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antianakin · 1 year

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Antianakin's Anti-Anakin/Pro-Jedi Fic Rec List

The theme for this rec list is fics that either center on Anakin getting some consequences for his actions or are just generally more critical towards Anakin as a character. Please note that this means these fics will also be critical towards most Anakin ships, most notably Anidala and Obikin.

This list is dedicated to all of the people who have been sending me messages asking for fic recs over the last several months, there's clearly a market for fics that aren't kind towards Anakin.

A lot of these fics take things like the Tusken massacre, Order 66, and Anakin's treatment of Padme, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, and Rex very seriously. Please take that as a warning if any of those things might be triggering, and keep an eye on the tags for all of the fics included here just in case.

Here are the categories!

Anakin/Consequences: Anakin experiences consequences for his actions in some way shape or form, but doesn't die.

Spoiler Alert, He Doesn't Make It: Anakin experiences the specific consequence of dying by the end of the story, usually at the hands of someone he's hurt.

The Jedi Deserve Better: There's a bigger focus on the Jedi recovering, Jedi culture, or the Jedi being philosophically right than there is on anything specifically "anti Anakin" as such, but the story is still critical of Anakin's beliefs and/or behavior.

Helpful terms:

Unfinished: Any fic that is marked as incomplete, or a series where the fic(s) in it are still incomplete and cannot stand alone

Ongoing: Any series marked as incomplete, but the fics in it are marked as complete or can stand alone as they are

There is no specific order to this. I tried to group fics from one specific author together, but other than that, I didn't place anything in any specific position for a reason.

This is not an exhaustive list of good anti-Anakin fics that exist, obviously. If your fic or your favorite fic isn't on this list, please feel free to rec it yourself in the notes, leave a reply or reblog with a link. I'm happy to read more anti-Anakin fic, especially if it's very Pro-Jedi!

One final reminder: NOTHING IN THIS LIST IS ANAKIN FRIENDLY! If that's going to bother you to read, please just skip this entire list, it's not for you.

Anakin/Consequences:

and the tide rises, the tide falls series by @blackkatmagic (unfinished, 119k): When Anakin's actions with the Tuskens on Tatooine become known a few months into the Clone War, Agen Kolar comes in to temporarily take over the 501st while Anakin is sent back to Coruscant to face the Council. I cannot recommend this fic enough. This is the fic that introduced me to Agen Kolar as a real character (as opposed to just one of the random Jedi who immediately die going up against Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith) and now he's one of my favorite Jedi of all time. Agen is such a beautiful character and his relationship to his identity as a Jedi gives me just about every feeling I think I've ever felt in my life and the development of his relationships with Rex, Kix, and Ahsoka as the fic continues is such a well-written slow burn. I'd recommend reading more of blackkat's works just in general, too, because they're pretty much all Pro-Jedi and have a delightful tendency to focus on more niche Jedi and clone characters and rarepair ships if you're interested in that.

Commander Fox's Ultimate Bucket List by @blackkatmagic (27k): Fox is sent back in time, immediately murders Palpatine, and surprisingly nothing but good things follow so he's got plenty of time now to get to the other things on his bucket list, including but not limited to: murdering Count Dooku, murdering Anakin Skywalker, saving Senator Amidala from her atrocious taste in men, and seducing Mace Windu. This fic is BLISTERINGLY funny, Fox's very dry point of view on things and readiness to shoot Anakin at literally any moment literally had me struggling to not laugh out loud at work. This is also an INCREDIBLY pro-Mace Windu fic, with all of the clones, for once, in love with Mace Windu instead of the more popular suspects. It's what he deserves, and Fox agrees.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Time Travelers by @blackkatmagic (unfinished, 78k): Fives is stuck in a time loop where he tries to stop Order 66 from happening and his latest plan is to kidnap Mace Windu for his own protection because he's the only person capable of defeating Palpatine. Fives' opinion of Anakin is now INCREDIBLY low, and the constant comparisons to Mace and how much better Mace is, are deeply satisfying. Fives' immense distress and somewhat manic passion don't take away from just HOW competent Fives is, and I really love getting to see a depiction of him that really allows him to fully be both at once and neither one takes away from the other. I love how his relationship to Mace develops from Fives' initial desperation into something so trusting and passionate through difficult circumstances.

in search of a sky for smoke to rise to by @blackkatmagic (7k): Padme has to go on the run after reporting Anakin's massacre of the Tuskens to the Jedi in fear of Anakin's rage. She lands on Sundari to try to hide there and meets with Arla Fett who sparks her interest. Padme gets to be a total BAMF in this which is always fun, and I LOVED Arla in this so so much!

sanguine series by @glimmerglanger (157.5k) (EDIT: this AO3 account was deleted several months after I made this list and so the link below is now broken. I am leaving this series in regardless, as a record of the incredible work glimmerglanger did and as a reminder of the consequences of online harassment): Obi-Wan is a vampire in an AU where vampires exist in the GFFA and this changes some things. The ramifications of what it means to be a vampire in this AU and the biases and prejudices that Obi-Wan has to deal with are so interesting from a worldbuilding standpoint. The way Anakin's relationship with Obi-Wan CHANGES because of it is also an interesting thing to see develop in this series.

uncomfortable by @panther-os (1k): When Anakin won't respect Padme's boundaries in the beginning of Attack of the Clones, Padme requests a different bodyguard from the Jedi. Short and sweet and removes the rather unfortunate "yes means no" theme that taints Padme's storyline in Attack of the Clones.

Slices of Happiness series by @feybarn (unfinished, 40k): No Order 66 AU where Obi-Wan takes a short sabbatical after the war to handle his mental health and is joined by some of the clones before he returns to the Temple. It is, as the title of the series says, mostly just little slices of stories as the clones and Jedi heal and reconnect after the war. There's a large emphasis on Obi-Wan healing from Anakin's rejection of the Jedi and having to come to terms with his relationship with Anakin having perhaps been less healthy than he'd realized and learning to enforce healthier boundaries when Anakin gets entitled and selfish.

Wasted Training by @thesecondbatgirl (700): Obi-Wan finds out about Anakin's "training" for Ahsoka from TOTJ. Very short but OH so satisfying to see someone react appropriately to this.

Liberosis by Be_Right_Back (2k): In a No Order 66 AU, Anakin's secret marriage comes to light and the Council asks Anakin to make a choice. This one is a tad softer on the "anti Anakin" aspect of it, but the Jedi are portrayed as entirely within their rights to make Anakin choose which life he wants to live.

Stay by @amukmuk (2k): Commander Thorn has been helping Padme out in a No Order 66 AU as Padme's been dealing with her divorce from Anakin, and Padme finally comes to a decision about her feelings. I am an unrepentant Thornidala shipper, and as many problems as I tend to have with the way Padme's written and the implications about her as a character because of that, I also have a nostalgic attachment to her and wish she could just... have a happier healthier relationship with someone who ACTUALLY loves her and respects her. I would take an entire series of this AU, I'd read a longfic of this AU, but I will also happily accept this short sweet little peek into this AU and let my daydreams do the rest of the work.

The Burden of Secrets by @jedi-order-apologist (9k): In the aftermath of the Deception arc, Ahsoka discovers the truth about the Tusken massacre and confronts Anakin about it. This one is a little lighter on the "anti Anakin" elements, but his choices on Tatooine are very much called out for the horror that they are, as are Padme's for hiding it. The fic also delves a little bit into the Rako Hardeen arc, Obi-Wan's choices in it, and Anakin's reactions to it and how appropriate they are.

Consumed by Greed by virdant (900): Obi-Wan travels back in time to the beginning of Anakin's apprenticeship and tries everything to try to keep Anakin from joining the Sith, and fails until he comes to a crucial understanding about Anakin as a person. The concept of this is absolutely heart-wrenching, thinking about Obi-Wan going back over and over, changing everything about himself and the Jedi in an attempt to save Anakin, only to finally realize that the problem lies in who Anakin is at his heart, and he can't change that. The ending is a gutpunch, but it feels so absolutely true, too.

Justice by virdant (1k): Padme makes a different choice at the end of AOTC and decides to report Anakin's crimes on Tatooine to Obi-Wan instead of marrying Anakin. Obi-Wan confronts Anakin about what he's done in the aftermath and forces him to face the consequences of the choice he made. I really like that the concept here isn't just that Anakin gets kicked out of the Jedi and sort-of set loose upon the galaxy, but that either the Council or Obi-Wan decided Anakin also needed to face reparations ON TATOOINE, from the Tuskens themselves, and that Obi-Wan plans to ensure that it happens. Anakin cannot be a Jedi until he makes as many amends for that as he can, until he recognizes the truth of what he's done and accepts the responsibility for it, and even then there's no guarantee he could be a Jedi afterwards. Either way, the Jedi are not not the only people Anakin has hurt, and not the only people with the right to ask for reparations from Anakin.

The Cost by luvewan (5k): Anakin jumps off the gunship after Padme in Attack of the Clones and deals (badly) with the fatal consequences of that choice when Obi-Wan dies at Dooku's hand before Yoda can show up. So this has been a favorite of mine for just about as long as I can remember, predominantly because of just how tragic it is and the very realistic consequences of the choice Anakin makes here. This fic was written before Revenge of the Sith had come out, so none of the choices Anakin makes in that film are taken into account, but the accuracy with which Anakin absolutely unravels and devolves into darkness because he lets his guilt turn into anger that he turns on other people in the name of justice feels so immensely in character. Seeing it all happen from Padme's point of view as she watches Anakin's descent, knowing she's the reason it happened in the first place, is so devastatingly beautiful.

