#otp: the boys are back in town

[suetrim]

They are my ✨OTP✨

[mojowitchcraft]

Stommy Starter Pack

Bella @bilbosmom-belladonna said she was getting into Stommy so I thought I'd do a fic rec list of my faves!!

This is by no means an exhaustive list, please feel free to post more Stommy recs in the replies!

If you're a Steddie shipper and you are just warming up to the idea of letting Tommy infiltrate your OTP try these Stommie (Steve, Tommy, Eddie - aka Frog Stack) Fics:

movie night by pizzabones aka @glitterfang Post S4 | Rated E | 9k | One Shot This is a series with 2 parts so far, with a 3rd one on the way

Nightly demodog attacks, a town that's held together by duct tape and sheer pettiness, a scrappy group of survivors living in Hawkins high and one, Tommy Hagan. After coming home to Hawkins to check on his family and running into a fair bit of trouble, Tommy manages to find himself roommates with none other than Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson. It's actually not that bad all things considered. At least there's still porn at the end of the world.

Strange Overtones by WabiSabiPapi aka @arimakes Body Swap | Rated E | 38k | 4/4 Chapters

When he makes it to the small clearing, quick footsteps come up behind him, and before he can turn around, someone tries to shove him. Astonishingly, his center of gravity is on his side and he plants his feet in time, holding his ground. Spinning around, he puts his fists up and freezes when he sees himself panting and angry with fists clenched to his sides. “Woah, trippy,�� Eddie remarks. Tommy dressed him poorly today—the absence of his battle vest is going to draw a lot of attention from his comrades. “What the fuck did you do to me, freak?!” “Tommy?” Eddie doublechecks, hopeful that their game of musical bodies is only between the two of them and not some other third party. “Yes! Did you fucking curse me? What the shit is this?!” ----- Eddie Munson and Tommy Hagan don't like each other and they don't have anything in common - or at least, that's what they think until one morning, they each wake up in the other's body.

MORE RECS BELOW THE CUT!

pretty secrets we share in the dark by poopypantsbennett aka @dontcallmeeds PWP | Rated E | 3k | One Shot

Then, a throat clears from the back of bedroom and Tommy’s entire universe becomes hell frozen over. Steve scrambles away from Tommy, takes his hand back. The loss of touch makes Tommy have to bite back a whine. “Well, don’t stop on my accord,” a somewhat familiar voice comes from a plume of smoke by the window. (Or Tommy and Steve get caught by everyone’s favorite stoner, Eddie Munson)

And the boy who loves you the wrong way is filthy by whateverokayFINE aka @batmunson666 PWP | Rated E | 4.5k | One Shot This is in a series with 2 parts so far

“You wanna kiss him?” Eddie’s voice is warm on his neck. The sun was starting to set. “Yeah.” or Tommy Hagan goes over to Eddie Munson's trailer to buy weed, sees that he’s not alone and the guy that he’s been in love with for years has been keeping his drug dealer company.

friend, love, freefall by @becomingfoxes Rated E | 10k | One Shot Plus there's some really lovely art in the fic!

Eddie leans into his face; his big, stupid, chocolate bambi eyes wide as he bats his eyelashes at Tommy and says, “Pretty, pretty please.” And really, Tommy tries not to react but he can’t help that his eyes flicker down to Eddie’s lips and back up to his eyes. So he pushes at Eddie, just to get some distance and watches as he flops back onto the bed in a mess of uncoordinated limbs. “Jesus fuck.” He sniffs, “Sure, okay. We can watch your dumb, creepy doll movie.” “Yesss.” 

And then if you want another fun threesome you can try Stomarol (Steve, Tommy, Carol)

and steve makes three by Adure aka @toburnup AU | Rated E | 8k | One Shot

"Steve doesn't like me." Tommy knows better than to lie. "He'll come around." He knows that the reason Steve hates Carol is the same reason that Tommy loves her. The same reason he loves Steve, really. They have the same bite, the same oil-slick filthy mouths that get them in trouble. They both smell like hairspray and bubblegum. They both like Tommy.

And then if you're ready for the full Stommy experience:

hold the line by pizzabones Post S4 | Rated E | 8k | One Shot

Standing at the precipice of a big change, Steve's dragged to a Hawkins High bonfire by Dustin. It feels like a personal low, showing up to a high school gathering at twenty. Oh well. It's fine, he'll be out of Hawkins soon enough. It just figures that Tommy Hagan, the last person he expected to run into tonight, is also standing in the keg line. As the poets (Toto) say, "love isn't always on time".

sidelong by Adure AU | Rated E | 6k | One Shot

Tommy draws his knees up toward him and leans his folded arms on top. He stares, unashamed, at the length of Steve's neck as he looks around. His chin. His nice smile. Tommy's drunker now that they're sitting in the brunt of the sun, and maybe that's why it takes a few extra seconds for him to realize that Steve's stopped talking. "Is there something on my face?" Steve asks, rubbing his cheek with the back of his hand. He looks confused. And he's waiting, because Tommy is slack-jawed and a little bit in love and he's really, really not ready for this shit. (Tommy can't help but look, and Steve can't stop catching him.)

here you come again by @cranberrymoons Post S4 | Rated E | 16k | One Shot

Vaguely, over the sound of a bland pop song playing in the background, he hears the squeak of a pair of sneakers come to a halt at the other end of the aisle. He turns his head toward the sound… and promptly fumbles the tube of Pringles he’d been reaching for. He bats at it with his hand in a futile attempt at catching it, instead knocking it further toward the ground like a spiked volleyball. He clears his throat. “Um.” The tube rolls across the linoleum and comes to a stop at Tommy Hagan’s feet. Steve stares at it for a long, agonizing beat of silence, then he looks back up at Tommy’s face. “Sorry.” Tommy raises his eyebrows, and Steve’s heart kicks in his chest. Steve and Tommy haven't talked in nearly three years. After everything, maybe the best way forward is back.

no pressure by Adure No Upside Down AU | Rated E | 11k | One Shot

Steve Harrington has the worst porn collection Tommy's ever seen. His own is better in every way, no doubt about it, and it seems like Steve agrees as he looks over the rows of tapes. "Which one's your favourite?" "Huh?" "Your favourite. Which one?" Steve asks again, slower this time. Makes Tommy feel slow, too, as he reaches over for a well worn tape near the top of the box. Steve gives him a smile that's sly enough to make Tommy feel like an idiot for saying it. For giving up something damning and getting shit-all in return, just Steve grabbing a fistful of his sleeve and pulling him toward the door. "Let's watch it." Steve kisses Tommy. It's a joke, it doesn't mean anything. There isn't an explanation for what happens after that.

After Everything by WabiSabiPapi Soulmate AU | Rated E | 23k | 4/4 Chapters

It's 2003 - nearly two decades after Eddie sacrificed himself to save Hawkins, leaving Steve behind to navigate a life without his soulmate. He has made his peace knowing that falling in love is not in the cards for him until one day, someone from his past shows up unexpectedly. Maybe it's not too late to find love, after all.

Again, this is not an exhaustive list, just some of my faves by my fave writers and friends! Would love recs (yes self recs too!!!) in the replies!!

[schmem14]

Hello friends! Recently, I participated in the fourth HP Rare Pair fest, and with 81 unique and beautiful entries it was a veritable FEAST for the eyes and heart and soul. (Check out the whole collection here)

I wanted to take a moment to post highlights of the fics that just really brought me to my knees in hopes that you’ll fangirl/boy/person over them with me!

1. Evergreen by @thecouchsofa (23k)- Harry Potter x George Weasley What would happen if Harry asked George to go to the Yule Ball with him instead of Parvati? This GOF Yule Ball AU is sure to slay you with sheer adorableness. I couldn’t stop smiling and squealing through the whole thing. This rare pair is one of my favorites, and this fic went above and beyond, plus it’s the perfect holiday read! Rating: T

2. Lonely Creatures by @apricitydays-lazynights (5k)- Severus Snape x Giant Squid The prompt to put these two together could easily have been pure hentai crack nonsense (which is a brilliant option) but this story did things to me that I can’t even put into words. It’s tender, melancholy, and cuts to the heart of Severus Snape’s isolation and longing to be seen and loved. The details of this are so richly woven, and I particularly enjoyed the authors’ focus on Mermlish/Merfolk. Standing ovation to this fic! Rating: E

3. Slice of Night by SquibNation10 (9k)- Aurora Sinistra x Severus Snape This was the fic that took me the most by surprise. I love the creativity in taking a character who gets very few canon details and making them real and beautiful and believable. Auror Sinistra is divine in this, and I’ll give some honorable mentions to both Argus Filch and Rolanda Hooch as excellent supporting characters that also don’t typcially get a lot of spotlight. What a gorgeous slice of life fic! Rating: T

3. Quick Quotes and Quibbles by RainstormRadish (3k)- Luna Lovegood x Rita Skeeter Rita and Luna have to work together to cover the wedding of Neville Longbottom and Pansy Parkinson. There’s just something about a story told in unconventional medium that will always ALWAYS pull me in! This unlikely pairing comes together in the sweetest way, their strong personalities balancing each other out until they become a formidable team.  I particularly loved the graphics and paper trail memos/epistolary style storytelling. Rating: T

4. Your seat, it’s the best seat by @the-houseryn (17k)- Ron Weasley x Draco Malfoy MOVE OVER only one bed, there’s a new trope in town and it’s the ONLY ONE SEAT trope!! This was sexy, flirtatous, and hot AF. I’m always down for a Dron fic, but this one is one of the best I’ve read in a while, with some delicious pining and a predictably oblivious Ron. Do yourself a favor and indulge in the lap-sitting fic of the year! Rating: E

5. Vivaldi and Hot Chocolate by @patriceavril (6k)- Percy Weasley x Stan Shunpike What was Percy up to in OTP/HBP? What a lonely life that must have been! This fic was soft and sweet, giving some much-needed love to a character that we all wrote off in canon for being a stuck-up prick. I love how Percy seeks out the warmth and comfort of the Knight Bus, coming back for more because of the kind-hearted and bubbly Stan Shunpike, who always insists on giving Percy free hot chocolate. I never expected to be so enamoured by this pairing, but I am! Rating: T

6. The monster you feed by @ghostfelicis188 (11k)- Regulus Black x Remus Lupin This canon-compliant fic tore me to shreds. TO SHREDS. Like, I am such a simp for tragic Remus romances, and this took the cake. Features: pining artist Remus, and shit-eating cruel Regulus who toys with Remus the whole damn fic. If you like hurt no comfort, this is the fic for you. *Chefs Kiss* Rating: M

7. Gilded Web by @emilyrickman AlihotsyTotsy (8k)- George Weasley x Blaise Zabini I cannot believe that this understated fic packed such a punch in 8,000 words. George agrees to an undercover operation to investigate the mysterious deaths of Mrs. Zabini’s deceased husbands. He is so pure in this, his characterization charming and believable, I just need more of this George! Bonus points for references to “the Sting” Rating: M

8. Sleeping with Ghosts by @ghaniblue (21k)- Harry Potter x Regulus Black x Draco Malfoy My initial thoughts when encountering this relationship tag was something akin to a bewildered head scratch but OMG the best thing about this fest is having expectations completely upended! This fic slayed hard with a slow burn, found family, semi-sentient house renovation angle that had me completely melted by the end. Rating: M

9. The Last Trial of Peter Petegrew by @sleepstxtic (20 k)- Peter Petegrew x James Potter If possible, I’d like to ram this fic down the throats of all my mutuals with a plea to PLEASE READ THIS FIC. I can’t begin to describe in a tiny paragraph what this did to me. Often Peter Petegrew is relegated to the traitor bus in fandom (understandable) but this took every mean and traitorous part of his character and made me almost like him despite his treachery! The format of this was also a delight to read, and I love that Hermione presents the case for Peter Petegrew in this meta purgatory-style courtroom drama. Rating: M

10. Anatomy of a memory by @venom0usbarbie (9k)- Ginny Weasley x Tom Riddle This story was pure poetry wrapped in a sinister diary-shaped package. I love the self-fulfilling prophecy nature of this time loop style storyline, as well as the toxic obsession and manipulation played out between Ginny and Tom. What a mindfuck ending that was, too! Kudos to the “Tom Riddle is his own Warning” tag. Rating: M

11. Sweet Boy by @maraudersaffair (6k)- Narcissa Black Malfoy x Harry Potter A not-quite-fake dating fic with lots of smut, thirst, and mommy/praise kink? Yes, please! I was literally panting by the end of this, Harry and Narcissa are so hot together! Rating: E

12. Growing Suspicion by nocturn (1.8k)- Neville Longbottom x Marcus Flint Someone keeps mutilating Neville’s plants, and he’s going to get to the bottom of it OR that time Marcus expresses feelings but doesn’t understand proper plant care. This fic was A-DOR-ABLE. Love me a good Hogwarts professors/staff fic, and this was just a bite-sized delight to read. Rating: G

13. For Your Burning Gaze by SquibNation10 (22k)- Neville Longbottom x Pansy Parkinson The fic that I most want to see a sequel for award goes to… this Twilight Zone post-war marriage law fic complete with creepy house elves and a very troubled Pansy, who seems to be the only one realizing that something is not quite right! This is one of the best Panville fics I’ve read, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Rating: E

Thanks to @hprarepairfest for putting on another amazing fest!

