#I guess if I ever really dive into fanfic that would change but at that moment

[lloydfrontera]

You know, regarding Lloyd's achievement in history and whether ordinary citizens know him or not made me crave post canon modern au.

Imagine seeing an in universe fanfic authors notes in ao3 or twitter crying about how they simply wanted to write a story set in Lloys time but they just keep diving into rabbit holes.

Kinda like

"So i was writing an historical au set in Alician era where the MC had a detour in Cremo and he was admiring a statue by the sea with a local explaining its history. Of course, I needed to do some research only to found out that Lloyd Frontera, YES, THAT Lloyd Frontera who made the Pantara railroad defeated some sea monster, nearly died and got statue for it"

Maybe someone from Beneto Kingdom being so confused because all he learned from history in school (Beneto history) is that Lloyd is just some brilliant engineer so he got specially confused on why in the movie he was watching set in Alician era is Lloyd fighting a goddamn bone dragon.

I'm interested on how scholars and political figures bemoan and analyse Lloyd's action and achievement but ordinary people's Internet discourse could be so much fun as well.

Javier and Lloyd getting the Alexander and Haphaestion treatment on whether they were lovers or not. The discourse would be so toxic lol.

oh my god forget changing the history of civil engineering forever, sparking the nastiest discourse ever on history/fandom internet forums is lloyd's true greatest achievement akshfksdg

he's the go to historical domain character used to set the time period for a historical movie/book/series. he's the guy writers insert to give their work a more period accurate vibe. everyone knows just enough about him to make really passionate history nerds very angry about all the inaccuracies and made up facts that are taken as common knowledge.

i'm thinking people of completely different online circles all knowing about lloyd in some capacity but regarding completely separate facets of his life and work and being so surprised when they accidentally find yet another whole field lloyd revolutionized. like.

a sword nerd who's really into the concept of the asrahan core technique and knows perfectly well that lloyd helped invent it getting gobsmacked about the fact that's the same guy that laid the ground for modern sewer systems.

a fan of historical romance stories who is used to seeing lloyd as a fun cameo in the background of stories set in the alician period being really confused when they open their book on thermodynamics and see there's a whole chapter dedicated to a method lloyd figured out to create ice without the need of magic.

a train enthusiast who is really fascinated by the rudimentary switchback system lloyd frontera implemented when the concept of a train wasn't even known in the empire being completely dumbfounded when their friends invite them to see a movie about that one time lloyd frontera and his knight defeated a knight of hell in namaran.

i think it's definitely a meme to post "so i was doing research for my asfahan au and went on a rabbit hole and guess who fucking built the qanat that's widely regarded as the only reason the kingdom didn't fall into civil war. take a wild fucking guess" "was it lloyd frontera" "IT WAS FUCKING LLOYD FRONTERA OF COURSE IT WAS"

i'm also certain there would be some guys who think he's overrated and people should really stop talking so much about him when there's so many other historical figures who are just as interesting and not as recognized 🙄. to which people immediately go "mad cause your history blorbo didn't defeat a bone dragon aren't you" at them

Javier and Lloyd getting the Alexander and Haphaestion treatment on whether they were lovers or not. The discourse would be so toxic lol.

they definitely get the alexander and hephaestion treatment you are so correct. they're also the achilles and patroclus of the modern magentano girlies. there's a bunch of 'queer retellings' of their lives. they're the go to example for homoerotic friendships. there's a bunch of edits that mix historical paintings of them with ship fanart with that 'history hates lovers' song playing over them. dudebros get really angry about it. llojavi truthers pull out their 20 pages long annotations that start with "they fucking slept in the same bedroom for years" and it only gets worse.

there's one poor person online who just really fucking wants to know how and why lloyd frontera changed faces one day out of the blue with no one ever explaining it. there's no official records. no member of the royal family ever made a statement about it. why is everyone acting like the frontera family didn't have one eldest son for 25-29 years and one day suddenly had a completely different one. what the fuck is going on.

so. yeah. i'm a little obsessed with this concept actually ajkshdksa

[dayseternal-blog]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. spread the self-love ❤

Bunny-senpai!!! 💕

I answered an ask similar to this one last year in March and I don't think my answers have changed...

I rewrote each blurb haha, so it's not an exact copy-paste from before.

1 “It’s No Secret” - Rated M, High School AU, Multi-chapter, Incomplete. Hinata returns to Konoha after 5 years studying abroad in the Moon Kingdom. She just wants to enjoy her last year of high school as a normal girl, but blossoming love forces her to confront her future. - My top fave. Back then, I wrote this like I was possessed. This story consumed my mind, and I was posting chapters every 1 or 2 weeks. I'm amazed at myself from back then. No, it's not my technically best writing, but I was having so much fun thinking up all kinds of scenes!!! Oh, to be a fanfic writing newbie all over again. Major love to everyone who's read this flirty teenage shenanigans mess and enjoyed it!!! One day I will write part two 🥺

2 “Nightdreams” - Rated E, Canon-Divergent AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. Naruto and Hinata find comfort in each other after the war. - This fic idea came to me sometime after I read agitosgirl's "A Special Friend," and I wanted Moooooore!!! I wanted more of this hurt/comfort dynamic between NaruHina!!!! So bam, the fic almost wrote itself, it flowed so easily (except for when it didn't). I'm so happy that people reread this fic, and then tell me that they're rereading it :D. Once in awhile I reread it, too, and think, oh, I should fix that sentence, or whatever loll, but I don't. I kind of think it's nice to leave it as it is, imperfect in little ways to bother me. Please read this fic and recognize that I was copying Katarinahime's writing techniques throughout.

3 “Awkward Jocks” - Rated G, 1990s High School AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. She knows that if he were to ever ask her out, she would accept in a heartbeat. After all, he’s the star quarterback and basketball player. Plus, she’s liked him since…forever. But when her home phone rings, and he’s on the other line, she hangs up. - It's interesting to me that even after all the fics I've written over the years, it's a few of my oldest fics that take the top 3. I guess I really have been trying to write for myself since the start. This one is based off of my ex-coworker's love story. Even though I don't work with her anymore, I still think of her as my role model for good leadership. When you read this, I hope you can feel how much I love her!

4 “About You” - Rated G, 1970s High School AU, One-shot. A summer job at the Dole pineapple cannery, graveyard shift 10 PM to 6 AM. A long bus ride into and out of town. Two teens, shy beside each other. - This is my most personal fanfic. Based on stories my parents told me and stories I found online from people of their generation, I tried to dive into their time using NaruHina. Ever since I was inspired to write after reading emmykay's "Torch Song," I had wanted to write a fic with Japanese-Hawaiian pidgin dialogue. This fic is close to my heart, but it's not higher on the list because there are inaccurate details that bother me 😅. I'm thinking of writing a fic about my great grandparents' generation one day, I've done a ton of research for it! Anyway, I'm so happy that others love this fanfic, too.

5 “Matcha” from “Shared Vows” - Rated T, Canon-Compliant, One-shot. Naruto calls Hiashi “father” for the first time. - According to my previous blurb, I picked this one because I loved how I structured it, I thought I wrote it really well. I also loved the notion of Naruto finding his own family. On deeper reflection, I think I also picked this one over "Finally Home" because I have a not-so-secret agenda for reconciliation between Hinata and Hiashi, fed by my own family's dynamic with my dad.

If I were to recommend any one of these for someone to read, I'd say they should start with Nightdreams or Matcha as an intro to some of my work since canon universe fanfic is always easier to digest.

[weebsinstash]

SO TRUE Im trying to enjoy my Miguel fanfics but most of them are so out of character I just can’t 😭😭

I dunno if I would exactly say out of character (partially because I don't want to imply I'm some characterization expert or whatever when I haven't published Jack shit) since I feel like, there can be different themes or emotions or vibes the story is going for that may call for some tweaking, or like certain fics focusing on specific parts of a characters personality, like "I just wanted to write him being angry and how he mighr respond whils under stress" which is valid, but like

One thing I will say that I immediately noticed when I started combing through Miguel fics is, a lot of people make him WAY too verbose and eloquent. Yeah he's a genius, yeah he gets very serious in scenes, but my god the vocabulary some people give him, the way some people have him structuring his sentences. He's not as overly detailed and formal as some people like to write. Like this is a man who says shit like "well, I guess you're just going to have to shut up and trust me" to people he's trying to rescue and, again, even when he's chasing down Miles, he's huffing, "UGH you're so FRUSTRATING", like idk if you consider it canon but his after credits scene in Into the spiderverse literally has him meeting Spiderman 1967 who, MAKES HIM SO MAD HE DOES LIKE LITTLE HOPPY HOPS, like. This man is a DWEEB. He has a temper and threw a trashcan at a teenager! Mf literally loses it and says "¡ay coño!" over a Spider Society wide broadcast, my man livestreamed himself saying "for fucks sake" across the entire community because they didn't immediately understand which specific Spiderman he was asking them to chase the moment he asked them to "stop spiderman" and not specifying any further until, "for fucks sake, MILES MORALES 😤 he's entering sector 4!!" and also when Miles is hiding on that dude's back he's just sprinting up "he's over- on your-- TURN AROUND!!" and waving his arms around

like, he's an emotional person! He's not some like anime supervillain, he's not some demon lord sounding "it is unfortunate that you decided to behave in this manner" dialogue ass-- like I mean, I know there's only so many clips circulating online so maybe people are just. Gleaming the wrong context? Like I've seen a few "all Miguel scenes" videos on YouTube and none of them ever really capture the full context of any of the scenes, there's cuts for copyright, some people cut different parts, some clips are higher quality, but like, it really is different when you see the full movie cause I feel like a lot of people are just focusing ONLY on the parts where he's being, you know, scary as fuck. Like don't think i didn't immediately notice "oh holy shit Miguel actually put CLAW MARKS in Miles' shoulder", this man was literally chasing and diving for this kid, they were bailing out windows, there was a cat, and a t Rex, and idk, maybe I'm looking too far into it but you don't have to make him Ultra Serious to make him intimidating and scary. There's gotta be a balance I guess? I see too much of him being lowkey an edge lord and not enough of him being Just A Real Stressed Out Dude. Idk. I just keep finding written dialogue for him a little cut and dry sometimes, there's only a few things I've read where it stood out to me (like in "no more dry bites" where he's just stopping midsentence to huff "why are you being so-- ok you know what, fine--" *immediately changes tactics lowkey like a tantrum*

Like have you seen some of the concept art of him, they were originally debating giving him glasses and a 5 o clock shadow and have him looking more dorky and casual, like, the man has personality, he has depth, I want the third movie to peel his layers like an onion, I just KNOW there's gonna be a good ending for everyone 😤

I'm just sitting here and thinking like, yeah he's serious but he speaks in a very human way? Like, one thing he says to Miles is something like "you can't save them all, kid. Believe me, I've tried, and the harder I tried, the worse things got" or something along those lines, too lazy to pull up the clip, but like. Idk. Maybe I'm just overanalyzing and maybe it's just people wanting to go for certain moods but i just feel like way too many fics have him acting way too, not even serious, just kind of edgy. He's a serious guy but he still doesn't talk like he's some emotionless robot. He's gonna cross his arms. He's gonna put his hands on his hips. He's gonna roll his eyes at you. He may just even rage quit the conversation "ok, you know what, I gave you enough chances--" and just bites you because this is the quickest easiest option and better to put you out now rather than drag this out and get both of you worked up because He Is So Fucking Tired Dude

[comrade-bucket]

good omens s2e2 thoughts

I want to scream about every episode of good omens as I watch it slowly, I wish I had a community around it but I don’t wanna poke around tumblr or anywhere for fear of spoilers and I like to savor shit (“you go too fast for me binge watchers!!”).

