#For the fic overall but ESPECIALLY for the prologue

[astro-b-o-y-d]

Me staring at the Triangulum prologue: Alright, it's been almost two years and you're gonna get published in a little over a week. I know you're scared and I know I've read you a thousand times by this point, but you're good. You're good and hopefully the people are going to love you.

[yoonieper]

For the Birds Masterlist | JJK

I want you to stay even though you don’t want me.

As the son of the CEO at Golden Tech, a marriage was arranged in the name of business. Jungkook really tried to make the most of his situation and be the best husband he could be, but no matter how much he tried, his wife just doesn’t seem to want him. Then you… you came into his life and his eyes couldn’t help but wander.

♡ Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

♡ Genre: angst, fluff, smut, this is a slow burn! 

♡ Spotify |◁ Playlist (feel free to recommend songs!) ▷| Apple Music

♡ Series Warnings: Lots of smut (not always healthy), cheating, discussions of depression, this series includes Jk in a pretty toxic environment, degradation (not the sexy kind), manipulation, and overall Jk being in an emotionally abusive situation! Please read with caution ⚠️!

♡ Key: ❁ fluff | ❅ angst | ❥ smut

⚠️ This series contains depictions of possibly triggering topics such as dealing with symptoms of depression. Any chapters that could be especially triggering, will be marked with the emoji at the beginning!

Before you start…

For the Birds Aesthetics

The Contract (Important!)

Prologue | ❅, ❥

Part 1 | ❅, ❥

Part 2 | ❅

Part 3 | ❅, ❥

Part 4 | ❅, ❥

Part 5 | ❅, ❥

Part 6 | ❅, ❥

Part 7– Coming September 30th

Part 8– Coming October 15th

Part 9– Coming October 30th

Part 10– Coming November 15th

Part 11– Coming November 30th

Part 12– Coming January 15th

Part 13– Coming January 30th

More Coming Soon After a Small Intermission!

*Note these dates may be subject to change— currently the prologue through part 13 has been completed. However depending on holidays, other fic postings, or life events that might come in the way, the dates may vary slightly. In general though 'For the Birds' will be posted bimonthly, once in the middle of the month and a second time at the end of the month. For specifics, I will post announcements letting you guys know about any change and also will edit the date on the masterlist!

Asks related to For the Birds

For other works and updates regarding the series please follow and refer to my masterlist!

[cheesycatz]

THE ENTIRETY OF THE WORMTON FIC IS DRAFTED! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! Sooooo, what does that mean? I'm currently revising every chapter, leaving notes for things I want to change, move, or add, and deleting what I'm no longer happy with. I'm hoping to finish by the end of the month. After that, I have to, y'know, actually write the thing. I plan to release chapter 1 and the prologue together. I have no idea how long each chapter will take, but considering the length of each chapter and how long these updates take me, a month between chapters is likely realistic. We'll just have to wait and see.

In fact, June 5th could be a reasonable release date for the first chapter! I’m sure you don’t have any other plans that day… /j I guess

As far as actual content goes, I was having fun with the last two chapters. Most of the fic is from Spamton’s and Blue’s perspectives, but I thought it would be sweet to have one chapter from each of the addisons for the finale, each telling him that they love him in different ways, and for Spamton to take the last chapter and finally say “I love you” back. The word “love” and the weight associated with it is brought up many times throughout the story, and I’d thought it would be a good way to end it. Spamton’s life and mental health isn’t perfect by the last chapter, but the realization that he is unconditionally loved promises a bright future for him. YIPPEE found-family!!! There’s still some angst, but it’s mostly fluff now.

Because of Spamton's love of nature in this fic, I thought it would be nice if he learned to care for his own plant. As one does, I looked up flower language to find a suitable plant for him, focusing specifically on resilience, as I'd argue that's Spamton's most defining strength (this guy has been homeless for 20 years, somehow horrifically transformed into a puppet, lost everything he had, everyone hates or doesn't remember him, and was promised by the universe that he would never amount to anything but a broken toy to be discarded, and still gets out of bed everyday to pursue his goal. This man is DETERMINED). Anyways, I saw dandelions on the list as a sign of resilience, renewal, and new life, and it's the perfect flower for him. A flower that can spread at such a fast rate it's seen as a useless weed more than anything else. Yet, year after year, they persist. A field completely filled with dandelions is still a flower field, and just as beautiful if you'd give it the chance. Why the hell would someone be selling dandelions in a flower shop? Uh…they don't grow naturally in Cyber World, so maybe they'd be sold there, and the store owner didn't want to throw them away after moving to Castle Town or something… JUST LET ME HAVE THIS

Revisions are fun! Most of the changes involve Spamton's character, as I've gotten a better grasp on him over the years. Despite his drastically different biology and backstory, Wormton is meant to be as close to homeless-era Spamton as possible personality wise, and I hope I can do him justice. Overall, I've revised him to be a lot more mysterious and antagonistic. He hates addisons, and only stuck with Blue because they were easy to use. He's never been treated like a person before, and it takes him a while to come to terms with the fact that the addisons like him and he likes them back. He tries to express it too late, and it's no wonder they ran the moment they discovered the Worm In The Apple™.

One thing I’ve pondered for a while is whether Spamton will remain the only BIGSHOT malworm in existence. I’ve left it ambiguous in the fic, but I’d love for him to raise some hatchlings. His life with the addisons is infinitely better than his old life, but they’re not malworms. They can’t speak his native language, can’t hunt and eat prey together, can’t accommodate for a malworm’s near constant need for the presence of others. I think it would be the happiest ending, but that could be an entire fic on its own, especially since Queen was barely convinced to let even one malworm stay alive. I'd like to at least get something out before the heat death of the universe, so you'll just have to picture Wormton with a dozen identical clones of himself crawling after him.

I WANNA RELEASE SOMETHING SO BAAAAAAD

You know who’s excited for the fic to release? Me! I wanna read comments! I want to inspire people! I want you to cry over a bunch of advertisements and a piece of 90’s spyware! I want the thing I’ve spent 2.5 years on to finally see the light of day! I want the Spamton-shaped worms eating my brain to shut up!

[callhermyname]

you're not going | e.m. x reader - prologue

summary: you and Eddie meet for the first time (a few weeks before the start of s1);

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader

word count: 2.6k

warnings: MDNI!! mostly fluff, just a tiny bit of angst, reader is Dustin's cousin, mentions of absent father, postpartum depression, parents death, self-esteem issues, bullying (let me know if I missed anything).

a/n: HEY so this is my first fic ever so even if it's absolute garbage pls be nice to me😭 also sorry for any grammar mistakes english is not my first language. this is supposed to be the start of a s4 rewrite series, so if you want more please like this post, reblog and let me know what you think. hope u enjoy it!

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

You've been living at aunt Claudia's since you were 14. After your mom died, you had nowhere else to go — you can't even remember the last time your dad was in the picture, so when your aunt took you in, you kinda felt thankful that you got to start over, have a fresh start in another town, away from your old life (that you hated). You were still grieving, but aunt Claudia was always very sweet and caring, and soon after you moved in you started to see Dustin as the little brother you never had. It felt a little weird at first — even though your mother did her best, she never really liked the situation you were both in. She never planned to have kids, at least not before graduating from college, especially if it meant being a single mom at such a young age, so you couldn't really blame her for drowning in postpartum depression after you were born until she passed away. So, when her older sister took you in, you didn't expect for her to be so different from your mom, so caring, so gentle, so loving, such a good mom for Dustin and now to you too. 

When you first got to Hawkins, you didn't really have any friends besides your 11 year old cousin. One of his friends had a sister about your age — Mike's sister, Nancy — but, although she was always nice to you, you never really quite hit it off. She was sweet, but you didn't have a lot in common and her friends could be really mean. Will's brother, Jonathan, was always very shy and quiet, never really made conversation and you were definitely not the kind of person to force social interaction with someone that obviously didn't care for it, so you just kept it to yourself for most of the first year you spent at Hawkins.

A couple of weeks before Will went missing, Nancy was picking Mike up at your place and invited you to a party at her boyfriend's house. Your aunt overheard the conversation and was very excited to see you were making friends, so you decided to go just so she wouldn't worry about you being an absolute loser. You were always quite self-conscious of your appearance so it took some time to pick out an outfit, but you finally settled for something comfy and not that flashy, but flattering: your best Queen shirt under your favorite jeans overalls and a flannel and your only pair of shoes — basic black chuck taylors.

It was late October and the air was chilly, wind blowing through your hair and cutting your face like tiny little blades as you rode your bike to Steve Harrington's house, hoping to god Nancy was already there so you wouldn't be alone and awkward. You could already hear the music from two blocks away, and when you got to the front door, Nancy was waiting for you with her friend Barb. You knew Barb from school, you took English together, but didn't really talk about anything not school related, but she seemed nice. 

"You made it! I was already getting worried you wouldn't show up" Nancy greeted you. "You know Barb, right?"

"Yeah, hey Barb" you agreed and Barb nodded. "Sorry it took me so long to get here, my bike has seen better days…"

"It's fine, don't worry. Let's get in, I'll show you around. You can leave your bike at the back of the garage, outside of the backyard fence."

You left your bike where Nancy told you to and followed her into the house as she showed you where the bathroom was, stumbling over people coming in and out of the house, up and down the stairs. The house was so crowded, it felt like people were coming out of the walls. When she led you to the back of the house, she sat down by the pool and introduced you to her boyfriend and his friends, who were around the pool. 

