poisonwrites

[poisonwrites]

Ursula le Guin

[poisonwrites]

Writing a Story from Start to Finish - Guide

                I see you guys in the tags and reblogs talking a lot about how you have a desire to write, but have no clue what to write about, or where to even start figuring that out. While starting any project can be incredibly daunting, I wanted to put together a little guide to hopefully make it a bit more accessible. Be warned, this will probably be a long post.

Step 1: Form an idea

All writing begins with this: an idea. Ideas can start as small as an object, or as big as a world or cast of characters. What’s important is that your idea genuinely interests you, and makes you want to explore it more.

                There are a million ways to gain inspiration for ideas, but my favourite method is a sort of brainstorm/mind map of all the little and big things you find interesting. Any tropes, characters, places, concepts, objects, animals, other stories, etc. you love—write them down. Then, start connecting the pieces. Each connection is one concept or idea you could explore further.

                If this doesn’t work for you, try using some writing prompts or check out 15 ways to spark new ideas.

                If you are a planner, proceed to Step 2. If you are a pantser, skip to step 7.

Step 2: Create your Protagonist

Now that you have a sort of concept or inspiration to work off of, you need your main character. There are about as many ways to create characters as there are characters themselves, and each method is going to work better or worse for every writer.

                At the barest minimum, all your protagonist needs is a Goal to work towards, a Reason for wanting it, and a Flaw that keeps them from having it right away.

                These three things can form a baseline character. Consider what the thing they want, why they want it, and what’s keeping from it says about them as a person.

                Rapunzel (from Disney’s Tangled) wants to see the ‘floating lights’ on her birthday. She wants to because she believes she will learn more about herself through seeing them. Her fear over disappointing and disobeying her ‘mother’ keeps her from it.

                My favourite character creation technique is actually Here—it takes you through creating character in order to create story.

                If that one doesn’t work for you, try this one. It is more focused on defining traits and figuring out the personality of the character first.

Step 3: Your Plot is your Protagonist’s Arc

As stated in the character creation technique I shared in Step 2, character is plot. By that I mean, the character’s journey is the plot of the story. We’re here to see the protagonist transform because of the circumstances incited in the beginning.

                So to form a plot, we need to know who the character is at the beginning, and what they need to learn by the end.

                Your character’s arc is A but B so C:

                A – your character and their flaw

                B – The conflict they go through

                C – how they change

“Obsessed with success, Jenny Beech works tirelessly to earn the approval of her strict parents and graduate top of her class, but when the new girl in town pulls her into a whole new world of excitement and fun, she must stand up for herself against her impossible standards and learn how to be a teen again.”

                This one sentence has everything we need to know about this story and character: “Obsessed with success (character trait/flaw), Jenny Beech works tirelessly to earn the approval of her strict parents and graduate top of her class (goal), but when the new girl in town pulls her into a new world of excitement and fun (conflict), she must stand up for herself against her impossible standards and learn how to be a teen again (change).”

                If you have these three things, congratulations! You already have a story. If you’d like, you may begin writing it now (skip to step 8). Or…

Step 4: Theme

                I did a whole post on theme you should check out here. Essentially, the big takeaway is that your theme is a lesson to impart to the readers—which means it is not a question, it is an answer.

                For the example given above, our theme would likely be something like, “Teens need to balance their additional responsibilities as they mature into young adults with the joy of being young and having fun.” Or, “Friends and a close social network is more important than having the best grades.” Or, “It’s important to take frequent time away from work in order to maintain one’s humanity.” Etc. Etc.

                Theme is conveyed through what your characters need to do to succeed (or what they do that causes their failure). If Jenny lets loose and suffers consequences for it in the end, we’re saying that she should have stuck to her studies rather than letting herself have fun. If she lets loose and is rewarded with a greater relationship with herself and her parents, we’re saying that was the correct thing to do.

Step 5: Outlining

                Now that we have a plot and a theme, we can outline our story. An outline is like a roadmap of what you’re writing. It can be as specific or broad as you want. My outlines tend to follow this structure, and I improvise the little stuff in between, but if you need to get all your ideas within your outline, that’s good too!

                Just make sure your notes make sense to you so when you need to know where to go next, you have a handy tool just for that.

