#(someone please ask me my ideas about it. there’s not too many but they’re interesting i promise)

[spiderwingz]

Do you think it’s possible for the enemy book series to ever be adapted in the future ?

i really want to say yes.

we have a really strong trend of adaptions going on. and especially after the success of the last of us, i think the interest is definitely there. plus, since there’s so many books and they’re so long, there’s plenty to go off of!

but that’s also part of the problem. adapting such a long series would be way better off in a tv format vs a movie format (think of manga to anime). if we’re going live action, then it becomes even harder bc actors age and the characters not so much.

though small, another problem is how the ages differ depending if you’re reading the american version or the british version. the british one (the original) has everyone over fourteen/fifteen contract the virus. but the american one has everyone over sixteen. it’s a minor detail but still might be important depending on who’s making it.

the biggest problem might just be the amount of violence. i mean, it’s a series where the only ones to survive are the kids and the adults literally become your worst enemies. of course there’s going to be violence. literally so much violence. i can think of so many death scenes that were so terrible and gorey that they still stick with me years later. not to mention trying to get sickos looking scary but not overly touched. and the twisted kids?? i’d love to see them. there’s a delicate balance in creating the sickos that the last of us did really well.

not to mention that most of the fear (and realism, i’d argue) comes from not knowing if certain characters will make it out of their situations alive or not. the lack of plot armor keeps things interesting and tense and it’s one of those things that makes the series so special. plus every book focuses on specific groups of kids and has a lot of pov switches in order to better tell the story, which isn’t bad, just a thing to point out. the lack of a sole character might turn away potential investors, either financial or attention wise, because it would be harder to promote. think of the hunger games with katniss.

the only thing i’m not sure about is how popular the series is, in both america and overseas. i discovered the series on accident when i picked up the sixth book off the recently released section in the library back in 2015, got halfway through before i realized it was part of a series, and then started the whole thing for real. most of the people i’ve talked to irl haven’t heard of it but that might just be because horror novels aren’t their thing. i was pleasantly surprised to see so many people online love it tho.

overall, i’d say the chances of the series getting adapted are about 50/50. i think the idea has to be pitched by someone with influence to really get the whole thing moving. there’s so much potential in it, tho, and i’d love to see it happen. i’d do it myself if i could!

[luveline]

Hey my lovely, could i equest a blurb where reader seeks one of spencer's hugs and he's all soft and mushy about it!! I just think he'd give really warm hugs and want one so bad!

shy!reader + post!prison Spencer have a hug

Spencer understands why you might find him intimidating. He did go to prison for a few weeks, and even if the idea of his being a potential felon didn’t scare you, there’s nothing wrong with being nervous around the unknown. You’ve had a few more weeks to get to know the others on the team. He tries not to take it personally that you’re closer with some of them than you are him. 

Plus, you’re awfully shy. 

Spencer’s been trying to communicate that he’s an idiot. He was shy, once, and he tends to be shy about things now, too, even if he’s taken to hiding that. He hides a lot, these days. 

But things aren’t hopeless with you. You’re inarguably his best work friend now that Morgan’s not around, taking the desk next to his —through coincidence or insistence, he has no idea. 

“What flavour do you have today?” he asks. 

You show him your bag. The convenience store outside of work has the strangest sweets from all sorts of places. You’ve been bringing in a different bag each day, and you always share. “Today is apricot and peach ‘millions’,” you tell him, shaking the bright pink bag like a rattle. 

Inside, the millions bounce against each other like miniscule polystyrene balls but with a heavier weight. 

“Awesome!” he says, holding out his hand. “Please?” 

You rip the corner and tip a generous helping of candies into his palm, doing the same in your own hand. “Ready?” you ask. 

“Three, two, one.” 

You both tip your heads back at the same time. Apricot and peach are similar flavours, and Spencer can’t tell the difference when they’re both in play. He can also taste apple juice and the sharp citric acid flavour they put in every candy. 

He can’t tell if you like them. He quite enjoys it, will happily eat the leftovers if you’re not interested, but your attention isn’t on the candy when he looks up. You’re staring straight at him. 

“What?” he asks, perturbed. 

“Nothing, just. Had a rough morning. Thanks for trying the candy with me.” 

He frowns. “I’m sorry. Let me know if there’s something I can do to make you feel better. I can make you a cup of hot chocolate?” 

“Don’t worry about it.” 

Spencer’s sure that to an outsider, he and the team appear to travel to a hundred cities a month. In reality, cases aren’t as densely packed, especially with the government expanding their profiling teams, and the majority of Spencer’s day is spent answering emails and giving advice to agents, law enforcement, and his colleagues. He doesn’t see much of you (where you’re forced to work ViCAP calibration as newbies usually are, almost like a hazing) but he does take you that hot chocolate around lunch time. Just to make sure you have the option. 

It’s sometime past four PM when you appear again. 

“Hey,” he says, turning to you where you’re paused behind your desk chair, “you're finally done?” 

“Not yet. So many case files to transcribe, opinions to cross check, signatures and…” You wince. “It’s a lot. You already know.” 

“I don’t, actually. I only ever had to do ViCAP as punishment, and I was extremely well-behaved. For a while, anyway.” 

You hesitate with something heavy on the tip of your tongue. You’re like every profiler wherein your tells are self-identified and quelled, but you’re still so new, and Spencer’s an expert. You want to ask him for something, but you don’t think you’re allowed. If he presses the issue you’ll shut down, and if he offers you another cup of hot chocolate you’ll simply drink it without letting him in on the real secret. 

Spencer waits. 

“Spencer, you don’t have to say yes, just… You’re the nicest friend I have, and you always know what I need to hear. Um, I know you don’t like touching people and I wouldn’t ask you to if you don’t want to, but it’s been a really long time since someone hugged me, and…” Your voice gets quieter and quieter, until you’re whispering, and then fizzling out. 

“You want a hug?” he asks, surprised. 

“If that’s okay.” 

“I give really good hugs,” he warns, climbing from his chair immediately, arms opened, an unmissable invitation. “You’ll never get over it.” 

“Really?” 

He can’t believe you came to him specifically for a hug. He’s gonna lose his mind. Gentle, Spencer ushers you into his arms, head quick to duck down, his thumb on your shoulder. 

You could’ve asked anybody in the office for a hug. Penelope would have hugged your brains out. Emily, Unit Chief and secret sweetheart, would’ve taken you off of ViCAP and given you a loving pat on the back. But you didn’t ask Penelope or Emily, you asked him. 

“You don’t have to ask me first,” he says quietly. 

“You don’t like touching.” 

“That’s more to do with germs, and I’m not worried about yours,” he says. “Unless you’re about to tell me you have a headache.” 

“It’s like this pounding behind my eyes,” you say with a laugh. 

Spencer smiles, his mouth and nose to the side of your head. He gives you a good ten seconds of quiet, his palm warming your shoulder, before he murmurs, “Any better?” 

“You’re really warm,” you murmur back. 

Spencer resists the urge to squeeze you. “It's the oxytocin.”

“Or you’re just really, really warm.”

[tojisun]

you're breaking my heart with him who we love and i absolutely adore it!!!! (っ◔︣◡◔᷅)っ ❤

may i ask what johnny (and maybe even simon?) would do if reader - after feeling left out for so long - finally decided to move on and/or find someone else? maybe she gravitated towards kyle and/or john bc they’re sweet and gentle with her and her affection is finally being reciprocated?

and please feel free to ignore this if it doesn't interest you. no pressure at all!

ohn my god no bc im so so glad so many of u are brainrotting w me again about 'him who we love' <33 i could not stop thinking about it on our way home yesterday

!! vague descriptions of an injury and an attack; mentioned callsign for reader but its not important!!; and its so so rambly so do forgive me ): // divider by @/plutism <3

id love to see this happen after that mission mishap with simon and the reader. it takes an explosion; an acrid burn peeling his flesh from his back and you sewing him together with such vitriolic desperation that ghost almost, almost, felt bad for the way he’s treated you; and an apology murmured from the softest lips he’s never really noticed for simon to—

feel his chest twinge.

the denial sits on the tip of his tongue, razor-sharp and blisteringly sour. it waxes, and simon heaves from something more than the pain burrowing deep into his being. he trembles from something that isn’t the agony he feels for returning to johnny as more of a ruined man who is unable to bury the fear of anything that is set ablazed.

(he remembered the day when he finally came to, groggy eyes peeling open before snagging a fracture of liquid orange—fire, his mind screamed, pulsing because: i’m not gonna be able to come back—and lurching out of the bed only for his body to collapse, and he fell with a choked yell, pain blooming from all of his synapses almost like a beast coiled deep into the fabrics of his very existence.

you ran into the room, yelling his name, and something about the way your voice was so raw with worry and anguish, simon was able to calm down. almost like a part of him realized he was safe now, with you; like it knew that you wouldn’t let anything happen to him, not then and not ever.

while you helped him back on the bed, he turned his head to try and see what it was that set him off—

simon’s breath hitched, his eyes straining as a lump lodged itself into his throat because it was—

the fire was—

it wasn’t fire.

there, bouncing off a glass vase, were serpentine rays of the afternoon sun rippling across the walls and bathing him in warm light.

“is there, uh, something you need?” you asked, trying not to hover but unable to truly leave him be.

simon swallowed, running his tongue on the back of his teeth, before murmuring, “shut the curtains.”

you turned to the windows, your brows furrowed, and simon clenched his teeth, bulldozing through the shame curling in the pit of his stomach and added, “please.”

you did what he asked without prodding, and simon swallowed down the rawness of his vulnerability, watching you with something pretty fluttering in his chest but he tried to stomp it down because—

he despises you, remember? so why…)

but the feeling bloats and simon spends the rest of the exfil in silence, watching you—he’s always been watching—but this time it’s without malice. instead, it’s with bubbling interest, pushing at the back of his mind, and rising ever so slightly like a tide.

he thinks of johnny, of the way mactavish had danced around the idea of something more with the three of you, and finds that he’s not too opposed to it anymore. instead, he looks forward to the change.

-

no sooner after the bird touches down on the base, price pulls you into his office. simon’s been wheeled into the sick bay and was stranded there, doctor’s orders, so he only learns about what happened later into the night when mactavish finds him, sorrow so heavily etched on his face.

