#made some edits if you see more no you don't

[street-smarts00]

Santa Doesn't Know You Like I Do

Spencer Reid x Reader

Summary: Your first Christmas with Spencer and you get his name for secret Santa. 

WC: 1.8k

Tags: Fluff, Secret Santa, friends to lovers, one use of Y/N I think A/N: Sorry I went MIA :( I got busy with school. I hope to push out many ideas while I’m on break tho. Here’s something cheesy and festive for the holiday season I hope you enjoy! (not beta read don't kill me)

Nothing was right. Nothing you found was the right present. 

This was your first secret Santa with the BAU and you picked Spencer's name out of penelope’s mug. At first you thought it would be easy to buy a present for him because you knew him so well. In almost a year of being with the BAU you grew the closest with Spencer. 

What you didn’t expect was your present ideas to not live up to your own expectations. Nothing you came up with could live up to your own standards. Of course your “slight” feelings for him definitely affected this, but you tried to tell yourself that wasn’t true. 

You ran through dozens of ideas. Clothing, a new scarf, tickets for a play, special edition of a book he loved. But nothing felt like the right present. 

You almost gave up in your search for the perfect present for him. The gift exchange was in less than a week and you still had nothing. Sitting at your desk in the bullpen you considered settling with one of your first ideas. 

While getting up to refill your coffee mug you noticed Spencer’s attention was focused on his computer. He sat there deep in thought with his brows furrowed and lips in a fine line. When you walked by his desk you saw he was playing an online chess game. 

“Working hard or hardly working?” you joked. 

He popped out of his focus from your presence. “I finished my files a little early,” he responded bashfully. 

“Are you at least winning?” 

He smirked, “I’ve won four times. But that’s not even the fun part. The fun is doing different plays every time and seeing what the computer comes up with as the best response.” 

That’s when it hit you. An idea for Spencer’s gift. 

Finally something that felt like a good gift for him. At the end of the day you rushed out of work to go to the craft store and get your supplies. You worked on the gift everyday after work. 

Soon the weekend rolled around and you found yourself at Rossi’s. His living room had the biggest Christmas tree you’d ever seen. Everyone’s gifts sat there for the evening. After dinner you all sat down to exchange gifts. 

“I want to go first!” Garcia exclaimed. She jumped up from the couch and hurried to the tree to grab her gift for JJ. 

JJ excitedly opened the gift bag to find a small black and grey purse with a colorful crochet keychain. The idea that Garcia also handmade part of her gift gave you a sense of relief. 

“Oh this is so pretty. Thank you so much,” she beamed, admiring the bag and twirling the keychain. Garcia squealed in happiness before JJ offered a hug to her. 

JJ then handed over her gift to Rossi, a bottle of scotch. He smiled and thanked her for the bottle saying how his collection needed a new addition. 

He stood up and brought his hands together looking at the tree. “My turn.” He grabbed a thin box wrapped in silver sparkly wrapping paper and walked over to you. 

“For you, my dear,” he handed you the box. 

Your eyes widened and lips perked up at the gift. It may be a little silly but, part of you wished that you were Spencer’s secret santa. You reminded yourself that the possibility of you both picking each other's names was unlikely. The possibility of some things being the same between the two of you was … unlikely. 

You ripped back the paper to reveal a large eyeshadow pallet. Upon opening it, you saw an array of beautiful shades you couldn’t wait to try out. 

“Rossi, this is so sweet. I love it,” You thanked with a bright smile. 

Now it was your turn. Everyone’s eyes only made the moment more stressful. You got up and grabbed the box with a nervous hand. What if he didn’t like it? What if he thought it was too cheesy or corny? What if he thought it was useless as he already owned two of them?

You tried to quiet your thoughts as you handed him the box, but they had no intention of leaving.

“Merry Christmas Spence,” you said softly.

When you turned and walked back to your seat you neglected to see the rising blush on his face. 

Spencer glanced down at the white and red striped paper. He carefully peeled it off and opened the lid to reveal a chess set nestled in between red tissue paper. The board spaces were off-white and royal purple with corresponding chess pieces the same colors. When he picked up the wooden pieces and saw small leaves and flowers painted on them. The King and Queen specifically had crowns in a shimmering gold. 

“Wow look at that,” Emily admired.

Upon further inspection he noticed the small human imperfections in the details. The way not one leaf or flower looked exactly the same. Or how the clear coating over the paint was slightly streaky in some spots. 

“Did you paint this?” He asked.

You nodded your head and answered , “Yeah I did.” 

A faint “awe” could be heard across the room from Garcia. 

“Y/N,” Spencer started, his voice full of admiration. “This is … beautiful.” 

The butterflies in your stomach were getting restless. 

“Really?” you asked, not able to hide the smile spreading on your face. 

“Yes! It’s Perfect,” his eyes sparkled at you. “I love it. Nobody’s ever given me something like this.” He beamed at you with a smile that made you love sick. 

The realization that you both were not alone set in and Spencer cleared his throat before closing the box. The gift exchange continued as Spencer handed over a present to Morgan. 

The rest of the night was filled with catching glances and far away looks between you and Spencer. He seemed to feel more relaxed in a way after receiving your gift. Not that he was acting any differently. He just seemed more open. With the group and with you. 

You lived off that feeling the whole evening. The idea that you made him happy. You helped him see he was appreciated and loved. 

Not that he had to know you loved him. 

He didn’t know that. Right? 

As the hands on the clock passed you announced your departure and said your goodbyes. You stepped outside and felt a chill against your skin. 

You held tight onto your keys as you walked to your car. The snow had just started to fall. Occasional little flurries fell down from the sky. 

“Wait!” Someone yelled from behind. 

You turned to find Spencer trying his best to run but not slip on the icy parts of the driveway. When he got closer you noticed his cheeks and the tip of his nose were pink. Probably from the cold weather you thought.

“I wanted to formally say thank you for the chess set,” he explained. 

“You’re welcome,” you replied with a smile. You stuffed your hands in your pockets away from the cold. “I’m glad you like it. I was worried you’d find it cheesy.” 

He looked confused. “Why would I find it cheesy?” 

You shrugged, “because I hand painted it.”

“But that’s what makes it perfect,” he reassured. His voice is sincere and soft. “It’s personal and shows you care.”

His eyes widened. “Oh um-“ 

He suddenly remembered why he rushed outside and scrambled for something in his jacket pocket. It was a small cube shaped box wrapped in paper covered in snowflakes. Quite fitting for the weather.

“I know I technically wasn’t your secret Santa but I still wanted to get you something.”

You took the gift from him with a slack jaw. “Spence-“

“This isn’t because you were my secret Santa. I still wanted to get you a gift regardless,” he reassured. 

“I- Thank you,” you started unwrapping the gift. 

“It’s not homemade like yours but I hope you still like it.”

”It doesn’t have to be homemade for me to-“ the wind was stolen out of your lungs.  

The gift was a small gold and white music box you immediately recognized. You opened the lid to reveal a ballerina in a pink tutu spinning as Sleeping Beauty Waltz played. Your heart ached as you admired the tiny dancer.

”Is this the music box from that antique shop in Seattle?” 

While on a case in Seattle, you and Spencer went to an antique shop to ask the owner about evidence found at the crime scene that was purchased there. You fell in love with a beautiful music box in one of the aisles. 

“It is. I saw how you looked at it in the store and in the car you said it reminded you of when you used to do ballet. So before we left Seattle I went back to the store to get it for you. I thought it would make a great Christmas present.”

“But, that was three months ago.”

He sheepishly smiled and his cheeks only got more red. “Yeah, I had to keep it a secret for a while.”

Your heart rate started to pick up as the butterflies returned. “I can't believe you went back and bought this for me,” you muttered in disbelief. 

“Of course I would. You mean a lot to me and I knew this was something that would make you happy.” 

You admired the music box before carefully placing it in your purse. “Thank you so much. I love it.” 

His smile grew and reached his eyes. His eyes looked beautiful in this lighting. The Christmas lights from the house made them look practically golden. Even in the freezing cold you could melt from his eyes.

He shifted his weight and licked his lips. He seemed wrapped around the words in his head. “I also wanted to ask if maybe you’d want to go see The Nutcracker with me.” 

Your heart damn near stopped. 

“It’s playing at the theater downtown. I was thinking if we don’t get a case then we could go see the show on Friday. Maybe, if you want to, that is,” he rambled in nervousness. 

“I’d love to,” you beamed. 

His face brightened at your eagerness, but his nerves were still present. “But not as friends. As a date?” 

You chuckled, “Yes Spencer, I would love to go on a date with you. I think the nutcracker is a perfect first date.”

“Great,” he said with relief. “And maybe afterwards we might have time for a game of chess with my new board.” 

God he was cute. 

“That sounds great.”

[zanarkandfayth]

I'm just answering these because I want to, and skipping the ones that wouldn't be relevant or I don't feel like answering lmao

01. How many fics have you worked on since January? Hmm, five? I finished the Noct & Gladio one, I've been working on the rewrite of the aftermath one, I started the one inspired by @quartzguts fic Lost Signal (go fucking read this if you haven't), I did some more backstory for the college au, and I edited the secret one.

02. What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? I've been trying to do a sliiiightly closer POV than before. I think it came out nicely enough in the Noct & Gladio fic. Definitely a challenge for me though.

05. What ships captured your heart? Ignoct still has my heart forever and always, but I've definitely had a growing fondness for Gladnoct. More platonic than romantic but I don't mind the romantic.

07. Did you write for any new fandoms or ships this year? I mean I guess the Noct & Gladio fic is the first time I've written a fic centered on the two of them. I thought about writing a fic for Sword AF, and for Breath of the Wild, but I didn't. I'm unlikely to for either fandom, tbh. Too many for ffxv to focus on.

08. What fic meant the most to you to write? Aftermath fic, even though I'm not finished with it. I've been basically writing it since 2019 and it's the most in-depth fic I've ever written and I've put so much fucking work into it and it's over 600K I'm super proud of it even if it's slowly killing me and the fandom will be 100% dead by the time I'm done.

09. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on? college au, my self-indulgent beloved. I have no idea if I'll ever successfully write you, but I love you nonetheless.

10. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing? lmao I only finished the Noct & Gladio one so I guess that by default.

11. What fic was the most difficult to write? the one inspired by Lost Signal. I have it all plotted out and I'm excited to write it but fuuuuck when I tried back in the summer it was not cooperating. and then writer's block just came knocking in general. I've got one finished chapter and I low-key hate it so I'm trying to ease back into things with working on my rewrite of aftermath fic before I attempt this fic again.

12. What fic was the easiest to write? I mean the Noct & Gladio one was pretty easy to write once I kicked my own ass and stopped procrastinating on the battle scene lol.

14. What were your go-to writing songs? I like to listen to a lot of EDM stuff. Especially Industrial but other stuff too. KMFDM, Assemblage 23, Lost Signal, Neuroticfish, Rotersand, Seabound, Lionhearts, Covenant, Wolfsheim, Acretongue, Michael FK... I also listened to Linkin Park and the Ori and the Blind Forest soundtrack.

15. What was the hardest fic to title? only two fics got titled this year... the secret one I ain't sharing lmao and the Noct & Gladio one, which was actually hard to title. Ameliorate. It fits but I kinda hate it ngl. I couldn't think of anything better. I still can't. It's whatever.

16. What's your favorite title of the year? the secret one. I'm so mean for it but as soon as I was done editing I knew I HAD to make that the title. I'm sorry my beloved blorbo. it was just too perfect lmao. one of my mutuals knows what I'm talking about XD it's all good.

21. What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story? my ass in 2019: I already wrote a lot of Noct dissociating in Under Grey Skies, I don't need to do it in aftermath fic. my ass in 2024: huh, Noct doesn't dissociate enough in this fic. soooo I guess now that's gonna be a thing. it has very much changed the story, several scenes have been changed/added for it and I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with it yet but that's why I'm writing without posting for now. wasn't expecting to do it but we'll see what happens.

22. What writing programs did you use? Did you write by hand? no to by hand, I only sometimes do that for notes/plotting. I use scrivener <3333 I bit the bullet at the start of this year and used the money I had left from selling my car/after buying a freezer to upgrade to scrivener 3 and though I miss some things from scrivener 1, I mostly like it. I've gotten a lot more into the organisational features and it's been a godsend for making the rewrite of aftermath manageable.

25. How did you recharge between fics? Killed myself 100%ing breath of the wild. including all 900 fucking korok seeds. and then started playing tears of the kingdom with the intention of 100%ing that too but fuck me upgrading the armour was such a fucking slog even with duping diamonds for rupees and I still don't even have all of the sets collected and the koroks are more annoying this time and hhhhhhh I went back to fic to recharge from that fucking game.

28. If this were an awards show, who would you thank? @ivorydice for letting me endlessly ramble about my fics and helping me with plotting some of them. @quartzguts for writing an amazing fic that has inspired me with one of my own that I will write and finish eventually hrgh. @smallest-turtle for also letting me ramble that one time and for stabbing me in the heart with painful headcanons that made me think more about my own. literally anyone who's read my fics regardless of whether they've left kudos or comments or bookmarked them. anyone who talks to me. anyone who likes my venting as support. all my mutuals for being my mutuals even if we've never had a single interaction.

29. What's left on your to-do list for 2024? to just keep pecking away at the rewrite of aftermath fic. by the end of today I should have 38 of 62 chapters rewritten... send help T^T

30. What would you like to write next year? I just wanna finish aftermath fic for the love of god. pls. also the fic inspired by Lost Signal, and I'd like to maaaaaaaybe (big maybe) write a companion fic to the Noct & Gladio fic, showing Ignis & Prompto's hunt, but I don't actually have any ideas for it rn. so we'll see.

A slightly revised version of last year's questions! Two ways to play: Reblog and have your followers send you numbers, or answer the whole list!

How many fics have you worked on since January?

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year?

What piece of media inspired you the most? (This can be the fandom you wrote the most for, the one that spawned the most ideas, the one you thought about the most, etc.)

How many fandoms did you write for this year?

What ships captured your heart?

What characters captured your heart?

Did you write for any new fandoms or ships this year?

What fic meant the most to you to write?

What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

What fic was the most difficult to write?

What fic was the easiest to write?

What were your shortest and longest fics posted this year?

What were your go-to writing songs?

What was the hardest fic to title?

What's your favorite title of the year?

Share your favorite opening line

Share your favorite ending line

Share your favorite piece of dialogue

Share your funniest line

What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

What writing programs did you use? Did you write by hand?

If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

How did you recharge between fics?

Did you create fanworks other than fic?

How many events did you take part in? (bangs, exchanges, ship weeks, zines, prompt memes, they all count!)

If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

What's left on your to-do list for 2024?

What would you like to write next year?

[jediwrites]

slice of life: jedi edition ch.1

//Anakin Skywalker x Jedi Knight Reader

this is pure fluff and nothing more. (+1k)

warning: a lot of kissing and nonsense stuff that came out of my head

Your fingers brushed the soft curls of Anakin’s hair, his head resting in your chest, while his arms surrounded you. The sound of your calm heartbeat and the gentle cuddling was making the man fall asleep again. Unfortunately, the shy sun’s rays entering through the window indicated that soon you would have to part ways.

"Ani, you already gave a class to the Younglings, right?"

"Yeah… why?"

"Master Yoda asked me to take care of them this week." You said. “I’m trying to think about some things I can show them.”

Anakin stayed still for a moment, making you think he slept again. But without a warning, he tightens his arm around you, making a sound like he is straightening out. Laughing, you tried to push him off.

Anakin raised his head, one of his arms over your belly, while the other was supporting his body. Gazing at you, he gave you a faked pity look. “That’s a horrible thing to ask someone, doesn't he know that?” 

You rolled your eyes at him. “It’s not that terrible.”

“If you say so.” He said with a sarcastic tone, burying his face in your neck, making you giggle. "If I remember right, I tried to tell them about my own stories, but they only wanted to know about lightsaber tricks."

His eyes got back to yours, a boyish grin plastered in his face. "Though I can't blame them for that, they know the fun part."

You snorted. "I don’t know about that, levitating things with your mind seems more fun." 

His lips curled, saying in a playful tone “Maybe you’re right”, before locking your lips together.

After some time, you and Anakin had to rise from the comfort of the bed. You finished putting your belt over your clothes and looked at him, his back to you while he picked up his tunic on the chair. You smirked, an idea passing though your mind.

“I was thinking-”

“No,” Anakin said flatly, putting on the tunic and turning to you.

“You don’t even know what I have to say,” you huffed, exasperated.

Crossing his arms, he gave you a look. “You don’t need to, I know exactly what you will say and my answer is no.”

“You clearly don’t.” You imitate his pose.

“Okay, so continue then.”

You got to him, putting your hands on his shoulder, feeling the man softening under your touch.

“I was thinking that would be perfect if you showed up.”

“No.” Giving a quick peck on your lips, he got out of your embrace, catching his robe and belt off the floor. 

“Come on, Ani,” you begged. “You are not that bad with children, they love you, it will be amazing.”

“I already had an experience with them worth a lifetime, darling, I don't want to repeat that.” He finished with his belt, and looked at you. “You’re asking for an impossible thing.”

“Fine.” You crossed your arms, with a little pout on your lips that made him chuckle.

He then stepped to you, pulling you by your hips and closing the gap between your lips.

It was now your time to melt under his touch.

You were standing at one of the windows of the Jedi Temple’s corridor, sight fixed at the skyline of speeders going on in the distance, the hurried pace of Coruscant seemed to be the same as your heart. Sighing, you gazed at the final of the corridor, expecting to see Master Yoda, but he was nowhere.

You shouldn’t be so nervous about having to take care of the Younglings — it would be only a few days, a break from the battlefield. However, to you, as a Jedi Knight, everything that involved teaching the Jedi Younglings — and Padawans —, seemed to carry a heavy weight to it. They are the future of the Order after all. 

Closing your eyes, you tried to ease your feelings, focusing on the warmth of the sun in your face. Inhale. Exhale. After some time you could only feel the Force through your body.

“This view is really beautiful, don’t you think?” Someone said behind you, getting you out of your meditation. 

Turning to the familiar voice, you got Anakin looking directly at you, a smile on his face. Grasping his comment, a smile emerges on yours, with your heart going back to the rapidly beating from early, but now for a different reason.

Before you could respond to him, a group of Jedi Padawans entered the corridor, making you stiffen in your positions, the warm smile fading away. Anakin sighed.

“I thought you were with the Chancellor,” you said, crossing your arms over your chest.

“We will meet later today.” Anakin looks around. “So, where are they?

“Who?”

“The Younglings, I thought we would show them some lightsaber tricks.”

The sudden appearance of Anakin made you rapidly forget about your upcoming task. You arched your eyebrow. “We?”

“Well, I changed my mind.” He shrugged.

The group passed you two, some greetings were exchanged between you before they got going down the corridor until they were out of sight. Coming closer to you, Anakin whispered. “And to be honest, even if I find it terrible, what I wouldn’t do for you, hm?”

You crooked your head, a smirk appearing in your face. “Actually, there are things-”

Anakin rolled his eyes. “For the last time, I won’t let my beard grow.” 

The first time you said such thing, he shot you a look that you will always remember and laugh at. 

“Fine, your choice, but know that you are preventing all of us from witnessing a masterpiece.” Touching this matter seemed to get under Anakin’s skin for some reason, and you found it very funny. You strongly believed in your assumption, though. “And I said to let it grow when you get older, Master Kenobi is such a cute with that beard of his.”

The disbelief in Anakin’s face was noticeable, but before he could respond, a thud startled you. You stepped away hastily. Turning to where the sound came, you face Master Yoda, a bengal stick in his hand and a questioning look. 

“Master Yoda.” You shifted your gaze to your hands. “Hope the Younglings are fine for today.”

