#anyway this fic is wonderful and i highly recommend giving it a read if you havent already

[bucca2]

Shrike pt. 1 - words hung above but never would form

definition. male shrikes are known for their habit of catching insects and small vertebrates and impaling them on thorns

König x high school sweetheart reader

2nd person, gender neutral reader for now but reader is afab and referred to as a girl, reader is Austrian/has lived in Austria and speaks German for most of the story, romance, pining, friends to lovers, reader's nickname is Thorn, König's first name is Alexander

4.8k words

tw: bullying, brief mention of cheating and domestic abuse (not explicit, mentions of violence, and not done by König), mention of terrorism, suicidal thoughts

[NEXT]

based on this post by @ceilidho, who gave me permission to write this! many thanks <3

this post is dedicated to @papaver-decervicatus, who I am so proud of for finishing chapter 4 of her fic cat/mouse/den (which I highly recommend) and eating NO glass in the process. her headcanons for König have had a huge influence on me, and while there are some differences between julius and alexander, I absolutely must thank Caedis for her wonderful portrayal of König.

and of course, to @danibee33, for fueling my König brainrot. without you, I probably would not have returned to writing <33

disclaimer, I am not Austrian, I do not speak German, so if there's anything that needs correcting, please do reach out!

You admit, you’ve always had an affinity for protecting the weak.

When you were twelve, a bird slammed headlong into your bedroom window. The poor thing had avoided snapping its own neck but was certainly in no condition to fly. You’d bolted out of your childhood home to check on it, but by the time you arrived, a huge grey tomcat was prowling, sitting back on his haunches and ready to pounce. You generally liked cats, but this one was a mean old stray, and you’d always been frightened to go near him.

Without hesitation, you had shoved the cat aside, spitting and yowling, and taken the little bird into your hands.

It took a few days to nurse back to health, and you still remember the day you released it back into nature. It was worth the long scratch down your arm, pride swelling in your heart as it spread its wings and flew into a vivid blue sky. You remember it even now: a charming little gray bird, a streak of black coloring over its eyes. A shrike, your mother had identified it as.

People are no different than animals, sometimes. People can be cornered, battered, and bruised as well. You recognize the broken hunch of the bird you rescued in the boy sitting by himself at lunch time. His shoulders curl inwards with a desperate need to go unnoticed. You’ve seen him around: he’s not in any of your classes, but your classes always seem to end up in the same hallways, so you pass each other all the time.

He jumps a little as you slide into the seat next to him, shrinking away from you in a way that breaks your heart. “Hey.”

No response. You offer your name, but he seems reluctant to divulge his own.

“Is it okay if I sit here?”

He shrugs.

“Thanks. I don’t know anybody at this school, so it’s nice to have a friend.”

“…friend?” He has a nice voice, you think. Timid, but almost sweet.

“Well, if you’ll let me call you one.”

“…”

And so begins your friendship with König.

I was housed by your warmth Thus transformed By your grounded and giving And darkening scorn

You didn’t call him that in high school, of course. You wouldn’t know that name until much, much later. It takes a while to coax him out of his shell, cajoling him that you can’t call him “green-eyed boy” forever, to get his name.

“Alexander is a very good name,” you assure him, and he seems pleased. He’s still hesitant to speak to you at all, but that’s just fine by you. You’ve got plenty to talk about, anyway.

“You know, I read this book about Alexander the Great. There’s this crazy story about one of his battles at a city called Tyre. He was laying siege to it after a misunderstanding with their king…” you chatter on, unaware of the intense stare from the boy sitting next to you.

“…ordinarily, sieging an island is pretty difficult, but you won’t believe what he did,” you rattle on. “He—”

“He built his own bridge,” Alexander says, so quietly you almost don’t hear him at first. You look at him in surprise.

“Yes! You know this story already?”

“I read a lot about him.”

“Then why did you let me ramble on about it if you knew about it already?” You’re a little embarrassed, having felt proud of yourself for knowing niche facts about historical figures.

“I like listening to you talk.”

That shuts you up for a moment. Only for a moment though, before you start to laugh.

“What?” he asks, an edge creeping into his voice.

“Nothing! It’s just—usually people tell me the opposite,” you say. “People say I talk too much.”

“I don’t mind.” His eyes dart to your face before looking away again.

“That’s good to hear. But I hope you know this means you’re never getting rid of me now,” you tease, nudging him gently.

He doesn’t respond, but for a second, you could have sworn that a corner of his mouth had turned up into a smile.

Learning more about him is like trying to draw blood from a stone, but you do your best. He mentions sharing a room with a cousin. His oma makes the best comfort food. Sometimes his mother takes him into town to buy candy, but he has to hide it or his cousin will steal it. Not that he cares that much—he doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but his family doesn’t come from means, so it means a lot to him whenever his mother spares a few pennies to buy him a frivolity.

It's what he doesn’t say that tells you the most about him. The way he fidgets with his clothes when he’s nervous. The brief panic that shoots through him whenever you call his name before he relaxes when he realizes it’s just you. The way he shies away from people in the hallways, just to avoid any contact whatsoever.

The fact that he never talks about his father.

The way he curls into himself when he’s being bullied.

“You should be apologizing to me for being in my way right about now, freak,” Andreas taunts him. He’s knocked Alexander’s books to the ground, like some sort of cartoon caricature of a bully, and you’re fed up.

“Hey!” Without missing a beat, you slide yourself between Alexander and Andreas. You’ve recently hit a bit of a growth spurt, so you note with a bit of smugness that you’re at least an inch or two taller than Andreas. You’re also quite a bit taller than Alexander, you realize. The two of you are usually sitting when you talk, so you’ve never really noticed.

“Leave him alone!” You stand your ground even as Andreas fixes you with a withering glare.

“Ah, so you’re gonna let your big strong girlfriend fight your fights now, is that it?” Andreas sneers. Alexander stiffens behind you, and you decide right then and there that you’ve had enough of this nonsense.

“You’re the last person who should be bringing up girlfriends, Andreas,” you say, staring him down with a look that you hope is sufficiently intimidating. “Everybody knows Yulia broke up with you because you can’t get it up.” You don’t know Yulia. You don’t give enough of a shit about Andreas to follow the gossip about him. But by the way his cheeks get ruddy, you know you’ve struck a nerve. The handful of spectators your little confrontation has attracted snicker.

“You little bitch,” he snarls. You hear the gasp of the students surrounding you before you feel it. You put a hand to your rapidly reddening cheek.

The little twerp had slapped you.

“That’s what you get for getting in my way,” he says, with a smug little look that you want to wipe off his face.

You’re not a violent person. And honestly, you could have been expelled for what happens next. But you cast a quick glimpse behind you at Alexander on the ground, and something about the look in his eyes reminds you of that bird you rescued, and a quick and hot anger rises in you.

You punch Andreas.

With no wind-up, no warning, you break his nose, and he drops like a rock, howling and clutching at the blood pouring from his nostrils. A sick little giggle comes out of you as you watch, drowned out by the uproar of your little audience.

“What on earth is going on here?!” You hear a teacher roar, and the crowd quickly begins to scatter. Without hesitation, you pull Alexander up and escape before you can be subjected to the consequences of your actions.

“Boy, am I glad he didn’t put up more of a fight,” you say gleefully, high on adrenaline. “That could have gotten quite ugly.”

“I didn’t know you had that in you,” Alexander says when the two of you have gotten far away enough. The way he looks at you now is a little different—almost reverent.

“I didn’t know either!” you say. “I’ve never done that before!”

“Who knew such a pretty rose had such sharp thorns?” he mumbles to himself. Your eyes zip to him, and even he looks surprised at the words coming out of his mouth.

“A pretty rose?” you tease, nudging him on the arm. He flushes pink and turns away, but there’s a bit of a lopsided half-smile on his lips.

You’re not sure why, but the sight of it makes your skin tingle.

The first few years of high school are relatively uneventful outside of skirmishes with Alexander’s various tormentors. Your biggest regret is that you can’t always be there for him—sometimes you have to spend your free periods catching up on readings or speaking with teachers. But you’re always there for him afterwards, poison in your voice as you hatch plans to make his bullies’ lives miserable. The plans never go anywhere, but thinking about retribution always seems to make him perk up a little. And really, that’s all that matters to you.

It's silly, how long it took you to realize how much of a fixture he was in your life. There’s a street corner a few blocks from the school you always meet him at so the two of you can walk the rest of the way together. The few times you share classes, you’re always sitting together, exchanging notes and quietly judging your classmates together. And you always, always sit with him during lunch. Even when you start making other friends who surely would welcome you at their tables, you always return to the quiet green-eyed boy in the corner.

You tell yourself it’s because he’s lonely, and he needs the company. You tell yourself the rumors about the two of you are silly, the result of bored hormonal teenagers who can’t fathom being a genuine friend to someone of the opposite sex. You tell yourself it means nothing that your face feels warm whenever he smiles at you.

You never get the chance to figure out if it does mean anything. He gives you the bad news on the last day of classes before summer break.

“I…I see,” you say, trying to swallow past the lump in your throat. For once, you’re at a loss of what to say. His fingers twist around each other in his lap, the way they only do when he’s really anxious.

“Well, a fresh start is good, right?” You offer him a smile, but your heart’s not in it. Maybe you haven’t spent as much time with him as you used to back in first year—you’ve started to take more advanced classes, and you’ve been so swamped with homework and projects that sometimes hanging out with Alexander is put on the back burner. But you’d always taken comfort in knowing that he would always be there at mealtime. A steady presence in your life, as everything around you seems to be speeding towards a future you’re not quite ready for yet.

Now he’s leaving. You’d like to think your concern is for him—what’s to say his new school won’t also be rife with harassment? Will he be able to make new friends? Or will he be all alone at the lunch table again? But really, who are you trying to fool? The sudden heaviness in your chest is selfish. What are you going to do without him?

The roaring in your head stills as you feel his hand cover yours. You stare at it dumbly, unable to lift your head and look him in the eyes. Your gut feels like it’s flipping and twisting all over itself.

You lift your eyes to his. For one breathless, indescribable moment, you think he’s going to kiss you. You’re sure he’s going to kiss you. You lean closer to him, and you can feel his breath on your lips.

Your eyes slide shut.

A shout startles your eyes back open, and he jolts away from you. It’s your mother, calling that she’s here to pick you up. You let out a frustrated noise as you call back to her that you’re coming before turning back to him.

The moment is long gone, and your heart twinges with regret as he avoids meeting your gaze. “You’ll write to me, won’t you?” you say softly. “And we can still see each other?”

“Of course I will, rosethorn,” he says, with that shy little smile you love so much.

You don’t see him for another ten years.

I couldn't utter my love when it counted I couldn't whisper when you needed it shouted Ah, but I'm singing like a bird 'bout it now

It’s ironic, really. Saving birds. Saving boys. But the one person you can’t save is yourself.

Your life post-König is like the drop on a roller coaster, but with none of the thrill. High school flies by in a flurry of deadlines and mental breakdowns. It’s worth it when you get into a good university—at least, you thought so. In reality, there’s no work in Austria for someone with your degree. Your parents are older, well on their way towards retirement, so you find yourself unwilling to burden them. You’re lost, stuck, and so very alone.

And then you meet him.

Tall, handsome, a little older, with a blossoming career. In hindsight, how much of a perfect package he presented himself as was the earliest red flag. But when you’re young and behind on rent, anything better than that feels like a miracle.

You know better, really. You knew it the whole time. Getting married after knowing each other for 2 months isn’t as bad as it could be, but it’s still too quick for your comfort. But the eviction notice was on your door, and he was a perfect gentleman. What could go wrong, right?

Everything. He at least has the decency to keep up the façade for another month, but that’s the only credit you’ll ever give the man you’ve shackled yourself to. It becomes increasingly obvious that he only married you to have a live-in maid while he philanders around as he pleases. You try, oh god do you try, for five long, fruitless years. God, it’s so silly when you think about it. You liked him so much, it took you so long to realize he had never liked you in the first place. He’d scooped up the first desperate college grad he’d found, and thinking about it makes you want to hide from everyone you know.

