#The Mystery in the Net (Part 1)

[promptsforyourwhumpfic]

Whumpers! This is your two-week head start to the Two Weeks of Whump Challenge commencing on the 3rd of July!

[Image ID/More information under the cut]

Promptsforyourwhumpfic’s Two Weeks of Whump Challenge - July 3rd-July 16th

To celebrate six years and nine thousand followers, I have compiled a small whump challenge. 

For each day, you gave been given three items/ways to hurt your chosen character with. You can use just one, or all three for each day! This isn’t limited to writing, you can create gifsets/draw etc. There is no limit. 

For those posting to Tumblr

Please tag @promptsforyourwhumpfic and/or use the tags #TWOW or #TwoWeeksOfWhump. 

For those posting to AO3:

I have created the Two Weeks Of Whump Collection (thank you for recommending I do this @dollopheadedmerlin​!) 

You can tag me at @SurroWhump

Prompts list: 

1) Poker - Shock Collar - Ashes 2) Bio-Weapon - Isolation Chamber - Needles 3) Car Battery - Scalpel - Alcohol 4) Belt - Gas Mask - Cage 5) Broken Glass - Building Collapse - Necktie 6) Kitchen Knife - Gunshot Wound - Gag 7) Cyanide - False Imprisonment - Blindfold 8) Rope - Nails - Water Inhalation 9) Acid - Branding - Meat Hook 10) Rusted Metal - Phone Call - Hammer 11) Chains - Hanging - Muzzle 12) Baseball Bat - Coffin - Nail Gun 13) Mystery Pill - Gaslighting - Fishing Net 14) Barbed Wire - Scissors - Corkscrew

Remember: tag accordingly, especially when it comes to trigger warnings!

FAQ’S

Why just two weeks? I understand not everyone has the time/stamina to do a huge challenge, so I thought two weeks was a good compromise!

Miss a day? Don’t worry! It’s not the end of the world, you can always catch up in future. This challenge is not limited to these two weeks, if you’re finding this two months after its over, then you’re more than welcome to take part!

How much do you need to write/do for each day? As much or as little as you’d like. If a drabble turns into a full fic, brilliant! If you only have the time for a sketch that's fine too! 

Want to know more? Message me/send me an ask!

[tinydefector]

Hello! I'm the one that requested the ovulation request (cyclonus) and I'm so so sorry for making the s/o a female, I didn't notice it in your rules.

But I love how it turned out!!! If you can, can you please make a part two about the ovulation, maybe s/o will get pregnant or not?? 👀👀

MINE 2

Cyclonus x human

Word count 1k

Warnings: mention of pregnancy.

I had alot of fun making this piece too so I hope you enjoy it. I didn't make this one Nsfw but I enjoyed the fluffy sweetness between them.

1

Cyclonus masterlist

___________

Cyclonus realises something was off, the scent of his loves skin had changed, the slight static lingers on their skin, but Cyclonus had to make sure it wasn't just his processor glitching. The Field felt like that of a sparkling. They lay curled against Cyclonus form on the berth. Blankets wrapped around them.

He inhales deeply the thick scent of lover's flesh now bore subtle hints of charged particulate, mingling heady musk in a way stirring coding of sparklings' new-made frames. But within flesh? Impossible - yet undeniable potential realisation shocked him to his core.

Rumbling low in awe, Cyclonus peeled away layers to peer down their form, digits running across their stomach mapping the subtly shifted electromagnetic signature pulsing within. His field flickered out in calling hoping that it wasn't a glitched system.

A small giggle comes from them as he presses his face closer to their stomach inhaling again. “Cy what are you doing?” They ask out with chipper laughter as he presses his face into their soft warm skin. There, the faintest flicker beneath flesh responds, the call of the tiniest spark echoes back to him. Awed ventilations burst from tanks as Cyclonus gathered them close in cradling arms, fields mingling in exultation beyond all dreams. "You carry a sparkling," he states in awe against flesh, voice raw with ancient worship.

They slowly meet Cyclonus' optics. "Pardon?" They ask softly. "You are with a tiny spark, it is calling out to me" he rumbled, servos tracing protective paths over still-flat flesh harbouring divine mystery. His fields pulsed adoration and protection.

Cyclonus leaned down to kiss their lips, His sensory net detected the imperceptible spark's strongest flicker directly beneath palm, drawing a reverent rumble. They had somehow forged what none thought possible. "You are carrying a sparkling. Beloved"

His grasp tightened, They lean into Cyclonus' touch. "How is that possible?" They ask again, moving to rest on their elbow. Eyes flicking down to his servo pressed against their stomach. Cyclonus rumbled deep in intakes at their awe, optics overflowing adoration for miracles blessed to them. " Its a divine mystery and blessing" he replied, digits tracing the subtle field fluctuations beneath flesh.

fingers running along Cyclonus' plating as they lay there. "Christ, so you gonna explain to me how you know I'm pregnant?" They ask with a teasing smile. Cyclonus' engine rumbled low in pure contentment. “ I can smell it on your skin, the change in your hormones and taste the static in the air” he begins to explain while pressing his face into their shoulder peppering kisses across their skin.

They let out a groan. "Is everyone else going to be able to smell that I'm pregnant? " they asked in embarrassment. Cyclonus rumbled proudly at the thought of all beholding proof of miracles. " Would I save you embarrassment if I say no?," he intoned, nuzzling them as if he were a cat. The humour in his voice isn't lost on them as they flick his helm.

They cuddle up against Cyclonus' warm form. "Cy, how am I even pregnant, I'm a human, i didn't think we were compatible like that" they state softly as his servo continues tracing patterns against their stomach. “I don't know Sweetspark, perhaps we shall visit the medic's later, but for now you should rest”

They gasp as Cyclonus rolls them to lay across his chassis. They slowly sit up as the blankets pile around their waist. He slowly presses his servo to their stomach tracing his digits along the soft skin where the sparkling would slowly swell their stomach over time. They shutter at the cool touch but relax into it.

Cyclonus vented a throaty croon as their frame settled atop his chassiplate, Slowly, gently he traced delicate spirals along their spine up their shoulders as he captured their lips in a soft kiss.

Optics aglow, "My blessed carrier," he uttered against their flushed temple, he pressed his helm to their forehead holding them close, he had forged his family in the most unlikely of places. “My perfect Light and Spark” he rumbles lowly.

They gasp his servo, leaning into the one cupping their face. "What do you think they will look like?" They ask softly to Cyclonus, not knowing how a human Cybertronian pregnancy would go. They don't even know if they would be able to carry it to full term but they were happy enough just existing with the idea that nothing would go wrong.

"Do you think they will be a seeker like you?" they continue while His thumb rubs against their cheek.

Cyclonus rumbled pensive contemplation, digits tracing gentle patterns promising protection upon stretched plate sheltering gifts beyond comprehension. ''Impossible to predict specifics on time, Cybertronians normally carry up to a century.''

"Have faith,” he chuckles softly pressing another kiss to their lips, “Tomorrow we will see the medics, I'm sure they will have a lot for questions but also answers” he sounded rather cryptic mainly because he himself didn't know what to expect, he had next thought of settling down with a family, nor ever with a human. They hum again taking in his words before finally asking. "What would you name them?”

Cyclonus vented deeply at the question, holding their body against his own. Massive servos cradled them, he lets out a deep rumble as if thinking. "Fulmina or genesis" he states before he continues “Fulmina the Sparkling of lightning to honour the sky's. Or Genesis for they are the origin of a new generation” he explains gently. A small flicker of their spark makes Cyclonus perk up at the names. “It seems they are rather content with that idea”. They look at him with pure affection. “What do they sound like?” They whisper to him.

He lets out a deep chuckle as he presses his audial against his lover's chest. “I can hear both your heart and their spark dancing together, it sounds Euphoric, their spark feels powerful and mighty, I'm sure they will grow strong” he rumbled against their. Holding them close.

_____________

Let me know if you would like to be added to tag list (tagged for every fic)

Taglist

@angelxcvxc

@saturnhas82moons

@kgonbeiden

@murkyponds

@autobot79

@buddee

@bubblyjoonjoon

[undiscovered-horizon]

Ah, wonderful choice, Little Wanderer! Browse the stories, take your time. If there is something else you would like to read, just come back to me. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, make a request to the librarian.

>>Grishaverse-inspired playlist&lt;<

1. Kaz Brekker

➳ "Old dog, new tricks" -> Looking for someone to give you a quote on a stolen painting, you run into an old friend who's less than happy with your way of life.

➳ "The clockmaker, the crow and the mantis" -> Kaz becomes part of an assassin's conspiracy to uncover who paid to have him killed.

➳ "Return to sender" -> When an old admirer continues to bother you with his letters, Kaz makes it his priority to put the fiasco to a stop.

➳ "Apple tree" -> Kaz sometimes hums a melody no one can recognize. The one who sang it to him has bewitched him as much as the tune.

➳ "Agnus Dei" -> You're a Grisha hiding from the Black General. When you reveal your power to save the Crows, Kaz must make a decision: your life or theirs? ➳ "O Rubor Sanguinis" -> Facing the Black General, you must choose whether to do the smart thing or the one you truly crave. Kaz shows affection, just not with words.

➳ "Amendmends" -> Two of your thugs get into a fight at the Crow's club, so you go apologize in person to ensure there won't be any retaliation. Kaz seems suspiciously happy at having the infamous Golden Panther indebted to him. ➳ "Amendments II: The Panther and the Duckling" -> The day comes when you can repay Kaz Brekker with the help of the mysterious "Duckling". Kaz claims you're infuriating but there might be more to his confusing feelings than he realises.

➳ "Espionage" -> You and Kaz pretend to be engaged so you can get him into a banquet and from there - to a safe.

➳ "Four Crow Investigation" -> After Nina notices Kaz's heartbeat quicken when you're around, she recruits three friends to investigate your relationship. ➳ "Four Crow Investigation II: Lovebirds' Outfox" -> Aware of your friends' nosiness, you and Kaz ensure they have hardly believable gossip to share.

➳ "Could you ever fall in love with me?" / "I can’t even fall asleep." -> angst blurb

➳ "Embroidery" -> When his glove gets torn, you're more than happy to sew it back together and add a little detail of your own.

2. Nikolai Lantsov

➳ "Little Sun" -> Return to the sanctuary means a reunion with his beloved Солныщко. Kisses and slaps are exchanged.

➳ "Sparring" -> You face him in an army sparring match. Despite his noble title, Nikolai can't stop himself from sharing suggestive remarks.

➳ "Man of Faith" -> Nikolai's interest in the Sun Summoner makes you jealous but being the sweetheart he is, he's quick to reassure you about his devotion.

➳ "Femme fatale" -> When you reveal how you won the suspiciously heavy bag of coins, Nikolai is overwhelmed with anger at the thought of you being intimate with another man.

➳ "The King and the Swallow" -> Unexpected reunion with his childhood friend and the sworn protector of the royal family takes a dramatic turn when Nikolai inquires about her uncharacteristic, cold demeanour. Confessions are shared - the good ones and the bad ones alike.

➳ "Cinderella" -> Nikolai is a party person, you're not. But he's also a fool in love, so when you quietly disappear, he wastes no time finding you.

➳ "In Emerald Hearts, Emerald Minds" -> When Vasily asks you to forget his half-brother and marry him instead, you escape the Little Palace along Alina. Nikolai realizes something strange is going on when Kaz mentions seeing a similar emerald ring on the woman that came with the Sun Summoner. With how much you and Nikolai have been running in circles to find each other, the reunion aboard Volkvolny feels almost fated.

➳ "Sea shanties" -> Alina witnesses Sturmhond's love for his boatswain. Hurting yourself while fixing the net leads to singing sea shanties and Sturmhond almost kissing the love of his life.

➳ "Who am I to complain?" -> When your parents come to visit, Nikolai finally understands why you've never been keen to talk about them. Being the King and your husband, he isn't afraid to defy them.

[thepotentialof2007]

Quick reference for the LH excerpts from Kate Wagner's behind the scenes at COTA article.

All sports are powered by the personalities of their practitioners, and Formula 1 has those in spades—the chipper, effusive Daniel Ricciardo; Mr. Suave, Carlos Sainz; plucky George Russell; the deep-feeling Charles Leclerc; and, perhaps above all, the sport's longtime great champion, a man from some of the humblest beginnings in motorsport, the regal and soft-spoken Lewis Hamilton, who just announced an absolutely shocking move to Ferrari after an illustrious 11 years and six championships behind the wheel of a Mercedes (and six seasons and one championship with Mercedes-powered McLarens).

. . . .

The day's activities commenced with a tour of the garage. In the garage, there are many mysteries one is not allowed to know or see. The use of phones is forbidden lest one incur accusations of espionage. When we got into the garage, Lewis's car was naked, its insides visible for all to see. I think this was the moment where my respect for the sport as it exists really made itself clear. It is hard to describe what I felt looking at that car. The closest phrase I have at my disposal is the technological sublime. I pictured a living, breathing animal of extraterrestrial origin, hooked up to a thousand arcane sensors that delivered messages in little pulses. All the tubes and sculpted carbon-fiber parts and the endless net of wires all working in service to the godhead engine, formed something totally incomprehensible to me, a feat of engineering so vast it breached the realm of magic. Hamilton himself walked through in his helmet, unexpectedly on an errand. After being in the presence of the car, I perceived him differently than before, when he was just a guy driving in circles on TV. The scope of his capabilities became more directly known to me in the face of that which I believed to be unknowable. All of that was built in service of him. He stopped and looked into the open maw of the car. The tour guide led us hurriedly into the back room where the coffee and tire bags were stored so that no one could listen to what Lewis said.

About half an hour later, they brought him up to the paddock to talk to us. It wasn't a press conference, but rather a kind of a TED Talk. The questions were rote and a guy with a microphone asked them as though they were being broadcast on television. Hamilton talked rotely about how much he loved America and the fans here, talked—to the people who needed reassurance—about how the car was "getting there" but made it pointedly certain that they knew it still needed some work, which surprised me, making me realize this was still a private setting. I come from a sport where chivalry never died and no one is allowed to say anything negative because it is "unsportsmanlike" and every cyclist has to play his part in the farcical pageant of being a dull, humble farmer's son. It is a pretty open secret that a lot of cyclists don't like their bike sponsors but they would never, ever, ever say it. It's somewhat contradictory, but the sheer financial calculus of F1 is what makes it possible for Hamilton to be critical. This is a multibillion-dollar industry putting its full heft behind him doing well. It's reminiscent of the patronage system of precapitalist times, when rulers and nobles with endless riches paid musicians and composers to live in the palace with them.

. . . .

Frustrated, I returned to watching the cars as they started up again, knowing that the drivers were pushing them to their limits, engrossed in their personal kaleidoscope of motion and color. Hamilton was in one of them. In the last shootout, he drove differently than before. A great verve frayed the lines he was making, something we can only call effort, push. Watching him, I understood what was so interesting about this sport, even though I was watching it in its most bare-bones form—cars going around in circles. The driver is the apotheosis of quick-moving prowess, total focus and control. The car is both the most studied piece of human engineering, tuned and devised in lab-like environments and at the same time a variable entity, something that must be wrestled with and pushed. The numbers are crunched, the forms wind-tunneled. And yet some spirit escapes their control, and that spirit is known only by the driver. Yes, we watch this perfect blend of man and machine, but we speak of the machine as though it were not of human origin, as though the machine, being born from science could—eventually, through its iterative processes—sublimate human flaws. The driver, being human, knows this is false. His intimacy with the machine is the necessary missing connection, and even if the machine were perfect, it was made for imperfect hands. But it is never perfect. The gaps in its perfection are where disasters transpire, but also miracles. As we waited for the van to take us where we were parked, a part of the track was still visible to us. Hamilton distinguished himself by the lines he cut along the corner and the loudness of his engine, that pushing. We heard over a loudspeaker that he had finished third, a remarkable improvement above the last two sprints, where he lagged behind in the midfield. This made everyone in our camp happy. They always called him by his first name. It reminded me of how I used to talk about cyclists after I started interviewing them, with the swagger of knowing them.

