#keeping tags to a minimum for this one because my art keeps falling into the wrong hands :/

[staticbluue]

Camouflage

I just realized I never posted this!! I’ve gotten better at drawing her face since then but this still looks pretty good. I like to imagine that this is a photo taken by Margaret. . .

Honestly the best part about switching from medibang to krita for my illustrations and getting all those nice textures is that things like the dirt on the wall are really easy to draw LOL. Eventually I want to switch commissions over to krita too, but my process is still more streamlined in medibang so it stays the same for now.

[uzmacchiato]

I'm really disappointed right now.

I've come across a number of people who are using my dividers without providing credit.

(Un)Fortunately I try to open random profiles who interact with my posts to check what kind of aesthetics they like for their blogs and I've come across people having my dividers in their posts without tagging my account. What kind of a Shitty Ignorant behaviour is that !

I have put JUST ONE RULE for people to follow while using my dividers and that is to TAG me/Give Credit.

I put a lot of thought, effort and time for these dividers even though it's just a hobby, I constantly keep thinking about what new designs I could make. These are mere dividers or lines and colors to you maybe, but for me, it's MY WORK and even the oldest, shabbiest, least liked ones are dear to me.

I really appreciate people who comment, reblog with tags, share their ideas and ask for custom Dividers from me. I really thank them for showing so much love and support for this small blog 💗

I created my Tumblr account to follow astrology and tarot blogs because there are such intuitive and blessed readers here on this platform. Later I thought about sharing my art as well because I understood that people here are very understanding and inclusive. They respect and value what people offer for free and appreciate things as they are.

I'm so grateful for a number of artists here in my following list, whose artworks help me to keep myself motivated. I have an immense amount of respect for people who share their creativity with the world. Be it an Artist, Singer, Tarot reader, Astrologer, Writer, etc 😭🤌🏻...even Smau creators/Fiction writers. Period.

I have seen people using AI for readings, reposting without permissions/credit on other apps, copying artworks or simply not following rules before sending an ask or using someone's work. How can you do that? I'm assuming you never had to experience the feeling it brings. It gives the feeling of being used and taken advantage of without providing the bare minimum effort in return.

I humbly request people to not dishonour and insult the hardwork of someone else by showing such ignorant behaviour because it really breaks my heart. Don't fall so deep — where you forget basic human mannerisms.

I am requesting my followers/people who use my dividers to kindly check for credits if you ever come across my dividers on someone else's post. You can share the post or just the person's ID with me. It would mean so much if people support each other like that. 🫶🏻

** I have added extra tags because I've come across people who I have no idea of (only through these tags) using my dividers without credits. Those are not for promotion whatsoever. **

[hpacearofest]

HP Ace Aro Fest - 2025

It is official, we are back for the second year running! Our amazing fest was created to highlight any character who you see as asexual, aromantic, or anywhere on those spectrums.  Any era, any age, anyone.  Give me your QPRs, your sex-repulsed lovey-doveys, your hypersexual aromantics, and everything else you got.  As long as you give me a main character from the HP fandom who is a-spec, your work has a home with this fest.  Accepting fic, fanart, podfics, any medium your heart desires to give us.

Stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled starting in May, claiming will be opening on Aromantic Visibility Day!!

Important dates

Announce: April 18

Prompting: May 1 - June 5

Claiming:  June 6 - July 30

Posting to start around: August 10

Guidelines

All content is allowed, no restrictions on what can be submitted so long as it is thoroughly tagged and doesn't violate tumblr or AO3 TOS.  Mods will have final approval on whether or not a work is sufficiently tagged in regards to potentially triggering matters in works rated M or above.

Etiquette

The goal of this fest is to celebrate and highlight the joys (and some of the stresses) of the lives of the HP-verse characters who fall into the a- sexual and romantic spectrums.  

There will be no ship or character bashing (even if it’s a fandom-wide hated character, please just avoid including a character/ship if you do not like them).

SALS - Ship And Let Ship.

YKINMKBYKIOK - Your Kink Is Not My Kink But Your Kink Is Okay.  Yes, this fest is about a-spec relationships. Yes, that means they can still be kinky as can be.  No, that does not mean you can shame others for what they want to create so long as it is duly tagged.

Each person has unique lived experiences within and and without the LGBTQIA+ community.  Just because you don’t see yourself in how someone is portraying something, doesn’t make them wrong for it.

This event and blog are created on the following 4 founding ideas. If your values do not align with these core principles, this event is likely not for you:

1. Trans Rights are Human Rights 2. Free Palestine and Free Congo and Free Sudan or else no one is free 3. All Nazi's deserve to be punched 4. FUCK JKR

Written fic

Written fic should preferably be longer than 500 words

There is no maximum word count

Must be a completed work, no on-going series to be completed after the fest

Works must be stand-alone (can be part of a collection but one must be able to read it without reading previous parts)

Using a beta is strongly encouraged but not required (if you would like help finding one, feel free to join the fest discord server to find them)

Art work

Work must be exclusive to this fest

Digital and physical art are both allowed as long as scans/photos of the physical are clear

Podfic work

Please provide proof of permission from the creator (unless it is yourself) which includes a screenshot of a blanket permission statement on their profile as long as the username matches 

Selected work must fit the theme of the fest as well as the 500 word minimum for written fics

Make sure you upload it with the author’s original tags as well as the fest tags and podfic notation

Submission

All works must be uploaded to the AO3 collection by the deadline of July 30 (around 1 week before posting  pending any extensions granted)

Add acearofest account as co-author so mods can just double check for correctly tagged content and posting as well as a final once over of the SPaG/formatting

[maks-punchout-hyperfixtion]

So about burnt bread discourse

I had a dream i had to make this post once. Aint that ironic.

As a multi shipper i won't lie and say the aran x joe age isn't something. But to me it's just a big age gap between two adults. It's not like aran just got out of highschool or joe knew aran as a kid. If either was the case this ship wouldn't even fall under my radar.

I frankly can't give two shits who you ship in any fandom as long as their legal ages and not relatives. I don't even do ship stuff alot, hell the fucking au based around Punch out ships is more like "what if they had kids and those kids just so happened to also go into boxing" for literally any ship it doesn't even follow the minimum lore i have!

But i want to say some stuff about the original post that started it. Which will be in a under cut because of rants and frankly outright rudeness im presenting. To which i apologize

It feels non genuine. Its just feels like something to just start something up. And my reasoning are simple they assumed excuses, was basically just rude in their second to final sentence, and just randomly slapped proship over it without an explanation

They assume that someone will call them homophobic, and that they don't like the trope aran x joe is. Which by the way can we actually talk about that?

Wimpy x strong?? Im sorry but in my opinion and any fan art i have seen doesn't depict joe as a wimp. At all. Joe is a boxer and dispite being one of the worst he is still giving it his all. Even in canon he isn't, the only "wimpy" dialogue he has is the one about his gloves being too tight and his stomach being mush. And even that was just him complaining about something that actually does get annoying. His "dont punch my jaw" lines are likely because his jaw is probably going to break after to many bouts so he's trying to tell his opponent to not punch there (which obviously fails), and that nap one was probably just to taunt mac! You realize how detirmed and strong you got to be to keep going into the ring after 100 losss? In a total of 201 between the nes and wii game? If that's your definition of wimpy i hate to see what you call people who actually are wimps.

That rant aside lets talk about you second to last sentence "But yea, welcome to the Punch out fandom, were SOME people doesn't care about ages."

That was just fucking rude you know that? I refuse to believe that wasn't meant to intentionally be rude. No matter how big the fandom no matter how close you are to the people you never go and say that type of stuff unless you can provide proof that a good portion you're referring too is actually doing that. Especially after you got your point across.

And look i get proship can mean different things. But you could of atleast give a reasoning as to why this ship is a proship outside the age gap? It doesn't help that you actually only put it in the tags that caused the whole thing.

Frankly actually i don't hate your take, im just hoping you're reading this and seeing there were better ways to bring the point across and to give some better reasons as to why you dislike the ship outside the age gap and why you think its a proship.

So tldr: just reword the actual post better take out the "But yea, welcome to the Punch out fandom, were SOME people doesn't care about ages" part and explain why you think this ship is a proship

[theheirofthesharingan]

"Boruto seems to be more about SS than Boruto himself. There's just too much content on SS (or is it just my Twitter feed being stuffed with it? Idk)" Sorry I know this isn't a Sasuke blog but this is an SSer/S*kura fan issue. Idk what about her triggers this obsession but if you google image search "Naruto", you mainly get naruto or like the show's characters, but if you google "Sasuke" it's mostly SS art or the same 3 moments of the anime where they're in the same frame. Even more annoying for me personally is that you cant go on a tag for any Uchiha character without seeing ship art for them with Sakura (Itachi I think suffers from this the most because not only does he not even acknowledge she exists in canon outside of knowing she's a member of team 7, they fundamentally have nothing in common and arent compatible in even the loosest interpretations of their characters). It's baffling to me, and honestly extremely annoying.

I don't really go to Google for Naruto content, because I know it's going to piss me off one way or the other, so I keep my interaction with the fandom to the absolute minimum, that too on Tumblr and a little bit on Twitter. People on Twitter also said the same that it's her they find the most whenever they look for Sasuke related posts on Twitter and Twitter algorithm seems to recommend her posts to them. I noticed the same on my own feed. And I'd rather have Sasuke, Itachi, Kakashi, Naurto, Akatsuki on my Twitter feed, not her and her happy little family.

The issue with her ships is that she's shallow and the people she's shipped with have depth in them, so the connection never seems genuine. Not with Sasuke, not with Itachi, not with Sasori, or with anyone else. Her pairing with Itachi infuriates me as much as SS does. She would literally have to be a different person for me to remotely like her with any Uchiha or with the Akatsuki members. She isn't a shippable character with her canon personality.

A lot of her fans keep complaining about us loving Itachi over her without realizing we're not loving him because of his morality or because we think of him as an angel, but because he contributes so much to the story without eating up the space someone else deserved. You remove him from the story and majority of the story falls flat. On top of that, he's well-written. Audience will be inclined towards characters like that naturally. He has a likeable personality and his mystery makes you want to know more of him. Why would we not love him?

Half of her fans hate him and the other half ships him with her or sees him as a cheerleader for SS even though - like you said - he never acknowledged she existed other than being a part of Team 7. Maybe it's just self-inserts living their fantasies, because how can you look at her and go "Itachi needs to be shipped with her."

Makes no sense to me.

[chara-bud]

Welcome to Chara-Bud's Introduction Page!

Find all goofs, gaffs, links, and whatnot here!

What does Chara-Bud like?

I like to draw things, write things (am working on a littol sumfing :3), eat chocolate, voice act (don't ask me to, I am not like my voice...), animate (someday, I don't have the attention span, time, or energy to animate yet), be stupid, Lemon Demon (YOU. ARE. DEAD. Oh nooo~!)