Step 6: Worldbuilding

                Worldbuilding is probably where you’ll spend the most time because there’s just so much. However, I also find it one of the most fun parts. The minimal thing you need to know is your world’s normal, and how that normal is disrupted in the inciting incident.

                Jenny’s normal is school work and trying to impress her parents. The disruption is the new girl in town.

                Rapunzel’s normal is the tower and her hobbies. The disruption is Flynn breaking in.

                I did a more in-depth post on worldbuilding here, but the basics is just ask questions, explore consequences, and do plenty of research.

                Which brings us to…

Step 7: Research

                This can also be done after your first draft, but can’t be skipped entirely. It’s important when trying to convey experiences that may not be wholly your own, or unique perspectives, that you understand the context behind those things in the real world.

                Once again, ask questions, talk to people, and remain open to what you find.

Step 8: We can start writing now

                Now that you have all your planning ducks in a row (or have a good inspiration to jump from) it’s time to start writing! Either go from the outline you built, or just try out scenes. I have some tips for actually writing the dang thing that I’ll put here:

                Let me know how your writing goes, good luck!

[poisonwrites]

Free Websites / Tools that I use for Writing ! !

Organizational:

Notion : a personal favourite of mine. from what i've seen, unlimited projects with a variety of cards to use. it also has an mobile app with it. highly recommend.

Milanote : has some limitations on how many cards you can have but has different templates you can tinker around with. is more of a whiteboard type of site.

Hiveword : i haven't used it but it provides a novel-building template for plot, scenes, characters, etc.

Lucidchart : another i don't use but from what I've seen, it's similar to Milanote with their whiteboard style. also has a variety of templates of charts, diagrams, and more!

Helpful Tools:

OneLook Thesaurus : my go-to website for finding synonyms. also provides definitions!

Language Tool : a chrome extension similar to Grammarly that acts as a grammar-aid tool.

Character Creation / World Building:

Pinterest : a great source if you're searching for inspiration. you can also find tips and prompts on the site too!

Reedsy Character Name Generator : a name generator that include forename and surnames. has nationality specific names and a few mythic / fantasy name generators.

Fantasy Name Generator : this name generator has much more variety with character names and fictional location titles.

Inkarnate : a fantasy world-building site that I used in the past. fun fact: i made a little (it wasn't little) dragon shaped island for one story that never made it on paper.

[poisonwrites]

Hiya! I'm a new writer, aside from an odd bit of fanfiction here and there. I'd like to finally begin an original story. What are your initial actions when beginning a new work? Aside from that, do you have any more tips for me to adhere to? I'm not looking to publish or anything, this is purely for fun.

Guide: Starting a New (Long Fiction) Story

Whether you’re writing for practice, publication, or fun, the process for writing a new original story is different for everyone and often depends on the project itself. Here are some things to consider as you start to prepare and get started on your new story.

1. To plot or not to plot?

The first thing you’ll want to do is decide how much you want to plot out the story before you start writing. Some writers are avid plotters, planning out every detail of their story before they begin. Other writers prefer to take an idea and wing it, and some people plot as they go. At the very least, it’s a good idea to make sure you know the following before you start writing:

Who is your protagonist? What do they want, why do they want it, and how are they going to get it?

When and where is the story set? What parts of this setting will play the biggest role in the story and how?

Who or what is the antagonistic force? Every protagonist needs an antagonist to work against them, creating obstacles they must overcome as they try to reach their goal. An antagonistic force is anyone or anything that creates those obstacles, whether a super villain, overbearing but well-meaning parents, a disease, a natural disaster, or a plague of zombies.

Know your beginning, middle, and end. Before you start writing, it’s a good idea to have a mental picture of how the story starts (your character’s normal life before everything turns upside down), what’s happening at the midpoint (what happens to raise the stakes and give the protagonist a big push toward the “final showdown” with the antagonist), and how the story ends (does your character defeat/survive the antagonistic force? Do they reach their goal? How does your character or their world change as a result?) 

