#But one day I'll establish myself *^*9

[apomaro-mellow]

Wrong Number 4

Steve was eternally grateful that he'd finally told Robin about Eddie. Because now, he could torture her with his outfit choices. Robin groaned and covered her eyes as Steve held out more shirts.

"What do you think? Stripes or no stripes?"

"Steeeeeeve", Robin whined.

"You're the one that told me stripes really shows off my chest."

"Is Eddie a tits guy? Or an ass man?"

Steve put the shirts back in the closet. "I don't know. I don't know Robin and the fact that this is a video call date makes it worse."

"Actually....actually it makes it better." Robin uncovered her face and grabbed Steve's shoulders. "You'll be on the phone the whole time!"

"Yes...We've established this", Steve said, not sure where she was going with this.

"I mean, if you're doing a video call, YOU control what Eddie sees."

Steve stared at her face for a long while as she simply emoted using her eyebrows. "Robin, no."

"Robin, yes. Come on. We're going shopping. You're waaay overdue for this. And I need a couple of things myself."

"Things going that well with Chrissy?", Steve asked right before Robin threw his shoes at him.

"What do you think I'm doing while you're on your date?", Robin grinned.

-----------------------

Eddie's excitement just got more and more intense with each day. By Wednesday he was vibrating any time his hands weren't occupied with something. He only hoped it didn't translate to his texts. Cool as a cucumber, that was his motto when it came to Steve. He couldn't come on too strong.

(9:45 am) Thinking about those beefy thighs (9:46 am) god i wanna wrap them around my head

Perfect. Smooth. And not too much.

At least he didn't think so at the time. About an hour later Eddie remembered that Steve was at work and possibly reading that text in a room full of prepubescents. And he knew he was going to reap what he sowed when Steve texted him later.

[12:01 pm] You are the ultimate distraction.

(12:02 pm) sry. i forgot you were at work

[12:03 pm] I don't think you are sorry. In fact, I think you need to be punished.

Eddie needed to get a job in coding because there was no emoji that properly conveyed the intensity of the 'boi-yoi-yoi-yoing' going on in his pants. How grateful he was that he didn't need to talk. Texting would cover any stuttering he was sure to do.

(12:04 pm) punishment? 😏 (12:04 pm) what kind of punishment?

[12:05 pm] See me after class, Mr. Munson.

God, four o'clock couldn't come fast enough. Eddie knew that'd be around the time Steve got home from work. He spent about an hour rolling around in bed before getting up, needing to distract himself. He wasn't due for work today, but he went in anyway to loiter.

"I can tell you're horny and I can tell you're just idling until you get your dick wet. Get lost, some of us have actual work to do", Jeff said.

Eddie let out a dramatic gasp. "Jeffery! Jeffords! Jeffaniel! Jeffanie!"

"Are you just going to sit there, making up full names for me or are you gonna get off your ass?"

"I'll replace all the boards and sweep out the alleys for the next two hours", Eddie said, holding his hands together like he was praying to his friend.

Jeff rubbed his chin as he considered it. "Only if you take this next party I have coming in."

Eddie looked at the group arriving. There had to be at least a dozen. And he just knew they only reserved one lane. They always only reserved one lane.

"You drive a hard bargain Jimothy."

"Not even close", Jeff crossed his arms. "And it's this or whatever ants in your pants you'll do if you're unoccupied."

Curse his friends for knowing him so well. Eddie held up his end of the deal, taking care of the party. Turned out it was a birthday party (happy 14th Ashton). But two hours later, the time had passed and Eddie went back home. He still had an hour to spare (he didn't want to leave Steve waiting), so he spent the rest of the time coming up with some ideas for their date in a few days.

[4:04 pm] Are you home?

(4:05 pm) At home and awaiting orders gorgeous (4:05 pm) Have I been a bad boy Mr. Harrington?

Eddie's phone rang and he picked it up as he crashed onto his bed. He knew Steve could hear it when he laughed on the other end.

"You need to keep a tighter lid on those urges. It was a lucky break that all the kids were focused on their dishes that they didn't see the face I made."

"Truly, my bad Stevie. But I can't help what you do to me."

Steve chuckled. "Not even a little?"

"Not one bit. Okay, maybe a little bit. The truth is, I could've said a lot more, but I was holding back."

"Really now? And what would you have said if you weren't holding back?"

Eddie could hear something that sounded like movement in a bed. Steve was getting comfortable too. He thought about the picture he had saved, of Steve's lower body in those shorts. He had been laying in bed then too. Eddie let his mind wander for a bit. What he'd do if Steve were really in bed beside him...

"Baby if you were here right now, I'd have my hands all over you. You'd think I was an octopus."

"Tell me where you'd touch me first", Steve said.

"Well I'm still thinkin' of those legs of yours. You like massages, Stevie? I could rub you down all day."

Steve imagined Eddie digging his fingers into his muscles. That would really hit the spot, especially after a workout. "Mmm, and then?"

"And then I'd wrap them around my head, like I said. I saw what you were packin' in those shorts, baby. I would love to get my mouth on you."

Eddie heard Steve let out a soft moan and he definitely heard a zipper and some shifting. God, the image of Steve stroking himself... Eddie unzipped his pants too, palming at himself while the other hand kept an ever tightening hold on the phone.

"Eddieee..."

"I wanna hear everything, baby. I'm working so hard sucking you off, I deserve to know how good I'm making you feel."

"So good, uh", Steve let out a small breath at the end.

"Yeah? I haven't even told you how I'd rock your world yet", Eddie grinned.

"I just know...You're so good with your mouth."

"You like the way I lick you up and down? How I kiss that beautiful tip?" Eddie knew he had a dick just as handsome as the rest of him, never mind that he had yet to see Steve's whole face yet. His hand pumped up and down as he envisioned the weight of Steve in his mouth. He thought about getting drunk on that taste.

Eddie groaned and his eyes fluttered close, his mouth moving faster than his brain. "Do you shave Steve?"

"....No...is that a problem?"

"Ohh it's the opposite of a problem babe. I bet you got a thick bush. I'd sink all the way down, bury my nose in it while you're fucking my throat."

Steve let out the most delicious sound as he came and Eddie wasn't too far behind. It was like he was there, hairs coarse and curly rough against his skin while Steve moaned right into his ear.

"Mmm", Steve hummed. "I know you look good now. My cum dripping off your lips."

"I'd swallow it all, sweetness. I wouldn't waste a single drop." He would take all that Steve gave him and then some. He was a greedy man.

"I know you wouldn't. I don't allow anything to go to waste in my classroom. Have you learned your lesson, Mr. Munson?"

"Maaaybeee. I might need another lesson, Mr. Harrington. Say, this Friday, at eight?", Eddie teased.

"I suppose you'll need more help studying. Don't be late, mister."

-----------------------------

For once, Steve didn't linger after work. He made sure the kids cleaned up every last dish before the last period even ended. He even let them go a minute and a half before the bell. When Steve left, he went the back way to avoid most of the other teachers and that pre-weekend conversation. He got home right away and started getting ready. Robin had her own date tonight which meant he had limited time to get her help and last minute input.

When she got home from work, the apartment was a flurry of activity between them.

"Steve, I need the blow dryer!"

"Wait! I'm almost done!"

They both crashed into each other's spaces as they tried using the one bathroom mirror.

"Why can't you use your stupid vanity mirror?", Robin asked.

"That mirror is just for my hair and it's too small."

Robin gave him a side eye. "Is that my eyeliner?"

"Is that my face cream?"

For some reason, Robin insisted on getting dressed in his room, which meant at some points their outfits got switched around and they had to re-dress. The pandemonium finally quieted when Robin left for her date and Steve was at last alone for his. It was at 8:00 sharp that Eddie sent a text.

