#the last mentioned thing is also something i'm using as a fic basis

[seraphimcestuous]

Ooo yes I've read some sera/Emily fics and there's really only 2 I liek made by the same person- but I commented something similar like, I feel like Adam would know however whenever he tells anyone they thinks he's either

A) joking B) its his incest kink C) it's him fetishizing lesbians/sisters

Also, I can see him telling Lute about it, but she brushes it off; but her not, and there being rumors is interesting~ what type of rumors specifically?

yeah, adam just... definitely knows. that's canon to me, insofar as any of this is canon.

Whether or not he found out accidentally or not is a bit more up in the air - I really like sera & adam being friends (or, depending on the day, mother and son), so I can see sera choosing to confide in him (he clearly does keep secrets pretty well - the exterminations had been going on for hundreds of years prior to his fuckup in court).

Even if it was accidental, I just... don't see Adam seriously trying to tell anyone. He cracks jokes about it, sure, including jokes that push the line of 'there's something there' that Sera wishes he wouldn't, but he also just... doesn't give enough of a shit/see a problem.

The only reason Lute believed him at all was because he did take the time to be serious about it with her. Lute is honestly probably the source of most rumours - she definitely takes more issue with it (whether it's because it's gay, or because it's incest, nobody knows) and is. Not malicious - she's too respectful of authority for that - but she definitely hopes it bites Sera specifically on the ass (and, after the court sequence, she also hopes it bites Emily too).

The rumours are... mostly benign. Mostly. Just that maybe there's more truth to Adam's joking. And so-and-so did see them looking very rumpled in the administrative building, but it could be explained away by Sera's tendency to sleep in her office. And maybe Emily is constantly looking at Sera's tits, but I mean with their height difference, that's expected.

(There's a specific thing in the NSFT headcanons that... definitely made the rounds, when it happened)

[usmsgutterson]

Hi! I’m here to send in a request for platonic crows x reader where the reader can shapeshift - The main thing I was thinking of was just kinda friendship w the crows in general and their reactions to different things they learn about reader overtime and what they first though about reader vs now. Also here’s some ideas I’ve had about reader for if you do choose to do this request that might help!

-> I feel like reader would probably be able to change their body to be able to take on like a half form of things so like they could give them-self ears or something and depending on if they have a ‘Main form’ of sorts they could probably have some of the features of that thing like idk enhanced hearing or their good at being quiet/Sneaky.

-> Also I imagine that they might get like aches if they haven’t done it in a long while just based on the fact that in a way it’s like changing your bones/Bone structure if that makes sense so if they do it too much (Like an unhealthy amount like every single day for hours on end) Or haven’t done it in a long time they’d get aches n stuff

-> and also (Last thing I promise) They would probably use smaller/Quieter forms to scare/sneak up on people and just be an overall menace rlly

And of course if you aren’t interested in doing this request that’s fine too! Just let me know ^^ hope you have a wonderful day! :]

(Also could I be an anon? If so could I be 🍒Anon?)

Platonic! Crows x gn! Shapeshifter! Reader Headcanons

Hi! You can totally be the cherry anon if you want, that's cool with me! I'm sorry it took me a bit to see this, I've been writing requests from the bottom of my inbox to the top of it lately so that I could get the oldest requests done first, and seeing this in my inbox, I just knew I'd have a blast! I was right, writing this was so much fun.

I did it as headcanons to keep the fic from breaching a 15k word limit which I knew I'd get to if I let myself and I didn't want this fic to run too long! I hope that that's all right with you and if not, I apologize and I can rewrite if you'd like me to!

Fic type- fluff

Warnings-mentions of tarantulas, flies (the reader once turns themself into a fly on the wall) and spiders

(no gif because I sadly couldn't find one of the crows on the rooftop)

Okay, so!

Your status as a shapeshifter is kind of just...known amongst the crows? 

Like, they all know about it and it just kind of exists as another one of your attributes. It’s not a big deal, and nobody has ever really made it out to be.

You’re able to enhance your hearing so that you can hear pretty far out, which comes in handy a lot on heist jobs, especially if you can make it so that you can be standing on the total opposite side of wherever you need to be for the heist and still be able to hear Kaz and Nina bickering at the checkpoint. 

You’re also able to make yourself quieter, which comes in handy a lot on jobs too, especially when you need to focus on being stealthy and go unseen and unheard. 

Now that I think of it, there’s probably a way that you can shift to match your surroundings or like, make them match you kind of, and make yourself invisible, which is actually a super cool concept and I don’t want to get sidetracked by it, so next thing!

There’s a healthy amount of times that you should shapeshift on a regular basis. You go off that and start doing it too much or not doing it enough, you get really bad aches and pains.

I feel like you’d get them all over and they would hurt as much as a really bad migraine. It happens at random and can sometimes last a couple of days, too. All in all, the pain part of it isn’t really a fun or enjoyable experience so you try to shapeshift consistently

YOU WOULD TOTALLY SHAPESHIFT INTO RANDOM SHIT TO SCARE THE SHIT OUT OF PEOPLE-

forgive the caps, I would a thousand percent do the same thing and I got excited when I remembered that that was a possibility.

You’d probably shapeshift into something like a tarantula and just spend hours relaxing in a random corner of Wylans lab weaving webs and hanging from the ceiling and being all cool, and then Jesper comes in and you go to greet him and he’s like “saints, what is that?"

and then Wylan is just like “it’s Y/N? Their favorite color is the dots on their back? How could you not recognize them?”

“Oh, I’m sorry Wylan, I’m just not so used to seeing my best friend as a bloody tarantula!” 

You probably shapeshift into a cat to be a menace to Kaz 

the concept of you just kind of showing up at his office window and then doing that thing that cats do where they nap in direct line of wherever the sun is coming in is something I love more than life itself

that’s nOT MENACING, BACK ON TRACK

AFTER you’ve sunbathed an appropriate amount of time, you, in the form of a cat, jump onto Kaz’s desk and glare at him the entirety of the time that it takes you to bring his to-go cup of coffee closer and closer to the edge of his desk, until it tips over and spills. 

that concept has made me laugh for the last ten minutes

Kaz almost hates you for that every time you do it, even though he knows you’re only doing it because he did something to piss you off first and he just considers it fair when he remembers that much. 

You also buy him a replacement coffee out of the kindness of your heart, though you never actually apologize to him

to be menacing in the direction of Matthias and Nina, you also take up the form of a spider. Neither of them really like spiders and you just kind of mess with them for two minutes before it gets old and you switch into something else.

Inej is a cat person through and through, and there aren’t many ways in which you can mess with her, nor do you want to because knife wife WILL use knives if she doesn't recognize the fact that whatever you shift into is you and the possibility, though slight, is still there.

You go to Inej as a cat the most often, though. 

You’re able to keep up with her when she’s running through the barrel on her missions for Kaz, and the naps in the sun are best when you’re laying on one of Inejs coats while she spars with Jesper

You’ve also been a literal fly on the wall to get intel for Kaz before, but that was because you’d offered, and it was exhausting. You got a lot of good intel from that but you were like “nah, never again. Not for less than a hundred million kruge. Never”

generally, it’s a very chaotic but a very fun existence, and you wouldn’t trade a minute of it for anything

[moonybemine]

WHO WANNA BE BESTIES‼️ i need someone to giggle over hp with. you HAVE to be a jkr hater tho bc i hate terfs and am agender(im just vibin tho all gendered terms i use by vibe alone)

MINORS DNI

i have some Opinions on a lot of things about hp and i have some fluctuating emotions on certain characters. i genuinely treat every hp character like barbies that i play with and put into Shenanigans and Situations.

i will reading bashing fics especially albus ones i hate the things he did but i on occasion have been known to enjoy a good albus fic including ones where he's less "we have to kill voldy!!" and more "you (platonically or romantically)Love someone, dont you Tom?" like that spongebob meme. i do not like sirius or remus bashing, it's always overly harsh and vilifies a man locked away in the harshest prison who's mental faculties have been horribly abused, and while The Prank was an incredibly stupid attempt of a prank due to the danger it put severus in and also remus i ultimately believe it would've never happened in the first place if albus and minerva properly chastised the marauders earlier for their treatment of snape. we also don't know when this happened in the timeline of the marauders, was it before or after snape and lily's falling out. in remus' case he's a man who's been treated as a monster his whole life who was allowed into hogwarts by albus who then used this BOY'S gratitude to make him go into enemy territory and spy on and try to recruit people to the other side of the war. not to mention that albus groomed them all to fight the boy he FAILED(ive got so many opinions on tom and albus) and then when remus who support network was either dead or imprisoned he was told he couldn't raise harry and was told to not contact him. albus did all he fucking could to make harry miserable and pliable so that he'd sacrifice himself to end a war like a pig to slaughter. ur telling me Great Albus Dumbledore defeater of grindelwald couldnt find a solution to the horcrux besides having him walk to his death not to mention that he could've probably figured out horcruxes decades earlier and tried collecting them and probably would've succeeded! also i hate that the whole marauders generation is completely wiped out jkr u nasty bitch!

my ultimate fav ships are nottpott and wolfstar. ive BEEN a wolfstar lover since i was literally a child. nottpott entered my life last year and proceeded to ruin me on drarry(and pretty much every other ship involving harry and someone else or theo and someone else) i used to hate dramione bc i was apart of a toxic forum back in the day but i have grown to enjoy it bc it usually goes hand in hand with nottpott. i am forever a fremione and a pansmione gurlie tho. i love a lot of marauders ships as well jegulus/jily/jegulily/wolfstar/marylily/dorlene/pandalily/rosekiller/etc

i will mention i have dipped my toe into tomarry. i have enjoyed quite a few fics with this pairing and while i have enjoyed mostly ones where they are both teens, i do not like or support ones where its oldie voldie and literal child harry. its a grey area with somethings with them because of a multitude of factors and it shifts from a fic to fic basis. im not one to judge overly harsh over liking ships but i will judge in cases of straight up pedophilia but it will mostly result in a block because im not a child that starts fights on the internet anymore. i also do not support bestiality or incest and i'm specifying these things in particular due to a intimate relationship with the harry potter ao3 tag i know what freaks and weirdos exist there. literally the only fuckin fandom thats got a UNIQUE BESTIALITY tag

anyways msg me if ur interested <3

[words-are-fireproof]

Haalur - (Din Djarin x fem!reader)

(*gif from @cutieodonoghue )

Summary: The tension in Din's body is too much for you to bear. So, you take him home to help him relax and breathe. He needs it.

Rating: T (this might a strong T seeing as there's mention of smut but it's not quite M either so...)

Word Count: 4.3k

Warnings: mentions of past sexual encounters, a little bit angsty, super duper soft, uncertain reader and quite possibly more things that I'm forgetting.

A/N: So, there's a fic I read recently about Din and the reader having sex and him not taking the beskar off. I don't remember who wrote it and I'm embarassed to admit that, but I'm pretty sure it briefly leaks into this story and I AM SORRY ABOUT IT. It just makes a lot of sense and I guess I couldn't get the imagery out of my head. If that's your fic, lemme know so I can tag it and link it here to give you credit.

Also, this is only my second full length reader fic and while I feel a lot more confident in it, I'm not confident in my Star Wars lore, so apologies when I use the wrong words for stuff.

I don't do tag lists, but you're free to follow @fireproof-library for all my fics without the mess. Just turn on the notifications.

* haalur means breathe in Mando'a. Cabur means protector. mesh'la means beautiful. cyar'ika means darling/sweetheart *

[Masterlist]

-----

When you saw him again on Tatooine, your heart skipped a beat. How long had it been since you last saw him? It hadn’t been very many months, not like before when you hadn’t seen him in almost a year. This time, less time had passed, and you selfishly hoped that the downward trend would continue because the more time that passed, the less and less you’d see him, the more you worried about him. The more you feared he would never come back. 

