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littlespoonevan · 7 months ago

Note

I watched the first three seasons of 911 back when that was all that had aired and just didn’t keep watching after the break between seasons for whatever reason. I also didn’t really get buddie, I just thought it was a beautiful friendship. I’m now on a rewatch and just got to the end of season 4 and boy am I all in, Buck’s reaction to Eddie getting shot and the aftermath really made me get it. Anyway, I was wondering if you have any fic recs for a buddie newbie? I’m probably gonna speed through the rest of the show in a few days and need something else to occupy me hahah

hey bud, welcome back to the world of 911!! 🥰 okay so i have some previous fic recs that i've posted here and i also have 489 bookmarks on ao3 which you can have a scroll through here (i only ever bookmark something for rereading or reccing purposes so can confirm i've read and loved them all)

but i'll do my best to make a somewhat cohesive list below of some of my personal faves. i have no doubt i'll probably leave some out accidentally but they'll definitely be in my bookmarks so 100% check those out too!! ❤️

The Nearness of You by allisonRW96 / @homerforsure

Eddie reassured himself that he could do this. Other teams coming in were probably going to be staying at the same hotel in the same double rooms and it was very possible that none of them were going to be having sex. Or even lying awake at night thinking about it. Or: Buck and Eddie go on a work trip.

Leave the Light On (I'll Be Coming Home) by HMSLusitania / @hmslusitania

“We’re here for our grandson,” Helena says. “Chris is still sleeping,” Buck says. “I meant, we’re here to take him back to Texas,” Helena clarifies. “Yeah,” Buck says. He’s too tired, way too tired to be tactful. “Over my dead body.” -- An accident on a call leaves Buck with custody of Chris after Eddie is... missing presumed. While they navigate their new family circumstances -- and fight to stay together, despite Eddie's parents' best efforts -- a John Doe wakes up in a coma ward with no memory of his own life beyond the knowledge he has a son named Christopher and, somehow, he needs to get home.

To Build a Home We Deconstruct Our Rituals by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels /@letmetellyouaboutmyfeels

After the shooting, Eddie realizes he needs to put some things in place. Like who will get his assets if he dies. Who will speak for him if he ends up in a coma. What might happen if his family contests Buck's guardianship. Luckily, he's got a simple easy-peasy solution that won't result in insanity, catastrophe, or heartbreak: Marry Buck.

standing on the brink of emptiness by woodchoc_magnum / @woodchoc-magnum

In which Eddie is struggling in the aftermath of being shot, learning how to take care of himself and realising he's in love with Buck; and Buck is dating Taylor, taking care of Eddie and Christopher and trying to figure out why he's so goddamn confused about everything.

across our great divide (a glorious sunrise) by catchingpapermoons

“We’re working on it,” Maddie explains, shooting Chimney a look. He nods seriously. “In couples therapy.” “Huh,” Eddie says, and then he thinks about it. "Do you think Buck and I would benefit from couples therapy?" — or, Eddie gets Buck to come to couples therapy with him.

darling, the future's better than yesterday by rarakiplin (gmontys)

Eddie, ten years younger, in this awful 2010, blinks up at him. He's still sitting slumped on the curb, and for a second Buck thinks he might tell him to fuck off, but then his eyes fall shut and there’s something — aching and painfully vulnerable in the bend of his mouth, the faint tension in his brow. “My…um, girlfriend, I guess. She’s pregnant.” “Holy shit,” Buck says. - or, buck deals with some wonky dimensional/time travel and then breaks up with his girlfriend. eddie, obviously, is involved.

i'm here (i’m yours for the taking) by farfromthstars / @buckactuallys

“Everyone!” Around forty heads turn, and Buck shifts on his feet uncomfortably at the attention. “This is my old friend Buck and his husband, Eddie.” “Uh,” Buck makes, turning to Eddie with wide eyes. Eddie's looking just as stunned. “Connor, I think you got–” He cuts himself off when Eddie wraps an arm around his waist. ~ at the winter wedding of an old friend, buck and eddie pretend to be married to each other. the plan has no weaknesses, obviously, not even mistletoe or anyone’s secret feelings… they call it the season of giving i'm here, i'm yours for the taking

Your Fingerprints Smeared on My Heart (Lead Me Back to You) by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels

In 1880, Evan Buckley of the arriviste set is sent out west to oversee his family's railroad and recover from a broken heart - and meets Eddie Diaz, cowboy. When fate tears them apart, they make a promise: find each other again. In 2018, Buck walks into his fire station in Los Angeles - and meets Eddie Diaz, new recruit.

no kingdom to come by waywardrenegades

Family, FaceTime, guilt trips, phone calls, church, heart healthy meals, and learning how to let yourself be happy. Whatever that looks like. or; when his father experiences a health scare, Eddie flies to El Paso.

when i was shipwrecked (i thought of you) by catchingpapermoons

Buck walks toward Jee-Yun’s room, still talking, and Christopher trails after him, asking excited questions in response, and Eddie’s smile grows. He wants this forever. Everything, every part of it; Buck, Christopher, and him—that’s all he needs. And— Oh. Oh no. He shuts his eyes for a moment, inhaling sharply. He’s looking at Buck, and feeling something strictly not platonic at all. or: Eddie needs to learn how to let himself feel, and one step at a time, he learns how to do just that. (And he falls in love with Buck along the way.)

i don't swim and you're not in love by hattalove / @hattalove

She turns to Eddie and says something else, but Buck is busy fighting the headrush he gets at the sound of Ana Flores calling Eddie and Christopher 'the boys'. Like they belong to her already. God, what’s wrong with him? What is this? or, eddie cooks, chris domesticates a slug, and buck tries to figure out why he hates his best friend's girlfriend. to everyone's immense shock and surprise, it goes badly.

everything's coming up milhouse by hammersmiths / @bucktommys

LAFD Updates (@L*A*F*D_Metro) LAFD Alert: Red-level traffic on Gardiner Road this morning. If you are trying to get into the city centre consider taking Westerley Lane. buck 🔥🔥 (@firebuck) so true bestie or, Eddie mans the LAFD Twitter account. Buck tries to be supportive.

said i couldn't stay, but it's different now by hattalove

“I think,” he says, watching Karen pull Hen out onto the dance floor, their eyes never leaving each other’s, “I think I’m just—sad.” Maybe. That feels like a close enough word to describe this gaping maw right in the center of his chest. It’s only really there sometimes, taking little bites out of him, easy enough to ignore, but today is worse. “About being single at a wedding,” Eddie says, not a question. Buck shrugs. “Sounds stupid when you put it that way.” or, the one with the four weddings (feat. a drunk karen wilson, shania twain, a single cheerio, and some confessions over cubed fruit).

cause i'm tired of sleeping alone by rarakiplin (gmontys)

Buck goes on dates now. Not often, and never with the same girl twice in a row, but he goes on dates. And the thing is — the thing is, Eddie can’t be mad about that, because he goes on dates too. - or, five (ish) times eddie and buck go on dates with other people, and one time they go on a date with each other

so far from being free by allisonRW96

"That’s Daniel. He was our brother. Buck doesn’t know what to do with the past tense. He never had a brother. He’s always had a brother. He gained one and lost one in the same breath and it feels impossible. But even if Buck was capable of doubting Maddie, the truth of her confession is evident in the way it throws every facet of his childhood into sudden perfect clarity. That yawning, arctic absence. The unnamable fear. The impenetrable target of his parents’ approval that he was never, ever going to be able to hit. That they didn’t want him to hit. He has a brother. A dead brother who has haunted Buck’s steps for his entire life."

don't let the tide come and wash us away by writerforlife

Buck develops a relationship with the ocean, avoids talking about the day Eddie was shot, realizes he might be in love, and drives. Order may vary. (a fic for the "Buck is going to break all the way down in season 6" truthers)

dance, for all that we've been through by catchingpapermoons

The Los Angeles Ballet’s 2022-2023 season ends with a bang with their fresh take on a ballet staple, Swan Lake. Artistic Director Bobby Nash is in his eighth season with the Los Angeles Ballet, and it has flourished under his direction. However, his associate, Eddie Diaz, is the one whose reimagining of the choreography has caught our attention... (or, Eddie Diaz moves to L.A. to restart his dance career, and ends up choreographing a show, finding a family, and falling in love. Not necessarily in that order.)

I'll Scrawl it on Every Wall I See by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels

When Eddie joins the 118, he and Buck don't exactly hit it off on the right foot. Or continue to walk on the right foot. In fact they kind of can't stand each other. Good thing they each have a beloved anonymous pen pal to share their daily woes with, someone completely unlike their insufferable coworker. Or, in which Buck and Eddie love each other before they know each other, and know each other before they love each other. When Eddie joins the 118, he and Buck don't exactly hit it off on the right foot. Or continue to walk on the right foot. In fact they kind of can't stand each other. Good thing they each have a beloved anonymous pen pal to share their daily woes with, someone completely unlike their insufferable coworker. Or, in which Buck and Eddie love each other before they know each other, and know each other before they love each other.

never felt this way before (yes i swear) by withoutthetiger

It’s the summer of 2022, when Buck no longer wants to be called Evan, and it only occurs to his parents to mind. It’s after the pandemic – or so they say – and before whatever hell will befall the world next, when Buck can’t wait to join the LAFD in September, and he doesn’t know if he’ll ever meet someone as gently strong and fiercely protective as his big sister. It’s the summer he goes with his family to the One Eighteen Ranch & Lodge. *** A Dirty Dancing AU, set in Texas in 2022, featuring a whole lot of familiar faces in a not so familiar place.

Fragile lines (and wasted time) by Mellaithwen / @mellaithwen

“Hey Buck,” Christopher says a little shyly, before reaching out to grab Buck’s foot through the hospital blankets—shaking it in the same way he’s woken his father up on many a bleary-eyed morning. The familiarity of the gesture makes Eddie’s head spin. But of course, there’s no response from the comatose man on the bed. “I thought you said he was sleeping,” Chris mumbles, angrily swiping at his cheeks, and Eddie’s already broken heart shatters all over again for whatever hope his son had just lost when his expectations were so cruelly dashed. . While Buck sleeps, and dreams in the aftermath of the lightning strike, Eddie tries desperately to hold himself together.

Don't Take the Money by HMSLusitania

“You know, being stuck here isn’t actually the end of the world,” Chimney says, coming up to the table and picking up one of the smoke detectors. “It just feels like it, Buck. Trust me, I know.” “I’m pretty sure it might actually be the end of the world,” Buck says. “Considering this is the sixth time I’ve lived this day.” Chimney stares at him for a beat and then his eyebrows lift. “Wait, are you like – dude, are you in Groundhog Day?” OR The post-lawsuit time-loop AU literally no one asked for.

keep your eyes on the road by iriswests / @fcntasmas

Buck used to speed through yellow lights; now they’re his favorite part of the drive. -- or; a glimpse into buck and eddie’s developing relationship, told through ten moments stopped at a traffic light

Hot Ghost Problems by ebjameston

The ghost would prefer to go by Buck, if Eddie wouldn’t mind. +++ [Eddie is the newest firefighter at the 118. Buck is the ghost haunting the 118. Unfortunately for both of them, Eddie's also a witch and needs to put Buck's spirit to rest, because that's what witches do. Turns out, Buck's spirit? Super not interested in being put to rest. Very interested, however, in flirting with Firefighter Diaz, who is just trying to survive his candidate year. (Also turns out, Buck? Super not dead.)

as lucky as us by hammersmiths

One of the first things Ravi learned when joining the 118 was to, under no circumstances, think too hard about Buck and Eddie’s relationship. But brother, they could try make his job easier. “I mean, I get it,” Buck’s saying, overhead, and Ravi’s knee-deep in literal human crap and even he can smell that shit from a mile away. “You and Tommy have a lot in common.” or, Ravi continually suffers as a third-wheel.

#anon #asks #911 related #buddie fic rec #happy reading anon!!!#like i said this is only a tiny list in comparison to the amount i've read and loved

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project-sekai-facts · 1 month ago

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Hey I'm the anon from this ask (https://www.tumblr.com/project-sekai-facts/764142926583431168/im-curious-why-you-feel-confident-in-saying-that?source=share) just wanted to say thank you so much for the response!! After reading that and more carefully rereading the stuff in the original mizuki trans post I agree with what you're saying about it being pretty much explicitly confirmed in-game Because of the many bad faith interpretations of my ask I wanted to explain where it came from a bit. I had just come out of listening to another friend doompost/get annoyed about the "vagueness" of the event story and how it wasn't settling the trans vs crossdresser "debate" (heavy quotes there) when I saw the new reblog you made to the mizuki trans post with the line of her being explicitly transgender.

I wanted to hear where you got that from because it was also the impression that I got after reading the story but I was struggling with putting it into words when talking with said friend - honestly i probably could have phrased the ask better but oh well that's tumblr for you.

I've always read her as trans but I've weird feelings about what "being canon" means for a long time hence my fears about jumping the gun - I tended to see it as "you need to have complete 100% proof that it's true that can rebuke all bad faith arguments, and if it doesn't you can accept it as a popular headcanon with some canon support but don't go implying that it's canon" but putting it into words like that makes me realize that that's not a good approach. And just seeing you repeatedly say things like mizuki being in-text confirmed to be trans for 4 years has helped me feel more confident in that and reassess my relationship with canonity in general so genuinely, thank you so much for that.

P.S. damn that ended up being much longer than i thought this was going to be lol. if you don't want to post this for whatever reason that's understandable, don't feel obligated to

No problem! And I'm really sorry for the flack people were giving you in the tags you literally said you wanted Mizuki to be trans in your ask. It's probably because of my response being pretty general and not necessarily directed at you for the most part; i had gotten like 4 other asks about "what are the chances mizuki is a crossdresser" so I just picked one to answer.

I mean yeah technically for it to be 100% canon it should be explicitly stated, but I tend to go off the rules that so long as there's enough sub/textual evidence and very little room for doubt, it's good as canon. Like when I said before that An and Kohane have canon romantic feelings - it's never been said outright but the evidence to prove it with little doubt is there. Technically the term canon refers to a series of works that take place in the same universe, but in fandom the term is often used to describe if character traits or ships are official or not. So Mizuki technically isn't officially a trans girl until they change the gender marker on her bio, but this event removed what little room there was for doubt, so I at the very least would consider it to be canon.

#asks #mod talks

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grinsgrimmy · 7 days ago

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Hello i loved ur iske fic hehe, i was wondering if maybe you could do an enzo one? Yknow ruby’s adopted brother? He lacks fics and i love him sm

Maybe can you do where shes the childhood friend of ruby, shes known to be kind and talented in magic and is considered to be very pretty hehe and she likes him but is very shy to confess so he takes the initiative <33i want him to pin for her so bad the loser bf x hot gf is taking over my brain

Thats all hope u have a great day hehe

ＬＯＶＥＭＥＢＡＣＫ ?

ㅤᯓᡣ𐭩 𝖤𝖭𝖹𝖮 𝖣𝖤 𝖡𝖮𝖱𝖦𝖨𝖠 𝗑 𝖠𝖥𝖠𝖡!𝖱𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋

HOW TO GET MY HUSBAND ON MY SIDE

๋࣭⭑ֶֶֶָָָ֢֢֢𖹭 oneshot . (1440 words)

sum. you wanted to confess to enzo, but you chickened out

note : thank you for the request, anonie! i was 100% hesitating on taking this request bc i do not think i can do enzo justice since i am not really familiar with his character. i still am not confident on writing him even after rereading the manhwa so im using early chapters (1-3) as my sole knowledge regarding him. alsooo im sorry for not 100% using your prompt/plot but i literally blanked out on how to write with that prompt

IT WENT OVER 1400 WORDS ANYWAYS WHAT THE H

request drabble have reopened !!