(8:00 pm) Knock knock 😙

Steve smiled as he started a video call. His heart fluttered at the thought of finally seeing Eddie's full face. So imagine his surprise when he was instead met with a hand that had a face drawn on it. And what could only be Eddie doing a deeper, character voice.

"Hello my love. Are you ready for the romancing tonight? I hope I get lucky, ehehehehe."

To which Steve couldn't help but burst out in laughter. Any nerves he might've had flew away.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm a proper young man. I don't think I could court with someone who was so...handsy."

"I wouldn't lay a finger on you without your permission, lovely. But maybe a few smooches. Muahmuahmuah!" Eddie's hand attacked his phone's camera with kisses and Steve giggled like it was actually touching him.

As his laughing fit subsided, only then did Eddie reveal his face. He took Steve's breath away. He was literally speechless and just stood there staring, which made Eddie start to squirm a little.

"You tryina turn me to stone, Medusa?", Eddie joked.

"Sorry!", Steve apologized when he realized he had been staring. "You just...you look really nice Eddie."

"You don't look too bad yourself, handsome", Eddie smiled.

That was putting it lightly. For the both of them really. Steve felt like he was talking to the perfect man. Eddie felt like Steve had walked right out of his wet dreams.

"So, what did you order?", Steve asked as he sat down at his table. He made sure his phone was angled that it only showed him from the waist up. Robin had the bright idea that since he could control what Eddie saw, he could wear whatever he wanted under the line of sight.

He was currently wearing a blue and white striped polo shirt. And beneath that, some lacy, navy blue panties. Maybe Eddie would find out, maybe he wouldn't. Steve had his phone on the table, propped up against some books.

"I ordered the Munson special. A grilled cheese with potato soup."

"Oh, that's a Munson special, hm?"

"Damn straight. Tomato soup is still a classic, but I'd die for a potato. What'd you get?"

"I have some leftover pasta that I just added some mushrooms too. Nothing too fancy."

"Unless it's one of those truffles", Eddie pointed out.

Steve rolled his eyes as he twirled his fork. "Truffles? On a teacher's salary?"

"Hey, you could be secretly rich."

"Oh if I win the lottery, there will be signs."

"Like 5th graders using authentic truffles", Eddie nodded to himself.

They kept talking throughout their dinner and then took each other to their sinks to wash the dishes together. Eddie talked more about his friends. Some of which he worked with and the band he was in. Steve wasn't super into metal, but he liked it enough to be interested in whatever Eddie did.

When they had talked about their date night and discussed their options, they decided on dinner and a movie. Once the dishes were cleaned, Steve took Eddie over to the living room and he sat down between the coffee table and propped him against another set of books as they both queued up the movie on their ends.

"You know it's been a really long time since I've seen this movie", Steve said. "I think I was literally a kid."

"There was a time when this was literally my religion", Eddie said as Quest for Camelot started to play.

Steve knew Eddie was into Dungeons & Dragons, so him being in love with a fantasy movie made total sense.

"Did you have a crush on Garrett when you were a kid?", Steve asked, later during the movie.

"'Did'? I'd still let him use that staff on me six ways to Sunday!"

Steve laughed and he was coming to realize he laughed with Eddie much more than any of his dates in a long while.

"I'm gonna go grab a drink", Steve said as he got up. He nearly asked Eddie if he wanted something. It really was like he was right there with him. Steve grabbed a soda and then came back, sitting down in his spot again when he saw Eddie's expression.

He was silent, which was rare.

His eyes were bulging out of his head and his hand was over his mouth.

Steve was about to ask what was wrong when Eddie's eyes flicked down and then Steve got it. He had stood up. In full view of his phone. And then turned to go into the kitchen.

Eddie had gotten a first rate view of his panties.

Part 6

Tag Team (CLOSED)

@anne-bennett-cosplayer @estrellami-1 @newtstabber @omletlove @ifyoudonlysurrender @rehfan @morganski-19 @corvidcantina @dragonmama76 @just-ladyme @tinyplanet95 @goodolefashionedloverboi @idoquitelikebread @kittydeadbones @manda-panda-monium @rhapsodyinalto @paintsplatteredandimperfect @keylime-green @ihavekidneys @samsoble @honorarybrit81 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @aizawa-emma @deleataecount @thesuninyaface @fromapayphone @justmeinadaze @hbyrde36 @queenie-ofthe-void @resident-gay-bitch @bestwifehaver @dangdirtydemons @ellietheasexylibrarian @perseus-notjackson @pyrohonk @holysteddie @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @mrsjellymunson @geekymagicalpotato @notaqueenakhaleesi

[shrekgogurt]

Ten Questions for Writers

Thank you for the tags! @artsyunderstudy @roomwithanopenfire @youarenevertooold @emeryhall @monbons @larkral I'm eating up reading your answers because we're all so DIFFERENT.

How many works do you have on AO3? 9 (technically 10 but we orphaned one of them out of shame)

What’s your total AO3 word count? 99,978 (mine) + 7,531 (shared) + 9,991 (someone else's) = 117, 500 (total)

What fandoms do you write for? presently, Carry On but back during my high school ff.net days I did some Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus (Percabeth and some separate OCs), Alex Rider (OCs), The 100 (as an elaborate prank), Harry Potter (literally just a My Immortal parody), and Divergent (OCs) and if they weren't oneshots they were never finished.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? YES! I'm currently behind on my replies, but it's so fun! It's like a book club but for stuff I created!!???? Shit rocks. I fully didn't expect anyone to read IKABIKAM (my first fic on ao3) when I first published it and so every comment still feels like a miracle.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? No.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! I love collaborating because it gives me something to bounce off of. A scene partner. A ticking timer. It's like lifting a heavy object by yourself versus getting someone else to bear some of the weight with you. It's easier. I also find myself constantly seeking collaboration with other people even with my solo fics. I'm all up in those DMs pestering people both as motivation and as external processing. And by GOD, do you fuckers have some good ideas. Y'all make me exponentially better.

What’s your all-time favorite ship? SnowBaz but also in a very real sense...Percabeth. (You never forget your first.)

What are your writing strengths? I got my start with rping, so dialogue is really comfortable for me. I also think my training in other art forms (dance, music, theatre, film, academia) positively influence my approach. When writing action, I often mentally frame it as 'blocking' the scene or 'choreographing' the movement. When crafting sentences, I'm constantly evaluating the rhythm and rhyme and repetition (not to mention alliteration) as if it's a song, always searching for the perfect word or metaphor. I also listen to actual songs and pull the emotion from them, using them as character studies or a musical soliloquy. I imagine shots and then write what I see from the perspective of a director explaining the actor’s motivating thoughts. I constantly revisit my thesis, grounding the narrative in callbacks and a cohesive structure like it's an academic paper. And all those things combined create this kinetic cause and effect style I'm really proud of and tangibly improves every time I write something new.

What are your writing weaknesses? I do not have a firm grasp on proper grammar. I'm also really slow and inconsistent with my output because my process is so physically disorganized and meticulous which often frustrates me. I'm also impatient. I don't do wholesale messy drafts; I edit as I go and when I'm done I want it published immediately. I also fall victim to the white room syndrome with physical descriptions. Establishing shots? Don't know them. What a guy looks like? What they're wearing? Sorry, I haven't told you because it felt weird to jam in there. Outside of fanfiction, I also struggle with creating something from nothing. I'm a theologian rather than a god. I much prefer playing in a sandbox and exegeting meaning from someone else's grunt work rather than conjuring the wood and the sand myself. My writing is also incredibly referential to pop culture which I'm not sure would translate outside of fanfic, but I guess I'll cross that bridge if I ever get to it.

