#//he's taking his job as a santa very seriously

[r3dblccd]

: ̗̀➛@vienrose liked for a lil winter/holiday thing ❄️

"How would you like to spend this year's Christmas? Would you like to go out or to cozy up and stay at home? We could make some s'mores and hot chocolate and watch a movie. The ice skating rink is open so we could go there, we could also go to a nice restaurant. My family's cabin is also always an option." No, he definitely wasn't asking so he could plan out the perfect timing to sneak Quinny's gift under the Christmas tree without being noticed.

[sinsisters]

Happy Holidays! The Spanish Privateer (and digital bundle) are now on sale for 20% off on Steam! This will be our last sale for a while, so enjoy the warm, sunny days out on the ocean during this wintery storm!

[philtstone]

14 (role swap) for Shawn and Juliet!

u should all know that it physically pained me to write shawn as a real cop but i think -- i think -- i cracked the code on it. posted the full thing on ao3 bc it somehow got all the way up to 3000 words, good lord

Ten minutes after Santa Barabara’s Chief of Police offers her a job, Juliet finds herself back in the interrogation room.

Here’s the thing. Juliet’s not a liar. She has plenty of other flaws – not confident enough, too distrustful, and unfortunately so enthralled by the idea of doing real detective work that she almost got herself arrested – but a liar?

Well. Sure. She can lie. An unfortunate side-effect of being a career conman’s favorite daughter.   

But she’s not a liar by trade.  

She wants to be taken seriously, and she’ll say what people want to hear to get there. That’s a perfectly respectable angle for a young woman in this economy to take, is what she tells herself to get rid of the icky feeling at the back of her tongue that’s all knotted up with the memory of her dad’s irritating voice in her head.

You have it easier than I do, Jewel. In some ways, folks’ll believe just about anything a pretty girl says.

Unfortunately, this particular piece of paternal wisdom became totally irrelevant when the sour-faced head detective who brought her in for questioning turned out to have a deep and irrational mistrust of all womankind. 

His partner, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have any of the same hangups – not to Juliet, anyway, who definitely noticed the almost-sweet way his focus kept drifting dreamily to her long untied hair. 

“I was told I could go.”

Their footsteps echo down the stairs to the basement. A few steps behind him, she can’t help but glance around the stairway for possible points of easy escape. She takes the opportunity to tug the neckline of her shirt just a little bit lower.

“This’ll be just a second, I promise.”

“Just because we’re in a police station doesn’t mean I trust you not to try something.”

“Miss O’Hara,” the door is opened for her, “I know you’ve got a taser hidden in the inner pocket of your jacket. Pink glitter on the handle, little beaded flower charm to hang it from? So very in character. Even if I was the type to try something, I think you could definitely take me.”

She’d clocked him as mostly harmless, earlier. Not much older than Juliet herself, a maybe-immature, well-meaning, generally-naive rookie, the sort of junior detective who’s on the force because he wants to help old ladies cross the road and rescue cats from trees.

The kind of rookie Juliet herself would be, if she’d ever had the chance to properly pursue a career as a detective. 

The thing of it is, she’d been more concerned with convincing Lassiter she was innocent – and then, well, clairvoyant – to really worry about his second in command. Besides, the guy had seemed an easy sell. By her cursory assessment, Detective Shawn Spencer was the last person in this whole equation who she thought would even bother to try to sniff out her game.

READ THE REST ON AO3!

[elusivewildflower]

Santa, Baby | Court Gentry x F! Reader

Pairing: Court Gentry x F! Reader (from The Other Fitzroy series)

Summary: Set three years in the future, your family is finally safe and settled from the events of this unfinished series, The Other Fitzroy. It's your first Christmas in a home you can truly call your own, and Court took it upon himself to place presents under the tree in the middle of the night. You hadn't expected him to take the job so seriously, but you have to admit, the Santa suit looks good on him.

Warnings: Smut. Very small amount of roleplay? Unprotected p in v. Oral Sex (f receiving). Breeding kink. Talk of pregnancy. Christmas eve & morning festivities.

Word Count: 3k

A/N: I know this is a tad bit late, but I've been so busy and suffering from writer's block that this is all I could get finished. Because it's late, this has not really been proofread or edited all that much, so all mistakes are my own and I'm sorry if this is terrible! I haven't finished a fic in.....god knows how long.

Out of the corner of your eye, you spot a red-cladded figure creeping down the stairs. For a moment, you’re confused. A second later and your heart is swelling in your chest as you lean against the doorway for a better view. Court had insisted on being the one to place the presents under the tree while Claire and Lyla were sleeping. You hadn’t argued, after all, he was the only one who could move throughout the house without making a single noise. But you hadn’t expected him to take the job so seriously. He wasn’t donning a long white beard and his physique certainly didn’t match that of a typical Santa, but the red suit and hat he wore was quite convincing. A smile spread across your face as you watched him place each present under the tree with a caring precision only he possessed. 

Court didn’t spare you a glance until he was sneaking back up the stairs, presumably to get more presents, as you could tell a few were missing. It had been three years since your family were kidnapped by Lloyd and his men, and it was the first Christmas in which you were finally safe and settled. As he shot you a wink, his lips curling up into his signature smirk, you felt a familiar heat course through you. God, you didn’t think you’d ever stop reacting to him in this manner. All it took was one look from him and your panties were soaked. Your thighs squeezed together as his form descended back down the stairs. It took everything in you not to disrupt him, so you settled for a distraction. You snagged one of the cookies left out for Santa on the coffee table and resumed your previous position against the doorway to the kitchen.

Once the last present was laid beneath the tree, Court silently walked towards you. He gestured to the cookie you were snacking on while ogling him. “I think that was left for me,” he teased. 

You hummed in response and offered it to him. “I’m sorry, they were just too good to resist.” 

Taking a bite of the sugar cookie you held in front of his face, Court gave a hum of appreciation. “No argument there.” He agreed, resting his arm on the wall above your head as he leaned in to press his lips to yours. 

It didn’t take long for the kiss to deepen, your arms wrapping around his neck as his tongue sought entrance to your mouth. Your lips parted immediately, allowing his taste to infiltrate your fifth sense. God, you loved getting lost in him. 

Eventually, the two of you parted for air. As your eyes fluttered open, a jolt of arousal coursed through you. His pupils were blown wide with lust, the blue hues you adored barely perceptible. You couldn’t hide the wicked grin that spread across your face. “Wanna take this upstairs, Santa?” 

His expression mimicked yours as he responded instantly. “I thought you’d never ask.” Court quickly bent down and slid his hands beneath your thighs, lifting you with ease. Instinctively, you wrapped your limbs around him for support. A soft giggle escaped from you at the sudden movement. Even if this was his go-to move, you swore you’d never get used to being swept off of your feet.

Court made the journey to your shared bedroom in record time. The door was shut and locked behind him, ensuring your little one couldn’t waltz in if she woke in the middle of the night. As he approached the bed, you were gently tossed upon it, prompting another giggle from you as you bounced from the force. 

As soon as your back had hit the bed, Court was expertly unclasping his oversized belt and shrugging his Santa suit off. His boots were shucked off and kicked aside before he eagerly crawled over top of you. Your lips collided passionately as Court used his thigh to part your legs for him, his weight pressing down on you in the delicious way that you loved. He rolled his hips against your core, his growing erection pressing directly where you needed him. 

Much to your displeasure, Court pulled away, eliciting a whine from you. 

He tsked disapprovingly, sitting back on his haunches. “Good girls don’t cry when they don’t get what they want.” His calloused hands inched up your sides as he spoke, fingers curling under the hem of your holiday-themed nightdress. “Are you going to be a good girl?” 

You fought back the urge to whine again, pulling your bottom lip between your teeth as you nod. “Yes, I’ll be good.” You verbalize, knowing that’s what he would want. What a good girl would do.

Court nods once, seemingly satisfied with your response. He rucked up your holiday nightdress until your panties were revealed. A low groan emitted from him as he took in the sight of your soaked panties. He wasted no time in removing them, guiding the fabric down your legs and tossing them to the side. This time, a louder groan resounded in his chest as he was met with your glistening folds.

“Now, that is too good to resist.” He complimented huskily. 

His words had heat creeping up your neck and another wave of arousal flooding through you. “Court, please,” you whined impatiently. You needed him to do something. Your walls clenched around nothing, helplessly. You felt as if you were going to explode, or perhaps melt into a puddle of your former self. You didn’t care if he got you off first with his mouth, his fingers, or simply his cock. You’d be blissfully happy with either option, or perhaps you’d be lucky enough for a combination of all three. 

Court ignored your plea, but promptly settled back between your legs, his face hovering mere inches from your pussy. You could feel his hot breath fanning against your skin and it was making you antsy. Thankfully, he put you out of your misery only moments later, when his thumbs parted your folds and his tongue sunk between them. His tongue lapped from your entrance to your swollen bundle of nerves and his fingers dug into the skin of your thighs. Immediately, a moan escaped from both of you in unison. 

“Delicious,” he growled out against you. 

You threaded your fingers through Court’s short, dark hair, seeking purchase to help ground you. If you weren’t careful, you’d start grinding against his face any second. It was only a few moments later when you felt one of his thick digits prodding at your entrance. His finger slipped in with little resistance and quickly found the soft spot that had your toes curling. 

“Oh, fuck.” You moaned out, trying to be mindful of your volume. The door to your bedroom may be locked, but that didn’t mean you wanted to wake anyone who might come knocking. Court focused his tongue upon your clit now that his finger was added into the mix, and after a few minutes, he added a second. It wasn’t fair how quickly he could make you come. Between the warm caresses of his tongue and the delicious stretch of his two thick digits, your orgasm was building at a rapid pace. 

At this point, you had lost all control over your own hips and began to roll them in time with the thrust of his fingers. Normally, if Court wanted to tease you or prolong your pleasure, he’d pin your hips down with his big, muscular arms. When you found no resistance to your movement, you knew he was just as lost in his own pleasure as you were. Your thought was further proven as he began to groan against you, and a quick glimpse revealed his hips thrusting into the bed in search of friction. 

A whimper fell from your lips from the sight, and as your walls clenched around his fingers, both of you knew your orgasm was imminent. “I-I’m gonna….” You warned, your words melding into a moan as he hooked his fingers just right inside of you. 

“Come for me, baby.” He encouraged, pausing in his ministrations long enough to speak before returning full force to push you over the edge. 

Court’s free hand rose to cover your mouth with perfect timing as you came. He knew you better than you knew yourself, as the moans you let out upon reaching orgasm were far too loud and you had no control over them. Your walls spasmed around his fingers and your thighs trapped his head in place as your pleasure reached its peak. Court continued to work you through your orgasm, only stopping once he felt a tug upon his hair to signal you were overstimulated. 

As he pulled away, you noticed his beard was soaked with your arousal and a small grin pulled at your lips. Court sat up to push his pants down far enough to free his aching cock, a sigh of relief escaping from him. He wasted no time in settling himself back between your legs, lining his throbbing cock up with your entrance. You hardly got a chance to enjoy the view of his thick, veiny member before it was plunged deep inside of you. 

You and Court moaned in unison as he bottomed out inside of you. As his arms caged you in, you found purchase on his incredibly buff chest. You loved each and every part of Court’s body, but God did you enjoy the feeling of his muscular torso. He didn’t wait long for you to adjust to the stretch of him before he began pounding into you. 

Each thrust of his hips had a whimper tumbling from your lips. Then, when he grew tired of the position, clearly needing to be even deeper inside of you, he wrapped his arms around the back of your thighs and pinned your legs up by your ears. The feeling of his cock reaching such depths was nearly painful, but the slight twinge of pain only made the pleasure feel that much better. That, and the feeling of his bulging biceps against your skin was more than enough to further your arousal. 

“God, you feel so good,” Court groaned out his compliment as his weight pushed you further into the bed. His pubic bone rubbed against your swollen bundle of nerves with every shift of his hips, and you could already feel a second orgasm building within you. The way Court’s cock twitched within you let you know he was nearly there as well, and you couldn’t wait for him to fill you up. You clenched around him just from the thought of his seed spilling inside. 

Another groan tumbled from Court’s lips in response to your walls clenching around him. Soon, the only sound within the room was skin slapping against skin, noises of pleasure falling from each of your lips, and panting as you fought to catch your breaths. As the muscles in your lower stomach tightened once again, signaling your orgasm wasn’t too far away, Court let out an admission you hadn’t expected. 

“I want another baby,” he managed to growl out in between gasps for air. 