Which you do: hiding from what few friends you do have, hiding from your parents, hiding from the part of your brain that screams that you’re wasting the best years of your life cleaning up after a grown man who won’t even touch you, much less fuck you. Your 20s are for drinking, one-night stands, and figuring out what the fuck the rest of your life is going to look like. There is plenty of drinking, but the rest of it, not so much.

You’re going to divorce him, you tell yourself in year six. Once you get a job, you’re out. But you’re no fresh grad anymore, and the 6-year gap in your resume isn’t helping matters. You spot a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel when he tells you you’re moving: his company is offering him a higher paid position, and it’s in a bustling downtown area. Plenty of opportunity for you, right?

That’s when he starts hitting you.

You’re away from your parents, your friends, your home. You took English classes, but that won’t exactly help you in this equally European foreign country whose language you don’t speak. Now that you’re approaching your 30s, your husband seems to be rapidly realizing that his youth is also disappearing. His new job is more stressful, and most days he has no outlet for it other than taking it out on you.

Now you long for the days when he didn’t come home until you’d already fallen asleep.

And then the terror attacks begin, and your once-bustling city shuts down. More isolation. Even less hope. You stay at home all day, torn between hoping someone will get rid of your husband for you and the abject terror of being left all alone in a foreign country torn apart by violent partisans.

That’s when the despair really sets in: you’ve wasted over a decade in this awful, dead-end relationship. Sure, you’ve got a roof over your head and food in your stomach: you should feel grateful. But you don’t.

You start hoping the attacks will take you out instead.

I fled to the city with so much discounted Ah, but I'm flying like a bird to you now Back to the hedgerows where bodies are mounted

“There are mercenaries in town.”

You look up from your breakfast, lost in thought thinking about all the errands you have to run today. “Yeah?”

“About time we stopped relying on our corrupt fucking military,” he grumbles. “Maybe they’ll end this goddamn conflict once and for all.”

You don’t have much to say about that. What does it matter to you, anyway? The only conflict that matters to you lives at home, and you stopped trying to fight it a long time ago.

“The curfew’s a pain in the ass, though. You behave yourself, you hear me?” His sharp glare reminds you that he’s not saying this out of a concern for your safety: if you make trouble for him, you’ll pay for it later. You nod mutely.

Your morning goes by relatively uneventfully. You do the dishes, stare at the wall, sigh, stare at the wall some more. As much of a prison as this apartment is, you like it decently well when he’s not in it. Going outside and seeing the ravages of war all around you is anxiety-inducing. But you can’t put off buying groceries anymore.

The arrival of the mercenaries makes itself immediately apparent. The streets are somehow even emptier, and what people there are on the streets move quickly and cast suspicious glances at everyone else.

You were hoping not to interact with anybody, but your hopes are dashed when you see a checkpoint ahead, manned by soldiers in unfamiliar uniforms. Although most of them are wearing different gear, they still look more orderly and well-kept than the country’s own military. Murder must pay well.

You look around nervously, but there’s no alternate route here, and nobody local going through with you. You strongly consider going home, but you’d just have to do this all over again tomorrow.

You steel yourself with a deep breath.

“Identification?”

You show the mercenary your ID with trembling fingers, gripping your bag tightly and praying he doesn’t find your nervousness suspicious.

“Where are you headed?”

“Just—just down the street,” you say, wincing at your heavy German accent. Years upon years of living here and you still sound like a foreigner. “Getting food.” You’re so anxious you forget the word for “groceries” for a moment. You only know enough of the local language to get by, and you’re sure you must sound like a kindergartener.

The soldier raises an eyebrow at you. “You are German?”

“I…Austrian,” you answer hesitantly. Oh God, you hope there’s no issue with that. You’re not so much afraid of being detained as you are of getting home too late to make dinner.

“Interesting.” The soldier hands back your ID. “Our commander is Austrian, as well.”

You perk up a little bit at that. You’ve met a handful of German-speakers here, but not a single one of your countrymen.

Well. Aside from the one who came here with you.

“He should actually be arriving here any moment now. Big guy in a hood. You can’t miss him. They call him König.” As if on cue, a military grade vehicle pulls up to the checkpoint, military personnel stepping out. And then…

Your blood runs cold.

Nothing, nothing could have prepared you for the sight of the beast that steps out of the car. Even from a short distance, you can tell he’s a colossal size. Two metres tall, easily, wearing a dark hood that reminds you of a medieval executioner. And as if that weren’t intimidating enough, two red trails, like bloody tears, are bleached under his eyes. His eyes, which must have some sort of black paint around them, giving him the impression of being two eyes staring out at you from the pitch blackness of the hood.

Two piercing green eyes.

Trained directly on your face.

Staring in disbelief.

“I…need to return home. I’ve forgotten something.” All worries about appearing suspicious fly out the window as the enormous man in the hood hesitates for a moment before making his way towards you with alarming speed.

You all but fly back down the street, making a beeline for your building. Just a few moments ago, you were excited to meet the man. Now, the image of his eyes staring into yours fills you with a fear you can’t describe.

The next day you take a long detour to avoid the checkpoint. It’ll take you twice as long to get home this time, but it’s worth it. You can’t put the shopping off another day: the brand-new bruise on your arm throbs as a reminder. And you certainly don’t want to run into the hooded soldier again.

You get your shopping done without much fanfare. The old lady cashier, who usually looks at you from over her glasses with the stern look you’ve seen a lot of people around here level at foreigners, even pressed a piece of candy from behind the register into your hand. You’re pretty sure it’s just because she wanted to get rid of it, but it does wonders for your mood.

You’re busy plotting when to enjoy your little treat when you turn a corner and freeze.

He’s here. He’s there, standing in an alleyway near your building. Somehow even larger than you remember him yesterday, still wearing that awful hood.

Does he know where you live? You curse yourself for running straight home yesterday. He must have seen the direction you went in—or did he follow you? You attempt to quietly retreat and take another route home, but your shoe scuffs a paving stone. And like a hawk spotting its prey, his head darts towards you.

You book it.

“Wait!” calls a deep voice. Tears spring to your eyes as you hear heavy footsteps pursuing you. What have you done to deserve this? You’re no criminal. Your only crime is being a naïve dumbass in your twenties.

Your arm burns as you turn corner after corner, not bothering to take note of where you’re going. It’s no use, though: you can hear him gaining on you. Fuck, is this it? You can’t even fathom what he wants you for, and you don’t want to think about it either—

“Rosethorn!” You come to a screeching halt.

There’s only one person who has ever called you that.

You turn around, chest heaving with exertion, as the hooded soldier—König, the soldier said his name was—comes into view, approaching you slowly.

“It’s me,” he says, holding his hands out like he’s approaching a wounded animal. You’re not really sure what the point is, considering the gigantic knife he’s got strapped to his thigh is intimidating all on its own, but somehow it still puts you at ease.

“Alex...?” you whisper, hardly daring to believe it.

“Yes,” he says. His posture has changed from when you saw him at the checkpoint. He’s hunching over, trying to make himself smaller. It reminds you of that first day when you sat next to him at lunch.

It’s him.

You instantly drop all your bags and cling to him in a hug, tears spilling from your eyes. He’s so different: most obviously, he's so tall. He must have hit some growth spurt after he moved away, because he towers over you now. You can feel under all the gear that he’s put on serious muscle—not surprising for a soldier, of course. And when his arms fold themselves over you, you’re filled with a sense of safety you haven’t felt in a long time.

“What are you doing here?” you both ask at the same time. A giggle bubbles out of you as you watch his eyes crinkle in an obvious smile. God, his eyes are so green.

“I’m stationed here because of the conflict,” he says. “But what are you doing here? I contacted your parents, and they said you had moved here, but they didn’t say why.”

You’re not surprised. You’re still in contact with your parents, but you don’t talk about the elephant in your home. You know they would have helped you, if only you had asked for it, but you never have.

“I…it’s complicated,” you say, withdrawing from the hug. You stare at the ground, brushing away the wetness in your eyes.

“I have nothing urgent right now,” he says, staring at you intently.

You swallow past the lump in your throat. “I…got married,” you whisper.

Instantly, his body language changes, stiffening in shock. He takes a half-step away from you, which makes you want to cry all over again. This is awful. This is humiliating. You wish you could go back in time and shake some sense into yourself.

“I see,” he says in a strangled voice. “Congratulations.”

Despite your best efforts, the tears spill over again. “No, not congratulations,” you say. “It—”

It was the worst mistake of your life, you want to say, but you just can’t get the words out. He must notice you beginning to quake with fear, because he raises a hand to touch you gently on the arm—right on the bruise.

His stare hardens as he watches you flinch. “Rosethorn, what’s the matter?”

Everything, you want to say. I’m standing in an alleyway with my childhood crush, shaking like a leaf because a monster lives in my house, and I can’t get away from him.

With a feather-like touch surprising for a man with such large hands—he grew so much— he goes to push up your sleeve. You catch a glimpse of the bruise before you have to turn away again, shuddering. It’s ugly: black and green, and very clearly shaped like a human grip.

“I…bumped into a shelf,” you say lamely. You can’t bring yourself to rope him into your troubles. He’s a soldier now, for Pete’s sake. He has bigger problems.

You can’t read his expression due to the hood—but there’s a blazing anger in his eyes you remember all too well. The quiet fury you often saw in him so many years ago.

He must see in your expression that you don’t want to be questioned about it right now, and thankfully, he relents. With an ease in his movement that must stem from some newfound confidence, he reaches over and picks up your bags for you. “Let me carry these for you.”

It’s nice, to be taken care of for once.

Your mad dash took both of you quite far away from your building, so you have enough time for quite a nice little chat. You tell him about your time in university, he tells you what happened to him after he moved away. He’d jumped at the chance to enlist as soon as he turned 17, on the recommendation of an uncle who had spent time in the military. You laugh when he tells you that they wouldn’t let him be a sniper, a pout in his tone. You could have imagined him as a sniper back in high school, but he’s so large now it’s impossible not to notice him.

“The discipline was good for me,” he recounts. “I needed to grow a spine.”

“Don’t say that. You were just trying to get by in school, like everybody else.”

He shrugs. “I wanted to be like you.”

“Like me?” You ask incredulously.

“My rose with thorns,” he says, with a fondness that makes you blush. “Do you remember that day you punched that punk Andreas?”

“How could I forget? My fist hurt for days,” you say with a grin. “But I didn’t regret it for a second.”

He looks down at you—that’s new—with pride in his eyes. “I thought about you that day all throughout training,” he says. “You were my guardian angel.”

Your cheeks grow even warmer, and you feel like a teenager again. How can he still make you feel this way so easily after all this time? “He had a punchable face,” you say dismissively. “If not me, then it would have been someone else.”

You’re almost disappointed to arrive home. Only yesterday, home was your sanctuary. Now, it means being separated from the one person you trust fully in this country. You turn to him, almost bashful. “This is where I live."

He sets the bags down like they’re made of fine china, and he’s standing so close you almost stop breathing. The air is charged, the same way it felt that night when you almost kissed. You watch him as he watches you.

“Can I see you again?” he asks, breaking the silence.

“Of course,” you say, and the sparkle in his eye dazzles you.

You watch him leave until you can’t see him anymore. And for once, you enter your home with a light heart.

Remember me, love When I'm reborn As the shrike to your sharp And glorious thorn

if you'd like to be added to the taglist, just drop a reply! feedback is always appreciated, and my inbox is open, so please feel free to drop me an ask! I will 100% write little scenarios/headcanons about this couple because I have so many thoughts and ideas for them lol

I anticipate about 2-3 parts for this, maybe with König pov in the next part? he doesn't come across this way in this part, because it's from Thorn's perspective, but he is a very nasty boy indeed. also, I know putting lyrics in the middle of a fic is so passé, but I can't help myself. it's hozier! indulge me. also this isn't beta read so I really hope it doesn't suck

#bucca writes #könig #könig x reader #könig cod #könig mw2 #call of duty #cod mw2 #cod x reader #cod #mw2 #konig #konig cod #konig x reader #fic:shrike

[picnokinesis]

flux adjacent fic recs

in media res by wreckageofstars (3k, 1 chapter, gen) summary: “Well,�� she said. “Now you know what the mattress is for.” Dan shifted. “And the trampoline?” “Best not ask about the trampoline.” //I think this is probably the first Dan pov fic I ever read, and it’s absolutely brilliant. This author gets the character voices down so perfectly it’s unreal, and the whole thing is just so wonderful to see from Dan’s outsider perspective. It’s set in the immediate aftermath of Once, Upon Time, and it does a fantastic job of exploring the impact of what happened in that episode – both from a whump perspective and an emotional one. Angsty, but also funny in the worst kind of way – someone please go give Yaz a break, she REALLY needs one. Anyway, it’s great, everyone go read it right now.