First fandom you wrote for? Divergent (big cringe)

Now tagging! @onepintobean @cutestkilla @theearlgreymage @thewholelemon @mooncello @brilla-brilla-estrellita @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @bookish-bogwitch @facewithoutheart @fatalfangirl @urban-sith @prettygoododds @valeffelees @ileadacharmedlife TELL ME HOW YOU WRITE YOU GENIUSES

[eirikrjs]

UPDATE 9/2/23

Wow, it's almost fall and I'm still kickin', so here's a proper update about what's been going on with me. I do feel great most days, and with Halloween in season around the US, it makes me very happy. As far as stroke recovery goes, my leg has a newly made brace and my walking in general has greatly improved the past few months. I really don't roll my left foot anymore, in other words, my foot can go flat instead of landing on the ankle and possibly causing injury.

My arm is still mostly nothing but a couple weeks back I was able to move my shoulder again so there's hope. I also got a home electrical stimulation device so I give my arm and hand a jolt for an hour everyday. With time, I feel confident i'll recover.

A great help with my recovery has been the amazing @dagdasgoddess , a fellow young stroke survivor who has been watching out for me and offering encouragement every day for a couple months now, exactly when I needed it. Mentally, stroke recovery is pretty damn tough but most days I feel positive about it, with great thanks to her.

And now on to some business. Shortly before my stroke I was planning on celebrating the 10th anniversary of my blog (which would have been in December of last year, but I was still in the hospital, obviously...) And one of the things I was going to do was photograph and review all the smt demon figures I have, using my special diorama table. I got around to starting the project a couple weeks before the stroke, naturally starting with the Leonard figure. Here's one of the pics:

I also made something of an anniversary banner, just because, I guess:

I also want to talk about some milestones reached, starting with some follower counts. By December last year I finally surpassed 2k followers, so thank you so very much. This is after Kanekos Crib Notes quickly dwarfed my own blog followers shortly after its establishment in like 2014. But now my own blog is even ahead of kcn, as undoubtedly its current annual schedule limits its growth and reach. (But hey, it's almost October, aka KCN MONTH)

The last milestone is above: my Stealing Knowledge blogger has reached half a million views! Unbelievable, thanks for reading and sharing over the years! Identity crisis part 3 remains the most viewed, with over 50k on its own.

Finally, I want to talk about the future. Another 10th anniversary plan was to try and monetize the blog somehow, probably via a Patreon for new articles and such and many other ideas, maybe even doing YouTube videos to answer asks instead of them being all text. I have lots of other ideas too, but they'll have to wait until my arm works again. So instead of monetizing the future, for now I'm just going to ask y'all kindly to chip in for the blog's past. I'm amazed at how much activity the blog still generates from--let's call it "legacy content".

To that end, I have set myself up a kofi account where you can show your appreciation for that "legacy", kuwabara, kuwabara, if you'd like. All money earned will go towards paying down bills accrued during my recovery, like my hyperbaric treatments. In perfect honesty, it's been around 3000 US dollars so far. Don't feel obligated to contribute and thank you all for still sticking around with me despite my relative inactivity. And if course, continue keeping @sorenblr busy if you wish.

I would also not expect my own recovery before next year, that's just stroke for you. Thank you all!!!!!

p.s. I was featured as a stroke survivor again on another therapy facebook post:

[supermanshield]

superbat fic where theyre trying to wrangle everyones busy schedule? jl meetings, galas, someones birthday dinner, someones recital, theres a lot to account for lol

Oh anon, you know this is my favourite trope for superbat! <3 Thank you for the ask and sorry it took a while, but here it is. And I really let myself go, didn't count the words but it's way more than 100.

-------------------------------------

"Tonight?"

"I can't, Damian's teacher wants to speak to me. Again." Bruce sighed and flicked through the calendar on his phone. Almost every day was completely filled with appointments, meetings, league meetings, monitor duty, patrol time. Hmm... "How about Saturday morning?"

"I go running with Lois, you know that. And you probably won't be awake, anyway."

"You could just... start without me."

"Bruce!" The people at the table next to them looked up. Clark shut his mouth and sat back, embarrassed. Bruce went back to his phone. Clark still carried around a paper agenda, for some reason, and flicked through that.

"Saturday evening is Cass' ballet recital...."

"We definitely can't miss that," Clark confirmed. Bruce shook his head in agreement.

"Sunday you've got the annual Zenith Awards and Gala. Hmm."

Clark groaned. "I wouldn’t mind missing that one. Or sneak out during. I don't need to hear Luthor talk all evening."

"As one of the nominees? Clark, no. I'll be there to cheer you on, and protect you from the big bad Lex by talking over him."

Clark chuckled. "You're the best." His face lit up. "Oh. So after, we could sneak out together..."

"Won't do. It'll be too late by then.” He lowered his voice. “and I'll have to go straight to patrol."

"And Monday I've got a late monitor shift. Tuesday Dick's coming over for dinner, Wednesday..."

"Board meeting, you know that."

Clark nodded. "Right. Thursday I promised to help Jon... up north," he said, indicating the direction of the fortress with his eyebrows. He sat back, defeated, staring at his agenda. "So that's it, no time at all this week? Not even a little gap somewhere? I can be quick."

"And that's not always a good thing, Kent." Clark almost choked on his coffee. If he could. "And this is not even counting any..." Bruce looked over at the other table, lowered his volume so only Clark could hear. "Any of the unexpected things we deal with." Clark nodded solemnly, and leaned over the table closer to Bruce. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Supervillains could visit, or break out, or natural disasters could occur. They were used to dropping everything at a moment's notice when they were needed. It was the rest of their lives that were so busy. 

"This was to be expected with four full-time jobs and 9 children between us," Bruce concluded, leaning over the table as well, meeting Clark halfway to put his glasses back on his face.

"I can't believe it's come to this already. We have to plan our sex time."

"If you call it sex time again, we might not have to plan it at all anymore, Clark."

Clark couldn't hold back a laugh at that. He brushed some hair out of Bruce's face. His mouth was curved in a genuine smile, a smirk he usually only saw in the bedroom. He still couldn't believe they had finally gotten together, and he was so happy with Bruce in his life, but it was hard sometimes, to keep meeting halfway and around their schedules, between battles and fights and missions, and daily life.

Bruce perked up suddenly, eyes opening wide. "Clark," he said. "What are we doing?"

Clark frowned. "A date? Just two regular guys on a date?"

"And what could we be doing."

A lightbulb came on in Clark's head, but he wasn't convinced yet. "Hey, a date is important too. I don't want our relationship to only consist of quickies in the broom closet."

"I agree," Bruce said hastily, and it warmed Clark's heart. "But we just established that you won't get any of me for at least a week, so I choose sex. Right now. We still have an hour." He stared intently into Clark’s eyes.

"Okay." Clark took a sip of the coffee that they were about to abandon, and held up one finger. "But only if you stay in bed with me after."

“Fine,” Bruce grumbled, but the skip in his heartbeat was unmistakable. 

Bruce paid for their coffees quickly, while Clark waited with his jacket by the door. As they left the little café, he could hear the couple that had sat next to them talking over their food.

“Ahh, young love,” the woman mused.

“Dear, those guys were at least in their forties.”

“You have no sense of romance, Derrick.” 

Clark smiled, jogging after Bruce into the alleyway to take him home.

[no-where-new-hero]

On this fine Sunday afternoon, I shall sit down with my scripture (Emily of New Moon) and perform my devotions (catch up on book club commentary). In the interest of space, I'll try to keep this short.

Chapter 9: A Special Providence

The knack of turning this novel epistolary with the Father letters is one of LMM's best narrative decisions because she is, at heart, a voice writer, and I just saw in the lovely interview on craft that @gogandmagog posted that LMM loved writing in first person despite discouragement from her editors, so this way she gets to have her cake and eat it too. She also establishes Emily as a woman of text, specifically, as opposed to Anne, who got away with first person narration through non-stop chatter. Emily as a character is much quieter and more introverted, so her ability to blither through letter-writing kills many birds with one stone. It's also astronomically funny.