. . . .

When Hamilton came into the room he was wearing a cool pair of pants with shimmery colored mesh sewed in and had an exhausted appearance, having come just from the track. We were allowed to talk to him but were told not to make any recordings or transcriptions. When he spoke, it was notable how often he mentioned his father and how deeply-felt his political convictions were. Some people are totally different off the record, but Lewis was simply a more lively version of himself. I find him a fascinating figure. A lot of fans either love or hate him, see him, paradoxically, as both humble and arrogant. The word quiet is better. Not reserved, not shy, just quiet. He belongs to a special group of people. The ones I've met in life include the violinist Hilary Hahn and Pogačar, the Tour de France winner—human beings who walk the earth differently, with an aura that transcends it. He appeared perpetually relaxed, controlled and refined, both present with us in the room but on a higher plane within. We used to call this magnificence when we believed in kings. I don't know what we call it now. Excellence, maybe. The irony of parading someone incredible like that around in the backrooms of petrochemical executives is not lost on me. I was grateful that I got the opportunity to speak to Lewis Hamilton, someone I am not ashamed to say I admire. I would have preferred it if they let him go home and rest instead.

[jennarations]

Would love your landoscar fic recs 💌

your wish is my absolute command 🫡🫡

i’ve gone back to college and started student teaching and gotten covid and adopted a kitten all in the last two weeks so i haven’t gotten to read as much but here is what i’ve got! the key is the same as the lestappen fic rec:

> (Title) +/= (Multichaptered/One-Shot)

(Summary)

!!! (Link)

• (Tags - please note these are just the tags I saw relevant to myself, double check the fics themselves for any other tags you might deem relevant!) *(Word count)

Here we go! I’m also tagging some of the bestest and loveliest authors at the bottom of the post, go send them some love!! (Putting it under a Read More for all of our collective sanity)

My one (1) work (shameless self plug heheheh):

> Thunderstruck =

Lando has a childhood fear of thunderstorms and in a record-breaking year for rainfall, Oscar Piastri becomes his new teammate.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50579323?view_adult=true

• Falling in love, Slight pining, Fluff, Humor *8.1k

—

> If You’re Barbie, And I’m Barbie, Then Who’s Driving the Bus? =

Anyways, the driver room is largely quiet at the moment. But not entirely, much to Lando’s enjoyment.

Buzzing from Oscar’s headphones, loud enough for Lando to hear the words, is a song from Barbie.

Charli XCX, no less.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48940792#main

• Fluff, Comedy *800 words

> Mortifying! Anyways, =

Mortifying interaction, but he’d survive. Besides, it’s not like the cashier was that cut–

“Cute enough to make you stupid, huh Norris?” He could hear his smile before he saw his face, a proper Cheshire grin.

“Fuck off mate,” Lando groaned, already trying to scrub the cashier from his brain. Except for the Australian accent, he decided; that bit could stay. Maybe his eyes, too, as tired as they had seemed. And his hair, which looked so soft in that kind of ridiculous side part.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49328047/chapters/124474876?

• College AU, Clumsy Lando, Meet-cute *2.3k

> The New Normal =

He wears a lot of shorts.

Lando had thought that Daniel wore shorts a lot, and then along came Oscar. It must be something about Australians.

Carlos never wore shorts.

Oscar’s pale, unblemished, muscular (and hairy) thighs spill out of the team issued black shorts whenever they sit to film content, or sit in meetings, or whenever Oscar sits in Lando’s general vicinity while wearing them.

They’re not a distraction.

OR Lando’s very healthy obsession with his new teammate’s thighs.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49335997/chapters/124496539?

• Pining, Slight smut *8k

> Invocations One Fall Away From the Concrete = ♥️

“Okay,” Lando says. “What’s your power?”

“Telekinesis,” Oscar replies a little too easily, like he’s trying not to make a big deal out of it. In fact, he’s already looking back down at his form. Lando doesn’t miss the way he seems completely stumped by the ‘Birth date’ square though.

Telekinetics are far and few between. You’re probably more likely to be struck by lightning twice than to meet a telekinetic. They’re so highly sought after in the hero industry that any telekinetic baby would automatically have a net worth of at least three hundred billion US dollars the second it was born. Moreover Oscar's an Oxy. It’s like, the jackpot of jackpots. This guy’s simply unreal on paper.

Lando scrunches up his face, rolls his eyes and says, “alright.” He shrugs. “Nothing to write home about, then.”

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

AKA the low-key superpowers au where they have to activate their powers doing a really specific thing. Oscar's activation is a mystery to Lando, but it involves a lot of good stuff, pinky promise. (Lando Wink™)

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49508506/chapters/124953475?

• Non-Driver AU, Superpowers AU, Roommates, Slight Angst, Fluff, Humor *10.3k

> Only Found = ♥️

“Hey, well. No strings attached, right?” Oscar says, strategically.

Lando smiles and says, “hell yeah. And now that that’s established, what’s your stance on aliens? Also, do you still want your cake?”

--

cinderella soulmates au where whatever you lose, your soulmate finds. except: oscar has a soulmate and lando is a No-Match, a person who doesn't have a soulmate.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49218676#main

• Non-Driver AU, Soulmates AU, Lawyer!Oscar, Streamer!Lando, Angst, Fluff *6.8k

> Carried Away =

"Oscar," Lando said. "Don't hate me, alright, but I've—”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48871015#main

• Non-Driver AU, Fake Relationship, Angst, Fluff, Humor *22.1k

> Little Bit of Love =

“I’m freezing,” Lando says. Whines, really. “Don’t be mean, Oscar, I feel like shit.”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49143811

• Sick fic, Fluff, Realization of Feelings *4.7k

> Signed Sealed =

Delivered

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48959461#main

• Text fic, NSFW pics *4.3k

> Smokeshow =

Because Oscar won the American football challenge, Lando had to wear the cheerleader uniform.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48546973#main

• Smut, Cheerleader uniform Lando, Brat!Lando *3.5k

> I’ll Kiss You First =

“Uh,” Oscar says, when they’re in the car on their way to the airport. “I think you’re—um. Going into heat, mate.”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/47264011#main

• A/B/O, Alpha!Oscar, Omega!Lando, Smut *3.1k

> Sunflower Seeds =

Not worth dwelling on, really. Oscar doesn’t have to understand him to be on his team. If he were a pitcher, it would be different; Oscar has to get his pitchers in order to do his job as a catcher well. Lando isn’t a pitcher, though. So it’s fine.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49596088/chapters/125175172?

• Non-Driver AU, Baseball AU, Realization of Feelings, Fluff *8.6k

> Chronically Bitchless But Still Wifed Up = ♥️

Lando wasn’t above throwing his weight around in order to get what he wanted, at least in some circumstances. And he wanted to meet Oscar Piastri.

In general, he wanted to go to a MotoGP weekend and probably could have either bought tickets and waited around there like a normal person or asked one of his actual sort-of friends in the paddock to hang out in their garage, but the more specific desire was to meet Oscar Piastri.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49301212#main

• MotoGP!Oscar, Driver!Lando, Fluff, Humor *8.3k

> Negative Splits =

So officially, Oscar Piastri, pretty good steepler and pretty bad pacer, was now a professional runner.

They wanted him to steeple, mostly, though he’d be doing cross country in the fall, and Lando had pinky promised him, mid-distance guy to mid-distance guy, that if he wanted to get into the 3k flat indoor then he would get him in.

Oscar didn’t really want to ask how he planned on doing that. Felt safer not to ask.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48161206#main

• Non-Driver AU, Professional Runner AU, Injuries, Angst, Humor, Hurt/Comfort *10.1k

> Thinkin Bout Your Touch =

Lando’s brain gets so occupied by the thought it shouldn’t come as a surprise really, when a few rounds later Oscar says, “Dare.” Lando blurts out, “Let me suck your dick.”

There’s a long, awkward silence in which they just stare at each other, Oscar’s expression completely unreadable. “Uh,” he eventually says. “I think a dare is something I’m supposed to do.”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48704749?view_adult=true#main

• PWP, Blowjob *2.3k

> I’ve Tasted Blood (And I Want More) =

Lando grabs a pillow and hits him with it, while Oscar laughs loudly. His fangs are on full display, white and sharp and pretty. “You know what I mean, you dickhead!”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Oscar says, eyes twinkling. “You want me to use you as a human Capri Sun. You know, like a weirdo.”

“God, you’re making this so much worse than it is,” Lando says, burying his face in his hands. It’s. Well, it’s embarrassing, but Oscar also hasn’t outright said no, so. You know what they say. In for a penny, in for a pound. “So, will you?” And then, just in case, he adds. “Suck my blood?”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48136999#main

• Vampire!Oscar, PWP *5.6k

> Legerdemain =

“You’re so modest it’s disgusting,” Lando says. “Michelle’s told me all about it. You winning against some master back in Australia. Anyways, she wants to hop on the bandwagon, get us to play chess, take photos after the weekend. She thinks you could teach me. It would show that you’re pedantic and that I’m pushing past my comfort zone...”

Oscar scoffs. “If Michelle’s only taking photos, why do I need to teach you it? Couldn’t we just pose with a chess set, like the Williams drivers?”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49690744/chapters/125422075?

• Chess, Humor, Sexual Tension *5.8k

> What You Do To Me =

“Oh,” Oscar says, because what else are you supposed to say when your teammate says ‘I wish I still had a girlfriend so I could fuck some of that frustration out of me’. “I mean. I uh. I could give you a blowjob? I’d suggest a fuck but I don’t have any lube on me right now and I’m guessing you don’t either.”

Huh, would you look at that. Looks like the award for ‘most insane statement of the night’ doesn’t go to Lando after all.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/47993518?view_adult=true#main

• PWP, Blowjob *2.5k

> Purring in My Lap (cause he loves me) =

The cat thing ends up getting sort of explained in Bahrain, when Lando walks into his driver room and finds a small orange cat sitting on his couch.

Oscar’s cat, presumably.

And he kind of looks like Oscar, too. Slender, lean, and with a slightly grumpy, unimpressed expression on his face. It makes Lando laugh a little. Like owner, like pet, clearly. “Should I just call you Oscat, then,” Lando jokes, giving the cat a little head scratch.

The cat, Oscat, stops rubbing at Lando’s hand and just stares at him instead. Lando would almost say he was looking at him disapprovingly, but it is a cat, so he’s probably just imagining things.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/47878867#main

• Cat!Oscar, Fluff, Slight Angst *5k

> In Limbo =

“So what, you like me?”

Tick this box for yes, and this box for no. Fold it tight. Slide the paper under the desk. Don’t let anyone see.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49619383#main

• PWP, Dubious Consent *2.3k

> Eyes on Me =

He just doesn’t understand why Oscar stares so much.

It first comes to his attention at the pre-season media shoots. They have to be photographed in the new gear, and the new suits, and all the while a video camera is rolling to capture content for some behind the scenes pre-season footage. Lando likes to look back at the content they film, just to see how awkward he is.

He looks over some of the test photos while the videos load, and he sees Oscar’s eyes on him a lot of the time. Lando’s own are on the camera, his posture relaxed as he goes through the motions of what the team asks of him.

OR

Lando notices just how much Oscar stares at him, until one day he realises just how much he stares back.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49769368#main

• Mutual Pining *3.8k

> Home Is Wherever You Are =

‘You know, we could ask Carlos to babysit tonight,’ Lando mumbled against his mouth.

Oscar pulled back and hit his husband’s chest while laughing at him and shaking his head.

‘The man just arrived, babe, we can’t ask that right away!’

Lando pouted and pulled Oscar back against his chest. ‘But it’s been so long since it’s just been the two of us.’

OR: Lando and Oscar spend the day with their daughter and friends before finally having some alone time

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49909321

• Kid!fic, Established Relationship, Fluff *4.1k

> Grand Theft August =

Oscar Piastri, eh? It's not the worst idea he's ever had.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49975555?view_adult=true#main

• Angst, Humor, Smut *6.9k

> We’re All in the Butter But Some of Us Are Looking At the Cars = ♥️

Under it, the cross stitch with the Mandela quote, there was another one. A different one. Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. Stars, again. And then the one beneath that was also about stars. Weird, he thought, then went to the till to wait for his sister.

Above the pile, too high for twelve year old Oscar to read, a sign was stamped. SECTION #13: REACH FOR THE STARS.

Twenty two year old Oscar rests his nose to the glass and looks at the clouds.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49696357

• Angst, Slow burn, Prose, Realization of Feelings *14.3k

> Terraforming =

“WORMHOLES! An Einstein brain child. They are created when FTL objects puncture the bed sheet that is our universe. Going through them should be a trip through timespace, which sounds cool, except it’s not because we never know what’s on the other side—”

“I think you meant fabric, not bed sheet,” Oscar says.

Lando rolls his eyes. “It’s a metaphor, mate.”

“For what?”

“For like. The fabric of the universe.”

“Huh.”

“Shut up.”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50099659

• Space AU, Non-Linear Narrative, Angst, Happy Ending *8.8k <- I literally haven’t read this yet because it was uploaded today but i love enzo and all their stuff is fantastic so i’m rec’ing it anyway :)

> Superdense Neutron Star//Post Supernova +

It felt good to laugh. Thursdays already kind of sucked, all of the walking and talking and nothing to do, even when he wasn’t being drilled on the abrupt shift of his career. It was manageable because it had to be; because there was half a season left and a championship spot left to fight for and a team that was still his home, even if he’d just been delivered the eviction notice.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49981615/chapters/126195823

• Angst, Fluff, Ambiguous Ending *21.8k <- i also have not had the time to read this one because of life, but i trust leaf with my feelings (and my life) so this also goes on the list.

EDIT 11/5: More additions to the list!

> Unraveled =

Lando does not have a thing for his roommate.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50085112/chapters/126476167?

• Non-Driver AU, Roommate AU, Bartender!Lando, Realization of Feelings *7.1k

> It’s Not Queerbaiting, It’s Saving the World =

Lando bursts into Oscar’s room without knocking. He’s red in the face and panting, sweat collecting on his forehead like he just ran a marathon.

“You need to kiss me.”

or, the drivers stage a protest, of sorts. Oscar might lose his mind.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49710619#main

• Fluff, Humor *1.6k

> Melepathic. Or Something =

“Thank God we used condoms,” mutters Oscar later, when they’re presentable, no doubt thinking back to last week when they. Well. Lando peeks out the door to check if the hallway is clear. It is.

“Yeah,” he says as he gestures Oscar out. “See you in a few, mate.” Oscar slips through and Lando picks up his phone again, sees a new message. Up for some fun tonight?

sure, says Lando after a moment. Amen to short refractory periods and all that.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/47589115#main

• Smut, Miscommunication, Happy Ending, FWB *8.5k

> What Would You Do (If I Went To Touch You Now?) =

“Okay, so they both like each other. We need to get them together.”

“How? Lando’s too freaked out to think straight and Oscar is the human embodiment of the standing man emoji.”

Charles purses his lips for a moment before he snatches his boyfriend’s phone up from the other side of the table.

