#I did not follow the outline I made for this chapter LOL this was an unpredictable chapter even to me

[sanchoyo]

you know what. I planned out my entire nanowrimo novel in a month then wrote double the length last november bc i had an outline to work off of. so like. theres absolutely no reason i couldnt just blitz a script for the comic in like, a month? I KNOW i can write fast jkdhjkad i could def do that...less excuses not to finish it if its already p much entirely planned in detail, right? 🤔

[topochicoslut]

everybody wants to rule the world: prologue

fic synopsis: A young woman is sent on what is sure to be a suicide mission to spy on Ryomen Sukuna by a rival curse user who has heard rumors that the infamous King of Curses might have found the secret to true immortality

pairing: ryomen sukuna x fem!reader rating: 18+ ONLY!!!!!! MDNI!!!! IF I CATCH YOU, I'LL BLOCK YOU!!! word count: 1.1k

warnings: none for this chapter! but overall fic warnings include but are not limited to the following- slow burn, enemies to lovers, eventual smut/p0rn with plot, descriptions of violence and gore, language, horror elements, morally grey characters, me having an aneurysm while trying to properly describe cursed techniques, true form sukuna (eventually), etc etc. each chapter will have the appropriate content warnings added to them based on subject matter : )

a/n: hiiiii! so this idea has been bumping around in my head for the past few weeks, and I finally decided to do something about it. idk the world has just been kinda crazy lately, so I figured why not write something super self indulgent about sukuna to help take my mind off of things. this is just the prologue, the next few chapters should be dropping soon-ish after this. I just need to tidy some things up (aka edit the fuck out of everything i’ve written so far🫠🥲). just a couple of quick things- this is a Heian era AU fic, and while I did do a lil research before I started writing this, there will probably still be a couple of historical inaccuracies here and there. so for that I just wanna apologize in advance and say my bad. I have the entire story outlined, including the current number of chapters it will probably take to wrap everything up, but considering this whole thing has sort of taken a life of its own at this point idk what to expect anymore lol. I'll do my best to update it when I can based on life and work and everything else. !!!please note!!!: the first few chapters focus more so on reader's back story and world building, so sukuna won't make his first full appearance right away, but he IS mentioned periodically leading up to that. so please bear with me until he arrives in all his glory lol. anyway, thanks for everyone who has shown interest in this story since I first posted about it the other day! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it 🖤 divider by sweetmelodygraphics

Southern Japan, 888 AD

Your head was pounding when you woke up. Just as it had been ever since you’d arrived at the temple. 

Well, arrived was too kind a way to describe what had really happened. Being forcibly kidnapped and imprisoned was a much more accurate description of how you had landed in your current situation. But the specifics didn’t really seem to matter all that much anymore. 

Nothing did really. 

You were still laid out in the middle of the floor of the small shrine you’d been confined to for the past two- or maybe it was four?- days now. You eyed the carafe of water to your right, and if you weren’t feeling so groggy and sick you would’ve crawled over to it and gulped it down. Hoping that the refreshing chill of it would help clear your head finally. 

But moving felt impossible, and you were so, so tired. 

A few days ago sleep would’ve been a welcome escape for you, but now it was just another prison you were stuck in thanks to the numerous talismans that were hanging on the walls around you. They had been smart to not leave any light sources in the room with you, or else you would have grabbed the nearest torch and burned them all to ash so you could try and make a run for it. But the only source of light you had came from the moonbeams that were shining in through the tiny window above you. 

The air was thick with smoke from the incense that had been burning ever since you’d been sealed in this room. Its sickly sweet aroma had made you retch when you first arrived, but now all it did was keep your mind fuzzy and your body heavy and sluggish. That paired with the ofuda that hung from floor to ceiling was just another tool used to keep you subdued and prevent any hope you had of escape. You couldn’t cross the threshold of the shrine even if you could get your body to cooperate. 

The faint chittering sound coming from the shadows let you know you were not alone. But you couldn’t bring yourself to look in the direction they were coming from. You didn’t want to see the empty black eyes of the creatures that had been assigned to watch your every move day and night. Not when you now knew the sickening truth behind how Hisato had created them. Binding dead flesh and bone together with-

You couldn’t even think of it. 

Your former master had never been one to shy away from showing the world exactly what kind of man he was. You knew that he was cold and cruel when you had willingly joined his side all those years ago. But somehow even you hadn’t thought he would be capable of such grotesque acts of depravity in his quest for immortality. 

Or perhaps deep down you’d known all along what sort of monster he truly was, choosing instead to ignore it by willfully turning a blind eye to his unhinged cruelty because of the protection and comfort that had been provided to you by dutifully serving under him for so long. 

You had been a fool. 

If Sukuna were here, he would wholeheartedly agree with you. 

He was somehow the one thing you could still see perfectly clear in your mind’s eye. You pictured him standing in this small room with you, towering over your limp body, his tattooed arms crossed over his broad chest as he glowered down at you with those fiery eyes of his. Challenging you to get up off your ass and do something. To fight like your life depended on it, because it did. 

‘Foolish, pitiful, girl,’ He’d say.  ‘This is pathetic. You’re being pathetic.’ 

You’d honestly give anything to hear him say those words to you right now, and the thought had you suddenly giggling to yourself. You didn’t care that your laughter was bordering on hysterical, but it was just so bitterly ironic that you found yourself wishing that the King of Curses was here to mock and scold you, considering that just a few months ago you had slapped him as hard as you could right across his face for insulting you and calling you names. It was funny how things had changed between the two of you in such a short amount of time. 

The knowledge that you might never get to be near him again weighed on you. To hear him tut under his breath at you for bothering him with your ‘useless blabbering’ even though he was the one who so often sought you out. To feel his blazing red eyes follow you from across a room. To be overcome with the heat of  his large body moving in tandem over yours. If you closed your eyes you could almost taste the sweat of his skin, and smell the rich, musky, scent of cedar and smoke from the incense that filled his chambers. In your mind it was so sharp it could almost mask the disgusting smell of the incense in your prison. 

Almost. 

You wished you could warn him about Hisato. You wished you could go to him and let him know that you were alive. You wished you could tell him where he could find you. You wished you could tell him to stay far, far, away. Because even if Sukuna did somehow manage to find you, even if he did somehow arrive here and challenge Hisato, there was only a limited window before the ritual would begin, and if Hisato was successful, not even Sukuna would be able to grant him a true death like he deserved.

In the distance you heard the sudden ringing of the large bronze bell that lived in the heart of the temple. It rang loud and clear- once, twice, and then a third and final time. Despite your distance from it, you felt your bones rattle with every swing of its giant body.

The chattering from Hisato’s creatures resumed, and this time it was feverish and loud. Their little shrieks and screams filled the room, and you could hear their talons scraping against the wooden floor as they moved their decaying bodies in excitement. 

The moonlight that shone into your room was brighter than it had been only moments before. It pierced through the thick wisps of smoke that filled the air like a sword cutting through a blade of grass. You turned your head and stared out the window as you watched as the edges of the full moon that hung so heavily in the night sky began to twinge with red. Red like blood. Red like Sukuna's eyes. 

It was time.

tag list: @after-laughter-come-tears @officialholyagua @clp-84

[jules-writes-stories]

I had a couple of asks about WIP Wednesday (including a playlist!) so wanted to post a blurb for Chapter 6. I threw a playlist together really quick. They're songs I listened to while outlining/ made me think of the story, setting, and characters. All vibes. No order or hidden message. This is not my strength, lol. 🖤

The Night Court Lounge | Tribeca, NYC | Ch 1-5 on AO3

Azriel x Eris

Chapter 6 (Excerpt)

Tribeca, NYC

“Lemme guess. Black hoodie?” Akon’s eyes peered back in the rear view mirror. 

Eris saw Azriel’s figure the same time his driver did. Of course he would do something reckless like walk up the island of Manhattan in the early hours of the morning. The pretty man clearly enjoyed stressing him out. 

Eris took a breath. No good would come of acting distraught.

They followed him down a cobbled street to an overpass that crossed over a highway below. Steam rose over manholes. Squares of light from empty, lit office buildings reflected off rain slicked streets. 

The car slowed to drive alongside Azriel. He wore Airpods and his hands were stuffed in his pockets. Eris rolled down his window.

After several seconds, Az turned to look directly at Eris and his eyes grew wide. Something like embarrassment and rejection passed across the man’s face, before it froze into a cool mask of neutrality. He pulled his dark hood up and picked up his pace. 

His beloved bat was growing fangs… 

Akon’s eyes flicked up to meet Eris’s and laughter shined in those dark pools. He needed no directions as he began to drive alongside the petulant pedestrian. 

“Azriel. Will you at least tell me why you stormed off?” Eris called out of the slowly moving vehicle, his voice laced with humor.

Hazel eyes were brazen as they narrowed at Eris. There was the magnificent creature in his submissive. Jealousy made a beast of Azriel. And Eris had the strange impulse to pet the beast, to soothe it. 

Azriel pulled out his earbuds and faced the car. They were stopped on the overpass now. Traffic flashed below like a river of light through the chain link fence behind him. 

Eris could tell the younger man was struggling, was on a precipice. And he considered… In business, it was customary to offer a concession. Eris would give something, and then, perhaps, Azriel, the silly man, would get in the car. 

“Azriel. I can’t fix it, if I don’t know what’s wrong.” Eris tried to keep his voice reasonable. This was him being reasonable. He was being… Yes, reasonable was the word. 

The beautiful man stalked towards the car. “Why did you even follow me? What do you want?” 

Eris felt that prickle of panic, control slipping once more.

Thesan’s words clanged through him.  Be vulnerable with him, or end it… All or nothing.

And the thought of ending it, of not seeing those hazel eyes or that shy smile, the way Azriel’s dark lashes fluttered against his cheekbones when Eris praised him. No. He did not like that idea at all. And panic grew at the thought. 

In fact, if Eris was being completely honest, he wanted to learn more. Who were his favorite artists? When was his birthday? Why did everyone at the Night Court feel the need to protect him and what happened to his hands?

Be reasonable. The last time Eris fell, it had been for Thesan. And it had cost him a year of his life.

What did he want? Right now? 

“I want you to get in my car. And talk to me.” Eris kept his voice level, even as the authority he was accustomed to using slipped through his timbre. He pushed it aside. This was not the bedroom or the boardroom-- this was a highway overpass, and he wanted this man. 

Azriel stepped closer, backpack slung over a shoulder. “You’re used to getting your way, aren’t you, Eris?”  His tone was icey, but there was something soft and needful in his gaze. 

Eris stepped out of his car and leaned against the door. He crossed his arms over his chest. They stared at each other beneath the fuzzy glow of the street lamps. The hum of traffic rattled the overpass. 

“What if I want you?”

Please let me know if you ever want on/off the tag | @the-darkestminds @fieldofdaisiies @mistandmemories @secret-third-thing @chunkypossum @talibunny30 @amalhe-kofee @shadowsandlint @queercontrarian @molcat07 @c-starstuff-man0 @lovely-vanserra-sunshine @hieragalbatorixdottir @brunetterebel010 @pippsmcgee @theartofmischief @born-to-riot

[littlecrittereli]

It's been a long time since I watched Wild Kratts but I didn't even know he had a fandom, I'm so happy, and your story made my dream come true, I would love to create a story like you, but I'm not very good at writing stories What tips would you give to a beginner <3

I don't consider myself a super great author to be honest, I'm much more confident in my illustrations! But as someone who is completely self taught: here are some tips I use when I write my stories! (these may not apply to everyone, but they do help me) Outlines

If I'm writing a plot-based story I make an outline of all the major plot points I want to make and separate them into chapters. I reference this outline when I'm writing a chapter and it helps me meet all my "goals" for that particular chapter! Of course you can be flexible with this. Say one of your plot points dragged out a little too long and you want to save something for the next chapter, you can adjust your outline as you go! Sometimes your idea will change as you write it, and that's okay! revise your outline accordingly. For me, it's handy so I don't end up spiralling completely off the path I intended and lose the conclusion I wanted to have. Here's an example of the outline for my Reprogrammed AU. (Only chapters 1-5 to prevent spoilers for unreleased chapters)

as you can see, it doesn't have to be super formal. This is literally just in my notes app. As long as you can understand and follow your ideas, that's all that matters.

