and the buckyclint is touching and i fell in love with him just as much as everyone else. all of the characters in this are just amazingly well-written, i don't know what else to say!

Sticky Business by OfTheLilies*

(E, 18.8k, MCU, getting together)

Summary:

Steve begins to secretly write Tony sticky notes. Tony loves them… But he also can’t figure out who they are from. The notes start innocent and platonically enough, but begin to change as his friendship with Steve evolves.

Commentary:

this was so, so cute. also extremely frustrating. i really felt for steve in this one, tony was so oblivious. but of course, thats only fair.

Some Assembly Required by Valtyr*

(E, 57.1k, Marvel Adventures comics, identity porn, temporary gender swap)

Summary:

Tony Stark is trying to set up a new superhero team when he's given a sex change, courtesy of Victor von Doom. He copes with that about as well as you'd expect.

Commentary:

once again, tony is frustrating. but this time i blame him a little less, even though he does let it get very out of hand.

To Make Much of Time by Sineala

(T, 16.1k, 616, identity porn, getting together, time travel)

tw: brief reference to alcoholism

Summary:

When Iron Man rejects Steve's romantic advances, Steve is disappointed, but of course he understands -- Iron Man's secret identity is important. But when a portal opens and Tony Stark crashes into their midst from twelve years in the future, Steve starts to suspect that there are more secrets here than he can even begin to comprehend, and neither Iron Man nor Tony are providing any answers.

Commentary:

this was really sweet. i loved tonys struggle in this, both internally and with his actual self! i also really loved steve in this. it was a good and interesting bridge between 60s comics and 2010 comics.

Hashtag Finally by Wordsplat*

(T, 15.2k, MCU, getting together, found family, domesticity, fluff)

Summary:

Tony doesn't ever actually ask the Avengers to move into his house, steal his wifi, eat all his food, and become the best family he's ever known. They do it anyway.

Commentary:

i really, really loved this. it’s very much a “found family” trope fic and that’s one of my favorites. i also loved the building of steve and tony’s friendship and then eventual relationship. rhodey is the best best friend.

the world spins madly on by goodmorningbeloved

(T, 4.3k, Marvel 1872/MCU, afterlife, reincarnation) 

tw: reference to alcoholism, mentions of suicidal thoughts, survivor’s guilt

Summary:

This isn’t about the beginning. This is about the bullet that slices through Steve Rogers’s heart, neat and clean, and leaves him for dead in the dust. This is about the gun that suddenly feels cold, colder, in Tony’s hand as he lunges to his feet and lurches forward, screaming and screaming. _ Or, Steve and Tony meet again in the afterlife.

Commentary:

this is beautifully angsty. it hurts, but it’s so, so beautifully written. and there’s a happy ending, so it’s not all bad. also the style of prose is super cool.

24 Hours by Wordsplat

(T, 10.9k, MCU, getting together, temporary de-aging, kid!fic)

Summary:

When one of Loki's spells turns their leaders pint-sized, the team is surprised by the behavior of the children in their care.

Commentary:

this was so, so sweet. my heart broke for kid!tony and i loved feisty kid!steve. the interactions between the kids and the rest of the adult avengers were so funny and sweet too. and when they returned to their adult form their characterization remained amazing.

Fake News by anythingpastorpresent

(E, 1.3k, MCU, porn with feelings, established relationship, insecurities)

Summary:

“People magazine said you’re gonna break up with me,” Tony says with a broken moan. “I’m offended you didn’t come to me first about this.”

Commentary:

god this fic made me so emotional and it’s essentially just a porn scene. but it does so well at showing tony’s insecurities and steve is such a good boyfriend and they love each other so much. ugh, my heart.

wake up next to a stranger (on a passenger plane) by favoriterecords

(T, 4.5k, AU, no powers, meet cute)

Summary:

prompt: you fell asleep and i started making funny faces at your kid to keep them amused and the steward mistook us for a couple au

or, alternately, tony stark needs more sleep & steve rogers can be good with kids. peter is a wonderful kid, really.

Commentary:

i love dad!tony and i love kid!peter. steve is so adorable and flustered in this.

fly me to the moon by tonystarks

(G, 1.5k, MCU, established relationship, fluff)

Summary:

When you've been unconscious for 66 years, you tend to be a little confused and disoriented when it comes to modern pop culture.

The Avengers love listening to modern music, but sometimes all Steve wants is a little old-fashioned - and what kind of boyfriend would Tony be if he didn't make Steve happy?

Commentary:

sweet, sweet fluff. tony is so loving. steve just loves him.

Enemy At The Gates by AvocadoLove*

(M, 23.2k, MCU, canon divergence/alternate canon, villain-or-not!tony, angst)

tw: ymmv torture, minor character death

Summary:

By the time Captain America was found and defrosted, the Chitauri had wiped out the entire state of New York, and Iron Man was the world’s most wanted villain.

Commentary:

this was so cool?? villain-or-not!tony was so good i loved him so much and steve, poor steve. just an overall really interesting take on the mcu.

Second Chance Lives by raeldaza*

(T, 43.8k, MCU, canon divergence, getting together, slow build)

Summary:

Tony's gonna die of palladium poisoning anyway, why not join a pointless expedition to recover Captain America’s body? And after, well, why not dedicate his last few months to making sure an American hero settles into his new life? What else is he going to do, get drunk at parties?

Commentary:

alternate im2! ahhh this was so good! tony is so sad in this. i absolutely loved steve’s characterization, his frustration and anger at being so lost in the future. but tony’s there for him.

Truth Behind Masks by scifigrl47

(M, 98.4k, 616/MCU fusion, identity porn)

Summary:

Steve Rogers has plenty of friends. He just doesn't know two of them are the same man.

That's just how Tony Stark/Iron Man likes it. Until he comes to regret it.

Commentary:

when i first read this i started with the last chapter because i had it in my bookmarks instead for my marked for later, so i thought i was rereading. i read the whole thing before i was like, “huh, don’t think i’ve read that before.” anyway, this is really good. i love me some identity porn. and the ending is great.

Sucker Punch by Sineala*

(T, 20.5k, 616, canon divergence, identity porn, pining, angst, unhappy ending)

tw: alcoholism, vivid descriptions of canon-typical violence

Summary:

Steve never quite warms to Tony Stark, Avengers benefactor. The Molecule Man never strips Iron Man out of his armor. Life goes on for the Avengers, but as disagreements split the team -- and Shellhead and Winghead -- again and again, Steve wonders why Iron Man always picks Tony over him. And when Steve finds out, it happens in the worst way possible.

Commentary:

this hurt so, so bad to read. god my heart is just ripped out my chest by this fic. steve is so cruel, so unbelievably cruel in this. while simultaneously being in love with iron man. i know i tagged this as one of my favorites, but do not doubt for one second how horribly painful this is.

What if I Were To by blue_jack

(T, 9.5k, MCU, alternate canon, mutant!steve, boss/employee relationship)

Summary:

“I know I said you could pick my next PA, but this is ridiculous.”

Commentary:

this fic is cute and a little silly, but still very much love between the both of them.

Falling Into You by sabrecmc

(M, 53.5k, MCU, getting together, pining, memory loss)

Summary:

Tony and Steve end up as fuck buddies after the events of The Winter Soldier until Steve calls it off. When Loki's spell wipes all of Steve's memories since the last time Loki was in town, Tony decides it will be so much easier to just not tell Steve they had something of a relationship. Spoiler: It isn't.

Or, how Steve fell in love with Tony and forgot about it, and how Tony fell in love with Steve and realized it.

Commentary:

this was a really sweet fic and i loved to see tony woo steve the best he could. at the same time my heart ached for steve, how oblivious tony was, and how hurt he got by that.

When I Think About You (I Touch Myself) by cptxrogers

(E, 2.8k, Marvel ambiguous, pwp, masturbation, body swap)

Summary:

Just a bit of Steve/Tony body swap masturbation ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Commentary:

this was hot. ugh i maybe have a thing for the trope of steve’s body being really sensitive.

The (Not Really) Secret Origins of Movie Night by nightwalker*

(T, 11.2k, MCU, getting together, insecurities)

Summary:

Somewhere along the line the Avengers have become a pretty good team. But Tony's still the odd man out, and Steve's determined to change that.

Commentary:

this is tooth-achingly sweet. i love falling in love fics.

99 Problems (and the dice ain’t one) by kellifer_fic

(T, 10.7k, AU, friends to lovers)

Summary:

Tony's life is almost perfect. He lives in a converted warehouse full of friends (and one frenemy), has a job that leaves him plenty of time to think about other things and a regular Friday night campaign. If his best friend, Steve Rogers, hadn't moved away to New York and left him behind, then perfection would've been achieved.

Tony can roll with the punches though and he's almost all the way over that little bump in the road (shut up Bruce, he totally is) when Steve moves back, looking taller and broader and more confident than ever and Tony's left with a converted warehouse full of friends (and one frenemy), a job that leaves him plenty of time to think about other things, a regular Friday night campaign and the uncomfortable realization that maybe he's in love with his best friend and has been since he was sixteen.

Commentary:

a little d&d to get you by? this is a nice fic. it’s a little angsty, but mostly sweet. tony and steve are both lovely.