What does Chara-Bud DISlike?

This, man. I don't like this.

What communities does Chara-Bud participate in?

Do I have to list them all? Yeah, I do? God... Then, The Amazing Digital Circus, Murder Drones, Undertale/Yellow/Deltarune, FNAF, Pokemon, Poppy Playtime, Indigo Park, Fate, Hollow Knight, Gravity Falls, KinitoPet, Cult of The Lamb, Delicious in the Dungeon, Lethal Company, Guilty Gear, Baldurs Gate, DnD, Rain World, Persona, Little Nightmares, Bochi the Rock, MASHLE, and BlazBlue all came out of nowhere lightning fast-

What are some boundaries Chara-Bud has?

Keep KYS jokes to a minimum here.

I will not show my real face, Let alone a picture of me here so please don't ask.

suggestive jokes are fine with me (being in @/sm-baby's corner has changed me lol.

If you don't like something I said PLEASE tell me, but do not tell me things like "shut up" or "be quiet" because that stuff hurts me way too much.

You can simp and gush and be weird about characters/stories I make, I honestly like it when people do, because it means I did a good job. But be reasonable, that means no proshipping, pregnancy, blah blah blah, you get it, don't be gross.

What are things that Chara-Bud are working on?

Ugh, I SHOULD be working on so much stuff, but ack, I've piled so many projects onto myself that I doubt half of them will ever be finished...

Regardless, I am working MAINLY on three things.

A little story that I'll announce when the writing and character designs are ready ;)

TADC Faerun AU

and a cool Call of Cthulhu campaign I've titled "Malicious Copy".

You'll likely see a ton from each once I've got this place running, and when I've ACTUALLY gotten some decent work done.

Who's Chara-Bud's FAVORITE oc + how many does she have?

I have NO favorites! Capcha. And, I have somewhere in the 30 or 40's? Let's count together! Travi, Capcha, Vols, Kana, Chara, Rasscodro, Seasonor, Possedon, Volonik, Tough Love, Soon De Rais, Jakk, Klownery, Mugly, Yamitus, Fyrolla, Bever Paysoff, Skip Tailbitten, Ruler, Hatter, Sayris Filnerkbolgaphel, Crally, Pyana Vulnbloom, Khan Hood, Paris Flamright, Prins, Treann, Irsk, Galena Froster, Strahdlo Seivin, Gubeen, Lumi Lumafly, and Seive. So that makes 34 oc's, not counting the characters in the aforementioned CoC campaign and story I'm writing. Thank you for your time.

Haven't we seen Chara-Bud before?-

NO. NO YOU HAVEN'T. FORGET EVERYTHING YOU KNOW. *Snaps fingers in your face*

Catchphrases?

Who fucking told you? Anyways, I have a few catchphrases my family and friends caught on, I often say them without even realizing.

"From a certain point of view..."

"What does that even mean?"

"I'm going f-ing CRAZY!"

"Well now I'M the fool."

And "You can't gaslight me!!!"

Tags:

#charabud sillies/randoms: short and goofy posts.

#charabud arts: self explanatory.

#charabud rants: long winded text based posts.

#charabud theories: self explanatory.

#charabud answers: Ask answer posts.

#weekly charabud joke/WCBJ: I post one of my famous jokes every week.

Links:

Oc's:

Askblog: @charabud-asks and @ask-thesadjester

Bluesky: wowychara.bsky.social

Discord username: charabud

Capcha

Abler

Caligriope

Wagzzz

Theories:

Plethora

Everyone is dead.

This Introduction WILL be subject to change! Remember the quote from Blue Guy from Bochi the Rock! "Losing who you are is equivalent to dying"!!!

[renmackree]

20 Questions for fic writers

I was tagged by the writing goddess @dear-massacre

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

23 works, one WIP (and another coming soon)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

563,018 - I took a hiatus for about 10 years and now coming back

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Only Teen Wolf right now, but previously - Harry Potter, Avengers/Marvel, Legend of Zelda, and back in the day a Battle Royale one

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I'm only going to use the fics from this year because my 2013 stuff is best left there.

part-time soulmate, full-time problem (Sterek, 27k. Explicit. Fake Relationships & Derek in a Kilt)

Behind the Screen (Sterek, 23k. Explicit. Derek is a CEO who watches Camboys. Stiles is that Camboy.)

Werewolves at Twilight (Sterek, 50k. Explicit. Twilight but Teen Wolf.)

The Itch (Sterek, 36k. Explicit. WIP. Stiles solves a murder mystery while being Dominated by someone online)

Full Moon (Sterek, 60k. Explicit. New Moon but Teen Wolf.)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to as much as possible, but I always just don't know how to respond because if you leave a comment on my fic, I run to show my husband and just giggle the whole day.

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

Honestly, way back, I wrote Under my Skin, and that one originally had an unhappy ending with an epilogue, but I changed it mid-way. The Itch is probably because it's a WIP I have no idea when I'll get to finish it.

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

Either Eclipse of the Dawn or Part-time soulmate.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yup 👍🏻

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

All sorts of smut, but Knotting non-ABO is my favorite.

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

Eclipse of the Dawn is a major crossover, but I have always liked to do Buffy/Teen Wolf in some capacity.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes, oh absolutely yes. but it was like, back in the Fanfiction.net era of life

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I believe someone did, but once more fanfiction.net era

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

I did a sister fic for someone, but co-writing fics haven't been on my radar. I would LOVE to, though, especially now that I'm getting into my art again.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Sterek's up there in the forever column so check that box

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

I will finish my only WIP soon, I have feelings that it will take time, but it will be done. I don't post unless I'm committed.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told my banter and character dialogue make people laugh, so I think I am strong in that. Honestly, I write for myself, and if everyone likes it, I'm here for it!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Keeping things short. Also, I would say I'm a bit simplistic in my word choices so if y'all are looking for Purple prose with gratuitous romanticism, that's not me

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

I write languages I know and languages I speak - I try to keep it contained to terms of endearment or spells in Latin. My next fic coming does have Icelandic in it, but I try to keep it to a minimum.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Chronicles of Narnia, but first published fandom was Harry Potter

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

I wrote them all to my tastes, but I think I'm really proud of the Moonlight Saga. It was three months of intense writing, and it proved that I could write over 180K in a summer while my life was falling apart. It means a lot to me that I had the gumption.

low pressure, not required, only if you're feeling it: @quackquackcey, @arver7, @leodabinchy, @handsofred

[bluepulsebluepulse]

To the DDoS Attackers of AO3

I’m going to try and force my thoughts into some semblance of order regarding the recent DDoS attack against AO3; which is extremely hard to do considering I am so angry that I can barely think straight.

I may not know exactly who was behind this… I may not even know the true motivations or goals of the individuals behind this attack… But the one thing I do know is this…

Whoever you are... You deserve to experience suffering on a level that equates to all the grief you’ve caused others through your selfish actions.

Now, I know that wishing pain upon others isn’t taking the high road, but I’m simply incapable of it with everything currently going on in the world. These people are denying access to a service that many people, quite frankly, need.

AO3 is not defined just by it’s content.

It’s a place to escape reality; a coping mechanism. It’s something that improves quality of life. This is especially important for those who experience mental health issues and struggle with conditions like depression, anxiety, and more. For some, it’s the only way to find comfort after a long, hard day at work. For others, it’s literally an aid to help them fall asleep.

It’s a creative outlet. Suffice to say, exercising your brain is vital to good mental well-being. In addition, writing can also allow people to express their emotions, process grief or trauma, and gain clarity on issues going on in their own life. It’s cathartic. It’s happiness. It’s art.

It’s a place to make friends and embrace communal positivity and support. Whilst it may not be one of the most common places to make friends, it does happen. And for those who met elsewhere, it’s still a place to bond and share gifts. More than that, it’s the place associated with that rewarding feeling that you get when you either give or receive kudos’, comments and bookmarks on works. All that stands between smiling all day is one flattering comment.

And that’s me just getting started… AO3 is so many things, but because I’m trying not to write an autobiography right now, I’m trying to keep this rant to a minimum. Besides, I want to save my energy for the next work I end up writing.

I don’t care if AO3 contains content that could be considered heinous, repulsive or downright twisted to the point that some may need therapy after reading it. The point is, if it’s not hurting anybody, or impeding upon anybody’s rights as a human being, then it should be allowed. This of course comes with the caveat that a tagging system must be enforced to correctly identify potential triggers to readers (which AO3 offers). The only way this system fails is if writers accidentally or intentionally mislead readers by incorrectly tagging their work (which is rare - and there are also ways to rectify this including communication with the content owner or submitting a report to AO3).

Above all else, adults are more than capable of navigating the site and consuming whatever content interests them. They’re also capable of evaluating the risks involved with specific works that may be an issue for them. For any readers under the age of eighteen, parents or caregivers should be held responsible for deciding whether to manage content consumption or to disallow access altogether. It’s the same concept as choosing whether or not to see a film based on its rating or locking the adult channels on a television.

I understand that the issue here isn’t the tagging system; it’s the content itself. But the attackers’ efforts to stop freedom of speech are futile and pointless. If the AO3 fanbase aren’t reading or sharing content on AO3, we’ll do it elsewhere.

So again… Turning my attention to those who are responsible for this attack… I know I’m probably wasting my breath here but… 

Get a life and go do something that’s actually meaningful with it.

[rumbleonthemill]

it's a hot take, but OP is correct. in the past years, m!nors sent me the following:

they can't stop stalking me down. even when blocked.

they sent death threats, wished my death, wished me cancer, and other similar things.

they apparently got employees fired from their workplace, I shit you not!! someone was fired because of basic things, like cosplay!!! they want to doxx and harass people nonstop, because things aren't happening the way they want it! they even go after people who already left xy company.

they sexualize characters who are my age, on regular basis

they accused me with shit they didn't even know the meaning of!!!

they manipulated people into hating me (if people are this stupid to fall for blatant "trust me bro" lies, then they deserve each other)

they legit lied to employees about me, then the employee started harassing me because of correctly tagged art. I'm 30 fucking years old, not 15 ffs. all of this harassment, because these brats bended the truth and lied, and the employee is just stupid and won't do minimum research to debunk the whole thing in, like five minutes.👇

k!ds in question visited 18+ only sites regularly(admittedly!!), that's how they found nsfw commissions. you are unable to find any nsfw art of mine, unless you purposely interact with 18+ websites! like ffs, those sites alone have multiple warnings of them being 18+ IT'S NOT THE ADULT'S ISSUE. anyone who's harassing me and wants to cut my artistic freedom, will be blocked and reported for harassment.

btw m!nors do make nsfw art, because for example the one who lied about their age to me, did that.

they lie about their age yes!!! multiple times, multiple people. so by now I'm paranoid and I don't trust people at all.

they kept asking for nsfw art. nonstop. for months, weekly. "omg draw x and y doing nsfw" I'm not answering any of these. don't be surprised about the block, if you keep doing this.

they turned off mature filters and ignored adult warnings and read adult only fics. there's MULTIPLE warnings on the site! get your ass out of there, stop whining and blaming it on the artist! the cringest self-exposing is when you even post about it "ughhhh look at this correctly tagged 18+ fic I found ughhh disgusting btw I'm 13 don't be weiiiird to meeee btw I love hazbin and helluva uwu"

these brats very fucking much know what they're doing. I have screenshots of everything I listed. I feel sad for those in the same generations, who are normal. but because of the bad ones, I'm automatically cutting contact immediately, or after a few basic words(I'm obviously not gonna instant block people who are supportive or nice). my blog is for mature people and warnings state that CLEARLY. I do block m!nors yep.

for the normal people, I want to say one thing. NO AGE IN BIO UNTIL YOU'RE 18. if a stranger dm's you, with topics that aren't surface level of conversation, general fandom sfw - block!!! and lastly, filters and warnings are there FOR A REASON. I used to be a m!nor on the internet too and keeping these SIMPLE rules saved me from a lot of shit. that's all!!!

