#Here’s hoping any way for the sake of so many WIPs I wanted to finish

[1tsstargaze59]

Anxifear College AU Fic Chapter 2!!

I have yet to decide on a name for the fic, you're seeing my WIP since I decided to post it on AO3 once it's finished ^^ I usually also give chapters titles but idk yet- we'll have to see if I get any ideas. If not, they'll just be numbered XD

Tw/ Anxious and lonely thoughts, but it's followed with fluff, so you should be fine dw ^^b Chapter 2 under the cut!

As the first month of the semester went by, the trees turned to different hues. Red and yellow brightening up the dull grays of the city. Orange... well orange was like her hair, and green? Green was like her eyes. He saw her in every leaf, every blossom, every sunray shining through his bedroom window early in the morning. The more he tried to get her out of his mind, the more the season reminded him of her. Unavoidable. He was going to see her next Tuesday, after all, they both had to go to work. Fred hoped if he formed a friendship with her, his attraction would diminish; or so he thought.

He arched his back and wiped his face with his hands, forcing the sleepy slouch out of his body. He made breakfast, packed his things, changed into something a little more presentable and left his condo. Living on the top floor of the building had it's perks : privacy, silence, a beautiful view of the city. It's downsides, however, we're non negotiable, notably the height and thus, the time on the elevator. He hated elevators, cramped with nowhere to run to. He shivered at the thought every day. He'd much rather take the stairs. It's not as if anyone else was using them. Plus! It made for a good morning exercise.

Making his way to work is pretty mundane, a repetitive task, driving in the endless sea of cars that formed the heavy traffic. It gave his mind the time to wander, worrying about what ridiculous thing he might say to her next. He's been trying not to flirt with her, but quite frankly it was beyond his control. She's lovely! And he liked her; he couldn't deny it. He was trying to keep things professional more for her sake than his own since she had just been assigned this position. He knew how stressful a time like this could be. In fact, she was obviously very disturbed by the new routine and responsibilities of a lecturer. What she needed was support, not romance. But perhaps? Was he undermining the support a romantic partner could bring to her? Not everyone wants to be in a relationship; he didn't want to assume. He'd have to ask her! But how?

●●●

Many students stay behind to ask him questions after class. He will concede, mathematics aren't for everyone and it's normal to have questions. He's delighted by their curiosity every time, even after 3 years of answering!

"M. Fitzgerald, I don't mean to ask anything too personal," asked Daphne, a design major with a striking taste for the color green, "But why is it that you stay after class even after all the students have left?" Her younger sister, Vivienne, always following in her older sister's footprints, lurked just behind her. The two girls were the last students in the room; the interrogation almost seemed planned to him.

"Oh hm... Well," his hands began to shake, "I stay behind and keep company to Ms. Tyson. As a new teacher, I'd like her to feel welcomed here."

"I see," she paused for a moment to look him up and down, "Well that's very noble of you Frederick. Thank you for answering," Daphne had a knowing smile on her face as she waved goodbye, her sister giggling excitedly, following behind her.

Fred had a sigh of relief. He found himself waiting for Ms. Tyson once more, heart pounding. After about 15 minutes, she was nowhere to be found. Odd, he thought to himself, she's usually so punctual. Perhaps today was the day he... manages to avoid her. His heart doubled in weight and sunk to his stomach. Feeling nauseous, he took a deep breathe and slowly exhaled. He quickly gathered his things into his messenger bag and rushed out the door, trying to move faster then his feelings could catch up.

Rushing down the hall, the faster he walked, the longer the hall became, stretching out for what felt like an eternity. Suddenly, Anna-lee took a turn at the end of corridor, just as he as he arrived. It all happened so quickly : she ran up and took the turn. Right then, he saw her and turned the other way to try to avoid her, but it was too late. They crashed into each other, sending all of Anna's course notes flying into the air.

"My notes!" She yelled after she had triped over his foot and reached out to try to catch them as she fell. Oddly, she didn't feel herself hit the floor. Her eyebrows frowned, she looked down, then turned to look at Fred, "Thanks for catching me," she smiled.

His face lit up and he quickly let go of her waist, fidgeting with his hair and clothes, "You- you're welcome!" He cleared his throat while readjusting his glasses.

"I'm so sorry for crashing into you like that, I was running late-" her voice trailed off, guilty.

"You don't need to apologize, it was an accident. I'm surprised you're late though. What happened?" He asked, helping her collect her things.

"I slept through my alarm- I was exhausted! Last night, I bearily got any sleep and- I don't know why I'm telling you this, you aren't interested in hearing it."

"Well, I asked you didn't I?" He recalled, reaching out for another note, their hands met and their eyes crossed paths. For a moment, he held his breathe and swallowed.

Then, they both giggled nervously and she quickly took the sheet for herself, "I really don't want to bother you, thank you for all your kindness, but I can carry all this on my own," she gestured towards the things he had in his arms, a frown spreading across her face.

"You aren't a burden, but you do have one! Let me help you, I insist," he began to walk towards the classroom again, "It fascinates me how you can carry all this with two hands. By my estimate, this should be near impossible, and I'm a math teacher!"

She laughed, "I've perfected the technique over the years; I don't like writing notes on the computer, so I keep most of them on paper. I usually collect them into folders, but when I'm using them, I'd rather have them loose like this. If you spread them out on a table, they create a timeline!"

"Wow, really?"

"Yes! It's a lot of hard work, but it helps a lot- well- maybe not with organization, but definitely for memory!" She explained nervously, "Sorry to keep you waiting- were you waiting for me?"

"Of course! What kind of friend would I be if I didn't even wait a little bit?" He responded, placing her things onto the desk.

A smiled curled onto her face, "There's still a little time left before my class, are you planning on staying til then, as usual?"

"As usual," he bowed his head politely.

"Well then, I'd say you're a pretty great friend!"

●●●

She pushed herself up brutally, sitting still on her bed for a second. Her heartbeat was racing, the sound ringing in her ears. Her arms loosing strength and shaking. Her room felt entirely too small; the air was suffocating. Another nightmare. A frown slowly, painfully appeared on her face. She could deal with the stress later; it was time to get reay for work. Her nightmare woke her before her alarm could. She took a deep breathe before getting up and shutting it off.

Anna zoomed around her apartment, multitasking a routine she had memorized. Every breakfast was the same : peanut butter jelly sandwich with a cup of coffee; although the spread was interchangeable if she felt bored of PB&J. Milk was also optional. For her clothes, she had made herself a uniform composed of 5 different tops and 5 different pants, all to mix and match. All early morning decision stresses avoided, she finally washes up, packs her things and heads out the door. Her small underground apartment wasn't much, but it was humble for sure, decorated with items from her past as a highschool teacher.

Today was Tuesday and she was expecting to see Fred again. Fred has always been kind to her and she's very thankful for him. She's so new, most of her relationships are very professionally cordial, especially outside of her department, but not with him. He's funny, silly and kind; she enjoys his company, hearing about his interests and sharing her own. In fact, they both teach an underrated class : History and Mathematics are the base of many other disciplines. He can understand her struggles. Hopefully, enough so that he doesn't get tired of her presence...

No one wants to spend too much time inside her mind, not even herself. A thousand worries bounced off the walls in her head, giving her a headache. She shouldn't have drunk so many energy drinks last night. Not a very healthy idea; perhaps that may have caused her nightmare? She frowned to herself. Sitting in public transportation is the loneliest thing you can do with others. She wonders when the strange feeling in her throat would choose to leave.

●●●

Finally came time for her class! As per usual, Anna-Lee was ahead of time exactly 30 minutes to meet up with- oh. When she opened the classroom door, she was met with silence. The room was empty. Well, almost empty. On the edge of the desk rested a gentle bouquet of purple flowers. Anna slowly walked up to it; her back arched forward and her lips pressed tightly. A small note left beside the bouquet read as follows :

"Hey Anna! If you're reading this, you're probably confused. Well, the simple answer is that I'm sick. Nothing bad I promise; I'll be back next week! I just felt bad for leaving you in the dust, so I had a coworker leave you this present from me! Maybe next time I could contact you directly if you give me your number; you know, save us some time! -My warmest regards, Fred."

Up close, the bouquet was huge! She lifted the flowers up to her nose : they were lavender. She took a slow, deep breath and exhaled calmly. She giggled to herself; aren't you supposed to send flowers to the person who's ill? Not the other way around?? What a guy! Even without being here, he still manages to make today more bearable. Lavender is supposed to keep you calm and help you rest as well; he really thinks of everything. As much as she enjoyed the gift... where was she supposed to keep the flowers?

Chapters: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6

[serenescribe]

Ao3 wrapped 🥳👏

6, 10, 12, 29

ao3 wrapped [writers edition] [2024 edition]

6. Favorite title you used most of my titles tend to be song lyrics, so they're nothing too notable, but i quite liked the once (and many) prince(s), if only because it's a play on the title "the once and future king" in reference to king arthur!

the irony is that i didn't quite remember where i heard it from, nor the significance behind it, until i took an arthurian class recently ;; apparently the once and future king symbolises the fact that king arthur is said to come back and save britain in its time of need. given that au's silver and how he keeps reincarnating over and over for the sake of his people who cling to him as a symbol of hope... yeah, it's quite a fitting reference

(alternative answer: i am so stupidly proud of naming a fic about periods red wine supernova. sorry, i am not immune to silly names)

10. What work was the quickest to write? oh god, i don't fucking remember LMAO. i write fast in general, so that's one thing, but you're also asking me to remember how long it took me to write stuff earlier this year when i have the memory of a goldfish

that being said, it's my most recent fic but i definitely remember spending not more than 2 hours, 3 at absolute maximum, on i'm sat there, holding on for the bomb. it didn't take me THAT long and i was kind of surprised how quickly i wrote it. so in recent memory, it's the quickest o7

12. How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year? ha. haha. ha. ha

well i'm taking glaciers into the new year with me, bastard child that it is. i've still got that locked in the freezer epel fic that i REALLY want to return to and finish someday, somehow. i've got another bthb fic focused on adaine that i just about barely started but haven't continued, and i have an ortho fic that i'll probably chip at slowly with the intentions of gifting it to my best friend once it's done, whenever that may be. and that's just everything off the top of my head.

this is actually more wips than i'm used to holding at any one time. i'm usually more of a "focus on and finish one fic" writer...

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year? technically already answered here, but seeing as you're a twst girlie... i guess i'll share a little bit that i really like from the aforementioned ortho fic (though do NOT expect it to be finished anytime soon when my priorities lie elsewhere for now!)

i like the dichotomy in flow! i like how i went from one very long, rambling, run-on paragraph to a shorter one, and then one single sentence with four lines. it's a fun rhythm, and it really makes that last sentence hit all that much harder.

anyways, i'll get back to this someday. contrary to my very diasomnia focused past, i do love a lot of the twst cast, and i'm especially fond of the shrouds — it's just that idia's mode of speaking has put me off writing them for way too long ;v; thank god ortho doesn't speak like that (though i will have to tackle the elder shroud eventually... uuugh maybe that's why i'm procrastinating returning to this)

[johnslittlespoon]

20 questions for writers

thank you @triggerlil for the tag!! <3 i'm so late omg but this was FUN, first tag game i've done that's more author than writing snippet/drabble related :-)

tagging @air-exec, @counting0nit, @don-humes-tiny-shorts, @eternallytired17, @hauntingcontradiction

@nicijones, @bucking-mustangs-with-wings, @swifty-fox, @mangokittokatsu, anyone else who wants to! i love reading tag games like these, it's nice to learn more about the ppl behind all the brainrot :')

questions & answers below the cut! x

how many works do you have on ao3?