ㅤ⪩⪨ m.list

he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me.

you plucked the last delicate petal from the daisy you had been toying with the past few minutes. sitting on the serene grass, it was a quiet afternoon. suppose to be peaceful and calming, but not for you.

he loves me not.

staring at the plucked flower, you let out a wistful sigh.

you gently tore the entire flower apart, as if you were trying to rip away the small, fleeting hope that had been growing in your chest.

you stared at the last petal that was left drifting on the grass. with another weak sigh, you let your fingers drop to your lap with a heavy heart.

it did not matter.

he would never see you the way you wished him to.

enzo.

the name echoed in your mind constantly. the man you had quietly admired for years, the same man who occupied every corner of your thoughts.

he was always out of reach for you.

he is not just anyone. he is a borgia, and he is your childhood friend's second older brother. ruby's brother.

but that was not the problem with your meddling emotions.

you grew up with the borgia family. he probably saw you as solely ruby's friend. or perhaps he saw you as no different than the rest of the familiar faces that filled the borgia household.

regardless, after ruby was sent off to the north to marry iske van omerta, you did not really have a reason to constantly visit the borgia household after that.

but you kept returning, time and again, to see enzo.

thinking about it, you felt akin to a lovesick teenager. there were no excuses or pressing need for you to be at the household, you simply wish to be close to him.

even catching a glimpse of enzo when he was training, sitting in silence as you watch from afar, would be enough for your entire day. in your mind, if you kept being present enough despite ruby's absence, he would begin to realise that you wanted to be with him.

and perhaps he would finally look at you the way you wanted him to. as someone more than ruby's friend.

that day never came.

it had been a month since ruby's absence, you had been awkwardly strolling along the halls and gardens of the borgia family as if you were one of them.

sincerely, you wished not to be even associated with them. the eldest brother of the borgia family gives you the creeps, as does the two hags that ran the family, mostly pope de borgia.

but you did not want to leave borgia entirely since enzo was there. he is a borgia too. as creepy as the family is, you remained close contact with them because you genuinely care for ruby and fell in love with her brother.

thankfully they had not once thrown you out.

not yet, at least.

the borgia family are seen as saints, hence, you believed the pope could not rudely kick you out of their premises.

you glanced down at the daisy petals scattered around you, the weight of your emotions pressing harder within your mind. your chest tightened.

should you even confess to enzo?

you came to the borgia household today to confess, but chickened out and ended up sitting in their gardens.

a rustling sound interrupted your train of thought. you looked up, startled. for a brief, breathless moment, your heart skipped a beat when your eyes fell onto enzo, who was approaching you.

he looked as if he had just returned from training; his gaze was fixed on you. he scratched the back of his head, roughly calling you out, “the servants told me you came.”

you gave him a blank look before slowly getting flustered. “ah, yes, around an hour ago,” you answered him with a timid expression. he stared at you with an unreadable expression.

enzo huffed, clearly not satisfied with your response, "so why weren't you at the training grounds?" his words carried a slight edge—not anger, but just annoyance tinged with something else. you could not quite place what it was.

you gave a meek and reassuring smile to mask your nervousness.

you bit your lip, scrambling for an excuse, “i, uh, didn't want to interrupt. you were busy, after all...” you trailed off, unsure of how to exactly finish your words.

enzo's annoyed gaze did not soften. he crossed his arms over his chest, looking unimpressed. “interrupt?” he repeated, considering your words carefully.

“are you an idiot? you were always there anyway. why do you suddenly feel like you are interrupting?” enzo interrogated you, his eyes narrowed with suspicion, but it felt like he knew more than he let on.

“i didn't,” you stammered. “i didn't want to be a bother so suddenly.”

enzo sighed dramatically out of annoyance, clearly he was not buying it. you could see his lips twitched, as if holding back exasperation. “ugh, whatever. i can't deal with this.”

you were going to ask about what he meant, but he suddenly grabbed your wrist. before you could even react, he was pulling you towards him, then pinned you down against the soft grass in one swift motion.

you gasped, your heart leaping in your chest. you were left stammering, struggling beneath him as you tried to push him away by his chest. but of course you could not since he was stronger than you.

“you really don't get it, do you?” he muttered, his face had almost a sulking pout with his cheeks staining pink. “i'm tired of waiting for you to figure it out,” he grumbled, his hands that were pinning your wrists were trembling.

you gulped, "w, waiting for me to figure what out?" you could not even meet his eyes properly since he was on top of you—

on top of you.

“figure out how to confess to me, you idiot!” enzo snapped, his voice getting louder and sharper, but his cheeks were getting redder and redder. “you've been looking at me like a damn puppy for weeks, and i'm supposed to just keep pretending like i don't know?!”

there was a pause, a heavy silence stretching between you two.

enzo clenched his jaw, trying to mask the embarrassment creeping over him, but his cheeks betrayed him. it turned into a deeper shade of red.

he could not tell if he was more frustrated by the situation or by the mutual feelings he had been acknowledging yet ignoring for so long.

he let out a sigh, “i was waiting for you to confess.” he blurted out, his voice cracking just enough to show his real emotions.

he freed one of his hands from gripping your wrists to cover his deep red cheeks, “look, i didn't— i didn't want to be the one to make the first move, alright?” his muttered, his voice trying to be composed as he looked away from you, “it would have been very cute of you if you did, but—”

his eyes darted to yours, meeting your flustered yet relieved eyes, which made him snap out of embarrassment. “too bad you didn't because you're too dumb to figure that out!” he exclaimed, too flustered to comprehend anything at that moment.

your eyes met his again, but something shifted in you. the awkwardness was still prominent, but there was a part of you that was relieved.

he had been waiting?

your eyes lingered on his for too long, and you could not help but give a shaky smile before bursting into laughter. you manage to get one of your hands free from his to place it at the back of his head to pull him down into a kiss.

you could hear his breath caught in his throat for a moment. there was a flicker of hesitation, but it melted away entirely.

it was a messy kiss. inexperience, even sloppy, but both of you did not mind as you both had been holding back for far too long. your hand tightened in his hair, pulling his head deeper.

when you finally pulled back, breathless and slightly dazed, you gave him a wobbly but relieved smile, “i like you, a lot.” your voice was unsteady but held so much sincerity.

you then gave him a bright smile that made his breath hitch because of how pretty you were with that smile. “i confessed first,” you said proudly with a nervous smile.

the words hung in the air between you two. enzo blinked with slightly parted lips, still in a daze from the kiss. he let out a soft grumble, looking away from you, “you... stupid—”

he went back down for a second kiss.

・❥・want a hc / oneshot? please consider commissioning in ko-fi !!

#⌞୨ৎ⌝ . fics #⌞୨ৎ⌝ . request #how to get my husband on my side #how to win my husband over #manhwa x reader #enzo de borgia x reader #enzo x reader #i was so stuck on writing this #idk what im doing atp #did you request him twice lol #sorry if you dont like it but heaksdhskfhsk

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primmise · 2 years ago

Text

☆ genshin men pp head canons but i slowly get more unhinged

first post lmfaoo, i’m not the best at writing, keep that in mind

—

gn-ish reader, they have a hole and it is used.

warnings: shower/bath sex, rut (gorou, tighnari, zhongli), face sitting, size kink..? some r inexperienced, cockwarming, sir kink, slight voyeurism? roleplay, knifeplay n blood (childe), shibari, praise, degrading, temperature play?blowjobs, some r also touched starved, some sensitive. spelling & grammatical errors

°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

includes: kaveh, itto, thoma, gorou, aether, baizhu, alhaitham, ayato, tartaglia, cyno, diluc, kaeya, kazuha, scaramouche/wanderer, heizou, tighnari, xiao, zhongli, dottore, pantalone, capitano, dainsleif

kaveh

not too large, not too small (14.99 cm/5.9 in) nothing will convince me that he’s not submissive. his tip is probably a pretty brownish pink (#c27c89) pretty sensitive as well, could cum (#faf8ed) from just the slightest touch of your fingers. luvs being overstimmed, sometimes he has you over just to spite al haitham.. he knows al haitham can hear him, so.. let’s consider this revenge.

itto

mans huge. 20 cm (7.8 in) AT LEAST. i mean he’s a fucking oni.. tip is like a beige-pink type color (#ffa899) uhhh he probably has a prety vein going up the side of his cock (#c1b2eb) he also probably has a fucking prince albert piercing, one that vibrates maybe.. def has a size kink, he just loves seeing ur face twinge in pain when he thrusts into you, by the time he’s spilling his cum into you you’re in tears, head thrown back and scratching his back in pain.

idk abt him tho

thoma

either a soft dom or plain submissive, loves pleasing you but also loves being spoiled if he had a long day,,, idk maybe a switch tbh… around 6.8 inches, pink!! he’s pink i love pink and i love him #ff87a1 probably,,, well trimmed, i mean i can see him having an entire skincare routine, my little princess frrrr….. sensitive nipples, probably just touch starved in general. secretly likes being degraded

gorou

bark bark. 14 cm (5.5inches) he def whimpers. i want to say its pink but it’s probably more on the beige side (#e6aea3) i dont rlly have much to say abt him, he likes biting……. begs, whines and more whimpers when he’s ina rut, a cutie indeed

aether

pent up 100%, been in teyvat for god knows how many years and bro has not felt the touch of a woman since beidou’s hangout event. 7 inches exactly, pretty pink #f5a9a9, he probably whines and groans cause he’s a cutie patootie probably likes being praised

baizhu

physically cannot be rough with you he will most likely collapse. likes being beneath you, can sub but prefers being dominant (he’s the doctor, he should be caring for you.) he’s a nice size, 7.2 inches. probably has messy handwriting bc he’s lettin u suck him off under his desk/j.. anyways he’s like a pink but like?? idk #b57f83. slutty moans, he’s super loud i bet. when he’s subbing he loves geting his hair pulled

ALHAITHAMMMMMM

my man fr. i love the idea of him being submissive but i’d heavily doubt he would ever sub… anyway he’s probably into being called sir. trims when he feels like it. i want to say he’s a virgin so badly. 7.4 inches at most, i hc him as more tan than he actually is but anyways tip is brown#947e76 pretty brown tho (brown is one of my fave colors) can be rlly rough or rlly gentle, it depends. would be opposed to the idea of letting u suck him off while he’s reading but eventually lets you (he had to bookmark where he began reading so he could reread it, he was too distracted) IF HE DID SUB HE WOULD WHIE,PR AND DEFINTIELY BE LOUD ENOUGH TO BE HEARD EVEN IF YOU WORE HIS HEADPHONES (poor kaveh) sensitive nipples, whines and furrows his eyebrows when you lick them.

ayato

tease. 17.9 cm (7inches exact) now he’s definitely pink and nothing can convince me otherwise, probably a light pink too like #947e76,, like alhaitham,he can be rlly rough or rlly gentle. he breathes heavily and groans, probably into shibari and degrading…. quickies in his office, maybe cockwarming if he feels up to it

ajax

……. he’s probably into some werid shit (no offense) like knifeplay n blood,, i mean he loves sparring so much, so why not incorporate it into sexy time in some way? yk his skill? yea he holds that thing up to ur throat when hes fuckin u (if ur not into that he wont do it ofc bc he actually cares abt u) rough if he had a long day n is super impatient, but slow if he just wants to break you. he loves blowjobs most of the time he’s near fully clothed and yourcompletely naked but if u beg him enough he’ll undres,, he has scars on his chest, and freckles bc cutie… i forgot to put this but he’s probably 7-7.2 inches, #de97a7.

cyno

he’s pretty. probably into roleplay (predator/prey type thing.. personally i’m not but i feel like he is) he’s a nice size.. (6.9 inches) (funny number on purpose.) browm tip #9c7868, really pretty when he fucks u, eyebrows furrowed n biting his lip hard enough he might draw blood. also loves teasing you when he gets the chance, loves hearing you beg, you’re adorable to him.

diluc

human heater!!! hngh i need him. HE loves being called sir…. won’t admit it. he’s big but doesn’t know, bet he’s inexperienced. his tip is literally almost red, #9c7868. either a rough dom, gentle dom, or whiney sub. if u do top him, tease him whenever you get the chance and he’ll go almost as red as his hair n deny everything despite it being true. adelinde always gets a lil suspicious when u come over… but off the topic of that, he rlly enjoys doing it in the shower/bath. it’s warm (orcold), it’s wet, and he’s with you. what more could he want? you have fucked in the tavern after it closed, and you probably will not do it again. (you got a few splinters.)

kaaaaeeeya!!!

he’s like,, really cold. it’s surprising. feels good tho, for the both of you. he’s really loud as well, and despite him being louder than you he shoves his fingers in your mouth to shut you up,, maybe you’ll have to give him something to gag on. anyways he’s like around 7.1 inches, tip is a nice deep pink #ad6d78. looooves cockwarming, like literally you’re warming hiim up because his body temperature is…… quite freezy! tease, praise, degrading, all of it. dom but will sub if you edge him enough (grinding on his thigh, palming him, or just denying him of his orgasm plenty)

kazuha

he’s gentle, look me in the eyes and tell me this man could be rough with you. 5.9 inches, always making sure you’re okay before continuing. he loves hearing you moan his name, he manages to say yours as well between whimpers. you rarely have anywhere to do it other than the storage room in the crux, so sometimes you just gotta stay at the wangshu inn and pray nobody heard. no edging because he’s not mean but he does prepare you good, overstims you with permission. loves when you praise him, and he knows you love it when he praises you.

ok. scaramouche.

he is definitely a bratty sub. no words you speak can change my mind, he’s a slut. he’s so bratty until he’s in your mouth, whining, whimpering, gripping the sheets and tears forming in the corner of his eyes. he’s crying at how good it feels, how he wants to feel more of you, he’s barely able to form proper sentences after you just sucking him off, so now you wonder what he’d be like with him being deep inside you. he’s 7 inches, prety pink-beige tip as well (#f0b2a3). hairpulling is a yes. he just loves you so much, play with him some more and he bets his little puppet brain will turn into mush.

heizou!

pretty! i love the moles under his eyes aaaa…. he’s a nice size like kazuha, just a tad bit bigger (6.8), deeper pink, #d9626f. he loves teasing you so much, but he also loves being teased by you. when he’s not the dominant one he breathes heavily, some soft moans escape him. but when he is the dominant one, he’ll ensure he’s fucking you good. he’ll ask ‘does this feel nice?’ knowing it does by the way you’re almost crying on him.

tighnari!

submissive. 5.8 inches will probably bite his lip in attempt to shut himself up, but to no avail. loves when you bite his ears, they will twitch and it’s adorable. he’s just so cute. when he’s in a rut he’s so much louder. more whimpering and more of not knowing where the hell to put his hands. on your hips? your chest? your ass? fuck, he’s confused but he wants more, he wants to feel more of you. pretty light pink! #ff919e!

xiaoo

he’s inexperienced but he tries his best to be the dominant one, shaky breaths and moans escape his mouth. he tries to be gentle with you because, well, you’re a mortal and he’s an adeptus, you would be surprised how rough he can get. will make out with you while fucking you, and will happily let you sit on his face. he’s 7 inches, #e09e96. he cums super quick, 100% making sure to pull out (unless instructed to do otherwise)

ZHONGLI.

okay. he’s big. he’s a fucking archon, he’s 8 inches at LEASTT. yknow that pattern on his arm? yeah i like to think that’s on his dick too. tip is #d9b750, cause yk his arms.. he loves you, he wouldn’t want to hurt you but when you’re just begging him to be rough with you, to do whatever the hell he wants to you.. how could he resist? you’re the one asking him.. so.. he’ll let it slip this once. you don’t regret your words when the lower half of your body is hanging off of the bed, him manhandling you while the only thing you can do is bury your head into that pillow and let those pretty tears escape your eyes. he lets out literal feral moans and grunts, you think this is what he’s like when he goes into a rut, but.. ppfft, you underestimate him.

dottore my bbg

he’s probably like,, 7.4 inches? idk he looks big and i want him in me. doesn’t care for trimming himself, but does it anyway. the mask stays on. it only stays on because he doesn’t want you to see that blush on his face, he looks so vulnerable.. has you bent over on his desk to make sure you don’t see him bite his lip, he wants to be so much more vocal with you.. but he’d rather spare himself the embarrassment of letting you see that side of him. he doesn’t wanna give you something to tease him for; he’d rather be the one degrading and teasing you. oh, but trust me, when he’s submissive he can’t do shit. he tries to degrade you but that only leads to you slowing your hand down, moving your face away from his neck to stop kissing him. he chants the words ‘i’m sorry’ like a madman, so you decide to be nice and go a little faster, giving him a quick peck on the lips before he makes a mess of your hand.

pantalone

he’s pretty big as well, and he spoils you. buys you expensive toys just to make you cry. if you help him out in some way, he’ll be sure to reward you. lets you ride him, prefers you be in control. but once you’ve done it enough and he knows what you like, he’ll help you out. who would he be to deny? some sort of monster, that’s for sure. you’re perfect to him, following him around because you don’t know where you’re going. maybe if you tease him a little during a meeting with the other harbingers he’ll get rough with you afterward. that normal smile replaced by a smug look at how easily he can put you in your place.. he’ll never get enough of you.

capitano

he’s giant. like, in height and his cock. you were intimidated the first time you fucked, but with enough lube it ended up working out and you did not regret it. he was rough, your brain was dumbed down to putty, and the only thing running through it was just capitano.. the mask did stay on, yes.. but, he was still hot. maybe the next time you’d make him take it off. and you did. you saw his pretty eyes, his soft looking lips and the whole of his straight, black hair. he was a pretty guy.. he and you were both louder because you could actually see each other. (he could see you but not all that well.)

dainsleif

he’s always so unsure, tense, nervous, stuttering and just hot (temperature wise.) oh, but once you grind against him he immediately cums. he was embarrassed at how he just came in his pants because of you. he tries hiding his face but that didn’t work, you just grabbed his chin and looked him in the eye. his face was red.. he’s just too cute! all flustered, all messy and embarrassed.. all because of you. 6.8 inches, it’s def pink and i give up on hex codes.

