#sequel to cities in dust

[frownyalfred]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Batman - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Gotham City & Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth & Bruce Wayne Characters: Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Jason Todd, Dick Grayson Additional Tags: Eldritch, Eldritch Bruce Wayne, Eldritch Clark Kent, Eldritch Dick Grayson, Eldritch Jason Todd, Gotham City is Terrible, Sentient Gotham City, ish, Eldritch Kryptonians, Alternate Universe - Horror, Alternate Universe - Eldritch Abominations (Cthulhu Mythos), Fey/Warlock Alfred, Immortality, Magical Realism, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent Series: Part 2 of eldritch 'verse Summary:

Sensing his entrapment, the boy raises his shoulders, hands phasing into juvenile claws. He hisses at Kal -- the closest to him -- even as his legs tremble.

Bruce aches for him. Cornered by two immortals, and the child is still standing tall. He is stubborn, edged in vicious, glowing green in the planes.

So unlike Dick. So much like him, still.

#myfic #the sequel is up!! #theresurrectionist #superbat #clark kent #superman #bruce wayne #dc #dc comics #batman #dick grayson #nightwing #jason todd #red hood #gotham #eldritch #eldritch abomination #eldritch abominations #sequel to cities in dust #fic #batfamily #batfam

[atlabeth]

northern attitude

geyser (where hurricane is introduced)

pairing: luke castellan x daughter of poseidon!reader

summary: you and luke meet for the first time. (or luke saves you from a monster, you argue with each other the whole time, and he realizes that he doesn't want to survive alone anymore.)

a/n: by popular demand, hurricane is back for a sequel! and potentially more. lol. enjoy some insight into her (justice for weird little girls) and try not to think about the fact that she dies 6 years later! title comes from new england king noah kahan for these new england icons

wc: 4.6k

warning(s): some inner luke angst, monster encounter and short fight (luke gets a bit injured), they argue but in the fun way. they're just lil nine year olds

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Luke muttered. 

He didn’t get an answer back. He was, after all, talking to a fish. 

Maybe it didn’t like that he was a criminal. Luke had snuck his way into the New England Aquarium—he wasn’t going to cough up twenty-five bucks to look at marine life—in desperate need of a reprieve from the city, and he fought the urge to check his back every second. If there was one thing he’d learned from being on his own, it was that kids traveling alone always attracted attention. The last thing he needed was attention. 

Talking to a fish probably wasn’t good for that, but Luke wasn’t exactly in the best headstate. 

Because honestly, he didn’t really know what he was doing in Massachusetts. He tried staying in Connecticut after running away, but it still felt too close to home. He could still hear his mom yelling, could still see her glowing eyes. So he bought the cheapest bus ticket he could find to Boston, hoping a state in between would help. 

That was the second thing he’d learned while traveling on the road: everything was way too expensive. And for a kid with no job living off the allowance he’d saved up and some extra money he took out of his mom’s wallet, that wasn’t great. If Luke couldn’t get something dirt cheap, he stole it. His father may not have answered any of his prayers in the past few years, but at least he had naturally quick fingers. 

Luke sighed as he turned away from the fish, who was clearly not interested in striking up a conversation. He weaved his way through the crowd as he tried to think of where to go next—it wasn’t the smartest decision, but he was tempted to get a little whale plush from the gift stop—when he heard the middle of a conversation. 

“You made a mistake coming here, dearie.” 

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as Luke froze in place. He couldn’t even murmur an apology to the people who bumped into him because the gears in his head were turning rapidly. 

“Let go of me—” a voice protested in response. 

“Quieting down would do you some good. Did your mother not teach you manners?”

He was still trying to see who it was when he finally found it. A middle-aged woman moved through the crowd with a girl around Luke’s age, her hand wrapped tightly around the girl’s arm. Her nails were more like claws, and she had a strange gait that she tried to cover up. That was when he knew. 

See, Luke had gotten used to distinguishing creeps from freaks with all his time on the road. Cutting a monster down would turn them into dust—normal humans would call the police. And if there was anything more dangerous for a runaway juvenile than monsters, it was the police. 

But if a monster had ignored every single person in this building to get to you, it meant he’d somehow stumbled his way into the path of another half-blood. And Luke wasn’t going to let another half-blood die right in front of him. 

So he took a deep breath, hoped the five second plan he made up in his head would work, and moved in.

“May, where have you been?” Luke tried to put on his best brother voice, and made himself as imposing as a nine year old could be. He didn’t focus at all on the monster, instead communicating to trust him as much as he could with his eyes. “Mom’s been worried sick!”

Both you and the woman turned to look at him, and Luke immediately knew he made the right choice from the blatant fear in your expression. 

“Sorry,” you said, letting your shoulders fall and your gaze drop to the ground. Luke tried not to let his relief show over you playing along. “I really wanted to look at the sea turtle—” 

“You should’ve said something instead of just wandering off,” he insisted. “We can all go look at it together—once Mom is done lecturing you, at least.” Luke took your hand and you let him pull you over to his side, positioning himself in front of you ever so slightly as he looked up at the woman. “Thanks for keeping an eye on her. I appreciate it.” 

“You should be more careful,” she said eerily. It felt as if she was staring right into his soul. “You never know the kind of things that are out there.” 

“I know,” he said, shaking his head. “Sisters, am I right?” 

As soon as they were out of hearing distance, he lowered his voice and tightened his grip on your hand. “Come on. Try and look casual.” 

“You know what she is,” you whispered.

“Yes,” he said, then he shook his head. “I— not exactly. But I know she’s a monster.”

“I knew it,” you muttered with vindication. Luke felt your eyes on him. “So you’re like me?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“One of your parents is—” You stopped, as if you still weren’t sure. 

Luke knew the feeling all too well—desperately trying to tell someone what he was only to be met with that look adults loved to give. You’re clearly talking nonsense, but I feel bad for you so I’ll humor you. And all the normal kids he’d tried to tell the truth to thought he was just playing a game. 

“A god,” he finished quietly. “Yeah.”

You started to look back, but Luke stopped you. 

“Don’t.” Their chances of getting attacked in a place so full of people was lower, but Luke had dealt with some particularly bold monsters. One able to disguise themself as a human would have an advantage—Luke learned people hated listening to kids, especially ones they could pass off as delusional. “You don’t want her to catch on.” 

“Who are you?” you asked. 

“My name’s Luke,” he said. “What about you?” 

You said your name, then you glanced at him. “You know a lot about all of this. More than me.” 

“Are you a runaway too?”

You nodded, and a part of his heart broke. You had no right to be out here, not when you were so young. 

And he says so, too. “You shouldn’t be out here on your own. It’s dangerous.” 

You frowned. “You’re out here on your own too.” 

“I’ve been on my own for a few months,” he said. “I know what to expect. How long have you been out?” 

You shrugged. “A week.” 

Luke let out a ragged sigh. “You’ve got bad luck if monsters are already coming after you.” 

“They already have,” you murmured, and you looked back at him. “How old are you if you’ve been doing this for months?” 

Luke frowned. “Nine. How old are you?” 

“I’m also nine,” you shot back. “So you can’t say anything to me.” 

He opened his mouth to retort—Luke hadn’t been a child in years, not since Hermes left him alone with a cursed mother and a burning rage inside of him that he couldn’t let go of, no matter how hard he tried. But if you chose to run away from home too, then you were in the same boat. Kids like you two didn’t get to be kids. 

“Fair,” he conceded. “But it’ll be a lot easier to give her the slip if we work together.”

“…I can deal with that.” You cleared your throat. “Thank you for saving me, though. I… I just froze.” 

“It happens more than you’d think,” Luke muttered. “We have to throw her off our trail, though. She’s not gonna be happy.” 

“She’s probably ecstatic,” you said, shaking your head. “She’s got two kids to eat instead of one.” 

“Aren’t you an optimist?” he remarked. 

You chuckled. “Sorry. It hasn’t been a great day.” 

“It’s fine.” Luke didn’t know the last great—god, even good—day he’d had, even before he ran away. Honestly, this conversation with you had been the highlight of this month. “But we can’t just leave. She has our scent, so she’ll be on us as soon as we’re on our own. It’ll be even easier out in the open. We’ve gotta set security on her trail to get her off ours.” 

You nodded as you turned another corner. “We should get to the gift shop. It’ll be less populated, but still enough to hide us.” 

Luke nodded. “Smart. And security’ll have an easy path there in case of shoplifters.” 

“So tell a sob story, get security, set them on her,” you said, looking at him. 

“Then get the hell out of here,” he agreed. 

“Think we can get a souvenir for the occasion?” you asked. “We’ve probably earned it with all this dodging.” 

Luke thought about that whale plushie again. “Maybe.” 

“The stairs are that way.” You gestured with your head, and Luke turned—he’d been going the completely wrong direction.

“Thanks,” he said. “You know this place?” 

“I’m from Boston,” you nodded. “And I’ve been here a lot with my mom.”

Luke figured he should have guessed by the accent. He didn’t know how long he was going to stay, but it would be useful to have someone with him who knew the city.

“You’re still pretty close to home,” he noted. 

You shrugged. “I’ve been doing all the things I’ve wanted to do now that I’m officially on my own. I know I’m gonna have to leave eventually, but…” you sighed and shook your head. “I guess I’m scared. Brave enough to run away but too scared to make it official.” 

Luke understood that more than you could know. It took him feeling like he was going to burst out of his skin before he got the strength to leave Connecticut. 

“You don’t wanna leave your mom,” he guessed. 

You nodded. “I love her more than anything, but I’ve already put her in too much danger. I’m leaving until I can figure out how to keep her safe.” 

You’re a kid, Luke wanted to say. It should be the other way around. But he’d already been hypocritical enough for today, and you’d probably say the same. 

“That’s sweet,” he said. “Stupid, but sweet.” 

“We’re both nine-year-old runaways,” you said. “You don’t get to tell me what’s stupid.” 

He chuckled and shook his head, letting the matter drop as you finally got to the gift shop. Luke had been stressed about how to strike a balance between cautious enough to keep your backs covered but confident enough to not be questioned, but it turned out talking with you was all he needed. 

On the way to the front, Luke caught sight of a whale plushie. His fingers itched to grab it, but he kept his eyes on the better prize of not dying and came to a stop at the cash register. 

“Hi,” Luke said, getting the attention of the employee at the front, hoping he sounded adequately fearful. “There’s a woman out there that tried to get my friend to go with her. Tall, middle-aged, dressed in grandmother-y clothes with glasses. She grabbed her arm and threatened her.” 

“You kids aren’t joking around, are you?” the cashier asked. 

“No,” you said, and Luke was shocked by how close to tears you sounded. “It was really scary— my parents were in the bathroom and I was waiting for them, and she just looked so nice, but—” somehow, a tear actually fell from your eye as you let out a sob— “but she tried to take me away.” 

The woman shook her head as she went back and grabbed a walkie talkie from below the register. The moment she turned away, you glanced at Luke and nodded, and he just stared in awe. She relayed Luke’s description then said a couple other things, then she crouched down to be on their level to look you straight-on. “Where are your parents?” 

“They’re in the bathroom on the second floor,” you provided. “We came here because we didn’t know where else to go.” 

She sighed, falling for every part of it. You were much better at garnering sympathy than Luke was. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I called our security— they’ll be here in a second to get a statement from you.” 

You nodded, sniffling a bit as your lip quivered. “Thank you. I— I just want my mom.” 

The employee put her hand to her heart, and when you went for a hug, she reciprocated. “Don’t cry. You’re gonna be safe, okay? I’ll wait with you until security gets here. One of our guards is already out there looking for her.”

“Okay,” you agreed. Luke caught your eye from behind her back, and you dropped your act in a second to smile knowingly at him. He just shook his head with a slight smile of his own—you were good at this. 

Eventually, two security guards arrived—Luke doubted they would be good for handling a shoplifter, much less a mythological monster—but they took yours and Luke’s statements, and were about to leave before you spoke up. 

“Our parents are definitely looking for us,” you said, already back on the verge of tears. “Can— can you take us to them? When they went to the bathroom, we were by the coral reef.” 

“‘Course.” One of them nodded and looked at his partner. “I’ll get them back to their parents—you look for the suspect.” 

After a short discussion, the three of you set out, you still holding Luke’s hand as he leaned closer to you. 

“On my signal,” he murmured. “We’re gonna blend into the crowd and get out of here.”

You nodded. You were so close to the exit, but you allowed the guard to take you up the stairs, and thankfully the crowd around the middle of the giant ocean tank was huge. Luke counted off quietly, and when he got to three, you split off, blending into a group of kids on a school field trip to get back to the stairs. 

You started moving at a much quicker pace, the exit within your sights, but just as they were about to make it, Luke spotted their monster. And now, she was definitely a monster—Luke couldn’t remember the name, but she’d shed her disguise, looking like some kind of bird-human hybrid thing. It didn’t really matter in his opinion, because she really looked like she wanted to kill the two of you. 

Luke cursed and grabbed your arm, immediately pulling you flat up against the wall with him. “She’s here.” 

“We told security about her,” you protested. “How hard could it be to find her?” 

“A bit harder when they’re gonna be seeing something different.” Luke glanced at you. “You said you’ve already dealt with monsters before.” 

You nodded. 

“Do you remember feeling like you were the only one who actually saw what was happening? Like you saw the monster for what it was while it was trying to kill you, and everyone was still freaking out, but not as much as they should have been?” 

You nodded again. 

“Well, that’s a thing. Normal people can’t see what monsters really look like—only we can.” Luke peeked his head around the corner again. “And if she’s shed her disguise, it means she wants to go in for the kill. And it means we’re completely on our own.” 

“We’re not on our own,” you said. “We’ve got each other.” 

Luke found himself smiling. It had been a while since that was true. It had been a while since he’d smiled. 

