#//Longer than it should have been bc she got Introspective

[dutybcrne]

@fleetinglotus said : As likely as insignificant today is to be and not having much room for creativity when it came to gifting someone who can potentially have no need for expensive, flowery or any basic human needs, Michihiko still found time to think of something. Though not on the extravagant side, what he chose still held a little flair. Its a step after another, till the co-ruling deity found path to Ei's quarters within Tenshukaku. He can already see some gifts left to the side of the doors but slowly made its way in. "I brought you something", to that which is deemed his mother. As for the item in question, it was but a set of Fontainian tea cups, back from one of his old travels there. (Fleetinglotus. Ruling verse ofc) 『 Ei Bday! That I answered late my bad kjdbdg || Accepting 』

In truth, her birthday meant very little to her.

If it wasn’t the fact that she preferred Makoto take the lion’s share of attention on such a day, then it was a profound, boundlessly bitter feeling that always accompanied the coming of this day. The loss and pain she felt, with the literal other half of her being gone. Remembering each vivid moment she’d held her twin in her arms as the life faded from her eyes.

Miko had been the only one who had been truly able to move her heart enough to make the day otherwise change its meaning. Her shining light, her best friend, the only one who truly knew her, after everything else have been wrenched from her grasp. Only for the bleakness to come crawling right back when they’d lost touch ( no, when she’d iced her out ), for the day to become yet another with mourning gnawing away at her mind as she began a steadfast path to seek Eternity for her nation.

And now, after all was said and done…

“Ah?”

Amethyst hues avert from the sight of the evening’s glow across the skies, taking in the other.

Once a tool meant to forge perfection, to ensure her nation and people would be well cared for even as the centuries would continue to pass…now something akin to family, if at anything, as much as he was an aid to her reign. Truly, this child, who would resemble her deceased second half to a most painful degree…after all this time, how is it he could find time to take part in such gestures?

She pulled away from the open screen, silent strides carrying her forth until she would come to stand before him.

“I see.” Words would catch in her throat as her gaze would swiftly avert to the gift in hand. A hand moved, fingertips gently bumping against his as she would move to gently take the set from his hands.

Puppet, right, he was—

She would subtly shake her head to clear her mind before lifting her gaze to him once more.

“Thank you.”

The Shogun need not bow to anyone, for Her Authority is supreme and none had truly yet to truly receive such an honor. However…in this very moment, where words of gratitudes and affections would fail, she would make her exception, bowing her head to the boy.

To her son.

“I will treasure this greatly.”

[quirrrky]

KNY BOYS GETTING JEALOUS —» headcanons  —» ft. tanjirou, inosuke, zenitsu, kyojuro, giyuu, sanemi 

A/N: 🍰 I’m writing for kny everyweek 😊 Be a part of my taglist for contents and event privileges DETAILS | FORM 

»—TANJIROU

It may come off that Tanjirou is a very understanding guy who’s beyond jealousy or at least he doesn’t show that he is. He doesn’t mind you being friends with other people or them being so close to you what he’s jealous of if someone’s doing the job of taking care of you. Like that one time you were feeling dizzy and this random person checked up on your temp, by lacing his hand on your forehead. Tanjirou’s hand immediately flew over that person’s wrist and removed his/her hand on you. He’s still nice tho telling that person, “I know you’re concerned about, Y/N, but I think I can check up on her myself. Thank you.” Pouted a lot that day though and when you asked him if he got jealous, he struggled lying and ended up admitting. Shower him with cuddles please. 

»—INOSUKE

If you’re his, you’re his. It’s Inosuke we’re talking about in here. He can sense it whenever someone is acting overtly close to you more than they should. One time, someone who admired you approached you and asked how he/she could keep in touch with you. Inosuke quickly jumped in between asking the person wat did he think he’s doing, “Y/N already belongs to me! Unless you want a match!” That definitely kept the person away.

»—ZENITSU

This guy’s definitely a jealous one. Have you seen how he reacted with Sanemi? He’ll have no qualms acting upon his jealousy it’s probably a regular part of his trait that’s no longer shocking anymore. However, when it’s your cat we’re talking about he just feels so powerless. You just adored the fur baby so much and he likes seeing that smile on you that’s why he’s content watching you from afar as you coddled your cat petting the little one with so much adoration. Plus, everytime he tried to join you kitty will hiss at him uwu...He can’t even get rid of the little one bc it’s too cute and it reminded him of himself, homeless and stary. You noticed that he’s been feeling so melancholic lately that’s why you let him enter your room while you cat was sleeping. Zenitsu immediately jumped and laid his head over your lap. He hugged your waist and wept in quiet. “I really thought you don’t love me anymore.” uwuwuwuwu After receiving power-up cuddles from you, he made it his mission to get your cat’s affection. Wishing him all the best!

»—KYOJURO

He may seem like the non-jealous type, but he is. He’s just passive aggressive about it and most likely knows how to use his charm to win the situation over. If you’re going to focus closely, he’s been cockblocking everyone who tried to flirt with you. Someone said you’re beautiful, Kyojuro came into the picture and said, “I know, right?  My Y/N is so beautiful.” Bright smile and chuckles. Someone gave you flowers, he took it instead before handing it over to you, “Thank you for giving my love those wonderful flowers. Aren’t they beautiful, love?” while putting an arm around you still wearing that infectious bright smile and energy you wouldn’t even know if he’s being sarcastic already. 

»—GIYUU

Torn between getting jealous or not. You’ll notice him to be more introspective yet inquisitive. His line of questioning is so detective-like: “Who are those from?” / “How long have you been close?” / “Why was she/he looking at you like that?” / “You seem to have quite an understanding” / “Is he/she married?” / Shouldn’t he/she go home already? I’m goddamn jealous wth is this?! At the end of the day, he rested his chin on your shoulder from behind and wrapped his arms around you. “Do you still love me?” He asked. “Yes, I do and will always do,” you answered. He tightened his embrace and squeezed in further to you, “Don’t leave me, okay?”

»—SANEMI

Not really the jealous type. You can hang out with people and he won’t budge but if he noticed that someone is taking his Y/N-time and you keep blabbering about that someone even when you’re together, beware and be prepared. “What is this? Someone this someone that again?” You’ll notice him get pissed. However, when that person makes a move on you in front him. He’ll pull you close to him and will give that person the deadliest death glare like he’s gonna rip that person apart with just his arms, oh no.  He’ll hold your hand so people will know you’re taken and when you get home, he’ll make sure you’ll remember no other man but him ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

🍰 KNY BAE: @tenyacore​ @chickynn​ @thesundelionblog​ @bambam2550​​ @rainy-day-vibez​ @freedomaboveallelse​ @crysthh​ ​​@taurus852​ @shrimpy109 (OMG you’re not appearing 😭)

REBLOGS ARE DEEPLY APPRECIATED ♡ Please help me reach other viewers. Thank you so so much! 

COLLECTIONS: KNY ✧ DAYDREAM MUSEUM 

[askyourwritergrandma]

hi grandma! i’ve written most of my story, but i skipped over the fight scene in the middle bc i was struggling with writing it. do you have any tips for writing fight scenes?

Hi anon!

Ah, fight scenes.

Don't try to focus too much on descriptions of every move in the fight. Writing is not a visual art form and putting too much emphasis on how the characters are moving their bodies (or weapons) will take too much emphasis off why they are fighting. In visual art, like movies, they can use music/facial expressions/lighting to create an atmosphere that keeps you in the moment of why the characters are fighting.

Also, visually? Fights are exciting.

I do have some tips for writing -

Beneath this cut is violence/blood.

Pick your words wisely Why are they fighting? Desperation? Anger? Fear? If you're fighting out of desperation, like a fight for your life then you'd pick words to convey that sense of absolute urgency. Your descriptions would focus on how close you are to losing and your character would always be trying to either get away or end the fight as fast as possible. If anger, your concentrate is like a rage and your words would feel/sound violent and their concentrate is on destroying what they're up against. Etc.

Use the length of your sentences to convey the pacing of your fight. For a fast, desperate fight you would either use shorter sentences or longer ones with short clauses conveying a lot of action. For slower fights, you can throw in more introspection and use sentences as normal.

Keep track of limbs and injuries If someone has been stabbed in the left arm, that's now a weakness. The fight should be changed because of it. Also, nothing worse than finishing your fight scene, getting ready to pat yourself on the back and realizing you gave Bertidude the Bouncer 3 arms.

Create a sense of space for yourself before you start writing or your fight will get out of hand. Unless they're on a literal meadow, there's almost always obstacles and boundaries to your fight.

An example of a fast, desperate fight:

(WHEN I STARTED WRITING THIS I DIDN'T INTEND DOMESTIC ASSAULT BUT IT HAPPENED SO TW: DOMESTIC ASSAULT)

The sting of the first hit hadn't even faded off her face before he was rearing his arm back to strike again. There weren't many options, with his other hand fisted in her jacket and her back up against the wall. He was expecting nothing of her but what he'd always gotten, a meek acceptance of the things he did to her. He wasn't guarding himself, he wasn't braced for attack, he was set to hit her until his arm got tired. But he'd forgotten the knife in her hand, from the vegetables he'd insisted she chop. He'd forgotten it, she'd forgotten it, until the fast-fast beat of her heart felt like it was jumping into her throat and the paralyzing reality that she fought now or she fought never. He wasn't and she wasn't expecting how the knife seemed to quiver in her fist, how the tip of the blade must have struck a bone, how it vibrated up her arm and up his. His fist tightened reflexively and then loosened. He hit he'd aimed for her face landed against the wall. He was gasping, stuck like a pig, leaning into her space, staring down how she was staring down at the slimy string of blood running over her fingers.

Short, fast clauses, a bit of repetition, it was a short fight so far but someone has been stabbed.

A slower, chill fight:

A gentleman provided the opportunity for his opponent to make an ass of himself. Bertitude was nothing if he was not a gentleman, and that was why he had not so much as lifted his arms in attempt to defend himself. Not that there would be much need to defend himself from the jumpy little man shifting his weight from foot to foot in front of him. While most civilized men who found themselves engaging in fisticuffs had the good sense not to use the moves they learned from video games, this clown before him seemed to be doing his best to imitate the character selection screen of a street fighting game. God help them all if he tried for an uppercut, or this whole fight was going to end before it started. Bertie's mother had always told him not to hit a stupid person because they couldn't afford to lose the brain cells. Still, by the time this rabbit of a man finally closed the gap between them, the crowd had gone quiet for lack of gleeful anticipation. They knew, how Bertie knew, that it wouldn't take much more than a solid thump on the head to knock this man flat. He was torn between letting him get a shot in and putting him out of his misery. He hadn't quite decided when the wee bunny man jabbed him in the chest with his fists one after another. A lack of training, experience and sense to be humiliated by himself rendered the attempt to punch him an utter failure. Bertie was practically performing a civil service, punching the restless chipmunk man in the face hard enough to send him falling over backward. He hit the concrete with a spattering of metal sounds, all the bits and bobs attached to his jacket making a ruckus of a noise. The only sound he made was a groan (and not of embarrassment) that could barely be heard over the crowd leisurely working its way back inside.

