#if anyone has a good found family fic for anon and i feel free to share !!

[digsys]

Anon who sent the fic rec here! Glad you LOVE LOVE LOVE the fic as much as me it’s literally my COMFORT FIC like SUCH COMFORT to me and I don’t even know HOW to explain it!!! When I stopped following WWE due to mental health struggles during pandemic what really pulled me back into it was the constant remembering of how much comfort they brought me, both irl and even with reading them, So glad someone gets it!!! I read it at least once a month, I even have a playlist that reminds me of it :) I will never ever EVER shutup about it, I hope whoever else sees the rec here also appreciates it :) do you have any fic favorites? Or found family SHIELD fics? I love recs also :)

AHH YES I'M SO GLAD WE BOTH LOVE IT!!! i have my own collection of comfort fics that i call back on when needed so i totally get what you're saying. wrestling's the thing in my life that drives me crazy but in a GOOD way so i understand 100% !! so much comfort fr <33

OOH feel free to drop a couple songs that remind you of it, if there's anything i love equal to fic recs, it's song recs!!

as for recs, i don't have many because i haven't read too many shield as family fics BUT here are some fun ones:

Brothers of Coffee by RoseAmaranth

The Shield Reads Thirst Tweets by sarahcakes613

Boys Who Howl Together by PaulHeymanGirl (WARNING: this has an angsty ending)

[liesmyth]

hi, i've been following you for a while now because it seems we have similar taste in media (especially thematically). an agonizing event occurred last week that's left me somewhat selectively mute and unable to work. i can't find joy or interest or love for anything. the locked tomb has always been there for me during my lowest points (me and harrow are like this 🤞) but i'm in such a horrible place that not even muir is helping. i love reading your TLT metas and trust your judgement based on those, so i was wondering if you had any recommendations for books/media that deals with grief and loss in fantastical settings. or just big, messy, taboo feelings in general. i'm looking for anything at this point.

Hi anon, sorry to hear this and I really hope you feel better soon. I'm sending you a big hug if you want it and I'm thinking of you very fondly. I'm not sure I can recommend exactly what you're asking for but I dearly hope some of these can distract you a bit. Please let me know if you want further content warnings + if anyone else has recs, feel free to chime in!

The Screwfly Solution by James Tiptree Jr. — This is a short story that I reread about once a year when I really want something that'll hit and fuck me up. You can find it in full here. It's an apocalyptic short story, very haunting, and the last line hits like a punch in the gut. CW for gendered violence all over the place if that's something you'd rather avoid.

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende — This is a generational saga set in 20th century Cile. It isn't sff, although it does have some magical realism elements, so I'm chetaing and putting it in here anyway. The first time I read it, it made me cry, and it remains my favourite Allende novel.

The Last Man Alive by A.S. Neill — A middle grade speculative fiction written in 1930s Britain, which is ostensibly for kids but, in the tradition of British children's literature, gets pretty fucking dark and creepy. It's about a group of schoolchildren and their teacher who survived a poisonous cloud that turned everyone else into stone, and by everyone else I mean the entire world. It gets pretty dark at times, and I remember being sucked-punched finishing the book and reading in the afterword what happened to each of the children who were the inspiration for the characters in the book. It's a very weird little novel, but also interesting in that "vintage scifi" vibe.

Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge — This is another middle grade novel and probably the lightest read of this entire fic; [spoilers ahead] it's about a changeling who doesn't have a memory of being made, and at first thinks she is the human girl she was meant to replace, and only slowly realises that something is wrong. It's ultimately a feel-good story but I found it bittersweet all around, and I think the themes of identity and self growth + the creepy fairytale vibes make it worth a rec in case you think it could help right now.

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica — This is a book about the mundane day-to-day happenings in a dystopia where cannibalism has been legitimised as a form of population control, and large swats of people are regarded as subhuman and eaten. It's very bleak and more plot driven than character-driven, so I'm hesitant to rec it if your usual go-to is TLT; but I think the story does very good things with the tight narrator POV + there are themes of alienations from family, eldercare and anticipation of grief. It's definitely a story that fucked me up a bit.

+ not sff in the least, but I finished this book very recently and it's still on my mind: I recently read The Manicurist's Daughter, a memoir that's primarily about dealing with grief from the loss of a parent, and how grief can destroy a family + trying to reconnect despite that. It's not exactly engrossing in parts, and I'm not sure I should rec it here because I found it too slow-paced to count as a real "cathartic read" but there was something about the numbness after suffering a loss and the ugly side of it that really spoke to me.

+ not a book and I haven't watched it in years but I think you might enjoy Revolutionary Girl Utena if you haven't seen it already. It spoke to me in the same way some parts of TLT do (and it's very gay)

[moonlitkilljoy]

Lo and behold! i’ve finally finished making it, the promised list of Pacific Rim fic recs for anon :-) everyone thank @ihavenomoralsss for proofreading this for me!

There’s a good chance most people who've read any amount of newmann fanfiction will have read the first two on this list, as they’re found on the first and fifth pages of the newmann ship tag on ao3 when its sorted by most kudos descending– however i’ve included them anyway because they’re there for a very good reason (which is that they’re FANTASTIC). also, i've grouped all of the "pov outsider" fics together at the end of this post, as they pretty much make up one third of the list– which feels like it warrants it's own section. feel free to dm me or send me an ask to let me know of your thoughts about any of these (or just pacific rim in general!!)! without further ado, may i present to thou, 10 fantastic newmann fics

It’s All in the Hands of a Lazy Projector by patster223

“Hermann is cursed as a child so that he may never remember anyone he meets. Theoretically, this should make falling in love impossible, but then he meets (and meets and meets and meets) Newton Geiszler.”

~10k words, 1 chapter, rated T; exactly what the summary says, it’s an au in which hermann is cursed to forget everyone he meets, it centers around newt and hermanns interactions and how they manage to grow close despite this

if i had to choose a single favorite pacific rim fanfic it’d probably have to be this one. it’s gorgeously written and tackles some themes that hit very close to home for me, personally. i’ve struggled with memory loss for a very long time now, and this fic manages to encapsulate that experience through the lens of magical-realism in a way i’ve never seen captured in any context. i left a comment to that effect (under a pseudonym because i rarely log into ao3 on my phone) and the author’s response is something that still makes me emotional pretty much every time i look at it, “I wanted to imagine a world where memory still mattered, even if it wasn’t remembered. And now, years later, I think that it does. You and I and Hermann hold memory in our bodies and our minds, even if what’s being held isn’t an exact picture or description, but rather an emotion or a question. Memory still has to matter to those with memory loss, even if we end up experiencing it differently.” so, this is not only a recommendation for quality, but also from a very personal place— it’s a fic that addresses the concept of memory loss through a lens of comfort and hope, which it is so rarely seen through, and does it phenomenally. if anyone looking at this post were to read one fic and only one fic from this list i’d want it to be this one. it also characterizes newt and hermann very well and i love their dynamic in it, it’s PHENOMENAL

Letters From Berlin by spenshi

“Newton keeps in touch with his family when he's shipped off to the Shatterdome. Jacob and Illia send care packages to the K-Science Lab.”

~12k words, 1 chapter, rated T; once more, exactly what the summary says– newt sends letters to his family and they send him packages. eventually hermann starts sending them letters (+ emails) as well :]

i read this one most recently out of all the others so it’s the freshest in my memory :-) it’s extremely homely and heartwarming!! additionally, it includes some really fun and sweet interactions between newt’s family and hermann. OH! and, of course, some very fun characterization of newt’s family

Plausible Possibility by cissues / @cacaesthesia

“Newt and Hermann experience some odd post-drift effects.”

~1k words, 1 chapter, rated G; a little exploration of ghost-drift

short and sweet! absolutely fucking adorable too. plus, this contains some headcanons/a discussion of sexuality that i was delighted to find very relatable (as an aromantic person)

Red Patent by highseize

“It's been months since the ocean closed up. Nothing will take this from her now.”

~2k words, 1 chapter, rated G; a snapshot of what mako’s life looks like after the events of the movie ^^

a rare non-hermann-and-newt-centered fic on this list!! this one actually centers around mako :D it’s adorable and i love mako with my entire heart, especially this depiction of her

fool by kaijusalad

“Newton is going to die thinking no-one left on this Earth loves him. (Fool.) He can't have that.”

~6k words, 1 chapter, rated T; hermann believes that seeking out hannibal chau and drifting with a kaiju brain once more will kill newt, and acts accordingly

i LOVE the way this fic is formatted and written– the word choice and unique use of italics and parentheses is incredible and works so well. it describes every action and scene so gorgeously and it just. man. here’s a small except devoid of context that i think showcases this perfectly: “His words are hollow, anyway. They hang in the air, lies filled with helium, a new year's resolution, an 'I'll quit smoking'. (God is real in belief; maybe if he believes in them hard enough they'll come true, and isn't that something for a man who works in numbers to think?)”

One day from lonely by Raehimura

“Hermann is standing outside Newton Geiszler’s private quarters, bony ankles poking out from under too-short standard-issue sweatpants, his hair a wreck and his red-ringed eye still sore, with a lifetime of stolen memories in his head. What if Newt isn’t there? What if he’s sleeping? Or, worse, what if he is waiting on the other side of the door with his own stolen memories fresh on his mind? Above all he remembers, sudden and frighteningly clear: This is not what they do.”

~2.5k words, 1 chapter, rated G; another very interesting exploration of newt and hermann post-drift

i disagree a little bit with some of the characterization in this fic (particular, newt thinking hermann hates him. i think newt very well knows that hermann’s very fond of him) but it’s a great read nonetheless! the best word to describe it would probably be “cozy”

This is a Totally Normal Thing for Friends to Do by SolarMorrigan / @solarmorrigan

“Hermann and Newt don't talk about it (until they do)”

~21k words, 4 chapters, rated T; a fake dating au in which hermann’s dad nags him about not having found a partner yet and hermann panics, telling him that he actually does have a partner just to get him to asking about it, but it backfires when lars expresses interest in meeting him. newt offers to play the part of partner, hijinks and relationship progression ensue. this fic also has an explicit sequel, if that’s your kind of thing

THIS FIC IS SO FUCKING GOOD. there were multiple times where i reacted out loud to things that happened in the fic– most notably a series of “holy fucking shit”s while eating lunch with some friends. it’s adorable and includes some transmasc newt content :3 this fic also includes hermann snapping and standing up to his shithead dad and its GREAT. one of my absolute favorite pacrim fics ever, i can’t recommend it enough

POV OUTSIDER FICS:

HR Complaints by IDoNotBitMyThumbAtYou / @idonotbitemythumbatyou

“Manny Flores has been with the PPDC for nearly a decade by the time he’s transferred to Hong Kong. He just wants to do his job. And he’s good at it. But when he receives the 15th complaint from one Dr. Hermann Gottlieb in only three days, he finds his patience running thin. He wonders which of the two scientists would be more of a nightmare to cohabitate a working space with: Dr. Gottlieb - sender of endless petty complaints, or Dr. Geiszler, their hapless subject. (...)”

~3k words, 1 chapter, unrated (probably G or T); hermann and newt’s relationship through the eyes of someone reading the (non-serious) complaints that hermann sends to hr

i spent three uninterrupted hours looking for this fic to link it here and it was ABSOLUTELY worth it. this fic is so fun, and it uses my favorite trope of all time!! i’m an absolute sucker for “pov outsider” type fics <3 the characterization is phenomenal, i love the oc from whose pov we view the story, and some of the lines made me actually audibly laugh. definitely another one of my absolute favorites. i think i sent a screenshot of the first sentence from the following lines to virtually everyone i know: “After another few weeks of complaints (“Dr. Geiszler asked me if I have any tattoos.” “Dr. Geiszler made an offensive tweet alluding to my personal style. I have attached a link.” “Dr. Geiszler has named his invention ‘the milking machine.’”) And continued insistence that no disciplinary action be taken, Manny was starting to suspect that the latter was closer to the truth: these were the missives of someone deeply, inconveniently in love. Christ, Manny was half in love with the guy himself at this point.” this fic rocks, do yourself a solid and please read it

On The Outside by combeferrer

“Petra Gottlieb, Hermann's mother, watches the first PPDC press conference after the world is saved and notices her son, particularly his relationship with his fellow scientist.”

