#i was shipping sam and alex so hard

[linkscookbook]

IT HAS ARRIVED

To celebrate the anniversary of Tears of the Kingdom's release, and to revisit Hyrule, we have put together a FREE 127-page cookbook zine for fans to enjoy. Link to downloadable PDF at the bottom.

About the Zine

The goal of this zine has been to imagine and capture snapshots of Link and Zelda’s internal and external journey between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. One of the central mechanics in both games is cooking; you cook to stay alive, you cook to improve your abilities, and you cook to forge relationships with other characters through side quests. We wanted to centre this mechanism, so decided to frame the zine as Link and Zelda’s joint travel journal.

In these pages you will therefore find a collection of short stories, small illustrations, and numerous recipes. Our team has been hard at work, collaborating and developing ideas to flesh out Link and Zelda’s journey.

Each short story is written from either Link or Zelda’s perspective. They are part narrative, part journaled notes. You will find that they have been given each their font to represent their writings. Zelda’s is the more refined one, while Link’s is the more sprawling one. I’m sure you will see the difference.

You will also find small notes and letters from other characters – notably Tulin, Teba, Riju, and Kilton – as well as an excerpt from the Lucky Clover Gazette.

The recipes themselves have been fashioned as though they were written by Link and Zelda. This does mean their fonts have been used, but we hope any difficulty in reading it is forgiven on the basis that the overall conceit of the zine is preserved. Should there be a great demand, we may look into creating a second edition using friendlier fonts.

As for the illustrations, these have been created both with the goal of illustrating the dishes – and processes where necessary – and to imply that Link and Zelda also illustrate their journeys.

All our artists, short story writers, and recipe writers have come into this zine with different skills and abilities. There may therefore be subtle differences in styles, which we have chosen to retain to exhibit each contributor’s personal flair.

Finally, I want to thank those who have contributed their time and skills to the creation of this zine: Alex, Cenza, Deldon, Mina, Rose, Sam, Scarlet, Terek, and Mr Theodore. It’s been a pleasure working with you all on this project, and I look forward to the next time our paths cross.

Thank you.

Kalh, Editor, @vagueandominousvibes

Contributors

Alex: No social media.

Cenza: Instagram (cenzadelladonna)

Deldon: Bluesky (deldon)

Mina: @zarvasace ; Ao3 (Zarvasace)

Rose: @jmserebii ; X (gravityroseK)

Sam: @lucky-clover-gazette ; Ao3 (Clicheusername5678)

Scarlet: @charascarlet , @hyrulescarlet ; Ao3 (CharaScarlet)

Terek: @valenthobbies

Mr Theodore: No social media.

Downloads

PDF: Link's Cookbook PDF

Print Files: Print Files Folder (NOTE: Read Print Files Instructions below!)

Print Files Instructions

These files have been formatted for an A5 Linen Wrap individual print through Lulu.com. The current listed price is £24.23 | $30.34 (shipping not included).

To give the illustrations a chance to shine, we recommend printing with Premium Colour on paper 80# White. To get your print copy, follow these steps:

Create an account with Lulu.com. It's completely free. If you already have an account, simply log in.

Go to 'Create' in the top bar and select 'Print Book'.

Click 'Start my Print Book'.

Under 'Select a Goal', choose 'Print Your Book'. Follow the remaining instructions on the page and press 'Design Your Project'.

Under 'Interior File Upload', upload the interior files found in the downloadable Print Files Folder (see above). This should automatically fill in book size and page count.

Under 'Interior Color', choose 'Premium Color'. For a cheaper print, choose 'Standard Color'.

Under 'Paper Type', choose '80# White – Coated'. For a cheaper print, choose '60# White'.

Under 'Book Binding', choose 'Linen Wrap'. The cover has been designed specifically for this and is not compatible with any other binding option.

Select your choice of colour for linen and print. We recommend tan (linen) and gold (print). These are the colours that will be on the linen wrap, underneath the paper cover.

Under 'Cover Finish', select 'Glossy' or 'Matte' according to your preferences. This makes no difference price-wise. We recommend 'Matte'.

Under 'Book Cover Design', upload the cover file found in the downloadable Print Files Folder (see above).

You should now be able to see a preview under 'Book Preview'. Check that you are satisfied with the result and select 'Review Book'. This will take you to a page from which you can order your individual print copy. Due to the size of the file, Lulu may take a few minutes to process the files before you can place the order, but this should take no more than 10 minutes. Simply go have something to eat, then refresh the page when you return and you should be able to order your copy.

Happy cooking!

[olderthannetfic]

Just like a small question based on that one ask, but... might the lack of brown/black men in popular M/M ships have to do with people trying really hard not to be racist so they just... never feature black/brown men? Because I know several F/F ships with brown/black women, but I can't remember a single M/M or even M/F with a black/brown male love interest... well, maybe Link/Gan or Zelda/Gan? But besides that one... nothing rings a notable bell.

--

There are more than that, anon, even if there aren't a lot.

If we're talking about AO3, Link/Gan has 785 works. Finnpoe has 8,636. Sam/Bucky has 10,591. Do you just not watch live action media?

--

Part of it is "I don't know. I just don't find them hot for some reason..."-style racism. That can shift with time and exposure but there's no instant fix even if someone is interested in changing their own tastes.

Part of it is being instantly screamed at and held to higher standards. (And yes, no matter how much people want to whine and say this isn't true, it is true, and anyone who goes ahead and writes despite the haters will tell you so.)

Part of it is fear of messing up above and beyond fear of reactions. Personally, I think this is toxic white guilt-flavor time-wasting and it's better to try and fail than not try, but it's a massive factor in what some people choose to write.

A lot of it is simply the composition of the mega-franchises that tend to generate the ships with bajillions of works. If we're looking at AO3 circles, the biggest f/f ships are not that big. If you look at m/m ships of the same size, there are some with some guy who is not white and not a pale-skinned Asian.

Here's the AO3 f/f tag where you can directly see what's big in the sidebar.

Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor (20389)

Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan (15516)

Original Female Character(s)/Original Female Character(s) (14062)

Clarke Griffin/Lexa (12661)

Minor or Background Relationship(s) (11492)

Adora/Catra (She-Ra) (10855)

Amity Blight/Luz Noceda (9751)

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin (7913)

Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long (7205)

Korra/Asami Sato (6866)

If we exclude nonspecific tags and misplaced dudes, we add:

Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer (6127)

Robin Buckley/Nancy Wheeler (6120)

Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught (5738)

Luz Noceda and Korra have darker skin. Lana Parrilla is Latina, but is Regina Mills? This isn't exactly some paradise for the diversity you're talking about.

Here's the M/M tag:

Castiel/Dean Winchester (107699)

Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski (68231)

Sherlock Holmes/John Watson (65757)

Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter (64761)

James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers (59546)

Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens) (48169)

Minor or Background Relationship(s) (47119)

Steve Rogers/Tony Stark (43665)

Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson (41631)

Sirius Black/Remus Lupin (40374)

Let's exclude some things and see what we get as we head towards the 5-20k range.

Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku (38445)

Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V (36025)

Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn (35907)

Keith/Lance (Voltron) (31634)

Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester (30488)

Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood (29568)

Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin) (28959)

Jeon Jungkook/Park Jimin (28191)

Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter (27775)

Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou (27193)

Well, we've got Lance. (*shudder*) He's one of the most distasteful and useless stock character types in episode one and is the reason I never bothered to touch Voltron again, but his fans are certainly loud enough about him being Latino.

Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov (26087)

Dazai Osamu/Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs) (26058)

Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF) (21900)

Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson (21897)

Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV) (21296)

Original Male Character/Original Male Character (21035)

Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion (20224)

James T. Kirk/Spock (18810)

Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru (18703)

Min Yoongi | Suga/Park Jimin (18147)

Eddie Diaz is Latino.

Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel (17787)

Levi Ackerman/Eren Yeager (16950)

Dan Howell/Phil Lester (16818)

Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier (16229)

Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet (16193)

Harry Potter/Severus Snape (15551)

Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich (15539)

Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki (14990)

Keith/Shiro (Voltron) (14816)

Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio (14780)

We've got the Taika Waititi thirsters in this cohort.

Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier (14413)

Rodney McKay/John Sheppard (14209)

Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto (13135)

Tartaglia | Childe/Zhongli (Genshin Impact) (13016)

Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know (12962)

Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto (12878)

Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic (12817)

Loki/Thor (Marvel) (12767)

Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren (12391)

Frank Iero/Gerard Way (12146)

Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams (12050)

Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou (12002)

Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga (11898)

Jeon Jungkook/Min Yoongi | Suga (11352)

Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin (11101)

Levi Ackerman/Erwin Smith (11088)

Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones (11083)

Loki/Tony Stark (10699)

Enjolras/Grantaire (Les Misérables) (10523)

Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin (10415)

Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield (10312)

Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard (10211)

Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi (9950)

Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne (9944)

Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee (9763)

Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington (9686)

Getou Suguru/Gojo Satoru (9625)

Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol (9471)

Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski (9367)

Clint Barton/Phil Coulson (9359)

Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist (9347)

Nico di Angelo/Will Solace (9317)

Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji (9186)

Wang Yi Bo/Xiao Zhan | Sean (8973)

Jim Ellison/Blair Sandburg (8785)

Dabi | Todoroki Touya/Takami Keigo | Hawks (8710)

Alhaitham/Kaveh (Genshin Impact) (8657)

Peter Parker/Tony Stark (8607)

Bakugou Katsuki/Todoroki Shouto (8588)

James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson (8522)

Only here are we finally getting down to the range where a lot of the big f/f ships on AO3 hang out, and here's Sam/Bucky, which is frankly not a small pairing at all unless you only mean in comparison to Stucky.

I'll stop there for m/m since these numbers are getting pretty distorted by me filtering out everything higher up, but you get the idea. Even that wretched Old Guard fandom couldn't completely kill off its ship, though then we get into how you're defining your terms and how much actual skin tone matters.

Here's f/m on AO3:

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug (32122)

Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy (26417)

Original Female Character(s)/Original Male Character(s) (23498)

Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren (23403)

Minor or Background Relationship(s) (18497)

James Potter/Lily Evans Potter (18142)

Kylo Ren/Rey (15915)

James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader (15200)

Pepper Potts/Tony Stark (14547)

Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley (13843)

Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin (13551)

Fox Mulder/Dana Scully (13145)

Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak (11318)

Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan (11031)

Castiel/Dean Winchester (10851)

Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth (9236)

Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski (9152)

Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson (9141)

Other Relationship Tags to Be Added (9108)

Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper (9046)

Bellamy Blake's actor is Filipino, isn't he? I remember race wank.

I don't see anything particularly significant until we get further down the listings, but there are definitely smaller fandoms like Leverage where everybody loves and ships the black guy.

I mean, yes, clearly, media does have a bias against darker skin, and the darker the skin, the bigger the bias. This bias may be exacerbated by fandom, but in a lot of cases, it just seems to be replicated at about the same level.

That pattern notwithstanding, it seems like you just haven't heard of a lot of ships.

[crispyanonart]

ultimate stardew valley ships go 🏁

Oh god that's a hard question babes, when it comes to couples I love to put all characters in a jar, shake it and see how they come out paired lmao I like them all

If I really reeeally have to choose between all the combinations, my favorite ones would probably be:

Sam/Sebastian DUH, Abigail/Maru (I beg you all to see my vision), Haley happily single aro-ace queen, Leah/Farmer but I'm willing to consider Leah/Haley as an alternative to these last two (femme princess/artsy nature masc hello??), Harvey/Emily (they are made for each other I don't make the rules), Shane/Therapy (unironically, I need him to focus on himself and Jas first) but as an alternative or future possibility I love poly found-family trio Shane/Emily/Harvey, Penny/Gunther, Elliott/Alex because @lily-alphonse put me onto it and now I'm obsessed, Marnie/Marlon (for the love of god Marnie STAND UP GIRL), Pierre/Morris because it's so hilarious that it goes full circle and make perfect sense, see @genericb34ns to know what I'm talking about also Krobus/Dwarf enemies to lovers

(I apologize in advance for the Emily/Sandy erasure, I know they are girlfriends I only wish we knew more about our desert girlie so I could feel more attached to her, also there are so many pairings that I love that I haven't included 😭😭😭 I can't choose)

[simulantion]

I installed lots of mods and one of them allows other NPCs to date each other. And somehow I didn't expect this ship to sail so HARD

I mean other couples are what the vanilla game already hints at, such as Haley and Alex, Abigail and Sebastian, Sam and Penny, Leah and Elliott, Harvey and Maru, Emily and Clint (before she becomes bachelorette), Emily and Shane (after she becomes bachelorettes);

but this is the only relationship that in the vanilla game they don't even acknowledge each other and yet it makes so much sense

I now become HaleyxLeah shipper

(below are other screenshots of this ship and may contain spoilers if you want to try this mod)

They are just so cute together ❤️❤️❤️

YEESSSSSS

but the trout derby kinda ruined it :(

[akalikai]

TMAGP EP 16 REACTION (SPOILERS)

CELIA HOLDING ALICE HOLY SHIT MAN THE SAMALICELIA POLYCULE IS GOING SOMEWHERE I also think this might be Celia's instinct to comfort from being a mother maybe??? BUT ALICELIA FEELS. My God their ship name could be a palindrome. Insane.