[scarawayfromfallingapart]

but The (After)life of the Party is one of THOSE songs to me that’s like… to be cliche… a kick drum beating in my chest (again) like idk. This is one of those songs where I think they succeeded in writing it better than I’ve ever felt it but here I go trying to analyze it anyway… I realize I am taking your shtick @petewentzisblack1312 … but this song NEEDS to be analyzed and I am going to try and make you like it :) I have been lurking in ur asks as an anon for a couple weeks and I HAVe to say this off anon… I’m sorry to bother u. My greatest hits include my autotune does not equal bad/talentless rant and my Wilson (Expensive Mistakes) mini-analysis 🤪 but also I learn SO MUCH from ur blog I love it. Anyway!!! Analysis of this song:

Tw : mania, depression, anxiety, substance use

To me this song is about coming down from a manic episode, maybe not even necessarily transitioning right into depression but like. Just coming down from it and kinda seeing the world as it is again, and feeling that kind of mellowed out, where your body allows itself to feel tired again. The title makes it more obvious - he’s no longer the life of the party - it’s over, everyone’s gone home, but he’s still there trying in vain to carry it on.

“I’m a stitch away from making it and a scar away from falling apart” is my FAVORITE line (hence my URL lol)… but the fact that this song opens with that and the narrator is oscillating between feeling 100% and feeling like they’re going to breakdown like THAT is what these transitions feel like to me (ok also I generally feel like this on a daily basis). But this line also gives you a hint of how well it is going… like he’s a stitch away from getting there - the cut hasn’t completely healed so he’s not getting there any time soon : but a scar away from falling apart - like a scar has already healed so it’s old hurt that is threatening to tear him apart —> “my old aches become new again”.

Then we get “blood cells pixelate” which I personally find hilarious since this song has been likened to the sims 3 soundtrack 💀 (I played the sims but I refused to have the music on so I have no idea cannot confirm or deny). Butttt this is obviously like a nod to everything being on film like even everything down to the blood coursing through his veins is made into an image, poster boys for your scene am I right? Also has to do with the scar/stitch - his breakdown is there for everyone to see, immortalized on magazine covers and interviews and E!News segments. But like only the blood cells, like no one gives a damn if he heals from this, thats not newsworthy. Eyes dilate (drugs and/or sex but maybe drugs Bc of the next line - full moon pills got him out on the street at night) butttt mania often comes with insomnia as we well know so. Maybe the pills are metaphorical idk

THEN the narrator becomes an observer - it’s no longer introspective, he’s watching someone else work the room, he’s cutting all ties to them loose, just sitting back and relaxing and watching and I always had this vision of Pete and/or patrick watching some girl flit around the room while he sat there with a lazy smile and drank a beer and leaned back in his chair. BUT on thinking on this more… I think- bear with me - maybe… just maybe… he’s watching himself outside of himself like some kind of dissociative thing (I personally experience that but it’s due to anxiety but it is common among just the general population so who knows) and it’s like you’re feeling that irritable high from the manic phase still and you’re trying to push through and just be part of this party right (or just part of life in general right, like the party is metaphorical IMO) and you separate form yourself in order to get through - your mind and body are not one. You have to watch yourself from the inside out, rely on muscle memory to get you through the party or your job or the tour or whatever it was in his case.

also tying back to I’m a stitch away - right like some part of you is cut in half and I’m a scar away - again, you were cut somewhere, something was severed, mind and body maybe… big brain hours (but also I’m probably reaching for that one)

Anyway then we have the “put love on hold” bc fuck if he’s ready for a relationship - he’s watching this girl desperate for stardom, maybe it’s the girl he’s watching work the room (if it’s not a dissociative thing, or maybe it’s both tbh). Her nose runs ruby red (cocaine is probably the cause I’m thinking, she’s doing lines at this party to be working the room). Death’s in a double bed (orgasms… nice one Pete) but really it’s a classic tale of a girl desperate for roles that she’s willing to sleep around to get there, she’s singing songs that could only catch the ear of other desperate people like her… but… Pete is writing THIS song and Patrick is singing it and they are just as desperate, right, like he’s helplessly watching someone enjoy a party and he’s verging on miserable (or he’s watching himself try to enjoy the party while he’s actually miserable) and they’re trying to catch our ears… we are the desperate… —> “I’m here to collect your hearts/it’s the only reason that I sing”

Then the bridge is where he starts to actually breakdown, the vocals get more intense and strained and chaotic, the sims 3 soundtrack music swells, and he repeats the beginning, reiterating that but adding on “kiss away young thrills and kills on the mouths of all of my friends” - to me he wants to take away all their joy and pain (kills could also = orgasm if u want to be nasty lol and tie it into the death in a double bed) and he wants to feel it for himself because right now he feels NOTHING like he’s right in the goddamn middle of feeling great and feeling like shit and again, to me that exemplifies the transition between mania and depression and we are back to square 1 (to me also thrills = mania and kills= depression but that’s just probably dumb lol).

Also he’s kissing it all away - it’s gentle, it’s loving, like brushing someone’s tears away, he’s not trying to be forceful about it, but he feels like HE should be experiencing all the highs and lows not his friends… or he doesn’t want his friends to suffer… both probably and the chorus is unhinged this time, patrick gives it his all, loses it, signifying hey wait, the narrator DID lose it… but then the song ends with the music coming off that swell, slowing down, relaxing, the narrator resignedly signing off “I’m a stitch away”… giving us maybe an etch of hope, that maybe his stitches healed after all and he did make it through (with hearts and wrists intact I am so corny sorry)

ANYWAY tldr I love this song and it means so much to me and like when I was 15 and found it the first time I was always like “why does this one hurt me so bad, like I don’t get it” but like. Now that I know what bipolar disorder is and that I suffer from it I understand lol. I don’t know if this is how Pete intended this idk I feel like I got some lines right but to ME this is what it feels like. Also it is v fun to play on the violin :)

[fearfulkittenwrites]

Their first walks on the Wayne’s garden - Chapter 1: Dick Grayson

A glimpse into Bruce's relationships with his kids, seen through the first time he took each of them on a walk through his garden.

Or: Bruce Wayne actually tries to communicate and care for his children. Because fuck canon.

Word count: 1806

Notes: Hello! This is a multi-chaptered work. It doesn't exactly follow canon (bc canon had Bruce being an awful dad) but also doesn't disagree with most of it. It's simply short stories of the batfam, all set in the same environment. Each chapter will focus around Bruce and a certain kid. This one, as the title says, is focused on Dick and Bruce.

TW// This chapter talks about racism and bullying. I used a slur in one of the characters lines, but in no way do I (or the character) condone it's use. It's there because said character is reporting a bad event. Those mentions are not graphic and shouldn't make your experience reading this unpleasent, however, if you feel unconfortable with this, please, skip this chapter.

Bruce Wayne is an introspective man with too much to do. Inside the manor, there was usually this unspoken pressure he put on himself and other to always be occupied with something. Of course, living alone, that was probably due to the fact that everyone but him was working on something - working for him. So he felt his quiet restlessness was only fair. If he ever needed to be alone with his thoughs, he would take walks around the garden, when the gardeners – who also worked for him - had already left. Every afternoon, just before the sun would set, he’d stroll through the vast green area that surrounded the building, appreciating every tulip, lily and carnation planted there. He particularly liked the roses Alfred cared for.

He jokingly called them Alfred’s children once. The buttler had told him that if this were true, then Bruce could consider himself the plant’s foster brother.

When Dick moved in, he also took a liking of the garden, although for very different reasons. He liked to be there early in the morning, basking in the sunlight before he went to school, when it was brimming with life and movement. The gardeners treated him like a son, showed him how to care for all the different flowers and plants they had and allowed him to check the bushes for bugs he could save before they’d prune and shape them. Of course, Alfred wasn’t exactly pleased with the habit, since he would always get dirt all over himself before school, and would need to change into a new uniform after being called back inside. However, no matter how upset the extra laundry made him, he would never deny the boy such a simple pleasure; when he first got to the manor, his smile was a rarity to be cherished. Alfred kept a brief mental list of everything that could put a grin on Dick’s face.

One day, after school, Bruce’s stomach felt cold and tight. Something was up with Dick. He knew it, but couldn’t explain why the small boy was gloomier, less fidgety and more still than usual. When inquired, his answer would invariably be:

“It’s nothing B, I’m fine.”

After the third attempt, he decided to approach this matter through a different strategy.

Dick was sitting next to him on the couch, pretending to watch a movie.

“Come with me,” He said, extending his hand to him as he got up “Let’s take a walk.”

He hesitated for a moment, but decided to go. The sun was starting to set, but the clouds still painted the sky white. Bruce’s pace was slow; he wasn’t in a hurry. Dick kept his head down as they walked in silence, but grew more and more nervous by the second. He couldn’t bring himself to speak right now, even if he wasn’t the type to enjoy quiet. Thankfully, Bruce noticed his discomfort and started to talk.

“I do this every day.” He explained “For some reason, it’s almost like I can’t think properly inside. Like there’s not enough room.” Dick kept himself quiet, wich scared the man a little “Of course, that sounds a little silly considering where we live.” At least he could bring a little smile to the boys face. Good. Keep going. “Still, for some reason, my head clears out when I’m outside. I noticed that when I was sixteen, and then the walks became a habit. It’s almost like my version of venting.” The sky was starting to turn pink at that point, and the clouds took on warmer colors to match it “Sometimes, everything can be so chaotic. But here, it’s always so quiet. So beautiful.”

He stopped and kneeled down, examining a pink carnation between his fingers.

“I know something’s up Dick.” He said, trying to sound understanding and caring, unsure on whether he was succeeding in it or not. “You can talk to me, if you want to. Or Alfred. It’s also okay if you prefer to deal with it on your own, but you don’t strike me as the type to keep things to yourself.” He smiled a little, standing up.

“You think I’m a crybaby, don’t you?” Dick sounded more doubtful and hurt than angry as he asked.

“No.” Bruce answered “I think you have a healthier approach to life than I do. You share things. You learn to let go, eventually. I keep silence and carry burdens because I don’t have that skill anymore. You know how to trust people in a way I’ll never be able to. I don’t want you to lose that because you don’t think I want to hear what you have to say.”

