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f1crecs · 4 months

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Fic Rec List - The Best of 2023

Happy New Year's Eve! Or New Year's Day, depending on where in the world you are right now. What a year it has been - for the sport and the fandom and for this blog right here.

I (Briony) started this blog in June, after a horrific bout of writer's block took away my writing skills. The only thing I love more than writing is reading, and so I decided to funnel my newly gained fandom time into cataloguing all of the wonderful things that I have read over the last few years, in the form of fic rec lists. My wonderful team of fic rec volunteers joined me at the end of October, and we have been collating the lists together ever since.

Thank you so much to everyone who follows, reblogs, likes, and comments on these lists, and an extra special thank you to everyone who shares that love with the writers themselves, in the form of comments, kudos, and bookmarks. You are amazing, and you make the fandom tick. Thank you.

Please find below the team's favourite fics of 2023! This is just like the FIA Gala, except slightly less glamorous and probably can't be used as a plot device in an F1 fanfiction.

These are the fics that really touched us - that stood out, and took our breaths away, and made us cry and laugh and curse. To these authors, and to everyone who has shared their talents with us this year - thank you.

Enjoy. And have a wonderful 2024. ❤️

Esteban/Pierre

nsfw: my thumb's on your teeth by @geluksalig | E | 14.7k @lydia-petze's favourite fic of 2023 Esteban experiences hyperrealistic dreams of a parallel life where he and Pierre have been together since they were teenagers, and neither of them race any more. He gradually becomes more and more disoriented by them as the twin realities begin to blur. This fic is so well done, with twin timelines wound together seamlessly. The grief for a life that never was, that might have been, is palpable. There are clues scattered throughout, however, that there may yet be time to fix things. Pierre's characterisation, as seen through Esteban's eyes, is wonderful - passionate and ferociously protective.

'Pierre presses his lips together, nodding though Esteban knows he is unconvinced, disbelieving. He looks off to the side, and Esteban gets that tense feeling in his gut, like he knows Pierre would claw a hole in his chest to tempt God close with the affliction, just so the rest of them might be sheltered in the shadow that falls just behind. He’s never been sure how to tell him that he doesn’t have to.'

Daniel/Max, Charles/Pierre

nsfw: hook, line, sinker by @chubbydino | M | 92k (wip) @wanderhobbit's favourite fic of 2023 Pierre wishes he could remember, Max wishes he could forget. What I enjoyed: maybe enjoyed isn’t the right word but his fic is heart wrenchingly beautiful. Following the story lines with the two couples and those story lines connecting is beautiful.

'"I love being married to you,” Max said quietly as he pulled on another curl. Daniel dropped his phone on his chest and tilted his head back to look at him. “Oh yeah?” Max’s whole body buckled at the gentleness in his tone. Daniel always knew when he was getting close to a breakdown, when fear and guilt and shame started building up like storm clouds in his head. He nodded. “Yeah. I love you.” Daniel gave him an upside-down smile. “You wanna tell me what’s going on, Max?”'

Charles/Max

nsfw: All The Lights (Couldn't Put Out The Dark) by @fabbyf1 | E | 7.5k @frickinsweet's favourite fic of 2023 Charles needs someone to help him calm down – when his usual partner is indisposed he asks Max instead. For me this fic was the definition of the "this better not awaken anything in me" meme, not so much for the particular kink but for the dynamics. I was relatively new to F1 rpf when I read this and the characterizations of both Max and Charles became the "canon" that I compared every fic to for a while. The Charles in this fic is very hard on himself, tying himself in to knots with anxiety and when he gathers up the courage to ask Max for help he is immediately in to it and never reacts negatively despite the unusal request. This is tagged as PWP (although if one reads the whole series, which I highly suggest, there is definitely plot) and the smut is very much brain meltingly hot but the reason I choose it as my favourite read of 2023 is for the way the characters and their dynamic is so perfectly described - especially Charles who is the POV and whose internal dialogue is a special treat in this fic.

'There was really only one other person he could turn to in these trying times. That’s how he ended up in Max’s room, asking him for a “favor.” “What kind of favor do you need?” Max asked, smiling so openly at him that it hurt Charles' head slightly. He was so quick to offer up his services when he didn’t even know what Charles was about to ask him'

my thoughts will echo your name by witchee_writer | M | 38.9k @blueballsracing's favourite fic of 2023 When Max retires, he decides his next accomplishment to win is Le Mans. His partners are no other than Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel. I loved the cute little quips each character had and the tension! This made me smile and was an amazing rollercoaster of a fic. So much flirting and it's also a Red Bull Charles fic, which I love ❤️

'Sebastian's eyes zeroed in on Max, and then Charles. His grin widened (dangerous). 'Are you here to save me from two idiots with a decade worth of sexual tension?''

nsfw: you and me, we got big reputations by lady_something | E | 93.4k @maaxverstappen's favourite fic of 2023 After publicly coming out when Max won his 3rd championship, Charles and Max have to navigate the consequences of being together. It affects both the dynamic with their own teams and each other, and lends to issues with races in not-so-LGBT-friendly countries. I loved how realistic this was. The author really dove into the real life f1 consequences of a coming out and didn’t shy away from it. Charles and Max love each other so dearly and deeply but also love this sport just as much, and that makes for a great plot driven story. The other characters in this fic add a lot and it feels very found family. This fic had me thinking about it for days after and I was so sad to finish it as I could stay in the universe forever. One of my top fics in general, let alone for 2023! (also, this is for the rbr!charles fans (iykyk))

“So, if you are really, truly worried that we cannot handle it, then I will retire. You mean more to me than another Championship does. I have already done what I need to, I have paid back the debts I owe to my father and my family, and I have won some for me, too. It’s enough. I have the GT3 team, I have iRacing, I want to compete in the WEC. I do not need F1, not like I need you.” # “You—you—you—” Charles looks completely gobsmacked. “Oh my god. Mon Dieu. Max. Max.” Max barely manages to stop Charles from crushing the eggs as he surges forward, plastering his whole body against Max’s as he grabs his face and kisses him.

Charles/Pierre

A Two-Man Cult by @moonlight0starlighte | T | 23.7k @singsweetmelodies' favourite fic of 2023 Charles has always thought he's a beta, but then he suddenly presents as an omega after a night out with Pierre. The consequences for their friendship are devastating when Charles tries to keep this a secret from Pierre. Of course, Pierre finds out anyway, and the two of them have a massive fight - which ends in Charles going into withdrawal after what he perceived as a rejection from his alpha. This fic redefines "angst with a happy ending" - but it is so worthwhile when they finally do get to the happy ending. I love this fic for a variety of reasons, the fantastic angst-with-a-happy-ending slow-burn friends-to-lovers of it all being a big one of them. But more than that, I remember reading this one chapter-by-chapter as it came out, and being so unbelievably hooked, texting everyone about the next update. The writing style is just so engaging, and the story the author tells is so gripping, intense and wonderful. It will also always hold a special place in my heart, because it's the first proper a/b/o fic I read, and probably the fic that got me hooked on the genre. It truly is a masterpiece in so many ways. <3

"What are you thinking?" Pierre's lids flutter closed and he sinks into the warmth of Charles' hands as he brings it to his cheek, lips pressed against warm skin as he answers, "I just can't believe I get to have this."

nsfw: chassis by @hourcat | E | 50.7k @welightitup's favourite fic of 2023 Charles is a part-time art professor/part-time kindergarten teacher with car issues. Pierre is a mechanic. It’s an amazing AU, one I don’t think that had been done before. But wow, it’s so hot too! Expect tension, teasing, flirting, and hot garage/car sex.

'Charles is special, anyway. It’s not even a question. He’s different from anyone Pierre has met in his ten years here, and Pierre really does like him more than he probably should, for someone he really doesn’t know at all. He teaches kindergarten and is passionate about it. He’s got a decent apartment, although he hasn’t seen much of it outside of the bedroom. He’s got shit taste in cars. But somehow, deeper, Pierre feels like he knows him.'

Carlos/Charles

nsfw: my blood is singing with your voice (the saints can't help me now) by @7msc | E | 13.2k @boxboxbrioche's favourite fic of 2023 Carlos meets Charles in a half-finished church. I have already rec'ed this one before, but I just had to share it again for the 2023 roundup. This story truly moved me. It is ethereal and lyrical and I still remember it so clearly, even though it's been months since I read it for the first time. Simply gorgeous.

'He felt like he was cheating. Was he? Well, a church was any place where he could feel God. And he felt God in Mallorca. In Costa dels Pins. In Son Servera. (In his mom’s loving hands. In Blanca’s kind brown eyes, the same shade as his. In Ana’s conniving smile. In his father’s heavy arm across his shoulders. In his grandma’s thin fingers, hands almost too delicate, wrapped around his.)'

#pairing:charles/max #pairing:charles/pierre #pairing:esteban/pierre #pairing:carlos/charles #driver:charles #driver:carlos #driver:max #driver:daniel #pairing:daniel/max #driver:esteban

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xanthippe74 · 4 months

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The mood this year, as this header photo demonstrates, was Le Tired. Just physically and emotionally slogging along. Brain stuck on perpetual static. A pull-the-covers-over-my-head sort of year. I read a few books, watched a lot of shows, found new songs to listen to on repeat, and spent way too much time futzing around on Tumblr.

But that's not what this post is about! This is to remind myself that I did accomplish writer-ly things this year, even if it didn't feel like it sometimes. So here's my 2023 Fandom Year in Review:

Drarry

🐈 A Dreadful Invasion (of the Feline Persuasion) rated G | 6K words

Most of the time, it’s easy for Harry to forget that Draco Malfoy is his next-door neighbour—until the night Malfoy seemingly goes round the twist in his back garden. Of course Harry has to investigate. A birthday gift for @caroll-in.

🍷 Under the Table rated T, 4K words

A string of nearly-insufferable dinner parties has made Draco acquainted with Harry Potter’s completely insufferable, social-climbing boyfriend. But tonight it seems like Potter’s finally had enough, and Draco’s more than happy to watch it all play out from across the table.

