#12 days of Christmas with jack series

[homeb0ys]

~ Day 2 ~

A personal favourite of mine…

[mariasont]

The Manuscript - A.H

a/n: this was supposed to be based on t.s new song manuscript, but it didn't realllyyy turn out like that

‧₊˚ ✩°｡⋆♡ ⋆˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡⋆｡°✩˚₊‧

pairings: aaron hotchner x reader

summary: while unpacking you find a series of letters aaron wrote to you in college

warnings: angst, age gap (reader is 20s, hotch is 40s), haley and jack don't exist in this universe

wc: 1.3k

Your gaze swept over the towering stacks of boxes littering your living room floor, and with a resigned sigh, you began the daunting task of unpacking them. Your hands found the nearest box deftly lifting the flaps as you began to pull out its contents. Your felt the soft crinkle of paper beneath your fingers, and gently, you drew out a stack of letters, their edges softened with time, all neatly tied together with a string. 

Your heart seized a sudden halt as you realized just what they were. Your throat constricted, parched, as tears stung your eyes, threatening to spill over, your fingers coming to rest over your mouth. Instinctively, your body sank onto the cold hardwood floor, gently placing the papers down beside you. You had forgotten these had even existed, let alone made it with you on the move.

You didn't remember seeing them when you packed, did you? Your fingers shook slightly as they picked apart the knot, and with a hesitant touch, you reached for the first piece of weathered paper.

January 5

Honey, 

Your letter was a welcome surprise, far sweeter than any text message could be. I enjoyed spending New Years Eve with you too, and I hope this case ends quickly so I can take you on a real date. 

I'm glad to hear college is going well. Should you encounter any more issues with your professor, please let me know. You're a bright young woman, and I have no doubt he'll see that in time. I am looking forward to your next letter.

Yours,

Aaron

--

March 12

Honey, 

I'm glad you enjoyed our date as much as I did. At times, I find my thoughts wandering to you in that dress, and it's a welcome distraction. 

I'm glad you look forward to our letters, because I do too. And yes, rest assured, I'm taking all necessary precautions in the field. Don't worry, the team has my back, especially Garcia--she's got more eyes on us than stars in the sky. 

Goodluck on your psychology exam. I know you will ace it.

Yours,

Aaron. 

--

May 5

Honey,

I've read your letter several times, and I want you to know that it's perfectly normal to question your path. Trust your instincts--they've led you well thus far. Remember you are allowed to change your mind. Your parents will understand.

No matter what you decide, I have no doubt you will succeed. You have a rare combination of intelligence and empathy that will serve you well in any profession.

Once I'm back, how about we go to that restaurant you love? Consider it a date.

Yours,

Aaron.

--

July 19

Honey,

Summer suits you, I can tell--even from a distance. I'm proud of the work you're doing--shadowing at the occupational therpay office and working with children is no small feat. You'll have to tell me all about it when I get back.

The case is demanding, as they often are. And as for the sweatshirt, consider it yours. I had a feeling it wouldn't find its way back to me anyway.

We should talk about getting you a key to my place. Then you'll have no need to borrow my things--you'll have access to them whenever you wish. 

I love you. I'll say it again when I see you.

Yours forever, 

Aaron

--

January 14

Honey,

Congratulations on your first semester of OT school. I am incredibly proud of you and everything you have accomplished. Smarty pants. 

I'm glad to hear you've been using the journal I gave you for Christmas. I would give you a thousand if that's what you wanted. 

When I'm back, we'll celebrate your achievements properly. Until then, know I'm grateful for you every day. You've made me the happiest I've been, and I cherish every moment we share. I love you. 

Yours forever,

Aaron 

--

May 20

Honey,

Your last letter lingered on the topic of our age difference, and I've been giving it a lot of thought. It's a subject that, admittedly, has crossed my mind more than once. But let me reassure you, to me, it's the person you are, not the years you've lived, that matters most.

I understand the concerns that come with this, and I want you to know that it's okay. Your feelings are valid. We're navigating this together, and I remain certain in my commitment to you and to us. 

We'll talk more about this when I'm home. I love you. 

Yours forever,

Aaron

--

August 8

Honey,

I want you to know that I didn't mean to leave things unresolved, I'm sorry I was called away. I'm not writing to rehash the argument. I understand everything you said, and it's given me much to think about.

You are the most important part of my life, and us being at odds is more challenging than any case I've ever face. I love you deeply, and I'm committed to finding a way through this together. When I return, let's sit down and talk--really talk. I'm sorry for the way things were left, and I hope we can move past this. 

Yours forever,

Aaron

--

December 22

Honey,

I find myself at a loss for words yet compelled to write to you. I've had time to reflect on everything that happened between us. I'm deeply sorry for any hurt I've caused, and how things unfolded. My only wish was for us to want the same things. 

Please know, I will always be here for you, in any capacity you need. I hope you find someone who is worthy of you and can provide the life you deserve. You deserve someone who can walk with you through all stages of your life--someone who can give you the family you dream of. You have so much to offer.

You are an extraordinary person, and I have no doubt you will find great love and joy. And though it may not be with me, please remember, I still love you.

Yours always,

Aaron.

--

You hadn't even realized you were crying until your tears began to soak into the page, each droplet distorting the text as it spread. Your hand moved instinctively to your face, the fabric of your sleeve brushing against your wet cheek. A decade-old ache twisted inside you sharply, as fresh as if it were only yesterday.

You returned the letters to their stack, the bow tied as neatly as it was before, and laid them at the bottom of the box. As the papers found their place, your focus shifted, something else catching your attention--the journal he'd given you.

The sudden patter of footsteps coming down the stairs snapped you back to the present. Hastily, you wiped away the lingering tears and secured the lid on the box. As you turned, your face transformed with a practiced smile just as your seven-year-old daughter came skipping into view, her voice bubbling with excitement, "Mommy, mommy!"

Gathering her up in your arms, you showered her cheeks with affectionate kisses, her infectious giggles filling the empty house. 

"When is daddy going to be home?"

With a gentle smile, you replied, "Soon, sweetheart," while your fingers danced along her side, eliciting more giggles. "Do you want to help Mommy unpack?"

She quickly scrunched her nose and shook her head. "Mmm, no, not really."

You laughed, and your heart swelled with love so intense it almost hurt. The front door swung open, and your daughter's voice pierced the air once more with a, "Daddy!"

Her little feet dashed off as she rushed to greet him, leaving you to resume unpacking. You barely had time to refocus when you felt a gentle touch in your hair.  Aaron was there, kneeling to your level with a tender smile. 

"Hi, honey," he said, his hand pausing as he noted the redness around your eyes. "What's wrong angel?"

You reach for the letters, holding them out to Aaron with a half-smile. "Just revisiting the time you were this close to losing the best thing in your life," you tease, a laugh bubbling up. But as the laughter fades, it morphs into a sob.

Aaron's laughter mingled with yours as he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close to his chest. "Yeah, that was a close one," he admitted, his voice a soft rumble. "Glad I came to my senses." 

[arcane-vagabond]

Sailor-Aviator's Christmas Writing Challenge

Hello, hello! I wanted to try something a little fun for the holidays, so I figured why not host a little writing challenge! I've never hosted one of these, so this should be fun for all of us! Let's get started!

The Concept

I will have a list of holiday buzzwords with three slots available! Once all three slots are taken, then that's it! No more entries will be allowed for that word/phrase! As much as I love the holidays, I don't want to read twenty fics about the first snow. Just send me a DM/Ask letting me know that you want to participate and which word/phrase you'll be using and with which TGM character!

The Rules

You may sign up for more than one slot as long as there are slots available. However, you can not take up two slots for the same word/phrase.

Tag your fics appropriately! (Angst, smut, fluff, warnings, etc.)

18+ ONLY!

This can be a series, a one-shot, moodboards, or even a collection of drabbles! Just have fun with it!

You MUST use your word/phrase in some way in the fic. For example, if your word is reindeer, you could write about going to feed reindeer, or you could write about dressing up as a reindeer, or you could write about a reindeer sweater, etc.

HAVE FUN!!!

Your fics (with the exception of series) are due by the end of the day on December 25th!! When you are finished (or started the series/collection), you can shoot me the link so I can tag it below. Also, please tag me in the fic and tag the challenge! The more the merrier!

Tagging who I think might be interested: @goldenseresinretriever @bobgasm @hangmansgbaby @jupitercomet @mamachasesmayhem @seresinhangmanjake @blue-aconite @rosedurin but obviously anyone is free to join!

Word/Phrases below the cut!

