#our family is unique wip

[bidisasterevankinard]

Inspiration Saturday

I finally made a moodboard for my bucktommy and platonic buddie baby mpreg fic

I also should share less of this fic because it feels like I shared all the fic (I still will edit and rewrite almost everything I wrote but anyway fell like I shared too much )

“It smells good. But I doubt the new meal was the reason for such a good mood.”

Oh yeah, Buck forgot he still didn’t tell Tommy.

He smiles at his boyfriend, while getting away from his body he had pinned to his door all this time, and rolls his hoodie so that his bums are seen and even turns sideways to Tommy.

“Do you see something new?”

Tommy’s eyes are sparkling like the most beautiful stars.

“You have a bump,” Tommy smiles brightly and in two steps gets closer to him hugging him, leaving a kiss on his birthmark. “I leave you two for 48 hours and you decide it’s the best time to finally pop?”

“All the complaints you should send to sunshine,” Buck kisses the cleft he loves so much, hugging Tommy’s neck while man caresses his flanks under the hoodie. “I woke up today, went to shower. then got out and saw my reflection.”

“And it prompted the inspiration to try a new recipe for dinner for us.”

Buck hums in agreement because Tommy got him perfectly.

“Does Eddie know?”

“Yes, we had lunch together and I showed him. We even had a little photoset together to send to his family and Maddie.”

“Tell me he cried and you have photos. I need blackmailing material.”

 Buck laughs on his man’s almost begging face.

“Don’t worry, photos of red faced Eddie near my bump are already sent to you.”

“Perfect. I’ll even frame it.”

Buck laughs loud again.

I was tagged by @diazsdimples 💙

Tagging @tizniz @wikiangela @queerdiaz @watchyourbuck @evnnkinard @evansboyfriend @evanbi-ckley @repressedqueen @rogerzsteven @racerchix21 @theotherbuckley @pirrusstuff @kinard-buckley @aspecbuddie @saybiwithme @spotsandsocks @shortsighted-owl @steadfastsaturnsrings @devirnis @hippolotamus @monsterrae1 @cal-daisies-and-briars @bigfootsmom @bekkachaos @bi-buckrights @neverevan @loveyouanyway @loserdiaz @bewilderedbuckley and anyone who wants to

[bonefall]

Unrelated to the new book blurb:

do you have any tips on processing the absolute mess that is the family tree? Like, how does one put it into smaller bites for re-doing/adjusting? How does one even begin to rework it when it's such a confusing tangle?? I'm just so overwhelmed by the tree(s), and I've read the whole series (because I would love to re-work it, but FUCK).

I will be 100% earnest with you; reworking the tree from scratch as a single person is both difficult and time consuming. I have a penchant for it, and even I'm not completely done. I make my reduxed trees totally free to use so that others at least have a jumping-off point for your own "cleaner" Clans.

So my most helpful tip would probably be Don't. PLEASE take my trees and cut them, prune them, bonsai them, clean them up even more than I did, anything you'd like. I do not wish this fate on my worst enemy.

That said-- let's say you love pain as much as I do, or you just want to see how much work I put into these trees. I'll babble about my process.

This is my WIP file for the ShadowClan Family Tree. Consider this image a content warning for self-inflicted pain and suffering 💕

Uhhh and also; an ACTUAL, serious content warning. Because of the nature of them asking how to fix trees on their own, I have to talk a little about incest. It comes with the territory.

A few things to know before you start;

You will need a FUCK OFF MASSIVE monitor for this. Mine is an ASUS a little under 2 feet long-- I've tried doing this on my smaller, secondary monitor, and these trees just get too big to work on.

FamilyEcho will not cut it. You NEED an art program. You will have to do this by hand, because there is no lineage-drawing tool that can handle families this large and tangled.

You will need to decide your "rules" beforehand. How closely related are you allowing valid couples to be? Are you allowing Queen's Rights? Can you add OCs, and if so, how often? On this point-- I have my Three Strict Rules, and do not use OCs. Because of this, I do a LOT of research beforehand and usually have the wiki open as I work on these. I'm always scouring for forgotten warriors to use for this.

There are going to be multiple drafts. You will not do this in one go. That does not mean you "failed" or you're "stuck," that's a good thing.

With all of that out of the way.

Usually, the first thing I do is pick a Clan to work on. There's over 1,000 cats in this series, so I break that up by picking one group at a time. Once I do that, I draw out the canon chart.

In this case, I've already drawn out all of the canon charts. River, Thunder, Shadow, Sky, Wind.

I call this a Diagnosis because I'm taking a look at what the problem is, so that I know what I'm fixing. In Shadow's case, it's a solid brick of inbreeding with a "missing generation" line. In ThunderClan's case, it's mostly a Robinwing x Fuzzypelt problem. Each Clan has its own unique issues.

Once you know the issue, step two, start drawing out what you want to do and keep. For example, let's say that you want to use the Ivy/Dove as Holly/Cinder kittens idea.

I generally try to start with the "modern" cats and work backwards, but it can also be helpful to just doodle out floating "branches" that you want to work in backwards.

You can see examples of those in my ShadowClan draft, up there, but I've zoomed in and circled them.

Don't be afraid to draw "notes" like this. You can just grab them and drag them around when something clicks!

Getting back to our "example" tree with Holly/Cinder Ivy/Dove, you might notice now that Lionblaze has no mate. Another thing I do when I see an immediate problem but don't have a solution in mind yet is use a little ? mark. You don't want to get hung up on deciding everything RIGHT away.

Now, this is where my 3 Strict Rules would come into play, in two ways! I'm sure you'll be able to spot them. For one, Lionblaze has waaaaay too many kids here who would go on to have kittens of their own, so I'd start breaking them up. For two, this tree makes Ivypool and Fernsong a first cousin pairing, something I don't allow.

You can fix this in any number of ways, and I'm sure there's someone out there shouting their preferred Lionblaze ships and Alt Fernsong Parents like they're the crowd on a game show, but for this demonstration I'm going to do this;

Here, I decided I didn't want to undo FernIvy, but I still want Fernsong to be Clanborn with two parents, so I have removed him from Lionblaze and given him unknown family. I've also taken Sorrelstripe and Spotfur, and moved them to a little spot on the side. I can now use them to patch up the little ? placeholders.

You'll also notice this is already becoming a mess. This is why you will need to redraw this a few times, for readability. The best tip I can give you for that is that families who only have one kit to carry on the lineage should go in a long line in the center, but otherwise, offspring who do not have kits should go between their siblings who do.

It's easier to visualize it imo, so here's what I mean;

The vast majority of the time I spend doing these is just "puzzlework." Trying to figure out a way to make line connections look good, making sure cats are far enough apart, trying to make "wishlist" stuff work.

Here's some insight to that with the big ShadowClan mess I showed at the beginning of this post;

And, mind you, this is Draft 3 of this tree. Those grayed-out parts of the first image were my first two. I wasn't satisfied enough with them, so I started from scratch several times!

I wish I could share some kind of good, simple process for this, but unfortunately I don't have one. It's just a lot of work, familiarity, creativity, and problem solving. I spend days, sometimes even weeks on these. My intention is that they can be a fandom resource that's easier to read than the website tree, less carelessly inbred with more thought given to immediate family units, AND more comprehensive.

In any case, I hope this was insightful, or these tips I share helped in some way!

[vivalas-vega]

will you marry me? // dagger squad x reader

howdy y'all !!! this was a random idea I had well over a year ago that I never actually finished and just found when clearing out my wips and thought it would be a fun little thing to post, so please enjoy the dagger squad and what engagement ring I think they'd pick !!! I didn’t even intend for it to be a recurring thing that the proposals don’t go to plan or are silly but I guess it’s just on brand for them lmao

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw

this man is all about the classics - I mean, look at his bronco... he wanted to get you something simple with a bit of a modern twist. he's also a very sentimental man. he'd play it casual all week leading up to date night but surprise you by taking you to where you had your first date, whether that's a restaurant or a bar or the beach, and after the most perfect evening he'd propose with his mom's ring. because he's bradley and incredibly thoughtful, he'd also want you to have a ring that's only yours and I think he'd surprise you with that one randomly -- maybe after celebrating the engagement in bed that night, or the next morning over breakfast. you end up wearing Carole’s ring on your right hand (sometimes putting it around a necklace of hers Bradley also gifted you when you want to keep it extra safe) and your new ring on your left.

Jake 'Hangman' Seresin

Jake is all flash, but that doesn't mean he lacks substance. he scours your pinterest board for weeks and asks all your closest friends for their input, but at the end of the day he trusts himself to get it right because he knows you like the back of his hand. you deserve only the best, and he wants you to park your pretty butt on the beach when he's flying by and to be able to catch a glare from the rock he put on your finger. he'd either propose in the ice cream aisle at the grocery store (which surprises him as much as you) after watching you hem and haw over which flavor to get and deciding to get all three - or, he'd go all out and plan the perfect vacation to a destination that's been on your bucket list and research the most romantic spot in the whole country and really there's no in between.

Robert 'Bob' Floyd

our sweet man of few, but impactful, words. his ring choice and proposal is no different. he wants to get you something beautiful and unique, but neither one of you are known for being frivolous. he picks something modest that shows how well he knows you and how much he loves you. something about him screams christmas proposal - either at his family's snowy farm early in the morning before anyone has a chance to sweep you up in the festivities or in your shared home before heading to Mav and Penny's holiday dinner. either way, its just the two of you wrapped in your own bubble and you tease that Bob should be writing the proposals for hallmark movies because what he says is so perfect. you'd open a suspiciously wrapped gift you think is the worlds lightest pair of shoes but to your shock you find a ring, and Bob always regrets not setting up a camera to capture the priceless look on your face.

Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace

Natasha never thought she was one for marrying until she met you, and she'd definitely get you something beautiful and intricate without sacrificing delicacy. she'd plan the perfect evening in and cook your favorite meal, but absolutely ruin your favorite cookies and while she's flustered and panicking over a sheet of what looks like coal you're just laughing and gazing at her with this dumbstruck look that translates to you're such an idiot and I'm so in love with you and when she catches it she can't help herself and it just flies out, really she nearly yells and you're just standing watching her fumble to get the ring out her pocket not realizing you'd already said yes before you even saw it.

Javy 'Coyote' Machado

Much like Jake, he wants to get you something flashy but he was drawn to this one in particular because the band reminded him of airplane wings and he liked the idea of you not only having a token of his love on your hand every day he's on deployment, but one that has a little piece of his second love too. I think he'd definitely plan a big elaborate proposal but Jake's got a big mouth and didn't know you were at the bar and asks if he popped the question, only to see horror on Javy's face and you standing right behind him so he was really forced into it but of course you said yes because it was chaotic and imperfect and everything you could ever want.

Mickey 'Fanboy' Garcia

Mickey would definitely want to get you something a little funky - neither one of you are known for being super traditional, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want you to have the perfect ring. true to his nature as soon as it's in his possession he's a little too excited to wait to plan something out and while you're all snuggled up watching star wars for the hundreth time he just blurts out that wants to marry you and when you look at him in shock he thinks he's ruined it and offended you by not doing it properly but once you get your wits about you all you can say is 'of course I'll marry you, you big idiot'

Reuben 'Payback' Fitch

I think Reuben leans more towards the classics as well, but with a little something extra. your relationship has always been sweet and fun and lighthearted, and your proposal is exactly the same. he takes you to the putt putt course you had your first date at and proposes in front of the windmill, and you can't keep it together long enough to say yes because he dropped the ring in the hole and even when he retrieves it your 'yes' is hard to decipher around all your laughing.

[ohmotherwhereartthou-if]

Oh Mother, Where Art Thou?

"Oh Mother Where Art Thou?", Or OMWAT for short.

Is an interactive piece of fiction where your choices and decisions will ultimately change and decide the outcome of the story; as well as the fates of those in it.

This story takes place in a semi-realistic fantasy world. Where the places and history of this world is mirrored to our own in very subtle ways.

Featuring:

A customizable character with a section of gender, appearance, personal attraction and personality.

Twisting secrets and truths.

Finding culture for yourself between one of 2 well developed countries, or neither.