So hear ol void buddy take my screaming!!

Idk if I’ve ever made so many noises at a screen! I have a lot invested into this world to the point where everything is imbued with Benefit Of The Doubt Goodness, like it’s my child. I guess that’s what being a fan is like but also being a fan can mean being extremely disappointed so there’s that

I’m not disappointed I’m screaming! Okay episode 2. I love the buddy holly song and the gasp I made when Gabriel sings it. I loooove the little gay dorky conductor motion Aziraphale makes before singing it to people, I am obsessed with it, I’m chewing the walls.

Job!!!! I just read a fanfic that partially takes place during the book of Job, I haven’t dived HARD into the world of GO fanfic but I’ve read enough that take place in biblical times that make me go “huh wow the bible is this real thing full of very old and pervasive myths, oooo there were real people wandering the desert back in the day,” sense-of-awe type vibes. And then the show is doing that!!!!

I love a show that wrestles with this very big question that feels like it is playing out for me on some ancestral level, as a person (like many of us) descended from people who believed in God: “HOW THE FUCK COULD YOU EXIST AND BE SO CRUEL, HOW COULD I BELIEVE, FUCK YOU GOD FUCK YOU!!” lol maybe that’s not entirely a question. Hard not to giggle at it a little but it’s also like a pretty big thing to wrestle with?? (I’ll die on this hill but see: thor love and thunder - dumb little box office stories that actually are wrestling with that if you choose to go there)

Bible fanfic!!! It makes something in me itch in a good, I think, way

What else. Brain all over. There’s Jim ordering the books by the first letter of the first word, which is like the damn Spotify playlists that spelled out those words. GOD DAMMIT!!! Brain tickles!!! What does it meeaaaannn?? Should I start looking for acrostics everywhere, like in that weird headline about the ducks held by that rando in the pub who is going to be important prob?? What does it mean when you open your life to the unhingedness and magic of little synchronicities like that, of things vibrating with hidden meaning???

The angels not recognizing Gabriel is sooo good - me expecting a more typical “ha ha he tries to hide Gabriel, shenanigans ensue” - nope, he just answers the door, the angels don’t know him, Aziraphale (like us) is like “….okay what the fuck???” [unless it’s the miracle that’s hiding him, that’s possible]

There is something with identity and who are you if your appearance changes but you stay the same (the goats, Job’s children); who are you if your appearance stays the same but you are fundamentally different inside and/or nobody recognizes you and/or you have to pretend to be someone else (Gabriel/Jim, Job’s kids when they come back) (and then there’s Maggie and Nina actually being entirely new characters with the same face!) (and! on the opposite side, Beelzebub having a new face and the story is like “eh, new face, same guy”) - what is identity, what is a self??

And then identity is a theme for Aziraphale too right!! At the end of ep. 2 he’s like “what am I???”, it’s a whole existential crisis, (you feel for him so hard, because these actors are so fucking good??). He’s like I can’t possibly be an angel because I did these non-angelic, demonic things… and Crowley is like “🤷 you can still be an angel, more or less”…….. if you appear to be an angel then nobody has to know…… and what, really, is the difference

(“if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck”... and Crowley’s thing with ducks!)

Holy shit and that flows into undertones of things being a metaphor for being closeted?? Would love to untangle it more but that scene where Aziraphale eats the meat - 1) was SOOOOO fanficky (in the best way!!), I mean I’m puking, (Book of Job fanfic! Just an intimate encounter in the space between scenes); 2) was very easily some kind of stand in for, you know, temptations of the flesh, gay sex type thing. (I mean… did he have to eat the meat like that… did Crowley have to watch him like that... I mean… come on. Amazing.) (incidentally I think Michael sheen is playing Aziraphale even gayer this season mannerisms-wise and I just love it a lot!!) - so anyway, Aziraphale and Crowley’s whole thing being “we love each other, we know we love each other, but NO ONE CAN KNOW how much we love each other”… even to the point of hiding it from ourselves, lying to ourselves (cough Aziraphale)… that theme just feels so present!

Being closeted… you have this experience that is so pleasurable and full of love and can’t possibly be wrong (eating meat, befriending a demon)... and yet the highest powers are telling you it’s wrong, god says it’s wrong, that’s your entire identity, so who are you?? You just have to pretend… oh man it’s so sad pals!!!

I’m obsessed with this identity thing. I wonder if it’ll be important to the plot. Back to episode 1, Az & Jim: “I know someone who looks like you” “that’s probably me then! I think that’s one of the ways you can tell” - ha ha funny joke cute line, except wait, it is thematically resonating throughout everything, oops!!

ALSO getting caught in the rain and taking refuge under an awning and falling in love = it raining outside the garden of eden and Crowley shelters under Aziraphale’s wing…. GOD FUCKING DAMN IT

Okay those are some of my long chaotic thoughts, thanks for listening void!!!

[marvelandponder]

💖 📥 🖊 🌝 📝 🤔 💻 💭

Hahaha! You're going all in, huh? Thanks for the interest! Fanfic Ask Game! I'll save the snippet for last so it can live after a cut! 💖 What do you like most about your own writing? Answered this one but since you asked, only fair to answer again! Let's see, another thing... I love when my stories have good set-up and pay-off. Bevin and I love to joke that my favourite word is consequences - it's so satisfying when you get to see little seeds grow into something bigger, or something from earlier on be recontextualized into something new! Timber sure is Sunset's new best friend :D

📥 What is your fave fic to receive comments/messages on? Currently, Empathy for the Devil, since it's the most recently released and Bevin and I worked the hardest on it. But that answer's probably gonna change when we start releasing The Ex Files, so I guess whatever's most recent! 🌝 Who is one character you haven’t yet written for that you would like to? Also answered, but again, only fair to give you a different answer! Someone else I'd love to write for is probably Pinkie. She's so fun and great when I've written her as a non-perspective character, I'm real excited to write in her POV! 📝 What is one growth area you have for your writing? Scene vs. summary! I actually tend towards a lot of scene, but don't summarize spans of time very often I've also been working on subtlety in my show vs tell. I'm trying to play around with language more since it didn't really come naturally to me as much as dialogue did! 🤔 What is the hardest part of writing fic? Answered, but I bet I've got another one! Perfectionism. Sometimes, that's with the prose itself. Now, it's just being satisfied with the number of hours I get to spend writing per week. It's still a ton, but I have to fight the perfectionism demon who lives in my basement. He's a nasty one 💻 Do you do research for your fics? What’s the deepest dive you’ve done? I do! I was researching little things just this morning! The deepest dive has maybe been reading actual research papers on brain chemistry cross-referenced with the Greek forms of love. Ironically, what the characters techno-babble about in that story (which also involved mechanical engineering) is way less researched than the thematic stuff! The Ex Files is gonna be a really fun time! 💭 What is a headcanon you have about your own work? Aww, I like this question! It's actually a tough one because I usually end up writing my headcanons into stories, so it's tough not to give away too many spoilers. Here's a small one: Sunset came out to see Timber sometime after Empathy. They hung out and had a besties weekend watching too many sitcoms, and ended up bonding over a really embarrassing one from like the 80s. It's their show now. 🖊 Post a snippet from a current WIP.

Loathing. Unadulterated loathing is what it was.

“He thinks he’s so great,” Sunset grumbled into her punch, “...just because he kind of is. What an asshole.”

“Is he actually? You think he’s secretly a big dumb jerkface?”

“No,” Sunset sighed, disappointed. She had her arms folded save for the cup of punch in her left hand. “I’ve been scoping him out ever since camp. I know he’s clear of Equestrian magic and all, but I wanted to see if he was really as good as he seems for Twilight. And the fucker’s as big of a dork as he seems. Who’s like that? Drives me nuts.”

“You too?” Flash slapped his chest. “Oh wow, I thought it was just me! I’ve been getting weird vibes off that guy since we met him!”

More specifically, since canoeing lessons out on the lake when Timber’s shirt got wet and he pulled the sopping wet fabric off revealing a pristine six pack. Worthy of a fitness magazine, probably even better than what Flash had… once. Flash couldn’t stop staring the whole time they were out on the water, and it made Timber’s whole Charming, Able to Socialize With Everyone All the Time Super Easily routine that much more aggravating. 

Sunset really looked at him as if she hadn’t quite noticed there was anything in the room except Timber Spruce. “Dude, seriously?”

“Yeah, seriously! I hate that guy!”

Sunset lit up. “He’s the worst!” 

They clinked their plastic cups together. 

“Oh my god, okay, I’m not crazy here! I hate Timber and his stupid, perfect, handsome⁠—”

“What?”

“What?” 

Sunset stared at him, interested all of the sudden. More so than she’d been in a long time. He didn’t entirely feel like he was in on the joke, and he was almost nervous the longer she looked him over. She smiled that halfway smile of hers. “I missed you, dude.” 

 “Missed you, too.” He nudged her shoulder with his drink hand. He didn’t want that to sound like a come on, because it wasn’t, so he said the dumbest thing that came to mind (which also happened to be the first). “Good for you, moving on. Kind of, I guess. I didn’t know you had a thing for Twilight.”

Sunset’s eyes seized open and she shoved her hand over his mouth, shuffling the both of them over to the side of the room, landing them in front of the buffet table with all the fancy stuff his mom set out. She threw a glance over her shoulder and then shushed him again for good measure. “Dude! Not so loud!”

“O-oh! Okay, yeah, sorry,” he came down to her vocal level, and her height, caught up in her conspiracy. “It’s just. Seems kind of obvious. You know, with the whole⁠—” He would have gestured to all of her, but that wasn’t accurate. Just difficult to make a hand gesture to the numbered going on countless little nervous tics that Sunset once had around him that she’d been rocking around Twilight now. So he gestured to all of her. “Thing you do.”

That was unfair, and he knew it. Could have been twenty different things, especially to anybody not in the know. He just had insider information. 

“Yeah? Well, nobody else knows, okay? And I’m trying really hard to keep it that way.” While checking her back to see if anybody would overhead, Sunset got distracted with Twilight laughing nervously across the room and Timber swinging an arm over her shoulders. She grimaced. “She’s happy. And she worked really hard to get there. She deserves it. They both do, I guess, so I don’t want to be the one to ruin that.”

“Uh-huh, of course.” Flash’s eyebrows lifted. “But, it’s killing you not to go Old Sunset on their asses, huh?”

Sunset scrubbed her eyes and muffled a moan that mimicked a sob in her the palms of her hands. 

He clapped her shoulder and picked up a plate of pre-cut cake to offer out to her. “I think this one is chocolate.”

[kravkalackin]

Hi, it’s 3am and i just finished binge reading one of your fics after starting it Years ago while i was still actively hyperfixating on taz and picking it back up just a couple days ago when i realized how much i missed your writing and noticed that it had been completed while i was gone (love is a construct). I read So many taz fics back then and even after i moved on from the fandom (although balance will always be really special to me) your fics always sort of stuck around in my mind cause they always sucked me in without fail so when i was craving something to binge read it was surprisingly easy to pull up your ao3 and dive back in. Anyway, i was experiencing the usual emotional rollercoaster of getting to the end of a fic when i got Super curious about what you were up to now. Do you still write taz stuff? Have you moved on to other things (totally understandable if you have)? If you do still do fanfics, are you still planning to write some sort of sequel for Love is a Construct? You mentioned that in some of your notes towards the end of the end of the fic, but it’s been a while so it would make sense if plans have changed since then. Sorry for the sudden word vomit in your asks, i think god cursed me to never be able to be concise about anything ever, but it’s good to know you’re still around regardless of what you’re up to now. Your fics stuck with me through some stuff so they’ll always have a special place right along with taz balance for me. I’m not really sure how to end an unnecessarily long ask so, best wishes i guess?

look, in this case we have both been cursed with the inability to ever say a single goddamn thing succinctly, so I can't fault you on the long ask. It's honestly really nice to hear that people are still reading and enjoying my fics, even tho it has been an extremely long time since i've updated anything at all. (i still read all comments on my fics, if that was ever in any doubt)

I was writing infinity train fics for a little while there, but uuuuh haven't really updated any of them since may of last year? So nearly coming up on a year now.