12!

what's your total ao3 word count? 50,182 wtf i only made my ao3 in january lol

what fandoms do you write for?

i've written for lotssss over the past decade, but my current ao3 is just saltburn and masters of the air fics :-) for the sake of this tag i'm just gonna stick to my mota fics in my answers tho since yk. mota blog lol

top 5 fics by kudos?

i don't wanna be alone tonight – buckbucky breathe me in (exhale slow) – buckbucky you're a dog (i'm your man) – buckbucky you put your arms around me (and i'm home) – buckbucky four–by–four – buckbucky

do you respond to comments?

every single one <33 i take a long while sometimes because i get too lost in the actual writing or i get overwhelmed by the kindness lol but i always always respond eventually :')

what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

definitely i see you in the daytime (i hear you at night), my first fic for masters of the air actually that spawned as a way to vent my feelings after the dreaded third episode lmaoo </3 thought that would get those boys out of my system, and i couldn't be happier to have been more wrong <3

what is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

ruh roh this kinda made me realize all my fics have some sorta melancholy/bittersweet ending even when they're hopeful... yad(iym) is gonna fix me fr (i think). but i guess the fuse to my fire since curt lives and the three of them are curtbuckbuckying indefinitely <3

do you get hate on fics?

i have in past fandoms but not here thankfully bc i am sensitive LOL. i've had weirdo anons that bitch about john bottoming (and i don't think those people realize it makes me inclined to write even more sub and/or bottom john to be petty SJGDK) but i wouldn't consider that hate, just bad fandom etiquette ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

do you write smut?

YEAHHH BABY <3 that's like. 99% of my drabbles/brainrot posts here and it takes serious self control to not just constantly write pwp oneshots, it's too much fun!! finding the balance in my chaptered fic for how much nsfw is too much is such a journey too lol, i wanna cram a spicy scene into every chapter but the part of me that adores slowburn over any other trope reins the gay brain in </3

craziest crossover?

haven't written any as of yet, but i do have my leaving!bikeriders au that i'm hoping to turn into a chaptered fic this summer, and that's exactly what it sounds like– buckbucky, but yank parts of callum's character from the leaving series and parts of austin's character from the bikeriders to create a buckbucky modern au. :-)

have you ever had a fic stolen?

i'm sure back in the wattpad days of the early '10s lol but none that i specifically remember!

have you ever had a fic translated?

in past fandoms!

have you ever co-written a fic before?

perhaps @curtsbigspoon and i cooked up like. 15k words of buckbucky thigh fucking etc months ago that i just need to get around to cutting down/editing >:-)

all time favorite ship?

i mean for me it's always a ship from whatever media i'm fixating on, so right now any variations of curtbuckbucky and cattonquick are everything to me <3 but in terms of ships that'll always have my heart, i can't ever let go of drarry, pricefield, clexa/murphamy, sciles/sterek– any from media i consumed during formative teenage years lol. but i will say i have never created anywhere near as much content for any other fandom as i have for mota :')

what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

for once i actually have none that i see myself abandoning! i would notoriously abandon wips in past fandoms and probably would still, but guess who finally got on adhd meds last month after years of waiting? this guyyyy. i can start projects... and enjoy them the whole way through... and not get frustrated and trash them... who am i

i mean tbf i have at least a dozen wips that i've gotten either a few paras or few thousand words into lol but then a new shiny idea grabs my attention, but i do think i'll end up finishing most if not all of them off eventually! once i've invested enough time/words into a wip, i feel way more motivated to finish it so i'm not 'wasting' my efforts.

what are your writing strengths?

i feel most confident when i'm writing dialogue over anything else. writing conversation–heavy scenes or just straight up porn is when i overthink the least lmaoo

what are your writing weaknesses?

oh god, definitely having to spell out what's going on in a character's mind. like, i know what they're thinking as i'm writing out scenes; i can feel their emotions and all. i just have such a hard time putting it into words in a way that doesn't feel too obvious/overstated, if that makes sense. i very much prefer to show rather than tell their emotions, but sometimes it's hard to get that right, and i agonize over solo scenes the most, when i can't show what a character is feeling by way of verbal conversation with another character.

thoughts on dialogue in another language?

no specific opinion! sometimes it's cool to read/write, mostly i don't really have an opinion one way or another :-)

first fandom you wrote in?

lmfaooo i'm pretty sure it was either for olddd youtube ships or frerard ngl. not sure which came first bc i wrote so much at once

favorite fic you've written?

you're a dog (i'm your man) has been such a labour of love for me because i care so much about doing it justice :') so maybe that one, but if unfinished fics don't count, i actually wrote breathe me in (exhale slow) in one rushed four–ish hour sitting and was kinda neutral on it until i got a completely unexpected burst of kind and beautifully worded responses, and then i felt a tiny bit proud <3

[swaps55]

20 Fanfic Questions

Tagged by @cchickki. Thank you!

Tagging @urrone @westernlarch @bioticbooty @commander-krios and anyone else who feels so inclined!

How many works do you have on AO3?

47

2. What's your total AO3 words count?

944,833

I haven’t checked to see if Mezzo’s current word count will put me into 7 figures, but if it doesn’t, it’s close.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mass Effect. One trick pony right here.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Sonata – Sam and Kaidan fake dating.

Cantata – The Making of Commander Shepard, aka, a group of misfits find a home in each other. Also it’s an epically slow burn friends to idiots to soulmates.

Celestial Navigation – One of the rare times I wrote smut. The entire time I worked on it I was the equivalent of a hissing cat stuck in a tree.

Pieces Form the Whole – A collection of mshenko shorts, prompts, etc., featuring more or less a proto-Sam Shepard who isn’t Sam Shepard but eventually became him.

Fugue – Alchera and the 2 year gap. A story about finding hope in grief.  

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! Sometimes I go through a low spoons period where they sit for a bit, but I have a rule that I cannot post anything new until I have responded to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts on a thing I wrote. Community is the best part of fandom. Having others to yell and flail with about the fictional people in my head is fucking incredible.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

A short in Pieces Form the Whole called Faraway, So Close, which is the only Angst Without a Happy Ending thing I have ever written. It is the fic that kicks puppies. It is less than 1,000 words and I will never write anything like it again.

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

Not sure I have ever written about two happier people than Sam and Kaidan at the end of Sonata.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope. The occasional odd comment, but I haven’t gotten any hate, thankfully.

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

When a story calls for it, I write it, though I’m too ace to write much smut for the sake of smut. I don’t have anything against it; smut just doesn’t interest me much unless the conditions are right. Couldn’t tell you what the conditions are. I just know them when I see them.  

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

Crossovers and AUs aren’t usually my thing, but I have to admit I have been mildly tempted to write a Mass Effect/Stargate AU, because I sure wouldn’t have to work hard to set it up, and Sam Carter and Sam Shepard breaking physics would be tons of fun.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I am aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not translated, though I’ve had a couple of stories podficced, which is insanely cool!!!

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Once, and it taught me rather painfully that cowriting is not something I am cut out for.  

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

Shepard and Kaidan, to the surprise of no one.

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

It’s pretty rare I start something I don’t finish. My head explodes if I try to work on more than one project at a time, so if I get invested in something it generally gets finished. I have a story called Cadenza that isn’t currently doing anything – because I can’t work on 2 things at once – that I really want to finish; I just don’t know when I’ll get there. But I really hope I will.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and combat are two things I have a very good time with.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I suck at setting. If reading that surprises you in any way, and hopefully it does, it is because I have worked very hard to suck less at it.

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

I have long envied the ability of others to write in other languages, and write dialect. I would love to be able to do it, but I suck at it. So add that to #17, lol.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Technically, it was The Black Stallion. I was probably eight. I sent The Black and Alec Ramsey to space.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Aww, don’t make me choose between my children. I love my stories. But gun to my head, long fic is probably Cantata. It was such a joy to write, and watching other people fall in love with OC characters I figured no one would care about was proof magic is real.

My favorite one shot is probably The Words That Change Us, an N7 day story that became the catalyst for all the Sam and Kaidan First Kiss AUs. Writing that story was an insane experience – I couldn’t write it fast enough. At one point I had two completely different conversations unspooling in my head at the same time. It’s so much fun to go back and read.

[hazelelel]

Found these hiding in my old FLIPACLIP and idk what to do with them. I have no desire to clean them up or finish them

I think it was probably from this scene in an abandoned WIP about Jackson, this muggle dude who was an information gatherer for Dumbledore.

Context: He meets up for meetings with Minerva, Albus, Remus, and Severus each week to give reports. He's made a precarious deal to not be killed, as he is immune to Obliviation (idiot accidentally made friends with a trickster god). He's been to many meetings and now everyone is starting to like him except obviously Severus who hates him. Heheh.

Her- here- here's the scene:

Jackson sat stiffly in his chair in front of Albus's desk, watching as the headmaster flipped through his report. Minerva sat to the side, giving Jackson a stern look. Remus sat next to her and gave Jackson an awkward little thumbs up. Severus was sandwiched in a shadowy corner, looking perhaps even more murderous then the last time. The silence dragged on. Jackson was weary, not only from training with Wotton (thats the trickster god, m'dudes) in a futile attempt to gain any upper hand against a magical opponent with a major advantage, or living in the woods, but also by the issues he was having with his mind. It was all tangled up in there and every time he ventured in, meditating in an open field, he'd find himself thrown out violently. His own mind! It was as if there was something that didn't want him to know it was there. It sent a chill of unnerve down his spine.

Albus set his report down on the desk and finally smiled, pushing his half moon spectacles up on his crooked nose.

"Another excellent report, Jackson. I enjoyed your analysis on the 1930's in both the Muggle and Wizarding world." Albus slid the stack of papers back and Jackson took them. "Now, I believe I want to ask you a few questions."

Jackson swallowed thickly,

"Please." He gestured for the headmaster to continue, all cordial and shit.

"This… issue we've seen arise when trying to obliviate you, it's made for quite the conundrum. In every way, you are entirely normal, yet this sticks out as if there is something larger at play." Albus sobered, leaning forward and folding his fingers.

"I was hoping to attempt something a bit more… experimental." Albus went quiet for a sinister moment, then smiled. "Severus and I believe that you can see through illusion magic due to an abnormality in your mind. Perhapse some deformity of your psyche, but there can be no knowing unless we check. That would be through-"

"Occlumency." Jackson uttered, having read through the mind arts section of the Hogwarts library. "You want to enter my mind?" His eyes darted towards the door. Albus waved his hands gently. "Jackson, my dear boy… there is no need to fear. I only suggest we perform a very brief scan. I believe Severus here could do so and you won't even notice."

At the mention of Severus, Jackson broke into a cold sweat beneath his button-up. The man in question stepped forwards, a looming presence of perpetual anger towards Jackson.

Albus tilted his head, watching Jackson carefully. "That is, only if you consent to this process, of course." Jackson blinked. He was being given a choice? Why? That seemed off.

"Well… no, I would perfer if we-"

"For God's sake, Albus! We twiddle our thumbs for the likes of him now?" Severus hissed, a sneer frozen on his face. Jackson flinched under his intense stare of hatred.

Albus frowned, "Now Severus-"

"To hell with this." Severus shook his head and swooped forwards, bending over front of Jacksons chair faster then he could react.

"That's really won't be necesSSSARY-" Jackson trailed off as Severus grasped his face in both chilled hands and bent down uncomfortably close, his flared nostrils blowing puffs of pissed off air along Jackson's cheeks.

"Look at me." Severus demanded and Jackson immediately closed his eyes. If he'd learned anything living as a muggle in a wizarding world, it was context clues. Context clues told him to not listen for shit. Severus made a noise of frustration and tightened his grip. He leaned in and whispered directly into Jacksons ear, completely turning his brain off for the few seconds his words bounced around his skull.

"If you do not want to end up as potion ingredients, I would suggest you obey me, Muggle."

Jackson, with now very little reluctance, opened his eyes. They were met with a pair of black ones. So black he wondered how. As black as the black of a lake on an overcast night, or the darkest dark of a deep, deep well, or the deepest, most soul grabbing aggressive of- of... Okay, Jackson is no poet. Give him a break.

That was his last thought before the feeling of falling into a mile deep hollow took both of them in a vice grip.

[theharrowing]

ok this game is too good i actually have MORE (eeee!!!) ask game ask game harrow you lovely writer you ty for opening your inbox 😎

💞 Who's your comfort character?

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip?

MG~~~~~!!!!!! 😍🥰💘 WE MEET AGAINNN!!!