Relax, Darling by cptxrogers*

(E, 3.7k, Ultimates, pwp, rimming)

Summary:

Steve is stressed and tense after a hard mission.

Luckily for him, Tony and his tongue are available to relax him in a variety of delightful ways.

Commentary:

exactly what it looks like. i tend to read mostly bottom!tony, but i’m fine with switching it up. and this is hot, so there are no complaints.

All Day by BlossomsintheMist

(E, 4.2k, Marvel ambiguous, pwp, rimming)

Summary:

“Better than good?” Steve asked, pleased, and nuzzled against Tony’s thigh, planted a kiss there. “Okay, mister,” he said, and looked up, to see Tony moving one hand up to his forehead, looking down at him questioningly. “How about you sit on my face?” Steve asked.

Just how long could Steve eat Tony out for? Oh, he could do this all day.

Commentary:

oh, this is so hot. steve really loved tony’s ass and i mean, who doesn’t?

art reminds us (that our plans are meaningless) by theappleppielifestyle

(G, 9.8k, MCU, character study, friendship)

Summary:

Neither Rhodey or Pepper think much of Steve when they meet him.

(Or, Steve and Pepper bond over art and Rhodey gets in a push-up contest with Captain America.)

Commentary:

tony’s friends are few and far between... and so very important. i love this so much. its sweet and i loved watching steve work towards getting close to the people who mean the most to tony.

I’ll Give You Gifts Until You Know My Name by Amuly*

(T, 10.5k, 616, identity porn, getting together)

Summary:

Mr. Stark is an extravagant gift-giver: he has the money for it, after all. As Iron Man, Tony has the opportunity to gift Steve even more presents that, while less expensive, are more heartfelt. Having a secret identity means Tony gets to have his cake and eat it too when it comes to showering Steve with presents.

Until Steve starts developing feelings for his armored companion, and all the benefits of living a double life are turned on their head for Tony Stark.

Commentary:

tony showering steve with gifts, steve in love with iron man. i love it.

patchwork people by itsallAvengers*

(M, 28.2k, MCU, getting together, trust issues)

Summary:

It was a pretty well-known fact that Tony Stark had control issues.

It was far less well-known why, though.

Commentary:

i love tony so much in this, my poor baby. and steve is so good in this i love him. 

But I Still Feel You by pensversusswords

(T, 16.1k, AU, college/university, pining, getting together)

Summary:

Tony knows a lot of things about Steve. He knows that Steve is a stubborn pain in the ass, he knows that he's got a heart of gold, and he knows Steve would rather punch his way out of a tricky situation than talk himself out of it.

But the one thing Tony knows the most: he's hopelessly, tragically in love with Steve.

In which Tony is impulsive, Steve is confused, and they work it out in the end. Eventually.

Commentary:

what a nice au. tony and steve are both frustrating but they’re trying their best. steve finally figures it out.

Slipping off the Page into Your Hands by Sineala**

(E, 68.1k, 616, soulmates, pining, identity porn)

Summary:

Soulmates have their first words to each other written on their wrists. This should make it easy. For Steve and Tony, it is anything but. Steve's problem is that the future he has awoken into is nothing he was ever expecting: he has a soulmate now. Who might be a robot. And if his soulmate is Iron Man, how can he be so attracted to Tony Stark? It should be impossible. Tony's problem is that he is Iron Man, his soulmate is a man whom he in no way deserves, and he is going to fight everything in his heart and do his best to make sure Steve never, ever finds out the whole truth.

Commentary:

i love this fic so much oh my god.

Thrust Issues by Sineala*

(E, 132.8k, porn with feelings, pining, obliviousness, fwb to lovers)

Summary:

A battle gone wrong leads Tony to the unexpected and pleasant discovery that Steve is much more well-endowed than he could ever have imagined. But when Tony learns that Steve has never actually been able to sleep with anyone because of his size, Tony does what any good friend would do: he offers to relieve Steve of his virginity. Personally. Tony's determined, Tony's methodical, and Tony has a plan. He's going to get Steve laid. Tony just needs to make sure Steve never finds out that Tony's in love with him.

Commentary:

i read this for the first time on an 8-hour greyhound bus ride from salt lake city, utah to las vegas, nevada. tony and steve are both unbelievably stupid and i love them. also: is it hot in here to anyone else?

Lesser Demons by sabrecmc*

(M, 25.6k, MCU, ca:cw fix-it, angst)

tw: referenced suicide attempt, referenced child abuse, referenced homophobia

Summary:

Peggy leaves Steve something in her will.

Commentary:

this is so heartbreaking, but a very good read. if you need more before you decide to read: essentially peggy gifts steve several home videos after she dies. they’re all of tony, as a kid. howard was evil. she left tony something too, about steve’s past. steve and tony have to learn to communicate more. 

Climbing a Very Small Mountain by DC_Chan

(E, 55.8k, MCU, insecurities, dating, height difference)

Summary:

In which Tony Stark is short, and he doesn't like it, and he has reasons for not liking it. Steve thinks this is fine, as long as he goes out on a date with him.

Commentary:

let tony be short!

Why Steve Rogers Should Just Stay in Bed by trill_gutterbug

(E, 5k, MCU, pwp, dirty talk, phone/video sex)

Summary:

In which Steve has an erection emergency, Tony is not particularly sympathetic, and the Mile High Club is offering trial memberships.

Commentary:

this was so hot 

Take Another Little Piece of My Heart Now, Baby by blue_jack

(M, 27.3k, AU, fake dating, pining, obliviousness)

Summary:

“I think we should get married,” Tony announced as he let himself into Steve’s apartment, plopping next to him on the couch.

Commentary:

steve, my poor baby. he pines so hard. and tony is so oblivious. howard and maria are alive, because this an au. howard and tony fight, but the idea of any abuse is way, way toned down, so you’re safe from that sort of thing.

But With a Whimper by theappleppielifestyle

(E, 1.9k, Marvel ambiguous, pwp, blowjobs, rimming, possessive!steve)

Summary:

Steve fucks Tony against a wall.

Commentary:

hhh possessive, dom-ish steve is so hot. tony is so gone on it, too.

Milked by ashes0909

(E, 1.5k, MCU, pwp, multiple orgasms)

Summary:

Tony’s eyes narrowed, and he had that look, not the one that led to Steve being tied to the bed, the one that led to twelve hour engineering binges and a very satisfied inventor.

Commentary:

yeah, it’s just... a lot. in the best possible way.

The Humanization Humiliation by Wordsplat

(T, 9.8k, MCU, pining, getting together)

tw: alcohol consumption

Summary:

In which Tony and Clint get drunk for science, Bruce is sneakier than expected, and Steve almost drops his pants on live national television. Also known as the time the Avengers had to give interviews displaying their human side, which was really not Fury's best idea.

Commentary:

tony is oblivious, steve is adorable. this is really a pretty funny and cute fic.

That Has Such People In It by lupinus

(G, 5.4k, MCU, getting together, pining, fluff)

Summary:

Tony pines like a genius, and Steve is too busy being baffled by modern times to notice.

Commentary:

ok, maybe steve really isn’t as oblivious as some fics make him out to be when it comes to modern technology, but it’s still a cute idea. and i like tony gifting steve with stuff.

If Through a Door by jibrailis*

(E, 44k, MCU, fake marriage)

Summary:

Tony is accused of murder on an alien planet; Steve marries him to bring him home.

Commentary:

i loved this fic so much. they were both dumb, as usual, but i loved watching their relationship evolve.

Promises by blacktofade

(E, 6k, MCU, pwp, orgasm control)

Summary:

Steve has super stamina and Tony keeps coming way before he's done, so in the end Steve just sticks a cock ring on him and goes at him.

Commentary:

what is says on the tin.

Re(a)d All Over by MusicalLuna, brandnewfashion*

(G, 3.3k, MCU, fluff, flirting)

tw: alcohol consumption

Summary:

Contrary to popular belief, Tony Stark can blush.

It just takes Steve getting drunk on some magical Asgardian mead for it to finally happen.

Commentary:

this fic is so tooth-achingly adorable i can’t deal with it.

A Meeting of Minds by Nix (CrimsonQuills)*

(E, 17.7k, 616, telepathy, getting together)

Summary:

As it turns out, the Extremis hadn't quite finished rewriting Tony's brain. The only potential fix has...consequences.

Commentary:

maybe i have a thing for a telepathy trope... and what about it? basically steve volunteers to be the telepathic bond tony needs to survive, but tony has a secret. any guesses?

Lessons on how to be Worthwhile by pensversusswords*

(M, 19.6k, MCU, insecurities, hurt/comfort, getting together)

Summary:

The one where Steve thinks Tony is amazing, and Tony thinks Steve is amazing, but Tony doesn't think Tony is amazing.

Or, Tony has issues with self worth, and Steve wants to fix that.

Commentary:

tony, you deserve the world. steve is the best friend and boyfriend.

nothing left but scars by SailorChibi

(E, 6.7k, MCU, insecurities, praise kink)

Summary:

Steve wakes up to the fact that no one ever compliments or even says thank you to Tony, and that he has fallen into the same trap of painting Tony with a specific paintbrush.

