#<- this will be the last post under this tag

[ticifics]

“𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠?”

── james potter x f!reader

summary: where you ask james what he would change about you

warnings n tags: est. relationship, no use of y/n, shy and (a little) insecure reader, some slightly suggestive teasing (stay safe), fluff, a completely in love james

a/n: It's so weird to post with just one image, I'll probably change it later

It was a lazy afternoon, the hours dragging on as you wrote on the parchment—or rather, as you tried to write. It was nearly impossible to focus on your Transfiguration assignment when your eyes kept drifting to James.

He was sitting across the table from you, eyes on his parchment, dark eyebrows slightly furrowed as he wrote, fingers lightly stained with ink. Every now and then, he would catch his lower lip between his teeth. He was doing it on purpose, you thought. He had to be, just to distract you. But then, he would lift his gaze and flash you a sweet smile, completely oblivious to your thoughts.

You quickly turned back to your parchment, ignoring the heat that rushed to your cheeks from being caught staring.

But your concentration never lasted long. Soon, your eyes wandered back to him—to the way his messy hair fell over his forehead, the absentminded way he adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, the way the muscles in his forearm flexed with the slightest movement.

It was too much for you.

James Potter was perfect, and you were a complete sucker for him.

Sometimes, you wondered what he had seen in you. Out of all the choices James had made, you were the one that remained a mystery. And sometimes, those thoughts became too loud in your head.

“Hey,” his voice pulled you back to the present. You blinked a few times, looking at him with raised eyebrows. “What’s wrong?”

“What?” you asked, feeling a silly fear that he had suddenly become a legilimens.

James huffed, though a small smile lingered on his lips. He leaned across the table, extending an arm toward your face. Your breath hitched when his thumb smoothed out the crease between your eyebrows.

“I know you, you know?” he teased, tracing the curve of your brow, then the soft slope of your cheek, until his thumb rested under your chin, holding your gaze locked on his. “You always furrow your brows when you're thinking too much. What is it this time?”

A deep blush bloomed across your cheeks, but with his hand holding your face, it was impossible to look away. “N-nothing.”

He narrowed his eyes, leaning in further, until only a short distance remained between your faces. “Oh, sweetheart, don’t make me beg. Come on, what can I offer? A kiss for your thoughts—sounds like a fair trade to me.”

“James,” you scolded, “for Merlin’s sake, we’re in the library.”

His grin widened. “That didn’t stop us last time.”

You pulled away from his touch, feeling like your blood had turned into liquid fire at the memory. Apparently, your common sense tended to evaporate whenever James was involved.

“Hey,” he called again. You didn’t resist when his fingers intertwined with yours. His smile was still there, but now, concern shone in his hazel eyes. “You know you can tell me anything, don’t you?”

You shook your head, feeling a bit pathetic for letting those thoughts crawl into your mind like unwelcome guests. “It’s nothing important, I just… they’re just silly things. Not worth your attention.”

James gently squeezed your fingers, tracing lazy circles on the back of your hand. “Try me,” he urged, his voice soft, free of teasing.

And like every other time James asked something of you, you found yourself unable to deny him.

It wasn’t always like this, but sometimes, you felt small beside him. Like you would never be enough.

You wet your lips, your mouth suddenly dry as you struggled to find the words. “I-if you… If you could change something about me, what would it be?”

Silence hung heavy in the air after your question. You regretted asking it the moment the words left your mouth, and you were seriously considering throwing yourself out the nearest window when James finally spoke.

“Nothing.” And there was so much confidence, so much sincerity in his voice that you could only stare at him, mouth slightly open.

“Not even a single thing?” The question spilled from your lips before you could stop it.

James averted his gaze for a moment, thoughtful. Your heart stumbled painfully in your chest. Time had never moved slower than it did in that moment of waiting.

“Well,” he began, his eyes shining behind his glasses when he looked at you again, “I think I’d change one thing.”

That was the sensible answer, of course. You should have expected something like that—there were so many things that could be better about you. Of course, James would think that too. But that realization didn’t make it hurt any less. A cruciatus might have stung less.

“Oh,” was all you managed to say, struggling against the tremor in your voice. “What thing?”

James didn’t answer right away, glancing down at your joined hands instead. His thumb brushed the base of your ring finger, slow, deliberate. Your heart skipped a beat. He was only touching your hand, but there was something there—a silent promise, an idea he had seemingly accepted long before you had even considered it.

Slowly, he lifted his gaze, as if he were envisioning the future. As if he were memorizing this moment, making sure not to let a single detail slip away. And when his eyes met yours again, there was something intimate in them, something that stole the air from your lungs.

As if you were the only thing that mattered in the world.

“If I could change one thing about you,” he said, speaking slowly, as if to ensure there was no room for doubt, “it would be your last name.”

Your heart raced for an entirely different reason now, the weight in your chest vanishing without a trace. A smile tugged at your lips before you could stop it. “Really?”

James nodded. “Mhmm, Mrs. Potter,” he sang, as if savoring the words. “Doesn’t it sound good? I think it suits you. Actually, I’m sure you were born to be a Potter.”

“Thank you,” you squeezed his hand, feeling ridiculous for having let those thoughts creep in. You bit your lip. “James, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”

He raised a hand, stopping you. “No, don’t apologize for that. I’ll make sure to remind you how much I love you every single day. And when the day comes that you don’t need reminding? It won’t matter—I’ll keep telling you anyway.”

With a smile, he added softly, “But when we’re married, you won’t have time for these silly thoughts. You’ll be too busy thinking about the names of our children and…” He lowered his voice, his gaze sweeping over you, unhurried, intense. Heat rose beneath your skin. “And far too busy with our efforts to grow our family.”

“James!”

[sturnmeovr]

Posting for awareness and informative purposes only!! I am not a bully or hater by any means!!

(the first two pictures are my post. The third and fourth pictures are a post that was posted today)

Firstly, I want to say I did not come here to be hateful, only to spread awareness. Writing is my #1 hobby just like many others on this app. My account isn't that big, I’m just under 1,000 followers and I am thankful for every single one of them. I work hard on my writing. I'm 24 years old with a full-time job and I’m a mother to a 3-year-old dog😂🫶🏻 I stay up late most nights to write, edit, interact, etc. just like so many others on here. I love writing just as much as I love the triplets and it doesn't feel good when I log into my account to see other writers messaging me about someone stealing my work. Regardless if this is just an introduction post, this is my work copied and rephrased.

@bernardsbendystraws always preaches about how we should ask to use others work for inspiration. This increases the chances of your work getting reblogged, shared, and interacted with by other big accounts. When I say I'm not a hater, I mean that shit. I love talking to people on here. I brainstorm with anyone who private messages me. I help others with their writing. I don't care how many followers you have or how cute your account is, I interact with anything I like.

Had this person asked to use my work as inspo beforehand, I would've reblogged, liked, commented on every single post and followed immediately. I get so much warmth when someone shows an interest in my writing, so I understand 100%. But what we're not gonna do is copy and paste my work, flip a few words, and claim it as yours. Not only did you do that, you refused to take it down, claiming you asked another writer for permission and "only got a few words" from my post. You only said you'd rewrite it after I asked repeatedly asked you take it down. Then claimed you worded your message wrong. I'm not mad, I'm just saying - from my perspective, this is really shady.

I also want to state I am NOT the originator of babydaddy!Chris, there in fact was another account who had a babydaddy!Chris Au (still there but not active that I know of) before I posted mine.

I DO NOT care who has a babydaddy!Chris Au - I have zero claims on him!! I DO care when someone blatantly copies my work and marks it as their own.

Taking inspiration from someone else's Au and copying them are two different things. For example, @leoslaboratory has a babydaddy!Chris Au that came out after mine that is completely different. She uses her own ideas from her own head, plans it out herself, and fucking kills it on top of all that! Even though our Au's are different, she still credited me even though she technically didn't have to. Highly respected of her btw. Everyone check out her Au because it is honestly amazing!! <3

When you follow someone for months and all the sudden come out with 'your' work (like pictured above) that is identical to theirs, that is called copying. When you look up to someone's work, put your own twist on it, and come up with your own layout - that's called taking inspiration.

I just want everyone to be more cautious and considerate of others. This might be just Tumblr, but some people work really hard on here as crazy as that sounds.

And to the person who this is about, I blurred out your name because I genuinely hate it when people get bullied on here, that's the last thing I want to happen. I don't want to be responsible for that. I just hope you learned from this mistake and will grow from it! Writing about the triplets is supposed to be fun and doing things like this take the fun out of it. And trust, brainstorming up your own ideas is a lot more thrilling than going to someone else's page to take their work!

That's all I have to say - look forward to some posts from me soon 🫶🏻

Tagging others for awareness purposes only - @sweetshuga @chrisbratt333 @mattscoquette @muwapsturniolo @starrii-sturns @strnilolover @sofisturns @shadowthesim237

[peepawispunk]

I have some things to say about the situation in fandom the last few days // an open letter to the morally outraged.