Santa Claus

@number-0-iz w/ Jake Seresin

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-

Reindeer

@garfield-mug w/ Jake Seresin

-

-

Sleigh

seresinsbrat w/ Bradley Bradshaw

-

-

Cookies - Closed

@seresinhangmanjake w/ Bradley Bradshaw

@shinycupcakebaker w/ The Dagger Squad

@the-aspiring-fanfic-writer w/ Jake Seresin

Presents

@sweetwhispersofchaos w/ Bradley Bradshaw and Jake Seresin

Merry Christmas, Dad by @seresinsbrat w/ Bradley Bradshaw

-

Holly

-

-

-

Wreath

-

-

-

Christmas Lights

@goldenseresinretriever w/ Bradley Bradshaw

garfield-mug w/ Bob Floyd

-

Candle

the-aspiring-fanfic-writer w/ The Daggers

@bluezraven w/ Jake Seresin

-

Bow

@mamachasesmayhem w/ Jake Seresin

-

-

Jack Frost

Til the Summer Comes Again by @sailor-aviator w/ Bob Floyd

12 Days of Ficmas by @callsign-phoenix w/ Jake Seresin

-

Christmas Eve

@nicestgirlonline w/ Jake Seresin

Firefigher!Bradley by @jupitercomet w/ Bradley Bradshaw

-

Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas, Darlin by seresinsbrat w/ Bob Floyd

-

-

Mistletoe - Closed

goldenseresinretriever w/ Jake Seresin

number-0-iz w/ Bradley Bradshaw

@aworldinsideaperson w/ Bob Floyd

Caroling

-

-

-

Scrooge - Closed

Have a Cup of Cheer by @dingochef w/ Jake Seresin

jupitercomet w/ Jake Seresin

number-0-iz w/ Bob Floyd

Elves

callsign-phoenix w/ Bob Floyd

-

-

Ornaments

callsign-phoenix w/ Jake Seresin

@myfaveficrecs w/ Bob Floyd

-

Bells

Jingle of the Bells by seresinhangmanjake w/ Jake Seresin

-

-

Stocking

@mikpieboo w/ Bob Floyd

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-

Snowball

@a-reader-and-a-writer w/ The Dagger Squad

-

-

Chimney

a-reader-and-a-writer w/ Bradley Bradshaw

-

-

Eggnog

Baby, It's Cold Outside by @killthewhisperingart w/ Bradley Bradshaw

-

-

Candy Cane - Closed

@blackwidownat2814 w/ Jake Seresin

Candy Cane Kisses by aworldinsideaperson w/ Jake Seresin

Oh Baby, Baby Merry Christmas @callsigns-haze w/ Jake Seresin

Nutcracker

sailor-aviator w/ Bradley Bradshaw

@sweetwhispersofchaos w/ Natasha Trace and Bob Floyd

-

Gingerbread

the-aspiring-fanfic-writer w/ Bob Floyd

bluezraven w/ Bob Floyd

-

Snow

@alegendoftomorrow w/ Natasha Trace

-

-

Hot Chocolate

@devil-angel-winchester w/ Jake Seresin

@shinycupcakebaker w/ Bob Floyd

-

Snowman

@its-the-pilot w/ Bradley Bradshaw

-

-

Nativity

Silent Night, Joyful Hearts by seresinsbrat w/ Jake Seresin

@saltsicklover w/ Bob Floyd

-

Christmas Tree

sailor-aviator w/ Jake Seresin

Oh Christmas Tree by @rockstxr-x w/ Jake Seresin

-

Fireplace

saltsicklover w/ Jake Seresin

Delightful by @roosteraloha w/ Bradley Bradshaw

-

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer

-

-

-

Coal

-

-

-

Midnight Mass

If December Never Ends by its-the-pilot w/ Bradley Bradshaw

-

-

Advent Calendar

-

-

-

Grinch

-

-

-

Ice Skating - Closed

alegendoftomorrow w/ the Dagger Squad

@goldenseresinretriever w/ Bradley Bradshaw

seresinsbrat w/ Jake Seresin

Pointsettia

-

-

-

Ribbon

-

-

-

Shephard

-

-

-

Sweater

goldenseresinretriever w/ Jake Seresin

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-

Toys

seresinsbrat w/ Jake Seresin

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Wrapping Paper

-

-

-

Chestnuts

-

-

-

"'Tis the Season"

-

-

-

"Merry Christmas"

alegendoftomorrow w/ Bradley Bradshaw

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-

"Bah, humbug!"

-

-

-

[liesmyth]

has something from a tlt fic ever become headcanon to you? i ask because i find this happening to me all the damn time with this fandom but not others

OK SO, my tlt headcanons are like schrodinger's cat, they explicitly contradict each other sometimes and all of them exist at the same time in different quantum states of canon. So in that sense I've never read a fic and thought, okay, THIS is my canon from now on.

But I've read so so many fics that burst my third eye wide open and made me consider different perspectives on a character / dynamic, or helped me shape some I already had. A few favourites:

the soul that seeketh him by bittybelle — missing scene pre NtN ft. John and Kiriona. Wherein John Gaius meets his daughter, remembers the women he left behind, and deals poorly with being the male god of a universe in which the divine is essentially feminine.

AO3 user LesbianJesusLovesYou gave me Big Feelings about Gideon's childhood on the Ninth and her relationship with Harrow, Aiglamene, Ortus and Crux

believing in everything (and knowing nothing at all) — A series of childhood memories from the Ninth

when i call, will you come to me? — “My Lady,” Ortus wheezed, shifting uncomfortably. “I only thought you should know… Gideon Nav was flogged before the congregation.”

A few fics set right after NtN that really stayed with me:

never hear the sound of someone calling me home by @corpsesoldier — Kiriona Gaia returns to the House of the Ninth.

One More Son by captainpeggy — After Nona, Pyrrha Dve walks the Ninth.

two old broads split a cigarette by @forjodssake — Aiglamene/Pyrrha. “sometimes the girl you like becomes one person w her soulmate and you have to jack off about it”

Post HtN missing scenes:

Death in its season by @ancientannoyance — John holds Mercymorn's 24 minutes funeral

recognize them by their fruits by @ceruleanvulpine — John and Ianthe emerge out of the River

Other stuff that Stuck With Me

so I open the window to hear sounds of people by @sunderedstar — post NtN flashbacks. John and Alecto are the only two beings on earth, and he starts working on the Resurrection. This is harrowing and I'm absolutely obsessed with the implications in this fic of WHY John removed everyone's memory.

and they were roommates by @herenortherenearnorfar — pre Resurrection Mercy and Cristabel, from their first meeting onwards and it just really burrowed a hole in my brain and grew roots and sprouts and everything. Latin American nun Cristabel it's all I can see now, and YES they met working with climate refugees when M— was a bright eyed idealistic doctor. It also lines up great with the Asian Mercy headcanon that exist in my head (I have a whole elaborate backstory about M— aged 12 proclaiming to her Filipino Catholic family that she's an atheist now). Anyway, it's just a lovely, gorgeous fic. I think about it every day.

John 25:12 by @halfeatenmoon — pre-Resurrection, John and his friends escape the cow fortress to spend Christmas Day at the beach. With beer, salads, pavlova, and the corpses of a million fish killed by nuclear weapons testing. Ft. Southern hemisphere holidays in Mururoa Atol and 100% canon. To me.

Operation: The Most Honorable Man by @cadmean — Augustine has a proposal for the Saint of Duty (Dios Apate. That's the proposal)

lowkey cheating but I can't choose — absolutely anything AO3 user Raxheim has posted has been SOO up my alley. Every time I read one of their fics I feel like I'm enlightened by some never-before-considered detail. And mean ANYTHING, from Harrow Nova to Wake to Cytherea and the Lyctors to the Universe's #1 Sadgirl Gideon

[dis0rderly-cl0wn-nerd]

Masterlist ✨

Ledger!Joker x Reader Oneshots/Drabbles

Just The Way You Are - Joker paired with a reader self conscious about their weight/body

Dress Shopping - After y/n orders a dress that doesn't fit, her insecurities about her body take over. Luckily Joker knows just what to do to help. Part 2 for Just The Way You Are

Exhaustion - J comes home from work tired and covered in blood. You help him relax and get some rest.

Curls - J and the reader bond over their shared hair type.

Home from the Psych Ward - Joker has been in Arkham for the past month. He escaped two days ago and after the horrible treatment comes home to you sick and miserable. You nurse him back to health.

My Everything - Y/n is killed by one of Joker’s many enemies and as we can all predict, J loses his everloving mind.