“tavish?” he asks, ignoring the way his voice comes out as a croak. “what happened?”

“hyde’s gone,” johnny says, slumping into the seat beside simon’s bed and burrowing his head into his palms. “they apparently requested to be assigned somewhere else. cap’n won’t say where.”

“when?” he asks although simon can’t even feel himself move, his mind trying to reconcile the events that happened because there’s no way this occurred in the fly; not when, he remembers, you looked so resolute on the way back like you knew what was going to happen the moment you two returned.

like you had planned this for a while now—

“when’d they ask?”

johnny shifts, meeting his eyes, and simon’s heart crumbles at seeing the weight of johnny’s anguish painted on his face. he sniffles, and rasps out, “probably two months ago, s’what garrick said.”

two months ago—the same night when you managed to find a way to contact the base. the same night when simon’s realized what it must be that he feels for you.

(the same night when you’ve shyly asked him what about mactavish did he like.

“the six inches that you so intimately know,” he replied, cheeky and teasing.

you rolled your eyes, groaning at how disgusting he was, and he piped back how he’s a patient and has all rights to be as gross as he could.

you laughed, chucking a balled paper towel at him and simon remembers the way you looked so…at peace bantering with him that he couldn’t even fathom you were thinking of leaving.

what changed for you? what was it? why couldn’t you have waited—

why didn’t he realize sooner—

whywhywhy?)

notes: tbh i dont think hyde would gravitate towards price n gaz bc their affections for ghoap, particularly for ghost, was so intense. also, even before this ask ive always planned for hyde to leave. their feelings could potentially risk the team morale, which price even talked to them about in the prev works (mentioned in passing)!

[autisticfaun420]

I opened up to my mom about age regression

(if you are reading this and are new to my blog I am high support needs autistic and I already have childish interests please don’t say I’m infantilizing autism)

So first of all she kind of knew something was up with me, I brought my plushie with me to my disability day program. I showed her my blog, she said she hadn’t logged into my account to check yet so it was a surprise to her. First of all she was very proud and said I was brave for opening about some of my struggles and being so candid about it, I don’t know if it’s bravery or just autism making it so I don’t know what’s appropriate to share haha. Then I showed her my posts about age regression and how I learned about it here and was like, instant hyper fixation for me. I told her about how I never felt negatively infantilized by her and my dad almost never compared to people at school or strangers and I enjoy the connection we have when my parents kind of “baby” me the right way when they take care of my support needs. Like I need to have physical touch to calm me down and being cradled and my diaper changes are met with nick names, hugs and tickles, yeah very embarrassing I’m sure but whatever. I told her about “little space” and how I already enter it when she takes care of me sometimes and she said she always knew something like was going on but never pushed me or into it and made sure I was enjoying myself in those moments. She said if it would make me happy she and my dad would for sure be willing to help me out with little space. I told her that I want to take the power back from people who infantilized me negatively and assume I can’t think for myself by doing this and that surprised her but she said it made sense. I mentioned that I want to keep what independences and adult privileges I do have and I don’t want them to think I want this 24/7 and they said of coarse they will and I trust them. She had a talk with my dad real fast and they agreed to let me spend some of the money I saved up doing internet surveys, like a hundred dollars for an age regression starting pack essentially, my dad asked if this is really what I want and I guess the way I looked at him after and nodded made him believe me. My dad talked to me about how it’s important to keep my regression inside so others don’t get the wrong idea and I said of coarse and I shouldn’t do more then take my plushie with me in public and I agree. However I’m getting an adult sized bottle and pacifier, a mobile for my special needs cubby bed and a few fisher price toys. I am over the moon ecstatic and my mom said she’ll throw in the money for overnight shipping cause I earned it for using coping mechanisms when meltdowns could of gone worse lately.

I told them about pet regression too and they were still supportive of me being interested in it, they said they would feel uncomfortable with treating their disabled child like a pet personally and I can see where they’re coming from on that. They told me that one day I can find someone special to do that stuff with. As you can imagine dating is really hard with my level of needs but I’m not completely discouraged I’ll find somebody but that’s a post for another day. We did have a talk about how much I enjoyed being on an anti elopement harness and how I would pretend play as a puppy when out on walks with her, she said she knew had a feeling that’s what I was doing. Also I had my pacifier till 4 or 5 years and she said me giving it up was one of the hardest things she saw me go through and joked about it like I’m a drug addict about to relapse on it. I still have so many oral stims and use chewerly throughout the day so I think she has a point. Imagining what a paci would feel like in my mouth makes me feel so happy. I am just excited all around and can’t wait till tomorrow. For now my mom asked if I wanted some “little time” tonight and of course she said yes. We watched In the Night Garden on the big TV while she stroked my hair and cuddled when I normally only watch shows like that on my tablet as a form of stimming I guess. It was nice watching it where I could relax. I felt extra giggly at all the dumb stuff in the show, my friends describe it as an “acid trip” if that gives you an idea about what it’s like. My mom after the episode tickles me down and played games with me like I did when I was a little kid and I loved it. I started crying tears of happiness because I felt so loved I guess you could say. She teared a little bit too and told me every mother secretly wishes they could still baby their grown children so she said she had fun, I don’t know if it’s true or not but it’s a funny thought.

I feel so happy I wanted to write this out and share with you guys. I don’t know what else to say I think I wrote out enough. Now my mom wants me to get into my pajamas early I think she’s having too much fun with this but so am I and my dad is gonna run to get some of my favorite ice cream when I was a kid. I feel so lucky to have parents who can support my physical and emotional and disability support needs.

[multiheadcanons]

PASS THE MERCENARY ON THE LEFT PON SIDE

aka mercs smoking weed

scout: scout’s threshold before he’s absolutely dysfunctional is half a hit. he can handle a half filled pinch hitter before he’s laying on a floor somewhere greened out. and he hates being greened out. one time he thought he was dying and went to the medic for help because he swore he was dying. the doctor was very professional as scout was going through it; and we’ll give the man the credit where it’s due. because scout was horrified. and there was a very clear moment, as scout emptied the contents of his guts in the infirmary bathroom, as he turned to look at medic; he almost saw god; as the man rubbed his back and gave him a sympathetic smile. when he finally felt sane enough to fall asleep and was sober again he got dogged. hard. scout made a mental note to only go to medic for genuine emergencies. that man cannot be serious.

soldier: if soldier would give weed one chance he would appreciate himself for it. it would give him a strong wall standing between him and his impulses. make him a little lighter, easier to be around. and it’s okay to say soldier is kind of hard to be around! you either have to withstand the absolute space he takes up as a man with a personality or match his absolute freak. and not many people can match his absolute freak. but he is heavily, heavily anti drug. he sneers at spy for his nicotine addiction, anything past liquor he side eyes so hard. he doesn’t like the idea of drugs. of them absolutely ruining you. he likes who he is. he is content with who he is. but if he smoked a blunt… he’d change his tune. at least a little bit.

pyro: pyro’s not smoking weed. but they do have one of those gas mask bongs. it’s pristine from no use; they have no idea why they don’t get rid of it. they just think it’s funny to own, they guess. nobody’s asked about it for them to tell anyone. they’re happy to share it! nobody would want to use that thing more than once. they are also always strapped with a lighter, so if you need one for yourself they’re happy to give it to you!

demo: demo will smoke occasionally. he’s a drinker, that is his depressant of choice. and with weed, there is a fine line of a good crossfade, and being absolutely fucked up. and it’s not fun being fucked up unless everyone else is fucked up too. when he’s fucked up alone he feels like he needs an intervention. but he won’t turn away a puff or two if you offer. then he feels good! nice and airy. more jokey than he already is.

heavy: chatty cathy. oh my god he just wants to talk. someone please talk to him. most everyone will give him an ear because he’s never been so interested in having entire conversations with others. but as they’re so excited because it’s like, oh my god… the heavy weapons guy is talking to me, like came to me to chat… there comes a point about ten minutes in when the conversation hasn’t slowed down, in fact it begins to turn to deeper, political, philosophical, ethical questions; you go wait… is he high right now? is this how he acts high? and the second they notice, he does. and he’ll pat them on their shoulder, and gives them a genuine “good talk.” and will find his next target to push. sleeps so hard. good dreams.

engineer: he’s got a little bong. smoked more before he was committing active war crimes. he doesn’t really feel an urge to smoke anymore. but, if it’s offered… he’ll join the session. one of those kinds who like to “go for a walk” and come back in a better mood. little more chatty, little more humored… a little dumber! a little more willing to do dumb shit. a little more interested in some of the dumb questions scout and soldier have for him. takes unfavorable results on the chin. more willing to try again, and tries again faster. gets the munchies like a son of a bitch. is making regular trips to the fridge. you start getting suspicious after the third trip to the kitchen.

medic: medic will turn down weed in most cases. and the times he accepts it are seemingly random. but when he accepts it… there’s not much difference in him. maybe he’s quieter? but he just stays in the infirmary. maybe actually catches up on his paperwork. he’s moving slow enough that it’s not nearly as boring as it usually is. makes a couple trips to the kitchen if he’s confident he can sneak it. also sleeps very hard. he just never seems to make it to a bed. eyes get so bloodshot, it’s very easy to tell when doc’s been smoking weed because every conversation is “mhm” “mhm” “oh really” “hm. interesting” until he falls asleep in front of you.

sniper: business as usual. oh yeah, this man is a wake and baker. rides the highs in the morning as he takes the biggest rip out of this nasty ass bong; like it looks like he put coffee in it dirty. watches the sunrise with his bong rip and his coffee, thinks for a moment “yeah… it’s nice being alive, actually.” and then goes and kills people for a living. if he’s having a hard time sleeping, he might smoke again before bed, but it’s not often that happens

spy: spy didn’t start regularly smoking weed until the blu sniper gave him a pack of stuffed cigarettes in an attempt to fuck him up on the field. the kicker is, it made spy feel great. maybe he fudged up a couple of relatively easy trickstabs, or wasn’t cloaking as a precaution and it got him caught, but you know what. he was having a damn good time. actually enjoying his job. and on top of all of that, he was still kicking the blu team’s asses. he asked if snipes could bring him another pack sometime. he’s happy to pay.

