#gift fics

[graygiantess]

The Ao3 Devil’s Minion tag is ON FIRE! 😱

Don't worry! It's just the DMFA server's Secret Holiday Exchange! 🤭😊

24 fics already posted and more to come! (Not all of them are DM, though.) Author reveal on January 10th.

Read them all here!

[overthinkingao3]

so i’ve been thinking about why being gifted a fic can sometimes feel different from almost every other interaction on ao3. 

most of the archive is built around opt-in participation -

I choose which stories to click on, the authors to subscribe to, whether to leave a kudos or a comment,

but a gift fic reverses the direction of the interaction.

suddenly somebody else has chosen me.

and i wonder if that’s part of why surprise gifts can feel emotionally complicated sometimes, especially when they come from somebody you don’t know very well and drop without any explanation attached.

because now there is a story sitting in your inbox with your name attached to it.

and it isn’t just a fic any more.

it’s a Thing, crouching there, with all sorts of questions and potential social obligations -

why did they gift it to me?

how quickly should i respond?

what if i don’t like it?

do i need to reciprocate?

does this mean we’re friends now?

and none of these expectations may actually exist. the author may simply have thought of you and wanted to do something kind.

but i think there is something interesting about the fact that ao3 is usually a space where we choose our interactions, whereas a gift fic is one of the few instances where an interaction chooses us.

also, posting a fic is vulnerable, but it’s an act of controlled vulnerability. (you choose when to post, what to post, how much of yourself to reveal)

but a gift introduces an element you didn’t control. a gift says, “i thought of you specifically”,

and once somebody has singled us out, our brains immediately start trying to work out what that means, within the context of a fandom relationship.

which is perhaps why gift fics can sometimes feel a bit intense (to me, anyway). 

cause i’ve posted before about writers wanting to be acknowledged, but i think being acknowledged and being known are not quite the same thing.

a gift fic can sometimes feel like a tiny moment of being perceived. someone had you in mind when you weren’t there. someone connected you to a character, a ship, a trope, a story.

it feels kind of exposing. 

(and human beings are often far more prepared for rejection than they are for unexpected affection).

which makes me wonder if we talk a lot about the vulnerability of posting on ao3, but much less about the vulnerability of discovering that somebody was paying attention all along.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

An excerpt from one Johnlock stories of mine, that remains a work in progress since 2018, just like the rest of them.

The Diogenes Club was a tomb of silence, a place where the air itself seemed to have been curated in 1890 and never breathed since. Sherlock hated it on principle—the stillness felt like a personal insult to his kinetic mind—but today, the stakes required the one man in England who saw everything and felt nothing.

Or so he claimed.

Sherlock and John stood in the wood-paneled inner sanctum. Mycroft Holmes sat behind a desk of dark oak, his umbrella leaning precisely against the corner. He didn't look up from the file he was reading for a full minute, relishing the power of the silence.

"The white queen," Mycroft said finally, his voice a dry rasp. "A trifle nostalgic, wouldn't you say, John?"

"It’s a threat, Mycroft," John replied, his hand resting casually on the back of Sherlock’s chair. "The Minister’s daughter is gone. If the Vanquished Set is being used as a calling card, then the shadows are moving again."

Mycroft finally looked up. His eyes, so similar to Sherlock’s but filled with a weary, bureaucratic weight, flickered from John’s hand to the slight, almost imperceptible way Sherlock was leaning toward the doctor.

A slow, thin smile touched Mycroft’s lips."Oh, Sherlock," Mycroft sighed, leaning back. "I see the 'chemical defect' has moved from a temporary malfunction to a permanent hardware installation. I must say, John, I expected more restraint from a man with a millitary background. But then again, you always did have a penchant for lost causes and stray dogs."

Sherlock’s jaw tightened. "Mycroft, if you’re finished with the amateur psychology, we have a kidnapping to prevent from becoming a massacre."