DEAR LORD DID ALICE SEE HER PARENTS DIE???? MY POOR GIRL.

Tape recorder is gone??? And yeah I suspected that the woman had been dead the whole time. Something was using her as a mouth piece, maybe something relates to ep 11 with the deep??

I think Celia and Sam saying they believe Alice is gonna bring them closer. I know people are sus of Celia so it could be a ploy to get closer to the OIAR employees, but I don't know, with her disliking Lady Mowbray, I'm more inclined to trust her.

The fact that Alice says "paid my horror dues" makes me think she knows more about said horrors and is working at the OIAR specifically to avoid it. Were her parents killed by The Horror?

"I think there's plenty of it go around at the moment" Yeah she's talking about Lady Mowbray. Seriously, I have respect for Celia, she really stood her ground last episode.

Man the fact that we were like "omg what if Alice's phone call ends up being a statement!!" In a serious way meanwhile Alice is like "yeah no Freddie will probably spit out in a few days so nothing to be concerned about". What if. Tho. Gwen ends up hearing the phone call. That would be interesting. Speaking of, where is our corporate girlfailure.

Sam you awkward little bean I love you. I'm sure Celia and Alice just gave him the fondest, "You're such a dumbass" look.

SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER TIME????

OH NO. OH NO FUCK AM I GOING TO FALL IN LOVE WITH INK5OUL. THEIR VOICE.

I'm sorry I now understand what Alex meant when he said this episode was social-cringe-horror. The misuse of AAVE is actually so accurate please help my I'm on the floor screaming this should not be this funny-

Damn so does Ink5oul tattoo....pain or something? I don't have a tattoo myself (yet. I'm gonna get one. As soon as I stop being squeamish about needles. Oh. Needles.) But I don't think they're meant to hurt THAT much???

...I genuinely SHOULD NOT like Ink5oul this much. Please. You cannot do this to me I cannot have a Michael Part 2.

OH MY GOD ITS A YOUTUBER DRAMA VIDEO IM GOING TO FUCKING DIE I CANNOT BE LAUGHING THIS HARD.

I'm sorry THE SITUATIONSHIP FUCKING SENT ME YOU'RE TELLING ME INK5OUL IS IN A SITUATIONSHIP WITH A GOTH GIRL INFLUENCER PLEASE RUSTY QUILL I NEED TO BE SERIOUS I CANNOT DO THIS.

OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD I CANNOT DO THIS I HAVE PAUSED 7 TIMES NOW JUST BECAUSE I WAS LAUGHING TOO HARD TO KEEP HEARING. INK5OUL IS HOT AND A GOTH CONFIRMED.

Shut up. SHUT UP. NOT FUCKING DIG. ARE YOU SERIOUS. NO WAY.

Also let me add all the video sound effects are taking me out I LITERALLY cannot do this PLEASE-

OH MY GOD. WAIT. IS THIS WHEN INK5OUL WAS LOOKING FOR THE BODY WITH THE TATTOO FROM EP 11. HOLY SHIT.

"Hell no i ain't gonna call it in" girl by making the video you are basically calling it in what the fuck

THE YOUTUBER DRAMA IS TAKING ME OUT PLEASE THIS IS SOME NICOCADO AVODACO VS STEPHANIE SOO TYPE SHIT (Stephanie Soo all the way honeyyyy).

So...Does Ink5oul have the ability to make people feel pain through the tattoos they do? It's seeming like that's the case.

"The views are cutting me" HUH???? THATS. LIKE. THE EDGES ARE CUTTING ME??? WHAT IS HAPPENING??? HELLO?????

IS SHE DYING. THATS HORRIBLE RN WHAT THE FUCK ALICE LITERALLY JUST SAW SOMEONE DIE NOW SHE HAS TO HEAR SOMEONE ELSE DIE????

Okay wait now that Sam has let go of his "be professional" bullshit I'm back on his track SAMALICELIA LETS GOOO

THERE SHE IS THE CORPORATE GIRLFAILURE

Ohhhh Lena. Oh boy. I can understand her tbh, Gwen has no idea what's happening and she's just doing her own thing. Whether she's evil or not, Lena still knows better what's going on and can avoid unnecessary risks. Especially since Lena does seem to care if other employees get hurt.

I SEE HOW IT IS GWEN. SO YOU'LL BE HORRIFIED BY MR. BONZO BUT NOT OF THE CANNIBALISTIC HUNTING WOMAN BECAUSE SHES A LADY OF THE ARISTOCRACY. CLASSISM AT ITS FINEST. I HATE MR. BONZO BUT AT LEAST HES A WORKING CLASS...CLOWN MONSTER THING.

Okay so the Externals are like. A Thing here. Kind of like avatars? I'm not saying in the sense of fears, I mean they're beings that are not human anymore and possibly dangerous.

Wait but I understand Gwen though "You can't take this away just because I did something you never bothered to tell me not to do" this happens to me so much Gwen my babygirl you are So Autistic.

I saw someone say that Gwen needs to be dommed. I cannot say I disagree, especially when Lena tells her to sit down. Anyway we're gonna move away from that thought.

I am not joking. I paused a total of 17 times throughout this episode because I started laughing too hard. I think I have a new favorite episode.

[luthordamnvers]

character ask game: let's go with kelly -- 8, 22, and 23!

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

Kelly Olsen is not only the superfriends therapist. Yes, she's one by trade, but I BEG the fandom, let her do something else. She can have fun and healthy relationship with them, and even advice them without being their therapist. Also, also, when fandom literally kills her (in say s5/6 or post show) to insert whoever they ship Alex with; only to describe that character acting literally like Kelly 😭 Like you can write whatever floats your boat, but why kill my girl (or character assassinate her, in some cases). Just let he go other places, don't even mention her 😭 Can you tell she's one of my favorites?

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like?

At this point I'm happy when she's there, tbh. I do read dansen fics when I find them, and I adore when they explore Kelly's trauma over her previous relationship, or racial issues. That last one not everyone can pull off, but when it hits, it hits. And we know canonically that it's something that it's important to her. I love seeing Alex navigating Kelly's traumas that she so rarely express. ALSO, Esme fics, my beloveds. And Kara and Kelly's relationship is so important to me, sisters-in-law my beloveds. For what I despise, please refer to previous question 😅 But also, Alex doesn't need to be Kelly's buffer with the rest of the SF, she does have a relationship with them all...

23. Favorite picture of this character?

Hard to pick because, like Alex, I went a little weak at the knees when I saw her, but these two in particular (and I refuse to choose between them):

Thanks so much for asking about my babe, Sam 💜

[Character ask game]

[emmedoesntdomath]

favorite non-newsies fanfic list? (holds hands out for marvel/rw&rb crumbs)

FAVORITE NON-NEWSIES LIST LMAOOO

guys, if you want content for other fandoms besides incorrect quotes, all you got to do is ask. I just get a shit ton newsies asks.

okay, so I have a lot of favorite fics (I dare you to look at my bookmarks on ao3), but my favorites and my favorite recommendations are two VERY different things. so I’ll give you a little of both.

ALSO- I NEVER RECOMMEND WIPS. NOT BECAUSE I DON’T LIKE THEM, NOT BECAUSE SOME OF THEM AREN’T THE GREATEST THING TO GRACE THIS EARTH SINCE CHOCOLATE, BUT BECAUSE I WOULD HATE IF SOMEONE DID THAT TO ME. SORRY NOT SORRY.

WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND OF MY FAVORITES (marvel and rw&rb edition):

it’ll be over (and I’ll still be asking when) by JBS_Forever- a literal masterpiece retelling of the typical irondad and spiderson relationship, honestly. tony’s a little ooc, but the way they wrote peter??? genius. inspired. would definitely recommend. 

it’s the thing we’re missing most by lavenade- one of my favorite depictions of parkner in the history of ever, it beautifully showcases both the friendship and the relationship. perfect for a feel-good moment. 

The Guiding of Death by RayShippouUchila- even if you’re not a winteriron fan (like, at all), it’s still very much a must-read. I make ALL of the exceptions for this one. 

you’re stuck in my head (stuck on my heart, stuck on my body) by notcaycepollard- this was my first introduction to sam/bucky, and I have no regrets. their relationship is so gorgeous in this story. an easy favorite. 

art of the game by volantium- perfection. harley is glorious, peter is anxious, and they’re perfect for each other. also, natasha. 

Words May Fail (The Body Remains) by ladyflowdi- I know this isn’t really a common ship at this point, but you HAVE to read this. non-negotiable. I will find you. you can vent to me about it afterwards. 

told you i’m on the way, i’m like an exit away by quidhitch- this might as well be canon, okay? it’s sweet, it’s angst-less, will make you grin so hard your cheeks hurt. I want to give the author a hug of gratitude. 

~~~

Faster, Higher, Stronger by everwitch- basically follows the actual plot, but make it olympics. also, it’s nice and long. I have no criticisms to give. 

Rule Number Nine by clottedcreamfudge- okay, honest moment here- I will unflinchingly recommend literally everything this author has written ever, but this is by far and away my favorite of their works. I’ve read it at least ten times. 

We’ll Invite Something In by smc_27- so good. so sweet. also, it’s a little bit fluffier than most rw&rb fics, so if you’re looking for that, this one’s your guy. 

and nowwwwww

MY FAVORITES OF ALL TIME THAT ARE JUST A LIL TOO UNHINGED TO MAKE THE FIRST REC LIST

Text Me Quarantine by ProsperDemeter- honestly, I don’t remember reading this one for the first time. it’s just a haze of pure euphoria. 

a primer for the small weird loves by babyloveparkner- feature me SOBBING my heart out in the corner. I love this fic so much. honestly, top three of all of my favorites for any fandom. (warning: your heart will hurt)

The (Not So) Great Pretender by RayShippouUchila- I’m actually not willing to apologize for putting this author on here twice. this one is hilarious. also, fluffy avengers. 

For the First Time, Eye to Eye by Sarah_Sandwich- I have never been so mad at harley keener than when I read this for the first time. one of the author’s greatest works, and so angst-ridden you’ll start seeing it in your sleep. 

Catch Your Voice by lavvyan- this one’s for after you read the first non-negotiable fic. trust me. 

~~~

A Sporting Chance by clottedcreamfudge- again, I will loudly proclaim this author’s greatness. their works make me really happy. alex is just so alex. 

Made the Right Selection by clottedcreamfudge- alex is a cheerleader. henry’s learning all about football. that’s it. 

Clue Me In by bleedingballroomfloor- you KNOW I’m here for the june/nora content. I shall never stop screaming about them. 

okay, thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[casualsavant]

20 Questions More

This is a deeper and more detailed version of the 20 questions for AO3 fanfic writers. Thanks to @TetsujinOtaku88 for the tag. I'm doing this #Supercorp style.

1) How do you keep getting ideas for your ship / fandom?

I think the Supercorp Fandom is pretty self-perpetuating because the canon needs to be fixed and there's lots of AUs to put them in. Plus there are so many talented people whose art, video edits, and fanfic fuel each other.

2) Which authors inspire you in your fandom, and why are they so freakishly good?

Following the answer above I think the beauty of Supercorp is that it attracts really talented creators. I love reading @searidings, @jazzfordshire's fix-its and canon-adjacent stuff, @lgbtimelords, @coffeeshib, @mycatismyeditor, and @snowydragonscave just to name a few. They have such a deftness of language and an understanding of the characters that it's hard to stop reading!