He wouldn’t do that to you, would he? Leave you and never return to you? You wouldn’t put it past him. You couldn’t fall in love with a Mandalorian. The path led to heartbreak, and you were no stranger to it. No matter how much you thought he was different, you knew better. You weren’t Mandalorian, which meant he had no loyalty to you. 

But you knew better. 

The Creed promoted loyalty, Mandalorian or not. It’s why he kept returning to Tatooine. It’s why he continually sought out the same people over and over again. It’s why he was even on Tatooine in the first place. Peli found an old Naboo starfighter with the intention of giving it to him. A worthy replacement to the Razor Crest. 

You missed that gun ship something fierce, but you’d never admit it. You knew exactly how that ship sounded. Out of all the other ships that landed there on a somewhat regular basis, you could pick that one out of a line up every time. You knew the way the engines sounded when it dropped out of the clouds to land–a dull, low rumble that vibrated from your chest to your toes. You knew exactly what it looked like as it flew through the sky, built differently than most ships that landed on the planet. You knew to look for it when you expected him back. You never knew exactly when he’d return, but you knew he would. He was tethered to this place, much like you were. 

You were down at a local cantina in town when the commercial ship landed on a nearby landing pad. You heard the distinct metallic whine and the sudden influx of different languages and dialects. You weren’t exactly a polyglot. You knew how to speak droid and Jawa and just a bit of the wookie language but most of what you’d picked up over the years was from what you’d heard on the streets in the markets. You could barter and trade in different languages, but you couldn’t speak them fluently. A blessing and a curse, your mother would say, but you didn’t care. 

You finished your food quickly, bounding through the crowd to see who might be on the ship. Passers through, the most of them, but you happened to catch the glint of light off a helmet moving opposite you through the crowd. Your breath caught in your chest. The blood rushed through your ears, hollow and excited all at once. You broke off in a run in the opposite direction, cutting through the town on the way to Peli’s shop. You knew every nook and cranny and managed to get there right as he shot the womp rat trying to eat her. 

Dank Farrik, he looked good and you had to remember how to breathe. 

The two of them talked about the Naboo starfighter before he seemed to realize you were there. You’d tried not to draw attention to yourself, but you’d just managed to almost trip over one of Peli’s BD droids and the little guy wasn’t too happy about it, beeping and swearing at you in binary while you tried to silence it. 

“Hey, hey! What have I told you about yelling at my droids?” 

You immediately stop as the little guy toddles off cursing. “Sorry, Peli.” 

“And what did I tell you about sneaking into my place? You know better.” 

You shot Peli a fond little smile. “Yeah, but I like doing it anyway.” 

The woman in front of you huffed, obviously annoyed as she turned to him and motioned at you, “Mando this is–”

“I know who she is,” his voice sounded cold through the modulator, so different from the warmth you were used to. 

Peli looked confused between the two of you. You expected her to say something, but for once, she kept her mouth shut. “Okay, then. Wanna see this cool new ride I found you? It’s not finished. I just started working on it.” 

And that’s how the conversation ended. You followed them around as he expressed dislike at the idea of flying a starfighter instead of a heavy gunner. The entire time, you tried not to stare at him too much. Like always, he looked well put together. His beskar shone in perfect condition. Nothing knicked or scuffed that armor and something about knowing that made you smile. He was safe. Unless his ship was shot down in space. But you tried not to think about that. That was too much to bear. 

His flight suit underneath the armor looked faded and well worn. You wondered when was the last time he changed it out. You knew the Razor Crest held plenty of spares in all of its hidden compartments. But since it’d been destroyed, you didn’t know where his spares were, or if he even had any. You wondered if you could nick some clothes off a vendor and alter them for him. It wouldn’t be a flight suit, but it’d be something he could wear if he needed it. 

And that’s how the day goes. You trying not to stare. Him obviously knowing you’re there and also trying not to stare, all down to business and trying to wrangle parts for a starfighter that needed a lot of work. The two of you danced under Peli’s watchful and curious gaze but the fact she wasn’t saying anything said all it needed to. She knew and Mando knew she did, too. 

You find yourself at the back of the starfighter at the end of the day, fiddling with some part or other that you had no idea what it did or where it went. Your thoughts were on him and the way he looked crouched down under the nose of the ship. You didn’t even realize the older curly haired woman had slid up beside you.

“So,” she said suddenly, causing you to jump and drop the part you had in your hands. One of her BD droids scurried away so it wouldn’t get crushed. “How long has that been going on?” 

You tried to feign innocence as you bent to pick the piece up from the ground. “I don’t know what you mean.” 

She lifted an eyebrow. “C’mon now. I might be old but I’m not exactly blind.” 

“Peli–”

She raised her hands in surrender. “Okay, alright. I get it. But if what I think is true, why don’t you get him out of here? Take him to your place? Show him a good time, if you know what I mean.” She elbowed you in the side and you tried to bat her arm away from you. 

“Okay, okay. Peli, I get the point.” 

“Besides,” the woman began, her gaze settling on Mando as he stood to grab a tool and get back to work, “he looks like he needs it.” 

She was right. You watched him move around some, always so poised and strangely elegant in his movements. But underneath that beskar, his muscles jarred and hitched, some usually more refined moves jerky and not at all like they should be. Something felt wrong. It felt…off, and you didn’t know why. You wanted to lift the world off his broad shoulders if only to see him less tense than he appeared now. 

You took a breath, ignoring the thoughts in your head that said, don’t do this in front of the older woman, but she had suggested it and if he trusted her enough to keep coming back for help, then he trusted her enough with other things, too. You sat the part down on a nearby bench and ignored the way the woman pretended not to watch. You’d have to talk to her later when Mando left again. But for now, you approached the Mandalorian, fingers itching to touch him, craving the feel of the beskar under your fingertips and the rough wool of his cape. 

Flashes of a night you’re sure he’s long since forgotten dance across your mind. You can still remember the itch of that wool cape as it scratched over your bare skin, keeping you warm in the Razor Crest as you cooled from exertions you dare not tell a soul about. He had a reputation to protect. You wouldn’t dare be the cause of any pain. 

But this time, you took a chance in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, you could soothe some of that tension before you disappeared to your place. You settled your hand right on the edge of his shoulder armor where the leather of his bandolier dug into the flight suit. You squeezed and you swore you could feel him relax under your touch. 

“C’mon, cabur,” you murmured softly. “It’s time to rest.” He lifted his head, tilting it as he looked at you through the “t” of his helmet. You could almost feel the confusion radiating off of him. “Oh, she knows. She won’t say anything.”

He looked just past your shoulder at Peli who was messing with some coupling or something and muttering to her droids. Then he looked back at you. 

“I have warm soup at home,” you press, reaching up to settle your hand gently on his helmet like you were cupping his cheek.

He sagged into your touch. A sigh crackled through his modulator. “I have to be back here early in the morning.” 

You smile as relief slides through you. “I know. I’ll wake you up.” 

His body hefted up slowly as your hand slid down his beskar, stopping as your fingers slipped off his gloved hand. You almost settled your hand in his but decided better of it. You could imagine the stares you’d get on the street walking hand in hand with a Mandalorian. 

“I will be back tomorrow to keep working,” he said shortly in Peli’s direction. 

“We’ll be up bright and early. Maybe even with some parts. You know the Jawas, though. They come in late sometimes.” 

“We’ll do what we can.” 

Peli waved you both off. “Go on. Go get some rest. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” 

The woman winked at you and you knew that he could see it. You shrunk into a blush, wanting to disappear in the sand. By the stars were you always this obvious? You knew the answer to that, but you didn’t want to admit it to yourself. You didn’t want Mando to see it. Your relationship, whatever it was, as it was, wasn’t typically predicated on others knowing. Peli was…a bit of an unforeseen circumstance. Not that you were complaining. She pushed you in the right direction when you need the push. Even though you hated being pushed into anything. 

He didn’t say anything until you reached your apartment on the outskirts of town. The people there were thin on the ground until they seemed to disappear completely. Just the two of you lingered, lit solely by halogen lights, the beskar shining in the darkness. You unlocked the door and ushered him inside, out of the darkness and the chill that had begun to settle over the desert. You never got tired of the way it cooled off at night, despite the fact you were freezing by the time you shut the door behind him and began turning on the heaters. 

As you puttered around the small home, turning knobs and getting food from the cold case, you felt his gaze on you, watching you curiously as you moved. If anyone else had done that, you’d feel nervous, exposed, and far too vulnerable. You took yourself out of a situation once because too many eyes were on you and you felt like you were being critiqued on something you could never change or never knew you needed to change. You resisted going back out to that cantina when that happened. Eventually, though, you returned, even if the nervous feeling never really got any better. 

Under his gaze, though, you feel…strangely safe. Cabur suited him well in many ways, most of which you’d never tell a soul. You weren’t helpless. You’d dare anyone to make that insinuation. You could hold your own, and in fact, you often did. But despite your capabilities, you appreciated the protection he provided you when he blew into town. While he’d never gone into battle for you, you knew he would if he felt you were threatened. Or maybe that was wishful thinking. Either way, actions or not, his gaze felt warm and safe even if you couldn’t see his eyes through his helmet. 

“Make yourself at home,” you motioned as you put the promised soup in a pot on the stove to heat up. 

The heat hadn’t kicked on yet and you shivered as you turned the element on with slightly shaky hands. You were about to pull on a poncho or an extra tunic or something when you felt the scratchy wool of the cape drape over your shoulders, his strong, still gloved hands running over your arms as he smoothed the fabric over you. 

“Well, hello, cyare,” you murmured, your head falling back gently into the cool beskar shoulder armor. 

“You thought I didn’t notice,” his low voice dripped honey smooth from the modulator. 

“Didn’t notice what?” 

“The way you were watching me in the garage.” 

You chuckle softly, turning in his embrace and wrapping your arms around his tapered waist. 

“I wasn’t too obvious, was I?”

He shook his head and you couldn’t help but smile as you laid your head on his chest. You wished you could hear his heart beat, but you made do with what you had. At least he was there with you. That’s what mattered. He was there and he seemed happy to indulge you, even if he never did take off his helmet or his gloves. You found it odd that everything else was fair game, but you tried not to think about it too much. If you thought about it too much, you’d ask too many questions and you knew better than to ask him too many questions. 

“I’ll heat up the soup and then go take a shower so you can eat.” 

“Thanks,” he said and you swore you could hear a smile in his voice, his tone tinged with relief. 

You wanted to see his face, but you wouldn’t push it. To push a Mandalorian was to tempt his wrath. You wanted no part of that. 

So, you lingered quietly like that. Wrapped in his arms and his cape with your head on his armored chest as the soup heated slowly on the burner. Even with the beskar on, your suspicions were correct about the tension in his body. You could feel it underneath his flightsuit, the muscles of his back tight and rigid. His posture, even with his arms around you, felt rigid, too. Something twinged inside of you. You wanted to ask what was wrong, but you couldn’t make the words come out of your throat. You sighed and lifted your head, letting him go and turning to stir the soup. 

The hair on the back of your neck stood on end. Even though you had moved, he had not. He still stood stock still behind you. You couldn’t decide if he was curious about the sudden change in your demeanor or if it was something else. You could have asked, but again, you couldn’t make your voice work for some reason. 

“What’s wrong, mesh’la?” 

His voice jolted you out of your thoughts and you turned back to face him again.

“What do you mean?” He tilted his head and even with the darkened ‘t’ of his helmet, you knew he was giving you a look that meant he didn’t believe your feigned innocence. 

“You’re thinking about something.” 

You sighed a little bit, again, and shook your head. “Nothing.” Another tilt of his helmet. “You feel different is all.” 

“Different?” He asked curiously, his voice lilting softly through the modulator.

“Yeah. You feel…tense. I’m not used to that.” 