[moonlit-imagines]

Preferences: the Avengers visiting you, the owner of the local bookstore

Avengers x reader

warnings:

a/n: i hope it ok i turned into prefs!! i think it made more sense with the interaction part <3

prompt: @groovy-lady: “May I please request headcanons of being the owner of a bookshop the Avengers all go to and how they all interact with you?”

Bruce is there quite often, frequently in the scientific section. He buys stacks of books at a time and is quiet and polite when checking out. You always comment on how smart he must be and he awkwardly laughs it off. After a while, you start pulling certain books you’d think would interest him, which melted his heart when he realized you thought of him. “I added a science fiction novel in there, too. I don’t know if that’s your thing, but it’s one of my favorites.” You told him and he smiled. “Thank you for thinking of me.” He said.

Clint bought a lot of kids books. “How many?” You asked. “Three. Two boys and a girl.” He told you. You admired his choice of books for his kids. Teen fiction, sci-fi, graphic novels, fantasy, and a few children’s books. “Lots of variety.” You commented. “Yeah, trying to get them into reading.” He explained. “Any recommendations? The older ones are preteens, a boy and a girl. The little one is just learning how to read.” You smirked and started heading towards some classics like Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games. “These are the most popular for their age group, and I love them, too. As far as your little guy, you’ve already got the right idea.” Clint was grateful and took the first book of each popular series, promising to come back if they loved them as much you you did.

Nat was a fantasy reader. She had no shame in it. “What do you have for me today, y/n?” She’d approach the counter and have a small stack waiting for her. You’d go down the list with a little synopsis of each. “I hope you like them.” You told her. “You haven’t let me down yet.” She said back. She also donates her books when she’s done with them, saying she wants someone else to enjoy them as much as she did.

Steve nearly picked your history section clean. “Catching up, Captain?” You joked, recognizing the Super Soldier as soon as he walked in. “I don’t even know where to start.” He admitted. You gladly slimmed down his pile of history books and replaced quite a few with some fantastic works that came out while he was on ice. “As much as I enjoy reading, you won’t learn everything from these. Make sure you aren’t missing out by trying to catch up.” You warmly told him. “That’s good advice.” You told him you try and rung him up, warning him not to go reading those all at once.

Tony was more interested in comics and graphic novels, you’d laugh when you saw him pick up the more risque comics and he’d give you a playful wink. “They’re not for me, they’re for Clint’s son, the three-year-old.” He always knew how to make you laugh. “Yes, Elvira is the perfect choice for Clint’s small child.” He said he knew you’d understand. He also admitted he likes comics because they give him a little break from thinking all day and some of the characters remind him of his own life. You told him he was like Batman, he disagrees.

Thor checks out Norse Mythology more often than not. He likes to see what is written about him and his family in the eyes of Midgardians. “Are you sure you don’t want to try something different this time, Thor?” You motioned to a different section. “There’s so much more to choose from, I’d love to give you some recommendations.” Thor declined, placing another Norse book on the counter. “Have you ever read about me? Or my brother, Loki?” You nodded, telling him you’ve read a book or two that had them featured. “Wel”l, maybe next time I’ll buy something with a little less…me in it. We’ll see. Thank you, y/n!”

Before the Darkhold, Wanda was actually quite the enjoyer of teen fiction. She begged you not to tell the others what she read, and you promised you’d never share her secret. Most of the time, she’d cozy up in your reading corner with a coffee and read her “secret” books away from the Avengers. “Wanda, this one just came in. I think you’d love it.”

taglist: @locke-writes // @captainshazamerica // @summersimmerus // @prettysbliss // @simp-legend // @wild-rose-35 // @nekoannie-chan // @beth-gallagher22 // @mymelodymia // @deanzboyfriend // @mr-mxyzptlk-1940 //

[saphronethaleph]

Stare Decisis

“All right, that’s all the spells I can think of,” Hermione said, lowering her wand and inspecting their new camp in the Forest of Dean.

“Which probably means there aren’t any spells left to cast,” Ron noted, wincing. “Ow. I hate splinching… so, uh. What do we do now?”

He frowned. “You know, we’d better win at this point, right? Because I bet Hermione could pass exams anywhere in the world, but you and me, Harry, we’re comparatively buggered.”

“If we don’t win we’re absolutely buggered, not just relatively,” Harry replied, groaning. “So, we’ve got a horcrux… now we need to destroy it, right? And find the rest.”

He looked up at Hermione. “How do we destroy them?”

“We need to use something powerfully destructive, powerful enough to break the magical protections on the horcrux,” Hermione replied, considering the locket they’d retrieved at such peril. “Unfortunately, there aren’t many such powerfully destructive kinds of magic – the only one we know is basilisk venom.”

“Oh, we’re fine, then,” Harry said, relieved. “Sidney can help.”

Both his friends looked at him in some confusion.

“...Sidney?” Hermione asked, eventually.

“Yeah,” Harry agreed.

“Who’s Sidney?” Ron said. “Is he one of your cousin Dudley’s mates?”

“What?” Harry asked. “No. Why would my cousin be friends with a basilisk? You’ve met him.”

“Have I?” Hermione asked. “I don’t think I have. If I did, it was so brief I don’t remember it.”

“I think we need to go back and start this conversation back at a bit where I understood what was going on,” Ron suggested. “I hate splinching. What do we do now?”

“Sidney,” Harry said, firmly. “Sidney is the solution to all our problems.”

He rethought.

“Sidney is the solution to some specific problems, one of which we have right now.”

“Who is Sidney?” Hermione asked. “Please, let’s not get distracted.”

Harry rummaged in his pockets, paused, rummaged in a different pocket, and pulled out a small red and gold bag.

“Alohomora,” he said, touching his wand to the knot, and it unravelled in a trice. “I still love that I can just do that instead of spending a minute undoing it.”

Smiling slightly, he pulled open the bag, and poured out approximately six inches of greenish snake.

The snake hissed slightly, mumbling something about nap time, and rolled over.

“...Harry?” Hermione said, slowly. “Is that a basilisk?”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed.

“Why?” Ron said, not unreasonably.

“Well, I had this idea,” Harry explained, making sure not to look at the serpent in question while actually talking. “See, after I had to kill the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets I got to thinking about how it actually really sucks that there was someone a thousand years old in the school and I had to kill her, and also how actually there can’t be someone who’s just evil because of how they’re born, because there can’t be someone who’s just good because of how they’re born either, and I know people in the magical world think snakes are evil but they’re clearly wrong because the first snake I ever met just wanted to visit his homeland.”

Hermione and Ron looked at him, then each other, then back at him.

“You realize that’s enormously illegal, right?” Ron said, in an interested voice.

“Yeah, I didn’t tell anyone at first because of that, but at this point what’s one more crime?” Harry asked. “I’m already guilty of Being Harry Potter in the first degree.”

He stroked Sidney’s spine with a fingertip, then glanced up. “And, honestly, he’s been kind of helpful in my not going completely insane once or twice.”

“Not going completely insane?” Ron asked. “So, um, how come this Sidney is still alive, anyway? Hagrid’s got his cockerels back.”

“Silenced bag,” Harry explained. “It’s got a warming charm too, he likes it in there. I’ll probably have to get a bigger one or expand the inside in a decade or three.”

“...um,” Hermione said. “I was actually hoping for this topic to come up, but how old is Sidney?”

“About… four?” Harry said, frowning. “Yeah, he turned four not long ago. He’s a lot smarter than a human four year old, I assume, I haven’t actually met many of them but he’s better conversation than I was at eleven.”

“Oh, I see,” Hermione realized. “Didn’t you say the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets was fifty feet long?”

“Easily that!” Ron said. “I don’t see.”

“Fifty feet long, but nearly a thousand years old,” Hermione pointed out. “So that’s about twenty years a foot.”

“Say what you like about Salazar Slytherin, but he was a long term planner,” Harry noted. “Though he did hatch out at about four inches… all right, sleepyhead, wake up!”

Sidney mumbled something, burrowing into his own coils.

“Can’t basilisks kill you with their gaze?” Ron asked. “I assume you’ve got some kind of answer for that, just saying.”

“Yeah, at this point a prolonged staring match causes a headache,” Harry replied, as Sidney finally accepted that he wasn’t going to get back to sleep any time soon and yawned. “Hey there, mate. Got something for you to bite, it’d be a real help.”

“You’re sure it’s okay?” Sidney asked, tilting his head and yawning again. “Because I remember you were quite firm about the rules.”

Harry nodded.

“I know,” he agreed. “This is an exception because it’s a bit of the soul of that person who tried to kill me about… it’s got to be at least a dozen times by now.”

“Oh, that’s probably all right, then,” Sidney decided.

“Hagrid is going to love this,” Ron said, as Harry held out the locket and Sidney gave it a determined nibble. “Once you tell him, anyway.”

There was a sharp crack, and a kind of black mist flew out of the locket before dispersing.

“Ew,” Sidney said, doing the snake version of making a face. “How many more pieces are there? Because that didn’t taste very nice at all.”

“There might be a few more, but not many,” Harry said. “Want to go back and have a nap, or meet my friends?”

“If you’re being open about my existence, why not?” Sidney said, flicking his tail in something like a shrug, then coiled up into a little spiral.

“I’m almost sure I recognized one of those words,” Ron muttered.

Hermione was already on her second page of notes.

(so I saw a post about something similar to this, and decided to one-scene snippet it)

[borzoilover69]

I *need* the 3 paragraph essay on davejake. They give me brainworms, please

Alright here it is, me rambling at length about davejake to some person, now copy pasted on tumblr!

So as you already know (or dont) i often frame dave and jake hanging out as clubbing buddies. That's all there is to their relationship. My personal headcanon is that dave is such a loser postgame. I think he would fall out with karkat because he doesnt know how to clean up after himself and gets more aloof and sort of a jackass down the line (count it on bad parenting!!) and it pisses off karkat so bad they dont have a tumultuous breakup they just sort of fizzle out bcus both of them dont have the balls or the energy to tell the other its over they just sort of stop talking. 