I didn't read the fic that started this, purely because I didn't see it in my feed. But I have trusted friends who were able to give me enough of an idea on what it contained that I feel comfortable commenting.

I am both a parent, and was a victim of abuse when I was a child. I would kill or die to prevent my children or any children from becoming a victim of csa. I support a non profit organisation dedicated to keeping children safe from csa and csam.

This fic, from all accounts, did not contain or glorify csa. Also, when it comes to literature, csam laws do not apply. Fictional written works containing csa are actually researched and studied by experts in the psychology field. Well researched. They are not illegal, and the subject matter is in a lot of professionally published works.

Dark themes in fiction and erotica can also be a coping mechanism for victims, to help them reframe their experience. It can be used as a safe means of exposure therapy where they retain control and power in the situation as they read.

Pedro himself has said one of his favourite books is Lolita. Does that say anything about his character or morals? Are you going to go around telling everybody vile things about him now?

Just because something is not to your tastes doesn't mean it should be banned, or that you should be naming and shaming people who interact with it. We are on a slippery political slope with the right wing pushing censorship and banning and othering. Do not make it easier for them to do this.

If you draw the line at uncomfortable subject matter for *you* and then try and draw that line for everyone else, too, where does it end? Do we stop at what makes you feel uncomfortable, or do we stop at what makes the next person, or the next person uncomfortable until we're well and truly censored and it's illegal to do or write anything other than under the covers missionary with your spouse?

If you're not actually out there doing the work to help victims, then what you're doing by naming and shaming is purely performative. If you were out there doing the work to help real victims, you'd be putting your energy there instead of into this stunt.

You might think you're a real hero, out there fighting the "good fight" against "those disgusting people who read that stuff", but what you need to realise is that fandom spaces are not built for you specifically. They are a community, one you need to know the rules and etiquette for.

I've been in fandom spaces for a good twenty something years at this point, so take it from a fandom old.

1. Don't like, don't read. Curate your own experience. We didn't have tags and summaries and descriptions like we have now twenty years ago. We have tags now. Use them liberally, both to seek out what you want to see, and to block what you don't.

2. We're all a community here. If you're new, you're a guest. Don't come into our community and tell us how to do things. You didn't build this fandom, and you most certainly do not get to dictate it.

3. Fanfiction is full of adult content. If you can't be an adult about said content, fandom is not the place for you. If you can't scroll on or block tags, you aren't mature enough to be here.

You don't have to like everything you see. You don't have to see everything the fandom posts. But you sure as hell can't come in here and tell everybody what goes and what doesn't, and use fear and naming and shaming to try and control the fandom. It's awfully dictator of you.

Take a look at this post if you've gotten this far in. Fandom has had these rules long before you joined and they will be the rules long after you leave. It's the only way fandom works.

[bullet-prooflove]

Misdemeanour: Jack Abbot x Reader

Tagged: @kmc1989 @dizzybee03 @noxytopy @flyinglama @yousigned-upforthis

Companion piece to:

The Asshole King - Jack discovers you have an unusual technique for dealing with patients.

Bob Dylan - You help Jack to relax after an incident at the hospital leaves him temporarily blind.

Because Of You - Jack realises he's starting to heal in more ways than one after you spend the day taking care of him.

Boston - You reflect on the past after your ex-husband makes an appearance on a trying day.

This God Damn Fucking Day - Jack steps into the fray with things get messy between you and you ex-husband.

Jack doesn’t find Myrna, it becomes a Robby problem when the clock ticks over to seven signalling the end of his shift. He’s got much more pressing issues to attend to, like where his fiancée disappeared to. He pops his head up into Psych but there’s no sign of you.

She left half an hour ago, he’s told, which is a kick in the balls considering you carpooled together.

You’re mad at him he supposes. Ordering you out like that.

It’s something that will resolve itself over the next couple of hours because the truth is you’re not really mad at him, you’re mad at the asshole you’ve just discovered was fucking your sister while she was in his care, the same asshole that fucked you under his care.

That revelation, it’s a lot, he doesn’t blame you for taking off to try and get a little headspace.

He’s already crafting his letter to the ethics committee when he gets the call at home. A number he doesn’t recognises flashes up on his screen and it takes him a sec to pause the game in in the background before he picks up the phone.

“Yea?” He says half distracted.

“This is a collect call from Allegheny County, do you accept the charges?” He pauses then because now he realises maybe you didn’t just take a drive out to your sister’s gravesite after all.

“Yea, I’ll take the charges.” He says setting his laptop town on the coffee table and pinching his brow. “Faye honey, you there?”

“Jack.” You say, your voice frighteningly calm compared to the last time he saw you. “I got arrested and I need you to post bail.”

He rubs his palms over his weary features because this day, it just keeps on giving.

“Did he press assault charges?” He asks you as he pushes up from his seat and heads towards the wall safe, where he keeps a healthy portion of cash alongside your personal documents and your sister’s jewellery.

“Vandalism.” You inform him. “Someone carved the word cunt onto his hood of his car and then took a shit in the front seat after smashing the windows.”

Jack freezes, half way through dialling the code.

“Obviously it wasn’t me but that son of a bitch told them he saw me do it, hence why I’m currently in lock up diagnosing all sorts of bullshit for my cellies.”

“Fuck, I think it might have been Myrna.” He tells you as he opens the safe and starts to count out the bundles from his ‘go bag’ stash. “She was still at large when I left the hospital this morning and she hated him on sight.”

“Wow.” You say digesting this new information. “I gotta be honest I’m not even mad about it, he deserves all the bad shit that comes his way. Literally in this case.”

Jack tries to choke back a laugh as he closes the safe and picks up his backpack to stuff the money inside. He’s glad to hear the humour in your voice because this situation it’s fucked up especially after the day you’ve had.

“Faye honey.” He says after a beat. “You doing ok?”

“Yes, no, maybe…” You respond with a sigh. “I don’t fucking know anymore Jack. I was angry, then I was sad and now I’m ambivalent over the whole thing. I just want to come home, get a shower and sleep for the next three days. I don’t want to deal with anymore of this shit.”

This is your breaking point. He feels that acutely as he cradles the phone under this chin. You don’t have the mental capacity to see beyond this moment right now, not when you’re in the thick of it. Jack does, he knows he implications of this, he can see the fall out clear as day and the intention behind it.

A second-degree misdemeanour, it’s enough to get your medical licence revoked.

That’s the punishment for not playing ball with Richard, he can’t take away Jack but he can take away the other thing you love.

“Can you hang in there for me just a little longer?” He asks you softly. “There’s something I’ve got to do and then I promise I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Sure.” You say despondently, the phoneline beeping to tell you your call time is coming to an end. “Because what’s a couple more hours in this hellhole right?”

Love Jack? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Before you join the taglist make sure to read the rules here as you otherwise you won’t be added.

Interested in supporting me? Join my Patreon for Bonus Content!

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[soupcafe]

I have written and rewritten this post so many times after taking time to really gather my thoughts and sit with everything that has transpired in the last two weeks. If I'm being honest.. what has transpired the last three years of running the FindRPs server. Under the cut if you want to read. Warning: it's really fucking long. Sorry about it.

God I don't even know where to start, okay.

I have always tried to do my best to remain neutral in most situations and show a face of calm collection when it came to matters in the server. As a leader there, I believed that being anything other than that would only show instability of myself and on the rest of the staff. I always tried to make it known that I was willing to hear people out, and ready to enact changes if it felt like the right thing to do for the collective.

I don't know if that was the right choice to make, but it certainly felt like it for me, so that's how I ran things.. that's how I encouraged the rest of staff to run things. I've already said this to the former staff, but I have nothing but the highest respect for the hard work they put into that server. All of us were running that place for free, but it felt like a full time job with the way people treated us both on the server and here on tumblr.

Our goal was to provide a space for various platforms to advertise their rp groups, post 1x1s, post their resources, ask for help from their community, and more. FindRPs all started because tumblr tags became notoriously unreliable, group rps weren't able to mass fill their queues, sideblogs were being shadowbanned and deleted left and right. Why not streamline it into one easy hub? Why not make a place for a community? I've seen it said a few times now that we should have learned our lesson and not had any general chat or allow conversation at all. How fucking sad is that? In a hobby where the whole purpose is writing a story together... collaborating.... and you all can't even handle or have the civility to have a general chat.

I don't claim to have made all the right decisions, or to have said the right thing in a moments time. But things could so very quickly go from zero to one hundred there. Within minutes people would be at each other's throats and god forbid anyone on staff have a real life and not take care of it within seconds. I can't count how many times I was at work, or a family function, or a doctors office, and I get the ping that something happened but I can't deal with it right then and there. The anxiety of knowing that it will be talked about in the tags, and that if I or another staff member isn't online to take care of it right that second, we will get shit for letting it happen.

Isn't that insane? That I couldn't go about my daily life and do normal things without thinking about you all having no decorum and going after one another like children?