“Yeah,” he agreed. “And it’s harder to kill two half-bloods than one.” 

He poked his head out again and immediately withdrew it, cursing under his breath as he stared up at the ceiling. “I never should have come to this city.”  

“Excuse me?” You stepped away from the wall as your brows furrowed. “Boston is the greatest city in the world.” 

“If you’re gonna be wrong, be wrong quietly,” Luke urged, gesturing with his head for you to get back. “And you are wrong, by the way.” 

“I’m not wrong.” You crossed your arms, refusing to budge. “Did you know that we have the first public park? And the first public school! And we have the T! Where are you even from?” 

“We can talk about this later,” he insisted. “We’re trying to hide. Have you ever hidden before?” 

“We don’t need to hide when you’ve insulted my Commonwealth’s honor,” you said. “Especially when you’re in our aquarium. Where are you from to be talking so badly about the Bay State?” 

“Connecticut,” he finally said, hoping that would get you to finally quiet down, but that only ramped you up further. “Place called Westport.”

“Connecticut?” you marveled, throwing your hands up. “You’re from some podunk town in Connecticut and you’re insulting Boston?” 

“Okay, Westport is not a podunk town—” Luke started, but he didn’t get the chance to finish defending his hometown before he caught sight of their monster—and she’d caught sight of them. 

Luke cursed even harder under his breath with words no nine year old should have known, then he grabbed your hand and pulled you along into a jog, interrupting your immediate protests. 

“She’s got us pinned,” he said, trying to keep his voice low enough to not be detected while making sure you could hear him. “Together, our scent is too strong. We’re not gonna be able to lose her—we’ve gotta kill her.”

“Could the fish help with her knowing where we are?” you asked as you started running with him. “Because they’ll be happy to help us. They don’t like her either.”

Luke did a double take. “What?”

“I can hear what they’re saying,” you said, as if it were completely normal. “It’s a little overwhelming with so many in one place, honestly.”

If they weren’t on the run from a monster, Luke would have worried a bit more about the fact that you were crazy. But he wasn’t awarded those kinds of luxuries these days. 

“We’ll—” Luke let out a sigh, because what did you mean that you could hear what fish were saying (especially because they clearly weren’t conversation prone)— “we’ll get out of here, and get the upper hand, and we’ll kill her. Okay?”

“Okay,” you nodded. “But Boston is still the greatest city in the world.” 

He huffed, taking his eyes off the path forward for a moment just to look at you. “Are you seriously still on this?” 

“Of course. We also have the greatest baseball team in the country.” You gestured with your free hand. “Do you see how many people here have Red Sox hats on?” 

Luke laughed out of pure shock. Was this the kind of stuff he’d been missing out on while traveling alone? 

“Listen,” he said. “If we get out of this alive, you can tell me all the Red Sox facts you want. But we actually have to work together through all this. Deal?” 

“Deal,” you said immediately. “You’re way more focused than I am.” 

Luke let out a loose breath and shook his head. “Well, I’ve had to be. Do you have a weapon?” 

“I took a kitchen knife before I left,” you said, “just to be safe. It’s worked pretty well.” 

“Do you know how to use it?” 

“I’m really good at chopping vegetables,” you said. “And I killed a monster with it the other day.” 

“Glowing reviews,” Luke chuckled. “I’m pretty good with my sword, so we should be okay.” 

“You’ve got a sword? How?” 

“...My dad left it for me before he left,” Luke said. “I guess he wanted to do one good thing for me in his life.” 

“I’m sorry,” you said. Luke offered a tight smile. 

“Doesn’t matter much anymore,” he said. “Soon as we get outside, we get to the street and get to some empty alley. We hide on either side, wait for her to find us, then take her down. Okay?” 

You nodded resolutely. “Let’s do it.”

The beginning of the plan wasn’t too difficult. Your faces would probably be plastered all over the place once the staff realized you were missing, but that was a problem for another day. You knew the area well so you took charge—and you took the time to spout random facts about the city on your way, of course, like a nine-year-old tour guide—and soon enough they were indeed in an empty alleyway. 

You and Luke stood on each side, weapons in your grasp now that you weren’t surrounded by a whole aquarium of people, and he watched as you stared straight ahead, trying to keep your breathing steady. Besides the whole hearing fish thing, you seemed pretty well-adjusted for where you were. 

But then again—you’d only been at this for a week, and the way you talked about your mom, your home life was the complete opposite of his. 

Luke shook his head. It didn’t matter what your life was like—you both ended up in the same place. 

His thoughts were mercifully ended when Luke heard sharp nails scratching against the brick of the alleyway. He grimaced, his grip tightening on his sword, and he looked over at you. Your eyes were slightly wide, but you nodded when he did. You were ready. 

“You two are clever,” the monster sang, her voice just as grating as her nails against the wall, “but I never miss a meal. And those measly workers just wouldn’t sate my appetite.” 

Her steps got closer and closer, and Luke held his breath. Right before she would be able to see you both, he yelled, “Now!” 

You were out first, immediately lashing at her with your knife. She took the cut against her shoulder and slashed at you in turn, but you dodged out of the way, giving Luke a chance to come in with his sword. But his angle was off, and she deflected the blow then sunk her claws into his arm. Luke cried out, landing a kick on her chest as he ripped himself out of her grasp, but her focus was already back on you. 

You stabbed at her with your knife and actually landed it in her chest, but it wasn’t Celestial bronze—all it did was make her angrier. She screeched and tackled you to the ground, knife still sticking out of her, claws poised to rip your throat out. You grit your teeth as you wrestled her arms away from you, but your strength was fading fast. 

Luke’s eyes widened and he grabbed his sword from the ground. He wouldn’t make it in time, but you could. 

He called out your name and threw his sword, and you didn’t even have to look to snatch it out of the air. Storms raged in your eyes as you stabbed the monster through the side.

“You shouldn’t have come here, dearie,” you spat. 

The monster’s scream dissolved with the wind as she exploded into dust, dousing you in yellow powder. The sword fell out of your grip as you coughed, and you just laid on the ground, drained.  

“Gross,” you grumbled. 

Luke wiped his hand across his forehead as he fought to catch his breath, ignoring the blood seeping down his arm. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah,” you said between coughs. “I’m great.” 

Luke went over and offered his hand, and he pulled you up after you took it. “I’m so sorry. I guess I’m a little rusty.” 

“Neither of us are dead, are we? I’d say it went pretty well.” You grimaced as you wiped the powder off your face, groaning again. “This is gonna take forever to get off.” 

Luke chuckled as he took his backpack off and took out a towel, which you accepted gratefully. A demigod always had to be prepared. “You say you’ve only been on your own for a week?”

You nodded as you started cleaning your face and arms off. “Not my first monster, though.”

“It never is,” he murmured. Luke tipped his head back towards the sun and closed his eyes, letting out one final, long breath as the buzz from battle started to fade. And along with that, his adrenaline—the wound on his arm began to sting, and he sighed. He really didn’t feel like dealing with that. 

“You’re hurt,” you said, and Luke opened his eyes. 

“I’ll be fine,” he said. “They’re surface level.” 

You frowned. “Are you sure?” 

“I’ve stitched myself up a few times, and this doesn’t need them,” he said, his lip curling at the memory. He was not a very good doctor. “I have some first aid stuff in my bag—once we get out of here, I’ll fix it up.” 

“You said we,” you said. 

Luke blinked. “I did?” 

You nodded. “When we get out of here.” 

He blinked again. He didn’t even notice—didn’t even really think about where you would go after the monster was dead. It was kinda sad, but Luke was pretty sure he’d smiled and talked more in this one hour with you than the past few months on his own. He’d already started thinking of you and him as a collective. 

“What d’you think, then?” he asked. “You wanna stick together?” 

You frowned. “You’re willing to kick it with a girl you just met?”

He shrugged. “You fight well, obviously. And you’re way better at making people feel bad for you than I am. That’s useful when you’ve got nothing.”

“We’re kids on our own,” you said. “It’s not that hard to get pity points.”

“I’ve been told I’m… abrasive,” Luke said. “Besides, I like you already. You were arguing for your baseball team while running for your life. It’s annoying, but impressive.”

“People also say that about me,” you said sagely. Luke smiled and held out his hand more. 

“So? You wanna join forces?”

You stared at it for a while. “Even if I spend the next couple of hours telling you all about the Red Sox?”

Luke chuckled. “I did say you could if we got out of this alive. And I feel pretty alive.” 

It took you another second, but you nodded intently and shook his hand. “Then you’ve got yourself a deal, Luke.” 

“Glad to hear it,” he said, his smile widening. 

You handed him the towel and he went to put it back in his bag when he saw the… souvenir he’d taken before you left the gift shop. He grabbed the whale plushie that had been on his mind all day and held it out to you. “Here.”

You frowned. “When did you even have the time to get this? You definitely didn’t pay for it.”

“Idle hands are the devil’s playthings,” he said. “They won’t miss it. It’s a much better use marking the start of our friendship. Besides,” Luke shrugged, “you did say you wanted a souvenir.” 

You smiled as you took it. “Looks like we’re a trio, then.”

“Welcome to the team,” he said with a grin. “It’s a small one, but I think we’ll make it work.”

“Me too,” you nodded. “And it’ll be nice not being alone.”

Luke thought back to all the nights spent sleeping under bridges, commandeering benches, purposefully choosing overnight buses so he would have somewhere to rest. Constantly watching his back because he had no one else, wondering if each night he camped in the woods would be his last. 

He looked at you, a girl who ran away from home because she didn’t want to hurt her mom. Your clothes were covered in yellow monster dust, sweat dripped down your forehead, and Luke had nearly gotten you killed—but you were still smiling. And he found himself smiling too. 

“Yeah,” Luke murmured. “It will be.” 

#i suck at writing fight scenes no one come for me please and thank you<3 #luke castellan x reader #luke castellan fic #luke castellan angst #percy jackson and the olympians x reader #pjo x reader #x reader #daughter of poseidon #child of poseidon #sadie writes #ialwbty

[nicosraf]

Angels & Man, a queer retelling of the Watcher's Flood, is now available for ebook pre-order

with a beautiful illustrated cover by the incredible Hyde Angelus @iliothermia and a back designed by Alex @swordvampire.

Angels & Man is a queer retelling of the Genesis Flood // Noah's Flood // the Book of Enoch // the Book of Giants in which:

The angel Azazel is miserable in Heaven. In the aftermath of Satan's fall, the angels live in the reconstructed ruins of an old utopia, oppressive and paranoid of any new rebellion. The angel Samyaza is content in Heaven, but he longs for the eternal city's former glory. Watching the feeble humans below, wallowing in sin for centuries after Adam and Eve, he sees opportunity to earn back the Lord’s favor. On Earth, the Watcher angels arrive to lecture on God's love, but the love of a human soon begins to seem much warmer.

It's the sequel to Angels Before Man — a queer retelling of Satan's fall — and the second book in the Angels Trilogy — a series of books about gay angels and the end of the world.

Paperback / Hardcover are coming soon (it always takes me a while to get them set up but I'm hoping ). While we're at it, please look at the cover illustration for the hardcover dust jacket by @siroc-co :

I want to sap about how hard I've worked on this and how grateful I've been for your support :( It means a lot to me. Thank you all. But let me leave the content warnings here for now:

Graphic violence, death, depictions of oppression, body horror, pregnancy and miscarriage and childbirth (including for character that does not identify as a woman), sexism, homophobia, bigotry, sexual content, non-graphic sexual violence, issues of sexual consent, incest, depictions of war and starvation, emotional and physical child abuse and neglect, suicide, mental instability, self-harm, abusive romantic relationships

#mine #angels before man #angels and man #angels trilogy #queer books #lgbt books #writing #indie books #book

[thefallennightmare]

Bucky Barnes

Soldat-: Captain America and Reader have worked together at SHIELD for over a year. What happens when they have a run in with The Winter Solider and Steve finds out the secret Reader had been hiding from him all this time? And what happens when reader is captured by Hydra and The Winter Soldier, again. Can she make Soldat remember her or is her life with Steve just a slow fading memory now? COMPLETED

Dorogaya-(sequel to Soldat): It has been sometime since Y/N and Bucky went into hiding but now their past is returning. Can this new relationship survive the Civil War that’s about to happen? COMPLETED

Vas Prizrak-(Third part to Soldat Series)- Bucky and Reader’s life in Wakanda had been everything they ever wanted. But when they are told about the fight that was on it’s way to them, they fear that life would be dusted away for good. COMPLETED.

Time-:  Before the war, Bucky and Reader had the picture perfect life together. When she lost him, she thought that she would never find that kind of love again. However, someone from a different time returns to give her that love once more. Will she follow them through the unknown or come to terms that her once in a lifetime love is truly gone? COMPLETED

MOMENT OF WEAKNESS[MOB BOSS!AU]   Reader is the assistant to New York’s most feared mob boss, James Buchanan Barnes. He had the picture-perfect life: status in the mob, friends, and beautiful wife. So why can’t he keep his mind and eyes off of reader?-COMPLETED.

Soldiers:  Reader has spent the last seventy years in hell as a prisoner soldier; Hydra’s greatest weapon. Well, second greatest weapon after The Winter Soldier. The only thing that got her through that hell was him, even if she was the one behind his biggest pain. ON HIATUS

Arranged[MOBBOSS!Bucky Barnes AU]-Reader would do anything to make her parents happy and that included agreeing to an arranged marriage. She never expected it to be to one of New York’s most feared Mob Boss: Bucky Barnes. He is anything but loving towards Reader however when her parents are mysteriously killed, Bucky makes it his mission to find out who were at fault. And in the process, ends up coming close to losing Reader.- COMPLETED

Eyes: Bucky never thought that during his usual morning run with Steve his life would change forever.