Get a Beta Reader!

I do not actually have a beta reader currently, but sending your writings to someone to proofread is one of the best ways to get genuine feedback. Try to find someone who is also pretty educated on proper grammar. I learned more about proper formatting from a fanfiction beta reader than I did in school im so fr. At the very least, make sure this person is comfortable with giving you constructive criticism. If something reads a little awkward or if a plot point doesn't make much sense/could be solved with an easier method, it's a lot easier for someone to point out when they didn't write the piece.

Study fanfictions/books you enjoy

Honestly... just reading a lot has made me a better writer. You will begin to notice the way authors describe certain feelings or environments, and that can give you insight on how to go about writing your own ideas. If I find an author I really like, I will try to dissect WHY I like them so much. Is it their accurate characterization? Do they describe emotions well? Are their plots engaging? Is their dialogue interesting? Find out what makes their writing so interesting so you can incorporate those traits into your own story. This goes for the way they format their writing as well. For example, I've found I prefer when chapters are around 1k-5k words. Really short chapters can make the story seem choppy when the reader has to constantly click to the next page, it kinda breaks the immersion of the story. Instead I try to use chapter breaks as interesting pausing points for suspense. I love it when authors leave their chapter on a slightly unfinished note. So I'm curious for the next chapter, but also I feel fulfilled with what I've read so far. And I've discovered this by analyzing the stories I enjoy!

And the most important advice I can give.... PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!!!

Writing is similar to drawing in the sense that in order to learn, you must DO it. You have to make the shitty stuff before you find out how to make it better! It's honestly just part of the creative process. I still have some short stories I wrote back when I was a preteen and ITS BAD LOL but I needed to go through that in order to learn and grow and be more confident in my storytelling capabilities. And just like illustrations, everyone starts at a different place and everyone's process is different. SO BE PATIENT AND DON'T GIVE UP! Write that story! Even if it's bad, who cares?! You wrote something! And next time, you will write something even better!

[concreteangel92]

2, 8, 23, 25, 26 for TSNK🤩

Questions from this post for ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ I’ll put a cut here to avoid any spoilers for people that haven’t read it yet or if you’re not up to date!

Spoilers ahead but we go more in depth to my writing process for the story, feel free to send in any other questions 🖤

2. How did you come up with the idea?

It all started when I re-watched ‘The Dark Knight’

Heath Ledger is my favourite actor and his joker is my favourite character of all time! I have no shame in admitting that I’d be weak for his joker ahaha so when I was watching it, it made me think about a serial killer, criminal mastermind version of Noah and it started from there!

Although I have so many other inspirations as well!!

8. Did you cut something out of the outline or an early draft? What was it and why did you decide to cut it?

I didn’t cut anything exactly from the main storyline, I did however have multiple endings written down and now I’ve decided on which one I wanted, there are about 3 alternate endings on the ‘cutting room floor’ as it were

(Could mean that I could write the alternate endings later down the line maybe as extras 🤔)

23. How did you come up with the title?

As it’s one of the 10 commandments and that being the nickname for Noah from the press, it seemed like the most fitting title, I had no others haha it was that one straight away!

25. Share your favourite line

I have three off the top of my head….

1. “Good morning angel” - I knew that would be the best cliffhanger moment and what would definitely get people talking haha

2. “What’s the matter detective? Found anything interesting?”

“What’s the matter, you look nervous?”

“Oh come now detective, don’t let me down now. My little slip up this morning was very…unfortunate”

These lines from the scene at the end of chapter 7 I had written down long before I actually wrote the chapter itself

3.

“Follow me to thy kingdom,

Although I am no king.

We shall dethrone god,

For I won’t do his bidding”

I wrote this myself and was pretty proud of it once I’d come up with it lol as I’d been wracking my brains as I really wanted him to be sending cryptic messages to the reader

26. Share your favourite detail

That’s a hard one actually haha I think my favourite detail within the story is just the 10 commandments themselves and how they have been used within the storyline and how it ties in with everything

[paunchsalazar]

hey so I really enjoyed your kyokao longfic and i was wondering what the writing process was like since im planning on writing a fanfic (first time).

did you plan anything with an outline? or did you wing it?

anyways thanks in advance (and btw im doing another reread of your fic, it's so narratively satisfying!!)

omg woah first!!! thank you so much!!! that is seriously the most touching thing to possibly hear T-T

This is going to be such a long-winded answer but I definitely did not wing it!!! apologies for the long post but I love to see behind the curtain and think about process so...

That fic was my first multi-chapter story and waaaay longer than anything else I’ve ever made… so I kinda had no idea where to start. I wanted to make a rough outline to see if it was even feasible - was there a beginning, middle, and end? Even a super hazy one? before jumping in and writing a whole long project… (I had no idea how long it would be, but knew it was definitely longer than a few thousand words.)

it started as a timeline - trying to keep track of all the canon events via bonus chapters and sketches, then working to fill in the gaps with headcanons. Even though Ouran is silly, by the end they’re operating within a normal timeline lol….

After filling out a lot of the timeline with headcanons then organizing them in chronological order.. started to see the plot/opportunities for change - in the characters, their relationships, the state of their lives - especially with school, moving, etc. all of the above

I tried to make myself a guide to keep organized lol (totally unnecessary, but helped me keep track of things!)

the timeline started as bullet points - if there are any settings or occasions that would justify an “episode” - major holidays, group trip, etc. At least with Ouran, I tried to play around with the settings - The host club has unlimited resources which is a rare luxury… but wanted to keep in the realm of what they might do + think about fancy rich people things they hadn’t yet covered “on screen”

From there, it went to sub-bullet points, then trying to nail down each beat I'd want to cover - through narration or dialogue

It's hard to pin it down but sometimes certain moments - a visual, an exchange of dialogue - play out really clearly in my head… so would occasionally find that moment and then reverse engineer what would lead to that, then follow the thread to where it would potentially go…

Usually went in chronological order or at least made a list of beats all the way through, but then would jump back and forth to fix little things or add in details I realized needed to move sooner/be foreshadowed…

Outline/timeline > beats > rough draft > going line by line to edit + then hopping around to fix things accordingly

I had a lot of different docs... just because they get so big

+ I like to put unfinished things in blue (or any color, I like blue because red feels more negative to me lol) and then change them to black when they feel "locked" or at least like they're functioning. It helps me keep track of how much is left to do + makes it easier to find spots that need attention!

+ also like to have a "cutting room" document for everything I cut/don't know where to put/is redundant in case I want to use it for later, or even just to try to see what I was going for!! I've found it to come in handy down the line

Here are some examples of the WIP bullet points/blurbs lol... I also like to make "off-screen" notes to myself just to keep in mind, I did have a friend beta-reading some parts, but kinda do this for myself anyway just to keep it in mind.

From there it was just writing and rewriting... I usually go through a scene from the beginning and read until something trips me up, try to either fix it or make note of what the intention was and then go on to the next beat. I went chapter by chapter, in order, and tried to get each locked before going on to the next one.

Should also note that this fic took me a long time!! And I wasn't working on it with a super set schedule. It was purely for fun, so I just worked on it when I felt like it (and as it grew, I found myself wanting to work on it more and more! so it was exciting more than a chore).

I talked to friends about it, even if just kinda laughing about headcanons or jokes, and had a few people read through the beats and a few scenes to see if it flowed/if the dialogue sounded in character!

+ I did a lot of revisiting the source material or even just watching a clip when I felt like I was losing their voices. Idk if it was that successful... but it helped to keep them in mind!!

Anyway... I can only speak for what works for me! and I think a lot of these habits are coming from my storyboarding workflow.

Writing is so personal and there is bound to be trial and error!! I hope that you have so much fun writing, whatever approach you take!!!!!

Also what thank you so much for reading my fic at all and for your kindness!! If you ever publish your fic, please send me a link!!! even if it is ages from now!!!!!

[figurativepieceoftrash]

Got briefly, somewhat, got interested in bnha again (possible manga re-read currently pending), so I read your fics Sympathy for the Devil and The Line, and going crazy for the psychological horror aspects in both omg? Just WOW, I love 'em! Are there any notes or ideas or literally any rambles you wanna share about these two fics?

Omg thank you sm for asking! I'd be ecstatic to share a bit about both actually, overjoyed that you decided to briefly return to my work bc you're one of my coolest mutuals and your comments are some of the best I receive, used to always so look forward to seeing your kudos signature at the bottom of my fics 🥺💕

Sympathy actually has a sequel in the works, but I'm not sure if I'll ever publish it considering the oneshot didn't perform as well as I'd like it to and I think the work stands alone fine as it is in terms of what I was hoping to say thematically. That said what's written of the next installment has a v heavy focus on identity (SHOCKING for my writing, I know lol): an on-the-run Izuku still doesn't trust his father despite being forced to rely on his resources/connections/knowledge for survival, and is attempting to figure out where the person he was ends and the person All for One's made him into begins so he can decide exactly how far his loyalty should extend. Although Izuku chose his father during the resolution of Sympathy, there was. Uh. Obviously a lot going on, at the moment, and people tend to make dubious decisions in the midst of heightened emotions, so it's natural that he might question things a bit in the aftermath

While the primary focus of sympathy was tackling my issues with the underlying messages conveyed by bnha's ending (I feel like most of my works nowadays broach that subject, at least to a degree), there was also a good bit in there about cycles of abuse and grappling with the less savory traits one might inherit from their parents, especially in regards to personality disorders and mental illnesses. Because of this, I wanted to really make it clear that although Izuku does share a lot of similarities to afo following the psychological redecorating he's performed, he is still capable of coming out the other end a person he can be proud of, even if it might take some real doing and constitute what feels like a lifelong uphill battle.

Because of this, the outline of the fic did slate for a happy ending; after plenty of conflict, introspection, and interpersonal drama, we'd get to a point where Izuku realized struggling to empathize with others didn't make him a bad person, there aren't good people just people trying day by day to be good, people have the capacity to accept and care for him even if he has changed, etc. etc. etc. all very and they rode off into the sunset type stuff. Even after he'd expelled afo from his mindscape he'd never go back to normal, but sometimes experiences change you and you have to learn to grow around them even if you personally can't find a positive spin to it. Not all of Izuku's friends are as close following the change and some drift away entirely (I do not write fluff and I have to stay true to my personal interpretation of realism, sorry 😔) but enough people are willing to adapt to this new version of him that he thinks he can eventually become someone he doesn't hate being.

The Line is similar both in that it dished out my beef with the bnha ending in a major way and that it got thrown in "Oh God, I wrote like eight chapters of this but no one likes it so I'll be damned if I ever publish them. Oh, the Shame! It burns!" limbo. This one also dealt heavily with themes of the self, though its grapples were less with perceived ethical deficit and more with (lack of) accomplishment-based feelings of inadequacy and the pressures of self-enforced interpersonal comparison. I feel like a large portion of fandom is in that age group where they're starting to figure out their lives, and they're either conventionally successful but grappling with the reality of leaving behind lifelong social networks/safety nets/friends (Uraraka) or failing to accomplish their childhood dreams and coming face to face with shame, aimlessness, and perceived inadequacy (Izuku).

I thought it would be really fun to explore this alongside Bnha's Issues With The Concept of Saving™️ and what it actually means to have failed to save someone. Bnha has this issue where it forces characters to infantilize and dehumanize villains for the sake of saving them. Here’s me going off about it in a private discord server with my friends bc I’m too lazy to rephrase it here lol:

But yeah! Line attempted to critique this by mirroring that same shallow dehumanizing thinking in the way the Toga and Shigaraki treated Izuku. Using a human being with agency and a complex internal reality as a personal project without considering their identity as an individual seems very sinister when the shoe is on the other foot, and although everyone involved has good intentions, dehumanization is never a constructive way to solve a problem.