The pleasure had made your brain foggy, and it took you a few moments to understand what he had said. Once everything clicked in your mind, your walls clenched around him tightly, nearly stalling his hips. You were more than okay with that desire. “Oh, fuck, yes, Court, yes.” You moaned. “Put a baby in me.” 

Your words seemed to renew his vigor, as his cock pounded into you with a new urgency. The thought of carrying his child again must’ve been as much of a turn on to him as it was for you. Especially since this time, he’d be here for the pregnancy. He’d get to watch as his child grew within you, as your breasts swelled up with milk, and that was an experience you couldn’t wait for. 

One of his hands slipped between the two of you to circle your clit. He may have been brushing against you with each thrust, but it wasn’t quite enough to send you over the edge again. The direct contact of the rough pad of his thumb was more than enough, though, as within a few rotations and several more thrusts, your second orgasm was washing over you. 

You bit down upon your lower lip to muffle your cries of ecstasy as Court fucked you through your release. Within moments, his hips faltered as he reached his orgasm, spurred on by your own. His cock pulsed as he shot rope after rope of his hot seed within you, a groan resounding deep in his chest. He remained inside of you for a while, both of you catching your breath, before he finally let your legs fall back down to the bed. You could no longer feel them, but truly, you didn’t care. You were completely spent and satisfied. Already, you could feel sleep beginning to overtake you. 

Court pressed his lips against yours in a loving kiss that you happily returned. When Court finally pulled out, he let out a slight hiss of pain, plopping himself beside you. Turning onto your side, you threw your arm across his torso and laid your head upon his chest. In return, Court wrapped an arm around you. It didn’t take very long for the two of you to fall fast asleep.

Abrupt, excited, knocking woke you from your slumber. “Mommy! Daddy! Santa came!” The knocking continued as your daughter shouted through the closed door. “Come on, come on, come on!” 

Even in your half-asleep state, you couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“We’ll be right there, sweetie.” Court called out before you could respond. Of course, he would be awake before you were. 

“Hurry up! I’ll go wake Claire!” Lyla shouted one last time before her little footsteps padded off down the hallway. A second later and you could hear a series of knocking begin again on Claire’s bedroom door. 

You rolled over to face Court, who was already watching you. 

“Sounds like we need to get dressed,” he mused. 

A grin spread across your face as the excitement of your daughter began to rub off on you. “Yeah, sounds like it.” You murmured in response. A part of you would’ve loved to stay right in bed, naked, all day with Court. Perhaps trying for another baby like he admitted to wanting last night. But, the other half knew you had more important responsibilities right now – and you had to admit, you couldn’t wait to watch Lyla open her presents.

Court pressed a kiss to your forehead before he tossed the covers aside, climbing out of the warm bed. You took a moment to watch the view as he dug around for pajamas in a drawer. You still didn’t understand how you got so lucky. You were torn from your thoughts as a set of pajamas were tossed in your direction. Court had found your clothes before his own, and your chest warmed at the notion. 

You finally climbed out of bed and slipped on the flannel pajamas before finding your fuzzy slippers. Court was by your side seconds later, slipping his larger hand into yours as he unlocked the door and opened it for the two of you to exit. 

Entering the hallway, you found Claire, who was rubbing the sleep from her eyes, as Lyla dragged her towards the stairs. Upon noticing you were up and moving, Lyla let out a shriek. Claire flinched at the loud sound, but you and Court simply laughed. 

“Last one down opens their presents from Santa last,” Court teased. Your little one didn’t want to risk losing and immediately took off full speed down the stairs towards the Christmas tree. 

“Be careful!” You shouted after her, following at a much slower pace. There hadn’t truly been a race, as Claire was far too old to believe in Santa anymore, but even she put a bit of pep in her step to make it more believable for her niece. 

Once you reached the bottom of the stairs, Lyla was already bouncing around and deciding which presents she wanted to rip open first. Finally, she settled on the one that was the most oddly shaped. Claire, ever the photographer, readied her camera to capture every moment that she could. 

It didn’t take long for the first present to be unveiled, as it hadn’t been wrapped so snugly. After all, who truly takes the time to wrap a bike? Your daughter squealed in excitement and fawned over the purple bike for several moments before moving onto the next gift. 

As the two of you watched Lyla happily tear open her presents, you shot a glance in Court’s direction. “I certainly hope I can catch Santa in the act again next year.” You thought aloud, a sly grin pulling at your lips. 

Court’s arm around you gave a gentle squeeze as he shot you a wink. “I think your chances are fairly high. After all, you have the best cookie he’s ever tasted.”

“Ugh, gross.” Claire whined out in disgust, her nose scrunched up as she took a step further away from the two of you. 

A snort of laughter escaped from you and Court chuckled softly. Your voices had been soft in volume, but apparently not soft enough. The teenager tried her best to keep her distance as she continued to take photos of her niece opening presents.

After a moment, you settled your head against Court’s chest and happily took a sip from your steaming cup of coffee. As the sound of wrapping paper being ripped apart continued, Lyla suddenly let out a scream. She had finally reached the one present she had begged everyone for. Her very own Barbie dreamhouse. Your eyes flitted between your five-year-old and your sister Claire before raising to meet the eyes of the man who made this life possible. Upon feeling your gaze, Court’s face turned towards yours. His brows quirked up playfully before he spoke.

“Merry Christmas, my love.” His soft voice rumbled in his chest as he leaned down to hover his lips over yours. 

“Merry Christmas.” You returned just as softly, closing the gap between you as you shared a gentle, yet loving, kiss.

[r0-boat]

Some SFW headcannons if that's ok with you. Can we get some headcannons about Dad Submas with their kiddo (whether separate or a poly s/o au is both fine)?

Holy fuck yes sir(gender neutral) been waiting for this shit

Submas as the fathers of your child/children

Ingo

Ingo has always dreamed of having a family despite that permanent frown on his face being quite menacing to the children. He was pretty fond of kids. Always very gentle and patient. Holding his kid in his arms for the first time, he shakes, afraid he might hurt him or scare him. But who could ever be scared of that soft kitten smile? His heartwarming, when his child looks, sees him, and giggles.

His child is a precious treasure, and their happiness is Ingo's number one priority. Yes, Ingo may or may not have spoiled them a few times but seeing them so happy warms his heart every time.

Like any good parent, Ingo values his child's safety he's a Subway boss safety is part of the job; of course, safety is an important part of his parenting. And it is the same with Emmet. They both agree that their child must know about safety.

Ingo is a first-time father. He doesn't mean to be bad, but of course, some parents make their own mistakes. As their child grows older, Ingo seems to have a problem where he still sees his child as his sweet baby, and sometimes he gets a little protective because it's bittersweet when a parent sees their child grow up. Eventually, he does accept that his child is growing up, and sometimes he won't be there to protect them, but he'll make it known that he'll always be there for them.

I can already feel that poor kid's embarrassment when Ingo screams their names during assemblies every time they get a reward or their name called for one.

He's always having a conversation with his child, even if it's just babbling. He would be having a fake argument with his toddler.

Emmet

Emmet is the for-your-own-good type. He's a serious parent, but he is not unfair; rules are there for a reason and are very important, and he'll make sure that his child knows. He ensures that he teaches his child that actions have consequences; good behavior gets rewarded while bad behavior is punished. ( though not every situation is black and white like that.)

If his child ever asks why for anything, he will explain clearly and calmly. Rip for their belief in Santa when they inevitably ask their father.

Emmet takes safety very seriously, and Emmet can be a little bit of a mother hen. He just doesn't want anything to happen to his child as their parent and a Subway boss; it is their job to protect them.

No parent is perfect; Emmet struggles with personal space and privacy issues. He's always had this. He himself is not really a private person. He says what he says, and he means what he says. It might sound mean, but he'll say it anyway. And the lousy habit is from expecting everyone else to be like that, especially people who are closer to him. He wants his child to be open and honest with him at all times, and he wants to know what's happening in their day-to-day life even though they don't want to tell him. And I can see him getting a little antsy when someone won't tell him or they are hiding something from him. It's something that he always struggled with.

If his child ever gives him a logical argument on why he's wrong when he says no to something he will just freeze and think about it for a few seconds then just say "Ok, verrry fair... carry on."

Emmett gets obsessed with little baby onesies and baby clothes "look!! a little Joltik Halloween costume ah! So verrry cute!"

Ingo x parent!reader x Emmet

( the brothers are sharing one love interest no incest)

Usually, they're pretty good at getting along when it comes to Parenting, but sometimes their different parenting methods clash between two. Usually, they would ask you for advice after that or come to a fair agreement.

If they have twins, they can't be happier. Ingo would bring it up constantly, and Emmet would immediately start picking one color for each twin.

When they come home from Gear Station is usually your time off. They make sure you get plenty of rest because they know how tired you would be after taking care of your children all day.

Emmet would let his child hold a Joltik for the first time.

Ingo would give them a Litwick night light.

When the twins are together, they will always be excited to take their children for hikes or go places to have fun, like parks. We're walking around the amusement park or just seeing Aunt Elesa while you take a rest.

The first thing they do when they realize they are becoming fathers, is cram their minds with as much parenting knowledge as possible they're both excited and scared and praying they'll be prepared enough to deal with a kid.

Soon enough, you'll find them both asleep on top of a pile of notes next to another pile of parenting 101 books.

[jishyucks]

Gift Wrapping is a Serious Matter — hjs

‣ pairing: han jisung x reader

‣ genre: fluff, implied f2l/coworkers-to-lovers, crack?

‣ wc: 3.6k

‣ summary: In all honesty, you had no idea why you decided to take up the job of gift wrapping at your local mall. There are moms constantly yelling at you, your fingers are covered in papercuts, and the hours are long. Luckily, your coworker, Jisung, is there to make it more bearable.

‣ warnings: some sexual jokes/innuendos, attempt at being funny, honestly this is just the pair being goofy at work, I thought it was gonna be mostly cute but it’s more just (attempted) crack

‣ an: oop late post but it’s okay ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ I wanted this to be cuter but I’m limiting my stuff to like 4k words to each one unless I seriously can’t. Anyways, enjoy!!

Series Masterlist

“Finally! Took you long enough!” 

Jeongin drops what he’s doing, throwing his hands up in some sort of exaggerated exasperation. 

“Jeongin. I’m literally five minutes early.” You can’t help but situate yourself at the side of the counter that lifts open, blinking at the boy. You greet Choi Beomgyu, another worker, who’s in the middle of making a present look pretty with ribbons. 

“I know, but you being here reminds me that I can finally leave and you’re stuck here for the next six hours, ha-ha,” Jeongin rubs the fact in your face as he multitasks, finishing the present he was currently working on. 

“And what happens if I leave?” You lift the counter and quickly slip under it. You blindly stick your hand into your tote bag to pull out your Santa hat, plopping it onto the counter before turning to grab one of the four vests hanging underneath the tabletop. 

“Then you’d be leaving Jisung Hyung alone, and I know you wouldn’t do that.” Your eyes widen at the mention of Jisung and you shoot Jeongin a glare equal to a warning. You quickly look to see if Beomgyu heard anything and you’re thankful that he’s still very much focused on the present he’s wrapping. 

“Yang Jeongin shut your mouth right now!” You shout quietly. Jeongin only knows of your crush on Jisung because the shift that day was slow and Jeongin had managed to fish a confession out of you. 

“Do I lie?”

You groan. Because, no, Jeongin was not lying. With all the shit you have to manage at this booth, you couldn't possibly leave Jisung or anyone else alone to handle the booth. This gig was a team task. Yelling moms? You needed that backup. Oh, you’re going to be tying a bow? Let me put my finger here to hold it down. Hell, even if you hated Jisung, you could never leave the boy alone to manage the gift-wrapping booth on his own. 

Besides, you liked spending time with Jisung and you were still too afraid to ask him to hang out outside of working hours. 

“Lie about what?” 

Speaking of the boy, Jisung enters the scene still bundled up in his big puffer coat, scarf, and chunky beanie. He’s peeking between his winter garments, blinking between you and Jeongin. 

“Oh, nothing,” Jeongin shrugs. At this point, he’s finished wrapping the present and he’s attaching a label to it for the owner to know which one it was. 

Jisung shrugs it off and he slides a drink tray with two large coffee cups, “I got us hot chocolate.” He pulls down his scarf, revealing a red nose (which you guess had resulted from the cold) and a wide grin. 

“Thank you so much, Ji,” you gasp, “Let me put my stuff away and I’ll grab mine.” 