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jhilsara · 2 months ago

Text

The Midnight Owl

Summary: After Spencer is shot he can't do much in the field for a while, being stuck to the offices in Quantico. His insomnia starts to amp up and instead of an urge for McDonald's at 1 AM he finds himself desperate for a new book and a coffee. Somehow, he finds the Midnight Owl, the late night bookstore/cafe open at weird hours with a cute southern co owner who probably gets the same amount of sleep as he does.

She also makes the best coffee that is disgustingly sweet. Exactly how he likes it.

Word Count: 11k

Warnings: Mentions of Season 5 100 episode and canon typical BAU themes

Artwork and beta read by @aninaska

The one with the late night bookstore

If Spencer could pace, he would, but his new semi-permanent crutch situation was impeding his mobility. He hasn’t been able to sleep, much less relax with the knowledge of Hotch being stabbed by George Foyet in his own home. Or how it’s clear that he’s playing an extreme game with the BAU, but mostly Hotch. Spencer didn’t even want to think about poor Haley and Jack being thrown into witness protection. These were scenarios Spencer knew came with the job he does, but seeing it happen to people he knows and cares about, makes his stomach churn. He couldn’t imagine if it was his own mother being threatened. It sends a cold chill down his back. He needs a distraction.

Spencer’s eyes drag over to his used and abused bookshelf. Looking through his collection trying to find something to read. Even for a distraction he’s not very interested in rereading any of the texts on his shelf. His go to comfort of Sherlock Holmes doesn’t even seem all that appealing at the moment. He needs something that isn’t about criminals or detectives right now. Too bad nothing else on his shelf seemed to catch his eye. Spencer eyes his clock and the analog clock on his wall tells him it’s two in the morning. He’d be lucky if anything besides a dingy twenty-four-hour cafe was open, much less a bookstore.

He sighs and looks over at his discarded laptop on his desk. He boots it up to see if maybe he could at least check how early the library opened. He could try to sleep but his insomnia was eating away at him, trying to focus on anything else but work seems harder and harder. Spencer had to get out of his apartment. He looks up the library hours as well as a few bookstores. Just trying to see how soon he could sit down and avoid the never-ending running in his brain. He’s surprised when he finds a bookstore that was advertising its hours as open. Surely that was wrong. He spots the phone number on the webpage, and he decides to call to double check.

The line rings for roughly two seconds before it’s picked up, a melodic voice on the other line states, “Midnight Owl, this is Margaux how can I help you?” The cadence of the woman’s voice much too chipper for the middle of the night.

Spencer’s shocked into silence for a moment before he responds, “I thought the hours posted were wrong...” He finds himself stating.

“Nope!” She replies, unbothered by his blunt response. “We’re open 24/5, only closed on Fridays and Saturdays!” She tells him brightly, “You wouldn’t be the first to call thinking we posted our hours wrong though. More common than you think.”

He coughs awkwardly and finds himself nodding even though she can’t see it. “Okay, great, thank you so much.”

“Not a problem, swing by some time we have the best drinks crafted by yours truly!” She jokes with a soft laugh trailing her sentence. She drawls out the end of her words in a way that has them twisting together as sweet as the tea he’s almost positive she drinks.

“Have a good night.” He states before hanging up the phone.

He looks at the address listed and finds that it’s just up the street, barely a block away.

Spencer eyes his crutches for a moment debating on whether he should go or not. His good leg shakes in anxious movements as he sits on his couch. What were the odds that there was a bookstore up his block that was open at odd hours that catered to him? He knew the odds; they were incredibly low . He shrugs to himself and hobbles to grab his crutches, he’ll check it out. Why the hell not? If it’s too good to be true he can add it to the list of places he’ll never visit again like that one coffee shop downtown that burns everything he’s ever ordered.

He desperately needs to get out of his apartment.

Margaux's night at the Midnight Owl was going slowly. She had a few of her regulars wander in, which she was happy for since they had only officially been open for four months. There was a couple that sat on the loveseat in the cafe every Thursday night reading their books together and drinking the cafe’s famous homemade lavender lemonade. Not that she could brag about it, her co-owner makes pastries and premade drinks. All homemade family recipes. On the opposite side of the store was the guy who came in every other day to check for anything new. He grabs a coffee and roams the stacks for an hour. Sometimes he buys, sometimes he doesn’t. He comes in at the same time though, so Margaux thinks he works a graveyard shift.

There were a couple of students at a table in the cafe section clearly up studying and writing papers. The semester for school had only just started a month ago, but the influx of students coming and going was increasing by the day.

She loved her little bookstore, and during the day they were popping. A rising trendy place for local university students. Margaux preferred the quiet of the nights though. It gave her time to make orders for books, restock, and change out displays. It was the methodical cleaning and sorting that kept her sane. Margaux’s daytime life was overly complicated and having her own corner of the world was nice. It felt like a safe bubble that didn’t necessarily feel like work.

She’s in the middle of compiling a list of books to reorder that have already sold out when the front doorbell chimes telling her someone just entered. She’s behind a stack finishing what she's writing on her notepad when she calls out, “Be right there!”

She bounds around the stack to the counter to meet the newcomer, “Welcome in! How can I help you?” she asks happily pushing her short hair behind her ear nervously.

She scans the guy from head to toe, he’s definitely new. He looks like a grad student, probably around her age. His mousy brown hair is tied back into a low ponytail and he’s in a well-worn Caltech shirt and sweatpants. The oddest thing about him is the crutches he’s sporting as he comes in. Margaux sends him a warm smile.

Spencer looks at the woman standing at the counter and finds she is not what he expected her to be. She looks like the moon; her round face is framed by dark midnight hair that hits just above her shoulders. It almost looks like it’s reflecting blue under the warm ambient light of the bookstore. Her dark blue eyes are like the ocean as they meet his hazel forest ones. Spencer almost loses his train of thought as he takes in the bookstore worker’s soft round features that just made her seem so inviting.

It takes a second before he registers that she asked him a question. “Oh, yes,” he rushes out awkwardly. “Is the cafe still open?” He questions, tilting his head to the empty-looking bar on the other side.

Margaux nods happily, “It is! I’m the only one who works the night shift, so I run the register and the cafe. Would you like something?” she asks him, already walking toward the counter that holds the cabinet of pastries and coffee machines.

“A latte would be great actually.” He says in a much clearer voice.

“Can do.” She grins at him radiantly and it’s so infectious he finds himself returning one to her. She turns and almost has a skip to her step as she walks, far too awake for him to deem reasonable for two in the morning.

Spencer watches her as he slowly moves forward on his crutches, she almost dances around the machines as she makes his latte. She’s humming to the music that he’s finally registered playing in the bookstore. She’s radiating a warmth that Spencer doesn’t get to see much day to day except for the one and only, Penelope Garcia. Garcia looked and acted like the sun, one giant ball of pink and blonde energy. He watches Margaux move around her workstation making his latte and it’s seamless how she moves, it’s her second nature. She’s just at ease here, which settles his uneasy nerves about trying a new place out in the middle of the night. He looks around and sees a few people mingling about.

Spencer takes time to look around the store and notices how it feels much more lived in than any box stores he’s been to. The overhead lights aren’t fluorescent like a normal store but a few well-placed wooden chandeliers that are carved to look like vines. Every other light is a floor light or table lamp that has mismatched covers and stained glass. He turns to the large windows, and he guesses the store probably gets great sunshine when it’s daylight. The multiple house plants by the window and on the empty tables being a good indicator. The ambiance is so inviting, not to mention the amount of comfortable faux leather seating he sees.

He could imagine spending a lot of time here, it was just so cozy. Spencer can’t imagine he would have missed this place opening but with all the cases they’ve been busy with, he actually isn’t surprised at all.

He’s brought out of his thoughts by her placing the drink on the pickup bar, “So what ails you?” Her voice carries to him and her head is tilted as she looks at him expectantly.

“Excuse me?” He finds himself stuttering out.

She shrugs nonchalantly, “Well, it’s the middle of the night and I’ve never seen your face in here before.” She states the facts like it's so obvious.

“So, what’s buggin’ you?” Her voice drawls out sweetly as she looks at him expectantly.

It’s almost like the lights in the cafe frame her from behind, bright and dazzling. She’s clearly personable and Spencer isn’t used to people with Margaux's personality being overtly kind to him. He’ll see how long it takes her to dismiss him like most people do. It doesn’t annoy him like it used to, he expects it really. Especially when his own team and friends do it almost regularly.

She’s waiting patiently for his response with unwavering kind eyes.

“Insomnia,” He settled on admitting to her, he gave her a tight lined frown. “I needed a new book; I’ve read through my catalog.”

Margaux’s eyes light up, “That’s my specialty! I mean, I make a mean latte, but my favorite part of this place is the books.” She whispered conspiratorially.

“So,” She comes around from the back of the bar and puts her hands on her hips, “What genre were you looking for? Or was it a specific book?” She asks him.

“Fantasy, preferably. I’ve read all of Tolkien and Gaiman’s works.” He tells her.

She nods in understanding her blue eyes giving a quick look of him from head to toe, “You look like a man who’s read The Hobbit and American Gods .” She said, almost more so to herself.

Spencer gives her a quizzical look, unsure if he should be insulted or not. Margaux reads his face and her own cheeks flush with embarrassment. Her hands start moving exaggeratedly as her voice pitches, “Not in a bad way! I promise, I’m here for a well read person! Not that you have to have read those two authors to be well read, I just-” She takes a deep breath and stops herself.

“Sorry, I just mean, you look like you’ve probably read some of the most popular titles in that genre.” Her voice grows smaller, and her face is bright in a flush as she was rushing through her words, drawling out her words in that voice that sounds like sugar. She bites the inside of her cheek forcing herself to stop talking.

Spencer chuckles and shakes his head, “I get it, you’re good.” He tells her reassuringly.

She sighs in relief, pushing her bangs out of her face nervously, “Sorry, I really didn’t mean anything by it. I just meant you probably want something different and not recommended every time you ask for fantasy.”

Spencer just gives her a smile, “I appreciate it.” He shifts his weight on his crutches to awkwardly sip his latte.

Margaux ushers him over to one of the comfortable chairs with a nice side table lamp that has beautiful green and red stained-glass roses on it.

“Here sit, I’ll grab some recommendations, and you can let me know what you think.” She doesn’t even give Spencer a chance to rebuttal before she’s off and disappears into the stacks.

The silence that followed her absence was overwhelmingly loud, except for the soft music playing from the speakers. Spencer takes his time drinking his latte and it’s delicious. Better than the place the BAU grabs coffee from, and much better than whatever was in their coffee pot at the office.

Margaux pops back out from the stacks within ten minutes holding at least five book options for him to sort through.

“These all have different sub-genres but are fantasy in nature. Let me know if any look good to you.” She hands them over to him happily. He notices her biting the inside of her cheek again, as she watches him look over the books.

Margaux’s rocking on her feet, as she watches Spencer thumb through the books, reading the summaries keeping his face neutral. She’s picking at her nails trying to not seem like a dog waiting. She should busy herself with something else besides trying to gauge Spencer’s reaction to the books, but she can’t help it.

Spencer pauses on a book with a bright colorful cover that was in the middle of the stack. It’s the only one he pauses on and Margaux’s face lights up.

“I loved Howl’s Moving Castle !” Her voice pitches up in enthusiasm. She starts talking with her hands again, “It’s fun, and the cast of characters who, in a magical world, feel so relatable. The two leads also have great dialogue! I was genuinely laughing out loud.” Margaux’s face is split into a grin as she explains the book to Spencer without spoiling anything.

She’s so filled with joy as she talks about the book, it doesn’t take him but a second of listening to her to know he’s sold. He’s reading this, her genuine joy selling him on it. He doesn’t have to look through the rest of the stack, though he’s sure she’s likely read all the books she offered him.

“I’ll take it.” He said, moving to stand up to purchase it at the counter.

She moves to stop him, “Don’t worry about it! You can pay on your way out. You look like you’ve been struggling with those crutches.” She tells him waving him back down to sit.

“Just relax, drink and read. It’s what the Midnight Owl’s for.” She chirps happily shooting him a triumphant look as she moves to walk back to the counter.

Margaux goes back to working on creating an order for books back at the checkout counter. She has the work desktop open back to the list of books she was cross referencing for prices. She goes back and forth from looking at her handwritten list to researching prices from different distributors.

The couple who was there earlier finally get up, waving goodbye to Margaux.

“Have a great night y’all! See you next week.” she tells them with her own wave that’s brief as she makes her order.

The only noise in the store is some shuffling and the music playing overhead and Margaux humming along to it. It’s a mix CD she burned a few years back and most of the songs are still her favorite. She keeps meaning to make a new one, but she just hasn’t had time. Her eyes wander from her computer to check on her new customer reading. She doesn’t want to hover, but she is trying to gauge if he’ll be a regular or not. She hopes so, he seemed nice enough.

Spencer can feel her eyes on him occasionally, he can see her fidgeting behind the counter. Every other song he can spot her leaning out of the corner of his eye to look over to him. He tries to hide his grin; he knows that look well. She’s trying to see if he’s enjoying the book. Spencer tries to read at a normal pace, even though he can read twenty thousand words per minute, that defeats the purpose of him trying to get out of his apartment to just devour this book. Plus, he kind of enjoys watching the store clerk.

She’s full of energy and he has no idea where it comes from, but it’s almost a nervous energy. She’s constantly moving, either fidgeting or walking through the stacks to check or tidy the books. She’s also passed in front of him a few times to check the cafe machines or even grab a pastry he’s sure has been there for too long, and she feels bad about selling it.

Spencer stays there for a few hours; he really doesn’t notice how long until the door opens and the bell chimes again.

“Morning!” The new woman cheers sleepily.

Margaux waves at her, “Morning Josie. There are still a few pastries left from yesterday, but I put them in the back fridge for you.”

The new woman waved back, “Thanks, I’m going to prep for today.”

Spencer finally looks at the time and realizes it’s five in the morning, he sighs standing up. He grabs his crutches and pushes himself toward the counter to pay for his book. If he’s lucky he could get an hour or two of a nap before work.

He gently slides the book over to her and her whole face brightens, “Have you liked it so far?” she asks him.

Spencer grins “It’s charming. You were right about the cast, it’s a great blend of characters that shouldn’t fit as well as they do together.”

Margaux’s nodding excitedly. “I don’t know if you’ve gotten to a certain part, but I won’t spoil it, I loved how they explain the magic that affects Sophie! It was a fun book.”

Spencer hands over some cash to pay for his book. “I’ve liked it so far. I’ll have to ask for another recommendation.” He tells her.

If Margaux was a dog, her ears would be pointed up and tail wagging, she cannot contain her pure joy.

“Absolutely! Anytime, it’s one of my favorite things.” She pushes her dark hair back and she looks down at the table nervously pushing his book back toward him with his change.

“I’m always happy to see a returning face.” She said looking up at him, her indigo eyes sparkling. “I’m Margaux by the way, I don’t know if I introduced myself.”

Spencer takes the book and his change; she smiles brilliantly at him, and he feels a little enchanted by the bookstore clerk. He returns it. “Spencer. It was nice to meet you.”

He gives her a small wave before walking out, crutches pushing him forward.

The one about Halloween

Margaux has decided that she does not care if it’s only September, she is decorating for Halloween. Maybe it’s that she’s festive or maybe it’s from growing up in a southern community that went all out for decorations, but she is determined that the Midnight Owl will be the place to be for October. She’s also planned a few events for the spooky month for all ages.

She has a few reading hours planned for children during the day, costume contests, and some trick or treat candy lined up to buy. Her shopping list was filling up quickly. For the nighttime events she’s gotten together with Josie to throw a movie night every Sunday night at eight in October. She’s already planned a lineup of movies to play and popcorn to order. Margaux still can’t decide on having two movies or not, a family friendly one first and then a scary one. She’ll figure it out.

To say she’s bubbling with excitement is an understatement.

She was in the middle of dragging out one of the boxes of decorations from the attic when the door chimes open.

“Welcome in! Help yourself to shop or if you wait a few minutes, I can fix you a drink at the cafe!” She shouts from behind the large box she's carrying. It’s not heavy, filled mostly with paper and plastic decorations. The box itself is just quite large and it blocks her view when she’s walking.

“What are you doing?” A soft chuckle passes through, and she recognizes it immediately. It’s her new favorite regular.

She sets the box down in a huff behind her counter and looks at Spencer exasperatedly.

“If you must know, I’m preparing for Halloween.” She said matter-of-factly.

