#plus super adorable pre-romance

[wannabe-british-fangirl]

I just watched The Belly of the Beast Job and oh my god new contender for favorite ever Leverage episode

[thenerdyindividual]

Ship ranking?? Uhhhh I want in!

The most random ships I have:

Mithian / Vivian, Mithian could turn out to be the one to free Vivian from the enchantment and make her into a better person!

Hunith /Uther or Ygraine / Balinor or Hunith /Ygraine etc etc. All the combinations

Gwaine / Elena I just think they're neat. They both have chaos energy. Plus, Elena's Father seems like a chill guy who would accept a peasant (who isn't actually a peasant huhhhhhhh)

Hear me out... Finna / Alator.

Nimueh / Freya

Julius Borden / Will

I swear I am not throwing these name out randomly there's a thought process behind it

Like Nimueh is of the old religion, so maybe she finds Freya after death in Avalon. And Freya being the kind soul she is can help her heal and grow out of her hatred.

And for Julius and Will... Picture a world where Will didn't die. And now everyone thinks he is a sorcerer. Julius hears rumours of the son of the last dragon lord living in Ealdor. So he goes there and he assumes it's Will, and Will just agrees to cover for Merlin, so he has to fake being a Dragon lord until the letter he sent reaches Merlin to warn him and to idk get help? But huh huh they actually fall in love.

Okay! There’s a lot here and I’m going to unpack all of them! This is fun!

Mithian / Vivian

I’m in favor of lesbian queens ruling a kingdom together, but also I like Mithian and feel she deserves better than Vivian. And I really dislike Vivian because she was mean to Gwen and I adore Gwen. I’m just not that interested in Vivian’s character, personally. I think Mithian, Gwen, and Morgana are all more interesting in her. So for that reason I rank it:

E-Tier

Hunith /Uther

No. Just no. Okay I know Uther was probably not always a genocidal maniac, but to quote Brennan Lee Mulligan “Before you were a fascist, you were a bully.” I think Hunith deserves to get her needs met by someone who would not one day gleefully send her son to the pyre. I rank this ship:

E-Tier

Ygraine / Balinor

Ohhhhh now this has some interesting vibes. Does Ygraine have a romance with Balinor before meeting Uther? Does she find out that Uther cheated on her, and got revenge on Balinor? Was it both? Does that mean that Uther and Ygraine were an arranged marriage? If so that makes Uther and even bigger hypocrite by using her death to justify his hatred.

For sheer implications and intrigue, I rank this:

C-Tier

Hunith /Ygraine

Ooooo a parallel to Arthur and Merlin, hell yes. I’m in favor of more sapphic romances in this fandom, and this could be fun. But also I now want an extremely cracky one shot where Merlin and Arthur are dating and introduce their moms, only for their moms to start hooking up, much to the horror of Merlin and Arthur.

I rank this:

C-Tier

Gwaine / Elena

I see this one a lot in the background of fics and I’m never much of a fan. It’s just a little too quirky for me. Like I’m sure there’s a fic out there that could get me to ship it, but most of the time it feels like people just want to ship the chaotic one with the chaotic one. It rarely feels thought out to me, and often feels like shoehorning it in because everyone needs to be a couple.

That said, it’s never enough to make me click away from a fic. And I could see how I would enjoy it if there was more time and thought put into their relationship. I mean, Gwaine is wandering rogue pre season 4. Chances are he ended up in Gawant at some point right?

I rank it:

C-Tier

For the potential

Finna / Alator

Tbh? In my soul, this is canon.

B-Tier

Nimueh / Freya

I just feel like Nimueh would trigger Freya. Super powerful, super scary, witch lady? After Freya got cursed dating Nimueh would just set Freya up to be terrified all the time. I don’t vibe with it. Also I think Freya has been through enough and doesn’t need to be fixing Nimueh.

I rank it:

D-Tier

Julius Borden / Will

Here’s the thing, I love Borden as a character but I like to make him Merlin’s shitty ex. I know the go to is Cenred, but he has way more chemistry with Borden.

So as far as shipping him with Will? Idk man. I’d maybe be tempted to read the fic you described because it sounds fun as hell, but Borden is just such a fun scummy piece of shit that I don’t ship him seriously with anyone. So without reading that fic, going on vibes alone…. I rank it:

D-Tier

Send me a Merlin Ship and I’ll rank it on a tier list. Note: This is a subjective ranking and a low ranking in no way means that I am shaming you for your taste in ships.

[gemini-care-barr]

For Barry and Hal-

What fandoms or franchises do you think they are in or follow? Could be podcast related, Reddit forums they are a part of, movie sequels or trilogies or novels!

Definitely something that should be mentioned more in canon comics so let’s use this as a manifesting moment by detailing it out 🤭

Right off the bat, I have to make it clear to absolutely everyone that Barry is 100% a Trekkie and Hal is most likely a Star Wars fan. And while we’re on the most heated sci-fi debate, I’ll add that once Hal and Barry became friends and Barry learned more about the Green Lantern Corps he undoubtedly introduced Hal to Star Trek and successfully convinced him that it was the superior sci-fi franchise, we stan two Trekkies 😜

Now then, I don’t think Hal would be very into book series or fantasy in general but he’d definitely have a particular interest in the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings trilogy and I think he’d try Game of Thrones and The Witcher because of everyone’s recommendations but would probably not like it very much. He’s the noble-type though and would be pretty easily convinced to read the Lord of the Rings books (including the Hobbit and Silmarillion) because of the nobility of the characters and story. Same reasoning goes for Donita K. Paul’s DragonSpell series. He’d also probably be into the writings of Henry David Thoreau, Ernest Hemingway, and Raymond Carver, not hugely into them necessarily but if he was super bored and he had access to their stuff he’d dig it haha. His favorite poem would also probably be Tennyson’s In Memoriam A.H.H.. I don’t see him being too into podcasts, but he’d definitely like rock bands like Foreigner and AC/DC. He’s also definitely into movies more so than tv shows and would love movies like The Right Stuff, Top Gun, Braveheart, The Patriot, John Wick, most blockbusters classics really, and probably anything with Bruce Lee haha. He’d probably think anime/manga was for nerds until someone pointed out that Dragon Ball Z was, in fact, an anime then he’d realize they can be pretty cool hahaha. And with video games, I’d say he absolutely doesn’t have the patience for long form RPGs but can probably be convinced to play some FPSs with friends like Call of Duty and Halo lol. Basically, this was a long way of saying that Hal is probably more sporty, not in an obsessive fan of sports way, mind you, just that he participated in mostly sports growing up and even as an adult probably prefers hanging out playing baseball with kids (Adams’ GL run has an adorable scene of just that) rather than watching/reading/listening to anything so essentially he’s just not very media-obsessed; he’s a doer! He also probably wouldn’t participate in the fandoms of any of the media he does consume because he cares more about engaging with the media itself rather than about others’ thoughts and feelings on it haha.

Onto Barry, honestly, Barry is kind of tougher for me to figure out purely because I feel like he and I are very similar so I’m inclined to list basically all my favorite things and my thought processes haha, but I’ll try to avoid doing that 😝. So, like I said, Barry is definitely a Trekkie, the Federation’s belief in preserving alien lives and lifestyles plus its dedication to exploration and science all appeals to his inner nerd. He probably loves the shows For All Mankind, The X-Files, and Bones because of their science-y natures (he definitely introduced Hal to For All Mankind and it’s one of the shows they watch together haha). We all know he’s a huge comic book fan (shout-out to Pre-Crisis that had him reading Golden Age Flash comics 😜), but I’ll also add that I think this love of Golden Age Flash, thanks to his mom, would have led to his own love of Greek and Roman mythology once he realized where the idea for Jay Garrick’s helmet and shoes came from! A love of mythology would eventually lead to a love of ancient western philosophy and writings then to Medieval romances like the Arthurian legends and the works of Chaucer. Old English stuff would’ve crept in there too starting with Beowulf. He was an old soul from a young age so all these things would’ve caught his eye on trips to the library and the old-fashioned romantic notions and chivalry has definitely stayed with him. All this appreciation for much older works would then slingshot back around to him loving and appreciating more modern works that took heavy inspiration from all this older literature like The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, the Percy Jackson series, the Harry Potter series, the Codex Alera, and the Dresden Files, oh and all the detective novels, just all, from Doyle, Christie, Poe, Hammett, etc. then when he found foreign detective fiction he’d go mental and just read them all haha. He’d also probably read the Remo Williams and Jack Reacher book series and convince Hal to do the same! I’d say he’s also into old movies and classic tv shows because they all make him feel good with their sweet morals and happy endings. He’s probably not much of a gamer except for the ones with good stories, he’s too interested in learning new things to just watch someone else play though, if a game’s story interests him then he’s definitely playing it himself. Mass Effect is probably one of his secret favorites. He’s super into podcasts, anything informational and/or scientific, probably conspiratorial and/or true crime stuff, too, if for nothing else than to help him get inspiration on how to approach his own cases, he may even try and solve some cold cases that he hears about (he’d probably stumble across Black Box Down then convince Hal to listen with him haha). He definitely grew up with both the Pokémon TCG and show and was actually aware that it was an anime so is likewise somewhat into other very popular anime/manga like Naruto. Music would be jazz (he’d try and fail to get Hal into it, too, see: New 52 Flash’s Annual #2), 60s rock like the Beatles and the Monkees, and probably 80s pop like the Culture Club, oh and Air Supply (which is also Hal’s guilty pleasure band hehe). He likes sports a lot, both playing and watching, but was still more likely to be found reading/watching/listening to something rather than playing; still, the same way Hal can be convinced to play a video game in order to hangout with friends, Barry can be easily convinced to join in some sporty endeavors if it’ll mean bonding with a friend or loved one. Finally, like Hal, I don’t see him engaging too much with fandoms, he’d probably try when he was younger but wouldn’t find too many people who were into the same things then when he did find people things would devolve into arguments instead of just joy for whatever the thing was so he eventually would resign himself to just enjoying the thing itself, our Barry is a soft boy 🥹. He likes discussion though so once he found people who were his safe space they wouldn’t be able to get him to shut up hahaha.

…I …I can’t believe I wrote this much ahahah 😅. I swear I wasn’t going to get this involved! I was just going to name a few popular franchises that each would be into, but then I started thinking about mediums and how they’d appreciate different ones and then… all this came out lmao 😅😂. I apologize for the long walls of text! Just remember: this is your fault 😜

(Note: forgot to say, Barry would 100% be into Jurassic Park (books and movies) and would convince Hal to read the books (he definitely already watched and loved the movies)!

[cynthia39100]

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (west end)

I’m unexpectedly drawn in HP Cursed Child hole right now… Don’t know how it happened. There were so many plot points that made me scream silently in the theatre. I wasn’t super excited when I left but now I’m hunting down all the HP podcasts that discuss it and all the next gen family fluff fics…

I think despite all the weird plot points and characterisation of book characters, the father-son relationship between Harry and Albus, Draco and Scorpius, just hits me hard. There's some weird character regress at the beginning of the play (mostly Draco) but overall I think their character speaks true to me. I really like the part where Draco admits that he envied the friendship Harry had in school. It's really nice to see how they face their past trauma and navigate their role as a father. Also I love the actor who played Harry (David Ricardo-Pearce) so I don't mind that he occupies too much of the story xd

Albus and Scorpius are just the sweetest. Sometimes they are a bit dumb but it's often for the plot and they are14 anyway. Albus makes me mad for a while but his struggle is actually the most relatable. Yes he is a little self-absorbed and he has the least tragic life among the main characters, but most of us are like that.

Scorpius is the best written character I'd say. He's sweet and clever, though sometimes gets carried away by Albus. I love how geeky he is about Harry Potter and the war xd I love how he isn't used to physical contact but at the end gives a big hug to Albus and his father. Their friendship (or pre-romance if you like) is very well drawn. I love Scorpius' outburst when Albus insists on time travelling after their first failure. It's nice that Scorpius stands up for himself instead of following Albus in every step. It also shows that their relationship can endure major conflicts.

The magic effect is of course the most striking element, but I also adore the music and the correlated choreography. Some of it might seem unnecessary, but it's so important to build up this magic world. It's so beautiful and poetic, and it brings out a lot of emotions that aren't spoken out loud.

It probably helps that I haven't read the books for a while and I don't really have a define image for each character. Plus it's 19 years after the main story, a lot of weird characterisation can be excused in my head. Not that I like it necessarily, but I'm not that annoyed.

[icaruskeyartist]

I'm sorry your dealing with terfs in your inbox they suck and clearing them out of your inbox sucks ime because of the amount of garbage they spew and I hope they clear off soon

on a not really related but also sort of because of the screenshot ... where could someone buy said smut you write bc it looks v good?

Ah, if they bother me, they're not bothering someone else right? And per usual, they try for like an hour to bother me and fail so hard at it.

As for my smut, you can purchase it here. It's $2.99 for about 3000 word stories. If you want to see which niches I write specifically, I keep a list on my smut blog here (TW for anyone cause there's a lot of squicky stuff talked about like dub/noncon). I only publish on Smashwords currently because most of my stuff is super taboo. Plus I'm not sure if I'll even post on Amazon because I don't like the Bezos and co.