3) Aside from the characters of your main ship, who are the characters you love to write?

I really love Sam Arias, Jess, and Alex. I wish I could get a better handle on Kelly because DANSEN forever. I also have a soft spot for Eliza and a deliciously evil liking for Lillian.

4) Are there pairings or tropes you know for sure you'd never write about? Which ones?

Karamel, Lames, Top Lena, Bottom Kara. To each their own. It's just not my thing.

5) What is your writing process and why is it cursed?

Carry around a little notebook to scribble ideas, lines, sometimes whole scenes. Figure out a rough outline / structure / plot. Do unnecessary amounts of research. Open doc file. Plunge into dismay and self-doubt. Watch the show. Get frustrated. Open the doc file. Be filled with despair and self-loathing. Get a blast of inspiration and productivity. Cycle through mental instability, writer's block, and actual writing. Get dragged by Kara and Lena to unanticipated places that derails what I intended to do. Sighing and doing what the muses want. The elation of completion. Struggling with summaries and tags. Posting. Crippling anxiety and running away from AO3. Lather, rinse, repeat.

6) What is your favorite part of your writing process?

The elation of completion. The unnecessary research is fun too.

7) What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to research for a fic?

Cherry tree mutations and the structure of yakuza organizations in modern Japan.

8) Is there a particular writing rule you struggle with (grammar, spelling, tense, reality in general)?

Different tenses in the same document. Also it's and its.

9) What was your hardest scene to write so far and why?

Describing Kara's post-PZ night terrors and Lena’s fever dreams in Deliverance. Also the action sequence at the end of that story was so difficult.

10) Have your characters ever done something you didn’t expect, changing your plot completely?

ALL THE TIME.

11) If you could converse with any of the characters, who would it be and why?

Both of them. After I come to my senses and out of a dead faint because I was meeting them at all. And then I would die of sapphication.

12) What are some of the tropes or themes that you find yourself returning to in your writing?

Oh my usual tags are: light angst, tooth-rotting fluff, friends-to-lovers, Lena needs a hug, Kara gets a hug.

13) What's your most important resource as a writer?

Talking with other writers!

14) Can you share some of your strategies for editing and revising your work?

I usually give it some time before I edit so I can have relatively fresh eyes. Spell checking, punctuation, and grammar suggestions help you catch things but NOTHING beats reading it over yourself.

15) Which is worse: making the summary, picking the tags, or the anxiety when you post your fic?

Definitely the anxiety!!!

16) How do you define sucess for your fanfic - hits? Kudos? Comments? Bookmarks? Or just if you like it?

I think it's good to track kudos and I love getting comments. But ultimately I wrote for my enjoyment or for my peace of mind because the idea would not let me go.

17) Do you have a playlist for your favorite character / ship?

Nope but that's not a bad idea. 🤔

18) If fan art was going to be made from your work, which fic would you pick and which fan artist would you like to create it?

Wow I'd be thrilled if any of them got art. I am partial to the way @rustingcat draws Sakura blossoms though so maybe Cat for No Wrong Seasons.

19) How many WIPs do you currently have?

8 total. Finishing "the Arcana", "The Sound of Veracity" (Part 2), Prequel and Smutilogue of "Always With Me, Always With You", Supercorptober 2023 "Art" prompt, SG Mayhem fic, the Telepathy/Empathy fic, the Body Swap fic.

20) What's your advice to new fanfic writers?

I posted my first Supercorp story in March 2023 feeling it would be completely lost in this large fandom and having no hope for it. I felt that I was too late. That everything had been done (and done better). I did find readers who liked and some who really loved my work. But mostly I learned to write for myself, which has truly been a gift. Write for yourself. Write what you'd want to see. You'll get better at it over time.

Tagging but no pressure: @fyonahmacnally @nottawriter @chaotic-super @luthordamnvers @fazedlight

[wlw-webcomic-bracket]

WEBCOMIC DIRECTORY

Half the reason I created this tournament is so I could find new webcomics to read, and I know a bunch of you are following it for the same reason.

So: Here is a directory of every webcomic that was submitted!

Please note that this list is Very Long, so (1) I have not read most of these webcomics and can't vouch for their content, and (2) I have not tested any of these links, but I can fix any errors if you point them out.

Comics are listed in alphabetical order, with the featured couple(s) or poly ship(s) in parentheses. Broken into two parts because Tumblr only allows 100 links per post and there are 140 comics.

180° Angel (Sam and Lilith)

2 Slices (Ruka and Rio)

A Week in Warrigilla (Hazel and Willie)

A&H Club (Adrian and Hildegard)

Alice and the Nightmare (Edith and Quinn)

Alien Heart (Ivy and Rosa)

Always Human (Sunati and Austen)

Balderdash (Georgie and Afia)

Band vs Band (Honey Hart and Turpentine)

Blindsprings (Ember and Irelia)

Boyfriends (Jock, Prep, Nerd, and Goth)

Bugtopia (Arachne and Scarlet)

Burn Away (Abella and Edie)

Charity Case (Sylvia and Jerry)

Circuits and Veins (Ai and Aki)

Console Her (Claudia and Ava)

Cucumber Quest (Almond and Peridot; Piano and Ametrine)

Cursed Princess Club (Nell and Jolie)

Dame Daffodil (Charo and Alesea)

Daughter of the Lilies (Lyra and Margot)

Dead Winter (Lizzie and Alice)

Dicebox (Griffin and Molly)

Dirt Creek Runs Red with Blood (Ines and Sarepia)

Dom&Mor (Dominique and Morgan)

Dresden Codak (Kimiko and Elith)

Drop-Out (Lola and Sugar)

Dumbing of Age (Becky and Dina; Jennifer/Billie and Ruth)

El Goonish Shive (Ellen and Nanase; Catalina and Rhoda; Diane and Lucy)

Eldritch Darling (Ina and CJ)

Encore! (Quinn and Hana)

Ennui Go (Izzy, Darcy, and Tanya)

Errant (Sarin and Jules)

Facing the Sun (Aarya and Liza)

Finding Wonderland (Alex and Lucky)

Flowers For the Arsonist (Lucia and Paige)

Four Leaf (Carla and Lina)

Gals (Croix, Sam, Lux, and Charlotte)

Ghoul Crush (Sison and Laguna)

Girly (Otra and Winter)

Glitterlaced (Goldie and Luck)

Go Get a Roomie (Roomie and Lillian)

Guide to the Land of Monsters (Arnatuk and Tove)

Gunnerkrigg Court (Kat and Paz; Zimmy and Gamma)

Hard Lacquer (Claire and Robin; Claire and Petra)

Heartstopper (Darcy and Tara)

Heir's Game (Sevilia and Ilianna)

Her Tale of Shim Chong (Shim Chong and Madam Jang)

High Class Homos (Sapphia and Odette; Sapphia and Marla)

Homestuck (Rose and Kanaya; Calliope and Roxy; Vriska and Meenah; Vriska and Terezi)

How to Be a Werewolf (Marin and Marisa)

I Love Amy (Amy and Bibi)

I Want to Be a Cute Anime Girl (Cheryl and Delilah)

I'm the Villainess but the Heroine's Trying to Capture Me (Nelly and Nancy)

In My Heart (Wantanabe Yuki and Sasaki Mari)

Isadora (Isaline and Theodora)

It's Okay to Like Girls (Sophie and Olivia)

Kidd Commander (Phineas and Agatha)

Kill Six Billion Demons (Allison and Ciocie Cioelle)

Kiss It Goodbye (Aruka and Yukimi)

Lady of the Shard (Radiant Goddess and Acolyte; Radiant Goddess and Old God)

Lesbiampires (Daphne and Veronika)

Lore Olympus (Athena and Hestia)

Mage & Demon Queen (Malori and Velverosa)

Matchmaker (Kimmy and Marlowe)

Missing Monday (Foyle and Monday)

Monsters and Girls (Lili and Sera)

Motherlover (Imogen and Alex)

Moving In (Jackie and Riley)

Muted (Camille, Nyra, and Dendro)

My Dragon Girlfriend (Dani and Christie; Callie and Olive)

My Sweet Archenemy (Mad Spade and Miss Sunshine)

My Wish Is to Fall In Love Until You Die (Shiina and Mimi; Seiran and Ari)

Namesake (Selva and Alice)

Nano List (Chacha and Zavi)

Never Satisfied (Neith and Isra)

Nevermore (Lenore and Annabel Lee)

Night Owls and Summer Skies (Emma and Vivian)

Not So Shoujo Love Story (Rei and Hanna)

Octopus Pie (Jane and Marigold)

Offbeat (Beau and Julie)

On a Sunbeam (Mia and Grace; Alma and Char)

On Borrowed Time (Rune and Dielle)

Osora (Celia and Catalina)

Remaining links in part two!

[thatonebirdwrites]

Answering Questions for Fun

20 Questions More

This is a deeper and more detailed version of the 20 questions for AO3 fanfic writers.

I yanked the questions from someone in the supercorp fandom. I forget who. I never get tagged since I'm not really well known writer yet (I'm still a tumblr newbie!), so I'm doing this just for funsies and because I like answering questions.

I will be answering this for the supercorp and korrasami fandoms. My works are here (though I do one-shots on tumblr sometimes).

1) How do you keep getting ideas for your ship / fandom?

By existing, reading, listening, writing, watching things, staring at the sky and watching the clouds drift by. Seriously, my ADHD's superpower is generating ideas. So I have way too many of them, and I have a note in my Scrivener projects with all the ideas. If anyone needs more ideas, I'll spin out so many. lol

2) Which authors inspire you in your fandom, and why are they so freakishly good?

So for the Korrasami fandom, that would be @korrasamibottles for their fantastic oneshots, Progman for one of the best post-series fics I've ever read (seriously, the Asami Sato of RRU is awesome), Shigan for some amazing korrasami oneshots, FuzziFox for an adorable and action-y AU where Asami goes south with Korra, lovedeathcats for the best Indiana Jones AU ever, RainbowRosie for a great AU where bending has vanished, paxbanana's Place in the World is an interesting AU take on Korrasami. @asamiontop's Modern world AU is a must read (she also has some great supercorp one-shots). For supercorp? @jazzfordshire has exquisitely written fics, everything @fazedlight writes is gold, @snowydragonscave's oneshots are adorable, @mycatismyeditor has some great AU's that really dig into the characters, @ekingston has some of the best written AU's I've ever read, @karalovesallthegirls has the most hilarious fics ever (Mime fic), robie's AUs are some of the best slow burn I've read, TheUnforgivingMinute wrote a fantastic spookysupercorp, @coffeeshib floored me with their gorgeous prose, @rustingcat not only does amazing art but the fics are such a great slow burn, @chaotic-super's back to Krypton was absolutely goldmine of fun and digging into the lore of Krypton. I could go on. Let's just say I LOVE Y'all's fics. The above are the people who had the most impact on me personally. Where I learned the art of fanfic writing. Since I'm a science fiction writer, I tend toward creative writing techniques that don't always jive well in the fandom realm, so learning from others helps me refine my writing to use the least amount of words for the biggest impact possible. It's also great practice for my original fiction honestly.

3) Aside from the characters of your main ship, who are the characters you love to write?

I really love writing Sam Arias. Nia is also super fun to write, and writing Brainy and Lena arguing about science is always fun too. Alex is a littler harder for me to write (her snark is hard for me to capture), but she's a blast once I get in the right headspace for it. For Korrasami, I really love writing Jinora and Bolin. Asami considers both of them basically siblings at this point, and Korra does too actually. heh.

4) Are there pairings or tropes you know for sure you'd never write about? Which ones?

I will NEVER EVER writing Makorra - that is a clusterfuck I will never touch. Hell, it's why I didn't rewrite book 1 of TLOK for my Shared Moments series because I really didn't want to touch it at all. lol I just skipped to the six months after and started there. I'll NEVER write Lames or any relationship that features Mon-el. Nope. Not touching it. I prefer to write sapphic pairings for the main protagonists. Sure, side characters can have het pairings (like Brainy and Nia), but I won't write a fic with them as the focus. Other folks can do that.

5) What is your writing process and why is it cursed?