It doesnt just impact his relationship with Karkat, I imagine he'd fall out with a lot of his friends because it's okay to be an insufferable prick when youre 13 or 16 but less so when youre in your 20s. This would especially impact his relationship with John. If you look at it from a subjective opinion, its a wonder they ended up friends in the first place. They have different interests, contrasting personalities, and different ideas of fun. I like the idea that John would have depression postgame, and I think that Dave just wouldnt know how to handle it at all, doesnt really know how to connect. Theyd be stuck in this thing where they can't think of a single good thing about the other when they're apart, but when they're togehter it's fine. You know its bad when you dont have literally anything to talk abt with your best friend. hes totally indifferent to any of daves comments on politics or the ilk. 

Dave understands that time and relationships dont go well at all he cant stay in touch with old friends, but also doesnt really desire cant new friends, stuck perpetually in limbo.

and thats the thing sort of the same with jake. jake hits it off big but realising so many people want him and desire to be around him makes him lose touch with his old group so hes grown distant too, theyd get along because they dont care enough to know the other on a deeper level and it suits them just fine.  like they might wonder but thatd open a pandoras box.  

For Dave it’s the fact that Jake doesn’t show outward opposition to his brand of bullshit, and doesn’t ask nor desires to get deep with him, so it’s fine. Here for a good time not for a long time.  They can do all the things that dirk is too much of a shut-in prude to do. (Same goes for John) and just hangout. Hookup a few times. 

For Jake, Dave is a strider (something he likes) and again, doesn’t ask and isn’t someone who wants to get deep with him which suits him just fine because Dave can be fun if they’re doing something fun and Jake doesn’t want to go alone. Which he doesn’t. Jake English is the type of guy to fill his entire schedule just to avoid talking to people one on one that hes known for a long time (doesn’t want to get intimate just wants to have a lot to talk about with no qualms.) 

Like he also doesn’t want to know Dave on a personal level but he can convince the guy to go on benders because Dave has nothing really going for him and they can bitch about their selective friend groups w/o it coming back to bite both of them in the ass due to them obviously not going to tell the others about it.  Which is great. For them. 

Its funny as hell to imagine them helping each other but they genuinely do not give a fuck about that at all. Funny In the glaringly not endgame our friend groups both sort of ditched us but we sort of also enabled that to happen (we lack the ability to try hard at it for too long without getting uncomfortable) and base level of similiartiy that doesn’t show signs of fluctuating so as long as they’re generally entertaining and on board to party and do fun things they are friends and or in relations (complicated and a sworn open secret) to each other.

Honestly it’s likee canon. To me. Im a big fan of less than conventional relationships. A lot of the fun comes from exploring the lengths they would go to stave off boredom in the face of immortality and  trying to stave off having a deep conversation or revelation while tiptoeing around issues they have with others and with themselves through a safe haze of vices. Like they’d get close to it but get interrupted. 

Dave and Jake are silly as heck. Love those goobers. Their relationship to Dirk is purely they know to not fuck with each other because it’d genuinely upset dirk really bad but they do it anyway. And it’s true they see attributes of their best friend in the other with added benefits of them not being so uptight as their best friends from childhood. 

[karma-creations]

Watcher Lore in the Life Series AU . . . Gimme gimme please :)

(The Watchers are seriously so interesting aaaaaaaaaaaaa-)

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE!!!!

So, the Watchers. Basically, they’re a hivemind of omnipresent beings that see EVERYTHING. They feed off negativity: pain, anger, fear, sadness, grief, death, decay, the like. They’re not quite “alive”, but they’re certainly nourished by the negative energy of the people they watch.

They watched the main Sonic cast for a long time, but overall, Sonic’s world is too positive for them to really be nourished. Sonic has a team of friends who all care about and support each other in the fights between good and evil, and in those fights, good always wins. They were able to feed off major world-shattering events like the Metal Virus and the War to Take Back the Planet quite well, but even those had happy endings. Not only was it not feeding them, they found it boring.

So they came up with an idea: pit these “friends” against each other. Force them into a situation where they have to not just hurt each other, but kill each other. So they transported them into a world created by the Watchers, where they were all weakened, threatened by the environment, and tending toward hostility. The Watchers can’t completely overwrite free will and force people into doing things, but they can set rules, and they can influence people toward what they want.

It worked amazingly. The first round wasn’t perfect, granted—everyone was too upbeat at the start; Shadow was not only there, but also the winner (a lot more on him later); and way too many people kissed—but it was still delicious, and an excellent proof of concept. They only grew more hungry in the months between 3rd Life and Last Life, and after perfecting the idea with that round, they made it into a regular event. The players would feed them with their fear during the season, be allowed to return home for a few months so they were preserved for the next one, then be brought back to do it all over again.

Now, somewhere along the way, Shadow was forced to be involved quite a bit more than the other players.

The Watchers first took notice of Shadow due to his connection to the Black Arms. They fed off him quite a bit thanks to his grief and his refusal of emotional support, but after a while, they decided that as the Ultimate Lifeform, he was worthy of becoming one of them. Not long before 3rd Life, they transformed him into a Watcher via a very painful process. He didn’t know exactly who they were or what they did to him, but he still fought back, resisting their hivemind in favor of joining the game.

Since he’s physically present in the world, he doesn’t have the all-seeing capabilities of the other Watchers, but he knows a lot more than he should, especially when it comes to the rules of the games. For example, in the most recent game, Wild Life, he knows what the wild cards are before they even begin. Anytime someone violates the rules or needs to clarify something, he’s the one keeping everything in line.

There’s more than this, but this is what I have worked out for certain so far. Apologies if this isn’t 100% consistent with Martyn’s Watcher lore, I’m admittedly not an expert on a lot of it- but hey, it’s my AU!! Let me know if y’all have any suggestions for things I should add or change :D

[skitskatdacat63]

pls complain as much as you want about the eff won movie, i agree with all your tags and i'm sure you have more to say 👀

Hello here I am, ready to complain!!! I did in fact have more to say so thank you for asking

*Sorry Grace if you read this and I accidentally stole any of your talking points lol

ALSO DISCLAIMER: If you disagree with me, please do not fucking bug me about, I do not care, let me be a massive bitter hater in peace, thanks

I. Disinterest 

First of all, who asked for this? To me the appeal of F1 is how exclusive and confined it is. There are only 10 teams and 20 drivers you have to learn about which makes it very easy to become super invested. If you want to step outside that, you can learn more about the lower formulas or past seasons(there’s many of them!!!!) So why would I, someone extremely invested in the people and narrative already taking place, even remotely care about some made up drivers? Especially since they’re not JUST made up drivers, they’re made up drivers in the background of REAL drivers. I am highly invested in the results of current F1, so why would I want to watch a movie where those results and drivers are in the background. I’d rather just watch DTS, which is a crazy statement within itself.

I’ve actually thought a lot about how one could mesh real and fake within a sport like F1. Cause I daydream about my OCs in F1 haha, but then start thinking too hard about the logistics of it all. I came to the conclusion that putting fake F1 drivers into the real story is just not a great idea. Because you’re disrupting the actual results and inserting yourself into them, and also as I said, putting real life people in the background out of self interest. It just complicates things so much to add outside elements to such an insulated sport. If this movie had made up a completely fake grid, I’d honestly be all for it and probably would be pretty interested. Like, wow, give me a whole franchise of this!!! Give me a movie about every fake team!!! Get me invested!! But at the end of the day, I’m always going to care about the real life drivers more

In other racing movies, that are biopics, there is a focus of maybe one or two drivers. And those other drivers that were in the grid at the same time become background characters. BUT it’s in service of a real life story with real life people many may already be emotionally invested in. They’re not just turning the rest of the drivers into background characters in order to prop up their own fake F1 drivers, but rather just putting the focus on a story that deserves to be told. There’s so many stories that deserve to be told in F1, literal decades of stories. Why are they putting so much money and effort in service of a story that no one knows or cares about. 

Also I can already tell this movie is gonna be like…60% action, 40% plot. Again, if I wanted any of those things, I’d watch actual F1. It feels like a male power fantasy for men who wish they could try driving F1 cars.

II. Invasive 

I really dislike how involved it is with F1. You know, F1, something that is people’s legitimate job? It’s already a very flashy sport with so much publicity around it, why do you have to unnecessarily  add to that? Their cars being on the actual grid, the fake drivers being in the media pen. I just find the whole idea of them inserting themselves into modern F1 to be so weird. 

All those clips of Brad Pitt alongside the actual drivers genuinely make my skin crawl, it’s soooooooo fucking weird. Like that one clip of him standing alongside them for the anthem. Imagine you work your whole life and put so much blood, sweat, and tears into getting into F1, and then this rich asshole is allowed to roleplay next to you. There’s already enough pressure with the netflix cameras around all the time. And now they’re forced to be in a movie as well. Maybe I’m self centered but I’d be so annoyed if they were making a film about my sport and then I find out I’m only there to be a background character in a story about made up drivers. It just makes me cringe so much to imagine him pretending to be an F1 driver next to the actual drivers, like is that not embarrassing???

The social medias….very strange. Like the stuff with them using Paul Aron as their rookie. Even if they did get his permission, which I’m still not sure about, it’s so weird to me. Like oh the main characters are made up but you’re still willing to use other drivers in the pursuit of your own story. I’m sorry but is that not weird to anyone else???? I dislike how much this movie blurs the line between fiction and reality, involving real life drivers whenever it’s convenient. Looking at their socmed makes me cringe so much. I’m sure a bunch of self insert writers or novel writers would do the same but they’d get bullied. Yet a bunch of grown ass men are allowed to literally roleplay on twt/insta and it’s suddenly fine and normal? Lmao their most recent post is the FP1 results from Hungary. Is it not so fucking weird for them to make up placements, and thus just ignore the actual drivers who got those positions? Imagine you’re Lando and you got P6 and you go on instagram and suddenly discover that you did not in fact get P6, but rather Sonny Hayes did! Wow that 60 yr old sure is a good driver. 

And let us not forget to mention them making memorial posts for Senna and Jules Bianchi. That actually made me feel sickened, especially the Jules one. Imagine using a real life tragedy for publicity on your roleplay twitter. Is that fucking creepy???? Like why of all things would you choose THAT to play along with. They’re a made up team that is in no way associated with either drivers, so why are they talking about them? What is the point. 