Your Scars Are Part of You - J comes home from work one night feeling unusually self conscious about his looks. You do everything you can to help him feel better - short fluff drabble

♠️♥️♣️♦️

Ledger!Joker Headcanons

Miscellaneous

J x Artist!Reader

J x 18 yo Reader

Christmas Headcanons

Music Headcanons/Ask Game

Pregnant!Reader and J as a Dad

♠️♥️♣️♦️

Crack A Smile and Cut Your Mouth - Joker Origin Story - Completed

Chapter 1: Jack

Chapter 2: Feels Better In My Head

Chapter 3: Leaving Home

Chapter 4: Desert Sands

Chapter 5: Hell On Earth

Chapter 6: Injury

Chapter 7: Discharged

Chapter 8: Life's Full of Surprises

Chapter 9: Gotham

Chapter 10: Nothing Is The Same

Chapter 11: I'll Take A Quiet Life

Chapter 12: Calloused Heart

Chapter 13: There Ought To Be Clowns

Chapter 14: Restlessness

Chapter 15: Crack A Smile and Cut Your Mouth

Chapter 16: Why So Serious?

♠️♥️♣️♦️

♠ Fire Meet Gasoline ♠ - Nolanverse!Harley Origin Story - Completed

Chapter 1: First Encounter - Currently being edited

Chapter 2: Moving In - Currently being edited

Chapter 3: Getting Closer - Currently being edited

Chapter 4: I don’t need help

Chapter 5: Harlequinade

Red Silk - Ledger!Joker x Nolanverse!Harley Oneshot

♠️♥️♣️♦️

Playlists 🎶

agent of chaos - J's character playlist

Harley series playlist - just like the series, this is a work in progress

[sanderssideswriting]

Just watched the Halloween video from this year and saw screencaps of the Halloween video from a few years back… I just don’t understand how we can go from Frankenstein prosthetics for Logan in that episode to messy eyeliner with visible mess up marks for Janus in the new one. Like it’s not a difference of a new makeup artist, it just feels like a lack of caring for it to be as good as it’s been.

I just loved this series so deeply before, so it’s frustrating to see what seem like such flippant disregard for the quality of what they’re making

thank you for this ask because I've been thinking of going through each makeup look and analyzing them more. I totally agree with you about the lack of care. The whole thing is so insanely rushed when they could've taken like, a few more days of planning if they wanted to get it out for halloween, or hell a few days after and have them spin it as them being sad spirit halloween is gone for the year and what a spirit christmas would be like. Or like, the 12 days of christmas but 12 days of spirit halloween? I just feel like there could've been some better ideas. The makeup looks like they were given 5 minutes to figure out what each side would be and 5 minutes to do the make up itself.

onto the make up analysis that'll be under the cut.

Little disclaimer before though, I'm in no way a makeup artist, what I am is a cosplayer and I've pulled together some pretty cool shit with very limited supplies and knowledge.

editors note: so according to the comments it seems like everyone's a character from the nightmare before christmas? Or at the least, Remus, Virgil, Roman and maybe Logan. I don't know, I've seen the movie like twice. just keep that in mind I didn't know until after writing everything below. But it really doesn't change my criticisms of the makeup

first on the list: JANUS

now this is just, I don't even know what it is. I think it's from the I'm Mr White Christmas, song because every year people do half Mr. White Christmas and half Mr. Sun makeup and it looks very good. But you don't need it to look that good. Like, I'd personally make the contrast between the blue and red way more, because it just isn't there. Maybe to keep the snake appearance do like, orange scales or orange underneath then red? Something to look more like fire. the joker esque smile doesn't work, again the contrast is very bad. The blue sticks out but the red doesn't so I'd get some lipstick, maybe a blue eyeliner if you can't get a blue lipstick, and loose the black lines, maybe make the blue side white and the red side more of a very dark red?

VIRGIL

I've got no idea, it's just so generic. A ghoul? A zombie? Who knows, not me. first of all, make the eye makeup darker, maybe some dark contour to make his cheeks look sunken in. if the stitches have to be purple then I'd say make it darker and use a black eyeliner pencil to add some definition and some detail that's harder to do with the eyeshadow

LOGAN

Frankenstein's monster? Or Frankenstein, the thing on his forehead says monster, the lab coat says man. why the fuck is Logan the only one who's got something over his usual attire. I guess you could argue that he just has one laying around? I'm not going to get into the wonky line, straight lines are hard. but the screw, again could've been done better with an eyeliner pencil because they are very pale.

PATTON

also I'm not trying to take unflattering screenshots, I'm just trying to get a clear one of Thomas facing the camera

a clown! very simple, very easy and the makeup is fucking visible!! Personally, adding the triangles around the eyes would be nice, for Patton I'd definitely lean on the fun side of clows and not the scary side. I just think a little more could be done. But I'm just thankful there's an actual red nose. The bar is low. I have to mention Patton's verse again, it's so bad, so rushed, could there not have been a little more thought into it specifically?

ROMAN

Jack Skellington I believe? I don't fucking know. my issue is the eyemake up once again, Make it much darker and less blocky. maybe some nose contour or try to make it look like an actual human skull? the stitches are eh, but I feel like they could be darker, maybe a liquid eyeliner in this case. This is also the only one where I think they really tried to hide Thomas's mustache I guess for the lip stitches?

REMUS

THe boogey man? Also from the nightmare before christmas. Are Roman and Remus doing a group costume? Remus's is probablt the best, he is also the only other side with something over his costume. The makeup looks pretty good, the black is solid at least around his mouth. Again, the eye makeup should be darker. the things on his cheeks are worms I believe. those are alright, I'd probably try to make them stand out a little more

[something-tofightfor]

2023 Year End Summary

I usually use this post as a way to wrap up my year, and this one's no different.

See beneath the cut for some of the highlights of my year - and some thank you notes.

First story post of 2023: Competing For Christmas 6.2 - Let It Snow (The Scavenger Hunt)

Last story post of 2023: The Epilogue of Snow and Mistletoe (which will be posted later tonight)

Most Surprising Thing I Wrote in 2023: Wing Pit Daniel. Who the hell thought this would be a thing? Certainly not me.

Daniel + Vacation /First and 10  / Daniel + Beer / Daniel - Distracting Kiss / Smutsgiving: Sweet Potato Casserole

Something I never thought I'd write in 2023: Sex Pollen for Marcus Pike.

Things I'm proud of writing in 2023:

Tim Rockford Headcanons and the resulting Black Days

Liminality

Joel Miller: NSFW ABC's / All I Ever Needed / Everybody's Waiting For The Next Surprise 1 + 2

Over the course of the year, I wrote just under 434k words on a total of 23 series/stories/events.

This is 65k below where I wanted to be - but I definitely got sidetracked during a few months - including a few where I took vacations or my mental health was in the toilet.

My goal for next year will be 500k words again, but I'm going to set some specific goals for my writing, including finishing a few things that I've neglected for far too long. That includes:

Slopeside

Buried

Locked Down

Caught On

It's Dangerous To Fall In Love

Nightingale

I'm also going to finally release Baseball Jack in his entirety on you in 2024... get ready. I'm not going to lie - 2023 was disheartening from a writing standpoint for a lot of reasons.

Engagement was way down, the same small group of authors and stories seemed to be the only ones getting any sort of traction in the Pedro fandom, plotlines and characterization that I have no interest in writing or reading were the craze - especially for Joel, and actual feedback on things was almost nonexistent.

But that doesn't mean that I'm not proud of what I wrote, how I wrote it or why I wrote it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I'd rather have smaller numbers overall and be absolutely happy with what I've put out and how long it took me to do so than rush things to hop in on current popularity or hope for instant success with a story.

My writing process hasn't changed - and while I appreciate and have respect for people that can and do post things without editing or rereading or sitting on their work and letting it settle, I've never done that, and I never will. I'll also never hold my stories 'hostage' or threaten to keep new chapters under wraps until engagement improves or I hit a certain number of likes/followers/etc. That's unfair - and for something that's supposed to be fun for both writers and readers, it's baffling to me when people do this.

And now on to the fun part: I read some amazing work from some amazing authors this year. The list includes but is not limited to:

@the-blind-assassin-12 @oonajaeadira @littlemisspascal @wildemaven @trulybetty @morallyinept @prolix-yuy @tessa-quayle @grogusmum @whataperfectwasteoftime @keldabe-kriff @katareyoudrilling @undercoverpena ... and so many more. You're able to do things with words and storylines that is SO impressive. We're all lucky to see and read your work. If I didn't include you, please know it's not on purpose. And it's not only writing: it's art, too. @stealyourblorbos @valkblue @thekawaiifruitworld @versatileginger @saminadorazahi @be-an-echo ... your talent is endless. thank you for sharing.

