#we've got bigger problems i know

[bansheesofinisherin2022]

you know what i hate? that my main motivation for accepting my big ass nose as it is and not even considering surgery for one single nano second is rebellion and "not doing what society wants me to do". but honestly... i don't like that i need to rebell. i don't wanna do a 'statement' by accepting my nose. i don't want to hear my mum say "look she's so unique and brave for keeping her big nose!" while trying to make feel better about my nose. i don't to be praised for being able to live with my natural body. i want no more comments of any kind. only ignorance and indifference...

[supercap2319]

An accidental spell caused Peter and Y/M to switch bodies. Now, Y/N was in Peter's body, and Peter in Y/N's. Peter stumbled into Avengers Tower, his mind reeling. He spotted Y/N casually lounging on the couch, his phone in hand. Except... that wasn't Y/N. It was Peter, in Y/N's body. He blinked, shaking his head. "Oh my god... We switched bodies. Fuck, this is so weird."

"You're telling me. I never realized how big your ass was, Peter." Peter's cheeks flushed, a mixture of embarrassment and shock crossing his features. He quickly glanced down at his unfamiliar body. "Geez, could you maybe not comment on my physical attributes right now? We've got a bigger issue here."

"I know." Y/N stood up, now only being Peter's height of five feet and seven inches tall now. "Peter, you have my chaos magic now. You can cast spells. Use Telekinesis. Fly. And I...can crawl walls? What is it that you do?"

Peter blinked, processing Y/N's list of abilities. "I shoot webs, obviously. And climb walls. Apparently, that's not a big deal anymore in this ridiculous scenario." He sighed, running a hand through his hair—well, Y/N's hair now, "Okay, focus."

"You have magic. Use it to reverse this."

Y/N—Peter nodded, focusing his thoughts. He tried to think of a spell that would reverse the switch, using his newfound Chaos magic. "Revertus corpus!" He shouted, his hands outstretched. Nothing happened. "Fuck, it's not that simple, is it?"

"It's not." Y/N sighed. "Chaos magic takes a while to master. You can't just make up a spell and think it will work. We need another plan." Peter slumped onto the couch, frustration etched on his face. "Great, so not only am I stuck in your body, but I also can't magic my way back. Fan-fucking-tastic." He groaned, burying his face in his hands—Y/N's hands.

"Maybe I—you can convince Doctor Strange to give us a book on body switching spells without raising suspicion that something is up. Last thing we need to be is busted for this."

Peter peeked through his fingers, considering Y/N's suggestion. He scratched his chin thoughtfully, a habit he realized he'd unconsciously picked up from Y/N himself. "Alright, that's not the worst idea. Doctor Strange is used to dealing with bizarre metaphysical problems."

"But you have to act like you're me. If he catches that you're not me, then he'll tell Tony, and we'll both be in deep shit." Y/N said. Peter's eyes widened, realizing the gravity of the situation. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for the challenge ahead. "Act like you, huh? No pressure." He attempted a chuckle, but it came out strained. "Okay, let's go over some...Y/N basics."

Y/N nods. "Say something that I would say."

Peter cleared his throat, trying to mimic Y/N's smooth, confident tone. "Look, I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but I'm not interested. I've got more important things to deal with than your drama." He frowned, realizing it sounded a bit too harsh ."Again. With a Sokovian accent." Y/N urged, sitting on the couch.

The Spiderman closed his eyes, focusing on the subtle accent he'd picked up from spending time with Y/N. He opened them again, his voice taking on the faint hint of a Russian lilt. "Nyet, my friend, I do not have the time for such trivialities."

Y/N smiles. "Not bad, Pete. My turn. He closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts before opening them, looking excited and full of adrenaline. "It was the most amazing thing that’s ever happened! So Mr. Stark was like, “Hey, Underoos!” and I just sort of flipped in and I stole Cap’s shield. I was like, “Hey, what’s up, everybody?” And then... Mr. Stark gave me a new suit!" Y/N mimiced Peter's excited and nerdy nature.

Peter stared at Y/N, dumbfounded. He couldn't believe how perfectly Y/N had nailed his excitable, nerdy persona. A slow grin spread across his face. "Wow, Y/N... You really do know me better than I thought."

[ohisms]

↪ 𝐹𝐼𝐿𝐿𝑂𝑅𝑌 ⅋ 𝐅𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 . ( a collection of sentence starters from season one of syfy's the magicians . adjust phrasing as necessary . this prompt will be updated as time goes on . )

it's always something with you , isn't it ? it's always an emergency .

look , this is your responsibility .

wow , nice trick . i'm sure you're a hit at parties .

so ... you think you're ready .

i called you . all weekend . where were you ?

okay , we have got to pull you together .

you can't run away hard enough , can you ?

i know where you were all weekend .

life is raw , everybody medicates .

i love you . call me , okay ?

am i hallucinating ?

come on , or you'll miss it .

can i start over ? please .

i'm going to make sure you don't remember a thing .

playing with time is such difficult magic .

don't bother trying to compare yourself .

it's good to be aware the world is blatantly unfair .

it's my fault that they said that .

if you think my family is some sort of advantage , you've been misinformed .

maybe i wouldn't let myself forget .

that was before i knew there was something else .

it's really okay if this is not your thing .

you're hurting yourself , & you're not okay .

i just needed to see if i was right .

we've been watching you for quite a while now .

hello ? do you need help ?

you feel right because you're starting towards your destiny .

for some reason , you're involved . so be involved .

look , hold that thought , okay ?

i'm obviously coming with you .

there's no such thing as safe magic .

what is this place exactly , besides a health hazard ?

you ask a lot of questions .

jesus , you didn't tell me you were dangerous .

it's a little bit bigger than messing up .

there's a bad story every few years around here .

can you just help me live with myself ?

i'm gonna tell you something deep & dark & personal now .

i'm trying to tell you , you are not alone here .

i don't know . i wanna be your friend , i guess .

you should hate me right now .

the last thing i wanted to do growing up was read fantasy .

let's just say life wasn't exactly non-stop fun growing up .

if you're guilty , i'm guilty .

come do something stupid with me before you go .

okay , you know what ? i'm not interested in your personal issues .

this isn't just some lark to me , just so you know .

i mean seriously , what do they expect , you know ?

look , you can't run away from you .

there's nothing i can do in this moment to stop the comet from crashing into the earth , is there ?

i keep trying to tell myself that this is somehow better .

you don't see color & want to go back to black & white .

you can't help , & i can't help you .

what the hell was that , you maniac ?

why would you ever trust anyone ?

i'm willing to teach the right people what i know . & i know a lot .

you're lucky i can fix this .

hey , have you heard of karma ? sometimes it's instant .

i'm generous with you , considering .

get me everything on this list . this week .

why even ask , if you'll just forget it again ?

that's not a real answer .

you're a much better liar than i expected you to be .

do you think you have a destiny ?

there is no destiny . no born heroes .

you can either step up to it or not , that's up to you .

this is your problem , that you should solve !

[fluentmoviequoter]

We've Got a Problem

Requested Here!

Pairing: Tim Bradford x fem!fiancée!reader

Summary: When you get arrested on Tim's day off, you have to call someone to get you out of jail. Tim doesn't answer when you call, but when he finds out what happened, he makes it a bigger problem.

Warnings: grumpy!Tim, fluff, mentions of homicide and drug trafficking; reader doesn't commit any crimes, so misunderstanding?

Word Count: 1.1k+ words

Picture from Pinterest

You can't decide what's funnier: that you are in police custody, that the arresting officers refused to believe that you are Tim Bradford's significant other, or that Tim isn't answering his phone.

When you switch tactics to call Wesley Evers instead of Tim, you decide that the last option is the funniest part of this ordeal.

"Hey," Wesley answers.

"This isn't a personal call," you begin with a chuckle. "Would you believe me if I said I'm currently being detained at LAPD Mid-Wilshire division on suspicion of a triple homicide and drug possession?"

"I really hope for Tim's sake you're joking."

"I'm not. I need a lawyer, Wesley. But I also need to ask you to find Tim to get me out. No one here will believe that he's my fiancé and he's not answering my calls."

"Can't imagine why they're so sure he's single. I'll get him down there and ask for the evidence. We'll get this thrown out, don't worry."

"I'll stop worrying when I'm out of here. Thank you, Wesley."

“Don’t hang up, I���m patching Tim in.”

“What do you want, Wesley?” Tim asks when the line connects.

“I want to know why you answer for him but not for me,” you interject.

Tim says your name before asking, “Where are you?”

“Jail,” you and Wesley answer together.

“What? Which station?”

“That’s your question?” Wesley replies. "Not what she did?"

“Your station,” you answer. “And I’d like to go home.”

“I’m on my way. Wesley, talk to me.”

“They’ve got her on suspicion of homicide and drug trafficking. Angela sent me part of the case file and it seems like you fit the physical description of the suspect, but that’s it. I have no doubt we can get this thrown out by the end of the day.”

“Tim, I’m sorry,” you offer. “I know it’s your day off.”

“At least it’s a good story,” he grumbles.

“Tim, I may have told a few cops that I’m your fiancée. They didn’t believe me, but I- I’m sorry for telling them.”

“Fantastic. I’m hanging up, I’ll be inside in a minute.”

“How mad is he really?” Wesley asks.

“I don’t think I want to know. Maybe I should’ve just asked you to come.”

“Good luck.”

✯✯✯✯✯

Tim yells your name when he walks into the holding area. He looks at you as you stand, walking to the cell door as another officer unlocks it.

“I’m really sorry,” you whisper as you step out.

“Later,” Tim answers, gesturing for you to follow him.

You walk behind Tim and the officer, waiting by Tim’s side as he completes paperwork.

“And what’s your relationship?” the officer behind the desk asks.

“I’m her fiancé,” Tim answers.

The officer raises his eyebrows but nods as he slides a paper to Tim. Tim carries the paper in one hand, raising his other arm to direct you into a nearby office.

“Sergeant Grey, a word?” Tim asks.

“Sure. Who’s your friend?”

You say your name, shaking Sergeant Grey’s hand.