"I felt so insulted that I came up to the garret and wrote a deskription of myself being drowned on a letter-bill and then I felt better." Legitimately, Emily has died so much in her imagination in the course of nine chapters. You'd think her self-dramatization would be for good things, but no, she gets her revenge on people through self-destruction. Which is very funny as a child but also sets up her depressive nature as an adult very well.

Chapter 10: Growing Pains

Reading Rhoda's betrayal hurts every time! Also since the last time I read this, I went through a Rhoda experience of my own, soooo yeah not fun. Interestingly, I think Rhoda is the only one who gets a definite birthday other than Emily in the whole book. She doesn't reflect well on Cancers 💀

"Just cut a good big bang. Lots of the girls have their hair banged clean from the crown of their heads." This description always confused me because that kind of style sounds like a description of the "Dutch boy bob" that only came into fashion 30 years later (in the 20s). Also when I Googled hair being "shingled" it's basically also a bob? Maybe more of what we'd consider a pixie cut today, though it seems to be referred to as a "shingle bob" and therefore close enough to what Emily would have wanted. (I am a bit obsessed by how the "Pringle shingle" anticipated the 90s Winona Ryder style pixie cut craze). Though of course Aunt Elizabeth wouldn't have done this cut with any style in any case lol.

Chapter 11: Ilse

Emily aka Jane Eyre fanfiction strikes again. This is, though, a rare instance of New Moon itself being hostile to Emily in a way that isn't ever shown elsewhere. Though the house represents the motherliness that Emily lacks from people, it also has its dark patches that Emily must rebel against, though she only thinks she rebelling against Aunt Elizabeth.

Oh, Ilse my beloved. She has many endearing lines that show the depth of her neglect, but I think this one hit most for me this time: "And you won't be ashamed of me because my clothes are always queer and because I don't believe in God?" I also love how both she and Emily know exactly what their futures will be at this moment and both succeed in them.

Chapter 12: The Tansy Patch

I never focus much on the descriptions in this book because they come thick and fast, but I noticed this time how many flowers grow around the Tansy Patch, nearly suffocating the built structures. This is a place of surface beauty if festering neglect--much like Mrs. Kent's treatment of Teddy.

"He washes the dishes for her and helps her in all the house work. Ilse says the boys in school call him sissy for that but I think it is noble and manley of him." LMM saying fuck gender roles.

"I guess Ilse wants Teddy to like her best but she is not a jellus girl." The love triangle begins.

"I read the story of Red Riding Hood to-day. I think the wolf was the most intresting caracter in it. Red Riding Hood was a stupid little thing so easily fooled." RIP Emily Starr, you would have loved Angela Carter.

Reader, I did not keep this short. Second post incoming soon.

[meowmeowriley]

Hi! First ask ever and English is not my native language so sorry if i mess up something or sound strange.

Please, i need to know more about 4, 5, 9, 12 and 13 of your wip list. Anything you want to tell because i am frothing at the mouth at all of them but 4, 5, 9, 12 and 13 in particular.

Thank you thank you thank you! I'll give you a little bit of each of those fics! ❤

4) Oh, Brother. Funny thing about this fic, it was supposed to be a one-shot 😅 too many people liked it though, so I had to keep going. I actually just uploaded a new chapter today! A little summary - Soap and Ghost's families think they need help getting together, so they organize an aquarium date! (Plot twist, they did not need the help, but they loved the excuse to be around one another) It was my first attempt at keeping the boys in character, I think I've done okay.

5) I Don't Think We're in Space Anymore. Oh look at that, another one that was supposed to be a one-shot. Honestly this fic is the one I've put the most effort into. There's a ton of art linked to the fic, drawn by myself and my friend. Ive even been working on a hand written Journal for Soap for this AU. Pictures of those pages are in the fic, and here on Tumblr. Ghost is a shape-shifting alien, and Price decides to keep him. He's violent and destructive, and he's viciously protective of his team. Gaz and Ghost bond over star gazing, Ghost and Soap are both insanely horny for one another, and Laswell pretends she's not as attached to Ghost and his alien quirks as she actually is. (She loves him dearly.)

9) Is That Gonna be a Problem? This is the fic that was supposed to be my first attempt to write a realistic and in character version of the boys, but then Oh, Brother happened. In it, Ghost had met Johnny and his twin sister Jenny when they were kids, and decided to reconnect as an adult. It's going to follow Simon and the MacTavish twins as they get to know each other, and eventually how Simon and Johnny got together. And then of course, the 141 learning that they were together the whole time.

12) Outlaw Outta Time. I absolutely love Red Dead Redemption 2. One day I had the thought that Dutch Van der Lind would absolutely love Phillip Graves, and the idea grew from there. Its gonna have Ghost, Soap, Alejandro, and Rodolfo getting mixed up with the Van der Lind gang, looking for Graves, and trying to go home. All the while Arthur watches (established relationship) Ghost and Soap, and is jealous because he's been pining after a certain clumsy photographer (Albert Mason) but won't allow himself to have him. This story is another that I want to make a Journal for Soap, and also one for Arthur, so it's going to be a hell of a lot of work, and I'm excited for it! 😁

13) This one, I have the least for you. It doesn't have a name, all I have is the idea. I myself use they/it pronouns, and I honestly think Ghost would too. For this fic, Ghost would've been born female, had top surgery, and takes testosterone. Ghost is aware they present male, and therefore never corrects anyone for using male pronouns. Soap is straight. He's sure of it. Except Ghost gets him all hot and bothered. He's not sure how to feel about that. This fic is absolutely gonna end with Ghost riding Soap.

Thank you again for the ask! I hope this was sufficient, but if it wasn't, let me know!

[neathdarkwcters]

academic weapon 🗡 day 0

holding myself accountable for sawc by using this day to list some of my tools & planned routines & establishing my emoji code so posts can be quick & easy!

sleep💤

i'll be using my wyze watch to track my sleep as closely as possible and recording it in the app how we feel. i expect to be awake about 6am every morning, so i'd like to be in bed by 9pm.

routine⏰

☀️ wake up by 6am -> make my bed -> have a breakfast (doesn't matter what) ☁️ make sure i have a lunch -> an hour of fitness 🌙 academic reading -> dinner -> fun reading / video game / documentary hour -> tea time at 8 -> pack for the next day -> skincare -> bed by 9 i'm using finch to track some of these habits, namely tea time and fitness. homework can be done at any time between afternoon and evening, especially with my really boring office job. weekends are my cleaning days so as long as homework and chores are done that's a win on routine for me.

deep focus🍅

in addition to an hour of focus deep study, i'm going to also be aiming for is a half hour of mindfulness. sometimes in yoga - sometimes not. i'm going to allow myself body doubling for the study focus as well with my best friend.. samsung modes & routines yet again helping with this one, i'm on do not disturb in class and social apps are blocked if i'm at work. i'm going to make a study mode as well where i can only get emergency messages. i'll also be making note of what study methods i'm using - whether note rewriting or active revision. i have to learn what works best because i've kinddddd of only ever done note rewriting!

body⚙️

daily fitness is already a thing for me but i'm also going to be making sure i'm hitting my calorie goals as i'm a chronic "forgot to eat" person 🥲 i'm using myfitnesspal to track this. also going to be making sure i go to doctor's appointments! using my default calendar and notion reminders. i'm also going to make a point of wearing makeup as much as possible because i have SO MUCH and i want it GONE but not thrown out, you know? having some fun with colours and looking at my face for a couple minutes every morning might do me some good, anyways. also taking my vitamins <3

reading📚

fanfiction doesn't count for this, though i do want to read all the stuff in my ao3 saves, haha. aiming for at least an hour of fun reading or two of fun listening for audio books. tracking this on finch & using libby/hoopla to find my audio books. tracking my reads & how much i like them on notion.

reflection📝

reflections are going to be in my personal journal, and of course i'll be using the challenge template for a quick daily post.