There are so many talented people in this fandom that I wish I had more time to read and admire their work. That's one of my goals for 2024: to consume more content from people on tumblr and A03 and share it. I know I need to do better with this. I know I've been slacking. I don't want to do that anymore. My goal for 2024 is also to make some new friends on here, because to be truthful, I feel a little on the outskirts of so many friend groups, and that's no fun. So if you'd like to message me or say hello or interact, please feel free to do so. I'm also on Discord - somethingtofightfor is my username there. If we've interacted in any way throughout this year, please know that I appreciate you. I thank you for taking the time to read my work or reach out to me. I see all of the comments and messages even if I don't reply right away (something else I'm going to work on getting better about in 2024!!!) Happy New Year to all of you - I hope 2024 is bright and warm and filled with love and support. You deserve it.

[tea-reads]

Steph’s December Writing Challenge Prompt List

This is part of @toomanystoriessolittletime 2022 December Writing Challenge that I was supposed to follow along in December, but life got in the way. The way I approached it was to write up a mini-series for some of the Pedro boys and try to make them all short and sweet. Enjoy!

FRANKIE MORALES

Content: fluff, comfort, established relationship

Day 1 - Never Change

Day 2 - Snow Glow

Day 3 - Home Library

Day 4 - Detour

Day 6 - Proposal

Bonus #1 - Snow Angels

JACK DANIELS / AGENT WHISKEY

Content: enemies/rivals-to-lovers, mild violence, language

Day 7 - Rivalry

Day 8 - Games

Day 9 - Falter

Day 11 - Fake Date

Day 12 - Breaking Point

Bonus #2 - Win-Win

EZRA

Content: fluff, comfort, established relationship

Day 13 - Picturesque

Day 14 - Companion

Day 15 - Romantic

Day 17 - Companion II

Day 18 - Light

Bonus #3 - Home for Dinner

DIN DJARIN / THE MANDALORIAN 

Content: fluff, comfort, friends-to-lovers

Day 19 - Quiet Travellers

Day 20 - Quality Time

Day 21 - Family of two, plus one

Day 22 - Touch

Day 24 - Extended Holiday

Bonus #4 - Family of Three

JAVI GUTIERREZ 

Content: fluff, comfort, established relationship; anxious reader

Day 25 - Unplanned

Day 26 - Balance

Day 27 - Important Message

Day 29 - Grounding

Day 30 - Lucky

Bonus #5 - Warm Christmas

KNIGHT!MARCUS PIKE

Content: gardener f!reader, fluff, established relationship

Day 5 - Winter Fantasy

Day 28 - Royal’s Dinner

Day 31 - Deeper Meaning

[sequinsmile-x]

Stained Glass Windows - Chapter Fifty Eight

Life was complicated, but they wouldn't have it any other way.

-x-

Hi friends,

As ever, thank you so so much for your love on this fic. It means so much.

Sorry for the two week gap on this. My anniversary fic and the holidays kind of got in the way, but we will now be back to weekly SGW updates. As long as you keep reading and enjoying - I will keep writing them!!

Please let me know what you think <3

-x-

Words: 3k

A full list of warnings for the fic can be found on the Series Master List.

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

Emily chuckles as she picks Lily up from where she’d been sitting, grabbing her just before she put a rouge Christmas tree decoration in her mouth. 

“I don’t think so, sweet girl,” Emily says, kissing the side of her head as she settles her on her hip. She tickles Lily’s belly and smiles when the little girl giggles. It was one of her favourite sounds in the world, something that could always cheer her up no matter what, “You trying to help Daddy and Jack take down the decorations?” 

“No one is helping Daddy,” Aaron chips in, raising his eyebrow at his wife as he carefully puts the lights from the tree back in the box. He tilts his head towards Jack who had gotten bored helping Aaron put everything away and was now playing his new video game. 

Emily winks at him before she turns her attention back to Lily, “He says that like he doesn’t get annoyed if we help and ‘put things back wrong.’” 

Aaron walks over and shakes his head at Emily, leaning in to press a kiss against her lips before he kisses Lily’s head, “Mommy isn’t the one who had to untangle the lights after she just threw them into the box last year.” 

She playfully narrows her eyes and looks past him to make sure Jack isn’t paying attention and then leans in closer to her husband, “I apologised. In your favourite way.” 

He can’t help but smile, any pretend irritation at her lack of help, something he knew would be more of a hindrance than anything, long gone. The holidays had been hard. He’d watched as his wife did her very best to be happy and present for Lily and Jack, desperate to make their little girl’s first Christmas a good one, but he’d been able to see past the facade she’d put on for their children. 

She was still grieving the miscarriage - they both were. The emotions around it made more complicated by the fact they hadn’t known she was pregnant and the comments from her doctor. 

It was hard. She’d smiled and laughed and helped Lily open all her presents and then helped Jack figure out his game when he asked, his palm on her knee as he leaned in close to her whilst she read the instructions. After the kids went to bed she’d collapse in on herself, her shoulders physically sagging as she finally let herself feel the weight of everything. He’d held her in their bed more than once as she cried, her tears something she would only allow herself in the dark safety of their bedroom, and he wouldn’t mention it in the morning. He knew her well enough to understand she had to do this her way, that he could support her by simply being there. 

It was the main reason he was taking down the decorations on January 1st. Usually, she liked to take them down when the 12 Days of Christmas were over, the holidays the only time she would ever even think about sticking to tradition, but he knew this year she wanted it over with. He’d been worried he’d made the wrong when she first stepped into the living room that morning, the decorations already partially down, but the relief that had flashed in her eyes, the way she’d kissed him a little fiercer than she usually would with the kids around, let him know he’d done exactly the right thing. 

Aaron kisses her and then pulls back, smiling at the sight of Lily snuggling into Emily’s side, her cheek against her chest. Seeing them together never failed to make his chest swell with joy. He wished Emily could see herself as he did, could see how she was Lily’s safe space, and Jack’s too when he was here. He wished he could go back to when she was pregnant with Lily and worried about her skills as a mother and tell her how good she was at this. How Lily would only really go to sleep for her, how she’d seek her out if she wasn’t around. 

“I think someone is ready for her nap.” 

Emily tilts her head to look down at Lily and she nods, “I’ll go put her down,” she says, kissing the top of Lily’s head as she runs a hand up and down her back, “Come on Lils,” she says, turning to leave the room, her voice fading as she gets further away, “Let’s leave Daddy to his tidying.” 

He shakes his head lovingly as she goes, but before he can get back to taking the tree down the doorbell rings and he checks his watch. 

“That will be your mom, buddy,” he says, smiling at his son as he scrambles up off of his place on the floor, his game abandoned. He was excited to see Haley, just like he was always excited to come here when it was time too, and Aaron was pleased they’d been able to work this out, that Jack was happy despite everything, “Go get your stuff from your room, and say goodbye to Emily and your sister.” 

“Ok, Daddy,” Jack says, already running out of the room, taking the stairs a little too loudly considering Emily was trying to get Lily to sleep. 

Aaron walks quickly to the front door, knowing if the bell rang again it also wouldn’t help in getting the 5-month-old to sleep. He smiles at Haley as he opens the door and steps back so she can walk into the house. 

“Hi Haley,” he says, “Happy New Year.” 

“Happy New Year,” she replies, smiling as she looks around, “Where is everyone else?” 

“Emily is trying to get Lily down,” he says, closing the door behind them, “And Jack is just getting his things.” 

Haley nods and smiles politely, “Did he make it to midnight?” She asks, “He told me on the phone last night that he was going to try.” 

Aaron chuckles as he shakes his head, “Not even close,” he says, leading her towards the kitchen, “He was asleep by his normal bedtime, even Lily outlasted him because we couldn’t get her to sleep last night,” he smiles as he turns to the coffee machine, “Coffee?” 

She nods, “Yes please,” she watches as he starts to make the coffee, “I’m glad you’re all feeling better,” she says as she takes a seat at the breakfast bar, “It would have sucked if you’d all been sick for Lily’s first Christmas and New Year.” 

He frowns, stepping towards the pantry to reach for the Splenda, “Feeling better?” He asks, tilting his head in confusion as he turns back to her, “What do you mean?” 

Haley narrows her eyes and clicks her tongue, her hands clasped on the counter, “You said you had the flu,” she says, pressing her lips together, “That’s why you couldn’t have Jack a couple of weeks ago and ended up having him the whole of this week to make up for it.” 

He curses himself internally for forgetting the lie he’d told his ex-wife when Emily had lost the baby, and he sighs, clearing his throat as he steps back towards the counter, hoping he can cover up his mistake. 

“Oh, of course,” he says, smiling tightly at her as he passes her a cup of coffee, “We all recovered quickly.” 

There’s a moment of silence as she stares at him, and he knows she’s seen through the lie, that she’d likely always doubted whether it was the truth. They’d known each other too long to lie to each other. 

