#this is terry as i mentioned in the tags on that other post

[altfire]

oh my god they were roommates

[joelsgreys]

flutter

Post Outbreak! Joel Miller x Pregnant! Female Reader

snapshots masterlist

summary: When you finally start to show, Joel has a tough time with it as the reality sinks in—he’s going to be a father again.

warnings/tags: 18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI. JACKSON ERA. (TW) PREGNANCY. established relationship. no mention of reader’s age, however in other works for this universe, it is implied she is younger than Joel, her specific age will never be stated so do with that what you will. brief descriptions of a pregnant woman’s changing body, brief mention of morning sickness, mention of breastfeeding (it only comes up in a conversation very briefly) these subjects can possibly be triggering, especially mentions of a changing body, so while i try to handle everything with the utmost care, i still ask that you proceed with caution. domesticity, reader enjoys taking care of her family, ellie is a little shit, grumpy joel, he’s sort of a dick at first? but only because he’s working through some feelings so let’s forgive him, okay?

word count: 3.5k

a/n: this is part of the snapshots universe, but it could absolutely be read as a standalone too. minimal editing, this has been sitting in my drafts and i did a quick edit during my lunch hour, so please excuse any mistakes.

“Shit.”

You almost can’t believe your own two eyes. Staring at your reflection in the large, oval shaped mirror hanging over the porcelain bathroom sink, your gaze widens in complete surprise. “Jesus Christ,” you mutter, turning to the side. It takes your brain about a good minute or two to process, really process, the way that your belly strains against the thin, white cotton of your camisole. It had seemingly swollen overnight—because it hadn’t been this prominent the day before, had it?

Over the last few months, there’d been changes.

Some subtle and some not so subtle.

“Ellie! Stop fucking staring at them,” you’d scolded the teenager late one evening during yours and hers weekly game night. For as hard as you tried focusing on what move you should make next, it was hard to concentrate on the chessboard in front of you when you could feel the way her eyes were fixed on your breasts. “I mean it! Quit staring at my boobs, you little shit.”

She held up her hands, her mouth full of popcorn.

“Hey, in my defense, they’re just fucking there, man. If anything, they’re fucking staring at me, okay?”

During your chess rematch the following week, you had accidentally knocked one of your pawn pieces off of the table. When you’d stood up and bent over to pick it up, she had made the observation that your butt seemed to have gotten a little bigger too.

“Bet Joel’s liking these changes,” Ellie had smirked. “It sure as hell explains why the headboard’s been banging against the wall more than usual lately.”

You threw the pawn at her, smiling in satisfaction when it bounced off her forehead and landed into her glass of lemonade.

One part of your body, however, hadn’t changed.

Not until now.

“Hon, trust me, you have nothing to be worried about,” Maria had assured you with confidence when you had brought up your concerns about your stomach. “Every woman, and every pregnancy, is different. I didn’t start showing until I was around six months, remember?”

“I guess you’re right.” You’d been around four months, then. “Doesn’t help that I haven’t felt the baby move.”

“You will,” Maria had promised. “Just be patient”

Biting your lip, you place a hand on your belly.

It’s always been one of the softer parts of you, but now, it’s firmed into a perfect, round bump.

“Maybe soon I’ll feel you move,” you murmur, giving it a gentle pat. You tug the lace hem of your camisole down as far as it can go and then pull at the elastic waistband of your blue, terry cloth shorts.

Shutting off the lights in the bathroom, you slip out into the bedroom where you find that Joel’s still tangled up in the sheets, fast asleep. He had been assigned to the afternoon patrol route today—normally an early riser, if he was still snoozing, it meant that he really needed the rest. Deciding it was best to let him keep sleeping for a little while longer, you quietly tiptoe out of your shared bedroom and head downstairs into the kitchen.

After making yourself a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice, and one for the kid as well, you prepare the coffee maker for Joel. You spoon dark roast grounds into the filter and set the timer for the coffee to start brewing in thirty minutes.

He should be up by then, you think, pulling a basket of eggs out of the refrigerator.

You’re starting to get used to this. Domesticity.

Despite your protests, Maria had made the decision to pull you off patrol that same afternoon you had shared the news of your pregnancy. “I’m putting you on leave,” she’d told you. “Effective immediately. I don’t want to see you outside of these walls. Got it?”

“That’s not fair, Maria. You were out on patrol until—”

One stern glare from her had shut you right up.

“Fine.”

Sure, you missed it and looked forward to the day when you’d be able to get back into the saddle with your rifle in hand, but this way of life had grown on you. Certainly a lot more than you thought it would.

You enjoyed taking care of the house. Packing Ellie her lunch for school and checking her homework. Having a nice a meal on the table for the three of you to enjoy in the comfort of your own home instead of having to go down to the crowded mess hall for supper because you and Joel were both always much, much too tired after a long day out on patrol to bother with cooking.

With the baby due to arrive in the winter, looking after your little family had become your purpose, and you did not mind it one bit.

As strips of bacon sizzle in one pan on the gas powered stove, you crack a couple of eggs into another, knowing the kid is already on her way downstairs. You can hear the sound of her old, tattered low top sneakers that you have been trying to throw away for almost a year now squeaking on the kitchen tiles just as you finish plating her breakfast.

“Morning!” Ellie pipes, the loud plop of her backpack into a chair prompting you to turn around. “What’s for brea—whoa! Holy shit!” Her brown eyes widen in shock when she sees you and her jaw drops. “Dude.”

“Ellie,” you say her name warningly as you walk over to the table. “Don’t.”

“You’re bigger!”

With a playful glare, you set her plate down, along with her glass of orange juice. “Thanks a lot, you little jerk.” You feign offense. “You’re making your own eggs from now on.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry.” Ellie’s cheeks flush a shade of red and she squirms, sputtering apologetically, “I swear, I don’t mean it like that at all. It’s just, your stomach, it didn’t—you didn’t look like this last night, you know?”

She’s fucking lucky that your raging hormones decided to take the morning off duty.

“You look different. I mean, you look great—”

“Ellie?”

“Yeah?”

“Just shut up and eat.”

“Deal.”

She shoots you a sheepish grin and sits down, scarfing down her food in her usual manner. 

“You get your fractions homework done?”

“Yeah.” Ellie huffs, rolling her eyes. “Took me forever. I was up until fucking midnight.”

Amused, you offer, “Want me to check your work?”

“Sure.”

As Ellie inhales the rest of her breakfast, you pull out a green, single subject notebook from her backpack and look over her homework for miscalculations.

“So, uh, how are you feeling?” she asks after a minute.

“I’m feeling alright. I think the morning sickness finally stopped, so can’t complain.” Shrugging, you close the notebook and stick it into her backpack. “You did good, kid. Only got two problems wrong.”

“Man, I really wish we knew whether it’s a boy or girl,” Ellie mumbles through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. “What do you want to have, anyway?”

“It doesn’t matter to me, Ellie,” you answer, honestly. Clocking the skepticism on her face, you laugh and say, “It’s true. As long as the baby’s healthy, that’s all I care about.” And you mean it. As an expectant mother in the post outbreak world where medicine is scarce, supplies are limited, and the closest thing you have to a hospital is the town’s old clinic, the only thing you can hope for is the smooth, safe delivery of a healthy child.

Before she can say anything, you both catch the sound of Joel’s heavy boots as he descends the staircase.

She quirks an eyebrow. “Uh, has Joel seen you yet?”

Grimacing, you shake your head. “No.”

“Well, I don’t wanna be here for all that awkward,” Ellie says, chugging the rest of her orange juice. She stands up and snatches up her backpack, along with her lunch bag, which you’d packed for her earlier that morning. Just as she’s about to whirl around on the heel of her sneaker and make a run for the front door, she pauses, watching as you make your way back over to the stove to light another flame. “Unless you want me to be?”

“I’ll be fine, Ellie,” you assure her. “Go on, get to school. Maybe you’ll be on time to class for once.”

“If you say so.” She wishes you luck and then bolts out of the kitchen, throwing a quick goodbye at Joel on the way out. “See ya later, old man!”

Nervously, you turn around and start cracking another two eggs into the pan. There’s no telling how he’s going to react.

Joel’s been fairly supportive since you’d found out you were pregnant, considering how unplanned it was. But you know him like the back of your own hand, and you know, despite the numerous times he’s denied it, that it has been weighing heavily on him. Each time you’d try to sit down to talk to him about it, he would brush you off and insist he was fine. But he wasn’t fine.

And you wish he would spit it out and tell you why.

In your periphery, you notice the stained glass butterfly he had hung in front of the window above the sink, the ornament catching and refracting the sunlight. Flecks of color dance across the walls in captivating patterns, brightening the space. You think of the sweet little girl he’d hung it for, the little girl he rarely talks about, that he keeps tucked away safely in his memory.

You bite back a small sigh.

By now, you’ve learned not to push him. Especially not about what he was feeling. He would tell you when he was ready.

“Who the hell lit a fire under her ass this mornin’?” Joel asks gruffly as he walks into the kitchen. “She ain’t ever this fuckin’ eager to go to school.”

“Not sure,” you reply in the most nonchalant tone you can muster as you use a spatula to scramble the eggs. Transferring them onto a plate, you add three strips of bacon, and then pour his coffee. “I have your breakfast ready, Joel. Have a seat.”

