#even though there was a black list and we know Freddie was on it so this answer feels like it was so very good prepared
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#how are we my dear mutuals? đ#how do they say?#same old shit but a different day#đ#just a couple things#just a reminder#for everyone#he NEVER in 14 years said that itâs not true#like never#he so very good with his words and people believe what they like to believe but he never said that#also in the year of 2024 can we please stop having questions about that?#even though there was a black list and we know Freddie was on it so this answer feels like it was so very good prepared#he was very calm and made sure to speak about Freddie even though the question didnât have anything to do with him#so it feels like it was all very well planned#anyway đ
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Iâm rewatching Agents of Shield and here is a (final) list of things I genuinely forgot happened:
(and also little things i enjoy)
season seven:
- deke printed out sheriff stars
- âi just canât seem to hold down a husband as they all just turn up with broken ribs when they give me lipâ - daisy
- coulson learned about the speakeasy in a first year history course at the academy
- the first thing may says after finding out sheâs in 1931, was âiâm hungryâ
- âiâm a doctor, not a dameâ âiâm a biochemist not a birdâ fucking icon jemma simmons
- deke tells freddy that he invented the walkie-talkie
- âagent may, if i may?â enoch is so funny
- âŚmay says she doesnât feel anything when she wakes up, even though her empathy-ability is already present (though no one knows it yet). she wakes up and feels nothing because the only other person there is enoch, who isnât human, and therefore doesnât feel anything, at least not the way we do
- she also talks in a very-enoch like connotation during these scenes (same sort of lilt in her voice)
- they brought koenig onboard the zephyr and he said âexcuse me if iâm not impressedâ and then immediately lost his shit. he also called enoch a robot, and enoch made a very âbitch, pleaseâ face
- freddy shot koenig in the shoulder
- enoch is shown to be working as a bartender at the end of s7ep2 for koenig
- the zephyr scared two teenagers half to death when they got to the fifties
- younger daisy (aka skye ig) believed that area 51 was controlled by shield and was proven right
- the first time may showed signs of her empathy besides the monotone killer mood was when trying to single out the chronicom starting up helius and she basically had a panic attack
- also the chronicom theyâre chasing has a very dottie underwood like aesthetic (ofc iâm referencing agent carter when my boy sousa is back)
- overriding the system knocked out the two chronicoms and coulson.
- the camera zoomed in on coulsonâs eye and showed a circuit flickering
- the reason s7ep4 is in black and white is because of a malfunction in the wires
- sousa was considered the first fallen soldier of shield
- sousa called howard a pompous ass (heâs right and he should say it)
- mack compared the effect of sousaâs death on shield to the effect of coulsonâs to the avengers
- sousa stole a motorcycle from the zephyr
- deke said he wrote the song âdonât you (forget about me)â
- he also name drops daisy in his own lyrics
- coulsonâs in a tv
- sybilâs âdumb botâ acts just like a dalek for a sec
- may and yoyo sparred to try and trigger yoyoâs powers into working again
- yo-yo got stuck on the quinjet at the beginning of each loop
- in several loops, mack gets blinded by a radiation flare
- deke gives the distance from the center of the time storm in kilometers, which i initially thought was strange cause yâknow american, but then i realized that deke literally grew up in space and that fitz-simmons basically created all the tech/software on board so yeah metric system
- daisy proved to simmons that she was in a loop with the fake word: âphlebotinumâ
- when trying to remove the implant, on the first two tries, a lethal gas filled the room killing simmons (and the second time, daisy)
- in one loop, sousa grabbed the machine to remove the implant from the drawer instead of daisy or simmons and started coughing up blood
- also he literally grabbed it so that if something went wrong daisy wouldnât die and lose her memories of the time loop
- may initially didnât want to tell kora about jiaying but then brought her to see her body
- kora tried to help her mother heal by giving her energy
- simmons started forgetting fitz after malick put her in the memory machine
#agents of shield#daisy johnson#phil coulson#melinda may#alphonso mackenzie#jemma simmons#leo fitz#yoyo rodriguez#deke shaw#daniel sousa
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HAPPY 5TH ANNIVERSERY TO
CHARLIE THE CURSED PHONE GUY
MAY HE STAY WITH US FOR ANOTHER FIVE AND BEYOND!
and now a special message from the man himself.
"Well, Well, Well... look how far we've come huh? Genuinely, honest... And Truly."
"Five years ago I was made and cursed the world of tumblr with my presence, time sure does fly! I've lost a few friends, but gained plenty more in return!"
"I wouldn't even be here today without them, now granted I'm not gonna name EVERYONE! But I am gonna name a select few and tell you how they've impacted me... AHEM..."
"First and foremost the man the myth and the legend the one who is the reason behind everything, the man where if he didn't exist I wouldn't exist!"
"Henr- ... we all know I don't mean him we're talking about real people."
"If your name isn't listed, it isn't because the mod dosen't care but it's because he's a dumbass and these are the ones that came up at the top of his head when writing this post, totally not a forth wall break."
@directdogman
"The Creator of the DSAF/Dayshift At Freddy's Series Direct Doggo himself, sure okay I was a late edition to the fandom.
but it is fully thanks to DSAF 3 and him that I even exist, what can I say about doggo other then what has been said before one thousand times? He is a man of many skills and many talents."
"He is creative, smart and genuinely an inspiration to everyone in the community of both DSAF and Dialtown... no matter how much time has passed, I will personally continue to respect the man I owe everything to him. So thank you doggo genuinely for your support and your amazing games."
@cook-ie-chip
"One of my oldest friends in the community, I've known you since almost the start! we have alot of memories together, some laughs, some cries! you also created my blue prints
(though in lore they were written by henry and will) let's look past that! You remind me of how things used to be a long time ago, and I'm glad to still know you even now."
"and with any hope I'll curse you for many years more."
@lazy-charlie / @chuck-the-fanboy
"I remember how we met, you found me and we both realized we had the same name, and so I decided to charge you extra for like a pizza party lmao."
"But ever since that day we have only grown closer and closer... to the point your apart of the roomba fazbender family [no you will get no discounts] ..."
"You've done so much for me over the years though, you helped create the Roomba's we have here today, you drew some of our lovely walrus friends!"
"AND ... ough... Okay Okay I'll be honest you made Chuck The Fanboy originally a joke just to tease me with, but over the years he's grown on me... DO NOT LET HIM HEAR ME SAY THIS, but he's like a lil bro... and if anything happened to him I'd be devastated."
@clownsuu / @not-robert
"... well well well if it isn't the shadow in black and the big buff zombie, what can I say about both of you?"
"Hmm... Clownsuu here teases me, has DRAWN ME MPREG, HAS DRAWN ME EMO, IS THE REASON WHY THE EVIL VERSION OF ME EXISTS!..."
"and yet life wouldn't be the same with out him, jack is... an anomaly someone I met because someone thought he was stealing me! HA no one can steal this perfect face~"
"Gotta say though, all jokes aside... life just wouldn't be the same without him, alot more boring you know? I must admit he is someone I will never forget, you've also drawn photos of a few of my walrus I still have hung up in my office, I appreciate you for absolutely everything you've done."
"And don't get me started on Robert that big buff baby, I've put him in just about every costume under the sun, and yet he still puts up with me and stays still no idea why. But it's because of him my restaurant has expanded so much, from a bowling alley, a karaoke bar and dumpsters full of meat."
"Don't tell Robert this he'd likely call me an idiot, but guy's one of my best friends genuinely thankfully he's immortal so I'll never worry about losing him but ... the thought still scares me."
"Never change Robert."
@weirdozjunkary
"You turned me into a furry... I got nothin else to say I just had to point that out."
"..."
"..."
"Okay, fine you did alot more then that, you introduced me to bedlam someone who can FINALLY truly be a sponge to my cursed and chaotic behavior, honestly I'd hope so considering he's the god of chaos."
"I only met him recently but I'd fuken fight his version of god for him ... seriously don't tempt me I will kick that old man's ass."
"I'm glad to have bedlam in my life and hope I know him for many years more."
@an-artist-place-for-extra-art
"you simp for the evil version of me I..."
"I have no words for you..."
"I just question... why?"
"though honestly? never change, I care for you just the way you are, your amazing."
"Alright, Alright enough of the mushy stuff and forth wall breaks it's messing with my circuits and servo's ahem..."
"The most important thing about this day is one..."
"I'm so fucking cool"
"two"
"I AM NEVER GOING ANYWHERE HATERS, FIVE MORE YEARS AND BEYOND OF ME!!!"
"and three... and most important lore wise"
"HAPPY 50TH ANNIVERSERY TO ROOMBA FUCKING FAZBENDERS!"
"50 YEARS THIS PLACE HAS BEEN OPEN WITHOUT ANY DEATHS JUST A FEW INJURIES AND I'LL TAKE THAT WITH STRIDE!"
"AS THE ULTIMATE FUCK YOU TO FREDBEAR'S AND FAZBENDER ENTERTAINMENT!"
"THE GUY WHO IS A LITERAL ELDRITCH HORROR AND EATS SHOES WITH HIS BOOTLEG RESTURANT LASTED LONGER THEN ALL OF YOU SUCK IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"
"... thank you... genuinely out of pocket with full seriousness..."
"thank you everyone for sticking around none of this would be possible without you, and I HONEST AND TRUELY can't wait for another five amazing years."
Moderator Monnie: And happy anniversary to everyone from me to all of you!
Have a fantastic day! and thank ya'll for reading!
#charlie the phone guy#charlie the cursed phone guy#dsaf#dayshift at freddy's#mod monnie#mod post#important#very important post#Happy Fifth Birthday Charlie!#Happy 5th Anniversary Charlie!#Happy 50th Anniversary Roomba Fazbender's (Lore)#Happy Fiftieth Anniversary Roomba Fazbenders (Lore)#Long post#Very Long Post#forth wall break basically the entire post lol
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So uh. I never really did an intro soooo
I see a lot of people asking about commissions and I am here to tell you that I don't do them! They stress me out! Sorry but they're Scary. But I do drawing *requests*. Because I like drawing things without any form of pressure to draw them!
Now that's out of the way, hello there! My name is Socrates. But everyone calls me socks.
I am an adult! 18 years old, April 23 2006.
My pronouns are he/him!
I am both a trans man and bisexual!
Things you should know:
I have low to severe functioning autism. Meaning I need help from those outside of my own self. Basically help with my day to day life and for scary situations such as talking to strangers IRL. Or complex decisions such as bank details or that kinda thing. I need others to help me!
That doesn't mean I'm not smart though. I'm mostly slow. I call it rebooting. So if I ever take a while to respond it's probably because I'm thinking about what to say!
I have bipolar disorder. I deal mostly with mood swings one minute ranting about how cute my cat is the next minute crying over how cute my cat is.
I deal with a lot of doctors! Two or more appointments a week! So if I tell you multiple times over a short span of time I can't talk cause I'm going to the doctor's it's not an overused excuse! It's true!
I have severe anxiety. Meaning any communication at all stresses me out. But I still really wanna try to socialize!
I have memory issues.
So if you wanna talk I'm welcome to it. I'm just really, really, shy. And sometimes I'll panic and end conversations out of nowhere. So if you ever wanna talk all I ask is to be understanding and a lil patient.
And if you talk to me long enough I'll grow to trust you! Which means I'll feel more comfortable and calm when talking to you!
About my art:
I love art! But it's hard to do since I have some physical problems. But I do it anyway! I mainly draw things I like or request / challenges I receive. I like to draw my little persona alot because he's simple and easy to draw. I also have a lot of OC's! Ask me about them! I love them all and will be over the moon to share their stories outside of just the art I make of them!
About my text posts:
Text posts are semi common. It's mostly little ramblings or rants. Or just how I'm feeling. But again I mostly posts art.
If I ever interact with you or your posts:
It means I wanna talk to you but don't know how so I just try to show affection with hearts and sometimes if I'm brave enough a comment or reply. But I still really wanna learn to socialize with you!
Hobbies:
Art, cooking, baking, gardening, sewing, video games.
Lastly:
Ask me stuff! Talk to me if ya want! I am lonely. And I love you! And I'm proud of you! Take care of yourself! You deserve it! Bye! Love you!
Things I like (extra bit):
Get ready it's a long lists,
anime!
Any anime really even if I haven't seen it! I have watched a bit of or completed, Naruto, one piece, jujutsu keisen, Ouran host club, black clover, sword art online, attack on Titan, Yuri on ice, one punch man, my hero academia, assassination classroom, food wars, pokemon, the promised Neverland. And a bit more I'm probably forgetting.
Video games!
Any video game really! Even if I haven't played it! But I have played or watched others play: stardew valley, undertale, Minecraft, Roblox, terraria, cult of the lamb, overwatch 2, dead by daylight, Skyrim, halo, rocket League, cod black ops 2 zombies, moonlighter, hollow night, sky children of the light, don't starve together, subnautica, subnautica below zero, alot of different Pokemon games, five nights at Freddy's, astroneer, monster hunters, and one of my absolute all time favorites SLIME RANCHER!
other medias / things, TV shows, books, etc:
Percy Jackson, a bit of harry potter, marvel universe, DC universe, amazing digital circus, don't hug me I'm scared, Steven universe, avatar the last Airbender, we bear bears, and more I'm probably forgetting.
That's all bye.
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same anon who asked for the companions favorite songs, could you do what songs fit the companions this time? thanks again <333
Of course anon! I love asks like these. I'm super tired so I'll list the lyrics and songs, not explanations for now. Sorry :(
Cait: Cinderella Man by Eminem
"There's a storm comin' that the weatherman couldn't predict I start to bug, prick, you better flee, 'cause I get ticked It's a wrap, I was down, when I was down I was kicked I got up, I'm back to punch you to the ground, you're tricked"
Curie: Fourth Of July by Sufjan Stevens
"Sitting at the bed with the halo at your head Was it all a disguise, like Junior High Where everything was fiction, future, and prediction Now, where am I? My fading supply
Did you get enough love, my little dove Why do you cry?"
Paladin Danse: My Body Is A Cage by Arcade Fire
"I'm standing on a stage Of fear and self-doubt It's a hollow play But they'll clap anyway
My body is a cage That keeps me from dancing with the one I love But my mind holds the key
You're standing next to me My mind holds the key
I'm living in an age That calls darkness light Though my language is dead Still the shapes fill my head"
Deacon: Freaks by Surf Curse
"My head is filled with parasites Black holes cover up my eyes I dream of you almost every night Hopefully, I won't wake up this time"
Desdemona: The President Has A Sex Tape by K.Flay
"The president has a sex tape The oceans all dried up The devil got the dealer The dealer got the dollar Don't tell me I can live off love The president has a sex tape Your daughters aren't safe at night I got a feeling that my body is owned A feeling that my body ain't mine"
Hancock: The Other Side Of Paradise by Glass Animals
"Bye bye baby blue I wish you could see the wicked truth Caught up in a rush, it's killing you Screaming at the sun, you blow into Curled up in a grip when we were us Fingers in a fist like you might run I settle for a ghost I never knew Superparadise I held on to But I settle for a ghost"
MacCready: Ain't No Rest For The Wicked by Cage The Elephant
"Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked Money don't grow on trees I got bills to pay I got mouths to feed There ain't nothing in this world for free I know I can't slow down I can't hold back Though you know I wish I could Oh, no there ain't no rest for the wicked Until we close our eyes for good"
Nick Valentine: Time Waits For No One by Freddie Mercury
"Time waits for no one We've got to build this world together Or we'll have no more future at all Because time It waits for nobody Nobody
You don't need me to tell you what's gone wrong You know what's going on And it seems to me we've not cared enough Or confided in each other at all It seems like we've all got our backs against the wall
Time waits for nobody Time waits for no one We've got to trust one another Or we'd have no more future at all"
Piper: Cigarette Daydreams by Cage The Elephant
"You can drive all night Lookin' for the answers in the pourin' rain You wanna find peace of mind Lookin' for the answer
Funny how it seems like yesterday As I recall, you were lookin' out of place Gathered up your things and slipped away No time at all, I followed you into the hall Cigarette daydream You were only seventeen Soft speak with a mean streak Nearly brought me to my knees"
Preston Garvey: ...History Has Its Eyes On You.... from Hamilton..
"I was younger than you are now When I was given my first command I led my men straight into a massacre I witnessed their deaths firsthand I made every mistake and felt the shame rise in me And even now I lie awake, knowing history has its eyes on me History has its eyes on me"
X6-88: Oh No! By MARINA
"I know exactly why I walk and talk like a machine I'm now becoming my own self-fulfilled prophecy Oh! Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, no, oh!
One track mind, one track heart If I fail, I'll fall apart Maybe it is all a test 'Cause, I feel like I'm the worst So I always act like I'm the best"
Elder Maxson: Viva La Vida by Coldplay. I can't help myself
"It was a wicked and wild wind Blew down the doors to let me in Shattered windows and the sound of drums People couldnât believe what Iâd become Revolutionaries wait For my head on a silver plate Just a puppet on a lonely string Oh who would ever want to be king?"
#angsty ish#didn't include codsworth or strong sorry :(#had no clue what i would put for them#long post#long ass post#cait#fallout 4#fallout#fallout 4 companions react#paladin danse#cait fallout 4#deacon#preston garvey#piper wright#nick valentine#curie#x6-88#desdemona#elder maxson#arthur maxson#maccready#hancock#fallout 4 companions
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Someone on discord asked me to make a list of who's who on FNaF. Here.
Freddy: Gabriel, assumed to be brown-haired and darker in skin colour
Bonnie: Jeremy, fans say that heâs probably related to bonnie mask, usually assumed to be black-haired with light skin, sometimes wearing glasses
Chica: Susie, the one who lost her dog and is speculated that the dog possesses Mangle, is canonically blonde with curly hair and light skin, seen with a bow in her hair and a pink dress
Foxy: Fritz, usually assumed to be red-haired with neutral skin, sometimes assumed to wear an eye patch as a live child because foxy was his favorite. Some say that foxy bro(foxy mask) possesses foxy but is not generally confirmed and only very few people use that theory in their videos/skits/posts in general.
Golden Freddy: There are definitely multiple spirits possessing this abomination, I personally believe there's more than just C.C. and Cassidy since Andrew is also a good candidate to possess the animatronic alongside the two I already mentioned.
Puppet: The Puppet is confirmed to be Charlie No-Last-Name-Given, daughter of Henry No-Last-Name-Given.
Currently we do not know if the Toy Animatronics are even possessed or not, but Mangle is speculated to be possessed by Susieâs(Chicaâs) dog, the one William used to lure her to the employee-only room. According to some theories, Ballon Boy is possessed by more than one spirit. Many say it's the second batch of kids that William death-glared. Many say it's the two Fitzgeralds(Jeremy Fitzgerald and Jeremy Fitzgerald ||), though we do not know and can't confirm.
The phantoms are obviously not possessed, they are only phantoms that appear, that try and stop you. Springtrap, the ring leader of sorts for the phantoms, however, is possessed by the death-glarer William Afton, who got spring locked and produced enough agony to possess the spring bonnie suit.
The nightmares are not possessed even a tiny bit, they are just based off of the four mask bullies. Foxy mask, bonnie mask(who is usually put as being Jeremyâs(Bonnieâs) brother but it is not canonically confirmed), Chica mask, and Freddy mask.
(small mask bully rant)
All of them have fanon names that were generally accepted, except Foxy mask. Foxy mask is confirmed to be Michael Afton. But the fanon names are:
Chica mask=Simon
Bonnie mask=Jeremy ||(we will get to that soon)/Kelsey
Freddy mask=Frederick
Bonnie mask is speculated to be Jeremy Fitzgerald || , but i don't believe so, as you see by me including his other fanon name. Bonnie mask is also seen as the strongest because on Crying Childâs birthday he lifts C.C. with one arm, while all the other bullies lift C.C. with two arms.
(Rant over, for now)
In SL only Baby is confirmed to be possessed. Baby is Elizabeth Afton, while people say Balora is Mrs. Afton, no first name given. Many theorize that Millie from the books possesses Funtime Freddy, and is out for blood after getting death-glared. But it was never confirmed that she got death-glared so it's not a very likely possibility that she possesses Funtime Freddy.
None of the new animatronics in the FNaF Pizzeria simulator seems to be possessed except for Leftie/Lefty, who is confirmed to be the Puppet. The Puppet is possessed by Charlie No-Last-Name-Given.
In FNaF VR we know that Glitchtrap is somehow related to good olâ Peepaw Willy. Many say that Glitchtrap is fully William, and that William did that on purpose to escape the hell that Cassidy(?) made for him(UCN). But it's not very convincing.
In Security Breach, people theorize that Freddy is possessed by Michael Afton. I don't think that's very likely to be true but it is a possibility. Gregory is thought to be a robot that has the Crying Childâs soul. That is mainly because in FNaF 4, there is a line of text at the end of the game that says âI will put you back togetherâ and it is directly spoken to the Crying Child. Though it seems impossible, there is a chance that it is true. I personally do not think either of those are true until there is more to prove that they are indeed true.
More things people on discord wanted my opinion on;
1. Is William Afton phone guy?
No, I don't think he is. Though there may be some things we can connect them by, their voices are completely different and phone guy âdiedâ before William âdiedâ.
2. Are the Glamrocks possessed by the mask bullies?
We barely have evidence that Michael Afton possesses Glamrock Freddy! How did we get that conclusion?
3. How did Glamrock Bonnie get dismantled?
I believe that Monty was either being controlled by Vanny or Afton or was the first to get put into the aggressive mode that all the Glamrocks(-Freddy) are in while Gregory is in the Pizzaplex.
4. Did the phone guy get death-glared by the animatronics?
Yâknow how we respawn after getting killed and repeat the night? I think that happened to phone guy.
5. In which order was the first batch of kids death-glared?
First was Susie(Chica) and we know that for a fact because of a line in UCN where she said âI was the first, I have seen everything.â Then Jeremy is thought to be second, Fritz is thought to be third and then Gabriel. Of course, Charlie died before all of them because she is the Puppet and she is the one that gave them the option of possessing the suits.
6. Who do we play as in FNaF VR?
Vanessa, thought to be Vanny.
7. Is Vanessa Vanny?
All signs point to maybe, maybe not. She might be though. Seems like it but at the same time it doesn't.
#fnaf#fnaf security breach#fnaf ultimate custom night#fnaf ucn#fnaf vr#theory#whoâs who?#a few mini theories#fnaf 3#fnaf 1#fnaf 4#fnaf pizzeria simulator#fanf theory#we hate fnaf lore but at the same time love it
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The Fanfic Author's Guide to Metatext
(As Used on Ao3) by Eiiri
Also available as a PDF here. This thing is 13,000 words. Â The PDF is recommended.
Intro: What is Metatext?
Metatext is everything we fanfic authors post along with our story that is not the story itself: title, tags, summary, author's notes, even the rating.
It is how we communicate to potential readers what they're signing themselves up for if they choose to read our story, how we let them make informed decisions regarding which fics they want to read, how we get their interest and, frequently, how they find our story in the first place. A lot of metatext acts as a consent mechanism for readers, it's the informed part of informed consent.
Since most of us who write fanfic also read it, we understand how important this is! But, for the most part, no one ever teaches us how to use metatext; we have to pick it up by osmosis. That makes it hard to learn how to use it well, we all suck at it when we first start out, and some of us may go years without learning particular conventions that seem obvious to others in our community. This creates frustration for everybody.
Enter this guide!
This is meant to be a sort of handbook for fic writers, particularly those of us who post on Archive of Our Own, laying out and explaining the established metatext conventions already in use in our community so we (and our readers!) are all on the same page. It will also provide some best-practices tips.
The point is to give all of us the tools to communicate with our audience as clearly and effectively as possible, so the people who want to read a story like ours can find it and recognize it as what they're looking for, those who don't want to read a story like ours can easily tell it's not their cup of tea and avoid it, nobody gets hurt, and everybody has funâincluding us!
Now that we know what we're talking about, let's get on with the guide! The following content sections appear in the order one is expected to provide each kind of metatext when posting a fic on Ao3, but firstâŚ.