This is how he showers a very confused Tony with praise to make up for it.

Commentary:

see i love this fic but i’m also so sad because tony will never get the actual love he deserves in the mcu.

Homefront by copperbadge

(E, 12.8k, MCU, angst, grief, ptsd, recovery)

tw: alcohol consumption, suicidal thoughts

Summary:

Steve Rogers is a capable leader, a kind and cheerful man, a good friend, a strong role model, and a loyal soldier. He's also teetering on the edge of suicide.

Commentary:

this fic makes me feel so much for steve. steve, i love you baby. i also think it’s great look at his character. his trauma is often so overlooked in the movies, but anyone even slightly invested is his character knows just how much he has to be suffering.

love the sin, love the sinner by silkspectred*

(E, 10.5k, MCU, fwb to lovers, angst, lack of communication, pining)

Summary:

It keeps happening. Not often, just once or twice a month, but it keeps happening. Always in the same way: it’s unplanned, sudden, unexpected, Steve is surprised and eager, his dick goes from zero to one hundred in two seconds, Tony’s touch is electric, everything he does drives Steve crazy, but he never lets Steve kiss him, he very rarely looks Steve in the eye, he never talks, never makes a sound when he comes, never mentions it later.

Commentary:

this is a truly heartwarming fic. steve’s perspective is so well-written, the pain he feels and his (failed) attempts not to feel rejected by tony. but tony’s concerns too. i really felt for both of them in this. they were in so much pain and over a misunderstanding and inability to properly communicate. who’s surprised? it’s steve and tony after all.

Again and Again by mabonwitch

(E, 808, MCU, pwp, rimming, multiple orgasms)

Summary:

Tony rims Steve until Steve cries.

Commentary:

What it says on the tin.

The Heart of the Temple by captainshellhead, vibraniumstark

(T, 18.5k, Marvel Noir, AU, fluff, sharing a bed)

Summary:

After an expedition to find an ancient relic goes awry, Tony finds himself magically bound to a Roman soldier who has spent the last two thousand years guarding the temple, and who is now bound to protect him from harm.

Stranger things have certainly happened, but Tony is having a hard time coming up with them now.

Commentary:

this is so cute omg.

Save me from me by Sarkasticfics

(M, 8k, MCU, getting together, insecurities, body image issues)

Summary:

Written for this prompt on the Avengers Kinkmeme:

So, basically, I’d love to see a story that deals with Tony’s response to Steve’s perfect body. If we’re going by the movieverse, Steve looks like he’s in his late twenties and Tony in his early to mid-40’s. So, Tony’s not only a normal human, he’s a good 10 years older, AND has to deal with the arc reactor. Does Steve figure out what’s going on? Does he succeed in putting Tony at ease or does Tony drive him away in a fit of self-sabotage? What does Steve think of the arc reactor? Does it actually gross him out at first, because it’s so alien, even though he’s grateful that it’s keeping Tony alive and it’s a sign of his genius?

More or less, it's that. Just, cuter.

Commentary:

i loved this. tony trying to keep steve at a distance because of his own doubts, but steve loves him.

almeno tu nell’universo by silkspectred*

(E, 114.7k, MCU, ca:cw fix-it, angst, guilt, grief)

tw: referenced child abuse, referenced emotional abuse, reference canon torture

Summary:

Tony drives off.Well, he wants to. But he can’t. Because. Steve Rogers is in front of his car. Steve fucking Rogers.  Is in front of Tony’s fucking car.

Commentary:

super sweet fic. its angsty and i feel for steve throughout because he’s trying so hard to earn back tony’s trust and love. i loved the original grandma character, she was great. tony was amazing here too. i loved being able to see him inner conflicts, what he was struggling to push past, and how much he ached to just let steve in again.

Semaphore by DevilDoll*

(E, 40k, MCU, depression, enemies to friends to lovers, getting together)

Summary:

"I’m trying to like you, Tony. You’re just making it very hard."

Commentary:

i love, love, love this fic. tony learning he can’t just throw money at people to earn their love. it really captures a lot of tony’s character, he wants to impress with what he can because he doesn’t feel like he has anything else to offer. and then steve, obviously unimpressed by a show of money. steve’s going through some stuff. and i love steve’s old lady neighbor.

--------------------

And........... that’s all for now! I’ll update this when I find new fics/remember to.

#stevetony #stony #stevetony fic #fic rec #reclist #rec list #stony fic

[stellarbisexual]

Can I please prompt with Modern Reddie reunion in their 40s both of them divorced and Ready To Mingle at the club? (Sorry for the angsty prompt I’m just a dragon out here tryna hoard adult reddie reunion fic 😊) -tozierspaghetti

A prompt after my own heart! So I’m not sure this fits the Ready To Mingle request, and it probably came out way less exciting than you wanted it to be, but here we gooooo:

***Usually when Richie does this, it’s with a purpose.  But at forty-three and fresh off his third separation (which will inevitably lead to his third divorce–woof), he finds himself sitting at the bar feeling not so fucking purposeful.  At least it’s a gay bar; he couldn’t handle all that hetero peacocking right now.

He’s in New York on a weeklong gig, the perfect set of circumstances to pick up someone pretty and willing and just have a bit of fun, maybe just for tonight if not the whole week.  But as he glances around the place, its cozy parameters packed to the brim with beautiful, well-dressed men, he feels his entire body give a resounding Eh and asks for another scotch.  A lower shelf one.  He doesn’t need to treat himself tonight, not in that way, either.

When he turns back to the bartender and away from the rest of the room, it brings his line of sight to the guy suddenly sitting caddy-corner to him.  He looks very out of place–and like he’d rather be any other place.  He’s dressed well but it’s more like the clothes are wearing him than the other way around.  He’s slight, with a sweet face and a wedding ring.  And he’s alone.

Interesting.

He’s drinking white wine and has his back pointedly to the rest of the room, his shoulders looking like they’re in a perpetual pinch.  There’s an energy radiating off of him that Richie wants to sink his teeth into, and he can’t explain why, not even to himself.

The man shocks the hell out of him by speaking to him first.  And he has a sweet voice to go with the face.  He leans across the bar, trying to get a better look at Richie’s eyes.  “I’m sorry to bother you, but… you’re so familiar.”  

“Heard that one before,” Richie teases.  “Used that one before, I think.”  Before the guy can protest, Richie opens himself up physically.  “You’re not bothering me at all, sweetheart, quite the contrary.”  He can’t help but fixate on his wording: You’re so familiar.  Not you look familiar.  

“It’s not a line, I promise,” he laughs bashfully.  Cute.  “I wouldn’t even know how to do that.”

Richie reaches over and taps his wedding ring.  “No shit,” he smirks, tucking into his scotch again.

The man’s brows furrow intensely as he glances down.  “Oh.  God.”  He immediately slips the ring off and pockets it.

Very interesting.

“I can’t believe I forgot.  My divorce was just finalized, like, three weeks ago.”

With anyone else in this room, Richie would be skeptical.  But something about this guy makes him certain he’s being totally truthful.  “No kidding.  Me too.  Well, separation.  Third time’s the charm, I always say.”  The man’s eyes go comically wide.  Richie gestures between the two of them playfully.  “Twinsies.”  He raises his glass, and the man obediently tips his wine glass against it.  “I hope you didn’t hyphenate or take his name ‘cause getting your name legally changed back?  Ugh.  What an absolute bitch.”

“Uh,” the guy blushes.  “No, she took my name.  We were very traditional.”

“Well, well, well.  So your divorce was also your coming out party.  Or are you just here to give a really gay friend moral support?”  Richie knows the answer is no, though.

The man confirms it.  “You’re not wrong.  Sort of a ‘straight by any means necessary’ mission.”

“Well, what god awful last name did you leave the poor girl with?  I have to know.  To complete this harrowing tale.”

“Kaspbrak,” the guy shrugs.

“Good God.  First you–”  Richie comes in strong, ready, as ever, with a fucking joke, but it dies once the name settles into his brain.  “Wait.”  His own voice sounds vulnerable to his ears.  “Did you say Kaspbrak?”  He blinks, the sound of it sticky on his tongue.   

“Yes.  I do know you, don’t I?  What’s your name?”

“Richie Tozier,” he says quietly, nearly sick to his stomach with how overwhelming it all is.  The guy–Eddie, God, Eddie–blanches like he’s been hit in the face.  “Eddie fucking Kaspbrak.”

“Yeah, but you rarely called me that.”

“No, I wouldn’t, not in front of your mother, anyway.”

“No, I–wait, holy shit.”  Eddie drains the rest of his stupid, adorable white wine with his stupid, adorable mouth, his brain clearly moving a mile a minute.  

Richie smiles, wide and breathless, at the profanity coming out of his mouth.  Yes.  That’s his friend.  Eds.

Eddie lays his hand over Richie’s, his eyes now full of fire.  “I mean you had about ten thousand nicknames for me, each one more horrible than the last.  Eddie Spaghetti, Shortstack–”

“Eds,” Richie chimes in, decisive.

“Yeah, that one wasn’t so bad,” Eddie concedes with a soft smile.  “Oh my God, Richie.”  