Hearts of Stone by weirdpug (previously xhonia) (1k, 1 chapter, thoschei) summary: The Doctor loses herself. The Master finds her. //Ohhh this one this one, it’s SO awesome – it’s one of those fics that does really cool things with the formatting? Which works great here, because it’s a weeping angel!13 fic and wow, wow! Extremely awesome indeed, and just beautifully written – the prose is just so full of character, even when the Doctor is losing herself and it’s so well done.

Divination by WalkerLister (6k, 1 chapter, gen) summary: “There was a name for someone similar to me once. They called them the Valeyard. You can call me that, if you like. I quite like it, it’s suitably eerie. Little bit of drama never hurt anyone.” //Right, so we all remember what happened when War of the Sontarans aired…we got that ‘next time’ trailer of Once Upon Time…and all collectively lost our minds over the inverted dark coat. Since then, I feel like everyone has been finding really creative ways to get it into fanfics, and this is a wonderful example. And, well, if the promise of dark coat!13 wasn’t enough, this fic is just an absolutely fascinating look at the concept of the Valeyard in the context of the fobwatch from Flux, but focused on Yaz and her relationship with/perception of the Doctor. It’s such a good concept and so so wonderfully done! (also, if you’re a fan of thasmin, this author has a ton of stuff, so definitely go check it all out! For the less thasmin-inclined folks, I highly recommend Ipesity, which is one of my favourite post-TTC fics)

three points where two lines meet by Ymae (4k, 1 chapter, gen) summary: The Doctor tries to get those memories back, and breaks herself, bit by bit. //Oh man. This fic. I still remember when this one first posted and hoooooo boy, it is a hell of a gut-punch and absolutely wrenched my heart right out of my chest but HHHHHHHHH wow!! WOW. Genuinely, I think this fic rewrote my brain a little bit. It's set in the immediate aftermath of Once, Upon Time where the Doctor makes some very unwise decisions about trying to tug at her timeline and it's absolutely incredible. Very angsty, very whumpy, and full of a HUGE amount of the Doctor messing with timelines and very visceral, tangible descriptions of her timesense. It is such a treat, guys. And if you like this one and want something with similar vibes, I also highly recommend this post-flux fic by the same author!

Sheer Poetry! by Papapaldi (57k, 5 chapters, gen) summary: Trapped within her own mind, the Doctor travels through an impossible house, with everyone she has ever been locked inside. Her body is an unresponsive, useless bag of flesh somewhere far and away in reality. The part of her brain that she knows, where her past resides, sits somewhere else entirely within the old machine. The Ravagers eat, buried memories beckon, and the Doctor's faith is shaken to its core. She will never be the same – but that's what she's all about, right? Incredible change. //oh my days. THIS FIC, guys - look, I see the word count, I know, I know. This fic is a serious undertaking, but like so many things in life it is soooooo so worth it. Bucket loads of absolutely ASTOUNDING imagery, more references to Lungbarrow and Timewyrm Revelation than you can shake a stick at, BUT you don't need to have read those stories at all to enjoy this absolutely fantastic saga (put it like this - I've not read those books, and I had a whale of a time). Incredibly poetic, a little nonsensical in the best kind of way (it IS a mindscape fic) but startlingly funny and so beautifully in character. I laughed, I cried. This fic is just a love letter to everything Doctor Who, weaving all of canon into this beautiful, cohesive tapestry. I highly recommend. (and, if you're hungry for more and want tpotd content, there's an excellent sequel as well)

every step i choose to take (begins to set the world aflame) by SleepyMaddy (12k, 1 chapter, thoschei) summary: In a spaceport lost in a remote quadrant of interstellar space, a Doctor who doesn’t know herself anymore runs into a Master who doesn’t know himself yet // Ok so the sheer concept of this one ALONE is absolutely brilliant – the Doctor, escaping from the Division and half out of her head, bumps into the Master, who’s not long regenerated from Missy. And, guys. It’s fascinating. Seeing the Master right at the start, before he finds out everything that comes to define him in this era, and then having him meet a version of the Doctor who is quite a lot further along than him and just completely out of it? It’s like catnip to me, guys. And, of course, it’s all helped by the fact that the writing is absolutely brilliant – the characters are just absolutely spot on, which is quite an incredible feat seeing as they are both in very different places to where we see them in the show, yet they still manage to ring true throughout the whole thing. And also the mindscape imagery? The psychic whump? The emotional gut-punch that is the entire fic? Absolutely unparalleled. (also, if you’re a spydoc fan? Just help yourself out and read this author’s entire set of works, because it’s all fantastic)

see me bare my teeth for you by picnokinesis (16k, 1 chapter, gen) summary: “Do you know your mission?” //This is a bit of a cheeky self-rec, but, in my defence, if you're looking for flux fics, then I think you'll enjoy this one. I wrote it in the week after Village of the Angels aired, and it's basically all my thoughts and theories about what was going to happen in Survivors of the Flux thrown into a 16k oneshot. I was...mostly wrong HAHA but I’m still really proud of it. If you like division!doctor, then this one is for you

we're only dreaming (tell me who i am) by SpaceBetweenGalaxies (2k, 1 chapter, gen) summary: more the-memory-house-is-Lungbarrow clowning //ok, so if you were like me when flux was airing and absolutely lost your MIND over the illogical house which was a bit too on the nose regarding Lungbarrow related things, then THIS FIC IS FOR YOU. Absolutely brilliantly done, with some gorgeous imagery that I'm still thinking about to this day, and just a wonderfully unsettling exploration of the Doctor and how she picks at those cut off memories in the aftermath of the Flux

the stars are bound to change by emptypockets (9k, 1 chapter, gen) summary: Being trisected across the universe has unexpected consequences for the Doctor, and Yaz is tasked with the responsibility of keeping her awake. //ohhhhhh this fic is so wonderful!! It's that weird sweet spot of 'soft angst', where it hits where it hurts but at the same time the whole thing feels like it's wrapping you in a warm blanket. Augh!! Such a lovely portrayal of the Doctor and Yaz's dynamic - I adore how this author writes these two so much. An absolutely lovely (but angsty!) character exploration, with a healthy dose of whump and sleepiness on the side. What more could you want?

Everything by rowanthestrange (24k, 13 chapters, thasmin) summary: In which Yaz wants to know everything, and the Doctor finally wants that too. //Ok, so full disclosure, I don't read that much thasmin, but this fic, guys. It's just gorgeous. A beautifully written exploration of Yaz and her relationship with the Doctor in the aftermath of Flux, which explores the years Yaz spent in the past and how that changed her; the Doctor grappling with her identity issues and how that's changed her; as well as all sorts of other wonderful things besides. Another fic that had tears streaming down my face (the TARDIS chapter got me...). It's such a poignant, emotional fic, and it's very focused on character in a way that I really adore. If you like thasmin, this is an absolute must-read. If you're not a fan of thasmin, I recommend it anyway (- signed: a thoschei shipper) because it's just such a brilliant portrayal of these two.

#doctor who #thirteenth doctor #dw fic #yasmin khan #the doctor #the master #jodie whittaker #thoschei #spydoc #sacha dhawan #thasmin #fic #fic rec #doctor who flux #doctor who series 13 #dwedit #taka edits #feel free to add more recs in the notes if you like!! #share the love!! #apologies for the wrong username on the hearts of stone one #because i made that edit so long ago that the author changed their name KSKSKSKSKS #but my editing programme has updated and completely changed?? #so the settings I used to make that. are. not there anymore RIP ME #BUT AHHHHHH YES i've been meaning to make another one of these for AGES!! #anyway forgive me if i missed anyone's fics!! #honestly half the challenge is finding fics that like....i can find a screencap that WORKS for the story #which is a challenge in itself #there were a couple of others i also wanted to rec but the TITLES WERE TOO LONG #GUYS #like i know im part of the problem i KNOW

[konnosaurus]

recently i have spent a lot of time reading (and reading again... and again...) 'Impossible Things' by FutureRust and let me just tell you... it is so insanely good. i highly recommend anybody who hasn't already read it gives it a shot.

anyway, i decided to have a go at drawing two of the original characters in the fic, those being 'Shomari', an EAR 24 Class and 'Little Grace', an EAR GSL Class. they help give a wonderful backstory to Nia in the fic which i just absolutely adore.

#konnodoodle #art #ttte #ttte art #ttte fanart #thomas and friends #ttte oc #ttte shomari #ttte little grace #ttte oc shomari #ttte oc little grace

[turtleblogatlast]

hey!!! this is less of an ask and more of a fic rec tbh 😭 but have you read 'I May be Invisible, but I Still Look Good" by Dandy over on Ao3???? It's after the movie AND Leo-centric and like he gets cursed so his spirit is ripped out of his body. It's like 125k words of wonderful storytelling

OH- but for an actual question, do you have and fic recs?? or any AU's you think people should go check out?

I tried answering this before and it erased my reply orz

ANYWAY YES I HAVE read this and I absolutely love it with every fiber of my being.❤️ 100% one of my top fics to read in this fandom that I even go back to for a reread more than once. The characters are perfectly done and the set up for the story is believable with a fantastic payoff, highly highly highly recommend to anyone who hasn’t read it yet.❤️

As for recs, I’ve always been terrible at giving recs since my memory is very bad especially for ones I haven’t read in a while.😭 Off the top of my head I can recommend (note these are practically entirely Leo-centric since he’s my special guy you understand (the others aren’t forgotten at all though!!!) - and most of these are very very well known so you’ve likely already read them…):

[Note many of these are unfinished and may remain that way - please no one harass the writers for more, let them write at their own pace if they choose to write at all]

- The Neon Void by sugarpastels is absolutely incredible, the dramatic irony of it all as we follow Leo in the state he’s in and see just how broken all the Hamatos are by his “death” is just 👌👌👌 The fact that this places with one of my favorite tropes aka “Leo being in the Prison Dimension longer than canon” is just so good. Genuinely a thoroughly gripping tale that I highly recommend. It’s not complete yet (a lot of this list isn’t) but what is there is so amazing please read (though you most likely have read it already haha)

- little kid with a big death wish and firefight by remrose are another two you’ve likely seen but by god are they worth the read. Firefight isn’t done yet but it and death wish are so amazingly well written and really go into how trauma affects people differently and how ties with family can be tested in traumatic situations. Hard subjects definitely but very maturely done. (Also I misread firefight as firelight for way too long before I realized it-)

- Power Up and Times Five by pickedcarrotsandradish are both unfinished but I can’t care because what we were given is so good that I’m fine with them as they are. Both deal with Leo’s insecurities and bad feelings about himself and, very importantly, the fics go into how these insecurities establish a base for Leo’s very real flaws and how those flaws push him to act the way he does. Very interesting and compelling stuff here!! Power Up especially does really cool things for the boys’ mystic power ups, especially Leo’s, and I loved reading about the ins and outs of what they could do.

- Race Against Life, Death, and the EPF by Cass_Phoenix is just so engaging to read??? Like I love the entire set up for it - it’s feels so fresh and like you’re in Leo’s desperate situation yourself. I was so excited whenever a new chapter came out because the atmosphere was so well done.

- A Mixed Bag by GreatlyBlessed is SHOCKINGLY not Leo-centric for once haha. It’s not completed, but again, like the others above it is so good that I recommend it anyway. This story is actually a crossover between four sets of TMNT (‘87, ‘03, ‘12, and Rise) and the dynamics set up in it are SO fun I love it. Team 2 is my fave because you have literally all my faves on that team how could I not?? I also highly appreciate that everyone gets a chance to shine and that there’s no bashing at all, they’re all just very much in character and it’s refreshing to read ❤️❤️❤️

There’s a LOAD more that I could recommend I’m sure but I don’t remember them off the top of my head at the moment.😭 If I remember I’ll come back and add them in!