[damagedintellect]

Kenny McCormick x reader

💌 As Long As I can Remember: Chapter 1  💌  

Summary:  You moved to south park in the 4th grade. You weren't expecting what came next. After seven years of friendship you were about to make a move but what happens when Cartman's OTP gets in the way of what you desire most.

Notes:  Overall Kenny x reader but also some Craig x reader, I wrote this over a decade ago but I'm feeling nostolgic, this was written for a friend a long time ago

💌 Word count: 1,540 💌  You Are Here | Chapter 2 =>

It was cold compared to what you were used to but hey at least you got to see snow. That had been one thing you had wanted to see for as long as you could remember. Living in Hawaii you don't really get that unless you went to certain places on the big island and seeing as how you lived on Oahu, yeah no snow for you. You didn't particularly want to move all your friends and family were here. Although thinking about it moving would be a nice change of pace. You were getting sick of living on an island anyways between the horrible paradise tax, the dumb power-outages and shitty internet you guess there were some perks to leaving your home.

"Honey we're here" you hear your mom say. You open the door of your car and look at your new area of living. It was simple and really generic compared to your old house but hey at least it was new.

Slowly walking up to the front door you survey the houses around yours, they looked nearly the same. The only difference was the color scheme. You turn around to see your mom talking to some redheaded lady followed by a man, her husband probably? The man only greeted your mom as he walked to the house next to yours. Turning back to the door knob your mom calls for you to meet the lady as you reluctantly walk over to her.

"(Y/n) this is Mrs. Broflovski she's our neighbor. We were talking about having dinner over at their house to welcome us to South Park" Mrs. Broflovski smiled "Yes sweetie, I used to be the new kid in town once. I know it can be hard to make friends so I figured that I have two sons, one around your age. Maybe he could show you around."

You force a smile "that sounds lovely, I should go get ready."

With that you hurried into your new house leaning your back against the door, sliding down it. You knew you would have to socialize at one point but this soon? You weren't the best with making friends or talking to kids your age. Back at your old school you were known as the weird girl because you liked "One Piece" over "Naruto" which you thought was so dumb because shouldn't the kids living on an island like pirates over ninjas? Whatever the point was you were not looking forward to being outcasted again for liking the wrong anime.

Taking a deep breath you decide to get off of the floor and get ready which meant that you would have to find your room and the bathroom. The movers had already moved the furniture from your old house so finding your room shouldn’t be that hard. Making your way upstairs there are actually six rooms, which is surprising because it’s only you and your mom who are living here. You find your room and smile it looks exactly like you left it, so you pull out the first thing you see in the drawers and head over to the bathroom.

Afterwards you head downstairs, greeting your mom as you both head out the door. With every step that you take you wonder what kind of a person this kid next door is like. You wouldn't even know how to describe the local boy culture that Hawaii has other than annoying. Brah everyone always like scrap for no reason because they swore you gave stink eye when really you just gagged at their axe body spray and now the whole school is screaming backroads. Like five people will get that joke but it doesn't matter you were already at their door.

*knock knock*   

You had a soft smile on your face to seem more interested in meeting the random neighbor’s boy. Upon entering the home Mrs. Brofloski told you that you could head up into Kyle’s room before dinner and that she would call when it’s ready. Taking a deep breath you gently knock on the door. You meet lovely green eyes as you awkwardly smiled. “h-hiya, I’m (y/n)”

A nice tint of pink graced the boys cheeks “I’m Kyle." He paused before he looked back at his room "So...um... do you like video games?”

“Do I?!” you both smile, this looks like the start of a very good friendship. You both played games until Kyle’s mom called for dinner you both sat quietly at the table while the adults talked. Kyle started to talk to you about some of the best adventures he’s experienced living here and you could not wait to have some of your own. Before you knew it you and Kyle were just sitting on the couch talking while the adults were still at the table with Ike.

“And that’s when the wizard killed the evil king of the humans becoming the grand wizard king. Little did he know that's what started the elf army” Your eyes light up when he says so far “That sounds amazing, you guys are so lucky. My friends back home never wanted to do anything like that.”

Your mom walked in the living room. “(y/n) it’s time to go home” You and Kyle both looked at each other before you sighed. “Aww really?”

She laughed glad that you could make a friend this quickly into the move. “Yes honey, you have to get ready for school tomorrow”

You looked at the clock. It was getting pretty late to be fair. Reluctantly you get up from your seat to follow her to the door. “Okay, see you later Kyle” You waved him off.

“Wait, are you going to be taking the school bus?” You both looked at your mom who nodded then said “(Y/N) will be but not tomorrow I have to meet with the principle tomorrow so I’ll be dropping her off.” You waved one last time as you and your mom left.

The school was bigger than your old one. It was weird how everything was indoors too. In your hometown every school was pretty much an open campus. As your mom said last night you met up with the principle and received your schedule as the councilor gave you a brief tour of what area of the school you would be a part of. You stood outside of a classroom waiting for your introduction.

"Okay quiet down class today you have a new student that's going to be joining us for the rest of the year.” Mr. Garrision motioned for you to walk in “Go on and tell them your name sweetie." Mr. Garrision smiled. You looked at the class and took a deep breath which probably seemed stupid to the people staring at you but it helped calm your nerves. "My name is (Your Full Name)."

You heard someone start laughing and you clenched your fist and glared at the fat kid "Hahahehe (Y/N) ha what a stupid name." The fat ass got everyone to start laughing but you were prepared for retaliation, or well kind of. You had watched some TV show greatest comeback compilations in hopes to steal some material just in case this happened. "Thank you and while we’re handing out compliments, nice hat fat ass, do they sell men's clothes where you got that."

It took the class a moment to process what you were getting at but the moment they did they lost it. "Burn" was all you said after that and you bit your thumb at him. Mr. Garission's jaw was on the floor. Such an innocent looking girl was no better than the rest of these rowdy kids.

"(Y/n) how about you take that empty seat between Kyle and Kenny and we can get started." You take your seat next to Kyle and he turns to you and smiles and puts a fist out and you fist bump him back, you could tell you were going to like it here. You turn to the other guy you're sitting next to, Kenny was it, he was staring at you. Although most of his face is covered but you could tell he's cute by his eyes, you give a small wave and smile before you turn back to Mr. Garrison.

During recess Kyle introduced you to most if not all of the class at the playground. “So just stop me if I get this wrong okay?” Kyle had introduced everyone by name briefly and had everyone all stand in a line. From what Kyle said they did this every time they got a new student, the great name test was always fun for some reason. “Stan, Tolken, Kenny, Butters, Jimmy, Clyde, Scott, Tweek, Craig, Pip and fat ass.” Kyle laughed and applauded along with everyone except Craig who opted to flip you off instead, because you were actually the first one to get everyone’s names right on the first try “Bitch my name isn’t fat ass it’s Cartman” You rolled your eyes at Cartman “Well fat ass my name isn’t Bitch.” Both of you just glared at each other and you crossed your arms. Then bell rang signaling that recess was, in fact, over.

[adobedragon]

The Collected Works of sitehound

All my stories, in one place, listed by fandom—which means, mostly Voltron: Legendary Defender—and by romantic ship (if applicable). Ratings vary from G to E.

Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)

Darcy/Loki

A Morbid Taste for Ice (Complete at 200K words | Rated M | Mystery | Romance | Contemporary | Eventual Sex | Mental Health Issues)

My magnum opus! More than a decade after I started posting it, it still, IMO, holds up well.

Following the events of Loki’s attack on New York, Thor, Loki, Darcy Lewis and Jane Foster find themselves unwilling roommates, living in a crappy trailer home in the New Mexico desert.

Original Work

Elrekki Chaosbringer/Kelly Marquez

Lost in Paradise (Ongoing story | Rated M | Space Opera | Romance | Graphic Depictions of Violence | Eventual Sex | Inspired by MCU's Thor & Loki)

A bookstore owner’s life is turned upside down by a mysterious young man who turns out to be a criminal from an alternate universe.

Voltron: Legendary Defender (VLD)

GEN (No, or minimal romance, although Plance does sneak in…)

How to Impress Your Pidgeon (14K words, Complete | Rated T | Mild Violence | Dragons | Dragonriders of Pern crossover)

Pidge, an apprentice in the MasterSmith Crafthall, meets a very opinionated young dragon.

I’ll Stand by You (3K words | Rated T | Bullying | Friendship | Pre-Canon)

In which Pidge, aka Katie Holt, finds that impersonating a male cadet presents challenges she never thought of.

Three (Would-be) Paladins and a DeLorean (5.7K words | Rated T | Garrison Trio | Pre-Canon | AU | Humor | Reckless Driving | Back to the Future DeLorean)

Pidge, Lance and Hunk sneak out of Galaxy Garrison for some unauthorized R&R in the nearby town of Torre Siena. When the inevitable happens—they get kicked out of a bar—they wander the streets and encounter a very strange car.

Lance/Female Reader

A Little Artistic Nudity (9.2K words | Rated E | Post-Canon | Second Person POV | No use of Y/N)

On a planet zillions of light years away, you meet a cute guy in a café and instantly strike up a rapport.

Shiro/Keith

The Color of Joy is Brown? (7.8K words | Rated T | Mild Violence | Dragons | Dragonriders of Pern crossover | Meet-Cute)

An unwanted orphan bounced from Hold to Hold, now a murderer consigned to hard labor in the mines of Crom, Keith is grimly resigned to a short, miserable life. But when a chance encounter leads to him standing on the sands of Benden Weyr's hatching grounds, a Candidate for Impression, he dares to hope for something better.

Keith/Lance

The Scarecrow (19K words, Complete | Rated T | Mild Violence | Pre-canon | AU | Happy Ending | Queerplatonic Relationships)

In the wake of crushing loss, Keith, Pidge and Hunk, once Galaxy Garrison cadets, now conscripts in the Galra war efforts, plan a desperate escape from Sendak’s estate in the New Mexico desert.

No Good Deed… (2400 words | Rated T | Fantasy AU | Urban Fantasy | Wolf-boy Keith | Fey Lance | Ambiguous Ending)

Lance has an encounter in the woods with a wolf-boy.

Pidge/Lance/Keith

Well, There Goes Our Security Deposit (2.1K words | Rated T | Fluff)

Keith comes home one day to find that his partners in love and life have wrecked the apartment.

How I Met Your Chabbit (1.7K words | Rated T | Drunk Pidge | Fluff | Pet Adoption | Domestic Bliss)

Everyone has an origin story. This is Rogelio the chabbit’s.

Centaur’s Rising (Ongoing story | Rated M | Mild Violence | Grief Mourning | Eventual Sex | Pacific Rim Crossover)

The last place Lance wants to be is in a Conn-Pod, but it may be his best chance at a new beginning, provided he can move on from the past. A retelling, of sorts, of Pacific Rim, featuring Pidge, Lance and Keith.

Keith/Pidge

Stop Thinking (9.2K words | Rated E | Post-canon | First Times)

On a dark and stormy night, after years of waiting, Pidge Holt gets what she wants.

Pidge/Lance (Plance, Pidgance, FlirtyRobot, my OTP)

St. Elmo’s Fire (150K words, Complete | Rated M | Post-Canon | Eventual Sex | Grief/Mourning | Graphic Depictions of Violence | Eventual Happy Ending)

More than a decade before, Lance ghosted Pidge. But a chance encounter leads to a journey together in a small spaceship across the Earth’s solar system, offering the opportunity to repair a friendships and fall in love.

Mind the Hardwood (4.5K words, Rated E | Post-Canon | Cut scene from St. Elmo’s Fire)

In which Pidge and Lance get busy in the cockpit of Pidge’s small spaceship.

Us, Only Us (5.2K words | Rated M | Post-Canon | Angst | First Fight | Makeup Sex | Romance | Cut scene from St. Elmo's Fire)

Lance stumbles upon Pidge’s attempt to comprehend and model their relationship using math.

Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (11K words, Complete | Rated E | Canon | Canon Divergent | First Times)

Pidge successfully seduces Lance.

