#happy international women's day to these completely fictional women

[maemil]

Did a little women of the clone wars sketchbook page. My ten year old ass was in love with all of these ladies when I first watched the show.

[ID: A photo of a sketchbook page. Star Wars characters Luminara Unduli, Aayla Secura, Ahsoka Tano and Barriss Offee are all drawn from the shoulders up in pencil. Aayla and Ahsoka are colored in fully with pencil, but only Barriss and Luminara's eyes have color]

[guzhufuren]

South Korea 🇰🇷 A Guide to Some of the Best Queer Asian Shows

Full list here.

1. Love for Love's Sake inside of a video game; high school setting; healing

At the age of 29 Tae Myungha finds himself transported into a fictional video game, and now 19 years old, he meets Cha Yeowoon, who is in the darkest moment of his life. And a translucent window appears where he receives a mission — to make Cha Yeowoon happy.

iQIYI (better subtitles) or GagaOOLala

2. Semantic Error enemies to lovers; university setting

A serious programmer and a rebellious artist clash over a school project. Their animosity keeps escalating to new extremes, defined by petty pranks and feisty arguments.

Viki

3. Love Tractor farm setting; farmer/city musician

Sunyeol, a city man with zero ability to survive in the countryside, comes to his grandfather's rural home. In front of him appears Yechan, a passionate and kind young farmer. While learning about rural life and assisting with farming tasks, Sunyeol gradually finds himself drawn to Yechan's warm and straightforward nature, while Yechan helplessly falls for Sunyeol.

iQIYI

4. Our Dating Sim high school friends to lovers; office setting

After 7 years, Lee Wan meets his first love, Shin Kitae, in a gaming company. When they were best friends in high school, Lee Wan was in love with Kitae. But he ran away and disappeared after confessing his feelings to Kitae after graduation. When the two of them begin working on a new dating simulation game and get more immersed in the project, old feelings are rekindled.

Viki or GagaOOLala

5. She Makes My Heart Flutter wlw; bar setting; niece and aunt dynamic

The extroverted Gang Seol is hired by her aunt Jung at her only-women bar. Even though they are both lesbians, they seem to be worlds apart and have very different love stories.

YouTube

6. The New Employee office setting; boss/intern

Excited to be interning at a successful advertising company, Seunghyun’s enthusiasm is curbed almost immediately when he meets his incredibly handsome, yet unbelievably cold boss on the first day of work. 

Viki

7. Light On Me love triangle; high school setting

One day Tae Kyung, a high school loner, starts questioning his own judgment about human relationships and gets advise from a teacher to join the school's student council. He meets the Vice President of the council, Shin Woo, who is somewhat cold toward him. However, he also meets the super-attractive President of the council: Da On, who appears to take an instant shine to him. The beginnings of a romance appear to be in the cards for Da On and Tae Kyung, but Shin Woo does not seem to approve.

Viki

8. The Eighth Sense university setting; trauma; surfing

Ji Hyun, a new student from a peaceful rural town, struggles to adjust to the bustling city life of Seoul. He meets a senior student Jae Won, who has just completed military service. Ji Hyun joins Jae Won’s surfing club and they begin to develop feelings for each other.

Viki

9. Sing My Crush best friends to lovers; musicians

Baram learned from the painful failure of his first love that he should be cautious with his feelings. During his high school days, he met Hantae in a disastrous first encounter. But then the two strike up an unlikely and close friendship in the aftermath. Baram becomes a part of a band, while Hantae is his manager. Years later, will Baram be able to keep his crush on Hantae a secret any longer?

iQIYI

10. Love Class 2 university setting; love class; TA/student; best friends to lovers

Love story of 3 couples: - Cheerful and optimistic Lee Hyun starts following cold and aloof tutor Kim An around like a puppy. - Joo Hyuk is an older student who has a thing for his university's teaching assistant Sung Min. - Student Min Woo is stuck in a confusing romantic situation: he has a secret crush on his best friend Ma Roo.

Viki or GagaOOLala

11. Bon Appetit neighbours; secret crush; food

Doohoon, a dedicated marketing manager, finds his life monotonous, filled with nothing but work. However, his new neighbor, chef Yoonsoo, seems dedicated to transforming Dohoon's lonely days around.

iQIYI

12. Unintentional Love Story rural setting; pottery; slow burn; secret agenda

Ceramic artist Yoon Taejoon disappears from society, while Ji Wonyoung is an employee who was dismissed from a large company. Ji Wonyoung is intent on winning over the heart of Yoon Taejoon in order to get his job back as Wonyoung is the company chairman's favorite artist.

iQIYI

13. Choco Milk Shake animals turned to humans; roommates

One day, two handsome strangers enter Jung Woo's house and claim they are Choco and Milk, the reincarnation of his childhood pets, a dog and a cat. The arrival of the two embarks on a new beginning and the quest to discover love.

YouTube

14. Tinted With You hinted at polyamorous trio; period drama; time travel

A high school student gets magically transported to the feudal period. Confused by his surroundings, he encounters a banished prince and his devoted bodyguard. The three characters live together and fall in love.

Viki

15. Blueming coming of age; university setting

Cha Siwon, a college freshman majoring in film studies, does a lot to maintain his image because of his past life of unpopularity. He meets Hyeong Dawoon, a classmate of his with perfect looks, good grades, and everything at his fingertips. Siwon’s feelings of wariness for his classmate soon change into something else.

iQIYI

16. All the Liquors chef/foodie; food

Han Jiyu is an employee on the marketing team of a liquor company. Park Kihoon is a skillful chef and an owner of a famous restaurant. When Jiyu is asked to contact Kihoon’s restaurant in search of potential collaboration, he runs up against a few walls—namely, Kihoon’s flat-out refusal to sell any alcoholic drinks in his restaurant. But Jiyu is not ready to just give up.

Viki or GagaOOLala

17. Mr. Heart sports; university setting

Jin Won is a university freshman who has a talent for running marathons. Sang Ha maintains a smile despite his difficult environment. A romance drama about the love and friendship between a rising marathon star and his new pacemaker.

Viki

18. Cherry Blossoms After Winter secret crush; high school setting

Ever since his parents passed away, Haebom has been living in Taesung’s house. And now, being a 12th grader, he enters the same class as Taesung, which makes the whole situation way more awkward. Living together 24/7, Taesung and Haebom's relationship is bound to change.

Viki

19. Jun & Jun office setting; childhood friends; boss/intern

Lee Jun becomes an intern at a cosmetics firm. Here he is reunited with his childhood best friend – a highly talented (but also highly flirtatious!) general manager named Choi Jun.

Viki

20. Kissable Lips vampire/human; university setting; unhappy ending

A campus romance between Jun Ho, a vampire who is walking the path of extinction, and Min Hyun, a human with pure blood.

Viki

21.  You Make Me Dance dancing; loan shark/debtee

The story of Song Shi On who is an aspiring contemporary dancer with a broken heart because he is not receiving love from his family and of Jin HongSeok, once a keen pianist, who has given up on his dreams to pursue a lucrative but unfulfilling career of a loan shark. But spending time with Shi On changes his perspective on life, and the duo forms a close bond.

Viki

22.  To My Star celebrity/chef

Actor Kang Seo Joon was once one of South Korea's biggest and most popular stars, but after he's rocked by a public scandal he goes into hiding. In his hideout, he gets acquainted with his new roommate, a young chef who leads a modest, unassuming life. Despite having wildly different personalities, the two begin on a relationship.

Viki (S1) & Viki (S2)

23. A Breeze of Love high school friends to lovers; sports; insomnia; university setting

Do Hyun, the captain of the basketball team, is preparing for the championship. The team manager brings Dong Wook, Do Hyun's first love, to fill in for an injured teammate. Dong Wook has insomnia and can only sleep well when he is with Do Hyun.

iQIYI

24. Bump Up Business real idols as the show’s actors; idol romance; music

Eden is about to make his idol debut. His agency pairs him with an experienced idol Jihoon who used to have a scandalous past. Eden is told by the company that their music duo will be doing a Business Gay Performance – they will have a fake romance to attract fans. For the sake of his dream, Eden agrees. What kind of feelings will develop between the two of them? Featuring the members of a real kpop boyband OnlyOneOf.

GagaOOLala

---

You can watch some shows for free on the streaming websites by setting VPN to South Korea. In other cases I recommend paying for subscriptions to show appreciation and support of content in order to get more of it in the future, but if you can’t, watch on KissKH (better quality), Dramacool or get files from MkvDrama. Enjoy!  🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

[sloanewashingtonappreciationweek]

Day 1 of our second-ever Sloane Washington Appreciation Week begins TOMORROW!!

Tomorrow also happens to be (in most years) the International Day for Women and Girls in STEM, and what better way to celebrate this day, than to celebrate one of Choices' most illustrious scientists, Sloane Washington!! She's an inspiration in so many ways. Struggles with social anxiety, loves coding and astronomy, writes bomb science fiction!

She is also an inspiration to women and girls outside of her scientific pursuits. She's brave, smart, and more resilient than she thinks! Both her mother and her are amazing - and each of Sloane's relationships with the women in the group particularly - whether it's Nadia, Alana or f!Hayden - are rich with humour, affection and solidarity!! Which is why our second theme for today is Girl Power!!

Today, we celebrate Sloane as the girl who looked up to so many scientists, and the woman who will become the scientist so many girls will look up to! 🥰

Any and all creative works are welcome!! Fanfic, fanart, meta, edits, moodboards, playlists, headcanons, interactive media...even screenshots of your favourite scenes!! Our only requirement is that the pieces should be Sloane-centric and show a positive depiction of her!

We also welcome WIPs - we know that it can be difficult to complete pieces in a week, so if you've finished even a portion of the work and would like to present just that for now, do send it across and we'd be happy to include it!! We also keep the event open for entries the year around, though we do keep a deadline so we can make the appreciation video on time ❤️

A friendly reminder that these are merely themes for you to use. It isn't completely necessary for your content for a particular day to be posted on that day only. You can post something you intended for Day 2 when Day 5 is on, as long as you tag the post for the day you meant it for.

Be sure to keep these points in mind when you make your posts:

1. Use #sloanewashingtonappreciationweek and #SWAW in your tags, along with the day you want to send the content for (SWAW Day 1, SWAW Day 2, etc)

2. Tag @sloanewashingtonappreciationweek, as well as hosts @sazanes and @lizzybeth1986 in your posts, so we don't miss any entries!

Fan content blogs have been a great resource in terms of showcasing fan content, so we'd definitely like to explore some of them and see if you'd like to send your content to any of them. A number of them are also running some amazing Valentine's Day events, which I urge you to take a look at:

@choicesficwriterscreations - Both fic and art welcome! Check out their rules and weekly roster here!

@choicesmonthlychallenge and @choicesfebruary2024 - All types of creative stuff welcome. This month, they're doing an awesome event with the Seven Types of Love in Greek mythology as prompts!

@choicespride - All content related to LGBTQ+ characters and/or themes welcome! Check out their awesome Valentine's Day event here!

@choicesflashfics - Fics under 2500 words welcome! This week's prompt list ends today, but we'll post the next week's once it's out!!

@choicesholidays - Both fic and art welcome!! Check out their Valentine's Day event!!

@choicesprompts - Mostly fic-centric!! Currently they're running a round robin, for which the deadline to enter is Feb 15th!

Can't wait to see what's in store for our Sloane this year!!

Happy Sloane Washington Appreciation Week, everyone!!

[msclaritea]

JK Rowling is right: a trans woman is not a woman, and it’s not wrong to say so

It is absolutely extraordinary that transgender activist India Willoughby reported J K Rowling to the police for a hate crime. The Harry Potter author this week referred to the newsreader and Loose Women host as a man in an argument on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

Northumbria Police has now confirmed that it is dropping the investigation. Why did it take so long? It should never have been given the time of day.

Quick law refresher: “misgendering” is not a crime.

The researcher Maya Forstater successfully brought a case to the employment appeal tribunal in 2021 to establish that gender-critical views are a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010.

So while hostility to someone based on gender identity can be an aggravating factor if a separate crime is committed, misgendering is not in itself an offence. Moreover, Rowling and those who agree with her are completely within their rights to refuse to believe the fiction that you can change biological sex.

As Rowling herself put it: “No law compels anyone to pretend to believe that India is a woman.” Quite.

Now, I’ve got no objection to using people’s preferred pronouns so I’m happy to refer to Willoughby as “she”. But “a woman”? No. It is a simple fact that she is biologically male, regardless of any gender reassignment surgery. She’s a trans woman but she’s not a woman and never will be. 

Trans activists have tried their hardest to turn a feeling into fact when they insist: “A trans woman is a woman.” But the truth of the matter is that a trans woman is a man who identifies as a woman. 

Willoughby and her supporters might dislike her being described as a man. They might find it at best impolite and at worst deeply offensive. But it is not “hateful” to believe that men are men and women are women. You cannot change biological sex and under the Forstater ruling, it isn’t “illegal” to say so. 

This is what happens when a vocal minority creates such an environment of fear that the police think they can’t immediately call out an attention-seeking time-waster when they see one.

J K Rowling is not a “transphobe”, either – as inconvenient as that might be to those seeking to label any woman who thinks biological sex is immutable as a “trans-exclusionary radical feminist” (Terf). 