2. Research and Inspiration…

Whether or not you decide to plot, you will probably want to spend a little time doing some research and looking for information. If you are choosing to plot, you may want to do this afterward or during your plotting phase. Ultimately, you’ll want to consider whether there are any elements in your story that you need to know more about before writing them. This might include things like learning what it’s like to be deaf, how castles are laid out, or what kinds of plants and flowers typically grow in forests. If you’re setting your story in a real place, or are using a real place as inspiration, you may want to learn more about that place. If your story takes place in a particular era or involves a particular event or type of event, you will want to research those. For inspiration, you may want to look for pictures of everything from characters and clothing to buildings and places. Some writers enjoy putting together pinterest or tumblr galleries to house inspiring pictures. You may also want to put together character, setting, and story aesthetics (collages), put together a writing playlist that has the right feel for your story, or even travel to places or do activities that are related to your story.

3. Planning, preparation, and organization.

If you’re going to wing it, you’re pretty much ready to get started with writing now. However, if you’re going to plot your story, this is the point where you might want to do a little more planning and preparation before you start writing, and depending on how much stuff you accumulate through these early stages, you’ll probably want to do a little organization, too.

When I start a new story, I always do three things:

– purchase a three-ring binder and dividers for keeping track of my story plans– set up a story specific folder on my desktop with necessary subfolders– set up a story specific folder in my browser with necessary subfolders

I like to decorate my binder with a printed out aesthetic picture and a pretty title on the side. The divider tabs for my binders usually contain sections like: characters, setting, outline/scene list, notes, rough draft, etc. If there is more than one major setting, sometimes I’ll give each setting their own divider. It really just depends on the needs of my story, and sometimes I re-organize my dividers as the story progresses and my needs evolve.

My desktop folder usually contains the following subfolders: drafts, storage, notes-ideas, character stuff, setting stuff, inspiration, and then sometimes I do additional subfolders… like my “character stuff” subfolder might have subfolders for each character or characters in each specific setting.

My browser folder is usually kind of a mess. I will sometimes do subject-specfic subfolders, but usually I just bookmark whatever I need to and make sure the bookmarks I access the most are at the top of the list.

Again, you will probably add to all of this as you actually get into the plotting phase. I consider this phase and the plotting phase to go hand-in-hand. This is really just about getting everything set up and ready to go.

This is also a good time to figure out things like a writing schedule (if you need to set one), daily or weekly word count goals, and get your writing space organized if you have one.

4. Plotting…

There are many different ways you can plot your story, all depending on what works best for you and the needs of your story. Some writers simply like to come up with an exhaustive summary of events from beginning to end. Others like to do some sort of outline. You may want to do a timeline and a scene list as well. My post how to outline a plot will walk you through some of the different options, and my plot and structure master list has lots of other posts that may be useful to you during this time.

5. Start writing!

Once you’ve gotten your story plotted out (or not, if you’re choosing not to plot), it’s time to sit down and start writing. Here are some things to keep in mind:

– This is the very first draft of your story and it’s going to be ROUGH, which is why it’s often referred to as the “rough draft” or “zero draft.” This draft isn’t going to be perfect. It’s going to be messy, ugly, meandering, and kind of awful, and THAT’S FINE!!! This is just the rough sketch or mockup. You’re going to improve upon it later.

– Because this is the first draft, now is not the time to worry about word choice, sentence structure, word play, grammar and punctuation, flawless story structure, etc. Just get the story down to the best of your ability. You’re going to make it pretty in the later drafts.

– Also, because this is the first draft, don’t be afraid to go a little hog wild. You don’t have to worry about word count and having a tight story now. Feel free to go off on tangents, delve into fluffy scenes, and follow weird threads. Dive in and explore your world and its characters. This exploratory process allows you to kind of throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. A lot of the time you’ll end up discovering gems you hadn’t considered initially. Again, you can figure out what to cut out later on.

– AGAIN… DO NOT EDIT AS YOU GO. I mean, look… sometimes, more experienced writers develop a process where they do edit as they go, and that’s fine. But until you’ve written enough stories from beginning to end to know what works for you, don’t trouble yourself with editing as you go. The most important thing right now is to write this story from beginning to end. Once you get to the end, you can go back and make it pretty.

– It’s okay to feel frustrated and have days where you need to take a break. You may have days where you just want to delete the story and move on, but don’t do that. If you need to, walk away from it for a few days or a week and come back to it later. If the story still isn’t working for you, save everything and start on a new project, but never delete what you have no matter how much you feel like you hate it now. You never know when inspiration will strike and you’ll decide to go back to an old project.

Good luck with your story!