Fandom Problem #8446:

CHILDREN IN FANDOMS OR FAN BASE SPACES, DO BLACKMAIL ADULTS! THEY KNOW WHAT THEIR DOING! Either lying about their age, then whining when they get exposed and use your mature chats against you later! Or they do it to being with, as their acting on the behalf of another big name fans (who are grooming them sexually or just to be their minions, or using them for entertaining needs, in the Parasocial thing, as they have huge ego and think their always in the right and go after creators they don't lie)

[toxic-ship-tournament]

ROUND 3 / POLL 4

Lucille x Jo (@radioactive-dragonlover) vs Amaro x Calamari (@hottopicabbacchio & @corpsoir)

who makes up your ship?:

Lucille and Jo

why does your ship deserve to be considered the most toxic?:

Lucille is a rich woman who has nothing to do in her life, she's eternally bored and wishes for something new— something fresh to happen. Jo is a quiet woman with some repressed violent tendencies and who works minimum wage bug is struggling to make ends meets. One night, Jo decides to rob Lucille's mansion and kills her without meaning to in the process, escaping the scene anxiously thinking she's going to go to jail once the body is found. However, Lucille wakes up the next day, with the events of the murder burnt into her mind but her body spared of any wounds. Turns out getting killed is EXACTLY the spice in life she was waiting for! So she decided to track down and knock on her murder's door— not to rat her out, but to ask her to do it again. Jo wasn't really for murdering again, especially with how anxious she ended up getting in the aftermath, but begrudgingly accepts. And it seems that Lucille IS actually very fun to kill for her, too. Cue to Jo murdering Lucille on a Weekly basis, getting very Gay about it each time. Lucille get the thrill of death she wanted, and Jo gets an outlet for her violence. A relationship starting as purely transactional at first slowly turns into a murder romance. They're both kinda fucked up in isolation to one another but complete eachother awfully well. Like "you two are perfect for eachother but never pull anyone else into your bullshit" kinda deal. They keep eachother contained. You feel me.

ship tags/playlists/pinterest boards?:

Ship tag on my art blog ( nihonium-art ) : Undying love ( although fair warning for gore ) Playlist : https://spotify.link/TPbt2y12Syb

****

who makes up your ship?:

amaro (he/him, by hottopicabbacchio) calamari (he/they, by corpsoir)

why does your ship deserve to be considered the most toxic?:

Amaro used his stand (make you fall in love) on a lot of people, Calamari came around and he used his stand on them for one night too, but Calamari kept coming back after the effect wore off so Amaro continued to use his stand for a bit being afraid of him leaving/because he thought it would be fun. Eventually, Amaro realized that he had stopped using his stand on Calamari and actually fell in love with them. They have a good 3 year run where they're together and fine and in love UNTIL. one day going on a job for information (mafia business), Amaro is talking/flirting some of the information out of the guy theyre after and Calamari over hears some guys talking about how "Amaro is after another one" and how they had been affected by his stand power before. It gets Calamari thinking if Amaro had used his stand on them before (yes, but only at the beginning) and they start thinking that the whole relationship had been a lie. They get in a big argument - Calamari confronting Amaro while Amaro desperately tried to prove to Calamari he hadn't been using his stand for years - and they end up breaking up. After about a month, Amaro gets worried about not seeing Calamari around and goes to their apartment that he still haa the spare key too and goes inside to find him. Instead, he finds a mess and Calamari eating cold pizza in an empty bathtub alone. Calamari half agrees for Amaro to stay and help them clean, which they assume and know thats the only reason they would have come, and doesnt believe Amaro about their relationship no matter what he tries to say. Over time - a cleaning session maybe once a week or so with Calamari making as little talk to Amaro as possible and Amaro just wanting to make things right again - Calamari suddenly realizes that he might be falling in love with Amaro again and confronts him about using his stand again and tells him to show her to them. Amaro had made a vow to himself to not use his stand around Calamari ever again, but caves and shows Calamari that the swords (where his stand power is) are all still there. Currently, they are working on getting back to how they were before, but there is still Issues and Problems <3 They both want it back but Calamari still cant trust Amaro but Amaro had never been in love with someone like that before

ship tags/playlists/pinterest boards?:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4AcBeDHX48BYcmdda13KNL?si=fkg9IR4NT5Klw4bUt-0QoQ&utm_source=copy-link playlist by hottopicabbacchio, character tags on both op blogs under amaro avvoltoio and calamari pavone

[codywansleepbingo]

Codywan Sleep Bingo FAQs

What do I have to include to fill a bingo square?

If you’re interested in participating in the Codywan Sleep Bingo 2023 Challenge, each fill you create must include Cody and Obi-Wan in a romantic and/or sexual pairing AND a sleeping prompt of your choice off your card. That’s it!

What can I put in the FREE square?

You can create whatever you want for the free square! However, and I’m sure this may come as a surprise, it must involve Cody and Obi-Wan and sleeping in some way, shape, or form. 

Can I include other pairings?

Sure! Go wild! The only requirement to qualify as a fill is that a) Obi-Wan and b) Cody c) get up to something sleep related. We’d appreciate it if you could tag the other pairing, too, just to make it easier on us, your friendly neighborhood mods.

Also, because this is CODYWAN sleep bingo, Codywan should be:

The primary pairing

The “endgame” pairing

We look forward to seeing what you create!

Wait, isn’t this the FAQ from your last event(s)?

Friend, it sure is! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

What if there’s a prompt in my way and I don’t like it?

You have the option to change the position of one (1) prompt on your Codywan Sleep Bingo Card. 

Can I ask for a new bingo card if I don’t like enough of my prompts?

Unfortunately, no. Each card is procedurally generated. If we allowed people to just keep asking for new cards in order to easily get a bingo, the format of the event sort of falls apart, and what’s more, it wouldn’t be fair to the people who worked hard to write a prompt they didn’t immediately have an idea for. 

We’re sorry if you got a particularly difficult card! We hope you enjoy the challenge of trying to get a bingo anyway, and remember, you can always move one prompt and use your free space!

Can I write a fic using a sleep idea that is not on my bingo card in order to get a bingo?

Absolutely, that is what the Free Space is for! As long as you fill at least five prompts in a row, as per the rules of Bingo, you have achieved a bingo.

No, I mean, can I submit a fic (or five fics) where Cody and Obi-Wan sleep without using my bingo card, and still get a bingo?

Unfortunately, no. We are playing Codywan Sleep Bingo, and so in order to be in the collection/part of the event you do have to be filling prompts on your bingo card. However, if you want to write sleepy fic outside of our event, we are sure not gonna stop you!

How long does my fic have to be if I write?

Each bingo fic fill should be a minimum of 100 words. No upper limit. You can write as much as you want about them having sleepy fun, and, in fact, we’d love it if you did! 

Can one piece of art qualify for more than one bingo fill?

Unfortunately, no. Due to the nature of art being a visual medium, we ask for ONE piece of art per ONE fill. We do, however, accept variations on a piece as a second fill, so long as it is not exactly the same piece (sketches, slightly different poses, playing with colors to give the same drawing a different feel–all fine, all separate fills). If you have questions about whether your piece would qualify, reach out and we’re happy to assist!

What if I include all the prompts in one fic?

That sounds impressive and we’d love to see someone pull it off! However, the word count minimum remains the same. So, if you do five prompts in a single fic, it should be at least 500 words long. 

What if I already have a fic or piece of art that fits a prompt? Can I add it to the collection?

No, this event only accepts new pieces of art/fic/media/etc. We want to encourage the creation of brand new Codywan pieces, so we can’t accept previously published items of any sort, even if you change them slightly. 

Can I have a card to fill outside of the event?

We scoured our brains for prompts and set up the bingo generator specifically for this event. Each card we generate and record information about takes time and we are both very busy. We therefore respectfully ask that you only request a card if you intend to participate in our event. 

How many fills do I have to create?

In order to get a bingo, you need to fill a minimum of five (5) prompts in a row. You can fill them in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line. You may include one or more prompts in a single fic or a comic or…. Well, you get the idea. 

You may also decide to do a blackout! We’d love to see one! 

What’s a blackout? 

Ah, so you were paying attention when we mentioned that in the last answer, huh? A blackout in bingo is when you complete EVERY SQUARE on your card. That means 25 prompts! We’d LOVE to see some blackouts and each person who completes one gets a special shout-out on our Hall of Fame Bingo Card Winners Supreme Post along with a fierce feeling of pride at a job well done. 

When do I have to post?

Technically, you can post your fills whenever. HOWEVER, if you want to be included in our ao3 collection and/or part of our Hall of Fame Bingo Card Winners Supreme Post you must have your bingo completed by March 10th.

Where do I have to post?

Well, you can pretty much post wherever. HOWEVER. If you want to be included in the ao3 collection, your works are going to have to be on ao3. Also, if you put your pieces behind a paywall, the mods are not going to be able to see them and therefore we cannot award you a completed bingo. 

How do I get started again?

We’re glad you asked! Click right here and get your very own, unique and specialized Codywan Sleep Bingo 2023 card! 

Wait, don’t go, I have more questions!

Feel free to send us an ask and we’ll help you out, friend! 

