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now-that-i-saw-you · 4 months

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2023 recap

I've lived a thousand lives this year. I also read around 40 books, watched 17 shows, 34 movies and listened to 40,214 minutes of music and I'm gonna narrow them all down to top 3 favorites of each category.

Music

1. Midnights

I'm a swiftie forever and ever so best believe whatever album Taylor released it's gonna be my favorite album ever, but Midnights is exceptionally good. It's no surprise that most songs on my top 5 most-played are from Midnights (and the only one that isn't is seven). This is my AOTY and I want to personally thank Taylor for writing You're On Your Own, Kid.

2. Stick Season

My sixth most-played song was Dial Drunk and I think it was just a couple of streams away from entering the top. The rest of the album is just as good and as poignant. It's so folklore-esque and I adore a good story that makes me forget about my problems.

3. Good Ridddance

Did you guys know Gracie Abrams is fucking excellent? I listened to Good Riddance and it was amazing and then I listened to her earlier work and they were also amazing. Good Riddance is for girls in their 20s who feel like they mess everything up (it's so evermore-coded).

Books

1. All For The Game

I read a lot of great books this year but this is probably the only one I've been properly obsessed with. Every single word in these books made me cry, it just made me feel so much; angry, sad, happy, but mainly hopeful.

2. She Who Became The Sun

This is objectively the best book I read this year. It's eloquent and complex and interesting and deals with subjects like gender and sexuality in such a fine, delicate way. I wanted to savour every moment with this book, read every word slowly so I could properly understand it. Ouyang is up there with Adam Parrish and Lyra Silvertongue in my Favorite Characters List.

3. Conversations With Friends

This book made me feel seen, while deeply hurting me. Turns out I kinda like the Miscommunication trope and I think it's mostly because I love it when characters feel like real people and nothing is more real than not saying what you should or saying the wrong thing.

TV Shows

1. Succession

I came to realize that what makes me love a show/book is mostly the characters. I love complicated characters that feel like real people. I love it when I can't decide whether I hate or love a character. Even my least favourite characters (Logan and Tom) were well-written and had a very satisfying storyline. I did not understand a single thing they said when talking about finance (at least I learned what a Bear Hug is...sorta) and that didn't stop me from enjoying the show and following the plot and to me that shows how entertaining it was.

2. Better Call Saul

Everyone should watch this show. This is one of the greatest corruption arcs I've ever seen on TV and Jimmy is an excellent protagonist, I love the way the writers build his character's arc and his relationship with people around him, mainly his brother but also Kim because their relationship was amazing. They were so cute and doomed by the narrative. Personally, I enjoyed every season and wasn't bored at any point. This show was done with so much love and you can feel it.

3. Totally Completely Fine

I love it when I stumble on a show because I have nothing else to watch and it turns out to be a favourite. Totally Completely Fine has everything: Humour and wit, discussing important, sensitive topics in a very appropriate manner, and an incredibly real sibling relationship. The show gives a voice and empathy to the eldest siblings, the youngest and the middle child and I'm never getting over "you took all the air."

Please watch it because I want a second season.

Films

1. The Whale

Idk if this a controversial opinion or not but I found this film very moving. To me it's a story about healing and forgiveness being a possibilty for everyone. I really felt and cared for the main character.

2. El Camino

The Breaking Bad writers are just very good at their job. I love Jesse and I love this additional story to the universe.

3. Loving Vincent

The entire film was made by oil painting. How can I not include this? It's a beautiful film telling the story of Vincent Van Gogh's death. I encourage everyone to watch it.

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werewolffeelings · 3 months

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oooooh trippy dream sequence for the wip game?

Ty em!!!! 🥰

So this one is basically two entirely unconnected dream sequences that are vaguely nightmarish and mostly about their feelings about one another. one scene is from Ronan’s pov and one from Adam’s pov….. no idea where I’m going with it it just sort of Is….

Anyway so this part is an offshoot of that angsty fic of mine where ronan is drunk and adam comes over to check on him but like. Nightmare version lmao

Ronan’s room is dark and cold. Adam is hunched over his dresser, eyeing the textbook. It has a silver lock on it, like a little girl’s diary. Chainsaw has the key in her beak, and she hands it over to Adam before he asks.

Inside, Ronan knows, with the infinite knowledge of dreams, is a journal not unlike Gansey’s. But its subject is not Welsh kings and ley lines. The journal is packed to overflowing with Adam Parrish. Prose and poetry, pictures that come to life when you look at them, pretty songs that play as you turn the pages. There are sketches of his hands, his eyes, the wry twist of his mouth.

Stop, Ronan thinks, but he can’t move, and he can’t speak. He can only watch as Adam flips through page after page of obsession. Adam’s shoulders start to shake. Ronan wonders if he’s crying, but then he hears it. Laughter.

Acid fills the pit of Ronan’s stomach. He finally forces his lips to form the word, “Stop.”

Adam stops.

His head spins around on his neck, independently of his body. When he opens his mouth, black tar pours from it in a thick stream. It soaks his chin, his throat, the back of his shirt. It drips onto the floor.

Adam says, “Lynch,” venomous, like the word lynch, not like his name. Ronan closes his eyes. “Lynch. Look at me, Lynch.”

When Ronan does, Adam’s body spins around with a series of sickening cracks. He throws the journal across the room. Pages scatter all over the ground. While Ronan’s eyes are on it, Adam stalks toward him like a predator.

A hand, gentle and warm, caresses his cheek, and forces Ronan to look up.

Adam says, “You’re pathetic, do you know that?”

Ronan can smell the acrid stench of the slick black coating his teeth. His long legs straddle Ronan’s lap and he cradles Ronan’s face so carefully. “You can’t possibly think that I could ever want you.”

#tag meme #emmerrr #my writing

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mirageboy · 1 year

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15 questions | 15 people

answer the questions and then tag 15 people, tagged by @boymagnolia thank you shem mwah

1.) are you named after anyone?

you all already know it's adam parrish i've got nothing to say. also to quote the love of my life shem, adam from religion. but he was also moreso a fun afterthought

2.) when was the last time you cried?

uhhh i don't know? last time i like really cried was maybe a month ago? i really can't remember honestly

3.) do you have kids?

no <3

4.) do you use sarcasm a lot?

i am so sarcastic oops it is super very much a problem but. c'est la vie

5.) what is the first thing you notice about people?

whatever they're wearing! partly because i'm short and my eyes are about the torso height of most people

6.) what color are your eyes?

brown! hazel-y if you shine a very bright light directly into them. but also most people are not doing that so <3

7.) scary movies or happy endings?

this is such an interesting dichotomy i feel like they don't have to be mutually exclusive? but personally i like happy endings as long as they feel satisfying

8.) any special talents?

very good at the nyt mini crossword

9.) where were you born?

nation's capital babyyy

10.) what are your hobbies?

cooking, reading, listening to music, i love woodworking but it's been so long since i actually took a class and i don't do it very often, working out (ish), and also canoeing/kayaking/stuff with Boats!!

11.) do you have any pets?

yes!! little awful baby named ginger she's an irritable little cat and i love her immensely. even if she rips up all of my clothes :/

12.) what sports do you/have you played?

soccer when i was little because my parents signed me up for it i think? but after that, teeball and softball <3 i also did dance but its validity as a sport is debatable

13.) how tall are you?