(Forgot about AU’s- honestly there’s some that I see and catch up on when I see them but there’s just so many that it’s a bit difficult to keep track of sometimes! I’d have to go around and fully look through many before having a solid answer haha! The ones I do see are always so well done though, I may come back and add them here if I remember 😅)

#non au ask #it’s killing me to not remember them all orz #I swear there’s so much more #‘are they all Leo centric’ yeah LMAO #maybe one or two are more ensemble but yeah haha… #my special interest hyper focuses on my fave sorry 😭 he’s also just the most fun for me to read personally #but yeah I’ll come back and add more when I remember them lol #wracking my head to remember #gonna tag this as #turtle fic recs #so I can find it again later

[andofone]

SNS fic rec

I have found lots of SNS fics that I think deserve even more love and recognition, so buckle in and here we go!

-PS, if you don’t want your fic on this list, I will take it off.

---

O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou an idiot? by Skyheaven

Naruto thought he could impress his crush by landing the role of Romeo in their school play. With Sakura playing Juliet, it would be the perfect way to get close to her. So how is it that he ended up being forced to play the modern version titled Romeo and Julian with his arch rival Sasuke instead?

(It’s a full, flushed out fic. It was a joy to read through)

-

(This is part two - a POV change to see what Sasuke is thinking, I strongly recommend reading after the first.)

And Julian is the moon by Skyheaven.

Ever wonder what Sasuke went through when he got stuck playing the romantic lead together with Naruto in their school play about Romeo and Julian? Here's the answer.

A pov change of the fic 'Oh Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou an idiot?'

---

The Frog Dealer by lilypheria

Naruto’s trusty frog wallet breaks down after years of faithful service, and someone delivers a new one to his office. Naruto is elated, not caring if it’s proper for the Seventh Hokage of Konoha to wander around with a wallet like that. But then he starts to get even more deliveries to his office—frog-shaped keychains, fridge magnets, everything you can think of.

Naruto has no clue who has found out about his affection towards frogs. But the gift giver is closer than he thinks…

(It’s a adorable one-shot. What else could you possibly want.)

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Unrequited: sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn't by KizuKatana

Naruto hates to hurt people's feelings. So when Hinata puts him on the spot about dating her, he doesn't want to come straight out and tell her he doesn't like her that way. Instead, he comes up with a poorly thought out idea to tell her he is dating someone already. All he needs to do to convince her is to show her a photo of the guy. He just needs to get a picture of someone so ridiculously hot she will know it's hopeless. He actually has someone in mind, a guy he'd had a one-sided thing for from his gym. Although, the guy is sort of an ass and probably wouldn't agree to posing for a picture. Naruto decides to ask him anyway. What's he got to lose?

(Another wonderful, simple one-shot. Easy and very nice to digest.)

---

In Good Company by weialala

This will sound a little ridiculous, no matter how Sasuke phrases it. I see dead people is embarrassingly tacky, and I'm half-spirit seems like something Sakura might say when she's stoned sky high. So he settles for a shrug.

(This is a gem of a fic. Highly recommend.)

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Iced coffee with extra base by Dotec_1

Working in a cafe certainly isn’t the worst thing, that is if you find a certain raven a few tables down.

(Not too long, just 25,000 words and a good plot.)

---

Fire & Wind by Cyllia

Wind and fire: it's the most powerful combination of elements there was. So when Sasuke, the most talented fire elementalist in his year, pairs with Naruto, who has the greatest air element seen in centuries, they should've been the most formidable team in history. Yet they can't seem to win one match.

(OH MY GOD, okay, this has got to be one of my favorites on this list. And these are all some of my favorite.)

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all i want to do, just like this by lunoiere (aeon_uriel)

"Good morning," he whispered, content, and peaceful. 

Naruto's nose twitched, still asleep. His lips were pursed to form a pout that somehow looked even more childish in this state. 

Sasuke's smile got wider and wider and something in his chest bloomed and exploded.

 Unbidden, a thought passed by: he loved that man so much it was unreal. 

Sasuke gets another reminder that waking up with arms around his waist and the smell of sunshine filling his lungs means opening his eyes to yet another good dream.(Because Naruto is there and he’s never leaving.)

---

 I hope this gives you some good reads!

And if you want more, check out another SNS rec I created here

#ao3 #ao3 fic rec #sasunaru #SasuNaruSasu #sns #ao3 is why i dont sleep #fic rec #naruto #Sasuke Uchiha #sasuke is amazing #Naruto Uzumaki #narusasu #amazing things #some of these people should be authors fr #enjoy

[notyourprof]

F1 Explains – 9 November 2023 – Notes/Summary

When Em @powerful-owl first put out her call for primers (what feels like a hundred years ago now), I swore I had just recently listened to a description of what a race weekend was like for drivers on one of my podcasts, almost certainly F1 Explains. I listened back to the two episodes I thought it might be on, and figured I’d go ahead and take and share some notes on everything, in case there is some useful info in there for others. It turns out I had mis-remembered, because the discussion was about what a race weekend is like for media folks, not drivers, but I think it’s still useful because it does give information about what the drivers’ media obligations are.

In general, I highly recommend the F1 Explains podcast (previously called Formula Why), especially to new F1 fans who want to learn more details about the sport. Katie Osborne and Christian Hewgill co-host it, and on most episodes they pick a single topic (e.g. racing in the rain, street circuits, driver training regimens, etc.) and do a deep dive with a few different experts. But they also do semi-regular “quick-fire” episodes where they cover a bunch of questions that maybe don’t need a full episode to answer. Former Aston Martin strategist and current F1 + Sky Sports strategy analyst Bernie (Bernadette) Collins is a regular guest expert on the quick-fire episodes. (She’s also a regular in MY HEART, because she is amazing and wonderful and has the best Irish accent.) There are a few other rotating experts as well, usually from the F1/Sky Sports family.

Anyways, here is my write-up of the answer to the question about what a race weekend is like for media, which was on the episode from 9 November 2023:

Q: What are race weekends like for media and broadcasters? Are there dedicated times the media can speak to drivers? A: F1 is one of the sports where media actually get the most availability of drivers for the media. Thursday is Media Day. Each team puts out a list of times, usually a 5-20 minute window, where TV or print media can come along and ask questions. For TV it’s called a “scrum” where the media are in a sort of arc around the driver with all of their cameras pointed at the driver and they take turns asking questions. Written media is similar. If the driver misses that time for whatever reason, there usually aren’t any backup times. Media can also request one-to-one interviews at a separate time, but that is negotiated and set weeks and weeks in advance. Each team puts aside one hour for media time on a Thursday that includes the TV and written media scrums as well as any one-to-one interviews. Additionally, every weekend there are two press conferences held by the FIA on Media Day. Ten drivers do the press conference with written media where the drivers are all sat together at a desk or on couches answering questions. The other ten drivers do the TV pen, which is a U-shape with all of the TV crews standing around the outside and each driver works their way around the U talking to each TV crew. Each crew gets a maximum of two questions per driver. After each practice session, qualifying, and the race itself, the drivers will do the TV pen again and speak to written media. The top three finishers also do the post-race press conference.

So feel free to use this information when writing fic, but also remember that you don’t have to have all of your facts absolutely perfectly correct! It’s called fiction for a reason!

There were a lot of other interesting questions and answers in the episode, which I also took notes on, and I will put those below the cut. (Read on to find out which driver has Strong Feelings about the roundabouts near Milton Keynes, and which world champions have accidentally pulled into the wrong pit boxes before, LOL.)

Is this the kind of thing that is interesting and useful? I have a summary written up already for the 2 November 2023 episode, because I thought the "what is race weekend like" question might be in that one, but this is already super long. Should I post the notes on that episode in a different post? I can do notes/summaries for other episodes if that's something people are interested in, but I have a bad history of spending a lot of time documenting things in fandom that no one else ever uses or looks at, so I'm trying to...better allocate my limited spare time.

F1 Explains – 9 November 2023 Quick-fire questions with Bernie Collins & Lawrence Barretto

First, a sidenote: Daniel Ricciardo once did a shoey from one of Lawrence Baretto’s shoes. Daniel signed it and Lawrence has it on desk now.

Q: What construction and logistics have to go into a new street circuit, and how to teams prepare for a brand new track?

A: The streets used for the race track have to be re-laid with new tarmac, there has to be coordination with street opening and closing, hotels and other businesses around the circuit, etc. There is a full episode on racetrack design. To prepare for a new track, teams look closely at historical weather data (including temperatures and wind). They’ll load 2D and sometimes 3D scans of the track into their simulators, although often there isn’t full information yet because the final track hasn’t been finished. Lots of simulations and calculations in an attempt to get as much data as they can in advance. There’s also a full episode about how simulators work.

Q: How important is the engine manufacturer? Are they a glorified sponsor that provides an F1-approved generic engine or are there real technical differences between the engines from different suppliers?

A: There are differences between power units from different manufacturers. It also gives them a chance to really stretch themselves and bring in expertise from all around the company (e.g. if they also manufacture jet engines) and to hopefully get some good PR that will lead to more people buying their street cars. In 2023 for the first time, each engine manufacturer showed their engine off to the press to show the differences between each unit. 2023 engine manufacturers were Ferrari, Renault, Mercedes, and Honda. In 2026, Ford and Audi will join as new manufacturers.

Q: Why do drivers and engineers do track walks? Do all teams and drivers do this?

A: Not all drivers do it, some of them will do a run or go out on a scooter. Reasons to do it include looking for changes from last year (new bumps, changes to gravel or curbs (kerbs), etc.) as well as having a bit of uninterrupted time for drivers and their race engineers to talk to each other. Also can be helpful to the commentators/presenters. Helps everyone build/remember their muscle memory of the track if they’ve been there before.

Q: Is F1 using AI? Could it be used for race strategy?

A: Yes, most teams are already doing machine learning in calculations and simulations, but for now human input is still required (and probably always will be).

(Repeating this here because this is where it was in the episode) Q: What are race weekends like for media and broadcasters? Are there dedicated times the media can speak to drivers?

A: F1 is one of the sports where media actually get the most availability of drivers for the media. Thursday is Media Day. Each team puts out a list of times, usually a 5-20 minute window, where TV or print media can come along and ask questions. For TV it’s called a “scrum” where the media are in a sort of arc around the driver with all of their cameras pointed at the driver and they take turns asking questions. Written media is similar. If the driver misses that time for whatever reason, there usually aren’t any backup times. Media can also request one-to-one interviews at a separate time, but that is negotiated and set weeks and weeks in advance. Each team puts aside one hour for media time on a Thursday that includes the TV and written media scrums as well as any one-to-one interviews. Additionally, every weekend there are two press conferences held by the FIA on Media Day. Ten drivers do the press conference with written media where the drivers are all sat together at a desk or on couches answering questions. The other ten drivers do the TV pen, which is a U-shape with all of the TV crews standing around the outside and each driver works their way around the U talking to each TV crew. Each crew gets a maximum of two questions per driver. After each practice session, qualifying, and the race itself, the drivers will do the TV pen again and speak to written media. The top three finishers also do the post-race press conference.

Q: How much interaction is there between broadcasting teams from different countries?

A: A lot. They all see each other regularly so they get to know each other, and they often chat amongst themselves to communicate about what drivers have said to their home broadcasters, because they usually give longer/more detailed answers when they’re speaking in their native language.

Q: How does breaking news get shared with everyone?

A: Press releases used to be printed out on paper and handed out in the Media Center. Now each F1 team has a WhatsApp group specifically for media so they send info that way (e.g. about driver availability for interviews or problems with the cars) in addition to email and social media.

Q: Is there a dedicated space for journalists to write up their race reports?

A: Yes, it’s called the Media Center, there are desks, TV screens, food, and drinks (especially coffee!). The press conference room is in the Media Center as well, adjacent to the work area where journalists can sit and write.

Q: Has Bernie ever had a debrief delayed [when she was a team strategist] due to media interviews running long?

A: Many of the debriefs have been delayed by drivers, and blaming it on the media is an easy out when maybe it was actually the driver who stopped to get a coffee or whatever. Each F1 driver has their own press officer who helps them meet all of their press responsibilities. Often the drivers will talk longer than they are supposed to; Alex Albon and Oscar Piastri are specifically named as drivers who are very good at going off on tangents and talking to the media for too long. One time, Alex spent a good amount of time ranting about the roundabouts in Milton Keynes near the Red Bull factory is based.