You hear a chair scrape against the tile.

“I keep tellin’ you I can make my own breakfast, darlin’.”

“And I keep telling you I don’t mind making it for you,” you quip, and you hear him grumble something under his breath.

Inhaling a deep, calming breath through your nose, you take the plate of eggs and bacon in one hand, and his cup of coffee in the other. Your fingers grasp the handle of his ceramic, owl mug in a near death grip. You exhale slowly, and then turn around to face him.

He sees your swollen middle and stiffens in his chair. 

The tension is instantaneous. Palpable.

Uncomfortable.

Awkwardly, you shift from one foot to the other.

“Your belly,” Joel murmurs, a visible tick in his jaw as his gaze drags over your midsection. “S’bigger.”

“Yeah. It is. Guess I’m going to have to start trading for maternity clothes soon,” you remark, shuffling over to the table. Setting down the plate and mug of coffee in front of him, you take a seat across the table. Your eyes try desperately to meet his, but they refuse. There’s no way for you to decipher what he’s thinking. You let out a small, nervous laugh. “Can you please say something?” 

He lightly clears his throat. “I’ll take you to Main Street on Saturday,” he tells you, picking up his mug. “I’ve got the day off from patrol. I’ll, uh, pick through some of my own things and see what I don’t need so we can make a trade for some clothes.” He pauses, then offers quietly, “In the meantime, you can wear my shirts. They might be more comfortable for you.”

You flash him a grateful smile. “Thank you, Joel.”

Sipping his coffee, he continues to avoid your gaze.

“Mhm,” is all he says.

Your smile falters.

It’s the middle of August.

The afternoon heat is sweltering. Unforgiving.

“Jesus, it’s a fuckin’ scorcher,” Tommy sighs, glancing over towards the lake where his mare, Maxine, is taking a drink beside his brother’s stallion, Phoenix. His raven curls are damp with sweat, plastered to his forehead. “Hotter than the devil’s fuckin’ balls out here, ain’t it?”

He’s met with silence.

Looking over his shoulder, he sees Joel leaning against a tree, his rifle in hand as he stares at the Grand Tetons in the distance almost like he’s in a trance. “Joel?”

Blinking furiously, Joel shakes his head. “Sorry, you say somethin’ to me just now?” He asks in a daze, pushing away from the lodgepole pine. “We headin’ out?”

“You’ve been actin’ real strange all afternoon,” Tommy observes, walking towards him with his own gun slung over his shoulder. “Either the heat is startin’ to get to you, or you’ve got somethin’ on your mind, big brother.”

Joel hesitates. His dark eyes flit to the other side of the lake where the other members of their afternoon patrol group are refilling their canteens with water.

“S’alright,” his younger brother says. “Don’t worry ‘bout them. Can’t hear us.”

Joel’s chest heaves with a heavy sigh. “She popped.”

“Huh?”

“Her belly finally popped. She’s showin’ now.”

Amused, Tommy lightly shakes his head. “Y’shouldn’t be so surprised, Joel. Was ‘bout time,” he remarks with a shrug. “What is she—like six months along now?”

“She’ll be six months in a couple weeks.” Joel wipes the perspiration off his brow with the back of his hand and sighs once more. “Look, I ain’t stupid, Tommy. I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, but it still caught me by surprise. When I saw her, it became real for me. She’s got my kid in there. I’m gonna be a dad again.”

“You’re scared.” It’s not a question, it’s a statement.

“Shitless,” Joel confesses, feeling his chest tighten. 

“What are you afraid of?”

Joel almost laughs.

He doesn’t know where to start.

He’s afraid of everything.

“All of it, Tommy. I’m afraid for her, havin’ to give birth with no medicine,” he tells him, his voice breaking. “I’m afraid I won’t remember what to do with a newborn or that I won’t know how to help her durin’ those first few months—”

“This ain’t your first rodeo,” Tommy reminds him. “You did it once, and you did just fine, Joel.”

“That was over three fuckin’ decades ago. And it was a different world. If Sarah—” He stops, taking a second to catch his breath. The image of his daughter’s little face flashing in his mind feels like a violent punch to the gut. Even after all this time, it still knocks all of the wind out of his lungs. “When her mom had trouble breastfeedin’ her, I could head to the grocery store and buy her baby formula. If she got a real bad fever, I could load her up in the truck and drive her to the emergency room.” He glances down at his broken watch. “Besides, I was a lot younger, then. And I wasn’t half fuckin’ deaf like I am now. When Sarah would wake up cryin’ in the middle of the night because she needed a diaper change, I’d hear her. What if I can’t hear my own kid cryin’?”

“Joel—”

“I’m in my fifties. What if I can’t keep up because I’m too fuckin’ old?”

Tommy reaches out, clapping a hand onto his shoulder.

“Brother, I need you to take a fuckin’ breath,” he says, chuckling softly. “You’re puttin’ the weight of the world of your shoulders right now—you need to put some of it down. Look, we might not have everythin’ we used to before the world ended, but we make do with what we do have. Considerin’ just how many growin’ families we have and how many little ones we’ve got runnin’ around our town, I’d say it’s workin’ out pretty fuckin well.” He gives his shoulder an encouraging squeeze. “And as far as your ability to be a good dad, you’ve still got it, Joel. You know what to do, and so does she. I’ve seen her in action with my little boy, and it seems like she’s already got those maternal instincts, y’know?”

“Yeah, she does,” Joels agrees quietly, thinking of how you had stepped up to help him care for Ellie.

“Trust me, between the two of you, it’ll be alright.”

He peers at him. “You really believe I still got it in me?”

“I do.” Tommy smiles. “You never stopped knowin’ how to be a father, Joel. You’re gonna be just fine.”

Their patrol shift extends into the evening, turning into a double, and it’s late when he gets home. 

“What the hell are you still doin’ up?” Joel asks when he finds Ellie sitting at the kitchen table, cursing to herself as she flips through the stale, yellowing pages of an old life science text book.

“What does it fucking look like, man?”

“Shouldn’t have waited until the last minute, kiddo—”

Ellie holds up a hand and cuts him off.

“Save the lecture for another time, dude. I’m busy.”

Joel rolls his eyes. “Finish up and get to bed. S’late.”

Without waiting for some smartass response, he turns on the heel of his boot and then heads upstairs to your shared bedroom. He flips on the lights only to find that you’re already in bed, fast asleep, wearing nothing but one of his t-shirts and a pair of panties. He toes off his boots and leaves them by the door, being as quiet as he possibly can as he rummages through his top drawer for some clean boxers to sleep in.

He slips into the bathroom where he takes a quick, hot shower, scrubbing off that day’s sweat, dirt, and grime. After he’s dressed and his sopping wet, salt and pepper curls are haphazardly towel dried, Joel walks back out into the bedroom where he switches off the lights and climbs into bed next to you.

He lays on his side and he’s just about to close his eyes when he feels a light shift beside him. You roll over and curl into him, your belly pressing up against his curve of his spine.

He stiffens, freezing as if someone had just placed the barrel of their pistol against his back, their finger over the trigger.

Christ, get a damn grip, he thinks silently to himself.

Joel thinks about that morning in the kitchen.

He knows his reaction had hurt you. Or rather, his lack of a reaction. His shitty ways of coping aren’t your fault, and his struggle to come to terms with your pregnancy sure as hell isn’t your fault, either. He owed it to you to try harder to be the man you needed.

The man you both needed.

Joel’s train of thought comes to a screeching halt when he feels a soft flutter against his middle of his back, the spot right where your tummy is nestled—did the baby just move?

He lies still, waiting to see if he feels it again, and when he doesn’t, he rolls over to face you, causing you to stir.

“Joel?” you mumble his name, sleepily. “What time—?”

“Shh,” Joel soothes, pulling you into his bare chest. He kisses your temple. “S’okay, baby. Go back to sleep.”

He doesn’t have to tell you twice.

Within seconds, you’re asleep again, snuggled into him and snoring softly.

Lifting a hand, he hesitates, then rests it on your belly.

He waits.

And waits.

And waits.

And waits.

Until the minutes turn into hours.

Until dawn’s light filters in through the lace curtains. 

Until he finally feels that little flutter again.

He feels it against the palm of his hand. Faint, nothing more than a brief whisper against his skin, but there is no mistaking it.

He’d just felt the baby’s movement.

There’s a sudden shift.

Tense muscles that had been painfully wound up since the moment you’d mentioned to him your period was a week late back in the spring loosen slightly—the breath he had been holding since he’d picked up that positive pregnancy test from the bathroom counter finally falls from his lips, fanning over yours.

His fears, his worries, his uncertainties about what lies ahead, they’re all still there, of course, but he finds they are now accompanied by a glimmer of hope, a sliver of optimism that maybe, just maybe, Joel doesn’t have to be as afraid as he is.

Joel’s eyes glaze over your face, warmth radiating in his chest when you breathe a little a sigh of content in your sleep as he gently rubs your stomach through his shirt.

With his hand still splayed over your belly, he closes his eyes and begins to drift off, falling into the most decent sleep he’s had in the last few months.

Maybe his brother’s right.

Maybe he will be just fine.

divider credit to @saradika 🤍

[somehow-a-human]

The angels don't have to ask to enter the bookshop.

DO NOT ASK NEIL ABOUT FAN THEORY.