5'2 😐

14.) favorite subjects in school?

physics??? actually??? also film and french. and also usually history but history of the americas is killing me slowly

15.) dream job?

sexy college professor

tagging @itsvs @snoppy @dreamertrilogys @boysaints @pinkmoon888 and anyone else who wants to do it <3

#this was so fun shem thank youuuu

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toast-the-unknowing · 2 years

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I wish you would write a fic in which Adam and Ronan had a bad breakup and to show him up, Adam starts flirting with Declan (maybe because he cant leave the city Ronan lives in for reasons) and unfortunately for everyone involved... he actually starts to like Declan. They just genuinely fit well together. Ronan didn't know he could feel this offended, Blue mostly thinks it's hilarious. :D

"There's just one problem."

"No." Blue pushes him out of the way and shuts the closet door before Adam has decide what outfit is the exact right amount of tastefully slutty. He never had to care about what he was wearing when he was dating Ronan. Another irritating aspect of being newly single. "No, nuh-uh, absolutely not, maybe I can't stop you but I'm not going to play along. There is not 'just one' problem with your plan to get back at your ex by flirting with his asshole brother. The entire thing is made of problems! It's problems all the way down!"

"You've been hanging out with Gansey, haven't you."

Blue crosses her arms, defense rather than denial. "Don't try to change the subject."

"Then go ahead and ask."

"Ask what?"

"Which of the infinitely regressing problems I'm concerned with."

"The fact that you're going through with this at all?" It is impressive how much acid she can cram into each word. But she didn't actually ask, so Adam doesn't answer.

"Fine," she gives up, because while she has her own ways of winning arguments with him, she can never manage to out-wait him. It's why he uses stalling tactics as much as possible, against her. "But this doesn't count as supporting your horrible decisions. What one problem are you not too blinded by spite to notice?"

"Ronan and Declan never hang out," Adam says. "I need Ronan to see me with Declan, that's the whole point. Do you think you could get Gansey to invite them both to something?"

"I'm not enabling you, Adam Parrish! Leave me out of your self-destructive heartbreak!"

Heartbreak isn't a word Adam has let himself think. He isn't broken. He's fine, and he'll be even better once he's paid back some of his not-heartbreak to Ronan.

But all he says to Blue, mild, is "I'd love to leave you out. You're the one who interrupted me while I was getting dressed," which makes her scowl and flounce out of the room. He opens the closet again. Green shirt, he decides.

fics I’m not writing meme

#not a fic #oops we all ship Declan/Adam now #sassydefendorflower

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ao3feed-pynch · 2 months

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#IFTTT #AO3 works tagged 'Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish'#pynch #TRC #spoilers

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imminences · 2 years

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CHAR POSTERS. ADAM PARRISH

where do you live? a place made for leaving. that's not really an answer. it's not really a place.

#litedit #yalitedit #trcedit #trc #the raven cycle #adam parrish #storyseekers #fantasysociety #usersimone #userishani #invention.#i.#report. the raven cycle #subject. adam parrish

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exy101 · 2 years

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i am forever thinking about the fact that adam parrish keeps his change in a cereal box under his bed

#constellations.#report. the birdverse #subject. adam parrish #[i am rereading trc]#[he is so precious to me]#[ok to interact]

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safe-inthe-5amlight · 2 years

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last week of my undergrad and feeling like adam parrish: overworked, sleep deprived and broke

#7 days left and then i’m done 😳#love doing a joint degree where the subjects have absolutely no relation to each other #this is what happens when u try to be quirky #trc #adam parrish

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andrea-lyn · 3 years

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The Recs (Less Travelled)

I’m excited to bring you the first installment of my ‘roads less travelled’ recs! I will be doing another round of this, probably once the Ted Lasso fic tag hits about 25 pages, and then I’ll also grab a couple more fandoms to collect in there!

The Rules:

Each fandom/pairing was sorted on Archive of Our Own by completed works. Anything recced here was not in the first ten pages when sorted by kudos at the time of reccing. There may be some more well-known authors on this list, but the specific fics I’ve picked are ones that didn’t crack that top ten or just didn’t get much traction and I think deserve it, so hopefully I have also balanced it out with other under the radar (and still great!) works. As ever, I have a pinned post of my other recs (none have been duplicated from there), so you can also check those out! Under the cut you’ll find 10 recs in each fandom for:

Raven Cycle

Roswell New Mexico

The Old Guard

Inception

Star Trek (mainly Kirk/McCoy)

The Raven Cycle

savor all the little pieces by littlelionvanz

“Since when do you garden?”

Ronan snorted, “Since I grew up on a fucking farm, genius. Jesus who gave you permission to pursue higher education.”

the old grip of the familiar by littleseal

"There is a single black feather and a printed out picture of Gansey, Blue and Cheng standing in front of some fucking monument Ronan didn’t care enough to remember the name of. Gansey sent it to Ronan’s phone some time ago, but it sat in his messages until Adam picked it up and grinned at it so hard that, one afternoon later, Ronan cursed and kicked and glared his old printer back to life in order to print it out.

Fuck, he thinks, I’m in love with a hoarder."

Adam collects things. Ronan is in love with him.

No Sweeter Innocence Than Our Gentle Sin by gansey_is_our_king

Ronan Lynch has wanted to kiss Adam Parrish for a long time.

(alternately titled: four times that Ronan could have kissed Adam)

Cheers to Another Seven Years! by skyermirth

Adam left Henrietta for Harvard and never returned. Now, seven years has passed, and an unexpected work assignment has brought him back to a place and people he hardly recognizes.

Row, row, row your boat by emmerrr

“What. Why are you smiling at me,” he says suspiciously.

Adam shrugs. “You’re cute.”

“I’m not cute, I’m terrifying.”

“Terrifyingly cute,” Adam says.

and now the world is ours to take / and every single move is ours to make by thatlittleblackcat

"Adam was the scientist, Ronan was the data, and Orphan Girl was the key that explained the strange outliers that Ronan presented, his previously unexplainable actions."

Adam sorts out his feelings, Ronan helps him, Gansey is the number one dad friend, Blue is the number one mom friend and Henry tries to make Ronan smile. Otherwise known as the story of how Orphan Girl became Opal.

All These Things You Make Me Feel by SilverOpals394

It was late. Adam could feel the long day catching up to him as he left Boyd’s, all his energy exhausted. When he started his car, the tape deck whirred to life once more. He sighed and raised his hand to turn it off, but before he did a soft melody began to play.

AU in which the mixtape Ronan made for Adam only plays the murder squash song until Adam realizes he's in love with Ronan, too.

Ways to Communicate by Jalules

Blue Sargent reflects on an early memory (and gets busy with her boyfriends.)

(The two things are related, trust me.)

Hold Me Closer, I'm Safe in Your Arms by actuallyronanlynch

“You wanna tell me why I had to hear from Henry Cheng that my boyfriend was at the hospital?” Adam hissed, though his voice wasn’t as acidic as it could’ve been. Ronan took small victories where he could.

“You don’t have a cellphone,” Ronan pointed out flatly. “It’s not like I could’ve gotten a hold of you.”

arts and crafts and the inevitability of death by sunshineinthestorm

Adam comes to the public library in search of a study spot, not a boyfriend.

But it must be his lucky day—because he ends up with a bit of both.

Roswell New Mexico

a conversation between insignificant others by Bellakitse

“Hey…have you noticed that our boyfriends are madly in love with each other?"

“You noticed that too, huh,” she answers dryly, letting out a huff of reluctant amusement.

***

Forrest and Maria share a drink and a conversation and start a friendship.

