#This got very long whoooops

[unclewaynemunson]

Okay so I feel like you’ve got to be the best person to ask this, but do you know any fics that are either Wayne!Pov or pretty Wayne Centric? Thanks!

Ohmygod I love that you came to me for this! <333

I don't read that many long fics so most of these are on the shorter side, but I definitely have some recs for you:

I was open to pain and crossed by the rain by sparklyslug: I think this is one of the longer ones on this list but it's one of my top faves. A+ characterization of Wayne if you ask me! It gives the Munsons a beautiful backstory from Eddie's youth to post-S4 fix-it softness.

Light my way by lesbianrobin: a really well-written Steddie-focused one in which Wayne learns to trust Steve over time. Also the whole party is in this one which I love!

Good for my boy by macksdramaticshenanigans: more of Wayne supporting Steddie, can't get enough of that trope! (I now see that there's also a 2nd part to this that I didn't know about so that's exciting :D )

The Munson Family Values by lexigraphic: a little bit different, very cute AU in which Wayne is the one who finds Eleven wandering around the woods (no steddie but it does build a beautiful sibling relationship between Eddie and El)

Young men (old and new) by blapblaps: haven't read this one yet but as far as I can tell it's a really cute Steddie / Wayne dynamic exploration!

Anytime you need by strangersteddie: 2-part fic about Wayne and Steve bonding, also haven't read this one yet but it looks promising!

And I feel a little bit awkward referring to my own work but I have a Wayne-POV one shot in which he reflects on his relationship with Eddie when he visitis Eddie's father in prison, and also a Steve/Eddie POV one shot about Steddie and Wayne.

(also gonna use this moment to tell you how much I love your writing! I read your fic about the hanky code and the halloween one and they're both super cute, and i hope to read more of your stuff when i have time for it! There's too much on my to-read list whoooops)

And I'm super curious to hear what you think if you read anything from this list, so if you feel like yelling to me about those fics feel free to do so :D

[wench-and-jezebel]

The Musketeers Reaction: Commodities

Jezebel (@typicalopposite) reacts [with occasional asides by Wench (@scripted-downfall)]

[I love this episode so much]

Issa pirate!  Idk just looks like one  [He's not tho]

Ahh great… Something’s gonna go wrong  [Something always goes wrong alkdsfj]

Nvm the others are there

Nvm again

Oooop-

Well, she looks like she believes it

More pirates (Kidding)

Oh, man… So much is happening  [You ain't seen nothing yet.  But also… Chick be awesome] 

Same, Flirt

They all stood in unison  [Naturally]

He smol  [This dude showed up in a CSI recently, fun fact]

Flirt, you have no right to be so into this

He sounds like puss in boots ☠️

Wot  ["You must think we're stupid"  Two seconds later  "Terribly sorry, apparently we are"]  D’Art has the sense here [You lack faith]  🙂

I- Oh.  [:)]  Tf  [They're staging an escape, dingus]  The musketeers are or just the two?  [Emile/Maria]

😂😂😂 Got ‘em

[Milady is kinda transparent for an assassin]  😂😂😂😂 Very true

Oooof  [Be prepared to hate Emile btw]  Oooooooooof  [This?  This ain't nothing.  Get ready for worse]  Oh boy  [Yup]

Oh noooo an ambush!

["No doubt your partner is a cheat and a swindler"  Damn, Athos, don't hold back]  Or how did he say it? “Well, that was straightforward”

Oh noooooo!  Port!  🥺🥺🥺🥺

Oooop soft music! longing stare! Flashback coming

[D'Art, read the freaking room… Aramis, you too]

Darts face like nah fam

Well damn  [Gotta love the medicine of the time]  He’s prepared

["I'm not a child"  Convincingggggg]  EXACTLY

I was gonna say it could be an OFMD fusion BUT Ed’s not incompetent

So this is France

[I love the scene with him walking through the doors 😭  The cinematography is so nice]  🥺🥺🥺🥺  And here’s the flashback  [And look at his fancy outfit lkasjdflkadsjf 😭]  Is this before he was a musketeers?  [Yup]

Pause, quick question  [Okay]

– – – 

Jezebel: I’ll forget if I don’t say now.  So D’Art…  In the book was going to them to become a musketeer.

Wench: Right

Jezebel: But in this they changed it to he was avenging his dads death and he just kinda… stays to become a musketeer after

Wench: Ye

Jezebel: Do they explain why they changed it?

Wench: I don't think so.  

Jezebel: Huh! 😂😂 ok anyway I was just curious about that

Wench: My guess is the excitement was the goal?  And also, they were changing the story a lot anyway, so they didn't need to keep it all intact.  

Jezebel: ‘Cause I was just thinking of Dart… like why is he even here he was just on a revenge mission?  How did he get recruited after?

Wench: Well, in this case, it's implied that he just... came to respect the Musketeers.  And probably got interested in a) the excitement/nobility of the career and b) Constance.  Also, he might not have wanted to go back to Gascony after his dad died

Jezebel: Ahh yes you are not the bloodthirsty unjust murderers I thought you too be… also the job seems fun… lemme join you

Wench: Right

– – – 

[Emile needs to shut up… "You must enjoy being here... must bring back all sorts of memories"  DOES HE LOOK LIKE HE'S ENJOYING THIS?]  ☠️☠️☠️☠️

Ooop- Flashback

☠️☠️☠️☠️  “Did someone punch me?”  D’Art: nahhhhhhh

[ONCE AGAIN.  PEOPLE.  READ THE FRICKING ROOM]

Ooooop- wait.  I just realized… I JUST REALIZEDDDD- [WOT]  HE LOVES ATHOS’ LADDYYYYY!  IT IS!  [Good job, problem child alskdjf]

[I love Porthos]

What did you call him?  Le gasp!  [Huh?]  The “self-taught man” but he said it in another name  [Autodidact]  Language [auto = self, didact = teacher]  Before he said what it meant, I thought it was something mean

Oh my gawd the woman has returned  [She’s cool]  Ooooop- Le bitch!

["I knew I'd been punched" as;ldkfj  I forgot that one]  ☠️☠️☠️☠️

Welp… she ded  [For real that time]  Yep

Now he ded  [Yep]

Whooop Whoooop  [D'Art the farm boy for the win!  The sass of that nod laksdjf]  

[Get ready to hate Bonnaire]

Now he’s been punched  [He deserves it]  Yeah, I agree (and I don’t even know yet)

Flirt: “and there goes my needlework”

Well, shit

Buddy… Port’s a beast he’s pushing through both of them! And he’s injured  [‘Tis true]

Flirt 💕

– – – 

Wench: Midpoint?

Jezebel: Yes

Wench: Have fun lkasdjf  Like I said... this episode is split between Athos-centric and Porthos-centric, and I adore it.  But also... I hate Emile with SUCH a fiery passion it's not even funny

Jezebel: I’m connecting my keyboard for this

Wench: Oh dear… The Jezebel equivalent of rolling up her sleeves

Jezebel: Ok so first off I’m feeling for Athos! ‘Cause 😦 bruh! The memories! Cause iirc he thinks Milady is dead right?

Wench: Yup.  And… He thinks he killed her.  Well, had her executed, but still; it's the equivalent of him killing her

Jezebel: So I reiterate 😦 AND! Omg FLORT (see what i did there) is continuing to be musketeer bros and I am living for it!  Him being all “Port bby cannot travel in these conditions, Athos!  Do you not care about him like I clearly do?!? 😍😠”

Wench: I knew you were gonna say that too :)

Jezebel: Then when they get back and Port found the papers and jumps on the guy he is just like… standing to the side. “Oh, no, who has angered my man- I mean oh no… my needle work… *side eye* thats… uh… for shame!”  But hes not interfering much at all.  He’s just standing there.  like.  When clearly just the two wasn’t holding him back easily

Wench: Right, I follow… I'm enjoying this section of the react, I want you to know.  Much fun :)

Jezebel: Which, regardless of what I think it meant or what it really means, I think it makes it seem like Flirt is more a lover not a fighter… which is hilarious… ‘cause his job is a fighter.

Wench: Yeah :)  He's also a priest, so he's completely a contradiction

Jezebel: And that brings me to… FUCK BONNAIRE!!!  Oh, and D’Art and Milady… Has he realized yet?

Wench: Nope

Jezebel: Sweet lord… He just had to lift the torn picture.  Buddy.  Brain.  Use it.

Wench: They don't figure it out until like.  over halfway through the season.

Jezebel: OH SHIT OOOOOF!  Well damn.

Wench: Ready?

Jezebel: Ready!

– – –

[Him referring to a "shopping list" is just- alsdkfja;lksdjf;lKJ;LAKSDJF;LKASDJF;LKASDJF asshole]  Ew

Ah yes… Let’s justify slavery… because it totally will make me sound better  [Oh, for sure.  Especially while talking to a man whose mother had to escape slavery and couldn't have a decent life even afterwards]  😦

Don’t you cry and make people pity you!

She did indeed deserve a better man

Athos!  [The drinking montage]  The wine!  You are spilling it!

Oh.  Oh, shit.  Ooooof.  She uh… She favors Fern.  She thinking about how his life is… what’s the quote?  [Yours is a life truly blessed]  Ye that one. Except it dont fit lol  [What instead?]  His is a life truly drunk and depressed [alsdkfj]  Knew she reminded me of someone, and then the way she was scowling at him.  I was like I know that scowl!

["What are you doing"  What business is it of yours, D'Art?  READ A ROOM]  Read a field more like

[I love Aramis' sash] YESSS

["We should trust Athos to handle his own affairs"  That is literally never a good idea.  Buddy is good with anything BUT his own self-care.]

Oooop-  He ded

Well, shit  [Drinking montage pt 2] How he drink it so fast?  I can barely sip it

*Sigh* alcoholi- ooop.  

Maam, you and your types  [Shush]

Ooooop- 

No, she’s standing right there

Her scar… isss so smol.  She is bitching about a scratch

[idk if you heard that, but he just called her "Anne."  Tha's her real name]

“Do it” 😦  Ooooooooooooooof

Shit, the hubby and the lover

Poor Athos

😦

Well… the rum is gone.  [Why is the rum gone!?!?!?]  ☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️

["I refuse to arrive at the palace on an ass"  No, you just want to arrive there being one.]  Lol!  [Oh, and also, "The rights of every man to some fair treatment"  The irony]

Why is she being mean to married lady?  Rude

DEVOUR!  DEVOUR!!!!  ACK!  [Oof, did I scar you irrevocably with that film?]  YES!

Oh but she’s a married womannnn 😮‍💨😂😂😂😂

Ooooop-

["She frightened me D'Artagnan"  So she ought; she killed you in the book]  Wooooot 😭😭  [Ma'am.  I told you this, I swerr]  Oh yeah  [Good job]

These big ass empty echoey rooms… Seriously just let me at em! 😂😂  No more echo

Oooop, believe him, he’ll take you out to the woods

[Flort smirk-glance combo] 

Ooooop 😦

[Be afraid.  Be very afraid]  He’s so smol… And port is so lorge… And Flirt won’t do a thing to stop it

Oop-  [“Wanna bet?”  (That's what the zoom-in on Athos meant… I’m just translating)]  🙂

[Y'all gonna kiss?]  They might

Imma guess who the captain is: black suit guy  [You'd be correct :)]  Ooooop!