Home:  Reader dreads going to her best friends wedding because she has to sit next her ex the entire night. What happens when she finds out the reason behind their breakup was just a lie?[AU]

Besplatno:This takes place in the same universe as SOLDAT/DOROGAYA/ VAS PRIZRAK.  Bucky had finally awoken in Wakanda but there was one thing keeping him and reader from celebrating their new found calm together; Is the Winter Soldier still buried deep in Bucky?

Soul Mates: Growing up, Y/N was told stories about Soul Mate Dreamers. You would dream your soul mates memories and they would stop once you shared your fist kiss. Y/N never believed in those stories, until a new neighbor moved in right next door.

Truth:  Years after losing her husband, Reader needed a change and decided to move to a new apartment in a new city, hoping for a fresh start. She always had questions about what happened to her husband but never expected her neighbor to be the one that had all the answers she had been looking for.

Fallen: Reader is the new recruit at Avengers Compound, but no one is welcoming towards her because of her past; a very dark past. She was Hydra’s greatest weapon for years, until a decision forced her to flee. Before she could settle into this new life, she’s faced with memories of her past, one she thought she would never see again, The Winter Soldier. Can Bucky get reader to open up and show him what she’s been hiding for so long? COMPLETED

Forever:  Could I request something with Bucky x Australian!reader either something fluffy or smutty or both where he loves her accent or takes the piss out of her trying to imitate it

I’ll Be Okay- Is Bucky’s and Reader’s relationship worth saving or is it on the brink of destruction? Based on Shawn Mendes “I’ll Be Okay.”

Brainwashed- Bucky x reader where they are dating and he’s an asshole after a huge argument and reader gets captured and brainwashed by HYDRA and Bucky realizes his mistakes? They meet again during a mission and Bucky also realizes he lost reader forever.

I Guess I’m in Love- Bucky can’t help but reflect on his love for Reader on their lazy Sunday afternoon.

Envy- There’s a new bartender at Bucky’s club which almost spells disaster for reader and Bucky’s relationship.

#bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes #bucky barnes masterlist #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes and reader #bucky barnes reader insert #sebastian stan

[blouisparadise]

Upon request, today we have the fourth part to our enemies to lovers rec list! You can also find part one here, part two here, and part three here. If you enjoy our rec lists and would like us to continue making them, please be sure to like and reblog this post to help spread the word! Happy reading.

1) Say My Name And Everything Just Stops | Explicit | 5,089 words

Harry and Louis are enemies and their friends leave them behind on a camping trip to sort out their differences. In a short amount of time, they do.

2) It’s Hard To Fight Naked | Explicit | 11,189 words

Prompt 6: Louis and Harry are roommates, but they cannot stand each other. When Harry heard Louis moan his name while Louis was riding a dildo in Harry’s room (Louis thought he was alone at home), Harry couldn’t stop himself and so he ended up fucking Louis against the mattress. Happy ending!

3) Works Like A Charm | Explicit | 18,088 words

Ever since Louis joined the team in fifth year, a few facts have become set in stone. One: Louis is the best chaser in Hogwarts. Two: Harry is the best beater in Hogwarts. Three: They do not get along. So it’s really unfair of Liam to think that forcing them to spend time together as Louis recovers from his injury will make them the best of friends. The last thing Louis would do is get along with that git.

4) Uncomfortable Truths | Explicit | 18,125 words

Louis (a sophisticated asshole with a god complex, according to Zayn) is confident, bored out of his mind and in a desperate need of a challenge. Harry moves back to the city, ready to provide him one. Things go sideways. Obviously.

5) Angel Of Small Death And The Murder Scene | Explicit | 20,634 words

Ever since Louis read about the new up and coming Detective in town, he had immediately disliked the man, despite never having met him. So, naturally, it can only be the worst thing that could have happened to Louis when he gets stuck with Detective Styles trying to solve a murder during his supposed to be relaxing vacation over the seas.

6) Manners And Misjudgements | Explicit | 21,178 words

“Everyone you mention the Duke to raves about him, just like you are defending him now. But no one looks behind the façade he so ably maintains to deceive you all.” Liam sighs deeply. “You sound like a crazy man right now, Louis.” “I will prove to you who the Duke really is, just wait.”

7) Help Me, Help You Find Love | Explicit | 23,789 words

The one where they all attend a university for supernaturals and Werewolf Frat president and resident heartthrob Harry approaches on campus matchmaker Louis to help him find love.

8) Strong Enough To Get Us Wrong | Explicit | 24,289 words

Omega Louis have always considered the soulmate etching on his left thigh to be a curse. It takes a world tour, the bustling city of Tokyo, a hike to see Mt. Fuji, some hidden feelings, sea urchin sushi and the alpha he hates most in the world to change him.

9) Like It’s A Game | Explicit | 32,223 words | Sequel

There is little Harry hates more than truth or dare. And Louis.

10) Spoonful Of Sugar | Explicit | 42,900 words

Note: We'd recommend reading the prequel to this fic first.

Louis Tomlinson cares for his family above all else, a fact that’s led him on a twisted path peddling drugs to support them. Just as he’s made the decision to jump ship, Louis gets snared between the two largest crime syndicates in the city. To keep his family safe he’s forced to trust the man that failed to keep his promise two years ago, the resident drug lord he’s unknowingly been working for, Harry Styles.

11) From Dust To Lust | Explicit | 45,437 words

From the moment Louis set eyes on the gorgeous stranger across the airport terminal, he knew the guy was trouble, which was the last thing he wanted. He wouldn’t have thought spending two days cooped up in a car travelling from the Australian Outback to the East Coast would change his mind. It’s funny how things work out.

12) Catch Me If I Fall | Explicit | 47,099 words

Lovers when on the stage but bitter rivals as soon as they step off, Harry and Louis have butted heads from the moment they first met. Locked in a stalemate that they hope to ride out until graduation, things take a turn when Harry learns that Louis is hiding a secret.

13) Hold Me How the Deep Night Has | Explicit | 48,018 words

Louis Tomlinson needs a change. Stuck in a cycle of going to the job he hates, spending time with his friends, and avoiding the one man he hates most in this world, Louis' in desperate need of something new. So when he discovers an abandoned notebook on the way to work, the decision is easy to take it for himself and begin a journal amidst the empty pages. What can't be expected are the words that appear overnight directly beside his own, written on the same day 400 years in the past. What are the consequences of a magical connection between two men of different centuries? And who, among it all, is the mysterious E who only exists on the other side of Louis' journal?

14) Falling Without Caution | Explicit | 50,350 words

Louis Tomlinson, a wanted criminal, was captured by the FBI after years of chasing. Instead of being locked up in a high-security prison, he was offered a deal. What was supposed to be the end of a decade long chase turned into a morally grey circumstance for Agent Styles.

15) A Place With Skeletons | Explicit | 50,765 words

“I would choose anyone other than you,” Louis says, picking up his train of thought again. He feels a lot more cornered and defensive when they’re in Harry’s house, for some reason. It doesn’t really make sense, considering that this time, Louis was the one who couldn’t hack it any longer. He broke first. There’s something about being in Harry’s space, though, the green and earthy feeling of it. It should feel like open space with all the plants, but Louis has never felt more claustrophobic than he does when he’s here. Harry’s chest moves against his back, a sharp intake of air. Before he can open his mouth to defend himself, Louis keeps going, “If I had a choice in any of this, I would have been saved by that elderly security guard over you. I wouldn’t mind having to have the occasional cuddle with her.”

16) We Are But Dust and Shadows | Explicit | 51,468 words

Louis is part of a well respected Shadowhunter family, and Harry is the Mundane turned Shadowhunter who just can’t seem to get it right.

17) Lunar Waltz | Explicit | 56,795 words

Louis has to replace his (missing) twin brother and marry one of the most dangerous alphas of the kingdom.

18) The Luna of Which Pack? | Mature | 72,696 words

When Harry's wolves accidentally kidnap the intended Luna of Simon Cowell's pack, he must decide what to do with the irritating omega that does not want to return home. With the elders disagreeing with the new ‘naive’ pack alpha Styles, a war erupts due to his opposed decisions. And Louis finds himself right in the middle of it.

19) Echoes & Omens | Mature | 100,707 words

Echoes of the dead come in many forms. Their imprints forever tied to the ones who'd killed them. Louis Tomlinson is able to track the dead using their echoes, they call to him. He's used that gift to aid Scotland Yard in their investigations, with the hopes of studying Criminology at Cambridge University. He's lived a life of privilege and good fortune as a Marquess, son of the late Duke Tomlinson, with his life mapped out since day one. Until two terrible truths are revealed. One, he's adopted. Two, his biological parents are London's most notorious serial killers. Against his family's wishes, Louis travels to Chicago to uncover the truth of their incarceration. Much to his dismay, his biological mother's Lawyer, Harry Styles, wants to take his case. Together, they work to uncover what really happened all those years ago, but perhaps more is revealed than they could've ever anticipated. Trapped in a whirlwind of portents and omens, Louis and Harry find themselves pitted against an enemy they'd not foreseen.

20) Where I Burn To Be | Explicit | 143,346 words

There were very few people who managed to get under Louis’ skin as effortlessly as Harry had, and even fewer who had done it in only a day and a half. It was quite an accomplishment, really. They’d only interacted a handful of times and yet Louis had the insatiable desire to slam the locker into that frustratingly well-defined face that never seemed to hold any expressions other than contempt and arrogance. “That’s right. I do own the skies. And you wanna know why?” he sneered. Without his boots on, Louis was a fair bit shorter than Harry, his eyes pretty much level with Harry’s chin and his socked toes bumping into the boots of the other man, close enough that Louis could make out the tiny scar on Harry’s brow and the individual shades of emerald in his irises. He was handsome, but that only made Louis hate him more. Heart thumping heavily against his sternum and his hands balled into fists, Louis lifted his chin defiantly and plastered a coldhearted smirk across his lips. “Because I’m the best goddamn pilot here.”

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

#fic recs #bottom louis #top harry #blp #blp fic recs #enemies to lovers #larry stylinson #larry

[theastrophysicistnextdoor]

Good Omens S2 – Dust in Soho – Part 2

– currently gathering information about dusty cars and corresponding weather

Part 1: Episodes 1 to 4 Part 2: Episodes 5 and 6

Episode 5

This episode is strange... How many hours have passed since the end of ep4 – Aziraphale comes back from Edinburgh around 6:45 am, A&C go back to the bookshop after having put the plants back to the car – and the beginning of ep5 – Crowley comes back to Soho with the Bentley?

The Bentley looks clean.

When A&C go from shop to shop to invite the shopkeepers to the ball, I can spot clean and dirty cars... The street is dry now (remember, at the end of ep4, it was wet in the morning).

Right before the ball starts, the street is wet again and the blue car there looks quite clean:

Episode 6

During the discussion about Armageddon the Sequel, after the Nah, Gabriel asks: "What's next on the agenda?" Uriel: "The cleaning roster." (Thank you, @postsforposting, for pointing that out :) )

I am again confused about the time: what happened during the night? The ball started at 6:30 pm, and now it has to be after 6:00 am as there is daylight. I don't see how I can stretch the ball and the fight / visit to heaven over 11 hours.

When Crowley comes back from heaven, the street is wet and the car looks clean:

When Crowley exits the bookshop with Nina and Maggie I see rather clean cars:

During the final minutes, dirty cars are back. And, in particular, the Bentley is dirty. The street is wet.

In the fourth screenshot you can see that the Bentley got dirty during the night and someone put a hand on it above the front passenger's door as there is a clean spot, maybe while getting in/out. Also, when Crowley drives off, you see that the wiper must have been used after getting covered in dust.

We have to combine the information with the changing Bentley: "How to tell the three Good Omens Bentleys apart"

So, thoughts on the extra cars in this season:

I have the impression that a certain car is either dirty OR clean, e.g. I have never seen the taxi dirty. I will make a list...

A car can be dirty while the street is wet for two reasons: 1) It rained, but the car was not in the city when it rained. 2) It did NOT rain, but the street was flooded.

There is a heavy storm in the Job minisode. Crowley states "They've started early." Might that be a hint?

What are your thoughts?

@embracing-the-ineffable @ineffable-detective-agency @good-omens-meta-library

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens analysis #good omens clues #ineffable mistery #good omens fandom #ineffable detective agency #good omens spoilers #good omens season 2

[clxckwork-sun-n-moon]

a touch prompt from @pure-plum

"5. feeling their pulse"

feat. @naffeclipse's Bounty Hunter!Eclipse and a sequel to this prompt. be aware this drabble contains violence and major injury

-------

Anyone who deigned to shake the rotten underbelly of the city was bound to get a target on their back. Small or large, constant or wavering like the river tide, there would inevitably be someone coming after you. Depending on how much shaking you did, you could end up with a small number of very dedicated guns trained on you, waiting for the opportune moment, or you could end up with a large number of people unaware of the danger they were about to run into. 

Eclipse did a lot of shaking. Not large and heavy-hitting, like the vigilante, making the rot tremble and fall in their wake. He did his own swathes of small concentrated jabs, steadily burning weeds that grew from cracks in the concrete. 

For the longest time, he had the benefit that anyone who decided that he had slighted them to the point of retaliation would only be coming after him. His brothers were, in a way, protected by the distance that they had built between themselves and their brother. Even as this distance was slowly being broken down, Eclipse maintained the illusion of separation. There wouldn’t be any involvement of that sort in his brothers’ lives, not in the past and not now.

There was also the protection that came with the way that he carried out his business. On a normal day, he would quite casually come out of a hole with blood across his hands. So if someone decided to hit anyone close to him, then his wrath would have been dealt exponentially. 