Own Personal Hell by BeStillMySlashyHeart

Now that Isobel's getting the hang of her telekinesis, Michael decides to test out his telepathic abilities. It backfires. Badly. Now Michael's trapped inside his own mind and only one person can break him out.

Drop the Hammer by brightloveee

Max makes a new friend at the shooting range, who turns out to be even more bad-ass than he expected.

(Takes place mid-S1)

Boys Like You by forgadgetsandgizmos

Curly, dirty blond hair (the mere description ‘curly’ felt like an injustice) twisted in every direction off his head, a sharp contrast with the scruff darkening his strong jawline and scowl-ridden face.

Alex made a mental note to compliment Maria on her excellent taste in men.

—

Or, Alex has coffee with Maria's one-night stand, a man who he definitely does not have a crush on.

let's exchange the experience by lostin_space

Michael decides they need to quarantine.

Michael floods Alex with love and care over and over and over.

This Is Hardcore by Anonymous

Michael makes a proposal. Alex accepts. Michael wonders what the hell he’s gotten himself into.

i don't know what to think (but i think of supernovas) by Milzilla

michael discovers that the console can talk. then, he discovers it can do far more than that.

iridescence on skin by Lire_Casander

In a world where (almost) everyone has a tattoo on their right wrist with one set of coordinates that point to the place where their soulmate is born, Alex thought he wouldn't be any different. He couldn't be more mistaken.

He has two.

The Real Thing by elliebird

Max checks on Michael the morning after Michael saves Max’s ass from Wyatt Long and his dumbass buddies. He sees more than he’s supposed to.

Written for a Tumblr anon who one of their friends walking in on them or anyone of them finding out about Michael and Alex in an interesting way

Sundering by romancandles

“You know it was just an Air Force balloon, right?” says Alex.

Michael smirks. “That’s what they want you to think,” he says, with a wink.

The Old Guard

Peer Reviewed by ishandahalf

[From:] Journal of Medieval Studies ([email protected])

[Subject:] Ad-hoc note from the editor

I have noticed an uncommon level of animosity in your responses to your reviewers (or rather, one reviewer in particular). I am writing to ask if you would please do your best to keep your interactions civil. In fairness, I have also sent a similar request to the reviewer you seem to have this friction with. I trust you will both try and remain more professional in the future.

Again, thank you for submitting your work to this journal.

Sincerely,

James Copley, PhD

Editor-in-Chief

Journal of Medieval Studies

An (accidental) academic epistolary romance as (inadvertently) documented via a (theoretically) rigorously blinded peer review process.[citation needed]

third for a word and the song keeps going Macremae

It was honestly shaping up to be a pretty uneventful year before the Vatican got on Nicky’s bad side.

Or: three times in 2008 that the team genuinely thought about killing Nicky if only to get him to shut up about the changes to the Catholic English Mass and his unrelenting opinions on them, and one time Nile did.

Apex Predators In Island Ecosystems (Freeman et al., in press) by Sixthlight

Palaeobotany PhD student Nile Freeman and her supervisor Joe al-Kaysani are invited to billionaire Stephen Merrick’s new project – a theme park full of cloned dinosaurs. What could possibly go wrong?

This Rough Magic by Marivan

When Joe came to Scotland to study the sea, he did not expect to also encounter a beautiful man claiming that A. he’s a selkie and B. they’re married because Joe picked up his scarf.

It sounds like a fairy tale and that’s a problem. Because Joe’s a scientist. And selkies don’t exist.

Wars for the broken by Yuliares

Five years into his exile, Booker is joined by a companion he never expected to meet. Together, they try to work on healing.

Sometimes they go down to the sewers just so she can scream and scream. “I like to hear it echo,” she explains. “Underwater, you can’t hear anything. Here, at least I can be heard.”

“I don’t feel like a warrior anymore,” she tells him, throwing bread crumbs at pigeons. “I feel broken.”

“You’re still a warrior,” he says roughly. “This is still fighting.”

a good (eighth) impression by deanniker

Over the next few months, Joe runs into Nicky every so often at the farmer’s market. Some weekends Nicky doesn’t make it, because of his work schedule - Joe doesn’t understand it because he doesn’t ask, though he does start to recognize when one of those missing weekends is coming up because Nicky will stock up on things with longer shelf-life. When they do run into each other, they make small talk and move through the stalls together.

Joe doesn’t mention it to Lykon when he stops by, because it is kind of weird, that Lykon’s ex-boyfriend texts Joe things like - If you’re here, the apples look particularly good this week and thank you for that recipe, I did not know what I was going to do with that much couscous

Or,

Joe wouldn't usually consider starting anything with his best friend's ex, but as long as they keep it casual, it shouldn't be weird... right?

get back to where you once belonged by tenderjock

Nile takes a sip of her cappuccino and closes her eyes.

(Booker and Nile get that coffee. Life happens, along the way.)

a house; a home by mehm

“Is this a kidnapping?” Joe asks as Nicky checks both their seat belts. “Like, I don’t mind. It’s just not quite what I expected for my birthday.”

In which Joe gets a birthday surprise, because that’s the stuff you have time for when you and the love of your life become mortal at the same time.

the ties that bind by damaskrose

“There’s a story I heard many times,” Andy begins, “in the Mediterranean. Threads of fate and three sisters. One to spin, one to measure, and one to cut.”

Clutter And Croutons by flawedamythyst

Joe and Nicky have an argument, and then Nicky talks to Nile about what it really means to be in a relationship for 900 years.

Inception

My Big Fat Slightly Annoying Wedding by jibrailis

Arthur and Eames elope for ~tax reasons. Certain people in their lives are not happy at the lack of a wedding.

Remember Sydney by pathera

When Eames shambles into the safe house outside of London, he finds a red light blinking on the phone.

For the inception_kink prompt:

Arthur is on a plane which is about to crash. No way anyone is going to survive. Instead of panicking he calmly calls the team's office and gets the answering machine. He hangs up before the plane crashes.

Give me Arthur's last message to the team.

(TW: Character Death / Angst)

Of Such Deceitfulness and Suavity by delires

In which emotions manifest themselves in unusual ways.

YO, K2tog (it's like a code) by lazulisong

“Oh my God,” moans Arthur. “I’ve paid less for Somnacin. Good Somnacin.” A horrible thought strikes him. “How much is the yarn --”

“I want you to have an unguarded reaction,” Eames tells him, and pulls him up from the floor.

(They run an extraction on a knitter.)

hit the ground running by orphan_account

"I travelled halfway around the world for you. I dealt with the French for you."

Valley by wldnst

It's an old story: a knight, a prince, a kingdom in peril.

If This Is Rain Let It Fall On Me and Drown Me by Brangwen

We used to be so brave, Eames thought. Of the two of them, Arthur had always been the more fearless.

a gentle familiarity by jollypuppet

Two weeks later, Eames is on his doorstep with bad Italian takeout and a grin, and Arthur tells him he can sleep on the couch.

Your Crisis Cannot Be Completed As Dialed by sevenimpossiblethings

Arthur doesn't do snow, Ariadne is determined to be as Midwestern as possible, and blizzards make cell phone service unreliable.

Let’s Say I Do (I Do) by xsilverdreamsx

There were, perhaps some things worse that this, Arthur thinks, as he glares at the letter in his hand with his name printed clearly in bold ink, indicating his presence in two weeks for his esteemed marriage to one William H. Eames, III, at St. Catherine's Church in London, England.