We've been operating under the assumption that BOTH the angels and demons have to ask to enter the bookshop, but I don't think that's true. I'm pretty sure it's one of our red herrings for season 2.

Continued under the cut.

When Gabriel shows up to the bookshop nude and oblivious, the doors are closed and (I believe) locked. Gabriel doesn't even know who or where he is, so he does what the default is... he knocks, and asks "Can I come in?" Aziraphale is frightened at first and tells him he can't come in but eventually our angels empathy wins and he says "Alright! Just... just get in!"

>> It's never clear that Gabriel would have physically been unable to come in otherwise.

When the Archangels show up Aziraphale literally cuts them off before they reach the door of the bookshop. Saraqael suggests, "Shall we discuss this inside?", and Aziraphale continues, "By all means. Would you like to come in?"

>> If Aziraphale hadn't rushed out to meet the angels, why wouldn't they have just walked into the bookshop like they did numerous times in season 1? Additionally I am fairly certain Aziraphale's "By all means. Would you like to come in?" was added in post via ADR. That doesn't necessarily add credence to anything, just an observation.

When Muriel arrives to surveil Aziraphale they ask, "Great! Well, could I come in and do it inside please? Only cause it's really noisy out here and I can't hear anything." Aziraphale replies, "By all means."

>> Muriel is an endearing angel who doesn't know much about life on earth, but had the shop been open and unlocked at the time of their arrival, they might've just wandered in as well.

We're never told the angels *can't* enter the bookshop explicitly like we are for the demons. We've always just assumed the same rules apply to all of the ethereal and occult beings.

But then, might I ask, why does Aziraphale tell us "Technically, this bookshop still counts as an Embassy"?

If the bookshop is still an embassy, the angels wouldn't need permission to enter, they would still have jurisdiction, and would still be able to monitor what's going on there... yes?

Let's compare this to the demons attempts to enter the bookshop, because Shax states clearly that she can't enter without permission. We see this again when she tries to get into the Bentley after it's canonically 'our car', and therefore at least partially owned by an angel.

I'm pretty sure John and Neil make a point of having the angels all ask in some way to enter, and Aziraphale seem to grant them permission as a red herring. They don't need to, but they want us to assume a false sense of security, to think that the bookshop is a safe space for our duo, outside of the reaches of both Heaven and Hell.

Technicalities are big in season 2 and I definitely think they're a huge underlying string running through all of Good Omens. In season 1, Crowley and Aziraphale stop Heaven and Hell from trying to restart Armageddon on a technicality. Gabriel and Beelzebub don't technically know if the great plan *is* the ineffable plan! It's definitely a favorite trope of Terry and Neil's to mock unfair, broken, bureaucratic systems, and Heaven and Hell are a PERFECT example of this.

**Somebody has written a meta on technicalities, I know I've seen it but I cannot for the life of me find it so if anyone could tag me so I could link it that would be brills! (Yeah that's right I'm adopting that from Charles from Dead Boy Detectives, 80's british slang ftw, I'm obsessed; please watch it, please, I need a second season.)

Neil has mentioned that the plot for season 3 might've had to be changed from he and Terry's original vision a bit, based on the political climate of the current day, and I'm sure that means we'll see some technicalities being the downfall of Heaven and Hells systems in Season 3 as well. I don't think the metatron is a villain, nor any of the other angels or demons. They're just fulfilling their function, following a set of rules, very much to a fault. This is all just God's big experiment after all, freewill, choice, eating the apple, and the angels and demons aren't exempt.

I wouldn't be surprised if there's some sort of technicality about the angels and demons themselves in season 3. We've seen that they're of the same stock, and we know Crowley at least is technically still the same person he was when he was an angel... more or less. Could the book of life end up revealing something like that the demons still exist perpetually as their angelsonas? A technicality, if you will?

Given the bookshop is still technically an embassy, is everything that happens inside observable by Heaven? Can they access the bookshop in their Earth Observation Files? There is some questionable blocking surrounding the bust in Aziraphale's bookshop, coupled with a curious record cover from Maggie's bookshop pointed out by @noneorother

Anyway... Let me know your thoughts. I haven't been posting as much, I have been mega busy and I'm trying to be thankful for it. Love you all, hope you have something nice happen for you today! <3

[wrishwrosh]

re: tags on labor in historical fiction post, would be very interested to hear what the four examples you mentioned are!!

ok u know what that tag WAS bait, thank you for taking it. technically speaking these aren't works dealing strictly with labor in historical fiction, they are my four treasured examples of BUREAUCRAT FICTION (so not NOT about labor in history?) i was gonna try to make this post pithy and short but then i remembered how extremely passionate i am about this microgenre i made up. so sorry.

bureaucrat fiction is not limited by genre or format but criteria for inclusion are as follows: long and detour-filled story about functionary on the outside of society finding unexpected success within a ponderously large and powerful System/exploring themes of class and physicality and work and autonomy and what it means to hold power over others beneath the heartless crushing wheels of empire/sad little man does paperwork. also typically long as hell. should include at least one scene where the protagonist is unironically applauded-perhaps for the first time in their life-for filling out a form really good. without further ado:

soldier's heart by alex51324. the bureaucracy: british army medical corps during wwi. the bureacrat: mean gay footman/new ramc recruit thomas barrow. YEAH it's a downton abbey fic YEAH it's a masterpiece. i've talked about it before at length, my love has not faded. the crowning moment of bureaucracy is a long interlude where thomas optimizes the hospital laundry (this actually happens twice or maybe three times)

hands of the emperor by victoria goddard. the bureaucracy: crumbling fantasy empire some time after magical apocalypse. the bureacrat: passionate late-career clerk from the hinterlands cliopher mdang. i reread this book every winter bc it is as a warm bath for my SAD-addled brain and every time i neglect all my responsibilities to read all nine billion pages in three days. it puts abt 93% of the worldbuilding momentum into elaborating all of the ministries and secretaries and audits necessary to run a global government and like 7% into the magic and stuff. there are also several charming companion novellas and an equally long sequel that dives more into the central relationship between cliopher and the emperor which i highly recommend if you like gentle old man yaoi and/or magic, but there's more bureaucracy in HOTE.

the cromwell trilogy by hilary mantel. the bureaucracy: court of henry viii. the bureaucrat: thomas cromwell, the real guy. curveball! it's critically acclaimed booker prize winning rpf novel wolf hall! mantel is really interested in particular ways of gaining and maintaining power in delicate and labyrinthine systems like the tudor court, specifically in strongmen who use both physical intimidation and metaphysical manipulation to succeed. under these conditions i do think my best friend long-dead historical personage thomas cromwell counts as Bureaucrat Fiction (as do danton and robespierre in a place of greater safety. bonus rec.)

going postal by terry pratchett. the bureaucracy: fantasy postal service of ankh-morpork. the bureaucrat: conman, scammer, and little freak moist von lipwig. this is definitely shorter and lighter than the other three entries on the list, sort of a screwball take on the bureaucrat. but the mail is such a classic bureaucracy thing? who doesn't love thinking about the mail? also contains a key genre element which is a fraught sexual tension with the person immediately above the protagonist in their hierarchy, who is also their god-king and boyfriend-dad. you can't tell me vetinari isn't torturing moist psychologically AND sexually.

anyway sorry about all this. if you've read any of these come talk to me about them. bureaucrat fiction recs welcomed with the openest possible arms.

[sugar-omi]

bruh it feels so weird to be writing smth that isnt a request... ily guys sm though tysm for sending your requests all the time, rn im taking this time to finish everything in my drafts + inbox n then i'll open my requests again 👍 anyway this was gonna turn into smut but i decided a part 2 will be best, so here are some crumbs for now <333

tags : Suggestive, all readers, drabbles (there is no cohesive order in the way things happen imma be honest), flirting, you know you have a crush on each other, touchy cove, (mention of) drinking, reader likes long hair, the length of cove's hair is up for interpretation (imagine his hair is like any of the step 4 hairstyles)

[inspired by this post: you n cove teasing/flirting with each other]

synopsis : you and cove are in college and since you're so busy, cove hasn't gotten his hair cut and it's getting longer than he's ever had it, of course you need to tell him how attractive he is with it long.

[part 2] [part 3 / TBA (this will b smut👍👍)]

it comes up when you're sitting on the floor of terry's dorm.

cove is looking at a long strand of hair he's pulled into view, scrutinizing the length. "I'm probably gonna go in for a trim... or do have my dad do it, it'll be cheaper that way." he laughs

you come in from behind, balancing drinks in your hand and passing it out to your circle.

"no way!" you start, "top three worst things a man can do is cut his long hair." you laugh, joking but serious on your opinion

"what makes you say that?" Miranda giggles, leaning into Terry.

you take a swig of your water. it's room temperature n does nothing to ease your throat.

"long hair is sexy."

cove feels his heart skip, suddenly feeling very hot and it's not from the smirnoff-ice you and lee bought during her visit last weekend.

"what's the other two?" Terry asks

"be a dick and insult your mother." you smile, taking the dice to the board game you're playing and rolling.

your piece moves up three squares, player orange owes you money.