Jisung nods and busies himself with his coat and toque. While he was at it, Jeongin managed to tease you. “Thank you so much, Ji!” 

He instantly earns an elbow to the gut, “You’re just jealous you didn’t get one.” 

“Why would I be jealous when I can go get myself one right now?” Jeongin laughs, “Because I’m not gonna be here for the next six hours…” He’s putting his vest away and grabbing his things. Instead of lifting the countertop to leave, he hops over it coolly.

You shoot him one last look, “Yeah, yeah. Now leave. You’re basically loitering.” 

“I have to wait for Gyu,” Jeongin points at Beomgyu who was now following in pursuit, “Wanna get some hot chocolate before we leave?”  

Beomgyu nods, “Please.” The boy quickly throws on his jacket and grips a beanie and his mitts in one hand. Jisung enters the booth when Beomgyu leaves, almost taking out the younger boy with his backpack on the way in. 

“Why is your backpack ginormous?” you stifle a laugh, gathering the presents that Jeongin and Beomgyu had left. The two leave, wishing you guys a good luck. “Have one of Santa’s elves in there or something to help us?” You’re obviously joking, but the child in you is hoping that an elf would truly jump out of Jisung’s bag to offer assistance. 

“I wish,” Jisung laughs. He grabs one of the vests and slips it on, “I went to the gym so my gym stuff is in here.” Zipping it open, he pulls out his own Santa hat and tugs it onto his head. The hat pushes his bangs lower over his eyes and you feel your heart jump at how utterly cute he looks. 

“Makes sense,” you reply coolly. You continue to organize the wrapped presents, plopping them into bags for the owners when they return. 

Without hesitation, Jisung quickly takes a sip of his hot chocolate before he moves to help you organize the wrapped presents into bags. You two do it with ease, having developed a routine over the past few weeks. 

When you first met Jisung, he had introduced himself as a student, gym rat, and part-time cashier at a nearby grocery store, opting to take up this job to try something new since it was a seasonal job. You remember not exactly knowing how to react to his introduction, blinking at him for a few, very brief moments before you introduce yourself. 

But when Jisung continued to speak to you, it was rather easy for you to figure out that his dorky introduction was the tip of the iceberg when it came to his personality. He spoke about anything and everything with a sense of child-like wonder, interacted with customers like he’d known them for years, and wrapped their presents like they were to be given to the Royal Family. 

And though, initially, you weren’t exactly looking forward to having your ear being talked off by him each shift, especially since you found the act of wrapping presents relaxing, you found that being talkative was a big part of his charm. Because of him, the long, dreadful hours flew past like nothing—hell, before you knew it, you were actually looking forward to the shifts despite how much you complained about it every morning. 

You suppose this was how you had developed feelings for the boy. Not only was he sweet and apparently good at everything he tried, he was easy and comfortable to be around. 

And for you, that was rare. 

As all shifts go, you both fall into a comfortable rhythm, chatting about random things to pass the time. Somehow you both were lucky enough to not have the big rush of customers that dropped by the mall on the way home from work, still recovering from the rushes last week with customers who pushed for an amount of wrapped presents that seemed to be enough to give to everyone and their mothers. 

You and Jisung were simply given smaller gifts, maybe a bigger box here and there, but most of the presents you were asked to wrap were small and easy, ones that didn’t even take longer than 5 minutes. Considering it was the 21st, it seemed logical that people were buying for quick, last-minute purchases. 

“The amount of old people who buy lube is…” Jisung gags. He had just finished a string of stories about how he’s judged customers based on what they buy and this was how he was choosing to conclude it. Your jaw drops as he looks back at you with a pained expression, “Like I mean, good for them but, the amount of old people, you know?” 

“I mean… ‘tis the season?” You're unsure whether to laugh or gag, “I guess they’re trying to keep the holiday season spicy or something.” You rip a piece of tape from the dispenser, finishing off one of the last presents from a small group given to the booth. 

“Y/N!” Jisung gasps.

“What?” You retort, “You’re the one who brought it up.” You attach a label of the object to the box and place it in a bag that is sitting between you and Jisung. 

“I know, but you’re giving me the image of old people…” He shudders, the bell on his Santa hat jingling, “Okay, okay we need to stop talking about lube and old people.” Jisung finishes his own present and plops it next to your finished present.

You snort, moving on to the next present in the pile and physically cringe at it, “Can you believe people are giving other people lingerie? Let alone make other people wrap it? I don’t even think I should be touching this right now.” Lingerie itself wasn’t the problem here, it was the fact that you knew who gave this to you to wrap and it felt fucking weird for you to be wrapping it.

“It’s not like it’s used,” Jisung points out, gesturing to a tag hanging off of the garment. The set you were working on was the last present for the meantime so Jisung had time to kill, “Touch it all you want.” 

You elbow him, “How about you do it then.” You toss it into his hands and he jumps back, a yelp escaping his lips. His voice echoes across your part of the mall, catching the attention of shoppers strolling past. You clamp your mouth shut to keep yourself from childishly laughing out loud, eyes glossy from holding it back. 

“I–” Jisung gawks at you with a slack jaw and wide eyes, “I can’t believe you just did that!” 

You can't hold back the laughter any longer, and it bursts out of you, drawing more curious glances from passersby, “If you have no problem touching it then go ahead and wrap it.” 

He groans, “Fine.” Jisung steps up and whips out a gift bag, wrapping the lingerie set with tissue paper before plopping it in. Then, he decoratively sticks in more tissue paper to conceal the intimates. When he finishes, he labels it and pushes it in your direction. 

“Thank you,” you say, still recovering from what just happened. You quickly store the present with the others, tucking it beneath the tabletop. “I still honestly don’t understand that… why couldn’t that man just give jewelry or something? A necklace or earrings for a woman is always a safe bet.”

Jisung presses his lips together and he hums, recalling how you said necklaces or earrings were always at the top of your wishlist, simply because you could never get enough of them. “What if she wanted it though?” 

“To each their own,” you shrug, “But making us wrap it?” The lingerie set wasn’t the oddest present you both had to wrap, but it’s been a good week and a half since the last one. 

“That’s fair, I guess,” Jisung snickers, “We’re like, partaking in their–”

“Okay, that’s enough,” you throw a hand over Jisung’s mouth and give him a look of warning. Jisung opens his mouth to speak but you take your thumb and push his chin up to shut it back closed. 

“Ow!” 

“I barely did shit, Ji, don’t be dramatic.” You pat his cheek when you let go of his mouth and he frowns, “You made me bite my tongue.”

“Gross, were you going to lick my hand!?” You look at him with knitted brows and wide eyes, wondering how the hell you even developed feelings for this boy. 

“No?” It comes out more like a question and a sheepish smile on his face indicates that he was lying through his teeth, “Your hand was covering my mouth!”

“You could have just physically moved my arm away from your mouth!” You counter, throwing a soft punch at his arm. 

“You’re mean.” 

“You’re disgusting.”

“You’r–”

“Ahem!” 

You two don’t notice that a customer is standing and waiting for you both to notice her, not a hint of Christmas joy in her eyes. Although you don’t see her feet through the booth, you can tell that she is tapping her foot out of impatience. 

“Oh, we apologize ma’am,” Jisung speaks up, taking a step forward, “How may we help you?” 

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ ⁺₊❆⋆

Taking your dinner break towards the end of the shift, you leave Jisung alone to manage the booth alone. You waited until it became evident that no more customers were expected to come with an overwhelming number of presents. After being away for a brief thirty minutes, you found Jisung snugly seated on the little step stool tucked away in the corner of the booth.

“Any presents?” you questioned. You shuffle under the gate and scan the inside of the stall, only finding the presents that the two of you had wrapped beforehand. 

“Just that,” Jisung points to a small, hexagonal-shaped box sitting by itself next to the bags of other presents, “But that’s it.” He leans his head back, resting it against the counter’s edge before he closes his eyes, “Man I just want to go home.” 

“One hour to go,” you sing, “Then we can leave.” You huff and scan the area of the mall that surrounded the booth, noticing that there were already a lot fewer people shopping compared to earlier, “Are you bussing again today?” 

You turn your head to look at him, eyes still shut and resting. You couldn’t help but peer at his bottom-heavy set of lips and the way his two front teeth peek out between them... and the way his lashes tickle part of his cheekbones. 

You wonder if Han Jisung knew how pretty his features were. 

“Yeah,” Jisung hums, “You?” 

You answer, “Mmhmm.” And although you and Jisung didn’t take the same bus home, you were still happy to hear that you weren’t going to be waiting alone in the cold for the bus. 

The remaining customers who visited the stall were those who were there to pick up the presents you both wrapped, which were easy one-and-done interactions. 

As the clock ticked down, you and Jisung found yourselves in a comfortable silence, a shift from your usual banter. It wasn’t an awkward silence, but rather a tired one, both of you ready to finish the day and head home. Interacting with tens of different people was exhausting. 

But despite your excitement to actually head home to snuggle up on your couch, your eyes were still flickering back and forth between the mall corridor and the hexagonal box now sitting alone. You go to pick it up, placing it on the tabletop. “Did you get the number for this customer’s gift? Why haven’t they picked it up yet?”

Jisung blinked at the box, sliding it his way, inspecting it as if he had written a name or number on the wrapping paper, “I’m honestly not sure.” “It looks like it’s important,” you frown.

“I’m sure they’ll be back tomorrow if not today,” Jisung grins. He sits the box back down gently and stands almost shoulder to shoulder next to you. 

You hope he’s right because it was odd thinking someone had dropped a present off and didn’t pick it up. Hell, the gift was so small that the owner could have just waited for it to be wrapped. 

When the final hour passed, you both swiftly closed up the booth, tidying up the wrapping paper, tape dispensers, and tags. The box still sat in the same spot that Jisung placed it in. He takes it, “I’ll put this somewhere safe for tomorrow.” 

All you did was nod.

Jisung yawned, his energy visibly drained from the day's work. He picks his bag up after bundling himself up with his winter jacket and scarf. It almost weighs him down, but he regains balance with a shuffle of his feet. 

“Well, that's a wrap,” you say, attempting a pun to lighten the mood. Jisung manages a tired chuckle, rolling his eyes and appreciating the effort. The clattering of shutters from other stores rumble throughout the mall and it’s another indication that the shift was finished. 

“Finally,” he sighs, stretching his arms above his head, “Let's get out of here.”

Exiting the booth together, you and Jisung head towards the exit closest to the bus stop. It wasn’t snowing or windy, but you could predict that the air was going to be cold, so you brace yourself by hiking the collar of your jacket up over your nose.

When you and Jisung slip out through the doors, you immediately feel the chilly evening air biting at the exposed skin on your faces, an aching contrast to the warmth of the mall. Your pockets do nothing to keep your hands warm, feeling air that managed to slip into your pockets. 

“Fuck,” Jisung’s teeth rattle, “Fuck, it’s cold.” His shoulders rise to his ears, his body attempting to keep itself warm. In other circumstances, you would have answered Jisung with something sarcastic like ‘No shit, Sherlock’ or ‘Wait? Really?’, but you were freezing your ass off right now. 

It was so cold that you two couldn’t even talk on the way to the bus stop, legs and feet moving quickly to get there. You could feel your lashes stiffening from the cool air, previously moist from the way your eyes had slightly welled up from the slap of cold to your face. You want the bus to come right now and quickly, but last time you checked, it wasn’t coming for another 10 minutes. 

As you wait for your buses, you steal glances at Jisung, thoughts still occupied with that seemingly abandoned hexagonal box. Your breath forms small clouds in the frigid air as you try to shake off the cold, eyes flickering between the dimly lit bus stop sign and Jisung's bundled figure.

“Y/N?” Jisung’s voice is muffled by his thick scarf, almost sounding like you were imagining it. But the way his eyes blink back at you, you know he really was talking to you. 

“Yeah?” You push your hands deeper into your pockets, seriously regretting not bringing thicker gloves. You need to turn your entire body to look at him, the brim of your toque falling just over your brows. 

You silently watch as Jisung slips his bag off his shoulder, sticking his arm in to pull something out. He rummages for a little bit, pushing things aside before he finally finds what he is searching for. Watching in anticipation, you wait for him to reveal whatever it was.

Jisung’s hands open to present the hexagonal box, still neatly wrapped in the booth’s paper, and he pushes it toward you, holding it out.

Your heart skips a beat, “Jisung, why do you have that? I don’t think we’re allowed to bri—”

Jisung shakes his head and he inches closer, still holding the box out for you to take, “Merry Christmas?” 