Spoiler Alert, He Doesn't Make It:

@glimmerglanger's fics are getting an entire section dedicated to them again. I'd honestly just recommend reading all of glimmerglanger's work, but here's some fics that specifically showcase (deadly) consequences to Anakin below (EDIT: this AO3 account was deleted several months after I made this list and so all of the links below are now broken. I am leaving this section in regardless, as a record of the incredible work glimmerglanger did and as a reminder of the consequences of online harassment):

A Treatise on Breaking and Repairs (60k): Anakin captures Obi-Wan shortly after Revenge of the Sith and it goes very badly for Obi-Wan. This shit's dark, y'all, and things get way worse before they get better, please mind the tags, there's a reason the series is labeled the oof!au. That being said, this fic is sort-of the peak example of what I want out of a really good hurt/comfort story, where both halves of that are equally emphasized.

But What We Make series (ongoing, 125.5k): Cody from post-Return of the Jedi travels back in time to just before Order 66 and this changes some things. My favorite part of this series (so far) is the way Obi-Wan, future-Cody, and present-Cody are all forced to come to terms with their respective traumas and relationships to each other and none of them are handling it perfectly, but none of them are treated as more or less important than the others either.

Convergence Zones (115.5k): A sort-of modern day fantasy Jedi AU where the clones are made of clay and brought to life via magic. It's a little hard to explain in like 20 words or less just read it, it's so great. The collaboration between the clones and Jedi in this is so sweet, and the worldbuilding of the "clones" in this verse is really good.

Haunt Me, Then (31k): Post Order 66, all the surviving clones can see their Jedi as Force ghosts except Cody and the 212th, and when Cody's chip breaks early he helps start a revolution to gain justice for their Jedi. Cody's going through it in this one, too, and things get pretty dark, but this is another really great catharsis fic if you're in the mood for that.

Make Your Bed (Lie in It) (58k): Cody and Obi-Wan share a bunk during the war and this changes some things. I love all the ways in which this AU moves events just SLIGHTLY to the left and then the butterfly effect impact afterwards. The Cody and Obi-Wan relationship development is also just impeccable.

Natural Wonders (56k): Shapeshifter modern AU with nature photographer Cody and park ranger Obi-Wan and a murder mystery they solve together. There's some really cool facts about Yellowstone National Park in this fic as a delightful bonus to the sweet relationshippy stuff and the fun murder mystery storyline.

Greater Than Your Hoarded Gold series by Quietbang (ongoing, 96k): Anakin doesn't burn on Mustafar AU where there is a different kind of rebellion in the galaxy post Order 66. This author focused in on and centered the Jewish elements to the Jedi and brought in more Jewish culture to the Jedi, which is so interesting to read. The shifting perspectives, including totally outside perspectives, on the Jedi and the situation in the galaxy at large, makes for a really cool story with some incredible worldbuilding.

Unmasked by @schizo-fractured (17k): Footage of the Temple during Order 66 is released and this causes a series of changes in the galaxy as they confront what REALLY happened to the Jedi and the person who caused it. This got recommended to me based on a post I made wishing we could've seen Beru and Owen learn the truth about Anakin and what might've changed for them as a result, and while that's not the singular plot of this fic, it is kind-of an example of the underlying theme of the entire thing. It's a nice almost wish-fulfillment style concept where the loss of Anakin Skywalker's good reputation allows the general populace to rise up in defense of those he betrayed in righteous rage. It's time for the galaxy to defend the Jedi for a change.

the time when stars align by @deniigi (7k): Cody accidentally adopts some young stormtroopers post Order 66 and escapes with them to the Rebellion after Vader finds a way to "cure" him of his accelerated aging. Cody goes through so much horror in this fic and is still so SO funny with the way he looks at the world and speaks to his loved ones, allowing this fic to still feel sweet and wholesome despite how awful Cody's life is and has been.

When Night Falls series by Penguin Kiwi (ongoing, 7k): Cin Drallig gets more of a warning in the Force just before Order 66 and is able to put up a defense of the Temple and stop Anakin at the steps. I love these AUs that allow more niche Jedi to shine through, especially when it means they get to defeat Anakin because the Force looked at Anakin's choices and decided to abandon him for a better option. The conversation between Cin and Obi-Wan in the second fic really hits home, too.

The Jedi Deserve Better:

grow bold in a barren and desolate land by @blackkatmagic (5k): Mace survives Order 66 and Anakin's betrayal and stages a rescue for two clones left in prison who he knows never would've had their chips activated: Slick and Dogma. This has literally the barest mention of Anakin, but that mention is that Mace could easily beat Anakin in a fair fight, so I'm including it anyway. This is another one of those AUs I could read an entire longfic or series for and be eternally happy. There's a follow-up to this fic that's more explicitly Mace/Slick which is by no means ever a ship I had ever even considered before, but it works SO WELL here and gives me some interesting feelings. I'm also just always down for Dogma being treated kindly and getting a happier ending than canon chose to give him.

i am creation, both haunted and holy by @blackkatmagic (800): A'Sharad Hett makes a visit to Kamino where he meets Alpha-17 and finds they share an opinion about Anakin Skywalker. I'm so intrigued by A'Sharad Hett as a character and wish there was more content written about and for him. A'Sharad and Alpha-17 bonding over thinking Anakin Skywalker is an entitled selfish jerk is the best possible beginning to a ship, I'll be honest.

that was a spring of storms by @blackkatmagic (unfinished, 9k): When Alderaan is destroyed by the Death Star, Leia's grief causes herself, Luke, and Bail Organa to travel back in time to 8 months into the Clone Wars, where they are determined to ensure things go a little differently. This fic is only 2 chapters in, so I don't know precisely what kind of consequences Anakin may or may not end up getting, which is why it's in this category, but unsurprisingly neither Bail nor Leia are feeling particularly benevolent towards him and it is so incredibly satisfying. But holy FUCK am I hooked to this entire concept. Bail and Leia's relationship is heart-wrenching as all get out, Bail's protective instincts towards the Jedi absolutely kills me, and I'm so intrigued by these ship tags!

The Crime of Grief Series by @feybarn (ongoing, 34k): Padme goes into labor early while on the way to Mustafar, so neither she nor Obi-Wan ever make it there, and they go on the run with Rex and Ahsoka afterwards instead. Sides are drawn in the aftermath of Anakin's choices that causes friction among them before they can find healing. There's a large emphasis in this series that Anakin's choices are, in fact, HIS CHOICES, and the blame for them cannot be placed on anyone but Anakin, as well as the conundrum of whether it truly matters whether Anakin's got good left in him or not and if it's even worth it to try to save him.

吃飽了嗎? | Have you eaten your fill? series by virdant (1.5k): A look at Obi-Wan and his experience of Jedi culture through food. Virdant's fics focus in on the Asian influences in the Jedi and builds out their culture from there. Not every fic in this series is explicitly anti-Anakin, but a few of them are more critical of Anakin's view of the Jedi and his unwillingness to understand their culture or point of view.

things the way we want them to be by virdant (600): No Order 66 AU, where a teenaged Leia talks to Obi-Wan about the struggles she's having with Anakin as a father and the future she knows she (and Luke) should've had but weren't allowed. Leia is just absolutely heartbreaking in this, and Obi-Wan's inability to truly help her the way they both want is equally so. It's a devastating look at a possible less happy future even in a happy fix-it AU because leaving the Jedi would never be enough to "fix" Anakin.

Not This Crude Matter series by @talesfromthebitterbeast (53k): The clones have picked up some misconceptions about the Jedi which causes the Jedi to distance themselves from the clones, even after the war ends in a happy fix-it AU. The fics showcase the situation from multiple different perspectives as misunderstandings abound, but is always firmly on the side of the Jedi. I really like the way the Jedi relationships are showcased here, the ways they communicate and lean on each other even in the face of being misunderstood and misrepresented by people they'd hoped would understand them better than anyone else.

Harmonic Oscillation by @jessepinwheel (2k): Originally a short tumblr fic that has since been posted to AO3. Obi-Wan time travels back to the Clone War era and confronts Anakin about what he's done. I always love getting to see Obi-Wan refuse to let Anakin get away with his bullshit and finally see Anakin for the piece of shit that he is.

Released by @jedi-order-apologist (6k): Cody is rescued from the Empire post-Return of the Jedi and has to come to terms with everything he's happened to him now that he's at the end of his life and spent the majority of it brainwashed and enslaved to the Empire. This is a fic I come back to a lot because I really love the way Cody works through what's happened to him and the way he's viewed from an outside perspective via Luke. I also really love how the relationship between Cody and Obi-Wan isn't made explicitly romantic, but is portrayed as immensely important and meaningful to both of them, regardless of how you choose to view it.