A heartfelt story about finding family and knowing when to let go.

Choices in forging friendships and/or rivalries.

Decide the fates of several characters.

Explore a world inspired by Spanish and Italian language, histories and cultures.

Find your preferred profession, acquire unique skills and traits.

Select and develop you fighting style with a selection of weapons.

Learn different forms of magic or opt out of magic altogether.

3 RO's per country (6 in total) for book 1; with ranging backgrounds, personalities and tastes.

The greatest travel guide of all time. A humble traveling partner who will help you through your journey

WIP Demo:

Prologue (Act 1-3) & Chapter 1 (Act 1) [61k Words] - Link Updated (9-9-24)

Ask's Masterlist

I am 100% good with any kind of asks, please just make sure you check the masterlist before you submit an ask to see if I have answered the question already. I try to be very on it about updating the masterlist and properly tagging content.

As always, let me know if something doesn't link to the right place and never be afraid to ask me something if you see that I haven't answered it before. 💙

Links:

Masterlist: Link Google Feedback Form: Link Choice of Games Form Page: Link

The World: Link

The Countries: Link

Story Overview: Link

Fanart Submissions: Link

Noteworthy Characters: Link

Romantic Options (RO's): Link

RO's Appearances (w/Pictures): Link

Author's Notes (Please Read): Link

----------------

Content Warning:

Please be advised that this will be an 18+ story due to the following:

Classism

Mommy Issues

Religious themes

Described violence

Semi-minimal gore

Abandonment Issues

Reoccurring discussions of political ideologies

Homophobia (it isn't explicit and can be toggled to be ignored but will still be present for story reasons)

Misgendering for gn MC's (A gn-mc will be very unique and have a lot of variations in their story, but they will still be misgendered quite a bit by the citizens of an historical inspired like world due to a lack of understanding)

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

Looming vs. Natural Reproduction - what on Gallifrey's going on here?

aka What is looming and how does it exist alongside natural reproduction?

As the first of the trending topics, GIL's noticed some confusion about the concept of looming vs. natural reproduction in Gallifreyans. Have no fear; GIL's here to help.

🧬 What is looming?

It's a bit like 3D printing, but for people. These Rassilon-created Genetic Loom Breeding-Engines weave new Gallifreyans from a mix of matter and biodata. Looms produce Gallifreyans of all genders, (though females are loomed slightly less frequently). Each House has its unique Loom, which embeds familial traits into its creations.

❓ Why is looming a thing?

The invention of Looms was Rassilon’s grand solution to a serious problem. Following the catastrophic Curse of Pythia, Gallifrey faced extinction. The Looms became lifelines, ensuring the continuity of Gallifreyan civilisation.

🔮 What is the Curse of Pythia?

The Pythias were a kind of magical matriarchal monarchy, with rulers known as Pythias ruling over ancient Gallifrey in succession. Pythia number 309 (out of 309) was elbowed out by Rassilon. She was, understandably, really hacked off. She condemned Gallifrey to wither and then threw herself into the Crevasse of Memories That Will Be, never to be seen again. This 'withering' is known as the 'Curse of Pythia'. It resulted in mass sterility of Gallifreyans - supposedly instantly killing babies in their mother's wombs, and preventing any Gallifreyan from reproducing naturally from that point forward.

🍷 So Gallifreyans used to reproduce naturally?

Yes. Before the sterility curse, Gallifreyans reproduced just like humans, with a little wine, a candlelit dinner and maybe an album by Barry White.

✨ So does this 'Curse' still exist?

No. The apparent lifting of Pythia's curse was marked by Leela's pregnancy (yes, THAT Leela), which hailed a return to natural reproduction among Gallifreyans. Others besides Leela have also been able to reproduce naturally.

🔄 So what method do they use?

This blend of technological and biological means of reproduction leaves Gallifreyans in a unique position. They could use both methods depending on social, political, or personal factors.

🧐It can't all be that simple, GIL ...

Wow, you've been here before, haven't you?

There are accounts that the supposed 'Curse of Pythia' didn't actually come from Pythia.

Self-inflicted: Some say it was a side-effect of a massive time tech experiment that went awry.

It never existed: Others suggest there never was a curse. Rassilon, seeking absolute control, concocted a narrative to enforce a sterile, controllable society, eradicating the unpredictability of natural birth and driving forward eugenics in his perfect society.

🏫 So ...

Thus, the plot thickens. Were Gallifreyans always capable of natural reproduction but held back by societal constructs and fear? Did Leela's pregnancy unveil a truth long buried or simply reawaken a dormant biological ability? That's up to you.

But of course, GIL denies this version of events, cos how else would we get the funding for all the biscuits in the canteen from the High Council? Praise Rassilon!

Related:

💬|🧶💰How to acquire a Loom?: Practical guide to acquiring a loom, legally or not.

📺|🏡🧬Top 10 list of the most biologically curious Houses of Gallifrey

💬|👤👑Why is Rassilon everywhere?: Who Rassilon is and why you should care.

Hope that helped! 😃

Any purple text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired😴

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

The Secret Portal Ask Game

Got this idea from @mk-writes-stuff and @illarian-rambling who made ask games based on their WIPs!

So here's mine for TSP! Feel free to reblog so people can send you asks!!! You don't have to know anything about TSP to play :)

*OC asks*

Lexi - what makes your OC anxious?

Maddie - how reckless with their own safety/health is your OC?

Ash - is there anything your OC desires so strongly they'd act "out of character" to get it?

Gwen - describe your OC's view on reading

Noelle - what is your OC's relationship with their parents?

Rose - how does your OC's external persona differ from the person they are in their head?

Kelsey - how does your OC interact with children?

Robbie - how far will your OC go to protect those they care about?

Akash - what are your OC's insecurities?

Jedi - what does your OC regret?

Carmen - what drives your OC?

Carla - how does your OC react to free time?

George - what lengths will your OC go to in order to help those they love?

Liam - what is an unpopular opinion your OC has?

Ewan - what music does your OC like?

Jazlyn - how does your OC feel about the concept of family?

Wade - which of your OCs is the leader and why?

Parker - what's the most reckless thing your OC has done?

Tyler - is there someone from your OC's past that haunts them in the present?

Gabriel - how stubborn is your OC?

Niri - how seriously does your OC take their hobbies?

Sam - how much does the opinion of others affect your OC?

Hye-Jin - how romantic is your OC?

Alex - how does your OC interact with strangers?

Issa - are there any parts of your OC's personality that they intentionally hide?

CJ - describe how much your OC needs other people in their life

Wendy - what topic could your OC talk about for hours?

Anathi - what does your OC do in their free time?

Teo - who would your OC turn the world over for?

Xitlali - what is your OC's biggest problem with society?

Atsila - does your OC consider themselves a hero and is it true?

Raissa - how far is your OC willing to go to get what they believe is right?

*World Building asks*

Alium - describe your world

Ceteri - how does your world differ from ours?

Sector 1 - what ways to get involved in the community?

Sector 2 - what are some traditions your world has? Are they good, bad, or neutral?

Sector 3 - what kind of art is unique to your world?

Sector 4 - how important is family valued in your world?

Sector 5 - how much knowledge available to the general public?

Sector 6 - who are some heroic figures either in the past or present?

Sector 7 - how does authority discipline others?

Sector 8 - what gets in the way of progress?

Sector 9 - generally speaking, how much do the citizens respect the government?

Sector 10 - what are some of the values held by the people of your world?

McLain base - describe an average home in your world

Asghar base - what are the most dangerous places in your world?

Gateway - what is the most important place in your world?

Falcon Intermediate - how is the education system in your world?

*Writing process asks*

Superstrength - what is your biggest strength as a writer?

Superspeed - how do you pace yourself?

Flight - what part of writing is the most freeing?

Invisibility - what's a bit of writing you hope no one ever sees?

Healing - how have you grown as a writer?

Hydrokinesis - what is your go-to beverage when writing?

Terrakinesis - how do you plan or build your story?

Pyrokinesis - what part of writing gets you the most excited?

Aerokinesis - what is the easiest part of writing?

Intangibility - how have you stepped out of your comfort zone?

Teleportation - where are you in the process of your WIP?

Telepathy - what part of the writing is the hardest part?

Telekinesis - what brought you to writing?

Shapeshifting - how many genres do you write in?

Electromagnokinesis - what other works can you connect to your writing?

Photokinesis - what are the happiest, lightest scenes you've written?

Umbrakinesis - what are some of the darkest scenes you've written?

Ergokinesis - does writing get you pumped up or make you tired?

Dimensiokinesis - what's your favorite part of world building?

Chronokinesis - what would you tell your younger self about writing?

Essokinesis - what genres do you never want to write?

Mimicry - how do you learn new writing techniques?

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

@nebula--nix @literarynecromancy @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet

[yautjalover]

Sometimes I think about a Yautja raised by humans meeting another Yautja for the first time.

Like let's say in the 1950s a 20 year old couple found a baby Yautja and decided to raise them. Cause idk they're childless farmers in the middle of nowhere. I once saw somewhere it takes like 67 years for a Yautja to reach adulthood (I may be wrong).

So the year is 2024 and our farmer couple is in their 90s when their now adult alien child meets an injured yautja hunter.

(Also the human raised yautja would probably have human values and beliefs along with wearing human clothes. Plus we all know they'd have the most basic human name like Bobby, Tomas, Elijah, Judy, Martha, Tonya etc.)

The the sadness Yautja Judy would feel along with the misunderstandings that would happen when she meets another of her kind would be funny. Especially when they talk and both realize neither speaks eachothers language.

Judy isn't surprised cause she knows she's an alien and of course her race has its own language. (She is sad though cause they can't communicate) Meanwhile normal yautja (let's call him hunter) is confused and a little terrified cause why is she wearing ooman clothes and speaking perfect English.

Judy would definitely give Hunter uncanny valley like what do you mean you were raised on earth and think hunting oomans is wrong?! What do you mean eating raw meat is nasty, and the predator dogs are ugly?!

It's even worse when Hunter sees her now elderly foster parents and the farm. Cause why would you keep perfectly good prey locked up behind fences? There's no fun in hunting already trapped prey?! Also why are you letting that ooman TOUCH your dreads!?!?!? WTF is braiding?!?!?

Hunters like:

So after Hunter is all healed up he leaves without saying goodbye. Judy is left to believe she'll never see another Yautja again. (Not like she cares dude was always staring at her and hissing at her parents.)

Hunter actually went back to the clanship to get a better translator and told everyone about Judy. No one believes him though....Till he shows his mask recording and everyone's like:

Now everyone is trying to figure out whose Judy's real parents and how to deal with the situation.

Meanwhile weeks later Judy's living her best life never realizing that her real parents just entered earths orbit. And they want her back cause she's literally their ONLY child.

Also this is Judy's childhood always getting jumped on by the family cat. And wearing like 10 layers in fall and winter cause her human parents thought she'd freeze to death.

Ya know this is quite great, because I have a WIP fanfic about this exact scenario. It’s called Kira, that being the human-raised Yautja’s name. Her real name is K1RA, but eventually she was just called Kira.

She’s raised by a secretive arm of the US military and trained to be their defense when a predator visits Earth again. Their own Predator on their side. They of course have her participate in secretive missions for the military.

It’s got a meddlesome goddess, a grumpy Yautja raised by his own people, an adult coming of age and finding one’s place in the world, and finding love in all of that. Despite my life being hectic lately, I’m still working on the eighth chapter. ☺️

You should write that down as a fic! We need more unique Yautja like this. I’d definitely give it a read. 😁 There are so many opportunities for humor and awkward scenarios!

Link to my fic on Ao3 here.

You can also find it on WattPad here.

[snowbellewells]

🎃~A Little Bit Spooky Seasonal Rec List ~🎃

Hello there!  Seeing as it’s nearly Halloween, I thought I would post this themed list of fics I absolutely love that fit the season of thrills and chills, or have at least a hint of the supernatural about them. (Most do anyway, there are a couple that are just full of fall things and autumn coziness.) This is by no means extensive - no matter how much I read, I’m sure I’ll never catch all of the amazing stories our Ouat/CS fandom has to offer!! Still, here’s hoping folks may find a few "new to them" favorites for the season! Enjoy!!