I was getting anxiety from not looking at the server for more than an hour or two. I don't know how in the world I thought I was going to be able to handle having a newborn and focusing on something that is going to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life, knowing that all of this would be in the back of my mind. It wouldn't be fair to my kid... to my family. And yeah... maybe that's me taking it too seriously. But when you dedicate three years of your life to this, and have been in this community on tumblr for as long as I have.. you fear the loss of it.

Don't even get me started on the lack of communication. Any blog that decided to let anons and rumors come into play and pass judgement on us with lies or half the story over the course of the server's activity... you all are complicit. No one ever came to us with their opinions and issues — the first thing that was on anyone's mind was which rpt blog can I go to. So instead of handling things like adults, you all hid behind anon and let someone else post it for you.

Because why attempt to make an actual change by speaking to us when you can just judge and bully us instead? No one ever said maybe they need some help and I should offer to join the team. But why would you... when you could see how we were being treated. When you were the one treating us that way.

Anytime something happened in that server, my inbox would fill with anon messages of death threats or otherwise inflammatory and cruel statements against me. I always deleted them and gave them no merit because what is some fucking anon going to do to me in my real life? Nothing.

This time though.. I was simply done with it. I was looking at the server, at my own happiness, at my own life and where I was being led, and decided that it simply wasn't worth it to subject myself and the rest of the staff to it any longer. All of us were preparing major life changes and were having conversations about possibly stepping down and handing the server off. I'm sorry that a few people decided to ruin it for the rest of you who never did anything wrong. I would have loved to hand over the reins to someone else and let FindRPs live on as the needed resource it was, but you all can make your own servers as you've said many times that you want to do. You can spend three years growing it to nearly 3k members of all rp backgrounds and life backgrounds and you can make your rules exactly how you want them and to deal with things exactly how you want to deal with them... I sincerely hope it thrives for you.

I'm going to call out a few specific blogs from this situation because you are directly complicit in the spreading of this. JJ (galitzined), Nan (nanschman), Xan (jimiin), Jas (snoopdoggs), Veda (nosyrpt), and fluoresceins. All of you decided that it was okay to bully. Several of you decided to say that I was subjecting Hermie, a Palestinian mod, to coexisting with zionists knowingly.. when it has always been the case that if they made themselves known we would ban them and Hermie would be the one to do it. We realized too late that we missed one glaringly obvious one and Hermie got the satisfaction of banning them before FindRPs was deleted for good.

All of us in our real lives are putting in the work to make change, you know, where it matters the most. Personally for myself, I involve myself in local and state politics and actively ensure that I am voting for representatives that align with Palestine or at the very least is not interested in supporting Israel. I donate to fundraisers when I am able. Not that I ever owed any of you a list of what I am doing... but I have always stood with Palestine. I fucking hate JKR, and was a moderator who voted to ban it in the initial rule change. (Love that some of you are trying to say I've been extremely active in the HP RPC and have proof because.... bitch where?) But you know... you all will spin anything to fit your narrative.

I said it many times that everyone on staff, every single one of us, was part of a marginalized group one way or another. Half of us were trans, more than half were people of color, I think literally all of us are queer. So you all decided that the best thing to do was to hurt members of your own communities, hurt the people that you claim to stand up for... that's incredibly telling about the kind of people you are.

Mar made a post recently that I think all of you need to read and take to heart. Many of us are so disheartened by the lack of change that we are seeing in the real world that going hard within a small community like the one here is where you can get your satisfaction — because it seems simple in a smaller space where you can watch change happen in real time. Mar put it really well, better than I ever could, so here is a link for you to read it yourself.

We are actively driving people away from this community. Some of them are warranted, but a majority of it is over the most petty bullshit that could be solved if we weren't so catty and quick to jump to conclusions.

Shadow, I do want to apologize to you. You did not lead to the downfall of this server, it was a long time coming. And I agreed with all of the resources you gave, I agree with wanting to educate someone. What I failed to communicate effectively, and I do take responsibility for this, is that you didn't need to do it publicly. You could have DM'd Lumos and taken care of it outside of the server, which is really all we were trying to say in that statement we made: why in the world are we having these conversations in the general chat of a rp advertisement server when you can just... talk to the person directly. Or I don't know... use the block button. All of you need to learn how to use that more. And you did already apologize for necro-ing it... but I believe you knew what you were doing there. Even on a laptop you had to scroll up to see the interaction with Lumos and there was no way you missed the timestamps. It was not the first time you decided to use a public space in the server to be mean to someone, so, I don't believe that you didn't know what you were doing there. Regardless of being correct in the information you were spreading, you were an asshole. We gave you a warning that the behavior wouldn't be tolerated and yet you continued to harass Lumos so consequences of your actions were to be banned. Not because of what you said or how you went about it, but because you didn't know when to stop.

I don't think Lumos has tumblr to see all of this, and I literally deleted everything from the server — I have no logs of anything that happened anymore. But we did rail into them. We told them that what they were saying was fucked up and they should read into the resources. All of us were talking about banning them anyways, but we wanted to take the time to think things through, to step away and sit with it and decide. Once again, God Forbid we handle things like adults and have real lives and think before acting, especially with all of you shouting into the tags about how we were handling it. They were getting death threats, both in their dms and out in the open in the general chat. Like what the fuck. Who in their right mind thinks that's an okay thing to do?

Anyway, we tended to handle things there privately. We preferred it that way because no one needs their dirty laundry aired out in front of 3k people, and have them weigh in on it while we're trying to handle things. Just because you didn't see anything happening on your end, doesn't mean things weren't happening behind the scenes. And screenshots are always a thing; we have never feared someone taking them for their records. I sent the screenshots to JJ because Shadow left out an entire part of the conversation. I didn't send it to "make ourselves look better" as Nan so lovingly put it. I did it for transparency.

Maybe we could have been more transparent over certain things, I don't know. But also.. some situations are simply none of anyone's business.

Anyway. It's gone now. I mourn the loss of something that I truly put my heart, soul, and tears into. I helped to provide a resource for the community who does not deserve it for free for three years of my life. I met some of the most amazing writers in there that I never would have crossed paths with if not for the server.

It's time to move on from the greater rpc for me though. I don't know if I am going to continue to be on this blog. I really don't have a desire to at this time. I do know I will be writing with my rp group and continue keeping in touch with others on discord. That's really why I'm not afraid to post all of this and let you all pick it apart. I simply don't care anymore. I'm a week away from my due date, and ready to take the step into motherhood. I'm so excited for it. My blood pressure certainly thanks me.

I urge you all to take a good hard look at how you interact with this community. I want you all to take a look at the complaints that are made all the time and have been for years now — of groups not surviving, of no one writing, of people feeling hopeless, or judged. You actively create this space. You truly want to be the change? Do better for the rpc then. Be kind, and if you can't do that, block and move on. The people you don't like and you don't agree with are going to be around for as long as they want to be anyway.

Best, Maeve.

[for-a-longlongtime]

WIP on Wednesday Thursday

Well, first of all, my WIP folder is currently looking like this:

But fuck it, we ball right?

I got tagged by @din-cognito and @avastrasposts this week, and @the-blind-assassin-12 and @lotusbxtch last week, so I've got some catching up to do! I've been all over the place working on different docs, so you're getting a few tidbits this week.

I've posted snippets of this before (and lo! a hozier title! I'm gonna have to change that though because the story ended up going differently than planned), and after it having been on hold for months, the pieces are coming together at last.

let me wrap my teeth around the world (working title) | Santiago x Frankie “You think we did the right thing there?” Santiago says, staring at the ceiling as he avoids Frankie's eyes. Unsure he really wants to hear the answer, because of how likely it is that he is the only person who can’t answer that with a decisive yes. Fish was the only one on their team - besides Tom - who'd had a family to take care of, who needed that money probably more than any of them did because of his pilot license being suspended. “I mean... Following his lead with the money.” No answer. The deafening silence lasts for much too long. Santi grimaces as he closes his eyes. Shit. Why did he even ask? He keeps fucking up like this.

Next we've got a WIP that I haven't worked on in a bit (it wanted to go on break, bummerrr) but that I'm hoping to pick up very soon.

Untitled | Reynaldo x Matthew It’s those large hands that draw Matt’s attention first.  That, and the golden chain partially but-not-quite hiding under that checkered golf shirt, glistening every now and then in the bright afternoon sun. It’s almost as bright as the gleam in Sophie’s eyes when she throws back a shot and listens to the older man introduce himself as Reynaldo. Matt is only vaguely aware of the prepared talk that the man launches into, a few words standing out, such as ‘exclusive members only’ and ‘the best golf club in all of Arizona’. Things that everybody wanted to hear, and that gave Sophie all the more opportunity to coo at the man how this was ‘one of the best premium golf clubs’ she’d ever been at. It probably isn’t all that premium though, considering the Scotts and Dale had been able to book this place on a budget. And truth be told, it’s still unclear to Matt why they are here on a ‘vow renewal bachelor staycation’, which seemed a contradiction on its own. Or even why Sophie showed up here, acting like one of the guys, just long enough until she found someone who was willing to give her the attention she was clearly looking for. He’d seen the pattern before, especially with the girls on the Kel-squad. None of that matters though, he tries to remind himself as they make their way up to the golf course. He’s simply glad to get away from Kelsey for a couple of days - not just for some peace and quiet, but also so he doesn’t have to wonder if she’s talking to Domingo every time she smiles at an incoming message on her phone.