WIP progress: I added about 25K to my Drarry retelling of Howl's Moving Castle. The working title is "Skybound" and it will be about 55 to 60K words when complete (by spring 2024, god help me!). Featuring: lots of banter, secret identities, adventures and misadventures in a floating house, a plucky house-elf, and (of course) a fire demon who wants to make a bargain.

9-1-1 fics, HP recs, and 2023 highlights under the cut!

9-1-1/Buddie

🌧️ It pours, man it pours rated T | 11K words

An endless rainstorm. A head-on collision on a dark canyon road. Eddie and Buck find themselves stranded with a woman in labor after they’re cut off from the rest of the 118 by a flash flood. With the fate of their team unknown, can they weather the night ahead—and mend the rift Buck caused by trying to kiss his best friend?

💣 A Few Good Pranks rated T | 4K words

The firefighters of the 118 decide to give Bobby a turn at pranking them after seeing how disappointed he was to be left out. And since two heads are better than one, why not three? Or four? If only they could figure out who's pranking and who isn't, and who the intended victim is. It's all in good fun, though—as long as everyone is too distracted to notice that Buck and Eddie keep sneaking off alone.

❤️‍🩹Let It Be Me rated T | 1.8K words

After another Buckley Family reunion-turned-disaster, Buck makes a decision about his parents. Of course the 118 has his back. Or, Bobby employs some LAFD equipment to help Buck out—and tell him something he needs to hear.

Episode codas/fix-it ficlets: 1x01 | 1x03 | 2x01 | 2x03 | 6x10 | 6x11 | 6x12 | 6x13 | 6x15

WIP progress: First chapter of a season 3/canon divergence Buddie fic. Featuring: angst with a happy ending, a secret marriage of convenience, and pandemic bed sharing.

HP Rec List

I was inspired by this post to rec twelve favorite fan works from 2023 in twelve days in December. It actually took fourteen days, but I did it!

💖 12 Favorites from 2023 💖

(after posting those twelve, of course I thought of a few more faves that I missed. I'll try to share them soon!)

2023 Highlights

I'm so very grateful for the wonderful, funny, imaginative people here who shared their creative works, the memes that made them laugh, photos of their pets, gif sets of shows I didn't know I needed to watch, and insights into the characters we love. You all got me through the year, honestly.

I had a good time doodling some Halloween treats for Inbox Trick-or-Treating. I hope it will become an annual Tumblr event! Thanks to the folks who rang my doorbell that night and the other blogs who gave out treats.

I truly treasured every kudos, comment, and rec I received this year. I was also very fortunate to receive a few special gifts:

🎙️ EllaMcSmellBella recorded a Podfic of "Spooked in Salem," my Drarry 'Round the World fic.

🎙️ Spades/bumblingbees recorded a Podfic of "Crimson Neon."

📕 @cheriecherishchen wrote a lovely rec for "Vortex" and designed gorgeous book covers for that fic and its sequel, "Riptide."

✏️ @saijordison drew this incredible piece of art for "Riptide."

And finally, if you read all the way to the end of this post, I'm grateful for YOU. 😁

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year and an excellent 2024!

#2023 year in review #my writing #drarry #buddie

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kaitou-kid-my-beloved · 7 months

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A Little Ghost in a Bowtie (@livmadart's Phantump Conan AU)

(Chapter 3 of 4) (Prev) (Next) (Ao3 link)

The Mouri Detective Agency reminded Heiji of the police station he’d practically grown up in… if it was a heck of a lot smaller, and much more lived in. Aside from the desk and consulting area that Heiji had been expecting, every single wall was packed with filing cabinets and pokemon supplies- there were scratches and scorch marks on a lot of the furniture, and scattered poke-chow in the corners. Definitely someplace a pokemon trainer lives.

“Sorry about the mess,” Ran-chan said, picking up a few stray pieces of trash as she entered the room. “My dad is out on a case right now, so we can use the agency,”

“Got it,” Heiji nodded, still taking in the room. There were just so many things to look at.

“I like your Lucario, by the way,” Ran-chan said, sitting down on one of the orange couches in the middle of the room, which Heiji followed suit, and sat opposite her.

“Thank you,” Lucie preened.

“She’s grateful for the compliment,” Heiji said, smiling knowingly at his partner.

“Most of my pokemon are native to Kanto, but I’ve always wanted to travel to Sinnoh and see if I can find one, they’re so cool…” She sighed.

“You’re right, we are,” Lucie rumbled happily, and Heiji swatted her lightly.

“She was a gift from my parents when I was a kid- though she was an egg at the time, none of us knew what she’d end up being.” He shrugged. He might as well let Ran-chan know some stuff about him before he asked her probing personal questions about her dead friend.

“Wow, then you’ve been together for a while,” She smiled appreciatively. “I got Chives when I was ten- from our local professor,” She said, pulling out her venusaur’s pokeball again. She clicked the button in the middle, and suddenly half the room was full of one very large grass type.

“And now you’re a champion, huh?” Heiji said, taking his time to examine a champion ‘mon. He didn’t get the chance often. He and his team were good at battling, but they weren’t champions.

“Yep!” Ran-chan smiled, though her eyes were sad. “And I don’t regret it,”

“Why would you regret it?” Heiji blinked, a little confused.

“Well…” Ran-chan’s smile faded. “Shinichi told me that if I won the league- that he’d take me to Tropical Land, his treat. And… you know how that turned out,” She sighed, so world weary it made Heiji sink deeper into his seat.

“I’m… I’m really sorry for your loss,” He managed. The existence of Shinichi Kudo may have plagued Heiji’s life, but he’d been a dear friend to others. Ran-chan offered him a small smile of thanks for the platitude, even if he was sure it didn’t really mean all that much.

“It is what you’re here to talk about, right?” She laughed humorlessly, tugging on the sleeves of her jacket.

“Right,” Heiji nodded uncomfortably. He glanced at Lucie, and she nodded, striding off to talk to Chives. “I want to run through the basics of the case first, just to make sure I have all my facts straight,”

“Alright,” She nodded, and he started reading from his notes. He wasn’t really paying attention to his own words though, since this was mostly so he could listen in on Lucie’s side.

“Chives, right?” She was saying, “Since I don’t see any other ‘mons in here, mind telling me what you know about the case? You’re Ran’s partner pokemon, you must know something,”

“Honestly? I wouldn’t know much more than her if it weren’t for Conan,” Chives rumbled.

“Then I’d very much like to talk to him,” Lucie growled. “Where is he?”

“He’s right here, Lucario. Or at least, he should be,” Chives shrugged as best a venusaur can.

“My name is Lucie,” Lucie growled, though she glanced around wildly, before placing a paw to her chest underneath her spike in a familiar stance- she was checking the aura of the room.

Heiji found himself at the end of his notes, and tuned back into his own conversation. Ran-chan had agreed with everything he’d said- though he hadn’t really had any doubt about that.

“Is there anything else you can remember about that night? Anything at all?” He said. He wasn’t expecting much, but anything was better than nothing.

“I’m sorry, but I really did tell the police everything,” She said, shaking her head.

“What about earlier in the day, was there anything at all that stood out to you as odd in the park? Maybe the other case that occurred?” He prompted. She put a hand to her forehead in thought, obviously making an effort to answer his questions as best she could- which he appreciated.

“Well… during the other case, there were these two suspects that really creeped me out. I think they creeped Shinichi out too, since he looked kinda spooked whenever they got close to him,” She mused. “They ended up not being the criminal in that case, but Shinichi still looked suspicious of them…”

“Two suspects?” Heiji sat up straighter. The pidgey had said that Kudo had been killed by two men.

“Yes, if I remember correctly they were both wearing black- one of them was wearing sunglasses, even on the ride, and the other had some of the longest hair I’ve ever seen on a man,” She nodded.

Two men wearing black, with one of them having extremely long hair… That was them, for sure. So Kudo had met them during his previous case? Had he discovered something about them, something that drove them to kill him? What exactly had happened at Tropical Land?

“Heiji!” Lucie suddenly hissed, dashing back to his side.

“Woah, Lucie, what’s wrong?” He asked. She looked spooked, and he cast his eyes about for anything that may have scared her. Not much usually could- hence his surprise.

“Is she okay?” Ran-chan asked, brows furrowed in concern.

“Uh, are you okay?” He asked Lucie.

“There’s another pokemon in here,” She hissed again. “One very good at hiding…”

“What?” He blinked at her, then around the room again. He didn’t see anything, but that didn’t really mean much in the face of Lucie’s aura skills. “Hey, Ran-chan, there wouldn’t happen to be a third pokemon in here by any chance?”

“Oh!” Ran-chan exclaimed. “Yes! There probably is! Sorry about that,” She smiled apologetically. “Conan! Are you in here?” She called, and Heiji stiffened again. That was the name they needed to hear.

“....I’m here,”

The noise was small, and haunting- so similar to the voice of a human child’s that Heiji took a moment to figure out which language he was hearing the words in. Still, that echoey quality could belong to nothing else but a ghost type.

“Ah!” Ran-chan seemed delighted by the response. “Conan, I think you may have startled our guests, would you mind so much coming out and apologizing?”

Heiji waited with baited breath for something to happen. For several seconds Ran-chan just sat patiently, a nice smile on her face. Lucie growled a bit, and Ran-chan laughed.

“Conan, please?” She asked the room, and Heiji finally saw some movement.

On the other side of the couches, to Heiji’s left over by the desk, a dark shape faded into view. It had a silver piece of hollow tree trunk for a head, with a few bright red leaves hanging off gnarled branches, and a twisting tendril of gray for its body. A bright red bowtie was tied around its neck, the same shade as its leaves. It blinked at them all with big, blue eyes, and Heiji felt a chill go down his spine.

“...Sorry,” It said, its haunting child-like tone ringing in Heiji’s ears.