Q: How is the order of the garages in the pit lane decided? Are there advantages to being in certain positions and does it play into race strategy?

A: At most tracks, the garages are in order based on how the teams finished in the constructor’s championship the previous year, so over a given season, the garages on either side of your teams don’t change. Sometimes the previous champions are right at the pit lane entry, sometimes near the exit, that depends on the track. If you’re right at the entry, it’s easier to come in and pit (i.e. there aren’t any other team’s mechanics in your way), but more difficult to get back out on track. Near the pit exit, the opposite is true (harder to get in, easier to get out). Depending on the track, it can be helpful to be right near the pit exit (e.g. if you want to get right out on track with clear air in front of you, Bernie mentions Monaco) or further back (e.g. if it’s better to have some other cars go first in qualifying, Bernie mentions Monza). The only exception to the rule of “garages are in order of last year’s championship standings” is Silverstone, where the pit lane is at about the same height as the track in the middle but at either end the pit lane is lower than the track so visibility is impaired. Because of this, the garages in the center (with a good view of the track) are considered most desirable and are thus taken by the top teams.

Christian Hewgill points out how surprising/impressive it is that drivers don’t pull into the wrong pit box more often. For example, at the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix, Jenson Button accidentally parked in the wrong garage and it cost him the lead in the race to Sebastian Vettel. Bernie points out that teams have done a lot of things to help drivers get to the correct pit lanes. It often happens when drivers switch teams (e.g. Lewis Hamilton once went into the McLaren pit when he had just moved to Mercedes, Sebastian Vettel went to the Ferrari pit once after he had switched to Aston Martin).

Q: What is parc fermé? What are the restrictions? How are they enforced?

A: Parc fermé is a period of time in which teams are not allowed to touch their cars or make any changes related to performance, however they can make changes related to safety. It promotes sustainability and rewards teams that do well in practice figuring out what works best for that track. During sprint weekends, teams only have one practice before the cars go into parc fermé, which makes it particularly difficult to adjust the cars to the track. Cars do often get taken apart and reassembled while in parc fermé to check components, clean things, etc., but the F1/FIA scrutineers will put stickers on the car parts to make sure the same parts are used when reassembling the car.

Q: What is an anti-stall? How is it different from a regular stall?

A: (Note that I am basically quoting Bernie verbatim here because I’ve never driven a manual/stick-shift car and don’t understand the details of how they work!) An anti-stall is very similar to a normal stall, but F1 have come up with clever ways to make sure the car engines don’t actually stall. In a regular manual car, if you were to let the clutch out too much or not give it enough throttle and the car stalled, the engine would cut out. At the starting grid, the driver might do the same thing (e.g. not give it enough throttle) and the car might stall, but the engine doesn’t actually cut out. (Another note: it’s not explicitly stated, but I think this is a safety thing so that even if the car stalls and doesn’t get a super fast start, the driver will be able to accelerate pretty quickly after, instead of sitting on the grid unable to move while the cars behind start crashing into the stalled car.)

Q: Why do F1 teams change names?

A: OK I started writing this in a way that makes sense beyond the short answers given on the podcast, but it really needs to be a separate post. The short answer to “why do teams change names?” is money. (Shocker!) 

Sometimes a team that also makes something else wants to promote one of their brands, e.g. Renault rebranding to Alpine, which is Renault’s sports car brand, or Toro Rosso rebranding to AlphaTauri, which is Red Bull’s clothing line. 

Sometimes a team will have a sponsor who pays enough money to be a title sponsor, e.g. Oracle Red Bull Racing or the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, where Oracle and Petronas are completely separate companies that pay a lot of money in addition to providing relevant expertise to their teams. 

(In the other post, I’ll get into Sauber/Alfa Romeo/Stake/Kick, don’t worry. 😂)

Q: How is the number of laps in a Grand Prix determined?

A: The number of laps for a given circuit is however many laps are needed to get to a 305 km (~190 mi) race distance. The exception is Monaco where the distance is 260 km (~162 mi).

#f1 primer #f1 fandom primer #f1blr

[wayward-sherlock]

do you have any fic recs? thank you!

HELLO ANON I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO ANSWERING THIS ASK SINCE I GOT IT (im going to assume you mean byler fics since that is my most recent specialty🫶):

a cruel summer with you by the amazing @campbyler is by FAR one of my all time favorite fics. never in my entire four year fic reading career have i read something that obviously has so much love (and lore) put into it. if you haven’t read it already (or interacted with their blog, which i highly suggest!) this would be one of my first picks! (anything by suni or thea or andi is guaranteed to strike you speechless, though, so definitely check them out as authors, too!)

take a little moment (find the right words) by my lovely friend @astrobei is definitely also in my top all time bc i am SUCH a sucker for college aus it’s not even FUNNY. anything by suni is a banger, honestly, but this one specifically nails the miscommunication/idiots in love trope AND has rotund ducks. what is not to love.

a body in motion (also by @astrobei) is one of the best and most visceral mike character studies i have ever read. i’ve read it twice and the playlist has a permanent place in my spotify library. i don’t think i need to say any more.

sleeping with the lights on by singingseok is another mike character study that tore my heart from my chest and made me watch as it picked it apart and sewed it back together. okay. it’s SO good i highly recommend it for sure!

literally anything by @parkitaco is going to be fantastic, but three of my personal faves are the gaps and the silence, the windows of this love, and you were bigger than the whole sky because apparently i love sobbing into my pillow in the middle of the night. it’s healthy sometimes.

the strawberries are dying by my favorite doopel @lighthouseas is PERFECT if you’re looking for a unique take on byler with a historical spin <3 im a SUCKER for historical aus as well so this great depression fic was so incredibly perfect hehe

landslide by chamb3rs is. it’s so good i don’t even have words. it captures the spirit of senior year of high school so well, especially now that i’m in it lol. anyway, i’ve read this one twice and will continue to read it again for the rest of forever <3

and lastly, if you’re looking for spiderman aus (which i LOVE), look before you leap by lumism, the higher i climb, the farther i fall by @andiwriteordie, and mike wheeler’s guide to falling in love with a superhero by @smoosnoom are all wonderful perfect places to start 💗

i hope this gives you a good place to start anon :3 and also that im not overwhelming you. lol. but feel free to check out my bookmark page here for a more complete list of fics i’ve read!

#there are so many more great authors and fics out there btw. i just felt like this was already ridiculously long. #im realizing now what a suni astrobi fangirl i am. and im not sorry. #ANYWAYS i only recently started making my bookmarks public since i was so Scared before #so i will be updating it when i have time w more little comments so you can get a better idea of things to read! #also if i tagged you when you didn’t want to be tagged i sincerely apologize </3 #pov you’re a nerd and have so much to say about what fics you’ve read and you also love your friends and their works and - #yeah. okay. this is making me love the byler community a lot again. maybe i WILL start that side blog for fic rec fridays #BASICALLY I HAVE A LOT TO SAY i’ll shut up now 💗 #🫧🪴 #asks #💌 #anon !! #wayli’s fic recs

[kuragesil]

o potatus et molassus

grow, tiny seed. you are called to the trees.

WARNINGS: book 7 spoilers, inspired by over the garden wall (you don't need to see it to understand this fic, but i highly recommend! but be warned i did take inspiration so it might be slight spoilers for the show), a bit of body horror?

NOTES: hi! so, i had this fic in the works before i watched otgw, but i watched it all yesterday and it is amazing. please listen to potatus et molassus before/while reading (here!), as it's the main inspiration behind this fic. but anyways, i wanted this to be longer but my writing blog is still under construction & i wanted to get this out before halloween was over so it's a bit brief and the ending is pretty abrupt! it's highly possible that i'll come back to this to revamp it & my blog theme.

AND FINALLY: this fic was also inspired by @llondonfog & @serenescribe 's diasomnia fics! both of their works are lovely & they both have wonderful writing styles, and their works have inspired me to try to branch out into horror (despite being scared of Everything Ever). please go check out their fics!

my main blog: @valleyofliyue

BRIAR VALLEY IS ALIVE.

The swaying of the leaves, the dancing of the flowers and the rushing of the waters—all of it is Her body, just as any typical fae has blood running through their veins and organs pumping throughout their being.

The Valley remembers everything. Every footstep set upon Her soil, every house built upon Her land and every tree torn from Her roots—every blessing and transgression is etched and carved into Her skin and memory, only to dull with Time Himself.

She is greater than any book or scroll — for when it comes to history, She is history.

Every fae knows this. He knew this. Lilia knew this.

As he ran through that dark and dense wood, he cursed himself thoroughly, wondering why he pretended as if he didn’t possess such basic knowledge.

Clutching a beautiful, wondrous bracelet made of acorns, he ran and ran—ignoring the burning sensation in his legs yelling at him to stop; to give up this human.

He reckons it’s the General, still humiliated and scarred from events 400 years ago—it’s ironic, how the spirit haunting him the most was a pathetic soldier he loathed to remember.

The rain came down hard and cold, pricking his flesh, trying to draw blood from his skin. He ignored it, he didn’t care. He had no time to care—when Silver, his son—!

Lilia stopped in his tracks abruptly, hands shaking at the sight before him.

A boy—his boy—being hugged to death by the branches of the Yew trees; sticky black sap dripped from wounds where blood should be bled. Silver’s once soft and pale flesh was turning a dull, muted brown that was bumpy and rough. Gentle, kind aurora colored eyes—more gorgeous and glittering than the biggest gemstones—had lost their light, losing their innocent sparkle.

But the most eye-catching part of this horrifying display was his hair.

His moonlit white locks were transforming back to their original state—that golden sunshine spreading throughout the whole head. Lilia has his own bias, preferring the moonlight as Silver’s crown instead of the sunshine.

(For the moon crown is a clear sign that this boy is his own, his son.)

However, Lilia isn’t one to reject all other options when laid out before him, he admits that the golden locks were not a bad look for Silver, either. If Silver had a normal childhood as Prince of the Land of Swords, he would never have become a Blessed Child of the Night—something Lilia often wonders if that would have been better for the boy in the long run.

A wonder that has his heart tighten at the reality before him. For Lilia knows this has cemented his long and deep-seated fear.

She knew.

The Valley knew. She knew that Silver was of the same blood that had ravaged Her lands and ransacked Her flora and fauna—actions that left Her barren and violated, actions that were deemed unforgivable. Never mind the fact that Silver was innocent to all of that, never mind the fact that he was not his family.

No, Silver was a remnant of evil, and must be taken care of; his crown of moonlight reverting back to his crown of sunshine was just a reminder of his wretched lineage.

The ground below Silver lowered deeper, capturing his limbs and sinking him underneath the surface. Lilia panicked, using all of his strength and magic to tear away at the branches and pull his son out of this trap.

“Silver…! SILVER! SAY SOMETHING!” he roared with desperation.

The boy squinted at his father, trying to open his lips ever so slightly; tiredly trying to think of something to say to him.

“... t… F….” he rasped. He took a sharp intake of breath all of a sudden, and Lilia thought his heart would burst.

He could see a branch growing bigger and bigger inside of his son’s mouth, twisting and curling as it rose up the surface, as if to taunt Lilia. As if to punish him for taking in the son of the enemy.

Still ripping the branches off of the boy’s body and attempting to pull him out of the soil, he looks around in desperation, as if She would set Silver free from this undeserved judgment.

“Please… PLEASE! He… he’s been a babe for four centuries, but he’s only been a boy for so long! Don’t punish the innocent!” Lilia pleads, lungs being pushed to their limit; the retired general thought he would start coughing up blood.

Lilia hoped that The Valley would relent, releasing Silver from Her grasp and returning him to Lilia’s—the place where he belongs.

The Valley looks down upon the two traitors.

She makes her final decision.

#milie writings #twisted wonderland #silver twst #lilia vanrouge #twisted wonderland fanfiction

[royboyfanpage]

I know you're busy answering asks but I was wondering if you might some day give us examples of that post you made about Roy often using coins and things to get out of restraints? I read a fic that said "they'll soon learn why he called himself 'arsenal'" and I really want to know... why do they call him arsenal. You know what I mean?? LIke, I GET IT but? is there something in the comics that relates to him being an arsenal or having lots of weapons or being an escape artist?