Star Trek (predominantly Kirk/McCoy)

Show the World That Something Good Can Work by knune

Leonard McCoy is a doctor, not a personal assistant, and maybe that's why he can't stand working for Jim Kirk.

It's in the little things by winterover

Bones is bemused by a persistent secret admirer.

"Wedding" Away with It by pendrogon

One morning, Bones wakes up and he's single. By the same afternoon, he's married to Jim Kirk for Arbitrary Fic Reasons(TM).

How Long Will You Stay (For Your Whole Life) by withthepilot

Jim Kirk, deputy director of the Enterprise parks and recreation department, sees all of his hard work fall to pieces when budget specialist Leonard McCoy arrives from the state capital to cut Jim's budget and threaten the livelihoods of his colleagues. But thanks to a major parks project, Leonard finds a place in the department, as well as in Jim's life—and when all is said and done, Jim doesn't want him to leave.

All-Time Favorite by mardia

What to do when your best friend suddenly starts making new friends.

Joy Ride by Cards_Slash

While running for their lives from an alien species Kirk had accidentally enraged, they come across a car. And well, if you were to come across a car while being chased by aliens that wanted you dead, and you possessed some lingering knowledge of how to drive a car similar to said car, you would have decided to drive it toward the nearest cliff too.

Also a gunfight.

Syncytia by epistolic

He’d signed up for Starfleet on an impulse, but Starfleet meant James Tiberius Kirk: the first – and second, and third, and fourth – big mistake of Leonard McCoy’s life.

Renovation by canistakahari

Jim has a whammy put on him by an alien death ray and he suddenly craves domesticity. He's crazy with longing to shop at space!Ikea and get potted bamboo and he starts looking into adopting AND HE HATES HIMSELF AND CANNOT CONTROL THE SHIT. Luckily, McCoy is drunk all the time and plays house.

17:08 by butterflycell

She'd watched the news holos with a sick feeling, searching for information that was completely obvious in its absence. Amidst the reports of the the Enterprise's miraculous recovery and the damages sustained, there had been next to nothing about the crew or her captain. Jim had been mentioned only in passing, his name shied away from as his first officer limited interaction to the bare essentials.

The Honey of Hybla by shrift

"Bones, prepare to be my date."

#recs #fic recs #recs project #star trek recs #inception recs #the raven cycle recs #the old guard recs #roswell new mexico recs

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hklnvgl · 3 years

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but for their voices

(for the first week of the Mister Impossible Countdown by @pynchpromptweek : Adam’s College Experience! tw: past child abuse)

1/4 | ao3

“So are you deaf or something?”

Everything was supposed to change once Adam got to college. He’d spent hours and hours planning how it all would be, while waiting for the sleep that wouldn’t come because his ribs or his jaw or his lower back or his left ear were hurting.

The first step was making friends. Adam knew the best way to start was with his roommate, and he’d also joined a few study groups so that he had more options to fall back to if some didn’t work out.

Then, of course, once he got a bit more settled in his new routine, he wanted to go out there and date people.

That would take some time, presumably, but that was okay because once he started he’d surely stop feeling so inadequate and out of place. He’d learn how true Harvard people spoke and walked and dressed and he’d become one of them in no time. He’d stop being so weird. He’d stop losing time.

That was the plan. Adam was normally so good at planning. He’d taken all the necessary little steps—he’d found himself a job at the library to have some extra money for things like new shoes and haircuts and bowling trips. He’d tried extra hard to appear friendly and approachable on the first days of class, so that when they got group projects assigned he wouldn’t be the odd one out incapable of finding himself a group. He hadn’t told anyone he couldn’t hear out of his left ear, because that could lead to more questions that would definitely collide with him not being weird anymore.

But nothing had actually changed after Adam had moved out, had it? He could get himself to a different state but he would always carry some things with him.

It had taken Ronan ninety minutes to notice.

Adam tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t bring him back to the dirt and pain he’d worked so hard to leave behind.

His soda glass was starting to sweat onto the wooden table.

“Only on my left ear,” he said, tasting bile on the tip of his tongue. “Had an infection when I was a kid, it’s no big deal,” he rushed, before Ronan had time to ask about it.

It wasn’t the first lie he’d told since arriving at Harvard. Those were not part of the original plan, but it turns out people start getting curious once you let them get to know you.

And Adam wanted so very much for people to know him. Just not what had happened to him—only Adam. Adam Parrish, Harvard student, with a brilliant future ahead of him.

“How’d you know?” Adam asked, even though what he most wished at that moment was for Ronan to drop the subject, for them to go back to talking about the plants Ronan was growing in his greenhouse back home or that one subject Adam coincidentally shared with Dick Gansey who coincidentally was Ronan’s best friend. But he had to know. He needed to know, in case there was something he could change about himself that would prevent other people from also noticing in the future.

“Uh? Oh, well, my little brother has this friend who’s hard of hearing and you just reminded me of her a bit.” Ronan grinned. “It was either that or you kept looking at my lips for some other reason.”

Adam, who had indeed been staring at Ronan’s soft-looking lips, shot his eyes up.

“What some other reason—” Adam began, promptly shutting his mouth when Ronan’s smiling eyes made him realize what he was hinting at.

Gansey saved him from embarrassing himself any further.

“Ronan, I’m so glad you’ve already met Adam. He’s brilliant, you know?” Adam didn’t know how Gansey could have possibly reached that conclusion from the two-hour class they shared and the three times they’d met at study group.

“Yes, Dick, you’ve fucking told me,” Ronan sighed. “He’s obsessed with you, man,” he said to Adam. “You should look into getting a restraining order or some shit.”

Adam, who already had one restraining order in place, looked down at his glass. He suddenly felt like, if he allowed Ronan to study him for a minute longer, Ronan would be able to put the pieces together for that too. He didn’t think he’d be able to deal with that.

He also didn’t know how to deal with knowing that Gansey spoke about him to his friends.

Perhaps his whole problem was that he didn’t know what a friend really was.

Gansey and Ronan kept talking, but Adam didn’t feel like putting in the effort to keep up.

“I should go,” he said, standing up. “Early morning tomorrow,” he lied to Ronan’s raised eyebrows.

“Oh, right. Well, always a pleasure,” Gansey said, extending a hand that Adam only realized a beat too late that he was meant to be shaking.

“You’ll tell the others I’m off, right?” Adam asked, because the sole idea of browsing the pub in search of the rest of the group to be subjected to a questioning on why he was leaving so early made his legs feel weak and his heart beat too fast.

He didn’t stay to catch Gansey’s response.

He didn’t say goodbye to Ronan.

The cold air that greeted him outside didn’t help him regain his balance—he felt a bit dizzy and overwhelmed, but his dorm wasn’t too far and it wasn’t bad enough to justify spending money on a taxi.

Adam’s phone beeped when he was exhaustedly crawling into his bed. It wasn’t likely to be a class email at this hour, but he checked anyway.

Hey it’s Ronan. Gansey gave me your number

Adam was still trying to coax his drained brain to process the words when a second text came in.

I had fun tonight

Adam took a shaky breath as he adjusted his pillow. This was possibly the first time he’d ever gotten a text that wasn’t over homework.

Me too, he sent. He hesitated before adding a smiling face.

I’m leaving town first thing tomorrow, Ronan said.

Adam knew he should say something back, but he didn’t know what would be appropriate. I’m sorry? Nice to have met you? Sorry I left so abruptly for no reason and now you must think I’m weird?