But my freelance stuff gets posted there so if you like cishet stuff, you can find it here. I'm pretty excited cause we're going to get more into hotwife and menage stuff, and I wrote a professor/student story the newsletter readers apparently adored.

I'm setting my personal stuff up on pre-order and they get published Thurs-Mon for right now. And eventually I'll be writing romance too! Working on the outline for the novel rn but I should be writing no later than April.

[chuckaf]

Chuck Fic Rec List: Updated

So my fic rec post was in my notifs again the other day, and I noticed a while back that the formatting on the post has gotten all messed up and it’s also had like three reblog additions to it anyway meaning there are three versions out there lol. so, I wanted to do another list of chuck fic recs! I’ll keep the other one up still, so I’m not gonna repeat every fic here, just some I really recommend. I’m also adding the fic summaries, which I didn’t on the old post, and some more of my own opinions so, buckle up for a long post!

Chuck Versus the Steampunk Chronicles | Steampunk.Chuckster

1896. A world powered by steam, where humans and machines coexist, and airships are the fashionable mode of transport. The US Empire's deepest and darkest secrets arrive at Chuck Bartowski's doorstep. Have they fallen into the wrong hands? Or will the inventor prove his mettle, even while he's forced to hide from the very people he's protecting? AU, ongoing chronicle, Charah.

A genuinely incredible AU story, with an entire crafted world and universe, so detailed it frequently blows my mind. There is heart and family and infuriatingly brilliant slow-burn, plus a buttload of danger and super fun historical/steampunk action. Oh how I LOVE it.

Chuck vs the Charade | somedeepmystery

When computer nerd Chuck Bartowski returns home to an empty apartment and a dead girlfriend he finds himself embroiled in a deadly game of espionage and deceit. Everyone around him is playing a part to get what they want and when he starts falling for the new woman in his life, he can't help but wonder if he can trust her or if she's the one he should fear the most.

An action and twist-filled AU based on the movie Charade, which is just such a brilliant fic concept I absolutely adored it from the start.

Two Sides of the Same Coin | dettiot

When you're a spy, there's all kinds of occupational hazards when you work with another spy. For Sarah Walker, though, one mission becomes a life-changing experience. Because working with Charles Carmichael leads to protecting Chuck Bartowski.

The first time I read this fic my mind was just blown to its genius. Such a brilliant interpretation of what the Intersect and its concepts set up in the show could be, and ooooof the Chuck/Sarah interactions, my HEART. Related to it, its companion piece:

A Flip of the Coin | dettiot

What made Charles Carmichael agree to become Chuck Bartowski? Well, to start, it wasn't as much of a change as you'd think. A companion to the early chapters of Two Sides of the Same Coin from Carmichael's perspective.

Chuck vs The Butterfly Effect | n7agentbartowski

Chuck Bartowski is a normal guy who just hit rock bottom. No girlfriend, no career and no super computer stuck inside his head. It isn't until Chuck meets a gorgeous stranger on the beach that he begins to think his life is about to change for the better. An AU Chuck fic without the Intersect. "Change one thing and it changes everything."

I said it on the OG post, but this story has one of my top 5 Chuck/Sarah fic meetings. So funny, so... very Chuck. The story is a little angsty overall, but a great read.

Chuck vs the Rogue Spy | Crumby

When a rogue spy from Chuck Bartowski's past shows up to help him during his first solo mission, Chuck hopes that he'll finally find out what happened to Sarah Walker. Post-S2 AU.

There’s a lot of Season 3 fix-it fics out there, which I don’t usually read bc I actually love season 3 lol, but this one’s a good one! A twisty deviation from canon, but still feels really true to character.

Chuck Versus the Nerds Rewrite | Steampunk.Chuckster and David Carner

What happens when two nerds talk endless hours about their favorite TV show? A new take on the show you know, but with the flair, twists, and turns you've come to expect from Steampunk . Chuckster and david . carner. Somewhat canon. Charah.

As the summary says, a different take on the show, which honestly makes a couple changes I would too, but also adds a bunch of fun twists and plots that make it totally new and fresh. Seeing Chuck and Sarah’s thoughts in the more canon sections is just delicious, too.

The Trapped Assassin | SarahsSupplyCloset

After a mission goes awry, the CIA's most lethal assassin is ordered to take vacation while her superiors figure out what to do with her. But when she meets a disarming tourist, their immediate connection only adds to her disillusionment with the agency and her career. Will he be enough for her to finally take the plunge and leave the only life she's ever known? Charah AU

A warning for the very justified M rating if you don’t like that sort of thing, but this is definitely a plot-heavy fic, too. A really neat Sarah-heavy AU, with a whole lotta Chuck/Sarah fancy French vacationy goodness.

Chuck vs the Second Chance | malamoo

AU from mid-season 2 and onwards. Chuck and Sarah part ways only to be reunited years later. COMPLETE.

Literal, crying-at-my-screen angst. Not even a super happy ending. But a brilliantly written, part-reflective/flashback fic, exploring what would’ve happened if Chuck and Sarah’s relationship really was an assignment all along-- and the aftermath. It’s heartbreaking. But if you want a little heartbreak, this is your fic.

Ready at Your Hand | dettiot

In the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a Catholic plot against the queen comes to the attention of spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham. To protect Elizabeth, he develops an unusual plan: hide the passing of intelligence between two agents by a false romance. When Lady Sarah Walker and Chuck Carmichael meet, though, their pretend flirtation becomes much more.

I love Chuck fic for the very reason that it’s inspired such adventurous and totally unique AUs. Here’s some Elizabethan fake-dating Chuck and Sarah! They have to be so Proper, it’s like that hand moment from Pride and Prejudice but Elizabethan and times a billion. The pining!!

Sarah Versus Getting Married | Steampunk.Chuckster

Sarah Walker is getting married. Canon. Charah.

I’d recommend all of SC’s fics if I had the room, and I’m already recommending a ton sksks but most of my fic recs are AUs, and this one isn’t! It’s canon, and covers some of in the gap in 4x24, with Sarah just before the wedding itself. Super sweet, heart-tugging, brilliant.

A Chuckmas Carol | Mikki13

A new twist to Dickens' beloved "A Christmas Carol". When Sarah begins to shut out the world around her, three spirits come to show her the error of her ways. Season 3 AU.

Another Season 3 AU, this one written pre-series so it definitely doesn’t fit to canon, but it’s still wonderfully rich in character depth and angst and it also made me cry. Plus, festive!

Chuck Versus Thin Ice | Steampunk.Chuckster

On the doorstep of the Olympics, top American curler Sarah Walker has lost her mixed doubles partner and her boyfriend in one fell swoop. Her coaches throw newbie Team U.S.A. curler Chuck Bartowski onto her team and thrust them into the Olympics, hanging America's curling hopes on two people who only have a short amount of time to learn to trust one another. Charah AU.

Do you like curling? Or the Winter Olympics? It doesn’t really matter because somehow this fic made me extremely invested in both of those things, as well as Chuck and Sarah and them being INSUFFERABLE. Catch me now knowing a ton about curling thanks to this fic.

Walker’s Eleven | Moonlight Pilot

Not the same plot as the movie. Sarah Walker never got out of the con game or became a spy, and now she's on her final con. What happens when true love and betrayal get added to the mix? Twists, turns, and Jeffster!

Con!Sarah always interests me, and this fic is full of her. Lotta con plot, lotta Chuck and Sarah.

The Detective and the Tech Guy | thecharleses

Sarah Walker is a Pinkerton detective. Chuck Bartowski is an electronics genius. They wouldn't have met except for a case of mistaken identity and murder. Will the detective and the tech guy solve the mystery, distracted by the riddle in their own hearts? An homage to The Thin Man film series. Formerly co-written by Steampunk . Chuckster and dettiot, now ONLY Steampunk . Chuckster.

Everyone in this fic is so damn cool. There are so many martinis. But also great heart and family and like, standing up for who you love, and later also Chuck with Baby Clara content which frankly the show robbed us of. Also, PI!Sarah!!!

Gravity | Poetic4U

AU. Sarah makes a decision that altered her life forever.

This is just a one-shot, which many of these stories are not, so a good one if you don’t fancy a big read! Just because it’s short, though, doesn’t mean it’s lacking; a really awesome what-if AU, and heavy on the Chuck and Sarah.

A Yuletie Tale | Steampunk.Chuckster

Sarah Walker was dumped the day before Christmas Eve, and her Plus One at her work’s annual Christmas Eve Soiree is now officially a Plus Zero. Her best friend Ellie Bartowski has a solution to her problem, and Sarah finds she isn’t quite as sure about it as Ellie is. AU Christmas Charah.

I’m particularly in love with this fic because, instead of beginning with a meet-cute, it involves Chuck and Sarah already two years into a friendship-- Sarah is Ellie’s best friend. And she’s been crushing harrrd on Ellie’s brother. Also Chuck is in a tux. It’s pretty.

Set, Spike, Dive! | Frea O’Scanlin

Chuck never expected to even make it to the Olympics. Everything is working against him: he's too tall for a diver, too inexperienced for a medal, too much of a wildcard to really make his mark. But an unexpected meeting at the airport, some intriguing new friends, and a whirlwind romance on the sand just might set up London 2012 as the time of Chuck Bartowski's life.

A London 2012 AU, because why not. This is just a fun Olympic-y ride!

OTP (One True Pairing) Prompts | David Carner

A series of Prompts I found online about different times and places in Chuck and Sarah's life. Mostly AU, mostly one-shots. I assume mostly fluff, but I might get deep. I doubt it, it's me. Charah...ALWAYS (It says complete, but if an idea strikes me...)

If you’re not so into long stories, this fic is perfect. Individual set-ups and stories, all Chuck and Sarah, and all super cute. You could dip in and out and just pick a scenario you enjoy.

Chuck vs The Frontier | ninjaVanish

AU: Chuck was enjoying a simple life as a 19th century watchmaker until an encounter with a beautiful Secret Service agent thrust him into a world of intrigue and adventure he never wanted. But then, with Agent Walker around, it can't be all bad, can it?

This fic gets props for being historically-set but still including the Intersect. Again, a historical AU, so the pining!! the need to be Proper!!! But besides all that, there’s a lot of action fun as well.

Chuck Versus The Crosswalk: Remastered | WvonB

Will a last minute mission help our two favorite characters finally get together? This is the remastered version of my first story.

The original version of this fic is on my first list; this is the updated version! It’s not a complete AU, instead a story that diverges from canon, so if you’re more into canon characters and setting than a new AU scenario, this is a great fic for that.

Little Girls, Paper Wreaths, and Choc Chip Cookies | DanaPAH

Very AU: Sarah Walker is a single mother whose Christmas spirit needs a boost after a tough divorce. She isn't quite ready to go looking for romance, but her little daughter's affection for their new neighbor may lure it right to her doorstep, anyway.

An incredibly sweet AU one-shot where Chuck and Sarah are new neighbours, and Sarah has a super cute little girl. So much sweetness and love and hope. I love this fic so much it literally led me to write my own neighbour-kid-AU, so, not to toot my own horn but I’ll link it here anyway.

May Your Walls Know Joy | halfachance

Looking for a fresh start after some tough times, Sarah and her three-year-old daughter move to LA. When they meet a sweet curly-haired nerd who lives next door, though, Sarah realizes they might just find more happiness than they'd ever imagined, if only her past doesn't catch up to her first. AU.

It’s what the summary says; if you wanna read, feel free!

Chuck vs the Sound of Music | quistie64

AU. Chuck, nerd extraordinaire, is a man with seven children and Sarah must protect them all from Fulcrum's evil designs. Warning: there will be singing.

I mean. Not much mystery as to the concept with that title and summary lol, but this is a super fun, soft ride with a lotta sweetness, and yes, singing.

Just Two People | David Carner

Meet Sarah Walker PhD, Psychologist, specializing in personality traits. Meet Chuck Bartowski, man who has left THE electronic company of 2020. When Burton Consultants tries to figure out what is wrong with the morale of Orion Industries, what happens when a guy named Chuck meets a woman named Sarah. I'll give you a hint, it's me writing.

David’s done something pretty special with this fic. It’s Chuck and Sarah centric, but very much an ensemble piece, too, with a lot of Team Bartowski and other familiar faces throughout.

Chuck Versus the Con Game | Steampunk.Chuckster

AU. Chuck and Sarah are partners in the con game. It's an existence wrought with danger and violence. Every day could be their last. Every mission could be the end of the line.

This is where I freak out SC and declare this fic the reason I ever got hooked on Chuck fic and then wrote Chuck fic, and the reason I still love it today but. that is true lol. Just so. so good. It’s also written with the chapters out of chronological order, which is super fun from a reading perspective. But con!Sarah AND con!Chuck?? Best. The kind of fic you will be thinking about for days (if not, y’know, years).

As you can tell by the repeats, I highly recommend just about anything by Steampunk.Chuckster, dettiot, or David Carner, but there are a TON of amazing Chuck fics and authors out there. I’ve never known a writing community so wildly creative-- there are so many unique AUs and canon explorations and story concepts that this show has manifested, and it’s all so much fun.