[poisonwrites]

Hey! I've written a first full outline and a few scenes (YAY) and I'm kinda worried that the readers will catch on that I actually have a favourite character. I'm attached to all of them, but this guy is Special - he has traits I really like, an arc I'm excited to write, he's bit of a self-insert, bit of a wish fulfillment, the whole thing. How can I hide my fondness from the reader? If I let it shine through too much, it'll kill any charm this character is supposed to have :(

Hiding Character Fondness from Reader

Here are some things to be aware of:

1 - Keep the Plot on Track - One of the biggest tells that the author has a thing for a character is when the plot seems to shift in favor of the character. Not only does this character slowly elbow their way to center stage, but the plot seems to completely shift course in order to highlight their conflict/adventures. So, make sure you stick to the plot you had in mind and keep the character's role as you originally envisioned it.

2 - Avoid "Author's Pet" Armor - Another giveaway that the author favors a character is when the character has immunity to every bad thing that happens in the story, even when it makes no sense. They're the one character who emerges from battle completely unscathed (or with superficial injuries), they always draw the long straw and luck is always on their side; and if something bad has to happen to a character, it's never this one.

3 - Avoid "Author's Punching Bag" - Conversely, sometimes author favoritism plays out by treating the character like a punching bag. I guess this results from a hurt/comfort perspective, where the author enjoys putting the character through the wringer because it creates an opportunity for them to be comforted by another character. But when it's the same character who's hurt over and over again, with the rest of the cast seeming to be armored against trouble, it has the same effect as being the one character that's never hurt.

4 - Avoid Special Snowflake Syndrome - Consider all the characters in your story. If your favorite character is always the one with the skills, knowledge, experience, connections, to solve the story's problem and/or save the day, that's a problem. Not only does it make them overpowered, but it means the spotlight will always be on them because they're the one everyone else has to rely on all the time.

5 - Avoid Complete Lovability - This is a big one... there are few people who walk the planet who are genuinely without flaws and are universally loved by everyone who knows them. Real people, most of the time, have flaws. Someone can be the nicest, most generous person in the world, but they could have bad breath or be chronically late, or really stubborn about trying new things. Flaws don't make a person bad, they just make them real. But we all have our pet peeves, too, so if you know someone who is chronically late, they might get on your nerves and not be your favorite person in the world. We want that for our characters, too. They should have believable flaws and not give everyone they know heart eyes every time they walk in the room.

Happy writing!

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[poisonwrites]

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[poisonwrites]

SWOT: characters, archs and conflicts

If you’re in business, you’ve probably heard of SWOTs: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It’s meant to analyze other players in your field (i.e. your competitors) and to define future steps to improve your own business.

I have slightly modified this idea to build characters, to give them archs and to make up conflicts with other characters.

1. Strength

Let’s say you decide your character is enthousiastic, always gives 100% in any situation. That’s a strength, right? It means your character is overall a dependable person, and agreeable to be around.

Now write a scene in which you introduce this character without explicitly telling the reader about their personality. How would you notice such a character trait in real-life people? How does it show in your character?

2. Opportunities

Opportunities can arise for people who are happy to take on the work, when they prove themselves to be a good friend (“Can you pick up my mom from the airport?”) or when their boss sees how much they get done in a day.

Write a second scene, in which your characters reaps the rewards for their character trait.

3. Conflicts

I will rephrase “Threaths” as “Conflicts”. For your character, who is the most annoying or dangerous kind of person? Someone who is the opposite of them. This doesn’t have to be big, it can show in small details.

For your hands-on character, this could mean a colleague who does the bare minimum and gets away with it. Or a family member who never gives a helping hand. A class mate who is too chill about group assignments. 

Can you see how this will get under your character’s skin? Write a scene in which your character’s personality contrasts with that of another character. Will they confront the other person or will they let it stew? The way they deal with this conclict shows the reader a lot about your character.

4. Weakness

How can this character trait turn into a weakness? When is this character trait not the best strategy? A quick trick is to imagine how other characters react to it.

Maybe your character’s hands-on mentality means they sometimes forget to take other people into account, even when they mean to help that other person. (“Thanks for painting my new fence, but I didn’t want it white, I wanted to keep it natural.”) Maybe their enthousiasm means they are too blunt, and they unwillingly hurt other people’s feelings. Maybe they even lose friends over it. Maybe always giving 100% makes your character wear thin. Maybe people take advantage of them.