~1k words, 1 chapter, rated G; for the third and final time, exactly what the description says! newt and hermanns relationship through the eyes of hermann’s mother, who watches a press conference with her son– who she hasn’t really interacted with lately– in it

ANOTHER GREAT FIC!! I love this characterization of newt and hermann’s relationship, and i find the premise and extremely enticing in and of itself so i won’t be saying anything more here <3

Disconnect, Connect Again by cypress_tree / @cypress-tree

“Raising Newt Geiszler has never been easy. Seeing him fall in love can be harder. The development of Newt and Hermann's relationship, from Jacob Geiszler's point-of-view.”

~13.5k words, 4 chapters, rated T; newt and hermann’s relationship through the eyes of newt’s father, over the course of 12 years

LOVE LOVE LOVE this author’s take on newt’s family. it works so well and is very enjoyable to read about. i wish i could articulate how much and why exactly i love this fic in a better manner, but i can’t quite find the right word’s ^^; i’m just going to leave it at “i love it dearly and i adore it’s depiction/interpretation of newt and hermann’s history (and present + future!)”

thank you for reading!! have a lovely day/night ^^ <3

[weirdfishy]

First Lines :)

tagged by the wonderful @alllthequeenshorses who has been writing The Old Guard joe/nicky fics that deserve to be read!! go check them (and other good reads) out!

i, myself, have been sitting peaceably in the phandom quicksand. more specifically, the phandom quicksand that is crossed over with DC :)

~

As king, Danny is beholden to the emotions of his subjects, is able to feel them in the bottled swirl of an orb, the centerpiece to his icy crown.

i had the VIVID mental image of danny dragging a dead joker thru the streets of Gotham in a color blocking sort of thing? where it's a dark grey silhouette outline of danny and joker's body on a black street lined with towering white buildings- joker is trailing red and danny's looking back, eyes glowing green. a red sky and people observing on the streets. i might do this with colored paper? tmr actually since i've got the time

Approximately 54 minutes ago, Damian set off his panic button on his civilian identity.

i do not particularly like this line; i gotta go find batman's voice later, but i haven't found a way to continue Unknown Caller ID that i am happy with. please be patient with me, and if you have anything you think might happen/could see happening, i'm always up for a chat abt my fics! drop into my ask box! (anon is on too)

They’re in a transitional period now.

timeskip just slip me on, i'll be your blanket???? is that you??? guys idk if i'll finish it since it's mostly directionless rn, but istg in my heart of hearts it's not really finished and i'll never be free until i'm satisfied

Spencer stepped out of the elevator, sipping from his to-go coffee cup.

i found out about danny phantom x criminal minds, specifically the spencer reid is a gothamite trope, and I Need More. gotta do whatcha gotta do.

Today is the day.

from the Young Justice part of dc (screw it not being continuity, and also wally is dating dick wdym) crossed over with dp, of course, where danny joins the justice league as a consult/doomsday protocol, but he lives at the hall of justice and acts as a heimdall??? basically. the extended league is awkward around him bc he reminds them that they can't save everyone; inspo'd by a fic

Damian was gone.

not a cross over, it's just dc. is more of a character study on Alfred Pennyworth, maybe? but also i'm not really pulling from observing a ton of canon, it's more of my understanding and imagination on him and his relationships (and how his family's night activities affect him) [i love him and david mccallum is MY alfred]

~

aaand that's abt it, in terms of new things i've worked on in the past four weeks! imma try to tag some new folks (hello there!!), but no pressure, and anyone is welcome to post their first lines (tag me, i'd love to see them!)

@shire-bard @snakeinmeboots808 @lord-of-0blivion @crazycatgirl420 @astralalmighty @spacedace

💚.

[sitp-recs]

hi! thank you so much for such amazing recs all the time. what a gift!!! this is a different kind of request than usual maybe so feel free to skip it or take your time or interpret in your own way: i’m looking for swoon-worthy fics, like sooo romantic. like off the charts oh my god this is so sweet so loving so huge kind of vibes. but that’s like a feeling you know, for the characters and for the readers, so. not sure if it makes sense! thank u :)

Hi anon, thank you so much for the kind words!! I don’t really read hardcore fluff tbh, but I love myself some tender romance! I’ve included different flavours here with a lil bit of angst (couldn’t resist 🤣) but nothing too intense. I hope this list works for you! You can also check the latest Fluff Fest collection here.

Say the words / then stay around by Teatrolley (NR, 5.7k)

They’ve been together for a while when Harry decides that he wants to try the Auror Office again. What he doesn’t consider is the effects the work might have on the two of them. But, then again, maybe those effects don’t have to be all bad?

Little Talks by Femme and noeon (E, 11k)

Draco's been shagging the Head Auror for months now, and he's sure it's just a fling. Until Harry asks him to a Quidditch match, that is, and things go horribly wrong.

Take the Moon by @tackytigerfic (M, 15k)

Harry Potter has always wanted a family of his own, and when a deadly blood curse forces him into a marriage bond with his best friend Draco Malfoy, it looks like he might just have found one.

Two Zinnias and the Scent of Lemon by @the-starryknight (M, 16k)

The Ministry didn’t turn bad overnight. Harry didn’t suddenly turn rogue either. Between covert Legilimency links and Polyjuice disguises and running and running and running, Draco has forgotten what it is like to have a safe harbor that isn’t a person. If there’s an art to fighting back, then they’ll find it hand in hand.

freely, as men strive for right by @bixgirl1 (E, 17k)

How can Harry love a man like Draco Malfoy? If only Draco would let him count the ways.

The Courting by the Pureblood Who Only Has Five Milligrams of Romantic Intelligence and Thinks He’s Real Smooth by Cibee (T, 19k)

Draco could grab Potter and shove him into a stall before proceeding to suck his soul out of his dick, but secretly, deep down, in the part of Draco that he will never admit to anyone, he is (everyone pauses to shudder) a romantic. Potter is not someone Draco wants a one-off with. Potter is — Draco’s beloved!

With Great Yawns and Stretchings by sugar_screw (T, 22k)

The coffee is very good. Really. And the cats are so cute. That's why Harry goes so often.

All Things Go by @sorrybutblog (E, 33k)

Draco’s back at Hogwarts by court order. Harry’s back for no particular reason at all. Some things change, some stay the same. Neither expects to spend eighth-year living in close quarters, playing rugby (poorly), staying up late, sneaking around, and finally figuring it all out.

Eager for the Sky by @oknowkiss (M, 35k)

It was announced, just as the Triwizard Tournament had been, at the start of term feast. A year-long, international Quidditch varsity match — the inaugural Wizarding Academy Cup.

Little Deaths and How to Avoid Them (or Draco Malfoy's Guide to Stop Dying and Start Living Instead) by nerakrose and dustmouth (T, 96k)

Malfoy is way too interested in coroner reports for somebody who's definitely not looking for ways to die, Harry wants to be friends with him, and Ginny wants to break up with Harry.

Kaleidoscope by Saras_Girl (E, 104k)

If Harry’s honest, the last thing he needs is a house full of Draco Malfoy, but partners are partners, and perhaps, the thing he wants the least will turn out to be absolutely everything. 2021 advent fic, completed.

Far From The Tree by aideomai (E, 112k)

The arrival of Harry Potter’s children—snapped back in time, the children themselves guessed, twenty or so years—was the most interesting thing to happen at Hogwarts for years.

A Sword Laid Aside by @korlaena (E, 128k)

When Draco’s cover is blown during a deep undercover operation and the Ministry is compromised, Ron takes Draco to the only safe place he can think of—Potter. Hiding out with a taciturn Harry Potter, who has been missing from the Wizarding World for almost two decades after a shocking fall from grace, is nothing like Draco thought it would be.

[the-real-sasuke-uchiha]

Hello Sasuke! Hope you are having a good day. I was wondering what your thoughts are on fanfic and fanart that portrays your relationship with your brother as incestuous, while at the same time portraying your relationship as adult x minor? Do you have any aversion to writers and fanartists portraying Itachi as a pedo rapist or incestuous or do you block and report such content? Fanfic is fictional but there is so much of it out there that made me leave the fandom. It's a relief to read your blog which is free of this content. Sorry my English is a mess.

Hi there, dear anon!

Your English is great! And even if it wasn't, no need to apologise for making the effort of communicating in a language that is not your own.

That type of arts or fics disgusts me deeply, anon. I am all for people enjoying the fandom in whichever way they want, but I want to stay as far from those things as I can. I can't understand how someone can enjoy incestuous ships, paedophilic ships or ships involving violence/rape. I really don't know what is wrong in the head of people making such content and I don't want to know, I want nothing to do with them. I really don't like to block anyone, but filling my dash with porn and disgusting things is a no-no.

It is extremely frustrating how some people will always transform any form of deep, sincere and strong love into something sexual. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that we were fed so many romantic stories about princesses escaping abusive families and running after their prince charming to live happily ever after. Maybe some of us were kind of convinced that the strongest form of love can only be found on a romantic partner, and that this love is deeper and more important than the one you feel for your family, your own flesh and blood. On top of being ridiculous, this is dangerous. This idea of romantic love has isolated many women from their family and friends and thrown them into abusive relationships. But any way, I digress.

My brother and I loved each other more than we loved anyone in the whole world, and that had nothing to do with romance. And, hear me out, this is NORMAL. It is absolutely normal that, in usual circumstances and in absence of abuse or mistreatment, someone loves their family more than anyone else. More than a coworker, a friend, or a romantic partner that you just found in the street. Of course my bond with my own flesh and blood is stronger than any other. This is how the Uchiha feel it and, I believe, this is the usual thing everywhere. Unless you are brainwashed into giving that up for a cult, or for romantic or nationalistic brainwashing (will of fire, etc).

Anyway, take care anon. And stay safe from abusive ships!

[jade-of-mourning]

hey. I’m back. you probably didn’t miss me LOL, but I saw your response to my ask and I got really excited 😭

okay so I actually sent the ask about posting to ao3 with the avatar mako concept in mind cuz I love making my non-avatar faves the avatar,,, and then I noticed you said asks about hcs and stuff are welcome so⁉️⁉️

I would love to hear more about the avatar mako au if you’re willing (that summary has me SO pumped btw)

and if it’s not too much of a bother, would you mind an ask about a little blurb idea I had but don’t really know how to write? I appreciate the word vomit response btw it makes me feel appreciated!! as you can probably tell I do a little word vomit when I get excited so. lol. love when my insanity is reciprocated :]

-🐌

welcome back anon! it's lovely to hear from you again <3

ah yes i too am a fan of reading non-avatar!avatar aus; they're so fun! also ty for enabling to talk about my au gfsjhjbhkfsdgjh i'll word vomit beneath the cut lol

and finally, yes! feel free to send it in :) i'd be happy to help if i can, though no guarantees </3

the au starts about four years prior to when book 1 takes place in lok, so mako, bolin, and asami are all aged down four years while the equalist revolution is not yet on the horizon — though i'm keeping the aid kids roughly the same age as they were, just because i want to play off their dynamic :P

in the context of Why No Avatar Korra, aang's temporary death during the crossroads of destiny led the avatar spirit to pass onto a water tribe child — until aang promptly un-died and raava returned, with a small part of her spirit left in the other to sustain their survival. (kind of playing off the avatar!yue theory and some of those theories floating around from book 1's airing lol.) so basically when aang died 54 years later, raava was unable to move on to the next avatar immediately, so she waited in a sort of suspended stasis until the not-avatar passed and the cycle returned at earth. i'm not sure how much i'll actually explore this in the fic, if at all, but yeah here's the explanation.

so mako is technically the earth avatar, but his firebending visibly pulled up first so he was just assumed to be a firebender. fast forward, dead parents & pre-canon sort of plays out as i tend to headcanon it, including lots of casual Bad Things and Horrible Trauma-Inducing Circumstances. however, as mako gets older he starts to realize that there might be a slight issue in that he can bend both fire and earth.

okayyy… okay this is fine. it's probably because his parents are from both nations. (he breaks into the library to verify that no, dual benders do not exist even in mixed families.) he doesn't know what the triple threats would do to him if they found out — would they exploit him further, or would they straight up kill him? he keeps it a secret from everyone, including bolin, because for all that he loves bolin considerably more than he loves life itself, bolin is also largely terrible at keeping secrets and this isn't something anyone can ever know. he doesn't practice any of the other elements, sticking to firebending exclusively, so aside from this added weight of such a heavy secret on his shoulders, up to fourteen it all goes the same.

