#the list is done btw i need to read it through two more times to grammar check (not fact check i don't believe in that) and then i'll Post

[batsplat]

deeply compelled by this photo

[tarjapearce]

As My Own

Miguel O'Hara x Daughter'sRoomate!femreader .

Don't think I have forgotten about the requests 👀.

WARNING: Fluff. A tiny squeeze of angst, Rotting tooth fluff, daily snippets of life, anxious dad.

Summary: Gabi wants a mom. And who is Miguel to deny such wish?

Requested Here. Hope you like ❤️ Feedback is highly appreciated.

Sighing for the third time in a row, Miguel looked fondly at the pictures of his daughter through the years, until she grew out to be a lovely young lady, whose talents in soccer had earned her a scholarship in college.

Despite being terrified of the idea of Gabriela spreading her wings and soar into life itself, he knew the moment would come sooner or later, more like, right now. He was unpacking some boxes into the apartment Gabi would be staying, and if he was honest, the idea of her sharing a room with someone else didn't appeal that much on his trust issues.

If it wasn't for the house renovations needed to be done ASAP, he'd make sure to get Gabi a place for her own.

------

Emancipation had taken a toll on him and his mind, The once girly and colorful room filled with drawings, trophies and medals with a soccer player motifs, soccer star posters, some consoles and games, was now an empty space full of memories.

When Gabi gave him the news of her moving out completely, made his heart to shrink and break, but he knew that he had to let her go. Gabriela was 19 at the time, doing good at college, had found herself a half time job and a new roommate. The last one seemed the most preoccupying thing on the list. Was it a man? Did she eat well? Did she get along with them? Probably had gotten her a couple of fights, were they older? Was his Solecito safe?

It had been three years since she left home and pursue her superior studies and a professional soccer player career.

His mind was racing with the infinite questions and his stress gnawed at his chest, his phone buzzing interrupted his accelerating thoughts. He opened the message log and sighed in relief to see Gabriela's name on the screen.

He tapped at the message and his heart nearly melted at seeing Gabi with a goofy expression on her face, her hands making a V sign as she hovered over a small table set for two.

"Dinner time with Roomie~"

The caption read. The food looked delicious and esthetically pleasing at the eye. Nearly Michelin star awarded restaurant quality.

(Name) 's food is amazing! . Btw Im free next week, so come over, I miss you Papa.

Gabi had texted him some couple of hours later. (Name) ; at least he now knew that Gabi shared space with a woman. He didn't trust college guys at all. At least, he could sleep a bit better now. However, something had caught his attention, despite Gabi's competitive traits, she rarely loosened herself around others. And the picture only proved him right.

Gabi was unabashedly goofy and silly on the picture, with a genuine smile on her face. Whoever you were, he was grateful for making his most precious treasure comfortable and safe.

-----

The first time you met Gabi was quite the experience, you had just returned from work to find a lot of boxes loitering the entrance and part of the living room. Books, some baskets with soccer balls and equipment, Somw clothes and more books.

The burning smell immediately alerted you as smoke begun filling in the room. Rushing you opened the window and started to dissipate the smoke away with a towel.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" The young and tall woman panicked as she came out of the bathroom, body wrapped in a towel, just like her hair. Skin still sudsy with soap.

The chaos was tamed, leaving one of your favorite collectible pots, charred and useless.

"I'm really really sorry! I'll get you a new one."

"Don't you worry. Just... be careful. Don't leave the stove on when you are away. You could've burn the place down"

Gabi nodded sheepishly and looked down, when she noticed your chef uniform, the logo of a prestigious place she could only dream to afford in a couple of months and a place where he wanted to take her Papa as a surprise, standing out in your chest.

"Im (Name), the other tenant. Nice to meet you." Your voice was firm, yet kind. The kind of kindness that could insult anyone and still sound charming.

"Gabriela O'Hara. Sorry for your pot. I'll get you a new one"

"Ah stop it. It was just a family relic passed on generation to generation that now will end up in the trash."

You couldn't help but laugh at her panicking and guilty reaction.

"I'm just messing with you, sweetie. I got Ceci on a promo back at the supermarket. Don't worry. It's just a pot. We throw at least one daily at the restaurant. What were you trying to make anyways?"

Gabi didn't know if to be shocked or be laughing at your attitude. She settled for confused.

"Cause it smelled like cheap Mac and Cheese"

Her cheeks flushed and you just chuckled knowingly.

"Freshman?" Gabi nodded and you smiled almost endearingly at her.

"Such a cutie! I remember my first semester at college. Such a mess, terrible food and a terrible roommate"

"You're graduated?"

"A long time ago, yeah, Culinary school is something else. Don't get in there if you like having perfect skin."You chuckled and rolled up your sleeve, showing a few shares of scars and burn marks.

"Anyways, let's have a couple of rules okay? If you follow them, who knows? it can take us places." You grinned.

"No boys after 10 pm on weekends, and if you do, keep it low. Thin walls. Same applies to me, but don't worry about it. Im way too tired to actually do something about bringing my libido back."

Jeesh

Gabi's cheek flushed as her stomach fluttered anxiously.

"You can use my tools for cooking with the only condition to leave them clean and back at their place. Got it?"

She nodded at every reasonable rule you gave her. You had warned her that sometimes you'd be out of town due work, and that left her on charge of the place. It was brought to her attention that despite the place being small, it was conditioned enough to make it almost fancy looking. The kitchen specially.

Of course things just grew from there. At first Gabi was shocked to find you were a couple of years younger than her Papa. And that you had been single for quite a time now. Couple of years to be exact.

But that mattered little as her growing fondness for you was borderline adorable. You had helped her through some really bad times, like getting her a part time job at your workplace after being fired from the college coffee shop, something she never had the guts to tell Miguel.

Then you of course helping her out in her cooking skills, to at least stop eating plain ramen and packaged food bags.

"You're an athlete, you must feed like one."

"But I can't... afford it-"

"Uh uh. Shh." You shook your head and taught her to buy the right sort of meals even under a tight budget. Sometimes she would even find meals prepped for her whenever she had run short on money.

You were there when she got her first college date, and also were there when the young man turned out to be a fuckboy and a prick. Wiping her tears and feeding her a freshly made creme brule. A favorite of hers. You had also Dropped her and picked her up in her soccer practices whenever time allowed you so. She seeked guidance in you

She was there for you when depression was making it's way into your head, she was also there when she helped you to recover from a hang over after another failed date, and nursed you through your terrible period cramps. Even though sometimes harmony seemed disrupted by external causes, such as stress, work and feeling particularly wistful and blue, you'd always find comfort in eachother.

You were amazed by the fact that you realized that she was like the little girl you always dreamed to have.

"How come you don't have children?" Gabi had asked carefully. Despite the trust you hsd built over the years, there was some things you still couldn't bring yourself to discuss so openly, until now.

"I..."

"Sorry if I'm overstepping"

"Nah. I think it's time I actually come clean about some stuffs."

"Are you sure?" You nodded and sighed

"I can't have them"

Surprise drawed into Gabi's eyes as she stared at you.

"Infertility?"

"Yup. But... It's fine. I've come to terms with it, so..."

You trailed and she swallowed as her hand was placed above yours.

"For all it's worth? I'm sure you could have been an amazing mother."

Could have been

" To me, you... you are."

Gabi mumbled as tears swelled up in her eyes, threatening to fall. You stared at her, heart leaping in your chest

"Like... You are like the mother I never had... My Papa is amazing, but sometimes I actually yearn for a different kind of love." She hiccuped and you frowned, holding her closer.

"Like a mom. I want... I want to go shopping and talking about boys and how stupid they are. I want... to be cheered on by someone else at my games and not only my Papa."

Your heart felt breaking bit by bit as Gabi broke before you

"Don't get me wrong, I love Papa to death but... It's hard, y'know?"

"Ah, cariño." An endearment term you had learn from her, "You are such an amazing kid. Im sure that whoever comes into your life to take that spot needs to be amazing, because you're such a special young woman. Look at you, bright future ahead, smart, so so pretty and brave"

But Gabriela didn't want a stranger as her mother figure. She wanted you.

Gabi hid her face on your chest as you held her close, consoling her as much as you could. She remained there until she looked up at you with a suspicious glare

"Maybe I can introduce you to my dad" Your cheeks flushed bright red and she gasped, a bright bulb of an idea popping in her mind, sadness remnants vanishing from her body almost instantly

"No, Gabi, cariño-"

"You can meet him this weekend!"

"That's too soon, I am not prepared! Plus I have work remember?"

"He's staying all weekend, don't worry."

You had seen her adoring Papa through pictures she had showed you. The man was attractive, and looked certainly way too out of your league but of course you never told Gabi about it. You just shrugged it off with a 'Oh, cute'. But now that her plan was on set, you couldn't say no to her.

"Besides, I think it's time for you to actually meet guys. And this time no excuses like Im busy or stuff like that."

"Okay, okay. But if things don't work out-"

"I know, I'll drop it." Gabi rolled her eyes.

-----

Even though the recipe for a certain disaster was cooking, you tried to be optimistic about it. A bit of positive thinking wouldn't hurt you from time to time. However, your shift turned out a bit trickier than usual, since the restaurant had been reserved for a main event for important people.