I also obviously took issue with how the public reacted to Izuku and Ochako's frankly half-assed attempts at saving the villains? Shoto was very open with his intentions, but the fact that neither of the other characters with "marginalized dissidents are people too even if they use unethical means to address social issues" arcs actually went public with their desire to help means that any broader change that might've occurred as a result of their actions is negated. Weirdly enough Izuku pushes the responsibility of framing villains as people onto Spinner??? For some reason??? Which like. Okay. But I think the angry and demoralized public would be a lot more eager to listen to an ex-heroics student of considerable renown than a convicted felon, yeah? Seems kind of like you. Don't actually care??? Very weird handling of the story's central conflict, I'll say that much.

But yeah if any of those concepts interest you lmk, talking about this is kind of making me want to revisit it, if I'm being perfectly honest. Thanks again for asking me to talk about my fics, I'm super grateful, esp bc I just released another total flop lol, it means a lot to me in a time when it feels like no one likes my writing :P

[toothpastecanyon]

Are you the one that made the su x gf crossover abt dipper and mabel getting ubducted + if u where how was it going to end (if u planned ahead lol) bc it has been in the back of my mind for so longgg! Ik u prob won't update it I was just wondering if u could share the general overview.

Ty <3

Hi, wow, that's a blast from the past! I did write Adventures in the Human Zoo back in 2018 (when I was 17, wow) - I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

After I saw your message, I went back into my files and found the draft document. I put together some of the scraps I'd written for chapter 10 here if you'd like to read them!

As for how it ended, I had a very rough outline for how it was going to go but it's not very descriptive. I think I struggled to keep the story on track after I had Mabel break her leg, that felt like kind of a jarringly dark plot choice I had no idea how to follow up on after I posted it haha.

I think I had some idea to have Dipper cause a disturbance in the Human Zoo the same way Steven did, escape, and find Mabel. Meanwhile Stan and Ford end up teaming up with the Crystal Gems after a misunderstanding and they go to Lars' ship and rescue everyone from the Human Zoo.

I hope, even though I wasn't able to finish this fic, this answered some questions for you! It makes me really happy that someone liked it enough to reach out to me <3

[achaotichuman]

Surprise self-rec time! Pick 3 of your favorite things you’ve written and share them here, then put this in the inbox (anonymously or not) of your fellow writers to spread the positivity and help celebrate already written fics

OMG YES I LOVE THIS!!!!!!

A Witch A Warrior And A Reckoning

I am super proud of this one, it's the first piece of writing I've made where I outlined everything and prepped before actually going ahead and posting (Im usually a *follow the vibe* kinda guy) My writing style is pretty developed now and I think it really shines through with this one. Especially because of how many of my OC's are featured here.

Summary-

Life is peaceful for Dahlia Fairburn, running with her War Band, and commanding the Spring Court armies. Since the day she could wield a sword, she's been helping her father, along with her younger brother, to restore Spring to its former glory. Trying to ignore the festering magic in her body, that threatens to consume her.

One day, all that peace is threatened to be shaken, as a certain prince of Night asks for her to join the rebellion of the Hewn City and Illyria. From beneath the great mountains, an ancient song calls for her. She meets a woman with death in her eyes, and power in her veins, who makes Dahlia's blood boil while something clicks into place between them.

This new generation of Prythian was thought to be one of peace and prosperity. But the mask of the reigning High Lords begin to crumble, as secrets older than Prythian itself are uncovered, and darkness is unleashed.

An ACOTAR next generation fanfiction

How Nesta Archeron Learned To Trap A Beast

I never thought in a million years this would get nearly the amount of attention that it did, but it is now my most popular fic to date. I started writing it because of a poll @kateprincessofbluewhales did about who would take Nesta on a camping trip instead of the Hike from Hell. And an anon suggested Tamlin. I was like "lol that would be so funny" and now it has over 225 kudos and 130 subscriptions

Summary-

When given the choice of being locked up in the House of Wind with the male she despises, or returning to the Human Lands where she will no doubt face certain death. Nesta Archeron takes her chances and decides to return to the Mortal World. However, she is going on her own. After catching a ship and landing herself in Summer, Nesta makes her way through the Spring Lands with one goal in mind, make it to her old home alive without being trapped by any other beastly Faeries.

Little did she know she might be the one catching the beastly Faery.

Crippled by memories and loneliness weighing down on him, Tamlin is near the verge of ending it all. His home is in ruins, his only company the dripping in the corner of the room and sometimes the singing of birds. As his thoughts spin him in circles Tamlin doesn't think life will ever be better than this. Then someone with silver eyes and bad attitude sets foot in his lands.

And well.... Tamlin had never been taught to not poke sleeping bears.

A Court of Song and Desolation

This fic was born from the vibes it has. I was up at 2am on a random Monday night with work the next day, and my writing group sent through a prompt for us to write about. I was struggling with what to write, and then as I was typing something about a beast in a cage, the idea came to make it about Tamlin. Yada yada yada, I turned it into an angsty Tamcien oneshot, and decided "well if anyone wants more (which I doubt they will) Ill make another chapter" Then someone commented they want more and I was sent down the pipeline of hyperfixation. And here we are!

Summary-

She had eyes like starlight and a grin that could outshine the moon, "We'll rule the world."

"What if we fail?"

"Then we'll burn it all down."

In hindsight maybe it could only have ever ended like this. Making a man who was never made to rule, High lord. This was all inevitable.

With his Court in ruins and everyone gone, Tamlin lives amongst the broken pieces of his Court and has no intentions of changing that. Lucien, however, will not stand to leave his oldest friend alone.

When Lucien takes Tamlin back to the human lands, they discover a darkness coming for Prythian. If something does not stop it, it will completely rewrite the way Faeries and humans alike live as they know it

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Happy Storyteller Saturday!

When you finish a first draft, how does it look? Is it readable or does it have more holes than a swiss cheese? What are your next steps, and how much changes?

Hey Elli! Happy STS!

First of all - I believe every idea is at least somewhat salvageable. I hope to one day get to the point where I somehow managed to adapt the short stories I "wrote" when I was in kindergarten.

Okay my first drafts are...weird. They differ greatly from most people. Let's talk about a few examples so I can explain.

The Secret Portal

Started as a school project in fourth grade (age 10). It is readable but it's so silly. Mainly because I was ten. I've somehow managed to string it together into what it is now but the first act is the only recognizable thing.

The second version of TSP I wrote over a year later. My first step was to make it longer and have chapters. That was about it.

The third version was about a year after that. I decided I didn't like my story ideas to be stretched out across a whole book, so I combined the first two books into one. I alternated the POV and worked more on the details. My descriptions and characterization was better, though I was constrained by the limitations of following the older drafts.

The fourth version was a year and a half after that. We're nearing the end of eighth grade - I'm 14. I'd done a lot of other writing but I decided to go back to TSP. This time, I had full scenes and character introductions and even a halfway decent (emphasis) prologue. Pacing was getting better, and the story beats made more sense. I alternated POV, but realized the need for it being very deliberate whose perspective I was in.

One hole I figured out was how to differentiate my heroes and villains. Jedi and Carmen originated as villain roles but when I thought about it making them good, or honestly extremely morally gray, made a lot more sense. I soon developed a plot, a world, character arcs...

While I refer to all of it as Draft Four, I kept up with this version for so long there are technically multiple drafts of TSP in this section. I didn't start the document over until 2021.

How did I go on from here? Well, I focused on refining story beats. Characters and their voices. General pacing and descriptions. World building.

So definitely not a traditional process lol.

More detailed behind the scenes is linked in my intro post

School of the Legends

I basically hit the reset button every time. I had the idea of "fairy tale retelling" for years.

For SOTL, I did write a dual first person POV short story with Úrsula and Beau and discover third person worked better. But as SOTL it technically only has five chapters drafted. I'd say that just tossing out everything worked here.

Other

Most of the others I wrote as a kid and as I grew older I modified it to my current maturity level, taking the same plot points and fleshing them out. When I was 13+ I started outlining and planning more details and characters. More plot twists and arcs.

Sooo I don't really have the typical first draft experience. Essentially what I do is this:

Nothing is unsalvageable.

Figure out what is salvageable.

Write down ideas I have during reading old drafts.

Identify the holes.

Figure out how to fill the holes/brainstorm

Figure out everything you still don't know

???

Profit

Hope this was a satisfactory answer lol

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @fairy-tales-of-yesterday

[highhhfiveee]

fucking finally!

hi hi all [: i’m sorry it’s taken me a bit longer to get this message out, i’ve just been overwhelmed by life and other things, but i finally feel able and ready to put out this message! i’m so excited to share with you all the things i’d like to do with the rest of this year!

safety net, part five

the news that everyone’s been waiting for: safety net part five will be out on june 25th! i’ve been editing it over the last few days and while editing makes my brain sound like a fucking helicopter, i’m setting a deadline so that i don’t just push it off when the material is there lol. i’m happy with the little portion i’ve edited so far, so i’m excited to continue with the rest of it. if i finish editing earlier than that, it’ll be up earlier! The 25th is just my hard deadline. [:

the future of safety net (plus a disclaimer)

with that said, i’ve decided to forgo a set amount of parts. i originally planned to tell the full story over 8 parts, but taking that long break helped me step back and really think about what i wanted to get across with y/n's story.

i also wanted to mention that safety net isn’t meant (and has never) to glamorize or romanticize sex work! i am overwhelmingly supportive of the sex work industry and those that take part in it, and i wanted to steer away from making it seem that i was anti-sex work while on the other end, making sure that i didn't paint sex work as this perfect thing (there's more exposition to this in coming parts).

to me, the story is an examination of the impact of sex, wealth, status, and romance on a girl who had been expecting anything else from her journey. i chose to make mike a pornstar not for flashiness or a “thrill”, but because i think his journey through his career and its impact on his life reflects y/n’s in a way. i hope this makes sense lmao. i just wanted to be very clear and direct that “pornstar” is more than just mike’s role in the AU, but something that means something to him, his identity and those around him. [:

with that said, i decided that i’m gonna leave the number of parts a little more flexible, but capped at 12 parts MAX. when i first started planning and writing safety net, i did not think you all would love it as much as you do 😭 your enjoyment made (and still makes!) me so so happy, but it also made me re-evaluate the progression of the story, so i’ve decided to expand on some things [: the tone and language of these next chapters may be different as well, as i’ve had more time to outline, plan, and think about every word.

i've also planned a few "behind the scenes" fics, but more on that when the time's right.

the future of faire's fics

i have not abandoned any of the other mike AUs! i still have so many ideas for all of them, but at the forefront is the next part of the drinks series, taking us through y/n’s pregnancy and what not. i was wondering, though, would you all prefer fics/ficlets or headcanons for that? i’m fine with either, but i’m just interested in what format you all would prefer!

extra, exciting, interactive things!

lastly, i loveeeeee connecting my writing to music and visuals, so i’ve made both a pinterest and a spotify playlist!

the spotify playlist includes songs that i write safety net to, as well as songs that remind me of the characters and its namesake [': i'll be keeping it updated, so make sure to check back in for new stuff! [also, i couldn't hide my name on spotify so you get a slight face and name reveal haha. faire is a nickname, though i wish it was my actual name lmao. i'm raj (spelled on there as 'rawj' lmao), i'm faire, i'm everything ✨

the pinterest is so that you all can get an idea of what people, places, and things are modeled after. so far, i've only been saving pictures of josh but i will be filling it in the coming weeks (especially as i update!).

fin

...and that's all she (me) wrote. i'm so excited to get back into everything [: i've been missing this platform, and all of you who are so kind and sweet to me. thank you for not leaving, thank you for supporting me, and thank you for reading. every reply, reblog, and like means the world to me (i do not give a fuck about spam....spam to your heart's content!).

you're all so worthy and loved; if by no one, then by me [: 💜

sneaky little safety net, part five snippet 🤫

you’d been given that. a fresh start of sorts. how could you paint your newly-gained privilege and prosperity as a pain instead of a prime?

your mom would’ve told you to pull your head out of your ass and look at the bright side. “you’d finally get to see something other than that goddamn bus stop. take any way out that you can. god knows i should have.”

love was the way out.

you resided in a comfortable, love-fueled bubble now, something you only believed possible if you'd come out of your mom looking a little different.

though, if that were the case, you wouldn't have been whimpering out, "oh my godddddddddd" as you came against mike's face, your back arching off of the silk below you.

