#i only just cleaned it up this january (and only posting it now)

[crystallizsch]

releasing this rn out into the wild because this was the other art i was holding hostage in my drafts for weeks 🧍 anyways. this is pirate navigator jamil fanart from @cheerleaderman's never-cove fan event <3

anyways i'm just grasping at straws and thinking this is somewhat tangentially related to the lantern of wishes event—

[gyuswhore]

Cherry Picker [teaser]

part of the winter with you collab hosted by @camandemstudios!

Choi Seungcheol x reader

est. word count: um 30k (?) EDIT: projecting near 20k [see reblogs] EDIT pt2: we're back to 30k (possibly more)

est. release date: January 10th

warnings: Hockey player! Seungcheol, figure skater! reader, *deep breath* ENEMIES TO LOVERS, angst, fluff, smut [MINORS DNI], more to be added in final post

synopsis: Cherry Picking [ice hockey]: a manoeuver in which a player, the floater, literally loafs (spends time in idleness) or casually skates behind the opposing team's unsuspecting defencemen while they are in their attacking zone. There wasn't much you counted on in life; just your skates, your drive and how it felt to win. And of course, your local ice rink, that is now being colonised by an obnoxious hockey team in all their big, loud, stinking glory. Neither does it help that one particular red donned specimen forgets to leave his cherry picking on the ice.

‼️ JOIN THE TAGLIST by sending an ask or replying under this post. AGE INDICATORS ON YOUR BLOG ARE NECESSARY. ‼️

[a/n]: I first wrote hockey player Cheol quite literally a full year ago and I promised to expand on the concept, so here we are!!! im so excited for y'all to read this bc im genuinely putting my heart and ass into this fic. lmk your thoughts about the teaser!!! please remember to support the rest of the fics coming out in association with the winter with you collab, all of these writers are working so hard to bring you fics you're going to love 🥹

masterlist

The ice is empty, mostly. Placing your laptop in the sound booth and your shoes under the benches, you step foot on the ice. They’re there, on the other end, sitting on the cold ice with their jerseys still on, eating what looks like cups of dippin dots. 

Seungcheol and Jeonghan, you remember from Lorelai’s squealing, either don’t notice you on the ice, or simply choose not to. Because it’s easy as you skate up to them, gaining speed from across the rink, you slide to a stop, sending a perfect spray of ice from your skates, directly into their cups. 

Seungcheol’s full spoon hangs mid air, halfway to his mouth, now garnished with ice shavings. 

“Thought you’d have the respect to keep the dippin dots out of this,” Jeonghan comments, disbelief in his eyes as he looks up at you. 

“Ice is booked.” 

“What time?” Seungcheol asks. Your gaze flickers to the left side of his face, a nasty bruise blooming purple and blue that you hadn’t noticed before. 

“Two sixteen. It’s nearly fifteen minutes past.”

“You’re only one person.” 

“And?”

“And…you have about 97% of the rink to yourself.”

You raise your brows, hands on your hips. “But I booked 100% of it. So I’m gonna need that plane of ice you’re currently sitting on.” 

“What if I don’t move?” Seungcheol presses. It’s menacing, the way he looks at you, like he’s a dragon only waiting to be provoked. 

“We’ll find out another day,” Jeonghan sings before you can snap back, grabbing onto the collar of Seungcheol’s red and white jersey to yank him up. He continues to glare as he obliges with his friend’s tugs, nearly as angry as you are. “Let’s go, sport.”

You watch as they walk to the exit of the ice, realising they’re wearing their shoes instead of their skates. 

Jeonghan calls from the benches, right before he and Seungcheol move out of view. “Trash those for us, would you?” 

Their half eaten dippin dots cups, with the ice now melting on them remains on the floor of the rink. 

Once again, the unexplainable urge to kick something befalls you, hearing them laugh and talk from far away as they exit the rink behind their long gone teammates. 

You give in, swinging a leg over to kick the cups and spoons, dippin dots and plastic scattering across the ice. It’s another sprawl of mess you’ll have to clean up, but it feels good to ruin something of his, no matter how inconsequential. 

The empty rink is only encouraging you, needing to scream so loud the plastic barriers crack and break. You know it’s impossible, but that doesn’t stop the urge. 

You channel it into the most aggressive warmups on ice you’ve ever done. Your spins are faster, your jumps higher. But this also means you crash heavier, fall harder. 

It’s then, sitting on the bench to take a break, breathing so heavy you can hardly sip your water, you find an unmistakable headline on your browser home page. 

Everything stops. 

!HOT TOPIC! 

SEAT AT RISK FOR SVT HOCKEY TEAM’S SHINING STAR? Read All About It Here!

[dear-ao3]

friends, besties, worsties, davids, and meow meows of the jury. i have a tale for you. while i claim to be no bard (like saph, the queen of very long dramatic tumblr stories that make your heart weep), i must spin a wee bit of yarn in the form of a story. what story? a story of the green cake.

we shall, as most stories do, start almost at the beginning.

the date? january 2nd.

the time? late.

the occasion? saph comes home the third.

the problem? i have no butter or sugar.

now, saph's birthday was recently, so like any other best bud i said i was making a cake. i believe my exact words were 'i'm making you a cake whether you like it or not."

now, gang, i must level with you. this is the fourth cake i've made in my life. i am a reasonably good baker (i can bake a Mean Loaf of Bread), but i'm not a very experienced baker. 3/4 cakes were reasonably good, and only one was just slightly off. so, my track record is mixed, but i am hopeful.

now, let me take you to the present.

i am sitting at my dining room table, typing this post. i am wearing a shirt covered in flour, the green cake is in the oven.

how did i get here?

well, we won't go to the beginning. we've already seen what was basically the beginning, with me having no butter or sugar. the real story begins the morning of january 3rd. which is today. which is when saph comes home, expecting a green cake. as most reasonably well adjusted people do when their roommates parents are visiting, i stressed cleaned the entire apartment at 4am, after realizing the mice in my walls are fucking. i did not leave them a condom. i did not have one that would fit them. i can only hope they have plan b. so naturally, i went to bed at 6am.

and i still had no sugar or butter for the green cake for saph.

and i needed to get started on this cake before 10am, or saph would be here before it was finished.

and i went to bed at 6am. so naturally i set my 9:00, 9:02, 9:04, 9:06 alarms, and hoped i'd lock in when i woke up.

friends, i hate to admit it, but i did not lock in. nay, i slept through all of my alarms and woke up at roughly 9:45. it was cold, damp, and the mice were still probably fucking. i threw my hair into a messy bun, and ran downstairs, only to find my mom was selling me to one direction.

jk. it was far worse.

because saph said she had sent me something.

what did saph send me?

a full poster of david malukas! do i know why? no! but he lives in my kitchen now, providing me with mental support. thanks david!

so, i begin to make the cake after laughing for about 10 minutes about why david is now in my apartment. it starts off surprisingly well. i have not forgotten the salt.

everything is normal.

until i remember.

the cake needs to be green.

why? idk thats what saph said she wanted so i am just going to do what i was told to do and make this damn cake green.

but its now late in the process, and if there is one thing i have learned in all my years of watching the great british baking show with my mom, it is to never over beat your cake.

and my cake, right now, was perfect. trust me. i ate plenty of dough to know it was wonderful.

so now i am trying to figure out how to make the most perfect shade of nico rosberg green, feeling a bit like an alchemist. david malukas is staring me down. my time grows shorter and shorter with each beat.

and then, gang, i had to give up on this being nico rosberg green. i did not want to kill my cake. my green cake. my now mint-green cake that i am baking for saph. so naturally i'm like, okay, time to pour this.

easy, right?

WRONG.

so one thing to know about me is i suck at cutting things.

it's unfortunately a key ingredient in cake making that you have a stupid little circle on the bottom of your cake tins. i cut it the best i could. which was bad. so i'm already fighting demons trying to get the stupid parchment paper from sliding every which way, and then, my friends, i realized something horrible.

the batter had not mixed at the bottom. so now i was fighting even more demons and trying not to get loose flour in my cake.

i think i succeeded. only time will tell. david is watching. the cake is almost done.

i am setting the green cake free.

look upon him now, and weep. the green cake prevails! even though he doesn't look very green yet.

and now, for the hardest part. frosting.

let's see how that goes.

david still watches.

[aydracz]

The GO bench in St James Park has been replaced with a different one

Very sorry to report that the sanded down bench they returned at the original spot in St James Park is actually NOT the OG fandom one.

There are some very prominent features the OG bench had. Most importantly, the shape of the back of the bench, the armrest shape, and the height of the bench itself:

OG bench (pic taken last year):

The new bench, unfortunately, has a different back shape (the tops of the left and right wooden planks at the back):

I did some ineffable detective work in St James Park this weekend of 25th January (with the help of @0xlilith and @fuckyeahgoodomens and @fuzzywhispersbear) and examined all the benches in the near vicinity and subsequently all the benches in the park, in case they just moved it to a different spot. They did not.

I now have a special photo folder in my phone featuring some of the possible candidate benches in St James Park, because that's what you do if you are a GO fan on a trip to London.

All the potential candidate benches that fit the shape criteria didn't meet the "recently cleaned" criterion or the "at least a bit visible carving scars in the right places" criterion.

(A very useful graphics made by @fuckyeahgoodomens)

It is, of course, possible that I am wrong and the bench is there somewhere and has been cleaned so well that not even the carving scars are visible. I just recorded all the Clues as I collected them and this is the logical conclusion:

I think it is realistic to consider that the OG bench was damaged beyond salvation and as such, was removed permanently. I feel like maybe some of the carvings were too deep and beyond repair. I might be wrong, they just might be rotating the benches and our bench is just sitting somewhere in storage, waiting for being cleaned and returned. (It is probably not in different park because all benches have a SJP at the back and I think they make sure to not mix them up).

I, personally, am actually fine with fans writing on the bench. It is within my personal limits of what is OK. But some of the fandom love was maybe too vigorous. And as a whole, I think that this shows us that we might try to treat the new bench with a bit more respect. By refraining from carving in it with a knife. By using plain pencils to write our little notes so that they don't destroy the bench, are easily cleaned and are not visible to regular visitors of the park, only for people who know what they are looking for. Use it as a scavenger hunt place (my personal favourite) to leave little trinkets and gifts for other fans (but hide them well so that they don't visually disturb regular visitors).

I am not openly promoting vandalism here. I am just being realistic and I seriously have nothing but love for the people who left their permanent mark on the bench. (And I would HATE for this post to be used for hating on these fans. Pls don't.) I believe we can find a sweet spot of showing our love for the bois and not damaging the bench beyond salvation.

And I think the management of St James Park is showing us that they are just doing their job and they don't hate us (hopefully).

Why? Because the heart padlock of Aziraphale and Crowley is still there. Someone even added another padlock and a little fly! And these things didn't disappear. I think this hopefully demonstrates that fandom activities in moderation are allowed.

The bench is a symbol of fandom love and as such, I don't think it can be lost. It is what we make it. There is a new lovely bench at the spot and it attracts GO fans just like the previous one did. And while I know many people (including me) will grieve the piece of fandom history that might have been lost, I think that this is an opportunity for a fresh start.

We'll be OK. This place still feels loved.

[rhyrhy]

Slut me out - series ˚ · .˚ ༘🦋⋆｡˚

Football! Fuckboy! Abby Anderson x female reader!

Cw: toxic relationships, language, college/ modern setting Abby!, no talks on body or race specifics! Player! Abby.

MDNI - mlist for previous chapters

Chapter six: overtime

(Flashback) November 15th, two months ago

“gross, grab a napkin” Abby teased, watching you accidentally make mess with your ice cream. A goofy grin spread on her face.

Yes, that date you went on? was totally one of those cheesy, ice cream dates, with wandering around the city hand in hand. The kind of date that would make you cringe if it weren’t happening to you. You both giggled like a couple of schoolgirls. seeing that side of her had your stomach flipping with butterflies. It was a complete contrast to the heavy flirting you guys had been doing. It felt so real. So, for a moment you really thought,

this is someone I could really fall for.

Present, January 22nd, 11:40 pm

You’d been in bed, mindlessly through Instagram, your chest tightening as you skips past photos of the party from the night before.

It was a shit show, you two couldn’t seem to keep your hands off each other.

‘Just this once..please’ Abby plea from the bathroom filled your thoughts. Damn it, why do you keep doing this to yourself. What is her goal, to confuse you? Keep you as a booty call? ugh!

Your finger hesitates over one post—a shot of Abby with her teammates, beer in hand, smiling like nothing is wrong. Smiling like she hadn’t been tongue deep between your legs, a few minutes before the picture. Her carefree grin that used to draw you in, now only makes you feel bitter.

Setting the phone down, you let out a frustrated sigh and leans back on your fluffy pillows. Your eyes wander to a small photo stuck to the corkboard above the desk. a candid from November. Abby’s arm hanging down, fingers laced with yours. The memory floods back, uninvited but vivid.

Why did you have to ruin this, Abby? You mutter to no one. You closes your eyes,

You close your eyes, and the past begins to take over.

——-

(Flashback) November 15th, two months ago

“You’re telling me that’s your go-to flavor? Strawberry? That’s so basic, abs.”

“Basic? You’re literally eating (your fav flavor) . That’s the flavor of someone who couldn’t make a decision.”

