#➸ at the stroke of midnight

[finxwrites]

strange & grimm, which btw sounds like an urban fantasy affectionately parodic hardboiled detective agency. probably queer.

It was a hot, muggy night in the Enchanted Forest. Everyone with a lick of sense was down in the fairy glens, hoping the Winter Court would put in an appearance and bring a breeze on with them. Lucky me, I’m the sucker who fingered the Snow Queen for the missing persons case last winter, so I’m persona non grata in the fairy glens these days.

Just as well. I couldn’t afford to leave the office, not when it’d been so long since my last case. Though on a night like this, I might as well not bother. It was too hot for crime. Even the leaves on the enchanted trees were drooping in the heat. 

I was just about to call it a night when a dame walked in my door. Tall, blonde, legs for days, with an air of tragedy that could put an unloved stepchild to shame. I looked her over suspiciously for any cheery woodland creatures hidden in her golden ringlets. If she was a princess, I’d turf her right back out of the office, case unheard. Princesses paid well, but they were more trouble than they were worth.

No mice poked their adorable little noses out of her pockets as the dame sank into a chair and fixed me with a hard look. “I hear you’re the best in the business,” she said without preamble. “And I need the best.”

I leaned back in my seat. “Baby, I’m the only one in the business. It’s not a good genre for private dicks.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, yes, far too child-friendly for any sort of dicks.” Before I could recover from that little gem, she went on, “It’s a child I’m here about. My sister. She’s…she’s gone missing.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “Please, Detective, you’re my last hope. The royal courts won’t hear me out, they think she’s gone on the lam!”

I nodded grimly. “One of those Bo Peep situations, huh?” I get a depressing number of those. All it takes is one wolf in sheep’s clothing—you’d think the kids would learn.

The dame glared. There was enough cold iron in her gaze to put a fairy off her ambrosia. “On the lam, Detective. On the run. My sister has…something of a record.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Your sister the child? She some kind of crime prodigy?”

The dame fidgeted, looking away. “She’s…” She sighed explosively. “My sister is Goldilocks.”

I whistled, low and long. Crime prodigy indeed—Goldilocks was wanted in five kingdoms for the most impressive string of burglaries the Enchanted Forest had ever seen. No one could ever prove she’d done it, but the circumstantial evidence had piled up higher than mattresses on a pea. No wonder no royal court would take this case.

The dame’s shoulders hunched defensively, but she bulled on without trying to defend her wayward sister. “She’s gone missing, and I know it’s not another one of her sprees. Something is wrong this time.” She turned back to meet my eyes, her lovely features harsh with poorly-suppressed fear. “It’s her first crime come back to haunt her, I just know it is. They’ve always wanted revenge—especially the baby of the family, and he’s all grown up now. What they’d do if they got hold of her—“ She cut herself off with a watery gasp; her eyes were wet with tears. “Oh, it doesn’t bear thinking about!”

I handed her a handkerchief and gave her a minute to compose herself. It gave me a minute, too, to decide if I was really going to be this stupid. You don’t tangle with the big predators, not if you know what’s good for you, and especially not a whole family of them. Families are a dangerous thing in any genre.

But I was her last hope, and I’m a sucker for lost causes. And if I didn’t get paid soon, this business would become a lost cause itself. I said a silent farewell to my good sense as it packed its bags and left for kinder climes. “Alright,” I told the dame, “Give me the facts. We’ll see what kind of a story they tell.”

[transgenderuwo]

STOP: it's not the goddamn year of the dragon yet

Hold on posting your goddamn culturally Christian ass solar new year greetings that clumsily use east Asian lunar new year elements. We gotta do this song and dance every single time because y'all still refuse to do any research. Lunar new year is never on January 1; it is ALWAYS after solar new year. Lunar new year 2024 is on February 10th – save yourself some embarrassment please you're better than this

[itsmangacap]

Gozen 0-ji, Kiss Shi ni Kite yo 午前0時、キスしに来てよ —  ch. 38 ⌈ 2015 - 2020 | by mikimoto rin ⌋

[ebbpettier]

*insert snide baz comment about simon being full of hot air here*

[pratchettquotes]

"I'd better be going," said Susan. "Miss Butts always checks the dorms on the stroke of midnight."

"How many dormitories are there?" said the raven.

"About thirty, I think."

"You believe she checks them all at midnight and you don't believe in the Hogfather?"

Terry Pratchett, Soul Music

[service4cops]

Nights are the best time to find a horny cop who’s been brewing all week and is in serious need of some midnight service. 

Lead the way Officer.

[starrysharks]

carnival kids

[nerdieforpedro]

WIP Wednesday

I haven’t been working on much. 👀 So I think I have three previews? One would say that’s not nothing Nerdie and they are correct. It’s just my brain has been…flipped upside down, shaken and stirred and jostled a little just for funsies. 😑 Bah.

Anyway! Good news is that I am heavy in the fluff camp! Smut was lost between being shaken and stirred I think. 🤔

I was tagged by @secretelephanttattoo @604to647 @djarins-cyare and @inept-the-magnificent 💕💕💕 Thank you for thinking of me. ❤️

Previews under the cut:

The first is for “Our Journey Across the Star Ocean.”

His hand touched face one time with his bare hand next to Grogu’s little green one on your cheek, his thumb brushed against your lips. He held it there a moment before dropping his hand. You wonder if he was embarrassed or sorry that he did so. But his hand is once again in yours as he charts the course to the next bounty.

It’s not only the small touches. Din always remembers enough cleaning supplies for your tools and the ship in addition to the small little caf cakes you like after a bounty goes well. Din might have started eating one as he would buy three instead of just two. The small parchment paper in the refuse was the evidence he’d had one.