It meant he wasn’t prepared for anyone to be ruthless and gutless enough to make a step after a figure that he’d allowed to be close.

So when he arrived at the mechanic’s door to find it loose and open, the cold shock of surprise punched twice as hard.

The inside had been tossed around, put mildly. A couple of the larger stools had been knocked over, a drawer of tools emptied on the floor. Most importantly, the room was empty of life. Eclipse took a step inside and his shoe skidded for a brief second, liquid underfoot. He glanced down, and found puddles of prismatic black flecked by splatters of red, all close within the immediate space of the door. His gaze slid up, and saw more red across the edge of the door itself. Fingers trailed up, smearing the beads of red along by the slow, methodical movement. 

Everything was red in that moment. Red burning against his optics, red burning in his servos, overheating and whirring at furious speed. Clenching his fist, Eclipse slammed it into the wall beside the door frame, leaving brick dust to crumble like ashes. 

He pulled back. Stared into the empty room, sweeping the surface with a cold gaze. 

Considering the knocked over furniture, there’d definitely been a scuffle. At least two or three other people, enough to overwhelm the mechanic in little time. Maybe tossed over the stools to get to them, while they dumped the drawer to slow down their attackers, but to no avail. Too many, too quickly. The scrum was over and done with before more damage could be done. As they were brought to the door, they’d lashed out. An animatronic took the hit. With the amount of oil, it was a grievous hit or an old injury that easily split. But then the animatronic or one of the capturers retaliated on them, before they were taken outside.

Eclipse was quite good at putting threads together. He watched the picture unfold, saw a familiar face among the ghosts of events that had taken place. Quietly turning on his heel, he put the tiny ‘Closed’ card in the window and shut the door behind him, letting the locks fall into place. 

This wasn’t even him going to work. This was him having to clock in overtime. And unlike the majority population that hated overtime, Eclipse intended to make the most of this for his own satiation.

-

The goon that answered the knocking door had the brief chance to look a touch surprised before Eclipse grabbed him by the face, dragging him into the dark outdoors and slamming him into the wall. His other hand snatched away the pistol from the goon’s shaking hand as he tried to pull it out the holster. 

“Where’s my mechanic?” Eclipse asked, voice low as he leaned up closer to the goon.

“What?”

Eclipse pressed the barrel of the goon’s own pistol into his stomach and felt the breathing get faster over his hand.

“Th-They’re in the basement, near the boiler room. One of those spare rooms, but the guards will - “ The gunshot was muffled by the goon’s body, bullet ripping through his stomach. Eclipse pulled a handkerchief out of the goon’s pocket, shoving it into his mouth to stem the heaving pained wheezes, and dropped him on the ground before stepping inside. Maybe he’d still be alive by the time Eclipse returned. He knew he wouldn’t last beyond sunrise at the very least.

The building was barely metal beams and brick squeezed into mortar, bare walls carrying any trace of sound from one corridor to the next. Eclipse passed by empty door-frames with rooms of boxes, desks with stacks of files or papers, blank rooms of shelving waiting for smuggled goods or crates of fire-arms. 

Well. Inevitably when word got back to the precinct, they would deal with the clean-up and reap the rewards of this gang hideout.

Another goon stepped out into the corridor, an animatronic with an unfortunately blank face that turned in Eclipse’s direction. He’d already raised the pistol he’d borrowed, firing twice into the animatronic’s torso and once into their face. The burnt out servo sizzled and spat before he stepped into the cracked porcelain, crushing any wiring and activity underfoot.

By now the gunfire echoes were rattling down every corridor of the building. Eclipse emptied the pistol cartridge and dumped it on the floor, casing and chunky metal clattering on the ground. Instead he unhooked the tommy gun off his shoulder, flicking off the safety and holding it at his hip.

Footsteps, hard and fast, made the telltale call of someone hurrying up from a turning ahead. The human fell quickly under a barrage of bullets, scattering red across the grey wall. Eclipse turned down that corridor, stretching the sanguine paint down the path behind him and casting another spray of ruby from the back of the next goon to step into view. 

Two animatronics attempted to jump him from behind, failing to take into account how the sound bounced and warned him before they took their chance. One took three bullets to the neck, messily severing the head from the metal body, which Eclipse then used to slam into the face of their buddy. Stunned and reeling backwards, they were open to Eclipse swinging up a hard kick to the hinge at their abdomen and knocking them over. This time he separated the head by stomping down hard with his heel on the more delicate neck of this animatronic, listening to it crack apart as the exposed broken wires popped in the air.

The flight of stairs he found led both up and down. Any lighting down here was minimal and orange. As Eclipse started to descend, waves of hot air breezed up from below, making his coat swirl back in his trail. It reminded him of the way books and people spouted off about Hell and various peoples’ inevitable fall into it, as punishment for their wickedness.

It was possible that Hell did not exist for animatronics. He would make one if necessary.

There was just the one wide corridor at the bottom of the stairs. Eclipse paused, listening intently for any sounds of feet coming up behind him or shuffling out of sight from the further empty doorways. But all there was to hear was the faint rumble and hiss of the boiler room.

He shuffled forward. Moving slower, quieter. Yellow pupils flickered from doorway to doorway, searching. Hunting. Each stride carried past another empty room. His toothy grimace curved into a snarl as the red burned brighter.

And there they were. 

Eclipse darted into the room, dropping down to one knee as he immediately lifted their head up within the palm of his hand. They were handcuffed to a pipe, one leg stretched out and a tourniquet of bloodied cloth tied tight around the limb. More blood had trickled from their head, dried in streaks down their cheek. Eyes shut and form uselessly limp, they moulded under Eclipse’s touch as he sat them up and pressed his fingers underneath their neck.

There. A pulse. Low and wavering, but there. He leaned his forehead against their’s, feeling the steady ticking of their life force under his hand as the waves of red started to recede from his servo. Only once he could lean back without the crushing desire to curl his fingers in and hold desperately, did he rock back on his heels and take one more look over them.

There was too much blood. They were positively drenched in it, a ruby scarf over their shoulders and sanguine painting their trousers, a ruined blush and faded lips. Rolling up their trouser leg, Eclipse eyed the thick red hole sunk into the skin, matched by an exit wound in the other side. Good, he wouldn’t be digging anything out of their flesh. But their coagulated blood still coated his hands and fingers, smeared on his coat as he reached up and snapped the handcuffs in two. As he lifted them up into his arms, he watched them shift and whine, more sparks of life through weak human noises. Like a newly born kitten. It was pitiful to watch, and he wanted nothing more than to have them back to squabbling, fretting, and laughing with him.

“I know you’re stubborn enough,” he murmured to them. “You won’t go down with a fight.”

“Eclipse?” Their eyes didn’t open but they heard him, knew him. His grip tightened, turning and sweeping out of the room.

A familiar face stood, blocking the stairs and flanked by several other goons. His painted face a leer, one of his legs wrapped up in bandages that showed black blooming stains. Eclipse had asked his mechanic to fix him, of course they would have known where to strike and make it hurt.

“I’m surprised you took so long,” the animatronic mocked. “We were wondering if-”

The tommy gun roared into the spiel, Eclipse cutting through any further acid dripping words with bullets that tore through the animatronic’s chest plate, shredding their finely made suit and ripping apart the metal below. He buckled and fell without further speech, limbs briefly jerking as Eclipse emptied the rest of his clip into the body.

In the hollow stillness that followed, he ejected the cartridge, lifted a new one out of his pocket, and slotted it into place. All still with his mechanic secure in his arms.

Eclipse’s blackened gaze swept over the goons that trembled in their places. They fell like cards, blown away by the wind. And bullet holes.

There was nothing to relish here. He’d come for what had been taken. He barely even cared how his bounty had already left the jail cells - some form of “good behaviour” in the shape of copious bribery, no doubt. He’d squandered his chance of a continued existence by putting his hands on what was Eclipse’s and spilling their sweet ruby red. 

Stepping over the bodies in front of the stairway, Eclipse hurried up and through the corridors, retracing his steps back to the door he’d entered by. The man he’d left outside to bleed out had tried to crawl inside, and Eclipse didn’t care to check his stride as his foot crunched into the human’s hand on his way out.

Once more he shifted the body in his arms, tilting their head back so he could check their pulse. It was neither weaker nor stronger, a steady and faint rhythm. Slowly his fingers slid around the back of their neck, thumb still pressed on their pulse, pulling them in close as his shoulder dipped to curl around them.

Mine. The thought hit with such clarity that a shudder ran through Eclipse. A puff of steam spat out the back of his neck as he slowly straightened up, letting go of the mechanic’s neck to nudge stray hairs away from their face.

They needed immediate medical attention. The nearest hospital was an hour's walk. His brothers’ apartment was only half of that time in distance. They didn’t have the same equipment, but if Eclipse carried their mechanic into a hospital in his current state there would be more panicked questions than action. There’d be attention, possibly separation. But the hospital could be trusted to make sure his mechanic would be getting up by the next day. His brothers would find out one way or another about what he’d done to get his raven back. 

Eclipse started walking.

#cw blood #cw violence #clockwork writings #offer of a toolbox #bloodstain fool #bounty hunter!eclipse #sleuth jesters #dcamv #dcaverse

[prettywhenibleed]

𝕭𝖗𝖔𝖐𝖊𝖓 𝖂𝖎𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖄𝖔𝖚 (Broken Without You)

Pt 1

Fem Reader x Dwayne TW: Language

Pt 2

I got the inspiration for this fic MONTHS ago after reading @theyreonlynoodlesmike ‘s It’s Just a Movie and The Sequel fics and have FINALLY written it. Everyone should go and read it because it is AMAZING!!

You landed on top of the cool sand with a harsh thud. Groaning, you rolled onto your back and opened your eyes, revealing a starry night sky above you. You were confused as to why you were now outside and also how you had even gotten out there. Slowly, you sat up and looked around, taking in your surroundings for the first time. Clearly you were on a beach but what beach it was exactly, you had no idea. You didn't even live near any beaches. Standing and dusting off the sand from your body, you tried to recall what your last memory was. The last thing you could remember was laying down in bed and going to sleep. You didn’t understand how that would end up with you waking up on an unknown beach, however far from your house. You would have just pulled out your phone and found out that way, but as stated before, you were in bed, going to sleep when all of this happened. You didn’t have your phone on you. Deciding that the best thing to do would be to find the closest store or something like that to figure out exactly where you were, you began to walk along the beach. After only about ten minutes of walking, you could hear music and people. The closer you got, the louder it got. You soon realized that the sounds were coming from a boardwalk. Crowds of people on the beach and even more filling the boardwalk. Breathing a sigh of relief, you made your way off of the sand and onto the boardwalk. You looked around, trying to find a sign or something that had the name of the town on it. You quickly spotted a sign and found your answer. Santa Carla. You hadn’t even heard of this place before and now that you were really taking in the people around you, you noticed that everyone looked like they were dressed for the 80’s. You wondered if there was some kind of 80’s themed festival going on but everything looked too authentic and real for that to be the case. 

You didn’t know why this was your next thought but you couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling you were having. So, you searched around for a newspaper or something with the date on it. After a few minutes of searching, you spotted a newspaper on the ground next to a trash can. Walking over to it and picking it up, your eyes widened at what you read. Right there, plain as day was the date. July, 31, 1985. You stared at the black letters, reading it over and over again, hoping that you weren’t seeing what you were seeing. There was no way that it could be true. It wasn’t even possible. Bawling the paper up and throwing it away, you turned around and walked off, intent on finding a secluded and quiet place where you could gather your thoughts and probably cry. Finding a spot at the far end of the boardwalk, you sat down on the ground and let everything sink in. Okay. So you had somehow traveled back in time and to a completely different city, too. You had no way of contacting anyone and, even if you did, you would have no one to contact since you were thirty seven years in the past. Realizing you had no money, no one to help you and nowhere to go, you had no idea what the hell you were supposed to do. “What the fuck am I supposed to do now?” You quietly asked yourself. As if on cue, your stomach growled. Sighing, you readied yourself to spend the next, who knows how long, without food. Luckily water would be pretty easy to get, seeing as there were drinking fountains around the place. 

For the next few days, you fell into a bit of a rhythm of finding a secluded place to sleep during the day, while you would stay awake, drink water and walk around the boardwalk at night. Three days without food was like torture. You had started feeling dizzy, weak and found it hard to focus, which tonight, caused you to accidentally bump into someone. “Sorry.” You managed to quietly mutter out, barely being able to muster the energy for even that. The guy however, didn’t seem to want to accept your apology and instead, opted to get in your face. “You should really watch where you’re going, bitch.” He angrily spat at you. While normally you would be scared by someone much bigger than you getting in your face and threatening you, right now, you didn’t have the energy to care. Letting out an annoyed and tired groan, you rolled your eyes. “Look, dude. Just fuck off. I’ve had a really shitty past few days and I’m really not in the mood for this shit right now.” You were about to turn and walk away but the guy, completely pissed off by your response, grabbed ahold of your arm and pulled you back to him. Leaning down, his face right in yours. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, talking to me like that but you’re about to learn a lessen that you’ll never forget.” Just as the last word left his mouth, you felt yourself being pulled back into someone as three other guys surrounded the him. Your harrasser’s hand was ripped from your arm by whoever had pulled you into them. Your brain was too fuzzy to focus on what was being said, but from the little bits that you did manage to catch, the three guys that were surrounding your harasser threatened him, ending with the guy leaving in a hurry. 