"Amateur? Hardly," Mycroft chuckled, his eyes dancing with a rare, sharp mirth. "It’s fascinating to watch. The Great Sherlock Holmes, once so terrified of a human touch that he’d practically vibrate out of his skin, now looks as though he’d bite the hand off anyone who tried to move him three inches away from you. Tell me, do you still hide in the lab when he flirts with you, or have you finally accepted that you’re a man of... substantial passions?"

"Mycroft," Sherlock warned, his voice low and dangerous.

"Don't mind him, Sherlock," John said, his thumb tracing a slow circle on Sherlock’s shoulder, a deliberate move to further annoy the elder Holmes. "He’s just bitter because the only thing he’s intimate with is the British tax code."

Mycroft’s smile vanished, replaced by a look of profound boredom. "Hardly. I have the security of the realm to keep me warm."

.......

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

As they left the club and stepped into the cool London drizzle, Sherlock was still fuming. "I am going to burn that club to the ground one day."

"He was just baiting you," John said, catching Sherlock’s arm and pulling him to a stop under a stone archway. "And he wasn't entirely wrong. You are a man of substantial passions."

........

-🦚

ASKDLFHLKSHDF PEACOCK!!! (I think that's the emoji you signed off with?)

Okay firstly, I am HONOURED you have shared one of your drafts with me!!! Seriously I feel so special!!!

Secondly, I feel you SO MUCH on "a lot of drafts for years and none of them done". I have 9 of them in various fandoms currently sitting on my GDocs, LOL.

Thirdly, I and – I feel confident in speaking for others in this regard – many others would LOVE to see this fleshed out and finished!! If you ever do, please let me know!! I would love to see where this one goes!! I have reread it quite a bit!! <3

Thank you SO MUCH for sharing with us!!!! I would love to see more <3

[itsphantasmagoria]

I wrote some silly Christmas Drarry fics for the DCC Holiday Exchange! Christmas Vibes (E, 4k, plus NSFW art) for @megreads99 Draco gets a mysterious gift on Christmas Eve. He uses it. Things don't go well.

Flour (T, 1k) for @moondraconis Harry is stuck at the Burrow baking dessert with Malfoy on Christmas Eve because his best friend is a traitorous bastard.

all i want for christmas (E, 766 words) for @maraudersaffair Harry has a request.

[cartwrong]

❄️Holiday Season Gift Fics❄️

Hopping on the @abubblingcandle wagon to see if anyone would be interested in any gift fics. I've done it in the past for Ted Lasso and it was fun

Send me an ask with what you would like (anon is fine but I’d love to be able to fully gift it to you if you are comfortable with that) with any of the options below:

A new fic with whatever your idea would be, feel free to include as much detail as you want

A new chapter to any of my published WIPs (I'll list them after the cut)

The first chapter of any of my unpublished WIPs (I'll list them after the cut)

Any prompt from the Slow Horses Holiday bingo (and please feel free to expand beyond the prompt itself with what you want to see)

🤍 means it was already requested by someone

*Keep in mind I am a gen writer and do not write anything with SA/CSA

** I'll let you know if it's something I don't think is in my skillset and will post it in case anyone else wants a stab at it

Already Published WIPs

all too (tunbridge) well(s) - River brings Louisa to David's to pick up some new books to bring him; only armed intruders interrupt while they're there. Chapter 2/2 would follow River and Louisa to A&E and then Louisa taking him back to her flat.

fool me twice - After Catherine's kidnapping, River's guilt at ignoring Donovan following her gets the best of him. One thing about River Cartwright, he never makes the same mistake twice (usually it's a new mistake). A 5+1 of River thinking his colleagues are being followed, and they aren't, and the one time they are. Chapter 2/6 would show River thinking Marcus being followed.

the honesty of pain - River won't remember the tube down his throat. It’s a small mercy, but he won't remember the fall down the Slough House stairs that landed him hospitalised. At least at first. Chapter 2/? Would have River waking up in hospital alone…where is everyone?

how much was mine to keep - Shirley and River are tasered, kidnapped and left tied to chairs with only each other, their foul moods, and sarcasm for company. Not exactly the Friday night either of them planned. But why Shirley and River? Out of everyone at Slough House, why them? Sure, River had likely pissed off more than one wrong person at some point in his short but infamous MI5 career, and his last name made him a target for any number of people his grandfather might’ve fucked over during his apparently legendary time in The Service. But, again, why them? Chapter 4/? would give River and Shirley more insight into who has them.