See how the fortress is crumbling? Write a scene in which your character shows a bad side of themselves or gets into trouble because of their character trait.

5. Your story

The early part of your story is a good time to show the strenghts of your character, and next they move into the opportunities. Everything is going so well, people value them for their worth, oh happy day! Wouldn’t it be a shame if they encounter a conflict… And another, and another.

Maybe circumstances in your story push your character to reveal their character trait in a more extreme way than they would have done if they had the time to think before reacting. Maybe your character is the only one with this character trait in a majority of conflicting personalities.

After a number of conflicts, your character’s weakness grows, internally and externally. How will this evolve? Will they learn from their conflicts? Will they make amends? Find people who do value them as they are? Accept their true self? Learn how to prioritize?

And there’s your story.

You’ve got this! Now go write!

I hope this was helpful. Don’t hesitate to ask me any questions, and happy writing!

Follow me for more writing advice, or check out my other writing tips here. New topics to write advice about are also always appreciated.

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[poisonwrites]

One More Night

Rating: M

Pairing: Greg Hirsch / Tom Wambsgans

Words: 4.5k, multichapter, WIP

Summary:It had been hilarious, initially, when Tom found out about his new assistant Greg's extracurriculars. Greg, whispering to a small crowd of people as they slowly drifted to sleep every night? That sounded like the opposite of relaxing to Tom, which was exactly what had him curious in the first place. One thirty second clip was enough to satiate him for a lifetime...until it wasn't. Until he found himself listening more and more-- running out of excuses with each night. A canon compliant ASMR AU, in which Greg whispers and Tom listens.

--

“Hi everyone,” the video started, and the sound of Greg’s voice, so low—so close—in Tom’s ears, was enough to have him jolting in his seat. He fumbled the iPad for a moment, pulling it back into his lap after he regained his grip. “I thought I would make a video to introduce myself— a few of you seem to like my content, and I wanted you to get to know me.”

Oh— oh no. This was uncomfortable.

READ CHAPTER ONE HERE

[poisonwrites]

how do i write when i have adhd and cant even outline the first three chapters:( i always get stuck after three, get bored, and never come back. any advice ?

Writing with ADHD (by a writer w/ adhd)

1. Consume caffeine and/or do cardio for 30min before sitting down to write. Listen to music, a themed playlist perhaps. Do not log onto the internet or have any distractions nearby (books, pets, clutter, food, unfinished projects). Keeping a dohickey like a stress ball around or even a lightweight dumbbell is a decent proxy when your brain craves distraction. Chewing gum can also help you focus.

2. Don’t outline by chapter, I cannot get farther than five or six when I do that. Outline from beginning to end, but make sure to have a middle! Write a synopsis of what happens and break it into chronological chunks. Only outline by chapter once you’ve got a general outline of the whole story, and even then only outline a couple chapters at a time.

3. Write whatever comes to you, but keep it in order in your document. You want to write how your character discovers a secret, but you know that’s not until chapter 20. Write it anyway and title it chapter 20. Do this with every scene you’re inspired to write, then slowly fill in the gaps. If that proves difficult, it’s okay to make the reveal chapter 9 instead and connect everything with [and then this happened] so you’ll know to sew it up later.

4. However short or long the story ends up being, finish it. You can set a goal of 30 chapters, but if 10 is easier finish by chapter ten. Come back (much) later, reread, and add any new ideas you come up with. A short story is sweet! A novella is nice! Train your brain to write longer passages until it can achieve a story of the length you want.

5. (optional) Outlining is for people who can focus, just start writing somewhere and figure it out along the way. I had a very general outline for my longest novel, but mostly I made everything up and ignored it. Maintain focus, know your end goal, and even if you stumble there and take some shortcuts it still counts. Any messiness can be improved in future drafts.

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[poisonwrites]

Blood Red (and Milky White)

Rating: E

Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham

Words: 21k, 2/3 Chapters completed

Summary:

As his eyes adjusted, Will realized his reflection was being mirrored back to him by the door of an old grandfather clock tucked into the corner of the room— one which Will hadn’t heard ticking until that minute. When the sound finally trickled to his ears though, it was the only thing he could hear. The clock itself jutted up from the floor, taller than Will and just as wide as he was. It was made of a stately dark wood, a wood so dark it appeared black in the low light. As Will’s eyes traced up the clock and to its peak, the ticks became louder and louder— pounding inside his skull.