Hi anon, thank you for the ask!

I don't have much time right now, so I'm gonna just use one example, my absolute favourite. It doesn't feature a coin, but it does feature a SHARD OF BONE.

Spoilers for the Arsenal Special under the cut, highly recommend reading it, but if you'd like just an explanation of his escape keep reading.

Essentially in the 1996 Arsenal special, Roy gets set up by Sarge Steel and is sent to take down a retired former criminal (some kind of mob boss or arms dealer? It's been a hot minute since I've read it). At the same time, Steel informs the other guy, Sing Lu, that Roy was sent to kill his daughters. Lu captures Roy when he tries to infiltrate his base, drugs him with heroin, and locks him in a cell with countless others all packed in like sardines. And then Roy's great escape, he pretends to be dead so the other prisoners will push him to the exit so his "corpse" can be taken out, and then spits a shard of bone he'd been chewing on into a guard's eye.

He then proceeds to fight his way out of the cell block area and later, when confronted by other guards, uses a whole arsenal (heh) of unconventional weapons, such as literally just water, a wok (at least I'm pretty sure that's a wok? I do not know enough about cooking to recognise things well) and a ladle.

He then delivers this absolutely badass internal monologue while he gathers up all the weapons from the people he's already beaten, full action hero style.

All while he's in heroin withdrawal, keep in mind.

Also he does frequently just use a whole bunch of weapons, he uses guns quite a lot and he's also really adept with a lot of melee weapons, though he does specialise in long range fighting.

Anyway yeah, he more than earnt the name Arsenal <3

#thank you for the ask! #roy harper #speedy #arsenal #red arrow

[readerinsertsaremyguiltypleasure]

Fic Rec List (Part 2)

My first rec list was strictly Billy Russo x Reader fics, but this one covers The Darkling (Shadow and Bone), Logan Delos (Westworld), and Caspian (The Chronicles of Narnia). There are only a few of each so I didn’t see much point putting them in their own separate lists.

Anyways, on with the fic recs!

The Darkling

Dusk Till Dawn by FluffyUnicorn666

Author’s summary: Your relationship with General Kirigan only exists after the sun goes down and you begin to wonder whether he loves you beyond the night calls. Before you can find out Kirigan’s true feelings, you’re tied up and thrown into the back of a van.

Rec notes: This is my go-to Darkling comfort fic. I don’t even care about the anachronisms. When I first got into Darkling x reader fics, there was a particular type I was after, and this was it. Non-Grisha reader - check. Angsty uncertainty about Aleksander’s feelings - check. Reader is put in danger/goes through traumatic experience - check. Aleksander going full Darkling when rescuing her - double check. And finally, a soft resolution where feelings are openly admitted and all misunderstandings are brought to rest - check and check.

Nyctophobia by ohthislove

Author’s summary: General Kirigan saves you after the Second Army raids your village in Fjerda, but he wants something from you in return.

Rec notes: Dark!fic isn’t normally my thing, but this one is an interesting role reversal, with the Grisha being the malevolent raiders and the Fjerdans sympathetic victims. This fic does come with a great big warning, though. It is definitely not for everyone, so please pay attention to the tags, specifically the “Rape/Non-Con” one. This is not a happy fic and there is no love between Kirigan and the reader.

Where Your Heart Is by Clairecrive

Summary: The reader is fed up with slowly losing Aleksander to Alina and decides to leave. Aleksander will have to stop her before it’s too late and he loses the one he really loves.

Rec notes: You can’t go wrong with a bit of angst, and the Alina “love triangle” provides perfect ammunition for it. This fic is definitely one of my more favoured of the “Reader is jealous of Alina” storylines.

Logan Delos

Delos and Austen by marvelmusing

Author’s summary: Logan Delos is the CEO of Westworld. You are the co-head of Narrative, and have been friends with Logan for nearly two years.

Rec notes: Logan can be such a fun character, and this fic demonstrates that well (though the last fic in the series is more serious). The writer does a great job of giving us the nicer side to Logan’s character while still keeping him a little bit of an asshole, which I appreciate. And I love the “Austen” nickname.

P.S. The link for this one is for marvelmusing’s Logan Masterlist, as it was easier just to link to the one page. I also recommend reading the other fic on it.

Just a Kiss by banditthewriter

Summary: After a shitty breakup, the reader confides in Logan that one of the things her ex said when he broke up with her was that she was a bad kisser. Logan offers himself as a test subject to disprove the accusation.

Rec notes: This one is a good mix of light angst and light smut. Throw in a healthy dose of friends-to-lovers, and you’ve got yourself a highly enjoyable fic.

Knee-Jerk Reaction by banditthewriter

Author’s summary: Logan reacts to finding out the reader loves him. Let me rephrase that: Logan reacts poorly to finding out the reader loves him.

Rec notes: I like this one because it starts post-confession and deals with the fall-out and processing of feelings. It’s a refreshing change from the common (though no less appealing) “love confession is immediately accepted and reciprocated” plot. Plus there’s a nice moment of jealous!logan to enjoy.

Logan Delos’s Soulmate by banditthewriter

Summary: Soulmate AU where you meet your soulmate in your dreams.

Rec notes: I love Soulmate AUs! There are so many different types, which means you get a bit of variety within the trope. If you are looking for tooth-rotting fluff, however, this is not that kind of soulmate au. This fic is surprisingly emotional, with a high focus on Logan’s drug addiction and self-worth issues. But don’t despair! There is a happy ending.

Caspian

Like It Once Was by banditthewriter

Summary: Modern AU. After Prince Caspian’s year long absence, the reader is informed that he no longer wants the throne, as it will prevent him from marrying a woman of non-royal heritage. This makes life difficult for the reader, as not only is it her job to manage such announcements, but she and Caspian had also been developing a relationship before he had left for military duty.

Rec notes: Ah, the good old “misunderstandings leading to unnecessary angst” trope. Love it! This is only a one-shot, which means that the angst is just the right length to stop it getting repetitive, and the flashbacks are spaced out well (I think there are only two) so they break the angst with a bit of fluff. All in all, a great read. For anyone who only has surface knowledge of the Narnia series (like me), this fic does feature the Pevensies, but it’s a modern AU, so knowledge of their stories is not needed to enjoy it.

Make Your Choice by banditthewriter

Author’s summary: When the reader was just a baby, she was promised to Prince Caspian of Telmar. Her and two other girls that is. Once the prince because King of Narnia, the women promised to Caspian are brought to Cair Paravel to see which will become Queen of Narnia. Can she make the king fall in love with her?

Rec notes: A lovely written fic that manages to fit into the arranged marriage trope while skirting the definition of “arranged” when it comes to the actual marriage (the characters fall in love and the marriage proposal is made from love… so willingly arranged marriage, maybe?). It’s a good fic if you want to read something lengthy and plotty that still has high focus on the romance aspect.

A Recipe For Love by padfootagain

Author’s summary: Your life was quiet, working in the Royal Kitchens and craving for a chance to become a cook. But your whole world changes when your eyes meet the King’s gaze…

Rec notes: Who doesn’t love a king/commoner love story? I particularly like this one because it is the reader who makes the big gesture at the fic’s climax, rather than the canon character. Usually it’s the other way around, so this was refreshing to read. Other highlights include Caspian looking after the reader when they are sick, and him meeting their parents (who don’t believe he’s the king).

Visiting Princesses by pillow-titties

Author’s summary: A banquet held to welcome visiting princess vying for King Caspian's hand has your jealousy reach its peak and brings hidden feelings to light.

Rec notes: A classic friends-to-lovers story with a heavy dose of smut. Seriously, this one is something like 80% smut and I am far from complaining.

What You Deserve by banditthewriter

Summary: Cornered into choosing a suitor, the reader thinks her best choice is a man who treats her with far less respect than she deserves. But a voyage on the Dawn Treader proves that she may have another option.

Rec notes: This one features the Pevensies, but Caspian is a king, so I’m guessing that means it is set between Prince Caspian and Voyage of the Dawn Treader? But if you haven’t seen the movies or read the books, as I haven’t, it doesn’t really matter. It is still an enjoyable fic with a very satisfying ending.

#fic recs #logan delos x reader #caspian x reader #the darkling x reader #darkling x reader

[satsuma-saturn]

hii i hope you feel better <3 maybe a cute fluffy fic/scenario of simeon and mc baking together and like mc gets frosting on their face AHDHDH i would love to see your take on it !!

A/N: I intended for this one to be the same length as the Lucifer one, but once I started writing, I couldn’t stop. Also, I’ve never written for Simeon before, so I hope he isn’t terribly ooc. In case anyone is curious, I never proofread my fics b/c idc, I literally just do this for fun. Anyways, enjoy!

Taste of You - Simeon x Reader

It was a not-really-a-date that was most definitely a date. Simeon invited you over to Purgatory Hall to bake some treats. No reason in particular, he’d said. Luke, the resident baker of Purgatory Hall begged and pleaded to bake with the two of you, but Simeon held his ground and gently let him down. The young angel went over to the Demon Lord’s castle instead, to bake with Barbatos. You would have to give some treats to the demon butler as a thank you for taking Luke for the afternoon, allowing you to have some alone time with Simeon.

At the moment, you were knocking on the front door of Purgatory Hall. After a few seconds of no response, you reached up to knock again, but right as you raised your fist, the door swung open. Your raised fist was now aimed at Solomon’s face. Tempting, but no.

“MC! What brings you to our humble abode?” The sorcerer inquired, tilting his head.

“Ahh, I’m here to see Simeon. He invited me over for some baking,” you replied, a little sheepish. You’d expected Simeon to answer the door, so you were caught off-guard when Solomon appeared.

Nodding, Solomon took a step back, gesturing for you to enter the dorm. “He mentioned that. I think he’s waiting for you in the kitchen. I’ll be in my room if either of you happen to need anything,” he said. With a small smile, you entered at his behest, hearing the door shut behind you. “Oh, I did some baking myself recently. Only Raphael has eaten anything, but the cookies are quite good. I highly recommend.”

Gulp. “Well, since Simeon and I will be baking, we will probably be eating our own treats. Too many sweets would make me sick, but thank you so much for the offer, Solomon! If you happen to stop by the House of Lamentation, I’m sure Beel would enjoy whatever you’ve cooked up!” You were practically sweating, trying not to be rude, but also trying not to die.

Again, the sorcerer nodded. “Ahh, right! Too many sweets would be detrimental to your health. I will take you up on that other offer, though. I’ll have some cookies packed up for you to bring to Beel. Not all of them, though, since I still want to eat some and so does Raphael.” He clasped his hands together. “Anyway, Simeon is waiting in the kitchen.”

You smiled, genuinely that time. “Thank you. Feel free to have some treats when we’re done.” With that, you left Solomon in the foyer.

Peeking your head into the kitchen, you spied Simeon hunched over a cooking book. “Simeon!” The angel raised his head at the sound of your voice, a pleasant smile spreading across his face at the sight of you.

“Ahh, MC! I was wondering when you would arrive! Come in, I was just looking for a recipe for us to try out!” He patted the space next to him and you eagerly joined him.

Once you were seated, Simeon spoke again. “I was looking at this strawberry cake recipe. Here.” He pointed at the opened page, an elegant cake pictured alongside the recipe.

“Let’s do it!” You grabbed an apron off a nearby hook and tied it on top of your clothing. Simeon was already wearing one.

Soon, the ingredients were out on the counter and Simeon read out the instructions to you while you mixed. Dry ingredients were first, then wet. Soon, you had a smooth batter, ready for the oven, which was preheated. Simeon already grabbed a pan for the cake batter and greased it, so you picked up the bowl, prepared to pour the mix in, but paused for a moment. The cake pan was heart shaped! A soft warmth spread across your face as you grinned at the revelation.

“Is something wrong, MC?” The angel inquired, his face written with slight concern.

“No, I just got distracted by the cake tin,” you replied, turning your head to look at him. Simeon smiled but didn’t say anything else. You turned back to the pan and poured in the batter, tapping the pan against the counter to flatten the mix. With that done, you picked up the cake pan and placed it in the oven, setting a timer to help keep track of how long it needed to bake.