“Excuse me? This is a classic. Yours is…pink. What does that even say about you?” You roll your eyes

.”It says I have taste And, clearly, better judgment than you.” Abby grins and shrugs nonchalantly.

—-

“Ah, it’s dripping! Quick, grab a napkin or something!”

“Gross, grab your own napkin. You’re the messy one here.”

You fumble attempting to clean the ice cream with the tiny napkin you’d got from the shop. Abby laughs again, shaking her head before offering her own napkin

“Wow, what a hero. You’re really saving the day here.” You chuckle

“You’re welcome. I’ll add it to my list of good deeds.” Abby smiled wide

You both laugh again, but there’s something softer in the air now. You glances down at the hands laced together, still loosely connected from when Abby pulled you over.

“You’re kind of full of surprises, you know that?”

“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it. I have a reputation to maintain.” Abby joked

——-

Present, January 22nd, 11:40 pm

and now all you could do is wish you would’ve taken her warning.

You bit your lip, that bittersweet ache spreading in your chest. It was almost cruel how happy you both looked in the photo, as if nothing had ever gone wrong. As if Abby hadn’t spent the weeks after that night pretending you didn’t exist. As if her apology at the party wasn’t just a fleeting moment of guilt before she reverted to the same hot-and-cold game you’d been trapped in since.

You locked your phone and threw it onto the bed with a sigh. Leaning back against the headboard, you stared up at the ceiling, replaying the memory of that night like a movie you couldn’t turn off.

It wasn’t just the ice cream or the silly teasing. It was the way she looked at you, the way she laughed at your bad jokes like they were the funniest thing in the world. The way she had leaned in closer every time she spoke, like she couldn’t get enough of you.

For a moment, you had let yourself believe it. Believe her. You broke those rules.

That night felt like the first real glimpse of something more—a side of Abby that wasn’t all bravado and charm, but warmth and vulnerability. It was enough to make you think that maybe, just maybe, you weren’t just another girl she’d forget about the moment she got bored.

But then you woke up the next morning to a cold, empty silence. No texts. No calls. Just radio silence.

You shook your head, trying to push the memory away, but it clung to you like a shadow. A knock at your door snapped you out of your thoughts.

“Hey, you alive in there?” Layla’s voice called from the hallway.

“Yeah, come in,” you said, your voice hoarse.

Layla stepped in, a concerned look on her face. She glanced at your phone on the bed and then back at you. “Still thinking about it?”

You shrugged, avoiding her gaze. “Not really. Just…you know, it’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid,” Layla said firmly, sitting on the edge of your bed. “Look, I know she messed with your head, but that doesn’t mean what you felt wasn’t real. And it doesn’t mean you have to beat yourself up for it.”

“I just don’t get it,” you admitted. “That night felt…different. Like, for a second, I thought maybe she actually cared. But now? I don’t even know what’s real anymore.”

Layla sighed, nudging you with her shoulder. “Maybe it was real. But that doesn’t mean she’s capable of giving you what you need.”

You nodded slowly, her words settling like a weight in your chest. Layla gave you a small, reassuring smile. “C’mon, let’s do something to get your mind off it. Movie night? Or we could cyberstalk her and leave anonymous hate comments on her posts?”

You laughed and shook your head.

“Suit yourself,” Layla said, standing up. “But seriously, don’t let her mess with your head any more than she already has. You deserve better than that.”

As she left the room, you picked up your phone again, staring at the frozen image of you and Abby on the screen.

…Maybe Layla was right. Maybe it was time to stop letting Abby take up so much space in your head.

And like the devil herself heard you…

You stared at the screen, torn. Layla’s words from earlier echoed in your mind—You deserve better than that. And you knew she was right. You did deserve better.

But another part of you—the part that still remembered her goofy grin as she teased you about the ice cream, or the way her hand felt in yours that night—couldn’t let go of the idea that maybe, just maybe, this time she meant it…? No, no.

Your fingers hovered over the keyboard for a long moment before you typed (see second photo)

You needed to choose yourself this time.

—

Taglist cuties: @deadbolted @grey-jedi12 @ceylnisgone @evabby @abby-anderson-wifey @icedsimpsayo @elle-girlylesbian

——

Last episode next! don’t jump me for the ending chat 💞😭

[wipbigbang]

2025 International Fanworks Day Mini Bang Schedule & FAQ

Schedule

All times are by 11:59pm PST. Convert time zones.

Writing Begins- January 1st Earliest Posting Of Fic To Platform Of Your Choice- February 1st Regular Posting Of Fic To Platform Of Your Choice- February 7t Bragging Rights Posting Starts- February 15th Bragging Rights Posting Endss- February 22nd

FAQ

What is the WIP Big Bang International Fanworks Day Mini Bang? Good question! This is a Mini Bang with one goal in mind: to clean out your fanfic drafts folder for the fics that were too short to be completed during the main Big Bang (ie, finished works are 7.5K words and under).

Do I need a Livejournal/Dreamwidth/AO3/etc. account to participate? No! You don’t have to have an account on anything to participate, though you will need to have somewhere to post your finished work. Having one or more accounts will help for you to follow what is going on with the bang (we crosspost to Dreamwidth and Tumblr and heavily use our Discord server at the moment), but they are not required to participate. You can always leave comments anonymously or with an opensource ID.

How many fics can I write? We absolutely don’t mind multiple fics! There are no sign-ups for this, as it’s an informal Mini Bang, so as long as it stays under he max word count, you can finish as many fics as you want between January 1st and February 15th.

Will I get emails about the bang? We do not send out any emails for the Mini Bang, as we currently do not keep an updated email list of participants, so we only send individual emails as needed rather than mass emails.

However, email is the fastest way to communicate with the mods. If you have any questions, please do email us! We will do our best to respond quickly.

What do you mean by maximum word count? You don’t have to have a set minimum of your fic to start, so an outlined fic is fine, but it must be under 7,500 words when it’s finished.

Are multi-chapter fics allowed? Yes, multi-chapter fics are allowed, as long as they stay under the maximum word count.

What about fics that are already posted on ao3 in part? Do those qualify for the bang? It's okay if you have posted some of your fic already (you never know when the muse deserts you, after all), we just require you to refrain from posting more until posting begins here. All we ask is that you not post any public updates to the fic until February 7th (a week before posting your bragging rights to Dreamwidth and/or Tumblr starts). We don’t want you to lose kudos and comments so don’t worry about pulling the fic down, just hold off on updates for now.

I see that the fic maximum is 7500 words and that published WIPs are acceptable - but what if the WIP I’m considering is already more than 7500 words? If your WIP is already over 7,500 words it is ineligble for the Mini Bang. Hoever, you can submit it for the regualr WIPBB.

What happens if an author finishes the fic they signed up with but it’s more than 7,500 words? Do they have to drop out at that point? By all means, we want your stories to feel as natural as possible, and if it’s over 7,500 words when you finish it, that’s great because you finished the fic! But you can’t submit it for the International Fanworks Day WIPBB Mini Bang because it’s over the maximum word count. But be proud of yourself for finishing the fic!

Is there anything not allowed? As long as you wrote it and you want to finish it, you're welcome to participate. Original fiction is fine. RPS/RPF is fine. Incest pairings are fine. Things like that I know have been hinted at in questions asked and as long as you tag for them, we’ll allow it. Also, canon settings with mostly OCs is allowed. We just ask that it be tagged properly with any content warnings you would deem fit and be given the appropriate rating for the level of sex/violence there is in the fic.

What's the etiquette around OC-centric stories? Ones that are set in a well known fandom and use several characters, but still lean a lot on original characters? Are they discouraged, or fine? As there is no art claims for this Mini Bang, having mostly OC-centric stories is more than fine.

What is, and do I need, a beta? A beta is basically a person who goes over your work to make sure that there are no spelling/grammatical errors and they can even be of assistance in helping you with story lines, etc. It is highly recommended that a beta looks over your work before posting. If you are having trouble finding a beta, try the Discord community.

Where can I post my fic/art? Stories and art can be posted to your own personal journal, Tumblr, ff-net, AO3, or wherever you like. For those of you with AO3 accounts, we will set up a collection that will go live on the first day of the posting. If you don’t currently have an AO3 account but would like one, you can contact the mods for an invitation code to see if they have any available. You can also add yourself to the AO3 Invites Request queue.

What does posting look like? Do we have to post the whole thing on the day, or can we stretch it out between when posting starts and our date? I’ve had a few longfics get killed by big bangs forcing posting to happen on a given day, and would prefer to avoid that if possible. For most fics, posting to AO3/FF.net/other places will be allowed to start on February 7th and you can stretch it out as many posts as you want as long as the complete fic is up by the posting dates (February 15th to Febrary 22nd). However, if you need to post earlier you can start posting February 1st. we want to work with writers to give them ample time to post the story up to their posting date.

Now, as for posting to the communities, you can post at any time between February 15th and February 22nd, without picking a posting date. You’ll post bragging rights similar to those used during the full length WIPBB to Tumblr and/or Dreamwidth with a link to your fic an your bragging, if you choose to include that portion.

How come there aren’t 'art claims'? The quick turnaround in time and the length of time set to write doesn’t leave a lot of time for artists to make art, so the only art allowed to be posted during this event is unfinished art from the 2024 round that has been finished.

Can I get an extension? Community extensions may be given in the event that the majority of the authors/artists need one. They may also be given individually under certain circumstances, but this must be discussed with the mods and will only be a short extension for posting.

Can I swap out a fic if my muse abandons it again? Since you’re not signing up with specific works, you are more than free to swap fics out with other ones.

Can I drop out? Absolutely! This is a lo pressure event so since you aren’t signing up to finish any particuar fic, you can drop out of the event without telling the mods as well.

Are we allowed to participate without joining the Discord? Absolutely! The Discord server is optional, as just another way to interact with your fellow writers and get updates on important dates. It’s not mandatory you join, however.

I was just wondering if there’s any way to enter the bang anonymously? Like would it be okay to put our work in an anonymous collection on ao3 or something? Unfortunately, I can’t think of a way for that to work. The collection that we use is moderated but it’s not anonymous, and there are the bragging posts that you post to Tumblr and/or Dreamwidth, which you would have your username on whichever platform you use. If you don’t want to use a Tumblr or Dreamwidth account for posting your bragging rights, however, you can always send them to the mod account and we can post them on your behalf.

I was just wondering whether I'm sworn to secrecy on which fics I'll be finishing up, or if I can shout it out to the world? No one is sworn to secrecy once they’ve picked a fic to write (aside from posting new parts to fic that’s already up somewhere…we ask that you refrain from doing that until at least February 1st)! If you want to share snippets of your fic as you make progress, that’s fine, just don’t share the whole thing until posting time starts.

I have a question/concern that’s not mentioned here. If you need help, you can always contact a mod and we will do our best to make sure that you get your story/art finished. The best and fastest method of contact is through our email, wipbigbang@gmail.com.

[sweeneydino]

Welcome to my humble abode.

🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ+ safe space.

✨️Surprise✨️

Turtles and random fandoms I may pop into galore.

Ignore the soda cans and crumbled pieces of paper, never really got the chance to clean that up.

This will collect dust just like all of my other projects and dreams.

🚫No, Commissions are NOT open (づ_ど) 🚫

Please note that this is my escape from life (ง˙∇˙)ว so I might not respond to A LOT. See end notes.

Archive of Our Own (AO3) Fanfics

Lime meets emerald[HIATUS]

Spikeangelo

The Good Father

Comics

Weapons of Hamato [1]

Alternate Universe Shenanigans

Spikeangelo AU!

Au idea | Titan

Spikeangelo Asks!

Transporters don't act like they do in Space Heroes Leo! (TSHL) [CW: BODY HORROR]

Au Idea

Mold

Weapons of Hamato

Au Idea

New Friend [Part 1]

Weapons of Hamato

The Good Father

Au Idea | Rat Dads in New York

Grown Up Don

Future Menace

Past Remembrance / PT.2

Paper Scales/ Little Dragons [CW: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH]

LITTLE DRAGONS

Au idea | Explored

Splintering | Father's Day | Forgive me

Little Dragons | Dragons | Twin Disasters | Eldest and Youngest |Oh Fuck THEY ARE GROWING UP | Awakened Dads | Mood Ring

Himbo | Uncle Mike

New Years | January 1st

DANGER | Forms of a Monster | Trouble

Strange occurrences | Prey drive | Clear Picture | Mimicking | Stronk | Friends | Moody | Omen | Mystic Bab | Holy Shit | Honey | Buddy | Travel

Tot adventures

Actual fucking dragons | Dai | Mura & Aoi | Akai | COLORS

Fanart: 🧡 🧡 💜

A FANFIC BY @/SHYADRI ON TUMBLR AGAIN THANK YOU SMH CHECK THEM OUT PLEASE 🙏 IDK IF I SHOULD @ THEM HERE SO PLEASE LOOK THEM UP THANK YOU

Collection of other Free-to-use AUS [CW:BLOOD/GORE]

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5

Honestly, a lot of my stuff is free to use(no AI). Just credit me is all I ask 😌... unless it's my big ones, then tell me first.

Animations

Shelldon's Daisy

Where is the pizza, Casey?