“My fiancée. Celina and Nolan just booked her on suspicion for Lopez’s case.”

Sergeant Grey presses his lips together but fails to hide his smile as he begins laughing, leaning backward while he wipes an amused tear from his eye.

“Let me guess, you told them that you’re with Bradford and they didn’t believe you.”

“Uh, exactly,” you answer, surprised at how quickly he determined what happened.

“I’ll talk to Nolan,” Grey promises.

“I can do it,” Tim responds.

“No, Bradford, I’ll handle it. It won’t happen again.”

“It better not, or I’ll intervene.”

“I’m sorry,” Grey tells you. “The charges won’t be filed, so you’re not going to be impacted other than the inconvenience this afternoon. I apologize on behalf of the entire department.”

“It’s not a problem,” you answer softly.

“It is a problem,” Tim says before exiting the office. “Nolan!”

“Tim,” you call, rushing out after him. “What’re you doing? They didn’t even believe me about you.”

“Not the biggest problem. Nolan!”

“Uh, yes?” Nolan asks, glancing over Tim’s shoulder at you.

“You arrested my fiancée on a completely baseless allegation. Because she looks a bit like a suspect in a huge case. That is not good police work, that’s being lazy and making connections where there are none.”

“I-“

“Unless you’re about to apologize, stop talking. Care to explain why you heard my name and didn’t do anything?”

“She claimed to be your fiancée. What was I supposed to do, just believe who I thought was a suspect in numerous felony cases?”

“Doesn’t sound like an apology.”

“What are you so mad about? I did my job.”

“You did what you think your job is. As a TO, it is on you to make sure Celina is prepared to do her job without you. Bringing people in because they fit what is possibly the most generic physical description ever is not being a good officer.”

“This doesn’t sound like letting me handle it,” Grey says, stepping out of his office.

Tim clenches his jaw before pointing at Nolan. “For the record, she is my fiancée and I will not forget this.”

“You have a fiancée?” Nyla asks as she stops in the middle of the bullpen. “Wait, are you the one who got brought in for Angela’s felonies? The one who called Wesley?”

“Yeah,” you answer, supplying your name as you introduce yourself.

“Oh, this story needs to be told.”

“Don’t,” Tim warns.

Nyla pulls her phone from her pocket, smiling as she types. “Too late.”

“So much for my day off,” Tim grumbles.

“I got arrested today, and you had a long day?” you ask.

“We’re leaving.”

Tim leads you to his truck, sighing as he sits back in the driver’s seat.

“Tim-“

“Don’t apologize again. I’m not mad at you, for anything. Just… this is so stupid,” Tim concludes, smiling as he laughs.

“You’re telling me. Although Nolan and Juarez got a good laugh out of the idea of you having a fiancée.”

“I don’t think that’s funny,” Tim responds. “I think I just got very lucky.”

You smile, leaning across the console to kiss Tim.

“Excuse me, you’re parked in a tow-away zone. Tim?” an officer asks through the open window. She gasps before asking, “Is this your fiancèe?”

“Bye, Chen.”

Tim pulls out before she can say anything else, and you laugh at his dramatic sigh.

“Can you stay out of trouble for the rest of my day off?” he asks.

“I may need some incentive.”

“Then spend it with me. Not calling Wesley Evers from a jail cell.”

“Deal.”

You take Tim’s hand and smile. He brushes his thumb over your knuckles, keeping you close as he drives to his house.

"Wait, we should take a picture," Tim says after parking in his driveway.

"For what?"

"To commemorate your first arrest."

You roll your eyes but smile anyway. Tim takes the picture, and when he looks down to see how it turned out, you cup his face in your hands and kiss him. While he's thoroughly distracted, you try to grab his phone, but he moves it before pulling you closer. Maybe getting arrested and letting Tim's coworkers know he's engaged wasn't all bad.

[cjlouwho]

Bucktommy prompt idea for you:

Tommy going to Bobby, NOT to ask for his blessing on proposing to Buck, but thinking that Bobby will talk him out of it as it's too soon (Tommy needs someone to be rational with him and he thinks Bobby is levelheaded, especially when it comes to Buck).

He's unaware that Bobby and Athena basically speedran their way down the aisle, and Bobby gives him his blessing AND practically helps him plan the proposal/wedding instead.

This was ridiculous.

They'd only been together for four months.

Sure, Tommy could easily say they had been the best four months of his life, but still... four months.

You don't buy a ring for someone after only four months.

At least Tommy didn't. He wasn't that type. He was levelheaded, thought things through.

Even when he flew that helicopter straight through a hurricane, he thought that through. Knew he could do it. Knew to trust Howie and Hen and their instincts.

But this was all on him.

He was standing outside of a jewelry store, ring in one hand, receipt in the other, wondering what the hell just happened to him? Was he drugged? Possessed? What would possibly make him think this was a wise option? Why could he already envision Buck standing across from him in front of a room full of people as they spoke their vows to one another?

Tommy stuffed the ring and the receipt into his pockets. He practically marched to his car. There was only one person he could think to go to. One person who could talk some sense into him.

*****

“That's amazing, Tommy!” Bobby exclaimed, pulling Tommy in for a hug.

This was... not what he expected.

“Amazing?” he questioned once Bobby pulled back. “Bobby, it's insane.”

“What's insane about it?”

“We've only been together four months. He moved in a week ago, and we both joked about how crazy that even was.”

“And how's that week been?” Bobby asked, leading them over to the couch.

“It's... It's been great. Fantastic, really, but it's new. It'll wear off.”

“Doesn't have to.”

“Bobby, I- I thought I'd be coming here today for you to talk me out of this, not for me to talk me out of it while you talk me into it.”

Bobby smiled. “You love him?” he asked.

“Of course.”

“He loves you?”

“Yeah, he does,” Tommy replied, softer as he thought about the many times they'd said those words to each other over the last three months.

“You like spending time together?”

“We haven't spent a night apart since we started dating, work excluded.”

“You see a future with him?”

Tommy nodded. “We both want kids. He's gonna be such a great dad, too. He doubts himself sometimes, but I don't doubt him. We'd have to buy a bigger place someday, but we've got enough space for three where we are now.” Tommy's eyes were focused off in the distance, like he was imagining their whole lives together. “I haven't traveled much, outside of my time in the army, but we've made plans to do a roadtrip so he can show me all the places he's been. And he's so smart. He knows something about everything and I love that because he's always right. I don't even have to double check.” He stopped abruptly when he realized he was rambling. That's what got him into this mess in the first place. He got to thinking about Evan, and then he couldn't stop thinking about Evan, and then he was driving to a jewelry store.

Bobby shrugged. “I don't see a problem here, Tommy. Athena and I got engaged in less than a year, and I couldn't imagine it any other way.” He reached out, giving Tommy a pat on the leg. “You're a good guy, Tommy. Buck is just as much in this relationship as you are, believe me. You ask, he'll say yes.”

Somehow a wave of relief, along with a surge of anxiety, washed over Tommy at the same time. “Are you sure?”

“I'm sure.”

*****

Tommy stayed a bit longer, catching up with Bobby and discussing what plans he had for a proposal. When it was time to leave, Bobby walked him to the door. He reached for a handshake that turned into a hug.

“Thanks, Bobby,” Tommy said with a final pat on the back before he headed out.

“Anytime, kid. Hey, you have Buck call me after he says yes!”

Tommy smiled, giving Bobby a final wave before he got into his car.

Bobby wasn't surprised when his phone began to ring a few hours later, Buck's name lighting up the screen.

[bookwyrminspiration]

Unraveled: B&N Virtual Event Summary

There are no unraveled spoilers; since we're re-covering a period of time we've already seen, there are references to specific events in Stellarlune

Shannon Messenger was accompanied by B.B. Alston, author of Amari and the Night Brothers, who asked the questions

Enjoy! (Quil note: this might be one of the best ones, lads 👀)

Shannon has pre-release jitters. Even though she's done this so many times, she'll never not be nervous

It's a different book with a different POV. She's just as excited as she is panicked. "I contain multitudes!"

Why is this 9.5 instead of 10? Why a Keefe book? Is this part of a bigger story or just a fun bonus? It's a little of both. Keefe fans are gonna love a whole book about him, but Shannon never would have taken attention away from the main story if it wasn't essential for the series, since everyone's anxious for book 10.

Be patient! She's never written a 10 book series before. She's "trying to build a bridge while crossing it."

Keefe wasn't just eating human food having fun, though Shannon would've written 800 pages of snacking if she could.

What he got up to Shannon planned/outlined that it would all come out in book 9 when he was back, but, "No, Keefe is not ready to share these secrets. There's reasons why he's gonna keep this hidden."

"That's a problem for future Shannon!"

But then everything future Shannon tried with book 10 didn't quite work. This is Keefe's story, and KOTLC is limited to Sophie.

In order for Sophie to know, Keefe would have to sit down and talk it out with everyone, and he wasn't quite ready to do that when Shannon needed him to.

So, special 9.5! So we can live that time with Keefe, see what he does, where he goes, who he meets, what he uncovers.

This way readers will be much more familiar with it when we get to all that in book 10--for the first time ever, readers will actually know more than Sophie!

Shannon confirms we're getting Keefe's middle name--she debated with herself, thought about keeping that secret forever, but she wants there to be big pay-offs in Unraveled. And what book could be more perfect for this?

Was it hard to write from Keefe's POV? Usually his voice comes super easily, so Shannon was expecting it to be word-vomit. But throughout the book and especially at the beginning, he's not himself. Everything he's been through has changed him, made him afraid of himself, more quiet and reserved. How does she balance making this interesting when her jokester character won't talk!

It was interesting diving into his head to see where he's at and why he's acting different. And it was interesting flipping it--Sophie's a fish out of water in the Lost Cities, but this time Keefe's the fish!

She had to keep reminding herself all this stuff familiar to her is new to him. "Flaming Hot Cheetos??? Is that food...????"

How has Keefe changed the most since book 1? In some ways he's lost his confidence. He's discovered a lot that's made him question if he's good, if he's causing problems, if he's putting people at risk. In his head he's not nearly as much the casual, lighthearted guy he seems.