“Why are you lying to me?” She asks, her frown deepening as she shakes her head at him, “Why didn’t you want Jack that week?” 

He sighs, his palms flat against the kitchen counter, “It’s not that we didn’t want him, Haley,” he says, “You know that. We just couldn’t that week.” 

She clenches her teeth, irritation licking at her insides as she glares at her ex-husband, “Why not?” 

He knows he could solve this by telling her the truth, that any anger she felt would disappear in a second, but he won’t. Emily wouldn’t want him to, which was why he’d lied in the first place.

“Can’t we just leave it at we couldn’t have him that week,” he says, pressing his lips together as he looks at her, “You have to trust me.” 

She scoffs, “I have to trust my ex-husband who just admitted that he lied to me?” she shakes her head and blows out a shaky breath, “I knew this was going to happen.” 

“Knew what was going to happen?” 

“I knew as soon as you and Emily had your own family my son would be left behind-”

“He is our son,” Aaron seethes, cutting her off, “And he is not being left behind. How can you-”

“What are you two doing?” Emily says as she walks in, baby monitor in hand, as she interrupts them, closing the kitchen door behind her, “Jack is upstairs, I gave him his game to distract him. I could hear you from the nursery,” she stands next to Aaron and places the baby monitor down on the counter. She sighs as she looks at Haley, “I asked Aaron to lie to you.” 

“Sweetheart,” Aaron says, his usual attempts to be careful around Haley, to not show off his relationship with Emily, nowhere to be found. He was more worried about his wife than anything else, he places his hand on her back and catches her gaze as she looks at him, “You don’t have to.” 

She knows she doesn’t have to, and she doesn’t really want to, but she knows Haley won’t stop unless she gets to the truth. That this would escalate more than it already had, and the person who would end up getting hurt was the little boy trapped in the middle of it. 

She smiles tightly at her husband before she looks at Haley. She reaches for Aaron’s hand and squeezes it, a silent request for support, and she blows out a shaky breath, “I had a miscarriage. I was in pain and I was grieving and I didn’t want him to see me like that,” she says, her voice cracking slightly, saying it outloud something she still struggled with, “That’s why we couldn’t have Jack.” 

Haley’s eyes go wide, all of her fight draining out of her in a second, “Oh,” she breathes out, stuttering before she clears her throat, “I didn’t know, I’m sorry,” she presses her lips together, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Emily chokes on a noise somewhere between a sob and a laugh and she shakes her head, her jaw tight as she tries to keep her cool, all of the frustration she’d felt for always having to consider Haley’s feelings, even with something like this, bubbling up in her gut, burning its way up into her chest as it finally escapes. 

“Because it’s none of your business, Haley. It’s mine and Aaron’s. No one else's,” she says, blowing out a breath as she lowers her voice, reminding herself the kids were upstairs, “I know this is complicated, but this is not your thing to be upset about,” she swallows thickly, biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from crying. “And we both know Aaron is an excellent dad, it’s one of the reasons we both had children with him, so don’t ever try and imply otherwise,” she squeezes Aaron’s hand before she steps away, “I’ll go tell Jack you’re ready to go.” 

Aaron and Haley fall into silence as she leaves the room, the quiet almost deafening as he looks at his ex-wife, her eyes fixed on the counter. 

“It’s impressive that she’s able to defend you whilst she’s also upset,” Haley says, her smile fading when her comment falls flat, “I’m sorry, Aaron,” she says, clearing her throat as she looks up at him, “I never should have said what I said, I know you love Jack.” 

He shrugs, “It’s fine.” 

“Were you…trying for another baby?” She asks, “Lily is only 5 months…” She drifts off as he raises his eyebrows, and she chuckles mirthlessly, “Right, not my business,” she stands up and smiles tightly at him, “I am sorry, Aaron. Please tell Emily I am too.” 

He nods, “I will,” he says, smiling when he hears Jack’s thundering footsteps on the hardwood floor, “Incoming.” 

“Mommy!” 

Aaron watches as his son enthusiastically tells his mom about his Christmas and New Year, even though they’d spoken on the phone every evening, and he’s grateful that even if things were hard sometimes, his son was happy and loved.

___

Aaron picks up his clothes, and the ones Emily had left on the bathroom floor, and dumps them in the hamper, shaking his head lovingly at his wife. She was predictable in her messiness sometimes, a walking contradiction in the fact she loved the kitchen to be clean and the bedrooms to be organised but seemingly didn’t care about the bathrooms. He didn’t mind, he knew he had his faults too, his vacuuming something that left a lot to be desired, and he’d happily pick up after her for the rest of his life. 

He walks out into the bedroom and frowns when he sees the bed is empty, the covers on Emily’s side askew when she’d only been lying there a few minutes ago when he walked into the bathroom. The bedroom door is open, and it only takes a few steps towards it for him to realise that the nursery door is too, light filtering out into the hallway. As he gets closer he hears Emily singing, her voice quiet and soft as it draws him in.

“Dans la forêt, il fait nuit, les animaux sont endormis

Dans leur maison, les petits cochons partagent le même lit.

Le petit chaperon rouge a fait des bisous à maman

Elle n’a plus peur du méchant loup et dort paisiblement.”

He smiles as enters the nursery. Emily was on the loveseat, Lily fast asleep against her chest, her cheek squished against her t-shirt, a small patch of drool forming beneath her open mouth. 

“She okay?” 

Emily looks up at him and nods, tilting her head to look down at Lily, “I saw that she was awake on the monitor” she says, kissing their daughter’s forehead, “I think she just wanted a cuddle,” she smiles sadly at him, “I think I did too.” 

He knows it’s the closest she’ll come to asking for comfort, at least right now, so he walks over and sits next to her. He wraps his arm around her and pulls her closer, careful not to disturb Lily, and he kisses Emily’s temple. He wished he could take all the pain she’d ever felt away, physical and emotional, but he knows he can’t. He knows she wouldn’t want him to, even though she’d do the same for him if she was given the chance, so he does what he can do - he sits there and holds her close, happy to provide the support they both knew she wanted, even if she didn’t need it. 

“It’s always going to be like this, isn’t it?” She says, pressing her lips together as she tilts her head to look at him, “No matter what, she’s always going to be involved.” 

It’s a conversation they’d have countless times, one that never got any easier. They’d spoken about this when they got engaged, when they found out they were having Lily, and he knew they’d have it again. He feels guilt fill his chest, making it momentarily hard to breathe until he gets a whiff of her shampoo, and something uniquely her that lay beneath it, her presence a balm to him no matter what. 

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he says, stamping a kiss against her lips, “I wish it was simpler.” 

She hums, “I know,” she says, kissing him before she pulls back, “Me too. But it’s our life, and I wouldn’t change it for anything,” she blows out a steady breath, “I…I didn’t want her to know.” 

“I know you didn’t,” he says, an apology imprinted into every word, the guilt flooding his chest again, “I’m sorry I didn’t remember what I’d said to her,” he shakes his head at himself, “If I had this wouldn’t have happened.”

She chuckles softly and shakes her head at him, “Well, I’m not about to be angry that my husband is a shitty liar,” she says moving one hand from Lily’s back and cupping his cheek. She moves her thumb back and forth on his stubbled skin, “We’ll move past it. We always do,” she kisses him before she rests her head on his shoulder, “I want to sit here for a while. I don’t want to put her down.” 

“We can stay here as long as you want,” he says, running his hand up and down her arm, “Shall I sing a lullaby?” 

She raises her eyebrow at him, “Lily is asleep.” 

“I meant for you,” he says seriously, the glint in his eyes giving him away, “Although unlike some people I can’t sing in French.” 

She hums, “I guess I can accept English,” she says, and he playfully rolls his eyes at her before he clears his throat to start.

“You are my sunshine

My only sunshine

You make me happy

When skies are grey

You'll never know, dear

How much I love you

Please don't take

My sunshine away.”

She presses her lips together, tears she doesn’t expect pressing at the back of her eyes as he sings, and she closes her eyes, letting the rumble of his voice wash over her, bringing her a sense of peace she had never known existed before him. 

When he finishes the song the room falls into silence, and for a moment he thinks she’s fallen asleep. 

“Aaron?” She says, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes, baby,” he replies, his lips pressed against her temple.

“You really can’t sing.” 