[Not them breaking the law again]  🙂  [I'm pretty sure all of Les Inseparables are Chaotic Good, just btw]

“Mind my needlework”  Wonder where they are going

The end!  Whoop whooooop

– – – 

Jezebel: Errrmehgerd! That was a good episode!

Wench: Do you see what I mean about it being one of my favorites? :)

Jezebel: Yes I do!  And AHHHHH Flort!  Flirt and Port! Aramis and Porthos! I love you both!

Wench: asldkfj Well.  At least you learned their names finally

Jezebel: Will they be used? Nah 🙂

Wench: *sigh*

Jezebel: But anyway! The end scene when they just waltz off like 👀👀👀 I wonder

Wench: askdfj You’re ridiculous (affectionate)

Jezebel: 🙂  But anyway BACK TO ATHOS! And the painnn!!  I feel so bad for him 🥺🥺🥺

Wench: Good!  My plan progresses as I intended :)))) 

Jezebel: Like idk if they are trying to make you pity Milady or see her point but… I just don’t. I don’t like her lol. He deserves better.  AND.  Back to Athos being so Dean coded it’s not even funny with his lemme keep my trauma bottled up and speaking of bottles… imma get drunk too

Wench: I told you... It was not going to be at all surprising that he was my favorite alskdj  No, I'm not looking deeply at this

Jezebel: Mhmmmm but perhaps you should Wench, perhaps you shoulddddd!

Wench: Nevahhhh!  Seems like a bad idea!  

Jezebel: Gonna have to rewrite your character name

Wench: Oh no *sigh* What is it this time?  Dareddeanifer was the last one, right? Alksdjflkafdj  Good lord

Jezebel: Dareddeaniferthos

Wench: Dear lord

Jezebel: 😌😌

Wench: I still maintain you're seeing things that aren't thereeeee

Jezebel: Yeah yeah!  And that’s all I got for endpoint, so… ‘til next time lol

[tomhasatransblog]

I'm having a great time in Berlin!

Flight here was all good, love London City Airport

As soon as I got off the bus from the airport I bought a Kombacher and Corny from a Späti

I had the guy closest on the grindr grid (on the same floor as me) come fuck me like 30 minutes after I got in to my hotel. Had another guy the next morning, and another that same evening. Middle one bought sexy tights and a skirt for me to wear, who knew I'd be into that? Two of them were heavy on the poppers and it seemed to make their cocks softer 🫤 but both were still good

Met my best friend from uni and her bf yesterday for drinks and to walk around the pride event in Nollendorfplatz. It was a nice vibe, very busy, and hottest day of the year here (35°C). I saw someone braving it in a full fur suit 😯

I spent ~€150 on clothes whoooops. I bought a collar, wet look shorts, vest, and some fancy pants. Whenever I've stayed here before I've longed to buy some gear but never did it. Being drunk and alone definitely made it easier lol

I've had a Mettbrötchen and Döner once each and I've had Durchfall ever since, whoops. I feel fine though and I'm not gonna stop lol. Different water might be contributing to that too. And maybe it'll stop me gaining weight? Otherwise I'm just walking a lot to offset the cals

I've seen loads of Rammstein shirts all around which is nice. I'm looking forwards to the concert, but I need to plan a way home because the U isn't 24 hours on week nights 😔

[justanotherghostwriter]

ooh SaL Life for the WIP ask game!! love Sleeping at Last i'm so curious

You spoil me. Thank you. <3

I'm going to try and not spoil the whole fic in this ask. ETA: I realised after posting that I just had real delusions of grandeur. Like the handful of people who follow me would count spoilers for a fic that may never be written as an actual thing. So. I added a lot of detail to the end of the original answer lol.

One day, I was innocently listening to Life while... cleaning, I think. Anyway, for some reason, on that particular day, the lines "I saw the future unfold like silver and gold and I'm already proud" slapped even harder than usual. My brain went, 'gold, like Fire Nation eyes. Silver, like Water Tribe clothes and jewellery.' And, before I knew it, a whole fic had spawned.

It should really be called Momtara and Dadko: the fanfic because it... really is just them being parents.

So the teaser is this: the Gaang loses the war. The Earth Kingdom isn't decimated, but everything else just doesn't go their way. Everybody has to go and hide so Ozai and Azula don't find them. Katara takes an injured-because-he-took-lightning-for-her Zuko to the closest colony they can reach before she can't Waterbend them any further (Appa flew away to find Aang when the Spiritbending lights went wonky in the sky. He just... knew something was up.) They get only one hawk from the White Lotus: stay hidden. Do what you can for the war where you are but stay hidden.

And no other communication comes. They try to send out encoded messages in so many ways, but there's just... radio silence. They don't know where people are, who is still alive... Randomly moving around is too dangerous for either of them, even in disguise, because the FN has air patrols everywhere and navy patrols and they aren't letting up. And so Katara, who is very practical about knowing when a fight isn't worth it, convinces reckless Zuko to just stay put. For now. They settle down on the colony island, and do what they can. Stop crime. Open a healer hut. Zuko teaches basic defence and helps out with construction and farming. (He's... very good with the animals.)

And, before they know it... Well. They don't forget about the war, of course, but... life goes on. They stop waiting quite so tensely for the Order or the Gaang to show up and give them instructions. Work instead on their own underground movement that spreads through the colonies. Zuko starts teaching night classes in secret about the Fire Nation's real history. With Katara's help, he starts exposing the propaganda. And people listen. And people spread it. And the masses start thinking.

Before they know it, eight years have passed. They've made a life for themselves. Never forgetting the war but... life goes on, you know? Even in the midst of war, life just... finds ways to carry on.

One day, Katara is at the market grabbing some bandages when somebody touches her elbow and it's Sokka. She hugs him, cries, and then starts yelling. He apologises, explains that they only just realised they had a traitor in the mix stopping their communication and he's so, so sorry. Turns out they're all there - Hakoda, Suki, Toph, Iroh, Pakku, Piandao, Bato, Aang. Aang and Toph are twenty. It's... so weird. But so good to see them. Katara can see that Aang has only just started to get over the guilt of failing. It's there in his eyes.

Pakku says they shouldn't linger on the street, because anybody could report them, Katara invites them back to her clinic and then says, "But there are some important things you need to know, up front." Pakku says not now, not now and Katara gets irritated at him and says fine. Find out in the worst ways, then.

The rest all sit in the clinic's waiting room, introduced to the other two staff members as special medical cases Katara will deal with after closing. There's a cute little girl who goes around the waiting room very solemnly asking how people are, and if she can get them a glass of water or a blanket or something. Iroh, especially, is charmed by her. She reaches the Gaang and goes through her spiel, gold eyes very earnest in her tanned face, and Iroh offers her candy. She says she can't eat candy without asking her mom, first, and then yells across the room at Katara, just finished with her third-last patient, asking permission. Katara distractedly gives it and, while the Gaang are already reeling, proudly introduces herself: "I'm Kya. I'm four."

Everybody thus has to quickly come to terms with the fact that Zuko and Katara are married. And had a kid. And they missed it. And then we have these two as parents helping to end the war by still being very good parents. Kya does not end up the only kid in this fic, is the only thing I'll say about that. :P

Two things I obsessively think about often:

- Kya having nightmares and her 'safe space' to go back to sleep being on Zuko. Whether he's asleep, or still awake. So one of the reoccurring scenes is Zuko working on something and Kya being asleep on his lap. Or Zuko meditating early in the morning and Kya wanting to do the same and then falling asleep on his lap. xD Nothing profound. I'm just a sap.

- Kya being a Firebender. I realise this is super contentious, and I'm hoping I can handle this as delicately as possible. I've just spoken to so many inter-racial or inter-tribal couples who have said the same thing: without wanting to put this huge pressure on their kids for being metaphors of the change!!!! they have seen how much healing happens in families (and even in the parents themselves) when a """mixed kid"""" is born and shows attributes of both cultures. They've been super interesting conversations like you won't believe. Full of recounts of so much pain. And so much love and hope, even in the continuous bitterness of how reality can be. And I just... there's something in me that can't let go of Katara and Zuko seeing that "making a difference in the world" is sometimes a "small thing". I have this half-formed line of, "We're not the Avatar. But we can all bring balance in our own way." And just Kya asking her mother whether Gran-Gran Kya would be sad that her namesake is a Firebender when bad Firebenders took her away. And Katara kissing her daughter all over and reminding her that there can be good Firebenders, too. And Kya is one of them. And her mom would probably have been proud that her name was given to one of the people reversing the cycle of Fire only destroying and taking away. Zuko needs to see that he can give life. And, thanks to LOK, we know that Firebending healers exist so...

Yeah. As I said. A sticky line to walk. But, if this fic comes to be, I wanna walk it, maybe.

(ALSO the lines: "as she drew her first breath, I learned what love meant. And my heart reconciled all the darkness and light inside my chest" for both Zuko and Katara is so, so, so, so, so powerful. I'm going to have to go listen to the song again now.)

[losingitinjersey]

It’s been three weeks since my last post - whoooops! Here’s an attempt at a summary of the last three weeks. 

Kevin, Erp, Aug and I loaded up the car and drove the 7 hour drive to CT on Sunday, December 19th.  Given the need for diaper changes and bottle feedings as well as traffic, it took us 11 hours to get there.  A lovely memory is right when we got stuck in the middle of gridlock traffic on the George Washington Bridge at 6 p.m. was when Aug decided to wake up from a nap screaming bloody murder for the next hour as we sludged through the unnecessary traffic jam.  So great!  

We spent the week with my sister’s family (five kids!) and my parents flew out from California to be there with us all and we had the most amazing time together!  Everyone but my girls were vaccinated and boosted so we felt relatively safe (as one can feel during a pandemic) but it was sosososososo amazing to see the cousins play together for the first time.  Remember, Erp is two and this is her first time getting to meet them!  She did SO well!  Crazy how my shy little girl is no longer shy at all thanks to daycare!  The youngest cousin is 5 years old so Erp was following her around and enjoying all the chaos! 

Two days after we arrived at my sister’s house we got a notification that Erp’s daycare had a Covid exposure, but on a day that she wasn’t there (though, she was there the day before).  Since we’d already mixed and mingled with everyone it was hard to isolate so we just continued on and thankfully everyone stayed healthy.  

The drive home the day after Christmas took 12 hours and we were all so grateful to finally be out of the car and home!  The original plan was that two days later I was supposed to pile up the car with the girls again to drive the four hours down to see my bff at her parents house for the week but given the Covid exposure we stayed home instead.  While I desperately miss and want to see my bff, who I haven’t seen since October 2019 for my baby shower, I did not mind not having to get back in the car.  

