#i don’t have any friends on this platform

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

Hello! I'm so sorry because this is a bit random and you definitely don't have to answer. But I'm a writer too and is it just me or has Tumblr been seeing much less interactions with fanworks these days? People aren't reblogging the way they used to and it's bugging me. Someone reblogged one of my fics this morning with "I don't usually repost fics but this one stole my heart" and I'm pleased with the compliment obviously but it did rub me the wrong way... Tumblr has no algorithm that'll push fanworks to you, and if you like something you're a lil bit responsible for it being shared. And while I do thankfully receive compliments and encouragement on that blog, on another it's just... It feels a bit like they don't care for the author, they just want the fics.

I know this was a bit random, apologies again! I just didn't know who else to take this too. Hope you're having a wonderful week!

I mean, I do agree with you on the “people unfortunately no longer engage with or reblog stuff like they used to in the past” though, as a fellow writer, I don’t believe anybody is “responsible” for reblogging things they enjoy, be it fanfiction or anything. like… yes, reblog means a whole lot to us artists. Like as a function — for Tumblr — doesn’t actually help that much (Like still helps, we still appreciate Like, but it’s not as effective as Reblog), because unlike other social media platforms, Tumblr Like isn’t going to get the content spread to wider audiences. but still, I don’t want to guilt trip anybody into thinking that “reblogging stuff you enjoy is a Must on Tumblr” because then it kind of becomes a “responsibility”, and I don’t think “responsibility on anybody’s end (be it artists’ or audiences’)” is why we create art to begin with, be it fanfiction or fan art or any other form of art.

instead I’d like to encourage people to please reblog the stuff they like. we do appreciate you if you like our posts, but we will appreciate you even more if you reblog and help our content reach wider audience.

please please please please don’t be shy to reblog what you like. reblogging is also a great motivation for your favorite artists to create more art you can enjoy.

reblog is like giving your friend a cup of hot chocolate as a way of thanking them for giving you a gift (fanfic or fanart), in the sense that it’s not your ‘responsibility’ to give your friend a cup of hot chocolate because when your friend gifts you the gift (fanfic or fanart), they do it out of love, not because they demand something in return from you, but your friend will still greatly appreciate the cup of hot chocolate nonetheless, and there will more likely be more gifts (fanfic or fanart) from them this way.

[acotarxreader]

Superfan

Azriel x Reader

Synopsis: Azriel, Cassian and Mor find themselves at the number one underground lounge in the Winter Court, ready to strike a deal to unearth information on Koschei. While waiting for the meeting, the three get to experience a show like no other, with you taking center stage.

Warning: Banter, snark, angst, blood, throat slicing, hints at abuse and capture. YN goes by a different name for a bit

A/N: Hi guys! Sorry for the long long wait on any writing from me, I have been absolutely insane with college and completely at a loss for any creativity. I hope you enjoy this friend!

Forgive any mistakes, I'm very very rusty!

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“And you’re sure this monkey suit is necessary?” Azriel gestured briefly to the decadent suit Mor had insisted he wore. 

“This is an high class extremely exclusive venue Az, the blood-stained leathers don’t suit the aesthetic…or mine” She did a small spin in the shimmering crimson dress that hung on every curve, Azriel fighting the urge to roll his eyes. 

“Guys look at these tiny sandwiches!” Cass managed through mouthfuls of minuscule cucumber sandwiches that he scoffed from a silver tray he nicked from a member of staff. Mor pinched the space between her eyebrows, trying to remain composed as Azriel reached for a sandwich. 

“No! No little sandwiches! This is a nice place! We will show the decorum the Night Court is known for!” She batted the sandwich from Aziels mitts, a scorn puppy look gracing his face. 

“Fine” She sighed, snatched the tray from Cassian allowing the Shadowsinger a reward.

The three hung from the decadent bar of the exclusive lounge buried deep in the Winter Court, a flute of liquid starlight in each of their hands. Rhythmic music filled the art deco venue, sending Mor's foot tapping, a knowing look growing on Azriel’s face.

“We meet the owner and then we go, that was the plan” he said clearly as Mor tipped the remainder of her drink into her mouth. The warning came too late, Mor took hold of the two Illryians hands attempting to pull them to the dance floor, only Cassian going willingly. 

“No, no, I’ll wait for the contact, you two can dance” he laughed, Mor shrugging her shoulders without care and dragging Cassian to dance. Azriel nodded his head gently to the lively music as the room began to grow with more and more people, the music changing perfectly to match the swelling energy of the bustling crowd. The band had the room in their hand as Azriel ordered another drink, practically the only person not on the dance floor. 

“Can I get the same again?” He asked to the small fae behind the bar. While watching her make his drink, the sound of a quiet alarm rang in his ears, his shadows beginning to swirl slightly in alarm. Azriel then noticed all the staff behind the bar seemingly slip something into their ears, he turned on his heel and watched the band do the same, all without disrupting the crowd's feverish dancing. The fae slid the tumbler along the bartop on a small pink napkin before taking payment and returning to her work. Azriel quickly took the napkin, ripping sections off into little makeshift earplugs he jammed into his ears while scanning the crowd for his chosen family. 

“Welcome everybody! We here at The Glamour Gallery know you can’t wait to bask in the stylings of the incomparable, indescribably, irreplaceable, Circe!” The crowd erupted in cheers, Azriel still frantically scanning the room as his shadows lept to more energy than before. 

A low smoke filled the floor of the stage as you were raised up through a platform in the stage, one hand raised and the other gripping the microphone, the room somehow even louder than before. The moonstone shimmering slip dress you swirled is reflected in the stage lights like the moon itself. 

“Oh Hi!” You gave a little wave with your fingertips to the wild crowd. Azriel couldn’t take his eyes off you, everyone but the staff shared the same feeling. You launched into an upbeat song, the crowd utterly enamoured as Azriel felt glued to the floor, unable to move while watching you. The lively song flowed from one to the other until you arrived at your final song. 

“Well, we have arrived at the end of our show-” the crowd booed, the lights in the room lowering, a single spotlight falling on you “-but I bet you have time for one more song!” You grinned from ear to ear before placing the microphone on the stand. You lightly gripped the stand two silver bracelets glinting in the light before one clear low note left you, the crowd stopping its wild partying to lock full focus onto you, feet affixed to the spot. You sang without the accompaniment of the band, the slow almost eerie song that flowed from you had the whole room fixated on every glorious note. 

Azriel was the only one other than staff who seemed to be able to move his feet from the spot. His shadows swirled around his chin, to his ears, in an attempt to block them more than the tissue paper could. The sound of your voice was intoxicating, pulling air out of the room to replace it with the sound of delicate notes. 

With one final whisper of the last remaining note, the lights in the room came back up as you raised your arms to shoulder height. The trance on the crowd seemingly coming to an end as you took a deep bow, the crowd erupting into cheers again. The platform that raised you began to sink again, dipping you beyond view beneath the stage leaving the band to erupt into a cheerful tune once again. Azriel watched the staff remove their earplugs allowing him to feel comfortable to do the same. 

“Wasn’t she absolutely world-altering!” Cassian found Azriel’s side, snatching his unsipped drink from the bar top and downing the lot, a light mist of sweat from dancing painted on his brow. 

“Do you guys… feel okay?” Azriel couldn’t shake the feeling he was missing something massive as Mor came laughing to their side, raising a hand to order another drink.

“I hope this meeting goes well, I want to come here every Saturday!” She beamed, Azriel’s eye snagging on a tall broad fae cutting through the crowd with ease. 

“I think we’re about to find out” Azriel gestured with his chin to the foreboding male. 

“Welcome Night Court, I am Dayle, forgive my tardiness, I thought you’d enjoy our wonderful Circe” “Oh, we absolutely did!” Cassian couldn’t contain his excitement at the mention of your performance, one of Azriel’s shadows nipped his ankle in warning. 

“That’s great General, now please follow me to my private quarters” the male grinned, it unsettling something the the shadowsingers bones, his family seemingly unfazed. 

-

The meeting was not going to plan for the Night Court and Azriel couldn’t seem to make sense of the unusual compliance that came from Cassain and Mor. The plan was to discuss the whereabouts of the Koschei’s battalions located in the seasonal courts and somewhere along the way the discussion of trade came up. 

“So I think we are agreed, the Night Court taverns will supply our premium liquor and discontinue any non-Night Court competition” Dayle tented his fingers together, delighted the meeting with the infamous Court was going his way. 

“I still think-”

“We are agreed” Mor and Cassian cut Azriel off in unison before Dayle skillfully changed the subject to other possible trade routes before they could go back on their word. Azriel felt a headache growing, deciding he needed air from the suddenly suffocating room. 

“I’m going to call this meeting to a break” He stood, the table all staring, the hands of Dayle's armed guards traipsing over their weapons. 

“We can continue without you while you freshen up” Dayle declared.

“Well-” “Yeah Azriel, go and come back when you’re ready, we got it” Mor beamed, Cassian nodded in agreement. The uncanny valley energy from the two made Azriel’s skin crawl and he felt he needed space from them to figure out what was going on. 

Azriel rushed through the club's basement, looking for the exit, his shadows leaping ahead of him before abruptly stopping at a solid oak door. The shadowsinger practically skid on his heels in front of the door, a key hanging from the lock. Something compelled Azriel to unlock the heavy door, stepping into the darkened room, one single window in the corner of the basement. It was like a small self-contained apartment, a rack of various gowns hung delicately next to a decadent dresser. 

The shadows leapt towards one of the two other doors in the room, eager to cross. Azriel took careful steps over plush blush rugs, bypassing the four-post bed that looked untouched. He carefully pulled back the door revealing a room dug into the bedrock beneath the club, strong smells of salt radiated from the deep rockpool in the centre of the cave-like room.

Azriel whipped around on his heels, raising a hand to block a frying pan as it swung for the back of his head. You shrieked as he deflected you with ease, swinging a leg out to kick him square in his crotch. For the countless times that day, Azriel cursed the suit he wore as he crouched to the ground in pain.

“Who are you and how did you get down here!?” You barked, wielding the frying pan like a sword towards a breathless Azriel. 

“S-sorry I was looking for the-the exit-” Azriel looked up through his eyelashes to the rim of the pan “-what was the plan, fry me a breakfast that would give me heart disease and then just wait?” He laughed lightly before rising. For a second time that day, the wind was knocked out of him, his eyes landing on your shimmering silver-grey ones, you broke the gaze, stepping back from him. 

“I don’t believe you, who are you? Some stalker?” You put a hand on your hip, one of your silver bracelets clinking off the handle of the frying pan as you lowered it. 

“No, although I’d imagine you have quite a few after a performance like that” 

“What do you want? An autograph?” You span from him, striding over to your dresser and pulling a signed picture from the drawer, Azriel following you closely. He looked down at the headshot, something vacant from your eyes and he found himself laughing. 

“Gods, some ego you have”

“Ego? What other excuse have you for breaking into my room? If you're not a pervert then you’re a superfan?”

“And those are my only options?” He laughed again, watching you set down the frying pan, your two hands find your hips. 

“Pain in the ass might also work in this case” You smirked, sinking to sit on the bench of your vanity. 

“I’m here from the Night Court” Azriel watched you stiffen, the usual garnered response but something different danced across your eyes.