[metalmewtwo-kxb]

Pokemon story/art/ask-blog for Benta the Mewtwo

Set in an apocalyptic future where most humans have disappeared and only pokemon remain. And the world is not as it had once been.

Benta, a pokemon who has existed for a long time now, has wandered the crumbling cities and empty roads looking for others who might share his ideals of rebuilding what is left of the world. Perhaps even track down the humans, if there are any left. However, the pokemon all seem to be at odds, more focused on hoarding land and food for survival. Many more are feral and vicious.

As others may find out, he is no ordinary mewtwo, and he might very well be the only one of his kind in a world full of ghosts. But is he the only wanderer? Or are there others?

And is it possible to save this future?

⚠️ Under Construction ⚠️

⚠️ Comic Pages 9-12 In Progress ⚠️

⛔️ NO NSFW ⛔️

General Itinerary (in no particular order) :

🧩 rp reply (if/when I have any)

- Thinking I'm gonna limit myself to one a day with these (or as often as I can manage) since I'm a very tired goose with limited internal motivation lol. I love role-playing! It just takes some thinking and energy. If I ever have more than one thread at a time, I'll make a weekly schedule 📅

✏️🖍 asks and/or art responses

- the art side of these can take anywhere from a day to a few days, depending on what I do exactly style/complexity-wise. Obviously can't do art replies all the time, but sometimes I could get inspired to do something other than text replies! 💕

🎨 comic art

- For the main story! The style for this is different and more uniform than what I'll be using for asks, so it definitely takes longer. I don't typically post until I'm done with a illustration/page set, so it can take a long heckin time. If one part one is 8 pages, I'd say it would clock in at two or three months before it's posted (as long as I'm not sick or somethn). I'm okay with posting peridoic snippet updates from my favorite panels though!

Temp. Edit: I've lowered the number of pages in each part to 4 since I need an easier goal to reach at a time. There's still 24 total! I just need simpler intervals. :T 🖼

Beyond this I have work and need me time, but always thank you, and I appreciate the interest! Benta is one of my comfort OCs so I'm treating this blog about the same. I want it to be a fun and cozy space while I build the apocalypse story lol.

#️⃣ tags

This is a list of tags to search on my blog for my art (which will update as they come up):

- ;mun - my general babble, updates, and so on

- ;poké art - all posts involving pokemon sketches and drawings

- ;pokedex - posts pertaining to the story's pokemon and their lore. These pokemon are usually "new" species, not those that are already well known. However, sometimes special pokemon characters will make an appearance

- ;rp - written replies to roleplays. Kind of recommended since some lore will likely only appear in these, and they can be a fun read for those that like to do so (the rp partner's name will also be included in the post's tags) 👍

- ;response - ask responses! Chances are they contain art and scribbles. And maybe not, depends on how I feel

- Benta - self-explanatory, posts containing content of my mewtwo OC Benta (this does/should include roleplay threads and asks, so it's more generalized and not very concise)

- ;UntilTheEnd - the comic and main story for Benta and other characters that we'll meet along the way! (Set in an alternate universe, so don't expect very much anime/game continuity lol)

- ;drabbles and chapters - more written content that can either have something to do with an established AU or with context of the main story. Typically smaller snippets, but potentially a longer chapter set. I'm a faster writer than a drawer, but I enjoy both- so this is just another means of keeping up fun content 🫶

💬 About the mun:

Age: 28

Pronouns: she/her/they/them

Occupation: A menace to modern society :V *cough* artist/writer/author *cough*

Hobby: Literally just bothering my sister and siblings like a sneaky little gremlin.

Pokémun-sona: Zoromun. Info post -> here

More is tba!

Thank you for the visit, and have a wonderful day!

(main -> @ draconic-hydra )

[millibee]

hey! i'm not usually one to write or anything so this will probably not come to fruition but i've spent the last few days coming up with a prequel to aa1 centring mia fey as she finds her feet establishing her own law firm and moving on from all the stuff with diego and dahlia and misty.

this also would hypothetically be a lanamia thing with lana as the main prosecutor! also phoenix is the designated weird girl and it would kinda show his transition from how he is in turnabout memories to how he is in aa1.

i've ironed out what some of the plot points and crime scenes would be (e.g one at a picnic in the park, one at a sports stadium, one in kurain village etc), with themes of family (as mia's parents left her and she left maya to be a lawyer in the big city) and a tension between her and lana as this is post sl-9 and lana is all cold and quiet and not like she used to be when they were students together (but would warm up to mia again as it goes on)

but yeah i'd love to put a few polls up here for you guys to help decide a few things i'm completely stumped about - and if anyone has any ideas or wants to contribute or anything feel free to put it in tags or send me an ask or anything and i'll try to reply if i still have the motivation to continue with this !! i'm very artsy but not really a storyteller so i feel out of my depth even putting this out there

also i know there have been plenty of similar fan cases too about mia but idk i fancied having a go myself

anyways here's the first question - since phoenix is gonna be assisting every other case would it be boring to have him also in the tutorial case? or would it make more logical sense as then mia can explain the gameplay mechanics to someone (although no one reading this will not already have played an ace attorney case) or would grossberg be a better fit just for case 1 like in turnabout memories? or maybe someone different like maya or mia could even go solo idk

[yuurivoice]

Hi yv! I just wanted to send a message saying how much I love your content and I have for years. It's been amazing to see your channel grow and I'm one of your biggest fans!! I used to sub to the patreon but life goes hard and I haven't been able to for a while. The latest auron video has been practically on repeat for me and I really just wanted to say I hope you have a wonderful day and happy holidays!!! Give all the kitties a kiss on the forehead for me pls!

Thank you for the kind words! No worries about whether or not you're a Patreon sub, I certainly appreciate the support but always want people to put themselves first so don't sweat that and I hope you kick life's ass! Also, sending me a kind message is a pretty great way to support in its own right, so I'm genuinely appreciative!

The cats will most definitely be smooched, and I'll pass along a note that it's from a kind Anon!

It's been a wild few years, huh? Making the leap from the Tumblr days to the YouTube era was a big one, but the past 4 years were where I really started to find my footing and I think there's been a lot of growth creatively and personally.

Things have been moving in the right direction despite some personal road bumps and detours. Looking back, there's a lot of things I wish I could have accomplished and kept afloat while working through everything. Still dealing with the guilt of BitterSweet and Shattered not being a thing this year, particularly for all the ride or die Alphonse and Seth fans who have been starving for content while I've been hesitant to push out content for them because the big series wasn't coming.

Thankfully, most people have been supportive, kind, and understanding. That being said, I'm not ignorant to the nature of my content (growing roster of characters = someone's fave isn't getting posted for a while) and I'm doubly thankful to those who have been chill as other characters get established and have their time in the sun.

I'm really hopeful that in the coming year, balance and scheduling and planning are all finely tuned and help me avoid content traffic jams like we've run into such as the recent Charlie Era (lol) which wasn't exactly the plan, but with October AU series + Plushie + Lost & Found all aligning it sorta just worked out that way. Also, it bears mentioning that it's not every day that a side character who was not guaranteed to catch on as A Thing (TM) actually finds an audience and has significant demand. Sometimes you gotta roll with how things play out, and that's just the nature of creating content on social media.

I'm optimistic that things will be at least a LITTLE bit more balanced thanks to ADHD treatment and seeing huge improvements with my mental health. Which can't be understated, because holy shit, the amount of things I'm just able to do without feeling like I'm holding myself at gunpoint or making a million deals with myself to convince myself to do a single task is amazing.