Back to the farm?, he finally wrote, remembering Ronan had said he cared for his family’s cattle for a living.

Yeah. But I’ll come up again soon so that Gansey doesn’t get clingy

Adam didn’t have time to think of an answer to that that made him sound clever or flirty or was more eloquent than a simple ok before Ronan swiftly added: So I was thinking we could meet? At a quieter place?

Adam’s cheeks burned in the dark room. His thumb hovered over the keyboard.

Sure, he wrote, because there was less risk of embarrassing himself if he only sent one word at a time.

Cool. I’ll text you. I’ll bring my lips too

Ok. Cool. Me too.

(next chapter)

#pynch #adam parrish #ronan lynch #pynch fic #the raven cycle #trc #fic #mister impossible #cdth #tdt #cw child abuse #d #but for their voices

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pynches · 3 years

Text

through the years we will be together (if the fates allow)

a/n this is a gift for @mletart for @pynchpromptweek Secret Santa! I hope you like it! summary: The Lynch brothers do Christmas caroling together to uphold the brotherly bond after their parents passed away. It so happens to be that Adam lives at the church they frequent at. The Myth of the Brothers Lynch become a reality when Adam finally meets the middle one.

word count: 2571

ao3 Adam had never seen them, he had tried many times to catch as much as a glimpse but his job at Boyd’s lined up with the mass times and he was always a little too late. Once, he thought he saw the edge of a BMW turn around the corner but he had waved that off. “Good boys” as the attendees had said, didn’t drive cars that were shark-nosed, all edges and brute force.

“They sing like angels,” one old lady told Adam. She attended church often, burning a candle sometimes. Adam wondered who she had lost, if she was the only one left standing. He almost wanted to ask if the angel metaphor was blasphemy but he held it in at the last moment and politely listened instead, the key to his apartment still in hand. “Especially the middle one.”

“Ronan,” Adam said helpfully, nodding his head in recognition. He had been so mystified by the brothers that he had absorbed every bit of information about them like a sponge, trying to piece everything together and create clear images of them.

He never quite succeeded.

“You must come to mass,” the lady said, her watery eyes looking up at Adam hopefully and Adam had politely declined though it cost him great hardship to do so.

“I’m not religious,” Adam said apologetically and stayed to listen to the lady’s story about the grandson she never really saw because he went to study abroad before Adam finally went up the stairs and let himself into his apartment.

The Brother’s Lynch, now a tangible subject in his mind, took residency in his thoughts for the remainder of the day, the week, until it was Sunday again and Adam was home for once.

Boyd had called Adam to him a few days before, telling him that he had to take some vacation days or he would breach the contract he had signed the year before. It so happened that one of those vacation days was that Sunday, since it wouldn’t be too busy at the shop that day anyway.

And thus, Adam was at the window on Sunday, peering through the slightly cracked glass to try and catch the eye of the brothers.

He watched as the shark-nosed BMW appeared again, followed by a much more boring car, parking next to the BMW. The first guy that got out was one that looked like he was the poster child for bad behaviour. Shaved head, tattoos that curled up from his shoulders and around his neck, peeking just above the black suit he was wearing, the tie artfully undone.

Next came another guy out of the more boring car, a displeased frown already set in his eyebrows. He wore a gray suit, everything perfectly in place. Adam wondered if the perfection was compensating for something.

Then, the last guy, which Adam expected was Ronan, the one with the nice voice, the “very kind boy” as one of the old ladies had whispered to him. Golden curls, a sweet smile on his face, an excited jump in his step as he entered the church.

Adam didn’t go down but he snuck out of his apartment and sat on the stairs, hoping to catch one of their voices. He wanted to learn the magic behind the sound, understand why everyone, including him, had been mesmerised by the brothers.

He didn’t hear a single one stand out, all of them combining too much to notice the ‘angelic’ ones the woman had told him about. Adam wished he still had his other ear in use, thinking that perhaps he would be blessed with the heavenly voices of the brothers if his father hadn’t beaten the hearing out of it.

Disappointedly, he stood again and moved upstairs to his little apartment, sitting down to study as he had done a hundred nights before and would continue to do so until the very end.

It wasn’t a half-hour later when he heard a single voice, moving below in the heart of the church, the voice echoing off the wall. Adam quietly tiptoed down and peeked around the corner. He was too entranced by the voice at first to notice the person singing. The musical notes and the quiet timber of it made Adam wonder if the church was built for the sound instead of God. But then he saw the figure and his heart momentarily stopped.

Shaved head, eyes sunken into his head, was he sleeping enough? Perhaps he was an insomniac as Adam was as well, by choice or not was the question. The suit jacket had been shrugged off and laid over one of the benches. His dress shirt had been rolled up his arms, exposing the boy’s pale forearms, scarred and vulnerable looking. Adam could distinctively see two hooks etched into the sides of his neck, the black ink a stark contrast against the whiteness of his skin.

This must be the youngest one Adam thought. He wanted to go up, introduce himself but he was too scared to. The boy was not only taller than him but significantly stronger too. Adam didn’t exactly feel fear but he didn’t want to take any chances either.

He barely noticed the singing had stopped before the boy was in front of him and Adam’s heart stilled in his chest. “Who the fuck are you?” Adam was asked who immediately went into defensive mode.

“I live here,” Adam said with an annoyed pull of his lips. He wondered why the ladies had said they were ‘good boys’. This one seemed anything but.

The boy’s mouth opened and closed, the spell on his hardened eyes momentarily broken and he looked so much younger immediately. “Oh, I didn’t know.”

Adam swallowed and nodded before his everlasting need for approval reared its ugly head. “Adam Parrish,” he said, knowing how ridiculous his name sounded in a church of all things. The boy, Matthew, Adam presumed, seemed to realise as well and smirked a little. Adam wished he didn’t find it as attractive as he did.

“Ronan Lynch,” the boy replied and…

Oh.

“You’re not Matthew?” Adam asked and he immediately realised how stupid he sounded. He also realised his hand was still in Ronan’s, pleasantly warm under his soft skin.

“That would be my baby brother,” Ronan answered and cocked his head. Adam didn’t dare to tell him that it made him look like a confused puppy. “Why would you think I was Matthew?”

And here Adam was, standing in front of the most dangerous-looking boy with the most beautiful voice he had ever heard, tongue-tied and all. “The ladies who come here told me Ronan was the nicest of the brothers and well…”

“Matthew looks like a golden retriever personified,” Ronan helpfully added. “We’re all aware.”

Adam bit his lip and finally released Ronan’s hand. It took him everything to not immediately start running. He would have if he didn’t also want to tell Ronan how nice his voice was and, more importantly, leave a good impression for whatever reason that might be.

“Your voice…” Adam started and cleared his throat. “It’s really nice.”

He walked away after that, hating himself for coming up with ‘nice’ of all things. As if that wasn’t the lamest thing he could have said to the hottest person he had ever met in his short and sheltered life. You didn’t often find people like him in little Henrietta, Virginia and Adam blew it completely.

Adam could hear the soft laughter of Ronan echo against the walls again, following him up into his room. It was a quiet and surprising thing, fleeting like the birds’ wings on Ronan’s neck.

Adam dreamt about Ronan that night. Perhaps he truly wasn’t real but just a myth his mind had helpfully added a face to. But it couldn’t be, Ronan’s hand had felt so real in his own, warm and soft, the comforting touch of a mystical stranger.

