#but yeah they're all still on ff.net somewhere

[ace-beef]

maybe I'll write one more Mavin fic... just for old times' sake...

[seyaryminamoto]

Scenes of a Peaceful World: Sokkla Saturdays 2024

Day Four - Action

Rated: T

On FF.net//On AO3

"Your house is amazing, Hotaru…" Shihan whispered, eyes wide.

"It is!" Liuwen exclaimed, beaming. "I always wanted to come here!"

"I'm glad you guys like it," Hotaru said, with a gentle smile.

She hadn't invited friends over before. She didn't dare do it when her little sister was too young, and too unlikely to regulate her temper… distressing her friends with the loud, crying voice of little Yuuna didn't sound like a good idea.

But Hotaru had also been nervous of so much as asking for permission. It felt like a great change… a big risk, too. If anyone did anything foolish, it would be her responsibility… whether the foolishness came from her family or from her friends. Either thing was entirely possible.

She gathered her courage a week earlier. She approached her mother and father right before dinner time, and she made certain to do it when neither of her siblings were around, to avoid distractions and unnecessary comments…

"C-can my friends Liuwen and Shihan visit us after school in a week?"

Sokka and Azula were surprised by the request. Perhaps more so by their daughter's nervousness, by how she fidgeted, by how she appeared to be terrified of a negative answer…

"I… think so?" Sokka had said, glancing at his wife. "Do we have any big things scheduled for that date?"

"Not that it would be a problem if we did… Hotaru can host her friends, it's not like she'd want us to be their guides, right?"

"N-no! No need! I… just wanted to ask for permission," Hotaru said, lowering her head. Azula smiled.

"Permission granted. Now… lighten up, will you?" Azula stepped closer, pressing a kiss to the top of the princess's head. "I feared you'd announce you meant to run off with singing nomads…"

"It's all good, kid!" Sokka grinned, patting Hotaru's shoulder: their daughter giggled now. "You can bring as many friends as you like."

Hotaru didn't mean to go overboard: two friends would suffice for starters. If that didn't go poorly, more might follow… but for now, she brought the two she hoped would be the least likely to cause a ruckus, and who hopefully would behave themselves in the presence of her illustrious parents.

"Are your little brother and sister around?" Liuwen asked.

"I'm sure they're off somewhere. Same as my parents…" Hotaru said: both Shihan and Liuwen gaped at her with wide eyes. "What? You already know them…"

"W-well, sure, but we'll see them in their home now!" exclaimed Shihan, gleefully. Liuwen clasped her arm, squealing happily. "They're so dreamy!"

"The perfect couple!"

"Y-yeah… well, they love each other lots, but I don't know about perfect…" Hotaru laughed.

"That's because you don't know what other parents are like," Shihan sighed. "My dad is always moody, and ugly, and he's barely around, and…!"

"My mom always screams at me to do things I don't wanna do," Liuwen pouted. "She keeps saying no boy will marry me if I don't square up, but I'm twelve! Boys won't marry me until I'm… well, I don't know. How old will I be before they want to marry me?"

"I have no idea," Hotaru laughed. "But my mom and dad… well, they're nicer than that, yeah, but they're… normal. I think."

"Hotaru, there's nothing normal about your parents!" exclaimed Shihan, flabbergasted.

"Their love story is legendary!" Liuwen said, with a dreamy smile. "And your dad is so handsome, and your mom is so pretty…!"

"They're the best couple!"

Hotaru sighed: it wasn't the first time she heard people idolizing her parents, let alone her friends… these two were the tamest of the bunch when it came to that, and they still grew this excited over them …

Hotaru didn't realize that matters were about to take a turn for the worse, as they reached one of the main halls through a side corridor. She didn't realize her friends' excitement might just be bolstered if they witnessed anything impressive or surprising… and fate would have it that one such thing would take place right then and there.

Heavy footsteps on one end of the corridor revealed that a rather overwhelmed, busy Azula was making her way across the grand hall just then, accompanied by Song, for purposes beyond Hotaru's understanding: her two friends gasped in amazement at the sight of their hero, even if Azula didn't appear to notice them.

But just as Hotaru was about to speak up, to greet her mother, other footsteps echoed at the other end of the hall: this time, Sokka marched with one of the younger non-bending guards, who appeared to be reporting something noteworthy to him, much like Song did with Azula.

"Oh!" Shihan gasped, covering her mouth with her hands: neither Sokka nor Azula appeared to realize they were in collision course so far… something that surprised Hotaru. Was their respective business as serious as that?

Even their eldest child, who knew them as well as she did, could not anticipate their next move.

On busy days, Sokka and Azula would not be too likely to meet often. The action, the hectic chaos in their respective lines of work, would interfere during time they would prefer to spend together.

Thus, when they raised their gazes briefly to find they were about to cross paths, for the first time in hours, the urgency of their respective business took a backseat. however briefly.

Song and the guard didn't stop: both offered quick greetings to Sokka and to Azula, respectively, and then walked past them… but the pair in question didn't follow their example.

Sokka's hand moved to Azula's waist at once. Hers rose to his neck, without losing a beat.

Their lips pressed together, powerfully and passionately, without a single word spoken between the pair.

They swayed in place, with Sokka tilting Azula down, his passion overflowing as best it could in such limited time: Azula gripped his tunic tightly, unafraid of being dipped, merely determined to enjoy the moment they had stolen as boldly as that…

But it couldn't last for an instant longer. They had work to do.

They pulled back remorsefully as Sokka stood upright again. Still holding each other closely, they spoke in unison:

"I love you."

Their synchronized actions, words and desires brought proud smiles to their faces: that allowed them to part ways again, revitalized by each other, ready to focus regardless of their respective companions' amusement: both Song and the guard had merely stopped further down the corridor, to wait for Sokka and Azula's shared moment to end.

Just as fast as they turned up, they were gone. And neither one noticed that they had been seen, in that rather intimate and affectionate moment, by three pre-teen girls standing by a side corridor.

"Eh… heh. W-well…" Hotaru smiled awkwardly, looking at her friends with uncertainty…

Shihan and Liuwen stood in place, eyes wide as plate, jaws dropped. Hotaru's cheeks flushed: she was used to her parents and their reckless bursts of affection, but perhaps that had been too forward, too bold, for her friends to witness…?