“Oh…and you saw my show?” “Conceted much? But yes I saw your show, quite a response you can get from the crowd, I suppose that’s why you’re paid the big money” He laughed, but watched you flinch slightly from his words. 

“Look, you should go before they find out you’re in here, Dayle isn’t one to like to share” You crossed your legs, fighting the urge to play with your bracelets. 

“And you belong to him?” He grinned until you turned from him to face the mirror, brushing through your hair with a soft brush, dismissing the shadowsinger. 

“Okay then princess, I’ll leave you to your pampering” He tucked his hands into his pocket as he reached the door. You met his eyes in the mirror as he looked over his shoulders until you span back to him before standing. 

“Tell me, what is your business with Dayle?”

“Court business” he shrugged as you crossed the floor to the doorway, Azriel just about crossing the threshold of the hallway.

“Okay well… don’t sign anything and next time you meet make sure it isn’t here” “And risk missing another one of your glamorous shows?” he scoffed, your eyes rolling. 

“No, just trust me” “Trust you? You’re a lounge singer for some sketchy male, how am I trust you?”

“I’m the only one you can trust in here Shadowsinger” You smirked, closing the door in Azriel’s face before he could question how you knew him. 

-

The remainder of the meeting was Azriel deflecting further agreements much to the whole table's annoyance. 

“I think we’ve reached an impasse, perhaps we should continue this meeting another time?” Dayle swirled his goblet of deep maroon before swallowing the remains. Azriel agreed as he stood, his family joining him, their faces somewhat pale. 

“You’re welcome to come back next Saturday and we will try this meeting again”

Azriel cut off the eagerness of his friends before it could begin again “No no, how about you come to the Night Court? We are holding an event in Hewn City next Saturday, please come and allow us to host you with the same courtesy you have shown us tonight” Your warning echoed in Azriel’s head as he made his invitation, he would do everything he could to never have to come back here again. After a few moments of silence, it was agreed that the next venue would be on home turf.

-

The next week Azriel took a small sip from his tumbler, delighted to be allowed to wear his leathers in his home court. Feyre and Rhysand sat upon their dais, surveying their Court with pride. The event combined the solar courts in one place, with hopes that information the three had gathered in Winter could be shared with the close allies. A thud of a door swinging open bounced off the rock walls as Dayle and his associates entered in their familiar over-the-top fashion. Azriel’s eye roll was stopped mid-way as his gaze landed on you, two large escorts on either side of you, a dress of long fine glittering gold hanging from your shoulders, your head dipped in submission. Azriel made short work of the walk to the dais, in time to hear Dayle's introduction to the High Lord and Lady. 

“Thank you for your warm welcome and continued business” Dayle sank into a shallow bow, Rhysand furrowing his bow. 

“Yes, I was told of the trade offers that were made to you on behalf of my court, Further discussion will be needed” Cassian fixed his eyes to the ground under Rhysand’s sharp tone, trying to block out the argument Mor, Rhysand and himself had gotten into when they returned home. 

“Yes, wonderful agreements were made and in thanks, I have brought my lovely Circe here to perform for you all!” Dayle gestured towards you with a swooping arm, indicating for you to step forward. You did so reluctantly, lifting your head to meet the eyes of the most feared High Lord in all of Prythain, but it was his Shadowsinger who you wanted to avoid the gaze of. 

“Lovely-” Feyre gave you a soft but powerful smile before gesturing towards the band “-they will accompany your singing, Mor and Cassian spoke very highly of you”

“Thank you very much my lady-” you took a deep bow “-but I prefer to sing without music” The two raised an eyebrow at you as you rose again. Azriel stepped forward offering his hand for you to take, which you took reluctantly. 

“Let me show you the stage” He said through gritted teeth as he guided you away from your guards.

“What exactly is the aim here?” Azriel said under a hushed breath, tightening his grip on your arm. 

“I’m here to sing, you’ll all listen, that tends to be the whole schtick” You smirked, Azriel stopping to spin you to face him at the foot of the stage. 

“How did you know me the last day?” “The whole wings and slinky shadows kinda gave you away” You laughed, a hand finding your hip before you took a big step up to the stage. Azriel huffed, moving to leave you “Azriel wait” you said quietly, he turned reluctantly to catch a small cardboard box in his hands, opening it to reveal small orange seashells, he only raised an eyebrow. 

“Put them in your ears when I sing, don’t let them see you do it-” he went to question you further but you cut him off “-just do it if you insist on staying for the performance” and with that you found centre stage. 

“Hello everyone, my name is Circe and I am delighted to perform for you tonight, a ballad of unity and allyship, all which we want here tonight” A persona overtook you as you spoke, making Azriel’s blood boil. A low haunting note echoed from your voice the moment you were confident you had everyones attention, Azriel shoving the shells into his ears before hearing you continue.

A similar phenomenon as last week began, everyone took to the dance floor to watch, all but the males you arrived with who hung out in the wings. He attempted to make his way through the crowd to where Feyre and Rhysand swayed but the crowd had got too big too fast and he struggled to even get halfway. You continued your haunting song until one last high note painted the walls of the ballroom. The crowd erupted with cheers as you took a deep bow before gesturing for the band to start playing. At the sound of their first note, you leapt from the short stage and followed close to Azriel, a hand falling on his shoulder. 

“Azriel, ask me to dance” You gave a panicked order, your guards beginning to cross the crowded dance floor towards the two of you. Azriel raised an eyebrow but followed your eyeline to the large males and then took your hand. He delicately placed a hand on your waist as a lively waltz began to play from the orchestra, the crowd danced as if in a trance. 

“You have to get your High Lord and Lady out of here, don’t let them meet with him” you said under hushed breath, Azriel’s eyes widening as he attempted to let go of your hand, your grip tightening. 

“Not yet, they'll know I told you to wait until the end of the next song”

“Circe, what’s going on?” you seemingly flinched at his use of that name. 

“My name is YN, not Circe, don’t ask too many questions” “What? Who are you?” “That's a question” You locked a steely gaze on him but it did not shake him. 

“Answer me” Azriel stepped in closer concealing your words from your guards who struggled in the crowd. 

“Is that a dagger in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” “Two things can be true” he grinned, allowing himself to be lost for a moment in your mirror-like eyes and you laughed, a genuine laugh, Azriel desperate to hear the sound again. 

“So you are a superfan?” “I’m a fan of YN, not of Circe, she seems fake” he admitted daring for more information. 

“She is and that’s why you have to trust me and get your High Lord and Lady out of here” “What’s going to happen to them?” he questioned you as he swirled you with the music. 

“It's what’s already happened to them” 

“What? What did they do to them?” “Actually-” you looked down to your feet as they moved with the music “- it was me, what I did to them” The song ended and you released Azriel, stepping back to the edge of the dancefloor as the next song began. 

“Wait YN!” He reached back for you only to see one of the large males from earlier reach your side, burning his fingertips into the side of your arm. Azriel could feel his blood boil at the sight of your discomfort but before he could intervene Dayle was at his side. 

“Hello Spymaster, enjoy the show?” 

“Life changing really, earth moving” Azriel did his best to mimic Cassian and Mor from last week, his eyes not leaving yours as they pleaded with him to not make a scene. 

“Excellent, now I believe there's business to attend to” a sickly grin painted the giant male's face as he gestured towards the door they had entered. Azriel turned to find Feyre and Rhysand still dancing, Mor and Cassian joining the revelry. 

“I’ll be one moment” Azriel rushed from Dayle to his family where he pleaded with them to leave the party, their glazed eyes meeting his. The sight turned Azriel’s stomach as he looked around the room for help, only to see you being reprimanded in the corner of the room. He knew they must have seen you speak with one another, certain punishment to come.

Azriel didn’t have any more pleas in him, instead just grabbed his friend's hands and winnowed out, your warning unnerving him to no end. By the time he winnowed back to get you, you and your cohort were gone. He then decided that for the rest of his time, he would choose you over his role in the Night Court, a promise he thought he’d never make to anyone.

-

“So, it's agreed, we get the information, we get out. We don’t eat or drink anything and we don’t see any show” Azriel agreed with Cassain as Mor joined their side, once again back at the Glamour Gallery. They still had to seek information on the battalions and this time they were all laser-focused and arrived unannounced at the Lounge. Dayle was furious at their abrupt arrival, and even more furious when the three refused to watch your rehearsal. Sat around a large oak table, a stalemate in negotiations had been reached, with Mor leading the charge as fiercely as Azriel knew she could. A wave of unease washed over Azriel, his shadows pulling at the ends of his leathers beneath the table, willing him to follow. 

“I must go to the bathroom!” Azriel announced abruptly, cutting across Mor’s sharp tone to her annoyance. 

“Okay…we’ll escort you” Dayle nodded to the tall male stood behind Azriel’s chair. 

“That’s okay… I’ll winnow home…I’d eh I’d prefer that” Cassian tried not to laugh as Azriel dissolved into shadows. 

The thud of Azriel’s boots filled the empty hall outside your room, he scanned the hallway before ducking inside your locked room. The room was dimly lit, the rack of your dresses thrown asunder, the lights of your vanity flickering. Azriel called your name quietly, it echoing off the empty room, his shadows racing ahead to the door into the room with the saltwater pool. Azriel looked to see the blush carpet stained with a deep red and indigo, the four-post bed disrupted, a chill rattling down Azriel’s spine as he slowly pulled open the other door. 

“Y-N… what the fuck!” Azriel bolted towards your slack body, like a sunken log in the forest alongside a drained pool. He rolled you over gently, your face tinged blue, limbs too weak to sit up in his told, your mauve blood covering your lips and collar bones, forever staining the pearl colour slip dress on your weakening body. 

“W-water” You managed, a frail limb managing to point to the empty pool. Azriel felt centuries of emergency training leave his brain at the sight of you. 

“I’ll go to the tap, don’t move!” He went to gently lay you back, only to have your feeble grip cling to him. 

“N-no sssea” 

“The sea?” Confusion coloured Azriel as he pulled you up into his arms as he stood, without a second thought, he attempted to winnow you both out of there, failing. 

“I-I can’t leave with-without key” You used the last remains of your energy to lightly jingle your two wrists, the silver bracelets rattling off of your bones. 

“He’s keeping you prisoner? He has the key?” you nodded subtly, springing Azriel into action. He gently placed you down on the dishevelled bed before winnowing back to the meeting room.

“Az!” Mor shouted as Azriel pinned Dayle to the wall, his body cracking the plaster as Azriel slammed him into it. 

“Any of you move and I kill him!” He barked, removing Truth Teller from his thigh and pressing it into Dayle's throat, a single drop of his blood running down the gleaming silver. 

“Where’s the key?” he chewed out, veins in his hands popping with rage and pressure that he held Dayle with. 

“What key Az?” 

“He knows Cass, he knows what key” A sickly twisted smirk grew on Dayle's face at Azriel’s words. 

“Ah my lovely Circe has gotten to you” he choked out, Azriel jostling him slightly.

“The key” he demanded. 

“You’re not the first to fall for the siren's song to the point of insanity” Siren. You were a siren, the realisation rushed to him, the saltwater pool, the indigo blood, the small orange sea shells, the captivating voice. 

“Oh? She didn’t tell you?” a weak but twisted laugh left Dayle, Azriel applying more pressure. 

“Where’s the key, I won’t ask again” Dayle's hand went slowly to his wrist, pulling his cufflink off,  the smallest silver key Azriel had ever seen formed from its metal. 

