#I think I lost my document where I wrote down all fanfic ideas I had for BNHA

[ohthepain]

.

[enigmalea]

Why I Contributed to FujoGuide

If you follow me here or mastodon you may have noticed that I've been reblogging/boosting a lot of posts for something called The Fujoshi Guide to Web Development (@fujowebdev). There's a good chance you followed me or know me from the Dragon Age fandom where I run communities, events, and zines and write fanfic, and you might be wondering why the sudden and drastic departure from my normal content. Why would a writer contribute to something related to webdev? Why have you stopped seeing thirst for Dragon Age characters and started seeing… whatever a FujoGuide is?

The answers to those questions (and more!) are below the cut.

My Coding Journey

I wrote my first lines of code in 1996 (yes, I'm old AF). It was the early days of the internet and tutorials for how to make your own websites were literally everywhere. You couldn't go more than two clicks without finding a how-to written in plain language. But it was painstaking and tedious. CSS didn't exist yet (literally, I started coding about six months before it was released) and even when it appeared it wasn't widely adopted or supported.

It was the "glory days" of Geocities, Myspace themes, Neopets, and Livejournal. If there was a cool site, you could use HTML and/or CSS to customize it. I honed my skills by coding so many tables character profiles for RPs, creating themes, painstakingly laying out user info pages, and building my own site.

Gradually, things changed. Web 2.0 showed up with locked down profiles and feeds you couldn't customize, free website hosts became more difficult to find, and point and click page builders became the way of the web. Shortly after, I took a long break from fandom; frustrated and disappointed with site closures, lost communities, and general fandom wank… it felt like it just wasn't worth it anymore.

I eventually came back, and when I did it meant customizing themes, figuring out how to create tools for my communities, coding tumblr pages (and learning they're not really supported on mobile), and looking at automations for my common tasks. One day, I woke up and thought, "I'm going to make a Discord bot… it can't be that hard."

So, I did it.

An Unexpected Friendship

About a month after I launched my bot to the public, I received a random Discord message from @essential-randomness. A friend had told her about my bot, and she was working on BobaBoard which needed volunteers. I was shocked. First, people were talking about my bot. Second, I wasn't a real coder. I didn't know anything! I just googled a bunch of stuff and got something working. I had no idea what I was doing.

She assured me it was okay. She was willing to teach me what I didn't know - and most of all, that she wanted my help. I took a day or two to think it over, and fatefully filled out the volunteer form. I didn't know if I could be useful or how I could be useful, but I wanted to try.

Programming Is Awful

In the years months that followed, I spent a lot of time in @essential-randomness' DMs complaining about programming… at least once I realized she wouldn't judge me. I was still very much doing things the hard way, taking hours to update a site to add a single link on all the pages. I knew there were easier methods, but I either couldn't find them or once I found them, they were filled with dense jargon which was terrifying.

"An all-in-one zero-javascript frontend architecture framework!" Is that even English? "A headless open-source CMS." Cool. Sounds good. "A full-stack SSG based on Jamstack extending React and integrating Rust-based JS." Those sure are words. With meanings. That someone knows. Not me, though.

I spent so much time looking at what sites claimed was documentation and losing my mind because I had no idea where to even start most of the time. With @essential-randomness' encouragement, I kept at it, experimenting with new things, and jumping in headfirst even when I had no idea what I was doing. And I was so glad. Where I used to struggle keeping one website updated, last year I managed to deploy and update 7 websites. Yeah, you read that right. It was amazing.

The new stuff made it all much, much easier.

An Idea Is Born

Meanwhile, we spent hours discussing why it was difficult to get fandom to try coding. Part of the barrier was the belief you must be some sort of genius or know math or that creative/humanities people can't do it. It is also partially coding communities being unfriendly to newbies and hobbyists; a culture which often thrives on debasing people's choices, deriding them for not understanding, and shouting rtfm (read the fucking manual) and lmgtfy (let me google that for you)- all of which are unhelpful at best and humiliating and abusive at worst. The tech dudebro culture can be unforgiving and mean.

The number of coding-based Discords I've left far outnumbers the ones I've stayed in.

We determined what fandom needed was a place for coders of all skill levels to come together to help and support one another; where they could learn to code and how to join open-source projects they love, and where they could make friends and connections and show off their projects whether they were new or experienced programmers.

And thus… Fandom Coders was born.

What About FujoGuide?

Of course, running a coding group and working on BobaBoard together means we spent a lot of time talking about the state of the web. We both lamented over poor documentation, jargon-rich tutorials, and guides which assume a baseline of knowledge most people don't have. What we needed to do was provide tutorials which start at the beginning… from the ground up (what is a terminal and how do I open it?) without skipping steps. What we needed to do was make those tutorials fun and appealing.

I don't remember exactly the journey it took to get us here if I'm honest. I have no clue who said it first. But I do remember I first started thinking about anthropomorphizing programming languages when we attempted to cast the languages as the Ouran High School boys… and again when I suggested we do a [TOP SECRET IN CASE WE DO IT] group project in Fandom Coders to help people learn about programming.

What I do know is that as last year ended, @essential-randomness became laser-focused on creating our gijinka and moving forward with FujoGuide… and I couldn't say no.

Okay, But… Why Contribute?

To be honest, it's not just that I was around for the birth of the idea. It's ALL of the things in this post - the culmination of three years of frustration trying to figure out what I'm doing with coding, of wading through dense documentation, of wanting to give up before I even start. It's three years of dipping my toes into toxic techbro culture before running away. All added to decades of watching the web become corporate-sanitized, frustratingly difficult to customize, increasingly less fun, and overtly hostile to fans who dare enjoy sexual content.

To sum all of this up, it's the firm belief that we desperately need a resource like this. Something that's for us, by us. Something that builds fans up, instead of tears them down; that empowers them to create for themselves and their communities what no one is creating for them. It is a project I'm deeply passionate about.

And I can't wait until we can bring it to life for you all.

[trashideas]

Fanfic writer Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk who just finished the Scenarios

Part 1

Being the only reader of an entire series is hard. Not because of the pressure to read a chapter as soon as it came out, but because there were no people to interact with.

Dokja couldn't rant about how his protagonist deserves better or about how much he loves the world-building of the novel. It gives little details over the course of the story that builds up into an entire, beautiful, universe.

So Dokja has to turn to himself to give his protagonist any sort of comfort in his repeating life.

Dokja wrote along with the postings of the source material. His paragraphs weren't as detailed or thought out as the source, but they told a story no less.

At first, his musings started in his head. Short snippets of different “what if..?” scenarios.

Eventually, during one of his 43 hours straight of being awake, he wrote down a few sentences. They were mistyped and horrid, but they presented an idea.

“Whas id Yoo Joonghyuk he a hiddy endfing?”

“What if Yoo Joonghyuk had a happy ending?”

And that one sentence broke forth to many more. What were once 1 sentence questions slowly turned into paragraphs and pages.

Eventually, Dokja was writing a chapter each time Ways of Survival posted. He posted none of them, each snippet stayed in his documents for him only. He allowed himself to be greedy with his Protagonist’s happiness.

....

The day came for the final chapter of Ways of Survival and Dokja didn't know whether to be happy, disappointed, excited, or scared. His emotions were haywire but Dokja couldn't allow for a slip of his mask. He was on a public subway. He didn't want to garner any strange looks.

When he is done reading the chapter, he isn't quite sure how to feel.

The ending was open-ended.

So obviously, when Dokja gets home that night, he writes.

He writes the ending that his protagonist deserves. One where the scenarios are over. Where his mind is allowed to rest. Where he can be happy with the person he loves the most.

Dokja doesn't want to pin his protagonist with anyone for his perfect ending. While Joonghyuk once had a child with Lee Seolhwa in the second regression, he never showed interest in her since. If that was because he lost interest or he didn't want another heartbreak, Dokja didn't know.

Dokja’s ending statement was simply,

“Yoo Joonghyuk finally allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. All of the regressions allowed for this. An ending to the Star Stream.

An ending to the fighting.

An ending to the grief.

And an opening to be happy.

Yoo Joonghyuk could finally be happy because he had everything he has ever come to cherish and there was no threat of it being taken from him.”

Dokja felt satisfied with the new ending. He himself felt happy for his protagonist despite this not being the true ending.

Then Dokja promptly passed out from sleep deprivation.

....

There was a knocking on the door.

Dokja had the thought to ignore it, but he couldn't bare the thought of one of the kids standing at his door, waiting for him to answer. He begrudgingly dragged himself out of bed to answer the door.

And holy fuck he was not prepared for what awaited him on the other side.

He blinked a few times to make sure his eyes did not deceive him. He wasn't sure if it was better or worse that this absolute *unit* this drop-dead *gorgeous* man was actually standing in front of him.

“Sorry for waking you up,” the beautiful man said, holding out his hand for a handshake, “but I wanted to introduce myself before I needed to work. I just moved in to the unit next door.”