Once the cake was completed, it was placed in the fridge to cool off. It was time to work on the frosting. Again, it was left to you to mix the ingredients while Simeon read them off. While you were mixing, you lost control of the handmixer, sending frosting flying everywhere, including all over yourself! A hand settled on top of yours, clicking the mixer off.

“Are you okay, MC?” Simeon asked, handing you a hand towel. You nodded, taking the towel gratefully, starting to wipe off your hair and face. Before you could finish, though, the angel swiped this thumb across your cheek, coating the digit in frosting. He brought it to his mouth, taking a taste of the frosting. Smiling, he said, “It’s sweet. Want a taste?”

Eagerly, you nodded. “Yes, I do,” you replied. With the remaining frosting on his thumb, he wiped it across his lips. He then took your hand in his, cupping your chin with his free hand. Softly, he pressed his lips against yours. It was euphoric, the feeling of Simeon’s lips on yours, paired with the unmistakeable sweet taste of frosting.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” The shriek startled you as you yanked yourself from Simeon. Standing in the doorway of the kitchen was Luke, who was beet red from the scene he just laid his eyes on.

“Taste testing frosting,” Simeon replied. There was a light blush across his cheeks as he spoke, but he kept his cool. His hand still held yours, though you were turned away, blushing and hiding your face from the embarrassment of being caught. “How was baking with Barbatos, Luke?”

“You said you were baking, not eating each other’s faces,” Luke accused, ignoring his guardian’s question. The angel beside you sighed softly.

“Luke, sometimes two people like each other a lot and they express that by kissing,” he replied, squeezing your hand in a reassuring manner. “Since you’re here now, would you like to help us decorate the cake? It’s cooling off in the fridge now.”

By then, you calmed down and turned to the young angel, who was gleefully nodding. His anger apparently suddenly forgotten. “Yes, I do want to help!” You smiled and waved him over.

“We have to make a new batch of frosting, this one got all messed up. In the meantime, I am going to start cleaning the kitchen, since it’s a mess,” you said.

Luke rapidly shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, MC! I’ll clean the kitchen!” He exclaimed, helpfully. The boy just seemed excited to be spending time with two of his favorite people. Though he’d interrupted you two, you were also happy, having been able to spend quality time with Simeon.

All in all, it was a good day.

Bonus:

After returning to the House of Lamentation, you brought along half of the cake, along with a large bag of cookies. Offering up the cake and cookies, the brothers dug in. After eating the cookies, all of them immediately died. The end.

Okay, they didn’t actually die. However, it was immediately obvious who made the cookies and they did get food poisoning.

#obey me #swd #shall we date #shall we date obey me #swd obey me #swd simeon #simeon x mc #simeon x reader #obey me simeon #purgatory hall #obey me simeon x mc #obey me simeon x reader #swd obey me! #obey me!

[bellaxgiornata]

hiii!! do you have any Frank fics that are your absolute favorites of all time? like, you keep going back to read them because they're so good! i just need some urgent recs because i'm running out of things to read

Hi friend! 💕 Thank you so much for the ask! So I'm notorious for not reading much fanfic because I'm literally always writing this year (it is not an exaggeration, the amount of time I spend writing in a week would probably startle y'all), and I'm quite new to Frank myself. If you'd asked for Matt or Mikey recommendations I'd have a lot more I could suggest! Honestly I just rewatched Punisher the other month and fell hard for him and couldn't resist writing for him, too (because usually Matt always overshadowed him for me in season 2 of Daredevil 😅).

Anyway, all that to say that I've read only a couple of Frank fics. Sad, I know. But I do have some I've read and enjoyed and some that I'd like to read by authors that I think are fantastic and maybe you might not have read yet (or they've posted some new fics recently). There's a lot of other fabulous authors that I'm sure you've already come across if you've been reading Frank fics too but my hope was to give you some new places to look! The list is below the cut because this got long!

@theradioactivespidergwen AKA @she-likesorchids (has a new Frank series titled Do No Harm that I NEED to sit down and read! I absolutely love the premise of it and highly recommend!)

@souliebird (has a wonderful Frank x OC fic posted that I loved and would love to read more about personally)

@itwasthereaminuteago (has tons of Frank content and I always enjoy the reads! I know a few new ones have just been posted!)

@sunflowersandsapphires (I know they have some Frank fics that I've been eyeing lately)

@feelmyskinonyourskin (I have seen and meant to read some of the fics I saw posted this month for their event and there's definitely a few Frank ones!)

@shiorimakibawrites (I'm a bit biased on this one but they had a lovely little Frank comfort fic that I enjoyed titled "One of Those Days")

@privateanxieties (who might only be on AO3 now but I know they have a series and a few one shots I've been meaning to read for Frank!)

Hopefully that helps! I was trying to mention some authors/newer fics you might not have come across already in my answer!

#Bella answers #Frank Castle author recs #i do need to read more for frank #and in general....

[bishopknifetrickmp3]

any fic recs?

hi anon i am so so sorry for answering this so late, ive been putting it off and keep forgetting about it whoopsss but i hope it's not too late to rec some fic still...so let's gooooo

please noted that until this year, i hadn't read any peterick fic since 2017 so there's a lot im probably missing but im gonna try and recommend some newer fic (to me at least lol) here;

The High Way to Hell Series by @holytrohmanempire - ok this series is not new and everyone probably already read it BUT it's still ongoing and it's epically long and so so damn good, like fall out boy meet supernatural but better, the band dynamic is amazing, the characterization is on point, the episodic format is delightful, AND the peterick slowburn and the payoff in infinity on high installment is wonderful, i would need a whole new post to rave about this fic so i will stop now

Crooked Love - oh man i am OBSESSED with this fic ive been saying this for months, it's just a perfect disastrous romcom, it's funny, it's got my anxiety rising, it's hot, it's romantic, it's featuring finance bro patrick being a human dumpster fire, i love it to death. the author also write other amazing fics, id recommend silver screen dream, between the sheets, and i've forgiven jesus (the last two were co-written and ive forgiven jesus was pretty damn harrowing, but oh so fucking GOOD)

The Difference Between Real Love and the Love On TV - aka instant classic 21st century modern american literature, put this on your bookshelves now

thought i felt you before - now you're closer - the one where patrick is an actual medium and there's hiatus and trying to get your best friend back via asking him to talk to your dead grandfather, it's great and it's gonna rip your heart out a bit but in a very healing way i promise

And I Lived So Much Life - THE ultimate star-crossed lovers, scar-crossed lovers fic of all time, of course they'd be twin skeletons fated for thousand years 25 lives itd only be fair for me to chase you across hundreds thousands lifetime until i find the one in which you return to me OF COURSE

I Don't Want You To Go Yet - kinda summer fling au, the writing is seriously beautiful and the way the author built up their heartbreak is soooooo good

assortment of various incredible au: Here Come This Rising Tide (the robin hood au, SO SO GOOD), Hell or High Water (crazily good pirate au, the author, the_chaotic_panda wrote so many incredible stories please do scroll through their works and enjoy), Superposition (will give you an existential crisis, highly recommend)

i also have raved about older peterick fic under my fic rec tag and for some rec for livejournal era fic, do check out peterick rec list and dropbox made by the incredible @justtothesea i really think it's the most comprehensive list of (older) peterick fic we have, anyway enjoy reading!

#anon #fic rec #peterick #this is like two months late lol im so sorry anon

[moccahobi]

May and June Reads

I know it isn’t the end of June but I am posting this anyways! It’s been a rough month and I am working on resetting and orienting so Imma imagine that posting this marks a new start for my reading log periods.  Last month, I read seven pieces and this month I managed to read ten! Which makes me quite happy! So many of my reads were stuff that I got consumed in and couldn’t step away from! There are truly so many amazing creations and I am so glad that I am exploring and reading them!

Two months ago when I last posted my reads, I talked about starting a schedule for fanfic reading... I’ve not. BUT! I did put fics that I already know I am interested in reading on my document and filled in everything other than my comments on it. This really helped me keep looking to reads. I plan to continue to putting fics I know I want to prioritize onto my bimonthly log when I find them because that helped so much!  I think it also helped me to mix up shorter pieces and longer pieces. I had two pieces that I read that were almost 50k (wow! In so much awe of the authors) and it really helped to have some smaller pieces that I could intersperse as well! It’s been so nice to mix my book reading with my fic reading and work fic reading in as little breaks from all that I am doing! 

If you all have any fics you rec me reading, please send them to me! I’d love to add to my TRL!

BTS MxR

Tongue Tied (Jungkook x Reader) ( @jeonqkooks )

“Jeez, you’re acting like I asked to peg you or something.”

Warnings: brief mentions of sex and drinking

18+

1.5k

Fluff, F2L, Neighbors AU

As an enjoyer of the tension right before a relationship starts, this fic gives such a good depiction of if! The tone is light hearted and the narration is funny. It's a great fic to brighten your day and rest with. So adorable! 

Sit. Stay (Seokjin x Reader) ( @daechwitatamic )

Your new puppy, Zinnia, has turned your world on its head. She’s ruined everything from your sleep schedule to your favorite shoes, and you know it’s your own failure to train her properly. When your cute upstairs neighbor tells you about a local obedience academy, he slowly starts to make himself a place in your schedule, your life, and your heart. After your last relationship went up in flames, will his affections be something else you can count as a failure?

Warnings: language, casual drinking, parental medical problems, mentions of surgery/doctors/hospitals (major operations lightly mentioned; no d

NSFW

14k

S2L, Neighbors AU, Fluff, Smut, Angst 

This had me hooked and hanging on at the edge of my seat as I read! Joe does such a beautiful job at weaving humor with serious topics of healing and medical emergencies and it is really just so wonderful. She does a wonderful job at creating complex and gray stories that help readers sympathize with both characters. If you want a fun and goofy story that also tackles serious topics, this is a great one for you.

The Perfect Gift (Jimin x Reader) ( @moonleeai )

A cute story about two friends that decide to "fake date" for the Christmas Holiday while visiting family, but with each household they fall for each other.

Warnings: None

SFW

6,346

Fluff, Fake Dating, F2L Christmas AU

This story follows our characters as they try to get their parents off of their backs. It is such a cute and classic fake dating AU and if you are a connoisseur of fake dating tropes you NEED to read this fic! It’s funny and cute and all the domestic moments kept my heart full! I highly recommend you read it!

Crazy For You (Taehyung x Reader) ( @oddinary4bts )

You’ve known Kim Taehyung your whole life. When you meet again at a party hosted by your best friend, alcohol looses your lips and you spill your secrets to your childhood crush. Will Taehyung give in to your desire, or will you be struck by remorse?

Warnings: alcohol consumption, lying/hiding the truth, unclear relationship, feelings of  cheating, cursing, mention of a grandparent passing away, sex (see fic for full list of sex warnings)

NSFW

46.8k

Angst, Smut, Fluff, Idol AU, angst, smut, fluff, Best friends older brother, Fake dating

If you enjoy monster oneshots, this is the fic for you! I am in awe of how long and detailed this fic is and you can truly lose yourself in it! There is so much that’s explored and so many angsty moments present! Lovers of idol aus will love this too. The detail and ways everything is woven together is just astounding and truly so amazing. READ IT!

Fearless (Hoseok x Reader) ( @hobisuniverse )

On your way home from a party, you tell your best friend to pull over so you can dance with him in a storm in your best dress, fearless.

Warnings: None

SFW

718

Fluff, Confessions, Friends to lovers

FLUFFY CONFESSION LOVERS! COME HITHER! Ahhhh! This fic is so short and sweet and so glorious! If you enjoy fluffy confessions, weather matching emotions (kinda), and feeling fuzzy all over, this is the perfect quick read!

BTS MxOC

To The Beach (Jungkook x OC) ( @mydogssqueakytoy )

Jungkook’s daughter misses her mom and needs a way to pass the time before she comes home.

Warnings: None

SFW

712

Fluff, Dad Jungkook AU

Father BTS fics are just so adorable! And this fic is such a perfect example of this! The author does such an amazing job at showing the ways Jungkook may express his love for his family: comforting his kid and looking his partner into it all! If you enjoy father BTS fics, I highly rec reading this piece! It’s soft and cute and just leaves one feeling so soft!