Spencer’s hazel eyes light up, the same way he gets when he’s about to tell her a long list of facts about something. She loves it when he gets excited. It’s contagious.

“Oh, please continue then. It’s never too early for Halloween.” He said happily.

Margaux let out a burst of laughter and it echoes in the room, “Thank you! Finally, someone who understands.” She teases him.

Spencer’s been coming in almost every night since his first visit. It’s only been a month, but Margaux loves talking to Spencer. He’s full of endless information and he loves to read just as much, if not more, than she does.

He has an unfair advantage though. He had admitted how quickly he could read to her in passing a few weeks ago and her jaw dropped. She didn’t believe him at first.

“Okay, that’s the fifth book you’ve finished in like two days Spencer. Are you even actually reading them?” Margaux had teased him, when he returned to the shelves looking through her selections.

“Of course I do. I just happen to read twenty thousand words per minute.” He said easily running his fingers along the spines of the books as he pursues.

Margaux scoffs, “Yea right.” She rolled her eyes. “Just say you skim through them.”

Spencer shakes his head, “I’m serious, I have an eidetic memory too.” he tells her.

She blinked at him a few times in disbelief before just bursting into a fit of small giggles.

“Wow, I wish I could read that fast. I’d get through my TBR so much faster!” She said impressed.

Spencer pauses looking at her, trying to assess if she’s trying to make fun of him or not. Her face is split into a wide grin, and he realizes she is intrigued by this little tidbit. She didn't think it was weird, that he’s weird.

Spencer felt his face flush a bit, and he just shrugged it off. “It’s not a big deal.”

“No, it’s just a really cool fact about you.” She said like it was obvious.

Spencer mouth tighten into a fine line, and he shook his head, “That would be a first.” he had mumbled under his breath.

She didn’t press him, but she did file away in the back of her mind his response for later. Clearly Spencer wasn’t used to someone reacting positively to this tidbit about him.

Margaux looks at Spencer as he stands there watching her. He’s in his work clothes, which she’s used to by now, but it’s the opposite of what he wore when they first met. He’s in a purple button up shirt that he’s rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. His cardigan is hanging off his faded brown leather satchel sitting against his hip. He’s leaning on his crutches as she assesses him.

“C’mon,” she says waving for him to follow her. “Let’s make something fall flavored to get rolling with the season.” She suggested a small smile tugging at her lips.

Spencer just nods and follows her toward the cafe section.

“Are you a fan of pumpkin flavors or do you prefer other autumn flavors?” She asked him as she walked around the counter to the coffee machines.

The pickup counter for the cafe doubles as a normal place to sit and Spencer grabs a stool to sit in, leaning his crutches against the counter.

“I only like my drinks sweet. Flavor isn’t too important.”

She hums in acknowledgement and gets to work on making him a drink. “I’ll just surprise you then.”

Spencer brings out a few books he’s reading and places them on the table. While Margaux’s making his drink she asks him, “What’s your favorite book to read to get into the spooky spirit?”

He perks up, “There’s plenty of options, I think I prefer something classic like The Shinning or maybe even an old compilation of ghost stories. Those are always good.” he said passionately.

“Ooh! I’m obsessed with the paranormal!” She gasped in excitement.

Spencer feeds into the enthusiastic response, “Did you know there are a multitude of categories of the paranormal? Most people only associate it with ghosts or demons, but ufology and cryptozoology are also subcategories. Personally, as interesting as ghost or demon possession stories are, I’m far more fascinated by cryptozoology and the creatures that different areas of the world claim to see and state they have proof of.”

Spencer realizes he’s rambling and tries to cut himself off, but Margaux's eyes are wide as she actively leans against the counter giving him her rapt attention.

She notices his abrupt stop and she tilts her head, “Keep going, you have my full attention! I’m trying to get into the spooky spirit!” She drawls out, her rich accent seeping through.

Margaux turns to grab his drink and hand it to him. It's in a nice burnt orange colored mug, “It’s a maple chai latte. Felt like fall to me.” She said quietly, having a matching mug with him. She leans against the counter and bats her hand at his forearm.

“C’mon tell me more!” She giggled.

Spencer stared at her in awe for a moment, before he tried to hide his expression through drinking his latte.

“Ghost hunting became popular in the early 2000s, but it’s been around since the 1920’s and even before then there were popular ghost stories told throughout history! Humans have always been interested in the afterlife which is why we’re probably so fascinated by looking for proof of the afterlife.”

Margaux nodded and sips from her own mug, “Have you ever watched those ghost hunting shows before?” she asked curiously.

Spencer shook his head no. “I don’t watch a lot of television.”

She hums in thought, “Yeah, that checks out. Well, they’re super cheesy and trashy. Love them to be honest.”

“Which one’s your favorite?” he asked, leaning closer toward her against the bar.

It felt like it was only the two of them in the bookstore. Inside their own bubble, the world moved slowly inside the confines of the Midnight Owl.

“This is gonna sound so awful!” She laughed lightly shaking her head, “There’s a show called Ghost Adventures, and the main guy, Zak Bagans, he’s such a dick to the ghosts! He instigates all the time, and I mean, regardless of if ghosts are real, he goes in hot ! Not to mention he always throws his costar Aaron into the worst places! It’s just insane, absolute trash.” She shakes her head in disbelief.

“But you love it?” Spencer asked.

Margaux gives him a deadpan stare, “Oh absolutely, it’s the best kind of quality trash.”

She burst into a fit of giggles and Spencer couldn’t help but find it contagious.

“Aaaaaaanyway~” She drags out, moving to grab her box of decorations.

“Wanna help me decide how to decorate?” she asked him, grabbing a pumpkin garland out of her bin and tossing it dramatically over her shoulders like a scarf.

Spencer brushes his loose hair out of his face and nods. He may still be useless on crutches, but he could help her... Kind of.

Margaux empties the containers of the bin on the counter where Spencer’s sitting and he quickly grabs his mug to lift it up to avoid being knocked over from the avalanche of orange and black. She smiled at him apologetically before trying to dig out her favorite decorations.

Spencer’s face is twisted in a look of frustration as he sits in the corner reading. He came in a while ago and besides his drink, he hasn’t spoken much to Margaux.

Which isn’t a bad thing, tonight was one of her busier nights. It was mid-October, and the festivities had been nonstop. Tonight was vampire night, which upon entering the building Spencer was already grimacing. There was a special drink deal on the board hanging above the cafe for anyone buying a vampire related book. Twilight , Dracula , Carmilla , Interview with a Vampire, just pick a title it was an option with its own fun themed cafe drink that was absolutely red.

It wasn’t like Margaux knew he had just finished working on a case that involved vampirism, but the odds weren’t in his favor for finding an escape from the most recent case. Halloween season had its ups and downs he supposed.

There was no way of explaining his slightly irritable mood. Spencer hadn’t mentioned his work to her. She didn’t ask, and he didn’t feel like explaining that he spent most of his waking hours profiling serial killers. In the past it hasn’t made the best openers in conversation. It’s also nice to have this small corner of his life not be coated with unsubs, victims, and death. It’s just his favorite bookstore.

Spencer looked up to see Margaux making more drinks, the cafe was popular tonight. She’s chatting up another woman who’s laughing at the joke Margaux’s telling her. The other woman is holding a book that Spencer is positive is a vampire novel.

“And I have one raspberry mocha for a Carmilla lover!” Margaux’s voice rang out and she handed over the drink to the customer.

“Come back Sunday for our movie night, we’re playing Beetlejuice !” Margaux said and waved goodbye to the customer.

For eleven o'clock at night Margaux was busy. Busting out drink after drink and ringing up books at the cafe register. It was her idea to do a deal with a themed book and drink combo, but she didn’t expect to still be busy into the night. She hadn’t even had a break in customers to say hello to her regulars.

For business, this was great, for her own mental health, she was struggling. She just needed it to slow down enough to catch her breath. She should have scheduled someone else on shift with her, but she wasn’t about to call for help now. It was her mistake, and she’ll live with it. She will make a note to make sure someone is on shift with her tomorrow night for a different themed deal.

After another round of five more customers Margaux finally has a break. She sighed leaning against the counter and took a grounding breath. She doesn’t move for a minute, just catching her breath before she looks up and catches Spencer from his chair looking at her. She shoots him a shaky smile that is supposed to be reassuring but actually looks like she's about to cry. Spencer’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise and he decides to get up and go toward her. The cafe was still bustling but no one was sitting at the counter. Spencer shoves his book into his bag, grabs his crutches and hobbles to the counter.

“Busy night?” he asked, already knowing the answer but trying to see how she was doing.

Margaux’s midnight eyes look up into his hazel ones and she looks worn. “In my head, the whole vampire bomb and Halloween themed event seemed like a good idea. For profit, absolutely. For my sanity? I never wanna see another Twilight shirt or raspberry flavored item for a while.” she said in a groan leaning against the counter.

“What is Twilight ?” Spencer asks her.

He doesn’t know anything except that it has something to do with vampires and its popular enough that the victims of the latest case were also obsessed with it. He knows it’s a book, but besides that, he has no clue.

Margaux blinks at him for a moment, trying to deduce if he’s being serious or not. “Very funny Spencer, I know you’re not asking what the pop culture phenomenon Twilight franchise is.” She replied with a laugh.

After a moment of looking at Spencer’s confused face she realized he was in fact, unaware. Her eyes widen.

“Wait, wait, wait, you seriously don’t know? I mean it’s like everywhere. The second movie is coming out in less than a month. I don’t think I’ve sold so many copies of a book in my life. I can’t keep New Moon on the shelves.” she said almost exasperatedly, but the smile on her face gives her away. If Spencer didn’t know any better, he’d think she was getting a kick out of it. He knows by now Margaux won’t make fun of him; she’s elated for a completely different reason.

“I just know it’s popular and about vampires.” He replied with a shrug.

“Oh my god, I get to explain Twilight to you.” Her face splits into a massive grin, her energy returning quickly.

Spencer quirks an eyebrow at her, “I thought you were over hearing Twilight?”

“No, no, no, no! This is totally different!” She’s almost vibrating with excitement. “I’ve read all the books, I’m gonna let you borrow my copy next time you’re in! Actually, I’ll give you the first two since you read so fast!” her words are running together in a run on sentence she’s talking too fast. Her accent came through stronger than ever with her eagerness.

He doesn’t have it in him to turn her down, she’s so thrilled. Spencer just finds himself too caught up in her own joy to tell her he had no interest in the book series. He finds himself agreeing to her letting him borrow her copies.

“I can buy them if you need me too. I don’t want to take your copies unless, you’re sure.” He offers.

Margaux shakes her head, “I can’t keep them on the shelves long enough for you to buy them. Just go ahead and take my copies.” She moves to make Spencer a drink that isn’t one of the red blood themed drinks on the menu. “It’s not a big deal. I do have a lot of sticky notes in there though, my friends and I read it for a book club night.”

He sits up a little straighter, suddenly becoming more interested in reading these books. Not because of their pop culture relevance but because he could read Margaux’s commentary. There was something special about that, sharing a book with annotations.

“I’ll bring one too.” He finds himself offering before he can think.

Margaux’s face glows as she hands him a chai latte. “I’d love that! It’ll take me a bit longer to read than you will.” she joked lightly.

“It’ll be worth it; I haven’t had someone to talk to about books since my mom.” He said looking down at his drink, his eyes growing distant for a split second.

Margaux opens her mouth to ask but quickly shuts it, biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself. She might be nosy, but she knew when to not pry. It was how Spencer seemed to be somewhere else in his mind, if only for a moment. It was enough to know that she had no business asking him to open a can of worms he maybe didn’t want to. Instead, she turns around to grab a set of fake vampire teeth to put in her mouth. They were small and awkward and not cute by any means, but if she could get him to smile, that was all she needed.

She patiently waits for Spencer to look back up at her as she rests her head in her palm and keeps her face neutral. The fake teeth are making her mouth uncomfortable, but she’ll survive.

When Spencer does look up and sees Margaux dramatically batting her eyes at him and grinning madly with children’s plastic vampire teeth, he can’t control the bubbling laughter that takes over him. His shoulders shake with the full body movement, and he shakes his head in disbelief.

“Where did you get those?” he asked through his fit.

She turns to spit them out into the trash, her mouth disgustingly filled with drool from the uncomfortable teeth. She covers her mouth and grabs her own drink to flush out her mouth.

“They were a gimmick for the themed drinks tonight.” she finally replied. “Good for a quick joke not for actually wearing.” she said groaning.

“Pretty sure they are made for children’s mouths.” Spencer teased.

She shrugs and sighs, “Well, being a vampire for Halloween is off the list of options this year. I don’t want to wear those for a whole night.”

“Probably better off.” He said trying to not immediately focus on Dante and his manager coercing a mentally ill young woman into committing vampire ritual like murders.

“Yeah, the whole thing with that celebrity kinda left a sour taste in my mouth.” she mentioned grimacing.

“Dante?” Spencer asked for clarification.

“Yeah, it was all over the tabloids,” she pointed to the magazine stand by the main register. “Got them in this morning.”

Spencer tries to not make a face as he sees them, “You read that?”

Margaux lets out a loud snort of a laugh. “No, no, no, oh god!” She stands up a little straighter and pushes her dark hair out of her face. “I don’t trust a TMZ article as far as I can throw it, but those murders are real. Making it look like vampire bites... that just skeeves me out.”

Spencer drinks from his mug but nods his head in agreement. He didn’t peg her to believe paparazzi reports. The magazine articles would be wrong anyway; they didn’t make the arrest until that afternoon. It was refreshing to see someone not believe everything they read.

“If vampires are off your list, what other costumes are you thinking about?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

“No idea.” Margaux groans out in irritation. “I usually do group costumes with my friends but, kind of hard when they live 600 miles away.”

“South?” he asked.

She snorted with a roll of her eyes, “Aw geez what gave it away?” she teases with an exaggerated drawl, making her accent thicker than normal.

Spencer shakes his head in amusement. “Very funny. Why move here?”

Margaux tenses up, avoiding his doe eyes. She looks down biting her lip nervously. “It’s uh, a long story.” she said quietly.

Her body almost looks like it’s trying to shrink in on itself. Spencer doesn’t need to be a profiler to understand her body language. Whatever it is, she’s not ready to share it.

Instead, he tries to be reassuring that he’s not prying for information.

“I’m a transplant too. I grew up in Las Vegas.”

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, “I’ve never been, is it really just the strip filled with casinos or are there nice pockets of peace and no tourists?” she asked.

Spencer sighs, “It is a lot of tourists. There’s plenty of local places, ones that are only there if you’ve grown up knowing how to get to them.” he told her in a quiet voice, almost conspiratorially.

Her mouth splits into a smile that reaches her eyes, her dark indigo eyes sparkling, “So you’ll be my tour guide, right?”

Spencer’s face heats up from the suggestion and Margaux’s giggles fill the room.

“I’m just teasing you,” she pats his arm reassuringly before going to grab a pastry from the front display.

“Come on and split this last cookie with me, I know I'm not going to sell it.” She said grabbing a chocolate chip cookie and warming it up before cutting it in half.

Spencer’s face is still tinted pink but the soft cookie and the way it melts when he bites into it and seeing Margaux look happier than earlier, it's enough for him. A small corner of peace in the world inside the Midnight Owl.

The one after Haley’s funeral

Margaux’s sitting at the checkout counter reading the book Spencer most recently traded with her. It’s one of the Sherlock Homles books, which she had admittedly never read before. She had watched plenty of films and shows but reading it never really crossed her mind.

She joked about making Spencer watch The Great Mouse Detective when she finished so she could explain her first introduction to Sherlock Holmes. He had no idea what she was talking about, which Margaux found charming in its own way. She loved introducing Spencer to the pop culture media that just filled her brain. Even if it was trashy. She had promised him The Great Mouse Detective was anything but trash. A childhood classic for her.

She takes her time reading the books Spencer gives her. He started leaving small post-it notes for her in them with commentary and questions. It was like they had their own language, and it was books. Even if he let her borrow a genre, she had no interest in, she suddenly was invested. It was a way to get to know him, and in turn he took her books happily. Her annotations were way more scattered brained and filled with tiny commentary to herself.

She saw Spencer reading one of her books she let him borrow and he laughed, loudly, in the middle of the store. They were both flushed in embarrassment. It was a busy night, filled with university students studying late at night, so it was mostly silent besides the music Margaux was playing through the speakers. She also knew she had written something insulting about one of the characters on that sticky note. She got creative with her insults, and she had completely forgotten to take that out before giving it to him. Spencer had teased her about her comments on Gale from The Hunger Games for the rest of that night.

She’s in the middle of The Hounds of Baskerville when the door opens. She looks up to greet them but her face falls when she sees Spencer. She slowly closes the book and moves to walk toward him.