You hold yourself from cringing at your own words. You definitely could pretend better than that, but not with Yoda, it seemed. 

“Very excited they are, young one.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I come together, Master,” Anakin said, trying to ease the tension.

“He offered to help me today.” A smile brightened your expression again. “I clearly wouldn’t declined this kind offer.” 

Anakin playfully rolled his eyes, exchanging looks with you.

“A surprise, this is.” Yoda looked at the two young Jedi. “Skywalker coming back to work with the Younglings, had never thought I would see.”

“Sometimes it is good to give a second try.”

The older Jedi shotted him a smile. “Right you are, young Skywalker.”

A/N: after so many tries, i was finally able to write one of my ideas down. i didn't liked it that much (idk i feel like i dont know how to write anakin yet), but eh anyway :)) i tried to revise throughly this one before posting, but if you find any grammar mistake, please let me know. dividers are from this post.

[meirimerens]

addition with parts of his soon-to-be-ex wife's recent (december 20th 2024) testimony wrt his domestic + familial abuse [her story here] (content warnings for domestic and familial abuse as well as child kidnapping) :

she mentions in the text Dybowksi has (date unmentioned) sold IPL (or what i, from seeing multiple others assume to be IPL from her mention of "his company") :

Я не знаю подробностей продажи его компании, но активные действия начались уже после нашего расставания "I don't know the details of the sale of his company, but the active steps began after we parted ways."

if it is IPL, this sale likely has an incidence on his position as executive and/or creative lead: you can sell a company and still have parts in it (and as such benefit), or completely leave it in the new director's care, in which case ties can be severed between him and the current team as well as ongoing projects.

ERRATUM/CORRECTION PLEASE READ THAT'S PURELY ON MY ASS TO HAVE ASSUMED FROM RENATA'S ONE SENTENCE + GONE WITH WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD INSTEAD OF DIGGING thank you for pointing that out to me:

Dybowksi was still discussing P3 as early as one month ago still, and appears to be still on the team either creatively or executively, and likely has been for the time of it. He might indeed have sold the company as per Renata's testimony but be still fully involved, just not The Boss as a legal entity anymore. [video link]

He has not been part of HSE for a few years after the team's anti-war stance and relocation.

and tldr of renata's testimony, on top of everything describe in the OP, she alleges he physically and psychologically abused her as well as beat her father, purposefully made himself more financially unstable to force her to let him see their son, used financial coercion (child support payment) in order to keep her where he wanted her to live, and attempted to kidnap their son with his mistress when he realized he likely would not be able to see that kid legally after the tribunal's decision.

EDITED tldr dybowski apparently sold IPL some time ago and might or might not still have any creative or executive leadership. He is still on the team as far as a month ago. on top of his long and documented abuse of students, he's a wife-beater, a psychological and financial abuser, and an attempted child kidnapper, as well as a cheater. allegedly.

There have been many new Pathologic fans recently who might not be aware of the serious allegations against Nikolay Dybowski, creator and chief writer of the Pathologic game series and founder and CEO of Ice Pick Lodge so it’s crucial to recap all information that’s already been made public about this case:

Dybowski is an alleged child groomer and sexual predator who has abused girls between the ages of 15 and 18 and inclusively used his position as a teacher at HSE University in Moscow, where he’s been employed since 2017, to do so. He has allegedly been targeting teens since 2012. There are also circulating rumors that Dybowski was married to one of his game design students. For the sake of anonymity and safety I will not be posting screenshots of posts made by victims that might be easily tracked down. I will only show screenshots from Dybowski’s responses and will only be recounting what I’ve gathered from personal research and that of other people. All known information on this subject is already widely available on the internet and his victims do not need their identities to be circulated even more than they already have been. I recommend starting with Turaform's YouTube video on the subject since it’s a very comprehensive recap.

These allegations are made by multiple unrelated sources including several alleged victims through tweets, social media posts and chat conversations since at least 2017. They all add up and are only reinforced by Dybowski’s own comments on the situation.

Various sources both for and against Dybowski seem to agree that the HSE Ethics Committee was called to investigate Dybowski in 2019 and has either not found or ignored evidence of his abuse. HSE University has shown on many occasions to accept unethical conduct on the part of professors and directors.

By 2021, these allegations were made more widely known in fan circles outside of Russia and this backlash prompted his fans in Russian forums to double down in defending him, harassing victims and posting accusatory and allegedly racially motivated claims. Eventually, Dybowski himself voiced his own thoughts on Russian social media platform DTF: 

His response to the allegations is, I think, incriminating evidence on its own since it shows he’s acquainted with his accuser and has a strong emotional interest in silencing them and painting them as a vengeful scorned woman archetype. He also does not mention the existing accusations that have been made by many other unrelated people.

At this point Russian student newspaper DOXA contacted one of the victims and posted an article about Dybowski’s case. Shortly after, their office was raided by police. They have been considered an undesirable organization by the Russian government since 2023.

Presumably around this time, Dybowski sent an email to one of his victims claiming that HSE University would be filing a libel suit against her, with him as a witness. Former HSE professor Kirill Martynov commented on the screenshot of this email on Twitter claiming that HSE University is legally unable to file libel suits. From then on, no more details, discussions or updates on these allegations have surfaced.

I want to emphasize that all this time Dybowski’s enjoyed full impunity for all of this. There is no reason to believe he has stopped his abuse of girls and young women since he got out of the situation concluding he will not be punished and will only be socially rewarded for his predatory behavior.

Before we go on to discuss what to do about this, I want to clarify and debunk a common counterpoint that someone could bring up in defense of Dybowski: “The legal age of consent in Russia is 16” 

I want to remind you that Dybowski has allegedly groomed girls since they were 15. More importantly, teenagers from the ages of 15 to 18 years old are not fully developed mentally, physically or emotionally to have a healthy, equal relationship with an adult in his 40s and have a very stark difference in both life experience and emotional maturity, as well as having much less legal protection, social standing and financial means to sustain, protect and defend themselves. That is a fact, regardless of any status of legality that has always been ever-changing depending on the country and time period. Dybowski is an alleged ephebophile regardless of the legality status of such abusive dynamics. There is a reason why grooming (the manipulation of an individual to subconsciously dissensitize and prepare them for later sexual violence) is present in his alleged abuse.

That said:

After Pathologic 3’s announcement something has to be done about this and that’s why I and other fans are strongly appealing to a financial boycott of all Ice Pick Lodge games. 

The biggest counterpoint I’ve seen to this course of action is: “The IPL employees have nothing to do with this, this would have consequences for them too”

First, one of the victims has explicitly stated that the high ranking members of IPL might know of Dybowski’s conduct, and that they know he often attends work while drunk. There is no way of knowing what employees at IPL do or don’t know and it’s irresponsible to definitively assume they’re fully unaware of Dybowski’s actions.

Secondly, all boycotts have consequences for the companies targeted, as that is the intent of a boycott. Boycotts are often called to put a tangible stop to some form of injustice happening within the targeted company, especially from its leaders, whether they’re in creative or executive positions. Dybowski happens to be in both and his case shouldn’t be an exception. If in the face of diminished income Dybowski decides to fire his employees, that will be his choice. His employees will then go on to find another job and hopefully work for a fair, responsible employer that doesn’t attend work drunk and doesn’t molest people, including children. Simply put, we are not responsible for the IPL employees' well-being and payment. Dybowski is. Ask yourself if your primary concern isn’t just getting more Pathologic games while dismissing what the real human cost of that is.

More importantly, Dybowski is known to target children under 17, which means if we were to only focus action on HSE University, that wouldn’t stop him from preying on girls. He’s been employed at HSE since 2017, but his abuse allegedly dates back to at least 2012. The HSE Ethics Committee has proven to be willfully dismissive of its students’ complaints. The writers for DOXA have been censored and their office raided, with a few members writing in exile as of now. Currently, a financial boycott of the studio that’s Dybowski’s main job and source of income is the only tangible way to have justice and diminish his social and financial power. 

By supporting Pathologic monetarily as well as all other games from Ice Pick Lodge you are providing Dybowski with more social capital to abuse girls without retribution as well as actual capital that he might use to purchase CSEM and defend himself against legal action.

When is it the time to start taking action to support and protect victims, or at the very least to stop actively enabling abusers? If you truly want a piece of fiction to mean something to you personally away from the grasp of an abusive creator, if you're committed to that, then you need to hold the creator accountable. This can’t be allowed to continue. You can’t be complicit in abuse.

I don’t want to be the only one posting about this, so please if you decide to join the boycott, spread the word to other fans, both in posts, tweets and conversation. If we do this as a collective effort and follow the rules below we can be more efficient, keep things in relative anonymity and guarantee everyone’s safety, especially that of the victims. 

Rules for the Boycott:

- DO NOT share any information about Dybowski’s victims with anyone. They do not need their identities to be circulated even more than they already have been. Focus on the boycott

- Don’t create a hashtag for this. This should be done through word of mouth and a unique hashtag will just be a way for us to be easily targeted. Use the common tags like #pathologic, #ice pick lodge, etc and especially #pathologic 3. This will more easily take the boycott effort to the fandom mainstream

- DO NOT post links to piracy websites. Give them away through DMs instead. Posting links will only have piracy websites taken down. 

- DO NOT DELETE any Pathologic or IPL related posts, fan videos or fan art you've posted. This would only incite backlash from Dybowski's fans and lead to mass harassment and an effort to buy more IPL material to counteract the boycott.

- KEEP MAKING Pathologic posts and use them to share the voices of SA victims. I encourage you to spread awareness about Dybowski’s allegations with every Pathologic post you make. Populating the fandom with people who are educated about sexual violence and are friendly and supportive towards victims is the most important step.

- DO NOT ENGAGE with internet trolls. The more attention you give the more harassment you'll get. If a rape apologist comments on your posts BLOCK THEM and tell other people who to block. This is also part of the process of making the fandom a kind place for SA victims.