From the start, you felt out of place. Steve and his friends didn't know you, but you already knew them. It was ridiculous to you how those people had made fun of you more than once at school but did not remember your face when Nancy introduced you as her friend. Maybe because you weren't wearing your big squared glasses, or because you tried something different with your hair? It didn't really matter anyways. At least they were not making fun of you. Poor Barb wasn't so lucky — they gave her a really hard time, and Nancy was just completely powerless over the situation, too afraid to say anything to try and defend her friend. After an hour, Barb got fed up and left, leaving you alone with Nancy and those assholes who were absolutely wasted and wouldn't shut up about playing spin the bottle or truth or dare.

"Come on, what are you, twelve?" Steve protested, "We're not kids man, that's just boring."

"You're absolutely right Harrington. But, we could spice it up, ya know?" Tommy offered, trying to convince Steve to play the game "For every truth or dare you refuse to tell or do, you have to take a shot of tequila. What do you say, Harrington? Wanna get absolutely wasted?"

Next thing you know, you were excusing yourself to go to the bathroom while at least 10 people were gathering around forming a circle on the floor of Steve's backyard. You didn't really need to use the bathroom, you just needed to cool off a little before getting hammered — you were NOT about to tell any truths or do any dares around these people you barely knew. Before you could go back outside, you got yourself a glass of water in the kitchen. As you threw away the red plastic cup, now empty, you heard a conversation through the kitchen window that headed to the backyard.

"So, can we start the game already?"

"Wait, where's Wheeler's  friend?"

"Barb left like, half an hour ago, Carol" you heard Nancy reply.

"No, not the chubby one, the other one, the weird one with the ugly hair."

"I think she needed to use the bathroom…?"

"Oh my god do you think she's like, brushing her teeth or something? Thinking someone's gonna want to kiss her?" Carol laughed.

"We better not wait for her then, I do NOT want to spin the bottle and end up having to kiss that weird ass bitch!" Tommy said, getting a good laugh out of everyone.

Your eyes teared up as you backed away from the window, thinking about what to do. You thought you could just sneak out and go home, cry yourself to sleep, but then you remembered you had left your bike chained up by the backyard fence. There was no way you could get your bike without anyone noticing you sneaking out. Fuck, you knew you should've stayed home reading something or watching TV.

Since you couldn't go home without your bike, you decided to wait until everyone was back inside. It couldn't take that long, you thought, it was freezing out there. But you couldn't stay inside either. Not by yourself. So, you walked over to the front door and opened it, feeling the cold air hit your cheeks. You walked out of the house and into the woods beside the house, where you could still see the backyard, but would be out of sight, a little further from the backyard fence and hidden in the dark shadow of the trees that surrounded the Harrington's property. Once you were settled, seated on the ground, you bursted into tears. Hot, salty tears running through your face as you sobbed, hating everything about yourself, hating the fact that, no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't escape the fact that you were always different. Not in an obvious way — you didn't have that much of a fashion sense that was bold enough to earn dirty looks from old ladies —, but sometimes you felt like you didn't feel things the same way other people did. You felt fragile, small, vulnerable, like you were exposed all the time. It made you feel like shit.

You were so quiet, you couldn't help but to jump out when you heard footsteps behind you and then something snapping, like someone had stepped on a branch or something. You turned around wide eyed, heart pounding, just to see a silhouette standing behind you, holding a little metal lunchbox. It was a boy, shaggy curly hair down to right below his earlobes, Iron Maiden shirt, leather jacket and denim vest, dark loose jeans and heavy black boots.

"Dude, what the fuck" you panted, trying to not look as spooked and jumpy as you were "where did you came from?"

"Shit, sorry" he said, trying to hold back his laughter "didn't mean to scare ya, normally i don't run by anyone when i take this shortcut, though it has been a while since i actually used this shortcut — see, i usually drive mostly everywhere, but i ran out of gas money for the month and i thought 'hey, i could actually use a little walk through the woods to cool my head off a little' so i just decided to- whoa, wait, are you crying? I'm so sorry I didn't mean to scare you like that!" he stopped his rambling when he noticed you were drying your tears with the sleeve of your jacket.

"No, it's not- really, i'm fine" you panicked, noticing he seemed a little hurt by your reaction "i was already crying before you- sorry, it wasn't you, i'm fine don't worry"

He walked over to you and sat down beside you, a concerned look on his face.

"I don't wanna be nosy or anything, I know you don't really know me" he started, you now realizing you did recognise him from school, how could you not? He's always drawing attention to himself "but you can talk to me if you want. I'm guessing you were at Harrington's party? Everyone down there sitting at that circle in the backyard is kinda known for being a pain in the ass"

"What gave it away?" you brushed off your tears, slightly smiling at his comment "Just didn't wanna play truth or dare with… you know, those guys. But it seems they were glad I didn't join them, so they wouldn't have to kiss me if someone decided to play spin the bottle" 

"Wait, what?" he seemed surprised "They told you that?"

"Not exactly" you explained "I was at the kitchen and overheard someone saying that outside, so i bailed"

"What are you still doing here then?- Oh, I'm Eddie, by the way." he introduced himself, shaking your hand as you introduced yourself.

You explained the whole situation to him and he offered to keep you company until you could get your bike back and go home. After an hour of nonsense conversation filled with Eddie's dramatic sense of humor, you actually got to know each other a little bit. He told you about his band and how he really liked Lord of the Rings and fantasy RPG.

"I'm not really a huge fan of fantasy books" you shared, causing him to gasp, as he was offended by your comment.

"How dare you? Are you not a huge fan of happiness too? Or maybe you hate puppies and ice cream?" he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "How can you not like the only way to escape this boring non-fictional world we are FORCED to live in?"

"Hey, don't get me wrong, I do like fiction. Just not... fantasy fiction."

"So what do you like then?"

"I really enjoy science fiction."

"What, like androids and shit?"

"No, not that kind of science fiction. I mean science fiction like... Clockwork Orange, or Flowers for Algernon."

"Oh so you're a nerd too!" he teased "I was almost buying all that 'not a nerd' act, but you're into Kubrick? That's so nerdy!"

"You do know Stanley Kubrick didn't write the book right?"

"Shut up, you know what I mean."

Once he started to talk about music, he just couldn't stop talking for a second. He told you about his band, and you felt as if he was the first person to ever understand your passion for music. After another 30 minutes or so of energetic conversation about how much you both liked 70s rock, he ended up telling you he only attended this kind of party to sell some weed and make a quick buck.

"Don't get me wrong, i fucking hate these people" he explained himself "but they ARE in fact my biggest costumers. Guess daddy's money might not be enough for them to feel loved, but it does buy whatever else they need to feel better about themselves. So, they always make sure I'm 'invited' to every party they want me to bring my little lunchbox to."

"Yeah, that makes sense i guess" you agreed, turning your head over to the backyard, people already heading inside due to the cold. You felt your heart sink, even though all you've been wanting was to take your bike and leave. You were actually really enjoying getting to talk to Eddie.

"Well, i guess this is it" he said, noticing as you watched everyone getting into the house "now you can go home and not listen to me and my rambling about whatever it is i was talking about. Hell, even i can't remember what the hell i was talking about most of the time" he laughed. 

"To be honest, it wasn't that bad" you laughed back "it was definitely better than spin the bottle!"

He chuckled, helping you get up and unchain your bike from the fence, giving you a dorky smile as you hopped up on your bike. 

"Well, I better get back to work huh? Got a lot of customers waiting on me" he gestured to the house as you secured your helmet under your chin.

"Yeah, I better get back home too. My aunt refuses to go to sleep until i get home safe, don't wanna keep her waiting"

"So, I guess I'll see you at school, huh?" he shifted at his feet and kicked the ground, stuffing his hands inside the pockets of his vest.

"Yeah, if there's any seats left for another nerd at your table for lunch" you chuckled awkwardly, looking at your feet.

"For a pretty one like you? Always."

You exchanged an awkward look and smiled at each other again, and with that you followed your way back home, feeling hopeful about how the next few weeks would play out. You thought you had finally found someone you could trust and spend time with, someone who got you — a friend.

For the next week or so, you and Eddie hung out a lot. Finally, you had someone you could call a friend, and things seemed to be going not so bad for the first time in months. He would always save you a seat at the table at lunch and walk you to your classes, he would even give you a ride every once in a while, when his van was not running out of gas. It was something you could get used to — at least until a couple of weeks later, when you, Nancy, Jonathan and Steve ended up trauma bonding over setting a demogorgon on fire. After that, your life had (literally) turned upside down and you didn't hang out with Eddie that much anymore. As the years went by, you would hang out more with Steve and Robin once Nancy and Jonathan started dating. You would still talk to Eddie though, just... not like you talked to your other friends. They were the only ones who actually understood what you were going through, and — even though you missed his company — it would be selfish to tell Eddie everything and drag him into that nightmare. Until of course, the nightmare caught up to him.

[unintentionalseductress]

°•❀•° 2024 fics in review °•❀•°

a chronological breakdown -> overall thoughts -> summary -> highlights, of all the writing i've done in 2024 !! original post here! :D

Thank you @reilemon for the tag! I'm in turn tagging @hesperisms, @lazyjellyfish300, @rahuratna @anonimusunnoaniswritinganonimus, @kentocalls and anyone else who wants to join! No pressure my loves!!!

Total number of fics: 38 (excluding Thirsty Weekends)

Total word count: 67712

Chronological Breakdown:

including fics, chapters, and formally-formatted hc posts. not including unformatted hc posts, rps, nor character analyses.