A Rain of Terror (3.6K words | Rated T | Post-Canon | Angst | Grief/Mourning)

Pidge Holt can repair anything. Except a broken heart. In the gathering fury of a dangerous Altean oort storm, she struggles with her terrible people skills, needing to get a depressed and nearly catatonic Lance out of the storm’s path.

If a Door Slams in Outer Space, Can You Hear It? (2.9K | Canon | Canon Divergent | Story in a Story)

Lance makes like a bard and courts Pidge with a good story.

To Find a Princess, You Gotta Kiss a Green Paladin (7.6 words | Rated T | AU | Actor AU)

In which Katie Holt, girl genius, finds herself cast in a movie playing an Altean princess to Lance’s Paladin of Voltron.

Turn Over a New Leaf (8.8K words, Complete | Rated T | Fix-it | S8E1 rewrite | Romance | Allura and Lance friendship)

All his life, Lance has craved attention. To be seen as more than the farm boy from Cuba. On the eve of the Galactic Coalition’s final offensive against the Galra, Lance finally learns, with a little help from his friends, that growing up means letting go of what you want and accepting what you need.

In Deep Space Where the Wallflowers Grow (2.4K words | Rated T | Post-Canon | Pidge Salsa Dances)

Pidge Holt is so done with being paraded about the universe, expected to mingle and meet and greet the Galactic Coalition's bigwigs. During a brunch on a Galra cruiser, she retreats to a quiet spot in the stateroom by a vast window to do some stargazing, but her solitude is interrupted by a certain social butterfly.

A Pidge in a Dress is Still a Pidge (5.6K words | Rated T | 1950s AU | Science Fiction)

“Just one dance,” Pidge’s mom had stated. One dance with anyone and Pidge can leave the gala at the Altean embassy, go home, take off this beautiful but totally not-Pidge ballgown and go back to being a tomboy girl genius. Alas, the only available dance partners are creeps who are trying to suck-up to Admiral Sam Holt through his daughter. It's gonna be a long evening

Shapeshifter, Shapeshifter, Shape Me a Match (6.1K words | Rated G | Fantasy AU | Shapeshifter Lance)

On a quiet little farm, a mischievous shapeshifter meets his match in a studious girl.

It Is You I Have Loved (A Collection of Plance Fanart and Short Fiction) (Ongoing project)

What it says in the title: drabble plus fanart.

The Tithe (Ongoing story | Rated T | Teen Romance | Pre-Canon | Garrison Trio | Inspired by Tam Lin | Sex Magic)

Katie Holt, masquerading as Galaxy Garrison cadet Pidge Gunderson, is on a mission: to find the truth about her family’s disappearance. But an unlikely romance leads to the startling discovery that otherworldly forces are at work in the Garrison.

I Crave None of Your Blood (Ongoing story | Rated M | Post-Canon | Graphic Depictions of Violence | Character Turned in a Vampire | Grief/Mourning | Eventual Sex | Rough Sex)

Lance, Pidge and Keith, three Paladins of Voltron, each carrying a permanent legacy of their Voltron experience, and now pawns of forces that might save or destroy the universe.

Centaur’s Rising (Ongoing story | Rated M | Mild Violence | Grief Mourning | Eventual Sex | Pacific Rim Crossover)

The last place Lance wants to be is in a Conn-Pod, but it may be his best chance at a new beginning, provided he can move on from the past. A retelling, of sorts, of Pacific Rim, featuring Pidge, Lance and Keith.

[bugeyedfreaks]

Slim/Grubber

Brace yourself, anon. This might become your new OTP. 😩

Gettin' The Skinny – Slim/Grubber Crack Drabble

Ace just. Didn’t. Get it.

Well, in a way, he kinda did. Kinda. There were actually many things about his friend Grubber that he couldn’t comprehend, and yet, simultaneously, completely understand. For instance, he could barely begin to get why someone so unbelievably cool hung out with his gang. Not that the Gangreen Gang wasn’t cool– in fact, they were the baddest squad of villains that lived in Townsville– but if he had wanted to, the multi-talented hunchback was spoiled for choice when it came to all of the opportunities at his disposal, the possibilities for worldwide fame and stardom that he could pursue if he so chose, yet he had decided to stick with his pals, living in comparative obscurity here in this dump (in the literal dump that the gang’s hideout resided in, no less).

Not only was Grubber super chill and super competent at a million things, he also happened to be one classy charismatic casanova, a real smooth operator, a total ladies’ man. Ace considered himself to be something of a good-looking guy too, but Grubber? He was on a whole ‘nother level. It seemed like wherever the boys would go, whether it was out to the museum to draw mustaches on all the paintings, or to the convenience store to steal snacks and shove over store displays, Grubber was the one who’d be turning people’s heads, and not just because he was actively committing crimes. It seemed like he had admirers everywhere he went, not that it was any surprise why. 

It’s just that one thing drove Ace crazy… the guy was freakin’ oblivious to it! He could have dated anyone in town he’d wanted, and yet Ace hadn’t seen him go out with a single person once, not even acknowledging anyone who worked up the courage to ask for his number. It didn’t make sense. But tonight, finally, Grubber was dressed up in a suave-looking tux he’d stolen, getting ready to go out with some mystery date he’d recently met, one that he’d been bragging about to the guys all week. Ace just didn’t get how it’d taken him this long to finally meet someone he was just as crazy about as everyone else was for him.

As Grubber preened himself in a broken old mirror on the wall, the rest of the gang sat around a wooden table they’d salvaged from outside their hideout, hanging out and playing cards. Ace leaned back in his chair as he turned to look at his friend, tipping his sunglasses down.

“Ya look fine, Grubber,” he groaned, waving a handful of cards in the air. “Quit fussin’ around and play the game with us for a while, huh?”

“Yeah, man,” Arturo said as he dealt a card on the table. “Sit down. You're already muy guapo. Alright, go fish, Billy.”

“Duh, okay!”

Big Billy drew a card from the stack in front of him, stared at it, and began to laugh uproariously.

“A-huh-huh-huh-huh! Look! This fishy’s wearing a baby bonnet!” Billy turned his card around to show everyone the cartoon illustration on it of a baby fish holding up a huge “4,” and banged his fist on the table while tears streamed from his eye. “Fishies don’t wear no bonnets! A-huh-huh-huh!”

“Ugh!” Snake slapped his cards face down on the table and threw his hands up in the air. “I keep telling you, Billy, you’re not s’posed to show us your cards!”

“But the fishies are so cute,” Billy softly muttered, pouting and rubbing the bottom of his eye as he examined his card again.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

“The girls?!” Snake yelped, whipping his head towards the front door as he hid behind the back of his chair.

“Chill, Snake. S’probably just Grubber’s hot date.” Ace casually slid out of his chair and headed over to greet whoever had knocked. At the mention of his date, Grubber excitedly jumped, sticking out his tongue and adjusting his bowtie in the mirror a little more anxiously.

Ace opened the door to the hideout, peering into the darkness of the night, the familiar scent of the rotting trash from the dump wafting in from outside. He’d expected to see a tall, slender smokeshow standing in front of him, but instead, he was looking into the eyes of a tall, slender, slimy blue amoeba with a beige hat on. It wasn’t just some ordinary amoeba wearing a hat. Ace knew this guy, and Ace hated this guy. It was Slim from the Amoeba Boys, the stupidest, most pathetic bunch of “bad guys” in all of Townsville: the kind that no self-respecting gang like his would ever want to do anything with.

“Ohhhh, no, no way! Scram, ya freaky petri dish reject!” Ace hollered. He picked up a battered soup can that was near the door and chucked it at him. “Get outta here! We ain’t lettin’ no Amoeba Boys on our turf!”

“What? Nah, hey, stop it! I ain’t stayin’ long!” Slim protested, cowering away from Ace. “I’m here for my date!”

“Your what?”

Grubber brushed past Ace out the door, excitedly spitting as he held a huge bundle of red roses, and hugged Slim tightly. After he’d pulled away, he slicked his pomade-caked hair back and handed Slim the bouquet.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on,” Ace stammered as the rest of the gang got up from their card game and gathered in the doorway, “That’s your date?”

Grubber whirled around and blew a terse raspberry in reply.

“Nah, I ain’t makin’ fun of ya, I just didn’t–”

A slightly angrier, longer raspberry followed, one that Ace raised an eyebrow at.

“No, what’re ya, nuts? I don’t care that he’s a he.” He jabbed a finger at Slim, who shrunk down and began to shiver. “But I do care that’s he’s an Amoeba Boy! Grubber, do you have any idea what this is gonna do to our street cred if word gets out that you’re datin’ one of them? They’re the worst villains in town!”

“Phhbbttt!”

Ace slapped a hand over his forehead and ran it down his face.

“Ya don’t care, do ya?”

“I know what it’s gonna do to my cred!” Slim said, slowly standing upright as he grinned. “No one’ll wanna mess with me an’ the boys now that I’m datin’ one of the baddest villains in town.”

Grubber beamed, standing on his tiptoes and giving Slim a loving kiss on his gooey blue cheek as he wrapped an arm around what Ace assumed were his shoulders.

“I can’t believe it. There’s no way that you’re actually dating this guy,” Snake piped up, giving Grubber a suspicious look. “You told me your date was stacked!”

“Pbbbhhhttt!”

“You said ‘stacking?’”

“Yeah,” Slim nodded. “The boys and I was busy one day stackin’ up oranges that had fallen off one of them carts outside, pretendin’ to help out so’s the greengrocer wouldn’t see us stealin’ one.” He hung his head in shame, frowning. “But it turns out he thought we were helping, so… we never actually got to take nothin’…”

Suddenly, he lifted his head back up, eyes beginning to sparkle as his expression brightened.

“But that’s when I saw Grubber! It was when youse guys were spray paintin’ the windows of the department store across the street. We got to talkin’, an’ I guess we hit it off… an’ then he asked me out.” He turned to gaze at Grubber, his mouth curving into a wobbly, infatuated smile. “It was love at first sight…”

Grubber responded with a heartfelt splutter, waggling his elongated eyes up and down as Slim gasped and blushed a deep blue color. The rest of the boys stuck out their tongues and groaned.

“Yuck,” Snake shuddered. “Save all that sssssappy sweet talk for your date, man.”

It wasn’t the strongest word he could think of to describe it, but Ace was certainly feeling conflicted. The whole thing was starting to remind him about a dopey movie he’d watched one time on the gang’s busted TV. It was about a guy who wore balloon-shaped pants and tights who fell in love with a hot chick who talked funny (well, all of the actors in the flick talked funny). The two of them were from families who hated each other’s guts, and from what he could remember, the whole thing didn’t end too well. He sighed. Even if he hated those Amoeba Boys, he couldn’t let something like that happen with Grubber. A friend in love was a friend he was going to support, no matter who they’d fallen in love with. 

“Alright, alright,” Ace forced a grin on his face and waved a hand at Grubber and Slim, signaling that it was time for them to head on out. “Sorry Grubber, we get it, you’re bananas for each other. Now go on, get outta here an’ have fun, ya crazy kids.” 

Grubber nodded and took Slim’s gelatinous hand, giving the gang a cheeky wink as he let them know not to wait up for him. The gang wished Grubber well, hooting and hollering and waving after him as he and his date went off to have a wild night out in Townsville together.

“Man…” Ace muttered, leaning against the doorframe as the two of them strolled out of view behind a massive mountain of garbage. “Y’know what, boys? I think we’ve all learned somethin’ tonight.”

“That you can’t judge a book by its cover, boss?”

“That Grubber’s an enigma none of us can even begin to decccccccipher?”

“Duhhhh, that guys from gangs that don’t like each other should still be able to hug and smooch and hold hands without the gangs going to war with one another?”

“Nah.” Ace wearily slid a hand into his pocket, the other grabbing the doorknob.  “We learned that our dear ol’ friend Grubber’s really, really into amoebas. And while I’m happy for the guy…” He began to slowly close the door. “…I kiiiiiinda wish we hadn’t…”

[breitzbachbea]

Whole hog michele

YES, finally giving my boy the attention he deserves! (A heads up for CW Child Abuse)

Look at this beautiful creation by @pyromaniacqueen ! Prettiest man in town!

Ask Game for someone's OCs

✨- How did you come up with the OC’s name?

Already not answered here. I can't speak to any questions about his conception, since he was originally the OC of a friend and I got to 'keep' him when they moved on from the Hetalia fandom.

🌼 - How old are they? (Or approximate age range)

Born on 15th July, 1987 and 26 in the first book of the main series. His twenties is what he hovers around in age in most stories.

🌺- Do they have any love interest(s)?