- DON’T CONTACT OR HARASS IPL employees or any acquaintances of Dybowski’s. That’s fruitless, creates dangerous precedents and only risks harming victims and innocent people who weren’t aware of the allegations in the process.

[chaifootsteps]

so chai I'm definitely not gonna watch that new ep sinsmas but can you summarise what happens in that ep? also pls only show octavia clips so I could cheer her on

1. Stolas mopes and whines and tries to call Via, but Stella won't let Via pick up. All the while, Blitzo is the most loving, supportive boyfriend known to man, giving Stolas a job and cheerleading even as Stolas imposes on him and cries about how he isn't rich anymore. Eventually, Blitz gives his freeloading ass a job manning the phones.

2. Strawman homophobic bitch wife hires I.M.P. to kill her husband who left her for another guy but when they get there they don't go through with it because the gay guys are sweet and warmly lit and happy with their kids, and Blitz pictures himself and Stolas and Via and Loona because only women deserve to die for cheating.

3. Via sings a song about how Stolas abandoned her even though he's been trying to call all month I guess.

4. Stolas has a meltdown and trashes I.M.P's office, says he was an idiot to trade his life for all this, runs off to see Via.

5. Andre meets him at the palace, taunts him, Stolas beats the shit out of him and Andre retaliates and almost kills him until I.M.P. shows up.

6. "Get your hands off my bottom, bitch!"

7. Big anime fight sequence ensues, Andre makes the hydra from Hercules a dragon out of ice, Loona attacks using her feral wolf form that's never, ever been alluded to and I'm assuming only exists to curry favor with the fortune cookie crowd.

8. "The prince's knight needs his sword!" I'm tired, boss.

9. Millie's irritable and throwing up, gee, I wonder why.

10. Blitz saves Stolas, they kiss, never mind all the sexual coercion and abuse.

11. Via swoops in, shoos Saturday morning cartoon villain Andre away, then goes no contact with Stolas like we saw in the leaks.

12. Scene ends on Stolas crying his eyes out in the snow. Great emotional cliffhanger to end the season on, right?

13. NOPE! Christmas party at Blitz's apartment!

14. Millie's pregnant.

15. Stolas goes out to the balcony to smoke, Blitz creeps after him like the kicked dog he's become and shyly asks to bum a cigarette, Stolas is a bitch some more. "When have you ever asked?"

16. Stolas says that they're even stevens because Blitz saved him from the dragon, acknowledges that all of this was his choice at least, Blitz talks about Barbie Wire the Tool who was edited out from her mother's death scene and how much he misses her.

17. They have a romantic dance on the balcony, stop talking about the book deal or all the times Stolas made Blitz feel like shit, says Viv somewhere in the world as she stamps her foot.

18. Blitz hugs Stolas, Stolas looks apathetic about it. End of season.

[midnight-mourning]

Sneaky Santa

❄️❄️Midnight's DCA December Day 9❄️❄️

cooked this up last night for y'all, but waited to post to make sure it was actually coherent lmao, anywho, hope you enjoy! Edit: reviewed this morning and chat 2 am midnight was cookinggg

Prompt: ok ok i have a pretty vague idea that i really love. y/n would be a burglar who breaks into the pizzaplex on christmas eve/day (cos no one wants to work at christmas time, so there should be minimal security, right?..). but they quickly sense they are not alone and dca interaction ensues :') i feel like you could go different ways with this, full chase sequence, or just witty banter with the dca. you can play with around the y/n's motives for committing theft/breaking in. i'd love to see what you cook up :D

Word Count: 2630

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The side door opens with a click, and as it creaks ajar, you can't help the grin that splits your face. Success, and after 15 minutes of fumbling in the cold, you're more than happy to finally get inside. And get to work, for that matter. 

You shove your kit back into your pocket, and adjust your mask. Slinking inside, it's as quiet and dead as you hoped. Even the cameras, which you'd think they'd bother to power on for this very reason, don't seem to be active. All the better for you, really. 

Still, you proceed with caution, while the place is more than dead in terms of human staff, there are some bots lingering about. From the last time you were in here you think they were just called S.T.A.F.F. bots? Doesn't matter, you didn't need to take any chances. 

You keep to the shadowy parts of the building, making your way to your first stop; Chica's gift shop. You make quick work, grabbing the limited edition kids jewelry set, and a plush or two for good measure. You make similar stops throughout, a makeup set and costume from Roxy's, a gator golf mini club set, a microphone signed by Freddy himself. Not to mention again, anything else you can grab your hands on. 

You wanted this trip to count, if you were going to be doing something illegal, might as well go all out, yeah? 

You won't deny, it had been a bit of an inner conflict for you at first. You had morals, stealing was wrong and all that jazz. However, stealing from a multi-million dollar corporation who wouldn't even notice the teeny-tiny little dent you've made in their merchandise? Yes, still wrong, but surely not nearly as bad. At least, that's what you tell yourself. 

You glance briefly at the list in your hand, and the map in the other, as you chow down on a cupcake you swiped earlier. You're sitting on a railing overlooking the atrium, the area quiet enough to not draw any attention. Though, still so far so good from what you've been able to tell.

None of the main attractions have been out and about, and if you had to guess, they were either doing their own thing in their rooms—which, an odd but endearing thought to have—or they were simply powered down to conserve energy over the holidays. Regardless, you're able to check off the locations on your map, and the items on your list in an easy peace. 

As luck would have it, you're well ahead of schedule. Only an hour or so in and you're already down to your last location. Circled in red marker and starred; Lucky Stars Gift Shop. 

You'd saved it for last because it was one of the trickier ones to get to. But, with how easy the rest of the night has been, you'd argue it's well worth the risk at this point. While your haul was more than enough, you knew that if you could score there, you'd be set. 

So, finishing your cupcake with a wipe of your shirt sleeve, your off. 

When you arrive, much like all the other locations, the door is thankfully unlocked. You slip inside, and set to work. You were looking once more for a specific item in particular, in this case as set of pajamas. Smalls, along with a pair of matching nightlights if you could find them. 

You find the pjs soon enough, stuffing them in with the rest of your haul. It was starting to get heavy now, and you truly looked the part of a burglar with your big canvas sack. To be fair, it wasn't like you could fit all this in your backpack. Even though you'd foolishly considered it for a brief moment. 

The nightlights are a harder find, not anywhere within easy sight among the toys and stuffies scattered throughout the darkened shop. To be safe though, you swipe a few of those as well. 

You finally spot your prize while doing a sweep over the entire place, both set up on a high shelf behind the counter. You puff out your cheeks, of course they just had to be there of all places.

You shake your head, no matter. You weren't leaving without those nightlights. Especially after catching the sight of the price when trying to order online. Just for merch for the Daycare Attendant of all things. 

Setting down your bag, you start to climb onto the counter, swaying slightly in your rush. You lean over the gap behind the counter and the shelf, finding that you just barely can't reach.

You grit your teeth, and lean further, doing your best to keep your feet steady. When your hand makes contact with a box, you internally cheer. Quickly, you grip it, and the other while you're at it. 

You struggle to contain your excitement, giggling to yourself as you step fully back onto the counter with your goods. 

"Well now, what do we have here?"

"Something of a thief, by the looks of it." The voice turns darker, chuckling. "And not a very clever one, at that."

You freeze then, but keep calm. You were too close now. You weren't expecting any guards at this point, but certainly you could handle these two, you've come too far to not try, anyway. 

You turn, tone smooth. "Well, that's not very nice. I think I've been doing pretty good so far—" The words die on your tongue when you realize that the person behind you are in fact, one bot. One of the very bots that strongly resembled the ceramic copies in your hands.

The blue and white animatronic tilts his head at you, red eyes narrowed. Moon, from what you already know.

"You were saying?" He asks. 

Initial shock gone, you shake your head, huffing as you hop down from the counter. "I believe I've done pretty well so far, not to toot my own horn or anything. And with these, I'll be more than happy to get out of your hair. Or, whatever the equivalent is for you, I suppose." You stuff the nightlights in your bag, head held high. 

"Is that so? You'll just walk on out of here, without a bit of confrontation or trouble?" The naptime attendant sounds more amused than anything, so you'll keep trying your luck. 

You shrug. "Well yes, I really would rather not be a burden on you. Would hate to be the cause of disruption so close to the holidays. Consider it a gesture of the heart." You put your hand to your chest, bowing slightly. 

"Gesture of the heart—" Moon laughs then, hard. 

You take the chance to slip by him, crossing your arms as you lean against a clothes rack. "Something the matter? I'll have you know I mean what I say, especially to a pretty face."

"A pretty, pretty face?" He asks between chuckles. The bot pretends to wipe a tear. "My, you're a curious little thief aren't you?"

You wink. "I like to keep things exciting. No need for unnecessary tension and all that, you know? And if I wasn't on the job, well, I'd be using more than just my words, let's say that."

You're almost to the door now, hand ghosting over the handle. If you can get a head start, you'll surely make it. Unfortunately, you're not so lucky. 

"Well, I'm afraid to disappoint, but I believe tension is all I have to offer, you Star. I hope you'll understand."

You keep your eyes locked on each other for a moment more. Then, as he launches toward you, you rip open the door, running out into the light again. 

As you're running, you hear a voice call out behind you. "What? You're not going to try to woo me too? Am I good enough for you, Sunshine?"

"Of course you are!" You say back. "I just figured a change of scenery would do us some good, is all."

You find you have no other choice but to enter the Daycare itself. Certainly not your favorite option, but you can hear the playtime attendant gaining on your fast. You'll have to fake him out in here and hope for the best. 

He chuckles. "How kind of you! So tell me, what's convinced you this was a good idea, friend? You have me oh so curious."

"Ah, I wouldn't want to bore you with all the details." You wave your hand, then jump to climb one of the playset walls. "That's much less fun. Instead, tell me about yourself? You come here often?"

You hear him close behind, just missing at swiping your leg in his grasp. "Well, I live here, so as it would turn out, yes! You seem too familiar with the layout yourself, Starshine."