April

1. The Office Pet Part 1 - JJK, 2036 words 2. The Office Pet Part 2 - JJK, 1096 words 3. Werewolf! Omega! Nanami Headcanons - JJK, 3965 words

May

1. Masturbating After Kento's Death - JJK, 1542 words 2. Worshipping Kento's Cock - JJK, 2690 words 3. The Office Pet Part 3 - JJK, 5113 words 4. Kento Worshipping Your Boobs - JJK, 185 words

June

1. Natural Breeding Clinic Prologue - JJK, 1357 words 2. Kento Being a Cunt Teaser - JJK, 272 words 3. Blossoming Milk - JJK, 437 words 4. Livestream - JJK, 624 words

July

1. Gloryhole Janitor - JJK, 236 2. A Helping Mouth - JJK, 1966 words 3. Sylus Is a Switch - LADS, 110 words 4. You're Nervous Before a Mission - JJK, 500 words

August

1. Sucker For You - JJK, 1245 words 2. Ditch The Condom - LADS, 4483 words

September

1. Natural Breeding Clinic Patient 1 - JJK, 4530 words 2. Flowers For you - LADS, 336 words 3. How They Position Their Fingers - LADS, 308 words 4. Voyeur! Sylus - LADS, 401 words 5. Paintbrush Lesson - LADS, 363 words 6. Prescription for Pleasure - LADS, 5206 word count

October

1. Someone You Loved - LADS, 2235 words 2. Bunny Breeding - LADS, 387 words 3. Fresh Cream - LADS, 733 words 4. Halloween Makeup - LADS, 376 words 5. When The Snow Melts - LADS, 3861 words

November

1. Use Me - JJK, 1857 words 2. As You Wish Princess - JJK, 3066 words 3. Reading While Cockwarming Them - JJK, 2182 words 4. Best Friend Zayne - LADS, 312 words 5. Plus Sized Reader HC's - LADS, 2995 words 6. Hair Grooming HC's - LADS, 701 words 7. Unconventional Romp Spots - LADS, 2604 words 8. A Tight Spot - LADS, 2854 words

December

1. Pain Tolerance - LADS, 759 words 2. Just The Tip - LADS, 661 words 3. It's The Thought That Counts - LADS, 3425 words

Overall Thoughts:

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted?

Definitely more than what I thought. I'm lowkey impressed that half of them make any sense as a fic.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? 

Love And Deepspace. I saw all the ads on TikTok but I never had any interest to play the game. That changed in July and now I think the number of LADS fics and JJK fics are almost equal.

What’s your own favorite story of the year? 

I'm not even going to pretend like this is a hard answer. It's Prescription For Pleasure. I put a lot of soul into it and it looks like it paid off based on the interaction I got for it.

Did you take any writing risks this year?

For sure. I was nervous about writing such explicit smut, especially kinky smut (threesomes, DVP, male pegging, BDSM etc) as well as unconventional smut (exhibitionism and tentacles). I was worried people might judge me for the writing, especially when I posted my first fic, The Office Pet. Another one that I was really nervous about posting was the Sylus pegging fic.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year? 

I think it's to slow down and really pace out my writing. I'll admit sometimes if my inspiration is low, I'll make HC's or a drabble but going forward I think I'd rather write longer fics with more details like Prescription For Pleasure. And I'm trying really hard to evenly pace the chapters for the Breeding Clinic series.

From my past year of writing, what was…

My best story of this year:

I'd have to say As You Wish Princess. It took me some time to craft and I did research about old middle eastern culture to write it so I'm quite proud of it.

My most popular story of this year: 

Prescription For Pleasure. 7.5K notes.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:

When The Snow Melts. Granted, there's very little smut in it and it's angst heavy, but I feel like I put in more effort to write it than Prescription for Pleasure.

Most fun story to write:

A Tight Spot. Did some interesting research to make sure it was accurate.

Story with the single sexiest moment:

Oooh...this is hard but I'm gonna say it's Ditch The Condom. All 4 LI's experience a new level of intimacy with the reader and I think that's sexier than anything else.

Most “holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story:

I don't think I have a fic like that. Perhaps the Breeding Clinic kind of flirts with the border of human ethics but there's a reason this is all purely fantasy right?

Biggest disappointment:

I think it's how long I take to write my longer fics. I know some people can write such lovely prose in less than a day but for me anything more than 3k words needs planning and a minimum of two weeks.

Biggest surprise:

I think it's how much love this blog has received. I've met some incredible people and really connected with them. And of course I love hearing from everyone in my inbox, I wasn't prepared for all the love and messages of support that I've received.

Fic-writing goals for 2025: 

I think I want to really chip away at my inbox requests and hold off on other ideas I have until it's cleared. I also want to write longer one-shots rather than HC's or drabbles.

[lanterns-and-daydreams]

Forbidden Fruit

A Grayson Hawthorne x oc fic

Warnings/notes (regarding the whole fic) : slight cursing, sexual innuendos, no smut, MLM, friends to enemies to lovers, might be a lil ooc (forgive me first fic ever if you dont count 'Wine and Woes'), i also changed Cassian to a human instead of a faerie, also, it's gonna be a little slow, please bear with me.

(please heed that this only a work of fiction, so do not be influenced by it, and for the love of God don't do anything that's happening in this fic.)

(trespassing is not a light matter, especially when you're breaking into a multi-billionaire's house. Doing this will have its consequences 🙏💀)

Word count: Idk man, lots of words here 💀

Summary: Grayson Hawthorne had always wanted to be like his grandfather. He had never been in the business of making friends, until he meets someone who is going to turn his life upside down, and possibly make his brain short circuit

Prologue

Part 1

"your ego is bigger than Jupiter itself. Your IQ on the other hand, is the complete opposite"

"i know you ain't talking like that when you don't know what basic slang is, blondie"

"i prefer doing more productive things than spending all my time on such uselessly mind-consuming pieces of media"

"........ This is why you have no friends and no bitches"

"i have you." Grayson smiled, something he rarely did "maybe that's all I need."

Pre-Timeskip

Grayson Hawthorne was not in the business of making friends, much like his grandfather, Tobias Hawthorne. Even though he was only 13 years old, he relied on himself, he did not ask for help. Grayson knew he was extraordinary, his grandfather had made sure he knew.

He was prepared for every possible outcome in every possible situation. Or so he thought, until he was face to face with a rather unusual looking boy

Unusual in the sense that the boy was wearing muddy overalls, his fluffy brown hair had leaves and twigs stuck in it. His smile is too big, too bright, much like the sun shining overhead. Grayson's eyes trail down the short boy's appearance, hes holding his hands out to Grayson, holding two red geraniums in them. The geraniums are muddy too. Grayson's face scrunches up looking at the filth.

"Who are you?" Grayson glares at the boy "And how did you get in here?"

For anyone else, Grayson's glare would have been terrifying. His silver eyes making them uncomfortable in their own skin. But this boy? He kept grinning, and holding out his flowers. The audacity he had to ruin Grayson's peaceful garden time agitated Grayson.

"My name is Cassian!" Cassian smiles brightly "Whats yours?"

Grayson did not want to answer, this boy's innocence was.....annoying, but he did so out of politeness, and perhaps the hope that maybe this boy would leave if he knew who he was talking to was far superior.

"Grayson" Grayson introduced himself "My name is Grayson Hawthorne."

Grayson did not see any flash of recognition in the boy's midnight blue eyes. That agitated him more. First, this boy had the audacity to interrupt his peaceful garden time, Now, he didn't even know who Grayson was?!

"Woah! You have a cool name! Grayson. Gray, like your eyes" he says in awe, as if he had never seen gray eyes before

What was Grayson even supposed to say to that? Grayson frowns at Cassian. Hoping that maybe he'll see the obvious annoyance and leave. But Grayson's hopes were nothing if not futile, because Cassian just smiles at him.

Instead, he just tells him something Grayson does not want to know

"My last name is Moonbeam!" he smiles

Cassian Moonbeam? What a ridiculous name..... Grayson thought

It was also not a name Grayson recognised, so one, this boy was not from a prominent family, and two, he was not a worker's son. Since those children never approached Grayson, knowing who he is.

"You do realize that you're trespassing, right?" Grayson raises an eyebrow, looking down his nose at the boy

Cassian cocks his head to the side a little "Trespassing?" he says, expression neutral "but there's only one of me, wouldnt that make it unopassing?" he grins

This boy..... Grayson's mind comes up with a few rude words, but he decides to keep them to himself.

Instead, he calmly says "That wasn't funny"

"it wasn't meant to be."

"How did you get in here?"

"i slid through the tall border thingy" Cassian points at the tall border that separated the woods from the estate. Grayson's eyes slid from the metal border back to Cassian

"And no one saw you? Not even one of the guards? And how in the world did you manage to slip through the gap?!"

"oh. Um. Well, i kinda watched the guards routine a lot, so I slipped in when they were away." Cassian grins "And it's not that small of a gap. Plus, I'm small and lean"

Grayson was so done with this kid and this whole conversation. He wanted this boy gone

He sighs and states "Trespassing, especially onto the Hawthorne estate, is a crime"

Cassian's grin disappears and he cocks his head to the side "Crime? Are you saying the police are gonna arrest me?"

"im saying they can if they are notified"

"Then let's not tell them." Cassian slightly juts out his lower lip

Grayson was appalled. Things like this should be notified. So no one else creeps onto the territory. Tobias Hawthorne was a man whose head multiple people wanted. Grayson didnt know who those people were or why, but he knew that with power, came risk.

"Are you seriously telling me I shouldn't tell someone that someone trespassed onto the territory?!"