It’s far from “radical” to believe in just the two sexes. Nor is it “exclusionary”, since Rowling has never denied the existence of trans people nor their rightful place in society – alongside men and women.

She’s simply a gender-critical feminist, who is justifiably concerned for the corresponding rights of women, which she believes are being eroded. I and many other women (and men … and even some trans people) agree with her. 

This is what the gender fanatics continually refuse to acknowledge: that there are competing rights here. It’s not all about them, whatever the likes of Willoughby seem to think. 

Rowling has been a heroine in all this, because she’s not only refused to be cancelled, but has emboldened many others who feel the same way as her to bravely speak out.

But let’s look at what is really “hateful” about this debate. There is no doubt that Rowling and others like her continue to be the victims of terrible misogyny. Just look at the appalling comments made about her on social media by people who purport to be defined by kindness and progressive values. 

Indeed, it is really quite striking that, on International Women’s Day yesterday, when we should have been celebrating female advancement, there was little public celebration of gender-critical feminists like Rowling. The Left hypocritically talks up the importance of “diversity” and “inclusion” while at the same time actively seeking to shame those who have an opposing point of view. 

The definition of bigotry is being “obstinately or unreasonably attached to a belief, opinion, or faction, in particular prejudiced against or antagonistic towards a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group”. So radical trans activists are guilty of exactly what they accuse gender-critical feminists of. Yet still they arrogantly assume they can occupy the moral high ground, while carrying out these modern-day witch trials.

If stories of gender-critical women being hounded out of their jobs, their universities, and in the recent case of Newcastle United fan Linzi Smith, their football club, aren’t already disturbing enough, we now hear word of a Canadian proposal to impose house arrest on someone who is believed likely to commit a hate crime in the future – even if they have not done so already. 

The proposed clause in the country’s new Online Safety Bill would see suspected “hate criminals” forced to wear an electronic tag and banned from going outside. In Willoughby’s world, that would include anyone who thinks she’s a bloke. 

But this former Big Brother contestant has got her own form when it comes to sharp remarks on social media. 

I had to block her myself when she responded to one of my posts highlighting a pretty innocuous story I’d written about Prince Harry with the words: “Garbage. Harry has your metaphorical number – while the grubby British Media had his ACTUAL number, and hacked it.”

Referencing my role as royal editor of an ITV daytime show, she added: “Someone else you keep platforming @ThisMorning. Have a clear out.” Nice.

If this is supposed to be what the “sisterhood” is supposed to look like in Willoughby’s eyes, then I’d genuinely rather be a “Terf”. %n

[tincansamurai]

a long post about my exp figuring out gender

i'm seriously so glad that it's so easy to find information about gender these days. just knowing certain things are possible is so important to figuring out who you are.

when i was like 11 and becoming a Junior Poster, even with all the lurking i did i only saw people talk about trans women. of course, this was because people are fucking horrible and love to make fun of trans women. i liked to read webcomics and therefore also read people talking about webcomics and webcomic drama. there was this one woman who got shit on all the time. her webcomic was bad, that's true, but there was also a lot of precursor-kiwi-farms type shit about her personal life and her other website about being trans. people were accusing her of being a groomer (wow! things sure have changed!) because she had a quiz up for boys to take to see if they were trans. for some reason who knows why i was really fascinated by this and read a lot of drama about other gender-y webcomics, and of course i took that quiz. the result was essentially "you're not trans, you're a regular boy." i didn't really know that you could be trans in a way other than being transfem, so i just kinda shrugged and went "ok, i'm not trans". like, i wasn't stupid, and even the tg fetish webcomics everyone liked to laugh at included women turning into men sometimes. but no one talked about those fictional moments with the same terms, and i didn't have any examples of real life people, so i guess i assumed that transmasculinity was a separate, theoretical thing. and if it was only theoretical it couldn't apply to me, of course.

then when i was around 13 or 14 i was reading tab's khaos komix and when a gay trans dude was introduced i kind of broke. like, wait, you can be trans in that direction, for real? wait, you can be trans AND gay?? two big parts of why it was obvious i wasn't trans crashed around me and i absolutely had a crisis about it. entirely internal, of course, because i knew how much everyone hated trans women. and if they thought being a trans woman was stupid and fake, there was no way this new (to me) thing would be well received either. i can perfectly picture standing in the shower, staring at the faucet handle, completely still - or more like stuck, and thinking "i'm a gay man". without qualifiers and everything, no "i think" or "i might be", like i 100% came to that conclusion. it made sense.

i talked myself out of it because it was terrifying. some of the stuff i used to talk myself out of it turned out to not be signs i wasn't trans, but signs i wasn't binary, but i wouldn't know that existed for even longer. plus i had mentally shock therapied myself hard enough that when i did find out you could be nonbinary, i avoided learning more. honestly thank god for tumblr and patient art school mutuals, who have probably (more like hopefully) completely forgotten me arguing with them about how nonbinary identities don't make sense, lol. sorry for being a dickhead. but thanks to this space i couldn't avoid exposure anymore, and that was really good for me. i can't even imagine how miserable i would be. actually that's a lie, i can picture it pretty easily lol.

anyway the fact that kids can get online and learn about just about any kind of gender anybody has ever thought of, and find real people talking about their experiences, and form or join any kind of community about those shared experiences is so so good. meeting nonbinary kids makes me so fucking happy. i'm so glad that it's at least a little easier to figure out who you are these days.

[thetruearchmagos]

Hey! Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday! 🌻

For a wip of your choice: If it is set in a fictional world, how would you describe the society there? If it is set on earth: What are things you love to describe? Tell me why, if there is a reason.

Hiii, thank you so much!

Well, honestly, in a setting like the 12 Worlds it'd be impossible not to have so many different and unqiue societies that I can't speak for all of them at once, so as usual, I'll go with the United Commonwealth.

In the broad sense, the UC populace, those masses who've spent generations ingrained with the UC's systems, institutions, and norms, are exceptionally idealistic. The principles of liberty and democracy aren't just slogans, for many they hold a place nearing a religious tenet in importance.

Public society is, with little exception, highly politically engaged and aggressively progressive. Voter turn out is never below 90% in a collective of states almost 3 million strong. Public policy is freely, constantly, and deeply debated at all levels, and the principle of absolute democractic public accountability and a hate of corruption in state affairs, a conviction arguably first promoted by the principles of the UC institutions itself, now runs deep within the public norms. Civil liberties and rights are a fiercely protected notion, and the great crimes of slavery and such genocidal horros elicit feelings of deep and utter fury, in a society that has harboured a violent and unyielding opposition to such acts for a hundred years, doubly so when a good fifth of its people have had recent, almost still living memory of subjugation under such structures. Concepts like women or various minority groups in the military or political office are deemed so basic and obvious that even questioning is seen as a strange joke, for are we not a polity formed under beliefs higher than race or faith, and are we not well past outdated such outdated institutions.

The aggressive conviction in the democratic institutions and systems that provide shape and direction within UC public life translates into a zeal to protecting the integrity of those long lasting institutions, from internal corruption and external invasion, and a deep belief in the act of spreading and sharing those systems far and wide. The former sees its place in the aggressive prosecution of corruption of any kind in civil and public service, as well as a patriotism of a sort disconnected from their own nations but rather towards the UC and its democratic allies on the greater whole, which has seen the UC fight and win its way through many a war and crisis. The latter takes form through the eternal support for the expansion of the Commonwealth ideal into foreign lands, be they well developed and close allies hardly different from them, or states whose political institutions are undeveloped or outright tyrannical, leading to support for actions to change such a state of affairs across borders. In addition, a complete and blanket support for immigration into UC society is another major aspect of the public conscious, for who could deny that it is a sign of societal glory to have others flock to it. The institutions of immigration follow suit, to the point where it is simply a matter of stepping foot on UC soil or approaching an Embassy, and requesting citizenship, in order to receive one, often a process concluded within 2 to 3 days of the request.

This is often eased by the laissez-faire and appreciative approach to diversity within UC society. Hundreds of languages are spoken, though English is the chief intermediary, and faiths number hardly less. Cultures are a messy, uncoordinated blend of the ethnicities and peoples within them, a single creed never more than 2 thirds in the majority. Cultural intermixing, of product and people, is a natural and loved process, appreciated as a simple fact of life. In the streets of any city worth a damn, you will find the cuisine and life of every last one of the diverse peoples, if only you look for it. The goods of culture are enjoyed freely and with no care at all for ones own personal identity, for nothing is as uniting as the common experiences here. Again, this appreciation for diversity and difference is a driving force of greater things, in this case the belief that the only thing that seperates those within the UC and those without is a line on the map and some paperwork, both of which can and will be changed. When your state is in fact a patchwork of several dozen, it hardly hurts to add a few more to the mix, and only helps

I hope this little look into the society and beliefs of the UC was enough for you, let me know if you want anything more substantial!

[rjdavies]

Celebrating Black History Month: Andrea Bane

On a mission … celebrating Black History Month with amazing and inspirational Black Women for the rest of the month and continuing into March to celebrate not only inspirational Black Women but International Woman’s Day

Andrea Bain TV Host, News Anchor, Podcaster and Author, and author of Single Girl Problems. Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. She started out in the newsroom in Toronto during a summer internship, and she went on to work behind the scenes as a producer before landing her first reporting job. 

After some encouragement from her peers Andrea decided to step in front of the camera full-time and became an entertainment correspondent for the Los Angeles based TV station Reelzchannel, she has also hosted a number of national lifestyle shows in Canada, including co-host of the CBC daytime talk show The Goods (2016-2018)

Published the book “Single Girl Problems: Why Being Single Isn't a Problem to Be Solved “ in 2018, which spurred her podcast Single Girl Problem.

Supporting the you can be single and live life to the fullest.

Her five reasons to embrace your singlehood:

1. You can be completely selfish - all your money to yourself, sleep star-fished on the bed, and can come and go as you please.

2. You have uninterrupted time to figure out what you want—and whom you want - don’t be desperate to rush into something

3. It forces you to expand your social network - make friends with people of all ages, walks of life and be open to new experiences

4. We're living in a time when issues of enthusiastic consent and sexual pleasure are at the forefront of cultural conversation—so it's a great time to be having sex (or saying no)   

5. Technological advances mean biological motherhood can happen later in life

Finally it’s your life, do what makes you happy.

R. J. Davies

A Riveting Jacked-In Dreamy Mind-Bender

RJ Davies - Science Fiction Author, Maddox Files, Novels

Tags: R. J. Davies R. J. Davies Author Rhonda Davies Rhonda Davies

[stayarmytinyzenmoa-l]

Prominence [S2 Masterlist]

Social Media AU ; Idol AU ; Added Unit AU Genre: Slice of Life(ish), Comedy, Light Angst in Some Parts Pairing: NCT x Idol!Reader, Park Seonghwa x Reader, A Smidge of Yangyang x Reader Y/N Pronouns: Female (She/Her)

Summary: Newly single and about to start up one of your most time-intensive schedules yet, but, the life of an idol isn’t an easy one, luckily, you seem to know how to choose the right friends. This story primarily follows Jung (Y/N), NCT ANiMA’s main rapper, as she navigates through the life of stardom through means of fake Twitter Threads including, but not limited to, Live Translations, Official Updates, Koreaboo Updates, Menpas, etc.

[NCT Masterlist] | [Other Groups Masterlist] | [Prominence S1 Masterlist] | [Prominence Masterlist in Chronological Order] | [S2 Extras Masterlist]

Disclaimer: Please remember that this is an AU and a work of fiction, obviously the idols mentioned/written about in this story would never partake in these actions. The idols mentioned in this work are meant to be seen more as face claims rather than the actual idols themselves. Disclaimer about Images Used: All images used in this series are not mine and were literally found on Google and edited with Fotor, beFunky, and/or Canva. Blur is applied to photos with (Y/N) or ANiMA on them since they are fictional. I do not claim these images to belong to me. All photos of idols used were found on Google, Twitter, and/or Instagram.

Last Updated: 17 February 2023

Status: Complete

Key

MU = Mini Update (Not big enough to be an update but still canon to the story)

WCh = Written Chapter (Exactly as it’s said, some will include some Social Media bonus pics, but they’re mostly written)

Parts/Chapters

The main story of Prominence in order of upload date.

Teaser 2.1 | 220208 Title Track Info for NCThree's new EP 'Echoes'

Teaser 2.2 | 220122 NCThree make preparations for their comeback stage

Pt. 2.1 | 220202 Mark 'Come and Go Cafe' Instagram Live ft. NCThree

WCh. 2.2 | 220112 Seonghwa tries to make things right before ATEEZ's World Tour

MUPt. 2.3 | 220204 (Y/N) Instagram Story promoting 'Child' w/ Mark's mention

WCh. 2.4 | 220122 NCThree make preparations for their comeback stage

MUPt. 2.5 | 220211 Tracklist Info for NCThree's new EP 'Echoes'

Pt. 2.6 | 220207 (Y/N) Twitter Update about how she takes NCThree's 'The' Photos

WCh. 2.7 | 220208 NCThree prepare for their Inkigayo stage

MUPt. 2.8 | 220209 Yangyang and (Y/N) Instagram Updates

WCh. 2.9 | 220209 Yangyang and (Y/N) go out for dinner

Pt. 2.10 | 220209 Jaehyun snitches and the Investigation team chat goes wild

Pt. 2.11 | 220209 Continuation of Pt. 2.10

WCh. 2.12 | 220214 Valentine's Day Update

Pt. 2.13 | 220214 Twitter Thread discussion what (Y/N)'s Universal title is

Pt. 2.14 | 220214 (Y/N) tells her Twitter followers to have a Happy Valentine's Day

Pt. 2.15 | 220204 Mark asks NCThree to wait for him to come home to watch 'Child' together

Pt 2.16 | 220216 NCT ANiMA Group Chat upon Saeron and Jihyun revealing that they spent Valentine's Together

WCh. 2.17 | 220221 NCThree 'Echoes' MV Teaser + Netizens Reactions

Pt. 2.18 | 220218 (Y/N) Fansign for NCT Universe

WCh. 2.19 | 220209 What has Seonghwa been up to this whole season?