“Do you?” He asked, still uncertain and scared. “Want to listen to me, that is?”

“Of course I do, Dick.”

“Okay.” The boy still reflected for a couple of moments “It’s... silly. Some kids at school are making fun of me, and, well, it was harder today I guess.” Bruce had questions. Who were these kids? For how long had this been going on? Why were you keeping it a secret? Still, he bit his tongue. He knew he had to listen now, the questions could come up later “There’s this girl, Lisa. Mr. Hans, the gardener, he told me to give her a flower and tell her how I feel, and Alfred gave me one of his red roses for me to give her. She’s really pretty.” He sighed, ashamed “But she didn’t want it. She laughed and...” His eyes got a little teary and he choked on the words, words that tasted like iron on his mouth and felt like poison on Bruce’s ears “And she told me she’d never be with a dirty gypsy like me.” Dick couldn’t hold back the tears anymore, so he hid his face in his hands before finishing “It’s just... I never thought she’d think like that too. Just the boys was bad, but... It hurts. It hurts so much.” Bruce kneeled down to be at his height, and placed a hand on his shoulder “And then Thomas came up and stomped on the flower, called me a charity case, a circus freak, and pushed me down, and I couldn’t do anything because I didn’t want the reporters to talk about me like they did last time.” He was sobbing now, and Bruce pulled him in a hug, wrapping his arms so tightly around him, desperatly holding his child as he fell apart in front of him.

The last time he mentioned was when he got in a fight at school for the same reasons, on his first week with Bruce. The newspaper wrote a small commentary on him, titled “Richard Grayson-Wayne: Perfect heir or Problem Child?” Dick was so angry. He cried himself to sleep that night. He didn’t tell anyone, but Alfred heard him as he walked away from Bruce’s room.

“I miss... I miss the circus Bruce.” He went on “I know it’s been years now, but I still miss it. I miss moving, and I miss performing there, and I miss my mom and my dad. I wish I could have it back.”

“I know kid.” Bruce said, rubbing circles in his back.

“It was so much easier. So simple.” After a while, the tears subdued a little “I’m sorry Bruce. I don’t want to sound ungrateful. You gave me so much...”

“It’s okay Dick, you’re not ungrateful. It’s normal to miss it.”

They held each other for a little while longer. Dick was the one who let go, when he was ready to. The sky was almost entirely navy blue when they resumed walking. This time, Dick lead them to the white roses and sat down in front of them.

“They are my favorites.” He smiled, taking in their strong scent. “At least for now.”

Bruce sat down next to him and placed a hand on his back.

“Dick, I don’t want to upset you,” He started “But I need to know who’s been making fun of you.”

“It’ll only make things worse Bruce.” He answered, looking down.

“Dick, this is serious.” Bruce insisted.

“It’s just bullying Bruce, I’ll be fine. If you do something, it’ll get worse, trust me.”

“It’s not just bullying Dick.” Bruce turned around to face him, but the boy averted his eyes “Dick, those kids... I know it’s hard, but... Lisa said a very racist thing to you.” His eyes were still fixated at the ground, avoiding Bruce’s “I’ll understand if you don’t want to take action against it Dick, and I’m only trying to protect you, but...”

“It’s Thomas Kline.” Dick interrupted “Thomas Kline, Matthew Peterson, Calvin Harrington and... Lisa Randolph. They are the ones who call me that.” Both of them kept silent for a while, Dick writting patterns on the dirt while Bruce watched him.

“Thank you Dick. I’ll talk to the principal tommorow. And if those kids ever treat you like that again, well...” He smiled “You are Robin. And the media would surely belive you have jiu-jitsu lessons, should things get out of hand.” Dick chuckled a little at that.

“Thanks Bruce.” Dick launched himself forward, wrapping his arms around the man’s waist and burrying his face in his chest.

“No problem.” Bruce smiled as he ran his fingers throug Dick’s dark, messy hair.

...

“Alfred,” Bruce called as he pulled his suit on “I just tucked Dick in. I need to go out for the night.”

“As Bruce Wayne? Or should I worry, master Wayne?”

“Andrew Randolph is throwing a party. I wasn’t planning on attending, but due to current events...” He smoothed his shirt and he walked through the door, Alfred following suit. “We need to talk about his parenting skills.”

...

The next morning, Bruce made the front page. Dick woke up to “Good Morning Gotham!” showing picture’s of him punching Andrew Randolph’s teeth in, in the middle of the socialite’s ball room. The kid’s hair was still smushed on the side, his eyes were a bit puffy and he wore his pajamas as he watched it.

“I don’t know, Charlotte,” One of the anchors commented “The attack seems completly unprovoked.”

“Well, Peter, we have no clue on the content of that conversation.” Charlotte answered “What happened that led the sociable and easy-going billionaire to lose his temper like that?”

“Actually,” The third person, a woman named Nadia, began speaking “When asked about the incident by one of our reporters, Bruce Wayne answered with a simple ‘I don’t appreciate any kind of prejudice. Especially if it’s directed towards my son.’ It’s safe to say that what provoked the fight was, most likely, an unnapreciated comment on Richard Grayson-Wayne’s romani heritage.”

Dick turned off the TV and turned to the man queitly sipping his coffee behind him.

“What did you do last night?”

[yikesharringrove]

what do you think about a crossdressing Steve? Maybe he started just liking the soft fabrics of his mom's clothes but then he started wearing them as a way to attempt to hold on to the feigned affection she gave him. Eventually he just got his own stuff because they helped him feel calmer, softer. He would only ever put them on when he believed he would be alone for a while to cook or do chores... And then one day Billy comes over. Do with it what you will.

So, maybe you wanted smut, but non-binary femme presenting Steve is a ridiculously big headcanon I have that I have talked about with several folks and will be included in the next big fic I roll out, so this is some Soft Shit bc I wanted an excuse to write Steve as non-binary femme presenting.

For some drag queen Steve, I got a little thing here.

This exact kinda character study of sorts has actually been in my drafts for like, a month, so I’ve incorporated some of it into this. It's modern, and there is some language that may be harmful, so PLEASE be careful with yourselves, no slurs or anything along those lines, just ignorant stuff. Also, this really went off the rails at the end, I’m Sorry.

Thank you for sending an ask!

Read on ao3!

When Steve was a little kid, he always preferred playing with the girls.

They would have clothes for dress-up, princess dresses, and pirate costumes, anything any child could want. They had wigs, makeup, crowns. Little girls also had babydolls, little pretend kitchens he would play in, plastic baby bouncing at his hip.

When his nanny would come to pick him up from Carol’s house, she would have wipes in the car, to clean off his face. Your father will be very disappointed if he sees you playing with girls’ things again, Steven. He learned very quickly that playing dress-up, wanting to be Mommy when playing house, those are not things little boys did.

He remembers fighting with his parents, when they found the little plastic case of goopy lipglosses Carol had let him keep. He was seven years old and was crying, had screamed as loud as he could that if little boys weren’t allowed to play with makeup, then maybe I don’t want to be a boy.

When his parents started leaving him more often, their absences growing longer the older he got, he began going into his mother’s things, trying on her clothes. He was twelve when he first learned that women’s clothes were made of finer materials, were softer, felt like butter against his skin. He was thirteen and would slip into designer dresses each night, learning makeup from YouTube tutorials, practicing with things left in his mother’s vanity and whatever he could discreetly put in his pockets at Meldvald’s.

He got pretty good. Good enough that at sixteen, he wanted more, would go to stores in Indianapolis, would spend his allowance on dresses, skirts, blouses, frilly little things that fit, that made him feel good, correct.

The first time he put on a pair of lacy panties, he almost cried. the material was soft, the cotton tight and nice against him, the delicate lace trimming the waist and legs was pretty. Steve realized, all he ever wants to be in his life is pretty.

He began thinking of himself as a girl, a young woman. He would tuck his dick back, make the space between his legs flat, let his hair grow out more, long enough to braid, to pin with floral clips.

He started dressing up, going out. Finding bars that would let him in if he batted his false eyelashes just so, would overlook his obviously fake I.D. so that he could go in, talk to men that were too old for him, too interested in his doe eyes, his soft cheeks, men that would buy him drinks, fuck him in the back seats of their cars, whisper about how pretty he looked, men that would touch his cock and coo that his pussy was so tight.

He found he didn’t like that but would grit his teeth, didn’t understand why wearing women’s clothes felt so right but the idea of having a women’s body felt wrong. He didn’t get why he felt the most himself, the most comfortable with his dick tucked up in lace panties, but the minute a man told him he was a good girl he felt sick. 

When he was seventeen, he stopped going out, stopped dressing up. He had Nancy now, a beautiful young woman who wanted a nice, regular young man. He almost told her, almost told her so many times, but then she was drunk, slurring in his face that he was bullshit, that he was fake, like he didn’t already know.

So he kept to himself, started dressing up again, putting on a full face, a delicate outfit the minute he got home. He would dance around while cooking diner, would float around the house in heels and sweeping dresses. They made him feel better, feel good. He would dress up on particularly bad days, would wear his most beautiful pieces when he got poor grades, when his father told him he was a disappointment over the phone. He had been informed today by his English teacher she had assigned him a tutor.

So he had blinked back tears while blending eyeshadow, had put on his prettiest dress, a pretty dark green number, the fabric light, delicate feminine. He was ready to wallow in self-pity and makeup when there was a knock on the door, followed by the voice of his something-like-a-friend Billy Hargrove, announcing with a laugh that you should REALLY start lockin’ your front door, Harrington. Wouldn’t want someone UNSAVORY comin’ in.

Steve was frozen in the kitchen, his best-kept secret all over his face, his body. Billy didn’t even blink twice when he saw Steve, asked what’s cookin’? while leaning over the stove. Steve’s eyes were screwed shut, breathing fast when Billy looked back, took Steve’s shoulder lightly in his hands said, you need to breathe, Sweet Thing, take it slow, match me. He rubbed gently down Steve’s arms, his eyes clear blue when Steve was able to open his own teary ones.

“Billy, you need to swear to me you won’t tell, you, I, people can’t know. They’ll, I mean, I know I’m a fucking freak but no one-”

“Whoa, who said you’re a freak?” Billy’s eyes were sharp.

“Look at me, Billy. I’m, I don’t know what I am. Sometimes, sometimes I wish that I was a girl, but, but something about that feels just, bad, but, but being a fucking boy feels like shit too, and I just,” he was sobbing, loudly and openly, knew his dark liner was no doubt streaming down his face.