**I originally made this list in 2020, so none have been taken away but more have been added in since that time.**

In no particular order...

“High Spirits” by: ReaperWriter  This story is older, but it features Emma as a former detective forced into early retirement and Killian as a medium (of sorts?). They end up investigating the rumored haunting of an old manor house in Louisiana. Thrills and chills, genuine bittersweetness and melancholy, and emotional connection ensue.  13 Chapters, Complete

“Of Dreams and Darkness” by: @oubliette14  This one is another I’ve know about for some time, and read and re-read more than once. It reminds me a little bit of the monster mash-up movie Van Helsing (though I actually like it more than that) and has Emma and Killian as vampire hunters, teaming up to take on the worst monster either has tackled yet... Long oneshot, Complete 

“Things That Go Bump” by: @brooke-to-broch  This is just a fun, festive CS celebrating Halloween in their own home with all the hilarity involved in including their friends and family - with a bit of spicy goodness between just the two of them thrown in for good measure.  Oneshot, Complete

"Into the Light", "Hotel Neverland", "The Moon...Tells the Sea", "In the Viper's Den" and "Return to Me" by: @kmomof4 It will be clear if a person has read any of these offerings already that Krystal has a knack for the vampire fics in particular, her previous @cssns event offerings "Into the Light" and "Return to Me" are just my favorite examples of that. "Hotel Neverland" and "The Moon...Tells the Sea" also contain elements of the spooky or supernatural, but just very unique and unforgettable twists that you definitely shouldn't miss. "In the Viper's Den" isn't spooky or Halloween-themed, but it does have an autumnal feel to me for some reason. It's also one of my favorites of Krystal's stories, period. So there's that too. Various Lengths, all Complete

“An American Haunting” by @welllpthisishappening I just LOVE this story. I think it was around Halloween last year that I discovered it, and I think it’s one of my favorite of Laura’s stories that I’ve read. Emma, Killian (and several other familiar OuaT faces) work at an American historical park of sorts, and though technically “just friends” pine for each other all the while. Then, one of the historical stories comes a lot closer to their present than ought to be possible, and they just might be fighting for each other’s lives...  Two Shot, Complete

“Hope is the Thing with Feathers”, “Blackbird”, “Scarborough Fair”,  and “Ivory Runs Red” by @searchingwardrobes These are some of my favorites of Melanie’s (and that’s saying something, because each new thing she posts tends to become my “new favorite” for a bit!) At any rate, these offerings all have a bit of the supernatural or spooky to them, or they just feel like they should happen in Fall. There is some lovely CaptainCobra and CaptainBook brotp in a few of these too, along with the stellar CS writing.  Various Lengths, All Complete except “Scarborough” which is a WIP.

"Ghosted" by: @jrob64 This story was Joni's offering for the @cssns23 event - and wow, was it a doozy!! It has just the right balance of spine-tingling evil ghost/spirit haunting from a properly awful Neal, and yet sweetness and trust building throughout between Killian (as a ghost hunter of sorts) and Emma (as the woman next door being haunted by her ex). Not only that, but there is lovely support from Will and Belle as Killian's team (and a potential couple in their own right). I don't want to spoil any of the thrills and chills, but if you missed this as it was posting back in July and August, definitely check this one out!! 5 Chapters, Complete

“The Man Behind Glass” and “The Prickly Witch’s Guide to Magic” both by: @shireness-says  I do believe that both of these stories were written for the first @cssns event over two years ago now.  I love both of them so much - you really can’t go wrong in checking either of them out! One features Killian as a centuries-old pirate trapped within a mirror and discovered by one little boy with a heart full of belief, and the Prickly Witch fic is a great group friendship fic as well as CS - AND it has some heartwarming hints of Jeweled Beauty (Liam x Belle) one of my favorite underrated things in fic!  Both long oneshots, Both Complete

“A Charm of Powerful Trouble” by: @spartanguard I really love this short MC in which Killian is hit with a potion that turns him into a huge wolf. I love the danger, adventure, angst, and of course the triumph of CS’s True Love in this one. It’s my favorite of all of Kaitlyn’s writings (and I love all of her writings!) I love how the whole Storybrooke crew joins in to support Killian and Emma in this as well. 5 Chapters, Complete

"Witchy Woman" by: @booksteaandtoomuchtv This story was originally written for the @cssns23 event, and I hung on every word while each new chapter was posting. I seriously couldn't get enough of this adventure of a star-crossed witch and vampire in love but attempting to stay apart, even as they both served their greater community, and could never quite manage to forget the love they'd shared. This one is not to be missed!! 10 Chapters, Complete

“The Halloween Gambit” and “Friends with the Monster That’s Under my Bed” both by: @zaharadessert Both of these fics are Halloween themed, written for Halloweek at some point, if I remember correctly. “Gambit” is very pirate-y and adventure themed, and I loved Killian getting to make a dashing rescue and Emma’s bravery and loyalty to him in it. “Monster Under the Bed” is a one shot and includes some of my favorite characters who are no longer living in show canon ;p  “Gambit” is 7 Chapters, Complete; “Monster” One Shot, Complete

“Saudade” by: @apiratewhopines This fic is so insanely BEAUTIFUL that I can’t even properly express how much love I have for it. I love that it fixes things which definitely should have been handled just the way @apiratewhopines​ does in this fic, I love the tribute it gives to Graham (not to mention he and Killian getting to meet and have an understanding in how they care for Emma), and I’m incredibly flattered that it was written for me! <3 If you are someone who loves to see bits of the Underworld arc handled more gracefully, or even if you just love a gorgeously written, bittersweet fic, you have to read this one!!  Two Shot, Complete

“Arm’d with Hell Flames and Fury all at Once” by @darkcolinodonorgasm This fic was written for 2019′s @pupstravaganza and features the most endearing version of a hellhound I imagine you’ll ever read about! :) Emma and Kilian, along with a few familiar friends are monster hunters fighting feelings for each other, but when their newest hunt gets tangled up in Killian’s tangled past, all bets are off...  2 Parts, Complete

"Can I Be Your Werewolf?", "Cautionary Tales" and "Safe Passage" by: @belovedcreation All of these fics by @belovedcreation are pretty new - in fact, "Safe Passage" was just posted this weekend and I read it just last night! One is a longer, chaptered werewolf modern AU which I simply adore (even if I need to go back and do a better job commenting on it!), one is a three part vampire fic, and the last is a zombie-adjacent one shot! The fact that I even braved something at all related to zombies tells you just how much I love @belovedcreation's writing. Check all of these out!! All Complete stories

“Some Legends are Best Kept as Legends” / “Varcolac” / “Ghost in the Void” by @hollyethecurious Okay, so I know you are getting three stories for the price of one here, but I couldn’t choose between them. Two of these are from @cssns events: “Some Legends...” samples a bit of Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in inspiration, but going on it’s own decidely amazing course from their with Killian as a man out of time, the myth of the Dark One, and the power of a true believer’s heart; “Varcolac” blends werewolf and vampire characters and mythology in such an interesting way for a pulse-pounding story plot and a powerful love story. “Ghost in the Void” features a ghost (as you might expect) reaching from the beyond to connect with the lonely human tenet of “his” house for a story that will absolutely stay with you.  6 Parts, Complete (Legends) / 5 Parts, Complete (Varcolac) / Oneshot, Complete (Ghost)

“a house is never still” by: @capnjay21  Honestly, I don’t even know what to say about this story, or how to describe it without giving too much away.  I could say it’s a haunted house story on the surface, but it’s SO MUCH MORE than that. It gives us a young Emma and Killian and their friends and a heartwrenching backstory to set the scene, a truly haunting and spine-tingling mystery, melancholy and loss, and wondering if it can ever be made right.  It’s just stunning - and you really should check it out for yourself instead of listen to my floundering around trying to sell it. Plus, a sequel as just begun posting!!    6 Chapters, Complete

“the very witching time” by: @profdanglaisstuff Another @cssns entry originally this story features witch!Emma and her loyal and cunning canine companion, whom she took in and treated from a traumatic injury. Little does she know how much more than a normal dog he will prove to be... ;)  Not only that, but the atmosphere, the history, and the unfolding plot in this will just sweep you up and you won’t want to stop until it’s finished.  Don’t miss it!!  6 Parts (and a connected oneshot), Complete

“break me” by: @thisonesatellite Oh my goodness! How could I not list this story?!? I still can’t get over how much I love it (when normally I would have run the other way from all the scary baddies and monsters who go ‘bump in the night’ in this fic?) It led me to all the rest of Stephanie’s writing, and I really haven’t surfaced since! ;p There are vampires, werewolves, monster hunters, monsters I didn’t even know about, and in the midst of all that two people find each other and just might be the only inspiration that can help them fight to the other side of all the odds standing against them. 12 Chapters + an epilogue, Complete

“An Education in Southern Gothic” by: @searchingwardrobes Man alive, I almost missed this one! This entry into the @cssns19 event has just the right about of thrills and chills without becoming too much for a definite chicken like me. I honestly can’t resist Killian as a teacher/professor, which Melanie gives us here, and the mystery surrounding the school, as well as the still very real threat reaching its claws into the present will make you unable to stop reading this one until you reach the end. There’s friends to love, pining, suspense, supernatural danger, both Captain Cobra and Captain Book friendship, and just everything you could want in a fic really!  Two Parts, Complete

“Magical Rings and Mystical Doughnuts” / “Storybrooke Haunted Farms” / “Life Meant Nothing Until You Used My Toothbrush” by: @let-it-raines  All three of these stories are nice one shots with some length that you can really get drawn into and honestly never want to surface from! “Mystical Doughnuts...” will always have a special spot in my heart because it was the first story of Raines’ that I discovered and it lead to a lovely commenting and chat back and forth session and all her other stories that have made me smile so many times over since then! “Storybrooke Farms” is just a fun modern AU with yes CS but all the rest of the OuaT gang involved in humorous and adorable support, and then “Life Meant Nothing...” (originally written for a @csseptembersunshine event) is one of my favorite of Raines’ MANY awesome stories. I love the cozy small town feel of it, how it’s a bit of a mash-up with Gilmore Girls, and the friendship Emma and Killian have and the way it finally becomes romantic for them as well. :)  All oneshots, All Complete

“Happily Ever After” by: @whimsicallyenchantedrose​ There’s a lovely Fall Festival setting to this modern au, starring Emma and Killian as rival bakers - with lots of chemistry cooking beyond the kitchen! It’s as sweet as the apple desserts each are vying to make the winner, and you will absolutely be grinning and giddy with enjoyment by the end. :)  Don’t miss it!!   7 Chapters, Complete

"Not All Treasure is Silver and Gold (Sometimes it's Chocolate)" by: @stahlop This lovely one shot featuring Killian, future CS children, and adorable trick or treating in Storybrooke is simply irresistible! Incredibly sweet one shot you can read in one sitting, but without the calories of Halloween candy! This one will have you smiling from ear-to-ear, trust me! :) One Shot, Complete

“How to Carve a Pumpkin (Not Yourself)” by: @thislassishooked  This story is just all the sweetness and meet cute and perfection one could pack into a fall-themed or Halloween story!  I love the way Emma and Killian find each other in this, her friends pushing her and helping the possible match along, Henry’s involvement, the artsy pumpkins, the fun and small town humor - just all of it! And - bonus - if you aren’t ready to let go of this ‘verse when you finish, there’s a Thanksgiving follow-up!  Oneshot, Complete

"Fields of Asphodel" by: @anmylica This chaptered fic takes us on a journey through 5b and the trip to the Underworld that is gripping and unforgettable. I genuinely get so excited when it updates and can't wait to see what might be coming up next. This is still a WIP in progress, but don't let that put you off. It's wonderfully well done and much more what I would have liked to have seen - much more spooky and haunting and emotionally satisfying - than canon ended up being in much of that arc. 9 Chapters, WIP

