#i guess this is like some sort of what-if to my TLC!AU

[justagamerandaweeb]

Welp, I guess I'm doing this.

Hi, my names justagamerandaweeb, or TheWritingWeeb, or King, or whatever the fuck you wanna call me, it doesn't matter, and welcome to my blog. It's clearly nothing special, as you can see, but it's whatever honestly.

My birthday is January 21st, I'm 18, and I'm just a guy trying to get through this Tumblr bullshit.

About me:

All you need to know about me is that I'm antisocial, both IRL, and on the internet. I don't really talk to people that I know IRL as I don't think they're interested in me. That, and I'm to scared to talk to anyone, period.

And as for online, I think it's a waste of time (If you make random arguments that you are entitled to on the internet against people you've have never seen before in real life, you are a fucking loser that has nothing better to do with your life).

I consider myself as talentless. Outside of this writing shit (4 years into the game), I have no talents at all. I mean, I have a guitar, I can only play a few notes, but outside of that, I don't amount to anything in the real world, hence why I'm here (and you could say the same right? Unless you got a job or a career that means something).

I mostly write for entertainment, not to make friends, but lets see if you guys can change that (if you even take the time to acknowledge me).

What I like:

Friends, food, video games, music, YouTube, writing, having fun when I have the opportunity, and I think that's about it.

What I don't like:

People who treat their loved ones like shit, jealousy, hate, fear, the pain of loss, losing someone or something you love, people who push their friends and family under the bus to reach some sort of status, and that's about it as well.

Rules:

Do not insult me, do not come after me for whatever reason I did, do not come after my friend(s), and do not request me to do grotesque things if I don't feel comfortable writing about it.

What I can do:

If and when I have the gumption to open my requests, here are the things I can write:

Vanilla, BDSM, Threesome (MMF, FFM, MMM, FFF), AU's, pegging, maybe HC's, SFW content, maybe a little bit of dead dove: do not eat (only gore though), and maybe some other stuff I can't name.

What I won't do:

The content that I will not contain the following: Lolicon, Shotacon, futanari, scat, watersports/Golden Shower, rape, necrophilia, zoophilia, anal and vaginal stuffing (putting random objects in the female genitalia and anus), bug play, urethral insertion, earfucking, and anything that I am dissatisfied writing.

Masterlist of characters:

Yoriichi Tsugikuni:

Mating Season

Michikatsu Tsugikuni/Kokushibo:

Warmth (Revamped)

Kyojuro Rengoku:

True love

Bonded Together Forever

Comfort Through Pleasure

A Message

Bromance

Senjuro Rengoku:

TLC (Tender, Loving Care)

Tengen Uzui:

A Message

"Fluffy Bunny..."

Tanjiro Kamado:

A New Experience

A new Experience (Revamped)

My Blossom...

Loss.

Giyuu Tomioka:

Sun-Kissed

Drunk Sex

Tiredness.

Iguro Obanai:

Sun-Kissed

Sanemi Shinazugawa:

Drunk Sex

Gentle

Akaza:

Filling

Bromace

Mitsuri Kanroji:

Different

Experiment

Kocho Shinobu:

Experiment

Muzan Kibutsuji:

Candle

Deflowered (Revamped) "Mine."

Lady Tamayo:

Worth

Sweet

Douma (I'm not making his name a rainbow):

Somnophilia

Filling

Enmu:

Somnophilia

Kaigaku:

I'm in Control

Gyutaro:

True Beauty

Peer Pressure

Aizetsu:

Hikikomori

Curiosity

Sekido:

Confliction

Miscellaneous:

Goku vs. Akaza

Wake up.

Redemption.

Spider-Man 2 pics

Ghost of Tsushima Pics

Nathan.

Brotherhood.

Love and Family.

Samuel.

Second Son.

Clean House.

Season 4:

EP 1

EP 2

Well, that's all there is to it. See you, I guess.

[rakpolaris]

Since I first created Penelope I wanted her to be powerless, in part to avoid making her mary-sueish (she’s already the kid of two canon characters, and one of them is a God) meaning she didn’t really learn to control her Cosmos as I didn’t want her to become a Gold Saint either (too predictable imo).

However, lately I’ve been thinking, while Penelope technically isn’t a warrior and wasn’t trained as such, that doesn’t mean she couldn’t choose a side when she grows up - and I have this idea about her choosing to be “loyal” to Hades (or more precisely, the Underworld Gods) after a few years of misleading words and some brainwashing from Oneiros so she would turn on the Saints.

And now, deep in my heart I have the urge to doodle Penelope wearing a generic Surplice of some sorts Dx

[shellyseashell]

TLC MODERN AU

Yeah this is basic I don’t care

I’m gonna start by saying they’re all the same age here because that’s easier for me to keep track of.

Cinder was in a fire as child, killing her parents. When no other family members stepped up to take her, she was sent to be fostered by the Linh’s. Garan soon died, and after a few years Adri was investigated for child abuse. Pearl was old enough to move out at that point, but Peony and Cinder weren’t, and were sent to the Benoit’s.

I should stay here that Cinder still has prosthetics, but I’ll have to do research on that.

All three got along well (Cinder, Peony, and Scarlet).

Still trying to decide if Peony dies or not.

When she discovered Levana was her aunt, she tried to make a connection to her, as they were family. Levana did not like her, but Evret (he’s alive) and Winter did, so they attempted to keep in contact.

Levana and Evret soon got a divorce.

Since Evret and Winter are technically her family, they started the process to adopt Cinder (and Peony?)

It took a really long time, but eventually it was successful and she had a new family.

Cinder then met Jacin, but we’ll get to him later.

Kai’s father is the ceo of some company that actually helps people in need and isn’t evil, and Kai is eager to follow in his footsteps.

His mother died at a young age, and Torin, his father’s business partner or whatever was quick to step in as another parental figure.

Kai is really popular at school, both for his looks and personality. He’s super kind and just generally attracts people.

Kai helps out a lot with his father’s business, and I imagine he would get involved in clubs at school or start one of his own that works with his father’s business.

We’ve already established that Scarlet knows Cinder and possibly Peony because she deserved to live.

They still live on a farm, just outside of town. The three would often help out around the farm.

Scarlet was involved at sports a lot, probably soccer and basketball, something where she can throw stuff at people or something idk.

I think she’d be an activist and support stuff like BLM and ACAB (I mean it’s canon that she hates the cops).

She’d probably get involved with the club Kai started, which is how she met him.

Wolf was also involved in sports, or maybe he did karate or something. Anyway, he’s athletic and active.

I dunno if he’ll go by Wolf here or Ze’ev, maybe Wolf will be a inside joke or something.

He met Scarlet when they were partnered for a project and 95% of it was awkward flirting.

They hit it off immediately, obviously, and probably start dating not too soon after.

Cress is really shy and awkward, so she typically hide out in the back of classes and doesn’t participate.

She is, though, really good with tech stuff, so thats how her and Cinder meet.

Then, one day, Thorne, who’s super popular and flirty approaches her not because he needs his phone fixed or something, but just because he wants to.

Needless to say, Cress doesn’t know how to react, and initially forces him away.

Thorne keeps trying though, so eventually Cress agrees to go on a date hang out with him. She’s not that surprised that, while he’s a trouble maker, he’s actually really kind and sweet.

Yeah, Thorne has a knack for getting in trouble, like in canon, but he swears he doesn’t mean to. Is he telling the truth? Who knows, not him.

Thorne is popular, and has been in a lot of relationships, mostly because he’s trying to find love since he parents are Not Nice.

:(

Okay so Winter is related to Cinder still and Cinder and maybe Peony live with her.

I still want her to have some sort of mental illness, not sure what.

Whatever it is, it affects her a lot, and she prefers to be with someone else whenever she can so they can help her.

She likes helping people, and she probably also gets involved with Kai’s club, since Scarlet told her about it.

Her and Jacin met because their father’s were friends.

I dunno what their fathers do though. Maybe the work for the government in some way?

Anyway, her and Jacin have been friends since childhood and have been crushing on each other for years but they’re oblivious fools.

Kinda.

Anyway, for some reason I see Jacin taking Karate? Like he wants to learn to defend himself or whatever and so he tries it and vibes with it?

Lmao I cannot see Jacin being as energetic as you have to be for some things at my dojo (specifically stuff like ‘yes I can!’ and such)

I dunno if every dojo has that sort of thing but.

I could see Jacin forcing Cinder to at least try it for whatever reason.

Cinder is reluctant and first but ends up loving it.

Iko and Cinder have been friends for years. She was there throughout the whole abuse-investigation-fostering-adoption situation.

Iko is popular too, though she doesn’t flaunt it.

I should probably add headcanons about Peony if she’s alive in this but idk that’ll take some thought.

It was Iko that got everyone to meet. They’d been mutuals and knew who everyone was for a while, but it was Iko hosting a move night or game night that really got everyone to meet.

This is where Kai and Cinder can meet and I bet you can guess what happens next.

Anyway, if I think of anything else I’ll add it.

[fantasy2739]

Could you write some father-son fluff of Merlin and Douxie post final-battle, after the arcane order is temporarily defeated and they've left with Nari? (As a followup to your previous MerlinLives!AU.)

Yes of course!! This is part 4 of my Merlin Lives AU and I think, for now, the last part. You never know.

I hope you all enjoy it!!

Merlin picked New York to hide in. The metropolis providing easy cover as they were lost in the masses. After hiding the ship, they located some clothes for Nari so she could hide before stumbling to a hotel. Hisirdoux had rested on the way over but he was still exhausted. They all were. They only had two double beds, one of which Hisirdoux promptly collapsed onto. Archie padded next to him, yawning as fell asleep. Nari curled up on the other, leaving Merlin with a choice of who to share with. Without much thought, he slumped next to Hisirdoux, wrapping his arms around the boy for fear he would somehow slip away.

Douxie woke up between the soft body of Archie and the sturdy but warm body of his mentor. Nari was a across the room, resembling a cat as she curled up under her duvet. Douxie still felt as stiff as a board when he tried to move. His jerky wiggling woke Merlin up. Merlin blinked at him sleepily.

“Go back to sleep Hisirdoux.” He mumbled. “We’re all tired. We need rest.” Douxie managed to roll over, planting himself firmly against Merlin’s chest. The metal armour was cooling to the pounding in his head. He relaxed as Merlin adjust his hold, tucking Douxie’s head under his chin. They fell asleep again.

Merlin, Nari and Archie all woke up at similar times. They decided it would be best to let Douxie rest. Archie stretched himself out before leaping from the bed. He watched as Merlin tugged the covers over Douxie before brushing a few strands of hair out of the boys face. Archie gave himself a light shake before tempting Nari into the bathroom. It was a little fun watching her fascination with the shower.

“It is warm.” She said, reaching her hands out. “Like summer rain.”

“We use it to clean ourselves.” Archie explained. Well, humans did. He most certainly did not, he had a perfectly good tongue.

“Dirt is bad?” Nari asked. “But it is good to have.”

“Maybe for you. But humans get all sorts of nasty illnesses if they don’t wash regularly.” Archie explained. Nari would not be taking showers then. No doubt she’d still smell like the forest even if she didn’t. Nari seemed to like the shower though, if the giggles were anything to go by. She’d stick her hand under the streams of water and watch as at dripped from her fingers.

“Humans are so clever.” Nari commented. Archie snorted, leaving her to it. He went back to the bedroom. Douxie was coming into awareness, blinking at them slowly. Merlin was sat next to him hold a cup. The old wizard pulled Douxie up to lean against his chest and tried to coax him into to drinking some water. Douxie managed a few sips before slumping tiredly against Merlin. Merlin managed to manoeuvre himself against the bed head, rubbing soothing circles into Douxie’s back. Archie jumped onto the bed and rubbing himself against Douxie. His friend smiled weakly at him, running a delicate hand through his fur before turning back into Merlin’s chest and dozing.

“What’s wrong with him?” Archie asked. “Shouldn’t he have recovered by now?” Merlin pondered the questions.

“I think using so much magic in such quick progression, along with dying, has set his body into recovery mode.” Merlin considered. “He’ll be fine after some rest and food.” And a lot of TLC Archie thought, noticing how gentle Merlin was being with Douxie. It was like he was made of glass and might shatter if Merlin held on too tightly.

A few days later and Douxie was up and about and quite cheery. Merlin had barely left his side the entire time. Douxie was beginning to think he was hovering. Still it was nice, given the several near death experiences of the past week. They were changing hotels again, trying to keep the Arcane Order off their trail. Archie has curled himself around Douxie’s neck, while Douxie had donned a baseball cap. Nari was hiding her antlers with a hat that made it look like they were accessories. Merlin had finally changed out of the ridiculous suit of armour he’d been wearing for the last millennia. Instead opting for a button down shirt and jacket with jeans.

“Hisirdoux how do people wear these things?” Merlin complained.

“Easily.” Douxie quipped. “You can’t keep looking like you’re from a ren fair?”

“I resent that remark. My armour far predates the renaissance.” Merlin said as he tried to walk comfortably. “These pants chafe.”

“They don’t.” Douxie said with an eye roll. “Hmm I need to get some savings.”

“We can just hoodwink the mortals into giving us rooms.” Merlin said. Douxie tried not to face palm. He turned and jabbed his fingers at Merlin.

“That’ll be the easiest way for the Arcane Order to find us. You’ve been out of it for the past 900 years. Things have changed.” He explained. Merlin grumbled but followed his lead. Douxie managed to find a cheap hotel that didn’t mind pets.

“How many nights?” The receptionist asked.

“Two.” Douxie said, not willing to risk more.

“Cash or card?” They asked.

“Cash.” Douxie said, offering the amount required. He’d only gotten the one room, but two beds again. They flopped onto the beds.

“If this is how we’re going to live we’re going to need money.” Archie said.

“Well Hisirdoux. You’re the expert.” Merlin said, turning to him with a fond expression.

“I could get a job as a waiter or something.” Douxie offered. “Nothing permanent.”

“I’m guessing street scams aren’t allowed anymore.” Merlin said, pondering.

“Oh I don’t know. If you can pull them off then maybe.” Douxie said with a wicked grin. He’d pulled more than a couple in his time.

“We’ll work it out later.” Merlin said. He rested a hand on Douxie’s shoulder. “You know I’m very proud of you.” Douxie flushed at the out of the blue compliment.

“Uhhhh.” He stuttered. “Thanks?” Merlin snickered a little.

“I never say it enough.” He said, smiling fondly. “And recent events remind me of how precious our time is.” A hand brushed his hair. “I’m so very proud of you.”

[hawkland]

Dear Fandom5k Author

My AO3 account (sidewinder)

Hello and thank you for writing for me! I’m excited to give this exchange a try for the first time and cannot wait to read what you can come up with for one of my requests. Please note I’d love any of them equally, no matter if I have more prompt ideas for one or the other. Some I seriously would love just about anything about since they are so rare, others I have more specific requests to scratch itches I haven’t seen written before (or that much.)

General Likes:

Soumates with a twist. I love soulmate/soulbond AUs, as long as it’s just not a shortcut to happily-ever, no-conflict fluff. I want there to be some difficulties or angst involved. For instance, I’d love seeing any fusion/inspired-by fics based off the concept of the AMC Soumates series - where there’s a newly-developed scientific test a person can choose to take to find their soulmate (if the other person out there has also taken the test). That way it’s a choice to find out or not. Would an already established couple want to take the test to find out if they’re really “meant” to be together or not? What if they find out other people are their “soulmates”? What about the possibility of platonic soulmates vs romantic? Discussions for the future if/when one partner dies before the other? I’d love to see these questions played out with one of my fave ships in either a  happy or somewhat angsty/dark way.