“That wasn’t hard at all, was it?” Ran-chan laughed, beckoning the ghost type over to her. Somehow, she looked happier than she had since Heiji had first seen her. The little ghost hesitated, glancing around, before drifting over to her waiting hands.

A ghost type. No wonder Lucie had been spooked- she hated things that she couldn't punch if she needed to. Even now, she was giving a low, warning growl. He lightly swatted her again, and glared at her to tell her to knock it off.

“Let me introduce you! This is Conan, my shiny phantump!” Ran-chan chirped jovially, pulling him into her lap. “Well, technically he’s still wild- he didn’t really seem to like the idea of a pokeball very much. That’s fine though, since he really is very well behaved. He spends most of his time invisible, anyway,” She shrugged.

Heiji had heard of phantumps before, but he’d never seen one- let alone a shiny. Honestly, this one was adorable; nothing like the subject of a terrible ghost story at all, which was when one usually mentioned them.

“Hello, Conan,” Heiji greeted him cordially. They still needed to question him.

“Hmmm,” Conan hummed, scowling at him. Rude.

“Nice of you to finally join the party!” Chives bellowed loudly, causing his trainer to shoot him a stern glance.

“You’re enjoying this waay too much,” Conan whined, curling his tail over himself.

“He started following me a little more than a month ago,” Ran-chan was saying, and Heiji once again marveled just how much happier she was with the little ghost in her lap. “He showed himself to me a few weeks ago, and he’s stuck around ever since!”

“Cool,” Heiji said.

“I know right?” She grinned.

“They’re just here to help, y’know,” Chives rumbled, laughter in his tone.

“That’s true, I guess…” Conan grumbled

“You, Ghost, what do you know?” Lucie growled, positioning herself with Heiji and the couch in between her and Conan. Conan rolled his eyes, sighing.

“I have a name you know, a few of them, actually- you could stand to use one,” Conan hissed at her.

“Is your Lucario alright?” Ran-chan said, settling a hand on Conan’s head.

“She’s… not a fan of ghost types,” Heiji explained. “She knows mostly fighting type moves, afterall,”

“I understand that,” She nodded. “I’m not usually a fan, but Conan’s just so shy- he’s harmless, really- I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even have a full four moves,” Conan scowled at her words, but Lucie relaxed, which Heiji was grateful for. Though- if he didn’t have a full four moves, how old was he?

…And why had the pidgey been so sure he’d know more about the murder than it had? For that matter, why had he decided to come live with Ran-chan at all, still as a wild pokemon no less?

“Fine, what do you know about the murder of Shinichi Kudo, Conan?” Lucie said, with much less hostility this time.

“Honestly? Your friend there has most of it,” Conan grumbled, though he too seemed less standoffish. “Those two men in black that Ran mentioned were the ones to do it- I found them later by coincidence and discovered their codenames, Gin and Vodka,”

“Codenames?” Lucie asked, tensing again.

“They’re part of some big organization,” Conan shrugged, as if that wasn’t horrifying.

“How do you know that?” Lucie prodded again.

“They mentioned it,” Conan rolled his eyes again. “They said that the poison they used was something new- created by their organization. If their organization can make something that strong, something that won’t even show up on an autopsy, then they’re bound to be well funded- and formidable,”

“....That’s… new information,” Lucie settled on.

“Wow, Conan you’re being pretty vocal,” Ran-chan commented. “He’s usually so quiet,”

“You don’t say,” Heiji said, still grappling with the idea that Kudo may have been taken out by a major crime syndicate.

“The pidgey we got the tip about you from witnessed it- and didn’t mention any of this, would you mind giving me your perspective of the events?” Lucie said, obviously also shaken.

“Fine,” Conan said, though he looked a little uncomfortable. “I noticed one of the men- the one in sunglasses, he was being very suspicious, so I followed him,” His tail reached up, curling around one of his branches. “I discovered him blackmailing another man about a gun smuggling ring-” This just kept getting worse, huh, “The amount was a million yen. I was filming all of this, but I really should have just let Sherlock out to catch them,”

“You really should have,” Chives sighed, and Conan glared at him.

“But then of course, being an idiot, I forgot that there were two of them,” Conan scowled, glaring down into the couch. “I heard footsteps behind me, and the one with long hair was behind me… I couldn’t run fast enough, so, he hit me on the head.”

…Me?

Oh.

#dcmk #pokemon #dcmk x pokemon #phantump conan au #hattori heiji #mouri ran #edogawa conan #Rosie Writes

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nyoomfruits · 1 year

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always always kudos to your writing those recent ones are so cute and lovely ❤️❤️💙💙

can't wait for the magic helmet au and a programler max au ?? Wahh color me excited

if you're still accepting requests from the prompt clichés -> zipping up their dress race suit?

i don't even need you to write it just some thoughts if you want (maybe you got a lot of prompts idk) but i saw the prompt and mind just went !!!!!

thank you so much ;-; if everything goes according to plan i should finish the magic helmet au either today or tomorrow!!!! so get ready for that somewhere in the upcoming days :D the programmer au will probably take considerably longer because i keep adding plot points and ideas to it lmao. anyway!!! idk if this is what you wanted for the prompt but its where my brain went so!!!!! i hope you enjoy :)

The pictures leak on a Saturday evening, right before a race. Charles can’t help but feel like it’s some kind of cosmic justice for being reckless, careless, for thinking no one would catch him making out with that guy at a party a few weeks ago.

There’s really no denying it. It’s clearly him, and it’s clearly him kissing another guy. Ferrari’s PR team is in shambles, his own management is scrabbling to get some kind of public statement ready before the race, and the whole time Charles just feels like he’s floating through it all.

They manage to smuggle him in through the back, so he doesn’t have to speak to any press before the race, and he keeps his head held high as he makes his way through the garage towards the cars on track, trying desperately not to pay attention to the stares and whispers that follow him.

No one tries to talk to him, and he’s not sure if that’s a bad thing, or if they’re just trying to give him space. No matter the intention, all it does is make him feel alone.

He always knew he was going to have to come out at some point, impossible to hide forever in today’s day and age of phones and social media, but he always thought he would be able to do it on his own terms. Not to have the rug pulled from under him like this.

His hands are shaking, and he’s struggling to pull the zipper of his race suit back up. He can feel tears stinging in the corner of his eyes, knowing all eyes are on him, knowing everyone is seeing the effects all of this has on him. He’s about to give up, about to say ‘fuck it all’ and just go home, when there’s suddenly hands on his, gently prying them away from the zipper.

“Hi,” Max says, taking the zipper from Charles and slowly doing it up. “How are you holding up?”

And Max. Max is just smiling at him, in that same soft gentle way he always does, eyes crinkling at the corners, and Charles feels a weight fall of his shoulders. “Terribly,” he says, because he knows Max values honesty, and there’s not point in hiding, not for him.

Max hums, lets his hands linger at the throat of Charles’s race suit for a bit. “You’ll get through it,” he says, voice so sure, so certain. “You always do.”

Charles can’t help the small smile that tugs at his lips, though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Thanks, Max.”

“Anytime,” Max says, and his left hand moves to Charles’s shoulder, squeezes lightly, before letting go and stepping away. “Have a good race,” he says, smiling that small, private little smile he seems to reserve for Charles.

“You too,” Charles says, staring after Max as he walks back to his team.

It’s a weight off his shoulders, knowing that Max will still treat him like he always does. That nothing much has really changed. Suddenly, the stares of the people around him feels less suffocating, less all consuming.

Max is right. He’ll get through this.

#lestappen #drabble #also yes i did get a lot of prompts lakjdsflaks #i have like nine left in my inbox rn i'm trying to get through all of them but its slow going #so if you send me a prompt i'll get to it!!! but it might take me a while lmao

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fuckyeahnightmares · 1 year

Text

Skinamarink Explained (JK I won’t do that)

I’ve been gone a while but that’s just because I’ve been Skinamrink’d.

Anyway...

What is this movie?

It was a viral sensation for a little bit before it hit Shudder and limited theatres (I saw it in theatres last night). Some people will say “know nothing about it, just watch it” so stop reading if you wanna do that.

It’s about two kids in a house looking for their parents and stuff around their house, such as windows and doors, start disappearing. It’s graiy as hell.

How scary is it?

I was scared. The whole time? No, I zoned off quite a bit, coming up with great ideas for personal projects, because man this movie goes on. Let it be known I did not take out my phone. But there were a few times that got me good, and I was scared later that night, and the story is scary to think about in hindsight. 8.5/10

Jump scares or nah?

A few, good ones. Cleared my sinuses.

On a scale of 1-10 (10 being Halloween Kills), how dumb were the characters?

They are kids! It’s also a weirdly told story so it’s hard to gather just how smart these children are.

Does the story make logical sense if you think about it too long?

This movie’s a good argument for me to get rid of this little section all together. It operates on a nightmare logic.

Overall

Ooh, this one is polarizing and I see why. My tattoo artist liked it, but she also said she liked boring movies. Unless you have the attention span of like, someone in the middle ages who threw around rocks for fun, you’ll be bored, but that’s kind of okay. Some guy blurted out at the end, “I should get an award for sitting through that.” It doesn’t reveal much about the characters, the setting, but for this I’m not sure it matters. Could it have been shorter? At least by 20 minutes. Did I appreciate it? Yeah, it’s so different from every other thing I’ve seen, and my mind can entertain me well enough for the brief lulls. It creates a vibe through basically grainy still footage and sounds.

And It’s scary. It pulls you into its liminal space. Confounds you a bit. It kind of lulls you in and then there are a few moments that oof. It really does feel like a childhood nightmare, so big kudos to the team for doing that. Anyways, it’s an original, go see it. Or don’t, you might straight up hate it. 7/10

Read below for some spoiler-y thoughts

I did feel real bad for the kids. This movie kinda evil, from Kaylee losing her eyes and mouth and Kevin seemingly getting stabbed over and over again in a time loop. Damn.