Pt. 2.20 | 220222 NCThree 'Echoes' Comeback and Netizen Reactions to the mini-album

Pt. 2.21 | 220221 More (Y/N) Fansign content for NCT Universe

Pt. 2.22 | 220221 (Y/N) and Yangyang upload their own fansign tweets.

WCh. 2.23 | 220216 NCThree Heads over to Music Core

Pt. 2.24 | 220308 International Women's Day NCThree Group Chat Update

WCh. 2.25 | 220216 NCThree at Music Core Pt. 2

Pt 2.26 | 220308 International Women's Day NCThree Group Chat Update Pt. 2 ft. Seonghwa's Instagram Update

WCh. 2.27 | 220216 Seonghwa has a crisis

WCh. 2.28 | 220216 (Y/N) has a crisis

Pt. 2.29 | 220218 (Y/N) gets a sketchy text

Pt. 2.30 | 220218 (Y/N) gets a sketchy text (Pt. 2)

Pt. 2.31 | 220217 Twitter thread about how Mars is now a divorce child dog

Pt 2.32 | 220401 Pt. 1 April Fools' Mayhem Twitter thread

Pt 2.33 | 220401 Pt. 2 April Fools' Mayhem text convo in the NCThree group chat and ANiMA group chat

Pt 2.34 | 220401 Pt. 3 April Fools' Mayhem Twitter thread for the big reveal

Pt. 2.35 | 220401 Pt. 4(ish) April Fools' Mayhem the Investigation Team group chat reacting to NCThree's April Fools' joke

WCh. 2.36 | 220112 Pt. 2 to Ch. 2 I just forgot to post it I'm so sorry

WCh. 2.37 | 220219 (Y/N) and Yeseul go visit (Y/N)'s Uni friends to apologize for the events of season 1

Pt. 2.38 | 220219 (Y/N) texts the NCThree group chat (continuation of the previous chapter)

MUPt. 2.39 | 220408 Quick (Y/N) Twitter update for NCT's 6th anniversary

WCh. 2.40 | 220219 (Y/N) concludes things with her Uni friends and consults NCThree about her newfound problem and the upcoming resolution of one (continuation of the previous chapter)

WCh. 2.41 | 220219 Yangyang's crisis comes to an end.

MUPt. 2.42 | 220220 the ANiMA Girls send (Y/N) some words of encouragement

WCh. 2.43 | 220220 (Y/N) and Seonghwa meet at the Sky Café

WCh. 2.44 | 220220 (Y/N) and Seonghwa talk things out (finally)

Pt. 2.45 | 220221 Twitter thread commenting about Yeseul not being on the Let's Play Ball lineup

WCh. 2.46 | 220220 Continuation of WCh. 2.44

Pt. 2.47 | 220221 NCThree Groupchat bickerings + (Y/N) receives another strange message

Pt. 2.48 | 220221 Texts between Seonghwa and (Y/N) ft. San

Pt. 2.49 | 220502 Texts between Yangyang and (Y/N)

Pt. 2.50 | 220428 Keeho and (Y/N)'s prom story revealed via Twitter thread

Pt. 2.51 | 220411 Texts between "Yang-Money" and (Y/N)

WCh. 2.52 | 220328 Ten and Xiaojun recap the events of Season 1 to Winwin, who's been out of the loop

Pt. 2.53 | 220429 (Y/N)'s Twitter response to Keeho revealing the details of the prom story

WCh. 2.54 | 220223 NCThree wrap up music show recordings at Music Bank

Pt. 2.55 | 220224 Texts between (Y/N) and Wooyoung, (Y/N) and Yeonjun, and NCThree

Pt. 2.56 | 220519 Twitter reaction to NCT Field Day

Pt. 2.57 | 220418 (Y/N) and Yangyang Instagram Updates

Pt. 2.58 | 220611 Mark and (Y/N) react to Yangyang getting his license

Pt. 2.59 | 220619 Father's Day Update

WCh. 2.60 | 220224 (Y/N) has a crisis

WCh. 2.61 | 220225 Seonghwa Reflects (lol)

WCh. 2.62 | 220225 Jeno and (Y/N) hang out

Pt. 2.63 | 220225 Twitter Drama following the previous chapter

WCh. 2.64 | 220224 Some new characters you will want to know

WCh. 2.65 | 220225 (Y/N) goes to her aunt's restaurant and meets an unlikely person there

MUPt. 2.66 | 220915 Twitter thread on (Y/N)'s reaction to 2 Baddies

Pt. 2.67 | 220916 Twitter threads on Yangyang's daughter-ransom scam call

WCh. 2.68 | 220226 Well, well, well, if it isn't the consequence of (Y/N)'s own actions

Pt. 2.69 | 220224 NCT Stylist Group Chat concerning missing items ft. an NCThree chat at the end

WCh. 2.70 | 220226 What's popping with Mark and Yangyang?

Pt. 2.71 | 220228 Twitter thread TL;DR of all of (Y/N)'s current rumors

Pt. 2.72 | 221009 Yangyang's B-Day Bbl Updates

WCh. 2.73 | 220311 (Y/N) gets grounded but fuck it we ball and goes on a date

Pt 2.74 | 221106 Official NCT ANiMA account update for seasons' greetings

WCh. 2.75 | 220312 The finale of NCThree's schedules

WCh. 2.76 | 220312 Except it's Seonghwa's pov

Pt. 2.77 | 220314 Soompi article on (Y/N)'s stalker scandal

WCh. 2.78 | 220321 (Y/N) gets her phone back

Pt. 2.79 | 220321 Jung Sibling's Group Chat

WCh. 2.80 | 220321 Prominence reaches it's climax

[moon-light-jukebox]

Germs [Reid x Reader]

this gif isn’t mine

Summary: Reader is sure the resident BAU genius doesn’t like her, but she’s not sure why. But even if he did like her, he’s a germaphobe, so he wouldn’t be comfortable with the things she wants to do to him...would he?

Pairing: Spencer Reid / (Female) Reader

Word Count: 5.6k

Rating: Mature 

Category: Fluff and Smut 

Content Warning: Brief mentions of torture and violence, usually criminal minds stuff, nothing explicit. Light choking, oral sex (female receiving), penetrative sex, fingering, language (maybe?) 

A/n: I have come out of fan fiction writing retirement for this one. Let me know what y’all think!  masterlist

y/n - your name

y/l/n - your last name

italicized text is Reader’s sassy inner thoughts

---

I’m not sure if I believe in hell, but if there is a hell, I’m sure it feels exactly like Louisiana in July. Every time I walked outside I felt like I was walking into soup. Gross. I couldn’t help but feel guilty over my sigh of relief when I walked back into the local precinct the team was currently working out of. Young women are dying, and I’m worried about a little bit of heat.

But, fuck, it was hot.

Speaking of heat, I thought as I threw open the door to the conference room only to run smack into the hottest thing I’d ever encountered.

“Shit,” I exclaimed before I thought better of it. “I’m so sorry.” I ran my eyes up, up, up, all the way up his body until I met his eyes; those beautiful honey brown eyes that threatened to have me acting like an idiot if I stared into them for too long.  

Dr. Spencer Reid’s cheeks were tinged pink, his posture stiff, his fingers clutching the file he was carrying for dear life. “Don’t worry about it, Y/n,” he sounded uncomfortable, which made my stomach drop. “My fault.” With that, he quickly maneuvered around me and headed off to complete whatever genius task he had to complete.

My eyes followed him until he was out of sight before I mentally shook myself. ‘C’mon, this is pointless,’ I thought. ‘He doesn’t even like you.’ Which I really thought was true, the good doctor went out of his way to avoid me whenever possible. ‘Plus, he’s a germaphobe.’ This thought was confirmed true. He didn’t shake people’s hands, the only people I’d seen him touch during my time at the BAU were members of the team that he’d known for years, and some of those even seemed reluctant.

Admittedly, I didn’t know a lot about germaphobia; since I couldn’t ask the only genius I knew, I did the next logical thing. I googled it. Every person I’d read about seemed to experience germaphobia differently. Some people could have sex, but others were grossed out by the very idea. Knowing my luck, Spencer Reid and his beautiful hands, and his soulful eyes, and his cheekbones that could cut glass was in the repulsed by sex category. Which is fine! Right, it is fine to not be interested in sex; the only problem was I was very interested in every part of him.  

Maybe he thinks I’m gross. Maybe I stink? Maybe he’s just repulsed by my very presence. Regardless, I couldn’t see Spencer Reid ever shoving me against a wall and fucking me senseless.

I sighed, making my way over to the conference table, pulling out a chair before I flopped into it. I could feel the exhaustion settling into my bones. We had been in Louisiana for almost a week now and we were still no closer to finding our unsub. He was a white man, he worked in a lower-paying job, and he hated women. Obviously, that didn’t narrow it down much.

The unsub was targeting women in clubs and bars, following them outside before he bashed them on the back of the head. After that, he threw the girls over his shoulder and took them to his car; he moved them to a secondary location before he tortured them. The first two victims had survived. They were traumatized, but they were fighters; they both said the same things, ‘he kept my eyes covered the entire time,’ “I never saw his face,’ ‘I did whatever he told me to do.’

We thought the killing of the third victim had been an accident, but that accident had excited our guy enough that he changed his ritual; the killing was crucial now. We had 4 bodies, 2 live victims that couldn’t tell us anything, and no leads.

Sighing, I leaned forward, bringing the heels of my hands to my eyes. I hated feeling helpless. The answer to who this fucker was is in this evidence somewhere and I will find it. If it’s the last thing I do.

The doors swung open again, pulling me from my thoughts. Hotch lead the parade of people, followed by Morgan, JJ, and Dr. Reid. Our unit chef looked gravely serious…not that that necessarily meant anything, in the 6 months I’d been with the behavioral analysis unit I hadn’t seen him have any other expression.

Morgan pulled out his phone, hitting what I suspected was speed dial number 1. “Hey baby girl,” he said, without his usual swagger; even he was tired. “You’re on speaker. You’ve got me, Hotch, JJ, Reid, and Y/l/n.”

“And I have the always wonderful Emily Prentiss, and the dashing David Rossi on the line, effectively putting my favorite people together again, as they should be,” Garcia quipped. I don’t think she meant to include me in her list of ‘favorite people,’ but it made me smile anyway. “Okay, crime fighters, what’s the play?”

“We’re still no closer to finding the unsub,” Hotch began. “He’s highly organized, methodical, and paranoid; but he hasn’t killed in 3 days, this is a break from his escalation pattern. He’s going to strike soon.” Hotch leaned over resting his palms on the shiny fake wood of the conference table. “Our best chance is to send an agent out there as bait.” There was a general murmur of agreement before he continued on. “Garcia, we need you to find all of the night clubs, bars, and whatever else you can think of in the updated comfort zone.”

The sound of keys clicking made its way through the speaker. “Assuming we’re excluding the places he’s already hit, that leaves us with 3 possibilities.”

“So far he hasn’t struck a place twice,” Prentiss chimed in. “Do we think he’s going to hold to that pattern?”

Reid moved over to the board where the map of the county was displayed. “I think so. This guy is too careful to risk going to a place where he’s been before. The chance of him being recognized is too great, especially when everyone is on high alert.” He gestured to the area he had circled on the map. “His pattern seems to be focusing in on this center point right here,” he said, placing a pin in the map. “This area means something. Garcia, what is the closest club or bar to the intersection of Washington Avenue and Harrison Street?”

“That would beeeeee…The Blue Fox.”

“That’s where he’ll be,” Dr. Reid said confidently, his eyes moving to Hotch’s face.

The older man nodded. “It’s our best lead so far, we have to run with it.”

“It’s Friday night,” Rossi pointed out. “We’ll have to act soon.”

Hotch nodded, seeming to be lost in thought. “We need to send agents in there tonight. We know the victims were all on dates or flirting with a man right before their abduction. He targets women that are happy with their companions then waits til he can separate them.”

“Who are you planning on sending in, Hotch?’ JJ questioned.

“Y/l/n is the youngest, she fits the build of the previous victims the best.” His heavy gaze rested on me. “What do you think?”

Like it was even a choice. “I’m in.”

Hotch nodded, accepting my answer. “Good. You’ll partner with Reid.”

“What?!” I squawked, much to my embarrassment. I cleared my throat before I continued. “But, Reid and I…I just thought Morgan would be the obvious choice.” Fuck, I’m just digging a bigger hole.

Morgan gave me an easy smile. “You’re just saying that because you wanna see my moves, little mama.”