She confirmed as much when the two girls screamed loudly enough to puncture her eardrums, holding hands and jumping in place, squealing about what they had just witnessed.

"THEY KISSED!"

"WE SAW IT! WE SAW IT!"

"THEY'RE THE PERFECT COUPLE!"

Hotaru gritted her teeth, covering her face with a hand, even if she smiled to herself. Her parents never failed to make an impression on whoever crossed their path, that was for sure…

[turtlesocksv2]

Liveblogging DFF Ep 2

It's time for Dead Friend Forever episode 2!

Ok I have to say this but it cracks me up every time i watch a Thai show and we get that little disclaimer at the start saying "we do not condone any characters/jobs/actions in this show it is for entertainment only" like what kind of 2003 FF.Net "Please don't sue me i am poor and only playing with these characters like dolls" ass thing to see in front of Mafia Dramas (Kinnporsche), Serial Killer hijinks (Dead Friend Forever) and fucking bittersweet adult midlife crisis vibes (Moonlight Chicken).

Top is absolutely losing it, and they need to leave poor Fluke alone. He is trying his best! What more do you expect from him?!

Oh, Tee is the first to break off from the group. RIP Tee, we'll see how that works out for you.

The mask the killer wears really is very freaky. well done, props department.

Phi the only one awake. I see you. I support you in your killings.

Oh I really thought Top was donefor there. Phi taking control of the group is so interesting. The way he leads everyone down what investigation paths...

Alright just what did you guys do to Non last time??? thank god the 3 newbies to the group are having a little sidebar asking that question. Clearly whatever it was was awful for the group to jump immediately to Non is Dead and his Ghost is Cursing Us and He Wants Us Dead Too for What We Did. But also, i think this rules out All Three Newbies working together to I Know What You Did Last Summer the group, otherwise this scene would make no sense. We'd have another Gossip Girl Dan situation where actions taken when they're alone don't add up to the reveal. So at least 1 of the newbies is not involved.

LOL at Tan trying to get Fluke to spill what the core group knows. If i was Fluke I'd be feeling very very threatened right now. "You think you're going to be next. I'm worried about you." and now Jin is being mean to Fluke too! for the love of god, Fluke is trying! just because he wants to be a doctor doesn't mean he can perform surgery in a cabin in the woods! Leave him alone!

"a good-mouthed and good-hearted man like you doesn't need to remind me" yessss. kill him.

lmao Por has old fucking floppy disks. are these people old enough to have used a floppy disk in their lives. but i know i've got old floppies around somewhere so it makes sense there'd be some at a like summer vacation house that gets used rarely. but also, did i miss that Por hid the footage last episode? because otherwise wouldn't the harddrive that had the footage still be in the room they were all in when Phi hooked it up to the TV?

Was that a mystery medicine bottle in the closet? 👀👀 yeah i'm gonna need someone who can read Thai to to screenshot and tell us what that says.

Oh i really don't need the squelching noises from Fluke tending to Por's wound, please.

Ok, that Por jumpscare with the balcony door got me. and How the fuck does Por have the strength to strangle someone when he's been bleeding out all night?! Obviously a hallucination or something but what caused the hallucination?!

Thank you, White, for bringing back up that they are in the Cult Sacrifice Woods and this might be a Cult Killer or have to do with the cult. a very important thing to remember.

I would absolutely be looking at that footage the second Tee and Top turned their backs, the fuck. No you don't get to act that sus about what happened three years ago and play it off! Phi fighting the fight to keep that footage intact and eventually seen. Tan trying to gently break the idea that the group was bullying Non to White.

oh SHIT the way Uncle Deng got fucking GOT by that wire i screamed! i knew something was going to go down because obviously they couldn't escape the valley mansion in episode 2 but jesus. fucking. christ.

Tee finally remembering he has a boyfriend that he abandoned to the serial killer lmao. Tee and Top keep almost getting away and then going back. they are being herded like cattle. but also, it's kind of sus.

No PhiJin and barely any TeeWhite stuff this episode, which makes sense in that they are busy they don't have time to fuck, but i do find it interesting that PhiJin seem to be on the same page the episode with like no relationship tension between them just situational worry considering Jin was literally biting Phi's dick last episode. Putting aside grudges to stay alive: i'm proud.

anyway that was a really good episode! Tee and Top are the worst. Fluke needs to get the fuck out of this toxic friend group. White needs to dump Tee and get the fuck out of this toxic friend group. Phi and Tan can kill whoever they want i support it. ❤️

[sky-kenobye]

Fic Tag Game

Thanks @ineffable-snowman for the tag! :D

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

7 works, 5 of them are my own fics and the other 2 are translations (in french) of other people's fics

2. What's your Ao3 word count?

18,740 words

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Only Star Wars at the moment. I used to write for Harry Potter but not anymore, and one translation is from a Sherlock fic and I sort of tried to write for that fandom but never managed anything.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

1. Who's having a gay crisis? (424 kudos) (HP)

2. Partenaire Particulier (397 kudos) (HP)

3. Not exactly common (221 kudos) (HP)

4. Happy as a stick bug (132 kudos) (SW)

5. I wish you with me always (99 kudos) (SW)

(I honestly don't think they deserve to be in that order, I would put the entire thing upside down lol. But drarry/hp in general is a much bigger fandom than obikin and they're older fics, so more time to get kudos. And my top one doesn't deal with aroace stuff so it must have helped too.)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to, yes! I might not if it's just a few emojis or a very very short one, and sometimes I just forget, but I like when authors answer my comments so I try to do the same.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

None of them, I'm a fluff writer, I can't handle the unhappy endings 😅 I guess the worst one might be my very first fic, that must still be somewhere on ff.net, it was a pretty angsty/bittersweet fic (and probably very badly written, yikes)

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

All of them? They all end with people cuddling/holding hand/being really sappy 🤷 The one where the characters are the happiest is probably I wish you with me always though, it's the only one where nobody's traumatised one way or another.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I haven't so far, luckily. But I don't have that many hits either so less people reading it=less likely to get hate (I think?)