-x-

Tag List:

@ssa-sparks, @lukeclvez, @lyds102, @glockleveledatyourcrotch, @hotchnissenthusiast, @danadeservesadrink, @ssamorganhotchner, @emilyprentissisgod, @notagentprentiss, @freesiasandfics, @emilyshotchniss, @thecharmingart, @paulitalblond, @hancydrewfan, @camille093, @whitecrossgirl, @moonlight-2-6, @rawr-jess, @florenceremingtonthethird, @jareauswife, @ms-black-a, @beebeelank, @aubreyprc, @zipzapboingg, @psychopath-at-heart, @criminalmindsgonewrong, @fionaloover, @kinqslcys, @prentissinred, @ccmattis-22, @denvivale317, @thrindis, @hotchsguccitie, @cmfouatslota77, @alexblakegf, @aliensaurusrex, @prentissxhotch, @emobabeyy, @victoiregranger, @stormyweatherth, @wanderingdreamer009, @ssablackbird, @luhwithah, @lex13cm, @prentiss-theorem, @dont-emily-me, @mrs-ssa-hotch, @jocyycreation, @itsmytimetoodream, @hotchnissgroupie, @controversialpooh, @capsshinyshield, @canuck-eh

Join my tag list here!

[the-lincyclopedia]

Winter holiday fics by lincyclopedia

Thanks for the tags, @cricketnationrise and @doggernaut! When you tagged me, I wasn't sure if I had any winter holiday fics. I have 12, across four fandoms. In my defense, I have over 200 fics total, so I lose track of what I've written sometimes. (Also, looking back through my AO3 account, it's like, man, I used to write. Unfortunately I've been too depressed to do much of that for a while now.) Anyway. Here's what I've got, organized by fandom:

Check Please

Deck the Halls with Balls of Holly

Ransom misunderstood the lyrics to "Deck the Halls," and he and Holster wind up making some interesting Christmas decorations for the Haus.

This is a super short one-shot featuring platonic Ransom & Holster friendship from Bitty's POV. (It's part of my series of fics based on misheard song lyrics.) The relevant holiday is Christmas.

Palentine's Day Karaoke

This fic is inspired by @softfloralbro's story "Shitty Knight's Palentine's Day Spectacular" and is basically a karaoke playlist wrapped in narration. The basic idea is that SMH has a karaoke party on Valentine's Day, and everyone serenades their friends. Set in February of Year 2.

This fic is full of SMH friendship, music, and not much else. The relevant holiday is Valentine's Day.

In Your Warmth I Forget How Cold It Can Be

In a world where the graduation kiss never happened, it's winter break of Bitty's senior year, and Bitty and Jack are both out and single. The plan is for Bitty to spend New Year's Eve with Jack at Jack's condo, but that plan goes awry when Bitty and Jack return from the airport to find a homophobic slur painted on Jack's parking space. TW for homophobia.

Basically, this is canon-divergent Zimbits getting together. The relevant holiday is New Year's Eve.

too long i've been afraid (of losing love i guess i've lost)

Dex gets disowned after coming out as gay. SMH is there for him.

Basically, angst, hurt/comfort, and platonic Frogs content, plus some platonic Dex & Bitty. The relevant holiday is Christmas.

Five Times Lukas Was Homesick Plus One Time He Didn’t Have to Be

It can be hard to go to school in another country where everyone speaks a different language and no one celebrates your holidays. Luckily, Lukas has friends to help when he’s homesick.

Okay, this is a 5+1 and only one of the scenes is actually about a winter holiday, but I like that scene, so I'm including this fic on the list. The relevant holiday is St. Lucia Day.

When Lucia Day Dawns

For Lukas's senior project as a music major, he has to plan/lead a public music performance. He decides to form a choir to sing Swedish Lucia/Advent/Christmas songs on St. Lucia Day (December 13). This is the Friday before finals and everything is stressful—until the concert starts and suddenly it’s perfect.

This is another Lukas-centric fic about being Swedish. The relevant holiday is St. Lucia Day.

Carry On

Right Now

A one-shot set during Christmas break of Simon and Agatha's fifth year at Watford. Even though they're not ultimately meant to be, they made sense as a couple once.

This is very jossed by Any Way the Wind Blows, but I still kind of like it. It's pre-canon Simon/Agatha. The relevant holiday is Christmas.

Stranded

After leaving Baz's house and dropping Penny off in London, Simon and Agatha get stranded in a ditch in the middle of a snowstorm. Ex awkwardness ensues.

Unlike "Right Now," this fic features Simon and Agatha as exes. The relevant holiday is Christmas.

Sounds Like a Date

Baz is a barista stuck working on Christmas Eve. Simon is a handsome customer.

This is a coffee shop AU featuring a Snowbaz meet-cute. The relevant holiday is Christmas.

Yuri on Ice

Ice Quality

One of Yuuri's college friends invites him to spend Christmas with her family, and Celestino approves as long as Yuuri promises to skate while he's there. Trouble is, the town's indoor rink is closed for renovations. A one-shot set during Yuuri's time in college in Detroit.

This is a pre-canon platonic Yuri & OFC fic. The relevant holiday is Christmas.

Happy New Year, Otabek!

Yuri and Otabek have been best friends for four years, and Yuri's had a crush on Otabek for a while, but he never expected Otabek to like him back. Until, that is, Otabek gets drunk at the Grand Prix Final banquet and says some things Yuri doesn't expect. It's going to be a very interesting New Year's celebration in Almaty . . .

This is a post-canon Yuri Plisetsky/Otabek, and it's the only multi-chapter fic on this list (though it's still pretty short). The relevant holiday is New Year's Eve.

Sherlock

Over the Table and through the Giggles

John has insisted on hosting a Christmas party. Again. Everyone but Sherlock is drinking, and John is telling stories about Sherlock, and suddenly Sherlock decides to kiss John. Plotless fluff.

This is a canon-divergent Johnlock getting-together scene based more heavily than you might guess on my sober-but-sleep-deprived friends and me being ridiculous in high school. The relevant holiday is Christmas.

I'm guessing a lot of people have been tagged, especially from the Check Please fandom, but I'm going to try to pull in some Queen's Thief folks. I tag @worldsentwined, @newtsoftheworldunite, @hoeratius, @eponymiad, and anyone else who wants to play!

[homeb0ys]

~ Day 1 ~

Not off to the best start but things can only get better, right? …Right?

[magicaltear]

How many have you read?

The BBC estimates that most people will only read 6 books out of the 100 listed below. Bold the titles you’ve read.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 2 Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkein 3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte 4 Harry Potter series 5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee 6 The Bible 7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte 8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell 9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman 10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens 11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott 12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy 13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare 15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier 16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien 17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks 18 Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger 19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffeneger 20 Middlemarch – George Eliot 21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell 22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald 23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens 24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy 25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams 26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh 27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky 28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck 29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll 30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame 31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy 32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens 33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis 34 Emma – Jane Austen 35 Persuasion – Jane Austen 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis 37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini 38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres 39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden 40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne 41 Animal Farm – George Orwell 42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown 43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez 44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving 45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins 46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery 47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy 48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood 49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding 50 Atonement – Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel 52 Dune – Frank Herbert 53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons 54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen 55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth 56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon 57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens 58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley 59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon 60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez 61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck 62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov 63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt 64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold 65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas 66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac 67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy 68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding 69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie 70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville 71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens 72 Dracula – Bram Stoker 73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett 74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson 75 Ulysses – James Joyce 76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath 77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome 78 Germinal – Emile Zola 79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray 80 Possession – AS Byatt 81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens 82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchel 83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker 84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro 85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert 86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry 87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White 88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom 89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton 91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad 92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery 93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks 94 Watership Down – Richard Adams 95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole 96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute 97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas 98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare 99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl 100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

As found in the original post I saw by @macrolit

My total: 43/100

[covetyou]

20 questions for fic writers tag game

thanks for the tags bbs 💛 @mermaidgirl30 @whatsnewalycat @sp00kymulderr

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

23 - I cross post to ao3 just before I post anything on Tumblr, so almost everything goes there first. The only thing that isn't there is y2k and two dress up!Joel lore posts that are in fic form.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

117,356

3. What fandoms do you write for?

almost entirely Pedro - a little bit of general TLOU if we consider honey, you're familiar (tess x reader)

4. Top five fics by kudos

something wretched about this

sleepless

first steps

baubles

just a taste

on Tumblr sleepless is my top fic before the first chapter of something wretched about this - I don't keep track of it after those two!

5. do you respond to comments?