His eyes were hollow and the normal dark circles under his eyes seemed impossibly darker than usual. Spencer just seemed sad and defeated. Margaux had not seen this side of him and all she wanted to do was press her thumb to his forehead and smooth out the furrow of his brow. To get him to relax, if only for a moment.

“Hey honey, what’s wrong?” she asked gently walking toward him. She reaches out to rub his arms affectionately, “What happened?”

Her voice is soft and sweet, the way she said honey with her drawl feels like a hug. Spencer just needed a minute. One second of peace. The image of Haley’s body unmoving with blood still fresh behind his eyes.

“It’s been a long week.” His voice comes out a little rough. He’s haggard from the flight from Nashville and he really didn’t want to go home.

The only comforting place he could think of immediately was the Midnight Owl, Margaux. Her warm voice and comforting drinks were the only things he could stand to be around.

Margaux’s face softens at his words, and she tilts her head, “Do you need a hug?” she asked softly.

There’s a shaky sigh that escapes Spencer’s mouth and he just nods his head, unable to form the words.

Margaux pulls him into her embrace gently, her arms wrapped around his shoulders tightly. She rubs soothing circles into his back and Spencer holds onto her waist. Her body radiates heat and it's comforting as he shoves his face into her shoulder. She smells like vanilla, cloves, and parchment paper and his whole body relaxes into her. She holds onto him until Spencer pulls away, not wanting him to feel like he was burdening her. The store was empty anyway, it's been a slow night.

He takes a deep breath before peeling himself off her. He moves his hands to hold her arms so he’s supporting himself. Margaux’s eyes soften as she looks him over, her hand coming up to cup his face.

“You don’t have to talk about if you don’t want to, but I’ve been told I’m a great listener.” She whispers softly.

Spencer relaxes against her touch and doesn’t say much, just hums in response. He eventually finds his words, “My friends wife died recently, and it just, it was a shock.”

He doesn’t want to get into how Haley died. That his job makes him and his coworkers targets. The people they love. George Foyet died at Hotch’s hands for killing Haley and attempting to kill Jack. Spencer watched Hotch’s face crumble, fall and lose what he loved the most. He knew Hotch didn’t want to divorce Haley, he loved her and his son with his whole heart.

That love had cost him Haley’s life.

“Oh hun,” Margaux’s voice brings him back, “I’m so sorry.”

He shakes his head, “I’ll be fine. I’m just processing it.”

“You don’t have to justify yourself to me, you’re allowed to process and grieve, especially if you knew her.” She tells him firmly. “C’mon, go sit down and I’m gonna make a delicious warm drink and we can just relax alright?”

Spencer gives a tiny, tight smile and lets her grab his hand to pull him to one of the nicer chairs. He sets his cane against the armrest and is floored by how easy everything is with Margaux.

She doesn’t push or pry for information, let’s him ramble, and Spencer doesn’t think he’s had a real friend outside of the BAU in a long time, much less someone his age. As much as he loves his team, there are times where they don’t understand him. It’s a lot easier to be himself with Margaux. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t know what he’s doing most of his days, and he could argue with himself that she doesn’t know him. Almost 90% of his life is the BAU, and who is he if he isn’t Dr. Spencer Reid, FBI agent in the Behavioral Analyst Unit? A small part of him hopes he would be the person he becomes when he enters the Midnight Owl.

He’s too lost in his thoughts to notice her walking over with two steaming mugs.

“Here, it’s just tea but I think you need a relaxing drink. No caffeine.” She said her tone is sweet as she looks him over.

She sits on the arm rest of the chair cradling her own mug. “Can I try something?” she asks him.

Spencer is drinking from his mug, but he mutters an agreement under his breath.

“Lean back fully in the chair.” she instructed.

He does as he’s told, he lowers his hands to his lap, mug still warmly pressed into his hands. Spencer isn’t sure what she’s trying to do until her hands are running through his hair, feather light. She’s not massaging his scalp, just the lightest of touches as she cards her fingers through his long hair. Spencer’s eyes close and he almost moans from how the tension leaves his body immediately.

Margaux lets out a tiny snort but continues the motions.

“My momma used to do this when I was little.” She whispers to him, keeping her voice low.

“I would be asleep in an instant.” she emphasized with a quiet snap of her fingers.

Spencer’s eyes flutter open to look up at her, his big doe eyes looking up to see Margaux’s soft features look highlighted in the warm glow of the lamps. She looks down at him and tilts her head.

“I might pass out like this.” he murmured in a low voice.

“You can if you want. Promise I won’t let anyone bother you... not that anyone’s coming in anytime soon.” She drawls out looking around at the empty shop.

“Just a quick nap, twenty minutes.” he told her, voice already fading and his eyes growing heavy.

She doesn’t respond to him, just continues stroking his hair until he falls asleep. He feels the warm mug leave his hands and he hears ceramic clank onto the wooded side table next to him.

Margaux watches Spencer sleep, giving him much longer than twenty minutes. His dark circles told her enough, he needed this nap more than he was letting on. It takes less than five minutes for Spencer to pass out. His body relaxed into the chair with all tension leaving his body. She slows down her movements until she feels safe enough to stop. His small snore telling her he was asleep.

She moved to stand and went back to her duties, which wasn’t more than inventory tonight. Mondays were always slow.

Margaux moved about the bookshop, filing away books, crossing off things on her checklist, and besides the few customers that came in for less than twenty minutes each, the night was quiet. Enough so that she let Spencer sleep much longer than twenty minutes.

Spencer sleeps peacefully for most of the night. She checks on him occasionally, and besides the few snores, he’s sound asleep.

Around four in the morning he stirs awake, blinking blearily and looks around the store. Margaux hears him and pokes her head out from behind a shelf.

“Good morning sunshine!” She teases in a chipper tone.

Spencer looks at her confused before looking down at his watch. “Why didn’t you wake me up?” he asked, tone not accusing, just confused.

Margaux shrugged and made her way over to him, “You looked like you needed the sleep.”

She gently reaches her hand up to smooth the furrow of his brow. “You’ll die young from all that stress you’re carrying on your shoulders.” She tells him softly. The way she’s gently touching his forehead is like she’s trying to erase the stress and pressure.

Spencer sighs into her touch, “For sleeping on a chair, it was pretty peaceful.” he murmurs.

Margaux snorts in amusement. “Well, at least I know they’re comfy.”

“I sleep on planes frequently, so this is much better.” he tells her.

“Travel a lot for work?” She asked.

Spencer just nods. Not wanting to explore too deep into his job. The job that was leaving him sleepless most nights.

“Do you feel any better?” she asks quietly.

He nods solemnly. “Better than when I arrived.” he said with a shrug.

Margaux frowns but doesn’t push, she pushes his hair back again giving him a reassuring smile.

“I’m a good listener if you ever need to talk. Promise.” She puts out her pinky finger in the childish gesture of a pinky promise.

Spencer finds himself smiling, finding it charming. Regardless of his problem with germs, it doesn’t feel so intense with Margaux. She’s not a stranger anymore. He hooks his pinky with hers.

“Not now.” He whispers. “But someday...”

“Someday.” she reaffirms.

The one about family

Spencer’s surprised to see that Margaux isn’t working one random night in November. He knows that, of course, Margaux can’t possibly be working every single night he comes in. It just throws him off when he doesn’t see her immediately. The sunshine woman behind the bar making him a new sickly sweet coffee to try. She’s only ever missed one day max two, so he doesn’t think much of it. Just a blip on his night.

One night without her suddenly turns into half a week. Everyday Spencer walks in and it’s not her bright bubbly voice greeting him. It’s one of the handful of people who work the late-night shift. They aren’t strangers, Spencer’s ran into a couple of them occasionally. So, when Spencer comes into the bookstore to see, yet again, Robert, manning the front desk lazily flipping through a magazine, his mild frustration turns to worry. Margaux’s been gone for four days and none of her coworkers seem to know why.

What if she’s sick? What if something happened to her? Did she take a vacation? Is she in danger?

The thoughts consume Spencer so much he almost calls Penelope to track her down. Or at least give him her address to check on her. He pulls himself together and realizes that it would be a bad idea and an invasion of her privacy. He’ll just have to wait it out.

Spencer does wait, mostly because he’s forced too. The BAU never truly stops working.

When he finally sees Margaux again it’s near the tail end of November and way too close to Thanksgiving for his liking. He feels like she’s been gone for ages, but it’s only been two weeks. The door chimes behind him as he walks in, he’s expecting to see her big dark indigo eyes light up with a smile on her flushed pink cheeks. The way she’s always greeted him.

Instead, he sees a side of Margaux that he’s not used to at all. She looks tired, exhausted. The dark circles under her eyes could compete against his natural ones. She’s wearing glasses which he’s never seen on her before. Her hair is haphazardly tied up, and Margaux’s in a large well-worn sweater that reads, ‘Read Banned Books’. He doesn’t think she’s slept much, if at all, since he last saw her.

She looks like a zombie, barely functioning.

She doesn’t even register Spencer enter; she’s standing at the checkout counter finishing a transaction with a customer. She’s swaying on her feet the whole time.

Spencer lets her finish the interaction before coming over to the counter, concern clear on his face.

“Margaux?” He says her name softly as he approaches.

Her eyes fly up to him and widen a little in surprise, her body reacts with a small flinch. “Oh god Spencer!” She gives a soft laugh her hand coming up to clutch her chest, “You scared me! I didn’t hear you come in.” she tries to calm herself down.

Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes and Spencer can tell. It doesn’t take a profiler to see she’s not herself. Her eyes are only half open, her hands shaking from what he can only assume is the obscene amount of caffeine she probably has in her system. Everything just seems muted, not in the bright colors he used to seeing her be framed in.

“Are you feeling okay? You’ve been gone for a while.” he prompts, trying to get something out of her. A clue to what might have happened. Anything.

She shakes her head, “I’m fine, everything’s fine.” She said a little too quickly.

Spencer doesn’t buy it, but he’s kept enough secrets to himself to know he probably shouldn’t go looking into friends’ private lives. Some things he knows he’d rather keep to himself... but seeing her like this, he wants to help.

She avoids his eyes and starts to play with her hands on the counter. “I-” she opens her mouth but promptly shuts it again. She bites her cheek with a frown plastered on her face.

“Sorry, it’s nothing. It doesn’t matter.” She says quickly before turning to grab some books from behind the desk to busy herself with.

She doesn’t want to talk about or think about it. It’s been a long two weeks, and she just needs some normalcy. Something that she knows she can do and enjoys.

Margaux feels Spencer’s eyes burning into her. She’s trying to keep her usual high energy, she truly is. Everything has been so rough this month; she just needs a break. The bookstore was her solace. The Midnight Owl wasn’t just a job, it was Margaux’s home. Her safe haven.

She didn’t want to bring her real life here, not when sometimes her only highlight is seeing Spencer and sharing books back and forth. If he starts asking about her life outside the four walls of her shop, she doesn’t know if she can hold herself together. Not today.

“Margaux,” he opens his mouth trying to get her attention again.

“Really Spencer, it’s fine, I’m fine!” she tells him, a short tone to her voice.

She spins on her heels to walk somewhere, anywhere, else. “You know I have your book actually, let me return it. I left some notes in there.” She makes it five or six steps before she falters and sways again. Spencer reaches out to grab her and steadies her.

“Forget the book Margaux, you don’t look fine.” He makes her face him. “You look exhausted.” He chastises her.

She deflates immediately and lets Spencer guide her to a chair. He gently sets her down and he pries the book out of her hand and places it on the side table.

“Sorry, you don’t have to take care of me.” she murmurs feebly swatting him away. “I just...” Margaux takes a deep breath. “I had to take dad to the hospital on Tuesday and it’s just been downhill all week...” she admits timidly. She pushed her glasses up her hairline and pressed the heels of her palm to her eyes.

“I haven’t gotten much sleep.” she admits.

“You’ve run yourself ragged.” Spencer lowers himself to be eye level with her. “Is he home now?” he asks gently.

“No, they’re keeping him one more night.” She said with a heavy sigh.

Her arms fell in between her knees, and she leans her head back exhausted. “It’s just been hard this past year...” Her voice is small and lingers with sadness.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked hesitantly.

Spencer maybe doesn’t like talking about his hardships, but he’ll listen to Margaux’s if she lets him. He wants to desperately ease her mind, see her smile.

She looks up at him, eyes wide as she assesses him. “I don’t want to put my problems on you Spencer.” She gives a tight smile. “I’ll figure it out.”

Spencer reaches out to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Talking about it doesn’t mean that you’re inconveniencing me. I'm just worried.”

She sighs, already feeling him chip away at her. She didn’t stand a chance against his big doe eyes looking at her like she was fragile.

She takes a deep breath before answering him, “My dad has ALS, he was diagnosed a few years ago... I’ve been taking care of him.” she admits.

“Where we were, the doctors just weren’t cutting it. So, I did some research and of course there were stellar doctors in DC... plus my baby sister came here for university so I just thought... maybe it would be easier. On all of us.” The tone of her voice gives her worry away.

“Anyway, he just, he had an accident and fell down the other day. His legs are finally giving out and he’s being so stubborn about needing a wheelchair.” Her voice shakes and she closes her eyes.

“It’s been a long week.” She finally admits looking up at Spencer with watery eyes.

Spencer understands. He’s spent most of his life taking care of his mom because of her own illness. While Margaux’s dad is suffering from something different, he understands. Probably more than she realizes.

“I get it, I do.” he tells her. Margaux goes to retort, but he cuts her off. “I took care of my mom for a long time. She...” He pauses looking at Margaux, debating for a moment on if he should tell her.

“My mom has schizophrenia, and I committed her when I was eighteen.” he tells her with a tight frown.

“It’s hard to take care of your parents, especially when it’s their job to take care of us.” He tells her sincerely.

Margaux has tears pricking her eyes, “Oh Spencer, I’m so sorry.”

He shakes his head, “I’m telling you this because I understand. I promise I do, it’s not easy.”

Margaux takes a shaky breath; her heart feels like it’s a thousand pounds. “Does it ever get easier?” she asks softly.

Spencer squeezes her hand, “No, it doesn’t. There are happy moments though. Moments where you know you’re doing the right thing, even if it’s difficult.”

She sniffles and wipes her face, “Thanks, I uh, I needed that.” she said with a small smile.

It’s getting closer to Christmas. The bookstore is decorated and busier than ever. There’s a handful of special events but between people coming in to buy presents and university students staying all night to study for finals, Margaux has her hands full.

There’s a second staff member working nights with her this month until the holiday break starts for the store. Which Margaux and Josie were adamant about closing the bookstore between Christmas Eve and New Years. If someone needed a book that badly they could go to a big box store.

What she really doesn’t need right now is her baby sister coming to her place of work and harassing her about Christmas and their dad.

“Bridget, I don’t have time to discuss this with you right now!” Margaux hisses out at her younger sister. “You didn’t spend Thanksgiving with us and daddy really wants you to come home just for Christmas.” She chastised her sister with a frown.

Margaux has a pause in customers for the moment, but she knows that the large study group is coming in half an hour like they have been for the past week and half.

“That’s not fair Maggie!” Her sister groans in frustration using Margaux’s nickname. “I made these plans months ago; Mark really wants me to spend Christmas with his family.”

Margaux crosses her arms and looks at her baby sister sadly. “Birdie, we don’t know how much time we get with dad-” she starts but is cut off.

Bridget’s face scrunches in disgust at her sister’s words and huffs exaggeratedly. “Good god Maggie! He’s not gonna die over the holidays, stop fucking guilt trippin’ me over every decision because it doesn’t revolve around dad!”

Bridget’s annoyed and Margaux can tell, she always tries to skirt around her problems when she’s frustrated. She thinks Margaux’s trying to back her into a corner.

“Birdie-”

“It’s Bri. I go by Bri here.” Her baby sister crosses her arms and looks at Margaux in annoyance.

“Look, I know dad’s sick, I’m not stupid.”

“I didn’t say you were Bridget.” Margaux said defensively.

She rolled her eyes, “I didn’t decide to pack everything up and move dad out to DC. Just because you’re closer doesn’t mean I’m going to stop living my life to take care of daddy.”

Margaux bites her tongue. Trying to not fight with her sister, but her irritation rises in her throat. Burning words of resentment linger in her mind.

“Fine. Would you please just call him on Christmas and please come by after the New Year. He really misses you.” She tries to plead with her sister.

Bridget just waves goodbye as she walks out the door, “Will do. See you next year Mags!” she almost ran out the door.

Margaux deflates, her shoulders dropping. She almost doesn’t hear Spencer walking up next to her holding a gift bag in his hands.

“I didn’t know you had a sister.” he said.