Vacation/travel stories. Being unable to travel this past year+ thanks to covid-19 has me desperate to explore and live vicariously through my favorite characters! So I’d love a story involving travel to somewhere new (to them). It could be a romantic getaway/honeymoon trip to somewhere special - and I love it when an author “takes me” to a favorite city/place of their own. Or two friends just going on an escapade together, maybe one sensing the other needs some time away from a stressful situation or workplace.

Smutty likes: I love extended kissing scenes, frottage, light restraint play, sharing-one-bed-for-~reasons~-ooops-how-did-we-wake-up-cuddling, bathing/caretaking an injured partner-turns-erotic, desperate/reunion sex.

Canon-divergent AUs - I’m always good with fix-its, shifts in canon that only change one thing and see what happens next or instead.

Do Not Wants:

A/B/O dynamics, mating heats. (I do like Supernatural fics that explore Castiel and the angels having bird-like behaviors and instincts, however.)

animal abuse/death

anything related to pregnancy/childbirth/kidfic (except for Jack in SPN)

formalized BDSM relationships

scat/watersports

unrequested alternative-universe scenarios such as high school/mundane/genderswap/coffee shop/fantasy/etc. There are a few ships/groups where I would enjoy specific AUs, and those are outlined below.

Completely sad endings/permanent character death or injury that isn’t part of canon

Rape/non-con between requested characters. Dubious consent is fine in situations like magic spells/possession/fuck-or-die, however.

Supernatural

AU - Canon Divergence, Character Development, Established Relationship, Getting Together, Fix-it fic, Interpersonal Drama, Smut, Angst, Canon-Style Plot - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery/Procedural, Slice of Life, Worldbuilding, Horror

In general for SPN, I love canon-divergence AUs at pretty much any point in time (especially as they kept having so many dumb reasons in canon to keep Dean & Cas apart just when one or the other seriously needed support or TLC!) I’m okay with post-series Heaven fics as well as canon fix-its/completely ignoring the finale, and I like exploring both human!Cas as endgame or Cas keeping/getting his full angelic grace back (which is a slight preference to me, as he repeatedly seemed to genuinely value/want to be an angel? But exploring all possibilities in fic is cool for me.)

I’m a sucker for Castiel Whump/hurt!Cas in general, so long as the author remembers Cas is a bad ass and not just a baby in a trenchcoat. If he’s going to suffer, I want him to suffer stoically until he just cannot keep up the facade any longer.  

SPN-specific DNWs: mentions/implications of Wincest, past or present; extreme bashing/characterization of John and Mary Winchester, or Jimmy Nowak, as homophobic. 

Group: Castiel/Dean Winchester Group: Castiel/Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester

Give me all the finale fix-it fics - no I’m still not over it, I’m still happy to read any new twist on how Cas got out of the Empty and got back together with Dean (and Sam). If Dean still dies early/ends up in Heaven, I’d like a story that explores what happens when one gets bored of peace-and-happiness-ever-after. (Yes, I’m a big fan of The Good Place and as such it makes me wonder if eternity with no conflict and everything you could ever want would just melt your brain and identity after a few millennia.) So what then?

I’m also stealing a Tumblr rant as a prompt I’d love to read, if you want to get into some good dirty smut:

ive had it up to here with fictional gays being like “i love you and if all i can ever have is that knowledge it’s enough for me” we need more “i have been struck down by horny insanity and i beg you to fuck me once. i’ve had three smirnoff ices and i’m gonna be crazy now. we can pretend it didn’t happen i don’t give a shit just gimme daddy’s blunt instrument” it’s more realistic [x]

Um so yeah. I’d love an au where, anywhere along the line when it’s been their/someone’s/the universe’s life on the life, Cas takes the initiative decides they’re gonna have crazy sex even if it’s just once before the end of the world/we die. But then, oops, we’ve survived, now we have to deal with it. ...Please?

For something different, maybe more romantic/fluffy, I’d really love a vacation/getaway story here, since they never really got anything like that of substance on the show. I want to see Cas take Dean somewhere beautiful and amazing in the world he’s never gotten to see before. Show him there’s more than just greasy diners and the landscape of America to enjoy and experience. If you want, they could stumble on a case/haunting/monster from another part of the world while they’re at it...but I just really want to see Dean having some mind-opening and expanding experiences beyond what’s he’s known and seen so far in life.

In specific with Cas/Dean + Sam, I love another tumblr idea I saw recently where Sam totally keeps bringing up the idea of “Sastiel” as a fun joke between him and Cas, and Cas plays along, and it drives Dean up the wall. Cas has to just keep re-assuring Dean that no, he doesn’t see Sam that way...but why does it bother Dean so much? A.k.a. Dean has to finally own up to the fact that it bothers him because he wants Cas to feel that way about him.

Castiel (Supernatural)

I just love Cas, period, end of story, he’s my One True Character of SPN. I love any stories that try to explore him more fully—be it his relationships in the past with other angels and being a BAMF commander/warrior of Heaven, or what specifically it is that keeps him so tied to the Winchesters. I love stories that feature his true-form in some fashion or try to dig into the alien/different nature of angels vs. humans.

Also, another Tumblr-musing-turned-prompt (I lost who posted it, sorry!) I'd love to see explored in a canon divergence fic focused on Cas. Specifically: 

"I would have loved an arc for Cas (after he got his grace back) where he wanted to help people, like he was helped. Spending time in soup kitchens or healing people, and through that developing a sense of self purpose, leading to his grace replenishing unexpectedly. Sort of fulfilling the traditional angel role (as we know it nowadays) by replacing his faith in heaven/dean with faith in himself, to redefine himself as a protector of humanity instead of heaven's soldier."

Group: Castiel/Dean Winchester & Jimmy Novak Group: Castiel & Jimmy Novak

We know Cas carried a lot of guilt for what happened to Jimmy and his whole family. So I'm interested in a post-finale, canon-compliant (I guess?) fic where Cas tries to reconcile things with Jimmy in Heaven. Maybe Jimmy & Amelia were one of his first "projects" or test cases in trying to build a new and better Heaven with Jack? (And it's what he was so busy with while Dean was still alive.) Or, is it weird in Heaven with Cas and Jimmy looking so similar? Does Cas still fight doubts as to whether Dean really loves him, or just desires this body/form that isn’t his own?

Otherwise, I've been thinking about Endverse!Cas, who had lost his grace/powers as the angels have all left and abandoned humankind. What happened to/where is Jimmy in all of that? (If we go by the canon that Jimmy was not killed, nor went to Heaven, until the end of Season 5, when Lucifer blew up that vessel and Cas was resurrected by Chuck.) Are they now two "mortal men"/souls trapped sharing one body? Is that why Cas is so messed up/always seeking an escape through drugs and sex? (Besides of course Dean having changed so much.) This is one prompt where I don’t mind a very dark/not-so-happily-ever-after ending.

The Police

Angst, Character Development, Established Relationship, Getting Together, Humor, Interpersonal Drama, Smut

Group: Sting/Stewart Copeland

Yeah I’ll always request these two together even though I know it’s a long shot to find anyone else as obsessed about them as I am. Really anything at all whatsoever would make me happy for this ship: Reunion Tour-era fic, early punk days before they grew successful, soulmate AUs...

I’d also love a spooky story where they’re on tour/on the road somewhere and end up in a haunted hotel. Or their tour bus/van breaks down in the middle of nowhere and they have to seek shelter in an abandoned house or farm or something...and supernatural weirdness ends up affecting them or bringing them together.

If you want to go the crack route: it wasn’t enough for Miles to take them all around the world to tour in “exotic” locations back in the day. He’s arranged for them now to go on the ultimate tour...of outer space and alien worlds.

Crossover Fandom

Action/Adventure, Character Development, Interpersonal Drama, Angst, Canon-Style Plot - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery/Procedural

Group: Abe Morgan (Forever TV) & John Munch (L&O: SVU)

I’ve had a long running headcanon that these two could have been friends back in their respective 60s/early 70s hippie days. I’d love either a story set back then, “pre-canon”, or them running into each other in NYC later in life. Munch ending up in Abe’s antique shop, for instance, while on an investigation?  

Group: Dean Winchester (Supernatural) & Ezekiel Stone (Brimstone) Group: Castiel (Supernatural) & Ezekiel Stone (Brimstone)

I’m fascinated by the idea of crossing over these two canons. Even if there’s some conflict in their approach to Hell/Lucifer/demons, there’s still a lot in common. Dean & Ezekiel having both put in their time in Hell and being demon hunters, for instance, and their complicated relationships with (fallen) angels. I’d love to see them bonding over their experiences (Maybe they even meet in Hell? Time DOES work differently there…) Maybe somehow after Ezekiel completed his mission for the Devil, he did get his second chance at “life on Earth”…but the devil’s trick is that it’s not HIS Earth, it’s in a different dimension (Supernatural’s). I’m also curious how Ezekiel might respond to Castiel as an angel–perhaps he mistakes Cas for a demon at first, with his powers, but then they realize they are in fact hunting the same demon? Cas is stuck in an alternative dimension and recognizes Ezekiel as a similar soul to Dean’s, and seeks out his help?

Basically I’d love some kind of casefic/demon hunt here, with the characters bonding over their shared/similar past traumas, taking care of each other when/if injured on a hunt, and/or perhaps helping them sort out their complicated feelings for another (ie, background Cas/Dean and/or Zeke/the Devil are TOTALLY welcome here, as I ship both of those ships.)

Law & Order: SVU

Group: John Munch/Odafin "Fin" Tutuola

Character Development, Established Relationship, Humor, Getting Together, Interpersonal Drama, Canon-Style Plot - Freeform, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery/Procedural, Slice of Life, AU-Genre shift

Munch/Fin is one of my eternal OTPs so I’m always happy to see something new featuring them! I’m always good for procedural/case-fics. And this is one request where I’d love to read some AU-Genre or setting shift, reimagining the two in some other situations besides police work. I’ve always loved the idea of John hosting a conspiracy/weird news radio show or podcast, and Fin as someone completely skeptical but who gets wrapped up in one of John’s mysteries. Or John as the owner of a bar somewhere that Fin is one of his regulars, and over time their friendship develops/deepens into something more.

Supernatural RPF

Misha Collins/Jensen Ackles Established Relationship, Getting Together, Smut, Fluff, Slice of Life, Humor

It’s odd for me to be into an actor RPF fandom (I usually only fall for music/band-related ones), but what can I say...these two just make it almost impossible not to see the possibilities!

I was thinking I’d love something set post-Supernatural...their first time seeing each other again after a long time apart? (What with the show ending, covid, Misha’s surgery, etc etc.) Could be at a convention or maybe they get to go off on a getaway together somewhere private/romantic and it’s...kind of tense and maybe nervous/angsty at first? Like with doubts about whether they can/should go back to the way things were before.

Or: putting tin-hatty speculation about the “secret/real identity” of Alma Perpetua aside, I love their poetry and I’d love any “Cockles” fic using one of their poems as inspiration.

[swhurtcomfort]

MEGA Fic Rec Friday!

I’d really like to do these every month, so they can be a nice 4-5 fic affair. But grad school happened, so I’ve got a lot of lovely reads from the past several months to share!!

As always, alphabetical by author ft. me yelling under the cut!

Not There Yet by BigFatBumblebee - Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon, Gen, 10k Summary:  We all know Obi-Wan Kenobi as the one of the strongest, wisest and bravest Jedi in the Jedi Order. But before he was High General Kenobi, The Negotiator, Council Member and Master of the Chosen One, he was an awkward 16-year-old Padawan who needed a bit of TLC.

The Queen, The Cavalier, and The Dragon by FireflyFish - Fem!Obi-Wan & Padme & Vader, 3.8k Summary:  A Queen and her Jedi Knight flee across the galaxy, relentlessly chased by the Dragon they both loved.

Problem Patient by JellyJog - AU Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon, 1.2k Summary:  From a tumblr prompt requesting quiobi where Obi-Wan chose to become a healer instead of following the path to become a jedi knight

Six Times Ahsoka Thought Her Grandmaster Was Dead, and the One Time He Actually Was by LazarusII & Pandora151 - 1.4k, wip Summary: A heavy silence fell over the lower levels of Coruscant’s undercity. Then, a quiet shuffling sound, almost like footsteps, sounded from above.A single blaster bolt rang out—followed by a pained cry. Things were happening too fast; Ahsoka’s heartbeat thundered in her ears, drowning out her surroundings.Her mind barely registered the flash of cream-white careening into the crates directly in front of her. A sickening crunch filled the air as the lifeless form of Obi-Wan Kenobi crashed to the ground. Ahsoka’s heart stopped.

Perception by LuvEwan - Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon & Dooku, Gen, 7.5k Summary:  Master and apprentice are held captive. Obi-Wan is drugged, and unable to differentiate the past, present and future. Qui-Gon is a little shocked when rescue comes in the form of a figure from his own past: Dooku. The trip back to Coruscant is full of unexpected moments and emotions.

Candles Against the Sea by maychorian - Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon, Gen, 41k Summary: It is several months after Melida/Daan, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon have been working to re-establish their bond. It's been going well. Qui-Gon seems perfectly satisfied. But Obi-Wan is not.

The Sun Shall Not Smite Thee by maychorian - Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon, Gen,  Summary:  It had taken the Jedi far too long to effect a rescue—over a week. By that time Obi-Wan was nearly delirious, on the edge of madness from loneliness and fear caused by his inability to touch the Force.

The Past Remains by otherhawk - Obi-Wan-centric, Gen, 15k Summary:  The war drags on leaving trauma and destruction in its wake. After a bereaved Master is accused of harming his padawan, Obi-Wan is sent to talk to her, dredging up memories of his own past.

The Orchards by Raven_Knight - Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan, Gen, 3.6k Summary: When young Obi-Wan Kenobi is injured on a previous mission, Qui-Gon Jinn refuses to accept further off-planet missions until his Padawan's recovery. Yoda assigns the pair an in-Temple mission of utmost importance while Obi-Wan heals. Master and Padawan welcome the change of pace.

Protect and Nurture by Ren - Obi-Wan & 212th, Gen, 7k Summary: “What do you mean he was taken by slavers!?” Rex winced, looking over his shoulder to make sure no-one had heard. He was hiding in a dark alleyway, and the last thing he needed was for this hiding spot to be blown by an outraged Commander.When their General is taken by slavers, the 212th is half-way across the galaxy. They must wait and pray that their brothers can get to him in time.