Terry curses. "fuck! you're robbing me, man!"

you cackle, taking Terry's fake dollar bills.

coves still stuck on what you just said, and you keep grinning even when realize how red he is.

you can't help but tease him a bit more than usual today. maybe it's because of how he's wearing his hair and his glasses are hanging low on his beautiful nose, and it makes his face look so goddamn irresistible.

maybe the alcohol has you a little more brave today, just enough to make your heart not jump out of your chest at 100mph and for your lips to be a bit looser than usual.

"you look sexy like that cove.." you purr, tangling your hand his hair.

you push his bangs up to show his forehead, some shorter hairs falling out and the rest dropping back against his face when you reach around to tug on his work-in-progress ponytail.

you lean in to whisper in his ear, not caring that your friends are just a game board across from you, Miranda hiding her face n Terry making silent gagging and booing faces.

enjoying how red his ears are and how frantic he looks, you cup your hand as if to share a secret. "you make me wanna fuck you when you look like this.."

you lean back, leaving cove to process what you just said.

honestly, the two of you have been in this song-and-dance for years ever since you were 17, it started becoming unbearable, but not unbearable enough to do something.

for now anyway

it was from subtle glances to tangling your pinkies, than it went to undressing each other with your eyes from the other side of the couch. and then when you got into college it was mouthing dirty or suggestive lyrics to tease the other, and it was cove's hands on your back, hips, and leg as he pushed past you or held you down with his large palm on your thigh as he told Terry to take the backseat since you're his copilot today.

and his fucking smile when he said it, the little wink he gave...

and now it's been one hair away from dirty talking each other in the library.

you and cove are looking for the books for your shared class and he points out how the student working the front desk is giving you gaga eyes.

you laugh, a bit nervous at the thought.

cove stalks behind you, hands in his pockets and with the RBF on his face he looks lazy and mean.

"every time we go out, someone is checking you out... why are you so pretty y/n?" cove pouts, grumbling.

you roll your eyes. he's a bit tired from getting little sleep so he could study for the test he had this morning, and that cove is always a bit more... husky.

he licks his lips.

"serious. you're too beautiful to take anywhere.." cove comes up behind you, rest his chin on your shoulder and intertwining his fingers in your hoodie pocket.

you stutter, getting flustered. "c-cove! get off you big oaf!"

cove just hums, hugging you.

you tremble a bit, waiting for him to get off you.

it feels so good and makes you so excited to have him like this, to have his thick voice scratch your ears and now his body heat against you.

he removes his forehead from your neck, his hands taking a firm grip of your hips before he moves away. then in a low voice, scratchy with fatigue. "don't flirt back with anyone else, okay?"

he takes the books from your arms, bringing them up to the counter with a thump, biting back his smile as he watches the dude ring them up with a bit of a scowl on his face.

you flounder for a bit, feeling dizzy like cove just sucked all your life force out of you. it always makes your world shift a little when cove reciprocates your advances or flirts with you unprompted..

you snap out of your thoughts, deciding that the library was not a good place to have a wet daydream, and you rejoin cove as he accepts the books.

this man has ruined you..

[ballcrusher74]

hello. are you. perhaps 👉👈 willing to talk about the inspector/faux. ive only seen cool arts and no context so im rather curious.

OK!!! I actually love rambling about my ocs so small questions like this make me day. I just get nervous LOL But! I will say, there's gonna probably be a bit I'm leaving out because it does involve my friends' characters and it's still an on-going thing atm (we tend to roleplay on lethal company as our guys. btw the oc group is called Cleanup Crew ! it explains the recent reblogs and new tags I've added on posts with this guy) AND this does also involve my own little interpretations of in-game mechanics and other things, but otherwise, I'll get the rest of him down!

Inspector, also originally known by the name of Terrance Conroy (or Terry), was a typical scavenger working under 'The Company' after a couple rough times on his home planet. (This information isn't necessarily set in stone, but the idea of him being a washed-up rock star before quitting his passion to get a job that pays his rent has been bouncing around in my brain.) He used to be a normal guy, trying to find a little hope in his desperate situation, and was a social butterfly. He tend to bounce from crew to crew, sometimes staying in some for only a couple days, and some for months. He was a very careful man, and looked out for his fellow crew members.

And then, one day, his first death on the job happens.

But instead of being greeted by a bright white light at the end of a tunnel, or complete pitch darkness, he appears on the ship again- completely physically fine.

This.. confuses him at first, yet he continues on.

And then he dies again. And again, and again. Over and over, the more deaths he's endured, the more he comes to a morbid realization that he can't truly die, nor can those around him. He tries to keep this truth hidden away from the others, as they seem to not have mentioned it at all before. He remembers everything. Every time he was ripped to shreds by an eyeless dog, every time he blew up into pieces from a landmine, every time he was shot multiple times, every time he was left behind or ejected as part of the disciplinary process- He felt it all and remembered it all. This goes on for the course of years (around 8-10 roughly) and over that course of time, he begins to grow very careless. What's the point of saving someone if they'll just come back? What's the use of tears when you're only a couple dollars off quota with a shovel in hand?

What's the point of it all? And with that carelessness comes selfishness into the picture. With how long he's been stuck in the cycle, he has become a very manipulative person, putting up a playful and nice persona on the outside- almost sickeningly sweet- in order to help other's do his bidding. He believes that if he were to cause so much chaos, disorder, and disruption within a crew, to where it's like animals mauling each other apart, he'd be able to break free from it himself. He doesn't care anymore about leaving others behind. He's desperate at this point to find a way out. Faux, who is an alter ego / disguise for Inspector, ties more into the on-going events right now, but I can give a basic rundown on his personality. He's a klutzy and quiet man, typically only talking to others when it's just him and them, and nobody else around, playing himself off as a selective mute. Since this is just Inspector in a jazzy little jester outfit, he still possesses all the traits of that man, just hidden away as to not blow his cover. He's still tugging on the strings in some way, people just don't realize. Sure, he's off putting and just a tad bit strange, but how can a goofy man like that be terrifying?

WOOOW ok that's a lot more typing than expected, but here's also a couple fun facts about the guy !

He stands at 6 feet and 1 inch, and is a very lanky guy compared to others, but this wasn't always the case. He used to just stand at 5 feet and 6 inches, and had more normal human proportions. With how many times he has died and how long it's been of the cycle, it has fucked up his appearance a LOT. Other things include : his 'skin' being grey, his voice constantly sounding like it's coming from a walkie talkie, no visible neck, his face becoming the helmet itself (it still bleeds, but there's nothing in there), and inhumanly flexible.

The only thing left of him that represents his last strand of humanity, is a singular, dim eye behind the tape on his visor.

He is very much not a rational man anymore. He is quick to jump to things, and won't hesitant with his actions.

When waiting to return from death, he is able to manifest in someone's head as a disembodied voice, and will typically mock them, or try and manipulate them further. In this state, he can see everything through the eyes of the person he's haunting. ^ Fun fact about this! This was originally based off a stupid bit where my friend was streaming LC to me with other buddies on the game and I kept telling them to step on landmines and then kill someone for a promotion, and then Inspector was born!

and UH I think that's about it I have for the guy atm! If the rest of the cleanup crew gets dropped than I'll update this accordingly perhaps. As of right now, enjoy my oc slop 👍

[mickeym4ndy]

Tee, your tags on the Yev post are so correct! I absolutely think Mickey would have had a bigger storyline with Yev (and Svetlana) if he'd been in s6, alongside him and Ian being awkward exes who get back together eventually. I wanna do something with that in the s6 au I'm planning to write at some point, because it's so important for Mickey to be able to make a concerted effort to be a better man and dad than his own father was. And we know he's so much better than Terry, but Mickey ofc is so afraid of becoming his dad. And loving Yev and being there for him as a father is a way for him to heal from that generational trauma and not let himself be that person <3

Yes exactly!! I really think that this scene:

Was setting up a storyline for the next season where Mickey builds a relationship with Yevgeny. Like to me, this looks like as much as he is struggling, he does love his son (and this is the first time he’s realizing that).

I made a post about this before and @atthedugouts mentioned in the tags that so much of Shameless is about whether a child will repeat the sins of their parents or make different choices and break the cycle, and there was sooooo much to explore about that with Mickey & Yevgeny.

Which would’ve been such an interesting storyline. Not that Mickey would ever be as bad as Terry, but I think it’s something he’d struggle with within himself. I could actually talk about Mickey in season 6 & 7 for hours lol, I have soooo many ideas. And Mickey & Yevgeny is my favourite unexplored storyline.

I’ve said before I think it would’ve ultimately changed Gallavich’s dynamic a bit, not at the beginning, but eventually (things change when you become a parent, your kid needs to come before your partner sometimes, and Mickey for the last few years had put Ian first for everything) and that’s something I think they’d need to work out while they’re in the midst of the re getting to know each other/ getting back together stage.

But even outside of his relationship w Ian, in general it would have been so fascinating to see how Mickey grapples with trying not to be like his dad while loving Yevgeny but also struggling with how he was conceived and how traumatizing it was for him.

I think maybe he’d overcompensate a bit - be soo hard on himself if Yev ever simply fell over and hurt himself a bit while Mickey was watching him. Or if Mickey was ever struggling not to lose it while Yev’s crying (because it would be so overstimulating for him). Even though it wouldn’t be his fault I think he’d still struggle and blame himself and fall back into the “oh god I can’t do this I’m just like my dad” sometimes.