“Hey, that’s okay, Honey, you don’t have to know. You just have to feel good.” He led Steve in a few more breaths. “It’s not black and white, you don’t have to be one or the other. You can just be you. Can be Steve, if you want.”

“What-I don’t understand.”

“Well, you don’t feel right as a boy, but you feel just as not right as a girl. There’s more than that. You have more options.” He turned off the stove, led Steve to his bag, whipping out a laptop covered in worn stickers. “So basically, there’re a whole bunch of genders.” He pulled up an infographic on his screen, a color-coded mess of columns and descriptions. “There’s way more than man and woman. There are people who are non-binary, don’t adhere to the idea of two genders. Sometimes non-binary people identify as another gender, a third gender, sometimes they identify as a mixture of identities. Agender people often identify as having no gender at all. genderfluid people tend to fluctuate between identities, can feel agender one day, the next feel like a man, it all depends on the person.” He looked at Steve, hand gentle on his arm. “And none of it’s wrong. There’s no correct way to be a human. And they each are up to interpretation. There are people who identify as agender but choose to present a certain way, there are people who identify as male but choose to present androgynous, there’s no one way to do it.”

“So if I, if I feel good like this,” Steve gestured to the dress, the smeared makeup. “I can still be, a guy, like I can just be a guy that likes to look like a girl.”

“If that feels best to you. Like I said, you don’t have to  be a guy, just because that’s what you were assigned at birth.”

“What do you mean? ‘Assigned at birth’?”

“That means the gender that’s on your birth certificate. It’s just a better way of saying like, male-bodied, since that can be, kinda shitty for people. And like, what even is a male body, you know?”

“You’re getting a little introspective for me here, Bill.”

“Basically, just because you were born with a dick and a doctor was like, it’s a boy, doesn’t mean you have to be a boy that likes looking like a girl, or whatever you said. That’s a perfectly valid way to be, a femme presenting guy, don’t get me wrong, but earlier you said you didn’t feel right as a boy, and I just don’t want you to back yourself into a corner.” Steve blinked.

“Yeah, I think, I think you’re right. I don’t, I’m not a guy. I don’t think.”

“You do not have to know right now. You literally just learned about this, you don’t have to like immediately make a choice. Take some time. Try different labels, try different pronouns, try no labels, see what feels best.” He smiled, looking at Steve softly. “If you want to, I can, like, help you. If you, if you think of something you want to try, it may be nice to, like, hear it from someone else.”

“What was, what was the one that was like, sometimes people identify as like, another gender?” Billy typed away, pulling up a new article.

“I think you mean non-binary. It’s more of an umbrella term to some people, they find more leeway in it.” He scrolled down, pointing at a list of pronouns. “So, some people who identify as non-binary also use alternative pronouns, things like they or ze, which is a way for them to be referred to outside of the gender binary.” Steve’s mind was racing. He tested the words on his tongue, thinking ze, sie, hir to himself, to, themself?

“But if I identify, as, as non-binary, or something, can I still, like, dress like this?”

“Of course. Identity and expression are two different things. To some, they go hand-in-hand, but to others, they can be totally separate.”

“I think, as of right now I think non-binary is okay.” Billy beamed.

“Okay! You don’t have to decide right now, and some folks never decide, they spend their lives flowing through different ways to identify and express themselves, and again, that’s totally fuckin’ okay. Nothing has to magically click into place for you. You can experiment.”

“Can I, can we experiment with, with they. I kinda, it kinda makes sense.” Billy just kept grinning, his smile huge and beautiful.

“Yes, I can do that.” But his face fell, “But I, I mean, this is fuckin’ Hawkins, and I don't’ know, I mean, is it, like safe?” Steve felt like their heart was breaking.

“No, it’s, I don’t think it is, I mean, there haven’t been like incidents but also, we don’t have a lot of people that are, like, openly different.” Billy’s brow was drawn.

“I can, I can call you whatever you want just the two of us, but, I don’t want to like, out you-”

“You can, you can say he was it’s, when it’s other people. I don’t, I don’t want this to get back to my dad, or anything.” Billy’s eyes were sharp.

“I can do that, I can protect you, like that.” He was nodding vigorously. “I just, I wanted to be on the same page, didn’t want to be like misgendering you behind your back and make you feel like shit.”

“You have my express permission to, uh, misgender me, or whatever you just said.” Steve sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “I just gotta get outta this fuckin’ town, man. Then I’ll be good. Live my little queer life outside of the shitty bar outside of town.” Billy laughed.

“You go there?”

“I used to, when I was first kinda, questioning myself. Used to let guys fuck me and call me, like, their pretty little slut or whatever. Not my finest moments.”

“Christ, Stevie. That’s some deep shit. I went once when I first got into town, and some guy was like, I wanna hear you screaming ‘Daddy’ for me and I was like, nope. No thank you to That.” Steve laughed with him.

“I’m pretty sure I did let that guy fuck me. Bily groaned.

“Stevie, no. Don’t call random men Daddy.”

“I’m not gonna lie to you, Bill, I got a lot of daddy issues.”

“Yeah, me too, but not that many.”

“Just enough to be called Daddy, then?” Billy went red, dropped his eyes from Steve as they cackled. “Hit the nail on the fuckin’ head then, didn’t I?”

“Whatever, you little asshole. Let’s just fuckin’ get on with your English homework that is why I’m here after all. Go grab your books.” Steve grinned, leaning in close to Billy.

“Okay, Daddy,” they purred, racing off up the stairs laughing loudly, hearing Billy cursing them out from the kitchen.

[hairringtonsteve]

1. HI 💚🧡💜💛 it feels like it's been forever since I last messaged you

2. I may or may not have screamed when I read that requests are open

3. I had an idea of giving baby yoda a bath and dressing him up in a new little outfit after, and it's so cute that Mando has to take a walk to calm down bc his heart's about to burst out of his armor- and while that might be fun to write... you're right here... asking for requests... soooo, this baby's yours now congrats

4. So fucking happy that you are writing again ❤️💖💖💙💛💚💛🧡💛 we've all missed you

HELLO FRIEND! you know, you screamed when you saw i had requests open, i screamed when you made me that grogu/mando meme about my fics. so we’re even now. and here you go because that is absolutely adorable i love this idea so much. this ended up being more introspective than i intended, but i like it. i also took some liberty with it and accidentally went longer, yikes.

ALSO HEADS UP SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED? but it’s been like, a month so... what r u doing.

(also we’re ignoring mando’s ship layout because a) it’s dumb where’s the ‘fresher and b) it doesn’t exist anymore.)

taking short fic requests ‘til midnight EST! :) 

***

At some point, he’d realized that the kid – Grogu – was older than him. So how was it that he was the one that stuck with bathing duty? Fifty-plus years should mean that the kid could wash himself, right? Mando tilted his head, the helmet shifting just a little with the shift in gravity as he regarded the little green being that was sitting on the gangplank of his ship.

Covered in some sort of sticky, greenish-brown mud. Mando sighed.

He hoped it was mud.

He took a few steps forward and bent down, ignoring the slight pain in his left knee that had been persisting after their little meet-up with Ahsoka. Or had it started earlier? He couldn’t really remember. He picked up Grogu and cradled him close to his chest, ignoring the little voice in his head that told him just how much cleaning he’d have to do after getting the kid all set. Beskar was forgiving, at least.

The kid babbled excitedly as he headed into the Razorcrest, and not for the first time Mando wished that he could just understand what he was saying. Hell, he’d take even just vaguely understanding what the kid was getting at.

Making his way into the ship, he poked around until he found what he was looking for, an empty metal basin that came from… somewhere. One quick trip into the ‘fresher to fill it up with some water and grab a clean strip of fabric for a washcloth, and he was set. He took the kid’s usual clothes off him and set them to the side, making a mental note to figure out how to wash those later.

Despite himself, a chuckle left his lips at the sudden and very loud protests that came from Grogu at being set into the cold water. “Sorry, sorry. Should’ve checked the temperature.” He peeled off his gloves and dipped his hand in the water. It was a little cold, but it’d be fine. He reached behind him for the strip of fabric, watching as the kid started to splash in the water.

“Grogu.”

The kid’s head whipped towards him, ears perking up at the use of his name. Something in Mando’s chest warmed. He wouldn’t get used to that, that little excitement in the kid’s face that he swore was there.

Going decades without someone using your name was something that Mando could relate to.

He began to wipe the kid down and his thoughts began to drift. The relief he’d selfishly felt when Ahsoka had said that she wouldn’t train Grogu ate at him. The kid wasn’t really his son. He’d gone how long in his life without forming attachments, and one little green asshole shows up and just makes everything more difficult?

He took care to keep his movements gentle, focusing on that rather than the quieter thoughts that wondered how quiet it would be without him in the ship. To further silence those, he began to murmur to the kid, telling him just how proud of him he was for showing his powers to Ahsoka, how brave he was for making it this far, how smart he was for staying safe all those years. And Grogu stared up at him, head swiveling every so often as Mando’s tone or cadence shifted with what he was saying.

Eventually, he was done – covered in more mud than he’d like – and the kid was clean. Getting him changed didn’t take long as the poor guy was practically asleep by the end of it. But Mando got him changed into clean clothes and made a makeshift bed in the co-pilot’s chair, something that seemed a little more comfortable than his usual sleeping spot.

His heart swelled more and more as he finally got the kid to sleep. Standing in the cockpit was suddenly too stifling, so he headed outside.

Stopping once he stepped off the gangplank, he looked to the sky and sighed.

He was going to miss the little guy.