Not There Yet by BigFatBumblebee: This is straight-up sickfic, featuring all the best classic tropes. Looking now it seems like there might be some formatting issues in the desktop version, but I read this on mobile without difficulty. Poor Obi-Wan gets frustrated with the motherhenning of Qui-Gon and Tahl. “Meg, did you find this fic because you were searching through the Tahl tag again?” Sure did. Tahl is the best! I loved her interactions with grumpy, feverish Obi-Wan, and how she and Qui-Gon team up to make sure he takes his medicine and rests up. Very cute, worth the read! <3

The Queen, The Cavalier, and The Dragon by FireflyFish: This is so cool! I’m in love with the fairytale motif. This is a post-mustafar fix-it (sort of) with a focus on Obi and Padme parenting the twins and keeping them safe and trying to teach them their family’s history in a way that they can comprehend. I loved Obi and Padme kicking ass together, Leia was great, and Luke was so freakin’ precious omg <3

Problem Patient by JellyJog: I guess you could say that this one is less about the h/c, and more humor with the halls of healing as a backdrop, but I loved it so I wanted to include it nonetheless! Qui-Gon is such an ass and Obi-Wan is so confident and OVER his shit, it’s just peak QuiObi and I got a lot of laughs out of it. I liked Obi-Wan in the healer role, especially when it’s Qui-Gon he’s patching up. <3

Six Times Ahsoka Thought Her Grandmaster Was Dead, and the One Time He Actually Was by LazarusII & Pandora151: Ouch! Just ouch! I loved the narrative style that really drove home the horror of this scene, I always expect great things from these authors and I am never ever disappointed!! I’m so excited to see where this goes next! I am NOT ready for it, because I assume they will get sadder and sadder as we move forward in the timeline and Ahsoka gets closer and closer to Obi-Wan. But fine, I didn’t need my heart anyways, go ahead and break it </3

Perception by LuvEwan: This is wonderfully unique! I love the tension between Qui-Gon and Dooku, and how weird it is for everyone involved to see Dooku being soft and caring with Obi-Wan - especially poor Qui-Gon doesn’t know what to make of it. I melted for how worried Qui-Gon got, even though he was trying not to motherhen too much in front of Dooku because he assumed Dooku would disapprove. What a good Jedi Dad. <3

Candles Against the Sea by maychorian: I implore you to check the tags on this one! But if you’re like me, and some of the themes warned for are a “maybe” for you, know that they’re dealt with here very tactfully and, I thought, very believable for Obi-Wan’s character. What I love most about this fic is how it deals with grief, and how it shows Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon and their different approaches to dealing with their pasts. And of course, I’m a sucker for fics that reference the Jedi Apprentice series! <3

The Sun Shall Not Smite Thee by maychorian: Ouch! This is a dark one! Just like the other fic by this author, it takes me back to my livejournal days and the Jedi Apprentice series. I loved how desperate and protective and fatherly Qui-Gon was, and it definitely scratched the itch for straight-up Obi-Wan whump. <3

The Past Remains by otherhawk: Please please please read the tags on this one before diving in! That said, I thought this was a really well-written and touching story, my favorite bit was probably Obi-Wan and Mace’s interactions, and just Obi-Wan with the Council in general because despite being one of them, it’s hard to escape the fact that most of them knew him when he was young too and the past still follows him. What I liked about this was also how messy it is - it’s not a black-and-white situation, and the different characters’ perspectives and conflicting memories are laid out to give the reader sort of an omniscient view of the story. <3

The Orchards by Raven_Knight: I died of cuteness! This is so domestic and fluffy, they’re freakin’ baking together, what more could anyone possibly want from a h/c fic? This one is for those of us who are 100% here for the comfort, not just the hurt. I really loved reading these two getting some downtime, and with all the asshole!Qui-Gon fics in this list, I’m really happy to include one that features Qui being sweet and protective and softly joking with his convalescent Padawan while they bond over apples! <3

Protect and Nurture by Ren: OUCH! This one doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to Obi-Wan and the aftermath of Zygerria. I loved seeing Cody, Rex, and Wolffe and their different reactions to the traumatic scenario. Motherhen!Cody cracks me up! For all that this story has a lot of “hurt”, there’s a lot of the “comfort” part too which is something I really appreciate. <3

[1dshortficfest]

2019 1D Short Fic Fest Round Up

Down Memory Lane by flicker_album Harry and Louis have known each other since they were five. Now they’re in their senior year of high school and still best friends. Harry, as sentimental as ever, keeps anything Louis gives him in a box under his bed. He doesn’t anticipate Louis finding the box.

A Way So Familiar by yeah_alright Liam squeezes Zayn’s hand and presses a light kiss to his fingers. He freezes when Zayn stirs, worried he’s woken him. He’s not ready to wake him. He’s enjoying being held as he wades through the memories of that first night he’d held Zayn. Held him so properly and thoroughly that he had fallen asleep still holding him tightly. That night of pizza and beer and unadulterated flirting, when their playfulness had taken on a greater significance. It had felt revelatory. Like it was all finally – fucking finally – happening. Liam wakes up in Zayn’s arms and reminisces about some of their “firsts.”

an honest mistake by disgruntledkittenface “You look different when you’re not covered in come,” he blurts out, immediately regretting each and every life choice that has led to this exact moment. Elevator Guy is going to hate him. Louis has ridden the elevator with his neighbor all week. The first time they speak, there’s a misunderstanding.

nothing breaks (like a heart) by thelouistiti Such a good time, Louis believes it this time.

Heat by jacaranda_bloom Louis was smitten from the moment Harry had arrived a month ago. Long, curly hair which he mostly keeps up in a bun, and a sinfully deep voice. Cheeky too. Louis likes that the best. He gives good banter and laughs at Louis’ dumb jokes, adding his own woeful puns. When Louis had asked him why he was in this godforsaken dust bowl, he’d said something about a ground crew traineeship and fulfilling his visa requirements while experiencing the real Australia. Louis had been momentarily distracted by Harry’s plush, red-bitten lips so the salient details may have washed over him. OR Drinking beer in a blow-up pool, in a backyard, in stupidly hot temperatures, in outback Australia should be ridiculous, and it would be, if Louis didn’t have a curly-haired workmate to keep him company.

Fistiana by yesisaworld They met in the center of the ring and bumped their bare knuckles together.

All I See Is You, Lately by runaway_train Harry noticed him for the first time three months ago. He couldn’t not, really, what with the man being so pretty and all, and Harry remembers it well because it was three days before his birthday and he had joked to himself that seeing someone so gorgeous for three days on the trot must be an early present from the Gods. Or The one where Harry has a crush on a fellow commuter.

we’re right here in this room by flicker_album Shawn goes to the same cafe every Sunday. After he meets Niall, a friend of a friend, he can’t stop thinking about him.

Insomnis by FullOnLarrie Harry’s been having trouble sleeping. Louis makes everything better.

The Truth Of It or The Day That Changed Everything by Larryhasmyheart You are Louis, the son of a wealthy horseman. Your father has been trying to ingratiate you into his circle of friends and set you up with their daughters, but you just aren’t feeling it. Instead, ever since the new stable hand smiled at you, you have been drawn to the barn. Today, you come to understand why.

it’s only your imagination again by wreckingtomlinson “So,” Louis begins, curling up in one corner of the sofa. “Guess my secret’s out.” Harry nods. “The cat’s out of the bag,” he says with a completely straight face. ~ Or, Harry’s pretty convinced his new neighbor has a cat.

Pals and Confidantes by yeah_alright The Guys sit around the kitchen table sharing cheesecake and stories of bad dates. Golden Girls AU.

Soju (소주) by gettingaphdinlarry After a spectacular breakup he’d like to forget about, English language teacher Niall Horan finds himself in starting anew in Seoul, South Korea. He’s perfectly content being single, but when his friends try to set him up with Shawn Mendes, well… Maybe it’s time to give love another shot.

Was Sort Of Hoping That You’d Stay by Sasparella76 Last night, Louis Tomlinson hooked-up with a drop-dead gorgeous man who, right now, is sleeping contentedly in his arms. Sure, the sex was good - really good, in fact - and the guy was charming and funny, but it was just a one-time thing. The thought of having to engage in some awkward morning-after chit-chat with the lad makes Louis shudder. He needs to get up, get dressed and get out before his one-night stand wakes up.

the pain’s only temporary by wreckingtomlinson They call him The Phantom. He’s something like a myth in the industry—almost everyone knows of him, but real information is few and far between. But the one thing everyone seems to be able to agree on is that anyone who dares to make a deal with him becomes untouchably, irrevocably, successful. ~ or, Harry seeks out the help of a mysterious figure referred to only as The Phantom for help getting out of a contract, but is he prepared to pay the price?

Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now by allwaswell16 Louis is having a personal crisis, a third Valentine’s Day being single. Unless he meets someone this week at the high end department store he works at, he’ll be stuck going to Niall’s Valentine’s Day party–again. Or the one where Harry mistakes Louis for a mannequin.

please forgive me if my lips quake by disgruntledkittenface Hi ! Got your number from your cat Lou. Just want to make sure they’re not lost, only visiting Harry’s pet cat wing-womans her into a date.

sunbeams by ohsailor Harry is the new neighbour suffering from insomnia. Louis is the night nurse across the hall trying to find ways to help him sleep. They find one that works.

honey (you’re familiar) by hazkaban harry had always thought that if he stumbled into the wrong date, somehow, it’s just like him, honestly, he would come clean instantly and go find his real date. that is until he’s face to face with louis, who is very pretty and not at all the man he’s supposed to be meeting.

Fluro by silveredglass Doesn’t matter where you go to help you forget - symbols, and reminders, and good old heartache is always neon bright.

Screamin’ At My Face, Baby, Don’t Trip by runaway_train He’s been waiting at their table in the restaurant for thirty minutes now, already deep into his second large glass of Shiraz, when he checks his phone. No new messages. He clicks onto WhatsApp to check when Louis was last online; 3.34 p.m today. That certainly doesn’t bode well. Louis was always late, yes, but he had promised, he had sworn to Harry that he wouldn’t be late tonight. But he was. By thirty one minutes and counting. Or The one when Harry’s anniversary dinner plans don’t go quite how he hoped they would.

She’s Got Particular Taste by Miadotfi They eventually change topics but it’s still in the back of Harry’s mind. So naturally, as soon as they get home, Harry drops her coat on the living room floor and gets naked from the waist up. With her bra in her hand she turns around to face the door. Louis enters the room and freezes in the middle of taking off her beanie. Her gaze slides down in a heartbeat, mouth hanging open. Harry waits. And waits. She doesn’t know what she expected. She shouldn’t have just stripped down first thing when they arrived home. Harry has nipple piercings and she’s more than willing to show them to Louis.

Ticket To L.A. by Tomlinsontoes Fun little airport fic based on the song “Ticket to L.A.” by Brett Young. Harry is a musician who meets Louis in an airport when all of the flights are delayed. After accidentally hitting him with his guitar case, Louis agrees to get a drink with Harry as long as he doesn’t start playing “Wonderwall”

Back To Life by Laziam (MItCheLlInE) When a fun day out turns into a horror scenario for Zayn, a kind stranger turns his entire world upside down.

The Bet by jacaranda_bloom Louis Tomlinson never reneges on a bet. Ever. He may be many things - a joker, a sometimes-wayward student, a loyal friend, a Tony Award winner in the making, and a card-carrying member of the Chad Michael Murray fan club - but never, ever, a welcher. Louis makes good on his promises and does it with flare. OR The one where Louis misjudges Harry’s ability to do TLC’s Waterfall rap and finds himself having to put on a one-man show for his viewing pleasure. If Louis decides to go all-in and dress the part, then that’s just a bonus for his (very appreciative) one-man audience.

Calling out for somebody to hold tonight by cristalrush “I saw how you kept looking at me. I’m Louis, nice to meet you.” The raspy voice startled Harry. There he was. The guy he had been watching. He looked around discreetly to make sure Louis was actually talking to him. But there was no one facing them, so Harry thought it must be him. He offered his hand to Louis, “I’m Harry, nice to meet you too.” Or Harry has almost lost hope to ever finding his soulmate and just wants to have a fun night.

A Snapshot by haztobegood That one time Harry’s photo was uploaded to Louis’ instagram.

Drunk on summer by sweetsumerstyles Zayn and Louis are on a beach stargazing with a bottle of wine and a blanket wrapped around them.

Size Difference by FullOnLarrie Harry avoids confrontation until he can’t anymore.

Angels in the Airwaves Tonight by shiftylinguini Louis is between jobs. Niall is always along for the ride.

Beautiful Disaster by FallingLikeThis Harry is broken. Maybe Louis can help with that.

Harry’s Love Song by writcraft Harry calls Nick to let him know he’s coming back to London.

Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Cheese (who am I to dis-a-brie?) by EmmyLouWho The first time it happened, Harry had assumed that it was an honest mistake. The second time it happened, Harry thought it must have been a coincidence. Perhaps if he hadn’t been such an eternal optimist, the possibility that someone was stealing his food might have occurred to him a bit earlier, but Harry had a great deal of faith in the goodness of his fellow students, and so he continued to believe that it was an accident. But by the third time he had returned to an empty microwave, Harry was starting to realise that someone was stealing his mac & cheese on purpose.

A True Love of Mine by myownspark Niall’s peaceful afternoon at the beach with Shawn is interrupted by a group of strangers. One man in particular reminds him of someone special from long ago.

sweet, sweet fate by bottomlinsons Harry’s lived with a NSFW soulmark for almost twenty-five years now. When he finally meets the man responsible, he gives him a little piece of his mind.

As Luck Would Have It by Justalittlelouislove We’ve all experienced the trials and tribulations of technology. Louis is sabotaged by a bit of unhelpful autocorrect, but maybe luck is on his side after all.

It Could Be Sweet (like a long forgotten dream) by Harryskiwiposes “You did all this? For me? Even after I ignored you all week?” “I know why you’ve been ignoring me. If you had given me a chance to explain.” He paused, taking a deep breath before continuing, “I was never going to set up a dating profile. That was all Niall’s idea. He thought he was helping, but…it’s…it’s you, Louis. I just want to be with you. I was going to ask you out before Niall burst in and -” OR - the one where a miscommunication and a blackout lead Harry and Louis to admit their feelings for each other.

[wordsablaze]

Chapter Nineteen: Bruise

Cinder’s life revolved around the garage, working as a mechanic, until that one male student came in looking for a Mercedes and changed her life… AU Kaider story. Enjoy!

A/N: I love TLC to the moon and back but I’m only a couple months shy of being that writer who doesn’t update for a year, oops :p Anyway, voila...

-

She hasn’t gone blind by the time Kai makes it back to the garage, which is why she gasps as soon as she sees him.

“I’m fine,” Kai assures her before she’s even said anything but she doesn’t believe him.

“What happened?” Cinder asks, dumping the toolbox she’d picked up on the floor and rushing over to him.

She changes her mind halfway and goes over to the shelf where they keep the first aid kit, pulling out one of the instant ice packs and cracking it before wrapping it in a tissue.

Kai hasn’t moved by the time she gets back to him but he has adopted a guilty expression. “Sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have-”

Cinder glares at him as she places the ice pack over the angry bruise on his cheek, gesturing for him to hold it in place.

He does so, reluctantly. “Thank you.”

“So? What happened?” Cinder asks again.

Kai takes a moment to adjust the ice pack before shrugging. “I don’t really know.”

When he sees the doubt clearly written on Cinder’s face, he adds: “I think I just acted as the trigger for someone who needed to let off steam.”

That’s not really what Cinder was looking for. She was looking for names and addresses because she’s sure she and Iko could get revenge for this by the end of the day. But she doesn’t tell him that because she remembers he doesn’t like violence.

“Are you, uh, hurt anywhere else?”

Kai shakes his head, then bites his lip. Which causes Cinder to notice the small cut on his top lip, but she doesn't mention it since there's very little she can do about it.

“Actually, I'm fairly certain I twisted my ankle," Kai admits, interrupting her staring, "could we please sit down?”

Only slightly mortified, Cinder nods, but a quick look around tells her there isn’t actually any stools free and the bench is covered in metal parts. Kai notices this too and just chuckles before sitting himself down on the floor, leaning against the wall.

Cinder hesitates for a split second before just joining him. “Wait, did you walk here with a twisted ankle?”