“What are you doing?”

“Initiating Mission Landoscar.”

“Did you just make that up?”

Charles waves at him dismissively as he begins texting, and Max lays his head down on the coffee table and prays for strength.

***

In which Max tries to prove to an oblivious Charles how glaringly obvious it is that Lando is head over heels in love with Oscar. When Charles finally gets with the program, Lestappen go on A Mission™ to get the two idiots to admit their feelings for each-other, but it’s easier said than done.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48745483/chapters/122963314

• Lestappen as a plot device, Angst, Slight Smut, Fluff, Humor, Texting, Escape Room Shenanigans *29.7

> Soft Vanilla Foreplay = ♥️

“Oh shit, you’re,” Lando gasps, smiles. “You’re a. You’re Robin Hood. You’re a kitty Robin Hood.”

Oscar stops grinding. “Can we have this talk tomorrow?”

Lando laughs and comes down to place a kiss on Oscar’s lips. “Yeah. Oh yeah. Tomorrow. Tomorrow would be great. I’m sooooo busy right now. Hmm.”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50382910/chapters/127293583?

• Vigilantes, Cat!Oscar, Hacker!Lando, Non-Driver AU, Slight angst, Humor, Happy Ending *8.6k

> Is it Gay to Watch Your Teammate on TikTok? (Asking for a friend) +

He’s sitting on the bed, dinner long since picked at, with his knees pulled up to his chest. He feels close to hyperventilating.

It’s playing on loop, some sappy little edit captioned “i need to find someone to look at me the same way oscar looks at lando”.

And really, who the fuck was going to tell him that Oscar smiles at him like that?

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/127611460?

• Fluff, Humor, Ship aware Lando (containment breach of RPF), Pining *4.6k

> HOCKEY!!! Shrimp Colors :) =

Montreal puts Oscar on waivers after years - years of bouncing from the feeder team up to the league, and then back down. Edmonton picks him up.

Edmonton keeps him. Lando does, too.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50562061/chapters/127728067?

• Non-Driver AU, Hockey AU, Leaf puts sports boys into other sports, Angst, Fluff *13.8k

> My Shelter in a Hurricane =

Oscar wants to help Lando get better after the disappointment of Qatar's GP qualification. He doesn't know how...

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50639854/chapters/127923673?

• Fluff, Established Relationship, Post-Qatar Quali, Slight Angst *1.4k

> Pretty When You Cry =

Lando wasn’t sure if he wanted to cry, rip his hairs out, punch a hole into a wall, maybe shove someone, or maybe all of the above.

Or: the mclaren boys comfort each other after that shipwreck of a qualifying.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50624551?view_adult=true#main

• Fluff, Slight Angst *1.4k

> Already Home = ♥️

Lando takes a deep steadying breath. “I think I might be in love with Oscar.” He says, and hates how immediately when he says the words, he knows it’s true.

“Right,” Max says, nodding. “And?”

“What do you mean, ‘and?’” Lando says, a little outraged. “I can’t be in love with him! We’re married! This is like, a disaster waiting to happen!”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50704861/chapters/128087614?

• Non-Driver AU, Fake Marriage, Falling in Love, Angst, Humor, Fluff *32.5k

> Do You Like Me? Y/N =

oscar & lando have an awkward plane conversation, aided by uquiz.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50706235/chapters/128091004?

• Fluff *3.8k

> Recreate the Sun =

“You know who you sound like when you say that?” Lando asks absently, tossing the open bag of Skittles to one side and hoisting himself up the bed to rest against the pillows, head tipped back, the jut of his Adam’s apple catching stark in the TV’s flickering light.

On some level, Oscar already knows what’s coming. The Cheshire cat grin Lando gives to the ceiling near enough confirms it.

“Who?”

“Mark Webber.”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/48632239

• PWP, Weed use, Oscar/Mark mentions *3k

> Landoscar Cooking Show =

Lando and Oscar's love story through food-related posts on Instagram

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50825998#main

• Picture fic, Social media fic, Fluff *0k

> Little Renaissance = ♥️

And Oscar - people said he didn’t like the spotlight, didn’t know how to capture it and keep it the way Lando did. They always compared the two of them, in that regard. Even after Oscar left. But they weren’t right, the strangers, not after the first year at least.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50824324/chapters/128393929?

• Future Fic, Retirement, Angst, Pining, Acceptance, Happy Ending, Prose *14.2k

> Those Magic Changes =

“Yeah, right.” Oscar’s beer tastes stale in his mouth. “Sure there’s other perks though, right?”

Logan’s attention has been taken by his phone. Probably a girl, Oscar thinks, or his Mom. Maybe there’s a particularly big fish being shared in the family group chat. He types out a message then locks it with purpose, chucking it face down on the table.

“Yeah, I mean. You know what they say happens when you podium, right? The girl thing?”

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49308133#main

• Fem!Oscar, Smut, PWP *7.8k

> Sometimes I Start To Think You Hate Me Too =

Lando seems to have come to the conclusion that his strategy of appeasing him isn't working, so he opts for being impersonal, objective. "You were optimistic, Carlos locked up, you both crashed. It was a racing incident, and you - you are being dumb about it."

It doesn't work.

He scoffs, upset, he has never left anything well alone, he digs his heels deeper. "I wasn't too optimistic, I was inexperienced, was I not?"

OR,

The deep fear of yearning, wanting and needing without understanding the jealousy that consumes you. Breaking and breathing heavily under an awfully put facade of everything going well.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49659349/chapters/125339467?

• Angst, Inner Turmoil, Fluff, Happy Ending *3.7k

> Mine =

All in all, it’d been a shit weekend for Oscar. He knew he was beating himself up over understandable, expected rookie mistakes, he knew it was a great learning opportunity, he knew that the damage to his car hadn’t been entirely his fault on both occasions. Even if he didn’t show it or express it outwardly, it stung to watch his teammate stand on the podium - P3 - after all that’d happened. It hurt even more when that P3 became P2 before they’d even finished celebrating.

Lando moved up in the championship, so did the team. He deserved it, but it hurt like a bitch.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/51053692?view_adult=true#main

• PWP, Dom!Oscar *2.8k

> Sanctus = ♥️

“Nessun maggior dolore che ricordarsi del tempo felice ne la miseria,” Oscar read. Recited. Proclaimed.

“There is no greater sorrow than thinking back upon a happy time in misery,” Lando echoed.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/50752399/chapters/128207113?

• Renaissance AU, Non-Driver AU, Angst, Master/Servant Relationship, Religious Imagery, Fluff, Happy Ending *5.5k

> Anything Less Than Human =

Oscar doesn’t really do entrances. Sure, in high society, it’s deemed necessary to stand at the top of some ridiculous staircase and wait for someone to announce your arrival. But that really only works in your favor if your name has any kind of good status associated with it.

Oscar’s not fortunate enough to fall into that category.

!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49902154/chapters/125979850?

• Vampire!Oscar, Masquerade Ball, Consensual Blood Sucking *2.7k

That’s all for now folks!

Authors (i love and cherish u all, you’re simply the light of my life):

@wanderingblindly @eisenberg @ocontraire @celientjeee @nyoomfruits @gaslybottoms and @ venerat (ao3 user)

P.S. whoever the nonnies are that wrote “Grand Theft August” and “We’re All in the Butter but Some of us are Watching the Cars” i would literally pay you to step on me, thanks and good night.

[kindlingkeen]

Jason doesn’t strike me as the type to care about team sports but I think it could be good for him to get recruited for basketball at the park or some sort of adult softball or baseball league. He would get to have something in common to bond with regular people over. He could to prove his competence and physical ability and be a valued part of something, an opportunity to learn healthy ways to work with others where things get resolved without violence! No one has any power over anyone else and everyone is treated as an adult and an equal! I’m not a doctor but I prescribe rec league sports 1-2 times weekly.

It started when Jason fell in with a group down at Robinson Park whose regular Tuesday night scrimmage overlapped with his weekly tea with Ivy. Jason didn’t even like soccer, but when Derek sent a rogue ball crashing through one of Ivy’s prized rose-bushes, Jason had to claim the group was with him in order to save them all from her wrath. From there, Suze badgered him into joining her adult rec league. They hosted a tournament every spring, and her team was down player (broken leg from Freeze’s rampage through North Gotham—seeing as Jason played a starring role in the inciting incident, he felt more than a little responsible). During halftime at the quarterfinals, Lu couldn’t stop gushing about her plans for coaching that summer, and, naturally, Jason was curious. As it turned out, all the municipal parks hosted summer soccer leagues for the local kids except for the one on the border between the Bowery and the Alley. Sure, the thing was more weeds than grass at this point, and both the goals were missing nets, but it was field nonetheless. When he asked one of his more reliable henchmen, Tom, who had both a literal pack of children and hadn’t shut up doing the World Cup the year prior, it turned out the parks department couldn’t find an adult without a felony record who could commit to regular practices. Tom shuttled his kids to Concord three times a week to play (which conveniently also solved the mystery of why Tom was always trying to swap shifts around after the schedules were posted). So that’s how Jason ended up coaching a dozen scrappy 9-13 year olds through the basics of soccer every Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday from 3-5 PM under a newly created alias. Somewhere between anonymously donating an excess of equipment to the youth league and cashing in a favor with Ivy to rehab the field’s grass, Jason decided maybe he really did like soccer.

[sakurapika]

Reviewing New Year Sale Outfits in Twisted Wonderland

In Japan, New Year's Day (お正月, or "Oshogatsu") is the biggest holiday of the year, and it is also my favorite. That being said, the TWST artists never disappoint when it comes to the art for this event, so let's review all of the cards!

Spoiler warning for upcoming ENG and JP sever event cards, including some Groovy art!

Round 1: 2021-2022

Kalim Al-Asim (SSR)

Look at him, he's so festive and cheerful

This Kalim, as well as Deuce's SR, have a special place in my heart. I started playing TWST the summer it came out, but I wasn't a "serious" player until around New Year. Kalim and Deuce were my first "duo magic" pair, and I love their interactions in the story as well.

I love his headband ribbon and how it matches his obi. The sparkly hakama also suits him. I'm excited to see Jamil's version of this outfit as well, but we all know it'll be a very long time until Jamil volunteers to work retail during the peak season.

12/10 he's so cute

Deuce Spade (SR)

I was surprised that this was just an SR, and that you could get him by finishing the event story. His outfit is so detailed!

I chose his Groovy art so you could see that he's wearing sneakers with his outfit, which I found funny. Cater is wearing similar shoes in his own SR, so it must be part of the Heartslabyul New Year attire. It still feels very in-character for Deuce.

The silhouette of his outfit is interesting. His jacket is short like a suit jacket, but has the sleeves of a haori. There are lots of elements of his dorm uniform, like the pins and sash around his waist.

Not only does he look awesome, but he chose to work during the New Year's Sale to buy a present for his mother.

12/10 very cool and wholesome

Round 2: 2022-2023

Ruggie Bucchi (SSR)

HIS HAIR!!!

Aside from Vargas Camp and his birthday cards, Ruggie doesn't have a lot of SSRs, so I'm happy for him. I look forward to getting him in the English server soon.

I love how Ruggie seems to have picked up a lot of merchandise from around the store. Aside from a fan, which all the boys are using as their "weapons" for battles, he has a little koi bag, which I love so much (I have a similar one). The little toy he's holding is called a den-den daiko (でんでん太鼓), which is popular for young children.

11/10 congrats on getting the job, Ruggie!

Cater Diamond (SR)

I chose to show his un-Groovy art, because it's easier to see his outfit.

His clothes are similar to Deuce's, except that his "vest" is red, and he is wearing a button-down shirt underneath. The mix of Japanese and Western influences reminds me of Taisho-era clothing. He looks like Kazushi Tatsuishi in the anime version of My Happy Marriage, which also happens to be set in the Taisho Era.

It's hard to see in this picture, but he has a hairpin in his hair!

10/10 he slays

Sebek Zigvolt (SSR)

He looks so dramatic with his gloves and fur collar, but are we surprised? He's a Diasomnia student, after all. I wish they had given him a different hat, though, because it looks almost identical to his dorm uniform.

This one makes me laugh, because he poses like my dad. Not seen in this image is Sebby's neon-green geta, which I think my dad would love (he likes having shoes in unusual colors).

10/10 who needs fireworks on New Year's Eve when you have Sebby?

Vil Schoenheit (SR)

He stole the show.

At first glance, his outfit may bear too heavy a resemblance to the regular Pomefiore uniforms, since they're already inspired by kimono.

With his fascinator hat, netted gloves, and black nail polish, though, Vil adds a sense of mystery and intrigue to his outfit. He looks like he is playing the role of a Taisho-era socialite who poisoned their lover and is now actively avoiding the police.

Either that, or he got divorced from Rook. After all, it looks like he is wearing a furisode (a type of kimono meant for single women) rather than a tomesode (worn by married women), like in his dorm uniform.

11/10. The storytelling potential is limitless.

Round 3: 2023-2024

Trey Clover (SSR)

I love his scarf and hat. His coat looks longer than Deuce's and Cater's, and more like a haori. Overall, it looks like a cozy combination.

Like Cater, he is also wearing a button-down shirt under his kimono, and his vest is green. Heartslabyul is the only dorm that gets a character in this event every year, so it's nice to see that the outfits are personalized for each character.

He looks like he could be someone's uncle, but you know for sure that he'd spoil his nieces and nephews.

10/10 very classy, if he was working at the store and I came to visit, I'd trust him.

Ortho Shroud (SR)

ADORABLE.

Something I've always found interesting about Ignihyde clothing is their use of sharp shapes and geometric patterns, especially in Ortho's case. I wonder how Idia's version of this outfit would look.

Ortho and Idia must've had so much fun creating this outfit together!

Infinity/10 if Ortho were trying to sell me anything, I'd buy it, regardless of whether I actually need it.

Rook Hunt (SSR)

He's wearing RED EYELINER!

His outfit is quite different from Vil's. While Vil is wearing a furisode, which is traditionally worn by women, Rook's outfit seems to have a more traditionally masculine silhouette (of course, this is just my interpretation). This probably means that Epel will get to wear an outfit similar to Rook's next time as well.

The peacock feathers on his red hat is also a nice touch.

His pose and expression remind me of Wen Kexing from the C-drama Word of Honor. They also have similar personalities.

10/10, he looks like he just stepped out of a period drama. I look forward to seeing the fanarts of him with Vil.

Jade Leech (SR)

Jade's card has to be my favorite from this year's lineup. I just love how they translated Octavinelle's suits into kimono, while keeping details such as the purple bow tie.

I'm obsessed with his haori--it looks fluffy. I'd like to buy five.

His pose is so...

Like Trey, he looks like someone's uncle (it must be the fedora). However, unlike Trey, he looks like someone's uncle who may or may not be part of the Yakuza. Instead of giving you money on New Year, you owe HIM.

He also looks like he goes door to door selling products, and is about to sell me what he guarantees is a genuine Toshiba toaster oven and absolutely not an overpriced knockoff that will short-circuit and cause my entire neighborhood to lose electricity.

11/10 I will buy that toaster oven anyway.

Which cards are you most excited for? Let me know!

[rebelliousstories]

Hearts of Sea Stone

Relationship: Sean Renard x Reader, Nick Burkhardt x Reader(Platonic)

Fandom: Grimm

Request: No

Warnings: Brief Strong Language, Fluff, Angst

Word Count: 6,629

Main Masterlist: Here

Grimm Masterlist: Here

Part 1: Tidal Wave // Part 3: Lost to the Sea

Summary: Caught in a net of mysteries, Nick Burkhardt has to find what is the truth, and what is false.