Cassian shrugs and Grayson wants to strangle him, instead, he sighs exasperatedly

"How old are you?"

"11. Why?"

"Doesn't that explain so many things" Grayson says sarcastically and rolls his eyes

"What does that mean!?"

"Nothing you should be concerned about considering the situation you're in. How do you even plan to get out of here?"

Cassian looks a little confused "Huh? What do you mean? I'll just go back out the same way I came in"

Grayson scoffs "Thats not what I meant. Now, hypothetically, I don't tell on you, but do you really expect to just leave without a scratch? One of the guards could see you as you're trying to get out. Fate isn't in your hands"

Cassian pauses "But I already have scratches"

Grayson grits his teeth "Those are not the kind of scratches I'm talking about, Cassian"

"Doesn't matter." Cassian frowns slightly "What about you? How old are you?"

"I have no reason to tell you" Grayson replies dismissively, pauses, and then says "13"

The smirk on Cassian's face is smug "oh, so you're a baby. Like me"

"Baby?!" Grayson looks offended "I am not a baby!"

"You are" Cassian leans forward, and with one muddy finger, boops Grayson's nose "Boop!"

That's it. How dare this....this commoner touch him?! It was bad enough not knowing who he is, now this?!

"Do that again-" Grayson starts to threaten, but is cut off with another boop to the nose "Wha-"

"You said 'do it again' " Cassian smirks cheekily

"I swear to God-" Grayson takes a deep breath, composing himself. It was not like him to lose his temper over something like this "Do not do that again. Now, state your business for bothering me"

"Flowers." Cassian holds up the geraniums "For you."

Grayson paused, processing this information "......"

"you trespassed onto Hawthorne property to give me flowers?!"

Cassian nodded excitably

"You are either exceptionally smart or extremely stupid" Grayson sighs "i do not want your flowers"

"ill forgive you for calling me stupid, since I want to be your friend."

"i do not want you as a friend. Why would you even want to be friends with me?"

"Because you're a loner with no friends to bring you flowers" Cassian shrugs

Grayson had to admit, that stung. He did have so-called "friends", but he never was close with them, so they were more like strangers that he knew. But was he going to admit he didn't have friends to Cassian? Absolutely not.

"i have friends" Grayson grits through his teeth, fists clenching at his sides. He was getting impatient.

"No, you don't. I would've seen them if you did" Cassian says smugly

Grayson pauses, inhaling a sharp breath "you were stalking me?"

"i wouldnt say that," Cassian takes a step closer as Grayson takes one back "More like, saw you sitting here alone everyday as I passed by."

"And if i dont believe you?" Grayson says, internally prepared for a fight

"Well, I'm already here and giving you flowers. Red, right? Your favourite color?" he holds up the flowers again

"Youre a wierdo," Grayson slaps his hand away "i dont want your flowers."

Cassian frowns a little "oh. That's okay, maybe you hate these ones. I'll bring you some more tomorrow"

"Do not come back" Grayson grits

"im gonna" Cassian places the flowers at Grayson's feet, stands back up, looks at Grayson, shoots him a mischievous grin, and boops his nose again, making Grayson's nose officially the most booped part of his body.

Grayson opens his mouth to finally curse but Cassian starts running away "Oh, no, you don't." Grayson runs after him

But Cassian is surprisingly fast, and dodges Grayson multiple times

"We're playing tag, now?" Cassian snorts a laugh

Grayson realizes what's happening and stops dead in his tracks and frowns, glaring at Cassian.

"Leave." he says, barely holding on to his anger

"Why-" Cassian begins, but Grayson interrupts

"Leave before I tell on you. I'm giving you a free card once, don't expect it again" Grayson takes a breath through his teeth

Cassian slowly blinks at him, but then smiles softly and says "Okay! I'll figure out how to get out by myself next time"

Grayson watches as the boy sneakily watches out for the guards, and then darts into the woods without being seen, and eventually vanishes out of sight.

Grayson lets out a huff of irritation, and begins to walk back to the House, when he notices the muddy geraniums on the grass in front of him.

He hesitates for a second before picking them up.

I'll just throw them away, it doesn't matter. He thought

But a small part of Grayson, that he desperately tried to push away, wants to keep them. He doesn't want to admit it, but he really did not have any friends to bring him flowers. He was still suspicious of the boy, but he decided to see where all of this would end.

But for now, all he had to focus on was getting inside, taking a much needed shower, because of that pesky boy, and then attend lunch with his brothers and Grandfather.

Prologue part2

Tagging:

@never-enough-novels @pink-mask-06

@x-liv25-jamieswife

[nightly-valkyrie]

'In the Shadow of Sierpinski' post ACT-1 writer's rambles

Forgive me, I'm so brain-rotted about my own fic that I can't help but talk about it even down to the design decisions and process of writing?

Mostly to cover some influences, inspirations, reasonings, and concepts I wanted to carry on into the narrative as it developed from early drafts into what was posted in the fic. Most spoilers for the fic and the game will be kept to below the cut:

Influences & Inspirations :)

>So of course a big influence on the fic was Signalis itself, I could talk on and on about what I did and didn't want to expand on for the purpose of the fic. However, for the sake of brevity I will be kinda short for this part at least. The melding of technology to this point of advancement well beyond what humanity is capable of today, and yet seemingly also stuck in the past is such an appealing look. An almost 'Alien' movie approach that really makes it stick out. That was a feeling I wanted to capture, not just because of a desire to stay faithful to the source material, but also because of my own affections for the cyberpunk genre which 'Signalis' also seems to share a love for. I will get into this later though. One of the biggest tones I wanted to carry over was this glazing over of some of the more dystopian aspects the game carries, Rose Engine leaves a lot of hints toward the state of the in game governments, its beliefs, and its inspirations (East Germany etc...). What they don't do though is ever quite dwell on a lot of the implications the notes and dialogues carry. It was, that, which I wanted to emulate. I tried to make clear in the text many things, but leave what exactly that implication is up to the reader to determine. I hesitate to mention these moments because I really do feel like they're better noticed on your own.

>Another really big inspiration this fic had, and I'll keep this next one shorter, is the cyberpunk genre. The idea of human robots, retro-futuristic technology, and even gifted individuals with telepathic powers all feel pulled straight from the cyberpunk genre and media related to it. And that is just things shown in game (I am also aware of the game's anime inspirations 'Evangelion' and 'Blame' but as far as I'm aware those do have some cyberpunk dna in them as well, i just have much knowledge in the realm of anime). For this fic, I really felt compelled to include the influences of these stories to write this fic. 'Blade Runner 2049' especially had some influence over concepts like Replika identification being linked to the eye/optic.

This detail along with some of the tone is a just small parts that show how it was an overall inspiration. The tone especially in some of the general treatment/attitude toward Replikas by those in power will also give that sense.

>The second to last inspiration I really wanted to mention here was 'Alan Wake 2' and whether or not that is a surprise may depend on your personal familiarity with the game/series. This inspiration is a smaller one but in some of the more dream like confusing parts of the story, the way the wording is meant to loop and double back in a way that feels almost poetic was a huge part. Warning for an early 'Alan Wake 2' spoiler (Intended reading for manuscript page written in alt):

Another inspiration that may become clearer later is the general dealing of how a dreamlike perception over reality. Images like this one from the early game live rent free in my head and help me think about how to describe certain abstract things:

Remedy's general handling of this form of weirdness in a visual medium truly is pretty genius and the work of reinterpreting it into writing has been and will continue to be very enjoyable as i expand more on it in the future.

>Final inspiration I very quickly wanted to touch on is 'The King in Yellow' another fairly obvious one, I have an excerpt in the prologue, it appears in the story and in 'Signalis'. The game especially has a lot of references to it. Ahead of really starting writing I read most of the way through the collection of stories, and finished it while I was writing the first couple chapters. I knew from the start I wanted to really lean into some of the general themes of the anthology and though not obvious as if the end of ACT-1, I will continue to. I highly recommend reading it if only to get a greater understanding of some of the ways 'Signalis' references it. I really feel like it puts a lot in perspective. 'The Demoiselle d'Ys' especially, the latter half of that story really gave me a sense of the love and devotion that is put on display in game.

Okay because describing my decisions behind certain concepts and reasonings requires me to go more in detail I'm putting it below the cut because it carries a bit more spoiler-potential than mere inspiration talk. So if you haven't read the fic please go enjoy it here, beware heavy 'Signalis' spoilers though.

Concepts & Reasonings (Beware Spoilers)

>One of the main things I set out from the start to include in the fic was a lot of the 'weird' things that happen in the game. Moments like when you open the butterfly box and suddenly you're on a mountain top, or when you leave the Penrose for the first time at the beginning of the game. This moment, as well as whenever you first encounter a corrupted Kolibri unit always stuck with me as some of the most memorable moments off the game. That's why I wanted to go out of my way to include them, or moments like them. The first was in the second chapter where Falke uses her bioresonance to infiltrate Tempo's mind and is mentally assaulted in a moment where the narrative intentionally twists and loops over itself which ends with this image:

The image is one of the 'Isle of the dead' paintings overlaid with a German translation of an excerpt from the beginning of the 'King in Yellow'. If you want to read you can refer to this post which has the entire excerpt in full in English. This image was one I made in Krita by of course editing the original and mostly adding details to it to fulfill the vibe that is given when you walk into a room with a corrupted Kolibri and it starts getting bad and you can barely see anything, etc... When it came down to actually including it in the text I was a little on the fence, I for one think that images used sparing enough can really emphasize a moment. Much like some of my other decisions, I know it won't work for everyone, but given the intentionally jarring nature I do feel it fits.