“Look under the bed.” Chilled the shit out of me!

That fucking phone jump scare. Gold.

I would have bodied that monster who could “do anything,” eaten him for breakfast, really

#skinamarink #movie review #horror movies #mod james #review

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tooxmanyxships · 1 month

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Hiiii, maybe you could write something abt loscar and flowers? I saw your post asking for something to write and that was my first thought :)

Thank you(⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠❤

Oh I'm definitely writing Loscar after this whole Williams drama. So much kudos to Logan. You're a real man, kid

Shitty.

That's an understatement to how he feels, but it's honestly the first word that comes to mind if anyone asked him how he felt.

He's been asked a lot, mostly by the press of course. But he kept the word shitty just quiet in his mind.

He kept his head held high.

He understood their decision. Alex got them the most points last season. Alex was the most experienced driver.

He understood all of it.

That still didn't make him feel any better about himself.

He still wanted to prove himself and now that chance was taken from him by a stupid chassis.

Standing in the elevator to go up to his hotel room, he was so ready to just be alone. To not have to see all these looks of pity.

The door opens and he lifts his cap to card his fingers through his hair quickly, sighing as he walks to the door of his room.

He's so ready to just be alone....

Except that when he opens the door ---

He's not alone.

In the center of the room, in the center of the bed as well, is Oscar.

Oscar, laying in a pool of flowerpetals?

"Osc, what---"

"I'm so proud of you." Oscar cuts him off gently, getting up from the bed and walking over to him.

There are some petals stuck in his hair, but it's actually kinda cute, so Logan keeps his mouth shut.

"What you're doing for Alex, for your team.... I don't know if I could take it."

Logan ducks his head, shrugs, "He's the better driver."

"Logan. Stop." He can't let him say that. He won't. "You're an amazing driver. You just have to believe it yourself."

And Oscar knows. He knows this is yet another blow to Logan's confidence. That's why he came to his room with his extra key card.

"Loges, look at me." He reaches out and hooks his finger under Logan's chin, gently lifting his face up. "You'll show them next time how good you are. Before you know it, when they get in a situation like this again, they'll give you the only car they have and not Alex. Let's see how the world will react to that."

Logan can't help it. He has to smile. Just a little bit.

"You're crazy, Oscar."

Oscar grins, leans forward to press a peck to Logan's lips.

"Now how about watching a movie and going to bed early?"

Logan nods and lets Oscar take his hand and lead him to the bed.

Once in front of the bed, he can practically feel Oscar cringe next to him as they both stare at the bed.

Logan's eyes sparkle mischievously as he tugs on Oscar's hand.

"Talking about crazy - - - What's up with the petals?"

Oscar clears his throat, "I have no idea what I was doing, but I think I thought it was cute? I tried creating a heart, but well..." He gestures towards the bed helplessly, "I guess I ended up with just a pile."

"Very creative." Logan chuckles, pulling at Oscar to turn so they're facing each other. "And you're right," he smiles as he reaches out to take the petal that was stuck out of Oscar's hair. "It really is kinda cute."

They grin at each other. Each knowing exactly what the other's thinking.

They stand next to each other, holding hands, then let themselves fall backwards onto the bed, flowerpetals flying everywhere.

Their giggles and laughs can probably be heard through the hallway.

This was suddenly so much better than staying on his own.

Leave it to Oscar to cheer him up again.

#f1 fanfic #f1 rpf #loscar #my writing

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stevetonyweekly · 10 months

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SteveTony Weekly - July 2

It’s a quiet week of reading, but I really enjoyed everything I read this week. Check it out and be sure to leave comments and kudos for your authors!

~*~

Two Hands and a Map by isozyme

Tonia sighed and leaned back with a clang of armor on galvanized steel railing. “I’m ready to go home, take a bath, and relieve some stress, if you know what I mean.”

Eve did not know what Tonia meant. She frowned, trying not to be annoyed that she’d missed another joke. Tonia raised one eyebrow and made a filthy gesture, jerking her fist up and down over her crotch. Someone across the aisle whistled, and Tonia responded by exaggerating the pantomime, rolling her hips into it and licking her lips.

“Don’t make fun of me,” Eve said, reaching out and grabbing Tonia’s armor-less bicep so she’d stop being gross. “I know women don’t do that.”

The sexual education of Eve “The Female Orgasm Is a Myth” Rogers, courtesy of Tonia Stark.

the girl with the modern face by isozyme

“Nice to meet you. I’m Steve Rogers,” Steve said, sticking his hand out and trying to wrestle the interaction back into something normal.

“I know, sweetheart,” Tony said, ignoring his hand. “Rescue told me all about you.”

“Did you make her?” Steve asked. It had been implied that Tony was a tech-man, and she said he was her boss. It would fit together.

“Yes, the armor, that was me; she’s my bodyguard,” Tony said archly. “Impressed?”

The only good thing about the future is Tony Stark's bodyguard, Rescue. She's beautiful in her red and gold armor, and Steve will never know who she is.

(i need a) touch up by isozyme

Manicures are a girl thing. Not to Tony, exactly; taking care of his body is neutral, and he’s always liked his creature comforts. But to Steve, nail care is definitely a girl thing.

And Steve likes girl things on Tony, but —

Start slow, Stark, Tony thinks, and takes a deep breath.

“Give me your hand, sugar,” Tony suggests, already pulling one of Steve’s big hands into his lap. He turns it over, digging both thumbs into the meat of Steve’s palm and rubbing at the sore muscles there. Steve’s eyes flutter shut. “That feels good, doesn’t it?”

A sequel to the girl with the modern face. What it says on the tin: Tony discovers they’re both very into Steve in femme things, but it’s a touchy subject for hyper-masculine Captain America.

then sirens, then bells (the broadcast remix) by isozyme

“I tire of this,” Amora says, and with a casual gesture the entire team is pinned in place, frozen in mid-air. Steve has the unsettling, half-familiar feeling of someone rifling through his head like it’s a card catalogue. A mind-reader as well as a witch, then.

A female voice whispers into his mind’s ear. It’s very tragic in here, dearheart, but I think your armored friend is, somehow, more psychically toxic than even you.

What’s wrong with Tony? Steve thinks, but the presence is gone, leaving his memories of war stirred up like flying insects rising off a lake in at dawn.

The Enchantress opens Tony's mind to anyone and everyone near him. Steve knows he should let Tony keep his secrets, but he's not noble enough to stay away.

Good Vibrations by isozyme

Steve had sounded like he really genuinely wanted to see Tony and hear about the new robot-heart and Stark Solutions, so Tony decided that a weekend trip was worth it to see his friend in person.

His friend, Tony had reminded himself. Not anything else. It wasn’t fair to Steve if Tony spent their entire visit thinking un-friend-like thoughts about him, and his muscles, and his sweet smile and his careful, firm hugs. However, Tony had a plan. All he needed to do was to tire his dick out on the way over, and he’d be fine. Fortuitously, the Mark 20 had a few brand-new bells and whistles that would help him blow off some steam before meeting up with Steve.

◈

Tony built a fucking machine inside the armor. It would be a shame if it malfunctioned in the worst possible way, at the worst possible time, in front of the worst possible person.

not gruesome, just human by isozyme

“I need to crash on someone’s couch for a while. Your couch. I need to crash on your couch,” Tony says.

Steve’s mouth opens. If he asks why Tony’s going to bolt, he can feel the certainty of it under his sternum. He doesn’t have a sternum anymore, just a tangle of metal under his skin. Too many things have punched through it to get to his heart. There hasn’t been enough bone left to reconstruct anything made of flesh in a long time.

“There’s borscht on the stove,” Steve says.

what it looks like (from the outside) by isozyme

“I talked to Rogers,” Tony said. His tone was edged with wheedling — Tony was building up towards asking for something. “And now I need your opinion: what are your feelings on threesomes?”

“With Rogers?” Steve asked, surprised. Steve certainly — surely — probably — didn’t approve of threesomes. Even if Tony asked for it, in his haughty, affected way, the way that said it was all a joke until you said yes, Steve would — he wouldn’t say yes. He certainly wouldn’t have thought other-him would go for it.

“No, with a platypus,” Tony teased. “Yes, obviously, with Rogers.”

Commander Rogers from Earth 616 comes to visit Ultimates Steve and Tony. They have a threesome with feelings. That’s it, that’s the fic.

Very Good Bad Thing by isozyme

Sometimes Tony came back from his weekly Tuesday evenings with Whitney with scabs on his back and chest. He seemed hazy and touch-shy those nights. Steve was certain he was making it up. Any misgivings plaguing Steve were evidence he was selfish in his relationship with Tony and, by extension, Whitney. Nothing more.

When Tony and Whitney open their relationship so Tony can date Steve as well, Steve struggles to adjust to modern ideas about polyamory and kink. But no matter how hard he tries not to be jealous, it feels like something's wrong.

The Power of a Reframe by viklikesfic (v_angelique)

“So no one knew about the relationship you were in, and you’re starting to think you imagined it, or how he hurt you, and you want to see it on your body to know that it’s real. Do I have the jist?”

Steve nods. “My… life before,” he manages after a long pause, his voice sounding raspy to his ears. “It’s starting to fade. I don’t… think I know how to handle it. There’s no real tangible reminder of it, any of it. Everything’s changed. I feel like a ghost sometimes.”

“That sounds terrifying,” Tony acknowledges. Steve’s glad he doesn’t offer platitudes or shame Steve about how he’s chosen to cope.

“It is.”

The Devil You Know by shetlandowl

Best selling author Tony Stark revives the bodice ripper genre for a modern audience. From frisky gay cowboys to ravenous lesbian pirate queens, he consistently delivers riveting thrillers full of romance, drama, and the filthy, unapologetically kinky sex that has become his trademark specialty.

Tony has everything a man could dream of - horny, adoring fans, and boatloads of money. Or that's what he thought, until Detective Steve Rogers walks into his life and turns it all upside down.