Not only is it easier to get to work, it's easier to do more of the work. That Auron audio you referenced is a great example. I was worried with the script I had and the premise, I wouldn't be able to get much more than 9/10 minutes out of it. The length of my general audios is something I've been conscious of forever, so I was shocked and thrilled when I finished up with the recording and it was 24 minutes of some of my favorite Auron content ever. I'm getting more comfortable improvising, or creating more as I go vs. write, record, post. I'm able to do a little more, add things that I would normally omit or not bother with, and just try harder without feeling like I'm trying harder and purely because I'm enjoying it and I want to.

I am SO sorry that this turned into a rant in response to what was a fairly straightforward question, you caught me while I was feeling introspective.

tldr: Thanks for fuckin' with me. Folks like you make me want to work hard and deliver the goods. The kindness goes a long way, and I don't take that for granted!

[neuroticbookworm]

Step by Step Episode 10 Ramblings

Episode 9 Ramblings, here

Ahhh Chot is beating some sense into Pat, RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE

Why is this boy so excited about Carrot Cake?

Somebody hug Chot, right now, or I'll climb into the screen and do it MYSELF

I'll never not be impressed by Man Trisanu's microexpressions. Put this man in more shows

Remember when Jeng was so nervous to confess it took him an entire day? Now homeboy is confessing at the drop of a hat lmao

"I own this place" I HAVE ASCENDED REALMS Y'ALL

The agenda for this episode is "Jeng speaks English into Pat's ears" and I'm here for it

What is with the weird phone screen talk?

AHHHHHHHH THESE DAMNED PRODUCT PLACEMENTS

Ha, the Instagram request callback. Noice.

I don't like the fact that Jeng answered the question with an Asian head nod

I want to not look at it too closely, but a nepo baby like Jeng, who's in line to a corporate throne, commenting on the food crisis is so funny to me

I'm trying so hard to ignore the assistant, I deserve to have one episode where there are no looming threats to the relationship, please and thank you

Well, I hated this

We got the P'Jeng moment!

*sigh* There are a few different ways to interpret this, and I like none of them

Pat, you've been in this relationship for a laughably short period of time, and you're already asking this man about marriage?!

Jaab has another partner?! My jaw is DROPPED

Ae, why did you interrupt him?! Let the man talk, y'all are in a BL, you guys are terrible at finishing each other's sentences, you always get it wrong

Well, Jeng really offered Pat his position, huh

At least it seems like it's three years away, so

Jaab, you did not wait to hear if Jane chose you or not, you fricking idiot

When did the queen of the gossip clique become such a close supporter of Pat?

JENG, FUCKING TALK TO HIM. He just told you he's not happy, and your first instinct is to kiss him?!

Alright, so Pat jumped the gun and submitted the letter

I want to sleep on this episode to better gather my thoughts, but right now, I'm not loving it. The editing and the story beats were weird, it went from hot to cold abruptly, and many, many characters acted out of their established personalities. None of the writing particularly caught my eye, and feels subpar compared to some scenes we've gotten in previous episodes. Well, it's gonna be an interesting week, I guess.

[thephantomchronicles]

20 questions for writers

tagged by @mac-lilly (thank you for the tag🥰)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

97! Didn't even realize when they got to be so many😅

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,011,650

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly Julie and the Phantoms and I used to write a lot for Legacies before it got canceled (plus a few others here and there depending on what I'm watching at the moment😅)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I’d Like to Be My Old Self Again (But I’m Still Trying to Find It) (Spider-Man: No Way Home)

Life Is a Risk, but We Will Take It (JATP)

I’m Only One Call Away (9-1-1: Lone Star)

Our Best Days Are Yet Unknown (JATP)

Will You Hold Her Tight and Not Let Go? (JATP)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! Unless I can't think of anything that makes sense to say, I usually try to reply :D Sometimes I feel like I'm getting repetitive, but I'm really insanely grateful to everyone that comments🥰

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Technically it has to be i'm talking to a memory (haunted by the moments of what we used to be) - although considering how angsty the fic is, I would say the ending is the least angsty part of it😂

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hmm, almost all of my fics have happy endings, I guess I'm going with You’re More to Me (We're Everything) mainly because there's a juke wedding and if that's not happy, I don't know what is😅

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I haven't gotten anything yet, hopefully it stays that way😅

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope

10. Do you write crossovers?

Well, my main thing on ao3 is a JATP x Shadowhunter Chronicles crossover, so yes definitely

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I haven't

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not really - I sometimes talk some ideas through with friends just to get another perspective, but I usually end up doing the one I want anyway😅

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Impossible to choose just one, I will hyperfixate on a different ship according to what I'm watching/reading at the time, but jatp will always have a special place in my heart so I got to say Juke and Willex

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

There is a juke pregnancy fic I've had in my wips for nearly 3 years that I keep saying I'll finish and then I keep forgetting about it - I think I've got to be honest with myself and accept that it'll stay unfinished...

16. What are your writing strengths?

Probably dialogue... And usually the angsty parts of a story😅

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Fight scenes - and the main series I'm writing is full of them😅 and describing places and physical appearances - it's one of the reasons I like fanfiction, characters and places are usually already established!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I've written a few lines of dialogue in Spanish because of the Molinas, but I'm always nervous because I know very few words in Spanish and I try to look things up as much as I can because I want it to make sense😅 And I've written a few lines in Greek in a fic too :D

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Julie and the Phantoms💜

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I've previously said i'm talking to a memory (haunted by the moments of what we used to be) but I also really like i am pacing back and forth, wishing you were at my door - a willex fic from my first responders series

I'm not sure who's already been tagged, but I'll just go ahead with no pressure tagging😅 @onlygenxhere @writerownstory

[seiwas]

twenty questions for fic writers

thanks for the tag erika 🥺 @kedsandtubesocks

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

15 so far but i don't post everything i write on there 🥺 just the longer ones or any series i'm writing!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

62,184! (even i'm shocked... HABSFHASB)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

jujutsu kaisen, haikyuu!!, boku no hero academia

4. Top five fics by kudos

tell me about love (show me how) - gojo x reader; conversations on love

this feeling inside of me—will i ever bring you peace? - gojo x reader; conversations on love

so this is what it means to be in love - gojo x reader; conversations on love

these traces of love (they outline you) - gojo x reader; conversations on love

take my time (i'll spend it all on you) - gojo x reader; conversations on love

my highest notes on tumblr are very different from my top five kudos on ao3 🥺

5. Do you respond to comments?

i try to as much as i can! i'm more responsive on tumblr just bc i feel less shy and feel more casual (?) with it, if that makes sense! ao3 comments make me feel really intimidated (even though they're all so lovely 🥺)

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

this kind-of-ex!bakugo blurb: 4:49 a.m. OR this two-shot canon-adjacent nanami fic: i'll be good to you | (you were good to me)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

almost all of my fics have happy endings!! 🥺 i live for softness and subtle intimacies 🥺 honestly!! i think this yuuji dating app fic is the cutest tho!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

none so far, thankfully 🥺

9. Do you write smut?

very rarely, and it isn't the most explicit when i do!

10. Craziest crossover?

i've never written one!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

nope so far (as much as i'm aware), and hopefully it stays that way 🥺

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i used to write fics with my bsf in back in high school! it was fun brainstorming ideas with her then hehe now i currently have a collab milestone event with @stellamancer! i have other collabs but this is the only one where we're really both working on the same fic 🥺 (it's been a while, but we're working on the fics and are just waiting to finish writing everything before we post it all!)

14. All time favorite ship?

this is tough jhdbj probs edwin tho 🥺 (edward elric x winry rockbell); but i haven't read a shipfic in a long time!

15. What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i don't want to admit this bc i am still in denial and am hoping that my stubborn ass will get the fic done still, someday 😌 so 😌 i will not speak it into existence 😌

16. What are your writing strengths?

exploring character thoughts and feelings i think 🥺 or subtle intimacies 🥺 i think i can establish relationships well 🥺

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

dialogue oh my god jhbfhjsd and i don't think my ideas are very exciting!

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

i like seeing it!! i usually do the quick translate option when it pops up.