Not going actually ended up being the best thing since starting Tuesday Saki’s health has shown signs of decline.  My 15 year old, grumpy, best friend forever, fur baby cat has about one episode a day now where he’ll be off-balanced then stop and sit while meowing painfully.  He also hasn’t been eating, drinking, or using the litterbox normally.  I had a virtual vet visit on Wednesday, December 29th (his worst day yet) just to talk to a professional about what to do.  Since I wouldn’t have childcare until Sunday, January 2nd (when all vet clinics are closed), I wanted advice on how serious/immediate this was.  Per his advice, I ended up calling around until I was able to get a vet appointment for that Friday.  I took him in (along with my two kids since daycare was still closed from the exposure) only to find out that Saki was too aggressive/angry/threatening for them to be able to do any form of examination on him.  So they sent me home with oral sedatives and rescheduled us for a return visit on January 11th.  Basically forever away.  I straight up asked the receptionist that since the appointment is so far away that means they think he’ll last that long??? She replied that if he gets worse to call them and they’ll see about squeezing him in. Sheesh.  Thankfully, Saki seems to be acting mostly normal and I’m getting in all the cuddles and love while I can.  Every day I’m cherishing the moments I get with him knowing that the end is most likely very soon. Or maybe not!  Maybe he just has an infection or something and he’ll be with us for another 5+ years?!  He’s an indoor cat so I’m hoping that buys us more time.  Whatever happens, he knows how loved he is. He knows he’s my world.  And I am so grateful for his presence in my life.  

So, all in all, things here are good.  You know, other than navigating the world with small unvaccinated children during a pandemic while also sending one to a cesspool daycare that continues to shut down at the drop of a hat (or flurry of snow) while also working full time, but also being the only parent because your husband is busy working and gone all day every day and yet you never get a day off and are still managing everyone and everything on very little sleep while also grieving the soon to be loss of your 15 year old best friend who’s been around for everything.  That’s all :)

[sparrowmoth]

jaylos + howling <3

@moorsgrimhilde hi hello thank you my dear <3<3 this is way late, but I'm pretending it's still october, it's fine djaskgjsklgjdka andddd uh, what to say about this... the words went rogue... and I allowed it

CW: Implied anxiety disorder, references to past trauma and bullying

Howling isn’t something Carlos likes to do in front of people. It’s a bit like singing, except that it’s not—because people sing. But they don’t howl. Not unless they’re trying to get a rise out of their dog, anyway. And, well, he’d… been that "dog" a few too many times, back on the Isle, what since word had gotten out what he was. Had become.

He was barked and growled at more than he'd ever done the same to anyone, even the times when the instinct rose like bile to his lips. He would swallow it down. He'd be no one's amusement. They'd laugh, either way, at their own stupid selves and the mockery they made.

He thought he'd left that behind him when he left the Isle.

No one here—at least not yet—had an inkling what he was, and so it couldn't be personal.... what happened. Maybe apart from the fact that Jay hadn't thought twice. He'd grinned and laughed and joined the team in howling to the night sky as they all huddled on the field.

"A-a-awooooo!" "Aaaa-whoooop!" "Awooooooo-ga!"

Someone had ribbed him for not having any "spirit," quiet as he was. Someone else had defended him as "shy," but it sounded... insulting.

Jay hadn't said anything.

And neither had Carlos.

Not that they didn't speak at all later, but not about that.

Not until one particular evening when Carlos was alone in the dorm room while Jay was out with some of the guys from the team. He'd invited Carlos, of course, but Carlos had—predictably—turned him down. He didn't mind some alone time, if the alternative wasn't just him and Jay or the girls. Alone time meant he could study without any distractions. Alone time meant he could maybe even... sing...?

That's what he called it in his head. That's what he wanted it to be.

So it was he'd begun to sing in that certain language of creatures he both was and wasn't. He kept his voice low, barely a whisper, until he stepped in the shower. Easier to study when he felt fresh and clean, so he took his time with sudsing and scrubbing and singing—(as he was ever determined to think of it)—over the sound of the water.

No, Carlos didn't like to howl in front of people, but if he was being honest with himself? He liked howling. It just made him feel... calm.

And that was nice while it lasted.

Which was up to the point where he saw Jay through the crack in the door, which he'd left ajar to vent the steam, since the bathroom didn't have a window or a working fan, but well, that was besides the point.

The point was Jay being where and when he shouldn't. In the room. On Carlos' bed, since it was closest to the bathroom. Just sitting on the corner and staring shamelessly at Carlos, who promptly yanked the door shut and melted onto the floor, eyes wide, heart pounding.

Evil, it's not like Jay didn't know what he was, but still, the thought that Jay had heard him, ugh, howling in the shower was so fucking...

Embarrassing, he jeered at himself internally, pulling the towel up over his head and burying his face between his knees with a groan.

It was a long while, probably—or a very short one; he wasn't sure—before he picked himself up off the floor, wrapped the towel around his waist, and dared to open the door, which tattled with a creak.

Jay glanced over from where he'd moved to the couch, but he didn't say anything—and neither did Carlos. Jay looked back to the TV and Carlos got dressed and then. And then what? Carlos chewed his lip.

"Sorry," Jay said suddenly, glancing back at Carlos again. He paused, and then added quickly, "I wasn't trying to be a creep or anything..."

Carlos shrugged. "Nothing you haven't seen before," he mumbled.

"Yeah," was all Jay replied, shifting awkwardly on the couch.

There was a palpable silence before they both spoke at once:

"I like your voice."

"Do you want to— what?"

Jay scratched at his neck. "I just... didn't know you could sing."

"I wasn't—I mean, I can't—it's not—" Carlos sighed in frustration. "I didn't think you were here," he said, at last, seizing on his chance to change the subject. "Thought you said you'd be back late and stuff."

"Oh, uh..." Jay cleared his throat. "Yeah, you know, I just got bored."

Carlos frowned and looked at Jay, who was sitting stiffly, shoulders hunched. "Did something happen...?" he asked, taking a slow step forward, head tilting as he examined what he could see of Jay.

"No, nothing, don't worry about—"

"Jay," said Carlos, quirking an eyebrow.

"Seriously, look at me, I'm fine! More than fine, I'm—"

"If you say hot, I'm kicking your ass," Carlos interrupted, deadpan.

That got a quiet chuckle out of Jay, though he still just shrugged and insisted, "I'm fine." He looked at Carlos, who raised his eyebrow only a fraction higher. That, it seemed, was enough to break Jay, because he grimaced and muttered, "I didn't want to go to a strip club, okay?"

Carlos snorted, a little surprised when Jay glared at him. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Jay shot back, defensive. "They hadn't told me..."

"Huh." Carlos moved toward the couch, bare feet dragging lazily over the carpet. He'd almost forgotten how they'd gotten on this topic. It was at the back of his mind somewhere, but all he was really thinking about was Jay. "So... you came back," he said plainly, taking a seat.

"Yeah," said Jay, staring ahead to the TV, which was playing on mute. "I thought you'd be studying. I was just gonna... go to sleep, I guess."

"It's eight o' clock," Carlos informed him, allowing a half-smile.

"I didn't want to distract you from your 'process,'" Jay retorted almost sulkily, though Carlos was sure there was some sarcasm in there, too.

"Disturbingly considerate of you," Carlos replied with a smirk.

"Hmph. I was going for disgustingly thoughtful, actually."

Carlos snorted, Jay cracked a smile, and just a few minutes later, the two of them were leaning precariously into the middle of the couch, soon to be bumping shoulders. Jay had offered to take a walk and let Carlos get on with his plan to study, but Carlos had grabbed for the remote and told him to pick something good instead. That was that.

Enough was said between the lines, for now—for both of them.

[shinymooncolor]

I love your sw chats! If you need prompts: something centered around Remus!

Thank you - I’m sorry in advance. This turned a little angsty. But we get happy again. Remus to the rescue - this team would not survive without him.

Characters and universe by @lumosinlove ❤️

My ever shining and supportive ra(e)s of sunshine @wxlfstxrx and @siriuslyqueer. This one is for you guysss.

Sweater weather chat #6

Kuny is hurt. Nado is scared. Kasey and Sergei plans a murder. Sirius is angry. Walker makes a burrito blanket. Remus is the best. Kris is a mom. Remus calls Nado Jackie. He’s the only one allowed to do that. Crouch Jr. is Russian (sue me). We all hate the 🐍

Wednesday 1.22 pm

Eliascookie: why are Nado and Kuny yelling again? They’ve been fighting all day.

Timmyforrealz: they’ve been arguing for TWO days about who’d be the wife in their weird bromance. Also - They’re both totally the wife. It’s weird.. 🤨🤨

Ollibear: well apparently some shop clerk thought they were a couple and nado is mortally offended that Kuny said they weren’t

Nadotheman: IT WAS THE WAY HE SAID IT. Like he wouldn’t be the luckiest fucker alive to land me.

KrisVolley: but you are both into women?

Nadotheman: I know. Still offensive to know you’re not your best mates first pick.

Blizzard: Well we all know that eventually, Kuny is going to marry some Russian model and nado is their live-in, grown-ass man child 😏

Prongstar: He’s probably going on the honeymoon too. It’s weird

Siriusly: are you ladies reaDy to get back home and have your pre game naps... We have a game tonight and I want to beat those snakes

Sergei_81: 💪🏻🤛🏼🦷😡

Blizzard: aye aye captain 😴🥱

RussianGod: hehe we kick ass today!!!

Prongstar: whoooop!!! Let’s end the snakes 🐍

Dumodad: go sleep my babies. We need to be on tonight.

—

Wednesday 8.33 pm

7 missed calls from Nado

Nado: Remus where are you? Can I come to the hospital

Nado: Remus please can I talk to him?

Nado: Remussss

Nado: Is he ok?

Nado: He was down re, for a long time.

Wednesday 9.02 pm

Remus: hey Jackie, he’s okay. It’s not a concussion. Please stop calling - I promise to keep you updated. They might let him come home tonight. He’ll be okay. Are you home? Is someone with you?

Nado: remus he was on the ice for a long time. Are you sure he’s okey? Why can’t I see him he needs me. He’s scared of needles and I know his ab negative!! Do they even have the right blood? I’m ab too I can help! Is someone talking to him? When they do the needle stuff just rub between his shoulders that calms him down and if he’s scared call him zhenya. That’s his Russian baby name!! It calms him. Remus please fix him.

Remus: these are some of the best sports doctors in the world, they know what they’re doing and they’re taking good care of Evgeni. Sergei is here, and he’s explaining everything to him in Russian ok? I’ll keep you updated! But I need to know if you’re alone? I think you should not be. Please take care of yourself ok?

——

Wednesday 9.13 pm

Kris: hey remus, I’m here. Nado is really freaking out. I drove him home but Olli and walker had to help me wrestle him into the car and into his house. Timmy is making us some food and Olli and Cap are trying to keep him from pulling out his hair. Is Kuny alright?

Remus: keep an eye on his hands, one of his ticks is scratching at his palms. They’ve scanned twice and it’s not a concussion. He’s got stitches both on his eyebrow and on his neck and he’s got to be out for a few days. I still don’t understand how he skated off. Tell Sirius to use his captain voice if needed.

Kris: yeah I’ve wrapped his hand up, they froze his knuckles at the rink but he’s kept fiddling with it. Walker rolled him into a burrito blanket and he’s quieted down a bit. But he’s not okay. Do you think Kuny can come home tonight?

Remus: I have to wait and hear, they said it’s depending on his x-ray - if it’s just a sprain in his hand he can come home so we’re just waiting. I’m glad no one here but Sergei understands Russian. I don’t think it’s very nice what he’s sayin.

Kris: fuck man. It was a bad hit. We’re rewatching. He was nowhere near the puck. Crouch and Nott fucking just came at him on purpose and if they don’t get a disciplinary I’m quitting the league. Cap crushed the remote... dirty snakes

Remus: I saw. It was a bad hit. I tried to get him on a stretcher but he insisted.