I'm actually trying to get into original writing, which is to say i keep making a lot of plans that haven't come to much fruition yet because my job is slowly killing me. I have made it a goal to write the first draft over this coming summer and do editing and revising over the next academic year.

so uh, yeah? i still have no idea how many people would be interested in my original work, but I wanna give it the go ahead, so that's been my focus. I absolutely do want to continuing writing fanfic, but original stuff is gonna be my major goal for the next year or so.

so yeah, hopefully maybe sometime late 2024 i'll be dropping a book about ice zombies aristocrats or scavengers at the end of the universe or some third idea i haven't thought of yet. we'll see

[emptyofdust]

Tag Game - First 10 Lines

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and  tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and  share anyway.

hi @picnokinesis and thanks for the tag! let's pretend it hasn't been an entire month since you tagged me, and that i didn't spend a whole 15 minutes trying to remember my password to this account before giving up and resetting it. sounds good? sounds good.

i don't exactly have 10 doctor who fics, i don't think? we'll see how far we get with the wips floating around my onenote, and if it's not 10, i'll pad it with other fics -- it'll be a guess the fandom sort of thing, fun for the whole family (although, if you do guess the fandom from one line, i'll be genuinely impressed). starting with the completed ones:

you're the one that i need, i'm the one that you loathe ; nebulously mid s12 thoschei one-shot

“I think it should be me who kills you.”

2. it makes me who i am (i burned it all but i'm doing fine) ; canon divergence where 13 thinks to dive into the matrix mid s12 and sort of uh. breaks her own mind, it's fine, she's alright. thoschei one-shot.

She stands alone, and watches the flames dance.

3. on the catfish and its adaptive capacity in adverse temporal conditions ; you guessed it, mid s12 thoschei one-shot. 13 pays a visit to O for ScienceTM. it doesn't go great.

This is arguably not the most brilliant plan the Doctor’s ever come up with.

and now for the wips. titles are temporary and, were i to finish any of these, would probably change 3-6 times before actually being posted

4. i've loved you for a hundred years (certainly fucking feels like it) ; human au spydoc one-shot that got away from me a bit and that i never ended up finishing.

There's a star in his kitchen.

5. the enemy of my enemy, and other cautionary tales ; i don't even know what this was going to be, but it was going to involve a team-up with Jack and the Master, and some shenanigans. maybe even some hijinks? hard to say.

"So," Jack says, wondering why the hell he's still standing here, "explain to me again why I should care?"

6. driving lessons ; a tentatively thasmin one-shot set between s12 and flux, exploring how yaz learnt to pilot the tardis as well as she has, aka 13 teaches her something instead of apologizing every time she behaves like a dick. might still finish this one, actually

"Want me to show you how to reset the chronion collector brackets?"

7. help is on the way ; a jack/13 one-shot set after once, upon time, because how could i not bring jack into the aftermath of whatever the hell happened in that episode

She holds it together for a remarkably long time, all things considered.

8. another night and i'll see you (another night and i'll be you) ; power of the doctor one-shot, exploring whatever the fuck happened with that doctor/master combination. got distracted from it, but honestly would like to go back to it at some point because seriously, the implications

He— she— they— are bleeding.

the other doctor who wips are not at a stage where they have opening lines, so bonus round!

9. a day in the life, and other team building exercises ; okay, this one's an easy fandom guess, but it's not about to be posted any time soon, so shouldn't give me away

"Warden," Camilla says, with all the neutrality only a lifetime can teach, "is that a knife?"

10. quick study ; teaching one's teammate to drive when one's teammate also happens to be an alien with a bit of a kleptomaniac streak

"This just seems so unnecessarily complicated."

and that's 10! this was very fun, thank you again for the tag! I don't really have many mutuals on this account, but if you see this and are interested, consider yourself tagged! i love reading these tag games

[sapphire-heart-tippy]

So uh 😳

This is the main thing I want to talk about:

Cream

As we all know, stands are manifestations of your soul. In my fanfic, I dive deeper into Vanilla's perspective on things. Cream is a void type stand. He swallows up everything in his path, he's empty inside, he's eternally hungry. But why is he hungry? What is he hungry for? In canon, it's not clear and never specified.

If I had to guess (and I most certainly did), Vanilla feels a deep void in his heart that he fills with Dio. He uses Dio to fill the void. In the OVA (the Japanese dub) Dio tells the Stardust Crusaders that Vanilla was an outcast in society. (My biggest guess is because he's queer and dealt with a shit ton of discrimination)

Vanilla was most likely never given a single shred of grace in his life. That's very apparent when in one particular scene, he says, "Anyone else would've instinctively saved himself over risking life and limb to come to the aid of an oblivious comrade." Which is untrue. The fact Vanilla said this means that he's never had mercy given to him until Dio. He thinks the world is filled with selfish people and he's so unbelievably lonely and empty inside. Vanilla is willing to go to great lengths just for a crumb of affection from Dio, something he'll never really get.

Vanilla is still a human being until he's turned into a vampire. He still has human thoughts and feelings. But being mistreated in society has caused him to not only feel empty and lonely, but he most likely sees himself as a monster. That's why Cream looks and acts like that. All his life he was told that he's a monster, so he became one. We all have demons... And Vanilla's demon is the very essence of his soul. Vanilla kept screaming into the void... But what he didn't count on was one day the void would scream back....

Okay anyway! ☺️ Let's talk about Vanilla's tattoo thing

So as you can see in the OVA (which is beautifully animated by the way) Vanilla, or... "Iced", has a tattoo of the shield symbol we also see on Cream's body

Hearts... Love... Something Vanilla hungers for badly.

You can see the tattoo on the anime version's shoulder too! (maybe the sleeves of his leotard are sheer or unfortunately it's just a little symbol on the fabric itself. I like to implement the tattoo on his shoulder in my art work when he's shirtless or wearing a sleeveless shirt)

However, the marking isn't present in the manga version

What does the heart symbol mean? Well, like I've mentioned before, it could be a manifestation of how badly Vanilla wants to be loved. The shield is also symbolic of how he's a protector, he's a guard, he would do anything to protect the one(s) he loves. And if that's the case, why would he make such an odd statement about people instinctively saving themselves instead of the ones they care about?

Look at this:

Vanilla is instinctively doing the protective arm thing for Dio. Look at how his menacing demeanor changes as well. Vanilla is literally doing the very thing he was insulting Avdol for doing. Risking his life and his limbs (literally) for Dio. If I had to guess (and overthink even harder than I already am), I would say Vanilla is even jealous that Avdol would do something like that for Polnareff. Vanilla was probably thinking in the back of his mind, "Why hasn't somebody ever done that for me?"

Funny enough, Vanilla blames Avdol for his injuries even though Polnareff was the one who was able to strike him. Vanilla is angry and envious of the very human relationship Avdol and Polnareff have. Vanilla is obsessed with Dio, Dio doesn't love nor care about Vanilla one bit. But in Vanilla's head, he probably thinks he can change Dio's mind by doing every little thing that's asked/commanded of him.

One more thing I almost forgot to mention. Look at Cream

Look at the top of his head. There's that shield heart symbol....

But in this and other instances (but I've reached my image limit)... His head is open?

It's a thing I didn't really notice until I watched SDC and the Vanilla Ice clips plenty of times. I'm actually not sure why, but... Watching his scenes more and more, it seems like it's a secondary "vacuuming" tool. Maybe it helps vacuum things into the void when Cream's mouth is closed. AND it's extra force when Cream's mouth is open and he's really pissed!

So that's yet another info dump and theory thingamajig about my beloved Vanilla 💜💙🫶 there will be more in the future and I'll reblog some of my other analyses every now and then too!

Hey.

You wanna hear some random facts and stuff I know about, speculate, hyperanalyze, and jump to conclusions about Vanilla Ice from the hit series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure© because I watch and rewatch scenes involving him over and over again and look at all of the concept art and revisit his wikis and know everything there is to know about that evil man except his blood type (YET)?

[mystacoceti]

1, 2, 10, 15, 34 (holds mic), 35, 47, 50

1: What book did you last finish? When was that?

ooooh my god I finished Gutenberg Elegies in February and even that was skimming the afterword. I’ve read so few complete books so far this year.

2: What are you currently reading?

I was burning out on An Experiment in Criticism so I’ve switched to In Cold Fear which is about the book ban debates over Catcher in the Rye. I have a bunch of different short story and poetry collections lying around and that’s sucking up most of my reading time.

10: Sci-Fi or fantasy? Why?

why should the people have to decide between two genres, both of which offer rich experiences? I am asking Washington DC and the publishing firms why they have pushed this unfair choice on decent folk everywhere. (I usually default to scifi cos it’s what I grew up with more of -_- )

15: What book changed your life?

no joke I think it might have to be when I read King Lear for my last year of high school. that or Demian were books that really got to me and felt world-expanding at a time when I could really get hit with that. I read Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five right around that time, too. The other contenders are Dinotopia when I was really young, or GUT Symmetries as I was dropping out of college. 

34: List five OTPs

I’m… gonna have to cheat here and list five romances that really got to me… Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, Estraven and Genly Ai, Sue Trinder and Maud Lilly/Nam Sook-Hee and Izumi Hideko, Anthy and Utena, and Otonashi Kyoko and Godai Yusaku

35: Name a book you consider to be terribly underrated

Ashizuri Aquarium by Panpanya or Bruno Schulz’s collected stories, maybe not terribly underrated but Schulz is definitely disappearing off the radar for anyone who doesn’t have an interest in Polish/Jewish literature, and Panpanya’s never going to make it onto the radar of anyone who’s not interested in *weird* comics. I could probably put down loads of leftist artists who get left out of The Leftist Artists canon, too.

47: What do you do to get out of a reading slump?

I’m super lenient with myself on this kind of thing, honestly. I’ve figured out that I pretty much always have a hanker for poetry, essays, short stories, so I like to keep that kind of stuff at hand. a novel that I hate but that has a quick plot and quickly read prose will help me build up a lot of steam. honestly had not heard of the idea of a book slump until I spent a sick-week bopping around book-youtube and it still seems kind odd to me. I don’t fret a lot about not reading

50: Why do you love to read?

I have this pretty vivid memory of sitting in my high school library during some lunch reading some book in a four volume series, you know some 4000 page thing and this guy come up to me and told me how much he loved the book and I would definitely love the series, and honestly that’s the strongest memory I have of the book. so much of reading ends up being talking to other people about what you’ve read, suggesting new things to read, forming relationships off a mutual interest — and then so much of it is all private and will only ever be private, all the little aha moments, some long connection you’ve drawn because of some disparate things you’ve read, asking yourself ‘in what spirit and in what way do I read this specific thing?’ all kinds of things

[myrandomfandomramblings]

The Beach - a The Rookie/Chenford Fanfic

“7-Adam-11, show us responding,” Jackson said over the radio as Lucy leaned back against her headrest defeatedly.

“I didn’t think I’d ever say this but I really don’t want to go to the beach.” “Like ever again,” she added even as she took the first turn towards their destination. 