In the little chance you had, you sent Gabi a little video of how crowded it was, and apologizing cause you didn't know if you were making a double shift and wouldn't be able to meet Papa.

Gabi just sent you a picture of the both with a "Miss you! Dad just came"

------

3 am. 3 am and you were finally done, no more stuck up clients pretending to love raw fish and meats, people that were just actually there for the food pictures and to be able to brag about they were there. Your feet ached, and so was your headache. The good thing was that the company allowed you to take some food home.

Keys tinkered as you grabbed them to finally turn them in the keyhole and entering home and closed the door, angry and heavy steps alerted you as the hulking figure of a man stood in the dark, as the dim lit red iris flashed at you. You had to crane your head up to meet his deep eyes.

Now you wondered where Gabi had came out so tall.

"H-Hello..." You gulped and he sighed, hard expression melting slowly.

"Sorry for... the late hour."

"No, no. Discúlpeme I mean, forgive me. Though someone had broke in, until I heard the keys a bit too late. I'm Miguel. O'Hara." He offered you his large hand that easily engulfed yours.

"Oh, so you're... Papa" you shook it gently. He was warm, and chuckled. "Im (Name). Gabi never stops talking about you." You gave him an amiable smile and put your containers on the dining table.

"Nice to meet you" you began unpacking, aligning the recipients carefully on the table.

"How's... Gabriela doing?" His deep voice snapped your focus for a moment and your eyes darted to his form. Sweatpants in grey, a white fitting shirt that snugged his form a bit too nicely for a short stare. Hair slicked back, pouty lips, thick brows and his deep... red eyes? He certainly was even more handsome in the flesh than in the pictures.

"Oh, she's amazing. Her practice in soccer has improved even more. She has a final next week."

His brow arched at how much information you knew about her.

"I apologize, she fell asleep in your room, despite me telling her that the couch would be-"

"Ah don't worry about it. My bed is big enough for two, and she isn't a kicker in her sleep. So make sure to rest properly. Oh! And welcome for the weekend. Would you like something to eat?"

Miguel shook his head and softly smiled at you. You were pretty. So so pretty that his mind was almost in shortcut when you were removing your chef robe, in the kitchen exposing a bit more of skin. Your left arm was adorned with little burn marks and cuts, you poured yourself a glass of wine when you felt his eyes on you.

"Want some?" You offered the wine and he nodded, a bit reluctant at first.

"Has Gabi acted out of place while I'm gone?" You giggled as you poured him some wine.

"If by out of place means sleeping one hour later than she is used to, yeah. She has." Your hands gave him the cup and he leaned on the table. Gabi groggily came out your room, lured away by the delicious smell of food.

"Hey" She mumbled and hugged Miguel and then hugged you, and remained with her arms around your waist. You kissed her forehead and she smiled.

Miguel entered in spectator mode.

"Hey, cupcake. Want some food?"

"Can I have it tomorrow?"

"Got you a Creme Brule." She grunted happily.

Gabi smiled and went through the bags, popping a chocolate coated strawberry on her mouth.

"Still, I'm too tired to actually eat. Got Papa and I some takeout."

"Takeout?! The good sort of thing I hope" Gabriela groaned as she made her way back to your room.

"Don't steal the fluffy sheets!"

"Yes, mom. Take a bath first, you smell like garlic." she mumbled and went to bed.

Your whole face was as red as a strawberry not because your smell, but for how she had called you, you gulped down the wine and sighed. Miguel stared at you and his chest couldn't help but constrict a little more.

" I apologize for that, Gabriela is..."

"Quite receptive to smells? Yeah."

"And she called you mom." He was more surprised about it than anything else.

"Ah hehe. Yeah, she had been calling me accidentally that a bit more often."

"Does it makes you feel uncomfortable?" He sipped his wine

"Not really. I find it cute. She eh... talked to me about growing up and how things had been for her."

"I must thank you. You have fed her, taken care of her and now even protect her."

"She's a great kid." You nodded proudly. "Couldn't find a better roomie, and a friend. You did a good job raising her, Papa."

Miguel cleared his throat and gave you a small smile.

"I hope she hasn't-"

"Relax, she's been nothing but a good kid all these years. You gotta trust her a bit more."

"It's the people around her that I don't trust"

"Ouch..."

"I mean, not that I dont... just... carajo." you giggled at his cursing as his brows knitted together

"I mean, my daughter trusts you enough to sleep in your bed, call you mom even, so... would be kinda dumb to say that you're a bad person... And I'm not making any sense right?"

You gave him a bashful smile and it was your turn to clear your throat.

"She's been busy at playing cupid. She thinks she is subtle..." You bit your lip and poured yourself a bit more of wine as Miguel rubbed his face, tiredly.

"What about, today at 7 pm?"

"At 7pm what?" He coked an eyebrow to you and Gabriela poked her head out of your room, sighing with exasperation.

"Por Dios pa, Te está invitando a salir!" (My god, Papa, she's asking you out.)

You just laughed and put the food in the fridge

"If you're up for it, that is. It's fine if you don't-"

"Make it at 8. Traffic has lowered by that hour."

"Alright." You smiled and took your chef coat with you.

"Sleep well, Papa."

He downed the remnants of his wine and smiled to himself. He had a date.

------—----

And a second, and a third and a fourth and a fifth. You were such an enjoyable being to hang around. You shared little silly texts, learnt a bit more spanish thanks to him to slowly bring down your language barrier. Even though you understood some words here and there, you wanted to understand so you could also feel part of the secret and long conversations the two O'Haras shared when it came to you.

Miguel was the first in making a move and kissed you around the fourth date. Nervous as you were, you finally felt good enough to just allow yourself to indulge in his company and what he had to offer. Great company, laughs, delicious make out sessions you didn't thought possible at your age.

Gabi had found you both eating each other's mouth in the livingroom

"Get a room!" She'd yell as she locked herself, headphones up her ears, but a beam in her face. Her chest swelled in joy knowing her cupid stunt had paid off.

--------

"You sure about that?"

"Yeah, pa. Like... She's the best. She's so sweet and... makes me happy cause you are happy."

"You'd be the only child, you're aware of that right?"

Gabi nodded upon remembering your words and your condition.

"Having a little sibling at this point would be awkward anyways."

"That doesn't mean I can't try-"

"Oh my god stop..." Gabi shook her head and Miguel smirked

"Payback for not telling me you were fired." She grunted as Miguel held her tightly.

"I think it's time to try something new."

"You'll ask her to marry you?!" Gabi gasped excited with a beam on her face

"Relax, Solecito. We're still knowing each other. And we wanna make sure that things work out before thinking in something so important as that."

"If you let her go, I promise that I won't talk to you again."

"Ouch."

--------

Bit by bit you had small milestones in your relationship with Miguel, you visiting his home back at New York, you staying a weekend in said home, you being introduced to his friends, sharing carneada with his friends, and of course, being found by Gabriela about to have sex, none of you mentioned it during dinner.

To make things even more convenient and better, your restaurant had opened a second branch in New York. Gabi was about to graduate college and of course, you both were saddened that soon you'll part ways. The both were too enraptured enjoying your mother-daughter relationship you had created that forgot about the future.

It didn't help to her sadness when you told her about you and other crew members of your work were selected for a three months workshop in France.

Despite your own sadness, both O'Haras cheered you to go.

"Three months is gonna be torture without you, but time goes so fast. You'll be back sooner than we expect it." Gabi had spoken. And of course, after her graduation, and a kiss goodbye, you flew to France.

Communication wasn't an issue since you talked every day. And still, the gnawing feeling of not being with them made you wish time to fly. You spoke every night with Miguel, telling him how much you have missed him. Even though work had kept you both busy enough, you'd always find a way to talk or text.

And when you came back? It felt like floating in a dream.

"Mom!" Gabriela rushed to you and crushed you in her arms, sniffling and holding you tightly.

"I missed you soo much, cariño." You kissed her forehead, Miguel joined a bit later with a rose bouquet on hand. He pulled you in for a deep kiss.

"Missed you, preciosa".

What sealed the deal for him was seeing you sharing a moment with Gabi. You were brushing her hair as you caught up eith the things you learned in France and how excited you were for them both to taste them.

He asked you to move in with them. And god he loved the feeling of you being around. Gabi was happy, he was happy and you were as well.

Everything about you had captured his heart. Your personality, your way to carry on things, the subtle ways you guided Gabriela without imposing in her autonomy, How much love you seemed to have for them, the delicious feeling of your skin against his on bed.

He proposed a year after. He wouldn't let you go, no no. You were too perfect for him, and a perfect Mom for Gabriela.

[killerpillar]

any book recs? looking for something to hold me over inbetween your updates! anything you’ve found yourself pulling inspo from for your fic or that you think a fellow levi fan would love?

hi!!! ofc, i've got plently of fic recs, i'm pretty sure i've read 80% of all levi fics on ao3 atp😭 I sadly have not had the time to read as many fics nowadays like I used to, but here are some of my all time favs!!

(also i apologise, my summary skills are terrible and so it's just me gushing over the fics for a whole paragraph🧎‍♀️)

Death's Door by SongsOfApollo

one of the first fics I read, and a fic that has literally never left my brain since then. It's amazing. It's very popular so I'm sure you've heard about it already if not read it, but if you haven't, it's a must read!! levi x doctor reader!