Wednesday 9.20 pm

Nado: he didn’t recognize me re... after he went down. He just looked at me and didn’t recognize me and I heard his head connect. His helmet was off before Nott threw him. How is he supposed to fight back when crouch swiped his leg?

Remus: I know. But even “just” hitting your head can cause some confusion and I promise you they scanned three times and he’s not got any concussion or bleeding. He’s tough ok? He’s asking if he can go home. Not very nicely might I add. And he flirted with a nurse. He’ll be ok.

Nado: but I heard it crunch. He was bleeding a lot. Is she cute?

Remus: I know, face cuts bleed a lot but he’s got quite a few stitches and he did well. He even got a lollipop and I’m pretty sure at least one phone number. Also Tall blonde with a nice smile.

Nado: is he coming home? Leave the nurse

Remus: I’ll let you know ok? Try and sleep! You’ll need it.

Wednesday 9.25 pm

Remus: hey kris. It sounds like they’re letting him come home. Sergei is going to drive us. Did you get Nado to go to bed? Also, I can stay over night. I think they both need a babysitter

Kris: I think we’re staying. Ava is with Anya and the kids and Olli is already crashed on the couch. Walker actually had to threaten Nado to stay in bed and he’s camped up next to him now. He’s not going anywhere. Timmy and I will crash in the guest room. Can Kuny sleep alone?

Remus: he’s on a lot of painkillers and he’s not entirely coherent. Sergei offered to stay with him to translate but I honestly think his English will come back once he’s slept and recovered a bit

Kris: their beds are like extra king size anyways. We can just make a sleep over in nado’s room. He’s gone and pulled down every blind and the house is dark. I’ve never seen him this stressed out.

Remus: yeha that might be best. Sergei says Kuny is asking for his brother. So I think it’s best for everyone. We’re leaving once Kuny gets his stuff back.

Wednesday 9.55 pm

Sirius <3: is he okay love? I drove here / do you need to stay or come home?

Remus ❤️: hey! He’ll be fine, not a concussion but he still hit his head prettt bad. I think they’ve set up a sleepover and he’s in good hands. I’ll be okay to go home.

Sirius <3: it was such a dirty hit. He was down for a long time. And that Pussy ref didn’t even call a major.

Remus ❤️: coach said he’s contesting it and demanding an inquiry. But it was bad. I wanted to punch his face in. Did you see crouch after? He was laughing.

Sirius <3: I know. I’ve never seen blizzard react like that. He actually tore Nott’s Jersey with his hands.

Remus ❤️: I know, let’s get Kuny to bed and we can go home. I need cuddles.

Sirius <3: me too. Re. Me too. It hurts every time. We would not function without you. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Wednesday 10.33 pm

Siriusly: boys, Kuny is home. It’s not a concussion. He’s got a bad hit and stitches and he’s out for three days and a new scan. But he’s back home and sleeping now. I’m not sure how Walker or Nado can sleep with his snores. But he’s ok.

Prongstar: they made a sandwich?

Siriusly: I think kris called it a sleepover but yeah. I don’t think Nado would able to sleep otherwise and Kuny kept trashing until someone was on either side of him. It’s cute. I’ve got pictures.

Blizzard: open fucking season on Nott. Why the fuck did you pull me off @eliascookie? I wanted to punch his fucking disgusting face in. He deserved it!!! Kuny’s helmet was offf before they swiped his legs

DumoDad: kasey, you were right to fight him and he was over the line. But getting you suspended won’t help. We need to beat them through our game

Timmyforrealz: but it was a bullshit call?! I agree to open season on Nott and crouch. Fuck it all of those creeps. They could’ve ended his career ffs

Sunnysideup: I haven’t had a line brawl like that in years. Broke carrow’s nose. Felt good. I’m glad Kuny is ok.

Prongstar: I heard his head hit the ice. It was terrifying.

Bradygunz: how’s Nado handling this? I had to sit on him to hold him back from going after the ref.

KrisVolley: he’s asleep, I think. But it was a long evening. I know they’re not actually related but I swear they’re brothers somehow still.

Sergei_81: I want to kill crouch. He’s hurting on purpose

Sunnysideup: @sergei_81 did he actually say that or did I hear it wrong?

Sergei_81: he did. It was revenge

Siriusly: what??

Sergei_81: crouch was take off Olympic team for too much fight. Kuny got his a and this was revenge. He said so. He want Kuny out on purpose. He not like younger player get a.

Wednesday 10.55 pm

Remus: hi sergei, did you call Kuny’s parents? Did you get home okay?

Sergei: yes I call them. Tell what happneed. And I stay at house. Kuny needs me if he speak. I’m worried about Nado. He thinks his fault. He only pretend to sleep. Can u talk to him?

Remus: I’ll try. Thanks Sergei!

Wednesday 11.33 pm

Remus: hey Jackie, I know you’re not sleeping. I don’t want to call and disturb you but you can always talk to me, ok? It’s confidential as always and I’ve got your back alright. What happened today was not your fault.

Nado: I should’ve been out there with him. I could’ve helped him. Instead I was off somewhere in the other end he’s my line buddy and i failed him.

Remus: Nado you didn’t fail him. Did you see what sergei said? It was a planned hit. They wanted to take him out. It’s not your fault. Please promise me that you understand it’s not your fault.

Nado: he just looked at me. What if he doesn’t recognize me when he wakes up. Re he’s my best friend and I watched his head get smashed on the ice.

Remus: I know it’s hard. And it’s heartbreaking. But the doctor’s checked him ok? He asked for you - or well according to sergei he demanded to be sent home to his brother and cat. Alright, he knows you. Just let his head rest and recover and then you’ll be back to your antics in no time.

Nado: he’s snoring now. Guess something never changes.

Remus: get some sleep and tomorrow I’m gonna have a look at your hands ok?

Nado: thanks rem. Not sure what we’d do without you. ❤️

Remus: always, Jackie. You guys are my family as much as my actual family!

Nado: still gonna kill crouch and Nott. Not care about getting suspension.

Remus: I get it. I think you should see heather tomorrow.

Nado: can I just talk to you?

Remus: yeah, call me when you wake up ok? I don’t care how early. I’m not a professional though, Jackie.

—-

Thursday 8.22 am

Nado; he’s awake. Re. He remembers me. Thanks for fixing my best friend.

Remus: I’m glad to hear it, I’m coming over to check him ok? I’ll bring breakfast.

———-

[thelivebookproject]

Talking Books With @suspension-of-disbelief!

[What is this and how can I participate?]

Hi!

Today we discuss temporality, death of the author, and hot takes.

Important note: I haven’t changed or edited any of the answers. I’ve only formatted the book titles so they were clearer, but nothing else. Because I’m incapable of shutting up, my comments are between brackets and in italics, so you can distinguish them clearly.

------------------------------------------------------------

[Image description: a square titled “Know the blogger”. Name & pronouns: Amo, she/her; country: India, but studying in Canada; three adjectives to describe her: curious, brave & hopeful /end]

1. What is the most interesting thing you've ever learnt in a book?

I was reading Jeanette Winterson's Sexing The Cherry over the last winter break and I realised that temporality is as much in the writer's control as any other facet of fiction. Simultaneous time, quickening time, timelessness - all of those can be made real and I think seeing that in praxis was a very interesting and quite liberating thing to learn, as a writer!

2. Last book you loved?

Anne Carson's Short Talks.

3. Do you read classics?

I'm an English Major!

[Whoooops obvious question here!]

4. Thoughts on "death of the author"?

Death of the Author is a good thing to keep at the back of your mind while you engage with books in any way. Is it also a good thing to use instead of actual textual evidence? Less so. Any consideration of the author comes at the crossroads of a biographical reading and a historical reading. I think that's important to remember. I find the distinction in Wimsatt and Beardsley's “The Intentional Fallacy" a more useful tool to strip away the inessential. Also, I find great comfort in reading the Chorus in Henry V, and knowing that meaning is always constructed in a hermeneutic triangle.

[Some links in case someone (like me) got lost: death of the author, intentional fallacy, and hermeneutics]

5. Short books or long books?

Short books. Unfortunately, longer books intimidate me and I have commitment issues (it's not them, it's me).

Free space to say/add/recommend anything!

I will be dabbling mostly in Modernist poetry, Irish literature and some Chaucer this semester. If anyone wants hot takes on that, stop by my asks!

You can follow her at @suspension-of-disbelief and on her poetry newsletter.

--------------------------------------------

Thank you, Amo! I learnt a lot with you, haha.

Next interview: Saturday, 19th of December

[plainclothesdisaster]

that last car boys though!!

(this got, uhh, a little out of hand...)

i gasped as soon as they first saw the starry place and then again like every minute after that? i was holding my breath and my heart was RACING and i think i almost cried at one point? it was just so perfect and surreal and fitting and they just kinda happened upon this incredible thing in this game that no one else would look for just like they always did. the boys said in an interview that this series was always intended to have an end, that the arc would lead to a conclusion, and boy did they find it. 

this is why i love video games so so much though!! like that sense of real exploration and discovery that only happens in games- both on the intended map but especially beyond the map- is exhilarating even just watching it happen. that giddiness of being in a place that wasn’t the direct intentional creation of the devs or the map maker, but somehow a creation of the game itself, it’s completely unique. that feeling just can’t be expressed through any other medium.

(it’s so ironic that they used the interstellar music because i think this is the feeling that interstellar was going for but it totally missed because, beautifully, a youtube show about a driving game is a more suited medium for it.)

they obviously can’t continue the series to respect the fiction but also just because how can they top this? they had already reached a breaking point where the show demanded a certain fresh brand of existential horror each week in order to keep raising the stakes. i can’t imagine how hard it must have been to be pressured to keep digging for these broken beautiful treasures in the game and not knowing week by week if they were gonna strike something good or not. 

in the post-busto episodes it was starting to be even more apparent. i mean i would watch these boys fuck around with cars even without the whole arc they created, but deeper and deeper into the series that arc is what came to define it. the more generic episodes felt so different and plain in comparison, if maybe just because this weird narrative they’d threaded together was too compelling to ignore.

so when they stumble on this, the most thrilling and strange intersection of intended and unintended creation they’ve found by far, of course it has to be the finale. they just aren’t gonna find anything more beautiful and weird and special to top that. i don’t think they went into this episode thinking it was going to be the end which just adds another layer of how wild this whole thing is. they very easily could have kept going with the series, and i don’t doubt that the modding community would have provided enough new toys to keep a flow of new stuff to fuck up in unexpected ways, but instead the game gave them this very poignant and perfect gift.

i’d be interested to know how much editing went into the last, most buckwild bits (the car in the warped upside-down red tree world? the way the colors around the blob and ball were moving??) because i didn’t quite believe it. i’d also be interested to know if Nick knew ahead of time that there was a reality-warping whirlpool in this map, and if so if they’d intended this to be the last map? 

i’d like to believe that it truly was all complete happenstance. i really do think it was just because that’s what it always was. they’ve said multiple times that neither of them expected what they found in this game. eventually they’d go in and hope for a certain kind of magic where code and player interact to create something completely surprising. i won’t ever forget how shocked I was or how hard i laughed when the truck behind busto 2.0 shredded itself into the sky. i’d never seen a game do anything like that before. was it supposed to do that? probably not. that glitch will probably get patched away if it hasn’t already. but it gave the boys a chance to provide their own explanation to the unexplained. it became an experience not just about using a game to create video content, but exploring a game to find out what it could do, without being able to know or predict what would happen.