Most of the Chuck fic community is still over on FFN rather than AO3, so if any of these whet your appetite, feel free to have a browse there for more stories. I’m sure you’ll find something great. Personally, all the incredible writing there has also led me to write a buttload; I’m at halfachance on FFN, so if you see any of my stuff or wanna chat fic, feel free to message me there or here.

Happy reading, folks!

[amphtaminedreams]

Sitting Front Row at...(On a Budget Obvs): Lookbook no.15

Hey to anyone reading!

And welcome to my fave lookbook I’ve done in a longggg ass time! Yes, that’s partially because it involved making collages and doing the low effort work of scouring Vogue Runway for “research purposes”, but I promise, that statement wasn’t made out of COMPLETE laziness-I am super happy with it too. It’s been a good use of pre-part-lockdown-lift time in the interim between that brief period of Christmas celebrations and eateries finally fucking opening again because let’s be honest, I always knew I was gonna get distracted by oat milk vanilla lattes and veggie all day breakfasts once I could actually sit down with them at my fave local cafe. You could say I was very much operating on a self-imposed deadline.

The “what I would wear to sit front row at...[insert designer here]” TikTok/Instagram reel trend was something I wanted to get on board with ever since I first saw one and whilst the option of doing my own live action take-I really cannot bear the thought of having to edit footage of myself awkwardly attempting to sit nonchalantly in front of a camera for hours on end-was off the cards considering my complete lack of screen presence, I decided a Tumblr text post would work just as well, and if not even better in a way. Given the absence of the time limitations you face when you’re making a reel or a TikTok I thought it’d be cool to present the looks as part of a mini moodboard for each designer which adds a bit of context to each look even if you aren’t familiar with their past collections and establishes the general vibe of the brand I’m attempting to replicate. Not to sound snotty or as if I am the font of all knowledge on anything high fashion related but even with my amateur knowledge I noticed that as the video trend took off and was adopted by big name influencers, it became less about the average person putting their own personal spin on the aesthetic of the labels we can’t ordinarily afford and more about them building outfits that only vaguely resemble the general public perception of the brand around the real corresponding (and often gifted and thus inaccessible to someone who doesn’t makes thousands for a sponsored post) pieces they own SO I thought I’d take the trend back to its roots and get a bit resourceful. All that being said, in no particular order, here are the outfits I would wear to sit front row at Gucci, Vera Wang, Miu-Miu, Marc Jacobs, Dolce & Gabbana, Brock Collection, Alexander McQueen, Etro, Burberry aaaand Saint Laurent based on their past collections and guess what? They didn’t cost a shit tonne of money :-)

-disclaimer: will include an asterisk before any new purchases if from a high street store though to be honest, I don’t think there are any, we shall see! I do include where I got old purchases from in case anyone wants to search anything on Depop/Ebay-

1. Saint Laurent (formerly Yves Saint Laurent)

-blazer from identityparty on Depop, pleather trousers from Zara, jewellery from Dolls Kill-

I know technically abbreviating Saint Laurent to YSL doesn’t really make much sense anymore given the brand’s name change in 2012, but I’ll always think of it as that in the same way I’ll always associate it with the slightly dishevelled yet simultaneously glitzy rock n’ roll aesthetic. The thing is, whilst YSL hasn’t done anything wildly out of the box for a long time, it’s rare they put a look on the runway that I wouldn’t wear; they never end up being a fashion week standout but the Parisienne take on grunge we’ve seen Anthony Vaccarello establish as his go-to will always have a place in my heart. 

2. Alexander McQueen

-embroidered leather jacket from Ebay (originally Topshop), harness from Amazon, dress from ASOS, boots from Koi Vegan Footwear-

Alexander McQueen is a brand that is pretty much universally liked, from the historically extravagant and groundbreaking shows the man himself put together to Sarah Burton’s more toned down but still beautiful collections. Obviously I didn’t attempt to do justice to the former, so I tried my hand at putting together a look inspired by Sarah’s blend of delicate femininity and nomadic edge, and it went...okay? Like it’s definitely not my favourite of all the looks because it does give off slightly cheap copycat vibes buuut outside of the context of this lookbook it’s cute.

3. Brock Collection

-boater hat from Ebay, midi skirt from morganogle on Depop, corset top from ownmode_, heels from amybeckett1, bag from Primark-

Brock isn’t as well known a brand as most of the others in this list but I adore everything Laura Vassar Brock does and I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to try and channel the vision of one of the OG pioneers of the cottagecore vibe through my own wardrobe. I mean fr, this woman’s work as a steady provider of meadow photoshoot worthy dresses and corsets and skirts is v slept on and I will not stand for it. I will sit in front of a camera and then write a paragraph in my blog post begging anybody who reads to give LVB (an abbreviation I acknowledge is unlikely to catch on because Lisa Vanderpump anybody?) some form of acknowledgement for her services to period romance novel inspired moodboards everywhere.

4. Marc Jacobs

-coat from House of Sunny, white shirt from Retro World Camden, co-ord from Sugar Thrillz, bag from Poppy Lissiman-

If there’s one thing Marc Jacobs always does, it’s COMMITS. TO. HIS. THEME. I just KNOW he has a secret Pinterest with separate boards for every fashion era of the 20th century and he is putting those boards to good use providing us with collections that are as immersive as they are eclectic year in year out. 

5. Miu Miu

-beret from H&M, hair clips from H&M, jewellery from Primark, coat from mollyyemmaa on Depop, shirt from YesStyle, sweater vest from YesStyle, skirt from Depop, diamanté belt from Brandy Melville, shoes from Koi Vegan Footwear-

We all like to talk about Bratz dolls and Monster High dolls and Barbies as fashion inspo but can we all focus on Cabbage Patch dolls for two secs so as to acknowledge the fact that a Miu Miu collection is basically all their fits grown up? And made boujie as fuck? If I want my fix of Wes Anderson meets Scream Queens (what a combo) inspired outfits, if I want prissy and girlish but also glam, if I want to look like a bratty rich girl whose one redeeming quality is her eye for vintage clothes, I know where to look and that is the Miu Miu section of Vogue Runway. 

6. Vera Wang

-blazer as in no.1, velvet bralet from catdegaris on Depop, harness from Amazon, skirt from Ebay, knee high socks from Ebay, lace up boots from Ebay-

Vera Wang’s RTW aesthetic, a blend of the ethereal, ultra-feminine bridal designs she’s known for and British style punk rock influences, is something I feel has only become firmly established in recent years but it is everything I ever wanted and more. I always find myself trying to balance the part of me that loves everything girly and delicate and pretty and the part of me that would love to be in a biker gang and Vera’s collections are always an inspirational reminder of just how well it can be done.

7. Burberry

-coat from charity shop, suit from emmafisher3 on Depop, top from simranindia, shirt underneath from Zara, jewellery from ASOS-

Now I’m not gonna lie, I’m not the biggest fan of Burberry but there have been a few looks over the past few years I’ve really liked and as someone who owns numerous trench coats, high necks and way too much plaid, I thought it’d be an easy one to replicate. Plus, if you can count on Riccardo Tisci for nothing else you at least can rely on him giving you some layering inspo which is very much needed in a country where it literally just snowed in April and where my plans for today have just been cancelled because the iPhone weather app did a Karen Smith and didn’t predict rain for today right up until it started raining so thanks for that one British meteorologists. Your incompetence strikes again.

8. Etro

-corset from Urban Outfitters, vinyl trench coat from Topshop, boots from Ebay, black slip dress from kaoanaoleinik on Depop, fur trim afghan coat from louisemarcella-

Like with Brock Collection, Etro isn’t a hugely well known brand, but it is always one of my favourites-to add a spanner into the works of any attempts to cultivate a firm sense of personal style, I live for the ornate Bohemian look that Etro does so well just as much as I love both grungy and girly pieces, and so I really wanted to include a brand whose collections go down that route. It was a toss-up between this and Zimmerman, the flirtier, free spirit counterpart to the dark romance of Veronica Etro’s designs; her vision really shines through the most when it comes to the brand’s winter collections, imo, and given that I live in a country where winter or some weather state resembling it does seem to take up 70% of the year, I did decide on channelling her work rather than that of the equally talented Nicky and Simone Zimmermann this time round.

9. Dolce & Gabbana

-flower crown from ASOS, tiara from Amazon, earrings from YesStyle, dress from alicealderdice1 on Depop, opera gloves from Ebay, boots from Koi Vegan Footwear-

D&G is a brand I felt really conflicted about doing-I don’t include their current collections in my fashion week reviews based on the actions of designers Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce over the last few years because I don’t want to mitigate the collective effort of fashion critics to push them towards irrelevancy. Though people like to claim the brand has turned a corner since Lucio Di Rosa was brought on board as the manager of celebrity and VIP relations last year (they are as prolific a force on red carpet fashion as ever), we haven’t seen any real meaningful apologies or reparations made by Dolce and Gabbana themselves which once again leaves us in the all too familiar quandary of whether or not we can separate the art from the artist especially when it is far too much of a simplification to only credit the two men for their work given there’s a whole design team behind them. There are a LOT of shitty people working in fashion, the whole industry is a bit of a cesspit if we’re honest, but I don’t think that should stop us from at least being able to appreciate old collections if we make sure we aren’t engaging in any kind of promotion of current works whilst doing so. D&G are a brand of high highs and low lows, with looks that range from hideously ugly to showstoppingly beautiful in a single show-when the looks are good, they are GOOD-and their presence in the fashion world is most definitely felt whether we want it to be or not. It would just be shit to refuse to recognise the existence of some real iconic runway moments, the practical work that went into the ornate detail and opulence that helped cement D&Gs place in sartorial history, the styling that’s made goddesses and fairytale queens out of modern day women as they’ve glided down catwalks, the far more extravagant and, let’s be real, sexier version of our world D&G shows have transported us to in the past. Will I talk about D&G ever again? No, and if you Google the scandals their brand has faced over the past few years, there are more than enough reasons why, but just this once I did want to pay homage to some of the collections, the snippets of which I saw on my Tumblr dashboard back when I was about 13, that first got me into fashion.

10. Gucci

-fur coat from Topshop, clips from Zaful, glasses from Ebay, dress from gracewright246 on Depop, shirt from Boohoo, blazer from charity shop-

Now last but, if you ever read any of my fashion week reviews (the likelihood of someone actually having read one of them and reading this is incredibly, incredibly slim lol, I wouldn’t read me either) you’ll know, definitely not least, is Gucci because Alessandro Michele comes through every!! single!! time!!

The man is truly the king of quirky throwback maximalism and it hurts my heart that a lot of people seem to think of it only as a brand associated with ostentatious displays of wealth. Year after year since Michele was made creative director he has released purposeful, fully-fleshed out collections which unravel themselves to us on the runway like time capsules containing the belongings of the rich and whimsical and yes that can sometimes result in outfits which are *ahem* a bit mismatched but it doesn’t matter because through fashion he manages to take us to a vivid version of the past where people could dress as freely and lavishly as they wanted to, into the wardrobe of a person unaffected by the side-eyeing of others. You get the impression he doesn’t design so much as plays around with some kind of enchanted dress up box and takes inspiration from there and to give that impression is only a credit to his talent-to make outfits so kooky and extravagant look like they were meant to be takes a boldness and genuine love for clothes that I do tend to feel a lot of the big name designers have lost in the pursuit of profit and the necessary placating of the dying customer base that keeps that coming in. Of course I'm not for a second saying Gucci does not care about profit, but at the very least, they have on board a creative director who genuinely has fun with what they’re putting out there and wants to make a statement too and that really shows; you can rest on your laurels and sell tweed boucle jackets to rich old white women for eternity but nobody’s going to mention your brand name and the word groundbreaking in the same sentence ever again unless they’re talking about what it was a century ago, you know (mentioning no names...unless...did I hear someone say Chanel)? That feels like such a shady way to end, lol, but I’m sure said brand will survive-to be fair, they’ve been included in every other What I’d Wear to Sit Front Row At video I’ve seen so although I’m always slagging them off for doing the saaaaame thinggggg year after year, for that same reason their aesthetic is instantly recognisable and so will always be a source of imitation. There are obviously pros and cons to being a brand which constantly reinvents itself but I think it’s totally possible to do that whilst maintaining an overall mission, and Alessandro Michele’s work at Gucci demonstrates that with ease.

Anyway, if you got to here, thanks for reading! I know I’m super behind on this whole TikTok trend and I know a Tumblr post instead of a video is a bit of a cop out but all the real, physically awkward ones out there know that watching yourself back is excruciating lmao, so I hope this does the trick. After this, I’m gonna get back to the reviewing S/S21 collections post though knowing me I’ll probs take a few days to get back into that because I feel like since I left full-time education (RIP me going back in a few months) writing continuously like this for any longer than about 15 mins fries what brain cells I have left. Again, thank you for reading and if you are, sending many good vibes your way! Stay safe!

Lauren x

[loudestcloud]

Time for Luffy's fashion exam! Now, I'll be honest, I did skip an outfit because I decided I will be ending this whole thing with the Strawhat fashion show in Episode of Luffy. Also, sorry for the posting gap, I remembered I have other unfinished post sets. That being said, this is a very long one so let's do this!