Dust, Diamonds by maokitty

the best way i can describe this fic is that it drove an iron stake through my heart multiple times, pulled it out, then delicately rearranged the pieces and stitched it back together with gentle fingers. take it how you will but after a certain chapter i stopped reading it bc it was too painful, and then came back two months later to finish it off AND I AM SO GLAD I DID.

A River Of Three Crossings by maokitty

this fic literally ruined my life it was so fucking good but its incomplete and hasn't been updated since 2020 i am SO SAD. but please read this, it's so good, so heart crushing and sweet and amazing I love it sm

ALSO I JUST FUCKING REALISED ITS THE SAME AUTHOUR WHILE WRITING THIS LIST😭

reciprocal sin by captain-hawks (@captain-hawks)

SO UNDERRATED!??! must read, i cannot say anything else but READ THISSS. its a kinky smutty oneshot so make sure you read the content warnings, but its sooo good😭 amazing writing too!

silver soul by oi_levi

sadly this one is incomplete and hasn't been updated since 2021, but it's brilliantttt. if you're craving some good post-war levi fics, then this one's really good!!

also read In the Land of Gods and Monsters by them for a fun time😊

a sip of sunshine by taomyou (@taomyou)

speaking of post-war fics, this one is amazinggg. super cute and fluffy, angsty ending for part 1 (😭) but I know for sure their next part will be worth the wait. also they've got a complete modern au fic called The Romance Of Reimbursements which is so fucking beautiful, definitely read this!!! (also mchs, acoc... yeah just read all of them tbh)

silver underground. by tothestrongones (@amywritesthings)

this one's a recent read, but omfg i cannottt get enough of it. absolutely love this, it's levi x underground reader, amnesia trope done right. 10/10 must read!!!

we all bleed red by littlerequiem (@littlerequiem)

also a recent read, but omfg this fic is so good. it's vampire au, victorian era, slowburn brilliant writing, and healthy communication!?!? no way. checks all the boxes for me😫

Percolate by heichoe

modern coffee shop au, its so good omfg. it's such a cute fic, classic grumpy levi, friends w benefits, lots of smut and the DRAMA gosh. i was so invested, it was so good. (also ur gonna need an account on ao3 to read the fic!!)

this is a story of the sea by shinzouing

this one is levi x erwin x reader (i read it for the levi x reader bc erwin was gonna die anyways lmao) but i fell in loveeee with it!! wonderful writing, amazing story, 10/10 angst & slowburn, a definite must read! (also 20/10 smut, it was so fucking good)

(also literally every fic by wellitcouldbeworse3 on ao3 is amazinggg, check them out if you haven't already. which i'm sure you have, and that is the only reason i haven't listed out all of their fics here😭 The Feeling's Mutual is my fav modern au fic of all time no questions asked)

THIS IS A JUST A FEW!!! if you want more, then feel free to ask, i will gladly rec more <33 and ty for reading my fic btw!! LOVE U LOADS🤗

[at-thezenith]

acquiring a manuscript - the agent and editor

hello, it's me, your favourite publishing student. let's talk acquisition.

so you've managed to secure an agent with your manuscript. then what?

most agents will do a developmental edit on first deciding to work with you. plot, character, pace, continuity and worldbuilding all come under this. what makes a good agent (and editor) is whether they are offering you suggestions on what to do instead of outright rewriting your work.

once you've made those changes (or gone back and forth depending on how much you do or don't want to make that change), your agent will send your manuscript to editors in publishing houses.

a key question on their mind is: can i sell this book? agents (and editors, but i'm getting to that) look at a book's merit, and they look at what they can compare it to. you need some sort of USP (unique selling point)

is it pride and prejudice but trans? most ardently by gabe cole novoa. is it black mirror in south east asia? red dust , white snow by pan huiting. (highly rec both, btw)

key note here - if you are submitting to a publishing house that accepts unsolicited manuscripts, you will skip straight to this next step.

your manuscript will land on an editor's desk, along with the pitch your agent has given them, usually tailored to that editor's or that house's tastes. in a big house, that editor will usually pass that manuscript to an assistant, to do a reader's report, in which the assistant will sum up the plot, point out strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly, tell them whether it is worth publishing. some manuscripts don't make it past this step, and in that case, the agent will send it to another house.

if the editor likes the sound of this manuscript, they will then read it. usually, they will read it three times: one for first glance edits, two for developmental edits, and three for line edits (line by line, spelling/grammar, vocabulary, etc). once this is done, they will tell the agent that they plan to put their house in the running for acquisition. then comes the acquisition meeting.

the acquisition meeting is where your editor will fight to get the publishing house on board with your book. remember that USP? here's where that comes into play. your editor needs, above all else, to get sales and marketing on board. how can i sell this book? editors often ask other members of the meeting to read the book beforehand to have some support, and to point to the book's readability.

the literary qualities of the book certainly come into play, but what sales and marketing want to hear is how your book is both familiar and new. so your editor will construct a pitch that both highlights the excitement of your book, but also point to previous successes with books like yours. i know that comparing books to other books is tedious, but sales are notoriously pessimistic. they control the money, after all.

but your book makes it through the meeting, and you have the whole team on board. now comes the editorial letter. this is where the editor is going to do their best to sweet talk you (and your agent) into accepting their offer of publishing your book. however, they will both gush about your work, and tell you the edits they want you to make to it, from the big developmental changes all the way down to the way a character moves in a scene. don't be discouraged if the list of changes is long; if the editor didn't want to publish the book, it wouldn't have made it past their assistant.

this of course is assuming you decide to accept their offer immediately. you could have offers from other houses, and in that case you usually won't receive the editorial letter - or at least, not in such great depth - until you have signed a contract with the house of your choice. that is more complicated.

hope you found this useful! my dms are open if anyone has any questions :)

[jennagrinsoverml]

hey if it’s not too much to ask, what are some of your recs for longer fics, as in like over 10k words? i tend to enjoy them more than shorter ones but they’re a bit rare, and vary vastly in quality, too. btw i loved your fic Love Is Blind!!!

[image description: Do you have any recs for long fics? Not super picky on which corner of the love square but I’d be super pumped to get some fresh fics (I’ve reread Back To Us, Happiness, and TLBATB one too many times lol)]

Thank you 💖🥰💖 (Love is Blind for anyone else who wants to read it)

I love long fics too, although I don't read as many of them as the short little one-shots due to the time commitment required. (There’s probably another dozen fics sitting in my marked for later list that would be great additions to this list.) 

I contributed to a rec list of long fics previously, and I’ve tried to avoid duplication, so I recommend you check those out as well! I actually had trouble narrowing these down. Here are my recs of fics that are over 30k. (Also, in case people aren’t aware, you can search by word count on AO3. Here’s an example searching for complete works over 30k sorted by kudos.)

The Unintended Consequences of Being a Superhero's Boyfriend by @karkalicious769​

"Adrien Agreste, is it true that you're Chat Noir?"

The world fell out from under him.

"The two of you do look remarkably similar." A second microphone was shoved into Adrien's hands and he took it instinctively. "And what do you have to say about the footage that showed Chat Noir going to your home after a successful akuma battle?"

"Yes, Chat Noir did come to my house. But not because we're the same person. See, ah—" His tongue stuck in his throat. And then, either by good luck or bad, Adrien thought of Ladybug. "We're dating!"

Or — With his back against the wall and his secret identity about to be revealed, Adrien blurts out the first thing that comes to his mind. Now, he has to manage the consequences.

129k. Once I started reading this fic, it was hard to stop! It’s just such a ride with a lot of ups and downs. This fic starts out kinda crack-y with Adrien blurting out that he’s dating himself to protect his identity. But things quickly spiral out of control from there and, while it’s still fun, there are a lot of serious bits too, and it’s all handled so well with a satisfying ending. I really loved this!

When The Morning Comes by @into-september​

Gabriel Agreste has been unmasked as Hawkmoth, and the girl who was fighting him all these years turns out to be Tom Dupain's daughter. And standing between them is Adrien Agreste with his life in shatters that Tom Dupain has no way of piecing together.

But baking is at least a place to start.

42k. This fic detailing the fallout, especially for Adrien, of a Hawkmoth defeat is so well done and has such an air of realism to it. The whole thing is told through Tom’s perspective, and it’s so interesting both because of the insight we get into his character, as well as all the things he sees--and all the things he doesn’t. He doesn’t know what happened between Adrien and Marinette, so neither do we, but we all see the ripples, and have to wonder. The relationships here are all so well done, especially relationships that haven’t gotten much (or any) development in canon. This one hurts, but it’s worth it, both for the journey and for its conclusion.

The Five Minute Adventures of Snake Noir by @kasienda​ 

After Ladybug admits to Chat Noir that she told someone her identity, she insists that he do the same. He wants it to be her. She insists it has to be anyone else. He suggests they use the snake. She finds this to be a reasonable compromise.

After many heartfelt five minute conversations that Ladybug doesn't remember, she decides he should keep the snake. That way he can always confide in her if he needs to. He also realizes it means he can talk to anyone… for five minutes... on repeat.

Contains many Season 4 Spoilers.