Kai turns to her with a small smile. “Of course, I said I’d drop by.”

She isn’t sure how accurate the feeling of her heart melting is but she does know she’s sort of grinning like a fool. “This was a perfectly good reason not to,” she says, gently tapping the ice pack.

“I’m not the sort to let a small bruise stop me from seeing a princess.”

“Cinder, where- woah!” Iko chooses exactly the wrong time to come in.

Cinder groans to herself because she doesn’t have time to wipe the blush off her face before Iko is staring at the two of them in both confusion and concern and she knows Iko will have a bunch of questions she's not really in the mood to answer right now.

“I’m fine, no need to ask,” Kai blurts before Iko can even open her mouth.

Clearing her throat, Cinder finally looks at Iko, hoping her embarrassment isn’t too obvious. “What did you need?”

Instead of replying, Iko pulls out her phone, takes a photo of the two, and then sits down opposite them.

“Hey!” Kai protests, just as Cinder lunges for the phone.

Iko just giggles and pockets the device, sticking her tongue out at Cinder. “Don’t worry, I’m only keeping it for future reference. Now, who do we need to have a stern talking-to about giving the first guy my best friend likes a bruise?”

Cinder covers her face with her hands as Kai makes a startled noise and turns to her with something like happiness in his eyes. “You like me?”

Iko stays smugly silent as Cinder sighs deeply and nods slightly, still not looking at him.

“Well, that’s reassuring to know or else our date this weekend would be incredibly awkward.”

Both Iko and Cinder splutter at the same time, Cinder in the nice kind of embarrassment this time and Iko in surprise.

“You have a date?” Iko demands immediately.

When Cinder finally peels her hands away from her face, she sees Kai glance between them strangely. “I thought the two of you shared information about everything, my apologies.”

It’s addressed to Cinder but she chooses to just smile as Iko positively beams and claps at the idea of him being okay with their kind of friendship. “Oh, I knew I liked you! Cinder, if you don’t go on that date with him, I’ll go myself!”

“No, you will not,” Cinder argues, folding her arms.

It’s only after she’s done so that she realises getting a reaction was the purpose of Iko’s comment. And at that moment, she’s glad she’s surrounded by two of the best people she’s ever met or else so much embarrassment may have just killed her.

“This is really cold,” Kai announces as he places the ice pack on his lap, rubbing his hands together to warm them up.

Iko is not subtle in the way she stares at the bruise on his cheek. “That is one nasty battle souvenir,” she says.

Kai almost looks confused, as if he’d forgotten why he’d been holding an ice pack to his face. “I’m not sure you could class it as a battle.”

“Then what would you class it as?” Iko asks, leaning forward keenly.

Kai shrugs. “It’s just something that will fade away in a few days. No need to worry about it.”

Cinder begs to differ but she sends Iko a look and the two of them agree to talk about it later when Kai can’t stop them from plotting.

Iko seems to decide she doesn’t want to have a conversation unless it’s about revenge so she stands up and smiles down at them. “See you two lovebirds later.”

Kai waves at her as Cinder glares; Iko laughs at them.

“I’d hate to be a bird,” Kai says once she’s gone.

Cinder raises an eyebrow. “Why? They’re free to fly wherever they like whenever they like.”

She won’t admit it out loud but she’d definitely thought about the prospect of being a bird before. Sure, they may not be as cognitively advanced but they definitely wouldn’t have Adri on their tails about stupid chores.

Kai just shrugs. “Their idea of love isn’t even nearly as heartwarming as ours.”

Oh.

He was referring to Iko's comment.

Cinder takes a moment to feel like an absolute fool before nodding thoughtfully, pretending she hadn’t been thinking about being reincarnated as a bird. “I guess so.”

“Sorry for worrying you, Princess,” Kai mumbles after a few beats of silence.

Cinder just elbows him. “It’s not your fault so leave the apologising to whoever gave you the bruise.”

Kai narrows his eyes, but not menacingly. Although that isn’t saying much since she can’t him doing anything menacingly. Either way, he narrows his eyes just suspiciously enough for Cinder to feel slightly bad for still wanting to hurt anyone who’d hurt him.

“I just meant that they should be apologising for hurting my favourite barista?” Cinder offers, wincing internally at how high-pitched her voice becomes.

“Favourite?” Kai echoes, raising an eyebrow.

Cinder smirks. “Don’t get all smug on me, It’s not like I’ve met many.”

“Surely you’ve met some on the days you get coffee when I don’t work there?” Kai asks, oblivious to the fact that Cinder only goes all the way to his cafe on the days she’s certain he does work there.

“I don’t fix cars for all of them,” she replies instead, hoping it sounds reasonable.

Kai laughs brightly. “You make an excellent point.”

Cinder blushes again and just about recovers but when she glances to Kai, she can’t help but think that he looks so much better with a blush rather than a bruise, and she ends up practically as red a ripe tomato.

“If Thorne were here, you’d be a rose with a thorn,” Kai comments absently, then catches himself and grins sheepishly.

Cinder’s not sure if she should appreciate the beauty of that pun or the beauty of Kai’s lovely, flattering words.

“Both is good, Princess,” Kai whispers.

Oh, stars.

She really hates that she sometimes unknowingly says things out loud but what she hates more is the fact that Kai is nice enough to go along with it. But does she really hate that?

Annoyance and embarrassment flicker through her mind as she opens her mouth to apologise to Kai but she finds her emotions replaced with frustration and rage as she sees Kai smile widely at her only to wince as he pulls on the small cut on his lip.

She ends up just closing her mouth again and frowning, wondering why it even affects her so much. He’s just a friend, right? Surely there’s no need for her to be so alarmed at his bruise.

“Cinder?” Kai asks softly, clearly puzzled at her unexpected silence.

“Huh?” She snaps back to the present. “Sorry, I was just- I had a thought.”

Kai nods, understanding in his eyes. “No worries.”

Except there is. Kai’s bruise might fade by the end of the week but she doesn’t think her worry will go away any time soon. She’s stuck with worrying about why she cares so much for the annoyingly endearing nerd currently sat in front of her.

Although, as Kai waves his hand in front of her and raises an inquisitive eyebrow, she decides it’s not the worst worry she could have.

-

like/reblog but don’t repost, thanks! masterlist

[nancypullen]

Drip Drop

It’s a rainy, drippy, chilly day here and I love it.  It’s the sort of day that makes me want to make stew and bake biscuits.  I’m not doing that because this week’s menu was planned last week and tonight is spaghetti squash and meat sauce night, so it’ll have to do.  This rain is supposed to bring even chillier temperatures along with it and that’s just fine with me.  I’m all about sweater weather.   I braved the rain (for a girl with curly hair that’s a BIG deal) and met a pal for lunch. We talked, laughed, ate, and had a delightful time.  We parted ways with hugs and ran off to our separate errands.  I headed straight to Sephora and bought a new wrinkle cream.  Pretty sure that this is the one that will make me beautiful.  I’d probably have better luck with duct tape.  Just pull everything tight and secure it at the back of my neck.  My hair would cover the tape, right?  *sigh*  I don’t know why I keep trying.  I’m a very, very fortunate woman.  I’m healthy, my husband adores me, and even though time is marching right across my face, I’m deeply happy.  I mean, right down to the bone.  If I were a house a realtor would probably describe me as dated, but with a good foundation, or needs TLC but has potential.  Good bones.  Structurally sound.  So I suppose that this wrinkle cream is just a little TLC.  Can’t hurt.  Have I rationalized enough yet?  I admit that I’m a product junkie and love to try everything new. 

That black and white bag just makes me HAPPY.    Know what else makes me happy? Those gorgeous trees you can see through the windshield.  Even a rainy fall day is beautiful when the foliage is bright.  Oh, I love autumn so much!  I know that people complain about the earlier sunset once we turn back an hour for Daylight Saving Time (which I think is dumb, but that’s another post for another day).  I’m not crazy about it looking like midnight at 6 o’clock either, but my dinner time view is pretty spectacular.

While I stir up our evening meal I get to watch the colors appear and then become more vibrant before fading to a deep,dark blue.  I don’t hate it.

And hey, that’s our new deck!  The crew that tore off the old one rebuilt a much prettier one in just two days.

The contractor advised us to let it winter before staining it.  I thought we’d try to hurry and get it done before winter, but I guess we’re going with what the professional said.  My knowledge of carpentry is limited to knowing where they keep the lumber at Lowe’s and you certainly don’t have to ask me twice to delay a chore, so I’m good with that decision.   It’s after 4 o’clock and I suppose I should do something to earn my keep around here.  So far today I’ve only folded a single load of laundry and unloaded the dishwasher.  Pretty soon the mister will be downstairs and he’ll want some dinner.  Right now he thinks I’m wonderful because yesterday I made a meatloaf.  That man would scale mountains for meatloaf and I hardly ever make it.  He must have thanked me five times last night and again today when he had leftovers for lunch.  Maybe I’ve been forcing too much salad down his throat because he seemed really grateful.  I gave him a plate filled with comfort food. I made his log o’ meat, a dish of au gratin potatoes with extra cheese, and I blanched some green beans before sauteing them with garlic.  Bless his heart he doesn’t get many meals like that.  I’ll bet he misses traveling all the time for work, he dined out every night and could order whatever he wanted.  I’m just trying to keep him alive.  He’s learned to enjoy salmon, brussels sprouts, and quinoa, but he’s probably dreaming of meatloaf and fried chicken every night. I’m pretty sure he’s been muttering “buttered biscuits” in his sleep. Oh well, time to bake a squash and simmer some sauce. This drizzly day is making me drowsy, so it’s move or nap and I’d better get moving.   Sending out peace, love, and buttered biscuits to whoever needs ‘em! XOXO

[getsterekt]

STEREK FIC REC POST

 500 twitter followers on my @getsterekt twitter account! thanks so much guys. here is another fic rec post in honor of u guys.

(fics marked with * are personal faves)

!!!!Before reading any fics PLEASE make sure you take note of the warnings and tags! as some of these fics may include triggering content to certain readers!!!!

—————————-

i will not give you up this time by stxrxk

  Derek Hale was hard lines and rough skin.

WORDS: 304

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: General

WARNINGS: none

to fall in deep by decideophobia

  “the guy i fucked last night woke up this morning, disoriented and looked at me, and said “oh, you’re hot.” and went back to sleep.”

WORDS: 618

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Gen

WARNINGS: none

They would have loved you by Bellakitse

Stiles finds an old camera in the Hale house, he decides he’s going to find a way to give a little bit of Derek’s family back to him.

…..

“He has nothing left from his family, Peter doesn’t count. No pictures, everything that belonged to them burned, I-I wouldn’t know how to deal if I could never see mom’s face again, we have pictures and family videos and he just doesn’t, I want to try to give something back to him,” Stiles looks up at his dad, embarrassed by his confession.

WORDS: 1282

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: General

WARNINGS: none

TLC by  KARIN848

Alternate title: Derek Hale Deserves to Be Loved. Almost 1500 words of self indulgent Derek being cared for by Stiles after fight. Derek Hale deserves to be told that he is loved and he deserves good things. Stiles endeavors to prove that Derek is worthy of his pack and worthy of love.

WORDS: 1396

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: none

Brad The Douchebag Ex by LadyDrace 

Stiles and Derek bump into Stiles’ shitty ex while Christmas shopping. Derek isn’t entirely sure what’s going on, but when Stiles grabs his hand, he just kinda rolls with it.

WORDS: 1436

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: douchebag ex

**Hey, Babe. by Areiton

It doesn’t happen every time they’re out. But it happens. Enough that he stops thinking it’s strange.

WORDS: 1571

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: not rated

WARNINGS: none

here, in the light of day by yodasyoyo

“Go to sleep Stiles,” he mumbles.

Sleep.

Sleep?

They are naked, like, completely naked. As in Stiles’ naked dick is now pressed right up against Derek’s naked thigh. Sleep? Stiles may be exhausted and hungover, but sleep is impossible.

WORDS: 1997

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: none

The Well Deserved Day of Derek Hale by mackietommo

Derek doesn’t remember the last time he got a good day.

WORDS: 2066

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: General

WARNINGS: none

Ephemeral by thegirlgrey

Stiles has a weird reaction to his anesthesia. He wakes up with temporary amnesia. The resulting video gets 1 million hits on YouTube in 6 hours. (Beyoncé can suck it.)

WORDS: 2182

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: none

Money Honey by paintedrecs

Derek’s a moderately well off businessman who has a soft heart, a rapidly emptying wallet, and a serious problem with dogs, panhandlers, and life in general.

Until Stiles comes along.

WORDS: 2845

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: none

Five Times Derek and Stiles Wanted the Same Book (And One Time There Were Two Copies) by mikkimouse

“Hey!” Stiles yanked the book back, but the other guy had a firm grip on it. “What are you–”

He trailed off when he set eyes on the leather-clad god with a glare that could strip paint off a car who also had hold of the book.

Stiles gulped, but he didn’t let go. “Hey, dude, I had it first.”

Those powerful black eyebrows bent down further. “Like hell you did.”

WORDS: 2896

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: none

I’m so in love with you. by beautyinstarlight

When Stiles first says I love you to Derek, it’s a completely ordinary day in their new lives. They aren’t even dating…

Or: The story of when Stiles and Derek both said I love you and beyond.

WORDS: 3510

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: General

WARNINGS: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Homing Mechanisms by SmallBirds

Magnetoreception: The sense which allows an organism to detect a magnetic field to perceive direction, altitude or location. How birds find their way home.

–

Stiles returns to Beacon Hills after four years at Stanford, only to find out that Derek has moved back into town. He brings him a housewarming gift. Derek makes food. Things escalate from there.

WORDS: 3741

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Mature

WARNINGS: none

Operation Rescue Sourwolf by HelloWhyTheFuckAmIHere

Derek Hale will not be accused of another crime he didn’t commit. Not on Stiles’ watch.

(What really happened when Stiles used his position as FBI Intern to save Derek’s life.)

WORDS: 4221

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: violence

When Your Teachers Have No Chill by giantteenwolforgy

Derek’s not his boyfriend, but sometimes it feels like he should be.

WORDS: 4314

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Explicit

WARNINGS: none

How to Pretend You’re Not a Virgin and Other Sordid Tales by KuriKuri

Stiles likes the anonymity, the security his pseudonym provides. Likes that there are entire forums dedicated to speculating about his identity: his gender, his sexuality, his age.

Of course, there’s one thing they all seem to agree on: he’s some sort of sex god.

Which is really, really awkward, because he’s a twenty-three year old virgin.

(Or: in which Stiles is a bestselling erotica novelist and Lydia makes him attend a convention to promote his upcoming book.)

WORDS: 5347

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: none

Notches in Your Spine by whiskey_in_tea

Stiles is the one who finds them in the first place, Derek’s college applications.

(this fic is restricted so you will need an ao3 account to be able to read it)

WORDS: 8741

CHAPTERS: 3/3

RATING: Explicit

WARNINGS: none

The Truth Is by BulletBlaze

  “Well, you should get going then-” “You could come around some time-” A pause. “Wait, what?” A blush bloomed across Derek’s cheeks, barely visible over the top of his beard. He shrugged again. “If you wanted to. You could stop by while I’m fixing it up. Help me with some things. If you wanted to.” “You already said that,” Stiles, the idiot, mumbled in disbelief. Derek’s blush grew a shade darker.

WORDS: 8851

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: sheriff has a heart attack

put ‘em together and what have you got? by yodasyoyo

“Oh, bibbidi bobbidi fuck you.”