And he’d then try so hard to be better and be there as much as he can almost to a fault. And you’re so right it would’ve been such an opportunity for him to heal and to break the cycle. I think it also would’ve put his own childhood into perspective - he wants to protect Yev from anyone that would hurt him, so it’s so jarring for him to realize how much he was hurt and allowed to be hurt when he was a kid.

I’m also in general not a huge fan of the throuple storyline. So I would’ve LOVED to have seen Mickey & Svet be a coparenting/accidental bestie duo throughout the season (it wouldn’t have been like that straight away but eventually) and all the hijinks they could get up to - scams, funny stuff with Yevgeny, maybe going out to find real jobs together, if Mandy called Mickey about the dead guy and he brought Svetlana along (I need post murder sibling bonding pls). Just in general being a little unconventional family, because we know family is super important to Svet.

Also at this point most of Mickey’s family is gone and Ian’s broken up with him. Svet & Yev would be all he has left. It makes sense that he’d end up relying on & cling to them. (This is another reason why I think Gallavich would be different when getting back together after being apart for the better part of a year, both of their priorities would have shifted a bit).

Sorry this got so long, this is just one of my favorite topics I could genuinely talk about it for hours😂 I can’t wait to read your season 6 au fic!! Already know it’ll be so good!

[yenforfairytales]

Might be a hot take, but I’ve always thought that Johnny is Kreese’s weakness, and Daniel is Terry’s. Like, I know some people think Terry’s weakness is Kreese (and to some extent, yes), but Daniel seems to be his absolute obsession, his total undoing. Kreese at least had the best friends/comrades in arms thing, but the Daniel thing is just plain weird from any side. This once 17 year old brat has such a hold on Silver that the man threw away 30+ years of peace at the mere mention of his name. It was never about Cobra Kai. It was always about Daniel.

YES. I completely agree. And as more time has gone by since Season 4 came out, I've noticed even the more casual fans have noticed. Someone took this screenshot from YouTube, but I've seen similar comments on reddit too.

And Kreese, being another master manipulator, knew exactly what he was doing when he brought up Daniel to Terry again in 4x01...

There was literally no reason for Kreese to bring up Daniel LaRusso unless he knew that Terry would care. Why would Terry care. 👀

Kreese knows how to get people to come to him. How to dangle something that they want in front of them that only he can seemingly give.

When no other tactic worked on bringing Terry back into the fold, Kreese brought out the big guns and dropped Daniel's name.

Not to take away at all from the love and friendship that Terry felt towards John. But it became nostalgia and obligation, ultimately ruining their bond.

Little side note-- the fact that we watched Kreese make others do what he says in order to get what they want for three seasons made the prison scene in 5x07 even more satisfying:

AND the first person to play the uno reverse card and use this tactic against Kreese was Daniel. Terry's student. You gotta love it.

There's always been a little Cobra Kai in you...

I mean, we could speak at length about the parallels between Kreese and Terry and their star students Johnny and Daniel. The narrative mirrors and foils. But it's precisely their respective relationships with their students that is more compelling.

Anyway. I'm going to quickly list examples of Daniel's hold on Terry and then focus on the meat of the issue.

Terry falls apart and goes ALL IN on everything Cobra Kai only AFTER Daniel rejects his apology.

Terry gives Daniel multiple warnings to not interfere but never tries to gets rid of him like Johnny or Kreese after no warnings at all.

Terry dated a woman who looked a lot like Daniel with similar values.

Terry treats Kenny near identically to Daniel as a student but in the sincere way he wishes he had with Daniel.

Terry loses his cool when Daniel wants to surrender and walk out of his life.

Terry tells Chozen he considers Daniel his only rival. As in Equal.

I'm sure there's plenty I'm forgetting but you can find posts in the silverusso tag about all these topics and more. x.x

Now, let's get to one of the most important and defining scenes for Terry's arc. And again, it's a direct result of Kreese's manipulation:

Kreese, knowing what makes Terry tick and how to get him further on his side, comments that Daniel really knows how to hold onto a grudge. As if he doesn't. Anyway, it's twisting the knife into Terry again when he's clearly already low.

You don't think Kreese noticed how hurt Terry was at the rejection?

He notices everything. He learned in Vietnam from his Captain how to use love against someone as a perceived weakness. Many thoughts on that.

Anyway

The way in which Kreese says, "So... what now?" Tells me that he told Terry this was going to happen. You also have to remember their conversation leading up to the garden scene:

Terry was damn near close to defending Mr. Miyagi and Daniel over Kreese's own personal grudge. To the point where Terry was rolling his eyes and sighing over his friend being overdramatic about what happened in the past.

He was tired of hearing about it.

I'm sure Daniel told Terry the truth about that Halloween night. And look who Terry seems to side with...

Kreese wanted violent retribution and Terry was the one that talked him down. It was Terry's idea to apologize to Daniel and we'll just allll get along. Easy peasy. Surely, Daniel would forgive him.

But, Daniel proved Kreese right in Terry's eyes. As I'm sure Kreese hoped would happen. Couldn't have worked out better. I bet on the car ride over to Miyagi-Do, Kreese was complaining how this was a waste of time and LaRusso isn't the sweet kid you remember etc.

From that day forward, Terry is determined to prove Daniel wrong. About him, about Cobra Kai, about everything. Terry is going to make Cobra Kai work and help kids and he'll be the best sensei ever and Daniel will be sorry!

You'll be sorry you weren't a part of it!

I firmly believe that Daniel is Terry's true weakness and he didn't even realize it. But Kreese did.

And if Daniel had seen it, then he could've had Terry eating out of the palm of his hand.

The one movie quote they haven't used in the show yet is, "For person with no forgiveness in heart, living even worse punishment than death."

I'm hoping they'll use this with Daniel realizing he can help heal himself, and Terry, by forgiving him. Of course, Terry will have to do something more to redeem himself. I'm just saying.

And then maybe Terry can see that Daniel was his weakness all along, but there's still time to make him a strength.

One could argue that he already felt that way while he was being arrested. The way he was looking at Daniel... That awe. Daniel LaRusso got the best of him, again, all because he couldn't let him go.

Here's to hoping that Season 6 ends our suffering lmao.

I mean, who else has ever given Terry Silver goosebumps?

[karmirage]

fic masterpost

yeah i do have other marvel fics on my ao3 but some of them i wrote in high school also some of them i don't vibe with anymore

note that some of these are from a while ago! my perceptions and takes on characters change and grow, so if i wrote something, sometimes i won't agree with the characterization later. keep that in mind.

on that note: many of the old fics name Xuân as Xuyen, bc that was the fanmade actually-Vietnamese alternative to Xi'an before her name was changed in canon.

Family Colors (2018): 1,679 words. Standalone (there used to be a second chapter but I didn't like it so I got rid of it). Gen, Kamala-centric, Civil War II era. To whom do the Captain Marvel colors belong?

cloudburst (2019): 423 words. Standalone. Sam Guthrie/Roberto da Costa. ever wake up to a thunderstorm?

Retail Therapy (2020): 1,209 words. Standalone. James Proudstar/Terry Cassidy. Early-krakoa era -- I wrote this just a bit after krakoa became A Thing, when we didn't know what had recently happened with more minor characters like terry. also i think they're very cute.

Morning Song (2020): 955 words. Standalone. James Proudstar/Terry Cassidy. idk I think Jimmy would like cooking.

if you don't mind me saying so (i love you) (2020): 25,423 words. Part 1 of "love like fools." Sam Guthrie/Roberto da Costa. my funny little fake dating indulgence. the epitome of "I wrote it for me but you can read it if you want" (as so many of my works are). i haven't actually reread this one i have no idea if it's good or not. but it sure exists.

Days Off (2020): 1,523 words. Standalone. Sam Guthrie/Roberto da Costa. Sam wakes up sick and Roberto tries to help.

sunlight (2020): 2,090 words. Standalone. Sam Guthrie/Roberto da Costa. Seasonal affective disorder strikes Roberto.

the whole 'not being dead' thing (2020): 1,094 words. Standalone. Gen. Early-krakoa era. Jay is resurrected and catches up with his new nephew.

Winner Takes All (2020): 2,006 words. Two chapters (so far. might fuck around and add another chapter idk). Sam Guthrie/Roberto da Costa. Utopia-era. sparring and unsaid feelings and also Doug's new ability to read body language.

i don't want to spend my life (without your kiss goodnight) (2020): 1,702 words. Rated M for non-explicit making out. Standalone. Sam Guthrie/Roberto da Costa. the world has not ended so obviously let's party

my home in you (2020): 2,122 words. Standalone. Sam Guthrie/Roberto da Costa. patching up the other's wounds.