(some casual Bad Things include, but are not limited to: the horrors of industrial age 1920s child homelessness, recruitment into the gang, lightningbending, and being trained specifically by zolt for intimidation factor and potential takeover. there's an unfortunate amount of child abuse and exploitation going on there.)

and then he's at a transaction with the triple threats when they get busted by the police, including lin beifong herself. mako is very much a fighter and very good at it, in that despite having not been trained properly, he's still vicious and entirely desperate due to his determination to stick around for bolin. he will bite your head off if he feels backed into a corner and will do whatever it takes to come out on the other side. his rage at the world has yet to subside after six years on the streets at age fourteen. he has zero chill and has no slowly coming sense of stability that he's on the cusp of gaining around his introduction in canon. he is both way worse and way better at repressing his feelings here than he is at eighteen, but that'll probably get explored in the fic, so i'll leave it here. anyway this is where lightning-happy mako slips up and accidentally earthbends directly at the Chief; and where most officers would've probably just let it slide under the assumption that they were going crazy, lin beifong does not do crazy.

so this is where the fic starts, as you probably read from the first draft snippet. a lot of set up that will probably never come up, at least not so explicitly like this, but it'll probably write itself in somehow. going on, we've got some air island arrival shenanigans, where mako first tries denial, realizes that it's not going to work, and outwardly verbally acquiesces with the whole fine-you-caught-me-i'll-be-the-avatar bullshit. internally, he is calculating the price of the artifacts in the room and the chances of him grabbing bolin from headquarters and the two of them bailing it out of the city with the sold-artifacts' profit.

so the question is, why would mako run when he's being offered the opportunity to have some semblance of safety and comfort for the first time in his life?

because mako, disbeliever of pacifism, is convinced that tenzin is going to kill him once he realizes that it isn't worth the effort trying to domesticate this violent street kid who's experienced an unbelievable amount of trauma and has a learned, deep-set cynicism for the world — if it's even possible at all. that tenzin will quickly come to deem that the world may as well wait another decade-plus for a better avatar. mako's selfish and even if he knows that his death would enable an actually competent avatar that would acutally help the world to be reborn, he refuses to leave bolin alone (even if a small part of him knows that if it weren't for bolin, him being so very tired so very often probably would've just allowed this path to happen). that's a major-minor plot point.

i'll leave it at that for now before i just write out my entire outline in this post :P but yeah, it'll feature mako learning to care for the world again, plus some quality mako & jinora friendship, bolin acquiring a mother figure in pema, and a peculiar mako & asami relationship after events in which, and i quote from my outline chapter summary, "Mako discovers that trying to steal from Rich Girl Asami Sato is a bad idea."

[herblacktights]

Hi! Do you feel comfortable sharing your degenerate tumblr on here? I just ask because I will devour anything you write.

"degausser" and "little beast" rewrote my brain when I read them last year - I haven't been able to stop thinking about either. You have such a way with words. I really admire how you build the world around the characters you write, & how you can feel the emotion dripping off of the words. Also the tips you posted on Twitter for writing smut were super useful!

When it comes for building up tension and sexual dynamics between two characters like Eren and Mikasa, what do you do?

if you don't mind messaging me off anon, i'll gladly give you my degenerate tumblr (this goes for anyone who doesn't have it yet). mostly just want to make sure everyone who ends up there wants to be there. :) it is just very dead dove forward lmao.

thank you so much for your kind words about my fics and also for your question. part of the reason i got into eremika at first is bc they were similar to two characters i've been fucking around with in my original writing and it felt like a good place to work through some of those ideas. and now after writing them for like two years, i have a pretty intuitive understanding of how they might react to situations that make it easier to write! but that really comes with practice and finding relationships that make your brain go brrrr. like i know deep in my soul that no matter what, found family fuckery is a playground that i am very comfortable on.

tbh i think most writers have relationships like this that they keep circling back to again and again. and that sometimes we can feel like this is a weakness in our writing. but the things that we keep coming back to fascinate us for good reason! and by letting myself write a bunch of different versions of a dynamic, i've been able to develop the intuitive understanding that has made me way faster at writing. all's this to say, if you find yourself attracted to writing similar things over and over again, it isn't a bad thing and actually can be an opportunity to really grow your craft.

as for developing tension, i really like to focus on details and what characters are noticing. because when you're into someone, you're probably paying attention to their body and their body language in unconscious and conscious ways. within this, i also like to think about what the non-pov character might be noticing or thinking about as well and try to find a way to telegraph that to the reader through the pov character's observations. it can be hard to feel like you know what your non-pov character is thinking as well as your pov character, so sometimes i do free-writing from the other character's pov and then have those ideas in mind while i'm writing the scene. a lot of the reason i write from mikasa's pov a lot is bc eren's pov is way easier for me to understand without doing extra steps. so even if she doesn't get what he's doing in the story, i do and can use that understanding to give the reader clues and heighten the stakes and tension.

a lot of tension also comes from staging and context. by staging, i mean stuff like everything that lead these characters to this situation. i def tend to prefer situations where there is a lot of history and tension at the off-set, and then i get to bring it to a head through my writing. tbh, a lot of how i do this is by thinking about my idea A LOT when i'm not writing. i have playlists for different fic ideas and listen to them whenever i'm commuting or walking my dog. or, i read poetry or other books/fics that are similar to my idea to really get immersed. i kind of think about this step of writing like seasoning -- you gotta get a bunch of stuff in the pot of your brain and see how it turns out.

semi-related to above, but i spend a lot of time on pinterest. specifically looking at like photoshoots or art that show two people interacting. mostly because those images can give me a lot of ideas of how to "pose" or create different images of the characters doing things together. physicality is really important to creating tension and i think that focusing on that more than interiority can make everything feel more heightened. basically, whenever i see something, no matter the context, and it makes my brain go brrr i immediately make note of it and am like oh shit that could be helpful later. like i am still writing stuff based on how crazy jen and lo from crouching tiger hidden dragon made me when i was ten.

[minnarr]

hey there! i hope that you’re doing well:D

this is. a weird thing to ask, and potentially time consuming, so by all rights feel free to ignore.

so, i found you through ao3 (your solo works are just— absolutely perfect, now i have the urge to rewatch the movie for the umpteenth time😂), and it says in your bio that you studied a history and literature degree.

so i’m in high school, and i… will have to apply to universities in a couple months, but i don’t actually know what i’d like to study. i know that i want to be a teacher (different from an office job, i know), and being a history teacher sounds like something that i’d be happy with/hopefully fairly good at. but— well, only one person in my family has ever completed a degree, and it was a business degree lol. i don’t know anyone who studies history and can’t attend open days (i live in the southern hemisphere, planning to study in the northern).

so— if it’s not too much trouble, this is me asking what it’s like? (i’m only familiar with high school history, and my country’s education standards are definitely behind places like the uk, so i don’t even know if that counts for much - we do a lot of worksheets and write some essays, with minimal reading/notes.)

i know that english lit isn’t something i’d be interested in - do i love writing? with all my heart. do i enjoy literary analysis? …not really - but history is something that i’ve been wondering about, and what i think i’ll apply for when i have to.

i really just want to know more about it. for example, there’s something called… historiography, i think, that’s come up in my research? people who studied history seem to detest it, but is it a) as horrible as all that and b) a huge part of the curriculum? what sort of tasks did you do for the history part of your degree: was it, assignments, essay writing, etc? is there a lot of reading? what sort of things can you do with a history degree (if teaching doesn’t work out, i don’t know if there’s a demand for history teachers as there is for maths, for example) — and would you recommend it?

is it a difficult degree, or one of the easier ones, or somewhere in between? and— oof, i know this is an awfully specific thing to ask, but what would a typical task or assessment have looked like? no specifics, ofc, this is the internet, but like… for example, an assessment we did last year was “write a source-based essay on what extent the new deal was successful” — could i have some kind of description like that, if you remember?

again— no pressure to answer! this is a very long and kind of all-over-the-place ask, and i don’t want to take this much time from someone i don’t know— i’m just curious, and in a bit of a panic as the application dates draw closer lol. but again, no pressure (and also — thank you for sharing your fics with us! your qi’ra voice is amazingly on point, and you write everyone from solo in a way that makes me think you went into the gffa and met them all)

i can only answer with my own experience: i went to a smallish university in the US, with a very small history program that isn't exactly the college's focus but had some excellent professors.

i had no idea people seem to detest historiography—anon, i think it's so neat. that's where history really came alive for me. historiography is just studying how history is/has been written. sources, methods, lenses, ways the consensus has changed. one of the capstone courses in my program was a theory class where we had to write a historiography paper over the course of the semester, and i got so much out of that. this isn't quite a historiography, but if you want to get fired up about the process of history, may i recommend silencing the past by michel-rolph trouillot? it's part about how history is made (and places in the process where voices get left out), part history, with a dash of biography, shortish and extremely readable.

i really can't answer to whether it's a huge part of the curriculum where you'll end up—curriculums vary where I'm from, and my particular school didn't place much emphasis on theoretical grounding—but imo it's important to understand not only what happened but how we came to our current understanding, how we can continue to try to understand the past.

once i got to upper level courses (again: US; the last two years of our four year degree, roughly, focus on our actual major), the emphasis was entirely on reading and writing essays. i had one teacher who gave exams, and lectures of course, but essays formed the bulk of my big grades. there is sooooo much reading. so much. i never quite learned to read at that volume, and more ended up learning the art of the productive skim. i wrote an apparently good paper on the communist manifesto and hard times having read maybe 30% of hard times. probably don't be me.

i have no idea about the job prospects for history majors; i never intended to do history as a profession, only as a thing worth learning along the way of just getting Any Bachelor's Degree. i work in accounting now and am perfectly happy with that.

re, difficulty and assessment, again i suspect that this is going to vary in the US and be next to useless if you're looking at, say, the UK. but i can describe my experience! i would not call my program difficult, largely because it played to my strengths (I'm a good essay writer) and gave me a ton of flexibility—few required courses, and my degree required non-history electives so my lit minor basically fit into that space. (i don't know if there's a point to doing a minor, but i was already deeply in the lit major social space).

the typical class structure in my upper levels was that we'd have assigned readings and lectures or in-class discussions, then about three papers scattered through the course of the semester. most of these were based on the assigned reading, just to assess how we used and analyzed what we were given. the only variation on this was my capstone classes, both of which were built around writing a research paper by the end of the semester, and the two classes that made us do an interview and write an "oral history." (scare quotes because i really don't know much about the methods of actual oral history).

so one professor would say, "using documents xyz and book a [all assigned readings], discuss Topic. i want to see you discuss authorship of the documents and these facets of the topic." with another prof, in the communist manifesto/hard times paper mentioned above, we were asked to discuss how these sources approached the "social question" in 19th century Europe, and given some suggestions to help us think about it.

also worth noting: i don't know how it is elsewhere, but my understanding is that with my undergraduate degree, i am definitely not ready to actually be a professional historian. if i wanted to, it would be a base to build on with graduate work, where you learn to actually *do* history.

i don't know if any of this is helpful to you, but best of luck, and i hope you land somewhere you're content with! and also, i am glad you enjoyed the fics.

[metaphoricgibberish]

I saw on your twitter you live in SF, I just moved to Berkeley a couple months ago and was wondering if you could give me some recs in the area for bookstores and restaurants (sorry I know this isn’t related to fics or Pedro)

omg no please don’t apologize i love the Bay Area so much i’d love to give you recommendations!!

i know sf much better as i’ve lived here for like (oh god) 12 years, so most of my recommendations will be on this side of the bay—

bookstores:

- Green Apple Books (Inner Sunset & Inner Richmond) — the one in the Richmond is far larger, but both are amazing used bookstores with incredible selections. The one in the sunset has readings occasionally which is really cool.