He's also matured. He really had to step up and say, "Okay, it's time to take action. I can't just goof around. I've got the fate of the world on my shoulders in some way too." He's also trying to protect his friends and feels very personally responsible. His burden is a lot heavier than it used to be.

What's his favorite part of the human world? He definitely enjoys the human pop culture. Seeing how humans depict elves, certain (not all) human foods.

Lot of fun for Shannon as a snacker, but he's vegetarian, which makes it harder. He can't have fried chicken--but not every scene is about food.

Any places Shannon knew she had to send Keefe? She prefers to write places she's been if possible; in fantasy, if you can get the real accurate, it makes the fantastical that much more believable. So she started with places she's been, but she hasn't been nearly enough to cover all this. So she included places she'd like to, places she knows other people have been so she can get details from them.

(itty bitty seriously small spoiler from Shannon) Keefe starts looking for libraries, so Shannon googled cool libraries and went down that rabbit hole.

Keefe's been crushing on Sophie since the moment they met. What's does he like the most about her? (Lot of hearts in chat). "Keefe appreciates that Sophie is such a different perspective. He really sees that she doesn’t necessarily see herself accurately, but he understands her. He can see why she’s harder on herself with her upbringing, the bad thoughts she heard. He realized she doesn’t always understand herself."

He’s also really impressed by how brave and strong she is, and how she’s willing to risk her life and do the thing when everyone's like Sophie don't do the thing! And she’s like I must do the thing! Keefe thinks, “Wow can’t stop her from doing the thing!" It'd be great if she stopped ending up in the healing center, but he appreciates her for doing it despite the consequences. Admires her for it. He really wants to be worthy of how amazing he thinks she is. (More hearts in chat)

Can we confirm Keefe's POV of the kiss? Yes! Shannon almost wasn't able to do it. Unraveled was supposed to release November 12, but then her kids, "caught every possible virus they could possibly catch." Plus, publishing takes time, so they had to move it back. Those extra days allowed her to squeeze in the bonus story and she had a lot of fun writing it.

She knew she couldn't continue the book past when he leaves the human world, but she knew readers would really want it. She understands if you skip to the end to read it first--and there shouldn't be too many spoilers if you do, but she still recommends going from the beginning.

Why did it take Sophie and Keefe so long to get to the kiss? Did you know it would be in Stellarlune or did it happen naturally? Shannon tries not to pre-plan emotional things because it makes it feel forces. As the author she's in charge of the plot, not the emotions. Every time Sophie almost dies, that's her, but how Sophie feels about almost dying is all Sophie.

So anything emotional like this, Shannon's checking in with Sophie, and, "She really wasn't ready to see this was an option for her--she really was in the Great Foster Oblivion. She had no idea that Keefe liked her, and she wasn't the type to start developing feelings without having that piece of the puzzle. She genuinely thought Keefe was just teasing and was a flirt with everything. She didn't think it was something to take seriously."

She also had her eye on someone else for quite some time, so the story had to wait until Sophie was ready to take that step. Shannon discussed it with her editor a lot

Every week they have a zoom meeting to talk through the plot. They thought Stellarlune was probably the book for the kiss, but Shannon didn't know for sure until she got to that chapter. She's very proud of Sophie for being brave enough to take that step and bring the walls down.

The fact it took so long and tortured readers wasn't on purpose--"Torturing my readers is fun, but I wouldn't do it unnecessarily!"

It was interesting going back to write the kiss from Keefe's POV. She was worried as she did that though Sophie was ready for it now, what if Keefe wasn't? But, "then it was like oh, no, nope he’s on the same page." Keefe was screaming "FINALLY!!!" in his head.

How different is KOTLC now from how you first imagined it? The problem they're dealing with is fundamentally built into their world--it's not just an evil villain who decided to take over. "Multiple rebellions are going on because there are some fundamental injustices that have been ignored and ignored and ignored. And two groups have said enough is enough."

She always knew they'd have to reckon with this--in some ways they have, but there's more to come. But she also always leaves room for ideas to grow. Her first ideas aren't her best; they're too obvious. Now she's had a lot of time to think Keeper through.

Even still, she worries about doing it justice and, even with a plan, never knows for sure what will happen until she sits down to write it.

Shannon returned the question to B.B. He said the same thing--at a certain point as the story grows, you can really do so many more things, you have so many more villains. It builts the characters and relationships.

Shannon takes a moment to recommend B.B.'s series, Amari and the Night Brothers. She can't sing it's praise enough. "After you race through Unraveled, race through this!" There are 3 books out with 2 more to come. Maybe more.

10 books is a lot--how does Shannon do it? This is part of why she has those weekly zoom chats. But she's constantly going back to look things up, making lists of unanswered questions, listening to the audiobooks. It's all daunting. "It's all chaotic. Wonderful, glorious chaos. That's what I'm telling myself."

Readers are anxious to get back to Keefe and Fitz. How awkward would a conversation be now? Oh yeah. They've had to be around each other since all of that, but that haven't had to openly acknowledge it. But Shannon can feel the scene on the horizon and can't avoid it forever--though Keefe would love to. "Peace out!" Given Fitz's temper, Shannon fully expects there to be yelling, but sometimes he surprised her. We'll see once she gets there.

When Shannon gets too specific in outline, it sucks the life out of her story. She needs to know the rough order of the plot--this threat, then this thing, this this reveal. But the little emotional beats are more up to the characters. Talks this through with her editor too.

Can you tell us anything about book 10? Would love to be like it exists and it's coming out tomorrow! Sadly, still writing it and doesn't know the exact release date. She promises she'll get it to us as soon as she can. Obviously we left Stellarlune on a huge cliffhanger and Unraveled answers some questions but doesn't deal with it at all.

"Keefe's secrets...secrets do have a way of coming out." He can't hide them forever and it'll take something big to motivate him to come clean. "Wow, that's the most non-answer. I swear answers are coming!"

Is there any news on the movie? Earlier this year they announced Warner Brothers got the rights and Emma Watts is the producer. Currently Emma is working hard to get everything behind the scenes in a row to give the movie the best possible chance it has to get greenlit and made since it'll be so expensive.

Shannon thinks this team is one of their best shots at it happening. There's still a bit of finger crossing, but it anyone can make it work, it's Emma Watts.

Shannon is NOT writing the screen play. She's got book 10 to write, plus she doesn't think she can be objective about the changes that'd need to be made to adapt it. She's too attached. She wants to give input and suggestions, but wants something with more screenwriting expertise and distance from the story.

B.B. doesn't want to write his screenplay either--it's a totally different skill.

What's your best advice for new writers? Ooh, okay. 9 times out of 10 when a young writers asks for advice, Shannon asks "Have you written your book yet?" And the answer is no. They're just thinking about writing a book. So her advice: focus on writing! Finish that book! You can't be a writer unless you write! Then revise and revise and revise. "The work is not done when you get to the end."

When you have the best book you could possibly have, then think about next steps and publishing. But for now...write!

Shannon returned the question to B.B., who says to read widely. Read as much as you can to build up your story skills. Find what you like. As KOTLC readers, we've seen in the story how to develop characters and plots and arcs.

He also says don't put pressure on yourself. Write for the fun of writing, so even if it never goes anywhere, you still have something you're proud of.

"Once it's a job it's a job. It's different."

Shannon doesn't find books on writing helpful for her; they're procrastination. Instead she reads and asks herself what's working and why--why am I enjoying this so much?

She learned the most from books she didn't like. She asked herself why she wasn't into it--which doesn't mean there was anything wrong with it. It was personal preference, which helped her find her writing voice. She likes a lot of dialogue, a lot of humor, cliffhangers, etc.

School may ask you to read things you don't like; as a writer, take it as an opportunity to pick it apart and find out why.

How do you come up with character names? Baby name books. By the time she had to name her own kids, she was already an expert. She likes names to match the character.

Sophie was going to be named Alexandra because it means helped and defender of mankind, but it was too on the nose. She wasn't an Alex, or Alexis, or even an Alexandra

Sophie means wisdom, which is what she gives to her world. "No pressure, right?"

Fitz is from Fitzroy, which means son of the king, and his family is almost like royalty.

"Keefe means handsome. *shrugs* So. Obvious there." The book she got it from said "good-looking one" specifically.

It's the same for B.B. He likes to look at the year the character was born and what was popular, too. Amari means inner strength, and a big part of her story is learning she's more than where she's from and to believe in herself

How does it feel to write from a new POV? Would we maybe get a Fitz book? Shannon's learned to never say never. The story could throw her another curve ball, she might do a short story in his POV. If the story dictates she needs to step into anyone else's shoes, she will. "I've gotten this far by trusting the story."

Who was Shannon's favorite author/book when she was 12? Shannon grew up before the big children's media boom, she she didn't have a lot of options. She did like the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

"You have no idea how lucky you are there's so many great stories out there. Different POVs, more characters that look like more people--though still need more work on that front."

For B.B., he was a huge fan of Charlie and the Chocolate factory--but he also didn't have much to pick from.

When Shannon was around 12, she also fell out of love with reading. She had a 7th grade teacher who was very strict about reading "at your level." And she decided Shannon was at college level, so kept giving her older books like Crime and Punishment, Little Women, etc.

While Shannon appreciates the classics, they weren't what she wanted to read, and it turned it into a chore. She went from a kid who took stacks home from the library to someone who only read if it was an assignment. (Shocked faces in chat).

Shannon firmly believes in letting your kids read what they want. That doesn't mean don't encourage them to broaden their horizons, but don't take away things they love. That's how you kill someone's love of reading.

B.B. gives props to Shannon for the female main character; it's one of the reasons Amari can exists--"well Shannon did it and it worked."

Shannon's very glad Amari exists. Keeper got a lot of rejections with coded wording that made it very clear female main characters were not as marketable as boy heroes. And she wasn't an instant success--it took about 5 books to gain momentum, and a lot of that was teachers, librarians, book sellers, and the kids themselves telling their friends to read it.

Any info on the graphic novel? Part 2 is definitely coming and in the works, it just takes time. She's seen some tentative cover sketches, might see more soon, and is very excited.