“Good boy” and then Azriel sliced, the spray of maroon covering the front of his leathers as Dayle's blood splattered him. Before Dayle reached the ground, Azriel released three more blades with a swift turn, killing the three guards in the room. 

“This is not the diplomacy we should aim for!”

“Really Mor, this is the kind I aim for-” Cassain laughed “-what’s with the sudden violence Az-Az?” But he was gone. 

-

The waves of the Velaris bay were rough and foamy, a storm setting in for the night as Azriel landed you both on the shore. He clung to your body as he stepped into the freezing cold waves, bracing for the rush of endorphins the freezing water would bring. He walked until you were fully submerged, past where the waves broke to where it was calm. The water glowed on contact with your wounds, sealing the slits on contact, your eyes flickering open at the taste of the salty water on your lips. 

“Th-thank you” You breathed, releasing your arms from around his neck to float in the water. 

“So, a siren? I thought you guys were extinct?”

“Just made me more valuable to Dayle, I was going to tell you, I'm sorry” You made waves with your arms as you floated on your back. 

“It's been centuries since I’ve been in the real sea” you gushed, submerging fully before meeting Azriel’s eyes, then noticing the swirl of red in the water around him. 

“Are you hurt?” Your hand met his cheek softly, scanning him for wounds. 

“That's Dayles, he won’t come for you here, he won’t come for anyone anywhere actually” He laughed a little macabre laugh, your hand falling to his shoulder. 

“Thank you, Azriel, how could I ever repay you?” “Live your life YN…and never sing for my family again” he laughed more cheerfully this time, a smile dashing across your face. 

“Deal” you smiled, putting out your hand to shake his. The contact beneath the water felt electric, helping you to feel alive again. 

“Just come back and visit me” he said sadly and you nodded moving to force yourself to swim away. 

“YN…before you go, can you, can you sing for me?” the question caught you off guard, no one willingly wanted a sirens song, it normally certain death or full control handed over. 

“I would never Azriel, you’re the one person I don’t want to hear my song”

“I want to know all of you” Azriel pulled you back against his chest, captivating your mouth with his. His warm lips tasted the salt on yours, drinking in every and all flow of energy. Your arms stretched around his neck as he found your waist, anchoring him to you. 

“Hey if you two are finished playing mermaids, we gotta go clean up Azzies little mess!” Cassian called from the shore, tucking himself further into his leather jacket, the bitting wind nipping him. 

“I don’t ever want to be finished playing with you” Azriel whispered, taking your hand beneath the water as you both began to wade to the shore. 

“I knew you were a super fan”

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

Whatcha think! Did you see the taylor reference?

[winchesterwild78]

Second Take pt 4

Master List

Characters: Jensen x Reader, Karl Urban, Eric Kripke, other characters from the set of The Boys

Warnings: Fluff, angst, talk of divorce

A/N: The reader and Jensen fly back to Texas. Jensen and Danneel tell the kids they are divorcing. A photo is taken that causes some problems. 

This is a work of fiction and does not depict real life. 

Reblogs, comments and likes are appreciated. 

Please don’t take my work and use it as your own or on any other platform. 

Minors DNI 18+

The next morning the alarm woke us up early. Our bodies tangled with the sheets and Jensen’s arms were still draped around me. 

We both stretched and Jensen pulled me close, placing a soft kiss on my forehead. 

“Good morning, beautiful.” I smiled sleepily, “Good morning to you too, handsome.” 

“I could get used to waking up beside you again.” “Me too, Jensen.”

We laid holding each other for a few more minutes then decided we needed to get up. “Our plane leaves in about 3 hours. We need to get to the airport early so we can get through security and be checked in.”

I nodded and climbed out of bed. Jensen jumped in the shower while I started making coffee and breakfast. 

My phone went off with a text. I looked at the screen and it was one of my friends. 

Tia: What are you doing this weekend? I’m thinking about a girls day.

Me: Oh I’m about to go out of town for a bit. I’m actually boarding a plane soon.

Tia: Dang it. I swear I never get to see you. Do you have a secret boyfriend I don’t know about?

A lump formed in my throat. She knew Charlie and I broke up, but I haven’t told her about Jensen. 

Me: Oh please. You know I’d tell you if there was something to tell you. 

Tia: You better. Let me know when you land. Love you, girl.

Me: I will. Love you too.

Jensen came into the kitchen with a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair is still damp from the shower and water droplets rolling down his firm chest. 

I bit my lip taking him in. “Damn, Ackles. You look, wow.” He smirked and stepped closer, “Want to get in another round before we leave?” He wiggled his eyebrows. 

The heat raised in my cheeks, “As much as I’d love to, we don’t want to be late and I still need to shower.” 

“All the more reason to go for another round, you still need to shower. Why not make you dirty.” 

I placed my hands on his chest. Feeling the dampness under my fingertips. “Later baby. I promise.” I kissed his lips and went towards the shower. 

A half hour later we were walking into the airport. I kept my distance from Jensen so prying eyes wouldn’t see us. He would glance back and smile at me with eyes full of love and apology.

I checked in and sat outside the gate waiting to be called. Jensen got us seats together, but I figured it would be better to keep our distance in the airport. 

Jensen had security around him. I was in awe watching him. Fans approached him, he took pictures and signed autographs. One girl squealed and looked like she was going to have a panic attack. I chuckled to myself. 

Boarding was called for first class. Jensen was escorted on the plane first. I walked up to the gate and presented my ticket. Walking on the plane I spotted Jensen in his seat. 

I walked over and smiled, “Excuse me sir. I’m in that seat.” I nodded towards the window seat. 

He smirked and stood up. His fingers brushed against me. I put my bag in the overhead and sat down. 

Jensen sat beside me and grabbed my hand. “I missed you baby. I hated not being able to be with you.” “I missed you too, Jens. I understand though. It’s not a good idea yet.” 

He nodded, leaned over and placed a kiss on my lips. My cheeks flushed red and I looked around nervously. “Jens, we have to be careful.” He smirked and shrugged. 

We put our phones in airplane mode and the plane was in the air before we knew it. Jensen and I talked most of the time. 

We talked about our future, how and when he would introduce me to the kids, and how we would navigate our relationship once the divorce is announced. 

Before too long the pilot was announcing our descent into Austin. Jensen took my hand and held it. He leaned over and kissed me. Soft at first and then he deepened it. 

We pulled away and I bit my lip. He chuckled, “I’ll see you outside, babe.” I nodded. 

When we pulled up to the gate security came and took Jensen. He looked back and winked at me. I smiled. Grabbing my stuff I made my way to baggage claim. 

I turned on my phone and it started going crazy. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw messages and tags on social media. I furrowed my brow.

Tia: Girl! What the hell. Is this you?

Tia: *1 image sent*

Tia: Is that really Jensen Ackles?! Call me when you land. It’s all of socials.

I looked at the photo and my heart sank. Someone had taken a picture on the plane of Jensen kissing me. Oh shit! How the hell are we going to explain this? This is going to hurt his image so badly.  

I sent Jensen a text.

Me: Babe, have you seen the picture? Someone took it on the plane.

Jensen: Yeah. I did.

Me: I’m sorry. Maybe me coming was a bad idea. This is going to hurt your image. What about your fans and career?

Jensen: Hey, no. I’m glad you came. Don’t worry about anything. We will figure this out, okay. I promise. I love you, now get your cute ass outside so we can go to the hotel.

I chuckled and grabbed my bag. 

Me: On my way. I love you too.

I walked out of the airport and found Jensen waiting by a car. He got in and I followed. 

We drove to the hotel and he went inside to check us in. He sent me a text with the room number and I walked to the elevator and pushed the floor. 

Walking towards the room my phone went off again.

Tia: Y/N, are you and Jensen dating?

Me: I promise to tell you everything. Just not right now. 

Tia: I hope so, because social media is blowing up saying Jensen is cheating and I know what you look like. That’s you in the pictures. 

Me: Tia, I swear I will explain everything.

I walked to the room and knocked. Jensen opened the door and when I walked in I collapsed in his arms.

“Jens, people think you’re cheating. The things they are saying about me are down right horrible. What do we do now?”

“It’s okay sweetheart. We will handle this.” 

He leaned in to kiss me when his phone rang. It was Danneel. 

I swallowed hard. I could hear his end of the conversation and it sounded bad. 

“Yes I brought her. No, D, I just kissed her. I shouldn’t have kissed her on the plane, but I wasn’t thinking. I’ll be over soon and we can talk to the kids then release a statement together. Yes, I’m aware. Please don’t start. I said I screwed up.” He looked at me and smiled softly. 

When he hung up I just sat in the chair, not sure what to say. 

“So I’m gonna head to the house and we’re going to talk to the kids. I’ll call you when I’m on my way back, okay? Hey, I love you.” 

I nodded. Terrified of what was coming. 

He leaned down and kissed my lips, “Baby everything is going to be alright. I promise.” 

“I shouldn’t have come.” I said with my head down. “What?! No, sweetheart. Don’t say that. I need you here with me.”

“But now there’s a picture of us kissing and it’s going to mess everything up for you.” 

Jensen cupped my face and tilted my head up, “Hey, no. Look at me, Y/N. I love you. I’ve never stopped. I don’t care what anyone thinks. All that matters is what we think and feel.”

I nodded and fought back the tears I felt pricking my eyes.

He kissed me again and then left. My heart pounded in my chest and the weight of everything hung over me. 

I was terrified to call Tia but I needed to clear the air. 

I swallowed and took a deep breath. 

I called her and she picked up almost instantly. 

“Y/N, what the hell is going on and why is Jensen Ackles kissing you?!” 

“Hey T. Um, so we have a lot to talk about.” I told her about everything going on and how we wanted to keep the relationship quiet, but then Jensen kissed me on the plane and it kinda blew up from there. 

“So wait, you were engaged to Jensen years ago, you broke up, he got married, now his marriage is over and you two are together again?” 

“Yeah. That pretty much sums it up.”

“Wow. That sounds like a hell of a roller coaster. Are you okay?” 

“Yeah. I’m just worried about Jensen and his family. I don’t want this to hurt them.” 

“I’m sure everything will work out.” 

We talked for a few more minutes then we hung up. I promised to keep her updated with everything.

Jensen arrived at the house to find the kids playing outside and Danneel in the kitchen. 

“Hey D.” He said when he walked in the house. 

“Hey Jensen. Is Y/N with you?” 

He looked a little confused at the question, “No. She’s at the hotel. She didn’t want to cause any more problems and we decided it was best for me to come alone so we could tell the kids about everything.” 

Danneel nodded. “I understand. I appreciate that. I would like to talk to her face to face.” 

“I’ll let her know. I’m sure she’d like that. So, how did you want to do this?” 

Danneel looked nervous, “Honestly I’m not sure. I’m terrified to tell them. JJ asked me today who was the guy in the house the other day. I swear Jens I thought they were asleep.” 

Jensen was a little taken aback by the thought JJ caught Danneel. “Well, should we call them in? We will reassure them they are loved and explain to them we will be better off separated from each other.” 

Danneel called the kids in and when they saw Jensen they jumped on him. “Daddy!! You’re back! We missed you.” 

“Hey guys, I missed you three so much.” 

Jensen walked towards the couch and had the kids sit down. 

He swallowed hard. He knew this was going to be one of the hardest things he’s ever had to do. 