*faire, out 😘

[imagineitdearies]

Hello, I really love your fic Perfect Slaughter and it was wonderful to read the last chapter with Tyrus and Astarion finally defeating Cazador. I wanted to ask if you wrote it in advance? Did you knew from the beginning how Tyrus and Astarion would defeat Cazador?

Thank you for creating such a good long story. Some long fics I follow kind of lose the appeal a bit the longer they go on.

But Perfect Slaughter never did, it remained good from the beginning until now and until the last chapter I think :)

Hey morgain, thanks so much!!

I didn't write all of ch38 too far in advance, but I've known some things for a long time. First of all, right before I posted the first chapter of PS late October, besides ironing down my headcanon for what "The Rite of Perfect Slaughter" actually entailed, I'd been throwing around other more D&D-compliant ways for spawn to take down their masters (especially without help), because of course the goal has always been to give Astarion love and happiness 100 years earlier, not give it to him only to rip it away from him 😅 That was when I noted the "Command Undead" feature d&d characters can gain as a 14th level necromancer! From then on, I knew that was going to come into play.

But in February (right around the time I first posted Cazador's monster stats sheet), I was getting ready to roll some dice and realized it wasn't quite poignant and meaningful as it needed to be--sure, there's the moment that I still planned to cover from the game with Tyrus helping Astarion to not choose ascension in the heat of the moment having power over Cazador, but it just wasn't enough! And then I went on a long, inspiring walk and realized halfway through what needed to happen. That they needed to fail one more time, to win not only over Cazador but over his teachings.

More specifically: I made an outline for the climax in December, wrote out the "I'm yours" scene soon after writing its twin (in ch26) in February, and then have been plugging away at it every now and then ever since.

I'm so glad PS has kept up the appeal! It helps I think that I had a lot of this story outlined and a good amount of structure (with the three parts and such) to avoid meandering or losing track of my own plot lol. It's been good practice for novel writing 😊

[dotieeee]

The Dream That Got Away

Chapter 16

Pairing: Dark!Morpheus x You (no Y/N!)

This is a multi-chapter fic — Weekly updates (either Saturday or Sunday) because I found a rhythm of sorts lol

(The entire fic has been outlined, so I will see this to the end, you have my word)

**********************************************************

Link to the Masterlist

Overall Warnings!! Take heed:

Morpheus is DARK – in canon, he changes for the better (or at least, tries to – but we don’t do canon lol, so he goes even more batshit crazy) cue obsession, manipulation, possessiveness, powerplay

18+ ONLY – explicit scenes will be present, some explicit language

DUB-CON and NON-CON scenes

Character death (sort of)

Creator vs Creation drama

And other dark stuff that may be added in the future

This chapter’s warnings:

graphic dub-con ahead - turn back now if this disturbs you :)

touch-starved Morpheus should be a warning of its own

pregnancy angst

reader is a walking ball of angst at this point lol

You have been warned!! Proceed with caution!!!

Link to the previous chapter

Chapter 16: Vanilla Ice Cream and Cheese

The lovely scents of lavender and patchouli pervade the Dream King’s bathroom, and they’re coming from the warm bath that Morwyn had just drawn and prepared for you before she left to prepare your dress. Now completely alone with nothing but your intrusive thoughts, you reach the ornate, full-length mirror, and right in front of it, you shed your sheer nightgown, staring at yourself, stark-naked, your eyes automatically honing on your abdomen. Like what you have been doing absently for the past three weeks, your hand hovers over your belly, rubbing it as if seeking to soothe your inner turmoil.

It’s been three weeks since your dreaming-abilities have been reinstated, which also means the life inside you that the Dream Lord had placed is also of the same age. You wonder how he’s doing inside, what he looks like, how he’s holding up. So far, he hasn’t made himself known yet - not that you expected him to, not for another two, maybe three weeks more. Before you know it, he’ll grow big and snug inside, and then he’ll be out into the world and you’ll be cradling him in your arms, and he’ll be clinging unto you, looking to you for anything and everything: he will seek milk from your bosom, he will crave your touch and your warmth, your kind words, your love.

As if doubling in pain, you fall on the floor in a foetal position, and what starts out as a small, choked sob becomes a wail that bounces off the bathroom tiles and walls. You clutch your chest as you bawl and scream heavily for reasons muddled, even to you - was it because he’s here, and you’ll soon feel his little heartbeat alongside yours? Does being a mother frighten you that much? Will he hate you when he finds out he’s been conceived so unwillingly, not out of love despite the facade you’d have to put up to save him from all the hurt his father had put you through?

There is no comfort from these thoughts, especially not when the Dream Lord himself wraps your bare, trembling form with his own, starry cloak and picks you up from the floor so he could take you in his arms in an unrelenting embrace that to him, means to console - to you, however, it’s just a prison, just another cage he’s placing you in as he tangles your strings of fate further into his. And yet, there is no one else around you but him, and so in the lull of his soft whispers and the warmth of his grip, you eventually tire out and your crying wanes to that of mere sniffling, he takes his robe off you gently and carries you to the bathtub. The water, which has already gone tepid, begins to steam lightly once more, indicating that he had warmed it up for you. He lowers you to the water with so much care, and without shedding his clothes, he follows suit, helping you bathe like he did the morning after your first night with him, except, thankfully, he doesn’t pleasure you - it’s an act of pure intentions it seems, as hard as that may be to believe. Once he’s done, he wordlessly steps away, his clothes already dry, and conjures a robe and a towel and sets it on the edge of the tub, now empty of water. He sits on the edge as well, close to you, while you hug your knees in your modesty (as if he hasn’t seen every inch of you). With delicate grace, he caresses your cheek with a finger, and you avoid looking directly into those blue eyes, fearing what you might find.

“Mera, my dream, will you be alright if I leave you to dry up?” he asks quietly.

You give him the tiniest of nods as you stare blankly at the porcelain at your feet. He lingers for a moment, as if hesitating, but in the end, he gives you a kiss on the top of your head and steps out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Once you step out of the bathroom, you find your Dream Lord hunched over on the study table, inspecting the books you had borrowed from the library. His eyes roam your robed figure for a moment before walking over to you, satisfied with what he sees. He calls for Morwyn, who promptly emerges from behind the room divider, and then gives you a chaste kiss on the lips.

“I will wait here. We will talk,” he says after he pulls away.

Morwyn bows to him and escorts you behind the divider so she could dress you in private. She makes an expert work of your gown - a form-fitting satin gown with long, delicate tulle sleeves gathered in tiers with silk ribbons - and in no time, she excuses herself, leaving you and your Lord alone in the chambers you now share.

So, there you awkwardly stand, awaiting what he has to say. Once you notice that almost-imperceptible sigh, you brace yourself.

“It seems you are unwell, dream of mine,” he notes, stepping closer to you so he could tuck a stray lock of hair behind your ears. “What ails you in this lovely morning?”

You only shake your head in response, as the answer evades you, too.

With the smallest of smiles, his hands find their way to your waist, his thumbs rubbing tender circles on your belly. “Is our child giving you trouble?”

“No, my Lord -”

But he cuts you off with a finger to your lips. “Did I not tell you to call me by my name? Do you not recall freely using my name in the heat of our love-making?” he jests lightly.

His attempts to tease are lost on you, given you’re in no mood for such, but you give him a smile that doesn’t quite reach your ears.

“My apologies, Lord Morpheus,” you amend.

“That’s better,” he says, grinning wider as he strokes your abdomen and takes your cheek in his palms. He has always been touchy, but he’s recently taken to placing his hands on you even more so at every opportunity.

“I should like the mother of my own child to address me with familiarity. And if he is making a fuss, that is perhaps because he takes after you. He will be a force of nature once he comes out, and he will be, as you are to me, the bringer of my joy.”

You close your eyes as he dips his head and kisses your forehead before moving to your lips. It’s a chaste kiss, but his lips pull away, a mere millimetres away from yours as he breathes your air, rendering you lightheaded.

“You will stay in our chambers for the remainder of the day.”

Abruptly, you open your eyes and pull away from him completely, bristling at his command.

“Lord Morpheus, please reconsider, I have a dreamer -”

“Who can wait,” he interrupts one more in a clipped manner, his gaze growing sterner by the second.

You rub your face with your palms in your distress before pleading your case again and telling him the truth.

“Lord Morpheus, I’d be more distraught if I stayed here all day, I’ve got to do something,” you implore him, and with a gesture you know he couldn’t resist, you take his hand in yours and reassure him, “Our little one will be fine, and so will I.”

His stare softens considerably as he contemplates your request, and in acquiescence, he kisses the hand holding his and uses it to pull you close to him. You close your eyes as he captures your lips in a sensual kiss, priming yourself for what you know is about to come.

“Then indulge me, my dream: I must have you now,” your Lord whispers hotly in your ear before his tongue laps up the skin on the crook of your neck, his hands quickly hiking up the hem of your gown.

You really shouldn’t have held his hand.

***

Frantically, you straighten the kinks on your dress as you make your way down the massive marble staircase. You’re quite late to work, and you know it - it doesn’t help that you could barely walk because your boss had just decided to fuck the daylights out of you on his study table this early in the morning. You could still feel his seed damping your underwear which he strictly ordered you not to clean off.

“I’d like my dream to go about her day filled to the brim with her king’s essence,” you remember him growling over your ear as he filled you with his warmth.

So here you are, reaching the end of the staircase and about to take a sharp turn, when you hear the voice of Morwyn in a tone you never heard her use before.

“...you oughta be ashamed of yourselves, tattling about when you two should be at work!” You hear her furious tone, clearly reprimanding someone you couldn’t see. “Don’t you go spreading false rumours, or I’ll tell the King and he’ll have your tongue. The princess is far more virtuous than any of you combined,” she hisses just as you emerge from the corner.

Cowering before her are two of your Lord’s dreams, already looking at their feet in shame - they must’ve heard you approach, for they look up to see you, and you get a glimpse of their pale faces before they bow deeply and excuse themselves from your attendant’s ire and run away from the scene.

“Morwyn, what was that about?” you ask curiously, taking note of her fuming expression.

She releases a huff and responds, “M’lady, they were just gossiping, really, awful stuff. And slacking off.”

You might not be the smartest person in the world, but you know enough to conclude the topic of the rumour. “It’s about me, isn’t it?”

“Well, uh…” Morwyn hesitates, but your exasperated smile encourages her to go on. “Yes, m’lady. I heard them talking about how they think you, uhm…”

“They think that I…?”

“Slept with the king to get ahead, m’lady,” she murmurs, shuffling her feet awkwardly.

You place a hand on her shoulder, touched that she had defended your honour the way she did.

“You have a good heart, Morwyn, and thank you for telling me,” you praise. “And as for the rumour, I’m quite used to it, actually. They’ve been at it even before the Dream King’s century-long departure,” you add with a shrug.

Morwyn looks up at you with a despondent expression, clearly still upset on your behalf. “But, if they’re talking about you that way, we oughta tell the King so he could do something about it…”

“No,” you say with a firm tone and shake of your head, your expression turning serious. “He will not be kind to them if he finds out.” Unwillingly, in your mind, you see Nuros’ face, a long-forgotten dream whom you’ve never seen again after the Dream Lord’s supposed ‘talk’ with her.