Team Fitz or Team Keefe? Even though Shannon's written a whole book from Keefe's POV *she holds it up backwards, then upside down, then gets it right* and has a Keefe cutout in the corner *moves the camera so we can see him--he was gonna be in the background but it looked creepy*, she truly is Team Sophie. If she ever got a tattoo, it's say Team Sophie. But she's terrified of needles so never will.

People think they kissed so it's settled, right? "Well, the series isn't done yet. Sophie could change her mind." This goes back to what Shannon talked about with letting the characters dictate the emotions.

What first inspired Keeper? A lot of things. Hilariously, it started as a short story. Epic fail--she's what, 8,000 pages into her short story? She was working on a different book and got stuck, so decided to get to know a side character.

The side character she chose was Fitz. For some reason, she doesn't know why, the plot was he'd meet a little girl and realize she was an elf.

But "Guess what, you're an elf!" was a terrible ending and she couldn't stop thinking about it. What happened to that little girl? How could she not know she was an elf? Why would they hide her?

A few weeks later she knew "yeah, I gotta switch books." She couldn't get it out of her head, but it was daunting because she knew it would be a massive project. But that little girl would not go away.

What was the inspiration for Amari? Doing pre-med stuff is long and boring, so he was looking for something fun. He thought about Men in Black and what if there were supernatural creatures living amongst us. He was working on the world and one day Amari popped into existence.

Has Shannon ever made the Keeper recipes and what's her family's favorite? Shannon actually developed the recipes herself, which wasn't something she ever thought she'd have to do. It took a lot of baking fails, but her favorite is anything mallowmelt--but she always warns people it's SO sweet. Good, but a few bites is enough sugar for a week.

Planning any non-Keeper series? Shannon doesn't know what she'll do once she's done with KOTLC. She'll definitely keep writing because she loves telling stories, but she's so immersed in Keeper all her other ideas are on the back burner.

B.B. thanks Shannon for being so inspirational with her work and how she interacts with her fans--he learned a lot from her. Shannon says B.B.'s always one of the top people she loves to do events with.

Once again, she is begging everyone to read Amari and the Night Brothers. "Please, please, please read them! Oh and I guess read Unraveled too. *accidentally holds it upside down again*"

“Tomorrow it's out in the world. Thank you for your faith in me and I can't wait for you to learn all of Keefe's secrets. It's gonna be an adventure.”

[deancashorrorfest]

We're Baaack... And Bigger than Ever

Come one, come all to the third year of Dean🔪Cas Horrorfest! We've got ghouls and gore, gays and theys! Cannibalism as far as the eye can see! Truly a feast for the senses.

This year I tasked these horrific creatures with a reverse round and they really ate the competition. Below the cut, you'll find things beyond any human comprehension.. Viewer beware, you're in for a scare.

Any Way That You Want Me | M | 10,455 It should have been a cake walk. Get in, investigate the haunted house, and figure out where to dig, salt and burn. But when Cas somehow gets cursed - trapped inside the house's mirrors - Dean finds himself in a race against time. Each day Cas' strength is fading. It's up to Dean to find a solution by digging through the house and the belongings of the former owner.

What he uncovers in the house may change everything. Link to Fic | Link to Art Wicked Muse | E | 15,673 Castiel Novak is a solitary creature. Corporate engineer by day, serial killer by night, and always by himself. Just the way he likes it. Until a new coworker's long, bowed legs, green eyes, and crooked smile catch his eye. He's certain he'll have to kill Dean, at first. He can't afford distractions, living the double life that he does. When the time comes, though, he just can't bring himself to do it. Artistic inspiration, long dormant in Castiel's life, replaces murderous intent.  As his obsession grows, so too does a newfound wish that he could share the deepest, darkest depths of himself with Dean. That Dean would understand, would accept, would even celebrate Castiel's bloody inclinations. But that's absurd. Unthinkable. Dean isn't like that. Is he? Link to Fic | Link to Art Herbicidal | T | 8,249 Dean is settled. His relationship with Cas is going strong, he has a place to call home, and his biggest problems are run-of-the-mill cases and unruly teenagers who think they know everything there is to hunting. Hell, he even plays with the thought of retiring. But then something starts killing people left and right in Lebanon, and Dean and Cas are faced with a case and a foe they have no idea what to do about. Link to Fic | Link to Art Oubliettes of Stone and Sky | T | 9,214 Dean is trying to sacrifice himself for his country like any good king would, and Cas has been sent to stop him. Cas has to keep Dean hostage while journeying through a dust storm and a castle with a mummy inside. Dean is waiting for the chance to escape--and Cas is ready to capture him again. Link to Fic | Link to Art Angel in the Ivory Castle | G | 20,074

Castiel's family is royalty in another world that has lived in peace for many years until recently a darkness has started to spread which has slowly overtaken the beautiful green fields they'd once walk through. Creatures have become corrupted, twisted and turned into something grotesque. Castiel was sent to the other world to find the being he is bonded to in which it's been rumored to save their world but in reality they know what's left doesn't look worth the risk. Link to Fic | Link to Art

Dean and Castiel vs. Evil | E | 31,451

Castiel is trying to survive a camping trip in the Appalachians with his annoying fraternity brothers. At a nearby cabin, Dean is trying to clean up the remains of his and Sam’s recent vamp hunt. Both Dean and Castiel wouldn’t mind exploring their mutual attraction.

But there’s a problem: due to a series of misunderstandings, Castiel’s friends are convinced that Dean and Sam are serial killers. The fact that Castiel's friends keep dying in increasingly grisly ways doesn't help matters. Is there really a killer on the loose? And will Dean and Cas ever manage to score some alone time? Link to Fic | Link to Art

Vacation Interrupted | M | 9,158 Dean can’t remember the last time he took a vacation. Fighting monsters is basically all he’s ever known. They’ve defeated Chuck and Dean finally grew a pair and confessed his feelings and Cas reciprocated. The two of them, along with Sam and Eileen, decide to dip their toes in the sand and take a vacation since the world is relatively monster free. Or at least they thought it was until a Kraken decided to ruin their vacation and start killing people, almost taking Dean for its next victim if Castiel didn’t rescue him in time. So much for a relaxing vacation. Link to Fic | Link to Art Communion | E | 53,639

Few areas in the world are subject to the polar night phenomenon, a period where the sun never rises above the horizon.

When Castiel Novak reaches out to the Winchesters for help, convinced that vampires are about to descend upon one such town during the upcoming polar night, the boys head up to Point Hollow, Alaska to clear the nest before night falls.

What was meant to be a three-day stay devolves into sixty-five days of bloodshed and darkness as resources dwindle and bodies start dropping. Overwhelmed by the calculated organization of the creatures and the size of their nest, it quickly becomes clear that there’s more to the ‘vampires’ than initially seemed.

They’re cunning, they’re ancient, and they’re powerful—and they’ll stop at nothing to be satisfied. But between the starving people and starving creatures, Dean manages to find solace in Castiel—who just might be holding a secret himself. A secret that is key to destroying the creatures and their master, once and for all. Link to Fic | Link to Art Romancing the Exit Sign | E | 125,370

A teenage boy is left to die in a shallow grave and something slithers into his bones. Devotees of an ancient god work to bring Her into the world, as with equivalent fanaticism, a man on a mission picks them off one by one. A lonesome drifter crosses paths with a mysterious stranger and finds himself inexorably drawn into the middle of it all.

Dean Winchester is adrift. All he has is his car, the next hunt, and a conversation he doesn’t want to have waiting for him in California. Then a case involving mangled bodies washing up on shore in an idyllic lakeside community puts him on the trail of a man calling himself Castiel, and the dangerous web he’s entangled in. Dean is used to living in a world of monsters, but the End of Days is a little out of his wheelhouse. Especially when his only ally is determined to keep his secrets behind his teeth, even as they draw closer together. Still, he intends to see things through, no matter how dark the path ahead gets.

It’s either that, or call his brother. Link to Fic | Link to Art Survivalism | E | 14,067

Genetic engineers Castiel Novak and Dean Winchester are on the verge of a breakthrough in cancer treatment and possibly even a cure, using genetic manipulation and incredibly, shark DNA.

Following a devastating diagnosis of brain cancer, and amid growing pressure from his boss, Dick Roman, for results, Castiel is pushed to an act of desperation. He tests the cure on himself with disastrous and violent results.

He has never been so hungry. Link to Fic | Link to Art

These Hallways Echo | M | 10,290 Loneliness. Previously, Dean Winchester had thought he knew the definition of the word, the way it felt to be isolated. That was wishful thinking. It’s here and now, in these never-ending corridors of winding walls and this damn carpet with the nauseating pattern, where Dean discovers the true meaning of being alone. Solitary. Detached. The man hears ghosts, echoes of conversations long since over, but there’s nobody for him to speak to. Dean sees the phantoms of late vacationers stepping through doorways or occupying beds but he can never get anybody’s attention. No one stops to hear him. Not a single soul has looked him in the eye or acknowledged that he, too, is trapped here. Caught in this unending hallway where time means nothing and waiting for tomorrow is fruitless. Link to Fic | Link to Art Ground Control to Major Tom | E | 21,506 Dean Winchester dreamed of being a mechanic all his life, but he never thought he would end up working as a mechanic for NASA and going into space. He is thrust into his first ever space mission after a strange lunar body, dubbed Luna-b I, mysteriously appears in Earth’s sky. Teams of astronauts scramble up to the permanent lunar base and begin analysis to determine if the blue orb is any threat to mankind. Most of the first team is sent home after a few months, nearly all of them having fallen ill with devastating cases of space sickness. As time goes on, it becomes clear that something altogether unnatural is going on here. Dean feels like he’s losing his mind as he and his crewmates also begin to succumb to sickness. He races to figure out what could possibly be the root cause. Is Luna-b I really just some weird, deep space rock that got caught in the Moon’s orbit by chance? Or is it something much more sinister, watching and waiting for the opportune moment? Link to Fic | Link to Art The Forgotten Halls | T | 9,337 A long time from now — maybe decades, maybe centuries — there are only the Halls, and the Entity, and the Angel. They exist in harmony, mostly. When an outsider changes their routine, a routine so long-standing that the Angel remembers nothing that had come before it, the disturbance will threaten the fabric of their entire universe. Link to Fic | Link to Art It's Got A Death Curse | E | 19,101 Dean and his friends have been coming to Camp Garrison for years, first as campers, then as counselors. Their last summer together kicks off with a bang when a figure from their dark past reappears and buried secrets from a near-forgotten tragedy threaten to resurface. It only gets worse when a storm rolls in, and the night becomes a gory fight for survival. The camp may not have electricity, but it's got a death curse. Link to Fic | Link to Art ghost, zero, suitcase & the moon | M | 19,433

Dean has always known it was ending. The world, that is. He knew it when he was three, awake and screaming in the middle of the night with the image of fire leaving an afterburn behind his eyelids. He knew it while he learned to ride a bike, while he went to his first school dance, had his first kiss, tipped back his first beer with his dad. He knew it when dad left, too. When Sammy died. When it all began to crumble.