You try to process what is going on, shifting your gaze between the box and Jisung’s eyes, “Wait so…” You gently pick the box up from his hand and then look back up at him, “This is for me?” 

The man in front of you nods, “From me.”

The cold air nipping at your fingertips has been long forgotten, “I’m still confused, Ji.”

“Open it,” Jisung says, “I hope you like it.”

“But I didn’t get you anything.”

“Does it look like I care?” Jisung counters, “Open it.”

Your eyes glance up and behind Jisung, making sure that the bus is not on its way to the stop before your fingers begin fumbling with the wrapping paper. The ripping of the wrap fills the silence between you and Jisung, your eyes trained on what was sitting beneath it. 

The box is black with faux leather. Nothing on it indicates what it was. No brand name or anything. But when you shake it, the box rattles in the slightest, indicating something small inside. 

After crumpling the wrapping paper up into your fist, you go to open the lid of the box and set your eyes on a dainty, gold necklace. The pendant was a simple gold heart, no larger than the tip of your index finger, something you’d definitely pick out for yourself.

“Jisung…” you whisper, running the pad of your thumb over the heart, “You didn’t have to get me this… it’s beautiful, but you didn’t need to get me this.” Your arms stretch out to return the shiny necklace back to him, shaking your head. 

“I wanted to,” Jisung declares, “I saw it at the jewelry shop near my gym and thought you’d like it.” 

“I do…” you nod, “Thank you, Ji.” You retract your arms and almost cradle the box in your arms, too lazy to put it into your bag, “I promise you I’ll get you a present too… to say thank you.” Behind him, you can see one of your buses from afar, slowly advancing on the icy roads. You feel a sense of relief when you see it’s your bus, already imagining the warmth the vehicle holds inside. 

“Scratch that thought,” Jisung notices your bus pulling up, too, so he knows he needs to make this quick, “There’s something else you could do to say thank you.”

“What is it?” 

“A date with me?” 

Your eyes narrow and you can’t help but throw a soft punch at his arm, “Han Jisung, is this seriously how you’re asking me out on a date? By wooing me with a necklace?” 

Jisung rubs the spot of contact and he groans, “No?”

“Cause I’d say that it’s a little bit cute…” you grin shyly. 

“Well in that case, yes.” You can hear the smile in Jisung’s voice and you roll your eyes. Of course, this was his plan all along. But you still admit to yourself that it really was cute. 

Your bus finally arrives and halts to a stop right in front of you and Jisung. The driver opens the door and your stiff, frozen joints move you up to get into the vehicle. But before you get on, you quickly turn to Jisung, who’s still waiting for an answer. 

“A date it is then.”

taglist: @tytrackfebreze @hoonieji @niinjo @dinonuguaegi

an: finally got around to finishing this bc I rly didn't think I'd be this busy but it is what it is,,, hope you enjoyed this! up next is Jake!

[mattnben-bennmatt]

Matt Damon presents Ben Affleck with the Santa Barbara International Film Festival Modern Master Award (February 2013)

-

MATT: [Emphatically praises Ben's skills as a director and a filmmaker, telling how Ben was a great problem-solver since they were teenagers discussing movies, and how this made him both a great writing partner and also take on problem-riddled scripts in the early days of his career, as Ben could always see their potential. But it's only when he was able to implement his vision as a director that his mastery came to light, and that Ben, as the director, is the one responsible for how great his movies came out, that it didn't happen by chance. He then emotionally calls Ben to the stage to give him the (seriously heavy) award.]

BEN: [Proceeds to spend the next 3 minutes praising Matt, repeatedly calling him "brilliant" and a "genius". Explains that he knows Matt's a genius because he's known him for more than 30 years and has seen him "do about everything you can do. Including [...] in the shower", has seen "the entire range of his personality, his emotions, his life experience". So when he doesn't recognize Matt in a role he's playing, Ben's "humbled" and "completely blown away". That Matt has worked with all those great directors because they have seen greatness in Matt. And so has everyone in the world.] And so have I.

MATT: I'm not getting the award! Jesus!

BEN: I guess I'm just riffing! I've got nothing written, so. [...] I am lucky because I saw [Matt's greatness] before all of you! So thank you very much to Matt. Now onto my 10-page written remarks. [Laughter]

-

[Full transcript under the cut.]

-

LEONARD MALTIN: He just flew in tonight to do this, please welcome, ladies and gentlemen, Academy Award winner, Matt Damon.

MATT: Thank you. Thank you. This thing is seriously heavy. This is a serious award, man. So, a Modern Master. Okay.

I'll tell you what. When we were kids— we started really looking at movies when Ben was fourteen and I was sixteen. And we'd go to Somerville, as he said, to the Assembly Square Mall, they had the big pictures there; or Fresh Pond; or in Harvard Square. And it was usually the same little group of guys: it was Ben, and me, and Casey. And our other friend who Ben mentioned tonight, Aaron Stockard, who wrote Gone Baby Gone and The Town with Ben. And then a few other friends of ours. But predominantly, we all became screenwriters, either on purpose or by accident.

And we'd come out of these movies— and we saw all kinds of movies and we just loved movies. We worked in a movie theater, actually, one summer; tearing tickets and serving popcorn for— the only movie they played was Dead Poets Society, which is a movie we both auditioned for and didn't get. I don't know, some form of bizarre self-torture that we got jobs at the movie theater that was playing Dead Poets Society, and had to watch the exiting crowds weeping every night.

Anyway, we loved movies. But we'd come out of these movies and we'd say, "What'd you guys think?" and we'd have a little note session in the parking lot. And inevitably, "That was stupid, I didn't like it." We'd have these kinds of real adolescent notes. And then we'd get to Ben—who would have been quiet to that point, uncharacteristically—"And what do you think?" And he'd go, "Well, it didn't quite work for me. But had they done this, this, and this at the beginning, what you could have done in the middle was you could have a scene where you did this, and then they could have a great scene at the end, where you could have done that." We'd go, "Holy shit! That's a really good movie!"

This is a skill that he had, and I don't know if he was born with it, but he had it when he was fourteen when we started going to movies together. It was just that thing, where he could lift up the hood and look at the engine, and get in there and take it apart, and put it back together, and the whole thing would run smoother. It's what made him such a great writing partner. He could problem-solve. And so much of filmmaking is just that: it's just problem-solving and decision-making in real time.

And that's the same skill that got him in a lot of, well, mediocre movies for a patch there. Ten, or fifteen years ago I'd read a script of a movie he was doing—he'd signed on to do the movie—and I'd read it and I'd go, "Why are you doing this? Horrible problem in Act 1, and they don't solve it in Act 2, and it gets worse in Act 3." And he goes, "I know, but if you do this, this, this, and this, this movie is gonna be fantastic!" And I'd go, "You're absolutely right!" The problem was he wasn't directing the movies. And in our business, the director is god. And the director is also your boss. And like a good soldier, he would he would plead his case, but eventually he'd do what the director wanted. And the problems that were evident to him at the very beginning, were evident to him at the premiere.

So here he is now. He's made three fantastic movies, one better than the next. And one thing I've learned is that you cannot make a great movie by accident. Anybody who makes a great movie is a great director. Period. [Applause] That's true. Because the director is responsible for literally everything. Everything. The framing of the shot; where the camera is; what the actors are wearing; the color of the walls; the color of the drapes; the color of the scarf around the leading lady's neck; the way she says that line. Everything. It's all manipulated. Every single decision. These directors are making hundreds and hundreds of decisions a day, over hundreds of days. You just can't do it by accident. It's literally impossible.

And Ben's made these three great movies. And this last one Argo is legitimately a great movie: that's already nominated for Best Picture, and it's already won the Golden Globe for Best Picture, and for Ben for Best Director, and no one's gonna be surprised if it wins the Oscar for Best Picture. [Applause]

And so here I am, with my— my buddy is, without question, a great director! And so when I was contemplating this whole Master thing, I guess the only thing I could say is, please welcome... Please welcome somebody who is undeniably two things: my very old friend and a very young master. [Applause]

It's heavy, man!

BEN: Thank you very much. This is indeed a lot. I want to say thank you to Matt Damon, who when he gets this award, I hope will invite me here to give a speech about him. Mine will be a bit more of a roast because so many of the brilliant characteristics of Matt are so blatantly self-evident.

Matt Damon actually is brilliant. We traffic in these adjectives and in hyperbole in this business an awful lot, so it's rare to actually know a genius. And I know that Matt's a genius because I know him, and I've known him for more than 30 years. I've seen him do about everything you can do. Including—we played sports together—I even saw him in the shower. Which is why that was a nice speech. Because you don't roast somebody who's seen you in the shower.

But what I've seen about Matt is who he really is. So I know and I've seen what I consider to be the entire range of his personality, his emotions, his life experience, more or less. So when I go see a movie that Matt's in, and I see a fully realized, deeply nuanced, completely complicated person—who not only have I never met, I've never even seen! Not for a second!—I am humbled and I am completely blown away.

Matt talked about directors. There are a lot of things that I would have cause to envy Matt over. The one thing I probably envy him the most is: Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, the Coen brothers. [To Matt] Help me out! A whole shitload of directors who are geniuses. Clint Eastwood, twice. Cameron Crowe. I mean, on and on. Matt has worked with basically all the great directors who can still get up out of a chair. And the reason why is because they're great directors and they can recognize greatness. And they've seen it in Matt; and so have all of you; and so has America; and so have international film-going audiences; and so have I.

MATT: I'm not getting the award! Jesus!

BEN: I guess I'm just riffing! I've got nothing written, so. [To Matt, unitelligeable.]

I am lucky because I saw it [Matt's greatness] before all of you! So thank you very much to Matt. Now onto my 10-page written remarks. [Laughter]

[thelarriefics]

STRANGERS TO LOVERS FIC REC, Part II: Below you will find more fics that have Harry and Louis barely knowing one another before intimacy. (Part I)

📖 Let Your Heart Be Light by @cyantific (77k)

Louis Tomlinson, a self-proclaimed holiday-hater, loses his job two weeks before Christmas. Broke and desperate to see his family back home in England, he takes the only job left at the mall as one of Santa’s helpers. Harry is an unconventional mall Santa, the youngest one they’ve had in years, but with as much holiday spirit as any other seasoned Saint Nick. He’s determined to un-Grinch the new guy in Santa’s Village if it takes until Christmas, then he finds out the devastating reason Louis has lost his Christmas cheer. Will Harry be just the thing Louis needs to help him get his sparkle back?

Featuring Liam as the manager at Santa's Village, Niall as an easy-going Irish elf and Harry's best friend, grumpy Grinch Louis and his best friend Zayn and one matchmaking Mrs. Claus.

📖 where the tide takes you, i will follow by @pinkcords (53k)

There’s no way around his departure, their inevitable fate. Harry will leave and he will return to London and when he sits in his new flat, wherever it might be, he will think of this summer and the warmth the sun brought him and the way it felt to be loved. He will compare all his future relationships to Louis and when they fall short, he will be disappointed. Harry knows this.

Or, Louis lives in Gloucester and Harry tries to find a way to stay.

📖 You're The Christmas Wonder, That Makes Me A Believer by @lousluv91 (44k)

There were two things that every person in Louis Tomlinson's life knew for sure.

First, he was a perfectionist. A hard-working person, a caretaker who took his responsibilities seriously and often appeared to be kind of intimidating. Though those he trusted also knew his very soft and loving side.

The other thing they all knew was that Louis hated Christmas.

or the one where Louis is a grinch and Harry teaches him to love Christmas. Maybe Louis falls in love with more than just the holidays.

📖 Purring In My Lap (The Kitty Fic) by @yoursolosong (40k)

Louis and Harry are two strangers who find an abandoned kitten at the same time and argue over who's going to keep it. Begrudgingly, they decide to co- parent because they're both stubborn and don't trust the other to take proper care of the kitty.

📖 now you're in my life (I can't get you off my mind) by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed (32k)

In reality, it’s a little different. Because as much as Harry loves the concept of dating, the reality sucks.

📖 Ding-Dong! Daybreak by @thinlinez (28k)

All it took was a flat bike tire, confusing usernames, pumpkin flavored biscuits, a chaotically supportive dog and food deliveries at daybreak for Omega Louis to fall hard.

📖 Sweet as Honey by @teamlouis2023 (21k)

Louis has always been shit at cooking. When he discovers Sweet as Honey on Instagram, owned by chef Harry Styles, he intends to mock him by recreating his recipes with his awful skills, posting photos on his own Instagram account, Nailed It. It's all fun until Harry asks to meet him.