I do! I'm a bit behind right now because May/June have been kicking my ass in every way possible, but usually they get answered within a day or two.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't write much angst! Feelings™ in general is not my thing.

the howler monkey is maybe my angstiest fic, but it ends quite fluffy. same as some good friend.

none of them really end too angsty! I'm all about leaving things vaguely good at the end.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

the most typical happily ever after mush? jack of all trades and freeze-thaw. freeze-thaw's ending is quite cute now that I look back at it.

chaste also has a happy ending, just a very different one to a romantic feelings-y happy ending 💦 but you'll never see someone more thrilled than Dieter in that fic.

all of my fics do tbh, just not big I love you/happy families/grand gesture kind of happy endings.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've never even had a slightly mean comment tbh

9. Do you write smut?

predominantly! everything except for y2k (not on ao3!) and my Dieter's PA loose series is smut. Dieter's PA is super fun to write because it often toes the line between almost smut and not smut at all. there's a lot of nudity and references to past sexual events, and it's the perfect place to explore silliness with Dieter.

10. Craziest crossover?

it's gotta be my carnal-val series. it's a circus AU with P-Boys each playing a part - so far we have Dieter as a clown and Whiskey as a ringmaster. I have 4 WIPs currently on the go for it, so hopefully more will be soon.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

thank goodness no. not that I know it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

no! I probably never will - I like to just finish and be done, and collaborating with a fic feels far more involved than my usual "fuck it, that'll do" process! I literally don't even get shit beta read.

14. All time favorite ship?

I genuinely do not have one 😁 I'm very easy to please and generally if you feed it to me I'll have a good time, so no favourite ship has ever really stuck. I generally don't care for romantic ships the same way most do.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I started a Marcus Pike fic over Christmas - I doubt that'll get finished. My OG plan for kinktober still needs to be officially scrapped (I wrote something wretched about this instead)

I also have a Dieter's PA WIP involving a coffee machine that 💀 I'm not sure anyone needs or wants to see.

not all WIPs deserve to see the light of day, and most of the fun is in the process of fucking around with characters for a little bit tbh

16. What are your writing strengths?

anything silly and slightly bizarre while somehow not being too out there. I think I'm decent at dialogue but honestly 🤷‍♀️ some days I'm shit

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

so many! I'm the vaguest amount of descriptive possible, with absolutely everything. not just because I write reader insert either 😅

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

love reading it - will probably never include it in my own fics. I don't know another language well enough to do it alone and I don't want to bother anyone to ask for help. add that to my "fuck it, that'll do" thing and it's just not a recipe for doing another language justice 😁

19. First fandom you wrote in?

h*rry p. I wrote two oneshots as a teen. one involved people getting turned into chickens and pecking someone to death and in the other someone's little toe got stolen and eventually kept in a jar. so if you're wondering if I've always been like this, the answer is yes.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I still really love best in show and some good friend. both were a little different to my usual way of doing things and I loved the result of both. I also really love the howler monkey - it opened up a lot more depth that I have planned for Dieter's PA, and I'm really excited about it

I have no clue who has and hasn't done this, but consider yourself tagged if you'd like to do it but also @strang3lov3 @beefrobeefcal @bitchesuntitled @corazondebeskar-reads toobif you're ao3 girlies.

[wordsinhaled]

strap in for thirteenth doctor feelings!

so i'm only halfway through series 12 which means i haven't finished 13's run so obviously there almost certainly are things i'm missing so far. but i have to say... like... while thirteen's run may NOT benefit from strong writing it absolutely DOES benefit from jodie's acting because there is something very much of the doctor to her, she's got a lovely steeliness that she brings out at the right moments, and she really brings something very specific to this role that captures who the doctor is at this moment in the timeline. and i'm thinking about it narratively as well, and the thirteenth doctor makes sort of really heartbreaking sense.

this is a doctor who had already lived too long several regenerations ago yet is still chasing more because she can never stop running. this is a doctor who has known the pain of losing countless companions and is terrified to lose even more, so she holds them at arm's length; and yet, still, she craves closeness, love, and companionship, even family (they're her "fam"—it's a chipper, offbeat way to downplay their importance to her—if it can be just a turn of phrase, just gen Z slang, she doesn't have to think of what comes from family: loss, pain, guilt, fire, destruction, goodbyes, loneliness). and we all remember ten sitting on that rooftop with donna, talking about the christmas he'd spent with the tylers, calling them his family, the closest he'd come to having one since gallifrey.

before the doctor opened up to rose he'd been war-hardened and rough around the edges, until he was worn down, softened by the things he craves. because it's always those thing the doctor craves, belonging, connection, hope; it's why there's always someone in the TARDIS; it's why donna said the doctor needs someone. but loneliness feels like the doctor's cosmic punishment, the only outcome that makes sense, and the only way to prevent further collateral damage. so, little wonder thirteen's committed to doing everything on her own, looking for the master on her own, visiting her home on her own; trying to be unknowable. seesawing between the defensive need to push away and the doctor's fundamental desire to love others and to be loved.

there are three people on board her TARDIS and she couldn't be farther from them. she's feeling unknowable because she's carrying every one of her years, every one of her past acts, every drop of blood on her hands, every mistake she's ever made. there's this sense that she could, somehow, be unknown even to herself. and - "something's coming for me" - there's this deep sense of huntedness, of wanting to outrun the inevitable (pain; punishment) and not being able to because reminders of it are around every corner. there's even captain jack, her fixed point, come back to haunt her; an anomaly, one that shouldn't exist. just like the doctor shouldn't exist.

and yet she keeps not being ready to go. nine was ready because he'd shed some of his burden and experienced being unconditionally witnessed. ten had only just started to live in that peace and he wanted longer, wanted more. eleven already carried the knowledge that he'd overstepped the universe but he still had an innocence to him, a sort of double edge. twelve was gruffness layered over so much care and kindness. and thirteen is. just. coming at the universe with bright open-heartedness to fight her own fear of what she knows is coming, is always, has always been coming for her.

everywhere, in everything, there's a reminder of the home she lost and barely believes she deserves to find again. everywhere, in everything, a reminder that she has to keep going, go faster, go farther, keep up the distractions, keep up the façade because otherwise the only other option is to face it down. and the doctor's a coward, any day. and actually, it's heartwrenching because it's brilliant.

[daywalkers-fic]

12. why the 1880s?

something about this decade really sings to me. I find in particular, nearing the end of the nineteenth century, so much was happening on around the world in terms of arts, politics, technology, colonization. world events and global news don’t personally reach the day-to-day lives of the everyday folk, but they are an important part in gauging what life, thought, and society was about—what things were important then and now?

basically for myself, reminding me of notable things that occured during the 1880s—some thematic, some of relevance to context and characters, and the rest just ?? interesting and/or wild?

cocaine is a hot new cure for everything and anything. perscribed, sold in foods and more. heroine introduced as a lesser-addictive substitute for morphine…

lots of developments in fields of psychology; many experiments and happenings; Freud starts his work 1886.

1880-1914 had +twenty million immigrants to the United States: Germany, Ireland, England, China had the most arrivals.

William Dorsey Swann, the first self-proclaimed drag queen, organizes a series of drag balls in Washington, D.C. 1880-1890s.

Jack the Ripper claims his “first” victim in 1888 White Chapel, London. big scare.

Sherlock Holmes first appears in Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study In Scarlet as part of the British magazine’s Beeton’s Christmas Annual in 1887.

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is published in 1886. Gothic fiction, drawing from emerging fields of science and psychology. & Treasure Island was published earlier in 1883 by him too!

Mark Twain drops The Prince and the Pauper (1881), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889).

Bel-Ami, Guy de Maupassant’s second novel is published in 1885. about a man who seduces and manipulates high society French women in the French colonies for power and wealth. MOVIE WAS ADAPTED IN 2012 STARTING ROBERT PATTINSON LOL

western European art movements very romantic and swirly and pretty: Monet, Debussy xoxo.

meanwhile, African American ragtime music becomes the “pop” music across the pond here.

North Dakota (1889), South Dakota (1889), Montana (1889), Washington (1889) become states.

train segregation laws flag beginning of Jim Crow; Civil Rights Movement of 1875 voided, making discrimination in private is not illegal, and prohibiting state intervention to personal or commercial segregation. l*nching continues throughout the south. slavery may be over on paper, but indentured labour is legal.

1882 infamous O.K Corral gunfight.

Gold Rush continues, all over the world—South Africa, to British Columbia, to California, to Argentina, to Russia-China borders.

centuries of American “Indian” wars continue.

American Dawes Act of 1887 granted American government authorization to regulate indigenous lands, including creating and assigning and enforcing reservations.

Sitting Bull’s 1883 speech of the atrocities experienced at the hands of white American settler colonists.

Canadian Pacific Railway 1881-1885. foreign labourers were hired to do a lot of heavy, dangerous, unwanted work. in America, more than 100,000km of tracks were laid by majority Chinese, Irish, Scandinavian workers.