that’s always what made this series incredible. beamng.drive, on it’s own, isn’t quite art but instead is a medium through which they could create this weird art (or maybe the game becomes art when and because they use it in this way).

this series exists at this weird conflation point between a ridiculous amount of things- game devs and modders and the boys our players and also them our video editors and also us the community building and kindling the lore- to ultimately make this thing that’s been filtered through so many more layers than really any other semi-narrative media basically ever. because of that it has no right to be this meaningful, but yet, paradoxically, it also is meaningful and awe inspiring because a narrative emerged through all those layers together. it only became this meaningful because it shouldn’t have be able to.

i’m spinning this way out of proportion perhaps but that does feel apt in the spirit of things, doesn’t it? all this to say that car boys is ironically and unironically a work of art unlike any other and it came to a fitting and satisfying end.

ps. this post is cancelled if the boys come back next thursday with a new ep- but i wouldn’t be mad about it if they did ;)

[genuflectx]

Robot Butler/Reader CH 1

Ch 1 Length: 4,748 words

Full Story Length: 8,029 words

Main Kinks: Robots, risk of being seen/heard, public sex, creampie, fingering,

Other Warnings: Mentions of university, arguing with parents, former sex work,

1/30/2020: REPOST

(all images in aesthetic board are labeled for reuse with modification or are mine)

You took a bite of your chicken Marsala and cringed. It had been your mother's turn to make dinner, but she had never been a five star chef. You supposed she made up for that in her extensive mechanical skill sets. Where mother couldn't sauté, she could solder; where she couldn't bake, she could debug. And that was all well and good, but it did your family no favors at meal time, especially as you nearly choked. That was why, she declared, she and your father were going to be hiring someone else to do the cooking.

“You mean like... a personal chef?” asked your younger sister Lilly, on the brink of exploding with glee.

Mom smirked and tried to withhold her excitement. “A little more than that.”

“She means a new robot. That's what she means,” came your smug father.

Embarrassed, your mom's face reddened. Because she worked in a field that repaired damaged bots, she was greatly fond of them. Dad always teased her about her affinity with machines. Your three-story house already had two non-sentient cleaning bots, which sucked up dirt and debris on the floor. Mom had even named them: Debra and Deloris, the dust bunnies.

Your sibling was vibrating in her chair, eyes sparkling and grin ear-to-ear. It was obvious how she felt, but you were unsure. You were a college student, and felt that money was already spread far too thin to be hiring house staff willy-nilly, let alone one that needed a battery charge. The fact that your sister was to graduate high school in two years, before also heading to university, didn't help either.

You prudently let the fork rest, making no noise. “Can we afford a robot?”

At this, mom sat back and rose a brow. She wriggled a bit, as if smoothing a napkin in her lap. “Well. That's not the only announcement I have to make,” she glanced around the table, upping suspense. “I got a raise! An extra dollar an hour!” Then she added quickly, in a sing-song voice. “Plus he's discount, 'cause he's refurbished.”

“That's wonderful mom! But- he?” you squinted.

Lilly clapped softly. “A sentient robot!”

Through a full mouth, your dad nodded with a mumbled. “Eeeyup!”

The majority of household robots were considered non-thinkers, unable to form original thoughts or have emotions more complex than a slug. They were the robots in your phones, your appliances, the robots that could generate artwork or manufacturer small objects. You and Lilly had only interacted with free, complex-thought-driven robots a handful of times.

Sentient bots were more for the extremely rich, as typically only the rich could afford to hire and maintain them. They were stronger, more humanoid, and sometimes nearly indistinguishable from people. You loved bots, but you had to admit it. The idea of having a thinking one in your home frightened you just a little.

When time came for him to move in, you'd still been on the fence. You'd been expecting a thin, sharp-edged thing with a long, snooty face and cutting eyes. Instead, your mom led in a robot totally the opposite of the image of a butler.

He followed after her clumsily, turning sideways and ducking inside, and you could not help but see him as a sturdy Clydesdale trying to be somewhere he should not. He was in no way the delicate models designed to take up as little space as possible. Perhaps that is why your parents wanted to give him a chance, as who in their right mind would hire such a hulking thing to be their quiet, orderly butler? You found yourself blatantly staring.

You didn't think you'd ever seen a humanoid robot so big before. You wondered if his previous function had been in construction, or something equally as hefty. Everything about him was built for strength; with strong legs to move and strong arms to grasp.

He was tall and rotund. His shoulders were wide, not built for shimmying into the small door frames of your house. The arms were hard and stiff, perfect for lifting. Hands smooth and soft, square and flat, jointed together by middle mechanisms hidden in soft, flexible silicon. And his legs were thick and round, with built in shoes for feet.

The face was broad, with a strong brow line, and cheeks highlighted with sliced matte, the colors neon pink, yellow, green, and blue. There was no nose, ears, or lips. Instead there were five vertical slits in place of a mouth, where the speaker was located under the plates of his face. His eyes were big and just as neon as his cheeks, black pupils constantly dilated. Unlike the humanoid bots made now, he did not have a pseudo-skin scalp, and thus would need to wear wigs were he to want hair. Modernly, he was hairless, save for long, fake eyelashes. He was certainly a few years behind, as far as facial features went.

“And this is [Y/N], my apparently very quiet offspring. Can you say hi, [Y/N]?” Laughed your mom with good humor.

Lilly elbowed you in the side to grab your attention and you grunted, glaring at her. She smiled innocently as you craned your neck to answer.

“...Hi. Your name is?”

The bulky robot blinked his lavish eyelashes down at the two of you. “Designation: Ezra. I am enchanted.”

“Howdy enchanted, I'm Lilly! So, how much is mom paying you?”

Glare number two was shot her way, this time via your mom. Before she could scold her, your dad popped out of his study.

“Whoooops, forgot the robot was starting today. I wondered what all that hubbub was!”

You were increasingly embarrassed to be standing among these people who were, apparently, your family. As you and your parents showed Ezra around the house (Lilly tailing behind), you couldn't help but let your eyes wander.

Ezra wore a freshly ironed dark gray suit, with white underneath and a black tie. It was tailored perfectly, but looked humorous covering his wide shoulders. He was not a bot meant to wear clothes, but this get up was likely more appropriate for his new occupation. Nervous eyes snapped up when you realized you'd been checking out his butt.

He had his own room, which had previously been used for excessive storage. Now it was a carpeted resting room for him to recharge and enjoy his free time. It had a small book self, a comfortable loveseat, and a small television hooked into the wall. In one corner, near the loveseat, was an upright charging station with several thick, neatly organized chords. Sparse, but cozy.

He hadn't brought much to unpack; just a few books, a suitcase of professional clothing, and a small box full of extra parts for repairs, if job injury occurred.

Everyone left him to unpack in peace, but you were curious. You knocked at the door frame. “Knock knock! Just me, the 'very quiet offspring,'” you laughed.

Ezra's movements were jerky as he froze in the midst of setting down a book upon the self. “Yes? What may I help you with?”

You leaned against the frame, arms crossed and lips pursed. “Just wanted to say... welcome to the family, Ezra.”

He would smile if he had the means. “Thank you, I appreciate the warmth.”

After a moment of hesitation and a twirl of your hair, you shifted weight and went on. “I was wondering... mom said you were refurbished, right?”

He was keeping steady eye contact, hand still frozen inches from the bookshelf. “Yes, that's correct.”

“What did you used to be? You look like construction, or maybe someone who moves boxes,” you mused, head cocked and lips pursed.

Ezra finally set the book down and turned his body fully towards you. He was surprised by the question. His bright, ringed eyes stared forward, unblinking. “...Your mother hasn't told you?”

You shook your head.

Immediately, like ripping off a band-aid, he replied. “I was a sex worker.”

You stared, blank. He stared, blank. Really, it was terribly awkward. You felt blood rise to your skin and heat radiate from it in turn. A slight sense of panic set in.

“Oh. Okay. Well... goodnight!”

You shut his door and rushed, as quietly as possible, to your own room. You didn't even know why you felt so embarrassed, but you did. As you leaned back against your door, you realized that you'd perhaps been rude to pry. No need to drag up the past if he wanted to avoid it- not that he gave any indication one way or the other.

On the other hand... were you overreacting? It was just one little question, and he hadn't seemed bothered. Maybe you were just embarrassed about it because now you were thinking about him bending someone over and- you slumped to the floor. Holy shit. You just met him a few hours ago! Weren't you supposed to be nervous around sentient robots? But how could you be with those curves, and those eyelashes, and all those bright colors and, you sighed.

Clammy hands drug down your damp face. Deciding you needed to get your mind off of things, you settled in bed and pushed the thoughts away with a cute movie about dogs. After, you went promptly to sleep.

The next day Ezra got to work. Your parents left him a list of things to do, but told him not to fret about finishing them all since it was his first day. And, with Lilly locked in her room with her video games, you were the one who had to keep the robot in line. For example, if he needed to find a specific soap, or if he needed to know where certain dishes went, you were there to inform him. Luckily since it was summer, you or Lilly would always be around to help him adjust.

You idly watched some streaming while he tidied the living room around you. He was interesting. Very quiet; Ezra tended to do his work silently. He dusted the top of a high shelf with ease, not even needing to stand on tippy-toes to reach. You watched from the corner of your eye, secretly admiring the dip in his back and his tall stature.

He was the thickest sex bot you'd ever seen. As the thought unwillingly slipped into mind, you snapped your eyes back to the tablet screen in bashfulness. It was wrong of you to feel so attracted to someone who was obviously finished with that line of work. No doubt, he was made this way on purpose. Every straight edge, every curve, every flashy color had to be decided upon by a human. So perhaps even if you did feel some guilt, it was only natural to be at least a little attracted to him. It meant the designers did their job right.

Suddenly his pink-tinged frame was in front of you, and you jumped.

“I've finished the dusting. What's next on the list?”

You squinted at the paper in hand. “Mmm. Laundry. Know where the washer is?”

He nodded, and left the room without another word. After a few moments, he came tromping back up to you, a drooping pile of clothes in hand.

“Are these in need of washing?”

That was the pile of dirty clothes you'd had in a corner of your bedroom. A piece loosened as he adjusted, falling to the floor with a gentle whoosh. He squatted to pick it back up, and you blushed when you realized it was panties. You tried not to look embarrassed.

“Oh, yeah... Those are dirty.”

He noted your stare, and then he was gone again.

Ezra had actually been able to complete all the tasks on the list by the time your parents had come home. He'd even begun cooking a solid hour before hand. They were impressed with his ambition and praised him to high Heaven, giving all smiles.

As everyone doted on his cooking skills, your mom asked. “So, how did you feel your first day went Ezra? Did the kids give you Hell?” she joked, referring to you and your younger sister.

He was sitting at the table, though he didn't eat. Your mom had insisted. “Very well, mam. [Y/N] was a great help to me.”

“Were they now?” your dad's brow rose.

“I just read from the list, that's all,” you shrugged. “If you could call that a help.”

The robot continued. “Yes, and it sped up completion by exactly five minutes. Dinner would have been a little late, otherwise.” Sounding very genuine, he punctuated softly with “Thank you.”