“Okay guys so Mom and I wanted to talk to you three about something.” 

JJ’s eyes went wide and Jensen could see the tears forming. He grabbed her hand, “Hey J-bird, it’s okay. I promise. Everything is going to be alright.” 

She nodded, but the tears didn’t leave her eyes. 

“Guys, daddy and I have been talking about us and how much we love you three more than anything.” Jensen nodded. 

“The thing is sometimes Mommies and Daddies end up not loving each other anymore and that’s okay. They still love their kids very much. They just don’t stay married anymore.” 

JJ climbed in Jensen’s lap and held on to him, “Daddy are you and mommy going to get a divorce?” 

Arrow and Zeppelin both looked between their parents. 

Jensen took a deep breath, “Yes, baby we are. But we will always love you three and we will always work together for you three. We just don’t love each other anymore. Not like a husband and wife do.” 

There was silence in the room. The kids sat stunned. Then JJ turned to Danneel, “Where are we going to live?” 

“Oh baby, we will still live here. Daddy is going to get another house for you three to stay at too.” 

Jensen nodded, “Yes, when I’m back from filming you guys are coming to stay with me. We will still spend birthdays and holidays together. I promise.” 

“Daddy?” “Yeah buddy?” Jensen looked at Zeppelin. “Did we do something wrong?” 

“Oh buddy, absolutely not. Mommy and daddy just grew apart. It happens and it’s not anyone’s fault. Especially not yours or your sisters.” 

He nodded. 

Jensen and Danneel spent about another hour talking to the kids and explaining things. Telling them they may see things or hear things from people. They told them to come back and talk to them. Jensen and Danneel promised to be honest with the three of them. 

By late afternoon the kids were okay. They were sad but they understood the best they could. Jensen and Danneel told their families and they decided to put out a joint statement. Especially since the plane picture was going viral. 

The joint statement read:

Hey everyone. We wanted to take this opportunity to clear up some things and some questions. Before we start we want to say we appreciate the love and support we receive from all our fans. That being said, we want to announce that we have made the decision to move forward with our divorce. We’ve been separated for a while now but have kept that to ourselves. Only a few people were aware. Deciding to move forward with the divorce was a difficult decision, but one we made together. 

We also want to address the photo that is going around today. Yes, that is Jensen on a plane kissing another woman. They are together, and I fully support their relationship. I’m in a relationship too, and when we all feel comfortable we will be making our relationship public. Until then, please respect everyone’s privacy. Especially our children as we navigate the divorce. Thank you for understanding. We love you all. 

D & J 

Jensen and Danneel posted it on their social media accounts and it instantly went viral. 

Jensen told Danneel he’d be back later today. He hugged the kids and hugged her. Then he left. 

I was sitting on the bed when my phone went off. I looked and saw the post from Jensen. My heart filled with love and sorrow. I was happy but also worried about the kids. 

My phone rang and it was Jensen. “Hello” “Hey sweetheart. I’m on my way back. That was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I’ll tell you about it when I get back. Are you okay? I’m sure you saw the announcement.” 

“Yeah I’m okay. Are you okay? How are the kids?” 

“I’m actually feeling better than I have in a long time. The kids are going to be okay. They need to process it, but they will be fine. I’m almost back at the hotel, so I’ll see you in a minute. I love you.” 

“Okay, Jens. I love you too.” 

We hung up and about five minutes later Jensen was coming through the door. He closed the door and pulled me into a hug and a kiss. “I love you so much.” 

“I love you too, baby.” 

We sat down and he told me what happened. Tears filled his eyes when he told me about Zeppelin. I touched his arm, “Jens, I’m so sorry he felt like that.” 

Guilt began to gnaw at me. I nervously bit my lip. 

Jensen cupped my face, “Hey, they are okay. I promise.” 

I nodded, guilt still lingering. “So D wants to talk to you. She asked if you came with me to the house.” 

I looked at Jensen, questioning and a little nervous. “Why does she want to talk to me?” 

“I’m sure it’s to apologize for slapping you and talk everything out.” I took a breath, “Okay. Whenever she wants to talk I’ll sit down with her.” 

“Okay baby. So I’m heading over there tonight for dinner. I figured the kids needed me. I’m gonna stay for bedtime too. Are you okay with that?” 

“Jensen, you don’t need my permission to spend time with your children. I’ll be fine. Go spend time with your babies.” 

“I’m gonna shower first. Want to join me?” He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. 

I bit my lips and smiled. “Do you want me to?” Jensen pulled me into his arms “Absolutely. Come on beautiful.” 

Tags are open, if you want to be added or removed, let me know.  

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@impala67rollingthroughtown

[astra-galaxie]

Taking a Break

Hi everyone.

As you’ve probably guessed from the title, I am taking a break from the Criminal Case fandom. I’ll be gone for at least 2 weeks, maybe more if needed. While I’m gone, I will not be on any sites, at least not for CC-related reasons, updating any of my stories or posting new content on Tumblr. That means I won’t be checking notifications or even going on some platforms, and I will be leaving all the Discord servers I am in after posting this.

If you need to reach me (please don’t contact me about CC), I will occasionally check my direct messages on Discord.

2024 has so far been the worst year for my mental health, and to summarize how I feel in one sentence: I’m tired, and honestly, I have considered leaving CC more than once. I tried not to let my mental health affect my relationship with CC since it was like the light at the end of the tunnel for me. But with things calming down IRL, I’ve realized how straining CC was on my mental health and a person can only bend so much before they break, and I fear I will break if I do not step away…

I have been in the CC fandom for over 10 years, most of that time spent as a lurker and then as a writer who stayed in a little bubble isolated with my stories and rarely engaging with others. But over time, I came out of my bubble with the help of friends I made through CC and gained even more along the way. However, things have happened recently behind the scenes that are making me consider leaving the fandom, so it's time I take a break and focus on other things for a little while.

This is not goodbye forever. If you know me and my stories, you know my goal is to write every Criminal Case season from 1 to 8 (yes, I will be writing and hopefully improving City of Romance!). I’ve been at it for about 8 years, so I’m too far into things to give up!

But I have another goal, and no, I’m not referring to making headcanons for every CC character. It's to create a safe space for people to share their ideas, thoughts, and opinions without fearing ridicule. There is enough hate in the world, so why should I contribute to it when I can use my platform to be positive instead? It’s why, even when the idea might not be my cup of tea, or I might not understand parts of it, I still encourage people to pursue their ideas and focus on the good things. I hope people know that you can send me the craziest, crack-filled ideas (anonymously or not) and that I will do my best to give positive feedback.

I do give constructive feedback if people ask me to, but again, I’m no Goddess of Writing and Content Creation, so I would never expect people to take my words as gospel. I would never want people to feel they HAVE to change something in their creation just because I suggested it. I want people to be happy with THEIR work, just as I am with mine.

The biggest piece of advice I always give people when they ask for my help or opinion on their project(s) is to write about what makes you happy. While it is important to listen to feedback to learn what you can improve on, ultimately, YOU are the creator. YOU are putting in the time, effort and skills into the project, and if YOU are not happy with what you are creating, then you will lose interest in it. Create things you are happy and proud of. YOU are bringing your ideas to life and sharing them for others to enjoy, not the other way around.

You can never please everyone, but you can always please yourself.

But do NOT use that as an excuse to spam, rage bait, or terrorize others. Everyone is entitled to their likes and dislikes, but you should not force your opinions on others. If you see something you don’t like, just ignore/block it and keep scrolling. It takes much less time than writing a hate comment or making a call-out post. And while sometimes those are reasonably warranted, please still take the time to consider the repercussions of something before you post it and ask yourself: Is it really worth it?

If you’ve stuck with me this long, thank you for listening to my rambling.

Maybe it's naive or wishful thinking to hope people have learned from 2024 and will think before they post, but I hope at least some people will learn from their mistakes or those of others. I know I have learned from the mistakes I’ve made. I don’t think I’m perfect or anyone special because, at the end of the day, I’m just a writer who discovered a hobby for creating fanfiction when they were a teen and somehow gained a following of amazing fans and made fantastic friends along the way. I’m human and make mistakes, but it's from those mistakes that we grow and improve as people.

That said, I am signing off for now. My mental health is at rock bottom, and all I can focus on recently is negative. I keep thinking the worst of my writing and other content. All my mind has been telling me is that everything I make is terrible, and no one likes it. And while I know that is far from the truth, thanks to the amazing support and love I receive from all of you (shout out to everyone who keeps the CC fandom alive!) I must leave and stop focusing on everything before returning with a clear, more positive mindset.

I will see you all when I return. Will I not do anything CC related? Probably not, since you can take Astra out of CC, but you can't take CC out of Astra! But I will not be touching or even looking at my mainstream series while I’m gone, so don’t expect me to return with an update ready for it.

Thank you for listening.

Astra G.

[candypaintcolors]

in my villain era (giving relationship advice on reddit)

[seilon]

please don’t by k.will did more for the gays back in 2012 than any boy group can possibly do with fan service and crop tops in 2024

[devilsskettle]

i feel like i’ve been WAITING for the other shoe to drop wrt people’s opinions about watcher for this very reason. not that i think the reaction is completely not understandable but the greater the parasocial relationship, the greater the fallout as soon as public opinion shifts. you don’t have a relationship with these people they’re just content creators, chill

[samuraisharkie]

remembered how rancid tlou2 is and was checking through some criticism and found out, unfortunately, that the show is still written by the same zionist sadistic, homophobic, transphobic, asshole who operates as if everyone has the same cruel hate that he has. apparently they are retconning the show to match his vision as well, which pisses me off to no end. Making Ellie bloodthirsty, making Joel out to be a cruel violent evil man who’s going to get what’s coming to him, all of that trying to justify the thinly veiled zionist propaganda that is the The Last of Us 2. But it’s getting away with it all because they stuck gay men in it, and Ellie is a lesbian (despite the gratuitous vilification and torture of her) so criticizing the show or the game means you just hate gay men or lesbian protagonists, as if that’s even the fucking issue. It’s been a good ass while since I thought about it but that first game was decent, the second is torture porn and hate thinly veiled as a hamfisted centrist view on ‘the cycle of violence’ and the fantasy of escaping it. I’m just sick of all zombie media at this point, it all turns into this gratuitous gore and “wow aren’t humans so evil? aren’t we so cruel? look at how no matter what humans will hurt each other and it will always happen!” bullshit message with a slapped over “violence is wrong though :(“ message despite every writer on any of these being men who fantasize about violence and admit to it.

[dipplie]

Thinking about Deleting Tumblr?

Dunno I just don’t have a ton of engagement here anymore (aside from some friends) and I have other social media’s now that I like/Use more

Only reason I’m thinking not to is that if I delete my account someone else can take my username and that’s cringe

Maybe I won’t DELETE my accounts but just delete the app and stop using it, with a pinned link to the other stuff I do use

If anyone (I don’t see why 🤨) is desperate to make me stay then let me know I guess?

[fingertipsmp3]

Genuinely not sure if I cry easily or if I just have a habit of dwelling on my problems and past grief that I should really be well into the fifth stage of by now but am instead stuck on stage 3 or 4

[caelum-in-the-avatarverse]

Fandom can do a little gatekeeping. As a treat.