[julesrigby]

JULIET RIGBY ( MADELAINE PETSCH / SHE/HER ) - is an 18 year old SENIOR student at Northlake High. They sit with the HONOR ROLL at lunch and are commonly known around school as the OVERACHIEVER, because they’re +AMBITIOUS and +DETERMINED, but also -ANXIOUS and -CHAOTIC.

hey guys! i missed u!!! and for those of you i haven’t met yet, my name’s ren and i’m a big dumb dork who should be studying rn sjfsgjskg. i’ll literally plot with anybody even though my ass is awkward, so don’t be shy!! even if you wanna just talk shows and random shit or headcanons <3 so prepare for me to ramble @ you over this idiot leaf:

jules is pretty easy to get along with, the only thing she really cares about is getting good grades and doing The Most™ so she isn’t too bothered about cliques or anything like that. just don’t try to tell her she’s wrong about something or she’ll cast a spell on you and your next 7 generations of offspring

i’m jk but for real. don’t do it. she’s one of those annoying people that love to argue so don’t get her started

her parents put a lot of pressure on her to succeed. most of her anxiety about not doing well enough stems from them because she’s an only child and they kind of put all their lecturing energy into one kid

on the flip side they also worked a lot when she was young so she was around nannies and babysitters a lot, and never really got to socialize much. she learned how to entertain herself. it made her an introspective imaginative person but it also made her kind of lonely (and a lil weird ok)

so after childhood the competitiveness and her perfectionism developed as a way to get her parents attention

in fact it’s pretty much an obsession at this point. rip to her social life

despite her being busy and lowkey obnoxious she is a genuinely nice person who tries to be diplomatic and get along w people. but if ur in the way of something she wants she won’t hesitate to make u catch these hands

she also has a thing for true crime. probably keeps all the articles of the northlake boogeyman tabbed on her phone browser like a creep

she comes from money but she doesn’t really talk about it much so it might not be something a lot of people know

i can’t think of anything else atm except i’m tentatively putting her on academic decathlon, debate team, softball and she’s a tutor so if any of that tickles ur fancy lmk

get connected™ for free education connection

v general nonspecific ideas: study partners, exes, former friends, extended family. literally anything

some more Deluxe Supreme ideas (oooh):

ride or die nerd squad. obviously jules is bossy af. that bitch that made her friends be bubbles and buttercup bc she wanted to be blossom. anyWAY these hoes *are* loyal (or just one hoe because let’s be honest that’s probably more likely) and they’ve been tight p much all through high school, maybe much longer. this person would know what’s up with her family, probably has spent the night at her house a lot or vice versa. being in honor roll isn’t a requirement for being her ride or die although i would love some honor roll pals

someone who knows her family aka a family friend. they would know general details about each other but maybe they’re from different cliques so they don’t really mesh well or kind of just act like they don’t know each other. we can discuss how they act around each other but my thinking is it’s probably awkward or formal

first ever relationship/puppy love. gender neutral. they would’ve gone out a few years back for a short time but it didn’t last, either due to circumstances or just growing out of it

crush, preferably unrequited. this is self explanatory, i just love pain and i want someone to give it to me

oooh okay to piggyback off of that since she loves to argue i need someone she fights with like cats and dogs. maybe like a fellow debate team member and they just argue for fun (fuckin nerds) or they like actually genuinely don’t like each other or disagree a lot and always feel the need to remind each other how wrong they are

study partners but its cute bc they like share flashcards and stay up all night at like a 24 hours cafe or library and when they get a good grade on the test they cheer each other on and its just cute and wholesome. different than regular study partners or other honor roll kids bc they probably get along better ?

someone (probably a popular kid) that she got into an argument with and made them feel stupid and now they either want revenge or they’re in the process of getting it or it already happened and instead of jules backing down the situation got worse and now they have it out for each other

ok im gonna stop there bc this is long af uh. if any of those sound interesting to you or u just wanna hang out in IMS like this!! and honestly hats off to you bc if you made it all the way to the end of this u probably cringed at least 9 times. thank

[medievalcat]

ok. I finished Children of God (sequel to The Sparrow), and while I was able to follow it better than when I first read it (I think I was really distracted a few years ago, and had trouble focusing).....I didn’t like it as much as the first one, which I’m aware isn’t an unpopular opinion, even though I didn’t hate all of it. Here are my thoughts on why it didnt work imo and what I did like about it.

The Sparrow would naturally be a hard act to follow, and I get that sometimes sequels do different things than the first installations. book one is about Emilio and book two is about Rakhat. Okay. I think there’s a lot of interesting material that could have been made of Emilio, John, and all the new guys visiting Rakhat years after the first expedition. It’s what the author did- and, really, this was present in the first book as well, and one of the first book’s issues, but here it’s really one of the main points of the story and far more prominent than ever before- that didn’t succeed. It’s the story of Rakhat....but given how Rakhat is written, maybe it shouldnt have been. This book honestly ranged from “enjoyable” to “disappointing” to “implicitly or explicitly expressing horrible views”.

It’s one thing to make an oppression storyline in a fantasy setting- FMA for example does this. But in that, the victims are humans. In this, not only does the story do an oppression narrative about fantasy creatures, which is already a very difficult thing to pull off, she repeatedly draws comparisons between nonhuman aliens and things like the Holocaust and genocide and oppression of Native Americans. She even has her one native character draw this comparison and *stay behind on another planet instead of going to earth* for some “reservation” plotline at the end.  This is a good example of why when we criticize media sometimes we have to focus specifically on the writers who choose to make these events happen, who choose to write certain stories and who choose to frame them in certain ways. I’m kind of glad this book doesn’t have a fandom, really, because tumblr types would focus on which aliens’ side is “right” and not on the fact that the author chose to write some fantasy creature oppression story with incoherent imperialism commentary while trivializing real genocides. I remember a really uncomfortable paragraph in the first one that implied the Ottoman Empire was some kind of safe haven for all ethnic/religious groups as well as a line (keep in mind these were written in the 90s) about how Bosnia is violent because of ............ “blood feuds”. Many people have said this story is weak because it focused on these new alien characters and the Rakhat storyline so much. This, for me, is the main reason why that storyline was so weak.

One thing I liked was some of the new characters. I liked Danny and Joseba and Nico and Sean and Gina and Pope Gelasius. I think this book kind of did a “later season of Vikings” so that there were suddenly all these new people but few of them got good development. So that was a weakness but I didn’t mind many of the characters in and of themselves and enjoyed these new additions. Sure they weren’t like the people in the first book but that’s okay. They added new perspectives. Danny had a lot of interesting stuff about forgiveness that I liked. I also liked initially how Sofia was revealed to be alive but....she was shafted. We barely see her in favor of her badly offensively written written son (I know this was written 20 years ago but. the way he and his disability are portrayed as like...literally “alien” even though ths is supposed to be a “positive”.... is honestly....why  the living fuck did she do this....) and Supaari’s daughter who he CONCEIVED FROM RAPE and we’re just supposed to be ok with that bc the author very conveniently wrote the victim to be as unsympathetic as possible and because “uwu miracle of life!! yay children!” I’m supposed to buy that Sofia, a child trafficking survivor, is allies and friends with a man who not only is a rapist but sold a person she loved into sex slavery.......after the narrative called to attention how similar Sofia and Emilio’s experiences were, and the first book was an imperfect story but a deep introspective exploration of the effects of SA.....lol ok. And then she gets killed off at the end offscreen in a single sentence.

There’s also....I really doubt she intended some of this but it’s clearly in the story .... it really has bad implications, that the only relations between men are abusive in both books. there are literally no other relations between men, even though there is a gay character (who I understand  is a celibate priest, and having a gay priest is cool!) but....it just doesnt have good implications that relations between men are only ever presented as bad. especially because the thing that truly “heals” Emilio is being with a woman and I think in our society (and thus our media) we have a real problem with thinking that “healing” as a sexual abuse victim means having sex with a man if youre a woman and with a woman if you’re a man, and that male sa victims of men are only really victims if they like women (and, of course, women sa victims in general just have to like men). Of course there is nothing wrong with Gina, I loved her, and nothing is wrong with writing an sa survivor who is able to have a relationship after. But MDR killed her off for no good reason. The other crew members dying in the first book, those were well written character deaths. and how many times did she do the “this woman died but thats whatever narratively, because she has a kid uwu miracle of life” thing in this sequel. I think MDR is like GRRM in that she has good intentions clearly, and has such good sff works/characters and takes oh the Human Experience and everything, but doesn’t always know how to handle issues in a responsible way and it’s really glaring even if there are obviously worse people in media. To be honest (and again, here Im glad there’s no fandom, because people are so weird about this stuff) MDR should have just had Emilio and John be together. “Your friendship should have been proof enough of God” ???????? hello??????  Their relationship was one of  the things that actually was well fleshed out in the sequel until John and all the other guys who weren’t in the Camorra  just.....stayed on Rakhat forever.

Part of the handling of Sofia seemed like a broader pattern of the plot being completely forced. Everything happens for some sake of The Plot- this is something later seasons of GOT have been criticized for. This plot in particular, in addition to the alien oppression metaphor, seemed to want to make everything about the story in particular its end be some kind of “bookend” to mirror the first book. Sofia dies (for real this time. honestly....her death in the first one was good writing!), Emilio and his unlikely escorts go home, no one else gets to go home, there’s a huge societal upheaval on Rakhat because of the humans, a huge reveal about Rakhat’s “divine” music. I have nothing against this kind of narrative device but when it’s this forced to the point where the story is blatantly constructed for the sake of this......it didn’t work. The “music” plot twist was like..............really??? All of that? They’re staying on this planet? If they had all gotten more time in the story (because this book is the same length as the first book but has far more different subplots and far longer of a timespan and far more narrators) we might  find that more plausible. I don’t think everything needs to be spelled out for us. In the first book when everyone is stranded, it’s clear that they think this is tragic, but they are trying to make the best of it because they all love each other and are together. In this one they don’t all have that kind of bond and it’s dependent on the long-winded and incoherent Rakhat political storyline. Because a lot of it isn’t even that well developed in addition to the earlier addressed things. We go between random one-off characters. So much is about the war but it’s written so anti-climatically. Sofia broke down in the first book when she learned they were stranded, and now she doesn’t care at all about returning back to Earth because the Runa are “her people” now, but how much of that is really what she tells herself to cope with what she lost- and what she experienced on earth in her youth? we don’t know. The Pope just....sent Emilio who became probably the most infamous person on Earth, back into space, and it wasn’t a big deal for the Church or at all? And all it took for it to happen was a handful of Camorra men with Vatican connections, who were just adapted so well to space travel and extended time on a new planet that initially made the people in the first book sick when transitioning into life there? And let me reiterate we’re supposed to accept that the divinely ordained reason all this happened was because Isaac wrote music inspired by human and alien dna and it sounded wonderful? 

This just felt very forced. “Emilio never wants to go back to Rakhat so obviously this book has to be about how he goes back there and accepts that it actually happened for a Good Reason bc of some music, and music was the way they found it in the first place.” How about how he accepts that it happened and comes to terms with what happened to him without either hating himself for his actions or thinking it was all For The Greater Good Actually, because you cant undo the past, aka what the first book was building up to and culminated in? idk. the first book was all about how bad things happen and that this doesn’t mean we have to give up our faith even if we question our faith. this was more like “every cloud has a silver lining lol”.

There were many nice things- Emilio’s friendship with Nico, many of the moments with Sofia towards the end and her reuniting with Emilio, John getting more to do, the new Pope, Celestina ending up having an important job as a theater and leaving a trail of men in her wake lol. I don’t want to say don’t read this. But if you like the first book you might not like this one, and if you’re considering reading the first book, it.....works best as a standalone.

[murphysannie]

annual writing self evaluation

*All answers should be about works published in 2017.

thank u jess @wonderdaysoflunacy for tagging me!!