“Out of bed so late?” Hannibal asked just as Will’s eyes fell upon him; Hannibal was lounging back atop the grandfather clock, legs crossed. He didn’t look amiss, or even uncomfortable on his perch. In fact, he looked like he always did when he sat across from Will during a “session”. Here, however, his face was bottom-lit by the fire, the glow lighting up nothing but his eyes in the darkness like a cat. It was ridiculous.

-- 

A Nutcracker retelling, Hannibal style.

Read Act II here!

[poisonwrites]

Hot Time in the Old Town

Rating: M

Pairing: Will Graham / Hannibal Lecter

Word Count: 1.4k

Summary

Will's a local police officer, hot on the trail of notorious alcohol and arms dealer Mason Verger. He attends Verger's lavish Mardi Gras bash, with plans on getting enough evidence to put the man away for good-- that is, until a young dancer with a wicked smile and a dark stare catches Will's eye. 1920's AU - In the middle there was one dancer, slightly smaller than the other two and appearing, despite his corset and thigh-high stockings, to be male. When Will’s eyes landed on him, he was like a fly on honey; trapped in the brown irises that met him across the room. The dancer’s gaze, his face—it was like a strike of lightning, setting fire to every nerve in Will’s body with something indescribable. Something familiar. Will didn’t let his eyes leave the boy for one moment after that, even when he jumped down from the stage, sauntering somewhere vaguely towards the back of the house.

Link to AO3 

Thank you to @lectercunt for betaing and for the Will and Hannibal edits featured in the moodboard! Smooches!

When Jack sent Will to scope out the party for the night, he had been less than thrilled to leave his house and venture into the French Quarter during Mardi Gras, and even less thrilled when he realized the party he was crashing was one for those who indulged in some of the more…alternative lifestyles. Forget arresting the partiers for consumption of alcohol— Will was sure he could have at least a third of them arrested for sodomy alone. 

But that wasn’t what he was there for, so he kept his eyes focused forward on the glittering costumes and the bubbles upon bubbles of champagne swirling in crystal glasses. It wouldn’t do him any good to begin arresting the partygoers for drinking, and thankfully, that wasn’t what he was there for either. What he was there for was the man at the top: Mason Verger. A man that he and his colleagues suspected was responsible for the rise in alcohol and weapons littering the streets of New Orleans like popcorn at a circus. It would also stand to reason that a seasoned criminal with more than just ties to the underworld would not only know about the booze trade, but perhaps the infamous killer painting New Orleans’ streets red with blood: The Ripper. If they couldn’t get him on solicitation, perhaps they could knock a lead or two out of him.

In the process of blending in, though, Will perhaps had indulged in a few too many glasses of champagne for himself (what Jack didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him) and was feeling rather abstract in his thinking. He made his way through the mass of bodies—wrapped in silks and beads and feathers—until he reached the pulsing, bleeding heart of the bash. In the center of everything—the girls, the waiters, the partiers—there was a raised podium which was large enough to fit three dancers. Their bodies moved together to the music that trilled from the brass band beneath them, the sweat of their skin catching like glitter in the light of the mansion. 

In the middle there was one dancer, slightly smaller than the other two and appearing, despite his corset and thigh-high stockings, to be male. When Will’s eyes landed on him, he was like a fly on honey; trapped in the brown irises that met him across the room. The dancer’s gaze, his face—it was like a strike of lightning, setting fire to every nerve in Will’s body with something indescribable. Something familiar. Will didn’t let his eyes leave the boy for one moment after that, even when he jumped down from the stage, sauntering somewhere vaguely towards the back of the house. It took an internal deliberation of one, two moments before Will followed him, only to be stopped by none other than the host of the party: Mason Verger himself.

It took much too long for Will to shake off Verger’s attention, and by the time he did, Will’s mystery dancer was most likely long gone. Still, he headed towards the back of the house, where french doors opened onto a green, green lawn. The light of the house only stretched so far, though, and Will would have been keen to dismiss the darkness as being empty, had there not been the sudden flash of a match being lit. When it glowed orange, Will saw for a brief moment who held it: the dancer. 