Has he ever! Of course, the one I'm most well-known for is perhaps SicIre, aka him and Harry O'Connel. The definition of OTP for me and it has been the greatest honour to rewrite Irish Problems to tell their meet-ugly that launched a thousand posts. Saluting emoji.

But Michele is simply too shipable to me. Love GreSic, aka him and his childhood friend Herakles who bond over the shared secret of their horrible childhoods. Michele is also just weak to a man with big arms and big legs ... plus they can talk all throughout the night. I love GreSic, man.

TurSic is great for "The one that got away". I love these two being flirtsy and Michele being into being adored, but also clearly saying "Ah ah ah! Not your toy!". And Sadık can't help it, he loves to run after beautiful people to cherish. This ship is also very-well suited to femme fatale, ever-devouring Sicily Michele ...

I ship FraSic but only as horribly, messily divorced ship. These two only saw each other as shiny, shiny trophies for two weeks and then all they could think about was sexily murdering the other. I love FraSic as bitter exes so much man.

Sicgypt has also been on my radar, simply because I love the Sicily & Egypt connections throughout history and they're both very laidback together, I think. Would both love to adore the other.

Michele is also one of two men that Arielle has any romantic respect for and they make an absolute dream marriage in my res publica AU. They're only friends in LFLS (<main AU) and most other universes I come up with, though. Also because I'm too busy ruining Arielle's life by her finally being engaged to Tahir and then that DIPSHIT still chooses Robert. But that's neither here nor there.

🍕 - What is their favorite food?

Pasta Norma and good, fresh seafood. He loves an eggplant so much. Also pistachios, everything sweet that comes in pistachio, he'll get in pistachio. Hell, he has pistachio-flavoured condoms, which are one of the main reasons Harry seriously wanted to stage an intervention at some point.

💼 - What do they do for a living?

Gangster - again. In this case, he's the biggest shark in Sicily's already dangerous shark tank.

🎹 - Do they have any hobbies?

He loves gardening and cooking, both things he inherited from his mother. It was Maria Vento, who turned the useless, landscaped garden of that hell-mansion into a vegetable and fruit patch. After his father died, Michele expanded on it. He also taught both of the twins how to cook, and especially Lorenzo was an eager student.

🎯 -What do they do best?

He is an excellent cook and an excellent host. The latter is also connected to how he's a great leader. This man will keep a group together! He'll stand his ground, but he'll make concerns feel heard. He'll put everyone at ease and rally them to a cause, just because he makes them feel like a family. Certainly, he does choose to whom to extend his empathy - He wouldn't be a mafioso, couldn't be, if he did to everyone. But when he does extend his empathy, he does make it feel heartfelt.

🥊 -What do they love to do? What do they hate to do?

Loves to cook! Loves to garden! Hates to have to catch Angelo's chicken and drive it back to his farmer neighbour! (Seriously, how do these chickens keep escaping and make it all the way over to his fenced in garden?).

❤️ - What is one of your OC’s best memories?

When his mother first let him help cook in the kitchen ...

✂️ - What is one of your OC’s worst memories?

Probably most of his childhood, as far as his father is concerned. To be beaten and then told that if he told his mother (again), he'd earn twice the beating again is probably seared into his memory.

🧊 - Is their current design the first one?

Already not answered here!

🍀 - What originally inspired the OC?

Already not answered here!

🌂 - What genre do they belong in?

He should be in an upbeat yet whistful regional romantic family comedy ... instead he's in this gangster drama.

💚 - What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality?

He's a pansexual cis man.

🙌 - How many sibling does your OC have?

None! But Marco and Lorenzo Bontade, the twins he took under his wing when they were 12 and he just 18, refer to him as their "big brother".

🍎 - What is the OC’s relationship w/their parents like?

He loves and adores his mother Maria above all else. She's his everything, the person he loves the most in the entire world. Her love is the reason he's even alive.

Because his father Salvatore is one of the main reasons this AU is called "Like Father Like Son". Jealous that someone else got attention by his beloved Maria, he quickly grew to hate his son and physically abused Michele for most of his childhood. Michele has never told anyone but Herakles about the abuse and he's haunted by everyone associating him with his father's brutal political legacy.

🧠 - What do you like most about the OC?

He's such a tragic figure and I love that. He's so motivated by 'fixing' himself, eradicating any trace of the hurt he received in everyone's mind, that he doesn't notice how he hurts those he loves the most and wants to protect the most in this quest. You understand why he's so desperate to achieve his goal and you can also blame him for his actions, still. He's a posterchild for how most of the characters in LFLS have been failed, deserved support and help and didn't get it, so now they keep the cycle of trauma and abuse going.

✏️ - How often do you draw/write about the OC?

Currently in a writer's block when it comes to Irish Problems, but I've been consistently writing him for the past few years. Even more so because most of the time when I want to write, it ends up being a SicIre drabble. When in doubt, make Michele and Harry be in love.

💎 - Do you ever see yourself killing off the OC?

No, not Michele, dearest. Again, whether he grows old or not is none of my business, but I wouldn't kill my Miché.

💀 - Does your OC have any phobias?

No phobias, as far as I'm aware of, no. He does have a deepseated distrust of father figures and hates being called 'son' or someone acting like he does with his own kids. Unadoptable by men, this man.

🍩 -Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival?

The Vargas brothers, but more specifically Lovino Vargas. Cousins thrice removed, Lovino believes that he's entitled to Sicily as part of his territory, especially since his family has all of Italy and is so much more successful than Michele's. Michele is going to give up his power and control over his cold, dead body. They also both hate how much they see themselves in the other - either all they could never be but should OR they see their most glaring faults reflected back at them.

🎓 - How long have you had the OC?

That is a good question, because I don't know when Michele stopped being my friend's OC and became my OC instead ... I'd guess somewhere in 2014, 2015. When my friend moved on to other places and I was still obsessed with both Hetalia and this little AU world I created.

🍥 - What age were you when you created the OC?

I met him for the first time when I was 14!

[angryraiden]

Day 5: Body of water.

ekhem... ✨AU✨ part 1.

Sam is the youngest son in a large family, lives in a small seaside town. His father is a fisherman, and the brothers are happy to share this, unlike Sam himself. He was always more attracted to tinkering in the ground. In addition, he is afraid of the sea because of scary fairy tales. So Sam often goes fishing alone to tame his fear.

On the eve of his coming of age, a small storm happens, and Sam has to urgently swim out to an unfamiliar place. And that's when he meets Frodo, washed up on the shore, in mermaid form. Wounded and unearthly beautiful. Sam is in shock, but he is a kind and worried boy, so he still provides emergency first aid (– How can I give him artificial respiration?! He can breathe underwater! What if I get rid of the water in my lungs, will it kill him in the end?! /panic/). Frodo wakes up.

They're getting to know each other. Sam offers to help Frodo and take him back to the sea, to which Baggins categorically refuses and asks on the contrary to hide him somewhere. Then Sam takes him to a partially flooded seawater house on the shore.

Frodo says that he cannot go back to the sea because they are looking for him. Sam, like a child, enthusiastically decides that pirates, and Frodo laughs nervously and nods. This is how their secret friendship begins with sincere dialogues about family (both are lucky, but both suffer in their own way), destiny (Frodo persuades Sam to follow his dream, and not break himself for the sake of a family business, and his eyes are sad and guilty) and each other's worlds (Frodo teaches Sam not to be afraid of the sea, Sam he tells Frodo about plants, and with each other they learn what love is).

It turns out that Frodo can provide his legs with a magic song, and he and Sam communicate almost around the clock, but secretly.

But when Sam finally makes up his mind and reaches out to Frodo for a kiss on his birthday for the first time, everything doesn't go according to plan. Baggins tells the whole truth about his origins. He was chosen to become the husband of the Heavenly King Boromir (because I do not know any other otp with Frodo besides him and Aragorn, and Aragorn is obviously not an asshole enough for such a line). Why is that?

[illmetkismet]

hmmmmmm for character game I pick: Chris Redfield!!

CHRIS-TO-PHERRRER my boyyyyy!! Thank u so much for picking him, I love to think about Chris!

How I feel about this character: Chris Redfield, to me, is an unholy amalgam made up of bits and pieces of all his wildly conflicting portrayals across the franchise. He's so different every time Capcom picks him up, and while that's true with Leon as well, re4r Leon is it for me, that's him, that's the guy, perfectly and fully formed, but with Chris I don't have that. There's no one single instance of Chris that hits the spot for me, so I've just been frankensteining this man in my head... How he looks in RE6, his good guy kindness from Vendetta and Death Island, his small town boy origins from Welcome to Raccoon City, his psychosexual rivalry with Wesker in 5, his unfortunately sexy smoking habit in Village, etc etc. I can't point to a single instance of him and say, "There! That's Chris!", which is an experience I've never had with a character before and has honestly been very interesting. Loving Chris Redfield is an ongoing scavenger hunt.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: ok buckle in, cause it starts with Wesker, of course, way back in their STARS days and well into 5. Then we have Piers in 6, Leon during Vendetta and Death Island, and finally we get to Ethan in Village. Would love it if we got Old Man Wesker in 9 and this beautiful shipping wheel came full circle and Chris' story ended on an unbearably melodramatic chrisker note...

My non-romantic OTP for this character: JILL! Jill Jill Jill Jill Jill Jill Jiiiiiiill!! They love each other so much, they're best friends, they're platonic life partners, they're the rock and the hard place, and they'll fuck your shit up TOGETHER.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I don't like his Village design 😕 Don't know what it is but he just looks.... Unpleasant? Something puffy about his face, something too aggressively muscular about his physique, and that haircut doesn't suit him... I dunno, I think they lost some of the Chris Redfield charm with that one.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I haaaaaate the million year time skip in 'Shadows of Rose' where Chris is 64 fucking years old and STILL fighting BOWs? No. No no no no no LET HIM RETIRE. Let him put this whole horrible thing down PLEASE. Like I guess he's still technically one year away from retirement age or whatever so maybe re9 happens immediately after and he gets rid of all the evil residents for good and then Jill buys him a cake and everyone on the Wolf Hound squad pitches in for a nice watch and congrats, world saved, happy retirement Chris Redfield! I guess that's possible.

[elisela]

January OTP Prompts:

Old bookstore on a cold day for Sterek

Happy New Year! 🤍

mountain man sterek, bookshop au, fluff

“Mountain man is here,” Scott whispers in his ear, hands gripping Stiles’ shoulders as he carefully moves behind him in the narrow space. “Biographies.”

Stiles nods and glances around the small cafe space. The tables are occupied, but no one looks like they’re about to need a second cup, so he feels free to announce, “Just going to go get a new bag from the back,” to Kira, despite having just done that no more than thirty minutes ago.

But Scott must have also said something to Kira because she just nods with a grin, and Stiles leaves the counter before fate can intervene. And if he can just see into the history section from the very edge of the double doors that lead into their dismal excuse for a kitchen, that’s no one’s business but his own.

He stays there until Mountain Man leaves the shop.

---

Mountain Man is an enigma. Stiles had been certain, the first time he’d walked up to his counter, that he was going to be gruff and rude, like the assholes from the bank across the street that treat the small space like their personal conference room and bark out orders without any regard to the fact an actual person was taking them. But his eyes—which are so beautiful that Stiles wrote four atrocious poems about them in his Intro to Poetry class—had been kind, and when he’d given his order he’d said please twice, and Stiles had fallen head over heels.

In fact, the majority of Stiles’ assumptions about him have been proven incorrect, so he supposes that out of the two of them, he’s likely the rude one. He’d figured Mountain Man was there for the coffee, only to be surprised when he caught a glimpse of the man at the registers an hour later with a stack of books in his hands. His assumption that he was only getting the latest quickly read and easily digestible thrillers was shown to be wrong when Kira spotted him buying classics the next month, and then Stiles stopped assuming anything about him at all.

Except, of course, for the fact that he lives up in the mountains that surround their small little college town (the boots and beard give that away), works with his hands for a living (always calloused), is somewhere in his late thirties (laugh lines around his eyes, silver beginning to streak through his beard) and has no significant other—though that last one might just be wishful thinking.

----

“Stiles, could you go see if Allison can trade us for some ones?” 

He takes the twenty dollar bill from Kira and steps out from behind the counter. The store’s been dead all day, he’s pretty sure there are still a stack of ones sitting in the register. “You’re not fooling me,” he says, and she grins back at him.

“Who said I was trying to?”

Allison’s up at the front register, leaning her elbows on the counter and texting, phone in front of her face. It’s an act that would get the rest of them written up, but Allison’s clearly fine with taking advantage of the fact that her parents own the store and Stiles can’t really fault her for that. If his dad were running it he’d probably delight in kicking people out the moment they asked if someone could help them find a book with a yellow cover.