"What makes you think that?" You scoff. Though, you can't say he's wrong, you're just hoping the mask is enough to keep your identity a secret. Would hate to be banned now. 

You stare down at him, head in your hands as Sun stares up at you, rays flicking and eyes narrowed. "We got a peak at your little collection. You're well aware of what's the priciest items here! That's something that takes time, and planning."

"Aw, why thank you! If I wasn't preoccupied, I would return that compliment with more than just verbal appreciation."

He leans against the playset, gaze focused on you. "You could always try."

You grin, and for the briefest of seconds consider the offer, then shake your head. 

"Ah, I would. But I've got no guarantees it won't turn sour, in the end." You tsk drearily. "I'm afraid our love must stay as it is. Treasured from afar in secrecy. Surely you understand, no?"

 Sun nods, hand going to his faceplate just as dramatically. "Oh course, how foolish of me to consider such. If only—Hey! That's cheating!"

You snicker to yourself as you race across the playset. "I'm sorry, my dear! But time is of the essence. Perhaps another time I can listen to your sweet nothings—"

You slip, foot catching the wrong side of the plastic bridge. Your eyes widen as you begin to fall, then squeeze shut as you brace for impact. 

It doesn't come, instead, you find yourself in a reassuring grip. Peeking an eye open, you find Sun staring down at you, concern evident in his eyes. 

Your breathing is heavy as you wait for him to do something, anything. 

"I know those eyes." He says in the quiet. "It's you."

Ah, shit. 

In a state of utter defeat, and total shock, you wind up bound in a spare set of jump ropes, sat in one of the tiny chairs for good measure. 

Meanwhile, Sun is pacing the back and forth in front of you, speaking in a one-sided conversation to his counterpart. 

"But why, surely there's no reason for them to have been—"

"I know, I know. It's wrong, but that doesn't, no, no you're right."

"What if we, it might work. I just don't want to—" He turns to stare at you, then shakes his head.

You sigh. This blows. You'd spent so long planning this out, and now you're about to lose everything. Unless, you can convince them that you really meant no major harm. 

"Listen. I know this looks, bad. But I can explain!"

The bot turns to you then, curious, but suspicious. You don't blame him. 

Your head hangs low, guilt sinking in in that moment. "Look, money's tight. Really tight. Why do you think I come here to get daycare services? It's dirt cheap, you know. And, and the kids were just so excited for Christmas this year, I saw an opportunity and I just,"—You shake your head—"I'm not proud, at all. I just, wanted to give them something nice, you know? That's the honest truth. So, before you turn me in, please, just give me a chance. You can take everything back, but please let me walk out of here tonight. I, I won't come back, I'll find other arrangements, just please, please don't tell anyone about this."

You wait for him to start laughing at you, you expect it even. Even if it was the truth, it was still a ridiculous notion. All this for the sake of some toys? God, imagine what the cops are going to say when the get a load of this—

The jump ropes keeping you tied up suddenly loosen. 

Looking up, you see Sun's gaze is on you, unreadable in that moment. Then, he hands you your sack, and your backpack, and points to the door. 

"I, you're, you're letting me... really?" You're more than surprised, you're flabbergasted. 

He nods, helping you to stand. "I believe you, we both do. We've seen how much your care for them, and we understand. To a point, that is. Now hurry along, before it gets too late."

"I, I don't know what to say..."

Sun chuckles. "I think you'll be better off not worrying about your words for once, Sunbeam."

"Still, I just,"—you shake your head, and in a brief moment of unthinking, wrap your arms around the bot in a hug—"I mean it, thank you."

He stiffens, but returns the gesture. 

You pull away after a moment, slinging your bags back over your shoulders. "You know, if I'm not banned, we should um, do this again sometime. In a more, legal setting."

"O-oh?"

You smirk. "Yeah. What? I told you, I mean what I say."

You turn then, heading for the door before they change their mind. Though based on Sun's last words to you, you doubt that.

"We'd like that!" He calls, and for some reason, the sincerity of it makes you blush under your mask. 

Sure enough, when you discover that Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Plex is hiring, in Superstar Daycare no less, you find yourself easily able to fulfill that promise. 

"Almost ready for naptime, Starshine?" Sun asks as he comes up to where you stand leaning against the security desk.

You nod. "I am, but are you?"

"What makes you say that?" He asks, tone anything but innocent.

You tsk. "You've not been subtle today, Sunny. I can tell when someone wants to kiss me, it's my sixth sense, so to say."

"Just like how lock picking, bribery, pick-pocketing, and seduction~ are also your sixth sense?" He asks, leaning down to your height.

Your cheeks heat up, and you cough. "Of course."

Sun chuckles, closing the gap between the two of you with a brief peck. You are on the clock, after all. 

When he pulls away, flicking the lights off, you find Moon staring down at you with that same look. 

You huff, smile on your lips. "Let me guess, you want a turn now too?"

"Of course not." His hand cups your face with a tsk. "Could you think so little of me?"

You grin as he bends down further.

He shakes his head slightly, "No, I think I'll take a bit more than just one simple kiss."

"One not good enough for you?" You question. 

"Not for all the trouble you've been. I think at least three kisses are in order, to make up for it, don't you?"

Your arms wrap around his neck with a giggle. "Well, I certainly won't protest."

You meet somewhere in the middle, and just like you always do these days, find yourself grateful to your previous self for the, really, quite stupid idea of trying to break into the plex the night of Christmas Eve. 

Because sometimes bad ideas can have good outcomes, and this was a clear sign of that. 

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

Thank you for the request @soupdweller!! Was a very fun little idea that I MAY have gotten carried away with hehe (i see the word banter and HAVE to go all out yk?), hope you had as much fun as I did :)

Masterpost link

Tag list (if you would like added, see this post for more info):

@scarletcowboy @beemyhuneybee @fishm0ther @deviouscrackers @elsajoyagent8

@luckyyyduckyyy @zenkaiankoku @jogimote @local-shrub @amarynthian-chronicles

@robinette-green @everlightreader @sinister-sincerely @starredeclipse @dangerva

@juukai @crystalmagpie447 @mothgutz236 @lizyxml

[4only1]

Feliz Navidad - Secret Santa Part 3 (King's Edition)

Featuring: Jichang Kwak, Taesoo Ma, Seongji Yuk, Gitae Kim, Gongseob Ji, Seokdu Wang, Jaegyeon Na

Masterlist -----------------------

Jichang Kwak

Unfortunately, when someone has a job, it leaves them very little time to participate in something as silly as secret santa. Unfortunately, Jichang, the man you wanted to so desperately participate in secret santa, had a job.

You sat on a bench, pouting your lips. You really wanted Jichang to participate so you could rig it and give him a gift. Why can’t the gods do you a favour for once and let you cause some mischief.

You heard the crunch of boots against snow to your side, but decided to ignore it, too sad. Atleast, until a familiar voice spoke.

“Does me not participating in secret santa really make you that sad? Well then, I suppose I’ll have to participate next year, no matter how busy I am.”

Sitting up straight, Jichang was standing in front of you, a cigarette between his lips. You stared, at a loss for words. It only took him 5 seconds to see what was wrong with you. You felt stupid now knowing that even when he was busy, he made the time to come and find you. And you were just complaining about not being able to surprise him.

“It’s okay to be upset with me. I wanted to participate, but they needed me to work more hours. Come over for Christmas dinner though. We could use someone who actually knows how to cook” Jichang said, placing a hand on your head, ruffling your hair.

As he walked away, a deep red blush appeared on your face. You curled into a ball, letting out a scream.

“Ahhhhhh, how can such a man exist”

----------------------- Taesoo Ma

Taesoo’s large hands were covering your eyes as he led you to who knows where. Well…he did, he just wouldn't tell you. You had almost tripped a dozen times by now, getting more impatient with each step.

Finally you both came to a stop. 

“Okay, you ready?” He grumbles out. His hands move away from your eyes and you stare in confusion.

In front of you was the wilderness, trees rustling with the wind. You stare up at Taesoo, waiting for an explanation on what was happening.

“You told me about how cool it is to own a mountain, so I got you your own.” He said, his voice dead serious.

Now that is not something you see everyday. You never thought this man would go out of his way to buy you something you had mentioned in passing a while ago. Your jaw was on the ground. In shock, at how much money this man actually had to buy multiple mountains.

Taesoo picks your jaw up, closing your mouth, before lecturing you a bit.

“Close your mouth or else you'll catch flies. Maybe I should have gifted you a smaller mountain.”

The mountain wasn't the problem.

----------------------- Seongji Yuk

You sat cross-legged, waiting for the treat Seongji had promised you. You know that he had limited money, so when he told you he got you anything at all, you were ecstatic.

A sweet smell lingered through the air, and a small crackle of sugar was heard. As Seongji handed you the finished product, he spoke, voice low yet clear.

“Wait for it to cool before you eat it. I don't wanna, or have the equipment, to deal with burns.”

The tanghulu was beautiful looking. The sugary syrup coated the fruit perfectly, not leaving a spot untouched. You waited patiently, both for it to cool, and for Seongji to join you.

“Sorry I couldn't give you anything else, I hope you enjoy this.” He said, sitting cross-legged next to you.

A smile crossed your face and you took the first bite, it was as good as it looked. Looking at Seongji, you spoke, excited, not thinking.

“Are you kidding me! What's better than a sweet treat with a sweet man”

You cringed at your words but he just smiled.

----------------------- Kim Gitae/Kitae

“Here”

It was one word but Gitae spoke it with authority, no room for arguments. He threw a package into your lap, causing you to fumble a bit. Picking it up, you examined it for a good minute before you asked what it was.

“Um…what is this?”

Curiosity tainted your tone as you continued to stare at the mysterious package. A small chuckle came from Gitae as he lit a cigarette. He took a puff before responding, amused at your reaction.

“Only the best of what I got. Use it or sell it, I really don't care, just don't go making a name for yourself with it.”

Oh…OH SHIT!