9. Do you write smut? What kind?

Nope! No smut for me I'm afraid, I think I'd be pretty bad at it tbh. I'm not ruling it out but being an aroace virgin myself, I think I'd be a bit out of my depth lol. But if I ever do it'll probably be the sappiest most vanilla smut you've ever seen x)

(I enjoy reading way kinkier stuff, but I don't think I have it in me to write it)

10. Do you write cross-overs?

I haven't so far. If we're talking about characters crossover(?)(like, making characters from different media meet) I'm not sure I ever will, I'm definitely not inspired at the moment. If putting characters in another universe counts as a crossover (like, idk a pacific rim au?), then I probably will eventually, yeah.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so, probably not.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I did some translations myself. I'm vaguely thinking about translating my own fics in french though. It's thanks to translations of fics that I started reading in english, and it's thanks to that that I became so good in english, so like, I owe fic translators a lot? And I also feel kinda bad about speaking french but "gatekeeping" my fics by writing them only in english. Idk.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

No, I don't think that's for me, too much pressure to write something good and that the other author(s) actually like.

14. What's your all time favourite ship?

Hmm 🤔 I want to say obikin because they're my current absolute fav, and they might rank first in term of investment, and maybe even intensity, but it's a relatively recent ship for me soooo 🤷 My oldest and longest lasting was Harry/Ginny, but I wasn't quite as much into it as other ships. Drarry was a pretty intense one for a while but I went multiple times from being obsessed with it to being almost squicked by it, so I don't think they can go first. Stucky, Dinluke and Johnlock are up there too but idk.

15. What's your WIP you'd like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Idk if it counts but I wanted to write a sequel to Partenaire Particulier. I didnt have anything really planed but I really wanted a sequel and I promised up and down that I would write it, no matter how long it took. And uuuh, now I left the fandom and don't intend on getting back to it 😬 So that's haunting me a little bit.

16. What are your writing strength?

Strength? No strength here sir.

I'm kidding but I really have no idea. Dialogue comes the easiest to me but I'm not sure I'm actually good at it, i tend do make my characters ramble and go on emotional rants.

Or in middle school I wrote a scene description so good that my teacher read it for the whole classroom, so maybe that was my strength back then? I was twelve though.

And I dont know if it's a strength, a weakness or just a fact but almost all my fics so far are about aro/ace/qpr stuff (projecting much? me? naah. 👀)

(If anybody wants to tell me what's good in my writing I'd kiss you on the mouth)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Blending dialogue and not-dialogue (forgor the name). I either write 1k without anyone speaking or 1k straight of dialogue but you don't know what anybody's doing. I try to blend both when I edit but it's haaaard.

Also sometimes I feel like I have the vocabulary of a 5 years old.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I think it can be perfectly fine if the pov isn't supposed to understand what's being said, or if it's translated straight away, but when you read a long fic with mando'a every 5 seconds and none of it is translated (or all at the end) it gets pretty annoying and doesnt really add much to the fic. imo if you want a character to speak in a different language you should just write in english, put it in italics, and specify that they speak the other language or something.

The other thing that bother me that I see a lot especially with mando'a in fics, is just putting the word in mando'a in the middle of an English sentence. That's not how being bilingual works!! (at least not that much). Like, I don't call my sister "my soeur", so why do the clones call each other vode in basic? Idk, it doesn't bother me enough to stop reading, it's more of a mild annoyance, but it doesn't really make much sense to me.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter! But Star Wars is the first fandom where I'm actually (somewhat) active and interacting with people instead of lurking and blurting out a fic every once in a while.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I'll go with I wish you with me always. I think I made a decent job at writing it and qpr are just so important to me. It also made me sooo happy to see so many other people liking it <3

But I think my wedding au will steal the first place if I ever manage to finish it!

I feel like everybody had already done this a while ago, so I'm tagging whoever is reading this and hasnt done it before!

[corrose]

4,9,20,31,48

Thank you for the ask! (Original Here)

4. Longest period of time it's take you to write one fic? 9. Do you ever look at your stats on AO3? 20. Has anyone written a fic to gift to you? 31. Do you listen to music while writing? 48 (?) Only goes up to 45, so I'll answer 38. Are there any popular tropes/themes you'd never write?

4. Longest period of time it's take you to write one fic?

Hmm. Well. Do you mean like. fics that I've actually finished? Hahahahahahehu h ... looking nervously over my vast repertoire of mostly unpublished fanfic. As for fics that I PLAN to finish, aha .. . well. ddont ' we always plan to finish our fics? and then uh perhaps life and etc gets in the way? wiping sweat off my brow. uh. next question. (real answer, the oldest multichapter fic that I published and drafted with intention to finish, is an old Fairy Tail fic on ff.net. It was published in 2011 🙃 I'm sure the drafts are still kicking around somewhere on my hard drive... As for fics older than that? Yes. they're there and there's quite a lot lol. Lots of old Bleach fanfic skulking around, but I never planned to publish those in the first place. Do not even look at my unfinished ES21 fic. Turn your eyes away.)

9. Do you ever look at your stats on AO3?

Never lol. I release fic into AO3 like I'm releasing wild doves. Wow! There they go! Bye, have a good life! Turns around and goes home. I used to respond to comments, but once I slacked off and they built up I felt too guilty to go back again so now I don't ... alas procrastination wins once again 😔

20. Has anyone written a fic to gift to you?

Yeah! I have a few gift fics from my time in hs - i went to look, I have 5 gift fics!

31. Do you listen to music while writing?

Hm Does this count? (2 Hours Of Kelp Forest To Study/Relax To | Lofi Hip Hop | Monterey Bay Aquarium Krill Waves Radio) It's either this or no music at all. Sometimes I write in Sbux so it's whatever cafe music they have on, but if it gets too distracting I'll put on noise cancelling headphones. I don't like listening to things with lyrics while I'm concentrating lol

48 (?) Only goes up to 45, so I'll answer 38. Are there any popular tropes/themes you'd never write?

Well. Never say never! Also, how do you define popular? There are many things I might write/have written just for fun but will not publish like ABO. But for things I won't write? Probably dead dove stuff. NTR/cheating. Hurt No Comfort. I like humor and dislike heavy angst in fics so the above is incompatible with both my writing and thinking style. Also like 95% of what I write has an audience of one (me) so why would I write stuff I don't like reading OR writing?

[apocalyptic-dancehall]

Claptrap!!

OHOHOHO first to the punch!