Knightrise by @deviantaccumulation (unfinished, 89k): Obi-Wan and Yoda choose not to try to fight Anakin or Sidious and instead retreat to Mandalore to attempt to rebuild the Jedi Order as much as they can there under Satine's protection. This is an AU where Maul genuinely dies on Naboo which is a major plus in my book all on its own, quite honestly. There's some interesting political aspects in this for how the Jedi Order attempts to rebuild an actual community within Mandalore, with Mandalore still being a member of the Neutral Systems, and the Empire having risen already and all of the ensuing issues with that.

|keep the wolves away| by littlekaracan (unfinished, 46k): Obi-Wan and Yoda find Reva in the Temple and she accompanies Obi-Wan to Tatooine where they have to survive and recover together while watching over and protecting Luke. This is such a brilliant character study into Reva as a young child survivor of Order 66, being taken care of by someone who loves her but is equally as traumatized by the same event and the way that shapes their relationship and Reva's upbringing. I love her SO SO MUCH and I adore her perspective as she struggles to figure out what it means to be a Jedi in a world where being a Jedi openly means certain death but it's the last connection she has to her home, her family, and her culture.

our caches and constellations by johanneb (98k): "Eleven years ago, the Jedi order got wind of the closing pincers of a Sith trap and scattered to the remote corners of the galaxy. Ten years ago, millions of clone commanders and troopers were introduced as the Republic’s new Army, made for fighting a war alongside people the galaxy seemed to be forgetting ever existed." I couldn't come up with a better way to explain the fic than its own summary, but Cody and the 212th pick up Obi-Wan and Luke on Tatooine, while Senator Organa has to figure out how to get himself, Leia, and Leia's "tutor" to a rebel base without their two new Coruscant Guard escorts figuring out exactly how disloyal to the Republic they actually are. I absolutely SLAMMED through this fic, it's so good. Despite some of its heavier themes, it's honestly very sweet and wholesome with lots of cute Luke and Leia, some incredibly wonderful romances, and really interesting worldbuilding for this just slightly to the left version of the gffa. Anakin never makes an appearance in this, but he does get mentioned a few times for his betrayal and his part in the current state of the galaxy, and I REALLY loved that at no point in this fic was it ever important to either twin who their biological parents were.

ring the bells that can still ring by rain_sleet_snow (22k): Reva's been working with the Rebellion in-between the events of the Kenobi show and A New Hope, but when she hears Obi-Wan has made an appearance recently and goes to try to find him, she discovers Luke and Leia instead, with nobody left to train them but her. This fic was like a warm bread roll or a perfectly brewed cup of tea, it was just absolutely wholesome and exactly everything I could have wanted from this concept. The relationships between Luke, Leia, and Reva are both hilarious and sweet while allowing their respective traumas to still remain relevant to their journey together. Their discussions about Darkness, Reva's past, Obi-Wan, Anakin, the Jedi, and the events of A New Hope are all heart-wrenching and really feel so in-character but also so in line with the tone of the original trilogy. I could sit here and list things I liked about this fic all day, but it'd be faster to just read it yourself.

#fic #fic rec #star wars #anti anakin #anti anakin skywalker #anakin critical #anakin skywalker critical #jedi #pro jedi #obi-wan kenobi #ahsoka tano #captain rex #the clone wars #star wars the clone wars #swtcw #anti anakin fic rec series

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daddy-dins-girl · 3 months

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Playdate - Chapter Seven

Main Masterlist Series Masterlist

AO3 link

pairing: Marcus Pike x f! Reader x Dave York

Word Count: 5.2k

Notes: I am posting TWO new chapters back-to-back (7 & 8) as they take place at the same time but from multiple POV's. I'd recommend reading chapter 8 as soon as you can after this one, so its fresh in your brain ;)

Chapter Warnings (minor spoilers in the tags...): 18+ MDNI. Soft!Dave York (like, you can't even stand it. Soft Dave needs his own warning). Porn WITH plot (who gave me the right?). All the feelings (I'm sorry). Unprotected P in V. Creampie. Angst! (in MY porn story? who am I?). Infidelity-ish I guess, technically (look these are just 3 idiots in love who don't know what tf they're doing, okay?). Plus probably ever other tag from previous chapters... you know the drill by now for this series.

MASSIVE thank you for @janaispunk for beta'ing and being my sounding board. I really appreciate all your help!

Page dividers by the generous and talented @saradika-graphics

You power nap through the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening, thanks to the blackout curtains drawn shut but mostly in large part due to the strenuous activities the three of you had gotten up to just before you’d passed out. You remember your eyes closing involuntarily as you lay half draped over Dave, Marcus snuggled into your back and his own breaths began to even out just as yours did.

Soft lips pressed to your forehead and a light hand brushing over your hair causes you to stir some time later and you wake feeling rested, a satisfied smile playing at your lips as you rouse to consciousness.

“Hi Baby” you murmur into your pillow. You don’t even need to open your eyes to know it’s your husband.

He presses a kiss to your forehead once more and breathes out a whispered “I’m sorry” that makes whatever peacefulness you were reveling in vanish in an instant.

His words are enough to get your eyes to fully open. You stare up at him, brow furrowed in confusion as to what on earth he could possibly have to be sorry about and when your gaze sets on him he’s seated next to you on the side of the bed and looking far too overly dressed in tan khakis and a black polo shirt, the expression on his handsome features substantiating his remorse.

“Where are you going?” You ask, concern laced in your tone as you push yourself up into a seated position. Maybe you all are just going out for a late dinner or something and he was apologizing for having to wake you up from your nap for it, but the frown of his face quickly dispels that theory.

He lets out a sigh and hangs his head slightly. It’s then you notice his hair is wet so he must’ve just gotten out of the shower. “Something came up, at work. An emergency” he clarifies, gaze still fixed to the comforter he’s sitting on rather than looking at you. “Cab’s downstairs already.”

“You have to go?!” You ask, incredulous. Your voice raises maybe a little higher than you should’ve let it, but you were rightly shocked that your husband has to leave you now, on your birthday no less.

“Where are you going?” Dave’s voice immediately floods into the room and you look up to see him wandering into the bedroom, towel around his hips and another around his neck that he’s using to dry his hair.

He must’ve showered just after Marcus, you presume.

“Uh work. Last minute thing just… came up. I um, I’ll try not to be long” Marcus continues, turning back towards you for the last part.

“There’s no one else?” You try, sounding a little pouty, you know, but you really don’t want him to go.

He sighs, taking your hands in his and bringing them up to place a kiss to your knuckles before whispering another “I’m sorry” against them.

“But look why don’t you order dinner, or go downstairs for it even, just have it all billed back to the room and I’ll take care of it later, ok?”

“Ok…” you sigh, eyes cast downward. You feel silly for feeling so emotional, he’s literally spent the last 24 hours at your side giving you the best birthday you’ve ever had and you’re still near tears just because he has to leave you. Marcus has a very important job and you know these things come up from time to time. He’s been dragged away from anniversaries, birthdays, even your cousin's wedding on one occasion but it all came with the territory of being married to a senior Federal Agent and you knew that and had accepted it long ago so you just offer a small nod of your head, unable to bring yourself to look at him right now. You don’t want to make him feel more guilty than he likely already does by seeing the disappointment that’s surely written across your features.

Dave is oddly quiet, too. Still hanging back at the doorway leading into the bedroom you presume as you haven’t heard him moving around. With a sigh Marcus leans down and presses a kiss to the crown of your head and puts a comforting hand on your shoulder before pushing himself up and off the bed. “I’ll call” he promises. You nod again, forcing a smile to your lips as you finally raise your head to look up at him.

“Hurry back” you playfully scold, reaching a hand out to lightly smack his hip with the back of your hand and he chuckles.

“Happy Birthday Babe” he tells you once more before reaching for your hand and giving it a small squeeze. He sighs, settles his shoulders, drops your hand and finally turns away from you. You sit up in bed and watch as he crosses the room until he reaches the doorway where Dave is still standing there in a towel.

“I’ll um... Yeah, I’ll see ya” is all Marcus offers to him before brushing past him. A few seconds go by and you hear the front door of the room open and then click shut.

Well… now what?

“Are you um… are you hungry?” You ask Dave, suddenly feeling awkward as you bunch the sheet up a little higher under your armpits to ensure you stay covered up. “We could order something again, or even go down to the restaurant to eat if you wanna get out of this room” you shrug.

The room feels suddenly too small for the two of you. Like you shouldn’t be in such close proximity to each other without Marcus present (especially not in the state of undress you’re both in). It’s not that you feel uncomfortable around Dave, more like the opposite, and therein lies your problem. Dave makes you feel… a lot. But discomfort is not one of those feelings. The only thing uncomfortable about being around Dave is probably how comfortable you feel around him now. Like you could just walk across the room to him right now and throw your arms around his shoulders and kiss him like it’s a habit.

But you can’t. Of course you can’t. Marcus didn’t explicitly implore you not to, but he also didn’t outright give his blessing either. It feels wrong without Marcus here and you think both you and Dave can feel it, the way the energy shifted in the room the moment your husband stepped out of it. You have been alone with Dave before of course, but only once, and with your husband's enthusiastic permission. Insistence, even. Now there’s a sexual tension hanging in the air that makes this massive suite feel suffocating.

Finally after what feels like a moment dragged on far too long, Dave answers. “Should probably get going, right?” he shrugs his shoulders, voicing aloud what you’re both thinking.

You don’t want him to leave. Of course you don’t. But you both know he needs to.

“Yeah, right” your gaze is cast downwards again as your fingers pick at a loose thread in the soft sheet covering you. You suck in a breath, willing for no tears to fall to your cheeks as you begin to feel overwhelmed with loss, with what your evening had become versus what you had managed to conjure it up to be in your fantasies while you were falling asleep just hours earlier.