>As for how I went about including the vibe of those first person sequences, I wanted it to feel just as alien and initially sudden as the game handled it. This was done by the use of second person, present tense. As I think was beautifully pointed out in a comment on AO3 by @lopadopalis

The intent was exactly that. To contrast not just in perspective but also subtly in tense as well. To give this almost dreamlike quality I think the first-person sections of the game nailed so well. It's enough that if you glaze past it, you won't pick up on it but it may still leave you that off feeling. That in mind using second-person present tense is likely going to be my way of handling these types of moments going forward, as for the same reason as the image in the text, it gives that slight jarring feeling that is exactly what I'm going for. Hidden in here though is a kind of secret influence I didn't mention before and that is 'Harrow the Ninth'.

While its not so much an influence in terms of content, it is an influence in terms of feeling. This books is in my mind the gold standard of second-person narrative, and it's done so well that no other book was able to make me feel as insane as the first few chapters of this book did. And I say that as a compliment. Go read it (after you read the first book in the series ofc).

>Another thing that was mentioned in the comment from Lopadopalis was the death of the Sierpinski survivors. And that is something I do on some level feel the need to explain. In deciding to kill these characters even as most of them are not shown, I felt a great need to do it well. From the start, I knew I wanted to have them decommissioned, and a big part of that was to really show Dr. Lee's true colors even after they made it clear what stance they hold in regards to Replika life. It was startling to have characters that-were they shown in detail-would have been recognizable to anyone who had played the game, and many did seem to recognize the Ara as she appeared. What worried me was that I would accidentally sweep past it too fast. And I hope that isn't the case. Even if mostly referred to as opposed to shown, it carries some impact and does on some level respect them as legacy characters.

>I feel like I keep giving tanks a million times but I really can't stress how much I appreciate @lynxfrost13 for not just allowing me, but also helping me in including the HOPR who I don't know how to link perfectly so I am linking a lore post that was made: here. Please check it out, and also follow Lynx, genuinely without them I'm not sure I would have made my personal deadline. More generally about the HOPR reference around the middle of Chapter 5; I knew I wanted to include other original Replikas as the ones shown in the game aren't the only ones to exist. However, I'm lazy and didn't want to keep coming up with a ton of Replikas that would end up under-cooked because I couldn't give them each the time they deserved. So I made a post and that's when Lynx reached out and we coordinated a way to include the HOPR as a part of the story not just as a character who will be seen more later, but a part of the lore, connections to existing characters and all. I was (and honestly still am) honored to have have been trusted to write with this unit as a part of my story and I'm so glad Lynx had been available to answer any questions and to check over anything and everything to make sure I'm doing their creation justice. ALSO, that need for original Replikas is still ongoing by the way, if you have one and think it may be cool to have it included, send me a DM or ask! I'd love to try and come up with something, the only one that would probably not work is a Schwan Replika, as the Schwan is the one I've planned for the story (if you did do the same as me though still tell me about it! I'd love to hear about your original Replika types!).

>As one of the last things I very briefly wanted to touch on the relationship as it is portrayed in the fic. One of the things that really pushed me past the 'wouldn't that be neat?' stage of planning this fic and into the 'oh shit it's happening' was the kind of lack of very many Falke/Elster/Ariane fics out there. It was my want to see more that partially caused me to start writing. Many other reasons too, but godddd I have to mention that one. Those 3 make me so ill. It was also partially out of wanting to make a work that will get a lot of eyes on it that kinda presents my interpretation of the Sierpinski S23 Falke having Ariane's memories in addition to Elster's. And thus loves Elster as she does Ariane. It just seems like a thing that isn't necessarily a deep-cut theory, but one that is also at least in my opinion not talked about as much as it should be. Though I do feel like it's picked up a lot of traction very recently. I did write a post on this, most that are willing to read this far into this post have probably already read it but I am gonna link it here anyway.

>Okay, this last part is maybe the most interesting section for the purpose of understanding the general scope of ACT-1 and what changes were made in writing that made it what it is now. To anyone who followed me prior to the publishing of ACT-1, maybe even around when I first started talking about the fic, they may know the intent was for this first part of the story to be much bigger, or maybe a better way to say it is more condensed. ACT-1 was meant to encompass nearly all the time the story spent in the Sierpinski facility. The starting intent was to end with the finalization of the new Replika line teased at the end of Chapter 5, and also in the summary. Overall, things would have been pushed together and likely less time given to characters like Dr. Lee to grow into what they eventually became. The decision to change this scope actually came much later prior to posting than is maybe expected. It was around 2 weeks prior to the 27th, I decided (helped along in the decision by my girlfriend) to make the first ACT what it is now, and expand what was initially 3 chapters into a whole 4 then but now 5. This decision was made not just due to the anniversary growing closer and my concern about missing it, but also because I kept wanting to add more. Chapters began to balloon in length as they became closer to what they now are. It hit a point that, eventually, I had to look at what I had and admit it had far outgrown the initial scope. Deciding then it worked better as the new ACT-1 than all of the time in Sierpinski together. Looking back having posted it, I stand by this decision. This allowed Dr. Lee to bloom into a the character they are now and make the reveal that was their change in demeanor better overall. It also allowed me to expand on some of the aforementioned weirdness moments, the entire section with the Falke looking into Tempo's mind in Carcosa was only a few sentences in that first draft. Lastly it also allowed the build up to where Falke ends up this first draft to feel much better telegraphed and overall better earned; her situation is more believable when more is shown and what that extra space allowed me to set up makes for better moments in the future too!

AND THAT'S THE POST! It's a fuckin big one, but then again there was a lot to talk about. Hopefully this really shows that I mean when I say how much love went into this fic, and how much continues to as it goes on. From fanart (some that's even yet to be released), to incorporating my own enjoyments and personal writing inspirations, even just making the hard decisions so what I make is something I'm proud of. If you read the fic, thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart. And if you read all the way through this monster of a post, then I really appreciate your dedication to my brain-rot.

[aluminescent]

Happy Christmas🌟 Not to bring you any stress about the second book... but I'm still on the edge of my seat after reading the first one🤭 So if the second book is still something you're planning on doing take your time✨ Aand if you happen to have some updates on it I would be so curious to hear?😅💛

Hey there, and not to worry, you're not a bother at all! I'm always so amazed that people are still interested in this story 😭. I'm definitely still writing, but it's taking far longer than I anticipated for this next installment. I've also been experiencing some ongoing life-altering issues these past few months that are getting in the way of my writing consistently (but bonus, some of these problems are assisting me with a couple plot points in my fic so . . . let's go, I guess). Trying to see the the silver lining with these, though, and trying to keep a positive attitude. Timing wise, I cannot make any concrete promises as to when I might start posting.

I'd be happy to share a couple of updates, though (under a read more, because, as always, I'm long-winded):

I think I've finally landed a new title for this next installment.

I'm aiming for 3 arcs again for this book, just like Blackout.

I have one (1) chapter fully completed. It continues to go through multiple rounds of editing, and small details may further be edited down the road as more of Book Two is rounded out. But when a lovely beta (bless her soul) read through it a couple of months ago, it was around 12.5k at its completion. With the most current changes, it's now nearly 20k and barely looks the same as when she'd looked it over, but it's much closer to its final draft than it was a couple of months ago. Unfortunately, I'm unsure if I want to post it within this next book, as a one-shot, or even post it at all. As it's currently written, its best position within this next book would be 1) as an 'interlude' that prefaces the second arc; 2) quite possibly as the prologue, which then might deter people from reading the rest of the book because of the chapter's content; or 3) as a standalone before Book 2 is even posted. Again, it might not show up at all. I'll only know when the overall installment is nearing its close and I'm better able to gauge the overall mood.

While there's still a lot to be written, there are multiple plot points and scenes written out, but where they fit around each other is still a huge unknown. The reason for this is:

I'm still going between this being a final sequel or if there might be a third book. If there is, both books will be written for simultaneously for most part (I think, aha). Some parts of this has a life of its own that's only revealed as I write.

I'm trying to create a more complete universe for the various subplots I explored in Book 1, especially regarding the Reid household (Spencer, Diana, and William equally), and regarding Maeve. I know that neither William nor Maeve is everyone's cup of tea, but I'm actually enjoying rounding them out more and giving them more substance than the meager bits we got from the show. Either way, this means that I'm weaving a lot into the past. Believe it or not, digging into both of these characters will be necessary for the healing portions of this overall story.

While there's a lot of healing to be had in this installment, I can't turn away from the hurt and some psychological warfare; helps me sleep at night and keeps my pores clear just as equally as the comfort, you know. We did leave of with the looming threat of The Replicator, yes, but there's a lot of untapped footage that reveals what happened with our poor victims (ahem, Spencer) when they were so drugged to the point of absolute unconsciousness.

I hope these sort of whet your appetite if at all!