📖 I Just Want To Start a Flame in your Heart by @peachbootylouis (21k)

Harry’s impending album release meant promo season was in full swing. While at an industry party with his manager, a harp player catches his eye and Harry is instantly bewitched.

📖 Checking Them Out?: How To Use Your Library Science Degree To Get an Alpha by @insightfulinsomniac (20k)

When a flirty, attractive alpha patron checks out an entire shelf of literature on omega behavior and omega rights, Harry can’t help but wonder why the man is so interested — is he a really attentive partner, or is he just a creep?

It doesn’t help that this alpha visits weekly to exchange his books… and that he smells absolutely divine.

Whether he likes it or not, Harry has a crush.

📖 lucky me, lucky you by @sun-lt (17k)

He wants to let Louis have that—have him, on his knees, easy and good and willing—badly.

📖 Be Mine? by @softfonds (11k)

Getting dumped the week before Valentine's Day wasn't in Harry's plans, and neither was being dragged to a concert to forget about it. But a sign Zayn brings manages to turn his night around in more ways than he hoped for.

📖 i need something, so tell me something new by @alwaysxlarrie (10k)

Louis goes on vacation to New York City to enjoy the good weather and good food - he even has a list of restaurants he wants to eat at. Much to his delight, his first restaurant stop includes a gorgeous curly boy and his nosy but supportive best friend. Maybe he'll get more than what he came here for.

📖 Wait by the Light of the Moon by @jaerie (5k)

Being a single parent of a newborn was not in Harry's plan. He can barely keep himself together doing everything on his own. He can't explain why he finds comfort in his neighbour next door, but apparently it's mutual.

📖 Get Nesting & Soft Knots by @pocketsunshineharry (5k)

AU where Omega Louis who runs a nesting materials Youtube channel meets Alpha Harry who knits his own blankets

📖 Perfect, For Now by @parmahamlarrie (4k)

Moving to a new city is always hard, being away from home, finding your new community - none of it is easy. Dealing with all of this while being touch deprived is even more difficult.

That is where omega Harry Styles finds himself a few months into his move to Brighton.

Then a mysterious alpha's scent enters his life, and he finds that he can't stay away.

📖 Unplant by @hellolovers13 (4k)

Louis should've looked where he was going, then he wouldn't have to desperately try to save a little flower now.

📖 She is Beauty, We are World Class by @exquisitelycloseted (3k)

A 70's London AU where Louis loses himself, and Harry finds him before he gets lost.

📖 Netflix Original by @allwaswell16 (1k)

Harry's hot neighbor overhears that he doesn't have Netflix.

[wannab-urs]

Gin's 2023 sappy post

It's hard for me to believe that at the beginning of this year, I didn't know a single one of my best friends in the world existed. But it's true!

How we got here

I'm not quite sure exactly when I started looking up Pedro Pascal on Tumblr, but it was sometime after February. I'd watched Game of Thrones and Oberyn was my favorite character, but I was in one of my periods of not being on Tumblr (I've had this account for about 10 years, but it's seen many fandoms and I haven't always been active).

I watched the first few episodes of The Last of Us that had come out - I was 3 episodes behind I think - and immediately looked up Joel Miller on Tumblr. How could I not? Anyway, give me ten minutes on this hellsite and a middle aged man with a huge imdb and watch me develop a hyperfixation.

So then I looked up interviews. I watched basically every interview this man ever did, but I remember that the Lie Detector interview and his appearance on the Talk Easy podcast are really what did me in. I went from admiring this man as an actor and thinking he's pretty to basically being in love with him.

Anyways....

I didn't mean to start reading fanfic? I come from the world of Destiel on AO3. I never wrote it, I just read copious amounts of it. I'd never read reader insert, much less straight reader insert, and I'd never written a word of anything even resembling a fanfiction.

But I found @prolix-yuy, @frannyzooey, @joelscruff, @fuckyeahdindjarin, and @ezrasbirdie (check the spreadsheet, y'all are at the very top!) and I was hooked.

Then I read Psychomanteum by @whatsnewalycat and Celestial Navigation by @write-and-buried and was inspired to parade my trauma around in a Dieter shaped trench coat: AGOY was born.

@beskarandblasters is the first person I really talked to on here. In fact, Kel is the one who introduced me to most of my friends on here. And we've been harassing each other on the daily since. I hope to 🦵 her in real life someday soon ❤️. I love you, bitch. You mean the world to me.

I could never ever ever list all of my dear friends I've made on here. Seriously, there are so many of you that mean the world to me. But I'm gonna list a few.

My cannibal crew @pr0ximamidnight and @atinylittlepain, without whom Love as Violence Dave (starving season), Head up his Ass Javi (in the a.m.), and the later editions of loser druggie Dieter (AGOY) would not exist - or at least they wouldn't be as good as they are.

My darling soup snake, the loml, my spider twin, my forever partner in making bitches cry (it's us, we're bitches, making each other cry in an endless loop) @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin. #1 AGOY stan forever, you may love my own magnum opus more than I love it. Thanks for listening to me scream about every pedro boy on the planet and thanks for screaming right back at me. I love you.

The random college student I found by accident, decided to take under my wing, and then was subsequently taken under their wing bc it turns out they have more fandom experience and life advice than I can ever hope to have @idolatrybarbie. Bea, my darling, thanks for always letting me bitch, for showing me fics I never thought I'd be into (The Santa Claus AU Frankie Morales Free Use Kink, anyone) but that I often was into, for encouraging my writing, and for being fucking real with me.

The pedrostories crew, but especially @pedrorascal - I love screaming about Pedro with you at... 2:30 in the morning my time (we love time zones!). Thanks for letting me be a terrible mod for your fic archive blog and never getting mad at me for not doing my job. And for being a wonderful, kind, amazing person all the fucking time.

I'm being so serious when I say I could list at least 20 more people. People who brightened my day with a reblog or a message. Or who wrote a fic I still think about at least once a week. Or who made a gifset that is permanently etched into my brain. People I talked to in discords and most likely trauma dumped on and they listened and they cared and they let me hold their trauma in return. I love you guys so fucking much.

Conclusion

I never could have imagined I'd be a writer and run a fic rec blog at 24. Especially not for Pedro Pascal Characters. But here we are -- and I can honestly say it has been the highlight of my year. And I bought a house this year.

I have so many new friends and a new hobby (I never wrote at all before this) just because I wanted to Fuck That Old Man. Incredible.

[lightwing-s]

the idea of food vlogger is because i want to dote jason with delicious food... and i feel like he and both reader would enjoyed being cared for, also, it would warm the batfam knowing theres someone to care for jason when he still hesitate to totally allow himself to be part of the family and let them care for him🥹🥹

for reader's part, there is someone who will appreciate them instead of taking them for goods. my idea for readers backstory is that she dont feel fitted in her high class family, like she has a sister and a younger brother who succeeds in many while she just... you know. cooking and baking and alcohol at first serve as a distraction, then it becomes other taking her love language for granted, then it became a fight, a big break away from home for college as well, a content maker for while of escapism, a job, somewhere in between...

i think how reader meets jason is when she notices her new neighbor seldom out always hiding (past!arkham knight -> red hood) and never seems to eat. and she always make lot of food as she tends to let herself follow the flows even though she cant possibly eat up. so. she left it on jasons doorstep and a note by saying a brief hello. jason at first of course was skeptical but still eat it since hes highly tolerant to drugs and who would honestly left food that is wrapped nicely in a lunchbox at someone's doorstep lol. aftet times, he would find out reader bank account and bank in a few hundred dollars and wouldn't take no for answer. (he did not include fancy dinnerware or cutlery set as well) reader... well, didn't expect it but she did need money and it also mean she can use the set to make more food for her strangely nice, grumpy neighbor.

jason and reader after sometimes both want to know more on each other. but didn't do so as afraid to freak each other. it just happen in a point when jason about to head out (buying gifts for reader) and he saw reader putting a batch of freshy baked cookies and milk on his doorstep. and... his first word is... "really? cookies and milk? what are you, a santa?" reader blink eyes, "um. no. just in mood for it... do you still want it?" jason faceplams, "about that, come in first..."

and that's how they meet! this is what i had in mind though, i would die to know how you think they would meet!! (write this i beg you honor🫂🫂!!) (seriously gonna stop myself being so talkative on askbox lol😹)

You had just moved from your hometown, family and life in general just not feeling right to stick around any longer. A new city, a new place, a new job, a fresh start. That was all you needed and things had been going… fine. Just a tidy bit lonely. 

You’d often find yourself sitting by your window and watching people roam around in your street and at the small park just in front of your building. That’s when you first noticed your quiet and quite strange neighbor, making their way in very early in the morning and looking like someone who had just put on an all nighter. And then, you started a ritual of watching him arrive every morning before going to work, and leave just as you’d return.

Mrs. Dawson from downstairs would tell you how she’d never see him bring anyone or anything around, even food. So, you decided to be a kind neighbor and just, you know, feed him. He lived on your floor, and you could just wait to hand it to him once he came home. But weirdly, that day he didn’t show up at his usual time and just decided that the next best option was to leave it at his door. So, you looked at the metal lunch box sitting on his door mat and just felt… odd.

So, you hurried up inside your apartment and got a pen and a post-it block with the intention of writing him a note. You just didn’t count on not knowing what to write at all, ending up with a ‘hi’ and an awkwardly drawn smiley face.

You did it for a few days, unsure if he was even the one taking the lunch boxes away, but finding them emptied out by your door every night. One day, he sneaked in a one hundred dollar bill that you kindly slipped under his door. But then, you’d wake up to the same bill thrown under your door, and the same thing would happen every time you tried to sneak it under his. You didn’t need his money. You weren’t doing it for that anyway.

You just liked it, and even prepared a full meal plan for him with every tiny bit of information you managed to get from his life, which really wasn’t much. You used it as content for your channel, and people would wonder who the hell you made that food for, as you couldn’t just eat it all by yourself. They swore you must have had a boyfriend.

It was sunday, and it was raining heavily and you were out of ideas of what to make that day (and out of food in your pantry as you didn’t have the time to go to the supermarket recently), so you decided to bake your comfort food: cookies. After a few batches were done, you put them in a box with a ribbon on top, and even got some warm milk in a glass bottle to go along, and headed to his front door. 

You were just putting it there, making sure to position it nicely, when a grave voice nearly made your heart jump out his chest.

“Really? Cookies and milk? It’s not even Christmas yet.” You turned to find your neighbor, the one you’d been feeding for the past month and who you hadn’t noticed looked this hot, standing right in front of you, jacket hood over his head, and said jacket dripping water on the wooden floor. You didn’t know how to or what to reply, and just stood there for a while until you noticed his eyebrow go up.

“Uhm… no? I was just in the mood for it, and it was kind of the only ingredients I had at home… Do you still want it?” you asked, unsure of what to expect next.

Jason, on the other hand, mentally slapped himself for sounding so rude to you, especially after your cooking had been the only decent source of food he’d been getting in a while. Instant ramen and fast food orders were just not it. “No! Of course I want them.” he hurried to get the cookie box, immediately opening it and stuffing a cookie in his mouth. It was delicious as usual, and he even rolled his eyes as the taste filled his tongue. “Sorry for my lack of manners,” he said, mouth still stuffed. “Your food has been the highlight of my days these past few weeks.” 

Upon his words, you felt the heat burning up your cheeks and instinctively looked at your feet. “I wished I could’ve made a real meal, I was just out of ingredients and…”

“It’s perfect!” he interrupted you, thinking that whatever you were going to say would be plain stupid. Anything you made him was enough, and he was so thankful for your meals he couldn’t even put them into words. “But if you want to make something else, for the both of us, I have a few things inside I think you could work up a meal.” he said with uncertainty, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

Recounting everything you still had at home, you gave him a shy smile, still not certain where to look, but managing to get a glimpse of his own shy smile and puppy eyes. “I’m sure I could figure something out.” You said, and entered his apartment as he held the door open for you. The two of you cooking together your first meal of many more to come.

.

a/n: don't you ever stop being talkative in my inbox, missy! I loved this. I love just creating backstories for my characters and usually not writing the story lmao, so i feel you (i’ve been obsessing with ghost riley from cod and i just had to make my own oc recently lol). and now i'm heading to bed because it's 2 am and i have to wake up at 6am. but writing again made me feel so great tonight, thank you to you all and hopefully i'll see you soon.