Adam looked out the next day but Ronan was gone. It wasn’t a surprise, he didn’t think people that drove such cars actually slept in churches but he still felt a deep sense of disappointment that nobody was waiting for him downstairs, singing a beautiful song in greeting.

Adam got back to work the next Sunday and though he rushed back to catch a glimpse of the brothers, or, well, Ronan, it was to no avail. They were gone, carrying their voices with them.

The days flew by, the weather got worse. Adam was cold more often than not and in those freezing days where he could only pace up and down his small apartment to gain some warmth, he remembered the touch of Ronan’s hands, their palms pressed together, Ronan’s finger lightly touching his racing pulse.

“They have a habit of Christmas caroling,” one of the ladies, Dorothy, apparently, had told him with a wink as if she knew Adam had been looking out for them. “They do it every year, it keeps the brotherly bond alive.”

Adam thought Christmas caroling only happened in cheesy Christmas movies but he had thanked her and kept Dorothy’s words to heart. He made sure to finish all of his homework before sitting down on his bed on Christmas eve, eyeing the door with nervous anticipation. He belatedly thought of the possibility they would only carol at the door of the church, not of his apartment. Still, he held the hope that Ronan would remember their conversation and attempt to sing for him.

Though Adam had hope, he didn’t actually expect a knock on his door. He turned the doorknob with a shaky hand, his stomach fluttering with nerves.

Before him stood three brothers.

Declan, his expression stoic, his suit black this time with a tie that looked as if it was made by someone artistic, snowflakes and Christmas trees decorating the red and green background. The tie greatly contrasted what Adam had thought was his personality. Maybe he wasn’t as boring as he portrayed himself to be.

Matthew, all golden curls and happy smiles as he sang, his head bobbing a little with every note, his eyes squinted to feel the music more. He was as he seemed, cheerfulness evident in every word he sang.

And then there was Ronan. He was dressed in all black, not quite right for Christmas eve but it fit him, Adam could tell even though he didn’t truly know him. The scar on his lip pulled a little when he sang, the sole focus point of Adam’s sight until he suddenly remembered he had been staring at Ronan’s lips with fascination and looked up again. His eyes met Ronan’s pale blue ones. It reminded him of the ice he always wished he could skate on but never could afford.

Ronan smiled while he sang, he could tell from the crinkles around his eyes. Adam couldn’t help but smile back and applaud a little when they were done.

“You deserve every praise you get,” Adam told the brothers. Declan nodded in appreciation and squeezed Ronan’s shoulder.

“He really is nice,” he said, smirking a little as Ronan’s cheeks turned red, his expression affronted that his brother dared to expose him like that. “Ronan forced us to sing for you.”

This time it was Adam’s time to blush, unable to meet Ronan’s eyes so they fell on Matthew instead who looked ecstatic. “I think you’ll make a lovely brother in law.”

“Matthew!” Ronan yelled and Matthew laughed as he dragged Declan down to ‘give them some privacy’.

Adam finally looked up to Ronan again and tugged a little on the sleeve of his suit jacket so he met his eyes again. “I’m glad you came here.”

“You are?” Ronan asked, sounding as if he expected Adam to slam his door in his face. Adam could sense the hope in Ronan’s eyes and, hell, it was Christmas Eve . This was the night for miracles and taking chances, for spending time with loved ones that Adam didn’t have but if he played it right, he could have exactly that next Christmas.

Adam thus nodded and ran inside to get a pen, writing his phone number on the palm of Ronan’s hand, the light blue almost the colour of the veins that ran underneath his skin. “I want to get to know you better, maybe you become less of a myth in my head.”

Ronan’s laugh sounded like bells and Adam couldn’t help but grin back, strangely proud that he made the boy with the wonderful voice laugh like that.

“I don’t use my phone a lot,” Ronan confessed but protectively curled his fingers around the phone number anyway and Adam knew he was going to call him.

“See it as a Christmas present to me,” Adam replied and Ronan’s lips pulled in a smirk, leaning closer to him as he spoke his next words.

“And what is my present then?”

Adam rolled his eyes, somewhere between exasperated and amused, knowing that he would be walking that fine line more often with Ronan. “A date?”

Ronan’s cheeks flushed a little again and he nodded. Adam cheered inwardly. “Deal,” he replied as if they were in some kind of business meeting. He briefly frowned, having realised that himself too.

Adam wanted to tease that he was more like his brother than he was probably willing to admit but he kept his mouth shut to ensure he would still go on that date.

“Deal,” he replied softly instead and watched as Ronan finally turned to leave, looking back one last time at him before going back into the cold. Adam watched Ronan push Declan and ruffle Matthew’s hair before getting into the shark-nosed BMW and driving off, the pristine snow still lingering to its exterior.

The myth of the Lynch Brothers didn’t end there but next Christmas, Adam was in on it too. He didn’t carol, it was something for the brothers alone. Instead, he comfortably sat on the worn couch of the Barns, sipping hot chocolate with Chainsaw, Ronan’s raven, her beak comfortably pressed into his neck, waiting for the brothers to return.

With them, the Lynches brought warmth and joy, a liveliness that Adam had missed in those years alone. It wasn’t before long that they came barrelling through the door, Ronan curling up next to him, one arm around the back of his shoulders as they retold where they had been caroling, how the old ladies of the church wished Adam a happy Christmas.

And Adam did have a happy Christmas, more so than he ever experienced before. He was surrounded by people he cared for more than anything and finally understood what the true Christmas spirit was about. Love, joy, and most importantly, spending time with your family, be it born or found.

#pynch #pynch fic #pynch fanfic #pynch fanfiction #trc #the raven cycle #trc fanfic #the raven cycle fanfiction #adam parrish #ronan lynch #pynchpromptweek #declan lynch #matthew lynch #mine

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aaronstveit · 3 years

Note

do you have any favorite pynch fics?

oooh anon you know i do!!! here are my top recs:

parallelism and other universal constants by rosycheeked — rated t, 5.6k In another world, Gansey and Blue fall in love a little bit like this. But in this one, fate twists and it’s Adam and Ronan instead, like it was meant to be. In other worlds they will fall in love still, just not as quickly. In this one they have places to be. In this one they find each other first. Or: a story about orange juice, falling in love, and other things that are louder in the dark.

cold sheets, but where’s my love? by firstpynch — rated g, 5.1k He blinks at the rectangle of fluorescent light, closing his eyes and willing every ounce of residual magic left in his body to do something, to make a text appear, anything to indicate that Ronan is okay. When he opens his eyes, he just sees this: alter idem, marked unread. Adam Parrish would wield the very powers of the earth to bring his boyfriend back to him, safe and sound.

wrong number, right guy by vitale — unrated (no explicit content though), 47k (02:50) how did you know i would be up (02:50) I didn’t. (02:51) Figured you would see it when you got up. (02:51) congrats you just found out about my chronic insomnia (02:51) if you need a distraction at 3am i’m your guy (02:52) I’ll keep that in mind.

meet the family by hokay — rated g, 1.2k “May I just say, sir,” Declan says smoothly, swiftly unbuttoning his cuffs and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. His eyes focus on his task until he’s finished and then those cold blue eyes zero in on Robert Parrish once more. “On behalf of the Lynch family,” he steps into Robert’s space, matching him inch for inch, “fuck you.”

ghost light. by tobeconvincedoflove — rated g, 27k ghost light. noun. an electric light that is left on the stage of a theater when the theater is unoccupied and would otherwise be completely dark. Adam Parrish tried as hard as he could to forget everything about Henrietta. Then he meets Ronan again.