[arleniansdoodles]

(Warning this is super long I'm so sorry) Absolutely mcfreaking reeling from that charged backfist of a chapter. I have no words. Yang what. What is wrong with you. He really slaughtered five schools' worth of students and masters, killed his adoptive father, orchestrated the murder of his little sister, secretly went back and raised said little sister from the dead, decided to let her wake up ALONE IN A POOL OF HER OWN BLOOD SURROUNDED BY THE BODIES OF HER FAMILY, left her to fend for herself at the ripe age of 11, and then fucked off to the mountains to be a super-doctor. BROTHER. Like yes Yang, it was really cold of Sifu to not let you save your family with the talisman, and your feelings of heartbreak and betrayal are absolutely valid (I would even excuse the attempted theft of the talisman honestly, he was just trying to save them!) especially when he saw you as a son, BUT HOLY SHIT YOUR RESPONSE WAS TO BECOME A MASS-MURDERER! Yin and all those disciples didn't know anything about the talismans, you could have just killed the masters in a slightly less public way and have been basically fine! Jinfeng literally has Infinite Money Glitch: The Talisman, you guys can pay off anyone! I'm so flabbergasted at Yang I can't even express it fully. How do we come back from this bro 😭 I know Fajar actually did kill Yin and now they're besties, but Yang literally left her in a wuguan full of bodies!!!! She could've died or gone insane and Yang just allowed it! How tf was she supposed to turn away from vengeance when that's literally all you left her with! And the fact that she managed to do that anyway and you're just???? Punishing her for it in every way besides physically attacking her????

You know what? I'm gonna go fight Yang a bunch until I get an achievement or something, he deserves it!

Hehehehehehhh XDDD This was me while reading through your message lmaooo:

That said, I think you're probably the first person I've seen who's gotten this angry at Yang (aside from a few other characters in the fic)! 😂 Game-wise, him reviving Yin in the prologue made the most sense to me out of all the other theories (not that there are a lot imo), and it also works with the implications of the post-credits scene, so I was more than ready to add it to the fic with maximum angst! XDD

Of course, this all means Yang is an even bigger douche than before 😅 There were a million other ways he could've gone about stealing the talismans without ruining Yin's life, but ah well, I had to stick to that part of canon for this fic 😂 I personally think he didn't have this mindset eight years ago; like, how much of his current thinking is actually him and how much is part of the talisman's influence? But even then, it was still a horrible move to make, especially where Yin was concerned (hence why I came up with the Dawn!AU where she lives! hehe). And his entire arc overall was one of my struggling points while writing, because how DO you come back from this? How do you have the happy ending with all the fluffy rainbow and unicorn feels?? Would a happy ending for this even be happy for Yin and Yang's relationship after all he's done to her? So that was quite interesting and tricky to work with XDD

All in all, I'm happy you enjoyed this chapter!! Though I'm sorry it got you worked up loll 😅 Hopefully beating Yang to a pulp helps! 😁 And no worries at all about the long messages; I really appreciate you taking the time to write all this!! Thanks again! 💗💗

[saficswrites]

New part new post baby! We have officially reached ten chapters, finally leaving the prologue as we work towards part one of Radiant Dawn.

This story is long, especially by my standards, it's currently like five times the length of “Her Summoner” at over 36,000 words.

There are a lot of warnings, I’ll have the major trigger warnings below the linebreak alongside the link but if you want more details on what warnings apply to what chapter please check out the previous post I made for this fic to see those details.

(https://www.tumblr.com/saficswrites/740178733734019072/the-prologue-is-done-we-did-it-chapter-8-is?source=share)

I’m so proud of myself and Red for getting this far and so thankful that people seem to be enjoying this, its been a wild ride and I’m really excited to keep working on this project.

With that I really hope you enjoy!

Love you all ❤️

Major content warnings are: Pretty extreme violence and gore sometimes to the point of outright body horror, references to rape and sexual assault and the trauma of characters victim to it (only ever in the very first chapter thus far), suicidal thoughts depression and at one point nonlethal self harm, and a scene exploring a characters fractured mental state and insanity that’s incredibly uncomfortable to read and will likely be triggering to some.

Please check the tags as well and if anything seems like its too much then don't take the risk of reading it, this is a really dark story overall and the prologue especially is just a tragedy outright. I completely understand if it’s too much for some people.

I do my best to properly put warnings on my fics to minimize the risk of hurting anyone with my writing, but I do make mistakes sometimes. If you notice anything in the first 10 chapters that should be on the trigger warning list that I missed please let me know and I’ll update accordingly.

[rubberduckyrye]

Okay so it's been a hot minute since I read your fics(I should reread them soon) but the fics/parts that stick out to me is.

That part in the chapter 5 fic where Kaito saves Kokichi, where Kaito gives Kokichi the makeshift antidote and he almost dies.

That soulmate chapter 5 fic with the kiss and color.

The introductions in twins au(specifically Mui and Gonta's), and the part where Monokuma starts beating up the kubs and Kokichi comforts Kurochi.

That part where the warriors of hope tend to Kokichi's wound.

That Kokichi Kurochi hotel fic where Kokichi reveals that secret.

Oh and the part in your wanderer fic when he sees his memories, specifically that scene where he starts panicking due to seeing how a certain doctor treated him.

(this is just off the top of my head/the first ones I thought of)

In relation to this post!

RWBY I SAID ONE FIC, NOT 6--

fmdknjkngjfngkd

I'm so happy that you like so many of my fics--and especially my Genshin fics, since you don't play Genshin :'D Honestly I'm sorely tempted to make a full LP of Genshin and like 50% of my inspiration is so you can watch it and get the lore tbh--

Okay, let's go through them one by one!

How to Stay Behind the Doors of Life - One of the first RPs turned into fanfic, I cannot talk about this without giving @aroseandapen credit here too! While I did ficify it, my favorite part of it was actually roleplaying it. Writing with L is extremely fun, 10/10 I highly recommend

Our Colorless World - This fic!!! I sometimes come back to this fic, and I just. Oof. This fic was fun to write because it's one of the few times where I technically wrote a tragic ending instead of a happy one. Fun fact: If I ever write a tragic ending, I always imagine an AU extension of the ending where the fic continues and it's revealed that everyone's alive and they get a chance to heal from the Trauma. In this fic's case, it's a VRAU and Kaito has to win over Kokichi after realizing their soulmates. ANYWAY. My favorite part to write for this fic was probably Kokichi's story about the boy under the yellow slide up until the end. Just, so much oof that Kokichi knew his own soulmate hated his guts and thought he was the worst person in existence...... and still hoping (but not expecting) a second kiss from the person he was bound to. There's a lot of tragedy in this fic hhhhhh

Danganronpa V3R: Graduation - Twins AU, Twins AU! I knew this one would come up, hueueueue. Twins AU has a special place in my heart and forever will, and I really aim to one day complete and post the fic in full. While Twins AU had a lot of RPing done with L, I actually think my favorite part to write (and subsequently, to reread) was the introduction of the fic itself. I tend to go hard with surreal imagery and I think that it's one of my strong suits in writing--so of course to this day the introduction of Twins AU is such fire that I can barely hold it without burning myself from how much I love it. I'm currently editing Twins AU's prologue and what little I had done for chapter 1, so hopefully the scene is even better now!

A Change of Fate - Hey, this is the commission you got from me! I had a feeling you might bring this one up too~ Writing this fic was overall a very interesting change of pace as I was HEAVILY in the Genshin Fixation at the time--I think I ended up putting this fic on hold for a long time in favor of "Chasing the Voided Moon" actually (I'm still sorry for that, the fixation wheel refused to free me--) and tbh it did remind me that I love the Twins so very much. I think my favorite part to write was when Junko appeared--there's something very cathartic about writing a really chaotic evil character, not gonna lie. But I also liked how Kokichi was acting during that confrontation--it was overall a great interaction.

Can you really call this a Hotel, there weren't even Mints on the Pillows - To this date this fic has the LONGEST name, and I love that for it. The chapter you're talking about was really fun to RP and ficify, too! Kokichi finally revealing that he saw Kurochi's half-written suicide note is oof. However, I think that the Korekiyo chapter deserves some credit too, since it does change the context of the LSE to one of BDSM and consent than... whatever the fuck canon was trying to do LMAO. Still, this is ALSO a fic I plan on continuing for Twins AU! I even think I know which character will appear in the next chapter >:3

Chasing the Voided Moon - The fact that you've read this fic and enjoyed it even without knowing much context for Genshin is a thing I take GREAT pride in. Though it's actually interesting that you chose that scene in particular, since the favorite scenes of that fic are often chapter 12 and chapter 16. Yet I think you're right in that there is a haunting, disgusting revelation in that chapter that is never spoken, but doesn't need to be spoken. The fact that it is canon that Wanderer's body was mutilated to the point where the big robot he was put in was his life support and his initial reaction to the idea being "Yeah that sounds about the same as what Dottore's done to me before" is. Honestly the fact that Scaramouche theorists on YT miss the severe torture/abuse implications of that scene in canon alone is staggering. It's definitely not a top favorite of the fanfic, but it really does highlight that Scaramouche didn't just suffer three really bad instances of trauma and nothing else happened to him--he endured so much off screen that was so heavily implied, and who knows how much for how long. Anyway murder maim kill Dottore. Though as for my favorite par to write... I'm sorry to say, it is chapter 16 :'D I went hard on that chapter and I'm very proud of it. Chapter 12 too, but I prefer catharsis over pure angst tbh.