She looks up at him and smiles at her favorite regular. Her friend. She thinks they’re allowed to call each other friends now. He already saw her cry and that was a big step for her.

Margaux shakes her head, “Yeah, we’re not as close as we used to be.” she mumbles under her breath.

Spencer nods his head. He never had any siblings, but he can read her face well enough to know she’s not thrilled.

“It’s fine.” she shrugs and gives a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. She leans against the counter. “What’s that you got there?” she asked, changing the subject.

She’s pointing to the gift bag in his hands. She tilts her head curiously.

“Oh, this is,” he flushes for a split second rushing his words out. “This is for you. I know you’re closing for the holiday soon and I don’t know if I’ll have a last-minute work call or not so., I brought your Christmas present.” He fumbled through his words quickly, but he held out the small bag for her.

She lights up immediately. Her eyes shimmer with excitement. “Aww, Spencer! This is so kind thank you!”

She bends down below the counter and grabs her own item, “I actually have your present too.” she said shyly, handing him a wrapped package.

Spencer is quiet as he gently takes the gift from her, a tiny smile on his face. He brushes his hair back out of his face as he looks at her softly.

“This is so kind thank you.”

Giddy giggles consume her, and she holds the gift bag. “Should we open them together or do you want to wait until Christmas?” She asked.

Spencer shakes his head, “No no, you can open it now.” he reassures her.

Margaux smiles, biting the inside of her cheek and opens her present. Under the tissue paper is a sweater that’s twice her size and it’s the softest thing she’s ever felt. She pulls it out and it’s a purple crocheted sweater with a beautiful sun right in the middle. It reminds her of one of the tapestries from the late nineties that would have been in Practical Magic or something like that.

“Oh Spencer, this is perfect.” she says quietly holding it tightly to her chest. “Thank you so much, I love it.”

Margaux pulls off her cardigan and immediately shoves the sweater on. She nestles herself inside it and grins widely, “It matches your scarf!”

Spencer just takes in her joy and how she lights up, and he’s happy he could make her feel better.

“Well go on open yours!” she said excitedly pushing her wrapped package toward him.

Spencer gently peels back the wrapping paper and uncovers a white box; he opens the box to find a ceramic mug. Its custom made, with some uneven texture. It’s glazed a speckled purple and wrapped around the bottom is a quote, “Some books are so familiar that reading them is being home again.” -L.M. Alcott

Spencer is quietly inspecting it, and Margaux starts explaining. She pushes her midnight hair behind her ear, “I uh, I took a pottery class in my free time this past year. Since you’re here so much I thought you would like your own mug.” she said hesitantly.

Spencer’s eyes widen, “You, you made this? For me?” he asked in surprise.

She nods, looking down at the counter nervously.

Spencer makes his way around the counter and pulls her into a tight hug. “This is the best gift anyone's ever gotten me.” he whispers to her.

She returns the hug holding Spencer tightly. She presses her face into his shoulder, and she feels infinitely better than how her night started.

When they pull apart Margaux plays with the edge of her new sweaters' sleeves, a small blush on her face. “Do you go visit your mama for holidays?” She asked him.

Spencer shakes his head, “Not all the time. My job doesn’t usually care if it’s a holiday or not.” he tells her.

She nods, “Well, I hope you get to this year Spencer. I’m sure she’d love to see you.”

He takes a shaky breath and nods in agreement. “Yeah, I’ll try to see her soon.”

Margaux nudges him lightly, trying to keep the tone light, “Want a fresh drink in your new mug?” she teases.

Spencer chuckles but nods his head. “I’d love that.”

“We’re about to test run if I’m actually good at pottery. So, fingers crossed it doesn’t leak.” She jokes moving to the cafe counter at the back of the store.

Spencer watches her walk away, with a skip in her step like the first night he came to the Midnight Owl. The way she easily glides through the crowd and chatters with customers and giggling.

She shines bright like a star, like the sun.

A/N: This is the first part of a series of long one shots following Margaux and her relationship with Spencer Reid. This starts in season 5.

#criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x oc #original character #season 5 criminal minds

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sheep-from-rad · 3 days ago

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Wild request: yandere self aware Kyler from dol

Self Aware! Kylar × Reader

Note: I received this request a long time ago. I didn’t know what DOL was so I went to research, played the game (didn’t survive day 1), played again in godmode (with cheats and all stats up), and then read fanfics. Now I’m just invested with the lore. I didn’t expect such a game to have deep ass lore. ALSO I'm a firm believer that Kylar speaks in gacha because he's a massive weeb (the cringe kind).

Warnings: Yandere content (it’s Kylar), stalking, Kylar bad end route

Disclaimer: I’m writing and reading yandere fics to cope with stalking trauma. Yanderes are not to romanticize, or romanticize it, you do you after all (I'm not your moral compass). I don’t own DOL, it belongs to Vrelnir. I only own my fanfics and English is not my first language. Please be understanding. Thank you!

MINORS DNI

Complete Masterlist

This town has always been weird. Be it the monsters that lurk in the woods, the monstrosity of the blood moon, or his parents hidden deep in the mansion. For a long time now, he considers himself a silent watcher. The kid who flies under the radar is only noticed by bullies. The one with an inkling of horrors due witnessed with open eyes laden with indifference. He didn’t care about it until that person came around.

He thinks he knows a lot about the town already but he can’t really figure you out. He sat at the back of the English class watching your every move wondering what could probably be happening. He has to know because he’s your lover. You don’t know it yet but soon you will.

He looked at his notes again. It wasn’t class notes. The day he writes down notes for class will be the day all monstrosity of the town is gone. Kylar rereads the almost unintelligible scrawl. Firstly, he knows your rent is currently at 4,000 but that Armoire cabinet looked really out of place. Your rent also went up and down a couple of times. It went from 4000 one day and then suddenly went down to 100. Your wardrobe is also filled with expensive clothing too which does not make sense because massage jobs, housekeeping, and cafe work don't pay much. Honestly, why do you even work when you can just hide away with him? He’s rich enough and he can provide for you.

Classes passed as usual and his eyes can’t help but just follow you. His body getting up from his seat, getting to the usual spot in the park before going to the usual schedule of watching. You are his, do you know that? Someone had to keep his darling safe and who else can do that but him.

Sometimes he will just follow you at a distance, he always makes sure to be at least a block away so he has a cover in case you see him. But sometimes you just disappear. You disappear without a trace like you just teleported out. Nothing about you makes sense as well. He remembers you being this clumsy little thing the first time he saw you and that was yesterday. Today you’re this formidable person. You’re very athletic, your skills are high up, and you’re immediately the best in Mason’s class. There goes his dream of being your protector…

Days turned to weeks and to months, he would watch you flirt with different men, well until that day came. He finally got you in his basement, tied up in rough ropes. It’s necessary since you don’t understand it yet. He doesn’t want you running away. He thought that you’ll be defiant, that you’ll be kicking and screaming and cursing at his face but to his utmost joy, you’re obedient. So obedient it’s almost suspicious.

You’re eating the food he makes, admiring his knives, listens to his words and he thinks you love the baby names too. Kylar went home today from school, he thinks your relationship had progressed to good terms. However when he’s walking towards the basement to cut the ropes, he blinked and found himself in English class. WHAT IS GOING ON? WAS HE JUST DAYDREAMING? HE HAS YOU ON HIS VERY HAND AND IT’S ALL A DAYDREAM? AND IT WAS SO REALISTIC TOO! It’s like he got hit by a massive universal debuff!

Kylar followed you after school. He’s gonna try it like how his ‘daydream’ happened. He followed you as you walked the lengths of Danube street to get to the orphanage but your words made him stop. “So that’s how Kylar’s one bad end route goes. At least not as bad as the farm route. Should I go for the corrupted Sydney route next?” He watched as you raised your hands to check the stats and checked the cheats, raising Sydney’s corruption stats and lowering his jealousy.

Kylar knew from that moment that you’re not just a rare gacha drop. You’re the UR+ card and he needs to take control of that rarity soon.

#dol #dol pc #dol kylar #kylar the loner #male kylar #dol x reader

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thelonelyshore-if · 20 days ago

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I’ve been replaying the demo, and every single time I just. I love Ravi. He’s so annoying and suspicious. Caring but distant. He invites you to stay at his house then immediately makes you feel like an unwanted guest–before you even get to his house. He’s a bag of contradictions and oddities. I just want to shake him. Wtf is wrong with drinking plain water, you absolute prune?? We’re roommates who are putting each other under a microscope like lab specimens. We’re annoying each other for fun. Why do you act like that? You’re so off-putting, you’re so endearing. We’re not besties, we’re not worsties, we’re some unnatural and disturbing hybrid. I almost want to stay with him on purpose to annoy him more.

That said, I will absolutely ditch him if you give me the option to stay with Beck or Perri in chapter 3. Call Beck up since they gave me their number like “Hey, turns out I’ll be sticking around for a while, but I had a disagreement with my current host. I sure could use a hero again, if you don’t mind. Plus, we get to hang out more :)” Or look up/ask for Perri’s number and call them up. “So, I’m actually going to be in town for a bit, but I no longer feel comfortable staying with my current host. If it’s not too much trouble, could I stay with you? Plus, it would give us the opportunity to talk more about that interview, since I’m stuck here Willingly Choosing To Stick Around :)” (Goodness, I think about these two too much. I've already got more Beck/Perri fog secrets thoughts to share, but it feels too similar to what I've already said.)

I want to print out this ask and put it on my wall. I've reread it like three times today and I'm just sitting here kicking my feet and twirling my hair.

Ravi is a walking pile of contradictions and I'm glad he comes across as such. I think about him every single day.

Also I'm dying you're not the first person to be baffled by his vendetta against plain water and you probably won't be the last. It's so funny to me. He's sooooo judgy for no reason I love him.

Staying with Ravi just to launch a campaign to annoy him is 100% a valid option ngl, but I'm excited to say that I will be adding stay with Perri and stay with Beck routes!!! Because I deserve a little bit of unnecessary branching, as a treat, and I think you all will enjoy them, too.

Plus it makes me laugh. Ditching the person you met two days ago to stay with one of the people you met yesterday.

No pressure to share your thoughts, but I would love to read them if you decided you wanted to!! Even if they were similar to previous ones. I love getting asks and reading people's thoughts about the characters and the story. It hypes me up to keep writing <3

#asks #ravi #beck #perri #tysm i love these asks #and i think about beck and perri and the fog constantly too #so you're not alone on that front #also don't mind me talking about how much i love my own characters #i hope it doesn't come off as annoying lmao #i just couldn't write them if i wasn't also obsessed with them

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steddieunderdogfics · 1 month ago

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This week’s writer spotlight feature is: @emryses! emryses has 15 fics in the Stranger Things fandom on AO3 and all of them are in the Steddie tag!

@lady-lostmind recommends the following works by @emryses:

MEMORIA (series)

TIMESTAMP: April 10, 1989

deep in, under my skin

"I had the pleasure of working with them in the Steddie Big Bang 23' and absolutely fell in love with the fic they were writing for it. I was hooked from the little snippet I read during claims and wasn't disappointed in the slightest when I got to read the rest, and the same goes for all their other work I've read." -- @lady-lostmind

Below the cut, @emryses answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I love smacking the Ken dolls together and making them kiss. But for real, I had been a (very) casual fan of Stranger Things since around Season 2, but there was something so infinitely intriguing about Steve and Eddie that I couldn’t help but be drawn to them from the second S4 part 1 aired. Then the BTS pictures came out of what would eventually be the “Don’t’cha big boy?” scene and it was sort of just a slow descent into a sprint to madness from there. I love that surface level, these two don’t look like they should work but somehow they just do. So I love making them fall in love again and again. Each fic I write is a pocket universe where these boys eventually look at each other and say, “Yes, I choose you” and I think that’s beautiful.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

Mutual Pining 100%. I love when a fic makes you ache before they get to the juicy romance of it all. Bonus points if they’re fucking the entire time they’re pining.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

I’ve noticed over time that most of my fics involve a miscommunication of some sort. I just love putting these boys in Situations—anything that makes them a little bit messy. I love a good fight and a resolution: Friends with Benefits to Lovers, Situationship to Lovers, I Gave You A Hand Job Once and Now We’re Lovers (But We Don’t Know it Yet). They are Idiot4Idiot, always.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

One that I return to quite often is the other hand knocking by greatunironic. I don’t often read Historical AUs, but if I could recommend one I would recommend this one. There is a monologue Eddie says in the final chapters that has stuck with me. If I ever could do a podfic, I think it would be this one.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I would love to write a true AU one day. I tend to stick in my safe zone of Canon or Canon Divergence, I think I might find the limitations it has to be comforting. Alternate Universe fics (true ones like Modern AU, or Historical AUs, etc.) feel so scary and daunting to me, no matter how much I love them.

What is your writing process like?

Writing is a true hobby for me, I have to admit I don’t feel like I have a real “process” and I recognize I probably make it harder for myself than I probably have to. I sort of throw words in a doc until something sticks, fics are usually thought of with a general concept or sometimes even a specific scene that comes to me and then I build out the fic from there. Sometimes it happens fast but most of the time it happens fairly slow. I’ll read, and reread, and edit and add more until it’s done. There’s a madness about it I can’t quite explain, I don’t really know how I get anything posted at the end of the day.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I enjoy putting through lines in most of my fics, something I consider to be a Universal Truth across all my Steves and Eddies, etc. Like I said before, I consider them all to be pocket universes, and they’re mostly lighthearted, silly things. Like that Steve enjoys WHAM! and Eddie hates that he enjoys WHAM!, or that Steve had a totally unrequited crush on Jonathan Byers (whether he knows it or not). They’re like little easter eggs, something I don’t think anyone but myself has really noticed, but they make me happy. Also, I've never once written something chronologically: I hop around to different points and different scenes the whole time. Sometimes I’ll have the end of the fic written before even the middle of it exists.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

What typically happens is I have every intention of finishing the fic and then starting to post it, but I will get 80-90% done writing it and end up posting the first chapter as motivation to get to the end. I do, however, prefer to wait until I’m done writing everything before starting to post when I can (especially because of the aforementioned chaotic writing & non chronological habits.)

Which fic are you most proud of?

It would feel wrong if I didn’t mention you looking at me, looking at you (affectionately referred to as YLAM.) It was my first multichapter for Steddie, and I posted it in the height of Steddie Summer ‘22, essentially in real time of finishing chapters. Though I might not think it’s the best of the best of my writing, I also don’t think it’s bad (actually reread bits of it a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised about how much I enjoyed it lol). It holds a very, very special place in my Steddie heart; I made so many new fandom friends (and a mini YLAM army, iykyk) while writing this fic.

How did you get the idea for MEMORIA?

Memoria was first thought of back in January 2023. I had the thought of writing an Eddie-centric fic based around the idea that he was taken into Witness Protection after the events of S4. I’m a lover of angst, and it felt like a delicious area to dive into. I also wanted to write an aged up Steddie, since at that point I had been writing them mostly at their canon ages, MEMORIA allowed me to do a bit of a time jump. Funnily enough, I originally thought it would be an Eddie POV thing, but Steve apparently had a lot to say.

When writing MEMORIA, what was something you didn’t expect?

I didn’t expect it to be so damn long, I truly thought it was going to be around 30k—and then I had written 30k and the fuckers hadn’t even kissed yet. It also originally in my mind was going to be a much darker sort of fic—I was toying around with going deeper with substance abuse for Eddie, something that is lightly hinted at in the Eddie companion fic, strange what desire will make foolish people do. In the end I was shocked about how much lighter the whole thing felt.

What inspired TIMESTAMP: April 10, 1989?

TIMESTAMP was written for @steddiemicrofic’s 1 year of Steddie Microfic challenge to write something using 1,111 words. I took it very seriously and said to myself, what is 1,111 days from March 27, 1986? (The answer may shock you.)

What was your favorite part to write from TIMESTAMP: April 10, 1989?

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a concise writer, so writing TIMESTAMP was a challenge to fit within the steddiemicrofic word count. But when you do widdle it down, or up, to that word count it is immensely satisfying to know you told a whole story within a limited amount of words.

How do/did you feel writing deep in, under my skin?

I loved it! For someone who loves Eddie as much as I do, I tend to write more Steve POV than Eddie POV, deep in was an opportunity to add to the small pile of Eddie POVs I have. Eddie has always felt more funny and playful to me, even if he’s not having a super fun and playful time.

What was the most difficult part of writing deep in, under my skin?

Of all the fics highlighted here I remember deep in actually being the most straightforward! I’m pretty sure I wrote it to procrastinate working on Memoria. The only difficult part was I didn’t want it to be too similar to my fic YLAM which has sort of a similar premise: Steddie situationship/friends with benefits. I wanted to explore the hooking up to lovers aspect of Steddie again, but didn’t necessarily want to rehash the same thing I’ve already done.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

This was by far the hardest question. I think this bit from strange what desire is my favourite of what I’ve written recently. It’s such a through line of every fic I write, I think: Steve paints them a picture, he writes them a song, and Eddie is interwoven into every line, every brushstroke of it. He talks of a future, he talks about love. He talks about living life, about taking Eddie’s hand and showing him how to live it, too. What if we make it? What if?