Hotch cleared his throat, bringing our attention back. “Morgan is too intimidating; the unsub might not move in if he feels too threatened. You’ll go with Reid.” When he was met with silence he continued on, “alright, let’s get to work.”

-

And that is how I wound up in a club in Louisiana on a Friday night, in a tight black dress, with Spencer Reid beside me. After he walked into the club holding my hand. He doesn’t hold hands, I cringed internally at the thought. He must feel so uncomfortable.

He waved the bartender over, ordering a drink for me and a water for himself before turning to me. “I thought a drink would loosen you up a bit. You look nervous.”

I am nervous. “Right. Thanks.” I drummed my fingers on the bar, my gaze sweeping around the club for anyone who seemed out of place and especially creepy. Most lone men at clubs and bars were creepy, but we need especially creepy.

“Is that because you don’t think I can have your back?”

My head snapped back around. “What?”

Spencer paused to accept the drinks from the bartender, sliding him the money. “In the conference room. You seemed upset that Morgan wasn’t going to be your partner,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Is that because you think I wouldn’t have your back?”

Fuck. I blushed to the roots of my hair. “No, Spencer! God no! It’s not that, I know you’d have my back.” I took a sip of my drink before I said anything else. “It’s just that…you don’t seem to like me very much, and I know you have a thing about germs, and I thought maybe that’s why you didn’t like me.” I was babbling; I was absolutely babbling. “I just didn’t want you to be uncomfortable, that’s all. Morgan has never seemed uncomfortable around me, so…” I trailed off lamely.

The corners of his lips quirked up in amusement. “So, you didn’t want to partner with me on this because you didn’t want me to be uncomfortable?”

I nodded, fidgeting with the straw in my drink.

Spencer moved closer to me, his right hand coming to rest on the small of my back. He seemed as calm as he could be, meanwhile I suddenly had trouble breathing.

It’s for the case. He has to do this for the case. Calm down.

"What do my issues with germs have to do with this?" he wondered, leaning closer to me. I could feel his breath on my neck; my skin broke out in goosebumps.

Double fuck. “Well, we’re supposed to be…together. And you think I’m gross. What if you have to kiss me?” TRIPLE FUCK. “Not that we’d have to kiss,” I tried to backpedal. “But we might, you never know. And I just didn’t…I don’t want you to dislike me more than you do.”

The teasing smile slipped from his face, the fingers on my lower back flexing slightly. He regarded me with a tilt of his head. "You're serious?" At my shaky nod, he continued. "Y/n, I don't think you're gross."

“You don’t?” I squeaked.

He lifted his hand from my back then, sliding it up to my shoulder, his free hand moving from the bar to rest on my hip. Spencer brushed my hair back before he leaned forward. Slowly, slowly, slowly, I felt his lips touch the tender skin of my neck. My eyes fluttered shut, unable to suppress a gasp at the contact. Spencer Reid’s beautiful lips slid down to the place where my neck and shoulder met, then I felt his teeth nip the skin before he placed another kiss there. He worked his way back up towards my ear, the hand on my hip moving slightly so he was almost grabbing my ass. “I don’t think you’re gross,” he breathed, causing me to shudder. I could hear the smirk in his voice. “Germs don’t bother me in that way, especially around people I know. I wouldn’t have a problem kissing you, baby.”

I was going to need new panties after this. Spencer Reid, awkward, sweet, Dr. Spencer Reid just called me Baby.

“…Oh.” Really, y/n. Oh; you went with oh?

The good doctor pulled back, his face close enough to mine that I could see that he had freckles under his eyes and that those beautiful eyes got more golden towards the center. "Oh."

-

Michael Watkins was the name of our unsub. He was a short white man with a receding hairline and a bad temper. His last relationship had ended 3 months before the first attack; Spencer was right to pick this bar. Shortly after he tried to make my pussy combust with his neck kisses, Reid suggested I walk to the bathroom, assuring me he’d be watching if anyone followed.

Watkins’ hand was in my hair, dragging me outside before I made it to the ladies’ room. I felt a jolt of fear as I struggled to escape, strands of hair being ripped from my head. I shouldn’t have worried, because no sooner had the outside door opened than I heard the velvety voice of Derek Morgan. “FBI! Put your hands where we can see them.”

He attempted to run. Why would anyone try to run from Derek Morgan?  

After the medics confirmed I was okay, I was sent back to the hotel while the rest of the team went with the local police to book Watkins and try to get a full confession.

“Good work,” Hotch said, his hand clapping down on my shoulder.

The highest praise I’ll ever need.

I hopped into the shower right when I got back to my room, not wanting Watkins’ touch on me for a moment longer.

Spencer’s touch, however,…That was a touch I wouldn’t mind having on me. But he’d barely looked at me once he made it outside. I knew he was being affectionate in there because of the case, we were playing a role. I knew that. I still couldn’t stop the twinge of hurt I felt.

But he doesn’t think I’m gross. That had to count for something.

I had just got done blow drying my hair enough so that it wouldn’t look too crazy when I woke up when there was a knock on my door. Figuring it was Emily, I didn't consider the fact that I was in my pajamas, and my face was scrubbed free of makeup.  

It wasn’t Emily. Spencer Reid stood on the other side of my door, his eyes running down my body before he met my bewildered stare again. “You look comfy,” he commented with that damn little smile on his lips again.

“Oh. Yeah. I took a shower.” Way to go, y/n, you’re really killing it tonight.

“I see that,” he said, his cheeks going a little bit pink. “Can I come in? I thought we should talk.” Was he nervous? Why would he be nervous?

I ushered him in, shutting the door behind him. He sat on the bottom edge of my bed; his body angled towards the headboard. I briefly debated about where to sit before I joined him. Don’t make it weird, y/n.

He cleared his throat before he began. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable tonight. I just wanted to make sure we got the guy.”

Right. “Oh, it’s okay, Spencer. I get it. I wasn’t uncomfortable.” I picked at the frayed edge of my sleep shorts, my eyes dropping so he didn’t see anything on my face that betrayed how I was feeling; you can’t be too careful around profilers.

His hand reached out to cover my own fidgeting hands, one of his hands covering both of mine. His hands were so big. His fingers were so long, the veins in his hands were so pronounced. I bet those fingers would feel really – FOCUS.

“I’m also sorry you thought I didn’t like you.” His thumb had started to move slowly over the back of my hand. “I do like you. I like you a lot, actually. I just…” I brought my gaze back up to meet his eyes. “I just get nervous sometimes.”

“You didn’t seem nervous in the club.”

“No,” he chuckled. “I wasn’t nervous then because it was my job. I wasn’t worried about misreading a signal…doing the wrong thing…I’m not the best with social cues.” I had noticed that about him before. “But I am a really good profiler.” And he’s humble too, apparently.

“I know that you couldn’t fake your reaction to me in the club. Your breathing became quicker, I felt your pulse jump under my lips when they were on your neck. I saw how blown your pupils got." He shifted closer to me then, bringing his other hand up to push my hair behind my shoulder like he did earlier in the night. "Just like they are now."

He leaned closer to me, his voice was lower, and it made my stomach flutter. "You're clenching your thighs together, Y/n. Your shirt may be baggy, but I can see how hard your nipples are too." His tongue ran out to wet his lips. "If I'm wrong, just tell me now. If I've misread this, I will leave right now, and we can pretend this never happened." Spencer brought both his hands up to cradle my face; despite how wet my panties were, how tight my nipples are, how badly I wanted him to touch me, this gesture made me feel special. He was holding me like he actually cared about me like I was precious. "But, if I'm not wrong, and you want this too, Y/n, tell me. Tell me you want this too and I won't stop touching you until you scream my name."

I let out a soft whimper then. Like it’s a choice. “I want this,” I leaned into his touch. “Please, Spencer.”

His thumb brushed over my cheek, his eyes never leaving mine. “Please, what, baby?”

“Kiss me.”

No sooner had the words left my mouth than his lips were on mine. His lips were softer than I imagined, they were firm and almost…questioning. When I nipped at his bottom lip, something seemed to break free inside of him. His lips slanted over mine with a hunger I had never felt. His tongue ran over my bottom lip before I opened for him. Spencer’s tongue moved into my mouth while his hands moved; one hand moved back to grip my hair at the base of my skull, tugging firmly, the other moved down to my neck, not applying any pressure, just resting it there in a gesture that felt possessive.

The need for oxygen broke us apart, his lips moving across my cheek to my jaw, then down to my neck. “How could you think I didn’t like you?” he mumbled into my skin. “You have no idea what you do to me. None.”

I threw my head back when he sucked on my pulse point, a moan ripping from my throat. “W-what…what do I do?”

Pulling back from me, he gripped the bottom of my shirt, looking at me for consent before he pulled it over my head. His eyes were firmly on my chest, his lips parted, his breathing heavy. He pushed me down slowly on the bed; I was on my back and he was hovering over me. I felt his mouth place hot, wet, kisses from my collarbone down towards my breasts. His right hand landed on my breast, his thumb brushing back and forth over my nipple while his lips moved closer and closer to my left. I tangled my hands in his hair, urging him forward.

“You want to know what you do to me?” he raised his head slightly, making sure my eyes were on him when he flicked his tongue over my nipple, causing me to gasp. “What do you do to me in your little skirts, with your little smiles, and your little laughs?” He gave my nipple a sharp pinch. “You’re all I fucking think about, y/n.” With a growl, he finally took my nipple in his mouth, teasing it with his teeth and tongue. He switched to the other breast while he adjusted himself over me, bringing his pelvis down to rest at the seam of my body between my thighs. I shifted restlessly under him, trying to grind my pussy against him. He was so fucking hard.

With a groan, he lifted his head and started kissing his way towards the middle of my chest, moving down to the curve of my stomach. “Do you know how many times I came back to my hotel room after spending all day with you and was so hard I had to cum before I could think of anything else?” he peppered kisses down my body as he spoke.

My eyes shot open at this confession that he seemed to think was no big deal. “What?” I couldn’t believe this. “You…you touched yourself and thought of…”

He hooked his fingers into the waistband of my shorts and panties, taking my raised hips as an invitation to remove both from my body. "You. I thought of you." He threw my clothes on the floor, pulling my legs open. His eyes moved over all of me, his Adam's apple bobbing when he swallowed hard. “I thought about kissing you. About making you squirm for me.” He ran his fingers up and down my thighs, his mouth running slowly over my inner thighs. Spencer’s hands hooked around my upper thighs, moving me to where he wanted me. “But, most of all, I thought about this pretty pussy.” He placed a kiss on my clit, chuckling at the wanton moan that came from me and how my fingers tangled in his soft brown curls. “I thought about all the different ways I could make this pretty pussy cum all over me.” With that, he ran his tongue up my slit before flicking it over my clit.

Dr. Spencer Reid was good at everything, so of course, he was good at this too. His mouth moved over me, watching my reaction to see what I liked best. His tongue moved in circles around my clit before slipping down to my opening. His tongue plunged inside me, fucking me, while his thumb came over to rub my clit.

“Spence- fuck- Spencer, please.” My hips tried to shift restlessly, but his arms were iron bars holding me still. He slowly moved his left forearm to rest across my hips, bringing his right hand down to my throbbing pussy. He pulled his mouth away from me, much to my dismay. He pushed one finger, then another into me. My head thrashed wildly, and my thighs started to shake. “Spencer!”

He just smirked and curled his fingers, hitting the spot inside me that made everything in my body pulse. “What, baby?”

My breaths were coming in gasps, my voice was a needy whimper. “Make me cum, Spencer. Please, please make me cum.”

He needed no other encouragement. His fingers continued their steady thrust in and out of me while his mouth covered my clit again. He alternated between flicking my clit with his tongue, then circling it before pulling it into his mouth, sucking lightly.

“Spencer.” I felt my orgasm rising. “Spencer don’t- don’t stop. I’m gonna cum, please make me cum.”

He kept his pace steady, sucking on my clit, moaning at my words. His eyes had been closed, but at that moment they opened and met mine. Then I felt his teeth ghost over my clit, I saw the want in his eyes. That was my undoing. My back arched, my mouth hung open in a silent scream. I heard myself say his name over and over again. Spencer pushed his fingers inside me, massaging me through the most powerful orgasm I had ever had. With one final kiss on my oversensitive clit, he withdrew his fingers, putting them into his mouth to suck my orgasm off of them.

He kissed back up my body, and I tried to respond, but I was still so shattered. I had never felt anything so powerful before. He cupped my face in one hand and kissed me slowly. I returned the kiss, moving my hands to the buttons of his shirt.

Spencer broke the kiss, pulling back to look at me again. “Hang on, baby.” His hand came up to still my own. “We can take a second. It’s okay. Just breathe.”

This beautiful man smiled at me then. I felt my heart flutter when he leaned down to pepper soft kisses along my jaw, his thumb coming up to wipe a tear that fell from the corner of my eye that I hadn’t even noticed.

I don’t know how long we stayed like that. He shifted to lay beside me, whispering reassurances to me while I came back down. This was just one of the ways that Spencer was so different from every other man. I didn't feel rushed, or pressured. I could feel how hard he still was, I could feel the tension in his body, but he simply kissed me while he cupped my jaw.

He made me feel…cherished.

