Into The Storm

[tentacledicks]

For the sake of having a good reference post for all my fic (of this series...) I'm going ahead and making this now, even with Undertow unfinished. I'll be updating it as installments are plugged in and chaptered fics are finished, but this should serve as a quick and dirty roundup for all of them.

The whole series is here on AO3. On the chaptered fic, some chapters have additional warnings in the comments beforehand.

Still Waters (42,827 words)
Rating: E
Warnings: Canon Typical Violence, Mild Dubcon
Series: Watch_Dogs
Relationship: Jordi/Aiden
Characters: Jordi Chin, Aiden Pearce
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Edgeplay, Impact Play, Rough Sex, Teasing, D/s

Summary:
While investigating a lead on a human trafficking ring, Aiden runs into an old face he hadn't expected to see again. Between a case that has suddenly become more complicated than it needs to be and a relationship that wasn't supposed to happen, he might be in over his head.

Reservoir (5,274 words)
Rating: E
Warnings: None
Series: Watch_Dogs
Relationship: Jordi/Aiden
Characters: Jordi Chin, Aiden Pearce
Additional Tags: Kink Negotiation, Handjobs, Dom/sub, Dirty Talk

Summary:
About seven hours after convincing Aiden to drive a Lamborghini off a yacht, Jordi shows up at the safe house again.

Across the Pond (2,895 words)
Rating: E
Warnings: None
Series: Watch_Dogs
Relationship: Jordi/Aiden
Characters: Jordi Chin, Aiden Pearce
Additional Tags: Phone Sex, Fluff

Summary:
Jordi makes a call. Aiden makes the mistake of answering it.

Undertow (48,429 words)
Rating: E
Warnings: Canon Typical Violence
Series: Watch_Dogs
Relationship: Jordi/Aiden, referenced Aiden/Damien
Characters: Jordi Chin, Aiden Pearce
Additional Tags: Frotting, Breathplay, Wax PLay, Rough Sex, Gambling, Flogging, Bondage, D/s

Summary:
Things are getting more serious than Aiden was expecting. He doesn't know when they went from cordial acquaintances to this, but if Jordi's going to give him a job because of it, it's probably a relationship now. If he could figure out what that meant, he'd be happier about it.

Some days, it's easier than others. The ones where he gets to kill not just one, but two scumbags? Those are the good days.


Tide Comes In (1,572 words)
Rating: T
Warnings: None
Series: Watch_Dogs
Relationship: Jordi/Aiden
Characters: Jordi Chin, Aiden Pearce
Additional Tags: Fluff

Summary:
For once, Jordi wakes up first.


Dating Pool (3,547 words)
Rating: E
Warnings: None
Series: Watch_Dogs
Relationship: Jordi/Aiden
Characters: Jordi Chin, Aiden Pearce
Additional Tags: Semi-public Sex, Exhibitionism, Blow Jobs

Summary:
Fortune favors the brave.

Tributary (3,023 words)
Rating: M
Warnings: Background harassment
Series: Watch_Dogs
Relationship: Jordi/Aiden
Characters: Jordi Chin, Aiden Pearce
Additional Tags: Sex Shop, Bondage

Summary:
Jordi takes Aiden to a sex shop.

Drift (2,430 words)
Rating: E
Warnings: None
Series: Watch_Dogs
Relationship: Jordi/Aiden
Characters: Jordi Chin, Aiden Pearce
Additional Tags: Semi-public sex, Frottage

Summary:
This Picture But Hornier

Ripples (4,544 words)
Rating: E
Warnings: Somnophilia, Drug Use
Series: Watch_Dogs
Relationship: Jordi/Aiden
Characters: Jordi Chin, Aiden Pearce
Additional Tags: n/a

Summary:
Jordi flies into San Francisco and has to readjust his sleep schedule, which is slightly more of a problem when Aiden has no sleep schedule to speak of.

Hurricane (12,503 words)
Rating: M
Warnings: None
Series: Watch_Dogs
Relationship: Jordi/Aiden, Marcus/Wrenc
Characters: Jordi Chin, Aiden Pearce, Marcus Holloway, Wrench, Sitara Dhawan
Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence

Summary:
Aiden and Jordi show up in San Francisco and end up helping Marcus out on a mission. Marcus seriously questions whether or not this is a good thing.

Rogue Wave (1,903 words)
Rating: M
Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Intrusive Thoughts
Series: Watch_Dogs
Relationship: Jordi/Aiden
Characters: Jordi Chin, Aiden Pearce
Additional Tags: n/a

Summary:
Jordi gets triggered. It's a bad time.

Maelstrom (8,309 words)
Rating: M
Warnings: Referenced Child Abuse, Referenced Domestic Abuse, Abuse Everywhere
Series: Watch_Dogs
Relationship: Jordi/Aiden
Characters: Jordi Chin, Aiden Pearce
Additional Tags: BDSM, Dom/sub, Hurt/Comfort

Summary:
Aiden and Jordi head back to Chicago, so Aiden can get triggered this time. Still not fun for anyone.

Riptide (3,352 words)
Rating: E
Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence
Series: Watch_Dogs
Relationship: Jordi/Aiden
Characters: Jordi Chin, Aiden Pearce
Additional Tags: Knifeplay, Bloodplay, Subspace, BDSM, Dom/sub

Summary:
The One Where Knifeplay Finally Happens

Comments

[verilyno]

I am so excited to finally read these! I’m such a disaster that I never asked you for links, then I felt irrationally embarrassed about that in between bouts of forgetting my own head.