Unsurprisingly, Stiles’ fairy godmother is a menace.

WORDS: 11,162

CHAPTERS: 2/2

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: none

Keeping Tabs by Cousin Shelley (CousinShelley)

After Erica’s death at the hands of the alphas, Stiles wants to be there for Derek, but Derek just wants to be alone. In the process of waiting him out, Stiles comes up with a plan to stay a step ahead of the alpha pack, and ends up spending lots of quality time with Cora and Peter.

WORDS: 12,896

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: none

trusting wolves by ourdreamsunfold

In the midst of a werewolf war against the alphas, the Sheriff learns that in a pack, loyalty is earned. And his son works hard enough to earn trust for both him and Derek, and all of their friends. Especially when the pack won’t even admit to liking each other most of the time. The kids are all a work in progress, and the Sheriff is lucky to be there for them. Werewolves and all.

WORDS: 13,572

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: none

*borders and horizon lines by magneticwave

“Let me do this nice thing for you, Derek, no strings attached,” said nobody ever.

WORDS: 14,833

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: none

*Help Wanted by Jebiwonkenobi

Nice things begin to happen to Derek Hale and it kind of freaks him out.

WORDS: 15,593

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: none

Can I Keep You? by wearing_tearing

After practically being raised watching Buffy, The X-Files, and Ghostbusters, Stiles liked to think his reaction to seeing a shimmery shadow resembling a seventeen year old boy floating ten inches above ground and glaring fiercely at him wouldn’t be to let out a high pitch scream, try to karate chop him, and then, when that obviously didn’t work, throw a basketball at him.

A basketball that just went right through the boy’s stomach.

or, the Sterek Casper AU.

WORDS: 16,005

CHAPTERS: 6/6

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: none

Imagine Me And You by callunavulgari

“My name,” the kid tells Derek, sounding amused. “It’s Stiles. I figure if I’m going to wrestle a complete stranger for a pumpkin the least I can do is offer my name afterwards.”

“Stiles,” Derek tries, testing the way the name sits on his tongue. “I’m Derek.”

“Derek,” Stiles breathes, like he’s testing the weight of the name too. He grins, bright and blinding, which Derek guesses means that he likes the sound of it. “I’d offer to shake your hand, but since we almost got to second base a minute ago, I’d say we’re past that point.”

WORDS: 16,080

CHAPTERS: 6/6

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: none

Regression to the Mean by theroguesgambit

There aren’t really words for this. “Sure, dude. Let’s hang out sometime and bond over the fact that our lives suck and we’ve both basically killed a bunch of people by accident” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. –

Prompt: In the aftermath of 3B, Stiles and Derek learn to trust, learn to fuck, and learn to love themselves, each other, and their pack.

WORDS: 16,580

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Mature

WARNINGS: ptsd (both stiles and derek)

We’ll be Better Around the Second Time by Cantabo

It’s been months. Months of fading contact with the pack. Months of the silent treatment from his father. Months of nothing but himself and the occasional lesson with Deaton to entertain him.

It’s too much, and eventually, Stiles leaves.

For years, everything goes great, until of course his dad gets injured, and he is suddenly forced to deal with people he thought he left behind in his past for good.

OR: Stiles gets pushed out of the pack, hits the road, makes new friends, learns how to grow up, and falls in love.

WORDS: 26,589

CHAPTERS: 12/12

RATING: Mature

WARNINGS: None

You Can’t Dodge Stiles Stilinski by stilinskisparkles

“And this is it?” he points at the first girl. “I saw you in first period, you barely bothered to catch any of the balls you were tossed. I’m pretty sure you spent more time on your cell.”

The girl rolls her eyes, and looks completely unashamed of the fact she had her phone out in class. Derek knows Finstock would have stepped on it.

“And you,” he points at the second girl, taller and with eyes that meet Derek’s coolly. “You can’t throw anything worth half a damn. And what are you,” he points at the boy, trying not to look him in the eye, and failing. “A hundred and fifty pounds wet?”

The boy smirks at him, and Derek looks resolutely away. He’s now desperately trying not to picture him wet.

“I can’t work with this.”

WORDS: 27,250

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Explicit

WARNINGS: underage (nothing sexual happens until stiles is 18 but theres flirting and stuff between stiles and derek while he’s 17) teacher-student relationship

A Perfect Storm by keeperofstories & queenofday

The first time Derek sees him is on the Subway.

The fifth time Derek spots him, the boy has a split lip and an angry alpha threatening him.

(OR: Where Scott is a really bad boyfriend and Derek ends up being Stiles’ hero)

WORDS: 30,848

CHAPTERS: 7/7

RATING: Mature

WARNINGS: Graphic violence, abusive relationships, domestic violence

Take Me Out To The Ball Game (Or to dinner, I’m easy either way) by Whisper91

In which single-father Derek Hale falls head over heels for his sons’ new Little League coach. Unsurprisingly, it’s all Laura’s fault.

WORDS: 32,556

CHAPTERS: 7/7

RATING:Mature

WARNINGS: so much fluffff (says theres 7/8 chapters finished but im pretty sure its complete as it hasnt been updated in 2 years and the ending of ch7 is super nice and fluffy)

To Each Their Own by SylvieW

Stiles agrees to become the owner of a werewolf with some very special needs. Derek has been abused for so long he’s nearly feral. Stiles has to find a way to gain his trust before Derek’s heat, or he could be put down.

WORDS: 32,668

CHAPTERS: 10/10

RATING: Explicit

WARNINGS: !!heed the tags!! dub-con, werewolves are pretty much slaves, kate argent warning. abusive kate.

**Ghosts In The Suburbs by Hypocorismm

Stiles gets cursed by a witch and can see dead people. 

WORDS: 37,263

CHAPTERS: 15/15

RATING: Teen and Up

WARNINGS: angst

You Look Like Bad News (i gotta have you) by standinginanicedress

Option A : violently tell Derek that they are under no circumstances ever to hook up again because it was stupid and dumb.

Option B : tell Scott the truth, stand back and watch as Scott kills Derek with his bare hands so Stiles doesn’t even have to face the music. Not an option at all, actually. Expunge this from the record.

The real Option B : calmly explain to Derek that the situation is too fucked up and hey, maybe if Derek and Scott ever shake hands and make up, he and Stiles can hook up again because, man…it was great.

Option C : forget everything, charge headfirst into danger like fuckin’ Bravehart and have sex with Derek all over again.

Option D : bury himself alive and wait for the worms to eat him.

WORDS: 38,954

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Explicit

WARNINGS: none

***Come with Me and Walk the Longest Mile by  DevilDoll

“Stiles shouldn’t accept rides from werewolves he meets behind abandoned convenience stores.” In which the zombie apocalypse is just one of their worries.

WORDS: 39,275

CHAPTERS: 4/4

RATING: Explicit

WARNINGS: underage

Killer Smile by Black_Calliope

One. Two. Seven. How many times should a killer strike before getting called 'serial’?

Or the one where Stiles works as a member of a Behavioral Analysis Unit, gets insulted quite a lot, learns that love doesn’t always take the shortest path and cultivates an illicit relationship with a coffee mug. Not necessarily in that order. Also, Boyd has a thing for explosives and Lydia is the most BAMF coroner ever. Derek doesn’t get his spring rolls because he doesn’t deserve them. Neither does Stiles, but that’s another whole story.

WORDS: 51,434

CHAPTERS: 1/1

RATING: Explicit

WARNINGS: Graphic Depictions of Violence

**Those Are The Days That Bind Us by  s_a_m

His father wasn’t stupid. He was an officer of the law, trained to look for patterns. He confronted Stiles about werewolves and they shouted and Stiles tried to explain but his father was so, so, so mad, more mad than Stiles had ever seen him, ever in all his life and then his father looked at him and said,

“It’s like you’re not my son anymore.”

And Stiles broke.

WORDS: 52,171

CHAPTERS: 5/5

RATING: Mature

WARNINGS: angst, PTSD, violence, gore, implied/referenced non-con, death of an unborn baby, panic attacks

[Sleep]Walking After You by relenafanel

Derek is a sleepwalker who keeps wandering into his downstairs neighbour’s bedroom.

Stiles is pretty sure the hot guy from the park is going to kill him in his sleep. He knows he shouldn’t have been so obvious about objectifying the guy’s really fine ass.

Too bad it turns out Derek is easier to get along with when he’s sleeping.

WORDS: 56,551

CHAPTERS: 10/10

RATING: Mature

WARNINGS: none

***Safety in Silence by Survivah

It’s perfectly understandable. Even Derek wouldn’t want to be Derek’s soulmate.

WORDS: 66,901

CHAPTERS: 5/5

RATING: Mature

WARNINGS: none

The More Things Change by KouriArashi

Ten years ago, there was a major war between the supernatural world and the mundane. Now Beacon Hills is cut off and the Argents are in control, and the supernatural creatures are slowly being hunted down. But when Stiles, who was adopted by the Argents after the death of his parents, makes friends with the Hale Pack, things start to change…

WORDS: 80,378

CHAPTERS: 18/18

RATING: Mature

WARNINGS: Graphic Violence

***One life stand by Vendelin

Stiles is used to selling himself to make ends meet. But it’s getting harder to keep those ends meeting, and there’s only so much of Stiles to go around. Until a too-fancy car shows up in his neighborhood, and he meets Derek Hale.

All Derek wants is Stiles’s time, someone to stay on his arm for events and smile for the cameras. It’s the easiest job Stiles has ever had, the best-paying one he’s ever had, and he’s more than happy to sign up.

Derek is everything and nothing Stiles expects him to be, with his tailored suits, sharp mind and his quiet way of caring. But it’s just a job and Stiles never meant to fall in love.

WORDS: 84,278

CHAPTERS: 6/6

RATING: Explicit

WARNINGS: read tags for warnings

Into The Open Air by Acherona & trulywicked

It was a little strange moving back to Beacon Hills. His daughter becoming enchanted with his odd and very attractive neighbor didn’t really help matters.

WORDS: 99,482

CHAPTERS: 22/22

RATING: Explicit

WARNINGS: Violence

Hallowed Grounds by damnfancyscotch

Everything in Beacon Hills is the same when Stiles comes home from college.

Well, except for the fact that he’s a published author now, Scott is halfway across the world with a travelling circus, Erica’s epilepsy has been cured, her boss offers him a job too, and there’s this weird black dog that seems to be following him around just to judge him.

Oh, and the murders, of course.

But other than that stuff… totally the same old BH.

WORDS: 109,578

CHAPTERS: 16/16

RATING: Mature

WARNINGS: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Bruises and Bitemarks by oblivions172

Biologically, Stiles is weak. When he presented as an omega, he knew that to be the truth but that never stopped him from running his mouth as a defense mechanism. However, it could only save him so many times before he ended up pissing off the wrong person. After he’s attacked in the parking lot outside of school, Stiles realizes he can no longer protect himself with just pure wit and sarcasm. When the attack lands him in the hospital, his dad forces him to pick between two options, report the alphas who attacked him or join a kickboxing gym run by omega rights activist and alpha, Derek Hale, a man Stiles has been in love with for many years.

WORDS: 121,566

CHAPTERS: 27/27

RATING: Explicit

WARNINGS: !!Read Tags!!

[clonerightsagenda]

Your commentary is so interesting, I love your AU and how much thought you put into it! Could you talk about Vriska's first scene (with Aranea and Meenah) or her arc in general, and/or about Play the Rain? Thank you!

Oh sweet, more opportunities to talk about myself. I am enjoying these more than I should.

This is another set that I can already tell will get long, so I’ll break ‘em up. Vriska’s arc in TLC is kind of a Big Thing, so let’s start out with her first scene with Aranea and Meenah, and I’ll work my way through the rest as I have time.

On this blog, I refer to GO!Vriska as the superior one, but in canon she still has a long ways to go. She has figured out that her other self is an asshole, and she’s got an inkling that her earlier behavior was not 100% excellent, but she stalls out there, possibly a victim of dreambubble inertia, possibly a victim of bad writing. I don’t really consider a character going ‘huh, maybe my past behavior was somewhat unsavory’ sufficient as a ‘redemption arc’. You need to do something about it. So a big focus when it came to TLC!Vriska was making sure she actually took action, and part of that involved lighting a fire under her ass. Unfortunately for Meenah and Aranea, they were the kindling.

The scene starts with Vriska and Meenah hanging out in the bubbles, watched over by Andrew Hussie, who is quickly replaced by our author self-inserts as part of the running gag and also because a grown man spying on two teenage girls dating has become increasingly creepy to me as I get older. I disapprove of Gill's overly aggressive tactics though, as you can tell from my tiny avatar. This was in early days, when I was convinced we were going to get a cease and desist letter at any moment. Now I figure no one cares.

In the conversation, I tried to highlight GO!Vriska's insecurities. Throughout the comic, Vriska adopts different personas as a survival tactic. I'll talk shit on her because she does terrible things that I feel the narrative never properly addresses, but it's not that I don't get why. She tries to play up the Mindfang thing to survive Alternia and her lusus. Later, she emulates Meenah to gain her approval, especially when her confidence is lowered by her pir8 expedition falling through and her one human ally dissing her. The fact that there's a significant age gap in this relationship doesn't help. I also find that creepy. Dancestors are like 19 right? 19/13 is Too Much, kids. I don't care how long both of them have been in the afterlife; brain chemistry remains a factor. Anyway, in their scene together, they're both falling victim to the tendency for dreambubbles to sap dreamers' energy, and Vriska's getting increasingly anxious because she feels Meenah's losing interest in her.

Then, Aranea shows up. Now, I detest her, but again, I can at least attempt to empathize. She's been dead for a long time, and rather like alt!Calliope, has had her perceptions of people skewed so she views them more as characters. (With her plans of healing the timeline, she kinda was trying to be a Muse of Space, anyway.) She hated being sidelined, and so she tried to do something about it. Allegedly her intent was good, but it quickly warped into a self-interested attempt to have her way no matter what the cost, doubling down on cruelties like mind control and murder whenever people put up a fight. Approaching the kids and offering her assistance with an explanation of her plan might've worked out fine, especially as they were scattered and looking for leadership. Instead, she went in guns a-blazing and paid the price.

On page 381, we get the hell out of there because we know what's coming, and that's pretty much the end of the self-insert gag. For the best.

As in canon, we use Aranea as a way for Vriska to see her behavior reflected back. It's less dramatic than seeing an alternate version of herself, of course, but it still prompts her to think about some of the mistakes she's made. It's less threatening when you're criticizing someone else. Still, she immediately backtracks and says they can come up with a new plan, eager to remain part of this crowd and maintain the most recent identity she has constructed.

ARANEA: Dancestor, consider this your next and most important lesson in 8eing a Serket.

We just had to lay the irony on thick here. 

In canon, as I mentioned earlier, Lord English remains a sort of shadowy, not wildly intimidating enemy. He shows up with a bang in Caliborn:Enter, but after that you mostly get the vibe that he has to be defeated because he's the narrative's assigned big bad rather than because anyone has personal stakes. After all that buildup, most of the cast doesn't even confront him, and his demise is never clearly shown. Sort of anticlimactic. We wanted to re-establish him as a threat, which is difficult in a comic where it's almost impossible to kill someone properly. This scene, and the one with the puppet strings earlier, are our attempts to add a semi-horrorish vibe to the comic and go hey, this guy? He's a big deal. Plus, it's a fitting reference to the f8 Mindfang doomed Redglare to. Panel 391 is a direct reference. Aranea considers everyone else merely background characters, and the background characters kill her.