that perilous stuff (that weighs upon the heart) by jessjessthebest — rated t, 15.6k “Uh, Mr. Parrish? You’d like to read for Lady Macbeth?” Adam felt his eye twitch, even while he nodded. It was true that even at an all boy’s school where boys would have had to read the female parts, Adam probably wouldn’t have normally volunteered to read Lady Macbeth. But Ronan had called him a nerd. So he was prepared to be the biggest nerd Ronan had seen. “I know what I’m about, ma’am.” Or Ronan and Adam volunteer to read for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in class. Shenanigans ensue.

while we’re on the subject, could we change the subject now by shinealightonme — rated t, 24k Adam's coworker is worried about his love life. Adam is more worried about his neighbor burning down his apartment.

should’ve left my phone at home (’cause this is a disaster) by shinealightonme — rated t, 4.5k Most of the interesting customers that Adam meets are terrible interesting rather than fun interesting. The hot guy who can't keep a cell phone alive might be both.

it’s not confidential, i’ve got potential by shinealightonme — rated t, 2.7k He can barely do small talk when it makes sense, and this does not make sense.

organ noise by magicforestboy — rated t, 2.6k More and more often, Ronan has been sleeping on the floor in Adam's little apartment. And as annoying as that can be, tonight the lack of Ronan's breathing and shuffling around is even more infuriating. So that's how Adam comes to be sitting in a church pew, thinking about a dreamer and unable to dream himself.

i’m grabbing at a feeling now by andtimestoodstill — rated t, 12.8k Ronan watched Adam listen, his eyes slipping closed for a few moments. He knew that Adam did that to better hear the lyrics, his brain trying to block out any extraneous stimuli as he processed the words. He took this time to look his fill, trying to commit the constellations of freckles across Adam’s nose to memory. Adam opened his eyes, turning to Ronan to already find Ronan looking back. As much as he tried, Ronan was not good about being sneaky with is glances. At this point, he had been caught so many times, that he didn’t even really try to hide it anymore. Adam said something, his lips looking like they had formed Ronan’s name. Ronan had dreamed of Adam saying his name so often, that he was sure he could read that one word from Adam’s lips. (In which Ronan Lynch desperately wished he was dating Adam Parrish, not realizing that that he was already dating Adam Parrish)

petitions solve everything by kiiouex — rated g, 3.2k Gansey and Henry Cheng fiercely crusade for Ronan and Adam's rights. Ronan and Adam rather wish they wouldn't.

a latte by any other name by dubioussparrow — rated t, 1.7k He was finishing a chapter when the bell tinkled over the door and Declan’s Hot BrotherTM walked in. Adam had started calling him that in his head because, while he didn’t know his name, he had heard numerous one-sided cell phone arguments with someone named Declan, and had pieced together their relationship. Adam straightened up, turning down the corner of a page to mark his spot, and gave DHB his best smile, which he did not expect to be reciprocated. His expectations were met.

#thank you!!!!!#fic rec #anonymous #ask #answered #love letters only💛

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happyandticklish · 3 years

Text

Smile, Parrish

Notes: Based off the anon suggestion for Noah & Adam tickles, because the prompt was too cute not to write.

Summary: Adam is working himself too hard yet again, and Noah decides to give him something else to focus on.

“What are you doing?”

Noah’s voice, spoken softly and suddenly over his shoulder, startled Adam out of his earlier intense concentration. Having been dead for several years now, the former had the eerie quality of near silent footsteps that made it too easy to sneak up on others. Adam glanced down at the mess of papers in front of him, math homework he had been putting off for a while now, what with the sudden increase in Gansey’s quest for Glendower. Now though he only had tonight to finish it and he had been staring at the same problem for almost an hour by that point. Adam sighed, running a hand through his hair and tugging at it a bit too harshly, frustration catching up with him.

“Nothing. Homework.”

“Homework?” Noah repeated, peering over his shoulder. With his face so close, Adam could feel his breath on the back of his neck and he instinctively drew his shoulders up. “Maybe I could help?”

“No,” Adam said too hastily, then repeated in a calmer tone, “I mean, no, no thank you. I got it. I just need to finish this last problem and then I’ll be done.”

Noah wrinkled his brow. “It looks like you’ve only done one problem, thus far.”

Adam glared down at the worksheet, hating the truth of that statement. It was late and his brain wasn’t working. He was supposed to be staying the night with Ronan but instead he was sitting here doing homework while the other lay passed out on the couch, after falling asleep waiting for him. Gansey, the other resident of Monmouth Manufacturing, was experiencing one of those rare nights where the insomnia waned and allowed him to finally get some rest; Adam had considered waking him up earlier, as Gansey was much better at the subject than him, but the other needed sleep and Adam could get by without him, if needed.

Noah didn’t sleep, and thus was the only one awake to witness Adam’s outburst of exhausted annoyance. Noah took in the look on Adam’s face, the dark circles under his eyes, the sweat sprouting on his forehead from concentrating too hard, the clench of his fingers around his pencil. “You seem exhausted.”

“I’m not,” Adam snapped, trying to ignore how every time Noah spoke that close to his neck it sent goosebumps prickling across his skin. “I’ll be fine, Noah. Just go to bed, or go do… I don’t know, whatever the fuck you do at night.”

Noah frowned. “You don’t have to be rude about it.”

“Look, I’m sorry okay, I wasn’t trying to—can you stop breathing on my neck, please?” he huffed at last, his shoulders nearly parallel to his chin by now. “It tickles.”

Noah’s eyes widened as though he had been unaware of his actions, and he stepped back a bit. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to.” As he watched Adam lower his shoulders, rubbing the back of his neck, an idea occurred to him. Possibly, this could go very wrong. Possibly it would be just the thing Adam needed. Noah was willing to risk it regardless.

Adam had returned to his work by now, either assuming that Noah had left already or would soon leave. With that creeping silence that made others around him nervous, Noah managed to move behind Adam. He reached out hesitantly with one hand and wiggled gentle fingers against the back of the other’s neck.

The reaction was instantaneous. A yelp, followed by Adam’s head slamming backwards in an attempt to trap Noah’s hand. “Shit! Ah, Noah, that tihickles!”

“I know,” Noah agreed simply, moving closer and using his other hand to torment the sides of his neck, so that no matter which way Adam twisted he couldn’t escape him. “It was supposed to.”

“W-Well stop thehehen!” Unwilling giggles were pulled from Adam with each twitch and scrape of those nails against his skin. His neck had always been abnormally ticklish, and when combined with Noah’s eternally cold ghost fingers, he found himself quickly forgetting all methods of defense. He chose instead to simply squirm and cover his mouth with his hands, trying to prevent the involuntary noises.

“This is for your own good,” Noah informed him, smiling a bit at the sight. “I read an article somewhere that said tickling was good for mental health. If I tickle you, maybe you can finally relax and stop stressing out so much.”

“Thahahat’s s-soho stuhuhupid!” Adam spluttered, reaching a hand back finally and attempting to slap him away. Noah merely danced his fingers out of the way, easily avoiding his grasp. “Ihihi cahahan’t rehehelax ihihif yohohou’re tihihickling mehehehe!”

“Is that not relaxing you?” Noah inquired innocently, fluttering his fingers over his ears and prompting a shriek from the other.

“Nohohohoho!”

“Hmm…” Noah mused, eyeing his ribs which were exposed on either side of the chair. “Maybe I’m doing it wrong then. I’ll try somewhere else.”