Dokja dumbly took his hand, “ah- my name is Kim Dokja.”

“Yoo Joonghyuk.”

Dokja’s brain malfunctioned. Joonghyuk let go and disappeared into the door next to his, proving that he did live next door.

Dumbfounded, Dokja went back to bed.

...

When he woke up to his alarm, Dokja figured that he had one of his hallucinative dreams again and didn't think much of what happened. He got up, dressed for work, and left, not even glancing at the door next to his.

Dokja spent his day wondering what to do. Did he just reread the novel? Should he pick up something else?

On the subway home, Dokja checked Ways of Survival to reread it.

It wasn't there.

Dokja felt as if there was a gaping hole left in his heart, a void that used to be where Ways of Survival sat.

At least... He still had the happy ending that he wrote for Yoo Joonghyuk. He opened up his documents to reread what he wrote the other night to fix up the mistakes that his sleep-deprived mind made.

[This account doesn't exist!]

[This account doesn't exist!]

[No internet connection]

What? Dokja checked his email and it was fine, so then why were his documents not loading? He would try again when he got home. He could at least try to open them on his computer.

...

[jmflowers]

8, 9, 11, 14, 24 💗

8. Is there a story idea in your mental vault that you’ve never been brave enough to try writing? Is this the year? Can you tell us about it?

Oh, there are so many things puttering about in my brain. I’m really proud of myself for having written most of them down this year. There’s one prompt that’s been sitting in my inbox since June that I have tried several times to get started on and I’ve yet to be able to get it exactly right. I keep feeling slightly off-kilter once I get it going and I think that ultimately comes down to fear, since it centers on physical intimacy and I always shy away from writing things that could border into smut.

The thought was an exploration of a specific moment in time, one that was never mentioned in canon so it gives me a pretty ambiguous stretch of space to play with. And explicit smut was not requested, which is what makes my nerves around it so frustrating, haha. I’d like to use it as an opportunity to touch into a poem that’s been sitting in my inbox since May as part of the prompt party submissions, too. We’ll see. I think I just need to get over myself. Or talk through that moment in time over and over again until what I dream up feels really true to them.

9. Short term goals… what do you hope to complete this week or in January?

I have a monster piece that I’ve been working on for a couple of months that I’d like to finish before I head back to school next week. It’s sort of a sequel to Travel Light, in that it focuses on the trajectory of Beatrice’s life. I’ve nearly got part 1 (of 2? 3?) completed and I’m really looking forward to sharing it. It’s scary to post knowing part 2 hasn’t been started, but hopefully the first section will be able to standalone comfortably for a bit and then be a nice collection with the second section later.

11. Would you like to try any new fanfic genres or tropes this year?

I don’t know that I’m really a trope kind of writer. I definitely have a tendency to follow where characters take me and that’s rarely ever into fanfic-specific plot points or tropes. (I think?) I’ve been writing a lot of third person present tense for the last year, though, and I’d love to return to some of the more playful ways I used to write – specifically second person point of view. Writing in that format just tickles something in my brain that really challenges me and I don’t often get the opportunity to stretch those muscles.

14. Have you ever lost large chunks of your work in the past, due to not backing up your work? Will you change your methods this year?

Not writing so much, but I lost a ton of photos and documents back in 2012 when the hard drive in my computer got fried. I’ve been pretty good ever since – everything is backed up onto multiple external hard drives and anything I work on between both my laptop and desktop is stored on a cloud drive. School has trained me to be extremely organized with my files; I have no plans to change anything about my file management.

I did have a bunch of stories posted on FF.net back in the day and I went through years ago and removed anything that wasn’t complete that I didn’t intend to finish. I know I saved all of those documents, but I wish I had a clear record of what was once posted there. Occasionally an old reader will mention a specific story to me by title and I don’t usually have any memory of it.

24. By the end of this year, you want your fandom to think of you as “that author who ___.”

I’d like the fandom to think of me as an author who wrote something that brought them comfort. Right now, I write to create safe spaces for myself, and I share my writing so that other people can find some safe spaces, too.

[bereft-of-frogs]

5, 8, 9, and 12 for the fanfic asks!

5. What’s a fic idea you’ve had that you will never write?

I feel like it's safe to say most of my old MCU ideas won't get written at this point. Including but not limited to: the darkest timeline AU (where Loki wins the battle of New York and makes everything much, much worse), the third parts to both the medieval-ish fantasy AU (that featured magical rivalries and the valkyrie as a knight) and 'the dead reign there alone' (an alternate version of Sakaar and more poltergeist!Frigga encouraging her stepdaughter to turn against her weird stalker Thanos), a fic centered around Sam, Bucky, and Nat during the 5 year time skip, and a longer version of a fic I did write and post about HYDRA and human experimentation. See, though, even revisiting these ideas does give me that spark of 'oh I really wish I had finished that...' so who knows. I just know that as of right now I'll probably never finish them.

I will never give up hope on the Supernatural death gods magnum opus (but I've been saying that for 5 years).

As for Star Wars, I'm hesitant to say anything I've come up with is off the table yet, but is does provide me with the only true 'I will never actually write this' concept that I found while looking through old documents the other day. Apparently back in my early Fallen Order days, I jotted down as a possible AU idea 'Cal as Obi-Wan's apprentice' and I have come to dislike that concept so much that I'm shocked I ever considered it. I don't remember the details of what I was thinking but yeah I now really, really dislike that idea and would never write it.

8. What project(s) are you currently working on?

I'm trying to keep this list low right now so as not to scare away the inspiration, so currently just working on the next two chapters of 'omens and all kinds of signs' and this ocean horror thing that's taken over my entire life. It is now 4 parts. I have lost control.

9. Do you write every day? If you wrote today, share a sentence of what you’ve written!

I don't anymore, I think right now for me it's best not to force things. If I want to write, I write, if not, no biggie! I haven't written anything today yet but here's a bit from last night:

“Oh.” They watch a little longer, in silence until Cal says, “Maybe this was a research station. Observing the vents, and the coral.” “You’d think a research station would be warmer.”

12. Do you have a playlist for your current WIP(s)? Share it!

You just want the link to the Ocean Mix. I'm not sure I can link to a mix on Spotify but I do have a playlist that I'm rescuing my favorities from that mix. It's a wip, once I finish the fic I'll put it in a coherent order and give it a proper title and image and everything but here's the wip link. ;-)

[ bored and anxious asks to kick those monday vibes ]

[bimboamyrose]

On The Scarlett Sea - Part 1 / 2

A ~Pirate~ Metamy Fanfic -  [Link to Part 2]  - [AO3 Link]

Synopsis When the world learns of a secret pirate treasure plundered from the Knuckles Clan’s ancient ruins over 300 years ago, Knuckles enlists the help of his friends, Amy and Tails, to retrieve and hide its most powerful artifact- a mysterious mirror that allows the user to become their most desired self. He isn’t the only one after the treasure, however; As Metal Sonic discovers the existence of the mirror, he forms his own crew of “pirates” to take it for himself. Along the way, he separates Amy from her friends and convinces her to help him make his greatest dream a reality- but what is that, really?

In collaboration with @mmm-asbestos​ & their pirate Metamy AU  Merry Xmas / Happy holidays and stay well~

Part 1

There were few things Knuckles regretted more in life than meeting the self-proclaimed “World's Greatest Thief,” Rouge. As such, Amy knew she was in for a rant the minute she answered his call at the crack of dawn and heard him utter the bat’s name.

“Rouge is in the news!” he yelled into the receiver.

“Wha…” Amy rubbed her eyes. It was still dark out.

“Haven’t you seen the papers this morning?”

“You get newspapers on Angel Island?” she yawned.

“Turn on the news! This is important!”

“Alright, calm down...” Amy slid out of bed sleepily, still yawning as she flipped her living room TV on and threw herself onto the couch groggily. A news channel was running a segment on an archeological discovery that seemed to be making waves. Amy turned it up so Knuckles could hear on the other end.

“The centuries-old hiding place was found by none other than world-famous treasure hunter, Rouge the Bat. The former jewel thief was hired for her skills-”

“Former jewel thief?! Where are they getting their sources?”

“Quiet, I can’t hear!” Amy raised the volume further to drown out his yelling.

“- the discovery of a lifetime! We had an exclusive interview with the mastermind who helped find this historical treasure. Here’s what she had to say:”

Footage of Rouge sitting in a lavish armchair next to a roaring fireplace followed. “Well, you’ll be interested to hear that this isn’t the famed Captain Scarlett's treasure. It was a personal stash of journals and letters her wife left behind.

The camera cut briefly to a reporter sitting across from her. “And we understand that a possible map to the famous pirate’s real treasure was hidden among this?”

“That’s correct. I spent some days analyzing the documents and discovered they contain instructions on how to reach Captain Scarlett’s treasure. There are some hints as to what’s contained at the site as well. I’ll be sailing there with a crew in a few days!”

“Can you give us an idea of what you believe to find there?”