“So I shall die," said the little mermaid, "and as the foam of the sea I shall be driven about never again to hear the music of the waves, or to see the pretty flowers nor the red sun. Is there anything I can do to win an immortal soul?”

“Are you certain that was his name?” Nick felt bad for shaking the startled woman but he needed to be sure that he had heard her correctly.

“Of course I am,” she defended, “I’d sooner die than forget his name.” She looked incensed at the hidden accusation in the detective’s tone.

“Alright. I believe you but you need to come with me, and trust me.” And with that, the unlikely duo were off to go inside the precinct. Uniformed officers milled about, but not as many as there were during the day when he was usually here.

Nick could feel his breathing pick up but he did not know why. Why was he nervous about having this Tödlicheslied inside the office where his captain with the same name and same face as her supposedly dead lover might be? There was a light on in his captain’s office and felt a bit conflicted. Does he rip the bandaid off, or is there a way he can ease her into this?

“Nick?” She called softly, drawing him back into the present. He noticed that they had stopped in the threshold of the specific room where his desk was located. Letting out a sharp breath from his lips, the detective nodded and tried to get himself back in the game.

“Sorry. Um, my desk is just over here.” He stole a glance to the private office, and saw the blinds were open. Burkhardt set the woman in Hank’s chair with her back facing the captain’s line of sight and sat down in his own chair. Clicking his computer awake, Nick tried hard to keep his eyes on the screen and on the woman.

“So what is the name of the hotel you’re in?” His question sounded strained, but there was no way for his to stop it.

“It’s the Rose Red hotel on fifth and second.” She replied sweetly and softly, choosing not to draw attention to his tone.

“Okay, got their information. Now this book store. What’s the name?” Trying to wrack her brain for an answer, Nick casts his eyes over to the captain’s office. It did not appear that he noticed them in this late yet.

“I think it was called ‘Book Nook.’ I’m pretty sure that’s what it was called.” She had calmed down since she first met the Grimm, but being questioned about her whereabouts was enough to make her nervous again. Her hands began to fiddle with her necklaces yet again which drew the man’s attention to them once more.

“Okay. Do you mind if I have that for a moment,” his hand pointed to hers, “the gold one at least.” A shaky breath and a look of panic was all he got in return. Nick held up his hands in a, hopefully, non-threatening manner towards the woman.

“I just want to ask my captain if he knows the man in that photo. He’s been here longer, and may recognize him. Or maybe he remembers seeing a John Doe that looks like him. Please, it’ll be for just a moment.” He watched her battle herself once more and fiddle with the necklaces even more. It took another minute before her hands reached behind her head and unclamped the gold necklace that hung around her throat. Delicately, it was placed in Nick’s awaiting hand, who closed his fingers around it softly.

“Thank you. I’ll be right back.” Standing, he sent the woman another reassuring smile and watched her fiddle with the lessened weight around her neck before walking over to his captain’s office. Three knocks later and a call for him to enter was heard. Nick kept the locket and chain hidden from view at first, wanting to see how this was going to play out.

“Captain.” The detective called, watching him intensely.

“Nick,” a surprised statement came, “I thought you had gone home already.” Sean dropped his pen on his desk and turned his attention to the Grimm before him.

“I wanted to ask you something, but it might be kind of personal.” He started, unsure of how he was going to play this out even this far into it. Renard’s face scrunched in confusion before signaling the younger man to continue. But Nick could only get out the name the young lady at his desk had provided him. Sean’s face drop, and felt his heart grow icy as it fell into his stomach.

“How do you know that name?” He questioned, standing up slowly and maintaining eye contact with Burkhardt.

“So you know her?” He sent back, keeping his tone level and hands closed.

“Nick, I will ask you once more. How do you know that name?” Renard’s voice turned deadly.

“I need to know how you knew her first. Tell me that, and I’ll tell you how I know.” Nick spoke determined. Sean sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face as he thought about what to say next. The captain motioned to the chairs in front of him and his detective followed the movement.

“I was very young, keep that in mind.” He sighed yet again. “The only time I’ve ever truly been in love was with… her.”

“When I moved to Portland, I was lost for a bit. Had no idea what I was going to do exactly and would often find myself at the edge of the Willamette river just thinking.” Sean’s eyes glazed over as he was sucked into his memories.

“One night, I found a woman that was unlike anything I had seen. I heard myths of Tödlicheslied, but never thought I would see one in person. She was scared, rightly so. They don’t go near humanity except to feed. Eventually she was able to calm down enough that she could become less noticeable.” Nick felt his own hands trace over the locket in his hands.

“We tried to find her family, but it looked like they had abandoned her. Didn’t stop us from trying every full moon after that first month though. I helped her after she accidentally charmed a young man on the street into becoming obsessed with her. It was then I realized I needed to keep her safe, from anything. There are certain tonics that minimize the effect her voice had. A specific cream to keep her skin from drying out in between swims.” Renard leaned back in his chair and acquired a soft small on his face.

“I guess, over time, we fell in love. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced. There was a time right after I joined the force, that she waited up for me until 6:30 in the morning the following day. She went to bed at eight, but she waited up because I hadn’t checked in and was so worried that something had happened to me that she left crystals all over our coffee table.” This simple confession piqued Nick’s interest.

“Crystals?” He asked.

“Tödlicheslieden cry crystals on land. It has to do with the oxygen mixing with the chemical make up of the solution. We tried to figure it out when she was still here. But they cry crystals. Anyways,” the captain took a deep breath, “her family did eventually find her. About a year later. There message was clear: she was to return to the sea and her clan, or they would make her do so. They didn’t take kindly to her asking for time to think about her answer.” Another deep breath. Sean’s hand went to his neck, like there was something that was supposed to be there for him to mess with.

“That night, we were on the banks of the Willamette, trying to think about what our plan was. That’s when they jumped us. A couple of her cousins grabbed her and took her below the surface. Her father and brothers, however, stayed on land just long enough to ‘knock some sense into me.’ Their words, not mine. I don’t quite remember what happened after that, they hit me pretty good. Next thing I knew, I was watching an ambulance pull up on my location, and someone was asking my name.” Sean kept rubbing his hand just under the collar of his neck while he spoke.

“What happened to the woman?” Nick questioned softly, trying to keep from doing anything brash or sudden.

“I never knew,” Renard shook his head, “I tried to look out for a sign that she was coming back but nothing. I think at some point I just accepted that she had either truly forgotten me, or had died trying to get back to me. Whichever, I can only hope that she’s happier now.”

“Your hand keeps going to your collar. Is there something that’s supposed to be there?” The captain’s face hardened, as if he was trying to keep himself from becoming too emotional and remain objective. Like this was another investigation.

“We had matching lockets. I got them for us around the one year mark. Her’s was silver, mine was gold. She always looked better in silver than she did in gold.” His eyes glazed over once more, and his voice took on a soft, dream-like quality.

“A necklace like this?” Only then did Burkhardt place the golden chain and locket on his captain’s desk and watched.

Watched for a sign of emotion, of some sort of humanity in the man. It took a minute, but as Sean Renard came out of his thoughts to observe the object on his desk. A breath was punched out from the chest of the older man as he gingerly picked up the chain. He gasped in disbelief and tried to find the words to voice his thoughts, but none came to mind. In all the languages he knew or was fluent in, there were no words to describe the feeling of seeing the necklace in almost twenty years.

“Where did you find this?” Sean choked out, feeling his throat close.

“I need to know something first. Would she ever commit murder?” A humorless chuckle puffed out from the captain’s lungs.

“No. Never. When she lived with me, she went completely vegetarian, and was super careful about using her voice. Especially if she didn’t have the dampening tonic.” Both sets eyes stayed locked on the flash of gold.

“Okay. Is it possible that she could have been living her the entire time, trying to find you and never did?” Sean blinked, and leveled Nick with a look he had never seen before.

“Excuse me?” The captain growled, but the detective was unfazed.

“Captain, I’m pretty sure that I found her.” Renard said nothing. Not a word. But instead, he turned back to the locket and clicked it open. Photos he never thought he would see again, stared up at him. Black and white images of him happy that almost felt like a lifetime ago.

“Where is she?” Sean was sure that he was going to cry if he did not see the woman after all this.

“She’s out at my desk,” Renard stood with a fury, “wait!” Nick shouted at the taller man.

“Just, be careful. I’m still checking out her alibi for the drownings.”

“There is no way that she could have done this. Now if you will excuse me.” With that, Sean left the office in a blaze. The gold necklace in his hand felt like lead the closer he got to the woman who was still sat in Hank’s chair, beside Nick’s desk. The Grimm watched from the threshold of the office as the scene unfurled.

Calculated steps moved the man closer and closer to her. The same woman he had not seen in almost two decades. Her hair was shorter than it was back then. But her skin was no less as luminous, even underneath the precinct lights. Sean felt his hands begin to clam, and his throat tighten even more than before. There was no less than five feet between the pair, and yet, he made no move to call for her. As if he did, she would be gone just like how she disappeared every time from his dreams. Nick watched with keen eyes, and cleared his throat loud enough to catch attention. Renard turned to face his subordinate, and was drawn away when a gasp was heard from behind his head now.

Turning back, Sean watched tears gather in her eyes. He felt his own breath get pulled from his chest, and it appeared that she was suffering from the same breathlessness. Before he realized it, he was whispering her name, hoping that she was truly there.

“Sean? Is that really you?” Her whimper made the man’s heart burst in his chest.

“Yes. It’s me.” He whispered back at her. In all of about three seconds, the woman had thrown herself into his chest, and sighed as his arms wrapped tightly around her.

“You’re alive! I can’t believe you’re alive.” The words were slightly muffled into Sean’s chest, but neither one could find it in their hearts to care too much.

“Oui, mon siréne. I’m alive. And you’re here, on land.” One hand stayed on her back, keeping her pressed as closely as she possibly could. While the other one, traveled to pet the top of her head, and lay a kiss in the wake of his hand.

“Of course I am. I tried so hard to find you. Couldn’t exactly do that from the water now could I?” She teased, and was rewarded with another squeeze and kiss to her head. Pushing her lover away, the naiad looked at him in his eyes once more.

“I don’t understand though,” she began feeling her lashes become wet with unshed tears, “I thought you had died? They gave me your-” she cut her own words off. The necklace was resting against her head, still captured in Sean’s hand.

“No. No. Do you honestly think that it will only take a beating to kill me? Come now, mon siréne.” The hand on her head moved to cradle her face. Shockingly cool metal graced her cheeks from where the necklace was tanged in his fingers.

“I tried so hard to come back. But when I did I was… captured. It’s the only reason I don’t have my family trying to get to me now.” Her whispers were meant only for Sean, and this admission made his skin prickle.

“Captured? By who? I need the name.” He stated, ripe with a protective and possessive energy.

“Don’t worry about it. I took care of it.” She reassured him.

“Here.” Her hands reached up and took the gold chain from his fingers. She took apart the clasp mechanism and placed it around the man’s throat before securing it once more. The weight was something Sean had almost forgotten about, but now that it was back, he felt like there was no time that had passed since they tore it from his neck.

“I hate to break up the reunion,” it was only then that the couple realized that Nick was still there amongst them. “But, you can go back if you would like. I’ll call if I have any updates or any more questions.”

“Captain, you may want to take the night off.” He offered gently, watching Sean and his lady take in his words.

“I’ll be right back. Don’t move. I’ll return shortly.” Renard all but ran back to his office to close down for the night.

“How did you know?” She questioned softly to the Grimm before her. He turned his head from his captain to the woman and acquired a soft smile.

“The picture frame in your dressing room. I realize that the photo is almost twenty years old, but it looked too similar to Sean not to be him. Plus, when you told me his name, I had more conformation.” Nick explained, watching as she accepted the explanation. Eventually, her tears became too great for her to keep them in, and fat droplets rolled down her face. As the water ran off her face, crystals seemed to form as if by magic mid way through the air. She tried to catch them, but was blinded by more crystals, leaving Nick to help catch them instead.

“Are you okay?” Sean’s voice rang out. His tone was concerned, as he ran back over and help to catch the crystals as well. A tissue appeared in his hand and he began to dab away the water from her face.

“I’m sorry for that. Yes, I’m okay. Just been an emotional night I guess.” She held her hands out, and Nick followed his captain’s lead as he passed back the stones. Her hands pulled a bag from her coat pocket, and the crystals disappeared from view.

“Do you always keep those stones with you?” The young Grimm asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.

“Yeah,” she nodded, “these used to be used for potency in different kinds of spells, and potions. If anyone got a hold of them, who knows what they could be used for.” While she dismissed the words, Nick certainly did not.

“Is it possible that someone did get a hold of these without your knowledge?” He asked, watching the young woman think hard about her answer.

“If someone did, it would have to be someone on my staff. Very few people have access to my dressing room where I keep them for that reason.” Sean wrapped his arm around his lady, and kept his eyes on her.

“Well, you two head home. I’ll let you know what I find out.” He did not need another invitation; Renard bid the detective goodnight and walked the young lady out of the precinct. She giggled as he nearly tripped over himself getting her over to the car.

The ride to Sean’s condo was spent in silence. Not because they could not find the words, but rather there were simply too many words that needed to pass between them. With his left hand on the steering wheel, and his right hand on her thigh, Sean’s self-control was tested to an unbelievable level as he tried not to speed. Meanwhile, she had her hands both on his hand and thought about how close they had been all this time, yet neither one knew it.

Parking, and walking through the front door passed in a blur. Neither one could believe that they were actually with the other as they walked up the stairs to the condo. Opening the door, Sean allowed her a moment to look around before he tugged her back to him. He pushed her against the door with a gentle shove, and slotted their bodies together as he captured her lips in his. Her hands came up to scratch through his short hair, and found purchase on the broad shoulders she once knew so very well.

There were so many thoughts running around both of their heads. Years that they have lost together and now being able to spend them together. They could never recover all those years alone, but they could certainly make up for it now. She decided to deepen their kiss, allowing her tongue to run over the seam of his lips. Sean returned in kind by picking her up and walking towards his bedroom. He did not need to be able to see where he was going, only needed to know that his siren was back in his arms.

His siren. A title she had never lost, yet it seemed like a distant memory of holding it. Renard tossed her on the bed where she landed with a giggle, but he did not waste any time in climbing back on top of her. Reconnecting their lips, he allowed his hands to trace over the familiar curves and markings that he knew so well. Muscle memory trailed his hand down the left side of her neck, where she jerked away as if she had been burned. A look of panic mauled her features, causing Sean to lean away just enough to give her some space.

“Siréne? What happened? What did I do?” He asked, quickly trying to find an answer. That used to be her favorite spot for him to caress as it caused full body shocks to course through her.

“No, darling. You did nothing. It’s just I…” her sentence trailed off as she stared into space. Renard leaned back on his haunches fully and grasped her hands to pull her up.

“Would you like to get ready for bed? You can tell me if you would like.” Sean’s offer came. She nodded, unable to form words right at that moment. He slipped off the bed and knelt down to where her feet rested. Gently, as if she was made of porcelain, he undid the buckles holding her shoes on and pressed a soft kiss to her calves when he was done.

“I’m afraid I don’t have anything proper to take off your makeup.” He commented as he pulled her to the bathroom. She just shrugged in acceptance and allowed her lover to continue. Sean lathered up his face wash, and rubbed her face in gentle, circular motions. It would not be the best, but it would have to do until he could get her something’s to leave over there. Wetting a cotton ball, he took just a tad bit of cleanser and rubbed it over her eyes, dissolving and wiping away her makeup.