40k. This is one of those fics that I come back to over and over again because it’s just so good. The use of the snake miraculous here is different from any other use of it I’ve seen and it’s BRILLIANT. The way we get reveals over and over again, only for them to be taken back, and the development that happens. There’s amazing love square, but also platonic adrino, djwifi, and incisive and heartbreaking Gabriel and Adrien scenes. The heart and the angst and the development are all so well done. The concept is amazing and there’s so much emotion and the entire fic is intense af. This is seriously one of my favourites.

Imbalance by @thelibraryloser

Chat Noir is fighting evil all on his own, not aware he’s supposed to be half of a whole. Hawkmoth is desperate to get his hands on the Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculous, knowing that if he causes enough destruction the world will demand balance and the Ladybug will have to appear. And when she does, she's not what anyone expected. Chat thought having a partner would feel different- maybe like how he feels talking to the girl on the balcony.

42k.  This is a great AU where Adrien not only never went to school, but got his miraculous under different circumstances. Instead of Chat Noir and Ladybug meeting as fellow superheroes, we have Chat operating on his own for years before the story starts. I don’t want to give away too much and spoil it (though Marichat fans will especially enjoy this one). The writing is fantastic, and the storyline is unique.

Heroes and Lullabies by @botherkupo​

"There is something you can do," he says, mouth dry and his heart thumping faster and faster. "But I … I'm not sure if I should ask you."

Adrien risks everything when he reveals his identity to Sabine. Now, he has to deal with the consequences.

40k (but it’s the fourth in a series after 3 short fics which you should really read first). When Chat is badly injured in battle, he asks Sabine to take his place, resulting in his identity being revealed to her. And then Master Fu takes the ring and ahhhh there’s a lot of pain but also a lot of beauty and found family (the relationship between Adrien and Sabine is so beautiful) and a brilliant ending that really, really worked for me.

Maintaining a Professional Distance by @buggachat​

“I mean, how dumb does the mayor think we are? Offering us a permanent hotel room as a ‘gesture of gratitude for all our work for Paris’, like it isn’t clearly just some half-baked political ploy to place him more in the public’s favor after the whole school funding scandal, like we’ll allow ourselves to sleep in a hotel that we were publicly offered, making ourselves sitting ducks for Hawkmo—”

“It’s a pretty big building,” he countered, and at least he seemed amused, because she certainly wasn’t, “Nobody knows which room we were given but us.”

“It doesn’t matter!” she scoffed, “It’s still a security risk that he can narrow our location down at all! Also,” she jutted her arms out towards the bed a second time, “May I remind you? ONE. BED. ONE!”

———

Or, Ladybug and Chat Noir receive a hotel room from the city, which they most certainly will not use. After all, that wouldn't be very professional, would it?

Yes, it's a Ladynoir bed sharing fic.

43k. Immediately after finishing this fic for the first time, I did a speed read through because I wanted to experience it again 🙈 I loved the way the boundaries slowly shifted and blurred between ladynoir until cuddling was just a normal thing they do every night. I’m obsessed with Chat being so completely thoughtful, Ladybug being jealous (of herself!!), and the inevitable conflict with all of its hurt and beautiful resolution. Just absolutely love.

A Cat of Their Own by @sariahsue

Tom and Sabine have learned Ladybug's secret identity, it's obvious their relationship It's also obvious to them that Cat Noir adores their daughter. How deep do those feelings go? And how far are they willing to go to mother the boy underneath the mask?

30k. (Okay it’s a little under but rounding rules!)  This fic is so great! Once Tom and Sabine figure out Marinette is Ladybug, they want to be involved in that part of her life, and that means reaching out to her partner. And I am absolutely soft for Adrien finally getting loving parents in Tom and Sabine, with "Tim" and "Serena" taking Chat under their wing, even if they can't exactly meet. I love the way this impacts his relationship with Ladybug and the way Marinette feels about him and it all builds to a beautiful happy ending and identity reveal!

Can I Steal You for a Second? by AsAlwaysMir

Adrien is forced to participate in a new dating show, but becomes more excited when Ladybug says she'll participate as her civilian self.

AKA: AU where Adrien doesn't know Marinette, the superheroes are 22 and Gabriel is mean and ruthless but not Hawkmoth.

156k. This is an AU where Adrien and Marinette never met before, so ladynoir are in love. When Gabriel forces Adrien to go on the Bachelorette, Marinette decides to compete so they have a chance to be together. The catch is that, eve though she now knows Chat’s identity, she won’t reveal herself to him in order to be “fair” to the other contestants. The whole thing is pretty ridiculous, but really what’s reality tv without that? It’s a fun and crazy read that should definitely keep you entertained for a while!

[acavatica]

Does voting make you anxious?

This isn't like me, but I'm going to give my fellow millennials (and younger) the benefit of the doubt: Are you not voting because you don't know how? Have you never done it on your own? Don't know where to start? Read on, I guess.

(This info only applies to the US, btw, I think the rest of y'all have it together better than us. I mean, maybe some of you don't, but I can't help you.)

Register to vote. Vote.gov walks you through the process. Note: There are primaries where each party chooses its finalists. Those happen before the main election in November. To vote in a primary, you have to be registered to one of the 2 real political parties. "Independent" doesn't mean you can vote for whichever one you like, it means you don't get to vote in the primary. I don't "identify" with the Democratic Party, either, but the fact is, any viable progressive candidate is going to be running as a Democrat and being a registered Democrat allows you to vote for people who represent you better. Do not register as an Independent. This doesn't matter for 2022, because primaries are over, but keep it in mind for the future.

Find your voting location. This time the tool is at vote.org. Right now, at least for me, my voting location hasn't been assigned. But when it is, you can put your address in here and find out where to go to vote in person. This page also has a list by state that takes you to your state's voting website. You can probably also do a mail-in or absentee ballot, but those rules vary state by state and I'm just some rando on tumblr. If you have going-outside-anxiety, google "absentee voting [the state you live in]." We are not allowed to vote online in the US.

Extra Credit for the Nerds: Look up who you'll be voting for. Put in your address, it shows you your ballot. Generally speaking, in a national (non-primary) election you can just vote down the party line of your preference, you'll usually only have two options, Democrat or Republican. It's really the primary where you can make the most difference, but we're here now, we vote for the lesser of two evils. But again, for the future, the less hype an election is, the more you can pick people you won't lose sleep over, we're talking local elections, midterm elections, primaries. When people only turn up to vote for the president, we get stuck with what we're stuck with. When people don't even show up for that, we end up where we are. I'm not blaming you. I have anxiety too. IMPORTANT: A lot of states have referendums for abortion rights this year. (California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, and Vermont.) The questions can sometimes be worded really confusingly. The links above go to each state's individual referendum so you can read the question and make sure you understand before you get to the poll.

Make a plan. Find out if you need ID (bring it just in case). Arrange transportation. Get an accountability buddy. Put it in your calendar. My polling places are open 6AM to 6 PM and if you're in line at 6PM you're guaranteed to be able to vote. The list from Step 2 should get you to your state's voting FAQ. If you are scheduled to work on November 8, 2022 (or some voting day in the future), know that 30 states require employers to give their employees some amount of time off for voting. Many states offer paid leave for voting. My state offers 4 hours unpaid, but hey, that's half a day off work. 🤷‍♀️

Vote on November 8, 2022. Here's what to expect: you walk into a school or a church or a retirement home. There are signs pointing you to the right room, and there are tables where poll workers might do some of the following: find your name in a book, check your ID, make you sign next to your name. You will either be given a pen and paper ballot or you will be directed to a computer ballot station. The ballot will probably look much like we practiced in Step 3 (this is where you get your extra credit). If you're voting via computer you might get to time travel to ipod controls times. Either way, it only takes a few minutes, you submit your vote, get your sticker, and then you go home or maybe get yourself a little treat.

This feels pretty cheeseball, honestly. I'm as disillusioned as any other progressive, and I think politics are fake 80% of the time. But I do work in government (in a library), so I know how to do these things, and I know a lot of people don't or are stressed out or intimidated. You don't have to love who you're voting for. You don't have to be enthusiastic about it. You don't have to expect anything to change because of it. But if you're scared, you don't have to be.

My ask box is open and anon is on if you wanna ask specific questions. ✌

[lexyvey]

Stranger Things Fic Recommendations

These last few months I've been reading a LOT of ST fan fiction and just wanted to spread word on some of my all-time favorite fics. Most are primarily steddie, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for those two lol.

Completed Fics:

without a flashlight in the dark by jurassicqueer (kukurosaki)

Takes place in s1 where Steve gets dragged into the Upside Down instead of Barb. By far one of my favorites. 10/10 recommend. It's a completed work with a little over 8,000 words and I wish I could read it for the first time again and again. Beautiful!

flight risk by Ayes, itskleo

This is probably one of the most popular ones on my list, but if you haven't read it yet, please, please, please check it out! The writing is phenomenal and these guys really know how to write a story (also the art that accompanies each chapter is just too freaking good). I've also been reading However Wild by them and it's really good as well but I digress. Steve is famous rockstar Eddie Munson's bodyguard and no matter how hard Eddie tries to shake Steve, he just can't. Then he figures out he doesn't really want to shake him off anymore... and need I say more? Go read it!