[miekasa]

mie!! since u write such beautiful gorgeous astounding breathtaking life-changing tearjerking fics, do YOU have any good fic recs that you personally love 🤔

I do! I have a whole blog of wonderful fics I’ve read (tho I desperately need to update it/reblog the ones in my drafts and tag them) @ackermeun for more if you want because there are many lovely, talented writers; but I’ll list a few of my faves for Levi and Eren below 😌😌

Levi

kiss me more by @vennilavee

Now, I could recommend you anything and everything by Saran and I have no doubt that you would love all of it. There’s not a single thing in her masterlist that I dislike, she even made me okay with the idea of pegging Levi bye. The entire tbah universe (specifically parental moments one) has a special place in my heart, but recently the perpendicular world has been on my mind, and might be coming for number one. Either way, you’re gonna love it. She writes Levi in his slightly bitchy, kinda needy, implicitly affectionate, true to nature form, and I am so grateful for it. Also, Saran is a comedian. 

silver soul by @oi-levi (now posting from @bibblelevi)

I suck at keeping up with series, and, so, naturally, I’m terribly behind on this one, but I’m gonna go ahead and rec the whole thing to you anyway, because I have no doubt that the other chapters are just as great the two I’ve read so far. The way she writes Levi... when I tell you I could wrap myself up in a blanket and binge this whole series, and her entire masterlist, and be very content I mean it; her writing feels warm, that’s the only way I can explain it. 

the art of tea composition by @karikarasuno

I don’t remember how or when I found this fic exactly, probably just scrolling through the tag, but I love it. Domestic fluff with Levi, allowing me to pretend I’m a morning person, and just the right kind of smut to go with it. Simple and very, very effective. I’ve reread it a few times by now, no shame.

where you’re meant to be by @deludedimagines

After you read this, I also suggest just going after the whole masterlist. I cannot express how grateful I am to have found this blog PLEASE. Her characterization of Levi is perfect, and something about her prose feels very clean and simple, but elevated and layered at the same time. This one-shot in particular is one of my favorite canonverse pieces, I’m a sucker for a classic injured lover trope. 

the ones who matter most by @deludedimagines

Yeah... this shouldn’t be a surprise. Fantastic writing, fluff in canonverse has a special place in my heart because I think it can be really hard to pull off well; it’s difficult to balance a sense of softness within the aot universe for the obvious reasons, and getting Levi’s caring nature right can be (unfortunately) so hard to find. Good thing people like Sorcha are here. Enjoy more fluff. Also this fic is particularly fantastic to me not just because of the injured lover trope, but because the 104th babies pay a visit and you all know how much I love a good glimpse of reluctant adoptive dad Levi hehe

bullet by @jean-does-not-have-a-horseface

If you can’t tell by now, I love canonverse fluff, tho this fic isn’t fluff in the traditional sense, but I think that makes it all the much better. Perfect depiction of real life shit that would go down in the aot world paired with Levi’s need to protect his s/o. It’s fantastic. 

the knife by @therealvalkyrie

I didn’t mean to turn this into Mie’s Favorite Canon Fics Showcase, but here we are anyway. As much as I love a good injured lover trope (and this does have that hehe), I love a good kickass reader insert, too. Shoutout to Valkyrie for included both in this fic, and Levi being proud of his s/o... well you can imagine how much I liked that bye

dante’s inferno by @alrightberries

College au + roommates au with Levi... that should be enough for you to read this lmfao, no but actually it’s adorable. Not to mention friends to lovers... if you know me you know how I feel about that, I’ll gobble up every f2l fic until I’m dead and gone. Not to mention there’s a cat and Levi won’t admit he likes it, or he’s jealous of it. Simply cannot go wrong here. 

waves know shores by @onwiings

Bro I don’t even like the idea of public sex and I’m not even a fan of water like that but this fic has me wrapped around it’s pinky lmfaoooo. Some of the best Levi smut I’ve read and you already know how I feel when Levi and reader have cute interactions with the 104th in fics. Really it’s checking every item on my list. 

Eren

speed racer by @emeren

I’m pretty sure I found this fic during my midterms last semester, and when I tell you I’m so grateful for it lmaooo. It’s really just a good au, I think it fits Eren (honestly barking at just the concept) and the writing brings it all to life. 

under the moonlight by @murmikaa

I’d have to be dumb not to recommend this to you. I love reading longer fics, and if you do, then this will 100% satisfy you. The whole story is great and immersive, not just between Eren and the reader; their relationships with the other characters are really what makes this special imo. There’s also beach sex, so. Obviously it’s good. 

untitled.avi by @puredivinity (now @celestidarling)

Naur you must of thought wrong if you thought at least one of Mara’s fics wouldn’t be here. I’m obsessed, I think I’ve read it three times minimum. I read all her Eren fics, and you should too. She writes him in such a dreamy way, almost like he’s right there and too good to be true that you must be hallucinating. Immaculate. 

midnight snacks by @writertitan

Dumb, college-typical antics and fluff with Eren... obviously you know I’m about that. The whole concept is so mundane, but so cute, you can’t help but fall for it because it could be so real!! I love that kinda stuff hehe 

i’m your satellite by @ackerfics

Comparing hand sizes with Eren!! YEAAAAH!! No, okay, but I read the summary and was ready to dive in because... size kink go crazy, but when I tell you I was so blown away to find out that it was not only from Eren’s pov, but that he was being a complete simp and down terrible the whole time. Normalize boyfriends being completely fucking in love with their gfs that simple shit like the size of their hand makes them wanna simp even harder!!!!

eren as an ass man by @hznji

I’m dying on the hill that Eren is an ass guy and you should too because it’s the objective truth. Fluff, Eren being a complete dog as per usual, Eren’s being touchy (I will also die on the hill that he’s touchy as fuck and has no concept of personal space) and just in genral snarky but cute banter. Gotta love that. 

Jean

tears over beers by @appplepii

When I tell you this is my favorite Jean fic, I mean it. Friends to lovers with hopelessly pining Jean + oblivious reader = everything I could have asked for in a fic, AND it’s from Jean’s pov too!!! INCREDIBLE!!! The pining made me yearn, and the smut was so well done, too. 

this drabble by @arlerted

Whatever, whatever, WHATEVER!!! I DON’T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT!!! Cal is right, don’t do drugs but... this mf... this imagine.... has been burned into my mind since the first time I fucking read it bye. Callie also writes a bunch of filthy (affectionate <3) fics and drabbles and lewds and you should read them, preferably when you’re alone and with the lights off. 

[codywankinkbingo]

Codywan Kink Bingo FAQs

What do I have to include to fill a bingo square?

If you’re interested in participating in the Codywan Kink Bingo 2022 Challenge, each fill you create must include Cody and Obi-Wan in a romantic and/or sexual encounter AND a kink of your choice off your card. That’s it!

What can I put in the FREE square?

You can write about whatever you want for the free square! However, and I’m sure this may come as a surprise, it must involve Cody and Obi-Wan and a kink in some way, shape, or form. 

Also, we your friendly neighborhood mods humbly request that you be explicit in your tagging of what kink is in your Free Space fill. Everyone has kinks that make them uncomfortable, even if they are your absolute favorites! In order to allow everyone to stay safe for this spicy, spicy event, we want to make sure everyone knows exactly what they’re getting into when they click.

Can I include other pairings?

Sure! Go wild! The only requirement to qualify as a fill is that a) Obi-Wan and b) Cody c) get up to something kinky. We’d appreciate it if you could tag the other pairing, too, just to make it easier on us, your friendly neighborhood mods.

Also, because this is CODYWAN kink bingo, Codywan should be:

The primary pairing

The “endgame” pairing

A few of the prompts would work great with three (or more!) participants and that’s fine, too, as long as there’s a focus on-- you get the idea. 

Wait, isn’t this the FAQ from your last event?

Friend, it sure is! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

What if there’s a prompt in my way and I don’t like it?

You have the option to change the position of one (1) prompt on your Codywan Kink Bingo Card. 

Can I ask for a new bingo card if I don’t like enough of my prompts?

Unfortunately, no. Each card is procedurally generated. If we allowed people to just keep asking for new cards in order to easily get a bingo, the format of the event sort of falls apart, and what’s more, it wouldn’t be fair to the people who worked hard to write a kink they didn’t immediately have an idea for. 

We’re sorry if you got a particularly difficult card! We hope you enjoy the challenge of trying to get a bingo anyway, and remember, you can always move one prompt and use your free space!

Can I write a fic using a sort of kink that is not on my bingo card in order to get a bingo?

Absolutely, that is what the Free Space is for! As long as you fill at least five prompts in a row, as per the rules of Bingo, you have achieved a bingo.

No, I mean, can I submit a fic (or five fics) where Cody and Obi-Wan play with kinky stuff in bed to the collection without using my bingo card, and still get a bingo?

Unfortunately, no. We are playing Codywan Kink Bingo, and so in order to be in the collection you do have to be filling prompts on your bingo card. However, if you want to write kinky spice outside of our event, we are sure not gonna stop you!

How long does my fic have to be if I write?

Each bingo fic fill should be a minimum of 100 words. No upper limit. You can write as much as you want about them having spicy fun, and, in fact, we’d love it if you did! 

Can one piece of art qualify for more than one bingo fill?

Unfortunately, no. Due to the nature of art being a visual medium, we ask for ONE piece of art per ONE fill. We do, however, accept variations on a piece as a second fill, so long as it is not exactly the same piece (sketches, slightly different poses, playing with colors to give the same drawing a different feel–all fine, all separate fills). If you have questions about whether your piece would qualify, reach out and we’re happy to assist!

What if I include all the kinks in one fic?

That sounds impressive and we’d love to see someone pull it off! However, the word count minimum remains the same. So, if you do five kinks in a single fic, it should be at least 500 words long. 

What if I already have a fic or piece of art that fits a prompt? Can I add it to the collection?

No, this event only accepts new pieces of art/fic/media/etc. We want to encourage the creation of brand spanking (ha) new Codywan pieces, so we can’t accept previously published items of any sort, even if you change them slightly. 

How many fills do I have to create?

In order to get a bingo, you need to fill a minimum of five (5) prompts in a row. You can fill them in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line. You may include one or more prompts in a single fic or a comic or…. Well, you get the idea. 

You may also decide to do a blackout! We’d love to see one! 

What’s a blackout? 

Ah, so you were paying attention when we mentioned that in the last answer, huh? A blackout in bingo is when you complete EVERY SQUARE on your card. That means 25 kinks! We’d LOVE to see some blackouts and each person who completes one gets a special shout-out on our Hall of Fame Bingo Card Winners Supreme Post along with a fierce feeling of pride at a job well done. 

Oh, here's one that wasn't on your last FAQ: Can we create a piece that doesn’t involve the kink as a sex act?

No, sorry, this is not allowed. We do expect you to include the prompt in the spirit of the event, which is: spice. You can subvert the prompt to your heart’s content, with the main exception that it DOES have to have a spicy connotation. A hint of lemon, if you will. Sex. The point is sex. 

Please do not create a piece in which someone is tied up and imprisoned by an individual who means to do them unsexy harm and call it a fill for “bondage.” While that sounds like a fic we, your dedicated mods, would read, it will not count for the event. 

This is why we have a rule that you cannot have a G-rated fic, by the way! The subject matter by definition should merit a higher rating than that.

Why can’t I get a card if I’m under 18? 

This event is focused on kinks and spice. As such, it’s focused on fics rated M and E in the vast majority of cases and we’re only issuing cards to participants over 18.