- favorite thing about them

SO MANY THINGS TO CHOOSE UHUURRHRG but if it had to be like one or two: his voice and his undying loyalty.

pre-ffs claptrap's voice is so unique, and it can get oddly soothing in a way, and it just makes me so fucking jealous and his loyalty because even though he's a scaredy-cat he's still a raider at the end of the day (also the scene where he declines shadowtrap's offer to rule the goddamned universe because he genuinely loved his 'friends' fucks so hard)

- least favorite thing about them

not easy for me to say. claptrap's got tons of flaws but they're easily either linked to his horrendous 'childhood'/his bl1 antics/his time as fragtrap. i'd go off on a limb and say that he's waaay too naïve for his own good. even then it's less of a criticism and more of the fact that it always gets him into trouble :<

- favorite line

again! hard for me to say, but i've always loved the little sounds he makes when he jumps on a gravity pad. eup! and when he tried to stand up to flynt, it felt so cool because he finally bites back! (granted he did cower because 'geddit he's a pussy'-brand bl2 humor)

and then there's the part in bl2 where claptrap says this golden line: "You killed my friends! You destroyed my product line! I am the last CL4P-TP in existence, and I am going to TEABAG YOUR COOOOORPSE!" // absolute king shit

and when he calls everyone out for being an ASSHOLE to him in the pre-sequel, it's such a good moment in an already awesome dlc!

all in all claptrap has so many good quotes hhh

- brotp

a lot. gaige and claptrap are arguably at the top of that list, and i can never see them as anything more than friends/besties. angel and clap are a close second tho! also thanks to you the bl3 vhs are somewhere on the list hehe

- otp

uh.. 👉👈 obviously not a whole lot considering that most of the universe hates his guts lmao but traplicity/felicitrap/(insert felicity x claptrap ship name here) would've been SO COOL had jack not been a little greedy bitch baby and kill her off.. :(

not my only one but definitely a topper

- notp

jack. and claptrap. obvious reasonings aside i read this one fic of the two on ff.net and never recovered. took 999999 psychic damage. angel and claptrap, again, obvious reasonings 2: electric boogaloo. shadowtrap and claptrap for.. well duh. (they're bros to me and it'd feel weird.)

okay i feel like explaining the first notp a little more because it irks me to death. jack and claptrap have a kinda parent-child relationship. jack also canonically abused the shit out of claptrap which is double icky. it wouldn't be out of place that they'd have the most lopsided, shittiest relationship because jack's not only claptrap's employer, but also he generally has more power over him in general because he's hyperion property and uhm.. yeah. ew.

- random headcanon

1. he's like a little magpie. he collects the shiny™ and hoards 'em in his room. chances are he might actually have something of use there

2. by bl3 his voicebox is fucked, and rarely come the times where he tries to say stuff it comes out all staticky and shit. and sometimes it peaks and uh.. becomes 10 leagues beyond unbearable.

3. also bl3, he stops taking a lot of shit. like he'd still cower and stuff but whenever some rando talks shit about him he'd fight back (verbally. i think he'd rarely ever get into legitimate scuffles esp bc he's not a fragtrap anymore) and it kinda works-ish.

- unpopular opinion

i don't got much because the most i've got is a: claptrap should've gotten a much more significant role in 3, and b: i think claptrap recovering more of his old combat data, which also leads up to shadowtrap's possible return should be a thing. no way in hell they're gonna forget about this one essential part of cv and tp-s!

- song i associate with them

considering my taste in songs is otherwise shit and/or vocaloid: amygdala's rag doll - ghost (we've talked about this hehhe) or world's end dancehall - wowaka (which honestly isn't as fitting but imo it's kinda in-line with him. // also it's got themes of suicide in the lyrics so you might wanna avoid it if that stuff bothers ya) (i make up imaginary amvs with him and shadowtrap it's so fun)

- favorite picture of them

this screenie of claptrap with his cord-tail-thing in the bl1 main menu

i kinda like that it just randomly pops out when he sneezes

[austennerdita2533]

How do you think Rory and Jess are celebrating New Year's? Because they're together, right?! I like to think they are by now!

I’d like to believe they’re together, too! In fact, I’d like to believe it so much that I wrote a thing about it…a oneshot, if you will. The damn thing just poured out of me yesterday. I don’t know what happened, but there was no stopping it lol. Sorry not sorry.

(A03) (FF.net)

Happy New Year, my lovely friend! Here’s some post-revival Literati for you to start off 2019 right. 💗

xx Ashlee Bree

Like A Calendar, The Heart Skips Forward

With drunken crowds, ugly tinsel streamers which hang in windows, and snow that’s beginning to stick to the city streets in inches as deterrents, they decide to spend the night in. At home.

The baby’s with her grandparents tonight, probably high on too much sugar and Dr. Seuss. Knowing Luke, he’s likely baby proofing everything again to be safe while Lorelai’s using scary voices so her granddaughter never goes near the stove (but hey, neither did Rory, and she’s turned out fine, hasn’t she?), so she and Jess have plenty of time to themselves. That’s a rarity these days, especially with a toddler in the picture. Alone time seems possible only at ungodly hours in the morning anymore, or during nap time, or in stolen minutes between hectic work schedules. So they’re grateful to Mom and Luke for the offer to babysit every now and again. And they love to do it, to spoil her little angel rotten with small town affection and attention. All the people of Stars Hollow love it, too.

As for Rory and Jess, they enjoy these adult-only nights. It’s a time to revel in intellect, in intimacy.

They love to tune into the timbre of the other’s conversation and fade into each new day talking, listening. It’s exhilarating to them to share new ideas. To uncover deeper feelings in their relationship, but also for them to reach further into the world to figure out what more they can do. Experience. Be.

Parties hold no charms for them this evening. Neither do bars or over-priced concert tickets. Invites from friends go unanswered because they forget to read their messages. They’re more than content to spend the night far away from the end-of-the-year bombast, anyway, with nothing but each other and the hum of this ratty old radiator for company.

They live in an old building so it’s no one’s fault when a malfunction occurs, as one often does.