Black Out Days (Fairground Nights) by OonionChiver

Oooh the angst in this fic just doesn't stop. I absolutely love it. It's a completed work and a total binge read, though with almost 140,000 words there's no way you can get through it quick enough. It also kind of f'ed me up emotionally and I'm so glad it did. The fic is pretty much steddie to the max and I absolutely loved it. I feel like it's impossible to not want to reread it after finishing btw, so you've been warned in advance lol.

paradise by the dashboard light. by oaseas

another completed steddie fic at 154,000 words. Steve's car constantly needs fixed due to the Upside Down stuff and Eddie is the one always having to fix it up. Steve's nail bat is an "art project" and that just cracks me up. This fic is a beautiful slow burn with lots of pining. I'm in love.

smoke signal by Adure

Adure is possibly one of the strongest authors I've ever come across on ao3. This one shot was just phenomenal to read. I loved reading outlaw Eddie in this. It was just so well done. aaaahhh, just thank you so much to Adure for this one. I'm forever indebted to you.

New York Hardcore by CaptainHoney

Probably the best Punk Steve fic there is, or at least in my opinion. It's just a 7,418 word one-shot, but that's all you need because it's such a satisfyingly whole read. however... if you do want more (and you will) then you're in luck because it's part of a series including an Eddie POV as well as a sequel one shot.

WIP:

Jackrabbit Underneath by Grey_Lark

Probably one of my favorite Steve has powers fics. He has empathic powers, but doesn't know it, and that's just funny to me. This one is definitely not steddie and romance is not what the goal of this fic is, but the interactions with Tommy and Carol truly make it chef's kiss. It's incompleted but has over 210,000 words of content to tide you over until the next update. It's probably one of the most beautifully written fics I've ever come across.

Our Love to Admire by hibud

UGGGHHH, I'm literally dying to read more it's so good. Another Steddie fic that takes place after s4. It's one of my favorite tropes: enemies to lovers, but the author provides background as to why they don't get along and I just love it! It's also incomplete, but updates regularly. There's already over 200,000 words of poetic writing to satisfy you until the next update.

If I Ever Leave (You're Coming With Me) by roughvoiced, Sharpbutsoft (BuckysButt)

It's giving The Outsiders kinda vibes and I honestly wish there were more fics like this. I'm also a sucker for blonde Steve, though I had no idea until reading this. Eddie is still wanted for murder, but Steve manages to make them both disappear together on a road trip before Eddie gets arrested. Currently it's only 3 chapters in with 37,599 words, but so much has already happened and I just love it.

better by you, better than me by palmviolet

Eek! Another Steddie fic where Eddie is involved in all the Upside Down stuff since s1. Currently in the middle of s2 with 110,000 words in. The character development in this story is just top-notch. I swear this couldn't have been done any better. Can't wait for the next chapter.

Just Close Your Eyes ( the sun is going down ) by httphimbo

A hunger games au fanfic with steddie. I don't even know how I managed to come across this, but I'm so glad I did. I just remember going, hey that's a TS lyric so it's gotta be good, and then immediately getting hooked by the storyline. Every chapter leaves me on the edge of my seat. I'm so gone for this one guys. It's a WIP, but there's already over 25,000 words and it's a little over half-way in.

Please feel free to lmk any other fic recommendations through reblogs, comments, etc. I eat these fics up like breakfast and am always open to new suggestions. Might even update the list as I find new gems to add to the list :)

[gerudospiriit]

[Alright, I officially finished A Link to the Past so I can officially have an opinion now. Under the cut because it might get long (not that anyone will probably read this but I need to SHARE).

SO. To start this off, I really cannot grasp how people like what's his nuts from GG can say that this game is better than Ocarina of Time or really any game that follows it. However, this isn't about comparing the two games like a cranky, bitter baby. and all I'll say to such comparisons is they DEFINITELY improved on a lot over the years as any game franchise should. So, yeah, my bias aside, I would never say this game was better than OoT, and I don't think anyone actually being honest about it can either.

That said, the game was okay. I like getting some lore I'm less familiar with for what that's worth. The game was fun at time but, honestly, it overall felt more like a chore than a fun game to play. Starting with the story, which I get wasn't meant to be the focus, it's pretty standard: Ganon is trying to do mayhem and you have to do x, y, and z to stop him. There's really just...no meat to it. There's nothing really that makes me feel connected to the characters or what I'm trying to do as the gameplay feels too far removed from the plot, and there is nothing that you do that feels really impactful. The stakes don't feel like they're there.

I also didn't get how people praise this game and a few others a lot because you can do the dungeons in any order. Like...it wasn't all of them, it seemed to me? Like there were definitely times where I had to do one temple and get the item there before I could do another. There's definitely more freedom in that realm than other games, but I don't see how it makes the game better or worse.

My biggest gripes were with the mechanics/gameplay. I'll just list some of them and try to be brief about describing why they're gripes.

The item mechanics. On it's face, it's not the worst, but in practice it was annoying. Only having access to one item aside, it always felt clunky and obnoxious to set items and use them. I really think they could have optimized this and the menu system better in general to help that.

Maybe this was my dumbass, but the hitboxes felt...off a lot of times. Like I would watch my sword hit something very obviously but it wouldn't actually hit. Like I said, maybe this was user error, but I'm not really sure and it annoyed me.

BALANCING. I don't mind games being difficult or unforgiving. But holy shit there was literally no balancing of health regeneration. And I'll take partial blame on this: I could have done more to get all the bottles so I could carry more potions and maybe a net(?) to catch fairies(?), but holy shit. At least let people regen A LITTLE before reaching a boss fight. Like yeah, most of the boss fights were surprisingly easy, but when you have to run through the WHOLE TEMPLE AGAIN because you lost, it really sucks because, chances are, you're going to lose that health you got from your revival (which isn't much) and be back at square one when you reach the boss again. And that's not discussing how it feels like the enemies do WAY too much damage, which is especially shitty when you reach rooms where you literally cannot avoid taking said damage (I like to think I'm at least decent enough at the game, btw; not the best by any means but decent). I was at least a big cheater and abused the rewind function on the Switch emulator but holy shit. If I played properly, I'm not sure I would have made it to the end.

And my biggest gripe was easily how you could literally finish at least one whole dungeon, get to the boss, and realize you didn't have the weapon you needed to win. That's what happened to me. And don't get me wrong. I don't mind the finding items that will help you outside of dungeons just fine. But what isn't fair is that there is no indication that you needed the ice rod to beat the boss in Turtle Rock dungeon. You don't need it at all to progress through the temple, and there is nothing leading you there. This might be the only time this really happens (or maybe I just got lucky), but it's poor game design, full stop. It's unfair to the player imo to do that. Again. I don't mind that it had to be found outside of the dungeons. But if it is a NECESSARY ITEM there should be some story beat or something that leads you toward said item. I shouldn't be able to run through a whole temple, get to the boss, and realize I'm missing something.

I probably had more specific gripes, but these were the big ones. And I get some of this was probably on me; I'm not saying the game is absolute horse shit and terrible. But it really hasn't aged well. I like a hard game, but in places, this game felt unfair. I'm sure this is an improvement on the previous games (I only vaguely remember trying Zelda 1 and 2 and failing miserably as a kid), but, objectively, I don't see how anyone could say this is the best game in the franchise. To me, it's just dishonest because the following games have improved IMMENSELY on this one.]

[newtabfics]

IDK if you've done this but can you do a fluffy Ganondorf x f!reader where the reader is sick? Thank you ^-^

TOTALLY ADDING THIS TO MY REDEEMED GANONDORF SERIES which btw will have a master list up at some point. I've got them marked in my own document but like...i haven't organized it yet and I have an order in my head so far.

"Let me help her," he said simply. Upon the exchanged looks between the princess, hero, and village leader, he added, "She and I are close and she'll be more responsive to my presence."

"I don't know," Paya sighed. "You two are often around each other but..."

"Let him," The hero stated, grabbing the room's attention. With a shrug he said, "Her system is likely out of sorts after teleporting between here and the desert and back. She did collapse from the heat and he helped her. We can trust him when she's involved."

"No denying that," Zelda nodded before looking to Paya. The leader needed to make this decision.

After a long moment of weighing this, she too nodded. "Alright, but there'll be a guard at the doorway and you're not to leave until she is in good health."

"Understood. That in mind, Link," He said, turning to him. The swordsman glanced at him, body tense as he listened. "Would you mind getting some things once we've assessed her symptoms?"

That was how the former Gerudo King found himself in Y/N's home, forcing her to sit in the bed.

"It's just a cold, Ganny," Her voice croaked out, throat raw from coughing. "I just need to finish my research."

"It'll be there when you've healed up," He said before grabbing the book she'd been attached to. "You can still read in bed."

She sighed and nodded, smiling softly before letting out a startled yelp when the door slammed open, revealing the swordsman with an armful of filled baskets.

"Link," she asked, making him smile in greeting before he set it down. "What--What's all this?"

"Ingredients," He answered before looking to the large Gerudo. "Ready?"

Y/N blinked as she watched Link teach the man how to cook a stew that was rather popular for colds among Hylians. A little spicy pepper, some chicken, Hyrule Herbs, and rock salt mixed with carrots and Hylian Mushrooms.