Kid Luffy, Post-Enies Lobby & Fish-Man Island: I think it's super cute when Luffy has white t shirts with red based logos because it reminds me of the first picture. Makes him look baby plus, they can always be found in cute domestic EPs or fun, cute flashbacks. The shorts change over time and that's also kinda cute, a range of cuffs is a nice change up. It's nice to see the red contrast the blue shorts and the white is a nice color on him cos it contrast his hair!

Romance Dawn, Enies Lobby, Thriller Bark, Sabaody Archipelago, Amazon Lily, Marineford & last Dressrosa outfit: This look is the pre Luffy look. It's the pre Timeskip look everyone thinks of is cuffed shorts, Kimono sandels and sleeveless vest (and Strawhat, obviously) but have you ever seen them all in a line? It's mad. Each outfit is the same basic look bit more are more spicy each time! I like the Thriller Bark and Sabaody Archipelago looks a little bit more cos it's nice to see that jacket open and it feels like he was trying something new. I also feel that the buttons on the jacket look like the ones on Shanks' pegged ankle sailor pants when we first see him so that's cool. (it took me hours to find the name for his trousers, oh my fucking god) The last Dressrosa outfit feels like a nice callback to the rest of the line up here without being too much cos it's just a red vest top instead and I do find it funny it's like the Enies Lobby and it's used in Dressrosa because of the jokes people make about Robin and Law being so similar.

Timeskip: This is it lads, it's the one true icon itself, the post look! ☺️ When I sit back and look at it I see all the people this look is influenced by and want to cry at how masterful it really is. (Now, I do wanna say that I didn't come up with this nor am I the first to say it and I am definitely probably looking too much into this but) The yellow belt is taken from Shanks' red belt the first time we see him and the Shanks look Luffy is more familiar with. Now onto the jacket. I know it won't stand out as to why for most but it's Ace inspired! When Ace leave to become a pirate, the start of his adventure, he has his jacket open and Luffy having his jacket open also shows his scar from the ending of Ace's adventure. I also really appreciate how no one hides scars in this anime. Also, someone said that the style of the jacket and it's fancy frills could be in reference to Sabo's little jabot collar and honestly I do see it. it's quite subtle unlike Shanks' but not as hard to catch as Ace's so I enjoy thinking that it's there too. Lastly, he still has his cuffed shorts and kimono sandels because it's still Luffy's outfit at the end of the day and he is still who is is, just with a stronger appreciation of what people have done for him now. It's also his colour pallette for the pure fact he is the main character n needs his pallet. also sometimes he just has normal wooden sandels but the same outfit sometimes, it's a small detil a lot of people overlook but I prefer the sound of his Kimono sandels 😊

Dressrosa: I love this outfit cos it's stilly but also has very nice vibes. Looks ready for the beach but is really throwing hands and that's the best kind of outfit, it's a nice expectation subversion tbh. I also like how he tried to hide the Straw hat but not... All of it? And I love how the crew didn't actually question it either. It would have been super easy for one of them to just tell him to leave it behind or something but I do really love how respectful they always are of the hat. I myself have a hat that's super important to me and when I loose it I go mad.

Whole Cake Island: I love this arc for outfits! I swear if the actual content of it doesn't kill me, the act looks will 😭 it's all so magical and it knows it is! Like I said before, white is a good color on him as he has black hair but for the same reason, so is black! In this arcs outfit range, the Staw hat seems almost invisible and his outfit gets less and less 'Luffy' as the arc gose on showing this is not about him. He's not the focus of this arc and you can see that in a lot of the outfits thb. I also like the lack of blue and yellow, 2/3 of his colors as Sanji is often associated with those too as we've talked about before. Also, I like the little red strips on the white jacket with the gold buttons, idk why and I think it's nice that the last 2 outfits are so simple in general, it's a nice look for him. oh, what's that? A Pink jabot? Your killing me Lu, straight up killing me here lil' bro! Side note, is this the first time in canon Luffy has worn a suit jacket or is it the only time I've noticed? Cos DAMM!! Shits sick as fuck and I actually love that when wearing a suit jacket as such he always keep short on 😆

Spa Island, Z's Ambition & Strong World: WHOS READY FOR A RELAXING SUNNY DAAAYY!? (pun not intended but very much enjoyed) I actually adore the fact Luffy still tries to go swimming cos it was his favourite thing to do as a kid so like fuck Luffy is gonna give up on that. He's got his safety measures ready, what more do you want from him? I mean I personally want him not to swim with his hat on cos it's litrally Staw and that's not good for water but anyway Z's Ambition, am I right!? The top is so fucking cute and I just noticed those shorts are also ✨designer✨ fancy man!! Now, the pic of Zoro is the one I missed out before and it's also from Z's Ambition. I love that Luffy has the shark top but Zoro has the ocean shorts. I really love Zoro in this purple cos and thick white stripes really work with the ocean waves. It's really well put together and hes got dark brown sandels on to off set all the white but keep the purple from being a stand out color, it's cool! Than the last Luffy looks like he's at a fashion show. It looks like the shorts come from a kids set the shark top belongs to. Imagine those together, it'd be so cute. However, it isn't an ocean patten, those are clouds cos Nami has a bikini top with the same pattern in Skypiea and it's actually one of my favourites for her.

Boss Luffy Historical Special! This filler AU is so much fun, I think any it a lot. He has his hair up in that super cute and useless way that doesn't actually do much but I do have my hair like that a lot n it's just... nice? Idk, it's strange buy I like he did that. I really enjoy his Kimono more that the actual Wano one cos it's a lot more simple look. The Sai being tucked in in that way is also cool but kinda makes it look like it's stabbing him a bit 👁️👄👁️. I like the pin strips being like a faded purpleish cos if you just glance at it, it makes it look it fuzzy. The belt also looks very nice with the middle ligter bit. It really feels like the Wano one was inspired by this is a way cos of the color matches. Like, it's probably not but still.

3D2Y, Adventure of Nebulandia 😍 & Heart of Gold: Hat-less Luffy is both a sin and a blessing. Regardless, I LOVE OP BOYS IN HOODIES!! I had to show you this specific the 3D2Y because we don't see the hood and it's soooo cute cos it a paw 😍 but also 😬 cos it's like... Kuma's paw the thing that cause 3D2Y in the first place. But that's also why it's so cool at the same time and AHHHHHH 😄 Now! On to Nebulandia! I really like this movie but also in canon, how does he have that jumper? Who made it for him and can I have one? It's Usopp flag design so I guess it could be him but he doesn't seem the type. Point is I want one. Last of this set is some really cosy outfits!! "How much fur?" "Yes" am I right? Like the first one is sooooo cosy with all the fur! Plus, a funky new bamboo hat, always a good thing to have a new hat. I appreciate that you can see the zips on these too. Then the orange turtle neck one with little fluffy bits is just here cos it's so out of his usual looks, I had to at least mention it.

Strong world & Film Z: The shorts on the first one are really cute cos it's a light rosey pink with red fur and just a plain solid dark blue colour jacket works really well. Not to mention the fact he has a super cute orange and yellow flight helmet hat with goggles on under the Staw hat. The 2 bag straps also make an X which is a nice detail. The 2nd outfits in this movie are super fuckin cool ngl. It's so strange to see them all dress in black and have guns but I like the red shirt for him with the yellow highlighted parts. Makes the Straw hat actually work with the outfit instead of ignoring it. Film Z brings us the same flight helmet hat just brighter and without the goggles but also opens with this T-Shirt and Luffy being silly with it. I think that's the only reason to mention it, it's funny. Then the obligation pirate outfit, always stunning plus the meat belt.

Film: Gold & Stampede (also used in Cidre Guild): these are my top 3 Luffy outfits no matter what else I see. I love the straw cowboy hat sooooo much cos it's very Luffy. I like the balls they has as a team to choose white for all of them, considering they are all quite messy people, living for that dad shirt and I like the Golden chain around his neck but am always confused as to why it was never used against him. Like dude could and should have tried to choke him at least once, right? Anyway, the dress! Now, the dress isn't actually that good but it's my favourite because it shows how Luffy has no fucks about gendered things. On to of that, a big pink flower is wonderful and look at his confidences in it, he's so proud of it the boom, Nami told him he can't wear it! Lastly, the Stampede outfit!!! Just like the Nebulandia jumper, I have no idea who made it but it's irrelevant cos it's beautiful and I want it so badly. I like that it's white and red stripes, gives thenprefect vibes for Stampedes opening. The shirt is actually too big for him, you can see on his arms but it's actually super cute. I love the simple look of these shorts then the fact his yellow belt is replaced with white bandages and the black on the kimono sandels are now red? It's such a simple pallet and it's truly the best!

I also just wanna add, I think it's really cute when Luffy has the Straw hat on his back just cos his hair is really cute. Idk why, it's looks kinda cursed but cute at the same time

This post took 2 weeks or so to make and we made listening to the complete BNHA soundtrack, film gold OST and Sonic generations vol.1

Sanji

Zoro

Nami

[gimmeromance]

I was wondering if I could get recs for workplace romances? Especially boss and assistant. It's my catnip.

Who doesn't love lingering looks across the copy machine, right? We got you covered with some gorgeous workplace romances!

We'd also recommend you check out some category Harlequins. They get a bad rap, but they're doing some amazing work these days, particularly in diversifying to better represent authors and characters of color and (in the Carina Adores line) Queer romances too. Additionally boss/assistant is super common in Billionaire romance - thank 50 Shades of Grey.

--

Headliners by Lucy Parker - M/F, Open Door, Contemporary Romance, Enemies To Lovers. Part of a series but can be read standalone.

Just Another Silly Love Song by Rich Amooi - M/F, Open Door, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy, Older Protagonists (both in their 40s), Rivals To Lovers.

After Hours Redemption by Kianna Alexander - M/F, Open Door, Contemporary Romance, Black Romance, Second Chance Romance.

A Waltz With The Outspoken Governess by Catherine Tinley - M/F, Open Door, Regency Romance, Boss/Employee Trope.

Under a Falling Star by Jae - F/F, Open Door, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy, Lesbian Romance, Christmas Romance.

Shy Girls Write it Better by May Sage - M/F, Open Door, Contemporary, Boss/Employee, Billionaire

Yes, Please by Willow Summers - M/F, Open Door, Contemporary, Boss/Employee, Billionaire, Mild BDSM (The whole series explores this relationship, but the first book ends on a HFN)

Maliciously Obedient by Julia Kent - M/F (leading to eventual MMF), Open Door, Contemporary, Boss/Employee, Romantic Comedy, Billionaire, Cliffhanger Series (AKA the series is complete but the books will have cliffhangers until the final book)

Beg, Borrow, of Steal by Susie Tate - M/F, Closed Door, Contemporary, Boss/Employee, Student/Teacher, Romantic Comedy, Adorable Plot Moppet

In His Cuffs by Sierra Cartwright - M/F - Open Door heading toward erotica, Contemporary, Boss/Employee, BDSM

Royal Baby Maker by Nora Flite - M/F - Open Door, Contemporary, Boss/Employee (She’s the dog walker), Royalty

Perfect Chemistry by Jodi Redford - MFM - Open Door, Contemporary, Boss/Employee, Sex Pollen, Billionaire

Rafe by Rebekah Weatherspooon - M/F - Open Door, Contemporary, Boss/Employee (Woman boss/Male employee)

After Hours by Lynda Aicher - M/F, Erotica, Contemporary, Boss/Employee, BDSM, Kink Scene (The whole series is based around the a swingers/kink scene)

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert - M/F, Open Door, Contemporary, Interracial, Boss/Employee, Neurodiverse Characters (Autism), Plus-Sized Heroine

Never Mix Sin with Pleasure by Renee Ann Miller - M/F, Open Door, Historical, Regency, Boss/Employee, Neurodiverse Character (Dycalculia) (In Pre-order, Comes out 06/29/21)

When a Duke Loves a Governess by Olivia Drake - M/F - Open Door, Historical, Regency, Boss/Employee, Adorable Plot Moppet, (In Pre-order, Comes out 07/27/21)

Rock Hard by Nalini Singh - M/F - Open Door, Contemporary, Boss/Employee. Part of a series but can be read standalone.

Arrogant Architect by Alexa Padgett - M/F - Open Door, Contemporary, Boss/Employee. Part of a series but can be read standalone.

The Heart of Doctor Steele by Colette Dixon - M/F - Open Door, Historical, Boss/Employee (she's his surgical assistant)

*These suggestions are not endorsements. Please read the description and the reviews to decide whether you want to read the books!

[celestialflamesme]

| ROMEO, ROMEO, WHY ARE YOU ROMEO? | A Rowen One-shot | Fairy Tail |

Ships: Wendy Marvel x Romeo Conbolt

Tag list: @primaverafrog @luna-chan00 @biorckstudios18 @animaration-fts @cxndy-stxrs Excuse my horrible writing, I'm super drowsy coz of meds😅

Fairy Hills was the prettiest apartment ever (but maybe she was biased because she lived there) Wendy was currently out on her balcony, legs propped on the arms of her chaise and admiring the lovely hedge walls she'd help trim (Erza-nee got a little too excited with the hedge-scissors)

"I still can't believe you did that," Chelia guffawed.

Wendy replayed last week's events in her mind, wincing yet again.

...........