He fell silent, turning away to pad to the sofa. You tried not to feel hurt welling up into your chest. That was all you needed to know. Something was different. You didn’t know what it could be and you certainly didn’t want to ask if he was just going to clam up and draw away from you. 

You turn to the soup and stir it so it doesn’t scorch. You’re used to his silence, but this time it doesn’t feel right. This time, it almost feels like he wants to say something but maybe doesn’t have the words. You wouldn’t put it past him. You also don’t blame him. It’s not like you two are very close. You’re not. He just lost himself in you more than once and cuddled you once and you thought those things meant something. Fools errand. That’s what it was. 

“I miss the kid.” 

You stopped stirring, turning to look at his back as his helmet fell low in exhaustion. Without thinking, you turned the cook top down low and immediately came up behind him. Your slender hands gently settled on the area past his shoulder beskar that is padded with just coarse brown fabric. His cape drops from around your own shoulders as you begin to gently massage him. You can feel the knots in his muscles and the way a shudder works through him as you touch him. 

Before, when he lost himself in you, when he surrendered to his basest desires, he barely allowed you to touch him. He kept the armor and the helmet on, leaving indentations in your skin with the beskar, the coarse fabric of his flight suit rubbing a burn on the curve of your bum that bothered you for days. Even his gloves stayed on, but you couldn’t complain about that. You could still feel the way that buttery smooth leather slid easily between your legs. You wouldn’t mind a repeat of that. 

But now, when you touched him, he let you. You still dare not touch him without the suit but the appreciation is obvious as he allowed himself to relax incrementally under your adept hands. You let the silence between you linger. What could you say to him that didn’t sound contrite or pointless? You hated seeing him like this, but your tongue had a nasty habit of getting you into trouble and like earlier, you didn’t want to risk him clamming up completely. 

As you continued to massage his shoulders, though, you almost felt compelled to talk. So, you did, even if you felt like you were making a huge mistake. 

“Can you go visit him?” You asked softly, voice barely above a whisper, not wanting to break this trance you’ve both settled into. 

“I could. I do have something to give him. Just have to get the starfighter up and running first.” 

You nod. That makes sense. He can’t do anything without a means of transportation. 

“What do you have to give him?” 

“A chainmail shirt. For protection.” 

“Fit for a foundling,” you murmured as you worked a particularly tense muscle. He hissed in pain. Your hands faltered on his shoulders. “Sorry. Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” 

“It’s fine,” he gritted through clenched teeth. 

You resisted the urge to smack him upside his helmeted head. “No, it isn’t.” 

You ease up your movements despite his protests. He’s been through enough without you adding pain to it. 

“I…found my people. What’s left of them,” he said softly. Even through the modulator you could hear the regret and sadness in his voice. 

“And…?” You trail off curiously, leaving the door open for his reply or his dismissal. 

He shook his head. You yearned to touch him. You yearned to comfort him properly. You could only do so much like this and it always felt like it was never enough. 

“It’ll be okay,” you whisper. “In the end. It always is, right?” He shook his head again. “Oh.” 

You both fell silent. Your hands lingered on his shoulders, not moving this time, just trying to offer him some sort of help despite feeling embarrassingly inept. You aren’t sure how long you stay there like that, but it was long enough that you forgot about the soup and you forgot about the insistent hunger gnawing at your insides. He must’ve too, but you didn’t mind. This was much more important, you reasoned. Food could always come later. 

As the silence continued, you lost track of time. You lost track of yourself, of him in relation to you. It felt like you’d always been there for him yet somehow you’d never really been there for him at all. Everything felt off kilter and the sadness in his voice ate at your insides. What you didn’t expect was for him to reach up to gently lay an ungloved hand on one of yours. Startled, you jump a little, frowning at your reflection in his helmet. 

“I need your help, cyar'ika,” he said suddenly, cutting through your shock and confusion. 

Cyar’ika. You dragged the translation from the deepest part of your brain. Darling. Sweetheart. It felt far more intimate than any other pet name you’d used for each other before. 

“Anything you want.” 

You rounded the sofa to stand in front of him, your body reflected at you through the beskar. You stared into that darkened ‘t’ curiously, trying to read him though the act was impossible. There was no way you could know what he was thinking without seeing his face. 

He took a deep breath. “Take off my helmet.” 

You froze. No, you recoiled at the request. You didn’t exactly mean to, but the request came so out of left field, you didn’t exactly know how to feel about it. 

“What? No.” 

“I want you to see my face.” 

“But…your Creed…” you floundered and trailed off. 

He didn’t say a word in response to that, staring up at you through his helmet, body still as a statue, intent on his request and clearly not wanting to back off from it. Your breath caught in your chest. If you did this, if you removed his helmet, you knew the implications. You knew he couldn’t put it back on again. But…maybe that was the point. His words earlier, the sadness laced in his tone. Realization hit you square in the chest. He’d taken his helmet off before. He must’ve. It confused you even more but now was not the time for questions. He was testing you. You didn’t want to find out what would happen if you failed the test. 

With a shaky breath, you took a step forward, then another one, then another until your thighs pressed against the bent curve of his knees. You tried not to let your thoughts run away with you when he spread his legs for you to step even closer. You swallowed thickly and your slender fingers found the edge of the beskar. It felt smooth under your touch, but you didn’t linger with that thought. If you stopped now, you weren’t sure you could do what he asked. 

You swallowed again then slowly began to lift his helmet. Inch by tortuously slow inch, you got your first look at him. Scruffy chin and cheeks, the brown beard flecked with gray, betraying his age. He was older than you or maybe the stress of his life up until then had caught up with him early. You didn’t know but you also didn’t care. Strong nose. It curved down at just the right angle. Soft looking tawny skin flecked with the light knicks of scars. Deep soulful brown eyes that met yours as soon as they were revealed. Maker and stars above you felt your knees go weak. 

As you lifted the helmet completely off, his mop of shaggy brown hair flopped onto his head. You almost laughed, worrying your bottom lip between your teeth to keep it back. Like his beard, his hair was beginning to gray a bit, but it was no less beautiful that way. You sat the helmet aside and immediately plunged your hands into that hair. The locks slid between your fingers, impossibly soft and surprisingly well taken care of. You watched as his eyes slipped closed at your touch, body swaying a bit as he reconciled with what was happening, what he was feeling as you touched him. You couldn’t imagine what was going through his mind.

You didn’t ask. 

“Thank you,” he murmured softly, sending shivers down your spine. 

Without the modulator, his voice was lighter, less deep but no less honeyed and sweet. It dripped over you easily. You could get used to this. 

“You’re welcome, cyar’ika.” You didn't quite get the pronunciation right, but he didn't seem to mind. 

All his beskar came off that night. The soup soon remembered when hunger drove you both to the kitchen table but then quickly forgotten again when, after having your fill, you made sure he breathed and relaxed even more. By the end of the night, you were grateful for the lack of marks and fabric burns on your skin, but you were even more grateful at the feel of his bare arms wrapped around you. You nestled close against him, unsure when you might get another chance like this again. You knew you had a short time with him. You knew as soon as the starfighter was finished, he’d be gone again. But for now, you had the memory of his skin against yours and the memory of how it felt to properly kiss him to keep you going. 

-----

I just wanted to take a moment to thank all the wonderful creators out there who write and put things out in the world for everyone to see. I love all of you so very much and I'm so happy to be in such great company. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[laurelnose]

hi, hello! i'm sassaffrassa on ao3 and i was wondering what CSS you used in your workskin for *Wolf, Fox, Hound?* i've trying something similar and got one that works part way, but it doesn't look nearly as good as yours, and wondered if you might share 😅

Oh, you mean with the Hen Llinge hover translations? Yeah, for sure! Here’s the whole work skin incl. my little arrow dinkus: https://pastebin.com/v5ei7Gye

The HTML set-up works exactly the same way as in La_Temperanza’s How To Change Text on AO3 When the Cursor is Hovering Over It, plus em tags for italics. You might’ve found this one yourself; it was the basis for mine and it’s great except for two things:

It hard-codes the background color & text color of the links to white and dark gray respectively, which is just awful for anyone whose archive-wide skin isn’t white, such as Reversi users.

It’s 2024 and this is a fic, not a webpage! Text underlines are distracting!

To fix this, I removed the color: #2a2a2a; rule from each of the hovertext rules and had each set background-color to transparent and border-bottom to none, and the actual linky part of my code starts with this to get rid of underlines:

a { text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none; }

(You might be able to nix the border-bottom: none declarations in each of the hovertext rules for redundancy if you want? It’s been ages since I last fiddled with this skin and I don’t remember which parts were overkill.)

La_Temperanza mentions CSS entities at the bottom of their work. Note that apostrophes MUST be converted to CSS entities (\2019) or they’ll break the code. When I made the skin there was some fuckery with accented characters, which sometimes needed to be made into entities to show up and sometimes didn’t. I also discovered a goofy bug where sometimes if you have a CSS entity in there, the back half of your text goes missing; fix this by converting the characters after the entity into entities themselves one by one until it shows up properly, sometimes including the spaces. Full list of character entities can be found here.

hope that helps & let me know if this doesn’t make it do what you want it to!

[kamiversee]

oooOOH okay - the way i forgot abt the songs BUT i'm gonna have to straight up make a playlist for these men (as if i don't do the same thing when i'm writing anywaysss)

incoming YAP SESH

so when you mentioned it in the last chapters, i immediately went back listened to 'sober' [childish gambino] BUT i forgot abt 'die for you' [the weeknd] sooooo he's a mini gojo analysis for that song for all my fellow gojo girlies (RAAA):

'i just can't say i don't love you / cause i love you'

this one is obvi lmao the way bro is like "hey btw i LOVE you" every chance he gets

'you hate that you want me'

bro literally says this almost verbatim when he's like "you shouldn't care abt me" but also "it's not a crime [to miss me] love" (ch45)

'i would die for you / i would lie for you ... i would kill for you'

REALLY seein the references to this one in chapter 45 lmao when he's like "i've done worse, for you" and he's said SOOO many times that he'd do anything for you and is explicitly like "the person i am around you now is not the person who fell in love with you"

so here's where i might be wayyy off base again but - what if the list started bc of something gojo tried to do for you, to show how much he cared about you? so like order of events:

years ago, gojo does something bad (ex: hurting someone, manipulating people in your life he views as "bad") in the name of helping you -> sukuna either catches him or he needs sukunas help -> sukuna uses this info to blackmail satoru

the deal for the blackmail is that you either have to complete this list that's made to hurt gojo so badly by punishing the woman he loves AND turns her against him (which is why gojo is so set on the fact that the reader can't have feelings for him, bc he's the one who's supposed to be punished by this whole thing) OR sukuna will kill gojo

which i know is like BIG but ! think about how gojo is always saying he'd do anything for the reader: he was ready to die for her; he had no intention of doing the list. when he walks in on her in ch1 he's like genuinely surprised that an opportunity like that "presented" itself to him, so he really wasn't planning to blackmail you ever

and when you finish the list, gojo is genuinely surprised and relieved that you finish it (ch45) !!!! he's also said that there was no time limit on it but that there actually was one, that it needed to be done by the end of the year i think??? somethin like that i don't remember but that always felt weird to me, so that's probs what sukuna's deadline for gojo was

--

anywhooo i also think sukuna put choso on the list bc he felt bad for hurting him (bc i'm refusing rn to think that choso lied abt the abuse which is the basis of my other theory but it bums me out so i'm just ignoring it lmao) and sukuna saw how obsessed w you gojo was and he was maybe like "hmm ok so this girl must be somethin special" and that's why he was making you hook up w choso !

yap sesh OVER (apologies this got so long and the way i was pulling out citations lmao) i will send more theories when i'm actually awake but i just read your response to my ask and HAD to do a song analysis! love you kami xoxoxoxo

-🩷

Okay this is yap session 1/2 that I’ve received & it’s not as long as the other so I’ll reply normally!!