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I have been dipping my toes in and out of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU for close to a year now. It’s slow going, I haven’t even posted the main fic that started the whole idea yet, but I do have two prequel-style fics set in the same universe: LOVE BITES and FOOL FOR LOVE. If you are interested, I would love if you checked them out. (It includes Slayer!Nancy, Werewolf!Jonathan, Witch!Robin, Vampire!Eddie, and Just a Guy!Steve Harrington.)

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

Thank you so much to my nominator! This was such an unexpected and pleasant surprise. It’s such a kind way to let a writer know you’re thinking of the things they’ve written. It made me feel very special and very loved, so thank you, sincerely. If you liked Memoria, please go give some love to my Steddie Bang Artist, @lady-lostmind. She made a beautiful artwork of the moment Steve sees Eddie again, and truly pulled the image of an older Eddie out of my mind and put it into a beautiful work. Finally, if you go to my blog and see a whole bunch of Dead Boy Detectives stuff, don’t worry lol. I still love Steddie so much and have so much I want to write for them. The Dead Boys just gone and got me.

Thank you to our author, @emryses, and our nominator, @lady-lostmind! See more of emryses' works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

#writer's spotlight #writer's wednesday #steddie fic recs #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve x eddie #stranger things #steddie writers #ao3 writer

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mamahersh · 2 years ago

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Mamahersh’s Post-MAG-200 Fanfic Recommendation Mega Thread

@a-mag-a-day

In celebration of us finishing The Magnus Archives (even if I admittedly fell off around S2 and have been mostly lurking since then), I have compiled all of my fave post series fics for your enjoyment! I will be grouping them in some big, general categories, which I’ll list above the read more here. Depending on the size of this post, it might start looking a bit like that “Do you like the sky?” post But I can assure you that I have read all of these and can give them my stamp of approval!

If you finished the series and were wishing for your best boys to finally be happy, then boy howdy do I have some fanfiction for you!

Time Travel

Somewhere Else

AUs

Uncategorized JonMartin Fluff

By these categories, we should hopefully cover all the recommendations I have, and I hope you all find some new fics! (or enjoy rereading fics you haven’t enjoyed in awhile)

TIME TRAVEL

where there’s a will, we make a way by bubonickitten

"So, what does happen if an Eye learns to See within itself?

What happens is this: the Archive Beholds the Watcher – and the Watcher blinks first."

________________________

Jon goes back to before the world ended and tries to forge a different path.

Probably my fave time travel fic in this fandom hands down; it is also currently the longest whilst still unfinished. While I try not to recommend unfinished fics that I am uncertain of their return to activity, this is a big exception and personally I love everything about it! It’s got Jon dealing with trauma through the lens of his speaking only in Statements, Martin being saved from his downward spiral into the Lonely way earlier in S4, Georgie actually sticking around, Basira having a better grasp of the situation and being more understanding about it, and everyone generally sticking close to character while managing to buck parts of the narrative. I cannot recommend this fic enough, and I very likely already did back near the start of S5.

Something’s Different About You Lately by thesnadger

Jonathan Sims has been head archivist for just a few months, but he has memories of holding the position for years. He remembers monsters, and darkness, and the end of the world. Somehow, he'll have to keep everyone safe from what's coming. Meanwhile, his assistants can't understand why their prickly jerk of a boss has gone sappy all of a sudden.

So TMA time travel fics that focus on Jon going back tend to come in two varieties. There’s the “Jon’s mind goes back and replaces himself/inhabits his past self’s body” and then there’s the “Jon physically goes back so there’s two Jons”. The first two on this list are of the first variety, and if I remember right this was one of the first I ever read. However, I recommend this one specifically because this has an amazing ending. Like, it might just be me, but many of the endings in these feel relatively unsatisfying because there’s magically a third option where Jon comes out unscathed while saving his S1 archives crew from the Horrors. For whatever reason, it was incredibly satisfying having a fic that didn’t shy away from the options presented in S4 and S5 and I love how they characterize everyone in this one as well.

100 Seconds to Midnight by starspangledbread

Jon and Martin find themselves back in 2011 after attempting to release the fears from their reality. The world is the same one they left behind, but now something has come back with them. They have a chance to destroy the fears once and for all, but it proves harder than expected. Who knew that the best laid plans could be thwarted by nosy co-workers, office romance, the inevitable learning curve of being a time traveler turned grifter, and the refusal to believe in subtlety?

Did someone say Extinction!Jon? This also is a part of a series, though the true sequel to this one is currently unfinished (though it should eventually be completed and only has one chapter to go). An excellent romp, I definitely recommend if you’re looking for something kinda dark, some comedy, a little OOC, and Martin being able to embrace his crime side in the name of saving the world.

Yesterday is Here by CirrusGrey

"Who the hell are you?" Jon could feel his hands shaking. The man laughed, taking a step forward and raising a hand to point at him. "I'm you, from the future!" he said, then swayed, eyes going unfocused, and collapsed to the floor in a dead faint. -------- Post-season-four Jon and Martin time travel back to the season one Archives.

Written by my fave (and most prolific) JMart author, we have a perfect example of the other kind of time travel fix it fic in the form of Jon physically travelling to the past to try and save the world. As expected by someone I am calling my fave JMart author, we’re going to be getting double dose on the JMart. I highly recommend if you’re looking for something that starts a little bittersweet, but then ends in copious amounts of fluff.

Reverb (Series) by Wolftraps

Undoing the apocalypse would have been enough for Jon, if all his people survived. Without them, Jon's only recourse is making it so it never happened in the first place. He's going to do better this time.

Summary from the first fic in the Reverb series, I highly recommend the first two fics in this series for different reasons. “The Reverb in These Holy Halls” is a great time travel fic that takes some really interesting turns by the end and unlike most fics actually has Jon try to keep Tim safe by keeping him out of the Archives pre-S1. However “Gossip” I recommend if you enjoy those fics formatted to look like official communication of some kind. It’s got people outside the Archives trying to figure out what’s wrong with them during the events of the first fic, and while it would be very confusing to read without the first fic, I’d almost say it’s worth it if you aren’t feeling the tags on the first one. Really fun and entertaining, you can’t go wrong with either one.

The Triumph of Galatea (for Acis is transformed) by TheOestofOCs

Statement of Hazel Rutter.

Jon couldn’t stop reading.

The Fears, however, are a bit more powerful than Jonah gave them credit for. Jon opens the door, but the world can’t hold what’s on the other side.

Time falls through, instead. Past becomes present, and the future is undone.

Statement begins.

Another fic I definitely recommended back at episode 160, but is well worth the second recommendation and/or re-read. Time Travel, but what if Jon could control as well as go into the dreams of the assistants/other Eye aligned people instead of just his victims’ dreams? Very good, even if unfinished, though the author seems likely to finish someday. Check out their other work as well, it’s all very good and has my fave Circus themed fic written to date.

a map of what matters most by gruhukens

“Is that a body,” Tim blurts before he can stop himself, rising to his feet. Martin looks, if possible, even more scared.

“He’s alive!” he hisses, almost defensively. “It’s not - it’s not Gertrude again, I didn’t kill him, he just – I don’t know what happened to him, I just found him in the stacks like this.”

“And you dragged him up here?” Tim says, and then registers several things at once – the build, the hair texture; the little round scars peppering a pair of thin hands and an awfully familiar face. “Wait, is that Jon?”

----

Jon stumbles back into an earlier Archive, looking for a way to fix the world. (Or, mom says it's my turn for the obligatory time travel au)

Directly inspired by CirrusGrey’s fic that I recommended earlier, this is another: Jon travels physically into the past fic. This one though is far more bittersweet than “Yesterday is Here”, but still an excellent read and does a great job at fleshing out the relationships between all the characters.

Saving the Universe: For Dummies by GhostChoir

Finding a man bleeding out in the alleyway was not what Elias wanted to do today. And he certainly didn’t mean to befriend him. But things never did go how he expected.

****** A Post-MAG200 Jon meets a 1970s Elias, an Elias from before he was corrupted by Jonah. Together, the two of them learn to cope with grief, drink more tea than any two people should be able to consume, and commiserate over shitty bosses. Oh, and just for the hell of it, they stop an apocalypse along the way.

Now for a change of pace: What if Jon time travels to the time of early Gertrude and Elias pre-Jonafying? A very good fic is what! While it’s been awhile since I read this, I do remember it’s quite good and deserves a chance. Note: this is NOT Jonathan/Elias, so my apologies if you were looking for that, but it is two very lonely men getting to just have a reliable friend in times of trouble.

A Little Game of Cat and Mouse by Paptato

“Jonah Magnus.” The cloudy silhouette snarled as it’s hand clamped tightly around Jonah's ascot. That was indeed his name, but Jonah couldn’t begin to fathom what he did to have it spat out with such hatred.

But nonetheless, Jonah was a gentleman and he would kindly address the angry figure as politely as possible, “Yes, and you are?”

“What?” The form spluttered as it slowly came into focus. Ah, yes. That probably wasn’t the proper response to being held at gunpoint by a random stranger. Must have been the blow to his head.

(Or in which Jonathan Sims goes back in time and tries to pull a Terminator, but fails and Jonah Magnus finds a new mystery to solve.)

This is that Jonah Magnus/Jonathan Sims enemies to lovers fic your friends warn you about in a good way. It’s not done, but I think it’s still being updated very slowly. Even if all I ever read is the currently released 11 chapters, I will consider it my one exception to my dislike of Jonah/Jon. As you can probably guess by the description, it’s a time travel fix it where Jon gets shunted back in time to when Jonah was still very human and still trying to figure out the Fears. The Web keeps Jon from explaining his circumstances or anything to do with Jonah’s future in particular, but this is a good thing and they both get to learn how to be more human in a world that previously was very antagonistic to those goals. It’s got a heavy dose of comedy, plenty of romantic tension, and lots of both surprising and unsurprising cameos. If you enjoy Dracula Daily, you’ll probably enjoy this imho.

Déjà Vu by CirrusGrey

Sasha remembers being unmade. Tim remembers being Unknown. Jon and Martin remember being unwound. All of them think they're the only one. -------- The S1 crew wakes up in the past with memories up till the moment they died.

So, here’s another one that’s got quite the spin on it. As you can see from the description, this one is where S1 crew all get their minds sent back in time to the time right around Jon’s first statement if I remember right. Another CirrusGrey fic, so it heavily leans on JonMartin, but otherwise it’s a wonderful exploration of the four S1 characters and ends on a very hopeful note!

oh my darling, just a moment of your time by IceEckos12

The Institute is visited by a pair of time travelers, and Jon has an important question for Tim.

Have you ever had a oneshot that just kinda guts you unexpectedly? While this might not do this for everyone, this is an amazing oneshot that gets right the point. I love it a lot, because of all of the fics where future and past meet each other, it very rarely if ever is addressed that past Jon was a douche. Or well it is but past Jon doesn’t necessarily have a character moment from it. Here he does, and despite the briefness of the fic, the author does an amazing job of giving Jon and Tim a moment while making an almost critique of the TMA time travel genre. Highly, highly recommend, and it won’t overstay it’s welcome if it doesn’t end up being your thing.

The Severing of Webs by chlodobird

After Jon kills the world, he travels back in time. Once there, he gets ready to change the future, to save his Assistants, and to watch as everyone learns to hate him again.

Unfortunately, the tapes wrap around him like a fly caught in a Web—he can't move. He's trapped reliving the original timeline, stuck acting out his past actions like an actor rehearsing his lines.

Sasha will die. Tim will die. Martin—

(Jon screams inside his mind, and someone hears him. Fate is not as immutable as he fears.)

This one is a brand new one! While basically all of the others on the list have been out/updating for over a year at this point; this lengthy oneshot just released this month. tbh, very excellent, which is why it has made the list. Also, quite the twist on the usual premise, where being sent back into his head is actually a bad thing this time. Ends with a giant pile of fluff, but who would I be if all my time travel recommendations were not also fix-its?

Somewhere Else

it will be this, always by bluejayblueskies

Jon coughed again, and blood stained his lips and blood stained Martin’s hands where they pressed against Jon’s back and blood stained the floor beneath them and help, they needed help.

Martin doesn’t remember shouting. He barely remembers the faces that had surrounded them, wide-eyed and terrified, all utterly unfamiliar.

Jon and Martin wake up somewhere else. Jon begins a slow path toward physical recovery, and several important, long-put-off conversations are had as they begin to navigate a new world that they hadn’t thought they’d be alive to see.

So, I’m sure you all have gathered that I have qualms with how much disparity there is between canon and fanon Jmart. This fic is painful, but is the most in character depiction of post 200 JMart fallout I have ever read. The ending is very cathartic, and takes a “realistic” approach to what happens to Jon and Martin as they begin to navigate their relationship after they both had betrayed each other so thoroughly in the leadup and culmination of MAG 200. If you don’t want them immediately making up, this is the fic for you. They get there, but by all that is good do they take their sweet time getting there.

Out There, Somewhere by Artyphex

"I'm sorry, you were found alone."

Jon survived the apocalypse and now will go to the end of this new, unfamiliar world to find Martin again.

So I think I’m just getting all the angsty ones out of the way first lol. Another slow burn, this fic is Jon’s recovery in the new reality while he also searches for what happened to Martin. Since I don’t post the tags, I will say this ones does feature “Eventual Happy Ending”, and I do promise that both Jon and Martin made it to the new reality and lived. But Jon and Martin both get to pine and cope for a while before that happy ending tag comes into play. It’s incredibly well done and explores their characters really well. Personally, I kinda enjoyed the Reddit saga because people mistaking Jon’s pleas for Martin as an ARG is very typical internet and 100% I would have bought into that at age 13.

Of course I need a therapist. I need ten therapists, working round the clock building me a bionic coping mechanism. We have the technology. by MartinKBlackwoodESQ

A story set somewhere else.

I’mma be real with you all, if I believed that characters could write and publish their own fanfiction, I would be halfway convinced the name is accurate. All joking aside however, this is a “crack treated seriously” fic but with characterization so on point I can consistently hear the voice actors when I read this. Admittedly, it’s made easier by it being written in transcript formatting, but if you’re looking for a hilarious time where TMA is suddenly is turned into a buddy cop adventure where Jon and Martin go to a universe where the Fears hadn’t been till their arrival, and they have doubles that already exist there who are living fairly normal lives till the TMA Jon and Martin crash land into their reality... Well this fic is one I cannot recommend highly enough. It also has a sequel, and it is also well worth the read, even if it appears to be on a bit of a break in it’s updates.

Worlds like phyllo pastry by neworld

After episode 200 Jon finds himself alone in a world very much like the one he left but fractionally different. It's so similar he finds versions of his former friends existing happily in the world. Unfortunately they have never met him in this universe and have no idea who he is.

This one’s unfinished, but personally it’s well worth the read as is. Not sure how I feel about the most recent chapter, but the story up till that point is a really fun spin on “Jon and Martin get shunted to a new reality” where Jon learns how to feed in a way that doesn’t cause problems facilitated by the new reality, and re-meets all the people who he lost till this point and has a very silly antagonistic relationship with his alternate self. While fic might be more of a guilty pleasure, it still is written in such a way that I would rank it high enough for this disorganized list.

Death Is The Easy Way Out by traveller19

After having killed Jonah Magnus and ended the Change, Jon and Martin should finally be able to rest. Rest, however, proves impossible when Jon falls ill. What's more, he begins having vivid dreams of their dead friends - Tim, trapped in the destroyed Archives, and Sasha, trapped outside of them. As Jon's condition quickly worsens and the line between dream and reality begins to blur, love is all he and Martin have to hold on to, because hope is a dangerous thing.

Did someone say sickfic??? But for real, this fic has an amazing balance between an A plot and a B plot, and keeps both at the right level of tension throughout. While this is a sickfic heavy one, it also features Tim and Sasha as ghosts trying desperately not to be. There’s also a lovely sequel and plenty of fluff by the end, but this is a rough ride. ALSO, if you or a loved one had covid / any respiratory illness that caused them to be hospitalized with pneumonia and it could be trigging to read incredibly on the nose descriptions of that experience, this fic is not for you. Or very cathartic. :/

Castaways by CirrusGrey

Welcome to the Castaway Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a safe and secure landing to those lost souls banished from their home worlds by the influence of Fear.