I moved my hands to tangle in his hair again, deepening our kiss. He didn’t move my hands away when I started to work on the buttons of his shirt. The fire that I thought had been calmed by my orgasm had come roaring back. Spencer moved his hands to his belt while I finished with his shirt. His shirt came off, tossed in the same direction as my clothes. I pulled his pants and boxers down his legs, watching his cock spring free.

Everything about him was painfully beautiful. His angular cheekbones, the jaw that looked like it was carved from granite, even the toned muscles of his body. He had a small trail of hair that went down from his belly button to his groin. His cock laid against his stomach, the head glistening with precum.

“You’re beautiful,” I whispered, kneeling beside him, running my eyes over his body.

His soft hand came to grab mine, pulling it to his lips. He kissed the back of my hand, smiling softly at me.

I moved to straddle him, lower on his thighs. I took him in my hand, moving up and down, twisting my wrist as I neared the tip, swiping my thumb over his head.

“Baby,” he groaned. “Y/n, as much as I want you to do…whatever the fuck you want with me, I’m so close. I feel like I’m going to explode.” I bit into my bottom lip, unable to totally stop the smile spreading over my face. “Please, I need to feel your pussy wrapped around my cock.” He moved his hands to my hips, urging my body forward.

I raised up on my knees, taking him in my hand again, lining him up with my entrance. The tendons in his neck were strained, his fingers gripped my hips so hard I knew I was going to have bruises tomorrow. As I slowly started to sink down on his cock, Spencer let out the sexiest groan I had ever heard. His eyes were fixed where our bodies were joined, watching his dick slid deeper inside of me.

“Come on, baby,” he whispered. “You’re doing so good. Just a little bit more.”

He was so long, he wasn't overly thick, but just thick enough to cause a pleasurable stretching when he breached me that was almost painful. I gasped out a sound that might have been his name when he bottomed out inside me. I slowly circled my hips, adjusting to him. Spencer’s nails dug into my hips as he forced himself to stay still.

“Please move, y/n. Please. You’re so fucking tight.” He groaned as my walls fluttered around him. “Do you like it when I talk to you? Does that make your pretty pussy wetter?” He smirked at my whimper as I tightened around him.

I began at a slower pace, trying to tease him. Spencer quickly lost patience with that; he thrust his hips upwards, meeting my movements, his hands pushing me down onto him. I leaned forward, bracing on hand on his shoulder, the other on the bed. He pounded into me while I tried to match his pace. Spencer’s hand moved from my hip up to wrap around my throat. I nodded, forcing my eyes to stay open as he moved inside me.

His fingers squeezed slightly, pulling my face closer to his. Our lips met in a sloppy kiss. My thighs burned from matching his movements. “You feel so fucking good, y/n.” His grip on my neck tightened ever so slightly, which only heightened my arousal. “I want to feel you cum on my cock. Can you do that for me, pretty girl?”

He flipped us over quickly, never pulling completely out of me. Spencer moved to push my legs further apart, the change in angle allowing him to fill me deeper than I thought possible. His hair was sticking to his brow, his cheeks were flushed, his breathing erratic. He was the most fucking beautiful thing I had ever seen.

One hand held my leg, the other went down to my pussy, his thumb moving over my clit at a rapid pace. “Tell me what you need, Pretty Girl. Tell me how to make this pretty pussy cum all over me.”

I whined at his words. “Spencer, I-“ my voice broke off. I was so fucking close. "I need you." He seemed to understand my broken plea. He brought his body down, his chest flush against mine. He rocked into me at such a fast and hard pace. His hand still in between us rubbing circles around my clit.  

I felt his lips ghost over my ear. “I want to fucking hear you, y/n.” His speed increased, his thrust getting choppier. He was close. “I want this whole fucking town to hear what you sound like when I make you cum. When you cream all over my dick, I want you to scream my name.” With that, he moved his mouth down my neck. He bit the same tender area he had kissed in the club, where my neck met my shoulder.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck yes, Spencer!" I felt myself begin to splinter apart. “Please make me cum, fuck please.” My babbling finally broke as my orgasm tore through me. I couldn’t hear his deep groan when I came, my scream was too loud. I felt the vibration against my neck. It was only as I started to float down that I realized my nails were dug into his back. With a few last thrust and my name on his lips, I felt Spencer pulse, cumming inside me.

We lay there for a few minutes, just breathing before he rolled off of me. I felt overwhelmed, so I was relieved when he tugged me over to him. He wrapped his arm around me when I laid my head on his chest. I felt his lips on my forehead. “It’s very important for women to urinate after sexual intercourse to avoid UTIs, but you have another minute or so before that becomes more urgent.”

I couldn’t control my laugh at his comment. "Thanks, Doc." I kissed his chest. "Only you could make me cum so hard I almost blackout, then go back to being…you." I slowly untangled myself from him, going to the bathroom to handle business. When I returned, I found Spencer where I left him, his eyes were fixed on the ceiling, one hand resting behind his head, the other over his heart. He looked so lost in that moment.

“Spencer?” I asked, crawling on to the bed. “What’s wrong?”

He didn’t pretend that something wasn’t bothering him. “When you said that I just go back to being me…Do you not like that?”

My heart broke a tiny bit at the question. “Spencer, no! I love that! I love your little facts and statistics!” How did he not know that? “The best part of my day is listening to you talk. Just being with you is wonderful.” I cupped his face, bringing his gaze to mine. “Sure, I like what we just did; but I liked you before that. I want both.” Fuck. “Assuming you want me,” I rambled quickly. “This doesn’t have to mean anything, I know that it doesn’t always-“

He cut me off by pressing his lips to mine in the sweetest kiss I had ever felt. It was filled with hope and promise and…Spencer.

“It means everything to me, Y/n.”

-

I didn’t see the rest of the team until the next morning when we all boarded the jet; I was so ready to go home. I personally didn’t think anything appeared that different. Spencer sat beside me on the couch, but that wasn’t weird…right? We were just co-workers, sitting beside each other super casually. Had we spent most of last night and a little bit of this morning screwing each other’s brains out? Certainly. But you couldn’t see that…right?

Morgan’s chuckle is what confirmed I was so wrong. “Hey, y/l/n,” he called, smiling so hard it looked like his face would split from his amusement. “You missed a spot.” He pointed towards his own neck.

There was a beat of silence before Hotch snorted. SSA Aaron Hotchner, the man who never found anything funny was laughing at me.

I felt myself turn tomato red, angling my body towards Spencer’s, burying my head against his shoulder, away from the rest of the team.

“I bet you’re glad pretty boy was your partner now, huh?”

I may have wanted to melt into the floor in embarrassment, but it was sort of worth it to see the blush on Spencer’s cheeks.

--

[lostnct23]

Noona?

Pairing: ? x Reader Word count: 2974

Summary: You are the new SM staff whom other members can’t seem to shy away from your charm. But there’s one person who’s more than eager to get you all for himself.

Warning: Slow burn. Possesiveness. Suggestive Disclaimer: This is a pure fiction. There’s is no way that the portrayal of the artist’s character mirrors the artist’s actual true self A/N: Please do not repost this other on social media platform without the consent of the author. Feedbacks are always appreciated and if you have any request or scenarios in mind, I’d be more than willing to entertain your ideas. 

All rights reserved.

*****************************************

Recently, there has been this SM staff who suddenly became famous among to other staffs. It’s no secret that she’s been the content of the mundane talk of other people within the vicinity. Well for one, it’s because she was extremely talented, new, graduate from abroad and the most infamous one was because, for once, Jisung the ever-shy boy around girls is very comfortable around you. He’s not even very subtle at hiding his adoration towards you.

Ever since you started working in the company it was no surprise that you were extremely approachable despite the fact that you were extremely shy at first. People really adore you for your sincere nature and your genuine heart. That’s why it’s not even a mystery why the NCT maknae was so drawn towards you, however, with that being said, so does the other NCT members.

At first, it was Johnny who was very blatant at showing that he found you adorable, and considering that both of you are very familiar with what is it like to live abroad you quickly click and become comfortable with each other. Then there’s Jaehyun who has his ways of charming people towards him, and then Mark Lee who was unquestionably very friendly and comfortable to be around. Despite the fact that many people swarm their way towards you, you are good at keeping your safe distance, never going beyond what is considered unprofessional which is why you perplexed one person in particular.

He noticed how despite being friendly and tending to other people, you have your subtle way of putting lines between you and them. It’s like you can read other people’s intentions without making them uncomfortable of knowing what was their agenda, that’s why he kept a safe distance from you. Not because he doesn’t want to be close to you, but because he wanted to be able to pass through the walls that you built around you.

With that being said, he just quietly observe from afar, silently studying what he should do, what were these people doing wrong, why despite their attempt you still have that tall wall around you, how should he do things right to win your favor without a single restraint as you have with others.

“Noona!” the maknae exclaimed after seeing you emerged from the curtain behind, today you were assigned as their photographer, it was one of SM’s marketing strategies for their upcoming comeback and you couldn’t be more excited to work with all of the members. They were always with their units, but today, SM decided to have all of them merge. 

“Jisung-ah!” you replied and gave the youngest a warm hug, which doesn’t go unnoticed by the brooding man at the back, silently throwing daggers towards your direction, his make-up artist is not so fond as well at his sudden long face expression. “ Have you been well? “ you asked adoringly. 

“Jisung-ah!” you replied and gave the youngest a warm hug, which doesn’t go unnoticed by the brooding man at the back, silently throwing daggers towards your direction, his make-up artist is not so fond as well at his sudden long face expression. “ Have you been well? “ you asked adoringly. 

“Yah, what this eyebags, you stay up all night didn’t you?” you playfully scolded him. Jisung suddenly grew embarrassed and even a little guilty at disappointing you.

 “ 밥 먹었어요?” (Bap meogeoseoyo) you asked the boy. He just shakes his head as a no and you scoffed at his answer. “그래, 알았어, Let’s eat after this, Noona’s treat” (Grae, arasseo) you said then patted the young boy’s back which earns a delighted smile at his end. On the other hand, someone was not very happy at the scene that unfolded before his eyes. How come, that the ever wallflower Jisung managed to win you over, the only women he laid eyes who doesn’t flatter at other people’s advances towards her. Even the oh-so-great flirt Yuta didn’t manage to have you swoon over your feet.

He was snapped back to life when other Dream members started to tease Jisung because of his encounter with you. Jaemin was the loudest to utter ‘Our Jisung-a is no longer a baby boy huh” Jisung only rolled his eyes and utter how they don’t make sense and how other members were saying the most rubbish, and weirdest non-sense ever. Starting from that day he started to make his own move at making his effort of getting close to you. Doesn’t matter if he can’t break your walls because he’s more than willing to climb it just to get to you.

*****************************************

Weeks have past and he can already see the progress within your relationship, you were warmer to him than before, you would even greet him first when you do happen to crossway in the hallway. He was also almost confident that you favor him an extra bit more than the others. You were usually shy with other members, would wait for them to acknowledge you first but with him, you would say hi first once in a while. He even became more confident when you asked him first to help you get to know the city when he’s free until it became your thing to invite one another to visit a shop that has only been open recently. 

The keyword was almost.

Once their photoshoot from last month was initially released you were relentless at showering Jisung with a compliment. Telling him how proud you were with him, how handsome he looks at some shots. The breaking point was when you told him that you will treat him, AGAIN, with a meal.

“Let’s celebrate this, there’s this restaurant that just open, we should try it” you beamed happily to the boy, even snaking your hand around his right arm. He couldn’t bear the sight, he knows it’s wrong for him to feel hostile towards the youngest member but at this point, he is beyond his rationality. “I want to come to!” he said way too loudly and too aggressive than his normal tone.

All eyes were now focused towards him, shocked at his sudden outburst. But the thing that’s been running in his mind was the fact that he can’t let you be alone with another man that’s not him. He was only starting to build his way at winning you, he can’t let other men have an advance in his game. 

Meal with a new restaurant was our thing.

Midnight stroll in the city was our thing.

Going out to visit a new store was our thing.

He’s missing something. Do you like younger boys? Was the problem was his age? Was that it? Was that the reason why you always pin over Jisung despite other members pine over you? He thought you were getting along. He almost even thought that his feelings towards you were starting to cease from being one-sided.

“Oh sure, no problem with that Taeyong Hyung, you can always tag along whenever,” the young boy said, completely oblivious to the way Taeyong’s eyes were raking your form as if he would take you right there and there. You on the other hand found his outburst peculiar and very out of character.

*****************************************

Starting from that day, Taeyong was more obvious at dropping hints towards his affection. He’s no longer subtle at giving you compliments. The members were not oblivious to this, the moment that Taeyong made his affection towards you obvious, was the moment the other member took it as a cue to back off. They never really saw their leader took an interest in anyone, he’s always too busy to take care of everyone that he always neglect to fend for his own self, so when started to become all puppy eyes whenever you are around, follow you everywhere you go, do everything just to get your attention from bringing your files for you up to the littlest things and reason just to be with you, they knew you were now a serious deal.

Taeyong may have made things obvious, but whatever it is that’s going on between the two of you, it was never confirmed nor denied verbally. 

Taeyong always made sure to be pinned in the hip with you whenever he had the chance. May it be the time where you visit their practice room to disseminate some information, may it be the time that they’re free and just casually chilling at the cafeteria, Taeyong would even bring you a drink every chance he got, staying at your station just to casually hang around in a place where you were doing your own things, so basically you were dating without actually being said to be dating.