More improtantly, something about the man's hulking frame in her small home was amusing, as well as heartwarming when he finally offered the stew to her.

Ganondorf's chest swelled with pride as she drained a second bowl. "You eat too," Link said as he headed for the door. "Don't let anything go to waste."

At the man's blink, Y/N chuckled quietly. "he's a big food guy. He gets upset if food has to be wasted," She said slowly.

He pursed his lips and nodded. "Understandable," he muttered as he turned to pour a cup of water. As he turned, he said, "Y/N, drink up. Hydration is good af–"

Ganondorf stopped, seeing Y/N rubbing her eye tiredly. He took the bowl as he set the glass down. "You need sleep."

"But–" She only surrendered when a hefty yawn broke through her defenses.

The man paused for a moment before holding up the book. "I could read this to you."

She stared at him a long moment before nodding with a smile. She listened to him happily as he read over the research text on Zonai devices. Everything from constructs to devices to charges to Zonaite! All of it felt like a soothing spell with his voice melded in. His deep voice rumbled lowly as he read over it, squinting a few times at words that she helped him pronounce.

"In my defense, this is in your Hylian," he had said after struggling through another word before a soft snore snapped him out. Looking over, she was out cold, scooted closer to the edge of the bed to be nearer to him. He bit back his quip about how the text would put anyone to sleep as he closed the book quietly.

Carefully, he fixed the blanket over her shoulder, blinking when she cuddled into a sand seal plush she'd gotten for herself at the racing event. Her peaceful expression made his chest warm as a familiar tug of desire coursed through him. His jaw clenched at the thought.

The thought of her looking up at him with a smile. The thought of her coming to him for anything, even little things. The thought of her leaning into his touch and–

He silenced the thoughts. His penance in serving Hyrule didn't allow for the thought or even the humor of romance.

Instead, he sat in the chair by her bed, only allowing himself the pleasure of her soft snores and peacefully sleeping face.

[faejilly]

jilly's week in review?

I guess or something. Idek y'all, I was gonna try and do reviews but then I just rambled about what I did instead, so this is clearly gonna need a format revamp next week

anyway

READING

Finished Daughter of Witches

and also St. Peter's Fair, which I had started AGES ago and sort of lost track of, but I'm doing the January Challenge on TheStoryGraph and couldn't decide what to read next but needed to get my pages in, so I went digging for random shit and I have read it before and watched all the Cadfael mysteries so it's not like it was hard to get into to finish it so I could save my streak.😅

Read A House with Good Bones (on purpose from start to finish in one day!) because T. Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon is absofuckinglutely one of my favorites. (There's a thought here about my occasional forays into the horror genre, and how some horror is almost kind of cozy because it's about protecting what we love from what we fear, and that is very much a Kingfisher kind of thing, but that might need a new post and a more functional brain to figure out where I'm going with that.)

Listened to a little bit more of IT while doing housework; I'm not great at audio books except when I'm driving, but sometimes I can manage a little (and I didn't want to distract myself from dishes by picking up a new book instead). Stephen Weber is an excellent narrator btw, for anyone who's curious.

WATCHING

The husband was sick last week, and I was only sort of doing shit either, so he kind of just put the TV on and let it go and I definitely will not manage a nice list with links like I did with books. There was some M*A*S*H, (oh, I did finally watch the special that recently came out on Hulu), and RoboCop (largely because Thing 1 gave the husband the new game for Christmas) and several different Predator movies of various quality, and a bunch of other stuff I am not thinking of at the moment. I know I picked a couple and watched them myself but with everything else I can't remember what?

Also some Mythbusters when Thing 2 picked something to watch for awhile, which is pretty much always entertaining even when we're like: your sample size is nonexistent and just because you can't do it doesn't mean someone who knows what they're doing couldn't have done it so are you SURE you should have busted that? 😅

PLAYING

I got Garden Story for Christmas and got through the quest-lines and realized I was quite far away from all the upgrades, so I've been periodically poking at it and trying to get my villages/tools better before trying the Final Boss. I have had a good time with Concord though, it's fun, I'm just not sure the leveling functions, such as they are, are paced/balanced quite right? 😅 (Or perhaps I'm just Bad At Fighting In Cozy Games? This does seem to be a bit of a trend tbqh, probably why I liked Wylde Flowers' lack of combat so much.) I also have found VERY FEW of the memories/weird achievements so that's a thing I'm probably going to have to look up hints for soon-ish...

(I did finish Potion Permit last year, which is great, I recommend it whole-heartedly: the potion building mechanic is usually pretty solid, it has good characters, a nice aesthetic, I did actually mostly have fun rolling around and fighting things/gathering stuff, but I did reach the end of the main quest and then go... huh, is that it? just because it, yk, kept going after the finale but there didn't seem to be anything there beyond like, a couple personal quests that needed materials I couldn't unlock until the end.)

MORE ENTERTAININGLY I THINK, we did also play some board games

Paint The Roses is QUITE HARD with only two people even if you stick to the medium level whims; or maybe I'm just not that smart?!? We did in fact survive without getting our heads' chopped off by the Queen of Hearts, but we legit guessed the last two puzzles so. Dumb Luck™️ is not nearly as reliable as actually figuring out how to plot your plants better.

We did Escape the Dark Sector (with more people this time, tbf) on our first try though! That was pretty delightful. It is atmospheric and potentially almost deadly without feeling too awful at any point! Also I got to punch a tentacle monster!

Mice & Mystics can go dramatically bad if your dice aren't on your side and you do like, one stupid thing to compound that, and then if you're invested enough to start over you can suddenly realize you've been moving tiny plastic mice and bugs around the table for like four hours and still only got through the first chapter... but not regret it at all because you like your mice and are very proud of them for finally making it!

Can you tell we like co-op games? 🤣🤣🤣

(I did also do some rearranging so the game room was comfier, so like, win/win I adulted and played!)

THERE WAS NO WRITING OR CROSS-STITCHING OR PAINTING OR ANYTHING ELSE THIS WEEK, so uh. Clearly my balance of activities is bonkers and I should maybe get off the couch/game chair(s) a bit more often.

[woodswolf]

Me before attempting to write Olimar again, one year ago: "Okay, this'll be interesting. Writing a character who isn't severely fucked up on two or five levels (but will be by the time I'm done with him). This will be nice a little experiment for myself."

Me now, having catapulted down the character study rabbit hole as I tend to: "Oh dear god, wait a minute: this guy is as deeply fucked up on the level of whom I usually write for! And I don't think that was my fault for once! I've been deceived! What the fuck?!"

(TL;DR: Your tags and ramblings made me Think, thank you. I'm certain you are having a blast tearing him to shreds in some terrible way I've yet to think of myself lol.)

(RE: all of this shit probably)

i have only really truly known this guy for a bit over a year and every little bit ive learned about him has only pushed me ever deeper into this endless well of fascination with whatever the fuck is wrong with him. this guy is a pathological liar as a method of self-soothing. who DOES that. how the fuck did he arrive in this scenario.

really when you get down to it olimar is like, perhaps one of the most depressed characters of all time, it's just that he's carefully crafted a presentation of symptoms that very cleverly hides this from both the audience and himself. this guy is literally miserable. he viscerally hates his boss and is frustrated with his coworkers where they're even relevant. he has somewhere in the range of mixed feelings on his job but generally wishes that it allowed him more time with his family. his family, which has so many undeniable problems it's difficult to even list them. where to start: his kids? his wife? his parents? every happy memory he has involves his family and most of those memories are brief glimpses at Connection that otherwise seems so absent from the rest of his life. he's a middle-aged man with a house and a yard and a wife and two-kids-and-a-dog and probably a white picket fence for good measure. he's ticking all the boxes that he was raised* to think were a one-way ticket to happiness. so why is he still so lonely? why isn't he happy? what is this general malaise that's hanging over his entire life? what's wrong with him?

(*whether or not he was actually raised on a variant of the american dream is a really interesting question but honestly not relevant here. there's a lot of interesting evidence in his logs supporting something more nuanced, but again. irrelevant)

and olimar's answer is that Actually! there's Nothing wrong! he's perfectly fine and perfectly happy and perfectly satisfied with everything in his life. nothing is wrong and he's perfectly happy and even if he weren't (which he is!!!!) he still has so many things that would make up for it. he has so many good memories that are just his that he can hold on to as hard as he possibly can for as long as he needs to until he feels better. he can write them down and read them back as a reminder until it sticks in his brain that He Is Happy. There Is Nothing Wrong. He Is Happy And There Is Nothing Wrong. because he did everything right, didn't he!! he made his choices and for the all the love of everything he holds dear he is going to stick by them. because he needs to. because if he doesn't, where would he even be?

and then this guy has the worst "vacation" of his entire life (DEFINITELY another blatant self-soothing lie btw, you CANNOT convince me that this guy would spend any more time away from his family than he absolutely has to what with his career) and the cracks actually kind of start to show. because he is very quickly launched into the worst series of circumstances he's ever experienced. and through it all he's just!! completely fucking Normal about it!! utterly fucking accepting of any outcome that happens to him because he doesn't feel like he really has any control. like he ever had any control. he should have fucking died. even before the thirty days are up he's just passively accepting of whatever happens. there are tons and tons of treasure descriptions or other entries where he expresses very explicit passive suicidality through things that could be jokes or offhand comments but really don't read like that. pikmin 1's entry for day 29 reads more like a reminder that he should at least try to not let himself die than an earnest attempt to actually do so.