The Meaning of Family (2021): 10,926 words. Standalone. Gen. Ruth-centric. Ruth bonds with her family -- because she does have family, and no x man is truly ever alone. Also, possibly, she might kill someone in the future.

live our life like we know we could (ONGOING/HIATUS): 22,300 words. Part 2 of "love like fools." Sam Guthrie/Roberto da Costa. Post mission, post reveal, navigating uncharted relationship waters.

in the name of the moon! (2022): 4,382 words. Standalone. Gen (though it's tagged as Sam/Roberto, and you can certainly read it like that if you want, but that's not the focus). Sam textile artist real To Me. also: halloween and sailor moon.

i mean every word i say (2023): 1,559 words. Rated T for mention of sex. Standalone. Sam Guthrie/Roberto da Costa. Sam's been keeping secrets, and that makes Roberto nervous.

we will never be forgotten (2023): 2,689 words. Standalone. Sam Guthrie/Roberto da Costa. Roberto gets mindwiped, knocked out, and a visitor in the infirmary (in that order).

you're never gonna get a second take (2023): 2,166 words. Standalone. Dani Moonstar/Xuân Cao Mạnh. don't you just love those undercover missions where they have to dress in fancy clothes? yeah so does xuân

nothing holds me back at all (2023): 1,461 words. Part 1 of "the memories that make us." Gen. Dani-centric. Dani rides a horse for the first time (with her father's help).