“He can be cruel, especially about anything that concerns me, and he will be unless he does not find out.” 

“I understand, m’lady,” she says with a bow, before adding determinedly, “But if I ever hear them again, I’m making no promises.”

You chuckle lightly at her remark while she opens her mouth and closes it again, as if she wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words.

“You know, you can tell me anything, right?”

She gives a small nod, before starting, “You’re the only one who’s ever treated me nicely, m’lady. The other dreams look down on me because even though the Dream Lord created me, I was never given dream-forming abilities.” She pauses, wringing her hands in front of her. “So thank you for treating me like…like I’m not different.”

Your heart clenches at her revelation, so to comfort her, you clasp both her hands in yours. “But you aren’t different, Morwyn. We all have a function to fulfil. And so far, you’ve been fulfilling them beyond expectations. Pay the rumours no mind and they’ll get tired eventually.

“Now if you get pushed, you can always tell them to fuck off. Come to me anytime you need anyone to talk to,” ” you add with a wink, knowing very well how it feels to have no one on your side.

“Thank you, m’lady. You have my loyalty, as always.” 

Bowing deeply once more, she excuses herself, leaving you feeling like you just gained another treasured friend.

Maybe an eternity here isn’t so bad with them around.

***

The throne room basks in the magnificent glow of the sunlight streaming through thousands of stained window panels that mirror the feelings of its sovereign. The King in question, currently at his full height at the foot of the winding stairs, his eyes focusing on nothing but the vibrant display of the glass behind his throne - his perfect dream and perfect nightmare, showcased side-by-side, their colour palettes contrasting and complementing each other.

The King of Dreams has many things occupying his mind, his little dream and the little one inside her being two of them. You, probably on your way to the sea of dreams to grace a lucky dreamer with your inspiring presence - the mother of his child, both of them so precious and so fragile, braving the wonders and the horrors of the human collective unconscious. And if he was being honest with himself, you being out there, exposed and vulnerable to humanity’s depravity, deeply unsettles him.

The tall, arched double doors to his throne room burst open, and the panels rapidly transform to only the likeness of the nightmare that he had just summoned. The Dream Lord turns to his feet to face him as he strides forward and halts a few feet away from the foot of the stairs.

“You called, my Lord?” the nightmare drawls lazily, placing his hands in his pocket.

“Corinthian,” Morpheus acknowledges his presence with a slight tilt of his head, using his sand to lock the doors and prevent any wayward being from eavesdropping. “Watch over the princess in the sea of dreams. Ensure that no harm befall her and my son.”

The Corinthian pauses momentarily as he raises an eyebrow. “So, now I'm supposed to babysit her, and the new nightmare?” he asks slowly as if trying to process the words of his master’s command.

“Sumnio will do fine on his own,” Dream replies with a dismissive tone. “The princess is infinitely more important.”

“She's not gonna like this,” the Corinthian comments under his breath. Morpheus hears it, of course, but he chooses to ignore it. Scratching his head with a lone finger, he adds, a bit louder this time, “And with all due respect, my Lord, I think she is more than capable of handling herself.”

It’s the King’s turn to raise his eyebrow; of course, he knows just how capable he had made you to be, but you also had this incredible proclivity to attract trouble, given your not-so-recent brush with a certain mortal man. He chooses to hide this observation, as he always does - he just clasps his hands in front of him, keeping his blank mask. 

“My concern is simply of her well-being and that of our child, whom she bears. She will come to terms with it.”

Releasing a defeated sigh, the Corinthian relents. No point arguing with him, especially about you.

“Have it your way, your ma-jes-ty.” He retreats to exit the same way he came in.

It doesn’t escape Morpheus the way his nightmare addressed him tauntingly. He ignores that, too, his stare boring a hole in the back of his creation’s head. As an afterthought, he chooses to give him a second order.

“Corinthian,” he calls, his booming voice echoing in the throne room.

His nightmare turns sideways with a huff. “Yes? My Lord?”

“Keep her away from him,” he says simply, not bothering to elaborate.

The nightmare just dips his head, indicating that he recognized his master’s meaning.

“Of course, your Majesty.”

The doors close behind him with a resounding boom as he left, and Morpheus had expected his worries to go away with him.

Instead, he plops down on his throne with a sigh, his concern for you growing more than ever.

***

The large operating room provides quite the spectacle: the fabled surgeon, elbows-deep in the guts of a patient under anaesthesia and the crowd of medical students keenly observing the master at work - but your eyes are glued to the face of seven-year-old Ida Fisher in her thirty-five-year-old body, concentrating hard on the patient whose life hangs in the balance. The entire room awaits with bated breath, and the only noise that permeates is the quiet beeping of the life monitor. The dream you had formed from the beginning had blossomed into a fully-realised fantasy of little Ida’s future career, so you grin under your medical mask and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

Not wanting to draw attention to yourself, you slowly back away until you reach the door and promptly exit. Swinging the door open with care, you see other students crowding the observation glass, all craning their necks to get a glimpse of Ida’s medical expertise. As soon as the door closes, however, you hear a familiar voice call you over the dream-hospital’s PA system.

“Calling the princess to ICU, calling the princess to ICU.”

You shake your head in mild amusement as you make your way to the Intensive Care ward, passing through the dream-nurses and dream-patients Ida’s mind has conjured. You push the double doors, which swing shut behind you, to find your favourite nightmare, clad in the same blue scrubs as yours, down to the tinted medical goggles and the rubber clogs doctors seem to fancy so much.

Pulling your medical mask back down, you greet him with a smirk. “If this was the last view I’d get under the knife, I don’t think I’d want to wake up.”

“You wish,” The Corinthian bites back with a grin matching yours, adjusting his medical gloves as you both pace the sterile hall.

“So, to what do I owe this visit?” you ask, waving your hand to instantly get rid of your hospital gear. 

He clicks his tongue at the change, saying in mock disappointment, “I liked you better with the scrubs on.”

You roll your eyes at him and jest, “You know, some of us have actual work to do?”

He lets out a chuckle as he steals a clipboard from an unwitting dream-nurse, flipping over the chart before chucking it behind him. “You're not going to like this bit.”

“No, I already don't. What is it?”

He stops before a room labelled ‘Supply Room,’ and you follow him wordlessly inside, locking the door for good measure.

“Guess who his royal prickness assigned to be your bodyguard,” he states, leaning on a cabinet filled with IV bags.

“The fuck?” you blurt out, waiting for him to take it back, only for him to give you a smug look. “Oh, bloody hell. Why did I not see this coming? What about Sumnio?”

“Says he'll do fine without me,” your friend quips as he lights up a cigarette, not caring if he triggers the smoke alarm.

You run your hands through your hair in slight aggravation. You don’t actually mind him hanging around with you while you work - what you take offence to is the fact that your Dream Lord thinks you still need to be watched over like you’re some dainty little fairy. Like you had not proven time and again your ability to weasel your way out of sticky situations.

“I'm not weak and I don't need protection,” you protest to him.

He just nods as he takes a deep drag out of his cigarette, clearly as unamused as you are. “Yep, told him that.”

“I don't like this.”

“Told him that, too.”

You bite the insides of your cheeks, annoyed at this development. A few seconds of silence pass between you and your friend as you process your ‘workplace dissatisfaction’ together. 

“So, are you going to follow me around in the dreams, now?” you ask tentatively.

“Fuck, no. I got better things to do,” he responds coolly. “Just don’t get yourself in trouble,” he adds as an afterthought while he extinguishes the flame of his half-finished cigarette on the shelf and flicks it away.

“And…if he asks?”

“Tch. I’ll think of something. Anyway,” your friend straightens his scrubs, preparing to be on his way. “I’ve got to run.”

“Off to your nightmare boyfriend?” you ask, batting your eyelashes in mock innocence.

He lets out a dry, clipped laugh and pulls a scalpel out of his scrub pocket, brandishing it at you. “Keep at it and I might just use this on you.”

“Where are you going, dressed like that, anyway?” you question him curiously.

“Another hospital dream, I guess. Not much blood here, I miss it.”

He motions farewell with a two-finger salute, his usual fashion, and you call out ‘say ‘hi’ to your dear little nightmare for me’ as he vanishes, managing an enthusiastic middle finger at you just as he moves on to another dreamer.

You’re done with Ida Fisher, so you follow suit, letting yourself get sucked into the ocean of dreams before it throws you into the mind of another sleeping human.

***

Two more eventful weeks pass for you - two tumultuous weeks of the infamous morning sickness, sudden mood changes, and weird food cravings (currently, you’ve been shovelling down soggy, sugar-frosted corn flakes and eating lemon curd by the spoonful), and surprisingly, your Dream King has been nothing but sympathetic, even indulging you and accompanying you when you wake up in the middle of the night to raid the kitchens for something to munch on. 

He was there, this morning, holding your hair back as you retched what remained of last night’s kitchen raid, cooing words of comfort. After that nasty bout of hurling until your stomach cramped, he had attempted to bring up the topic of you staying in his chambers for the rest of the day, but you weren’t in the mood for arguing - instead, you shot him a reproachful look, and he actually ended up relenting, much to your astonishment.

But, all this came with a price: he has been more handsy with you as of late, and he’s gotten rougher, more possessive in bed, sometimes even summoning you in the middle of work, only for you to end up staying in his room for the remainder of the day because you’re too fucked out to get up and walk. 

Despite these rather unsavoury changes to your routine, one thing you’d never let him touch is your work. Forming dreams was and is still your only outlet, and whenever you’re out there, inspiring a soul, you’d forget everything, including yourself - after all, dreams are all about them, and reading about their eventual success in their books gives you such a rush like no other.

You imagine it’s already past noon in the Dreaming, it’s hard to tell at times, but you could tell by the number of dreamers you had visited. You had just finished your seventh for the day, just lazily nibbling on a cheese pretzel as you wait for Ezekiel Gantz’s alarm to ring so he could get to work and absolutely kill it in his client presentation.

Before you, however, materialises a small piece of stationary with sprawling cursive writing - it isn’t your first time receiving the note in the same manner, so you let it fall on your lap. You could read its contents clear as day without even picking it up:

My dream,

Come see me in the library

With a sigh you get up from the office chair you’re lounging on and exit Ezekiel’s dreams, confident he’ll ace his meeting later with the big bosses.

Time to meet your own big boss.

***

You spend a good five, maybe ten minutes navigating the maze that is your Lord’s library, just looking for him among the towering shelves. You reach what is one of the most secluded areas, huffing at the effort. Finding no sign of him, you pick up a book from one of the shelves instead before you head back to the dreams. Just as you’re about to flip the cover open, you spot a dark shadow emerging from among the shelves out of the corner of your eye. Perhaps he took pity on you scrambling around and decided to show himself instead.

“My dream,” he half-whispers in that deep, velvety voice: a sign that you wouldn’t like what’s coming to you next.

“You sent for me, my Lord? May I ask what for?” you reply meekly, backing away as he approaches until your backside hits a desk.

You know what for, the Voice snidely comments.

Deciding to ignore that bit, you focus solely on the warm body pressing against yours and the lips now peppering your neck with wet kisses and nipping at your earlobe. Urgently, his mouth finds yours and makes both your tongues dance in a game of dominance he always wins. Pulling away, he whispers over your lips:

“I do not need a reason to see my beloved, the mother of my son, the only one from whom I seek pleasures of the flesh…”

He draws out the final phrase slowly as his hands bunch the hem of your dress, but your hand deters his, countering, “Lord Morpheus, Lucienne -”

“Is not your concern. I have closed off this part of the library,” he cuts you off, dragging his nose along your jawline and sucking on your pulse point. You gasp involuntarily at the warmth of his tongue on your skin, sending shivers all over your body - one thing you’ve discovered is that being with a child made you even more sensitive - and when he squeezes both of your breasts through your dress, the sensation actually sends jolts of electricity to your abdomen and heat pooling between your thighs. Your Lord knows this, for you feel him smirk against your collarbone before he bites down on it. Pulling the neckline of your dress, he exposes your breasts, tender in your pregnancy, and his mouth is on your nipple at once, licking and sucking and biting each of them and eliciting soft sighs and gasps from you.