She does have one last... I hesitate to say "redemption" spot, but she does help free Meenah and Vriska when it's clear she's fucked. Whether that is out of genuine good nature or a desire to have one last impact on the story, you decide.

Then, Meenah saves Vriska, only to run out of time to escape the bubble herself. It's not an intentional heroic sacrifice (she would've followed if she could) but the Thief of Life does "give" life one time before getting doublekilled herself. This led to concerned musing on my part in the google doc that we ended up heroic sacrificing both Thieves. What sort of message were we sending about the class? That still bothers me a little, because I don't want to suggest the only way to balance out initial selfishness is to give yourself entirely. You should never be called upon to destroy yourself to prove your worth. Perhaps there was a better way to handle that, I don't know. To be fair, canon was laying the implications on pretty thick that Meenah was seeking a fight to the death against English, and so that's sort of a subversion of that (putting prudence before glory), but again. YMMV.

Despite me being the one to plan both sections, I wasn't thrilled about wiping out Meenah and Aranea not long after wiping out alt Calliope and doomed Roxy. I felt like we were really burning through the girl characters and I didn't want to give a bad impression. (We killed loads of dudes in Cherubquest, but then most of them come back.) Part of it is that we wanted to clear the dancestors off the board bc we didn't have the time or inclination to work with them properly, and Aranea and Meenah were the only ones with enough story weight that we felt they needed a bigger exit. It also seemed like a suitable ending for Aranea - she tried to take over the story, and instead she gets wiped out of it entirely. Though, to be fair, her influence did make an impact, so I guess she sort of got what she wanted after all. Also, there were in-universe reasons for most of those deaths. Doomed Roxy had to die as per the deal with Nix. Lord English was looking for Calliope(s) to kill. And there's no way he'd let Aranea's attempt to defy his alpha timeline slide. Meenah was more a casualty of us trying to get rid of dancestors/freeing Vriska's piece up on the board. Still, like I said, not wild about it, but I can’t see any other route I would have taken plotting-wise. 

Ok, that's what I've got for this scene. I'll do more on the rest of Vriska's arc and Play the Rain later, I have to pace myself and also I have meetings.

[clonerightsagenda]

Posting Gill’s bday fic over here with permission. It’s Rosemary-related and TLC compliant (with a couple of minor spoilers) but should be understandable even with no knowledge of the AU.

This is what you have learned from dating Rose Lalonde. Expect any room to fill up with clutter in her presence. Your attempts to keep things tidy are as effective as holding back the tide. Expect everything to take on the feel of an epic, like you might be summoned onto a world-altering quest at a moment’s notice. It’s like a human fairy tale, but the old kind, not remakes that are all glitter and talking animals. The stories with teeth.

Don’t expect her to say that she loves you.

Don’t take it personally either. That’s what you remind yourself. Rose resists sincerity. When you presented her with the first flowers you’d grown in the new greenhouse (roses; you’d been delighted to learn she’d been named for a flower), she’d laughed uncertainly like you’d unlocked an event she didn’t have a script for. Over the next week, as the blooms withered, they moved around. First you spotted them on the windowsill, then on her bedside table, in this vase or that one, like she couldn’t figure out what place they had in her life.

On the Land of Rays and Frogs, you encountered a puzzle path made of colored lily pads. If you stepped on the wrong one, it would buckle and deposit you in a mini-boss chamber before you returned to the start, weary and wiser. Navigating this relationship feels much the same. Some of your missteps now are the inevitable outcome of two species still learning about each other, but not all of them. After reading Rose’s walkthrough, you’d daydreamed of meeting its author. Now you think you need a walkthrough for her too.

The day after your tumultuous first date, Rose dumped her concoctions down the drain, saying she could embarrass herself perfectly well without the aid of depressants. Not even a week later, she set the equipment up again.

“It might come in handy for medicinal purposes,” she said when you asked her why she’d changed her mind. “Besides, it wasn’t all bad.” She winked. “We got some mileage out of it.”

You blushed, and your rainbow drinker glow briefly flared before you wrestled it under control again. In the first few weeks you hadn’t known how the rules changed when you moved from unofficial to official. Where did you put your eyes, or your hands? What were you allowed to say? “It did make you more forward.”

She laughed, and from the sharpness on her breath you realized she’d already been sampling her experiments. “I can be so fucking uptight sometimes. Maybe we all need to lighten up. Lighten up. Get it?”

“I get it,” you said. But you didn’t.

So you sought clarification from Dave. After you quested through the meteor, lipstick at the ready in case of clown sightings, you found him topside staring back the way you’d come. At the beginning of your journey, you’d taken turns stationing yourselves there, afraid Jack would catch up and resume his rampage when you least expected it. When he didn’t make an appearance, you’d all let your guards down, reducing sentry duty to a quick backward glance now and then. Was he keeping watch for Lord English now?

“Are you watching for Jack?” you asked.

He jumped and tried to cover it with a miniscule adjustment to his cape. “Nah. Watching Skeletor blast everyone to bits.”

“You and Rose have been up here a lot recently.”

“We both came up after the first killing, you know? It was so loud.” He rubbed at his eyes underneath his shades. His skin is a few shades lighter than his sibling’s, and you could see shadows there. “It’s been hard to sleep since then. At least she’s found a way to conk out.”

“About her newfound use of soporifics.” You hesitated, staring up at the flashing lights that were already becoming familiar. It’s amazing how fast you accustom yourselves to the unthinkable. “Is that normal for humans?”

He frowned. (Later, he’d tell you he hadn’t been sure how to respond. “I didn’t want to fuck it up for you two,” he said. “I didn’t think it’d get that bad.”) “Hard to say what’s normal in our situation. Guess a lot of people would pull out a bottle after everything we’ve gone through. Better than sticking a forty-five in your mouth. She’s always been extreme about reacting to things. It’s hard to believe we’re the same damn species sometimes, let alone siblings.”

“I didn’t think an outing with me is so terrible you have to be out of your wits to enjoy it.” You didn’t mean to sound petulant, but his eyebrows rose.

“She doesn’t mean it like that.”

“I thought you didn’t understand her.”

“It would take an institutional thinktank to really figure her out, but I do a little.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. He does that when he’s being serious sometimes. “I think the whole thing freaked her out. Freaks her out, present tense, if you’re officially an item now. Congrats, by the way.”

“Thank you.”

Another spiderweb of cracks blossomed above your heads. You could see them reflected in Dave’s shades as he said, “I don’t think she trusts anyone being nice to her 100%, that’s all. Not even me.”

Rose has been clean for months now in human terms. You both have. The first few weeks of your victory were spent dealing with the effects of abandoning your substances of choice. You stumbled around feeling as if you’d been dipped in concrete, your movements and thoughts slow and ponderous. Rose went days without sleep and flinched away from things the rest of you couldn’t see. Roxy warned you of what to expect, since she’d gone through the process before. She’s also the one who told you to remind Rose to eat. “She’s not gonna want to,” she said. “You feel gross all over and the last thing you want to do is stick more shit in your body, but if you don’t eat you’ll just feel crummier.”

You’d noticed her drinking her meals before, but you’d never brought it up beyond meaningful glances or the pointed placement of foodstuffs in her respiteblock. Rose has always been good at dodging questions. “Do you have any suggestions for a strategic approach? She’ll try to deflect me with witticisms. Her barbs are floppy at the edges right now, but my defenses are equally compromised.”

“That’s a cute way of saying you’re both fucked up.” Roxy shrugged. “I can’t beat her in a war of words, and I wouldn’t try. My advice? Sit on her and force feed her Saltines while telling her it’s for her own good.”

You had been skipping meals yourself. Even after eating normal food, you still felt hungry. Your system wanted something else to satisfy it, so what was the point? Rose latched on to that hypocrisy when you tried to nag her, so you’d end up sitting across the table from each other with plates of leftovers cold from the fridge, matching each other mouthful for mouthful. Whatever worked.

The worst of that is past now. But sometimes she still behaves in ways that make you wonder if after all these sweeps she really trusts you.

-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG] -- GA: Jade GA: Shes Doing It Again GG: whos doing what? :o GA: You Know Who GA: Who Else Do I Come To You In Search Of Explanations For Their Inexplicable Habits GA: Show Some Space Player Solidarity Here GA: There Are So Few Of Us Who View Common Sense As Part Of A Complete Breakfast GG: for everyone else its an optional granola to sprinkle on top GA: The Recipe Said Season To Taste And Im Afraid Theres A Serious Lack Of That In The Premises GA: Ok Can We Cut The Extended Cooking Metaphor Out GG: yeah, it was getting a little meanspirited GA: That Too I Guess Mostly I Didnt Want To Get Stuck Exchanging Culinary Puns GG: ok, what terrible thing is rose doing now GA: She Has Locked Herself In Her Room And Has Been Listening To Her Playlist Designated For Angst For Three Hours GG: lol GG: that behavior cannot stand! GG: except it sort of can, since we all have a right to privacy GG: even if we exercise that right by listening to sad music all day GG: these things cannot be revoked for bad taste GA: Actually Most Of It Has Been Pretty Good GA: Filtering Through The Door Gives It Nice Acoustics GG: maybe you need to give her some... space :D :D :D GA: I Just Want To Know What Upset Her GA: She Says It Wasnt Me But I Dont Know If That Means It Wasnt Me Or It Was Me And I Am Expected To Work That Out On My Own GA: A Reassessment Of The Past Few Days Activities Hasnt Turned Up Anything Suspicious GG: i cant think of anything that might have upset her... GG: ohhhhhhhhhh GG: i think its her moms birthday GG: that might be it GA: How Did You Know GA: Is That Supposed To Be Common Knowledge GG: she complained one time about having to go to a fancy dinner GG: something thrown by her moms colleagues i think??? GG: her mom made her dress up in something frilly, she said she felt like an american girl doll GG: to be honest she sent a picture and i thought it was a cute dress!! GG: definitely not her style though GA: Im Impressed You Remember GG: i try to keep track of these things GG: it was nice hearing about everyones lives, i always wished I could do things like that GG: tell me your lususes birthday, i will put it in my calendar GA: I Never Knew It GA: I Wish Shed Told Me GA: Rose I Mean I Dont Think Wriggling Days Are Important For Virgin Mothergrubs GG: dont take it personally GG: she does it to all of us, and youre her girlfriend so she has to be EXTRA secretive about terrible and compromising things like emotions GA: That Logic Sounds Backward GG: the human mind is a complicated maze of mystery kanaya GA: Sounds Mysterious GG: it is GG: she probably doesnt realize its stressing you out, i know shes trying to be better about that kind of thing GG: you know, COMMUNICATION!! D: GA: No Please Anything But That GG: the achilles heel of our entire household GG: i can bug her if you want GA: No Thats Ok GA: Mostly I Wanted To Make Sure I Hadnt Caused This And Needed To Resolve It GA: If She Wants To Grieve By Herself I Understand GG: if shes still in there by dinner well root her out! GG: there is a limit to how many sad songs are good for your soul GA: Ok GA: In The Meantime Do You Have Any Work That Needs Doing In The Greenhouse GA: Id Like To Keep My Hands Busy GG: theres some stuff that needs deadheading on table three GG: do you want company? GA: No Thats Fine GA: Ill Talk To You Later GG: sure thing! -- ¬¬grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] -- GA: Im Sorry About Your Mother TT: Who told you about that? GA: Jade TT: Figures. TT: Lousy goddamn supportive friends. GA: She Has Said She Will Flush You Out If You Dont Come Down To Dinner GA: Do You Feel Up To It GA: Otherwise I Can Convince Her To Leave You Be GA: She Is Easily Distracted From Her Resolutions If You Know How To Play Your Gaming Rectangles Right TT: No, I'll be there. TT: What time is it? GA: Half Past Five So No Rush GA: Im Still Gardening And Havent Washed Up TT: It might take me that long to get presentable. GA: Was Her Wriggling Day Important To You GA: I Admit The Concept Is New To Me GA: What With Our Ancestors Being So Far Removed From Our Lives And Our Guardians Being Literal Fauna Who Did Not Celebrate Notable Dates TT: It’s probably not even her real birthday. TT: We were all created on the same day, and I doubt anyone was on hand to record when her meteor touched down. TT: She must have picked a day she liked. TT: We used to give each other over-the-top gifts every year. TT: I thought she was being passive aggressive, so I reciprocated in turn. TT: The last year, I thought about getting her a bedazzled martini glass, but I didn’t get around to it. TT: Thank god. TT: I can only hope she interpreted my gestures as sincere as readily as I interpreted hers as sarcastic. TT: Otherwise she must have thought I was the worst daughter imaginable. GA: Im Sure She Didnt Think That TT: I wish I’d given her something better. TT: Something genuine. GA: I Was Working On A New Hat For Nepeta During The Game GA: I Got Some Monster Slime On Her Old One With A Sloppy Chainsaw Maneuver And Even Though She Said It Wasnt The First Time I Wanted To Make It Up To Her GA: And Help At Least One Of My Teammates Diversify Their Wardrobe TT: There’s always an ulterior motive, isn’t there? GA: You Tell Me GA: You Are The Expert In Decoding The Nefarious Meaning Hidden Within Every Exchange Of Pleasantries TT: It’s a secret code, Kanaya. TT: The sixth grader who tossed the newspaper into our yard this morning is working with the KGB. That’s what "Good morning" meant. This is well established in spy manuals. GA: My Knowledge Of Human Subterfuge Is Always Expanding GA: The Hat Was Supposed To Be A Surprise GA: Then I Found It In A Treasure Chest Not Long Into Our Journey GA: Theyre Gone And You Know That But Then You Find Something That Reminds You GA: Oh GA: Ill Never Give Her That Will I TT: I don’t know what I would’ve done if we’d lost anyone from our session. TT: Well, I do know. I have memories from a timeline where we lost half. TT: It wasn’t pretty. TT: I know in a lot of ways we got lucky. GA: Its Not A Contest GA: You Dont Have To Have Had It Worst To Feel Bad TT: I know. TT: But it’s hard. GA: See Look At Us Talking About Our Emotions Isnt That Nice GA: A Horrible Kind Of Nice TT: Or a nice kind of horrible. TT: Either or. GA: The Juxtaposition Is Key TT: I didn't mean to shut you out. GA: I Know You Need Privacy Sometimes GA: I Would Just Prefer To Know Whats Going On So I Dont Have To Worry About Whats Wrong GA: And You Know You Can Talk To Me TT: I know. Intellectually. TT: Is it weird I can trust you all with my life but not always with my feelings? GA: Kind Of GA: But I Get It GA: Were All Weird About Some Things TT: I'm trying to do better. And I'll let you know next time I need to indulge in a three-hour sad jams session so you won't worry. TT: Maybe after I've run through my playlist, we can even talk about it. GA: We Can Sit Awkwardly At A Table Waiting For The Other One To Break The Silence First TT: A tradition. GA: Also I Should Let You Know Its Stir Fry Night TT: Really? TT: You should have led with that. TT: Save me a seat.

As time passes, you all improve with hesitant steps that sometimes send you sliding back, sometimes not. Rose throws herself into her walkthrough, which she plans to distribute to anyone else caught up in SGRUB’s gears. Everyone is on consultant duty to flesh out areas of personal expertise. You, however, are her co-editor, a position of special privilege.