Okay but that clip of Fernando staring at Brad Pitt, I’m fucking dying. I wish he could give his actual thoughts on it. Like what is it like to see a guy older than you, pretending to be an F1 driver, while you are there, doing your actual job. I like to think he had a dementia moment and was like, “hey wait when did that guy join the grid? I thought I was the oldest!?”

III. Dramatising

There already is a pretty big issue in this community where the drivers are treated like characters, and not real people. There’s so many people out there who just watch DTS and treat F1 like a soap opera. People who only know about F1 in the context of made up drama, and now there's gonna be a movie about made up drama. This movie further blurs the lines between fiction and reality. Again, they’re literally turning the F1 drivers into background characters of a movie. Like, wow you’re not real people anymore, your lives exist in the back of this story now. Imagine how confusing this would be as a new fan.

I know they’re all a bunch of rich privileged guys but, at the end of the day, this is still their job, not just fodder for drama. I want the sanctity of F1 to be respected okay. It's such a cool sport to me and I love all the real stuff about it, and I don't like the way media treats it and changes it.

IV. Old Man Self Insert

I basically covered this in my other categories but I just want to complain more. I really really despise that this movie just feels like some old guy really wanted to drive F1 cars and had to come up with a reason to justify it. I feel like someone who is a serious F1 fan would want to honor the actual history and context  of the sport more, y’know? Not just make a blatant self insert film, inserting himself in the literal daily life of the actual drivers. It annoys me bcs this is a sport where people start getting called old when they hit 30, not that I agree with that but I’m just saying, it’s a very ageist sport where youth seems to be valued over most other things. My resident GOAT old man, who is 18 years younger than Pitt, constantly has people saying how he should retire to give younger drivers more of a chance. So why the hell in a sport with this environment are we getting a movie about a 60 YEAR OLD driver. It’s just so clearly a self motivated passion project, and Domenicalli and others want to milk F1 for all the money it's worth. Okay so a made up team is allowed to be 11th and yet you keep shunning actual teams that could join and bring in more publicity/money? Okay, okay…

V. Misc

I’m ngl it feels like a made up team would have an easier job getting into F1 if they really wanted to, because of the publicity. And yet Andretti cannot. Imagine a docu film about a brand new team joining F1 for the first time ever and the trials and tribulations it takes to be a new team in such a historical, bloodthirsty sport. But nah let’s put all that money and effort into a make believe story. 

But yeah they’re not really doing anything inventive anyways. Wow an old man driver who they’re probably gonna pretend is not completely age inaccurate for this sport. And the supposed dynamic of it. Isn’t it supposed to be Brad Pitt’s chara coming back to mentor a rookie prodigy?? When are teammate relationships ever that nice?????? The only similar relationship I can think of is Seb and Micheal but they were on diff teams, and RBR was a lot better than Merc atp. I feel like the only time you see mentor-like relationships is either when the two are on diff teams, the car is an absolute backmarker, or the mentor absolutely outclasses the rookie. 

The fucking “who cares about safety” line, who authorized that????? Thinking about how I almost got ripped to shreds on here for talking about how refueling was interesting, and yet a blockbuster is allowed to disregard safety??? And weren’t they saying in that trailer that they have to make the car for battle? Is their strat being terrorists??

VI. Javier Bardem

GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH WHY DOES ONE OF MY FAVORITE ACTORS HAVE TO BE IN THIS SHIT FUCKING MOVIE GOD DAMN YOU JAVIER YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!! 

It is very painful to me that he’s gonna be in this movie, and that his doppelganger who you may know as Fernando Alonso will also guest star. Like I don’t want to give this film money nor do I want to watch it. But the fact that there’s the possibility of seeing Fernando Alonso beloved on the big screen…it’s so tempting.

It’s just irritating cause his chara in the trailer DOES seem like smth I’d actually be interested in. Like I think he’s gonna be a dubious team owner or TP and man….that’s so perfect. But not in the context of the full movie lmao. So who will be the brave soul and make the Javier Bardem and Fernando Alonso cut for me? Maybe I will ask my brother to write down the timestamps for me. 

I digress. There’s probably some things I forgot to complain about but this is what I came up with <3 I hate you Brad Pitt and I hate you Domenicalli and I hate you MBS, etc etc. Lmao you know what this feels like? When you're in a fandom for a fandom for a franchise like the MCU or SW, and nrw shows/movies come out and you feel like they're bastardizing the whole franchise. This is what this movie is to me.

[luuxxart]

So this is the anon who just finished the comic and does like hitoshi x akechi and after you mentioned it in the tags I just cannot stop thinking about Akira x hitoshi x akechi it seems so so silly. I feel like they all simultaneously balance eachother out while being terrible influences.

I would love to hear more of your thoughts on it if you'd like to share (I have more myself but I dont wanna ramble in your inbox dt6tudtud)

toxic trio real and true…,,,

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SEND ME YOUR THOUGHTS OMLLLLLLLLLL PLEASEEEEE RAMBLE IN MY INBOX🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

like!!!! This makes me so happy u have no idea,,,,,

anyway,,,, if u are interested ,,, here

are my thoughts……….

too many cooks! too many cooks!

akechi definitely plays them against each other (ex. “Akira won’t do [x] for me 🥺 but will you…?” “Hitoshi told me no about [x] but… I know you would…”)

what is in it for Akira and Hitoshi? welp. Not much. Mostly Akechi. It’s like they’re positive hydrogens. and Akechi is a very negative oxygen in the middle

but Hitoshi is still definitely a pushover and would do anything Akira asked him to. and honestly ??? he’s probably pretty into the crimes Akira has him do. It gives him an outlet to vent his frustrations

Akira never asks Hitoshi to be his fall guy or look the other way when he’s stealing something. No no no. he wants that man in on the action. Live a little.

I think they would actually be like synchronized swimmers in the kitchen. Hitoshi despises how well Akira is able to prepare fish, but hey. Someone’s gotta do it and it’s not gonna be Hitoshi, so. They cover each others weaknesses in the kitchen.

Akira is also a really good listener and lockbox, so Hitoshi probably traumadumps on him often. It’s a comfort Hitoshi didn’t think he needed, but he probably ends up either falling asleep in Akira’s arms by the end of it all or saying some dumb shit before leaving like “I think I was born to meet you” that takes Akira’s breath away

Akira ends up spooning with Hitoshi a lot and having so much tall boyfriend to sprawl out on is a fucking dream.

For fear of Akira and Hitoshi leaving him for each other, Akechi probably wedges himself between them as often as possible.

But in the end they somehow… manage to make the discordance work a little bit……

idk I think it would end with Hitoshi having to leave both of them for the good of his own mental health unless they make it to the end of graduation, at which point, Hitoshi becomes well-loved long distance boyfriend for epilogue reasons while Akira and Akechi stay in Inaba for epilogue reasons.

Generally though,,,, I think it’s just not . Something that would come together . Like…Ever

[sagaapprentice]

A/N I Still don’t have an AO3 account. I guess I’ll get one next week? Again, I don’t know how it works. I grew up with FanFiction.Net and haven’t made another account on another site since I was in…middle school. So it’s been a while. But I want to write again and this has seemed to scratch that itch for now while I still attempt to write original fiction. (I have other ideas with these characters too that are rattling around in my head. I dunno. *Marge Simpson with potato meme* I just think they’re neat) Whenever I DO get an AO3 account I'll post everything there, too. I dunno how many chapters I'll write in the meantime but *shrugs*

Also, for the record, I love Elain. I relate to her a lot and I promise I have ideas for what I want to do with her here. Trust me.

Anyway, no beta, we die like everyone’s mom

The Golden Fawn (working title)

When people think of Private Investigators, often the picture in their heads tends to line up with some old film noir with those long cigarette holders and dames asking the ravishing hero for help escaping some nefarious plot that the police just won’t help with. Azriel found that when he told women he was a PI, they would bat their eyelashes and become suddenly very interested in him for at least one night (which was all he ever really wanted, anyway). But the reality of the job was a lot duller. About 90% of the time, he ended up following someone’s spouse who was definitely cheating and gathering information that would eventually make its way into some divorce proceeding that he occasionally got to witness as the couple battled it out if they were particularly vicious towards each other, but normally his job was done as soon as evidence gathered. In really interesting cases, he would be hired by both spouses independently to find out if the other was cheating (so far the answer was always ‘yes’ to both).

It wasn’t particularly exciting work, but it paid fairly well. It wasn’t where he thought he would end up in life, but it certainly could have been worse.

So when his brother, Rhys, begged him to take on a new client on a case that definitely wasn’t about infidelity, Azriel was, at the very least, intrigued.

“It’s about her sister,” Rhys said. “I guess she hasn’t heard from her in a while.”

”Maybe she just doesn’t want to talk to her family?”

“It’s more than that.”

”In my experience it usually isn’t.”

Rhys, sitting across from Azriel’s desk, looked at his brother with a pleading look in his eyes. “Please just help her.”

Azriel wasn’t used to the air of desperation he heard in his brothers voice. He normally liked to come off as cool, calm, and collected. Unflappable. Something was different. “You said this girl was just a friend, huh?”

The “yes” that Rhys quickly answered was not at all convincing but he let it go for now. “Look, Feyre, that’s my friend, she said her sister hasn’t talked to any of them since graduation. There’s been a couple photos on social media but she won’t answer any phone calls or reply to any texts. They’re worried about her and just want to know she hasn’t gotten into anything…dangerous.”

“Like what?”

Rhys hesitated, raking his hand through his hair and looking up, trying to find the right words. “Feyre thinks Elain got tangled up in some kind of cult.”

”You can’t be serious.”

”Look, will you just check up on her?”

Azriel sighed. “Fine. I’ll meet with Feyre and I’ll check to make sure her sister is okay. But she can’t be upset with me if it turns out she just doesn’t want to talk to her family right now-“

”It’s not that.”

”-and I better not be walking into some kind of Jonestown 2.0.”

”Jesus Christ Azriel can you not say things like that when Feyre gets here?”

Azriel rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “Alright, when is she getting here?”

”I texted her and she said she was on her way. She should be here in about five minutes.”

”Is there anything else I should know before I talk to her? Anything you want to tell me?” He stared pointedly at his brother, knowing full well without having met her yet that whatever Rhys felt towards this woman would not be considered wholly “friend-like”, but, for whatever reason, it wasn’t a subject he was willing to open up about yet.