You had thoughts. A lot of thoughts. Especially after what had inspired earlier, you were ready and willing to experience a lot more of that and you’d told yourself you were going to be brave and honest and adult about it and tell them both exactly what you wanted, but now here you were about to be left alone in this hotel room. Maybe you’d just pack everything up and go home, text Marcus and let him know to meet you back there after work. You didn’t want to sit around this giant reminder of what you were missing out on tonight.

You remain seated in the bed, back against the headboard and arms wrapped around your legs that are bent at the knees in front of you, hugging yourself as Dave wanders around the bedroom getting dressed in fresh clothes and cleaning up all of his belongings, stuffing them back into his overnight bag. You glance at him occasionally as he busies himself packing, eventually moving out of the bedroom and throughout the rest of the suite to gather what’s left.

“Think that’s it” he sighs as he re-enters the bedroom a minute or so later and takes one final glance around to ensure he hasn’t forgotten anything.

“I’ll walk you out” you say, suddenly remembering your manners and Dave manages a small chuckle but ultimately holds up his hand in dismissal.

“Don’t need to get up on my account, I’ll see myself out”

You nod your head, a murmured “ok” leaving your lips as you wrap your arms back around your knees again.

Dave crosses the room over to your side, hesitation in his steps until he finally reaches you. He leans down and presses a kiss to your forehead and then smiles softly as he pulls away. “Happy Birthday” he tells you. “Hope it was a good one” he adds with a playful wink and your lips instantly spread into a grin across your face, despite your less than happy mood.

“Best one yet” you promise him. It was the truth, after all.

“Goodnight” he finally says, after a long drawn out silence stretches between you and he turns on his heel, exiting the bedroom. A moment later you hear the main door exiting the room open and shut again and just like that, he’s gone, and you’re alone.

Your head falls back down to your knees and you gently shake it back and forth, willing yourself to be strong and not break down to tears like you want to. It was silly, really, but dammit if it didn’t hurt all the same.

With a huff into the empty room you decide you’re not just going to lie there feeling sorry for yourself all night. You’re going to get up, clean up and start packing to meet Marcus back at home like you had thought about earlier. It was too sad sitting in this gorgeous suite all alone, watching a clock or your phone waiting on your husband to return. You get up and throw on one of Marcus’ t-shirts and a fresh pair of panties, quickly use the bathroom and brush your teeth and then begin to wander about the room, picking up clothes and toiletries and any other of yours or Marcus’ belongings and start packing them into the small suitcase. Once everything is packed you take a look around the suite and realize what a disaster you’ve all made. Between dirty dishes, empty coffee cups, liquor and champagne bottles, and a haphazardly made bed, you decide to tidy up a bit as well before you leave. You know that’s Housekeeping's job but you don’t think you could live with yourself knowing you left a room in the state this one was in so you begin about tossing away trash, collecting empty bottles to line them up on the small counter top and fixing up the bed at least halfway decently. The “do not disturb” sign had been stationary on the outside of the suite door handle since your arrival last night so no cleaning staff had bothered to come by and you couldn’t in good conscience leave the room the way it was.

You stand in the middle of the living room and take a final glance around, satisfied with how you’re leaving things now and go to turn back to the bedroom to get dressed and collect your suitcase when there’s a sudden knock at the door. Your brow furrows at who it could be but you head over to pull it open away, thinking maybe your husband had decided to take the liberty to order dinner for you, rightfully assuming you would skip it all together had it been solely up to you.

You reach the door and pull it open, ready to let whoever is on the opposite side of the door know that you won’t be staying to eat but the words die on your tongue as it swings open and reveals what - or rather who - waits on the other side.

“Hi” you breathe, voice barely above a whisper.

“Hi” he murmurs back, eyes boring into yours.

With one large hand planted against the door frame, Dave looms over you as a dead silence stretches on between you. You know what he’s waiting for. He’s waiting for you to tell him to leave, that he shouldn’t be here. He still has his duffel in his other hand which means he didn’t even make it to his car. From the close proximity you can smell the alcohol on his breath, maybe he only made it as far as the hotel bar and convinced himself to turn right back around.

Either way, you know you just don’t have it in you to turn him away. He knows it, too. Despite not even knowing you very long, he’s always been able to read you like a book.

There’s always been a pull between the two of you, a magnetic attraction. But over the past couple of visits, and certainly over the last 24 hours, something has shifted. You’d felt it, and given the way Dave was looking at you now, you know he did too.

Dave is first to break the silence with a whispered “fuck” before he pushes his way fully inside. Duffel dropped to the floor just inside the entryway, his left arm wraps around your waist and lifts you easily as his other hastily slams the door shut before joining the other to secure you to his body. Your legs wrap around him and both his hands grab hold at your ass while yours wrap around his neck and your lips meet in a heated frenzy as Dave carries you further inside.

“Where?” Dave mumbles against your lips between kisses, halfway across the living room by now.

“Bed. Take me to bed” you answer easily. You don’t want a quick fuck on the couch or against a wall. There’s a yearning inside of you that can’t be fully satisfied unless you do this right. Dave hums his approval into your mouth, passing by the couch and into the next room until he reaches the foot of the bed and he stops to let you down, your body slowly sliding down his front until your bare feet hit the floor. Your arms remain around his neck, his at your waist and he looks down at you, forehead resting against yours, holding your gaze for several long seconds.

“Thought you left” you manage to say, voice barely above a whisper.

“Me too,” he admits. Your breaths mingle in the limited space between you, the temperature in the room suddenly stifling. Dave can feel the way your body slightly trembles in his arms, just as you can easily read the longing in his gaze. You want this. You both do.

“Tell me to go” he tries, voice so low and soft it’s barely discernible, his eyes falling shut and thumbs absently rubbing back and forth at your hips.

“Can’t” you answer simply. He knows it’s the truth.

“Then tell me to stay” he tries instead, eyes opening again to search yours, needing your consent, your affirmation that you feel this too, whatever is inside of him. He needs to know that you need him as much in this moment as he needs you. That you’re willing to cross this line with him.

You don’t answer him with words. You can’t. Instead you lower one arm down to take his hand into yours and you lead him around the bed, turning once you reach the head of it and dropping his hand to bring both of yours to the waistband of his jeans, slowly popping each one of the buttons of his 501’s until they’re fully open and you’re able to push the denim down his hips. He helps you free him from the confines of his jeans until they’re bunched at the floor and he quickly toes out of his shoes before kicking his pants the rest of the way off. His t-shirt goes next as he reaches behind him and drags it up and over his torso, quickly tossing it aside before both his hands come down to cradle your face and he stands before you in only his boxer briefs.

Words still unspoken, your hands come up to splay across his chest and give him a gentle guiding push. He follows your lead, sinking down onto the mattress and gets seated with his back against the headboard, bringing his legs up to stretch out in front of him as you carefully crawl on top of him, one knee bent on either side of his hips as you straddle his lap and then lower your forehead to rest against his, bringing a hand down to gently caress against his cheek.

Dave lets out a desperate little groan before pressing forward enough so he can capture your mouth. He kisses you slow and deep, moaning into you when your lips part and his tongue brushes yours. It’s not the bruising, desperate and rushed kisses you’re used to from Dave. It’s soft and romantic and decidedly intimate.

His right hand trails up your side under the oversized t-shirt and cups a bare breast before deft fingers begin to play with your nipple, gently pinching and rolling it between the pads of his fingers while your back arches into his touch, desperate for more. He takes the hint and pulls you back just enough so he can tug the t-shirt up and over your head, tossing it carelessly to the floor before pulling you closer once more. His mouth trails downwards, placing hot open-mouthed kisses to your jaw, down the column of your throat, your collarbone, and finally finding purchase on your other breast, mouthing over the pert bud before gently sucking it into his mouth.

You moan at his actions, hands coming to card through his hair, gently scraping his scalp with your fingernails.

“God you make me feel so good” you pant and he moans his appreciation for your praise into your heated flesh. “So good to me, baby.”

He continues to kiss and lick and suckle at your breasts, paying each one equal attention and his hand pleasuring whichever one his mouth isn’t currently fastened to and you arch further into him, head thrown back and allowing your hips to grind against his groin. He’s growing hard underneath you, you can feel him swell and begin to strain against the tight fabric of his underwear as you take your own pleasure from him, reveling in the friction created between your legs with each slow drag of his hardening length between your cotton covered core.

“God, fuck!” You whine, swearing you could come from this alone. Dave groans into your breasts, hands coming to take hold at your hips and help guide your movements to grind down further into him.

“You’re so goddamn beautiful” Dave lets out, breathless as you rock on top of him, your body on full display as you take out your pleasure on him with each downward press of your pelvis into his. “My perfect girl” he praises before surging upwards to capture your mouth with his once more, tongues entwining immediately into that all too familiar dance now as he wraps a strong arm around your waist and easily flips you both until you’re underneath him, his body weight gently pressing you deeper into the mattress as he kisses you until you’re both left breathless.