He has always known it was ending. Now he's alone in a cabin somewhere so far north and so far west that he thinks half the continent never knew it existed in the first place, and he's got the same damn nightmares, the same burn behind his eyes, and the sense that ending is a verb that goes on and on into eternity and outside of time. Link to Fic | Link to Art Rosewood | T | 5,099

Dean believes a lot of things.

He believes the manner of his death was decided by his father the very night that yellow-eyed demon ripped his mom away from him.

He believes he’ll die, broken and bloody and alone on a hunt, and anything Cas does only delays the inevitable.

He believes he doesn’t deserve to be saved.

Dean knows Cas will do it anyway.

Months after Mrs. Butters leaves the bunker, intent on finding a home of her own, a peaceful section of pines set deep into the American heartland becomes anything but. Haunted by Purgatory at every turn, and forced to confront the consequences of decades of torture and abandonment at the hands of his predecessors, Dean and Cas set off to solve a string of disappearances in the forest where they stumble across a familiar face -- and an all-too-familiar feeling. Link to Fic | Link to Art MAW | M | 8,575

The world is full of sorrow, of sadness, of pain. The people within it deserve better than what Castiel's father gave them. They deserve peace and contentment, security and love. They deserve a New World.

And there is no safer place than inside Castiel. Link to Fic | Link to Art hold my hand until it bleeds | E | TBD The five years that Alistair did nothing but beat him. The feeling of no longer having skin. The feeling of no longer having flesh. The feeling of being nothing but bone and blood. Link to Fic | Link to Art The Possession of Jimmy Novak | E | 16,952

Dean Winchester was surprised to learn that when his father died, he left behind a beautiful house in the suburbs of Illinois, complete with neighbors who welcomed the newly arrived Dean with casseroles and invitations to join them at church.

It all seemed so very normal.

But there was something about Jimmy Novak that Dean couldn’t put his finger on, something not normal, and when Dean became an unwitting accomplice to Jimmy’s crime he discovered the horrifying truth:

That wasn't Jimmy Novak. Link to Fic | Link to Art It Will Come Back | E | 13,164

Senior Special Agent Castiel Novak and Special Agent Dean Winchester are partners within the FBI's Criminal Investigation Division. For the past several months, they've been investigating a string of murders, all resulting in cold-cases from what they believe to be the same killer. Despite being one of the best minds in his division, Castiel can't find a link between cases, and it's driving him to his wits' end.

As the cases begin to pile up, Castiel's confidence plummets, the chances of catching the killer are growing smaller, and other members of the division are beginning to contribute to Castiel's decreasing faith in his detective skills. As time goes on, Dean is there to help Castiel, but a final case relating to a horror film might be the start of Castiel's unraveling. Link to Fic | Link to Art Someone to Punish Me | E | TBD

Dean's chasing another lead for his old man, this time ending up in Maine, searching for the town of Silent Hill. Residents of nearby Cushing tell him to stop looking, but he can't help it. He's got a job to do, after all. After a resident finally points him in the right direction, Dean finds his way up the mountain to Silent Hill. But there's so much more to the town than John let on. And so much more that Dean needs to learn about himself. Link to Fic (TBD) | Link to Art 1 | Link to Art 2 Night Shift | E | 67, 758

As far as job opportunities go, replacing the previous night guard of fifty years at the Nebraska Museum of Natural History wasn't Dean's first choice, but a job was a job. Especially considering he got fired from his last job and was in need of the money. However, said job proves to be more difficult than described.

Faced with strange events revolving around one of the exhibits he was tasked with guarding, an angel statue that was more than what it seemed to be, he must unravel the mysteries that arise as a result. Why did the angel statue come to life each night? Why did an unknown number keep messaging him the same sequence of numbers? It was a race against the clock and Dean's dwindling sanity to find answers to these mysteries. Link to Fic | Link to Art A Word in the Mists | M | 23,968

Mist as far as the eye can see. A gloomy ocean that seems to swallow up the sunlight like broken dreams. An old, rusty ship that creaks with every inch of movement. And a crew that could compete in an award for grumpiest people alive.

Dean really hates pretty much everything about this case, and would love nothing more than to call it quits and turn this ship around... if there wasn't the little issue of the disappearance of thousands of people across ten different ships on the open sea.

Saving lives is what he does. But he has to question if he isn't doing more harm than good when the disappearances begin on his own ship—and he still hasn't even figured out what kind of monster they're dealing with. Link to Fic | Link to Art Terror As Sharp As Pain | M | 10,815 After Jack brings Cas back from the Empty, everything almost returns to normal. Cas moves into The Bunker, they go back to hunting, and they do not talk about his confession. With the number of hunts dwindling, Team Free Will takes up a case in Derry, Maine, a town terrorized every 27 years by disappearances and violent deaths. Even though the cycle isn't due to repeat for another 19 years, they will have to face fear itself to free the town. Link to Fic | Link to Art no spill blood. | M | 7,217

A witch hunt becomes far more than that when Dean rescues an unassuming, innocent, harmless stranger. But Castiel is more than he seems, and as the lines of their unlikely connection blur, so does the truth. Revenge, plain and simple. Surviving to see it through, not so simple. Link to Fic | Link to Art You can find the complete collection over on Ao3! Happy Haunting, folks! See you next Halloween 👻🎃🤡

[miryum]

"Brian and Lacy"

Summary: Detective!Jason Todd x detective!Reader based on Jake and Amy's relationship

Series Warnings: Swearing, descriptions of violence (but nothing descriptive), guns and other police stuff

Series Masterlist

Okay, so because of @theperksofsimplybeingme and their sweet ask, I'm gonna release another chapter today...

Y/n stood behind the podium in the briefing room, Captain Wayne rigid next to her. “Okay, sixty-six, say hello to Roman Sionis, Gotham’s biggest identity thief. Last week, he walked into a government building and stole a computer containing over one hundred thousand social security numbers. My C.I. says that tonight Sionis will be handing off the laptop to a buyer from China.”

Wayne spoke up. “I want you and Todd to tail Sionis until he makes the drop. Arrest him and the buyer.” His eyes flickered to Dick in a sardonic look.

Y/n’s jaw twitched but she held up two thumbs. “Sounds good, although I should probably just take Steph. I know Jason has a ton of work, so…” She trailed off.

“No, I don't,” Jason said.

“Really?” Her brows shot up. “I could have sworn I overheard you telling Tim, ���Girlfriend, please. I got hella open cases.’”

Jason squinted at her. “You really think that came out of my mouth?”

“Oh, hell yeah. No doubt. No doubt.”

“That's enough,” Wayne commanded. “L/n and Todd will track Sionis. Brown and Drake will guide them in a surveillance van. Unless you have a problem with that?”

“Sounds great!” Y/n gave him a thumbs up again and the detectives started to file out of the room. “In the immortal words of Jason Todd, ‘We got this, boo!’”

Jason cornered Y/n in the briefing room and asked quietly, “did I do something to you? Are you mad for some reason?”

“What?” She scoffed. “No!” 

“Then why are you trying to keep me off the case?”

“Oh, that.” Y/n picked at her cuticles. “All right, look, the reason that I don’t wanna work with you is... should I do this in an accent so that I can undercut some of the awkwardness I'm feeling?”

“No.”

“Fine. You know how you’re going out with Rose?” Y/n flailed her hands in an Italian gesture and said in an accompanying accent, “that-a really bum-eda me out, grazie.”

“Italian?” Jason raised a brow. He had completely forgotten to tell Y/n he had broken up with Rose.

Y/n sighed. “Yeah, it was a bad choice. I'm so much better at German.” She glanced up at the ceiling and swallowed roughly. In a small voice so unlike her own, she admitted, “I- I guess I was kinda thinking of asking you out.”

“Oh.” Jason flushed, not knowing what to say.

“But I don’t wanna be a home wrecker and I know you like Rose. I don’t want to get in the way of that, but that’s the reason I’m acting so weird. Let’s just forget I ever said anything and go on this assignment.” Y/n started out of the room and called back to Jason in a rough German accent, “It will all be good and professional!”

Y/n, Jason, Steph, and Tim were sitting in the back of an unmarked police van, watching Sionis pull up to an elite restaurant, a girl on his arm. “Why is he getting out here?” Tim asked Y/n, “I thought your C.I. said the drop was happening in a park?”

Y/n shrugged. “Maybe he's having dinner with his sidepiece first?”

“Sionis has the laptop with him,” Jason observed. “We should just arrest him right here!”

Y/n shook her head. “No, no, the buyer's the bigger collar. We've got to follow him in the restaurant and wait for the handoff.”

“Okay, if you're going in, I've heard this place has an amazing Brie and Crab,” Steph commented. She chuckled, adding, “not that I've ever had a bad one.”

“All right, let's go.” Y/n stood up, moving towards the van door.

“No, wait, we look like cops.” Jason shook his head. “We're never gonna blend in like this.”

Y/n took off her GCPD windbreaker to reveal a normal, plain t-shirt and jeans. “Okay, how's that?”

“Uh, I don't know.” Jason squinted at her, glancing at Tim. 