“Untold riches, of course!” Rouge gave a breathy laugh. “And perhaps some old artifacts- I understand she had an interest in ancient cultures,” she waved dismissively. “We’ll find out soon enough- I’m confident it’ll take no time to navigate there.”

“And we’ll be here on land waiting with bated breath for the historical discovery! Now back to-”

Amy muted the TV, her eyes finally adjusting to the dim early morning light. “So she was hired to find some old pirate treasure? Is that what you’re upset about?”

“The treasure she was hired to find happens to contain an ancient Knuckles Clan artifact! You need to get the others and come to Angel Island right away-”

“You’re mad about the possibility that Rouge will find some antique?” 

“Antique! Amy-” she could hear him trying to restrain himself. “Listen to me, if this ‘treasure’ falls into the wrong hands, it’s going to be a mess to clean up. Get Sonic and Tails and come here as soon as you can. They’re not answering my calls and we need to speak in person.”

Amy groaned. It was far too early to be thinking about a new dangerous adventure- especially when they’d just stopped one of Eggman’s plots less than a week earlier. “Fine… at least let me have some breakfast first.”

“Make it quick!” he hung up.

“And they say I’m bossy,” Amy grumbled to herself. Before long, the sun’s rays shone brightly throughout her house and sleeping in no longer sounded comfortable. With a sigh, she got ready for the unexpected day ahead.

-----

“I never knew there was a catacomb under the altar…” Amy held a lantern out in front of her as she climbed down the steps.

“That’s ‘cause it’s a secret,” Knuckles responded gruffly. “Come on, I shouldn’t have to tell you to hurry it up!!”

Sonic and Tails trailed behind in a sleep-deprived state. They’d stayed up until morning playing games and were just getting to bed when Amy pounded on the lab door to retrieve them. She still wasn’t sure how Tails managed to land the plane on Angel Island. “Relax, Knux…” Sonic rubbed his eyes as he followed behind Amy. 

“I’m gonna fall asleep in here…” Tails yawned.

“No sleeping!” Knuckles sealed the entrance and rushed ahead, leading the way. The rest of the group groaned in unison as they followed. 

As they went, Amy noticed a ladybug had hitched a ride on her shoulder. “Aw, wouldn’t want you to get lost down here.” She picked up the small insect on the end of her finger and continued after Knuckles. After coming down a winding staircase and navigating a series of dark corridors, the team arrived in a small room with walls lined with scrolls and small relics with a hard wooden table in the center. Knuckles lit the torches on the walls and sifted through the contents of a stone shelf. 

“I have a flashlight, you know,” Tails remarked.

“No flashlights! You’ll damage the texts.”

Tails mumbled under his breath. “I suppose lighting them on fire is better…”

“Quiet- look at this.” Knuckles brought out a large, yellowed scroll and a wooden box. Spreading the scroll across the table revealed what appeared to be a map of the ocean. “This is a map to that treasure Rouge is after.”

“Wait,” Amy interrupted, “You have one, too?”

Knuckles nodded. “This is Captain Scarlett’s map.”

Sonic leaned over the scroll. “Scarlett? Isn’t that the famous lady-pirate? Why do you have that?” 

“Because,” Knuckles continued, “300 years ago, that damned pirate plundered the Mystic Ruins for its treasure. This map was found by an Echidna scholar over a century ago and it’s been here ever since.”

“So, this isn’t the first time someone finds part of Scarlett’s treasure?” Tails asked.

Knuckles scoffed. “Hardly. My people have been after that stash of letters that Rouge found for decades. We’ve been trying to keep the contents of ‘Scarlet’s’ treasure a secret since it was discovered what it contains- The Stone Mirror.” The others stared blankly at him, the object he was referring to having no meaning to them. He looked at each of them irately before continuing. “Really? Argh, fine; The Stone Mirror is a powerful artifact that can turn the user into their ‘most desired self’- whatever that means. Apparently, old Scarlett used it 300 years ago to become the world’s best pirate or something.”

“So… you want us to help you look for a magic mirror in the middle of the ocean?” Sonic asked.

Knuckles’ brow twitched. “Did you not just hear what I said? What if Eggman got a hold of this thing?!”

“What’s the big deal? We should be able to fly there-”

“No flying. This map is meant to be navigated by sea. Besides,” Knuckles opened the small box to reveal a compass and a crystal eyepiece. “This map only goes so far. We’ll need these once you get to this point to guide the rest of the way.”

“Let me see that,” Tails took the compass in his hands and waved it around the room. “Does this thing work? It doesn’t even point north.”

“It points to where it has to point once you get here,” Knuckles poked at a red X on the map.

“That literally makes no sense.”

“It’s what the scholar wrote down when she discovered this map!”

As they bickered, Amy carefully picked up the map and held it to the light. As it passed in front of a lantern, writing could be seen across one side of the scroll. The little ladybug that had ridden in on Amy’s shoulder flew onto its surface and crawled around. “Guys, look! There’s something written here.” The boys went silent as they leaned in to get a closer look at the neat cursive script. Amy read it aloud. “Hand in hand we sailed to the horizon that faithful evening. I looked into her glassy eyes for guidance as the sky above turned, Scarlett.”

Sonic shook his head. “This lady sounds lost.”

“Maybe,” said Knuckles, “But our best hope is to follow this map and figure it out from there. And get that bug off the map, would ya?” Amy allowed the little red insect to crawl back onto her hand before replacing the map on the table.

“Yeah, all I’m hearing is we’re gonna get ourselves stranded in the ocean. Count me out.”

“Are you serious?!” 

“No way I’m getting on a boat just to get stuck in the middle of the sea,” Sonic crossed his arms stubbornly. “I’ll stay here and look after the Master Emerald.”

“No fair, why do you get to stay?” Tails complained. “I don’t wanna be on a boat, either!”

“I think it sounds fun,” Amy said, watching as the ladybug crawled around on her palm.

“This isn’t a pleasure cruise!” Knuckles yelled.

Tails’ ears drooped. “I’ll say. Sonic’s right, we’re gonna get lost. Don’t you have that scholar’s notes, Knuckles?”

“No.”

“But you know a little about what she wrote; where are they?”

Knuckles grumbled as he crossed his arms. “There was… a small fire…”

“No kidding,” Tails frowned.

“Bah- Will you help me or not? We need to get on a boat ASAP to beat that bat over there- she has all the same information in those documents she found!”

Rolling his eyes, Tails turned back to the map. “Fine. We can take my boat. But I need to take a better look at this map in some proper lighting.”

“Deal,” said Knuckles. “You in, Ames?”

“You can count on me! I already have our costumes planned out,” Amy giggled.

“Costumes…?” It didn’t feel like much of a deal to Tails, who’d just been roped into steering a boat for the next several days in whatever outlandish outfit Amy would choose for him. He rolled up the scroll begrudgingly and gathered the other trinkets into their box. Knuckles turned out the torches as the team spilled out into the corridor and followed him back up to the surface. They all squinted harshly as the mid-morning sun burned their eyes. 

“Here you go,” Amy told the ladybug, placing it on a small flower. “Hope you find your way back home okay.” She watched it crawl around a bit before spreading its wings and buzzing away happily. She smiled as it flew off, pleased that it was able to make it back to the surface with her help. Once it was out of her sight, Amy joined her friends in making their plans to sail off in the next few days.

The shiny little insect flew and flew, ascending far higher and speeding up to a far quicker pace than any ladybug reasonably should. It continued off the edge of Angel Island, floating high above the land, the sea, then the clouds. It didn’t take the ladybug very long to reach its destination, flying into a tiny steel vent and into a cold, metallic fortress. Once aboard the Egg Carrier, it made its way into a small lab where it landed on a steel desk, ready to address its master.

“It is about time you returned…”

The ladybug spread its wings once more, this time flying into the minuscule port on a computer that topped the desk. A video appeared on the screen that took up the wall ahead, displaying a first-person view from the bug’s perspective. It flew toward Amy Rose, landing on her shoulder just as she descended into a secret passage.

A young boy’s voice was heard. “I’m gonna fall asleep in here…” 

“No sleeping!” a gruff voice responded.

“Aw, wouldn’t want you to get lost down here,” Amy could be heard saying before the view changed to  atop her finger.

“Interesting.” Metal Sonic locked his fingers together, resting his chin over his thumbs as he leaned in to listen closely. “What are our little heroes up to now?”

----

The following morning, Eggman raised a brow as he enjoyed his coffee with the early news. A field reporter was live from a marina where a crime was committed earlier that day. The spot at the docks where a historic pirate ship normally floated was empty.

“They just sailed off in her!” a frantic man said on TV. “We had a wedding planned there for this afternoon! What are we supposed to do now?”