and it's like, if he does survive pikmin 1, what does he even win? ever-increasing stakes at his job and ever-fewer ways to pretend that everything's fine. an ever-brighter flashing neon sign reading QUIT YOUR FUCKING JOB that he has to try increasingly hard to ignore. the job that keeps sending him back to the planet that almost killed him. the job that keeps sending him back to the planet where he barely survived by only his wits and the skin of his teeth. the job that keeps sending him back to the planet where he will die, because no one was supposed to save olimar.

and through it all you can see! you can SEE the way he gets increasingly stressed out as things go along. but he's still just going along trying his damnedest to pretend that everything is fine and he is happy and he doesn't need any help, that he shouldn't be trying to make an exit as quickly as he can and to maybe ask his wife to pick up a job so they can be a dual-income household now that their kids are a bit older. he doesn't need to be looking for anything better because he has the best he's going to get right here, and isn't that wonderful? shouldn't that make him happy?

and it's like, the way things are going he's never going to get there, and on some level he knows that. but olimar's whole fucking deal is that if he can't solve something he's going to throw himself at the problem over and over until either it gets solved or his skull splits open, a pattern that is only reenforced by the events of pikmin 1 and 2 and 3. so he knows that he's never going to be happy, but he's going to try this impossible task of being happy over and over until he either fakes it till he makes it or something kills him. so far it hasn't worked out for him, but maybe the NEXT time he blows up at somebody for no reason because he just can't take the stress of it all anymore!

as it turns out i have no idea how to end this, so on a tangentially related note: olimar is not a biologist by any standard and i will die on this hill. ALL of his piklopedia entries are creative writing exercises and i can ALMOST prove this. but that's a whole other post honestly. just kind of adds to the whole thing about how much olimar lies to the reader and himself.

[safarigirlsp]

Thank you for sharing my ask list!! We need to have a good old fashioned tumblr sleepover one of these nights lol! I’d love to know your answers to Qs # 11, 15, 18 & 21 !!

Merry Christmas! I hope you and Tori are having a wonderful holiday!

I love your Writer Ask List! I'm going to link it in my masterlist if I can ever get the stupid thing it edit and work. I hit my link and pic limit on it last year sometime, but I'm too lazy to create a new one. But if I hit edit over and over enough, it forces the changes through somehow, so I've been managing xD.

11. What is one fic you want to re-read for the x time in 2024?

I love these fics as much as any novel!

Fathoms Below

Beautiful Beloved

Flip NSFW Alphabet

And then Silky's incredible Assassin Mills, Underworld Kylo, Practical Magic Flip, The Bear and the Maiden Fair, and Ubi Amor Ubi Dolor.

I have a couple books by my favorite published author I want to reread this year too.

15. Which of your fics you would recommend to a new reader that discovers you in 2024?

I can never pick any one of anything, so I hope you enjoy spam!

Flip:

Bah Humbug

The Case of the Colorado Cannibal

Ghost Town

Everything A Big Bad Wolf Could Want

Mills:

Maneater

Jacques:

A Lady Worth Fighting For

Here There Be Monsters

Witchcraft on Your Lips

Wargrave Hall (This one will be finished soon! But it has all the bs I like!)

Kylo:

Kylo the Malevolent

Crossover with ALL the guys!

Bah Humbug

18. Would you consider writing an original work in 2024?

Definitely! I have two 'novels' that are ready to be proofed, edited, and pitched. One is adventure, one is horror. Both with romance too. I have a few more ideas for novels I want to write too. The problem is always choosing which one to write first!

I have a supernatural story with some occult stuff and the Devil; a wintery adventure story; an action hitman story; a joint modern adventure/old west suspense story; a comedy FBI story; and a suspense murdery mountaineering story.

21. What character do you think you'll leave behind in the new year?

As of now, I'm only writing for Jacques, Flip, Mills, and Kylo. I don't think I'll officially leave anyone behind, but Kylo interests me the least these days. I've never been into space Kylo and I've only written AU's for him. I'm not closing off the possibility for more Kylo AU's in the future, but these days when I think of AU's, I want to write them with Jacques. And I need to write more with Mills too.

Btw We need to get our asses back in gear and get some serious writing done in 2024!

[transgendertips]

Hi, I don't know if you're able to help me but I have top surgery in 2 months and I've heard that you should exercise before the surgery. I haven't really exercised because of my dysphoria and depression, and I'm now feeling very anxious about it... I'm scared my results will look bad because of not exercising and building muscle before the surgery. I am fairly healthy and thin but I definitely don't have much muscles - which doesn't really bother me. I'm just scared I have ruined my top surgery :(

So for exercise tips I’m prob not the best person to go to BUT—

Let’s look at a few things about this:

Post op, the things I have heard from MANY people is that it is incredibly important to do small stretches and massage the areas you’ve been operated on + the surrounding area in order to keep up/rebuild your range of movement. So it looks like some of the most important things are to rebuild range of movement in the arms/shoulders and to prevent muscular atrophy in the chest/shoulders/arms.

Pre op, depending on type of top surgery prep is going to look different, but since you mention muscles I’m going to assume it’s within the mastectomy category which can be varied in a lot of ways. Your insurance may require you to be on HRT for 18+ months without a single missed dose, your dr may or may not recommend HRT or exercise, and many drs have had many patients who didn’t have exceptional chest muscles, so you’re more than likely going to be FINE. More than fine. However many drs have said having SOME build up of muscle makes it EASIER for them to reconstruct the area in the later stages of surgery and many people who get mastectomies will say it’s easier to hide certain scars (if that’s what you wish to do) if there’s a build up of some muscle.

I also try doing the exercise thing and between time, fatigue, disability, it’s a pain in the ass, let me tell you.

Maybe the best thing is for you to combine something easy and simple with something else. For example, if you watch a lot of TV, you can add some simple stretches to that to increase mobility and to set a routine for yourself. I think the absolute hardest thing about exercise is the routine part.

You have most definitely not ruined your chances of top surgery, so try not to think too much about that.

I’m going to drop some links, as a disclaimer I haven’t gone through all of them but here they are:

TikTok Tony is a Top Surgery Dr he’s great:

This one is just about a book btw

And when I tried finding something about exercising with depression this was the only thing that fit what I was looking for

If top surgery is something you want/need, you’ve prob already done some research on it, so I say def go back to that as well and look to see what others have done. There’s plethora of guides and testimonials nowadays. Try not to be so hard on yourself too.

EDIT: totally missed the part where you said you had top surgery in two months 😭 omg that’s so great 😭 congrats!!!!🎈🍾🎉🎊 if your team has resources for therapy to deal with the stress of surgery etc I do recommend checking that out though. Follow your surgeons directions, do your stretches and massages, and do your best to take care of yourself and get plenty of rest 💕

[stargirlfeyre]

“I love Feyre, but she feels very Mary Sue. From what I've read of ToG so far, Aelin also feels this way. I like the way she did Nesta and Bryce better... dunno if it's author growth or what, but they seem to be a bit more complex and have actual flaws.”

Shit like this makes me think this fandom is full of idiots who lack reading comprehension 🥴 Someone make a list of things Feyre has gone through and accomplished ASAP. Bc it’s obviously needed. The infamous take of Bryce or Nesta being better written than Feyre or Aelin will always sound so so stupid. Nesta and Bryce haven’t been through SHIT compared to Aelin and Feyre, nor have they accomplished as much as the two of them have. No hate to Bryce btw! She’s sweet and shoots guns with star power. But let’s all be Fr. Bryce’s one liners have to same tone as Nesta’s one liners, SJM acting like they’re big and bad when they haven’t done much of anything. Mary sues? Bryce has done barely anything yet is now referred to as a Queen by SJM in only her second book and Nesta barely did shit in Acosf or the other books and is supposed to be the better character or queen type? Embrassing ass fandom…

One minute it’s “Feyre doesn’t have any flaws” the next it’s tearing her apart for the littlest instances of “meanness” on her part. Feyre isn’t a Mary Sue she’s just a decent person😭. I’m tired of people thinking any female character who isn’t mean isn’t complex.

Can’t speak for Bryce because I’m not done with her book yet but trying to compare Nesta and Feyre is just ridiculousness. Feyre gets off her ass and saves people all the time while Nesta only gets off her ass if Feyre can’t. And in my opinion Nesta had way more “Mary Sue” moments on her book than Feyre did but people just ignored it because she’s always angry and to them that means complexity.