- City Lights (North Beach) — perhaps one of the most famous bookstores in the country. they even have their own publishing company. literally three stories of books. the third floor is entirely poetry with a cute little reading nook.

- Dog Eared Books (Mission) — cozy bookstore on Valencia, they sell used and new books.

- Half Price Book (Downtown Berkeley) — omg this place is huge. it’s family owned and also sells music and movies. i once found a city lights beat poetry collection from the late 50’s here for like 15$

- Pegasus Books (Thousand Oaks, Berkeley) — huge selection of used and new books. they also do readings here occasionally.

BIZARRE WILDCARD OPTION: Bound Together Bookstore (Haight-Ashbury) — this place is weird af but worth at least one visit. they sell a lot of local zines which is cool, but also have a lot of conspiracy literature, anarchist and counterculture books.

restaurants (i’ve been vegetarian for fourteen years so keep that in mind, i also have a real affinity for Central and South American food):

Rooh (Mission Bay) — elevated Indian food. sooooo good. best naan i’ve ever had in my life.

Pancho Villa (Misson) — great, affordable Mexican food.

El Farolito (Mission) — best burritos in the city, don’t let anyone else tell you differently. it is cash only, though, so be prepared for that.

Panchita’s Pupuseria (Mission) — real Salvadoran pupusas. cheap and sooo fucking good.

Burma Superstar (Richmond) — incredible Burmese food. best tea leaf salad i’ve ever had in my life. good cocktails too, if you’re into that.

Chile Lindo Empanadas (Mission) — only real Chilean empanadas in the city. so incredibly good that they’re only open Thursday-Saturday and they sell out FAST.

Fiorella (Sunset & Richmond) — great Italian. the one in the Richmond has a larger menu and cocktails, but books up fast. sunset location is just as good, easy to get a table.

Greens (Marina) — INCREDIBLE vegan food. pretty expensive, but worth the buck as it is right on the bay and the food is divine even for those who don’t normally eat vegan. good place for a date or anniversary.

feel free to message me off anon (or again on anon if you’re more comfy that way) for more recs or tips on bay stuff. my whole family is from here (specifically South Bay and sf) and i love talking about this place. i hope you’re enjoying your time here so far <3

[footygirl114]

Fénix (Alexia Putellas x Reader)

To all the anons who wanted a comfort fic after the pain that was today. I reallllllllly hope this helps. 

You took one hour everyday to yourself, everyone knew not to bother you. Teammates, coaches, family, your girlfriend all knew that you needed this hour to reset and get back on track. Turning your phone off, you would write in a journal, or listen to music. No matter what you did you did it alone so you could remain in your own head. 

Leading up to the biggest tournament of your international career you needed this hour to make sure you were playing up to your standards. You had fought your way in to a starting line up on the Dutch team and you wanted to make sure you were mentally strong for it. You had taken to using the free time after morning training to be alone and reset. 

Today being the day before the tournament started officially and only 4 days out from your first opening game you were feeling extra anxious. You disappeared and found a park across the road from your hotel, you found a quiet grassy spot in the shade and put in your headphones to drown out the world. 

You were 20 minutes into a good true crime podcast when you felt someone standing over you. You looked up into the face of your best friend on the team. As you sat up from the grass you cant help but feel annoyed at the interruption since you knew that Viv knew better. 

“Viv! What are you doing here” you lightly scolded her, as you look up you see she’s holding out her phone. You immediately grab it to see what was so important and when you focus on the words on the screen your heart drops. “When?” you ask her. 

“This article was posted an hour ago” She responds. 

You immediately grab your phone and dial your girlfriends number, it immediately goes to voicemail and you try again with the same result. When it went straight to voicemail a second time you are on your feet ready to lose it when you decide to try another angle.

Dialling a different number she picks up immediately “Y/N!” 

“Mapi, please tell me she’s okay” you ask quickly. 

She must hear the desperation in your voice so she answers quickly with “It’s not good Y/N, they took her to the hospital for tests.” 

You can feel tears starting to gather at the corner of your eyes as you picture your love in pain “But Maps is she okay?” you ask knowing she would get what you mean. 

“She hasn’t said a single word to anyone other than the trainer, she hasn’t even cried Y/N. I am worried for her” she tells you. 

Looking up to the sky you try to control your breathing and your tears as you say “Text me what hospital, I’ll get there as soon as I can Maps” 

“Be safe Y/N” she tells you. 

It makes you feel better knowing that she was there with Alexia. “And Maps, Thank you” you remind her gently “Ill see you soon.” 

Once you hang up you look over to Viv to see her standing there waiting, she steps forward and wraps you in her arms and you take comfort in your friends arms. You take a moment to gather your strength and settle your tears before you turn towards the hotel to go find a coach to make the arrangements with. 

You walk into the lobby and run into Lieke and Jackie both talking to the training staff. When Lieke notices you she immediately turns and says “Y/N, Viv finally found you! We have a team van on the way to take you to the hospital.” 

You look confused so Jackie adds on “We knew you needed to go see here, there was no way you wouldn’t. We have got your back Y/N.” 

Stepping forward you immediately pull them both in a hug and squeeze tight as you say “Thank you guys” 

“Y/N! Let's go!” you hear yelled from behind you so you say your goodbyes and head out to the team van. 

Its a 2 hour drive so you settle in the back seat and think about how Alexia has been there for you through everything that you have been through. Over 2 years ago you joined FC Barcelona you immediately connected with Alexia, and within a month you were dating. In the final match of the Champions league that season, you landed funny after a header and you felt a searing pain in the back of your heel. Rupturing your achilles tendon put your chance to represent the Dutch at the Olympics on the back burner. 

That whole summer Alexia was by your side through all the rehab, all the training, all the therapy. She was your biggest supporter and never wavered in her love for you. She drove you to be better, and she helped you get to the point you are now, a dominant winger who has fought their way back into the starting XI for the best team in the world, and hopefully the European champions this summer. 

You loved her deep in your bones, and you knew without a doubt that she would come back stronger from this, but she would need your help and support. 

Before you know it you are at the hospital, when you walk in you are greeted by a Spanish trainer who you find out Mapi called ahead to have them greet you. They take you up to Alexia’s room and leave you alone at the door. You take a deep breath before you enter and you are glad you did, your love is lying on the hospital bed, staring at the wall farthest from the door. 

You softly close the door behind you and step up towards the bed where you whisper “Love?” 

She immediately turns on to her back and looks towards you, as soon as you lock eyes you see hers start to water. You step up to her bedside and grab both her hands in one of yours and place your hand on her cheek. Before you have a chance to say anything she starts to cry, deep painful sobs. 

“Oh love, come here.” you tell her as you pull her to sit up as you sit on the side of the bed and pull her into your arms. She immediately wraps her arms around you and places her head in your neck where you can feel the tears falling down. 

Placing one hand on her back you rub up and down, you move the other to the back of her head where you scratch her scalp. Something you know will calm her down. Unsure how much time passes, you allow her the chance to let it all out. 

She pulls back and you immediately move both hands to her cheeks to wipe her tears. She quietly whispers to you “I can’t believe you came.” 

“Of course I did love, I am always here for you.” you tell her as you lean forward and place a kiss on her forehead. 

She pulls you back into her arms and takes a moment to gather her self before you hear her whisper into your neck “I’m gonna miss the tournament Hermosa” 

Leaning your cheek on to the top of her head you tell her “Love, you will win the next one. I am not worried about you coming back stronger than ever.” 

She pulls back from you and looks at you and says “I’m not sure I can” 

Shaking your head you reply to her “Ale, you are the strongest most determined person I know. If anyone can come back from this it is you. Plus you will have me beside you every single step of the way.” 

“Te amo Y/N.” she tells you before she leans forward and presses her lips to your hard. You lose your self in your lovers grip. The comfort you feel in her is the same she feels in you, so you know she needs this as much as you do. 

A few moments pass before the door opens and the doctor interrupts your moment. Pulling back you can see the smile on her face, and you know without a doubt that this is not the last the world has seen of Alexia Putellas on the pitch. 

**

When your Dutch team beats England in the final at their home stadium, you feel an immense amount of pride for your nation. You are so excited and when you turn to the family section and you see your love standing there watching leaning on her crutches. 

Making your way over to her, you first notice that she is wearing an Orange Netherlands jersey with your name and number on it. Once you are close enough she drops her crutches and is immediately in your arms “Im so proud of you Y/N” she tells you. 

Placing one hand on her cheek you meet her eyes and say “I love you Ale.” 

She whispers “Te amo Mi amor” and she closes the distance between the two of you and presses her lips to yours. 

The image of the both of you will make headlines around the world, your favourite one stating “AN injured La Reina Still won at the Euros” 

That article will remain framed in your house long after you both retired. It remains on display with World Cup trophy your lover went on to win the following year and all three of her Ballon D’or. 

[quicksilverownsmysoul]

Hey I was wondering if you could do a fic or some headcannons of any character with a Hispanic reader teaching them more about their culture and meeting their parents? Idk it’s something special for Hispanic heritage month<3 (ofc you don’t have to do it if you don’t wanna)

Okay but I would love to do that!!! Love this !!! thank you anon for sending this in. Buckle up y’all cause this is gonna be headcannons for the Evans and they are gonna be hella long!!! (Also feel free to send in more x Hispanic reader requests for any character ) I also have a Peter x Hispanic reader in the works

The Evans with a Hispanic/ Latinx Reader (GN)

Tate

- literally in love with you

- gets really into the telenovelas but won’t ever admit it to you

- would be so nervous to meet your parents for multiple reasons (one being cause he was a literal ghost)

- when you met him you like did the sign of the cross and tried all those old tricks to free his spirit

- he was very amused

- I feel like your parents wouldn’t like him too much, they don’t like his energy

- it’s crushes him but he acts like he doesn’t care

- you still date him and tell him he doesn’t need their approval

- would love to hear about your culture especially all the ghost stories and superstitions

Kit

- fascinated with the low rider community

- literally wants to learn about all of them so you take him to meet up so he can talk to the mechanics behind it

- they make a lot of jokes about him calling him gringo and asking why this white man is here but he just laughs with them

- they actually all take a liking to him and how accepting he is

- he gets invited to all future meetups and helps work on some of the cars

- loves to learn cumbias and dances with you

- always twirling you around the kitchen

- your parents liked him well enough, thought he was polite but worried about how he would support you

- but after seeing how much he loved and respected you they were sold on him

- if you speak Spanish he’ll try to learn a couple phrases for you

Kyle

- wants to learn everything about you and your culture if you wanna share it with him

- always willing to listen your opinions when it comes to Hispanic/Latinx representation in media

- loves to watch telenovelas and will get huffy if you watch them without him

- he’ll gasp at the perfect times too and get really invested

- likes it when you sing Spanish lullabies to him, cradling him in your arms as you play with his hair

- he was so nervous to meet your parents, practiced what he was going to say about a million times

- probably had his friends pose as mock parents and have them reject him so he’d be prepared for the worst

- but your parents love him. Literally think he’s so ambitious and a perfect gentleman.

- They immediately asked when you two were getting married

Jimmy

- loves all the music, literally always humming a Juan Gabriel song or a Richie Valens song

- obsessed with Selena, has a poster of her in his cavern

- he bought it after you introduced him to her. When he hears dreaming of you tho all he can think about is you. Especially when you aren’t there and all he wants to do is hold you in his arms

- Was scared of meeting your parents, put it off for as long as possible.

- he knew you’re parents didn’t think anybody was good enough for you and he was sure they’d hate him too

- wore his gloves when y’all went, trying his best to seem respectable

- your parents were still wary of him tho, making it clear that they didn’t like that he was in a freak show. Didn’t think that life was for their kid

- you stand up for him and yourself and jimmy has never been more proud in his life

- tells you how much he loves you the entire ride home

- Loves when you rub vapor rub on his chest after a long day

- Loves all the candies from the mercados, like the peanut patties

James

- charmed by absolute everything about you

- was a little of ignorant when your first met him, his era imposing a very stereotypical view of you and your culture

- you help to teach him about your culture and break him out of that mindset

- he wants to learn and change for you and as time passes he does. Kills anyone who even says anything remotely racist to you 

- Like kit he is very into dancing your traditional dances with you

-probably rehearses it to perfection and puts on a recital for the whole hotel to watch

- fascinated with the concept of death in your culture

- Loves the fashion of it all 

- You introduce him to Raul Julia movies and he’s just starring at the screen like why am I in this movie???