Rose views the work as one more way to help whatever players come after you. Your motivation is less selfless. Once, several sweeps and universes ago, an alien’s words found you and gave you something to hang on to. Somewhere, in a distant galaxy, someone else is being forced to play this game. Maybe your words can reach them, like Rose’s reached you. Working on the walkthrough now lets you build something together in a way that she won’t dismiss as sappy and overdone, a love letter for the universe.

That doesn’t mean you don’t run into difficulties, of course.

TT: Have you had a chance to look over the Prospit chapter? GA: Oh Uh GA: Ive Seen It TT: Did you have any feedback? TT: I'm going to ask Jade too, but I thought I'd give you the first shot. GA: Um GA: I Dont Know TT: Was it that off-base? TT: I know I'm a Derse dreamer, but I tried to be thorough. GA: Its More The Tone GA: You Wrote That Prospit May Look Friendlier But Should Still Be Viewed As An Antagonist Because It Has Ulterior Motives GA: And Maybe Thats True Especially About The Clouds GA: But My Time On The Moon Was The Brighter Portion Of My Childhood GA: And The People Of Prospit Were Always Kind To Me GA: So I Guess The Framing Made Those Memories Feel Kind Of GA: Threatened TT: Oh. GA: It Isnt A Logical Reaction TT: What do you think I should change? GA: I Dont Know GA: Maybe Nothing GA: Youre The Expert Here I Know Im Biased Toward My Moon Whatever Systems It Might Be Part Of GA: We All Take That View About Some Parts Of Our Youth Dont We GA: Even If It Was Part Of Something Bad We Remember The Good Moments GA: We Hold On To The Small Kindnesses TT: …Yeah. GA: You Can Disregard That Feedback GA: Youre The One With Writing Expertise And A Clear Goal In Mind GA: I Dont Really Know What Im Doing GA: Youre Better At This TT: I’m really not. TT: I just put on a more convincing show. TT: Don’t dismiss yourself. You have expertise in areas I don’t. GA: I Guess Im Not As Used To Putting Myself Out There TT: You can come up with a clever pen name. TT: There’s a tradition of vampires spelling their names backward. GA: Im Reformed TT: An anagram then, maybe. TT: Jokes aside, this is a collaborative project. We’ve got a Google doc and everything. TT: I don't want to intergalactically publish anything you're not comfortable with. TT: How about a revision session this evening? I'll bring Lofthouse cookies. GA: The Ones That Are Just Discs Of Sugar And Flour TT: With nary a redeeming nutritional quality in sight. TT: Keep that quiet, though. Jane would kill me if she knew I was smuggling them into the house. GA: Sounds Great Ill Be There

Rose’s typical drafting position is on her stomach with her laptop propped up on the pillow. You prefer to stretch your legs out with your back up against the wall. Thermoses of tea balance precariously between the two of you on the mattress.

“There’s been a lot of activity on the kernelsprite document,” Rose says, flicking through the pages. “Apparently Hal listed “100 advantages of being prototyped” and Dirk replaced it with “Most of this list is either illegal or immoral.” I’m turning track changes on to see what they were.”

You tap your fingers idly on the keys while your own husktop buffers. “Anything good?”

“Get away with murder,” she reads. “That’s cliché, you don’t even have to be a sprite for that. I think he just put it in there to be edgy. He’s trying so hard; you have to respect that. It’s like when I started buying black makeup to try to spite my mother.” She scrolls down further. “Oh, here’s a good one. Clip through the floor.”

“I’ve seen John do it. He’s not as original as he thinks he is.” You peer at her screen. “Eat your enemy’s phone. I’ll give him points for one. It’s not feasible for most mortals.”

Rose reaches across your legs for another cookie. “Sure, if you’re a coward.”

“I’ll accept that designation if it means avoiding a mouthful of circuitry.”

She chews thoughtfully and then flicks a sprinkle off onto the carpet. At least you’re in her room. Still, you feel a compulsion to pick it up. “About what you were saying earlier. I don’t want to contribute to any lingering insecurities.”

The change of topics catches you off guard. “They’re milling around in the lobby, but I’m not letting them upstairs.” You shrug, your shoulders sliding up the wall. “As we’ve been reminding each other, we can’t fix everything about ourselves immediately. I’m more confident than I used to be. I didn’t let Jake talk me into that routine with the glitter.”

“Shame.” She frowns at you, an expression diluted somewhat by a rim of frosting on her upper lip. “I’m not commandeering this project too much, am I? It’s nice to have something to be enthusiastic about again, but maybe I’m getting carried away.”

“No, you’re being very accommodating.” You squirm, smoothing out inconsequential creases in your skirt. Sometimes feelings don’t make sense. But once Rose decides she wants to talk about them, she tries to pin them to the page and dissect them. She does it because she wants to understand and help, the same way she wants to reverse engineer SBURB with words to assist players who come after. That doesn’t make the process any more pleasant when you’re the one on the operating table. “The problem is on my end, in the concern lobby. The lurking insecurities have been taking numbers for a while, and the counter is only up to twelve.”

“Like Inside Out crossed with a DMV? Hellish.” Rose picks up a pen and rolls it between her fingers. She likes to draft things longhand first sometimes. “I remember back on the last day of the game, you said you thought everyone burned brighter than you. You must’ve realized by now that my “burning brighter” is mostly because I have a habit of setting myself on fire.”

You’ll admit you’d been starstruck by the walkthrough’s mysterious author. It had been nice to harbor a new secret crush once Vriska was a lost cause. And you’d first met Rose face to face as a newly risen goddess bathed in the luminescence of the Green Sun. She’d seemed ethereal and beyond you.

Then, after the first few hours of sorting out living arrangements and watching Karkat roam around yelling for Gamzee to give the bodies back, she’d announced she was going to “sleep for a fucking week” and faceplanted into the nearest rug. Dave didn’t help beyond alchemizing some safety cones and setting them up around her. That had helped a little. So had seeing what her hair looks like in the mornings. “If you’re worried I have some unattainable vision of you set on a mental altar, rest easy. But you did restructure the multiverse with nothing but nerve, so I might still want your autograph a little.”

Rose brandishes the pen. “Only on the condition I get to sign your bra.” When you wave her away, she drops it on the pillow. “Spearheading the multiverse operation is one of my prouder accomplishments, I’ll admit, but my violet-tinged authorial prowess is entirely due to thinking I was hot shit as a pre-teen on the Internet. Besides, if we’re talking bragging rights, you fixed reality. Not to mention put up with us idiots for three years.”

“That was a struggle.” At times you’d wondered if you were the only one on the meteor keeping ahold of your wits. “Remember when the ceiling panels gave way and Gamzee fell onto the table?”

“Not our best group dinner. But you see, I’m a mess. You’re the one who has her act together.”

You frown. Being praised for your stability is a sore spot of yours. Yes, you’d been the one to bear everyone else’s struggles. That doesn’t mean you liked it. “I had to. Someone did. It got tiring after a while, though.”

Rose winces. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. You shouldn’t have had to. But it is impressive that you did.”

“You were sick,” you say, in response to her apology.

You see her shoulder blades rise and fall in a muted shrug. “I know. But that doesn’t mean you should have had to deal with it.”

“I guess…” Maybe you’re the one who’s prompted her to speak up, but you struggle with your words too. Troll culture teaches you that open exchanges of feelings are for moirails. Palemates are the only people you can trust the depths of your soul to, if you can truly trust anyone at all. Humans don’t compartmentalize in the same way. You can see the benefits of that system, but you still fear saying the wrong thing will push her away. “You undercut yourself to tell me I’m better than I think I am. But if I’m already worried about measuring up to some standard, that just pushes us both lower. Do you see what I mean?”

“The self-deprecation’s not cute. Got it.” She twists around in what is probably some kind of advanced yoga pose to look you in the eye. “But you shouldn’t undersell yourself either, ok?”

When she doesn’t break eye contact, you nod reluctantly. “This is a very affirming argument we’re having.”

She reaches over and prods you with the pen. “I’m channeling Jake. Believe in yourself.”

You smile. “It’s hard to resist, these days.”

When you’re done for the evening, Rose captchalogues her laptop and you troop out. Everyone has their own room, but all of you tend to spend more of your nights in the common area curled up in armchairs or slumped over each other on sofas, within easy sight of each other when you wake from bad dreams. After a few weeks of intentionally lingering there until you fell asleep, you made it official and filled the whole room with soft materials like a huge communal pile. Terezi even taped up democratically-determined regulations. Rose spends some nights curled up next to you with her face shoved so close against your neck you wonder how she can breathe. Sometimes, though, she retreats to a corner with a pillow at her back like a wall. You know not to approach her then.

Tonight, she finds an empty patch of floor and drops down on it. You lower yourself next to her.

“Are you happy with the chapter now?” she asks.

“I’d like to give it another pass tomorrow, but it’s much better.”

“And everything else?”

“That’s better too.”

“Good.” She gives you a peck on the lips and, when Terezi wolfwhistles, flips her the bird and kisses you for real. You kiss her back, until… You pull away.

“Are you wearing my lip balm?”

“Maybe.” She purses the lips in question. “It’s got a good flavor.”

“I was wondering where that went. You know, you could have just asked to borrow it.” Grudgingly, anyway. She has a terrible habit of licking the stuff off and then reapplying it to start the cycle anew.

Rose raises an eyebrow. “You offered to do my laundry so you could steal my favorite shirt.”

You think, with only a modicum of guilt, of the shirt you have stashed behind the laundry basket in your closet. “It’s very soft.”

“I’m never getting that back, am I?”

“Probably not.”

She sticks her tongue out at you and pulls a blanket over her shoulders. “Night.”

“Good night,” you say. That’s the only endearment you exchange.

-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] -- GA: Karkat GA: Karkat Answer Your Phone I Know You Can See This GA: Youre Looking At It Right Now CG: YEAH I SURE AM. CG: I'M STARING AT THIS MARVELOUS HUNK OF PLASTIC AND ELECTRICITY IN MY HANDS AND REFLECTING ON HOW IT GRANTS US THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER FROM ANY DISTANCE. CG: SUCH AS, FOR EXAMPLE, EIGHT FUCKING FEET AWAY. GA: This Is Private CG: I DIDN'T KNOW WE HAD A CONCEPT OF PRIVACY ANYMORE. CG: COLOR ME SURPRISED, SO SOME THINGS ABOUT OUR LIVES *AREN’T* SUPPOSED TO BE COMMON KNOWLEDGE? GA: It Might Help If You Spoke With Any Kind Of Discretion Or Volume Control CG: NOT AN OPTION. CG: CARRY ON. GA: Youve Watched A Lot Of Human Romances GA: What Is The Appropriate Interval Before Affirmations Of Matespritship Are Exchanged GA: You Know Like GA: Uh CG: "I LOVE YOU"? GA: Yes That CG: THE FIRST STEP IS BEING ABLE TO TYPE IT INTO A PRIVATE CHAT SESSION WITHOUT BLUSHING. CG: I CAN SEE YOU OVER THERE. GA: Dammit GA: What Is The Waiting Period Here Like Three Sweeps CG: SO I GUESS SHE HASN'T DONE IT YET? GA: Well GA: Not Sober GA: She Was Quite Eager To Confess Admiration While On Soporifics GA: To Everyone And Everything Including Inanimate Objects GA: Im Not Sure Such Exchanges No Matter How Heartfelt Can Be Considered Fully Genuine CG: YOU'RE IN LUCK, A LOT OF HUMAN FILMS COVER THIS IN DEPTH. CG: IF YOU WANT I CAN ARRANGE A VIEWING SESSION WITH SOME MORE INFORMATIVE SELECTIONS. GA: That Might Be Fun GA: But Mostly I Would Appreciate Some Friendly Advice GA: As Educational As Im Sure The Latest Work Starring Anne Hathaway Would Be CG: AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IS: CG: IT USUALLY DOESN’T TAKE THIS LONG. CG: BUT THE CHARACTERS INVOLVED ARE OLDER, THE SAME SPECIES, AND HAVEN’T BEEN THROUGH A WAR, SO IT’S NOT A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE. CG: ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT IT? GA: Not Exactly GA: I Know The Sentiment Is There GA: If Anything I Just Hope She Feels Comfortable Enough She Knows She Can Be Open With Me GA: Shes Trying But I Can Tell Its Still Difficult For Her CG: DAVE SAYS "its obvious shes crazy about you" SO NO WORRIES THERE. GA: Why Is Dave Part Of This Conversation CG: HE WALKED OVER AND LOOKED AT MY PHONE OVER THE BACK OF THE SOFA. CG: LIKE I SAID. PRIVACY = ZERO GA: Hi Dave CG: HE SAYS HI. GA: I Saw Him Wave GA: Now Tell Him To Go Away CG: AND HE’S GONE. CG: THE CHAT IS CLEAR OF FUTURE BROTHERS-IN-LAW. GA: Future What CG: THAT’S WHAT YOU’LL BE IF YOU AND ROSE GET "HUMAN MARRIED". CG: THE RITUAL MAKES YOU FAMILY WITH THEIR ENTIRE FAMILY. CG: I’M PRETTY SURE IT WAS HISTORICALLY DESIGNED TO ACQUIRE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL ADVANTAGES. CG: YOU KNOW, KIND OF LIKE HOW INTERCASTE MOIRALLEGIANCES CAN AFFORD LOWER CASTES PROTECTION. CG: BUT IN MODERN TIMES MOSTLY IT MEANS YOU’RE STUCK WITH THOSE CHUCKLEFUCKS FOR LIFE AS A PACKAGE DEAL. GA: Oh No CG: OH YES. GA: Karkat I May Be Rethinking This Whole Venture CG: TOO LATE, I’M GOING TO BE YOUR BEST MAN. IT’S ALREADY DECIDED. GA: What Is A Best Man GA: Is It Whoever I Have Designated If I Were For Some Reason Obligated To Wed Someone Of That Gender CG: NO. CG: THE MOVIES AREN’T ENTIRELY CLEAR ABOUT THEIR ROLE, BUT IN GENERAL THEY GIVE HEARTFELT SPEECHES AND PROVIDE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT. GA: Maybe I Want Jake To Be My Best Man GA: He Can Recite Touching Monologues Ripped From The Silver Screen CG: YOU HAVE NO SAY IN THIS WHATSOEVER. CG: (YOU KNOW I’M JOKING, RIGHT?) GA: I Figured GA: Although I Wouldn’t Put It Past You To Try To Plan That Kind Of Thing Out For Me CG: HEY IF YOU EVER WANT IDEAS, I CAN THROW SOME OUT THERE. CG: YOU’RE WAY TOO YOUNG FOR THAT KIND OF THING THOUGH. CG: AND WE STILL HAVE TO GET YOU FROM POINT A TO POINT B, WHICH INVOLVES TRAVERSING THE ROCKY TERRAIN OF EMOTIONAL HONESTY, WITH WHICH I HAVE HAD NO PAST PROBLEMS AT ALL. CG: YOU COULD ALWAYS SAY IT FIRST YOURSELF I GUESS. CG: UNLESS YOU THINK THAT’LL MAKE HER EVEN MORE NERVOUS? GA: It Might GA: Outright Displays Of Emotion Embarrass Her She Relates It Too Much To Her Drunken Excesses And Those Of Her Mother GA: If I Can Be Permitted To Psychoanalyze Here GA: Shes Admitted As Much CG: THEN… LET HER KNOW SHE CAN FEEL COMFORTABLE? CG: THAT DOESN’T SOUND VERY EXCITING, BUT MAYBE IT DOESN’T HAVE TO. CG: THEY MAKE A BIG DEAL OUT OF IT IN THE MOVIES BUT I THINK AS LONG AS YOU’RE BOTH ON THE SAME PAGE WHETHER THOSE THREE EXACT WORDS HAVE ESCAPED YOUR QUIVERING CHUTE FLAPS DOESN’T MATTER ALL THAT MUCH. CG: THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO SHOW YOU CARE. I’M PRETTY SURE YOU’VE GOT THAT COVERED. CG: MOVIES AREN’T ALWAYS THAT REALISTIC ABOUT WHICH PARTS OF A RELATIONSHIP ARE A FEDERAL FUCKING ISSUE VERSUS WHICH PARTS ARE NEGOTIABLE. GA: !! CG: YEAH YEAH RUB IT IN. CG: SO I RELIED ON THEM A LOT, IT’S NOT LIKE I HAD MUCH PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. GA: I Shouldnt Criticize This Was Helpful GA: Thanks For Listening GA: And I Would Like To Watch Movies With You Sometime If That Offer Is Still On The Table CG: DEFINITELY. CG: I’LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN I’VE GOT A GOOD LINEUP PULLED TOGETHER.