Honorable Mention

@magicshopaholic​‘s amazing universe (BTS x OCs)

This series consists of fics set in the same universe, of the members of BTS and their long-term OCs. While these are part of a larger story, most fics can be read standalone as well.

18+

Generally, I try to only post finished pieces BUT Cath’s amazing works have been things I’ve been slowly reading throughout the past four months! I immediately got hooked on Hoseok and Chaeyoung’s storyline. Because OMG CHILDHOOD NEIGHBOR’S TO POSSIBLY LOVERS? It is gold! I inhaled it! THERE IS ANOTHER PART THOUGH THAT I’VE NOT READ AND AM SO EXCITED TO! And recently I’ve started reading Yoongi and Miso’s storyline which is also SO INTERESTING! I am a slow reader and have been interspersing my reading of her universe through all my other pieces and because everything is one universe and each series is being updated kinda at the same time (which is so impressive! Cath weaves so many stories together and I am so in awe). It didn’t feel right not to mention it. 

If you’ve never read an MxOC piece before or don’t really read them, I highly recommend Cath be your introduction to it! I know that on tumblr there is a strong pretense for MxR rather than MxOC (I only read one other OC piece in the six months I’ve been doing this and that is also in this post).  The range in MxR is BROAD. We have some who have no physical characteristics, some who do and are labeled, some who do and aren’t labeled, and all of them have personality traits that are close to how the reader is or isn’t. Each reader is a character. They are just vague in some places. OCs are just other characters. They also exist on the same range and are just as rich in depth! I highly recommend you read some if you enjoy reading books and fanfic!

BTS MxM

Honeycomb For a Heart (yoonminjoonseok) ( @hungline )

Yoongi never actually expected to build his own hive.

Warnings: mentioned misgendering and transphobia 

SFW

1.4k

In this fic, Yoongi is a king bee and I absolutely love how his hybrid identity is tied into his trans identity! The story introduces the readers to yoongi and his struggles in such a quick but heartfelt an empathetic way and we get introduced to Namjoon, Hoseok, and Jimin in such a fun and open way! Although the story is only 1.5 k and we only get their meeting, there is so much personality and hope packed into the story. If you're wanting on uplifting quick read, this is a great one.

( ✓ read 10:18 p.m. ) (Yoongi x Jungkook; Hoseok x Jimin) (AO3)

By the time Suga got back to him with the name of the sample, Jungkook was sitting in class. He’d never been an in-class text-er. He listened well. He followed rules. He gave professors the attention they deserved. But if Min Suga texted him, Jungkook always found himself texting back, attention 100% on his phone. Maybe it was because messaging the stranger felt as informative as half of his classes. Suga gave good advice. He’d caught himself thinking over the weekend that maybe he actually did owe Jimin some coffee.

Warnings: No archive warnings, mentions of sex, insecurity

18+

47k

College AU, Young Professionals AU, Angst, Fluff

AHHHHHHHHHH! This fic is an adorable story. As readers, we get to see Jungkook try to grow and learn to accept his growing feelings for Min Suga, an unknown man he slowly gets to know. Only thing: he is emotionally constipated and Yoongi feels so much that he struggles… Oh and also Suga kinda likes Jimin… or does he? Owo. It’s such a good series! The chapters are short and addictive and left me unable to put the fic down! It’s angsty and focuses on the growth of everyone and it’s such a wonderful read. It’s such a good series and I highly recommend you read it!

Got7 MxR

Filipendulous (adj.) - hanging by a thread (Jinyoung x Reader) ( @flurrys-creativity )

Summary: After a fight with Y/n, Jinyoung spirals with jealousy. One call changes it all.

Warnings: mentions of an argument, mentions of jealousy, mentions of drinking alcohol (not really responsible), mentions of an accident, mentions of results from said accident, short hospital setting, one kiss…

SFW

1,967 words

Angst, No AU

Do you like angst? Open endings? Many struggles and layers to a fic? This is the fic for you! I read this and gasped with each new development! Flurry does wonderful at getting us hooked and keeping us hooked! It's such a wonderful read!

Got7 MxM

Brewed Love (Mark x Jackson) ( @limjaeseven )

Summary: Jackson is comfortable working at the cafe Jaebeom owns. He expects to earn a living there, he doesn’t expect falling in love.

Warnings: None

SFW

Fluff, Coffee Shop AU

1,518 words

Coffee shop aus are so cute! And this fic is no different! It’s such a vibe and it had my heart fluttering all while reading. Cris is an amazing writer and his care for word play is present in the many coffee references that are present in this fic. Its short and sweet and just the perfect thing to energize your day!

#lillia recs #bts fanfic #i am that tired spongebob meme just trying to get to the end of the month #we're so close and i can't wait

[stealingyourbones]

Hi, I don't know if you'd even answer this ask but I've been loving all your prompts and been sucked into the dp/dc crossover content.

Im curious about trying to make some oneshots or fics myself but I'm not well versed in dc at all except very basic knowledge so I'm really nervous.

Do you have any advise for how to start or suggestions to help some one jump right in?

Ok I'm gonna be using this slightly as an excuse to give y'all a DC reading guide and also:

Personal Opinion 1: You really don't have to read any comics to learn DC. I'd highly recommend going on Youtube and watching some summarizing History of the Batfamily videos so you know the general lore. Reading a bunch of solely DC-related fics also helps greatly. It can get you immersed in the world and learn tidbits of backstory and characterization without having to touch a single comic. if you feel confident enough that you know the character? Go for it!! If you're still unsure and you want to write it anyways? Have a beta reader who's well versed in DC help point out moments that may be OOC or help fix characterization a bit. You never know how good you are at writing that character until you put your pen to paper! Personal opinion 2: go to your local library, go to the graphic novel section, and see if any comics catch your eye. Pick it up and give it a read. There truly isn’t a perfect place to jump in for comics. Continuity is all Willy Nilly and confusing. There’s no perfect spot to jump in but there are personal recommendations or preferences that people will tell you to start on.

I highly recommend listening to podcasts about characters that you’re intrigued with to see if you want to spend the time researching and reading about said characters.

Other tertiary opinion.

I really only have Batman comic recommendations but a friend of mine gave me a list in order for Batman comics to read so here it is:

Batman Year One.

Batman Venom.

Batman Long Halloween.

Batman Dark Victory.

Robin Year One.

Batgirl Year One.

Nightwing Year One.

Batman Cult

Batman Death In The Family

Knightfall

Batman No Man’s Land

Under the Red Hood

Batman Zero Year

That’s what I got. You don’t have to read every single comic to know everything but at least reading a summary of the comic so you’re caught up and not confused as you go into the next comic is something I’d recommend. Batman Knightfall and No Man’s Land are super long and really a drag to read through. Like genuinely they’re painful as hell to read through. I’d recommend reading a synopsis online or listen to a podcast about it.

Other comics in general I’d recommend that I've read that I think are good depictions of the characters:

Superman: Up In The Sky. by Tom King.

John Constantine Hellblazer: Dangerous Habits. #41-46. by Garth Ennis & Will Simpson.

The Spectre by John Austrander.

Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil. by Jeff Smith.

Blue And Gold. by Dan Jurgens

Victor & Nora: A Gotham Love Story. by Lauren Myracle

Batman Vol 1 & 2 (The Court of Owls & The City of Owls). By Scott Snyder.

Again, there are definitely some better comics out there and a lot of comic runs I didn't add on. That's simply because I haven't read the others. Some of these characters you might not care for, and that's completely fine! You don't have to read them then.

Podcasts I'd reccomend:

Character Corner. Their takes and reviews are wonderful. I adore this podcast and found out about many amazing comic runs from this show.

Geek History Lesson. It has a gimmick and it's fun. It's not as in-depth as Character Corner but it does have a far larger array of Characters to listen to and learn about. There's also is this ao3 post that has a batshit insane amount of info on how to navigate and learn about Batman and Gotham

#bones replies #dc comics #reading list #bones masterpost

[aziraphales-library]

Hi, thank you for your hard work, this blog is amazing and my n.1 source when it comes to good fics!

I was wondering if you could recommend me some longish fics (around 10k-15k words, could be less, could be a bit more, I don't mind), sort of slow burn, with some pining, maybe a bit of oblivious Aziraphale, fluffy stuff. No explicit ones, please!

I've recently read Any Other Name by ignaz, all i need darling is a life in your shape by deadgreeks, and Something to do with these sacred words by Solshine, which were amazing and I highly recommend them, and I was looking for similar stuff.

Sorry if it's a bit of a hard request, I hope you can help me! Thank you <3

Hello! Here are some fluffy pining slow-ish burn non-explicit fics between 10-15k words...

No Picture Can Express by nutmeag83 (T)

Ezra Fell prefers books (and discretely watching the lovely florist down the street) to social media, but takes up the hobby at Madame Tracy's urging. Anthony Crowley has been pining after his neighbor for ages, happy to keep his distance until Ezra asks him to tutor him in using Instagram. They find they have more in common than just having shops on the same block in Soho.

Plant-Based Customs by junkshopdisco (T)

A Christmas Fiction. In Prose. Being a Story of Christmas & Why An Angel Should Learn More About Mistletoe Than Whether Or Not To Put It On Pizza.

Or: five times Crowley tried to get Aziraphale to kiss him under the mistletoe and one time he didn’t bother.

where the lights burn low and you're only mine by hopelessromantic549 (T)

For the most part, Aziraphale sees himself as a rational angel who follows a consistent moral code. That has been his identity for millennia, and it comforts him, gives him stability in an ever-changing universe.

What he feels for Crowley is decidedly not rational, and that's more terrifying than the Great Plan failing him.

(Or, Aziraphale and Crowley move into a cottage together after the world doesn't end, and Aziraphale tries to be brave.)

To Fools and Stars by NebulaEyes (T)

After a visit from Adam ends with an upgraded computer and a blogging profile, Aziraphale is soon talking with someone who seems to be in the same predicament his own heart is in. What will happen when he realizes just how much this person relates to his situation? What will be said? Will it all work out?

The Constancy of Stars by AppleSeeds (T)

Struggling with the fast pace of change in his life and seeking to connect with something more stable and constant, Aziraphale attends an event run by the Tadfield Astronomical Society to learn more about the stars. After meeting captivating astronomer Crowley, Aziraphale realises that the constancy he's been seeking in his life is more about wanting to have someone, rather than something, that he can rely on to always be there, but would it be too much to hope that Crowley might share his feelings?

the fact of his pulse by lexophile (NR)

The revelation of the angel’s face hovering over him—and his firelit, affectionate expression—is more than he can cope with right now. Crowley shuts his eyes again, although he does make an effort to relax his shoulders and curl his knees in towards his chest. He’s aware that lying in the fetal position with his head on an angel’s lap is just about the least demonic thing he’s ever done.

-

Or: five times Crowley successfully conceals his crush on Aziraphale and one time he fails.

And the three you mentioned...

Any Other Name by ignaz (T)

“It’s just,” he continued, “I’ve noticed that humans—some humans, anyway—they use that word, angel, as a…well, as a sort of…endearment.”

“Do they?” said Crowley, who had invented using the word as an endearment in the 13th century AD.

Something to do with these sacred words by Solshine (T)

Crowley confesses early, and Crowley confesses often. Aziraphale never knows quite what to say.

all i need, darling, is a life in your shape by deadgreeks (G)

After everything, Aziraphale and Crowley, by unspoken agreement, begin sharing their lives. --- Why? Aziraphale wanted to ask him, why millennia of the way things were, and now this?

But while Crowley seemed to have little issue upending every unspoken rule they’d ever written for themselves, Aziraphale was not so flexible, and they had spent thousands of years never quite addressing whatever it was this had stemmed from. Words, Aziraphale had always felt, were for bickering about where to eat for lunch, or hashing out ontological debates, or other trivial nonsense; there was no need to trifle with the imprecision of language, with phrasing and the possibility of being misconstrued, when it came to important matters if the other person simply understood, without needing it said. Six thousand years ago, when Aziraphale had met Crowley on the wall of Eden, watching the first two humans set out to begin the rest of history, something deep within him, more central even than his Grace, had thought, oh, it’s you, and that had been enough for him--for both of them, he assumed--for three millennia.

However much he wanted to ask, he didn’t know how. The words simply weren’t there.

- Mod D

#good omens #ineffable husbands #slow burn #pining #fluff #mod d