“When I was captured,” she finally spoke after he wiped away the cleanser, “I was captured by a Grimm.” Her admittance stopped Renard from applying the toner to the cotton pad. He turned to her in a look of concern and anger.

“After I escaped the clan, I came upon the Willamette once more and tried to change back. But I got caught in a net. When I was pulled from the water, a Grimm stared me down. He wanted to study me, study my scales, crystals. Anything, since there isn’t much known about Tödlicheslied in the Grimm or wesen world.” Soft cotton swiped across her skin, allowing the toner to sink in. Sean used the time it was going to take her skincare to sink in to do his at the sink. Always keeping an ear out for her soft words.

“He kept me in my woge state with drugs. It wasn’t fun,” Renard felt his blood boil, “one of the things he did was take my scales.” She pulled down the top of her dress enough that he could see a scar in the crook where her shoulder met her neck. Allowing herself to partially woge out, Sean saw the dull patch where the scar was amongst all of her glittering scales that had yet to breech the surface.

“He left the locks undone one night, so I tried to run,” her dress was pulled back in place as Sean placed the moisturizer on her face and neck. “I didn’t get far, but I was able to scratch his pretty good since I had yet to come out of that state. He drowned in the Willamette, unable to fight back because of his blood loss. I don’t know if they ever found his body though. Anything and everything he had on me, I destroyed. I couldn’t risk being found out, by Grimm or by wesen.” Sean kept quiet while he placed eye cream on both of them.

“When my clan caught up to me again, they disowned me. According to them, I allowed myself to be captured and studied. I allowed that man to take my scales. After that, they left me alone. It’s been difficult to even look at that spot some days, let alone have anyone else touch it.” The man pressed a kiss to her forhead, but still said nothing as he went to his closet to fetch something for them both to wear. While he was away, she turned back to the mirror and felt ashamed at the dull patch on her body. Forcing herself to return to her human state, she brushed her fingers barely over the scar.

“I don’t much mind.” Sean’s voice startled her out of her thoughts. Turning, she saw he held two sets of silk pajamas in his hands. Setting them down on the counter around the sink, his hands gently maneuvered her to stare at herself in the mirror. Strong yet soft hands slid the jacket from her shoulders, and the zipper from her dress. Curling calloused hands around her shoulder, Renard took things very slow, and allowed for her to stop him at any point.

But she did not. She just allowed him to take care of her, like he used to do all those years ago. It felt nice to have him here again, making sure she was taken care of. She had not felt like this in years, it almost felt foreign. Spending so long on her own, could she allow him to fall back into their routine they had established years ago? He placed his hands on her now exposed waist, and dropped his head onto the top of her shoulder. His head moved up and down in a comforting manner, and he trailed his nose close to the scar. Her breath hitched in her throat, feeling him so close to a spot she tried to forget about.

Sean nosed closer and closer to that spot, but kept a keen watch on her body language. While she was tense, she had not pushed him away as he narrowed in on the scar. The second he laid a gentle kiss on it, she felt like collapsing. He pressed yet another kiss, this one more prevalent in pressure, and her eyes shed crystallized tears. They landed in the sink, but neither on of them cared too much for where they ended up.

“It’s alright, mon siréne. This doesn’t make me love you any less. You had no choice,” his words brought more tears to her eyes. “It’s not your fault.”

Oh. That made her heart and head hurt. She did not realize how much she needed to hear those words come from him until just then. Another tissue was used to catch her tears, but she just stood there. Her body refused to move on its own accord, which was probably just the overwhelming emotions she had felt this evening.

Sean reached around and helped to work his lover into his pajamas. A sky blue with navy trim adorned her body, and looked so adorably oversized. His own black and gold set waited as he made sure she was taken care of first. Leading her back into the bedroom, he tucked her underneath his silk sheets and pressed a kiss to her head.

“I’ll be right back. Stay there.” She nodded, and watched him disappear back into the bathroom. It was truly only a moment before Sean returned to his lover who was still turned towards where he had left to. Crawling underneath the covers, Renard opened his arms and allowed the woman to find her place in them. She placed her head on his chest and felt the beating heart reassure her underneath her cheek. It was just like that, the couple drifted off to sleep. Hoping that they would not wake from this most amazing dream they had.

~

A shrill ringing sound awoke the man early in the morning. Blindly reaching over with one arm, he tried to find the source and got rid of it. His right arm was caught around his lover. However, the shrill sound started once more prompting him to react to the sound of his phone going off.

“Renard.” He answered unenthusiastically. The woman had yet to so much as stir though.

“Captain, it’s Burkhardt. We’ve got another body. Drowned in the Willamette with an aquamarine stone in hand.” His attention was solely focused on the phone now. Sean sat up and tried to keep the lady asleep but it did not help. She was awake the second he moved, and rested her head back on his; this time it rested on his lap.

“I’ll be right in. See you in thirty.” Without giving his detective a chance to respond, he hung up his phone and breathed out a deep sigh.

“Duty calls?” Her voice drifted into his thoughts from below him. Renard gazed down at her, and smiled as she cuddled into his thigh. His hand pet through her head as he nodded.

“Unfortunately. But, I’ll make you some breakfast and drop you off wherever you need to be before going in.” Yet again, they fell into the same routine they had years ago like no time had passed. She dressed in her outfit from last night, but allowed Sean to place her shoes back on. It was the one thing that he always insisted that she let him do when it came to dressing. As she washed her face, Renard went into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, a cup of tea, and begin breakfast. But looking at the clock on his counter, he cursed lightly. Looking around the cupboards, he found some muffins that had been given to him by a very gracious neighbor a couple of days ago.

Fresh faced, and dressed, Sean felt his breath get taken out from his body once more. It reminded him of when they were young, and she would stay at home and wait for him to get back.

“We don’t have the time to make breakfast, but I do have your tea. We have to go though, I’m afraid.” He handed her a thermos, placed his coffee in another one, and grabbed a couple of muffins from the box.

The couple made their way out the door and down the stairs of the condo. Hand in hand, down to the car that awaited them in the garage. Sean opened her door, and let her get in and secured first, before rounding and doing the same for himself.

“Where do you need to be?” The man started the car and began to drive away from his home.

“There’s a club on the corner of fifth and second that I’m preforming at. There’s a hotel near that I’m staying at. I’ll need to double check my dressing room and then I’ll be going to my hotel.” Sean nodded, and draped his hand over to rest on her thigh. Lacing their hands together, she took a sip from the warm beverage container in hand and made a pleasant hum.

“This is my favorite tea. You still have some?” She questioned happily, taking another sip. Renard chuckled and squeezed her thigh.

“Of course I remembered. Whenever I am upset, I would make a cup of that and be transported back. It has never failed me in all these years.” He spared a glance before returning to the road, and loved the look she had. All too soon, the drive was over as they pulled over to the club where she was preforming.

“Would you like me to wait? I can drop you off at your hotel afterwards.” Sean offered, but she shook her head.

“I’ll be alright. It’s just right across the road and you have to get to work. I appreciate it though.” Her seatbelt was unbuckled, and she turned in her seat to face the man. Cradling his face in her hands, she laid a loving kiss on his lips, to which he returned. But before it could become anything more, she pulled away, causing Sean to groan.

“Later.” She giggled, and slipped out of the car and back into the club. The police captain strangely felt like calling out sick for work, but thought against it. He knew where she was staying. He would be getting her again. Sean watched her until he knew that she had made it safely inside before speeding off towards the crime scene that he was called in on.

~

“Our victim is a Jessie Batey. He was an accountant for a local charity organization. Same circumstances as before.” Nick explained, watching his captain step out onto the crime scene.

“Do we know how any of these victims were connected?” Sean inquired, watching the commotion around the scene.

“They all went to a Sirena show the night before their death.” Nick stated, and watched as Renard whipped his head around.

“Now we’ve already cleared her. But someone is using her shows as a hunting ground. We need to know why.” The detective explained as he watched the body closely.

“Yeah. We do. Let’s find it out and fast.” Sean walked back to the edge of the water to look closer over the scene, hoping to find something that he could use, but came up short. He did not know what he was missing, but it was really starting to bug him.

~

Stepping inside the club with her spare key, she knew that no one would be around quite yet. It was still pretty early in the day. Everything was still packed away from the night before, and her door appeared to her shortly. However when she tried the door, it was unlocked. That greatly confused her. She was sure that she had locked it last night when she left with the detective and blutbad.

Continuing inside, she took a quick surveillance of her room and rushed inside. Someone took the crystals from the bowl. No one on her staff for the staff here that would have a key to this place would do this. So why were they gone? Crouching, she looked around, hoping that she had just spilled them, but to no such avail.

There was a slight shift of fabric she heard that caught her attention. Her head shot up and her body followed as she watched a young man, no older than twenty-five stepped out from her dressing corner.

“Hello Sirena. I’ve been waiting for you.” He breathed out, apparently taken aback from being this close to the naiad. She was confused and said nothing out of shock.

“Oh,” he suddenly remembered something, “thank you for the gifts. I greatly appreciate it.” His hands dug around his pockets, and procured a small baggie that held the missing crystals in them.

“You stole my crystals?” Before she could have constructed a better response, the worlds stumbled out.

“No,” his face scrunched up, “I didn’t steal anything. You left them for me. You left them out so that I would know. It’s okay. I get it now.” He stepped closer to the young lady, but for every step he took forward, she took one back.

“I tried to get your attention before but it didn’t seem to be getting through. I thought certainly this latest attempt would get to you but that didn’t seem to do the trick.” With her back against the vanity table, she had very few places that she could go. Not even the door to the room was close enough that she could close the distance in time.

“You- you’re the one committing those murders? Why? I have never and will never want that for anyone to do on my behalf.” Her voice was raising in panic.

“But you would have never noticed me, or acknowledged our connection otherwise.” With no where to turn, she just had to accept him getting closer. Unlike with Sean, his touch made her cringe and turn away. This angered the man, which is when he grabbed her arms roughly and shook her.

“Why do you continue to deny me? I love you! I did this for you! And you act like you never tempted me, never showed me you loved me!” He screamed and yelled at her. Her cringing infuriated him further.

“You’re lucky we can’t do this yet. The moon will be full tonight, and then we can be together forever.” She could feel her heart beat out of her chest, and the fear freeze her blood. What he did not know, was that there was a phone on in her pocket. The volume was kept low so as to not alert him, but that was all she needed. She just needed someone to hear what she was hearing.

~

Sitting at his desk, with his head bowed over paper work, Sean tried to keep his mind on the cases that he had. All the press that these drownings were getting, and the media feeling to name him “The Willamette Crystal Drowner” did not help either. Hearing the shrill ring of his phone, he answered it when he saw her name pop up. He did not even know when she put her name in his phone, probably when he was getting ready for the day, but he was glad she did.

“Bonjour, Mon siréne. How are you?” Yet, there was no answer. The sound of rustling was all that greeted him.

“Siréne? Are you there?” He called yet again but no response. Sean was about to hang up and chalk it up to an accidental dial when he heard it.

“Oh, thank you for the gifts. I greatly appreciate it.” A man’s voice was heard faintly on the other end of the line.

“Darling?” But his call went unanswered.

“You stole my crystals?” Renard felt his breath speed up, but tried to calm himself down.

The more he listened, the angrier Sean got. Hearing the fear in his lover’s voice sent him into a fury that was kept underneath his calm and collected exterior. Picking up the landline in his office, he phoned the technical department.

“I need a location on a number, and I need it now.” He stated, in no mood to play any sort of games. Rattling off the number that the woman was calling him from, Sean felt the anxiety flow through him as he had to wait.

“It’s at a club on the corner of fifth and second, sir.” Mumbling a quick thank you, Renard hung up on the landline and grabbed his coat from his seat. Keeping the phone pressed to his ear, he tried to listen and make sure that she was okay.

“You’ve were hanging around that police captain last night and today. Why?” The masculine voice questioned. Storming out of the office, he barely caught that Nick and Hank were saying something to him before he left.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She whimpered. Sean heard her throat tightening and hoped that he was not going to be too late.

“Yes! Yes, you do.” The man shouted. There was a clash of something being disturbed, and she let out a yelp.

“No matter. I’ll just make sure that he won’t bother us again.” Renard’s phone was pressed so hard into his cheek that he was afraid he was going to break it.

“Please, please don’t hurt him. Please don’t hurt him.” Her begs made the man that was with her chuckle.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not stupid enough to take out a police captain. However, I will guarantee that he won’t have you.” A sharp yell from her was broken by a thud, and then, silence. It was too quiet. Sean screamed her name, but received no reply. Footsteps got closer to the phone, some more rustling, and he heard his voice clearly.

“If you know what is good for her, you won’t contact her again captain Renard.”

The line went dead.

[drunkkenobi]

Well. This is the weirdest one of these I’ve ever made.

I’m not going to rehash the wank from the Watcher TV announcement. You all know what happened. I am standing by my assertion that this streaming platform is the only way they’re going to stay afloat because YouTube is just not the place for them or anyone else making videos that aren’t just of one person in their house. (nothing against those folks, it’s just a completely different business model)

Anyway.

First up, here’s how Mystery Files season 2 did. It did well, with each ep hitting a million fairly quickly, but it didn’t do as well as season 1. Not significantly worse, just not as high. (two weeks after season 1 ended, the average per episode was 1.854 and for s2 it’s at 1.194million) Of course, the two weeks since season 2 ended have been fucking insane so it’s impossible to say how much of that is a factor.

I will say that views between last week and this week are down overall, but that’s expected. If someone has paid for the streamer and you want to rewatch Ghost Files or whatever, you’re going to watch it ad-free on the app you pay for and not YouTube for the most part. Also it’s very possible people are just not rewatching stuff right now for their own personal reasons, which is fine. I also just don’t think it’s something to worry about.

For better or worse, the Goodbye YouTube video is the best opening weekend Watcher has ever had (and will have?) on YouTube.

Watcher lost around 100k subscribers over The Announcement but, again, if people are paying them directly now then this is kind of a non-factor. For posterity, they’re at 2.84 million subscribers today.

I’m not sure what else to say this time, tbh! It felt like a good time to make one of these with MF season 2 being over but YouTube viewcounts are just…not going to be important anymore for Watcher so there’s not much to say about them. Finding out that a million views only nets between $10-30k has been very eye-opening to me about how piddly the revenue from YouTube is for a production studio like Watcher. The shows they want to make just cost more than they can make off of there. It’s that simple. No one has to like that fact, but that is the heart of all this.

Also, with all of that being said, I think my time as a spreadsheet gremlin is coming to a close. I’m going to keep up with it for a few more weeks and probably do one last round-up for every single video’s views, but with Watcher moving away from YouTube as a business model, there’s little reason to keep up with these. I’ve been making these updates less this year anyway because of a job change and I was losing my steam for it a bit too, so the timing feels right. Like I said, this won’t be my last viewcount post, but maybe second-to-last? And who knows, maybe I’ll check in when Ghost Files premieres but the counts will mean so much less now that the videos will premiere with a month delay from the streamer. We’ll just have to wait and see how the wind blows on this.