[detectivegumshoepals]

zuzsenpai (detectivegumshoepals)'s Ace Attorney fanfiction masterpost

Since I'm hoping to come back to the AA fandom around the time the AJ Trilogy is released, I figured I should document all of my AA fics in one place, in case I want to write more in the future. All of my Ace Attorney fics contain "text box images", so the AO3 word counts are inaccurate. Also this list does not contain collaborative fics. Comprehensive fic list under the cut:

Multi-ship:

"Turnabout Dishwasher" - Narumitsu, Klapollo, Blackmadhi, various friendships including Miles & Ray, Trucy & Pearl, Phoenix & Maya, Trucy & Apollo. - multi-chap 32/32 (completed); rated T; 422,600 words - Summary: Trucy is leaving on a post-graduation trip around the world, leaving Phoenix more alone than he’s been in a long time. Before she leaves, Trucy asks her Uncle Miles to keep her father company while she’s gone. And Edgeworth takes his job very seriously. Meanwhile, Ray Shields reminisces on Miles’ growth over the many years they’ve known each other. On the other side of the world, Apollo and Nahyuta will be working with some new, but very familiar prosecutors in Khura’in.

Narumitsu only:

"Thought Provoking" - oneshot; rated T; 10,500 words - Summary: During the Sprocket wedding reception, the topic of Phoenix, Edgeworth and weddings comes up again. And again. The Butz is on a roll, and Edgeworth, Phoenix and Maya are along for the ride.

"Thoughts Run Wild" - sequel to "Thought Provoking" - multi-chaptered (ongoing/on hold); rated T; 3,500 words - Summary: Months after Phoenix and Miles realize they star in each other's wedding fantasies, Miles wonders why things haven't progressed in their relationship. Thoughts aren't reality, no matter how much we wish that were so. How can Miles aim to fix that?

"Hypothetically Speaking" - oneshot; rated T; 375 words - Summary: "Hypothetically speaking, how would you go about sneaking into the courtroom…"

Blackmadhi only:

"Glass Walls" - oneshot; rated T; 5,300 words - Summary: Nahyuta finds a Mitamah-green colored sticky note affixed to their office wall, with words written on the sticky side. “Why are you here so late?”, signed with a little doodle of a feather.

"Dragon's Hoard" - oneshot; rated T; 3,500 words - Summary: Simon’s birthday was in September. As a gift for his 30th, Athena bought Taka a “perch” for the office. This perch was in reality a large, black, wrought iron Christmas ornament display tree, but Simon thought it was hilarious and set it up in his office immediately.

"Sad Santa Sahdmadhi" - oneshot; rated T; 565 words - Summary: "Why are you dressed as Father Christmas’ weird cousin?"

"Happy Anniversary You Shitty, Shitty Person" - oneshot; rated T; 1,100 words - Summary: Simon’s got places to be, confections to unveil, Sad Monks to bother.

"You're the Only Place That Feels Like Home" - Blackmadhi-specific sequel to "Turnabout Dishwasher - oneshot; rated T; 9,200 words - Summary: He could stare at the Khura’inese mountains all day. He could listen to Skye-dono and Queen Amara remind him of how much he’s changed since he moved here. But to call Khura’in his home? Simon wasn’t so sure. He had to find Nahyuta before he took that mental step.

Klapollo only:

"Second Helmet" - oneshot; rated T; 10,000 words - Summary: As 30-year-old Apollo settled back into his old life at the Agency, the defense attorney realized this relative peace hadn’t even been his old life. Peace was something new, and frankly the mundaneness was kind of exciting. He hoped, but didn’t expect, everything to fall into place accordingly.

"On My Level" - oneshot; rated M; 2,200 words - Summary: Klavier finds Apollo in a peculiar position. Apollo finds Klavier at a peculiar angle.

[youkailuvr]

RebelCaptain Secret Santa 2023

Hi @luciechat !

I’m not your original RCNSS, but I volunteered to whip up a little something for you when your original SS had irl happenings that prevented them from writing it.

Your prompts honestly sounds very much like something I would like to read. As usual, this almost grew a life of its own and I hope it meets enough of your prompts to make it enjoyable. It's titled <a href=https://archiveofourown.org/works/52791835>Choice</a> and it's also on AO3.

It’s been a heck of a year and I haven’t really written anything for a long time, so I really hope you’ll like this.

Enjoy! (Summary is below; full fic below the cut.

*****

She scoffed, sipping again at her cider. “Cassian, the only reason I’m even here in the first place was because Melshi and the others broke me out of prison. You can’t seriously think I actually would have come if I had been given the choice? With who I was then? Not a chance.”

Nearly a year after Scarif, the surviving crew of Rogue One found themselves fully immersed in the Rebel Alliance’s efforts against the Empire.  Not only was the Alliance searching for a more permanent base after evacuating Yavin IV, but they were actively and heavily recruiting to boost their numbers, which is how Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso found themselves on the miserable little world of Agmir.

Cassian had only been fully cleared for all field missions a month previously, finally relieving him of the frustration of being on desk duty and intelligence analysis.  During his lengthy recovery (which involved several surgeries and many hours of physical therapy), he and Jyn had grown closer.  Jyn’s recovery had taken much less time than his and, as she found her place in the Rebellion, her talents as a fighter and coder had not gone unnoticed.  Jyn had already been on a few missions with the Pathfinders and given several (unofficial) sparring lessons, but she always returned to Cassian’s side after each mission.

Once Cassian was cleared for full duty, he made it clear (with Jyn’s permission) to Draven that he would only be taking field assignments with her as his partner.  (As much as it pained him to not have K-2SO by his side, Cassian had yet to find a suitable body for the droid’s backup disks.)  Draven had then given him the assignment to investigate the planet Agmir for possible Alliance recruits and suppliers.  A milk run, really, an easy job that Cassian hadn’t had to do for years, but having a non-life-threatening mission for once had seemed appealing at the time.

If only he had known about the rain.

Agmir was a developed planet, semi-populated, with the standard sector mix of rural and urban, wealthy and less-fortunate, law-abiding and law-breaking.  For most of the planet’s rotational period, it was temperate – a few rains here and there to avoid droughts, but mostly pleasant.  For the remaining two standard months, however, Agmir received eighty percent of it’s annual rainfall, resulting in daily rain and many destructive storms. 

And, of course, Cassian and Jyn arrived a month into that two-month window.  They realized very quickly that the rainy season was not prime time for tourists or even off-worlders in general, so they changed their cover stories from a clueless vacationing couple looking to explore the ‘edges of civilization’ to a pair of traveling laborers looking for work who had the poor luck to land on Agmir during the worst time of the year.

The rain would be bearable, Cassian thought as they entered the local bar and shook the rain from their shoulders, if only we were getting results.  As Jyn walked to the bar to get drinks and Cassian headed for what had become their customary seats, he reflected on what was likely to be a failed mission.  They had visited several cities so far and had currently been in this primarily working-class city for a week now.  Typically, those lower on the social rungs of society tended to be more sympathetic to the Rebellion’s cause and more willing to fight for it. 

However, it was becoming quite apparent that the people of Agmir were completely uninterested in any of the happenings of the galaxy outside of their little world – no one had even remotely shown any desire to stand against the Empire.  And Agmir didn’t produce anything that the Rebellion could use; at least, not that they couldn’t get elsewhere for lower costs and easier shipping.

Jyn returned with two glasses of a simple brewed cider, easily the least alcoholic drink the bar offered and one that had become their go-to.  They sat side-by-side on stools against the back wall of the bar, no table in front of them, but two small tables on either side, shared by other stools nearby.  He took his with a word of thanks and kept his eyes on a group of five hard-looking laborers that had just walked in – already loud and possibly already drunk.

“So, when do we get to leave here again?”  Jyn sipped at her cider, looking askance at his questioning expression as she did so.  “Don’t give me that look.  You know as well as I do that this place doesn’t offer us anything.”

“True,” Cassian replied.  “We should stick it out until the end of the rainy season.  Not being cooped up for days on end with nothing other than work to occupy the minds of the people could be helpful.”

Jyn rolled her eyes.  “I’ve seen it before, Cassian – I used to be like every person here.  Nothing will change their behavior until it affects them personally.”

Cassian’s attention was caught on the men who had walked in after them and he could tell Jyn was watching them, too.  They seemed to be the rough and tough sort of folks – bodies large and shaped by decades of manual labor.  But their voices were growing in volume, and they kept turning to look towards the rest of the bar.  Cassian wasn’t sure if it was true, but he thought they looked toward him and Jyn a little more often than was normal.  He kept an eye on them all the same.

Jyn’s words finally registered.  He looked at her, lowering his drink from where he had raised it.  “I don’t believe that.”

“What, that these people don’t care?”

“That you didn’t.”

She scoffed, sipping again at her cider.  “Cassian, the only reason I’m even here in the first place was because Melshi and the others broke me out of prison.  You can’t seriously think I actually would have come if I had been given the choice?  With who I was then?  Not a chance.”

Cassian took a drink of his own cider and watched the room for a moment before answering.  “I saw you fight –”

His words were cut off by the sound of raucous shouting coming from the men they had been eyeing.  One broke off from the rest and stumbled over towards them.  Jyn and Cassian both put their drinks down and their hands drifted to their waists.

“You…girl,” the man slurred. 

(Cassian amended his original notion – the men had most certainly been drunk when they arrived.) 

“You, you should come over here.  With us.  We could – could show you a good time.”  The man’s breath and words were laden with alcohol as he leered openly at Jyn, who stared stonily back.

“I don’t think that would be a good time,” she deadpanned. 

The man scoffed and stepped closer.  “How-how will you know if you don’t give us a try?  We’ve seen you here, with him,” the man glared at Cassian as if he had been personally offended by the rebel captain.

“Me and my friends could wipe the floor with him in a tick,” he turned back to Jyn and smirked, “Then we could show you what a real man’s like.”

Cassian slid off his stool to his feet at the same time Jyn slid off hers. 

“I said no,” Jyn repeated before looking to Cassian.  “Time to go?”

He nodded once and they stepped forward, intending to walk past the drunken man and leave the bar.  The drunkard had one more trick to try, however, and grabbed Jyn’s wrist as they stepped past.

Jyn’s other hand whipped out and caught the drunk on the chin, forcing his head up and back hard enough that the man released his hold on her.  Howling in pain, the man stumbled back and held a hand to his face. 

“You bitch!  Forget a good time – I’m gonna kill you now for that.”

“Try it and you’ll regret every second,” Jyn hissed.  Cassian looked around and saw that the commotion had roused the other bar patrons.  Most were simply watching the altercation, but the man’s drinking buddies had risen from their seats now and were stalking in their direction.

Cassian slipped next to Jyn and placed a hand at her elbow.  “We should go,” he muttered, low enough for her ears only, “We don’t need a scene.”

He felt her stiffen and saw a raised eyebrow.  “It wasn’t me that started it,” she responded.

“I know,” Cassian smiled slightly.

Jyn followed his lead and turned to continue their path out of the bar, but they were stopped by the drunk man’s also drunken friends.

One of the bigger and burlier looking ones stepped closer.  “You hurt our friend.”

“What of it?” Jyn asked, defiant.

Another spoke.  “We want payback.”

“I don’t think you do.  We certainly don’t want a fight.”  Cassian knew his attempt at pacifying the men would likely fail, but he had to try.

“Oh, but we do,” said the man Jyn hit.  The other men closed in.

Cassian saw Jyn reach just under the edge of her rain coat, where he knew her favorite set of truncheons lay.

Oh well, he thought and set himself into a defensive stance just as the men lurched forward.

---

Twenty minutes later found a drenched Jyn and Cassian opening the door to their rented room.  As the door closed behind them, they peeled off their soaked outerwear and hung it to dry.  Though given the chill in the room, their clothes weren’t likely to dry much.

The bar fight had not been a hard one.  The drunks were easy enough to incapacitate; a few bottles had been broken (and maybe a wooden stool or two).  Jyn and Cassian had maneuvered the fight out of the bar and away from the other patrons, but what had made it worse was that the moment they had succeeded in luring the men outside, the skies opened up, turning what had been a steady, if heavy, shower into an absolute downpour.

Cassian wasn’t sure if he had ever been this wet, even after Eadu.

He glanced over at Jyn, who looked back, just as soaked to the skin as he was.  “You can clean up first.  I’ll see about what’s wrong with the heater.”

“Thanks.”  Jyn grabbed her pack and walked across the room to the small, attached refresher, closing the door behind her.