Warning!
This is a guide for all authors on Ao3. As such, it mentions subject matter and kinds of fic that you personally might hate or find disgusting, but which are allowed under the Archive's terms of use. There are no graphic descriptions or harsh language in the guide itself, but it does acknowledge the existence of fic you may find distasteful and explains how to approach metatext for such fics.
Some sexual terminology is used in an academic context.
A note from the author:
This guide reflects the conventions of the English-language fanfiction community circa 2021. Conventions may differ in other language communities, and although many of our conventions have been in place for decades (praise be to our Star Trek loving foremothers) fanfiction now exists primarily in the realm of internet fandom where things tend to change rather quickly, so some conventions in this guide may die out while other new conventions, not covered in this guide, arise.
This is not official or in any way produced by the Archive of Our Own (Ao3), and though some actual site rules are mentioned, it is not a rulebook. Primarily, it is a descriptivist take on how the userbase uses metatext to communicate amongst ourselves, provided in the interest of making that communication easier and more transparent for everyone, especially newer users.
Contents
How To Use This Guide Ratings Archive Warnings Fandom Tags Category Relationship Tags Character Tags Additional Tags Titles Summaries Author's Notes Series and Chapters Parting Thoughts
How To Use This Guide
Well, read it. Â Or have it read to you.
This isn't a glossary, it's a handbook, and it's structured more like an academic paper or report, but there's lots and lots of examples in it!
Many of these examples are titles of real media and the names of characters from published media, or tags quoted directly from Ao3 complete with punctuation and formatting.
Some examples are more generic and use the names Alex, Max, Sam, Chris, Jamie, and Tori for demonstration purposes. In other generic examples, part of an example tag or phrase may be sectioned off with square brackets to show where in that tag or phrase you would put the appropriate information to complete it. Â This will look something like âTop [Character A]â where you would fill in a character's name.
This guide presumes that you know the basics of how to use Ao3, at least from the perspective of reading fic. If you don't, much of this guide may be difficult to understand and will be much less helpful to you, though not entirely useless.
Ratings
Most fanfic hosting sites provide ratings systems that work a lot like the ratings on movies and videogames.
Ao3's system has four ratings:
General
Teen
Mature
Explicit
These seem like they should be pretty self-explanatory, and the site's own official info pop-up (accessible by clicking the question mark next to the section prompt) gives brief, straightforward descriptions for each of them.
Even so, many writers have found ourselves staring at that dropdown list, thinking about what we've written, and wondering what's the right freaking rating for this? Â How do I know if it's appropriate for âgeneral audiencesâ or if it needs to be teen and up? What's the difference between Mature and Explicit?
The best way to figure it out is often to think about your fic in comparison to mainstream media.
General is your average Disney or Dreamworks movie, Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon shows, video games like Mario, Kirby, and Pokemon.
There may be romance, but no sexual content or discussion. Scary things might happen and people might get hurt, but violence is non-graphic and usually mild. Adults may be shown drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco, and some degree of intoxication may be shown (usually played for laughs and not focused on), but hard drug use is generally not shown or discussed. Â There is little to no foul language written out and what language there may be is mild, though harsher swears may be implied by narration. There are no explicit F-bombs or slurs.
Teen is more like a Marvel movie, most network television shows (things like The Office, Supernatural, or Grey's Anatomy), video games like Final Fantasy, Five Nights at Freddie's, and The Sims.
There might be some sex and sexual discussion, but nothing explicit is shownâthings usually fade to black or are leftimplied. More intense danger, more severe injuries described in greater detail, and a higher level of violence may be present. Â Substance use may be discussed and intoxication shown, but main characters are unlikely to be shown doing hard drugs. Some swearing and other harsh language may be present, possibly including an F-bomb or two. Â In longer works, that might mean an F-bomb every few chapters.
Mature is, in American terms, an R-rated movie* like Deadpool, Fifty Shades of Grey, The Exorcist, and Schindler's List; certain shows from premium cable networks or streaming services like Game of Thrones, Shameless, Breaking Bad, and Black Sails; videogames like Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, Grand Theft Auto, and The Witcher.
Sex may be shown and it might be fairly explicit, but it's not as detailed or graphic or as much the focus of the work as it would be if it were porn. Violence, danger, and bodily harm may be significant and fairly graphic. Most drug use is fair game. Swearing and harsh language may be extensive.
Explicit is, well, extremely explicit. This is full on porn, the hardcore horror movies, and snuff films.
Sex is highly detailed and graphic. Violence and injury is highly detailed and graphic. Drug use and its effects may be highly detailed and graphic. Swearing and harsh language may be extreme, including extensive use of violent slurs.
Please note that both Mature and Explicit fics are intended for adult audiences only, but that does not mean a teenaged writer isn't going to produce fics that should be rated M or E. Â Ratings should reflect the content of the fic, not the age of the author.
Strictly speaking, you don't have to choose any of these ratings; Ao3 has a âNot Ratedâ option, but for purposes of search results and some other functions, Not Rated fics are treated by the site as Explicit, just in case, which means they end up hidden from a significant portion of potential readers. It really is in your best interest as a writer who presumably wants people to see their stories, to select a rating. It helps readers judge if yours is the kind of story they want right now, too.
Rating a fic is a subjective decision, there is some grey area in between each level. If you're not quite sure where your fic falls, best practice is to go with the more restrictive rating.
*(Equivalent to an Australian M15+ or R18+, Canadian 14A, 18A or 18+, UK 15 or 18, German FSK 16 or FSK 18.)
Warnings
Ao3 uses a set of standard site-wide Archive Warnings to indicate that a work contains subject matter that falls into one or more of a few categories that some readers are likely to want to avoid. Â Even when posting elsewhere, it's courteous to include warnings of this sort.
These warnings are:
Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Major Character Death
Rape/Non-Con
Underage
Just like with the ratings, the site provides an info-pop up that explains what each warning is for. They're really exactly what it says on the tin: detailed descriptions of violence, injury, and gore; the death of a character central to canon or tothe story being told; non-consensual sex i.e. rape; and depictions of underage sex, which the site defines as under the age of 18 for humansâAo3 doesn't care if your local age of consent or majority is lower than that.
In addition to the four standard warnings above, the warnings section has two other choices:
No Archive Warnings Apply
Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
These do not mean the same thing and cannot be used interchangeably. âNo Archive Warnings Applyâ means that absolutely nothing in your fic falls into any of the four standard warning categories. âChoose Not To Use Archive Warningsâ means that you the author are opting out of the warning system; your fic could potentially contain things that fall into any and all of the four standard warning categories.
There's nothing wrong with selecting Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings! It may mean that some readers will avoid your fic because they're not sure it's safe for them, and you might need to use more courtesy tags than you otherwise would (we'll talk about courtesy tags later), but that's okay! Opting out of the warning system can be a way to avoid spoilers,* and is also good for when you're just not sure if what you've written deserves one of the Archive warnings. In that case, the best practice is to select either the warning it might deserve or Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings, then provide additional information in other tags, the summary, or an initial author's note.
Unless you're opting out of using the warning system, select all the warnings that apply to your fic, if any of them do. So if a sixteen year old main character has consensual sex then gets killed in an accident that you've written out in excruciating detail, that fic gets three out of the four standard warnings: Underage, Major Character Death, and Graphic Depictions Of Violence.
*(Fandom etiquette generally favors thorough tagging and warning over avoiding spoilers. It doesn't ruin the experience of a story to have a general sense of what's going to happen. If it did, we wouldn't all keep reading so many âthere was only one bedâ fics.)
Fandom Tags
What fandom or fandoms is your fic for? Â You definitely know what you wrote it for, but that doesn't mean it's obvious what to tag it as.
Sometimes, it is obvious! You watched a movie that isn't based on anything, isn't part of a series, and doesn't have any spinoffs, tie-ins or anything else based on it. You wrote a fic set entirely within the world of this movie. You put this movie as the fandom for your fic. Or maybe you read a book and wrote a fic for it, and there is a movie based on the book, but the movie is really different and you definitely didn't use anything that's only in the movie. You put the book as the fandom for your fic.
All too often, though, it's not that clear.
What if you wrote a fic for something where there's a movie based on a book, but the movie's really different, and you've used both things that are only in the movie and things that are only in the book? Â In that case you either tag your fic as both the movie and the book, or see if the fandom has an âall media typesâ tag and use that instead of the separate tags. Â If the fandom doesn't have an âall media typesâ tag yet, you can make one! Just type it in.
âAll media typesâ fandom tags are also useful for cases where there are lots of inter-related series, like Star Wars; there are several tellings of the story in different media but they're interchangeable or overlap significantly, like The Witcher; or the fandom has about a zillion different versions so it's very hard, even impossible, to say which ones your fic does and doesn't fit, like Batman. Use your best judgement as to whether you need to include a more specific fandom tag such as âBatman (Movies 1989-1997)â alongside the âall media typesâ fandom tag, but try to avoid including very many. The point of the âall media typesâ tag is to let you leave off the specific tags for every version.
In a situation where one piece of media has a spinoff, maybe several spinoffs, and you wrote a fic that includes things from more than one of them, you might want use the central work's â& related fandomsâ tag. For example, the âDoctor Who & Related Fandomsâ tag gets used for fics that include things from a combination of any era of Doctor Who, Torchwood, and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
And don't worry, from the reader-side of the site the broadest fandom tags are prioritized. The results page for an âall media typesâ or â& related fandomsâ search includes works tagged with the more specific sub-tags for that fandom, the browse-by-fandom pages show the broadest tag for each fandom included, and putting a fandom into the search bar presumes the broadest tag for that fandom. Â A search for âStar Wars - All Media Typesâ will pull up work that only has a subtag for that fandom, like âThe Mandalorian (TV).â You don't have to put every specific fandom subtag for people to find your fic.
If you wrote a fic for something that's an adaptation of an older workâespecially an older work that's been adapted a lot, like Sherlock Holmes or The Three Musketeersâit can be hard to know how you should tag it. The best choice is to put the adaptation as the fandom, for instance âSherlock (TV),â then, if you're also using aspects of the older source work that aren't in the adaptation, also put a broad fandom tag such as âSherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms.â Do not tag it as being fic for the source workâin our Sherlock example that would be tagging it âSherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyleââunless you are crossing over the source work and the adaptation. Otherwise, the specific fandom subtag for the source work ends up clogged with fic for the adaptation, which really is a different thing.
By the same token, fic for the source work shouldn't be tagged as being for the adaptation, or the adaptation's subtag will get clogged.
The same principle applies to fandoms that have been rebooted. Don't tag fic for the reboot as being for the original, or fic for the original as being for the reboot. Don't tag a fic as being for both unless the reboot and original are actually interacting. Use an â& related fandomsâ tag for the original if your fic for the reboot includes some aspects of the original that weren't carried over but you haven't quite written a crossover between the two. Good examples of these situations can be seen with âStar Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)â vs. âStar Trek: The Original Series,â and âShe-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)â vs. âShe-Ra: Princess Of Power (1985).â
Usually, this kind of mistagging as a related fandom happens when someone writes a fic for something that is or has a reboot, spinoff, or adaptation, but they're only familiar with one of the related pieces of media, and they mistakenly presume the fandoms are the same or interchangeable because they just don't know the difference. Â It's an honest mistake and it doesn't make you a bad or fake fan to not know, but it can be frustrating for readers who want fic for one thing and find the fandom tag full of fic for something else.
In order to avoid those kinds of issues, best practice is to assume fandoms are not interchangeable no matter how closely related they are, and to default to using a tag pair of the most-specific-possible sub-fandom tag + the broadest possible fandom tag when posting a fic you're not entirely sure about, for instance âStar Trekâ and âStar Trek: Enterprise.â
The Marvel megafandom has its own particular tagging hell going on. Really digging into and trying to make sense of that entire situation would require its own guide, but we can go through some general tips.
There is a general âMarvelâ fandom tag and tags for both âThe Avengers - Ambiguous Fandomâ and âThe Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types.â Most of us who write Marvel fic are working with a cherry picked combination of canons from the MCU, various comics runs, both timelines of X-Men movies, and possibly several decades worth of cartoons. That's what these tags are for.
If your cherry picked Marvel fic is more X-Men than Avengers, go for the âX-Men - All Media Typesâ tag.
If you are primarily working with MCU canon, use the MCU specific tags rather than âall media typesâ and add specific tags for individual comics runsâlike Earth 616 or the Fraction Hawkeye comicsâif you know you're lifting particular details from the comics. Â If you're just filling in gaps in MCU canon with things that are nebulously âfrom the comicsâ don't worry about tagging for that, it's accepted standard practice in the fandom at this point, use a broader tag along with your MCU-specific tag if you want to.
Same general idea for primarily movie-verse X-Men fics. Use the movie-specific tags.
If your fic mostly draws from the comics, use the comics tags. If you're focusing on an individual run, show, or movie series rather than an ensemble or large swath of the megafranchise, tag for that and leave off the broader fandom tags.
Try your best to minimize the number of fandom tags on your Marvel work. Ideally, you can get it down to two or three. Even paring it down as much as you can you might still end up with about five. Â If you're in the double digits, take another look to see if all the fandom tags you've included are really necessary, or if some of them are redundant or only there to represent characters who are in the fic but that the fic doesn't focus on. Many readers tend to search Marvel fics by character or pairing tags, it's more important that you're thorough there. For the fandom tags it's more important that you're clear.
If you write real person fiction, you need to tag it as an RPF fandom. Fic about actors who are in a show together does not belong on the fandom tag for that show. There are separate RPF fandom tags for most shows and film franchises. Much like the adaptation/source and reboot/original situations discussed earlier, a fic should really only be tagged with both a franchise's RPF tag and its main tag if something happens like the actorsâor director or writer!âfalling into the fictional world or meeting their characters.
Of course, not all RPF is about actors. Most sports have RPF tags, there are RPF tags for politics from around the world and for various historical settings, the fandom tags for bands are generally presumed to be RPF tags, and there is a general Real Person Fiction tag.
In order to simplify things for readers, it's best practice to use the general Real Person Fiction tag in addition to your fandom-specific tag. You may even want to put âRPFâ as a courtesy tag in the Additional Tags section, too. This is because Ao3 isn't currently set up to recognize RPF as the special flavor of fic that it is in the same way that the site recognizes crossovers as special, so it can be very difficult to either seek out or avoid RPF since it's scattered across hundreds of different fandom tags.
On the subject of crossoversâthey can make fandom tagging even more daunting. Even for a crossover with lots of fandoms involved, though, you just have to follow the same guidelines as to tag a single-fandom work for each fandom in the crossover. The tricky part is figuring out if what you wrote is really a crossover, or just an AU informed by another fandomâwe'll talk about that later.
There are some cases where it's really hard to figure out what fandom something belongs to, like if you wrote a fanfic of someone else's fanfic, theirs is an AU and yours is about their OC, not any of the characters from canon. What do you do?! Well, you do not tag it as being a fanfic for the same thing theirs was. Put the title of their fic (or name of their series) as the fandom for your fic, attributed to their Ao3 handle just like any other fandom is attributed to its author. Explain the situation in either the summary or the initial author's note. Also, ask the author's permission before posting something like this.
What if you wrote a story about your totally original D&D character? The fandom is still D&D, you want the âDungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)â tag.
What if there's not a fandom tag on the Archive yet for what you wrote? Not a problem! You can type in a new one if you're the first person to post something for a particular fandom. Do make sure, though, that the fandom isn't just listed by a different name than you expect. Many works that aren't originally in Englishâincluding animeâare listed by their original language title or a direct translation first, and sometimes a franchise or series's official name might not be what you personally call it, for instance many people think of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series as The Golden Compass series, so it's best to double check.
What if you wrote an entirely new original story that's not based on anything? Â Excellent job, that takes a lot of work, but that probably doesn't belong on Ao3! Â The Archive is primarily meant as a repository for fannish content, but in a few particular circumstances things we'd consider Original Work may be appropriate content for the Archive as well. Double check the Archive's Terms of Service FAQ and gauge if what you wrote falls under the scope of what is allowed. If what you wrote really doesn't fit here, post it somewhere else or try to get it published if you feel like giving it a shot.
Category
What Ao3 means by category is âdoes this fic focus on sex or romance, and if so what combination of genders are involved in that sex or romance?â
The category options are:
F/F
F/M
Gen
M/M
Multi
Other
The F/F, F/M, and M/M categories are for stories focused on pairings of two women, a woman and a man, and two men, respectively. Â These refer to sexual and/or romantic pairings.
The Other category is for stories focused on (sexual and/or romantic) pairings where one or both partners are not strictly male or female, such as nonbinary individuals, people from cultures with gender systems that don't match to the Western man-woman system, and nonhuman characters for whom biological sex works differently or is nonexistent, including aliens, robots, and inanimate objects or abstract concepts. There are some problems with treating nonbinary humans, eldritch tentacle monsters, sexless androids, and wayward container ships as all the same category, but it's the system we currently have to work with. Use Additional Tags to clarify the situation.
Multi is for stories in which several (sexual and/or romantic) relationships are focused on or which focus on relationships with multiple partners, including cases of polyamory, serial monogamy, strings of hookups with different people, and orgies. Â A fic will also show as âMultiâ if you, the author, have selected more than one category for the fic, even if none of those are the Multi category. Realistically, the Archive needs separate âMultiple Categoriesâ and âPolyâ options, but for now we have to work with this system in which the two are combined. Â Use Additional Tags to clarify the situation.
Gen is for stories that do not contain or are not focused on sex or romance. Romance may be present in a gen fic but it's going to be in the background. Â While rare, there is such a thing as a sexually explicit gen ficâsolo masturbation which does not feature fantasizing about another character is explicit gen fic; a doctor character seeing a series of patients with sex-related medical needs following an orgy may qualify if the orgy is not shown and the doctor is being strictly professionalâbut such fic needs to be rated, otherwise tagged, and explained carefully in the summary and/or author's note.
Much like the warnings section, category is a âselect all that applyâ situation. Use your best judgement. For a fic about a polyamorous relationship among a group of women, it's entirely appropriate to tag it as both F/F and Multi. Â A poly fic with a combination of men and women in the relationship could be shown as both M/M and F/M, Multi, or all three. A fic that focuses equally on one brother and his husband and the other brother and his wife should be tagged both M/M and F/M, and could be tagged as Multi but you might decided not to just to be clear that there's no polyamory going on. If you wrote a fic about two characters who are both men in canon, but you wrote one of them as nonbinary, you could tag it M/M, Other, or both depending on what you feel is representative and respectful.
When dealing with trans characters, whether they're trans in canon or you're writing them as such, the category selection should match the character's gender. Â If there's a character who is a cis woman in canon, but who you're writing as a trans man, you categorize the fic based on his being a man. If there's a character who is a cis man in canon, but whom you're writing as a trans man, he is still a man and the fic should be categorized accordingly. When dealing with nonbinary characters the fic should really be classed as Other though, by convention, fics about characters who are not nonbinary in canon may be classed based on the character's canon gender as well or instead. When dealing with gender swapped charactersâi.e. a canonically cis male superhero who you're writing as a cis womanâclass the fic using the gender you wrote her with, not the gender he is in canon.
Most of the time, gen fics should not be categorized jointly with anything else because a fic should only be categorized based on the ships it focuses on, and a gen fic should not be focusing on a ship in the first place.*
*(One of the few circumstances in which it might make sense to class a fic as both gen and something else is when writing about Queerplatonic Relationships, but that is a judgement call and depends on the fic.)
Relationship Tags
The thing about relationship tagging that people most frequently misunderstand or just don't know is the difference between âCharacter A/Character Bâ and âCharacter A & Character B.â
Use a â/â for romantic or sexual relationships, such as spouses, people who are dating, hookups, and friends with benefits. Use â&â for platonic or familial relationships, such as friends, siblings, parents with their kids, coworkers, and deeply connected mortal enemies who are not tragically in love.
This is where we get the phrase âslash fic.â Originally, that meant any fic focused on a romantic paring, but since so much of the romantic fic being produced was about pairs of men, âslash ficâ came to mean same-sex pairings, especially male same-sex pairings. Back in earlier days of fandom, pre-Ao3 and even pre-internet, there was a convention that when writing out a different-sex pairing, you did so in man/woman order, while same-sex pairings were done top/bottom. Some authors, especially those who have been in the fic community a long time, may still do this, but the convention has not been in consistent, active use for many years, so you don't have to worry about putting the names in the âcorrectâ order. Part of why that died out is we, as a community, have gotten less strict and more nuanced in our understandings of sex and relationships, we're writing non-penetrative sex more than we used to, and we're writing multi-partner relationships and sex more than we used to, so strictly delineating âtopsâ and âbottomsâ has gotten less important and less useful.
The convention currently in use on Ao3 is that the names go in alphabetical order for both â/â and â&â relationships. In most cases, the Archive uses the character's full name instead of a nickname or just a given name, like James "Bucky" Barnes instead of just Bucky or James. We'll talk more about conventions for how to input character names in the Characters section. The Archive will give you suggestions as you typeâif one of them fits what you mean but is slightly different from how you were typing it, for instance it's in a different order, please use the tag suggested! Consistency in tags across users helps the site work more smoothly for everybody.
This is really not the place for ship nicknames like Puckleberry, Wolfstar, or Ineffable Wives. Use the characters' names.
Now that you know how to format the relationship tag to say what you mean, you have to figure out what relationships in your fic to tag for.
The answer is you tag the relationships that are important to the story you're telling, the ones you spend time and attention following, building up, and maybe even breaking down. Tagging for a ship is not a promise of a happy ending for that pair; you don't have to limit yourself to tagging only the end-game ships if you're telling a story that's more complicated than âthey get together and live happily ever after.â That said, you should generally list the main shipâthe one you focus on the mostâfirst on the list, and that will usually be the end-game ship. You should also use Additional Tags, the summary, and author's notes to make it clear to readers if your fic does not end happily for a ship you've tagged. Otherwise readers will assume that a fic tagged as being about a ship will end well for that ship, because that's what usually happens, and they'll end up disappointed and hurt, possibly feeling tricked or lied to, when your fic doesn't end well for that ship
You don't have to, and honestly shouldn't, tag for every single relationship that shows up in your fic at all. A character's brief side fling mentioned in passing, or a relationship between two background characters should not be listed under the Relationship tag section. You can list them in the format âminor Character A/Character Câ or âCharacter C/Character D â mentions ofâ in the Additional Tags section if you want to, or just tag âMinor or Background Relationship(s)â under either the Relationship tag section or in the Additional Tags section.
There are two main reasons to not tag all those minor relationships. The first is to streamline your tags, which makes them clearer and more readable, and therefore more useful. The second reason is because certain ships are far more common as minor or background relationships than as the focus of a work, so tagging all your non-focus focus ships leads to the tags for these less popular ships getting clogged with stories they appear in, but that are not about them. That is, of course, very frustrating for readers who really want to read stories that focus on these ships.
If your fic contains a major relationship between a canon character and an OC, reader-insert, or self-insert, tag it as such. The archive already has /Original Character, /Reader, /You, and /Me tags for most characters in most fandoms. If such a relationship tag isn't already in use, type it in yourself. There are OC/OC tags, too, some of which specify gender, some of which do not. Â All the relationship tags that include OCs stack the gender-specific versions of the tags under the nongendered ones. Use these tags as appropriate.
For group relationships, both polycules and multi-person friendships, you â/â or â&â all the names involved in alphabetical order, so Alex/Max/Sam are dating while Chris & Jamie & Tori are best friends. For a poly situation where not everyone is dating each other you should tag it something like âAlex/Max, Alex/Samâ because Alex is dating both Max and Sam, but Max and Sam are not romantically or sexually involved with each other. Use your judgement as to whether you still want to include the Alex/Max/Sam trio tag, and whether you should also use a âSam & Maxâ friendship tag.