You leaned on your hand and smirked, feeling fuzzy. It made you feel silly to be so happy that he'd openly appreciate you in front of your family, but that was how you felt. It was nice. You twirled the fork in your pasta, then nibbled quietly.

“What about me?” groused Lilly.

Like an expert salesman, he soothed her irritation. “You kept to yourself, which gave me much room to work. Thank you too, Lilly.”

She nodded and continued to eat sloppily, appeased.

After dinner you offered to help Ezra clean up. He'd rejected the idea at first, considering this was what he was being paid for. But you suggested he could take up cleaning the kitchen, and you would take the dining room. He reluctantly allowed this.

As you wiped off the table, removing any trace of being eaten on, he side stepped behind you a little too close. His pelvis gently brushed against your rear. You squeaked and your face went red.

“Is something the matter?” He asked innocently, stopping in his tracks.

Unable to face him, you shook your head no. “I just- I thought I saw a mouse! That's all.”

He hummed beside you, leaning with one palm flat to the clean table's surface. “I see. Then I shall put 'mouse traps' down on the grocery list.”

You swallowed and nodded, scolding your body inwardly. Ezra seemed satisfied, slowly sliding his hand off the table and walking to the kitchen with half the dishes. He returned soon to get the rest, leaning over you to gingerly grab them. He could have walked around, but no. At the very least he was tall enough to do this without pressing against your back.

“What are you doing?” you stammered, twisting around to glance up at him nervously.

He stacked the plates in one hand. “Getting the dishes. [Y/N], if I may... you've looked like you've been burning up all day.” The back of his hand felt your forehead, then your cheek. “Shall I fetch a thermometer?”

You were too stunned to speak, your poor body reacting from the close quarters and his gentle touch. The silicone of his hands were warm. For a moment you stared up at him, brows furrowed and floundering for words. It didn't help that you were pretty much being forced to press against the table to keep the distance. But would it be so bad if the distance closed?

Your throat found words on its own, without your brain. You turned back around, slumping somewhat with hands to the table, tense. “N-n-no, not necessary, I'm fine!”

He processed your reaction. The plates were set down fastidiously, so as not to clink. Then he placed a palm to your back, in the location of your heart. You tensed in further, breath nearly stopping as he went on.

“Are you certain? Your heart rate has picked up significantly, as well,” he said smoothly.

Deep breath. You let it go shakily. “...You know what you're doing, don't you?” you asked, barely above a whisper.

He chuckled.

You let that response sink in. Of course he knew, he'd been in a line of work that required him to comprehensively understand human physical reactions.

“I'm sorry. I'm embarrassed.”

His hand slid down a few inches, towards your side. You shivered involuntarily and dropped your head, ashamed of yourself.

Ezra chuckled again. “That's alright. Did you want this?”

You took another breath, glad he could not see how your face and ears and hands were burning. You gave a nod and arched, ass bumping against his body. With that confirmation to yourself, you could feel the blood rushing low.

“Did you want this?” you parroted back, unsure. Worry gnawed at you.

He hummed, bringing hands to lightly grasp your hips. He enjoyed the way his fingers wrapped around your body. With a slight buck, grinding against your ass, he replied. “You're very interesting.”

“Ha. That's what I've been thinking about you. Funny. U-um, we should go upstairs.”

“Why?”

You peeked over your shoulder to give him a pointed look. “Cause someone could walk in?”

He ground against you harder, using the grip on your hips. You couldn't help but bite your lip and breathe hard, already getting worked up. Suddenly he was pushing a palm against your shoulder, forcing your elbows to buckle and your head to lower against the table. You grumbled, and struggled a bit. The hand didn't budge.

“Come on, I don't want my parents to see!” then you shuddered with disgust. “Or Lilly. Eugh.”

“Be still. They won't.”

You sighed, but found yourself complying. Something about the depravity of the situation was riling you up, and you could feel the dampness of your panties growing every time he spoke.

“Ju-just... try and be quiet,” you pleaded.

He nodded, lifting the hand that had been pinning you. Gray butler's pants were unfastened, and then feet were nudging yours apart. You pressed your forehead to the table, arms wrapped around your head to hide yourself away. But when something thick rubbed up between your still covered legs you jolted. Lifting from the table and glancing under yourself, you could vaguely make out the round tip of his dick.

“Oh,” you breathed, excited but a little nervous. “You're big... and pretty. It's a rainbow, like your cheeks!”

“And my arms. And my legs. I must show you my body, sometime.”

The implications burned you up. He was pulling down your shorts and panties with care, now. Spreading your cheeks and nudging your legs apart even further, he hummed with satisfaction.

“Beautiful,” his flat fingers went to your already sticky folds. “Wet.”

You shoved your head back into your arms and wiggled. “We don't have time for foreplay, someone could walk in at any minute Ezra! Just... put it in already. Please,” you sounded desperate.

That wasn't something he was used to hearing. Ezra was rather fond of foreplay, and was worried you would hurt with the girth of his tip. After all, the head of his dick was much wider than the base, and it was covered in symmetrically placed bumps. Without enough foreplay, it may be difficult to squeeze it all inside. But he also aimed to please, and would obey up until you started gritting teeth.

He rubbed his smooth cock through your folds a few times, enjoying the warmth and softness. You were obviously embarrassed as Hell, but he could tell you needed it so badly. The tip pressed against your entrance, then let up, then pressed again. He was trying to be easy.

You moved back the next time he inched forward. The tip stretched and burned as it slipped just barely inside, and you gasped.

“Are you alright?” he asked, soothing with a slow swipe across your lower back.

“...Just give me a minute.”

After a rest, he was slowly, slowly, enveloping himself in you. As expected it was taking some time, you just weren't used to the width or the knots. But oh, you were determined. If you were going to lean over the dining room table, risking being caught fucking the new robot butler, then by God you were going to finish getting fucked. Assuming he would ever hilt at all. The bumps were the hardest parts to slip inside.

When he finally did hilt you were ecstatic. It felt swollen and twitched inside of you, barely able to fit. But you were just so full. So amazingly, painfully full. You'd never felt so filled up in your entire life. No greasy college kid could ever compare to this, and you got the feeling there would be no coming back from it.

“May I?”

“God yes,” you whispered.

He rotated his hips, only pulling out a few inches. The girth made you grit your teeth and hiss, your body staying deathly still. In turn Ezra leaned over your back, his arm wriggling under your belly and smoothing over your clit. His weight against your skin was electrifying.

He rubbed you off while grinding into you at a slow pace. If he were human, you were sure he'd have already become erratic with the inability to multi-task. But he kept it up perfectly. You muffled a sigh with your arm. The budding pleasure helped your muscles relax, easing the removal of his cock.

Ezra slowly pulled out in one gentle stroke, and plunged in just as quickly. He began to rock methodically. You bit your arm to keep from making any noise, drool oozed down your skin.

“So tight,” he whispered, pressing the flat pads of his fingers against your clit a little harder.

You hummed quietly in approval. Suddenly you wondered something in the back of your mind. Could he feel pleasure, too? Or was he doing this simply because he still had it programed in his coding? Releasing teeth from sore arm, you asked. “Does it feel good?”

“Yes,” he breathed, shoving in particularity hard.

You squeaked and slapped a hand to your mouth. Ezra laughed dryly and swirled his fingers before violently thrusting. Your ass smacked and clapped loudly against his pelvis, filling the room with the sounds of sex. You nearly had to suffocate yourself in your arms to keep from involuntarily moaning from the sudden, intense sensations. To make matters worse, the stacked plates at your side clattered and clinked noisily. Just as quick as he began, he slowed again.

You caught your breath, legs shaking. “Don't do that! That was so loud!”

The robot nodded. Coyly, he decided to jerk you off intensely instead. You became a gasping, shivering mess bent across the table. He listened to the beautiful sound of your heart racing, felt the way you began to sweat and buck. As you started to come around his rainbow cock he stopped fucking you, just letting you whisper harshly into your arms with the pleasure.

“Mmm. So nice,” he praised as you twitched.

You came down from the high and panted as quietly as possible. Ezra had stood back up, stroking your back sweetly with affection. He slowly removed himself from your tight wet walls, strings of slick connecting the two of you.

“What are you doing?” you asked, still rather breathless.

“You have finished.”

Looking back over your shoulder, you rose a brow and pursed your lips. “You haven't, though.”

“Correct.”

When he didn't say anything more, instead staring at you with confusion, you continued. “Don't you want to cum?”

He titled his head and blinked those long, pretty eyelashes. “Typically sex is for the enjoyment of the customer.”

You straightened and turned to face him, shorts and panties around your ankles. “I'm not a customer, and you're no longer in sex work.”

This seemed to confuse him further. “But you are my employer.”

“Listen,” you bit your lip, thinking a second. “You can feel pleasure, can't you?”

He nodded.

“And you can cum?”

He nodded again.

With a slight jump you settled your ass against the dining room table (sorry mom and dad) then leaned back against your arms, legs spread. “Then fuck me, Ezra.”

His cock leaped, and you couldn't help but notice the slight temperature rise from the space between skin and metal. “Yes,” he agreed, voice cracking.

His hands grasped the fatty part of your thighs and pushed them away even further, putting your dripping pussy more in the limelight. You should have been much more bashful at that. But after he made you orgasm so well, and after treating you so sweetly, you just wanted him to have his own fun. Poor bot probably had blue balls! Besides that... sex working robots couldn't get you pregnant, and you had never been cum inside before. The thought thrilled you.

You watched him line the tip of his round shaft up with your hole again eagerly. He was nearly shaking. Hot air was fanned out of his body as it pushed inside for a second time, slowly settling in. It slipped inside much easier this time around. You sighed, loving the fill.

“There you go,” you whispered, sliding so you were on your back and he could hold your lower body up.

He fucked you moderately, but rhythmically like a metronome, head tilted back and eyes closed. Your warm pussy was so amazingly small around his soft silicone cock. The suction was nearly unbearable. Almost no one let him fuck them to his completion during his time with sex work, outside of those who got off to sucking his thick robot dick.

Ezra pressed your feet together and set them against one shoulder, further compressing your walls against him. He groaned quietly, the first time you'd heard him give any verbal indication of pleasure.

“Where shall I cum?” He asked politely.

You gently felt yourself up and smirked naughtily. “Inside of me, Ezra. Just let go.”

“Ahhh,” sighed the robot quietly, his movements becoming small. Soon he was pushing your legs back, lifting your ass from the table, and hilting himself deeply into your folds.

You squished yourself against him the best you could to be helpful. Ezra's legs rattled as he fought to keep upright, the load he'd suppressed for months pumping generously into you at a lovely angle. As his wide legs slowly regained their stability, you noticed the hour hand upon the clock. It hung there mockingly; the only eye that had witnessed your copulation.

“It's late,” you whispered, with Ezra still holding your ankles against his shoulder and his dick pulsating inside, as if organic.

Finally, the colorful rings of his eyes were visible again. He stared down at the place where your bodies connected, happy and fulfilled.

“Did you hear me?”

Dark pupils shifted up to yours. “Yes. I apologize. Here,” he answered quietly, slipping his dick out.

Faux-cum dribbled onto the table. He helped you off like a gentleman and hastily refastened his wrinkled pants. The two of you just stood there, tense. Ezra suddenly became shy and glanced off to the side, his hands hidden behind his back.