When do I have to post?

Technically, you can post your fills whenever. HOWEVER, if you want to be included in our ao3 collection and/or part of our Hall of Fame Bingo Card Winners Supreme Post you must have your bingo completed by October 31st.

Where do I have to post?

Well, you can pretty much post wherever. HOWEVER. If you want to be included in the ao3 collection, your works are going to have to be on ao3. Also, if you put your pieces behind a paywall, the mods are not going to be able to see them and therefore we cannot award you a completed bingo. 

Remind me what the rules are?

Over here, friend!

How do I get started again?

We’re glad you asked! Click right here and get your very own, unique and specialized Codywan Kink Bingo 2022 card! 

Wait, don’t go, I have more questions!

Feel free to send us an ask and we’ll help you out, friend!

[eldritchqueerture]

Hello! This is a project for @summer-in-the-archives-event that I worked on with @horizonindigo! We came up with the idea together and based our individual works around the poem I wrote, included in the fic. You can find their absolutely amazing art here!!

I freaking loved working on this one and I got more and more excited as we progressed. I also surprised myself with the poem itself a bit, definitely didn’t expect it to end up quite as cool, if I may say so myself. It was incredibly fun to write.

Big shoutout to @sunflowers-and-frogs for beta reading, I love you bestie <3

I would like to thank all the mods that made this event possible! It’s my first time taking part in anything like this and it was really, really fun, so THANK YOU <3 Love you guys :3 Anyways, enough of my rambling kdfjgkjsdfg

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: M/M Fandom: The Magnus Archives (Podcast) Relationship: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist Characters: Martin Blackwood, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical The Lonely Content (The Magnus Archives), Kissing, Excessive Tea-Making, Set in Episodes 159-160 | Scottish Safehouse Period (The Magnus Archives), Poetry, Love Confessions Warnings: self-esteem issues, typical Lonely content, discussions of free-will and determinism, graphic kiss

Summary: As Martin fights the remnants of the Lonely's influence on their ride to Daisy's safehouse in Scotland, he focuses on his feelings for Jon to keep him tethered to reality. He watches Jon be himself in the safety of the cottage, share these small intimacies of domesticity and the words come to him as a poem weaves itself into the pages of his notebook...

He feels the taste of salt in his mouth, as he looks out of the car window at the rapidly falling away landscape, covered in the darkness of the night. He feels Jon’s presence next to him, focused on driving but glancing every so often at him with concern. Martin feels like he should say something, somehow fill the silence that has befallen them, but no words ever find their way to his mouth. He stays quiet, watching the trees pass them by, trying to ignore the anxious churning in his stomach. He’s always been pretty good at filling awkward silences with chatter; at least before the Lonely. Now… he can’t help but feel bothered by Jon’s presence, even though he did all of this for him, even though this is what he’s wanted all this time; it’s like a splinter, prickling at his mind, almost causing him physical discomfort. He swallows and feels the salty taste on his tongue; he discards the thoughts and tries his best to breathe through the discomfort, instead focusing on the sensation of Jon’s warm hand on his.

Martin used to be the warm one; he’d always been generating heat and his mind goes back to the early days in the Archives when the basement was cold in the winter and both Tim and Sasha used to gravitate towards him with their respective cups of tea during breaks. Now his whole body is cold, the chill of the ocean breeze and fog having settled in his bones so deep he thinks he’ll never feel warm again. The thought isn’t sparking any emotions in him though. It’s just a thing that he’s learned to accept, just as the fact that he’ll always be alo—

“Do you want me to put on some music?” Jon asks with another one of his glances. Every time, he raises his eyebrows a bit, and tilts his head to the side; Martin expects the concern in his eyes, but he sees something else there as well. He’s been afraid to put a label to the expression for the fear he’s reading him wrong, but the bolder part of his mind tells him it’s fondness.

Jon’s hand is warm, and his thumb grazes the skin of his palm just a little, as if not sure he’s allowed to. Martin looks down at their hands and feels warmth spark in his stomach; he smiles.

“I’m sorry I’m—I’m not really good at the whole, uh… small talk thing,” Jon adds with a flush, turning his head back to the road. “I should probably be talking about something, though, to, uh… to keep you here. I suppose.” He visibly cringes at his words.

“It’s—It’s fine, Jon,” Martin chuckles, and Jon relaxes, fixing him with a quick smile of his own. “I’m just… you know.” He looks down at their hands again and has a brief feeling they belong to someone else. Not him. Never him. “I’m not quite… out of that. Yet.”

Another look of concern. Martin feels heat prickling at his cheeks and he’s a little bit glad, because at least it’s a feeling. He interlaces their fingers and looks out the front window.

They spend the ride in relative silence. Jon tries a couple more times to start small talk and fails; they stop at a gas station at one point and Martin takes out his notebook when Jon disappears inside the station to pay for gas. He flicks through it and his eyes stop at an unfinished draft; he started writing it shortly before Peter took him down to the Panopticon, but he’d only managed to get a few first lines down. Despite still feeling the cold in his bones and his mind being clouded by the remains of the fog, words come to him, and he starts scribbling. He continues to do so even when Jon comes back with tea and an assortment of snacks, blushing just a little bit when Jon shoots a curious look at the notebook. He doesn’t ask and Martin is thankful for it. He’s not the sort to show his drafts to anyone, especially to the subject he’s writing about.

It’s 1am when they arrive at the cottage; they’re both exhausted and they quickly take their bags inside and lock the door. The cottage is small and practical, just Daisy’s style; it’s also quite dusty from months of abandonment. Martin yawns as he opens one of the bags to get the essentials. They should leave unpacking and cleaning for the next day.

He hears Jon’s footsteps on the wooden floor coming back from the initial run of the house and he turns to tell him that, but the somewhat sheepish look on his face stops him in his tracks. Has he ever seen Jon look sheepish before?

“So, uh, obviously this was Daisy’s safehouse when she was, well… Avoiding people,” he says, not meeting Martin’s eyes.

“I hope ‘avoiding people’ doesn’t mean killing them in this context,” Martin snorts, not sure if he’s entirely joking. The humour is lost on Jon, however, as he looks at him confused for a moment before he processes Martin’s words.

“Oh, no, no, I-I don’t believe she, uh… She just slept here.” Jon shifts awkwardly. “And that means there’s uh, there’s only one bed.”

Martin’s eyes widen and his lips form a little “Oh”.

“Of course, if you’re not comfortable with sharing, I can just take the couch, you need some proper rest and I’m used to running on low sleep” —Jon averts his gaze as he speaks. He grabs his bag and walks over to the couch, and Martin wants to stop him talking and just say that they should share the bed, but his voice seems to have left him at this crucial moment. He just stares as Jon places the bag on the couch and looks back at him, aware of the silence. “Martin?”

Martin swallows, a familiar cold freezing his toes. He feels the damp sand underneath his bare feet and a chill runs down his spine. He blinks and tightens his grip on the bag he’s been holding. This is real, he is real, Jon is real.

“You need good rest too,” he finally manages to say, and he’s surprised by how clear and normal his voice sounds; it makes Jon relax a bit. “We should share the bed, if-if you are comfortable with that.”

A small smile appears on Jon’s lips and a warm feeling fills Martin’s stomach again; he knows the smile is for him.

“Okay,” he says softly and picks the bag up.

They manage to keep the awkwardness of it to the minimum; they’re both very tired and at one point it just doesn’t matter anymore. Jon hands Martin a separate blanket and he pushes the disappointment down into a void inside him where he keeps feelings to come back to when he’s alone. It would be foolish of him to hope for cuddling since they haven’t talked about anything yet.

He expects to fall asleep as soon as his head touches the pillow, but he finds himself awake in the darkness after goodnights are said (Jon’s voice sounds so soft and tender Martin has forgotten all about his earlier disappointment). He’s laying on his back, eyes closed, and he feels Jon’s presence on his right. His breathing is steady, not yet slow enough to indicate sleep, but calm and relaxed. Martin peeks out through half-lidded eyes – he hasn’t gotten used to the darkness as much yet, but he can see Jon laying on his side, facing him, his eyes closed and his hair loosely framing his face. One of his hands rests close to his head on the pillow. Martin blinks, fully opening his eyes now and smiling softly. As his vision clears, Martin notices Jon frowning ever so slightly, and he wonders if the faint lines between his eyebrows smoothen when he’s asleep.

“Is watching people sleep a usual activity for you?” Jon whispers with amusement as he opens his eyes and Martin gasps with surprise and looks away, feeling heat prickle at his cheeks.

“Wha—uh, no! No, of course no—Sorry, I—” He rambles, and he thinks he might just die from embarrassment when he hears Jon laugh quietly.

“It’s fine, Martin.” He shakes his head with a sigh. “Really. I-- Sorry, I thought a joke would, um… lighten the mood somewhat.”

Martin risks a look at him and wonders if the red on his cheeks is visible through the darkness. Jon looks at him with that expression again, something Martin would very much want to classify as fondness if it didn’t feel so impossible. But now that he thinks about it… Would it really be thatfar-fetched? Jon had gone into the Lonely just to get him out. Would he have done that for anyone else? Martin rolls his eyes at himself in his mind, of course he would. He did go into the Buried, and it was for Daisy, a person who has threatened him multiple times, kidnapped and almost killed him. If Jon was ready to lay down his life for her, out of all of them, it shouldn’t be surprising he would do the same for his assistant; it says nothing about his feelings on the matter.

Martin’s memories of the Lonely are hazy. He remembers the cold, the dampness, and the loneliness. He remembers his thoughts, the lonely ones, and how they felt both alien and familiar at the same time. He remembers the comfort, the feeling of fitting in, but also the pain and the fear, just before they were numbed by the cold and the fog that made him forget. And then suddenly, Jon was in front of him, looking at him with desperation on his face, tears in his eyes glowing with a green light. Was it Jon calling for him, or just the Beholding?

“What are you thinking about?” comes Jon’s voice and Martin realizes he’s been staring into the air for a while. He blinks and looks back at Jon.

“Uh…” He searches for words before he gives up on trying to come up with an excuse. His voice is quiet when he speaks. “Why did you do it?”

Jon blinks at him a couple times and rises to lean on his elbow, to better look at Martin.

“What do you mean?”

“The Lonely,” Martin says, not meeting his eyes. Jon is wearing a blue t-shirt with a logo of a band Martin doesn’t recognize; the shirt is loose and it uncovers one of Jon's shoulders which would probably be distracting if Martin’s mind wasn't chilled by the remnants of the fog. “Why did you come for me?”

Even without looking at him, Martin sees Jon’s forehead ripple. A while passes as Jon searches his face and the thought that he shouldn’t have asked starts creeping up to Martin’s head. Shouldn’t have brought any attention to the subject, he should just be glad, he should—

“I care about you, Martin,” Jon says in a very gentle and quiet voice, like he’s afraid anything louder would take away the meaning of his words. Martin looks up at Jon and the hint of that intense blush from before makes it back to his face. “You’re… You matter to me. You will always matter to me.”