My Known Unknown by shetlandowl

That True Lies AU nobody asked for, set in a world where Stane Inc is the world's foremost weapons manufacturer, and Tony's employer.

Under God by isozyme

“Captain America represents the values of our country. The recent allegations about his sexuality are specious and designed to smear an American icon. Captain Rogers regularly attends the Church of Saint Agnes and invites the citizens of New York to attend worship with him this Sunday, April 14th. God bless America.”

Nobody was ever going to know. Steve would be a good husband, a good father, and he’d never give in to sin and touch another man.

But Steve makes two mistakes, one after the other: he leaves two words out of the Pledge of Allegiance, and he doesn’t notice a camera flash among the strobe lights of a dark club, because he’s dancing with his clumsy hands on Tony’s hips.

Holding Out for a Hero by mariana_oconnor

The serum did a lot of things to Steve, but one thing he hates about it is how sensitive it made him, too sensitive. After it contributes to the end of his relationship with Jan, Tony offers to help him out.

Who Wouldn't Go? by isozyme

“But it’ll help you?” Steve asks.

“Yes,” Tony replies, even as he knows this is going to break his fragile, smitten heart. Steve, on his arm, coming up with some sweet story of how they met, having to pretend to Steve afterwards that it had all been an act on Tony’s part as well, cock-blocked Tantalus hoist on his own petard.

“Then I’ll do it,” Steve says. “Anything for -- for a friend.”

Figure It Out As You Go by viklikesfic (v_angelique)

Steve is a straight-identified guy, but has a fetish for men's feet. Tony is super helpful. Nearly 7,000 words of porn and not much else, kids!

Sugar Sweet by viklikesfic (v_angelique)

Part figuring out how to assimilate Steve's sexuality into modern ideas of orientation and gender, part burgeoning D/s relationship, part mild-to-moderate sugar daddy exploration. Basically, Tony's creative and Steve is a very, very good boy.

Sugar, Spice, and Spankings Are Nice by viklikesfic (v_angelique)

“Y’know… that was sweet of you, Steven. Offering my coat in public like a sweet little sugar baby.” His voice goes sharper, and he slides one glass across the counter, gesturing with a flick of his eyes. Steve approaches, cautious even though Tony’s physically smaller and weaker than him. He knows who the prey actually is in this relationship. “Let’s toast… to our friends,” Tony offers, mild, holding up his glass. Steve clinks, suspicious.

“To friends.”

“You know… they’re not going to be able to decide whether to see you as Captain America or as Stark’s little bit of something on the side, now.” Tony smirks as he delivers the punchline, and Steve inhales sharply. He still takes a sip as Tony does, the liquid smooth and smokey on his tongue and warm going down. “You wanna be my trophy husband? A prize I can show off? Cause we could do that.”

There's a First Time for Everything by viklikesfic (v_angelique)

"What are you, Cap, some kind of masochist?"

Later, Steve will blame his response to Stark's quip on the heavy-duty painkillers Bruce is administering via IV in serum-resistant doses. He smirks, hissing just a little at the way the motion pulls at the cuts on his face, and looks at Tony dead-on with his one open eye.

"Buy me a drink and maybe I'll tell you."

i was put together wrong by suchmadnesss

Even in his anger, in his misjudgment, or even in the barest glimpses of inadvertent cruelty, everything Tony did was with passion. No matter what, he was always graceful, grandiose, effusive. Incandescent.

Tony grows in front of the cameras and keeps a world of expectations balanced on the tightrope of his shoulders, but nothing ever seems to be enough. The hubris is a fallacy and the smirk Steve had always known to be a front isn’t whimsy, as he’d expected; instead, it’s bred. As he follows a couple of his steps, Steve feels as Tony does, which is to say: intensely. Every happiness is a marvel, every pain is acute.

The higher they fly, the harder they fall.

(In which the stones beckon Steve into a glimpse of Tony's past, and it proves to be his unraveling.)

Deep End by FestiveFerret

SHIELD has found a way to make Project Rebirth work - something Tony's father was never able to accomplish. An unexpected side effect has Fury begging Tony for some rather unusual help: the painful procedure has put their volunteer, a sub called Steve Rogers, so deep into subspace he can't come up on his own.

The Least Difficult of Men by isozyme

It isn’t until Tony watches Steve lean into the punch that he thinks oh, this is going to be a problem.

Steve’s taking hits on purpose in the field, so Tony suggests a safer option. It's simple: Tony smacks Steve around, Steve gets the pain fix he’s looking for, everyone leaves happy. Things do not stay simple.

The one with repressed masochist Steve and sadist Tony and everyone getting off on pain a whole bunch.

#stevetony weekly #stevetony #stevetony fic #stony #stony fic #stony fic rec #fic recs #rec list #steve rogers #tony stark #iron man #captain america

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kweenkday · 1 year

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Top 5 vs Personal 5

List your top 5 fics ranked by kudos on AO3. are you surprised by what's most popular to your readers? then provide your ranking of your personal top 5 fics, and tag a few fellow writers!

Thank you for the tag @mostlymaudlin! Finally got time to do this.

Tagging @knickknacksandallthat because WE NEED TO KNOW! 😋😎

Stealing @mostlymaudlin's strategy because OBVIOUSLY you will be spammed with my favorites first and the ao3 top 5 will be below the line. Sorry, I don't make the rules. 😁

1. I Will Find You Here Inside The Dark - Andreil - After Baltimore, the FBI put Neil under witness protection and he never came back to the Foxes. Ten years later, Andrew and Neil meet again. //obviously my current favorite but.. damn. this is right from my sappy soul to yours.

2. The Shore We'd Come To Find - Kandreil - Neil and Kevin end up in Andrew’s house, hiding from the mafia. The three of them spend the summer together until Kevin and Neil's past catches up with them and they have to run again. Angst but HEA. Also love letters. //I wrote my favorite paragraph of ALL my fics into this one. this fic makes me so emo 👀

3. Like A Wildfire Burning Up Inside My Lungs - KevJean - 'And they were roommates' fic where Kevin asks Jean to teach him how to flirt. //KevJean is my favorite ship, are you really surprised this is here...

4. Addicted To Disaster - Andreil - RWRB-vibey secret NOT-relationship where Neil is the senator's kid and Andrew is begrudgingly IN WUV. //new baby in my top 5

5. Least Favorite Only Child - Aaron-centric/Kevaaron vibes - Andrew and Aaron fall out during therapy, Kevin messes up Aaron's head and everything feels like a giant landslide. Maybe Aaron just needs to do some healing on his own. //ok, I lied, THIS fic makes me so emo 👀

AO3 Top 5 under the cut!

1. Somebunny To Love - Andreil - Andrew was there when the Date Me, Neil Josten dare started. It goes like this: each week Neil must fake-date the first person to ask him out on Monday morning. If Neil can pull it off for 3 months, he wins. Everyone gets FIVE days only. No exceptions. Until Andrew asks.

2. The Photo Strip Predicament - Andreil - Neil Josten is the worst. As if it wasn't enough that all Aaron's friends love him and he stole the math competition victory right under his nose, but now he photoshopped Aaron's face in a picture of them kissing and no one believes Aaron that this isn't him in that photo.

3. Was Sorta Hopin' That You'd Stay - Andreil - Neil and Andrew have HATED each other since an incident in college. They really, really do. The Minyard-Josten rivalry is not a sham. But now Andrew's transferring to Neil's team and all hell is about to break loose.

4. North Star - Andreil - ANGSTY Break-up/getting back together. Seriously, read the tags. //y'all are crazy to rate this one this high istg

5. Inked Petals - Andreil - Andrew spent 3 years in a shithole small town in Florida trying to get through the loss of the only person who made him feel something. Then Aaron convinces him to move to New York to start living his life again. It all goes well until Andrew makes a tinder account and matches with his dead boyfriend.

Well, that was fun. 💜

#aftg fic #andreil #my writing

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cdyssey · 8 months

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Wishlist (1.03)

LOL, that lady dropping off that very outdated machine and Janine having to accept it with a smile is a distillation of customer service.

What I love and simultaneously hate about this episode is that it calls attention to the very real and bleak reality that so many public teachers face when it comes to supplying their classroom. God, kudos to the show for drawing attention to it, but it’s so harrowing that it’s even such an endemic problem in the first place. Teachers shouldn’t have to pull from their own pockets to give their kids what they need, but they willingly do every single day.

“And I said that’s a few too many questions.” Never change, Melissa.

That red houndstooth coat on Ava oughhdhshsh.

“Oh, Lord, the boy is in the trash.” AKQOQKSJAJSJSN.

“I know what it’s called. It’s called trash.”

“I know that if this feels like you, you might be a serial killer.” Gnenfndnd.

Gregory’s smile when he says he likes clean is so cute.

Looove Ava being a social media savant. She is creative, and it shows in that area, as well as the ways she approaches various problems in the show.

DNWKDNNSNS. “It looks like you went into an office supply store and bought the first five or six posters that you saw.” [Cue Gregory kicking bags under his desk.]

Set design appreciation: Peep Gregory’s desk and how everything is meticulously straightened and ordered. Not one notebook is crooked.

Janine seeing Barb use her last tissue always gets me a little.

“And I know she comes from that generation that doesn’t ask for what she needs.” Yup.

“People like Johnny. It makes them sad.” GNSJWOWQKSSJJA

Ava has an OnlyFans and sends out feet pics confirmed

“She’s the most aggressively offline person I’ve ever met. She responded to my Paperless post with her ATM code.” AHAJQNSNSNS

#RollTide - I scream every time I hear that. It’s the slogan for my fave football team. 😭

Melissa helping her wife unpack her boxes. ☺️

Ava evil laughing when Janine threatens to quit ANDNSNS. Loooove that deep blue on Janine. The golden jewelry accents are perfect too

“My kids don’t have half the supplies they need most of the time, but they don’t need to know that.” […] “Our job is to build them up, make them confident. Is it nice to have stuff? Sure. But my students do not need to feel less than because they do not have stuff. So, we talk about what they do have, not about what they don’t.” Ugh, so, so good.