People around the company started to suspect that there’s something going on between the two of you. Interns who have shown their interest towards you were always warned that you were already Taeyong’s and it would be in their best interest to find someone else than bother you because Taeyong might be the sweetest guy, but boy was he possessive as hell.

There was even one time where an innocent intern was too close to you for Taeyong’s liking and behold, it was the first that everyone witnessed his possessiveness. He wouldn’t keep his hand off of your waist. He would constantly be glued at your side, towering whoever comes in your way, intimidating every single employee who would just approach you. He might not verbally tell them to get lost, but his intimidating aura alone is enough to send them off.

And that was the time that everyone knew better than jeopardize you and Taeyong. It might never be officially stated that the two of you were an item but he’s an idol, and they would never vocally nor announce publicly that they were dating, even if it’s only inside the company. Nevertheless, the way he was behaving around you was enough to show that you were indeed his, and his alone.

*****************************************

Everything was well, the day was bright, everyone was just having fun, well that’s until someone was having TOO much fun without HIM being by your side. Taeyong doesn’t appreciate the fact that Jisung’s hand was around your shoulder and that you were laughing way too loudly for his liking at to what the maknae was saying. And the fact that you were bare except for your beachwear right now doesn’t make anything better. Seeing other people, especially men, holding your skin like that irks him in so many ways.

“Jisung-a, we’re having too much fun here are we” the innocent boy can only smile towards his Hyung completely oblivious to the sarcasm that coated his statement. 

“Oh Hyung, annyeong!” he greeted. “Neh, I was just telling Noona about that time where we skipped and spent all day in the city” he laughed. “Pretty much risky, isn’t it Noona” the boy beamed looking down on you. You on the other hand catch a glimpse of how Taeyong was basically shaking and gawking his eyes on the hand that is around your shoulder. 

“Jisung-a,” you said sweetly, which made Taeyong even more annoyed than he already is. He narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth and it shows with the way how his jaw clenched. “Neh?” Jisung responded, almost too endearing if you asked others' perspectives. But Taeyong’s foul mood is too palpable that you can’t help but acknowledge it. “Maybe you should find Chenle first and...” you haven’t able to finish whatever you were saying because Taeyong basically tears you off from Jisung’s arm and drag away from the shore towards one of resort’s room. 

When you’re completely away from the eyes of anyone you were surprised when Taeyong pin you harshly towards the wall, eyes were almost popping from its socket, his boba eyes which everyone adored were replaced with something predatory. 

“Were you really oblivious towards what I feel even after making it too fcking obvious or do you really just want to play all too naive and innocent? What are playing Y/N?” he said while carefully caressing your cheeks, despite the fact that he does it so gently it feels like it’s burning because the way of how he’s body is basically restricting him from losing control all at once. You can feel his breath fanning the side of your cheeks.

You gulp loudly not expecting that this is the way Taeyong would finally burst. “Or are you just nasty and enjoyed being called Noona?” he said lips almost touching yours but not enough to actually have contact. His hand slowly traveled towards your delicate neck. “I can also call you Noona you know” he said, almost like a growl. “If that’s what you want if that’s what I’ve been missing all this time, so tell me Y/N, why do you always have the knack of pissing me off through Jisung”.

You on the other hand were too lost with how close your body is with his and the fact that he’s basically manhandling you right now. You wanted to chuckle at how unreasonable he is but at the same time also too aroused to actually compose a coherent answer.

“Answer me or I will force it out of you, you minx” he tightened his grip on your neck. Part of you want to test his patience and the other just wanted to submit, you decided to choose the first one.

“Maybe you haven’t marked what yours properly” you answered hoarsely and Taeyong’s eyes darkened because of your answer. He quickly smashed his lips to yours and one thing lead to another. The last thing you know he’s already giving your neck a hickey, a big and very prominent one you can tell with the way of how hard he was sucking and biting your neck.

Before things can go too far a figure appeared in your peripheral vision which caused you to push Taeyong off of you. Taeyong on the other hand looked too perplexed but when he saw the person cause of your awestruck state, he grew smug. 

“Eww, Noona! I know you and Taeyong were now basically a thing but” Jisung exclaimed pointing at your neck looking dumbfounded, “good luck at telling Appa where does that thing came from because I’m basically not telling that my sister is doing the dirty with my leader Hyung” he said leaving the two of you. But even at the end of the hall, you can both heard him murmuring to himself how he can’t believe that his Noona is not as innocent as he thought you were. 

Meanwhile, Taeyong looks so perplexed, he just looked at you with a puzzled expression silently begging for an answer. 

“Jisung is my dongsaeng you know, I can’t believe you just got jealous of my baby brother, and the maknae of your group” you scoffed. Lightly fixing your dress. “And definitely don’t expect that of all people he would be the one to walk in on us” Taeyong on the other hand look so lost, you can see in his feature some trace of regret, humiliation, guilt but you can only smile at his dumbfound state.

“To answer your question earlier, it’s not like you don’t make things obvious, it’s just that you don’t make it vocal so it’s not like I can really say anything other than what you show” you shrugged trying to bring him out from his dazed. 

“Hello? earth to Taeyong?” he remained silent. You decide to say something to finally snapped him out of it. “Since you have already stolen a kiss from me, which is, by the way, my first kiss, and you as well basically already mark me, are finally going to ACTUALLY ask me to be your girlfriend?” still none “or should I finally take that carnival date with Yuta?” that might have done the trick because Taeyong held you by your waist with the blink of an eye. Looking at you hungrily before giving you another kiss, this time it’s sweeter and more sensual than the first time. 

“You are only mine, jagiya” he said, and you wonder how can he look so feral just a moment ago, and now he looked so ethereal and cute with his toothy smile.

Fin.

[kataraslove]

here’s a video i was meant to upload on international women’s day but completely forgot about until now. happy belated international women’s day to one of my favourite fictional female characters and feminists of all time: quinn fabray! whom the writers (particularly ryan murphy) put through hell and back. the definition of deserved better. quinn fabray began as the mean cheerleading archetype, the romantic rival for rachel berry. but throughout the seasons, we were provided glimpses into how multidimensional quinn’s character truly was and how she was so much more than the resident mean girl cheerleader. the way that the glee fandom quickly fell in love with quinn fabray is truly a testament to the depth and potential of her character, in addition to how amazing an actress dianna agron is. here’s a tribute to celebrate quinn :) may her character finally be given the justice and girlfriend that she deserves.

clips: from various quinn compilations on youtube.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hello Steph 😊 Do you have any BAMF Molly or just some good fics that feature Molly? I need some Molly love at the moment because I just read a fic where she "turns to the drak side" so to speak, and my heart 😭😭😭

Hey Nonny!

Ah I did a few comm. recs lists recently with Molly, but here are what I can offer you from memory, LOL. PLEASE add your fave Molly fics, guys! PLEASE NOTE these are fics I’ve read, and please check the sub-headings for a TONNE of stuff I haven’t read!! Big title so I can find it later LOL.

MOLLY PLAYS A ROLE

See also:

COMM RECS: Coming Out To Molly

COMM RECS: Molly with Women

COMM RECS: Molly and Greg Push John and Sherlock Together

COMM RECS: Molly as a Villain

Santa Knows by Itsallfine (T, 1,719 w., 1 Ch. || Christmas Party, Love Confessions, First Kiss, Fluff, Matchmaking, POV Sherlock, Pining Sherlock) – Sherlock and John both get exactly what they want from the Yard's secret Santa exchange. Pure holiday fluff.

What John Doesn't Know (Won't Hurt Him) by blueink3 (NR [T], 4,392 w., 1 Ch, || S3 Fix It, Pining Sherlock, Snippets of Life, Hurt/Comfort, Scars, Fluff and Angst, Five and One, Hopeful Ending, POV Sherlock) – Five people who see Sherlock's scars before John Watson. But Sherlock's secrets were never something he could keep from his blogger for long.

Thirty Three Hours Without John Watson by Bookaholic, mybrotherharry (M, 6,232 w. || First Kiss / Time, Pining Idiots, BG Mystrade, Crackish) – Sherlock can SO TOTALLY survive without John Watson. It should be a piece of cake. AKA the time when Sherlock braved grocery store lines for milk, purchased and gave away a box of tampons and figured out what the X-Factor is. Greg and Mycroft didn’t sign up for this shit. Next time, they are going to the Bahamas.

Wonderful, Etcetera. by VictoryCandescence (T, 16,955 w., 3 Ch. || Wonderful Life AU || Alternate Timelines, Brotherhood, Homophobia, Suicidal Ideations, Mentions of Drug Use, Friendship, Different TRF, Sherlock’s Past, Victor Trevor is Past Boyfriend, Depression, Hallucination, Love Confessions, Christmas, First Kiss) – Sherlock thinks everyone would be better off if he had never existed, including and especially himself. When he finds himself in a world in which his wish has been granted, he begins to think perhaps even he could be wrong – but it takes an unlikely chaperone to make him not only observe, but understand.

Insanity in the Middle by DotyTakeThisDown (E, 28,010 w., 8 Ch. || Equestrian Sports AU || Alternate First Meeting, POV John, Pining John, Bottomlock, Clueless Sherlock, First Kiss/Time, Passionate Kisses, Hand Holding, Caught Making Out, Bed Sharing, Spooning, Blow Job) – John is a world-class eventing rider with a gold medal and several four-star wins to his credit, but he's never won at Rolex. Sherlock is an up-and-coming rider taking the sport by storm.

Love or What You Will by miss_frankenstein (T, 31,987 w., 11 Ch. || College/Uni AU || Professor John, Ph.D Student Sherlock, Pining John, Poetry, Falling in Love / Slow Burn, Light Angst, Happy Ending) – John is an English professor who specializes in War and Post-War Literature and Sherlock is the brilliant yet impossible Ph.D. student assigned to be his TA because no one in the Chemistry Department is willing to put up with him. And - somewhere between Waugh and Plath, e-mails and takeaway, novels and villanelles - they fall in love.

The Wrong Wagon by DancingGrimm (E, 35,663 w., 20 Ch. || Alternating POV, Molly/  John [Molly pines for John], Public Sex, Casual Sex, Obliviousness, BAMF!John, Awkwardness, Angst & Humour, First Time, Virgin Sherlock, Jealous Sherlock) – Molly sees John in a new light and realises that she may have hitched her horse to the wrong wagon...or something like that. John pines for Sherlock and worries what he will think if he ever finds out. And Sherlock doesn't know what Molly's up to...but he knows he doesn't like it.

The Pieces That Fall to Earth by Itsallfine (M, 49,513 w., 84 Ch. || S4 Fix-It, Epistolary, Love Confessions, Slow Burn, Parentlock, Past Abuse, Coming Out, Internalized Homophobia, Questioning Sexuality, Mental Health Issues / Therapy, Angst, Happy Ending) – John and Sherlock have hit rock bottom, but with all their armor stripped away, they can finally speak honestly, seek healing, and find the truths that matter most. An epistolary post-s4 fix-it fic. Now complete. (This fic is rated T except for one very clearly marked and easily skippable chapter, which is rated M.) Part 1 of The Pieces that Fall to Earth

floating through a dark blue sky by Lediona (M, 58,966 w., 15 Ch. || Notting Hill AU || POV John, Celebrity Sherlock, First Date / Time / Kiss, Past Drug Addiction, Angst with a Happy Ending) – Of course, I’d seen his films and always thought he was, well, brilliant -- but, you know, a million miles from the world I live in. Or, when John is the owner of a travel book shop and the famous Sherlock Holmes stops in one day.

This Thing All Things Devours by cypress_tree (E, 63,844 w., 15 Ch. || In Time AU || Science Fiction, Dystopian Universe, First Meetings, Action / Adventure, Romance) – In 2169, time is money—literally. Humans are genetically engineered to stop aging at 25, when the numbers on their arm start counting down from one year. When that time is up, they die. The only way to get more time is to earn it, borrow it, or steal it.John Watson lives day-to-day in the crowded slums of Zone 13. He never imagined living any differently—until he meets the practically-immortal Sherlock, and helps him on a case to track a local time-thief...

Northwest Passage by Kryptaria (E, 95,157 w., 27 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Canadian AU ||  BAMF!John, Canadian John, PTSD, Anal / Oral Sex, Rimming, Emotional Hurt / Comfort, Drug Rehab, Falling in Love, Pining Sherlock, Love Confessions, Sherlock’s Violin, Panic Attacks, Switching, Anxious / Protective Sherlock, Hugs for Comfort, Suicide Mentions, Healing Each Other) – Seven years ago, Captain John Watson of the Canadian Forces Medical Service withdrew from society, seeking a simple, isolated life in the distant northern wilderness of Canada. Though he survives from one day to the next, he doesn't truly live until someone from his dark past calls in a favor and turns his world upside-down with the introduction of Sherlock Holmes." Part 1 of Tales from the Northwest

The Stars Move Still by BeautifulFiction (E, 96,022 w., 5 Ch. || Magical Realism, Demons, Slash to Pre-Slash, AU, Happy Ending, Souls) – "What could I want so desperately that would make me sell my soul? What could possibly compel me to surrender the part of myself that makes me who I am: the source of my magic, my self-control, everything?”