Give Splinter a break man

TAP

Sunrise Duo, but with a little red

Mystic Bab

Posers

Side Blogs

Mostly Sanic stuff with gay hedgehogs @lintandsteal

Stuff I scraped out of the bottom of my toilet (18+ ONLY because I have 0 clue what I'll pop out on there) @trashinyourpockets

A fair warning that although I draw A LOT fluff and baby turtles, I also draw(and sometimes write) whump, a lot of angst and gore/extremly violent art(those will be properly tagged in their own post).

My joy in drawing cute stuff must be counterbalanced.

Don't take my silence as me being a dick lmao, I'm just incredibly anxious and terrified of social interaction. So like... I'm probably not the best person to rely on for a ton of things lol. Just chill and we cool. Also I'm unmedicated now, so I am 5x as bad to rely on. I forget shit A LOT, so don't ask me to help you, I'm actually terrible at it 😭

[my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction]

The Lake

Steven Grant x GN!Reader • Rating:  Masterlist• ao3• want to be tagged? | request info • MK Bingo 2024 Masterlist •

Summary: You and Steven go for a walk on a cold January day.

🌛For @moonknight-events MK Bingo Spring 2024 Event🌜

A/N: Trying to get back into the swing of acutally finishing things and posting them. Already my brain is like a) this is too difficult and b) write a part 2.

Warnings: just self indulgent fluff really, COLD, reader is wearing a beanie, references to having sex outside

Word Count: 726

“It’s fucking freezing.” Steven laughed as you neared the lake. 

The whole landscape was grey, brown, and golden okra yellow, vegetation bleached clean by the dull winter and sharp frost. 

There were some geese, or at least birds of some sort, in the far distance. Seemingly the only other living things for miles. 

“This was your idea.” You giggle as Steven grabs hold of your arm and squeezes affectionately as he nuzzles into your freezing cheek. 

“It was, wasn’t it?” He grins and kisses your temple. “Why do you let me do these things love?”

“What, have ideas?” 

“Hmm.” He chuckles and jogs on the spot for a second, his breath coming out white and misty. “I didn’t think it would be this cold.” 

You laugh again. “You should have worn more layers.” 

He nods. Steven’s suggestion of a nice, crisp winter walk had been a good idea when you were both snuggled up indoors with the heated blanket on.

“You should have worn a hat.” His ears are painfully red, the tips a stark contrast against his dark curls. You touch his cheek with your right hand, which is currently sporting a fingerless glove over a glove, under a mitten. Your fingers were still bordering on numb. 

“I’m alright love.” He smiles, his eyes bright.

“Nah, I’m not letting you get frostbite.” You pull off your beanie and shove it on his head a little unceremoniously before he can react. You yank your hood up and pull at the drawstring quickly to try to stop any more cold air than necessary from sinking in. 

“Nooo,” he pouts a little, purposely being overly dramatic to amuse you, “now you’ll get cold.” 

“I have a hood.” You gesture to your head as if he couldn’t see the aforementioned clothing right before his eyes.

“Yes, but you’ll still get cold.” 

“That means you were cold.” 

“No.” He drags out the word, trying to sound sincere but it’s clear he’s lying. 

“You’re so silly Steven,” you smile and link your arm with his as you both carry on walking. 

“Am not.” He says playfully.

“Are too.”

“You’re silly.” 

“No, you.”

“You.” 

“You.” You poke him softly in the side, barely a touch. But he still reacts like you’ve electrocuted him, giggling helplessly. You grin and wait for him to calm down a little before you continue. “Besides, I can’t bite your ears if they’re frozen and fall off.”

You know that if you had said that to Marc, he would have just given you a not-so-impressed look (his speciality), and Jake would have probably tried to playfully nip at your ears then and there to prove a point, but Steven just looked thoughtful for a moment. As if he was really considering what you had said. 

“Hmmm, you think they could actually fall off in this weather?” 

You laugh again, “that’s what you gained from this conversation?” 

He grinned happily at you. “Alright, I’ll keep your hat on, but you gotta tell me if you get too cold, okay love?” 

You nod.

“Promise?” 

“I promise.” 

“Good.” Steven took hold of your hand in his and squeezed rhythmically. 

You both walked a little further down the frosty path, the earth solid and unforgiving under the soles of your boots, and came to a stop at the lake viewing point. 

Steven wrapped his arms around you as you both took in the view and natural stillness, as if the cold had frozen time itself. 

“It’s really pretty.” 

“It is…” Steven kissed your cheek, the tip of his nose was somehow even colder than your skin. “I’m still freezing my bollocks off though.” 

You snorted, breaking into a laugh at the sudden-ness, and blatantly painful honesty. “Come on,” you tug at his hand, headed back the way you came. “Let's get you indoors, I feel like a bollock falling off might be more of an issue than one of your ears.”

Steven giggled and followed, barely taking a few steps before he spoke again. “It's kinda a shame though.”

“Hmm?”

“I mean... if it was a bit warmer…”

You give him a slightly confused glance. 

“Out here, all alone, in nature…” He raised his eyebrows slightly and waggled them at you. 

“You’d definitely lose appendages to frostbite.” 

“Maybe it’s worth the risk.” 

You give him a playful shove as you both laugh. 

____________________________________

Thank you for reading!

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[rustyzebra]

Steaming Up The Windows

Emily Prentiss x Reader

Smut MDNI!

Posted on A03

2k+ words

Gif by @storiesofsvu

How would you and the CM woman of your choice keep warm while being stuck in the BAU van during a snowstorm?

(Working on the other lovely women currently. They'll slowly be added. Each will have the same prompt but different outcomes. JJ, Elle, Alex and Tara on the way.)

(Thank you to @storiesofsvu and @whiteberryx for helping me with the ideas)

The group was hot on the unsubs case. The last piece of evidence was found, and you left for the unsubs residence and workplace. Emily and you were on the way to his residence. You both vested up and grabbed your winter coats.

It was early January; the snow was whipped around in a frenzy. The weather statement today said it would drop well below freezing in the early hours of the evening. Even so, there was still a psychopath to catch.

The snowstorm that was said to hit the city was in full force. Emily drove as quickly as she could, trying not to spin out. Eventually, arriving at the residence, you call Hotch, letting him know you came. You both scoped his place out, thoroughly checking every room, only to find the place empty.

"Clear!" You both called out. You called Hotch, letting him know the unsub wasn't here. That was until Emily heard an engine revving outside. Emily and you bolted out the door to your van.

"Hotch, the unsub is on the move; we have eyes on him now!" Emily says as she buckles up quickly. You hop in the seat next to Emily and buckle up, readying your gun if needed.

You tell Hotch the direction the unsub is going while tailing him.

"Fuck, the weather is too bad! I wouldn't be able to get a clean shot of the tires!" You say as Emily starts to close into the Unsub. Emily drove nearly alongside the unsub, trying to ram him off the road. Emily almost had him until the van hit something under a snowbank. You both felt some tires pop as you spun out.

You hear the unsub get away as the van finally stops spinning.

"You ok?" Emily says as she tries to catch her breath.

"Y...Yeah, I'm good." You could feel the adrenaline coursing through your body.

You called Hotch, letting him know what happened. You don't know exactly where you are since the unsub lived remotely. Hotch said the unsub could be on his way to one location they found. Most likely, the ones he's using to hold the women hostage. He was on his way there with Rossi and Reid.

You hung up the phone and sighed.

"Looks like we're stuck here until they can find us." I groan in exasperation.

"I'm sure they'll catch that bastard. Now I want to see the damage." Emily hops out and walks around the car. Once she's done scouting the car, she returns, slightly shivering.

"Damn, it's cold out there." She says while rubbing her hands together. "Looks like we hit a whole lot of discarded barbed wire. Three of our tires are done for." Emily sighs.

"Are you serious? Shit." I lean back in the front seat.

A few hours later, we received a call saying they had caught the guy. They got Penelope to ping our location, but it'll take a while before help could come. The storm was getting worse.

"Hotch, are you kidding? We're stuck in this van until morning?" Emily said in disbelief.

Unfortunately, Hotch was right. The storm made any kind of travel or driving nearly impossible. We'd have to wait out the storm until morning.

"Hotch said there should be at least a blanket in the trunk." You said just after hanging up. You leave the van to check and grab the "blanket." Walking back to the front and getting in, you unfold it only to realize it was only big enough to cover one person's lap.

"Blanket, my ass," Emily says while rolling her eyes.

A few more hours go by, and the temperature starts dropping. You begin to shiver now and then. Emily looks over to see you trying to curl up with that laughable excuse of a blanket.

"Hop in the backseat; we can stay warmer if we sit together," Emily says as she crawls over the center console to get to the back, waiting for you to join her. You crawl back with her and sit beside her, trying to share the small blanket as best as possible.

You feel Emily pull you closer by your waist, and a jolt of electricity shoots through your spine. She left her arm there, still wrapped tightly around your waist. You've had your fair share of bickering and closeness, but never this close.

Eventually giving in to the warmth, you lean your head to lay on her shoulder. Emily was nice and warm; it eventually lulled you to sleep. A couple hours later, you wake up colder than before. Your eyes flutter open; the sky outside is dark.

There is a weight on your head; looking up, you see Emily's head resting on top of yours. A blush grows on your face. You pull the blanket up higher, trying to keep the warmth in. Doing so, you feel Emily shift and mumble.

"Are you still cold?" Emily whispers in a gravelly voice.

Your breath hitches; you've never heard Emily sound like this. The only thing you could muster was a nod. Emily pulled away for a second to unzip her jacket and wrap one side around you. Pulling you closer, you were now nearly sitting on her lap.

"Emily, you'll get cold," I say softly.

"Then you'll just have to stay closer to me." Emily raises an eyebrow with a slight smirk.

She beckons you to sit closer to wrap her coat around you. Sitting in her lap facing her, trying to suck in as much warmth as possible.

"Better?" You hear her words rumble from her chest.

Nodding your head as you lay it back on her shoulder.

"What time is it?" You mutter against her shirt.

Emily pauses for a moment while checking her phone. It's the early hours of the morning already.

"About 2 am. Unfortunately, we still have plenty of time before they come for us." Emily subconsciously starts rubbing your back.

"Try to get some sleep," Emily says while leaning her head back on top of yours.

Trying your best to drift back off to sleep, you couldn't. Your eyes refused to stay closed; you were far too cold to sleep. Nuzzling in closer in the crook of Emily's neck, you breathe in her scent. She always smelt good.

"Can't sleep." Mumbling against the skin of her neck.

You could have sworn Emily shivered, not from the cold but because of your lips gently grazing against her skin. Shifting on your knees, you were starting to get slightly uncomfortable, one of your knees slotted between Emily's thighs, finally finding a comfortable position. You place your weight down only for Emily to shift positions simultaneously.

Her thigh puts the right amount of pressure at the apex of your thighs. A whimper accidentally slips out. You freeze with your eyes wide, praying she didn't hear it. A moment went by, and you thought maybe she didn't listen to you, that was until her hands found your hips.

Your head shot up, eyes meeting hers. Her eyebrow is raised with a wide smirk on her lips.

"What was that?" Emily teased.

"I don't know what you're talking about." You looked out the rear window.

The hands on your hips pulled you down onto her thigh again; this time, the whimper slipped out on purpose. Emily leans in close to your ear.

"I may know of a way to help keep us both warm." Her hot breath against the cold shell of my ear sent shivers down the spine. All you could manage was a gulp.

"I don't want to force you, only if you want to," Emily says softly while moving your chin to look her in the eyes.

You thought for a moment. You did have feelings for Emily, but you never thought it would go past platonic. You knew taking this step meant the possibility of never returning to the way things were between you both.

"I... I am pretty cold." You say softly.

Emily chuckles softly before replying.

"I can see that. But if you want anything, I need consent, sweetheart."

Blushing softly, you hide your head in her neck. It's a little embarrassing to speak your mind. You eventually worked up the courage to tell Emily what you wanted.

"I want this… Emily." I mumble against the skin of her neck.

"So cute. You don't have to be so shy around me." Emily pulls my face up to look at her.

"There you are." She says softly. "Now, while looking at me this time. Are you sure you want this? You can back down, and it'll be like nothing happened."

You nod softly again. "I want this Em." You lean in and place a chaste kiss on her lips.

Emily was taken slightly aback by your bold move. She wraps her arms around your waist, pulling you closer as you wrap your arms around her neck, effectively deepening the kiss.

Emily's warm lips trailed down your jaw; you tried your best to keep quiet.

"Let out all the pretty noises you want, sweetheart; it's just us two here." Emily punctuates her sentence with a nip to the underside of your jaw. The moan that slipped past your lips was like music to Emily's ears.

"Just like that, sweetheart." Emily husks in between kisses.

"Fuck, you don't know how long I've been waiting for this." She continues as she trails kisses further down, slowly unzipping your jacket.

"Em" You bite your lip as you say her name.

"Just relax, sweet girl. Let me take care of you." Emily gently laid you back and straddled on top of you as best as she could. Your jacket was fully unzipped, and she placed her hands on the exposed bits of skin on your waist.

"Fuck, Em. Your hands are freezing." You hiss.

"Then warm them up for me." Emily raises her eyebrow and smirks.

Emily's hands move higher up while under your shirt. They run over your covered breasts, squeezing and massaging on top of your bra. More lewd sounds left your lips, and Emily continued. You feel her slip a hand under your bra, her fingertips ghosting across your erect nipples.