Still shorts-less, You half-smiled and stood onto your tiptoes, where you pressed a soft kiss to the side of his pink chin.

Ezra expelled hot air, and wished he could smile back. “I will finish the dishes and wipe the table, now. You should sleep. Eight hours is generally the amount humans need.”

You nodded while clumsily shimmying your underwear and shorts back on over exposed hips. Yanked on them a bit when accidentally giving yourself a wedgie. There was still cum inside of you, and the wetness from your lovemaking was rather uncomfortable.

“I'll clean myself up, then phew-” you slumped. “I think I'm gonna pass out. Think anyone heard?”

He turned his head slightly, as if listening. A few second went by. “No. I don't hear anybody nearby. We are safe.”

A sigh of relief. “Then I'll... see you in the morning, Ezra,” you pat him on the chest gingerly.

He looked as if he wanted to say something else, but eventually lowered his head and straightened his back. “Yes. Sleep well [Y/N]. I will be here,” he picked up the stack of plates automatically.

With one last look, you padded silently out the door. A sweep of the room revealed dark emptiness; Ezra was right, no one had been around to hear. Thank goodness. So you crept on through, up the stairs, and to the bathroom for clean up. Then, once you were satisfied with the job, crawled languidly under the covers and had the best sleep of your life.

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

What was the biggest challenge that you found when adapting the novel for TV?

The thing that I was certain of from the beginning was that if I could find a Crowley and an Aziraphale who worked and had that magical chemistry, then I could get everything else to work. It seemed to me like they were the heart and soul of the thing. I’ve known Michael Sheen for almost a decade now. And I’d actually sent Michael some early scripts of Good Omens to have him read.

As I was writing, I started realizing that he really wouldn’t be a terribly good Crowley, which is what I’d thought of originally, but he’d be a magical Aziraphale. And the moment I’d thought of Michael as Aziraphale, I took him out to dinner. I watched him—he was trying to drop hints that he didn’t think he was going to be a very good Crowley—and I wound up having to say to him, ‘Well, I’m not asking you to be Crowley. I want you to be Aziraphale. Would you do that?’ And he was like, ‘Yes, of course!’

Then it was just the challenge of finding a Crowley. While I’d been writing the script, in the middle of Episode 3, there’s this sequence in the first half where we get this flashback, and it’s probably the longest pre-credits sequence in human history, as we cover 6,000 years. There’s a section of that in which you see Crowley having to enter a church to rescue Arizaphale. He’s coming down the aisle, and because he’s a demon, he’s moving like someone going to a beach on a very, very hot day, going ‘Ow, ow, ow.’ While I was writing that scene, I remember thinking, ‘I need somebody for this like David Tennant, because I need someone who can actually pull off the physical comedy while delivering the lines.’ And the idea of David Tennant then entered my head and would not leave.

I had to persuade a lot of people that I wanted David, and the reaction was completely understandable because they wanted someone different to Michael. And they would go, ‘But, David’s the same kind of actor.’ Interestingly, David and Michael, it turned out, had never actually ever acted together before because they always go up for the same roles. It was a moment where I actually got to go, ‘Well, actually, it’s the similarity between them that I’m really looking forward to here.’ It was glorious. Even [Michael and David] started saying if we ever adapted Good Omens for the theater, they would like to do it swapping roles each night, going backward and forwards between being Crowley and Aziraphale.

So, with this extremely rich tapestry and the world that you and Terry Pratchett built together, I feel like your props department really had their work cut out for them. Between the bookshop, getting Crowley’s Bentley—there's so much that's vital. Was there anything that posed to be particularly difficult when putting all these pieces together?

Yes. But that was the fun of it. We had the most amazing props department and art department. One of the oddest things was in Hell. I wrote a number of de-motivational posters for the walls of Hell. And the art department couldn't get them ugly enough. Eventually, the production designer, the amazing Michael Ralph did possibly the most sensible thing that he could have ever done, which was to ask the youngest art department intern to do them and tell him that we encourage the use of lots of different fonts, and Comic Sans wherever possible. And we got these very badly designed posters, and they were exactly what we wanted. De-motivational posters with messages on them like, ‘Don’t lick the walls.’ And, ‘Clean up after yourself. Your mother doesn’t work here. You don’t have a mother.’

You did a Twitter #AskNeilGaiman, and you mentioned that you appear in Good Omens as a sleeping drunk, the voices of three rabbits and an animated frog. Why did you choose those appearances?

Mostly because I didn’t want to do a Hitchcock. It’s a slightly sad story. Terry and I had talked for years about how we wanted to have our guest role in Good Omens. This was long before I had ever written a script. We had decided that there was going to be a scene in the sushi restaurant and we were going to be sitting there eating sushi in front of the camera. And that was our plan. That was our cameo. We were going to be sitting there eating sushi in the sushi restaurant. So, I wrote the sushi scene [that was] in the book, even though Terry was dead, like, ‘Well I always said I’d write the sushi scene, here it is. Maybe I’ll be an extra in the sushi scene anyway, without Terry.’ And when the night came that we were going to shoot that, I was just really sad. And I missed Terry. I didn’t want to be in it alone.

When we were almost, almost, almost done, I think we had maybe two days to go in South Africa, [director] Douglas Mackinnon was asking me what we needed in the scene in the cinema. And I said, ‘Well, really, just Crowley, but we should probably have a couple making out and an unconscious drunk in the front row.' And a smile spread over Douglas’ face and he said, ‘There is your cameo.’

So, I wound up getting made up as an unconscious drunk, which I have to say was very easy. I just sort of dozed. And then when we finished that scene, when the animation came back with these little dancing rabbits. I was talking to Douglas saying, ‘We need to find someone to do the bunny voices. Because I don’t want them actually saying words, I want lots of little noises like, whoooop whomp, when one of them gets killed.’ And he’s like, ‘Here you go, Neil. You can do the bunnies.’ So, suddenly, I found myself part of that sequence doing the bunnies and an animated frog. I am all of the voices as the various bunnies are murdered and things happen to them.

[paintedrecs]

@mad-madam-m​ tagged me in the “list 5 OTPs from 5 fandoms” meme a couple days ago, which I laughed at her for because (a) she knows my otps FULL WELL (b) our lists are very nearly an exact match (which i am by the way delighted about because half my list right now is full of rare pairs, and I have never before known the hell of treading that landscape alone)

but!

I’m gonna do the meme and double it up as an announcement of what I am currently into and what you’re likely to see on this blog if I start picking up my activity levels a little.

I honestly have no idea how active tumblr is at this point - how many of you are still around, and how many of you I might lose if I start reblogging my other fandoms in addition to Sterek - but after doing a Pillowfort experiment for a while, I think I’ve finally figured out how to use social media again in a way that works better for me.

My old method, before tumblr kinda imploded and fandom got weird (filled with antis and ship hate and constant infighting, ugh why), was to create a separate blog for everything I was into, which is why I have appreciatederek, appreciateshiro, appreciatejack, and...is that it? See, this is why I need to stop scattering myself into a zillion different pieces.

So I’m going to consolidate more (like I do on twitter and now Pillowfort), and also hopefully get back to my fandom roots: digging into more meta, like I did 8 years ago when I first fell in love with Sterek, and posting fic recs, like I also did thanks to Sterek. (And sharing my own fics as I write them. Guess which fandom pushed me down that path, too.)

So it’s fitting that the first ship on this list is...well, an obvious one.

1. STEREK (Teen Wolf)

Y’all know this one. Sterek will always, always be the OTP of my heart. I love their dynamic. I love the creativity and passion of the fandom. I love that they brought my writing back to me and introduced me to so many of you.

I still have dozens of Sterek fic ideas; quite a few of them are partially written or have significant outlines, so at some point I will still be writing them. Life is just, as you know, very busy and very tiring and it’s so hard to fit everything into my days. I’m working on it, I promise. 

I’d like to start doing more updates with snippets of my upcoming fics, maybe a lil Q&A if anyone wants to chat about what I’m working on/my thought process behind what I’ve already written/what you’d like to see from me, etc. Interactive fun stuff! Sterek fandom is still the best and most supportive fandom I’ve ever been a part of, and it makes me happy every time I’m reminded we’re all still around and thriving.

And here’s some of the other stuff I’m into right now...

2. XANATOWEN (Gargoyles)

I have been sailing this ship entirely by myself since January, recently joined by the aforementioned M, who also created this gif for me while she was still in the patient “I’m your friend, I will listen to you yelling about this show” stage. (ha ha ha look at her now, that’s what you get)

I’ve been genuinely holding myself back from spamming tumblr with my thoughts about this show and this ship, which I’m beginning to realize is...maybe silly. I’ll still try to keep it a little bit balanced, but you can definitely look forward to more Gargoyles on the horizon, including:

Fics - 30k so far, with another 4.6k that I’m hoping to post this afternoon, after I look over it and decide if I still like it (ha ha fic writing amirite). I also have a fairy tale AU that I’ve done a substantial outline for, so I’d really like to get that underway.

Episode recaps/meta posts - these are currently being posted over on Pillowfort. The goal is to get the last two episodes of Season 1 up there, then to start crossposting them here.

As long as it’s not a gigantic hassle to paste over all the screencaps, because I uh. I have a lot of them. And a lot of thoughts about the show as a whole, but particularly about the relationship between David Xanatos and Owen Burnett: the meta’s currently averaging from about 1.5k to 2.5k per episode, whoooops.

I love them. I love them a LOT. See my meta posts for very detailed explanations as to why.

3. TREVORCARD (Castlevania)

I honestly did not expect to get this deeply invested in this ship. I watched and liked the first two seasons of Castlevania and really enjoyed the dynamic between Trevor and Alucard, but it wasn’t until the lead-up to Season 3 (and then the devastation of how absolutely terrible that season was) that I realized how much I loved these two together.

So now I’m having a very Sterek Fandom moment of “eff you canon, they’re ours now” in regards to Trevorcard. 

I’ve written one fic for them - it’s a 20k coffee shop/modern/college/artist/musician AU because they deserve all the fandom tropes and so much happiness together..

I don’t currently have plans to write any more, although if I do, it’ll likely be some sort of neighbors AU with wolf!Alucard, since my vast experience with Sterek fandom has taught me the absolute joys of exploring characters who can canonically turn into a beautiful giant effing wolf. 

I’ve also been steadily reading my way through every single Trevorcard fic in the AO3 tag, which unfortunately is only ~200. (HOW is this a rare pair. I will never ever understand it, they’re perfect together, and the animators literally said they intentionally storyboarded moments like the one above with the knowledge that people would start shipping them.)

Once I’ve finished up my AO3 tour, I’m going to compile the ones I enjoyed into rec lists. There are some really wonderful fics in there, and I’m excited to see what the rest are like.

4. TAIBANI (Tiger & Bunny)

I really don’t talk about this ship much, but it’s so immensely close to my heart. I have...so much...official merch of Kotetsu and Barnaby; it makes me happy every single time I see it. If I used my Tiger & Bunny stuff as the standard for what sparks joy during a konmari, the rest of my apartment would probably wind up empty.

The show (which is finally getting a second season in 2022 - Kotetsu & Barnaby had better be getting married) is wonderful. I genuinely can’t recommend it enough. Great writing, wonderful character development, beautiful animation, and Kotetsu and Barnaby are absolutely perfect together. Here’s an old post where I talk about that a little bit.