”She’ll tell you everything when she gets here but I promise you, something isn’t right. And you’re the only person I trust to get an actual answer.”

”And she trusts me?”

”She trusts me. But I know you won’t let her down.”

Azriel grunted while setting up his desk, grabbing a notebook and his favorite pen (despite the amount of firewalls and the VPN he had installed on his computer, writing everything down with pen and paper still felt like the most secure way to store most client information) and prepared himself for whatever it was he had agreed to.

At least it wasn’t another infidelity case.

Feyre walked into his office five minutes later. She was clearly distraught, but standing tall with her head held high. When she spotted Rhys there was a subtle ease in her eyes, but she hardened her face quickly as she turned to look right at Azriel. “So, you’re the PI brother?”

”Azriel, yes. And you must be Feyre?”

She didn’t answer, just sat in the chair opposite his desk and stared him down. “Did Rhys tell you what’s going on?”

Azriel waved his hand. “He gave me the basics but I want to hear from you. I know you’re worried about your sister and you want me to check up on her, but I need you to tell me what has you worried and what exactly you might think Elain has gotten herself tangled into.”

Feyre sighed. “I know how it must look.”

”And how’s that?”

”That my sister is a grown adult who just decided to cut off her family. That adults do that all the time and it has nothing to do with nefarious plots and families are often unwilling to admit to themselves that they possibly did something wrong to drive them away.”

Azriel raised his eyebrow. “And that’s not what happened here? You have a loving family who support each other and have never gotten into any big fights and you can’t think of a single reason your sister would want to escape them?”

”Oh god no, our family is awful.”

Well, that was a surprise.

”My father sits around doing absolutely nothing forcing my sisters and I to support ourselves, my grandparents cut all of us off completely because they were embarrassed by my father ruining his division of the family business, and my mother died when I was 8 from a car accident that may or may not have involved alcohol. Growing up in that environment is terrible and the three of us could probably keep the therapy industry afloat for decades if we had the money to actually pay for some therapists.”

”And…you don’t think your sister ran away of her own free will?”

Feyre shook her head. ”Despite everything that’s happened, my sisters and I have always had each other. I admit that the last few years I haven’t really been there for them. I’m the youngest, trying to finish my undergrad and working two jobs. But Nesta, my older sister, her and Elain have always been close. While Elain was in undergrad, they lived together to save money. They talk every day. Or…they used to.” Feyre sighed. “She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology six months ago, and cut off contact with all of us five months ago. None of us have been able to talk to her, either in person, on the phone, or via text message. I would file a missing persons report but she’s been on social media posting photos of these…people. People none of us know or have ever heard Elain talk about. We looked into it a little bit and it turns out its some kind of church, but none of us have ever been religious.”

Azriel wrote everything down, still not completely convinced that maybe Elain left on her own, but maybe there was something here. If nothing else, he could at least assure her sisters that everything would be alright, and that he would be paid well for it (Rhys insisted). Plus it was better than tracking down some asshole CEO who was banging his 20 year old secretary, promising to help her with her career (they never helped, they just liked to dangle it out of reach to keep the power imbalance).

“So what is it you want me to do?” Azriel asked. “Do you just want me to try and contact her? Make sure she’s okay? Investigate the group itself?”

Feyre hesitated, looking over at Rhys for some kind of comfort, before looking back at Azriel. “Actually,” she started, “I was hoping you could…join them.”

”You…want me to join a group that you think is a cult?”

“I just think that would be the best way for you to find out if this group is really dangerous or not.”

”That’s a bit out of my wheelhouse…”

”Rhys said you were top of your class at the Academy!” Feyre blurted and Rhys winced.

Azriel turned sharply towards his brother, “Did he now?”

Being a Private Investigator wasn’t exactly his first career choice. At one point he thought, maybe, he should join the police force. He thought it might help him recover from his childhood if he felt like he was helping people. But the truth was…the other people at the Academy? His classmates? All of them reminded him of his family. They didn’t want to be cops to help people, they wanted to be cops to feel superior to them, control them. He lasted a week after training before he couldn’t stand it any more and left. Occasionally, he would tell his clients that he was a “former cop” (technically true) but never the extent of it and he definitely had never told anyone but his brothers that he was “top of the class” (whatever the hell that had meant).

“Please,” Feyre put both her hands flat on his desk, a pleading look in her eyes. “I just want my sister back, The three of us…we really only have each other. I don’t want to lose her.”

Azriel rubbed his temple, “Alright, I’ll see what I can find out about this group. But first,” he turned the page on a clean sheet of notebook paper, “I need you to tell me everything you already know about this so-called cult your sister is in.”

[the-lesbian-library]

The Lesbian Library

Hey all! Welcome to the Lesbian Library. This will serve as an extension of my in-person book group and as a repository for lesbian literature. I’ll post my in-person lesbian book club’s book of the month, prior year’s reading lists, and my own recommendations. Feel free to follow along and participate or just add books you’re interested in to your reading list.

Books posted here will follow three main rules: 1) They will be authored by women, but not necessarily always a lesbian. 2) They will be about lesbians, or have a lesbian lead. 3) There will be no YA fiction. Nothing against it, but we range in age from our 30’s to 70’s and we have nothing in common with that narrative anymore. 

Each month I’ll post the title of the book, the author and her orientation (if I can find it), genre, and a small blurb to give an idea of what the book is about. That post will be pinned at the top of the page. Then, towards the end of the month, I’ll post a follow up on whether or not I was able to finish the book and some general thoughts, as well as maybe some leading questions that came up while I was reading. You’re more than welcome to ask questions or have discussions in the comments/notes, I just ask that it remain civil. There will be differing opinions, interpretations, etc. and that’s great! As long as we can discuss in a civil manner, I’m happy.

While I’m getting up and running, I will try to post prior year’s reading lists as well. The in-person group has been meeting monthly for 19 years now, so there’s a wealth of lesbian literature waiting to be shared.

A few women have mentioned not doing great with book clubs or already being in too many and I’d just like to say: please treat this as a book club in name only. I’ve been a part of the in-person book group for just over a year now, and I think I’ve only finished three of the books in total. Sometimes I just don’t like the genre and sometimes they just bore me and I can’t get through it. And that’s fine! Sometimes a good discussion starter is just “I didn’t like this one because of X, Y, Z.” Participation in discussion is completely optional as well; I just want to get suggestions for lesbian lit into lesbian hands. Over time I’d just like for this to serve as a repository for lesbian literature above all else. I see so many women asking for recommendations and there’s a TON of great ones out there. Eventually when someone asks “do you have any recommendations for lesbian lit?” I’d like it to be an easy answer of “Go check out the-lesbian-library for a ton of ideas!”

Why tag the author’s orientation? Simple. Some lesbians only want to read or engage with works by other lesbians, and that’s totally understandable since lesbians are often mischaracterized by non-lesbians. Tagging things as “lesbian author” or “bisexual author” will make it easier for readers to find exactly what they’re looking for.

[1moreff-creator]

DR:OS CH2 Part 3 First Impressions

I have bad news chat. We're barely in Part 3 of CH2 and I'm already running out of ways to introduce these posts. I have no idea what these little opening sections are gonna look like by the time CH4 rolls around, let alone any further. But that sounds like a problem for future me, so for now, let's get into it!

CWs

"Many people shift where they’re sitting, some moving farther back to hide, others farther forward to identify a victim more quickly. I make my way to the same seat I’ve always claimed. So what if Vanessa isn’t beside me anymore? I’m not budging." Man, the tension can really be felt in the air, huh?

"Noah: …Mom?" Huh! Didn't he say it would probably be his dad? Interesting. I wonder if he was just wrong, or if this implies that his dad's already been dead for a while given the whole Tragedy thing, and Monoquin had to resort to someone else.

In different news, do we think Noah's gonna let Vivi try their experiments? I could see it going either way frankly.

"If my mom turned up dead…

In a meta sense, would it be better if I didn’t care?" I wonder what Ellis means by this. I guess he really wouldn't care too much, otherwise he'd have told Aidan that his mom was probably his loved one in the last part. So, maybe they're trying to see the silver lining on that? Maybe.

"Harper: Noah, can you hear me? Please say something.

He doesn’t." Yeah, Noah was already kinda struggling and trying to push through it anyways, and now this...

"Grace: Well, one of you should get to it, shouldn’t you?

Robert: What…?

Grace: It would mean two people would have to lay down their lives, but the fewest deaths would occur if someone willingly stepped up to the plate." Well, they weren't kidding when they said Grace hated wasting time, damn! Going for the Minimum Death% speedrun on a motive is pretty in line with them, I guess :p

"Mark: Still, it’s a big thing to sacrifice yourself for someone else, right? No matter how many people it is… I’m not sure it’s right to ask others to sacrifice themselves for your loved ones.

Grace: Well, I’m not asking anyone to sacrifice themself for my loved one. It’s just a suggestion for the rest of you. I don’t have anything to do with this motive anymore." Motives like this that force murder through the threat of death are always so heartbreaking T_T

"Aidan: …It’s bad to discuss this stuff so openly. Even if we made a plan openly, where Person A kills Person B, someone could take that plan and use it to frame Person A, maybe even winning the Trial. Don’t make such serious plans somewhere everyone can hear." Aidan being reasonable and GOATed as always, but I do like that this idea is already being floated around. A sacrifice murder is always an interesting thing to see the characters consider with all their respective perspectives.

"Aidan: Tough it out or make the decision on your own. If I’m right, and there are three blanks in there, that’s already five down. Eight people left. There are more people still alive here than eight, right? So if you’re going purely on numbers, if there’s no sacrifice, it’s better to wait it out.

Kennedy: If you’re right.

Aidan: Goddamn it, are we really doing this again?" Yes, you are, the beef with Kennedy is eternal xD. In any case, bringing numbers into it doesn't help all that much, but yeah.

"Aidan: Like I said, we shouldn’t be talking about this publicly anywhere. If someone’s serious about the whole sacrifice thing, they can just kill me, no questions asked.

Davis: Wh– Aidan!

Aidan: What?

Davis: You shouldn’t just… volunteer like that…!