America’s Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and Canada’s Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 was officiated, enforcing law of a Head Tax to be paid for every Chinese person entering North America. over the course of the next couple of decades, the fee of $1,500 was doubled to $5,000 was increased 500% to $25,000 in today’s currency—per person. this had devastating and lasting impacts on generations and societies of Chinese living both overseas and already in North America. propaganda at this time created many racist myths that persist today: there are too many Asians, they are taking our jobs, (the men) are gross and effeminate and a threat to (white) women, they shady and scheming people. these were the first and only major federal legislation to explicitly suspend immigration for a specific nationality in American and Canadian history. (I study Asian Canadian history, I can go on about this all day)

Tong Wars (1883-1913) had Chinatown gangs and factions in violent street wars across America, San Fransisco to New York.

large, targeted, and repeated anti-Jewish rioting (pogorm) and antisemitism rampant throughout Imperial Russia, 1881-1882 had more than two hundred anti-Jewish events alone. Jews continue to be racialized and othered.

fuck ton of colonization happening in Africa and the Middle East, Southeast Asia. Berlin conference 1884-1885 literally chopped up Africa to distribute to European powers.

Irish nationalist efforts to push forth Home Rule bill of sovereignty is defeated in British Parliament. Irish are not “white”, they are “othered” in Europe and in Americas.

use of photographic film pioneered by George Eastman, who started manufacturing film. his first camera (Kodak) was ready for sale in 1888.

Thomas Edison gets lit in New York 1883 with first electrical power station. next several year sees major cities being lit up with street lamps and public lighting with the science and works of a Nikolas Tesla (1886-1893).

hell of a lot more inventions in the works and patents being claimed. Hertz and radiowaves, Bell for telephone services.

“Between the years of 1850–1900, women were placed in mental institutions for behaving in ways the male society did not agree with”

way too much history to cram, obviously. here are some keywords for further research oki

prison industry / spiritualism / opium epidemic / irregular and uneven “modernizations” in rural vs. urban areas / class and poverty gaps / morality scares, checks, comparisons, gaps / new businesses and gadgets, products, tech to help with anything / fascination of the (colonial) Other; side shows, “freak shows” and other human zoos

[halfmoondaze]

Forward

Previous

Series Masterlist

Authors note: this is a collaboration with the amazing @iguessweallcrazyithinktho

“Guys its time” Urban yelled from the livingroom. 

Its been 5 months since the “Come Home The Kids Miss You” Tour was cancelled. I tried to force happiness into my life, but failed. 

My head was all over the place and so was my room. I could tell it drove Jack insane, as he is an organized person, but he never made me feel less about it and just helped me out without me asking, as an act of service. I learned along the way, that was his love language.

It wasn’t until we left New York, that it became evident to everyone else that I was having a massive decline to my mental health. 

It was getting difficult for me to eat, sleep, get out and maintain my physical health; and it seemed like everyone but me was aware of it. Which is why it made sense for Jack to stay over at my place all the time to check on me; and for me to stay over at his. 

As time went by, it got to a point where moving in together seemed like the natural thing to do, so when he asked the question in one of our many long nights together, I said ‘yes’ with no hesitation. That’s how we end up moving into the house of our dreams after spending so much time finding the perfect house. 

I did had my good and bad days; but when we started living together, there was so much I learned from Jack. Without him knowing, he was teaching me how to structure my days while dealing with a decline in my mental health. 

He was more than I could ever asked for. He was patient, caring and empathetic. Sometimes I thought to myself I didn’t deserved him. Sometimes, I felt his empathetic nature was a factor that helped bounce back.

Two days before Christmas, he flew all my family to Atlanta from _(y/h/t). In those two weeks I had them all to myself, everyone was able to see the old Y/N again. The one Jack though he had lost for good. 

As New Year rolled around, Jack got back to writing and recording music here and there, in his home studio. To make me feel include, he would invite me to his recording sessions and asked me for my opinion which he would take very seriously.

One night, in one of those studio sessions, he caught me writing some verses in a piece of paper. He didn’t say anything, he just walked over to me from behind without me knowing, and briefly massaged my shoulders, followed by placing a kiss on top of my head, before getting back to working. After he called it a night, we started walking back home and before we entered the house, he turned to me said “I’m so proud of you”.

As time went by, the visits to the studio became more frequent, as I started spending most of my time writing and recording songs with help of Jack. Even though he didn’t wanted to be included in the credits, he was a lot of help when it came to the writing process of the album. 

I had finally found my sense of self. I found healing in my music. There was no deadline or limits, as my label informed me the moment I told them I started making music again. 

I had no recollection of when I started or finished the album. All the sudden I had 12 songs. 

Jack had invited both of our families and closest friends to a gathering at our house, to see the nominees announcement. 

“Oh my gosh Y/N you have 8 nominations!” Camille cheered.

“What?” I couldn’t believe it as I remained frozen while everyone else hugged me and congratulated me. This was more than what I could ever asked for.

JACKHARLOW

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jackharlow my girl is a grammy nominated artist!!!! couldnt be more proud of you and everything you've accomplished. I love you @Y/N

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Jack walked out of the vehicle first, then he walked to your side and opened the door for you. Then he took your hand as he helped you out of the car. 

The moment you stepped into the red carpet, you were instantly hit by the blinding flashes of the cameras and the sound of photographers shouting at the two fo you simultaneously indicating you were to look at. You and Jack would steal a few glances and smile at each other here and there.

At one point you started to feel anxious, and Jack was quick to sense your change of demeanor and whispered to you: “You good?” 

“Yeah” you said smiling at him.

Then he smiled back at you and kissed your cheek. 

That caused the crowd to go nuts, and the camera clicks intensified. It was clear this was going to be news all over social media the following day. 

Afterwards, you and Jack did some interview for the following 30 minutes and he made sure to not let you out of his side. And people couldn’t get over how he was so attentive of you the entire time. 

Later in the night, you were having so much fun inside the venue, as you were sitting next to Lil Nas goofing around, and meeting other respected artists you admire. You were so in the moment, that you forgot you were nominated for various a categories, until the category you were nominated for was announced. 

“And the Grammy for Best New Artist, goes to…” Billie Eilish stopped as she opened the envelope.

“My queen, Y/N!!" Billie announced. 

The camera focused to you. 

You covered you mouth in shock as everyone around you clapped for you. You hugged your manager, producers, fellow songwriters, your best friend Camille; and last but not least Jack. It was an adorable moment where he held for a little bit longer than rest before you went to stage to accept your award. 

You hugged Billie and then received your award. 

“Thank you so much” you said softly. “Um…I’m going to cry” 

You tried to not break down in tears as you continued your speech. 

“I want to thank my manager Marc, Camille, my mom, my fans. I love you all so much and thank you for your support. Thank you for my producer, for executing it incredibly and making this album possible. And Jack, I love you so much, you’re amazing. Thanks to all of my friends and my family. Thank you so much” you said nearly breaking in tears at the end. 

The camera slightly cut to Jack who had the brightest smile as he saw you on that stage. He couldn't be any more proud.

That night you got home with four more awards, for "Best Music Video", "Best Pop Vocal Album", "Record of The Year" and "Album of The Year".

Y/N Y/L/N

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yourusername mil gracias @grammys esta noche me la llevo en el corazón por siempre

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lilnas legendary

bellahadid my best girl

dojacat you deserve it 🤍🤍🤍

grammys 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

After the award show was over, you and Jack got back into the limo. You both couldn’t contain your excitement as you buckled in.

“I knew you could do it baby!” Jack said pulling you into a hug.

You laughed into his chest running your hand over his back.

Jack pulled away from the hug and kissed you hard, but passionately taking your breath away.

When you pulled away you smiled softly at him.

“I couldn’t have done this with out you baby.”

“No!” Jack said abruptly as he took your hand in his. “You did this all by yourself. Don’t give me credit for anything ok?”

He placed a kiss on the back of your hand and winked at you.

“um can you take us back to the hotel?” Jack asked the driver to which the guy nodded.

“Wait, I thought we were going to the after party.” you said confused.

“Nah I got something better for us.”

When you arrived at the hotel, Jack guided you to the room.

When you opened the door you were meet with rose petals all over the ground.

A gasp left your lips as you walked in further. “Jack this is fucking beautiful.”

Tears started to form in your eyes as you looked around the room. When you turned to Jack to thank him, a gasp left your lips as you saw him holding a shimmering diamond in his hand.

“A year ago today, I fell in love with you. You’re the love of my life. I didn’t know it at the time, but now I know that heaven sent you to me. You’ve come so far, and if you allow me, there’s nothing I would love more than to be next to you through your journey.

Jack got on one knee. 

“Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N would you marry me?”

-

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