💞 Who's your comfort character?

honestly, almost every instance of Yoongi and Namjoon that i write. i have so much care and respect for them as people, that while making them into fictional characters, i just want to pour all of my feelings into them. especially Yoongi in Lips Like Honey, Sun Seeker and Entanglement. Especially Namjoon in This Sordid Place and Collateral, tbh.

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

i don't always mean for the boundary & anxiety chats to be so prevalent, but every time i am writing new characters, i just naturally make them have those conversations. there are a lot of things i choose to leave out for the sake of it just being fiction (condoms and things like that) but idk, i just like making people talk about their limits and desires.

also squirting. 💀💀💀 i don't mean to have so many mcs squirt but idk fuck it, we're having fun, let's make a mess!!!!

🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip?

here is a little snippet of an upcoming fic called truth or dare! we explore some sensory depravation, and in this bit, mc is naked and on their knees, wearing a blindfold.

Taehyung takes a step back, removing all touch from you, and you lean forward, searching for him, listening for where he may have gone. Outside, the city is alive with blaring car horns and the occasional blip of a song played loudly from someone's car as they drive by. You find yourself tilting your head this way and that, listening for Taehyung—for anything that sounds like it is coming from this room. Suddenly, outside, a car alarm begins to blast and chime, causing you to jump and mutter, "Fuck," under your breath. Having your vision taken away has you on edge, especially when in here is so quiet and out there is so distracting. But then, things shift. You hear footsteps quietly retreat and then the scrape of a wooden window being closed, drowning out most of the outside noises. And then, you hear a switch being flipped, followed by the whirring of what sounds like a fan, but also like television static, covering all outside noise. As glad as you are to have the outside distractions drowned out, you suddenly feel more suspended in darkness alone, with no sense of any noise inside the room. Is Taehyung approaching? You are not sure you would be able to hear him if he did.

i hope that snip is enticing enough to make everyone want to see where that scene goes!!!!!!!! i am very excited to finish that one up once i have the energy too lolol.

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR PLAYING!!!!!!!!!

🥰💗🌻💛💖🥺💕💜🌟🤩🌞🌷🎉💙🌹✨🌙💐💚💓

send me some emoji ask❗

[heart-ur-art]

hello, out there ~

pls excuse my lack of pfp, header or anything of the like, i promise this is a blog by a human and not a bot account.

i don't remember when i made this blog, but i had originally created it with the intentions of not only trying to help other artists slow down and appreciate all the hard work they put into their creations since the surge of 'hustle culture' is forever prominent on social media platforms these days in order to have any hope of presence and consequently, i feel causing artists to feel less value in the work they accomplish, sadly, but to also help myself be more aware of and actually celebrate the advancement of my own skill and hard work that i put towards my art and hobbies.

unfortunately, as is quite apparent by this empty blog that's been floating around in my list of blogs for some time now, i think i've hit more of a wall in my creativity than was previously known.

i've always struggled a lot over the many years (probably close to around 15 now) that i actually have tried to actively improve my art skills to work towards specific goals in that i struggle in knowing exactly HOW to practice art, as far as good fundamental/foundational knowledge is concerned, but i also... pretty much only have WIPs and next to no finished pieces of art (and this is also true for many other hobbies i do; hardly anything ever gets finished).

it's incredibly demotivating and disheartening, especially with the new modern day expectation of artists (or creators of any kind, really) to churn out art as if they were machines and seeing people's quick improvements and new discoveries of skills. i constantly feel behind in the art world. and yes, i'm aware that it's not a requirement to put out art in this manner for hobbyist artists; slow artists are valid and can be very successful and fulfilled, too. but i think we've all felt the pressure to create more and more, faster and faster than before even if it's just for validation purposes.

and it's almost become a requirement if you wish to have any hope of obtaining any monetary compensation for your work (which, i have hoped to obtain even small scale as extra funds for years when i was abled enough to work, but even more so now that i find myself at a higher needs disabled status and unable to work + mostly home-bound and would like to sell my art skills for even a little bit of financial independence after being forced to move back in with my parents for unforeseen personal reasons). i think this is why i tend to find myself crawling back to sites where things WERE slower years ago when i first started to get into the art world.

as is also the motivation for wanting to create this blog. to encourage us all to remember, it's okay to take our time and experiment and learn at a pace that's enjoyable again and just share our achievements in pure enjoyment for creation and less for the sake of getting stuff out there as quick as possible or the first to jump on new trends/popular content for the numbers.

so i guess we start here. in a position of where i find myself unable to create despite.. wanting to on an almost daily basis.

im often wondering how so many people ARE able to create daily, how do they stay motivated and focused? what keeps them inspired to always have ideas to put down on canvas?

this is especially the case for anyone who is of any neurodivergencies that affect energy, focus and motivation and are able to create consistently because this is seeming to be a very significant struggle with myself (i'm assuming has always been but have only more recently discovered that i'm VERY much ND) as of late.

i'm certain i'm not the only person out there feeling this exact same way or very similarly. so, please, i invite anyone interested in taking a breather away from social platform expectations and growing more peacefully in skill to join me in trying to discover how to achieve this.. together.

i can't say for sure what exactly i have planned for this blog and how we can all come together to bring more genuine joy back to creating, as i often have many ideas, but i tend to be quite lost as to how to follow through with them. maybe we'll figure it out along the way.

anyone of any skill level and any medium of art is welcome to join. (i will say up front, i do not consider any ai made anything to be a self-made art-form as it is imitating works of real human artists, so that is not an acceptable 'medium' here. you're welcome to pick up a pencil, stylus, brush, sculpting material, whatever if you'd like to actually participate and learn a skill from this space)

i suppose what i'm asking of this first post is.. how is it that YOU create? how or what do you do for practicing or warm-ups? what do you do on days where there's less focus or motivation for drawing or creating? what inspires your work?

very interested in others' creative process, and please those who deal with road blocks from neurodivergent disorders, lemme know how you work around them in order to do what you do ~

feel free to reblog this with commentary or tags explaining, drop a comment on this post or i'll even open the ask box if preferred to respond that way (no anons for now; i've not had great experiences with anon asks in the past)

please remember to always be kind, to others and to yourself. wishing you happy creating ~

[wordsnstuff]

Guide to Writing Dark Fantasy

Patreon || Ko-Fi || Masterlist || Work In Progress

–

What Is “Dark” Fantasy?

Dark Fantasy subscribes to the tropes and conventions of fantasy, while mixing in elements of the horror, thriller, and sometimes dystopia. Loosely, the magical elements of fantasy take a gloomier, more frightening turn. Dark fantasy is not simply “fantasy, but make it sexy or gory”. (I’m talking to those who cite Game of Thrones as an example of the genre.)

Yes, a lot of authors choose to incorporate heavier subject matter into dark fantasy stories, but things like rape and copious amounts of gore and death are not genre-defining. Darkness exists in every adult story, even if it’s only in symbolism, but the darkness in this sub-genre specifically persists throughout each scene and coats every element. This includes character development, plot development, world building, etc. 

Death Still Has to Mean Something

Something you have to understand about dark fantasy is that death can be a tool, but the nature of the genre shouldn’t make it any less impactful. When a side character or an extra gets killed, it should affect the reader emotionally, even if death is very common. If the death isn’t going to surprise them, it should unease or upset the reader. Death should never serve the purpose of filling space. 

Incorporate The Horrific

A lot of dark fantasy authors and writers have trouble or fail to incorporate the dark elements in a rounded, even manner. A lot of authors go for the “show the reader something undoubtedly tragic or traumatizing and the tone will endure” or the “if I sporadically kill characters for no apparent reason throughout the plot, the reader will stay disturbed and none will be the wiser”. 

The Villain Is The Key

The antagonist must be complex and compelling, and you have to use them well. Dark fantasy is a genre which depends on a fantastic villain or antagonist. It’s wise to create an antagonist whom the reader can understand, but who is severely misguided or obviously facing their own demons. Stories with a standard “I’m evil because my mommy didn’t love me” or “The world has been unkind to me so let there be fire” villain is outdated and, at this point, you have all the opportunity in the world to do better. 

If there’s one place where you should invest your creativity, make it the antagonist. 

The Darkness Is In Everything

Incorporating horrific things into fantasy is what makes this genre, true, but it has to be a consistent effort and an author must play the long-game. The darkness has to penetrate your word choice, the way you deliver new information in the text, the way you build up to important events, etc. The horror shouldn’t just spurt out every couple of chapters. You want to create a dark atmosphere, and an atmosphere must stretch beyond one or two scenes here and there.

Flawed vs. Unlikeable

This is a major downfall of a lot of dark fantasy works. It’s difficult to create a character whose flaws are so integral to the storytelling without making them unlikeable, but if you don’t toe this line carefully, your readers will put the story down. Yes, the character must be flawed and complex, and there are no heroes in the situation, but if there’s nobody to have hope for, then the reader will abandon the story. Nobody wants to sit and watch something that is sad and frustrating for the sake of depressing themselves. Well, some do, but not enough to convince someone there’s a market for your story.

Common Struggles

~ How do you craft a dark fantasy ending?... Not all pessimistic stories have to have a pessimistic ending. You can give your characters a positive outcome (or even just somewhat positive) without sacrificing the work you’ve done to maintain the genre’s tone and message. Most dark fantasy is about topics that are larger than the story itself, such as equality (in many aspects), existence, freedom vs. security, society vs. individuality, etc. Dark fantasy tends to branch off from the typical fantasy in terms of messaging because incorporating darker aspects of reality forces the reader to face harsher truths. Make your ending about what you want the reader to walk away with, and you should have no problem figuring out how to do it. 

~ How do you warn readers of possible triggers in non-fanfiction works?... Simply put, market your story honestly. Disclose any especially dark elements, and when advertising on platforms such as social media, perhaps provide an official disclaimer. The manner in which you warn readers of possible triggers is up to your own and whatever marketing team you have’s discretion.

~ How do you research dark topics while writing?... With purpose, caution, and practicality. I see a lot of posts that cover very tiny details that may go into fantasy, and while I encourage research of all kinds for every genre, I think fantasy is one where writers can get so caught up in getting every minute detail researched and recorded that they get burned out with their own ideas before they even put pen to paper. Research what you missed, then find holes as you write, and then do the rest of the research for the second draft once you’re finished with the first. Avoid burnout that comes with extensive research beforehand.

~ How do common fantasy tropes interact with darker aspects of the sub-genre?... There’s a lot of ways you can mix typical fantasy with typical horror/thriller and come out with dark fantasy. The main fantasy characteristics that persist in dark fantasy are setting and the way magic systems are executed in the story. Secondly, I see a lot of similarities in general world building. Where it deviates, I think, is in character development, plot structure, plot development, and messaging. The smaller events tend to be more mature, the character arcs turn more raw, the characters themselves are more flawed, and the plot develops in a much less linear fashion. The messages are heavier because the content is heavier. 

Other Resources

Resources For Fantasy/Mythology Writers

20 Mistakes To Avoid in Fantasy

Guide to Writing Fantasy

Guide to Story Researching

Commentary on Social Issues In Writing

On Writing About Sensitive Topics

Resources For Writing Royalty

Dark Quotes & Prompts

Angst Prompts

31 Days of Character Development : May 2018 Writing Challenge

Suspenseful Prompts

Sad Prompts

31 Days of World Building : August 2018 Writing Challenge

31 Days of Plot Development : January 2019 Writing Challenge

31 Days of Horror : October 2019 Writing Challenge

Resources For Creating Characters

Giving Your Protagonists Negative Traits

Writing Good Villains

Showing Vulnerability Without Death

Giving Characters Flaws

Creating Villains

Flipping Character Traits On Their Head

“Male characters are more relatable”

Tips on Character Motivations

Tips on Character Consistency

Resources For Plot Development

Guide To Plot Development

How To Write A Good Plot Twist

How To Foreshadow

Plot Structures

Describing Setting

Resources For Worldbuilding

Guide To Political World Building

Creating Diverse Otherworld Characters

Tips on Creating Magic Systems

Tips on Introducing Political Backstory

Resources For Writing (Global) Period Pieces : High Middle Ages & Renaissance

Resources For Writing (Global) Period Pieces : 1600s

Resources For Writing (Global) Period Pieces : 1700s

Resources For Writing (Global) Period Pieces : 1800s

Tips on Writing Fight Scenes

Tips on Writing Chase Scenes

How To Make The Journey Interesting

Tips For Horror Writers

Tips on Writing Pyschological Thrillers

10 Mistakes to Avoid in Horror

–

Masterlist | WIP Blog

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[desiredmalfoy]

Love Lost (D.M. x Reader)

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x Reader

Universe: No Voldy but still pain in this story.