Aidan: It’s not like it matters…" O-kay, holy hell! He really just doesn't care about absolutely anything, huh? This is getting to suicidal territory by now, Aidan are you good? Also Davis being the one vocally against the idea makes sense.

"‘Cause, it definitely seems like people are starting to come to a consensus about a group death. Sacrifice, someone working for their own motives– either way, we can all feel another murder on the horizon." Yeah I think this is the fastest I've ever seen a cast semi-universally agree that another murder is about to happen, which is wild lol.

"I guess overall, things are moving along as expected. It’s just more of a downer than I’d hoped. These loved ones are being killed alongside the vibe." Ellis.

[Vivi FTE] Let's go!!!

"Ellis: Uh, just checking this place out. And checking you out, too.

I wink and grin, though it’s a little half-hearted.

Vivi: Wait, really? 

She beams.

Vivi: I can tell you about what I’m working on, if you want!" Vivi's the most aro-ace person ever and I love that for them. She just never reacts to Ellis' flirting it's great xD

"Vivi: Right now, I’m trying stuff out with electricity. I know it’s, like, the most cliche “bring back the dead” idea, but that’s ‘cause it kinda makes sense, right? 

Ellis: I dunno, didn’t they just make that up for the movie…?

Vivi: Well, it’s like, electricity can prompt movement, and brains are… kinda electric, so that part sorta makes sense." How scientific! I love it! xp

"Ellis: Is it really a “little” failure if you’ve potentially ruined the possibility of that person ever coming back to life again?

What am I saying?!" Yeah conversations with Vivi this chapter are pretty weird lol.

"Vivi: I haven’t tried resurrecting people before, no, but I’ve had tons of success when they’re alive! Like, curing paralysis, fixing terminal illnesses… I can fix anything you bring to me within a few days." She really is just incredibly good at this, huh? It's so incredible I'm starting to wonder if it's not too good to be true. I don't have any other reason to doubt her for now, but you know. There's always the possibility that they're being lied to about their successes or something. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence and all that, and all I have for now is their word lol :p

"Ellis: It shouldn’t matter what the person looks like if it’s an incurable illness! That’s incurable!

Vivi: But not for me! That’s why I’m known as a miracle worker. People come from, like, all over to bring their loved ones to me. In return, I make sure that their journey was worth it.

But HOW?!" Well it seems Ellis is sharing my skepticism at least xD

"Vivi: You’re not going to go doubting that, like, Harper is an Ultimate. You’re not going to do that for plenty of people here. So, why for me…?

Ellis: I never said it was just you. It can be, like 50-50.

Vivi: …

She turns her attention to the medical devices again.

Vivi: At some point, I’ll… I’ll prove to you that I’m not just making this up. I really can…" Well Vivi other people are claiming they're able to do things that other people can replicate. Just, they do it really well. Claiming the impossible is a bit harder to believe.

"There are lots of things I could believe. I could believe that Vivi is just a really talented doctor, especially for their age. I could believe that she was chosen based on some level of skill. Maybe even for the healing paralysis thing– that, I could believe.

But curing terminal illnesses? Working miracles? Raising people from the goddamn DEAD?! That’s science fiction. What would it take to make her see that…?" Yeah that. Seems that Ellis and me are on the same page that something doesn't really feel right about Vivi's claims. I guess we'll have to see how right or wrong we are on that.

"I walk towards Noah’s room under the guise of heading towards mine, hoping that I can at least hear crying coming out of it, if nothing else. Just to know that he… hasn’t joined his mom already." Bro?! Alright we're immediately worried about worst case scenario, I see. I guess makes sense given the stuff that got talked about earlier.

"Harper: I made care packages for those who are grieving. I know it’s not much, but… I want to do something to help make it easier for them. I was about to go and deliver them." Harper's so nice :)

"Vanessa: I really hated how last Trial ended. But, it won’t be awful forever, y’know? So, thanks. You guys are welcome to knock on my door anytime." Yay for Vanessa slowly getting better :D

"Grace: Is this really the best use of your time?

Ellis: Sounds more fun to me than plotting murder.

Grace: Are you two intending to let your loved ones, along with everyone else’s, die? Or are you wasting your time because you haven’t realized that every moment wasted is someone’s life on the line?

Harper: I–

Grace: If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be working on finding any potential ways out of the Resort to end this wretched killing game. If you want to do some actual good in this situation, then you can talk to me." I sense Grace is not in the best of moods, really. Don't know why, just getting the feeling. :p

"Ellis: I mean, they took it, at least…

Harper: …Right. Maybe it can still bring them some amount of comfort." Well, I appreciate the optimism at least!

"Ve pulls out ver e-Handbook and sends Noah a message. We wait a few moments, looking at the screen together, but there’s no indication he’s read it, nor that he’s going to respond.

Ellis: Maybe he’s… napping.

Harper: Possibly…" Hey, Noah's not actually dead, right? It's still too early in the chapter. Surely he's fine, right? Maybe?

"Ellis: I know you’re closer to him than we are, though. Did you ever… meet her?

Harper: No, I never did. I’ve hardly even heard Noah mention her. Still, even before this morning… Hasn’t he seemed a bit more muted, since the Trial?

Ellis: Um… I guess? I mean, like, we still went out for drinks and stuff after that, so he wasn’t that out of it…" Yeah, Noah's already not been looking too hot. The question of why it was his mom and not his dad is still hanging in the air, and for now I'm sticking to the idea that the rest of his family was already dead. Thing is, if Noah's reached the same conclusion, that could be a bit of a problem.

"Just as I’m thinking about how amazing it is that we actually manage to all show up for dinner in the same place at around the same time, I realize that Noah hasn’t shown up here, either." Noah please.

"Grace: I take no pleasure in being here.

Ellis: Well, I take pleasure in seeing… all of you.

Just because Grace is now technically single does NOT mean that I’m going to flirt with them!!!" Ellis. You came way too close to actually doing that my guy. Geez...

"Grace: The longer they let this go on before committing to their decision, the more people die. If no one kills now, doesn’t it make it all the more morally questionable if someone does break later?" They sure are trying to get this point across, huh?

"I scoff.

Ellis: Sorry we can’t all be as brave as you." Wow, Ellis getting sassy :O

The entire rest of that conversation is also really cool btw :D

"Harper: Noah responded to my message. He’s alright, taking time to himself."

Saved!

"Ellis: thats gr8 2 hear!

Ellis: any sense of when he might b ready to rejoin society?

Ellis: ik he’ll have 2 b there for the motive 2morrow :("

I can't believe Ellis types like this. I mean it's entirely in line with her character, but it pains me in my soul when people do this.

Also I suddenly get the feeling that Noah might already be dead and the killer is the one who sent the message with his handbook. It's only a gut feeling, I don't have much basis for it, but I still worry we might not actually be saved after all.

"Even if I can’t hear Noah inside, I can at least hear from him through Harper texting me." Yeah... not reassuring.

"Mark: Hey Ellis. You busy? Ellis: 4 u? course not ;) Mark: Wanna go for a walk? Ellis: if ur that desperate to spend the night with me, sure ;P <3"

Peculiar.

"See, Grace, I can’t go off murdering people because my DMs are flooded. I’m busy." Pfft. Funny as this is, the fact that you're still thinking about it kinda says you're quite bothered by it, doesn't it, Ellis?

"Mark: I was hoping to look around outside at night to see if anything’s changed. I thought you might still be up.

Wait, I don’t have eyebags, do I?!" Pfft x2. Btw, Mark's keeping up their detective-y tendencies from the first trial, I see. Neat to see.

"Mark: I wonder if that’s what the Resort was going for.

Ellis: What, trying to get people to hook up? That seems kinda counter to the goal.

Mark: Who knows? Maybe whoever set this up just wants entertainment.

Ellis: It’s an attraction full of attraction…

Mark: It’s definitely true that they’re shoving a bunch of us together for an extended period of time in isolation. That’s a pretty normal tactic for shows that are trying to set people up.

Ellis: You think it’s a show, specifically?

Mark: I’m not sure. Probably, though? It’s sort of like what we were saying earlier. If the game isn’t for us, it has to be for someone, right? There are cameras everywhere." Neat to see we're already exploring this angle. Not necessarily the romance side of the equation, more so the "televised killing game" idea.

"Ellis: Well, jeez. Don’t give them fanservice that obvious." Lmao.

"Mark: What do you think you’re going to do, when you get out of here?

Ellis: Go back to my regular life, I think.

Maybe visit my family more." Ouchie.

"Mark: But, you don’t think that anything that happens here will change that life at all? You’d go back to the same thing as though nothing ever happened?

Ellis: Uh… that was the plan.

Mark: Huh.

Ellis: What? Amazed by my emotional fortitude?

Mark: I guess it’s just… hard for me to imagine. Probably because I’m not sure what returning to “the same thing” even means for me." Yeah this tracks.

"Mark: I’d like to try things out. Take some time to find “me” again. Beyond that… I’m not sure. Maybe when finding myself, I’d find my true calling or something" Talking about what you're gonna do when you get out is usually a death flag, but if I decide to ignore that, the sentiment is actually pretty nice!

"Mark: …I’m not sure. I’d probably ask one of you.

Ellis: Hmm… how about swimsuit modeling?

Mark blushes.

Mark: I don’t know about that one." xD Never lets one go everyone!!!

"...I didn’t expect that [the day] would end with me knowing that Noah is (...was?) alive in his room..." Ellis you have got to stop thinking exactly like me, people are gonna think I'm reading ahead xD

"Where do the bodies go, once the day passes? I haven’t seen Justin’s body anywhere." That is a hell of a question! I wonder if it'll come back up later.

-

What a fun part! Vivi's FTE was fun, Grace's confrontation was great to see, the walk with Mark was nice, and we still have the question of why it was Noah's mom in the motive and no one else. As always, very excited for the next one! See ya'll then!

[booksandabeer]

Hey,

I love your blog and I love how much work you put in when someone ask you to recommend fics for them, you’re truly beyond AMAZING! Just getting that out of the way.

And now, can you please tell me your favourite underrated stucky fics. I know this might be too big of an ask because there are SO MANY out there, so just tell me a few if you don’t mind.

Thank you so much ❤️

Hello Stranger!