1. List of works published this year: 

a shoebox of photographs with sepia tone loving

the winter winds litter london with lonely hearts

your wild heart will live for younger days

will you be my best friend? will you be my last?

my fingers tap into what you were once

give me something fun to do (like a life of loving you)

all my scars are open

flowers and pearls and pretty girls

i just want your kiss, boy

honey, i’ll be seeing you wherever i go

i’m not in love (but i’m open to persuasion)

and my heart is set on you

the heart is hard to translate

the furthest constellations of our souls

days of dark (co written w magnusragnor)

home is just a room full of my safest sounds

let the clocks be reset and the pendulums held

tripping on skies, sipping waterfalls

your heart is the only place that i call home

never knew loving could hurt this good

my 500 follower fics (which i will finish at some point)

2. Work you are most proud of (and why):

i think it’s a tie between give me something fun to do (like a life of loving you) and let the clocks be reset and the pendulums held. give me something was written when i was in the middle of the most stressful time in my life and my mental health was really bad, so to be able to string words together in any semblance of order was a minor miracle (and to actually like it on reading it back months later is even more incredible). let the clocks is a fic i was meant to write a long time before i did; the prompt was sitting in my inbox for literally months and i kept delaying, but the end result is, i think, one of my favourite fics i’ve ever written. 

im also v v proud of days of dark bc i’ve never co written a fic before and it’s honestly the most fun writing thing i’ve ever done i love elle @magnusragnor to pieces and working on this fic with her makes the pain of writing worth it.

3. Work you are least proud of (and why):

honestly? probably the furthest constellations of our souls, but only bc it’s so short. it was a birthday gift, so i wish it could have been much longer, but life got in the way, unfortunately.

4. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

possibly this from let the clocks be reset and the pendulums held:

Alec is still hovering over him, his gaze curious. “Yesterday,” he starts, a little hesitantly, “that spell, you…”

Magnus swallows and fights the urge to force a laugh, smile and quip his way out of the situation. His every instinct is screaming for him to play it off, but this is Alec.

There’s nothing ugly about you.

“It was incredible,” Alec says finally. “I know I’ve seen you in action before, but —” he breaks off, finding Magnus’ hand and placing their palms together. “Your hands are always so gentle when you touch me,” he adds, blinking at Magnus’ nail polish.

“You should always handle precious things with care,” Magnus says, and it’s half a joke, half the naked truth. Alec’s breath hitches and his eyes dart to meet Magnus’, a beautiful rosy blush settling on the apples of his cheeks. Magnus cradles Alec’s cheek with one hand. “You are very precious to me,” he whispers.

5. Share or describe a favorite comment you received:

so im kinda jokin but kinda not when i say my favourite comment is the first comment on days of dark, which is ceci @daddariossmile saying “i want this to be the first comment” - it honestly makes me laugh so much every time i think about it

but in all srsness ceci’s comments on and my heart is set on you make me smile everytime i read them and also any comment ever by @redappleblossom always warms my heart :’))

6. A time when writing was really, really hard:

february - april was the worst, but mainly because of outside factors rather than anything inherent to writing. the end of november was pretty tricky for actually writing because i was so tired of nanowrimo by that point and just wanted it to be over!

7. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

finishing off like the stars chase the sun was a wild ride - my plan for the final chapters is over a year and a half old now and was not fleshed out at all, so writing it for nano was like an adventure in surprise.

8. How did you grow as a writer this year:

i think i grew by gaining a new appreciation of introspection and how it helps the reader make sense of a character’s re/actions. before elle came into my life i basically never wrote any introspect and now i find myself adding it bc she made me see the value of it and i think/hope my stories are richer for the detail it adds.

oH i also learnt the value of planning (again thanks 2 elle she’s the bomb)

9. How do you hope to grow next year:

i want to become more confident writing action scenes next year - right now i just shy away from them. i also want to get back into writing original stuff, but we’ll see how that goes.

10. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

i would not have survived this year without elle (and my heart is set on you would literally not have been written without her). she’s made me think so much more about my writing and having someone to develop and bounce ideas off is the best. honestly i’m so thankful!!

11. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

nothing i can think of, apart from my dislike of never have i ever and game of thrones

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

plan your fics!! even if it’s just an outline or a series of plot points and you’re not sure how you’re going to get between them, writing with a vague idea of direction is so much easier than writing with no end goal in mind at all (at least, imo)

13. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

like the stars chase the sun!! it’s mostly written, but i will be finishing it off and posting it (hopefully) in the new year. days of dark is also nearly finished so that’s gonna be fun 😎 and i have my big bang fic to work on!! 

14. Tag five writers/artists whose answers you’d like to read.

@isabellebiwoods, @satonawall, @daddariossmile, @gayndsoft, @maghnvsbane (sorry if any of u have already been tagged i am unoriginal)

[calzonekestis]

@agent13: Jackie hasn’t been active in quite a while, but she’s always been kind to me and her blog has has A+ opinions and content. 

@ar-se-ne: IDEK how long I’ve been following Cristian, but he’s a really nice guy with whom I have similar interests. He’s also someone that I’ve kind of of been inspired by in some ways. I don’t want to get too personal information, but it involves introspection and self improvement and yeah. I’m proud of him. He should be proud of himself.

@chujo-hime: I remember like circa 2012-2013 I had a ~moment~ because the webmaster of FYBN followed me. Chujo always has quality content, and is someone I respect for being very genuine and respectful. If something’s drawn her ire or made her bitter, she has a reason for it, and can write a solid meta on why it’s bullshit. At the same time, she’s someone who I’ve looked to when I consider how to handle my own fandom disagreements. It’s not worth arguing with people on the internet, it’s never fun. So long as people enjoy what they enjoy? Stay in their lane and let others do the same? We can all get along~~~

@cimikat: Katie is another person who I don’t even remember following. I can’t really remember my tumblr experience before her, though? I can say without any hyperbole though that she’s probably the nicest person I’ve ever encountered on this website? Literally, I can’t think of a single time I’ve seen her be salty. Upset and disappointed, sure, but she doesn’t wallow in negativity the way some people do and have in the past. If she enjoys something, she’s enthusiastic about it. If she no longer enjoys it? You won’t see her b*tch about it. She’s just very upbeat.

@dazzledfirestar: Daz shares my love of certain villains (Sin and Crossbones) while fully recognizing they’re deplorable human beings. That’s just one of the more superficial reasons I respect her. She’s another person who’s also genuine, and whom by following I feel like I’ve actually learned a lot? And I actually like to learn. Ignorance isn’t always mean spirited, and in the past I’ll admit I’ve been an ignorant white boy. Not that I was prejudice, there was just a lot I was either blind to or unaware of.  I’ve learned a lot about Romani culture by following Daz. A lot of history, a lot about the struggles and persecution they still face to this day. I also learned lot about the LGBT community; which honestly was a big help when I was trying to figure out/accept my bisexuality.

@diaryofawriter: What do I even say about you? believe we met because we both RP’d in the same fandoms and enjoyed the same content. Comics, OUAT, Harry Potter, and Star Wars. She’s both listened to me flail or rant countless times, either feigning or expressing genuine interest… for that I’m truly appreciative. She’s also helped me when it comes to letting go of things that are no longer fun or enjoyable for me (OUAT) and focus on the things that do bring me joy. A role model in that sense. >.>

@diisnerd: Leah. Leah was someone I met though a mutual friend, and while they’re closer than I am with her… I let me just say I have so much fucking respect for Leah. She’s just a good, loyal, protective, and caring friend. We have a lot of the same interests, too. We don’t talk all that often about them, but when we do it’s always an enjoyable conversation.

@dreamimpcssiblethings: Kath. Jesus. You know how much you mean to me, I should hope. You’re one of my best friends. It’s not even that we like a lot of the same things (we do) but you’re just very hard not to like? You’re super intelligent, super passionate. Be it about fandom things, classic literature, or just life. If one good thing came out of the rise and fall of my OUAT fandom, it was meeting you. All the salt is worth it for knowing you~

@ilikethequiet: Ally was one of the first people I met in the OUAT fandom, via a mutual friend/aquiantence. She’s a wizard when it comes to making edits and graphics. She’s someone with whom I’ve been salty on many an occasion, and I lured her into the iZombie fandom with me when our favorite actors transitioned over to that show. She’s just a delight. She also somehow made an AU graphic for a trashy ~problematic~ hateship look classy? Real friends hunt down topless screencaps so they can make you smutty collages for your birthday.

@jjoelswatch: Sarah is one of the first people I can remember following on tumblr. She’s another person where I wouldn’t recognize my dash without her. I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but I really respect her. She’s just a good person, very down to Earth and very witty. We don’t talk that much, but it’s always very pleasant when we do? Sarah was the first one to reach out and respond when I came out as bi. I’m still not out to my family. When I posted that little confession, I didn’t know what to expect. I simultaneously cared and didn’t care how people responded. It was weird, because it was something I had tried to deny and rationalize for so long. It’s something that no one should even care about, but Sarah empathized and realized it was kind of a big deal for me? Her reassurance that I wasn’t alone, even in such a short and concise message meant a lot. She’s one of my favorite mutals tbh.

@kennyhoemega: Bethany is a Goth Goddess. I’m not just saying that because she demanded the best compliment. On a superficial level, she’s just really pretty?? Now that’s out of the way, let me tell you legitimate reasons why she’s one of my favorite people to follow. She’s got great taste in music, she loves Star Wars, dabbles in Marvel and Harry Potter. You see a theme here with people I follow. She just also tends to reblog really neat things unrelated to those? I’ve gotten into astrology because of her. It’s mostly her fault that I’ve started watching wrestling again, bc there’s nothing good on TV and her passion is contagious and the gifs she reblogs are wild. She also has the best tags out of anyone I follow, bar none. I don’t even know when I first followed her either, around 2012 or so, but I know that it was absolutely 100% Sarah’s fault. Thank you, Sarah. TBH the first time I remember interacting with Bethany was when I added a gif and sarcastic comment to one of her salty posts about people trying to woobify Brock Rumlow. The next day, I realized this was likely not the best way to make a first impression? Fortunately she assured me that she got it, and that we were cool. Which is a relief, because as I’ve told her (and IDK if she believes me) she’s probably one of the coolest people I follow? It’s come to light that neither of us are big talkers, so we don’t actually talk that much… but she’s really rad. IDK when it started but she’s consistently been in my tumblr crushes for ages. Lots of mutual reblogging, again, lots of respect. She’s witty and intelligent. That’s not butt-kissin’, I’ve seen her post about certain tests and looked them up out of curiosity and wow. Yeah. Bethany also has the longest compliment, so that should make her happy. There was something about my needing a nuclear bunker if she wasn’t on this list. She deserves it though, she’s another one of my faves.