[brick-a-doodle-do]

reviewing all 25 of my fics !!!!!

i have never read my writing! i just did. some was good, some was bad, here's my review and at the end there's a tier list C:

curiosity one

actively throwing up i hated every little bit of that i'm so glad i'm rewriting that oh my god why was that so popular?? 🤢

i can confidently say i no longer feel this way vvvv

curiosity two

ehhh getting better but still not the best. but at least i didn't cringe my way through the fic this time!! :D

curiosity three

writing is iffy because i'm mixing two different writing styles together

HOWEVER i LOVE the h/c in this therefore it is so far my favorite chapter :D

"tommy calm down, it's just a drink, see?" is just WJKEJFNRDNF i love it for no reason :D the interactions in this i admit are really nice

curiosity four

supposed to be an exiting chapter but tbh i did not execute that too well

uhh yippeee he's out!!!

curiosity five

mmm mm m mmmm idk how to feel about this one

very fast paced i will admit

this whole series is so fucking rushed 😭

curiosity six

meh

dialogue is pretty cool tho

overall this series is rushed and poorly made lmaooo

wilbur chocolate 1

okay this is pretty good

not lovely but it's readable and i honestly love this au so i'm not gonna diss it too hard

wilbur chocolate 2

i like this one

dialogue go brrr

also i feel like i executed wil's panic semi-well? i definitely made him have some trust in tommy way too soon but yk

i'll run away and hide with you

ehhh there's nothing technically wrong with it,,,,,

no real comments it's fine ig

spy au: unofficial prologue

idk there's nothing wrong with it like this fic !! :D

2022 summer exchange

again too rushed i need to draw out trust it doesn't happen in two minutes!!!

"you're pretty" makes me happy tho. don't ship dnf too hard but i like it :DD

ghosts are better than humans

writing is iffy but it's cute !!

company & repairs 1

first fic and it's mid. i got fanart for it though, that's pretty cool :D (i toooootally didn't ask for it, i got it just by pure chance. totally!)

mm i could've written his injuries better

i like my use of internal questions

dude in my earlier fics i was so scared to write like product names and the word "scream" and "yell" bc i didn't want it to come off as cringe like wth that is literally so bad

i let go, when i should've held tighter/an inconvenience, at best 1

typos are bad. bad bad.

writing can 100% be difficult

ended up deleting it to redo it bc after all this worldbuilding i need to redo some things :)

also dialogue is everything but accurate

never fucking again.

ok ummm i could've done his pain a lot better

i've gotten better at writing mental health so i'm going to rewrite this someday

but to be fair i wrote this alongside many other things that day---i was doing a bet,,,,

writing is actually kind of decent and i love how chill tommy is lmaooo "well, he fucked that one up" "at least he got his powers working"

apart from thattt i LOVE this au and am excited to write the first chapter :D

oh, george

okay time to see all the hype around this. 93 notes???? this better be good

not worth all the notes (sosososo grateful for those btw almost 100 notes that is AWESOME) but i can see why it was liked. i can usually tell if this community will eat smth up or not,,,

don't fall

i liked that

definitely my favorite so far

writing is decent and it's fluffy so i like it :DD good job me C:<

heavy is the head that gets no sleep

mm cute i like it :D

top for sure

2022 secret santa: too good to be true

okay the idea for this was like actually awesome, i loved having dream like kinda do into that trance thingy and having it fade in later. and i like how i incorporated "bitter stares" into it.

however there's a severe lack of dialogue and the action is drawn out, far too short and not properly there

it also felt rlly short so there's that,,,

the act of making noise 1

i like this one! it could be a little bit better but tbh it's a good au and i like the writing a lot more than some of my other fics so it s a win from me :D

i also think i has a nice flow to it? that could just be me tho

counting down the seconds

v bad i can see why this didn't do too well

deleting it cause this au is on hiatus,, might give it out as a prompt now :D

uhh writing wasn't too good and it was very boring, way too long asw,,,

mere monstrosity

I LOVED THAT??

it's actually well written??

WRITING SHANE IS SO FUN HIS DIALOGUE IS THE BEST----

this is such an underrated fic of mine istggg

top fics for sureee

sfdjsdjgdnf SHANE'S DIALOGUEEEE!!!!! I WILL GLADDLY WRITE MORE OF HIM!!

the little things (written)

badly written, fluffy, one of my oldest fics

cory's notes give me life tho <333 "your writing makes me feel warm" AJGFSAJDGEFJDNF i love cory smsm :D

shroud, you savior?

eh

good fic idea, poorly executed

and oh my god in my earlier fics i'm realizing how oblivious i was to how puncuation worked, especially for my dialogueeeeeee!! it makes me feel terrible reading it,,,,,

also the amount of fluff-to-angst ratio is good, but again i need to write panic better,,,,

hush 1

YES! I LIKE THIS! to be fair it's my newest fic but STILL i like this a lot!!!

good angst, suspense could be a tiiiny bit better but i still rlly like this!!! top fic for sure C:<

switched

fluff. fluff fluff fluff. writing aside the mouthplay scenes are the best things ever i am so happy this exists !!!!!!!!!

wow i have an excruciating number of fics. i did not like reading them :'D

tier list time >:D (more under cut)

Keep reading

hush 1 (writing, dialogue, plot, everything is good imo)

don't fall (if the writing for this was better it'd be #1 !! the fluff, this entire au in general, "i won't hurt you" mmmm this is a yummy fic !!!)

mere monstrosity (speaks for itself. i loved this fic! it's a bit rocky in the beginning but i just love shane sm <3)

the act of making noise 1 (YES this is good. the overall plot is iffy but i like chapter one so far, hopefully i can take this au in the right direction !!)

curiosity killed the cat 3 ("it's just a drink, see?" mm yummy)

heavy is the head that gets no sleep (prime boys my belovedd)

spy au: unofficial prologue (i just have a thing for spy!dnf <33)

wilbur chocolate 2 (like i said, dialogue go brrrr, and it's actually a decent sequel. wilbur chocolate beloved asw >:D)

wilbur chocolate 1 (angst beloved)

ghosts are better than humans (it's simple. i didn't overdo it,,,)

i let go when i should've held tighter/spy au 1 (spy au belovedd!!!)

never fucking again (love this au sm, my opinion is swayed again)

switched (tinies overcoming their fear of getting nommed is such a high trope for me,,,)

oh, george (my opinion is swayed bc of the tiktok it's based off of)

2022 secret santa: too good to be true (honestly despite my lack of flow & dialogue its pretty good)

2022 summer exchange (honestly idk why i don't rlly like this---i'm making a part two so some part of me should enjoy it?)

shroud, you savior? (ok this fic is an era to me it brings back positive memories :] also ppl like this so i meannn)

curiosity killed the cat 2 (he and wilbur talk, what's not to like? i like this chapter a lot actually)

the little things (little streamer au my belovedd)

curiosity killed the cat 6 (everything is revealed!!!! and wilbur not being able to really do anthing cause a. he's in tommy's storage and b. he's a traitor, kidnapper and villain in tommy's eyes)

i'll run away and hide with you (idkkkk why i don't like this either. to be fair nothing's really wrong with it,,)

company & repairs 1 (again memories and also idk this was my first fic, i think nostalgia is helping my decision)

curiosity killed the cat 4 (he gets out, that's pretty cool)

counting down the seconds (eeeehhh this used to be a cool au of mine but that was before i just stopped working on it and i realized it wasn't that cool,,)

curiosity killed the cat 1 (No.)

i switched these around so much lmaoo but i was dead set on the last two. curiosity was so bad wtf??

[spaceless-vacuum]

Hi my friend sent me the request you did for dark link daughter redwr and even tho I am a

Nerdy huge fan of Zelda. Some of the kinks I don't know about

Can you do a list of all the links and where they are from if you can.

Btw love your work after test tomorrow or today since it 12:58 and I Just got done doing late studding. I am going to bed but after The test and much need sleep I am so request some stuff from you. Have a wonderful day

So I got into the idea of different links from @linkeduniverse but there's also @linked-maze and some other au's that separate the boys into different people. Those two comics are amazing and I recommend checking them out.

I write my versions kinda of loose and I mostly base them off of what I know from the games.

Sky is the one from Skyloft and Skyward sword. He is the sword master who forged the master sword into what it is and is the best sword fighter amongst the group. He is quieter than the others and tends to enjoy listening to then rather than talking. He loves watching his decendants but feels bad about Ganon because he was the one who sealed Demise and got the curse placed on him.

Four is the hero of the four sword (some also put the hero from minish cap as being the same hero just them when he was younger). Their personality has been split into four and who you're reading from depends on if they're one person or more I tend to play both sides of the line but I think of them more as one and a half people. Like they can see themselves as separate but often don't.

Time is the hero of time. Raised by the deku tree surrounded by Koriki he was the hero who split the timeline into three. The oldest, but not that old, and done with this nonsense he makes friends with Fierce diety through a mask and takes on the leader role of the group.

Twilight is the rancher who met Midna and saw her break the mirror. He's the wolf who Wild met in his era as well and they are sort of like brothers at this point.

Wind is from wind waker and phantom hour glass. He sailed the seas with Tetra who turned out to be Zelda. This kid is a pirate who is the honorary kid of the group.

Legend is the hero of legend from a link between worlds and more. He killed Ganon twice and woke up a sleeping whale god at the expense of never seeing his girlfriend again.

Hyrule is from the original legend of Zelda and a link to the past.

Warrior is from Hyrule warriors, and he's the certified soilder and pretty boy.

Wild is from botw and now totk.

Others I write for:

Calamity is from hyrule warriors age of calamity and in this game the calamity was prevented via time nonsense and a bot named Terreko.

Koridai if from the old cdi games, the ones no one talks about for some reason.

Courage is from the tv show, the one who says "well excuse me princess!"