Working at Fairy Tail was like a dream come true. Wendy had come upon it by chance when her old Academy shut down without any warning. She blamed herself for what'd happened and was this close to giving up on theatre and dancing when Erza-nee decided to intervene.

"Work on that spin ONE MORE TIME! MORE PASSION!" Erza yelled, wielding the script as if it were a sword. (She might be scary at times, but Onee-san meant well.)

Chelia harrumphed through the call. "This is taking foreverrrrr."

"Chelia, you've been playing Among us for 2 hours." Wendy sighed, "You're one to talk about taking long."

"But I WANT TO TAKE YOU TO THIS CUTE CAFÈ!! WITH CATS!!"

"Half an hour moreee." The bluenette groaned. "Plus I still can't get this spin right!"

"Ah, that's why you've been working so hard," Wendy did not like how smug her friend sounded. "Isn't this the part where you meet the Soldier?"

Of course! Chelia, as her 'Official best-friend and Matchmaker!' would never rest until she found "love".

Unfortunately for her, Wendy, as a rule, was usually unbothered by romance of any sort.

It wasn't like she hated the idea; she found it quite adoreable that her friends growing up found 'their lobsters'. Some had their heart broken but they still tried with all they had, a fact that made it really hard to hate romance. (She was saying 'romance' way too much, wasn't she?)

The point was, she just didn't think she? was? a? well-suited? romantic? partner? In pre-school, the idea of a prince riding on a white horse and carrying her away made her:

A: Nauseous, because well, motion-sickness.

B: Wary, because "Porly-san said that if a stranger was to ever talk to her, she had to use the pepper spray in the left corner pocket of her backpack and if that didn't work, Erza-nee's pocket-knife would do just fine!" (Her teacher almost fainted that day.)

Well that and she'd never had a relationship to begin with, ever.

Crushes, sure. She'd had a few over the years. But considering her lack of courage? Or maybe it was the combined elder brother influence of Natsu-nii, Gajeel-nii and Erza-nee that scared away most boys. (Her last crush was scarred for his life....)

And it wasn't like she had time for it too, considering her full-time job at Fairy Tail.

She was daydreaming again. Moving on....

She deadpanned, "Yes. That's the only reason I need to get this right. Not because the entirety of Magnolia will watch it."

"Glad to know!" Chelia clapped her hands gleefully. "Now, as Ooba san says, 'SPIN MY LOVELIES!!" And she cut the call.

The bluenette was a little worried about her new partner. Practice for the new play had begun 3 weeks ago and there was no sight of him (or her, Erza refused to divulge any details...) Apparently they were from another Academy and were joining practice tomorrow. And despite herself, Wendy really really wanted to prove herself to them.

Being the youngest didn't mean she was any less talented than the others, and she'd be damned if she gave anyone any reason to prove otherwise.

"NOW FROM THE TOP!!"

Wendy spun back and forth on her feet and as the beat began playing, she twirled and reached her hand out in a grabbing motion-

Anndddd she just punched a guy in his face.

"SHIT!!"

"FUCK, I'M SORRY!!"

.............

Her new partner, Romeo (Romeo from theatre, lol) insisted he was fine and that it was his fault for interrupting her routine. He also complimented her punch (Who does that?!!)

Or maybe he really wanted her to stop crying. (He had a nose-bleed!! She caused it!!! Was that not reason enough to cry?!)

She sniffled. "BUT SERIOUSLY, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! CAN I GET YOU ANOTHER BAG OF ICE?! I'M SO SO SORR-"

Romeo broke into a fit of laughter, making her blush (His laughter sounded like chiming bells. Was she even supposed to get attracted to partner's voices that way?)

Once his laughter subsided, a boyish smirk stretched lazily across his face at her pout.(Dear Mavis, he looked so pretty....)

"Romeo, at your service, ma'am!" He kissed the back of her hand. (Did she accidentally punch herself too? Was this all a hallucination?)

She spluttered, "U-uh Hi Wendy! SHIT," she dragged a hand across her face, making him chortle again, "I'm Wendy!"

................

The bluenette grumbled, "It's been 2 days, get over it."

"Nahhhh. I think I'll just let you drown in embarrassment for a few weeks," Her best friend swung her legs from where she was seated on the window ledge. "Ohhhh Ohhhh cute boy alert!"

"Uh-huh, sure," Wendy was too busy petting her kitten to pay her friend any attention.

"Anywho, how's the practice coming along? Is it awkward now between you two?" Chelia teased. Wendy gave a deadpan look and stroking Carla's fur, she mumbled, "We went out for lunch yesterday."

"WENDY MARVELL!!"

"CHELIA BLENDY!!! MY EARS!!!"

"Sorry," Chelia blushed. "Why the heck didn't you tell me this GODDANGIT?!!"

"Well uh." It was now Wendy's turn to blush. "I-"

"Cute guy keeps cycling past us. I think he's looking at you." Chelia commented with a raised eyebrow.

"Wait what?" Wendy tilted her head toward the wall separating Fairy Hills and the garden. Which is when her eyes met his own.

And Romeo, fair Romeo, crashed into the hedges.

..........

Both girls flinched. Wendy jumped off her seat and rushed downstairs, ignoring Chelia's surprised yelling.

"What are you doing here?!" She squeaked.

"We have got to stop meeting like this," Romeo groaned from where he was sprawled on the ground, "It's really not good for my lifespan and my ego."

Despite herself, she let out a giggle. "Get up, you...." Helping him up and dusting the weeds off his shoulders, she sighed. "You live nearby?"

"Well...."

"Do I even wanna know what you were doing cycling around here?" She rested her hand on her hip and raised a brow at his now perplexed expression. "Go on, I have all day."

"I was visiting a friend and uh, saw you at your balcony and wanted to say hi?" He scratched his neck, now colored pink. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

She huffed, "What am I going to do with you?" He looked at her with his little puppy dog-eyes (Drat. Foiled again!) and she gave in and smiled. "Let's get you cleaned up."

........

Seven minutes later, Romeo was sitting on her bed petting Carla, who'd taken a liking to him and ganging up on Wendy with Chelia.

"And the next second, she marches up to him and goes 'Excuse me, sir. But my friend wants a picture of your face. S-wait, WITH your face. FUCK, I MEAN WITH YOU!!' " Both were smacking the bed and laughing like there was no tomorrow.

Wendy groaned, her face buried in her hands, "Getting you two together was a bad idea."

"Aww, look at the widdle bluebug." Romeo teased.

"Cute, ain't she?" Chelia cheered. "So, when's the wedding?"

Pause.

"C-CHELIA!!"

"U-UM W-WEDDING?"

Chelia had a smug look on her face that Wendy did not like. "Well duh. You're his Juliet and he's your Peter Pan. Perfect, ain't it?!" She clapped her hands in delight.

Wendy felt like she was in a sauna with the way her face was heating up. One look at Romeo and she knew he felt the same.

"WHO RUINED MY PRECIOUS STRAWBERRIES?!!" A voice bellowed.

Chelia rushed to the window and turned to look at both with a pale face. "Uh oh, Titania's angry."

Romeo was visibly confused and scared for his life. Wendy felt faint.

"Haha, gotta go now guys! Bye Wen!" Chelia escaped through the door before Wendy could register her words.

"WHAT KIND OF FRIEND ARE YOU?!"

"The kind that doesn't want to die!" Her voice echoed from where she was downstairs. Damn it.

She locked gazes with Romeo. "I'll go assess the damage. You stay right there."

Romeo nodded.

She tiptoes into the garden, only to find Erza wielding a katana and looking deadly as ever.

"E-Erza-nee?"

The red-head turned to look at her with a menacing aura. Wendy gulped.

"What-what happened?" She dared ask.

"My precious strawberries are ruined." (Sure enough, the bush was uprooted. Oh dear.) Erza pointed at Romeo's bike with her katana. "The culprit will return for their bike and when they do, I WILL END THEM!!"

Well, there went any chance of negotiations. O-okay Erza-nee. I'll be upstairs if you need me."

Romeo had an eager look on his face when she returned. "So? What's the status?"

"Romeo," she stated calmly, "I mean this in the nicest way possible. You're dead."

He blanked. "Shit."

..........

"Operation: Run Romeo Run begins now, what's your status Little Boy Blue?" Wendy whispered through her earpiece. (Warren had given her a set for emergency situations.)

"In position, Tinker bell," Romeo's voice echoed through the other end. "You may begin!"

"ERZA-NEE, I MADE YOU SOME CAKE!!"

Sure enough, Erza rushed into the kitchen like her life depended on it, "Which kind?!!"

"Operation Stage 2 is a go, Boy Blue!" She whispered.

"This is DELICIOUS, Wendy!!" Erza nodded proudly. "I'll take it with me!'"

"NO!!!"

Erza narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Why?"

"Be-because," Wendy stuttered, "I want to practice that spin once again!"

"Wendy," Erza grabbed her by her shoulders, "Dance hours are over. As a young girl, you must try socialising with your peers instead of practicing day and night. You'll tire yourself."

"I've reached the garden," Romeo said. "Is stage 3 a go?"

She hummed. Of course, both didn't anticipate-

"INTRUDER!! KILL MODE!!!" A siren rang in the distance and Wendy gulped.

She faintly registered a yelp from her earpiece.

Erza let out a war-cry and stalked outside.(Poor, poor Romeo) "THE INTRUDER IS HERE!! GET HIM!!"

Wendy shuddered, "RUN ROMEO RUN!!"

"I'M TRYING!!!" He squeaked, "SHE LOOKS LIKE SHE'S GOING TO KILL ME!!"

"COME HERE AND FIGHT ME LIKE A TRUE WARRIOR, YOU FIEND!!!" Erza bellowed.

She leaned towards the window and watched as Erza chased Romeo (He was riding a bicycle and yet Erza was gaining in on him.)

"If I ever get out of this alive," Romeo groaned, "Would you go out with me?"

Wendy was grinning when she said, "Someone's gotta keep an eye on you, anyway."

...........

[brooklynboysficrecs]

Ria’s Top 10 Shrinkyclinks Fics

I will admit this isn’t my preferred AU -- I won’t immediately jump on a fic just because it’s pre-serum Steve and WS Bucky. I gotta like the plot, or the premise, or be really, really intrigued by the tags, but to be fair, that’s how I am with everything that isn’t Modern Bucky and Cap Steve, so. That being said, I have read some truly fantastic shrinkyclinks stories, and I do very much love Steven “Fight Me” Rogers at his scrappiest. And these fics also tend to feature protective!Bucky which is another personal favorite of mine. Oh, but also: shrinkyclinks generally refers to pre-serum Steve with actual Winter Soldier Bucky, but a lot of people use the tag just to imply body types, and when they say WS Bucky they mean he’s all huge and muscled and sometimes has a metal arm, though that isn’t required. That’s the definition I’m going with as well, so hopefully nothing’s confusing!

1. If Wishing Made It So by leveragehunters. Before I get into anything about the actual fic, let me say this: leveragehunters is probably my favorite stucky writer. Like, hands-down, I read almost everything they write, and they’re big into fantasy stories, which is a great bonus for me personally. So, so, so many good shrinkyclinks fics by them (Even Underneath the Waves, a mermaid AU that features equal amounts of pre- and post-serum Steve, and A-mage-ing Grace with mage Steve are two of my other favorites, and they would’ve been on the list, but I try not to put more than one story per author, ya know? And IWMIS kinda wins out above the others for me, so). This story features jinn!Bucky who finds himself in the baffled hands of Steve Rogers, who is perfectly prickly and stubborn and good. Bucky’s got a terrible past with humans in general (and Hydra in particular, what a shocker) that he and Steve have to overcome as their relationship progresses, but that progression is frankly beautiful to watch unfold. I come back to this story time and time again because of how much I love these versions of Steve and Bucky getting to know one another, learning to trust each other, supporting each other through the worst the world has to throw at them. Plus, there’s a few more stories in this series if you get as hooked as I am, which is always great!!

2. Roots Have Grown by AustinB. I remember reading this and just... completely feeling what Bucky is going through. Not everything -- he’s an agoraphobic veteran, and I can’t relate to either of those, really, but he’s so... awkward about his crush on Steve. And that’s -- that’s relatable to me. But it’s precious, really, how he tries to help Steve even though he’s afraid to actually meet him initially; he becomes Steve’s sort of... anonymous benefactor? Guardian angel with money? Like, it’s definitely a sugar daddy type deal originally but I doubt Bucky would describe it like that. I don’t know, it’s cute, though, and I loved seeing Bucky opening up to Steve as they became closer. 

3. Through The Woods by VenusMonstrosa, alby_mangroves. Okay, hear me out: werewolves. I fucking love werewolves in fiction; I mean, not really the romance novels you’ll see in the grocery store, but. Werewolf mythology is one of my favorite things, so seeing it in fanfiction almost always manages to lure me in. And I was so not disappointed with this story! Steve’s living alone in a cabin in the woods, which of course sounds like the opening to a horror movie, but here it leads to love. Werewolf Bucky is both charming and terrifying, to a degree, he’s a wolf, but he and Steve are fantastic together. This is another story that goes in on the trust aspect of their relationship and I for one am a big fan of that. There’s some violence, minor character death and the like, but it’s definitely not undeserved so. If you can handle that (and the sex, because there is sex in this) then I highly recommend this one!