So I finally decided to archive-lock my fics on AO3 last night. I’ve been considering it since the AI scrape last year, but the tipping point was this whole lore.fm debacle, coupled with some thoughts I’ve been thinking regarding Fandom These Days in general and Fandom As A Community in particular. So I wanna explain why I waited so long, why I locked my stuff up now, and why I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a-okay with making it harder for people to see my stories.

Lurkers really are great, tho

I’m a chronic lurker, and have been since I started hanging out on the internet as a teen in the 00s. These days it’s just cuz I don’t feel a need to socialize very often, but back then it was because I was shy and knew I was socially awkward. Even if I made an account, I’d spend months lurking on message boards or forums or Livejournals, watching other people interact and getting a feel for that particular community’s culture and etiquette before I finally started interacting myself. And y’know, that approach saved me a lot of embarrassment. Over the course of my lurking on any site, there was always some other person who’d clearly joined up five minutes after learning the place existed, barged in without a care for their behavior, and committed so many social faux pas that all the other users were immediately annoyed with them at best. I learned a lot observing those incidents. Lurk More is Rule 33 of the internet for very good reason.

Lurking isn’t bad or weird or creepy. It’s perfectly normal. I love lurking. It’s hard for me to not lurk - socializing takes a lot of energy out of me, even via text. (Heck it took 12 hours for me to write this post, I wish I was kidding--) Occasionally I’ll manage longer bouts of interaction - a few weeks posting here, almost a year chatting in a discord there - but I’m always gonna end up going radio silent for months at some point. I used to feel bad about it, but I’ve long since made peace with the fact that it’s just the way my brain works. I’m a chronic lurker, and in the long term nothing is going to change that.

The thing with being a chronic lurker is that you have to accept that you are not actually seen as part of the community you are lurking in. That’s not to say that lurkers are unimportant - lurkers actually are important, and they make up a large proportion of any online community - but it’s simple cause and effect. You may think of it as “your community”, but if you’ve never said a word, how is the community supposed to know you exist? If I lurked on someone’s LJ, and then that person suddenly friendslocked their blog, I knew that I had two choices: Either accept that I would never be able to read their posts again, or reach out to them and ask if I could be added to their friends list with the full understanding that I was a rando they might not decide to trust. I usually went with the first option, because my invisibility as a lurker was more important to me than talking to strangers on the internet.

Lurking is like sitting on a park bench, quietly people-watching and eavesdropping on the conversations other people are having around you. You’re in the park, but you’re not actively participating in anything happening there. You can see and hear things that you become very interested in! But if you don’t introduce yourself and become part of the conversation, you won’t be able to keep listening to it when those people walk away. When fandom migrated away from Livejournal, people moved to new platforms alongside their friends, but lurkers were often left behind. No one knew they existed, so they weren’t told where everyone else was going. To be seen as part of a fandom community, you need to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known, etc. etc.

There’s nothing wrong with lurking. There can actually be benefits to lurking, both for the lurkers and the communities they lurk in. It’s just another way to be in a fandom. But if that is how you exist in fandom--and remember, I say this as someone who often does exist that way in fandom--you need to remember that you’re on the outside looking in, and the curtains can always close.

I’ve always been super sympathetic to lurkers, because I am one. I know there’s a lot of people like me who just don’t socialize often. I know there’s plenty of reasons why someone might not make an account on the internet - maybe they’re nervous, maybe they’re young and their parents don’t allow them to, maybe they’re in a bad situation where someone is monitoring their activity, maybe they can only access the internet from public computer terminals. Heck, I’ve never even logged into AO3 on my phone--if I’m away from my computer I just read what’s publicly available. 

I know I have people lurking on my fics. I know my fics probably mean a lot to someone I don’t even know exists. I know this because there are plenty of fics I love whose writers don’t know I exist.

I love my commenters personally; I love my lurkers as an abstract concept. I know they’re there and I wish them well, and if they ever de-lurk I love them all the more.

So up until last year I never considered archive-locking my fic, because I get it. The AI scraping was upsetting, but I still hesitated because I was thinking of lurkers and guests and remembering what it felt like to be 15 and wondering if it’d be worth letting a stranger on the internet know I existed and asking to be added to their friends list just so I could reread a funny post they made once.

But the internet has changed a lot since the 00s, and fandom has changed with it. I’ve read some things and been doing some thinking about fandom-as-community over the last few years, and reading through the lore.fm drama made me decide that it’s time for me to set some boundaries.

I still love my lurkers, and I feel bad about leaving any guest commenters behind, especially if they’re in a situation where they can’t make an account for some reason. But from here on out, even my lurkers are going to have to do the bare minimum to read my fics--make an AO3 account.

Should we gatekeep fandom?

I’ve seen a few people ask this question, usually rhetorically, sometimes as a joke, always with a bit of seriousness. And I think…yeah, maybe we should. Except wait, no, not like that--

A decade ago, when people talked about fandom gatekeeping and why it was bad to do, it intersected with a lot of other things, mainly feminism and classism. The prevalent image of fandom gatekeeping was, like, a man learning that a woman likes Star Wars and haughtily demanding, “Oh, yeah? Well if you’re REALLY a fan, name ten EU novels” to belittle and dismiss her, expecting that a “real fan” would have the money and time to be familiar with the EU, and ignoring the fact that male movie-only fans were still considered fans. The thing being gatekept was the very definition of “being a fan” and people’s right to describe themselves as one.

That’s not what I mean when I say maybe fandom should gatekeep more. Anyone can call themselves a fan if they like something, that’s fine. But when it comes to the ability to enjoy the fanworks produced by the fandom community…that might be something worth gatekeeping.

See, back in the 00s, it was perfectly common for people to just…not go on the internet. Surfing the web was a thing, but it was just, like, a fun pastime. Not everyone did it. It wasn’t until the rise of social media that going online became a thing everyone and their grandmother did every day. Back then, going on the internet was just…a hobby.

So one of the first gates online fandom ever had was the simple fact that the entire world wasn’t here yet.

The entire world is here now. That gate has been demolished.

And it’s a lot easier to find us now. Even scattered across platforms, fandom is so centralized these days. It isn’t a network of dedicated webshrines and forums that you can only find via webrings anymore, it’s right there on all the big social media sites. AO3 didn’t set out to be the main fanfic website, but that’s definitely what it’s become. It’s easy for people to find us--and that includes people who don’t care about the community, and just want “content.”

Transformative fandom doesn’t like it when people see our fanworks as “content”. “Content” is a pretty broad term, but when fandom uses it we’re usually referring to creative works that are churned out by content creators to be consumed by an audience as quickly as possible as often as possible so that the content creator can generate revenue. This not-so-new normal has caused a massive shift in how people who are new to fandom view fanworks--instead of seeing fic or art as something a fellow fan made and shared with you, they see fanworks as products to be consumed.

Transformative fandom has, in general, always been a gift economy. We put time and effort into creating fanworks that we share with our fellow fans for free. We do this so we don’t get sued, but fandom as a whole actually gets a lot out of the gift economy. Offer your community a story, and in return you can get comments, build friendships, or inspire other people to write things that you might want to read. Readers are given the gift of free stories to read and enjoy, and while lurking is fine, they have the choice to engage with the writer and other readers by leaving comments or making reclists to help build the community.

And look, don’t get me wrong. People have never engaged with fanfic as much as fan writers wish they would. There has always been “no one comments anymore” wank. There have always been people who only comment to say “MORE!” or otherwise demand or guilt trip writers into posting the next chapter. But fandom has always agreed that those commenters are rude and annoying, and as those commenters navigate fandom they have the chance to learn proper community etiquette.

However, now it seems that a lot of the people who are consuming fanworks aren’t actually in the community. 

I won’t say “they aren’t real fans” because that’s silly; there’s lots of ways to be a fan. But there seem to be a lot of fans now who have no interest in fandom as a community, or in adhering to community etiquette, or in respecting the gift economy. They consume our fics, but they don’t appreciate fan labor. They want our “content”, but they don’t respect our control over our creations.

And even worse--they see us as a resource. We share our work for free, as a gift, but all they see is an open-source content farm waiting to be tapped into. We shared it for free, so clearly they can do whatever they want with it. Why should we care if they feed our work into AI training datasets, or copy/paste our unfinished stories into ChatGPT to get an ending, or charge people for an unnecessary third-party AO3 app, or sell fanbindings on etsy for a profit without the author’s permission, or turn our stories into poor imitations of podfics to be posted on other platforms without giving us credit or asking our consent, while also using it to lure in people they can datascrape for their Forbes 30 Under 30 company? 

And sure, people have been doing shady things with other people’s fanworks since forever. Art theft and reposting has always been a big problem. Fanfic is harder to flat-out repost, but I’ve heard of unauthorized fic translations getting posted without crediting the original author. Once in…I think the 2010s? I read a post by a woman who had gone to some sort of local bookselling event, only to find that the man selling “his” novel had actually self-published her fanfic. (Wish I could find that one again, I don’t even remember where I read it.)

But aside from that third example, the thing is…as awful as fanart/writing theft is, back in the day, the main thing a thief would gain from it was clout. Clout that should rightfully go to the creators who gifted their work in the first place, yeah, but still. Just clout. People will do a lot of hurtful things for clout, but fandom clout means nothing outside of fandom. Fandom clout is not enough to incentivize the sort of wide-scale pillaging we’re seeing from community outsiders today.

Money, on the other hand… Well, fandom’s just a giant, untapped content farm, isn’t it? Think of how much revenue all that content could generate.

Lurkers are a normal and even beneficial part of any online community. Maybe one day they’ll de-lurk and easily slide into place beside their fellow fans because they already know the etiquette. Maybe they’re active in another community, and they can spread information from the community they lurk in to the community they’re active in. At the very least, they silently observe, and even if they’re not active community members, they understand the community.

Fans who see fanworks as “content” don’t belong in the same category as lurkers. They’re tourists. 

While reading through the initial Reddit thread on the lore.fm situation, I found this comment:

[ID: Reddit User Cabbitowo says: ... So in anime fandoms we have a word called tourist and essentially it means a fan of a few anime and doesn't care about anime tropes and actively criticizes them. This is kind of how fandoms on tiktok feel. They're touring fanfics and fanart and actively criticizes tropes that have been in the fandom since the 60s. They want to be in a fandom but they don't want to engage in fandom 

OP totallymandy responds: Just entered back into Reddit after a long day to see this most recent reply. And as a fellow anime fan this making me laugh so much since it’s true! But it sorta hurts too when the reality sets in. Modern fandom is so entitled and bratty and you’d think it’s the minors only but that’s not even true, my age-mates and older seem to be like that. They want to eat their cake and complain all whilst bringing nothing to the potluck… :/ END ID]

-

“Tourist” is an apt name for this sort of fan. They don’t want to be part of our community, and they don’t have to be in order to come into our spaces and consume our work. Even if they don’t steal our work themselves, they feel so entitled to it that they’re fine with ignoring our wishes and letting other people take it to make AI “podfics” for them to listen to (there are a lot of comments on lore.fm’s shutdown announcement video from people telling them to just ignore the writers and do it anyway). They’ll use AI to generate an ending to an unfinished fic because they don’t care about seeing “the ending this writer would have given to the story they were telling”, they just want “an ending”. For these tourist fans, the ends justify the means, and their end goal is content for them to consume, with no care for the community that created it for them in the first place.