Finally, this last one is still in the VERY early stages, but ngl... I'm excited. Thank you to the folks who encouraged me to keep going with it! This is hella out of my comfort zone but what the hell, that's where the fun is, right? This one is going to more filth than I'll probably be able to shove into an one shot... so it may end up becoming two or three parts. We'll see.

for glory (working title) | Harry Castillo Harry is speechless, shock painted over his features, and it takes him a moment to find his voice. "You wouldn't dare to," he finally manages to say, and what had previously been surprise in his eyes has now flipped into unmistakeable rage. "Mmm, is that so, Harry? What - you think I've got morals or something?"

EDIT: WAIT!! I forgot to add one final excerpt! This is from a yet to be decided chapter from Joel and Marcus Moreno' story. I spent way too much time trying to find the right face claim moments for them at different ages, and this is what I settled on for their mid-twenties:

Joel in his mid-twenties (a.k.a. Zach Wellison in Brothers & Sisters)

Marcus Moreno in his late twenties (a.k.a. looking like Comandante Veracruz from the Burn Notice movie).

Yes, I'm as shocked as y'all are about the latter, but I promise it'll make sense. As for the excerpt:

Untitled series | Joel Miller x Marcus Moreno Marcus folds his arms as he leans back against the wall, looking every bit the charismatic guy most people know him to be. But Joel has known him a long time and can see where the varnish has cracked, and the parts he so desperately tries to cover up.  "So you don't like it. How I look. You don't like me anymore," Marcus says after a moment, and there’s something about all that combativeness on display - as well as the bitter irony of those words - that hits Joel much harder than he was prepared for. He doesn’t have the same defense system that Marcus clearly is equipped with; the mask that he can put on and off so easily after years of practice. So he just shakes his head. "Think it's been too long since you've had someone push back against you, M." "The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Joel tries to hide his sigh by drinking from his coffee, but the beverage has gone cold, the stale taste of it now bitter on his tongue in a way that feels oddly specific to this situation. "Don't pick a fight with me because you're unhappy, Marcus," he says softly.

I know a lot of y'all already posted a WIP Wednesday, so I'm just gonna link a couple of folks, no pressure as always (apologies if you've already made your weekly WIP update):

@perotovar @sin-djarin @lotusbxtch @mountainsandmayhem @qveerthe0ry

@letsgobarbs @gothcsz @milla-frenchy @guiltyasdave @oliveksmoked

@magpiepills @arcanefox207 @reallyrallyauthor @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @clubsoft

@romanarose @the-blind-assassin-12

[thatesqcrush]

12 Steps to Love - Step 8: Amends

Rafael Barba x f!reader. CW: language, talks of alcoholism, some fooling around/teasing, some angst.

WC: 2.4K

AN: This has sat in my drafts forever - I figured I should post it right?

AN2: I have no idea who is still even interested in this... just copy/pasting my tag list from the prior.

AN3: This was barely proofed, sorry not sorry.

---

"Amor?”

"Hm?"

Italian leather shoes tapped against the dark hardwood as the formidable ADA strode from the bathroom to the walk-in closet. 

Rafael was fixing his cuffs on his pin-striped dress shirt, with the top button still undone.

You sat on the edge of the bed, pulling up your jeans. You got up from the bed, following Rafael into the closet. You grabbed one of his dress shirts and slipped it on. 

"Do you know where my paisley tie is? You know which one, the pink one with the grey diamonds.”

You held it up for him as you began to roll up the long sleeves. 

"And my-"

You paused and then held the silver cufflinks up.

"Oh, and where's-"

You held up the matching silver tie clip.

Rafael was about to fix his tie, but you grasped either side of the tie, making a very sophisticated knot, getting it to the right length. You grabbed the tie clip from Rafael’s hands, clipping it in the right spot. You ran your hands over his chest, smoothing out any invisible wrinkles. 

“Perfect,” you murmured. 

Rafael snorted. “Sure,” he replied, his tone self-deprecating. You rolled your eyes and then smacked him playfully on the chest.

“How many times do I have to tell you that you’re so full of it? You know you’re sexy.”

Rafael chuckled before wrapping his hands around your waist. “Lunch later?”

“Mmm-hmm,” you agreed as you wrapped your arms around his neck. You pressed a kiss to his lips. “I’ll buy. Anything in particular you’re in the mood for?”

Rafael’s hands traveled to your ass and squeezed. “How about that?” He asked huskily. His hands moved to your sides, and then under your shirt. His hands were cold and you let out a little shriek. 

“Cold hands!” 

“I’m sorry - but I bet I can warm you up,” Rafael replied with a twinkle in his eye. 

"Rafael, you sure know how to make a girl blush," you replied. Rafael pulled you tighter against him, your arms between them as he held you close.

“My favorite way to make you blush is when you come.” 

You let out a gasp. “Rafael Barba!”

“Lo amas,” Rafael husked once more. He dipped his lips to yours, kissing you deeply. As his tongue swept yours, you let out a small moan. You slanted your neck, granting access to the sensitive slope. Your eyes were about to flutter close when you caught the time on the clock. 

“Shit! We’re going to be late! Don’t you have a meeting with McCoy first thing?”

Rafael responded with a defeated grumble. “I suppose we can continue this conversation at lunch?”

“Conversation? Is that what the cool kids are calling it nowadays?" you teased.

Rafael cast a sideways glance at you, his lips quirking up in an amused smile. "That is what I am calling it. And what it is." He paused, then added, his tone playful, "For now. Do not mistake my chivalry for anything else."

"Wouldn't dare think of it," you replied with a little wink.

He laughed. "Come on, let's hail a cab."

***

Winter clung to downtown Manhattan like a stubborn shadow. Snow from last night’s storm had turned into dirty slush along the curbs, and the morning air carried the familiar bite of exhaust and coffee. Steam billowed from manhole covers, curling up into the gray dawn as impatient horns echoed between the skyscrapers.

Rafael stepped out of the taxi, the blast of cold making him pull his wool overcoat tighter. He exhaled, watching his breath cloud in the air. Another day, another fight waiting inside —the District Attorney’s Office.

“Rough morning already?”

He turned at the familiar voice. Olivia Benson strode toward him, her heeled boots clicking against the icy sidewalk. She was wrapped in a tailored coat, her long brunette hair tucked beneath a dark wool beanie. A steaming coffee cup was balanced in one gloved hand, a stack of case files under the other.

“Is there any other kind?” he muttered, stepping in stride with her toward the entrance.

“Always.” She smirked, then took a sip of coffee before lowering her voice. “We lost our key witness in the Vargas case. Kid skipped town last night.”

Rafael let out a breath, shaking his head. “Of course he did. Because nothing can ever be simple.”

They reached the building’s revolving doors and stepped inside. Warm air met them, along with the hum of security scanners and the distant chatter of attorneys already deep into their cases. Overhead, a television mounted on the marble wall flickered with the morning news. The headline read:

CRIME SURGE IN MANHATTAN – PRESSURE MOUNTS ON DA’S OFFICE

Rafael barely spared it a glance. The pressure had been mounting for months.

“So, that other little thing you had me look into,” Liv murmured. “You feeling lucky today?,” she continued, handing him one of the files as they moved through security. 

“Luck?” He gave a dry chuckle. “Haven’t seen her in years.”

The elevator doors slid shut, sealing them inside with nothing but the quiet hum of anticipation. 

“Turns out that poker game wasn’t your everyday poker game. Amaro got a lead. The bookie that cashed out with $150,000 - not including the diamond bracelet - turns out his games are a front for human trafficking. He’s being processed right now.”

Rafael took the folder, flipping it open as they stepped into the elevator. “Was the bracelet found?”

Liv similed. “Was hoping you’d ask.”

***

That afternoon, you knocked on Rafael’s door, poking your head in. “Hey! Ready for lunch?”

Rafael peered up from the pad he was busily scribbling on. His face brightened when he saw you. “Of course, come in.”

You made your way in, dropping the large takeout bag onto his desk. “Picked up Chinese. Figured we could eat in. Maybe continue our… conversation.”

It was Rafael’s turn to blush. “Do I need to remind you of penal code 245? Can’t have the Manhattan ADA getting arrested for public indecency.”

You snorted. “Noted counselor. So on that note, let’s eat before the food gets cold.”

You began to unpack the food and rummaged through the bag. “Oh shoot.”

“What’s the matter?” Rafael asked as he stood behind you. He leaned over and plucked an egg roll, the sound of the crunch from him biting it reverberating in your ear. 

“No utensils.”

Still chewing, Rafael replied. “Top drawer.”