I’ve only written one fic so far: a canon compliant established relationship future fic that focuses more on their family dynamic as Kotetsu’s daughter adapts to turning 18, becoming a hero, and living with her frustratingly affectionate dad & his new husband.

I have ideas for two AUs: a single dad mature student/young professor one and a sorta weird circus/steve irwin-inspired one. We’ll...we’ll see if I ever get around to either. What I end up writing always surprises me, so I sorta give up on planning what words will come out.

And oh wait! I totally forgot about the third idea, which will be roughly canon compliant, with “Kotetsu sets Barnaby up on a series of blind dates that Barnaby initially thinks will be with HIM” angsty/funny fic. Hrm. I should get back to that one, I’ve outlined part of it.

I haven’t actually read a ton of fic for this pairing, because the more I like canon material, the less I seek out fandom content to “fix” it, but I would like to start going through the AO3 tag after I finish my Trevorcard project. I did an initial rec list ages ago and would like to follow up with another.

5. SHEITH (Voltron: Legendary Defender)

Here’s the last pairing I write fics for. I have several more in progress that I’d really like to finish - including a dragon AU that I wish someone else would just finish for me so I can read it, hahhhhhhh sigh. I wrote 15k, did a ton of research, and basically intimidated myself out of continuing, because it’s one of my Big Projects. Not gonna be like, PDIW length or anything, but it should be a pretty hefty fic once it’s done.

Then there’s the roommates AU, the burrito shop AU, the....wow. I really need to get back to these, don’t I. A couple of them are super close to being finished, too.

I’ve also compiled a few fic rec lists, although I haven’t updated those (or my Sheith blog) in a while.

This fandom has been...interesting. Rough sometimes. Sliding into some of the other pairings on this list has provided a good break for me, particularly since they’re all such small fandoms that they’re relatively free from drama and hate. Once I’m fully refreshed and re-inspired, I’d love to get back into writing Sheith. They’re such a perfect, feel-good, extraordinarily balanced and supportive ship, and I am disappointed every single day I remember that Voltron didn’t stick the landing with making them canon.

Look at that almost-kiss. Just...look at it. And tell me they aren’t in love.

[koeiasequoia]

Luka Skyrim Lore stuff

Ok so, preface, there's actually *two* versions of Luka in skyrim, there's just no functional difference between them, like, nothin changes just the race lol. One's just the "my fursona in [X] game" thing, and the other he's half Imperial, half Elf(wood elf specifically I think)[also while Luka Luka is more my age(24) Skyrim Luka is more like, late 20s/early to mid 30s) anyways onto the lore!

So to start, Luka dont actually remember like, anything, about his past, like at all. He got found washed up, half dead, and missing his left eye(he got caught up by a bunch of, overzealous, stormcloaks who thought he was a bandit, or maybe they were just bein assholes, basically they kicked his ass and dumped him), right outside Riften by Talen-Jei who took him in and gave him a job, which, he was pretty good at, a place to live and more or less a family. After a few years workin tho, he really noticed how unhappy the whole "Thieves Guild payment" thing made everyone, but he knew he couldnt really do anything about it as things were now. So in a "no thoughts, head empty" moment one night, he decided to join the Thieves Guild to try and, at the very least, get them off Keerava and Talen-Jei's backs. So the next morning he approaches Brynjolf about joining, the whole quest thing he has plays out as normal; steal a ring(he had a close call with a guard walking by right after he nabbed it), plant it on Brand-Shei, impress Bryn. Done and done and the whole, ratway thing goes normal too. Bryn doin his whole bragging and tellin ya to shake people down for money. So Luka smashes Bersi's urn, beats the shit outa Haelga(hate that woman) before stealing her statue(Svana saw him but is TOTALLY cool with it). But when he got to The Bee and Barb(he saved it for last cuz of anxiety), obviously Kee and Talen were upset, more disappointed than anything, so he quickly explained what his plan was, work his way up and hopefully get the guild off their backs, and tellin em that he was gonna give money he'd saved up as their payment, he did also implore em not to let it happen again until he could get everything fixed for em. They think he's bein stupid but he wants to give it a try. [Theres a whole lotta middle here that I ain't quite hashed out, cuz I would like to get at least a tad bit more in depth with the thieves guild main quests, but God this has taken so long already sibwoxvrjw so we'll skip to like, basically the end, but do know he does the four holds quests before endgame]. Makes a bet with Nocturnal(do mission in [x] time for more power, fail and lose all power but she still gets his soul[probably, might change that]) when Karliah brings him n Bryn there(she's silently pleading for him to shut up). Nocturnal amusedly agrees, the new Nightingales go and kick Mercer's ass get all the loot and hightail it out, Bryn heads back to get thieves guild stuff in order, Karliah goes with you to the Sepulcher but not in, that whole thing, and Luka returns the key with like a small amount of time to spare, Nocturnal's impressed and gives him a fancy new left eye that can see valuables, even through walls/containers/etc(each type is a different color. Like, jewelry is one, gemstones another, enchanted weapons another, so on and so forth) that he keeps under an eye patch, partially because it looks weird to other people(its an orange/gold eye with black sclera of course its weird) but also he just likes how the eyepatch makes him look lmao. And his first night as guild master he scratches out the Bee and Barb's old shadowmark and carves the "protected" one instead, and makes it VERY clear that anyone who robs or tries to pull any shit with them is losing a hand *at best*

Also whoooops I lied theres technically four Lukas but the other two are bards and I have actually nothing except one single like, scene as an idea djdbdjdnsk

[chaos-monkeyy]

2, 3, and 15. You can answer them separately if you like! 💚

ooh well let’s see how we go... *rubs grubby little hands together gleefully*

2 - Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to? 

Hmmm well you got me thinking about the whole Accidental / Premature Knotting thing, which definitely sounds fun and I’m hoping will ambush me with a full plotbunny at some point 😏 Aside from giving him a huge dick, I haven’t mucked about with Geralt’s junk yet and I definitely want to at some point. Knotting kink seems a good place to start as any... 😉

There’s also this incest-y idea I have for the star wars universe based on some vague use of the Arranged Marriage Trope (marry one sibling/twin and you gotta marry both...), which I very much want to write some day despite normally having no interest in marriage-related tropes.

I think a lot of the tropes I want to write I either already have done or am in the process of doing, at least so far as I can think of... Though I do still want more excuses to write sex pollen, and-- oh!! Fuck or Die! There’s a good trope I haven’t written yet but want to someday. Edit: oh wait yes I have whoooops but I would still write it again

3 - Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole? 

Soulmates AU. I know a lot of people love ‘em, I’ve just never really seen the appeal and have no interest in trying to write one. 

15 - If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

mmm probably Need because it’s one of my few works that actually has a plot to it in addition to a lot of fucking. The story arc also covers a good range of fluff and smut and angst, touches on some fairly heavy subject matter around questions of addiction and consent and trying to deal with long lasting, unexpected consequences that just seem unfairly severe, considering. 

tl;dr: I’m still exceptionally proud of that fic and think it would actually make for an interesting watch, with some really powerful scenes. not bad for a story about addictive alien come  

...or, at completely the other end of the spectrum, my sea creature invertebrates thranto AU, The Adventures of Admiral Prawn and Yee-Claw, because dammit that would make a great kid’s show okay 🤣

[worldbuildng]

Last line tag

I was tagged by @writingmyassoff ! Tagging ya back, and here’s a line from my wip which I haven’t worked on in so long whoooops:

“Rishi!” Galen slid down the slope, kicking up clouds of grit until he reached the place where he had seen Rishi go under. There was nothing there.

“Rishi!” No repsonse.

Panic welled in a sudden rush, but before anything could come of it, he heard rustling near the very bottom of the landslide. And then a scruffy sand-covered head popped up, coughing violently.

Galen launched himself down the hill and skidded to a sloppy halt beside Rishi. He gripped him, felt solid warmth beneath his palms. Went a little jelly-legged with relief. It was a good thing he was up to his hips in sand. 

“Are you all right?” He started patting around for injuries. Pebbles and silt spilled from the folds in Rishi’s cloak.

Rishi blinked at him several times, looking utterly bewildered. “You used magic.”

“I know, and I almost got you—oh.” Galen’s hands froze. He let out a huff of breathless laughter. “I did, didn’t I?”

tagging @lady-redshield-writes , @emireviews , @kittensartswriting , @thepanickingwriter​, and @likeicarusifall​ (i think you tagged my main in something like a week ago and i never did it :o) 

[oh-styles]

Can we talk about how SAAF y/n and H behave after a huge argument now that they’re a couple and they can’t really just dip like they’re use to?

whoooops i changed pov’s half way through

Especially after their very first fight; it’s awkward.

They do kind of try to avoid each other for a bit afterwards. Dipping in and out of the room when they see the other, dodging each other’s eyes like school children, muttering a quick “sorry” when they accidentally run into the other. When she goes into the hotel room to grab her phone charger, and she sees him on the bed flipping through television channels, she sort of just gives him a half-assed smile and grabs what she needs and leaves.

The two of them both know they need to suck it up and just talk.

He is so used to just letting things fizzle out on their own, and she is used to running away.

I think he reaches a point after two days of silence that he finds her in Sarah’s dressing room, and requests to speak with her alone. He locks the door behind him, sits backwards in a chair and just stares at her like he’s the parent waiting for his child to apologize.

“I don’t like not talking to you.”

“And I don’t like being told you regret being with me.”

“I didn’t mean that—”

And that’s where it begins; the boiling point finally reaches the brim and bubbles over.

“I don’t like telling you I don’t like dating people, and then deciding to date you anyway, and then you go ahead and tell me you regret it!”

And she got him there.

Yeah, he deserves her cold shoulder. Hell, when the news began to spread about the topic of their fight, it wasn’t just her acting a little quieter around Harry.

“I know when you’re stressed or mad you say shit you don’t mean, but really, Harry? You say that? I should leave, you know. Just go home. I thought about it. I got as far as booking a ticket, twice, and cancelling it.”

And now he’s the child being scolded by their parent.

“I only stayed because I need the money…and you know that. I’m broke without this job. I’m sure I could get my server job back, but it can’t pay all the bills.”

“I regret dragging you into this.”

He runs his hands down his face in defeat, rubbing at his eyes angrily with his knuckles. The guilt has ate at him since the very first time there was an article about him with a mystery woman, and the fans were like piranhas trying to figure out who you were. He feels lucky that photos are far and few, but the hate will forever linger as long as you are by his side, and he knows he can’t protect you from everything.

The flashbacks of Eleanor getting attacked by fans at the airport make his stomach turn, and he does everything he can to prevent that from happening to you.

From the very first day, all he has wanted to do was protect you, but being with him comes with his battles – ones that you overlook – but he nevertheless sees them with every turn of his head.

“I am tired of seeing you get hurt over what they say about you.”

Even with a brave smile, he can always see right through you.

Last week alone, you blocked 15 hate pages on Instagram, and 30 on Twitter. Even with all of your social media on private, they still were able to find you with a blink of the eye, but I guess it wasn’t hard when his entire family follows you.

“I am sorry, okay? I don’t want you to think I don’t want to be with you—fuck, if you would have gone home, I would have got on a plane and dragged your ass back here. Things have been tough, for the both of us, and I am sorry.”