“I need to be inside you, dream of mine.”

He plants one final peck on your lips before he turns your body, pushing you down on the desk, your breasts pressed against the cold, lacquered wood. He then lifts your dress to reveal his prize: your ass, and the lacy underwear hiding it from his view, an obstacle that he just pulls down to reveal your damp entrance.

You had nothing to hold on to but the edges of the table, so when you hear his zipper being pulled down, you brace yourself closing your eyes and biting your lips, whimpering as his hard cock parts your folds, taking your wetness, before plunging it in its entirety. He groans in pleasure as he begins sliding in and out of you, and at that moment you couldn’t help but let out the loud moans you intended to stifle. Even after the countless times he has bedded you, he still stretches you out to the point of mild discomfort, and he knows it all too well, for he likes brushing repeatedly against your sweet spot before bottoming out, only to hit it again as he withdraws his length. He finds a rhythm that always made you see white spots in your vision, all while holding you down firmly on the table with his hands, rendering you unable to meet his hips - you’re helpless, moaning and mewling wantonly, and at your Lord’s mercy, but it’s so, so good, and it’s in these moments where you lose all thoughts except him and his cock ramming into you until he takes you to oblivion. 

“Lord Morpheus…fuck…”

Spurred by the way you moaned his name and the foul language that followed it, he brings his body close to yours - even with both your clothes in the way, his warmth invades your senses - he whispers heatedly in your ear:

“Language, my dream. I should punish you for that.”

He is always true to his words, for the pace that follows is one that makes your knees buckle, and if it weren’t for him gripping your waist in support you could’ve fallen to the floor.

“I should tie you up to my bed and lock my chambers, just so you could be ready for me to take whenever I please…”

Your response is nothing but a strangled noise escaping your throat. He continues rutting into you, and you start clenching his cock more erratically - you’re so close, so close…

“It will give me so much pleasure to take you even as you grow round with child…”

One particular rough thrust brings tears to your eyes - are you crying due to pleasure or pain? - not that you cared at this point, because you have only one focus - with a sharp cry, you come hard, and the cry is immediately followed by a series of teary, throaty moans and uncontrollable trembling brought about by your master’s insistence at finding his own release. With your orgasm being drawn out in long, torturing seconds, you could feel him losing his pace, until, finally, he groans loudly in your ear, and your womb is filled to the brim with his scorching hot seed. He comes so hard, thrusts so deeply, that the table beneath you creaks, and when he finally pumps the last of his cum inside you, his thrusts soften and slow down while your walls clench him feebly until he eventually stills within you.

You try to catch your breath, and to give you some air, his body pulls away from yours, all while carefully staying inside you. He had once confessed, after one of your many passionate nights, that he likes staying inside you for as long as he could, wanting, craving for as much contact with you as he can. In your fucked out state, you barely note how his hands travel all over your body with so much gentleness, as he often does after you both finish. Perhaps it’s an attempt to soothe you after he had taken you so mercilessly.

When he pulls out from you at last, he places your underwear back and rights your gown, while you manage to prop yourself up with your elbows and shakily get on your feet. You could feel a dull sensation between your thighs, one you just might not ever get used to, but his arms wrap around your waist to support you. He kisses your lips softly, and then your forehead, not caring about the sweat beading on your skin. When he’s done, he just stays in place, his hand finding its way to the back of your head and bringing it close to his heart, while your arms, finding nothing better to do, snake around his back.

“Lord Morpheus,” you call to him in a whisper.

Humming against your hair, he responds, “Yes, my little dream?”

“I’m hungry.”

Your Dream Lord lets out a light-hearted chuckle - a rarity for him - and he pulls away so he could look into your face, his own displaying a small smile.

“What do my dream and my little one crave?”

“Mmm…vanilla ice cream,” you declare, adding, “And cheese. Vanilla ice cream with cheese mixed in.”

***

Even after a few more weeks come by, you continually crave the same thing over and over: creamy vanilla ice cream with tiny bits of mild cheddar mixed in it. There are other food combinations, of course, but in between increasingly volatile emotions and longer bouts of throwing up every goddamn morning, it’s one of the only things you could hold down.

“Want some?” you ask your nightmare friend sitting across you, holding out the large bowl of ice cream to him.

“Nah, I don’t care much for pregnant-women food,” the Corinthian responds with his nose turned up, raising his cup of coffee. “I’ll stick to this, thanks.”

You’re back in the garden, taking advantage of one of your rare breaks from work. You had asked him many times to bring Sumnio so you could finally meet the nightmare he had a crush on (even if he’d rather be unmade than ever admit it). But he never does, much to your dismay. Maybe one of these days, you could find the human they’re frequenting and walk in on them, preferably making out, but given how busy you are with your current dreamers, you don’t see that happening soon.

“Fine, I’ll try it,” he says grudgingly, scooping a teaspoonful of ice cream from your bowl and sceptically tasting it. “Not bad,” he comments with a tilt of his head and gives it another go.

“Lady Mera!”

You whip your head in the direction of the voice that had just called you now. From afar, you see Morwyn running to your table, with a very familiar face traipsing behind her, almost floating, playing with tiny, colourful fish circling her head in midair.

Lady Delirium has found herself in her older brother’s realm, it seems.

And she spots you from the distance. You raise a hand in a tentative wave, and she comes running to you, reaching you even before Morwyn does.

“Meraaaaa!!!” she squeals in delight and lunges at you with a huge hug. “Oh, he sounds like he’s growing happily,” she comments with a knowing glance. You smile, not knowing what to make of it.

Morwyn catches up at last, with her hands on her knees and panting heavily, motioning to Lady Del and breathlessly mentioning the word ‘visitor.’ You hand her a glass of water which she gratefully accepts.

You turn to Lady Delirium, who you spot greeting the Corinthian and sampling your momentarily forgotten, rapidly melting ice cream bowl.

“Mera, you know what’s a great ice cream flavour? Telephone pole!” she exclaims, brandishing the teaspoon dripping with melting ice cream, spraying some of it on the Corinthian’s sunglasses.

“That’d be a bit chewy, I imagine,” you say thoughtfully, offering her a seat at the table and motioning to the tray of sweets for her to sample. Out of the corner of your eye, you watch your friend wiping his glasses with a table napkin. As Morwyn excuses herself, the youngest Endless takes a cinnamon roll out of the tray and takes a large bite.

“Mmm! I know this,” she comments, her eyes lighting up maniacally as she tends to do when an idea crosses her mind. “I remember why I came here. I find it difficult to remember stuff these days, but I think I remember that thing pretty clearly.”

Right across from you, your friend scratches his head, muttering to himself, “Interesting. Very gripping.”

As if she didn’t hear him, she sways in her seat, continuing, “Remember what I said about friends helping each other? And about friends helping each other find what they lost?”

You set down your now-empty bowl, curiosity now piqued. “Yes, my lady. What of it?” 

“You’re my friend, and I found what you lost, so you know…yey!”

“What I ‘lost?’”

“I’m getting outta here,” your friend leaps to his feet, leaving his cup of coffee half-finished. Looking up at him, you read the two words on his lips quite clearly: ‘bad idea.’

“Bye, Cori!” Lady Del waves enthusiastically at his retreating form, before her eyes stare into yours - uncanny, the way her mismatched eyes seem to perceive things about you you aren’t even familiar with.

“If we go to the dreams now, we can -”

“She is not going anywhere, little sister.”

As soon as your Dream Lord reaches your full view, you get up abruptly, intending to say a polite ‘hello,’ but you forgo the thought almost immediately when you see his expression. He’s scowling heavily, his posture rigid, directing his ire at his sibling, the only company you have left, who’s smiling rather innocently and pointedly ignoring her brother’s harsh stare. “Delirium, this is the second time you’ve come to my realm unannounced.”

“But I said I was coming. It wasn’t that nice of you, ignoring my calls like that,” she comments, rubbing the back of her neck while her hair transforms into a dull, brown bob.

“My apologies, sister. I was busy with Dreaming matters. I shall be with you momentarily.”

And then, his gaze turns to you, his eyes searching, accusing, even.

But you haven’t done anything. So, you meet his eyes with resolve, wondering how on earth you’ve gotten on his bad side.

“Come with me,” he says.

It’s a simple command, but a foreboding one, especially as his sand circles the both of you and reveals his chambers once it clears. Growing more confused with his behaviour, you open your mouth to question him, but he beats you to it:

“I hereby forbid you to speak to Delirium and set foot in the sea of dreams.”

****************************** Link to the next chapter

Author notes on the Chapter:

Ya’ll really thought he’d have no qualms with her getting back to work? LOL this is Dark!Morpheus we talkin bout :P if he could, he would control Mera’s schedule right down to the minute :P he’ll hold on to whatever aspect of Mera’s life he could control

Also, I think we have four or five??? more chapters to this story, and it's already close to 100k words (96k)!! Funny how plot points keep adding up and growing :D

final note: forgive the *ehem CHEESY title xD

******************************

Author's notes in general:

Thank you, THANK YOU for reading!!

Please engage, comment and reblog!! I love feedback from you guys :) This is my first ever fic, so kindness is truly appreciated!

Thank you to my queen @queenshelby @endlessdreamqueen3 for encouraging me to pen this, as well as to my fellow Dark!Morpheus writers whose work I have thoroughly enjoyed and keep rereading :)

Post date: 2/04/23

Edit date: 2/04/23

Taglist: Just lemme know please if you want to be added, too!

Tagging the following:

@wt-fxck

@sandman-33

@reallystressedhoneybee

@akiraquote

@safe-teycar

@ponyboys-sunsets

@izzicle

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@ggxsan

[moonshine-nightlight]

Being sick for the past week meant that I had nothing better to do today than lay in bed and refresh tumblr waiting for chapter 34, and seeing it at the very top of my dash was the highlight of my day! The wait was definitely worth it, my health for the duration notwithstanding lol

SPOILER WARNING FOR PAST CHAPTERS IDK HOW TO PUT READ MORES IN ASKS I'M SO SORRY

You made the right call taking the extra time to edit this doozy of a chapter—figuring out how to share Dale's exposition in a way that made sense and fit into the events of the story while maintaining tonal consistency must have been quite the process, between the restrictions of Sana's POV, regency genre conventions, and the story's (heh) natural climax being Dale's identity "reveal" followed by the wedding. I'm very curious if you currently have any ideas for how you're going to tackle this exposition in the novelization, or if you're inclined to handle it differently at all!