Genre: Angst! And more Angst!

Word Count: 1.3k

Summary: The reader feels like she’s losing Draco to Astoria. Does he still love her? Will he fix it?

Warning: Some bad words? Not too many.

{Draco Masterlist} { Main Masterlist }

(Credit to the gif owner)

I was in a mood for angst today lol. After having writers block for so long I finally came up with this. Hopefully I can finish my wips, ships and requests soon! Let me know if you want a part 2

You usually didn’t have a problem with any of Draco’s friends. Sure, some of them could be real idiots but for the most part they were nice to you. But you had recently ran into a problem, and her name was Astoria Greengrass. She was Daphne’s little sister who painfully obviously had a crush on your boyfriend. You hated seeming like an over jealous girlfriend, so you didn’t know how to truly react to this.

He had begun to spend more time with her after she had practically begged him for help in potions. She had come up to him in the common room when you were studying and pleaded with him for help. Her eyes seemed to sparkle when he finally agreed.

He seemed reluctant at first but ultimately agreed. He had said to you, “I’m only helping her so that she doesn’t tell her parents I refused. Last thing I need is my parents' comments.”

It had started innocent, he would help her twice a week in the library. As the weeks progressed, they were hanging out more and more often. He would finish quidditch practice and then meet her in the common room. Telling you that he would see you later but later never came.

He had even forgotten one of your dates. He apologized profusely and promised to make it up to you. He didn’t, he forgot too.

One date became two and then you lost count. You were tired of being disappointed.

You had walked into the common room after spending the evening studying with Pansy. All your friends had gotten together to study for an upcoming potions exam. All except Draco who didn’t show up. After walking in, that’s when you saw the two of them sitting in a corner table of the common room. You felt your stomach drop. Your mouth began to dry up and it felt sticky. You didn’t know how to react.

“What an arse”, Pansy mumbled to you. She reached for your hand to give it as squeeze. Letting you know she’s there for you. She had heard you complain all the time, she knew the pain you felt. And she was over seeing you getting walked over.

“Oh looks who’s here (y/n)! We finally found him!” Pansy exclaimed dramatically. This caused the two of them to break from their world and turn to the two of you.

“What do you mean Parkinson?” Draco asked, breaking the silence in the room. The air felt stifling. Astoria only looked up at you and Pansy, not making a comment.

“We were all meant to study together.” Pansy answered bluntly. “Did you forget that too Malfoy?”

“What the bloody hell do you mean?”

“You seem to forget everything as of late” You got the courage to speak up suddenly, beating Pansy. You glanced over at her as she gave you an encouraging look.“ I mean you always seem to forget our dates.”

The lump in your throat grew more and more by the second.

“Babe I-”

“I’m getting quite tired. It’s been a long steady session. I’ll see you all tomorrow.” You interrupted him, stopping him before he spoke. You had enough of this and the last thing you needed was for them to see you cry.

You let go of Pansy's hand and adjusted the strap of your bag. You made your way towards your dorm, trying to get out of there as fast as possible.

You walked into your dorm, slamming it shut. You threw your book bag across the room. Letting out some of the anger you felt. You grabbed a pillow from your bed and threw it at the door. You threw yourself onto your bed, frustrated beyond belief. The door opened and revealed the last person you wanted to see.

“What are we exactly”, you asked bluntly as he walked into your dorm. Draco looked at you confused as he looked towards you.

“What do you even mean?”

“I mean I don’t feel like your girlfriend anymore.” You rolled your eyes at his lack of comprehension. “You barely want to be around me it seems. I haven’t seen you in days Draco but you know who has? Astoria.”

“Don’t be bloody ridiculous (y/n). She’s my friend and nothing more. You’re overreacting.” It was his turn to roll his eyes at you.

You stood up suddenly and went to stand face to face with you. “Really? A friend is someone who’s super touchy with you? Someone who openly flirts with you?”

“She’s my friend! You’re just jealous!” His face was becoming redder with anger.

“You’re so draft Draco!” You threw your hands up in anger. Your voice rising slightly in pitch as you kept on getting angrier. “Everyone can see it! Hell, even Crabbe asked me if I was even still your girlfriend. You know how bloody obvious it has to be for that git to see it?”

“You know you wouldn’t like it if it was another guy treating me the way Astoria is with you.”

“She doesn’t like me!” He yelled, frustrated at the situation and at himself. Because it was finally dawning on him what a horrible boyfriend he had been these past few weeks. “And it doesn’t matter if she did because I don’t like her! Please understand that (y/n)!”

“Yes it does! Because you don’t set any boundaries and let her do whatever. You let her think you’re interested. And not one time do you stop & think about me.”

“You have forgotten our dates! You literally left me all alone waiting for you in the astronomy tower because you never showed.” You continued your rant and Draco stayed silent at your outburst. He stared at you with wide eyes and shock. He had never seen you like this.

“Did you know I’m not doing the best on potions anymore? I’m struggling and you don’t seem to care Draco. But sure, as long as Astoria is passing it’s okay I guess.” You were crying at this point as you continued you’re rant. Tears freely flowing from your cheeks. You hated crying, you hated seeming weak.

Draco attempted to wipe the tears from your cheeks but you moved away. Not wanting him to touch you right now. You let out a deep breath, voice quivering. “I don’t know how much more I can handle. My heart can’t take much more.”

“What do you mean darling? I love you. Please (y/n), I love you so much. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“I think you’re a little too late for that.”

“Please. Please think about this. I’m so sorry.” He was now starting to cry himself, something that was rare for him. He didn’t just cry for anyone. But his tears didn’t take away the hurt he had caused.

“You’ve broken my trust. You’ve hurt me. It’s going to take more than saying I’m sorry to let this all go.”

“I’ll do anything love.”

“You have to see where your heart lies. If you do actually love me, you’ll have to gain my trust back Draco.”

“Babe…” he grabbed your cheeks titling your head to look at him in the eyes. Both your eyes shining from the tears. “I’ll do that and so much more.”

“For the sake of our relationship, I hope you mean it. But I think I need some time to myself tonight and maybe tomorrow too.” You grabbed his hands, taking them away from your face. You gave them a slight squeeze before letting them go. Hoping that this wouldn’t be the last time you held them.

He left without saying another word. As you watched him walk out of your dorm, you dropped to the floor. Letting all the emotions of the past weeks flowing out. All the hurt, all the sadness and all the angry flowing down your cheeks.

Thoughts? Part 2??

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[writing-in-april]

The Owner’s Office

Franklin x Female Reader (MGG in Beginner’s luck)

Summary: Franklin won’t stop asking the owner of the bowling alley if he can have a discount when the team rents the alley.

A/N: Heyyy heyyy- here’s my first Franklin fic in a while!!! It’s been sitting in my WIPs in a while and I felt the urge to finish it! @sunlight-moonrise is the main person who helped inspire me for this fic- and of course the amazing @spencers-dria. This is my fic for today for my 1000 follower celebration!!! Thanks for all the support you guys!!! Requests are open!

Warnings: 18+, Hate fucking, Panties stuffed in mouth, Oral sex (M receiving), Franklin wants to be called a god, calling reader a fuck toy

Main Masterlist  Word count: 2.1k

Owning the most popular bowling alley in Little Falls was more of an exhausting task then most people would assume. I had to work everyday almost 7 days a week to maintain my small business that I had inherited from my father. Honestly, some days I was so exhausted, the gain seemingly so little that if it wasn’t for wanting to keep the business to continue what my father built I would sell it in a heartbeat.

The alley wasn’t anything all that grand or special from a first glance, it was a stereotypical bowling alley with orange and turquoise walls and bright red seats. What really made this place special was all the memories I and the rest of Little Falls had here.

The space that I used as my office was more of a closet then a full office, it also had to have the mop bucket and any other cleaning supplies shoved in there. The desk that was jammed into the space was a shitty little thing, unbalanced and made of cold grey metal that made me shiver whenever I rested my arms on it to type. One would not call the place charming but it was mine, just as it had been my father’s.

When the business had passed onto me I decided to keep the office the same way my father had it. Despite its shitty appearance that was where I ended up spending most of my time while I worked. I had to spend most of my day going through paperwork for the alley and barely had time to come out of my office unless it was right before closing to help the rest of the staff (Namely Rebecca) to clean up.

Usually the times I had to come out were because of one person. Though, at this point I view him as the source of all the annoyance in my life more so than an actual person.

Franklin.

I could rant all day about my deep seated loathing for the man that everyone in Little Falls called their god. Well, everyone except me. He was the person who strutted around like he owned the place- even though I was the one who paid the bills for the place. Most of my gripe with him was for the fact that he would insist that his whole team could have the bowling alley to themselves while they practiced. For some reason he had some deep seated paranoia that people would spy on his team. This led to many arguments between the two of us, mostly about how he didn’t want to pay rent because his team was the only thing bringing money to my alley or about how I didn’t give them enough time to practice. In return I would just tell him to take his business somewhere else if he really cared so much about the rent or needed more practice time.

As I walked in to work my mood was already sour, I had spilled my morning coffee all over me and was running late because I had to change my clothes. As the owner of the alley it didn’t really matter what time I came in but, I had myself stick to a strict schedule, I wanted to be a good role model for my staff. My mood turned from sour to livid when I saw Franklin sitting in one of the chairs at the last lane that happened to be closest to the door to my office. I groaned internally at the sight, the only reason he’d ever show up without his team was to try and chew me out about his practice schedule.

I did not need this today.

Luckily, there was only one bowler here this early and he happened to be at the farthest lane away from my office, no doubt being warned by the staff to be far away from my office as soon as they saw Franklin walk in. My greeting to him consisted of only an angry pointed finger towards the door trying to usher him in quickly before I exploded in the middle of the alley.

“I deserve an 80% discount.” He said immediately after I shut the door to my office. With the amount of times I rolled my eyes everyday in response to Franklin’s antics it was a wonder that they didn’t get stuck in that position.

“And what’s the reason this time that you think you deserve a discount.”

“My team is the only reason your alley pulls in any money.”

“That’s not true.” I simply stated, crossing my arms and looking away from the face that causes me to feel such boiling anger.

“Can I at least get a better practice schedule?”

“No.”

“Why not?” His indignation against a person in some sort of position of authority above him was astounding, he even added to my disbelief by hitting his hand hard enough on my desk to leave a slight dent. Well, that was never leaving. Though it's not like it was a particularly fancy desk, I was still even more pissed than I had been in the first place.

“I’ve given my reason why plenty of times you just don’t listen.” I was about to shove him out of my pathetic excuse for an office if he continued.

“Why should I have to listen to stupid reasonings?”

“Fuck- could you please just shut up!” Me screaming at him to shut up wasn’t out of place in our normal hostile conversations, something about the pause after my shout this time was brewing a different type of tension.

When we met for a kiss it was fueled with the anger that had been surmounting over a long period of time, since as long as I’d known him. If I wouldn’t have to explain why he was leaving my office shirtless I would’ve ripped open the big-z tires shirt he was wearing out of pure anger. Once we had angrily ripped off all of our clothes he hoisted me up onto my metal desk. I hissed from the sudden contact of the cold metal on my ass which only made Franklin laugh. I glared at him hard in response, but unfortunately he did not wither away from my gaze, so I decided to lightly threaten him with extreme embarrassment,

“I’ll kick you out of here without your clothes on, shut up.”

That successfully shut him up quick, and he actually focused on my own pleasure for a while. He didn’t sink down on his knees to eat me out because of course Franklin wouldn’t kneel for anybody. He instead parted my folds and began to rub my clit slowly, he had to be a tease instead of just obliging someone for once.

When I whined out in annoyance at his slow movements he tsked at me before saying, “I’m trying to get you ready for how big I am.”