He’s cradled deliciously right between your legs as you lay on your back with your knees bent and raised in the air to accommodate him as he slowly continues to grind against you and before long it gets to be simultaneously too much, yet not enough and you reach down, desperately shoving at the soft material of his boxers to get them off. He laughs against your lips between kisses but quickly obliges your silent request, aiding you in pulling them all the way down before he can kick them away and then slowly he lowers himself down the length of your body, pausing to kiss and lick and nip at whatever piece of flesh he finds along his descent until he’s up on his elbows with his face hovering right above your core.

“Dave, fuck” you whine, hand instinctively reaching out to push through his hair.

Dave however seems intent on driving you to the brink of your sanity as he places a soft kiss to your still covered mound, then gently rubs his nose through the seam of your folds and finally sticks his tongue out to lap a few times at your panties, creating enough of a wet spot between his saliva and your own arousal that it nearly feels like there’s no barrier between you at all, your white panties surely transparent by now.

“Please, please, please.” It’s barely above a whisper. A pathetic whine, really, the way you beg for him. Need him.

He turns his head, placing little kisses at your thighs and hips until finally his hands go to the elastic waistband of your panties and he slowly peels them down your legs until you’re finally rid of them and he tosses them to the floor before crawling back up your body and capturing your lips in a searing kiss, swallowing down each one of your moans with his mouth.

“I need you” you confess, breathless and writhing under the solid weight of him.

Dave groans, pulling his lips away from your mouth to nuzzle into your throat instead where he voices his own desperation “need you too. Fuck I need you”.

You moan at his admission, reaching to grab for his face to bring it back to yours but he diverts slightly downwards, bringing the attention of his mouth back to your breasts. He takes one into his mouth while his right hand gropes the other, massaging and kneading the flesh under his large grasp before delicately taking your pebbled nipple between his fingers to pinch and tweak at it until you’re writhing into his touch all over again.

Dave always made sure to prepare you for him, but never had the two of you taken so much time for just foreplay and you feel like you’ve been on the edge of an orgasm for an eternity by now. You’re used to Dave taking you hard and fast but tonight he seems perfectly content on taking his time to unravel you until you’re nothing but putty in his hands, desperate for him to carve you out and mold you into his body however he sees fit.

Before long his free hand drifts down your side and goes between your legs and when he feels how absolutely soaked and ready you are he lets out a little growl of need and for a moment you’re certain the Dave you’re used to is about to take over. He’s going to toss you around until you’re in the position he wants and drive his cock into you so hard and fast that you forget your own name and can only scream out his.

But you wait, and it doesn’t happen. He continues to gently kiss, lick and play with your breasts while his other hand presses into your folds, slides down to plunge two fingers inside of you and raises his thumb to circle your clit. Your hands become lost in his hair, desperate for anything to hold onto as you grind yourself into his hand, panting, moaning and whispering little bits of praise at how well he takes care of you and Dave is absolutely eating it up. With every little adoration that slips past your lips he moans or whimpers into your skin, eager for your praise and eager to please you and it’s night and day to the Dave you’re used to that tells you to stay still and take what he has to give you.

A third finger joins the first two as he slowly strokes your walls, curling them at just the right spot deep inside of you that has you mewling and whimpering under his delicate touch. They drag in and out of your core at a slow but precise pace as he works you open, his mouth never faltering from pleasuring your breasts while his hand drives you to the brink of sanity. He knows your body well enough by now that he can sense when you’re getting close and he amps up his pace, fingers gliding in and out of your wet heat easily with renewed vigor as the lewd sounds of your gushing arousal coating his digits and slapping of skin against skin fills the small space of the bedroom.

Before long, you finally cum on his fingers, back arching and a long drawn out moan releasing from the depths of your throat and Dave’s mouth climbs back up your body to swallow down the rest of your moans while his fingers continue their delightful torture below, working you through your orgasm as your walls pulse and contract around his thick fingers.

“Oh my god” you sigh, hands wrapping around Dave’s head as he buries his face in the side of yours and his hand finally leaves your sex to rest at your hip instead, giving you some reprieve. He shifts to lie on his side next to you now, pressing in close against your body while you lie on your back, body still trembling as you come back down from your high.

“You’re so beautiful” he murmurs, placing a soft kiss just below your ear while his thumb absently runs back and forth against your hip. “So perfect” another kiss, this time to the underside of your jaw and you turn on your side to face him. “So good to me” he concludes, pressing a kiss to your lips.

He’s being so sweet and attentive and incredibly affectionate and though you definitely like the harder, dominating side of Dave, there’s something about his softness that you’re finding just as addictive.

You’re well and truly fucked now. Literally, figuratively.

You try to ignore the way your heart swells as you lie here on your sides face to face, slowly kissing and exploring each other with your hands. Dave’s touch is slow and methodical, like he needs to map out every inch of you to commit to memory like he might never see it again and you arch into his touch every chance you get, desperate to feel more of him. It’s not long before your body is craving him again and with how you can feel him pressed against your belly, you know he needs you too. You roll on top of him and take his face in both hands, ensuring his eyes focus on you and they do, his hands stilling on either side of your hips.

“Make love to me. Please David”

The words barely get past your lips before Dave surges upward, mouth capturing yours in a desperate and heated kiss. His arms wrap around you and he flips you both so you’re underneath him again as his tongue invades the heat of your mouth, the wet muscle wrapping around yours as he seemingly puts every emotion he has into the passionate kiss.

Below you he’s gently lifting one of your legs up so it’s bent at the knee before his hand goes between his own legs to guide himself to line up at your entrance. It’s a slow press of his hips that pushes him inside of you and you both moan into each other's mouth once he enters you, filling you up so completely. He stills once he’s buried to the hilt and and pulls back from your mouth so his forehead rests against yours, your panting breaths mingling in the limited space between you.

Your name leaves his lips in a whisper and it nearly catches you off guard. You’re not even sure you’ve ever heard him say it before. He’s called you lots of names, sure, but never your own and a warmth spreads through your whole body at how it sounds coming from his lips like a forbidden secret meant only for your ears. Your hands go back to his face and pull him back in, your mouths melding together as he slowly begins to move.

“My god you’re fucking perfect” he breathes out as he pulls back just enough so that he can look into your eyes as he gently rocks his hips in and out of you and both your legs come up, locking your ankles together behind his back to keep him impossibly close as he ruts into you. “My perfect girl” he praises, eyes slipping shut as his forehead rests against yours and he focuses all his attention on how good you feel completely wrapped around him, consumed by him.

He fucks you slow and deep for what seems like an eternity, neither of you in any hurry to finish, just wanting to feel. Every slow drag of his cock against the wet heat of your walls sends a tingle down your spine that has your toes curling, ankles digging deeper into the soft and sweat-slicked flesh of his back. Eventually though the need for a release comes on strong and fast for you both and refuses to be ignored. Your legs wrap around his torso a little tighter, your hand in his hair gripping harder and his hot breaths against your neck getting more ragged as his hips pick up the pace.

“Close?” he asks between labored breaths into the shell of your ear and you nod against him.

“Mmmhmm, fuck I’m so close, please”

“C’mere” he breathes, turning onto his side and shifting you into the same position, lying on your right side with your back to his front. He lifts your left leg that rests on top of your right so he can slip in between them again and slide right back into your welcoming heat, both of you groaning in pleasure at how much deeper he can reach inside of you at this angle.

“Oh my god” you cry out when he begins to piston back and forth.

“Right there?” he breathes against the side of your face and you whimper unintelligibly, nodding your head before turning it back so you can capture his lips, allowing him to swallow down each of your moans.

The hand still hooked under your leg wanders slightly until it reaches its prize between your legs, deft fingers pressing down exactly how you need them to and rubbing small tight circles against your puffy, swollen clit and that’s all it takes. Within moments you’re falling apart, a wrecked sob leaving your throat as your arm that’s not currently underneath you comes up to wrap around Dave’s neck, securing him to you as you whimper, whine and moan into his mouth, your orgasm completely taking hold over you for several long seconds.

“Baby, I can’t, I’m - fuck” he groans, holding himself back with no small amount of effort from finishing. The way your walls clamp down around him as he feels your release coating him, your limbs entwined all around his own that tremble and pulse like his own second heartbeat.

“Let go, it’s ok” you manage between shaky breaths, neck still craned so your lips are just a whisper away from his. “Wanna feel you, please. Want you inside me. Fill me up, baby. Please”

The moment the last words leave your lips he pushes in deep one final time and lets go, a strangled groan leaving his lips as he empties inside of you, pulsing as he paints the inside of your walls with rope after rope of his warm spend.

“Oh my god, oh my god” he groans into your throat as he slowly begins moving his hips again, ensuring every last drop of his seed stays buried deep inside you.

“Mmm hmmm” you whine, a desperate little sob escaping you as he continues to fuck his cum into you. “David, baby, god don’t stop. Don’t fucking stop”. He lets out a low growl, fucking you through the aftershocks of both your orgasms for as long as he can manage, then gives one final deep push as far as he can possibly reach and stills for several long seconds until he’s forced to pull back and finally, regretfully, slips out of you.

“Baby,” he sighs, like he’s physically pained by pulling out of you, wishing he could stay there forever. He gently lowers your leg back down and his arms reach around underneath you to embrace you and he rolls you so you’re on top of him, neither of you concerned about your sweat slicked bodies or the sticky mess where his spent cock rests against your swollen sex.

“That was incredible” he confesses in a low whisper before planting a kiss to your temple, a strong arm coming up to wrap around your head and hold you close, afraid if he lets go you might just disappear.