It’s very cute I think. 💕 we’re at part four, may end at part five because…reasons. 👀

The second preview is for a random Dieter Bravo series I wanna write just because:

“I’ll text Mindy. It will be fine. Anything happens she’ll blame me anyway. You can just be licking ice cream off your lips.” Scooting closer to Tamia, Dieter purposely lowers his head to look up at her, using his deep brown eyes to his advantage. If you’ve got it, use it right?

Huffing, Tamia reluctantly agrees to Dieter’s proposal for ice cream. A car is summoned and they’re off within ten minutes. A flurry of texts from Mindy stating that he needs to take Tamia home now go ignored other than Dieter’s one reply: Okay mom. We’ll be back in plenty of time. It’s just ice cream.

Who doesn’t want ice cream, especially with Dieter? 🥰

Lastly, I’m working on Only Pieces of you Mr. Morales finale it’s longer than a Drabble (my bad) but I gotta wrap it up properly:

There stands Francisco, a messy mop of dark curls bouncing on the back of his neck, his gray t-shirt struggling to contain his biceps and shoulders. He was wearing tan cargo shorts that cupped the curve of his ass just right. He’s finishing up the eggs, the bacon is to the side, pancakes are keeping warm in a metal baking pan covered with foil. The table is set with orange juice and syrup already out. If she wasn’t apprehensive about what conversation they were going to have, she’d tell him to cover all the food and head back to the bedroom. This is by far one of the sexiest and sweetest things he does for her: letting her not worry about anything. She’s waiting for his usual line of “breakfast is served mi amor (my love).” That’s not what he turns and says.

And a last sentence because @djarins-cyare did one:

Javi and Abigail watched the cerulean blue waves roll against the rocks as they finished up their meal.

I made progress on my Javi G series Two Hearts by the Ocean finally! 🌊

NPT: @rhoorl @maggiemayhemnj @laurfilijames @grogusmum @angelofsmalldeath-codeine

@goodwithcheese @djarinmuse @connectioneverywhere @morallyinept @megamindsecretlair

@soft-persephone @soft-girl-musings @spacecowboyhotch @avastrasposts @mysterious-moonstruck-musings

@magpiepills @pedroshotwifey @julesonrecord @alltheglitterandtheroar @pamasaur

@saturn-rings-writes

PS: I might have made notes to two Moon Knight fics. 👀 Again for reasons…maybe found while being flipped. Who knows these things really?

[haveyoureadthisfanfic]

Summary: After Addison, Arthur and John didn't go to New York - they just went home, and set up shop in as PIs in Arkham. Now several months later, having completed work for a wealthy client, they find themselves invited to a fancy dinner party with New England's elite occultists. But among the rich and famous diners are two unexpected guests: "Andrew" Larson, Arthur's one time nemesis, and Peter Yang, back from the dead but not quite right. After an awkward dinner, and an introduction to a mysterious supernatural artifact, a corpse is discovered. It's up to Arthur and John to solve the murder and stop the artifact before it unleashes its eldritch magic on them all.

Author: @croik

Author: THIS IS A CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE FANFIC. How cool is that?? I've seen a few of these before but this one is especially fun and I loved going back to chapters I already read after discovering new parts of the overall mystery.

[mercurialskiies]

ok tumblr, i have the nycc update that i forgot to give you all, however

we managed to get the arc of bury our bones

so for the next few days, i will be letting this book absolutely ruin my life and destroy me in true fashion 🙂‍↕️ i will return in time with incoherent screaming and a spoiler-free ramble session for you all

[torawro]

everyone let’s gather round and wish my glorious handsome lover boy sweetie pie bbg a happy birthday <3

[itsmangacap]

Gozen 0-ji, Kiss Shi ni Kite yo 午前0時、キスしに来てよ —  ch. 23 ⌈ 2015 - 2020 | by mikimoto rin ⌋

[where-dreams-dwell]

Chaotic writing prompt: the Cinderella fairytale as a lavender marriage

Gay Prince Charming unable to marry his love, and a Cindy who has yet to meet her one true love but knows it won’t be a man. Cindy who just wants to escape her shitty life for one night, and the prince who’s looking to make the best of having to marry, while praying his wife will at least be bearable.

Cindy makes it clear to the prince while they’re dancing that she’s not here for him, meanwhile he’s stunned by her entrance, her glass shoes and what does she mean her coach is technically a pumpkin…? She runs at midnight and the prince’s lover is fascinated by her, really honey didn’t you ask her any questions when you were dancing, I need the tea, you have to find her

A prince who jumps at the PR opportunity looking for a star crossed love will bring, plus she is the only woman he enjoyed talking to. Cindy who happy agrees to play the beard, while having the power to improve the lives of her subjects and of course she wouldn’t dream of disliking the princes advisor and best friend, don’t be silly they’re like brothers..

Over the years their love story is told far and wide, someone’s even writing a play about it, and at home in the palace the King, the Queen and the King’s Lover lounge about their shared sitting room, with separate doors to their own bedrooms, and plan how they’re going to introduce ideas like workers rights and weekend’s to their council.

[tjerra14]

PSA for the neverending influx of spiders: if you want to avoid premature eviction when sharing a flat with me, not dropping from the ceiling hanging suspended at head-height while deciding how to proceed from there twice on a single evening would be a good place to start

[booktomoviebrawl]

Book to movie brawlers how do we feel about the Hunger Games movies?

[audioroleplayconfessions]

Low-key need more commotion for The Stroke of Midnight, his audios are mad good. And idk he seems like a sweet dude frl.

.