"post mortem" by: @exhaustedpirate Oh my goodness, this fic!! I can't say enough about it, and I don't quite know how to explain the plot without giving too much away, but I really do adore it and want to give it a shoutout in this post. Killian is what I might refer to as a ghost whisperer of sorts - spirits/ghosts can contact him because he can see and hear them and help them try to settle their unfinished business. Emma is a ghost that needs his help. There's a fun school setting, Belle is a wonderful supporting character as the school librarian, and Henry is also used in this to wonderful effect. This is still in progress as well, but there's really only one more part to go. Definitely check this one out - you won't be able to get it out of your head!!! 2 parts of an intended 3, WIP

"A Crystalline Knowledge of Love and Magic" by: @xarandomdreamx The movie Practical Magic has always seemed like it would make for an excellent OuaT/CS AU and I adore Taryn for actually giving it to us. I love the OuaT characters she has chosen to include in the various roles, the way this story has begun, how everyone is characterized, just all of it together!! I'm a huge fan of her writing in general, and though this one is still in progress, I can already tell it's going to be a favorite!! If you love Practical Magic, or are just looking for a Fall-flavored fic with romance, magic, mystery and sisterhood, this is the one for you! 2 Chapters at present, WIP

Tagging: @jennjenn615 @xsajx @bluewildcatfanatic @ultraluckycatnd @lfh1226-linda @kday426

[1000dactyls]

Obsessed with your hc that they all have their own unique braid pattern and Stoick does it for trans girl hiccup like it legitimately making me tear up 😭 but do you have any more tgirl hiccup trans hc? Hiccup is always kinda seen as trans masc, which yeah look at him but hardly transfemme

i do! actually, i’m working on a fic right now where i explore more tgirl hiccup and how that changes her sense of self and relationship to others. though, it’s a bit more exploratory and not as chronological as my other httyd wip, which is a canon-divergence exploring a “what-if” where hiccup doesn’t grow up on berk and is trying to find his mom, but somehow ends up in berk anyway to end the war… but i digress!!!

So here are some assorted thoughts for you :D

i do think tgirl hiccup still has stubble (she doesn’t shave every day, though it does depend on whether she can handle the sensory experience that day). In part it’s because there’s less stigma about it; i dont think berkian society cares much about girls having facial hair so long as whatever hair does exist is well-kept, and whoever that hair belongs to is alive. And if anyone says otherwise, then snotlout and the twins are there to kick their teeth in. And also because facial hair and body hair in general are just parts of our bodies and i like being able to include that…! she also has arm hair, at least the bits that survive the forge.

Initially hiccup grows her hair out, enough to put it in a ponytail, but at least by the time httyd2 rolls around it’s back to being shoulder length/short again. Long hair does not make for fun flights, as it turns out, because her hair gets REALLY tangled. Even though Astrid is very handy with a comb. And her fingers.

gothi gets this girl on estrogen. with the help of strategically placed padding/armor and the lean muscle she’s built up flying toothless, hiccup slowly begins to fill out, though she’s still scrawny and gangly and a toothpick

I think by virtue of living with a single dad (and a gobber)(lord. stoick and gobber’s bromantic/homoerotic relationship is a post for another day), Hiccup already knows how to do what are considered “womanly” chores. That being said, she isn’t particularly extraordinary at any of them — she doesn’t have Snotlout’s proficiency with needlework nor Tuffnut’s cooking skills, lacks Astrid’s finesse with laundry and Ruffnut’s clever compositions with kennings, and certainly can’t match up to the way Fishlegs manages little ones. Which is fine — her skills lie elsewhere, in the forge and with dragons. At least she can cook a decent enough meal for her and her father and Gobber, and that’s enough for their little family.

Toothless was told first and he also knew first. They’re two halves of a whole, not-so-much a girl and a dragon as they are a single entity, a We, and i think toothless would also trans his gender in solidarity/kinship but hiccup shakes her finger and is like You and I both know damn well you feel like a boy. and he’s like (chuffs)(human gender is stupid… how limiting !). One day he will be able to communicate the nuances of dragon gender to his stupid human. But for now, Hiccup will call Toothless a “boy,” and that is the limits of human language.

[genevawrenn]

I am just going to put this at the top : this post is going to be a long vent about missing Technoblade, please scroll on if you do not wish to read.

We are coming up on two years without him.

We are also coming up on three years since I discovered his content.

I thought I was at the point I could watch one of his videos tonight, as I used to often do when I am doing tasks or writing he was always the background noise I used. I remember calling into work when he streamed for the sheer sake of enjoying them while they happened the few times I caught them before...well. I think you know. He was the reason my passion for writing came back to life and I believed I could actually follow my lifelong dream of eventually publishing a story.

But I suppose the part I always forget about grief is the absence of the unique spirit that person brought to your life. I found his content and engaged with it instantly, developing one of the longest running fixations I have had in a good while. The sheer excitement I'd have getting the notification he went live for one of his rare streams.

I don't think it truly sunk in when he announced his diagnosis. I remember discussing it with the irl friend who got me into watching him and both of us laughed, saying he's strong enough to fight off anything.

A few months pass with his rare posts and there was always this tiny little bit of intuition I had where he never told us what severity of cancer it was. Like he was a very private guy, yes, but this seemed extra...odd.

Then I remember the way my heart sunk when 'so long nerds' popped into my notification bar. The dashing of my heart against the floor texting people as I tearfully listened to Technodad tell us the words his son Alex wished for us to hear.

Its been a long two years. Its been great ones, tbh. I found a new passion with QSMP and Hermitcraft after the finishing of DSMP [tho c!Techno will forever remain close to my heart]. I kept writing, with over half a million words in published fics on ao3 and several WIP including 3 original novels.

But the only one I ever wanted to thank for helping me find my creativity again I can't, and I never will be able to.

I miss Technoblade.

I will never stop missing him.

I wish he could have laughed with his friends for many years yet, being silently proud of their accomplishments while he messed with people on the QSMP. I wish he could have had another MCC with friends.

I wish his unique soul wasn't taken from us so soon, as we weren't done following our hero yet.

But the only thing I can do now is continue to speak his tales. The first book I properly publish, the gratitude page is going to be addressed to him. I will continue to tell others about his accomplishments and tell them to go watch his content on his Youtube channel [get him to 17 million!]! Buy some of his merch [when it comes back in stock]! Support his family & friends!

Though he would call us nerds for crying, I think its beautiful how many lives he touched and how many thousands mourned his passing. He was a light all corners of the MCYT sphere and beyond saw and respected, and not too many creators can claim such an honour.

I'll always be a Voice at my core. Even if I spend my time these days as a crow, a huevito, a ferret, a tubling, a doozer and many more, my heart will forever belong to Technoblade.

Please keep creating art and writing in his name. I love scrolling the fanart tags and adore every piece I come across with my favourite piglin in them. Please, please, please keep saying his name. Sing his legends. Make references, continue the jokes, hang out in one of his friends chats and support the people he loved.

Support those who are still here, even if your heart hurts.

It's only painful because we all loved him so much, which is a beautiful type of sorrow.

[bidisasterevankinard]

Tease tidbit Tuesday

I was tagged by @cal-daisies-and-briars @tizniz 💙💙💙

again from my bucktommy and buddie platonic baby fic

Leaving a little kiss on Evan’s neck, Tommy doesn’t expect the new feeling of something little barely touching his hand that lies protectively over Evan’s swollen belly. But something definitely pokes  in the middle of his palm, creating a little bit of a ticklish sensation so he leaves Evan’s neck to see what ticklish him, but taking his hand away reveals that nothing is wrong under it. That second it clicks.

“She kicks,” Tommy exclaims, kissing Evan’s birthmark, breathing the amazing smell of new strawberry shower gel his boyfriend uses.

“Uhm, yes?” Evan turns to see his face, raising his eyebrow. “She-she kicks my insides for weeks now, I told you before.” 

Evan gets back to his popcorn, but Tommy uses his favorite chin grab to carefully move Evan’s lips to his, kissing the best lips he ever touched, till they are both breathless, putting his hand back to where it was all the movie. He pokes at the place where he felt the kick and waits. Some seconds later he feels the kick again and giggles.

“She kicks and I can feel her,” Tommy says, poking at the belly again and feeling even harder kicks now. Evan smiles bright and puts his hand near his.

“You-you can feel her?” Evan’s eyes wet and Tommy nods at him, kissing him again, trying to translate the warm from his heart to Evan’s.

“I love you,” Tommy whispers in Evan’s lips, revealing in the way the most magnificent blue eyes get bigger in shock. Evan looks at him as if he created the world and all the magic. Evan grabs his neck and tugs him the kiss so good Tommy loses his breath and moans just like when Evan devoured him in the hospital hall.

“I-I love you too. So much,” Evan smiles and Tommy believes his life always will be good as long as he can keep the sunlight that is Evan’s smile. 

That moment they both feel the kicks in their palms still on Evan’s belly and they giggle together. 

“Can’t believe she’s so big that you can feel her outside.” 

Evan stands up from the couch and rolls up his T-shirt, showing off his stomach and Tommy licks his lips when his boyfriend throws it away and then lies back in his embrace. Evan pokes at his belly, holding his hand in his, intertwining their fingers, and waits before the kicks are back. It’s almost unnoticeable but if you keep attention you can see how the baby moves while kicking. It’s fascinating. It’s beautiful.

Tagging @queerdiaz @wikiangela @diazsdimples @watchyourbuck @evnnkinard @evansboyfriend @evanbi-ckley @repressedqueen @rogerzsteven @racerchix21 @theotherbuckley @thewolvesof1998 @pirrusstuff @kinard-buckley @aspecbuddie @saybiwithme @shortsighted-owl @devirnis @steadfastsaturnsrings @hippolotamus @loveyouanyway @loserdiaz @bigfootsmom @bekkachaos @bewilderedbuckley @bi-buckrights @neverevan @monsterrae1 @rainbow-nerdss and anyone who wants to

[chicgeekgirl89]

Fandom: 911 Lone Star Summary: When Carlos receives a late night call from one of his sisters who is worried about the health of his nephew, T.K. doesn't hesitate to jump in and show the entire family why he's worthy of Carlos' love. Thanks to @carlos-tk, @thisbuildinghasfeelings, @whatsintheboxmh, @lemonlyman-dotcom, @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut, @strandnreyes, @carlos-in-glasses, and @bonheur-cafe for the WIP Wednesday tags. I hope you will accept this instead, belated as it is! A/N: This is my 100th fic on AO3!! 🍾🍾🍾 (Not my 100th fic ever, many of them never made the transfer from ff.net, but still!) I've been sitting on this one for a while and seeing T.K. shine feels like it's worthy of being #100. Also Adriana and Francesca weren't supposed to be in this one, but they literally barged through those hospital doors and there was nothing I could do to stop them. I couldn't love them more!

Read on AO3

“Sooo…never again, right?” Carlos asks.

“Oh my god never again,” T.K. agrees fervently. “Why were the plates so weird? Some of them weren’t even plates at all. And the food was…bad.”

“So bad,” Carlos says. “Tiny and bad.”

“Three hours. We were there three hours,” T.K. says in disbelief as he slows down at a stoplight. “Why did we have to wait like thirty minutes between courses?”

“The menu said it was to give us time to renew our digestive energies and be more present in the dining experience,” Carlos says.

“I didn’t know my digestive energies needed to be renewed.”

“Me neither.”

It had taken them months to get a reservation at the trendiest new restaurant in town and they’d both been excited for the occasion. The menu promised a foodie paradise with unique dishes, creative presentation, and an emphasis on sustainability. They’d gotten dressed up and ready for a fun date night out only to be disappointed the moment they’d walked in the door. 

The place had been crowded, they were practically elbow to elbow with the tables next to them. Carlos had learned the intimate details of one couple’s fertility issues and another couple’s trouble with their neighbors.

Then the food had started coming and been a complete disaster. Carlos considered himself something of a foodie, and T.K.’s New Yorker palate had sampled a number of cuisines over the years, but this had been the worst food Carlos had ever eaten. He hadn’t been able to identify a single item on any of his plates and his tongue longed for something with even a hint of flavor. The plate that held a single, lukewarm radish had nearly been his undoing.

Overall it had been three hours of bland food, awkward company, and not at all what either of them had imagined.