To start, ty for this theory & semi-breakdown!! I rlly do love reading these ><

1. I LOVE how you broke down the song reference because every lyric from that damn song applies to Mr. Gojo in this fic🙏 Die For You applies more than you guys realize but it’ll make even more sense when we finally receive his backstory <3

2. You & ☃️anon have similar theories with how this whole thing started & it’s fun to see you guys on the right track & nearly hitting the nail on the head ^.^

The first theory about Gojo & Sukuna’s situation is… it’s a wonderful theory, I’ll say that. I will not say if it’s right or wrong but, since TFL is over, I think it’s safe to say you’re definitely on the right track :)

3. The Sukuna & Choso theory at the end is OH MY FUCKING GOD. I’m going to just burn my fic plans atp because I’m pretty sure you guys somehow have access to it 😄 /hj

Anyway, don’t consider that response as me confirming what you just said but DAMN you cooked & the kitchen might be on fire! :3

TO CONCLUDE, ty for the yap sesh, I love u & these sosoosooo much !!

[babymetaldoll]

Baby, I'm yours - Chapter five: "I used to think that Romeo was full of shit"

Summary: Hotch needs to know how the team is dealing with Prentiss' death, but some of their answers might be too painful. Strauss catches Spencer and reader kissing in the bullpen, and something has to be done to stop that behavior. 

Warnings: Mention of death, the usual Criminal Minds shit, cursing (of course), and... I think that's it. 

Word count: 5,7K (short chapter, but next week we are back to the million words) 

A/N: I just wanted you to know I love each and every one of your comments on this series (and all my fics) Your feedback fuels me and keeps me going !! 

Series Masterlist | General Masterlist | Prequel’s Masterlist

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Spencer's point of view

Aaron closed the door behind our back and invited me to have a seat on his couch. That was weird. I knew we weren't going to talk about any case. He had been meetings the team to talk about Emily and how we had been dealing with her death. So far, he had spoken with Morgan, Seaver, and Penelope. I wasn't excited to share my feelings with him, not that I didn't trust him. I just... didn't want to open that door just yet. Not with him, not at work. I knew it was mandatory, and I also knew it was better to talk with Hotch, 'cos I trusted him, instead of a random therapist. But still, I didn't want to do it.

- "Coffee?"- he asked and I shook my head, showing him the cup of tea I was holding.

- "I'm trying not to drink that much caffeine after lunch."

- "Are you having trouble sleeping?"- I sighed, trying to explain my reasons very simply.

- "I've always been a night owl, and I honestly didn't have much trouble with it. But now I..."- I cleared my throat and shook my head.

- "You don't wanna bother (Y/N) at night?"- Hotch asked and cut me a short smile. I just nodded and sipped my tea- "I used to have the same issue with Haley when we started dating. I often cuddled her to sleep and then got out of bed to work or read for another few hours."

- "I usually read in bed, but I'm always worried the light could wake her or bother her"- I confessed- "Also, for adults, getting less than seven hours of sleep a night on a regular basis has been linked with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and depression. And I think it's time I start to worry about my health."

- "I'm glad to hear that. I know (Y/N) puts a lot of effort trying to make you have a healthy diet."- I nodded, smiling. Hotch sipped his coffee and sighed. I knew what was coming, we couldn't continue with the chit-chat.

- "The last time I was on a couch like this was when my father left."- I said and looked down at my hands, holding the mug- "They all thought I needed to talk, but developmentally I wasn't guided by conscience. I could only reveal what my mother and teachers told me was acceptable."

- "You told them exactly what you knew they wanted to hear. You don't have to do that here."

- "It's just unfair that she's gone. It's like, if we can't keep each other safe, then why are we even doing any of this?"

There was a long pause. I felt as if I had hit a nerve in Hotch's heart. An issue that he had been battling as well. But I wasn't going to lie, if he wanted to know how I was doing, I was going to be honest. So I continued talking.

- "It's... sometimes I think maybe... maybe Gideon was right, you know? Maybe... maybe it's just not worth it."

- "What we do here matters, Reid. You know it."

- "Yes, but it also takes things from us. This work can kill us, and now, for the first time, I have something to fight for, to live for. And I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe."- for the first time since we started talking, I looked into his eyes and I could feel his grieve fighting not to come out.

- "I understand how you feel, Spencer."- Hotch confessed and made another long pause. I felt somehow selfish after my confession. There I was, talking about the fear of losing the woman I love in front of the man who had lost the woman of his life in the hands of a serial killer.

- "I miss her."- I blurted out and sipped my tea- "I miss talking with her and it pains me to know there is nothing I can do to bring her back. I don't wanna spend another hour thinking about what I could have done better that day. What I should have inferred faster to bring her back safe."

- "We all feel the same way, Reid. But you can't blame yourself, you did your best."

- "But my best wasn't enough to save Prentiss, and what if it isn't enough to save (Y/N) whenever it is needed?"

Hotch opened his mouth but didn't say a word for a few seconds. I looked down at my hands again and did my best to hold the tears back. I didn't want to cry and then walk back to the bullpen. (Y/N) would see me and realize how deeply affected I was. I didn't want her to worry about me. I was going to be ok eventually, just not that day, not after talking with Hotch.

- "What happened with Emily will always be a mark in our family, Spencer. But it doesn't define us. We can't change the past, but we can work together to make a better future."

I walked out of Hotch's office and for the first time ever, I felt like I needed a drink. Instead, I walked to the kitchen and opened the mini-fridge. There were some cinnamon rolls left from breakfast. I poured another cup of herbal tea and walked back to my desk. Neither (Y/N) nor Seaver were around and I didn't know if I should be worried. In the last few days, my girlfriend had made a big effort to try to be nice to her, and sometimes that scared me. Why? 'Cos it was too good to be true, and so far everything in our lives - except Emily's death- was starting to feel too good to be true. Something was going to go south eventually. Call me a pessimist, I don't care. It's statistically proven.

- "Pretty boy, are you listening?"- Morgan waved his hand in front of my face and snapped his fingers.

- "Sorry, you were saying?"

- "How did it go in there?"- I just shrugged and grabbed a case file to start my paperwork.

- "He wanted to talk about Emily like he did with you yesterday."- I stated the facts, but I knew Morgan meant how I was feeling with the whole conversation- "And what are you doing tonight after work?"- I don't know why I asked him that, probably to change the subject, I really didn't want to talk about Emily anymore. Not there at least.

- "Nothing special, I was planning to watch the game in a bar with some friends. Wanna come?"

- "Can't, but thanks for the invitation."

- "What are you guys talking about?"- (Y/N) asked as she walked over to my desk along with Penelope and Seaver, the three of them holding matching Starbucks mugs- "Oh! I got you a blue one too!"- my girlfriend giggled and opened her bag, handing me a new mug.

- "Thank you."

- "We took a coffee break 'cos Pen read on Twitter these beauties were on sale"- (Y/N) was really excited about the mugs, and I just smiled and nodded- "So, how did it go with Hotch?"

- "I'll tell you later."

- "(Y/L/N), can you come to my office for a minute?"- Aaron asked from the stairs, and (Y/N)'s smile faded in a fraction of a second. She didn't reply, she just nodded and started walking. Morgan, Pen, and Seaver looked at her in silence, as I quickly stood up, grabbed her hand, and kissed her lips, just a peck.

- "Doctor Reid"- I heard Strauss' voice as (Y/N) widened her eyes and froze on her spot.

- "Go to Hotch, I'll talk to her"- I whispered and cut her a short smile- "Don't worry about it. I love you."

The second I turned from (Y/N)'s sweet face and looked at Strauss, I knew I was in trouble. I felt like a kid in school, being scolded by the teacher. I hoped I didn't get suspended.

Stauss walked to her office and I followed her in silence. She just stood there, arms against her chest and an angry look in her eyes.

- "I assume you know why you are here."

- "Yes ma'am"- I cleared my throat and looked at her for a second or two, just to make her think I was comfortable around her. I was not, of course.

- "Doctor Reid, I have nothing against your relationship with SSA (Y/L/N), but I can not tolerate any public display of affection in the FBI. Not here, not on the field, not at any police station or crime scene. Have I made myself clear?"

- "Yes ma'am"- I repeated myself and nodded, hoping that was it. But it wasn't.

- "Listen, doctor, I understand what happened with your team was tragic, and trust me, I know you are all grieving and trying to process your pain. I am aware you have all been talking with Agent Hotchner."

- "Yes ma'am."

- "I trust that helps the team. We also have a professional team available that might help. Group therapy could be a useful tool if you all feel it's necessary. I don't want this loss to affect your work."

- "Thank you, ma'am. But I don't think that would be necessary"- she nodded at my words and sighed.

- "Keep the PDA to the minimum, or there will be consequences."

- "Yes ma'am"

- "Have a nice afternoon, doctor."

And after those words, I rushed out. (Y/N) was already locked inside Hotch's office, and all I do was hope she was ok. I could try to cook dinner for that later that night. Maybe that could cheer her up.

We were slowly moving in together. Every weekend and day off she would bring more of her things to my apartment, and she had announced to her landlord she would move out by the end of the month. We hadn't said anything to the team though, we had agreed that it was our little secret, and we wanted to keep it that way. Besides, if things went according to plan, by the end of the month the news would be bigger and more exciting. There was a ring in a box hidden in our apartment that belonged to her, and she still had no idea.

- "Reid, how did it go?"- Morgan asked the minute I sat at my desk.

- "Ok, I guess."

- "Pen was thinking we could all go out tonight, and watch a movie"- he added- "You, pretty girl, Seaver, her, and me."

- "(Y/N) was just talking about a horror movie festival, she was looking forward to watching the new Slice one"- I grabbed the paper and looked for the info, but of course, Morgan beat me at it 'cos he googled it.

- "Got it, at seven, I'll tell the girls."

(Y/N)'s point of view

- "(Y/L/N), you know what we are doing here."- Hotch sat on his couch and gave me a short smile. I nodded and sipped my coffee, trying to be a grown-up about the whole situation. I knew he was trying his best, and I was also pretty sure he didn't want to go through all this with the entire team.

- "Yes, you need to know how we are dealing with Emily's death and evaluate how the team is processing the grief and if it's affecting our daily performance at work."- I answered and Hotch simply nodded and sighed.

- "It's not just about work, (Y/N). You know we are a family, and this was particularly hard on everybody."- I nodded and took another sip of coffee.

- "Hard doesn't even begin to cut it, and you know it"- my comment came harder than I expected it, but Hotch didn't seem to mind- "I guess we are all just doing the best we can."

- "You don't have to pretend here, (Y/N). I'm not gonna judge you."

- "I know."

- "Then tell me... how are you holding on?"- I shrugged, took the last sip of my coffee, and looked at the mug sitting on my lap.

- "I don't know. It's weird. There is a part of my brain that keeps waiting for her to come back as if she was out of the country for a few weeks on vacation. But then I remember, she is gone for good and my heart breaks again. It's the same every day, every time I think of her."- I mumbled and started fidgeting with the cup in my hands- "And then it's worst 'cos I feel guilty I forgot she is gone, and I remember this whole thing could have been avoided if I had been paying more attention to all the signs that were there, but I didn't do anything, 'cos I was too happy dating Reid to even realize my friend was hurting."

My voice broke at the end of that sentence, and it felt as if the dam I had built to contain the sea of tears was about to collapse. Just like me.

- "This is not your fault, (Y/N). No one could have stopped this."

- "You don't know that, Hotch! I could have noticed she was in trouble, it was so fucking obvious!"- I bit my lips and shut up, making a major effort not to cry. I really didn't want to break into tears in front of Hotch, Spencer would notice the second I stepped out of the office, and he would worry. And I didn't want him to worry about me.

- "(Y/L/N), you can't blame yourself for this. And you have all the right to be happy with Reid. You can't feel guilty about your own happiness 'cos you deserve it. You've earned the right to enjoy your relationship with Spencer."