“What do you mean—ahaha, shihihit!” Adam’s confused reply was cut off as hands dug suddenly and vigorously into his sides, vibrating into his lower ribs. “Nohohohoah!”

“What?”

“Thahahat reheheheally tihihihickles!”

“Does it?” Noah replied brightly, happy at his accomplishment. “Good.”

“Nohoho!” Adam denied, giggling ecstatically in a way Noah had never seen him laugh before. “Ihihihit’s nohohot gohohood!”

The strangest thing about being dead that Noah had found, aside from the fact itself, was how his emotions were often muted. He could feel the vague stirrings of happiness or anger, and the pull of grief, but it was almost like an echo of reality as opposed to the true feeling. There were moments, however, moments when significance made the echo more solid, anchoring the feeling to him. As he watched strange, annoyed, bookish Adam laugh like this, more a boy now than he had ever been allowed to in his childhood, he felt the gentle glow of happiness settle in his chest.

“You should smile like this more,” Noah said in his abrupt, honest way. “I know the others think so, too. It makes you seem less scrunchy, more—open. I like open Adam.”

Adam flushed, the compliments only working to fluster him more. “W-Wehehell, ohohopen Ahahadam cahahan’t tahahake muhuhuch mohore ohohof thihis!”

“Bullshit.”

Hands grabbed his wrists suddenly, pulling them far above his head and thus taking away what little defenses he had. A quick glance upwards told him the hands belonged to Ronan. Evidently he had been woken up by Adam’s laughter, which, to be fair, was entirely not his fault. His gaze was met by a taunting grin that had Adam’s heart stuttering in his chest. It was truly unfair how with a simple glance Ronan could unravel Adam completely.

“I happen to know,” Ronan said, enclosing his wrist in one arm so that his other hand was free to poke and scratch at the upper part of his armpit that always had Adam shrieking. “That you can handle much more than this.”

“Trahahahaitor!”

“I also happen to know that you don’t hate it as much as you claim.”

“Really?” Noah asked curiously, peering down at Adam. “Do you like being tickled?”

“Yohohou guhuys ahare sohoho mehehean!” Adam protested, arching back as Noah’s fingers closed around the sharp bones of his hips.

“Don’t listen to him, Noah,” Ronan said. “He just needs a bit more provocation to admit it. What do you think?” The question was directed at Adam. “Do you want me to show him what it takes to make you admit it?”

“No, no, Rohohonan, noho!” Adam protested, his giggles becoming nervous and anticipatory. “I k-knohow whahahat yohohou’re gohonna dohoho, ahahand ihihit’s nohot fahahair!”

“Don’t be a child, Parrish.” Ronan handed over his arms to Noah, who accepted them cautiously but firmly after a glance from the former. Ronan leaned down, resting his hands calmly on each of Adam’s knees. Every once in a while he would twitch or curl his fingers lightly, causing Adam to jerk away from him with a strangled yelp.

“Don’t,” Adam warned him, trying to make his voice serious despite his growing smile. “C’mon, seriously, I can’t.”

“Can’t what?” Ronan asked innocently, turning his hands so that his thumb just brushed against the place on the inside of his knee, his fingers curled against the bone on the other side. Adam tensed, sucking in a sharp inhale of breath. “Can’t handle it?”

Adam waited in heart-stopping anticipation, his smile a flushed grin now. “Yes.”

“Good.”

Adam shrieked as both his thumb and fingers dug in suddenly sending shocks of feeling scurrying up his legs. He twisted in his chair and tugged hard at Noah’s grasp but was unable to free himself. He kicked his legs out wildly, but no matter which direction he pulled Ronan’s hand followed him, insistent and oh-so-devastatingly ticklish.

“RoHOHOHohonan!” Adam squeaked, head thrown back in wild and uncontrolled mirth. “Plehehehease! Dohohohon’t!”

“Don’t what?”

“Tihihihickle mehehehe!”

“If you insist.”

“WahAHAHAhait nohoho!”

As Adam fell into another round of helpless laughter, Ronan shook his head incredulously. “I still don’t know how you fall for that every time.”

“He’s quite beautiful like this,” Noah said, tilting his head to one side. Ronan threw him a quick glance, eyebrows drawn down in careful discernment, but after realizing the comment was meant in simple honesty he allowed himself to agree. “How come I never realized he was ticklish?”

“Foolish Noah,” Ronan said, pinching his way up and down his knees and delighting in Adam’s hiccupy squeaks. “Parrish is far too prideful to admit to something as human as being ticklish. It’s why you have to force it out of him. It’s the only way you can help him be true to himself.”

“Nahahat hehehelping!” Adam screeched, managing to clip Ronan on the shoulder with one foot. Ronan winced, shaking his head in disappointment.

“Shouldn’t have done that.”

He grabbed Adam’s leg suddenly, pulling it out taut and revealing the sensitive underside of his knee. Adam’s eyes widened and before he could protest nails were scratching over the spot, leaving him in a fit of giggly hysterics. “Stahahahahap!”

“Will you admit that you love it?”

“Ihihihi—” Before Adam could answer in another denial, he felt the soft fluttering of fingers against his neck again, Noah evidently feeling left out of the fun, and he scrunched his shoulders up desperately. “Ohohokay fihihihine! Ihihihi lohohohove ihihihit!”

“What do you love?” Ronan asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Beheheheing tihihickled! Ihihi l-lohohove beheheing tihihickled!”

“And will you take a break?” Noah added, scratching behind his ears and pulling a frantic squeak from the other.

“Whahahat? Thahahat wahahahasn’t pahahart ohohof thehehe deheheal!”

“It is now,” Noah said happily, though he did admit he would be a bit disappointed to stop. It was nice seeing Adam like this—carefree for once in his life. “So?”

“Fihihine! I-I’ll tahahake ahaha breheheak!”

“That’s all you had to say.”

Ronan and Noah both released him and Adam slumped back in the chair, breathing heavily. “You guys suck.”

“You love it,” Ronan teased.

“What’s going on out here?”

They all whirled around to see Gansey, illuminated by poor lighting in the doorway, rubbing tired eyes. He blinked at the scene in front of him, Adam’s flushed, giggly countenance and Ronan and Noah’s triumphant one. Noah had froze at the sight of him, like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Ronan merely sat back on one hand, a confident, lazy grin stretching across his face.

“Hey Dick,” he said, emphasizing the word in a way that implied a capital. Gansey frowned, as he had expressed many times in a variety of expressive words his distaste for the name. “We were just getting Adam here to smile. He needs to relax more.”

“Oh,” Gansey said, before pausing as confusion set in. “Wait what? Smile? How?”

Ronan’s grin inched wider into something dangerous and he stood up, sauntering over to the other. “I’m glad you asked, oh Gansey, my king. Why not let me show you?”

The room was soon filled with the sounds of laughter once more and in the chaos of it all Adam managed to gather his books and sneak off to Ronan’s room. His plan had been to study in secret in the sudden distraction of Gansey’s presence. As he sat down on Ronan’s bed, however, he found his head hitting the pillow before he could stop it, and sleep like an unwanted stranger whisking him away.

Maybe he had needed that break after all...

#tickle fic #noah czerny #adam parrish #the raven cycle #ronan lynch #gansey #pynch #richard campbell gansey iii #trc #tickling #fanfic #fanfiction #requests #fic request #not really a request but im gonna tag it as one anyway because who cares

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