"Oh? Well, what do we have here?" Emily muses to herself, her smirk widening. Her fingers came in contact with a bit of metal.

"You know I never pictured you with nipple piercings," Emily says mostly to herself as she continues rubbing them.

"S..so you've pictured this before?" You tried to be snarky, but it came out more of a pitiful whine.

Emily's eyes darken as she leans in close to your ear.

"Of course, how could I not when you always look so…" Emily leans in to nip your ear. "So adorable. Just begging to be ruined."

You gulp at Emily's words. You've wanted this for just as long.

"I bet if I were to trail my fingers down, I'd see just how much you've wanted this too, huh?" Emily teases a finger at the hem of your pants.

Emily once again asked for consent. She waits for you to give her the go-ahead before she unbutton and unzips your pants. She gently slides a hand down underneath your panties. You let out a hiss as Emily's cold finger runs through your folds. She pulls out her hand to show you how wet you are already for her.

"Look at that. It looks like you want this; it's so naughty to be this wet for your coworker, hmmm?~" Emily teases.

She places her fingers in front of your mouth.

"That's my good girl. You're taking my fingers so well already, and I haven't even touched that pretty little cunt of yours yet." Emily mused while your tongue continued to swirl around her fingers.

"Suck." That was all Emily needed to say before she shoved her slick, covered fingers into your mouth.

Swirling your tongue around them as you taste yourself. A muffled moan leaves your lips.

Emily pulled her fingers out of her mouth and had you pull your pants down a little for easier access so you don't get as cold as completely stripping.

"Ready, sweetheart?" Emily asks again.

You nod and feel her fingers slowly sink into you. A moan leaves your body as she crooks her fingers up.

"Emily, p..please." You writhe against her fingers as they begin to pump in and out.

"Please, what?" Emily teased.

"Please .. harder." You say with a pant.

"Naughty girl," Emily whispers as she quickens her pace.

Her fingers work nimbly inside of you. Every time she crooks her fingers in a beckoning motion, you see stars.

"Em, I'm s..so close." You whimper into your hand."

"You want to cum, Sweetheart? You want to be my good girl and cum all over my fingers?" Emily husks in between thrusts.

Your eyes roll back at one intense flick at your clit, and your back arches off the car seat. Emily leans in close and kisses your jaw as your release closes in.

"Come on, be my good girl. Cum for me."

That was all you needed to hear before the coil in your stomach snapped and your climax washed over you. A loud moan ripped from your throat as your body felt on fire. Emily kept gently thrusting her fingers until you finished coming down from your high.

She gently pulls out of you as you try to catch your breath. Emily places her fingers in her mouth; a soft moan leaves her lips. She helps you get dressed again and pulls you close to her.

"Once we leave this damn broken-down car, I will fuck you properly," Emily whispers into your ear.

You can't help the whimper that left your lips.

"And I have to return the favour." You said cheekily.

"There will be plenty of time for that too." Emily's nuzzles against your neck.

You grab your dying phone to check the time. It was nearly 4 am. You sigh happily when you see a missed text from Hotch saying they were coming for you in a couple of hours now that the storm has died down.

"They'll be here in a couple of hours." You mumbled softly.

"Perfect, enough time for a nap." Emily chuckles against your neck.

"You better keep your promise, Em." You whisper.

"Oh, I don't go back on a promise." Emily placed a gentle kiss on your neck.

You chuckle and close your eyes. Falling asleep until you got the call that your team was close.

Pulling apart, you both go back to the front seats. You both were finally going home to your nice, warm beds. Well, one of your beds.

[scoatneyhall]

WILD. Was anyone else aware that the Ted Lasso team has gone in and made post-production edits on season 3 episodes, sometime in the last year?

I've been rewatching the finale in advance of the one year anniversary of it airing, and straight off, I noticed that the points total on the graphic looked different to how I remembered it - a much closer race. It stuck out because I remembered being annoyed that they didn't celebrate the moment Richmond got confirmed for the Champions League, as the gap was big enough for it to have happened a while ago, offscreen. I still have a screencap from when the episode aired:

However, the current copy on Apple has an updated graphic, making the post-production graphic in line with the numbers on the actual physical whiteboard prop and the script mentioning the win streak. See here:

The corrected copy makes Richmond's points match the whiteboard, but it also puts the teams in 3rd to 5th place much closer to them points-total wise, meaning that now, in the current version of the episode, Richmond only qualified for the UCL in "Mom City," making it make more sense that the start of 3.12 is the first time it gets discussed. Would have been nice to mention that stake in the City match commentary during 3.11, but I genuinely am shocked that they went back in and edited the already-published episodes to clean up the post-production errors. For the record, here's the whiteboard as of 3.08: W10, D9, L6.

Just in case anyone cares, the order of those results was - 1 draw against Chelsea, 6 wins with Zava, 1 loss against West Ham, the rest of the draws and losses occurring between 3.05 and the loss against Arsenal in 3.07, and then the 4 wins mentioned at the start of 3.08. By the start of 3.12, it's mentioned they are on a 16 game win streak, so that's 22 wins overall, 9 draws, 6 losses, going into the final weekend, hence the updated graphic.

I like that they went in and fixed it - no idea when in the past 12 months that occured - but I also kind of can't believe they bothered? Then again, I can't believe the mistake was made in the first place, as they were so specific with details in the prior seasons, so maybe they couldn't live with it being wrong.

I know there were rumours about a ton of issues in terms of getting these episodes posted in time - right down to the wire, still fixing the edit on the airdate - and it's clear that these details were not checked and confirmed by the poor people in post who were not working off the show bible that lives in the writers heads. I don't blame them at all, I blame the people who got the edit to them late, but it did annoy me during the season a LOT. The maths wasn't mathing, and as we know this is a show that has been careful with dates and timelines and stuff like that.

Anyway! The point is, a) this post about my UCL qualification fantasies is now moot, and b) I went back and checked another post production error that had REALLY pissed me off, which was the dates of texts in Ted's phone in 3.04. Phone dates have always given us the timeline quite strictly before - it's how @belmottetower and I started the timeline in our primer, with Ted arriving in London on January 6, 2020 and then following the football seasons from there to place the season 3 finale in May 2022 - but in 3.04, all the cute texts we see to all the characters in his phone were badly misdated, placing the timeline further in the future. This caused arguments or misunderstandings, at the time about the actual timeline of the show, but it seems this was another detail the producers really wanted to fix and tighten up, as they've gone back and had it edited.

It's weird, because the texts Ted was actually going back to - the messages from Doctor Jacob - were dated correctly as late 2019, and there's even a little easter egg in the form of a US rideshare notification picking him up to go to the airport in America, on 5 January 2020. (Even the area code, 316, is apparently correct to Kansas.) That's all correct even in the original version of the episode, but somehow we then skip a year and place his most recent texts, as of 3.04, in late October 2022, when they should only be in late September or early October 2021. (I found this post on Reddit that screenshotted his phone at the time.) Examples:

I had to go back and check this, and sure enough, it's been edited to reflect the established timeline - they didn't just redate the year on each message, they also changed a bunch of the chats to be more recent - so rather than dates, his most recent chats with Henry, the Coaches, etc are from "Yesterday," then the first dated texts are in very late September 2021. This matches up pretty perfectly with where they are in a typical Premier League season - they REALLY cleaned it up. Further back, they do just switch the years on the dates, so he still got a picture from Sassy last Valentines Day, and his last one-on-one contact with Jamie is still set before the events of Wembley in 2.08 (FA Cup semi finals are in April, so a few weeks after the March 2021 date on Jamie's chat.)

My brain is itching because I swear there was a screen of Nate and Ted's text chat at some point too? With Ted reaching out about his new job, on a date that deeply did not work with the timeline? But maybe I imagined it. There's no record of Nate's number in his phone at all now, and the texts date back to before Nate left, so I guess in this version of events, Ted deleted Nate's number and message history.

Anyway, I'm aware that basically no one is going to care about this, but I suspect that the three people who will actually care will REALLY FUCKING CARE. Has anyone else noticed it? Does anyone know when it may have happened? Does anyone know what else might have been changed or fixed? I love details and I love the fact that there is no longer conflicting data about what football seasons the show is covering - it's mid 19/20 to the end of 21/22, end of story - but what a fucking mess the production of season 3 must have been, to end up at this point!

[fruityindividual]

Hi I have a tmos question - how long did it take for Sirius to move back in? Like was he packing his bags immediately post-shag or did they have to like go on dates and be all formal about it for a while until they decided to move back in together?

anon i luv this question n sry for replying so late! kay well personally i think the moving-back-in thing began immediately, but our princess mightve got a lil spooked and begun dragging his feet.... smth like this maybe:

Today we decided to try again.

Two weeks later…

The January sun rose early, pale and cold. Sirius` pyjamas bunched up around his knees, his partner`s hairy shins brushing scratchily against his own.

Two thick duvets bottled their frames as they each cradled hotties to their chests. In the bright coolness of winter morning, Sirius studied the man beside him.

Tawny curls pressed between a warm forehead and a thin pillow, like flowers between pages. A shallow crease set between closed eyes and thick lashes and mussed brows. The delicate corners of slack lips - subtle, fragile as a secret.

Their 13 year-old bedframe was saddled on either side by half-unpacked boxes. His clock gently ticked beside a glass of water and a crystal ashtray; precariously testing the trust of a box`s thin, concaving cardboard.

Slowly, silently, very very quietly… Sirius crept back into the home; the old one, the new one, the one he`d left, the one he never left.

Day by day, box by box, his belongings began to tenderly fill cracks in the foundation of a home with a yellow door. His clothing washed its way into the closet, his bits and bobs walked their way onto shelves, his favourite condiments garnished the top shelf of the fridge.

Perhaps…

Perhaps if they were careful - if they were very lucky - their clothing would hang cramped in their too-small closet for the rest of time, gathering stains and tears and eventually replaced by new threads and trends and seasons and colours.

Perhaps their bits and bobs would never be parted again, growing dusty until Sirius finally did a spring clean and took a walk down memory lane.

Perhaps their favourite condiments would change over time, fluctuating with season and fancy, making the fridge`s shelf sticky until one of them grew annoyed and bravely did the clean.

Perhaps they might be very old one day, and their very old things would mix and meld, gathering the same dust, warming on the same windowsill, decorating the same shelves.

Perhaps they might be very old one day, and very happy. As happy as now, as happy as before.

Sirius glanced at the mouldy spot in the corner of the ceiling, the dewy spot below the windowsill, the damp spot on the wallpaper near the door.

Well, that would be sorted today.

Perhaps he would`ve let the damp have another day on the walls and in his lungs if he were still living alone, as he`d done for four years.

But it wasn`t just him. Not anymore.

Perhaps he`d miss the comfort of his own space - cold and dreary and fluorescent as it was. He`d had his own space for over four years now. Four years of doing whatever he liked, only feeding himself, only doing laundry for one. What if he were no good at living with someone else anymore?

But he was stirred out of these thoughts by Remus` soft snores quieting. He was nearly awake now. He must`ve been.

And Sirius swallowed.

They hadn`t woken up next to each other, side-by-side in bed, in - in -

“G`morning,” Remus hummed into his pillow.

Sirius wracked his brain. What had they used to do when they woke up? When they woke up together?

In the early years, he reckoned it had been an exciting thing (“What should we do today?”), sweet and generous and fun (“I can think of something. But you`d better stretch.”).

In the later years, he`d found it had been a sweet, fun thing to wake up beside him (“Five more minutes… You`re so warm.”), and they were lucky enough to have someone else to direct their love at (“Mm…mornin`, Moons. Shit, is that the time? Teds has football at eight.”).

And now. And now… Perhaps.

Perhaps if they were very intentional—if they were very lucky—Sirius might wake up beside this man for the rest of his life.

Perhaps they`d be older men with creaks and aches (“If I lay down on the floor will you step on my back?”), listing off their to-do lists for the day before even rising from their duvets (“Got the bank, then hair appointment, then supermarket. You wanna come with? We could have a park walk - or a picnic, even. The fountains should be running now it`s spring.”)

Perhaps they`d be ancient men with many medications and less to get done in a day (“Here`s the pill… And some water. I don`t see why we can`t stay in bed a bit longer… You want another pillow? Here, take mine—I`ll just use you.”).

Perhaps they`d be very old one day, and very happy, in the decades old bed and home littered with their things, gathering the same dust, warmed by the same bit of sunlight.

“Morning, Moons.” Sirius pressed a kiss to his forehead, inhaling the warm scent of sleep and last night`s shampoo. “Sleep alright?”

“Mm,” he hummed. “Will you just move-in already? For real?”

Remus` fingertips traced the cardboard box sticking out from the bedframe.

“I - I am.”

But Remus shook his head. “Something`s up. Is anything wrong?”

Sirius shook his head at no one. “I just…”

Fingertips wandered toward the hem of his nightshirt, underneath it, against his back. Sirius shivered. Too cold - Remus` fingers were icy.

“I`m a bit, erm - I don`t know if I remember how to do all this.”

Remus` fingertips didn`t leave him, but he nodded his head, eyes washing across their ceiling. “What`re you up to today?” he asked.