Luckily, the heat works fine thanks to Jess and his patient tinkering. (Rory never says it out loud, but she swears he’s inherited this from Luke.) Countless hours he spends bent over tools with a concentrative crease in his forehead because their super, Mel, is a slovenly middle-aged coot who binges too much Netflix and refuses to answer knocks on his door from any of his tenants past 9 P.M. Mel likes to blame this incompetence on narcolepsy, but truthfully, it’s because the couch has molded to his prone body by that point, the television playing episode after episode of Frasier or The West Wing, so why trouble himself to move? Better yet, why not put his ringer on silent and ignore all the incoming calls he receives?

(Spoiler alert: he does.)

Encountering one of the Seven Deadly Sins in an actual person still seems a little ridiculous to Rory, borderline unlikely here; especially in a city teeming full of worker bees who supposedly never sleep, but they’ve managed well enough with the radiator on their own. And by well, she means she’s prone to kicking the darn thing any time it roars like it’s a beast straight out of Kevin McCallister’s nightmares in Home Alone.

It’s cozy and comfortable in the apartment tonight, however. Just the way they like it.

That means Rory’s in her favorite pair of slippers, big cumbersome things with floppy ears and shaggy puppy faces curiously similar to Paul Anka’s. Her hair’s loose, fallen past her shoulders, and her arms are stuffed into an oversized Cashmere sweater. Meanwhile, her boyfriend’s walking around barefoot, half-naked in a pair of boxer briefs and a green v-neck tee, his jeans in a ball near the door, seemingly impervious to the December weather.

Is he secretly a werewolf or something, she wonders? An alien? Or just some weirdo who sweats when it’s only sixteen degrees outside, a furnace for girls like her who huddle closer for warmth and never utter a word of complaint?

Music plays low in the background. It’s a playlist curated on one of their phones. Songs from Bjork, the Clash, the Distillers, so many other new and old bands - their favorites - add to the ambiance of this eclectic space they call home.

A half-edited manuscript perches on the edge of the coffee table. Its pages are blotted with black ink and arrowed notes that spill wide into the margins because Jess had spent the morning editing his latest draft, unsatisfied because his characters aren’t where he wants them to be yet. Books litter the kitchen counter. They sit scattered across the floor in organized piles near shelves that are already overflowing, some still stuffed in paper bags because they’d pilfered a thrift shop earlier and now can find nowhere to store the bulky bastards. (Typical for a pair of bookworms who will never have enough reading material between them.)

Appointment reminders and cute little post-it notes stick to the refrigerator in an array of colors. Most are in Rory’s hand, flourished in cursive or silliness, except for the few Jess added by famous authors or musicians because the words moved him; or because he thought they’d start her day with a pretty thought. A smile. A laugh that’d brighten the blue of her eyes.

The living area’s a messy snapshot of their family life with its stench of stale coffee, cologne, and baby lotion. There’s a jacket thrown over the arm of a plush designer sofa and way too many half-empty boxes of Pop Tarts fighting for space in the cupboard with jars of smooth peanut butter and pureed carrots. A laundry basket holds many of the little one’s toys: choo-choo trains, baby dolls, a Batmobile, three sets of ABC blocks, a Wonder Woman figurine, and a stuffed robot aptly named Bee-Doo.

The remote control is always lost somewhere unknown. They might as well attach a key finder around its middle. Or perhaps they should rip up the floorboards instead - a lá the Tell-Tale Heart - because it never takes less than twenty minutes to find the stupid gadget. Either it’s buried under cushions, kicked under miles of folded clothing or prose, or it’s stuffed beneath pillows with spare kernels of popcorn and pens attached to the buttons. Worse than all of that, though, is how the lost-and-found treasure hunt never seems to diminish their scrolling-for-something-to-watch minutes at all. Not in the slightest!

Later, they order takeout from five of their favorite places. It’s too much food for two people to consume in one meal, but who cares? It’s never stopped her or her mother before, so why start now?

There’s pizza, burgers, Thai, Chinese, and one heaping order from that Indian place she’d found around the corner about a month after they’d moved to Brooklyn. It has the most delicious, pungent food so naturally that leaves Jess scrunching his nose and Rory twinkling appreciatively because he’s caved to her doe-eyed pout for once, her belly and heart happy for getting their way.

“See here, mister: victory is mine! I knew you loved me too much to deny me. Admit it,” she says before pecking him sweetly on the cheek.

“Yeah, yeah,” he says after he pays for the delivery and dumps the bags on the table. “Whatever you say.” He remains noncommittal, but the truth shines in his eyes. “Just don’t complain about the cold when I open all the windows. It’ll take weeks to air out the stink in here—weeks. Probably three.”

“Two.”

“Three,” he fires back.

“Two.”

“Okay, two…maybe.” He brushes hair from her face and lets his fingers linger, then smiles her favorite crooked smile. “If we’re damn lucky, anyway.”

After dinner, they eat cheesecake with a bottle of wine. Ice cream with cones is Jess’s dessert preference usually, but they’re out, so they settle for booze and a tasty variation on dairy to help them compile their to-read lists for 2019. He’s on the left side of the sofa, her on the right. Call it a private, serious exercise. Extra points docked for peeking or flirting.

Such a silly idea it is, really, this hoarding then exchanging of lists. Yet it’s a fun way to pass the hours before midnight. Even more fun when they discover the selections that align, and those that don’t, sending them into a tizzy’d discussion about literature and writers the other still needs to know. Pretty soon, another list follows full of recommended titles Jess thinks she should read in the New Year, and vice versa.

Lane had called them a cute agoraphobic couple once, many years ago, if Rory remembers correctly. And by golly, what a label! If only she were here to see them right now, tangled in warmth and limbs and solitude.

She beams at the memory because that’s what she and Jess were back then. It’s what they still are. It’s who they want to be this New Year’s Eve, and the next…and the next…and for every one after for as long as they can live them like this: in love, happy, and together. They’d live this way forever, if only wishes like this could be granted.

“What I wouldn’t give for a Fairy Godmother right now,” she blurts out without thinking, all wrapped up in blankets and curled tight into his chest. “To have a dash of Disney magic or two in my possession would be supercalifragilistic.”

“Why? You don’t need saving.”

“That’s true.”

“So is it Prince Charming you’re after?” Jess asks with a quirk of the eyebrow.

Frowning, “What kind of girl do you take me for? I’m a feminist.”

“You want to freeze the world like Elsa then, huh? Is that it?”