Step 1: Wake up, wash up, and get tea. Step 2. Cuddle the cat to prepare myself. Step 3: Put on my compression gloves and stretch my arms. Step 4: Put on the correct playlist (absolutely essential step otherwise it'll throw off the entire scene and then I have to start over.) Step 5: Try to avoid Tumblr. (Doesn't always work, this place is cursed I swear. lol) Step 6. Open Scrivener project (who am I kidding, these primary projects are always open on m computer). Write while my brain is cooperating. (30 to 40 minutes before I got to rest for 45 minutes then I can start writing again. Chronic illness sucks like that.) Step 7: realize I need to research something and lose two hours to that. Step 8: AO3 emailed me! Who commented this time! Oh noes, now I've fallen down the looking at the Internets.

The other thing I do is carry my journal everywhere to document everything and end up with some weird random poetry, drawings, and dialogue from people I overhear. Oh, and on bad brain days, I'll draw cursed images.

I also use Scrivener and go all haywire on all its features to a ridiculous extent. Like, I try to stuff ALL my outlines, research, scenes, into that Scrivener so it's all in one place, that way I don't forget anything. It makes for large projects. ha.

6) What is your favorite part of your writing process?

Incorporating my research into the story in subtle ways to fill out the world and immerse the reader more fully. It's fun to put some of this research in the end-notes for my fics on AO3. (The power AO3 gave us writers with those end-notes!!)

7) What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to research for a fic?

Maturation of bird species and the DNA overlap with human beings to see if I can craft an alien species that is at least 90% DNA similar to humans but is more birdlike.

I looked up the absorption of chemicals through skin. (This is why I use duckduck go for anonymity for this sort of stuff. LOL)

8) Is there a particular writing rule you struggle with (grammar, spelling, tense, reality in general)?

Reality in general - ha. Seriously though, the chronic illness makes it really hard to concentrate and have energy for writing or really anything. The second thing I struggle with is I have an annoying habit of adapting my tenses to what I'd last read. So if the story I read was past-tense, I'll jump into my writing using past tense (which most of my stories is that tense, but there's two that aren't so that's when it gets annoying).

9) What was your hardest scene to write so far and why?

The hardest scene was the end of Book 3 for Shared Moments for the Korrasami series. Both Asami and Korra (due to the bond they forged by accident at Harmonic Convergence) are captured by Zaheer, so that was a brutally painful set of scenes. Full of pain, fighting, poisoning, and a struggle to survive. I wept through it honestly. Whew. Yikes. For Supercorp, the hardest scene was when Nia assists Lena with her dreams and memories of her birth mother. Those were so sad and I totally teared up writing them. It was also hard to sort out the best way to reveal details without giving too much away either. Since Nia's powers are a little all over the place too.

10) Have your characters ever done something you didn’t expect, changing your plot completely?

All the time! For the TLOK: Shared Moments series, Asami keeps surprising me, so I often have to sit down and remap her timeline, and it always enriches the entire series. For Supercorp, Nia keeps doing things that surprise me. She's like this chaotic good agent that adds in humor and twists that enrich the tale in subtle ways I think. There's many other surprising moments the characters do. That's half the fun! Seeing where the characters end up and if I need to adjust my plans. :D

11) If you could converse with any of the characters, who would it be and why?

That's a tie between Asami Sato and Lena Luthor honestly. But then I sort of think of them as basically the same person (Lena may be more neutral in temperament while Asami is chaotic good. Also, Asami isn't afraid to fly planes and crash them for Korra. Lena would prefer no flying. lol). I just wanna talk science with them. Oh and ask them about how in-love they are with Korra and Kara respectively. (Lena will try to deny it, but Asami will gush and admit it because she's a little more in touch with her feelings). I just love these two so much. :D

12) What are some of the tropes or themes that you find yourself returning to in your writing?

Healing journeys. I really enjoy writing healing from trauma, because I feel like it's so relevant for our times, and the characters never really get that in their series (well, Supergirl characters don't, and they really need it!).

The theme of chosen family is another theme I come to again and again. Partly due to how my life is -- my bio family is not healthy for me (outright abusive), so my chosen family is my real family. So I like to dig into those dynamics a lot.

I also tend to write the survivor narrative a lot. It's a more interesting narrative structure, but it's also less used so that can startle readers. Sometimes in good ways? A good example of a survivor narrative structure is TLOK actually.

Another good example of the survivor narrative is Sam Arias' journey in Season 3 of Supergirl. Maybe I'll write an essay someday on it.

13) What's your most important resource as a writer?

There's isn't any one most important resource. I'd say fellow writers and artists is a great resource, lore books is another, random research books (yes, I have a guide to weapons for writers, guide for poisons for writers, guide to x or y for writers, because I'm a nerd like that), the Internet, and lots of listening to others.

14) Can you share some of your strategies for editing and revising your work?

For editing/revising, I start with SPAG: spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Once I do a few run-throughs of that, then I look at the dialogue -- Is the dialogue true to the character's personality and quirks? Can I make the dialogue more succinct?

After that, I look at descriptions: Is the description immersive? Do I utilize the five senses in a concise way? Can I pare down the description while still keeping the immersive quality? Is there any description that doesn't add to the scene or character's growth and can that be moved to a different scene or saved for later?

Finally, I do a fresh read-through and check how it impacts my emotions. Do I laugh at the funny parts? Do I tear up at the sad/angst parts? Does it feel too dry or not emotive enough? What words could be used instead to better invoke emotions?

15) Which is worse: making the summary, picking the tags, or the anxiety when you post your fic?

Ugh, summaries are the worst. Sometimes it's easier to just pick an excerpt of a scene and slap that as the summary. Tags are even worse. I never know what to use for tags, especially since people seem to be kind of random with AO3 tags. I mean, I feel like some writers just will write a statement as a tag and it's amusing but also confusing.

16) How do you define success for your fanfic - hits? Kudos? Comments? Bookmarks? Or just if you like it?

I don't really measure success.

If I get comments from folks that say they're enjoying it? That's a source of joy for me but it's not about success. Because I'm writing mostly for my enjoyment, but to hear that others enjoy it too? Damn, that's like the best news ever. It really helps me feel better about myself and my writing. Like I'm valued and not forgotten. That I actually have an impact. So yeah, go leave comments if you like stuff, please. Us writers love it.

17) Do you have a playlist for your favorite character / ship?

YES. I Always make a playlist for each project I do. I craft it based on their personality, their character arcs, the mood of the piece, and I focus on a variety of genres. I think about the lyrics of songs and try to match it all together. I might spend way more time on playlists than I need, but since I have them playing as I write, I need them to fit the mood and atmosphere to increase inspiration.

18) If fan art was going to be made from your work, which fic would you pick and which fan artist would you like to create it?

Um. Huh. This is a hard question. I try to draw my own, but I can't do color (y'all that do color, are freaking WIZARDS). I think Confession fic and the scene where Lena resurrects Kara, and if and when I have money again, I'd ask @rustingcat if commissions are open for them.

For Korrasami, I'd choose Book 3 or 3.5 but I'm not sure on the artist.

19) How many WIPs do you currently have?

UM. If I count just fanfics, probably fifteen. I'm actively working on six. (Three in each fandom. Two are usually shorter, and one is the longer fic) If we include original fiction and fanfiction? Uhhhhh. Hahahah, that's like twenty-five or so. I'm only working on one original fiction piece set on my SF world of Elivera.

20) What's your advice to new fanfic writers?

Pace yourself and take some time to edit and revise before posting. Also, take some time to review the transcripts and how the characters talk. That can give some fun insight into the characters and ways to expand on them in interesting ways.

Ask questions a lot! There's so many nice folks in the fandom, and folks are so kind about answering questions. I know because I still ask questions and talk to folks about this, and more seasoned writers have been so lovely.

Write what you want. Don't write for your readers (unless someone requests and pays you for a fic, then I guess write for them. lol) but otherwise, write what you want. This is supposed to be fun. If you're getting stressed out, take a break otherwise you will get burned out. To avoid burn out, take time to rest. Read a bit, do fun hobbies, do some practice writing, and then dive back into your fic.

Yes, it's important to try to finish things, but don't feel pressured. Remember, having fun is crucial! It's okay to take your time. Readers will stick with you if they like your tale.

Happy Writing!

P.S. I'm going to quote Brenda Ueland who wrote one of the best books on writing (If You Want to Write):

“Don't always be appraising yourself, wondering if you are better or worse than other writers. "I will not Reason and Compare," said Blake; "my business is to Create." Besides, since you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of Time, you are incomparable. ” - Brenda Ueland

And:

“I want to assure you with all earnestness, that no writing is a waste of time, – no creative work where the feelings, the imagination, the intelligence must work. With every sentence you write, you have learned something. It has done you good. It has stretched your understanding.” - Brenda Ueland

[gamingtrashbasin]

Current Stardew Valley ships

I'm including characters from Ridgeside Village and Expanded mods bc they are canon in my heart 💕

Maru x Sam

Girl boss and her himbo, need I say more? They have to have interacted since Sam is Seb's friend! Classic crush on older brother's friend. Also I think Sam would be super creative and everytime he was like "what if-" Maru would try to invent the thing. Complete chaos. Demetrius tries to threaten Sam like he does the farmer but it completely goes over Sam's head. This pairing lives in my head rent free.

Hailey x Leah

I can definitely see the two of them having multiple forest meet cutes and bonding over their passion for art! Just picture Hailey teaching Leah how to photograph and Leah teaching Hailey to paint and scuplt, both leaning new crafts together. They totally end up running a joint etsy and presenting their works at the fair! They make such a cute cottagecore couple fr if you think about it. I think they'd adopt a bunny don't ask me why. 🐰

Jeric (RSV) x Alex

Yessss himbo rivals to lovers! Ever since I saw there was a mod for them to get together I've been sold. It's canon to me.

Philip (RSV) x Sophia (SDVE)

Sophia enjoys anime, manga, and cosplay. Phillip has a secret geeky side and loves comics. I can totally see these two making awkward small talk at the Stardrop Saloon that turns into Gus politely asking them to leave because they got so enthralled discussing their favorites that they lost track of time and everything else going on around them and now the Saloon is empty and about to close lol. They end up having a slow burn geeky friends to lovers featuring them sharing copies of manga/comics and discussing the latest episodes of their favorite shows. Gus definitely ships it and gives them a nudge here and there.

Flor (RSV) x Gunther

The slowest slow burn. They are both autism creatures. I can completely see them bonding over their special interests bc if you think about it, archeologists and psychologists both study people. Just imagine them infordumping to each other on coffee dates in the Log Cabin Café or discussing the implications of newly discovered artifacts in the museum after hours. They are basically married before either one works up the nerve to ask the other on a date. The whole valley quietly ships it.

Shiro (RSV) x Harvey

Hear me out: Former paratrooper in recovery being treated by a doctor who wanted to be a pilot? There is no way they didn't talk about planes and Shiro's experiences. Shiro probably enjoyed that someone was talking to him about his interests instead of his injuries, it likely made him feel *normal again for awhile. I can just picture the moment when Harvey shows Shiro his radio equipment when he's well enough to go up the stairs, it's a big moment for them both for many reasons 🥺 Also, the added drama of having a crush on your doctor/patient...

*I'm not saying Shiro isn't normal, he has in game dialogue expressing he doesn't feel normal bc of his injuries. As a person with mobility issues myself I understand that mindset and how hard it is not to feel that way.

[rachelsfav-queer]

Okay, I need help! I don’t know if anyone will actually see this but I might as well try, right?

So, I’m looking for a specific fanfic on AO3. It may or may not still be there but I distinctly remember reading it there originally. Anyway, onto the important info.

It’s a Supergirl fic. Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor is the main ship. My memory is a bit fuzzy because it’s been well over a year since I last saw it but I’ll try my best to summarize. The basic premise is Kara (human AU btw) was injured in an ice skating accident with her ex. She was a pretty well known athlete before the injury. The story begins at Alex Danvers’ wedding (I can’t recall who she got married to). All I recall is that Lena and Alex are childhood friends and so therefore Lena appears at the wedding. I’m pretty sure the wedding took place in Hawaii. Anyway, Kara and Lena have a drunk hookup without realizing who each other were. The rest of the story is Kara and Lena trying to figure out their feelings for each other while also keeping it hidden from Alex.

Some more random info: Lillian Luthor is good mom & friends with Eliza. Kara’s life has pretty much fallen apart after her injury. Kara owns a house in Hawaii.