Tim, in return, said, “You still kinda look like a cop. Put your necklace on the outside and tuck in the shirt.” Y/n did as she was told and Tim nodded in confirmation. He turned to Jason. “You need a jacket or something.”

“I’m… not sure anything will fit me…” Jason looked around the van, searching for an article of clothing. He spotted Captain Wayne’s blazer from a past assignment. His eyebrows rose. “Well, it’ll be a little short, but Wayne left his sports coat back here. But it’s almost a little… too formal.”

Y/n gasped. “Dude. Unless…”

“No, I’m not doing that.” Jason’s lips thinned into a sharp line.

“You have to.” Y/n grinned.

“I'm not gonna do it.”

“You're doing it,” Y/n decided for him.

“What? What do you have to do?” Tim asked.

“Don Johnson it,” Jason sighed heavily.

“Don Johnson it!” Y/n squealed.

Y/n strolled into the restaurant, Jason on her arm. Jason’s cheeks were permanently flushed with red, his coat arms rolled up. He couldn’t make eye contact with anyone. “I look like an idiot.”

Y/n nudged him in the side and asked slowly, “Oooookay, do you have a visual on…” She turned around and came face to face with the hostess. She quickly revised her answer, saying, “the hostess stand? Hi. Table for two, please.”

The hostess scrunched her face in false dismay. “I'm so sorry. There's nothing available. We're all booked up.”

“Oh, no, that's horrible,” Jason cut in, stepping forward. The hostess looked him up and down, her tongue poking out, wetting her lips slightly. “Tonight's a really important night for us,” he explained. “Lacy and I just got engaged and this is where our first date was.” The hostess’ eyes widened, and her face flashed with disappointment, guilt, and jealousy.

Y/n caught on, smiling brightly. “Oh, yes, it would mean so much to Brian and me.”

“I would have made a reservation, but I didn't know if she was gonna say yes, so…” Jason sucked in a breath through his teeth. The hostess looked at Y/n, appalled at the prospect of not saying yes to this Greek god of a man.

“Oh, you’re so cute when you’re nervous, my love.” Y/n giggled.

A young woman piped up from beside them, “you are just so sweet together!” 

The hostess exhaled and said, “I'm sure I can find room for two lovers.”

Y/n stared at her, humming stoically. “Yes, we are lovers... together... in the beds and stuff.”

The hostess, after an awkward moment, clicked her tongue and gestured for them to follow her. Jason whispered to Y/n as they trailed behind the hostess, “sorry about springing the engagement and romantic shit on you.”

Y/n shook her head, keeping her gaze straight ahead. “No, no, no. It was great. I mean, it's what got us in here. However, the honeymoon's over, Brian. We're back to being Jason and Y/n, two totally normal cops working a totally normal job.”

The pair sat down at their table, scanning the restaurant for any sign of Sionis. Next to them, however, the young woman from before reached over and lightly touched Y/n’s arm. “You're the couple that just got engaged!”

Jason and Y/n glanced over to where Roman Sionis and his mistress sat. Jason grimaced and muttered, “yep. That's us, Brian and Lacy, a couple for sure.”

Y/n stared at the plates in front of her. She addressed Sionis and his mistress, “wow, champagne and oysters. You really shouldn't have, guys.”

Sionis grinned and shrugged. “Well, it's a special night.”

His mistress leaned on her elbow, enamoured by the love story. “So when did you two meet?”

Y/n glanced over at Jason, who took the lead. “About a year ago, we bumped into each other at a bar, and well, we haven’t been able to separate since.”

“Mm. So how did you know she was the one?”

Y/n raised her brows and suppressed a smile. She’d like to know the answer to that too.

“I… Uh,” Jason stammered. “You know, just whenever I look at her face and romance stuff… I guess? And, you know, there's really no one else's opinion who I care about more than hers, so… I guess I’ve always known…” he trailed off and bashfully looked at Y/n.

“And you?” Sionis’ mistress asked the other detective.

“Uh…” Y/n swallowed and admitted, “He always knows what to say and do. He sees me for who I am even when I try to hide myself.”

The woman cooed before getting down to business. “Okay, so enough chit chat. Let's see the ring!”

Y/n’s eyes went wide. “Oh! Right! People buy overly expensive jewels for their lovers because that’s something society has brainwashed us into thinking we need to do even when it’s just a way to continue the cycle of consumerism and social class.” She nodded once and said bluntly, “Yeah, I don't have it on me.”

“It’s getting resized,” Jason offered an explanation.

Sinois nodded and stood, straightening his suit jacket. “Can you get the car from the valet, babe? I'm going to say hi to the chef.”

The mistress bounced up and waggled her fingers at the detectives. “Good luck on your wedding! Oh, and have fun on your honeymoon.”

“We will.” Y/n said loudly, “We're going to Shiloh, Virginia.”

“Huh. Okay… bye.”

Jason hissed to Y/n, “Shiloh, Virginia?”

“It was just on Criminal Minds!” Y/n defended.

“Whatever. Sionis took the laptop case with him. He's gonna make the drop. Let's go.” Jason stood and Y/n followed him towards the back. Together, they peeked in the kitchen window. “Look, there's the buyer.”

Sionis smiled and held his hand out to a man dressed in a chef’s uniform. “Or maybe he's just actually saying hi to the chef?” Y/n scratched her nose. “Why isn't he making the handoff?” Just then, Sionis turned towards the kitchen entrance and made eye contact with both of them.

“Fuck, he saw us.” Jason cursed, ducking away and pulling Y/n with him. “Do you trust me?” he asked desperately.

“With my life,” was Y/n’s immediate reply.

Just as the kitchen door opened, Jason pressed Y/n against the wall and captured his lips with hers. It only took the girl a moment to reciprocate, soon getting lost in the feeling. A small part of her flew back in time to last year’s Halloween party bus stint, just another trick, but she was quick to push it away.

Sionis paused as he saw the pair making out. “Oh. Uh… Excuse me.”

Jason pulled away from Y/n and breezily said, “Oh, hey. We were just looking for a place to, uh…” He winked knowingly.

“Boink.” Y/n said quickly, panic filling her brain.

Jason slowly looked down at her, unbelievingly. “Yes. Boink. That's my preferred term for it as well.”

Sionis chuckled. “I get it. Newly engaged kids. Enjoy.”

Once he turned the corner, Y/n pushed Jason off of her, somewhat reluctantly. Heat filled her chest and her heart constricted. “Yep. Yep. Cool. Cool cool cool cool cool cool cool. We kept our cover intact. Good work. Quick, professional thinking out there.”

Jason agreed, smoothing his hair back. “Very quick. Very professional.” He nodded once towards Y/n. “Detective.”

“Detective.”

“So how was the restaurant?” Steph asked once Y/n and Jason were back in the van. Jason instantly climbed into the passenger seat.

“Such a normal time!” Y/n cried, her laugh high-pitched.

Steph squinted at her and pulled her to the back of the van. She whispered, “why are you being weird, L/n?”

“Jason and I kissed,” Y/n blurted out.

“What?!”

Y/n shook her head. “It was to keep our cover from being blown. We didn't have a choice. It was for work. It was nothing.”

Steph hummed and scrutinised her best friend. From the front, Tim called, “he's pulling over. It's going down.” Y/n and Steph peered out the window and watched Sionis place the briefcase by a bench. “It's not a handoff…” Tim tilted his head. “He's leaving the package.”

“Okay, you and Steph follow Sionis,” Y/n instructed once Sionis left the park hurriedly.

“Right, and you and Jason follow your hearts.” Steph made a heart with her hands and winked at Y/n.

“No. We're gonna stay with the package.” Y/n’s voice was sharp.

“And each other forever!”

Later, in the park as Y/n and Jason hid behind a tree, Y/n asked softly, “hey, seriously, we're cool, right?”

“Yeah, totally. We're fine.” Jason nodded.

“Good. Gosh, you know, I'm actually a little bit hungry,” Y/n rambled. “I never ended up eating at that dumb fancy restaurant. You know what I'm getting on my way home?”

“Pizza from Tony’s? At display temperature?” Jason guessed, smirking slightly.

“That’s exactly what I’m going to get.” Y/n grinned. “And you’re going to get that Chinese food from the takeout place down the street from your apartment.”

“How the hell do you know all that?” 

“Jason.”

“I think I told you that… two years ago?”

“No, Jason, he's looking at us!” Y/n elbowed Jason. She wasn’t wrong; a man standing by the bench was staring over at the tree where the pair was hiding. “Well, this is happening.” She jumped out from behind the tree and held up her gun. “GCPD! Freeze! We are police colleagues! You're under arrest. This is a work event.” 

“Hey, can you sign this arrest report for Sionis and the buyer?” Y/n stood over Jason and tapped his desk with the reports.

“Sure.”

“Great.” She hummed, rocking back and forth on her heels and waiting for Jason to finish.

Jason slowly gave the reports back and said quietly, “Y/n, it’s okay. This whole night was really weird, you know? It’s okay to feel awkward.”

Y/n took a breath. “I know. I just... ugh. I want everything to go back to how it was. It's so awkward.”

“Yeah.”

Y/n forced a smile. “I’m glad you’re dating Rose. It would be even weirder if we were dating… ‘cause we’re just such a great team. We work great together. I don't want to mess that up.”

Jason nodded and swallowed. “Yeah, I don't want everything to change.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

“Okay, well, then that's that, Detective L/n.”

“Detective Todd.” Y/n shuffled back to her desk. 

“See you around the precinct.”

“Yerp.”

[russellsppttemplates]

have u done the reader meeting charles' family for the first time🥹🫶🏻//

hey friend I think you got the prompt reversed. they requested reader meeting the leclerc family, not charles meeting the readers family.

Note: I absolutely did 🤦‍♀️ my bad! What's worse is that the piece I mentioned in the I also the right way around - I'm going with "it was late for me" 🤡 thank you for letting me know!

Charles parked the car in his spot in the garage, having just picked you up from your place since it was raining and he didn't want to you to catch an Uber or something like that.