A few days later, Rose wanders into your room unannounced and flops onto the bed. This isn’t uncommon behavior, so you keep sorting through your clean laundry. Her cat behaves similarly, insinuating himself into a room as if he belongs there. It’s a lazy confidence you envy. “We should go out,” she says, directing her words at the ceiling.

“We should?” you ask, holding two socks up to see if they match. They don’t, exactly, but they are a pair. Rose knitted them for you herself. They’re lumpy and awkwardly shaped, and you treasure them.

“We were going to do something fun after the game, remember? That was the plan. But we've both been sick, and outside is...” Rose waves toward the window and the world it serves as a barrier against. “Outside, so we haven't gotten around to it. But we should. You’ve been in your room a lot. It’ll do us both good.”

Drat. Your downturns aren’t as explosive as the others’. Sometimes you simply withdraw, spending more time on your own while a mental screen descends between you and the world, distorting it like a blur filter. There’s nothing wrong with you, exactly; it’s just that you don’t have the energy. That’s not bad, right? There are worse things than numbness. “What were you thinking we could do?”

She sits up halfway and then flops back down again. The pillows bounce. “I was hoping you'd have some ideas.”

You twist the socks together and toss them into the appropriate drawer. “The only thing I remember suggesting was outfits without sleeves.”

“Compelling, but not really something to make a date out of.” Rose frowns. “Have we ever... had a normal date? By regular people's standards?”

“Troll or human?” You shake your head. “I don't think any species would give us a passing grade.”

“Earthworms might be impressed.”

You pout. “You've never taken me to any good plots of soil.”

“We'll do that next time. For now, Jane said someone needs to do the shopping.”

“You know how to sweep me off my feet.”

Rose, still prone, waves a list in your direction. “It'll be fun. We get to pick which flavor of potato chips we want, and everyone else has to live with it.”

If Alternia had anything like supermarkets, they hadn’t spread near your oasis. For all that your caste can stand the sun, the electric lights hurt your eyes. They’re too bright – a harsh white that makes all the bright colors look flat and artificial. You reach for Rose’s hand, and she squeezes it. “I appreciate the support,” you say, “but I wanted to see the list.”

“Oh. Right.” She brings it up for both of you to consult. “Does Jade know how expensive beef is? She’s really running us through it.”

“She’s been talking about growing vegetables for the household. It’s too bad she can’t raise her own cows.”

“Don’t give her ideas. She wouldn’t be able to bring herself to butcher them, not after we’d named them all.” Rose leads you to the back of the store and scoops up slabs of meat packed into tidy foam and plastic containers. The setup is so clinical your residual rainbow drinker instincts don’t even twitch. It’s a far cry from the Alternian pastime of slicing your dinner up while it’s still wriggling. “We need milk,” she begins, and trails off after she pivots to the left. “It was that way in my old store. But they must not follow a common plan.”

Rose looks unmoored now that her navigational confidence has been broken. A lot of the humans are like this, wavering when their world doesn’t behave the way they think it should. It’s almost easier for those of you who expect foreign ways and customs. It’s harder to be a stranger in your own home. “We’ll wander,” you say, and steer her firmly by the shoulder.

By a combination of trial and error and studying signage like relics of a lost civilization, you manage to gather everything on the list. The only problem comes when you pass a series of shelves stacked with bottles, and Rose stiffens. It takes a moment for the pieces to fall into place – you’ve never seen wine packaged in its original containers before.

”Come on,” you say, linking your arm with hers. “Help me test which limes are ripest.”

You have to tug for a moment before she comes with you. You don’t think she’s planning to make a running leap for the vintage. If anything, she looks like she does when there’s an enemy sighted, wary and ready to spring. If she destroys several wine racks with a blast of divine light, that’ll probably go on your bill.

”Sorry,” she says, once you’ve made it to the produce section. “At my old store, it was in a separate room. Not out in the open.”

You lean toward her a little, so your shoulders press together. “It took you by surprise.”

She leans back. “Like pulling down your sheets and seeing a spider in your bed.” You see a dot of blood on her lower lip. She must have bitten it. “It must be harder for you. There’s no getting away from all that blood walking around on two legs.”

”It’s easier not to slip up, though.” You reach over with your free hand and dab at her cut, wiping the smear on the side of your shirt. “They’d make a fuss if I tried to sample it.”

”That’s what recovering alcoholics need.” She swipes at her mouth herself, but the wound is already closing. “Wine bottles that scream when you open them.”

”You’ve uncovered a new industry.”

”I need to patent it immediately.”

You squeeze her arm before letting go. If she’s making jokes, that’s a good sign.

Rose perks up when you’re heading toward the checkout. “Hang on. We have to stop by the natural foods section.”

”We do?” You check the list again. There’s nothing left on it.

”You never know,” she says. Now it’s her turn to drag you along. “The cure to all our life’s problems might be hiding next to the apricot kernels.”

Her tone is mocking. “Is there something wrong with natural products?”

”Not on their own. Jade says a lot of processed food upsets her stomach after growing up without it. But some people will pitch organic to you as the cure for cancer, and if you’re telling me you feed your four-year-old Goji berries instead of getting him vaccinated, I think you’ve opened yourself up to public disdain.” Rose plucks a box of tea off the shelf. “Look at this one. It says it’ll revitalize your body and restore harmony to your thoughts. All for twelve dollars, too.”

”Sounds like a deal.”

”It would have its work cut out for it with us. Hey, if I drink Sleepy Time and Stay Alert blends at the same time, what do you think will happen?”

”You’ll shed your corporeal form and ascend to a being of pure consciousness, and that would be a shame, because I like your face.” You retrieve the boxes and put them back before she decides to do product testing. “Apparently these exotic grains cure depression with their wholesome vitamins and minerals.”

”Buy the whole shelf.”

She’s right; some of these products are ridiculous. The two of you are giggling over asparagus water when a middle-aged woman pushes past you with her shopping cart. A highblood couldn’t look down their nose better. “Are you girls done with that?” she asks.

”Definitely,” Rose says, straight-faced. “I’d recommend it. It made us gay.”

Rose did the talking there, and you were too busy laughing to think of how to react. But when you get to the cashier, your tongue twists in your mouth. You stammer through pleasantries until Rose rescues you and completes the transaction. You drift away while she's collecting the bags, pretending to peruse the week's advertisement flier.

“She was pretty,” Rose says when she joins you, groceries in tow. “Is that why you were stuttering?”

You take half the bags from her. It would have been polite to help her carry them from the conveyor belt, but you needed to escape. “Was she? I didn't notice.”

She nudges you with a conspiratorial grin. “You don't have to play coy. I won't get jealous.”

“I'm not playing coy.” You shift one of the bags over your wrist, and something inside crinkles. Hopefully you didn’t break anything. “Her face was a blur. I panicked.”

Rose’s smile fades. “I’d forgotten you could be shy.”

The automatic doors whoosh open as the two of you approach. You sidestep a mother and her offspring going the other direction. “When you grow up on an oasis where your nearest neighbors are the shambling undead, you're a little cautious of strangers.”

“But willing to send them messages on Pesterchum questioning their intelligence and morals.”

She printed your first conversation logs off and stuck them to her wall, which you find equally endearing and annoying. Every time you see them, you itch to pull out a pen and make edits. “That's different. We weren't face to face. And... this is all new, here. I worry they'll be able to tell.”

“That they'll scream “Space invader!” and cart you off to a top secret facility?

”I’m sure it’s funny to you,” you say with a sniff, starting across the parking lot. “They won’t dissect you.”

She smiles again – you meant her to; the dissection at least was a joke. “I get nervous too. Not as much now after everything we’ve been through, but I’ve always been hyperaware of social situations. But I tend to take the ‘don't get scared; get angry’ approach.”

You recall how she marched up to the conveyor belt and slammed down her purchases. “I did wonder if you were going to challenge the salesperson to a strife.”

“Chalk it up to the childhood narcissism. I always felt like everyone was passing judgment.”

You accidentally make eye contact with a man stepping out of his vehicle and redirect your gaze at Rose’s collarbone. “Like everyone's watching.”

She nods. “And that's not true. They have their own problems and couldn't care less what we do. We're not important to them. In this case, that's reassuring.”

You’re surprised she finds it comforting. You’re happy to fade into the background; Rose likes to be noticed. You’d never realized it frightened her too. “What a pair we make,” you say.

“Between us, we add up to one functional person.”

You pull open the car door for her with a flourish. “I'd be generous and say at least 1.5.”

A few of the humans have been working to get their licenses so Jane’s father doesn’t have to drive them everywhere. Rose only has a permit, but that doesn’t stop her from using the car. Seer powers let her know if there’s likely to be trouble, but otherwise she drives like she’s got a grudge against the pavement. She peels out of the parking spot and then slams on the brakes. You hug a carton of eggs to your chest so they don’t splatter against the windshield. “What is it?”

”We have cold bags for everything, right?”

”Yes.” It was overkill for a short trip, but you prefer to be prepared.

She pulls into the store’s partner gas station while you wave apologetically at the elderly woman she just cut off. “This is a date. We’re going to get coffee.”

The coffee machine is broken, so you both get 99 cent slushies and sit on the curb next to the free air pump. The parking spot is empty save for a mulch of cigarette butts and ripped up Lotto tickets. Rose slurps some of her concoction out of a straw. It’s a murky mess, and you spotted her squirting a few shots of energy drink in for good measure. You spent several minutes painstakingly creating a rainbow pattern and are now trying to drink evenly to keep the layers intact. A bag of chips slumps half-empty between you. They’ll complain about that back home, but it’s their fault for not coming along to supervise.

Rose sucks on her straw with a noise like a drain unclogging. “How’s this for romance and adventure?”

“I could do it again,” you say. And you could. The encounter with the cashier still leaves you shaken, but the haze has peeled off the world. It’s funny how after everything you’ve been through, something as simple like this can be energizing. There are groceries in the car that need to get back and a household worth of responsibilities to keep up with, but right now it could just be the two of you setting off on some new adventure. Rose has always made you feel that way. Light players make the world narrow around them, drawing in attention, compressing possibility. They’re a lantern you bump against, entranced. With Rose, you’ve found one that doesn’t burn.

”Well shit, these were ninety-nine cents.” She smirks in the way that means you’ve missed a joke. “I think our budget can afford it.”

”Thank you for dragging me out here.” Lurking in your room seems silly now. “It helps, borrowing your confidence.”

”It’s a show,” she says. “I don’t know how you manage to seem so centered all the time.”

”Amateur theatrics,” you say. “One functional person, here we are.” She raises her drink in a toast, and you knock them together. ”I mean it, though,” you continue. “It’s nice, the way you turn things into adventures. Even if it’s a shopping trip, I don’t know where we’re going to end up. It’s unpredictable, but I like it. I like spending time with you.”

She smiles and looks away. Whenever you’ve successfully induced emotions, she never wants to look you in the eye. “That slushy must have made an impression.”

”It was good.” You flick the straw, sending drops of condensation scattering across the asphalt. “We didn’t have anything like this at home, at least not where I grew up. That might explain part of the rapturous response. But mostly I think it’s because I love you.”

Rose stills. That might be a bad sign, but you’ve gotten yourself into this situation, so you might as well keep going. “I’m not trying to corner you,” you say, looking down at your knees. “I know you have difficulty expressing some things. But I wanted to express that. Right now.”

When you sneak a look over, her shoulders are shaking. The ice from your drink solidifies in your stomach until you realize she’s laughing.

”Do you know how long I’ve been agonizing over this?” she asks.

”I knew why,” you begin. “Your mother…” That’s not a complete sentence, but it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes you want to ask John to transport you into Rose’s past so you can grab the woman by her shoulders and shake her. “How could you be so careless?” you want to demand. “Didn’t you realize what you were doing?” You are all the results of what has been done to you, combined with your attempts to overcome it. Even with your universes gone, their impressions remain as indelible parts of you. You wouldn’t want Rose to be anything other than who she is, but that doesn’t stop you from wishing she could have gotten something better growing up.

“That was what started it.” Rose takes a gulp of her drink. The humor drains from her voice. Now she’ll look you in the eye. “She’d vanish into her laboratory or a drunken stupor and leave me to fend for myself. The first time I tried cooking spaghetti I set off the fire alarm. I couldn’t get it to stop until I climbed up on a chair and took the batteries out. She slept through the whole thing. So when she turned up with a new present, how could I believe it was sincere? And even if it was, it didn’t make up for anything. If all you can give is the trappings of love, like you’ve bought out a Valentines’ clearance sale but can’t be damned to raise your own child, it doesn’t count.” She sloshes the remains of her drink around with one hand and watches it like she’s reading tea leaves. “So I guess I distrusted all of it. The glitz, the performance, anything. Even the words. Because if you do it right, they should know. But… in the past I’ve been guilty of overcorrecting.”

“Really?” You try to keep your tone teasing. Anything else might alarm her.

She elbows you in the ribs, but not hard. “Sometimes I’ve turned the wheel a bit and drifted over the dividing line between reasonable responses and terrible decisions by a few millimeters.”

“I think a driving instructor might say you sailed over the median, engaged with oncoming traffic, and left the highway entirely for parts unknown. What?” you add. “I’ve read the manual you’re all practicing from.”

“Five dollars says you pass the test before I do. After the timeline John made unhappen, I realized I’d never told you. For all the wrong, stupid reasons. I shouldn’t have let any of that stop me. I would’ve died with that as one of my greatest regrets. So I wanted it to be perfect, since I made you wait so long.” She covers her mouth with one hand and smiles through her fingers. “God, you should see my search history. I watched promposal videos, although I wiped all that data and I’ll deny it if you tell anyone. And here we are –” she pauses and shakes her head - “in a gas station parking lot. But you know what? I think it fits.” She slings an arm around your shoulders and plants a sticky kiss on your cheek. “I love you. Let’s make it count.”

This is what you have learned from dating Rose Lalonde. Expect your lives to accumulate the clutter of experiences together – receipts and stolen shirts and empty packages still streaked with frosting. Expect to make missteps, because the two of you are walking an uncharted path one step after another. Sometimes you fall, fight your demons, and climb back up again. You are all doing this for the first time.

Expect her to say she loves you in unexpected ways. A new package of lip gloss left on your pillow. A flower pressed between the pages of a heavy book to make it delicate and perfect. Occasionally, the words.

Make it count.