In your post-orgasmic clarity you feel yourself begin to tense as you try to comprehend what exactly you just did and more importantly, what it means. Whatever that was, felt so different than every time before with Dave. You want to open your mouth to say something to him, to discuss what just happened and hopefully get some kind of gauge on what he’s feeling but your brain is a jumbled mess and the words don’t come in time before he’s gently rolling you off of him to get up.

He grabs for one of the discarded towels from earlier that you’d tossed over the back of the armchair in the room and brings it between your legs, gently wiping away any leftover mess that’s there before he bends down and places a kiss to your forehead.

“I’m going to take a shower” he tells you and you can do little more than nod your head. You wish you could form at least one coherent thought in your brain but they all escape you. You don’t even know where to begin, or what you even want to say. Or if you should be even having any sort of intimate conversation between the two of you without Marcus present.

None of it feels right, except for the part where it all feels right, and that alone terrifies you. You flip over onto your side and nestle into the pillows, willing for your brain to just shut down and provide you with a few minutes of solace. By some miracle, peace does come to you in the form of sleep, your body too spent and exhausted to stay awake a moment longer and you’re passed out before you even hear the shower stop running.

You don’t wake up to the snick of the hotel door closing shut after Dave gathered up every last piece of evidence of himself in the room and left without a word while you slept soundly, blissfully unaware that when his lips pressed against your forehead right before he walked out the door that it was the last time he intended on ever seeing you again. Either of you.

Next Chapter

Taglist (if you want to be added - or removed!, lmk!) @senaar-ika @suzdin @boliv-jenta @prolix-yuy @vabeachazn @seasonalobession @pedroshotwifey @nerdieforpedro @chronically-ghosted @macabremads @survivingandenduring @theywhowriteandknowthings @axshadows @iamasaddie @vickywallace @lincolndjarin @its-nebuleuse @janaispunk @missladym1981 @heareball @staywildflowahchild @guelyury @anotherpedrolover @mysterious-moonstruck-musings @runningmom94 @yorksgirl @harrington-thedad @missyorkswhore

#pedro pascal cinematic universe #pedro pascal characters #dave york #marcus pike #dave york fanfiction #marcus pike fanfiction #pedro pascal character fanfiction #ppcu fanfiction #ppcu #dave york smut #dave york x you #dave york x reader #dave york x marcus pike x reader

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olderthannetfic · 4 months

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I mean, I'd *like personally* if using CNTW meant something, as someone who genuinely does prefer to avoid the stuff covered in the archive warnings.... but I also understand the whole point is that it doesn't, and that in an archive you absolutely need a setting which just opts out of the need for warnings altogether.

They could be someone who puts that on every fic, because they don't feel like going through each of them like that, or because they ideologically oppose the idea of content warnings for whatever reason.

They could be someone who feels that putting specific warnings on it will spoil their fic, and they don't want to spoil. (I'm someone who doesn't care about spoilers ESPECIALLY with fanfic so I've always been a bit "eh" about this, but I get that I'm the minority here and also, it's the norm in original fiction. And I also get it's ultimately the author's discretion if they'd rather not spoil, and I respect that.)

They could mean that the person MIGHT include something that is warning-worthy later, but they aren't sure yet, so they're putting CNTW on there just in case because they feel putting on "No Archive Warnings Apply" and then changing it if they do decide to include character death/non-con/etc. later would be unfair to their readers.

They could mean that their use of something is borderline - for instance, underage sex alluded to, dubcon rather than noncon, violence they're not sure is graphic enough for the warning, etc. - and so they want to head off people who might be wary of that in any form/cover their asses, without drawing in people who are specifically looking for that element with false advertising. (This is how I often use them.)

They could be that they uploaded someone else's work with permission, but didn't specifically ask if they're okay with having warnings applied to their work.

It could be any of these things, and that's totally fine. The whole point is YOU DON'T KNOW. And if you click on a fic with that warning and it doesn't explain why it uses it, you're going in aware of that lack of knowledge and up for whatever version it is.

TBH, looking at my old stuff, I have a couple of cases where I barely remember the work and don't care to reread it. That's another common use, and it's really helpful for encouraging historical preservation. True, the CNTW means fewer people are clicking on these, but they're the kind of thing I'm including for completeness because I tell other people to do that.

I've also got some where I just got rid of the CNTW but I'm pretty sure it was on there because I was uploading in a hurry and meant to go think more deeply about tags later. Again, a "If I can't upload this in 2 seconds, I'm probably not getting around to it" issue.

Another one is for people who are very sure their dubcon is not noncon but who also know their fandom is full of douchebag antis who will constantly report them to AO3. If CNTW is on there, PAC will just tell the person reporting "Sorry, we're not even going to look at it", and the poster never gets contacted and bothered about this.

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maniculum · 2 months

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Bestiaryposting Results -- Hreksong

Slightly awkward timing on this one: the animal in question happened to come up on a recent episode of our podcast (We literally quoted a line from the Bodley MS 764 entry, because it was relevant to the story we were reading). So any of the artists who listen may have gotten spoilers. (I say "may", but I've already seen one art post that references the episode.) Sorry about that, artists. Kind of a bizarre coincidence, actually -- it's pretty rare that we happen across bestiary material in a narrative text, and the fact that we did so shortly before the relevant entry came up in the rotation... well, the odds are against it.

Anyway, anyone who doesn't know what this is about should check out https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting. You can also check the "maniculum bestiaryposting" tag to see what beast is the current prompt. The entry for this week's drawings can be found here:

Art below the cut, roughly chronological, as always.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) decided that the best interpretation of the information given was that this was a sort of arboreal mongoose that practiced mouthbrooding. If you want to know what the reasoning was there, you should read the linked post -- it all makes sense there. I absolutely love that the one in the picture is opening its mouth to show the baby riding inside. Silverhart indicates that this is a quicker sketch than usual, but frankly their animal-drawing skills are so good that even a quick sketch is impressive from my perspective.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) did separate drawings for the large outdoor version (upper image, carrying its young) and the small indoor version (lower image, stealing someone's food). The linked post, which explains the design in some detail, indicates that CheapSweets was thinking along similar lines as Silverhart -- i.e., what kind of animal is known for hunting snakes? I like the pose in the first image, and I really like the scene depicted in the second one. On one hand, I'm sure having little creatures live in your roof and steal food literally out of your hands is quite frustrating, but on the other hand, it's very funny. Look at that little guy just brazenly stealing some chicken (or whatever type of bird). The idea of them using their back legs to grip rafters for exactly this purpose is excellent.

@strixcattus (link to post here) decided these could be birds, and has drawn these owl-like creatures for us. They look a bit surly, but that could just be the feather pattern on their faces. As always, I strongly recommend checking out that linked post, as Strixcattus writes brilliant interpretations of these entries in the register of a modern naturalist to accompany the illustrations.

@pomrania (link to post here) has noted that cats live in houses and eat mice, and given us this charming domestic scene. They also note the issues with this interpretation in the linked post, which of course you should read. I think the poses of the cats are very well done here; one of those kittens looks like it wants to paw at the monk's belt but can very much not reach.

And now for the Aberdeen Bestiary:

I'm not sure about the head proportions -- I'd suggest that the flattened snout is because the artist ran out of space, if it weren't for the fact that they were fine letting the back foot extend into the border -- but that is recognizably a weasel.

A few things to note from this:

1. Medieval people apparently had not only mice in their homes, but weasels, which I'd never really thought about. I'm not sure what the distinction they're drawing between the type you find in your home and the type you find in the woods is about, though.

2. The weasel's healing magic crops up in multiple texts, including the Lais of Marie de France and Volsungasaga. It's less common than you might think to find overlap between bestiary-weirdness and narrative-weirdness, so that's pretty notable.

3. I have no friggin' idea why anyone thought they gave birth through their ears. Baffling.

#maniculum bestiaryposting #hreksong

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starrywangxian · 11 days

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link click ost - where does it play?

i'm a little diseased so i went through the whole of link click season 1 so that i could make a list of where each song on the ost plays. i thought i'd share it in case anyone else is curious too~!

some things to note first:

be aware of spoilers!!

if you'd prefer to listen to it in a playlist, here's a spotify version :)

here's a youtube version too :) - be aware that the songs won't repeat so they'll only be in order of the first time they're played bc youtube won't let me add the same song more than once :(

if you notice any mistakes or errors then please let me know!

feel free to add things in the reblogs/comments/tags <3

i'll be using the chinese versions of the songs!