And in front of Allison, browsing the small section of puzzle books and journals, is Mountain Man.

“Hey hey, boss lady,” he says. There’s no way to angle himself to keep Mountain Man in view, but if he bends over enough he can sort of see his reflection in the poster-covered glass windows.

She sets her phone down and grins at him, snatching the bill out of his hand. “Hello yourself, coffee boy. No token of your appreciation this time?”

“Kira’s making it as we speak,” he says, and she shakes her head when he uses his in-store radio to quietly order it. “But if you could be so kind in the meantime—”

“You’re such a dork,” she says fondly, pushing a stack of dollar bills into his hand. “Go get my coffee, I’m practically asleep up here. I told Dad no one would come in today, there’s three feet of snow on the ground.”

“Maybe someone could convince him to close early,” he says, walking backwards out of the section. His gaze strays to Mountain Man and when their eyes meet, his heart starts beating double-time. He glances down at the books in his hands—a few that Stiles recognizes from the YA section, even more from the display of queer novels that Allison had set up for Valentine’s day. “Good selection,” he says, “Red, White, and Royal Blue was good,” and spins around in his haste to get back to the cafe.

Kira’s holding a cup in her hand, but pulls it back towards her when he flings himself over the counter. “What?”

He needs water. Or to plunge himself into a snowbank to cool his overheated face. “Please remind me that straight guys read gay love stories too so I don’t go do something reckless.”

“That hasn’t been my experience at all,” Kira says cheerfully, pushing him upright and handing the cup over. “Go get his name, at least.”

Mountain Man is gone by the time Stiles gets back up there. 

---

He stashed his marker somewhere. He knows he did, he always has it to write the orders on the cups, and most of the time he puts it back in his apron pocket—except when his pockets are full of the bags of espresso beans he was supposed to restock before the swarm of banker bros took over the place. He’d taken their orders, empties his pockets, and then promptly spent the last five minutes looking for his marker, which seems to have grown legs and walked off on its own.

A throat clears above him when he’s crouched down checking the overflow shelves under the register for the third time unsuccessfully, and admitting defeat, he straightens up.

Mountain Man is in front of him. 

“Hey,” he says, instead of welcome to Argent Books like he’s supposed to. “Whatcha havin’?”

“Medium vanilla latte, oatmilk, please,” Mountain Man says. He hands over cash, much to Stiles’ continuing dismay, because it would so much easier to get his name from a card, but doesn’t leave when Stiles calls the order to Kira and slides a cup along the counter. He just stands there, look of discomfort on his face, until he says, “Did you really like that book?”

Stiles raises an eyebrow.

“The, uh—Red, White, and Royal Blue,” Mountain Man says. “Did you really like it?”

“Yeah,” he says, and then, “well, no, it’s not really my thing, but everyone else liked it. I haven’t actually read it, I started the first chapter but I wasn’t in the mood for any kind of coming of age story and the romance—maybe if it were like, a gay detective novel, that shit would be cool. Or sci-fi—have you read This is How You Lose the Time War? That was good.”

He’s about ready to fling himself into the dumpster out back when Kira appears at his side, handing the cup over with a grin and Mountain Man, clearly sensing an opportunity to get away from Stiles, thanks them and walks away.

“Why don’t you go take inventory in the back until you don’t look like a tomato,” Kira says kindly, patting his flaming cheek, and he doesn’t need to be told twice.

The afternoon picks up and although Stiles doesn’t forget about the awkward encounter, he at least puts it out of his mind—until his phone buzzes in his apron pocket and he picks it up, expecting a text from Scott or his Dad, and promptly drops it straight onto the floor.

“Oh,” Kira says, peering around his shoulder at the picture of This is How You Lose the Time War laying on a couch, folded flannel blanket underneath. “Did I tell you I gave Mountain Man your number? I wrote it on the cup—you were never going to get around to it!” she says, whacking his arm. “And I’ll take your gratitude any day now, he’s clearly interested in talking to you, though sometimes I can’t imagine why.”

He only spends a minute hyperventilating before leaving the cafe area, snatching a familiar pink book off a display table, and taking a picture in return. Thought I’d give this another try, he writes under it, and follows it up with maybe we could meet up for coffee and talk about them.

He presses send before he can think about it, and breaks into a grin when the reply comes back quickly.

I’d like that.

He’ll worry about getting Mountain Man’s name some other time. 

[impandgnomes]

May I ask you for uhhhhhh Tweek? 💚

Awww tysm! 🥹 Spent a while typing this on mobile, so forgive any typos lmao

1: sexuality headcanon

Honestly, that kid is gay af bless his soul. I could maybe see him also being ace when he grows up ngl?

2: otp

Creek is such a massive cliché, but CREEEEEK. I guess I'm one of those people who feels like it reminds them a lot of their irl relationship lmao. If you swapped out Craig's guinea pig thing with rats, you'd probably have a good approximation of my partner but as a 10 year-old American cartoon boy

3: brotp

Any one of the kids known as being in "Craig's gang" by the fandom (so like; Clyde, Jimmy, Tolkien lmao), and honestly Wendy. Those two haven't really interacted much, but she genuinely seems to give a shit about him lmao - her genuine concern for him after the fake breakup in Tweek x Craig made me feel so bad for her (Side note; anyone else ever been really bothered by how everyone still probably thought Craig was the bad guy at the end of that episode??? I like to think Tweek confessed to that whole ruse in front of literally the entire town right away 😭 Craig may seem like a bag of frosted arseholes but he's a good kid who desrves to be seen for who he is and not done dirty)

4: notp

I hate to say it but I've never really seen him as being with anyone but Craig lmao - maybe hetero ships? Not going to go on crusades or even feel mad, but it feels odd to imply he's anything but gay to me. it definitely feels weird to see him with anyone else romantically, but if whatever is said by a fan piece interests me, I'll probably check it out.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

I like to think that his parents are so narcissistic, that they named him Tweek unironically as a way of advertising themselves and their shop wherever the boy goes - even when his name isn't said in full. He was 100% named after the place, but they probably have some pamphlets by the door on their "company history" saying otherwise.

6: favorite line from this character

The panicked way he says "It's easy??!!?" in response to being asked what's good about toddler murder in Free Hat is utterly hysterical to me. Peak autism and peak anxiety - I probably would have done the same as a kid in that situation ngl

7: one way in which I relate to this character

I am an anxious little freak of a man who drinks too much coffee and seeks advice and reassurance from my partner - I feel like Tweek at least has an excuse given his parents usage of...concerning substances. Yeah, let's put it that way.

8: thing that gives me second-hand embarrassment about this character

I am an anxious little freak of a man who drinks toouch coffee and seeks advice and reassurance from my partner - but seriously, sometimes the little dude lacks confidence that just feels too real on a level when you strip back the comedic absurdity of the show he's in.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave

He's a cinnamon roll - he has his problems but he honestly seems to have infinitely purer intentions than any of the other kids in the show lmao

[kaizsche]

You are such an incredible writer, but you’re also an amazing gif maker! So, what’s your favourite gif set that you’ve made this year? Also, what is the fic that you’re most excited to write in the new year? Thanks for being such an incredible friend Kai 🥰

(literally me seeing your ask and am i copying q's answer to her own ask? the answer is yaaaaaaaaas.)

i don't really see myself as an AMAZING gif maker and an INCREDIBLE writer so to hear all these compliments from you is just straight up melting my goddamn heart vis. *teary-eyed emoji cos im in pc*

so to ask your... well... ask, i haven't been kind of productive this year, both in writing and editing stuff so i can't say i have a wide selection to choose from, but here's my ultimate fav gifset. like fr.

which predictably is a gifset from your fic which i've gotten so much interaction on and just having you message me about this was just... it honestly made me cry so yeah...

the freaking 'i know you have a lot of fic planned this year' just cracked me tf up. like... you and q know i go all ramble kai on anything resembling my fic ideas so you know what i already have in store next year...

first off, i am sooo excited to finally enter the spuffy writing fandom so there's that. i already have like 20+ spuffy wips in my docs rn but the most excited i am for next year are these two, i think: (and i'll be letting y'all take a lil peek of them)

sun and moon

“Who are you?” The Slayer demanded. Buffy could hear the restless fear simulating his heart and the cautious steps he took to back away from her. Smart Slayer. So he has honed his skills then? Knew she was different from the other vampires he dealt around the small town. Buffy grinned wickedly. It’ll be fun to dance with this one. “I kill your kind for sport, Slayer.” She let her words stew in the air, watched him put the pieces together—inch by agonizing inch.

spuffy dark fic (warning has possible incest!)

Joyce's heart stopped completely. Because standing at the door, a boy, her son she hadn't seen in years stood before her. Joyce had wanted to believe he changed—hair longer and tied at the back of his neck, still dressed in his boarding school's uniform but a few sizes bigger than she had first seen him—it was his eyes that gave him away.  It was cold and unfeeling. He regarded her as if she wasn't his mother, as if she was nothing to him at all. "Joyce."  "William—" She watched his gaze snap over her shoulder and at once, the piercing cold melted into warm fondness as did the trembling tension in his body. "Hello, cutie." "Will!"  Buffy barrelled past her, leaping in his arms and she wasn't afraid, she trusted him to catch her. William staggered a few feet back from the impact, wrapping one arm across her waist and the other held her bottom to prevent her from falling. "You're here. You're really here."  William held Joyce's gaze, a muscle in his jaw twitching as if to dare her to scold him—to remove him once more out of his Buffy's life.  "Never gonna happen, love. I'll be here forever. I promise."  Buffy sighed happily, enjoying the feel of his warmth, his hands on her. Joyce sighed in resignation, turning away from the challenge in his eyes.  "It's cold outside. Come in." At this, William grinned. "Thanks, mum."

last but not least, how could i forget tvd?

take my breath rewrite (kolena + klena) i mean how can i ever resist kolena theyre like my main otp. i go batshit crazy for them.

Elena gravitates towards the lake, stares at her reflection in the water. Hates her face and her blood more than she realizes. She loved her face and her body once upon a time. Now, all it ever does is haunt her every step and shadow surrounded by men who knew every crevice of her body. They knew her better than she ever did. (It is the face that launched a thousand year curse, damning the girls that carried it. Reduced to nothing but objects in a man’s eyes. Katherine was right. I am always right. She hears her taunting giggle and sees her twin’s knowing smirk. I told you so. Nothing could ever bring more joy to her evil doppelganger than proving that she was right.)

kolena roommates au (this was actually inspired by a spuffy fic i read LOL)

"Okay, 20 questions." "Go." "Who's your favorite?" "Favorite who?" Kol groaned. "Favorite Mikaelson sibling," and looked at her bashfully, like he was expecting her to… say his name? "Rebekah." He yelled out an indignant cry, "What a load of bollocks! You're telling me, after everything we've been through, I'm still—" "You are a favorite," She cut him off.  "Really?" He gaped at her, astonished.  "My least favorite." She bit hard on her tongue, seeing the sheer disappointment and anguish encroaching on his face. And somehow, his voice had gotten louder, belting out at a higher register than Mariah Carey. "I rank lower than even bloody Niklaus?!"

i do hope to be as productive as i was in 2022 when it comes to publishing fics cause i'll really wither and die if i don't manage to publish these four.

special fic mentions:

the song of wandering aengus

banish air from air

only, helen (tentative title)

and from your lips she drew the hallelujah

& special user mentions for just being there for me (listening, suggesting, reading) when i was going batshit crazy over my fic ideas. you're all wonderful ppl and i'm glad to have you in my life <3

@katherineholmes @qvnthesia @finnismyoriginalsin

thank you so much for this ask, vis <3 love ya 5ever

[fountainpenguin]

"Your love was handmade for somebody like me..."

---

Today is not my usual 'fic update day, but I wrote a dorky one-shot about my OTP and honestly did not want to sit on it </3

"Your family is doing okay"

Read on AO3

Exposition Guy came here for family photos but in my headcanon he has three invisible brothers, idk what to tell you.

(First 1,000 words under the cut)

---

Is it… weird to be so, so thankful that you live in a city crawling with supervillains? Probably. But Miah Wall wasn’t meant for a slow-moving life in a slow-moving town. She’ll take a storm of mashed veggies or a cockroach invasion on the bus every other day - not even hesitating! - as long as she still gets to order cookies, cupcakes, and snazzy indie records at the shops along the street.