you can never take this part of me (2023): 1,691 words. Part 2 of "the memories that make us." Gen. Sam-centric. Sam goes fishing with his dad and his gaggle of younger siblings.

~~~

works in progress (that I'm posting to hold myself accountable so I actually finish them someday):

- the rest of "the memories that make us" (i.e. the other 13 parts, one for each of the original nine and the six academy x era students. all of it is me practicing writing kids)

- king/lionheart Sam/Roberto medieval au. even tho I hate royalty the aesthetics kind of slam

- megafic (62 chapters planned! six tie ins! almost fully canon compliant all the way up to war of realms!) the ties that bind & related works wrt the better endings au

- rewriting document of high school fics (mostly samberto. I'm more or less a one trick pony)

- several shorter smaller things that I just have to work up the courage to post (including practice with NSFW writing)

- not a fanfiction: but my long ass academic paper (fully cited) that talks about the mutant metaphor and the actual minorities within the x men and my huge large spreadsheet that goes with it.

[reginavulturum]

Terry's Birthday: Fandom, the Internet, and Citations

Or, a too long, too in depth essay on a fictional character's birthday

If you aren't thinking I'm a total nerd by the time you're done reading this than you didn't really read this. But, let's start at the beginning. Recently I posted a timeline I made for "Batman Beyond" and in the time since I made that post there's been something I've seen pop up in tags which I'd never heard of before. A few people were saying that Terry's birthday is August 18th. I was really interested in the source of this claim because I had no recollection of ever seeing it anywhere before now. I looked it up on google (as you do) and found this date scattered around the internet. Case closed, right? But I quickly realized there was a consistent problem on every site I came across. None of them cited a source for Terry's alleged August 18th birthday.

Just look it up yourself and you'll find that the date is ubiquitous across the internet. Yet, as far as I can tell after all my research, it's also completely unconfirmed. I mean, I may have missed something, but if I have than someone else is going to have to point it out to me. I also made a post prior to this one asking people to cite a source for Terry's birthday and no one has so far. You can have a look at that post if you want to know what I consider a good source on this subject. In any case, if this date or any other had been confirmed in any piece of media or in an interview with any DC creator involved in Batman Beyond than I think I would have found a citation for that source somewhere by now.

Right now it kind of seems like August 18th is fanon that's been recycled into "canon". This seems to have happened through a process of source-less wikipedia edits being parroted across reddit threads, sites featuring profiles of comic heroes, other wikis, etc. The less popular June 27th birthday for Terry seems to have gone through the same process. Here are links to some of these sites: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

As my research continued I came across some possible witness testimony of the first mentions of these birthdates:

a.) In this archived thread from the DCAU wiki, in quotations below, I've copied an excerpt of an exchange between two users that I feel is most relevant to this post (emphasis mine):

"So, I've noticed lately that a lot of different sites have been stating Terry's birthday to be August 18th with various years attached to the date. The earliest mention of which I could find is an edit to his wikipedia page in 2008 (which prior to the change stated his birthday was June 27th). I don't remember a mention of when he was born on the show or tie-in comics, and the third volume of comics didn't come out until 2010, so would anyone here know where these dates originate from? -- ReachingForRevolution (talk) 17:48, September 26, 2013 (UTC)"

"I've done some extensive timeline research, and I never came across a good source for those dates. All I saw was a wikipedia edit war with those two dates, but neither is correct AFAIK. The most cited year of birth is 2023, which is speculation as well, but there's at least some foundation for that. --Tupka217 17:56, September 26, 2013 (UTC)"

b.) A similar claim was made in this thread. The relevant excerpt, written by the user "Yojimbo" on October 16, 2023, is in quotations below (emphasis mine):

"No official birth date was ever given.

There was a wikipedia edit war in the 2000s but no source was ever given for either disputed date, June 27, 2023 and August 18, 2023."

As I've travelled down this rabbit hole, I've begun to suspect I won't be able to find exactly where it began, but this is as close as I've gotten. Allegedly, sometime around 2008, there was an edit war on Terry McGinnis' wikipedia page between at least two users over the birthdates of June 27th and August 18th. Now, how or why that edit war even started, I don't know. Why those dates, I also don't know. What I do know is that August 18th is the birthdate that gained the most popularity in the end and spread across the internet.

I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes with this post or call anyone out, really. If anything, this post exists because the subject was interesting to me and I've found the journey enjoyable. If you want to say Terry's birthday is June 27th or August 18th, then please do. Fandom is about fun, not perfectly sourced and cited dissertations on fictional teenagers' birthdays...unless, of course, that sort of thing is fun for you. I know I've loved every minute researching for and writing this...because I'm a massive nerd...but I certainly don't adhere to a strict reading of the timeline myself which is something I plan on covering in an upcoming addendum to my timeline.

In summary, my own research has produced no officially confirmed birthday for Terry McGinnis. This leads me to believe that August 18th and June 27th are fanon birthdates. It may be that I've just not found the citation for one or the other of these dates so I'm open to anyone who can provide me a good source. But really, none of this matters in the grand scheme of things, although it's interesting to see the way user edited/moderated wikis can sometimes bring less clarity rather than more. I'm sure this isn't the only example of that. Assuming I'm right and these birthdates are fanon, I wouldn't consider this a cautionary tale or anything so dramatic. Instead, I'd say this was a case study in the interaction between fandom collated information about fictional works as it exists across the internet and why the adage, "cite your sources", will never die...or something like that...

[jinxedwood]

List your nine most favourite books

Tagged by @arenee1999

Listen, there are books I think are good, and books I like, and sometimes that list doesn't overlap. This was a tough list to compile and I reserve the right to disavow it at a later date!

All Systems Red by Martha Wells. This is a novella and the first of the Murderbot series. It’s an action story about a sentient robot that has broken free of its programming and has developed free will. This is a recent read and I loved every moment of it and it was so awesome to find a series and go ’wait…there are four more books already published? Its my Birthday!’

A Player of Games by Iain M Banks.This was the first of the Contact books I read, and while there are more sophisticated books from this series, this book deftly introduces the Culture  and its universe and ethics while still giving you a gut punch to the stomach. It also gives you a surprisingly modern take on gender and identity considering it was written over thirty years ago. 

Orlando, by Virginia Woolf. A story about a nobleman born in England during the reign of Elizabeth I, who  wakes up a woman one morning and then goes on to live for another 300 hundred years - although others are too polite to mention this. I fell in love with this book as a teenager and that hasn’t changed. 

Witches Abroad, by Terry Pratchett. This is the 12th Discworld book and the 3rd of the Witches books, but it also happened to be my first introduction to Granny Weatherwax and I will love her always and forever. 

The Robber Bride, by Margaret Atwood. Listen, I know the Handmaid’s Tale is awesome, but she has written a whole ton of other books in a ton of different genres that are also awesome. This book is about friendship and betrayal (and that one crazy fucker who meandered around your friendship circle when you were in your twenties and left carnage in their wake)

The Assassin's Apprentice (First of the Farseer Trilogy) by Robin Hobb  Epic Quest Fantasy, except the primary character is not who you’d think he’d be. Loved this series from the beginning to the end.

The Rivers of London, By Ben Aaronovitch. First of an Urban Fantasy series in which Peter Grant is a beat cop with the London Met, who has an encounter with the supernatural and suddenly gets seconded to the in ‘The Folly’, the officially unofficial branch of the London police that deals with the freaky side of things. Also, he’s now a Sorcerer's apprentice.

This is such a beautifully crafted world and the characters are perfectly rendered. If you haven’t read this series, you’re missing out. 

And two old faves that probably wouldn’t pass the smell test nowadays.

The Many Coloured Land (form the Saga of the Exiles Series), by Julian May.

 Listen, the 21st century is a rough place for a lot of humans. First the Aliens came, and then all those super powered humans came out of the woodwork and your average Joe just wanted to go back to a simpler world - so that handy time gate back to the Pliocene Era will come in dead handy, am I right? A new virgin world that's just a younger version of the present, and it will be all theirs and only theirs.

Except for the Fae, who already live there and are in charge, and all of you would-be frontiersmen are now their serfs and slaves. Good times.

I don't know what this writer was smoking when she dreamed up this series but it must have been some serious shit (and I still love these crazy books) 

The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham. You know this writer, you really do. This is the Guy who wrote Day of the Triffids and the Midwich Cuckoos. Like most British Sci Fi writers from this era, he leans more into the eerie and creepy rather than epic and operatic. I came across this book in my School Library (back in the OLDEN TIMES) It’s a post apocalyptic future that we assume happens after a nuclear winter.

This was written in the 1950s but gives a good stab at describing what this kind of world would look like, warts and all and it's one of those stories that kind of stuck with me through the years so I thought it might deserve a spot on this list. 

And because it's Wyndham, there are telepaths.  

Tagging in a non compulsory sort of way: @cbk1000, @hellsbellschime, @yamimana-ramblings, @pers-books, @lilbreck @randomkiwibirds @galvanizedfriend @garglyswoof @manicpixiesdreamdragon

[justablah56]

i am open to terrick propaganda

eeehehhehehehe yippee >:] first I will briefly mention checking the terrick ao3 tag , I'm p sure every fucking fic is by either me or icy bcs is just us and terrick against the world <3 ANYWAYS ! literally it all started when I was like haha wouldn't it be kinda funny if Terry and Nick met up again in hell after Terry died and then my brain said yeah but what if they were gay also . so just think abt that for me <3 also just consider , if you will , them being in a relationship pre-betrayal and Terry not wanting to go through with said betrayal but not really being able to stop the others n all that , imagine the angst ,,, also Terry not being that worried abt dying and going to hell bcs he might get to see nicky again ,,,,, also personally my firm belief is that Nicholas in his timeline had the biggest fucking crush on tj and i will die on this hill btw . good little baby narcholas liking bad boy emo teen Terry is literally everything to me ,, OH also consider them dying each other's hair . just consider . I've mentioned it before that my hc is that Glenn Morgan and Nick used to all dye their hair together and Glenn and Nick kept doing it after she died , then Nick helped Terry bleach his hair pre s1 , and then post s1 terry helped Nicky learn again since he couldn't really remember bcs timeline stuff but still wanted his hair dyed and i just love them a lot Oak . also tall ass Terry and short ass Nicky . I rest my case .

[gallavichmeta]

shameless had a lot of inconsistencies but the one that irks me the most is that of the Milkovich’s mom. we have one scene in season 1 saying that she is still around and is picking up Iggy from prison. we have another scene around season 2/3 saying that she is dead. then we have another scene in season 11 with Mickey looking at the picture of Terry’s ex gf, saying “she could have been my mom”

so i’m curious about other people’s thoughts on it? like what story of the Milkovich mom do you think makes the most sense for the characters?

A very interesting question! (And the first one sent to this blog, yay!!! 💖) Personally, I’m very much open to different interpretations about her. In terms of canon, I think what makes sense is she was around in s1 but did die in s2. I’ve seen a lot of writers depict her as having a drug problem which I feel is a reasonable explanation for her being around and then suddenly dying young. I see it as a tragic, short life that has huge impacts for all her children.

I’m not sure if you’re interpreting the s11 scene like Mickey isn’t aware of who is mother is but that’s not how I interpreted it. I think Mickey knows who his mother is/was but he was wondering what it would have been like if Terry’s ex was his mother. Sort of like ‘she could have been my mom, if things were different, and therefore would my life have been different/better?’ I don’t know if that makes sense? But that’s always how I saw it. But I do think you’re interpretation is a very interesting idea - that Mickey, perhaps, had several women come in and out of his life and he didn’t know who his mother was. 🧐

I also love interpretations where she disappeared or left and then comes back later. This allows for such interesting scenarios. She really is a mystery and her very brief mentions mean she is a vague character and her absence (through death or other circumstances) has probably impacted all her kids in certain ways, just like Terry’s presence did. (This would be a very interesting topic for meta - the contrast/parallels between the absent mothers - Laura and Monica, sort of, and the much more present, Terry and Frank….)

But, and this really is the main point of this blog, what does everyone else think?? (And to make things easier for sharing, please do reblog and add your opinions rather than replying or putting them in the tags. I welcome additions to this post!)

[crestfallercanyon]

I got tagged in some questions from @callivich and while I didn't answer all of them, I've got some! (I also kept these answers Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich centric, though I did have a couple thoughts about just the show generally haha). Anyway --

What’s a fic you’ve read more than once? makes a cathedral, him pressing against me and then the companion piece and we will be like sailors, swimming in the sound of it by misandrywitch and intimatelyrearranged respectively -- they're just really good post-mickey's-coming-out-fics which I tend to love every rendition but those ones are really good (also I, like many tumblr people, love richard siken, so it had me hooked from the start)

What’s a headcanon you can’t stop thinking about? I love the idea that Ian gets really into photography. I think when he's settled in life he takes a lot of photos He's a sentimental guy, I think he's someone who would definitely have photos of his family in his wallet, and would just love taking pictures. (I also like the idea of when he is struggling, maybe going through a manic phase, this propensity to take photos is helpful for his family to find him and figure out what mental state he's in because the photos are kind of all over the place or of things that aren't there). And then ever since finding out Noel Fisher actually plays the piano, I love the idea that Mickey always wanted to play piano. (and that after expressing this desire that was when Terry tattooed his knuckles as an attempt to quash this dream). It's something I may explore in a fic later on.