I don’t think this is confined to a specific age group. This isn’t “13-year-olds on Wattpad” or “Zoomers on TikTok” or whatever pointless generation war we’re in now. This is coming from people who are new to fandom, whose main experience with creative works on the internet is this new content culture and who don’t understand fandom as a community. That description can be true of someone from any age group.

It’s so easy to find fandom these days. It is, in fact, too easy. Newcomers face no hurdles or challenges that would encourage them to lurk and observe a bit before engaging, and it’s easy for people who would otherwise move on and leave us alone to start making trouble. From tourist fans to content entrepreneurs to random people who just want to gawk, it’s so easy for people who don’t care about the fandom community to reap all of its fruits. 

So when I say maybe fandom should start gatekeeping a bit, I’m referring to the fact that we barely even have a gate anymore. Everyone is on the internet now; the entire world can find us, and they don’t need to bother learning community etiquette when they do. Before, we were protected by the fact that fandom was considered weird and most people didn’t look at it twice. Now, fandom is pretty mainstream. People who never would’ve bothered with it before are now comfortable strolling in like they own the place. They have no regard for the fandom community, they don’t understand it, and they don’t want to. They want to treat it just like the rest of the content they consume online.

And then they’re surprised when those of us who understand fandom culture get upset. Fanworks have existed far longer than the algorithmic internet’s content. Fanworks existed long before the internet. We’ve lived like this for ages and we like it.

So if someone can’t be bothered to respect fandom as a community, I don’t see why I should give them easy access to my fics.

Think of it like a garden gate

When I interact with commenters on my fic, I have this sense of hospitality.

The comment section is my front porch. The fic is my garden. I created my garden because I really wanted to, and I’m proud of it, and I’m happy to share it with other people. 

Lots of people enjoy looking at my garden. Many walk through without saying anything. Some stop to leave kudos. Some recommend my garden to their friends. And some people take the time to stop by my front porch and let me know what a beautiful garden it is and how much they’ve enjoyed it. 

Any fic writer can tell you that getting comments is an incredible feeling. I always try to answer all my comments. I don’t always manage it, but my fics’ comment sections are the one place that I manage to consistently socialize in fandom. When I respond to a comment, it feels like I’m pouring out a glass of lemonade to share with this lovely commenter on my front porch, a thank you for their thank you. We take a moment to admire my garden together, and then I see them out. The next time they drop by, I recognize them and am happy to pour another glass of lemonade.

My garden has always been open and easy to access. No fences, no walls. You just have to know where to find it. Fandom in general was once protected by its own obscurity, an out-of-the-way town that showed up on maps but was usually ignored.

But now there’s a highway that makes it easy to get to, and we have all these out-of-towner tourists coming in to gawk and steal our lawn ornaments and wonder if they can use the place to make themselves some money.

I don’t care to have those types trampling over my garden and eating all my vegetables and digging up my flowers to repot and sell, so I’ve put up a wall. It has a gate that visitors can get through if they just take the time to open it.

Admittedly, it’s a small obstacle. But when I share my fics, I share them as a gift with my fellow fans, the ones who understand that fandom is a community, even if they’re lurkers. As for tourist fans and entrepreneurs who see fic as content, who have no qualms ignoring the writer’s wishes, who refuse to respect or understand the fandom community…well, they’re not the people I mean to share my fic with, so I have no issues locking them out. If they want access to my stories, they’ll have to do the bare minimum to become a community member and join the AO3 invite queue.

And y’know, I’ve said a lot about fandom and community here, and I just want to say, I hope it’s not intimidating. When I was younger, talk about The Fandom Community made me feel insecure, and I didn’t think I’d ever manage to be active enough in fandom spaces to be counted as A Member Of The Community. But you don’t have to be a social butterfly to participate in fandom. I’ll always and forever be a chronic lurker, I reblog more than I post, I rarely manage to comment on fic, and I go radio silent for months at a time--but I write and post fanfiction. That’s my contribution.

Do you write, draw, vid, gif, or otherwise create? Congrats, you're a community member.

Do you leave comments? Congrats, you're a community member.

Do you curate reclists? Congrats, you're a community member.

Do you maintain a fandom blog or fuckyeah blog? Congrats, you're a community member.

Do you provide a space for other fans to convene in? Congrats, you're a community member.

Do you regularly send asks (off anon so people know who you are)? Congrats, you're a community member.

Do you have fandom friends who you interact with? Congrats, you're a community member.

There’s lots of ways to be a fan. Just make sure to respect and appreciate your fellow fans and the work they put in for you to enjoy and the gift economy fandom culture that keeps this community going.

[cheetabites]

☆彡 cinnamon ˳༄꠶

character: kang dae-ho (player 388)

˳༄꠶ summary: five sfw and nsfw general headcannons for dae-ho

sfw headcannons

★ this sweet boy truly struggles internally with how to act within society. the toxic masculinity his father had pushed on him had left him ashamed to truly express himself with others; he isn’t happy with how society wants men to act in such a superior and oppressive way, but is still sensitive to people catching eye of him acting in the opposite way (sensitive and compassionate)

★ he also didn’t receive any counseling or therapy after returning from the marines because he still held the internal belief that being vulnerable and expressing his difficulties wasn’t ‘manly’ enough

★ he’s the type of man that’ll help an old person cross the street, give his last dollar to a person at the register that was one dollar short, and would bring a jar of nuts to the park just incase he sees squirrels

★ he might’ve not received any professional help, but his mom and his older sisters were always there for him; when his father wasn’t around i’d like to picture them taking him out so they could play the games they played when they were younger - gonggi in particular because he liked to prove that ‘he still got it’

★ he’s the best pet owner ever. in some ways i can picture him having one pet that the whole family loves and spoils - yes, they wear the little sweaters when it’s cold and the boots when the pavement is hot - or a random ass pet he adores and the family is grossed out by. i can picture one of his friends gifting him a pet rat or turtle as a joke, but he takes it seriously (#1 dad) ; he vents to them sometimes

nsfw headcannons

★ sexual encounters is not a place where he’ll allow his fathers toxic masculinity to dictate his actions; he’s definitely a sub. when he’d found it out though, he was ashamed. particularly because it was when he was having sex with another partner - he was on top yes, but the ecstasy he was feeling at the time caused him to look down at them and beg for them to praise him (they did, and he cried in their neck afterwards)

★ he’s really sensitive, and i mean so sensitive that you could probably overstimulate him if you’d made him cum more than twice

★ he likes having his hair tugged; especially in situations where you brush your fingers through his hair first before gripping onto it so you can direct his gaze towards your own or when he’s giving you head

★ he enjoys the sex, yes. but he enjoys the aftercare more; having you wipe him down while you praise him for how good he was makes him feel so safe. he also seems like one who gets really sleepy after sex so i don’t think you’ll be able to make it to the bath. but when you do, he gets really shy and flustered

★ he loves seeing you wear the lingerie sets you’d bought while you were out. it gets him hard yes, but he mostly just admires how it enhances your beauty, so you’d never really had sex with them on. he does have a polaroid picture of you wearing a piece in his wallet and he protects that picture with his life - and i mean he’d lay flat on the train tracks if he’d ever lost it cause he cares about you too much :(

the end! i hope you enjoyed <3!

© cheetabites. don’t translate, claim or repost my works on any platform. jan 3 2025.

[hoshigray]

𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐢-𝐓𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 ☠︎ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦-𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐥 | a JJK series

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: another year, another kinktober for the blog; everyone say thank you to @blkkizzat for making me do this before i get off this platform bc i promise you i was ready to throw it in the trash, LMAO !! I can only hope that I can post everything on time...anyway, happy October, everybody!

2023 kinktober list ⋮ masterlists ⋮ playlist

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑭𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑺𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒚…𝑻𝒂𝒍𝒆???

All the material below contains 18+ content, so minors do not interact. Changes + added pieces will be updated; look through my RBs to see what was changed or added. Contents of the fanfics/pieces are specified in their respective posts.

☠︎ = ficlet/thirst/scenario (Tues) | ♱ = fics (Thurs)

𓉸ྀི . . . 𝑾𝑬𝑬𝑲 1 :

☠︎ 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭 𝐌𝐞, 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐲 . . . ft. bully! Gojo ⋮ corruption kink

♱ 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐆𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 | s. gojō + k. nanami + h. higuruma

Two demon hunters and a witch unite to take down a demon terrorizing the locals — sounds easy enough until the demon puts up a good fight and drags you three in for a night you’ll never forget…!

𓉸ྀི . . . 𝑾𝑬𝑬𝑲 2 :

☠︎ 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐲 & 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐲 . . . ft. true form! Sukuna ⋮ cannabilism/ blood kink

♱ 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 & 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐬 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 | s. ryōmen

The duty of a shrine maiden isn’t straightforward — especially during the olden times. Could you take on the supposed King of Curses head-on and leave unscathed in more ways than one? Who knows…

𓉸ྀི . . . 𝑾𝑬𝑬𝑲 3 :

☠︎ 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐧' 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 . . . ft. werewolf! Nanami ⋮ breeding kink + knotting

♱ 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫! | t. fushiguro

Not only are you drunk on a Friday night, but you’re a drunk, closeted succubus who is, unfortunately, under the care of the hot neighbor under your roof! Would you ruin the mood if he found out your little secret? You don’t even wanna know!

extra!! to be announced soon...

𓉸ྀི . . . 𝑾𝑬𝑬𝑲 4 :

☠︎ 𝐒𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐬' 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 . . . ft. sirens! Shoko + Utahime + Yuki ⋮ monster-fucking + foursome

♱ 𝐖𝐡𝐨'𝐬 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧' 𝐖𝐡𝐨, 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐞? | c. kamo

Having a phantom in your apartment sounds pretty scary…! But what happens when you finally catch that unexpectedly cute ghost creeping around and frightening you? And…how do you plan on punishing the little scrub?

𓉸ྀི . . . 𝑾𝑬𝑬𝑲 5 :

☠︎ 𝐒𝐨 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐦 & 𝐓𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 . . . ft. ex-husband! Toji ⋮ cockwarming

♱ 𝐅𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥[𝐞𝐫] !! | s. gojō + s. getō

Ending the month with tradition: pulling up all the best scary movies to watch and hanging with your two best friends! But it's safe to say that the thing poking behind your back isn't a knife…according to Gojo.

𝑾𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒍𝒚 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝑪𝒍𝒖𝒃!!

Would you wish to be tagged? Please lmk in the replies or in my inbox!

Accepting the first 50 ppl ; still open!!

© 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐲2024 ⋆♱✮♱⋆ These tales have been transcribed and written by the original poster (me). Do not steal, edit, copy/plagiarize, or post any of my works on your own accounts, in or out of this app. Please and thank you.

[bartxnhood]

cowboy casanova | t.o

tyler owens x fem!reader

based on this request: “Omg, how about Tyler Owens comforting reader on their first storm chase, maybe she’s really nervous or scared and he’s like don’t worry I ain’t gonna let anything happen to you… something like that???”

warnings: depictions of a tornado, reader has a panic attack. severe damage to homes and buildings.

w/c: 1.7k

a/n: thank you for the request! i added a touch of a backstory to help the plot go forward. i hope that’s okay!! i’m also currently in the theater about to watch it again (i saw it last night lol) enjoy <3

requests open

not proofread

Copyright © 2024 bartxnhood. All rights reserved. This original work is not allowed to be reposted on any platform in any format.

✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵

you see a man standing in a wide-open field, as the sky above you darkened to a menacing shade of gray. the once-gentle breeze turns into a fierce, howling wind, and you feel a sense of unease settle in the pit of your stomach.

you were assigned to follow him and his crew around while they chased these monstrous tornadoes then went in and dissolved the threat. you worked for a huge journaling company from the north, but you grew up in arkansas and became familiar with these devastating weather patterns.

now, you were in oklahoma where you’d be joining this storm chaser during a week-long chase.

“you ready to chase some storms?” his back was still towards you, and his southern drawl was familiar.

as the man in the maroon shirt and white cowboy hat, spun on his heels to face you, you were taken aback.

tyler owens.

“y/n?”

his blood ran cold, not expecting to see you after all of these years. you laughed in disbelief, “this is crazy..” you shook your head and crossed your arms, shifting your weight to one leg.

“you’re the journalist?”

you and tyler go way back. the two of you were in school together, majoring in meteorology.he started chasing these storms, becoming famous on campus.

but, it all came to a head one day when you got trapped and lost your best friend. that’s when you dropped meteorology and took up journalism. you documented the destruction, the path, how they moved, etc.

and now, you were writing about who was called the tornado wrangler. you should’ve done your research but you didn’t want the assignment.

but, he had become so popular with his crew. they’d go inside the twisters and release a mixture to help dissolve the storm. and it worked.

“you’re the wrangler?” you ask, and tyler laughs. that signature laugh that always made you want to punch him in his pretty little face.

tyler turns around and rests his hands on his hips. “what do you see?”

the wind picks up even further, swirling around you in a dizzying dance, pulling at your clothes and hair. you sigh, taking a few steps closer till you are standing next to him.

“there” you point to the east, the air was thick with an unsettling hum as a dark mass loomed on the horizon. the skies darkened further, and a chilling gust of wind whipped up debris and sent trees bending at unnatural angles.

"another one" he murmured, eyes locked on the clouds as his adrenaline spiked and his lips pulled into a smile that he couldn't help but wear every time a storm was brewing.

glancing over at you he tried to hide the excitement in his chest that he felt when one appeared, but tyler knew hiding your feelings from another storm chaser was like trying to hide a tornado in an open field.

"how much do you wanna bet it'll touch down two miles east of our position" he teased, eyes scanning the clouds for clues.

“mm” you shake your head, even though you hadn’t done it in years you still had it. “three.” you continue, then point to the wind and how it carries against the wheat field.

“look at the way the wind is carrying. it’ll go east and hit north. perfect conditions,” you add crossing your arms

“i think you have yourself a ef5.”

uou had it. the intuition to tell where a storm was going to go by only looking at the clouds, the way the winds were blowing, and the speed at which the storm moved.

tyler had a similar gift, every storm chaser had it, but he had never met someone who could predict the size of a storm, which was a rarity he had never seen before.

“ah EF5, huh? i’ll hold you to that. If you’re wrong, you’re buying me a beer.”

tyler owens would be the death of you.

“i’m not buying you anything, owens.”

you load up into his truck, snapping pictures of forming a storm. he was flooring the red truck in a wheat field right towards the storm so he could get ahead of it.

“ya miss it?” he yells, over the thunder. occasionally turning his head to look at you. you say nothing, continuing to snap pictures.

“sometimes.” you blurt, not looking back at him. “i just don’t miss the destruction” you continue, rolling up the window and reviewing the photos.

“you were good,” he says, one hand on the steering wheel and eyes still taking glances at you. “mm” you just hum in response, not wanting to talk about your storm chasing days.

suddenly, a funnel begins to descend from the clouds, growing larger and more ominous by the second. the air around you crackles with anticipation, and you realize that you are witnessing the terrifying formation of a tornado. an EF5.

this was the second time you had ever seen an EF5 form in front of you, this was frightening.

you held onto your camera tightly as tyler drove right towards the black abyss. “shit..” you mumble quietly.

as the rain beat down on the windshield, the engine's roar could hardly be heard above the gathering storm.

tyler's truck sped through the wide-open fields, creating a trail of dirt and dust in their wake. with his eyes locked on the approaching storm, he clinched his teeth and gripped the steering wheel firmly like a man about to die.

he had chased tornadoes before, but never an EF5. the adrenaline in his veins was making his heart race and his senses heighten as he pushed the truck to drive faster, the roar of the wind and thunder in their ears.

“what a beauty” he muttered, admiring the sheer force and size of the storm in front of them.

as your heart pounded furiously in your chest, you felt a sudden tightening of the breath in your lungs.

your mind raced with panicked thoughts, each one more terrifying than the last. you fought to stay calm, but the fear was overwhelming, like a living entity trying to consume you whole.

sweat beaded on your forehead, and your hands trembled as you held the camera. the world around them seemed to blur and spin out of control, like the tornado in front of them.

"tyler, we should go back," you yelled. tyler smiled, eyes fixed on the whirling green giant in front of him.

he yells, "not a chance, l/n. look at it!" as he maneuvers through the difficult terrain. “we can’t give up now!”

“stop!” you proceeded to yell, flashes of that night you lost your best friend. the way the sky looked, how it sounded, the rain on your skin, how cold you were. it was all flashing in front of you, experiencing the whole thing again.

tears brim your eyes, your body shaking like a leaf. “please! just stop!” you yell over the growl of the thunder clapping.

tyler’s heart sank to his stomach as he heard the raw emotion in your voice. he had teased you and challenged uou, but now it was clear that this was not just another storm for you.

it was a personal struggle that was tearing you apart and he had triggered it with his arrogance.

without a word, he stomped on the brakes and brought the truck to a screeching halt, his own heart racing against his ribs.

"y/n, look at me," he said, voice suddenly hoarse and quiet.

you’re gasping for air, pulling at the collar of your crewneck. the cab of the truck felt like it was closing in on you, you unbuckled the seat belt and tried to unlock the door. “i can’t do this” your bottom lip begins to quiver. “i have to..i gotta get out of here.”

you can’t even bring yourself to look at him. your mind is fogged with the traumatic experience of the last time you were caught in the eye of a storm like this.

tyler’s heart dropped as he saw you struggling, your gasping breaths and trembling body. he reached over to her, gently grabbing your wrist, preventing you from opening the door of the truck.

“hey, hey, whoa. look at me, look at me, please.” he pleaded, his voice firm but surprisingly gentle.

he reached out and took your chin, gently turning your head to face him. his eyes searched yours for a moment before narrowing in concern.

“y/n, listen to me. you need to breathe, sweetheart.”

your breathless, unable to think straight until your eyes meet his sea green orbs. you take in a deep breath and mirror tyler’s breathing.

inhale, exhale.

you repeated this until you eventually calmed down.

your hands continue to tremble as you speak, “tyler, i cannot do this. i just can’t.” hour southern drawl escaping. “it’s too much”

tyler watched as your rapid breathing slowly began to match his own, your hand gripping his tightly. his heart ached as he saw the fear and the anguish in your eyes, and knew that this was not just a simple fear of storms.

it was a trauma, something deeply personal, that had left a permanent mark on your soul.

he gently raised his other hand to your face, gently stroking your cheek with his thumb, trying to soothe you. “i know, i know” he whispered, his own tone gentle and soft.

“ain’t nothin gonna happen to you, kay? i won’t let it.” he assures your worries, wiping away the stray tear that escaped your eyes then tucked some hair behind your ear.

“i’ve got you.” he continues. you watch as his attention goes from you to the tornado in front of you. “if you want me to take you back i need to know, now” he says, looking back at you.

you sniffle, following his gaze to the twister.

if he could stop something like this it would be a huge achievement to the community. no more damage, no more homelessness. it would all be fixed.

“no..” you begin, and find your eyes back on him. “i’ll be fine.”

tyler nods, putting the truck into drive. one hand on the steering wheel and the other reaching for yours, giving you a reassuring squeeze. “you’ll be fine, city girl.”

you choke out a laugh, and shake your head.

“then, let’s chase this beaut!” he yips and slams his foot on the gas and takes off towards the monster of a tower.

[5sospenguinqueen]

Emotional Range Of A Teaspoon | Pierre Gasly

Summary: What right does he have to feel angry at the sight of Y/N and Charles? The answer is none. After all, she's only his best friend. Isn't she?

Warnings: Swearing. Angst. Fluff. Jealousy. One suggestive comment

No faceclaim but British reader. 2024 timeline

F1 Masterlist

Requested: Yes (sorry it's a little late)

This one actually comes with a tiny text paragraph mid-way through

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Replies to @ PierreGASLY

Charles_Leclerc c’mon mate, it’s only been two days 

→ PierreGASLY a whole lifetime 

→ ItsYN i can’t even remember what you look like 

→ Charles_Leclerc and the people say that i am the dramatic one 

AlpineF1Team think you can channel that pain into some points this weekend?

→ PierreGASLY why aren’t you taking my pain seriously 

→ AlpineF1Team do you want us to schedule you an appointment with the counsellor?

→ ItsYN i don’t think that counsellor gets paid enough to listen to him

User1 ouch, talk about friendzoned 

→ User2 no, no, they’re in the denial stage of their friends to lovers arc

Replies to @ ItsYN

PierreGASLY i can still hear your voice

→ PierreGASLY although i’m glad you’re not making me suffer through the lost boys again

→ ItsYN okay first off, you love that movie. and second, because of that, i’m telling everyone you cried watching cars 3

→ PierreGASLY traitor!

→ LiamLawson30 as any man would!

Charles_Leclerc don’t worry y/n, i’ll have movie night with you 

→ ItsYN are you going to make me watch harry potter again?

→ Charles_Leclerc yes..?

→ ItsYN @ PierreGASLY come back please 

Replies to @ Charles_Leclerc

User3 not charles tweeting this the day after the canadian gp. y/n missed the canadian gp and you can tell poor charles had to hear all about it 

ItsYN we all know i would be the soldier and pierre would be the doting housewife crying on the platform 

→ PierreGASLY and i would look radiant doing so

Max33Verstappen he wouldn’t shut up about her during the driver’s parade. i tried to walk off and he followed me!

→ PierreGASLY i was in the middle of a sentence!

→ danielricciardo mate you know it’s bad when yapstappen needs you to stop talking

ItsYN stop talking about me. you're making it sound like we're friends

→ Charles_Leclerc excuse me but you know you want to be my bestie

→ PierreGASLY you can’t have her. she’s mine. i saw her first. shotgun or whatever you monagasques say for dibs 

→ GeorgeRussell63 actually i saw her first; her brother was my teammate when we were kids so 

→ PierreGASLY and just for that, i’m unfollowing you 

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Replies to @ CHICKEN!!