- "But it made me blind, it made me oblivious to my friend's pain, and that led to the worst outcome possible. I was too focused on my own happiness to notice everything falling to pieces. What if it happens again? What if it happens with Spencer? How could I ever live knowing..."- but I bit my tongue. I had fucked it up and Hotch knew it - "I'm sorry."

- "It's ok. Now when I tell you I know how you feel, you'll know I mean it."- Hotch held my hands and we stayed in silence for a few seconds.

- "It's not going to be easy, (Y/N). But we are a family and we are going to overcome this together. Don't isolate yourself with Reid."

- "I... can't help it, he is my happy place."- I whispered, feeling the tears falling unmercifully down my cheeks.

- "I know, but this family needs your snarky comebacks and his random facts more than ever. You two give us joy, your happiness helps us lift our spirits as well."

- "Well, then here's something you are gonna love: we are moving together this weekend if no psycho killer decides it's time to strike and ruin our plans."- I simply confessed and chuckled as Aaron stood up and hugged me for a second.

- "I am very happy for you two."

- "We didn't want to tell you 'cos we know it's not the time for celebration, and because we felt like we needed to process the whole thing by ourselves first."

- "You are not ready for Garcia's hyperventilation?"

- "Jesus, no!"- I giggled and grabbed a kleenex from my pocket- "I am not ready for that! I just wanna do it, and then tell them so they can visit and have dinner."

- "Then I won't tell them. But when you do, I can't promise I will act surprised."- I chuckled and shook my head. Hotch was cool, and a pretty good therapist if you ask me. I wondered who he talked to whenever he felt like the world was too much. I guess he had a professional to turn to, though somehow that seemed unlikely. Did he open up? Ever? I knew he could laugh, I had seen that miracle myself a few times. But talking about his feelings was a completely different story.

That night, Penelope and Spencer had arranged a night out with Morgan and Seaver. I really wanted to go home and continue packing the things left in my apartment, plus I still had to ask mom if I could leave a few boxes at her house. Frank and Mikey had bought some of my furniture, except for my bed 'cos they refused to go near anything I might have had sex on with Spencer. Of course, I didn't tell Mikey a thing about what had happened on the couch he got.

But that night we were out for pizza and a horror flick I was dying to watch. I was sure that was Spencer's doing and I wasn't going to complain. Besides, a night out with people and having fun was something we could use. I enjoyed the movie, it was not as good as the third one but still a good stress reliever filled with gore and horror. Just my kind of movie. Garcia didn't agree with me at all.

- "Unnecessary! There's too much blood and gore and eew"- she argued as soon as we were out of the theater. I held Spencer's hand as we walked and chuckled at my friend's reaction, hearing my boyfriend question her.

- "Garcia, it's a slasher film. How do you do a slasher film without violence?"

- "You imply it!"- she argued right away.

- "Baby, the movie is called "Slice 6." What were you expecting?"- Morgan asked, chuckling.

- "A refreshing beverage with a twist of comedy. I'm gonna have nightmares for a week! Do you even enjoy these movies?"

- "They are my favorite!"- I answered smiling- "Give me a night with horror flicks and a bunch of popcorn, maybe some wine, and that's the best plan"- Spencer nodded in support, but Penelope wasn't really buying it.

- "You just like these things 'cos you have a boyfriend to hug!! Do you use these as an excuse to make out with him?"

- "I don't need an excuse to make out with him!"- I answered, chuckling.

- "Of course not, I am sure you were sucking faces when that slasher was stabbing that poor girl in the attic!"

- "With everything that we do and see on a daily basis, that got to you?"- Seaver questioned Pen, honestly surprised by her reaction.

- "Listen, newb, you may be all Sigourney Weaver ass-kicking tough, which is awesome, but the mystical mavens of innocence like myself jump at things that go bump in the night."

- "Why are you worried? I'm sure that Morgan will protect you. As long as he's not jumping out of his chair like a prepubescent schoolgirl."- Spencer teased Derek and I laughed, holding his hand tighter, and feeling him look at me with loving eyes.

- "The only reason I jumped is 'cause you guys woke me up!"

- "How could you sleep during that?"- Penelope was in shock.

- "Easy. You drag me out after a 12-hour workday. For what? Are you telling me that girl didn't know that the unsub was waiting for her upstairs? Come on, now!"

- "Villain"- Spencer and I corrected Morgan at the same time and chuckled.

- "What?

- "Villain. In movies, unsubs are called villains."- my boyfriend explained and then asked- "You want to know why horror movies are so successful?

- "Why is that, genius?

- "They prey on our instinctual need to survive. In tribal days, a woman's scream would signal danger and the men would return from hunting to protect their pack. That's why it's always the women and not the men who fall victim to the bogeyman."

- "Count on you, Reid, to break a movie down to science."- Seaver said and added- "My favorite thing about horror movies is the suspense factor."

- "Ah, the ticking clock."- Spencer said in a dramatic voice.

- "The helpless victim walks through the dark... shadows reaching out to get her."- I added, whispering.

- "A sudden noise draws her attention. Is someone there, or is it just in her head?"- my boyfriend wrapped his arms around me as if he was going to get me and I laughed as he murmured in my ear in a deep and sexy voice that he was not going to let me go.

- "Sounds like we are getting home to read some Edgar Allan Poe tonight!"- my excitement was obvious and my friends basically just stared at me in shock- "What? We like reading"

- "Please, stop it, you are so sweet you are gonna give me cavities!"- Penelope argued and shook her head, still clearly affected by the movie- "Still, it's totally unrealistic. No one should be walking through a dark alley by themselves at night."- we made a pause and looked at what we were doing. Exactly that.

- "Ahem. Hello?"- Morgan pointed out as Garcia held his arm even tighter.

- "No one should be walking through a dark alley without a Derek Morgan by their side."

- "When I was a kid, after a horror movie I would watch some cartoons to ease the mood and keep me from having nightmares. Maybe you should do that before going to bed"- I turned to Penelope as I told her my trick to nightmare-free nights and she nodded.

- "I might need hours of Rainbow Brite to overcome that movie, munchkin. Everyone ready to go home?"

Home. I turned to Spencer and smiled. Home was now with him, no matter if I still had a few things to take from my apartment, ever since the day he had asked me, home was with him. Spencer held my hand tighter and nodded, smiling. I could see his eyes sparkling and his heart beating as loudly as mine. He bit his lips and wiggled his eyebrows, making me giggle.

- "Oh come on!! We don't wanna have that image in our young and innocent minds!!"- Penelope argued as soon as she turned to us- "We know you can't stop doing it since you got together, but please! Keep it G, for all ages!!"

- "You have to stop saying we are pervs!"- I argued with my friend- "We weren't implying sex!"

- "No?"- Spencer asked innocently and I elbowed him right away- "Right! Not! We are not! Definitely not."

- "Ok kid"- Morgan looked at us shaking his head - "Take your lady home"

- "Thank you, chocolate thunder"- I teased and stuck out my tongue to him- "Wanna stop for a midnight cupcake?"- I asked Spencer and his whole face lit up. I could have added we had whipped cream in the fridge, but I was saving that for another occasion.

Spencer's point of view

I will never forget the day (Y/N) officially moved in with me. Frank, Mikey, and Lu helped with all the boxes and (Y/N) asked his dad for his truck to move some old things back to her mother's. Chief (Y/L/N) was so excited he hugged me twice, and Frank teased me about it for hours. That made me think I shouldn't tell him I wanted to propose to his best friend, I wasn't sure he could keep the secret.

And talking about secrets, (Y/N)'s mom was a little upset when she saw us because her daughter hadn't told her we were dating until she announced she needed to move some boxes to her basement. And she wasn't happy.

- "You told your dad first?!"- I heard her saying the second (Y/N) opened the car's door.

- "Hi mom! It's nice to see you too!"

- "You told him and not your mother!"- Sofia nearly shouted.

- "I am sorry! We've been crazy busy and dad took us out for dinner a few weeks ago"

- "Crazy busy to give me the best news a daughter can give to her mother?!"- Sofìa shouted and literally ran to hug me- "My boy!! Thank you for not losing hope! I knew you were going to get her!"

- "Really?"- (Y/N) turned to us and I just shrugged, feeling her mother's arms around me.

- "Welcome to the family, Spencer!"

- "Thank you!"- I whispered when Mrs. (Y/L/N) let me go.

- "You have to come for dinner next weekend! You two need to tell me everything!"

- "But I already told you everything on the phone last night"- (Y/N) argued and hugged her mother.

- "I want all the details! You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this to happen! Remember the day of your cousin Liza's wedding? That's how long I've been waiting for you two to start dating!"

- "Mom, you are embarrassing me!"- the way my girlfriend whined was so funny I couldn't control the chuckles.

- "We'll be happy to come for dinner next week, Sofia. As soon as our work allows us to."

- "Good! That's all I wanted to hear! You have to tell me your favorite food, so I can make it for you."

- "He loves salads!"- (Y/N) teased me and I quickly shook my head.

- "Come on lovebirds!!"- Frank shouted from the truck- "We still have lots of moving to do!!"

- "Frankie! Come here and say hello!"- Sofia yelled and waved- "Your mama raised you better!"

- "Yes Mrs. (Y/L/N)"- Frank and Mikey literally jogged towards the house, smiling. Suddenly I remembered they both thought (Y/N)'s mom was hot and the whole situation turned hilarious. Mikey was, in fact, blushing!

After dropping the boxes in Sofia's basement, and scheduling dinner with her for the following week, we were finally able to move all of (Y/N)'s things into my apartment. Frank was sure there were more books than any other item in our apartment now, and he was in fact right. We had to move a lot of books to the guest's room, and Mikey was already pushing us to move to a bigger place.

- "You should consider getting a house. I would gladly design one for you. We could make it big enough for all your books, collectibles, and maybe..."- but Lu elbowed him before he could continue talking.

- "Thank you, Mikey, but right now this is what we can afford."- (Y/N) shook her head and tapped on her friend's shoulder as we stood in the living room, trying to figure out what to do with the remaining boxes.

- "Are you saving for buying? Or for the wedding?"- Mikey asked and I widened my eyes, trying not to freak out. (Y/N) turned blood red and literally smacked the back of his friend's head in less than a second.

- "No! Stop that! We just have a tight budget! There are other things to buy, like... more books!"

- "Yeah! Cut the interrogation guys!"- Lu added and shook her head- "We promised we wouldn't do this!"

- "Do what?"- I dared to ask, but neither Frank nor Mikey answered.

- "Do what?"- (Y/N) asked and rested her hands on her waist, staring at her friends right into the eyes.

- "Nothing, don't worry about it. Now, what if we get something to eat and sit down for a while 'cos I'm fucking exhausted"- Frank chuckled and clapped his hands- "All your things are here, nugget. You are officially Doc's problem from now on."

I took a look around and sighed. She officially lived with me. I was never going to wake up alone again. And a deep feeling of accomplishment and happiness filled my chest. I wrapped an arm around (Y/N)'s waist as she stood by my side, resting her body against mine, her head on my shoulder as she smiled at her friends.

- "I got you some chips and beers while we wait for the pizza"- she announced and everybody walked straight to the kitchen, leaving us alone for a minute.

- "Are we crazy for doing this after nearly a month into dating?"- she whispered, but I shook my head immediately and cupped her cheeks.

- "Everyone we told about what we were doing was excited. No one thought it was too soon. If anything, everyone thinks we have to catch up for all the time we waste being in love and not saying a thing."

- "I know... and I am happy we are doing this, but it's still shocking."- she smiled as I leaned and kissed her lips for a second.- "I mean... I love you, batsy."

- "I love you too, pumpkin. Welcome home."