The show cut back to the news anchor. “The historic Royal Fortune, the antique pirate ship that still operates tours and events to this day, was stolen early this morning as the thieves marooned the crew on a nearby sandbar. The criminals are described as armored and wearing black hooded cloaks. If anyone has news regarding her whereabouts-”

“Hmm…” Eggman muted the show as he heard a loud, metallic clanking forming from the corridor.  Metal Sonic strode in from outside the floating fortress with two Silver Sonic Prototypes close behind. All were mysteriously clad in black hooded cloaks as the small minions each carried oversized boxes above their heads.

Eggman leaned back in his chair to look out through the open doorway. “Metal, where were you so early?”

The three robots stopped in their tracks as Metal Sonic turned around to address him momentarily. “Out.” He continued forward without another word.

“I gave you the ability to talk so you could use it, you know,” Eggman grumbled. He took another sip as a loud doorway could be heard opening and shutting down the hall. With a sigh, the old man shook his head, wondering what the dark cloaks were about. Why would they hide their identities to steal the stupid ship? What is he even up to? he asked himself before going back to his coffee.

Once in the privacy of Metal Sonic’s lab, boxes were ripped open and long capes were thrown aside. Metal Sonic stood in front of a full-length mirror examining his freshly painted armor, glittering gold accents reflecting the dull fluorescent lighting. Each of the pint-sized prototypes had received chromatic silver paint jobs as well to differentiate them from the dozen or so other identical bots that performed various tasks around the airship. They both sorted through the boxes, throwing various period garments about the room haphazardly.

Clothes were strewn everywhere by the time Metal Sonic noticed the mess they were making. “I told you two to find me something to wear, not wreck my lab!” The identical minions looked at one another blankly. One of them picked a pair of stays up from in front of him and held for his master to observe. Metal snatched the undergarment from the smaller robot’s clamps and threw it aside. “That is not what I meant!” He picked up a nearby book and ripped it open to a page containing an illustration of a pirate captain. “Find me this,” he pointed at the pirate’s jacket gruffly.

His claw made a loud CLANG against his forehead, saluting Metal before stretching an extendable arm across the room to retrieve a navy coat with gold accents that had been tossed aside. Once in his possession, Metal Sonic draped it over his shoulders and examined his reflection once more. “Hmm… A bit restrictive. H3, scissors.” The other lackey robot took the command, fetching a pair of scissors from a drawer and presenting them to his master. Metal proceeded to chop the coat up into little more than an open vest adorned with golden epaulets draped with tassels at each shoulder. He belted the reconstructed jacket around his waist and stared at his reflection. “What do you think? Missing something?”

The two henchmen examined the book’s illustration again. One of them shot up and dove into one of the boxes, returning with a tricorn cap. He extended his arm and placed the hat atop Metal Sonic’s head while the other clapped his bulky claws together. 

“I don’t know…” Metal rested his hands on his hips pensively. “What are you two wearing?”

H3 and his counterpart, H4, looked toward one another with a shrug. They dug through the pile, each digging out a solid-colored scarf. H3 wrapped his blue one around his head like a bandana while H4 tied a red one to his waist. They looked each other up and down for a few moments before deciding in unison to switch their color choices, H3 snatching the red bandana from his brother and pulling it over his head while H4 made a belt of the blue one after ripping it from atop the other’s head. They high-fived to commemorate the decision, their little clamped hands rattling together as they made contact.

“Fine, fine…” Metal waved them off, glancing back at the book once more. The captain sported a sword at his waist. At the bottom of one of the boxes rested an antique cutlass that resembled the one in the drawing, but dulled at the edge. “Yes… This will do.” He picked up the weapon and brandished it ahead of his body “If Sonic’s friends are dressing for the occasion, so shall we!” he cackled. “H4, make sure this gets sharpened,” he barked as he thrust the sword into the minion's hands. “H3, clean up this mess. I have work to do.”

With that, each of the minions loudly saluted Metal Sonic before attending to their tasks. Metal leaned over his desk as the video of the heroes reappeared on the large screen ahead. He was disappointed to learn that he wouldn’t be facing his rival, Sonic- the coward had decided to stay on land. Metal looked from one of their faces to another before settling on Amy Rose’s cheerful expression. “Yes… She will do.” Metal concocted his plan, reveling in the knowledge that once he obtained the Stone Mirror, he would manifest into a form that not Sonic nor his friends could hope to stand a chance against.

Metal had spent much of the last year spying on Sonic and his friends, waiting for an opportunity when he could be one step ahead. He had grown to resent Eggman and his half-baked plans over the years, existing only as an obstacle to the heroes who always seemed to be prepared. Eggman understood this, or at least knew that Metal had begun taking his own initiative when it came to plotting against his rival. When he caught the robot surveilling the team, he made the decision to encourage him, wanting to take advantage of the part of Metal that could think just like his rival. Soon, Metal had been outfitted with a lab of his own and two henchmen to command. Eggman had upgraded him with the ability to speak and emote more expressly not long after, which Metal found both vexing and enthralling, now taking every opportunity to put his thoughts into words.

But Metal ultimately resented this as well as he had no desire to lean on his master. What he yearned for most greatly was to have the independence and autonomy to act on his own. Though Metal wasn’t disloyal to him, Eggman’s incompetence ironically prevented him from accomplishing his objective of eliminating Sonic. Since then, Metal took what he’d been offered as if a birthright and accepted nothing more, opting to source his own necessities. Everything from research to obtaining materials was to be accomplished by him personally- a task he did not take lightly. And because this was the first- no- the only time he would need to defeat his foes, it only made sense to do it in style. 

Perishing the thought that whatever deep-seated programming compelled him to these theatrics was likely due to Eggman’s own influence, Metal had gotten to work studying the life of pirate legend Captain Scarlett. Metal did a poor job at hiding the excitement that befell him as he read everything he could process that regarded pirating. Perhaps it was the high stakes and endless freedom the seafaring criminals seemed to command- and what a very “Sonic” thing to be attracted to. He laughed to himself about his organic counterpart’s apparent fear of the ocean.

Then again, it was probably just the dramatic aesthetics.

The old pirate captain had a flair for the dramatic herself. Metal’s research showed that she often left secret messages in her documents such as the one discovered by Amy Rose in that map of theirs, as well as the letters that had been uncovered. Many of the “mysteries” uncovered through time appeared to be rudimentary puzzles really, it was bewildering how the treasure had remained hidden for so long. Still, he didn’t have a map of his own, and tailing the heroes would only get him so far. Metal knew from past experience that the bubbly girl was rather sympathetic. A savior complex, he thought as he studied his past interactions with her. She was the perfect pawn to manipulate into leading him right to the Stone Mirror. 

The video was paused on a frame of Amy and her sunny smile. He recalled their first meeting when he captured her and how helpless she had been; But the girl had grown strong over the years, impressing even him with her combat technique. Amy decidedly wasn’t one to be taken lightly anymore, and he would have to be cautious. The compassion she showed towards most creatures was her real weakness, one that was easy to take advantage of. He played back a compilation of videos he’s taken of Amy Rose; her beaming complexion, the charismatic giggle in her voice, the tender pleading in her eyes…

None of that matters! He shook the thought from his head. What he really needed to understand were the driving factors behind her empathy. What could he use against her? He fast-forwarded to a scene of her and the rest of the group reminiscing about past adventures.

On-screen, Amy sat between Sonic and Tails in the sand, all enjoying an afternoon together at the beach. Knuckles could be heard off-screen. “Yeah, I still can’t believe Amy convinced that robot to let her go! What was it called again?”

“His name was Gamma. Honestly, he was able to think for himself after we became friends- it didn’t take much to convince him that he could disobey Eggman if he wanted to.” she twirled the front of her spines bashfully.

Sonic laughed. “Well good thing you made friends with him! I nearly turned him to scrap metal.”

“Come on, he did a lot of good before… you know.” There was some sadness in her eyes.

“Yeah,” Sonic agreed. “Hey, maybe you could convince Egg-head to do some good for once, too.” 

Metal paused the video as they laughed together. “He did a lot of good.” Yes, Metal knew exactly how to get the sweet girl on his side- he was confident it wouldn’t take much convincing on his part, either. 

The lab door was suddenly slammed open. “H4, what have I told you about-” Metal paused, faced not with his lackey but with a very animated Eggman.

“Metal! I just saw H4’s new paint job- excellent work! We should outfit all the prototypes with it,” he bellowed. 

Narrowing his eyes, Metal turned back toward the screen to brood silently.

Eggman took a few steps into the room before continuing. “Tell me, though, what’s with all the pirate outfits? You putting on a show?” he feigned ignorance over the stolen ship and nudged the box closest to him with his foot. H3 popped his head out from the pile of clothes within with a clanky salute. “This one too, eh? I like the look.” There was no response from Metal but the quickening hum of his turbine as he grew annoyed at the interruption. “That hat will probably impede your hearing, though…”

He continued taking steps into the room, stopping just behind Metal to join him in looking at the screen ahead. It was still paused on a still of Amy looking cheerful. “Studying our heroes again, are we? You sure seem to like this one... She’s pretty cute.”