Martin can’t stop a small smile appearing on his face and Jon mirrors it.

“Thank you,” Martin whispers, feeling a warmth settle in his chest, finally driving the cold away.

“Anytime.” Jon lays his head back down and settles back with the right hand near his face. “Sleep well, Martin.”

Martin closes his eyes contentedly and he curls up on his right side, facing Jon, as if trying to keep this warm feeling from escaping his chest too soon.

“You too, Jon.”

---

Martin wakes up alone in an unfamiliar bed, the smell of foreign covers filling his nostrils and for a second he panics. He opens his eyes and the memories come back to him; their late arrival at the safehouse and laying down to sleep next to Jon.

He sits up, looking at the space Jon had occupied. It’s vacant now, just the curled up covers he left behind, but it manages to bring a blush to Martin’s cheeks, nonetheless. It feels so… intimate to know that they slept next to each other. It makes him feel warm and cosy.

Martin gets up and goes to the bathroom before he finds Jon in the kitchen. He’s humming quietly as he finishes cleaning the table and he looks up when Martin enters.

“Good morning, Martin.” He smiles and Martin’s afraid he’s going to melt. He takes a quick look around and notices that their sparse kitchen supplies are mostly unpacked, and the kettle is already on the stove.

“How long have you been awake?” He asks; some of the shock must have made it to his voice because Jon looks amused.

“Two hours or so. I’ve always been a morning person.” He shrugs and finishes cleaning the table. “Tea?”

A smile lights up Martin’s face and he gets swept up by the familiarity of the activity, while Jon busies himself with fixing up some breakfast. As both of them work in the kitchen, Martin notices the casual brushes of their skin and touches of the shoulders. He doesn’t know if he’s doing it consciously or if it just happens naturally, but he knows that Jon’s open demeanour is drawing him closer than before. He wonders if he’s been like this ever since he woke up from the coma, and there was just no one to appreciate it.

The morning is relaxed, the casual conversation flowing a lot smoother than the day before, and after breakfast they set out to clean the whole cottage and go down to the village to buy some actual supplies. The village is small, but the local shop provides all the essentials they need; for a moment Martin forgets about everything outside of that village and shopping for groceries with Jon, as if this is their life now, in the Scottish Highlands, living together in a cottage. They talk about cooking dinner, and the cows they passed on the way, and Martin thinks he could get used to that.

The bubble bursts when they finish up and Jon decides to call Basira. She picks up after a while and updates them on the absence of both Jonah Magnus and Daisy. Basira says she’ll send some statements up to them when the Institute stops being an active crime scene, and a shadow passes over Jon’s face. Wrapped up in a conversation about their taste in dinner dishes, it was almost too easy for Martin to forget food isn’t the only sustenance Jon needs. He finds it easier to forget things ever since the Lonely. They walk back to their cottage in silence, Martin grabbing Jon’s hand as soon as he lets go of the phone.

When they get back, Jon declares he’s going to take care of unpacking and cooking, and even though Martin knows Jon to be stupidly stubborn, he’s surprised by the strictness with which Jon insists he sit back and relax. Martin doesn’t really complain; he’s spent his entire life caring for others and, to be honest, it does feel rather good to be on the receiving end for once. He watches Jon from the couch for a while, before he takes out his notebook and looks over the poem he wrote in the car.

Wisps of mist conceal my eyes

A lone indulgence to lose one's face

And soothing a part inside that cries

With chilling sadness and numbing grace

The steadfast rhythm of waves ashore

As ocean breeze leaves a taste of salt

The words forgotten, erase what I swore

Until I hear your voice once more

I wondered many times what it might be

That we finally took to calling "us"

What would be left if we broke free

Of dread and horror's eternal grasp

The Eye looms aloft, ever-present dread

Watching all, eternal lids apart

You made your choice unaware you were led

By strings of web, against your heart

Jon starts humming under his nose in the kitchen as he cuts something on the board; the water in the kettle boils slowly and fills the air with a quiet whistle. Martin smiles while shooting a subtle glance at Jon; he seems to notice his gaze and falls quiet, but a smile lights up his face when he sees the fondness on Martin’s face. For all this talk about Jon “losing himself” in the role of the Archivist, this seems as human as you can get. Martin never favoured the approach the other archival staff took to the knowledge of the significance of Jon’s position, and he often wondered how they could look at him and see a monster. Of course he made bad decisions, but so did everyone. They’ve seen or read about so many avatars giving into the powers that fed them and yes, maybe Martin is biased, but Jon was nothing like them. They’ve all been caught in this huge web of statements that turned real; the more they struggled to break free the more tangled up they became, and it wasn’t Jon’s fault that he ended up in the centre of it. He knows Jon tried to make right choices every step of the way. Can you really blame a human being for failing to completely resist something that’s beyond mortality and human reality? One way or another they ended up here, together, and yes, maybe the Eye and the Lonely are still looming as very tangible threats, and Jonah Magnus is nowhere near being stopped, but at least they’re together now. Martin remembers thinking the Unknowing was the endgame, the last chapter of this horror for them, and he remembers the hopelessness of their story getting a bad ending that essentially pushed him into the Lonely; now he feels a different kind of an end approaching – he dares to be hopeful. Maybe everything works out in the end? Maybe, if they were safe and happy, it wouldn’t actually be the end of the world.

Martin looks down at his notebook and starts writing, sticking the tip of his tongue out in concentration.

What is a monster? Where is the line

That would separate us from the world

All I know is our paths align

And we together can battle the cold

You cut through the curtains of mist and See

The green glow fades when our eyes meet

My lips form a soft and quiet plea

To be loved has never felt so sweet

To be loved is a new feeling for me

I only know how to love from one side

But with you I hope we can once be free

Maybe ignore the whims of the tide

Although I know we're not nearly through

I taste and savour your voice, your breath

If only for a moment, we can start anew

And I will follow you even to death

As he stares at the last word of the finished poem, his hand with the pen hovering over it, he registers that his eyes have watered a bit. He blinks the tears away quickly as Jon sits down on the couch next to him, looking at him with a gentle worry. Martin looks up at the two mugs of tea he’d placed on the table.

“Did you make tea?” He asks with mock bewilderment, and Jon scoffs at him.

“I know how to make tea, Martin.” He nudges him with amusement, that gentle worry not quite gone from his eyes. “What are you writing about?”

Martin falls quiet, pressing the notebook to his chest in a knee-jerk reaction.

“Thought you didn’t like poetry,” he huffs out a laugh that’s only a little bit self-conscious. Jon shrugs, reaching out for his mug and taking a sip.

“I don’t understand it. And yes, I have been known to dislike it at times, but… Maybe I could be swayed to give it another shot.” Jon rolls his eyes fondly and looks at Martin out of the corner of his eye, a look that says ‘for you’. Martin grins, heat pricking at his cheeks once again.

“You see, i-it’s all about emotion.” He places the notebook gently on his lap face down and reaches for his own mug. “You w-want to put all of your emotions into words in a-an artistic way, that has a rhythm and, uh, and feels alive. And you want your, uh, your readers to feel that, that emotion through your words.”

Jon listens attentively and his eyes aren’t leaving Martin’s face; at one point Martin gets distracted by it and forgets where his explanation was going. Jon’s gaze has always been intense, in different ways throughout the time they’ve known each other. At first it was judgemental, the gaze of his boss, full of unmet expectations; then it was piercing, watchful and suspicious; as time passed, it seemed to gain more and more weight of the Beholding, something Tim always complained about. After Martin had joined Peter Lukas, the rare glances he got from Jon were full of yearning that Martin didn’t understand at the time; didn’t want to understand. Now, it’s that gentle fondness, interweaved with something intangibly sad and Martin feels an urge to hug him, to bring him close to his chest and never let go; to bury his face in Jon’s hair and protect him.

They move to place their mugs at the table at the same time and snort, amusement quickly turning into a fit of laughter. Jon throws his head back a little with it and Martin wonders if he has ever seen him laugh so openly before. He didn’t think it was possible for him to fall in love with the man even more, but once again, his heart proves him wrong. He stares at him with a lovestruck expression and thinks they should really talk about it. Martin doesn’t know where to start though and Jon seems to be thinking in a similar direction because his expression shifts into gentle seriousness.

“Martin, I…” He starts and bites his lip. “I need to apologize.”

Martin straightens a little; it’s not exactly what he expects.

“I—The way I used to treat you…” Pain and guilt flash through Jon’s face as he looks away for a moment to gather his thoughts. “It was not okay. None of it was okay. And I’m—I’m really sorry for that. It doesn’t—I know it doesn’t change anything that happened, but I” —he sighs. “I really am sorry. I hope I can, somehow, uh… somehow make it up to you.”

Martin reaches for Jon’s hand, and he looks down in surprise; Martin sees his eyes start glistening.

“I’m sorry for everything that happened to you.” He continues in a whisper and his eyes are locked on their touching hands. “I’m so sorry about the Lonely. I’m sorry that you’re trapped in all of this with me, and I would understand if you decided to leave—”

“Jon.” Martin squeezes his hand and Jon’s eyes shoot up to look at him.

“I’m sorry, that’s not an apology,” he sighs again. “I just… I’m sorry, Martin. About everything.” His other hand grips Martin’s. “I’m glad you are still here. I’m—I’m so glad, you d-don’t even know,” he laughs.

“I think I do.” Martin smiles gently. “Thank you for saying that. I’ve—I've forgiven you for a lot of it a long time ago. A-And the rest just isn’t your fault.”

Jon frowns.

“The Lonely was always there,” Martin shrugs. “Peter Lukas was just… a catalyst, I think. But now I have you.” His finger grazes the outside of Jon’s palm and his heart flutters in his chest when he sees that small smile appear on Jon’s face. “And you can’t be blamed for Elia—Jonah’s games. We’re all just… a bunch of people who didn’t know what was going on until it was too late.”

Jon’s eyes fall as he nods slightly.

“He’s still up to something,” he says quietly.

“Figures,” Martin laughs bitterly. “But we’re here now. And frankly, I don’t really want to think about him when we’re finally…” The word ‘together’ gets stuck in his throat, as if it would breach this fine line of ambiguity they’ve drawn between themselves. Jon seems to fill it in and his eyes land back on Martin.

He’s never wanted to kiss him more than he does right now. Jon's eyes are wide and glistening with something that looks suspiciously like hope, and his fingers gently graze the outside of Martin's palm. Warmth spreads in his chest and his eyes flutter a little, not breaking the eye contact. He wants to pull Jon close to his chest, to run his fingers through his hair and feel his breath on his own skin. To really feel like he's there, next to him, with him.

Before he can follow through with any of that, something sizzles in the kitchen, loud in the silence, startling them both.