Turning around to see who was holding you, you looked up to see a tall brunette. He was absolutely gorgeous. “I don’t know if it’s from the lack of sleep, lack of food or both but fuck you’re pretty.” You watched a smirk make its way onto the brunette’s face, making you realize you had just said that out loud and not in your head like you had thought. You stared at him, eyes wide and face red from the embarrassment. It looked like he was about to say something but was interrupted by one of the others. “If you two are done flirting, I think it’s time for us to leave now.” Said the bleached blonde one. It was a blur as you were pulled along the boardwalk by the brunette, that you now knew to be Dwayne. The bleached blonde was David, the tall wild haired blonde was Paul and the short curly haired blonde was Marko. You were pulled over to some bikes, where Dwayne helped you get onto the back of his bike and before you knew it, you were all flying down the beach. All you remember from the ride, was holding onto Dwayne as tight as you could and burying your face into his back. Logically, you knew going off with four strange guys you had just met wasn’t the best idea, but they had helped you and you were so hungry, that you were willing to risk it if that meant possibly getting some food and maybe having somewhere warm to sleep. Finally, after a pretty rough ride, you felt the bike come to a stop. Pulling your head away from Dwayne’s back and looking around, you saw that you were basically in the middle of nowhere, near a cliff. Great. So not only are you going to get murdered but you aren’t even going to get any food first. You got off the bike after Dwayne did and stood there, staring at him as the others hooted and hollered, making their way down what seemed to be a staircase. Dwayne offered you his hand, his eyes soft and alluring, making you want to trust him. 

Despite your previous worries, you took his hand, making him smile and begin to lead you over to the staircase. “Be careful and watch your step. The staircase is strong enough but it’s still very old.” He warned as you both began your descent. Subconsciously, you grabbed hold of Dwayne’s arm with your other hand while still holding onto his hand with your other one. You didn’t see it, but this caused Dwayne to let a small and satisfied smile grace his face. He loved that you sought out his arm for safety, even if it was for something as small as this. As the two of you made it to the mouth of the cave, Dwayne took the first few steps down before turning back around and holding out his hands for you to grab. You gratefully took his hands and he helped you down into the cave. You looked around at everything, taking in all of the things that they seemed to have collected. One of the most prominent things in the cave being the large fountain that had an old and broken chandelier in it. You had only taken a few steps before you felt faint and quickly sat down on the edge of the countain. With looking around the cave and being so close to Dwayne, you had almost completely forgotten that you hadn’t eaten in days. Just then, your stomach growled. Dwayne sat down next to you and placed a gentle hand on your arm. “We’ll get you some food, okay.” Dwayne assured you. You nodded and thanked him with a smile. “How long has it been since you last ate?” He then asked you, remembering what you had said earlier about not having eaten for a while. “Uh. Three days I think.” You informed him. Dwayne’s eyes widened with shock. You looked up at his face to see the concerned look he was giving you. “Why haven’t you been eating? Are you okay?” His concern for you was clear through the look on his face and the tone of his voice. You didn’t understand why he cared so much. You shrugged at him. “I’m not exactly from here and I have no money and no family or friends here.” You told him. “Marko. Food.” You heard David say to Marko from behind you. You had turned around just in time to see Marko give David a nod before he quickly left the cave. 

After Marko had left. David turned his attention to you. “What did you mean when you said that you’re not exactly from here and you don’t have any family or friends here?” He asked, bringing his cigarette to his lips and taking a drag. “Are you a runaway or something?” He continued, eyebrow quirked and giving you a questioning look. You looked to Dwayne for a moment before turning your attention back to David. You debated on whether or not you should just tell them the truth, no matter how crazy it sounded. Deciding that you didn’t really have much to lose, since you had already lost everything, you chose the truth. “Well. This is going to sound insane and I doubt any of you would believe me but, I’m not from here. This town or this time.” You confessed. You could already see the looks of disbelief that they were giving you as you spoke. You told them that the last thing you remembered before waking up here, was going to bed and it being just like any other night. You told them that you were from the year 2022 and that you didn’t even live in or around this town. You told them that you didn’t have any friends or family here because your friends hadn’t even been born yet and that your parents hadn’t had you yet. After you were finished explaining everything, they stayed silent for a few moments before David spoke. “You’re right. We don’t believe you.” He told you. You were about to try and defend yourself, to ask him why the hell you would lie about something like this, but Dwayne spoke before you could. “I believe you.” He said, causing you to turn your head to look at him. You could tell that he was being truthful. You were honestly surprised that he believed you but you were grateful that he did. “Really, man? I mean, it sounds like something out of a movie.” Paul stated, finally jumping into the conversation. 

“Look. Believe me, don’t believe me. I don’t really care. I’m tired, hungry and just done with everything right now.” You told them, mostly Paul and David. You turned  to Dwayne. “Thank you for believing me. At least someone here does.” You told him with a grateful smile, to which he smiled back. “What are we believing?” Marko loudly questioned as he jumped down into the cave, food in his arms. As soon as you saw and smelled the food, your stomach let out a loud growl. God you were so fucking hungry. Noticing this, Dwayne quickly got up, made his way over to Marko and grabbed some food from him before making his way back over to you with it. You were practically drooling at the sight. “Here.” He said, handing you the food. “Eat as much as you want.” He told you. You quickly snatched food from his hands and immediately dug in, stuffing your face. Dwayne chuckled at the sight as he sat back down next to you. You muttered a “Thank you.” with a mouthful of food. The others got their own food and ate for a minute before Marko spoke again, not wanting his previous question to go unanswered. “So? What are we believing?” He asked again. Paul laughed a bit before answering him. “Well, it seems that y/n thinks she’s from the future.” He informed his brother. Marko turned to look at you, a grin creeping onto his face. “What, are you a Terminator sent back to kill someone or something?” He teasingly asked. You rolled your eyes at him. “No, but if I was, I’d definitely kill that piece of shit from the boardwalk.” You said, half joking, half serious. “Fucking asshole.” You muttered into your food. The guy really was an asshole. I mean, you didn’t even really do anything wrong. You just bumped into him but you apologized. This caused the others to laugh. Although everyone, except for Dwayne, thought you were crazy, they were starting to like you. You were funny and maybe you’d be a good little plaything for a while. That thought was quickly scrubbed when they saw the way that Dwayne was looking at you. 

The four had a silent conversation between them that involved Dwayne revealing that he was certain that you were his mate. “Well, I guess that means we can’t eat her.” Paul joked in his head, causing Dwayne to shoot him a glare. Paul threw his hands up. “My bad.” He said. You gave him a confused look, seeing as, to you, he had just randomly done that but whatever, you didn’t know these guys. Maybe they were just a bunch of weirdos. Over the next month or so, you would come to find that, yes, they were all in fact, weirdos. They were also vampires. When they told you about what they were, your eyes practically shot out of your head. You all but shouted in disbelief that they would think that you were the crazy one for saying you were from the future when they WERE FUCKING VAMPIRES!! They had eventually ended up believing you, or at least trusting that you were telling them the truth since, yeah, they were vampires, so why couldn’t time travel also be real. While you asked them question after question about vampires, they all bombarded you with questions about the future, mostly Paul and Marko. Over this time, you and Dwayne had gotten very close and had even started dating. He told you about how you were his mate but made sure to let you know that he didn’t want that information to make you feel obligated to be with him. It was your choice. It didn’t matter though, because even though you had only been here for a little over a month, you had found yourself falling hard for him. I mean, how could you not?

You had obviously been living in the cave with the boys, not having anywhere else to go. It didn’t bother you though, you loved it here. Although, it did take you a while to get used to their sleeping schedule. You did like to be awake for some of the day, just sitting around the cave, listening to music and reading some of Dwayne’s books, of which he had plenty. You had been sitting on the couch, reading a book that you were so engrossed by, that you didn’t even realize that it had gotten dark and the boys had woken up. You were pulled from your little world by Dwayne lifting your legs up, plopping himself down onto the couch and dropping your legs back down and onto his lap, his hands resting on top of them. You looked up and gave him a smile, to which he returned. “Morning.” You greeted him as you put the book to the side. “Morning, beautiful.” He greeted back, staring at you for a few seconds before suddenly pulling your body over to him and into a hug. You let out a surprised squeak as you were pulled onto his lap but quickly relaxed into him. “Did you get much sleep today?” Dwayne asked as he ran a hand up and down your thigh and rubbed your back with the other. Enjoying the soothing feeling he always gave you, you let out a content sigh. “Yeah. I woke up around 3pm. Been reading since then I guess.” You told him, your eyes now closed as your head leaned against his chest. Dwayne smiled down at you, his gaze filled with so much love. “How about we spend some time alone tonight? We can find a quiet part on the beach if you’d like.” Dwayne suggested. While you enjoyed hanging out with the whole group, you loved when it would be just you and him. You opened your eyes and looked up at him with a smile. “I’d like that.” You told him. 

After everyone was ready for the night, you all walked up to the bikes outside, Dwayne helping you onto the back of his. You all took off and were riding together towards the boardwalk but you and Dwayne soon turned in a different direction, splitting off from the group to find a secluded and quiet place for you to spend the night. Since Dwayne knew practically every inch of Santa Carla, he knew exactly where he was going to take you. Once there, he parked his bike and you both got off. Dwayne took your hand in his and led you down the slight hill and onto the sand. “Wait here. I’m gonna find some wood to make a bonfire.” He told you. You nodded. “Okay. Do you want some help?” You offered. He just gave you a grin. “I’ve got it, princess.” He said before walking off. You sat down in the sand and waited for him to get what he needed. You took this time to let your mind wander. You couldn’t believe that, less than two months ago, you were considering some bad things. You had always struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts. You felt so alone and disconnected from the world that it got to the point that you were finally going to give up. In a last ditch effort the night that you got into bed, before waking up here, you had bawled your eyes out and begged the universe to give you something, anything that could make your life worth living. All you had ever wanted was to love and be loved by someone, but you were never able to find that. Everyone that had ever entered your life had pretended to care for you and used you until they were done with you and then they left. They left you even more broken and alone than you had already been. You had finally realized that, maybe, you just weren’t worthy of anyone’s love. Then you woke up on this beach and a few days later, you met Dwayne. Not even in your wildest fantasies could you have imagined someone like Dwayne loving you. 

Even now, as you sit on the sand, watching Dwayne put together the bonfire for the both of you, you still felt like you were dreaming and, at any moment, you would wake up to find that it was just that, a dream. Once the fire had been lit, he turned to you, a proud smile on his face. Dwayne walked over to where you were and sat down behind you, resting his legs on either side of you and wrapping his arms around you, bringing you closer to him and resting his chin on your shoulder. “You okay there?” He asked. You turned your head to the side and leaned back a bit so you could face him. “I love you, Dwayne.” You told him with a smile on your face and happy tears pricking your eyes. “I was in such a bad place when I met you. I was on the verge of doing something very bad and you saved me.” You tearfully confessed to him. Dwayne seemed to be slightly caught off guard by your sudden shift in mood and your words, though he gave you a soft smile as he leaned in and gave you an equally as soft kiss. After pulling away, Dwayne rested his forehead against yours. “I love you too, y/n. I loved you from the moment I saw you. I’m sorry that you were in a bad place when we met and I will spend eternity making sure that you never feel that way again. I will make sure that you feel loved every single day and on the days you feel any darkness creeping its way back in, I will love you even more.” He said. No longer able to choke the sobs back, you let it out, only resulting in Dwayne holding you even tighter. “It’s okay, princess. Let it out.” He told you, and you did. You sobbed as Dwayne held you close to him. You weren’t crying because you were sad, no, you were crying because no one had loved you as much as him. No one had ever said anything like that to you before. After you had calmed down, you and Dwayne sat in a comfortable silence in each other's arms, watching as the flames of the bonfire flickered in the wind. 

Months had gone by since then and Dwayne had kept his word. He loved you every single day and in doing so, not a day went by that you ever felt that darkness that had once consumed you. You had now been here for almost a year. The most wonderful year, filled with so much love and laughter. Marko, Paul and David had since deemed you as their sister and god help anyone who messed with their sister. Someone could do something as small as give you a dirty look and they would mysteriously vanish, neve to be seen or heard from again. You spent every night with them, whether that be on the boardwalk or in the cave. You loved going out to the boardwalk, going on rides, playing the games, which you were admittedly kinda bad at but you would always walk away with some kind of prize thanks to one of the boys. You loved hanging around the bikes, Dwayne’s arm always around you making you feel a constant sense of safety, as you all joked around. Equally so, you loved the nights that you would all stay back at the cave, Paul and Marko jumping around like two sugar filled toddlers making you laugh. David was the one that took the longest to bond with and for a while, you thought that maybe he didn’t like you as much as the others did. That all changed when one night, Dwayne had gone off to feed and you were with the others. You told them that you needed to use the bathroom and that you would be back in a minute. On your way back, a surfer nazi had cat called you and come over to you, getting a bit too handsy, but almost as quickly as it started, it stopped. You didn’t know it but David had been watching you to make sure you were safe and that’s when he saw the guy start to harass you. He threw him to the ground, making a mental note to make a meal out of him later. He then threw an arm over your shoulder and turned to you to ask if you were okay, to which you nodded. He then glared at the guy and asked him what the hell made him think that he could lay a hand on his sister. From that moment on, you and David had gotten closer with each other, just as you, Paul and Marko had gotten close.

You and Dwayne had just gotten back to the cave after having a bit of a date night. He had taken you to a place that overlooked the whole town. The both of you spent the night talking, as you usually did, and took in the view, holding each other close. Everything in your life was just so perfect and you were so happy. Spending the last hour or so cuddling in your nest before Dwayne eventually left to go join the boys to sleep. He wouldn’t always sleep in the same part of the cave as the boys. Some days he would sleep with you in your nest but tonight wasn’t one of those nights. You and Dwayne shared a long kiss and exchanged I love yous before he left. You fell asleep with a smile on your face, as you did every night now. Though when you woke up, you would feel like your world had been shattered into a million tiny pieces, along with your heart. 