Your eyes widened at the new information. In what world did Gitae think drugs would make an amazing secret santa gift. Who even let him participate? Couldn't he have just bought you something with the drug money instead of making you work for it yourself?

“What the actual fuck Gitae! I’m dragging your ass down if I get caught with this” That earned you a hearty laugh.

----------------------- Gongseob Ji

Gongseob stood close to you, too close. Even when you side stepped, he followed, leaving almost no room between the two of you. Finally, you had enough and decided to ask what his deal was. 

“What do you want?” It came off harsh but he didn't care.

“I'm your secret santa, exciting right?” His tongue was sticking out as he spoke.

“I got you an amazing gift, one of a kind.” He kept yapping on, but you drowned him out.

Your attention was brought back when you heard the sound of a zipper being undone. Looking down, you were greeted with Gongseob, who had started to pull out Gongseob junior. Oh fuck no!

“What the hell!” You exclaimed. How did he think his dick was a gift? Cocky man! This gift SUCKED!!!

You moved automatically, your form would make even the best boxers swoon at how good it looked. With speed never seen before, not even by him, your fist swung swiftly, yet hard, landing right on his family jewels.

He fell to the ground, clutching his damaged merchandise, moaning in pain. You let out a sigh before shaking your fist out. A smile grew on your face as you let out a laugh

“I take it back, that was an amazing gift.”

----------------------- Seokdu Wang

Seokdu pulled out your seat, allowing you to sit down before pushing the chair in. For such an unassuming and rough looking man, he sure knew his manners.

The food was served as soon as he sat down. An assortment of dishes scattered across the large table. This was quite the luxurious gift, one you weren't expecting from him.

“Thank you for the meal, everything looks amazing”

Your words held only the truth. Everything looked yummy. Looking at his plate, you noticed a salad, just a salad. Confused, you decided to ask about it.

“So…what's with the salad, you look like the type to eat raw meat.”

“I'm vegan.”

Ah, there always was a catch. Something you would never have assumed by looking at him. You decided to change the subject, to a more pressing matter.

“I wish you had told me what the gift was beforehand. I would have dressed up better to fit the vibes of this place. I look like a rat.”

You didn't actual look like a rat, you looked like wet rat who survived a hurricane. You were wearing sweatpants that hadn't been washed in weeks, a baggy sweater and your hair was all over the place.

“Don't worry about others seeing you. I booked the whole restaurant.”

How are all the king's so rich???

----------------------- Jaegyeon Na

“I've driven a million kilometers on it and it's still good as new, I swear.” Jaegyeon spoke, placing the car keys in your hand.

You look at the car he was gifting you and well normally you would have been crying tears of joy at the gift, you just stared, annoyed. Initial N, as he called it, was the ugliest car you've ever seen. And that was before whatever happened to it 

Looking at it now, the front hood was smashed, and the roof was gone. It also smelled like piss, more so than usual. Did he think you were stupid.

“No” Is all you say, too insulted to speak otherwise. How dare this man try and give you an ugly car.

“What do you mean no? You can't say no to a gift, especially one as good as this one. Who else am I supposed to give this to?”

“Not my problem.” You tell the man, before walking away, done with the man and his ugly cars. You look back at the sound of crying. This man was hugging the car, telling it how special it was.

Well Jaegyeon was special, no doubt about that.

Part 1, Part 2

Welcome to part three of the secret santa series! We have one more part to go! I'll give you a spolier in that in contains 5/6 characters and it will be posted on the 24th. It will be the last part of the secret santa series.

If you don't see your favourite character in this part, go check out the others!

Easiest to write for: Gongseob Ji

Hardest to write for: Jichang Kwak

[internalscreaming247]

So!

For a long, long time now, one of the biggest white whales in lost media has been Me and My Friends, the live action pilot to The Backyardigans that was never aired.

There's been an ongoing search now for I think 6 years now? It got revitalized in 2020, and there is a small group of well-known lost media hunters who are looking for it in a private discord server, as well as a public search.

(The reason most of the search is done in private is so people dont spam new leads asking the same questions. Essentially just to keep it professional and not burn bridges.... we'll get to that.)

Now, this search is kinda seen as cursed. Every single time a new lead comes up, it seems like we have the pilot in our grasp, and then for some reason it falls through. Multiple times they've contacted people with the pilot who have said "yeah, i can send it to you!" only for them to ghost immediately after. Its a very infamous search all around.

Recently, we've found out that its not just bad luck. The admins of the Backyardigans wiki not only have the pilot and refuse to share, but have been actively sabotaging the search.

They managed to get a mole into the private discord who was just there to burn bridges with contacts to make sure they dont send the pilot. They've been lying about different people who have worked on the pilot or not. Assumedly because they just... don't like the idea of something rare they have becoming public. They're hoarding it, essentially.

Now, one of the searchers made a youtube video covering the story (which I'll link at the end of the post, its a good watch.) and explaining how this happened. Although he made sure to censor the names of the admins, he did say that they were admins of the Backyardigans wiki.

As such, the internet did what the internet does, and the wiki was vandalized to hell and back after the release of the video.

I will say that most everyone agrees this was fucking stupid, and that any semblance however small that the admins would play nice is gone now, essentially. No one encouraged people to vandalize but I feel a disclaimer that they didnt endorse it would've helped, but I digress.

Now, I was watching all this happen. Refreshing the page to see what new thing would pop up randomly on the Me and My Friends Backyardigans Wiki page. And i gotta say, one of the most prevalent edits was this.

Like, a minute after the wiki staff fixed the page, I'd reset and it would be back to this.

Altogether, it was a batshit fucking day for lost media fans, and I'm glad to share it with the fandom of whatever this character is from. Its a cute design for sure.

The video, if you want to learn more (its around 20 minutes long):

[emsroselover]

A Fan Edit

𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦... 𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘰 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘌𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺

𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: 𝙉𝙤𝙣𝙚 (𝙄 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙞 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙙𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙮)

It was a typical afternoon at the Sturniolo house. You have just returned from a long photo shoot, your makeup still fresh on and your hair styled perfectly, though your energy was starting to drip after hours on set. You had a few minutes before you needed to wind down, so you decided to pop in and say hello to Chris, Matt and, Nick

As you stepped through the front door, you heard the familiar hum of cameras and the sound of Chris's voice-low but excited, clearly in the middle of filming. You smiled to yourself as you took off your shoes and made your way down the hallway toward the living room.

The door was slightly ajar, and you could see the trio sitting in front of the camera. Matt was holding a microphone, Nick was fiddling with the equipment, and Chris was sitting comfortably in the middle of the couch, eyes focused on the screen in front of him. The title of the video they were filming flashed across the screen: "Reacting to Fan Edits."

You pushed the door open just as Chris looked up, his eyes lighting up at the sight of you. "Hey, babe!" he greeted you with a big grin, though he quickly tried to turn his attention back to the screen as Matt gave him a playful nudge.

"Did you just say 'Hey, babe' on camera?" Matt teased, his eyebrow raised as he looked at his twin. "You know Nick ain't editing that out, right?"

Chris rolled his eyes but chuckled. "Shut up, dude, I don't care."

You laughed and waved at them. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I just got back from my shoot," you explained, tossing your bag onto the couch beside Chris. "What are you guys filming today?"

Nick quickly responded, already looking back at the screen. "We're reacting to some fan edits. You know, the usual. It's actually pretty funny."

You nodded, settling onto the arm of the couch beside Chris. "Sounds fun. What's the first one?"

Chris leaned forward, and you could see the screen where a fan-made video was loading. He glanced at you and winked. "Oh, trust me, you'll love this one. It's a wild edit of my old video."

The video played, and your curiosity piqued as the fan edit began. It was a simple clip of Chris from a past video, where he said, "I'm always ready when you want me," his voice casual and unassuming. But the fan edit had taken it out of context, paired with dramatic music and flashy text, which gave the sentence an entirely different meaning.

The screen read, "Chris, always ready for anything." The music was intense, and the text blinked on screen like some kind of seductive ad, turning the innocent comment into something far more suggestive than Chris ever intended.

You couldn't help but burst into laughter, and Chris, seeing your reaction, immediately turned a deep shade of red. "Oh my god," he groaned, burying his face in his hands. "That was not the vibe I was going for!"

Matt snickered, his eyes glinting with

mischief. "Well, you didn't exactly help yourself there, Chris. I mean, it kind of sounds like you were asking for it."

Nick joined in, his laughter matching Matt's. "Yeah, man, I'm always ready when you want me? You're practically begging for that kind of edit."

You shook your head, still giggling at how the video had been so expertly altered. "I mean, to be fair, Chris," you said, looking at him with a teasing smile, "You weren't exactly wrong. You are always ready when I need you, aren't you?"

Chris turned to you, his cheeks flushed but his eyes twinkling with a mix of embarrassment and affection. "Oh, come on, Y/N. You're making this worse," he whined, though there was no real heat behind it.

You leaned closer, nudging him with your shoulder. "What? It's true! You're always there for me when I need you." You winked playfully, feeling a little mischievous yourself.

Chris shook his head in disbelief, his hand covering his face as he groaned dramatically. "I can't believe you're encouraging them," he muttered under his breath, though he was smiling despite himself. "I was just talking about being prepared for whatever, like… my videos, or whatever. But now look what's happening."

Matt laughed, reaching over and ruffling

Chris's hair. "You're never going to live this one down, bro."

Nick chimed in, "Yeah, the fans are going to have a field day with this one. I bet that edit is already trending."

Chris threw his hands up in mock surrender. "Alright, alright! I get it, okay? I messed up, and now I'll never live it down." He turned to you, his eyes softening. "But seriously, babe, you're always the one making me look good. So if they want to think I'm being all… that guy, whatever. You know me."

You smiled warmly, leaning in to plant a quick kiss on his cheek. "I'm just here for you, no matter how embarrassing the edits get," you teased.

The moment you kissed him, Matt and Nick groaned in unison, pretending to gag. "You two are gross," Matt said dramatically. "But I guess that's what we get for having a couple on our channel."