4. The Joy of Little Things by obsessivereader, Sealcat. And so we move from werewolves to dragons. Yup. Dragons. Another of my beloved mythical creatures that I obsessed over when I was kid. Bucky’s capable of shifting into a human in this, but primarily he’s a big ol’ dragon that surprisingly doesn’t want to eat the scrawny sacrifice from the local village. Steve ends up working for Bucky, instead, and from there hilarity ensues. Steve’s obviously wary of Bucky, but Bucky isn’t at all what he’d been expecting, and they grow closer the longer Steve’s staying in Bucky’s caves. There are a couple of stories with Dragon!Bucky, but this is my personal favorite; it’s cute and heart-warming and, well. I just really like it. 

5. I Just Want to Love You in My Own Language by agetwellcard, inediblesushi. So this one has Cap!Bucky (Bucky!Cap?) but again, sometimes it’s more about how Bucky looks rather than his role as the Winter Soldier. Anyway, I remember my biggest take away from this story was how adorable Bucky was in his quest to win the affections of sassy Nurse Steve, who patches him up after missions and is probably playing hard to get. Bucky uses terrible pick-up lines, absolutely awful, and he is completely unashamed of that fact. Which is, as I said, adorable. Steve, initially, does not agree with my assessment, but he gets there eventually. After some requisite drama, of course.

6. Tint & Shade by forestofbabel. Oh, god, this one hurt me, I remember that pretty clearly. Bucky is the Winter Soldier in this, and Steve is a 21st century art therapist who just so happens to resemble his late grandfather, Captain Joseph Rogers, who fought in -- you guessed it -- WWII. Like I said in the intro, if I really like the premise of something I’ll usually read it regardless of the configuration of pre-/post-serum Steve and pre-serum/WS Bucky, and this was definitely one of the fics I got into for that reason. Having actual WS Bucky interact with a modern pre-serum Steve is always interesting, given how much they don’t have in common, generally (there isn’t even really the veteran status that modern Bucky sometimes has in fics), and it’s a journey to see how and why they connect. Having Steve resemble his WWII era grandfather caught my attention, and the fic itself made me grateful that I decided to go for it in the first place. This is another one where is trust is key to their relationship, considering the mental/emotional state Bucky is in at the beginning. Very good story overall!

7. Fourth Floor by dirtybinary, mithborien, picoalloe. So dirtybinary has written some amazing stucky fics, which is why I was so excited when I saw this being posted initially (a few years ago, but still). There’s magic! Mystery! Suspense! Some NatSharon! Looking this over, I’m wondering if I should’ve saved it for the Urban Fantasy list I wanna do (and If Wishing Made It So, if I’m being honest) but I do like it for the shrinkyclinks list. The writing is great, the characterization of Steve and Bucky is great, and like, they live in what is essentially a magical apartment complex, so what’s better than that? 

8. my heart tells me you are lonely, too by FanGirling. Alright, so I read this one as it was being published, and the slow burn about killed me. You know, in a good way, though. Bucky lives in Steve and his mother’s apartment building, trying to figure out where to go with his life now that he’s broken free of Hydra and gotten his autonomy back. He’s obviously wary, skittish, but he takes a liking to Sarah Rogers when she reaches out to befriend him, surprised anyone wants to be near him let alone take the time to get to know him. Steve... is not so easily sold on Bucky. And I’m not gonna spoil anything here, but the shit these two go through is intense, and I cried a lot during this fic, sometimes out of frustration because they’re both ridiculous about their feelings (of course Bucky’s fears are valid, the man has been through literal hell, but also I was internally screaming a little as Bucky continually talked himself out of getting closer to Steve.) I wanted to wrap the both of them in about thirty blankets for pretty much the entire length of the fic. God. They’re just -- they’re so incredibly sweet in this one, once they work past their issues (Bucky and Steve are both more than a little messed up from their respective circumstances, but they make it work). Mind the tags on this one, also, especially because there is a chapter that deals with attempted sexual assault against Steve (obviously not with Bucky!), but Bucky handles the situation before anything truly nasty happens, that I can promise. 

9. Local Raccoon Befriends Angry Chihuahua by charlesdk. This is yet another author I really love; they have a fantastic farmer!Steve/Modern!WS!Bucky story that I love to bits, as well as other great fics. But anyway, this one. The title sold me the second I saw it, honestly, I can’t even pretend that wasn’t the deciding factor in me reading this. I don’t think I can really do any better than the summary in explaining why I recommend it; feisty tiny Steve and lovestruck grumpy Bucky are a winning combination in my book. This one does feature the boys dealing with homophobia and ableism, though I can’t recall how severe it is. So I’d just mind the tags, and if you’re alright with them, thoroughly enjoy this story. 

10. The Road to Hell is Paved with Tony’s Good Intentions by pinlilli. Bucky as a mail-order Russian bride. That’s the detail that pretty much demanded I click on this fic, and oh my god, it was even better than I ever could’ve expected. Tony, in a bid to help Steve get over his awful ex-boyfriend (fuck Brock Rumlow in every universe, honestly), literally orders him a husband -- in the form of beefy James Barnes, who is a fucking gem and I will not hear one bad word against him. He does chores, it’s lovely and adorable, and you will definitely fall just as hard as Steve does. There’s some canon-typical violence in this one that relates to James’ past, but nothing super graphic as far as I remember. Again, Rumlow is a dick and should be treated as such, but he’s hardly the most important part of this fic and I urge everyone to take a look at it if they’re as intrigued by Bucky being a mail-order husband as I was. 

[carriagelamp]

Book Review - Summer Summary 2020

I didn’t get around to doing an individual post for the books I read in June/July/August, so I decided to choose a dozen that I read over the summer... I’d separate the wheat from the chaff for you so to speak. Though like you’re about to find out, that doesn’t necessarily mean they were all good by any means...

Crave

My girlfriend got this for me to “tide me over until Midnight Sun”. Between you and me, I think she was taking the piss. Anyway, Crave is very... standard fare paranormal YA school romance with the added flare of being written by an adult erotica writer, meaning the rhythm and tone of this novel is fucking bonkers. If you want to read the novel without reading the novel, just take Twilight and the entire Vampire Academy series, shove them in a blend, and force down the sludge you get from that. Normal Average Girl Goes To Secret School In Alaska For Vampire, Werewolves and Dragons. That’s this book. It is so big and so so so bad. I finished it out of spite, please don’t do that to yourself. Unless you are really craving (hurr hurr) some top tier trashy paranormal romance, in which case... no judgment.

The Last Firehawk

The Last Firehawk is a Scholastic “Branches” series, written for beginning readers (grade 1-3ish, depending on the child’s reading level). It has short stories, big text, and awesome pictures on every page. Guys. I unironically am adoring this series. It’s simple and is introducing children to a number of classic elements in the fantasy quest genre, but it is so charming. Friends Tag and Skyla discover a firehawk egg, and species that is supposed to have disappeared long ago. When Blaze hatches from it, the three are tasked with going out and finding the magical ember stone which was hidden long ago by the firehawks and which could be used to defeat the evil vulture Thorn and his dark magic... I read the first two books to second graders who ate it up and read the next four books because I personally wanted to continue the series. If you have young readers in your life (or just want a fun kid adventure) then please try these they’re the literary equivalent of nibbling on a chocolate chip cookie.

Lupin III: World’s Most Wanted #3

All the kind people that still follow my tumblr and haven’t tried to murder me because of my Lupin obsession are not going to be surprised by this one. I finally read one of the manga for this series and honestly I’m delighted. Somehow even hornier than the show, but hilariously funny. I felt like I was reading a more adult version of Spy Vs Spy. It’s a bunch of short, individual bits/adventures with lots of visual gags and an artstyle that is really different and delightful.

River of Teeth / Taste of Marrow (American Hippo series)

I’ve talked about River of Teeth before, but I finally finished the American Hippo duology and need to sing its praise. This is an alternate history series composed of two novellas that explore the question What would have happened if the States had decided to import hippos as livestock...? Anyways, my pitch for you: queer hippo cowboys. That’s all it took for me to read it. You have a gay gunslinger who loves his hippo to death, a nonbinary explosives-expert / poisoner who is the main love interest, a fat con artist who spoils her hippo and is the only voice of reason in this entire series, and a latina mother-to-be who is the scariest assassin in the entire series and is obviously scheming. The four of them are brought together on a job to deal with the Mississippi’s feral hippo problem.

IT’S A QUEER HIPPO COWBOY HEIST NOVEL GUYS I DON’T KNOW WHY I’M STILL TALKING AND YOU HAVEN’T JUST GONE TO READ THIS YET.

Petals to the Metal (The Adventure Zone series)

The graphic novel adaptation to the McElroy family’s DND podcast The Adventure Zone. Most of you are probably aware of this? It’s a great adaptation, it hits all the important beats, shows off the characters really well, and still gets lots of good gags in even while condensing entire arcs into single book stories. This one is probably my favourite so far just because Petals to the Metal was one of my favourite arcs in the show... but you can also see how the art has improved and the chaos of the race is fun to see drawn out.

If you like The Adventure Zone but haven’t tried the graphic novels yet -- would recommend! If you’ve always wanted to listen to The Adventure Zone but don’t have time for such a long series or struggle to focus on podcasts then pick up the first book of this series (Here There Be Gerblins) and try reading it! It really is an enjoyable adaptation.

Pony to the Rescue (Pony Pals series)

I continued my April/May theme of reading old-school chapter book series to combat Covid Brain Fry, so I picked up a few Pony Pals books. I read these as a kid and always enjoy them -- there’s just something so appealing to a child about having a horse. It gives your child characters a level of independence and ability to explore that you wouldn’t get otherwise. These books definitely read young, but they were nostalgic to revisit.

Small Spaces

A really cool middle grade horror novel I picked up. Maybe it’s because I live around a lot of corn fields, but farm/scarecrow themed horror absolutely does it for me. One evening, after seeing a woman try to destroy a strange, old book, eleven year old Ollie doesn’t stop to think, instead stealing the book and running. That’s how she becomes wrapped up in the strange, sinister story of a cursed family and creature called the Smiling Man that seems to live out in the foggy fields. While unsettling, Ollie tries to remind herself that it’s just a story... but this becomes more challenging when her school bus breaks down one day out their own set of fields, and a fog is rolling in...

“Avoid large spaces. Stick to small.”

Snot Girl #1 - #2

A Canadian graphic novel series by the creator of the Scott Pilgrim series! I love his work so I decided to give Snotgirl a try, even though it’s not generally my genre. I’m glad I did! First book took a while for me to get into, but by the time I hit the second I was really wrapped up in the mystery and character development. Snotgirl is about Lottie, a self-consumed fashion blogger whose biggest struggles are dealing with her allergies, frustration with her fellow-blogger friends, and how entirely her self-esteem is tied to her “beauty” and how people view her. But everything shifts in strange and horrifying ways when Lottie starts taking a new allergy medication, meets a new friend... and then witnesses that girl’s death. Or does she?

Seriously, or does she? I have no idea, I need to read the third book. This book is full of intrigue, complicated relationships, murder (or not?), and a healthy dose of magical realism to keep you guessing. If you like slice-of-life, crime, and abstract reality then this series is world a try. Plus the art is gorgeous.

Summer Wars #1 - #2

I recently rewatched Summer Wars (still one of my favourite movies) and decided to read the two-book manga adaptation. It was a really neat little adaptation. The creator of the movie gave the writer free range to tweak things to fit better in a manga format, which means some movie elements were allowed to fade into the background, whereas other aspects were fulled into the forefront and fleshed out to a greater degree. It was very cool, it kept the same story but gave you new things to think about which I wasn’t expecting. Reading this as a stand alone works just fine, but honestly if you’ve never watched the movie Summer Wars you should give it a try! It’s a great mix of slice-of-life, sprawling family dynamics that I relate to a little too well, cyber adventures, and fantasy. Super feel good.

This One Summer

Okay, last graphic novel, I swear. This One Summer was... weird and intense. It’s a coming-of-age Canadian graphic novel that follows a pair of pre-teens who meet up like they do every year at their family’s summer cottages. You see them both in the awkward phases between childhood and growing up to become teenagers, as they’re confronted with things like maturity, friendship, self-esteem, family problems, and sexuality. A beautiful read, but probably the heaviest out of all the books on my list.

Wild Thornberrys Novelization

I rewatched The Wild Thornberrys movie with my girlfriend earlier this year, and decided I wanted to hunt down the chapter book novelization because I’m kind of a sucker for novelizations. Honestly, this was about what you would expect from the era. 90s/00s novelizations, especially young novelizations, are generally just a transcript of the movie without much thought or effort put into them to make them anything but. That’s what this was. It was fine, and it really let me revisualize the entire movie, but honestly you’re probably better off just rewatching the movie unless you also really deeply love The Wild Thornberrys.