But the following Monday, there were bad news waiting for us at work. Strauss had called a mandatory seminar for the entire FBI about sexual harassment and public display of affection in the bullpen. I felt guilty and attacked at the same time. I knew it was all because of the kiss she had caught me and (Y/N) sharing during work time... and at work. But it seemed a little excessive. I mean, it's not like we were making out. She didn't catch us in the parking lot, thank god.

- "Agents, we are here to talk not only about sexual harassment but also about relationships happening between coworkers that might affect our daily work."- I immediately felt my body tensing and (Y/N) turned to look at me, shocked.

- "Why?"- she whispered and I shrugged.

- "Sexual harassment isn't always a quid pro quo arrangement. Maybe it's a conversation between two co-workers that makes you feel uncomfortable. Maybe these co-workers use phrases like... "Baby girl." "Chocolate thunder." Or..."Where's my big black twelve-pack?"

For a moment, I sighed alleviated. So that wasn't about us after all, it was about Morgan and García. We were off the hook.

- "Or some other co-workers might be caught kissing in the middle of the bullpen, or in the elevator, the stairs, the parking lot, or even during an investigation. Sometimes the same co-workers might actually forget this is the FBI and not in a teen tv drama."

My cheeks turned blood red in a matter of seconds, and even my ears felt warm. So we were caught and now as a punishment, we had to be humiliated in front of the entire FBI. I slowly turned and looked at (Y/N), she was pale, staring at the screen in shock. I wanted to hold her hand, but it felt wrong considering we were technically being scolded for it. Jesus, even Anderson was taking notes!

- "You will all have in your emails an updated manual with all the inappropriate behaviors you have to avoid by all means at work. Holding hands underneath the table, not appropriate. Kissing during work hours, not appropriate. Also, messages like, "more cushion for the pushing", not appropriate. "I'll be Coco to your Ice-T." Not appropriate. "I wanna read you stories while we lay naked in our room", definitely not appropriate!!"

I wanted to crawl out of the bullpen and hide in the bathroom. I could feel every eye on us because it wasn't really a secret they were talking about us.

- "Though the FBI has no issue with relationships between co-workers, we must protect the integrity of our working space. All inappropriate behavior will be penalized with a warning, two warnings mean a week off without salary, three warnings, and you are out. Is it clear?"

- "Isn't this a little hard and useless?"- Rossi questioned, looking upset with the announcement.

- "We can not stand that kind of behavior, agent. This is a working place! Not a bar!"

- "Yes, I understand, but... none of those things you mentioned actually hurts anyone! And I am sure they were not said for the rest to make the people here uncomfortable."

- "But still, they did, agent Rossi. You'll find the memo in your emails. Thank you for your attention."

(Y/N) didn't move from her chair until everybody was gone from the bullpen. She didn't take her eyes off her hands, resting on her lap. I opened my drawer and grabbed a Snicker.

- "It... wasn't so bad"- I whispered and kneeled by her side.

- "Were you in the same meeting I was? They embarrassed us in front of the entire FBI!"- she whispered/yelled and looked at me, truly shocked.

- "Hey, pumpkin, it's ok. It wasn't just us, it was for Morgan and Penelope as well."

- "I sincerely doubt they were the ones saying they wanted to read naked, considering I clearly remember you whispering that to me in the kitchen last week. Who the fuck blabbed? I don't even remember anyone around us at that minute!"

- "We will have to be more careful from now on, but think about it this way: now after a long day of work, we get to go back together to our house. Our place. We don't have to make out in the parking lot, we can get home and do it wherever we want."- my girlfriend sighed and nodded, opening her candy.

- "That does make me feel better"

- "Of course it does. And just to make sure"- I leaned closer and whispered in her ear- "I am going to make sure my tongue makes you forget what happened today as soon as we set foot back home."- (Y/N) giggled and blushed immediately.

- "Those are the things you have to stop saying at work, Doctor Reid."- I had to suppress a groan, 'cos for some strange reason, every time she called me for my honorifics she struck a very specific kink I never imagined I had.

- "Cool off kids"- Rossi said as he walked by our side- "It's too soon for that first strike."

Next chapter

Series Masterlist | General Masterlist | Prequel’s Masterlist

Taglist:

General tag list

@spenxerslut @ash19871962 @muffin-cup @cynbx @meowiemari

Spencer Tag list @calm-and-doctor @lovejules888

DIWK Taglist @tvandfanfic @shilohpug @eternalharry @fandomtrash2405 @eyakoroleva @nani-2305 @padsfirewhisky

BIY tag list

@miaxx03

[sparkles-oflight]

39. Jan/Nace (predictable choice) but I’m not over the Damon Baker shoot yet

Hiii!

For context: me and paperphilia (Sam) talked about what exactly we thought it was "a kiss because time's running out" and we made two things clear: dramatic and angsty (sorry not sorry)

Sam also recommended I use the lyrics of Muse's "Time is running out" for this fic.

And now, for the fic context: because Sam mentioned movie things, I took inspiration from The Hunger Games franchise and also from Hozier's "Take Me to Church" MV.

If you never watched The Hunger Games, don't worry, there are no spoilers here. But the specific scene(s) I'm using as a basis is the goodbye of the selected tributes and their families before the game (because their farewell is timed ^^')

So, disclaimers: there's violence here and angst. Please consider this an AU of sorts (even if we don't know exactly what's going on).

Nace was blindfolded, handcuffed and taken to somewhere he didn't know...He was knocked unconscious, and he didn't know for how long, but he heard the people guiding him mumbling something about taking him to see someone.

As he heard a door open, Nace was attacked by the light that came out of a window in a bright room. The blindfold and handcuffs had been removed.

- You have 3 minutes. - one of his "guards" said as he left.

After recovering from the temporary blindness, Nace looked around and found Jan.

He ran to his lover's arms. Jan hugged him strongly, both of them shaking. Jan looked about to burst into tears and his mouth was trembling. He looked like he was about to sob the loudest he had ever. Or had he already? Nace couldn't tell.

Nace broke their embrace and rested his forehead on Jan's, waiting for the younger one to calm down. Their palms were flat against each other.

- I think I'm drowning... asphyxiated. - Jan fought to get those words out.

In his mind, he just couldn't let go of Nace, yet he wanted to break this spell that he created. If only Nace wasn't in love with him, it would be so much easier. If only he weren't in love with Jan, they'd both be happy.

- You will be the death of me. - Nace joked to try to calm Jan down, but that didn't work.

- I need to bury it.

Nace understood with he meant – Jan wanted to bury their love.

- I won't let you bury it! - Nace grabbed Jan, who refused to look at him in his eyes, by his shoulders - I won't let you smother it or murder it!

- I just want your freedom, Nace! I tried to give you up, but I'm addicted! - Jan yelled at him, desperate to break Nace's heart -  You are sucking the life out of me.

Jan felt tears falling down and a snort coming from his nose all because...

He looked at Nace's big brown eyes which now looked like a red glass about to break.

- I don’t want freedom restricted and bounded.

Nace laid his head on Jan’s again and their noses met.

- Our time is running out. - Nace was trying to stay strong, as best as he could, but his hands met Jan's once more...he needed that friction to be able to hold on.

He squeezed his hand as hard as he could.

- You will squeeze the life out of me. - Jan said.

Nace pushed his lips against Jan's. Probably their sloppiest kiss ever, but they didn't know whether that was their last one or not. They just wanted to be next to each other.  They wouldn't mind dying from this kiss - "it would have been better than dying separated", that's what they believed in.

- Time's up. - the same voice from before came back to the room.

Nace and Jan didn't let go of each other. Nace felt his heart accelerate as he was pulled away from Jan.

Even after both being cuffed, they still wouldn't stop, which led to Jan getting hit in the head, and knocked unconscious.

- Jan! - Nace screamed as the last thing he saw before being blindfolded and knocked down himself was Jan being dragged away from the room.

[kay-elle-cee]

Hello there! I just finished And The Roar Will Rise and I'm speechless (okay maybe not really speechless because I have a lot to say about it) but anyway, I'd love a director's cut of this fic. What drew you to it, why and how you changed some things, et cetera...

Also, while I'm on the subject, I left a comment on AO3 but totally forgot to mention how incredible the kiss and the moment at the pub later on (including Sirius' perfect reaction) were, so please please tell me more about that too.

Much love ❤️

🙈 A director's cut for And The Roar Will Rise? Prepare yourself, Leda, because I have a LOT to say! (also thank you so much for asking, I'm so happy you enjoyed this fic!!!!)

Alright, let's go point by point:

What drew you to it?

I LOVE Newsies. Like, as someone who listens to musicals on Spotify on a daily basis, as someone whose top genre on Spotify Wrapped is Musicals/Showtunes every year, Newsies is one of my favorite musicals. (The others being Next to Normal, Spring Awakening, and Hadestown, if you're interested in that tidbit of trivia). I love the music, I love the choreography, and I love the push-and-pull of Jack and Katherine.

While watching the pro-shot on Disney+ for the umpteenth time (because yes it's available to watch whenever you want and features Jeremy Jordan with a comical NY accent but the face and singing voice of an ANGEL) I was deep into a particular wave of Jily Brainrot and maybe it's because Katherine has red hair and that helped spur me on, but I just thought "oh my god it's Jily." Not to mention the whole fighting-against injustice plot and the ragtag crew Jack is so embedded in.

Fun fact, I worked so hard on including nods to the lyrics and lines from the actual script without just, like, dropping them in clunkily. It was my first time doing something like this and I really enjoyed the challenge of at least trying to make these things seem natural. I didn't want them to feel out of place, but noticeable to people who are familiar with it (like James telling Lily to "Give 'em hell, Evans" in place of Jack telling Katherine to "Write it good." or James shouting to the newsies "All for one and one for all, we newsies are on strike!" in place of the lyrics "No one can make us quit before we're done/one for all and all for one" followed by chants of "strike!") I actually color-coded and annotated my doc last night and you can see that here.

Why and how you changed things.

*cracks knuckles* alright SO. A few things happened during the planning process that brought it all together:

The World

I knew off the bat that I didn't want them to be in New York, so I needed to move them to London. But with this came the complication of the entire plot—namely, the history of labor unions in England. I looked at that and thought "I don't really want to do that research and get something wrong" so I needed to find the new crux of the Newsies issue.

Sometimes I regret not adding magic into the world of my other AU, restless waves rise and fall, so for this fic, I was like hmmmm what if there is still magic, and there's no statute of secrecy. How would that work? (I went through a few different iterations of this, if they still went to Hogwarts or not, if they all lived and schooled across England but came to London for the summer, etc) This also helped firmly establish a fictional world instead of it being more historical.

The Characters

And honestly first and foremost, I quickly identified the direct ties to the Newsies characters. I have been so adamant from the start (you can ask @alittlebitofeverything23) that Sirius was my Crutchie, even though Remus was probably the obvious choice. And Remus still would've been a good choice! But Remus is so Davey to me, and Crutchie being caught and sent to the Refuge very much felt like Sirius being caught and sent back to live with his parents for whatever reason (which I then changed to Azkaban, for ease and also canon-related reasons).

Picking my Pulitzer was hard for me.* I waffled endlessly on if it'd be Petunia or Vernon, but knowing it was them meant that there was kind of a clear canon-adjacent issue for the Newsies to face. It also made the reveal tricky, because if you know Newsies, you know Katherine's father runs the paper, but when you see it for the first time and she's in the office during that confrontation with Jack, it's a complete surprise. To kind of draw out that suspense a bit in Roar, I name dropped Mr. Mason as the owner (who the Dursleys have over for dinner in CoS), then you get Vernon, and THEN you get Petunia barging in with Lily at her heels. I'm calling it "the slow release reveal" 😂.

*On the subject of Pulitzer, I did briefly consider having it be an old wizarding family, or someone like Umbridge or Voldemort trying to sow division but that was too complicated to pull off so we just kept it simple.