The barstool scrapes violently over the floor as he scrambles to his feet, and he’s still tiny, his Eds, maybe five-seven at the most.  He lays his hands on Richie’s shoulders, and Richie crushes him in a tight, warm hug, tears springing to his eyes.  Richie doesn’t even know where the emotion is coming from, the memories aren’t quite clear yet, not as clear as they already are for Eddie, he can feel it in the surrender of his body against his own.  

Richie isn’t bothered by the fact that he didn’t recognize Eddie at first, or that he even had trouble coming up with his name on his own.  He hasn’t seen the guy since they were kids, and it would stand to reason that his mind would let some things go.  But something tells him that Eddie was way too important to him for that.  He silently curses himself–not for the first time–for all the hard drugs he experimented with in his twenties.  

He finally separates them and cups Eddie’s face with both hands, giving it a good, proper look.  “Wow.  Who’d have known you’d grow up to be such a looker?”

“Fuck you,” Eddie sputters, completely without malice, and immediately reaches for Richie’s hair.  “This is the same,” he says, his eyes skating down his face, taking stock of each feature.  

“Shit,” Richie breathes, suddenly dizzy, and lands back on his stool, Eddie’s eyes and hands still busy exploring him.  “And to think, I was all set to take you back to my hotel and hit it and quit it with ya.”

Eddie looks at him quietly for a long moment, trying to calculate the old Richie plus the new Richie, from the looks of it.  “So you’re…?”

“So are you,” he shoots back.  It comes out childish.

“Since when?”

“Pfft.  Always.  Even back then, I was–.”  He has a flash of some of the magazines he had stashed under his bed, under his comics–and then the ones stashed even deeper than that.

“But you’ve been married three times.”

“Well, I like both,” Richie clarifies.  “The first two times I married women, and the last…”  He looks at Eddie and winces.  “He looked a lot like you, you know.”  He shouldn’t have said it, but the way Eddie blushes makes him glad he did.  

“That’s weird,” Eddie says, without judgment.  

“Something tells me it’s not.”

Eddie finally sits down again, too, the air between them sliding quickly into an intimacy Richie wasn’t prepared for, not tonight.  And from the look in Eddie’s eyes, eyes that are like a home Richie never knew he had, Richie suspects exploring that is going to take a hell of a lot more than a week.

@tozierspaghetti

tag list: (lmk if you’d like to be added!) @reddie-to-fight @hurleyhugo (why can’t i tag you?!) :(

#reddie #prompts #tozierspaghetti #mah fic #it 2017 #it 1990 #stephen king's it

[what-even-is-thiss]

Hey, I joined the fandom right after Virgil's name was released, what was it like before that? I'm very curious, as I know what it was like before Moving On but not Accepting Anxiety.

Oh boy kids strap in because I’ve been here in the fandom since April 2017 and have seen some things.

So back in April basically the only two ships that existed were Prinxiety and Logicality with just a little bit of analogical sprinkled in helped along by the Negative Thinking video. I joined almost directly after the Negative Thinking video because I couldn’t hold back any longer and I think that’s about when this blog somehow turned into a Sanders Sides blog but I digress.

The fandom was mostly calm with a good mixture of senseless out of character angst and senseless out of character fluff and was generally pretty nice. However, it did have one fatal flaw. Morgan.

That’s right you guys. I’m not letting you forget about Morgan.

Everyone was convinced, and I mean convinced that Morality’s name was going to be Morgan. I tried to warn then that it wasn’t going to be Morgan but noooooo. People were begging Thomas to make that the name and putting that name into fanfics and let me tell you those fics did not age too well. Which is a shame because a lot of them were pretty good.

Growing Up was the first video I witnessed the fandom react to, and for the first few hours everything was just a nice mess. Everybody was happy about the new name, the Morgan supporters didn’t throw a riot, and the biggest confusion was that we at first didn’t know how to spell it. Everything was sunshine and rainbows for like a day. But then we saw the birth or perhaps just surfacing of an idea that unfortunately I was at least partially wrong with my stance on it.

Patton is hiding his feelings.

Yeah, yeah, I was proved wrong on this with the Moving On videos, but to be fair, so were the rest of you that loved this idea. I thought he never hid his emotions while everyone else seemed to think that he was just constantly in hell and never ever happy. Jeez.

Needless to say there was a whole bunch of both angsty and fluffy fanart and fanfic in this era surrounding this idea during this era of the fandom. Ugh.

Now, there has always been a whole lot of Anxiety angst and fluff in this fandom. People want to see him being loved and cuddled and crying helplessly on the floor and I never thought that fit his characterization at all but hey we’re here to have fun not be accurate so let the people do what they want.

Anyways, after the Changes video, the already fan favorite Anxiety got even more angst about him. The poor baby (gag) had his body changed without consent and nobody listened to him and you know how it goes. People cooing over grown adults and/or part of the mind of a grown adult in this case. Moxiety also took a small spike in popularity after this video and everybody saw it as pure and cute even though I most definitely didn’t but I agree it’s an interesting dynamic so that was a good thing.

After the Cartoon video we called it. It was the fun filler episode before things got deep. In all honesty, the biggest change after this video was that we could all taste the name reveal and everybody was theorizing their heads off.

Angel, Ethan, Atlas, and so many more. Unlike Morgan, nobody could agree on a name for Anxiety. We all got a little more antsy and insane as the days went on. Well, everyone else did. I was patiently waiting and was willing to wait a little longer. If you want to see my legacy look at this thread where I cursed the name reveal to be delayed one more video. At the end I look defeated, but I won. Because the next thing turned out to be a two parter. (and the thread is so long a lot of the gifs in it have frozen so if you want to see what they are you’ll probably have to click on where they originally came in to see how they moved.)

Come Accepting Anxiety Part 1. Hoo boy. Everyone was so sad and upset while I was laughing evilly in the corner. That video was absolutely hilarious but everyone around me was just crumbling to their knees and sobbing in a heap out of confusion and despair. I still don’t understand why though, because like I said that video was hilarious.

I like to refer to the week between Acepting Anxiety Part 1 and Accepting Anxiety Part 2 as the week Prinxiety fell into Hell. Everybody and their dog in this fandom was hating on Roman so hard and I think this is as toxic as the fanders get because people that defended him got shut down sometimes and fanders have generally very polite discussions on these manners and for the most part this was no exception but things got kind of… tense, at times. It scared me a little and I got as far away from it as I could but I think I defended Princey once or twice I dunno. It’s all a blur.

After Accepting Anxiety Part 2 came out things calmed down a bit but obviously the fandom was changed forever. We had all the names, Anxiety’s redemption arc was complete, and we had been introduced to the concept of rooms and that there are “others”, whatever that may mean. Prinxiety began its slow climb out of hell, Moxiety became the top ship in the fandom, and the other ships slowly began to work their way into view.

And I’m guessing you know the rest. Crofters, Virgil becoming more of a representation of the feeling of anxiety rather than when you see your anxiety as an other, and the Morality angst coming to a peak in the middle of the moving on saga. This fandom has been on a journey, man. And we’re only roughly a year old. I mean specifically the Sanders Sides subsection of the Thomas Sanders fandom, not the Thomas Sanders fandom as a whole. The fanders have been here since 2013.

#sanders sides #fanders #thomas sanders #roman said a thing

[artificialqueens]

Reminiscences (Trixya) Ch.3 -Scoobert

Trixya high school au: so this is set when they’re both adults but each chapter has a flashback to their high school days. It’s loosely based on a song ‘caught in the crowd’, by Kate Miller-Heidke, an Australian singer I really like and saw live the other day. I cried when I heard her sing this and yeah I know it’s a little bit sad but I thought of the awesome Trixya au it could be. The song’s about Kate reminiscing on how she should’ve helped this kid out when he was being bullied in school, so this is basically the extended version of that.

An: Hey guys, I completely forgot an an on the last chapter, so here I am😬. Thanks for all the sweet messages btw, they seriously mean the world and encourage anyone that gets one so much!!! Hope you’ve been liking the chapters so far, this one is a lil dark and sad but it gets more angsty(but also more fluffy) from this point :D

hope you enjoy

xx Scoobert

Chapter 3

Katya POV

As I lined up for the runway, I turned my head back slightly in the direction of Trixie to see her packing up her stand and cleaning her brushes, deep in thought. She shifted her glance to me and I could see the pain in the corners of her mouth, the sorrow in those large round eyes, the tiny scars she couldn’t quite hide with her thick cakey makeup. I couldn’t be mistaken; it was definitely Brian. I could remember that exact face distinctly in my high school memories. I would never forget that face.

Flashback

I sat in the classroom, thinking about my chat with Brian as well as the way Alaska had treated her afterwards. I wanted to be friends with Brian and help him through whatever was going on with his stepfather. But then again, I was also friends with Alaska and I knew she could be ruthless. If she saw me hanging out with Brian she would be horrified and I certainly didn’t want to break up with my friends over something like this.  Sure it was nice being able to talk about my problems with Brian but then again sometimes I preferred being able to come to school and just ignore it all, gossiping about who had a new relationship and who was annoyed at who.

*Ding dong ding dong

Ugh, school was over. I didn’t really want to go home though, whose house would I go to… neither mum or dad really wanted me there, their weird little disappointment. They were too caught up in their own argument with each other and often took out their anger on me.