“I’m starving. Can we please pick up something on the way home?” T.K. asks, his stomach letting out a gurgle as if to affirm his statement.

“God yes. I think Chu’s is still open, right?” 

Carlos pulls out his phone, but it lights up with a call before he can check to see Chu’s hours. “Why’s my sister calling?”

T.K. glances over at him. “Which one?”

“Lucía,” Carlos says. It’s not typical of his sister to call at this hour out of the blue and he feels his internal warning bells activate as he picks up the call. “Luci? Que pasó?”

“Hey Carlos,” she says, sounding tired and stressed. “Sorry for calling, I know it’s late.”

“It’s okay,” he says. “We’re just on our way home from dinner. What’s going on?”

“I don’t—I’m probably overreacting,” she says. “It’s just that Justin is out of town for work and I’m—“

Now he’s really worried. “Lucí, it’s okay. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Sebastian woke up sick a couple days. I didn’t think it was a big deal, both boys are sick all the time from daycare and school, but he wasn’t any better today, so I took him to the doctor. They said he’s fine, likely just a virus or something, but…his fever won’t break and he keeps saying his belly hurts.” 

Carlos can hear the deep seated worry in his sister’s voice and it rocks him to his core. His sister is an amazing mom, fearless and sure. To hear her so uncertain is throwing him off.

“I didn’t know if maybe T.K. could just give me some advice or something?” she says, ending it like a question.

He looks over at his fiancé. “What’s going on?” T.K. asks,.

“Sebastian’s sick,” Carlos says. “Do you mind?”

“No, no, put her on speaker,” T.K. says immediately, turning his eyes back to the road as the light changes.“Hey Lucía,” he says loudly so she can hear him.

“Hey T.K.,” she says. “I’m so sorry, I know people probably ask you for medical help all the time.”

“It’s not a problem. Tell me what’s going on,” T.K. says.

“He won’t eat, he’s barely drinking. His fever had been holding steady at around a hundred, but it just spiked up to one oh two. I’ve given him medicine, done cold washcloths, I don’t know what else to try.”

“And the doctor said what exactly?”

“That it’s probably a stomach virus,” Lucía says.

T.K. mulls that over for a minute. “Aren’t we like fifteen minutes from their place?” he asks Carlos.

Carlos nods. 

“Okay, Lucía we’re going to swing by, all right?” T.K. says, flipping his blinker on to get them turned around back the way they’d just come.

“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that—“

“We’re coming Luci,” Carlos says. “We’ll be there soon.”

“Okay, thank you,” she says, relief flooding her voice and loosening the knot of fear in Carlos’ chest.

He hangs up and looks at T.K. “It’s probably just a stomach bug.”

“Probably,” T.K. agrees. “But if it makes her feel better to have someone give her advice it’s worth going over.”

Carlos’ heart goes soft at those words. He’d never imagined he’d be with someone like T.K. Someone so kind and good, someone who would drive to his sister’s house at nine o’clock at night just to assuage her fears. It’s beyond his wildest dreams.

They pull into the driveway of the ranch style home about ten minutes later, T.K.’s ambulance driving having shaved a few minutes off their time and a few years off of Carlos’ life. At least they’re not driving the Camaro tonight so Carlos didn’t have to fear for the safety of his baby as they sped through yellow lights and weaved in and out of traffic.

Lucía opens the door before they even knock and the relief Carlos felt a few minutes ago evaporates at the sight of her worried face. She was holding back on the phone; in person she looks even more terrified and exhausted than she sounded. “Hey guys,” she says. “I’m so sorry to drag you all the way over here.”

“Stop apologizing,” Carlos admonishes her immediately as they step inside. “That’s what family is for.”

Sebastian lays on the couch in the living, looking younger and tinier than his six years, his face pale and drawn. There’s an episode of Paw Patrol playing on the television mounted above the fireplace and he has a blanket pulled all the way up to his chin. Carlos can see Fuzzy, his comfort bear, peeking out over the top. 

“Hey buddy,” he says, crouching down and giving his nephew a smile. “Tummy bothering you?”

Sebastian nods but doesn’t say anything, another sign that something is wrong. Usually he’s a chatterbox, happy to talk about school or his friends or soccer. Carlos smiles wider, despite the worry swirling in his gut, trying for calm and reassuring uncle. “Do you remember my boyfriend T.K.? From the party at Abuela and Abuelo’s house?” Carlos asks and Sebastian’s eyes move over his shoulder to where T.K. is standing behind him. He gets another nod.

“He’s going to take a look at you, okay?” Carlos says, standing up and moving back to where Lucía is anxiously hovering behind the couch so that T.K. has space to work.

“Hey Sebastian,” T.K. says as he takes Carlos�� spot. “You know I’m a paramedic, right?”

“Yeah,” Sebastian says, his voice small.

“Do you know what a paramedic does?”

“Help people feel better?”

T.K. smiles and nods. “That’s right. So let’s see if I can help you feel better, sound good?”

“Mhmm.”

“Awesome. Okay, I’m going to pull down the blanket and take a look. You tell me if anything hurts, all right?”

He gently pulls down the blanket and places his fingers on Sebastian’s wrist, looking at his watch while he does it. He pulls out a stethoscope he had in the car and listens to the little boy’s lungs, then takes his temperature with the thermometer Lucía has on the coffee table. He narrates quietly the entire time, letting Sebastian know what he’s doing as he does it.

“Okay, let’s see that belly,” he finally says with a smile.

He pulls up the top of Sebastian’s Power Rangers pajamas, talking to him softly while his hands palpate his abdomen. “You like Power Rangers huh? Which one is your favorite?”

“Red,” Sebastian says immediately. “He’s the head guy.”

“He is,” T.K. says. “I always liked the Green one though.”

Sebastian winces and makes a noise that breaks Carlos’ heart in half. T.K.’s hands immediately immediately stop. “Sorry buddy,” he says. “That hurt?”

Sebastian nods and T.K. gently puts his pajama shirt back into place. “I’m going to go talk to your mom and tío. You stay right here and make sure this couch doesn’t go anywhere, okay?”

He gets to his feet and nods toward the hallway where Carlos and Lucía follow him out of Sebastian’s earshot. “His pulse is a little fast and there is some tenderness in his abdomen,” T.K. says quietly. “That coupled with the fever and the lethargy is definitely concerning.”

Lucía puts her hand on Carlos’ arm and he covers it with his own in an attempt at reassurance. “So what should I do? Wait until the morning and see how he is? Give him more meds?” she asks.

“Considering his symptoms, I would recommend you take him to the ER,” T.K. says gently.

She blows out a breath as Carlos’ stomach drops. “Okay,” she says. “Okay um, okay. I’ll just wake up Nicholas and…”

“No, no, no,” Carlos says quickly. “No I’ll call Mom and ask her to come be with Nicky. I’ll stay until she gets here.”

“And I’ll go with you to the ER,” T.K. offers. “I can walk you through all the paperwork, field questions from the doctors, whatever you need.”

“Seriously?” Lucía looks teary eyed. “You’ll come?”

“Of course,” T.K. says. “Why don’t you go grab whatever might help keep him calm while we’re there? iPad or a book maybe. It could be a long wait.”

“Okay, right. Yes. Give me like five minutes and I’ll be ready,” she says, rushing off to go gather supplies.

“What are you thinking?” Carlos asks immediately.

T.K. has his neutral paramedic face on, but Carlos has learned to read between the lines. “I’m thinking it could be a number of things,” T.K. says. “Just a stomach bug maybe, but even if it is I think he’s dehydrated. And given his symptoms and the decline, I’m also worried about an impacted or perfed bowel or maybe even appendicitis.”

“How worried?” 

T.K. blows out a breath. “Worried enough that I wouldn’t wait until the morning to try and get him some treatment.”

His words unlock a whole new level of fear that Carlos has never experienced before, and it takes a lot for him to stay calm as he calls his mom and explains the situation. Lucía returns with a tote bag full of supplies and T.K. scoops up Sebastian, carrying him out to the car with Lucía on his heels. 

“Mom says she’ll be here in fifteen minutes. I’ll be right behind you,” Carlos promises as T.K. sets Sebastian gently in the backseat, pillowing his head on Lucía’s lap.

“Can you call Justin?” Lucía asks, looking like she’s barely holding it together. “He knows Sebby’s sick but I want him to know we’re heading to the ER.”

“Yes,” Carlos says. “I’ll call him as soon as I’m back inside.”

“Hey,” T.K. catches his eye as he climbs into the driver’s seat. “I’ve got them, okay?”

“I know you do,” Carlos says and then the door is shut and they’re gone, leaving him standing in the driveway, his heart in his stomach.

He trudges back into the house and sinks onto the couch, eyes glued to Nicholas’ sleeping form on the baby monitor. He’s not a parent, so why does this feel so awful?

It takes him a minute to emotionally prepare for this phone call and he has to take a deep breath before tapping Justin’s name on his screen. 

It rings and rings and then sends him to voicemail, so he tries again. And again. The third time, Justin finally picks up.

“Dude, if this is a butt dial I’m going to kill you,” his brother-in-law says groggily.

Carlos forgot that it’s nearly midnight on the east coast right now. “Justin,” he says, trying to keep his voice steady.

“What’s wrong? Are Lucía and the boys okay?” Justin immediately sounds more awake now that he’s heard Carlos’ voice.

“Everyone’s safe,” Carlos tells him quickly. “I’m at your place with Nicholas because Sebastian’s feeling worse. She and T.K. are on the way to the ER with him.”

There’s a pause, Carlos can practically feel Justin’s panic through the phone. “Okay, um, okay,” he finally says. “Shit, I’m in Atlanta. There won’t be any flights for hours…”

“My mom’s on her way here to stay with Nicholas,” Carlos says. “I’ll head to the hospital and keep you updated, okay?”

“Yeah, okay, um, thanks Carlos,” Justin says, sounding a little hoarse. “Please um, please tell them I love them, okay? And that I’ll be on the first flight out I can get.”

“I will.”

He hangs up just as the front door opens and his mom comes in. “Carlitos,” she says softly and he immediately gets up to hug her. “How is Sebby?”

He shakes his head. “I’m not sure. They probably just got to the ER, it could be hours before we know anything.”

“And Lucía?”

“She’s worried,” he says. 

“As are we all,” she says, empathy all over her face. “T.K. went with her?”

“Yeah, he said he’d help with things there.”

She smiles softly and touches his face. “You picked a good one mijo. Not every man would drop everything to help his boyfriend’s family.”

There’s a lump in Carlos throat and he struggles to speak past it. “I know.”

“You should get going.”

“Okay. Nicholas is asleep in his crib. I called Justin, he’s working on getting a flight back.”

She nods. “Keep me posted.”

“I will.”

The drive to the hospital is so lonely and silent that it makes each minute feel even longer beneath the glow of the streetlights. How on earth did he go from having dinner with his boyfriend to taking his nephew to the ER? It’s ridiculous. They should be home right now, cuddling on the couch or the bed, watching some stupid show that neither of them really cares about because what they’re actually interested in is making out with each other.

Instead he’s about to spend hours in a hard plastic chair praying that a six year old he loves dearly is going to be all right.

He’s so anxious to get there that he doesn’t realize until he’s through the doors that he has no idea where he’s going. Or even if they’re gong to let him stay. Surely they’re not going to let three adults hang out in the ER in the middle of the night when one would suffice. 

He forgot he has T.K. Strand in his corner.

“How can I help you?” the nurse asks when he steps up to the counter.

“I’m here for my nephew? Sebastian Bryant? He came in with my sister,” Carlos says, feeling awkward.

“Oh you’re Carlos,” she says immediately. “T.K.’s boyfriend.”

“I—yeah,” Carlos says, surprised by her familiarity.

“I’m Stella. It’s so nice to finally meet you, although I wish it wasn’t because your nephew’s in here. T.K. talks about you all the time.”

“He does?”

“Oh my god, try getting him to stop. Carlos this, my boyfriend that, and now I see why. You two are gorgeous together,” she says, flashing him a smile. “Here come with me. I’ll take you to them. Darlene? Can you cover the desk?”