It pained me to admit that he was right as I looked at his cock, which was probably the biggest one I’ve ever been with. I still decided to whine again to see what he’d do in response. When my panties were then shoved into my mouth as a makeshift gag I spluttered in surprise. I would have ripped it out of my mouth in anger if it wasn’t the hottest thing. Plus the words that he said next did nothing to help how wet I was between my legs, “Now you’re the one that has to shut up.”

Once I was properly prepped for his standards he immediately moved onto his pleasure, I hoped I at least got an orgasm out of this. But, if I was being honest with myself I was more turned on right now than I had ever been with another guy. He thrust into me all the way to the hilt with no warning, causing me to cry out in surprise. Glad I was ready enough to take him, he’s such an ass.

Though despite that, I wouldn’t deny that he felt amazing inside of me as he fucked me hard and dirty on my office desk.

“Who’s your god now?” His cocky voice made me want to scream, which I did, but it was more out of pleasure rather than annoyance. He then pulled the panties out of my mouth even though if anyone heard how loud I was right now my employees would whisper behind my back about it till the end of time. What he said next didn’t surprise me at all,  “I want to hear you call me a god, doll. You’re just a bratty little fuck doll for your god’s pleasure.”

“I’m not calling you a god. Doesn’t-” My sentence cut off when Franklin moved his hand to rub at my clit, shocks of pleasure going through me as a result. I bit down on my lip to try in vein to compose myself a little before continuing, “Doesn’t matter if you’re fucking me, you’re still not a god.”

“I’m still the person who’s gonna make you have the best orgasm of your life.”

“I-I’d like to see you try.” And try he did. His hips pistoned into mine with brute strength I didn’t think such a lanky man like him could have. We were probably being so loud that you could hear our skin slapping together rhythmically plus the loud moans that wouldn’t stop coming out of my mouth. Even though it was the hardest thing to admit, he was about to make me orgasm so hard it might’ve been the best one of my life.

I fell over the edge with a high pitched cry, Franklin continuing to rub my clit until I was overstimulated and had to push his hand away. I pushed his shoulder slightly to signal that he needed to get off me then explaining, “There’s no way I’m letting you cum inside me, you can cum in my mouth or nothing else.”

He looked annoyed with me for a second, almost if he wanted to ask if he cumming on my face would be a viable alternative. Luckily for the sake of his own orgasm he decided to keep his mouth shut. I then dropped down to my knees, ignoring the sharp little sting of pain as I took him in my mouth. It only took a little bit of time of me bobbing me head up and down, making sure to hollow my cheeks as best as I could. At one point he tried to wind his hands into my hair as a way to non verbally ask if he could fuck my face. If it had been anyone but Franklin I probably would’ve allowed them too, but instead I hit his hand away, looking up between my lashes with a glare to silently tell him to be grateful he was getting to finish at all. Hot thick ropes of his cum then suddenly shot down my throat with little warning from him, causing me to gag slightly, I’m sure he probably enjoyed that. I wasn’t one to not swallow personally, even if I did hate his guts it was still hot to swallow his cum down my throat. Once I had sufficiently caught my breath I started to clean myself up and get my clothes on, not expecting any aftercare from the bowling alley’s resident asshole.

“So-  Do I get that discount?” I whipped around as I rebuttoned up my shirt about to start our argument all over again until I saw a smirk on his face unlike the ones I had seen before. It wasn’t his usual cocky smirk, instead it was a teasing one, he was actually joking with me for once instead of screaming at me. I breathed out a little laugh in response and let the tension melt from my shoulders a little.

It was a relief to not fight with him for once and I kinda liked this Franklin. He still had an aura of smugness around him, but he wasn’t insufferable. He was maybe even a little likeable when he wasn’t screaming his head off at me. In response to his joke I rebutted with a little smirk, “You may not be an actual god but you sure fuck like one. And, no, of course you don’t get the discount.”

Tag list (Message me if you want to be added):

All works:

@shotarosleftpinky @90spumkin

Franklin/Beginner’s luck:

[infinitevariety]

Fic Writer Tag

Thank you @teslatherat for the tag <3

How many works do you have on AO3?

Total-total, across both pseuds, is 79.

What’s your total AO3 word count?

260,826

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Erm, three I guess. Good Omens is my main fandom. I wrote one crossover with Donna Noble from Doctor Who. And I used to write Harry Potter fic, but drifted away from that, and then JK Terf happened so I’m not about to drift back.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I’m only gonna talk about my Good Omens fics, because that’s what we’re all here for.

Angel Wiggles™

Crowley wants to make Aziraphale happy enough to wiggle.

Taking Some Pictures or Something

On a road trip to the South Downs Crowley gives Aziraphale his phone to take photos of the views. However, Aziraphale doesn't know how the phone works and spends all day accidentally posting to Crowley's Instagram story.

Like Any Rose It’s Not Itself

A single white rose grows from one of Crowley’s plants. Which is weird, because none of his plants are rose bushes.

Find It in the Dictionary Under ‘L’

Demons can’t feel love, but Aziraphale can’t help noticing how much Crowley’s suddenly flinging the word around.

(Probably Something That Shouldn’t Be) Said Out Loud

Crowley hasn’t been sleeping well since the world didn’t end, but when he falls asleep on the bookshop sofa he’s not the only one who has to deal with his nightmare.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

To comments on my Good Omens fics, yes. Because it’s the fandom I’m active in, and I want commenters to know I see and appreciate them! <3

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Erm. I don’t really do angst. The ineffables are my happy place, and I pretty much only write fluffy shit (sorry not sorry). About the angsiest I get is bickering, and even then it doesn’t end on a bad note.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I wrote a short Good Omens crossover with Donna Noble from Doctor Who. It’s called Come and Meet Us. It’s not crazy at all I don’t think?

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not hate. I’ve had a couple of rude or obnoxious comments, but I just delete them because they are not worth my energy.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Not for the ineffables I don’t. I’ll read it as part of a larger story or if it’s an interesting concept, but the ineffables I write are asexuals. I rarely even have them kiss, tbh. (Though my best friend and beta is always pushing for a lip smack!)

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I hope not?

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

A couple of times, way back in the day on an old account. It was a lot of fun.

What’s your all time favourite ship?

The ineffables. They just… have that ying/yang dynamic while also being soft as fuck, and it’s just so wonderful to me.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Hmm. Probably ‘Aziraphale is Oscar Wilde’. I get really tired of (at this point) even seeing Oscar Wilde’s name in fics. Aziraphale having slept with/been in a relationship with/been friends with him. At some point I wanted to do something different, so I played with the idea that Aziraphale was Oscar Wilde, writing under a pseudonym. But I’m not likely ever gonna follow through and actually write it.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue. At least, I tend to write a lot of dialogue. Where are the characters and what are they doing? Who knows! But they talk a lot.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Description. I dislike superfluous descriptions when I’m reading, and I’m exactly the same when I write. Possibly to the extent that I don’t write enough. Look, they’re in a kitchen—imagine whatever counter top and colour scheme you want, it has zero bearing on the story.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I don’t often do it, because I’ve never really had the need. Especially with Good Omens, where in the show, even when they would’ve been speaking another language, they’re speaking English for the sake of the audience.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter. We’ve been here, it’s tainted by that terf-bag now.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

My favourite, because it was entirely self-indulgent and fun and needed hours of “research” and note-taking, is You Know the Answer (So Scream It Out Loud).

Tagging? Ugh. I hate this popularity contest. I’ll tag folk I’d be interested in reading the answers of, if they wanna do it and haven’t already… @hope-inthedark @morosexual-aziraphale @cheeriosandwine

[tickle-bugs]

Hi! Do you have any advice for those who want to start writing?

Yes! So honored you asked. I'll put it below the cut. Other writers, feel free to chime in!

(Gearing this specifically towards tickle fics because, well, *gestures around*)

- Mentioned it a whole bunch in my other advice post but it really is a big deal: Write for yourself. I cannot stress it enough. Whatever you like to write, make sure you're having fun and you're writing what you like.

- Find your style! There is no krabby patty formula for The Ideal Style. Everyone has different preferences. Your preferences matter most! If you like all caps laughter dialogue? Great! No laughter dialogue at all? Cool! Reader fics? Nice! First person fics? Sick (pos)! Most people emulate the things that they like to read in their writing and I think that's a great place to start! I like 3rd person POV with an internal monologue and that's what I stick to, pretty much.

- Follow your inspirations. Okay so this one, yes, but be careful. If you like someone's writing or style, there's nothing wrong with emulating it/borrowing bits. That's how I learned to draw, actually (and how most artists learn their craft). If you like a certain author and they do something you like, try it out for yourself! I personally am not a fan of laughter dialogue, so I looked to the amazing writers around me to see how they describe laughs/sensation. It's a great way to learn, because your voice and style will filter through. What this doesn't mean, though, is plagiarizing. Not to sound like a school teacher but if it ain't yours, don't use it.

- Your style will change. Embrace it. I have improved so much since my first fics, and I did that by embracing change. Changing things up is good, actually, and it helps keep things fresh for you! Take a risk, switch something up, etc. It'll help avoid feeling like your fics are stale.

- Writing is practice. The only way you can possibly learn is by doing it. Whether or not you have a blog, just get writing! Try things out! Pick a pairing/group/character and experiment. That's how I started my blog in the first place. I posted a few FinnPoe experiments that I had and decided that I liked it here. Practice, practice, practice, my loves. Don't crunch or make yourself miserable.

- (re: write for yourself, writing is practice) if you find yourself writing fics for the sake of writing/attention, not because you enjoy it, then step back. I had...trauma relating to creating any sort of fandom content because of this. Not everything is gonna be sunshine and roses (talked about in the next point), but if you feel miserable, it's okay to take a break. I don't want to lean too heavily on this, but if you'd like to read more on it, this post about covers it.

- You don't have to like everything you make, okay? You really don't. Don't let anyone tell you that you do. Not every fic is gonna be the Mona Lisa, either. I have many a fic that I've made that I loathe--some posted, some not. Sometimes you run out of steam, sometimes the idea doesn't blossom how you want, sometimes you just fall out of love with a fic. That's okay and normal. Just try to learn from the creative experience for your next go around.

- Taking prompts is hard. Don't hurt yourself. This...is one I need to get better at. If you're looking to run a blog and take prompts (which you don't have to do, btw), that's so cool and funky fresh of you, but do so with your health in mind. Please. If you get a prompt for something you don't like/are uncomfortable with, you don't have to write it. If you are creating content, you have no obligation to create anything that makes you uncomfortable.

If you wanna take prompts, take a number you can handle and the ones that inspire you most. If you have to decline a prompt, that's totally fine. Start and don't finish? That's okay too. People may be disappointed, but you matter more than that disappointment. I can talk more about taking prompts in another post if anyone's interested but I'll leave it at that for now.

- (Re: writing is practice) Get going! Easier said than done, I know, but really do get going. No amount of theorizing is gonna get a fic done, just do it. Try it out. You and your writing are worthy and ever-growing. The writers you idolize are likely agonizing over a WIP or five (hey writers go write a sentence on one of your WIPs rn). Take the leap and try.

- It's okay to work on a fic little by little. I have literally 30+ fics cooking at the moment. Every once in a while I add a paragraph or two. Sometimes I get inspired and write a fic or two in one go. I've had WIPs I've been sitting on since my blog's inception (*casts a sidelong glance at the Home Again series*) and that's perfectly okay. You'll see some people churning out fics every week. If that's you, great! If that's not you, that's okay. Be gentle with yourself.

- (Re: writing is practice, get going) Headcanons and drabbles do wonders for inspiration. I do this all the time. Tell us your thoughts on a character, write something short, etc. It's a great way to dip your toes in the water. Ask for headcanon requests if you want! I have a headcanon tag and I treat it like my spice rack when I write. Not only will writing little bite-sized bits help your brain get going, you'll be able to lean on these bits for later works. Do one of those little "send me a character" ask memes! Reblog a sentence starter list and ask for submissions! Or just do them on your own! Get going.