@weasellyferret

i hope you're feeling better! i'm so glad you enjoyed the new chapter!

i hav no idea if u can even put a read more in an ask anymore and i can't hide it now but my answer will be under the read more

thanks! i think some people really underestimate how helpful even self editing is to make things coherent, especially for a long chapter like this one that covered so much but also was literally just two ppl talking to each other (ppl lov to say they'll take any update, but lik, thats cuz they dont knooow lol and i dont just want it to b passable, i want it to b good).

with lore/backstory like this i also have to make sure it makes sense to readers who havent read any of it before nor know any of the even more info that I know because there's even more worldbuilding and dale backstory that wont end up in the story.

i'm glad u think i pulled it off to any degree because i was still pretty nervous when i was posting it that it did make sense, fit in the world, was followable, interesting but not just exposition monologue, etc

yeah, chapter 30 where they have the reveal convo is the primary climax of the story and that's also 'just talking' in a sense so its interesting to write this story in that sense lol

while i had the broad outline of the world and dale's backstory from the beginning (i did a little exercise where i sketched out a sort of Dale POV of chapter 6 to get into his mindset which was super helpful) as I wrote the story a lot more of that info became fully fleshed out/defined. so for the novelization, i'll probably try to work more of the info in earlier or have better allusions to it, which will make some of the info in chapter 34 more of a quick confirmation than the exposition itself

ie i might add a chapter with more detail on Sana researching with Dale's books that Bilmont smuggles and plant suspicions of what went wrong with the summoning; i might adjust the chapter after the attack to be more of a convo about the assassination that the grandparents interrupt where Sana can suspect more of Dale's past etc and generally spread out what i can so its more foreshadowed/natural - things like that

other aspects sort of have to be told to Sana because its POV limited, evn when it is updated to 3rd POV. i'll probably do a straight POV swap and minor edit ; then take a look at it as a whole, reassess things on my own, run those ideas by some writer friends/betas and get their thoughts, and finally my editors (who i used for DSM) are also very good with making sure worldbuilding fits in right and so their advice will be helpful - especially since they will only get the draft i giv them without knowing how it was and what changed etc

once chapter 35 is out (which i'm still writing because smut is a challenge to right and i write it more slowly than other things) i'll start slowly editing and passing along to betas the rest of the story (i've got thru chap 11 done and betas who only read those and who are chomping at the bit - u think u've had a long wait? lol) but it will be spring by the time i do any big edits/revisions and then i'll giv it to the editors, who i already lik, semi-lined up for that time period and idk how long they will take because its a long book and then i'll need to process their edits too so it'll be a lengthy process, but i hope everyone knows it will 100% b a novel and i hope they enjoy it!

now back to stabbing away at the smut writing ;)

[elliebean714]

Haiiii :)))

Soo how about a Chris x Male reader (During game) Where one of them saw either their, or the other's death on one of the totems and how it would play out. Maybe said person trying to keep it a secret and it it backfires or smth. Have a nice day and drink lots of water. Love you /p <333

- 🍄 (Your favorite anon)

ACKK YOU GENIUS I LOVE YOU. 🍄 anon. I swear. Your mind and my mind are just ✨️magic✨️ I can't believe there was a time in my life before i had you, my beloved. To switch it up and experiment some more I decided to make this one from Chris' perspective cus that seems fun to me. This can be read as chris' part of the other fic or as a standalone, but I kinda reference some stuff that happened in the last one, so ill link it if you want to read that. This does divulge and go in its own direction though, i just sorta use the previous ask as a reference so i dont have to repeat things that happened in it. Im gonna tie up a plot line I didn't in your previous ask in this. This was very planned and I definitely did not forgor about that plot line until I had already posted it. I am smart and this was all on purpose (imsosorryjoshieiknowyourenotlikethis) (this is low-key climbing class angst too lmao. Gotta love my boys <3) I'm realising now that im not really good at following instructions, I get an idea in my head and go WILD. I kinda forget what people requested lol. I sometimes forget how much trauma Chris went through but GOD DAMN, MY BOYYYY </3 *Devastated cat* Angry Chris in ch7 is SO GOOD OMG, love him. Not trying to brag, but angry chris??? I ATE THAT.

Premonitions

Chris Hartley x M!Reader

Angst, Fluff, Comfort

Previous Request

During Game

Chapter 2

When I was left alone in the lodge with only Josh's lighter to guide me, I began snooping through the room I had found myself in, the garage, or maybe storage?Just as I was getting started a small wooden statue caught my attention. It was lying on the floor and was unlike anything I'd seen any of the Washingtons own. Curious, i picked it up for closer examination.

There was a carved and painted birds face staring back at me, freaky. I turned it over, not expecting much to be on the other side, I mean obviously all of the artistic talent went into the front. There's a small opening near the top of the statue, like an infinity symbol with straight lines outlined with brown paint. The inside appeared hollow. At least until I saw his face.

He was screaming, blood was flying, so much blood... and then there was a saw slashing through the adorable outfit he swore would keep him warm earlier today. Then I was whiped back to the lodge.

...

How... the hell am I to keep on looking for a stupid can of deodorant after watching my boyfriend get sawn in half? I need to see him, make sure he's okay. "Y/N? Can you come here please?"

"Uhh... why what's up?" He calls back, but I still hear those winter boots I made him wear crunching through the snow.

"I just want to talk to you." I answered. His frame entering my limited view.

"And why do you want to talk to me here instead of inside, adventurer?" He asks as he climbs on top of the stool I used to get inside. As his face appears at the window, I climb on the counter and meet his gaze, his gorgeous eyes.

"I just..." I trail off before admiting what I saw, would he even believe me? I probably just imagined it anyway, no reason to panic him right? I look down and sigh, "I just missed you." I 'lied'.

"And you couldn't wait to get us warm first?" He smiled. I have to protect that smile.

"No. I love you."

"Love you too. But I'm freezing my ass off so I'd love it if you could get the door open."

I dropped my head and sighed, "Yeah, I know. I'll go get it." He pulls my face towards him and kisses me gently.

"I love you"

"I love you too."

~~

Later, we're in the basement together, looking for a 'spirit board' and I haven't let him out of my sight since I saw that, vision. I can't let anything happen to him, I can't tell him either. I'm freaking out enough for the two of us anyway. I don't want him to panic all weekend. Especially if it turns out to be nothing,

I get distracted looking at a box of old horror costumes from one of Josh's dads old movies, there's long, black robes, weird masks, bottles of fake blood... I sqeeze the bottle, letting a droplet of the red liquid run down my pointer finger, lost in thought. His cute face, that cute face I've loved for years... the fear, the pain in his eyes... his scream-

"Found it!" I turn to see his proudly presenting the spirit board.

"Great, lets-" The basement door opens and we hear Sam and Josh chatting and making their way to the boiler. I shake the violent image from my head, wipe the blood off my finger, and paint on a happy face, "Let's scare them."

Chapter 3

Candlelight illuminates the room while Y/N explains the rules of the board. I laugh at what I assume was a joke, fuck- I'm trying so hard to pay attention. It was nothing. Nothing is going to happen to him, focus.

Josh sits opposite me, clearly the most... excited(?) To start, Ashley and Y/N are beside me, I pick up his hand and rub my thumb over it. If I can feel him, I know he's there. We each put one finger on the pointer, ready to begin.

"Is anyone there?" Ashley asks, half sincere, half skeptical. The pointer answers, first slowly moving in random directions then spelling 'H E L P'.

"Okay, who's moving it?" Y/N laughs

"Woah-" I gasp uncomfortably.

"How can we help you?"

It moves fast "W A R N I N G."

"Shit-" Josh comments... Seeing him creeped out is so weird.

"Ask who it is, maybe?" I suggest, trying to be engaged.

But she ignores me "what are you warning us about?"

"S I S T E R"

"Who's sister?" Josh asks, he seems panicked now.

"You're warning us about your sister?" Y/N asks the board at the same time

I look at Josh, I don't want to say it, but... "Josh, it's gotta be-"

And he looks at me, almost calmed by the brief moment "well, which sister is it then?"

"Beth...? Is that you?" Ashley questions with a nervous voice, Y/N seems to stir at the name a little, he was always closer to her. The pointer moves to 'yes'.

"Oh god-" Ashley trembles

"This is so messed up" a nervous laugh escapes him

I see panic in my best friends eyes, "Josh? Are you-"

"I'm fine" He interrupts me gently

"We can stop if-" Y/N suggests

"No. I wanna hear what it says." He interrupts Y/N far more harshly, I assume its just anxiety. When Ashley expresses hesitation, Y/N reminds her that we could discover the truth of their deaths.

"What happened to you?"

"H A N N A H K I L L E D"

"Hannah killed her??" I hear Y/N whisper under his breath

"No, no, I think, I think she means someone killed Hannah" I correct him

"Beth, who killed Hannah?"

"L I B R-"

"Library?"

"P R O-"

"Proof? There's proof?"

"In the library?" As soon as the question leaves Y/N's lips, the table shakes and the pointer flies off between Josh and Ashley. She stands up, in shock and horror, clearly freaking out, while Josh just stares ahead for a few seconds.

"This isn't real..." He rises from his seat, still staring "I dont- I don't know if you think messing with me is going to somehow help me deal with my grief or whatever, but this is not cool." He states, shakily but firmly.

"Josh, no, we didn't- you wanted to use the spi-" Y/N tries to assure him, but Josh cuts him off, did Y/N do something to upset him? He's been kinda pissed at Y/N since we got here.

"Shut up, you guys are full of it!" He storms off down the stairs.

After he's gone, Ashley scolds us "that wasn't funny, guys. I can't believe you did that."

"What? We didn't do anything!" I try to defend us, "Just because we're goofy, doesn't mean we'd do that!" But my protests fall on deaf ears as she waves me off.

"Stop. Just stop." She heads down the stairs after Josh, I look over at Y/N. He looks so embarrassed and upset, he hates hurting people... my sweetheart.

"Hey," I hold his hands "it's okay, babe, we didn't do anything wrong."

He slowly lifts his eyes to meet mine, god I love that colour... "I didn't know- that was crazy- I didn't think it would work!"

"Me neither. I can't- jeez..." I take a shaky breath

"Should we go after him?" Y/N asks nervously "I don't want him to think we were trying to hurt him..."

"No," I shake my head "No, I dont think he really wants to see us right now" You, mostly. "We should check the library. See if what it was saying is true."

We head towards the library, hand in hand. Once we reach the bookshelf, several books fly off the shelf, a lot of them almost hit Y/N. A button is left in their place, I push it and the wall opens, revealing a secret room, it's practically empty aside from a random picture laying on the table.

A photo of the twins, Hannah has her tattoo, so it must've been taken a couple months before the disappearance. Or, murder... on the other side, a fucking note written in blood. A clear death threat to the girls- a sick one. I show Y/N and we agree to tell Josh. I lead him down the hallway, when we hear Josh and Ashley scream. Y/N rushes towards the door, and an arm pulls him through. I pound on the door in an attempt to break it down. After a short time, it finally opens, i see ashley and Y/N laying on the floor unconscious, a guy in a creepy mask punches me-

Chapter 4

Shit- my head is spinning. What the hell happ- shit, Y/N! I stand up quickly, making my dizziness worse, and look around frantically, Ashley is still on the floor, slowly coming back to consciousness, but Y/N and Josh are missing- fuck!

"Chris...?" Ashley whimpers, I grab the flashlight on the counter before helping her stand.

"Hey, are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?" She seems okay, from what I can see, but creepy guy and helpless girl are never a good equation.

"N-no, I don't think so..." Ashley looks herself over "I was looking for Josh, I saw him coming through this way, I heard him scream, then some guy knocked me out and..." She trails off "thats all I remember, Where is he? Where's Y/N?"

I shake my head "No idea, we gotta find them, that guy, could've hurt them."

We find our way out of the room and see a splatter of blood on the wall "Oh jeez" Ashley gasps. We aprehensively continue, out of the lodge and towards the shed, calling out for Y/N and Josh. Everytime I blink, I'm reminded of that vision- it's not real, it's not real, it's not real...

"Chris! Chris, help, we're in here, please-" I hear him sob in response when I shout his name for the hundredth time.

A surge of adrenaline rushes through me "Y/N? Sweetheart, don't be scared, I'm coming." I hurry towards his voice, Ashley trails after, less enthused, poor girl is so exhausted.

The rest of the room is separated behind a plane of glass, a lever in the middle, and a door on the side. As soon as I approach the glass the lights in the room turn on, revealing Y/N and Josh tied up.

"What the hell??" Ashley gasps, Y/N and Josh start to properly panic when, presumably the guy who just attacked us starts talking over the intercom- shit- the saw- nonononnonono- FUCK-

It's that fucking saw- it tore through my baby- fuck- no- no- I cant- I cant- "and which one will die" i- I have to pick??? No, I cant- I can't have to do this- no, not these two- no-

I look for Ashley, but she's run off, I don't blame her, Josh starts pleading with me "Chris, buddy, please, you don't have to-"

And Y/N sobs too "Oh- Fuck- Chris, help me..."