User4 whoever took this photo needs to go straight to jail. not y’all making it seem like charles and y/n are a sneaky item

User5 i knew she was shady, talking about how she couldn't make it only to end up in the winning driver’s garage 

PierreGASLY oh 

→ User6 wait no, pierre, come back. look at other tweets about this please

User7 stop being a shit stirrer. he’s literally got his other arm wrapped around alex ‘cause he was guiding the two of them through a ton of fans but that’s conveniently been cropped out 

Replies to @ BRAKKEEE

User8 i can’t believe people were trying to convince us ynarles was real when it’s clearly ynex

User9 love that charles was literally only there to keep them safe from fans and after that they were like ‘you’re done babe. now we run off into the sunset’ 

User10 watching him chase after them was so funny tho because he was literally yelling “let me play too” 

Replies to @ ItsYN

User11 oh no, we’re so sorry. we were just so happy to see you 

→ User12 yeah and pierre would’ve been happy to see her as well if you hadn’t blasted her all over the internet 

→ User13 pierre didn't exactly look all that happy though. he wouldn’t stop glaring at poor charles  

→ User12 maybe because you guys made it seem like his best friend lied to him to be with charles

Thumb aimlessly swiping at the screen of his phone, Pierre scanned the tweets as they passed, making note of a cute waffle shop in Monaco that he knew Y/N would love. Nothing of note appeared to have been posted as most of the Grid were waiting to hear where Sainz had signed. Hand halting, Pierre’s eyes flickered across the screen once. Twice. And then a third time just to be sure. His last message to Y/N had gone unanswered and now there was a picture of her on Twitter, claiming to be from today. With Charles’ arm around her. His teeth sank into his bottom lip, and a derisive scoff filled his driver’s room. What happened to being unable to book the time off work, he thought bitterly to himself. Instead she was in the Paddock with a red-clad arm wrapped around her. Before he could restrain himself, he had clicked on the ‘reply’ button. A knock at the door pulled him from his downward spiral, preventing him from looking further into the comments gushing about how cute his best friend and closest F1 friend looked as a couple. 

“Pierre, time to warm up.”

“D’accord.”

He locked his phone before dumping it onto the massage table, storming out of his driver’s room, unaware that if he had scrolled down another two posts, he would’ve seen a picture of Y/N with Alexandra and a tweet from the woman herself. 

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ItsYN just posted

liked by alexandrasaintmleux, estebanocon and others

ItsYN an amazing weekend in barcelona watching my best friend do his thing and achieve some well-deserved points. a huge thank you to charles and alex for helping me sneak into the paddock last-minute tagged: pierregasly, charles_leclerc and alexandrasaintmleux 

553 comments

alpinef1team our favourite things rolled into one post 

→ ItsYN mine too! 

→ User1 sis, get off the floor 

estebanocon should i be offended that you wearing my cap didn’t make the post 

→ ItsYN shh i can’t have my people thinking i have friends other than pear 

danielricciardo PIERRE GASSLLLYYYYY

→ ItsYN go thirst over him on his posts. my insta is a 310 free zone

→ danielricciardo just admit that you’re jealous of our love and move on

→ ItsYN was he publicly crying over missing YOU? i don’t think so 

→ danielricciardo that’s because i’m a better friend than you and i’ve been here the whole time

→ ItsYN blocked 

alexandrasaintmleux thank you for trusting me with the surprise! 

→ ItsYn thank you for being so wonderful and helping 🩷 (and stopping charles from throttling me)

→ charles_leclerc it’s because you wouldn’t stop saying thank you and asking me if i was “sure that it’s no bother” to help you 

→ It’sYN sorry for being considerate! 

User2 not to be that person but has anyone else noticed that pierre hasn’t commented?

→ User3 i'm getting the feeling that, despite all his online complaining, he wasn’t overly excited to see his best friend this weekend? 

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User4 not the f1wags posting her, they know the truth

→ User5 what truth. it doesn’t look they’re even friends anymore

User7 it’s the way she looks like she’s trying to explain/talk to him and he’s just yelling at her 

→ User8 i used to root for them to get together but now that he’s yelled at her :/

User9 y/n is stronger than me because if a man pointed his finger like that at me, i’d savagely bite it off 

User10 uh, who does he think he is talking to y/n l/n that way

User11 i bet it’s because he thought y/n was there for charles and got jealous 

→ User12 i’ve connected the dots

→ User13 you ain’t connected shit

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User14 idk which one i want to be more

→ User15 that’s because you want to be their third instead 

User16 i’m thirsty. anyone else thirsty

LandoNorris oh god my eyes

→ danielricciardo this is why you should stop looking at x rated things on the internet 

→ User17 what happened to your pr training?

→ Charles_Leclerc what happened to pierre’s?

User18 if only he could transfer this kind of passion onto the track 

User19 uh, the clarity of the third one?? did admin take this and then leak it online? 

→ AlpineF1Team i'm afriad that we’re finding out along with you guys but we’re not gonna pretend like we weren’t rooting for this 

ItsYN why am i trending on twitter?

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ItsYN just posted

liked by alexandrasaintmleux, lilymhe and others

ItsYN my little pain au chocolat 💕

845 comments

pierregasly we talked about you calling me pastries 

→ ItsYn yes, we did. and i didn’t take into account anything you said

→ pierregasly you are very lucky you're cute

→ ItsYN it's gotten me far in life

User1 talk about a hard launch

→ User2 they weren’t really given the choice considering they were caught snogging all over barcelona last weekend

alpinef1team pierre repping the alpine colours 

→ ItsYN release your chokehold on my man

→ alpinef1team no, you release your chokehold on our man 

→ ItsYN what happened to being supportive of this?

→ alpinef1team that was before all he did was yap about you!

lilymhe babe, this isn’t you. get up and come back to me 

→ ItsYN i’m sorry but i don’t think i can come back from this 

→ lilymhe what about us, what about everything we’ve been through

→ ItsYN you know i never wanted to hurt you

→ alex_albon @ pierregasly guess i’ll be seeing you at the next karaoke marathon 

→ pierregasly only if you sing breaking free with me

→ ItsYN this is why i love you

landonorris let’s take a moment for our fallen soldier… we lost an honourable brit to a french man

→ pierregasly it’s not my fault that i have charm and you don’t 

→ danielricciardo i didn’t realise charm meant having a tantrum when she asks your friend for help to surprise you 

→ pierregasly we agreed not to speak of that! 

→ ItsYN i don’t think you’re living this one down, macaron

charles_leclerc can you tell him to put his clothes back on, please

→ ItsYN i tried but he seems incapable of keeping them on around me

→ pierregasly charles is just jealous of my amazing physique 

→ charles_leclerc best you not talk about jealousy 

User4 @ ItsYN i love that they’ve not had a chance to pr train you yet

→ ItsYN never! 

User5 and they called me crazy when i said friends to lovers! 

→ ItsYN tbf hun, so did we. it took us a minute

→ User6 so pierre is slow on and off the track 

→ pierregasly hey! 

pierregasly just posted

liked by charles_leclerc, yukitsunoda0511 and others

pierregasly from movie nights to drunken karaoke, i would go on any adventure with you 

1,454 comments

ItsYN my best friend and my love 

→ alexandrasaintmleux i thought i was your best friend 

→ ItsYN i’m not allowed to post shirtless pics of you online though

→ charles_leclerc no you are not! 

→ User7 i hope pr never got ahold of her

→ alpinef1team she has an appointment with them on thursday

yukitsunoda0511 is this what they call simping?

→ pierregasly no

→ ItsYN yes

maxverstappen1 does this mean you’ll stop talking about her during driver’s parades?

→ pierregasly no 

→ yukitsunoda0511 he’ll just stop talking about whether she’s interested in any of us 

→ ItsYN he did that?

→ pierregasly no!

→ maxverstappen1 yes, the latest victim was logan

→ charles_leclerc actually i was the latest victim, and i will remain the most famous. my jealousy era is forever captured on the internet 

→ logansargeant @ pierregasly is that why you kept asking me what i thought about her?

landonorris you guys are kinda cute when you’re not yelling at her 

→ ItsYN please stop saying this. i'm the one who has to listen to him apologise over and over for the millionth time

→ pierregasly because i feel bad! 

→ ItsYN omg i know! 

danielricciardo mate, we get it. she’s your girl now but you can let go of her for two seconds. she’s not going to disappear

→ pierregasly it’s called a healthy attachment

→ ItsYN he says whilst cuddled into my neck and following me to the bathroom

lilymhe she’s so hot, drop me her @ please

→ pierregasly back off

→ ItsYN i’m right here bby girl. let me take out on a date 

→ charles_leclerc careful lily or he might start yelling at you next 

alpinef1team we’ve been asked by an anonymous source that you all refrain from discussing previous events. reparations have been made and it’s been advised that such an event remain in the past 

→ danielricciardo lol he ran to mom

→ landonorris anonymous source, my ass. just tag him

→ georgerussell63 this is so lame

→ alex_albon mate, this is more obvious than pierre’s jealousy 

→ charles_leclerc even i cannot support him through this 

→ ItsYN i love you, my little croissant, but i cannot pretend that this is normal

→ pierregasly ultimate betrayal

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Sorry if this wasn’t angst enough. Humour and fluff are more my forte.

As always, F1 requests open for the current grid and retired drivers.

Tag list

@peachiicherries @rosecentury

(A huge thank you to both of you for wanting to be added to all f1 posts. It means a lot)

[folkling]

Windbrook Save 2.0 (In collaboration with @cowboycid and @bobnewbie)- Feat. a family by @oshinsimss

DISCLAIMER: While this is a CC free save file, it is pack and kit heavy. To give more context, this save utilizes ALL EPs, GPs, and SPs (except My First Pets) as well as ALL KITS (except Bust The Dust and Poolside Splash) While you may not own every pack or kit that I used, the save file is still playable. Everything missing will be substituted.

What's new in 2.0

Willow Creek has new homes, rentals, and one new retail lot

Newcrest has been built (restaurant, gym, retail, and generic lots)

Magnolia Promenade has been built, while somewhat finished, still needs work

Every lot that's finished (including commercial) and families have descriptions, stories, jobs, etcetera

New townies from @simsontherope and @cowplant-snacks

Families from @bobnewbie

A special family, The Westfalls made exclusively by @oshinsimss

Special collaboration with @cowboycid

Other worlds are still empty, I do plan on building new worlds

SCREENSHOTS AND MORE INFO BELOW

SPECIAL THANKS

First and foremost I want to thank my good good friend @cowboycid for collaborating with me on this project. I'm so happy we met when we did because I was starting to lose light. You inspired me to keep going, and for that I appreciate you DOWN. You're a real one sis, no tea. Hugs and kisses for ever. I also want to thank @bobnewbie for coming through with families. You don't understand just how life saving they were. I didn't get a chance to use all of them, and my original concept for the save fell through due to time constraints, but I'm thankful to have had access to the diverse array of families you made for the save. A huge thank you to @oshinsimss for taking the time to create a beautiful family, The Westfalls, exclusively for Windbrook 2.0, I love them so much. Also a big thank you to @cowplant-snacks and @simsontherope for their townies. Without them, the townies would just be... ugh, you know. So, thank you for having them available on the gallery. I also want to thank @anthonydaydreamer for just showing up for me through this whole process. Like, you just get it boo! Hugs and kisses! Finally a quick apology to those I intended on sending preview copies of the save. Time was not on my side near the end, things took more time than I thought. Honestly, I needed to get this project off my computer ASAP. I really hope you guys understand. Big hugs and kisses. Thank you everyone for all the kind words and support over these past few months, your words kept me going, even if I didn't feel I had anymore left to give. This save is a love letter to you all, the simblr community.

Thank you, honestly, truly.

*terrain replacement in screenshots by K-hippie, you don’t need it, it’s just for screenshots + updated download link to include The Westfalls made by @oshinsimss for Windbrook 2.0 - please find more info here*

*updated download as of 10/11/23*

Download (SIMFILESHARE)

TOU: Don't upload any part of this save to any platform without explicit permission, thank you.