#casey the cuddlebug

So I've had a couple questions in my ask box and figured I'd make it super clear: Please feel free to ask questions!

I keep meaning to link my tumblr in the notes of the IF-verse fics but I am super forgetful! I'm 100% good with people asking questions about any of my fics, especially my IF-verse fics!

Some sort of FAQs/fun facts:

I am very Canadian, in the last 10 years I've lived in Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax (Rachel Reid keeps showing up to sign books at my local indie bookstores)

I have everything planned and plotted out including Irina's longform fic and Mac/Aris' wedding minific!

I've got aphantasia and the If-verse (specifically Mac and Aris) are the first OCs I've written for in... A while! I struggle to conceptualize characters but Mac, Aris, and Ash all sprung up pretty fully formed

IF:Deal was initially going to be a separate OC fic so people could just project whatever fanon Luca partner they wanted but plotting out Irina's story made me realize how close she (and Mac) are to Luca and how difficult leaving Luca's husband a blank slate becomes when they're that close.

There is at least two more upcoming POV guests in Deal

I am, unfortunately, kind of known for being slightly evil about my writing, so the angst will angst, but the whole point of GCs and romances in general is to have the happily ever afters. I'm going to be super clear in the top notes of chapters about when major triggers will come up on page vs being referenced!

I do know who Irina's surrogate/egg donor is and it's pretty obvious if you look at her picrew but it doesn't super matter

I am, in fact, co-writing this w my lil writers' assistant who's name is Casey and he is a year and a half old and mostly beagle and he is my fur son and the cutest baby ever (dog tax below)

So yeah! Ask me questions if you want! I will try to remember to link this post in an authors' note at some point!

Hi there! I'm Stabs (also known as Mars). I'm very Canadian, and in just the last ten years I've lived in Winnipeg, Toronto, and Montreal! I currently live in Halifax, Nova Scotia!

I have a lil writers' assistant who's name is Casey (#casey-the-cuddlebug) and he is a year and a half old and mostly beagle and he is my fur son and the cutest baby ever (dog tax below)

I've got aphantasia and my Instant Family universe is the first time I've written OCs in a while because I struggle to conceptualize original characters!

stabthroughme is my second tumblr/ao3 (and tiktok) as I initially wanted to keep my works separate, and then I stopped using my original ao3/tumblr 🤣 On my initial ao3 I had a series of Major Character Death tagged fics I've written, I'm known for being angsty and delighting in causing emotional pain so that's definitely going to be a through line in p much all my fics (minus the only fluff fics). I'm very careful about tags, and if major/common triggers are going to be in a multi-chaptered fic I will always list them in the chapter notes as well as tags.

Blog Navigation:

#stabs-rambles: longer bits (HCs, asks, etc) that aren't quite full fics #stabs-writes: talk about writing/ficlets/snippets of WIPs #stabs-answers: asks I've answered #ask-game: ask games I've reblogged, feel free to send me an ask from any of them! #about-stabs: posts about me! #stabs-is-Canadian: posts about being Canadian #stabs-be-disabled: posts about being disabled/dealing with my disability

IF-verse: Asks and posts relating to the if-verse Stuff that gives the vibes of characters/specific posts relating to characters:

Ash Holmberg: protagonist/LI in IF:Deal Mac Hollander-Rozanov: Shane and Ilya's adopted son, protagonist in On the Flat Circle Aris Hunter: nee Aris Floros, Scott and Kip's son, protagonist in On the Flat Circle Irina Hollander-Rozanov: Shane and Ilya's daughter via surrogate, protagonist in [redacted]

Vegas/Admirals!Ilya: What if Ilya reported the ROC for doping at the 2014 Olympics? What if SHane and Ilya got married in Vegas and stayed married so Ilya could get a Canadian spousal visa/passport/eventual citizenship? What if Ilya got traded to the Admirals c. 2016, right after the tuna meltdown, and was with Scott through the season that culminated in the Kiss Seen Round The World™?

Chart Our Path: Aromantic Bisexual Marley, Bisexual Poly Hayden, Poly Jackie, and the very queer throuple/QPR they form.

And dog tax in the read more:

YES! That is my BABY BOY!!! His name is Casey and we’ve had him for a year this coming Tuesday! He is very beagle-y (we spent the last 48 hours watching him closely bc he scarffed down chocolate, he’s fine) but he is much larger than typical beagles as you can see with his more breed-typical dog park friend Rosie!

He also gets more freckles on his nose when it’s wet! He’s got a full tag on my blog for when I feel like sharing pictures of him. He’s the banner on my blog bc he’s my writing assistant!

Those of you wondering where Pelle (Luca's parents' dog) came from: This is Callie.

Callie is 6 months old and already three feet tall.

She is very fluffy. And very sweet.

I offer puppy forest pictures as penance...

ooooo yes!

For Aris his default for giving out is acts of service; he was raised with the expectation of eventually being the one to provide for his family and it's still deeply ingrained in him. When it comes to providing love to Mac, though, it's almost entirely in quality time. Especially after the 27-28 season where they have to be very intentional about scheduling time together. With Mac he defaults to words of affirmation and it is exactly what Aris need 90% of the time. Mac knows Aris' default and knows he's actively meeting Mac where his is a more "perfect" fit and he absolutely adores Aris for it (one of many reasons obv).

With Ash and Luca theirs are more automatically aligned; both are major givers and receivers of physical touch. Luca and Ash are both very touchy people and it's part of why Alex doesn't clock them until he's outright told, because he knows Ash's favourite thing to do when they were growing up was just straight up lie on top of Alex and he knows Luca physically reaches out for reassurance. So when he sees Ash sitting on a wall basically wrapped around Luca while they're watching beer pong he just sees his brother and best friend being the physically affectionate people they both are.

Irina 100% defaults to gift giving, and it's part of why her love interest is also a hockey legacy. The point of her giving gifts isn't the monetary value (which is ofc very high), but the careful thought that goes into it.

And bc someone mentioned wanting more pupper pictures; have some Casey pictures as a bonus :D