It was easy, then, to walk out onto the lawn and into the darkness—back to an alcove no other partygoers had noticed. When he reached the dancer, the boy smirked, offering out his cigarette like a lady might offer her hand to be kissed. Will took it.

“I thought you intended on keeping me waiting forever,” the boy said, his voice cradling the vowels, but not with a Creole accent— something foreign. 

“Got caught up,” Will said by way of apology. 

The boy shrugged. “It would be your loss.” 

“I’m sure,.” Will agreed as he took a seat in one of the veranda chairs. Out here, the music from the party was just a faint pulse, no louder than the hum of his own heart in his ears. He watched as the mystery boy walked towards him, stopping just short of their knees touching. The boy’s exposed, pale skin glittered in the moonlight; a fine jewel among the sordid city, but with a few white slivers of healed scars. Will took a long drag off the cigarette, just as he noticed something…else glint on the boy—something that stained the fingers of his silk gloves a dark black. 

“I didn’t miss anything important in the meantime, I hope…” Will flicked his eyes back up to the boy, who grinned down at him like a cat.

“Hannibal, if you were asking my name.”

“Hannibal,” Will tried the name on his tongue. It dissolved like sugar— tasted just as sweet. 

Hannibal began plucking off his gloves, turning them inside out so whatever was on the outside was now tucked away. He let them fall to the ground, an act which Will missed completely, as the boy straddled his lap, plucking the cigarette from Will’s lips. His mouth fell open at the boy’s audacity, and the way his ass ground ardently back onto his thighs. Hannibal put the cigarette into his mouth with another feline smile.

“Do you want to touch me?” he asked. His pretty pink nipples peeked out above the corset, and Will had the urge to lean forward and lick one into his mouth. Instead, he moved one of his hands from Hannibal’s hips to the boy’s arse, where he palmed just slightly at whatever frilly undergarment he was trying to pass off as clothing. 

“Forward,” Hannibal purred, breathing out a smoky cloud into Will’s face, “I like that.”

Something hot and dark was coiling in Will’s belly. It made Will brazen, just as heat shot through to his fingertips, his toes. “You seemed like the type,” he breathed. 

“Careful,” Hannibal said, and gracefully, he stooped forward, nudging Will’s nose with his own before continuing, “Someone might get the wrong idea about you— out here in the dark with a boy.”

Will let his hand trace up Hannibal’s chest to his collarbone, gingerly up and up until his hand was wrapped lightly around the base of Hannibal’s throat. The boy gave a soft groan, letting Will pull him in until their lips just barely touched. 

“I’m not worried.” Will held his ground, not moving that tantalizing centimeter forward that would crush their lips together. Not even when Hannibal’s impish tongue darted out and licked Will’s lower lip. “I don’t think you’d let anybody see us, Mr. Lecter, especially given the blood on your gloves. Where did you hide the body? So many people out here…”

That—the recognition of Hannibal’s extracurriculars—excited the boy. His hips gave a stuttering grind downwards, just as fireworks began to crackle over the lawn. In flashes, Will was able to see into the boy’s eyes; blood red. Blood red and dancing with amusement, right before he bit down on Will’s lip. That was what finally snapped all of Will’s control— his hand on Hannibal’s throat moved to his hair, using the fine strands to pull the boy in for a teeth-cracking kiss. Between them and on their tongues, there was the taste of blood. Will’s blood, perhaps, from where Hannibal had bitten his lip? Or blood from something else?

Hannibal pulled back, panting and flushed red, just as Will began grinding up to meet him. As fireworks crackled, Will felt something new wash over him, like the sensation of being at the top of a cliff and knowing you could just…throw yourself off. His brain hummed with adrenaline.

“You said it yourself: I’m not worried,” Hannibal clarified, wiping a smudge of blood from the corner of his lips. “And I’m not worried about you either, officer Graham—” And there it was. The freefall. “If you decide to go to Jack Crawford tonight, I’ll make sure to be right behind you with all the proof I need to have you kicked off the force for…” He swiveled his hips, before continuing with a suggestive purr, “indecency.”

Damn this kid, Will thought, damn him for being so much more than a pretty face. He tightened his fingers in Hannibal’s hair even more and finally, finally the boy let out a small whine of pain.