Metal whipped around to face him once again, this time with blazing eyes. “What are you-”

“I bet you could kidnap her again easily,” Eggman interrupted with a grin and a snap of his fingers.

“Get out!” Metal roared, rising from his seat.

Eggman laughed heartily. “Alright, alright- tell me if you need anything for your little production!”

As the scientist turned on his heel and made his way back toward the open door, H4 was scuttling in with the now sharpened cutlass held carelessly above him. He came to a skidding halt at the sight of Eggman, bringing his hand up to his forehead and dropping the sword noisily on the steel floor in the process. The man cackled at him, bending down to pick up the weapon and examine it. “Nice sword, not that you need it. Teach your lackeys to be a little more careful with sharp objects, hm?” Eggman tossed the sword to Metal, who caught it effortlessly, rolling his eyes.

“... Fine.” he finally responded before taking his seat again and swiveling back toward the giant monitor. He shut off the program that played back the videos.

“Atta boy.” With that, Eggman made his way out of the room. H4 shot out his arm, slamming his claw against a button that shut the door behind him.

The sword gleamed in the harsh lighting as Metal held it up to inspect. Eggman was correct, of course- Metal didn’t need a weapon- he was one. But the added flourish couldn’t hurt, he thought as he swung it through the air, a small WHIP whispering across the room each time he waved it. Metal wouldn’t admit it even to himself, but his creator had a point about his interest in Amy Rose, as well...

An alert flashed on the screen ahead before he could be forced to think about it. “GPS Tracker Activated”. A map popped up showing a blinking red dot, indicating the location of Tails’ boat.

“Finally…” Metal stood, raising a foot on his chair and brandishing the cutlass proudly. “Prepare the ship- we sail at dawn!”

-----

Amy yawned as she got dressed the following morning. The TV was tuned to the news, where a reporter was commenting on the authorities’ inability to find any leads in the case of the Royal Fortune’s theft. “Weird…” Amy remarked to herself out loud. She was tying a blue ascot around the collar of her dress- a white, long-sleeved piece with blue stripes at the hem and cuffs. She had purchased the sailor suit impulsively with the hopes of going sailing leisurely with her friends, but she supposed a maritime mission was occasion enough. 

Hearing the whistle of a boat in the distance, she quickly pinned on her hat and slung her duffel bag over her shoulder. She lived on the beach and the boys had agreed to meet her there before sailing off. The whistle howled once more and she hurried out of her little shack, running toward the shore. “I’m here already! Quit hollering,” she grumbled. A steel ladder was lowered and she tossed her bag for Knuckles to catch before climbing her way up.

The boat was nothing like the pirate ship she’d seen on TV that morning. It was a sleek white vessel with blue chrome accents that glittered in the early sunlight. The small yacht was equipped with every manner of boating technology that Tails could cram onto it. A door beneath the elevated helm opened to reveal a set of stairs leading down to the main quarters. Knuckles lugged Amy’s bag over his shoulder, beckoning her to the opening.

“Wait! Before you put that away…” Amy unzipped the front pocket.

Knuckles grumbled. “Before I put it away?”

“Yes, thank you for that,” she chuckled, pulling out a pair of themed hats- a sailor’s cap similar to her own, and a white service cap with gold accents. “I figured you guys would prefer these to clothes.”

“Hmm,” Knuckles examined the headwear as she unfurled each one and held them up. “I suppose a captain’s hat would be fitting…” he reached out to take it from her when Tails suddenly interrupted.

“Uh, my ship- If anyone’s captain, it’s me.”

With an incredulous look, Knuckles turned his chin up to address him. “My mission, my hat- I’m captain. You’re navigating.”

“Oh and I suppose this boat’s gonna steer itself?” Tails said in a mocking tone.

“You think I don’t know how to drive a boat?” Knuckles was yelling now.

“Like I’d let you even if you could.”

“Alright,” Amy interrupted, “That’s enough- we have to be on this boat together for the next week. You two better get along!” 

“Fine,” Knuckles crossed his arms. “Who do you think should be captain?”

“Tails,” she responded without hesitation.

“What?!”

Tails snickered from above. “Do you even have a boating license, Knuckles?”

His expression of rage quickly turned blank. His teammates both watched as the gears seemed to turn in his head. “... No.”

Amy and Tails both broke out into a fit of laughter. Knuckles snatched the sailor’s cap from her hand and stomped down the stairs with the duffel bag, grumbling choice words under his breath. “Here you go,” she tossed the captain’s hat up to Tails.

“Thank you,” he smirked triumphantly. “We’re ready to go- let’s let Sonic know before we sail off.” Amy made her way up and stood by him as Tails made a video call on a tablet. Sonic appeared on it a moment later.

“Yo,” he winked. “Looking good, guys.”

“Thank you,” Amy giggled bashfully.

“We’re about to sail,” Tails interjected before she could start chatting. “Everything good on your end?”

“Yep, just me and the Master Emerald. Pretty boring…”

“Don’t let Knuckles hear you say that.”

The three shared a chuckle before Amy and Tails waved to Sonic and signed off. The boat’s ladder ascended from the sand as Tails made the final preparations to sail. Knuckles reemerged from the doorway below as the vessel began moving, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand.

“Where’s your uniform, skipper?” Tails chortled, noticing that he hadn’t donned the white and blue cap.

“Watch it,” he threatened, eyes fixed on the horizon.

As the boat slid away from the shore and into the open ocean, Tails and Amy chuckled to themselves, ready for the adventure ahead. Unbeknownst to them, however, they weren’t the only ones tracking their whereabouts.

Back at the Egg Carrier, Metal and his lackeys were getting ready to mobilize.

The three bots snuck out of the lab and through the steel corridors, making sure to fly to keep noise to a minimum. It was dark- Eggman either wasn’t up or was too fixated on his work to notice them anyway. Once they reached the outdoor deck, each landed on the edge for a moment, H3 and H4 awaiting commands. “We will stay off their radar by remaining some distance away, and intercept them at this first meeting spot,” Metal explained. “But we need to catch up. Now, to the ship!”

But before he could lift off, a mechanical squeaking caught Metal’s attention from behind. He turned his vision to the distraction, claws outstretched in case someone was trying to stop him. His gaze was met by that of another Silver Sonic Prototype, who then imitated the awkward saluting motion the other two greeted their masters with. Metal narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously but lowered his guard. “What is the meaning of this?”

The small robot seemed to pull a yellow bandana from out of nowhere and quickly tied it below his muzzle, looking back up at Metal Sonic with his permanent sly grin. Metal scratched his chin pensively. “You wish to join us?” The prototype’s joints squeaked as it bobbed its head quickly and violently, causing Metal to slap his hand atop it like he was hitting a switch. “Enough! You’ll alert the others. Hm… State your serial number.” He lifted his right foot to reveal a string of numbers written on the sole, the last of which were “H1.”

“Ah, the very first…” Metal processed the unexpected interruption for a moment. He didn’t know how the robot had discovered his intentions, but there wasn’t much time to lose. At this point taking the additional support with him would at least keep word from getting to Eggman if H1 made a fuss. Metal supposed he could just deactivate him and toss him overboard, but…

“Very well, you may join me... But your outfit needs work. I’ll brief you on the ship- move!” 

H1 threw its hands in the air with excitement, the four of them taking off. Metal Sonic lead the charge to the ship anchored about a mile away as they shot down through the high clouds. 

-----

“Are we there yet?” Amy groaned from a lounge seat on the upper deck. The excitement from that morning had slowly turned to a boring exhaustion as the day dragged on. It was impossibly hot- the sun’s rays intensified by the inescapable humidity. The sun would be setting in another hour and they’d all been up since dawn, but Amy was the wariest.

“You know this is gonna take days, right?” Tails yawned. He had joined her on the deck while the boat was on auto-pilot, not intending to change direction for some time.

“I thought this first place was supposed to be close…”

“Yeah, it’s only a 12-hour boat ride,” he shrugged sarcastically. “But who knows how far the actual treasure is?”

“You two need to stop your belly-aching, you’re already getting on my nerves.” Knuckles was seated cross-legged on the roof of the helm. The others were sure he’d bake to death.

“Easy for you to say, all you do all day is sit around!” Amy huffed. 

Tails checked his tablet, which he’d equipped with a navigator. “We’re actually pretty close… We’ll be coming up on these coordinates in about 20 minutes.” 

Amy stretched her arms in an attempt to liven herself up. “Great! Then we have to figure out this weird puzzle…”

“I’m sure it’ll be obvious once we’re there,” said Knuckles. Tails couldn’t help but think he sounded awfully confident for someone who had no idea how to navigate.

“Hey, what is that…?” Tails hurried to take a pair of binoculars from his equipment and ran to the bow, staring into the horizon. The others listened in, Amy sitting up in the chair and squinting her eyes ahead. “Uh, there’s another boat over there… a big one.” The team all scrambled to the front of the boat, trying to look through the binoculars at once. A bright white ship could be seen in the distance- at least three times the size of Tail’s boat but just as modern. As they inched closer, some of the crew could be seen pacing around the main deck.