"You don't need to worry, amour, my family won't think you're a 'snobby princess' because I went to pick you up", Charles shook his head, "my mother was the one who kicked me out of my own apartment to come and get you", he kissed your cheek, "ready?", he asked as he unlocked the door.

"Hi Y/N, I'm so happy you could join us for dinner", a blonde woman said, pulling you into a warm hug, "hi, thank you for having me with you", you smiled as you walked to the living room.

"I thought I told you I didn't want your feet on my coffee table", Charles swatted his brothers' feet from the piece of furniture, "That's no way to receive a guest, boys, c'mon", Pascale scolded.

"Hi, I'm Y/N", you smiled, waiting for them to get up and greet you how they wanted, going for a quick hug and a kiss on each cheek.

"I'm Arthur", the youngest one said, "glad we can finally meet you, we've heard so much about you that I feel like I know you", he smiled.

"I doubt I'm that interesting", you joked along as Charles squeezed your waist softly, "I'm sure you are, mon coeur".

"Charles actually made you sound like this unattainable example of perfection", the oldest Leclerc brother said, "I'm Lorenzo, who can believe you're all he said, but can't quite believe you chose him of all people", he winked.

"You should be kinder, Lorenzo!", a woman said as she stepped into the living room, "I'm Charlotte, Lorenzo's girlfriend, it's so nice to meet you, Y/N, I've been needing girl company whenever these three get together", she smirked.

"I'm happy to help with anything you need", you said as you set your things down in Charles' bedroom, "I just need to bring these to the table, it's no problem - but if you want to take the bread and the tapenade while you're here", Pascale smiled as she carried a bigger tray.

"Just so you know, my mother already loves you", Charles said once he caught you in the kitchen alone washing your hands before eating, "it hasn't been too long for me to ruin it that much", you joked.

Charles tapped your butt, "not like that, that's not what I meant and you know it! I mean she loves you since she noticed how happy you make me, and that goes beyond helping set the table or stuff like that", he kissed your lips, "you have a way with the Leclercs, they fall at your feet, amour".

(Thank you for sending this in ✨️)

[hd-erised]

We’ve come to the end of our second week of @hd-erised, if you can believe it! We've had so many amazing works, and we’ve got many more fantastic works still to come! 

All of our wonderful works from this week are linked below. And we hope you're having as much fun as we are!

Don't forget to check out our First Weekly Round-Up in case you missed anything from last week :)

Thank you so much for your continued support of the fest. Please don’t forget to take a moment to leave a comment for our artists and writers. We know they all appreciate your love! <3

Art:

Us, again? for @nv-md [M]

Fic + Art:

A Dragon to Call Mine for @annanother-thing [E, ~24,000]

Fic:

Don't Fear the Reaper for @thehoneybeet [E, ~36,900]

Harry anticipates it’s Luna or maybe Hermione at Grimmauld Place, here to rouse him out of purgatorial listlessness once again. Instead, Harry finds an opinionated crow, a scroll with his name on it, and one exhaustingly persistent Draco Malfoy, who insists that Harry is his latest soul to Reap. The only problem is…Harry’s still alive. Or so he thought.  Quote: Learning how to live takes a whole life, and, which may surprise you more, it takes a whole life to learn how to die. - Seneca

Sub rosa for @hoko-onchi-writes [E, ~37,100]

After the tragic and unexpected death of his mother, Draco Malfoy’s quiet life as Potions Master, Head of Slytherin, and Hogwarts professor gets upended—first by the manifestation of mysterious and inexplicable magic, and then by the revelation of an inheritance deliberately hidden from him his entire life.

Bare Moon Rising for xErised [E, ~15,500]

Potter moved towards him, sticking his hand out. “If that’s the case, we’re both doing it. You do the nude Tornados calendar, and I’ll do the Auror one. Most sales wins.” Oh no. “Are you backing out already?” Potter leaned in closer, voice dropping to a whisper. “Finally admitting that mine’s bigger than yours, then? Or do you want to cop a feel first?” Charities could bugger off. Nothing good ever came of them, really.

Fighting the Chill for @bicholsdrarrysideblog [M, ~25,400]

What should have been an average and dull day for Draco Malfoy, turned rather south when he's attacked in the middle of Diagon Alley.

palindrome for @threading-fate [E, ~25,800]

“Why did you let me kiss you?” Potter smirks. “That’s not how I remember it. Why did you let me kiss you?” “I’m stuck in a time loop. You’re not going to remember, so,” Draco’s tongue drags, calcified around the words. “Why not.” Potter’s brows furrow but the smile stays intact. “That’s the best you could come up with?”

A Soft Place to Fall for @epitomereally [E, ~142,500]

When Harry arrives for his first year teaching at Hogwarts and is struck with a bizarre malignance, how on earth is he supposed to react when Draco Malfoy suddenly cares?

All These Winding Threads for @amomorii [E, ~35,400]

The tides of Draco’s accidental magic pull him under and leave him gasping. There’s a hungry ache that sits deep in his bones, growing worse every day. Soon it’s all he’ll be, a starving skeleton clawing at its throat. He needs a solution. Unfortunately, that solution looks an awful lot like Harry Potter. 

[niriaveil]

you know, i know there's some grumbling regarding how the drifter tends to have their very personal conversations in the KIM messenger rather than face to face with the Hex (talking about the Zariman Incident, talking about Duviri) and not to mention the whole animating, voicing, and playing out the scene in a development standpoint.

But. but. but.

Do you know how much easier it is to have a serious conversation about trauma when there's a screen between you and the person you're talking to? How even when you're baring your heart open to the other person, at least you can do it. How many times have you choked up, unable to speak the words that you know you can articulate but there's so many emotions just caught up in your chest and your throat and tangling up everything you say? How many times do you start to talk about your own trauma before you just break down into tears, crying and unable to talk about it?

I think the KIM messenger talks make sense for the Drifter (for mine in particular, at least) because they can talk about Duviri. We all know the Drifter downplays what happened to them, laces their words with sarcasm and laughs it off, but it still happened; the intensity of how it weighs on them is known only to them, and even though they could talk to the Operator, Ordis, or Lotus - why? Why bother? ("You're the me that got rescued from this shit. I'm the you that did not. Not sure which of us got it worse.") There's bigger things to worry about, more battles to get ready for, and honestly... who would care. The kid got their shit together, they've got a parental figure in Lotus, a caretaker in Ordis, and the Drifter...

Well. They're the Drifter for a reason.

So, the Hex are curious. They want to know. Why is the Drifter called the Drifter, what happened in Duviri, what happened on the Zariman. And the Drifter, so lonely and so sad, and so very envious of the counterpart that got to escape, to get to have a family, to get to be loved and wanted and adored - and the Drifter, so used to being forgotten and abandoned, sits down at their keyboard and says, "Well. You know the top level story."

It's easier to talk about Duviri when you know that if, at any point, you can't do it anymore, you can log off. Shut it down. A power plug on that trauma buried down so deep in your brain you tried forgetting about it - and how'd that go, kiddo? - and the other person can say, "Hey. I see this is hurting you, we don't have to talk about it."

Putting the ball in the Drifter's court. Giving them control over how they approach what happened to them. Giving them control over how much they want to share. Giving them some fucking agency and control over something in their life that is profoundly theirs. But the Hex - as the ranks goes up and the chemistry gets higher - won't let the Drifter hide in their pain, they'll push and pull and say, "Hey, I care about you. Let me help. Please, let me help. Please trust me enough to let me try to help and care for you."

So... yeah. I just think Drifter talking about their problems through the KIM messenger is pretty good and a good idea for delving into their character, because we've seen how they downplay their trauma when you talk to them face to face.

[dorky-kawa]

As I’m waiting for tcb and the official translations to form my final opinion, I just wanted to write out some thoughts onwhy I take issue with Kusakabe said, at least from having read all the different versions of the translation of the leaks so far:  

Yes, he did tell the kids to act like kids and not feel like they are responsible because it wasn’t their fault. But what he was saying was that it’s not their (even Yuuji’s) fault that Yuuji didn’t die; that the blame lies solely with Kenjaku for his craziness and the grownups for not following through with the initial execution order. Whether or not that’s objectively true (and yeah, anyone can say that the events of jjk wouldn’t have happened if Gojo had just killed Yuuji chapter 1), that’s an absolutely shitty way of comforting anyone, which was what he was trying to do with that statement.  

Also, to have him reiterate that he was in the pro-execution camp and that they only have Yaga to thank for being here even at this point of the story is a really banana thing for him to do. Take Nanami as an example. He also originally said that even though he thinks the higher-ups are shit, he believes in abiding by the decisions of the higher-ups. But Nanami also turned out to be biggest softie there is. Nanami grew to care for Yuuji so much - Yuji made him believe in the future. Nanami would never have said something like this after getting to know Yuuji. Kusakabe might not want Yuuji to die at this point, but he still firmly believes that Yuuji dying was the correct decision from the beginning.

You can say he is just stating objective fact and that he is actually the most sensible one in the series, but this inability to be moved by the kids to try to fight against what is “right” and for something bigger is my issue with Kusakabe being one of the few adults left to be a teacher/mentor/adult figure in the lives of the students. 

Saying that ‘well, I don’t think anyone was right or wrong - everyone had their truths and all those truths led us here, oh well’ doesn’t make it better. Because it’s such a wishy-washy (but in-character) thing for him to say - which brings me to my problem with him: that Kusakabe ultimately doesn’t have it in him to risk everything and stand up to injustice and the status quo. 

It’s easy to say “kids should be kids” and to be a “nice” person. It’s harder to stick with those beliefs under massive resistance and opposition, and that’s where I think Kusakabe falls short. 

I don’t think that Kusakabe is a bad character. He is someone who both Gojo and Nanami referred to as "kind." When the world was in chaos, he stepped up and put his life on the line to protect the students. He obviously cares about students, but I think he also takes the easy way out when something doesn't concern him personally, and he limits what affects him personally quite strictly (we've seen that can do things that go against orders, ie. freeing panda, to repay his debt to Yaga). He is a character that finds it hard to stand up for something on his own, to be at the forefront of something without other forces pushing him. 