It is cruel, cruel irony, however, that Miah Wall - who is not built for dull and dreary things - must cram herself into the flabby seat behind the reception desk every afternoon and suffer through her pre-med homework without cookies, cupcakes, and snazzy indie music. The fact that she can see both a floral boutique and a rolled ice cream shop through the photo studio window does not make her dread her empty pockets any less.

I need a new internship… If I’m not getting paid to sit here, can it at least be for something relevant to my nursing career?

Now, Miah Wall is also an incredibly gracious individual who has certainly not forgotten how loving and kind her adoptive mother is for letting her live at home for free during her studies instead of shelling out the cash for a university dorm. It’s just, well… Greeting the occasional customer with a plastic smile and spouting white tales about how they’re “Actually early” and that Mrs. Ford will be “Just one moment” isn’t going to pay for super cute lattes. Or the new state award books. Or a sugar glider.

But a nursing degree pays for a sugar glider.

Mine are gonna be ‘sour gliders’ when I’ve spoiled them rotten, she tells herself in silence, and flips three pages forward in her textbook.

The fun thing about supervillains, though, is that they tend to target those high-profile money-making places like the jewelry store, the bank, the real estate office, and the auto-shop. Every now and then you hear about a guy whose schtick doesn't slot neatly into one of those categories. The Raccoon Wrangler, for example, prefers hanging around the city dump, and the Beetle Kid (accompanied by his six-legged friends) actually does a great job of eliminating random waste after storms.

But no one ever targets her adoptive mother’s little photography studio. It’s not even along a main road. Once you run a business in Fair City long enough, you realize that the foot traffic tends to be heavier outside the downtown area where villains like to strike… and if you adapt appropriately, you too can succeed at life by running an adorable place across from the flower shop!

Supervillains do not rob photo studios. What’s there to take? Some old pics of someone else’s kids? Miah’s helped Mrs. Ford with a couple photoshoots for supervillains in the past (once or twice even witnessing a secret identity reveal in the process). Photography, like costume tailoring, is one of those peculiar businesses that ne’er-do-wells seem to value as much as people on the straight and narrow do.

She knows this.

She has faith in this.

But she almost slams the panic button when a big, sturdy guy pushes himself - backwards - through the glass door. Alone. Jerking his shoulders funny as though someone on the sidewalk has his wrists and is trying to pull him back into the hazy, humid afternoon. Miah’s purple pen falls away from her teeth and clicks against the desk.

What’s he doing here? The last appointment of the day is for a family.

Oh boy.

The ragged, dust-covered, dirt-stained guy at the door looks like he can’t be more than 19 or 20. She can only see a portion of his profile, but that seems right. Something about the dark green sweatshirt and those little rectangle glasses seems familiar… but she can’t nail down the reason why. Maybe she knows him from school? She’s 21. Maybe they shared a generals class last year?

I don’t get the impression he’s into medical science.

Since he’s trying to force his way into the studio backwards, Miah sees the ponytail before any of his face. It’s coming loose, his scrunchie far too low in his hair. It’s probably been hours since he adjusted it. Bouncing bits of frizz make multiple attempts to escape his scalp just in the time it takes him to wiggle his way inside. He’s holding a lot of leashes for someone who just walked into the studio alone. At least three of them. Maybe four, but one of them is rainbow so it’s difficult to separate it from the others. All three leashes are fighting back against his grip, and they look like they’re winning.

Okay. Forget what he’s doing HERE… I can’t tell what he’s doing, period.

He’s… struggling with the empty leashes? He must be. The pull against him is too strong to be the air conditioner. She can’t hear anything outside. No shouting. Maybe it’s the wind? Or someone with telekinesis powers? Miah strains her eyes against the dim light level, then feels stupid for it. Squinting doesn’t reveal anything at the leashes’ other ends.

“Hi?” she offers, rising from her chair. She keeps her forefinger under the desk, right over the button that will send out the Peppermint Kid rescue alarm, but… she’s starting to think she might not even need it. What is this guy doing?

He seems to recognize the absurdity of the situation at the same time she does, because he turns around at that moment. Miah jolts and almost hits the panic button after all. Okay- where does she know him from? His facial hair is overgrown, but uneven in awkward patches. His baggy, half-lidded eyes make it clear from the start that he didn’t come here to play games. Which, you know… makes sense. This is a photo studio. 

Her finger rests against the panic button, feeling out the curves. The plastic-y-ness of it feels sticky and hot, but the metal around it is icier than the crisp wind has been all week. The guy stares at her with the face of someone who just got the back of his ankle run into by a shopping cart and found out his insurance won’t cover it.

Then he tells her, point blank, “I’m here for a family photoshoot with three kids who are invisible.”

“OH!” Miah snaps straight up, grabbing for her purple pen. “You’re the Nightmare King’s son! Or…” She glances at the three leashes dangling from his hand. All three are tugging in different directions. Shoes are squeaking. “… sons, rather. I just saw him in the paper for robbing city hall. Well, I mean, I didn’t see him…”

[Cnt'd on AO3 - Link at top]

[superblycaffeinated]

Run Away With My Heart:

summary: The one where Zach & Cammie slip away at Rachel and Joe's Wedding | NSFW - this is 18+ ONLY, Minors DNI please | CW: alcohol mention/ "underage" alcohol consumption

A/N: thank you so much for your patience, I hope you love this 💙 it's a smidge on the poetic illusions to sex and not like, full on descriptions, but def still NSFW. The characters in this are over 18.

Also, like, this song is not "sexy" but it is ABSOLUTELY my Zammie song, my OTP forever and ever - for your listening pleasure (seriously, listen to it): Wherever You Will Go by The Calling

Cammie Morgan / Zach Goode

I’ve seen Zach Goode in almost every way a person can see another person. 

In casual clothes with deep enough pockets for contraband m&m’s to offer to a subject he’s tailing without her knowledge. In starched and unfamiliar uniforms, pressed and ironed and the perfect cover, allowing him to be aloof, sarcastic, curious, and though he’d never admit it, a little jealous of a normal boy in a normal town. Or with taped knuckles and sweat slick skin, telling me I’m pretty good, Gallagher Girl. I’ve seen him even further dressed down, in nothing but a towel, or barefoot in blue jeans - cooking bacon, shirtless. 

Even in ways you don’t see with your eyes, I’ve seen Zach. I see him in the same way he sees me. Like I’m being seen, really seen, for the first time every time he looks at me. Every time we know what the other is thinking and we don’t have to say it. The understanding in our gazes on one another, whether we’re feeling pain, heartbreak, loneliness, joy - it doesn’t matter. 

I’ve seen the way he looks at me, right before he’s going to kiss me. The way his green eyes always look at my lips, then my eyes when he’s thinking about it. I’ve seen the way his tongue swipes over his top lip, like he’s thinking, like he’s analyzing his next move, and I’m it. 

And no one can blame me for seeing these things, or noticing these things, because, well, I’m a spy. 

Which, coincidentally, is the way I’m used to seeing Zach when he’s dressed like this. And while Zach Goode is always a spy, he seems to especially be one when he’s wearing a tuxedo. 

Zach stands next to Joe Solomon, both men looking at the room with the eyes of operatives and seeing more than most, probably. Joe leans down and says something to him imperceptible due to his minimal lip movements and the bodies gliding across the floor between me and them. 

I frown when Zach smirks. 

When you see Zach Goode smirking, you’re probably already in trouble. 

“I hate it when they do this,” a thick British accent floats and glides like music notes next to my left, accompanied with a sigh. 

Bex’s dark skin glows in the light of a pink and tangerine July sunset spilling in through the open tents. Only even more complimented by the hue of the dress Macey carefully selected that hugs and falls over her curves in a way it simply never could on me. She smiles, apples of her cheeks dewy and eyes sparkly as she sips out of a crystal glass that costs more than I can fathom, bubbles bouncing and shimmering in the flute as she sips.

“Do what?” I steal the glass from her and take a sip myself, rolling my eyes at the eyebrow raise it grants me. 

She nods her head towards the two I’d just been staring at. “Look like that. Handsome,” she starts pointing around the bustling room, suited and tuxed man after man, “Every last one of them more attractive in their bloody dress clothes than the last. It’s foul, and unholy, and should be ille-“

“How many glasses of this have you had?”

She waves a dismissive hand and takes it back, mumbling into the lip of the glass, “A few.”

Which is when the champagne is plucked from her fingers, held up to ruby lips that smack together, satisfied, after drinking down the rest in three gulps. 

“Thank you for the drink, Rebecca.” 

My Aunt Abby smiles at Bex’s frown. 

“I am allowed to drink, you know. I’m nineteen.”

“In London,” my Aunt clarifies.

“Pretty sure I’m nineteen everywhere…” Bex muses.

“Don’t be cute.” Abby waggles her finger. 

Bex takes a big breath, and Aunt Abby has that look in her eyes and I know that they will literally go all night, so I interrupt.

“Speaking of cute,” I smile at Aunt Abby, “You and Agent Townsend seem pretty smitten tonight.”

Aunt Abby sighs dramatically, but it’s much more wistful and dreamy than the one Bex gave earlier. Her waves curled hours before still shiny and bouncing as she smiles at the man now standing with Zach instead of Joe. 

“He does look so handsome in a tux.” She tilts her head, freckled cheeks blushing when he looks up and smiles at her. When he looks away, Abby murmurs, so quietly I don’t think she even realizes she said it, “I’m gonna marry that man.”

Bex grabs two new champagne flutes as a tray passes, and hands one to me as Abby walks towards Townsend. 

“Good lord, did she mean tonight?” Bex chokes on her sip. 

“I…” 

Aunt Abby glides across the dance floor, her sights set on her target, but she’s intercepted by a woman in a white gown spinning. 

My mom’s laugh is louder than the music, smile brighter than the dress as she catches her sister’s hand and let’s go of her groom’s. She presses her forehead to Abby’s, giggling like girls far younger than they are while whispering. 

It feels natural, to watch sisters interact and feel the need to knock my temple against my own. To clink our glasses together and be a little sappy.

“So,” Bex clears her throat, “CIA next month. Georgetown too.”

She isn’t asking a question, but I nod anyways, answering. 

“I know loverboy over there is a great spy and all-“

“Loverboy?”

“You heard me.” Bex stands up straight and faces me, a soft smile on her lips as she shrugs. “If I can’t be the one backing you up, I’m glad it’s him, for what it’s worth.”

“Bex,” I start, unsure how to speak around whatever’s stuck in my throat. It’s not like this is goodbye. It’s not like we’ll never see each other again.

So that’s what I tell her. “We’re going to see each other all the time. And talk on the phone and-“

“Oh I know,” she smiles, raising her eyebrows, “You’ll be calling me tomorrow to tell me all about tonight.”

“Tonight?” 

She rolls her eyes in dramatic Bex fashion, “Cammie, my love, yes tonight is the night. Don’t act like you haven’t been thinking he looks delicious and you’re starving or that he hasn’t been looking right back like he’s going to eat you.”

My cheeks are literally on fire as I hiss her name and she holds up her hand and interrupts. 

“Chameleon, you know you shouldn’t lie when you’ve already been caught. Oh, speaking of yummy things, there is a snack over at the cake table that requires my attention, excuse me.”

She steals my drink and spins on her way to the table, the hiss of her name again lost as I take a step towards her and Agent Townsend approaches me.

Bex winks from her spot next to Macey at the cake table and I shake my head, plastering on a smile when I spin to face him.

“Ah, Miss Morgan, I’d like you to meet someone.”

Agent Townsend introduces me to yet another handsome man in a suit who has stories of my parents and high hopes for me and well wishes for my future at the CIA. I nod politely and listen as intently as I can until a hand is sweeping over my lower back, thumb brushing up and down along my spine. 

“So sorry for the interruption,” his voice confidently comes from over my shoulder, deeper than normal, “But may I steal Cameron?”

I turn to see Zach holding a whiskey glass that I am ninety-eight percent sure is just coke. His eyes sparkle, no doubt from the chance to sound official using my full name as the man in the suit nods, sipping his actual whiskey.

“Of course, I’ve monopolized her for far too long, I’m sorry…” the man extends his hand to Zach as he trails off.

“Goode,” Zach’s voice gets even deeper, extending his hand and firmly shaking, “Zach Goode.”

Hard to contain my eyeroll on that one. 

“Oh yes, Townsend was just raving about you as well. Excited what you two will get up to in August.”

The man points to both of us with a sly smile and heads off. 

Zach’s arms wrap around my waist, spinning me unwillingly onto the dance floor. 

“No!” I laugh, swatting at his chest, “Put me down, Zach! And where’d your coke go?”

He tilts his head and hooks a thumb at his chest, “Spy. And it was a Dr. Pepper, you’re slipping Miss Morgan.”

The last bit said in a perfect British accent. 