Sirius quirked a brow. Perhaps he`d said the wrong thing. “Erm… Teds has football at eight. And I`m gonna look for a washer, `cos honest to God, Moons, I cannot be bothered to sit around at the laundrette for an hour. We should have a washer. And then there`s the supermarket. Would you, er, like to come keep me company?”

And Remus` fingers pressed into Sirius` back as he felt himself shifting onto his back, letting Remus cage him in and stroke his face, thumb pads tracing the crease between his brows.

“You remember fine,” he said simply. “I think this is how we do this.”

And Sirius felt himself smile. He let Remus watch.

[tyungelic]

★ don't smile

★ — pairing. yunho x gn!reader

★ — summary. a fun night out turns into a night you regret.

★ — tags. non-idol au, post-breakup, angst, smoking, reader has depression

★ — word count. 1.2k words

★ — author’s note. don’t smile by sabrina carpenter has been stuck in my head all day so i had to write a lil something~ hope you enjoy it! consider this an apéritif before my bigger yunho fic comes out! thanks for reading <3

“Arriba, abajo, al centro, pa ‘dentro!”

You chant with your friends before downing yet another shot of fireball. It burns going down and makes your eyes water, but the warmth that spreads through your body afterwards is welcoming considering how cold it is outside.

“Going out for a cig, I’ll be back,” you announce to your friends. You fish for your box of One Slims in your coat pocket and pull one out. The cigarette hangs between your teeth and rests against your bottom lip as you search for your lighter. You take a long drag and watch your surroundings as you lean against the building.

Smoking was a habit you got sucked back into recently. You’d been clean for nearly two years, but your breakup with Yunho was what brought it back.

You shake that thought off. No need to think about your ex-boyfriend tonight, you’re here to have a good time. It’s amazing to you how Hongdae manages to stay so packed even in the middle of January, you think to yourself. You turn to watch the other clubs and bars fill with people, and…

No, it’s not… it can’t be.

There’s no mistaking it. That’s him, that’s Yunho.

He’s standing outside the bar, holding hands with a woman you’ve never seen before. Their fingers are interlocked and Yunho’s doing that thing he used to do with you where he strokes your hand with his thumb. He’s all smiles as he looks at her with stars in his eyes.

In that moment, the cold air around you feels suffocating, your lungs feel like they’re made of lead. You can’t will yourself to move, to turn away and walk in the opposite direction. It’s as if your feet have been suctioned to the sidewalk. All you can do is stand and watch in abject horror. Your cigarette falls from between your trembling fingers and onto the pavement.

Hearing Wooyoung call your name snaps you out of it, and by the time you’re back to the present moment, Yunho is out of your line of sight.

“Hey, we were lookin’ for you,” Wooyoung says as he emerges from the crowded bar with San at his side.

You almost can’t believe what you just saw. It all feels like something out of a terrible dream.

“Oh,” you say flatly. You can’t hide that the air had been knocked out of you. Your eyes are already beginning to sting.

“I should start heading home, it’s late.” You can already feel your throat tightening.

“Now? Are you sure?” San asks. “Come on, things are just getting started.”

“Yeah, I’m- I’m really tired. Sorry. Have a good time without me, okay?”

San and Wooyoung call after you, but you turn away and walk toward the train station as quickly as your legs will allow you. You don’t want to turn back. You can’t.

You cringe internally at the way your voice shook just now. You hold down the power button on your phone and catch the next train back to your neighborhood. You can’t stop replaying that moment in your head. Yunho looked so happy, much happier than he was when he met with you at the park to break things off. Your stomach twists at the memory, he tried so hard to put on a happy front, delivering such devastating news with a smile.

Tears start streaming down your face and you can’t stop them. You’re so angry at him, at yourself. Of course he’s moved on by now. He’s Yunho, after all. Sweet, handsome, kindhearted Yunho. It was only a matter of time before someone saw all the radiant beauty in him, but did it have to be so soon? It’s only been two months since you broke up— was he that excited to get rid of you?

He stuck with you through every depressive episode, every moment you wanted to give up on everything. Everyone has a breaking point, did he reach his?

Were you a burden to him this entire time?

You’d only been together for a year and a half, but that time meant the world to you. He was everything you ever wanted, it felt like a dream to be with him. It was only a matter of time before you woke up from it.

You wake up with a pounding headache the next morning. You figure now is the perfect time to turn your phone back on. Part of you hopes to get a call or a text from Yunho acknowledging what happened last night. Maybe he spotted you and thought about you, too.

Instead you’re faced with a hoard of missed calls from Wooyoung and concerned text messages from the rest of your friend group. You figure you owe it to your friends to let them know you’re okay. You hit send on your message to the groupchat and promptly decide to call Wooyoung back.

He picks up within two rings.

“Morning,” he greets, sounding a bit groggy. “Did you get back home safe?”

“Yeah, thanks. Sorry for running off last night, I was just—”

“—No, it’s fine. You weren’t ready, I shouldn’t have pushed it. Are you okay?”

You sigh, preparing yourself to lie. “Yeah, I’m alright.”

“You sure? You don’t sound alright.”

You bite the inside of your bottom lip to stop the tears from escaping your eyes, but to no avail. You break down into sobs, your entire body shaking.

“Last night, I saw him… I saw Yunho. He was with someone new.”

Wooyoung gasps. “Shit, Y/N, I’m so sorry…”

“He looked so happy,” you sob. “He’s so happy with her and I made him so fucking miserable when we were together.”

“That’s not true. Yunho had nothing but good things to say about you the whole time you were together. Hell, even before he asked you out, he wouldn’t shut up about you. He loved you, Y/N.”

“Then why? Why did things have to end the way they did? Why did he move on so quickly?”

“I dunno, I wish I knew why,” Wooyoung says. “But he lost out on someone amazing. It’s his loss.”

“God, I should’ve known he was with someone new, he’s been so quiet in the groupchat lately. I just thought, y’know, since it’s taking me this long to get over him…” Your words trailed off with a sniffle. “I want him to miss me. Am I asking for too much? I just want him to miss me.”

You’ve missed Yunho every day since he said goodbye on that park bench.

“Listen to me, Y/N. Love found you when you and Yunho got together and it’ll find you again. I promise it will.”

“Okay,” you say, but you don’t believe him. You know he means well, he always does, but you don’t want love to find you again. You don’t have the energy in you to have another talking stage, to be vulnerable with another person, to have someone new see you at your worst.

You don’t want another do-over with someone new.

You just want your Yuyu back.

[omaano]

SW Hades AU December Update

First things first some links and previous updates: May - June - July - August - September - October/November - everything else in this AU

This will be more of a summary of everything I've done for this AU in 2024 than an actual December month update. The reason for that is rather simple: I haven't gotten around to posting what I finished during my little holiday break. Creating those new posts would involve some background work, learning some very basic new things, and writing some dialogue, which just wouldn't compute right now.

All that said what you can be looking forward to through January for sure is a full Quinlan post, and a full Echo and Fives post - I've already made one of them with their character art, but skipped the whole background, pocket characters and dialogue part of the task; mostly because I was missing art for another character to create the whole scene that I'd envisioned.

I also did not forget about Leia winning the last poll. I really didn't, but I honestly have no idea how I want her to be depicted in this AU, and lately Satine, Sabine and Ezra have a bit of a hold on my brain, so all my creative thinking is channelled into figuring out what I want from Ezra here. I do have some sketchbook scribbles for Satine and Sabine both.

How about a poll, which I will totally respect this time!

And now for the summary: Characters who had been added this year include: Cody, Obi-wan from his desert era, Darth Maul, Omega and Batcher, Echo and Fives, Shaak Ti and my trio of baby clones, Quinlan (he's just a wip here though), and presentable WIPS for Doctor Aphra, Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls, Axe and Koska, and Kit Fisto.

Which means that in 2024 I've managed to add 8 completed individual character illustrations to this project! I'm quite pleased with that, considering how I'd only started up with renewed passion in May. I'd also finalized the charcter lineup and their little icons, which I can use as a visual aid below to keep track of my progress. The characters marked with blue have completed illustrations, and the ones marked with orange have some type of a WIP going for them.

For the whole of next year I hope to keep to the "one finished character a month" schedule, finish at least the two background images I'd planned for Obi-wan and the Nite Owls, and clean up all the keepsakes I'd sketched out. I'm a little unsure if this will be enough for me to claim around the same time next year that the AU is done, but that is the dream at least. I am missing 11 character arts completely (I know that it doesn't add up, but Moff Gideon doesn't get a cute little portrait, that's just how it is), and 4 WIPs (although Bo-Katan counts for 3). Although based on past progress I should be able to bang out Kit and Aphra in one weekend if my wrist doesn't get too angry with me :3

Taglist of anyone who wants to be pinged once a month for these updates <3 If you want to be added to the list send me a message, or just reply to this post (a 👀 would do, nothing fancy required ;))

@elwinged @yeehawgeek @velsayshi @lionsaint

If you want to be taken off the list just message me and I’ll take you off, no hard feelings :)

[alaskan-wallflower]

Fluffy holiday headcanons? Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, any holiday you’d like ❤️🎞️

Oh I got you! I’ll do as many holidays as I can think of (including birthdays-this is gonna be an uber long post but i’ll organize it by months

January

Darry’s birthday

Those two will wake Darry up by jumping on his bed because there just SO damn excited (they used to do this as kids more so than now because they realize Darry needs to sleep-

They convinced Dally and Two Bit to dig up info on Darry’s boss so they could blackmail him into giving Darry the day off with pay 💀

They purposefully turn his alarm off in the middle of the night and then he freaks out because he overslept and Pony/Soda has to calm him down by telling him what they did (he was a mix of concerned, a bit angry and lowkey impressed

They don’t let Darry do anything on his birthday like the will straight up shove him into his chair and push a newspaper at him while they do all the chores that day

They deep cleaned the house while he was sleeping (they even snuck into his room and dusted everything and polished all his trophies (They were so super careful with those)

Speaking of trophies, side headcanon that Darry pawned away his football trophies and uniform to make more money because money was uber tight around this time and Soda/Pony made Dally break in and get (steal) them back (Dally went to jail and he was very mad)

Darry bawled and didn’t even care at that point he was so grateful

Soda and Pony have to buy a cake because they almost burned the house down trying to make one (Soda got distracted and left the cake in the oven for so long it caught fire and Pony forgot about it-

They don’t let Darry leave the house tho (they also don’t tell him Soda got a speeding ticket)

They literally tried to make like a five course meal but at that point they just ended up making a bunch of random appetizers and some tacos or something-Darry didn’t care tho he was honored

Pony in the future takes up two jobs (he waits tables with Johnny and works at the library) and him and Soda save up to buy him whatever they can that they think he’d like

Its mostly a bunch of stuff from his favorite football team and they buy him new work boots

They also bought him a chinchilla once (Darry loves chinchillas tell me otherwise) and Darry was just so happy

They insist on cuddling with him that night and at that point he feels so spoiled but he can’t even say no 😭

They all end up snuggled in his bed with Darry in the middle-he’s genuinely so happy and it’s one of the only days he looks forward to

February

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s day is not just for romance! It’s about spreading love to everyone you love including friends and family

The three Curtises definitely leave little things in each others rooms like they’ll scatter those chocolate hearts in each others rooms-Pony does it when Darry and Soda are at work, Soda does it at night when Darry and Pony are sleeping and Darry does it right before he leaves in the morning for work

They all end up buying one gift for each other-it’s never really a “big” gift but it’s something to show they love each other

Soda and Darry both get Pony books-Darry even saved up to buy Pony a little polaroid camera and Pony’s side of the room is littered with pictures of him and Johnny and him with the gang and just sunset pictures. It makes Soda and Darry so happy to see

Pony and Darry get Soda those giant chocolate things 😭 They know bro is absolutely food motivated but then he ends up eating the whole thing in one sitting and getting sick-they also get him stupid little toys they find. Soda would love those stretchy guys the dentist gives you as a kid He also likes fidgeting so they get him little fidget toys (him and Steve goof off at work with them and have gotten them confiscated 😔)They get him a lot of horse themed things too!

Pony and Soda get Darry little football figurines and stuff-one time they actually managed to scrape together the cash to get him tickets to go see a game-they could only buy one tho but Darry had the time of his life and actually looked his age for once when he came back.