[4e7her]

also i am working on that compilation thing and i think the reason i don't care so much for some of these fics so more is the fact that the mcs feel more like someone that things 'happen to' then someone who is guiding the story

this works well for like. fcubed for example where the mc just crash-landed on an alien planet. but for a stardew fic like vapor it really doesn't make sense. like avele moved to a farm. the story is in his perspective. somehow the start still makes it feel like he doesn't have a choice over any of these things and that he's being dragged along in contrast to wyn in something in the water where the prologue i set up for it gives you much more insight and just feels better overall

also i think i've developed my writing style a lot over the last few years which makes older fics feel just a bit skewed

i do really like how i wrote the yandere perspectives in vapor - i think they come across very well and were definitely a key point in developing my writing further. like i think i'd separate my writing in stages. rambling below the cut

there's my two discontinued obey me fics - that was me getting back into writing. they were fun and cute and self-indulgent and i liked writing them but i probably wouldn't write something in a similar style again

then there's miss me which is kind of a jumping off point for me style-wise, which i burned myself off on by focusing on drawing for the mc for, but lead to little panther and vapor. i put those two in the same category because that's where i introduce yandere characters and think i grew while i was writing (especially as i started tumblr around the same time) and wrote way too long oc sheets for. like. i think they were around at least 5k words each? it was. a time.

and then i focused on drabbles for a while, but after that came fcubed. and fcubed gets a category all on it's own

i started it when i had a great big Health Event that changed. a lot of how i look at the world and how i am physically able to interact with it. i won't get into details but functionally between the Health Issue and the Coming to Terms i was out of it for like. honestly probably more than a year. i decided my major wasn't for me and dropped college and moved pretty far shortly after that and a lot of life then was detaching myself so i wouldn't have to Come to Terms

fcubed was actually, a good portion of it, written in a haze of being bedbound after said Health Event. i think around the first ten chapters? were written in like two - three weeks after but before i realized that there would be lasting issues from the Health Event. however much i posted of it before i took like a year long break on it.

and the thing with fcubed is that it expanded my horizons a lot with writing. you'll notice if you've read some of these older fics that they were a lot more guided by the source material - i was too scared to stray very much from in game scenes, though i had tried my hand at it in vapor. with the source material for fcubed being subnautica, it was. a lot like literally throwing myself in the deep end. the source material is literally an open ocean. i had to make the scenes myself, besides a few key events and some audio from like logs the player recovers

after that like month or so of fcubed i more or less dropped off the face of the earth for like, six months, i think. towards the end of that time is when we moved and i think that's when i started checking tumblr again. i had been working on fics in that time, but i hadn't posted anything - i try not to post fics unless i have at least three chapters done to make sure they're Established because i have ideas i don't go through with pretty often. i have a few sitting in my drafts that are just like one chapter stories - looking at you genshin impact, dca, and our life fics

i posted something in the water and i think that was very... cathartic for me? the prologue was about leaving and just getting away and being unbound. and i liked that a lot. you'll see that as a theme in my stories honestly

then there was rip and tear and embracing what's around you - i'd say that those are in the same category as something in the water. they're both shorter at the moment, though they do both have almost-done chapters in the drafts. these two actually aren't yandere fics - everything else above this besides miss me, the obey me fics, and fcubed (though that one has some yandere undertones) are. i'm not actually entirely positive why rip and tear isn't? i think i was planning to go with undertones again but not full yandere, but i know what's around you isn't because that one's more lighthearted. it is ohshc after all

and then, around the start of this year, i started vault. and i really, really like vault conceptually. like. i love borderlands so much and i've always wanted to see more fics for it but somehow never thought to write for it

plus i could literally just play borderlands and call it research. i have almost a full chapter in the drafts for that one too - i need to get back to working on it, i just got distracted by a drop of silver in a sky of stars. i think my current writing style, which i'm really happy with, shows in these two the most. you can definitely tell a difference compared to my earlier fics

both of these two are probably my current focuses, though that might change after i finish going through all my fics. the intro i have written for fawn response is just so good it is Tempting Me

none of this mentions any work i've done on unposted fics (again, all less than three chapters), but trust me there are. many. too many. an exorbitant amount. i'll get around to them eventually

[vellaphoria]

Tag Game!

Thanks for the tag @waffleinator-inator! <3

Favorite color: probably burgundy, overall. But it depends what it’s for? Like, most of my clothes are black, but I only ever buy dark blue bedsheets.

Last song I listened to: Are You Satisfied? By MARINA (tho it was Marina and the Diamonds, at the time) Am I channeling my high school tryhard era to help me finish my dissertation proposal? maybe lol.

Last movie I watched: … you know, I’m not sure. I’m not really a movie person usually, and I haven’t had much free time lately. The last one I can remember was rewatching Crimson Peak to get inspiration for the right vibes for a fic .

Currently watching: same issue as the last one lol. But the last series I watched in full was The Fall of the House of Usher (the 2023 Netflix series). I really liked it! It’s uhhhh probably not for everyone. But if you like horror, modern adaptations, and social commentary, it’s a good time. I didn’t think it was that scary per se, especially compared to some of Mike Flanagan’s other horror series, but I did think it was very well done.

Currently reading: The joke answer is the 150+ research articles I cite in my dis proposal lol. But the last thing I read for run was Godkiller by Hannah Kaner. I enjoyed it, though I heard reviews were mixed. Which I get; the prologue and first chapter were really good at establishing the setting, but the next few chapters were a little slow. The latter half of the book was hard to put down though. I think I read that part in one day? Plus I have a great love of worldbuilding, so I appreciate a book that takes an interesting approach to it.

Sweet, savory, or spicy: yes? Depends what kind of mood I’m in and what I’m eating.

Current craving: for reasons I don’t entirely understand, flaming hot fritos.

Coffee or tea: I vastly prefer tea! Though I’ll drink coffee when I need to stay awake. By the time I’m done adding things to it, it barely resembles coffee anymore lol tho.

Relationship status: The last time I was asked one of these, I put "busy" and it's still true, so. still busy lol

Current obsession: I’m going to four different academic conferences this year (one down, three to go!), so too keep things interesting, my goal is to go to as many different aquariums as I can lol. No pressure tags: @gerryrigged, @deepwithintheabyss, @marirah, @themandylion, and @lionsaint (though I'm pretty sure you've done one of these recently lol) Also stealth tagging my beta reader <3

[saintsir4n]

CAST LIST:

EDEN DAWKINS

𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘁𝘁

introducing...

esther anderson as 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘄𝗸𝗶𝗻𝘀

sidney poitier as 𝗰𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝘄𝗸𝗶𝗻𝘀

lena horne as 𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻

walter chiari as 𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘇𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗮

gina lollobrigida as 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮 𝗷𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶

(rest of the peaky blinders cast as their respected roles.)

warnings: swearing, anxiety, racism, classism, sexism, misogyny, smut, violence, substance abuse, blood, trauma, death

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

a/n:

before anyone asks, there will be two separate acts for this book but each will only be around ten chapters and will be average length.

this story will contain eden's relationship with tommy and all the angst surrounding that, his jealousy, lack of communication skills and overall tommy shelbyness. you will also see eden and her various friendships and even past relationships that cause more drama for her in the future. as it is set only a few months before the great war, not all canon characters will be included, especially characters like may, grace or alfie. just making that clear because I don't want people complaining that they aren't included despite me explicitly stating that and the story description says it also. however there will be mentions or foreshadowing of people like michael grey as it is part of polly's character and she does have a close relationship with my OC, however, he will not be seen.

updates will be normal for each part until they are finished and then I will take breaks to sort out the future of the story.

in this story, (after the prologue) the ages will be loosely mentioned so if you forget just asked. finn and isaiah will be five, ada around fifteen, john is twenty (like eden), tommy is twenty-two and arthur jr is twenty-five/six.

the lack of OCs of colour especially for peaky blinders books stresses me out and leaves me only to read the same ones with the same face claims over and over again. I have mentioned a few on my conversations wall or even recommended my favourite ones in my reading list however I just grew tired and wanted to write my own tommy book and strictly wanted to stick as close to his character as possible, especially with how he was before the war. Since many people claimed how different he was, I'm going to do my best to show how I imagine him Pre-war.

there will not be any cheating in this fic as i believe angst can be created around his character without it. plus I wouldn't allow eden to stay with him if that was the case. (however, characters like john are known to cheat so of course that will be implied)

just to reiterate, this story will be taking place a couple of months before ww1, so obviously there will be a mention of most of these issues.

follow my tik tok guys (post edits about my stories) @saintsiren.wp and wattpad @-saintsiren

hope you enjoy.

[tadpolesonalgae]

i think you don't necessarily need longer chapters especially if they would take longer to come out. it's really about moving things along i think, reader is the main character in this story but everyone reading it is reading it because they like acotar and azriel and we only see reader. i agree with the blue balls comment, we havent gotten anything with azriel, nothing about her magic and not even any eris interactions. the latest chapters have just been a bit dull im sorry 🫣 im not trying to be mean and i understand that it's to keep the story in how her mental state is but i think it's been dragging too long. the comment about this being fic and not a book was very important actually because even if we get 10 chapters of this tone in a book we can just keep reading to the next part but like this we stay months in that and might lose interest if the story is taking too long to move. we've seen how her life is which in my opinion is almost like the prologue and then when the story started we'd see things start to change but it feels like we're still reading the first chapter and it's been 11

‘i agree with the blue balls comment, we havent gotten anything with azriel, nothing about her magic and not even any eris interactions.’

I’m kind of relieved you mentioned Eris since there is a scene with him coming up (I’ll really try to limit how many chapters that takes up so it doesn’t end up lagging again—I give full permission for anyone to tell me to speed things up) but I am still worried people won’t like what’s going to happen with Eris and the IC since it’s the pivotal point in this fic where stuff will take a turn?

‘the latest chapters have just been a bit dull im sorry 🫣’

To go on a brief tangent relating to emotions, I appreciate these feedback-type comments coming in a bit later after having posted a chapter.