Thank you for the ask and your very kind words! ❤ It's so nice to hear that people like my rec posts because they really do take a surprisingly large amount of time to put together. Anyway, I'm not complaining & this is a lot of fun for me, so on to the recs!

I struggled a bit with how to define "underrated" and I think everybody has their own ideas of what exactly that means. Also, the Stucky ship has been around for more than a decade (even longer if you count the comics), so creative output and reader interest will fluctuate and ultimately decline over time. A Stucky fic posted after 2019--no matter how insanely good it is--will never do the numbers it would have done in the Golden Age of 2014-2018. So, for the purpose of this list, a fic written in 2016 with 15K hits or less does qualify as underrated, while a fic posted in 2021 with 10-15K would not.

Also, as always, this list is by no means an exhaustive one.

the wrote and the writ by declanlynchsrack | G, 10K

Author's summary: Bucky’s crying before he’s off the boat and he’s the least surprised out of anyone to realize it.

He’s always been a softie, a leaky faucet, and the war hasn’t changed that, so he doesn’t know why the sob that smacks him startles him bad enough that he grips the strap of his bag doubly hard, ready to swing it around like a battering ram, ready to find that cloying, invisible enemy. He’s not being ambushed, on his belly in the muck and camellias, cypress hanging low, moonlight casting an eerie smile upon Lake Como like it’s enjoying the hell out of muffled gunshots and the wet grunt of lifeblood spattering onto the undergrowth.

That’s done. He’s safe.

An AU in which Bucky--minus one arm--comes back from the war and Steve never got to go, and never became Captain America. A scrappy little story that is at once full of emotion and yet completely unsentimental. This story socked me on the jaw, tackled me to the ground, and then sat on me while twisting, twisting, twisting my arm behind my back. It also has one of my favorite descriptions of the SteveBucky dynamic I've ever read: "They’re all roughed up, the two of em, a pair of old marble statues weathered by time and harsh touches, but they know each other’s chinks and foibles and can side-step them with grace while still treating the other about as delicately as they’d handle a sack of potatoes." !!! If you prefer, you can also listen to it here: [Podfic] the wrote and the writ by quietnight

Hollywoodland by romanticalgirl | E, 69K

Author's summary: In 1930s Hollywood, the world is run on the studio system. Stars are told who to date, what to wear, what to say, and how to look pretty doing it. The only way you can really do what you want is if you don't get caught.

Steve's dating Peggy, which works out because she's married to Sam, even though it's not legal. But it's the perfect cover for the fact that Steve's gay. He's managing just fine skirting the system to find companionship, but then he meets James Barnes and life gets a lot more complicated.

If you know anything about me and my love for Golden Age Hollywood, then you won't be surprised that this pushes all of my buttons. This is loosely inspired by the real life relationship of Cary Grant and Randolph Scott (the exact nature of which we will probably never know, but let's just say it was most likely not strictly platonic). Is the world the author created here entirely realistic? No--and it's not intended to be. While it is indeed rooted in many of the horrible realities that queer people and POC have faced in the past (and are still facing today), it's a slightly kinder version of it that allows for a hopeful, if not a strictly happy ending in the traditional sense. A sumptious story with gorgeous art.

make progress together by frankoceansmoonriver | E, 24K

Author's summary: He feels like Steve’s mistress. He feels hollowed out. He feels like a jammed gun still trying to go off. When he’s not with Steve he convinces himself he’s ruining Steve’s life, and though he tries, he’s too selfish to stop. When he’s with Steve, he’d fight God himself to keep it, this tangible perfection that makes him drunk and anchors him in ways he did not know existed.

Or, the one where they both survived the war, Bucky loves Steve now, has loved Steve since he was fifteen, and the year is 1945.

This is a story that I have reread many, many times because it is the perfect wish fulfillment fic for me. It's the slightly unrealistic, or one could also say: optimistic version of what I imagine would have happened had Steve and Bucky both survived the war. That's not to say that this fic doesn't have its very angsty moments, but ultimately, this is a story about love and hope triumphing in the face of adversity, and sometimes you just want to see good things happen to good people. I know some readers may find the formatting and the non-linear structure challenging, but this is a beautiful story and I really urge you all to give it a try!

I'll Light Your Way Home series by BeaArthurPendragon | M-E, 69K, 5 parts

Author's summary: Two lost Vietnam vets find each other in a Hell's Kitchen gay bar one hot September night. This is how they find their way home.

A pattern emerges! Can you tell I'm really into (No Powers) AUs set in the early to mid 20th century? Well, here's another one, but we're actually moving into second half of the century, specifically to 1969, for this one! Bea is quite possibly my favorite Stucky writer and I have recommended her stories many times to anybody who will listen to me. It's debatable whether or not she actually counts as "underrated", I guess, but it is my personal opinion that her fics should have ten times the kudos/comments/hits they do and that she deserves to be up there with the "big names". This story in particular just completely won over my heart with its gorgeous (but not ostentatious) writing, its confident and mature characterizations, and great eye for historical detail. I *cannot* recommend her fics enough. /unabashed fangirl moment over.

The Northern Lights by ThisChairIsMyHomeNow | M, 21K

Author's summary: “I can’t feel my face,” Steve shivers.

“I can’t feel my left arm,” Bucky says, deadpan. Steve barks out a laugh. It’s all white puffs of vapor in the chilly air.

“This the spot?”

“Nah,” Bucky pants, breath ragged from the long ascent up a mountain. “Almost there.”

A post-CW canon-divergent story that the author jokingly describes in their author's note as "gay superhero reluctantly gets therapy in the jungles of Wakanda, then goes on a covert road trip." And yes, maybe I wouldn't put it quite so flippantly myself, but it's not... untrue. And yet there is so much more depth to it. If you like a Bucky who takes back his life, his identity, and his future on his own terms, a Steve who isn't reduced to being his recovery prop but instead gets to shine in all his glorious, intense, stubborn Steve-ness, and a Sam & a Natasha who aren't just window dressing for the SteveandBucky-Show, this is for you! Cap Quartet Road Trip where all four members get their moment to shine--what are you waiting for?

Misplaced Pencils | T, 13K & and our words would take us 'round the world | T, 13K by Somanywords

Author's summary:

Steve and drawing throughout the years. Also Bucky.

&

Bucky is two years old when he learns to talk.

I've spent a good 30 minutes debating with myself which one of these two I should include here, and then I just threw up my hands and said "why not both? Both is good!" So here they are, two beautifully written mid-length full-arc (childhood to sometime past TWS, where they diverge from canon) fics that I love both equally. These are standalone stories and are not set in the same universe, but they do read and feel like companion pieces to each other because both stories are told through the lense of Steve and Bucky's respective artistic sensibilities and how they use their art as a framework to make sense of the world. Misplaced Pencils gives you artist Steve who, from a very young age on, has always tried to understand the world by taking it apart into its visual components & falling back on a fixed set of questions that help him to categorize and compartmentalize the people he encounters and the emotions he feels for them (just like he will later do in other areas of his life). Only that there is of course one person who's always refused to fit neatly into just one of his categories. and our worlds... on the other hand, gives you storyteller Bucky who's constantly talking, singing, writing. Who, in the end, can't help himself but narrate even his own fall and who is later delightfully affronted by his own narrative arc in a "if I had been the one in charge, I would've written it better!" way. Both of these stories are very dear to my heart and they deserve a million more hits.

+ Bonus!

Fics that definitely could/should be on this list but that I've recced before:

You are here by dharmashark

A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall by DisraeliGears

Prisoner One by ancientreader

As Time Goes By by Trouble_With_The_Snap

new topography series by brideofquiet

What I'm Looking For series by TessaBennet

Welcome Home, Son series by BeaArthurPendragon

I'm slowly working my way through my rec asks, so please be patient with me! Next up: Road Trip fics!

[lavalampstealer]

I want to make an appreciation post for the IEYTD tumblr community because its not talked about enough. I love you guys :)

When I first got into these games a few months ago, I had no idea how to find other people or content creators. I started out on insta where I had trouble finding other people and it was really lonely. The discord was/is better and there are some cool people on there as well but about 70% of the new people who were joining were just looking for the release date (it’s gotten better recently and there are great creators there but its more focused on the games themselves than the characters/story). Then because of a friend, I tried tumblr and my god I love it here.

There’s tons more art and people here than I thought there would be and I cannot stress enough how awesome it is seeing everyone’s takes on characters. The Phoenixes and Handlers in particular are my favorites because its like I get to see a little bit of the artist in Phoenix, and who doesn’t love the funny, quippy British voice? They’re so diverse, I love how something as small as a little scar has a whole backstory for it. I find it fascinating to see how many people see Phoenix’s color as red (no hate at all, I love them!). Not to mention the posts about the Fabricator, Juniper, Zor, Solaris, Prism, etc, I love all of these characters and the nuances in their personalities.

The fics I’ve seen are so interesting, shout out to all the writers you guys are AMAZING!! I’ve got to get better at sitting down to actually write my own but some of my favorites on Ao3 are Red String, Spying the Liar, Rising From the Ashes, or so to Speak, Issue is Spelt with a “U” (And an “I” too), Such Lovely Feathers on Your Turncoat, and last but ABSOLUTELY not least, all of Calivide’s works. Seriously I love all of these, I’m such a sucker for angst, fluff, and good writing. If I’ve missed any other good ones or if you have your own, PLEASE reblog or comment or ping me or share them in some way, I’d love to check them out :)

To all of the text posts and people who discuss the silly goobers with me, I love you. To all the people who analyze or make funny shitposts about the characters, I love you (shout out to @/calivide’s in-depth analysis of Juniper I want to use it as reference for something ITS SO DETAILED AND ACCURATE MY GOD I LOVE IT). To all the people who read my ramblings about characters, I love you. To all the artists, I love you. To all the writers, I love you. To all the people who reblog each other’s stuff, I love you. To all the people helping to keep this little fandom of spies going, I love you.

I haven’t been here long but I’ve felt so appreciated and welcomed, and I can only hope that I’ve gotten the chance to make other people feel the same way. Please never hesitate to ping me or leave an ask if you ever want to talk about these games, I’d love to chat <33

I love you all and I’m making you all grilled cheeses

(me whenever someone likes one of my posts (i cant say it enough all of you are so sweet and make me wanna implode /pos))