Colin

- Will try and cook your favorite dishes for you but it’s a pain to get him to try it

- He’s a little put off by all the flavors but for you he will try it all

- He cannot handle the heat, anything that has even a hint of spice he will be dying. He tires to play it cool and be like that was good but the minute you excuse yourself he’s gulping milk down by the gallon

- Loves pan dulce, always has one with his coffee

- Loves to go to the markets with you and shop around for local ingredients

- You give him a little cross to wear and he never takes it off, always around his neck

- Will go to church with you every Sunday if you want, like you did as a kid

- If you get married he will be all for that traditional wedding, wanting you to embrace your culture as much as you want

- The family makes fun of him in Spanish and you have to stop youtrself from laughing with them

- Your parents like him but they think he’s a little goofy

- He was so flustered when he met them but in the end it all worked out. 

Warren

- Loves all of your traditions, he has so much fun learning them with you

- Adores abuileta hot chocolate, it won’t even be cold and he’s drinking it all day long

- Unlike Colin he can handle the spice, will do challenges with your family to see who can eat the spiciest tamales or just straight up eat a jalapeno

- If anyone tries to make fun of you he will fight them, yelling about how ignorant they are and how he will kick their ass back to Europe if they keep talking like that. 

- He someone is best friends with your grandparents, always offering to help and charming them 

- You are amazed and how he had them wrapped around his finger, watching as they pinch his cheeks and call him handsome in English and Spanish

- Your parents aren't too fond of him and don’t like that his parents are divorced but your grandparents just shush them and say that he’s perfect

- Always so smug now that he has their approval

Peter 

- Eats everything and anything you or your family makes

- Loves it all and is  wiling to try anything once, even menudo 

- Your grandma is always trying to feed him, saying that he’s too skinny and needs to eat more

- He has to like disappear after the fifth plate because she won't stop feeding him

- Your Spanish speaking family members call him Pedro

- loves the big happy family vibes never had that growing up 

- always playing with the little cousins at parties and jumping with them in the bounce house

- fights them over the piñata candy 

- He was nervous to meet your parents, nearly passing out when your dad starred him down at the door

- They all love him though and like how respectful he is around you 

- The aunts and older cousins are always gushing over his hair and asking if they can style it 

Charles

- big sweetheart

- Next to Kyle he is the most beloved by the family

- They always say how sweet he is and how pretty he is. Loves that he always brings something for parties, and usually makes it himself

- But since they found out he’s into photography he becomes the designated photographer for all events. Your cousins all hiring him for weddings and birthdays 

- You buy him a big fluffy blanket with one of those giant animals one it and it’s his favorite thing

- Loves to cook with you, always rolling out tortillas as you guys sing in the kitchen

Taglist: @coffeeandteaintheevening @kitwalkerangel  @livingmybestfictionallife @amourtentiaa @shlutnutt @rottenstyx @mossybank 

[knoepfchen]

this is one of my all time fav tog comfort fics: /works/26550265 the descriptions of the magic, and joe's characterization are so so lovely!! you may have already read it but i think it's wonderful enough for multiple rereads!!

Thank you for sending me this when I asked for TOG comfort fics last week, nonnie!

I received a bunch of recs, which (like this one^^) I'd already read, so I thought I'd pull my favourites together into one big rec post that I can add to when the need arises.

Laurel's TOG fic recs for rainy days and cold nights (Kaysanova edition)

chrysalis by @bewires (Kaysanova, E, 38k, modern AU) What can I say about the pumpkin gnocchi verse that hasn't been said already? It's the ultimate comfort fic; it has comfort food, healing family dynamics (found and biological), comfort sex (both first time and established!), and Joe and Nicky giving each other the unwavering support you only get when your love is one for the ages. Also, they have a cat. This fic takes you on an emotional rollercoaster but makes sure your seatbelt stays on the entire time.

men of their word by @sixth-light (Kaysanova, E, 18k, history-flavoured AU) I would wholeheartedly recommend EVERYTHING on sixthlight's AO3, but there are two things they do better than almost anyone in this fandom: Idiots to lovers plots and (history-flavoured) royality AUs. I can't make this post without at least mentioning the 'very dumb academics' verse and 'all winners here' for comfort reads, but 'men of their word' is a perfect mix of the two things above, with a bit of identity porn thrown in for free.

the profession of my fingers by @werebearbearbar (Kaysanova, E, 25k, canon) Most people tend to rec Melly's 'we could be an ancient tale' or 'there's a trick with a knife (i'm learning to do)' AUs, which are both excellent and deeply sexy longer reads, but my favourite of hers is this first one I read. Just Joe and Nicky loving each other through the ages, working through some emotions, and getting in and out of hairy situations (I'm sorry!). It's brilliantly researched, and exactly fills the gap canon leaves you with right after watching the film.

I did think, let's go about this slowly by @emjee (Kaysanova, M, 10k, modern AU) There are. so. many. fics. of emjee's I'd recommend, but this one is PEAK comfort fic. First of all, Joe and Nicky both work at a library, it's a delicious little slowburn, and it comes to a head on a snow day. Does it get any more comforting than that?

with rome below us by whimsicule (Kaysanova, Gen, 13k, academic AU) A fic based on this post by @tovezza, you know, the one with Nicky being a priest and Joe being a professor, they meet in Jerusalem and then things happen. This one is told from Nile's POV (she's Joe's PhD student) and does the most marvellous job of it.

The Pride Pact by @kaydeefalls (Kaysanova, M, 20k, modern AU) Joe is new in town and as he falls in with Nicky's friend group they promise each other "not to make it weird" by sleeping with one another. You can imagine how well it goes. More than that though, this fic is incredibly warm inside out, funny and sweet, and it gives you their friendship before it gives you their relationship, and you'll love it for that.

Familiar (but new) every time by Yuliares (Gen-ish, T, 13k, post-canon) Reccing this because I've never agreed with their characterisation more, feels like it could genuinely be something that happens after the film and the sequel. A great fic for all your found family needs.

you know i dreamed about you (before i saw you) by BeeLove (Kaysanova, E, 20k, witch!Joe AU) This is the fic anon recommended! It's SUCH a cute read, with witch!Joe moving into a cottage by the woods and finding a cursed rabbit. He tries to help by breaking the rabbit's spell (you may guess who the rabbit is), and it's honestly just so good and atmospheric, like a walk through the forest. There's beautiful fanart too!

Bonus: The Voice of Experience by @werebearbearbar & @morallygreywaren (Kaysanova, T, 22k, modern AU) Look, this is basically a self-rec, but it is a very comforting fic: Think "You've Go Mail", think food blog, think snarky Joe and Nicky, thinl epistolary idenity porn, think falling in love with the same person twice. It was a great experience to write and it's an easy, comforting read :)

[vmplvr1977]

Okay, so the anon ask forced me to better organize my bookmarks. I decided to clean up my answer and add ABO fic recs too. I'll add a second post for Modern, Crime, Sci-fi, Fantasy AUs later this week. Please feel free to add and reblog!!

Royal AUs

A Crown Seldom Enjoyed by onemilliongoldstars

To maintain the fragile peace between north and south, Clarke of House Tyrell is sent to live in Winterfell as an act of faith between the two kingdoms. There, she is put under the protection of the first queen in the north, Queen Lexa of House Stark, Daughter of Wolves. A woman draped in steel and silver, wolves at her heels and rumoured to be a manifestation of the fury of the old gods; Clarke refuses to be awed be her quiet violence and cold smile. Instead of fostering unity, the meeting of the wolf and the rose lights a spark that spreads through the rest of Westeros, threatening to burn it to the ground. 

Notes: This is just fantastic! Completed

Hearts of Silver and Gold by legendofbisexuals

At fourteen, Clarke, the Princess of Skaikru, discovers she is to marry Aden, the Prince of Trikru. Their marriage will aid their kingdoms, once part of a great and powerful country torn apart by a civil war, fractured into thirteen clans. When the princess is older and later arrives in Polaris to prepare for her marriage, she finds herself falling into the fairy tale love she’s always dreamed of but never dared to hope of having - only this love is not with her fiance, but with his sister, Princess Lexa, the soon to be Commander of the Imperial Trikru Army.

Notes: Bring a Kleenex box!!! The letters between them is just 🥰 Aden is a sweetheart and Clexa is torn between duty and love. WIP

A Home Once Found by nutalexfanfic

To quell the violence between the Frankish Empire and the invading Norsemen from Scandinavia, the King of Francia sends his daughter, Princess Clarke of Francia, to the Norse Commander as a gift. With their union, their people’s will become one, and the fighting will end. But Clarke has no intention of being anyone’s gift. Certainly not the murderous Norse Commander. 

Notes: I'm a sucker for Vikings! WIP

I do by gurj14

As a Queen, Clarke needs to find a suitable match worthy of her legacy. She goes over the list of vetted candidates, and one in particular stands out (in more ways than one).

Notes: Only 2 chapters in, but it is so good! Queen Clarke, Soldier Lexa WIP

To Birth a Queendom by AngrySapphicHeda

Princess Lexa's destiny was presented to her even before she was born: the rule of the kingdom of Arbor. But as the death of the rulers of the neighboring kingdom of Arcadia arise conflict between nations, she is forced to abandon that destiny and marry the unprepared daughter they leave behind and help her rule a kingdom that is not hers.

Notes: Only one chapter in, but such an interesting twist. Has enemies to lovers vibes. WIP

Send me away with words of a love song by iwannabehappy

Clarke Griffin, of Arkadia, got married to Lexa Woods, of the kingdom that murdered her friend Finn, only for her people. She never intended to mate Lexa.

Little does Clarke know, her refusal to mate Lexa puts Lexa's life in great danger and plays right into the plan of Lexa's aunt, Nia, who after getting rid of the Alphas of the royal family of Polis, is looking for a way to get rid of Lexa, and get Polis completely under her control.

Notes: Fantastic Royalty ABO WIP

And I'll shamelessly plug my own:

Lost in Translation by vmplvr1977 and aihodinclexa

Clarke of House Griffin has been in hiding for twelve years, following a coup to remove her parents as the monarchs of Sky Nation. Her only friends are the Blake family, who help her hide from Jaha's men. Until Bellamy betrays her and sells her to slavers.

Now a slave and an ocean away, Clarke is brought to the auction block to be sold to a warlord. It is here that she meets Heda, who steps in on her behalf and protects a frightened Clarke from the other warlords. She purchases Clarke and offers her freedom, with one stipulation: marriage. Surrounded by strangers that speak little to no english Clarke must adapt to an entirely new way of life, new people and a wife.

Notes: Complete

Queen's Assassin series by vmplvr1977

The continent is divided into Thirteen Kingdoms, ruled over by King Jake. After Lexa's father mounts a coup to take control of the Thirteen Kingdoms, Clarke is forced to become the slave of the man who murdered her parents. Treated horribly and thrown into the arena to fight, the only comfort in Clarke's life is Lexa who visits her secretly every night.

Notes: A three part series with Lexa as Queen of the Thirteen Kingdoms and Clarke is her Royal Assassin. Clarke is the rightful Queen, but is forced to abjure her throne to protect Lexa and stay alive. Follows Clexa from the age of six to adulthood. WIP 

ABO FIC RECS

Head Vs. Heart by Serafaerosa

Post season 2: Lexa is in heat, and Clarke is the only alpha that will satisfy her. Again, and again, and again.

Notes: Three part series; Alpha Clarke, Omega Lexa. Complete

Fire Forest series by owl127

Beyond the tree line, an aging clan’s old beliefs that clashed with its surging new leadership.

On the other side, a modern clan with its own rooted rebels.

Between them, fire.