You pushed slightly past him and turned the corner to the desk. When you opened the drawer, you laughed at the obscene amount of plastic cutlery. “It’s like ten thousand spoons, when all you need is a knife…” you sang as you rifled through it. You found two forks when something sparkly at the bottom of the drawer caught your eye. 

“Rafael?”

“Mmm?” came the muffled response. You carefully fished out the diamond bracelet that you recognized all too well.

“Where-what-how?” your voice trembled as you spoke. You were instantly back at the bar, tossing into the bet pile the gorgeous bracelet from the man who loved you, and you had loved in return. You could recall the face of the man who smirked as he raked in his winnings, his rough calloused fingers dragging the delicate bracelet towards him. Never in a million years would you have thought you would see it again. And as much as Rafael did love you, you were certain he wouldn’t buy another bracelet this soon - especially as this was just thrown in with the plasticware. 

Rafael swallowed his food and then wiped his mouth. He cleared his throat as he made his way over to you. His voice was soft as he spoke. “I was waiting to tell you until a better time that I had Liv look into the gambling incident and it turns out that it was a huge ring that was also a front for trafficking. A lot of money and property ended up raided by the police. Liv’s team found the bracelet.”

You nodded quietly, staring in concentration at the bracelet’s sparkle. 

“What’s going on in that head of yours?”

You weren’t sure if you could accurately describe your feelings. The past months were a blur. Losing the bracelet had been the final straw—proof that you were still capable of wrecking the things that mattered. You had accepted it as part of the fallout. Another consequence.

“You got it back.”

“And I got it back.”

The words hit like a punch. You blinked, gripping the edge of the table. “You got it back.”

“Yeah,” he repeated. The corners of his lips twitched. “Do you want me to write it down?”

You ignored his lame attempt at a joke. 

Rafael furrowed his brows. 

“It wasn’t right, you losing it like that. You weren’t yourself.”

You let out a sharp laugh, though nothing about this was funny. “So, what? You just decided to fix it for me? Handle my mess behind my back?”

“That’s not what I—thought you’d be happy.”

“You let me believe I lost it forever, Raf,” your voice cracked on the last word. “You let me sit in that shame, thinking I’d thrown it away like everything else.” 

Rafael exhaled slowly. “I wasn’t trying to punish you. I was waiting for the right time to tell you.”

“The right time?” you repeated, incredulous. “When would that have been? You told me that we were okay.” You shook your head, pushing back from the table. He reached for your hand, but you pulled away. 

“Love is supposed to be about honesty. And you lied—maybe with good intentions, but a lie is still a lie.” You stood up, heart hammering. “I need some air.”

Rafael’s jaw tightened, but he nodded. “Take your time.”

You turned your back and he spoke once more. “I am not going to apologize for doing what I thought was right. I am just trying to love you the best way I know how.”

You turned to him and nodded before walking out, your shoes now clacking against the marble floor. The air was crisp as you stood on the sidewalk, but it didn’t cool the anger simmering beneath your skin.

You weren’t sure what hurt more—the fact that you had lost the bracelet…or the fact that Rafael hadn’t told you he had a full blown investigation done. 

You decided to walk to the coffee shop and  get something in hopes that the small and distraction walk would do you good. Your phone rang and when you saw who it was, you let out an audible irritated sigh. 

Your sister.

You forced a smile on your face and answered in your best cheerful voice. “Hi! What’s up?”

The conversation went surprisingly well. Your sister admitted to attending Al-Anon meetings and was beginning to see things from a different perspective. She also acknowledged that you did in fact have a disease. 

You chewed on your nail and debated asking your sister for advice. You let out a sigh and your sister immediately picked up on it. “What’s wrong?”

And so you spilled everything to her - well a more condensed version. By the time you finished, it was her time to sigh.

“Okay, so let me get this straight. He got the bracelet back for you, kept it quiet for a few days, and now you’re mad at him?”

“Yup,” you replied, emphasizing the p.

“I mean, I get it. It sucks that he didn’t tell you right away. But—“

“But?”

“Is it really that bad?”

You exhaled sharply. “I lost it. I lost it. I should’ve had to deal with that. But instead, he swoops in and fixes it like I’m some—some fragile thing that can’t handle consequences.”

“Or… he just loves you.”

You scoffed. “That’s not love. That’s—”

“That’s what people do when they care. They try to make things better. And yeah, maybe he should’ve told you sooner, but you’re acting like he betrayed you.”

“It feels like he did!” you all but shouted. “He let me believe I had to live with what I’d done, like some lesson I had to learn. Meanwhile, he already had it back. He made that decision for me.”

“Okay. But what would you have done if he told you the second he got it back?”

You opened your mouth, then shut it.

You could almost feel the glare from your sister through the phone.

“Would you have been mad at him for fixing it? Would you have felt like you didn’t deserve to have it back?”

A lump formed in your throat. You hated how well your sister knew you.

“You know, I hate when you make sense.”

“It’s a real burden, being this wise.”

You laughed and finally you asked the question you wanted to ask. “So where do we go from here?”

The call ended with plans for a do-over with your family and Rafael. As you tucked your phone away, some of the weight in your chest had shifted - not lifted, but lighter. 

—

You knocked on the door to Rafael’s office lightly. “Hey.”

Rafael was pacing the carpet as he went through the practice motions of his closing argument. He looked up at you and a small smile graced his face. “Hey.”

You bit your lip and made your way in. “I owe you an apology.”  

Rafael cocked a brow. “For?”

“Crucifying you when you were doing something nice because you love me. I think on some level I still feel like I don’t deserve to have it back. To have you back.” A lump formed in your throat and unsheathed tears lined your eyes. You wrapped your arms around yourself, giving yourself a hug.

“Amor, you hold onto guilt like a life raft,” Rafael replied, gently unwrapping your arms and taking your hands into his. “I didn’t want to watch you tear yourself apart anymore than you have already.”

“I know that now. Your intentions were good,” you replied softly. You leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips. “You’re a wonderful boyfriend Rafael Barba.”

“Come, eat. There’s plenty of food still. If you want, I can run my closing argument with you.” 

Before you could even move, Rafael was fixing you a plate of food. 

You hopped onto Rafael’s desk and listened intently as you ate. You were utterly transfixed on the way he carried himself and how he puffed his chest as he delivered his final remarks. You made a mental note to call your sister back and thank her again for challenging you to see Rafael’s intentions. 

You felt a tiny bit hopeful for the future. You weren’t sure where things were going but it felt as if things were finally turning the tide for the better. 

TBC.

---

Tags: @madpanda75, @beardedbarba, @beccabarba, @melk917, @witches-unruly-heart, @dreamlover31, @detective-giggles, @storiesofsvu, @qvid-pro-qvo, @tintinxtintin, @plaidbooks, @wanniiieeee, @mrsrafaelbarba, @mrsraulesparza, @garturbo, @zoeykaytesmom, @bisexual-dreamer, @evee87, @i-justreally-like-cats-okay, @madamsnape921, @imjustreallynosy @glimmerglittergirl, @sass-and-suspenders, @alwaysachorusgirl, @greeneyedblondie44, @gibbs274, @ottosuricato, @amelia-song-pond, @averyhotchner, @eltrujillo

[worfs-glorious-hair]

Lay on hands and lips

What if Gale needed to rest from an exhausting fight and had to stay behind for the day in camp? Well, his trusted and beloved paladin jumps to the rescue for some much needed healing from their blessed hands. They may be called “Lay on hands charges” but nobody says that you have to use your hands to heal your lover…

Gale x Paladin!Tav (they/them), no specific oath, genderneutral, can be read as Gale x Reader, no warnings/ SFW. Just some sweet, gentle paladin x wizard fluff

I don’t cope well when I have to leave Gale behind in camp. So when I had to do it the last time in my latest game was I coming up with an in-story explanation about why Gale would not be there in the party with Tav and this long blurb/ short OS happened. Enjoy! <3

Tagging @saintsandsorcery because you were interested when I posted the title of this in a tag game 🫶

"I am sorry, my love,” Tav says while stroking over Gale's cheek as he looks up at them from where his head rests in their lap with tired and yet still so, so determined eyes.

"You are drained from the fight in the Wyrmway,” they begin but get immediately interrupted by Gale.

"No, I am not, I will not let you face Cazador alone. You need me,” he pleads but Tav sees the way how his tongue is still heavy from the exhaustion of yesterday’s fight in Ansur’s lair under the Wyrmway when he had channelled the mightiest of magic that he is currently able to to break through Ansur’s powerful lightning strikes.

Tav sees how dark the bags under his eyes are in contrast to his pale lips, drained from all colour and strength.

"Of course I need you, my love,” they coo and gently stroke over his hair. He melts into their touch.

"I hate it when I don’t have you near me, I hate it when I turn around and you are not there. But I see the way your hands tremble, how cold they still are.” Tav reaches for him with their free hand and takes his securely in theirs and kisses each of his knuckles, letting their healing magic flow through them into him.