“Oh, hell no! I’m keeping all that.” AIQJQKQKWOWJDISINSNSIWKS, Barbara Howard, I love you so much

Janine interpreting all the kids’ drawings and being good at it. 🥺

SCNDNDNSN, good end stinger pay off to the trash machine.

#abbott elementary #abbottrw #maggie blogs #s: abbott elementary

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sitp-recs · 2 years

Text

A Case of You by @epitomereally

Harry/Draco (2022, Explicit, 97k)

Draco was doing just fine working as an Unspeakable in Paris, hanging out with his living and ghostly pals, inventing new spells, and definitely not thinking about Potter. Then, Lucius just had to break out of prison and turn his world upside down. Now, Draco has to return to England, where he is forced to confront how family ties bind us—and one infuriatingly fit Harry Potter.

Potter grinned up at him, a flash of quicksilver. This wasn’t at all like Draco ever thought this would be like: Potter thinking he was good, Potter smiling at him, Potter laying his hand gently on him, Potter wanting him. It made him feel frantic and out of control. He didn’t know how to act at all; with Smith, it had been awful and desperate and mean. He suddenly felt, after Potter’s breakdown, that he couldn’t be awful or mean, not right now.

All hail the long fic king!!!! This 100k fic caught me completely off guard by how invested I felt in something this long (sadly not my usual these days) as Wireless got closed to wrapping up. It deserves a spotlight in my single recs for that feat alone but I also really really wanted to celebrate epitome’s first fic back in the fandom after 15 years (starting with a bang!!!) especially because I’ve seen her reccing many wonderful fics lately and it’s a thrill to have someone this talented around again! Before getting into it I also wanna link the amazing rec @romaine2424 did for this fic earlier this week, check it here!

Now, how could I resist this fic looking at those tags - case fic, break up/make up, Unspeakable Draco? Non-linear narrative? Blood magic? Joni Mitchell? Sign me up, please! I’m so so happy that I jumped right in because oh my goodness, what a delightful and thrilling ride this was! The way the author combines excellent plot with the slow unravel of Draco and Harry’s relationship is addictive and will keep you hooked from start to end, which is why I gotta say 97k felt shorter as I was devouring this. The tension building in both main plot and UST (hello casual sparring, this is every Drarry reader’s wet dream 🔥) is superb and a masterclass in anticipation while filling out the blanks about their complicated past with a dual narrative strategy.

I couldn’t decide which timeline I was more invested in, I just wanted to learn everything about this competent, bossy and mysterious Harry, so edgy 🤤 and this lovely redeemed Draco, fierce, stubborn, earnest, a great friend who’s learned how to own his life and decisions. Their voices are excellent, the chemistry is off the charts and absolutely scorching, I love how they work together on the case while dancing around their feelings, trying not to let it affect the investigation and team dynamics. Beyond the side relationships - in my opinion one of the major highlights in this fic, kudos to all those charming, nuanced and flawed characters - the Paris landscape and general descriptions make the fic so much more immersive! Draco’s life abroad jumps to life in the tiniest aesthetic details and I immediately fell in love with the OCs, not to mention Lucius’ plot line and house elves supremacy as a bonus! They’re so creative and charming, I had a lot of fun with these side stories.

On a separate note, I really really loved this take on break up/make up Drarry. Not only we got to see their Auror training and how their tentative friendship started fresh out of school, I think the author gave their relationship a very much appreciated depth and nuance throughout the years, showing why being pulled apart helped them grow more confident and allowed them to establish healthier relationships, and to learn how to trust each other in order to be properly together. No one’s at fault here, it just wasn’t the right time as both characters had to mature and become the men they are right now. It was an engaging and really refreshing approach to the whole enemies to lovers dynamic while keeping the tension very much alive and firing sparks, and I loved every minute of it!

Exciting plot, ultimate UST, masterful character building, delicious smut, and a heartwarming and earned happy ending. This is everything Drarry fans are looking for and some, a really well-crafted long fic that deserves all the love and appreciation for all it has accomplished. What are you waiting for? Happy readings!

Read on AO3

#drarry fic rec

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sansxfuckyou · 4 months

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be right by your side (no matter what)

Summary: if there's one thing Dee knew from the second her little brother was born, it's that she'd be by his side until one of them died no matter what that meant

Warnings: minor gore, wounds, general anguish and tragedy, check Ao3 port for full tags

Authors Note: I binged Scoob and Shag in one sitting and went through the five stages of grief and the entire spectrum of human emotion, please go read it or read this fic without reading it, your choice. @sobredunia I can tag you in this nonsense now that you've read majority of Scoob and Shag. there are no spoilers past page 116, hope ya'll enjoy and consider checkin the Ao3 port if you do to leave a comment or kudos

"Don't touch my sister," He snarls the words with this specific resonance that Dee knows all too well considering how very long she's lived with him. The gentle hand on her shoulder raises, the blood of her wound rests on Pop's hand.

"He's just trying to help us out, Dex," Dee said quietly, her little brother was still defiant on the matter. She gave this gentle smile, one she hoped would ease his tension like it usually does.

He's still seething, his sister got hurt, his beloved sister. The person he turned into the angriest kid alive for, the sister he took all of his parents expectations for, the sister he tried to protect and failed to do so. He was sure he could keep her safe, sure he could keep her just fine on the supply raid because she was so desperate to join him.

To prove she wasn't just the nuisance he always said she was.

"I'm aware of that," He spat back, "How do we know we can trust them? Trust they don't have a Ballyhoo that'll hide Antihoo monsters? They could hurt us, Dee."

"We won't hurt you," Pop said, "We're in Med Bay 03, Mick and his cohorts are out there and can't hurt us-"

"I remember, Mick, Bugs, Ger, and Scoob," Dex spat bitterly, "I'm curious as to what makes you so sure me and my sister aren't a part of Mick's team?"

"A hunch," was Pop's answer to the question, "We saw you and your sister about to be torn to shreds by an Antihoo monster and saved you, of course, we couldn't patch all of your wounds while you two were passed out.

Dee's fingers raise to the small wound on her brothers arm, partially dried blood spilling down his lab coat. He hissed and pulled away from her, "Bring me to your lab and I'll start devising better and more efficient healing methods than bandaids and polysporin."

-/-/-/-

"You need to stay where it's safe, Dee," Dex would consistently chide despite his sister's insistence on joining them on the battlefield. Her Ballyhoo was never combative, it was an assist at best. Closed Caption, it let her read the thoughts of everyone around if she needed.

Dee clenched her fists a bit tighter, pigtails comically drooping, "But, Dexter, I could help-"

"Don't be an idiot, Dee Dee!" The aggressiveness to his tone is unintentional, but it makes Dee back down unlike when they were kids. Before they were part of the forces on planet Toone, before things got really bad, "Your Ballyhoo can give us nothing on the battlefield, it can barely give us anything off the battlefield either. You need to stay here to stay safe, monitor the injured, watch the doors, make sure that no is trying to double cross us."

And Dee wants so fucking badly to defy him, to push back, but ever since day one her brother has been the intellectual of the two. She nods, submitting to what she knows to be the truth, proven time and time again by the insanity upon the crashed spaceship. She takes a seat on a spinning chair, "Alright, Dex, please be careful out there. You're our best medic in spite of your Ballyhoo, did you ever realize how destructive it is?"

"My Ballyhoo? Pah! It's naught but my machines, my gadgets, little bombs I place my power in, ticking time bombs to save us all or kill us all," Dex answered without putting any thought behind it, "Mick used his Ballyhoo for evil, he still is, and I'll use mine to fight the good fight." His hand come to rest upon a set of wrenches, flat head and perfectly fitting within his hand. He grabs a set of his small bombs, his little trinkets used to properly and safely activate his Ballyhoo, he'll need them if they come across A Commander.

Dee just nods solemnly, highly aware of the fact that her brother isn't a fan of his Ballyhoo being a weaker version of Mick's. It's detrimental to his sense of being, his sense of identity, that he can be on the good guys team despite the fact his Ballyhoo is just a terrible reminder of what they're facing. That's why he throws himself into medical fields and machinery for defenses, the only way to detach himself from using his power to be a help, "I'll go patch up Felix and Yogi," She snags some of his special edition gauze tape, medication infused within it for good measure.

"Thank you for understanding, Dee," Dex said quietly, raising a gloved hand to readjust his goggles, the other hand stuffing weaponry into his lab coat pockets, "I'll be back, and better yet with some of those chips you keep nagging me about recreating."

"Thanks bro," There's this hoping sweetness on her voice, an innocence despite the fact that everything is falling apart around them.

-/-/-/-

Eyes sting with tears as she watches her brother be wheeled off on life support after the bout with Foghorn Leghorn, the bout that put one of them permanently out of business and the other near fatally wounded. She managed to deface the asshole that hurt her little brother, that nearly killed her little brother, but there was still the problem of the fact she didn't move fast enough. This could be it.

"Like, he'll be fine," Shag tried to console, good hand resting on Dee's shoulder. He sat beside her on the floor of their getaway, their emergency escape whether they failed or succeeded. And they succeeded but at a cost that Dee absolutely hated, an expense that made her feel ill.

She takes staggering breaths, gloved hand raising to run through blonde hair matting with blood. It hurts. Every little thing hurts, talking, breathing, touching her hair, her face hurts so much with how badly Foghorn messed it up. She slumps a little bit further down, "It should've been me."

Shag doesn't answer to fill the radio silence.

"I'm the big sister, and yeah I saved him, but," She stares at the body of her little brother. He's barely breathing. His heart rate is weak. Her breath hitches as she draws a hand to her now bright pink eyes to stifle the tears, "I didn't really save him."

"We'll fix him up, Dee," It's a promise that Shag can't keep, but he makes it anyways.