- Submit fics if you want! My submission box is open (I only take SFW submissions at the moment) and other writers likely take them too. Send an ask/message and ask the person (me included) if it's okay to submit something, and they'll host that fic on their blog! This is ideal for anon writers who don't want to/can't run a blog. I always sing the praises of having a blog because there's nothing better than having a space that's yours, but if you're nervous, that's an excellent place to start. Make sure you follow any submission rules that person may have (and sign your work)! AO3 is an excellent avenue as well.

- EDIT: Writing is like riding a bike. It may take some time for you to get used to it/get into a groove you’re happy with. That’s okay. Take your time and soon enough you’ll be on your way. If you fall, just make sure you get back up.

If you're looking for a sign to start, this is it. I believe in you. If anyone has any more questions, feel free to ask. Anon, I hope this helps <3

Other writers feel free to add your own advice!

[incomingalbatross]

Tagged by @isfjmel-phleg to find the words whisper, leave, last, and door in my current WIPs. I’m rather late to this, sorry, but here goes!

(Since my definition of “current WIPs” is rather...fluid, I decided to search my docs in general and take the most recent use of a word. :P It’s mostly Back to the Future right now...)

“Whisper,” from my Gravity Falls “what if DaMvtF happened but Weirdmageddon didn’t” WIP:

It would be really nice to stay, Dipper thought. Even if Stan and Ford kept…not-getting-along, it would still be nice to stay here with the two of them. Great-Uncle Ford was exciting and amazing and he could teach Dipper so much, but—Grunkle Stan was, well, Grunkle Stan. He was safe, and he was home, and in his own weird imperfect way, he was…pretty amazing himself.

And maybe that was why Dipper found himself saying, “Hey, Grunkle Stan?” without really thinking it through first.

Stan glanced down. “Yeah, kid?”

Dipper chewed on his lip again. “…Have you seen Mabel?”

“Not in a little while.” Stan stopped, eyes sliding uneasily back to Dipper. “You, uh, you talked to her since you got back? She was…kinda down earlier.”

“…I know,” Dipper said. His gaze fell to the ground. Why had he started this, he didn’t want to talk about this, he just…

…Well, maybe he did want to talk about, it, kinda.

“I don’t know what I’m doing, Grunkle Stan,” he confessed in a whisper, wrapping his arms around his chest.

:( I forgot how stressfully this AU starts. (It gets better! It’s not an angsty AU! But this is like ten minutes after Mabel ran into the woods and Dipper’s not in a good place right here.)

“Leave” came from one of my new BTTF WIPs—to be specific, this is based on a scene from the BTTF video/one of the comic storylines. Have a teenage Emmett Brown, with a Marty who made friends with him under false pretenses:

For that matter, Emmett thought suddenly, why tell me he was lying at all?

He could easily have kept up the charade for a few minutes longer, giving Emmett some quick response about waiting to hear back and then going on his merry way. But he hadn’t. He’d confessed, as if genuinely not wanting to leave Emmett with false hopes, and then he’d (sort of) explained himself. As if Emmett’s feelings mattered to him.

The way he’d sounded when he was talking about the “someone” he needed to “save”… Well, if that distress was real, Emmett couldn’t really hold his deceit against him. And…even if he hadn’t done it for Emmett’s sake, Corleone had still spent the day obtaining illegal spirits and subpoenaing a gangster’s accountant to get this drill working. Clearly it was very important to him.

Do I have anyone I would go to these lengths for? Emmett wasn’t sure.

But he thought it was worth helping anyone who did.

(I tried to keep up canon-typical levels of dramatic irony on this one. It was fun.)

“Last” comes from my BTTF fic that has the most chance of actually being finished! I like this one.

“Hey Doc.”

“Mm?”

“You ever think about what the world would be like if you’d never been born?”

Doc looked up from his work with a start, spinning around to stare at Marty. His friend was still bent over his guitar, though, practicing chords, and missed Emmett’s reaction entirely.

Which was...probably a good thing, actually.

“What brought this on?” he asked, leaning back and restricting his tone to a relatively normal level of interest.

Marty looked up with an untroubled shrug. “It’s a Wonderful Life was on last night,” he explained, and grinned. “Me ‘n’ Dave ‘n’ Linda started arguing after, about which of us would make the biggest difference if we’d never been born.”

Doc laughed, relaxing. No time-travel wrinkles here yet, just Christmas movies and sibling rivalry. “So, did you reach any conclusions?” he asked, intrigued.

They talk about sibling rivalry and chaos theory and how you define “making a difference.” Doc has Time-Travel Context but Marty doesn’t yet. It doesn’t really matter.

“Door” is another BTTF comics scene—this time from the comics’ “what-if” storyline set in the movies’ Darkest Timeline. (I was thinking of doing a 5 + 1 centered on Doc & Marty’s many “first” meetings...)

Marty scooted forward, leaning toward him. "Wait, wait. You're tellin' me that…you've met me, but I haven't met you. Because you met a future me? You're tellin' me time travel is real?" His voice rose in pitch as he spoke, squeaking a bit on the final words.

"Indeed." Doc grinned at him. "Given the nature of the subject, it's hard to ‘begin at the beginning,’ so to speak…but for me, it began one night in 1955 when a young man called Marty McFly began hammering on my front door, insisting that I help him get back to the future. The future he was from. That's how I know you!"

For the next round, I’m picking the words star, fade, time, and laugh, and...tagging everyone I’m mutuals with who has active WIPs and wants to do this. Please do! (Even if you’ve done another version of this recently, please feel free to do this one too. :P )

[naomibeetee]

Lessons With The First Draft

So, a while back, I did a blog on the things I’ve learned along my writing journey.

This blog is just like that one!

Well…not JUST like that one. It’s a relative to that one. A remix, if you will.

I’ve been writing for a good chunk of my awkward life—fanfictions, poetry, short stories, and tidbits for contests. I’ve started stories and dropped them, created outlines and erased them.

And man…the stuff I’ve learned with the first draft of His Blue Eyes? Dang!

I started writing my YA Fiction, His Blue Eyes, back in 2014. I was young, hopeful, and oh-so naïve. Being on the ninth draft of my book baby, it’s fun to look back to see how far I’ve come, and the things I’ve learned along the way.

Today’s blog covers some of the major lessons I had the pleasure—and misery—of learning. If you are in the middle of your first draft, or just about to finish, seeing what I went through might help!

So, without further ado, here are the top eight lessons I learned on my first draft journey:

1. Don’t Rush it; Take Your Time

Unless you have a strict timeline, it’s okay to take the scenic route. Slow and steady ultimately wins the race, after all.

For some people, it can take two months to punch out the first draft. And for others, it can take three years (like me).

Don’t stress yourself out if life is getting in the way, or if it’s taking you a bit longer than you originally anticipated to finish the first draft. Make sure you sit back and have a good time. Enjoy the process—it’s the only first draft you’re going to get out of this novel!

2. It’s Okay for Things to Change

The plots. The subplots. The characters. The location. Things can change. And that’s totally okay!

If your characters aren’t meshing, or one of your side characters is attempting to take the center stage, or one your subplots is doing nothing but adding filler words, it’s normal to adjust. In fact, it’s encouraged. Just because something is a part of your outline doesn’t mean it needs to stay that way.

If you are unhappy with how the story is forming, change it. You won’t get in trouble if you switch things up halfway through. Working out the kinks—that’s what drafts are for!

Bottom line: change is okay!

3. My Outline Was My Bible

His Blue Eyes would not be where it is today without my outline.

I know, I know. Some of you pantsers out there are rolling your eyes. And I totally get it—outlines are not your thing. But my outline was—and still very much is—my saving grace when it came to the first draft of His Blue Eyes.

My outline laid out my path, and helped me every step of the way. Whenever I started to write, my outline steered me in the right direction. Whenever I felt myself teeter off the path, my outline guided me back into place. And whenever I felt lost, my outline showed me my next steps.

Obviously, nothing is set in stone, however. As I mentioned in Point Number Two, if you are halfway through your WIP, and realize things are just not panning out the way you want them too, you are more than welcome to adjust your path. You are totally allowed to blaze another trail, and see where it takes you. I was halfway through my first draft when I realized that things weren’t working out. I ended up completely re-vamping my outline, essentially starting from scratch. But my outline was there, and put up with a lot of my shit. God bless my outline.

4. I Can’t Multi-task…Period

His Blue Eyes either had all my love, or none of it.

I have tried many times to take on multiple writing tasks for the sake of my quarterly goals, but it has never worked out. And yet I keep attempting, expecting a different result despite not changing or adjusting my schedule and talents. It’s literally the definition of insanity, and apparently I’m a slow learner.

In truth, any other plot bunny or fire-cracker idea will just have to wait to get my full, undivided attention later.

Having said that, there’s no harm in jotting them down in a notebook. You can plant the idea seed, then look at it in the future to see if it’s bloomed, or dried out.

There’s also nothing wrong with taking a break from your current project to focus on something else—just as long as you set a timer to it. If you feel your creativity and love for your WIP beginning to fizzle out, taking a step back to work on something else might be beneficial! I did that several times with His Blue Eyes. Whenever I was frustrated, feeling low, or experiencing a block, I stopped and wrote something else—usually a quick fanfiction. It helped keep my creativity flowing, prevented writer’s block, and validated my feelings of being a writer. The downside, however, is that it took me three years to complete my first draft—I was bad at setting timers. There’s a give-and-take to it all.

5. The First Draft Will NOT be Perfect

When I finally managed to print off the first draft of His Blue Eyes, I was in for a treat!

- The sentence structure was to die for…literally.

- There were a great many unfinished thoughts and sentences.

- A massive amount of poor word choices, and often over-used words.

- Subplots were dropped in the middle of the WIP.

- Character names, traits, and even eye-color changed halfway through like a disturbing magic trick.

The first draft of His Blue Eyes was an absolute gong-show. However, it sort of comes with the territory of the first draft. It’s the price you pay when you are just trying to get everything in your brain onto the computer screen. And it’s completely normal.

Don’t strive for perfection with your first draft. Feeling like every sentence, every thread of dialogue, every single nitty-gritty detail needs to be ironed out will only lead to unnecessary stress, not to mention the threat of burnout. Trust me—it’s not a good time.

The faster you realize that the first draft is going to be a hot mess, the better.

6. You are Allowed to be Proud

Not everyone can write an entire story.

And it’s not just the story: the planning, the researching, the outlines, the countless hours at the computer. The plots, the character development, the pieces of dialogue that are absolutely out of this world. The amount of sleep you lost, the countless blocks you got around, the dates and parties you didn’t attend because you wanted to stick to your writing schedule.

Being able to accomplish a first draft sort of makes you a superhuman.

This is your baby! You CREATED a story from nothing! Be proud of it!

7. You Should Probably Take a Break Before Jumping into Editing

In other words, DON’T do what I did.

I dove in, face first into the mountain of freshly printed papers that was my manuscript. Annnnd then I was hit in the face with the fist of burnout.

I failed to give my brain a break, and it cost me.

There are other ways to work on your story that don’t include diving into your manuscript.

- Research

- Character profiles

- Promoting/creating a social media presence

- Re-vamping your outline

- Prepping for a sequel

When you don’t take a break, the risk of losing enthusiasm and gumption and the drive to continue is gargantuan. Letting your manuscript breathe allows time for the ink to dry, the dust to settle, the ideas to mesh. If you let your WIP chill, you’ll be able to look at it with fresh eyes, and issues that might’ve not caught your attention before will potentially reveal themselves in flashing neon lights. You are more likely to catch grammatical errors, sentence structure issues, and over-used words if you give yourself a break.

Letting your work rest gives you the advantage of looking at your WIP with fresh eyes, an eager brain, and a new threshold of creativity. You might be able to beat your editor to the punch with some of the errors you can catch.

8. Writing is ADDICTING

Writing a book is addicting.

When you finish that first draft, you are going to feel a plethora of emotions. You are the master of your sea. You are the king/queen of your castle. You are on cloud nine, high on your accomplishments. You are unstoppable, a force to be reckoned with.

You’re going to want to do it all over again.

And don’t worry, you will.

Like I said before—I’m now on the ninth draft of His Blue Eyes, and there are days that I still feel like I’m no closer to the finish line than I was with my first draft.