Gale sighs contentedly, embracing the warmth of Tav's lips on his skin, of their gentle, sacred magic that smells of lavender and the kindness of May that engulfs him now. That lingers in the air around him and lulls him to sleep. Despite his best efforts to stay awake, to keep looking at Tav and the love in their eyes. Despite not wanting to let them wander into the undead lion’s den without him.

“You need rest, there is only so much that even my magic can do to heal. We will be back before you know it, I promise…”, Tav says with a reassuring smile and traces the lines of the orb under his eyes with featherlight touches.

Gale hums approvingly and nestles closer into Tav’s lap, into their touch and embrace. And Tav kisses him, sprinkles him with their healing touches, onto each of his brows and cheekbones, his eyelids, the tip of his nose and finally onto his lips.

And Gale melts into the kiss. Reaches up to their face and kisses them back, pulling Tav down to him, savouring their lips on his.

“I love you” he murmurs when they eventually part for air and smiles. It is a lazy, gentle smile, already half asleep and still, his eyes glitter and shine up at them and Tav knows that they have never seen anything or anyone more beautiful than Gale here and now.

“Come back soon, my dearest heart, please – and make Cazador pay for what he has done to Astarion”, he adds and Tav nods with a smile.

“I love you, too, you sweet, sweet man,” they tell him. “And of course we will!”

“Good.” Gale props himself up from Tav’s lap to shuffle over to sit on his bedroll with a huff to give Tav room to get up themselves.

“Tav?”, he calls them back just as they were about to crawl out of the tent.

“Hmm?”

“Your forgot something”, he says with suddenly suspiciously awake and glittering eyes but before Tav could even begin to wonder what he was up to was he already planting his lips on theirs after murmuring something unintelligible and they felt magic wafting through them and the world seemed brighter in an instant, brighter with the touch of his lips on theirs, literally.

“Your darkvision,” Gale explains with a very, very smug smile.

“You and I are only human after all…,” he muses.

“And a little magic never hurt to cancel out some disadvantages,” the both of them say in unison and laugh.

“I may never know the kind of magic your oath grants you but nobody can say that my magical lips aren’t just as useful at times,” he adds, his smile once again very smug.

Tav rolls their eyes at his implications with a huff and a fond smile and leans over to quickly kiss him again. They just can’t help it, despite having their friends waiting for them outside, not when he is still so close and so, so wonderful.

“Thank you, my love,” Tav whispers against his lips, unwilling to let go. Tho they have to.

“I really have to go now, the others are probably already waiting for me,” Tav says with a heavy sigh. “Sleep now. Leaving you here is easier when I know that you get the rest you need…”

“Alright,” Gale answers immediately and nudges his forehead against Tav’s for the span of a heartbeat.

“Go now. I will be here when you return!” he promises and smiles this little encouraging smile of his with a huff at the end that only Tav gets to see. It’s the smile he smiles to make everything easier for the both of them, even when they both know it’s more lie than truth.

But the both of them also know that his smile is necessary to go on. To believe his smile that promises ‘I will be alright. Don’t worry about me now’.

So Tav smiles back at him and crawls out of the tent.

“Ugh, fi-nal-ly,” are they immediately greeted by Astarion’s impatient voice.

“Remind me to never believe you ever again when you say that you ‘just have to say goodbye to Gale very quickly’. It never is! So, can we go and quickly kill Cazador now please?”

[calebrity]

FIRE AND FIELDS OF GOLD┊the masterlist

ghost x female reader x soap

summary: when the world ends, you’re shit out of luck- but your family is at least there to cushion the blow. once your last tether to life before the fall is broken, however, you’re forced to set off with just the tattered shirt on your back and the yellowed picture of your late brother. sad, lonely, and lost.

not for long.

[or: two big bad men find a poor sweet thing who slowly but surely redefines their whole world) read it on ao3 here.

parts: one,

details: zombie apocalypse au, slowww burn, age gap (reader in early twenties; boys in mid to late thirties), eventual smut, nsfw themes, typical dystopian violence, angst, minor character deaths, obsessive and unhealthy behaviors (it’s the end of the world), tags to be added, inspired by the walking dead show, takes place in the us, mental health issues, trauma, poor coping mechanisms, some religious imagery, blood and zombie gore, soap has some screws loose; ghost is getting there, both are down bad & whipped for reader, guard dog behaviors, ghost and soap are messed up but still fairly morally accurate to their canon :)

author’s note: hey yall sooo u can keep reading this on ao3 under user @/caked, buuut i figured i’d post this here too. it’ll be easier for yall to hit me up and hold me accountable as well if i disappear again LOL :,)) 💛 fear not i dont just post anime stuff here don’t be fooled i still enjoy cod

[girl-named-matty]

Close Call - Life after Hogwarts

synopsis ✧ Matty faces a close call at work and ends up in the hospital wing being treated for her injuries; meanwhile, Sebastian is dropping everything and coming home the moment he finds out.

tags ✧ Fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, seb being a total sweetheart.

word count ✧ 1.8k

a/n ✧ Y'all would not BELIEVE how long this has been sitting in my drafts omg. Based off of this post right here! But thankfully its finally here and thank you @light-of-the-room for reminding me to write this through your comment! xoxo

A flash, a bang, and ringing ears—that’s all Matty could remember. When she woke up, her vision was blurry; she squinted as the lights were all suddenly too bright. She could tell she was still in the same position as the last time she was conscious—flat on her back. Her ears were still ringing as she came to, trying to blink the blurriness away.

Once her vision had settled, she could tell she was in one of the Ministry’s rooms; the white, sterile appearance of just the ceiling told her that she was currently in the hospital wing. As her senses began to work again, she vaguely remembered what had happened to her. There was an ambush, a close call on the job.

Something in her snapped, and she gasped, bolting up to a sitting position in the bed, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she looked around. Her body was in fight-or-flight mode as she took in her surroundings.

“Woah, settle down, we’re at the ministry.” A voice came through her ears.

Matty quickly recognized the voice as her work partner, Andrew. They were still relatively new partners as Andrew was in his last year of the Auror training program; therefore, he was allowed to be paired up with a working Auror as a trainee, and Matty was chosen to be his trainer. It was a relief to hear his voice and not the voice of some unknown criminal.

She looked over at Andrew, letting out a sigh of relief. “Sweet Merlin,” she muttered, falling back onto the firm pillows. Her head was pounding, indicating that she probably had sustained some sort of injury during the ambush. “Are we in the hospital wing?” She asked, still unsure if she should trust her own deductions of her location.

Andrew nodded. “Yep, you got hit pretty hard out there, Ambrose.” He spoke, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.

“What happened, exactly? I feel like I’ve been run over by a train.” Matty groaned, holding her head with one of her hands. “I hardly remember anything.”

Andrew pursed his lips. “That’s what they were afraid of; you sustained a pretty decent head injury.” He spoke. “We were ambushed while doing our usual rounds in Carmen; it was just a few guys, but they caught us off guard and got you quickly enough to take you down. I had to deal with the rest of them.”

As Andrew described the attack, Matty’s memory slowly began to return to her. She remembered seeing some suspicious movement and moving to investigate it, but she didn’t remember much after that. “Ironic, a trainer leaving her rookie to finish the job.” She huffed, partially upset at herself that she had let that happen. Her reaction time was usually flawless as she spent countless hours working on it, but today it seemed she was out of it.

Andrew chuckled. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. I can’t count the number of times you’ve saved me ever since I got out in the force. I’m surprised you haven’t dropped me as your trainee yet.” He said, trying to find some humor in his failure.

“That’s not the point, Miller. I’m the trainer; I should’ve been able to handle it. Under no circumstances am I supposed to leave you alone on a mission.” Matty sighed, shaking her head. She was upset at herself for leaving him alone in such a condition as she felt like she wasn’t living up to her duty as a trainer.

“First of all, it hypothetically wasn’t a mission. Second, I don’t think that rule applies if you’re unconscious.” Andrew said, standing up. “The important thing is I’m alive and you’re alive. And I don’t mind some hands-on moments of pressure.” He spoke in a humorous tone.

Matty rolled her eyes, but she was happy that he could at least find some humor in the situation. “I’m going to get the nurse; don’t go anywhere.” Andrew said, walking out of the room.

Matty waited for a few minutes before the nurse came in. Throughout the process, she learned that she had indeed sustained a head injury. Through the story Andrew had told, as well as a few of the witnesses of what had happened, she had just barely escaped a Bombarda to the head, but the blowback from the blast was enough to send her barreling to the ground, and that’s when she sustained her injury.

“Just be lucky you were quick enough to miss the initial blast; I’ve known some who haven’t been as fortunate.” The nurse told her as she treated her.

Once they had confirmed that she could move, her senses were working okay, and that she could remember enough about what happened, they told her she should be fine to go home but that she shouldn’t come in to work for the next few days so she could recover. After the initial treatment, it was nothing a Wiggenweld every other hour couldn’t soothe.