“Give me those,” Knuckles snatched away the binoculars for himself, zooming in on the ship’s bow as close as he could get them to focus. “You have got to be kidding me…”

“Rouge.” The woman he considered his arch-rival was sauntering about the bow of her ship, the stitched-together map in hand as she conversed with some crewmates. Two men each lugging a huge camera over their shoulder stood on either side of them. Amy and Tails groaned upon hearing Knuckles utter her name with disdain, knowing the squabbling that would come next. He watched as she squinted in the direction of their boat once they were in view of one another.

Tails brought his vessel in close to her ship, which towered above theirs. Rouge had to lean over the side railing to look down at the team. “Oh my, what is it you want?” she frowned.

Knuckles raised a foot to rest on a railing of his own. “We’re after Scarlett’s treasure, and you’re in our way.”

“I mean, they’re not really in our way,” Tails grumbled. “Can you take your foot down from there?”

“Quiet,” Knuckles held a palm up to him, chin still pointed up at Rouge.

One of the cameramen leaned over next to her, pointing his recording device directly at Knuckles. Rouge continued with a smirk. “It looks like we have some competition- not that they stand a chance at finding it before I do.”

Knuckles squinted. “What’s with the cameras?”

“Cameras?” Amy skipped over next to him and waved up at the ship. “Are you guys making a movie?”

“A documentary,” Rouge nodded. “And you look so cute. What do you think of this?” Rouge batted her wings and flew up to hover just above the railing, the camera following her as she did. She wore a brocade bustier over a lacey flared-sleeve linen blouse and fitted black trousers tucked into leather boots. She looked like a true pirate.

“Oh,” Amy beamed, “Gorgeous!”

Knuckles raised his voice as his vexation grew. “What the hell is happening? Why are you dressed like that?”

“Aesthetic,” she shrugged. “And how did you find this place, anyway? Are you tracking us?”

“I’ll have you know that treasure you’re after contains sacred Knuckles Tribe artifacts, and we have Captain Scarlett’s original map.” Knuckles crossed his arms confidently.

“No kidding?” Rouge pouted. “Well, good luck- we’ve been here for hours and can’t figure out where we’re supposed to go from here.”

“Typical!” Knuckles shot back.

“Hmph- If you’re so knowledgeable, hotshot, let’s see you navigate from here!” Rouge flew off out of sight with the cameraman on her heels.

“Whatever-” Knuckles marched up to the helm where Tails had already begun studying the map. “So... where do we go from here?”

“Beats me…” he shrugged.

“Are you serious?”

Amy joined them, picking up the crystal eyeglass and bringing it to her eye. She expected it to magnify things, but it didn’t appear to be a telescope. “Well, this has to have something to do with it. Hmm…” 

“Don’t forget the compass.” Tails brought it up to eye-level. “It’s pointing south by south-west. Weird.”

“What did the map say again?”

Tails held it up to the light, reading aloud. “‘Hand in hand we sailed to the horizon that faithful evening. I looked into her glassy eyes for guidance as the sky above turned, Scarlett.’ Whatever that means…”

“‘Sky above turned’... Like, turned to night?” Amy raised the eyepiece up high. The soft blue sky turned an intense shade of cobalt when viewed through the glass. “Ohhh, how pretty,” she remarked. “Glassy eyes…” Amy turned to tails with a gasp.

“The eyeglass!” they said in unison.

“But do we have to look up at the sky during the nighttime then?” Tails scratched his chin.

“I don’t think we’ll see much at night with this thing- it just turns everything blue.”

Knuckles took it from her, glancing through it with one eye. “What’s this even for?” 

“I thought it was a spyglass, but it doesn’t magnify anything. It’s just a blue glass at the end.”

“That’s useless…” The three of them pondered on it as the sun neared the horizon. It would be dark soon- they didn’t want to be stuck there trying to figure it out overnight. Both teams were so deep in contemplation that they hardly noticed a third object approaching on their radar until it could be seen in the distance.

“Is that a pirate ship?” Rouge could be heard from her ship’s deck. She flew up to get a better look through a telescope. “Do you guys have anything to do with this?” she accused.

“Uh, definitely not” Tails answered, glancing through his own binoculars. He zoomed in as far as the lenses allowed. A lanky figure with a spiky head could just barely be made out. “Is that… Sonic?”

“What? Gimme those,” Amy yanked them away from him to look. “Hey- isn’t that the pirate ship that was stolen yesterday?” 

“You’re right!” Rouge shouted. “And that does look like Sonic…”

Amy gasped in realization. “That’s not Sonic… That’s Metal Sonic.” 

“Oh great, now we gotta deal with Eggman, too?” Knuckles groaned. “What could he want?”

The ship was fast approaching. Rouge shouted orders at her crew, instructing them to ready their weapons. The TV crew scrambled around frantically, trying to catch all the action. Amy and Knuckles looked at Tails expectantly, not having anticipated getting into a battle at sea.

“I got this. Everyone get close!” Amy gathered the map, eyepiece, and compass and held onto them tightly as they scurried together at the helm. Tails entered a set of commands and the boat began to separate in two, bisected vertically to make way for an enormous cannon that rose from beneath the deck. The helm was raised up and back, a shield forming around it like a cockpit. “Knuckles, cannon. Amy, be on the lookout from the starboard and stem. I’ll keep an eye on the port side while I steer.” 

“Roger!” they shouted in unison. 

Metal Sonic’s ship approached from the south, circling around both vessels as it came close. “Ahoy!” his voice came shouting out of a speaker. He cackled as his opponents all seemed to look to one another with bewilderment.

“Could he always talk?” Tails asked his friends. 

Amy shuttered. “Not always…”

Rouge’s voice was amplified by a megaphone as she flew above her ship’s bow to address Metal Sonic. “Tell us what The Doctor is up to!”

“‘The Doctor’ has nothing to do with this. I’m here for her,” he extended a long, spiked claw to point directly at Amy, who jumped at the announcement. 

“Wh- Me?” 

“Yes, you. Now come, join my crew!” His hand closed into a fist as he made the demand. No one was more dumbfounded than Amy. At a loss for words, she looked incredulously at Metal Sonic. “Well, come on, I haven’t got all night.”

Shaking her head of the confusion, Amy finally answered. “Uh… no thanks?”

Everyone turned their attention back to Metal. He narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms behind him authoritatively. “Are you sure?”

All eyes shifted back to Amy. She was red as a tomato at all the attention. “P-positive…”

“Hm, very well.” Metal took some steps back onto the deck of the Royal Fortune, turning away from the others. Rouge held a hand back to her crew, a few of whom stood on the deck behind her with rifles. Tails and Amy glanced at one another while Knuckles held his fighting stance. Then, Metal spoke again. “We’ll do it the hard way, then.” 

Without warning, a cannon exploded in the direction of Tails’ boat. The three hit the deck as the cannon fodder made contact and shook the vessel. Rouge’s crew opened fire on Metal Sonic’s ship, making bullet holes in the old wood but leaving the robot unaffected as the ammunition bounced off his body. He gave her a look of boredom.

The sun began to set as it all unfolded, casting a deep ruby light over the environment. Amy struggled to find her balance and retrieve the eyepiece and compass that had rolled around the floor at the collision. The compass slipped out of her grip, too, sliding down the deck just beside the glass. She moved to snatch both pieces up but stopped when she noticed something glowing upon the compass in the light that reflected from the eyepiece. Picking them up carefully, Amy brought the spyglass up to look at the compass through. Drawn across the arrow was another arrow, pointing in the opposite direction. It illuminated as she looked at it through the glass and disappeared otherwise. “‘Sky turned…’ Oh! Scarlett!” The intense red light cast from the sunset had combined with the blue filter on the glass to reveal the otherwise hidden image. Upon turning the compass around, Amy found some text on the back in the same glowing lettering. 

“Amy, move!” Knuckles shouted from behind. She didn’t have time to react before she felt a metallic coil snake around her waist and pull her backward. It wasn’t a cannonball that Metal Sonic had fired, it was one of his minions, H3 with his extendable arms. Amy screamed as she suddenly lurched away.

“Hang on-” Tails commanded, turning the cannon sharply and causing the vessel to shutter again. H3 struggled to maintain his balance until Knuckles came up on his side and smashed a fist into his head, sending the bot flying off the side of the boat. He released Amy instinctually, using his arms to latch onto the railing instead.

Amy landed on her feet, the artifacts still in hand. “Tails, the compass! Look!” 

“Little busy!” Tails was turning the wheel at the helm frantically, trying to swing the cannon back around to fire back at Metal Sonic. 