Chris rolled his eyes but couldn't hide the smile on his face. "Shut up, guys. It's cute. And I'm not taking it back."

As the video continued, you stayed by Chris's side, teasing him every chance you got.

Later that week that video was still blowing up with comments. They were full of laughing emojis and playful suggestions.

Sturn.Chris: “Omg, Chris is always ready 😏” Pedals.Sturn: Did anyone else catch that? Lmao 🤣” Y/n's.wife: “Y/N, you’re not wrong though. He is always ready for you.”

Chris could only shake his head. "I'm done. Y/N, I'm going to blame you for all this," he muttered, still grinning as he read more comments filled with more playful comments.

But he didn't mind. The truth was, no matter how embarrassing the edits got, he'd never be anything but himself with you-and that's exactly why he loved you.

[waywardmillennial]

Ghost Files Alone

I've been so excited to see how this series would end and it did not disappoint on any level. I'm so proud of Ryan!! Even if I wasn't a Boogara I would have been scared of staying in a place like this all alone. So it's very inspiring to see him face his fears and continue investigating even when you could tell he was having a hard time.

Like, my favorite Watcher shows are the food shows or the silly ones (I haven't even seen all of AYS or early SM because I don't like horror). But this show was so well made, that even though I think it's scarier than Ghost Files, it's kept me hooked to see what happens each week.

Ryan has always been great at balancing the spooky with a bit of humor and this show is no exception!

(a couple more spoiler-y thoughts and screencaps under the cut)

Knowing that Ryan was the one to come up with the concept, execute it, and also do most of the editing, shows how talented he is and what a visionary creator he can be. But also knowing how much it probably messed with him to even relive some of those moments while editing makes me feel for him. Even that is further proof of him facing his own inner-demons to make great content.

And don't even get me started on that ending monologue - ofc I cried T_T

I want to give him the biggest hug and/or bucket of popcorn because did such a great job!

I love what this series represents and if this is the only season we get I'll cherish it for a long time. Ryan's mental health is more important than another season. But if he feels like he can do it (maybe after waiting a few years? and he feels like his anxiety is more manageable?) then I would support another series of this because it is SO GOOD.

[doublejango]

HELLUVA BOSS SINSMAS SPOILERS, OCTAVIA EDITION-- [Spoilers below! Am tagging this as well, of course, but just in case you didn't catch the tags, this is your sign to stop now if you don't want a spoiler.]

I freaking love Octavia SO MUCH, you guys!!!! I love her, love her, love her! What a fantastically written character. And good lord, her singing voice! That was absolutely incredible. Not what I need to post about, but I had to mention it because she absolutely blew my socks off! Aaaahhh! but okay, okay, focusing and moving on.

I am 99% sure Octavia knows. Deep down. She knows that Stolas really does love her. And I think she understands, or really, truly will understand. She knows how important antidepressants are, clearly, and even if she didn't fully understand why he has them, she knows they're meaningful and that he does need them. And like, the first real "reason" she had to go see him, she immediately leapt on it. Giving him the medications--showing she cares, even if she's yelling? And she immediately moved to his defense, absolutely fearless.

Octavia loves Stolas.

She pushed back at him, yelled at him, questioned him, doubts him--all things that I really don't think she would do if he hadn't made her feel safe, loved, and wanted all her life. She can push back against Stolas, because I think she believes, on a purely subconscious level probably, an instinct born of the fact that he raised her with so much love and tenderness, that he would never hurt her, never judge her. And that is exactly how it should be, that is wonderful. Stolas instilled a sense of safety in her when it comes to him, or else she wouldn't be so honest with him, wouldn't let her pain show so clearly.

She doesn't do that with Stella and Andrealphus. She doesn't even really confront them at all, it seems. She could have been sassing them all along, snapping at them for taking her phone, for limiting her at all, but she just doesn't bother... and I think it says so much. If she really trusted Stella to have her best interests at heart, to be the loving and understanding mother--I like to think Octavia would've called her on her bs. But on some level, Octavia didn't seem to feel there was any point to confronting Stella or Andrealphus.

Only Stolas.

Because he is still the one who matters most to her, and with whom she is intrinsically safe.

She still trusts him. Even if she doesn't think she does right now, she turned to him with questions and exposed her vulnerabilities. Maybe she didn't react "logically" to his answers, but I mean, she's a teenager. She's a good kid, she's just also going through devastating heartbreak and loss right now, she's young, she's allowed to act out, act up. Yes, of course it's painful to watch, because I want our sweet Stolas to have his reunion with Via... but I think he will. I really, really think he will. It's okay that she's not ready for that time to be now. She'll get there eventually, and the two of them can be whole again <3

I think Via is too good a person to ever be fully corrupted by Stella's hatred and indifference, or Andre's casual cruelty. She has a lot of pain of her own to deal with right now, but as that heals, I choose to believe she'll see Stolas as a person too, not just as a father, not just as the one person in her life who was always there for her, but as a person. I think she'll see. She'll forgive him. And she will love him all the more deeply--

And that every day, until that day, she will love him still.

I adore her.

I adore her so much.

Adding, TLDR: I think it's so important that she feels she can safely reject him, because deep down Via knows that Stolas will never reject her, no matter what. Even now. She doesn't need to placate or tolerate him. She'll always be safe with him, and even if she doesn't know that consciously... I think she still knows.

[lanternlit]

smokedanced is now lanternlit

And with this I return, so excited to be writing again! Further changes...

I have moved Castiel and the Thirteenth Doctor here from their previous blogs (waywardfeathered/dochaes). If you were just followed, we were probably mutuals there! Hi! I plan to slowly follow everyone I had ongoing interactions with or asks I planned to reply to, on those blogs. Slowly, because I want to double check people's guidelines pages first. If you follow me back here, I plan to automatically reply to our things on this blog :)

I've rewritten my guidelines. The contents are mostly the same, but a lot has been reworded, and some minor things have been added or deleted, so it'd be awesome if you could give them a read. I guess this is technically optional, since they're mostly the same as before.

A few muses have been dropped. Kenna de Poitiers, Jeremy Bradshaw, Juliet Burke and Tyrion Lannister have been dropped as muses.

New muses have been added. Cas and Thirteen have been moved here from their previous blogs, and I have added Fifteenth Doctor as a muse. Jake, whom I added, um, nearly a year ago... finally has an about page, now, as well. You all get free shots to fire at me about how I had an OC among my muses for a year almost without any kind of an about page.

Some muses' stories have been altered. Namely, Mary Stuart is now a modern AU based muse, and I don't write her in Reign canon at least for the time being. Ella Finnegan has had her story altered, as well, basically the way her psychic abilities work have been changed. The latter will be easy to retcon in any ongoing interactions.

All muses have at least a dossier and a character premise page. This one is something I am proud of myself for, but also fuck, I got so frustrated trying to write the character premise pages that I can see it when I look at them, what with some of them having the most simple sentence structure and all, but I figured... better some information for my characters than none??? Everyone has something, now! Also, no more half the muses only having placeholder images on their pages! PRAISE THE ABSOL... I mean, my self-discipline. Because these past weeks I have just wanted to COME BACK AND WRITE, but I made myself have those tabs for all the characters first.

It is currently nearing 2am so pleaaaaase excuse me if this post is chaotic. Hi dash love you dash.

Lots of muses have been switched between their activity status. Current list goes:

primary muses: cas, hannibal, iris, izzy, jillian, the tardis, thirteen, will

secondary muses: edi, ed, ella, ever, garrus, lucius, mary, tali, ten

tertiary muses: charlie, clara, dean, river

test muses: chloe, eloise, fifteen, hurley, jake

Speaking of, right, Eloise has been released from "I need to rewatch Bridgerton first!" jail, and she's open for interactions sksksksksk

Guys, I don't remember what else I was meant to say.

The blog has had a bit of a makeover. Nobody look at my navigation page, the only thing I edited there so far was the colour scheme, it is outdated. I know me saying not to look is going to make people look but what can I do. Look at my muse directory and guidelines if you want to look at something, you sneaky sneaks.

The interest tracker has been updated. Chloe and Jake have been finally added on it. Cas and Thirteen have also been added on it. Fifteen has- you understand.

The tracker is the same one I've had before, but if you are interested in any of the added muses, please edit your responses. If you haven't done the tracker before, this would also be a very nice time to do it!

Going forward, I am going to go through my unaswered ooc messages and reply to people, I know there are a lot of you who have been on hold with plotting. Thank you so much for your patience. I am also going to start replying to things again, obviously. Now that my muse pages all have at least something on them, I can continue to work on them while my main focus for the blog is generally, well, roleplay. The pages being in such a state of WIP was a huge source of executive dysfunction for me.

I also plan to re-read everyone's guidelines just to make sure neither of us have edited ours so that we don't match anymore, but that'll not be done overnight with all of you.

I hope the url change isn't a huge inconvenience. If you could give this post a like, if you've seen it, that'd be awesome of you, though not at all necessary! I am genuinely very excited to be here again.

[lucianalight]

Thanks for tagging me @theitcharchives 🥰 I hope fanfic is OK because it was the only "work" I had with some actual written scenes. They belong to the only fic I posted on AO3 (The Echo of a Scream- yes I stole the title from comics mainly because I still have no idea where I am taking it beyond self indulgent angst :P :D ). they're the first draft so they may change after the edit. They're not that out of context though.

From the second chapter Aoura Borealis:

A low cracking noise interrupted his thoughts. Dancing green lights had brightened the sky. As green as his magic...the magic Frigga taught him. He had lost the only reminder of his mother. And even this realm was mocking him. Dangling his loss in front of his eyes in a frozen wasteland, a near mockery of where he was born.

...

"Comfortable are we?"

"Not in the slightest Agent Romanoff"

"What are you doing here?"

"Watching this magnificent phenomenon of your realm, seems like I arrived at the right time"

"Aha and what else?"

"Nothing," he said matter of factly. "Not an insult to your poweress, but I expected to see more of your band of misfits."

"Do you think I can't handle you?

"I wouldn't dare."

"I'm not alone."