“No.” Tracing his lips with her forefinger, Rory pauses. Reconsiders. “Well, I mean…only if I got to spend all of that time skating across it with you.”

“You mean falling,” Jess mutters.

“Rude! Read my lips: skating.”

He shrugs then. It’s followed by a smirk. “Impossible things are happening every day…or so it goes.”

Giggling, she shoves him, then covers her mouth with her hands.

“Wow, I can’t believe you’re quoting Whitney Houston from Roger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Who are you?”

“Like you haven’t seen it. Give me a break.”

“Many times,” she says, “but that’s not the point. The point is you’ve given a Gilmore ammunition to mock you for the rest of your life. Hasn’t Luke warned you about this? We’re unapologetic mockers, Mom and I.”

“Jeez, you’re mean,” Jess says with a shake of his head and an affectionate pinch to her side. “I should start calling you Grory.”

“Hey, no fair! I’m no Grinch. No Grendel, either.”

“Pre-coffee, that’s arguable.”

“I demand a re-write,” she says, crossing her arms, determined for her pout to win out for a second time.

“No way,” he replies. “That’s too much work, Green One.”

“Fine. As long as you realize you’re stuck with me regardless.”

“Am I?”

“Aren’t you?” Rory asks like a question that dangles then deflates. Her voice catches with uncertainty. The sound’s worse than the squeal a lobster makes in a boiling pot as she shifts onto her ankles on the sofa to pin him with a wide-eyed look, her heart pounding, mouth drier than Death Valley in the middle of a drought. Color rushes to her cheeks because Jess remains silent before her…because he reaches for the tattered copy of Persuasion that’s perched near his feet so he can underline one of Captain Wentworth’s most famous passages in black ink. I can listen no longer in silence, it reads. You pierce my soul. She knows the quote well. She knows it by heart.

However, it’s not until Jess scribbles down his own line onto the page with some rogue pen he’s found teetering on a shoe with no mate, his hand trembling, the apple in his throat bobbing like it’s been pinched by some invisible force he never saw coming; and it isn’t until he places the book in her lap so she can read what he wrote, that joyful disbelief betrays her. That her tears start flowing and flowing. They cover her face in red-eyed tenderness and devotion.

One look back at him, and she knows he feels the same. The love between them so real and so right, it fills the calendar with fulfillment they no longer wish to live without.

Marry me?

Two words, and the jerk’s a poet. Two words, and it’s only him she sees. Two words, one question, and Rory’s faced with an answer that takes no energy to give at all.

I’d be honored to be the Anne to your Wentworth, she writes back with shaky fingers and a grin so big she can barely see. So yes! Yes! A million times yes!

Wine switches to scotch sooner rather than later after that. Then talking turns to kissing, kissing moves to roving touches without either one of them noticing.

Both hands of the clock reach nearer and nearer to twelve as Rory pauses the movie they weren’t actually watching with a yawn, her sapphire diamond sparkling in the T.V’s muted light. Then she stands to refill their glasses one final time before 2018 ends, slippers scratching against the carpet. Jess wraps his arms around her waist while she pours. He smells of booze and sex and home.

Eyes closed and body rocking, he places a kiss against her arm, her shoulder, her neck, her mouth. He leaves a promise there that tastes of all that awaits them and more.

Together, they watch the snowflakes fall and drift to the fire escape outside their window, a moment of quiet before they pack the rest of the leftovers away so they can head to bed with this year lapsed behind them like another chapter closing. The page turns, and before they know it, December endings become January beginnings. The calendar’s blank and in wait for prose that has yet to be written, both of them looking forward to another 365 days full of learning, laughter, commitment, and so many more family firsts along the way.

[whumppile]

How about a MacGyver fic where Mac and Jack are trapped somewhere. Mac is injured, and Jack has to talk to him the whole time while they're waiting to be rescued to keep him awake and his mind off the pain.

First off, I’m soooo sorry this took so fucking long for me to finish. I promise I was working on it since you sent it but I had zero inspiration for it. I kept going back to it and seeing if I could but I finally got it finished. So, I really hope you like it and please let me know what you think. Thank you for sending the prompt I actually really like how it turned out. I’ll also post it on my ao3 and ff.net accounts it;s called “Holed up.” (lol its like a pun cause theyre hiding and laying low but also mac has a bullet hole in his side, okay anyway) 

Jack cursed again as he pressed harder on Mac’s side, in anattempt to stop the bleeding. He looked back up to the kids face when he hissedin pain, and apologized for the hundredth time.

“Sorry, sorry, but I have to get this bleeding stopped.”

Mac panted, teeth clenched shut against the pain. “It’sokay.”

But it wasn’t okay, not really. Because there was a certainway they did things, and Mac getting hurt was not supposed to be one of them.In every mission they went on, no matter how dangerous, Mac was always supposedto find a way out. Because he was still a kid, because he was a hero, becauseJack couldn’t stand to lose him.

The older agent pressed a hand to his ear, voice harsh andworried as he spoke to the rest of the team back at headquarters.

“We need an evac, right now! He’s not going to be walkingout of here; we can’t make it to our ride.”

Mattie would usually tell him off for yelling at her likethat, but she was just as worried as he was, and she remained patient with him.

“That’s going to take a little time, Dolton. We can’t getanyone in there to help until the storm passes, you’re just going to have towait a while.”

Jack’s voice cracked as he yelled once more. “Dammit,Mattie, he’s bleeding out!”

Mac coughed, scrunching his eyes shut against the pain ashis chest rattled horribly. He’d been shot a few times before, and it justwasn’t something you got used to. But he knew that he’d be okay because Jackwas there, and Jack always had his back.

He lifted a hand to the one Jack had pressed to his side.“It’s okay, we’ll…ugh, we’ll figure it out.”

They’d been trying to retrieve stolen information, from somecyber terrorists, and although they’d successfully recovered the data, Mac hadbeen shot in the process and the criminals had gotten away.

Jack didn’t care about the mission, he only cared about hisfriend, and at present his friend was bleeding out in the dirt. He’d never beengood at handling Mac getting hurt, it made him panic and freak out and hecouldn’t think of anything but saving his team mate.

Mac coughed again and groaned in pain, body shaking underJacks blood slick hands. He needed to get him off the ground, and somewheresafe. They couldn’t stay out in the street, especially not if a storm washeaded straight for them.