Stella takes him down a hall, past the general area of the ER to a more closed off section. It’s not a room, but it’s quieter here, and Carlos can hear T.K.’s voice even before Stella pulls back the curtain to reveal him.

“Found someone who belongs to you,” Stella says.

T.K.’s eyes find him, soft and relieved. “Hey, I was just about to text you an update. Thanks so much Stella.”

“No problem. I’m going to check and see where we’re at with the tests and then I’ll be back.”

“How’s it going?” Carlos asks quietly.

Sebastian is asleep in the bed, an IV in his arm and Fuzzy tucked in beside him. Lucía is sitting in a chair next to him, his little fingers curled around hers.

“They’re going to take him for a CT as soon as one opens up,” she says quietly. “He was crying when we got here, but they gave him some pain medication and he fell asleep like ten minutes ago.”

“Good,” Carlos says in relief. It feels so much better to know that there are people actively working to help Sebastian. “Nicholas is with Mom, he was still asleep when I left. And Justin’s getting on the first flight he can in the morning.”

“Okay.”

Lucía’s face crumples and she immediately puts her hands over her mouth to stifle a sob. T.K. looks at Carlos. “I’m going to go grab us some coffee,” he says, slipping discreetly out of the room.

Carlos squats down by his sister’s chair and puts a hand on her knee. She immediately covers it with her own and squeezes. “I’m sorry,” she says. “He just—he’s so little. He was so scared when we got here, it’s so bright and they put in the IV and he cried and I just, I need Justin to be here, because I am not strong enough for this.”

“He’s coming,” Carlos says. “He’s coming as fast as he can. And until he does I’m here, all right? I’m here with you and Mom is with Nicholas. Sebastian is going to be fine. He’s scared, but you’re taking such great care of him. You are an amazing mom. You’re doing everything right.”

She nods a couple times, clearly trying to internalize his words before taking a deep breath and wiping her eyes. “You know um, T.K. is pretty amazing too,” she tells him, wiping at her eyes. “I thought we’d be here for hours before we got answers, but he called ahead in the car and that nurse, Stella, was waiting for us. As soon as we were in the door they were drawing blood and starting tests. It’s like they rolled out the red carpet.” She nods toward the doorway. “Not everyone would do that kind of thing for someone they barely know.”

“That’s T.K.,” Carlos says, warmth blooming through his chest at her words. “He’s…incredible.”

“You know, I already liked him a lot, but now…” She quirks a smile. “You’d better hold onto him.”

Carlos nods, heart fluttering away in his chest. “That’s the plan.”

T.K. comes back with coffee right about the same time someone shows up to take Sebastian for his CT scan. He’s unhappy to be woken up, but mollified when Carlos promises to take him for ice cream once a week for the next month. 

The nurse is incredible, telling Sebastian he’s going to go on a ride in a spaceship, although that does nothing to help Carlos’ heart when they start the sedation and he watches Sebastian’s eyelids flutter shut, his body going limp in a weirdly unnatural way. He’s gone for over an hour, all of them sipping tepid hospital coffee in a desperate attempt not to fall asleep as the clock ticks later and later. 

When the orderly returns with him he’s completely zonked out and Carlos hopes he’ll stay that way. It’s not long after that an ER doctor shows up and informs them that the CT scan is indicating appendicitis, despite Sebastian’s slightly atypical presentation of symptoms. Lucía takes the news better than Carlos thought she might, she’s clearly relieved to have an answer and a defined course of action, even if it does mean a surgery they’re told is being scheduled for the early hours of the morning. Someone will be by soon to get them admitted and transferred to a room for the night.

“You guys should go home” she says. “You’ve done more than enough, really. He’s just going to sleep until it’s time for surgery and they’re not going to let you come into the room with us anyway.”

“Don’t worry about them kicking us out,” T.K. says immediately. “If you want us to stay that won’t be a problem.”

She smiles at him. “You’ve done more than enough tonight. I’ll be fine. I promise. Go home and get some sleep.”

Carlos is reluctant to leave her, but she’s right. There’s no point in staying when it’s so late and nothing is going to happen until morning anyway. The moment of crisis is past and now there’s nothing to do but wait.

“I’ll come back in the morning for his surgery,” Carlos says.

“You don’t have to—“ She must catch the look of determination in his eyes because she cuts herself off and nods. “Okay. Thank you.”

He stands and she meets him with a brief hug before she turns to T.K. “I really can’t thank you enough. I don’t think I would have made it tonight without you T.K.,” she says.

“Yes you would have,” he says graciously. “But I’m glad I could help. If anything changes in the night you have my number, don’t be afraid to call.”

“I will.” 

Carlos can’t help but notice that T.K. gets a slightly longer hug than he did and the warm feeling in his chest only intensifies. He reaches for T.K.’s hand as they head out into the hall and T.K. gives him a tired smile in return. “Oh, hang on one second,” he says as they pass the nurses station, letting go of Carlos’ hand. “I’ll be right back.”

He jogs over and flashes that winning smile again at the nurse who’s there, not Stella this time, and chats with her for a minute before returning to Carlos’ side. “What was that about?” Carlos asks, interlacing their fingers together again.

“I just wanted to make sure they put Sebastian in a private room,” T.K. says. “They have the space, Natalie says it won’t be a problem.”

“Natalie huh?” Carlos says as they exit the automatic doors and head for the darkened parking structure. “She also falls victim to your beautiful eyes and charming smile?”

“Victim?” T.K. scoffs. “No one is a victim. I have paid for these hospital perks with dozens of coffees and donuts and muffins and even the occasional Target run. This is just good natured southern kindness being returned.”

Carlos laughs out loud. “Right. Not a single bit of it has to do with your innate charm and that smile that brings people to their knees and makes them feel like they’re only person you’ve ever cared about.”

“I mean, it had to start somewhere,” T.K. says, flashing him that exact smile. “But we’ve come a long way since then.”

“Well thank you,” Carlos says, meaning it from the bottom of his heart. “I honestly I don’t how to say thank you enough. My family is…they’re so important to me and I…”

“Hey.” T.K. tugs him to a stop and meets his gaze under the half light of the parking garage. “They’re important to me too.”

The drive home is blessedly short and they fall into bed exhausted at around midnight only to wake up again at five to head back over to the hospital. Carlos tells T.K. he doesn’t have to come, but the look he gets shuts him up immediately. T.K. is clearly invested. 

They stop for coffee on the way, real, decent coffee, and some bagels, plus a cake pop for Sebastian after surgery. 

He gets a text update as they’re pulling up to the hospital again; Justin is on a flight and should get there by the time the surgery is over. It’s a relief to know his sister will have her support to lean on again in the near future. 

Once they arrive Carlos sits back and watches in wonder as T.K. works his magic. Someone shows up to give Sebastian not one, not two, but three different stuffed toys along with a coloring pack and some Hot Wheels cars. T.K. sits down on his bed and explains the whole surgery in terms a six year old an understand, and when the time comes, Sebastian is whisked off without a single tear.

He’s seen T.K. at work before, but this is an entirely different level of incredible. He knows almost every nurse, every doctor, every orderly that they see, and if he doesn’t, by the time they leave he’s made them feel like an old friend. People can’t seem to do enough for him. 

Justin gets there about twenty minutes after the surgery starts, exhausted and haggard looking, his collared shirt buttoned the wrong way and his hair looking like he didn’t even comb it. T.K. somehow procures fresh, non-cafeteria coffee for him, whispering something about the doctor’s lounge, as well as a banana and a granola bar. 

Everything goes exactly as expected and soon enough the doctor is back to let them know that Sebastian was a champ during surgery and they expect a quick recovery. Lucía and Justin head back to wait with him until the sedation wears off, while Carlos and T.K. continue hanging out in the waiting room until Sebastian can have more visitors.

When Carlos hears a loud commotion behind him, he knows without even looking that reinforcements have arrived. Adriana and Francesca have shown up with more balloons than a circus, a gigantic stuffed bear, and several bags of god only knows what else. “Oh my god, Cesca don’t let them float away,” Adriana is saying as they try and get through the automatic doors that keep closing before all the balloons can make it through.

“I’m not!” Francesca snaps back. “It’s the stupid doors! You could like try to help!”

“With what hands?” Adriana cries, her arms full of stuffed bear.

“Ah, perfect,” Carlos says weakly, looking at T.K. who is already smiling at his sister and cousin’s antics.

“Carlos! Get over here!” Francesca barks and he stands with a sigh, going to help her get in the doorway. 

“Hello, good morning, how are you guys doing?” Carlos prompts as he grabs the brightly colored strings and yanks them inside, the balloons bopping along behind and nearly smacking an elderly woman in the face.

“I mean you’re both awake and have coffee, so I assume you’re fine,” she tells him as she plonks into a seat across from T.K.

“Yeah, geez, way to make our nephew’s surgery about you,” Adriana says with a roll of her eyes. 

Carlos doesn’t bother to remind her that technically Sebastian is a cousin to her, not a nephew; labels other than “familia” ceased to have any meaning to them long ago. “So what’s the deal? Is he okay?” Francesca asks.

“The surgery went well,” T.K. says. “Sebastian’s appendix didn’t rupture, so the chances of infection are low. He should be able to head home in a day or so.”

“Phew. Poor little dude. This sucks,” Francesca says.

“But he’s okay,” Adriana says. “That’s what’s important. Everyone is okay. And all his friends are going to be very jealous when he gets back to school.”

She opens one of the bags and pulls out a tray of something that immediately fills the air with the scent of tomatoes and cheese. “Why do you have tamales?” Carlos asks. “It’s ten am.”

“Because Mom told us to go by the house and bring them over,” Francesca says. “She doesn’t, and I quote, ‘want anyone eating that hospital garbage, it will rot their stomachs.’”

“Sounds like your mom,” T.K. says with a cheeky smile as he reaches for one of the tamales. 

“We also have…taquitos, mac and cheese for Sebastian, and…arroz con pollo,” Francesca says, checking the other bags. 

“Your mom just had this all on hand?” T.K. asks, his mouth full.

“Tía Andrea always has everything on hand,” Adriana says.

Despite his initial scoffing, by the time Justin comes back an hour later to tell them Sebastian is up for visitors, Carlos has eaten three tamales, half a dozen taquitos, and a plateful of arroz con pollo. Apparently hospitals make him hungry. They’ve also fed four nurses and an orderly that T.K. knows, and they haven’t even put a dent in what’s there. 

Justin looks a little less of a mess now, he’s clearly spent some time in front of a mirror and his shirt is buttoned the right way now. He’s smiling in spite of the tiredness in his eyes, which widen in delight at the sight of the food. “Oh thank god for Andrea,” he says, immediately reaching for a taquito. 

“Hey, how do you know it wasn’t us?” Adriana asks, clearly offended.

Justin fixes her with a look and she shrugs. “I mean, yeah it was Tía Andrea, but we’re the ones that brought it over here,” she says.

“Thank you for your service,” Justin says around a mouthful.

“How’s Sebastian?” Francesca asks.

“Better than Lucía or me,” he says. “He says it barely hurts and he’s very excited to have a cool scar.” He looks at T.K. “Apparently you’ve really made this hospital experience feel like a vacation T.K.”

“I’m just glad he’s doing all right,” T.K. says. 

“Can we see him?” Carlos asks. 

“Yeah,” Justin says. “Lucí sent me to get you all.”

“Well then let’s get this party moved!” Francesca says, closing up the tupperware with incredible speed built from years of cleaning up house parties and hiding the evidence before their parents got home.

They make quite a parade marching through the pediatric wing of the hospital with balloons and bears and food galore. But then, the Reyes clan usually does. They’re not exactly known for being a calm and quiet bunch.

Sebastian is sitting up in bed eating a popsicle, looking like the happiest human alive even with an IV in his arm and stitches in his side. “Sebby!” Francesca says happily. “You’re looking good there buddy!”

“You brought me balloons?” he asks as Lucía quickly rescues his popsicle, which is in danger of falling to the floor.

“We brought you balloons and a bear and macaroni and cheese from Abuela,” Adriana tells him.

“Can I have mac and cheese right now?” he asks Lucía.