Ten minutes later, Jyn emerged, now in clean clothes with a towel across her shoulders to prevent her wet hair from soaking into her dry shirt.  “Your turn,” she said, coming to stand beside where he knelt in front of the room’s heater.  “Any luck?”

Cassian leaned back on his heels and shook his head.  “No.  I can reprogram droids without a thought, but this heater?  Nothing I’ve tried has worked.”

Jyn reached out a hand and pulled him to his feet.  “Go get changed – I’ll give it a shot.”

He flashed her a grateful smile before grabbing his own pack and heading for the ‘fresher.

When he emerged a few moments later, a second towel around his own shoulders, it was to the sound of low cursing coming from the area around the heater.

Jyn was kneeling by it, forcibly replacing the outer cover and cursing quite brilliantly under her breath as she did so.

“No luck?”

Jyn easily rose to her feet.  “No,” she sighed, “At least it’s not cold enough to turn this rain to snow.”

Cassian hummed in acknowledgement as he stowed his bag next to hers by the door.  The rainy season here wasn’t cold by most sentients’ estimations, but the dampness seemed to seep into the bones and make even a moderately cool ambient temperature feel much colder. 

Body heat would likely be their best option for a safe sleep.  Given how close he and Jyn had become, it wasn’t unusual for them to share a bed, though all they ever did was sleep.  The comfort of knowing someone was near, was next to you – someone you could trust to have your back and protect you, should you need it – had given them a respite on the nights when their past became a little too prominent in their thoughts.

Jyn’s ease around him was obvious when she unerringly stepped forward and pulled down the covers on one side of the bed.  “Are you coming?” she asked.

He smiled slightly and followed her lead, laying their towels across a nearby desk chair.  As they settled into bed and dimmed the lights, a flash of red on Jyn’s arm caught Cassian’s eye.  Her shirt sleeve had gotten pushed up enough to bare her forearm and he saw an angry red slash across it.  He immediately sat up from the pillow.

“Jyn – what happened?”

She sat up as well.  “What?”

“Your arm.”  He reached for the injured limb and it was a testament to their familiarity with each other that she didn’t flinch away from his touch.  He held her wrist gently as he turned her arm to see the mark on her outer forearm – a defensive wound, then.

Jyn stared at her arm.  “Oh, it’s fine.  It had stopped bleeding by the time I got changed.” 

Cassian released her hand and slid back out of the bed. 

“Where are you going?”

“We need to clean and wrap that.  Who knows what was on whatever cut you,” he said, reaching his pack and removing the medkit.

“Cassian, it’s fine – it’s not even bleeding!”

He sat back down on the edge of the bed and held out his hand for her arm.  “I’m still going to do this.  An infection is the last thing we need right now.”

Jyn let him disinfect and bandage her arm.  “Anywhere else?” he asked.

“No,” she responded.  “What about you?” 

He shrugged.  “A few bruises, but they’ll heal.”

Jyn raised an eyebrow.  “You made me show you mine.  It’s only fair I get to see yours.”

Cassian flushed slightly and hoped the lowered lights would hide it.  “Fair is fair,” he agreed, and showed her the two worst bruises – one to his ribs and one to his bicep.  Her fingers lightly slid over the one on his arm and he could tell she was worried. 

“They’re superficial, I promise,” he assured her, reaching for her hand on his arm and holding it tight.  “I’m alright.”

They settled back down and further dimmed the lights, though they didn’t turn them off entirely and left just enough to see by if needed.

Side by side, they lay there and tried to rest.  Cassian and Jyn both knew that Agmir was not what they needed, so they had decided on the way back to the rented room to leave the next day, rain or no rain.  But to do that, they would need a good rest, if only a few hours’ worth.

Sleep proved elusive, however, as the chill of the room only deepened.  The blanket provided to them in the room had previously been enough to keep them comfortable, but the combination of a cool room combined with the soaking they had received during the fight was proving difficult to regain that warmth and rest.

Finally, he had enough and turned to her, intending to offer the most basic way of warming he could think of.

“Jyn –”

She turned at the same time.

“Cassian –”

They both laughed lowly.  “Go ahead,” he offered.

“No,” she said, still smiling, “You first.”

Cassian inhaled.  “It’s cold in this room and I know you’ve got to be just as cold as I am.  Why don’t we lay closer and share the body heat?  It’s bound to be warmer than not.”

Jyn looked at him, thoughtful.  “Okay,” she simply said, before sliding closer and curling against his side, her head on his shoulder.

Cassian froze.  Jyn noticed and he felt her tense as well. 

“Is this okay?” she asked, hesitantly.

“Yes, only let me just...” Cassian eased his arm out from under her to rest along her back.  “Okay?” he asked, hoping she was comfortable.  It had only been a moment for him, and he felt like he could rest there forever.

He felt, rather than heard her nod.  Moments passed and Cassian felt himself drifting off when he heard Jyn speak.

“Cassian?”

“Hmm?”

“What did you mean earlier?”

Cassian woke himself fully.  “When?”

The tone of Jyn’s voice was uncharacteristically vulnerable.  “In the bar; when you said you didn’t think I was like these people.  What did you mean?”

Cassian blinked, looking down at the top of her head on his shoulder. 

“I mean that...I saw you.  I may not know every detail of your life before we met, but I saw you then.  I saw you fight for yourself.  Fight to protect that little girl on Jedha.  I saw you befriend two forgotten warriors so fast that they were willing to leave all they had behind to follow.  I saw that when it came down to it, you wanted to do what needed to be done so others could have the chance to survive, to win – and your conviction was enough for others to stand and follow.  That’s all this Rebellion really is – people who see what needs to be done and do it.”

Jyn was quiet for long enough that Cassian worried he might have overstepped.  Then he felt her shift and lay her free arm across his chest.  “Thank you,” she whispered.  “I see you, too.  I see the man who has given his life time and again to a cause he believes in.  A man that befriended the most annoying, most loyal droid in the galaxy.  I saw you come back for me.  You’re the only one who’s done that in a very long time.”

Cassian’s smile at the mention of Kay faltered a little at the reminder that many of the people in Jyn’s life (and his own if he was being absolutely truthful with himself) tended not to stay long.  And they couldn’t promise each other a full life together either.  Even if they were to ever leave the Rebellion, civilians were never safe in a war.

Cassian gently pulled Jyn closer to him and tugged the blankets a little more snuggly around them.  A moment passed and he felt Jyn relax into the first tendrils of sleep.  But maybe, he mused, maybe we should take our own advice and take the chances given to us.

A gentle smile graced his face with the hope of the future as Cassian followed Jyn into sleep.

[theyanderespecialist]

Base Yandere Lila Headcanons: The Best Mom and The Best Yandere (Spooky Month)

[Hello, My Sexy Muffins! I am back with a LATE Mother's Day Special one, (I did eight, this one being the eighth one) It is with Lila from Spooky Month Base Headcanons and Traits! Let's Do this!] 

(Disclaimer: Lila from Spooky Month is not yandere in canon! This is just for fun and not to be taken seriously at all! Simping for fictional characters and yanderes is fine! Just do not be illegal or gross about it! Yanderes are not ideal partners to have in real life! Also, remember to separate fiction from reality and headcanon from canon! Thank you!)

Happy Belated Mother's Day

-Base Yandere Headcanons With Lila From Spooky Month- 

.Lila is one of the best moms there is, where she has fought literally some type of killer in a doll to protect her kid and his friend. 

.To even face a man who tried to kill her a year ago to protect her son and his friend. 

.She is one of the best moms there is. 

.She is super protective of those she loves and she loves her son as her son, and she loves you, but not in the same way. 

.She loves you in a way she knows is not fully healthy and she tries her best to control. 

.She is a protective yandere to her core and it is her job to keep you safe and sound as much as possible. 

.She adores you and just loves to watch a scary movie with you, hold you close, and eat some candy with you. 

.The candy almost being as sweet as you are. 

.She also has you be a co-parent in her son's life, he husband is out of the picture and she wants you to be a part of her family. 

.She would not listen to the police if your life was on the line, she was going to find and protect you herself. 

.She is not the type of yandere to sit around and wait to see if you are okay, she is going to make sure that you are okay. 

.When she finds you are okay she will pull you into a hug and hold you close. 

.She is also very supportive of you and would do her best to support you in any way that she can. 

.She also loves to do costumes with you, you both dressing as the clauses, may you want to be Santa or a second Mrs she does not mind. 

.She is also very loving in her core self and would be the type of woman and yandere to be very loving to her darling, you. 

.She would take the time to learn the things you like and do the things you like, even when she is busy with work or being a mom. 

.She makes the time to be with you to be close to you and to have a life with you. 

.She also makes family outings so you and she and her son can bond as a soon-to-be family. 

.She would deal with rivals with anything she can do, within the law, if it is someone like Bob trying to steal you away or hurt you, she is going to go all out to fuck his shit up. 

.But if it is some random person she will just make it clear that you are taken! 

.That you are off the market, and that you are happy. 

.If they still persist she will be honest with how she feels about it to you and ask you to not hang out alone with them. 

.She would do her best to respect you and not overstep, but she needs to make sure that you don't be alone with this rival. 

.If that does not work she will be super passive-aggressive with them, and very toxic, maybe even spreading rumors about them until they are forced to leave the town. 

.It is underhanded and manipulative, but you are hers and they are lucky that she only did that when she had thought how easy killing them would have been instead. 

.She has far more control than most other yanderes have that is for sure. Good on her! 

.When she does confess, she makes sure the feelings will be reciprocated, what she makes up for in not murdering rivals she makes up in her brains. 

.She has romanced her way into your heart and now that she has you, she will start dating you with ease. 

.But by the off chance you said no?

.She will stay "friends" with you and would slowly up her game until YOU Ask her out. 

.Also she is making sure to keep any and all rivals away. 

.What you do not know, does not hurt you. 

.Once you two are together she would be the one to propose at some point and she is certain you will say yes,  and be her spouse and they co-parent to her son, maybe even giving him a sibling or two. 

[YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS got the headcanons done in this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed this and stay sexy, all of my sexy muffins, and once again! Happy Belated Mother's Day!] 

[enchantedchocolatebars]

Her Kind Of Present ❤️ 🎁 (A fanfic based on this cute commission art here. Fic schedule here.)

On the night before Christmas, Chibi Beardo Philip was making a list in his office and checking it twice.

As Santa Claus, the bearded chibi was aware of the significance of keeping track of who has been naughty and who has been nice.

His job was taken very seriously by him.

While going over his long list, Chibi Camila happily steps into Chibi Philip's office holding a glass of warm milk and a plate of freshly baked Christmas cookies.

As Mrs. Claus, it was important for her to provide nourishment for her husband on his big night.

When Chibi Camila arrives at his desk, she places the milk and cookies in front of him with a cheerful smile.

After Chibi Philip returns her smile and thanks her in chibi, she leaves.

Taking a cookie, he dunks it into his milk before taking a hearty bite, savoring the sweet crunch.

Once the cookies and milk had been consumed and Chibi Philip had finished examining his list, it was time for him to get to work.

...

With the help of his wife and highly trained elves, Chibi Philip's sleigh was fully loaded with toys as he took off into the night sky in his sleigh, which was being pulled by his wingless flying chibi horses who all wore reindeer antler headbands.

With a heart brimming with joy, Chibi Philip was prepared to bring Christmas joy and cheer to all of the millions of children around the world.

...

When Chibi Philip and his reindeer headband-wearing horsies return to the North Pole after their night, they are met with praise and cheers from Chibi Camila and the elves for their hard work.

Thanks to them, all the children in the world were filled with joy and happiness!

When his wife approaches him with a kind-hearted smile, Chibi Philip removes his red-trimmed hat, expecting her to kiss him on the head.

However, she leans in and presses her lips against his cheek as mistletoe appears above them and a red Christmassy heart forms behind them.

Chibi Philip is clearly enjoying the affection, as evidenced by the pink tints on his cheeks.

When it comes to presents, Chibi Camila didn't want anything this year as she already had the best present of all, her husband.

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

Woo! As promised, put the show on hold and let it finish first, and then watched the entire second half in one sitting. And that included rewatching episodes 7 and 8. Definitely the right call to make - I think I had way more fun than I would've otherwise.