Soda makes cringy little “roses are red violets are blue i think you’re great and I love you” type poems and writes them on hearts and hides them around the house for his brothers

Pony writes both of his brothers a very personalized poem-it’s so complex and honestly Soda and Darry are both uber impressed with his writing skills

Darry leaves little doodles around the house of things he laments on them doing as kids-he sketches one picture before bed every night (not even just on Valentine’s Day but as a coping mechanism as well) and the whole month of February he straight up draws the most beautiful pictures of them hugging and them as kids-Soda and Pony keep them in a drawer. Darry found said drawer and almost cried because he didn’t think anyone saw them or kept them

Every year they do a little tribute to their parents because they loved them-they’ll put a heart shaped piece of paper on their bed and a few roses and daffodils in their bedroom

They all eat little candy hearts in Darry’s bed before falling asleep

March

St. Patrick’s Day

Okay so this is more so when they were younger because I feel like St. Patrick’s Day is more so a holiday for kids but still-

Soda makes green pancakes. He makes a bunch of green food and even dyes their milk green (he also dyes the toilet water green)

Dont let him have any food dye

I feel like the three boys used to set up Leprechaun traps a lot and Mr/Mrs Curtis would buy those little gold chocolate coins and scatter them around to make it look like a Leprechaun was actually in the house lol-they also wrote some note like “better luck next year!” In shitty green marker and Pony used to get so mad-he literally guarded the traps all night because he was determined to catch one but he fell asleep and had to be carried to bed 😭

Even when Darry grew out of believing in Leprechauns he never told Soda and Pony and always helped them make traps

I feel like the first one after their parents death was really sad so Darry just coerced Pony into making more Leprechauns traps (which he begrudgingly does because “I’m thirteen now I know it was just mom and dad” but Darry spent all night doing what his parents did just to make Pony smile. He never tells Pony (Pony probably knows it’s Darry but it still made him cry)

I feel like Soda helped out but he insisted on making it ‘more mischievous’ so he put green handprints and footprints on the ground and Darry FREAKED OUT when he saw 😭 literally took Soda outside and was like “ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS” (he didn’t care much he just didn’t want the floors and sinks to be ruined 💀)

They definitely but those little chocolate coins and just spend the whole day eating them. Soda and Darry sneak some into Pony’s lunch and Soda and Pony do the same with Darry and Pony and Darry do the same with Soda <3

I don’t have much since St. Patrick’s day isn’t very like….popular? But I feel like Soda would wear a Leprechaun hat (he pulls it off somehow. Fuck him fr)

Darry lets Soda dye the food green but half the time it just turns the food diarrhea colored because he tried to dye meat

April

Easter

similarly to St. Patrick’s Day I feel like this is also a holiday more for kids (I mean without the religious aspect of course) but the Curtis boys (Soda mainly) LOVE dyeing and decorating eggs

Pony cannot stand the smell of vinegar tho so it’s hard for him (he uses a clothespin to keep his nose shut, dumbass) but he loves doing it too

I feel like Darry would be super simplistic. He dyes his eggs one or two colors and lets it dry before doing the most articulate sharpie art on the eggs. Like it’s this mosaic type shit in Sharpie and Pony and Soda are so impressed

Soda’s are always like-every color they can be and then some because he uses colorful markers on them. If a rainbow threw up on an egg that’s what Soda’s would look like. He also loves putting googly eyes on them and he even makes little paper hats for his and uses pipe cleaners to make arms and legs 😭

Pony’s actually look so beautiful. He loves the warm colors and likes to make his look like scenery. Like he’ll dye his eggs sunset colors and then use markers to paint mountains and trees and whatever else. Darry and Pony are super artistic-Soda just likes making his look like what he enjoys and his brothers have no problem with it

They line the eggs up around the house so that it feels more holiday like

All three Curtis brothers are suckers for candy and chocolate (obviously) so they spend their grocery budget that week on chocolate bunnies and peeps (Soda is the only one who likes them but they buy them for him)

Pony and Soda have both given themselves stomachaches and Darry has to take care of them 😭

I feel like the Curtis parents used to buy like fake bunny feet prints and would put them around the house when they were kids

They definitely have Easter egg hunts. They do these with the whole gang (Dally never finds any, he just sneaks behind people and takes theirs from their baskets)

Theres never a prize or anything because Darry’s the one who hides them so he doesn’t really participate but they combine all the candy from the eggs and they just sit on the floor and devour the candy

Darry buys a ham. All three Curtises LOVE ham but they never really have enough money to buy one often so you better believe these three boys are eating the whole entire thing and not leaving leftovers

Darry makes mac and cheese too (someone said he was a mac and cheese guy. I love that) and it’s a fun night for all of them

Theyre all like way too full in the end but nobody really minds much. They enjoy nights where they can pig out a bit lol

July

July 4th

ohhhhh boy

These boys LOVE July 4th (Especially Soda)

The whole gang goes down to a lake for the day to just chill out for a bit

Darry brings hot dogs and hamburgers and the gang fucks with them so hard, they all love barbecue

They also love Sparklers (especially Pony because Ponyboy is a wee bit of a pyromaniac

Soda always gets scared by them when they light up because it takes a minute and he always throws it right over Darry’s head. He almost made him catch fire like more than once

“Sorry Dar I got scared 😨” “It’s fine” he says while patting the small fire out of his hair

Pony likes writing on trees with the burnt ends of the sparkler. He thinks it makes him tuff (loser)

I feel like they either bring down hot dogs and hamburgers or they just buy like five pounds of steak

Likley the latter because they are pure carnivores

Dally buys illegal fireworks but Darry actually does have a license so he shoots them off by the lake (they all go diving for the pieces of the fireworks after-they make it a game)

I feel like Soda would buy those obnoxious Uncle Sam hats but I’m not sure if he’d pull that one off (sorry Soda)

They spend most of the day in the lake-all three brothers love swimming. Soda loves doing those weird dolphin dives into the water but whenever he comes up from the water he’s like…glistening. Darry likes anything that can show off his strength so he loves to swim. Pony gets tired kinda easily in the water because he goes HARD in the water and then like fifteem minutes later he’s clinging to Darry’s back

Swimming definitely makes them all hungry as fuck too so they end up somehow devouring all five pounds of steak

Soda goes into the water again but ends up crawling back because he got cramps

The lake is also right by the west side so they like to just sit back with each other and watch the fireworks from the lake

They throw the scraps back on the west side tho because they hate that they just leave their litter there

One of them definitely gets bit by like a snapping turtle or something

I feel like 4th of July isn’t really a holiday to them, more so a day they can go to the lake and pig out on steaks lol

Pony’s birthday

I feel like Pony doesn’t really like his birthday because his fourteenth and fifteenth birthdays must have been super hard for him (plus it’s around the time the book events happen and it just makes him depressed)

But Darry and Soda do anything they can to make him happy-Darry skips work for the day and Soda does too

Darry lets him sleep in (usually he has Pint wake up at 8 or 9 on weekends so he’s on some sort of sleep schedule but he’ll cut him slack on his birthday)

I feel like the two of them stay up super late decorating the house for him too-they tie balloons to his seat and they have little homemade banners (they do this for all the Curtises birthdays) and Pony gets so surprised every time because he thinks he’s too old for it-

Soda even made cupcakes (i headcanon Soda as a good baker-I know in the book Pony said he liked Darry’s cakes better because Soda puts too much sugar in the icing but I feel like that’s just because Soda likes it super sweet) but he knows Pony doesn’t like it too sweet so he’s careful with how much sugar he puts in

Darry brings Pony a cupcake when he wakes up (after Soda starts calling for Darry like “can you get him a cupcake I don’t wanna get up :(“ but they both sit with him as he sleepily eats the cupcake and is like “thanks guys” while snuggling into them as a thank you 😭 they better not say anything tho because if they do he stops immediately and is like “I ain’t a baby quit babying me i’m fifteen now not four 😡😡”

They seriously just let him do what he wants all day-if he wants to read with them they do that. If he wants to show them a movie or go to the drive in, they do that (and if he wants to bring Johnny or Two Bit they pick them up if they’re up for going. If he wants to just lay down for a bit they’re snuggling him together

Darry definitely brings them all to Dairy Queen for lunch and spoils the hell out of Pony-he gets him one of those ice cream things (Blizzards? Is that what they’re called?) and makes sure he gets the biggest one there and he lets Pony get jowever much food he wants-Pony has eyes bigger than his stomach tho and ends up needing to lay down for a bit lmao

But in the end they take him to the pool at the Y to help work his appetite back because Darry always makes Pony’s favorite meal for dinner (he had a feeling Ponybwould end up feeling like shit so they take him out early in the morning so he has time to digest it all lmao) but anyway, he loves swimming SO much and gets so excited whenever they go to the pool

He likes laying on his back and just floating for a bit until he bumps into Darry who just stares down at him and laughs-Soda also pushes on his stomach/chest and shoves him under and Pony’s just like “hey 😡😡” he doesn’t actually care though he just jumps on Soda’s back and they start wrestling while Darry just watches

They’re there for basically the whole day and they’re all hungry in the end so while Pony and Soda are washing off Darry is making steaks for Pony’s birthday (Pony LOVES barbecue)

After dinner they let him open his gifts and he’s so grateful for all of them-he actually gets really nice gifts-he got a bunch of camera film for his polaroid (polaroids were invented in 1948 so i’m safe), they get him a bunch of books from his favorite authors (which Pony stays up all night reading) and they get him some art supplies because it’s a healthy way he copes with his trauma and they’re more than happy to support him!

They then go in Darry’s pickup truck and Dary lets Soda/Pong sit in the back (like in th cart the truck drags along) and he just goes for a long drive while the sun sets and Ponybid SO happy-he gets happier when Darry tells him he looks tuff with his wind blown hair too

They end the night with chocolate cake with sprinkles inside and by cuddling, Pony in the middle and Soda/Darry just holding him 💜

October

Soda’s birthday

Soda LOVES his birthday because he loves the attention 😭 He’s so happy when he realizes the day is all about him-

Pony and Darry go CRAZY decorating because Soda literally walks downstairs and acts like he’s witnessing the greatest thing ever-he looks like a kid in a candy shop and he literally puts his brothers in a BONE crushing hug and he flat out starts crying 😭😭

Steve takes Soda’s shift for him because he’s nice like that on occasion (but Soda you owe me in April when it’s my birthday 😡😡”) so Soda can just stay home all day

Darry stays home from work too and depending on what Pony is doing in school he’ll let him kiss the day if he doesn’t have tests or anything (Pony lies a lot unless it’s a class he doesn’t wanna make the test up for)

Soda is just so happy and he makes Pony cuddle him for a few extra moments and Pony doesn’t mind until he’s like “Soda I need to pee” “Just go here I don’t wanna let go :(“ “NO”

Pony goes back because Soda starts fake crying lmao

They get him out of bed and they prepare themselves to match Soda’s energy for the day because he just really loves that his birthday is in fall and he loves doing all the fall things on his birthday (apple/pumpkin picking, playing around in the leaves, that sort of thing

Soda loves apple picking evacuee he can climb up the trees and just get the apples from the top-plus they’re his favorite fruit but Darry has to keep being like “Soda save room for dinner” but Soda doesn’t care lol

He loves going on hay rides at the pumpkin patches, he doesn’t care he’s turning 17 or 18, he’ll be giggling like a kid and like “LOOK AT THE HORSES!” (the horses wee pulling the hay barrel)

They take him to the petting zoo too but it backfires when he got emotionally attached to one of the lambs :(

They let him stay however long he wants and he’s just so happy because one of the lambs curled on his lap and fell asleep and he was just like “😮🥹” like bro was so close to crying-

He got a bit distracted by the horses too and Darry bought food for him to feed them-Soda has a way with animals and probably accidentally made several kids cry because they wouldn’t leave Soda alone and kept ignoring the kids/Darry didn’t have the heart to pull him away tho

When they get home Darry makes beef stew because Soda LOVES beef stew-Soda loves hearty fall foods.

He’s learned to make two pots because Soda straight up will eat all of it and leave nothing for anyone else lol

After they eat they give Soda gifts-he insists he doesn’t want anything but he also doesn’t protest being spoiled a bit lol

They get him a bunch of things he can build-he’s super good at what he does with cars and he really loves building things and taking things apart, so they get him like…3d puzzles and figurines he can build and he absolutely loves it and is so so happy <3

They know Soda loves his snuggles so Ponyboy will lay on top of him and Darry just envelopes him in this tight bone crushing hug-many happy tears are shed

Halloween

The Curtises honestly don’t do much for Halloween (except Soda, Soda LOVES Halloween and dressing up

Him and Steve dress up to go to work-Soda usually goes fully dressed as a zombie and Steve a werewolf (he even has a mask and a tail)-Soda’s able to charm his bosses into not being mad though and they actually manage to pull it off and they have good sales because people think it’s funny

I feel like Pony and Darry aren’t as into it-Pony doesn’t go trick or treating because “it’s for kids” so he usually hangs out with Dally and Johnny for the night and dresses like Paul Newman (of course he does-he actually pulls it off tho) Johnny probably just wears all black and Dally buys a scream mask and waits in bushes for kids to come out and they just steal the kids candy after they drop it because Dally is a dick and scares them 😭

Darry hands out candy and actually kinda gets into it because he’s super good with kids-he puts on a flannel and is just like “fine I’m Paul Bunyan”-he loves handing out candy tho and he’ll be super swwwgblike “oh wow that’s a scary ghost costume, you almost scared the life outta me!” like he just plays into it and he really does enjoy

Steve, Soda and Two Bit go trick or treating and of course Soda has his natural charm and girls bring him candy at work that day lol-Darry deals with similar stuff but he roofs this super sweet old lady’s home and she’s like “oh we don’t get kids often…do you want some candy young man?” and he’s like…trying to refuse but she keeps insisting and he eventually gives in 😭

So that night Darry comes home from work with a bag of candy and the leftover candy from handing it out, Pony comes beck with candy Dally gave him after he jumped kids for it and Soda brings back the mother load of candy

The three of them just eat candy together and watch scary movies (not really scary-think like Lifetime horror movies)

Pony likes chocolates, Sosa loves sour stuff and Darey enjoys just about anything, but he’s a sucker for chocolates with stuff inside (like Reese’s cups/Milky Ways)

One of them (all three of them) end up with stomachaches but it’s all good and they have a good night