19. First fandom you wrote in?

omg. either kuroko no basuke or katekyo hitman reborn LOL but it was private to me only and is still hidden in my notes. unless we count my 1d self insert fic days (that i also kept to myself), then. HAHHA

20. Favorite fic you've written?

either this gojo one: these traces of love (they outline you) OR this nanami one: if art can be touched, will you let m hold you?

i think more than the writing itself, i just really like how i conceptualised it. it was overall really satisfying for me to write!

open tagging anyone who wants to do this!

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Miriam Grossman

Published: Aug 2, 2023

I was contacted by lawyers in Salt Lake City about a 13-year-old boy whose divorced parents were in litigation over his social transition. Zach had recently declared himself a girl, and his mother was 100 percent on board—new name, pronouns, dresses. His father wasn't going along with it.

I reviewed the records from Zach's recent psychiatric hospitalization. Staff listed gender dysphoria as one of his diagnoses and consistently used his girl's name and female pronouns, but the reasoning for those clinical decisions was absent. The hospital records indicated Zach heard voices and saw "ghosts." I searched for more information about the voices and the ghosts but found none.

Was it possible no one had asked? Psychotic symptoms such as auditory or visual hallucinations always warrant further questions. An obvious one: what did the voices say? Was Zach hearing voices telling him he's a girl?

These were questions that demanded attention from his clinicians prior to affirming a new identity. Maybe Zach's gender dysphoria was related to his disordered thinking and hallucinations. Perhaps instead of lip gloss he needed Risperdal (anti-psychotic medication).

I found similar problems in the care of 17-year-old Nicole in Boston. Nicole's life had been chaotic; her father left when she was two, her mother had five other kids with two other men, she was sexually abused by a neighbor, and her family had been homeless for months on several occasions. She had an IQ of 68 and was on three psychiatric medications to treat hallucinations, ADHD, and depression. When she discovered her mother was pregnant, Nicole came out as a boy.

At the time I was consulted, Nicole was in foster care due to charges of physical abuse by her mother.

Nicole wanted testosterone. I was asked by the court to provide my professional opinion regarding "gender-affirming" care, including testosterone, for her.

Having read this far, I trust you can figure out what I said. No testosterone for Nicole.

Zach lives in Utah and Nicole in Massachusetts—both states that ban "conversion therapy" for minors. That means any approach that fails to immediately affirm a child's new identity is prohibited.

I put myself at l risk when I argued that Zach and Nicole should not be affirmed but instead have their long-term mental health issues treated.

At least with those two consultations, my role was to provide my professional opinion. But that wasn't the case with David, a patient in Colorado with whom I worked directly.

One day David told his parents that he is transgender and asked to be called Zoe, "she," and "her." He wanted blockers because the hair sprouting over the corners of his lips and his cracking voice reminded him he's a boy. If only he could take estrogen, he told me, having breasts and wider hips would make him feel confident and secure.

The medical establishment, the DSM-5, and the state of Colorado say the only permissible response is to act as if he was a girl. David must be in the driver's seat—forget about "do no harm." If he picks a different gender identity, name, and pronouns next week, I must use those. I am to instruct parents to tell everyone—family members, school staff, his piano teacher and dentist—to do the same. His mom, dad, and I are all supposed to celebrate what doctors at Johns Hopkins call David's "evolving sense of self."

Celebrating an evolving sense of self sounds fine and dandy. But I happen to know that when David first appeared at a family event in a dress, his mother—a strong feminist and lifelong liberal who supported gay marriage and survived 9/11 and breast cancer—had to flee to a restroom, where she had the first panic attack of her life. I also know puberty blockers might be followed by estrogen and perhaps even orchiectomy—castration. He could end up disfigured and infertile and still not be satisfied with his body.

When David is ready, I must share those dangers with him. I took an oath to prevent harm, no matter what the gender medical establishment or the state of Colorado might say.

For refusing to validate the opposite-sex identities of David and many others, I risk an investigation, but I'll live with that. I'm going to do what's best for my patients.

Miriam Grossman MD is board certified in child, adolescent and adult psychiatry. The author of five books, Dr. Grossman's work has been translated into eleven languages. She has testified in Congress and lectured at the British House of Lords and the United Nations.

[the-rebel-archivist]

Fanfic Writer Questions

Tagged by @kittlesandbugs, thank you so much!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 24, but there are a lot of things that I've only posted on reddit or kept in a document, I've been trying to upload some old works recently though!

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 47,945

3. What fandoms do you write for? Dragon Age mainly, but also Fallen Hero, some Baldur's Gate 3 (not posted to AO3 yet but there is... a decent amount), a bit of Mass Effect and a bit of The Exile

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Some of these are at the top simply by virtue of being older and/or with more popular pairings

Stay - Dragon Age Inquisition, Cullavellan, early work, Cullen's perspective on a late evening reviewing paperwork in the Inquisitor's quarters. He makes a scandalous suggestion: forging her signature

Eloquence - Dragon Age Inquisition, Cullavellan again, also Cullen's perspective, set earlier than the one above. It's very cute, early work but full of words unspoken and gentle teasing

Deliberations on the Inevitable - Dragon Age post-Origins, Morrigan/Amell, from Morrigan's perspective. A mouthful of a title. The Warden is convinced to leave to find a cure for the Calling after Kieran tells him his blood sings louder

Amell Family Letters - Dragon Age Inquisition-ish, letters between the Warden, Kieran, and Morrigan while he's out trying to find a cure and they're at Skyhold

Motherly Love - Dragon Age post-Inquisition, Cullavellan, early work, Lavellan has difficulty bonding with her daughter. The story itself I'm considering retconning but it was really personal to write

5. Do you respond to comments? I try to but I have a habit of bursting with joy when I read them and telling myself "I'll respond when I get to my desk" and then forgetting that I should

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Most of my fics usually end reasonably positively even if the path they take to get there can get rough. I think maybe I am cursed, maybe I am gifted might be the angstiest overall, the PTSD of a war criminal Exile commander still towing the party line before exile

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I don't know if I have any that aren't at least a little bittersweet, but of them A Father's Legacy is probably the happiest. Colonist Shepard has a long-needed talk with his parents and has a chance to try to learn from their mistakes with his daughter

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not that I've seen

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Only for fun in private with friends. There's some truly silly smut on my drive that will never see the light of day publicly

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Also only in private with friends, but only once. A satirical TWC crossover into FHR

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? No I don't think so

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not really, I've started a few collaborations but they didn't get very far

14. What's your all time favorite ship? Anything with Morrigan. It's always great, there's always a little edge to it even in extremely loving fics (as there should be!)

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Raynda and Tamaris's Wycome Adventure, a pre-Inquisition short novella-length fic. It's mostly there, kind of. Needs refining and editing and at this point probably a rewrite

16. What are your writing strengths? Period novel-like prose, describing impressions, established npc voices, and I'm really good at writing child POVs

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Plotting a longer work, or rather coming up with a compelling problem that will build tension toward a satisfying climax. It's why I trend towards short in-between ficlets instead

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? If I know the language maybe, it just has to have a purpose beyond obfuscation and I'd rather not use google translate

19. First fandom you wrote for? Dragon Age

20. Favorite fic you've written? I'm torn between Deliberations on the Inevitable and The Queen but I think it may be The Queen. The courtly love and the metaphors are things I'm still proud of. It also comes as no surprise but both fics feature strong women, Morrigan and Anora.

I'm not sure who hasn't been tagged already so I'll tag @ohmypawsandwhiskers @wolfs-dawn and @plisuu but if you see this consider yourself invited to fill it out

[claudiajcregg]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by both @mihrsuri and @unseenacademic 💜💜💜 Thank you so much! I actually wrote up most of the answers the day I was tagged, and then forgot to post them. For over 10 days, probably. Me bad.