LA was 4 days into a record heat wave and over that time Lucy had learnt a few important things 1) Unsurprisingly, extreme heat causes everyone to flock to the ocean. 2) It also makes people extremely irritable. 3) Lots of irritable people packed together in large groups leads to chaos and 4) wool uniforms are not ideal attire for patrolling beaches in temperatures around 100. 

So after 4 days she was over it. She had spent Monday with Jackson getting sworn at, honked at and nearly run over as they directed traffic at the busiest beaches in the city. She spent Tuesday with Tim breaking up beach brawls, confiscating contributing alcohol and watching bikini clad woman flirt with Tim. At least 8 different woman had asked him to rub sunscreen on them or suggested he take off his shirt to cool down. She had rolled her eyes so much she had given herself a headache. Although it may have been the sun. Yesterday, her and Nolan and responded to a report of a missing child who was feared drowned or kidnapped but turned out had followed the music of an ice cream truck four blocks and was found, about 30 minutes after the officers arrived, happily eating a fudgiscle. However, they were kept at the beach for the remainder of their shift by various citizens with complaints ranging from seagulls, wasps and possible sharks to thieves, streakers and possible melanoma. 

Now her and Jackson were headed back to a beach where the adjacent shrubbery was currently being consumed by a blazing bush fire, which was in all likelihood human caused and spreading fast. Therefore all hands were on deck as the LAPD worked with the LAFD to keep civilians safe, extinguish the fire and investigate its cause.

The rest of her shift passed in a blur as they interviewed witnesses, cordoned off the area, issued evacuation orders, ensured those who needed it got medical attention, joined a production line passing large buckets of water from the ocean to where the fire was burning and debriefed with their team which included Nolan and Tim, and Lopez and Harper. Luckily in the end, the fire was successfully extinguished, those living nearby were safe and happily back in their homes and the perpetrator, a cigarette butt flicker, was caught. But not until nearly 11pm by which time the entire team was exhausted, scorching and covered in soot and ash. With their job done the team of 6 headed away from the scene back along the beach to where they had parked their shops. They were right on the sand where they left them to create a barrier preventing people from wandering toward the fire and the beach around them was abandoned. Likely due to a combination of the late hour, the fire itself and the fact that the stretch of beach they were on was only accessible by walking about a mile from one of the main beaches on either side or by scrambling down the steep cliff behind them.

“Anybody want a cold one,” Nolan asked when they reached the vehicles, “well a hot one I guess” he amended as he pulled out a six pack he had confiscated earlier in the day from the trunk of his shop. Everybody made a face at the offer of hot beer but since the only light around came from the shops headlights shining in the opposite direction Nolan didn’t see them.

“Screw it, I’ll take one,” Angela said.

“Wesley and Patrice took the baby to meet the extended Evers clan so I have nowhere to be and now that I’m no longer breastfeeding I can have whatever I want. Even if that’s gross beer that’s been sitting in a hot car all day,” she explained.

“If we dig a hole near the water line it will fill with cold seawater and we can make a makeshift beer fridge,” Jackson suggested but Angela had already opened her can and was sipping away.

“I’ll help dig the hole,” Nyla offered. “I’d rather hangout here then go back to the station to do paperwork and Lila’s with her dad so I also have no where I have to be.”

“I’ll call Grey and tell him we’re clocking out and will do the paperwork in the morning,” Tim offered.

“Your staying?” Lucy asked a little too excitedly, “what about Kojo?” she quickly added.

“Tamara called several hours ago and offered to give him dinner, take him for a walk and put him to bed.”“She saw the fire on the news and rightly assumed we’d have our hands full,” he finished.

30 minutes later they all sat in the sand around their makeshift beer fridge. Shoes, socks and button up shirts discarded and pants pulled up to their knees. 3 flashlights were in the middle of the group, pointing skyward, their handles buried in the sand. They laughed as they went around and told stories.

“How is it still this hot?” Lucy asked a while later.  It was after midnight and the temperature had yet to even consider dropping below 90. 

She pulled her white t-shirt away from her skin fanning, herself. 

“I’m going swimming,” she declared ready to stand up.

“Your going swimming? Right Now? In that?” Tim asked gesturing to her cotton tee and woolen pants.

Lucy shook her head. “I was just going to go in my underwear but now that I think about it I don’t really want to have to drive back to the station in soaking wet underwear.”

Tim nodded as if this is what he expected but Lucy didn’t see him and continued.

“I guess I’ll just skinny dip,” she concluded.

Tim managed to both spit out and choke on the sip of beer he had just taken.

Everybody else’s faces were turned towards Tim and wearing amused expressions but they were saved his annoyance due to the limited light and the fact that his attention was still fully on Lucy.

“What?” She asked Tim, “It’s not a big deal. It’s dark. Plus everybody here has already seen me naked.” 

“Well except you,” she added, which earned another spit take from Tim.

Lucy rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress a smile. She loved seeing Tim flustered, especially when it was her doing.

“What?” He finally managed to ask in a strained voice after a few harsh coughs to clear his throat.

“Everybody here’s seen Lucy naked but you,” Lopez offered, “although that was bound to change sometime soon,” she added.

Lucy and Tim both turned to look at her wide eyed. Nolan and Nyla were both hiding smirks and Jackson wore an expression of mainly panic as he spoke.

“She’s drunk. She has no idea what she’s saying,” Jackson offered before turning to look daggers at Angela and whisper something in her ear.

Lucy thought she heard the words bet, interference and disqualified but she couldn’t be sure.

When he finished Angela addressed them again. “Sorry, apparently my tolerance took a nose dive since pre-pregnancy. I didn’t mean anything by that I got you mixed up with Smitty and what’s her face,” she finished waving her hand disparagingly.

“Hmm,” Lucy said clearly not buying her lame excuse but Tim still had his mind on other things.

“Why has everybody else here seen you naked?” he asked, his tone almost suspicious.

Lucy laughed. “Are you jealous?”

He fixed her with his best TO look. “No.”

Lucy suppressed the urge to roll her eyes yet again and answered.

“Communal showers at work,” she began gesturing to Nyla and Angela. “Best friends and roommates” she added pointing to Jackson. “Life gets crazy. Sometimes closing doors or throwing on clothes just isn’t a priority,” she explained seeing Tim’s confused expression. “Also we had to help each other into and out of the bath after we were injured.” She didn’t have to specify her kidnapping or the beating Jackson took to take down Doug Stanton. This group knew. “It’s kind of ironic that when everything hurts all you want is a warm bath but when everything hurts it’s nearly impossible to get yourself into and out of a bathtub,” she finishes. “Oh and Nolan and I used to date.” She says it as almost an afterthought, super casual. But all the former TOs still look at her with shock.

“You and Nolan?” Nyla asks with a laugh. “Really?” “No offense,” she adds addressing Nolan.

“Ah, none taken?” Nolan replies, clearly confused by her reaction.

“When?” Lopez asks looking between the two P2s.

“For a couple months while we were in the academy. We called it off shortly after we started at Mid-Wilshire,” Nolan supplied.

“Wow, I just can’t picture it,” Angela continued shaking her head.

“Why would you want to picture it?” Tim spat. Then seemed to catch himself and schooled his scowl back into a blank expression.

“Why’d you call it off, anyway?” Angela asked. Half actually curious. Half just trying to do her friend a solid and take the attention off him.

“Bishop warned me that dating a fellow cop would brand me and could ruin my career,” Lucy answered and thought she saw Tim flinch. It was impossible to tell for sure with just the flashlights, nevertheless she added, “Somethings matter more-“ she was staring right at Tim now “-are worth the gossip, the assumptions, the risk.” As she said it she saw his expression change but she couldn’t read it. “But our relationship wasn’t one of those things. We’re better as friends, anyway,” she finished addressing the whole group but looking at Nolan specifically for confirmation.

“Agreed,” Nolan nodded holding up his beer.

“To friends,” Jackson said clicking his to Nolan’s.

“To friends,” everybody joined in clinking their cans together.

“So who’s coming skinny dipping with me?” Lucy asked as she started to make her way back to the vehicles where she could leave her clothes in a place where they’d stay sand free.

“I will,” said Angela, “pregnancy and caring for a baby really makes modesty go out the window. The two beers I’ve had don’t hurt either.” She began to follow Lucy to the cars.

“I’m in,” Jackson offered, “with you two practically glowing in the dark nobody will even notice me.” He teased as he got up to join them, earning a playful shove from Lucy.

“Nobody’s here to see anything anyway.” She retorted.

“Go ahead. I might join you later.” Nolan said and Nyla and Tim nodded in agreement.

10 minutes later. Lucy, Angela and Jackson’s clothes were inside Jackson and Lucy’s shop and they were out in the ocean. It dropped off quickly so they weren’t that far away from the beach even though the water came to just below Lucy’s shoulders. After four days of blazing heat and the fire on top today, the cool water felt like heaven to her. She dipped and dove through the water, relishing the cool and wiped at her face and hands to remove the soot that had coated them earlier. Beside her Angela was trying to show Jackson what her son does when they put him in the water. This led to reminiscing about childhood summers spent at the beach or in backyard and community pools. And before they knew it they were playing old games from those days. John and Nyla had joined them by this time. Claiming some combination of escaping the heat, joining the fun and more beer as the motivation. They were currently having breath holding contests.

“I win!” Jackson exclaimed as he came up for air to find everyone else already up.

“You cheated,” Lucy argued, “I saw you come up while I was still under. I had my eyes open.”

“I did not. Plus it’s pitch black under there you couldn’t possibly have seen anything.”

“Did Jackson come up?” Lucy yelled at Tim who was still sitting on the shore.

“I don’t know. I wasn’t watching,” he replied casually with a slight shrug.

“Yes you were,” Angela argued, “you haven’t taken your eyes off Lucy since she got in here,” then realizing what she said she quickly ducked back under the water. 

Everybody still above the surface froze.

Then after a beat. “So did he come up or not. I need to know if I won,” Nyla asked, all business.

“He floated to the surface but didn’t lift his head up. He won,” Tim offered defeatedly.

“Told you!” Jackson bragged.

“Rematch. 3,2,1 go,” shouted Nyla as everybody ducked back under the water. Lucy a split second behind everybody else as her attention was still on Tim. 

She came up about 30 seconds later just as a wave was passing by her and managed to swallow a good serving of water. She coughed and sputtered but before she knew it Jackson and Nolan were beside her and she was assuring them she was Ok just needed a bit of time to catch her breath. As she swam towards the shore to rest in the shallows she noticed Tim was just sitting back down and his pants were wet to just above the knee. But she didn’t let herself focus on it.

She swam to just in front of where he sat laying on her stomach on the ocean floor, head just above the water.

“You OK?” He asked shifting his eyes to her for the first time since she swam up.

“Ya fine, just swallowed a little water,” she assured him.

“Looks like you guys are having fun out there,” he nodded indicating the group still farther out.

“Ya the water feels amazing. You can’t honestly tell me that you aren’t hot.” She had meant it literally. He was sitting in above 90 degree weather with wool pants on. But then she realized he had taken off his white shirt and his muscled chest and stomach were currently on full display and the word took on an entirely different meaning. She was thankful for the darkness as it hid her blush but even that couldn’t hide the fact that she was definitely staring. 

“The ladies on the beach the other day will be so disappointed they’re missing this,” she teased gesturing to his bare upper half, hoping to give a probable explanation for the staring.

He gave a short laugh. “Not as disappointed as the meat bags who were wolf whistling at you will be that they’re missing that.” As he gestured at her he finally let himself actually take her in. Her hair was still up in its low work bun leaving her entire back exposed. The upper half of which was completely taken up by a tattoo, he had never seen before, although the light was too limited for him to make out the design. The rest of her body was hidden in shadows except her face which was now free of soot and make-up making her look young and vulnerable. Freckles brought out by the last few days of blazing sun were speckled across the bridge of her nose. Her mouth was twisted in thought and her eyes sparkled in the light of the flashlights. She really was beautiful.