I suppose I’d just hang out with Alaska and Ginger or something, better than going home at least. I packed up my books and slowly walked over to my locker, chatting with Violet, one of the girls in my class who wanted to be friends with Alaska and thus was using me to get to her. Hey at least I didn’t have to walk alone.

I got to my locker and waved over at Violet, who had found someone new to talk to already, her back turned.

I packed up my bag and walked over to Alaska’s locker to hang out with her.

‘Hey Lasky, you wanna hang out at the park for a smoke?’ I asked.

‘Yeah sure thing girl, sounds good. Mind if some other people join us? Aaron and his friends have got some booze saved up and might feel like using it if we’re convincing enough,’ she said winking and latching her arm onto mine. We walked over to the park next to the school and were waved over to where Aaron was sitting with a bunch of his friends from the football team.

‘Hey babe’ Aaron called out, swinging his arm around Alaska and her letting go of me, completely focussing her attention on her boyfriend’s lips. I sat down on the grass next to a guy who everyone called Del Rio, who I swear was too old to go to our school. There were a few other who I vaguely knew but I didn’t really pay much attention to them, intent on just listening to the group, laying back on my arms.

‘Ew look at that little faggot on his bike babe,’ Alaska piped out, giggling in that awful high pitched howl of hers. Usually I find it funny but today I couldn’t be bothered and it was kinda annoying. I pulled out a pack of smokes from my bag and lit one. I could hear everyone around me bustling, but made no notice. That was until I heard a scream come from the voice I’d been chatting with all lunch. I finished my cigarette and stood up, looking around at the mess.

‘Ahhh, stop please, I just want to go home, I’m not doing anything wrong,’ Brian called out, the group of boys pulling him off his bike and onto the ground, causing a large gash in his leg to spill with blood.

‘Yeah right you weirdo, what’s this huh, oooh little girly girl and his little gay shirt, wanna look pretty for your boyfriend huh?’ I heard Aaron call out, pulling Brian’s jacket off.

‘Babe, are you kidding, this thing would never have a boyfriend, who’d want to date him, he doesn’t even have any friends!’ Alaska retorted, laughing bitterly.

My eyes widened as the group of burly boys started to laugh and kick the boy lying on the ground holding his stomach and attempting to protect his head.

‘I do have a friend’! he yelped suddenly, surprising the boys who stopped kicking him. They all stepped back as Aaron walked up slowly to the young boy and peered behind the hand that was protecting his face.

‘Yeah fag boy, who then?’ he whispered in a low growl, barely loud enough for me to hear. He leant up on his hands slowly and looked around anxiously. Then his eyes met mine and I screamed internally. No, he was not doing this, I was not saying anything, I couldn’t, I had no idea they treated Brian this way. It was horrendous, the type of stuff you see in movies, if I got involved they’d just make it hell for me, I wouldn’t be able to help him. If I was associated with him, Alaska wouldn’t look at me again except to scowl and shove me out of the way, I hung out with her to avoid my problems, I needed her, even if she was a bit of a bitch.

But as these thoughts raced through, I could see the pain in the corners of his mouth, the sorrow in those large round eyes, the scars spread across his face. And I stood staring at him for a few seconds before Aaron tracked where the boy was looking and looked at me questioningly.

‘You know him Kat?’ Alaska piped up.

‘Nah, nah, he’s just some faggot at school, never spoken to him,’ I returned, my voice trying not to quiver.

‘Good I’d be…surprised if you had’ she said to me with a sly grin.

They all returned their attention to the boy as Del Rio kicked him in the gut.

I quickly packed up my stuff and ran to the bike rack. Kicking up the stand and pumping my legs as fast as they’d go. I chanced a glance back at the park and instantly regretted it.

Aaron and his gang walked away, Alaska slung around him giving him a sloppy kiss. The worst part was Brian though. Slumped on the ground, bloody and holding his stomach, curled in a ball. I instantly regretted my words but I also knew it would’ve been bad for me to say anything else. I focussed on the road in front of me instead, pumping my legs as fast as I could, desperate to get home for once.

End flashback

Now I remember why that memory was locked away so far. It was pretty embarrassing really. I was a fucking selfish bitch, who cares if Alaska liked me or not. I’m glad she’d changed since high school. I desperately hoped Trixie wasn’t Brian but those eyes were just so memorable.

I hadn’t spoken to Brian after that day and for good reason. He’d tried to catch my attention when we passed in the halls but I’d always looked the other way and pretended not to notice. I even changed my bike route to avoid him in the morning. It was definitely lonelier and I’d missed racing over that hill with him.

I had to put all of this behind me and focus on the runway. So I sighed and let out a long breath. Once I’d inhaled again, I had a bright smile on my face and giggled with the other girls who were all fawning over each other and how pretty we all looked.

I strutted onto the runway and did the usual, smiled at all the cheering people and striked one of my unique Katya poses at the end of the runway. That’s really why I got the job, because I have such a different sense of beauty and comedy to the other girls that the inventive modern crowds and fashion critiques liked.

I walked off, happy with my work and changed into my next outfit, I looked around to see where Trixie was, slightly saddened that she was currently painting someone else. I wasn’t left standing long though as Fame quickly pushed me down into a seat where my eye makeup was going to be redone by an eccentric Asian girl, Kim Chi. I continued with a few more walks, each time in a new outfit, none of them done by Trixie. I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad about this. On the one point what had happened was incredibly awful and I didn’t really want to face it, on the other I longed to see her again, whether it was her amazing body, her friendly, passionate attitude or simply just to reminisce and apologise for my actions during high school. I walked off the stage for the last time, my mind still circling around Trixie.

 I looked around for her but all the makeup artists had left after they’d finished painting us for the last walk. I moved solemnly overt to Trixie’s desk and looked at the signs that she’d been there, nothing. I suppose they didn’t really need to leave anything behind. I grabbed a few makeup wipes and started taking off the makeup that was loaded on so heavy I could feel the wrinkles slowly forming from their weight. I walked over to the group of models sitting on the couch chatting.

‘Hey Kat, wanna come out clubbing when we’re done here, we’re gonna hit up that new one at end of the street.’

‘Ah nah thanks, bit tired today.’

‘What?! Usually you’re always up for a cocktail girl!’

‘Not today sorry, I’ll see you tomorrow,’ I leant down and gave her a kiss on the cheek as I grabbed my handbag and walked out of the studio.

I kept my head down, focussed on my shoes, still thinking about that girl. I was knocked out of this train of thought as I bumped into a mass of shiny blonde curls. I fell backwards onto the ground and heard a sweet voice saying ‘Omg, I’m so sorry, are you okay, silly me for just standing in the middle of the street like this. Let me help you…’ she trailed off as I looked up at her and she realised who I was.

‘Oh ah hey, Trixie was it? Don’t worry I’m fine, um see you’ I stood up grabbing my bag to dash away before she noticed I was acting weird. But before I did, I looked down at her and saw that her heel was stuck in the drain grate. It was one of those weird block heels and it had got caught underneath the bars.

‘Uh do you want some help there?’ I asked although I didn’t really wait for her reply before I was on my knees wriggling her ankle around.

‘Oh um yeah thank you so much.’

Then with a pop her leg was free and she cried ‘Ah you’re amazing, thank you, I’ve been standing here for a while trying to get my bloody foot out. And I only just got these so I couldn’t just leave them or anything.’

‘Don’t worry about it, yeah they’re cute, just like you.’ Her eyes widened by my sudden flirting.

‘Oh ahahaha thanks,’ she smiled sweetly.

‘Um are you…’ I trailed wanting to ask her if she was who I thought she was but being to shy.

‘Ah, errr’ I tried again

I turned away not really wanting to try again because then she’d know who I was and remember how I had left her.

‘Ah, see ya Barbie, glad you got your shoe out,’ I said and I hurried away before she could say anything else.

‘Wait!’

I turned.

‘I know this is random, but what high school did you go to?’ Crap, she definitely knew who I was, too late now.

‘I think you already know the answer to that…Brian.’

‘Gosh, only my mother calls me that now.’

‘No wonder, your new name is perfectly adorable.’

‘Ah thanks.’

‘Wanna come round to mine for a bit?’ I asked her shyly, looking down at the ground. I don’t know why I’d asked her that but it seemed like the right thing to do anyhow. She smiled reassuringly and I felt like I’d definitely made a good choice.

We walked the block to my apartment and chatted pleasantly, me asking her about how she’d gotten to work for Fame.

When we arrived at my apartment I grabbed my keys out of my bag and fumbled with them nervously until I managed to open my door. I knew I had to talk to her about it, its why I invited her over for god’s sake, I had to apologise, and I had to do it soon before I lost my voice or avoided the topic completely.

‘Here come in, would you like some tea?’

‘Would love some, milk with 2 sugars please,’ she exclaimed graciously.

I sat her down on the couch and my hands shook, spilling the hot water on my hands as I poured the water over the tea bag. Just go and tell her Katya, say you’re sorry and you’ve been embarrassed about it ever since, she won’t be angry. Okay well maybe not super angry. She can’t be, she’s such a sweet person, with a sweet pair of legs, seriously those thighs must be smoother than milk, and those hips, okay stop that. Just apologise and beg for her forgiveness, hands, knees everything, yup good plan. Okay let’s go, you can do this.