🤍 if love was contagious (i might be immune to it) - Louisa, sick of her mother's meddling, accidentally lies about being in a relationship with River. It would be fine, she would stage a breakup after a month and River, and her family, would be none the wiser. Too bad they all end up together with Louisa in surgery for an appendicitis. Chapter 2/? would follow Louisa in hospital trying not to let her secret out and her discharge with River looking after her.

something tragic burning in my blood - Soon after season four, River is kidnapped by the Prince who hired Frank for Westacres, assuming he will give himself up for his son. When Frank refuses, it's up to the Slow Horses to find Frank and free River. Chapter 2/? would have the slow horses piecing together who has River while he endures more torture and Frank ignores their demands

spare me your happier ending (i want to feel everything) - When Louisa's approached by an old coworker she gets a second chance to take down the organisation that she was after when she ended up at Slough House. Too bad she needs to shoot River while undercover to prove she's fully in. Chapter 2/? would follow Louisa and River taking their quandary to Lamb and the set up.

Unpublished WIPs

🤍 catherine v isobel (wip title) - After the events in s4, River decides he's been too hard on Isobel and tries to build a relationship with her. Things don't go well, culminating in River being injured and Isobel meeting the slow horses and Catherine being horrified at how she acts

drop by drop upon the heart - Purely speculative/au look at potential s6 where Lamb kills River. River is angry because Lamb "took that from" him and Lamb retorts he protected River from doing it.

hostage (wip title) - River gets stuck in a hostage situation at his corner store

🤍kidnapped by bertrand's mum (wip title) - Natasha is convinced that River is Bertrand and keeps him locked in the house when Viktor brings him. He manages to escape but ends up captured by the mob that also thinks he's Bertrand. Louisa and Lamb have to work with Frank to find River and bring him home. Frank ends up ditching them and kidnapping River himself (yes, he's kidnapped 3x in this fic)

make each other bleed (and we call it love) - A look at River and Spider's relationship from training to Spider's death (my only ship fic)

prodigal son - River goes willingly with Frank from the restaurant as a way to keep his grandfather safe and bring down Frank (Marcus Lives! Patrice Lives!)

river in a river (wip title) - River runs into Frank after s4 and gets tossed in the Thames

[qveerthe0ry]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY @for-a-longlongtime 🎊🎈🎂

You are the best Tumblr friend anyone could ask for. I’m so grateful for you and your incredibly supportive (enabling) tendencies, your insanely beautiful fic writing brain, and the ear you always lend to me to vent to.

Also for the gif of Oscar Isaac’s Dick and Balls that you sent me earlier today that inspired me to write a little FishPope blurb 😌 This is my gift to you and I hope you enjoy 💕 Love you!!

Smush

Pairing: Frankie Morales x Santiago Garcia Rating: 18+ mdni Warnings: bulge worship, cock worship, cock warming

Sometimes Frankie just gets a little restless. 

He wants to relax. After a long day of work, and whatever project Santi’s got him working on in their garage, and making and/or eating dinner, all he wants to do is relax. 

He grabs a shower, sometimes with Santi, sometimes alone. He’ll change into pajamas— now that it’s summer, pajamas consist of underwear and a baggy old shirt. Then he grabs an ice cold beer and settles on the couch for some mind-numbing television while Santi reads or scrolls on his phone. 

But sometimes not even the most outlandish reality show can’t settle his restless mind.

Usually Santi notices it even before he does himself. A ‘knock it off’ grumbled at him above his reading glasses cues him in on the way he’s bouncing his leg up and down. 

Tonight, he’s grinding his teeth to some unidentifiable rhythm in his head. He only notices because he pinches his cheek between his molars and winces. His jaw aches a bit, he must’ve been at it for a while. 

He glances over to Santi. He’s got a really boring looking book in his hands, nestled in the corner of the couch. 