While those thoughts flew through Tim’s mind Lucy was thinking about his comment about the wolf whistlers. That had happened at the very start of their shift and lasted no more than two seconds. Lucy wasn’t even sure they had been whistling at her and she had completely forgotten about it until Tim brought it up just now. Funny that he would remember. 

 They were both pulled out of their thoughts by a sudden commotion further out in the water:

“DID YOU NOT THERE IS NO PIE!”

“DO NOT THERE IS NO DIE!”

“DO OR DO NOT THERE IS NO TRY!”

Were being yelled over each other.

“What are they doing?” Tim asked looking at the group out in the water.

They were in a circle. Jackson had just given Nolan a high five then they were under again.

“I think they are playing the guess what I said under the water game,” Lucy chuckled.

Tim was about to reply but he was cut off by “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood” being shouted in unison followed by bickering about who said it first.

“I’m going back out to join them. You going to come?” Lucy asked turning her attention from the group back to Tim.

“I don’t need to be a part of that.”

“Come on Tim. You’re hot and dirty.” She still meant it literally. Really. He was covered in soot. Stupid double entendres.

He raised is eyebrows.

“Just get in the water,” Lucy said splashing water at him to vent her frustration with how flustered she was getting.

He wiped the water from his face and a small smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. “Fine.”

Lucy beamed back at him as he stood up and walked back to the shop to discard his remaining clothes then turned her attention back to her friends.

“It’s not Angeles Direct, you’ve already guessed that three times,” Nyla was saying to Jackson

“That’s what it sounds like,” he argued “and it’s definitely closer to that than ‘embroidery period.’”

“That was my first guess. I heard wrong,” Nyla shot back.

“Oh ya cuz ‘and was dressed’ and ‘indoors divest’ were so much closer.”

Any further argument was cut-off by Nolan. “I’ve got it: Angela’s the best,” he said confidently.

“Yes and yes,” Angela confirmed.

“Your turn Nyla.” 

There was a brief silence as they all went back under the water followed by a flurry of screamed “this is stupid.”

“Happy now?” Came a quieter voice beside her and Lucy nearly jumped out of the water. She had been so wrapped up watching her friends she hadn’t even noticed that Tim had made his way back down the beach and was now sitting beside her in the water.

She smiled and nodded. “Aren’t you?”

He gave a non-committal shrug. “We’ll see after I get roped into whatever’s going on out there,” he offered but there was no bite to it. He was even smiling, although mostly with his eyes, as he looked at their friends.

“Well let’s go find out,” Lucy replied as she led the way into the deeper water.

As they approached the group they watched them go up and down and listened to their guesses.

“And further than game”

“Comforters at game”

“Temperatures endgame”

“Stanford is endgame”

“Checkers is a game.” “At least that’s a real sentence”

“Bradford has game?” “That can’t be right he most definitely doesn’t”

Then just as Tim and Lucy joined the group “Chenford is endgame!” Shouted by Angela who upon realizing Tim and Lucy had joined them turned to Jackson.

“This ones not on me it was your sentence.”

Jackson stood stunned for a second looking desperately between Tim, Lucy and Angela then swiftly closed his eyes and yelled “MARCO.”

There was a brief silence then Nolan yelled “POLO” and everyone was swimming away from Jackson at top speed. Everyone except Tim who was giving Lucy a look that said. “See what you got me into? I told you so.” 

But she was busy swimming off with the others, grateful for the distraction. So he rolled his eyes and joined the game. The water did feel amazing although he wasn’t about to admit that to her.

Calls of MARCO POLO and laughter filled the air as everybody took their turn being it: Jackson tagged Nolan who tagged Lucy who tagged Nyla who tagged Jackson who tagged Tim who tagged Nolan who tagged Angela who tagged Jackson who tagged Tim who tagged Lucy. Well he meant to tag Lucy. He reached his arm out and jumped towards her “POLO” but she was closer than he thought and instead of the tips of his finger tagging her shoulder he jumped right into her. He hit her hard and she responded to being knocked off her feet and down into the water instinctively by reaching for the nearest thing to prevent drowning, which happened to be him. So when he opened his eyes her arms were around his neck and her legs around his hips and her face was only about an inch from his own as she coughed up water for the second time that day.

“Are you ok?” He asked moving a piece of hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear.

She nodded but continued to cough as he absentmindedly stroked her back.

 “You caught me by surprise,” she breathed “I didn’t know we were playing full contact Marco Polo.”

He let out a relieved laugh, “I’m sorry.”

“A real Tim Bradford apology I never thought I’d see it in person,” Lucy teased earning an eye roll from Tim. This close Lucy could see all the different shades of blue in his eyes even in the dark. 

“It was an accident.”

“So it wasn’t some sort of Tim Test to see how I would handle a fight in the water?”

“No. You got your last Tim test a year ago when you stopped being my rookie.”

“I can’t believe it’s been a year already,” she said. “Then again we’ve been through enough for an entire career,” she added as her hand reflexively moved from his neck where it was playing with his hair to the tattoo on her her ribs.

That’s when it dawned on her just how close her and Tim were, pressed together without a shred of clothing between them. She had felt so comfortable and content she hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation and what it could lead to. She was about to put some space between them when his hand covered hers over the tattoo marking her supposed day of death. The day he saved her from being buried alive. Although he would say it marked the first day of the rest of her life. The day she saved herself. 

And the desire to move away died in an instant. 

“I kept it,” she said quietly, “because of what you said.” “Because it’s a reminder that I’m a survivor. And that my team will always have my back.”

Tim was looking at her with an expression more open than she’d ever seen. “I have one of those,” he replied softly lifting her hand up and moving it to rest on his lower left abdomen. She was confused at first but as she felt the skin beneath her finger tips she realized it was scarred. The scar from when he was shot on her second day and she pulled him out of the line of gunfire.

She smiled and looked directly into his eyes. 

“It’s a good thing we have each other in our lives,”

“Sure is,”

She was just about to lean in and close the distance between them when a voice interrupted.

“Hey you two. Keep it PG or get a room. This is a family outing.” It was Nyla.

Lucy laughed as she untangled her self from Tim and in that moment she realized two things. 1) this was most definitely her family and 2) she would very happily come back to the beach. Maybe next time she’d just bring Tim, maybe even as her boyfriend.

[oncrybabe]

Isn't there something you're waiting for?

/ Sebastian x Reader: After arriving in stardew valley the farmer has a bit of trouble making friends, but always catches a glimpse of a certain boy. Within the first year the farmer has already set their eyes on Sebastian. /

//this is my first time writing stardew fanfic, and first time writing fanfic in so long, but enjoy !!//

Losing a loved one is always difficult, and losing your grandfather was painful enough. Taking on a farm and changing your life forever? That's more than enough stress. You weren't exactly excited to go to Pelican Town, tucked away in forests and small-town personalities, but fate had a funny way of making a light of things.

Soon enough Pelican Town was home, within a year, after embarrassing asks to dance, late nights in the saloon, early mornings to care for crops, and more, things were finally coming together. You felt like grandpa was smiling down on you, proud of your modest work. But Pelican Town offered more, it offered opportunity beyond what you ever would have guessed.

It offered him.

It was more often than not that you made fun of him, smiling and winking to taunt the quiet boy. Sebastian.

It was one morning in the early days of arriving, running to Robin, in desperate need for supplies when you caught the brooding boy making his way upstairs. You smiled and waved but just received a nod back, before leaving you went to introduce yourself.

"so you're the new farmer? I'm surprised you're still here." He said, quiet aloof and distant.

"I can't give up now, plus I obviously needed to meet you." Surprisingly enough your simple statement made him blush, but is was over soon enough. You were jaunting back to your cottage to continue your day.

That was the first time you ever met him, and it definitely was not the last time. You'd often catch him hanging out with Sam, by the river, on his way home, and always chatted.

"I wish I had a window, the basement is just so depressing," he'd commented about this before, but you'd always listen to him, no matter what he had to say.

"of courses it's no good to be six feet under when you're still breathing," you laughed at your own joke, hand on your stomach and all, only to see his blank face, "what, not funny enough?"

"at least you're original."

Just simple conversations like this made your day, seeing him was enough to make you smile. And taunting him with winks, blowing kisses just to see him get flustered was exciting.

But nothing was better than seeing him perform with Abigail and Sam. When they invited you to watch them, you were nervous, worried that they'd grow tired of you if they kept bringing you everywhere. But you couldn't say no.

And you're happy you went, their performance was spectacular, every part of it.

Except for when Sam gave you a shout out for helping them choose their very own genre.

But it was the end that really struck, or rather afterword.

"oh my god y/n !" You have never heard sebastian raise his voice, but turning and seeing the bright smile on his face made your heart skip a beat.

And it skipped again when he pulled you into the tightest hug.

You were shocked.

"what're you even doing?" You were lost, completely confused, absolutely daft.

"I'm so glad you came, that you support us, that you support me. It just finally feels like someone, actually listens." He still didn't let go of you, he held you even closer.

You finally hugged back, inhaling his scent, his feeling, everything.

"of course I listen, I could listen to you forever." He pulled away, staring at you, a ghost of a smile on his face.

"y/n, thank you, for everything, for coming here, for bothering with us." And he laughed a little, you didn't think you'd hear it, but it rang like a bell.

You couldn't say anything, you didn't want to ruin this moment, take him away from his high.

"maybe this will be our chance to get somewhere, maybe stick around in the city, who knows." Right.

Sebastian craved for the city.

He was always looking for it.

The moment dwindled for you, losing the spark of intimacy and admiration. Sebastian had a road ahead of him, he wasn't going to ignore it.

"I'm sure you'll be able to go anywhere you want." And you smiled, basking in the moment as it began to die out. You weren't going to take this from him.

You loved Pelican Town. You were living for it now, for your farm, for your own fate.

The trip home was strange, the bus ride, sitting next to Sebastian. You wanted to tell him, hoped for him to stay with you, that Pelican Town was worth it-

"Maybe I can take you for a ride?"

"huh?"

"On the motorcycle, I'm still working on it, we can ride through the desert together." He smiled again, gentle and casual, sweet. And your face was tinted red, oh sebastian, you don't even know how much I adore you.

-

Days passed after that, rainy days, quiet days. The farm was flourishing, you were happy to get some relaxation in.

It was a specific rainy afternoon when you wandered down to the beach and saw Sebastian, standing at the end of the dock.

His umbrella matched his hair, and the rest of his outfit, he almost blended in with the dark watery surroundings.

"what are you doing out here?" He seemed a bit surprised, nearly losing his footing on the slipper wood, you laughed at his clumsiness.

"oh, y/n, you scared me. I'm just enjoy the rain, it's just dismal, it's awfully calming actually." Sebastian smiled and nodded his head at your gesturing for you to join him under his umbrella.

You were nervous to get so close, but of course you did, standing a bit out from under the covering.

"I've been hoping to see you, there's something I've been thinking about." Your heart was racing at these words, scared of what could come next. Your head filled with the best and worst possible outcomes.

You were brought out of it when your shoulder brushed against his, he was getting closer and closer, "you're going to freeze, come here."

And so you did, shifting closer and closer to him.

"what is it you've been thinking about?" You asked, hoping to move on from your lack of personal space, not that you had a problem.

"well, it's Pelican Town. I've been thinking a lot about how much I like this town, how much I appreciate the small environment. It's nice, secure, friendly. I'm just trying to run away, as if that will make anything better. I'm trying to run home, but I'm just running away from it," he stopped and looked at you, a somber smile on his face, "I'm running away from you."