Dontmakemechoosedontmakemechoosedontmakemechoosedontmakemechoose-

"I'm so-" guilt, anguish and anger fill me "so sorry, Josh-" my voice cracks. I turn the lever towards Josh's face- imsosorryimsosorryimsosorry-

The silence that follows could kill. Just a spinning sawblade and my favourite persons terrified sobs in the other room. I stare at the photo of him, my best friend... that guy- i- fucking killed him.

"Chris...? Help- please..." Y/N whimpers. Remember who it was for, Chris. He needs to survive. No matter what.

Chapter 6

I've still not dropped his hand. It's still replaying in my head, Y/N, Josh, the saw, that fucking guy. After, Ashley found Matt and Emily, and they all left to get help. I dont- I can barely think. But- Y/N and me are looking for Sam, I know that, and I'm holding his hand, nothing could make me let go.

"Hey, Chris?" His voice is shaky, but full of gratitude "I know- I know how horrible that was- what that guy did, what you had to do..." his fingers reach out and graze my cheek.

"Please- I don't want to-" don't cry- keep it together "I'm fine, dont-" Y/N steps closer, he lifts my cheek, dontcrydontcrypleasedontmakemecry...

"I'm sorry," we lock eyes "He was your best friend- you guys- shit- I'm so sorry" dontcrydontcrydont- "I love you. I love you so much"

"Please-" I fight the tears- dontcry "i-we- Sam doesn't have time. We need to hurry."

"Don't suppress your feelings, Chris, your best friend just died-" he's trying, he's such a good person, I love him so much.

"I'll cry about it once you're safe, okay!?" My voice comes out far more harshly than I ever intended. "I'm sorry- imsorry, imsorry-" I repeat, backing off "I cant- I can't be weak right now- I need to be strong until this is over then..." He pulls me into a hug, fuck- it feels so nice to be close to him- he's so warm, so alive, so full of colour...

~~

The lunatic got us again. This is what we get for trying to help Sam. We followed the trail down under the lodge, found so much weird shit, then eventually saw her passed out, tied to a chair and when we tried to help...

Now, there's a gun on the table, and I've got one free arm- if this fucker makes me do what I think he's going to... "Y/N? Sweetheart, wake up." I coax him gently, the lights turn on, there's saws above us.

"Chris...?" He mumbles, "where- where are we?"

"I dont- what the hell happened?!" I notice his black eye, I'm gonna kill that guy, I swear to god.

"I punched him after he got you," he cries, god- I hate that sound. He should never have to cry "I think he hit me?"

My eyes flare in anger "I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna murder his fucking face off."

"Hello again, my special little subjects." His distorted voice comes over the intercom, the saws start spinning, I lift the gun and shoot at them, desperate to make them stop, nothing happens. He continues speaking and confirms my fears. Either shoot myself or Y/N.

I bring the gun to my neck, just beneath my jaw. "No! Don't you fucking dare!" Y/N screams, thrashing and pulling against the restraints "Chris, stop- I can't- don't make me"

"I love you. You be smart, be safe, be brave. Please, I need you to make it out alive, baby." I'm confident, I'm assured. There's no hesitation in my voice, just regret. I thought we could grow up together, go to the same college, find a nice apartment, good jobs, married- I wanted to live that dream life with him. I thought we would... "I love you so fucking much. Just close your eyes. Just close your eyes- and make it off this fucking mountain. You're strong, you can do it. Please- survive."

"Fuck this- no! Chris, dont- don't make me live without you- it's not worth it-" he sobs.

"I love you-"

Chapter 7

I'm alive? My neck hurts like hell, I know the gun went off. My eyes open, Y/N sobs desperately, his eyes shut tight- like he's trying to disappear, my baby... I look around "What the fuck??"

He appears... SHIT- I lift the gun and shoot him several times, but still nothing happens... instead the freak laughs- he fucking laughs at me, he starts taunting me. "You've heard of blanks before? I mean really?" He takes the mask o- Josh?!?

Sam and Mike come from a door behind us, equally shocked- he's still fucking laughing- they release our wrists from the restraints while Josh explains his plan. I killed him... he made me saw him in half- worse than that, if that vision was right? He would've killed Y/N too.

~~

Me, Mike and Y/N are taking him to the shed. Sam didn't want to come, the sick fuck chased her around while she was in just a towel! Mike is the angriest, rightfully so, josh killed Jessica. He's fucking crazy! And still acting like it's all a joke.

On the walk, I notice Y/N is trailing behind, clearly something is puzzling him. I take his hand "What's up, babe?"

"I just..." He thinks for a moment "remember that weird dollhouse in the basement? The doll meant to look like me was in the bedroom, but I was in the kitchen that night"

"...so?"

"So if he was doing this as revenge for what happened to the twins, if he's seen the video, he'd know that! He'd know I wasn't a part of it, so why the hell was the doll upstairs? Why put me in that saw trap? Why us? You didn't do anything either!" He explains his conundrum.

"Yeah, that is weird, plus if he's saying he didn't mean to hurt anybody, why the hell did I see-" I stop myself, I still don't know what I saw, and whatever it was, I'm best asking josh about it rather than bother Y/N with my delusion. "Why the hell did I see him get sawn in half? Or- or have to shoot myself in the neck?"

"And killing Jessica, and basically sexually assaulting Sam." He adds before we catch up to Mike and Josh, the former is trying to tie the latter to a piller.

"Oh, finally can you two hold him, please?" Mike asks as soon as he sees us. Y/N holds down Josh's right side, I take the left while Mike quickly ties him up. I can feel Josh's eyes peering into me. It's not an angry gaze, it's... sad? Betrayed? He seems hurt, but that obviously can't make sense, did he expect me to kill the love of my life? Did he want me to??

Josh rambles incoherently while the rest of us talk, trying to figure out any way to make this make sense, "Chris?" Josh interrupts Y/N while he talks "Chris!"

"What?" I relent.

"Can we talk alone, please? I don't trust them like I do you." He has the balls to say something like that after what he did? I turn to the other two...

"Sure, yeah. We'll wait outside." Mike nods before I even say anything "c'mon, Y/N. He can't do anything, he's tied up." Y/N kisses me before following Mike out of the shed

"Now what, Josh?" I look to him, expecting some sort of explanation that'll put everything into place and make it all make sense.

"I missed you. You know that?" He seems partly lucid when he says that.

"Yeah? And a text wasn't enough?"

"No. Nonono. I missed you. He stoleyou."

"Y/N? He's my boyfriend, he didn't steal me-"

"YES HE DID. You're supposed to be myyy best friend and you abandoned me for him?? Really??"

"No! What the hell? We were still friends Josh. It's not like I started dating him and then all of a sudden I just dropped you, we still hung out!"

He shakes his head "that's not true. Thatsnot true. That's nottrue. ThatsNOTTRUE"

I sigh, this isn't going anywhere. I need to ask him about what I saw. Was he actually going to kill him? "Josh, the saw..."

"I wanted to test you. To see if you even fucking cared. You let me die so fucking FAST!" Josh starts to thrash around.

"JOSH, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU??" I scream "You- you put me in a position- you made me pick between him and you. You did that to see if i cared??? Did you- did you rig it up so he would've died if I chose you?"

He laughs- I'm gonna fucking kill him- "aw don't be mad at me..."

He wasgoing to kill him- he was going tokill him- hewas goingto killhim- hewasgoingtokillhim- Josh was going to kill Y/N.

Fury rages through me "YOU FUCKING CUNT-" I grab a piece of ply wood and whip it towards his head- he hit Y/N- smack- he tortured Y/N- smack- wanted me to shoot Y/N- smack- HE TRIED TO KILL Y/N-

Before I can smack him again, Mike pulls me away and grabs the wood out of my hands "Chris- what the fuck?!"

Y/N holds me back- I take deep breaths- shit- what did I do?? "He- he confessed..." my voice is shaking, Josh is unconscious- bleeding- shit- what the fuck did I do??

"To what??" Mike sounds appalled by my actions.

I tremble- "he was- he wanted to kill him..."

"Who?"

My eyes meet Y/N, even after what he saw me do, he still has gentle love in his eyes "the saw wasn't just a fake body thing... he was going to kill you... he was fully ready to kill you..."

Chapter 8

"Then your friend will already be dead." The old guy had a sorry yet confident expression.

"Good." I mutter.

Y/N shakes my shoulder, "we need to go after him..."

I scoff "fuck that. Fuck him. He did it to himself"

"Chris, this isn't you," he pleads. Fuck- he's adorable. "We can't leave him to die. Or... I can't. No matter what he did..."

"Don't. Don't be stupid. He just said he's dead." I try to reason with him.

"If there's a chance, i can't let him die like that."

"Then I'll come with ye." The old guy tells Y/N.

"No, you're not. He's not going." I sigh "I'll go. You'll stay in the lodge."

"I'm fine, Chris."

"And I plan to keep you that way. I'll get josh, try not to kill him, and bring him back. Only because I adore you."

"Glad it's worth something."

~~

His fucking head came off. We were looking for Josh- the Wendigo came- And took the old guys head off. I ran through the snow towards the lodge with the thing right behind me. I was shooting it whenever I could- it was so fucking fast, I almost didn't make it, but Y/N was right by the door waiting for me.

In the basement, Emily was begging Mike not to shoot her. I would've fought him, but- I just wanted Y/N. I just wanted him to hold me. Hes so gentle. He's so loving. He's so warm. I tried to shut out their dispute. I'm being held by my boyfriend. He loves me, I'm safe, no matter what happens next. Y/N is here, Y/N is holding me, Y/N is going to take care of me.

In his arms, I let myself break...

Chapter 10

That screech...

Oh fuck-

We hear the Wendigos coming through the basement- how did they get here??

The three of us sprint away from the sound, Y/N lets me run ahead, Emily behind him- up the stairs, through the maze, eventually to the movie theatre where Sam and Mike have opened the door "RUN!" I yell

"Go, go, go, go!!" Y/N calls out behind me.

I reach the main floor and run towards the door until I see the Wendigo perched on the wooden chandelier, I freeze, they can't see you if you're standing still. The old guys words replay in my mind. My eyes search for Y/N, but I can't find him, just Emily. She didn't shove him out of the way, did she???

The Wendigos chasing us climb up the stairs, and the main one, seemingly infuriated, started fighting them, giving me time to escape. I throw the door open and run. Please let him be okay, please- please- my legs collapse into the snow, please be okay, please come out.

Emily is out next, I don't have the fire to fight her in me anymore, I've done terrible things tonight, and all of it will be for nothing if that boy doesn't come out. Please, it can't have been for nothing.

He comes into view- Please-! But the Wendigo stares at him, no, no, please, he hasn't done anything wrong... i head towards the lodge, I need to catch him.

Sam's squeaky sneakers save him- holy shit- the Wendigo heads towards her, thank fuck- Y/N sprints into my arms, oh- baby...

I guide his sobbing form away from the lodge "I've got you, we made it- you- you made it-" I wipe his hair away from his sweaty forehead, I admire his face, his adorable fucking face "You survived..."

♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆

~Elliebean714 🦋🍄

[dejwrld]

How did you get started with novel planning? I have a novel myself that I wrote in high school and I really want to get back to it and be serious.

i have had many novel ideas that i have put on the back burner because it just didn’t feel like the one tbh. but i do think i start with my novel planning by creating pinterest boards first and foremost to just get the aesthetic printed in my brain. this is how i organize my pinterest boards for my wips btw!

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her videos have been so fucking amazing and helpful with planning. on her website, she offers these google doc planning sheets that is under $10 (i believe) that include a chapter outline document, character profile document, and a three act story structure planning document also…it’s so amazing.

but sometimes you can just wing your novel, just start writing what you have in mind now and just go back to novel planning. i literally have a page of my first chapter typed and i haven’t even finished the chapter outlines of my novel