Dee nods and leans against Shag, "Okay."

#scoob and shag #dee scoob and shag #shag scoob and shag #dex scoob and shag #scoob and shag fanfic #writing #fanfic #fanfiction #IM NOT FUCKING SORRY. THE TWO OTHER SCOOB AND SHAG FANS COME GET YOUR FOOD.

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chibi-pix · 6 months

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Chibi watches V3D 14

Whoo! Another night of Voltron: The Third Dimension! And, I'mma be honest, I was actually excited to watch it tonight. Not for any episode in particular since I didn't know what was going on, but I'm actually enjoying this show. Anyway, without further ado, here we go!

Watching this episode and seeing the newscaster covering the media, it’s oddly amusing. And is giving it a slight feel of actually watching a news report to some degree. Well done, creators.

I love the recap and hearing Lance call that one guy a “glorified calculator” again. It makes me grin.

Okay. What’s his name? Amalgamus? Whatever. That calculator referring to himself and his reasoning as “superior” is grinding my gears. The urge to shout insults and say “Your mom was a toaster and your dad was a computer mouse!” is strong. Like, dude? Just because you’re integrated doesn’t mean you’re superior. Regardless of that tampered chip Zarkon put in you. Machines aren’t perfect. Not in the 90s, not in the early 2000s, not even now.

You know, this trial and recapping things that have happened in the past thirteen episodes, it is intriguing and fun. And feels like a more fun take of “Previously on such and such show” that we seem to get a lot in other shows. It’s interesting and fun.

Amalgamus denying being incorrect. Of course he would. And kudos to Coran to calling him out on things and correcting him on Voltron not giving up so easily.

Also. Um. Is it just me or is it weird that they have footage of situations that logically wouldn’t have footage? It’s like some behind the scenes guys just follow everyone with a camera and no one pays them any mind. Hmm.

Hah! Amalgamus not wanting to really admit it himself that the Voltron force saved his metallic ass. Dude, you ain’t so perfect, huh? Rescued by the very people you shun. And I love Coran making good points. Though watching the broadcast and Coran’s logic and facts, the guilty bar still going up. The system is flawed. That bar SHOULD NOT GO UP! You know. Seeing this recap and Amalgamus blaming his capture on Hunk being compromised. Really, when one thinks about it, they actually didn’t need to even compromise Hunk to pull that off. Haggar could literally conjure up fakes to send at any given moment to easily deceive that calculator. “You don’t like humans very much, do you, Amalgamus?” Yeah! You tell him, Coran! “That is incorrect. Some of my… best friends are humans.” First off, that’s the common argument heard from people accused of bigotry and racism. Second, there was definitely some hesitation there. Ooh ho ho! I love Coran calling Amalgamus as anti-human. And ready to prove it. And that calculator lacks a compelling argument and resorts to “I am not anti-human”. You know. This actually feels super relatable to how things are with people these days. And. It’s a bit appreciative.

Oh shit! Coran MVP! Pointing out that yeah, while the Voltron force did disobey orders… a lot. They don’t serve Amalgamus and the alliance alone. Hell yeah! Bro! They support and defend the universe and its forces! And the forces give no orders! I am appreciating this. I didn’t like Coran much in DotU, but he’s got the team’s backs in this show and I appreciate it. Go Coran!

Screw Amalgamus calling Coran’s comments a fairy tale.

Hey! That little magistrate again! Hey! Chill little dude! It’s nice seeing him again. And I love him and his system fully for the Voltron force! Perfect! Thank you, little dude, for coming through!

Newscaster with, “He is this galaxy’s only real defense. Why would anyone wanna throw that away?” That just made me grin. I love it.

Okay, I'll be honest. While it also felt like just a recap episode, it also felt like more. And I enjoyed it. In all, I'm actually enjoying the series a bit. But seeing Amalgamus being against the Voltron Force and Coran calling him out on his, for lack of a better term, narrowmindedness and bigotry? It's enjoyable and feels relatable to real life. I love it.

Anyway, that's it for the night. Until next time.

#v3d #Chibi watches #chibi watches v3d #voltron the third dimension #chibi writes

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mlobsters · 4 months

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supernatural s12e21 there's something about mary (w. brad buckner, eugenie ross-leming)

....they just killed eileen off like that? that's... disappointing. make us connect with her through a really good monster of the week in s11, but then also bring her back in s12, have her and sam have a little flirty vibe, she accidentally kills some asshole bmol so she and sam can have an emotional beat. and a handful of episodes later she gets killed unceremoniously by ketch and, apparently, a trained hellhound. because that makes sense. no more things going bump in the night! except for the ones i use for killing people 😌

spn s12e21 (2017) / the magicians s3e8 six short stories about magic (w. sera gamble, david reed - 2018)

i appreciated sort of her brief chase scene from her pov through her hearing loss. the magicians did something similar (article for details with showrunners) with marlee maitlan's role - but much, much longer. it was 9 minutes. (took a snippet with felicia day in it too, rip charlie)

DEAN Seven monster-related deaths. I mean, what, did all the things out there suddenly start working together? SAM Dean, monsters and demons don't team up. Seven Hunters are gone. We can't grab a signal from Mom's phone. Cass has Kelly Kline who knows where. Mick has slipped off the grid. Ketch is lying to us. I-I… I wanna punch something in the face.

kudos to padalecki because as always he can really bring those emotions and he seemed to really be hurting over eileen but it's bang boom all part of this bigger picture and oh they're all monster related deaths and hey let's clean house on any side characters we wanna off for the drama. her character deserved a better sendoff than this (or hey let her live), if they were gonna have her come back, in my ever so humble opinion.

TONI I have sources, Mary. Everywhere. After you died, your beloved John was a man slowly going mad, searching for revenge. What? Your boys didn't tell you? The drunken rages? The weeks of abandonment? Child abuse, really. It's no wonder they're damaged.

grain of salt obviously what with the brainwashing etc but canonically what's been established before was surely neglect at the least. hence why i can't let it go

CROWLEY Good afternoon. Dr. Hess. Stunningly beautiful as ever.

well. if nothing else, this is a slightly more seamless way of trying to retcon the bmol existing and operating offscreen for all these seasons prior, having crowley establish some background with the bad lady

DR. HESS Crowley, one more thing. CROWLEY What? DR. HESS Your relationship with the Winchesters. It's a bit cozy for my taste. I hope you don't expect me to spare your friends.

i do think that's what keeps crowley more interesting than he might be if he was just plain beholden to the winchesters (more like cas tends to be [caveat he's not also always beholden to them but when he's not he's usually making the Worst decisions]), he's out there still killing people, aiding the bad people in killing people we like and care about like eileen. but we can also pretty much count on him coming through to work things such that dean and sam will be okay in the end. he contains multitudes

CROWLEY So… Dagon dead. Kelly's now in the clutches of the Winchesters' love slave, Castiel, who's no doubt dragging her to a gruesome death.

lol

LUCIFER Mm. As opposed to the fun-packed death you have planned.

laughed again! these two, love em

ok let me guess brainwashed to kill sam and dean, is that on the menu?

thanks for the little tidbit of them having a po box in lebanon

good lord why are they killing time at the end of the season with this random drama moment between mr ketchup and torturer lady

MR. KETCH I don't know you, Mary. Not really. You certainly don't know me. You… wouldn't want to.

oh my god and the little kid music box spooky music starts playing in the background, mr ketchup is just a hurt little boy 😢 the snort i snorted!

real deal mary just tried to kill herself, pulled the trigger and only saved by ketch pulling it away to deflect the shot what the fuck. that is way too dark and serious for this show. that was awful. samantha smith is doing good with the scene and on her knees begging to be killed we get the mushy music.

how did her hair not move from upright to this position. now i'm just being nitpicky because i'm pissed off, but if we're plowing into the gritty dark realism of her torturing/brainwashing, her hair should be gross and acting like dirty sweaty hair.

so i'll rant about the music too then. so like, this scene on the setup / assassination trap thing dean and sam luring bmol to, it's way edgier and interesting and weirder than his score usually is. sometimes it's completely bland, or misses the tone, or is mega cliched, and then it'll be Good! for a brief moment and then the tone changes and the vibe is back to boring blah nothing or actively obnoxious. i feel vaguely bad about ranting about the score all the time, but i think it's honestly the biggest failing in the show over the entire run. i have plenty of issues with other things, but the music has consistently been subpar and pulled the quality of the show down with it, in my opinion. the foley though - i love it.

also mark pellegrino as lucifer, love. so good. so creepy! ugh. and i really don't want him having thrall over crowley, because he is so creepy. so i am getting concerned

well. not sure where this is going since crowley didn't do the dead-demon-zappy thing after the angel blade stabbing, even though lucifer just walked away like it was done

nice little exchange to highlight how they fight together with silently communication, and pretty cool action sequence. don't see them in these kind of shootouts often and they gave both Js some slick action hero moves

MR. KETCH Your bunker is an excellent fortress. An even better tomb. So we've rejiggered the locks, we've shut off the water, and once we leave, the pumps that bring in the air shall reverse. Your oxygen should be gone in two days, maybe three. You dying in here, it's almost poetic, hmm? Come along, Mary.

hokay. cliche villain killing them slowly enough to give them ample time to figure it out or have someone save them

LOL while talking to robomary we get mushy music but Creepy Version. discordant

ah, is crowley in the rat? is that why he didn't zap?

literally had the thought process of wait are we in one of those parody old spice commercials?? literally wheezing from laughing

he looks great but this choice was SO. HOKEY. (with music to match, you'll be shocked to hear me say) and the visuals look fake without looking like... really obviously fake? but it's also clearly fake? because the lighting is so mismatched and earth doesn't really look like That out of the box? lol

#supernatural #spnwatch #spn 12x21 #the magicians #six short stories about magic #marlee matlin #eileen leahy #spnwhinge #spn clip #spn mushy music #spn mushy music variation #spn musical score #brad buckner #eugenie ross leming #jay gruska

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doggernaut · 1 year

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3, 6, and 29!