Your heart stopped, you looked like a fish out of water standing there. But he just laughed and looked away.

" y/n, when we hug, or even when I see you, I'm home. I'm warm and safe, cared for, and hopefully- loved." There was silence, just rain hitting the gentle waves, seagulls squawking, " I sound like such an idiot. I'm sorry."

"I love you."

"what-"

"I love you, and your stupid hair, and your clothes, your eyes, your stupid smile, everything about you. I love you and your hopes and dreams, your music, your games, everything you do. I adore you-"

And he kissed you. It was brash and off centered, and you nearly took a dive off of the dock.

But he kissed you.

He tasted like cigarettes, but he also felt like home.

"but what about the city, what about getting away from here? Isn't there something you're waiting for?" You were flushed, but afraid. You didn't want to lose him after you finally got your chance.

"I've been waiting for you. There is something bigger than Pelican Town, something bigger than any city. There's you."

The rain felt like it stopped.

It was just you and sebastian under a black umbrella, smiling like idiots.

There will always be something, but there will never be something even close to you.

[formdrop]

Completed FANFIC LIST

Celestial Roommates

"So your possible roommates are already up there, I let them check it out since you were a little late..." Codie catches something.

"Wait, room-mates? I thought there'd be just me and one other person?" Mrs. Simmons turns to look at her sheepishly.

"Well, technically it was just one roommate. But since last week it's two now that they're separated..." she trails off. Codie frowns in confusion but the manager waves her off. "It's alright, they're very nice, I'm sure you three would get along."

'But there's only two rooms...'



You Are My Lucky Stars

As an employee of the Lucky Stars Gift Shop, you have a great view overlooking the Daycare. This wouldn't be a problem if the Daycare Attendants weren't so distractingly cute!



Snake Your Way Into Me

Congratulations! You've been hired!

The brand new assistant to the FazCo Laboratories, researching two members of an unknown species. It's all very exciting and you can't wait to get your hands on some super snazzy new animal friends, but they are way too cute for their own good! What are you gonna do? How are you going to deal with two very handsy 20 foot long snakes?



Daybreak

You are a barmaid at the infamous Gold Coast Pub.

Sun and Moon are Captains of the infamous Daybreak.

What would it be like to be infamous together?

A riveting pirate adventure with lots of action but mostly just being adorable with the boys.



Dance With Me

You are an aerial dancer performing for a dinner. The Don of the city's mafia interrupts said dinner, making himself known to you as he literally catches you from a nearly disastrous fall.

"Dropped right out of the sky, didn't you, doll?"



We Lurk Inside The Shadows

A little black book spells out names that burn in your heart. Your sole purpose is to rid the world of their filth, to cross out every one of those names. When you meet two lovely cafe owners, you second guess your career path. What would they do if they found out what you do?



My Lovely King

You are from a long line of hardened businesswomen. It's your job to make connections and open up the way for business deals, but now you've got your biggest challenge yet. A very adorable King who is rumored to have a dark side. Its such a shame that only one of them has sharp teeth, cause you'd sure love to be bitten.



A Cursed Kiss

The rain poured on the cobblestone around you. Thunder boomed overhead, forcing you to flinch as you pulled your soaked jacket closer. No one is willing to take you in for the night. There is only one place left, the cursed castle.



Balloons and Magic

Sun and Moon were the Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex Party Planners. The parties were only ever booked for the Glamrocks, never for them. So filling out the weekly party whiteboard, was just another task. That was until they get a surprise that would change their lives forever.



Glimpse of Us

Everything at the pizzaplex has slowly become more and more automated. You've watched a lot of your friends and fellow coworkers get laid off in favor of the funky staff bots. You always assumed you'd be safe in the daycare. You were working with small kids, after all. They need a tender touch! Oh, how wrong you were.

Two years after your not-so-polite firing, however, Fazbear comes calling. Apparently their precious, perfect attendant is in need of some assistance. And they requested you. You initially considered refusing, but the pay is double what you're making editing papers, so you dive back in. But things have changed more than you ever thought they could have.



The Stranger The Better

Reader is a forever exhausted young adult who has social difficulties doing their best to pay the bills, so when they get hired at the well-paying, almost entirely automated Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex, they don't really hesitate to think things through before stumbling headfirst into a horror mystery surrounding this company and its crew of quirky (and surprisingly kind) animatronics.



There's a monster in the garage

Why do you hear banging noises in your garage?



A Wise Man Said I'm Alive; Nobody's Ever Told Him He's Wrong

You get to tinker on the best tech this side of the equator and get paid for it; pay no attention to the weird things happening in the tunnels, or the way the animatronics are acting just a little off, or the way the security team seem to be operating on revolving door contracts. They all tend to get a bit quirky at night.



In Deep Dreams Between the Waves

You see a fish, but the fish isn’t really a fish, because he looks up at you with big yellow eyes, wide with fright. Large black pupils dart around frantically. He’s small, less than half your size, which surprises you. You know mers are supposed to be big sea monsters that sink boats or cause storms, but you don’t see a monster. You think of a baby while staring at his chubby round face, creased with fear, and his small tail.



Glitter Glue Me Back Together

You're scared to start your new job as the Daycare Attendant's Assistant, but you slowly realize this job is the best decision you've ever made.



By the North star

You had been fishing with your father in the Gulf of Mexico when a storm came through, you washed out into the sea and on shore miles away from your initial fishing spot. You'd planned to make it to the nearest town and call the coast guard for help, but you instead learn the storm has thrown you into another world that was almost identical to your worlds fifteenth century, only difference being the pirate crew of anthropomorphic animals that were now your captors, all because your bag ended up on their boat and you were dumb enough to go after it.



Electric Love

You received a call from your former boss to come to fix the animatronics, you didn't expect to find all your babies having depression, anxiety, existential crisis, and any other emotional issues.



Painted Rocks

You lived along the coast for a short time, having moved from a nearby city. The locals never took kindly to city dwellers, but you made a habit of ignoring their stink eye.

Rumors of sirens and beasts below the waves punctuated your daily life, but you thought nothing of it. Until--well, until terrible screams tore you from your bed and to the coast.

Looks like the locals' rumors about sirens were true, but the humans appear more bloodthirsty.



Astro-Nautical

You're a mermaid who's just come across the weirdest ship of all time. Or rather, the ship is perfectly normal, but its crew? Not so much. You aren't sure you'll be safe here, but as a sea creature you've never truly been safe anywhere, so it might just be worth a shot. For now, at least... Surely they'll let you go when you ask?

We'll find out.



My Sweet Starlight

Excited for your new job as a daycare helper, you get ready for the day. Little do you know, you'll fall in love with more than just the kiddos you play with.



With All My Love, Crumpet

London, England 1800s

A runaway stops at a local tea room for a cuppa, and sees a cute paperboy selling newspapers in the rain. A close friendship ensues over cakes and tea, but what happens when the family comes for her? And what will it mean for their relationship?

Do you read fanfics? >:3C If so, which ones do you prefer? >:3CC

oh yes yes yes i read fanfics! i havent read many in a while but i really like ones with hurt comfort or soulmate aus! also detectives

[strititty]

CHAPTER 1

The universe shits you out straight onto the roof where you entered the game, and you catch yourself with your face.

haha the summary is a censored version of the first line. forgot about that and am deeply tickled.

You are separated you are whole you are broken you’re reborn you have legs and you laugh.

here we have a 1-2-3-4-5 PUNCH TO THE SOLAR PLEXUS. the lack of punctuation genuinely makes this for me--i love when a fic shows its punchy teeth and breaks rules in a way that has such purpose. i also wonder if that cracked tooth comes back or not because i cannot for the life of me remember.

There’s a groan from somewhere behind you, and by the time your head has turned, Dave’s already there, hunching over Dirk and talking to him in a low voice, helping him upright. There’s something tender between them and if you could feel anything but exhilaration for being alive right now, you might be jealous that you don’t get to have that.

dirk & dave nation i love them so much ;v;. dw my dude you'll get your dirk. it just so happens that your dirk is also bro, and everything is messy forever, lmfao

Your hands, your clawless hands, are tanner than you’ve ever seen them, spattered with freckles that dance all the way up your arms. Your tan, freckled hands raise to tug at your hair, and burnished gold falls into your eyes.

ds' palette swap is v aesthetically pleasing to me, actually. i can't believe he's a surfer dude now. put on some board shorts, my guy, we're going diving. that's how surfer dudes work right?

no but for real it must be so alienating. three years in a body that you never intended to have being the Other, a brief stint as a nyanbinary cat person, and suddenly you're back in a normal human body... but oops! it isn't the body you remember anymore! stained like funky orange food dye.

there's also the issue of the legs...

but hey! bro's here... and SEIZING!!! rng is nothing but kids and fun.

“Davesprite,” you correct. You’re not Just Dave anymore. You get that now.

Dave gives you a scathing look that's all Rose.

and also...

You feel like a winner when he [Dirk] goes pink around the ears, cracks a smile. It’s cool he does that. You don’t really remember that shape on Bro’s mouth.

some references to the mirror--all in relation to one another. i'm sure if i point out every time a strilonde is compared to another these posts will get very long but oh my goddd does it feel significant all of the time.

“Dave -”

“Davesprite.”

“Dave,” he plows on,

here's that insistence on dave that i love so much, starting off strong and memorable in the first chapter. absolute refusal to allow him to verbally other himself. dave is dave is dave, even with the dye job.

you guess her Sprite didn't make it back

can you IMAGINE the addition of jasprose to rng. what a wild and whacky mess that would be. rose dyed pink... jots that down

Texas in April is already hot as hell, and you lie in your shirt, sans pants, and miss LOHAC.

thats ANOTHER thing about rng that i love that's apparent right from the get-go. a dave? missing LOHAC? the stark differences between their experiences shows so deeply right here, right now, not just in how he interacts with bro but in statements like that.

the rest of the chapter closes out on a discussion between ds and bro, on the revelation of the fact that cal spoke to bro, and the weirdness of being back at the start.

it's a really strong beginning! one that caught my attention immediately, way back when. i'm trying to remember WHEN i first read this fic, exactly. it was summer, i think, which is really the best time to read fanfic, but mostly i remember faflling down the rabbithole in the best way possible. rng was around fifty chapters, then... my how time flies. my how things change!

ok i'm sleepy as hell but hopefully a little more tomorrow :3

[roselightfairy]

tagged by @hacash - thank you, I always love an excuse to do a little navel gazing and this was super fun!

2021 Year-End Fic Review

How many stories did you complete?

31 - mostly little things here and there, though there were one or two bigger projects! This mostly doesn’t include little ficlets I didn’t archive on AO3, but I don’t know how to track all of those down.

What is your total word count for the year?

200,783 is what my AO3 page says, but that’s including some cowritten stuff that I didn’t write all of, and the entire count of Ripples, much of which has been written in previous years. Though I suppose little ficlets and unposted stuff might bring it back up to keep it around there!

What fandoms did you write in this year?

LOTR mostly, but one ficlet each for Buffy and Firefly (at the beginning and end of the year, respectively!) I also poked a tiny bit at this Buffy/Twilight crossover fic that will probably never see the light of day, but it’s so much fun that I can’t help it.

Did you write more, less, or roughly about what you expected?

I honestly don’t know. I think in some ways this year’s writing has felt less consequential to me than previous years - 2018 I was constructing the backbone of Finding a Voice, 2019 I was working on Ever Changing, Ever Climbing for most of the year, and in 2020 there was the Velleverse. In contrast to those big projects, 2021′s writing has felt a little more slapdash and haphazard - but I guess all those little bits and pieces add up.

What’s your own favorite story of the year?