Not to get too personal because I like keeping this blog about acotar, but getting into the headspace of cbmthy reader for sometimes hours at a time, for multiple days really messes with me at times, so getting a chance to cool off from that and then reading feedback comments is great. I can see them objectively and understand these are designed to help, so thank you for writing in

‘we've seen how her life is which in my opinion is almost like the prologue and then when the story started we'd see things start to change but it feels like we're still reading the first chapter and it's been 11’

I think overall, the general consensus has been to drive the plot forward, touch more on the magic side of things, and have more progression with Azriel and Eris to further the storyline instead of waffling about her mental state.

Honestly I’d like to say again thank you because I genuinely hadn’t thought it was dragging, but I guess I’ve been working on it constantly for months whereas you guys only get short bursts of it which—from what I’ve understood—haven’t always given a strong enough kick to continue being interesting so I can see why it would be irritating/disappointing to continuously have the same stuff repeated over and over :/

(Thank you for telling me about how it’s going too slowly and also being so straightforward without being insensitive—I really appreciate it and I hope the next chapters will work on the points that have been brought up! 🧡💛)

[phoenixtakaramono]

29 - Truce or TNotG 50

Re: Questions for Fic Writers

Ty, anon, for the Ask! I’m gonna give a huge Spoiler Warning for Truce chs 3-4 (and TNotG ch1) which have not been posted to AO3 yet, so read at your own risk.

29) What songs would be (or are) on a playlist for [insert fic]? Explain your choices if you want!

…Oh goodness, last I checked there were 89+ songs I have for TNotG’s playlist, haha. They’re pretty self-explanatory, in my opinion, but I ordered the songs all by the first world we start in + the six arcs + return to Billy’s world. I’ll link the playlist at the bottom end Author’s Note when The Name of the Game ch1 is ready to be published to AO3 in September 2023, but you can also listen to it here:

As for Truce (which you can read ch1-2 here), there are 47 songs…ahhhhh, essentially for both fics, I listen to these songs I like to help set the vibe, mood, and atmosphere for me while I write. It’s like my background music/ white noise. For me, it’s usually the lyrics which tie into the story, usually highlighting a character motivation, their vibe, or just setting the scene. I can highlight a couple songs:

Crazy - Jake Daniels - It really set the vibe for me to get into Homelander’s headspace whilst writing the prologue, because everything in this chapter is from Homelander’s POV. The atmosphere, the lyrics, and the coincidental bloody superhero album art? I thought it was perfect.✨

Wolf - Zack Merci X Arcana - For ch2 (part I), this song encompasses Billy’s overall goal and manipulation of everyone (the Boys, Homelander, and Vought). It’s pretty much the theme song of this chapter.

(Keeping in mind: 🔴 Billy’s POV, 🔵 Homelander’s POV)

Lyrics:

Got you in the palm of my hand

Sowing distrust over this land

I can make it hurt till you understand […]

I was such a fool

Under your command […]

See the truth is I had change of heart

And all that I know is

I will be tearing you all apart […]

I’ll get in your head like a nightmare

And if I was you, I would be scared

Bet you never saw this coming

Don’t you know that I am a wolf in sheep’s clothing

Power - Isak Danielson - If Truce could have an opening number like how every show does, this is pretty much the theme song for Truce overall. It also sets the vibe for ch3 (part II) when Billy and Homelander finally get frisky on the kitchen island countertop, and kinda for ch4 as well. Although the entirety of the chapter will be in Billy’s POV, I want you to know as everything is happening, especially if you listen to this song when you read ch3, these lyrics represent the desperation of the ideal that Homelander sees in Billy. He’s ready for that unconditional love, for that perfect soulmate partner who gets him 100% and is just as obsessed with him as he is; in a dramatic turn of events, he’s now essentially pinning all his last hopes for a human connection onto Billy. (Notice ch1’s line: “keep me sane. Keep me grounded. You are the one person preventing me from razing this earth to the f*cking ground” before it shifts into the fear that Ryan, his flesh and blood, will end up disappointing him ➡️ pivoting to the line of how “the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. Failure, after failure, after failure […] Maybe what needed to be done was to reevaluate his life. Acquire a different perspective on things, a new outlook.” ➡️ The SHEER POETIC IRONY now that he’s shifted that target in his brain to Billy after what’d happened in ch1. It’s a disaster waiting to happen but we’ll only allude to the disastrous future potential at most because Truce is 4 chapters only and not 12 chapters so we’ll end on a Happy Ending for this PWP fourshot. For me, it’s a song that shows that it’s not always a women that can get stuck in a toxic codependent relationship and that men can also be stuck in the same shoes. And if that ain’t the situation with Homelander and Billy in Truce?

(Keeping in mind: 🔴 Billy’s POV, 🔵 Homelander’s POV)

Lyrics:

I still look at you with eyes that want you

when you move, you make my oceans move too

if I hear my name, I will run your way […]

it’s my desire that you feed, you know just what I need

you got power, you got power

you got power over me

I give my all now, can't you see, why won't you set me free?

you got power, you got power

you got power over me

I was lost until I found me in you

I saw a side of me that I was scared to

but now I hear my name and I’m running your way

All I feel as I get closer to you

is the Desire to move like you do

so now I hear my name and I’m running your way

I am ready now […]

I give my all now, can't you see, why won't you set me free? […]

You’re the one that seduced me, lured me in with your beauty, now I know that you used me

All you did was confuse me, you're no longer what I need, touch me slow, feel my heart bleed

(Also this song^ is the bee’s knees. I never skip this song in my iTunes playlist when it comes up and always belt it out when I’m alone. This song is very, very, very underrated. I highly rec you give it a listen.)

Rob a Bank - Confetti - “Who's to say that I can't break into your house / While you're working / I'm just lurking through your bedroom like a mouse / Gettin' naked on your sofa wearing just your penny loafers / Take some pictures leave 'em by your dirty dishes” ⬅️ What can I say? This screams Homelander to me and I laugh at the imagery of him breaking in, trying out Billy’s shiny new polished penny loafers whilst getting naked on his sofa and taking dirty pictures of himself to leave by the dirty dishes for Billy to find. It’s like a tomcat in heat scent-marking his territory. This song does help me imagine the dynamic when we get to the NS*W parts.

Religion - Isak Danielson / Dancing in the Sky - Kristen Cruz One of these songs will represent the penultimate ch4 which’ll entirely be written in HL’s POV; Religion mostly represents Homelander’s POV (which is really just him desperately trying to deceive himself if we look at it meta-ly, but shhh, he himself is not that self-aware in ch4) whereas Dancing in the Sky represents Billy’s side of things as we end the final scene in the story with Billy given approval to take Ryan to visit Becca’s grave to pay respects and for one last emotional send-off—whilst HL (who Billy doesn’t want to see him anywhere near this day) secretly watches the private moment from far away like a lurker outsider. It’s supposed to be a bittersweet emotional touching moment to tug at the readers’ heartstrings—which gets twisted because this is HL’s POV so it becomes tampered with his desperate obsessiveness and possessiveness of Billy being his and HL’s jealousy of Becca that he won’t admit to but, as an audience, we can tell he’s supeeeeer jealous (like, thanks for giving birth to my son—but you’re dead buried six-feet under, and your husband will be my husband now so good f*cking riddance; I will be the winner; he will come to forget you and love me only). It’s a very fatalistic self-fulfilling prophecy. I REMIND YOU, we will still have a Happy Ending for the Billy/ Homelander ship in Truce (hell, HL will even get to fondle Billy’s old wedding ring and think about having his own wedding ring on Billy’s wedding finger) but we’re gonna get a couple parting ouchies as a souvenir at the end a là Becca’s resting place visit.

Religion Lyrics (HL @ Billy):

Can we say goodbye to, to the lies you told

You know I’m wiser, I’ve been here before

I believed your stories, at least the blind in me

You gave my eyes what they wanted to see

I’ve lost my reality

I’ve lost everything in me […]

You act like a God and you’re trying too hard but I need it

I was once a believer

Now I’m back to believing

I’m trying to be smart with a stake through the heart but I feel it

Turning into addiction

Praying in your religion […]

Future doesn’t matter

I'd give it up for you

Even though I know that you’d never do

You know your power and I know it too

I’ll end up in fire, burning with you

Dancing in the Sky Lyrics (Billy @ Becca):

Tell me, what does it look like in heaven?

Is it peaceful? Is it free like they say?

Does the sun shine bright forever?

Have your fears and your pain gone away?

'Cause here on Earth it feels like everything

Good is missing since you left

And here on Earth, everything's different

There's an emptiness […]

I hope you're dancing in the sky

And I hope you're singing in the angel's choir

And I hope the angels know what they have

I'll bet it's so nice up in Heaven since you arrived

So tell me, what do you do up in Heaven?

Are your days filled with love and light?

Is there music? Is there art and adventure?

Tell me are you happy? Are you more alive?

50) Answer any question of your choice, or talk about anything you want to talk about!

HMMMM. Since the ball is in my court, I’ll answer 49) What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it! I tweeted a screenshot of TNotG ch1 - scene II yesterday night but I can give y’all a longer preview of a couple lines from my new QT:

Look forward to The Name of the Game being posted to AO3 on September 2023! Presently exposition scenes I-II (which total 38 pages, with scene I essentially being a speedrun to catch readers who are unfamiliar with these characters and the fandom up to speed whereas scene II is laying out all the story foreshadowings and as many Chekov Guns as I can reasonably shove in for now) are completely done and edited; I’m now trying to get to the finish line of scene III which is the more…exciting part of the three scenes (where dragon!Billy, our transmigrated black-bellied scumbag ML, meets knight!Homelander, our black-bellied scumbag shou, for the first time) before I can give an advanced notice on my socials of the week it’ll probably be posted. ✌️