He blinked through his wet eyes and looked around, spottingthe cyber terrorists abandoned hide out. He turned back to the kid on theground.

“Okay, I’m going to get you inside that house, and it’sgoing to hurt to move but we have to. So, just hold on to me and let me do allthe work okay?”

Mac nodded. He didn’t want to move at all, even laying stillhurt and he didn’t want to think about how much it would hurt to stand or walk,but Jack was right, it had to be done.

Jack offered one last apology before carefully gathering theyounger agent in his arms. He took the kids arm around his shoulder and pressedthe other to the wound. He wrapped his own arm around Mac’s waist and got tohis feet, dragging poor Mac with him.

The kid was tough but having a bullet stuck inside you hurtslike hell, and he let out a series of whimpers and curses as he tried to stayon his feet as they made their way to the house.

Riley’s voice came through the coms just as Jack managed toget Mac onto a couch, she sounded scared. “Mac? Are you going to be okay?”

Jack looked down at the blonde, his eyes were tightly shutagainst the pain and he was struggling to get a decent breath in. He wouldn’tbe answering Riley’s question anytime soon. Jack tried to sound as if he wasn’tlosing his kind with worry.

“He’ll be okay, Ri. I’ll take care of him, don’t you worry.”

First thing to do would be…stop the bleeding and keep Macwarm. It was really hard to concentrate with your best friend’s blood all overyour hands, but unfortunately it wasn’t the first time Jack had done this for afriend.

He had spent too many nights washing the younger agents bloodfrom his hands, or waiting for him to wake up, the incessant beeping of theheart monitor driving him mad. He had done it before, but god, it never goteasy.

He always managed to convince himself it would never happenagain, that he would protect him; but now Mac was just another name on the listof people he let down.

Mac panted beneath him, and Jack hated it, but he needed toleave for just a second.

“Mac, stay awake okay? I have to go get supplies, but I’llbe back, I promise.”

The genius barely managed a nod, and although Jack was thoroughlyworried, he had to leave anyway.

The agent pulled Macs hands up to the wadded-up shirt overhis side, hating the wet squelch it made when he pressed those weak hands downonto it.

“Hold that tight, kid. Keep pressure on it.”

Mac’s fingers curled a little, into the makeshift bandages,as his eyes blinked sluggishly. Jack sighed; it would have to do. “Good enough.”

Jacks feet hesitated as he went to leave, because Mac wasalready looking like he was going to pass out, and he knew that if those eyesclosed, they may never open again.

“Mac, I always forget how the table of elements goes, canyou sing it to me again?”

In reality, Jack could almost manage it, he’d heard it somany times, but Mac had always liked singing it to himself when he needed adistraction, and it would mean Jack could keep him awake and hear him whereverhe went in the small hide-out.

Mac blinked at him, smiling a little. “I love that song.”

Jack smiled and tapped his coms. “I know you do buddy, andRiley and I would really love to hear it. Right, Riley?”

Riley quickly answered, sounding amused, which Jack wasgrateful for. He hated hearing her worry.

“Uhh yeah, I’d love to hear it, Mac.”

Jack moved to the doorway. “You start singing, and I’ll lookfor some supplies but I’ll be listening, okay?”

Mac’s words were slower than usual but the kid still had hisgiant brain working as he started singing.

“There’s antimony, arsenic, aluminium, selenium. And,hydrogen, and oxygen, and nitrogen, and rhenium.”

Jack smiled a little to himself as Mac continued, as helooked through the house for anything he could use. It had been used as atemporary hide out for the cyber terrorists, so there wasn’t much to work with.He wished he could just get the kid to a hospital, but since they were operatingon foreign soil without permission, that would be a no go.

He found some duct tape, and a few clothes, but not muchelse. Mac fumbled over a word and stopped singing.

“And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germainimom…haha I said mom.”

Jack smiled, unable to help himself when Riley startedlaughing through the coms, and called out to their wounded team mate. “Keepgoing, Mac! I still can’t remember them all!”

“Umm…Oh germanium. And Iron, americium, ruthenium, europium,zirconium, lutetium-“

Jack went into another room as he shook his head to himself.“Damn, how many are there.”

Riley’s voice was that amused warm, that let him know shewas smiling smugly, with just a hint of love. “One hundred and eighteen.”

“Jesus.”

Mac let out a giggle. “Jesus is not an element, Jack.”

The older agent laughed, and picked up a bundle of blanketsfrom a pile of the hackers abandoned things.  

“I know that! Keep singing, Mackie, I’m sorry for interruptingyour little talent show.”

The singing continued, as Jack searched the rest of therooms.

“-Vanadium, and lanthanum, and osmium, and astatine, andradium, and gold, protactinium, and indium and gallium.”

When he’d found all he could, he came back to where Mac waslaying on the couch, head leant back and singing. From the amount of blood, he’dlost, Jack was surprised Mac could say all the complicated words, let alone rememberthem. But then, who else could remember something so ridiculous in such aserious situation.

He smiled when he saw him, but it quickly turned into afrown as he saw Mac’s side. The kid could remember the entirety of theelemental table, but had forgotten to keep pressure on the bullet wound he wasbleeding out from. He quickly dumped the stuff he’d found and rushed to the kid’sside, pressing a fresh towel to the wound.

“Mac! You were supposed to press on this, what happened tothe plan, my man?”

The blonde looked up at him, then down at his side, liftinghis hand to look at the blood dripping from it.

“It wouldn’t stop, anyway. And it hurt to push on it.”

Jack was trying to keep calm as his forehead creased inconcern. “I know, but it’s important okay? I gotta keep pressure on this but Ineed my hands free to take care of you so, look what I got.”

He kept one hand on Mac’s side, holding the towel over thealready soaking shirt, while he picked up one of his dropped supplies and heldit up for the other man to see.

“Duct tape! Your favourite.”

Mac smiled, as he watched Jack use it to tape the compressesto his side. “I love duct tape. Did you know NASA has stored it on board every missionsince the early Gemini era? Because it was used to save the Apollo 13?”

Jack frowned as he concentrated on his work, wincing insympathy as Mac let out a small grunt of pain. “Yep, I do know that because you’vetold me a hundred times. You’ve also told me that it was first invented tosolve issues the military had with bullet storage, and everyone called it ducktape at first.”