This is hard to say! I think there are various stories that I love for different reasons: I really loved the collaboration process with @deheerkonijn for rebuild your seawall, brick by brick - it has been such an honor that she’s let me take such a large creative role in modverse, and doing our first fully-written collab was so much fun. I also have to give special mention to Satisfaction, because it is my first ever Gimli/Éomer (and like the 8th story in the tag or something) and I finally got to explore that! Landslide was another story that I was so happy to finally get to explore - a dive into an important OC component to my ‘verse, and a personal stretch in my ability to write things like interpersonal conflict. But I think probably my favorite story would have to be The Better Part of Valor. It’s a premise I’ve been wanting to explore for a long time, and I got to repurpose a piece of writing that had lain dormant for four years.

What is your most underappreciated story of the year?

I think this would probably be Three’s Company, a modverse collab with DHK. I understand why it didn’t get a lot of response, but it was so much fun and has so much juicy stuff in it, I wish more people had been willing to give it a chance - or that, if people did, they would let us know!

Biggest fanfic-related disappointment of 2021?

I would have to say I’m a little disappointed in how little response your arms a winter windbreak got. Most fic that I post that doesn’t get a lot of response doesn’t surprise me, because it’s unpopular premises or involves OCs. But this one was a little piece I was proud of, part of a porn series, and I’m uncertain enough about that kind of writing that I was a little disappointed in the response.

Biggest fanfic-related surprise of 2021?

I don’t know that there was much super surprising this year, but maybe getting to have so much fun in modverse! like, comment, subscribe is a full series now and I’m happy to be a cocreator in that world! There was also not throwing away my shot, which is totally outside of anything I’ve written before. Or finally writing some Gimli/Éomer . . . or, oh! My Behind the Scenes series - I never expected to engage so much with the movies!

Something you’re looking forward to working on in 2022?

Oh man . . . between all the things I have going on in my life, I don’t really have hopes for 2022 to be a big fanfic year, which is really sad because of how much fun it is. But there are a couple projects in modverse that I’d really like to find some time to work on, and I have an ongoing WIP that I dream of making a longer story and I really hope I find some energy or motivation to work on that. I also have a fic I’d love to finish that is my Official Take on how Legolas and Gimli sail in the FAV universe, which feels like a lot of pressure but also I am excited about it and I hope I feel motivated and moved to work on it.

Tagging @unnamedelement, @deheerkonijn, @the-dwelf-ao3, @enide-s-dear, @katajainen, and anyone else who wants to do it!

[jandjsalmon]

FICS I’VE READ THIS WEEK (52)

Hello everybody!! This is a long one. Sorry about that.

It’s been a full year since I started this nonsense, can you believe it!? It’s been a year since our fandom changed irreparably following that leak and horrible, horrible musical episode (that many -including myself- have never seen all the way through). In fact, I resigned myself to watching through gifs, unsubscribed from the CW and unfollowed basically every social media account for the show and cast (save one) and blocked a whole lot of new terms.

I took on this project because I wanted to remind myself how much I loved fanfiction - and how it didn’t matter what happened in canon because we had so many amazing and talented content creators. And I’m SO pleased and happy that I was right. 

If anyone is interested in the spreadsheet I created for this exercise you can check it out here on this googledoc. I’m going to be taking part in a different fanfiction challenge next (check out @fanfic-reading-challenge​) - so this doc won’t really be updated. It’ll be weird not keeping track like this but perhaps I’ll come up with a better, more efficient way to keep track of all the words and chapters that I read... 

Anyway here are some stats: 

I’ve read 22,455,909 words (7,996,649 of them Bughead) since April 16, 2020. 

The bughead author I’ve read the most of unsurprisingly was @thepointoftheneedle​ - I reread her entire collection three times - upwards of 800,000 words of hers alone. It’s not a secret. I’m a fangirl. But I also like her as a person so that’s a special benefit of being involved in fandom.  

Of course then there was my girl @likemereckless - whom I beta read many many fics for during this pandemic. So when I say I’ve read 384,883 of her words - I mean, I’ve probably read them all three or four times that as I edited and fangirled and was a cheerleader for her through the year. 

One spot for improvement, I guess, would be that I only read 3 fics (total) of non-Bughead riverdale fic (though one is actually Bughead adjacent because it’s their son). I suppose I should check out some Varchie fics (as long as they don’t break up Bughead of course) - so I can support our friends in the bugvarchie community. On my to-do list.

I was introduced to new pairings I’d never read before like at the end of May 2020 - when @anniemurphys shared a single link to a “The Society” fic (a show I’d never actually watched before) - and then I got SUCKED in.  That led me to a bunch of really great writers - like @livinginrhythm - who’s collection I’ve read through twice (all except the cheating fics) - and some of their oneshots have 35000 words! I kept track and I read more of their words than anyone else - a total of 1,069,203 words belong to them!

Then @feelavalanche answered my call for pairings to read - cajoling me into watching Midsommar and delving into the fic.  Between  Anonlady and Rimanez I’ve read 1,125,000 words (+675,000 for rimanez and aonlady +450000 words). And I also gained a crazy obsession with this low-key actor from Sweden (because they make them pretty there) and now know way more than I should... and I’ve seen way more of him than I should. 👀 Gösta *cough*.

I read pairings I’d never thought of before - like Phryne Fisher/Jack Robinson  for Mother Maple - who loves Miss Fisher. I did not love the fic (I’m sorry, MM) but it was interesting diving into something new and different (even if it was only for one fic).

I watched new shows (like Never Have I Ever, Boardwalk Empire, Bridgerton, The Happiest Season, and Fargo) and with those came new fics and new pairings and new fandom friends. 

I’m so grateful for all of you who came along for the ride. *pointedy looks at new friends @portiaadams @winterlovesong1 and @queenie-004*

Now I’m going to go read @thepointoftheneedle‘s new masterpiece. It’just BARELY didn’t make the cut for this week (because I’d done all my calculations before she posted it. Ha ha.) 

I hope you all stay healthy and stay safe. 😘

Thanks for being here. 

Anyway  - here is my last reading list for this exercise. This is the list for the week of April 09-April 15th

Weeks 1- 51 (3580 chapters)

Week 52 (116 chapters)

(Annual Chapter Total = 3696)

---

BUGHEAD - 14

Becoming Eleanor by @srainebuggie (chapter 7)

Sharing A Wall by Melaniemia (chapter 3)

right back where we started from by @stonerbughead (chapter 2)

five endings jughead never wrote (and one he did) by @imreallyloveleee (1/1)

the shadows cannot keep you by @winterlovesong1 (2/2)

I only love you more when it snows by @winterlovesong1 (1/1)

make it new by @sullypants (chapter 3)

Regrets Collect like Bullet Shells by @loveandcoffeeandsimplicities (chapter 29) 

The Tides that Change by @loveandcoffeeandsimplicities (chapters 3 & 4)

slowing down by @fallout-mars (1/1)

in the air by @sullypants (chapters 18 & 19)

---

Bughead Rereads - 3

subway song by @literatiruinedme (1/1)

the things that make us (the way we are) by @darknessaroundus (1/1)

don't give a damn ('bout your bad reputation) by @darknessaroundus (1/1)

---

MISCELLANEOUS - 74

In Through An Out Door by @djgrannyglasses (Hyde/Jackie - chapter 3)

e-mails from Austenland by @everyl1ttleth1ng (Austenland - 62/62)

the sweetest life (and the loving is easy when you're with me) by @latinasmoak (Penelope/Colin - first chapter!)

Fluctuations by @treaddelicately (Scott Lang/Hope Van Dyne - 1/1)

everybody wants you by @livinginrhythm (Harry/Allie - 1/1)

i could never give you peace by @livinginrhythm (Harry/Allie - 1/1)

you're right in the center by @livinginrhythm (Harry/Allie - 1/1)

Counterplay by @alexandra-emerson (Draco/Ginny - chapters 25-28)

The breeding program by Chevalier_Barthelemy (Five/Vanya - chapter 11)

Hand in Hand to Hell by @portiaadams (Boardwalk Empire - chapter 2)

---

Misc. Rereads - 25

tenderness of heart by liminal (Austenland - 1/1)

you belong somewhere close to me by georgiestauffenberg (Anne/Gilbert - 1/1) *Anne with an E - SOULMATES! It’s amazing*

even when you're here i kinda miss you by @livinginrhythm (Harry/Allie - 1/1)

i wanna call it for what it is by @livinginrhythm (Harry/Allie - 1/1)

whoever says it first is the bravest by @livinginrhythm (Harry/Allie - 1/1)

right before i close my eyes by @livinginrhythm (Harry/Allie - 1/1)

keep pushing back the time to call it quits by @livinginrhythm (Harry/Allie - 1/1)

You'd Be Here By Now by @livinginrhythm (Harry/Allie - 4/4)

will you have me? by @livinginrhythm (Harry/Allie - 1/1)

tell me i should stay by @livinginrhythm (Harry/Allie - 1/1)

I'll Unfold Before You by @livinginrhythm (Harry/Allie - 1/1)

Someday We're Gonna Know Too Much To Know It All by @livinginrhythm (Harry/Allie - 11/11)

[nextqueue]

All An Act (part one)

Genre(s): romance, slow burn, angst, drama

Pairing: Ji Chang Wook x OC black female

Word Count: 3.2k

Summary: Aliah is a new foreign actress in South Korea who just got her first big break as a lead actress in a drama. Her co-lead is the ever amazing Ji Chang Wook whom she has always had a silly little crush on. 

[a/n]: I am not the best with summaries so please read and let me know what you think. (you can leave summary ideas also I don’t mind). The overwhelming lack of black writers and black characters in fanfics on this app is wild to me so I will only be writing from the angle of a black reader, if ya don’t like it I am 100% sure you can find plenty of stories to cater to your demographic here. All feedback is welcome! Hope you all are have a blessed day or night (depending on where you are from)! 

“Okay Aliah, we are going to go over the kiss scene now.” 

I feel my palms start to sweat and feel for one of my coping skills but find none because of the wardrobe. I start flicking my nails against each other to placate the need to chew on them. 

“Hey. There is no need to be so nervous. I got you.” his hands engulf my face and my heart rate picks up without my permission. This is not helping at all. I want him away from me, I need him away from me. I won’t be able to breathe if he is so close. I can’t think. 

The director yells action and I lose all my anxiety. 

He looks into my eyes willing me to understand what he is trying to convey. My eyes close on their own. The kiss was shy at first like how we discussed at the meeting then something snaps and we both seem to forget about acting. The way he pulls me to him makes me think he wants more so I give him more. I open my mouth to him and he happily dives in. His hands slide down my back and come to rest on my hips, pulling me flush against him. He is hard. I rub against him a little then pull away when a soft groan leaves his lips. I barely remember my next lines and everyone can see his internal struggle to remember his lines. 

He recites his lines perfectly after covering up his slip up by pretending he is short of breath, genius really. This is why he is one of the best actors in Korea and I aspire to be like him. 

The director yells cut and we both snap out of our stupor. I feel my face, willing it to cool down I remove myself from the set to catch my breath and process what just happened. I kissed Ji Chang Wook. The Ji Chang Wook. My hand finds its way to my lips of its own volition. Touching where his lips once laid. My makeup artist comes to touch up my makeup snapping me back to reality. 

“Hey. Calm down. It was just a kiss kiddo.” she rubs my arms lovingly.

“I know.”

“But?”

“But...it’s Ji Chang Wook. I have been a fan of his for years now and this all just seems so surreal.” I spread my legs to make it easier for her to reach my face. She is a tiny little thing, barely reaching my shoulder. 

“I understand that but you have to focus.” 

“Was it really that bad?”