Generally, romantic â/â type relationships are emphasized over â&â type relationships in fic. It is more important that you tag your â/âs thoroughly and accurately than that you tag your â&âs at all. This is because readers are far more likely to either be looking for or be squicked by particular â/â relationships than they are â&â relationships. You can tag the same pair of characters as both / and & if both their romance and their friendship is important to the story, but a lot of people see this as redundant. If you're writing incest fic, use the / tag for the pair not the & tag and put a courtesy tag for âincestâ in the Additional Tags section; this is how readers who do not want to see incestuous relationships avoid that material.
Queerplatonic Relationships, Ambiguous Relationships, Pre-Slash, and âSlash If You Squintâ are all frequently listed with both the â/â and â&â forms of the pairing; use your best judgement as to whether one or the other or both is most appropriate for what you've written and clarify the nature of the relationship in your Additional Tags.
Overall, list your â/â tags first, then your â&â tags.
Character Tags
Tagging your characters is a lot like tagging your relationships. Who is your fic about? That's who you put in your character tags.
You don't have to and really should not tag every single background character who shows up for just a moment in the story, for pretty much the same reasons you shouldn't tag background relationships. Â We don't want to clog less commonly focused on characters' tags with stories they don't feature prominently in.
You do need to tag the characters included in your Relationship tags.
A character study type of fic might only have one character you need to tag for. Romantic one shots frequently only have two. Longfics and fics with big ensemble casts can easily end up with a dozen characters or more who really do deserve to be tagged for.
Put them in order of importance. This doesn't have to be strict hierarchal ranking, you can just arrange them into groups of âmain characters,â âmajor supporting characters,â and âminor supporting characters.â Nobody less than a minor supporting character should be tagged. Even minor supporting characters show up for more than one line.
If everyone in the fic is genuinely at the same level of importance (which does happen, especially with small cast fics), then order doesn't really matter. You can arrange them by order of appearance or alphabetically by name if you want to be particularly neat about it.
Do tag your OCs! Some people love reading about OCs and want to be able to find them; some people can't stand OCs and want to avoid them at all costs; most people are fine with OCs sometimes, but might have to be in the mood for an OC-centric story or only be comfortable with OCs in certain contexts. Regardless, though, Character tags are here to tell readers who the story is about, and that includes new faces. Original Characters are characters and if they're important to the story, they deserve to be tagged for just like canon characters do.
There are tags for âOriginal Character(s),â âOriginal Male Character(s),â and âOriginal Female Character(s).â Use these tags! Â If you have OCs you're going to be using frequently in different stories, type up a character tag in the form â[OC's Name] â Original Characterâ and use that in addition to the generic OC tags.
Also tag âReader,â âYou,â or âMeâ as a character if you've written a reader- or self-insert.
You can use the âMinor Charactersâ tag to wrap up everybody, both OC and canon, who doesn't warrant their own character tag. Remember, though, that this tag is also used to refer to minor canon characters who may not have their own official names.
Just like when tagging for relationships, the convention when tagging for characters is to use their full name. The suggestions the Archive gives you as you type will help you use the established way of referring to a given character.
Characters who go by more than one name usually have their two most used names listed together as one tag with the two names separated by a vertical bar like âAndy | Andromache of Scythia.â This also gets used sometimes for characters who have different names in an adaptation than in the source text, or a different name in the English-language localization of a work than in the original language. For character names from both real-world and fictional languages and cultures that put family or surname before the given nameâlike the real Japanese name Takeuchi Naoko or the made up Bajoran name Kira Nerysâthat order is used when tagging, even if you wrote your fic putting the given name first.
Some characters' tags include the fandom they're from in parentheses after their name like âConnor (Detroit: Become Human).â This is mostly characters with ordinary given names like Connor and no canon surname, characters who have the same full name as a character in another fandom, such as Billy Flynn the lawyer from the musical Chicago and Billy Flynn the serial killer played by Tim Curry in Criminal Minds, and characters based on mythological, religious, or historical figures or named for common concepts such as Lucifer, Loki, Amethyst, Death, and Zero that make appearances in multiple fandoms.
Additional Tags
Additional Tags is one of the most complicated, and often the longest, section of metatext we find ourselves providing when we post fic. It's also the one that gives our readers the greatest volume of information.
That, of course, is what makes it so hard for us to do well.
It can help to break down Additional Tags into three main functions of tag: courtesy tags, descriptive tags, and personal tags.
Courtesy tags serve as extensions of the rating and warning systems. They can help clarify the rating, provide more information about the Archive Warnings you've used or chosen not to use, and give additional warnings to tell readers there are things in this fic that may be distasteful, upsetting, or triggering but that the Archive doesn't have a standard warning for.
Descriptive tags give the reader information about who's in this fic, what kind of things happen, what tropes are in play, and what the vibe is, as well as practical information about things like format and tense.
Personal tags tell the readers things about us, the author, our process, our relationship to our fic, and our thoughts at the time of posting.
It doesn't really matter what order you put these tags in, but it is best practice to try to clump them: courtesy tags all together so it's harder for a reader to miss an important one, ship-related info tags together, character-related info tags together, etc.
There are tons and tons of established tags on Ao3, and while it's totally fine, fun, and often necessary to make up your own tags, it's also important to use established tags that fit your fic. Â For one thing, using established tags makes life easier for the tag wranglers behind the scenes. Using a new tag you just made up that means the same thing as an established tag makes more work for the tag wranglers. We like the tag wranglers, they're all volunteers, and they're largely responsible for the search and sorting features being functional. Be kind to the tag wranglers.
For basically the same reasons, using established tags makes it easier for readers to find your fic. If a reader either searches by a tag or uses filters on another search to âIncludeâ that tag, and you didn't use that tag, your fic will not show up for them even if what you wrote is exactly what they're looking for. Â Established tags can be searched by exactly the same way as you search by fandom or pairing, your off the cuff tags cannot.
Let's talk about some well-known established tags and common tag types, divvied up by main function.
Courtesy
A lot of courtesy tags are specific warnings like âDubious Consent,â âIncest,â âDrug Use,â âExtremely Underage,â âToxic Relationship,â and âAbuse.â Many of these have even more specific versions such as âRecreational Drug Useâ and âNonconsensual Drug Use,â or âMildly Dubious Consentâ and âExtremely Dubious Consent.â
Giving details about what, if any, drugs are used or mentioned, specifying what kinds of violence or bodily harm are discussed or depicted, details about age differences or power-imbalanced relationships between characters who date or have sex, discussion or depictions of suicide, severe or terminal illness, or mental health struggles is useful. It helps give readers a clear sense of what they'll encounter in your fic and decide if they're up for it.
One the most useful courtesy warning tags is âDead Dove: Do Not Eatâ which basically means âthere are things in this fic which are really screwed up and may be disturbing, read at your own risk, steer clear if you're not sure.â This tagâlike all courtesy warnings, reallyâis a show of good faith, by using it you are being a responsible, and thoughtful member of the fanfic community by giving readers the power and necessary information to make their own informed decisions about what they are and are not comfortable reading.
Saying to âHeed the tagsâ is quite self-explanatory and, if used, should be the last or second to last tag so it's easy to spot. Â Remember, though, that âHeed the tagsâ isn't useful if your tags aren't thorough and clear.
âAdditional Warnings In Author's Noteâ is one of only things that should ever go after âHeed the tags.â Â If you use this, your additional warnings need to go in the author's note at the very beginning of the fic, not the one at the end of the first chapter. Â If your additional warnings write up is going to be very long because it's highly detailed, then it can go at the bottom of the chapter with a note at the beginning indicating that the warnings are at the bottom. Some authors give an abbreviated or vague set of warnings in the initial note, then longer, highly detailed, spoilery warnings in the end note. It's best to make it as simple and straightforward as possible for readers to access warnings.
Tagging with âDead Dove: Do Not Eat,â âHeed the tags,â or âAdditional Warnings In Author's Noteâ is not a substitute for thorough and appropriate courtesy tagging. These are extra reminders to readers to look closely at the other warnings you've given.
While most courtesy tags are warnings, some are assurances like âNo Lesbians Dieâ or âIt's Not As Bad As It Sounds.â Â A fic tagged for rape or dub-con may get a tag assuring that the consent issues are not between the characters in the main ship; or a fic with a premise that sounds likely to involve lack of consent but actually doesn't may get a tag that it's âNOT rape/non-con.â A tag like âAnimal Deathâ may be immediately followed by a freeform tag assuring that the animal that dies is not the protagonist's beloved horse.
Descriptive
There are a few general kinds of descriptive tags including character-related, ship-related, temporal, relation-to-canon, trope-related, smut details, and technical specifications.
Many character- and ship-related tags simply expand on the Character and Relationship tags we've already talked about. Â This is usually the place to specify details about OCs and inserts, such as how a reader-insert is gendered.
When it comes to character-related tags, one of the most common types in use on Ao3 and in fandom at large is the bang-path. This is things like werewolf!Alex, trans!Max, top!Sam, kid!Jamie, and captain!Tori. Basically, a bang-path is a way of specifying a version of a character. We've been using this format for decades; it comes from the very first email systems used by universities in the earliest days of internet before the World Wide Web existed. It's especially useful for quickly and concisely explaining the roles of characters in an AU. Nowadays this is also one of the primary conventions for indicating who's top and who's bottom in a ship if that's information you feel the need to establish. Â The other current convention for indicating top/bottom is as non-bang-path character-related tags in the form âTop [Character A], Bottom [Character B].â
Other common sorts of character tags are things like â[Character A] Needs a Hug,â âEmotionally Constipated [Character B],â and â[Character C] is a Good Dad.â
Some character-related tags don't refer to a particular character by name, but tell readers something about what kinds of characters are in the fic. Usually, this indicates the minority status of characters and may indicate whether or not that minority status is canon, as in âNonbinary Character,â âCanon Muslim Character,â âDeaf Character,â and âCanon Disabled Character.â
Down here in the tags is the place to put ship nicknames! Â This is also where to say things like âThey're idiots your honorâ or indicate that they're âIdiots in Love,â maybe both since âIdiots in Loveâ is an established searchable tag but âThey're idiots your honorâ isn't yet. If your fandom has catchphrases related to your ship, put that here if you want to.
If relevant, specify some things about the nature of relationships in your fic such as âAmbiguous Relationship,â âQueerplatonic Relationships,â âPolyamory,â âFriends With Benefits,â âTeacher-Student Relationship,â and so on. Not all fics need tags like these. Use your best judgement whether your current fic does.
Temporal tags indicate when your fic takes place. That can be things like âPre-Canonâ and âPost-Canon,â âPre-War,â âPost-Captain America: The Winter Soldier,â â1996-1997 NHL season,â âFuture Fic,â and so on. Â These tags may be in reference to temporal landmarks in canon, in the real world, or both depending on what's appropriate.
Some temporal tags do double duty by also being tags about the fic's relationship to canon. The Pre- and Post-Canon tags are like that.
Other relation-to-canon type tags are âCanon Compliantâ for fics that fit completely inside the framework of canon without changing or contradicting anything, âAlternate Universe - Canon Divergenceâ for fics that are compliant up to a certain point in canon, then veer off (maybe because you started writing the fic when the show was on season two but now it's at season four and you're not incorporating everything from the newer seasons, maybe a character died and you refuse to acknowledge that, maybe you just want to explore what might have happened if a particular scene had gone differently), and the various other Alternate Universe tags for everything from coffee shop AUs and updates to modern settings, to realities where everyone is a dragon or no one has their canon superpowers.
The established format for these tags is âAlternate Universe â [type],â but a few have irregular names as well, such as âWingficâ for AUs in which characters who don't ordinarily have wings are written as having wings.
If you have written an AU, please tag clearly what it is! Make things easy on both the readers who are in the mood to read twenty royalty AUs in a row, the readers who are in the middle of finals week and the thought of their favorite characters suffering through exams in a college AU would destroy the last shred of their sanity but would enjoy watching those characters teach high school, and the readers who really just want to stick to the world of canon right now.
Admittedly, it can get a little confusing what AU tag or tags you need to describe what you've written since most of us have never had a fandom elder sit us down and explain what the AU tags mean. One common mix up is tagging things âAlternate Universe - Modern Settingâ when what's meant is âAlternate Universe - Canon Divergence.â Â The misunderstanding here is usually reading âAlternate Universe - Modern Settingâ and thinking it means an alternate version of the canon universe that is set at the same time as the canon universe, but is different in some way. That's not how the tag is meant to be used, though.
The Modern Setting AU tag is specifically for fic set now (at approximately the same time period it was written), for media that's canonically set somewhere that is very much not the present of the real world. This can mean things set in the past (like Jane Austen), the future (like Star Trek), or a fantasy world entirely different from our own (like Lord of the Rings or Avatar: the Last Airbender). Fic for a canon that's set more or less ânowâ doesn't need the Modern Setting AU tag, even if the world of canon is different from our own. If you're removing those differences by putting fantasy or superhero characters in a world without magic or supersoldier serum, you might want the âAlternate Universe - No Powersâ tag instead.
Some of the most fun descriptive tags are trope tags. This includes things like âMutual Pining,â âBed Sharingâ for when your OTP gets to their hotel room to find There Was Only One Bed, âFake Dating,â âAngst,â Fluff,â âHurt/Comfortâ and all its variants. Â Readers love tropes at least as much as we love writing them and want to be able to find their favorites. Everyone also has tropes they don't like and would rather avoid. Tagging them allows your fic to be filtered in and out by what major tropes you've used.
Explicit fics, and sometimes fics with less restrictive ratings, that contain sex usually have tags indicating details about the nature of the sexual encounter(s) portrayed and what sex acts are depicted. These are descriptive tags, but they also do double duty as courtesy tags. This is very much a situation in which tags are a consent mechanism; by thoroughly and clearly tagging your smut you are giving readers the chance to knowingly opt in or out of the experience you've written.
Most of the time, it's pretty easy to do basic tagging for sex actsâyou know whether what you wrote shows Vaginal Sex, Anal Sex, or Non-penetrative Sex. Â You probably know the names for different kinds of Oral Sex you may have included. You might not know what to call Frottage or Intercrural Sex, though, even if you understand the concept and included the act in your fic. Sometimes there are tags with rectangle-square type relationships (all Blow Jobs are Oral Sex, but not all Oral Sex is a Blow Job) and you're not sure if you should tag for bothâyou probably should. Sometimes there are tags for overlapping, closely related, or very similar acts or kinks and you're not sure which to tagâthat one's more of judgement call; do your best to use the tags that most closely describe what you wrote.
Tag for the kinks at play, if any, so readers can find what they're into and avoid what they're not. Tag for what genitalia characters have if it's nonobvious, including if there's Non-Human Genitalia involved. Tag your A/B/O, your Pon Farr, and your Tentacles, including whether it's Consentacles or Tentacle Rape.
Technical specification tags give information about aspects of the fic other than its narrative content. Â Most things on Ao3 are prose fiction so that's assumed to be the default, so anything else needs to be specified in tags. That includes Poetry, Podfics, things in Script Format, and Art. If it is a podfic, you should tag with the approximate length in minutes (or hours). If a fic is Illustrated (it has both words and visual art) tag for that.
Tag if your fic is a crossover or fusion. Â The difference, if you're not sure, is that in a crossover, two (or more) entire worlds from different media meet, whereas in a fusion, some aspects of one world, like the cast of characters, are combined with aspects of another, like the setting or magic system.
If the team of paranormal investigators from one show get in contact with the cast of aliens from another show, that's a crossover and you need to have all the media you're drawing from up in the Fandom tags. If you've given the cast of Hamlet physical manifestations of their souls in the form of animal companions like the daemons from His Dark Materials but nothing else from His Dark Materials shows up, that's a fusion, the Fandom tag should be âHamlet - Shakespeare,â and you need the âAlternate Universe - Daemonsâ tag. If you've given the members of a boy band elemental magic powers like in Avatar: the Last Airbender, that can be more of a judgement call depending how much from Avatar you've incorporated into your story. If absolutely no characters or specific settings from Avatar show up, it's probably a fusion. Â Either way, if the boyband exists in real life, it needs to be tagged as RPF.
Tag if your fic is a Reader-Insert or Self-Insert.
You might want to tag for whether your fic is written with POV First, Second, or Third Person, and if it's Past Tense or Present Tense (or Future Tense, though that's extremely uncommon). Â For POV First Person fics that are not self-inserts, or POV Third Person fics that are written in third person limited, you may want to tag which character's POV is being shown. Almost all POV Second Person fics are reader-insert, so if you've written one that isn't, you should tag for who the âyouâ is.
A fic is âPOV Outsiderâ if the character through whom the story is being conveyed is outside the situation or not familiar with the characters and context a reader would generally know from canon. The waitress who doesn't know the guy who just sat down in her diner is a monster hunter, and the guy stuck in spaceport because some hotshot captain accidentally locked down the entire space station, are both potential narrators for POV Outsider stories.
Other technical specifications can be tags for things like OCtober and Kinktober or fic bingo games. Â Tagging something as a Ficlet, One Shot, or Drabble is a technical specification (we're not going to argue right now over what counts as a drabble). Tagging for genre, like Horror or Fantasy, is too.
It's also good to tag accessibility considerations like âSreenreader Friendly,â but make sure your fic definitely meets the needs of a given kind of accessibility before tagging it.
Personal
Even among personal tags there are established tags! Â Things like âI'm Sorry,â âThe Author Regrets Nothing,â âThe Author Regrets Everything,â and âI Wrote This Instead of Sleepingâ are common ones. Â Tags about us and our relationship to the fic, such as âMy First Work In This Fandom,â âAuthor is Not Religious,â and âTrans Porn By A Trans Author,â can help readers gauge what to expect from our fic. Of course, you are not at all obligated to disclose any personal information for any reason when posting your fic.
The âI'm Bad At Taggingâ tag is common, but probably overused. Tagging is hard; very few of us have a natural feel for it even with lots of practice. Â It's not a completely useless tag because it can indicate to readers that you've probably missed some things you should have tagged for, so they should be extra careful; but it can also turn into a crutch, an excuse to not try, and therefore a sign to readers they can't trust your tagging job. Just do your best, and leave off the self depreciation. If you're really concerned about the quality of your tagging, consider putting in an author's note asking readers to let you know if there are any tags you should add.
You might want to let readers know your fic is âNot Beta Readâ or, if you're feeling a little cheekier than that, say âNo Beta We Die Like Menâ or its many fandom-specific variants like the âNo Beta We Die Like Robinsâ frequently found among Batman fics and âNo beta we die like Sunset Curveâ among Julie and The Phantoms fic. Don't worry, the Archive recognizes all of these as meaning âNot Beta Read.â
The Archive can be inconsistent about whether it stacks specific variants of Additional Tags under the broadest version of the tag like it does with Fandom tags, so best practice is usually to use both. Â You can double check by trying to search by a variant tag (or clicking on someone else's use of the variant); if the results page says the broader or more common form of the tag, those stack.
There's no such thing as the right number of tags. Some people prefer more tags and more detail, while other people prefer fewer more streamlined tags, and different fics have different things that need to be tagged for. Â There is, however, such a thing as too many tags. Â A tagblock that takes up the entire screen, or more, can be unreadable, at which point they are no longer useful. Focus on the main points and don't try to tag for absolutely everything. Â Use the âAdditional Warnings In Author's Noteâ strategy if your courtesy tags are what's getting out of hand.
Tag for as much as you feel is necessary for readers to find your fic and understand what they're getting into if they decide to open it up.
A little bit of redundancy in tags is not a sin. Â In fact, slight redundancy is usually preferable to vagueness. Clear communication in tags is a cardinal virtue. Remember that tags serve a purpose, they're primarily a tool for sorting and filtering, and (unlike on some other sites like tumblr) they work, so it's best to keep them informative and try to limit rambling in the tags. Ramble at length in your author's notes instead!
Titles
Picking a title can be one of the most daunting and frustrating parts of posting a fic. Sometimes we just know what to call our fics and it's a beautiful moment. Other times we stare at that little input box for what feels like an eternity.
The good news is there's really no wrong way to select a title. Titles can be long or short, poetic or straight to the point. Song lyrics, idioms, quotes from literature or from the fic itself can be good ways to go.
Single words or phrases with meanings that are representative of the fic can be great. A lot of times these are well known terms or are easy enough to figure out like Midnight or Morning Glow, but if you find yourself using something that not a lot of people know what it means, like Chiaroscuro (an art style that uses heavy shadow and strong contrast between light and dark), Kintsukuroi (the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold), or Clusivity (the grammatical term for differences in who is or isn't included in a group pronoun), you should define the term in either a subtitle, i.e. âChiaroscuro: A Study In Contrast,â or at the beginning of the summary.
As a courtesy to other writers, especially in small fandoms, you may want to check to make sure there's not already another fic with the same title in the same fandom, but this is not required. In large fandoms, there's no point in even trying. After all, there are only so many puns to be made about the full moon and only so many verses to Hallelujah.
It may be common practice on other platforms to include information such as fandom or ship in the title of a fic, but on Ao3 nothing that is specified by tags belongs in the title unless your title happens to be the same as a tag because, for instance, you've straightforwardly titled your character study of Dean Winchester âDean Winchester Character Studyâ and also responsibly tagged it as such.
Summaries
Yes, you really do need to put something down for the summary. It might only need to be a single sentence, but give the readers something to go off of.
The summary is there to serve two purposes: one, to catch the interest of potential readers, give them a taste of what's inside, and make them want to know more; and two, to give you a space to provide information or make comments that don't really fit in the tags but that you want readers to see before they open the fic.
We've already talked some about that second function. When you put an explanation of the title or clarification about tags in the summary, that's the purpose it's serving. You can also put notes to âHeed the tagsâ or instruct readers that there are additional warnings in the author's note here in the summary, rather than doing so in the tags.
The first function, the actual summarizing, can be very hard for some of us. Â It's basically the movie trailer for your fic, butwhat are you even supposed to say?
There are two main strategies as to how to approach this: the blurb, and the excerpt. Blurbs are like the synopses you at least used to see on the backs of published books, or the âStorylineâ section on an IMDb page. Writing one is a matter of telling your readers who does what, under what circumstances.
Depending on the fic, one sentence can capture the whole thing: âSam and Alex have sex on a train.â âTori tries to rob a bank.â âIf anybody had mentioned Max's new house was haunted, Jamie wouldn't have agreed to help with the move.â
Sometimes a blurb can be a question! âWhat happens when you lock a nuclear engineer in a closet with a sewing kit, a tennis ball, and half a bottle of Sprite?â
Of course, plenty of blurbs are more than one sentence. Their length can vary pretty significantly depending on the type and length of fic you're working with and how much detail you're trying to convey, but it shouldn't get to be more than a few short paragraphs. You're not retelling the entire fic here.
An excerpt is a portion of the fic copied out to serve as the summary. This, too, can vary in length from a line or two to several paragraphs, but shouldn't get too long. It should not be an entire scene unless that scene happens to be uncommonly short. It's important to select a portion of the fic that both indicates the who, what, and under what circumstances of the fic and is representative of the overall tone. Excerpts that are nothing but dialogue with no indication of who's talking are almost never a good choice. Portions that are sexually explicit or extremely violent are never ever a good choiceâif it deserves content warnings, it belongs inside the fic, not on the results page.
Counterintuitively, some of the best excerpts won't even look like an excerpt to the reader if they don't contain dialogue. They seem like particularly literary blurbs until the reader reaches that part in the fic and realizes they recognize a section of narration.
Some of us have very strong preferences as to whether we write blurbs or use excerpts for our summaries. Some readers have very strong preferences as to which they find useful. Ultimately, there's no accounting for taste, but there are things we can do to limit the frustration for readers who prefer summaries of the opposite kind than we prefer to write, without increasing our own frustration or work load very much. Part of that is understanding what readers dislike about each type so we know what to mitigate.
Blurbs can seem dry, academic, and overly simplified. They don't automatically give the reader a sense of your writing style the way an excerpt does. They can also seem redundant, like they're just rehashing information already given in the tags, so the reader feels like they're being denied any more information without opening the fic.
Excerpts can seem lazy, like you, the author, don't care enough to bother writing a blurb, or pushy like you're telling the reader âjust read the fic; I'm not going to give you the information you need to decide if you want to read or not, I'm shoving it in front of you and you just have to read it.â That effect gets worse if your tags aren't very informative or clear about what the plot is, if the excerpt is obviously just the first few lines or paragraphs of the fic, if the except is particularly long, or, worst of all, if all three are true at once.