Thank you all, as always, for reading, reblogging, replying, liking these posts. Y’all are the reason I’ve kept up with it for four years (and my own nosiness but having encouragement helps!). And don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll have some other spreadsheets to share in the future of Watcher fandom. (I have…so many) So, until next time, thanks again. ❤️

[puckpocketed]

as promised here is my follow up ask on PLD and the caps!! (this time...as a doctor 😎)

first of all thank you so much for the detailed response you gave my first ask. it confirmed a lot of suspicions i had about his supposed character issues and his usage in LA. obviously he's not a perfect player (few are) (except nicklas backstrom, my beloved), but seems like there's a disconnect between the way the media/fan narrative paints him and what's actually happening on the ice and in the locker room.

second of all!! just some kinda ramble-y thoughts based on some of the things you said in the first ask. this is not organized well and i'm sorry (but hopefully it's helpful info to you as you come over to caps land for a bit this season)

(1) Takings Shifts Off. totally agree with you that pld is and always will be viewed through the lens of The Shift. there are definitely players that regularly take shifts off and don't get dogpiled for it, esp. during the regular season (...see Ovechkin, Alex...especially in his old man era! gotta conserve energy). i am very curious to see if pld is like ovi in that he takes shifts off sometimes during the regular season but never the playoffs. from the little we've seen of pld in the playoffs my impression (esp when he played for CBJ) is that he elevates his game. i'm curious to see if he's really got that second gear...but caps gotta make the playoffs first.

(2) A Driver of One's Own. very interesting that in the answer to the last ask you said pld is not exactly the kind of player who drives his own line. this caught my eye bc it's a bit part of the problem w/ finding a center for ovi with backy gone...nowadays, O can't fully drive his own line anymore. he's just not fast enough, regularly (though he can turn it on in key moments). the legs just aren't there as much anymore, he can't really carry the puck in the way he used to, etc. BUT!!! he still has the best shot in the game (sorry auston), so absolutely ELITE triggerman. i'm wondering if pld could like...meet him halfway, i guess. like if TOGETHER they could drive the line. Hmmmm...

(3) Power Play!! everything you said about pld on the PP is promising. if he thrives most net front, then i genuinely think that position is there for the taking. i'm sure they'll try him in the old backstrom/kuznetsov QB spot on the right halfwall but there is a 0% chance our coach doesn't try a few things with the PP, including putting pld in different spots. i wouldn't be surprised if we started off having a weak PP that found its groove as the season went on.

(4) HCSC. our head coach is going to do literally everything in his power to make pld succeed. very communicative coach. last season he started out with an up-tempo system, and then switched to slower defense-first once he realized his personnel was just too slow/old to really pull all that off. with 1/3 of our roster now turned over and filled with players in their 20s, we're gonna see a VERY different capitals team from last year. i'm sure there will be growing pains but...they mystery is exciting, instead of terrifying, for once!!!

third of all!! just wanted to say thanks again for the detailed response to the third ask, and welcome to caps-land. it's a fun time over here. hope you're really looking forward to seeing what the hell our chaotic gremlins are going to do (as long as it makes penguins fans rage and cry, i am happy!!)!!! :)

okay this reply is getting crowded so ill just stick it all under the cut. here is a fun preview:

the media+fan narrative disconnect is SO real!!! i knowww with the amount of players the league has to cover, the sheer length of a regular season and all that happens during, plus the whole....society-wide erosion of journalism as a field... it can be hard for media to keep up, but it's been pretty startling to see their fallibility so... plainly? don't think i have the One Final Truth about Dubois but i think we're likely closer to it than anything the mainstream narratives are saying. i do get that their profits and clicks per/ are greatly increased via if they have a bent toward sensationalism... podcasters, youtube creators, people tweeting... they kinda have to operate like this because thats what the (gags) market and algorithm and audiences crave. does NOT mean i like it. ugh.

bleak reflections on journalism aside, im sitting here and gorging myself on this ask ouhhh thank uuu (for those playing along at home here are manifesto 1 and manifesto 2) and nodding along SO vigorously to all of these... we're having GALAXY brained discussions on here the likes of which spittin chiclets could never even dream of....................

(1) agreed agreed. he MUST be horse-bonded to his team i truly believe this with my whole heart (as in, he's gotta know his role + be comfy). otherwise, no other comment. I DID make that meme though because i was having a laff about Ovechkin conserving energy lkajsdkljajkl

(2) SUPER inchresting that you mention Ovi's lack of footspeed... i know a failhorse who can provide this 👀 we may be cooking something here... more than the sum of their parts kind of vibe?? Dubois has the youth and speed and muscle... he's just been hamstrung by quality of wingers.... and if as you say Ovi needs a hand carrying the puck; well.... 👀👀👀 don't want to put all my eggs in that basket though, I think it would be unfair of us to demand that of him... BUT if it works... oughhhhh i AM hopeful. SO hopeful.

(3) obsessed with this faith in your power play coaches (<- voice of a guy who watched ducks hockey) and their willingness to change things up is soooo nice to hear. NOT a fan of teams bashing their heads against a wall when their special teams clearly aren't working.

(4) and finally, I'm loving everything I hear about Spencer Carbery. i think Dubois has the allure of an wounded animal in the wild (a horse, even) or perhaps a moody teen girl with a hidden darkness in her heart <3 what im saying is, if he doesn't work it out now he's probably always gonna be one of those players every coach looks at and thinks "I could fix him". Carbs on record saying he could tame this wild creature??

link, archive link

hooting, hollering, etc.

Thank you for such a wonderful, warm welcome!! Everyone in caps land has been so lovely... the vibes.. the VIBES!!! peace and love for pens followers but i did in fact choose a side in your Foreverwar ... (my hockey girlbestie actually likes both teams which i find SO fun. the pens are my babygirl-in-laws!) anyway my heart does not divide.... it only swells.... much like the beaugtiful and noble salary of any 30 y/o RHD going into free agency <3 i have enjoyed chatting to caps fans like yourself immensely, and i look forward to hitting the trenches with everyone during regular season !!!

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 心宅猎人/Psych-Hunter.

Psych-Hunter is a 2020 drama about a hot young amnesiac who, accompanied by a rich psychiatrist with major daddy issues and a rich girl who cosplays as a cop, uses his Inception-style psychic powers to solve crimes that are part of a shadowy conspiracy orchestrated by a mysterious figure.

True story: Once I couldn't remember the English name of the drama, so I called it "House Haunters," and now my brain insists that's the real English title. If only!

Do not, under any circumstances, labor under the impression that this show is good. It's not. It's incoherent. The writing is bad. The villain is absurd. The vibe is comically melodramatic. People make inexplicable and out-of-character decisions all the time. Countless complex mysteries get set up with no way to resolve them. There's a thin lampshade hanging over it that blurs the line between bad decisions made on accident and bad decisions made on purpose, but the net result is largely the same. This is the show that first inspired my wife to declare something dumb as a guinea pig in a roller skate.

But it's fun. It's a sea of colorful chaos with brilliant pieces that shine through like strange gems. It knows how to work an atmosphere and does so to create some legitimately creepy moments. It spins a wild yarn filled with bizarre and loveable characters. And it has some twists that truly have to be seen to be believed. In the mood for some beautiful nonsense? Here's five reasons that despite everything I warned you about in the previous paragraph, I think this one's worth watching.

1. Psychonauts for Jazz Age homosexuals

Honestly, that phrase alone should let you know if this is the thing for you. But just in case, let me explain the basic premise of the show:

Jiang Shuo, a man who has lost his memory and been adopted by circus folk, is capable of jingling his keys and diving full-body into someone else's subconscious, represented by lovely and thematic dreamscapes. He does this to solve crimes. Sometimes he takes along a handsome doctor who seems like he might know more than he's letting on, by literally tying their hands together with a red string.

Also, when they do this, they get gorgeous steampunk magical girl costume changes, complete with the cutest little pony nub you've ever seen.

This show can be stunningly beautiful. It knows how to manifest dream logic eerily well. Most of these cognitions are gorgeous, and many are done with primarily practical effects, like it's a stage play. ...And it's good it relies on that so much, because the CG it has is kinda cheap and terrible! So, yeah.

(Side note for the DMBJ fans: This is directed by the same guy who directed Sand Sea, which I assume is related to how this both is a visual treat and completely falls apart on the back end.)

The reason I'm a bit surprised that this hasn't taken off more among the creative set is what a great piece of worldbuilding this Psych-diving is. These boys (and, once, the girl) get to short-term manifest bodily in someone else's materialized mental state, where the person whose brain they’re in neither controls the experience nor remembers what happened after it’s done. Were you writing weird Arthur/Eames fic a decade ago? I got a new best thing for you. Can you say freaky dream sex? Because I can.

The base premise should be more than enough to get your gears going. Come ready to get weird with it. There's so much potential here, and so much of that potential is incredibly gay and wearing impeccably tailored suits.

2. Your friendly neighborhood circus family

As I mentioned before, Jiang Shuo lucks into the best possible fate that can befall an amnesiac: being picked up by carnies.

The troupe includes Ventriloquist Man, Really Big Dude, One-Eyed Acrobat, Other Acrobat, Cheerful Fat Girl, Boy Who Looks Like A Kid But Is Actually Played By An Adult So I'm Not Exactly Sure How Old The Character Himself Is Supposed To Be, and Silver Fox Circus Dad, who manages the whole crew. They're a ragtag bunch of performers who all live together in this cute little compound in some very nice slums, and sometimes they open the gates to their lavish compound and put on a circus show for all the common people!

Now: You know this is not going to be the wokest, most sensitive portrayal of body differences, because of course it isn't. But damn, it's pretty not-bad. The show treats all the circus members as valuable people worthy of affection, whose (occasionally exasperating) quirks are no more or less exhausting than those of the non-circus weirdos in the rest of the supporting cast.

I was half-expecting them to disappear after the first arc, but no! They’re a constant fixture through the show! They’re mostly there to support the show’s more comedic moments, but some of them get wrapped up in more emotional plotlines as well. And every now and then you get to see them actually do their circus shit, which is great.

I will admit that my fondness for them is related to how much I generally love fictional Freaks — you know, misfits who have banded together because society considers them unacceptably weird, but together their weirdnesses make them strong. When you find them, they’re usually the bad guys (e.g., the Gung-Ho Guns from Trigun, the Scorpion crew from Word of Honor) whose freak statuses make them formidable and occasionally sympathetic antagonists. But not so here! The Psych-Hunter Family Circus is good guy support all the way through to the final episode.

I know "found family" is a term that suffers from overuse, but that's the best way to describe what's happening here -- really, it's a family that's already found itself even before the show starts, and now they all live together as an unconventional collective of astonishingly flexible people. How did they find one another? Doesn't matter! What matters is that they all love and would do anything for their newest member, and they think it's great when he comes home with his attractive rich friends, who often arrive bringing snacks, which is really the best use for rich people, if you think about it.

3. Two hands, one ring

Now, if you've seen the series already, you know the moment I'm talking about. But if you haven't (and, statistically, you haven't), know that what I mean is the relationship between these two losers.

Together, Qin Yiheng and Jiang Shuo form the emotional core of the series. They're both drawn to one another because of mysterious circumstances that have started to align. Jiang Shuo's memory is missing, Qin Yiheng's dad has vanished, and all signs point to those absences as having something to do with one another.

Very early in the show, we see Qin Yiheng pull a "come with me if you want to live" on Jiang Shuo, giving the impression that he knows just what's going on in this crazy city. Except, no, he doesn't. Or does he? No, we're pretty sure he doesn't. Or he does, but he's forgotten what he knows, if he ever even knew it in the first place. Anyway, time to tie their hands together and jump into someone else's brain!

I'd say they're in love, but that's not quite it. Dr. Qin Yiheng, high-class homosexual, is in love with Jiang Shuo to the point where he's about to murder someone (possibly Jiang Shuo himself) out of frustration about it. Jiang Shuo, on the other hand, is much more sticking his fingers in his ears and going LA LA LA YOU CAN'T CATCH ME GAY THOUGHTS while trying get a girlfriend in an effort to pretend that all the shit they get up to together isn't tremendously romantic.

That is, until the scene that leads to the which-hand ring guessing game, at which point the burden of their relationship falls on Jiang Shuo (and the Inception parallels get unignorable) for exactly as long as the show will allow it to, before it freaks out and has to add another girl love interest just to make sure all the homos got no'd.

It's not textually gay, because seriously, have you met Chinese television? But it's pretty gay. Or, rather, I think Liu Dongqin (Qin Yiheng) is playing his character as a dedicated homosexual on purpose, and Hou Minghao (Jiang Shuo) is just ... kinda like that? I mean, everything I’ve seen him in, he gets real dreamy-eyed around strong men who pay close attention to him. Maybe it's just his thing as an actor. I'm not judging.

However, the main cast isn't just the two of them. One of the things that led me to this show was the promise of an OT3. And does it deliver on that promise?

Well ... sorta.

Qin Yiheng, Jiang Shuo, and Yuan Muqing are a pretty standard MFM not-love-triangle trio of Male Bestie, Main Guy, and Girlfriend (respectively). There's about five seconds at the beginning of the series where it looks like Yuan Muqing might be into Qin Yiheng, but no, that evaporates almost instantly and is never spoken of again -- and with it disappears most of their interactions with one another, period. So it's less an OT3, and more a case of bisexual cutiepie Jiang Shuo getting both a boyfriend and a girlfriend in a world where censorship will only let the latter relationship exist textually.

But damn if these boys aren't made for one another. Sure, there's a level of conscious comical queerbaiting to it -- I mean, there's straight-up an "only one bed" moment, so you know the show isn't stumbling into rainbow territory on accident. No matter how sexual or nonsexual or whatever you read it as, though, their dynamic is the spine that holds the story together. Really, it's almost sad how often the relationships are set parallel to one another, because when you do that, it becomes obvious how intense Jiang Shuo's bond with Qin Yiheng is, and how largely lackluster and comphet most of his canon romance with Yuan Muqing is by comparison.

Like so.

sidebar: The Girl

I am not going to go into a full-throated defense of The Girl this time, as I am wont to do, mostly because I think Yuan Muqing is full of potential in concept but so badly executed that there's really no hope for her. Her entire personality is whatever they need her to be in any particular scene. It's just that once in a while, what they need her to be is completely insane -- like, seeing-things-that-aren't-there insane -- and it's so great that it makes me mad! She could have been like this all the time! But noooooo

As it is, she has a perfunctory canonical romance with Jiang Shuo that's about as endgame as anything is capable of being (see point 5), and it actually gets pretty cute when it finally gets to the point where it's not just awkward obligation! But alas, it only does that so late in the series that it's not even worth it getting invested in it.

She is a creation of the show. She has no novel counterpart. Her entire function in the drama is to un-gay the dynamic between the boys. You can tell that she was initially supposed to have a different role -- to be the muscle of this trio -- but the narrative forgets pretty quickly that she's got that skill set, and she regresses to being The Girl. She makes dumb decisions that forward the plot. She gets put into danger whenever it's convenient. She demands Jiang Shuo do manly things for her because that’s what a girl is supposed to do, I guess? And then there are moments where she’s cool and crazy and it’s awesome! But they never last.

So if you are going to watch this, be prepared for the fact that the female lead is badly written to the point of frustration. I feel her actor is doing the absolutely best with what she's got; the problem is that what she's got is pretty crappy. Still, Muqing gets some pretty charming moments here and there, and I think it's worth hanging onto those and imagining the character she could have been, if the writers had cared just a little more, or even at all.

4. Powerfully surreal worldbuilding

I'm not even talking about the way people's psyches are structured according to dream logic -- the "normal" waking world is almost equally bizarre. The story takes place in sort of the real world c. 1930, except that a lot of things are off. For example, Japan and England are real locations, but China kinda isn't -- instead, the show takes place in a Shanghai-like city-state run by this moustachioed generalissimo with a faux Latin American dictator aesthetic. The place has its own flag and government and police force (where all the cops have coordinating surnames) and diplomatic relationships with other countries, so it’s clearly its own thing. But what that thing is? What it’s even called? Look, don’t worry about it. Nobody else is worried, so you shouldn’t be either.