i'm working on doing season 2, episode 5.5, the extras and daily life in lightime but i did this to procastinate studying for my exams so i'll do those soon? (i recently finished season 2 so i need to emotionally recover before i rewatch it again bc damn it did a number on me)

episode 1: EMMA

countdown by yuma yamaguchi - the opening where cxs goes into a picture

dive back in time by 白鲨JAWS - the opening ofc

tense by yuma yamaguchi - qiao ling explaining the first mission

arabesque by av4ln & yuma yamaguchi - cxs as emma talking to mr. zhu

pray by 天門 - cxs as emma talking to her parents on the phone

overcome by 天門 - cxs as emma thinking of her parents cooking spring rolls

sign by yuma yamaguchi - cxs as emma in the meeting

dear candy by the cheers cheers - emma riding on her bike home thinking of her parents, reading the message that cxs sent to her parents, on the phone to her parents

overthink by 饭卡 - the ending ofc

episode 2: 秘方 (secret recipe)

tense by yuma yamaguchi - qiao ling explaining the second mission

dive back in time by 白鲨JAWS - the opening

relaxation by 天門 - cxs and lg looking at the photos on their sofa

hazy by av4ln - cxs as yu xia and talking with lin zhen

memories by 天門 - cxs as yu xia as she eats noodles with lin zhen

invigorate by 天門 - cxs as yu xia trying to get lin zhen to tell her the secret ingredient

pray by 天門- cxs as lin zhen taking the picture with yu xia

overcome by 天門 - cxs as lin zhen in the taxi looking through her bag

与你有关 by 泠鸢yousa - the noodle lesbians <3 "林贞" "欢迎回来" T^T

overthink by 饭卡 - the closing theme

episode 3: 只许输，不准赢 (to lose, not to win)

news by 天門 - ql listening to the radio on her run as a man watches and follows her

calm by 天門 - chen xiao calling ql an old witch!

dive back in time by 白鲨JAWS - dancey dance time

countdown by yuma yamaguchi - lg and cxs talking about the photo and chen xiao explaining his case, cxs going into the photo!

turbulence by av4ln - boooo the other basketball team are bullies, cxs in the basketball court and complaining about his glasses, the boys are basketballing and getting their asses handed to them, lg dusting the bookshelves like an unbothered king, cxs as chen xiao taking a photo with flash and the big bad bully basketball player injuring lu hongbin (the captain)

silence by 天門 - lu hongbin has to sit out and cxs subs in for him

power by 天門 - cxs as chen xiao subs in an kicks their asses! yeahhh go sports! (i really love how this part is animated, it looks so good and flows so well) also cxs thinks about his and lg's "first meeting" confirming that sports are gay.

alright by av4ln - cxs as chen xiao is playing "bad" basketball bc lg said he can't win :(

decision by 天門 - the chemistry teacher (mr. ma?) explains to cxs as chen xiao that the school will get rid of the basketball court so this will be the basketball team's last game :( "what exactly does basketball mean to you?" again cxs is thinking about his "first meeting" with lg over a basketball game.

hero by 天門 - lu hongbin hurts his bad knee and cxs as chen xiao subs in again and slays the court! big baddy basketball bully number 2 slaps chen xiao and big baddy basketball bully number 1 steps on his glasses :( (again i know nothing about basketball and have no interest in it but this part slaps, the music paired with the fluid animation is so good)

power by 天門 - cxs as chen xiao says 谢谢 to the big baddy basketball bully who stepped on his glasses and gets a three-pointer so now the basketball teams are tied. lg tells cxs to leave the score at that but cxs as chen xiao passes the ball and... scores!

overthink by 饭卡 - intense basketball cliffhanger outro

episode 4: 告白 (confess)

sprint by 天門 - intense basketball recap from last episode, as lg explains that you can't change key moments in the past (everyone point and cry at the hypocrit)

dive back in time by 白鲨JAWS - dancey dance break from the intense basketball gaming

irritation by 天門 - cxs having a breakdown bc he changed the past by winning the game :( lg's face is blurred during the flashback of his and cxs's "first meeting"??? double meaning??? lg is not there thinking that this basketball game meant that lg doesn't exist or that cxs and lg don't meet hmmm

silence by 天門 - the chemistry teacher explains that the basketball court will still be torn down despite them winning :(

memories by 天門 - cxs as chen xiao giving lu hongbin a ride home on his bike as he delivers the message :)

wind by 天門 - chen xiao's first love and lu hongbin's half-sister liu meng :) cxs as chen xiao takes pictures of the siblings <3 then lu hongbin takes a picture of the love birds <3

peaceful by 天門 - liu meng walking home cxs as chen xiao, cxs delivers chen xiao's message to liu meng <3

pray by 天門 - cxs as chen xiao eating food with his mum :) but lg says that they still have to argue :( so cxs delivers the message to chen xiao's mum <3

sign by yuma yamaguchi - cxs realises that it's 12th may 2008... :(

overthink by 饭卡 - intense and sad outro :( what will cxs do?

episode 5: 告别 (farewell)

decision by 天門 - again lg is telling cxs not to change key moments in the past huh sure hope that doesn't bite him in the ass in the future, cxs thinking about the villagers and the earthquake/landslides :(

dive back in time by 白鲨JAWS - dance break as if your heart isn't about to be ripped from your chest

silence by 天門 - mumma cheng singing to her son cxs :(

sign by yuma yamaguchi - cxs as chen xiao trying to warn lu hongbin and liu meng about the earthquake but the family are all arguing :(

turbulence by av4ln - lg guiding cxs, liu meng and lu hongbin talking, mumma chen packing things and then hiding under the table

beginning by 天門 - mumma chen talking to chen xiao then singing the same song that mumma cheng sang to cxs to her son chen xiao as cxs as chen xiao cries :( xcs experiencing chen xiao's memories of chen xiao's mum and his own mum :(

silence by 天門 - mumma chen saying goodbye to her son and husband :(

时光教会我的 by 邹俊健 - chen xiao and his dad at his mum's grave :( hearing chen xiao's messages :( flashbacks of chen xiao taking pictures of his mum :(

pray by 天門 - adult chen xiao singing the same song that his mum sang to him (and cxs's mum sang to cxs) to his child as he thinks of his mum :(

overthink by 饭卡 - policeman jumpscare and cliffhanger ;0

episode 6: 寻子 (search of the child)

news by 天門 - dou dou asking his mum to play with him

irritation by 天門 - dou dou's mum noticing that he's gone :(

dive back in time by 白鲨JAWS - sad and intense dancey dance :(

decision by 天門 - flashback of lg comforting cxs about chen xiao's case, "don't ask questions as the past will always change because of us" :(

turbulence by av4ln - policeman jumpscare take 2, ql shooing xiao li (the policeman) away (as she should), dou dou's dad asking for help

silence by 天門 - cxs giving harsh advice to dou dou's dad :(

dear candy by the cheers cheers - ql explaining how she saw dou dou being taken away :( scenes of dou dou's parents and flashbacks of dou dou and his family :( dou dou's dad putting up missing posters of dou dou :(

news by 天門 - xiao li looking through files and noticing that page seven isn't there hmmm

countdown by yuma yamaguchi - lg looking at the surveillance footage as dou dou's dad recounts what happened that day

chase by 天門 - cxs chasing dou dou and the kidnapper as lg guides him

overthink by 饭卡 - oops cxs bumps into people who recognise him ;0 cliffhanger once again >:(

episode 7: 梅姨 (aunt may)

sprint by 天門 - "you must keep a low profile as if you were never there" whoops, cxs sprints away from his problems, mission failed, we'll get 'em next time

dive back in time by 白鲨JAWS - recover for a minute with some dancey dances

(idk but it's when ql breaks the news to dou dou's dad that they couldn't find anything and confesses that she saw dou dou being taken away)

mission by 天門 - cxs finding a picture taken by dou dou the day he went missing! lg taking a look at the picture

turbulence by av4ln - cxs as dou dou picking up the marble, looking at the trafficker's face, xcs sniffing the ball and getting drugged then taken away, walking past ql and xu shanshan

(i'm not sure but it plays when we see dou dou's memories of his dad giving him the triple star warrior toys)

ominous by 天門 - cxs as dou dou looking around the hotel room, looking through the trafficker's bag

power by 天門 - cxs as dou dou beats the shit out of the trafficker (mei piyan) both physically and emotionally using the move master siwen taught him

hope by 天門 - dou dou reunites with his family :) dou dou's dad was finding the triple star warriors :') mei piyan is caught yippee >:)

overthink by 饭卡 - run the cases by lu guang first so that cxs won't see the photo of emma :')

episode 8: 错失的讯号 (lost signal)

turbulence by av4ln - lg looking at the photos

dive back in time by 白鲨JAWS - anywayyyy let's not think about the implications

wind by 天門 - "xu shanshan" arguing with cxs, ql talking about their college days and explaining xu shanshan's case

memories by 天門 - flashback of ql and xu shanshan talking about dong yi, flashbacks of what happened that night

(idk but it's when cxs as xu shanshan picks her nose to reject that one guy, ouch)

(idk but it's when xu shanshan and dong yi take the picture together)

入海 by 毛不易 - the song that xu shanshan sings in karaoke!

ominous by 天門 - cxs as xu shanshan recognises the serial killer from the photos and follows him

peaceful by 天門 - what dong yi said to xu shanshan :)

overthink by 饭卡 - that's not xu shanshan...

episode 9: 善意的恶果 (consequence of goodwill)

turbulence by av4ln - phone call with mystery man

dive back in time by 白鲨JAWS - dancey dance

ominous by 天門 - ql taking cxs's phone away and lg explaining the situation to xiao li, lg looking at the surveillance footage of the serial killer and telling the police his liscense number then seeing cxs in the footage

mission by 天門 - cxs going into the footage on his own without lg ;0

(idk but it's when the police go to liu min's house)

(idk but it's when emma is telling her plans with her parents to liu min in the car)