If you wanted saccharine JMart in a new reality where they get therapy and meet old friends from different realities, this series of (mostly) one shots is for you! As you’ve probably come to expect when I suggest CirrusGrey, the writing is fantastic, the ship dynamics are exemplary, and the character are on point. There is so much to say about this series, but mostly, if you want Jon and Martin healing and then settling together and becoming the stereotypical married couple, then this is it. It’s not done, but it is wrapping up, and I hope you all if you haven’t seen this yet enjoy it as much as I do. And for those long time readers who have been reading it longer than I’ve been in the fandom, here’s your friendly reminder that it exists.

Do Before I Die by SupposedToBeWriting

Somewhere Else, Jon can't seem to shake the strange apathy that now plagues his life. Everything reminds Martin of the end of the world. For a change of pace, he and Martin rent a campervan and go on a road trip. Their mission? To fulfill the 'bucket list' Martin made when he was eighteen and lonely. Jon's looking forward to the beach.

Jon and Martin go on a Road Trip accross Britain. It’s just a wholesome and hurt/comfort as it describes. An excellent romp, and the character studies are wonderful. The Planetarium still sticks with me.

ours is a distant shore (series) by pantsoflobster

“If they ever found out about us, we could make things really complicated for them," Jon said. Martin gave a thoughtful hum and then a loaded pause before he said, “Or simpler.” “What?” “We could, you know…” Martin then made mischievous eyes at him in lieu of expanding. “What?” Jon said, thoroughly lost. “Wouldn’t it be a bit fun to sort of... nudge them in the right direction?”

Months after they arrive Somewhere Else, Jon sees himself in the shop.

Summary is from the first fic in the series, this is a fun little romp for those who hated Martin’s defeatism over his and Jon’s relationship in MAG199 and want to see what would happen if instead he accidentally kick started an alternate version and his and Jon’s relationship Somewhere Else. It’s all very silly, tho the last fic does lean more into the hurt/comfort tag than the previous two. Over all though, if you’re looking for a little crack, a lot of fluff, and Jon and Martin being silly this is a good time.

Written in the Stars Will Have to Do by GentlemanCrow

“Yeah well, god knows why, but he thinks you hung the moon, so you might try treating him at the very least like a human being once in a while.”

It was such a small thing. Small words for a small feeling cloaked in a chintzy veneer of idiomatic dismissal. A trembling little bird cupped in his scarred and battered hands and smothered. Or so he thought. Sometimes trembling little birds turn out to be phoenixes, and those who looked to someone else to hang the comfort of a wise, silvery moon in the sky already have the hammer and the picture wire at the ready.

As far as Jon was concerned, the moon only rose on their Somewhere Else because Martin deigned to pull the strings every night, not him.

This is another one of those JMart Somewhere Else fics masquerading as a Safehouse fic that made me want to cry. It’s just, so wonderful, and once again we have themes of healing, but this time through getting a hobby and sharing it with your significant other. The writing is lovely and really gives off the stuffy academic musings I would expect being in Jon��s head (which we are for the duration of this fic) but adds a layer that I didn’t realized I needed till I read it.

On Errantry by ZaliaChimera

Somewhere Else, Jon and Martin discover that their new home has a very special sort of guardian, and Jon seeks judgement from an unexpected source.

They do say that cats purring can heal...

A cute one shot that deals with Jon’s lingering guilt from S5; this is a wonderful tale from Somewhere Else featuring a giant Cat, Martin being supportive, and Jon trying to reconcile his second chance. Very sweet and fluffy, guaranteed!

Lost, Unfound, But Not Forgotten by Elynn

They didn’t find bodies. Or anything pointing to where they may have gone. In the center of the rubble, what Georgie assumed to have once been the top of the tower, was a puddle of dried, crusted blood, and the outline of bodies in the dust and scorch marks. And she knew that wherever the Fears had gone, Jon and Martin had gone with them. The last victims, snuffed and dragged away with them. --- In the weeks after the Eye-pocolypse, Georgie Barker begins the painful process of mourning her best friend.

So, I know I’m very focused on Jon, but I have one fic of Georgie here that’s 10/10. Post 200, Georgie and Melanie eventually goes to clean out Daisy’s cabin of Jon and Martin’s things for Basira (or something like that) and Georgie finds a journal of Jon’s that he kept whilst there. It’s just as bittersweet as you’d imagine, but it’s fantastically cathartic to read and in our MAG 200 feels, this is a good one for closure.

Not Quite Somewhere Else by hawkfurze

Or you can find it on Tumblr HERE

A special entry to finish out this section, I have a long running comic from Tumblr user @hawkfurze who made a TMA x Infinity Train crossover. While I had not watched the show previously (only seen the trailer/pilot from back before it got picked up by CN), the comic is still easy to understand and explains the Infinity Train parts in such a way as to not need any prior knowledge. I highly recommend this comic for anyone who wants a visual treat delving into the relationship and psyches of Jon and Martin as they try to escape into the next reality.

AUs

Two Graves by SupposedToBeWriting

Jon sends the fears far from Earth and flees London, leaving the others to assume the worst. He settles in a small village and opts to live there quietly until he dies, a self-imposed penance. This plan is foiled when the first former Avatar shows up - and Jon realizes that every domain-keeper in the apocalypse still has some faint connection to him.

After a year of being a shoulder to cry on for confused and distraught former Avatars, Jon leads a moderately happy life. He has a flourishing garden, a cat, and some company. All of that comes crashing around his ears (or his head) when a familiar face shows up to his cabin, demanding answers.

This fic is in my top 5 fics of TMA fandom. No contest. It has some of the best healing from MAG 200 for Jon and Martin and tbh the world I’ve seen. It’s got that incredible hurt/comfort and the ending makes me cry tears of joy every time I read it. If you read any JMart fic on this list, please read this one if you can only read one. While I was tempted to put this in a different category, this seemed like the best place to put it.

What Comes After by Mornrandir

More than a year after the apocalypse, the world is starting to move on. Georgie, Melanie, and Basira have learned to move on and get back to living their lives. Then Martin reappears- without Jon- and they have to learn to begin again.

A series based around the initial above description, each entry in the series follows the healing of first Martin, then Jon, then both of them together. While I am a Jon-centric woman, if you are of a more Martin-centric leaning, this first fic in the series should scratch that itch. The final entry is very sweet, and the second definitely has a unique reason as to why Jon shows up so late to the after-Fears party.

The Watcher’s Cows by lenioia

He still remembers the first cup of tea Martin brought him. That’s where it began, not with the dog incident. A sweet and strong blend, reasons for appearance unknown, how could it taste so good, also unknown. Jon stares at what will be the last cup between them. His miserable parting gift. Where it’ll end.

Alt Mag 200, or in a slightly kinder universe which differs by exactly one cup of tea, Martin is the one who switches plan last minute, and Jon’s last half-backed scheme, for once, works.

An AU splitting off MAG 199/200, where Jon’s plan actually happens, but instead of it being quite so bleak he finds a new path with the help of Martin. I know the original ending of the series is probably the most hopeful one realistically, but we all enjoy our fixits here, so this is a really sappy “by the power of love” Jon and Martin save the universe and still get to live in it AU. Highly highly recommend, and it finished within the last 8 months, so it’s “on the newer side” as it were. If you haven’t read it, give it a shot, and if you’ve read it and it’s been awhile now’s a good time to read it again.

The Eyespot Chronicles (series) by SupposedToBeWriting

To Martin Blackwood's surprise, he wakes up in the ruins of the Magnus Institute. He thought he would be dead. The world is back to normal, the Entities are gone, and everyone realizes that it's finally over. The only sticking point is that Jon isn't exactly the Jon that went into the apocalypse. Never one to give up, Martin is determined to make a life for himself and his boyfriend. Even if he is a giant moth.

Summary taken from the first in the series, this trilogy of fics covers Jon and Martin’s attempts at healing in a world that remembers what happened. The first fic focuses entirely on Martin’s struggles, the second on Jon’s, and the 3rd (as you might guess) focuses on them both. The series is excellent, and if you’ve got the fortitude for canon-typical emotional constipation after having just experienced MAG-200 it’s well worth the read.

Another Guest for Mr. Spider by Dribbledscribbles

Jon isn't eating his statements like he should.

Mr. Spider doesn't like it.

Written in transcript format, this AU considers the idea of what if the Web was more hands on it it’s approach to getting Jon to Become more monstrous; or at least not starve himself out. Incredible read, you need an AO3 account though. But I have never been that spooked by a Statement or encounter before I read this fic. If you DO NOT like spiders on you or in your mouth and you don’t like reading about it either, potentially hold off on this fic, or at least skip from where Mr. Spider says “Open your mouth. Do not move.” to when he says “Wash it down with this. Now.” But yeah if you didn’t get enough spider trauma from canon, this fic gives it in spades! (And if you want Mr. Spider getting his comeuppance, you get that too ;) )

Illicio by ThatOneGirlBehindYou

As the new Archivist debates between life and death, the Eye ponders on what to offer him in order to avoid an encore of the unfortunate situation with his predecessor.

-----

Gerard Keay opens his eyes at what feels like fuck-ass in the morning, inside a room with far too little space and far too much dust.

A long form AU of what if Gerry Keay was brought back by the Eye to convince Jon to stay on team Monster if you will. Goes all the way through MAG-200, has some great twists and turns, and manages to turn into an “Everyone Lives AU” as well. While it is currently updating, it’s updating every week on Saturday till it finishes, and she only has 2 chapters left. If you’ve managed to never read this, now is certainly the time for it! It is Jon/Gerry/Martin, so if that’s not your exact cup of tea I’d still say give it a shot.

we should ride this wave to shore by ClarionGlass

“archives research & statement envestigation” Timothy Stoker renamed the group “drinks drinks drinks” Timothy Stoker changed Sasha James’s nickname to saucy sash Timothy Stoker changed Martin Blackwood’s nickname to martini kart Timothy Stoker changed his nickname to stonked stonked: so how bout it lads saucy sash: oh god. A TMA group chat fic where the worst problems they have to deal with start with "h" and end with "angovers"

Right, I don’t tend to read chat fics, I’m going to be honest with you all. I have two exceptions and this is one of them. It goes interesting places, the characters are not completely OOC, if it they are at least it’s consistent OOC and not in a grating way. But in all seriousness, I recommend this because of how it ties in with MAG 160 and 200; as well as how the sequel deals with canon S5. The sequel isn’t finished and is slow to update, but I am still recommending at the very least the first one. It’s a good romp and I highly recommend.

Ask an Exec: How to Navigate Cultish Colleagues, Soul-Stealing Bosses, and the End of the World at Work by shinyopals

I've recently been unexpectedly promoted to lead a department in my organisation, wrote the anonymous emailer.

As there was no one working here when I arrived, my manager, who is head of the organisation, had promised me the choice of my own assistants. However, without warning, he simply presented me with an additional assistant. This new assistant’s first act on his first day was to let a dog into the office. It took several hours to catch and clean up after this dog and it has only been downhill from there. I admit I'm not entirely sure what to do with this assistant now I'm stuck with him. I'm hoping you have some advice?

Kind regards, New Manager

Abigail Bailey runs a successful management advice blog. One frequent contributor is from a workplace with some... issues.

While this isn’t quite an AU and is basically canon compliant, I’m putting it here because it’s a “what if Jon was an avid seeker of advice on a management advice blog?” AU. It’s beautifully formatted, and features very in character interactions. If you are a sucker for the TMA trope: how do normal people react to the weirdness at the Institute, then this is a great fic for you. I know it’s probably one of the most popular things to have hit the Jonathan Sims tag on AO3 in recent months, but this is just me reminding you all it exists and well worth the re-read.

JMart Fluff

Author CirrusGrey

Literally anything by them. I think I probably recommend them every time I talk about JMart, but I think on AO3 they are both the most prolific and one of the best writers for the tag. Pick almost any fic they’ve written for TMA and it’s probably JMart. There’s too many fics of their’s to recommend, so I’ll just link you straight to their profile and you can go swimming from there lol.

Jon’s Moving Castle by IceEckos12

Martin Blackwood may not have a perfect life, but he does have a good one. That is, until a series of magical encounters leave him with an unfortunate curse. Out of other options, he goes to the wizard who lives in the moving castle for aid.

Life never goes how he intends it to, though.

Basically Howl’s Moving Castle, but with a TMA spin. You don’t need to have seen the movie to understand what’s going on, and honestly while it sticks fairly close to the movie, it doesn’t stick so close that it feels constrained by it in places where it wouldn’t make sense in the AU they’ve set up. It’s a very sweet JMart fic with a satisfying conclusion.

The 101 Kidnappings of Jonathan Sims (and Other Inconveniences) by beetlejoos

Martin Blackwood never applies for a job at the Magnus Institute. The universe seems determined that he meets Jonathan Sims anyway. But is it Fate, or something more sinister, that keeps bringing the two of them together?

Right, this mostly crack treated seriously. It’s got hurt/comfort, but it’s fairly light hearted throughout. As one could guess by the title and description, Jon is repeatedly kidnapped and brought to wherever Martin is living/working at the time. While it’s not done yet, and not on a schedule, the chapters that are out thus far are well worth the read. That and there’s some cute fan art for it that’s linked to in the end notes. But I recommend this because it’s got that vibe of S1 Jon meets S1 Martin outside of the Institute and romance (eventually) happens. Very fun read if you haven’t read it yet.

i think we’re alone now + alone-verse (series) by milliganopen

Just a couple of guys breaking into a basement. What could go wrong?

Getting trapped in your apartment with your boss, that's what.

Season 1 re-imagined if Jon and Martin had been trapped by Jane Prentiss together.

Initially I recommended this back when we had hit MAG039/022 because it was a great AU to Martin’s Statement where Jon also gets trapped in Martin’s apartment during Martin’s no good very bad 2 weeks of worm siege. HOWEVER, the author has since continued this series and is slowly working their way through canon one season/fic at a time. They’re currently on S3, and I am definitely keeping an eye on it for whenever the next update happens. If you haven’t had the time to check it out, it’s got some very good JMart moments, and their relationship manages to move faster than a glacier.

Fate, or Something by HermaeusMora

"You can't be serious." Jonathan Sims raises his eyes at last to properly look at Georgie, expecting her to laugh and make some quip about finally getting him to put the damn book down, at least.

"Well, I am," she shoots back.

He sets his book aside and turns fully towards her, betrayal clear on his face. "A blind date, really?"

Jon makes the frankly terrible decision to go on a blind date with one Martin Blackwood. Fate ensues. AU where Jon and Georgie are still friends, Georgie likes finding dates for her friends, Martin doesn't work at the institute, and everyone is just a bit happier while canon spooky stuff goes on in the background. Takes place juuust barely pre-canon in the beginning but catches up quickly. Inspired as usual by the wonderful conversations with my friend RavenXavier/somuchbetterthanthat.

A fun AU that challenges the idea that Jon and Martin are incompatible a la MAG199. Excellently done and well worth the time to check it out.

Diary by luftballoons99

Not for the first time since they ran away together, a camera reel of all the things they don't know about one another whirs behind Martin's eyes, and he can't help but look at all the sprawling magnetic tape and wonder if they’re going to wind up a romance or a tragedy.

or: Office parties, garage bands, and the joy of being known.

A bit of a bittersweet mostly fluff oneshot focused on Jon and Martin having a night in at the Safehouse and talking about good things from their pasts. (Warning, the sequel is rated E(xplicit) for a reason, so I am only recommending Diary. Both are stand alone however.)

Weaving My Heartstrings by arms_full_of_hyacinths

At least he was someone. Someone who could deal with the spiders. That was probably the source of the nerves unspooling like magnetic tape to fill Jon’s stomach with buzzing static butterflies.

Yes, Martin was much bigger than a spider. He was probably the kind of person who cupped them in his hands and talked to them as he walked them out into the garden, which shouldn’t be giving Jon a burst of warm feeling at all, since his preferred method of spider disposal was simply to squash them on sight.

Martin likes Jon almost as much as Jon hates spiders. When a statement from an institute employee sends them spiraling into the center of a complicated web, they'll need to rely on each other if they want to make it out alive.

Bit of an odd suggestion to close us out, but this one is a fun almost episodic plot about an original Statement and the shenanigans Jon and Martin get into trying to research it. It’s very good, features some very on point S1 Jon and Martin along with a bit of a fast forward on their relationship throughout.

And with that, I’ve probably overstayed my welcome lol. I hope you found something new to read! If not, I at least hope that you had fun rereading some old faves. This has taken me a day or two to compile and format, so I hope you all enjoy in whatever capacity that ends up being! Happy end of A Mag A Day, and it was a joy walking alongside you all. Congrats to A MAG A Day blog owners on all your hard work for the last ~210 days and with this post I wish you all a very fond farewell.

#a mag a day #the magnus archives #mag 200 #tma fic rec #fic rec #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #jonmartin #jmart #georgie #melanie

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