What’s an idea you’d love to create if you had the time/inspiration? I have a bajillion but we'll stick with two that I'm not actually currently trying to write -- Kind of a strange idea, but I loved -- especially earliest seasons -- Sheila Jackson. Her struggle with agoraphobia was really heartwrenching (I love the scene where she finally leaves the house for the first time both for Liam and for Karen -- she's just someone who I rooted for then so uncomplicatedly). Anyway, I have an idea where Mickey, before Terry's dead but maybe safely with the Gallaghers, starts to develop agoraphobia like Sheila Jackson had. He finally feels safe at home and he starts to really fear the outside world, and it sneaks up on him, because he's supposed to be fine right? But he's not. He keeps repressing this fear and now it's coming out in this way of being unable to leave the house. And Ian -- from Fiona -- thinks to call Sheila Jackson. With Sheila's help, Ian and her and Mickey actually have interactions. I just think it'd be a really interesting dynamic, because Sheila was so motherly and kind and Mickey I think would hate that at first, but it's also kind of the care he should have had? Anyways, it's strange, but I'd love to explore it. The other one I have is a North American Western Au. Usually I don't write modern-world-setting canon in other contexts but for gallavich I have ideas. And I love western aus, I've written one for another fandoms, it's just fun. Maybe a small town where Ian was a sheriff but he struggles with his disorder and so he resigned; and then Mickey is part of the Milkovich gang that's raising hell all throughout the state but ends up finding Ian and... well if I ever actually write it you'll see.

What’s a plot hole you wish had been answered or resolved? I just wish the show would talk about characters that left more often. Or things that happened in their past more often. The only one they seemed to have done a decent job with in the beginning is Jimmy-Steve. But like, why the heck don't they mention Mandy? Or Karen? Or... ANYONE? That and there are events that should absolutely be referenced again. All of the shit with 3.6 at some point could probably use a rehash of trying to process that trauma. The characters talk a bit about what happened with Monica, or Fiona when Ian and Lip were kids, in later seasons they should be telling the stories of what happened in the early seasons to Liam or Carl or Franny or whoever. I understand many shows drop things for sake of the future plots, but as Shameless is a family drama, things that are dramatic in the family I think could have maintained their relevance for longer. Especially since Shameless has such a brilliant focus on generational trauma and how the kids are, in many ways, going to become their parents in some aspects (but how much so is up to them) it would have been neat for them to actually discuss some of the scars they earned during the show.

What scene or moment do you feel isn’t discussed enough? I don't know how much more it could be discussed, but I want to discuss it lmao -- but when Mickey says "missed ya", with the cigarette in his mouth and Ian responds with "really?" To me, it's the first time that Mickey says something real to Ian about their relationship, really the first acknowledgment that there's something to miss. He says this, and it's something he's said with no ulterior motive that he knows will make Ian happy, really for only the sake of making Ian happy. It will probably get him laid because this is Ian and they're both horny teenagers, but there's no guarantee, and that's clearly not why he's saying it. The best part of the interaction, though? The way Mickey smiles because he knows Ian's going to be thrilled. That like preemptive "watch this" and then he says it. I just, there's something really sweet about the interaction in a way that Mickey never let himself be previously.

What line/dialogue/description from something else (a poem, a book, a tv show, a movie, or something else) do you feel describes Ian and Mickey’s relationship? There's also a song aptly named "Goodnight Chicago" by Rainbow Kitten Surprise that immediately had me thinking about these two. Here's one verse: "...I killed a man there, in spite, and when he died, I took his place/eighteen made you callous to the kisses that you gave/a course exchange, a cause for blame, and I stood out in the rain/You killed a man there, and I cried, but the rain masked the hurt behind your face/by the way dear, we're alive, and it hurts 'cause we survived."

I'm going to leave this as an open tag and also reference the original questions from callivich because there's some great ones! I did a reblog because I figured this would be overwhelming if I answered on their asks. But please go ahead and answer and hope you enjoyed what you've read here lol. <3

[highfantasybobbyhillreads]

Come plan a reading journal with me.

This year I got really into bullet journaling. I like that they’re free and creative. There’s no real rules, but there’s still structure to the pages. It’s really just a good way for me to plan with my neurodivergent brain.

For 2024 I want to use a dot grid book to do a reading journal. Reading is really important to me, and after taking some genre specific classes this past semester, I want to branch out and read things that I wouldn’t normally read. I also think it will help me a lot as my family and I go into a “no buy” year. I have a lot of books I’ve purchased but haven’t read, so there’s plenty for me to pull from. I also plan on using Libby, my college library, and the local library. Not to mention, there’s plenty in my kindle and audible libraries I haven’t read yet.

I’ve done some research on TikTok, and found a creator whose reading journal style I vibe with. Admittedly a lot of my category ideas came from her channel (@lindseybluher), but I think that these can be so broad that it allows creativity to flow. If this is something you’re into, I highly recommend checking her out.

I ordered some supplies today, a new grid journal and some pens. I’m a perfectionist at heart, so pre-planning a journal helps me to avoid mistakes I might dwell on later. Here’s what I scribbled in Goodnotes while I wait for my supplies in the mail.

Here I was really just jotting down all the section ideas I had seen that I liked. The ones that are crossed out are ones I’ve decided not to do, and the highlighted ones are the ones I’ve chosen to organize the journal.

Starting with “# of books for the year”, I really just decided I don’t want to put an overall quantity goal on books to read. The main goal of this project is to read more intentionally. A number seems like more pressure than I’m comfortable with. “List of books I already own” (or “book backlog”) ultimately got cut for similar reasons. Like I mentioned earlier, I have a lot of unread books laying around. A list of them might be too overwhelming. The “abc” challenge just didn’t vibe with me anymore when I was reviewing these sections.

This page breaks down the broader sections of “Series to read” and “Book Bingo”.

Series to Read: Order of Crowns by Kate Elliott, The Witches sub-series of Discworld by Terry Pratchett, Parable of the Sower (reread) and Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler, and the Sword Dancer series (reread) by Jennifer Roberson.

Some of the categories for Book Bingo are a bit plain maybe, but I tried to think about the books I already own when deciding what to put in this section. This is one of the many coloring activities I have planned.

Genre Bubbles will be another page of coloring that is basically just a bunch of circles of various sizes that have genres scribbled in them. Each time I read one of the genres I’ll color in a bubble.

The other two sections on this page are lists of books in my kindle and audible libraries that I haven’t read yet. I chose 12 from each, one each for every month. This will be important for the Bracket pages I’m planning.

For this last bit I was just tracking down the books in the Discworld sub-series I’m planning to read. This is the only series I chose that I don’t own. The books that are available on Libby (all but 1) I also went ahead and tagged in the app so they are easy to find later.

And that’s it for now. I plan on using this as a place to track my reading progress.

Next post when the new journal arrives!

*C*

[sugar-omi]

I came here to ask for Rockstar! Cove rambles and saw the Rockstar! Baxter art you reblogged omfg it's so good.

Please can we get some of your Rockstar! Cove (and/or Baxter if you feel like it) rambles 🙏

(Hope your holiday has been great 💖)

this is more. rockstar!cove backstory but YKW ITS FINE BC ITS BEEN WHATS ON MY MIND LATELY we'll have to talk abt him again bc this post was getting LONG especially w baxterrr

tags : SFW, headcanons, step 2-4, rockstar au, so ooc, bullying mentioned, fighting, baxter's tags are below before his hc's

listen....

im ngl. i want him to be maybe a little toxic. a lil crazy.

or into things he's not canonically into/does often

at least he's rough n impulsive at first

whenever he can get away with it, and before he got famous, he loves taking a long ride on his motorcycle

compared to when he was a young teen, he tries not to take drives when he's angry

bc when he was young, he'd put on some music and blast it as loud as it could go, and he'd drive and drive and drive...

ended up with a few warnings and speeding tickets that way because he'd get lost in riding n his thoughts n the music

but now that his life isn't so turbulent, he doesn't do that anymore

i wanna imagine he doesn't grow up with you next door n you didn't know each other until junior year of high school

he sees you n he's sold...

thinks you're so fucking beautiful/handsome and he sees you laughing n smiling w your friends n he's so, so whipped for you

he's still a sweet shy boy, so it takes forever for him to talk to you

n it's terry who introduced you two!!!

he's all flustered, bc you're even more lovely up close

n if you're all bubbly n extroverted, he thinks you're like sunshine

if you're more reserved, he thinks you're very cool or that it's amazing how calm you are all the time

if you're shy/easily flustered, will sometimes (and now that he's grown, always) mention out loud he thinks it's cute when you blush...

either way, just loves your personality n thinks you're amazing n cute

you actually calm him down. you ground him.

he used to get into fights kinda often.

i like to think rockstar!cove got like this bc his parents stayed together longer than they did, n there was no brilliant neighbor to reach out to him

he n his dad were still like oil n water, and the kids at school were less than friendly but usually didn't dare fuck with him

key word is usually.

just had a thought actually... cliff's family living nearby

not his parents. he moved as far as he could

and with him n Kyra on the brink of divorce, her moving out the house, n all cliff has to do to keep them afloat..

he didn't think his equally shitty cousins would be a problem.

but surprise!! they're a few doors down n too happy to "catch up"

cove n cliff avoid them pretty well, n cliff really didn't need to tell cove to avoid his cousins bc he was already 2 steps ahead of him

but his cousins dont get that message, they also think its a good idea to pick on cove...

so between the short patience of most hormonal 13 year olds, his parents (finally) separating, cove's intolerance for bullshit....

cove ends up rocking his 2 cousins shit when they snatch his glasses off his face, bending the frame

ignores his cousins mom yelling at him n cliff to apologize for hurting her kids. feels a bit warm when his dad tells her his son is more well mannered than both her kiss combined, even laughs when he says a rabid raccon has more sense n poise

but is even happier when his dad, after a moment of silence in the car, asks him if be used the right hook he taught him

n tries to hide his smile when his dad ruffles his hair n goes "that's good. good job son."

he does hear the whole, "violence isn't always the answer" and "pick your battles" thing

but he shrugs off the lecture when he and cliff have a tub of ice cream each n cliff holds a bag of peas to his face

anyway.

he fights like a DOG. he arGRHHH HE HAS EVERYTHIGN TAKEN CARE OF. TRUST.

professional at sneaking out n sneaking YOU out

cove at 4am: wanna get mcd's?

dont even bother saying no bc he's already outside

dont pretend to be sleep either bc he FUCKING SEES YOU.

will leave you alone if you genuinely don't wanna fuck around in the middle of the night, but how can you say no to him?

ah. before i forget

Will kiss you if you're bandaging his face

asks you to ice his bruises...

SINGS YOU SONGS N SHIT

kryptonite. creep. p!nk and lady gaga PERIOD. all of it

serenades you with his guitar and/or voice

sometimes he's just fiddling with the strings, switching between cheery beats and trying to rick roll you but the beat is wayyy off

loves when you fall asleep to his music too, plays the sleepiest tune he can think of

you being his biggest supporter is what makes him fight to make a name in the music industry

after supporting him in his personal life, through all his lows and highs, then supporting his music that he was too scared to go for

he puts his best foot forward for his sake and yours

+ TAGS: mention of FWB, toxic baxter <3, so ooc ofc, mm implied partying/drinking

now rockstar baxter....

i want him to be a problem. he's the toxic one here

compared to cove, who is soft n sweet but impulsive and always willing to fight, rough but well meaning...

baxter is your situationship

your friends with benefits

friends if a loose word, since you hardly ever talk since you've met and unless arguing, bickering, or sexting counts as getting to know each other...

than you're best friends!!!

he's the big headed musician who always asks "wyd" and "u up?" whenever he's in town

at least he sends you money to doll up or eat, or whatever before he gets in town

"make sure you eat before i come. bc im not letting you go once i get there"

so.... if you want commitment. he's not it...

just saw *this tweet, and rockstar!baxter IS the type to email you after you block him

omfg. if any of yall have read armin x reader fanfics... yk how he is in those fics? all toxic n shit?

thats baxter.

not THAT bad. like baby trapping bad or cheating on you, manipulating you etc.

but he's bad

definitely the dumb choice you make at 18-20 smth years old n once you mature, you drop him because he doesn't grow up quickly...

he won't even have the realization that you're the one until he's MINIMUM 37-40+ YEARS OLD. AND FLYS UP FROM THE BED LIKE HE'S SEEN A GHOST

curses n curses himself to high hell and low heaven

now depending on how bad he's fucked you over, or you've moved on, etc... he understands if you don't wanna try being together, bc he was a fucking mess

at least, if he sees you catching feelings or himself, he does break it off

but there's still good times between you!!

he sends you things for your birthday

and when he's not on tour showing his ass, he comes to spend it with you

is very happy if you come to spend his birthday with him!!!

starts to look forward to it, but he doesn't really show it

although after the first time, he can't help crying, thought the first time was just a one off thing

unless you make the first one a big thing, than he cries then

even if all you did was get/make a cake and decorate your small apartment, he's so so happy

mm i started thinking abt smth

i don't think he's that bad, impulsive, etc. before his career

before, he's pursuing music because his parents hate it. its "not a useful career" and "embarrassing"

but then he starts to love it, its an outlet for him and then it's become a passion

but once he gets a deal with a record label, it's just a downward spiral

puts everything into music, ignores everything else and doesn't take breaks like he should

i think what breaks your "relationship" is him getting caught up in the darker side of the music industry, and losing himself.

he doesn't laugh or anything like before

doesn't make random trips to see you anymore

in fact, probably ends up flaking on you or suddenly canceling, or going weeks without talking to you

its rough. and you two definitely need time apart for him to grow and realize that this is serving anyone besides the companies pockets well