The Plot

Now as for the plot (oh god this is getting so long, I'm sorry!), not only did I have a different central premise for the strike (which meant I had to find a new solution), I also had the fallout of Lily's article happen before the act break/chapter break, so that left a lot of questions for me while writing the second chapter. I had to adjust a bit, and I think finagling that is why it took me longer than expected to update. So I brought in a ringer, and that ringer was a nod to Katherine Plumber from Newies, and once I introduced her and other publications, the ending solution seemed a little more clear to me.

I didn't intend to get too in-the-weeds with press and prejudice but that's what I get for not wanting to do research on labor unions, haha. But it was really nice to write something just hopeful about everything, and I really loved writing how the Muggle newsies stood their ground and supported the wixen newsies.

The kiss and the pub.

Listen, the kiss scene in Newsies makes me absolutely FERAL. The anger to kiss speed does something to my brain, and I was SO EXCITED to write it! I've had the line "God you're so infuriating! I’m about three seconds from hexing you, you know.” written since like last summer, lol. James grabbing her wrist to place her wand under his chin, feeling like he deserves it, to have her GRAB his FACE and kISS HIM?!?!?!?! I'm unwell.

And I'm so happy you enjoyed the end scene at the pub and Sirius' little quips. I missed him in this chapter and wanted to give him some of those lighter moments after I rudely put him in jail. The end was a little tricky, I won't lie, because as I had the Newsies script up, I realize Jack's decision not to go to Santa Fe is pretty....abrupt? Like his friends are just like 😔 and Pulitzer offers him a job that he doesn't even seem excited about and he's like ALRIGHT NEWSIES HIT THE STREETS! So I really wanted to make James' decision a little more fleshed out....he's still getting out of London, just not leaving everyone halfway around the world, which seemed like a pretty good compromise to me.

Additionally, in Newsies, Katherine is very much a "wherever you go, I'll go, too" type of person in the finale, and while Lily has her own plans, I wanted her to have that same sort of encouragement for him. She encourages him to go to Australia if he really wants to, because she wants him to be happy. She listens as he talks through his thoughts, even gently offers her own thoughts on it all. It's been a whirlwind week for them, but she helps offer him clarity for his next big step.

*breathes* Wow I'm....so sorry. This got SO long. I hope you at least enjoyed my ramblings? Could honestly talk about this fic for hours probably. Thank you again so much for the ask and I'm so happy you liked this fic!

[rockinlibrarian]

Hi Rockin, for the ask game, I want to know about How to Catch Up with Your Therapist!!

1, 2, 3, 5 and 15, or whichever you like!

Thank you! If anyone else wants to ask me stuff, the list of questions is here, and the list of fics is here. I get tickled just knowing somebody knows any of my fics by name, so it's never too late to ask! There are 19 different fandoms featured in that list (granted, some of them are subsets of the same, like "Agent Carter" to "MCU" and "Tolkien--works and related fandoms" to "Lord of the Rings" AND "The Hobbit-- and that last one is crack anyway, but STILL), so I'm sure there's something for everybody!

ANYhoo, another ask for last year's Masked Author submission! Here's the link to my answer for #2!

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

I tend to draft in dialogue to begin with, and then I flesh it out with all the rest afterward. But considering this fic is just two people sitting in a room, one of them telling an increasingly over-the-top story, there really wasn't much in the way of stage direction to add. And who needs dialogue tags, when it's pretty obvious when Viktor's the one talking and poor Dr. Miller is mostly just saying, "Oh," a lot, in various tones of voice? So I decided to embrace the dialogue-only format!

3: What’s your favorite line of narration?

Okay, hmm. I was going to say that technically all the narration is also dialogue, but there are definitely some bits that it IS Dr. Miller's reactions that are my favorite, so I'm looking through for anything standing out to me and I think I'm going to go with this:

“So that’s when Luther and Sloane announced they were getting married. That evening. Since the Universe was imploding and all. And—imminent demise and all, that was the nicest day I ever spent with my family. With my brothers at least. We had a bachelor party just drinking and doing terrible karaoke, and…I have never felt so completely loved and accepted as part of the family as I did then. One of the boys. The Best Man, even. But, I mean, everyone was— it was a big old love fest. It totally satisfied Luther’s wanting to throw me that Welcome to the Brotherhood party, but it wasn’t about me, it was about us."

It's just so happy on so many layers that it makes me kind of teary, and it's the fact that we're looking at this scene from Viktor's point of view, specifically, and you realize how much that moment meant to him in so many ways.

5: What part was hardest to write?

I'm not sure at this point, but I know there were a lot of parts of the show I couldn't remember properly, and I was between Netflix subscriptions so I couldn't rewatch, so I was working from transcripts which are based mostly on closed captions so they don't give you the settings, the actions, or even sometimes who's talking. There are a FEW scenes I kind of glossed over-- the part in between attacking Allison and killing Leonard sticks out as not entirely accurate for one thing. And the actual events of the first (second?) apocalypse-- I was very vague there, but at least with that I could use the excuse that it was still the most traumatizing event of Viktor's life and HE probably couldn't look at it very accurately or in detail, either.

15: What did you learn from writing this fic?

That I'm not QUITE as invisible as I think I am, and there WERE some people who remembered me mentioning it in the Elliott's House Discord before I decided to submit it for Masked Author on the basis that no one would remember me! XD

Also and more seriously, it helped me get more of an objective look inside Viktor's head-- ironically enough. Because like I said in the post about him the other day, (and implied in the paragraph before this come to think of it), I've always related to his chronic self-esteem I'm-Nobody-but-I'd-really-like-to-be-Somebody issues, but having to examine his motivations for every little moment of the show helped me separate ME from HIM, and I understand better things HE'D do and feel that I wouldn't.

[newtonsheffield]

Molly, I do not know the number and variety of messages you receive. But I'd wager the positives far outweigh the negatives. I just don't understand how you let one negative comment completely derail your plan for a story.

I mean the corners of the internet are filled with people who just dislike everything. Some of your last posts also threw me off, with you talking about performance. Your fics have typically done so well. A lot of them making it to the top of the kate/Anthony tags in terms of kudos and hits. Yet, I didn't see you as someone who cared about the performance. I don't know what I'm trying to say in my rambing, but I feel let down on how quickly you abandon a work simply cause of some negative comments

Hi, I’m sorry you feel let down, I honestly am. However I would like to explain a few things before, as I’ve said: I don’t want to talk anymore on the matter.

Usually criticism doesn’t bother me, normally I have a fairly thick skin however, as I’ve said, recently I’ve been having a very difficult time in my real life. The details of which, frankly, I do not owe you an explanation of. This has left me with a slight aversion to wanting to manage conflict when I have free time. I use writing here as an escape, something easy and unrelated to my everyday life and stresses. In the past I have ignored the warning signs in the response to the first chapter of a fic and have ended up bitterly defending them until the end. Please keep in my that I publish about an eighth of the messages I receive on a daily basis. I simply, at this point in the year, do not have the energy to devote to that for this fic. I’m sorry if that is disappointing to you, but it’s true.

With regards to fic performance, in general, no, I do not care about this. And yes, as I’ve mentioned countless times; I’m very grateful and appreciative that a majority of my fics are well loved by a number of people. However, when 10-15 messages are received every day requesting updates I need to be realistic about where the demand is. Are there fics that I love that have been outperformed by those I don’t enjoy so much? Absolutely. That’s how the cookie crumbles sometimes but I need to be realistic and what content people want to see.

Finally, this: I am not sure some realise the reality of my writing schedule. I work from 7am to 7pm most days which means a lot of my writing happens very early in the morning and late I’m the evening. I get up early and I go to bed very late to try and provide content for people who enjoy it and that’s something that I enjoy doing. But it is difficult when it’s faced with criticism, no matter what that might be.

Let me be very clear on what my last few posts were saying: My mental health is suffering at the moment. And I need time for things to return to normal. I’m sorry if that’s letting you down, I feel let down by myself but there it is.

[trillscienceofficer]

do you have a favourite species design/lore headcanon, something you wish you could see on screen/had been explored more? (worflesbian asking from main 💖)

another very interesting question! I admit I don't have quite the same penchant for worldbuilding that I admire in so many other Trekkies; I'm always thinking 'well I wouldn't want this species to be a monoculture, canon basically never question that assumption and it's boring', but then my pea-sized brain completely seizes up at the prospect of having to come up with an entire world history in order to explain why Trill fashion on DS9 seems to favor square necklines and long tunics heavily, especially for men. But again I digress! (And also, apologies, this got long.)

Of course my first answer is always going to be that I wanted anything about Trill and the joining to be less hand-waved as space magic on an episode by episode basis and more planned out, but even more than that I just would've loved to learn more about Trill as a planet (we don't even know for sure that it is in the Federation at all on TNG/DS9, though it's likely at least Federation-aligned). And I especially would've loved to hear both Jadzia's and Ezri's opinions about anything concerning the Trill homeworld and/or the Symbiosis Commission because I actually think their perspectives would've been pretty unique (and uniquely informed) on the subject.

As I mentioned in the previous ask, Jadzia's reticence in speaking about her family or Trill in general speak volumes to me, and imho indicates that she has a lot mixed feelings about the planet she's from. This also fits well with my idea that, no matter how 'revered' the symbionts are, joined Trills don't really have that much power on Trill and they kind of live at the margins of Trill society, comfortably but still under So Many rules designed to keep them apart from everyone else and especially other joined Trills. I think Jadzia may have realized that that was the case pretty early on, and perhaps found it difficult to articulate that realization to her family or any other Trill that doesn't share her perspective (you can see this a little in the way she and Lenara interact on “Rejoined”, too). And this is not even considering the way the Symbiosis Commission was ready to let her die in order to cover up past mistakes. I really would have loved to see Jadzia being somewhat forced to admit just how horrible that was and how little faith she must have left in the institution that should have cared about her joined existence first.

I think Ezri also would have interesting things to say, as someone who was an 'outsider' to Trill tradition even before becoming Ezri Dax. That plus her penchant for cutting precisely at the heart of the matter (again, that scene with Worf about the Klingon Empire!) I think she would have insightful things to say about Symbiosis Commission politics in general, not having the same stake in maintaining a facade of respect that someone like Jadzia, even as irreverent as she was, still might have had. I'm really very sorry that DS9 didn't bring this side of Ezri more to the fore wrt Trill.

As a last note, given discussions I've been having recently (plus your fic made me think about this even more!), I really wish Voyager had made it clearer that long-term Borg assimilation can't be so easily reversed, and that Seven's implants are prosthetics and treated them as such, rather than little more than aesthetic hints. Of course making them look like actual prosthetics rather than decoration would've been a start, and many artists and writers have done so luckily! But even more than that I would've loved if they'd been more consistently depicted as something that Seven uses because the process of Borg assimilation made her physically disabled. You could argue she already is in canon (the way she has to spend hours in an alcove to 'regenerate' means she is dependent on a machine in order to live), but of course Voyager falls into the trap of making her implants a superpower, which... eh. Of course her implants give Seven a lot of trouble too (her cortical node stopped working and almost killed her, not to mention the time that an interference from a Borg vinculum gave her the Borg equivalent of psychosis) but I really would have loved to see her less as a metaphor for and more as actual disability representation. Imho xB characters in general really skirt the line between metaphor and actual disability, and I wish that had been explored better and with more nuance, especially where Seven is concerned.