Kusakabe hasn’t demonstrated his potential to be revolutionary, to have the will to fight for something because he wants to see change, and maybe that’s not necessarily a character flaw inherently. But the jujutsu world (and Japan) is in upheaval. Gojo got rid of all the higher-ups. Now is the time to change things, break the cycle, and build a better world. He’s one of the few left who is in a position to do it. He cares about the next generation. But I don’t see Kusakabe stepping up in the same way as Gojo, Nanami, or even Yaga would have in his position. So yeah, I really don't like his stance this chapter.

[pandaofsecrets]

I really really really love the idea of the Miraculous being based on broad abstract concepts. It makes them super versatile in what powers they can provide, which helps keep the plot from going off the rails while still being fresh and interesting. The problem is that the concept (heh) wasn't utilized well at all. So, indulge me in a long-winded breakdown of ML's power system.

The cracks started showing almost immediately. The Cat and Butterfly Miraculous are okay, but the Ladybug for some reason can purify akuma and has restoration abilities, which. First of all, purification should be the Cat's ability, because it represents the destruction of impurities. Second of all, how does the power of creation allow you to restore things? I know someone will say Marinette is recreating what was destroyed, but if that's the case then Adrien is long dead and the character we're seeing right now is just a replica. Fun! Miraculous Ladybug also does more than just recreate, since we've also seen it destroy byproducts of the akuma attack, like Horrificator's slime. So if anything, it should be a combined ability of the Ladybug and the Cat. I'll talk about unifications later, let's just stick with the Miraculous for now.

The Fox and the Turtle started out great, but ended up being disappointing. Here's the thing, both Protection and Illusion have a lot of potential applications, like for example someone who uses the Fox could convince someone that anything they're saying is true, stick them in an illusionary dreamscape or even induce pain in them without actually wounding them. Someone who uses the Turtle could deplete moving objects of their momentum, make themselves immune to the opponent's magic, or imbue objects with durability. This would have made the fact that Volpina can do multiple illusions while Rena can only do one a lot less infuriating, because Rena would have had a bigger power set to draw on. Volpina on the other hand would be limited to just illusions, so she'd be able to get more mileage out of them, like a breadth vs. depth thing. Instead it's just. Rena can only do one illusion. Carapace can only do one shield. Boring!

Things got really shaky with the introduction of the Bee Miraculous, because that one isn't even related to its stated concept! "Subjection" means "bringing someone or something under one's control or influence". I don't know about you, but to me that sounds like mind control and telekinesis, not paralysis—paralyzing people sounds more like the Turtle. The writers sort of tried to fix this by changing the Bee's concept to Action, but that's almost worse because it's power is to prevent someone from taking action.

The Dragon and Rooster have a similar problem of power not really matching concept. "Perfection" means "the act of improving or making better", which sounds like the Dragon should've been a healing or restoration type Miraculous. In fact, the Rooster should've had the same power, since "sublimation" means "making nobler or purer", so the Dragon and Rooster should've really been one Miraculous instead of two. Speaking of which...

Where things really went off the rails was the Peacock Miraculous. The Peacock honestly warrants an entire separate post, but I'm getting ahead of myself. First of all, what does the concept of emotion have to do with the ability to summon a kaiju? Second of all, if the power to create a kaiju should've gone to any Miraculous, shouldn't it be, you know, the Ladybug? But no, I guess the power of Creation loses to a turkey with delusions of grandeur.

And this got even worse once the Zodiacs were introduced. Just about all of them have powers that could've easily gone to the main 7 we already had. The Ox's concept was already covered by the Turtle, the Tiger, Monkey, and Eagle do basically the same thing as the Cat, and the Mouse and Goat are basically just the Ladybug again. The Butterfly might be the worst afflicted by this. Not only is the Rooster's power of giving any power already covered under it, but one of the meanings of "to transmit" is "to send from one place to another", so the Horse's teleportation ability should've gone to the Butterfly. We could throw the Dog's power in as well, since all Fetch does is teleport an object instead of a person. Heck, since space and time are the same thing, the Rabbit's time travel should've also gone to the Butterfly. I mean, I'm glad it wasn't because that would've made the Butterfly extremely OP and would make it very hard to explain why Gabriel hasn't won by now, but you get the idea.

The only Zodiac Miraculous that are somewhat unique are the Dragon, Pig, and Snake, and even then the Snake Second Chance ability could be expressed as Butterfly (time travel) + Turtle (stasis) and the Pig's Gift could be expressed as Butterfly (empathy) + Ladybug (object) or Fox (illusion). Even the Peacock can be basically be broken down into Butterfly (empathy) + Ladybug (creation) + Bee (control) + Cat (destruction).

This brings me to my last point: unification. The way we were told combining the Ladybug and Cat works in Origins, you'd expect that unifying the Miraculous would create a new power that is the combination of the already existing ones. This means that the writers wouldn't have had to invent a new Miraculous every time they wanted to use a power, which would have saved money on character models and lead to a lot of interesting teammate match-ups. Instead, all the heroes get is the ability to use the two powers at the same time.

[sapphicdeathfeedee]

I don't want to rush to an early grave. I'm not itching to die. I'll gladly take as long as it takes, be around as long as I can - the longer I do, the bigger I can get after all. I want you to have all the time to love on me you can.

But.

I don't want you to slow down. I don't want you to hold back. Being fat will kill me eventually; dying is an inevitability in life, and the health problems that come with my size will be a factor. But up until that very moment, I need to know you're going to keep going. That I'll never be big enough, that you'll always want more of me. That you'll keep doting on me and spoiling me and pampering me and stuffing me all the same, that you want me to have that pleasure and bliss until my final breath. All the health problems become so erotic because they're signs of how far we've gone, how obsessively committed you've been. How much love and affection you've poured into me to the point my body can barely handle it much longer. I'd be happy knowing that's what did me in, and that I got as big as I could for you in exchange.

[prof-peach]

what is the weirdest enrichment you do thats normal for the pokemon? i have a dreepy who likes to launch herself out of a modified tennis launcher. worst thing that happened is that she phased through a few house

Mud rolling for phanphy that never got that opportunity. As in, theyre nervous around their own species because of isolation, and so YOU THE PROFESSOR have to get in the mud and teach them how to phanphy. Messy but fun, no one else likes to do it weirdly, I always rather enjoyed it.

furret tube enrichment. Grey sets up a bunch of pipes all connected in weird and wild ways like a janky jungle gym, we put small treats in there, and tie "prey" ie, toys, to strings and pull them at speed through the maze to get the furrets to chase and learn that behaviour if they never got to prior.

Murkrow are VERY smart, and we have a lot of them, so theres regular scavenger hunts (with a few rules to save guests grief) that we hold for them specifically. everyone gets participation rewards, but also its a great chance for them to sharpen their problem solving skills individually and as a group.

Tug of war with guests. we got this set up that lets the bigger mons hold one end, and visitors or other pokemon are encouraged to engage with the game and try to out pull the island residents. sometimes the little pokemon all join in, but we originally set it up for the bigger ones.

Theres a couple of Tauros and girafarig that like to roll own hills with the wooloo and odd mareep, we've set up sturdier wire nets for this now the heavy mons like to partake too, to catch them all safely so they can run back up and do it again. You can imagine the chaos we had when they started doing this and didnt have that net in place, mons rolling too far towards sea cliffs.

Slugma races. This needs no explination. The staff love this one.

Movie nights, sport teams, dance sessions, story time, arts and crafts, and even band practice are clubs we hold, be it a professor or another group of staff, and many mons can come and go as they see fit, theyre all optional but we try to encourage each resident to find the thing that makes them tick, and so trying out a bunch of things is there for all. Some may not like team sport with the staff so I also offer just gym time, a personal best system in place more than a group effort and score.

It really varies from one to the next. some big mons like dainty hobbies, some of the little ones are brawlers, and everything in between. We just have to cater to it!

A nice example is a Hitmonchan that came in a while back missing a leg, they fight with me and others in the gym of course, but they also partake in a tea and stories night, a couple dozen pokemon, a few staff all cosying up in one of the event barns with readings from books, and plenty of snacks. its a firm favorite as autumn creeps in, numbers spike.

Pokemon can be complex, so offering lots is alwasy the best choice when you can, never know what they'll like until they try it!

[mcflymemes]

STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE PROMPTS *  assorted dialogue from the 1999 film, adjust as necessary

you can't stop change any more than you can stop the suns from setting.

i can only protect you. i cannot fight a war for you.

you almost got us killed!

the ability to speak does not make you intelligent.

are you sure about this?

i want that treaty signed.

it's impossible to locate the ship.

he will find your lost ship.

this is getting out of hand. now there are two of them.

may the force be with you.

at last we will have revenge.

they will be no match for you.

i will not condone a course of action that will lead us to war.

wipe them out. all of them.

i beg your pardon, but what do you mean "naked?"

are you an angel?

they're the most beautiful creatures in the universe.

you're a funny little boy.

how do you know so much?

i listen to all the traders and star pilots who come through here.

you're a jedi knight, aren't you?

[name] says i should be mindful of the future.

be mindful of your feelings.

my place is here. my future is here.

tell them we wish to board at once.

i can't explain what happened.

there is no civility, only politics.

keep your concentration here and now, where it belongs.

this is your arena. i feel i must return to mine.

my fate will be no different to that of our people.

if we do not act quickly, all will be lost forever.

we are your humble servants. our fate is in your hands.

greed can be a very powerful ally.

what has that got to do with anything?

i sense much fear in you.

there's always a bigger fish.

no one can kill a jedi.

remember, concentrate on the moment.

feel, don't think. trust your instincts.

you said that the biggest problem in the universe is no one helps each other.

remember: your focus determines your reality.

why do i get the feeling that we've picked up another pathetic life form?

which one was destroyed, the master or the apprentice?

i'm a pilot, you know.

someday i'm going to fly away from this place.

i need something more real.

i don't have anything else.

no money, no parts, no deal!

they all sense it, why can't you?

don't do that again.

will i ever see you again?

what does your heart tell you?

i will come back and free you. i promise.

be brave and don't look back.