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

I wrote most of it last year, but edited and posted this year so it counts, right? It has to be Pucks and Recreation, which I wrote for the OMGCP Big Bang. It's both the longest fic I've written to date and the most difficult fic for me to write. I've been in a real rough spot with writing for the past two years, so being able to actually finish this fic, despite the fact that it never really found an audience, was a victory.

6. Favorite title you used

As it happens, my answer for this question is the same as above. I almost always have a hard time titling fics, but once I hit on the idea of a Check, Please! AU inspired by Parks and Recreation, the title was obvious. It was so obvious I couldn't believe nobody had done it before. (At least, not on ao3, and I hadn't seen it anywhere else.) It's probably too obvious to be clever, but I was pleased with how well it worked.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

My favorite passage I've written this year is from a WIP that hasn't been posted yet, so instead I will share this from Leave a Light On , which is an unfinished AU that I had to put on hiatus, though I do intend to finish it when I have more time to devote to it. In this AU, Jack's a reporter who torpedoed his career due to an inappropriate relationship with a source. The source is Kent, and they have a history. This is a flashback to their first meeting, and I really like the way it establishes how toxic Kent was for Jack while simultaneously establishing why Jack would be infatuated with him.

After the game, Jack talked to a few of the other players while he waited for Kent to finish up in the locker room. In another life, he thought, he might have been here too, changing out of his gear instead of hovering in the doorway with his reporter’s notebook.

“You’re the reporter, right?” Kent asked from the bench where he was taking his skates off.

“I just want to ask you a few questions about the game,” Jack said. “I can wait until you’re ready.”

“Nah.” Kent flashed what Jack eventually came to think of as his press smile, the one he used when he wanted to charm somebody. Even back then, he knew when to turn it on. “C’mere. Sit.”

The bench was damp with what Jack assumed was sweat, or possibly somebody’s spilled Gatorade, but he sat. Kent continued to work at a knot in one of his skate laces. “Son of a bitch,” he mumbled.

“You have soft hands,” Jack finally said.

Kent looked up. “What’s that?”

“When you play,” Jack said. “Soft hands.”

“Fuck, for a second I thought you meant something else,” Kent laughed.

Jack could feel the heat in his face. He quickly looked down at his notebook and scribbled something that, later, he couldn’t decipher and had no recollection of writing.

“I mean, you know what they say about soft hands, right?” Kent asked.

Jack swallowed. Save for some fooling around he’d done with a girl named Jane at journalism camp the summer before freshman year, he didn’t have very much experience. Definitely not enough to consider himself an expert on hands, soft or otherwise.

“I know what your mom says,” Jack retorted, and when Kent laughed out loud in surprise Jack felt proud of himself for saying the right thing.

Kent squinted at Jack. “I know you right?”

“We played together for a couple years when we were kids. The Falconers? My dad’s company was the team sponsor. He helped Coach Walter out sometimes.”

“Right, right.” Kent snapped his fingers and his face changed as recognition dawned on him. “You were kind of fat back then.”

“Um.”

“Fast, though. Super fast. Why’d you quit?”

Jack shrugged. “Didn’t make the travel team.”

“Too bad.” Kent snorted. He pulled off his socks and stuffed them into his duffel. “You know it’s all just a bunch of political b.s. anyway. There are plenty of guys who shouldn’t have made it, but their parents had ins with the league president.”

Jack had once heard his parents complaining that was probably the case, but it still felt weird to hear somebody his age say it out loud.

“It’s okay,” Jack said. “Sometimes my dad and I go out to my uncle’s place and play.”

Kent looked up from his bag, the contents of which he seemed to be meticulously reorganizing. “Why didn’t you try out here?” he asked. “Some of the guys on this team really suck.”

It struck Jack as a terrible thing to say about one’s teammates, but Kent wasn’t wrong. After all, Kent was a sophomore—and a transfer student, at that—and was already captain.

“I don’t have time for sports if I want to stay on the newspaper staff. And I’m in line to be assistant editor next year,” Jack explained.

“Oh, assistant editor. Bet that has the girls beating down your door.”

“Look, do you want to give me a quote or not?” Jack asked, suddenly impatient to get out of there. “I can go talk to Brady.” Brady would give Jack the same old line about everybody working as a team and winning it together, but that might be preferable to … whatever this was.

“No!” Kent held a hand up. “That guy’s dumber than a box of rocks. At least I’m interesting.”

That was how it started.

It wasn’t that Jack had a crush on Kent. He kept seeking Kent out after games because, unlike most athletes—especially high school athletes—he was articulate and went beyond the usual bland talking points. Kent wasn’t afraid to tell it like it was. His honesty was refreshing, and he was always good for at least one quote that would raise eyebrows.

Later, Jack would wonder if he should be blamed for creating what Kent became. Kent was already full of himself, but Jack gave him a platform to be himself at his most outrageous.

Thank you for the asks!

#asks #ao3 wrapped #the-lincyclopedia

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pebblysand · 2 years

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Ask thing: 9 and 32, only if you feel inspired to do so. 🦔💜

Thanks for the questions!

9. Tag 3 fic writers you think are underrated/unknown in the fandom/fanfiction community.

I won't lie, this one is a bit hard because I feel like 90% of what I like isn't very mainstream. I'm not reall au fait of what is popular and what isn't. So, I don't know, check my bookmarks, I guess? I really like aceofdiamonds for instance, and I don't see their work be recommended often, but I might just be blind.

32. Copy and paste your top three favorite lines/jokes/sentences you’ve ever written. What fics do they come from?

Man, this is HARD. You're asking me to choose between my babies 😭.

Okay, I won't give you three lines that are my "favourites," I'll give you three lines/paragraphs that I really like. I don't know if they're my favourites, I can't choose.

listening for that angel choir - Spooks

In hospital, after Dad got shot, Wes asked if it hurt. Dad hesitated before he answered. ‘It feels cold, is all.’ And: Wes remembers the white walls and the smell of bleach, the beeping of the monitors around them. ‘I’m alright, mate,’ Dad forced a smile and pulled him into an awkward hug over the bed, ruffled his hair. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll live.’ Wes thought: please.

This fic has seven kudos because the Spooks fandom is super tiny and it's about a super minor character within that fandom, but it's still probably one of my favourite things I've ever produced. Wes is Fiona and Adam's son (who are main characters on the show) and both die in the line of duty (they're MI5 agents), and his story is like, the epitome of tragedy and resilience. At that point in the fic, Fiona's died but Adam is still alive but he's having a lot of issues coping with her death and PTSD, and is becoming more and more reckless with his own life, leading him to getting shot (albeit not fatally).

I love everything about this sequence. Wes asking if it hurts (so many meanings in that, including the fact that his own mother died after getting shot), and there's such a quiet sort of desperation in that word: "please," from a child who can see his father is losing grip. There's also such a disconnect between the casualness with which Adam says "I'll live," like: it's alright, I just got shot, I'll live though, and Wes's words, that are begging him, his only parent, to live. There's also such a tragedy in knowing the rest of the show, knowing that he doesn't - live. Yet, you also have a lot of love in that scene, in Adam lying to reassure Wes, and the awkward hug… I'm obsessed with this.

It's funny, I remember @copper-dust once asked me about favourite lines, and I said it's very hard for me to point to my favourite lines because I rarely think of lines, I think of paragraphs. Like, there's not one line I particularly like in this scene, and they wouldn't really make sense independently, but it's the overall feels of the paragraph I'm very particular about. This gives me a lot of feels.

the fault in faulty manufacturing - HP

This is probably obvious because I used it as the summary, but I really like this:

At the pub, the walls were painted a pine shade of green, the white of the ceiling exhausted by an old leak, frames dangling off nails, slightly tilted. John F. Kennedy having a pint, Ollie Campbell in dirty shorts and an Irish jersey, the tricolour flag hanging from behind the bar and a fading print of Poblacht Na hEireann by the door. On game days, drunk and rowdy middle-aged men would congregate to watch Mayo lose every GAA final since 1951. They called it the ‘Mayo curse’ and the legend had it that after the team’s last triumph, the bus escorting the heap of victorious players had passed a funeral cortege on the road, and failed to pay proper respects. A catholic priest had placed a curse as punishment, and the county never won a final again. So, come to think of it, maybe that’s why Dad never minded Mam’s post-wedding revelations much. In Ireland, even the Muggles believed in magic.

I remember working on this for a very long time because as we all know, I'm not very good at visual description, and I wanted to really re-create the feels of an Irish pub, and the feels of Ireland, in general, without sounding like (as one of my Irish commenters so eloquently put it): "the romanticised diddly-aye Darby O'Gill version of Ireland that you often see." I wanted it to feel true and real. And, to be honest, having the opportunity to use the Mayo curse (which is a "real" thing, btw, although as the last of the players recently died, there's a question as to whether it might finally be lifted lmao) in fanfic was unreal. I think that description encompasses so much of what I love about Ireland as an immigrant, where the flag and the declaration of independence literally exist next to a "curse" on the same level, and I really love it. Also, the last line "lands" really well, I think, and adds this sort of depth to Seamus's story and to magic in general that I love.

castles - HP

I've told you this before but I know you (@turanga4) really like the "mother who called him brave" line, and I do too. I also really like the "sex and funerals" line that I used for the summary. I think it really encompasses the fic, you know? Good things and bad things? Also, I kind of have an emotional connection to that line because when I started writing castles in 2020, I actually had half of an old first draft of the first chapter on my hard drive. I read it over the summer when I didn't have much to do and it was when I got to that "sex and funerals" line that I was like "Oh, that's a good line. Maybe I should continue this fic, actually." I can't remember when I wrote it but past me had good taste, lol.

I also really like this line from chapter 8:

I dig my fingernails into the inside of my palms and it feels like the blood that comes out is already boiling.

It's such a strong image.

#asked and answered #writing #fic

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