Also, dang. I am slipping - but it’s Summer break, and…

Zach spins me slowly, it’s more of a sway in the middle of the dance floor as he whispers, “Where’d you go, Gallagher Girl?”

I smile, hands flat against his chest, “Just thinking that it’s Summer break, except it’s not a break. It’s just Summer. And the rest of our lives start next month and everything’s changing and I don’t know if I’m ready.”

The last part comes out quiet, barely a whisper, but I know he hears it, because his arm around my waist tightens. 

He pulls at one of my hands, kissing my wrist before lacing his fingers with mine and holding it aloft, starting to move us around the dance floor. 

My head falls against his chest, right in the perfect spot below his chin, so it’s easy for his voice to slip lower, so only I can hear it.

“It is Summer, that’s a fact, so you got me there. Personally, I’ve always been more of a winter guy myself, so I get it. It sucks.”

I laugh, forgetting I’m dancing until he spins me again, smiling at my eye roll before he’s bringing me back into his chest. 

It deflates beneath my cheek from the long exhale, “Everything is changing, but change can be a good thing. Now, tell 16 year old Zach and he’d be arguing on your side, but I don’t know…this guy, dancing with you…he’s a pretty big fan of change.”

My nose presses to his chest, his hand squeezes my hip.

“And Cam, you’re more ready than anyone I know. And I’ll be with you, so that’s not changing.”

We stop dancing, and I look up at him, swallowing.

“And the rest of our lives starting next month?”

Zach smiles and shrugs. “I say, bring it on.”

His smile falls slightly, fingers catching a piece of my up-do and twirling it before he adds on, “Decided on if you’re dorming it up at Georgetown yet?”

I shake my head, “I haven’t, but I’m leaning towards no. With the hours and work I’ll need to do for Townsend, I don’t think I can swing it. Unless they find me someone with the same clearance…”

I tilt my head just as he did earlier, when he nods, his breath changing in a way that someone else might not notice, but I do.

Zach’s breath sucks in, his question after a rush of air out. 

“Well, what if we lived together?”

We aren’t dancing anymore, just standing in the middle of the dance floor, bodies twirling and swaying around us. 

“Wh-what?”

Zach smiles, my shock and surprise the confidence boost he needed. He grabs my hands and pulls me closer, “Come on Cam, this isn’t a surprise. You’re a spy.”

He twirls me and he keeps talking, his thumbs swiping over the back of my knuckles he’s staring at. “A spy who needs a roommate who gets her. One that’s excited for the rest of their lives to start. Together.”

A faster song starts then, so my heartbeat is masked slightly by the drum beat, but not completely as we stand still and I ask, “What are you excited about?”

Zach pulls me off of the dance floor, tugging me close to his side as he lists, “Excited to find shitty furniture we never sleep on cause we’re in Argentina, or Russia, or, I dunno, Egypt. Excited for when we do get to sit or sleep on that furniture we could show each other our favorite movies and music. Who knows, hand out Halloween candy to neighbors! On Sundays, we can have coffee and read books. We’ll have waffles for dinner every night because we can. So yeah,” Zach sighs, his nose and forehead against mine as we come to a stop. “When I hear the rest of our lives start next month, I say: Bring it on.”

I’ve kissed Zach Goode in a lot of public places, in front of all sorts of people.

But never after he said something like that. 

Our lips slot together like magnets that can’t help what’s in their nature, and the only reason they’re separated is because of some outside force pulling them apart, like needing to breathe. 

There’s a couple whistles when we break apart and Zach smirks and I frown and I tug on his neck, keeping his forehead pressed to mine as I beg,

“Can we please get out of here?”

“God,” he laughs, kissing my cheek, “Thought you’d never ask.”

We slip outside, my heels and his fancy shoes sinking into soft grass until I’m laughing and telling him to stop, that my heel is stuck. 

So he’s picking me up and leaving my shoes there and placing me in the passenger seat of a car I don’t recognize. 

Breathless, but not because he’s out of shape, as he holds up an old hotel key with a smile when he gets into the driver’s side.

“Well that was presumptuous of you.”

Zach is not calm, cool, or collected at my statement. His cheeks flush and so does his neck and he shakes his head, waving his hands. “Wait, no, we don’t have to-“

My lips easily interrupt him and he eagerly matches their movement, kissing him like I haven’t before. Kissing him like I’m ready for next month, for all the change, because he’s going to be at my side. I kiss him until I can’t possibly not breathe anymore and he tries to follow my lips as they leave his. 

“Zach.” I smile at his blinking eyes, his dazed expression.

“Yeah?” 

“Bring it on.”

***

It’s a hasty drive into Roseville, and an even hastier check in. Full of clammy hands and movements anyone who trained us would be yelling about nerves and getting sloppy. All giggles and stolen kisses on elevators that he whispers into my mouth about how cute I was the first time we met.

How he wishes he could go back and tell that Zach to press the emergency stop button so he had more time with me before I hated him. 

And then we’re in the room.

The door closes slowly behind me with a soft click, there’s nothing in our way. Just us and a dimly lit space and tension so thick I get why they say it can be cut with a knife.

Zach swallows as he takes a step towards me, then another, until his hand is cupping my jaw and he’s looking at my mouth then my eyes. 

His tongue swipes over his lip and I can’t help but smile, which makes him pause his leaning.

“What?”

I shake my head, fingers playing with the lapels of his jacket.

“Nothing.”

He raises his eyebrows at me as if to say “Really?”

His thumb swipes over my cheek, tilting my head so I have to look at his unrelenting stare until I’m too hot under it.

“You just…do something every time you’re about to kiss me,” I admit quietly. 

Zach blinks, lips twitching up on one side. 

“Yeah?” He asks it quietly, smugly, like I’m the one with the tell and not him.

“Mhm,” I sigh as his hand travels to the back of my head, cradling it and gently directing me. 

Zach kisses the corner of my lips softly, then my jaw. Hot open mouthed things that have me curling my fingers into his collar, have my breath coming a little sharper. 

When he reaches my neck, he drags his mouth down my throat, pulling out a noise I didn’t know I could make through my parting lips as his fingers tighten on the back of my neck. 

He speaks into my skin as he backs me up towards the door, “You have a tell too, Cam.”

“Wh-what?” My hands fall, pressing to the wood behind me. 

Zach hums into my shoulder, placing a kiss next to my strap before murmuring, “You bite your lip when you want me to kiss you.”

And if my bottom lip was between my teeth as he said it, at least he didn’t see it.

“Like right now.” 

His thumb catches the lip when I try to release it quickly, his eyes glinting as he faces me again. The pad of it drags down my lip, and he watches it as it pops back into place. He swallows, and blows out his breath through his nose.

“Nice try,” he rasps, one hand on the back of my neck and other still holding my jaw. His body presses closer to mine and I reach for his waist on instinct. The tip of his nose bumps mine, lips brushing together in light passes as he whispers, “And just in case I don’t do my tell, I’m gonna kiss you now.”

I’ve had a lot of kisses with Zach. 

Dramatic, cinematic, dip-in-the-foyer-and-deliver-a-cheesy-line kind of kissing. Angry kissing, where we’re both mad, and hurt, and let’s be honest just scared, so it’s fast and passionate and a little mean. Reassuring kisses, that have just as much passion behind them, but softer, sweeter. We’ve shared the I love you, overjoyed kind of kissing where it’s not so much a kiss as it’s two smiles pushed up against each other, teeth bumping and not sexy at all. And then there’s the sort of lazy, effortless, we don’t have to be anywhere and hey we’re alone for what could be minutes or hours and just-

Well, we’ve made out.

A lot. 

Which I’m not going to explain myself for because I feel like it is every couple’s right to make out in general, and it’s not like Zach is the first guy I’ve done so with. 

He’s the second.

But, despite minimal…experience… we’ve gotten pretty good at it, I like to think. It’s been fun to learn I like him pulling my lip and he likes me tugging on his hair just a little bit. It’s been interesting to find out when either of us is becoming one with couch cushions with the other draped across them, we both tend to pull out a spontaneous move from P&E and get the upper hand once more. And to put it bluntly, it’s been hot, to kiss and kiss and kiss some more and be in various states of half undress and have matching heaving breaths as we say we should slow down, because well, I didn’t want to have sex in a hay bale on a farm and he didn’t want to in a car and we haven’t exactly been alone long enough to speed it up if you catch my drift. So that lead to understanding kisses. Kisses that captured sighs and conveyed promises. 

There’s been a lot of that kind of kissing lately.

But never kissing like this. 

Never with Zach in a tux and me in a dress like this. Never pressed up against a door that no one else has the key to. Never in a room, alone, with the promise of no interruptions until we say so. 

My lips follow his lead, like that dance all those years ago. Like the one tonight.

Slow, and patient, but eager. Tongue slipping over mine until I’m sighing and tugging at his waist, needing him closer. 

His hands slip down my neck, my shoulders, following the curve of my chest and resting at my ribs while mine climb higher, bumping over buttons of the white button down on their way up. Zach breathes harshly against my mouth, my name quiet and full of gravel as it’s whispered into my lips like a secret, before he’s tugging on my bottom lip, dragging his teeth over it. 

My hands are in his hair now, a whine bubbling out my chest when he lifts me just so and with too much ease against the door, so his knee can rest between my spread thighs. His breath hitches when I roll my hips, tugging him closer as I do. 

Zach breaks the kissing that turned frantic, both of us taking large gulps of air. His nose traces down mine, green eyes almost black under fluttering lids as he asks, “You sure about this Gallagher Girl?” 

I nod and press my lips to his softly, tenderly, making sure he knows all those promises weren’t just words. His fingers curl into the fabric at my waist, his sigh warm against my cheek when he exhales from his nose. 

“Need to hear-“ Zach’s breath is shaky, eyes squeezed closed as I roll my hips against his thigh again, needing more. “Need to hear you say what you want.”

My fingers fiddle with the curls behind his ears, heart thundering and make it hard to hear myself in my own. 

“You, Zach. I want you. All of you,” his eyes open at my rush of admittance, and the way they shine makes that much more spill out of some deep vault I’ve been keeping it all locked up in, “All of you and all of it. The waffles and the movies and the reading and books and I want this. Now, Zach, please.”

“Shit,” it slips out as a whine, some sort of desperate, raw sound that I’m not sure I heard and I’m not sure he knows he made. It matches his actions though, lips crashing into mine, filthy and eager - greedy. Kissing that feels like it’s sole purpose is to swallow me whole and leave not even a crumb of who I used to be without him. 

It’s kissing that I’ve only seen in movies, his hands on my hips and rucking my dress up as his mouth moves against mine hungry, searching. Parted and pushing and pulling precisely, spit slicked lips panting his name in protest when he gasps for a breath he can’t help but need to take. 

“Wait.” Kissing stopped abruptly as he squeezes at my waist. Slippery fabric of my dress dragging with his hands as they roam higher again, his head tilted up as he gasps.

I kiss over his jaw, down his throat as I whine, “We’ve waited so long.”

He lowers me slowly, dress falling back around my thighs as his palms press flat to the door on either side of me. He closes his eyes, forehead knocking against mine as he takes deep, even breaths. 

“Zach?” I whisper, my fingers tugging on each other, scared of how quiet he is. “We don’t have to-“

His lips interrupt me easily, though slowly. Much slower than how we were just kissing, much more patient and purposeful. His hand cups my jaw again, tenderly brushing over my cheek as his lips hold my top one between his until I’m sighing and pliant against the door.

Zach’s breath out is mine in as we part and he steals another kiss, chaste and delicate. 

“I want you too, and this, for the record,” he speaks slowly, eyes tracking over all of my features like he’s memorizing them. My cheeks warm and getting warmer under his thumb that’s still brushing it as he smirks, “And yeah, we’ve waited a long time. Which is why, we can wait a little longer.”

“Oh,” I nod, eyes on the floor and trying to remember every single thing I’ve ever learned about keeping a straight face. “Right, well, um-“

“No, shit,” Zach laughs, knocking his forehead to mine again, nose gentle against the bridge of mine, “I just meant I’m gonna take my time is all. Wanna take my time, that okay?”

Zach’s staring at me, his cheeks just as pink as mine, lips a little redder and swollen and he’s clearing his throat like something’s stuck in it when I nod. 

“Yeah,” I murmur, “Yeah, that’s okay. More than okay.”

It’s so okay and the word okay feels like not an okay one at all to describe what it feels like to hear Zach Goode wants to take his time with me. With this. So completely okay that an operative who’s used to split second decisions and trusting his gut and never knowing when he’ll get to stop running, wants to slow down for this. 

“Cool.” Zach smiles.

“Cool…” it trails off in a laugh when he groans at my repetition.