A lot of the potential problems with blurbs can be minimized by having fun writing them! Make it punchy, give it some character, treat it like part of the story, not just a book report. A fic for a serialized show or podcast, for instance, could have a blurb written in the style of the show's âpreviously onâ or the podcast's intro. Â Make sure the blurb gives the reader something they can't just get from the tagsâlike the personality of your writing, important context or characterization, or a sense of the shape of the storyâbut don't try to skimp on the tags to do it!
Really, the only way to minimize the potential problems with excerpts is to be very mindful in selecting them. Make sure the portion you've chosen conveys the who, what, and under what circumstances and isn't too long. Â You know the story; what seems clear and obvious from the excerpt to you might not be apparent to someone who doesn't already know what happens, so you might need to ask a friend to double check you.
The absolute best way to provide a summary that works for everybody is to combine both methods. It really isn't that hard to stick a brief excerpt before your blurb, or tack a couple lines of blurb after your excerpt, but it can make a world of difference for how useful and inviting your summary is to a particular reader. The convention for summaries that use both is excerpt first, then blurb.
If you're struggling to figure out a summary, or have been in the habit of not providing one, try not to stress over it. Anything is better than nothing. Â As long as you've written something for a summary, you've given the reader a little more to help them make their decision. What really isn't helpful, though, is saying âI'm bad at summariesâ in your summary. It's a lot like the âI'm Bad At Taggingâ tag in that it's unnecessarily self depreciating, frequently comes across as an excuse not to try, and sometimes really is just an excuse. Unlike the âI'm Bad At Taggingâ tag, which has the tiny saving grace of warning readers you've probably missed something, saying you're bad at summaries has no utility at all, and may drive away a reader who thought your summary was quite good, but is uncomfortable with the negative attitude reflected by that statement. Summaries are hard. It's okay if you don't like your summary, but it's important for it to be there, and it's important to be kind to yourself about it. You're trying, that's what matters.
Author's Notes
Author's notes are the one place where we, the writers, directly address and initiate contact with our readers. We may also talk to them in the comments section, but that's different because they initiate that interaction while we reply, and comments are mostly one-on-one while in author's notes we're addressing everyone who ever reads our fic.
The very first note on a fic should contain any information, such as warnings or explanations, that a reader needs to see before they get to the body of the story, as well as anything like thanks to your beta, birthday wishes to a character, or general hellos and announcements you want readers to see before they get to the body of the story. On multi-chapter fics, notes at the beginning of chapters serve the same function for that chapter as the initial note on the fic does for the whole story, so you can do things like warn for Self-Harm on the two chapters out of thirty where it comes up, let everyone know your update schedule will be changing, or wish your readers a merry Christmas, if they celebrate it, on the chapter you posted on December 23rd but is set in mid-March.
Notes at the end of a fic or chapter are for things that don't need to be said or are not useful to a reader until after they've read the preceding content, such as translations for that handful of dialogue that's in Vulcan or Portuguese, or any parting greetings or announcements you want to give, like a thanks for reading or a reminder school is starting back so you won't be able to write as much. End notes are the best place to plug your social media to readers if you're inclined to do so, but remember that cannot include payment platforms like Patreon or Ko-fi.
As previously mentioned, warnings can go in end notes but that really should only be done when the warnings are particularly long, such that the length might cause a problem for readers who are already confident in their comfort level and would just want to scroll past the warning description. In that case, the additional warnings need to go in the note at the end of the first chapter, rather than at the end of the fic, if it's a multi-chapter fic; and you need to include an initial note telling readers that warnings/explanations of tags are at the bottom so they know to follow where the Archive tells them to see the end of the chapter/work for âmore notes.â
When posting a new work, where the Preface section gives you the option to add notes âat the beginningâ or âat the endâ or both, if you check both boxes, it means notes at the beginning and end of the entire fic, not the beginning and end of the first chapter. For single-chapter fics this difference doesn't really matter, but for multi-chapter fics it matters a lot. In order to add notes to the beginning or end of the first chapter of a multi-chapter fic you have to first go through the entire process to post the new fic, then go in to Edit, Edit Chapter, and add the notes there.
Series and Chapters
Dealing with Series and Chapters is actually two different issues, but they're closely related and cause some of us mixups, especially when we're new to the site and its systems, so we're going to cover them together.
Series on Ao3 are for collecting up different stories that you've written that are associated with each other in some way. Chapters are for dividing up one story into parts, usually for pacing and to give yourself and your readers a chance to take breaks and breathe, rather than trying to get through the entire thing in a single marathon sitting (not that we won't still do that voluntarily, but it's nice to have rest points built in if we need them).
If your story would be one book if it was officially published, then it should be posted as a single ficâwith multiple chapters if it's long or has more than one distinct part, like separate vignettes that all go together. If you later write a sequel to that fic, post it as a new fic and put them together in a series. It's exactly like chapters in a book and books in a series. Another way to think of this structure is like a TV show: different fics in the series are like different seasons of the show, with individual chapters being like episodes.
If you have several fics that all take place in the same AU but really aren't the same story those should go together as a series. Â If you wrote a story about a superhero team re-cast as school teachers, then wrote another story about different characters in the same school, that's this situation.
Series are also the best way to handle things like prompt games, bingos, or Kinktober, or collect up one shots and drabbles especially if your various fills, entries, and drabbles are for more than one fandom. If you put everything for a prompt game or bingo, or all your drabbles, together as one fic with a different chapter for each story, what ends up happening is that fic gets recognized by the Archive as a crossover when it isn't, so it gets excluded from the results pages for everyone who told the filters to Exclude Crossovers even though one of the stories you wrote is exactly what they're looking for; and that fic ends up with tons and tons of wildly varying and self-contradictory tags because it's actually carrying the tags for several entirely different, possibly unrelated stories, which also means it ends up getting excluded from results pages because, for instance, one out of your thirty-one Kinktober entries is about someone's NoTP.
Dividing these kinds of things up into multiple fic in a series makes it so much easier for readers to find what of your work they actually want to read.
If you've previously posted such things as a single fic, don't worry, it's a really common misunderstanding and there is absolutely nothing stopping you from reposting them separately. You may see traffic on them go up if you do!
Parting Thoughts
Metatext is ultimately all about communication, and in this context effective communication is a matter of responsibility and balance.
Ao3 is our archive. It's designed for us, the writers, to have the freedom to write and share whatever stories we want without having to worry that we'll wake up one day and find our writing has been deleted overnight without warning. Â That has happened too many times to so many in our community as other fanfic sites have died, been shut down, or caved to threats of legal action. Ao3 is dedicated to defending our legal right to create and share our stories. Part of the deal is that, in exchange for that freedom and protection, we take up the responsibility to communicate to readers what we're writing and who it's appropriate for.
We are each other's readers, and readers who don't write are still part of our community. We have a responsibility as members of this community to be respectful of others in our shared spaces. Â Ao3 is a shared space. The best way we have to show each other respect is to give one another the information needed to decide if a given fic is something we want to engage with or not, and then, in turn, to not engage with fic that isn't our cup of tea. As long as our fellow writer has been clear about what their fic is, they've done their part of the job. If we decided to look at the fic despite the information given and didn't like what we found, then that's on us.
Because metatext is how we put that vital information about our fics out in the community, it's important that our metatext is clear and easy to parse. The key to that is balance. Striking the balance between putting enough tags to give a complete picture and not putting too many tags that become an unreadable wall; the balance between the urge to be thorough and tag every character and the need to be restrained so those looking for fics actually about a certain character can find them; the balance between using established tags for clarity and ease and making up our own tags for specificity and fun.
Do your best, act in good faith, remember you're communicating with other people behind those usernames and kudos, and, most importantly, have fun with your writing!
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call your girlfriend | kellyâs playlist | armoricaroyalty
Iâve been working on-and-off on this playlist since september 2021. Iâm very satisfied with the finished playlist, and I hope you enjoy it, too!
track list w/ selected lyrics and a bit of character analysis/synthesis under the cut!
The songs with bolded titles were foundational, both to the playlist and my understanding of Kellyâs character. The bolded lyrics are especially significant to my understanding of her character.
1. So Hot Youâre Hurting My Feelings - Caroline Polachek
i get a little lonely get a little more close to me youâre the only one who knows me, babe
2. When Am I Gonna Lose You? - Local Natives
everything has its place now weâll lie in our bed wondering how to explain
3. Girl of the Year - Allie X
There's a hollow inside you But, don't worry I'm here (I'm here) I don't care if you're looking for the next girl of the year
4. All This Could Be Yours - Cold War Kids
you would rather crash than go straight ahead
5. Trap Door - Stars
he told me he was young, I said âwell what is that good for?â nobody stays that way, day after day
6. Call Your Girlfriend - Robyn
call your girlfriend itâs time you had the talk give your reasons say itâs not her fault
7. Too Much - Carly Rae Jepsen
itâs hard to get to know me are you down, down?
8. Black Sheep - Kailee Morgue
everyone pulls away from you
9. Fast Slow Disco - St. Vincent
slip my hand from your hand leave you dancing with a ghost
10. Itâs a Trip! - Joywave
when youâve gotten what you want maybe I should start over thereâs nothing left to want
11. Powder Blue/Cascine Park - Yumi Zouma
another summer in your eyes another mind made up nothing ever made you mine
12. Fresh Laundry - Allie X
these days, no oneâs bothering me âbout nothing
13. Dancing in the Dark - Lucy Dacus
Man, I'm just tired and bored with myself Hey there, baby, I could use just a little help
Kelly surprised me. She was meant to be a one-off character, never to be seen again after kicking Freddy out of her apartment and leaking his nudes. She was supposed to be a one-note social climber, as opportunistic as Freddy was shallow. From a feminist standpoint, though, I didnât really like having a one-note gold-digger in my story. I felt like she deserved better, so I started putting a playlist together to explore some different concepts for her character. I hit on Girl of the Year and Too Much right away, and those ended up being the songs that were instrumental (heheh) who she became in my story.
Instead of a gold-digger aggressively pushing to meet the royal family, shack up with a prince, and become a duchess, Kelly ended up being a person who is reflective, troubled, and very lonely. Girl of the Year was written about the relationship between musical artists and recording executives, but I was intrigued by the idea of a woman bringing that same attitude toward a wealthy/influential boyfriend. What would it be like to date someone knowing that youâre disposable, knowing that they might move on at any moment, knowing that the best-case scenario is coming in second place to that manâs future wife?
Kelly is a bit ambivalent about the power/money/influence gap between herself and Freddy. She isnât a gold-digger, but she canât help but wonder what she might be able to get out of him. I think Kelly is caught in a really difficult place of liking Freddy while understanding deep-down that the relationship doesnât have much of a future. Her decision to remain in that relationship under those circumstances reflects both low self-worth (she doesnât think she deserves better) and a bit of a mercenary outlook (if the relationship is doomed anyway...why not try to eke some money or notoriety out of it?).
As Iâve worked to put this post together, I was struck by how isolated Kelly is. She alludes to other people in her life (therapist, family, roommates) but we never see them. They arenât even named. She shows up/is referenced at least nine times before we see her with anyone but Freddy, and thereâs no transcribed dialogue in that post. She doesnât actually speak to anyone until this conversation with Jacques, and they donât have a meaningful conversation until a few pages later.
Despite her scattered references to family, roommates, and her therapist (no references to friends, notably) Freddy seems to be the only person in her life with whom she has any kind of emotional connection. And even though he was making efforts to âbring her into his world,â heâs making out with someone else less than two hours after she breaks things off with him for the last time. Between their first and last appearances together, the two have switched places: heâs pushing her to take the next step in their relationship and sheâs pulling back. In Kellyâs mind, Freddy was never serious about her, but he just hadnât realized it yet.
Another thing that jumped out to me rereading Kellyâs posts is the fact that she seems to have 0 positive relationships with other women. I havenât fleshed out her backstory, but I feel like Kelly is still recovering from a Not Like Other Girls phase and feels very alienated from womanhood in general. The first time we ever see her in the same physical space with another woman is here, more than a year after she was first introduced as a character. Notably, she and Emily donât actually speak to one another in that scene, and Emily is unwilling to intervene when Jacques is extremely fucking shady about following a seemingly-drunk woman into a bathroom. Kellyâs first actual conversation with another woman is...this attempt to buy a bus ticket.
I think Kellyâs most important female relationship is actually the relationship she doesnât have with Vivi. Although they never interact directly, theyâre connected through that paparazzi picture and Viviâs belief that Jacques is is the father of Kellyâs child. In this way, theyâre foils for one another despite the fact they never meet. Kelly explicitly names the tabloid abuse Vivi as one factor in their break-up. Kelly and Vivi are both royal outsiders and are thus extremely vulnerable to cultural misogyny. Theyâre very different women, but from an instrumental standpoint, I think their differences in outlook/opinion is due to the differences in their support networks. Vivi has good relationships with her family, especially her older sibling. Even though Vivi is in the process of being absorbed into the royal apparatus, she still has her family to lean on. Kelly doesnât have those resources. If she married into the royal family, sheâd be alone within that structure, and she knows it.
I really like Kelly. She's messy and deeply flawed, but sheâs not the one-note villain I intended her to be. Sheâs probably my favorite among the secondary characters, and Iâm going to miss her!
#armorica extras#character: kelly farrier#music#listen this post got SO LONG but I wanted to expand on some of the lyrical choices#and include a 'cut songs' section lmao#i may still do this because i've been getting real deep into self-indulgence lately lmao
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Blood Oranges Pt.7
Summary: The holiday break is on the horizon, finals are weeks away, and you and your older brother are attending college in Vermont, ready to be done with school and be back home with your parents. Though, while fiddling around with your parents old camcorder, you come across some old tapes that look a little all too familiar to you and your brother.
Word Count: 2,774
Warnings: language
Poly Lost Boys x FemReader | Male OC x Male OC
Notes: Learning more about Jason and his part to play. Surprises around every corner and thereâs still so much more to cover before movie plot. So get ready. Also if you want to be added to a tag list for this series, let me know!
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You pulled the curtain to the dressing room, now changed into some of the new clothing that you bought. A new pair of dark gray mom jeans with your black boots and a faded orange cotton spaghetti strap tank top with white trimming. You pulled on one of your new jackets as well; it was a long navy blue jacket that reached your knees with a few presown patches that you liked on it.
Freddie stepped out of the one next to you, dressed in his new clothing as well. A faded red zip-up hoodie with tears, rips and worn out band patches, he wore it on top of his baggy black tank top. He put on a new pair of ripped denim jeans as well and tradded out his boots for a pair of navy blue high top converse.
The both of you smiled at each other, happy with your new clothing. You lifted up your hand and formed a fist, "Feeling good, Fred?" Now the two of you looked like you could relatively blend in with the locals.
He chuckled and bumped his fist with yours, "Feeling good." He repeated your words.
"Looking good too." Jason comments, sitting on the couches that were set up in front of the dressing rooms.
You smiled as Freddie became flustered at the complement. Jason smiled at Freddie as well, finding it cute that he got flustered so easily.
You shoved your original clothes in one of your bags, "Okay, so, wanna explain how you're here?"
Freddie grabbed his own bags, "Or how you even found us for that matter?"
Jason sighed, grabbing his stuff and the three of you made your way out of the store, merging with the crowd, "It's hard to explain, nor do I think it's good to talk about it in a sea of people."
"We could head to the car." You glanced over at the ocean, the sun only maybe an hour away from fully setting. "Talk about it there."
The three of you sat in the car with your belongings in the trunk, with very little to no people in the area, which gave you all enough privacy to talk freely. You sat up in the driver's seat while Freddie sat in the passenger seat next you and Jason in the back.
You were also patting yourself on the back for grabbing blood oranges with you, cause each of you were eating one.
"So, let me get this all straight. You're a dhampir too?" Freddie asked in disbelief as you stared at him, flabbergasted.
Jason winced and nodded, "My parents made me eat blood oranges, just like you guys, to curb the craving of blood. I always knew, they were always open about it with me. I knew that we were from a different dimension once I was old enough to understand the concept of it.
Jason paused, taking a slice of the citrus fruit into his mouth, "But there was so much more that I never fully understood. I wanted them to tell me everything."
Freddie swallowed his slice, "Did they?"
Jason pursed his lips, "Not really, they just always put it off and just said it wasn't time yet. I didn't even know about you guys being dhampirs until yesterday. I thought you were just humans. But your parents called me."
"What?" You questioned, glancing over at Freddie in utter confusion.
"Yeah, I mean, I knew I could time travel and dimension hop, I just never did it before. But your parents called me and told me to find you guys. That it was important and like, dire that went back in time with you guys. They just said that it was time." Jason explained.
Freddie shook his head, "But how did they know we would be here? How did they even know aboutâŚ" Freddie trailed off and clenched his fist, "They knew about you because both of our parents are from here and were probably friends."
Jason nodded, "Yeah, apparently."
Silence settled over all of you but one question still tugged at your mind, "But how did you find us? I mean, doesn't it have to do with certain circumstances? Watching a tape or something mixed with strong emotions?"
Jason sighed, "That's one way. Emotions are a part of it, but it's mostly a connection, a strong one. I got here because⌠of my connection with Freddie."
Freddie stared at the brunette while you furrowed your brow. And then it hit you like a bag of bricks. Your jaw dropped a little, "Your Freddie's mate."
Freddie's eyes went wide, looking back and forth between you and Jason.
"That's how you got here. Pre fucking determined destiny brought you here." You pieced things together, "Not to mention the fact that you mated with him already."
Jason stuttered, "H-how did you know?"
You stared blankly at him, "Cause my mates, the lost boys," Jason tilted his head at that. You nodded, "Yeah, I know, crazy, anyways. They said that someone already mated with my brother. You scent marked him."
Freddie suddenly stepped out of the car and you and Jason instantly followed. "Freddie, look, I-" Jason started but Freddie put a hand up to stop him.
"YouâŚ" Freddie shook his head, "How did you not know what we were if you marked me? Couldn't you, I don't know, smell that we were different?!"
"I just thought it was a mate thing?! I did it shortly after I found out what I was and I didn't know what I was doing!" Jason exclaimed.
You watched on, letting the two talk it out. Plus, you didn't really think it was smart to interrupt a conversation this important.
Jason took a deep breath, "Everything changed. I could smell things, hear things, do things that I couldn't even understand. And you⌠IâŚ" Jason trailed off, not really knowing what to say.
Freddie ran his fingers through his hair and then rubbed his face, "You promise that you didn't know."
"Promise. Freddie, I never knew about you or your sister until your parents called me."
Licking your lips, you decided to speak up, "I'm gonna let you two talk for a bit. I'll hang out on the boardwalk until you guys talk things over."
"Wait, Y/n, I can't exactly whip out my phone and call you." Freddie exclaimed as you started walking away.
You waved your hand, "Just start heading in when the boys get here, they'll find me somehow." You had no doubt that the second they found out you and Freddie were gone, the number one place they would look is the Boardwalk. It was their home away from home.
Freddie swung his feet back and forth as he and Jason sat on the front of the car. Ever since you left, which was only about twenty minutes ago, they had been sitting in silence. Freddie was still coming to terms that pretty much the guy he was totally into was mated to him.
It was only the second day and even more information was dumped on the both of you. He should've been estatice by this news, he was happy, yeah, but it still was tough to process.
"When did you, um, mark me?" Freddie asked and made Jason jump a little when he broke the silence.
Jason played with his fingers, not looking at Freddie, "Start of last semester. It was only a little over a month when I found out what I was. We had that study session at my apartment; I was studying the philosophy of death and dying."
Freddie snorted, remembering, "And I had honors calculus."
Jason chuckled, "Yeah, I will still never wrap my head around how smart you are."
Freddie scoffed, shoving Jason lightly with his shoulder, "Don't sell yourself short. Philosophy is hard. I could never do it."
Jason smiled and cleared his throat, "Anyways, you stayed over that night. You fell asleep while we were sitting on the floor and⌠I smelt it. It was strong. I mean, it was strong the entire day and I didn't know what it was. All I knew is something inside me got possessive."
Freddie nodded, "Oh." He said softly, listening to Jason.
"I draped one of my hoodies over you and let you nap for a bit. I left my room because I knew if I stayed in there longer, whatever I wanted, I knew I wouldn't be able to control it." Jason then chuckled, "Didn't help much when you woke up and joined me out in the living room, fully wearing it."
Freddie blushed a little, "Yeah, I remember that."
"You know, umâŚ" Jason started, clearing his throat, his face feeling warm, "Before this whole dhampir and mate thing happened, I have⌠I liked you before that happened."
Freddie's head whipped so hard, "What?"
Jason sighed, looking at Freddie, "I like you, a lot, Freddie. Before all this happened and even afterwards. It wasn't a mate thing at first, I just really, really like you."
Freddie gulped and licked his lips, "Oh, well. That's good."
"Yeah?" Jason said hopefully.
Freddie nodded, "Yeah, I⌠I like you too. A lot and I have for a long time."
Jason smiled and Freddie smiled as well, a warmth filling their chests. Freddie placed a hand on the car in between them and Jason did the same. Their fingers curled around each other and soon they were holding hands.
Freddie chuckled, suddenly very shy at the action. Jason just smiled at Freddie and nodded, "Cool."
"Very cool."
Jason cleared his throat a little before speaking, "There's also one more thing that I gotta tell you. It's about my parents."
Freddie nodded, listening intently to Jason. His eyes widened in disbelief as Jason revealed a secret that he'd been keeping for a long time.
"You've gotta be shitting me."
You sipped at your milkshake, people watching while sitting criss crossed on top of one of the wooden picnic tables they had placed sporadically throughout the boardwalk.
The sun had fully set and at this point you were just waiting for the boys to show up or even your brother and Jason to finish whatever conversation they were having.
You raised a brow at the people who gave you weird looks as they passed by. You never got weird looks when you did stuff like this with your friends on campus. No one really gave a shit and no one really cared for that matter.
"Looking good, babe." With a wicked grin, Marko came up from behind you and took a seat next to you on the table.
"I think smoking hot is more like it." Paul said, biting his lip.
You licked your lips as the rest of the boys took a seat at the table with you, grins on their own faces. You smiled and shrugged at the compliment, "Thanks. Need to do some shopping. Though I'll probably need to do it again in a week or so."
"You can take some of our stuff." David offered. Though you had a feeling there was more meaning to the offer than was being led on.
You shook your head, grateful for the offer but you didn't want them to give up some of their clothing just for you, "You really don't have to do that."
Dwayne placed a hand on your leg, "We want to." You gulped at the intense gaze Dwayne was giving you. His eyes hooded, "Let us." A shiver went down your spine and you didn't know if it was still an offer at this point or a command.
You could feel your face heating up, "Okay." You said quietly, taking another sip of your milkshake.
David suddenly narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, taking a sniff at you. You raised your brow at the action, "What?"
David growled a little, "Who were you around?" Something inside you knew his growl was protective, but he still didn't like that he could smell a new scent that wasn't your brothers.
"Oh! Um, we sort of ran into someone we know⌠from our year, well dimension? Whatever the fuck you wanna call it, he's a friend from our college." You explained and held back a laugh seeing their eyes widen.
"How did he get here?" Marko questioned.
You smiled a little, "Well, he's a dhampir and also my brother's mate so⌠pre destiny and all that good stuff is how he's here and apparently there is a reason why we're here. And it's not just because I'm mated to you guys, I think there's much more to it since our parents knew that all of this," You gestured to your environment around you, "Was going to happen."
David furrowed his brow, taking the cigarette behind his ear, "So, this was all planned?"
You shook your head as he lit his cigarette, "Well, yes but no. Freddie and I coming here wasn't planned, it just happened. Our parents sending Jason, Freddie's mate, to help us here was planned."
"Help you with what? You're our mate so that should be it, right?" Paul asked, confused. It suddenly dawned on his three fellow vampires that they never told him about what Freddie showed them.