[mariluvvs]

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅── my introduction page :

★ my name is mari ★ i'm a minor, i use she/her ★ i post bout jshk most of the time but i do like the heathers (prefer the movie but the musical slaps too), the hunger games universe and the folk of the air series, stranger things (fuck noah schnapp), and atla (maiko shipper alert) ★ i usually listen to anything that i think sounds nice but i mainly listen to rihanna, taylor swift, britney spears, beabadoobe, laufey ★ i stan twice & ive (bias momo and rei) ★ i love winona ryder mention her name in a sentence and u have caught my attention ★ my ao3 ! ★ my byler fic recommendations ★ i love to talk to ppl and make friends so feel free if u wanna use my ask box or message me bc i do not mind <;3 ★ ps. if we r mutuals i might randomly leave in the middle of a convo bc somebody might be calling me or my device might die

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──

why am i doing all this?

well because, it's my passion. there's just something so special about posting about things i love and what i'm currently obsessed with, no matter how many likes i get. i also love eating churros, hanging out with my friends, listening to music, all that kind of stuff !! and sometimes while i'm in the midst of doing what i love, i get hurt sometimes. so i go to the doctor or if it's serious, i go to the hospital.

people in gaza who are my age, however, cannot do the same. they cannot follow their passions as they please. they cannot go to a hospital. since israeli forces have bombed their last hospital.

and not even just civilians who are my age. babies who are literally below 1 years old have been killed and are still getting killed, along with their mothers, fathers, siblings, entire bloodlines and loved ones. just sit there and imagine how losing one person you love would be. people in palestine lose people they love on a daily basis.

it's not antisemitic if you support gaza. many jews around the world support palestine. you don't have to be muslim, you don't have to be arab, hell you don't even need to be asian, you just need to be human and have some empathy.

please help support gaza by donating:

doing daily clicks for free:

and knowing what to boycott:

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──

tagging system :

★ #mari tries to stfu : personal/other posts

★ #maris byler : byler posts

★ #maris st : stranger things posts

★ #maris jshk: jshk posts

★ #maris thg : the hunger games posts

★ #maris danganronpa: dr posts

p.s. i’m still updating these and it’ll only be for more recent posts

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──

[nuri148]

Nuri my dearest ✨

I hope you're doing well!

Very curious -as usual- I'm here for the Fanfic Writers Ask Game with 14 - 51 - 55 & 75 👀 & to share a cup of tea as well!

😘

Bonjour et merci, Val! 😘

Here I am enjoying a cup of pennyroyal ☕ and pondering on these deep questions!

14- what’s your worst writing habit?

According to whom? If I go by all the writing advice onthe web, I should say "editing as I write". Like no, I can't keep of drafting if I see a typo two lines above what I'm writing, and if I go back and see something doesn't check, I need to fix it before I continue (unless it's, like, having to write a whole extra scene, in which case I do use a placeholder.)

In terms of what I consider a bad habit of mine, it's how easily I get distracted and sucked into rabbitholes not related to the thing I'm writing.

My husband would probably say I type too loudly 😆Sorry I'm so old I learned with a manual typewriter

51-share the synopsis of a story you work on that you haven’t published yet

Hmmm I don't know if I want to reveal much yet... it's arumika set after canon and before the events of my fic Not a Pirate. They will have to navigate a situation that shakes the basis of their relationship.

I may have made that sound deeper than the fic is sorry.

I've also one set right after the RtS which I was this close to putting up on AO3 but decided against it at the last minute bc the last part of it will likely go as a flashback in the first one I mentioned. I'll see.

55-do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

I prefer the term "in permanent hiatus" 🙈

I wrote about 600 words of a RM royal AU about 2 years back but I couldn't find the inspo to continue. I tried to adapt an original plotbunny of mine into AoT fanfic but I can't seem to get into it enough. Plus, I was in the middle of writing Clarity and my priority was (and still is) that universe. I'm not sure if I'll ever go back to it - or whether I'll ever write it as the original story. (weirdly enough, though I came with the idea before getting into the AoT fandom and more specifically rivamika, the main pair had an age gap and he was shorter then her.)

75-do you know how your story ends before you start writing?

Usually, yes. I don't really sit to write a story unless I know how I want it to end. Whenever I've dived into a story without having the ending clear, I've lost inspiration in no time.

However, knowing the end does not, unfortunately, keep me from losing inspiration/interest/faith from time to time. Especially if there are things that aren't clear in the middle too. That's the problem for instance with my current "on permanent hiatus" original story. I'm very satisfied with the start and I know how the ending should play, but I don't know how to solve the moddle without making it too boring or making it look like the end came from nowhere. It bugs me bc this was is to be the final story in a series of 4, and I don't want to leave it as a series of 3... Sorry, I'm rambling.

Once again, thank you SO much for your ask! Have a lovely weekend!

[iboatedhere]

Hi! So I have a random question about writing but no pressure to respond at all. I started reading your stuff as soon as I joined the LS fandom earlier this year. I am a big fan of your writing and how you can create a whole universe through one short prompt. This last month has been so awesome, thanks for everything you're doing to make the wait for Lone Star a little less hellish. Saving my life tbh. 😂 🙂

I have written a bit in some of my past fandoms and with the new season coming, I have been thinking of writing some stuff for Lone Star. I've never used a beta before, and since I'm sort of new to the fandom, I thought it might be good to find one if I decide to try writing for Lone Star. It sounds like you use a beta from time to time. I was wondering like, have you always had one? How does it work, is it just you tell them what you want them to look over and they comment? I did some googling and it sounds like what they do varies. Do you think it makes a big difference or is it just a nice extra thing to have? Is it hard to get feedback, like have you ever gotten negative feedback? That seems like the scariest part lol.

I still don't know how I'd find one, but just curious about how it works and how it helps, especially for a writer who writes as much as you do. Sorry this is kinda long, so no worries if you can't answer. Just asking around to some writers in the fandom who have mentioned using a beta before. Thanks so much in advance for any feedback!

Hello!

I didn't always have a beta, especially not when I was starting out and imo---you can tell. But that's okay! I mean, we all do this shit for free and for fun and as long as 80% of the words are in the correct order and 70% of those words are spelled correctly it's fine!

(If you ever sign up for a writing challenge or a big bang or something like that, they might require a beta and if that's the case I've found that if you don't have one, they'll assign one for you.)

I started to use a beta on a regular basis in the last fandom that I was in and found that it really helped a lot especially since I am not a proofreader and I never have been. Even when I was in school I would finish a paper and call it a day because I was not rereading that shit.

When you get into a new fandom is always kinda scary because maybe you don't have any friends there and it's super intimidating especially if the show has been going for a bit and everyone is kinda paired off into a groups and finding someone to read your work can be hard. I actually don't know how Sonia became my beta but I literally thank god that she did because she makes all my stuff so much better. She reads for grammar, spelling, structure--she'll tweak stuff that isn't working and switch stuff around so it sounds better. When I write, I basically just word vomit into a doc and she sorts it all out for me. I love it and I need it.

SO, basically, a beta will do whatever you need them to do, but they will only do what they want to do. I lucked out with Sonia because she does it all and she's a wizard but there are betas out there that only read for spelling or grammar (which is fine because they are also doing this for free and for fun). I will literally end a fic midsentence and be like "I don't know what's happening help" and she will help me. So for me, I definitely need one and I need it to be Sonia.

So, I would definitely suggest getting a beta, for at least grammar and stuff because I honestly cannot be bothered with that. You can tell when you read stuff that I just whip out there (codas written the day after an ep airs) without it being betaread.

Feedback:

For me, I absolutely sweated every single second after I hit post on that first LS fic. I was terrified that no one would read it or no one would like it and as a writer you want your stuff to be read and liked! But it all worked out, and now I'm really glad I took the plunge.

Negative feedback: I literally just got some the other day and you just have to tell them to go fuck themselves, honestly, and let it roll off your back. Again, we're all doing this for free and for fun and unless you specifically ask for criticism, they should not be giving it. Tag your stuff to the best of your abilities, leave an author's note at the end if you feel like something might get dicey, but beyond that, they know where the back button it.

[bonesandthebees]

[“If we don’t hurry up, I’m gonna be Tommy’s grandpa by the time we get out of here,” Techno huffed] This seems like the perfect time to mention that I love the way you write Techno so much. He’s mainly a comedic character, but that doesn’t mean he bland or flat. He still very much has plot value and aside from being funny he’s also very protective. He has a clear personality to shine through. He’s also the character to make me laugh the most on a consistent basis and you always manage to give him quips to shift the tone of a second without it coming fully outta left field or feeling out of character.

And Techno and Tommy’s bickering is so much fun. It does fade to the background to show us something else. I said it in chapter 23, but Phil and Techno have learned to never leave Wilbur alone when he’s not with Tommy. Tommy moves with Techno and Phil stays with Wilbur (feels like a very q!Phil characteristic too).

And Phil has seen Wilbur zone out a lot over the past months. Our favourite Pythia is constantly in his own head. Which is not always a good thing. So Phil has to check on him. And you can see that this conversation has shifted Phil’s perception of Wilbur. And then one they are about to have shifts it further.

Phil starts by trying to figure out what has Wilbur zoned out since he probably looks at least a bit upset or conflicted. He starts by confirming that Wilbur and Tommy are like brothers. He might have picked up on the fact that Wilbur didn’t deny that bond outright, so it’s a safe place to start. He points out that they act like brothers, Phil himself has only just noticed how much they do now that Tommy put the idea in his head. (He could have noticed sooner, but this is probably the first time he labels the real action ship as such).

Wilbur then mentions that he never had siblings, which triggers Phil to realise that he doesn’t know shot about Wilbur’s family before he became the Pythia and that he’s never mentioned a family before.

[“Did you have any family before you were chosen to be the Pythia?”] He did not, which 1. Extra sus on Clara from Phil from now on. I’m sure he’ll make the connection to how much easier it is to take an orphan. 2. If Techno mentioned the rant the “nobody cared until everyone did” comment will make a lot of sense, and if Techno didn’t mention it, then it will make sense when when Techno hears about it.

3. I’m not saying this is the exact moment Phil adopts Wilbur (though I like to joke about it), but in combination with the conversation before this, an idea is very much starting to form. The idea of family wasn’t there, but it’s been offered. It’s more feeling than actual words. More tentative jokes than actual confirmation.

And found family doesn’t have to follow the same structure as a regular family. Techno and Tommy’s bickering shows that. He’s not Tommy’s father or uncle or whatever. There’s no label, but Tommy is still his kid. And Tommy confirming that he sees Wilbur as a brother turns that kid into kids, because these kids are very much a package deal.

But Phil realising that Wilbur has never had a family + they way he jokingly brushed of Phil being his dad, make it very clear that he has no idea how to be part of a family even if some part of him very clearly longs for one. As I said, and idea has been planted. The kid needs a family and Phil realises that he could give him that. Though they aren’t quite there yet.

(1/?) guess I have to start a new count since I closed the last one out of fatigue.

-🌲

aaa thank you I'm always so worried I don't give techno enough character in my fics but I also struggle so hard with his characterization so I'm just constantly trying to balance him, but I have a lot of fun writing his quips lol. and of course him bickering with tommy is always really enjoyable to write too

wilbur zones out literally all the time he's always stuck in his own head and it's definitely obvious to anyone who pays attention. phil can tell he has to check on wilbur, and like you said, his perspective shifts bc of that conversation

yeah phil of course could tell how close wilbur and tommy were at that point, but it wasn't until tommy said the word 'brother' that he really picked up on how much they act like brothers. and he wants to get a gauge for how wilbur feels about that comparison, and it's pretty easy to notice that he likes it more than he lets on

and then he realizes he knows nothing about wilbur's familial situation before he became the pythia. until it's confirmed. he definitely suspected that wilbur could've been a street kid like tommy, but the confirmation is certainly chilling.

exactly found family doesn't have to follow the structure of a typical family! even though tommy is basically phil's son, there's still something slightly different to their dynamic than father and son. tommy doesn't really think of phil as his father per se, but it's the closet word for it so that's what tommy rolls with most of the time. and then with techno he's very clearly some kind of combination of a parental/uncle figure to tommy as well, but again there's not a clear word for it which is fine. when it comes to ae duo, tommy's their kid and there's not much more that needs to be said. and now wilbur is slowly finding his way into this dynamic as well, and it's a careful balance to strike but phil sees what this could be