Anyway, that’s pretty much all I can remember except for tiny, really specific moments. I’ve been searching for this fic for a while but sometimes AO3 is really hard to navigate for me, especially when I don’t remember any specific tags. If anyone also remembers this fic, lemme know pls!

UPDATE: I found the fic with the help of @magicllama1011! For anyone interested in finding this fic, the title is “And I’m tangled up in you” and it’s by miathesapphic so go and give this work the love it deserves. It was one of the first fanfics I ever read and it holds a pretty special place in my heart because of that. I remember I had just finished watching Supergirl sometime mid-summer last year and I was SO UPSET at the show for not letting Supercorp happen. (THAT HUG SCENE WAS TOTALLY SETTING UP FOR A KISS AND WE ALL KNOW IT!!!) Anyway, after that I decided to give fanfic a try and AO3 was probably the easiest for me to try(it was also the first site that popped up lol) and I immediately fell deep into the rabbit hole, desperately trying to fill the Supercorp-shaped hole in my heart that the actual show left me with. That along with AgentReign. Sam & Alex had WAY more chemistry on screen than Alex and Kelly (no hate to Kelly, I actually love her so much. 1000% better than James) Anyway, rant over. Sorry didn’t mean to go on that long lol. I critique so closely because I love the show so much. The characters and their actors deserved better.

[not-poignant]

Stain is such a great story, Alex and Sebastian have made so much progress understanding each other, and I'm excited for their relationship to continue to develop (not just physically... but okay really excited for that too!!)

Wondering what gave you the inspiration and what you like most about the Alex/Sebastian pairing, or any other thoughts about Stardew Valley as a fandom you want to share!

Honestly the thing that inspired me the most was just playing the game! :D

I have nearly 1800 hours in Stardew Valley, and that's like...what I would call a few hours to just daydream about all the characters. And me being the multi-shipping fiend that I am, I do also just like to imagine all the characters in relationships with each other.

I'm not someone who really cares about my farmer (or PC) in the central romance, which is why I don't write this in video games that have you as a player character! I didn't do that for Stuck on the Puzzle, or The Wind that Cuts the Night, or Palmarosa. I don't actually care as much about whoever I'm romancing, I care more about what relationships can happen between other characters.

And I think because I daydream about that, rather than my farmer character (or me) with the NPCs, that gives me like a lot of time to think of different things.

I started daydreaming about Sebastian as a top several years ago, he had that energy to me even like 2 years before I romanced him (the amount of times I've romanced Alex is criminal at this point). I sometimes imagined him with like Sam, but mostly Alex. I also imagined him being good goth literature friends with Elliott lol

Even in The Wind that Cuts the Night I have Sebastian as a top with the farmer :D

I don't actually get that involved with the fandom in general. I've tried a few times, and some of the fanart is incredible (and the MODS omg), but I've never really loved any of the SDV fic that I've read (or more accurately: skimmed). I don't like farmer/NPC pairings. The vast majority of people wrote Sebastian as a bottom (or a fluffy vanilla top which is somehow worse) in m/m like 4-5 years ago and I'm too tired to check how much that's changed.

Alex actually gets a lot of hate in the fandom - at least amongst most of the queer players - and seeing a character who is a victim of child abuse treated like that just kind of left me with a bad taste in my mouth (it seemed to be based around Alex's initial rudeness, which doesn't last nearly as long as Shane's, who was hero-worshipped long before he got his whole storyline, because he wasn't romanceable for years).

So I really avoid the fandom, and I couldn't tell you who's writing the most popular fics or the most popular pairings or anything like that. I don't look into the tags, and almost all the fanart I've ever shared here or at @capillata has been shared to me by someone else first.

So yeah the answer is mostly just that I daydream a lot and I've had many many hours to do it in! :D

I like Alex/Sebastian as a pairing mostly because I've always just liked troped opposites in enemies to lovers. The jock vs. the goth nerd has been a long-term media troped opposition romance pairing, and even outside of romances, is often shown as 'oppositional.' Many people even have memories of that in their school experience.

To me, the idea that Alex is always shown as completely alone (sans Haley or grandparents), and that Sebastian is nearly always shown with friends when he's not being like... deeply moody in a goth way, was really fascinating to me. ConcernedApe was already working hard to say 'this isn't what you think it is' even within the game. Alex is the one who apologises to you for being so desperate and also unrealistic about his sporting/goth abilities. Sebastian is the one who already has a job and is incredibly social - he's in a band that regularly practices and even performs outside of his hometown, he regularly plays TTRPGs with friends, and he regularly goes to the bar and plays pool and hangs out with friends. He's not a 'loner nerd.' He is hands down the most popular and social person in Stardew Valley who you can romance, outside of Sam, who is the same amount of popular. Like, Sebastian is literally a socialite social butterfly who is successful and charismatic and rides a motorbike. Subversion pretty fucking successful on that trope :D

To me, the game gives us the set up to a bullies-to-lovers scenario just by giving us the trope, and then subverting the trope. I always kind of liked that, but could never imagine writing it, until I aged them up and had Sebastian and Alex both mentally kind of growing up a little.

All right that's enough rambling from me! It's time to make lunch. But yeah, that's basically sadlfkjas er the sum of it (I say after rambling for ages)

[blazethecheeto]

what are your arrowverse rarepairs?

okay so this is gonna be fun especially as i'm not sure what counts as a rarepair

ARROW

lauricity (laurel x felicity) <- the first words she said to laurel was 'gorgeous laurel' ok she was crushing hard

shasladiver?!?! (shado x oliver x slade + please tell me if they have another name) <- domestic. cute. island. trio. before. the. incident. "what's the worst way your ship has ever died" "oh so slade fake-died and then oliver accidentally murdered shado and then he appeared just as she died and she never knew he was alive so he held her dead body in his arms as oliver was forever shrouded in guilt then slade became corrupted from a drug and oliver had to kill him too but he wasn't really dead and came back for revenge"

smoaksiren (siren x felicity) <- i already ranted about this one i LOVE THEM.

terrificdog (rene x curtis) <- they're so gay and chaotic x nerdy duos are the best even dinah agrees

constanqueen (oliver x constantine) <- why was constantine so flirty to him in that one episode they probably hooked up let's be honest

smoakingcanary (felicity x sara) <- 'YOU'RE STILL CUTE'

alicity (felicity x alena) <- they were actually adorable oh my god

lauryssa (laurel x nyssa) <- supposed to be canon you can't convince me otherwise

(gotta love how much felicity ships are in there girlie has chemistry with everyone)

FLASH

coldflash (snart x barry) <- does this even count as a rarepair they're so popular i mean thematic parallels, red x blue, enemies to lovers, homo-erotic flirting

snowwest (iris x caitlin) <- lauricity coded also the entirety of 4x05

balph?!?! (barry x ralph) <- the entirety of s4. that's all.

blackfrost (frost x siren) <- they're each other in a different font just IMAGINE THE FUCKING POWER.

bulian?!? (barry x julian) <- enemies to lovers and just very sus moments in s3 that made me say 'hold up fruity'

snowfrost (caitlin x frost) <- new ship but oh my god its growing on me they're smoaksiren in a different font

(gotta love how barry is half of them he's so shippable)

SUPERGIRL

superwire (leslie x kara) <- dude they're so coldflash coded

agentreign (alex x sam) <- i still can't believe they're not canon

psiwire (psi x leslie) <- that one episode in s3. got me thinking thoughts.

superlane (kara x lucy) <- i shipped them so much in s1 oh my god

monwinn (mon-el x winn) <- bro has a thing for aliens

scholson (james x winn) <- nah bc this could lowkey work

superbat (kara x kate + is there another name?) <- kate was 1000% flirting with kara in the elseworlds crossover

LEGENDS OF TOMORROW

coldatom (ray x snart) <- snart has a type and it's self-righteous red coded dark haired boys

lovebirds (kendra x sara) <- this was so unexpected but like hello they trained together and she got sara back from the league

timehex (jonah x rip) <- actually no way u can convince me they aren't exes

whiteatom (sara x ray) <- they're so sweet and they're the time parents and so underrated

steelatom (nate x ray) <- bromance.

hellcanary (sara x constantine) <- hhhh i could rant so much bro but they get each other and they are friends with benefits and both have ties to demons and can understand each other's hurt and are chaotic bisexuals and-

atomhawkcanary (sara x ray x kendra) <- they lived together for like a year ok things probably happened.

thanks for asking!!!! damn there's a lot lol

[eemamminy-art]

Just thinking out loud.. I think the ships I'd wanna explore for stardew are:

m!farmer/alex (duh lol, got that covered already)

penny/maru

haley/leah

sam/sebastian/abigail

harvey/shane

emily/sandy

caroline/jodi

(I also like elliott/m!farmer but that's more of like a blorbo in law situation ahaha)

I really like the canon ships of Robin/Demetrius, Lewis/Marnie, and Evelyn/George too but those are just like. A given, I feel like ahaha. (Not that I wouldn't want to wife Robin with a female farmer if given the chance BUT 😩 they are sweet together)

Expanding on them a little... :3

m!farmer/alex

Childhood friends reunited but then Alex is SO different from how he was as a kid. In a bad way. He's trying very hard to be someone he's not, and it takes a connection from his past and a lot of sweet persistence to knock some sense into him. Alex deals with comphet and accepting himself when he starts falling for another guy.

penny/maru

Maru takes an interest in Penny and very persistently tries to befriend her. Penny realizes she's absolutely head over heels for her... They're both very smart women but with very different circumstances, so Penny never even considered how much they might have in common until now.

haley/leah

Leah sees Haley taking photos in the forest and offers to share her lunch with her, asks to look over her photos. They connect right away about art and photography, Leah modeling for Haley's photos and Haley modeling for Leah's sketches. Haley becomes a lot more down to earth when she realizes how nice the simple life can be when it's spent with Leah. I want to think Haley also struggled with comphet, and feels so much more liberated now being with Leah.

sam/sebastian/abigail

The three were always inseparable and as they got into their teenage years, friendship turned into more. I hc Abigail as being transfem so I'd like to think she was terrified of losing the two of them in coming out, but they both supported her and she was pleasantly surprised to find them being even more doting on her after the change. I'd like to think Abigail is kind of bratty, Sebastian is a little stern but sweet, and Sam is very flexible with the both of them.

harvey/shane

Hear me out on this one, after Shane's wake up call moment where he's left hospitalized, he and Harvey have a serious heart to heart. That leads to an unexpected friendship, which Harvey is very pleased to have as he otherwise keeps to himself mostly. Shane can be really sweet when he wants to be, and the way he's so gentle with children and animals stirs something in Harvey he never knew he wanted.

emily/sandy

Self explanatory I think, but. Fashionable, kinda weird girlfriends. They love drinking together and traveling and trying new foods, and they share clothes with each other whenever they can. I think it started out as an experimentation between friends and then they realized their friendship was already so much more than they thought it was. Long distance relationship though, given Sandy living in calico desert.

caroline/jodi

They both are so unhappy with their lives but find so much comfort in each other. Caroline seems to enjoy good cooking but doesn't enjoy cooking it, whereas Jodi is always making new recipes... I'd like to think she makes every excuse to bring something delicious to Jodi. I want them to run away together one day and leave everything and everyone behind, just have each other and that's all they need. 🥺

[she-karev]

B-Team (Andrew DeLuca x Alex Karev's Sister)

Age Rating: 12+

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy

Canon Episode: B-Team Shorts on YouTube

Ship: Andrew DeLuca x Amber Karev (Alex Karev's Sister)

AN: Sorry for being away for so long but hopefully this makes up for it. Amber Karev is taking Sam Bello’s spot from season 14 so there won’t be a love triangle.

Summary: Amber starts her first day as an intern and is met with expected obstacles. Meanwhile DeLuca tries to navigate his feelings for Amber after discovering her relation to Alex and goes to Carina for help who takes matters into her own hands.

Words: 8260

I walk around the dozens of boxes in my studio apartment frantically as I look for my keys. Today is my first day at work and I already lost my keys as if the universe hates me and wants me to be late. I probably look insane no doubt with my hand trying to hold my hair up in a ponytail, my other hand holding my coffee mug and wearing my pink panties with my casual sweater for the day.