(idk but it's when emma is struggling in the car with liu min and cxs is in the boot)

sign by yuma yamaguchi - emma's mum ringing her but she can't answer... :( emma thinking of her parents, cxs thinking about what he's done and screaming in the boot of the car

decision by 天門 - cxs revealing that he knows what he's done :( and telling ql that he can enter photos

overthink by 饭卡 - cliffhanger ;0

episode 10: 圈套 (trap)

ominous by 天門 - recap of last episode: the police telling lg that liu min wasn't the killer and that emma was walking alone

dive back in time by 白鲨JAWS - distract you with dancey dance

silence by 天門 - cxs remembering what happened to emma in the photo

strain by 天門 - lg checking the selfie of xu shanshan and seeing xu shanshan in her apartment getting attacked

pray by 天門 - cxs deciding if he's going to go into the photo, cxs putting photos in the red room, the police in a meeting, chen bin telling lg that he hasn't found xu shanshan in her apartment, cxs entering the photo

(idk but it's when cxs as xu shanshan yells at himself)

news by 天門 - liu min is his house drinking and reading the news/checking social media

overcome by 天門 - ql telling cxs as xu shanshan about cxs, cxs thinking about his childhood with ql (they're so sibling-coded :') <3)

peaceful by 天門 - flashbacks to lg helping ql and cxs paint the shop :')

turbulence by av4ln - cxs asking to take the lead (let him cook!), the killer outside the shop, cxs as xu shanshan confronting the killer

power by 天門 - lg slaying!!! running to trap the killer in the red room, cxs as xu shanshan slaying the killer!! (i really love this part okay)

overthink by 饭卡 - "now then, this game... is over!" AND THE CROWD GOES WILD

episode 11: 帶着光的人 (pinnacle of light)

countdown by yuma yamaguchi - cxs starts the process that prevails in season 2 where they will explain things after you've already seen them happen so he's explaining his plan to capture the killer with a recap of what happened last episode

dive back in time by 白鲨JAWS - last dancey dance :(

power by 天門 - the slay confrontation from last episode but now with the added context of cxs's slay plan (this part is really cool too)

sign by yuma yamaguchi - the confrontation, cxs going into the photos of the victims as we see their memories and their deaths :(

ominous by 天門 - "liu min" being arrested, chen bin saying that lg is mature for his age hmmm

turbulence by av4ln - "liu min" explaining what happened with emma

clouded by cled - flashbacks of emma's life: with her parents, at her job, her parents texting her as she stands on the bridge

keep in mind by 白鲨JAWS - cxs talking to emma on the bridge as we see flashbacks of emma and flashbacks of cxs going through the photos, xu shanshan seeing dong yi :') "eventually, we will meet people who will shine their light on us" :')

(idk i was too busy crying but it's the part where lg says "death is a major node that cannot be changed" and ql cuts an apple...)

overthink by 饭卡 - "now the game has been reset" WORST CLIFFHANGGER OF ALL TIME, WHEN I GET YOU DIRECTOR LI WHEN I GET YOU!!!

songs that are in the album ost but that i couldn't place:

(maybe they were unused or were used in other stuff that wasn't the main donghua like pvs or smth)

joke by 天門

ordinary by yuma yamaguchi

afternoon by 天門

luminous by av4ln, yuma yamaguchi

struggle by 天門

nostalgic by 天門

#wanna know a fun fact about this?#i got to episode 8 but it didn't save so from episode 2 to episode 8 i've done twice #now i can feel what lu guang felt when we had to do university all over again when we went back in time #link click #Shiguang Dailiren #shi guang dai li ren #sgdlr #shiguang daili ren #時光代理人 #starrywangxian

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lovedianagrey · 5 months

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soukoku fics: recs and reviews

look, i really like fanfiction. and i've always felt people sometimes don't give good enough reasons to actually read a lot of it. if you scroll down enough, you'll see i did that too. so i thought i'd help out some people that don't know what to read tonight. you'll notice i took my reviewing seriously hgdsafvkhagsv i'll add more in my reblogs as i go on with this review style, but for now, here are three fanfics that pushed me to do this. fair warning, they're long ones.

A Lesson in Thorns by arkastadt

Word Count: 454,556

Tags: Arranged Marriage, BSD Beast!AU, Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Character Death, Heavy Angst, Happy Ending, Ghosts, So Much Smut

Review:

As one of the longest fics I’ve ever read, it took me three days to read it, and a lot of lost sleep. A Lesson in Thorns is a journey that no one is truly prepared for. It’s surprising, I think, how one only notices the slow burn in the beginning, and forget they didn’t start out together in the end. So many things happen in the span of those fifty chapters, and so many feelings arise alongside their events. The reader watches Chuuya grow into himself, despite the haunting (hehe) that surrounds him by the end. Dazai becomes a man wishing to live, despite becoming a ghost of who he used to be. It’s quite magical, the way the story builds upon itself. What is usually some home, this piece makes an empire.

This author appealed a lot to the wants and needs within these characters, making a paced build up to the challenges the characters face. Furthermore, there is a wonderful line of thought that is unwavering, consistent to the very end. The reader meets Chuuya getting ready to be married. A deal has been struck with the Port Mafia, and as the leader of the Sheep, Chuuya must marry their boss. A questionable and confusing task, but Chuuya has no more cards under his sleeve, and he has to save Shirase from the pending prison sentence. He walks into where he is to be married, looking to find a wrinkled, aging man. Instead, he faces the bandaged limbs and cunning eye of Dazai Osamu, and the story truly begins.

The reader already knows it’s not a choice left for random that Dazai takes Chuuya under his wing. It’s already stated that on the first day in his position as the boss, right after killing Mori and sixteen months before he and Chuuya marry, he finds the redhead. A search that is broken down as the story unravels, and an effort that builds them and breaks them apart and puts them back together.

This fanfic is clearly derived from a lot of the factors pointed in Bungou Stray Dogs’s BEAST light novel, which in my eyes makes it all the more interesting. I tried to give a short insight into the beginning with as much care as I could without creating any spoilers for the reading. I guess from me, all my notes just say it’s worth it. This fic really drags you through so many stages of feelings and excitements, and it builds off from them until you reach a new peak all over again.

On Deathless Feet by AbsoluteNegation

Word Count: 71,848

Tags: Caretaking, Controlling Arahabaki, Canon-Divergence, Port Mafia and Post-Port Mafia, Smut

Review:

There are some stories that find themselves tucked into a hidden corner. It does not make them any less, and it does not make them any better, it just makes them quiet. Which in turn, when they are finally found, makes them all the more surprising. That is how I feel about On Deathless Feet, tucked in a corner of Ao3, and all incredibly surprising.

Written with a nonlinear narrative, the reader meets the famed Double Black in different moments, recently met, in the middle of their rise through the ranks, at the brink of their end, after their disconnection with years of silence. AbsoluteNegation makes a wonderful story threaded in different moments, contextualizing their uncomfortable return to each other with interruptions back to their old lives before Dazai’s split from the Port Mafia. The author mainly focuses on Arahabaki, and Chuuya’s relationship with understanding the singularity as it slips out of control. Dazai is sent in to help counter it throughout their time together, and long stretches of contact are needed to get it down to normal.

With a state of constant carataking, the two are thrusted into communion, needing to learn to accept living with each other for the time being. It isn’t a foreign feeling, seeing the other there, but at the end of the day it’s hard for the two with all that past. A past the author explores in detail just as much, not holding back on making it layered and pretty and very intense. They are creatures of passion, that’s what drives this ship and makes it so loved, and the author doesn’t shy away from building on it. Just as well, however, does the author place their own touch to their relationship, with the care and devotion the two also experiment between them. This fanfic is a welcomed balance to the rockier roads often explored surrounding these two. It never lacks sharpness, but it definitely warms the heart.

music for our funeral by itotypes

Word Count: 67,723

Tags: No Smut, Angst, 70s, Musicians!AU, Drug Abuse, References to Child Neglect, Songwriting, Artistic Lyricism

Review:

Music for our funeral by itotypes is a breathtaking composition, and there is not much like it. Set in the 70s, the author explores the surrounding setting of the rock genre, and writes a story of struggle and connection. Starting out with a run-away teenager, we meet Dazai’s lackluster perfection, the narrative often picturing him as a clinical artist. After leaving home, we watch him make himself something, and see him survive until he looks to live. Meanwhile, the other side of the piece plays with a striving perfectionist, and a reckless guitarist, in the form of Chuuya. The man comes from a struggling family (a stark contrast to the origins of his partner), and finds himself lost in the music.

An interesting part of the story is that we get to know the characters before they meet. In a way, it allows the reader to explore the lives privy to the explosion, and before the pining and intensity that sparks between the two. One of the most appreciative factors that make this story one of my personal favorites is the usage of images throughout it. With beautiful lyrics exploring the essence of a character’s beliefs without them needing to admit it to themselves, there is a clear view into the conflicts and selfish needs that each character has.

This author’s work is best described as an ode to music. It comes as a surprise at times, the way words fit together in reverence to this branch of artistry. Yet the fact that it’s done through another form of storytelling, through the use of words on a screen instead of notes on one’s ear, makes it all the more captivating. There is no question this is a must read.

#i read and review and rant #i have no idea if anyone wants this #i have no regrets writing this tho #bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd chuuya #bsd dazai #chuuya nakahara #nakahara chuuya #dazai osamu #osamu dazai #soukoku #skk #skk fanfiction #soukoku fanfiction #fanfic recs #fanfic recommendations #fanfic reviews

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