Notes: Alpha Clarke, Omega Lexa Werewolves WIP

NFWMB (Nobody Fucks with My Baby) by Puthy_flapps

She pushes on despite the physical pain and the blood oozing seemingly everywhere from her body because she has no other choice. It is life or death and she’s not only gambling with her own life but Raven’s as well.

Notes: Alpha Lexa, Omega Clarke WIP

TW Rape/Non-Con

Wide Awake Series by Superwayhaught100

They didn't know. One alpha, one omega. They just wanted to be free and happy. Unfortunately, the real world has other plans.

Notes: 2 pt series. Alpha Lexa, Omega Clarke Part One: Complete, Part Two: WIP

Let's Go Burn Down Your House by minx4572

After the betrayal at the mountain, Clarke runs away, and it is almost 10 months before she returns, and only then because she has been feeling ill and her water sources have run dry.

On her travels back to her people, she finds the one person she thought she never wanted to see again, and she learns that something precious has been stolen from her, something she didn't even know existed.

Notes: Canonverse Alpha Clarke, Omega Lexa 

Runaway by Tangerinebabe

Clarke was forced to marry Bellamy when she was 18 and he's an abusive asshole to her. She wants to escape him and the small town that she was raised in, where omegas are treated like property. Running away with Octavia, she ends up in LA where she meets new friends and an alpha that could show her what love really is.

Notes: Modern AU Alpha Lexa, Omega Clarke, Lexa is the sweetest Alpha in this fic!

Tomorrow Always Comes by minx4572

Pt1: Clarke is the only omega on the Ark. Treated terribly and as less than nothing, Clarke is forced into an escape pod to see if Earth is livable. Can Clarke escape the traumas of her past? Can Lexa and the other grounders show her that life is about so much more that just surviving?

Pt2: Clarke, Lexa and kru have had a peaceful year, but now alphas and omegas from all across the coalition are starting to disappear. They search for clues, but each time they find the trail it disappears. They set out to find answer and to find who is taking their people. The obvious answer is Mt. Weather, but are they the only enemies at play and what sinister things are being done to the people that are taken?

Notes: ALL TIME FAVORITE Author!! This writer is the Queen of writing fluff. I have all of her fics in my favorites, so check out her other fics! Alpha Lexa, Omega Clarke Complete

Her Alphas, Her Mates by ComicBookGeek1818

To save Clarke from being floated, her mother sends her down to earth. She finds a home with Lexa and Anya.

Notes: Clexanya Fic, Grounder Clarke, Alpha Lexa, Alpha Anya, Omega Clarke Complete

Omega Interrupted by minx4572

Clarke and Lexa are set to make a political mating that will strengthen the alliance between Skaikru and the Coalition, except the mating isn't political at all. Not for Lexa and Clarke. They are already madly in love and were well before Skairkru fell to the Earth.

Things don't go as planned and a series of mistakes has Clarke fleeing to the woods. What happens after will lead Clarke, Lexa, and the entire Coalition in directions they never imagined.

Journey with them as an old myth becomes new when the long forgotten story of Wanheda reappears.

Notes: Alpha Lexa, Omega Clarke; Werewolf ABO, Favorite Author Complete

Unbreakable pieces don't shatter by Lasnxra

On the ark there is a hierarchy, alphas are the highest, treated like kings and queens and omegas are left to gather up the scraps. Chancellor act 24 was approved and omegas are being treated more like dogs being forced into collars. Raven and Clarke risk their lives and launch themselves from the ark. Landing on earth with hopefully a new life ahead of them. Though a stowaway, hot grounders, and a threat of 100 more landing, they may be in for more of a ride then they thought.

Notes: Clexanya Fic, Alpha Lexa, Alpha Anya, Omega Clarke WIP

Badlands by N1ghtWr1ter

Badlands to me is like this futuristic society, this dystopia in the future where everything is corrupt and it’s a wasteland and it’s kinda chaotic... Everyone around is like, “Oh, those are the Badlands, we don’t go there.” I make a decision to leave...even though the Badlands were all I’ve ever known, and venturing out into the wilderness around and hoping to find solace somewhere else

Notes: 5 part Series, Alpha Lexa, Omega Clarke Complete

This War of Needs by N1ghtWr1ter and RaeDMagdon

All Clarke Griffin wants is to stop a war (and maybe get through her heat without suffering too much). All Commander Lexa wants is to protect her people (and maybe forget the tragic death of her mate for a few days). When a sudden burst of acid fog leaves them stranded together in an isolated bunker, the two of them will have to find a way to deal with each other—and with their very inconvenient desires.

Notes: Alpha Lexa, Omega Clarke. Okay, this was my first ever ABO fic I've read, so it's special to me. Complete

Also, N1ghtWr1ter and RaeDMagdon are fantastic writers with a slew of amazing fics under their belts. So if you need stuff to read, check out their works!!

You’re a wolf, stand proud by YuriCrazyWolf

Clarke is chained into a life she hates and wants nothing more than to ran away into the arms of a beautiful alpha but will she be able to? Clarke has to think about her pack and what was good for them; she couldn't just leave them behind...could she?

Notes: Modern ABO, Alpha Lexa, Omega Clarke Complete

Lost & Found by ARtheBard

Clarke and Anya escape the mountain and the Sky Girl knows the only way to save her friends is to ally with the enemy. But can 2 such different cultures learn to trust each other enough to save everyone? Together, Clarke and Lexa must lead their people into this tense alliance or no one will live to bring down the Mountain Men.

Notes: 6 part Clexanya Series, Alpha Lexa, Alpha Anya, Omega Clarke Complete

Ok, so I was on a Clexanya kick for a while, so what? Lol

Our Start From The End by April_kom_Trikru13 and ComicBookGeek1818

After a brush with death at the hands of pauna, Lexa admits her feelings for Clarke. The Alpha and Omega become mates. Unfortunately the couple's happiness doesn't last long. Lexa betrays Clarke on the Mountain and leaves the Sky People to die.

Clarke wanders alone in the woods after saving her people. Heartbroken and in pain, she decides to do something drastic and dissolves her mating bond with Lexa. Threats from the Ice Queen force Clarke and Lexa to come together again. What happens when Lexa finds out what Clarke has done? Can Lexa win Clarke back or will she lose her to someone else?

Notes: Alpha Lexa, Omega Clarke

Shameless Plug of my own ABO fics:

Echoes of You (Within me) by vmplvr1977 and aihodinclexa

After spending a week of bliss sharing Lexa's heat in the Tower, the green-eyed omega is shot by Titus. Lexa falls into a coma and wakes in a bunker with what is left of the 13 clans. Lexa should be thrilled to discover she's pregnant, only Clarke and Anya did not reach the bunker before the Death Wave. Determined to find their mates, she and Raven plan to lead a rescue team. However, the Tower collapses, trapping them inside.Miles away, Anya, Aden and the Nightbloods turn to strangers, who are remarkably similar to Maunon, to save Clarke's life. She wakes in a bunker finding herself surrounded by strangers with a scientific interest in her and her people. The scientists promise to aid them in clearing the debris, but want something in return while they repair a drill to reach Lexa and the others. Clarke and Anya must play a dangerous game with their hosts to reach their mates.

Notes: Canonverse Alpha Clarke, Omega Lexa Complete

TW: Canon typical violence

Pakstoka Rising by vmplvr1977

Omegas Clarke Griffin and Octavia Blake don’t submit to any alpha, causing a wave of anger and resentment through the Ark alphas. For years, the omegas dream of their true mates that live on the ground. To protect them, the Griffins send them and Bellamy to the ground in hopes they will find their true mates.They are later captured by Maunon under the premise of learning what makes them different. Frustrated by their inability to control the omegas, Maunon offers peace to the Coalition with one stipulation. Clarke Griffin and Octavia Blake must die or every village in the Coalition will be bombed.In a desperate attempt to save everyone, their friends are forced to make a bold move and send them to a group of wolves that can shift into actual wolves. Is the legend of Wanheda and Blodreina true, can they lead an army of wolves to save the Coalition from the monsters inside Mount Weather?

Notes: Omega Clarke, Alpha Lexa Complete

[saturnsummer]

oh, how we’ve grown.

prompted by an anon from my ask here! 

notes: this was probably the fic that stumped me on so many occasions, since it was really bittersweet. editing, grammar and other mistakes will be taken responsible by me! it took me longer than expected and i’m not sure if everyone would be able to catch on how i interpreted the group’s futures and personalities! if anyone would like to know more, do dm me! as always, enjoy and thank you for the support and love!

original prompt: I think Joon Hwi and Sol A was already dating during their 3L (since Sol A looked so comfortable acting flirty and cute aroud Joon Hwi on their way to the old man's trial). Now I wonder what happen with them during time skip and by the ending, what stage of relationship they are in. Can you write a fic or headcanon ab that? Thank you! 🥰

words: 4373 words

it was finally the day of graduation.

joon hwi was beyond excited. he was nostalgic, sad and emotional, for sure. but after crying so many tears yesterday and the past week, he found it useless to cry any further. he lets the adrenaline set in for his new chapter lying ahead.

joon hwi was finally going to be a prosecutor.

his letter came in a few weeks after the bar exam. he counts himself lucky, being one of the students that helped to capture assemblyman ko, solve his uncle's murder, prove his professor's and his own innocence. all in his first year. it was no surprise that when he applied, they immediately wanted him. his grades were just the cherry on top to his stack of achievements. he was certainly overqualified for a guy who just passed the bar.

(well, he did pass the second round judicial exam.)

further than that, he was crowned valedictorian and was tasked to give a speech to his fellow batch mates. he had practiced his speech countless times, and he could recite it in his sleep by now. but he can’t quite place the feeling that he feels. his thoughts are all over and he can’t seem to keep his heart rate constant.

a knock on the door of his now empty dorm room distracts him from his thoughts. there, dressed in similar graduation robes, with long wavy brown hair is kang sol a, or to him, his kang sol. she walks in with a small smile on her face, but her smile fades away to a face of concern after studying his face. her eyes dart to the door, and she strides back to shut the door, giving him and her the privacy that he needs.

"what's troubling you?" she asks gently, taking his hand into hers. a quiet, simple gesture done by sol could soothe him so much. joon hwi is silent, not knowing why he’s so nervous. he’s done speeches and talked to crowds bigger than this. heck, he has testified for court. yet, the knot in his stomach refuses to cease.

“i don’t know… it’s nothing new, yet…” he trails off, avoiding his eyes with his girlfriend. his thoughts race through his head, but it leads back to his uncle, his samchoon, the man that brought him up: seo byungju.

“joon. joon, look at me.” sol brings a hand up to his cheek, gently raising it so it meets her eyes rather than the floor. joon hwi promised he wouldn’t be emotional today, yet he found his eyes glassy when he met sol’s eyes. as a tear slips, her fingers wipe it away gently.

“your uncle… he would be so proud of you to see the boy he raised achieve his dream.” sol says, a voice so quiet and soft, it seems to echo to joon hwi. she always knew what to say and always knew what was troubling him deep down, even if he denied it.

samchoon… are you proud of me?

“i’ll always be supporting you, like how your uncle did. when you’re on stage, if you feel intimidated, just look at my eyes, alright?” sol says, rubbing his cheek. he gives a small smile and nods slowly. taking his hand, sol intertwines it between her fingers, an action that he knows she only does when they are alone. an act so simple, yet his heart was so soothed by then.

joon hwi’s free hand reaches to the back of her head, as he lowers his slightly, so their forehead rest against each other. he breathes her perfume in, the one he bought for her a few months into their relationship, the one that she always wanted but could never buy. he takes slow breathes with her, her thumb rubbing his knuckle gently.

sol pulls away, much to joon hwi’s disappointment. he wanted her skin ship even more, just savouring her touch under his skin. sol notices his disappointment and only gives him a smile.

“they’re waiting for us. come, let’s go.” sol says softly, letting go of his hand after giving him a squeeze. he knows she hates being affectionate in public, even in front of their close friends. he gives her a quick peck on the top of her head before following behind her, walking to the lobby where they were.

“yah, hyung!” bokgi waved with enthusiasm, gathering the attention of the group. joonhwi maintains his composure and lets out a deep breath.