“Food!” Jon chuckles slightly before he jumps to his feet and rushes to the kitchen, while Martin snorts and follows him. Jon stirs the pan with curry and sighs with relief when he sees it's not burned. He turns down the heat anyway and checks on the rice.

“Jon, this smells amazing,” Martin says, peeking into the pan with cheese and spinach. “I didn't know you could cook.”

“Well, contrary to the popular belief I was a functional human being. For a while,” Jon snorts and leans against the counter to look back at Martin. “It's Palak Paneer, my grandma taught me when I was a child.”

“It looks fantastic,” Martin grins, and Jon rolls his eyes in mock exasperation.

Even though the moment's lost, the remains of the feeling can be felt between them as they prepare the plates and take the food to the table. They easily fall back into usual chatter and, as soon as they’re finished, Martin jumps to wash the dishes. Jon relents after extensive affirmations from Martin that he's alright and he can definitely take care of a couple dishes in the sink, and he drops onto the couch with a content sigh instead.

Martin finishes up with the dishes and dries his hands on a towel.

“Do you want some tea?” He asks and hangs the towel back on the rack. When there's no response, he turns to the couch. “Jon?”

Something sinks in his stomach when he sees that the object that consumes Jon’s attention is the poem he’s finished; he scratches his neck, as his cheeks take on a pink tinge. “Oh…”

He walks up to the couch, unsure, trying to gauge Jon's reaction. His face seems tense, he squeezes the notebook in his hand so hard his knuckles go white, and his eyes are focused at one point on the page.

“Um... Jon?” Martin asks weakly, his heart drumming in his chest so loud he's sure both of them can hear it.

Jon jumps to his feet, startled, and looks up at him with eyes wide, like a deer in the headlights. Martin instinctively raises his hands in a placating gesture, as Jon registers his presence, looks down on the notebook in his hands, and quickly puts it on the table as if it stung him.

“Martin, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to look, it was just there and—”

“Hey, Jon, it’s alright!” It’s maybe a little not alright, since the poem is nothing short of a love confession and a wish Martin had no right to assume would ever be true, so Jon reading it is less than ideal. Martin rushes to gently place a hand on Jon’s shoulder but when he recoils from the touch, Martin withdraws his hand, cursing everything about himself.

“No, I, uh…” Jon runs his hand through his hair, eyes darting between Martin, his hand, and the notebook frantically. “I shouldn’t have— uh, it’s—it’s your private business, what you write about, so—”

Martin is sure he’s tomato red on the face by this point and hopes against hope that the afternoon light filtering through the curtains obscures it just a little. Jon, on the other hand, doesn’t have the embarrassed blush that usually darkens his cheeks; instead he breathes fast, his hands shaking ever so slightly. Martin sees him hunch just a little, making himself smaller.

“Um, yeah, I, uh—” He starts fidgeting with his fingers. Did the idea of—of love frighten Jon so much? He was stupid to leave it out in the open and now Jon knows, and it’s not how he feels, so he hates him… “I’m sorry.”

Jon’s eyes snap to him, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“For what?”

Martin huffs out something like a pained laugh.

“Th-That’s not exactly how- how I wanted to tell you.” He wrings out his hands and shoots Jon a pleading look. What’s done is done and the only thing he can hope for is for Jon to let him down easy and never speak of this again.

“Tell me?” Jon looks down at the notebook again and there’s the worry again, stark on his face. He breathes out, slowly, and looks at the floor. “I don’t—I don’t even want to think this is a possibility…”

Martin doesn’t need to imagine what it would be like to be stabbed, if he wanted to - he’s pretty sure the acute pain of his heart shattering in his chest is close enough. His mind tries to catch up to the emotions, slow them down just a bit, because something seems off, and isn’t this a weird way to reject someone you must have known had a crush on you? But his throat tightens with the swell of pain and shame and Martin blinks away the tears welling up in his eyes.

Jon sighs and plops down on the couch, hiding his face in his hands and pushing his glasses up to his forehead.

“We d-don’t have to talk about it, if—if you don’t want to,” Martin says quietly. He sits down next to Jon, careful not to touch him in any way, and puts his hands between his knees.

Jon lets out a bitter laugh.

“Isn’t that what they—the Web would want? Just… mindlessly follow, go with the flow until something… irreversibly bad happens?”

Martin turns to Jon with a frown.

“Wh—What?”

Jon looks at him with something glistening in his eyes and Martin can see the lines of pain and misery written on his face like they belong there.

“The web,” he says faintly. “Strings of fate. I—” He lets out a breath. “Was I just being manipulated this whole time? Was I ever really—Did I ever have a choice?”

“Jon... what are you talking about?”

“You—You said I was...” He reaches for the notebook and points at a verse with his finger. “’Made your choice unaware you were led by strings of web against your heart.’ How—W-Why did you say this?”

Martin stares into Jon's green eyes with concern, yet parts of his heart start to weave themselves back together. However confused and worried Jon seems to be, none of it is directed at Martin; he looks at him with desperation, almost pleading, and he realizes they’ve been having two different conversations at the same time.

“Oh-Oh, God, Jon, I-I didn't mean—I just, it's a-a metaphor, just that, you know,” he takes a breath. “It does remind me of a web, the-the way we got caught up in Elias' plans.” He looks down, his cheeks burning as he remembers why Jon would get caught at this specific phrase. “I'm sorry for, uh, using that, it was just the first thing that came to my mind and—”

Jon exhales next to him and Martin risks a look up. The uneasiness isn't gone from his face but he relaxes just a little bit, enough to stabilize his breathing.

“I'm sorry for this… this whole thing, Martin.” He gestures at nothing in particular and it's his turn to look at the floor, as if it's all of a sudden the most interesting thing he's ever seen. He starts fidgeting with the notebook. “I'm just—What if it’s true?” His voice goes higher at the question and he closes his eyes. Martin squeezes his arm. “What if I am just... Just a puppet? An inhuman, helpless puppet in the hands of—Of some spider pulling the strings?”

A tear rolls down Jon's cheek and Martin grabs one of his hands. It’s small and still shakes a little; he tries to put all the protectiveness he feels into this small gesture. Jon doesn’t recoil this time, instead taking a moment to watch Martin’s hand clasp around his.

“Jon,” Martin starts softly. “You're still you. You're not some—Some spider puppet that can't make choices.”

“But what if—”

“You've made a choice to go into the Lonely for me.” Martin bumps their knees together lightly and Jon looks up at him. “I don't suspect any webs would need me alive to push you into it. It was You.”

Jon looks him in the eyes and Martin barely stops himself from reaching up to his face to wipe away his tears.

“Or it just makes us think that we have a choice but are ultimately helpless against fate and everything we do is determined by intricately crafted circumstances,” Jon whispers. “Maybe free will is a lie.”

Martin blinks.

“Jon...”

“Maybe I was never able to stop it. Any of it.” Jon’s voice grows more horrified and even though his eyes are directed at Martin's face, he seems to be looking somewhere past him. “Maybe nothing we try to do really matters.”

“Jon.” Martin’s voice gains a bit of force, even though he feels all but sure. “What do you see?”

Jon frowns. “What?”

“Look at me and tell me what you see?” The force is gone; the sentence sounds more like a feeble suggestion than a request, but Jon's eyes refocus on Martin's in a frown of confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“We're here now,” Martin says quietly. “And yeah, maybe our decisions are all predetermined or whatever. I still think it matters that we try. I think our experience matters. And you're not a-a monster without free will, Jon. You care about people, and you’ve sacrificed a lot for other people. You've made your own choices and, no matter if they were good or bad, they were still yours. And I think that matters.”

Jon blinks at him for a moment, then his shoulders slump with a sigh and he interlaces their fingers. Martin doesn’t miss it and he feels warmth in his chest.

“I've always been afraid of—of my will not being my own anymore,” he confesses quietly. “Of, uh... of not knowing the difference.”

“I get it,” Martin nods. “If it’s any consolation, I see a lot of Jon in you still.” Jon looks up at him with surprise and Martin gives him a half smile. “I see a very changed Jon but it's still Jon.” He strokes Jon's palm as his heart picks up the pace. “The same Jon I've first fallen in love with.”

Jon exhales softly, his face caught in a soft surprise, and Martin smiles around the dull ache in his chest.

“You don't have to say anything. I'm sure you've known for a while, but I just... I wanted to say it.”

With every second that passes in silence, however, Martin's cheeks grow hotter, and he concludes that this might have been a mistake.

“I-I'm sorry. M-Maybe I shouldn't have said that, I… I don't want things to get weird or anything, so, uh, we can, we can just forget—”

“Martin.” Jon says his name in a soft and kind of inquisitive way that makes his heart bounce around and transforms the ache in his chest into swirling butterflies again. Martin looks up and Jon’s head is tilted to the side, his face still wet with tears, but he notices something hopeful glitter in his eyes. “I love you too.”

Martin frowns, suddenly wondering if he isn't dreaming. Is Jon really saying what he thinks he is? Did he hear correctly? Maybe he misheard—

“I have for a while,” Jon's voice is still quiet and soft. “I didn't want to say anything because I thought it was too early after the Lonely and you might not feel this way anymore, but...”

Martin swallows, acutely aware of how loud his heartbeat is. He squeezes Jon’s hand and smiles slightly.

“I... I didn't know,” he whispers, not trusting his voice to cooperate.

“As soon as I woke up from the coma, I wanted to tell you,” Jon says. “I thought I was too late; that it took me too long to stop denying the feelings I had because I didn’t know how to deal with them, and I'd missed my chance.” He laughs bitterly.

“So that’s what it was about,” Martin whispers, as Jon's actions towards him throughout his time as Peter Lukas’ assistant start falling into place. Jon looks at him with a frown, so he adds, “The ‘let's gouge out our eyes and escape'.”

Jon scrunches up his nose and clears his throat.

“Yes, well. Yeah.”

Martin chuckles quietly.

“I don't think I would have lasted in the Lonely if I understood then. But then again. It didn't really matter in the end. It didn't help.”

“But it was your choice,” Jon echoes Martin's words from before and their eyes meet again.

“Yeah. It was my choice.”

They stare into each other's eyes for a moment, losing track of time, before Jon smiles slightly and looks back at the notebook.

“I really am sorry for not asking your permission, though,” he says. “I got so caught up in the metaphor I didn’t even finish it.”

Martin blinks, the warmth from his chest spreading to his cheeks again.

“D-Do you want to?”

Jon smiles softly, this new smile that Martin has only seen in the past couple of days, always directed at him.

“If you’d let me.”

Martin needs to look away, unable to handle the affection in Jon’s eyes. He mumbles an ‘okay’ with a smile that’s not entirely under his control and gets up.

“But I am making that tea whether you want it or not, waiting for someone to finish reading something is a torture.”

He hears Jon laugh as he heads back to the kitchen.

When he comes back with two steaming mugs, Jon is waiting for him with a smile and his nervousness dissipates with his next words.