The Willoughbys

I saw that Netflix had done a funky looking adaptation of The Willoughbys and I decided I needed to read the book first before watching the movie. This was a little bizarre, I’m still not sure how I feel about it. Over all, I think it was a net-positive experience. It’s an obvious satire on classic children’s novels, especially the likes of Mary Poppins (real Mary Poppins, not the Disney version) and while a little heavy-handed, it does a Series of Unfortunate Events vibe that redeems it. The story is about a group of horrible children (The Ruthless Willoughbys) who decide they are sick of their parents and would rather become Worth Orphans... and to do that, they’re going to have to dispose of their inconvenient parents, obviously. Conveniently their parents are also sick of having children and decide to do away with them as well. The Willoughbys sets up three (or four?) different subplots that are gradually woven together through a series of schemes and exploits. It’s definitely more ruthless (hurr hurr) than the Netflix version, which tried to make the children more sympathetic, and in some ways I think that’s a definite point in the novel’s favour. I’m not sure I would go out of my way to recommend it, but it was a fun romp if you want something short and off the wall (and a lot more fleshed out than the Netflix version).

[straightfacedstrangeness]

Not that anyone asked (but seriously I’d LOVE for someone to talk to me about PokeSpe (just no spoilers past vol 13)) but since I made an offhand remark about my Top 5 favorite characters, it occurred to me that I actually DO have approximately 5 top favorite characters, and I’m procrastinating on work, so I’m gonna ramble

**just in case, note that a lot of this will revolve around my childhood experience with gender in a “I’m AFAB (and present-day me still identifies as a cis girl) but I don’t fit in with what media is telling me girls are like” way, a brief childhood feeling of homophobia, and probably general TMI about my opinions and emotions throughout my life, haha

1. Yellow

Okay, so, I was a little kid when Pokemon Adventures started coming out in English, back when manga was released as single-issue monthly comic books instead of complete volumes.  So I was rereading the same chapters over and over while anxiously awaiting the rest of the story (and wound up missing a bunch of issues anyway)

I enjoyed the RGB arc, I thought it was fun, but I didn’t LOVE the series until Yellow showed up.  At that age my ideal crush was “a cute boy my age who would be nice to me” and Yellow was presented to the reader as a cute boy my age who was sweet and kind and gentle, but also good in a fight, as all shounen protags must be.  Extra bonus points because they had just a few physically weak Pokémon and tried to fight battles in a way that minimized damage to their own and the opponent’s Pokémon, which meant they fought in a particularly smart and clever way.  And I was considered “smart” for being good at school, so being a SMART cute “boy” my age who would be nice to me, Yellow was PERFECT.  I mean, I loved the arc in general because of the clever battles, and the mystery of what had happened to Red, why these people were after Pikachu, why Yellow was so secretive about themself and their mission, etc was really engaging.  But also I adored Yellow as a character and partly in a “I wonder if ‘he’ would like me??” kind of way X’D  So to my tiny child self who didn’t even know it was possible to like-like someone of the same gender (because I hadn’t read Cardcaptor Sakura yet XD ), the reveal that Yellow was a “girl” was devastating—I had to cross out floating hearts on at least one drawing of us holding hands (scandalous!) and, while kind of stunned and shaken for a while, decided that what I’d felt all along was a deep, intense desire to be friends X’D (which probably wasn’t too far from the truth since I was pre-puberty and later turned out to be asexual)

(Also note that I never got the RGB issue that had the chapter where Red helps a little ‘girl’ capture a Rattata—later proven to be Yellow’s backstory—so the gender reveal really came out of nowhere for me.)

But anyways, I still love Yellow as a character for all the above reasons, without the crush aspects because I’m way older than them now.

Also when I reread the series ten years ago, I finally realized “wait, aside from surprising the reader, there’s no real plot reason for Yellow to pretend to be a ‘boy’ except that Green told ‘her’ to—so why did ‘she’ do it?”...and because at that time I didn’t even know that nonbinary genders existed, I decided it was cus they had low self-esteem and pretending to be a different person gave them courage (the same reading I had for Mulan at the time).  These days I’m more inclined to “yeah, I think Yellow’s nonbinary,” but that other interpretation was deeply relatable to me and only made me love Yellow even more.

2. Bill

Bill’s definitely a character I’ve grown to love more as an adult, since I’ve gone from seeing myself as “a protagonist doing cool things” to “a side character just living their life who hopefully gets to do something once in a while.”  But as a kid and now, I like him mostly for the slapstick and goofy expressions and the (early chapters Viz translations) outrageous accent  X’D  My brain desperately craves endorphins and the best way to get em is through a good laugh.

But also, I liked that he was introduced as a goofy character-of-the-week who got into ridiculous trouble and had to be rescued, but then kept being brought back, was slowly built up to be the “smart sidekick who explains things,” and eventually got to the point where he was participating in big battles (the Yellow finale on Cerise Island).  I rambled about this in the tags of another post, but I liked that he was a character who was “weak” without being “useless.”  As a kid who was good at school, I was obsessed with being good at things and had developed a black-and-white view of the world where either you were “strong/smart” or “weak/stupid” to the point that failing or just being not-so-good at anything was devastating (it still kind of is), because that meant I was actually “weak/stupid” when I was supposed to be “strong/smart.”  So it was kind of awesome that this guy who kept getting into trouble and having to be rescued—and didn’t even want to BE part of the final battle—managed to hold his own and get through it and help out instead of being a burden that dragged everyone down.  Seriously, he used a MAGIKARP effectively—the Pokémon everyone makes fun of for being “useless” and he used its one attack to save his life!

(Bonus points for all this happening in contrast to my devastating childhood experience of stanning The One Girl Character in every popular shounen series, waiting desperately for her to get to do something in battle, and then her one spotlight episode revolved around her struggling because she was so weak...not only was that actually happening to a boy for once, it was actually happening in a more satisfying/empowering way :’D )

3. Gold

I have extremely specific tastes when it comes to “the dumb shounen/action movie protag,” because as a kid I hated it when the main character was “dumb” because I was “smart” (re: good at school) and people who were “dumb” shouldn’t deserve to be the main character and have all the cool powers and save the world and stuff.  As an adult, I hate it when male characters are dumb and/or jerks but it’s treated as fine or even sexy(??) and the other characters fawn over them, and I generally still kind of hate it when characters who are dumb and/or jerks get the big important role when there’s a female character RIGHT THERE who’s more competent (and OF COURSE she has to wind up falling in love with him)

But anyway, I have extremely specific tastes, and Gold is it  X’D  He’s the perfect combination of “unshakably confident in his own stupid/egotistic views” and “treated as annoying and/or comic relief by the rest of the cast” with a bonus dash of actually being really clever in battle (so my inner child goes “Ah yes, technically, he is ’smart,’ and therefore...worthwhile“)  Making me laugh while also impressing me is like the key to my heart.

4. Crystal

I’m too lazy to look it up, but when Viz was publishing Pokemon Adventures as monthly comics, they must have switched to publishing it as trade paperbacks only and/or had a huge gap between the end of Yellow and the start of GSC, because for YEARS I’d thought Yellow was the end of the series and was shocked the first time I saw later volumes.  (My dad was buying us the monthly issues at the local comic store, and either they wouldn’t have ordered the trade paperbacks or he wouldn’t have thought to check those shelves.)

Anyway, that’s a long lead-in to the statement of “Crystal would automatically be my #1 or #2 if I’d read her arc as a kid.”  She’s a girl, she wears pants, she’s EXTREMELY smart (genius-level “book-smarts” about every Pokémon’s behaviors and weaknesses PLUS being clever in a battle), was tough as nails (she KICKED her Pokéballs!!), had no interest in romance or her appearance, AND had a short arc about losing her confidence and training herself back up to full power.  I would have KILLED for a character like that when I was a little girl being told that “girls don’t like action shows like Dragon Ball Z” (but I was a girl and I did???) and that girls were supposed to be pretty and obsessed with fashion and dating, and that girls were never the main character of action series, just side characters who either did nothing or got one chance to do something and were pathetically weak (see above, and/or Sakura’s fight against Ino (Naruto), those couple filler eps where Téa/Anzu played Duel Monsters (Yu-Gi-Oh), Videl getting pummeled by Spopovich (DBZ), etc).

So anyway, she’s awesome, she’s exactly the type of character I would’ve loved as a kid.  The only reason she’s behind Gold here is because at my age, “makes me laugh” > “the kind of main character I used to wish I could be”

5. Green (the girl trainer...I’m just too loyal to the Viz version to call her “Blue”...)

I’m trying not to rehash the same “I’m a girl but none of the girls in my shows/comics are like me!” childhood woes over and over, haha, but as much as I always enjoyed Green for being extremely clever and outsmarting the boys and being funny when she did so, she always lost points with me for being “pretty” and flirting to get her way, because that put her in the box of “girls are supposed to be pretty and desired by boys and obsessed with their appearance and romance” that was so foreign and disheartening to me as a kid.

But her staredown with Ho-oh at the end of the GSC arc TOTALLY got me.  As a sad adult with anxiety, watching characters who are absolutely terrified overcome their fear, watching characters who are completely beaten down struggle back to their feet and keep fighting, is like my ultimate power fantasy.  That sequence genuinely had me in tears.

Also her bond with Silver is super precious, especially since that’s like the first time in the series we’ve seen her be genuinely emotional and vulnerable with someone instead of teasing or manipulating them.

Honorable mention: Sapphire

I haven’t gotten up to R/S in my reread yet, and I only read that arc once over like a weekend ten years ago, but I’m pretty sure she’s gonna be a Top Fave cus again there’s that “I'm not like other girls!” childhood feel  (last time I’m saying it, I promise)

It’s a story arc where one protag wants to fight the gyms and the other protag wants to win the beauty contests, but the one who wants to fight the gyms is the girl!!  And she’s the typical “dumb but extremely good at fighting” shounen protag but she’s the girl!!  She’s feral and illiterate and a total tomboy and wins all her fights and she’s a GIRL!!!!

--

Anyway, those are my kids and my dude and my probably way-too-personal reasons why.  If you wanna reblog, reply, or send an ask about your own faves...please

[bellemorte180]

Klaroline Fic Rec Event 2020- Day 4: Fluffy! @klaroline-events​

Title: Fingerpainting (click on title to go to story)

Author: @thetourguidebarbie​

Summary: Klaus Mikaelson: Spilling art supplies on childhood best friends since 1995. Klaroline. AU/AH

Warnings: None

Status: Complete (13 chapters)

Why you should read: You know that friends to lover’s fic you’ve been dying to read that just hits all the right spots? Well, this is it. This is about childhood friends that grow into something more. It is sweet and frustrating and just all around adorable at the same time. We watch Caroline and Klaus grow from those awkward moments of pre-adolescence to adults, all the while realizing that they love one another. The story takes you through some milestones that most people have and it really dives into the childhood sweethearts growing up and living that white picket fence dream with a klaroline twist to it.

It starts out when they are super young and the best of friends. Klaus will argue with his many siblings until the he can no longer talk but Caroline always seems to get what she wants. As they get older, we watch them have their first relationships and the quiet jealousy that lingers between them. Katherine is Caroline’s best friend and I LOVE that she is a triplet with Elena and Tatia. I thought that was a nice twist on the dopplegangers. Typically, we see twins but never triplets.

Plus there is this interaction between Katherine and Kol that is just perfect, it had me dying with laughter. Once Klaroline FINALLY gets together, they have that high school sweetheart romance that lingers past high school….but they actually make it. While there is a very small amount of drama, its never anything that really has you concerned that it will end Klaus and Caroline. This really is the perfect fluffy story for when you just want something to make your teeth hurt.

I also like the theme of the story. Fingerpainting is something that happens throughout the story. Klaus is always, somehow, spilling paint on Caroline. He is an artist and he just never pick up after himself and Caroline walks into a wet paint brush. Sometimes it makes Caroline angry. Sometimes it doesn’t. It’s just a sweet theme that really fits this more human version of them that is just so…. wholesome.

This is the type of story that is needed when you have a shitty day and want to feel like everything is right with the world. It is a quick read that just makes you feel better. It has a happy beginning, middle and end. The sweet ending that brings everything full circle and it will be impossible for you not to end the story with a smile on your face.

[bookgeekgrrl]

Sunday reading recap (28-Mar-21)

i’m doing this thing where i’m trying to reset my sleep schedule and i’m not supposed to read during the pre-bed ‘relaxation’ period so that leaves TV watching

THINGS I WATCHED

Avatar: The Last Airbender - S2, e 14-20. We’re really in it now, gaang.

The Repair Shop - S1, e 1-3

A Very Brady Renovation - e 5-6 (Behind The Build)

Farscape - S1, e 15-16

Schitt’s Creek - S3, e13

This Is How Underwater Structures Are Built

Songs that Changed Music: New Order - Blue Monday

Forging Gandalf's Sword [Glamdring]

THINGS I READ

💜 👂 Red Heir (Adventures in Aguillon #1) (Lisa Henry, author; Sarah Honey, author; Nick J. Russo, narrator) - the very beginning was a little rocky but i quickly started to absolutely love it! a bawdy, silly, funny fantasy romance romp.

💜 Murder at Enderley Hall (Miss Underhay Mysteries #2) (Helena Dixon) 

💜 Murder at the Playhouse (Miss Underhay Mysteries #3) (Helena Dixon) - really enjoying these historical cozy mysteries a great deal

👂 A Perilous Undertaking (Veronica Speedwell #2) (Deanna Raybourn, author; Angèle Masters, narrator)  - the things i enjoy are still outweighing the things that annoy me in this series. i did absolutely fucking ADORE Lady Wellingtonia.