“nervous, hyung?” yebeom asks, his fingers fiddling.

“tch, it’s me. i’ll be fine.” joon hwi replies. it’s a half truth, now that sol is by his side.

“that’s why sol-noona had to find you, right?” bokgi teases, earning a nudge from yeseul. bokgi looks in mocked offence, but he recovers. everyone eyes at sol with prying eyes, the look of teasing on their faces. she takes this moment to shut her eyes, bring her hands up to face and shakes her head while sighing. these kids have literally nothing better to do than to just tease her and joon hwi.

“it’s time. you should go.” jiho says as he nods towards the lecture hall. the ceremony doesn’t start till half an hour later, but being valedictorian, he had preparations to do. they send joon hwi their last words of encouragement, but joon hwi was not going to leave unless he embarrassed his girlfriend a little longer.

his hand reaches up to sol’s hair, sweeping the curls behind her and cutely arranging her fringe the way she likes it. sol blushes as the group ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ in front of them. joon hwi knows she hates being so affectionate in front of her friends, but it’s always fun to tease. sol’s bright red and her face forms the smallest pout. joon hwi knows he’s achieved his mission.

“i’ll see you later.” he says with a wink and walks away, hearing the tease from yebeom and sol squeaking back.

when he’s on stage later, giving his speech, the words fall out of his mouth effortlessly. but the only thing that changes is that his eyes are fixed on the warm brown eyes of sol. as he addresses his late uncle at the end, he pauses and takes a deep breath. sol looks at him and gives him an encouraging nod. he ends his speech, eyes never once leaving her gaze, as the student body claps for him and he takes a bow.

one by one, the students are told to line up and take their certificates on stage from dean oh. she gives the seven graduates a knowing smile when they step on stage, knowing how much they’ve been through, after being swept up by their problems in their first and second years. even after all that, they managed to graduate with excellent results.

when they gather to take their photos (taken by seungjae, who decided to attend their graduation. it was the least he could do to show his support.), joon hwi swears he sees his uncle standing at the rock by the entrance of the school. he swears he sees the knowing silhouette of the tall man, grey hair and his metal spectacles. but what warms him the most is the smile of seo byung ju’s face and the slight nod.

yes, my boy. i’m so proud of you.

with that, joon hwi lets himself smile as seungjae snaps the camera.

(he doesn’t notice his blurred vision from his tears, but rather blames it on the sun hurting his eyes.)

-----

the group takes individual shots of themselves, even jiho and sol b are smiling when their photos are taken. sol doesn’t lose a chance to tease her roomie about her cute smile, one she only reserved for limited situations.

joon hwi watches as his friends spread out across the field to meet their family, sharing the good news of graduation and their new starting jobs. the smiles on the parent’s faces warms his heart deeply, somehow, even though he’s standing alone.

jiho was going to be a prosecutor with joon hwi in their new office. jiho could care less about joon hwi, but he can’t help but admit that it comforted him knowing a familiar face to be in his office in about two weeks. after all, they did share a room for three years.

sol b, against her mother’s wishes, has decided to take a gap year. her mother initially planned for her to continue her training, securing her route to being a judge. but sol b has had enough of her mother’s toxicity. as they went through therapy as a family, sol b had expressed as best as she could her need to discover what she wants for herself, not what her mother wants for her. what she will be doing in her gap year is still undecided, but she has chosen to move out for the time being.

yeseul was going to be in a firm that mostly did cases of women rights. while she initially was hesitant, bokgi encouraged her to take this opportunity, using her experience and her trial as a voice to the other victims. from time to time, she promised professor kim that she would come back to help at the legal clinic.

bokgi, on the other hand, had finally achieved his dream of being a human rights lawyer. while he was upset that he couldn’t work near yeseul, his spirits were immediately lifted when he heard that yebeom was going to be working just at the building across from him, another big law firm. (it was settled that as much as they went through, the bok-beom duo was never to be separated.)

sol, on the other hand, accepted her first job at attorney park’s firm, ironically. just when she had her first internship, she remembers screaming that she would never work with crooked lawyers like him. sol chose to work with him, as a return of the many favours she owes professor yang, starting with the one from high school. it was the most she could do for her role model.

joon hwi observes as he notices the proud faces of mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, and spots the few sightings of grandparents. somehow, he can’t help but feel a little lonely. his parents, the two individuals he had a short-lived relationship with had long passed. his uncle, the closest thing he had to a father had too passed. he can’t even guess where his aunts or other distant relatives are. his distant relatives probably don’t remember him, and neither does joon hwi.

a small body crashing into him breaks his flow of thoughts, as he looks down to see who it is. byeol wraps her arms around joon hwi’s waist happily and joon hwi breaks into laughter, realising who it is and lifting her before spinning her. she’s giggling in a mess as joon hwi spots sol’s mother and her walking to them.

“ah, hello, mrs kang.” joon hoi greets with formality. sol’s mother playfully smacks his arm with a smile, clearly embarrassed from such formality.

“ah! how many times have i said to not call me that, joon hwi-ah! at this point, you should just call me halmeoni!” she says, earning a big laugh from joon hwi and sol’s face burning with embarrassment.

“umma! don’t say things like this!” sol squeaks back. joon hwi only smiles and insists to call her ���mrs kang’. byeol is getting introduced to their friends as bokgi and yebeom play a game of tag with her. sol’s mother stands by sol, her hand on her back and her other rubbing joon hwi’s back.

“joon hwi-ah, i hope you know how proud i am of you. sol has told me your own fair share of troubles. i know... you don’t have much of a mother figure in your life, but as your girlfriend’s mother, i hope you know i treat you like my own.” sol’s mother comments to him, holding both his hands in her warm ones. “more than just tutoring my daughter and helping her, you got through your troubles on your own.” joon hwi can only smile as he suppresses the emotions.

“your parents must be so glad to have such a righteous son.”

joon hwi, for a moment, is reminded of his limited memories with his parents. he doesn't remember much, being so young when they died. but how his mother would teach him the importance of kindness and compassion. his father would teach him to be strong, to stand up for the bullies that picked on the poorer kids in his preschool.

hearing his girlfriend’s mother tell him that, he couldn’t help but just pull her into a warm hug. sol joins in from behind, enveloping them with a warm that joon hwi was unable to explain. burying his face into the older woman’s hair, he lets himself be a child, as she rubs his back and holds him lovingly.

for the first time in his life, he finally experiences the warmth of a mother’s hug.

-----

as the field starts clearing out, the seven graduates and seungjae are left behind. their families have gone home, leaving them on the field, laid down in a circle, heads together. there was just silence, as they breathed in the air of hankuk university once more.

once more, as students.

once more, as graduates.

once more, before they step into their next phase.

“i’ll really miss you guys.” sol says quietly. yeseul, lying next to her, nods, although no one can see.

“we’ll meet up. especially you, seungjae-hyung! don’t be shy to ask for babysitters!” bokgi announces, earning a smile from seungjae. they slowly got up from the grass, dusting off the dirt and making their way back once more to the university lobby.

this was the place where these eight students met, all with different objectives and from all walks of life. yet, as different as they are, they got along and went through hell together, for each other. the short lived three years were filled with so many troubles, yet they pulled through together.

truly, they were more than friends. they were family.

seungjae took his leave first, being the family man he was. yebeom had to rush to a family event, and yeseul was going to catch a meal with bokgi. (yeseul promised bokgi to give him a chance once they graduated, and so she kept her promise.) jiho and solb were silently headed off in the same direction with their only conversation being “i’ll drop you off” by jiho and solb nodding. (joon hwi and sol only eye them, making mental notes to tease their ex-roommates.)

“are you going home?” joon hwi asks as sol grabs her bag. after graduating, sol made the decision to move home for the time being, to pay off her loans and support her family and ease her mother of some financial burden. joon hwi has opted many times to help, even wanting to pay off her loans. he had no loans, and after he sold his uncle’s mansion, he had a huge sum of money along with the inheritance. but sol couldn’t do it, she needed to work for this herself.

“yeah. i promised byeol i’ll help her with her work and catch a movie with her too. it’s been long since i could just spend time with her.” sol says. the lobby was now empty, with a few students walking in and out. sol looks at the lady justice statue, almost reminded of the many times she stared at it to remind herself of why she chose law. why she chose this profession.

together, they walk out, holding hands for the first time openly in their school. they were no longer students, and there was no point hiding from others anymore. she was just kang sol; he was just han joon hwi. no more ‘second round judicial pass’, no more ‘uncle killing nephew’, no more ‘klutz’, no more ‘twin failure’. just them.

joon hwi takes the bus to sol’s home, still in the ground floor apartment by an alley. sol’s mother invites him in, but he quickly declines, saying he needs to run some errands back at his own apartment. well, it wasn’t a lie. he just shifted in and he certainly had to clean and unpack.

when the apartment is packed with law books stacked neatly in his bookcase, the floor dusted and mopped, furniture clean and the fridge stocked with fresh groceries, he picks his phone to find seungjae sending the group their photos. there’s numerous comments on how yebeom is already missing us, and even jiho gives a ‘tch’ as a reply in the chat. he notices an unread text from his professor and opens the chat box.

you’re on my speed dial for cases. don’t ignore me.

joon hwi scoffs. he sets his phone aside as he flops back on his bed, for the first time processing all that has happened.

he can’t wait for the future.

(on his wall, he hangs a childhood photo of him and his uncle. on the frame, it has a tag with his daily reminder to judge fairly, and to make sure no one suffers unjustly.)

-----

the next few years for joonhwi are an adventure. his experience in the prosecution office is busy and stressful, but with jiho working just next door, he finds comfort in having him by his side. he battles many cases, slowly but surely, making a name for himself. instead of being known as the man that solved his uncle’s murder, he was now known as the prosecutor that never loses.

the study group kept in touch, meeting every two weeks for dinner at a barbecue place. somedays, they drank. on others, they just chatted and kept the plates of pork coming. seungjae did his best to join, but with his toddler kid, things were difficult.

seungjae took a year after his hearing to be with his wife, and take care of her during her pregnancy. he then decided to work as a forensic examiner. if he couldn't practice law and help people with it, the least he could was to uphold it and enforce it. his job was new and interesting, but he humbled himself to push through his training. he meets the group when they are dealing with criminal cases and helps them out as best he can.

the study group also took turns meeting his kid, and would always love babysitting. sol, as expected, was the best with chaotic duo bokgi and yebeom. instead of dinners some nights, they met at his house to catch up with him and spoil his kid. (seungjae couldn’t stop it. when the kid was born, he immediately gained 7 new aunts and uncles, ready to spoil and pamper him.)

his relationship with sol grew as well. working such long working days was tough, but they tried their best. sol would sometimes deliver homemade stews to his apartment and joon hwi would deliver jjajamyeon with her extra pickles on some nights. they met on the weekends, where they would just go to the park and take strolls or hole up in joon hwi’s apartment to work on their cases together.

sol was doing exceptionally well as a new attorney, almost successfully appealing to all her clients. her clients love her, not only for winning, but for always being so caring to them. many say she still keeps in contact with some clients, even after the case has been closed. while she thinks it is no big deal, sol’s career was climbing up. her loans were fully paid, and she has begun looking into apartments for her family and her to shift out of. that alley brought too much danger, especially with byeol growing into a teenager and her mother’s joints weakening.

sol b took that gap year to work at an administrative office at a law firm, before deciding to continue her law career to gain experience before moving forward to be a judge. throughout the gap year, she split her time on herself and therapy, as well as on her study group. she found herself wanting to be a judge, not for her mother, but for herself.

jiho and sol b also started dating each other shortly after they graduated, when joon hwi spotted sol b and jiho holding hands when he was leaving his office. they only told the group a few months later. but of course, everyone knew by then. ever since then, they caught sol b and jiho smiling a bit more, even if their smiles were just the slight curl at the corner of the lips.

yebeom was doing well in his law firm, handling mostly small cases, but he was content since he had a fun time handling the many cases and making visits to meet clients instead of being stuck in the office. bokgi was a human rights lawyer, with most of his cases about the discrimination of citizens in any aspect. he fought for the rights of those of different sexual orientations, races and religions and was extremely happy being able to do that.

yeseul was defending women of all walks of life, from their unequal treatment to domestic abuse. she was passionate and has made headlines a few times over the years when she chose to speak out about her story. she was well known in this area, being the first few lawyers to be a victim of domestic abuse and defending them. she also kept in contact with professor kim and made regular visits at the legal clinic.

bokgi and her only started dating a year after the graduated. bokgi respected the reasons and her space and yeseul found herself falling in love with him. after all, he stood by her all this while for the whole three years and have seen her at her worst. more than that, he treated her with respect and loved her equally, even after all that.

one day, as joon hwi and sol spent their day on the sofa at joon hwi’s apartment, joon hwi was nervous to ask this question. sol was busy looking at different apartment listings.