November

Thanksgiving

The whole gang LOVES Thanksgiving

They used to do things before the holiday-every day in November they have the whole gang write something they’re thankful for and they put it in a jar to read at the table

Pony makes it heartfelt like “I’m grateful for my brothers and all they do for me”-Darry is the same way but after the book he gets really specific like “I’m thankful that Ponyboy is here with me and supports me after work” “I’m thankful for Sodapop and his endless snuggles even if it seems like I don’t want it”-Soda is kinda hit or miss, sometimes he’ll put something in but sometimes it’ll be like “I’m thankful for cheese puffs” and they’re like “Soda really 😒”

Everyone thinks Darry would cook everything by himself but I think that only happens after Pony insists on making the turkey and Darry’s like “Okay but you have to gut it” and Pony’s like “fine” but he takes one look inside and throws up and Soda kept sneaking food and then got sick because he ate raw turkey

Soda got banned and Pony refused to go back in

They all make the stuffing together tho and it turns into a bit of a food fight lol-they’re all laughing and having fun

They invite the gang over and Dally gets so mad that Darry makes them do the whole “what are you thankful for” ritual and eventually just literally reaches over the table and grabs a drumstick and eats it and Darry’s so done

They have to kinda coax Johnny into eating sometimes because he doesn’t wanna be seen as greedy but a few bites later and it’s so good he can’t resist anymore and just devours half a turkey by himself

Pony stocks up on rolls and mashed potatoes-he loves turkey too but he will eat an entire pound of mashed potatoes by himself and he has

They’re all lowkey gross at the table like Dally literally just burps so fucking loud because he has to announce to everyone that he’s finished and Darry is just so done with him lmao

In the end they all just drag themselves to the couch-there’s literally no leftovers either that’s how much they eat. They’re seven teenage boys lol

Darry likes watching football but even then he’s so sluggish and full he can’t even focus on it lol

They all have a gigantic cuddle pile and they’re all whining about how full they are, it’s so sad

Johnny is not used to being full at all and he’s so embarrassed because he ate SO much and everyone is teasing him and Pony specifically because they’re so small but they packed away the most and Johnny ends up with super bad hiccups and that just leads to more teasing and he’s just like “shut up guys”

Theyre gross so they probably end up having annual burping contests. Johnny is of course undefeated and Dally storms off to god knows where after

When everyone leaves the Curtises are so full they can’t even go upstairs so they just lay on the couch and it’s so bad that it takes the next day to fully digest it all too 😭

This is probably their favorite or second favorite holiday.

December

Christmas

Their favorite holiday is Christmas honestly

They absolutely LOVE the preparation beforehand of baking Christmas cookies and putting up a little tree with decorations

They can’t really buy a tree but they have this fake tree that they have put up every year since Darry was a baby-it’s still somehow in tact

Mr. and Mrs. Curtis didn’t have a lot of money so they made a star out of cinnamon sticks that they used instead

The Curtises cherish that star and put two angels right next to it too to symbolize they haven’t forgotten their parents or their traditions

Additionally I feel like Mr. Curtis was the one who made the cookies with the boys while Mrs. Curtis would decorate

As kids they would take turns making a cookie, like Darry would help make oatmeal raisin or something, Soda would make snickerdoodles and Pony would make sugar cookies, they would just alternate like that

But now that their parent are dead they all just do it together

Soda gets banned because he keeps stealing dough (They’re all guilty of this tho, even Darry)

They all end up eating too much and Pony and Soda are SO whiny- “Darryyyyy why did you let us eat that much..?” “You’re the one who kept sneaking it!”

They actually end up pretty good in the end and give them out to the gang

Darry’s an oatmeal raisin kind of guy-Soda likes snickerdoodles, Pony likes sugar cookies, Johnny likes chocolate chip, Dally likes those cookies with jelly in the middle, Teo Bit is the kind of menace to love those frosted ones and Steve likes those half chocolate half vanilla ones with the hershey kiss in the middle so they make a lot of those and the whole gang is there on Christmas day just eating the cookies and watching shitty movies 💜

Christmas Eve the Curtises don’t really like meeting up with the gang because they feel it’s a day for them and them alone-it’s the only day Darry actually makes them go to church and Soda HATES it-he just cannot sit still that long, and he gets bored during prayer sermons-Darry actually enjoys going but he usually doesn’t like-seek out going and Pony finds it serene and it gives him closure honestly

They also do that thing where they open one gift the night before-I feel like the year their parents died and money was super tight it ended up being like the Gift of the Magi-they all bought each other something but Darry sold his football uniform to get Soda and Pony something, Pony sold an exclusive book collection his parents bought him and Soda sold the horse saddle he used to ride Mickey Mouse-Darry bought Pony a little bookshelf, Soda bought Pony some pretty fancy figurines of the book characters, Darry bought Soda a mantle to put the saddle on and Pony bought him a horse statue to build and put the saddle on, Pony bought Darry some cleats and Soda bought him a helmet embroidered with his father’s words to him and all three of them sold their most valuable things to buy those for each other and they just cry for a bit

On a lighter note they all but each other joke gifts-at Pony’s school they have a sale where they just sell old junk nobody wants and Pony gathers the most random shit. Darry has a tiki statue in his room and Soda got a lamp with a mysterious brown stain on it (based off actual events)

They have turkey and ham because the gang comes over on Christmas and all of them are actually like-very food invested lmao

athey all cuddle by the fireplace and pass around secret santa gifts (they do Secret Santa Im calling it)

New Year’s Eve

They have their own little traditions! Darry makes appetizers (like jalapeño poppers and nachos) and they make 24, every hour they eat one together as a way to count down

I feel like they don’t do much during the day besides just go about their normal activities. Darry and Soda both get off early (Pong brings them bits of appetizers each hour to keep the tradition going because they did this with the Curtis parents and little bro hates change-

Darry and Soda get off at like…2 or 3 and that’s when things get fun

Theybhave game nights! Game nights usually don’t end well and this is no exception-

Teh first game they try to play is monopoly but Soda gets impulsive and that makes it easy to swindle him out of stuff so he’s the first one to go bankrupt and lose-it’s Pony and Darry that butt heads lmao

Darry is really good at swindling Ponyboy out of money and whatnot and Pony gets SO pissed- “Darry I want a refund 😡” like I know someone (Pony) walks away crying-

Pony has learned Darry’s tactics over the year and is VERY good at lying so he manages to swindle Darry this time and Darry is actually proud until he realizes he lost and then he flips the board lmao

They have other games they love to play too-they play cards as well but Soda is banned from playing War because he always peeks at his cards

Theh stop playing games after a while to watch the ball drop

They do a little reflection thing yearly-like “my name is ____ I’m ____ years old, I’m in the _____ grade, my favorite color is ____ my favorite food is _____ my favorite toy/game is _____ my favorite color is _____”-Mrs. Curtis made them do this but they agreed to keep the tradition going evacsue they thought it was cool to look back at their younger selves and see how they’ve changed

They read out past ones to each other and they get to the ones like “My favorite memory is _____, the funniest thing that’s happened this year was _____, I love _____ about my brothers” and the three of them are HOWLING because reading back on them they just love remembering and such-it’s bittersweet.

New Year’s eve is the one night Soda can stay up later than like-9:30 (Bro has a bed time-it’s not Darry that gave it to him, Soda just appointed himself a bed time and if he isn’t in bed by then he becomes a bitch) but New Years Eve is the one time a year he’s okay with staying up

Darry lets Pony and Soda have a champagne glass too and they all hug when the ball drops and then they just pas sour on the couch lol

Hope these are good!! I did a lot-

[overtrred28]

Joining the club | Jen Beattie x reader

Summary; 2023 and the start of 2024 seem to have something in common already; everyone in the WOSO community seems to be getting engaged. And when you bring this up to your long term partner Jen, it seems she has nothing to say, or does she….

Pairings; Jen Beattie x famous!reader

Words; 2.5k

Warnings; pure fluff, swearing

A/N; It seems to be the season of getting engaged and even though I am way off getting engaged and very very single, I thought I would pretend and imagine that I was getting engaged to the one and only Jen Beattie. There is also a lack of Jen fics on here and I feel the need to write one for her. Enjoy!

First it was Steph and Dean all the way back in January. Lynn and Marley finally did it back in May. Then in June it was Emily and Kat, and Katrina and Clara just a few days after. Kristie and Sam finally revealed theirs from September after months of teasing. Chloe Kelly and Millie Bright got it within the same week, sharing photos with their partners around christmas. And finally a surprise from Ellie and Daan on the first day of a new year. 

It seemed 2023 and now 2024 was the time for engagements in the world of women’s football and you were quite caught up in all the news. 

“Oh my god babe, another one!” You let out a gasp as the post from Ellie and Daan popped up on your instagram feed, stopping your pre-dinner scrolling as you paused and assessed the picture. It was from a few days ago, and you were seeing it now because you had been away with Jen and her family, avoiding social media to spend time with them and only now catching up. 

“What?” Jen’s voice called from the kitchen, you jumping up from the couch with your phone and running quickly into the kitchen. 

“Look.” You aggressively shoved your phone into her face and she adjusted to the bright light as she tried to look at the photo. 

“Oh wow, congrats to them.” Jen smiled quickly before turning away and back to the food on the stove. You frowned at her quick response and disinterest at the post.

“Do you not think it’s funny?” You asked with a small laugh from beside her. 

“What is?” She asked whilst moving around the kitchen to find the rest of the ingredients for your dinner. 

“That everyone in the footballing world seems to be getting engaged at the moment?” You asked again and she didn’t respond with any excitement, again.

“Oh, guess I didn’t notice.” She shrugged and continued to stir the pot. You opened your mouth to talk again but she got there before you. “Could you grab me some bowls, love?” She asked while keeping her eyes on the pan. You paused for a second before grabbing two clean ones from the dishwasher and placing them next to her. “Thank you.” She smiled at you briefly before beginning to dish up the pasta that was now done. 

“You’re welcome.” You snapped out of your trance and silently moved to grab some glasses and the wine from the fridge. She waited for you to finish pouring your drinks before she grabbed both bowls and headed for the couch, you following close behind her. 

“What are we watching tonight, love?” Jen asked as she sat beside you on the couch, now both holding your dinner and the wine glasses on the coffee table. 

“I don’t mind, you pick.” You shrugged before taking a bite of your food and now it was her turn to frown at you, normally you always took control over what to watch together. 

“You okay?” Jen asked simply and you nodded silently while eating and staring at the screen in front of you. “ Okay, how about Bridgerton? We still haven’t finished season two.” She suggested and once again you nodded silently from beside her. 

You weren’t sure why you were feeling slightly off after Jen’s reaction to the post and your comments, but you still snuggled into her on the couch after finishing your pasta and wine.

The episode finished and you could feel the both of you drifting off after a long day. Jen had been back at training after winter break and your schedule had been hectic since returning from time off. You were an actress and your new movie was about to come out so all the promo shoots and interviews were now in full swing, though you were grateful it began in London so you could still go home to Jen every night.  

You met Jen a few years back at an event in London you had both been invited to, catching her eyes from the other side of the room and instantly knowing you had to go talk to her. You knew who each other were, an actress making her name in the world and a famous sports star who silently followed each other in their respective lines of work. One conversation and you knew there was something there, and so did she. You both knew it would be hard with your professions and the distance you would have at certain times, but you wanted to make it work, somehow keeping it from the public eye for two years before hard launching it on your anniversary and sending both sets of fans into a frenzy. 

“Ready for bed love?” Jen spoke softly into the dark living room, smoothing your hair softly. 

“Definitely.” You yawned and sat up, rubbing your tired eyes as Jen stood up and held a hand out for you. You smiled at the gesture and met your hand in hers, pulling yourself up and making your way to your bedroom together. You both had already showered when you got home earlier so all that was left to do was to brush your teeth together. 

Your night routine was almost the same every night, no matter what was going on in your separate lives, you always spent those last few minutes together before crawling into bed. So once you both finished in the bathroom, you hopped into bed on your chosen sides but made your way closer to the middle and each other, Jen opening her arms to you as you laid your head on her chest.

“Sorry I’ve been quiet, tired.” You mumbled into the darkness against Jen as she drew small circles against your back. 

“It’s okay, me too.” Jen looked down at you to meet your soft eyes. 

“I love you.” You smiled and snuggled into her chest once more, eyes drifting closed. 

“I love you too.” Jen placed a kiss against your head before closing her own eyes and drifting asleep. 

The topic of last night's conversation was mostly forgotten in the morning, or at least it wasn’t brought up again between you too. That didn’t mean it wasn’t brought up with different people. Jen arrived at training and as both Steph and Beth walked up to her, they could tell something was on her mind. 

“You alright there Jenny?” Steph bumped her shoulder as herself and Beth joined her sides. 

“Hmm? Oh yeah.” Jen nodded at them but went silent straight after. 

“You sure?” Beth dragged out her words and brought her face as she could to Jen’s, their height difference proving to be a little difficult.

“Yeah, just thinking.” Jen tried to brush them off again but these two were persistent and she knew she wasn’t going to get very far if she didn’t tell them. She stopped her walking and sighed before speaking. “Last night, Y/N brought up how it seems like everyone’s getting engaged at the moment, and I didn’t really say anything back. And then she seemed upset for the rest of the night, but she said she was just tired, which I know she has been, but I also think I might have upset her in some way.” She let out in almost one breath as Steph and Beth tried to process her words. 