‘Here’s your tea,’ I said handing her the glass.

Time to put the plan into action. I leant down attempting to go onto my knees, but instead, I tripped over the coffee table and splashed my forgotten glass of tea all over the wooden apartment floor. My limbs landed in the tea and I recoiled at the heat, hitting my head on the lamp and cursing as I sprawled onto the ground once again.

‘Oh god, are you okay there Katya??!’

‘Peachy thanks,’ I attempted as I put my arms out and stood up. Okay plan B, just sit down and tell her from there, less chance of messing it up hopefully. This would’ve worked if I hadn’t forgotten about the spilled tea and slipped banging my head against the coffee table, right where I’d previously banged it, causing a gash to form and blood to drip down onto the floor.

‘Oh my, okay. You just stay there and I’ll grab some tissues.’

She dashed off and I was left to sit in a pool of blood, hot tea and newly emerging tears.

#reminisences #scoobert #trixya #trixie mattel #katya zamolodchikova #transgender character #tw abuse #tw transphobia #rpdr fanfiction #submission #lesbian au #trans character

[zevakritpel]

Hell-Bent: Chapter 1-- More like Phantom SICK Man

<Prologue        Chapter 2>

Fandom: Kuroko no Basuke

Pairing: Aokise, MomoRiko, Kagakuro, MuroMura, more???

u can find this on AO3 lol

Summary: Adult AU, Criminal Underworld AU. Where Kagami Taiga is a young heir suddenly targeted by 6 rather dangerous members of the criminal underworld (each with their own set of personal troubles), and Kuroko is a bodyguard with a dark past.

Warning: Violence, Strong language, a lil dark and angsty sometimes

[Thursday. Time: 23:23.  Pre-game]

Another jolt of crippling pain shatters through his left eye.

Akashi Seijuro sits still for a few minutes, applying pressure with the bottom of his palm, taking deep, rhythmic breaths until the sensation subsides. He blinks a few times afterwards, to fully regain awareness of himself and his surroundings. Luckily, he's in the privacy of his own study.

Now that he can see clearly again, Akashi looks down at his right hand to see that he had been gripping a chess piece tightly enough to pierce his skin.

He sets the bloodied figure--the black queen-- back on the table, then pulls a silk handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his fingers. The pain is trivial, but to think he let himself go so easily...how unsightly.

With his good hand, Akashi reaches for the blue porcelain tea cup sitting on the edge of his desk, and takes a sip. The cold English Breakfast taste is about as unpleasant as expected, but Akashi is grateful that any kind of liquid was nearby to relieve his dry throat.

He takes a few more deep breaths, then wills himself to stand up straight. Checks his silver pocket watch : half an hour until midnight. Good, there's still time before the guests arrive.

A small trickle of blood runs from his palm and down his wrist: Akashi licks it off absently as he wonders what he should provide for entertainment tonight...

There's a pair of scissors in the back cabinet that should work quite nicely.

[Friday. Time: 12:34.  Small World]

A capillary right under Himuro's eye twitches involuntarily. He's positive that if he told someone that the large, sloth-like mess of limbs and gluttony currently sprawled on the floor is actually one of the most powerful killers in the country--the so-called 'Reaper' of the underworld-- they'd call bullshit.

To be fair, if Himuro hadn't witnessed Murasakibara's capabilities himself, he'd also have a hard time believing something so ridiculous. But Himuro knows (all too well), that with the proper trigger, the childish and lethargic Atsushi before him now can turn into a sadistic killing machine. Memories of these moments always brand themselves inside Himuro's mind, forever reminding him of what he's dealing with.

For now, however, Murasakibara is just a giant sleepy useless lump.

"Atsushi, I swear to God..."  

Himuro squats down next to the other man and taps his cheek, eliciting small, unfriendly noises from Murasakibara.

"Don't sleep on the kitchen floor, you get in the way. Actually, don't sleep at all."

"..........."

Himuro sighs, already tired out from the fruitless endeavour of rousing Murasakibara from his laze. He crosses his legs into a comfortable sitting position and watches the killer rest peacefully for a few minutes.

After a while, clearly not thinking too hard about his actions, Himuro brushes aside the long bangs covering Atsushi's face and runs his fingers lightly along his forehead.

Finally, finally, Murasakibara opens his eyes, violet irises peek through his lashes to look up at Himuro, expression unreadable.

"Eh? So you're finally awake." says Himuro, snatching his hand away quickly. His heart is totally beating at a normal rate right now. Haha. Hah.

"Muro-chin, do we have any jobs set up for the next little while?" Murasakibara asks in his usual drawl, trying to sit up.

He gives up halfway through out of sheer laziness and instead opts to rest his heavy head in Himuro's lap.

"Ah um! Uh....n-no. Now that Madame Masako's working on negotiations, she said she wants to avoid unnecessary bloodshed so...why? Does it have to do with those calls you were getting yesterday?"

Muraskibara doesn't answer for a few long moments.

"It's a huge pain in the ass..." he finally mumbles, apparently not aware of how the proximity between his mouth and Himuro's thigh is affecting the other man.

"But they'll probably get Araki involved too, and then...I'll have to......ugh. Like I give a shit about 'Kagami Taiga'......."

"Wait. Wait. What."

No way. There's no way.

Him?

[Friday. Time: 14:16.  Surprises]

In the 24 hours Kagami has spent under Riko's new security regime, he has tried to escape nine times, only to have each attempt thwarted by the relentless guard dog that is Kuroko Tetsuya. For someone who was hired to protect Kagami, this Kuroko character sure seems to enjoy shaving the years off Kagami's life by appearing out of nowhere. All the time, he does this.

Riko wasn't kidding when she called him Kagami's 'new shadow'. Fuck.

And how is this weakling supposed to protect him, anyways? He's so small and bland, doesn't smell like a fighter at all. The only assertiveness he shows is his stubborn resolve to dog Kagami's daily life.

Until now, the young heir has been spending most of his time on his own, so who can really blame him for wanting to be alone, away from the quiet and annoyingly persistent 'protection' of this pale imitation of a human being.

And so, desperate to get away, the young heir lies in wait for the next chance to run.

Chance number ten comes around soon enough, when Kuroko asks suddenly, in his soft, cool voice: "Do you mind if I use your shower?"

Kagami is slightly taken aback at first, since this is the first thing his bodyguard has said in the past day that isn't "Where do you think you're going, Master Kagami?"

"Uh...yeah, go ahead."

Kuroko nods politely and gathers up his black work bag. Once he's at the bathroom door, he pauses, turning back to flick his unblinking baby blue eyes up at Kagami.

"What is it..."

"Nothing. Please do not take this opportunity to go off alone."

And with that, he disappears into the bathroom.

Kagami waits until he can hear the sound of running water and the clutter of shampoo bottles. Then he books it.

LIKE HELL HE'S NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY. IS THAT GUY AN IDIOT?

Years of training and natural physical ability allow Kagami to practically fly down the stairways of his apartment complex. His legs are as powerful and fast, but also carry his weight lightly.

He checks his back several times to make sure Kuroko isn't in pursuit, and hones his ears for any vibrations in the stairwells. Blissfully safe.

Once outside, he ducks around to the back of the building, not yet sure which escape route is the best. He can't savour the taste of freedom quite yet, but at least he's bought himself a few minutes. If Kuroko contacts Riko in the next ten minutes, any of his usual hideouts will be exposed. Best to go down through the underpass and-

"I told you not to run off without me."

Kagami makes a throttled sound in the back of his throat as he whips his body around to face a very wet, very, very close Kuroko.

"JESUS! FUCK HOW DO YOU DO THAT!"

How the hell did he catch up so fast? There's no way he could've covered so much ground in so little time, not unless he had been in immediate pursuit, which is impossible.

A chill runs through Kagami. He cranes his head up for a moment, then looks back down at Kuroko's stoic expression.

There's no way.

"Did you ... from the balcony?"

"I thought it would be faster that way."

He thought it would be...faster that way.

Who the fuck.

"Holy shit..."

This bastard scaled down from the seventh floor in a matter of seconds without a scratch on him? That's over twenty meters, without an escape ladder, either.

Could it be....... Kuroko really isn't as weak as he looks?

"I understand you want to go outside, but it's dangerous for many reasons. So if you could please wait until I finish so-"

"Okay, okay," Kagami raises his hand, still struggling to understand just what the fuck. Should he resign himself to the fact that he won't be rid of Kuroko so easily?

No, no. He still hasn't acknowledged or accepted this arrangement. No one's explained what these 'dangers' are to him, or why he should have to put up with a guard in the first place. But...well, this could be interesting in its own way.

"More importantly..."

Kagami  eyes Kuroko, whose appearance isn't exactly fit for the public eye: dripping wet hair still soapy with shampoo, shirt unbuttoned and open to reveal his thin frame and the pale chest underneath; also, it seems he's only managed to throw on a pair of boxers before flinging himself out the window of Kagami's seventh-floor apartment. The bodyguard himself seems unconcerned.