“Damn it come on where are you?!” I sip my coffee when I feel something metal hit my lips. I stop suddenly and look down to find my keys inside the mug to my relief and disgust, “Of course two sugars, crème and keys like I always take it.” I don’t know why I’m talking to myself, so I pull my keys out and clean them.

After throwing the mug away I go to a mirror and try to put my hair in a ponytail when the band snaps to my frustration, “Grrr!” I throw the band away and opt for a hair clip instead praying it suffices. I grab my backpack, put my jeans on, grab my Adidas and open the door. I hop down the hall as I put my shoes on trying not to fall. I finally put them on and run to the elevator exhaling as it closes.

I run to my black 2012 Ford Mustang in the parking lot and hurriedly go inside and hope the engine starts. I turn the key in the ignition and by some miracle it starts the first time and I skid out of the spot and drive to the hospital as fast as I can.

Later

Andrew walks to the hospital across the park trying to keep his head together after last night’s revelation. He looked around hoping to find Carina so he can talk to her and figure out what to do. Ever since he figured out who Amber really is his mind has been wrestling with images of her in the bar flirting with her and having fun and images of her brother beating him up and the pain he faced after.

If she was a regular resident who was related to an attending, he wouldn’t be so conflicted but a regular attending wouldn’t have hit him. He and Alex were amicable after everything but he highly doubted Alex would be okay knowing his little sister slept with Andrew and start a fantasy football league together. It would make things more complicated for both of them especially for Andrew. And then there’s Amber who would be caught in the middle of it. The idea of that makes Andrew feel equally uneasy due to how fast and hard he developed feelings for her.

“Hey, didn’t I meet you at a bar somewhere?”

Andrew eyes widen at the familiar voice and turns around to find Amber smiling at him wearing a black sweater with her hair in a clip. Even in a slightly disheveled state he couldn’t help his physical attraction towards her natural beauty. Andrew grins slightly trying to remain cool despite his stomach being in a twist in her presence.

“Hey, I-I didn’t think I was gonna see you so soon after last night.”

“Well it’s my first day and I’ve had perfect attendance since 1st grade and I want to keep that up. You’re not carrying a coffee are you because I don’t want coffee on my cleavage the first day.”

Andrew chuckles, “No I’m weaning off caffeine I’ve uh got enough keeping me up.” He didn’t add that she was the reason he was up all night and not in a good way.

“Well your stronger than me. So, have you told anyone about us hooking up? Besides Dr. Robbins, your sister and Jo I mean.” Amber asks.

“Uh no not really I figured that’s not an impression you want to make with the other interns.”

Amber grins, “No definitely not, I don’t want them thinking I’m using nepotism and sex to work my way into an O.R. Plus, if it got back to Alex, it would go back to my family who would be freaking out that I wasn’t being usual responsible Amber.”

Andrew nods trying to keep a calm face over mention of her brother, Amber is oblivious as she teases him, “Even though we were totally responsible…twice.”

“It’s cool I get it.”

Amber looks at her watch, “Oh shoot I gotta go, my shift starts but we should hang out after and…catch up.” Amber makes her voice breathier at catch up.

Andrew looks at her and is more conflicted the more he spends time with her so he opts to escape, “Um yeah maybe I’ll let you know.”

“Okay see you later.” Amber rushes inside with Andrew watching her as his anxiety increases causing him to walk briskly inside the building. He tried to stay calm as he put on his scrubs and finally finds Carina in the MRI room that she’s using for her study.

Andrew sits next to her as she writes down her data, “I need your help.”

“I’m busy as you can see my patient is about to reach climax.”

Andrew groans, “You know there are other ways you could explain that without making it dirty.”

Carina continues writing without looking at him, “Andrea if you want my help for something don’t insult my work before or I will kick you out.”

“Right sorry. Um I have a personal problem and it’s pretty big so I need you to swear it won’t get out of this room, can you do that?”

“I am studying women during the most intimate and private moments of their lives of course I can keep a secret, what is it?”

Andrew tries to find where to begin, “Do you uh remember that night I walked in on you and Dr. Robbins?”

Carina doesn’t look up from her notes, “It’s hard to forget, it was a very nice night for us regardless. Once we went our separate ways of course.”

“Right well do you remember the girl that I brought with me?”

“The blonde who looks a little like Princess Diana, I remember her, did you get her number?”

Andrew bitterly chuckles, “No she wanted to finish med school with no strings attached so we decided to save a date if she ever came here again and she did.”

His sister still doesn’t look up, “Okay why is she here? Is it just for you?”

“No, she’s a surgical intern here.”

Carina still doesn’t look up despite that information, “And that’s a problem? We work long hours and she’s a surgeon like you so she doesn’t have to pretend to be interested.”

Andrew grimaces, “Believe me I wish us working together was the only problem. Do you remember when I was beat up last year by my boss after I helped his girlfriend walk home after she got drunk?”

“Yes, it was very scary I remember you saying to me I didn’t have to travel 14 hours just to see you even though I was okay with it.” Carina gets confused, “Wait a minute what does that have to do with…” Carina doesn’t know her name due to Amber quickly leaving after meeting her when she was fighting with Andrew.

“Amber.” Andrew finishes for her.

“Amber, what does this have to do with Amber?”

Andrew purses his lips in cruel irony, “Well the boss that beat me up, Alex Karev.”

“Uh huh.” Carina nods, still looking at her notes.

“Amber is his sister and I slept with her that night.”

Carina finally stops writing and looks at Andrew with wide shocked eyes and he bitterly nods at her response.

“Do you see why I need your help?”

Meanwhile

I walk down the hall and find the intern locker room. I enter the room and I see that it looks how it sounds, a locker room. It’s like the lockers we get at high school only it smells like ammonia which frankly is better than sweaty socks. I’m not the only one here I spot approximately 20 people in here all in light blue scrubs with their stethoscopes hanging by their necks.

I go to my assigned locker and open it to find my own scrubs and lab coats. The sight of the rest of my life is both exciting and dauting but I push through it and put them on. The only thing I brought from home that I’m using are my adidas and burgundy stethoscope my mom sent me as a graduation gift. I don’t know why she sent it maybe as a way to make up for being out of it most of my life but I took it because it’s not good to pass up free stuff in my position. I put the stethoscope in my pocket as a woman wearing a hijab next to me pulls out her flashcards.

“What are those?” I ask curiously.

“Their study material’s.”

“For what? We already passed the boards.”

The woman looks at me, “No I know it’s just that it helps me remember what I learned so I don’t forget it and accidently kill someone my first day.” She chuckles nervously.

I raise an eyebrow at her, “You don’t have to laugh I can tell your nervous.”

“So nervous!” The woman shows her true face and it is fearful, “I’m Dahlia by the way or Dr. Qadri I mean I’m still getting used to that title.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean, I’m Amber.” We shake hands.

“I mean it is crazy I wanted this for so long and now I’m actually here and it’s…” Dahlia looks around in amazement, “You know I grew up in Utah and went to state school pre-med, it was the only thing my parents could afford at the time.”

“Yeah, I went to Iowa State pre-med, I don’t even think some of these people even know what Iowa is.”

Dahlia chuckles, “You know I heard a rumor that one of the new interns is Dr. Karev’s sister, he’s the chief of pediatric surgery here.”

I raise an eyebrow, “Really? What do you think of that?” I want to know her opinion of me before finding out who I am so I can know who I’m dealing with. And so I can mess with her.

Dahlia scoffs, “I mean come on most of these guys are legacies and they don’t know the true meaning of hard work not like us. Their parents donated to their alumni so they can get in with a median MCAT average. I mean this girl coincidently matches at the same hospital her brother works. She obviously taking the easy route if you ask me and that route is named nepotism.” I nod at her statement and try to act like I don’t want to punch her. She’s oblivious of course and she asks me something she’s gonna wish she didn’t, “Sorry I don’t think I caught your last name what is it?”

“Karev, it’s Dr. Amber Karev.” I say with a grin as Dahlia’s eyes widen as she realizes she just called me easy and spoiled.

Dahlia stammers, “Uh y-your-”

“Taking the easy route named nepotism I think you just said.” I say as I glare at her offended.

“I-I am so so sorry I didn’t know.” Dahlia tries to rectify her mistake but makes it worse, “And can I just say your brother is a pioneer and I think your about to continue that legendary legacy of his.”

It isn’t even an hour into my first day and I’m already being compared to my brother. I’m starting to get annoyed by this so I need to walk away, “I’m gonna walk away from you now before you make this more awkward.”

Dahlia nods, “Smart you seem really, really smart and so pretty I mean it.”

I roll my eyes and focus back on my locker and she gets the hint and goes back to her cards. I knew I was gonna be accused of nepotism and favoritism when I got matched here but it still irks me when they think I’ve had it ‘easy.’ I mentally chuckle at that assumption, if only these asshats knew how ‘easy’ I really had it. Of course, if they actually knew about the crazy mom, absent dad and crazy brother who attacked me the stares would increase and instead of being accused of nepotism I would be accused of being schizophrenic.

I immediately remember my morning routine and pull out my small sudoku book and work on one page of puzzles. One page a day has been my routine since I was 16 and I realized there was a strong possibility my genes could turn on me. I know it’s silly to think a kid’s puzzle will keep the hallucinations at bay but solving puzzles makes me feel better for some reason. I go through the grids quickly even with the guy next to me, Casey Parker, chanting something that sounds like, “Don’t stand out, don’t throw up and call it a win.”

Dahlia asks something from her flashcards, “Okay which is the artery that splits to the right common carotid in the right subclavian?”

Casey and I immediately answer even though I’m at the 3rd grid right now, “Innominate.”

Dahlia scoffs, “No that’s not it, it’s…” Dahlia checks the answer in the back and realizes we were right, “Crap!”

I don’t even look up from my book when Levi walks in chipper as ever. Frankly I’m amazed he even got into this program after he botched his first day here. It was the day of my interview and also the day he dropped his glasses into the body cavity during a surgery. And that was before he became a doctor, which says a lot.

“Good morning!” I wave dismissively at him too caught up in finishing the page before my shift, only three grids to go, “I think my mom forgot to pack my stethoscope, is it gross to borrow one?”

“Yes.” I look to find Taryn Helm sitting on the bench with her headphones on clearly stressed, “And shut up I need to get in my zone.”

“Nobody is talking except him.” I blankly say as I get to my final grid.

Casey explains to Dahlia, “Taryn’s nervous.”

“I’m not nervous!” Taryn snaps, “I’m in my zone.”

A voice I unfortunately recognizes whoo’s as he enters the lockers, “Day one baby! Let’s go!” Vik Roy tries to high five Levi who is carrying stuff. I roll my eyes at him and try to focus on my puzzle even when he tries to high five all of us even Taryn who is just as annoyed by him.

“No.” Taryn says dismissively causing Roy to retreat.

“What’s her deal?”

“Zone.” We all explain.

“How are you so not freaking out right now?” Dahlia asks.

Vik smugly grins, “Because Dahlia I don’t freak out, I don’t get jitters and I crush first impressions.”

I snort at that as Casey sarcastically dismisses, “Clearly.”

Vik catches my book as he chuckles and asks me, “Sudoku? What are you 13?”

“No that’s you.” I say as I finish the puzzle and Casey chuckles at my insult, “You know if you did as many puzzles as me, you’d probably be capable of an intellectual conversation. And that’s required by doctors…dude.” I say the last word with venom and he rolls his eyes.

“She’s right about that Dr. Roy.” I turn to find Chief Bailey behind me and I get my act together closing my locker to stand in front of her.

“Good morning chief Bailey.” The others gather in front of her with me at the front center. The chief doesn’t looked the least bit impressed with any of us and honestly I wouldn’t blame her.

“Explain to me why I was just in the conference room and you all were not?” We all look at her confused since none of us got the memo to meet her at the conference room, “If I’m somewhere you are supposed to be you had better be there too, any questions?”

“Uh Chief I heard a rumor that one of us will get into an OR today and be able to scrub in.” Taryn says eagerly. I can tell she’s hungry for surgery and will be hard to deal with this year.

Bailey answers, “Today you will have the opportunity to prove that you’re ready to scrub in, one of you might surprise me.” I grin at the opportunity to scrub in on my first day. I took the initiative before I came in to memorize the steps of basic procedures from appys to lap choles. It helps that I’m a pack rat who didn’t throw out her medical textbooks. The others are getting giddy as well including the douchy one who thinks he’s got more of a chance than any of us.