You will, at every point in the series, be wondering if the show is trying to telegraph to you that Something's Not Quite Right Here, or if it's just making weird decisions for the sake of artsy weirdness. But don't worry -- there's absolutely no way to tell the difference between the two! Just roll with it.

There's a weird mix of universe rules happening throughout, where everything is mostly period-appropriate for a while, and then somebody builds a clock with levitating parts, or causes someone else to have very specific memory loss — or, again, swings some coins in front of a person’s face and gains the ability to treat their subconscious like a VR amusement park.

You can sort of reconstruct the evolution of this weirdness: The book has actual factual ghosts in it. Well, that’s fine for books, but TV isn’t allowed to have ghosts. But TV can have people who imagine ghosts, so long as it’s all in their heads. Okay, but you know jumping bodily into those imaginations isn’t actually a thing real people can do, right? Well, then let’s make it scientific. How can that be scientific? I don't know, it’s psychiatry. I don’t think that’s psychiatry. Look, it could be. Well, it’s definitely not psychiatry in 1930s Shanghai, and that’s the set we’re allowed to film on. Okay, what if it weren’t actually Shanghai? What if it weren’t actually 1930? What if all of this were at best a weird approximation of the period that adheres to no rules except the ones we want?

Once you’ve thought that, the sky’s the limit.

The show has a very inconsistent grasp on reality, and I am listing that as a pro instead of a con because I am choosing to embrace it as a deliberate choice rather than assume it’s the result of craven incompetence. There's something to be said, though, for how pervasively inconsistent it is. It'd be one thing if there were just a few plot holes here and there (and there are), but this is more along the lines of: We woke up in a mysterious boat and got taken to an island with a giant sea monster skeleton on the shore! What's that all about? Couldn't say! Was it real? Maybe! Moving on!

Let the number of "it's fine! who knows!" comments I've made throughout this rec indicate how much this is the kind of show you just have to roll with. If you are a nitpicker or someone who is troubled by unexplained nonsense, this is not the thing for you. If you love artistic magical realism and high strangeness, you will eat this up with a spoon.

And the lampshade that hangs over all of this worldbuilding is...

5. THE STUPIDEST POSSIBLE ENDING EVER

Okay, usually I am coy about when I think an ending has problems. I am going to drag this one out front and center: Psych-Hunter has an ending so jaw-droppingly, head-clutchingly stupid that I'm actually listing it as a selling point, because it has to be seen to be believed.

When I first watched it, I suspected the show ran out of time or money or something and just had to slap together the quickest possible ending ever. But no! This is the ending they meant! If you go back to the rest of the series, you can see that this is what they were (kinda) setting up the whole time! They just set it up so poorly and decided to make the twist hit at such a late point that not only is it complete nonsense, it actually renders moot the entire emotional stakes of the show! Absolutely incredible!

Now, as I've said before in other places, I don't begrudge the actual twist itself. I mean, it's stupid on its face, but I think they could have done something with it — if they'd had it happen halfway through the series, when the characters would have had time to adjust to the new knowledge. Instead, they slap it on at the last possible moment, when there's no time to have any reaction to it. It's just jarring and baffling, and then the whole thing's over.

I've seen lots of people say "season 2 when???" Season 2 never, friends. There was never going to be a season 2. The only reason you think this was an even remotely acceptable narrative move was that you were assuming that this would be the midpoint, not the end. You're having the same reaction I did, only I can tell this was always meant to be their spectacular dismount.

(To me, it's clear what happened: They J.J. Abramsed themselves into a cool premise for a mystery with no idea how to solve it, hoping they'd figure it out along the way. When they got to the end and still hadn't figured it out, they simply ... opted out of solving it.)

Now, if you want a normal viewing experience out of this show, watch to the end of the next-to-last episode, close your browser window, and have imagination adventures about how you think all the mysteries should resolve. But you're not going to. You are going to continue on to that last episode, and you are going to realize that nothing I could have said here could possibly have prepared you for this. And somewhere, I am going to feel the urge to cackle wickedly and not even know why. Except I'll know why. We'll both know why.

Want to watch this hot mess?

That baby's an iQiyi exclusive! But you can watch the first episode on YouTube, if you feel like getting a taste that way.

Look, I know I may have spoiled my pitch somewhat with that last selling point. After all, why would you bother watching a series if you know it has a shit ending?

I refute your objection thus: Knowing it has a shit ending changes the whole game, because it removes the feeling of betrayal that hits upon your discovering that the ending isn’t what you wanted. You know that already now, so there can be no betrayal. The ending goes from being an unpleasant surprise to being exactly the unexpected thing that you expected. With that in mind, you can dive right in (ha ha) knowing that you’ll never get the closure you crave, and therefore whatever you make up along the way is perfectly valid.

This is obviously a turnoff if you prefer shows that are like seeing someone start a magic trick, perform it without breaking a sweat, and walk off calmly, leaving you wondering how on earth they accomplished such an amazing thing. Think of this more as someone starting a magic trick, accidentally letting the rabbit fall out of their hat, saying “I meant to do that!” like thirty times, and suddenly vanishing through a trapdoor, leaving you wondering what the trick was even supposed to be in the first place — but they were really good-looking and well-dressed, so at least whatever they were doing was nice to look at while it was happening.

See? They're having fun.

[shy-mama]

The Dream

There once was a girl who grew up with a family of immigrants, the youngest out of the bunch with memories of blue and confusion. Since young shed looked up at the sky and make wishes, having complete blind fate it would happen. The young girl was beaten by life backstab after backstab, her audacious smile was gone. Turned into a edgy pre teen who was just trying to take it day by day. The dreams were still there but wrong encounters with the wrong people cut the strings of the balloons and made them float into space. Then there was nothing, nothing but love, so she clung onto the little she could conjure up, and there was so very little so she turned desperate. Drugs and visions, visions and drugs. visions inside and out. The love that she had summoned started to consume her until she couldn’t even tell who she was or what, or why. Then after several dark nights of the soul. She sat up. she remembered the wishes she made to the sky. In fact she didn’t just remember, she had always remembered, this time she FELT those wishes once again. She was going to do what she wanted to do because what the hell with it. What she desired was what will make her happy and thats all that mattered to her at that point. She wrote down a list with the cadence of a kindergartner. Become model aka prettiest girl in the world, get cute and popular boyfriend, travel. And for the first time in a long time all of these seemed possible. She just had to get the ball rolling. That day she had completely gained trust in herself. She started with the weight loss she did a juice cleanse which jumpstarted her weight loss. Then got a juicer and would mostly drink juices. Then she applied for about 10 modeling agencies and was accepted to the one she was most hoping for. She knew she would get in since this is what she had been destined to do since she was 3. Thankfully she had the right encounters with the right people and quickly moved up in the modeling world. Her skills and looks were also a testament to that. She was traveling the country and world doing photoshoots and runways and drinking hot chocolate in a cafe with Bella Hadid. First part of her list complete. She had a fashion award ceremony to attend to in Seoul, south Korea. She had been informed from her agent that she would be winning a big award. After she had received her award. Thats when she met the 2nd part of her list. Boy A, he approached her and was visibly in awe of her. The two love birds hit it off immediacy and started dating. Things were moving fast between them, they said its because they feel like they knew each other in several past lives. After a few months they had been caught on one of their outings together. The photos were posted all over and boy A’s fans were outraged, some were sad, and some were happy for him. The blogs were all talking about boy A’s mystery girl lover. She was thriving with this, reading all the jealous and shocked comments had her vibrating she had craved this. It was one of the reasons she wanted a popular and cute boyfriend anyway. Oh and for item 3 on the list that was already accomplished. Because of work she had to travel frequently, she had also gone on friend trips and lover trips as well. 

So the sum of the story is just sit up, you don't have to stand up just start somewhere. Make a list of what you want and I mean truly want. If thats hard for you to find out try to pretend a genie came and gave you three wishes. Then break down those wishes and how to practically get there. honestly along as you start on wish 1 the other wishes will come rolling easily to you, why? Because the universe loves when we have desire. Because love and desire is the creators one true will. And also drill into your head that its impossible to fail. Because the universe has a billion safety nets on every side of you. And if you are like me and really hate this universe talk just remember the universe is closer then you think. Ps the universe is you!, yes when all those manifesters on YouTube are talking about trust in the universe they mean trust in yourself. I don't want to get into the whole quantum physics, astronomy, and spirituality logic of it but I had a hard time trusting the uni. Primarily because it was a source outside myself. Then I learned that universe is literally inside everyone and myself and things got some much easily to understand.I know that at the end of the day if no ones got me I got me. Ive only been alive for 22 years but I, myself, has brought me, myself, out of some much chaos and darkness. So I really have no other choice but to believe in myself and make shit happen.

[grahamfolgersdeliciousnotebooks]

20 questions for fic writers

[EDIT: sorry if you got a notification that you were tagged in this post even though I didn't tag you. Tumblr's being weird about this one.]

Tagged by @cirrus-grey - thank you! (Also, sorry this took me like three months to do, executive dysfunction is a hell of a thing)

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

33

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

197,768

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The only fandom I've written for as an adult has been the Magnus Archives (and I actually have a lot of thoughts on why tma was sort of a perfect storm for getting me back into creating and consuming fanfic, but I'll spare you for now). There are a couple other fandoms I wrote for when I was in middle school back in the fanfic(.)net days, but some things are better left in the past.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Say You Love Me (Learn to Lie)

I'll take "A Flagrant Misuse of Beholding Powers" for 200

stay with me, hold my hand

Come, my dear, and be a part of my home

please, hurry, leave me, I can't breathe (please don't say you love me)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Sometimes. I really want to get more consistent about it, but my executive dysfunction makes it hard. My big problem now is that it feels weird to go back and respond to comments I got months ago, but it also feels rude to respond to more recent comments without ever responding to those older ones, so I'm feeling kind of stuck. One day, though, my ADHD will be properly medicated and I will get back to responding to every comment I get.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Angst is one of those things that I love to read but don't always think to write, so pretty much all of my fics have happy endings atm. The only ones that can really be said to have angsty endings are the pre-Unknowing and safehouse fics where the knowledge of what will happen next in canon makes any ending automatically bittersweet. With that in mind, let's go with Hold My Hand When My Courage Fails, because I DO think a pre-Unknowing kiss makes season 4 angstier.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Like I said, I write almost entirely happy endings, so it's hard to narrow this one down. I'm gonna go with Say You Love Me (Learn to Lie) because I threw in the completely unnecessary (but still necessary to me) detail that Sasha survives the Prentiss incident at the end of that one.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No! I've been very lucky on that front.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I haven't, though I might someday. As an ace person (somewhere in the sex-nuetral/sex-averse realm) I don't feel super confident in my ability to write good smut. It's really intimidating, but I'd love to try some day.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not really? The only thing I've written that could be crossover is my fic where Jonathan Sims competes on Jeopardy!, but I'm not really sure that counts.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

My AO3 history should make it clear I'm pretty fond of Jonmartin, but I'm also a big Griddlehark (tlt) fan.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I've started a tma fic that's essentially a Marple AU (with Gertrude as the Miss Marple surrogate) that plays with the idea of sleuth-as-Beholding-avatar, but it's very tricky to blend all the plot threads I want to include together into one cohesive mystery, so I don't know if it will ever get finished.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'll be honest, I don't think I'm a very good judge of my own writing, especially my strengths. It's not that I think I'm a bad writer necessarily, but I really struggle to pinpoint any one thing that I do well - especially because for every aspect of my writing I like, I can point to five writers in the same fandom who do that much better. Right now I'm just glad I'm getting stuff written at all.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I worry that my characterizations tend to be pretty thin. I also struggle in juggling more than a few characters at a time, and sometimes I will omit characters who logically should be in a fic just because I can't think of anything for them to do.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I don't have anything against it. I could see people running into problems if they write dialogue in a language they themselves don't speak (relying on Google translate, for instance) but in general I don't see anything wrong with it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The Uglies series by Scott Westerfield, back when I was in middle school.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Don't make me choose!

I might have to go with Say You Love Me (Learn to Lie) because that was the most fun I've ever had writing and publishing a fic - the response to that one was really great, and since that was one of the only times I actually managed a consistent release schedule, it felt really nice having that to look forward to every Tuesday.

But SYLM(LTL) was my answer for like half of these questions, so I'll also throw out Cut My Hair and Changed My Face (I'm Learning How to Forget That Place). I did a pretty terrible job of tagging that one and it didn't get a lot of hits, but it's one of my favorites. I love s4 Jmart angst, I love Jon & Daisy's s4 friendship, and I frankly can't believe it took me so long to write a fic combining the two.

[strawberryys-stuff]

YOUR WARRIOR | part 1

Neteyam x Li'ona!fem!reader

i have been trying to break my writing block for six months and managed to get this piece out of it

contains: brief mentions of scars/wounds, brutal murder of a fish, forced marriage, kind of enemies to lovers

and definitely has grammar errors, sorry for that

It was difficult. He was a na'vi hybrid, an exquisite combination of human and alien species, while you were the daughter of a pure-blood king. The possibility of a lasting relationship was low, nearly non-existent among your tribe, but that thrill ignited a dangerous spark neither of you could quench.

Neteyam was mesmerized by your beauty, by the elegance of your movements, by your firm posture, but mostly by your tangerine-colored eyes. Instead of the common golden gaze, yours had a tint of orange around the pupil. They held so much mystery and passion that Neteyam wanted to grasp and solve like it was some kind of a riddle. They held a bunch of secrets he was willing to discover. Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk’itan fell in love with the Li'ona princess who, unfortunately for him, was betrothed.

You were promised to a determined na'vi, a muscular warrior, whose reputation was apparently unhealthily pure. But tasun was raised alongside your older brother and shared some of his personality traits. He was stubborn, too cocky for his own good and disloyal when it came to relationships. There were seas of rumors about his awful behavior towards his past partners, especially towards your cousin. You strongly disliked that boy but you had to obey your mother.

Maybe that was why you felt connected to the omatikaya hybrid. Neither of you had the freedom you deserved. Both of you were forced to grow up at a very young age, to look after your younger siblings. everybody had high expectations you had to fulfill.

But in reality, you were just hopeless teenagers who wanted, no, needed to experience true love.

You narrowed your tangerine gaze at the swiftly moving target, tightened the grip you had on your whetted spear and pinched your bottom lip with the sharp tips of your fangs, precisely counting every loop the unaware school of fish had been making. After a minute of watching, you aligned your armed hand with the target and inhaled the scent of seaweed as your weapon striked the head of a fish with a splash.

Quickly leaping over the seawall terrace to get ahold of the spear, you battled the smug grin that threatened to spread across your pursed mouth and studied your catch with a burning glimmer in your eyes. When your fingertips were about to touch the handle of the weapon, several weirdly-shaped creatures casted heavy shadows on the unmoving surface of the clear sea and attracted the eyes of other fishermen as well, awaking curiosity and confusion in the Li'ona na'vi.

You collected your spear, along with the multiple breathless fish, and took your feet out of the seawall terrace you decided to clear out today, a woven net overflowing with your catches caressing your exposed lower back. You strapped the netting to your slim figure and created clicking noises with your tongue to call your ilu. The animal greeted you with an enthusiastic squeal and revealed its back to the rider. After you connected your queue to the sea creature, the group of skilled fishermen set off towards the sandy shore where the intruders had landed.