💜 Blue Line (Tripping #5) (Ariel Bishop) - yummmm, another fun installment in lovely hockey romance series - i love that this didn’t have any super duper black moments or hugely drawn out angst, just the perfect amount of pining before they both decided to use their words and pull their heads out of their asses.

💜 💜 The Wedding Planner('s Assistant) (crinklefries) - shrinkyclinks, 40K - “Bucky Barnes is in a bit of a conundrum. For example, on the one hand, he’s the former extremely polished, brutally efficient, and impressively ruthless brainwashed weapon of mass murder for the secret Nazi arm of the United States government. On the other hand, he has an uncontrollable crush on the cute blond wedding planner who lives next door.” - what a wonderful, fluffy, delightful fic!!!! 

💜 The Things You Have Caused Me Most to Want (are those that furthest elude me) (BrighteyedJill) - 43K, The Witcher - a non-traditional a/b/o fic with a LOT of pack feelings and tons of both emotional satisfaction and delicious filth, featuring these accurate tags: their abandonment issues are rubbing off on each other as much as their dicks are, I shook a witcher and intergenerational trauma fell out

plus 200K of shorter fic so shorter work shout out

💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Assistant to the Consulting Detectives (idyll) - Sterek, 18K - a really great crossover where Stiles gets a job assisting Sherlock & Joan, I loved it a lot. (this was one where i got the ‘you have already left kudos here’ and had to do the gandalf ‘i have no memory of this place’ thing) [reread, apparently]

Where the Rippling Waters Go (littleblackfox) - Stucky, 33K - fantastic Practical Magic AU

when he gets older, he might be the one (cobaltmoony, CoraRochester) - Stucky, 32K - an (unexpectedly) silver fox Steve and younger Bucky (based more on some comics canon) [reread]

[theshinobiway]

Cuddling with Members of Team Guy

Might Guy

Ø  Cuddlebot Master 2000

Ø  Guy’s favorite times to cuddle are often early in the morning before he gets up for training or right after dinner when you all are usually spending quality time together.

Ø  The first time you ever cuddled was probably when you fell asleep on him that one time while watching the sunset after a long day. He put an arm around you and was glad to let you stay there until you woke up. Was he sore from staying still for so long? Yes. Worth it.

Ø  He’ll keep a firm but gentle grip on you and hold you close, but if you all are chatting and he gets really excited or happy about something he’ll give you the occasional death squeeze.

Ø  If you say something really cute or endearing to him he’ll cover your face with kisses and you’ll get another death squeeze.

Ø  He puts off a decent amount of body heat and he’s super chill about you putting cold limbs on him (if you do get cold easily) but he’ll playfully yelp if you do to tease you.

Ø  Loves saying little things to tease you and will immediately give you long hugs afterwards

Ø  Loves extended body contact, will find excuses to hold you whenever you’re around the house or he gets the chance.

Ø  Will put his arm around you when he gets the chance, even in public

Ø  Falling asleep with Gai usually looks like your head on his chest or in the crook of his shoulder with his arm around you, his other side will be completely splayed out starfish-style.

Ø  Gai usually sleeps in the starfish position, but he gladly modifies his position to accommodate you

Ø  If you cuddle on the couch you’ll likely be pulled into his lap and both of his arms will be around you at all times. The optimal position for more intimate cuddling, if you catch my drift.

Ø  Literally down to cuddle 24/7. Will find a way to cuddle while training with you. May also use cuddling as his personal reward for completing a training exercise.

Rock Lee

Ø  This sweet boy loves cuddling as much as he loves breathing, but actually probably loves you more.

Ø  Probably has told you this in the past and emphasized his point by telling you he would hold his breath all through a cuddle session just to prove it. He is so extra but tbh you have to love just how open he is about caring for you like omg?? Sweetest boy alive.

Ø  First time cuddling with Lee probably happened when you put your head on his shoulder one day after a date, and he just put an arm around you without hesitating. After that, he made sure to give you more hugs, especially from behind, and would hold you longer than normal until you progressed into full-on cuddle sessions.

Ø  His favorite times to cuddle are sitting around while taking a break from training or in secluded spaces while on a date. He’ll keep holding your hand throughout most of the day, but he’ll be respectful of PDA. (Loves it when you hug his arm while walking, though.)

Ø  He keeps a moderate grip on you or a tight grip, no in-between. Must remind him occasionally that air is a thing, Lee forgets because he “already can’t breathe when he’s with you, (y/n)” like FREAKING DAWW OKAY LEE

Ø  Walking furnace. Cold limbs? What?? No, you aren’t cold once you reach in 2 inches of proximity of this boy, he’s like the sun. You warm up before impact.

Ø  Once you’re alone and cuddling in an apartment or your place, he can be his extra self but he turns into extremely sweet Lee who will tell you the most honest but sweetest things you’ve ever heard. Doesn’t matter if you’ve been together for years, he never turns down for romance.

Ø  Will have you in an octopus hold if you’re ever sleeping in bed. He loves showing you how much he cares and holding you is the way he does that. Big spoon to little spoon ratio is 80/20

Ø  When you do get to be the big spoon, it’ll likely be because he’s feeling down or needing reassurance. But his heart will go through the roof and he’ll love every minute of it.

Ø  Cuddling with Lee means tangled limbs, hands through hair, gentle nuzzling, and numerous kisses all the time. You’ll fall asleep like this too. To take it further, just keep kissing him. You’ll rile him up eventually.

Ø  If you cuddle on the couch it’ll be with you sitting side by side, but he’ll have both arms around you or vice versa.

Ø  Also down to cuddle 24/7, but he’ll get flustered more often in public. Small gestures in public, bigger ones when you’re alone.

Tenten

Ø  Tenten, surprisingly enough, is the least big on cuddling out of her entire team (unless we’re talking about early relationship Neji, but we’ll cover him later)

Ø  Tenten is really independent and any partner for her would be aware of this well before they start dating, but she still has instances of being downright adorable and clingy, but it’ll be balanced out by her general non-touchy-feely nature.

Ø  Still, the first time you cuddle she’ll be in one of her moods and you’ll have been getting closer to each other for a while. She was exhausted and in need of comfort and you offered to let her lay her head on your lap, to which she was bashful about but once you reassured her she went for it. She fell asleep while you gently played with her loose bangs, and you noticed in the days afterwards she was more fidgety around you, until one time when you hugged her while you both were alone she didn’t let go. Like no, more hugs. And you were like ???? but it was ridiculously sweet so you stayed there.

Ø  If you ever stroke her back while you’re cuddling she’ll straight up die. In fact, if you ever want to get her in a cuddling mood just massage her or gently rub her back. If you’re at the point where you’re more intimate together, she LOVES it when you gently run your nails along her back, especially where her bra would dig in. It might even get you more than cuddling, wink wink.

Ø  When falling asleep she usually prefers to cuddle before and then stay on your respective sides. Just her preference, but she’ll still touch butts or feet or hold hands, keeping some small body contact even if it isn’t full cuddling. She feels comforted knowing you’re there.

Ø  She keeps a scroll specifically by her bedside in case you try to put your cold limbs on her. Don’t you freaking dare

Ø  The scroll contains a bucket of ice water. Doesn’t matter to her, it’ll be dumped on your side anyway. Gg no re

Ø  She’s 50/50 big spoon/little spoon. With a female partner she will likely be more big spoon.

Ø  She keeps a loose grip on her partner, preferring to use her hands to caress them rather than hold them. But if you want her to, she’ll gladly hold you tight.

Ø  Lots of nuzzling. Tenten, when she is affectionate, doesn’t prefer to just sit still. She’s more of an ‘active cuddler’

Ø  Cuddling on the couch is a lot of head-in-lap action or head on shoulder. She loves leaning against you even if she’s working on something.

Ø  When she’s working in her workshop (Tenten definitely has a weapons workshop) and you come up to her and hug her, she’ll let you stand there for a while while she’s working. She might complain a little if she’s all sweaty, but if you insist she doesn’t gross you out she’ll find it really endearing. According to her, you’re her good luck charm and you being around makes her work better.

Neji Hyuga

Ø  Neji is the most surprising—he’s completely different at the beginning of your relationship versus later on. His levels of affection directly correlate to his levels of trust and comfort.

Ø  So Neji keeps a sizable bubble early on, but he’ll warm up to being closer to you if you have events that cement his trust in you. But he won't reach out first because he’s got an internal war waging—Do I touch? Do I not? Do they want it? Please just tell this boy straight out you want a hug. Don’t let the external discomfort fool you. He wants to hug you, but anything with vulnerability makes him retreat. His worst fear is doing something that makes you uncomfortable (and your response), which is why he holds off.

Ø  Do not try to initiate physical contact unless you are alone, he cannot stand PDA. His affections are for you and only for you, and he wants no one to see that side of him but you. Plus, it’s completely improper to him. Will pull away rather harshly if you try, will lecture you in private later. “That was not the time, (y/n)”

Ø  His gestures of physical affection pre-cuddling are putting a comforting hand on your shoulder or gently brushing something off of you, like a leaf or stray hair. That being said, if you are alone when he does one of those things and you take a step closer, he’ll freeze for a second and make eye contact. Like questioning “do you want something more…?” He’ll tentatively reach for you but stop halfway. Once you see him go for it, go for it. He’ll warm up to a hug really quick and give you a gentle squeeze, making sure you definitely don't see how much he's blushing right now. It won’t last long, but it’ll start the gears to making sure he’ll want to cuddle, because he loved being able to embrace you. It flustered him to no end, though.

Ø If you’re a more assertive s/o and catch the jump on him and go for it, he’ll freeze when you try to hug him and let out a small yelp, but he’ll nervously smile and let you. Any sort of jump in affection will scare him even if he likes it, poor boy. His family was never physically affectionate, so he feels bad for wanting it. He might snap at you early on as a reflex but he will feel so bad about it after because he isn’t angry at you, he’s upset at himself for being unable to communicate what he really wants with you. He needs patience and time.

Ø  Your actual first time cuddling was likely during a moment of vulnerability for one of you. If it was him, you wrapped your arms around him from behind and he felt some weight fall off his shoulders the minute he knew you were there. He squeezed your hand to let you know he appreciates it so much, and you both stayed like that for some time. If it was you, he was likely feeling helpless to help you and did the only thing he could: he instinctually embraced you and held you, letting you bury your face in his chest/shoulder. He would have always been nervous about physical contact, but nothing would stop him from making sure the person he loved knew he was there for them.

Ø  You progression into cuddling will be very slow, but often times he’ll start to hug you from behind if he’s feeling particularly confident while you’re doing something else, or you’ll realize when he’s in closer proximity of you and stays there that’s his way of asking for a hug. Can’t really vocalize his needs and will keep his normal stoic expression, but you’ll catch on quick.

Ø  If you initiate cuddling on a couch with him he’ll be super flustered, but he won’t protest, but he has no idea what to do with his hands. Where is appropriate again?? Guide him please, he cares for you so much and needs to show you but doesn’t know how. If you fall asleep on him he'll internally die of happiness and maybe will take a nap with you

Ø  Might be stiff at first but the more your progress in your relationship the more natural contact will become for him.

Ø  He gets touch starved after a while, and especially if he’s been gone on a mission for a long time he’ll come back and embrace you and you can tell he doesn't want to let go. He missed you so much he was aching for your touch. Please don’t leave again? Okay I know we both will have to leave again, but don’t leave, please.

Ø  Doesn’t mind if he’s reading or relaxing and you curl up next to him. Might even pull you closer and read around you. He enjoys having you near him even just in proximity. He might prefer some space if he’s meditating, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t mind you occasionally putting your head in his lap while he is. He learns to meditate even in your presence.

Ø  In bed he’ll pull you into a tight embrace, your head likely on his shoulder and both arms around you. He’ll press a gentle kiss to you as you’re both falling asleep and you’ll hear him sigh in contentment. Around this time is when you’ll hear him whisper how much he cares about you.

Ø Neji is will be big spoon a majority of the time but he will never in a million years admit he actually likes being little spoon just as much. You might put two and two together eventually when you realize how often he loves settling between your legs, leaning/laying on you with his arms around you, laying his head on the crook on your neck. Caress his hair while he does this and he'll be out like a light

Ø  Neji has the capacity to be extremely affectionate but it has to be done at his pace and he needs positive encouragement and time to get there. Cuddling is one of the ways he can quietly affirm his love for you when he has a hard time voicing his feelings.

Ø Neji's body heat is fairly even, not too hot or cold. If you try to warm up on him he'll throw a blanket around you and call it a day because no thanks, no cold limbs on me, nope. If you pout he might give you a hug while you're all bundled up in a blanket. Now if you're the kind of person who's always super warm the tables are turned: he'll find any excuse to snuggle up to you because he loves it just so gosh darn much.

Ø Bonus: if you attempt to put your cold limbs on him without warning Neji will yelp and leap out of bed, likely tumbling over in the process. You'll have to decide if the laughter you'll have at the ridiculous display is worth the stern silent treatment you'll get over the next few days