“Well she’s not wrong, especially in the last few weeks.” Beth added with a shrug. 

“Do you think she’s ready?” Steph ignored Beth’s comment and looked at Jen.

“Well, I wasn’t sure before, but after last night I think she is.” Jen looked between the two of them. “Just the way she was talking about it and then when I didn’t really say anything…” She trailed off and looked down. 

“I think she’s ready.” Steph spoke with a smile. She had watched from the beginning of your relationship with Jen just how happy you were with one another, and how easy the relationship seemed even when spending time apart due to work. 

“Are you?” Beth asked sincerely, her and Steph awaiting Jen’s reply. Jen was silent for a few seconds, bringing her eyes back up to look at her best friends. 

“I bought the ring like 2 months ago.” She mumbled but they still heard it and instantly started beaming at the Scottish woman. 

“You sly little bastard.” Beth punched Jen’s arm softly as they began to walk again so that they wouldn’t be late for training. 

Throughout the whole day the three of them, mostly Steph and Beth, were coming up with ideas on how she should propose but Jen kept shooting them down. She wanted it to be private, special and a surprise, so anything that involved taking you out somewhere would instantly make you suspicious. 

While Jen had been conversing her thoughts and plans with her best friends at training, you were in your head all day thinking about last night. Which wasn’t really helping especially when you were trying to film press interviews all day and talk about your movie. 

You could have talked to your co-stars about it, after all they had become close friends while shooting and now being with each other everyday for promo, but the only person you really wanted to talk to was Jen; it was always Jen. 

Jen got home long before you, taking her time to deep clean the flat and cook dinner for you once again, knowing you would be exhausted from your long day of work. 

She didn’t hear you opening the door and making your way through the flat, she had been vacuuming with her headphones on and dancing around your bedroom. You stood in the doorway for a few minutes after spotting her, admiring her and waiting for her to see you. And when she did, boy did she get a fright. 

“Ah fuck!” Jen almost jumped out of her skin when she finally turned around and spotted you lurking in the doorway, using one hand to remove her headphones and the other to turn the vacuum off. “How long have you been standing there?” She dropped the vacuum and began to walk over to you. 

“A few minutes. I was admiring your hidden dance skills.” You smiled and stood up straighter, welcoming her into a hug like you do every day. “Hi.” You mumbled into her shoulder. 

“Hi love.” She pulled back and leaned in for a soft kiss. No matter how many times you kiss Jen, it feels like the very first time all over again, even after 4 years. “Busy day?” She asked as you parted, taking in your tired expression. 

“Busy day.” You nodded and smiled at her. “How was training?” You asked as you walked hand and hand to the kitchen. 

“Good, good to be back with the girls.” Jen smiled at you before letting go to retrieve dinner from the oven. You stood at the counter, simply watching her as she moved about wrapping up dinner. “Go put something on, I’ve got it.” Jen smiled and placed a kiss on your temple before ushering you to the lounge room.

“Okay bossy.” You laughed before making your way to the couch and switching the TV over to Netflix to finish the final episode of Bridgerton. You wait patiently for her on the couch, looking over your shoulder every few seconds to see if she is coming around the corner. 

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Jen is trying to hide her anxiety and nervousness as she plates up dinner and feels her pocket one more time. With two champagne glasses now full and a tray full of food she finally makes her way to you, letting out a final breath before entering the living room. 

“Dinner is served.” She places the tray down on the table and bows which makes you laugh. Your eyes fall on the glasses and you’re instantly confused. 

“What’s with the champagne? Decide the wine wasn’t good enough?” You joked and she let out a small laugh shaking her head. 

“Some nights are a little more special than the others.” She cryptically says and has you even more confused but you leave the comment alone and hit play on the remote. 

You eat dinner together while watching the episode, silently watching with a bit of commentary along the way before cuddling up after eating. The episode finishes and you can feel Jen’s heart beating particularly fast, her fingers are nervously playing with one another and she hasn’t spoken in a few minutes. You sit up silently and look at her, she doesn’t look at you. You’re about to fill the silence when she beats you to it. 

“You know how much I love you, right?.” Jen rushes out and leaves you slightly bewildered. 

“I know. I love you just as much.” You reply. “What’s wrong?” You bring your hand up to brush her hair back into her low bun. 

“I’m about to do something and I hope you don’t think it’s random and forced because it’s not and I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and I didn’t want to make a massive deal about it because it’s just you and me and that’s all that matters.” Jen speaks in one long breath and you need a second for your brain to catch up but before it can she’s pulling you up off the couch with her and standing in front of you. She holds your hands in hers and looks directly at you. 

“Wha-” Before you could even think about finishing your sentence, a giant gasp leaves your mouth at her next action. She drops down to one knee whilst still holding holding your hands, smiling up at you as tears well in your eyes. 

“My love, I could go on and on about how much I love you but you already know. There is no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with, no matter where it shall take us. So,” She let go of your hands, you bringing them up to your face and hers reaching down into her pocket. She fishes the small, black box out, opening it to reveal a sparkling ring and looks back up at you. “Y/N Y/L/N, will you-” 

“YES!” You interrupt her before she gets to finish causing her to laugh and shake her head. 

You just stand there admiring her as she gets up and removes the ring from the box. She brings your shaking left hand from your face and slides the ring on. Your jaw drops at the ring before you jump into her arms, causing her to react quickly and grab hold of your legs. “I love you so much Jen.” You cry into her shoulder as she holds you before you lift your head up, meeting your eyes with hers before pulling in for a kiss. 

The rest of the night is spent in one another's arms just admiring each other and talking softly with each other about the rest of your lives while wrapped up in your sheets.

yourinstagram and jbeattie91

yourinstagram we joined the club 💍

liked by jbeattie91, stephcatley, bethmead_ and 834,032 others

stephcatley so happy for you! welcome to the club 😉

bethmead_ about time jen jen. congrats 🥰

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THE END!

[redgoldsparks]

January Reading and Reviews by Maia Kobabe

I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon. Reviews below the cut. You might notice the layout image looks different! I have switched to using the Storygraph wrap up and I'm now linking to the Storygraph reviews as well :)

The Sweetness Between Us by Sarah Winifred Searle 

Perley and Amandine are both readjusting to high school life after a major health crisis. Perley was diagnoses with diabetes; Amandine was turned into a vampire after a car crash nearly ended her life. They bond in remedial classes over just wishing their lives could go back to normal. Perley tentatively rejoins the knitting club; Amandine wants to rejoin a sports team but struggles with exhaustion; both of them have less energy than they had before. Their friendship develops into something more, but can they maintain a romance when they are both still figuring out their own shit? This is a very sweet slice of life story with a fun dash of the supernatural. I wanted a little more from some of the queer themes; I spent most of the book unsure of Perley's pronouns. But I was absolutely rooting for these two oddball teens to find their way back to each other.

LaserWriter II by Tamara Shopsin

This is a novel, loosely, but more so it's a little window back into a specific era of repairable technology and the people who were drawn to it. Set almost entirely in a (real, I think) Mac repair shop in New York City in the 1990s, this book jumps from backstory to backstory, introducing a range of self-taught computer fanatics. The cast and the story both feel wide but not deep. I didn't get to know anyone well, not even Claire, the newest hire and lead character. It did give me some serious nostalgia, even though I was really too young in this era to really have any meaningful relationship with it's technology. A weird but charming little book.

The City in Glass by Nghi Vo, read by Susan Dalian

The demon Vitrine has been nurturing, building, challenging and haunting the port city of Azril for hundreds of years when the angels come to burn it to the ground. She tries to defend her people from the heavenly attack but only succeeds in cursing one of angel, embedding a thorn of spite in his side. When his brothers leave, he is forced to stay, and since he has nothing else to do, he watches her begin the long, painful process of cleaning and rebuilding. This is a dreamy stream of consciousness book with less plot that I'm used to from Nghi Vo. I'll admit this one captured me less than her work usually does though the prose is very beautiful.

The Concierge at the Hokkyoku Department Store vol 1 by Tsuchika Nishimura 

Akino is a new hire at the Hokkyoku Department Store, a store build to serve talking animal customers including many unusual and nearly extinct species. Akino must find a way to be present, polite and helpful without hovering or intruding on the customers experience. This is harder than it sounds, especially with fussy managers always watching the store floors! Sweet, silly, and very warm hearted. I like the delicate, retro lineart style.

The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ Charles read by Cornell Collins 

Another fun historical m/m romance from KJ Charles, this one more in the comedy of manners genre. I had a good time with it, I liked the leads, and as usual the secondary characters really shown. I did wish the enemies part of the enemies to lovers plot had lasted a bit longer, and the overall silliness of the story isn't going to make this the first Charles book I rec to anyone unfamiliar with her work, but it kept me entertained.

Noodle and Bao by Shaina Lu 

Momo loves living in Town 99, a historically Chinese neighborhood where she knows everyone and all the best places to eat and hang out. But things are changing. Her parents are worried about making rent, and her favorite restaurant was kicked out of its location and now operates out of a cart. The owner of the new restaurant, Fancé Cafe, has big plans to buy out the whole block and upscale everything. Momo rallies her friends and neighbors to fight back against the gentrification. This is a very sweet book for young readers, with talking animal characters and whimsical food battles interwoven with community organizing. An epilogue explains the issues around gentrification for a child who might not have encountered it before.

Brownstone by Samuel Leer and Mar Julia 

Almudena grew up with her white mom, always wondering about the Guatemalan father she'd never met. Until one summer mid-high school when her mom heads off to Europe for a dance tour and drops her off at the Brooklyn brownstone her father, Xavier, is renovating. Almudena has to navigate around a language barrier, an through unfamiliar neighborhood, and into a close knit Latino community many of whom see her as not brown enough to count. But Almudena is determined not to let this opportunity to know her father slip away. This is such a warmhearted book, funny and kind, with a really well developed cast. The art and the writing make a perfect whole, capturing a deeply specific mid-1990s moment. I've been following the artist's self published releases for years and I'm so happy to see their work shine in a full length book!

Leap by Simina Pepesco 

Ana is a college student in a contemporary dance program in Budapest, but her heart has fallen out of dancing. She skips her own classes to spent time rehearsing with her secret girlfriend, Carina, an ambitious ballerina in the classical program. Her new roommate, Sara, transferred out of classical and into contemporary and is thriving in the new, more supportive environment. She's also starting to develop feelings for the kind teacher, Marlena, who helped her transfer. Both of them are struggling to figure out their relationships with their art, as well as their sexualities, as well as how safe or not safe it feels to be out at their private, gossip-prone school. This is a really well told and well drawn coming of age story; I also really appreciated it as a story of queer friendship which complicated some of the standard narratives around first crushes/first relationships/coming out being kind of anti-climatic, half affirming, half disappointing. Definitely recommend!

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar 

What a book! Several of my friends called this one of their top reads of last year and I can see why. The book centers around Cyrus Shams, a poet and recovering addict, who was raised in the US by a single father. The pair left Iran when Cyrus was a baby after his mother was killed in a passenger plane, shot down by mistake by the US army. In his late 20s, Cyrus is mostly drifting through life, working weird part time jobs, sometimes writing, trying to stay sober. He wants to write about the concept of martyrdom, about dying for a cause, or what makes people consider a death meaningful. When he hears of a Persian artist literally hosting her last weeks as she dies of cancer in the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Cyrus flies to New York City to speak with her. Their conversations will impact him more than he could ever have dreamed. This is an usually structured book, full of flashbacks, alternate POVs, dream sequences. It's rich with layers of symbolism and meaning, especially with repeated references to names, to lineage, to legacy, the lingering trauma of violence and revolution, and what a life of art demands from the artist. This book surprised and moved me. I'm delighted that it was chosen by my book club, so I've got a lengthy conversation with friends about this book to look forward to!

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde read by Susan Duerden 

The Eyre Affair is a mystery-crime-sci-fi-comedy novel for the literary nerd. It is set in England in an alternate universe version of the 1980s, in which cloning of extinct animals for household pets is common, time travel looked down on as wretched career choice, and literary crimes get their own whole division in the police force. Thursday Next is a veteran of the Crimean War (which has been running more than a century) and a Lit Crimes special agent- her expertise is immediately needed when a priceless Dickens' manuscript is stolen by a thief whose image does not register on film. Things quickly get strange- and also hilarious.

Re-read in 2025: I revisited this after reading and loving Jasper Fforde's stand alone sci-fi novel Early Riser last year. Unfortunately, The Eyre Affair suffered in comparison- the main villain of the book is very weak, and I can now see the pacing issues of this debut novel. I still found it very funny and probably caught more of the classic lit jokes than I did last time, but it's no longer the Fforde novel I'd suggest people start with. Try one of his more recent works! 

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat vol 3 by Sakaomi Yuzaki translated by Caleb Cook

This series just keeps getting more and more adorable! This volume introduced two new characters, and I braced for a moment hoping they wouldn't be rivals to the main couple, who are very slowly beginning to flirt. I should not have doubted!! Both newbies immediately seen that Nomoto and Kasuga are interested in each other and begin to cheer lead/wing man from the sides. Plus, in the author's note, the author talks about selling merch for a Japanese organization supporting marriage equality. I can't wait to read more!