“sol, can i ask you something?” joon hwi asks, grabbing her hand. sol nodded, eyes still focussed on her screen.

“would you... would you want to move in with me?” sol’s hand stops scrolling as the words sink in and she slowly faces her boyfriend.

“i... i don’t know. i mean, byeol and umma will be left alone, right?” sol says, her voice quiet and soft.

“we can live near them. i think the lease of the apartment is ending soon, anyways.” joon squeezes her hand.

“but... i don’t know if i have enough money to get an apartment for them and us. joon, i really want to, i really do. but...” sol’s eyes are uncertain, and joon hwi sees her eyes guilty, almost like she feels bad for saying that.

“we can get the apartment in instalments. you can buy one for your mom and byeol first and we will slowly pay for ours.” he says. placing a finger under her chin, he raises it so her eyes meet hers. “sol, they are going to be alright on their own.”

sol nods her head and reaches up to pull her boyfriend’s face to hers, letting their lips connect. his lips are soft against hers, as she taste the slight coffee taste from his mug. it’s almost frenzy, from what started as a simple kiss lead to a fight for dominance. without knowing, sol is straddling joon hwi, as his hands pull back her long hair.

when they pull away, he feels her hot breath on his face, and her face burning red, embarrassed at how she acted.

“should we get back to looking at apartments?” joon hwi asks, a small smile on his face, ultimately an act of tease to her. she quickly nods and climbs off of him as they look at apartments together. joon hwi gives her a knowing smirk, before sol swats his arm and they resume scrolling.

and it was true, when professor yang had him on speed dial.

he was just about to leave for a coffee and bother jiho for a bit at his office one day, when a call came in from professor yang.

“han joon hwi.”

“professor.”

“you’re needed, now. meet me at hankuk university in thirty minutes.” and the call disengages. it was a habit of his professor’s, to give blunt replies and just cut off without saying goodbye. he slips on his blazer and grabs his briefcase before picking up the call from sol instinctively. so much for listening to orders, even though he wasn’t a student anymore.

“called you too?” he asks once he picks up, scribbling on a post it note, noting his early leave from the office.

“what else? gosh, i really hate it when he hangs up like that.” sol replies, a twinge of annoyance in her voice.

“i’ll pick you.” joon hwi says, as he leaves his office, then knocks on jiho’s door. jiho’s head pops up from his laptop, before nodding in acknowledgement.

“no, don’t bother. i’ve already caught the train.” sol replies and joon hwi hears the familiar beeping of train doors. sol knows she’s got to hang up soon, if she doesn’t want to irritate other commenters on the train.

“love you.” he says back. sol’s face is blushing red, but she’s lucky everyone on the train was busy on their phone.

“i love you too.” she whispers before hanging up and storing her phone away in her handbag.

when they meet at the doors of hankuk university each time they are called in for a case, they can’t help but to think of how far they’ve come. sol, the girl with bad grades and on a scholarship. joon hwi, the top student with a hidden secret. yet in a matter of years, they blossomed together with their friends on their routes.

professor yang is by the lady justice statue, and when he looks up to see his students stroll in with authority and confidence, he gives a knowing smile.

shall we start?

[a-froger-epic]

Get out your glitter leotards and pour some champagne in your cat mugs! 🥂 🍾 It’s time to celebrate Freddie! 🎉😸

🎊 Freddie Mercury Weekend 2021 🎊

❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜

ABOUT THE EVENT

This weekend is a content creation event in honour of the man himself, the legend we all love, Freddie Mercury! Once more, everyone who is inspired by Freddie is invited to share their creativity with the fandom. You can write, draw, edit, record, even cross-stitch 😉 content for absolutely anything related to Freddie, any ship, any genre, any way you like. This is an indiscriminately inclusive, positive event. Everyone is welcome, there is no wrong way to be a fan of Freddie! (Except convincing yourself you're dating his ghost maybe. That's pretty wrong. And weird. Don't do that.)

WHEN? On the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of May.

HOW? On the above dates (or after!), post your contributions to the AO3 collection or alternatively on Tumblr, tagged ‘#fmw2021’ or/and ‘#freddie mercury weekend 2021’. If you post on Tumblr, please also tag @a-froger-epic to make sure you get a reblog from me!

❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜

THE PROMPTS

You can be as free with the prompts as you like. They are here to inspire, there is no wrong way to write them! Change them around, mix them up, make them fem!Freddie, A/B/O, add your favourite ship. Anything goes! 😊

21st of May - 500-1000 word challenge!

We’re kicking off the event with ficlets and drabbles. First time writer just testing the waters? No need for an epic, just write a scene! No time to write but you want to participate? Surely you’ll find time for 500 words! 😉 Interpret these mini-prompts however you like (every one is a separate prompt, but you can combine them!):

Make-Up 💄   |   Pain/Pleasure 👀

Strip 👕   |   Ring 💍

Forbidden 🤫   |   Delilah 🐈

Piano 🎹   |   Dormitory 🛏 

Outrageous 🎉   |   Contentment 😌

Come Together 🎇   |   Ballet 🩰

Piece of Art 🎨   |   Leather 🧥

Cockring 🐔   |   Kimono 👘

Petals 🌸   |   Leotard 🕺🏻

Mustache 🧔   |   Last Time 😔

22nd of May - Is This The Real Life? 

A list of real event/canon timeline prompts from Freddie’s life. How real you want to keep them, however, is entirely up to you!

Down in flames

Freddie is 16 years old when he leaves boarding school. Does it have something to do with the school gardener, Sanjay? Did he flunk his exams or did he not even sit them? Is one thing connected to the other? Does he really find a boyfriend when he goes to stay with his aunt in Mumbai (then Bombay)? Either way, there’s the small matter of his parents finding out about all of it... (Sources: x x )

When Freddie met Kenny

Freddie is a guest on Kenny Everett's radio show in spring 1974. Freddie is living with Mary, Kenny is married. Two gay men, deep in the closet. To no one's surprise, they hit it off immediately. (Source: x )

But when did he? 

At some point during his relationship with Mary, prior to his relationship with David, Freddie had already begun sleeping with men. But how and when did that first happen? Cottaging in London? On tour somewhere in the world? Your guess is as good as ours… 

Flying High

Sex, Drugs and Rock n' Roll. Like all rock bands of their time, Queen doesn’t escape the copious amounts of cocaine in the entertainment industry for long. Somewhere on tour in America, perhaps, Freddie is first introduced to it. Where? How? 

Hide your tears

Jim said that he tried to be strong for Freddie and only cried in private, so as not to burden Freddie with his feelings. But this time, he is found. 

One-liners:

In 1969, Freddie doesn’t know how to cook an egg and neither does Roger (Source: x )

In 1977, Freddie meets Joe while on tour in Boston and starts dating him behind David's back

In 1990, Brian and Freddie work on 'The Show Must Go On' (Source: x )

In a year of your choice, Jim reminisces about his fondest moment(s) with Freddie

In 1976, Freddie and Mary end their relationship 

In 1984, Winnie gives Freddie a wedding ring (middle of the post: x )

In the late 60s, Freddie agrees to model for an Ealing Art School fashion show, but panics and flees the runway (Source: x )

In 1974, Freddie is strip-searched upon arrival in Australia (Source: x )

In 1982, Freddie and Roger go shopping in Amsterdam (Source: x )

In 1978, Freddie swings from a chandelier - naked (Source: x )

23rd of May - Is It Just Fantasy?

A list of AU prompts to spark your imagination. Take them and run with them or change them up, just have fun!

Make your dreams come true

Freddie hasn't been very fortunate in his life, until he finds a very special oil lamp, and rubs it just the right way. 

Beautiful stranger

Freddie meets an alluring stranger at a masquerade ball, who has more secrets than he can hide behind a mask. But Freddie has some of his own. 

Thicker than water 

Freddie agrees to a dreadful fate in order to save his little sister from the very same. Fortunately, he has friends who are more than willing to help him, but can they? Or are they, too, in danger?

Diamonds are a boy's best friend

Freddie is the prized jewel of the court, a skilled belly-dancer and entertainer, but he may also be plotting murder and getting away with it. 

Almost Real

In a distant future, humans have all but done away with face to face interaction. Humanity largely lives online. Children grow up isolated and live with only their families well into young adulthood. Cybersex is the new normal, although some families take a puritanical approach for fear of addiction. One day, impossibly, a real life young man falls through the containment field in Freddie’s back garden. 

One-liners:

This plane is going to crash (Freddie knew there was a reason he hated flying) 

Shipwrecked on an island (Freddie could never bear to be alone, but luckily/unfortunately for him…) 

Hunger Games AU (Freddie is so dead) 

A terrible road accident (Everyone is so dead, or are they?) 

Blind Date AU (Freddie's best friend is so dead for setting him up with this person… or are they…) 

Bank robbery (but who are the robbers and who are the hostages?) 

Magic AU ("Yer a wizard, Freddie!")

Film Noir AU (Secrets and cigarette holders) 

Interior Design AU (Does the carpet match the drapes?)

The Bodyguard AU (“And I will always love yooouuuu…”)

❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜

RULES & FAQ

⛔ Strictly No Hate ⛔

This is the NUMBER ONE RULE of the event, to ensure that everybody feels safe. No rudeness, provocations or hate aimed at creators or other commenters will be permitted, not on AO3 nor Tumblr.

Follow these steps if you receive a comment or ask that distresses you:

Do not engage. (You can take a screenshot as proof.)

Delete it. No ifs, no buts. Just delete it. (Don’t hesitate to block anon hate on Tumblr.)

Alert me ( @a-froger-epic ) or @aboutnothingness, who is lending me a hand to make sure all needs are attended, all questions are answered and everything runs smoothly. We are here to actively support you. We’ve got your back, and we will gladly talk to you and help you feel better.

If you choose to ignore this rule, your work may be removed from the event. We would hate to resort to that.

But what if one of the works has upset me?

Can the thing that upset you be tagged, but it wasn’t? Then please inform @a-froger-epic or @aboutnothingness, and we will bring it to the creator’s attention. (Remember to use the appropriate tags, everybody!)

Was the thing that upset you already tagged? Or is it perhaps simply the characterisation you find disagreeable? Then we suggest you click on the ‘back’ button, take a deep breath and remind yourself it's just fanfic.

Who can participate?

Anyone who is inspired by Freddie Mercury in any way shape or form. This event is open to all.

Can I combine prompts from different days?

By all means! We look forward to your futuristic Freddie-gets-kicked-out-of-boarding-school Maycury Film Noir AU. With leotards. Go crazy.

I'm not sure where my creation fits in, what day do I post it? 

The days, like the prompts, are only suggestions. We don't mind when you post it, as long as you post it! Even if it's two weeks late! 

Help, I've never posted fic before! 

Don't worry, we've got you! (And more importantly, we've got AO3 invites!) @aboutnothingness is more than happy to walk you through the process of setting up an account and is also offering her services as a beta.

I’m still too nervous to participate!

You can post anonymously to the collection. You can disable anon comments on your work. You can disable comments entirely and just collect the kudos. You can close anon asks on Tumblr temporarily. But most importantly, we are here for you and we want you here!

❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜

“I love the fact that I make people happy, in any form. Even if it’s just half an hour of their lives, in any way that I can make them feel lucky or make them feel good, or bring a smile to a sour face, that to me is worthwhile.”

- Freddie Mercury