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Taglist: @6lostgirl6 @britany1997

#the lost boys #the lost boys 1987 #tlb 1987 #the lost boys dwayne #the lost boys paul #the lost boys marko #the lost boys david #dwayne tlb #paul tlb #david tlb #marko tlb #billy wirth #alex winter #brooke mccarter #kiefer sutherland #fem reader #dwayne x reader #fanfic #PWIBfic

[monstersinthecosmos]

Okay so like your fics about Armand pegging Daniel are my Roman Empire and Armand just shows up with the strap right. But I GOTTA KNOW what was Armand’s experience like shopping for that item, how many stores did he go to, did he do research, did he ask the clerks weirdo questions??? How did he settle on the item, did he deliberate over realistic veiny dildos vs simple colorful silicone???

Inquiring minds need your headcanons!!! 🥸

fdfjhsDGA what an honor omg

So!!!!!!! Pardon this obnoxious little break down of where this shows up in my fics but I have some behind the scenes knowledge I can share that I carried between stories LOL. Okay so there are 4 fics that revolve around the first time they used a strap on, and the idea is planted in my FIRST FIC ON AO3 Moon Above, Sun Below where it’s literally just the last paragraph of the fic, they’re taking a walk, Armand sees a sex shop, and he’s like OMG!!!!! :D

Down Below is the DIRECT sequel to that moment, it picks up with Daniel’s POV immediately knowing that Armand IS going to be asking weirdo questions! And he’s like, oh my christ I can’t do this lol, and he goes to wait outside.

The cashier asked me if I knew what to do with them. He told me to be ‘Safe, Sane, & Consensual.’ It was on a sign at the register.” Daniel chuckled a little. “Why did he say this to me?”

LIKE WHO KNOWS WHAT ALL HE FUCKIN TALKED ABOUT IN THERE, I just always imagined him doing his Armand thing, wanting to catalog everything and learn everything and see and touch everything. The answer is yes, he did ask a million questions, yes, the cashier was a little freaked out, because even when we all like to say that no one can be weird in NYC, I think Armand was very fucking weird and uncanny in a way that actually did stick out to people.

And then the MAIN EVENT if you will is The Lotus Eater/Dust of the Saturn which contain the alternate POVs of the same scene. In The Lotus Eater, I tried to create a timeline and imply that this is one of Armand’s Things for a while that he’s interested in, like he wants to go to different shops and see things and buy things. They play with cuffs and restraints earlier in the fic because Armand wanted to play with them, and then later on Armand wants to WATCH ALL THE PORN, and he gets the strap on idea from seeing how Daniel reacts to it when they watch a video, so he goes out to find one. 

I don’t think I said so in the fics but I imagined that Armand wanted to find one that was like the one in the video, so there was possibly a very odd Armand-eseque interrogation of the retail worker. LOL. Probably him describing it in an Armand way and the guy is like “……. Uh????????????? You mean a dildo? Like a black dildo? Okay?” 

I wish I still had my notes and stuff because I know I had a few photos I had used for reference to describe it and I can’t find them now. I do know that I searched like 1980s sex toys/dildos/strap-ons pretty extensively because I wanted to make it historically accurate. I looked up pictures of sex shops to get an idea of how different they are from today and what the selection was like. I also had been looking up vintage lesbian porn to see strap ons because I was curious how the harness technology was different, like if they looked different, if they were sturdy, if they seemed weird and floppy, etc. So if I recall, the one I described in the fic was just like one I’d seen in an actual porno LOL, and so I want to submit that idea forward to say that Armand was trying to find one like the one int he video. 

It says this in The Lotus Eater, too:

The man at the register wanted to see Armand’s ID to make sure he was old enough before engaging in conversation. He explained how to affix the implement to the harness, and told Armand how he should “start with something smaller” and tell his “girlfriend” to be “careful” the first few times. But no, no, the size is fine, don’t worry, we’re experienced, it isn’t a problem, thank you, no thank you we don’t need condoms, yes I’m sure.

Cause like does ARMAND KNOW THAT HE ASKS WEIRDO QUESTIONS?? Did that guy think Armand was the weirdest customer he had all week and Armand didn’t even register it? Lol. This is, after all!!!, a story about Armand re-entering human society and learning how to People.

So yeah I like to think he was picky, but he was looking for the one in the video, which is the one I saw in a video LOL and also that like, from my research at  the time I don’t think sex shops were like the glittery COCK EMPORIUMS of today, so like some of these decisions like what color it was or how veiny it was might have not really been a huge decision because there might not have been a huge selection. And I think like, in this situation in particular, even though Armand has been trolling Daniel for a while and fucking with him, I think this is one of the big moments for them (in the Usherverse anyway lol) when he starts like being a little more serious about his feelings and seeing Daniel in a new way, and curious about how this will feel for himself as well, so I don’t think it was appropriate to go with like a monster dong or ones with bumps or anything wild like that, I think he went simple. They got into all the other weird ones later! :D

Here's some photos from the early 80s I found that helped me make all these decisions and sculpt my mental images, for your Devil's Minion needs!

Also these links have some really cool photos of SEEDY RAUNCHY 80S NYC that I think about constantly and tbh maybe I've exposed a plot hole that HOW DID ARMAND HANGOUT IN NEW YORK AT ALL WITHOUT SEEING THIS BECAUSE THEY WERE EVERYWHERE but we'll pretend he was so hyperfocused on Daniel & his own lil hobbies that he had tunnel vision lol don't @ me

#!!!!! :D #stuff i wrote #the usher #armand/daniel

[dumbstuffsstuff]

Alhaitham’s Revenge || (Lee!Kaveh)

———

Warning: Slight Bondage

After Kaveh had so rudely attacked Alhaitham the other day, Alhaitham decides that it’s only fair he gets revenge.

(A sequel from Alhaitham’s Weakness which you can find a little further down my page :)

Lee!Kaveh

Ler!Alhaitham

———

Alhaitham walks through Sumeru City, making his way to the Akademya. He knows Kaveh will be there, with his attitude and all. Especially since he’s late to a metting with Kaveh, Cyno, and Tighnari. He will not be hearing the end of this. However, his lateness was not the only thing on his mind. He still thinks about the situation Kaveh had gotten him into last week. Such an embarrassing state to be seen in, especially now that he’d have to sit face to face with Cyno and Tighnari who walked in on the ticklish franchise and haven’t seen him since. He began to feel flustered just thinking about the memory.

He enters the Akademya and before he can fully step foot into the building, he hears Kaveh sigh in annoyance, “Finally!”

Alhaitham enters their little meeting room, where the three of them sit at a circular table. He can already feel his cheeks turn warm as he pulls out his chair and sits silently.

“Pardon my tardiness.”

“You’re not pardoned,” Kaveh teases and flips his ponytail. Alhaitham glares at the blonde.

“Uh, you’re excused, Alhaitham. No worries,” Cyno saves Alhaitham the awkwardness by opening up to him, “I hope your travels were safe. I heard you journied to the desert last night. How did that go?”

“It went well… Didn’t exactly find what I was looking for but, these redcrests I picked should make fine marmalade.”

“That’s great to hear,” Cyno chuckles warmly. Alhaitham smiles back.

“Shall we go over our plans for the month?” Tighnari pulls out paperwork. The four discuss and plan for about two hours.

~~

“Have a good evening, Alhaitham, Kaveh,” Tighnari says as him and Cyno leave the Akademya.

“Good night,” Alhaitham waves to them as they leave down the stairs. Then closes the doors and turn to the blonde behind him, who’s leaning against the wall and yawning.

“I hope you had fun taunting me all evening,” Alhaitham crosses his arms. A blush dusting his nose bridge.

“Whatever do you mean, Haitham?”

“I mean the prodding during our meeting. You take pleasure in embarrassing me don’t you?” He approaches the shorter man with the most stern look on his face, yet the mischief in his eyes are still visible. Kaveh backs up immediately.

“Don’t think I forgot about what happened last week…” Alhaitham manages to back Kaveh into a corner. He puts one arm against the wall to keep Kaveh from escaping so easily, and squeezes the guy’s hip with his other hand.

“EH?! Alhaitham! Get your hands off of me this instant! I just had my outfit ironed!”

“Guess you’re going to have to schedule another ironing later then, huh?” He ever so lightly strokes Kaveh’s hip bone over his silky shirt.

“A-Alhaitham! This is absolutely inappropriate! W-We’re in a work setting!”

“It wasn’t inappropriate when we were in a “work setting” last week. In fact… I believe to recall you had my hands tied up,” Alhaitham, using his own dendro powers, creates a rope of vine and ties Kaveh’s arms above his head, the same way Kaveh had done to Alhaitham.

Kaveh blushes madly, “A-Alhaitham?!” He’s taken aback by the other man’s sudden boldness.

“Get ready to meet your fate, Kaveh~” Alhaitham begins to scurry his fingers up and down the blonde’s sides, dragging his blunt nails up and down over and over again. Kaveh cannot contain his giggles, and frankly, he doesn’t try.

“AHhehehehehe!! Nohohoo!! Ahahalhaitham!” Kaveh tries to pull his arms down, but Alhaitham uses one hand to keep them pinned.

“Hahahaitham! Lehet go of mehehe!”

“You’re already laughing! You must be so ticklish.” He teases. Kaveh blushes more, trying to hold in his laughs, but once Alhaitham tickles his armpits, he breaks again.

“HAHAhahahaha!! ALHAIthahahaham!! NoohohoHOHOHO!! Plehehease!”

“Already begging. Tsk tsk tsk.”

“SHUHUHUT UHUHUP!!”

“Uh oh, found a bad spot.” Alhaitham had managed to slip his hands inside Kaveh’s shirt through the opening going down the center of his shirt. He was now scribbling all over Kaveh’s stomach, occassionally poking at his navel.

Alhaitham releases his grip on Kaveh’s wrists so that the poor blonde could move a bit, but his weakened knees gave away and he fell to the floor. Haitham catches him quickly so that he doesn’t hurt himself, and continues his assult while carefully setting him onto the floor. Alhaitham sits on Kaveh’s lap to pin him to the ground.

“WUHAHAHAHAHAHA!! AHAHALHAITHAM! EHEHEHE!! NOHOOHOT THEHEHERE!! PLEHEHEASE UNTIE MEHEHEHEEE!!”

“You’re a lot more ticklish than I thought, Kaveh. I wish I had found this out sooner, then maybe you’d be a little more cautious about your attitude.” Alhaitham smirks.

“SHUHUHUT IT!!” Kaveh rolls around the floor, twisting and squirming to escape his fingers. He can’t do much with his wrists tied and with Alhaitham sitting on his lap, but he tries to weakly punch at his attacker’s hands.

“You shouldn’t tell others to shut up, it’s rude,” Haitham opens Kaveh’s shirt and reveals his stomach.

“H-HEHEY!” Kaveh tries not to sound flustered but Alhaitham had caught him off guard. He tries to cover his stomach but Alhaitham pins his arms up again.

“Hopefully you’ll learn after this, not to tickle me in public,” Alhaitham says in a lower voice.

“In public? What about in private? Do you like-?”

“Enough!” Alhaitham digs into Kaveh’s ribs, poking every bone and prodding between them.

“AHAHAhalaitham!! NOHOT THEHEHERE!”

“Not here?” Haitham spiders on rib, “How about here?” and then spiders another.

“NAHAHAHA!! NOT ANYWHEHERE! PLEHEASE! I CAHAN’T TAHAKE IT!!”

“Don’t tell me you’re ticklish…? Kaveh?” Haitham teases.

“AHAHA WHAHAT DO YOU THINK ASSHOLE?”

Alhaitham stops the attack, crossing his arms. Kaveh feels no remorse, until he sees the glimmer in the man’s eyes.

“A-Alhaithaham plehease. Ihit just slipped out, I’m sorry!”

“That’s not ver nice Kaveh.”

“I-I know but- YOU were being just as mean!”

Alhaitham circles his fingers on the blonde’s stomach, making Kaveh squeal and flinch. He puts his tied hands to his mouth to keep from laughing, but he shakes and squirms violently.

“Have I not taught you enough of a lesson?”

No response, just a Kaveh shivering underneath him.

“I see how it is.”

Alhaitham pins his arms up again and tickles his stomach mercilessly.

“WHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAA!! NAHOHOHOHOHO! NOT THEHERE! ANYWHERE BUT THEHERE!”

“This is what you get, Kaveh!” Alhaitham inhales sharply. Kaveh’s eyes almost burst out of his head, realizing what’s about to happen.

“HAITHAM NOOOOOOHOHOHOHOO!! AAAAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!! NYAHAHAHAHA!!”

Alhaitham blew the biggest raspberry on Kaveh’s stomach, and plants small kisses around the other unattended spots on his stomach.

“Did you just say nya-ha-ha? That’s very adorable,” Alhaitham coos. He blows another big rapsberry on his navel.

“WUHAHAHAHAHA!! SHUHUHUT UP!! PLEHEHASE! NO MOHOHOHORRE! IM GONNA DIHIHIEEE!!” Kaveh tries to push the silver haired man off of his sensitive stomach.

“Alright, Alright.” Alhaitham stops his assult and undoes the bonds. He rubs the poor man’s stomach to help relieve him of the ghostly tingles, but Kaveh swats at his hand.

“Nahaha! Plehehease! Im too sensitive right nohow.”

“You know… You never asked me to stop once, Kaveh. Could it be that perhaps you enjoy being tickled?” Alhaitham strokes Kaveh’s hips softy.

Kaveh’s face turns red and he puts his now freed hands over his face, “I hahahate you so muhuch.”

“You really like it then, cause you’re asking for a round two.”

“NO!”

“Ahaha,” Alhaitham chuckles and helps Kaveh up.

“L-Let’s not speak of this to anyone…” Kaveh blushes.