“Let’s maybe wait until after the doctor comes by again,” she says.

“But then I can have it? And the ice cream Tío Carlos promised me?”

It gets a chuckle from everyone in the room. 

The women start to fuss, setting up the balloons and bear in the best possible place, but Carlos’ eyes are on T.K. who is not-so-subtly checking out all the monitors and lines, ensuring that things are exactly as they should be. God, he loves this man. He loves him more than he thought he could ever love a human being.

“Well this looks like a party!” A man whose name tag identifies him as Dr. Nguyen, comes into the room, iPad in hand. Carlos assumes this must be the surgeon. “Sebastian who are all these fine people who came to visit you?”

“This is my Tía Cesca and my Tía Adriana. They brought me balloons,” Sebastian says, pointing to them in turn. 

“Well that’s very nice.”

“And that’s my Tío Carlos,” Sebastian says.

“Oh, is this the Tío you were telling me about? The one who’s a paramedic and helped you feel better?”

“No, my Tío Carlos is just a police officer,” Sebastian says. “My Tío T.K. is the one who’s a paramedic.” He turns his head to look at where T.K. is standing next to his IV pole. “Paramedics help people feel better. Right Tío?”

T.K. freezes for a second, his eyes locking with Carlos’. “Um, yeah,” he says finally. “Yes, that’s right. Paramedics help people. And then doctors help them even more.”

“Yeah, Dr. Nguyen took my appendix out,” Sebastian says. He looks the doctor square in the face. “My mom says you have to tell me if I can have mac and cheese or not.”

Dr. Nguyen laughs. “I can do that. Let’s give you a little check up and see.”

“We’ll give you some privacy,” Francesca says, which is hilarious given that she hasn’t let anyone have a single minute of privacy since the day she was born.

They step out into the hall, Adriana and Francesca immediately abandoning T.K. and Carlos to go look for hot doctors. Carlos runs a hand through his curls and looks at where his boyfriend is leaning up against the wall. “Well I guess we know who his new favorite tío is,” he says.

T.K. looks up, uncharacteristically nervous. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it like that. You’re not just a police officer.”

Carlos chuckles. “Oh I’m sure he meant it exactly like that. Tío Carlos is just a tío who wrestles and gives him ice cream. Tío T.K. saves lives. You made an impression.”

T.K. blushes. “I’m glad I could help.” His gaze softens. “I can’t believe he called me tío.”

And despite the fact that no one in the family has ever referred to T.K. that way before, Carlos isn’t surprised in the least. “Is that okay?” he asks.

“Yeah,” T.K. says quickly. “Yeah I—as long as you and your family are okay with it. I don’t…I wouldn’t want him to be confused.”

“He’s not confused.” Carlos’ words are soft and he reaches down, intertwining their fingers. “I don’t think anybody is confused anymore about why you’re so important to me.”

T.K. meets his gaze and Carlos feels like he can see all the way into the vulnerability at the core of this man who came here so broken and lost, and is just starting to figure out how vital he is to everyone around him. Carlos leans in and their lips meet, soft and sweet. It’s not enough to really say thank you, he’s not sure he can ever truly find a way, but in this moment he knows he’ll try. Everyday for the rest of his life if he needs to.

The door to Sebastian’s room opens and Carlos reluctantly pulls back, keeping their hands firmly clasped even when T.K. starts to pull away a little. “Bad news,” Lucía says. “Mac and cheese is off the table until tomorrow. T.K., he would like to know if you have any connections that can get him jello instead. But only the red kind. Not the green.”

“Absolutely,” T.K. says, already pulling out his phone to send a text. “Red jello coming right up.”

Carlos shakes his head and smiles as they reenter the room, Sebastian’s face lighting up when he sees T.K. again. Carlos has always thought T.K. seemed like magic. And now everyone else can see it too.

[killerlittlerejects]

“J-Jeff, sto-“

“Well, princess, I need you to do one more thing for me…”

I didn’t think I’d finished this tonight, but @nathantheauthor said he was hyped for the final product when I showed him the WIP and that encouraged me to finish the piece sooner then later. I’m super proud of how this turned out! Despite the more eerie/disturbing atmosphere of the piece.

As you know, I’m doing a Needles and Smile’s AU for Nina and several other characters. Though the AU was originally supposed to be Nina centric, so there has been more ideas in the works for our favourite scene queen then the others. And that got me thinking: what happened between Nina and Jeff that prompted her to go from serial killer to slasher hunter?

Thanks to a unique pose on Pinterest, I found my answer.

Warning: I’m going to go into some pretty graphics detail, so if you don’t think you can handle that, don’t read under the cut.

Because of her encounter with Lazari during the night of the asylum break/attack on the town, seeing how scared and helpless this little girl is makes Nina begin to have doubts about destroying the entire town. Was it all really worth it? Eventually, she catches up with Jeff and timidly expresses her concerns.

Of course, Jeff simply concludes that the solution is to get rid of Lazari, so “his love” can be brought back to her “right state of mind” again. However, for the first time ever, Nina has the courage to stop him and tell him no, she doesn’t want that. This leads to a long, tense moment of silence with the two simply staring at each other. She can see the processing in his eyes, but has no idea what he’s thinking, and that makes her nervous. Anxiously waiting…

Her answer is a harsh slap to the face. Unfortunately for Nina, Jeff concluded that he can no longer make his little puppet do his bidding. She’s useless in his eyes, no fun anymore, that’s no good. So, there’s only one thing left to do.

Weak pleas fall on deaf ears as the next thing Nina knows she’s in horrific pain as Jeff brutally stabs her repeatedly. Leaving her to bleed out on the ground so she can “think about what she’s done.”

Luckily, it seemed that the universe decided to grant some mercy upon the secondary smile killer. As the sun began to rise, a bruised up Toby and Jane come across an inconsolable barely breathing Nina and a sobbing Lazari who’s desperately trying to stop the bleeding. Despite being a big part of the incident, all they see her as now is another one of Jeff’s victims. Toby gently picks her up and carries her off as the three of them go to get her medical aid. And that was the start of a newfound family!

Nina has a lot of regrets to overcome, but this was a night she considers both the best and worst day of her life. To this day, it’s hard to talk about.

Someone please give this woman hugs, she needs them. A lot of my Nina’s do lol.

I can’t wait to work on more for this AU!

[hanaleeappreciationweek]

We are finally reaching our last day of HLAW!! And we've got such incredible entries - this time also from new people who have sent us such fabulous work! We're grateful to all our contributors - both old and new - for the love and enthusiasm you've shown us so far and hope to see more in store today as well!!

Day 5 is all about the relationships!! Whether familial, platonic or romantic, Hana gives each one her all 🩷 She is also someone who is attempting to learn a new normal - how to continue loving others while also taking care of herself! This is a chance to explore Hana's connections with other people, whether in canon or your OCs, and explore her unique way of navigating them!!

Any content is welcome!! Fanfic, fanart, edits, moodboards, interactive, media, headcanons, screenshots, playlists, meta...even screenshots of your favourite scenes would be great!! Our only requirement is that the content is centered on Hana, and that the depiction of her is positive. You can also send in WIPs in case you don't complete a work!

You can also send in a work on the days following a particular theme - this is no pressure for it to be put up exactly that day! We will also have an extra week for anyone who still needs time 💕 May 4th will be our final official date for entries (to incorporate into our video!) but HLAW will still be open for entries for the rest of the year until the next event!

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FAN CONTENT BLOGS are instrumental in keeping the fandom alive - with events and fun activities that encourage us all to contribute and create. They have also been amazing in their support towards our character events. Do check them out to see all the new incredible events and prompts coming up!

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As tomorrow will be our final HLAW day, we'd like to remind everyone once again that we always keep a bonus week for entries!! So if you weren't able to finish your piece on time, you still have till May 4th!! We will also be keeping the event open all year round for entries - so if you finish a piece before next year's HLAW, don't hesitate to send it to us and it will find a place in the masterlist! We will be open all year round! 💕💕

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@lizzybeth1986 and @sazanes will be hosting Kiara Theron Appreciation Week (KTAW) on the 21st next month! If anyone would like to be tagged on that or knows people who may be interested, let us know!! The blog for that event is here: @kiaratheronappreciationweek.

Happy Hana Lee Appreciation Week, everyone!!

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

Do you know anything about gallifreyan marriage and dating? I’m a huge dr who fan and a friend asked me about it but I don’t have much information myself and I couldn’t find a ton of information either aside from a few bits about gallifreyans marrying members of other species. I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t much information Given that gallifreyans don’t typically have the same family structure as humans but I thought I’d check and see if you could come up with anything

How does marriage and dating work on Gallifrey?

Gallifreyan relationships, steeped in tradition and influenced by duty, are a crushingly hierarchical blend of strategic alliances and personal connections. Dating may or may not be a thing, and marriage ceremonies are also very vague.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cultural Norms and Practices

Gallifrey, being a highly advanced and conservative society, has its own unique set of cultural norms. For Time Lords, especially those involved in the politics of Gallifrey, relationships are influenced by their duties and responsibilities. Given their long lifespans and the political nature of society, relationships are often more strategic or functionally based rather than romantic, serving to strengthen allegiances and bring together Houses. They often approach relationships like a chess game, with each move calculated for maximum advantage.

Gallifreyan family structures are complex. Traditionally, Gallifreyans were "loomed" into existence - a form of asexual reproduction - which cultivated a very different cultural approach to family and relationships. However, in the pre-War era, Gallifreyans have biological children, so have a more conventional Human family structure in the new age.

💍Dating and Marriage Conventions

Time Lords are often somewhat detached from normal human emotions, which affects their approach to marriage and dating, but despite all the political manoeuvring, some have married for love.

The ceremony of marriage itself is again a grey area. The bride/groom traditionally both wear white (which is intriguing when you think white is the Gallifreyan colour for the personification of Death, but hey ho), and long hair is braided, and that's about all that's known.

There is no information on what courting Time Lords may regard as a 'date', or even if Gallifreyan date nights exist. However, there are clubs and dives in the Low Town one may like to explore, but for the more discerning couple there are plenty of upscale restaurants in the major cities, one of which is the Palace of Arcadia (may I recommend the dactyl eggs?). Other potential forms of Gallifreyan date nights are available.

🏫 So ...

So while very little is known about the practicalities of marriage and normal dating conventions, there's a lot to be said for the culture surrounding it. Marriage is unlikely to look like it does in various Earth cultures, and there may be a special ritual involved that could include the weaving of biodata or psionic connections, but the rest, as they say, is confetti.

Related:

How do Gallifreyans flirt?: How Gallifreyans approach flirting.

How should you court a Gallifreyan?: Advice on dating a Gallifreyan.

What are some Gallifreyan wedding traditions?: Expanded look at how weddings might work on Gallifrey, both in ceremony and legalities.

Hope that helped! 😃

More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[blissfulalchemist]

WIP Wednesday

Hello I come from the void to bring you some writing! I have been tagged over the weeks by @statichvm and @adelaidedrubman It is surprise surprise FFXVI based because that little universe won't leave my brain currently while it rotates new ffxiv material. But as always with this have a (sizable) variety pack of the two gals!

Alma and Joshua during the Rising Tide DLC

It’s quiet where Alma sits looking over the village and towards the sea, embracing the fresh, salty air and imagining what this place could feel like with the actual sun’s rays. Listens as the villagers go about their day as if it were any other and the scuttling of animals hiding among the lush forest. Content and lightweight she closes her eyes a moment hearing the soft footsteps of someone she knows well come toward her. She beams looking over her shoulder to watch as Joshua comes into view and sits next to her resting one arm on his bent leg with a near matching smile. “What brings you up here?”

“I was told I might have some luck finding you here.”

“Have I been gone that long?” Joshua nods, “Oh….I’m sorry. For worrying you and for not being around you like I should be.” 

“Don’t be. To be honest with you it has been refreshing to see you so exploratory once again.”

“I….I can’t be, not if I want to take care of you.” He takes her hand, criss crossing his legs, “I just-. This place is so….unique.” She looks back over the area, smile beginning to fade.