Mac smiled and patted Jacks shoulder with a clumsy hand. “Hey,you do listen to me.”

“Most of what you say is dorky science nonsense, but whenyou say something enough times, I can’t help but remember it.”

Mac frowned a littlebit, as Jack secured the duct tape and towel. It wasn’t great, but again, it wouldhave to do.

“S’not nonsense Jack. It’s science, and that makes it cool.”

Jack reached back to his supplies, picking up a waterbottle. “Whatever you say, little man. You want something to drink?”

“No.” Mac went to wipe his eyes, but Jack stopped him beforehe could smear blood all over himself, wiping the kids hand on an extra towel.

“Well, too bad, you need to keep your fluids up, you knowthat. Here.”

He handed the bottle to him, frowning when Mac pushed itaway before it even got to his mouth.

“Mac, drink it!”

The kid shook his head, tired eyes just a little amused. “No,Jack that’s not water.”

The agent frowned, but brought it to his nose and sniffedit, quickly pulling it away. “Woah, that it is not. Those hackers really likedto party. This house has barely anything in it, but Vodka they have?”

He took a quick swig from the bottle, making a face at thestrong spirits. “Damn, that’s definitely the cheap stuff, but it’ll kill germseither way.”

Matty spoke up from the coms, reminding Jack that she wasstill listening in. “And what exactly was the purpose of trying it, Jack?”

“Well, boss, what if it was something else? What if it wasnail polish remover or-“

Mac narrowed his eyes. “If it was you’d be throwing up.Also, did you know that acetone poisoning makes you have a ���fruity’ odour? Isn’tthat weird?”

Jack frowned and began unravelling the duct tape andbandages from Mac’s side. “Yes, Angus that is very weird, and really unhelpfulright now. I’m gonna clean this out, and it’s going to really hurt, so hold myarm really tight okay? Think about something that’ll keep you calm and happywhile I do this.”

Mac obediently took Jacks arm, loosely holding his bicep ashe thought. “Hmmm, my motorbike. Or the elements song. I really like that song.”

Jack didn’t want to remove the bandages and risk morebleeding, but he didn’t want to risk infection either, and since they wereusing anything but bandages, that likelihood was high. He needed to do it, butit really was going to suck.

“Just pick one and focus on it. Try to hold still. I’m sorryman, here goes.”

The bandages were peeled back, revealing the bullet woundand causing blood to flow down his side quicker; and then Jack poured the vodkaover it.

Mac screamed in pain, before grinding his teeth and tryingto muffle the sound. His hand squeezed Jacks arm so tight his knuckles turnedwhite, and Jack could feel the bruises forming.

Jack winced but kept going, making sure it was properlyflushed out, trying to hold the kid down with his one free arm.

“Almost finished, Mac…There, breathe. All done.” He pulled thebottle away and set it doused the crappy, homemade bandages they were using,before setting the bottle down on the floor and tying the compress back to Mac’sside.

“Shouldn’t be any bugs in it now, but I don’t want to takeany chances with infections, so I’m gonna keep a close eye on you okay? Hey,breathe.”

Mac was panting, eyes closed as he rode the waves ofexhaustion and pain that came after something like that. He stopped squeezing Jack’sarm but didn’t let go, only opening his eyes when he felt Jacks hand across hisforehead.

“You feel a little cold, probably from the blood loss, but atleast it’s not a fever.”

He went to stand, only to be stopped by Mac’s and on hisarm, tugging him back down. Jack looked to Macs face, those big eyes asking whathe couldn’t say out loud. Don’t leave me.

Jack patted his hand and knelt beside him again. “It’s okay,I aint leaving ya, I’m just getting a blanket and some actual water.”

Mac slowly released his arm, but closely watched him as hemoved back to his supplies pile, grabbing a blanket and another water bottle.

He shook the worn quilt over the kid, tucking his feet inand pulling it high up on his chest, before grabbing the bottle and taking alittle sip.

“Yeah, this one’s water.”

He gave the bottle to the other agent, watching himcarefully until he was satisfied he’d had enough.

Once he was done, Jack sat on the ground, next to the couch,and turned to his friend as Mac took his arm again. His tone was tired, andmade him sound younger, more vulnerable.

“It hurts.”

Jack sighed, and patted his hand, taking his fingers, andsqueezing them gently. He wouldn’t admit to holding his hand, but that’s whatit was.

“I know, we’ll get you home soon.”

Riley spoke this time, a little worried but trying to reassure.“Storms passing overhead, looks like it missed you completely. Medevac shouldbe there in thirty minutes.”

Jack cursed softly, because he didn’t know if they had thatlong. Mac had lost too much blood already and he couldn’t afford to lose anymore; but he knew they were all doing their best, and it certainly wasn’t Riley’sfault they couldn’t get there faster. He swallowed his frustration and managedto keep his voice level.

“Thanks, that’s good. You hear that Mac? You’ll be feelingbetter soon. We’ll get you on those good drugs and you can sleep the whole ridehome.”

Mac relaxed into the couch, and turned his hand in Jack’sgrip so they were properly holding hands. Jack had cleaned Mac’s hands, but nothis own, and the blood stained the blondes skin once more.

“Thanks for taking care of me, Jack. You’re the best.”

Mac’s eyes were full of more words, bigger ones, that would definitelymake Jack cry. He squeezed the kids hand and smiled.

“No problem. You know I’ll always be here for you, Mackie.”

It was a nice moment, until Riley’s voice came throughagain. “You guys are adorable, but why can’t you just say, ‘I love you’ and getit over with? We’re all family, it’s not weird.”

Jack rolled his eyes and held a finger to his earpiece. “Shutup, Ri, he knows I love him.”

He didn’t turn to look at him, but saw Mac smile out thecorner of his vision. “Love you too, Jack.”

“I love you guys too!” Jack frowned, confused, at the voice comingthrough the coms.

“Bozer? When did you get here?”

The happy voice came back, making Mac smile at the sound ofhis friend. “Just now, when you guys started being all adorable. What did Imiss?”

Mac and Jack were picked up twenty-five minutes later, andJack stayed with his partner the whole way. Cause even though they got into sometrouble, and maybe had some minor issues with saying how they really felt, they’dalways be family, and always have each other’s back.