But every time I open up my WIP, every time I stare at my words, I know that I am getting there. Every time I work on His Blue Eyes, I know that I am creating something unique, beautiful, and new. There will come a time in which I will finish His Blue Eyes, truly finish, and it will be ready for others. And then I can get to work on something else that is equally unique, beautiful, and new.

A new first draft in a new world. That, my friend, is an exciting thought.

And there you have it! Those are the top eight things I learned while working on my first draft.

Writing a story, from start to finish, is hard! It takes skill, smarts, bravery, and a great many lessons learned. The lessons you learn along the way might be hard, but will also prove to be beneficial. Keep your chin up! You are a wizard, after all, and what you are creating is absolute magic.

Be sure to tune in every Writerly Wednesday for new writer posts!

Come for the tips.

Stay for the awkward.

Until then,

May your inspiration never cease, and may your ink never smudge.

~Naomi.bee.tee

[wordsablaze]

To Be Found

Working until midnight at their bakery doesn't usually have a lot of perks but Eskel wouldn't trade Jaskier crashing into his life during one such evening shift for anything...

A/N: just a chaotic lil origin story for an au that’ll only exist in oneshots bc i’m not organised enough for another proper wip-

-

Morhen Cares Bakery wasn’t particularly well-known.

In fact, as bakeries went, it was just about average and it stayed comfortably just about average until Jaskier came into the picture. Well, crashed into the picture.

Their bakery is usually open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays because Vesemir insists on giving people who don't want to drink a place to spend the evening, even though Lambert very pointedly grumbles about him caring more for strangers than the nights out of his own children whenever he happens to be on the evening shift. Nonetheless, the lights in their bakery only go out when it hits midnight on those days, just like clockwork.

Unlike clockwork, the little bell above the entrance chimes frantically as the door swings open just before twelve on one such Friday that just so happens to be the incredibly busy Valentine’s eve, where everyone had decided they wanted to buy their crushes and loved ones baked goods for some reason.

“We’re closing,” Eskel calls tiredly.

“I only need your last minute!” someone whisper-yells, and Eskel frowns, glancing over the counter.

The man who’s currently gesturing at the clock with desperate hope doesn’t wait for him to reply before literally launching himself over the counter, then scrambling backwards so he’s as close to the counter as possible, leaning against it and breathing heavily.

Eskel only has time to frown before someone else peering through the window and bursting in, once again sending the little bell above their door into a frenzy. At the same time, the stranger on the floor clamps his hands over his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Is he here?” the second stranger demands, icy malice in his voice.

Praying that he’s not making the wrong assumptions about who he’s meant to be supporting here, Eskel just folds his arms. “We’ve closed now. Unless you’re looking for me, I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

Eskel watches as the man’s eyes travel to his scars before he visibly grimaces, his upper lip curling in disdain, and shakes his head. “No, I doubt you could,” he mutters before leaving just as obnoxiously as he’d arrived.

The stranger curled up at his feet lets out a shaky exhale, distracting him from his brief flare-up of self-consciousness, and looks up at him with a gratitude so heavy, Eskel literally has to take a step back. He has no idea how the other man interprets that but he’s springing up and smiling before Eskel can think to apologise.

“Thank you. Gods, thank you for that,” he whispers.

“Yeah, no problem,” Eskel replies, then frowns at the way the other man seems to be swaying on his feet. “Are you alright?”

There’s a moment of silence before the man lets out a strained chuckle. “I’m very sorry but I think I’m going to pass out now.”

He thinks right.

Cursing, Eskel lunges forwards to catch him as his eyes flutter shut, twisting to one side as they both fall and landing in an awkward heap but thankfully managing to avoid head wounds for either of them. He has no idea what the protocol is for unconscious strangers at midnight but he can’t just leave the man there so, with a sigh, Eskel lifts him up with one hand under his knees and the other supporting his neck, carrying him into the office at the back.

He only really panics after he finishes closing everything up to find the stranger still lying on the couch, showing no signs of waking up but mercifully still breathing. The only bright side of the situation is that, ironically, he no longer feels tired himself.

“What happened?” Vesemir asks through the phone as soon as he picks up, having reached that point in life where he’s wise enough to know when something’s wrong without anyone having to tell him.

Eskel rubs the back of his neck as he glances back over to the stranger. “Uh, what are you meant to do when someone passes out for no apparent reason?”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he says quickly, wishing he’d at least said hello first, “but someone came in just as I was closing and now he’s lying in the office and I don’t know what to do.”

“Where are they others?”

“They left a little earlier, I said I’d lock up for today,” Eskel replies, and as much their whole family is prone to lying for each other, that’s actually the truth this time.

Vesemir starts saying something but Eskel is distracted by a soft groan behind him. As soon as he sees the stranger stirring, he sighs in relief. “Wait, he’s waking up. I’ll call you back if it’s anything serious.”

“Make sure he’s not in danger before you let him go,” Vesemir tells him, “and give him something to eat so he doesn’t pass out again.”

Eskel smiles at how fiercely Vesemir continues to just generally care and hangs up even as he’s saying his goodbye, walking over to the stranger and offering him a smile. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Not even slightly concussed,” the man replies as if he’s well-acquainted with waking up to concussions, which does absolutely nothing to soothe Eskel’s worries. After a second, he adds, “Thank you for your minute, by the way.”

Eskel raises an eyebrow. “It’s been a little longer than that.”

He means for it to be a joke but the stranger sits up with a guilty frown. “Ugh, I’m sorry. I just really needed a place to hide and I remembered Schro- uh, my friend telling me about this cute bakery that stays open really late and man am I glad I found you but I didn’t mean to ruin your plans, I’m so sorry! You probably had somewhere else to be by now and I totally just interrupted, I swear I’ll make it up to you and- oh hell, you don’t look very impressed, I’m going to go now!”

Or at least he tries to, only to stumble and fall into Eskel when his legs wobble.

Eskel blinks. “Maybe you should take it easy,” he suggests, gently but firmly guiding the other man so he’s sat back on the couch, perching next to him just in case he topples over for a third time.

“Yeah, maybe that’s a good idea,” the stranger mumbles, melting into the cushions as he curls his arms around his stomach.

“Are you hurt?” Eskel asks.

“No, I’m Jaskier,” the man, apparently Jaskier, retorts with a grin.

Eskel snorts, then remembers how worried he still is. “I don’t think having a particular name makes you exempt from injuries.”

He’s strangely pleased with the way Jaskier’s lips curve into a smile and the guilt in his eyes morphs into a sparkling amusement, but he’s also confused as to why he’s paying attention to those details when there are more pressing matters on hand.

“But really, are you hurt?” Eskel repeats.

Jaskier shakes his head, still smiling. “I’ve had far worse, I promise. Just some bruises that are definitely worth the chance to meet you.”

And because the night seems to be against him, he feels himself blushing.

“You are truly the stuff of sonnets,” Jaskier breathes. At that, Eskel scoffs; he’s well aware that he’s the least attractive member of the Morhen family and he really doesn’t need two strangers attempting to mock him in the same night.

“No no no, don’t do that. I promise I’m being honest, I swear on my mother’s grave!” Jaskier blurts, then claps a hand over his mouth. “Ignore that last part, my mother doesn’t even have a grave yet.”

Eskel is trying really hard not to laugh when Jaskier continues, “Amendment, I swear on all things Shakespeare that I am very definitely not pointing out how handsome you are in jest. Is that better?”

“Why Shakespeare?” Eskel asks, but in truth he’s already convinced.

Jaskier shrugs. “I’ve written several dissertations on his work and I can’t think of many other people I’ve suffered through countless sleepless nights for.”

Well, he doesn’t sound like he’s lying. Eskel’s not entirely sure he trusts him just yet but well, Vesemir had instructed him to offer the stranger something to eat so he might as well make good on that promise if nothing else.

“Would you like a cookie? We probably have some leftovers and you seem like you could use one.”

Jaskier blinks, then beams at him. For about a second before his face falls and he deflates. “I don’t have any money.”

“Something to do with that guy chasing you?” Eskel asks quietly.

Jaskier nods. “Yup! Excellent deduction, Sherlock.”

“Who?” Eskel asks, frowning.

Jaskier makes a strange, screech-like noise of disbelief. “You’re kidding. Please tell me you’re kidding. Oh come on, surely you’ve heard of the most famous fictional detective to ever exist?”

He really hasn’t. And it must show on his face because Jaskier sighs loudly, then points at him accusingly. “I am going to make you watch every Sherlock-related piece of media with me as my way of thanking you for all this and that is a promise.”

“It’s half past twelve,” Eskel points out, “and I have work in the morning.”

“Yeah, and? So do I,” Jaskier retorts, then scowls. “Although I’m pretty sure I’m about to be fired permanently this time.”

“I’m sorry,” Eskel offers.

Jaskier waves a hand. “It wasn’t worth any tears. It barely paid the bills and everyone there was so stiff, it was like being the only human on a planet of robots. Androids. Cyborgs? Whatever, you know what I mean.”

Eskel doesn’t think he does, his family is absolute chaos and he loves them for it. He can’t really fathom what kind of job Jaskier is about to lose but to be honest, he’d rather stay ignorant than work in any place like that.

“Is that offer for cookies still on? I’ve just been struck with the inevitable melancholy of being cast aside by yet another establishment,” Jaskier tells him theatrically, as if he’s auditioning for something.

“Of course,” Eskel assures him, which is why they find themselves in the kitchen a few minutes later.

Jaskier hops up onto the breakfast bar Geralt had made them install for Ciri’s sake and swings his legs back and forth as if he’s her age until Eskel gets out the batch of leftover cookies, laughing when Jaskier immediately reaches for them with what can only be dubbed as grabby-hands.

“Woah, these are phenomenal! What do you put in them, essence of unicorn?” Jaskier asks, his words a little muffled by the cookie in his mouth.

“We stick to the more acquirable vanilla essence, actually,” Eskel corrects, taking a bite of one the cookies too, only because he feels awkward just standing around watching someone else eat.

“Huh, didn’t take you for a strictly vanilla kind of guy,” Jaskier says casually, and Eskel promptly chokes on a chocolate chip.

He can see Jaskier nervously biting his lip as he recovers so, as smoothly as he can manage with a slightly croaky voice, he asks, “What kind of guy do you take me for then?”

Jaskier grins wider than should be humanly possible, leaning forwards so his elbows are resting on his knees and his chin is balanced on his palms. “You tell me.”

“Maybe another time, when I’m not afraid you’re going to collapse again at any moment,” Eskel practically mumbles, not sure where this spark of confidence is coming from but not exactly complaining because it’s actually pretty nice.

“Well, perhaps if you weren’t so handsome, I wouldn’t keep falling for you.” Jaskier has the audacity to wink, at which point Eskel gives up on the cookie altogether in fear of death by being flirted at whilst chewing.

Jaskier gasps before he can form a reply, apparently having caught sight of something behind him. “Look at that, it’s technically Valentine’s day! Oh, please tell me your shift ends earlier tomorrow? Or uh, today?”

Eskel blinks.

“Yeah, I’m here from noon to six, we never have the same people working the late shift both days for general health and safety reasons,” he replies, internally thanking whatever lucky stars he has for that calendar coincidence.

Jaskier looks about as excited as Eskel feels. “Well then, unless it’s a matter of life and death, you’d better cancel any plans you have after six!”

“Oh?” Eskel raises an eyebrow.

Apparently understanding that Eskel didn’t have any plans anyway, Jaskier smiles. “I’ll take that as your version of a yes.”

He slides off the breakfast bar with another blink and you miss it hiss of pain but straightens up before Eskel can question it, grinning. “So it’s a date! Well, I suppose it’s actually a time, but that doesn’t sound even nearly as romantic.”

“Both sound alright to me,” Eskel laughs.

“So you’re happy for it to be a date date?” Jaskier asks incredulously, but Eskel blames his tone on the fact that it’s nearly one am rather than someone who looks so adorable genuinely being surprised at anyone wanting to go on a date with him.

Either way, Eskel nods tentatively. “If that’s what you want?”