Definitions by siennna (T, 101,528 w., 12 of ? Ch. || Dev. Rel., Pining, Fluff and Romance, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Fluff, Cuddles, Girl’s Night, Texting, Virgin Sherlock, Drunk Sherlock, Background Mollstrade, Hair Petting, Laying on Lap) – Sherlock’s journey in defining his flat mate and stumbling through the muddled world of emotion. {{This feels complete; the chapter count is listed as ? but I feel like it is done}}

between each beat are words unsaid by darcylindbergh, hudders-and-hiddles (T, 107,998 w., 215 Ch. || Epistolary, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Angst, Happy Ending) – On their wedding night, John and Sherlock gift each other with the things they each said when the other could not hear, the things they each put down where the other could not see: a collection of writings that illustrate the way their love for one another has grown over the years. Part 1 of between each beat

The Burning Heart by May_Shepard (M, 119,150 w., 21 Ch. || Canon Divergence, Post-TRF, John’s Sexuality, S3 Rewrite, Pining, Angst with a Happy Ending, POV John Watson, John’s Gay) – When Sherlock dies, John Watson feels like his life is over too. He’s completely shut down, until Mark Morstan, a new nurse at John’s medical clinic, catches his attention, and helps him uncover the long buried truth of his attraction to men. Although he’s certain he’ll never get over Sherlock, John plans to move on, and build a new life with Mark, unaware that Sherlock is not quite as dead as he appears, and that Mark is hiding secrets of his own.

A Further Sea by i_ship_an_armada & ShinySherlock (E, 125,492 w., 23 Ch. || Historical Pirates AU || Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Doctor John / Pirate Captain Sherlock, Sailing, UST / RST, Masturbation, Action / Adventure, Mild Angst & Peril, Romance, Shaving, Molly/Janine, Bottomlock, Hand / Blow Jobs, Past Drug Use, Slow Burn, Mild Violence, Facial Shaving, Happy Ending) – Here be a tale of adventure for both body and soul, but beware if ye be not of stout heart, for this be piratelock, ya savvy? Luckless ship's surgeon John Watson takes a chance, and finds himself eye to eye with The Ghost, the scourge of the seven seas and a definite thorn in the side of the blaggard, James Moriarty. But when John finds there's more to this most cunning pirate than be meetin' the eye, he has to choose... is it a pirate's life for him?

The Horse and his Doctor by khorazir (T, 129,003 w., 13 Ch. || Horse / Vet AU || Magical Realism, Horses, Vet John, Horse Sherlock, Implied Alcoholism) – Invalided after a run in with a poacher in Siberia, veterinary surgeon John Watson finds it difficult to acclimatise to the mundanity of London life. Things change when a friend invites him along to a local animal shelter and he meets their latest acquisition, a trouble-making Frisian with the strangest eyes and even stranger quirks John has ever encountered in a horse.

Performance In a Leading Role by Mad_Lori (E, 156,714 w., 21 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Hollywood / Actor AU, Secret Relationship, Falling in Love, Slow Burn, Romance, Coming Out, Fluff and Angst, Pining) – Sherlock Holmes is an Oscar winner in the midst of a career slump. John Watson is an Everyman actor trapped in the rom-com ghetto. When they are cast as a gay couple in a new independent drama, will they surprise each other? Will their on-screen romance make its way into the real world? Part 1 of Performance in a Leading Role

Mise en Place by azriona (M, 161,004 w., 28 Ch. || Restaurant (Kitchen Nightmares) AU || Sherlock is Gordon Ramsay / Celebrity Sherlock, Restauranteur John, Harry Plays Prominent Role, Alternating POV, Mutual Pining, Cranky Sherlock, Bed Sharing, Slow Burn) – John Watson had no intentions of taking over the family business, but when he returns from Afghanistan, battered and bruised, and discovers that his sister Harry has run their restaurant into the ground, he doesn't have much choice. There's only one thing that can save the Empire from closing for good – the celebrity star of the BBC series Restaurant Reconstructed, Chef Sherlock Holmes. Part 1 of Mise en Place

[sloanewashingtonappreciationweek]

We're on our final day of SWAW - but fret not! If you would still like to send content for the week, we'll be keeping the blog open for entries till the 15th! Do send in an entry if you'd like to participate!

Our last theme for the month is in honour of the International Day of Women and Girls in STEM! As we all now, Sloane's professional background is in coding, and she has an avid interest in astronomy and science fiction. She is also someone who idolizes inspiring women, especially women who work in STEM fields. Her own mother instilled in her a healthy curiosity that led her to be as interested and proficient in science as she now is. Today would be a great time to explore Sloane's affinity and love for this field!

Any content is welcome - as long as it centers Sloane and is a positive depiction of her. Fics, art, edits, moodboards, interactive media, headcanons, appreciation posts...even screenshots of your favourite scene!

A friendly reminder that these are merely themes for you to use. It isn't completely necessary for your content for a particular day to be posted on that day only. You can post something you intended for Day 2 when Day 5 is on, as long as you tag the post for the day you meant it for.

We also accept WIPs and Throwback posts, so do send them across if you haven't completed a fresh piece!

Be sure to do the following while making your posts:

1. Use #sloanewashingtonappreciationweek and #SWAW in your tags, along with the day you want to send the content for (SWAW Day 1, SWAW Day 2, etc)

2. Tag @sloanewashingtonappreciationweek along with the co-hosts, @sazanes and @lizzybeth1986.

Fan content blogs have been a great resource in terms of showcasing fan content, so we'd definitely like to explore some of them and see if you'd like to send your content to any of them:

@choicesficwriterscreations - Primarily fic content. You will find their list of weekly and monthly events here.

@choicesmonthlychallenge and @choices-february2023 - Any and all content welcome! They have prompts for every month. Check out this month's prompts.

@choicespride - Any and all content welcome as long as it features queer characters or themes. Currently they're running a Valentine's themed week.

@wip-wipeout-weekend - This is a good resource for showcasing your WIPs!

@choicesprompts - On hiatus currently, but do check them out!

This is our final day for SWAW, but we will be keeping the event open till the 15th for anyone who would still like to send in content! Do tag us!

Happy Sloane Washington Appreciation Week, everyone!

[watermelonlovershigh]

Bisexual Harry (MILD SMUT w/ MOSTLY FLUFF)

ATTENTION- THIS IS STRICKLY FICTIONAL (NOT REAL). I'M FULLY AWARE THAT HARRY HAS NOT CAME OUT AS BISEXUAL AND WANTS TO BE UNLABLED. I ENJOY BI HARRY FANFICS BUT THERE ARE NOT MANY OUT THERE SO I DECIDED TO WRITE ONE. ALSO THE TRAITS I WILL BE CONCIDERING AS BISEXUAL TRAITS ARE FULLY DEPENDENT ON THE INDIVIDUAL. I HATE STEREOTYPING. JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT JUST BECAUSE HARRY DOES THESE THINGS IN THIS STORY THAT IT DOESN'T MAKE SOMEONE BISEXUAL OR EVEN GAY. LASTLY I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT I'M NOT BISEXUAL MYSELF BUT THE IDEA OF BEING WITH A MAN WHO IS, IS A TURN ON. NOT IN A FETISH TYPE WAY. JUST THE VULNERABILITY AND OPENNESS OF ENJOYING EITHER WOMEN OR MEN IS INCREADIBE TO ME. THANK YOU AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY.

Harry told me early on into our relationship that he was bisexual. He was so nervous that I would leave him, but it just made me fall more in love with him. He told me late one night about 6 months into dating, on his couch. The second he told me, Harry broke down into real raw tears. The first time I'd seen Harry actually cry. Yeah I'd seen him cry during sappy movies but this was so much more than that. These tears had fear in them. Fear that I would leave him. They had vulnerability in them for being so open. But also a weight was lifted off his chest, just happy to tell me. I held Harry in my arms and cried with him, telling him how much I loved him and that this doesn't change anything. That I loved him just as much.

Only a few people in Harrys life knew he was bisexual. His close family. His close friends. That was it. If it got out in the media, the internet would have gone wild. Of course there were many rumors about his sexuality. Most of them being that he's gay. For the longest time he actually thought he might be gay. He had a lot of 'gay tendencies': painted nails, feminine clothes, pearl necklaces. But he also had very 'mainly tendencies' like watching football and drinking beer with the lads. Harry was just so conflicted all his life. Not knowing what he was. That's until the age of 18. One of his school friends came out as bisexual and that's when it clicked for him. He liked both male and females and he was okay with that. He excepted that part of him. He was more worried about what others would say or think. His family was very supportive. His friends were too. They never treated Harry differently knowing that they were straight and he was sexually attracted to them. Well not so much them specifically because they were more like brothers, but the male species as a whole.

Being in sexual relationships were on a new level of fear for Harry. Fear that when he was having sex with a guy, that the guy would try and convince him he's actually just gay. Or the fear that any women he had sex with would say he wasn't manly enough for them. Needless to say, Harry kept his sexuality a secret from most of his one night stands or short term relationships. He just didn't feel the need to tell them unless they asked specifically if he was bi or not.

Me and Harry meet at a local club in London a few years back. He was with his bandmates at the time. I was by myself because my boyfriend of 2 years just broke up with me. I was devastated and needed to escape reality. That meant drink until my body went numb. Unfortunately for me though, I wasn't that much of a drinker so my body rejected the alcohol pretty fast. I stumbled onto the London streets trying to get fresh air but ended up puking my guts out in a near by bin. Harry just so happened to be outside at that moment and saw the whole thing before his eyes. He rushed over to me and pulled my hair back to prevent more vomit from getting in it. Then he asked if I was alright and who I was with. I told him I came there alone so he insisted I come back to his place. Because my brain was fuzzy from the alcohol, I didn't hesitate one bit. Harry set up his guest room for me and helped me to bed that night. Something I'm forever grateful for. If it wasn't for him, I could've been kidnapped and raped by a stranger on the streets. When I woke up the next day, I realized who's house I was in. All of the music awards on the shelf in the room I stayed in gave it away. I was never a big fan of One Direction, no reason in particular, so I didn't act like a fangirl would have. Before I left his house, he gave me his number to call if I ever needed someone to talk to. Considering he was an international popstar and all, he sure was the most genuine person I'd ever meet. Taking care of a complete stranger and even giving them his phone number. I never thought I'd actually call him though. Or even see him again, but about a week later, I ran into him at a local coffee shop and we started talking form there. The rest was history.

We hung out all the time. He invited me to a few One Direction concerts. Even had sex a few times. Amazing sex I might add. It truly was great. Even though at the time, I had to remain secret from the public. More so said by Harry then his management. Mainly to keep me safe and out of the media knowing how private I liked to be. Three months of seeing each other and he asked me to be his girlfriend. I was thrilled. Then six months into our relationship, Harry realized how serious our relationship was becoming. That we both had strong feeling for each other. So that's when Harry decided to tell me he was bisexual. On his couch. Late one night. He wanted to get it out of the way so he didn't have to hide that part of himself with me. So he could be himself around me. If I excepted him that was and of course I did.

Approximately two years after dating, Harry purposed. He was basically shitting bricks the whole time, but he did it. I didn't hesitate one second before I said yes. We were in love. At this point, the media had found me and Harry out. Most of his fans adored me. Some said our relationship was fake. And others just flat out said I was keeping Harry closeted, not allowing him to be gay. But I knew the truth. I knew he was bisexual, not gay. I never doubted his sexuality one bit. Especially how he devoured my body when we made love. Any gay person would probably gag at the sight of a women's pussy. Not Harry. It was his favorite part of my body. A year after Harry filmed the movie Dunkirk (2017), we got married. It was a small wedding. Just close family and friends invited. It was perfect.

Now here we are in the current year of 2021 and we're still going strong. A few fights here and there, but because both Harry and I have too big of hearts, we always feel bad after fighting and immediately apologize to one another. The media had tried to split us up multiple times but it's never been successful. Our love for each other is too strong and everlasting.

Just because Harry is in a happy, loving heterosexual relationship, doesn't mean he feels completely secure about his sexuality all the time. In the beginning of our relationship, Harry tried to completely throw away any 'bisexual' tendencies he had even though he knew I supported him. For instance, there was many times Harry wanted to paint his nails but didn't. Or would refrain from gushing over sexy guys in movies we watched together. That's when I noticed he was becoming depressed. He stopped writing music. He would disengage in activities we tried to do together. Even pushed me away when I tried to have sex with him. I felt hopeless. Until one morning I asked him what was wrong, and he spilled everything. How he tries so hard to suppress the bisexual side of his character for me. For our relationship. Harry explained that he had the desire to paint his nails vibrant colors and wanted to wear feminine clothes sometimes. Something that was particularly hard for Harry to confess to me was how he even wanted to try anal. On me or me with a strap on fucking him. Right away I made us an appointment to get our nails done at a salon. Then I told him he could wear a trash bag and he'd still be the most beautiful mainly man I'd ever seen. Lastly, I grabbed my laptop and went online shopping for female strap ons, letting Harry pick the girth and size he wanted. Yes I was a little nervous to actually fuck him, but he assured me he would help me out every step of the way. As for anal on me, I mentioned how I would be nervous but how I also trusted him. Trusted him enough to penetrate me anally. That I knew he would be extra careful with me.