“No, but I could tell you weren’t just acting because I am constantly in your face.” she looks me dead in my eyes, challenging me to say she is wrong. I can’t do anything but look away and blush.

The director calls us back for a few more takes of the scene, I can do nothing but try to still my heart for the rest of the evening. It seems like forever before the shooting is finally done and my lips, I know are completely swollen and raw from the intensity of the kisses. The director had us try at least fifteen different kisses from different angles. With each one Chang Wook was patient and gentle, always talking to me before and after and making sure to hold me gently in between. I couldn’t help but feel special. 

I’m not so dense that I would think he would catch feelings from a couple of kisses and touches. Packing my stuff up at the end of the shoot I try my best to keep the events of the day out of my mind. I don’t want to dream about him, tonight, I have managed not to so far and we have been filming for three months so far. Tonight is different though. I know I am going to, my emotions are too high and I was far too sensitive to his touches all day. The way his hands gripped my face each time like I was made of glass. The way he gazed into my eyes as if he was asking permission each time. As if he was trying to tell me something other than what the script was saying. The way his lips would brush against mine before claiming mine. The way it seemed like he was trying to brand the shape of his mouth onto mine. Wanting me to only know his lips, his shape, the feel of him, the taste.

I feel something cool touch the back of my neck making me jump and turn to face it. It is him. Standing there jacket and jeans on with a smile on his face, looking like the most perfect boyfriend. 

“Hey, you okay? I was calling your name.” I watch the way his lips form words partially because it’s a habit. After all, I’m hard of hearing, but mainly because I like looking at his mouth. 

“Yeah, I’m okay. Just deep in thought, I guess.” That wasn’t necessarily a lie.

“Mmm, okay. I was wondering...what you were doing after. Would you like to go get something to eat?”

I look around in bewilderment barely registering that he is addressing me. I search for my manager and best friend, seeing her across the set talking with the director. He follows my line of sight and looks back at me with a soft smile.

“If it is okay with your manager of course.” he concedes. 

“Oh...uh… it should be fine but let me text her.”

I watch for her reaction after I message her. She checks her phone briefly then looks over at me giving me a thumbs up. My phone pings, she is asking if I have my keys and if my phone is charged enough. I nod at her and she shoos me away after giving Wook a glare. He bows to her then turns back to me with a brilliant smile on his face.

“Great! Let’s go. I have somewhere I wanted to take you. I think you will like it.” 

He leads me outside the set to the parking lot where he guides me to a motorcycle. I almost missed the fact that he is talking to me about riding his bike because his hand is resting on my lower back and seems to be attempting to burn a hole through my clothes. 

“I hope you are okay with riding my bike.” 

“I am more than okay with it! I love motorcycles!” the smile that graces his face was everything I could have ever wanted. 

Grabbing the extra helmet from the back of his ride he turns to me looking expectantly at my hair. I quickly take my locs down from the complicated bun they are in and put them into a low ponytail. I missed one and he tucks it back in with the rest before sliding the helmet on my head. His fingers expertly clip the strap under my chin and tighten it. With each brush of his fingers against my skin, I feel my entire body heat up significantly.

“Comfortable?” I nod and give him a small smile. 

“Good. Do you know how to ride?” I nod again.

“Great.” he hops onto the beautiful beast of a vehicle and starts it. It sounds amazing and the excitement of riding finally hits me dispelling the nervousness of being with him a little. He looks back at me after he slips his helmet on, nodding towards the space behind him. I happily hop on and settle in behind his large form, finding the footrest easily. I grab onto the sides of his jacket but he has another idea. Grabbing my hands he wraps them around his torso making sure my palms are laid flat against his stomach. The nervousness settles back in tenfold, I tense up against my will. My thighs squeeze him and my hands subconsciously curl into his shirt. His stomach flexes and I swear I hear him chuckle a little.

Soon we pull out of the parking lot and begin flying down the highway back to Seoul. I relax some once we have been riding for a few minutes. The cool air feels good against my skin making the ride more enjoyable than stressful. I feel warm everywhere my body touches him and find myself drawing closer to him. My hands spread out over his stomach, I lay my chest to his back and rest my head against his broad shoulders. I feel safe.

Far too soon, we reach our destination. A little shop out of the way of the hustle and bustle of the city. He lets me dismount first then gets off to help me take my helmet off. He pulls my hair out of its hold and slips the tie around his wrist. He takes my helmet along with his into one hand then grabs my hand to lead me into the shop. The smell of beef and seafood hits me as soon as we cross the threshold. Wook calls out to someone for a table and they answer back telling us we can choose anywhere to sit. Clearly having been here before he leads me to a table in the corner of the shop a little way out of sight. Understandable, considering his fame. He makes sure I am seated comfortably at the little table before he seats himself and this warms my heart. 

I look everywhere but at him when he sits, yet I can feel his gaze heavy on my face. I am saved when this cute little old lady comes to give us the menus and hugs Wook tenderly. I can’t help but smile at the interaction. She scolds him for losing weight and not visiting often enough, then she turns to me.

“Now who is this beautiful woman?” she asks him while bowing to me. I shyly bow back as deep as I can from my seated position.

“This is my co-star in my new drama. Her name is Aliah.” for some reason my heart hurts a little at his explanation but it really shouldn’t because all he did was tell the truth.

“Pleased to meet you, Miss.” 

“Oh, you speak Korean well!” her praise is the standard for everyone that hears me speak the language so effortlessly.

“I approve. Treat him kindly please.” I bow again to her as she leaves, her words confusing me. 

“She is my grandmother’s best friend and like family.” Wook explains.

I nod in understanding then reach for a menu but his hand on top of mine stops me. Looking up at him I find he is watching me intently. 

“I can’t help but notice you don’t speak much around me. Why is that?” 

Of course, he noticed it. I don’t actively mean to do it’s just whenever he is close around me I clamp up. Honestly, I don’t know how I have been able to be around him every day and act with him. I just become a nervous anxious mess around him outside of acting. Acting is easy. Real-life isn’t.

I steel myself before looking into his eyes.

“You make me nervous.”

“I do?”

I nod my head. He still has his hand on top of mine.

“Oh, well I’m sorry. I don’t mean to. Is there anything I can do to help?” he removes his hand from mine and I desperately want it back.

“No. It’s really not you. I just…” I trail off realising what I was about to say. About to say I just like you is all.

“If it makes you feel any better you make me nervous as well. I don’t know what to do or say to get close to you and I just feel awkward. I asked you here so maybe I could do just that, get closer to you.” 

His rambling reveal shocks me. I would have never thought in a million years I could make him nervous. A giggle escapes me against my will and he looks up at me sharply.

“Sorry!” I clamp a hand over my mouth but the smile won’t leave my face.

“No, it’s fine.” his eyes seem to twinkle with mirth at my outburst.

“Should we order?” I nod enthusiastically. I ask him what he likes best here telling him I will eat whatever he orders since it is my first time. He orders a beef platter, seafood platter, a lunchbox, and a few bowls of rice for both of us. I am pleasantly surprised he ordered so much food but silently thank him nonetheless. I am starving after a whole day of filming and just snacking.

After our mutual admissions conversation began to flow easier. We talk about everything and anything. He shares stories about his family and I share mine. We laugh as he cooks the food over the grill for us. I tell him about my struggles coming to Korea as I pour Cola for the both of us. We continue chatting in between swallows of food until the subject of relationships comes up.

“So, do you have a boyfriend?” he asks the question so nonchalantly it irritates me a little. I would like there to be some sort of hesitation when asking. Looking him dead in the eyes I tell him no, I hope he understands the message behind my eyes. ‘No, I don’t have a boyfriend because I want you’.

“No? Why? Is there anyone you are interested in?” he is staring down at his rice, stabbing it and mixing it kind of roughly. His tone changed. At the end, it changed. I realise he is acting, something I have come to realise is not okay with me. Liars are my biggest pet peeve which is ironic considering my line of work now.

“Because I am picky I guess. I have someone in mind but I’m not sure he would feel the same way.” I decide to mess with him a little, if he can act so can I.

“Picky? What do you mean by that?” 

I set my utensils down giving him my whole attention.

“Well before I even came to Korea there was this idol I had always loved and respected from the time I was a little girl. You know Bang Yongguk?” he nods and sets his utensils down as well.

“It was him. For years he was my standard for men. His morals and the way he approached the world was so gentle and open. I fell for his character and personality rather than his looks.” 

“So is it him that you are interested in still?” I have his full attention now. It’s now or never Aliah.

“No, it’s not him, although I would love to meet him and speak to him at least once in my lifetime.”

“There is a new man.”

“Yes.” his eyes trace the lines on my face, his fingers tap a quiet rhythm into the table. His body is leaning towards mine. I am sure mine is doing the same.

“Who is this new man? Describe him to me.”

“I think you already know who he is.” I pick my utensils up and resume eating, breaking the spell we were in. He stares at me for a few moments before also finishing his food.

He calls for the cheque when we finish and I try to pay for my half of the food at least but he refuses, saying something about how when I am with him I will never have to pay for anything. He thanks the Granny then grabs our helmets making his way out of the shop. The Granny stops me before I can exit and pulls me down to her to whisper in my ear.

“He thinks highly of you. He has never once brought anyone here let alone a woman."

"How come?" her admission startles me.

"This is his safe spot. He comes here when he wants a home-cooked meal but isn't able to go home. I'm the closest thing to family he has in the city. He doesn't bring anyone here because he wants to keep his personal and family life completely separate from his line of work."

I slowly nod as she sends me off after dropping that bomb on me. It makes me view Wook in a completely different light once again. This is something that has been happening since the first day we met.

I know he comes from a single-parent family and is an only child. I am not surprised he turned out as well mannered and kind as he is after speaking with his mother once over a video call. The way he approaches people though is unique, he watches them first to see how they react to the environment then approaches them in a way that makes them comfortable. The first time we met he approached me with a smile on his face and kind words on his lips. He made me feel comfortable like I was part of the team. Anything I didn’t understand he was kind enough to translate. He was patient and quite understanding almost to the point where it became overwhelming, almost. He knew exactly when to back off and give me my space. 

The ride home was peaceful, so peaceful I fell asleep. Never in my life have I felt so safe with someone who was not my immediate family. 

“Aliah. Hey. Wake up beautiful.” 

I open my eyes to Chang Wook’s face inches from mine. He is holding me up in the seat of the bike. I rub the sleep from my eyes and smile at him. It’d be nice to wake up to his face every day. I caress his cheek taking in all of his features, the unevenness of his eyes, the slight crookedness in his jaw, the few blemishes he has are all that makes him so perfect to me. In my haze, the only thought running through my head is to kiss him. God, I want to kiss him so badly. 

“We are here.” I know he feels the shift in energy, the tension I created, so why isn’t he acting on it. 

He helps me off the bike and takes the helmet off then takes my hand, leading me inside the apartment complex. I don’t want him to go. That’s all I say to myself as we reach my door and I key in the code.

“Do you perhaps...want to come inside?” I shyly ask. I know hope is shining brightly in my eyes, I should feel embarrassed but I can’t bring myself to care enough to be. 

He hesitates, a war clearly raging within him.

“As much as I would love to, and trust me I want to so very badly, I don’t think I should.” he kisses my hands and bids me good night. I watch him until I can no longer see him down the hallway then I rush inside and run to my living room window. I catch the last glimpses of him as he exits the building, mounts his bike and rides away.

What was I thinking! Honestly, what was I planning to do after if he came in? Becky is asleep in her room, I vowed to wait until marriage, he doesn’t seem like the one-night stand type. Stupid, stupid, stupid, that’s what you are stupid. A dummy. What is this man doing to me?