With the exact opposite energy, Jaskier nods so quickly that Eskel fears he’s going to give himself whiplash or something and grins again. “There is legitimately nothing I could possibly want more.”

Eskel snorts, gesturing to the other cookies to try and take the attention away from how warm his face is suddenly becoming. “You seemed pretty excited about those not long ago.”

Jaskier waves a hand dismissively. “Why settle for the creations when you have the handsome creator himself?”

Well, there’s no way he’s hiding the heat on his face anymore. Especially not after he meets Jaskier’s gaze and finds nothing but sincerity in his ridiculously bright eyes, not even the slightest hint of taunting at all.

“I should probably go,” Jaskier whispers eventually and if Eskel didn’t know better, he’d say he almost sounds sad.

A little thrown off, Eskel just nods. “Yeah, yeah, of course, it’s pretty late. Here, I’ll walk you out.”

Jaskier waits patiently enough as Eskel locks the kitchen up behind him and grabs his coat from the office, leading them both to the rear entrance and locking that door behind them too. It’s only once they’re outside that he realises Jaskier is only wearing a shirt and jeans which, no matter how inexplicably good he makes them look, aren’t exactly suited to travelling anywhere so late at night.

“Do you need a ride home or…?” Eskel offers.

But Jaskier just shakes his head. “No, I was headed to a friend’s place anyway, she doesn’t live far from here. Don’t worry, I won’t take up any more of your time right now. Though the same can’t be said for this evening.”

“I can’t wait,” Eskel admits honestly.

“Until six, my dear valentine!” Jaskier blows him a kiss before starting to walk away, practically sauntering into the darkness like he owns the night and turning a corner so not even the streetlights can keep him visible before Eskel remembers that he’s meant to keep breathing even when he’s by himself.

Maybe he’s finally found a reason to forgo cursing Cupid in favour of thanking him this year.

-

i wrote this whilst procrastinating so if you see any plot holes, no you don’t-

also, here’s the ongoing masterlist for this au if anyone happens to be reading and is interested :)

-

thanks for reading !! masterlist | witcher blog: @itsjaskier

[ghostinthebau]

Super Fanfic Rec List -- Iron Dad Edition (because I just wanna share the love)

I’ve had such a blast reading fanfic of the IronDad and SpiderSon variety over the last 6 months or so, and I thought I’d just make a rec list of some of my favorite stories.  Most of them are angsty, with whump and hurt/comfort because that’s what I live for.  

This is in no particular order or in any way complete because there’s just way too many amazing fics/authors in the Iron Dad fandom, but it will still be hella long, so....here goes! 

First off, @yellowdistress:

What We Are series - Bio-dad Tony series that goes all the way through Infinity War.  Endgame AU.

Someday I’ll Make it Out of Here series - Adoption AU!  It’s so good.

The Missing 92 Days - A take on HYDRA Peter that destroyed me emotionally.

Reviving Peter Parker - This about killed me.  Peter actually died during his fight with Toomes and SHIELD brings him back a la the TAHITI project like they did with Phil Coulson.  

A Sailor Went to Sea - Gut-wrenching Endgame fix it.  

Double, Double

@losingmymindtonight:

Webcams and Webshooters series

I Never Lived ‘Til I Lived In Your Light series - !!! TISSUE WARNING !!! Peter dies, but there’s another one shot with a happier ending if you need it.

And You’ll Blow Us All Away - Adoption fic!  A lovely one at that.

5 Times Peter’s Mental Illness Made Him Stumble And The 1 Time He Refused To Falter - I really love a well-depicted take on mental illness, and losingmymindtonight delivered 100%.

If You Can’t Catch A Breath (You Can Take The Oxygen Straight Out Of My Own Chest)

Cyanide? In My Shawarma?

@justme--emily:

The Guardian - Adoption AU with a lovely Loki and Peter friendship!

Radioactive - Peter endures the after effects of the spider bite, and scares bio-dad Tony to death.  Lovely, lovely, lovely.

The Good Fight - Peter gets hurt at the airport in Germany instead of Rhodey.  

@iron--spider:

ever in your favor - Hunger Games AU and an epic work of art!  

Lazarus, come forth - The Endgame fix it before Endgame.  Peter will break your heart.

dear mr. fantasy

this isn’t a game - Highly underrated fic based off the PS4 Spider-Man game.  I’ve never even played the game, and I loved this story.

what if there is no tomorrow? - This story actually made me kinda like Justin Hammer, if you can believe it.  

blindness

@tempestaurora:

hydra’s not a home series - HYDRA Peter, and also bio-dad Tony and bio-mom Pepper!

i’ll find you in the drift - Pacific Rim AU, and I have never seen PR, but I adored this so much.

it’s okay, we’re okay [whumpvember 2018] series

@jolinarjackson:

Lights To Guide You Home series - Another adoption AU.  They are my weakness, and this is one of the best out there.  

... and when you can’t crawl ...

Damaged At Best (Like You’ve Already Figured Out)

@blondsak:

No Life But This

come morning light (you and I’ll be safe and sound)

Burying Grounds - Eeeek!  Tony has to choose between saving Peter or Pepper and it hurts.

hold on, hold on

Something the Soul Needs

@madasthesea:

turn back the clock (and I’ll try again in the morning)

when my body won’t hold me anymore (where will I go)

They have so many other lovely looking fics--including an adoption au series (which I, of course, love), but I just haven’t gotten around to reading them yet.  I’m pretty sure anything they write is golden.  :)

@signofuncertainty:

It’s Always the Little Things

I’m sure their other fic, The Third Option, is fantastic and I really, really wanna read it but I’m trying so hard to wait until it’s complete!  It’s really difficult to wait, though, tbh....I may give in soon.  

@upcamethesun:

Twelve Days Of Peter Parker - So cute and fluffy, and then it kills you at the end.

5 Times Peter Made Tony Laugh Out Loud

5 Times Tony Didn’t Need To Worry About Peter

5 Times Peter Pretended To Be Tougher Than He Was

@frostysunflowers:

Between how it is and how it should be - This story made me love a Peter and Bucky friendship.

@kitcat992:

Identity Theft - This was one of the very first Iron Dad fics I read, and it was a doozy.  Full of whump, medical accuracy, and hurt/comfort!  The author is posting a sequel now, too: Identity Crisis.  :D

For Pete’s Sake!

@camelot-queen:

Goner - A perfectly heartbreaking kidnapping fic, but heed the warnings!

Who Saves The Hero

Never Meet Your Heroes

i’m the satellite (and you’re the sky) - Tony is Peter’s bio-dad but Peter doesn’t know it.  I haven’t actually finished this yet, but it’s good.  So, so good.

@peter-stank:

built from scraps - YOU GUYS, this is one of the best fics I’ve read on AO3.  It’s a ‘Tony gets dusted instead of Peter’ AU, and it’s got such an amazing dynamic between Peter, Pepper, and Morgan.  It’ll also make you tear up a few times, at least.

@geekymoviemom:

Sins of the Fathers - So, I’ve only read the first 5 chapters of this epic length (303k words@) adoption AU so far, but I’m LOVING it so I wanted to add it here.  They also have an even longer bio-dad Tony with added Stony bonus series, Pieces of Echoes, that they’re posting the 3rd installment to right now.  I’ll definitely be checking it out!

@too-many-bees:

let’s kick it

like a bridge over troubled water

@jbsforever:

it’ll be over (and I’ll still be asking when)

@tnyystark:

where the memories reside

@whumphoarder:

Quieting the Void series - Peter kinda has an eating disorder due to the spider bite, so take care if you read!

Poison Apple - Loved how medically accurate this was, and Ned’s reaction to Peter’s condition was heartbreaking.

@seek-rest:

It Hurts to Become

Someday We’ll Know - This is a Walk to Remember AU, so there’s MCD.  I’ve gotten about halfway through, but I can only read it when I’m in the right mindset.  But it’s lovely and so well done.  

This author has so many fics that I’m sure are amazing, and they’re on my ‘to read’ list when I’m in the mood for beautiful Spideychelle stories.

@caraminha:

The Primary Reason Tony Stark Would Throw Down With an Anti-Vaxxer in the Street - Hella scary depiction of Peter with tetanus, and it’s SO GOOD.

@tonystarkstan:

it all comes back to this

skeletons series

to build a home series - I love recovery fics, and this was a beautiful story of Peter dealing with the aftermath of being snapped and coming back.

lay your weary head to rest

@foolscapper:

Exploding Head Syndrome - Everyone comes back when the snap is reversed, but Peter is sort of catatonic--stuck between the living world and the soul stone where he’s with Gamora.  It’s such a lovely fic.

@alice-in-ink:

It’s a Little Bit We Do

Danger Pizza

@legalassie:

oh, darling - Peter’s kidnapped and Tony frantically searches for him--one of my favorite things.  Peter uses his smarts to help him get out of the situation, too, which is also one of my favorite things.

don’t think about tomorrow. 

@blackwatchandromeda:

Broken Thoughts (I Remember Everything)

Leave Me to Dream

A Nightmare to Remember

@emma--anacortes: 

Accepting the Tides - Here I am with another adoption AU.  Can you see a pattern yet?  I love them, and this one has danger and whump and comfort as well.  

@ardenskyedarcy221b:

they are standing in the garden - This hurt.  Several times the author had me tearing up and there’s a few lines that will stay with me forever.  It was just immensely lovely to read.

@iamallyetnotatall:

At the Start of the Universe - This was so much better than I was expecting! Peter is an Angel, and he knows Tony from the very beginning of the universe. It’s different, but absolutely gorgeous.

@starktowr:

somewhere outside my life - I don’t wanna say too much, but just read this.  It’ll break you and you’ll love it.

@jessicagoddamnjones: 

too bad (but it’s the life you lead)

@silver-bubbles:

The Fire’s Out (But Still It Burns)  

@day-dreamer176:

Like A Strike of Lightning - I kinda took this as a demonic possession a la Supernatural, but I don’t think it actually was.  Either way, it was fantastic.

fifty-four

five, tops

The World Stopped

@ambivalentmarvel:

Into His Fold series - Where Thanos brings Peter back from the ashes to make him into his new son (a la Nebula and Gamora).

@notaparty-trick:

Doom and Gloom - A ‘Peter doesn’t get dusted’ AU, filled with whump and Iron Dad and an awesome Carol Danvers.  Angst!!!

Dust and Blood - Peter is hurt much worse when Toomes drops the building on him.  More angst!!!!  This author does angst very well.

@ema--vee:

You don’t have to hold your head up high - Peter can’t thermoregulate!  I love that trope.

@forensicleaf:

All the Things We’ve Lost (And All the Things We’ve Gained) - This one gutted me, and then made it better.  But there’s pain to be had before the comfort!

They just posted the first chapter of a new WIP that looks AMAZING, too: Can’t Part the Sea, Can’t Reach the Shore.

@plnkblue:

foolish, fragile spine - Peter’s severely injured in his fight with Adrian Toomes and Tony finds him.  

@helloitisiafellowgay:

god did not craft us as altars, but as dying gods - Okay, guys.  This one is heavy.  It deals with Skip coming back into Peter’s life, and it’s not pretty but it’s handled superbly.  It’s a tough read, but one I definitely recommend if you can handle it.  Take care of yourselves first and foremost, though.  <3

~ ~ ~ I’m not sure if the following authors have a tumblr, so I just linked their AO3 pages ~ ~ ~

eccentric_artist_221b:

Only for a Little While - This is a Titanic AU, and it’s AMAZING.  There’s several scenes that just took my breath away and brought me to tears (not an easy feat). They’re also working on a WWI sequel!!!!

tiaylasglass:

the one who made it out - Short, simple in a gorgeous way, and poignant.  

And finally, I thought I’d humbly add my own little contribution to the fandom.  So far, I’ve only written the one fic, but I hope to write more in the future!

@ghostinthebau:

For Want of a Dad (in need of a son) - There’s a bit of blood, and a very distraught Tony at one point, so warning for angst and injury!

Again, this list is probably severely lacking, and if someone has a rec that’s not on here please please please reblog this and let me know!  I’m always in the mood for more fics.  

And I hope anyone reading this finds something they enjoy!  

I’m sure you will.  

ilu 3,000

:)