“Hmm…” Alhaitham thinks to himself, making Kaveh blush more and punch him in the arm.

“Ah! Alright, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Good,” Kaveh crosses his arms and walks with Alhaitham through the city.

“I guess we’re even though now, right?” Alhaitham asks.

“Yeah, yeah…” He mumbles.

For now

#tickle #tickles #tickle fluff #tickle content #sfw #tickle fic #tickle fanfiction #sfw tickle #genshin impact tickling #genshin tickle #lee!kaveh #ler!alhaitham

[euphoric-melancholyy]

Romantic Fantasy & Fantasy Romance Book Recs

I recently made a post looking for the book/reader community on Tumblr and I found a lot of you! A couple people asked for book recommendations so here they are. All of these have varying levels of spice unless otherwise mentioned. I do recommend going into all of these blind and just see if you like them with zero expectations. I find it makes the reading experience better if you aren’t expecting something to be the greatest thing ever. Then you can only be surprised if you like it (or hopefully love it!) All of these are fantasy romance!!

Tagging some peeps who said they also love fantasy romance or seemed like they would like to know about some book recs: @imhilien @raven-reads87 @accidentalspaceexplorer @the-dust-jacket @melindacopp @taylorsversion213 @siruisreader @faerie-smut-merchant @gwelwynn @hitchhikerbooks @astrid162 @arewedancer99 @bookwyrmtaz @sourpatchkid99 @caffeinated-bibliophile @books-and-cookies @eaterofbooks @franticvampirereads @carissabroadbent - sorry if I forgot anyone or if you did not want to be tagged. Happy reading!

- Daughter of No Worlds, the first book in The War of Lost Hearts trilogy by Carissa Broadbent. You’ve got grumpy/sunshine, badass female protagonist, a “who did this to you?” scene, and so much more!! It’s dark but still has so much love and is just. So, so good. I will never shut up about how much I adore this criminally underrated series. There is absolutely nothing I disliked about this book. This is my favorite trilogy ever, up there tied with my favorite series ever. There’s no miscommunication and the characters handle hard situations maturely. It’s dark at times and deals with slavery, torture, and the injustices that entails, but it’s also empowering and full of hope and funny quips. The characters are lovable and complex. The pacing is the best pacing of any book. The romance is sweet yet still full of tension. The plot is incredible. I cannot recommend this book enough. It flawlessly balances the mundanity of living with the largeness of this universe and literal world ending stakes. She balances joy and grief, laughter and sorrow, trauma and healing. It’s a true feat when your heart aches with all of it at the same time. Each book is incredible. The character I was hesitant to love in the first book had me sobbing with the realism and heartache that I felt for her in the last book. If you listen to the audiobook, the narrators were perfectly cast as well. Tisaanah, the FMC has a language barrier and it’s done so incredibly well, especially when listening to the audiobook. It remains one of my favorite things about Daughter of No Worlds. This series is criminally underrated and I will never understand how it isn’t at the top of booktok. 12/10, move this up to the top of your TBR. Each book is just as good as the one before it. I’m obsessed with this series. This series is on KU!! It’s a completed trilogy!!

- The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L Jenson. And it’s included in your Audible Plus subscription if you have one. The tension, the conflict, the romance. I love a morally grey mc as much as the next gal, but Aren is the equivalent of a golden retriever and I would die for him and Laura. Enemy kingdoms. Marriage. A perfect Enemies to lovers!! Also on KU!! Completed duology, with a third book focusing on a different couple.

- The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks. This is one of the best fantasy romances I’ve read! The FMC is a mute witch!! The plot, the tension, the characters, all of it is amazing. I fell in love with these characters and this world. Not to mention the ✨sexual tension✨ is some of the best I’ve ever read. It’s well earned too! Alexus and Raina have made my list of favorite ships. The sequel, City of Ruin, introduced a bunch of new characters and POVs (including the villains!) is a lot spicier, and just overall expands the world and the characters!! It’s action packed and made me look at the series in a new light! It does end on a major cliffhanger though, so be aware! Still read it. But it’s not tied up with a bow (yet!) I cannot express how excited I am for the third book and the direction this story is going. Highly, highly recommend! She also has signed copies on her Etsy!

- The Scribe by Elizabeth Hunter! This is a completed urban fantasy with romance series with 7 books. The first 3 books follow the same couple and can be read as a completed series - the other books focus on different couples and are just an extension. A race of beings ascended from angels are at war. Our main protagonist Ava is a human photojournalist who has heard voices in a nonexistent language her whole life and has always been told and believed she’s just crazy…but is she?? I love when we get a character thrown into a fantasy world who has no knowledge of it (like the reader!) it’s so fun. The romance is 🔥🔥🔥 and I love them. Ava is smart and savvy but not otherworldly strong like a lot of protagonists. She’s learning. And MAGIC! I love magic. I love the magic in this universe. The pacing is great and it’s a great balance of romance and plot. It’s a super interesting premise and I just think more people should read this series. I do not recommend the audiobook through - I hated the narrator. Book is great though! Also on KU!!

- I’ve found that whichever SJM series you start with is your favorite but Throne of Glass is next level. It was her first series and she spent half of her life writing it. You can see some of the groundwork for ACOTAR in it. But where ACOTAR is about the romance, ToG is about the plot. The romances are secondary to the plot. But for ACOTAR, the plot is secondary to the relationships and romance. ToG is so expertly planned out and it’s a slow burn into fantasy. It’s my number 1, favorite series. It’s definitely more YA but grows into what I would consider more New Adult towards the end of the series. Do not go into this series expecting spice. There is romance, but there are not any spicy scenes until the later books. The journey you go on with Celaena from Assassin’s Blade to Kingdom of Ash is unparalleled. It feels so special and epic. BUT I will say I went into the series completely blind with no expectations. So I suggest doing the same. And the first few books might seem slow. But KEEP GOING it’s worth it, I swear. And start with the prequel Assassin’s Blade!! It’s broken up into interconnected short novellas for the prequel only. The series has a more full circle feeling when you start with the prequel, and you don’t know things that you might otherwise know if you read Throne of Glass first. Starting with the prequel also made me love Celaena more. If you are just starting fantasy, start with Throne of Glass because it is a slow burn into fantasy. This is a completed series

- The Song of the Marked by S.M. Gaither. I was told this book would cure my Throne of Glass hangover. I’d agree! It also gives me major From Blood and Ash vibes, but with better characters. It’s got a great magic system, fun friendship dynamics and banter, a slow burn enemies to lovers, and some good ol’ fashion mystery surrounding the protagonist. I’m really enjoying it so far and if you like fantasy, I highly recommend!!

- Hollow Heathens (Tales of Weeping Hollow) by Nicole Fiorina - it’s like if Halloweentown met Storybrooke from Once Upon a Time, and had a child. It’s a gothic romance and is just so different from everything I’ve read. Also on KU!! This is a standalone.

- The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick. It’s a fun enemies to lovers Beauty and the Beast and Hades and Persephone retelling. Mix elements of those stories together and you have The North Wind. Also on KU!! Can be read as a stand-alone. The next book, which isn’t out yet, focuses on a different couple.

- An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. You’ve got a spy posing as a slave to save her brother. A trained assassin brought up in a merciless, brutal school where he wants to escape. There’s a love triangle of sorts, which I usually hate but I didn’t mind it in this! It’s action packed and has made me love YA again. Dark, with themes of generational trauma, the importance of storytelling, the ✨power of love✨, breaking generational cycles, mercy, and tragedy of war. Lots of character growth for everyone!! Inspired by the gladiator times in the Roman Empire. Young Adult but very violent. No spice, all fade to black.

- The Serpent and The Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent!! I had high expectations for this book. Carissa’s other series, The War of Lost Hearts, is my favorite series ever. And now with one book out so far, Crown of Nyaxia is making that list too. The world building. The characters. The complexity and emotions and just everything about it. It’s a masterpiece. I love the relationships!! And the last quarter of the book had me on an emotional rollercoaster through the end. I wanted to reread this book the moment I finished it. If a dark, gritty, high stakes fantasy romance with Hunger Games meets vampires and swoon worthy, epic romance (and some spice!!) sounds like your thing, drop everything else your reading and start this. This is the first book in a series and was just released. Carissa is my favorite author and one thing that she does really well is write strong, healthy relationships. Her characters don’t fall into lust and then in love - it’s a buildup of respect, trust, friendship, and then love. (And 🌶️🌶️ of course, but the relationships are more than that.) Raihn is my new #1 book boyfriend!!

- The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen is a new comfort read for me. but if you want a super fun, quirky, romance with You’ve Got Mail vibes set in a fantasy universe that also has zombie like creatures, this is it. I know that sounds weird af, but it is so cute and I can’t stop smiling as I read it!! It’s a new favorite and is just SO CUTE! And I cried!!

- A Deal With the Elf King by Elise Kova! This is a standalone, enemies to lovers, arranged marriage fantasy romance!! I love all the characters in this, especially the growth of the MMC! The FMC feels a lot of responsibility to take care of everyone around her and she doesn’t allow others to disrespect her (especially the MMC!) There are lots of swoon worthy lines that had me smiling and blushing and some spice! Highly recommend!!

- The High Mountain Court by A.K. Mulford. It has witches, fae, a fun magic system, mates, natural LGBTQIA+ and POC representation, spicy, enemies to lovers, touch her and die (and the opposite touch him and die!), a truly wonderful and swoon worthy romance, and is just a great NA fantasy romance! Each book focuses on a different couple and follows a cohesive storyline!

- Between Wrath and Mercy by Jess Wisecup. You’ve got a mom hellbent on getting her kidnapped teenage daughter back. She needs the help of the Crown Prince - her first love - to do it. A spicy fantasy romance that is both character driven and plot driven. It’s so refreshing to read “older” (ie not 16 - 25 years old) characters in a fantasy romance!! The tension is high and the grief and love that intermingle to form the emotional backbone of these characters is so poignant and beautifully done. It’s also nice to see a mom who has an identity outside of being a mom! But she’s still a great mom! It was so refreshing to read and the second book is even better than the first! Very dark and yet also sweet and romantic and intense.

- The Cruel Prince by Holly Black! Also known as The Folk of the Air trilogy. If you’re looking for a spicy fantasy series, this isn’t it. There’s no spice. But if you’re looking for an AMAZING YA fantasy villain arc with enemies to lovers, fantastic storytelling, plot twists, and just an overall faerie adventure, read this series. I was hesitant to read it because of its YA rating/audience. But it’s easily one of my favorite series of all time! I love the characters, the plot, the arc, and the writing style! I read each book in less than two days. Highly, highly recommend. I also read them on audiobook and the narration is fantastic!

#booklr #book community #bookblr #daughter of no worlds #carissa broadbent #sjm #sarah j maas #throne of glass #acotar #aelin galathynius #the song of the marked #the bridge kingdom #danielle l jensen #the traitor queen #the witch collector #charissa weaks #the scribe #irin chronicles #elizabeth hunter #s.m. gaither #sm gaither #nicole fiorina #hollow heathens #the north wind #alexandria warwick #an ember in the ashes #the serpent and the wings of night #crowns of nyaxia #the undertaking of hart and mercy #megan bannen

[shuttershocky]

I wish Arknights would do more self-contained event stories again. I feel like the need for sequels prevents seeing outstanding change from happening to the settings.

Why do we have 4 (in CN) events about Dubstep Polish Horses and none about Higashi and Sami? It's because Nearl sells and because they would have to do the hard work of worldbuilding Higashi and Sami from almost scratch. She can't be a real revolutionary or else Kazmierz would have to be rewritten, when the point of sequel events is how much easier it is to reuse a setting. Plus, sequel events let you sell popular NPCs as new playable characters.

What is one of the best stories Arknights has had this year? In my opinion it's Light Spark in Darkness, which focused on a small town and was about a rich factory owner committing insurance fraud to get the local government to pay for factory equipment he actually kept safe. It was a short yet complete story about how one man's greed was destroying the lives of the infected in the city, many of whom couldn't find work anywhere else. We even see Susie driven to the brink of suicide because her own shop that she spent years to acquire was burned down, for no other reason than simply being in the way of the Factory Owner's goons.

In the end of Light Spark, the plan to carry out the fraud and blame it on the Infected goes ass up because of Grani being a horse, and Susie gets to beat up the Factory Owner before he is arrested with all of his assets seized, and the city council is also forced to evaluate laws about Infected workers.

There is real change! Stuff happened and the story was ended!

Another example of an event this clear cut was Originium Dust (which remains my favorite Arknights event), where Drudge's attempt to rule over Long Spring was beaten, Picale became the new leader, and she ended up using her father's treasury to rebuild the town, making her poorer but far more fulfilled than her brother. It's done, Rhodes Island and the Rainbow Six crew walked off into the sunset, and there's no need to go back (though Picale should be playable pls HG).

I'd like to see more of that stuff again. Otherwise we'll never fuckin get Santalla.

#Arknights criticism

[megamanrecut]

Alright, I've been busy and it's taking me awhile to get the next part of Diamond in the Rough up, so here's a little drabble/teaser for a short Become the Night interlude/sequel. (Note: I am in in a rush so apologies for the roughness/spelling errors lol also possible some details may change later for better continuity with everything)

Become the Night 2 Teaser (Now on Ao3)

It was a warm summer day outside Dr. Light’s laboratory. Dr. Light was away at a work conference, Rock and Roll had taken Rush into the city to go shopping, while Proto had stayed behind to work on the skycycle and be on call if Dr. Wily and Snake Man were to strike.

But the emergency satellite scanner remained quiet. Proto was bored—Dr. Wily hadn’t attacked in over a month, and his armor was sitting unused in a heap in his room, collecting dust. He was wondering if he should have gone into the city after all with Rock and Roll—shopping and malls weren’t his thing, but playing at the arcade with Rock and teasing Roll over her music tastes could be fun—

The doorbell rang.