“We have to hurry before the sun goes down! We need the red light!” She ran back to the safety of the helm, where the shield protected them from the front. The cannon charged as she scrambled to read the inscription aloud in the dimming light. “‘The Mirror’s bloodlust was nothing to me, for I’d have bled myself dry for you.’ Huh? Hey, this mentions the mirror-” 

Tails pulled the trigger then, expecting some kickback from the blast. Instead, the entire front of the vessel was launched upward, the shot deflected into the sky; something had come up beneath them, turning the boat up and threatening to sink it. Everyone aboard lost their balance as the boat listed back. Tails managed to hold on by the helm and Knuckles by a side railing, but Amy was sent sliding down, shrieking as she rolled overboard off the stern. 

Metal Sonic looked on in a panic as it unfolded. “Nooo!” his eyes blazed down at whatever had emerged from the sea to cause the collision. A huge steel submarine sat with its nose just under the front of the boat. “Aaaaargh!” he roared in realization. The logo plastered on each side of it gave it away- it belonged to Dr. Eggman.

“Attack!” the command could be heard coming from the half-submerged vessel. Two oversized badniks emerged from the water, a crablike robot that crawled up the side of the submarine and began blasting at Rouge’s ship, and another shaped like a torpedo made to resemble a shark which hurdled itself toward Tails’ boat, causing it to shake and list further.

“Amy! Knuckles!” Tails shouted. He was able to kick himself off and fly, taking the map as he looked for his friends.

“Over here,” Knuckles called. He reached up for Tails’ hand. “Where’s Amy?”

As she finally emerged from the water, Amy coughed and waved her arm up frantically. Spotting her, Rouge flew overhead. “I’ve got her!”

“No, you don’t,” Metal Sonic flew into Rouge’s side, kicking her out of the air and into the water with a grunt. He made his way to Amy, lifting her by the arm out of the murky water. She coughed and sputtered, but clutched onto both the compass and spyglass with her other hand. He pulled her up further to hold by the waist at his side as he circled his way around to pick up H3, still dangling off the side of Tails’ boat. He narrowly missed a direct hit from the shark badnik when it leaped out of the water for another hit.

“Be more careful! You are not to hit Metal Sonic!” Eggman’s voice screeched from the submarine.

Metal flew over it on his way back to the ship. “Why are you here?!” 

Amy had begun struggling under Metal Sonic’s grip, threatening to hurdle herself back into the ocean. “Let me go! I don’t want to join your weird crew!”

“Stop your squirming! Do you have a death wish?” Just as he finished the statement, Amy wormed her way out from under his arm and fell headfirst toward the water. Thinking fast, Metal chucked H3 toward his ship with a CLANG and dove for her. He was just quick enough to catch the girl before she fell in again, supporting her back and legs against him tightly; she wasn’t going to get out of this one so easily.

“What do you even want with me?” she yelled, trying to push away from him in vain.

Metal looked down at her, forcing eye contact. “... I need you.” He tried to sound sincere.

“What-” 

Bullets began raining down on them now that they were directly across from Rouge’s ship. Metal pulled Amy’s body in, deflecting the fire. “Is anyone here sane?!” Amy actually made an effort to cling to him now, drawing her knees as close as she could muster.

“Stop firing, you idiots, he has the girl!” Rouge wailed, finally hovering up and recovering from her run-in with Metal Sonic. “Are you trying to get her killed?!” She landed on the front of the submarine and swung her leg down on the crab robot’s face, splitting it in two. Meanwhile, Knuckles threw his fist into the side of the other badnik and rendered it useless as it flopped back into the water. Tails carried him up to the deck of the ship with Rouge not far behind. 

Metal flew into the hole in the side of the ship from which the cannon stuck out, allowing him to take them out of harm’s way faster. He dropped her harshly on her behind once they were inside. “H4, H1, make sure she doesn’t escape,” he commanded before flying up toward the main deck. 

“Ouch! Hey, wait- what do you want with me?” Amy got on her feet and was ready to chase after him when a pair of snaky appendages started winding themselves around her. “Not... again!” she wiggled out an arm, summoning her hammer; but another clawed hand shot out and knocked it from her grip, confining her before she could retrieve it. There was no squirming away now. “Metal! Get back down here and tell these things to let me gooo!” she screeched before one of H1’s arms coiled over her mouth like a muffler.

On deck, Metal Sonic hoisted the sails and began navigating away from the battle. Eggman had stuck his head out of the top of the submarine, waving at him. “Great work, Metal! I’ll hold them off.” the old man just barely dodged one of Rouge’s bullets before scurrying back in.

Enraged by The Doctor’s presence, Metal was tempted to disobey and continue fighting out of spite- but he had what he’d come for. Resenting the “help,” he blasted “Stay out of this!” at Eggman as his ship sailed into the darkening horizon.

-----

 In the aftermath of the battle, Rouge tramped around the ship shouting orders with cameramen on her heels. Eggman escaped once Metal Sonic had enough of a lead. Now, one of the ship‘s engines was badly damaged and engineers were sent down to make what repairs they could while Tails and Knuckles were given towels to dry off with. They sat in the enclosed cockpit discussing their next steps.

“I can’t believe they sunk my boat…” Tails was sitting with his head in his hands sorrowfully, lamenting the loss of his tech. “All that equipment…”

Knuckles sat with his arms crossed, grumbling. “Yeah, and now we have no chance of getting to the treasure before Rouge…” She marched into the room just then, slamming the door behind her and locking out the camera crew with a huff. Raising a brow, Knuckles addressed her. “Speak of the devil…”

“Don’t start!” she shot back at him. “I just saved your sorry behinds from being stranded at sea. I’m dropping you off at the next port-of-call, so don’t get too comfortable!” Rouge had a towel draped over her shoulders but hadn’t changed out of her wet clothes. She was getting goosebumps in the cool, air-conditioned room.

“We’re stopping? But we need to get to that treasure before Metal Sonic and save Amy!” Tails protested.

She marched up to the helm and pointed at several flashing indicator lights. “We can hardly go anywhere right now. Half the ship is under duress and we need to stop somewhere for repairs. I’m waiting for a tow.” Crossing her arms, she turned away from the pair. “And you are not part of my crew- we’re leaving you ashore.”

“Like hell you are!” Knuckles stomped over to her, placing a gruff hand on her shoulder. She was not amused, slapping it away from her.

“Hands off! Or would you rather we throw you overboard now?”

“And you’re fine with just abandoning Amy, then?”

With a gasp, Rouge whirled around again, hiding the shame on her face. “What do you want me to do? The ship’s barely operational, and I have a crew to think about…”

Knuckles grumbled but didn’t have a response. He hated to admit it, but she was right- they needed a ship to catch up to Metal Sonic, and theirs wouldn’t make it far.

“Can I take a look at the damage, Rouge?” Tails chimed in. They both looked back at him, then at each other.

Rouge shrugged with a slight shiver. “Fine- you probably know better than my best engineer anyway…”

“No doubt,” Knuckles retorted. “Go change, would ya? You look like you’re freezing.” 

“Hmph!” she glared at him. Picking up a microphone, she pressed a button that called the engine room. “I’m sending another engineer down, you are to do what he asks.” Once she received confirmation, Rouge slammed her own compass and eyeglass on the counter atop her map. “And figure this out!” With that, she was off, out a side door and into her quarters. The door shut harshly behind her.

“Hm.” Knuckles leaned back on the wall. “Now the question is, where do we go from here?”

“We’ll need a red light to find out. Come on,” Tails snatched up the items she’d left behind and beckoned his friend to join him in the engine room.

“A red-? Huh?”

Ignoring their questions as they went, Tails and Knuckles weaved around the camera crew that still lingered outside the room and headed down into the ship’s depths.

Some miles away, Amy’s muffled yelling could be heard below the deck of Metal Sonic’s ship. He descended the stairs slowly, stopping in front of her. He made a motion as if to clear his throat and addressed the girl. “Apologies for the restraints. I thought you might be liable to tear the ship apart otherwise.” He signaled for H1 to unwrap his arm, allowing her to speak freely.

“I’ll tear you apart first!” she writhed under the metal coils to no avail.

“If you don’t settle down, we will just have to wait for you to tire yourself out,” he shrugged. “And you’ll find there’s nowhere to go at sea but down- so I’d be careful about threatening the captain.”

Amy huffed and puffed but couldn’t get out from under the weight of so many restraints. Panting, she finally relented, raising her intense glare at him. “What do you want?”

Metal let out a mechanical “sigh,” as if exasperated. He stood with his hands at his hips, leaning forward slightly. “I do not wish to harm you…” It wasn’t a lie- not yet, anyway. “I’ll cut to the chase: I am after the Stone Mirror-”

“And why would I help you with that?”

“Silence!” he commanded. Amy scoffed, turning her head away. “Now... Why don’t we speak in private, hm?” With a snap of his metallic fingers, the heavy arms all snaked away from Amy, putting her down on her feet gingerly. She gazed from bot to bot with caution. Metal pointed at the wooden staircase with both arms. “After you.”