Well, there's no helping it. Kagami unzips his own black sweater, slips it off and dumps it onto the smaller man's head unceremoniously.

"Wha- oomf."

Kuroko  peeks under the arm of the sweater, blinking a few times in surprise.

"Master Taiga?"

"Are you crazy? Don't go jumping out of buildings, it's bad for my heart."

Kuroko opens his mouth to respond, pauses, then reconsiders and just opts for his usual polite nod. Still, there the ghost of a smile plays on his lips as he drapes the borrowed sweater over his shoulders, then follows Kagami back to the apartment complex.

.

It isn't until two hours later, when they're both sitting in a nearby fast food chain, that Kagami realizes. Mouth still full of food, Kagami half-stands with a start, pointing his finger furiously at the bodyguard across from him.

"You bastard!  You set that whole thing up so you could show off your skills to me, didn't you ?!"

Kuroko tilts his head to the side and takes his sweet time sipping from his vanilla shake before responding:

" You were being difficult. Also please swallow before you speak."

"AHHH YOU FUCKING- ugh."

[Friday. Time: 19:43.  The Plot Kinda Thickens]

A brief mental break is in order.

Riko sits up and stretches her arms over her head, craning her neck until she feels a satisfying crack. Next, she rummages through her desk drawer until she finds a small white bottle of chewable vitamin C tablets. She takes one, letting it sit on her tongue to dissolve slowly. Blueberry flavour.

Slumping back against her rather ergonomic leather office chair, Riko pushes her glasses onto her forehead and rubs her temples  with her fingertips. Her brain is fried from work, so she shuts her eyes from the scattering of folders and papers strewn about her desk. She already spent a long, sleepless night yesterday reading and processing data, and she knows all too well that tonight's going to be a hell of a lot longer.

A couple minutes pass before Riko opens her eyes to reality again. Still as grim as ever, huh?

She checks her phone: 1 message from Taiga, begging her to reconsider assigning 'this fucking guy' to him, with an attached photo of what appears to be armed bodyguard Kuroko Tetsuya holding up a stray puppy.

Riko snorts out loud: amazing. She laments a little that she isn't there to see Taiga's reaction, but laments even more that she isn't there to pet that FUCKING ADORABLE DOG. ~KYAH~

Well, it's a good thing those two are getting along. Hyuga was the one that screened Kuroko for this job, so Riko knows this kid must be the real deal: of all her subordinates, Riko trusts Hyuga's word the most.

On top of the recorded physical competency, this Kuroko seems to be handling the young master just fine. This helps the young Head of Security rest just a little easier.

Especially since it appears that the main players in this whole game are far more dangerous than Riko had initially anticipated.

The limited (but valuable) information Riko was able to obtain presents her the following list of major fucking problems:

Midorima Shintarou--This name Riko is already quite familiar with. He currently belongs to an  assassin group known as 3K, which seems to target only corrupt politicians, lawyers, and other people in positions of power.  A renowned sniper, known for his impossibly long-range accuracy and 100% success rate.

Aomine Daiki-- Another name well known in the underground. Unrivaled in hand-to-hand combat, Aomine was until recently employed by Arbiter Katsunori as a living weapon, often involved in dispelling troublesome gang conflicts. Quit recently due to 'personal reasons'. Whether he will face consequences for this remains unknown.

Murasakibara Atsushi-- Referred to in some circles as 'Reaper' for his merciless group kills. His hits are rare, and more often than not gang related. Currently working under Madame Masako of the Araki Group as clean-up and bodyguard.

Akashi Seijuro-- Born into a family that is known to run one of the largest crime syndicates on the continent. Unlike his father, his existence and activities are shrouded in nothing but mysteries and rumours. Likely to be pulling the strings on a number large of criminal operations, without getting directly involved himself.

Kise Ryouta -- His dossier is the only one to come with photographs. A popular young model, well-behaved with a charming public image... and may very well be doubling as a freelance, versatile tool for various sectors of the underground. Riko's informant also made sure to underline the word 'honey trap' several times, which speaks for itself.

The only thing that seems to connect these people is the assurance of Riko's trusted source that, without a doubt, they have all been enlisted to come after Master Taiga. Obviously there is much, much more at hand, but...

Riko sighs heavily and picks up a file at random. She tries to read it, but the words look blurry...oh. No, she just forgot to put on her reading glasses.

Maybe she should call it a night, after all.

Just as Riko is about to set the papers down  (so she can slam her face into her desk and sleep until the dawn), her eye catches onto a particular name that for some reason hadn't registered the first five hundred  times she had read through them all.

Momoi Satsuki...huh.

Notes: (i copy pasted from AO3 because i think they add to the reader experience lol)  You would not believe how many KNB osts and character songs I listened to hype myself up while writing this omg.Also what's with me and cliff-hangers, I need to find my chill.Also also, fun fact: the '3K' in Midorima's assassin group name stands for 'Three Kings'THANKS FOR READING BLESS BLESS BLESS.

#knb fanfic #i know no one cares but #kagami taiga #kuroko tetsuya #kagakuro #aomine daiki #kise ryota #aoki #momoi satsuki #aida riko #momoriko #murasakibara atsushi #himuro tatsuya #muromura #akashi seijuro #midorima shintarou #takao kazunari #haizaki shougo

[zevakritpel]

Hell-Bent: Prologue-- Introducing Our Colourful Cast of Characters

Chapter 1>

Fandom: Kuroko no Basuke

Pairing: Aokise, MomoRiko, Kagakuro, MuroMura, more???

u can find this on AO3 lol

Summary: Adult AU, Criminal Underworld AU. Where Kagami Taiga is a young heir suddenly targeted by 6 rather dangerous members of the criminal underworld (each with their own set of personal troubles), and Kuroko is a bodyguard with a dark past.

Warning: Violence, Strong language, a lil dark and angsty sometimes

[Wednesday. Time: 01:03. Meet the Sniper]

Today's lucky item for Cancers is a steel garlic press.

"Oi, Shin-chan. The target will be moving along the second floor, west wall any minute now. You ready?"

Midorima clicks his tongue impatiently and tenses his bandaged fingers against the cool metal of his M24. He's been lying on his stomach for the past half hour, with the kitchen utensil tucked inside his pants' pocket digging into his upper thigh the entire time. Still, with his intense focus and dedication, comfort comes secondary. Naturally.

Of course he's ready.

"Indeed."

The sharpshooter narrows his bright green eyes in concentration, and continues to watch the movements behind the windows of the building adjacent. His position on this warehouse roof  really couldn't be more ideal. No wind either, and just the right amount of clouds in the sky.

Today's lucky numbers for Cancer: 15- 73- 3- 22- 47

Takao is still babbling needlessly into his ear piece, to the point where Midorima is tempted to turn off the sound of his voice completely. This is exactly why he prefers working solo...no, no. He must persevere. In this case, teamwork is important, especially with Takao 'Hawkeye' Kazunari.

"Alright you've got one shot at this, don't miss <3 "

"I never miss."

It's true. He never misses.

Today's target is a corrupt bureaucrat that got way above his head in his dealings with the underground. Pissed off all the wrong people, couldn't have managed to fuck up this hard if he tried.

Middle aged. 180 cm in height. Dark hair, olive skin. Has until now gone through great lengths to avoid facing the consequences for his greedy actions.

And yet the exact millisecond that he enters Midorima's range, his life is forfeit.

Today's horoscope for Cancers:  You'll soon be faced with new challenges, in both work and romance. Advice: Be wary of those who bring up the past.

Midorima takes a deep, calm breath. His hands are perfectly steady; heartbeat unwavering.

"Man proposes; God disposes" he mutters, then pulls the trigger.

[Wednesday. Time: 02:09. Meet the Fake]

"As expected of a model," purrs the drunken businessman, sliding his fat sweaty hand up Kise's thin blue designer shirt and pressing his fingers against the small of the younger man's back.

"Your skin is so smooth . How nice to be so young."

Kise giggles nervously and starts absently toying with the thick cross pendant dangling from the silver chain on his neck. With his free hand, he fishes the lime out of his gin and tonic, drains the rest of the drink in one go.

"Hehe~. That tickles..."

The businessman practically leers at this reaction, but he stops groping Kise in order to take the empty glass from his hands, and saunters over to the hotel room's mini-bar.

"Another G&T?" he asks, pulling a bottle of Beefeater out of the small fridge.

Kise nods an affirmative yes, then he also stands up and walks over to where his new drink is being poured. His bare feet are light and silent against the carpeted floor.

"I'm so glad we moved to a more...private setting. "

"Me too."

Kise hums with a genuine smile, wrapping his arm around the other man's neck. He keeps at the chokehold for a few seconds until the businessman slumps down, out cold.

Ugh. That was a pain in the ass.

Well, okay. Thankfully it didn't come to that.

Planting one foot on the chest of the unconscious body, Kise readjusts his own disheveled clothing before pulling a few zip ties out of his pocket. One to secure the wrists together, and a couple around the ankles, for good measure.

Satisfied with his job of binding the pervy sleeping man, Kise next has to make a call. Quick dial.

"Are you done?" snaps the irritable voice of Kasamatsu on the other end of the line, without so much as a greeting.

"Easy-peasy! It wasn't any fun at all."