“God, I thought I’d be so much smoother than this…stupid tux making me think I’m James Bond…”

“Well,” my fingers play with the top button of his shirt, “Why don’t we start there?”

Zach nods, slow, his adams apple bobbing with a swallow as my fingers push at his jacket. 

It drops to the ground as he kicks off his shoes and I do the same to mine. 

Zach’s lips are on mine again, zinging and zapping and making something inside my stomach flutter to life as I fumble with the buttons down his shirt. It’s not gasps for air between frantic kissing anymore, but deep sighs, content, longing, as hands linger on skin revealed until he’s standing in front of me in just his boxers and I’m still in my dress. 

Somewhere along the way, Zach stopped being that boy in an elevator and became a man. His jaw more angled and his hair darker. The muscles of his arms, chest and stomach all highlighted in gold lamp light and shadows as he steps towards me again. His lips lift, lopsided, and in a signature smirk.

“See something you like?”

The smug phrase isn’t so cocky, with the softened eyes and the quiet tone and the hands gently turning me to face the bed and away from him.

Zach’s breath is warm on my neck, then his lips soft against my shoulder and making me jump and pebbling my skin with goosebumps. A shiver rattles my ribcage as his fingers slip my dress straps down my shoulders. 

His lips skim across skin, trailing to my spine as his hands squeeze my hips. 

Everything is amplified - the sound of our breath, the ticking of the clock on the nightstand, both of our heartbeats. Each pop of a button on the back of my dress quiet, yet a thunderous step closer to a ledge we’re about to leap off of. 

Together.

The back of Zach’s fingers graze my spine with each undone button, his breath hitches in an unfamiliar pattern when he reaches the last one and hits lace. 

The pads of his fingers glide back up the center of my back, all the way to my hair, where they pull pins and clips till my hair is falling around my shoulders and face.

At one point, I began to hold my dress up, close to my chest, and I don’t realize it till he’s stepping up behind me closer. Bare back to bare chest, his arm wrapping around mine, fingers laced together against the fabric.

Zach kisses my shoulder, brushing the newly undone hair to the side so he can continue up my neck, to just beneath my ear where he speaks into my skin. 

“Ready Gallagher Girl?”

I spin to face him, to find blinking surprised eyes and hands raised in mid-action. I push down my underwear behind the dress, stepping out of them and then glance up at him.

“Ready, Blackthorne Boy.”

And then my dress is falling in a puddle at my feet, shimmering and cold compared to heated skin on full display for the first time. 

I’ve seen Zach Goode in almost every way a person can see another person.

Never like this. 

Never with an unwavering gaze. One that’s studying and memorizing, but cherishing - like I can see the wheels turning in his head trying to remember every detail because he’s worried he won’t get a chance to be here again. With a face that looks close to how someone looks when they worship, adore, love undeniably. A mouth that’s parted, but truly rendered speechless. 

I’ve never seen him whisper, “You’re so beautiful Cam,” before stepping closer to me, with gentle hands that caress and trace over my skin in a way that feels an awful lot like the promises of our kissing. Never seen him swallow and trace my collarbones as I pushed at black elastic on his hips. Or pressed up against me, with nothing separating us anymore. 

Before now, I’d never seen how he looks hovering over me, pressing me into soft sheets. Now, I know he gets a wrinkle between his brows when he’s asking if I’m okay, or that his jaw pulses when I arch my back and say his name like I’ve never said it before. 

There’s too many new views of Zach to count now, too many that compete for my favorite. How he looks when my hands are in his hair and my legs are around his waist and I can’t really remember how to breathe as our bodies work together like they know how to more than we do. Or how his thumb catches my bottom lip from between my teeth, his other hand pressed to the mattress as he rolls his hips and leans down to capture my moan with his mouth. Or how he looks when I’m saying his name in an almost silent scream and his hands are pushing mine into the mattress and our hips are slowing at the same time. Maybe it’s when he’s holding me, fingers loop de looping on my bare shoulder and arm that’s draped over him, our legs tangled together with the sheets as both of our breathing becomes slower and slower. 

But I think my favorite is how he looks right now, at the hotel breakfast. 

His hair is a mess, his eyes are sleepy, but bright green as they look up at me. 

He looks different. 

I wonder if I look different too. 

He smiles, waffle shoved in his cheek and I lean forward and swipe syrup from the corner of his lips with my thumb. 

“Yeah, you owe me forty bucks.”

Zach and I blink as Bex slides next to me, Liz next to Zach, and Macey at the end of the table.

Liz blushes and whispers, “Guys I thought we weren’t-“

“I do not owe you anything, Baxter.” Macey stabs a strawberry.

“She me owes me forty bucks, I know it happened. Open your eyes and look at them.” Bex gestures to the two of us, the two who had just been minding their own business and enjoying their morning. 

I sip my coffee unphased, Zach chokes on his.

Macey groans and Liz lets out a little squeal and Bex looks far too Bexish. 

“Well, that’s my cue, so,” Zach stands and turns to leave, but then turns back around. 

He leans over the table, looking down at me. He looks at my mouth, then my eyes.

I bite my lip.

He smiles. 

He licks his lip.

I smile. 

He kisses me gently, nose tapping mine as he backs away. 

Zach clears his throat, “Ladies.”

And I thought maybe the wink he shot me over his shoulder was actually my favorite Zach, but it turns out, it’s the Zach that’s spilling coffee on himself as he turns around and runs straight into my mother and Joe. 

I’ve seen sarcastic Zach, sad Zach, sexy Zach, sweaty Zach, swoon level off the charts Zach. 

I’ve never seen a Zach so flustered by a simple question. 

“And where’d you run off to last night?”

[marvellousinternethideout]

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

Season 2

Ep 6 - Halloween

Why does this vampire looks like sam Winchester or is it just me?

That's a creepy vampire. Recording Buffy fighting. Weird kink but okay...

Oh no, not again, not the Cordelia and Angel misunderstanding. Disappear Cordelia.

Buffy and angel(the actors) do have the chemistry that you just have it. They have the spark, that breathlessness, that angst and I will die without you presence.

Lmao not the principal whipping out three pens as if any school would be this rich. Unbelievable. Unrealistic.

Go xander beat that guy or... Well buffy did, nvm.

"Boys are so fragile", willow speaking facts.

Reading about angel in library... Yeah that will end well. No dark secrets.

Lmao not buffy using ms calendar card.

"a babe, i can work with that", oh my poor adorable Mr. Giles. My man.

"oh buffy you must be hot stuff when it comes to demonology or whatever but when it comes to dating I am the slayer" , that was such a Cordelia thing lol.

Buffy is gonna wear the dress...is it haunted or angel gonna die by a boner after seeing her in this? Stay tuned, we'll see.

What accent does spike have? British...?

Spike saying, "talk to daddy", it was hot and eww at the same time.

Someone new is gonna come..well well...interesting.

Buffy kinda looks like nina/Elena/Katherine pierce in this dress. Probably just me.

OZ BABY!!!

OZ AND WILLOW JUST BUMPED!!

Damn, wtf! Now people are just randomly turning into monsters or ghosts...or past life soldier?

Oh they're turning into what they've dressed up. I love this! Oh I love this episode.

Lol, buffy just fainted. In this scene, she does remind me of Katherine when she was innocent.

Even demon magic can't change Cordelia lmao.

I can't have amnesia because "I bathe quite often" Okay ms buffy from 70's lmao.

Oh hey angel, you finally came, welcome to the amnesia demon magic land.

Evil shop guy.

I am sorry, "hello Ethan" , "hello Rupert(I heard ripper for some reason and got a shock of this lifetime)". They know each other. It's gonna be interesting.

Damn, soldier Xander is kinda die for hot. I have a thing for him, the soldier xander, not the normal one.

Holy, Rupert has got a dark past. HOLY FUCK, DID HE JUST HIT THE ETHAN, DAMN GILES. Who is he really ?

Oh so he did say ripper or still Rupert. Who is GILES. DAMN, SIR.

Yesss buffy is back. You go my girl.

Yes willow, embrace your hotness

LMAO, NOT OZ. HIS FACE 💀💀OZ MY GUY. HE'S GONE GONE. Oz and willow, my OTP from now on.

Angel we're not dissing women of old eras. They had no choice, so shut up.

Giles just got more interesting, what happened to the awkward mess? Who is he?

Why are we in chemistry (?) Lab. Giles my man wtf are you doing!

WHO IS RUPERT GILES REALLY!?

Also spike was in it but he didn't interest me as much but can we talk about Giles, who is he again?

Okay, phew, this episode.

First of all, I loved loved this episode. So far it's my favorite. It had everything, drama, craziness, humor - different from the other episodes - and I really loved it. Again, turning people into their Halloween costume - a masterpiece 🤌. I absolutely loved this plot.

I loved watching Buffy's character being this woman lmao. Xander as the soldier - my heart, he really looked and even sounded hot. Willow as always my adorable hot girl. And we had OZ. Mr. Who's that girl. Adore this guy lol.

Now, WTF GILES? WHO ARE YOU? WHO IS HE!? I swear to God it took me by surprise. Damn Giles. Everyone here has a dark past(minus the teenagers but living in this town, they're well on their way).

Anyway, fav episode so far, loved every second of it. That's it for now, see ya in the next one. Cheers 🥂

[13eyond13]

Hello, do you mind if I ask that "bookish ask"? For no. 15, 34, and 50. Thanks if you want to answer.....

Hello! Sure, thank you for asking :)

15. What book changed your life?

This was a hard question!

I know I've mentioned this book already several times but in complete honesty I think Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice did geniunely change my life a bit whenever I first read it at 15 or 16. I was raised in a strict Christian home and sent to a tiny Christian school in a small town, and had all my media and activities and the people I was allowed to interact with and the stuff I did very closely monitored so that it was basically always Christian and rarely ever adult in content or themes or anything for most of my childhood and my early teens. So originally when I bought this book at the bookstore at age 15 and my mom found out about it I had to return it to the bookstore immediately, because she saw that it was about vampires and she thought it sounded bad. Normally I was pretty obedient and I hated to do anything against my parents' wishes, but by then I had already started reading it and was already pretty hooked on knowing what was going to happen next. So I sneaked around behind my mom's back to secretly buy it again, and then pulled a Light Yagami by gutting one of the wholesome children's books on my shelf to hide this forbidden book inside (this was before I ever watched Death Note, but whenever I saw Light using the same bookshelf trick to hide his magazines I was like HAHAHA omg no way). So reading this book and then several more of them in the series after that kinda marked the first time I ever really explicitly disobeyed the authority figures around me in order to read something considered off-limits or more "adult," and kinda made me realize that I felt like I was missing out on a whole gigantic part of life by only ever being restricted to that tiny little bubble of stuff I'd been exposed to thus far. Everything that the book touched on just resonated extremely strongly with me at the time, in large part probably due to my religious guilt and my questioning of these things (because oooh boy is it obvious that Anne Rice is a lapsed Catholic in her writing a lot of the time). But also I think the melodrama of the story matched with my teenage angst so well, and I definitely was vibing strongly with just how queer so much of the series feels as well (I didn't realize yet that I was gay, but I was starting to question things like that about myself a bit by then I think. It was very rare that I was ever exposed to anything not completely heteronormative back then due to it being the 2000s and due to being in a homophobic religious bubble my whole life, so this really was one of the very first times I was). I feel like reading this book really marked the beginning of me opening my mind up from the stuff that I'd just been raised to believe and acted like a nice gateway for me between that and exploring lots of other interesting things that had previously been off-limits to me before that as well.

34. List 5 OTPs: I don't think I actually have five OTPs! The only one I really truly have ever been long-term passionate about enough to call it something like an otp is Lawlight. I could name you a few other ships that I definitely find pretty compelling and angsty for me to think about as well right now though, like Nana and Hachi from the Nana manga series and Griffguts from Berserk

50. Why do you love to read?

Hmm! At this point I might say just that I'm kind of obsessed with stories and the art of storytelling in general. And I think what I love so much about books in particular is just how intimate they can feel and how deep into a character's head or specific point of view or a different world or time period or whatever you can get with them. It's a bit different than something like watching a show or a movie to really get to know a character or experience a story directly just through the words on the page. I like how much you can just make it all up for yourself (which is to me why it often feels really odd to see a book I loved turned into a movie or show that doesn't match what I pictured in my imagination). I was lucky enough to grow up reading and being read to by my parents quite a bit, so it feels homey and nostalgic to me to sit down with a good book too. And I feel like as an adult it's just one of the better hobbies I've ever had in terms of expanding my mind and challenging me and teaching me a lot about all the things that interest me the most.

[bookish asks]