You opened your mouth, but then you paused. You thought back to when you and Freddie were still in your dorm room before you ended up in Santa Carla.
"To help youâŚ" You trailed off, "Every single time I watch your movie, I've always hated the ending. Mostly everyone who's watched it does. Yes, I'm your mate and I'm gonna change your guys' ending."
Paul tilted his head at you, completely lost, "Wait, how does the movie end?"
Marko winced when Paul asked the question, "We sort of die, dude. Like for real."
Paul stared at Marko in silence, his eyes widening and shocked to his very core. He dies? Like for real dies at the end of whatever movie that came from your dimension. He frowned a little, his mood suddenly dampening, "This blows. Totally blows."
You frowned a little. You reached over with your free hand grasped onto one of his, giving it a squeeze. His head turned to you as you gave him a comforting smile, "But I'm gonna make sure that it doesn't happen."
You turned to look at the rest of them and they stared back at you, "None of you are dying. Me, Freddie and Jason are gonna make sure of it."
"Someone mention us?"
All of you turned your heads behind you to see Freddie holding hands with Jason, both of them were smiling.
Happiness bubbled up inside you when you saw their hands together, "No way!" You quickly set your milkshake aside, hopping off the table and running up to your brother to smother him in a hug, "You two did not!"
Freddie chuckled as he swung you around, "Yeah, we sort of did."
The boys watched on, a smile appearing on all of their faces to see you so happy. They even chuckled when you lightly punched your brother in the arm and 'told him so' that Jason liked him back.
Speaking of the boy, their gaze fell on him and they could smell that he was just like you and your brother. He had a smile on his face and a blush dusting his tanned cheeks. "Took long enough." He commented and you just laughed.
Freddie rolled his eyes playfully, "Yeah, yeah. I'm just happy we did it." Freddie shrugged bashfully.
Jason turned his head and noticed the boys staring at him. He cleared his throat, suddenly feeling very small under their gaze, "Hey."
You turned as well and smiled, "Jason, the infamous lost boys. Boys, this is Jason. Our friend from college and well, Freddie's boyfriend I'm guessing?" You chuckled as both boys nodded a little shy.
You walked back over to the boys, grabbing your shake and resting an elbow on Dwayne's shoulder. Dwayne smirked at how close you were to him and snaked an arm around your waist. You said nothing about it though, and you'd be lying if you said you didn't like it.
Jason chuckled, "Anyways. I don't think the Boardwalk is the safest place to be talking about this. Anyone could be listening."
David hummed, "We'll talk about it back at the cave later, for now, we need to eat."
You glanced down at David as he blew smoke from his cigarette, "Why do I get the feeling that what you need isn't exactly human food? More like human is food."
David smirked and so did the others, "Correct, kitten."
#the lost boys#the lost boys 1987#oc#original character#the lost boys oc#original characters#poly lost boys x reader#poly lost boys#poly lost boys x female reader#the lost boys x female reader#x female reader#reader#college reader#dhampirs#male oc x male oc#blood oranges#paul x reader#david x reader#dwayne x reader#marko x reader
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19 October 1984 - Queen are at the end of their  string of controversial performances at The Super Bowel in Sun City, Bophuthatswana, South Africa  The band were apparently about an hour late getting on stage tonight, leading them to play a slightly shortened set. Queen play with great vigour and excitement on this night, embellishing the songs in enthusiastic ways that they hadn't done in years. Freddie's voice is in great shape, and he sings very passionately throughout. He even goes for the high notes in âSeven Seas Of Rhye.â It is a truly remarkable performance, with the band playing like they have plenty to prove (even though it's the eighth night) in this unfamiliar and politically dangerous territory. Between âSomebody To Loveâ and âKiller Queen,â Freddie plays a descending progression which the band jam on -Â
the end result being something reminiscent of "The March Of The Black Queen" from Queen II. But then comes the real surprise, as Brian and Roger join him for a bit of "My Fairy King" from their debut album. There is a lengthy improvisation after the medley during which Freddie jumps up and down the octaves effortlessly, demonstrating vocal range and natural abilities in a way that only he can. He then passes on the high note at the beginning of âIt's A Hard Life,â as he had given his all for the past few minutes. He cheekily urges everyone to sing along during âLove Of My Life.â âDon't be shy now, girls. Come on!" He later leads them through a brief singalong of We Will Rock You before Hammer To Fall. Freddie, before âCrazy Little Thing Called Loveâ: "I must let you know, I only know three chords on this fucking guitar, so three chords is all you're gonna get. This song is for all you crazy people in the audience tonight. I'm sure there's a few of you here. I've been told this sin city is full of you people that are crazy." Freddie sings the bridge of âI Want To Break Freeâ as close to the original as he ever would. ********************************************Queen played a run of shows at Sun City, the entertainment complex located in Bophutswana, one of 10 South African Bantustans: tracts of low-quality land supposedly enshrined as independent black homelands that were in fact one of the struts of the apartheid regime. They amounted to parched rural ghettoes; the fact that the Sun City complex - a casino-and-golf resort, akin to an Afrikaner's Las Vegas - was located in one of them only underlined their cynically conceived place in the apartheid scheme."We've thought a lot about the morals of it, and it is something we've decided to do. The band is not political - we play to anybody who wants to come and listen." Â (Brian May)âThroughout our career we've been a very non-political group. Â We enjoy going to new places. We've toured America and Europe so many times that it's nice to go somewhere different ... I know there can be a bit of fuss, but apparently we're very popular down here... Basically, we want to play wherever fans want to see us." (John Deacon)Queen were swiftly fined by the British Musicians' Union, and briefly turned into music press pariahs. They were not alone: the likes of Rod Stewart and Status Quo also played Sun City, easing their consciences by making donations to local charities. Queen were no exception: they attempted to make up for the breaking of the cultural boycott by handing some spare royalties to a school for the deaf and blind. It didn't wash: the UN stuck them on its list of blacklisted artists, where they remained until apartheid was finally dismantled. - FMOL The beautiful pictures were taken at Sun City concert by Paul Velasco - he worked as the photo editor for South Africaâs largest daily newspaper (at the time) namely, Sowetan
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The Sommelier (Hannigram x Female!Reader) pt. 5
More people said yes to Hannigram, which is good because Will is already involved in the plot and it would be awkward to have him just disappear. Also, I had someone request a Hannigram x reader in my asks. Apologies to the one person who voted no; I promise there will be more solo Hannibal x reader content in the future.
Hannibal decides to that y/n could do with some extra protection, but doesnât anticipate what she has to tell him.
I have no idea how to make a proper tag list but @deadman-inc-bikeshop and @dovahdokren here you goÂ
Trigger warnings: discussions of alcohol, victim blaming
âWhen I saw his face, I immediately knew he had never once experienced the touch of his own hand, let alone that of a woman.â Charissa read out loud to everyone on staff. âOr, that he was buried so deep in the closet he found Narnia, but those two things arenât mutually exclusive.âÂ
It was expected to be a slow night, as was normal for an ordinary Tuesday. On nights like those, you could get away with more, like reading a tabloid article out loud for everyone to hear.Â
âI canât believe [F/N] actually went public.â One of the new busboys commented. âWhat an absolute madlad.â Â
âDid you just unironically use reddit terminology in an actual conversation?â You narrowed your eyes at the kid.Â
â[F/N], you are making a very dangerous enemy.â An older waitress said, cryptically, from the corner of the room.Â
âWho, Jason?â You gestured to the busboy. âWhatâs he gonna do? Make me cringe myself to death?âÂ
âYou know thatâs not who I mean.â She frowned. âIâm talking about Chase Mulvaney.âÂ
âDonât be ridiculous.â You shook your head. âHeâs not stupid enough to come back here.âÂ
Charissa made a noise that denoted her doubt. âI dunno, [F/N]. Youâd have to be pretty stupid to start stabbing people at a crowded restaurant in broad daylight.âÂ
âBut he was smart enough to get away, right?â Jason asked. âThatâs gotta count for something!âÂ
You and Charissa exchanged glances. Neither of you had the emotional bandwidth to explain white privilege again. Instead, you just humored him.Â
âYeah.â Charissa lied. âHe was smart enough to get away, meaning he probably knows better than to come back.â
"You're kidding yourself." A third waitress, who's name you couldn't seem to place, added. "People always say that killers are these galaxy-brained superhumans, but they're not. Mulvaney believes he's divinely ordained, so any thought that pops into his coked-out head is a sign from god."
And so shattered your thin firmament of denial. You made a point to never learn this person's name just out of spite.
âOh, shit.â You said, trying to hide your genuine fear with a sarcastic voice. âMaybe he is coming back for me.âÂ
Charissa glared at the two other waitresses, equally pissed at them for scaring you.
"And it'll be your own fault for provoking him with that article." The older waitress said.
"Holy victim-blaming, batman." You mumbled.
âAlright, listen up, yâall.â Matthew announced to the group. âIn ten minutes we open for dinner. Remember, if you want to switch shifts with another person, you have to run it by me first. I donât want to see anybody but [F/N] at the bar tonight, capiche?â
âYessir.â You saluted him and made your way over to the bar. Youâd been doling out your bartending shifts left and right to avoid even the possibility of being cornered by another Freddie Lounds. You were only prolonging the inevitable, though. Eventually, you needed to return to the bar.
You passed the hostess's stand, where Charissa was stationed. Suddenly, you felt someone grab at your arm.
"Fucking hell, dude?!" You flinched violently and your heart rate jumped. "Don't do that!"
"Shit, sorry!" Charissa looked immediately regretful. "But, look!"
You followed her gaze through the window where a fancy car was parked. He leaned against the door, adjusting the cuffs of his dress shirt.
Now your heart was beating fast for a completely different reason. You squeezed Charissa's hand, trying to keep a lid on your nervous excitement.
"I think your luck's starting to turn." She said in a sing-songy voice.
"Yeah, I bet he'll protect me from the Baltimore Butcher." You whispered, trying not to giggle like an elementary school girl.
"Oh, could you imagine those arms around you?" She sighed deeply, her hand firmly against her chest. "I would die."
"Not until he sinks his teeth into your neck." You smirked, gnashing your teeth together.
"I would let him." She rested her chin on her hand.
"Yeah, me too." You agreed.
"I would give anything to trade shifts with you." Charissa groaned.
"Well, you heard the boss." You shrugged, suddenly feeling much better about your assignment. "I gotta stay behind the bar."
"Oh, pobrecita." Charissa rolled her eyes. Underneath the stand, she put up her middle finger in your direction. "Suck a dick, [L/N]."
You walked backwards towards the bar, keeping your eyes on your friend. "That's the plan, baby."
You tried to make yourself look busy. You dared not look at him as he entered the restaurant.
He exchanged pleasantries with Charissa then took his seat at the bar. You pretended not to notice him right away, only to give you an extra second to compose yourself.
"Hi there." You greeted, knowing you'd feel stupid no matter what you said. "Er- good evening."
"[F/N] [L/N], I assume?" He asked.
Fuck, you thought. His voice was dark, low and made your insides tremble. Even though part of you knew he was going to know your name, it still felt so sensual passing his lips.
You realized you had waved to him with your bandaged hand. That's how he was about to identify you so quickly. "Yes, I am she. I mean- her. Me."
Way to go, dumbass. You thought. Now he knows you're nervous and he's going to wonder why.
âGod, I need to stop wearing this damn thing.â You said, clearing your throat. âWhat can I get for you tonight?âÂ
He was quiet for a moment. "What do you recommend?"
"Well, that depends." You said, pulling your gaze from him and grabbing a few wine glasses down from a high shelf. It was the only way you could maintain your composure.
"On?"
"What you're having for dinner, for one." You said. "And whether or not you're a vulpine tabloid journalist trying to corner me into a dubiously ethical interview. That's also a factor."
"So that's how Miss Lounds wore you down?" He concluded. "With wine?"
You rested your elbows on the bar, filled with an intoxicating confidence. "She tried wine first. Then she tried to get me fired because she asked for chardonnay and I brought her chablis. And when that didn't work, she siphoned my gas."
"I wish I could say that was out of character for her." He looked at you, apologetically.
"I take it you've had your own run-ins with Freddie?" You smiled.
"She's tried to infiltrate my practice multiple times." He sighed. "She's entered my office under a fake name with a recording device in her purse."
"What a sick fuck." You said, before remembering you really weren't supposed to curse in front of customers. You covered your mouth. "Sorry."
The corners of his mouth turned up into an amused smile. "Don't apologize. You're right."
âSo youâre a doctor?â You asked, hoping he wasnât the type to be offended by questions.Â
âIâm a psychiatrist.â He nodded. âI used to work as a surgeon, but I find the mind much more compelling.âÂ
"Seriously, though." You pushed yourself back to your feet. "What can I get for you?"
He eyed the wine menu and then looked back at you. "What is your favorite red?"
"My favorite red?" You placed your hand on your collarbones. "On a night like this, I enjoy a nice, dry Argentinean Malbec."
"In that case," he thumbed through the list once more. "I'll have a bottle of Cobos ChaĂąares from 2016, please."
You smiled. You wouldn't mind taking a sip of that if he offered. "Right away."
You carefully pulled the solid black bottle from its crevice and placed it on the bar. You removed the plastic seal and reached for the corkscrew. The bottle opened with a satisfying pop, filling the air around you with the strong, complex and seemingly contradictory aromas.
You poured a bit of this criminally expensive wine into his glass. He smelled it, then swirled it for a moment before taking a sip.
"Redcurrants and vanilla," he began. "With floral notes that operate with the precision of interlocking gears in a clock. Everything in its place."
"So you're a sommelier and a poet?" You tilted your head and filled his glass. "I'll bet you make women swoon at every corner."
You never had the best grasp on flirting, but even you knew that line was awful.
âAre you flirting with me, Miss [L/N]?â He asked, clearly not too worried about the consequences and enjoying the flattery. âOr are you just trying to get a taste of this Malbec?âÂ
âLittle bit of column A, little bit of column B.â You shrugged. âThough you are as handsome as everyone says, Iâve had my eyes on that wine for slightly longer.âÂ
You fought the urge to slap your hand over your mouth. You had just broken the cardinal rule of workplace gossip. Panic reverberated through your body as you tried to break down his unreadable expression.Â
Once again, he just looked amused. âIâve seen those lingering glances, the way you all whisper and giggle. Itâs flattering.âÂ
You felt your cheeks growing hot. â...I see.âÂ
âIf you tell me what they say about me, Iâll let you have a taste.â His eyes bored into yours.Â
You paused, trying to decipher exactly what he was offering. Then it hit you.Â
âOh!â You interjected. âThe wine.âÂ
âYes, thatâs what I meant.â He said. âDare I ask where your mind went?âÂ
Your cheeks stung from all the uncomfortable smiling. âIâd really like to keep my job, thanks.âÂ
âHave you never heard of bartender-client confidentiality?â His voice lowered and his eyes found your lips. âNothing we say tonight has to leave these four walls.âÂ
Your insides turned to jelly. He rested the wine glass in his hand and offered it to you. Your hands shaking, you cradled the glass like an 18th century French village prostitute being offered a mug of hot soup. You brought the glass to your lips, the strong, overwhelming smells assaulting your orifices.
You let the wine grace your tongue. You had taught yourself to overcome the sting of the alcohol and focus on the undertones. Your eyes rolled back in to your head and you let out a little noise of pleasure.Â
âChrist on a bike, thatâs decadent.â You said, gasping for air a little bit. You quickly passed the glass back to him before Matthew could see you. âThank you.âÂ
âNow, indulge me.â He instructed, glancing at the fresh pink lipstick mark on his glass. âWhat do the lovely women of Terroir whisper while Iâm just out of earshot?âÂ
You rested your elbows on the bar and leaned in close. âThey say youâre a vampire.âÂ
Judging by his unchanging neutral expression, it clearly wasnât the first time someone had made that connection. âPerhaps theyâre on to something.âÂ
âOne of our line cooks used to say you were the devil.â You informed him, hoping that was one he hadnât heard before.
âUsed to?â He raised his eyebrows.Â
âUntil Chase Mulvaney came around.â You instinctively ran your fingers over your bandages, as if to make sure they were still there. It was a nervous tick youâd developed anytime someone brought up that day. âHeâs stopped talking about, like, anything having to do with his religion ever since.âÂ
âIt takes a lot to get an evangelist to stop evangelizing.â He refilled his glass. âDo you think he lost his faith?âÂ
âI heard someone say in passing that it was because he and Chase Mulvaney went to the same church.â You whispered. âBut I canât verify that.âÂ
âIâd say itâs more likely than a regular customer being a vampire, wouldnât you?âÂ
âI wouldnât trust their word because they made a regular customer into a vampire.â You corrected, hoping he would overlook the fact that you were one of them. âSecrets may stay within these four walls, but they tend to bounce around. Itâs only a matter of time before one escapes, and youâd better hope itâs not one of yours.âÂ
This man must have been an exceptional therapist, because, there you were, baring your soul to him after fifteen minutes and one sip of wine. Occasionally, you were pulled away from the conversation by another customer who had the audacity to also want a drink. But, very few people came to you with the sole intent of drinking on a Tuesday evening. You and the sommelier talked until closing time.Â
âThank you for a lovely evening, Miss [L/N].â He said pulling out his wallet. âYou are as delightful in person as you are on paper.âÂ
âThank you, but I never caught-â you said, but stopped yourself. âI mean, you never gave me your name.âÂ
He signed his name on the paper check, then pulled out a fifty and unceremoniously handed it to you. âNow why would you want to ruin the mystery?âÂ
âNothing we say tonight has to leave these four walls, remember?â You grinned and crossed your arms. âCome on, I wonât tell anyone.âÂ
He took the customer copy of the receipt and scribbled something down on it. He the folded it in half and slid it in your direction as if it contained nuclear launch codes.Â
âJoin me for dinner someday.â He ordered. âIâll supply the Malbec.âÂ
#hannibal x reader#hannibal lecter#hannibal nbc#hannibal x you#hannigram#hannigram x reader#the sommelier#wine#tw trauma#tw victim blaming#tw alcohol
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Okay incredible because it's been plaguing me literally all day since I woke up the first tike at 6am which is when sadly my dream ended.
So let's start with some big things first, I was Etho, I knew I was Etho and not Crow even if I never saw myself in a mirror or remember hearing my name called at all (I also felt more like myself in the dream then when I woke up tbh, which is probably another thing I should add to my list of "get checked out for some form of plurality"). I was kind of dating a god of some kind who's face I can't remember but she had a very nice pink flower late spring/early summer aesthetic and I remember her being so pretty, and be because I can't remember her face but it was a type of indescribable beauty, though that wasn't the only reason I liked her, she was kind and had this sort of firm bluntness that was also caring and gentle. There was also mild hints of polyhermits ("mild" I say as a quote I remember vividly saying is "these people aren't quite as open with relationships as we all are at home"). I think bdubs was there (might've mildly defaced my goddess' garden), and I know for sure beef was there (he was the last person I remember seeing before I woke up).
The location I remember was gorgeous. For a huge chunk I remember a backrooms like escape room it was mild horror (there was gore at some parts but like it felt so normal and I'm not stranger to this feeling in dream either, no actual jump scares or anything like that but some points it was a feeling of being watched, not chased just watched.) and this is a place I've seen in dreams before too. winding hallways, specific types of exits you need to find to get out, stairs to nowhere, housing like hallways, school hallways, church halls, various items to pick up and store away. At some points I remember having and needing a manual wheelchair but other times I was perfectly fine without it. But at one point I stopped looking for a way out of this liminal space (I wasn't alone one of my irl friends being with me for a long time before I lost them just before what I'll call act two of the dream which will be described right away here). I found this gorgeous city that was in a constant night but always lit up mainly moon light but gentle soft street lights in places where the incredibly bright moon couldn't reach. It was filled with beautiful eclectically coloured and designed houses and most shops had that like neon sign aesthetic. It was super full and the houses where close together but the streets were wide and there was plants everywhere including on top of houses and stuff.
The garden that was for the goddess, was a small collection of these pretty pools on different layers surrounded by black rocks filled with plants of various types shaded by this pink leaved willow, I remember there was a way this place could be used as a portal to somewhere but she wouldn't let me go through it. The entire structure could've fit in maybe a 5Ă5Ă8 meter cube. It was vaguely circular and had very soft shapes.
I remember talking to Beef and it felt like home. I woke up feeling homesick...
Ohhh man, this sounds so vaguely familiar. I'm good at imagining things, so it could be that, but I've also had dreams where I've felt like and known I was someone else.
And the fact that you are somewhat used to horror in dreams is insane to me o.O (I think the scariest dream I had as a kid was like a locker room with Freddy Fazbear suits hanging from literal clothing hangers. I, for some reason, had a shotgun, and I shot one of the suits, and the wall behind them disappeared while the suit I shot swung around. The wall turned into lines and lines of Freddy Fazbear suits and I woke up feeling scared after that, literally why-)
I don't know much about the backrooms, but I can very much imagine the whole scene of what you explained. Your dream sounds so peaceful though. I'm imagining birds chirping and grass swaying gently in the wind and I think it's bc you mentioned the garden. (I'm imagining the most beautiful, pink themed garden ever, I promise you. It sounds so peaceful-)
And Beef is a literal home. You prove the point by saying you were homesick when you woke up. He is a home. You miss him. You feel sick being away from Beef. (I am forcing this onto you, I'm correct /j)
#dunno why but the goddess kinda reminds me of serena from accf#im bad at thinking up responses sometiems#i hope this isnt a bad response :)#youre dream sounded very cool though#not scary#even though from what ive seen the backrooms are meant to be a little spooky#like familiar and such#I DID IT AGAIN#i typed youre instead of your#i knwo the difference pls trust me
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Nothinâ Like You ~ Cale Makar
In honor of reaching over 200 followers, here is a song fic based on Dan and Shayâs Nothinâ Like You. I have a few requests in my inbox that I will be working on. If you have any, feel free to send them in using this prompt! Thank you for 200!!!
Master List
I remember when I first met you Sipping coffee in a corner booth You were twirling your hair And I just had to stare For a minute or two
Cale was with Tyson and J.T. after practice one Wednesday afternoon. The three of them decided to stop and get some coffee as it was a cold winter day outside. They were waiting in line talking about something E.J. had said earlier that day when Caleâs eyes landed on you in the back corner by a window. You had a cup of coffee and were staring at your laptop, completely oblivious to the world around you. He couldnât help but stare as you wound and un-wound a strand of hair around your finger, every so often stopping to type something. Tyson kept talking as J.T. realized their defenseman was completely distracted by something. Following his line of sight, he chuckled. âSee something you like? Or someone?â he chirped his teammate. Cale started to turn red as he looked away from you.
âI thought maybe I knew her,â he muttered. Tyson had stopped his monologue and was paying attention also now. He looked over as you had your head buried in a book, slowly typing something out.
âHow did she carry all those books?â he asked with a slight laugh. Cale had noticed the numerous books you had scattered around the table. Didnât people just do their research online now? âYou like studious girls Makar?â Tyson elbowed him.
I was laughing at your stack of books Then you shot me that smile Hey beautiful girl, in your own little world Let me in it
âMan shut up,â Cale said turning on his friend. Unknowingly to them though, you had actually heard all the commotion. It was why you enjoyed doing your research in coffee shops; the garbled noises made it easier for you to concentrate. This doesnât mean that you had heard what they said exactly, but who could really miss three hockey players walking into a small coffee shop in the middle of the week.
You looked up right as Cale was glancing back over at you. As you locked eyes, you sent him a shy smile and looked back down, trying to focus on your work again. Of course you knew who they were, all of Denver practically did. You were just an overstressed grad student with too many deadlines coming up though; he was probably just looking around the place.
The three of them ordered their coffees, and Cale noticed that you had looked sadly at your cup after taking a sip. He walked up to the counter and got the attention of the barista. âWhat did that girl in the corner order?â he asked, and was told it was a caramel latte. âIâll take one of those too,â Cale said, paying for a second coffee. J.T. gave Tyson a look before he could say anything as they watched Cale walk over to you with two coffee cups.