"Fun? This isn't a game, Ryouta."

"I know, I know," Kise lies with a pout, twisting his cross necklace around his fingers.

He does not know. Of course this is a game, that's the only way he can get into it.

"But it's lucky I copied that 'seduction' skill from-"

"'Seduction' isn't a skill you can copy, you tacky bimbo. Airheads like you are just naturally good at that shit, which is why I got you to do this job in the first place."

"KYAH ! Did you just praise m-"

"Shut the hell up. "

Kise's smile widens but the tears in his yellow eyes glisten like jewels.

"Anyways, now that you've lured him in, we've got how many hours until someone notices his useless ass is missing?"

"What is it now? 02:15....He says he's just got a meeting at 13:00 today."

"Perfect. I'm coming over to take care of the rest. You sit tight until then."

Kise hangs up with a despondent sigh. He plops himself down on the older man's stomach, which makes for a nice cushion to sit on. This guy's in for a real world of pain, huh?

The young man slips his pendant between his lips, sucking at the silver cross thoughtfully.

Not that this isn't exciting work or anything (it's not), but....Kise can't help but feel his jobs lately have been pretty lackluster. He's not really putting his special skills to use, fucking over these stupid lechers that get themselves into stupid troubles.

Something good better come soon. Otherwise...

The cross falls from Kise's lips onto his chest. Right against his heart.

[Wednesday. Time: 04:04. Meet the Chessmaster]

[white noise feed]

[Wednesday. Time: 23:52. Meet the Blood Knight and the Book]

"Ahh, that smarts a little."

Aomine spits out an alarmingly thick lump of blood and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. The taste of copper on his lips only further fuels his bloodlust, to the great misfortune of the four men surrounding him.

Not that they're fully aware of this quite yet.

"Listen, I'd love to play mafia with you kids, but I've got some grown up things I'd like to take care of, so why don't you just skip along home-WHOAH OKAY."

After dodging the bullet aimed at his left shoulder, Aomine finds his back pressed up against a brick wall. Behind his favourite nightclub, no less.

"You. You're going to pay for what you did." This coming from punk #3, who would sound a lot more formidable if he didn't look like he was about to cry.

Aomine rubs the side of his face, which still stings a bit from the earlier hit (courtesy of punk #1, who was granted the first number for actually managing to get within face-punching range of Aomine).

"You're going to have to be more specific." he laughs, though he's actually much more serious than his tone would imply.  Aomine is a man who has done many things that could warrant armed pissbabies cornering him in a dark alley under the false illusion that they can harm him in any way.

He tries to mentally run through all the women he's slept with in the past month that could have had jealous lovers; it's too much work, so he gives up.

"Don't play dumb!"

This from punk #2, the gun-wielder, who seems to have realized halfway through that this kind of command is futile on Aomine. He clears his throat to elaborate:

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up in this area after the disrespect you showed our boss."

Aomine squints.

"Our boss.....last night? At the bar across the street? You broke his arm..."

Punk #2 is faltering at Aomine's complete lack of remembrance, but his comrades are growing livid.

"This motherfucker...guess we really should teach him a lesson."

Aomine's heart almost skips a beat when he sees Punk #1 pull a crowbar out of his bag. But his excitement is short-lived: the fight is over before it even begins. It takes less than 3 minutes to curb these shits into the ground and leave them writhing in the same pain and regret their boss experienced yesterday.

Pathetic.

Disappointed, Aomine kicks the unconscious Punk #4 in the ribs one last time, then staggers away from the bloodied scene and wanders off onto the main street.

Before he can brood over his easy win, Aomine spots a familiar someone leaning against a parking sign, waving right at him. That long, silky pink hair, the sweet but kinda shit-eating grin...the unmistakable three sizes-

"Hey, Dai-chan," Momoi smiles, walking up to greet him. She has to tilt her head quite a bit to maintain eye contact.

"I was worried about you after I heard you quit your job, but I'm glad that you're not above picking fights with petty thugs."

Aomine grimaces and covers half his face sheepishly with his fingers.

"Ugh. You saw that?"

"I sure did. Seriously, what the hell happened?"

Aomine would love to answer that. He really would.

"What about you, Satsuki? What brings you to this area?"

Momoi raises her eyebrows, to assure Aomine that his attempt to change the subject is not going unnoticed. However, more pressing issues are at hand.

"Looking for your NEET ass, actually. Here,"

She rummages through her bag--which is full of various papers, as is the lot in life of an information broker--before pulling out a small white envelope and handing it to her old childhood friend.

"What is this?"

"A job offer."

[Thursday. Time: 13:16. Meet the Target and the Phantom]

"Huh? A bodyguard? I don't know what my old man told you, but I can take care of myself."

Kagami Taiga's red eyes are glowing with his usual dose of boundless passion. Passion his family's Head of Security, Riko Aida, wishes he'd put into his studies. Or something. Christ, this kid is such a headache.

"Of course, I'm well aware of your physical prowess and fighting skills, Master Taiga. However, I'm afraid that, given the exposure of your existence as heir to the Kagami empire and...well, other matters-"

Riko pauses for a moment, taking a peek at Kagami's expression, which, though indignant, does not show that he picked up on the poorly explained set of circumstances. Like at all.

"Aside from the usual thugs, I have reason to believe a rather notorious, skilled set of people will be hired to come after you."

"Let them come," Kagami  states rather fervently, slamming his open palm against Riko's wooden desk.

"I'll take them on."

Riko goes through physical pain in an attempt to avoid rolling her eyes. The attempt fails. Her patience has evaporated.

"Alright, well good luck with that. I'm still going to assign a 24-hour guard for you."

"WHA-?!"

"Lower your voice, you brat! He's worked in the underground since a young age, and has a lot of connections with these types of people. Be grateful to me that I'm not putting you on lockdown until this whole thing blows over."

The young Kagami is far from thrilled at this outcome, but even he can see there's no hope of winning this round. He sits back down in his chair with a small grunt of dissatisfaction, crossing his arms over his chest. A little petulant and overexcited, but always respectful. Riko doesn't bother to hide her smirk.

"So?  When do I get to meet this guy?"

"Ah, now that you mention it, "

Riko checks the time on her wristwatch, her brow furrowed slightly.

" I told him to meet me in my office before you got here, but it seems he hasn't shown up yet."

"Uh, actually,"

Riko and Kagami both freeze for a half a second, their blood running cold, faces drained of all colour.

Moving by pure instinct, Riko pulls out a loaded handgun, ready to fire, while Kagami is already up and wielding his chair like a weapon. Both natural fighters are completely ready for bloodshed...until they register the source of the voice.

A small, pale young man, roughly Kagami's age, is standing at the back of the room, right under the small framed portrait of puppies Riko nailed to the wall a couple of weeks ago. (It used to sit on her desk, but Kagami kept covering it every time he came in through the office, so...)

"H-how long have you been there?"  Riko, who has seen the carnage of multiple battlefields, barely stutters out.

"I was here the entire time." the stranger responds in a soft matter-of-fact voice, as if that isn't one of the creepier answers he could give.

Kagami gently places the chair back to its rightful place on the floor, pretending like he isn't suffering from massive heart palpitations.

"You called me here?" adds ghost child...no, no Riko, get a hold of yourself. He's clearly human...he's...

"OH. You must be Kuroko??"  Riko, finally having regained her composure, extends an arm of welcome as he nods yes.

"You really... should've said something haha. please, take a seat."

That's him? The Kuroko Tetsuya, the notorious 'Phantom'??? But he looks so...frail. He's clad a white button down shirt and grey pants, neither of which could seem to be hiding some hidden muscle-definition. His skin is very pale, very anemic-looking. This can't possibly be...

Kuroko blinks back at Riko with his large, pale blue eyes. Though he appears expressionless, Riko can't help but feel a certain level of scorn emanating from this man. He's judging hard for being judged hard.

That's fair.

Riko chews at the nail of her thumb for one contemplative second,then decides to roll with the benefit of the doubt.

"Alright, Kagami Jr. This is the man who'll be sticking to you for the next...little while. Meet your new shadow."

"Eh?"

Kagami looks down in disbelief at the tiny pale blue creature that has just been assigned to protect his life.

A very small, very cold little hand places itself inside Kagami's own.

"Nice to meet you."

"You have got to be fucking kidding me..."

[Thursday. Time: 17:08. Meet the Reaper]

"Atsushi, you've got like fifteen missed calls. Please just answer your phone."

Murasakibara could answer his phone, but...he could also just shove another fistful of all-dressed chips into his mouth and not answer anything that remotely sounds like work.

"Atsushi...please. I think it's urgent."

Don't worry. Murasakibara makes sure to chew his food properly. It's better for digestion.

////

NEXT CHAPTER>

#is this how u do this lol #i just don't know #knb #knb fanfiction #kagami taiga #kuroko tetsuya #kagakuro #kise ryota #aomine daiki #aokise #momoi satsuki #aida riko #momoriko #himuro tatsuya #murasakibara atsushi #muromura #midorima shintarou #takao kazunari #akashi seijuro #mafia au #criminal au #bodyguard au #IDK WHAT I'M DOING LMAO IS THIS GOOD ??? IS IT RIGHT???