You emerged out of the resting sea with your peers and pushed some wet raven locks out of your eyes that glittered in the afternoon sun rays. You abandoned your ilu along with the woven net near a centralized ilu pen after you offered your recent catch to the bewildered animal and disconnected your queue from it.

"What happened?" your younger sister questioned the sudden cluster of your people after she surfaced beside you, tugging drenched strands of hair behind her pointed ear. You shrugged your shoulders with a shake of your head and approached the herd of Li'ona villagers with the naturally curious girl.

You swiftly dodged any arriving people, keeping your tail close to your calfs in case somebody didn't notice your presence and accidentally stepped on it as they did many times before. Untroubled, your sister walked through the cluster easily, each Li'ona moving out of her way towards the intruders.

You slided aside to avoid approaching muscular bodies and the Olo'eyktan, who was returning with his newly organized hunting party precisely on time. You appeared behind Tasun, your betrothed, and the eldest son of the chief, your brother, with folded arms across your rising chest as Maratu walked out of the herd, spear in hand.

"What is that?" Tasun gestured to the tail of the closest Omatikaya boy, making the victim of his following remarks to glance over his tense shoulder. Your betrothed stifled a chuckle as he pointed to the thin tail that was flicking from side to side. "Is that supposed to be a tail?"

You slapped the nape of his neck in disapproval and released a warning hiss below his ear, forcing it to turn downward as you pushed the two arrogant boys apart. Your brother swatted your hand away from his chest and poked your side in return, chuckling when you took a step forward with a growl.

Neteyam lowered his piercing amber eyes on your small turquoise form and caught your tangerine-colored gaze in the process. The target of the nasty remarks flickered by his side while his withdrawn ears twitched as you displayed your full beauty underneath the bright burning star. A shimmering spark of forbidden interest twinkled in both gazes and sealed the command of the Great Mother herself.

"We seek Uturu," Jake announced and received judgemental glares and exaggerated gasps from each direction. Maratu tilted his head slightly as his wife, Kirnat, emerged out of the humongous crowd with a scowl decorating her facial features. You were pulled backwards by Tasun when the pregnant woman began to circle the foreigners and were detached from the eldest son.

"We are half-reef people," Maratu mentioned the differences as he gestured to the desperate family, weak chuckle stroking his lips. "You are forest people. Your skills will be nothing but a waste, JakeSully."

Kirnat tugged at their thin tails and pointed out that they will not be capable of swimming in the water. She approached the oldest daughter of JakeSully and Neytiri with a huff and seized her wrists to inspect her unusual hands. "These children-" she lifted them up for everyone to see and displayed her five fingers with a silent growl, "-aren't even true Na'vi."

"Yes, we are!" Kiri snatched her hands out of the Tsahìk's grasp and pulled them to her heaving chest, tangling her fingers in the shawl she had on her shoulders. Tuk wrapped her arms around her leg to hide away from the intense stares and snuggled up against her thigh, making you sigh in defeat.

Neteyam tuned out the persuasion when you sneaked past your assigned lover and appeared on his left with flattened ears, his twitching at the sight. He allowed himself to marvel at your softening face that showcased concern and some kind of pity. He absorbed your wrinkled forehead and the unique shape your pigment patterns were creating in the middle of it along with your delicate facial structure.

"Gross," your brother pretended to gag beside his friend and quickly shielded his head when you faced him with a glare and clenched teeth. The boy received a slap on his shoulder from your cousin, Maru, who silenced his laughter with a stern tone.

You bowed to show your gratitude before your youngest brother could tackle your legs. Neteyam narrowed his eyes at the interaction as his father pleaded the Olo'eyktan and Tsahìk for a chance, stating that his family can adapt like he did many years ago. You picked up the whining little boy with an eye roll and let him fidget with your handmade necklace.

The eldest son of Toruk Makto noticed the tender caresses you left on your sibling's upper back to soothe his pounding heart and throbbing headache, swallowing the hums that were threatening to escape out of his mouth. He was flabbergasted by the relationship you had with the little boy and wondered if he was your younger brother. The urge to ask for your name was clawing at his dry throat and forced him to clear it as he dedicated his attention to his father and Maratu, missing the opportunity to catch you staring at his differently built body.

"Your arms are thin, your tails are weak," Kirnat wrapped her fingers around the youngest son's forearm to reveal his five-fingered hand and pulled it upwards, a hiss drumming against the walls of her throat. "They have demon blood!" The herd of her people took a couple steps back, mouths agape with disbelief.

Neteyam flinched when the pregnant woman poked his stiff shoulder and pushed some of his tightly braided hair forward to reveal a healed wound to the little boy that had been taking in his appearance in your arms. He pointed to the scar, which made Neteyam shiver. You followed his curious gaze and noticed the wound as well, scolding the boy for pointing at the Omatikaya. Neteyam covered the healed injury with his four-fingered hand and scooted closer to his younger brother, who had been devouring the beauty of the youngest daughter of the chief.

Maratu shared a look with his mate and tilted his head slightly to convince the woman without using his words. Kirnat stole a glance at the fleeing family and closed her eyes, battling her inner voices. Once they fluttered open, she nodded and gave her husband her consent. "Toruk Makto and his family will stay with us," he began to announce and buried the smooth end of his spear into the sandy shore. "They do not know the sea, they will be like babies taking their first breath. Teach them our ways, so they do not suffer the shame of being useless."

JakeSully encouraged the rest of the family to bow and mutter a quick thank you to the Li'ona leaders. Maratu accepted their politeness easily while his wife stifled a snicker and dissolved the cluster with a wave of her hand, motioning you to follow and return to the village with her. "My oldest son Ralu and youngest daughter Aneya, will teach yours the way of water," he clarified despite the protests of his son and silenced him with a glare. "Enough, ma 'itan. It is decided." [son]

By the imperfect posture of your mother you could tell she was against the idea of allowing armed strangers inside your village. you couldn't blame her. After the RDA attacked your former home, you refused to accept anyone who had the guts to travel beyond their territory, but here you were, trusting a title - Toruk Makto. the legend was well-respected in your tribe and beautifully captured in your songcords and celebrations, but would a true Toruk Makto seek Uturu among strangers? Run away from the threat?

Based on the stories your Ancestors provided you with, no. Toruk Makto would never flee, but a father would. JakeSully was also a father who cared deeply about his children and that was something a true warrior, a true legend would do - he would protect his most valuable treasure.

The thought of leaving your home, the people you love, behind just because humans are sickeningly greedy and unappreciative made you physically ill. And in some way, you had to go through that as well. So, after your father returned into your family marui pod and got scolded by his wife, he approached you with pleading eyes.

Your legs were dangling over the edge of the pod, ankles submerged. Various shoals of fish swam around your feet, trying to avoid colliding with them as your father took a seat beside you in silence. Your bioluminescent dots began to glow along with the underwater world you learned to appreciate and take care of.

Maratu exhaled heavily and placed his hand on your hunched back. You immediately straightened your posture but kept your exhausted gaze on the never-ending sea. "I know you aren't happy with my decision," he stated, figuring how you felt from your behavior during dinner. "And trust me when I say, I am not exactly happy either."

Your ears twitched at his confession which made him chuckle. "I know it will be hard to accept their presence and most people will take decades to do so." You turned to face your father, confusion flashing across your tangerine gaze. He grabbed your hand and placed it against his beating heart - an intimate gesture among your people, your father mostly used to show his seriousness and affection.

"What I am about to ask you may be selfish after what we had to go through, but you are the only one capable of doing what is right." His words scratched the back of your mind which awoke unpleasant memories. "I spoke to JakeSully.." you nodded and encouraged him to continue, "his oldest son Neteyam, I believe it was, was trained to be an Olo'eyktan-"

"What are you trying to say, dad?" you interrupted his speech as your fear of interacting with the Omatikaya boy kept growing. Maratu squeezed your hand and pursed his lips, giving away his request. "No," you snickered sarcastically and pulled your hand away from his tattooed chest, shaking your head in disbelief. "No, dad, that is- I am not-"

"I want you to become his personal trainer-" Before you could protest, he put his index finger on your lips. "He has great potential for a warrior and you will help him get there."

"But dad-"

"There isn't room for buts," he interjected harshly as he collected himself and stood up, silencing your upcoming grunts. "I do not want to hear it, daughter. You will help that boy out either way."

"Yes, sir.." you muttered angrily while your father walked back inside where a wave of joyful cheers and laughter of your younger siblings engulfed his tall figure.

You clenched your fists hard it made your knuckles white. You should have known. Your father never came to have a chit-chat with you, he always assigned you new chores, or ordered you to babysit your siblings.

What was so special about that Omatikaya anyway?

Was it his muscular body that seemed to be perfectly built for the sea and rainforest environment? Was it his pretty privilege? Was it his daddy's title? What the hell made him so suitable for the position you have been trying to get ahold of for years?

You had no clue and that made you furious. A frustrated growl crawled out of your throat before you plunged into the calm sea to clear your head. After you managed to swim far away from your marui pod and realized you were running out of air, you resurfaced at the edge of your resting village, fighting the urge to cough.

"Are you alright?"

Your bloodshot eyes scanned the shore for the source of that sickeningly soothing voice, finding nothing but pure darkness. A trail of tiny glowing dots started to move inside the rainforest your village was surrounded by from the other side. A lean, pretty tall figure emerged out of the woods, clutching a bow with a half-full quiver of arrows hanging on their shoulder. As they stepped out of the shadows into the bioluminescence, you noticed the bold dark-blue skin that was decorated with sharp and straight patterns.

You narrowed your eyes in an attempt to focus on their face, praying silently for any Sully besides Neteyam. But as they entered into the moonlight, you swallowed your prayers. Their tightly-braided hair was tied up in a high ponytail, revealing their defined face features. You traced their glowing dots, from left to right, and captured their golden gaze.

"Oh," you breathed out and cleared your throat as the Omatikaya boy approached you. "It is you.."

"You don't sound very pleased," Neteyam pointed out your disappointment and slung his bow over his free shoulder before he placed his hands on his hips. "You must be the other daughter then-"

You scoffed. "The other daughter?" Neteyam watched you walk out of the sleeping sea, seeing how offended you were by his words, and raised his brows in surprise. "You-"

You stomped towards the na'vi hybrid and poked his stiff shoulder, almost pushing his quiver off. "Do not," you warned and exposed your fangs in the process.

"My apologies." Neteyam withdrew his hands and took a step back to show some respect which you snickered at, not fully believing. "I did not mean to be disrespectful," he admitted and bowed to seal the truth.

The silence that fell upon you two was overflowing with tension and one-sided admiration. You were studying his unreadable facial expression while he was devouring your beauty.

His golden eyes traced every single droplet of sea water you had on your turquoise skin. Neteyam also tried to memorize the pattern of your bioluminescent freckles before you managed to turn away.

"Go back," you muttered over your shoulder as you started to walk back into the endless bowl of water, desperately searching for an escape from his curious gaze.

"Wait-" already ankles deep, you turned around with arched brows. Neteyam offered you a sweet smile, "Can you tell me your name?"

"You will know it soon enough, forest boy."

[screaming-universe]

*breaks through wall*

Hi

🐺🐺🐺🐈🐈🐈✨✨✨🌌🌌🐉🐉🐉

( ◕◡◕)っ ♡

Hi! :3c (make me write game)

🐺 Werewolf Hunters

Herne, it turned out, had volunteered Eddie as unwilling participant for the net-throwing practice of the hunters in training. Eddie did not want to hate them—they were children after all, maybe sixteen at most—but it was hard. Some of them looked at him with fear, the lies of their elders making him a monster to them. Some of them looked at their trainers with fear and Eddie wanted to do nothing more than get them out of here. Some of them though positively leered at him and Eddie was suddenly glad for the guards posted on the kennel room. It had never occurred to him that they might be there to keep Buck and Tommy and him inside, but also overzealous hunter trainees outside. "Ryan, no weapons, we need them alive for now!" Herne yelled at a boy who stared at Eddie in a way that made his skin itch and who held a net and spear up as if this was a gladiator fight in Ancient Rome. Buck had once gone a research deep dive on the different kinds of gladiators and told Eddie all about it during a slow shift. Retiarius, Eddie recalled. That kind of gladiator fought with a net and a trident and Ryan came pretty close to it.

🐈 Werecat AU

"Hey Tommy," Buck found himself saying one evening. They were in bed, Tommy spooning him, and Buck was so comfortable that he would have fallen asleep already if it hadn't been for the thought haunting his mind. He had almost forgotten about it but the afternoon they spent with the Diazes and seeing Eddie and Tommy all up in each other's space like that; until there was no space between them left, had dragged it back to the front of his mind. "Y-You said that you weren't sure it's over."Tommy just made a confused noise and pulled Buck even tighter against him. It was dirty move that was bound to make Buck melt against him and usually let him fall asleep quickly. But not tonight. "Wha-d'you mean?" Tommy mumbled against Buck’s neck when he'd woken up some more after Buck remained tense in his arms. "You said you weren't sure it's over," Buck repeated, heart racing for some reason. "The courtship between me and Eddie." "Oh Evan," Tommy sighed against his neck and placed a quick kiss right there, "that's not a conversation I'd chosen to have in the middle of the night."

✨ Space AU 1

Being called like this to appear in front of his parents was basically its own dark omen: nothing good had ever come of it. Nothing good had ever come of any interaction with his parents, a dark part of Buck’s brain whispered and today he wasn’t inclined to disagree. He was ushered into his mother’s study and there sat his parents: Lady Margaret and Lord Philip of House Buckley. Buck would rather be anywhere else. “Evan!” his mother said with the fakest smile she had ever managed. “We have secured a marriage for you!” He could feel the blood freeze in his veins but with the very next sentence his mother stopped his heart. “You will be courting Lord Edmundo of House Diaz when the next season begins.” Edmundo—Eddie—Diaz? The man he had been sneaking around with—quite literally—because their love was forbidden? Or at least he had thought it was. Buck let out a slightly hysterical giggle before he could suppress it fully.

🌌 Space AU 2

Hen was working another shift in the med bay with Chim when she—Chimney’s neighbour, Karen—walked in. She still was a mystery: when Hen looked at her directly, all she saw was a woman. Not that Hen was complaining because Karen was certainly a woman Hen liked to look at. But out of the corner of her eye Hen could sometimes catch a sparkle that no human should emit. Trying to figure out what Karen’s deal was had led nowhere so far, at least not by just looking. And Chimney had only shrugged and grinned when Hen had shared her observations. He had been no help at all. “She’s an astrophysicist,” he had said instead, as if that would explain anything. “I think you might get along really well.”

🐉 Would you still love me if I was a wyrm?

The vest, as much as Eddie hated to admit it, did have some advantages. It kept the medal safe, for one. Buck had taken one look at him clutching the now much bigger - at least to him - medal to his chest with both hands, and then picked up a leather cord and cut it to the right length. When he'd put out his hand, Eddie had immediately dropped the medal into it and he was rewarded for it by the new necklace that he now wore. Usually though he wore it under his uniform and there it was safe. Now he had a new kind of uniform, he supposed. And as much as he disliked the way the neon yellow looked against his copper scales, he would never have set fire to it when nobody was looking. Because this vest had Buck's handwriting all over it. Eddie did not know how he had missed it but after all the excitement of the day he had passed out curled up in Buck's lap pretty early when Buck had sat down with- oh. When Buck had sat down with the boxes he had some sewing equipment and fabric in. And he'd asked to measure Eddie before that but Buck was a curious guy and so he hadn't questioned it.

I'd like to thank my beta Buff who I just throw the snippets at and who saves me from confusing save and safe allkjkdfdj