“So, there’s a chance?”

I decide to step in and show off, I would kick myself for not trying harder to beat this arrogant jerk, “Chief I would like to point out that I know all the steps to a basic procedure. If you ask me about an appy I can-”

The chief has none of it as she interrupts me, “I have five rules memorize them; rule number one don’t bother sucking up. Rule number two nurses will page you will answer every page at a run. A run!” The chief walks out and we all follow her as she continues to list all of her rules while we walk around the hospital, “That’s rule number two. Your first shift starts now and lasts 24 hours. You're interns, grunts, nobodies, bottom of the surgical food chain. You run labs, write orders, work every second night until you drop, and don't complain.

We stop outside an on-call room, she opens the door revealing bunks inside clearly used, “On-call rooms. Attendings hog them. Sleep when you can where you can, which brings me to rule number three. If your resident is sleeping, don't wake them unless your patient is dying. And you better sleep alone in here and not with anyone else especially attendings.” I raise my eyebrow at that comment. I wonder if that rule applies to one night stands with senior residents before you were even hired. I decide not to think on it and just listen, “Rule four: The dying patient better not be dead when they get there. Not only will you have killed someone, you woke your resident up for no reason. We clear?” I notice she left out one rule so I gingerly raise my hand like I’m in elementary school again.

“Yes?”

I put my hand down, “Um, you said five rules that was only four.”

Bailey finishes, “Rule number five, when I move you move.” We follow her to Jo Wilson who stands by the nurse’s station with a tablet on hand, “This is Dr. Wilson she is a senior resident and will assign you to someone’s service, Wilson they’re your problem now good luck.” The chief walks away and we stand in front of Jo.

“Um okay let’s see what we got here.” Jo reads through the tablet, “Parker and Helm you’re with Hunt in trauma, Qadri you’re with Dr. Webber, Schmitt you’re with DeLuca and Karev your with the chief of peds” At least she didn’t call Alex by his last name but I’m still bitter at this unfortunate turn of events. I try not to let my distaste show as Jo dismisses us.

I walk through the hospital and thanks to the directory I find the peds floor pretty quickly. I look around trying to find Alex in the sea of nurses and little kids. I see him by the nurses station talking to a couple I assume are parents of his patient. I wait till the parents leave, I don’t want to cause a scene in front of them. I know I should be a professional and normally I am but when your working with the brother who left you during the worst time of your life all bets are off. As soon as the couple walk away I walk towards Alex and clear my throat indicating my presence. He turns to me and look off guard by me but manages to speak in an even tone.

“Hey what are you doing here?”

“I’m on your service believe it or not.” I try to speak as numbly as I can, there are kids and they don’t need to see a unstable blonde while their recovering.

Alex’s eyebrows are raised as if he’s just as shocked as I was, “Jo sent you?”

“Dr. Wilson sent me yes, is she the kind of person who arranges a family reunion in the guise of an intern working for an attending?” I ask genuinely because I don’t know Jo but from what Aaron said Alex has a habit of hooking up with unstable women.

Alex narrows his eyes, “No she’s not and I would appreciate it if you didn’t make assumptions of a woman I love.”

I inhale to keep my emotions in check and get into the mindset of an intern, “Look can you just give me an assignment so I can get through your service and end this day quickly?”

Alex sees he hit a nerve and relents, “Fine Oscar Montez he’s in for a gall bladder removal. I need you to prep an O.R. take his labs and prep him before surgery.”

I nod tersely and walk away from him to prep an O.R. for my first patient.

Later

Andrew sits next to Carina as they speak in Italian so they won’t get overheard. Carina is upset with her brother over unknowingly sleeping with the sister of the man who almost killed him. Andrew is still in a mind boggle over this situation he somehow got himself in.

“How did you not know who she was? Didn’t she tell you her last name? Karev isn’t that common.” Carina admonishes in Italian.

“It just happened.” Andrew responds in Italian, “We met at the bar we got to talking she said her name was Amber that’s it.”

“And she didn’t tell you her brother works here?”

“No well…” Andrew pauses as he remembers what she told him after they walked in on Carina and Arizona.

“Well, what? She told you didn’t she and you didn’t connect the dots like an idiot.”

“I mean she mentioned having two brothers and one was named Alex but I just thought it was a coincidence and he didn’t tell anyone about a sister named Amber. There weren’t any dots to connect neither of them gave that much information or no information at all.”

Carina raised an eyebrow, “So you slept with a woman you didn’t know anything about beyond her first name?”

Andrew rolls his eyes, “You know I don’t shame you for having random one-night stands with women you know nothing about.”

“Yes, you do, you did that the other night remember?”

“I walked in on you about to sleep with my boss and roommate, and now you’re doing the same thing but with Hunt.” Andrew states annoyingly, “How am I supposed to react?” Just then Levi Schmitt knocks on the door agitating Andrew, “What?!”

Levi looks at them timidly, “S-Sorry um I’m Dr. Schmitt and they put me on your service Dr. DeLuca.”

“Of course, they did.” Andrew says under his breath at the unfortunate timing.

Levi looks at the screen curiously, “What kind of research is this? Can I help?”

“No look I’m busy at the moment so go help Dr. Karev with Oscar Montez do his labs and pre op tell them I sent you.”

Levi looks at him confused, “Uh but he already-”

“Go now that’s an order.” Andrew says tensely, causing Schmitt to walk away in fear. Andrew leans back and pinches the bridge of his nose trying to keep his mind together, “Where were we?”

Carina thinks, “Why did you sleep with her when you knew nothing about her?”

Andrew sighs, “…She seemed nice, I mean she was sarcastic and she had a bad attitude but that was because I kind of hit her and spilled coffee on her when we first met.” Carina’s eyebrows raise at that as he continues, “We ran into each other at the bar and I bought her a meal to apologize. We ate, we talked and eventually she dropped the attitude. She was nice, she was funny, smart she made me laugh and you saw her that night she is hot.”

“Very hot.” Carina adds.

“Yeah, the point is we got around the personal information and I started to like her and she started to like me we flirted and…after we left you two, we went back to her hotel room. I think you know the rest. It was all a coincidence.”

Carina looks at him curiously as a dark thought comes to her, “And she didn’t know who you were? Did you tell her your full name?”

“Um yeah what does that have to do with anything?”

Carina sighs at her brother, “Oh Andrea your still such an innocent bambino.”

Andrew looks at Carina confused, “What are you suggesting?”

“Maybe she knew who you were and wanted to get back at you. Maybe she planned to meet you and sleep with you so she can report you to the chief and get you fired.”

Andrew chuckles thinking it was crazy, “Carina she’s not some KGB sex mole I think I would know that. And why would she target me specifically? I dropped the charges against her brother.”

“Yes, but before that you almost sent him to prison for two years. When I heard about what happened I wanted to punch that man after what he did, perhaps she feels that way about her brother too. Does that sound so crazy?”

Andrew looks at her in thought as the idea starts to make sense. Now that he thought about it Amber was light on the details concerning herself especially her last name. He didn’t think much of it but perhaps his sister was on to something. However a thought stops him from fully considering it.

“She was eager to leave when we were fighting, if she really wanted to get back at me she would have stayed. Why did she leave?”

“You would have thought it suspicious if she stayed. Does she seem smart enough to come to that conclusion? Plus, you chased after her maybe she anticipated that too so she could seduce you back in bed. Was she forward when you came to her?”

Andrew pales at that logic as he has fully considered it now and wants to get ahead of it before another Karev comes after him, “Damn it. And just when I thought this nightmare was over for me.”

Carina looks at her brother sadly over his predicament, “I’m sorry Andrea.”

“So what do I do? Do I report her or something?”

Carina rolls her eyes, “You want to report an intern you slept with while you are technically her boss? I don’t think she needs to fire you if your gonna do it yourself stupid.”

Andrew closes his eyes in despair, “I guess I’ll just ignore her unless it’s about work. Speaking of work, I have to go.” Andrew stands up and walks out the door before adding, “And I know what you want to do but don’t Carina I don’t need my big sister fighting my battles for me. Please leave this alone and do not interrogate her.”

Andrew leaves Carina in the room. Carina looks at her notes before deciding to ignore her brother and find out more about this girl for Andrew’s sake.

Later

After I reserve an O.R. I go to Oscar Montez’s room to do his labs. I wrap the tourniquet around Oscar’s upper arm with my gloves on and grin assuredly at him to make it easier for him. He grins back either to be polite or because he finds me attractive. When it came to teenage boys, they usually fall head over heels for me because I’m fire, whatever that means.

I found from the chart most of his labs were already done and Oscar told me another intern was also here taking his labs. The only thing left was his bloodwork and I didn’t want whatever hungry intern swooping in and stealing my patient. By some coincidence that intern, Schmitt came in stunned by my presence while I wipe an alcohol rub over the vein.

“Oscar’s my patient.”

I raise an eyebrow at his excuse, “No he’s not he’s mine go find your own and try not to steal them this time.”

The guy doesn’t leave as he walks to my side, “I’ve already done the rest of Oscar’s labs, his pre op, he knows me.”

Oscar chimes in, “I-It’s cool.” He looks at me with a smile confirming his attraction to me, “I’m cool with it.”

I smile at him, “Thank you Oscar.” I turn to Schmitt with a glare that catches him off guard, “And you, I don’t know who sent you but you can tell them Dr. Karev sent me here first and to check twice before they screw up again.”

“Well a senior resident specifically instructed me to draw his blood.”

I scoff, “Well Dr. Karev asked me and he’s the attending so I win and you lose now walk away with some of your dignity left.” I try to insert the needle into Oscar’s vein but I miss causing him to yell ow, “Sorry Oscar.”

Schmitt tries to step in, “That’s the wrong angle.”

“Back off.”

“You’ll miss the vein.” Schmitt tries to grab my arm to take over.

My patience reaches its limits, “Schmitt if you don’t take your hands off me in the next two seconds you won’t have hands.” He relents and I try again but miss the vein again causing Oscar to yell ow again. Alex walks in and I put the needle away.

“What’s going on?” Alex asks.

“Dr. Karev, I was just running Oscar’s labs like you asked.” I say in a clipped tone directed at Schmitt.

“There might have been some confusion on who exactly was supposed to do it but…” He looks at the glare I give him and he cowers, “But we’ve totally got it under control.”

Alex puts his gloves on rolling his eyes, “Your butchering his arm Glasses move.” I’m glad Alex thinks it was him and not me because the last thing I want on my first day is to be seen as an incompetent intern who can’t even find a vein.

“Oh no that wasn’t me that was…” Schmitt tries to explain but Alex has none of it as he takes over and we walk to the other side of the bed.

“Don’t expect much from intern’s Oscar, that way you’ll never be disappointed.” I roll my eyes at his comment, “Karev present.”

“But she isn’t even-” Schmitt underestimates me but fortunately I looked at his chart and thanks to my almost eidetic memory I know what the prognosis is and what the surgery is.

“Oscar Montez, 16 has cholestasis that is currently not responding to dietary changes, he’ll need to have his gall bladder removed.”

“And the approach?”

“It has to be open. The scans show adhesions and it’s too difficult to take them down with a minimally invasive approach.”

“Very good Karev.” Alex says and Oscar notices the similar names we have.

“Karev? Is she your sister or something?” The kids question causes a silent moment for me as I come up with an answer.

“Or something.” The response clearly hurts Alex, he’s acting like it doesn’t but I know him well enough that those are his ‘I’m in pain but I’m gonna act like I’m not shoulders’ I guess a small part of me feels bad but I made it clear he’s not family to me and I’m not his family either.

Schmitt chooses now of all times to ask, “Dr. Karev, chief Bailey mentioned that one of us might be able to operate today. I do have O.R. experience.”

I snicker lightly, “O.R. experience, is that what you call it?”

“Do I get a say?” Oscar asks, scared for his life.

Alex glares at Schmitt specifically, “You dropped your glasses in the surgical field.”

I nod amused by it and add for Oscar, “It’s true, I was there it would’ve been a lot less hilarious if the patient didn’t make it.”

Levi looks at me insulted and tries to rectify it, “And I promised that nothing like that will ever happen again.” He points at the stupid sports band holding his glasses in place which doesn’t impress me or Alex.

“Right because I told the nurses I want you on B team today.” Schmitt looks pleased but for some reason I can see this heading south for him.