You got all of my attention And you ain't even trying Yeah, you're my kind of different And I never seen nothin'
Nothin' like you
âUm hi. I hope you donât mind, but I thought you could use this,â Cale said, announcing his presence at your table. You looked up, slightly startled as you had been engrossed in a thought you had while typing out your research. âDidnât mean to scare you,â he chuckled nervously.
âNo, youâre fine! Sorry, I had a train of thought going,â you sputtered out just as nervous as him. âThank you, thatâs very kind. What do I owe you?â you asked, instinctively reaching for your wallet. Cale shook his head.
âNothing,â he said, trying to think of what the guys on the team might say in this situation. âYour number maybe?â he made a face like he couldnât believe he just said that, and you couldnât help but giggle.
âUm, sure, yeah,â you squeaked out, writing your number on a piece of notebook paper and ripping it out to give to him. âIâm Y/N,â you introduced yourself.
âCale,â he said, taking the paper from you. He was about to ask what you were doing when Tyson called out to him.
âMakar, are you coming?â Cale turned toward his friends who had big, goofy grins on their faces watching the interaction. You blushed slightly at the thought of others watching you.
âIâm sorry. Iâll text you,â he stuttered out, putting your number into his pocket. You smiled softly at him and nodded.
âThanks for the coffee,â you said and he smiled at you.
âMy pleasure.â Â
Shades on spinning in a summer rain Dancing when there ainât no music Just the right kind of crazy, baby
      Cale had texted you like he said he would that same evening. You honestly werenât expecting it, but felt completely giddy when you saw the unknown number and read his message. He explained that he would be gone on a road trip with the Avs for the next week, but would like to take you to dinner when he got back. You accepted and plans were made; the two of you talking regularly throughout the week getting to know each other better.
      The Avs returned home on Thursday, and a few hours later Cale was at your apartment knocking on your door. He had brought you flowers and you couldnât help but smile at the kind gesture. The two of you made your way to dinner, talking the whole time. He had just finished telling you a funny story from the trip, beaming at the giggle he had enticed from you when your food arrived. As you looked down at your plate, you started moving your head and shoulders in an excited fashion. âAre you dancing?â Cale questioned you with a chuckle. You stopped immediately.
      âOh my gosh, sorry. I tend to have a happy dance with food. Itâs a weird family thing. I donât even realize I do it until itâs pointed out to me,â you rambled on, face turning red. Cale shook his head.
      âDonât be sorry. I though it was cute,â he said in a low tone. You smiled and giggled nervously; Cale deciding then and there that he wanted to continue seeing that smile for as long as you would let him. Â
Something about you Rocking that rock 'n roll t-shirt Whole party dressed up But you just doinâ your thing Ain't nobody ever seen nothin' like you
      You were working on your research the following Friday night, having the game on in the background. Cale had taken you out to dinner once more since your first date, and the two of you had been nonstop texting. The Avs had won, Cale scoring that night. After the game you were about to text him a âcongratulationsâ when your phone started to ring, the caller ID showing it was him. âCongratulations!â you said as you answered and heard him chuckle on the other end of the line.
      âThanks Y/N. Hey, what are you doing tonight?â he asked, and you heard a few wolf whistles behind him with muttered âshut upsâ coming from the defenseman.
      âIâve just been working on my research since I got out of class earlier. Why?â you asked, trying not to laugh.
      âCome out with us. Weâre all going out to celebrate,â he said in a more hushed tone, and you could imagine him trying to avoid the whole locker room from hearing.
      âCale, I would love to but Iâm not dressed to go out,â you said.
      âWho cares. Please? I would like you to come,â he pleaded with you ever so slightly. You looked down at your outfit, deciding it wouldnât take much to put on some jeans quickly. Your Red Hot Chili Peppers shirt didnât look terrible at least.
      âText me the address,â you said into the phone, and you could hear the excitement in Caleâs voice as he said he would.
When you're wearing them worn out jeans Purple untied shoestrings You're a light in the dark And you're stealing my heart like a gypsy
      Showing up to the bar, you became a little self-conscious. Maybe you should have changed? The second Cale spotted you though, he thought you were the most beautiful girl in the room. The front of your band tee was tucked into your ripped black jeans, your white converse showing years of wear as they were no longer exactly white and the shoelaces were frayed at the ends. Cale knew you were probably stressed with your research, and yet you still had the softest smile and a sparkle in your eyes when you found him in the crowd. âYou made it,â he whispered into your hair as he hugged you close. He felt you giggle into his chest.
      âCouldnât let you down,â you answered simply. Cale smiled at you and took your hand, leading you over to a table where some of the team was sitting.
      âCoffee shop girl!â A slightly tipsy Tyson shouted.
      âOh my God,â Cale muttered as you giggled. You were introduced to everyone as you took a seat between Cale and someone he called Gravy.
      âSo what is your research on?â Gabriel Landeskog asked when you said you were a grad student at the University of Denver.
      âThe archaeology of Zoroastrianism,â you said, and caught many blank stares.
      âZoro what?â Andre asked.
      âItâs an ancient Persian religion. Todayâs modern practices of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all have common ties to it,â you briefly explained.
      âWait, that was the religion Freddie Mercury practiced,â Sam Girard commented, looking interested. You nodded.
      âThatâs how most people have heard of it now,â you responded.
      âWhat is your research trying to say about it?â he asked.
      âSo Iâm basically writing a big literature review to make sure it is preserved in the archaeological record. It was the first dualistic religion in a time where civilizations had their pantheons to believe in. It spread with the Persian conquest, but no one they conquered was ever forced to convert to it. Now itâs a rare religion to come across, and their numbers keep getting smaller. With it being one of the oldest organized religions, it needs to be preserved and the traditions documented before we lose it all through modernization attempts.â To you, your explanation was simple and one that you had said many times whenever asked what you were studying. It seemed you had impressed the table though, and you slightly blushed as a few questions started flying your way. You didnât notice Cale softly smiling at you while you talked about a topic that you loved so much; he couldnât take his eyes off of you. His teammates noticed though, and boy were they going to give it to him at practice.  Â
I love the way that you kiss me In front of everybody So baby come and kiss me They ain't ever seen nothin'
Nothin' like you
      The following day at practice, the guys were giving Cale crap for how head over heels he seemed for you. The fact he hadnât kissed you yet was another source of ridicule. Everyone who had met you ended up adoring you within the time span that you spent with them at the bar; and they could easily see that their defenseman was taken by you as his cheeks would turn red at the mention of your name. They were all happy for him, but that didnât mean the chirping would stop.
      They had another home game to play the following day, and Gabe convinced Cale to invite you and have you sit with Mel and Linnea. Later that day Cale went to your apartment and handed you his jersey, asking you to be there for the game. You couldnât say no to him, not that you wanted to anyways. That Sunday you put on the jersey and headed to the stadium. Meeting Mel at the front, you quickly got along and enjoyed the game. The Avs came out victorious again, and you followed the captainâs wife to the locker rooms. You stepped aside as Gabe made his way over to his wife, feeling a little out of place. Luckily for you, Cale wasnât far behind.
      He didnât know if it was from the guys comments or seeing you in his jersey, but one second he was smiling widely at you, then the next his lips were on yours and his hands on your waist. Without a second thought, you kissed him back, your hands holding his face to yours. You were both grinning ear to ear as you separated, chirps flying all around but all in good nature. Giggling, you hid your face in Caleâs chest as his face turned bright red.
Shades on spinning in a summer rain Dancing when there ainât no music Just the right kind of crazy, baby Something about you Rocking that rock 'n roll t-shirt Whole party dressed up But you just doing your thing Ain't nobody ever seen nothin' like you, yeah
      A year had passed and you were at the end of your grad program. You were set to present your research at the graduate fair, having been selected to present your research on behalf of your department. The Avs were scheduled to be flying back home that day, but Cale wasnât sure if he would be there in time to see you present. You told him that it was fine, that you understood; and you really did. He was hell bent on making it though. You werenât that surprised when you saw Cale sneaking into the back of the auditorium. What did surprise you was that half the team had followed him in. Having become good friends with them, they wanted to be there to support you too. As your name was announced, you swear you had the loudest applause.
      You calmly presented your research, smiling at Cale when you finished and a few questions were thrown your way. Having worked so hard, the questions were simple to answer. Finding Cale afterward, he took your poster from you and the two of you made your way to his apartment so he could unpack from the trip. Changing into some leggings and one of his shirts, you showed him the bound copy of your 105 page thesis. He was so proud of you and couldnât help but share the cover on his Insta story. The two of you cuddle and slept better that night then you had in a while. For him it was being back home with you, and you finally had the stress of your research gone since the first time you met him. Â
Nothin' like you Shades on spinning in a summer rain Dancing in the rain no music Nothin' like you Rocking that rock 'n roll t-shirt Whole party dressed up But you just doing your thing Ain't nobody ever seen nothin' like you, yeah
      Once you graduated, Cale asked you to move in with him. You had secured a job at a museum as a curator in their Antient History section. Setting up an exhibit all morning, you met up with Cale at the same coffee shop you had met at two years prior later that day. âSorry Iâm lateâ you muttered to Cale as you found him. He smiled and gave you a quick kiss.
      âYou have nothing to be sorry about. I already put your order in,â he said as you sat across from him, taking a sip of the coffee he got you.
      âYou know me so well,â you hummed with a giggle, the caramel latte tasting sweet. Cale grinned at you.
      âTechnically, your coffee order was the first thing I learned about you, so I better get that right,â he chuckled. âThat and you seemed like a huge nerd.â You faked offense, but laughed anyway.
      âIt was all those books that got you. I knew my tactic of sitting in a coffee shop would work for me one day,â you winked at him.
      âIt did. Iâd never seen nothing like you,â he grinned, reaching into his pocket to take out a small velvet jewelry box.
Never seen, never seen nothin' like you Ain't never seen anything like you Mmm Never seen nothin' like you
Tagging: @yeahcalesy @avsfans95  @tysojostâÂ
#nhl imagines#nhl x reader#nhl fic#nhl fanfiction#cale makar imagine#cale makar x reader#colorado avalanche imagine#nhl imagine
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The Gift of a Weasley Sweater is a Powerful Thing [F.W.]
Day 23 prompt of âA Very Harry Potter Christmasâ :Â âWeasley Sweaterâ
Thank you so much to @jamilelucato and @whack-ed for letting me participate in this writing challenge! I am so sorry it is extremely late, please forgive me. Hope you like it!
Fred Weasley x Female!Slytherin!Reader
Warnings: Mention of fighting, Umbridge, Umbridgeâs using that quill, George being mean, a few cuss words, mention of âbloodtraitorâ *if I missed anything that should be put into the warning, please let me know!*Â
Word Count: 6.5k (so sorry!)
As the Christmas holiday was quickly approaching and many students were preparing to leave the comfort of Hogwarts to spend time with their respected families, it was becoming increasingly normal to see different love-sick couples scattered about the castle basking in each other's presence to soak up every last ounce of time they could before being separated by the long vacation. What wasnât normal, however, was seeing Fred Weasley spending any, and almost every, spare second he had with a girl doing the exact same thing. And to make it even more unusual, a Slytherin girl!Â
It was a few days before Christmas break and George Weasley has had enough of seeing his brother act like a lovesick fool.
âI do not know what is going on in that head of his but Iâm right âbout to take my beaters bat and knock some sense into him. Thank Merlin sheâs not wedged her way into coming home with us!â he huffs sending silent daggered glares toward his twin brother sitting a few feet down the way at the Gryffindor breakfast table with his serpent of a girlfriend nestled into his side. He couldnât stand the sight. How did Fred Weasley, a proud Gryffindor of all people, become entranced with none other than a snake? It just didn't make sense!Â
From across the table, Lee Jordan casts a glance up towards the inter house couple before returning to face the boiling redhead sitting across from him. âHonestly George, I donât know why you hate her so much, you've never even actually met her! She is actually quite nice yâknow? She helped me escape Snape once, it was brilliant!âÂ
âSheâs a Slytherin, Lee! The whole lot of them can't be trustedâŚâ he grumbles, taking a quick bite of his slice of toast before sipping his pumpkin juice and clearing his throat. âI donât know what game she's playing but Iâm gonna find out what it is. I donât want him to get hurt.â
Lee could understand where the boy in front of him was coming from. Fred had never taken a liking to any Slytherin house member before, no matter who they were, up until the week before the end of the previous school year when you had transferred to Hogwarts from Beauxbatons. âJust give her a chance George. You never know, she could be genuine in her love or whatever she feels for him and not be as bad as you think!âÂ
On top of what George, and almost everyone else at Hogwarts, was already putting up with this school year (aka Professor Umbridge terrorizing the school and you know whos return creating chaos amongst the wizarding world) George didnât want to add having to be civil with a snake to his list of things to deal with.Â
âYeah...guess not but still! She has not approached any of us, his siblings, to get to know us and they have been cozied up since she got here last semester! In my book, that's already a bad sign.â he frowns looking at the couple again.Â
Meanwhile down the table, the two lovesick teenagers are conversing amongst themselves, oblivious to the pointed looks from her boyfriend's twin.
âSo I have Ron, George, and Ginnyâs gifts all wrapped up and ready to be handed out...and I was thinking, maybe I could come up to the common room later after lessons and give them out? What better time than to finally let me meet them and get to know them than Christmas!â she asks, voice dripping with excitement and hope.Â
A grin graced his lips as he admired her excitement. âThat sounds like an excellent idea, love, but with Umbridge, I donât think itâs safe to be going into others common rooms.âÂ
âI really would love to officially meet them, Freddie. Weâve been dating for three months and you havenât introduced me to any of them. Theyâre your siblings, part of what makes you,you! Especially George. I mean come on- heâs your twin! Your other half! And when has Umbridge terrorizing the school ever stopped you from breaking the rules? I can come up and watch them open presents, maybe stay the night so I donât get caught sneaking back to the dungeonsâŚ.we can spend some time in the common room after everyoneâs gone to bed?â you giggle playfully. Â
âYou had me at âstay the nightâ!â
Another giggle slips past your lips as you peck his lips before rising from the bench. âI thought you would like that idea. I am off to see Professor Snape before my potions lesson starts, I will see you later in Transfig, yeah?â
Fred nods quickly, leaning up to peck your lips once more before you turn and strut out of the Great Hall. He watches you go with that same dopey smile on his face and his eyes swirling with pure adoration. He was in love.Â
After a hefty handful of morning classes, a quick lunch with friends, Transfiguration with Fred (whom of which you got to spend no time with due McGonagall partnering you with other people) and one intense charms lesson, it was finally time for your favorite part of the day; your free period. You werenât sure how you got so lucky to have a free period at the end of the day but you definitely werenât going to complain.Â
Normally you would spend the free period in the Slytherin common room, on the Quidditch pitch practicing, or in the Room of Requirement (which had quickly become yours and Fredâs spot when he decided to skip afternoon lessons), but today you decided to change things up and direct yourself to the library. You had spent your fair share of time amongst many stacks of the old, dusty books for studying purposes and to grab different for-fun reading material but hardly ever did you come in here to spend your free time.Â
Upon entering, you quickly set your course for the small âMuggle Fictionâ section that had been added in recent years, in search of a new adventure to lose yourself in. Your study partner, Hermione was the one to actually introduce you to the section and recommend a few novels to try reading and you turned out loving them all. Despite being a pureblood and having the nasty âI hate everything Muggleâ stereotype follow you around everywhere like a shadow, your heart couldnât help but get excited about Muggle literature, your favorite genre so far being Romance.
Once you have made your pick of entertainment, you gravitate your way to a back corner nook of the library to get comfy-that is until you see the back of a familiar mop of fiery red hair fluttering between shelves before plopping down at a table with his books.Â
Having not been able to contain the excitement of seeing your man (even though he should be in potions), you quickly divert your course to him, staying quiet with a beaming grin on your face. Once close enough behind him, you reach out, playfully covering his eyes with your hands blocking his vision from the herbology book he had been scanning through.Â
"Guess who, Freddie." You giggle.Â
"What the bloody hell? Get off of me!"
Your eyes went wide in horror upon hearing the voice of the man who was definitely not your boyfriend!
"Oh, Salazar, I'm so sorry! I thought you were Fred from the back!"Â
George stood up from his seat, turning to you with a piercing glare, "You should really make sure you know who you are approaching before you touch them!"Â
He hadn't completely yelled at you but the angry tone and rise in his voice made you want to nearly cry.Â
 You cast your eyes to the side, the amount of complete embarrassment you felt had your face feeling as though it was on fire. "I..I know, and again I'm really sorry about that. I- I'm uhm...I'm (Y/N), by the way...Fred's girlfriend." You look back to him, introducing yourself properly for the first time.Â
"It's a pleasure to meet you George."Â
"I can't say the same for you, snake."Â
You recoil at the name, "What did you just-"Â
"You heard me, a snake. That's what you are, clearly. Whatever love spell you have my twin under, you need to end it, and end it now."Â
You couldn't believe what you were hearing. "What are you talking about? There is no spell. I wouldn't do that to Fred, or anyone for that matter! How can you stand there and accuse me of something like that when you don't even know me?"Â
âDonât think I know you, do you? You're a stuck up, entitled, conniving witch whose family only cares about things as ridiculous as blood purity and money. Everyone knows what kind of people you are. You and Fred have been dating for months and you haven't approached any of his siblings to get to know them. And whatâs more is that over the summer you didn't even want to come to the Burrow to spend time with his family; it was always him leaving to meet you. What does that say about what kind of person you are?"
"You don't know a thing. That was not because of me! That was always Fred's choice, I wanted to-"Â
"No, don't try to seem all innocent now. You donât want anything to do with us and we certainly don't like you. Now, if you'd excuse me, I best be leaving."
Before you could get another word out, George turned and collected the books he had grabbed, walking away to the front of the library and out its doors.Â
*
*
After your encounter with George in the library this afternoon, your day had only gotten worse. Â
You had attempted to break up a fight between two of your younger Slytherin female students but you had ended up getting elbowed in the face, leaving you with a small black eye. Yet before you had the chance to visit the Hospital wing, you were summoned to Umbridge's office.
What had been intended as a âfriendly chatâ -the pink toads words, not yours-, upon seeing your forming black eye when you stepped into her office, you were dished up a detention for âunacceptable display of muggle dueling from a prefectâ. You tried to explain the situation and what had happened but it only seemed to aggravate the woman more. She implemented your detention immediately- the punishment being having to write lines. Instead of writing lines for the said cause of your detention, you were made to write lines for "associating with a blood traitor below your class grade". The way she talked about Fred made your blood boil with rage but you didnât want to make your situation any worse than it was so you kept the angry words and insults for the woman to yourself. Â
And finally to top off your terrible day, you had received a letter from your parents stating that they would be spending the Christmas holiday in a tropical paradise while you were to stay at Hogwarts, alone. The day was turning out to be too much to handle and all you wanted was Fred. But with him nowhere to be found, you took to locking yourself in an abandoned classroom in the dungeons, crying out your frustrations. With your eye swelling, your hand stinging like crazy, and your chest aching knowing that Fred's family already hated you without meeting you, you felt completely miserable.
After what had seemed like hours, you finally managed to get your hysterical sobs under control to only getting small hiccups ever so often. Your eyes stung from the hours of repetitive rubbing away of tears and you could only imagine what you looked like. Breaking from your ball-like position in the corner of the room, you rise from the chilled ground, stretching your aching limbs as you take a glance at the small watch on your wrist. You see that dinner had started almost half an hour ago. With a sigh, you emerge from the dungeonâs classroom making your way up to the Great Hall.Â
When you enter through the hall's double doors, you immediately scan the Gryffindorâs table for the man you have come to love. You spot him quickly as he's waving his arms around wildly with a wide grin on his lips, seeming to be telling a crazy story to the surrounding group of his friends made up of George, Ron, Harry Potter, your study partner Hermione, and Lee Jordan. You can't help the way your eyes fill with nothing but pure love seeing him in his element; entertaining people and making them laugh and smile. Your eyes cut to his twin sitting beside him and your face falls.Â
In that moment, his harsh words from earlier this afternoon ran through your head on repeat like a broken record you couldn't stop. You never wished for anything more than to meet Fred's family and have them approve of you and your relationship but with the way things were going, that would never be anything but a wish.Â
You b-line for the Slytherin house table, taking a seat next to your best friend. As you start to shovel food onto your empty plate, his eyes fill with concern.Â
"Blimey, (Y/L/N)! What in Salazarâs name happened to you."
You pause and give him a quick pierced glance before resuming to fill up the plate of food. "Do not start with me Zabini. I've had a rough day."Â
"I can tell by that black eye of yours. Did Weasley do something he shouldn't have to make you cry? Because you know I will-"Â
You crack a sad grin at his over protectiveness but let out a sigh, "N-no, he didn't do anything...he's great. It's just...I don't know.." you trailed off. You didn't want to out George and have him face Blaise's wrath, but how could you keep the day's events away from your best friend?
Blaise noticed your hesitation and rested a comforting hand on your shoulder, "hey, if you don't want to talk about it right now, you don't have to but I'll be here for when you're ready and have the right words."Â
You give him the best side hug you can manage as your eyes begin to prickle with a few tears. "I know and thank you Blaise. I don't know what I'd do without you."Â
He returns the hug with a smile, "probably be miserable, I suppose. But I meant what I said. Just because I support you and Weasley's little love fest doesn't mean I won't hex him into next year if he hurts you."Â
You shove his shoulder playfully before returning back to plate to enjoy your meal.Â
As always, dinner was delicious and you stuffed your stomach full with too much dessert. You rise from the bench along with your fellow Slytherin's and begin to trickle out of the great hall. As you are walking between Theo and Blaise, a hand reaches out and grabs your arm from behind, spinning you around. You're met with a pair of familiar soft and warm lips being placed on your own. Before you can respond to the kiss, your boyfriend pulls away with a smirk leaving you with a small pout. Â
âDonât go pouting, love. You will get more kisses soon, are you ready to go? Hell- what happened to your eye?!â he cups his hands around your face, inspecting your eye closely.
 âIt's nothing, don't worry. Where are we going?â
âYou donât remember? You were going to stay the night after you handed out gifts to Ginny, Ron, and George. Which by the way, I've got to tell you, Iâm a little peeved off Iâm not getting my gift yet and Iâm your loving, devoted boyfriend who adores you and who worries about you.â
You rub your neck nervously, looking away from him. âIâm sorry, itâs just been a long day and I forgot..â
His eyes scan your face, his frown only growing deeper âI thought you were excited, love. I didnât think you would forget something like this. Whatâs wrong?â
You couldnât help it. Hearing Fred ask âwhatâs wrongâ after the day youâve had, unleashed a new wave of fresh tears.Â
âWoah, woah, love what happened? Why are you crying, did I say something wrong?â he quickly encases you in his warm embrace, pressing your head gently to his chest to muffle your sobs. Your body shakes horribly as you try to keep yourself from crumbling right then and there in the hall in the presence of other students.Â
He looks ahead to see Theo and Blaise have stopped in their places, noticing your absence and are now looking at him holding your distraught figure. He sends a pleading look to Blaise, desperate for him to give a clue as to what was wrong but Blaise only shook his head and frowned in response. He knew Zabini was your best friend and that you told each other everything so when even he didnât know what was wrong, Fred began to worry even more.Â
As Fred held you to his chest, he gently brushed back your hair with his fingers a couple of times hoping it would calm you. Bending down slightly so as to not scare you, he whispers into your ear, âCâmon, love. Letâs go up to my room and we can cuddle until youâre ready to talk. How does that sound?â
You nod your head slowly, breathing deeply as you can as you step away from him. His heart shattered seeing your eyes so puffy and bloodshot. Gently wrapping an arm around your waist, he guides you up the moving staircases to the portrait sealing the Gryffindor common room. Fred mutters the password and once there is enough space for you both to walk through, he softly pulls you along, hoping that the room will be empty or at least empty enough so you will be comfortable walking through. To his relief, the only people who have opted to stay out in the common room were George, Lee, Ginny, and the Golden Trio. George is the first to notice his twin's sudden presence.