“I like it,” Jon says. “Apart from the, uh, web metaphor, obviously. It's hopeful.”

“Y-You do?”

Martin swallows; the pleasant tingling in his stomach is back. He places their mugs on the table and reaches out to join their hands again. Jon intertwines their fingers immediately and caresses the outside of Martin’s palm with his thumb.

Jon looks down at the verses again and smiles softly, almost sheepishly, a familiar blush darkening his cheeks.

“I—I don't know if there would be anything for us outside of. You know. The fears and all that,” he grimaces. “At least, for me. But, uh…” He looks at Martin again with a hopeful expression that makes Martin melt a little, and he gently caresses Martin's cheek with his free hand. “I really like the thought of it.”

Martin's brain might be short-circuiting at this moment and all of his thoughts take form of fuzzy static.

“Me too,” he says, suddenly breathless. Jon's hand rests cupping his cheek and, are they a bit closer than they were a second ago? Jon's gaze slides down Martin's face to his lips and he feels he might faint right there and then. He doesn't, instead gathering up his courage to take a breath.

“Can I kiss you?” Jon asks first and Martin feels his lips form a grin.

“Please,” he breathes out; the next second their lips meet, soft but urgent, desperate and sick of waiting. Martin's hand dives into Jon's soft hair, fingers scraping the delicate skin of his head and earning him a low sound from Jon's throat. They pull each other closer and find a rhythm to lose themselves in for just a moment; the sensation of Jon's tongue swirling in his mouth, of his slender fingers on his cheek and his neck, the pressure of his body against his chest; all of it making Martin dizzy with happiness.

Martin pulls away when his lungs painfully remind him breathing is still a necessity and he opens his eyes to look at Jon – His soft lips, his nose, his pockmark scars, and his eyes, green yet with no trace of Beholding in them. He takes him in whole, with all of his flaws and all of his virtues, and he feels seen in return, seen by the man he loves and who loves him. The weight of it all hits Martin like a crashing wave and he pulls Jon in for a tight embrace.

“I love you,” he whispers against his shoulder, and he feels Jon's arms tightening around his torso.

“I love you too, Martin.”

[hpcrackficfest]

HP Crack!Fic Fest 2022: Submission Info

SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE ON SEPTEMBER 10, 2022. POSTING WILL BEGIN ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2022.

Submission Info

The claiming post can be found here. Claiming is available until September 9, 2022.

All participants must be over the age of 18.

Please remember that this fest is all about crack!fic, so every story submitted must feature at least a hint of that idea. As you can see in the definition I left on our rules post, that idea is pretty broad, haha.

However, I want to be clear: you are in no way required to tag your fic as crack!fic (or any variation), either on AO3 or in your header. Throwing it back to the example of my own questionably cracky work on the rules post, I didn't label it that way, but I do know it can be viewed that way. As long as you are capturing the essence of the fun and fancy-freeness of this fest, you are good to go.

We will absolutely be accepting any written form, as crack!fic does tend to lend itself to so many different things. So poetry, letter!fic, texting!fic. We’re not accepting strictly art, but I think comics and meme!fic, etc., would still fall under “writing” - at least in my opinion. So please keep in mind, anything goes!

There are no minimum or maximum word requirements. Everything must be betaed, proof-read, checked, and edited.

Posting will be anonymous, so please don't give the game away by posting anywhere else, or replying to comments, or hinting on your journal until after reveals. Also, because this is an anonymous fest, the piece you submit must be a complete, stand-alone work and can't be based on any of your other works, prequels, sequels, etc.

All submissions will be hosted on AO3, at the HP Crack!Fic Fest collection. Feel free to check it out, but please only post your submissions there yourself if you are 100% sure you know how. One mistake can make the difference between your fic being posted before its time, so if you find yourself unsure of how to do this in any way, please feel free to send everything to the mod email, and I will take care of it.

Headers with a link back to AO3 will be posted here on Tumblr.

Regardless of whether or not you choose to post your submission yourself on the AO3 collection, you are required to send the following header info to the mod account at hpcfmod@gmail.com. In the subject line of your email, please enter your AO3 username and your prompt number. Please also let me know whether or not you have chosen to post your submission to the collection yourself or if you are sending it to me (and of course attach the gdocs or Word file to said email), and include your AO3 username only in the space for Author in the header.

Please use the header below in your email:

<b>Title:</b> <b>Author:</b> <b>Prompt:</b> <b>Rating:</b> <b>Pairing(s):</b> <b>Word Count:</b> <b>Warning(s)/Content:</b> <small><b>Disclaimer:</b> Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.</small> <b>Summary:</b> <b>Notes:</b>

If your fic requires any html coding - such as italics or bold text - YOU are responsible for making sure that code is in your document. Your mod will NOT be adding any of that in for you. Whether or not the code is included, your submission will be posted as is - so if you want it in there, please make sure to double check before posting/sending in your entry.

And finally, you are required to add the mod account as a co-creator when submitting your work to the AO3 collection. This is for general admin purposes ONLY, and will never be misused on my part as a mod.

Resources

If you don’t have a beta, I always recommend asking in any of the various fanfic writers' groups out there! You can try the oldies but goodies like hp_betas_wanted and hp_betas, but also any one of the many Facebook and Discord groups that have popped up in recent years! (If you need invites/recommendations for any of those, please let me know, I'd be happy to help.) In keeping with the stress free style of this fest, your beta is not necessarily required to be someone official in fandom; if you'd be more comfortable having a friend or family member look everything over, you are welcome to have them do so!

phoenixacid's Basic HTML Guide

hd_writers' handy guide to placing HTML tags in a Word Document

And please utilize potterwords for all the correct spellings that you might need for creatures, characters, or anything else for your creations.

Your mod, @fangqueen​

[emmys-grimoire]

Lesson 58 analysis + 59 predictions

I expected this lesson to drop tomorrow! It was a pleasant surprise. Sort of.

tl;dr Summary

When we last left our heroes, they were about to be decked by the bogeyman. We get saved, though! And it scampers off into a nearby room. The lesson is then just each brother tagging along with MC as they enter the room and one by one they get scared off, or do damage to the bogeyman.

Asmo’s greatest fear is just an uglier version of himself, which really does not lend any depth or credibility to the theory that he isn’t entirely self-involved. Belphie is frightened of a particular alarm clock that Satan once got him and possibly the dark (?).

Beelzebub at least gets an illusionary scene change with scary music + animated flame overlay, and his scene involves him accidentally hitting Belphegor with one of his attacks (bogeyman takes the form of Belphegor). The illusion backdrop is the Celestial Realm, so it’s clearly trying to draw a parellel between what is occurring in the illusion and what happened to Lilith.

Satan gets a similar treatment, only it’s a flaming coliseum and he’s being taunted by angel Lucifer about just being a budget Lucifer. Real Lucifer talks him out of it by pointing out their differences, but I found the things he brings up pretty surface level (he likes music while Satan prefers reading, Satan likes cats while he prefers dogs, etc.)

It seems like Satan’s wrath powers are enough to finally vanquish the bogeyman and everyone breathes a sigh of relief… UNTIL IT COMES BACK for one last round. You guessed it: it’s Lucifer’s turn.

A familiar shard of light appears in the corner of the screen, but Simeon seems to react more to it than Lucifer does. Lucifer tells him to calm down and claims it’s “his” light (spoiler: it’s not), and effortlessly banishes it once and for all. It’s very anti-climatic… because this isn’t the real climax.

Simeon, however, doesn’t recover right away. Or at all, really. We get interrupted when he’s ready to finally tell us (or later, Lucifer) what’s bothering him, so we’re kept in the dark. We receive our last star and celebrate becoming a full fledged sorcerer.

Only Luke has heard a rumor about a three-headed wolf prowling around that he informs us of via text. Guess what’s going to be the real climax?

EDIT: @obey-mes-treasure has a better explanation about Lucy's and Belphie's fears in the comments.

Analysis

Luke’s power

If we needed any confirmation that Luke has great potential, we got it in this lesson. The bogeyman’s powers don’t affect us because Luke’s blessing is still in effect and protecting us. He may be a smol angel, but his power rivals many of the high-ranking angels already. It explains why Michael has taken an interest in him, probably, but you’d think an angel like him would have been ranked already… unless Michael is deliberately refusing to rank him for some reason. Maybe he doesn’t want to train more archangels/soldiers given the three realms seem to be moving towards peace?

It does put Mammon mocking him by suggesting one day he could be a seraphim earlier in the season in a different light, though. Michael might be grooming him to be his heir, or something akin to that. It also explains why he didn’t worry about sending Luke into the Devildom in the first place, in spite of his youth. The kid could handle himself even if he isn’t aware of it.

Figure in the light

Lucifer and Simeon fear the same thing, but Lucifer handled facing whoever it was much better. I think this is probably daddy. The reason why Lucifer was capable of withstanding it is because he was preparing for his stand-off with their father for centuries before he finally rebelled, is my guess.

It could be Michael, but I expect Simeon interacts with him frequently, and he’s already made it pretty clear that he has a cavalier attitude about angering the guy in Season 2. Simeon could fear having to watch Michael and Lucifer fight again, though, if all three of them were close before the Great Celestial War. Can’t imagine that was a fun time for him.

But, if how the Celestial Realm as a whole functions is any indicator, all three of them probably fear Father the most. That fear kept them in line until it didn’t.

This also lends some credibility to the “empty throne” theory that posits Father has been absent for a prolonged period of time for some reason, if it is him.

This is the second time this season that Simeon has expressed these sort of doubts. I think someone is suffering from insecurities and regrets more and more these days, and it seems like associations with the Celestial Realm trigger them. I doubt he’s going to fall – like I’ve said before, he actually seems to enjoy partaking in the standard angel duties – but it is noteworthy. He might have a complicated relationship with Father, too.

The three-headed wolf

This is going to be the actual climax, which is kind of dumb considering it literally was introduced this lesson. Just dropped in there.

I don’t think Cerberus is a wolf, though? He looked more like a hound in his art. Looking up “three headed wolf” on Google gets you Cerberus, though.

Predictions

We’re going to deal with the wolf thing next lesson and then have a rushed season ending or end it on a cliffhanger. It’s going to make a mess of things and we’ll have to tame it, and/or a certain SOMEONE in the Celestial Realm will need to step in to keep collateral damage to a minimum. Still confident he’s showing up in some capacity.

HOPEFULLY we’ll finally get confirmation about the identity of the celestial light person that the bogeyman tried to emulate. But we don’t get that closure in this lesson.

Not sure if this is going exceed Season 1 or Season 2’s quality, though. The ring of light suddenly being introduced at least gave us more insight into Simeon’s character and the telepathic conversation with Michael. Suddenly introducing a new beastie to fight in the second to last lesson of the season seems way too heavy-handed, and I’m not sure it’s at all related to whatever Michael’s plot is.

I guess we’re saving the answer to that question for season 4?