The nurse also informed her that they had already gotten out an owl to Sebastian about everything that had happened. Due to the risky chances of the job, every day that Matty clocked in to work, she wrote where Sebastian was working that day on a piece of paper and left it there just in case anything happened; they would know where to send the owl to get the information out to him. Every day, Sebastian hoped that he would never get an owl from the Auror Department about her, but today was one of those days. Fortunately, she was alive, but the letter didn’t detail anything about the injuries, just that she was and that she was in the hospital wing.

Sebastian was working a job a bit further away than usual, so the emergency owl had reached him at a later time. But the moment it had reached him, and he read the contents within it, he freaked out. Immediately, he left work. He was going to get home, change, and immediately get over to the ministry to see her.

So, Matty was sent home with orders not to return to work. She was sore with a slight headache from the injury, but it was nothing she couldn’t manage. When she got home, she dropped her coat off at the door and walked upstairs, just wanting to get unready and pass out in bed for a while to sleep off the pain.

Sebastian was already almost home by the time she had gotten back, and he was in a rush to get changed out of his work clothes and go over to the Hospital Wing at the Ministry. He rushed inside, missing the sight of her Auror coat thrown beside the door, and went straight upstairs to get changed.

But as he opened the door, Sebastian was met with the sight of Matty, sitting on the bed with no visible injuries save some cuts and bruises on her arms, about to take down her hair and rest. The biggest breath of relief left his mouth as he rushed forward to take his wife into his arms. “Matty! Oh, you scared the life out of me!” he exclaimed, taking her into his arms tightly.

Matty was so exhausted that she hardly registered what had happened for a moment. But she quickly wrapped her arms around him, letting out a shaky breath. “I’m fine; I promise I’m okay.” She whispered reassuringly.

Sebastian shifted so that she was sitting on his lap, his arms around her waist and her arms around his shoulders. Sebastian buried his head into her shoulder, wanting to convince himself that she was really there and was really okay. “What happened out there?” He asked quietly, raising his head from her shoulder for a moment.

“Apparently we were ambushed.” Matty replied. “Andrew and I were doing our regular rounds around the Carmen hamlet, and I was attacked. I just barely missed a Bombarda to the head, but the blowback was enough to send me to the ground, and apparently I had hit my head and gone unconscious. Andrew luckily got the upper hand on them and took care of things.”

Sebastian knew it was her job, and he knew these were all things that were likely to happen, but he couldn’t help but feel angry and worried. He was angry at those pricks for what they had done, and he was worried about the well-being of his wife. Every day he was worried that something would happen to her, and she wouldn’t come back.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” he asked.

“Besides some cuts and bruises, they told me I got an injury on my head, but it was nothing serious, I promise.” She reassured him. “You can check it out later when I’m not on the verge of falling asleep.”

“Are you sure?”

“I promise. They said it was nothing Wiggenweld can’t soothe. I’m off work for the next few days to make sure I can recover before going back in.” She replied. But there was a beat of silence between the both of them, almost as if Sebastian was still unsure.

Matty tightened her arms around him at the sound of the silence. “I’m okay, I promise.” She whispered reassuringly. “I would fight anything to make sure I came home to you; I swear that much to you.”

Sebastian let out a shaky sigh. “I’ve never been more scared in my life.” He admitted. “They never specified what happened to you; I really did think I might have lost you for a minute there.”

“It’ll take a lot more than that to get rid of me, sweetheart.” Matty chuckled, trying to uplift the mood.

Sebastian buried his head into the crook of her neck again, unwilling to let go. There was a beat of silence between them before he broke it. “Can we just stay like this for a while, please?” He asked softly, his voice slightly muffled by the fabric of her clothes.

“Of course, Sebastian, of course.”

[letsgobarbs]

WHERE MY LORE STARTED

Thank you for the tag @almostfoxglove, this is a fun little thing @cuppajoel kickstarted.

How To Play: You make a lil moodboard of stuff that has inspired you, stayed with you (songs, shows, movies) and then you include them in the ppcu fandom by creating something (a moodboard, a drabble, a fic). Check out @cuppajoel's Marcus Acacius fic inspired by Monica and Richard from Friends.

You don't have to commit to anything big, it could just be a post about the stuff you love!!

Here's a few movies that stayed with me growing up:

All these movies are Hindi movies. The first English movie I ever watched was the last Harry Potter movie and safe to say i was UNIMPRESSED. Like what do you mean they just waved their sticks at each other and that was the climax??? get outta here.

These movies are the last golden era of Bollywood imo. Because we were on a real high here— love was the currency, it was something to aspire to. Movies explored love in all its forms, love was equated to devotion and worship. It was presented as a form of godliness in humans.

Then I grew up and got smacked in the fucking face just like the heroines in the movies by rising Hindu nationalism, sexism and misogyny. Where men being in love meant they could hit women because it was just a show of passion and possessiveness. And now movies are nothing more that revisionist action history flicks that seek to erase all presence of an entire minority group and overall being a Hindu nationalist mouthpiece and propaganda. Women in movies today don't have the AGENCY they used to unless it's specifically a female led film— but even then the plot is always somehow driven by a man 🥱🥱🥱.

Anywho. My love and appreciation for these 12 movies screamed under the cut:

Jodha Akbar

We're starting off SO strong. This movie informed my views on masculinity. Akbar was soft, warm, kind and it made him a better ruler AND lover. It was not a trait he was shamed for. As somebody who grew up in an abusive household, this movie was monumental when I realised that men apologised, they groveled when they were wrong. Most importantly, they cared about the women in their lives and valued them. I write the dialogues from this movie and it's songs into my fics.

3 Idiots

I carry a part of this movie with me, always. It's a comedy. But my god does it punch me in the feels. It's impacted how I see my education, success and career. It's also informed my opinion of how men should be— funny, kind, ingenious, uplifting.

Om Shanti Om

By all means, a comedy. A real insider comedy poking fun at everything Bollywood. And also chock full of love— familial love, platonic love, romantic love, self love. Men being soft, yearning, humble and devout lovers.

Chakde India

I cannot BEGIN to explain the impact this movie had on me. It was my introduction to female rage. Something in my brain clicked into place watching this. Like Oh. I loved this movie for having a woman be completely inappropriate, bitchy, ambitious, manipulative and still be one of the good guys— an integral part of a TEAM. This is also a movie I will show my children for a lesson in Islamophobia and patriotism. Both my parents lived through violent communal riots (in Mumbai and in Gujarat) and they always insisted I never discuss being Muslim in public. No religious talk. Ever. Avoid anybody who even talks about religion, in fact. And I never understood until this movie. It never occured to me that people would consider you a traitor to your own country based solely on your faith. Also Sharukh Khan looked INSANELY hot in this movie— this is where my daddy issues and taste for hot, older men started.

Veer Zaara

THERE IS A PATERN. THERE IS A PATTERN. And it's men being lovers. Like WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE HELD A VOW OF SILENCE FOR OVER TWO DECADES DESPITE BEING INNOCENT ONLY TO PROTECT A WOMAN'S DIGNITY? A woman he hadn't even kissed let alone touched. Nobody is doing it like this anymore for real. If there's one thing about me, I will always write the men in my fics to love on this level.

Munna Bhai (all the movies)

This was a comedy. And as all comedies are it was thought provoking. It took a character you could easily poke fun at— some low level goons— and wielded them as weapons against larger issues like corruption and societal expectations. Again, themes of men being silly in love. Men undertaking massive efforts to be with their beloved and to prove themselves worthy and capable of being a better person.

Jab We Met

Love as a major theme. I know Geet was a manic pixie dream girl type of character but it was my first time seeing a woman NOT be shamed for being chatty, gossipy, flighty, intrusive. Well, except for Aditya at first but only because they were enemies to lovers. They were THE bickering, bantering couple. And Aditya?? add this man to the list of lover boys. To escort the woman you love all the way to the man she loves all because you wanna see her happy. And then your heart breaking when she's NOT happy??? And that scene where Aditya admits that Geet saved his life just by being who she is and talking to him. His love for her saved him?!?!?!?! SIGN ME TF UP.

Chillar Party

Now you might ask why there's a bunch of kids in their underwear. But that's the plot. The kids protest on the streets wearing only underwear to protect their neighborhood street dog. It's such an innocent and funny story. And yet if you watch it as an adult, you realise these kids fought a corrupt politician, social apathy and widespread targetted misinformation. A movie I loved for it's community.

Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham

I put off watching this movie FOREVER. Because I didn't want to be a basic bitch. But I am, I am a basic bitch. A celebration of love and family. Also another bickering, bantering couple. Poo was iconic, I aspire to be her. And Anjali was iconic too, I wanna be her as well.

Tumhari Sullu

VIDYA BALAN the woman of my dreams, the queen of my heart. Any movie about a middle-aged/older woman breaking away from her cookie-cutter life and societal expectations to snatch her own opportunity?? Inject that shit straight into my veins. Sullu was so cute, adorable and endearing. Her husband loved her and supported her. There was a moment where his frustrations and job got in the way of that but he was always batting on her side.