âThere you are Freddie, been wondering where you went off to. Hopefully not to see that-â
âShut up, George. Do you and Lee mind staying down here for a while? We would like to be alone for a bit.â
Ron pipes up from his spot on the carpet by the roaring fireplace. âWe?!âÂ
Just then, George and Ginnyâs head snap to Fred, only now noticing you curled into his side, face pressed into his shoulder.Â
âWHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?! She-â
âNot now George! Youâre my twin and best friend and I love you but please donât start right now, mate. Just give us some time, please.â Fred begged.Â
George backed away with a scowl before nodding. Fred glances at Lee who gives him an encouraging nod with a soft smile. With a sigh of gratitude, he thanks his roommates, guiding you to the stairs. With a flick of his wand, he says the counter charm to keep the stairs from changing and walks you up.
Once you're in the safe space of his room, he sits you on his bed as he couches down by the end of it rummaging through his trunk. Once he finds what he's looking for, he stands facing you handing you a small stack of clothes.Â
"Here, sweetheart. These will be more comfortable for you than your uniform. And look, I even picked out your favorite sweater of mine."Â
You let out a weak smile, leaning up to plant a loving kiss on his lips. He returns the kiss, cradling your face carefully between his hands. Fred is the one to break the kiss, placing his forehead softly against yours.Â
"Let's get changed, love."Â
With a final nod, you pull away and stand, moving to the opposite of the room to change giving Fred his own space. Once you're both changed, you walk back to his bed with your uniform gently folded in your hands. Fred takes the stack from you before gesturing you to get in bed. You happily oblige and wait for him to get I'm with you. Once he settles in, you get comfortable in your favorite cuddling position. You being the little spoon with Fred cradling your body to his front.
No words are spoken for the first half hour. Fred doesn't rush you to talk, only softly brushing his hands up and down your arms in slow comforting strokes. Once you feel comfortable and ready to talk, you turn over to face the loving man behind you. You wrap an arm around his waist pulling your body flush against his, burrowing your head into his chest.Â
Fred let out a gentle chuckle, squeezing our waist a little tighter. âAre you ready to talk now, love?â
âI ha...frrible ayâŚâÂ
Fred let out a deafening howl of laughter. âI have no clue what you just said, do you mind repeating that more clearly for me, sweetheart?â
You pulled away from his chest, âI said that I had a terrible day.â
His joyful expression was quickly replaced by one of alarm. âWhy what happened?â
âHere goes nothingâŚâ You thought.Â
With a deep breath you begin. âIt wasnât so bad at first. Double potions went okay, lunch with Blaise and Theo was good. Transfig sorta fell short because McGonagall split us up but that was okay too, nothing to ruin the day. It all started in my free period.â you stopped, beginning to feel nervous and nauseous . âW..we always say that honesty is the best policy...right?â
He confirms your question with a small dip of his head. âOf courseâ
You continue on, âI went to the library today to find a new Muggle romance book to read and well...before I could pick one that I liked, I thought I saw you weaving in and out between the bookshelves. I got excited seeing who I thought was you and so I ran up behind him and put my hands over his eyes like how I do with you and wellâŚâ
Fred knew where this was going and he instantly began to feel awful.Â
âIt was George, as you could have guessed and needless to say he did not appreciate that. Of course I apologized, but he was still so angry and not just about me touching him. He seemed to be mad at me, as a whole person. He accused me of having you under a love spell and said that he knew what kind of person I was because of my family. Told me I was entitled and stuck up because I havenât approached him or Ron or Ginny to get to know them nor did I visit the Burrow to spend time with your family this summer. I tried to tell him that me not coming to your home or meeting your family wasnât my choice but he didnât want to hear it.â you sobbed, letting the building tears in your eyes fall freely.Â
If Fred didnât feel terrible before, he sure as hell did now! He knew that it was long overdue for you to meet his family but just when he got the nerve to introduce you, he couldnât. While Fred was a very confident man in many aspects, your lifestyles were complete polar opposites and it oftentimes left him feeling inadequate. While you live a life of luxury, Fred and his family oftentimes struggle to make ends meet. While Fredâs family is thought of as a full lot of blood-traitors, your family name is highly admired and respected amongst the Wizarding community. Now, the Weasley boy knew such trivial things didnât matter to his girl, but the worry he had of you leaving him once you dived in deeper to what made Fred, Fred was just too much to take the risk.Â
Fred couldnât even begin to be mad at George for what he said to you because he was too busy being angry at himself. He was the reason this happened. He was the one who kept you from meeting his family. He was the one who would reject your wishes to spend time at the place heâs called home all of his life and with the people he loved more than anything. He made you look like you didnât want anything to do with his family when in reality, you wanted nothing more than for his family to adore you almost as much as Fred did.
âBaby I am so so sorry about all of this. George had no right to say that to you but he wouldnât have if I had just gotten over my own insecurities. I promise I will make things right, love.â his solemn expression broke your heart and made you cry even harder.Â
Wiping your eyes hurriedly, you shake your head. âThatâs not even the worst of it! I got this stupid black eye from trying to break up a petty fight between two younger girls from my house, and then when I wanted to go see Madam Pomfrey, I was summoned to Umbridgeâs office. One look at my eye and she gave me a detention of writing lines with that horrid quill of hers and my hand hurts so bad! And then on top of everything, my mum sent me a letter this morning saying that she and dad will be going somewhere for Christmas while I stay at Hogwarts instead! It was just one thing after another and when I couldnât even find you, I broke down. Ended up locking myself in a classroom to cry, it was awful. Thatâs why I was late to dinner.â
âThat bloody woman used that damned quill of hers on you?! I swear, I will make that vile woman regret ever using that on you! Let me go see if Hermione has anything to help with the scarring.âÂ
Before he could get out of bed, you wrapped your arms around him tighter, âNo! Don't bother her about it, I just want to be with you right now. Donât leave, just stay.âÂ
It was hard for Fred to contain the anger he had raging through his body but he gave in to your request. He settled back into his position, pulling you in tighter by your waist. âI am so sorry all this happened to you today, sweetheart. I promise, the first thing tomorrow, I will make things right. I will owl mum and tell her you will be coming home with me for Christmas and then I will face my siblings and explain everything to them. Then once Iâm done there, I will make that pink toad wish she never set foot into this school.â
By now the tears had stopped falling, leaving you to the occasional sniffle. âCan we just go to bed now? Iâm tired.â
Fred snuggles down deeper into bed pulling his heavy crimson duvet up around you both, tucking you in. âLetâs sleep. Tomorrow will be betterâ
You wish Fred had been right. No sooner than you were both peacefully asleep, you had been rapidly alerted awake by Professor McGonagall busting into the dorm room. You and Fred had both sprung up to see her shaking George awake. When she made her way over to Fredâs bedside, she paused in shock seeing you there.
âMiss (Y/L/N), what in Godricâs name are you doing in Gryffindor tower? And in the boys dormitories no less!âÂ
âI-I.. well.. You see, what had happened was-âÂ
âNever mind that, we donât have time. I need you and mister Weasley to come with me immediately.â
Once you were all out of bed and met with a disheveled Ginny, the four of you were guided back to the Headmasterâs office and upon entering, you all see Harry looking distraught.Â
Ginny was the first to speak out, âWhatâs going on Harry? Professor McGonagall said you saw dad hurt-â
Dumbledore answered the girl before Harry had the chance. âYour father has been injured doing some work for the Order of the Phoenix. I am sending you all to Siriusâs house by portkey instead of the Burrow, where you will meet your mother. But we must hurry before Umbridge is made aware you all are out of bed. Hurry now, all of you.âÂ
Immediately you all gathered around the kettle you would be using to transport you and waited for the countdown from Dumbledore. On the count of three, you all placed your hands on the portkey and instantly you felt the pull behind your navel and a rush of wind before you were met with the ground of a...kitchen?Â
Before you could comprehend anything, into the kitchen came Sirius Black. You werenât entirely sure what to make of seeing the man in the flesh but looking at him as he spoke to Harry and the Weasley children, there was no way he was this âmass murdererâ you had read to believe. After a small riff between the twins and Sirius about staying put instead of rushing to St. Mungoâs, he offered everyone up a butterbeer (which you graciously accepted) to calm the nerves. When you all had received the small letter from Mrs. Weasley, Sirius suggested that everyone try to obtain some rest so one by one, each of you filtered off to catch some sleep once you were finished with your respective butterbeers. You and Fred go off together to find a couch big enough for the both of you, quickly settling into deep sleep.
*
*
*
In the days that followed upon your arrival, you had finally met Mrs. Weasley and although you were seeing her at a tough time, she was thrilled to meet you and have you around for Christmas. Things were a bit tense with Fredâs siblings given the state of things, but you didnât want to make what they were going through worse so you gave them their space. With your free time you had got to know Sirius and seemed to get along well given the many similarities between the two of you. You had also learned about the Order of the Phoenix and found that his home was made the Orderâs headquarters. And then on the day the Weasley family was heading to St. Mungoâs to visit Mr. Weasley, you met a few more of the Order members, including Mad-Eye and Tonks. After a few discussions with them about the Order and their careers as dark wizard catchers you just knew you wanted to follow their paths and become an Auror and join the Order after you finished your schooling.Â
It was finally the day Mr. Weasley would be getting released from St. Mungoâs and the whole lot of you Hogwarts students were busy tidying up around preparing for his arrival while Mrs. Weasley, Mad-Eye, and Tonks went out.Â
You were currently cleaning down the tabletops in the kitchen with Hermione when you heard George in the next room over beginning to speak out of the blue. âI just donât get it. My father has a near death experience and he has to come home to around another slimy snake...unbelievable.â he scoffs.Â
You halt in your movement as you look up to the door separating the two rooms. The whole time you had been here, you hadnât possibly done anything to set the boy off.
You hear your boyfriend speak up, anger laced within his tone. âGeorge mate, stop. What the hell! She hasnât done anything to make you be so cross with her. What the hell gives?â
You drop the towel in your hand onto the dark table, rushing over to the swinging door that separated the rooms. You push it open to see the two redheads glowering at one another in rage as Ginny, Ron, and Harry stop in the midst of their own cleaning to watch the building argument.
âWhat gives?â he shouts. âWhat gives is that she shouldn't be here! She doesnât belong here with the Order nor is she family! Itâs not like she likes us anyways! Besides, sheâs a Slytherin for Merlinâs sake! Who knows what sheâll go and tell Umbridge when we get back to school. Better yet, who knows what she will go say to those death eater parents of hers to get all of our asses all killed. â
âThatâs enough! Your bang out of line! You donât know a thing about her but yet you decide to hate her?! Thatâs my girlfriend, George!â
 âNone of us know her because she doesnât want us to know her! Weâre your family Fred and sheâs kept herself from that. She-â
âENOUGH!â Fred bursts in anger, making you flinch. You had never heard Fred so...so livid before. âThat. Is. Enough.â his tone rough and grave. He looked around the room, looking into the eyes of each of his siblings as he spoke, âYou three loathe her because you believe she thinks of us as beneath her. Sheâs not like that! You all donât know her because I didnât want you to know her. I wanted to keep my family and my relationship separate and I see now that that was a horrible mistake and Iâm sorry! She truly has always wanted to meet and spend time with you guys but I have been the one to say no every time, even when she begged and pleaded!â
âGinny.â His little sister's body straightened upon the hearing of her name, âyou would actually really like her. The way you feel and talk about Quidditch, sheâs the exact same way. Youâre as much of a headstrong firecracker as she is too. You would get along so well..âÂ
âRonâŚâ he paused looking at his youngest brother, âI have never seen someone more strategic with Wizardâs Chess and obsessed with the Chudley Cannons than (Y/N). You both could talk for hours about that team and never get tired, you would think sheâs great, too.â
Fred looks back to his twin, his eyes softening. âAnd Georgie...youâre my twin. You have no idea how hard she fought to meet you. After mum and dad, sheâs wanted to get to know you the most because she knows just how much you mean to me. You arenât just my twin, youâre my best mate. Not only does she support me, and you too, she supports our dream of opening the joke shop; something weâve wanted since we were kids! You would love her maybe just as much as I do. Sheâs actually brilliant, Iâm telling you. Sheâs smart, funny, inventive, ambitious, and just as much of a kid-at-heart as we are..â he grinned a bit with a few tears pricking his eyes.
The tension encased in the quaint room was undeniably thick. With teary eyes, you take a glance at his siblings and see their faces are all beginning to mirror the same emotions. Embarrassment, guilt, and shame. You couldnât lie, seeing them at least a bit remorseful for the way they treated you and made you feel, made you feel a tad bit better.
As he takes a few paces across the room to stand next to you, he looks around at his siblings one last time, âIf you want someone to be mad at, be mad at me. Not (Y/N). As my family, Iâm begging you, give her a real chance. I love her and I can guarantee you all would love her too.âÂ
You gently wrap your hand around Fredâs bicep, giving it a gentle squeeze with a watery smile. He looks down at you, tenderly kissing your forehead before grabbing your hand in his much larger one and leading you up the staircase to the room you were staying in. You peek back at his siblings as you ascend the steps, offering them a meek smile of their own. When Ginny had returned with the slightest smile in response, it gave you a new hope that things would be different from here on out.Â
*
*
*
Christmas was finally being celebrated at 12 Grimmauld Place and everyone was in high, happy spirits. In the past few days, Ron and Ginny took the initiative to get to know you, and you with them; and as Fred predicted, they enjoyed you and the company you offered. You connected very well with the both of them, and you couldnât be happier. Mr. Weasley was ecstatic to finally meet you at last and welcomed you wholeheartedly. He ended up talking your ear off quite a bit about all things he knew about Muggles but you genuinely enjoyed his conversations and enthusiasm!Â
Currently, you were helping Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen, placing the last few finishing touches on the small feast the lot of you would be indulging in when Fred and George strolled into the room. Fred waltzed over to you wrapping a strong arm around your waist, spinning you around into his chest. You giggled happily as he placed a quick tender kiss on your lips before pulling away when his mom swatted his shoulder from behind him. Mrs. Weasley announced that the food was ready and for everyone to take their seats so you could get started. Before you all tucked in, she walked around the table handing out brightly colored paper wrapped packages to each of the children. You were beyond surprised when she gestured for you to grab the one she had been holding out in front of you.Â
âI got something, too? Mrs. Weasley, you shouldnât have! Thank you so much!â You spoke as you tore open the wrappings. You see a beautifully homemade scarf and matching gloves in your house colors of silver and green. Your eyes crinkle in excitement as you wrap the fluffy scarf around your neck. You peer up at her again, âI love it, thank you!â
âYouâre welcome, dear. I hear those dungeons are quite chilling, those âought to keep you extra warm, I guarantee it.âÂ
You thank her again and before you can begin to show Hermione your wonderful gift, another package is thrusted your way. You see only this time, itâs George holding it out to you.Â
âWhat is this?â you gently grab it from his hands, your eyebrow arching in wonder.Â
âThis is technically something from the entire family but I had been the one to ask mum to make it. I owe you, and Fred too, a huge apology. I was a right foul git to you and should have never said those awful things to or about you, and for that Iâm very sorry. I know it doesnât completely change the fact that it happened but I hope you both can forgive me. I have never seen anyone a better match for my twin and Iâm happy he has you in his life. Go ahead and open it.â
Your beam at him as you unwrap your second gift, your eyes immediately filling with happy tears when you look down to see what it is. You take the dark green plush sweater out of the paper and hold it up, your eyes roaming over your first initial that had been stitched in white, in elation. âMy very own Weasley sweater?!âÂ
George cracked a sincere smile as you hurriedly pulled the sweater over your head to try it on. âWelcome to the family, (Y/N).âÂ
*
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Taglist: @weasleytwinswheezes
#averyharrypotterchristmas#harry potter fanfiction#fred weasley#fred weasley x y/n#george weasley#harry potter#weasley family#order of the phoenix#fred weasley x reader
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Setting The Stage
My hyperfixation is set back on fnaf again in anticipation for Security Breach, so Iâve decided to write my own interpretation on how the game might begin!Â
Summary: Gregory had always dreamed of going to Freddy Faxbearâs Mega Pizza Plex and meeting his heroes. But he somehow ends up getting more than he bargained for, and dreams start to turn into nightmares.
Originally planned as a oneshot but had to split it into two parts.Link to next chapter is down below! Also available to read on AO3 here!
Enjoy!
Walking into Freddy Fazbearâs Mega Pizza Plex for the first time was something that every kid in the world should experience, at least according to Gregoryâs logic.Â
And it was that logic â and a lot of puppy dog looks â that just about managed to work on his mom. Because here he was, finally standing in front of the colorful neon sign with his favorite animal mascots welcoming him in. Â
It had taken a lot of begging and guilt-tripping but he wasnât ashamed one bit, though his mother might have disagreed, especially when it came to the snivelling part. But hey, it wasnât his fault she had worked late on his birthday, so she owed him. Big time.Â
He vaguely recalled her grumbling about having to dip into her savings for this trip.Â
So that meant that he only had today, and he had to make every second count.Â
âSo...â a voice spoke up from behind him. âAm I finally forgiven?âÂ
Gregory looked up to see his mom giving him âthe lookâ, and to that he nodded profusely. Â
âGood. After today you can finally leave me in peace,â she said, giving his hair a playful ruffle as they walked through the large sliding doors and into the mall.Â
He decided to push it just a little bit further.Â
âCan I get a Freddy plushie?âÂ
The little boy swore he could hear a vein pop.Â
âI already bought tickets for the meet and greet. Do you know how much those cost me?âÂ
He shrugged.Â
âA lot, and itâs coming out of your college fund.âÂ
âWhat if I donât wanna go to college?âÂ
âMaybe you wonât get to after today,â she replied, rubbing at her temples. âFine. Iâll give you ten dollars and you can buy yourself something at the store when weâre done, alright?âÂ
That was enough to cover a pencil, maybe an eraser as well if he haggled. But he didnât argue. Â
Both Gregory and his mom were suddenly blinded when they entered into the main part of the building as bright neon lights bounced off of the high glass ceiling and right into their retinas. Only once they were able to adjust their eyes could they really absorb the true grandeur of the place.Â
Everywhere you looked there were people: from tired-eyed parents trying to find the next thing to distract their kids to enthusiastic parents who wanted to get involved in everything their kids were doing while filming it on their phone for their blogs. Then there were the snot-nosed teens who were bunking off school and several professional shopping guides with forced smiles wider than Moondrop and Sunriseâs combined. Everyone seemed to move in unison as the hall was filled with the sound of shoes squeaking against the polished checkered floors.Â
Topping it all off was a massive gleaming golden statue of Glamrock Freddy proudly posed right in the center, singing silently into the microphone as soft music and wacky adverts played in the background.Â
Suddenly Gregory felt very small.Â
âIt sure is...big, isnât it?â His mother said, not sounding so confident herself.Â
He merely nodded in agreement.Â
Her son-o-meter seemed to be finely tuned as ever as she gently grasped Gregoryâs shoulder and gave him a light but reassuring shake.Â
âCâmon now,â she tenderly prodded. âWeâve got all day to enjoy the place so letâs make the most of it, huh? Itâs not every day we get to go to Freddy Fazbearâs Mega Pizza Plex.âÂ
This was true. Coming here had once been only but a dream. Now he was here, staring up at a brilliantly shining statue of Glamrock Freddy. And pretty soon he was going to be meeting the bear himself.Â
His hand absently went to towards his back-pocket before he made a fist as determination washed over him. Looking up at his mom, he nodded.Â
âAnd if Iâm remembering right, I think I know the first thing on your to-do list.â Â
The boy had already grabbed her hand as he made a beeline for their first activity.Â
âTo Fazer Blast!âÂ
 xxx
Trying to imitate the pose of the Roxanne cut-out that was behind the reception desk, Gregory pointed his laser blaster at his mom as she attempted to fit on his vest.Â
âCould you stop fidgeting?âÂ
âBut Iâm practicing-âÂ
âStop. Fidgeting.âÂ
He pouted before she struck him with that look again, which he pretended not to notice as he gazed up towards the lady at the reception desk. She looked about in her twenties and was using one hand to push back her long sleek black locks away from her face every five seconds while her other hand typed lazily on a screen.Â
âSo...do I just join a team or...?âÂ
It took her a moment to even register that he was talking to her before she flicked her hair back again just to glare down at him.Â
âSure, like, do what you want. Itâs your game, you make the rules.âÂ
She seemed to pause for a moment.Â
âYou do, like, know the rules, right?âÂ
Gregory wasnât sure how to respond to that. Â
âUh...sure?âÂ
âFantastic,â she drawled as she focused her attention back to her tablet. âYour session ends in fifteen minutes.âÂ
His mother rolled her eyes and muttered something about, âkids these daysâ, but soon smiled and took Gregoryâs shoulder as she walked him in.Â
âJust remember to have fun, alright? Screw the rules.âÂ
âReally?â Gregory asked, his toothy grin twisting into something sinister as he got into the Roxanne pose again. Â
âJust...donât run and remember to stay within the walls,â she added on quickly. âCanât have my little space man getting lost now, can I?âÂ
Gregory made a sound of disgust as he was pulled in for a kiss before she finally let him loose into the brightly colored arena. He couldnât help but take a moment to stare up in awe as spotlights of purple, green and red shone upon the various props and fixtures that decorated the place.Â
 In the center was a giant space rocket that was surrounded by planets with neon rings glowing around them. The cut-outs from reception were scattered about too, though now they were humongous. Gregory almost couldnât help but salute the towering Freddy as he walked past.Â
He also noticed a room near the back walls. It was raised up to overlook the whole arena and was surrounded by green-lit pillars. It fit in with the theme of the room but also...jarringly stood out. Maybe it was a place for parents to watch their kids play, or perhaps the employees?Â
âHey Grogery!â Â
That voice. That name struck fear into his chest as he swirled around to face a group of boys that had aimed their blasters right at him.Â
âNever thought weâd see you here,â the biggest one said with a smirk. âYou sneak in through the gutters or something?âÂ
âHey... Bob,â Gregory casually greeted. Though it was hard to act so suave when he was trembling.Â
âItâs Rob.âÂ
âRob! Yeah...cool to see you too.âÂ
Learning the names of his bullies from class had never been at the top of Gregoryâs to-do list, but then again it hadnât been at the top of theirs either, clearly. But God, why did they have to be here of all places? Of all days, even?Â
âNah, his mom probably got him in here with all that hooker money she earns!â The skinny one snorted, making them all burst out into laughter.Â
âShe works at the hospital,â Gregory weakly argued.Â
âNot what my dad said!â Rob hollered, still rubbing tears from his eyes.Â
âSo, what, is your dad cheating on your mom?â He sniped back with a sneer of his own.Â
His grin soon disappeared though when they all suddenly stopped laughing and a beat of silence followed, save for the distant laser blasts sounding off around them.Â
âThe hell did you just say to me?â Rob asked, his voice dangerously quiet. If his brows knitted together any tighter then those pimples on the bridge of his nose might pop at any given moment. Gregory grimaced at the very thought.Â
âN-nothing! Um...I mean- it's technically not cheating if your parents are divorced, right?âÂ
Rob positioned the blaster in his hand not so much as to aim it, but rather throw it.Â
âLike I said, my mom wouldnât even do that!âÂ
The pimples popped.Â
With that, Gregory legged it before the gun could smack him in the face. He dashed between the walls as the angry voices behind him grew distant, he almost felt bad as he climbed through the holes and bumped past people, but hey it was like his mom said, screw the rules, right?Â
However, it looked like the rules were starting to screw him when he smacked into a dead end. The black wall was too high for him to jump over and the only way out would be to re-trace his steps, which meant...Â
âCâmon Grogery!â Robâs voice taunted through the luminous hall. âLetâs see how many knocks to the head you can take before you bleed.â Â