“Oh, what’s B team?”

Alex explains, “Well if it’s in a bed pan you clean it, if it’s in a barf bucket you clean it, if it’s blood you clean it.” I grin slightly at this as Levi’s face falls from despair while Alex goes back to the patient, “Oscar, well get you prepped in a bit.” Alex leaves the room and I decide to point out the obvious to Schmitt who probably doesn’t have enough social skills to realize.

“He hates you. And frankly I’m not crazy about you either.”

Levi nods, “I might have slept with Dr. Wilson.” That statement causes me to laugh out loud as I would never see a gorgeous woman like her reduce herself to getting in bed with this fumbling mess. The only reasons I could think was she’s desperate, dying or lost a bet and I haven’t seen any of those in our interactions so far.

“I’m gonna go now try to double glove when you’re picking up shit Schmitt.” With that I leave to get Oscar prepped for surgery. Along the way I find DeLuca in the surgical floor sitting at the station going over charts and decide to brighten my day just a bit.

“Hey.” Andrew looks up and sees me before turning his eyes toward the desktop again.

“Hey.” Andrew sounds aloof for some reason but I try to look past it and engage him in conversation.

“So, first day here is a bust so far. I was supposed to do labs for a peds patient but then Glasses comes in saying he was sent by a resident. I practically had to fight him over the damn needle and like an idiot I botched up the bloodwork…twice. Don’t tell anyone though.”

“Well, uh you’re an intern and interns are supposed to make mistakes.”

“Did you stab a person twice in the arm on your first day here?”

“No but I did accidentally pose as an attending and got caught when a resident tried to get me to stabilize a woman’s spine on my first day.”

I widen my eyes at that statement and my curiosity is peaked, “Really?” For some reasons hearing that he has war stories at work makes him more attractive. Maybe it’s because I’m comforted in not being the only messed up one out of the two of us.

“Yeah it’s as bad as it sounds trust me.”

“I would be shocked if it wasn’t.” Andrew grins slightly at my comment, it’s a first real reaction I got out of him today so I go for the kill, “Maybe you can elaborate more tonight assuming I’m still alive and not exhausted to death. I was thinking a night in town like we said.”

Andrew looks up at me with a solemn look that I haven’t seen in him since we first met. I don’t know what his problem is, could he already know about my past from working with Alex? I don’t know why Alex would tell people that part of my life that is mine to tell alone. Especially since he was clearly so ashamed of our family that he left as soon as he could and never looked back. I know I did the same thing but there weren’t any loose ends to tie when I left. Aaron was somewhat sane, and I kept my distance from mom, there was no one to leave behind in that hell hole. Could Andrew have figured it out somehow and that’s why he hasn’t given me a clear answer?

I mentally shrug it off, he’s a doctor he’s probably had a long day and doesn’t feel like going out tonight.

“Unless you’ve had a long day and you want to reschedule?”

He chuckles lightly for some reason, “I have had a long and stressful day, you wouldn’t believe it.”

I nod understanding, “Okay so how about tomorrow night then? You can pick out the place as long as it’s not that disgusting bar we met at last time. I can still feel the sticky residue on my fingertips.”

He licks his lips and looks at me in thought before answering, “Um…yeah tomorrow night would be good for me. I’ll text you the deets assuming you’ll give me your number this time.”

I grin at him, “Okay but let’s not exchange phones out in the open. I’m not up for exposing my sex life in public so…” I write my number discretely on a sticky note by the station and drop it in front of him. He takes it and puts it in his coat pocket. He looks somewhat tense and I want to ask what his problem is but he speaks before I ask.

“I’ll uh I’ll text you.”

“Great I hope it’s soon. I have to go see you later.” I turn and walk away from him as I walk down the hall and enter the elevator, I exhale a sigh of relief at my good fortune when someone stops the doors from closing all the way. I see a woman I think I recognize entering the elevator with me where only two of us occupy the space. She has a serious look on her face like she means business and after a few seconds I know where I’ve met her. She’s Andrew’s sister.

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

Carina enters the elevator slowly and stands next to Amber who looks at her strangely. When she saw her passing her number to Andrew at the station, she knew she had to do this if her brother didn’t. She wants to protect Andrew from having his heart broken and possibly getting fired because of some vindictive woman who holds a grudge for her brother and will do anything to exact revenge no matter who gets hurt.

Amber looks at her curiously, “Um hi I almost didn’t recognize you with clothes on.” Amber chuckles to ease the tension, “I don’t think we properly met, I’m Dr. Amber Karev and-” Carina stops her midsentence when she pulls the stop button stopping the elevator. Amber looks at her confused as Carina faces her with a serious look.

“W-Why did you just do that? Is there something wrong or-” Carina ignores her question and instead grabs her face so she can look her in her blue eyes as she interrogates her. She notes that her eyes are a unique blue with a greenish tint but she moves on from that. She needs to know what is going on and if her brother is in danger once again. Amber stands still clearly intimidated which is exactly what Carina was hoping for before speaking to her for the first time.

“Are you a good person?”

Amber blinks with Carina’s hands still on both sides of her head, “What?”

Carina clarifies, “Are you a good person? Not perfect just morally do you consider yourself a good person?”

“I…This is very confusing for me.”

Carina ignores her comment and repeats herself, “Are you?”

“Um…Y-Yes.”

Carina continues, “Have people called you a good person before? Have you ever been accused of being manipulative or used anyone to get your own way?” Amber still looks at her confused but answers fearing what will happen if she doesn’t.

“Um no I haven’t if I did, I would’ve gone into politics instead of medicine.”

“Your funny.” Carina states matter of fact, “How many sexual partners have you had? I won’t judge.”

“Men or women or otherwise?”

“All of the above.”

Amber mentally counts, “…8 well 9 but I don’t know if it counts by your standards. I’m sorry, what is this about? I am very confused and a little scared right now.”

“It’ll be over soon; do you have a criminal record?”

“No well yes but it’s a juvie record and it was sealed when I turned 18.”

“What was the crime?”

Amber looks at her shyly as if ashamed of herself, “I might have possibly bashed a man’s knee with a crowbar but I don’t know you well enough to get into it and I was sent to juvie for three months after that.”

Carina tries to look past that as she can tell this girl has a rough past that led her to do that to someone, “Do you have any siblings?” She knows the answer but wants to hear Amber’s response.

“Two brothers. One works here and the other is in Iowa, he’s a mover.”

“Are you close with them?” Carina keeps a close eye on her reaction.

Amber shakes her head, “No we’re not it’s…it’s complicated and until last month I haven’t talked to the brother who works here for almost a decade.”

“Why is that?”

Amber sighs as if old memories are haunting her, “Because he left me when I needed him the most and I have resented him for it. I would elaborate but I don’t think a horror story is what you need before going to bed tonight.”

Carina sees that Amber is telling the truth, when the subject turned to her brother she didn’t flinch or grovel. She just gave an honest answer, “How old are you?”

“23.”

Carina looks at her slightly shocked at her age, “That’s awfully young to be a doctor, were you a genius baby?”

Amber shakes her head, “N-No I was just really desperate to get out of town and my mom was a librarian so I spent a lot of time reading books.”

Carina is impressed with her but stays on task, “Okay final question, what did you know about Andrew DeLuca before sleeping with him?”

Amber looks at her even more surprised if that was possible, “I guess he’s closer to you than he let on that night.”

“He is my baby brother.” Carina states coldly, “I love him and it’s my job to protect him, even if he can be an idiota sometimes. Now tell me what you knew about him that night before you two had sex. Tell me the truth and I won’t be mad I swear.”

Amber swallows but decides to be quick about it and state the facts, “Um…I didn’t know much about him. I met him at a bar and we ran into each other at work that morning, that’s how we recognized each other. When we first met he spilled cold coffee down my chest and elbowed me in the nose. I was pissed at him when we saw each other again but he offered to apologize in food and I took it because he seemed sweet and he wasn’t creepy about it like most guys. I knew he worked here but I didn’t get matched here until a month later so…now I’m just waiting to see where it goes if it goes anywhere.”

Carina looks into her eyes and sees what she was hoping for, complete and udder lack of malice. She knows now that this girl isn’t out to get Andrew and it was all just some coincidence on both of their parts. For once her brother was right and she was wrong making it both reassuring and annoying.

She shakes her head at her, “Your just another innocent bambina in this aren’t you?”

Amber looks at her blankly trying to process what just happened, “…If I say yes will you push that button and let me walk out of this elevator alone?”

“Yes.”

“Then yes I am an innocent…whatever you called me.” Carina finally stands back, pushes the button and keeps her hands to herself. Amber is still standing there frozen from shock until the elevator doors open and Amber walks out like her life depends on it.

That Night

My shift is over, it’s been a grueling 24 hours but I survived them with my sanity intact. Although my mind is still at a fog from my encounter with Carina DeLuca at the elevator. When she was interrogating me in there I was taken back and frightened. I don’t know what about me gave the impression I was manipulating Andrew that night we first saw each other. I barely said two words to her because she was preoccupied with reuniting with Andrew and I was in the middle of it along with Dr. Robbins. If anything her behavior that night was more alarming than mine at least one of us was wearing a shirt. I shake it off and decide to just get home and rest before the next day.

I try to ignore the blisters on my feet as I walk inside the locker room with Casey and Helm where I find the others just as exhausted.

“Wait did you scrub in?” Dahlia asks Casey after noticing the blood on his top.

“No but I was really close to Dr. Kepner when she shoved her hand in a gaping leg wound.”

I sit on the bench massaging my knees, “At least you saw a gaping leg wound.”

“I didn’t even get to see a leg.” Helm adds.

“Did anyone scrub in today?” I ask and they all say no to my relief. It would kill me if Glasses or Roy got to scrub in before I did. All of us are disappointed that the job we’ve always wanted is just B level grunt work.

“Are we ever gonna set foot in an O.R.?” Casey asks.

I chuckle, “Schmitt won’t in our lifetime.” He looks at me offended.

Helm smiles, “Hold it Schmitt was the first to kill a patient, Vik you owe me 20 bucks.” I chuckle at that as Schmitt tries to defend himself.

“I didn’t kill a patient.”

I grin at him before deciding to tell the others, I’ve had a weird day and I need something to take the edge off and making fun of Glasses is working so far, “No he just dropped his glasses in an open body cavity in the O.R. before he even started here.” All of them laugh and are shocked by my statement.

“Wait.” Dahlia chimes in, “Your Glasses?!”

I laugh, “Oh yeah I was there and it was worse than I made it sound.”

“You were all over Twitter!” Roy tells Schmitt with a laugh.

“Wasn’t the patient a little kid?” Helm asks.

“Yeah, I said it was worse than I made it sound.”

Schmitt stands up clearly having enough of the jokes and yells out, “My face was sweating and they accidentally slipped off!” I continue to laugh until I see chief Bailey approach behind him with a blank expression.

“Hello chief Bailey.” We all stand up and face her like soldiers going into battle which isn’t that far from what we’re doing.

“Who’s on call?” Bailey asks some of them raise their hands but I don’t since my shift ended, “A big rig flipped over on the five. Incomings about 8 minutes out.”

Helm is still hungry for surgery like us and asks what’s on our minds, “This means that one of us will get to scrub in tonight, right?”

Bailey looks at us confused, “Why would you say that?”

“This morning you said that one of us will get the opportunity to operate today.” Vik clarifies.

The chief looks at us astounded, “What I said was that today you would have the opportunity to prove yourselves ready to scrub in, not that you would scrub in today. Now, seeing as how all of you are doctors, I would think that you were smart enough to understand that difference.” We all stand there shocked at her statement, even me as I also hoped to scrub in on a surgery, “I don’t see anyone moving.” The interns on call exit out, “And what are you all still here for? You just finished your first day as a surgeon. Congratulations, go home.”

Bailey leaves us and I purse my lips at the cruel intention of getting us amped up only to be sourly disappointed in the end. It was like high school all over again, only I didn’t have black hair with green streaks. And instead of a promposal from Connor Lendel it was a surgery I was hoping for.

Casey is just as shocked, “The chief played us.”

I bitterly nod, “Yep like fiddles with MD’s”

Schmitt tries to chime in for some reason, “I mean she technically didn’t say that we-” We all groan and admonish him over his bad timing.

I put my casual clothes on, grab my backpack and get out of the hospital for a much needed power nap.