@kittenspawn: Nichole is my unofficial big sister. I say that as someone who actually has a big sister. She messaged me in 2012 with questions about Bucky and Natasha, and from that point on she was screwed. She got me into Hellboy in turn, but I like to think I’ve thoroughly corrupted her and caused her to spend far too much money on certain things. Nichole is someone who I can go weeks without talking to, and yet we can fall right back into conversation as if we talked the night before. She’s been a terrible enabler over the years, but she’s also been there for me during some difficult times and when I’ve done very stupid and questionable things. I know she’ll say I’ve been there for her as well, but the scales are seriously tipped here. When I need advice, or when I need to talk to someone about something serious… she’s the person I go to. I can always count on her, and she’s pretty much family at this point.

@ohmygil: Gil. I think I found you through Davis? You’re just a very sensible person, and very rational about a lot of things. It’s refreshing to see that on the internet these days. You’re someone who I don’t think I’ve ever had a actual ‘discussion’ with, but I’m including you here because I really enjoy your presence on my dash. I stopped reading DC regularly with the New 52, and pretty much all my DC intake these days is absorbed through your blog. You also get points for liking Superman. Some people think he’s too powerful, or a big boy scout, and while I’ve never regularly collected his titles I am a fan.

@prof-anity: …You know, I was tempted to leave you off this list just to be a dick. Yours would be the longest entry, so I’m keeping it short because what is there to even say? How much needs to be said? Seven years ago you met a bitter teenage douchebag on a message board. You made the mistake of accepting his friendship when he reached out to you. You’ve stuck with me through highs and lows, man. It’s one of those relationships again, where we may not talk every day. We may not be up to date on the details and goings on in each other’s lives… but you said it yourself. Our friendship has been one of the best constants in the past seven years. A third of your life, btw. Isn’t that depressing? You are, truly, the best friend I have ever had. One day I’m going to meet you, hug you, and then insult you to your face. You’re truly a brother to me. I love you.

@readytocomply: Stef! Stef is a delight. Always pleasant, always fun. She’s also super creative? She makes great edits, great cosplays, and is just pretty damn great over all. Stef is another person who I try to model myself after when it comes to shipping things. Re: Multi-Shipping. Stef ships Steve and Bucky. I do not. Stef also ships Bucky and Natasha. Stef respects canon and appreciates Sharon Carter. All this may sound inane but I’m glad I didn’t meet Stef until I did, because 2013 Tim might have been a little asshole re his ships and missed out befriending a great person because of his own stubborness… that could cross into douchebaggery. Stef has quality content on her blog at all times. Sebastian Stan. Marvel. Star Wars. Mark Hamill.. Harry Potter. Tron. Just general film. Chicken nuggets. Stef is a quality person with a quality blog.

@rocktheholygrail: Dana is someone I met through the iZombie fandom, and she is another wizard. A gif wizard, who has too often indulged my requests or suggestions. She’s another person whose enthusiasm is contagious. I was able to convince her to watch the entirety of Prison Break (save the revival) in less than a month before it was taken off Netflix. I don’t think I ever apologized for that. Dana also is trash tho, bc like me, her favorite iZombie character is the trashiest. I say that tongue in cheek, at least the first part. It’s really been great though to have someone who recognize a character as both human and horrible, and who is capable of watching and enjoying them despite their being problematic. If this was another fandom, I’d expect to be judged or ostracized, but instead I’m enabled once again.

@swanmagic: Gia is another person who doesn’t post on tumblr much (at least her personal) these days, but I’m including her because she’s been one of my favorite RP partners for years and we still talk from time to time on twitter. She’s just a great writer, great person, great friend. She’s another person who has excellent (and varied) musical taste.

@thealbooty: I met Alberto through Davis. It’s another thing where I don’t remember the circumstances, there was just one day where suddenly Alberto was in my life. Alberto is just a good guy… and I just mean good. He’s pure. If Davis is Spongebob, I’m Squidward and Alberto is Patrick. Only not as dumb. We don’t talk as much these days which makes me sad, but I love him too. Back in the day the three of us used to have group Skype chats and watch movies together. There was one day when Davis couldn’t make it or wasn’t online, and he and I just watched Hellboy and chatted for a few hours. That’s when Alberto went from being a friend of a friend to my friend. I’m glad he’s my friend.

@thejazzdalek: Max is another person, like Gil, who I’ve never really had a discussion with? He’s followed me for ages though, both on tumblr and on twitter and I appreciate that. I don’t really know him that well after all this time, embarrassingly. He seems like a nice guy, though. Big into Doctor Who, OUAT, DC, Marvel, just sci-fi and fantasy in general.

@timelessmulder: Emily-Alice is someone who I’ve been mutuals with since like 2012 I think. I don’t even know if we’re in the same fandoms anymore, but we keep following each other regardless. Over the years we’ve discussed everything from OUAT to DC, and these days when we talk it’s mostly to pick apart The Flash. She’s someone who has been with me for ages though, and has seen things.

@uhohjonsnow: So Betty is one of the first friends I actually made on tumblr when I engaged in fandom? I was an obnoxious teenage white boy who thought he was straight and acted like it, and she tolerated me anyway. Again, she’s someone who was witness to a lot of nonsense. We really were dicks to each other, lmao. I adore her though, bc she really is sweet and laid back. We went for years without talking,not due to any falling out, but we just drifted apart. She actually took a year off tumblr and recently returned, and we reconnected. She also accidentally deleted her blog and started fresh, so um, go follow her!

@uminoko: We’ve been mutuals for like years, and she’s just a nice person? Again, that’s a pathetic compliment, but it is true. She’s also another individual who I feel I’ve learned from by following? Part of that has to due with her being a former civil rights lawyer, but beyond that she’s just yet another smarty pants who I don’t talk to that much. She also  messaged me privately when I came out, and made me laugh when I needed it. Also, she’s an actual Russian who is a fan of Black Widow and Winter Soldier.

@uncleclustersthirdbrain: Donnie. This might be a little weird, because Donnie and I only reconnected like two weeks ago after three years of not really talking to each other? Again, there’s no bad blood, and he deserves to be on here. I’ve actually known him for five years, we met through his girlfriend Morgan. Donnie’s another person who has seen things, re seen me at my worst. Most obnoxious, outspoken, salty, dickish… and so on. I’ve always sort of looked up to him, though? Back when 17 going on 18 year old Tim met him, there was a sort of ‘notice me sempai’ thing going on. He’s yet another person who is too cool for me. In spite of toolish tendencies, there were times when Donnie reached out to make sure I was okay when I was being dramatic and having anxiety attacks over damn comic books. It sounds ridiculous, and it was, but at the time comics were my escape and how I dealt with a lot of tough shit I was going through. I was invested. Heavily invested, to an unhealthy degree. He’s just a good person who cares about his friends, and people in general. He’s also a fucking brilliant writer, who just recently put out his first comic. So I’m going to use this as another excuse to pimp it for him. Not because he’s my friend, but because I’m a selfish bastard who wants to read more and wants you to give him money so he can make more. He makes no personal profit from it, all the money goes towards paying his artists and the production. I’ve pretty much walked away from buying monthly comics, but as I’ve told Donnie, this is one I would pull. The first issue of And The Hare had some of the best dialogue I’ve read in a comic in easily the last year. At least.

@xeleyan-tequila: I met Chelsea through the OUAT fandom, and like me she gave up on the show a long time ago. She’s another person I don’t really talk to that much these days, but she’s a lovely person with a lovely blog who posts a little bit of everything. There are personal details to our relationship I won’t get into bc it’s no one’s business, and though we’re still friendly we sort of fell out of touch. I enjoy following her though, and she’s a wonderful human being.

[youngerdrgrey]

charlena + it wasn't supposed to be like this orrr any combo of chidi/eleanor/tahani/real!eleanor + riding unicorns sounds like a wonderful time... in theory.

a/n: going with option a + idk what time basketball games end bc I don’t pay enough attention + I apologize for the amount of Davis mentions in this

Davis gets his fifth ring. His ring, since it’s no longer an accomplishment that Charley gets to share with him. His, because he decided that being the team pimp was more important than the marriage that built him. His –

She hasn’t hiccuped since ring number two. Drunk off the most expensive champagne they could find and high off the rush of this actually happening again. They’d tucked Micah away with a sitter, and he’d spun her in his arms at a rooftop bar until the only thing that didn’t blur were his eyes. The only thing that made sense was him. Them. This.

She hiccups now. Her hand jumps to cover her mouth before another slips out, before she can draw any more attention to how drunk she is in public. Nova keeps staring at her, like she’s going to break, but she’s done breaking over Davis. She’s done letting the men in her life shatter her every time they decide that they want to be absolutely everything for someone else.

Only thing is, the camera keeps cutting to Davis and Micah, cheering and bouncing on the court. Micah’s only a head shorter than Davis now. His cheeks more narrow, and his temperament slowly turning into his father’s.

“I’ll be back.” Charley pushes off the couch. Hollywood opens his mouth to say something, but she shakes her head. “I’m fine. Really.” She grabs her phone as she heads out of the living room and straight on out of Vi’s house.

She has an interview scheduled for next week that’s supposed to talk about what it’s like being named one of the most influential women of the year. She’s got two hundred dollars on them asking her about Davis’ win now. Maybe they’ll phrase it nicely. Maybe they’ll wax poetically about the dreams she had for herself and her family before she started the mill. ‘They’re still coming true without you,’ the reporter will say, ‘Micah must be thrilled.’ And she’ll have to be gracious and supportive. She’ll have to smile and say that she’s happy that Davis accomplished what he’d set out to do, and that she hopes that he can continue to be a good father to Micah now that he has a bit more freedom in what he wants to do with his life. And they’ll stare at her face like her foundation’s set to crack. They’ll stare so hard she can’t stare back without un-focusing her contacts, and she really, really doesn’t want to do the interview anymore.

Her phone jumps in her hand. Micah probably. She flips it over.

From Lena Evans // 11:13 pm

She blinks. It must be the alcohol. Lena doesn’t text her, not anymore. But Charley opens the message anyway.

From Lena Evans // 11:13 pmLena: He really did itLena: And they said he needed Felix to do it

Felix left after a year in New Orleans. Lena left him not long after.