His thick thighs are spread open, inviting. Almost as inviting as the soft bulge protruding from his tight gray boxer briefs. 

Frankie’s mouth starts to water, alleviating that little nick his teeth caused. 

He shifts slowly at first, inconspicuous, and Santi doesn’t notice. So he moves again, lying out on their couch, so his head rests on Santi’s leg. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Getting comfy.”

“Hmm.”

Santi lifts one hand away from his book to ruffle Frankie’s curls and god, he’s got magic hands, the way one simple touch has his mind going pleasantly empty. 

He’s staring at Santi’s bulge now, shamelessly, since the man’s obstructing his view with his book. 

He knows it’s a mouthful, even completely flaccid. God, he bets it’s so warm and smooth. He shifts a little closer and takes a slow but deep breath and fuck. 

He smells so good. Even freshly showered, there’s always a hint of Santi’s natural musk, something so malty and deep that seeps through the fancy, expensive body wash he likes. 

Frankie wonders if it makes him a freak, that he likes it so much. Not that he really cares.

He wants more of it. He wants the smell and feel and taste of him all at once, to overwhelm him and just shut his brain off. 

So he adjusts up onto an elbow, and cranes his neck a bit, and smushes his face right at the apex of Santi’s thighs. 

“The fuck, Fish?”

Frankie inhales a big breath and hums it out before responding. 

“‘M restless.” 

His voice is muffled by Santi’s bulge, twitching now as the hot air from Frankie’s breath engulfs it. 

“Shit, yeah?”

“Mmmhm.”

Frankie hears a book page turn, and then Santi’s hand is back on his head once more. His nails scrape his scalp before his fingers really tangle and twist. 

“Wanna keep it warm for me, papi?” 

Frankie’s prick pulses where it’s trapped between his stomach and the couch. He nods, which only grinds his face against Santi’s package. 

It feels good, the softness of his underwear gently scraping the soft skin of his nose and cheeks. There’s and impossible heat radiating off of him, and Frankie seeks more of it, nuzzling around, rearranging his dick and balls as his face rubs against them. 

Santi hums and tilts his hips, nearly crushing Frankie’s nose as he seeks more friction, but even that sting is good, great. 

“Take it out.”

The nonchalant, commanding tone makes Frankie shiver. He whimpers a little, gives Santi’s package one more good smush before the fingers in his hair tug in warning. 

Frankie gets his fingers around the waistband, and Santi lifts his hips to help. Frankie licks his lips at the sight of his balls resting over the elastic, all warm and loose. 

He nudges Santi’s half-hard cock out of the way to nose at the base and lick the pronounced seam of his sac, to take a deep breath and inhale his intoxicating scent that’s even stronger now. He groans and grinds his own cock into the cushion under him for the smallest amount of relief. 

“Put it in your mouth, Fish.”

And he can’t protest, not with the way he has to swallow all the drool that’s pooled just from rubbing his face all over him. 

He tastes familiar. It settles him more than he’ll ever admit to anyone. The stretch of his jaw, the weight of Santi’s cock on his tongue, the tickle in the back of his throat. The novelty has never worn off, it just eggs him on. 

He starts to bob his head. Santi’s grip on his hair tightens. 

“Stop. Just keep it there.”

And even though he’s still a bossy prick, Santi’s murmur is softer and sweeter and less domineering than normal. 

Even so, Frankie obeys. 

He settles his head back down on his thick, fuzzy thigh and rests there. 

He suckles, still. More reflex than anything else. His tongue lies heavy on Santi’s frenulum as he swallows now and then.

The noisy static in his brain fizzles out as Santi’s dick fully inflates. His jaw stretches slowly in a welcome ache, and the scent of him is so heady and overwhelming as he shuts his eyes, and Santi’s hand in his hair pets and smooths and everything is quiet. 

Santi can’t wait until the next time Frankie’s restless.

[penny00dreadful]

WIP Weekend

Rules: Send me an emoji in an ask, and I'll write & share 3-5 sentences for that WIP OR a lil sneak peek if it is artwork!