Lagaan

This was an epic alright. And about community first and foremost. I quote this movie as a meme all the time. But I loved every character in this movie. And the love in this one was good too. They almost tricked us there by pairing the hero with the white girl. But it was the "it's always been you" trope.

English Vinglish

As I've said before, any movie about a middle-aged/older woman breaking away from her cookie-cutter life and societal expectations to snatch her own opportunity?? Inject that shit straight into my veins. I wanna be in my 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and I wanna be Shashi and Sullu.

I won't even go into the honourable mentions but A Wednesday? Rang de Basanti? Taare Zameen Par? 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 so many more

A full pressure tag to a few other desi babes ik on here bc i don't wanna be brown alone: @papurgaatika @damneddamsy @bluemusickid @clubsoft

Also my lovelies: @probablyreadinsmut @evolnoomym @salingers @iknowisoundcrazy @joeloverture @romanarose @myownwholewildworld @ohhoneypascal @mushgloomz @kedsandtubesocks @baronessvonglitter @guiltyasdave @ozarkthedog

[zsofiarosebud]

Okay folks, want to explore Galizan music? Then

Start here.

Nowadays there's galizan music in every fashion and style! Thank tradition and community spaces for the good health of our musical industry, ever growing! Here you have some examples:

Mondra

Electronic folk

Lately, a lot of galizan artists inspired their works on Galizan traditional music. They're usually put under the tag 'tradi'. They're mostly queer friendly or openly queer artists who knows how to dance, sing and play traditional instruments. But this guy? What this guy does is sickk!! Unique style and a great live performance!

Check out also this recent single... are you thirsty now?

Caamaño & Ameixeiras

Folk

More stuff on the folkie side. Give this two a violin and an accordion and wait for the magic to happen!

De Ninghures

Folk

This is my most recent discovery on the galizian folk scene. They originated in a foliada, that is, a kind of traditional party and jam session in which everybody bring their instruments and voices and improvise.

These three bands, Mondra, Caamaño & Ameixeiras and De Ninghures, are my absolute top three of nowadays galizian folk music. Enjoy!

Tanxugueiras

Folk pop

Everybody knows the Tanxugueiras here, even little kids sing their songs in school. They were a musical phenomenon, one of the bands that started the most recent folk fever a few years ago. They almost got to Eurovision! But Spanish tv didn't want an indigenous nation to represent the whole state and opposed this. SHAME

I like their first album more than the second, but the second has MIDAS.

(Footnote here: the gorgeous man in the bathtub is Xisco Feijóo, he's a great dancer singer and tambourine player, check him too!)

Baiuca

Techno folk

This man plays with old recordings like dolls. I really like the vocals of Lilaina, frequent collaborators of his. BUT for me the fucking best song he made is not technically in galizan, but in asturian language, it's a collab with asturian artist Rodrigo Cuevas. Check this!

That was tradi. Now for some punk!

Grande Amore

Techno punk (sorta???)

This guy's lyrics are so FUCKING relatable when you're a late millenial living in Galiza. The ANGST, the DESPAIR. Always with an eye on partiying. And so fuckin funny! Check out this song and also his best known single as well: Esta pena que a veces teño. And also maybe his last album. Go in peace now!

Os Vacalouras

Punk with funny lyrics and strong local identity

I've already talk about them in Galizan. They were my best 2024 summer discovery!

Familia Caamagno

Punk

This people took a righ-wing pop hymn and made a cover, with a music video full of communist parafernalia. RESPECT!

Expect more parts to this post! There's still classical music, jazz, rap, pop... and that's only the beggining, because I also want to go back in time and discuss the Galizan Folk Renaissance and such. Stay tuned!!

[imaginariumwanderer]

So, a little update.

This reblog is about how I'm doing for those who care, to talk about my relationship with the crk fandom as of late, and to announce that I'm taking a vacation (to twitter) once I'm done with all the requests, I'll come back in May or at a later date, it's uncertain.

Honestly speaking this isn't anything big, I'm doing well. I'm making this post because I don't want people to worry lol Please be warned I'm going to rambles about my *eugh* feelings under cut, hope it's comprehensible.

Let's get the shorter stuff over first: About my life. Same ol' same ol' stuff. My life is a predictable chain of work eat rest+occasionally dealing w family stuff, and I like it that way. My job brought moderate stress like any job. It's my fluctuating, erratic mental health that gets in the way of finishing my tasks on time. So ya, kinda busy kinda tired but it's nothing I can't handle. It is how it is.

Now let's get down to business: So with the 4th anniversary and the arrival of playable smc, the crk fandom has blown up. I anticipated this long ago but when it actually happen, well... Things have gotten hectic quickly, eh? Eventually and inevitably, I ended up feeling overwhelmed. I've seen other fans, mutuals or otherwise, expressing the same sentiment. So I felt a bit less alone on that front, but it's still hard to deal with.

Last year, the amount of shadowvanilla fanfics on ao3 barely reached triple digits. Now it has over 600 fics and growing. At some point I realized the fandom surrounding this ship has irreversibly changed, whether it's for the best or the worse is yet to be seen, but that realization kinda sent me spiraling. The place which I've familiarize myself with for over a year now feel so alien. I got this sense that I don't belong. I'm not sure if I deserve to be here anymore. I wanted to check how my mutuals are doing, but lately just the thought of checking the shadowvanilla tag or logging onto tumblr at all got me feeling awfully, illogically, anxious. I felt disconnected from everyone.

Make no mistakes, this is no one's fault. From when I made my first crk post up until now I've yet to receive a single negative comment, nor did I have any bad interactions with the fans. Every person I've come across have been nothing but welcoming and kind, my time on tumblr have been incredible so far (aside from those annoying porn bots-) It just that I can't help my intrusive thoughts. I still question my place in this fandom sometimes. Please rest assured, I've done my own crashouts back in late January-mid February (yah, I crashed out twice) and is currently in the getting over it/processing my feelings phase. Drawing is still fun, I still wanna have fun talking about silly cookies with my like-minded pals again c:

If you're new to this blog: hi, thank you for being here. Um, dw I don't tend to get all weird and personal like this that often, it's as a special occasion.

If you're an old follower or a moot: thank you for everything, really. I once mentioned before how I don't like bringing irl stuff or negative feelings onto this blog, but I think all of you deserve a bit of honesty from me. Moving forward I'd like to be a bit more open, if that's okay with you. I'm a pretty negative person in real life (haha)

As said above I'll move to twitter temporarily in the future/April. My twitter is fairly small and new, so it feel nice posting whatever is on my mind without fearing how many people will see it. Feel a bit calmer there too. I'm extra awful truthful there, if any adult crk fans reading this would like to chat, feel free to reach me there! (not in DMs tho it's the anxiety ok sorry sorry-)

Sorry for not being more active on the reblog/interaction department these past few weeks. I gave in to the sus on twitter and then art block hit me like my dad's belt (on top of other irl shenanigans..)

The inbox is open for asks again, anon is allowed too, I'm not confident on my reply rate but I'll do my best! As of now art request is not officially open yet. I do really want to get started but it's impossible with current irl stuff getting in the way. Hopefully I can start doing requests in May, I hope. Shadowvanilla-related art request is welcomed though, I don't have enough mental strength for most things lately but doodling them revitalize me(?) So please feel free to make requests for smilk and vani!

Some rules:

Please specify whether you want them in humanoid or cookie form. If there's no specification I'll draw it randomly.

Slightly suggestive is ok, they can kiss as a treat, but no outright nsfw please. Any graphic requests will be rejected/blocked.

A little bit of blood or light gore is ok👍

(angst prompts is encouraged their suffering fuels me-)

*Waiting time is 3 weeks, if there's no answer by then please consider the request rejected or I somehow didn't receive it. Thank you for your understanding.

Edit: request is now officially closed.

[torturingpeople]

edison is going through an epithet change

henceforth he shall no longer be the sybaritic laureate. he is now the plastic courtesan! yay!

i've been mulling over his epithet for a while and i decided that i'm going to change it. mostly because the 'laureate' part doesn't have much of anything to do with his character at all. he wrote poetry occasionally but he wasn't ever poet laureate and didn't do it often enough for it to be a focal point in his career. and sybaritic seems a bit too esoteric/surface-level for my liking in terms of his adjective

therefore i decided to change it. "plastic" in this context can have many interpretations (which i very much like), which can mean perfect on the surface yet ultimately superficial, materialistic/linking to excessive consumption and others' reliance on his services through their abundance, moldability and linking that to wines' control and conditioning of his personality and career etc etc. like i said very versatile. and courtesan is self-explanatory which i think works better considering he is a) one of wines' intimates, and b) anything else seems a bit too vulgar for an epithet

actions going forward will be changing his tag to '#the plastic courtesan' (i'll leave the old posts under '#the sybaritic laureate' for the sake of not wanting to go back and change it all) and changing his epithet on my pinned post

[egophiliac]

don't think I'm not still obsessing over 7-12

[flonflonflon]

Some fanart of the Under the Red Hood animated movie version of Jason Todd :'))) ilu son you deserve the world