The boy swallowed a hard lump down his throat as he backed himself up against the wall and looked up at the Roxanne cut-out that towered above him, aiming her blaster with such confidence and attitude. With a deep breath and a firm nod, he did the same with the hope that getting them disqualified might save him.Â
If not, at least his mom was a first-aider.Â
âHey...â A soft, almost girlie voice laced with a mechanical tone called out. âIn here.â Â
Gregoryâs head snapped to the right as a hand â or was it a paw? â beckoned him into a dark corner.Â
âHurry up...!â The voice urged, and before Gregory could question anything, he saw four shadows creep around as the sound of footsteps thundered towards him, forcing him to make a snap decision and dive into the darkness, getting caught by a pair of skinny, furred arms.Â
âShit, where did he go?â Rob shouted as the group gathered where Gregory had been standing just seconds before. Â
âLooks like he dropped his blaster,â one of them said as he picked it up. âMaybe he climbed the wall?âÂ
There was a sudden yelp as Rob smacked him upside the head.Â
âDonât be so fucking stupid, heâs tiny. No way in hell heâd be able to scale that.âÂ
Gregory stiffened as Rob suddenly turned in his direction, but he felt the stranger put a hand on his head, and strangely enough, it calmed him down.Â
â...Câmon, heâs gotta be around here somewhere,â Rob finally said, pulling the group away. âHe canât hide forever.âÂ
After a few moments of waiting, Gregory let out a breath he didnât even know heâd been holding.Â
âBullies are just the worst, huh?âÂ
Almost jumping out of his skin at the sudden chipper voice cutting through the tense atmosphere like a knife, he glanced up with wide eyes as the figure gave him a little pat on the head. Â
This was obviously a girl but with the shadows enveloping her it was hard to tell exactly...what she was. Â
He could make out a pair of tall ears so...a rabbit? Gregory couldnât remember any animatronics other than Freddy, Chica, Monty and Roxanne, as well as Moondrop and Sunrise. Was this a new character?Â
But what kind of bunny would have such piercing red eyes?Â
âMy nameâs Vanny,â she greeted. âWhatâs yours?âÂ
Feeling slightly relieved that she had finally let him go, he cautiously stepped out and looked around to make sure he was in the clear before turning to face her. Â
â...Gregory,â the boy timidly answered, still feeling a bit unnerved. Â
âWhat a swell name! Itâs nice to meetâcha,â she said with a small bow, which unveiled a few more features like a bright blue bow tied around her neck, and an unnaturally wide toothy grin plastered on her patched face. Â
Whatâs more, she didnât exactly move like a robot, despite sounding like one.Â
âAre you new?â Gregory asked, causing Vanny to tilt her head.Â
âHuh?âÂ
âIâve never seen you in the show before and...â he paused, knowing his words had already gotten him in trouble today.Â
âAnd what?â she prodded.Â
âWell...you donât really look like an animatronic.âÂ
âThatâs because Iâm not!â Â
Gregory flinched at her overly cheerful tone and stepped back as she kneeled down to his level.Â
âCan I let ya in on a little secret?â Vanny asked, cupping her hand to her mouth in a poorly disguised whisper.Â
âSure...?âÂ
âI wanna be in the show. Like, I really really wanna be in the show. Thatâs why I made this,â the rabbit gestured to herself in an overly dramatic way; caressing her ears and cupping her face. âBut I gotta prove myself first.âÂ
âProve yourself?âÂ
âYup!âÂ
Gregory raised an eyebrow when she didnât elaborate further, but decided to put it to rest as he really wanted to get out before Rob and his goons came back.Â
âI know a shortcut outta here,â Vanny offered with a tilt of the head, as if reading his mind. âJust take a couple of rights and a left and youâll be as right as rain! Want me to show you?â Â
âT-thatâs okay, I should be good,â Gregory replied with a smile, though it slowly turned into a frown when she didnât answer back, choosing instead to just...stare at him, her head still tilted, almost as if she were deep in thought.Â
âBut...thanks anyway...?â he weakly offered.Â
This seemed to snap her out of her trance as she nodded vigorously.Â
âNo problem! And donât worry, if those bullies come back, Iâll give âem a dose of Moondropâs sleepy candy. That oughta slow âem down!â Â
He had heard of that stuff, but couldnât for the life of him understand why kids would want candy that would put them to sleep. Nevertheless, he nodded and thanked her again before turning, and hurrying away, a soft giggle echoing behind him.Â
 xxx
âWhere on earth have you been? Itâs been thirty minutes!âÂ
Gregory was still a little shaken up by the time he had reached the exit, so much so that he had forgotten that he had been on a time limit.Â
âSorry, mom...â Gregory muttered sheepishly as she looked him over.Â
âYou didnât answer my question.âÂ
Glancing back towards the arena, he tried to see if he could spot Robâs gang still wandering about in there.Â
âDid you see a group of guys come out by any chance? Older than me. Kinda ugly...âÂ
âNow youâre answering my question with a question,â his mother said with a sigh. âBut no. Why? Did something happen?âÂ
âNo!â he blurted out, making her give him that look again. âWe were just...having so much fun but then I uh...I lost them. Just wondering if they left without me or something.âÂ
Her expression softened a little. He hated when she did that.Â
âNo, sweetie...but Iâm sure they wonât be far, should we go look for them?âÂ
Gregory grabbed her hand and started pulling her away. âItâs fine! The showâll be starting soon, right? We canât miss it!âÂ
âOkay, okay...!â she chuckled as he dragged her. âBut first we need to hand your blaster in.âÂ
He stopped then, inwardly cursing at himself before smiling sheepishly up at his mom as she narrowed her eyes at him.Â
âYou lost it, didnât you.â Â
Her tone suggested that it wasnât a question.Â
âYep.âÂ
He yelped when she was suddenly the one dragging him away.Â
âWell, we best make ourselves scarce then, besides we canât miss your big show, right?âÂ
Gregory grinned. âScrew the rules?âÂ
She smiled back. âScrew the rules.âÂ
 xxx
They had made it to the main stage before the show began, but there were already big crowds congregating near the front to get the best view, and Gregory was having none of it.Â
His mom kept apologizing to the angry faces and pointed looks as he towed her through the mass of people to get to the front, ignoring her when she grumbled about having to teach him some social skills.Â
Gregory drowned everything else in the auditorium out as his wide brown eyes focused on the stage, even trying to balance up on the tips of his toes to get any kind of glimpse of brown, green, pink or purple. He had waited so long for this moment, and nothing more mattered than the next hour.Â
Gregory wasnât ashamed to admit that he squealed a little when the lights died down, it was just as well that every other kid in the auditorium screamed too, resulting in the kind of high-pitched noise that would make a banshee cringe.Â
âHello ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!â A mechanical voice greeted over the speakers. âWelcome to Freddy Fazbearâs Mega Pizza Plex! Are you all having a fantabulous time?â Â
The crowds erupted once more.Â
âRockinâ!â Gregory gasped as a rough female voice took over. "Yâall ready to get your glam on?!â Â
âOh Roxanne...â a more feminine tone scolded. âNow youâve given us away. Again.â Â
Gregoryâs smile grew wider, he knew this whole skit, next up would be-Â
"I think weâve kept âem waiting long enough, gals,â a graveled voice boomed out from the speakers. "Whaddya say, Freddy? Should we give the kids what they want?â Â
The little boy almost couldnât contain himself at this point.Â
âI say letâs rock out!â Â
The curtains suddenly swung open to reveal the animatronics in all their shiny, glittering glory. Â
They were all 80âs themed, of course, to fit in with the aesthetic of the mall. Glamrock Chica had the typical pink leotard with green leopard print leg warmers; very popular with the girls. Roxanne Wolf was more unconventional with a striking red outfit, piercings and the mascot for the mallâs race course; she appealed to quite a wide range of people. Montgomery Gator was more for the chads as he had a rough and tough attitude with a love of golf, but Gregory did admire his red mohawk and star-shaped shades.Â
Then there was Glamrock Freddy. The mascot of the Pizza Plex. He didnât really have a gimmick as such but was incredibly popular just for how great he was with the children. The other animatronics were good with kids but Freddy was the one who seemed to pay the most attention to them, whether it be sitting down and listening to a kidâs story, accepting gifts from them to even giving them gifts of his own free will â mostly a plushie of himself.Â
Management were irked by this odd behavior at first but when they saw how much cash he was raking in from meet and greets alone, they decided to leave it. Why fix it if it ainât broke, right?Â
As they burst into their first song, with Freddy singing into his mic stand and the other three playing keytars, Gregory didnât even notice when his mother shook his shoulder and told him that she would have to take a phone call but would be back as soon as she could. There were some instructions on where to meet if she didnât make it back by the time the show was finished but the words fell on deaf ears as he bounced and sang along to the lyrics he had spent so painstakingly long to learn.Â
By the fourth or fifth song, the crowds had started to dissipate as parents took their children away to browse some more shops or to go to the food court for lunch, but Gregory stayed until the very end, cheering and whooping when the animatronics did their final encore and bowed as the curtains were drawn to a close.Â
Fearing his chest might explode from excitement, the boy took a few moments to breathe as he tried to calm down from the buzz of electricity that was jolting through his body. The past hour had gone and went so fast that he could hardly process any of it, all he knew was that it had been the happiest moment of his life. Â
With a huge grin, he watched as the robots were escorted off stage by staff and taken to their individual show rooms for their meet and greet sessions. Lines were already starting to grow long.Â
It was only then that Gregory realized that his mother was gone. He looked around with a frown, she had said something about a phone call but...that had been half an hour ago now.Â
âShe must be waiting at the show room for me,â Gregory concluded, beaming at the thought of finally meeting his hero in the flesh. Or...plastic.Â
Shaking his head, he made a beeline past Chicaâs room, where mostly little kids were sitting on the floor watching the animatronic as she played them a song while others had started a food fight with the leftover pizza and soda cans that had been lying around the room, making the parents and staff grimace as they tried to break it up.Â
Montyâs room was a little more organized and catered more towards older children as the gator showed them how to get a hole in one with a little golf stand while others played on the arcade machine. This reminded Gregory that the golf course was next on his list.Â
Roxanneâs room was very high energy as the wolf raced around with the other kids with driving wheels in their hands while making engine noises. Though when one tripped up, she immediately halted and gently picked the child up, reassuring him that âEven the most rockinâ superstars get hurt sometimes!â and carried him into the back area to where the medical staff resided with a worried mother in tow.Â
Stopping to catch his breath, Gregory finally made it to Freddyâs room, gaping slightly when he saw the queue nearly reaching the end of the walkway. He couldnât even see inside due to the mass of people gathered at the curtains, forcing him to back up a bit and climb up on a bench just to be able to get a look in.Â
The room was painted red and blue to fit in with Freddyâs color scheme and decorated with bright lightning bolts and portraits of the bear himself. It was also the least cluttered as there were only a few bowling bowls, party hats and â of course â plenty of plushies to give away. But what caught Gregoryâs eyes were the assortment of colorful drawings that had been halfhazardly pinned to the wall next to the make-up mirror.Â
It was true then; he really did collect kids' drawings!Â
Reaching into his own back-pocket, Gregory pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and opened it up, smiling a little when he looked upon his own masterpiece. All the animatronics were singing on a stage on top of the whole world, with Freddy towering over them wearing a crown and rainbow cape because why not? Â
It had taken him hours and an absurd number of crayons that he had âtakenâ from his classroom, so a selfish part of him hoped that Freddy would pin it above the rest.Â
A flurry of movement in the crowd suddenly caught Gregoryâs attention as the stewards moved them aside to let the animatronic move in. He felt himself get giddy when the bear greeted everyone and gave them a sign of the horns with his clawed hand, to which all the kids mimicked, including Gregory from all the way in the back.Â
As the queue started to move along, Gregory couldnât help but start to feel impatient. Where was his mom? He thought she knew how important this was to him.Â
Forgiveness was suddenly starting to come in very short supply.Â
With a cross of the arms and a small pout, he watched as Glamrock Freddy took photographs, played with kids and even recognized a regular and accepted a drawing from her, praising her for becoming more talented every day.Â
Gregoryâs chest tightened up a little at that.Â
Frowning down at his own scribbles, he didnât even notice the tall figure hiding behind the golden statue of Roxanne that was trying to get his attention.Â
âHey...! Hey Gregory!â A familiar voice hissed.Â
Startled, he turned to see that tall rabbit lady from earlier waving and beckoning him over. Blinking, he took a moment to look around to see if anybody else had seen her, half-wondering if she was some kind of hallucination at this point. When she beckoned again, he tentatively walked over.Â
Once again, she was hidden in the shadows, but the overhead lights made it a little easier to see more details of the suit, like the stitches that barely held the mismatched creams and beiges together along with a few patches of crosshatched red. It was like the whole thing had just been thrown together.Â
âUh...hey...â Â
It took him a moment.Â
âVanny?âÂ
She gasped and gleefully put her hands up to her grinning mouth.Â
âYou remembered!â Â
He forced a grin, trying to ignore the bristling hairs on the back of his neck.Â
âSure.âÂ
She paused and knelt down.Â
âWhatâs wrong? You look a bit down.âÂ
This caught him by surprise.Â
âHuh? No, Iâm fine. Just...waiting.âÂ
Glancing back, he could see the crowds starting to dwindle as time went on, but still no sign of his mother.Â
âOoh! Whatâs that?âÂ
He looked down to where she was pointing and held up the piece of paper that he had been clutching a little too hard.Â
âItâs...um...just a drawing I made...for...Freddy,â he meekly replied, his cheeks heating up.Â
âOh wow! Can I see?âÂ
The very question he was afraid of. But she was already holding out her hand, so he couldnât just say no.Â
She seemed to study it very closely when Gregory handed it over. He started to wonder if she was having to squint through the costumeâs red eyes just to be able to see it.Â
âThis is so good, Gregory!â She gushed, holding it up as if to show it off to everybody else in the mall. âYouâre super talented! Are you gonna be an artist when you grow up?âÂ
He looked down in embarrassment but couldnât help but smile at the compliment. Despite how weird this lady was, she actually seemed pretty nice. Â
âUm...I dunno. I like drawing so...maybe.âÂ
âYou should definitely show it to Freddy, I bet heâd love it!âÂ
Gregory perked up at that, but frowned again as he looked back over to the show room.Â
âI want to but I canât yet.âÂ
âWhy not?â Vanny asked. âYa nervous?âÂ
That was true but he wasnât about to admit it. Â
âMy mom has the ticket for the meet and greet but...she had to take some kinda phone call and hasnât come back yet.âÂ
âHasnât...come back,â she repeated.Â
As Gregory watched kids and parents come and go, he hadnât noticed that Vanny was staring right at him until the silence between them grew uncomfortably long. But as he turned back to look at her, she stood up and offered her hand.Â
âI know a way you can give it to him.âÂ
A little perturbed by her sudden shift in tone; he looked at her hand but didnât take it.Â
âUh...how?âÂ
âThe VIP room, silly!â She said, her chirpy voice returning once more. âYou know that one up at Fazer Tag? I saw you looking at it earlier.âÂ
The one that was high up, he remembered. But... had she been watching him that whole time?Â
âThatâs where Freddy and the others go for the secret meet and greets, where they give you their undivided attention.âÂ
Gregory raised an eyebrow.Â
âI... didnât even know that was a thing.âÂ
âThatâs cuz itâs secret!âÂ
Okay, well that made sense.Â
âUsually only the rich kids get to go there but I think youâre much more deserving, Gregory,â she said, holding out her hand once again. âYou only get today, right?âÂ
The boy looked over once more. Freddy was waving goodbye to the last of the children as the stewards drew the curtains. He had missed his chance.Â
He looked back up at Vanny.Â
âWhat about my mom?âÂ
The rabbit tilted her head. âIâll notify the staff so they can let her know, then sheâll come pick you up when youâre ready, okay?âÂ
There was a moment of hesitation but he knew she was right. He only had today and nothing was going to stop him from getting what he wanted.Â
Screw the rules. Â
With a nod, Gregory took her hand and let her lead him away to the Fazer Tag arena, not noticing that his drawing had slipped from her grip and she had let it fall into a crumpled ball as they walked away.Â
xxx
So let me know what yâall think! Would you like to see a part 2? :D
Edit: Part 2 is now available here!
#fnaf security breach#fnaf#five nights at freddy's#fnaf gregory#fnaf vanny#glamrock freddy#glamrock chica#roxanne wolf#montgomery gator#fanfiction#my writing#fnaf sb
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Queen live at National Bowl in Milton Keynes, UK - June 5, 1982 (Part-1)
(x)
It was originally intended for the band to play this concert at Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, but it was moved to Milton Keynes for the same reason the Leeds show wasn't played at the famed Old Trafford. It's also worth noting that the band wanted to play at London's famous Royal Albert Hall as well, but the plan was never orchestrated as there was much fear that the weight of Queen's lighting rig would make the ceiling cave in. An early tour itinerary listed two London shows (June 4 and 5) on the agenda. The Teardrop Explodes were among the bands (the same line-up as last week in Leeds) who opened for Queen at this show. Their guitarist, Julian Cope, stood before about 40 thousand Queen fans and introduced the next song as being probably the best song they had ever heard, prompting someone near the stage to throw a toilet seat at him, which missed (people are known to bring cameras and certain substances to concerts, but toilet seats?). Lemonade bottles were then thrown at the guitarist which he tossed back into the audience. The complete Queen concert was filmed. A shortened video was shown on UK TV on a show called "The Tube" in January 1983 (omitting Action This Day, the bit of Las Palabras de Amor, Back Chat, Get Down Make Love, part of the guitar solo, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Another One Bites The Dust, and Sheer Heart Attack), and on MTV in the US in August 1983 (the latter was a simulcast, with the audio being broadcast on FM radio in stereo, on the west coast, at least). The video was edited by Gavin Taylor, who was later invited by the band to direct the now famous video at Wembley Stadium in 1986. An even shorter version (about 50 minutes long) of the Milton Keynes video was shown on UK TV in 2001 (and many times since). Both the Milton Keynes and Wembley shows would eventually be released on DVD uncut. The 2004 official release of this show (both on CD and DVD) is called "Queen On Fire: Live At The Bowl". The DVD is a beautiful document of Queen's show at the time, packed full of classic Queen moments. There are also extras from 1982 shows in Vienna and Tokyo. After a great version of Play The Game, Freddie essentially apologizes to the audience for much of the latest album's content: "Now most of you know that we've got some new songs out in the last week. For what it's worth we're gonna do a few songs in the funk/black category, whatever you call it. That doesn't mean we've lost our rock and roll feel, okay? I mean it's only a bloody record. People get so excited about these things! We just wanna try out a few songs. This is Staying Power." For some reason part of the speech was removed for the CD release of "Live At The Bowl." Without a doubt this is his definitive live delivery of the song, pulling off all of the stops. Mercury is at his peak tonight. Somebody To Love has been a vocal adventure of Freddie's for the past couple years. His intro is different every night, as is his solo spot towards the end. The version captured here on film is surely one of his best. Before launching into the familiar piano theme, he asks the audience in a moment for the ages, "Are you ready?" And in excitement, "Huh? Are you ready brothers and sisters?" Part way through his vocal exchange with the audience in Now I'm Here, Freddie says, "C'mon, we're gonna make you sing like Aretha Franklin." At the end of the successful duel, he jokingly says, "Right, you can join the band!" The r&b influence is never more evident than it is here, and it makes for a classic version of the song. Brian breaks a string just before his guitar solo in Dragon Attack. While he switches to a Red Special copy, John Deacon gets to play the bass solo as it's heard on the record - the one and only time he has the chance to do it. It's on the fly, and he nails it note for note. "Las Palabras de Amor" was released as a single a few days ago, and Brian plays a small bit of it on his 12-string acoustic before Love Of My Life. He then mentions how the band won't be playing their "song of peace" tonight, as he calls it. This remains the only show where the Hot Space ballad would be referenced. Brian's guitar briefly cuts out during his solo spot, a moment that was edited out of the 1983 TV broadcasts (and slightly edited on the CD release) but seen uncut on the DVD. Brian's guitar tech is seen rushing on and off stage within seconds, having quickly resolved the issue (it was likely a sticky pickup switch). About half way through Sheer Heart Attack, Brian sneaks in the riff from I Go Crazy an octave up, and much faster, to match the tempo of the energetic News Of The World rocker. The song would be dropped from the set after this show, only to emerge again late in the pending North American tour. This would be Morgan Fisher's last show with the band as the touring keyboardist. A number of theories abound about his departure, including butting heads with Mercury's personal manager Paul Prenter or his apparent fear of flying, but it was simply a case of him moving on to other gigs (Fisher confirmed in a 2009 interview that he has never been afraid of airplanes). The CD and DVD releases would be patched up a bit, most notably in the third verse of Fat Bottomed Girls where Freddie's voice cracked badly on "locality," as well as for "now I'm here, now I'm there." Roger's timing with the guitar delays at the end of May's solo spot was bit off at the show, but this is fixed up as well. The sound quality as a whole is much better than the broadcasts, but there are a couple differences in the mix - some of Brian's backing vocals (particularly at the end of Somebody To Love) can be clearly heard in the broadcast mix but were brought down for the official releases, and compression has been added to Roger's snare drum, giving it a much fatter sound compared to Queen Rock Montreal. Brian May and Roger Taylor are interviewed before the show, as shown on the Bowl DVD and the original TV broadcasts. Brian reveals that he really enjoys playing Play The Game. He explains, "You've done your leaping about, and you've made your statement on your entry. And then you can settle down and start really playing something." Roger says his current favourite is Under Pressure. On the day before this show Freddie's boyfriend at the time had bitten him between his thumb and forefinger during a fight, causing it to bleed profusely and require stitches. On the DVD, Freddie is seen tossing the bandage around just before coming on stage. The sixth picture was submitted by Fabio Minero, and the eighth is from Alessio Rizzitelli. The second set was taken by Brenski.
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Fan Stories
âAt the time, I was living on the Mull Of Kintyre on the West coast of Scotland. I remember being elated at getting tickets for the last gig of the UK tour. I always tried to get 'last night' tickets, because the band were famous for always going a little more 'over the top' on each of their tour's final nights. So, we drove down from Scotland, which took an eternity with fuel and meal stops, and stayed at the in-law's on the south coast of England. The next day we set for the 'new-town' of Milton Keynes, about 100 miles or so, away. We got there quite early before the gates opened and the weather was unsettled, lightly raining for about five minutes nearly every other hour. The support bands for the day were 'Teardrop Explodes', who had a fairly big hit with a song called 'Reward'. I quite liked Julian Cope and his band, but this WAS a rock gig, and the audience weren't generally as receptive to this brass backed 'new romantic' style of music. The customary sea of lemonade bottles headed towards the stage ensued. Now it was over twenty years ago, and the memory starts to fade a bit after a while, so I'm not sure whether 'Heart' were next on, or 'Joan Jett and the Blackhearts'. Either way, both bands played well, and were most enjoyable. Joan Jett had recently had a very big hit with 'I Love Rock'n'Roll' (very recently covered by Britney Spears), and the crowd loved that one. This was prior to 'Heart' having a major hit in the UK, but they were at that time an established and well known band. Looking at the stage, there were these items that looked like little vehicles hanging from the gantry, we later found out that these were individual self contained lighting platforms with a guy sat in each directing three spotlights wherever they were required to do so. The Queen set itself started with an extended backing tape from the intro of Flash Gordon. Most of you will have seen the video of this gig, so I won't labour on about what they played too much. Only that the crowd, as a whole, weren't into the 'Hot Space' numbers that much. Personally, I was watching my favourite band, so I didn't really care what they played, as long as it was theirs. The bits cut out of the video, included an intro to 'Las Palabras De Amor' from Brian, (just before 'Love Of My Life'), though they never actually played the whole song, Brian announced that they were not doing their song of peace tonight. Brian's two-day guitar solo was edited out, as was 'Fat Bottomed Girls', the intro harmonies on this did come across as pretty iffy, and of all songs, they also edited out 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', much to my disappointment, as I'd heckled Freddie about his ability as a guitarist, and 'stone me', he only went and answered me. Knebworth '86 was a much better show, but I know I'm lucky enough to have had the honour to be able to compare them.â  - Steve_C/Kes
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