Needless to say, I made Harry more confident. Confident in his sexuality. I got him to come out as bisexual to the public. I let him explore his bisexuality in the bedroom. Though of course he still worshiped my pussy. We had weekly appointments to get our nails painted. Harry even wore a dress out to a date night one night. He was super scared and on edge the whole night but I kept whispering in his ear how I couldn't wait to rip that dress off of him and fuck him in the ass until he cried out of pleasure.

I honestly loved that Harry was bisexual. It was almost like a turn on for me. He was both a gym buff and my little princess. He had thick arm muscles and toned abs, as well as pink nails and pearl necklaces. Anytime he mentioned how hot a guy on tv was, we could gush over him together. Or how sensitive and vulnerable he was at times. A lot of guys hold in their emotions, thinking men can't express their feelings, but not Harry. If he felt the need to cry, he would. Right in front of me. It could be triggered by a sad movie or a animal abuse commercial. Also, on the rare occasions he asks for it, I would fuck him with the strap on in his mouth. Though a rubber penis didn't quite taste like the real thing, salty mixed with sweat, he loved to deepthroat it anyways. Watching him choke and gag around the fake penis made my pussy drip. We even bought a strap on dildo that had a vibrator on the back side of it. That way every time the fake cock would enter his mouth, the vibrator would stimulate me clit, giving me pleasure as well.

No matter how much the media tried to convince Harry he was in fact gay and didn't actually like women, he would ignore the rude comments and prove to me everyday that he in fact loved me. Me as a women. Loved my smile. Loved me eyes. Loved the way my boobs bounced while having sex. Often grabbing them in his hands and stimulating my nipples. Loved the way my tight pussy felt around his dick. Or the way my sweet juices tasted on his tongue when he ate me out. Yes he loved dick. Yes he loved balls. Yes he loved being railed to death from behind. But he also liked vagina and he loved boobs. Harry wanted to make love to me and get me pregnant. Watch my stomach grow. Be there to hold my hand when I deliver the baby. Help change diapers at 3 am when I'm to tired to do so. Teach our kids to love and respect everyone and be themselves. Be open to our kids about his sexuality. Give them knowledge on bisexuality and educate them on the matter. Instead of assuming they are straight by asking his future son if he has a girlfriend yet or asking his daughter if she has a boyfriend, Harry will ask if the have a partner or fancy anyone in particular. Love his children for who they are or who they want to become. Be a role model for them. And live happily ever after with me, his supportive wife, by his side.

MASTERLIST

[vivxwrites]

a/n: two things- - if this ever sees the light of day i wrote it on my phone and i have autocorrect turned off and it in no way constitutes as anything remotely like real ig. just bored and wanna experiment? idrk

nat x r bc i read a bunch of my old fics and holy crap theyre kinda bad but i think i was actually at least half way in love with a fictional character. whatever the fuck that means.

minor bw spoilers (?) so tread lightly

(here goes)

The Sun cuts gently across the murky water of the lake, creating a picturesque scene that could undoubtedly be seen hanging up at your local hole-in-the-wall studio, where middle-aged women (drunk on “fun” and definitely not the bottle and a half of red) pretend to live out their childhood dream of being an artist whilst their marriage lies in shambles back at home. This new pessimistic version of yourself swirls your toes around twice in the water before letting out a huff and pushing up from the gravely bay and away from the mediocre scene.

You find yourself picking at your fingernails and shuffling your feet around, kicking a rock along the pathway here and there. A nearby onlooker might describe you as pensive or even reflective, but internally you’re churning every thought in your brain away from anything remotely real or tangible.

You hate the world, you’ve decided, and you hate how it’s “just a floating rock!” and how “everything is meaningless!“ because how are those two phrases supposed to bring you any comfort? How is knowing that every action you’ve ever made or that every word you’ve ever spoken is absolutely nothing in the whole scheme of things supposed to make you feel any better?

You hate the world because you are a once positive person turned bitter. You hate the world because it let you see the good in things and it let you want to believe that things would ever be okay. You hate the world because it saw your naïvety as something to exploit.

Mostly though, you hate the world because it took her from you. It saw your happiness and it crushed it like a fucking bug. It saw her red hair splayed out on the black pillowcase (because of course notorious and badass assassin Natasha Romanoff had black pillowcases) and chopped that image up into completely indiscernible bits.

Now you were alone, wallowing in self pity in the mid-fucking-west of all places, trying to decide what in the hell you were going to do with yourself. Finally crossing the threshold that brought you back to the lone but ever impactful tree, you paused at seeing a blonde figure standing where you were moments before.

Who was that and what the hell where they doing standing in front of your girlfriend’s grave?

[hawkland]

(Mostly) Destiel Fic Recs #5

This is a LONG recs post because it’s been a while since I did an update and I fell hard into reading one author’s work (DeanRH). In fact I could easily do a rec post just of their fics alone, but for this round I’m just going to pick out a handful of my absolute favorites so far, the ones I’d recommend to start out with, along with more other authors’ works I’ve especially enjoyed lately.

Absolution at the Five-and-Dime by DeanRH (125k)  - this is perhaps THEE DeanRH fic to start with if you want a good, long read with a little bit of everything (Roadtrips! Intriguing casefic! Americana! Tasty Dean/Cas pining! Wing!kink and unique angel lore! Kinky soul fisting and tentacles!) It’s kind of two of parallel stories in one: the first, a flashback to Dean and Sam's first year hunting on their own (as well as trying to avoid hunting, and John in general); the second on how Dean and Cas finally get together during an unusual case and when Dean is able to really let go of his past trauma and accept himself/accept love from Cas. 

What I love about DeanRH’s work is that they write from the unique point of view of a drifter, so they understand living on the road, traveling place to place, and the highs and lows of that life like no others I’ve encountered in SPN before. (The author’s notes are often as much fun to read as the stories themselves). They also write a kickass angel!Cas and never lose sight of his non-human traits and background. Their writing style is unique - almost poetic in nature, and I know some readers have found it difficult to get into. But it works really well for me in their SPN fic...gives it the flavor of oral story telling as might actually happen at a drifter’s camp (with one story written exactly as such). Be warned this particular fic does play up the idea of John Winchester being mentally abusive and Dean having to turn tricks when he was younger in order to support him and Sam, so there is some dark stuff. But as someone who grew up with mentally abusive parent, reading this was extremely cathartic to me and believably written (unlike some stories that go too over the top with abusive John, or just don't understand how that kind of abuse leaves lifetime psychological scars.)

The rest of this round’s recs below the cut.

Carnevale by DeanRH (18k) - Actually the first fic by this author I read, because I just couldn’t resist a story set in my favorite place in the world, Venice, Italy. Castiel is the Angel of Venice, banished there for so long he does not even know or remember the reasons why. But Carnevale season is the one time a year he can let his wings out - figuratively and literally. And during this particular Carnevale season, he meets an intriguing masked young American tourist there with his brother and their one night stand turns into something far more powerful than either expected. This one’s hot, romantic, and achingly sad at the end as it all ties together unexpectedly with canon-verse...though with a hint for the future so it’s definitely not totally sad. I loved how DeanRH clearly understands Venice as a fellow lover of the city, the side of it most tourists never see unless they spend a long time there. This story made me cry just from wanting to be back in Venice again.

Ice cream was sweeter, food more satisfying, everything was an epicurean delight. There was just something magical about Venice, and he had lived here in the city for hundreds of years, so the shine should have worn off by now.

But it didn't, and there was always something more, something wonderful to discover around the next corner. The painted eaves of a church. The beauty of two women dancing with flowers in their teeth across the Piazza San Marco one day, overcome by the sheer joy of just being there. The way the university students still created Venetian masks, like Castiel's extravagant volto mask and Dean's humble servetta muta, with crafts that had been handed down across the generations. The morning silence that lay against the stones.

Hard Landing by DeanRH (26.9k) - A bit similar in theme to Carnevale. A pre-series Dean and Sam are sight-seeing in Spain when an angel, struck by a babel-spell, crash lands right in front of Dean. A strange yet seriously hot encounter with the angel turns into something much more complicated when the brothers return home and realize something more serious is afoot and they are both trapped in the middle of it. This is another story where things are very much not as they seem at first (as fun as that is!) It features master strategist Cas at his best, with a side helping of delightful trickery care of Gabriel and Balthazar as they deal with Lucifer, Michael...and a few others along the way.

The Sacred Band of Thebes by DeanRH (14.5k) - The last DeanRH fic I’m gonna allow myself to include in this round up, because it’s just very soft and sweet and beautiful - for a story about Dean & Cas being magically transported back in time to ancient Sparta! This is another story infused with a great knowledge of place and history, with some wonderfully delightful original characters added in that make it all the more enjoyable to read.

And now on to some other authors, I promise!

IPAMIS OL OLPRIT by emmbrancsxx0 (56k). A really wonderful fic that take a different look at what might have happened with a temporarily resurrected John Winchester during Season 14. Dean & Cas are in an established relationship here, and John here isn’t too happy about it — though mostly because he sees Cas (and Jack) as monsters, the kind of monsters he spent his lifetime hunting. This is a great fic for the emotional complexity of how John, Dean and Cas are all handled. John isn’t a cardboard evil dad, Dean is struggling between his loyalty to his father and to Cas, and Cas is increasingly bitchy/frustrated at Dean still being so desperate for his father’s approval (and all the more complex for not just being a quietly suffering perfect supporting boyfriend.) There’s some great action sequences in this too along with the emotional angst and a delicious dose of hurt!Cas if that’s your thing (as it is for me :D)

Abrenuntio by Neonbat (51k). A very dark but compelling AU take on the/a apocalypse universe. Dean, Sam and John are all alive in this post-angel war-apocalyptic world. They are part of a group of human survivors fighting against the angel army when they manage to capture “Blue” — a particularly feared angel of death. Dean is tasked with bringing Blue in for interrogation and he becomes a prisoner in their camp after John is killed. As mentioned, this is a pretty dark/sad fic (with some rather gruesome torture scenes) but I still found it quite compelling as a look at how things could have gone in some other parallel universe. And somehow the author manages to make the Dean/Cas relationship come together despite them starting out as complete enemies. This is one of those AUs that works for me because the core of the characters really shine through despite the differences in the setting.

if it all fell to pieces tomorrow by spocklee (37k) - a gorgeous post-Empty rescue fic that takes an approach I haven’t really seen explored in detail before (despite being something I’ve actually thought about as something that could’ve happened.) What if Cas has spent so long denying himself happiness, and then trapped in regrets and false-rescue scenarios created by the Empty, that he can’t trust that his rescue is real? And so he runs off to be on his own - literally stealing the Impala because he can’t handle being in Dean’s presence one moment longer - and only slowly comes to terms with the idea that it’s over now and he can be happy with/around his friends and family. This one’s both deliciously angsty and at times funny/sweet, looking at Cas’s relationships not just with Dean but with Sam, Jack, Claire, even Eileen. It does some fun stuff with other returned angels and demons who now find themselves back on Earth (and human), and...I just really enjoyed this one a lot.

Both Saved and Lost by angelfishofthelord (13.7k) Gen Cas character study, absolutely gorgeous and sad and one of those fic I couldn’t stop thinking about the day after reading it. AU where Apocaverse!Cas isn’t immediately killed by our Cas during 13x22 but instead hitches a ride back to the main ‘verse. Dean and Sam want to keep him alive for information on Michael; Cas is torn and trying to figure out just how similar—or different—they really are. Some great angel stuff here (I also highly recommend this author’s Jack & Cas “dadstiel” fics, they’re equally lovely and heartbreaking at the same time.)

flesh of the mighty by Mudprophet (2.7k) - THEE “What exactly did Dean eat in Purgatory, anyway?” fic you’ve probably already heard about. *cough* I’ve been trying to work up the courage to read this one for a while and finally gave in and OH MY CHUCK I’m so glad I did. It’s perversely disturbing and beautiful at the same time, Cas is wonderfully DERANGED and ALIEN in that way that I love it when fics managed to convey just how much angels are NOT human. Do heed the tags.

Full of Grace by ilovehowyouletmefall (11k) - Another one for the weird-as-fuck-angel!Cas lovers’ list. Heaven/canon-compliant fic where Dean knows he should feel happy and at peace but he just...isn’t, even with Cas and all of his friends and family there. He finally goes looking for Cas when he’s been absent for a time and, for the first time, gets to not just see but experience his true form. Another one that hits some kinks I knew I had and others I didn’t...until now. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

don't ask me where i've been by saltwound / @1x06 (8k) - I can never resist a good 09x06 fiction gap fic! What makes this one really stand out is how well it captures Cas’s internal voice - his struggles adapting to human senses, limitations and emotions versus what/how he experienced things as an angel. The longing and feelings between Dean & Cas here are so achingly beautiful and I just wanted to cry when Cas says he misses hearing Dean’s prayers, so Dean, he...oh, I’m not going to spoil it. *happy sigh* Just read it.

this room is wrong by DarkHeartInTheSky (12k) - Sometimes I like torturing myself with some good 15x03 divorce arc angst and this fic hit that button just so. It’s an alternative take on where Cas might have ended up after leaving the bunker and features some great Cas & Sam friendship feels, when Sam sets out to try to bring Cas home. It’s all the stuff you’d wish the writers would’ve let them talk out in canon.

Well that’s more than enough for this round! Go forth, read and give some great writers some kudos & comment love!