"I can tell. But none of them are the Avengers. I don't believe Stark can stay silent for that long."

From the fourth chapter: A Fire Made of Ice:

The cottage was cold and empty. It looked like it was left alone for years. At least there was a bed and some blankets. The needed lugs and a fire but Loki had to take care of Natasha first. Her clothes were still wet and her eyes were unfocused. He put her down which made her shaking worse. Her hands instinctively reached for him. For the warmth of his Jotun skin. Loki would have laughed at the absurdity if he wasn't worried for her life.

"It's just a moment Natasha. I'm here." he drew circles on her hands with his thumb and bit his lip.

"You're going to kill me for this later." but he had no choice.

Tagging @marril96 @abby118 @tori-artemis @therese-lokidottir and anyone who wants to play.

Storyteller Saturday! | Out-of-context quotes

Share some out-of-context quotes from a work of your chosing! Funny, badass, witty, quippy, sexy, romantic, etc.

Tagging @positivelyruined @mxxnlightwriting @topazadine @theitcharchives @sarah-sandwich-writes and hello there new friend @finchmomentwrites

—

From Eternal Night of the Northern Sky

“It’s the transient nature of what we are.” “Transient? You’re immortal.” “And nothing else is. We don’t get to go peacefully in our sleep. We don’t get to see the twilight closing in after a long and fulfilling life. When we die, it’s fast, violent, and unpredictable.” ... “Nothing is permanent when you live forever. Nothing is yours. This room won’t be mine forever. My clothes won’t last forever. Love doesn’t last forever. So… So when someone becomes your friend or your ally or your confidant, your lover, your partner, it’s always only for now. And I’m not old enough to appreciate the beauty in fragility yet.”

From Tell Me How Long

“You want to shock the world into saving our oceans, showing every little girl out there that mermaids exist and are dying because of human intervention is a way to go about it, one we shouldn’t squander so lightly. People don’t give a shit about shrimp and coral and even Nemo, but show them Ariel’s got cancer and the humanitarian outrage does the work for us.” “Or they end up in zoos." “Do not underestimate the power of legions of pissed off little girls. Or theater kids and Disney nuts.”

From Eternal Night's TBD sequel

"And then what, Madeira? What if they refuse?” ... “You’ll slaughter us all? You need our numbers. You need Tanarang’s position on the map. You don’t have the forces to blockade us and you can’t starve us out. You can’t kill us all and start over because you need soldiers with experience that you can trust." ... “We will always be at a disadvantage against the living masses. They can throw tens of thousands of conscripts at our gates and overwhelm us with sheer weight. We don’t have foot soldiers. We have, at most, a thousand vampires in all the North, and every single body counts. Tanarang has ninety-one who’ve taken the oath and eight Aeskerat under our protection, and we’re telling you no. So then what, Grandsire?” 

Don't be shy! Anyone can tag and add on.

[homochihuahua]

Yo people think of this

Dick a lone hunter. Living on the skirt of town, all alone and isolated with only his two hounds as company. His relationship with his extended family is strained, especially after the death of that boy Bruce took in his place. The one who would look at him with worship in his eyes, like he had been searching for something all his life and had finally found it. His demise. His passing had broken them all. Dick didn't form that much of a relationship with him to began with. Too angry at Bruce and too involved in his work and life to care for one more stray Bruce plucked from the streets. But god it had left him wounded. And while the wound had closed it has yet to heal even now.

Dick spends a relatively simple life now. Long gone the glory he once bathed in with his team to a life of tending to cold hollow house with no one to wait for him in it.

Dick first met him after slipping from a cliff where he got himself injured. Something near fatal if he didn't get help as fast as possible. Apparently he separated far a way from his hounds way too far for them to find him in the right time. Not like the poor animals would be able to think of bringing in human help before setting in to find their master anyway.

As he was finishing that thought, He appeared right in front of him. From the snow like a soft blotch of blood with his red fur, a fox. It looked at him and he looked back at it in return. Tentatively inching to where he lay, Dick gripped the knife inside his pocket, ready for the worst, if it decided to attack for whatever reason. But just a few inches from him the fox looked into his eyes. This close Dick can see them now a beautiful haunting teal colour, something he hadn't seen on any other creature before, almost otherworldly. And in it's gaze Dick found something familiar, he doesn't know how, but it feels like this fox recognised him. And Dick in turn recognised him too.

He went away after that, leaving him all back alone. Dick contemplated his departure, somehow feeling lighter of his impeding end. After some time, that couldn't be even an hour long if his estimations were right, Dick heard the sound of dogs and people. He screamed his lunges out for them, with as much strength he musterd after much blood loss. Harsh haltings and the sound of shuffling through the snow, Dick looked up in time to see some of the town's hunters with their own hounds and his, coming his way.

"Richard! Thanks the Deity we found you"

"How?" He managed weakly.

"Your hounds came back to town following a fox! Our own joined them and we followed them to get them back to home, because for some reason they weren't listening to orders.", "and we also worried of your dog, as we know of how well trained they are and how they would not dare leave your side... we worried something happened to you"

Dick didn't really pay much attention past the "Fox" he looked around willing to catch him again and he did. It looked at him from far away. Kept on looking for sometime and then trotted away.

Dick thanked the fox and he thanked the gods for sending him to Dick.

The second time Dick met him, was when he was nursing a heavy fever amidst a snow storm. Harsh knocking on his door had awaken him from restless slumber. He wondered what person out of their mind would be out and about at this time, or it simply could be someone seeking refuge at his shamble of a house. Either way Dick readied his hunting knife and riffle. He opened his door with a harsh gush of storm air entering his house blocking it from him, almost protectively, was a younger man. Dick's high fever faced with sudden cold made his mind all fuzzy and dizzy, because he recognised those eyes, and that face looked like it belonged to someone who never got the chance to grow into it. His illness took the better of him, Dick fell into a strong, warm, chest. Wide shoulders and powerful arms engulfed him, warmth seeping into his quivering body.

"Shush, I got you now"

Tears filled his eyes for some reason, from his illness, the cold or the unexpected surge of weird emotions, he doesn't know. He Couldn't have put his fingers on it even as his life quite literally depended on it. With this stranger at his doorstep, and him in such weakened state.

But Dick felt safe. This man would keep him safe.

Dick woke up. His hounds were laying by either side of him. He looked into his room to find doctor Thompkins in a chair by his side.

"Good morning Dick. How are you feeling? Last night must have been a hard one on you."

"I had a simple fever. What are you doing her Dr Thompkins ?"

"I am afraid it wasn't as simple as you'd like to believe.. if not for that young man taking care of you through it, you might have not gone through last night Dick.", "which, answering to your question, was the one to seek me after you had stabilised a bit. Quite the young man he was, to seek me and drag me through the storm to get to you"

Dick's braind was still fuzzy with the memory. He had thought it a hallucination and nothing more. No person should have had those eye. Especially not him.

"Where did he go" he said instead "I don't know. After he got me here he just left without a word, and you know me I don't ask unnecessary question and would rather spend the time and effort tending to my patient" a beat of silence "you don't know him either" a statement not needing a confirmation "you don't know who I know or might not know", "But I do Dick. Everyone dose know how isolated you are and it's a face I haven't seen around town before"

Dick didn't have anything to say to that. He only thought "Maybe it's an envoy from the deity, a guardian angel, if you Will" he declared. And even through the dizziness and fuzziness he felt, he could confirm. That the weight he felt propping him was very real and human.

"Don't be ridiculous, I never sought you as a religious person"

"Hmm" Dick allowed, signalling he wanted the conversation to end. which Leslie allowed easily.

As she finished with directing him to each medicine he was supposed to take, she made a promis to come check on him in the early evening then she left him to his cold empty house again.

Dick stroked his hounds thinking, yearning, was the fox only going to come to him in times of need? Did he only allow himself in Dick's life only when death was at his door steps waiting for him? Did Jason only come to ward the angels of death away from him, because he regarded Dick as something precious to him,but his anger for Dick's neglect and detachment of him made Jason punish Dick by never returning back to his life properly?

Dick left his hands to his eyes slowly. As the weight of his loneliness settled on his shoulders, the tears started to flood. He hoped his hands were enough to shield him from Jason's ever watching eyes, least he be watching now, and so he might blame Dick's pain on his own self.

[retracexcviii]

Sunday Moon

Hi there dear fellows and Luna lovers. Sunday once more time.

Don't edit this drawing and don't post it anywhere.

Again this style of coloring and again Luna using the book because I want to die in this hill.

The wonderful artist is @/tbyeolh on Instagram.

[thatswhatsushesaid]

i do understand and acknowledge that most people who pick up mdzs and get really into it walk away from the experience with wangx!an brainrot that brings them joy and suffering (affectionate) in equal measure, and--unless they're assholish at me or my pals--i wish all of those people well and hope that the veritable cornucopia of wangx!an content on this webbed site and AO3 is everything they've ever wanted out of their fandom experience. wwx is the protagonist, lwj is his court-appointed soulmate, their happily ever after is what most people pick up the books wanting to experience, and that's, you know, fine. live your bliss etc.

i just hope that one day it won't be such a hot and controversial take for fans who didn't develop wangx!an brainrot, and who found something and/or someone else more compelling and engaging about the text, to be able to say as much, and talk about it as much as we want to, without generating a bunch of passive-aggressive--or aggressive-aggressive--commentary from hardcore wangx!an stans who seem to take our disinterest in the central romance personally for whatever reason. like genuinely i would probably not dislike wangx!an as much as i have come to dislike them if i hadn't been inundated with very rude reblog commentary or anon asks early on in my fandom experience just for saying /checks my notes, "maybe jin guangyao isn't evil, actually. maybe wei wuxian did some things wrong."

dgmw, i'm glad that lots of people here are able to like jgy, for example, and still enjoy wwx and wangx!an specifically. but for those of us who don't, or who are struggling to rediscover some affection for the main pair, this attitude.... did not develop in a vacuum lol. i would just like for people to bear that in mind, i guess.