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 23! (One of them is a 'collection' of short ficlets, and has 6 chapters. So 28 stories in 23 works so far. Probably about to be more stories in still 23 works.)

2. What's your total Ao3 word count? 156,597 words. For now.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Currently? Just TWW. Who knows in the future!

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

They have about 35% of my total kudos, but the first two are ~21% alone. (The first one is the only fic that has over 100 kudos. Then again, any of them getting above 30 is a miracle.)

maybe everything's just turning out how it should be (Big Block of Cheese 2008; CJ & Josh. Posted Feb 2021) [121]

say it's here where our pieces fall in place (Vignettes, 1998-2008. Posted Jan 2022.) [66]

just your smile lit a sixty-watt bulb in my house that was darkened for days (Thanksgiving 2006. Posted Dec 2022.) [55]

nobody knows how to get back home (Missing scene from ITSOTG. Posted April 2023) (wait what. top 4?!) [50]

we could be the way forward and I know I'll pay for it (B4A Campaign Fic, spring 1998. Posted May 2021) [47]

5. Do you respond to comments?

YES. I don't take them for granted, and I like interacting with my readers. Sharing is nerve-wracking and makes me feel so exposed, so any comment makes it worth it. I like to thank peeps for their time! As of late, it's taking me weeks to get back to comments for Brain/spoons reasons (and because I try to do so in order, though not always). I sometimes feel bad I have fallen behind on leaving my own comments, so replying to what I get makes me feel bad. I love getting the rare, long, thoughtful comments, because I love seeing what people pick up on (had to restrain myself from commenting on everything), so if that one's up next… It'll delay everything. I have a harder time letting go of those.

I know replying or not is a hot topic, and I fall on the side of 'whatever the author does is fine' (I see them as being voluntary gifts to the author, kinda, but I understand why some authors can't or won't reply! Especially those who get dozens.). It does feel weird(ly demoralizing) when you see that yours is one of a couple of comments they haven't replied to, though. (Selfishly, as someone who tries to write medium-long comments, lack of anything can sting. It's irrational, it's not what I'm after, but it'd be nice to know whether that hour plus of my time was worth it. It's not transactional and I hate that c4c idea or whatever. Just. weird feelings.)

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

As we've established in previous similar memes (lol, I think I've answered these questions before), my fics don't really have angsty endings! For the most part. I think I said don't want you to go but I'll be okay then, and I can still buy that/definitely popped into my brain. I think some of my late S7 fics have an ominous feel to them, with some references/buildup to the angsty parts of IM, but I wouldn't call them angsty endings.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Um. The opposite is true! still you never took your hand from mine was my first thought, but I feel like oh, and I will be with you to feel the California sun is pretty darn happy. I could have picked almost any of them and I could make a case for them!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I luckily do not. I have gotten a couple of comments that have messed with my brain, and made me second-guess things, but they were not hate.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, but not regularly and not that well. It's usually short, mild scenes at most, but I did challenge myself to write a more explicit one last summer, especially after I got those 'one bed' tropes in the Wheel but didn't go there in the 500-word limit. Streets say it's hot. IDK. I also wrote a smutty continuation to the exchange fic. Best if we forget parts of that one happened. I also started writing one that would be in my S5 pregnancy universe but 🤐

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I don't. But this question confirms to me I have answered this before because I know I've joked about how TV has already done that for me, lmao. See: Bones/Sleepy Hollow.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? (I had to track down this question because it wasn't anywhere.) I don't think so!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope! I'm having déjà vu here. I know I have answered this before: I could do it myself! But I have a feeling it wouldn't be as easy as one might think, but I'd be honored.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I don't think so…? If I have, it was years ago, in my forum/LJ days. I've been trying to make it happen for a while now, but who knows if it'll ever happen. WE HAVE IDEAS. We want to make it happen. (Wink wink, nudge nudge. You know who.)

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Spaceships are so cool. Atlantis was the first space shuttle I saw in person (and also the one I've seen the most) and it and its exhibit are awesome. I'm only missing Discovery out of the four space shuttles, because I didn't go to the second National Air and Space Museum location in Virginia back in 2015. And once the new exhibit center is completed, I'd love to see Endeavour again.

(In all seriousness, I don't have one. Booth and Brennan will forever and always hold a special place in my heart, but I love CJ and Danny so much, writing for them, their journey. Pls don't make me pick.)

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I am a big 'never say never' person, because I end up picking stuff up (and maybe rewriting it to fit my current style/ability) if I remember an idea… But I'm guessing many of them won't get finished. Probably some of those that are deep in my notes app or on the drive.

16. What are your writing strengths? I (try to) dig into the emotion of a scene as best as I can.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Everything else? I know it sounds like an excuse (at least to my ears), but writing in your second language is hard. I know my writing sounds limited because of it – my descriptions will never be as evocative as I wish they were, my dialogue won't be there. I am not the most imaginative person, either.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

If it makes sense, and won't take the reader out of the story, go for it! (A few words, or a line or two, might work if there's appropriate context.)

But also, as a non-native speaker, I'll always recommend using pals who might be fluent in that language and checking with them! I know that, throughout my many years in fandom, I've read quick things in Spanish within English fics that weren't entirely correct in the context they were being used (i.e. character's fluency, smaller details), and they took me out for a second. (I know, I know – pot, meet kettle. If anyone has read an unedited story of mine, they've found me making up English phrases.)

19. First fandom you wrote for? Bones. In Spanish. (I also think I wrote some ficlets in English that are probably hidden in some random LJ comm I created for my writing. They're probably 14-15 years old.)

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I honestly cannot pick! And maybe it's yet to come. But basically, if I've gone through the embarrassment of having someone edit/beta a fic and catch all the avoidable mistakes, it's because it genuinely has something I like about it and that I think others will like, too. (Perceived quality aside.)

Off the top of my head, and out of the posted fics (obvious recency bias, sorry). I have a story for all 23… Also, let's consider I've mostly not read them since they were posted so I might be off. (Would love to hear what everyone's favorite is, if you've read any and are reading this!) Obviously, that top 5 by kudos has great ones. There's a reason

don't want you to go but I'll be okay: I just remember finishing it and knowing it was something special. Felt like many things coming together. I wanted to write angstier, a break from the endgame of the IM AU I've yet to post, and I think it works. I had had that quote as inspo for a while, and I think the trip to Berlin put it back on my mind. (The first haunted by the notion draft is from around this time, too!)

your love is a secret I'm hoping, dreaming, dying to keep: the structure is likely a tad repetitive, maybe (but also, the point of 3+1s, sort of?) but I love writing in that s7 period, and there should be more fic with the press corps. I think the stuff I wrote while editing (which included an overhaul of the +1) is even better than what was there.

oh, and I will be with you to feel the California sun: recency bias, yes. I love a good early Cali story, and even if this was nowhere the story I sat down to write originally, I love how it turned out. It's silly but fun, and so sunny.

still you never took your hand from mine: I will always have all the soft spots for my memoir stories, even if two of them have yet to be posted. This one doubled its size a year and a half after “finishing” it because I realized what it was missing. It's sappy, probably unrealistic re: the publishing industry, but damn it if it's not one of those that have made me cry while editing them.

we could be the way forward and I know I'll pay for it: I had to include an oldie but goodie from my first year, and this one is so special to me. (Along with BBC 2008, which I also absolutely adore. That was the fic I always wanted to post. Hilarious it was third. But it's also my most popular fic by a huge margin.) Seeing it recommended on Tumblr? God. I love campaign stories and all their potential. I love that I took a random line from some unposted story and it evolved into this fic.

nobody knows how to get back home: I almost added the most recent one because of how fun it was to write (or, as I mentioned above, Big Block of Cheese) but I like how bittersweet this missing scene one is. I find CJ's internal struggle so interesting to explore, and this is one of her most vulnerable moments. I also wanted to see a hug so badly.