“Then let's make the accusations worthwhile, hm?” he growled, and blissfully, their lips connected once more under the shower of sparks above them.

Fin. 

[poisonwrites]

traits turned sour

honest - insensitive

persuasive - manipulative

caring - overprotective

confidence - arrogance

fearless - cocky

loyalty - an excuse

devotion - obsession

agreeable - lazy

perfectionism - insatisfaction

reserved - aloof

cautious - skeptical

self loved - selfish

available - distractible

emotional - dramatic

humble - attention-seeking

diligent - imposing

dutiful - submissive

assertive - bossy

strategic - calculated

truthful - cruel

[poisonwrites]

Blood Red (and Milky White)

Rating: E

Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham

Words: 11.9k, twoshot

Summary:

“And before we begin, it is customary to commence the feast when the first star of the night can be seen in the sky. But alas,” Hannibal gestured to the window behind him, “we are in Baltimore, which leaves little room for stars.” The crowd chuckled. “So the onus falls on me, as the head of the household, to begin the meal. Please,” he raised his glass, and Will, along with several other people in the room, followed along with him, “enjoy. And merry Christmas.” -- A Nutcracker retelling, Hannibal style.

Read Act I here!

[poisonwrites]

This is going to be a bumpy ride with creepy crawlies and nightmares.

Rated: E

Current Word Count: 2,107

Chapter Count: 2/13

Summary:

In the corner where the walls meet the ceiling is a spiderweb. What’s more concerning is the cluster of egg sacs attached to the web. The other scent lingering in the room hits him then, smacks him upside the head and he’s not sure how he didn’t notice it before. Something foul.

Spiders mate in the fall and Peter's hybrid omega body is finally catching up with being jerked through seasons after being snapped for five years.

OR

A horror story for spooky season, with a sprinkle of oviposition and ABO.

There are a lot of tags for this one so make sure to read through them before deciding to give this a try. Lots of graphic depictions and not so fun experiences await. Maybe I'm being a bit hyperbolic, but better safe than sorry.

[poisonwrites]

I had too much caffeine and can’t fall asleep yet so here’s some late night Starker thoughts…

Yoga instructor Peter and stressed CEO Tony?!

Pepper basically forces Tony to take care of himself and demands that he leave the office/workshop at least once during the day. She signs him up for a yoga class. He balks at first but quickly changes his tune when he sees the adorable - and VERY flexible - instructor.

Unfortunately for Tony, Pepper signed him up for the advanced session (did she do it on purpose to torture him? wejustdontknow.gif) but he can barely even touch his toes because his muscles are so tight from stress. Meanwhile Peter is sliding into poses like this without breaking a sweat while being sweetly encouraging and even trying his best to hide his giggles when Tony keeps falling over.

After a particularly embarrassing class Peter quietly offers to give Tony some private, one-on-one lessons that are a bit less intense.

“And then I can be much more hands on, Mr. Stark, really help you get into those positions” he says with just a hint of a grin that leads Tony to believe he might not be as sweet and innocent as he seems.

[poisonwrites]

Cliffside

Rating: E

Pairing: Stephen Strange/Tony Stark/Peter Parker

Words: 8.4k, WIP

Summary:

Stephen Strange: divorced. Eight months sober. Ex-physician. Murderer.

After a car crash ends his career and kills his passenger, Stephen Strange finds work in a small town in Maine, far away from the memories of New York City and his failed life there. There, he meets Tony, an enigmatic divorcé more than happy to offer his time to Stephen. Little does he know, Tony has secrets of his own, as does Peter; the bright young student in Stephen’s junior year biology class. As tensions rise between the three, and the shadows on the walls begin to move, Stephen begins to lose the one thing that kept him moving forward: his sanity. Was this move to his new cliffside home really the oasis he thought it would be? Or is Stephen permanently and indisputably haunted by the ghosts of his past?

Read chapter two here!

[poisonwrites]

Peter who has a tiny dick. He’s been embarrassed about it his whole life, and tries really hard to hide it

Of course tony sees it one day, because he’s making Peter’s suit and that means wearing almost no clothes sometimes. And Peter is really really embarrassed, but Tony is so nice about it he makes Peter feel good about himself

And eventually, months later, when they’ve been together for a while, Peter learns that this was one of the hardest moments for Tony because he wanted to suck Peter off then and there so desperately