Normally, Proto hated answering the door. Though Dr. Light’s laboratory was located in the country and didn’t receive many visitors, Proto preferred to ignore the few that came, who were mostly salesmen anyway. But today, Proto put down his tools, put on a pair of aviators, and answered the door.

Outside stood a man with short auburn hair. Despite the heat, he was dressed in a formal, tight-collared suit of black wool with orange embroidery and gold buttons. Everything about him looked extremely expensive, as though he were royalty—a strange visitor for Dr. Light’s boring, quiet laboratory in the country. He glanced around furtively, checking the lawn, then stared at Proto with familiar piercing pale eyes.

“Are you Proto?” he asked in a low voice, his lips barely moving, as though afraid the welcome doormat might be eavesdropping.

“Uh, yeah,” responded Proto without really thinking as he stared back (he was not dressed as ‘Break Man’, his public-facing hero identity, after all, nor did many know who ‘Proto’ was). 

The man (or android, as Proto had instantly figured out, despite the flawless disguise) nodded curtly. “My name is Mr. Turner. We haven’t met—“

“Oh I know who you are,” Proto interrupted, grinning broadly at Turner. There was no mistaking the resemblance of those pale eyes. “You’re Elec Man’s little brother!”

“I—what?” Turner wrinkled his nose. “I’m not—that’s not—“ He gave a small, annoyed cough, then changed the subject. “…Are you alone?”

“Yes.“ Proto opened the door wider. “Here, come in.”

Turner stepped warily over the threshold into the brightly lit foyer. After glancing around with a still expression, apparently listening to make sure Proto was actually alone, he began to walked around with perfect, straight backed grace, hands clasped behind his back.

“Checking for bugs,” Turner informed Proto in a cold, crisp tone as he inspected the dull knickknacks on the perfectly ordinary accent tables.

“Good idea, always forget to do that,” Proto replied, hiding a smirk. He was reminded a little bit of a peacock or a very self-conceited show dog.

Then he noticed Turner’s eyes were lingering on the framed pictures, and grimaced slightly inside. He wasn’t proud of this collection, especially not around a Syndicate member—most were family photos both dorky and domestic, yet it was a bit difficult to tell what Turner was thinking as he stared at them.

“So uh, what brings ya to this neck of the woods?” Proto prompted.

Turner turned his cold piercing stare on Proto. “I have a mission for you from your former employer. Top secret. I heard you used to do work for us…as some sort of assistant, or something.”

“Special asset, in the end—a mission from the Syndicate? Really?” Proto asked keenly, taking a step toward Turner.

A mission from the Syndicate would be dangerous—Syndicate missions were always dangerous. Proto missed the danger—fighting Dr. Wily and his goofy inventions didn’t have quite the same thrill as risking his life battling murderous scrappers and powerful mobsters. Yet, he had been placed in a forced retirement from vigilantism a year ago…still a bit of sore spot.

Turner’s eyes fell away from Proto to glance out a window. “Yes, but you must know, I can’t pay you for your work.”

“No problem. I will do it pro bono.”

“Then you accept?”

“Sure.”

“If you double cross me, I’ll make you regret every day for the rest of your short life.”

At this point, Proto was trying very hard not to laugh. The android was clearly trying to act both as impressively tough and coldly professional like Elec Man—a nigh impossible feat. “Of course. But…listen, junior, me and your older brother go way back. There’s no way I’d do anything to hurt you guys!”

“My name’s not ‘junior…’ Turner replied, bristling.

“Well, until you tell me your real name,” Proto responded with a lazy shrug. “And junior, no offense, while you’re earning extra credit in acting lofty and superior, you’re only a B in intimidation and a D in lying. Honestly I’m afraid if I even touched you you’d break like a china doll. Nice try, but lets can the gangster talk and cut to the chase.”

Turner looked affronted. “What do you mean?”

Lowering his voice, Proto took a step toward Turner, his amusement fading. “Junior…you’re supposed to be on a mission in California. You’re a long way from California. Call me crazy, but I don’t think you’re supposed to have any contact with me at all, least of all giving me orders! What the hell is going on? Where’s Elec Man?”

“I—I—” Turner appeared to be valiantly clinging on to his tough Syndicate facade, but a slight shiver shook his shoulders.  “I don’t know,” he admitted finally.

“…Is he in danger?”

Turner’s head almost made a small jerk, as though he were about to nod, but he quickly controlled it and said, sounding genuinely lost, “I don’t know. We—I—need Cypher’s help.” 

For a brief moment, Turner had looked imploringly at Proto, but then his gaze had darted away again.

Suddenly, the situation seemed much less fun, though Proto gave Turner a reassuring smile. “Well you got 'im. C’mon. We’ll take our air raider.”

Continued in Part 2

#fic updates #return to the night #become the night #proto man #top man #recut au #Syndicate!Proto Au #syndicate #tho seriously will be back at s3 when I can

[dlartistanon]

So important question for Arknights. I've been playing since about November now, and I'm having this issue where whenever side stories happen, they tend to really lose me. A few have made some sense, but others feel like I'm supposed to know stuff that I have no idea why I'd know. Same with cutscene stuff too that isn't main story. Is there something I'm missing?

Maybe it's because some of the later side stories are technically sequels? I think the first time this happened was with Near Light, which requires you to know what happened in Maria Nearl.

Then there's Invitation to Wine following Who is Real (though Ancient Forge gives initial context to who Nian and her family is). Stultifera Navis after Under Tides (but Grani and the Knights' Treasure's last scenes kick it off by showing us that Skadi's main motivation was trying to help Specter). Ideal City after Gavial the Great Chief Returns.

Even the mini-events have something like Pinus Sylvestris right in between Maria Nearl and Near Light.

Plus in order to get the most out of Darknights Memoir, A Walk in the Dust, and Vigilo, you need to have at least completed chapter 8.

... yeah, I think it's because as the game was starting out, pretty much everything was self-contained, but the longer it goes on, and the more you progress through the story, it's gonna call back to all sorts of stuff. It's less noticeable if you've been playing from the start, but I can understand how it can confuse newer players who don't really know what the release order of events is.

#dltext #Anonymous #dl talks ak

[tina-mairin-goldstein]

✏️"what are your current WIPs about?"

Thanks for playing with me, @kaylinalexanderbooks!

I have several WIPS right now, so this could be interesting.

Caraval- A Hannibal (NBC) sort of crossover/rewrite of the book Caraval by Stephanie Garber. It's also omega verse, with Will being an omega, Hannibal an alpha, and so on for the various characters who appear. Will must play a magical game that plays tricks on the mind and involves magic to find his sister (Abigail) over the course of five nights, searching for clues so he can find her before the other players and win. Hannibal, who initially brings them to the island where Master Legend hosts Caraval, teams up with him. As they play, Will realizes the game is far darker than it appears and that it is a race against the clock to find Abigail, because it is far more than a game.

Long list, so the rest are under the cut.

2. For Remembrance- A post-fall Murder Husbands story for my collection, Words Are Not The Only Way, centering on my chosen flower (rosemary) and its meaning. Won't say too much, but there is amnesia and rosemary plays a part in trying to help the amnesiac person recover their memories.

3. All Night or a Hundred Years- A Fantastic Beasts story from the POV of Percival Graves, who has been locked up in the dungeons of Nurmengard for a long time. Leta, rather than dying, is secreted away by Grindelwald in the dungeon as well, and she is helping Percival remember what it is like to be human and giving him something he hasn't had in a long time: Hope. They are getting to know each other and trying to figure out if they can escape, and how. Percival is close to giving up, but Leta won't take it. This one is on hiatus, however, because writer's block is a bitch.

4. Untangled- A Fantastic Beasts version of the Disney movie Tangled, with Newt as Rapunzel, Tina as Flynn, Grindelwald as Mother Gothel, and Theseus as Maximus, along with a bunch of the other FB crew members taking roles. Currently paused in favor of Caraval. Things are switched up in this, because Tina has the case of beasts instead of Newt. It's cheerful and fun and I sort of don't want to finish it because of that, so I'm being slow.

5. The Third Day- A Hannibal (NBC) rewrite of the HBO show The Third Day. Will is getting divorced from Molly and is grieving Abigail, who died under mysterious circumstances several years earlier. He meets Mischa in the woods, where is trying to hang herself, and takes her back to the place she lives, where he becomes trapped for three days and nights. Hannibal, Alana, Jack, Bella, Margot, Mason, and several other characters star as the residents trying to either run Will off the island or keep him there as he uncovers mysteries tied to himself and Abigail's death, as well as all the weirdness on the island.

7. Beloved- This is being scrapped and will be rewritten as a sequel to another story, His Shadow Suspended On Dust. Initially, it was a thirty-years post-fall story about Hannibal getting sick and Will taking care of him and living through his last days with him. Some of the original will remain, but it will be heavily rewritten, and there will be another story, called When the Snake Slithers By, between it and HSSOD.

8. The Lone City- A Pokemon anime rewrite of a favorite book of mine, called The Jewel by Amy Ewing. Starring Mairin, it centered on girls being sold off into surrogate slavery for the ruling class of the island, who became so inbred they can no longer safely carry their own children. Sort of a magical Handmaid's Tale, but with Pokemon twists. It was going to lead to Mairin uncovering the truth, falling in love with Alain, and escaping and so forth, but it's been on hiatus due to computer trouble, and I don't think I'm ever going to actually go back to it since it 's been more than a year.

9. Han+SPN- Temporary title, an attempted Hannibal/Supernatural crossover co-written by @ sarcasticsciencefictionwriter. Sam and Dean are driving through Maryland one night and Dean hits Will, who is a ravenstag, with Baby. Will is pregnant and fleeing hunters who are coming after him and Hannibal, who is half ravenstag, for being cannibals and want to kill their baby as well. The Winchesters learn that ravenstags only take what they need and chose harmful people as their victims (i.e, the rude), and end up teaming up with Will to save Hannibal from the hunters after Bobby, who saved Will when he was a fawn, tells them to. Currently paused because I didn't come up with much an outline and Sarc can't work with that. I'm playing with idea that Sam and Dean might have to deliver the baby.

I believe that is all my WIPS, unless you want to count the to-be-written finale to my collection, the Price of Godhood, where Will is Persephone and Hannibal is Hades, which will be about Will going to the world above on the first day of spring and saying goodbye to husband for six months.

Thanks so much for the ask! I've never done this before and I was so much fun! Feel free to hit me up again!

#ask games #ask answered #willing to play again #my writing

[fimproda]

Welcome / Fanfiction Masterlist

(This is a long post. Bear with me: I'm unable to stop the flow of words that come out of my mouth. It's why I love writing.)

Hello there!

As I plan on using this account primarily to advertise my stories, here's a "brief" rundown of my authorial profile. Please note that each and every one of my works is R-Rated, and with good reason. (I like myself some smut.)

@zoyalannister and I are co-authors on AO3, and under our names is the The Last Flowers series, in which we hold back no blows towards Cassandra Clare's truly idiotic plot and characterization in The Last Hours and attempt to write something decent. TLF is comprised of:

Hydrangea, a three-part, Grace-centered minilong which takes place between Chain of Gold and Chain of Iron;

Daisy, a six-part, Cordelia-centered minilong spanning from the Whispering Room scene in Chain of Gold to the end of Chain of Iron;

Chrysanthemum (upcoming), a nine-part fix-it of that trash fire that is Chain of Thorns;

Geranium, an AU stemming from a particular plot point in Hydrangea;

Petals, a collection of missing moments from the series.

Please note that I am zoyalannister's friend, co-author and beta reader for a reason, and any defense of Chain of Thorns will not be tolerated on this blog. (I might be joking, or I might not. Find out at your expense.)

As a solo writer, I've been active for a while in the A Court of Thorns and Roses fandom with the Under the Stars series, posting, as of today:

Constellations, a Nessian-centric minilong which takes place about a year after the events in Silver Flames;

In the shadow of a dream, a Gwynriel one-shot that sets the scene for a future Gwynriel long;

Space dust, a collection of 31 drabbles for Kinktober.

If you're interested about this fandom, want to know more about my stories (current or future), want to hear me proselitizing about how SJM is a truly great writer and suffers from too much negative publicity, or simply want to chat, I'm here for this very reason.

You can also find me on Wattpad, where my "career" actually started. If there's someone between you who can read Italian and fancies themselves some mediocre The Mortal Instruments fanfiction, you can visit my Wattpad profile and be faced with these ol' things:

Remembering the Past, the first fanfic in a trilogy in which I tried to imagine what life after City of Heavenly Fire might have been like for our beloved heroes;

Living the Present, which is RtP's sequel;

Seeing the Future, which in turn is LtP's sequel and concludes the trilogy, as well as starting a new plotline with a fresh set of characters who star as protagonists in this next story I'm about to cite;

House of Cards, a Watty award-winning first story of a tetralogy I never got to write in its entirety. HoC is pretty sweet tho, if I do say so myself, and you can read it even if you know nothing about the Past, Present and Future trilogy.

The stuff on Wattpad is quite old and I'm not posting there anymore, as I now find AO3 more suitable for the kind of stories I write, and also a more "fanfiction-friendly" and "English-friendly" website. But I still respond to comments and interact with readers, since that's the bare minimum in my opinion.

And... this is all I have to say. Nice meeting you all!

#fanfic #fantasy #ao3 #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer #wattpad #my writing #writers on tumblr #writeblr #fanfiction #read on ao3 #read on wattpad #sjmaas #sjm #sarah j. maas #sarah j maas #acotar #a court of thorns and roses #acosf #nessian #a court of silver flames #gwynriel #cassandra clare #the last hours #shadowhunters