Joshua moves closer to her, bringing her hand to his lips, “What troubles you my dear Alma?”

“Hm? Oh nothing. It’s nothing, I’m fine.”

“Alma,” he pleads softly, “please, talk to me. You know you can tell me anything.”

“But-.” Her eyes meet his seeing them full of concern and feeling the warmth from his chest as he holds her hand to it. Alma takes a deep breath, “It’s nothing, really. More stupid than anything.”

“I shall hear it nonetheless.”

“I can’t help but wonder,” she starts, eyes straying back to the sea, “what would it have been like had my parent’s boat landed here. How different their lives could have ended up had the tides taken them north. While I know many outsiders didn’t last here for very long the way these people have reacted to the last thing I have of them, the journal documenting our family’s methods of healing, it doesn’t feel out of the realm of possibility that we could have been allowed to stay. So it begs the question….” Her words trail off in a question that doesn’t need to be said and one that makes Joshua’s heart sink as realization forms.

“You don’t talk about them….your parents I mean.”

She shrugs, “What is there to say on them? They died when I was young and I was then raised by Jote’s parents in the Undying.”

“Do you not remember them?”

“I remember enough. I remember the way my mother’s voice sounded when she sang me to sleep on the boat from Ash. The way my father’s eyes never lost their empathetic softness as he healed those that came to him. I even have hazy memories of my grandmother saying how much I looked like my father, but my eyes were that of my mothers.” She sighs, pulling her hand away, “Anything else I remember about them are things I wish I didn’t.”

Bit of an AU where Alma and Joshua met before the fall of Phoenix's Gate

“Miss Martha!” Alma says as she walks into the inn lugging a sack of grain. The sack almost covers her face making it easy to miss the uneven piece of wood. Tripping with wide eyes as she quickly regains her balance, “I think I may need some help.”

Cid laughs, walking over to take it from her, “Here let me get that.”

“Thank you.” 

“The abbot send that back with you did he?” Martha says with a smile, getting her some water.

Alma climbs up the barstool next to Cid, “Yes. Well kind of. I was only supposed to tell you about it.” The woman shakes her head with a playful roll of her eyes, Alma’s gaze settling on Cid. She looks him over, taking in the shadow of a torn off patch on his shirt and the small crest on the hilt of his sword reminiscent of the ones soldiers had when they would visit her grandmother on the other side of the sea. “Are you meant to take me home?”

“Pardon?”

Alma points to the hilt of his sword, letting the language of Ash come through, “You’re from Ash like me. Did someone ask you to take me back?”

He smirks, responding in the common tongue of the Twins, “Don’t think I’m allowed back,” he leans towards her whispering, “and something tells me you’re not keen on going back either.”

She nods following his lead, “Not without my-. Well this place is my home now. My parents said as much.” The young girl’s shoulders begin to hang, looking up at Martha, “Would it be alright if I came back down later for supper Miss Martha?”

“Of course, sweetheart, but first.” Alma stops her descent down the barstool, eyes fixated on Martha as she pulls out the paper wrapped package from the bag along with a letter that’s closed by a wax seal with the Archduke’s crest upon it. “This, along with the bag, came for you.”

“For me?” 

Martha nods, encouraging her to open the package first. “Was told it was from some boy named Joshua.” 

Alma’s face turns bright as she rips open the paper to reveal two leather bound journals and an unmarked letter on top of them. Her breathing stops as she gently puts the letter to the side and delicately runs her hands over the leather covers. “He-. He kept them….,” her eyes begin to fill with tears as she opens up one of them to find the years of notes, drawings, and instructions passed down for generations, “even after I got him in trouble he still….”

The two adults look into the journal finding the answer as to why she was excelling and surpassing what the locals were able to teach her. “These the journals you told me about?” Martha asks. 

Alma nods, looking into the next one as Cid flips through, finding it written not only in the common tongue of the Twins and Ashen, but another one he just can’t place his finger on. One thing is clear though within the writings, “Were your parents healers?”

“My whole family was. My mother used to tell me that the whole of my history was here in these journals. I was to follow in their footsteps….,” she says softly, voice growing thick, “they were going to teach me and we were going to become better healers as we learned new techniques and had access to different herbs and medicines….They said life would be better here.”

The first time Clive meets Barnabas on the field

With a yell Clive primes himself and rushes the king as the other three watch, limbs tense. The king easily evades the attack and kicks him back, the three jumping in to support him. Jill is the first to catch the king prime another attack, sprinting to give him cover. In a flash the red slash sings towards Clive. Alma’s heart stops for a moment as it makes impact. Ifrit’s power fading as he hits the ground limply. The thump jolts her back into action, sliding to his side, lifting his chest from the ground. Her arm slides under his arm and around his shoulders, his weight nearly crushing her back to the ground before Joshua joins her and the two begin to drag him towards safety. 

Jill yells at them to go before making the temperature drop and the sound of cracking ice before rising above them as Shiva. They make it a few more steps before the Dominant casts a wall of ice between them and Barnabas, her attention now singularly focused on the king. Alma and Joshua look up when they hear Gav call out to them, watching as Clídna jumps over the small stone fences towards them. She wastes no time in pushing Joshua from his spot, bracing Clive on her back as she wraps one of his arms around her shoulders, while her other arm moves Alma out of the way to grab onto his legs. With a quick shift as she stands Clive is securely laying across her shoulders, one arm crossed over her chest and held in place by the arm wrapped around his legs. 

The cursebreaker makes it look easy as she turns and rushes back to Gav, with Alma, Joshua, and Torgal following close behind with the fading sounds of ice and darkness clashing. “Gav! When we make it to the end of the street, I need you to help Joshua take him the rest of the way.” Clídna orders, “Alma, you and Torgal stay in front of them and lead any big mobs of Akashik away from them, got it?”

Alma nods as Gav asks, “And just where do you think you’re goin’ in the middle of all this?”

“To get Jill. I’m not leaving her alone, not again.”

Gav sighs, grumbling, “Well just don’t be stupid about it, alright?” She nods, slowing down into a darkened doorway, helping the men get situated, “You remember where to meet us?”

“Of course. Take care of him, I’ll be back!” With a final nod from Gav does the small group make their way towards the Ironworks in the outskirts of the city. The four of them are a few streets away from their destination when they hear the panting and heavy footsteps of Clídna approaching them, alone. She gives a silent shake of her head when their glances all ask the same question. She picks up Clive once more, pace never faltering as they make it to the doorway of the Ironworks. “Where do you two want him?”

--------------------------

By the time Mid comes to check on them, Joshua has pushed the cot right next to the bed, pillow in the space between his crossed legs that Alma rests on as he leans against the wall, fingers combing through her now loose hair. The healer stays asleep on her stomach to better reach out to the side and have her hand upon Clive’s chest, the man’s breathing strong and steady with more color to his face, her other arm wrapped around Joshua, and Torgal sleeping at her feet. He and the hound glance up at Mid’s entrance, putting a finger to his lips before waving her closer. She sits on the edge of Clive’s bed quietly asking, “Will he be alright? Shouldn’t he have woken up by now?”

“Alma and I can only mend flesh, but the spirit….,” he takes a deep breath letting his gaze focus on Alma, “The spirit must recover on its own.”

“So it's all up to him now ain’t it?” Joshua nods, Mid giving a small smile and nodding at Alma, “Is she going to be alright?”

He nods once more, “A good rest was all she really needed, but being a healer she makes for a very stubborn patient.”

“Ah, only way you were able to get her to sleep I see.” 

“Quite,” And nothing short of unusual for you my dear. He looks around trying to change the subject, “This place is remarkable. Outfitting it must have been no small feat. Why go through all the trouble though if I may ask?”Mid smiles, looking in awe at the Enterprise, “That beauty’s belly is filled with wonders the world in’t ready for. If the other guilds caught wind of what we were up to, they’d all want a piece.”

Clídna and Clive's first night together

Clídna’s footsteps are light as she weaves through the bunks to one man she knows will appreciate the contraband she has tucked away in the storage house. She finds him laying on his back with crossed arms and shaggy black hair obscuring his face even more in the darkness, at least she knows it won’t take him long to be dressed to be outside as he, like many others, wears most of their uniform to bed. She pokes his arm whispering, “Wyvern.” His eyes are slow to open but focus on her shrouded form, “Meet me in the storage house. I promise it’ll be worth your while.”

She says no more and slinks away to the quietest exit, leaving the door loose enough to open with a gentle nudge and not alert anyone else. Once out in the pale moonlight she straightens out inhaling the crisp fall air with a smile before glancing around for the all clear before rushing to the storage house. Thanks to her earlier work she’s able to navigate the maze of crates with ease to the back corner where no one would be able to spot them and where she pulls free two small bottles of wine that didn’t meet the emperor’s standards. Her body tenses when there’s a scrape at the door and soft firelight glows behind a wall of crates. 

“Clídna?”

She lets free the breath she’d been holding at the sound of Wyvern’s voice. “Back here.” He makes his way to her making the fireball floating in his palm smaller when his eyes land on her. He reaches for a clay bowl stored in the rafters and pulls a dusty rag from one of the broken crates to wrap around a piece of the broken wood. The two settle on the floor where the rag wrapped wood finds a place within the clay bowl along with the fire he used to guide his way to her. She smiles, handing over one of the bottles, “Can I interest you in some South Reach wine?” 

He laughs softly at her exaggerated tone taking the offered bottle, “And how did you manage to get your hands on these?”

“Let’s just say it pays to show interest in the kitchen staff once and awhile.” She holds out the neck of her drink, “So, cheers.”

He clinks his bottle against hers, “Cheers,” taking a swig of the smooth drink at the same time she does.

and finally Clídna being right as always

“Yet you still find it a bit weird, seeing him all grown up like this,” she laughs as he lets out a sigh and shaking his head, “It’s okay to admit it you know. You haven’t seen him fully since he was but an adorable child.” The two watch as the young man moves a stool a bit closer yet not sitting on it as he pets and scratches behind the hound’s ears, and Alma leans a bit closer giggling and batting her lashes as her crossed legs swing. “If it makes you feel better, sweetheart, at this moment in time the two are much younger.”

His brow furrows, “What do you mean?”

She nods her chin at them, “Just look at them. They’re flirting like teenagers(would they say teenagers like that????) in a marketplace.”

“So?”

“So it means they’ll act nothing like the refined young man and woman they front with you.” She points to someone unknowingly taking the stool from behind Joshua, his focus never leaving Alma as she goes on about something blushing and pushing her long hair behind her ear. The two watch as Torgal finds a place to lay where the stool once was and the couple staring adoringly at one another.

“I don’t believe that,” Clive argues.

Clídna cocks a brow before smirking, “You that confident Joshua won’t be stupid and oblivious?” He nods with a confident smile, “Alright then, I bet you five gil that he’ll soon trip over Torgal while still talking to her.”

“Okay, you’re on.” 

He holds his hand out, the two shaking on it as Jill walks up behind them still mostly dressed in her day clothes. “And what are you two doing out here?” She asks with a chuckle before kissing them both on the cheek and leaning on them both.

“About to make Clive lose five gil.” Clídna points to Joshua and Alma, watching as his hand begins to reach behind him for the stool no longer there. “In five, four, three….”

Joshua attempts to sit only to fall back, taking a step back to try and catch his balance. Torgal stands quickly with a yelp bumping into the back of his legs, taking them out from under him as he tries and fails to grab onto the railing. He falls back with a small yell into the table, his hand catching onto someone’s left over plate causing the food remaining on it to go flying and land on him. 

Alma jumps down with worry all over her features as Clídna and Jill laugh, Clive hanging his head in defeat hiding his smile and repressed laughter. The young couple look up at the boisterous trio, Joshua turning red when he realizes they had all seen what just happened and hearing their laughter grow when Torgal begins to try and clean up the food. 

Alma stands up, hands on her hips trying to look authoritative with her embarrassment also creeping up her neck. “Stop laughing! It’s not funny!”

Tagging: @belorage @florbelles @unholymilf @confidentandgood @strafethesesinners @leviiackrman @statichvm @adelaidedrubman @jackiesarch @shallow-gravy @shellibisshe and anyone else that wants to share!