I am DETERMINED to get back into the writing game and I've already made a start so LET'S GOOOO! Thank you to @hbyrde36, @pentapoctopus and @beingmissbatty for the tags!

☀️ Devotion Chapter 4 (Comic)

🌤 Devotion Chapter 5 (Script)

☎️ Through The Valley (Chapter 3)

💦 Secret Gift (I will work on this and then send a snippet of something else to be sure it stays secret 🥰)

Bingo Prompts: 🐦 Goodbyes 🎥 Black Sabbath 🐾 Spring 🕰️ Games 🤕 Last Time 🎢 Established Relationship 🩸 Missed Chances

Snippet From 🐾:

“Oh shit, Nana! Look out!”

Despite Eddie’s immense theatricality, he had not been blessed with the finest of reflexes. So while he would have loved to heed the warning being shouted at him a little further down the shore of the lake, he instead found his legs being taken out from under him, landing hard on his back in the wet mud.

To be fair to whatever the fuck had just happened, Eddie hadn’t been paying attention to where he was going, content to mope around in his own misery, stuck back in Hawkins again after finally getting out. 

But now he was freshly single, freshly unemployed and freshly covered in mud, his head spinning and his body aching and cold while there was a whine of distress next to him, something cold brushing his face.

As he opened his eyes, still feeling breathless and delirious from the fall and the sound of running footsteps got closer, hovering over him was a large mass of shaggy black, a wet nose and drooling tongue, anxious paws tapping against the stones by his shoulder.

“Big boofer.” Eddie muttered to himself with a silly smile, raising a hand up to try and pat the truly gargantuan dog's head, though he was knocked off course when the dog immediately snuffled against his palm.

No pressure tags: @hbyrde36 @pearynice @sidekick-hero @pentapoctopus @beingmissbatty @salamandergoo @nureyevsins @queenofshenanigans @cloudsurfing42 @turinspeachjam

[hbyrde36]

@little-annie tagged me earlier in the week 🥰 I was still deep in birthday gift fic preparations but I'm ready to get back at it now.

Rules: Send me an emoji in an ask, and I'll write & share 3 sentences for that WIP!

Here's what I'm working on:

🏕 Midsummer Nights (Ch 4)

👻 Fuggi Regal Fantasima (Ch4)

🌊 Caught in the Undertow (Ch 10 - final! 😱)

(For below I will write 3 sentences for it and 3 for something else to share.)

🍸 - S____ N__

😈 - N____ T______ & D________

Is it cheating to use a snippet from a fic not on the WIP game list? 🤣 Ah well, it's what I've written today , so it's what you're getting 😛

From (upcoming ficlet): Runner

“My walkie was busted, man. Drenched. So, uh, I did the thing that I do now apparently…” Eddie went on, wiping at the water dripping off his chin with the sleeve of his leather jacket, his mouth twisting into a wide, wry smile. “I ran.”

Despite the words being spat with anger and self-deprecating venom, Eddie’s dimples were on full display, a sight Steve hadn’t had directed at him in months. Seeing it now, like this, made his heart ache something fierce. 

Eddie wasn’t a runner, was the thing. 

Steve knew that. Anyone with eyes knew that. Eddie would gleefully stare down a guy twice his size, go toe to toe with the meanest assholes Hawkins High had to offer without hesitation to keep his people safe. And sure, sometimes Eddie got his ass beat, but he hadn’t cultivated that freak reputation for nothing. These days, more often than not, bullies and their minions stood down when Eddie’s hackles rose.

“Do you know what time this was? The attack?” Nancy asked, business first as usual. Like she couldn't see the poor guy was on the verge of losing it, or probably she just didn’t care. It was all about the task at hand. 

No pressure tags💜 : @pearynice @sidekick-hero @vthx @tinytalkingtina @devondespresso

@helpimstuckposting @rocknrollsalad @steddiecameraroll @hawkinsleather @withacapitalp

@griefabyss69 @kikidoesfanfic @eriquin @medusapelagia @fuctacles

@hitlikehammers