From Charley Bordelon // 11:14 pmCharley: Felix holds people back

From Lena Evans // 11:14 pmLena: So does DavisLena: His singer’s barely trending online

Charley snorts. His singer girlfriend who he dates for a few months before breaking it off so he can be with somebody else. This young girl who smiles at him like she’s going to do something Charley couldn’t. Even Micah feels bad for her. He comes home talking like, ‘It’s sad, Mom, and she keeps coming back to him. He’s not going to change.’ Davis just gets better at it.

From Charley Bordelon // 11:15 pmCharley: I don’t know if I want to talk about him

She really has spent enough of her life on him.

From Lena Evans // 11:15 pmLena: We don’t have toLena: But I would like to talk again

Charley settles on Violet’s porch swing.

From Charley Bordelon // 11:16 pmCharley: You would?

It comes off needy in text form. She wants to say it with a smirk like she used to. Maybe with her on one side of a tall table and Lena on the other. Charley could say it half to her champagne glass, but her eyes could be on Lena as she does it. When other people look down on her, Charley only shines brighter. 

Charley: You could say you missed me.

There. That’s forward enough that she can achieve the same result. Trip Lena up on the other end. She still follows Lena on social media – Twitter, Instagram – and Lena’s doing better on the gram than anything else. She’s got the smile for it. Dazzling white teeth that stun Charley into submission. Eyes she can drown in.

From Lena Evans // 11:17 pmLena: What would I miss, Charley? We weren’t exactly close. Last time you saw me, you were threatening me.

Charley threatens everyone.

From Charley Bordelon // 11:18 pmCharley: If you didn’t like it, then why msg me

She should’ve spelled it out, but her phone screen doesn’t exactly stay in focus for long right now. Maybe they should talk on the phone instead. They haven’t talked in years. Nothing more than a well meaning like or retweet. A direct message in reply to Lena’s Instagram post to announce the divorce. Does she sound the same as she used to?

From Lena Evans // 11:19 pmLena: I don’t know

From Charley Bordelon // 11:19 pmCharley: you dk?

From Lena Evans // 11:21 pmLena: I still look for you on the sidelines sometimes, and I wake up on game days and get ready like the whole world’s gonna be watching me. I normally don’t even remember that I’ve got nowhere to be until I’ve got eyelashes in my hand.Lena: It’s dumb

Charley still watches post-game interviews, still had her March Madness bracket to go against Hollywood’s. It’s not dumb to miss it. It’s not ridiculous to resort to autopilot and expect things to still be good.

From Charley Bordelon // 11:22 pmCharley: It’s human

From Lena Evans // 11:22 pmLena: Well, we mere mortals feel like that every once in a while.

Charley scoffs.

From Charley Bordelon // 11:23 pmCharley: I feel tooCharley: You’ve seen it

Lena doesn’t respond though. There’s no typing bubbles, and Charley’s shown emotion to Lena before. Yes, she’s normally playing Lena when they interact, but that’s what Charley had to do back then. Lena tried using her just as much. 

Lena propositioned Charley for that reality show, and she barely batted an eye at the concept that her husband could’ve actually been involved in what happened with Milena.

Charley calls her. The phone only rings twice before Lena answers, which gives Charley enough time to breathe before snapping. “Don’t even think of acting like I’m above emotion, okay? I feel. I hurt just as much as you do.”

“I never said you didn’t.”

“So the mere mortals comment wasn’t a crack at me?” Charley waits for a response that doesn’t come. “You want a punching bag, go somewhere else.”

“Wait!” Lena’s voice comes out harried. She gulps a little too close to her phone’s mic. “I…. Don’t you remember when we talked about this day? We said we’d rush the court, and all four of us would celebrate after. We’d go on a yacht for the day. We’d party like the boys never have to go back. We’d—“

“Be free.” Charley sinks so deep into the swing that it rocks. They were supposed to be a little unit then. “What did we say? Skinny dipping off the yacht?”

Lena laughs. “Go live on Periscope but tastefully film the whole thing.”

Charley laughs too. “I don’t know how we’d manage that.”

“We could figure it out.” A breath follows her words. Then, Lena clears her throat. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. That’s all. And I do miss you, Charley.”

It might be the alcohol talking, or maybe her own loneliness. “Come visit?”

Another breath. “I’m actually… I’m staying at the W again. In the city.”

She’s in town. She’s close enough that they could be together in hours. But what would that look like? Would it be old friends catching up? More bottles and swapping stories about the husbands they left, or would it be more like, well, figuring out how to film on their own? Charley’s never — she was with Davis, then with Remy, and now, this would be something completely different. If Lena even wants it to be that way. She could be over her little crush by now.

Lena talks over the silence. “It wouldn’t have to be anything, if you’re not comfortable. I know that you’re not really —“

“I don’t know what I am.” Okay, that comes out sadder than Charley wants it to. More introspective and reflective. She’s never had the opportunity to really explore anything with a woman before. She’s not even one hundred percent sure she wants to explore with Lena. Sure, Lena is beautiful, and adoring, the sort of girl who would do anything Charley wanted without putting up much of a fight. 

“I could help you figure it out. Maybe find some new dreams.”

It’s not the alcohol that makes her stomach flip. “Give me an hour.” Enough time to say goodnight to the family, order a ride since she can’t drive herself. “Wait for me?”

Lena sighs on her end. “Of course. Yes. Yeah, I’ll be here.“

.

.

[artlessictoan]

Also, Smoke Into The Sand w/ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15! OoO As a side-note I haven't read this yet (SHAME ON ME BC I WANNA) and i'm SUPER interested in it!

asdfjskdjskdjfsk this is gonna get long fukc

What inspired you to write the fic this way?

my main goal with sits was to make it read like an old myth or storybook, an old tale that would be passed down for generations, the majority of the fic is written in that style exactly, but the overall story definitely is (and it does come through a bit more in how the backstory is told and some of the more important scenes)

that said, the main narrative is written much more slice-of-life-y, one of my biggest inspirations for this fic is the manga monogatari (bride’s story), it’s a really nice series that explores the daily life of people in various areas along the silk road, it has that simple, everyday life feel that i love and really wanted to write into sits! that’s where the random details about desert living and the tribe’s lifestyle come in (warning for anyone who might want to check out mono though: it does have an arranged marriage between a 20 yr old woman and a 12 yr old boy, it’s being played as a more platonic/familial relationship thus far but i can totally understand why it would put people off, so just a heads-up before anyone jumps in)

What scene did you first put down?

the first scene i actually started writing was the very first scene! but the very first scene, the one that spawned this entire fic i haven’t actually gotten to yet, it’s gonna be v near the end and i’m dying to finally reveal it because it’s gonna be Big.. but i shalln’t spoil it here, just something for my readers to look forwards to

What’s your favorite line of narration?

ok so like i said i’m shit at remembering any of what i write and it’s a bit more than just a line but fuck it:

Gaara froze, in fact, everything did. The soft whistling ofthe wind cut off into eerie silence, the constantly shifting sand stopped witha suddenness that was entirely unnatural, Naruto glanced away for a second andsaw that some grains were being held in the air, perfectly still. He turned hisgaze back to the spirit before him, his expression hadn’t changed at all, hewas still glaring, but his eyes were unfocussed, like they weren’t reallylooking at him.

Naruto was too scared to move, to speak; hecould only stare and pray that he hadn’t just sealed his own death warrant.

What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

again, not a line, but i really love this exchange between nart and ameno so effing much:

“So mature… You’re growing up too fast, how am I ever goingto keep up?” she asked, mostly to herself judging from the distant look on herface.

He slowly drew his hand back once her face wasdry and gave her a confused look. “You won’t have to; I’ll just carry you withme.

What part was hardest to write?

well i might just be saying this cause it’s the most recent struggle i faced (among many) but the chapter six reALLY killed me. trying to find the right way to describe the exhaustion and constant fear took many, many weeks and i’m still not sure i really nailed it (hopefully something i’ll be able to fix in the next chap)

What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?

other than being the first multi-chap fic i’ve ever written, this is actually one of my oldest fic ideas ever, seriously it’s been kicking around in my head for a good five years or so now so there’s that

it also happens to contain basically All of my Special Interests; naruto, deserts, nomadic culture, boring minutia, swords.... honestly the only thing it’s missing is cats (though i’m sure i can find some way to work them in too..)

and, honestly, this is kinda my magnum opus? or at least that’s how i’ve always thought of it, i had actually planned to not start writing it until i’d already done a few other fics because i wanted to make sure my writing skill was at its best before starting such an ambitious fic.. yeah that didn’t happen, but i think that’s actually worked out alright, jumping in with a harder fic right at the start of my writing ‘career’ has been a bit of a crash-course and taught me a heck of a lot, i still think it’s gonna be one of the best things i ever write though. it just has a very special place in my heart

Where did the title come from?

well tbh i’m kinda shit at titles, so i usually just hunt through the first chap looking for any particularly poetic-sounding line that would work (though in this case it does have a nice little easter egg, since in arab folklore jinn are made of smoke!)

Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

hmm not really? the whole thing is meant to be very fantastical and unreal (despite all the slice-of-life stuff), the only real-world insp comes from my research into bedouin lifestyle and such

What do you like best about this fic?

gaara! i mean ofc i like him in anything but this version of gaa - silent, detached, barely human, incredibly complex - is one of my faves and he’s really fun to write, we’ll be finding out more about him as the fic goes on and when we do it’ll make his actions before now both more understandable and less at the same time (he’s quite the paradox)

What do you like least about this fic?

the inconsistency. i feel like i must’ve gone through about ten different writing styles throughout the course of it and it bothers me that i haven’t quite got that storybook feel i was always aiming for, i’ll probably do a rewrite when i’ve got more experience under my belt and try to make the whole thing a bit more cohesive

What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

as with btc, i mostly listen to soundtracks, since songs with lyrics really distract me when writing, since i like to try and match the music i listen to to the setting/tone of what i’m writing i try to listen to classical middle-eastern music (though i’ve had a hard time finding many albums of just instrumental stuff, if anyone has any recs i’d love you forever!)

in addition to that there’s the soundtracks of Journey, Bastion, Dreamfall Chapters and the Prince of Persia games and for instrumental artists i really like Break of Reality and Tina Guo for sits insp!

Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?What did you learn from writing this fic?

hmm, well i’d love it if people learned a bit more about the cultures i’m writing about (and i’d like to learn more of that too tbh, i’m still finding out new things that i actually got wrong earlier on in the fic), maybe even get interested enough to go looking for more info themselves, because there’s a lot of stuff that i simply won’t be able to go into much detail about

as for myself, well ^that and also it’s just been a rEALLY good experience in so many small ways - writing longer fics, writing in general, character interaction, introspection, action, plotting, description, suspense, mystery..... i could go on but yeah, basically it’s helped me grow as an author in Every Single Way and i’m sure it’ll help ever more before it’s done!