This second half of Sand Land is quite interesting honestly. I think at first I was definitely feeling... not negative per say, but a little put off - it's quite slow and even a little tiring to watch initially, it doesn't take much time for it to just start going through the motions of repeating stuff that happened in the first half. We'll repeat gags about how evil Beelzebub is, show off Thief's Santa costume, repeat the absorbing the power of the darkness scene. Things that we've seen before in the first part are done again but less impactfully - the only difference is that now Ann is here as a new onlooker. It feels akin to all sorts of modern sequels to retro properties, tickling your nostalgia by hitting similar plot beats, character moments, and just general scenes - think your new Star Wars movies, stuff like that. It's not inherently a bad thing, I just think the context of this production makes it feel a little awkward - Sand Land the manga may be from 2000, but this anime production is new, and for pretty much the entire audience it's going to be their first exposure to the series. So within that one production we have both the original story as it existed nearly a quarter-century ago as well as a nostalgic sequel. And they're both just the one thing. Most of the viewers - myself included - just can't take these as nostalgic callbacks, because we've literally just seen them for the first time. It's definitely just a bit weird, you know?

I think as the show went on, however, that it gradually started turning this into more of a strength. Your fairly surface level fanservicey callbacks are definitely still present - the gang do get the old tank back and do their usual crazy impossible strategies, Beelzebub goes joker mode, we raid a floating airship - stuff like that. But by and large they're seriously in service of the new narrative and oftentimes are significantly expanded upon for the sake of the narrative tension. The power of the darkness is a plot point. Beelzebub's joker mode isn't a win button. The tank is back because we've got the Sand Land military completely on our side now. And more than just letting old iconography and moments take hold of the narrative, this second part wants to flesh out every part of the setting. The picchi were making weird helpful tech in the first part, now they're making nonlethal weaponry in the second. The Swimmers are major supporting characters. Satan - Beelzebub's dad who appeared in literally one scene initially - is marginally more fleshed out as a character and dramatically more present in the narrative proper, even showing off some of his power (which is pretty important to a series like this). Wholly new are the Angels, Forest Land, and Ann - the latter of which is tied directly into Beelzebub and Satan in a way which isn't foreshadowed in the original, but also that never bothered me and she's all around a fun inclusion, so it works - her mechanical prowess rounds out the crew quite well. I don't think I've done a good job in this paragraph selling how well the show reuses the old and mixes it with the new, but it kept me having a lot more fun with this arc than I expected to just off my gut reaction to it at the beginning.

Few more miscellaneous notes:

Bred's arc is a little poor - despite his own protests he's very complicit in Muniel's actions which make him feel surprisingly weak-willed, and his turnaround ends up feeling somewhat sudden accordingly.

Thematically we're matching the original part pretty similarly, although the focus on trust is put on the backburner in favour of exploring themes of technology and technological responsibility, which feels like a natural development from that first part. Although capitalism as a theme was dropped, which tbf I didn't really think about while watching at all but it does make this second part have a little less thematic bite.

Muniel is a little shit and I desperately wanted to see him get beat up, which is a catharsis the show offers plenty of.

I was initially hesitant about Forest Land because it felt like it broke the setting of the first part a little, and although I did warm up to it, I wish they had explored it a little more.

Metalisation was a very random new power to drop lol.

I liked Ann's half-demon heritage and her internal conflict surrounding it.

It felt like Beelzebub pissed a lot more.

I kind of wish they showed us what the badlands or whatever they were called looked like with Garam having crashed into them - rainy aurora borealis was definitely sick but yk, what that lake lookin like with a dope airship in it

There's a fairly open ending leaving the potential for more stories to be told in this world - personally I could go either way, if they make more I'll watch but there's also something to be said about Toriyama's legacy and I do like this as one of the final stories he shared with us.

I should see how the game is reviewing and how the gameplay is looking and decide if I really want to buy it or not. Again probably discounted but yk

Anyway yeah that's Sand Land. I liked the first part, and I was hesitant about the second but I liked it too. A show that I liked watching from start to end. Crazy. If you're inclined towards fairly conventional action/adventure stories with a lot of personality - or just like the works of Akira Toriyama at all - I'd say check it out. It's good shit.

[cheerscoops]

ship: Jonathan Byers/Eddie Munson wc: 1.8k A/N: This one was suggested by my favorite @sherifftillman <3 I take the two freak boys and I squish. Hopefully they (and the minor background ship) live up to everyone's expectations!

“Hey Byers! Wait up!”

Jonathan stopped walking to his next class and turned to find Eddie Munson of all people racing towards him.

“I have a proposition for you,” he said once he’d caught up to Jonathan. “A job opportunity really.”

“What kind of job opportunity?” He was always looking to make a little more money around the holidays, and if the job wasn’t anything illegal, he’d seriously consider the extra work.

“So, as I’m sure you’re aware, I’m the frontman for a pretty spectacular band known as Corroded Coffin, and me and the guys were hoping to do a little something special for our fans this year. Granted, there are maybe five of them total, but still. They deserve a little something special as a token of appreciation for supporting us. Anyway, we wanted to send out a special Christmas card to our friends this year. Maybe include a flier about some upcoming shows in it? It’s still very much in the planning stages. All we know is that we want a really great photo of the whole band to go on the front of the card. That’s where you come in.”

“You want me to shoot your Christmas card?”

“Well, yeah. We don’t want an amateur with a disposable camera doing this. We want it to look good, and as far as I’m concerned, you’re the most talented photographer any of us knows. Maybe the most talented in all of Hawkins. I mean those photos you had in the school art show last year? Magazine worthy. Especially the one of that fort in the woods. It looked seriously haunted in the coolest way possible. Way better than anything anyone else submitted.”

Jonathan was touched. He knew most people only knew him as that freak with the camera, and he’d be lying if he hadn’t assumed that was why Eddie was asking when he first mentioned the card. But Eddie actually knew his work and appreciated it. He wasn’t asked just because he had a camera. He was asked because he had vision.

“How much does the job pay?” he asked.

“We’re not exactly rolling in it right now. Shocking, I know. But we talked about it and pulled our money. We can buy you a roll of film for the project so you don’t have to waste any of your own on us, and then we think we can reasonably afford to pay you for your time with twenty bucks and dinner at Benny’s afterwards. I know it’s not a lot, but it would mean a lot to us if you’d consider it. Plus, you can use the photos you take for any assignment or art show you might have coming up. And, come on.” Eddie gestured to himself. “If this handsome face is in your work, you’ll win all the top prizes for sure."

Eddie was right that it wasn’t a lot, but it was enough that it would make a difference in the quality of the gifts that Jonathan was able to get his mom and brother for Christmas. And if he didn’t have to use his own film, it was a net gain no matter what.

“So, say I agree to do this,” he started. “And I’m not agreeing just yet, but say that I do. What kinds of photos are you looking for?”

“Maybe something goofy and posed with all of us? Or artsy if you prefer. And then maybe a couple photos of us actually playing? We’ve got a Santa hat and some elf hats we were thinking of wearing since this is for a Christmas thing, but wearing them isn’t a deal breaker if you think the pictures would look better without them. Totally willing to defer to the real artistic genius here. I just want the pictures to look good, and you’re the only person I trust to make it happen.”

The idea of creative control was enticing enough to seal the deal for him.

“Alright. I’m in. When and where do you need me?”

“We haven’t settled on a specific day or time yet, but probably sometime this weekend. I’ll talk to the guys at lunch and let you know the plan before the end of the day though. I owe you my life for this. Seriously.”

With that, Eddie was racing off down the hall leaving Jonathan to try and come up with a way to make heavy metal Christmas cards into something appropriate for any of his photography class assignments.

That Saturday afternoon, Jonathan met up with the guys outside of the Hideout. The plan was to do posed photos outside and then go inside to take a few pictures of them playing. As long as they stayed focused on getting the shots they wanted, they'd be done in time for that promised dinner at Benny's.

He didn't think it would take too long, but then again, he didn't really know what working with Eddie would be like. The guy was all over him, and it was more than a little distraction. Eddie just had so many questions about his process, and he wanted to look through the camera and get an idea of what Jonathan was seeing. Or, if he wasn't asking questions, he was touching him. Adjusting a twisted camera strap, placing a hand on Jonathan's back as he leaned in the eye the proposed shot, poking at him to get his attention, grabbing at his arm to pull him over to any place he thought they could get a good photo. If Jonathan didn't know any better, he would've thought that Eddie was into him.

“Come on, Eddie,” he said as he tried to get him to pose properly for what he thought might be their last shot. “Quit it with whatever that brooding, tortured artist look is. You said you wanted something goofy, not sexy.”

“So you think I'm sexy?” Eddie asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Jonathan could feel his face burning.

“Just let me take the picture.”

He snapped a couple more photos in quick succession before putting the lens cap back on his camera.

“I think I got everything you guys wanted out here. Let's take a ten minute break, and then we can set up for the performance shots.”

Jonathan headed inside for a moment alone, but he'd barely sat down before Gareth was joining him at his table.

“You know we didn't need to hire you for this, right?” he started. “Jeff's parents own that hobby shop downtown, and his mom would have lent us a camera for free if we promised not to smash it. A fancy one with a timer so we wouldn't have even needed a photographer to get this done.”

“If that's the case, why am I here?”

“You haven't figured it out yet?”

“Figured out what?”

“You really have no idea. He's about as subtle as a heart attack, and you still don't know.”

“Can you please fill me in so I can make even a little bit of sense of what you're saying?”

“Eddie wanted you to do this so he'd have an excuse to spend time with you and get to know you a little better.”

“And he was willing to pay me twenty bucks for the opportunity?”

“Well, yeah. When he's that into someone, he loses all sense of logic and reason. Even more so than usual.”

Jonathan was stunned speechless. Eddie was into him? Suddenly all of his badgering made sense, and when he really stopped to think about it, the badgering wasn't unwelcome. If he wasn't in the middle of lining up a shot, he could see himself enjoying what was apparently Eddie's attempt at flirting.

“So, why doesn't he just ask me out? It would probably be cheaper than paying me to be your band's personal photographer.”

“He's afraid that you'd say no which I think is stupid because it's obvious how much he gets under your skin.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Dude. Your entire face looked like a tomato after you accidentally called him sexy. Pretty sure that was your subconscious telling you that you're into him, too.”

Jonathan didn't know what to say. Before he'd asked him to do this, he didn't realize Eddie even knew who he was, and now he was facing the very real possibility that he could maybe be into Eddie, too.

“Look," Gareth started. "You don't have to say anything to me or him or anybody. But, if you wanted, I could make something happen. All I ask is that you do a small favor for me.”

“Name it.”

“Put in a good word for me with Nancy?” he asked. “I find her beautiful and terrifying.”

“I'll see what I can do.”

Gareth stood up from his seat and smiled at Jonathan.

“It's been a pleasure doing business with you.”

Their break ended shortly after that, and Jonatham took a series of photos of them playing through two different songs so he could get a variety of different angles for each member of the band. Once he figured he'd gotten everything he needed, he motioned for the band to stop.

“I'm pretty sure I just used up the last of the film you guys brought, so we can call it here. I'll develop everything when I have access to the photo lab on Monday and get the prints to you as soon as possible.”

“We're done?” Eddie sounded more than a little disappointed and he crossed over to where Jonathan was loading his camera back into his bag.

“I think so. But I remember being promised dinner at Benny's as part of my payment, so we could head there now if you want.”

“Definitely. We just need to load up our stuff, and then we can all head out.”

“Actually, the guys and I have a thing,” Gareth said. “And we can't get out of it, so you guys are gonna have to go by yourselves.”

“What thing?” Jeff asked. “We don't have a-”

He was cut off from finishing his sentence by Gareth smacking his arm and pointedly looking back and forth between him and where Eddie was standing with Jonathan.

“Oh! Right!” Jeff said after the realization hit. “That thing. So sad we can't make it.”

“You crazy kids have fun without us!” Gareth said as he ushered the other two bandmates out of the bar.

“I'm going to kill him,” Eddie muttered under his breath, making Jonathan huff out a laugh.

“No, you're not.”

“Oh, but I am. I'm already drafting up posters advertising our need for a new drummer.”

“Go easy on him. He just did you a massive favor.”

Eddie crossed his arms over his chest.

“How do you figure?”

“He just got you a date with the guy you've been shamelessly flirting with all day.”

Eddie's jaw dropped. He definitely wasn't expecting that response from him.

“I'm pretty sure the guys just left without loading their stuff into the van, so pick your jaw off the floor and let me help you get that taken care of. Then you can flirt with me some more.”

Eddie changed his mind. He wasn't killing Gareth. He was gonna owe him for the rest of his life for helping him earn a date with Jonathan Byers.