But all’s well that ends well! I look forward to finally getting to enjoy!

[tentacledicks]

IT'S OKAY I'VE BEEN THERE. That just makes this doubly useful then, because I forget to link things to people when I do them because OH, THE SHAME OF SELF-PROMOTION. I'm planning on posting chapter updates too, just to keep you in the loop!

[ryu_avalon]

I have re-read this series like 4 times and it's been like 3 weeks. I am so enamored with your writing style and just like everything you are doing. I didn't think I was going to fall for the Aiden/Jordi pairing, but you definitely changed my mind.

Can I just tell you what I love most about this series? It's the little anxieties that go through Aiden's mind. His subtle paranoia hints at some PTSD without overblowing it. I struggled with PTSD for a long time and when I read fics that focus on it, it's like 'oh the main character can't handle life and has a breakdown'. I'm not entirely sure you were going for that PTSD tone, but you certainly nailed it. It's in the quick thinking little checks that Aiden does; gun, baton, doors, how many people there are, and how fast his phone works. The quick decisions is what really keep me engaged. Most other fic authors would spend way too long about how decisions were made, how the characters face would look, or why they would be spending so much time about one decision. You just do it naturally, like it was almost like I was hearing my own thoughts.

Also the stuff about how the fixer life and his sex life and Aiden's relationship with Damien was absolute gold. "With the fourth smack, Aiden slammed a hand into the headboard, pushing back into Jordi’s thrusts as he hunted for his balance. If he could just—he needed to ride it out, and he knew he could, it was just a matter of removing himself from the equation entirely. It’s just that when Jordi’s hand came down, again, it ripped him right out of everything he was doing, sending him reeling as he tried to find his center." That scene was a gut punch. That one scene summed up the entirety of what Aiden has gone through with Damien and being a fixer. The first time they have sex is more like they were horny and fell into bed, like a natural progression. With this scene it just seemed like Aiden put a lot of trust into Jordi. Also, it helped Aiden way more when Jordi actually stopped when he asked.

Aiden is a fucking mess and I love him and I love the way you write him. I usually fall into new fandoms over anything, if it's got a fic, that's good enough. I played Watch_Dogs a while ago and I never even thought about the fandom until Watch_Dogs2. Marcus and Wrench are cute, but I highly prefer your Aiden/Jordi stuff.

God, I can't wait for the next installment of SotL. I have an entire fucking essay of why I love that. Just right quick, know that the thought you're putting into the biologic magic stuff is amazing, the dynamic's sociological perspectives/problems are amazing, and the straight up fear Aiden has about being found out that he has sex with an alpha is hitting all my buttons.

Thank you so so much for your writing. It is definitely a breath of fresh air to read something so good.

[tentacledicks]

Man, this is an incredible message to get. ;u;

I'm actually super glad that the tone of Aiden's anxiety carries over well; I think that the particular upbringing he's had and the life he's enmeshed himself in is just, there's no way it won't cause trauma. Not just because killing people is a core aspect of it, but because the sheer level of violence he's clearly comfortable dishing out and receiving means that he's been living on the edge for a long time, and that's going to have an effect.

The way that trauma intersects with his interactions with Damien was something that always fascinated me, because like, fuck, Damien's a manipulative piece of shit and there's no way that his mind games with Aiden in WD1 were the start of that. The overtones of a deeper relationship in canon combined with Aiden's obviously unhealthy lack of boundaries and shit ability to express himself was just kind of another puzzle piece to the whole, especially as it ends up with him in this self-destructive spiral. And I really love exploring the wreckage of that?

Like, post-Merlaut Aiden is a very different person from the hints we get from Nicky about who he was before Lena's death. I want to know at what point Aiden went from 'joking, hockey-playing older brother' to 'hiding things and missing appointments', when he stopped telling Nicky about his life, when he stopped being around for his family despite how much they meant to him. The precarious balance of Damien and his criminal life vs the family life he was trying to stay in--like, I desperately want to see the old dev notes on his character, and the devnotes on the original Aiden/Tanner divide back when WD1 was conceived as a co-op. The Merlaut was obviously the tipping point, but there's no way in hell that Aiden's foundation wasn't crumbling before then--even in the Merlaut we see him on edge, high-alert, constantly scoping out exit plans. Even then, he was having to balance 'the Merlaut job' with 'the family trip with my niece and nephew' later that night. Nicky's got some lines where she indicates that she knew shit was up before then, and Aiden's got lines about showing up to his old gym with broken ribs before he met Damien so he's just...

It's been a mess, his whole life, and it made him into a mess, and I really do love that about his character. (Ironically, I played WD2 first, and only got into WD1 a few months after--I think part of the appeal of WD1 for me is that there is so much left up in the air about Aiden at the end, where he's going, how he's going to handle the crippling loneliness of his new life. WD2's ending pretty much tells you straight up that DedSec's gonna be fine.)

And I will never object to an essay, jsyk. This was a delight to read, and I love that you picked up on so much of the stuff I've been trying to keep true to Aiden (thank god I have a POV character that monologues in canon lmao).