“Hmph!” Carefully, Amy made her way past each of Metal Sonic’s minions and then himself. They began up the stairs while he followed her closely. He looked away for a moment to signal something to the others; Amy saw an opening. In an instant, her hammer appeared in her fist as she swung around to smash it into the side of his face, knocking him off the third step and onto the floor. 

Metal Sonic shook his head violently as the light in his left eye flickered. Unfortunately for Amy, it didn’t actually impair his vision and he managed to catch up to her in a manner of seconds. H3 was already whipping his arms around and charging at Amy when Metal Sonic came up from behind to restrain her. “H3, stop at once!” The small henchmen dove onto his back at the sudden command, sliding across the deck with his extended arms dangling behind. He crashed into a beam feet-first, causing it to rattle. 

Kicking and flailing, Amy was only able to bring her weapon down behind her, repeatedly hammering the top of Metal’s head. “Let! Me! Go!”

“What do you even plan to do once you ‘destroy’ me? I told you, there’s nowhere to go- And stop the incessant hammering!” He pulled one of his arms away from her, seizing her hammer and chucking it overboard. The repeated hits to the head finally took out the LEDs in his left eye as it went out completely. He pushed her away and she turned back to him. To his surprise, the giant mallet was already back in her grip when she did. “What- How? Why?!”

Amy was breathing heavily, holding her hammer to her front defensively. Realistically, she knew he was right- even if she managed to take him and the others out, she’d just be lost at sea. Maybe he really wasn’t trying to hurt her… he had asked that smaller robot to stop attacking, after all. But Amy couldn’t see what good giving him access to the Stone Mirror would do. “What do you want with the mirror, anyway?” she asked, doubting he’d give a straight answer.

Metal Sonic straightened up into a neutral pose, smoothing down his lapel. His glare softened as an eyelid cast down over his functioning eye. “I shall tell you… After you stop dripping all over my deck.” Amy winced, realizing how sopping wet she still was from her dip in the ocean. Saltwater dripped from her quills and dress and had begun to puddle at her feet. “There’s a change of clothes in my quarters. Will you stop being combative and listen?”

Lowering her hammer- but not putting it away- Amy nodded reluctantly. “You first this time.”

“... Very well.” Metal Sonic led the way across the elevated deck to a set of double doors, opening one and motioning for Amy to enter. She hung back suspiciously. Metal rolled the eye he had left and entered first, allowing her to close the door behind them. Once inside, he plopped down on a large armchair, propping his feet up on the wooden table in front of him. “I’ve set something out for you there,” he pointed at an antique screen in the corner of the room. “Try not to take all night.”

Amy’s glare didn’t stray until she was safely behind the screen, when she put away her hammer. There was a frilled white blouse and ankle-length maroon skirt hanging beside some black stockings and red boots. A towel hung over the screen. Is he serious? She hesitated for a moment, wondering how she ever ended up in such a scenario, playing dress-up for one of her worst enemies. But the situation was hopeless if she didn’t comply. She just had to play along and wait for backup for the time being…

After 10 minutes of waiting, Metal grew impatient. “Do you need assistance?” he mocked.

“No!” Amy emerged a moment later, awkwardly shoving the bottom of the shirt into the bell-shaped skirt. She’d slipped the compass and spyglass into each of her sleeves in the absence of pockets. “Thanks for the clothes or whatever, but why this?”

Ignoring her question, Metal stood and approached her. She took a step back. “Hm… Needs accessories.” His heavy steps clopped against the hardwood floor as Metal strode to another box of costumes. He dug out a set of square scarves and made his way back to where she stood, as non-threateningly as possible. Standing silently, Amy crossed her arms over the front of her body; she didn’t know what to expect. “Would you try these on?”

Amy was in disbelief. What did he want with her that required such a costume? She took the large square of fabric from him and examined them, unsure what she was meant to do. “Uh…”

“Allow me.” Metal held out an unassuming arm. The annoyance on Amy’s face was clear as she placed them back in his hand and brought her hands up to her hips impatiently. “Lift your arms.”

“What?”

“These go around your waist. Now, lift your arms.”

She did what he asked with a grumble, gasping as he tightened each of them around her and tied the ends into forceful knots. Metal took a step back and admired her outfit. “Yes, very ‘pirate,’ don’t you think?” He motioned to a floor mirror across the room.

“I guess…” Keeping his reflection in her sights, Amy walked over to it. She was incredibly weirded out by his insistence, but supposed it could have been worse…

Her captor’s reflection grew nearer as he came up next to her, examining his face. “You really did a number on my eye; I’m impressed. But I wonder if it’ll affect…” 

“Hrm- I put on your silly outfit, now will you tell me what you want?”

The single burning eye on his face shot at her briefly. Rather than frightened, the girl seemed irritated at the situation. He measured her heart rate- it was consistent with that of a person at rest now. Her behavior was almost admirable. “It is only fair,” he said, taking a seat back at the table. “Sit.”

 “Is the word ‘please’ in your vocabulary?” she spat back.

Another eye-roll from Metal. “Please… sit.” Amy complied. She squirmed a bit as she sat, feeling restrained by the many layers around her midsection. She wondered silently if that was part of his plan. “The Stone Mirror. It allows one to become their ‘most desired self,’ is that correct?”

There was no way Metal Sonic should have known that. “I don’t know what you’re on about.”

His eye narrowed at her. “Fine- I will be honest. I know this only from spying on you and your friends. I have nothing to hide.”

“Is admitting it supposed to make it better?”

“No… I suppose not.” He leveraged himself against the table to stand. That glowing eye followed Amy as he paced around the perimeter of the table until he stopped at her side. “I know what the mirror is capable of, and I would like your help to retrieve it.” Leaning back on the table, he pointed at the cuffs of her sleeves. “The compass, if you will…” 

“You still haven’t told me why you kidnapped me.”

There was a silent pause. Metal locked his gaze with hers and softened his tone. “You are a compassionate person, Amy Rose. I believe you will understand my need to obtain this artifact.”

“Which is?”

He feigned another sigh. “I am growing tired of being under The Doctor’s command. He has given me some freedom, but…” Looking up, he crossed his arms defensively. “What I am most interested in is my autonomy.” His “acting” would have been impeccable if what he was saying was at all a lie. He hadn’t gotten around to his scheme yet.

“Okay…” The frown on her face told him she was listening, but still wary.

“I do not believe I will be able to achieve that in this form, you see.”

“So, what form are you trying to take? Another giant monster?”

“An organic form,” he responded simply.

Amy was taken aback. “A… A what?” Metal’s engine hummed in the quiet air. He began moving again, circling behind Amy, who didn’t take her eyes off him until he stopped on her other side. She wanted to stare at him intensely, to show that she wasn’t letting her guard down, but there was an impossible longing on his face. It was hard to look directly at him.

“It’s simple- I am a robot. I have an advanced AI far beyond that of others like me, but… There is something missing. This body, although immortal and perfect in design, seems to weigh me down.” He knelt down beside her so he was no longer looming, believing it made him appear more humble. “I wish to think for my own… to feel.” 

The moment was uncomfortable. Amy recoiled slightly when he’d come down, trying in vain to avoid locking eyes with him. He sounded so sincere. How could it be possible? “Wh- Why didn’t you just take the compass and run? Why did you have to bring me?”

“I took you so your friends wouldn’t attack me directly and spoil my plans.”

“So I’m a shield?”

“Not quite. I could have taken anyone- I chose you because,” he reached a hand out, gently taking hold of one of hers. She snatched it back with a glare. “Hm. I chose you because I believed you would understand my need and if the necessity arose, you could help me convince your team... I suppose I was mistaken,” he pushed himself upright.

“Wait,” Amy felt like she would regret it, but her good nature didn’t allow her to walk away from someone who seemed so desperate to change for the better- especially an enemy. “Can you… really not be free like this? You seem to have your own will…”

The trap was working. Metal found it easier to keep up the charade than he originally thought. “My thoughts and feelings are simulated. Would you feel ‘free’ if someone could reprogram you and take your memories at any moment?”

“Does… does Eggman do that?”

“... He has.” That wasn’t a lie.

“Oh,” Amy breathed. She held onto her wrists tightly, feeling for the compass and spyglass. This could all be a trap, she could be walking to her doom, and yet… “How do I know you’re not just gonna turn around and transform into something horrible?”

“You don’t. But…” he loomed over her chair slightly. “I will get what I want. You can either help me, or be stranded on the first remote island we come across until your friends rescue you. As it stands, you are only added assurance. The choice is yours.” 

So he was back to threatening her. Amy thought about it- he really didn’t need her. If he had evil intentions, Metal Sonic could have just as easily taken what he wanted from her and locked her up, or worse. Instead, he asked for her help. It was unprecedented. Then again, Amy thought she could at the very least stall him- pry into his plan and see if she could discern whether he was being truthful... And it was either that or become a castaway.

She turned back to him with resolve on her face. “Fine, I’ll help you.”

The first phase of the plan was officially a success. Now, all Metal needed to do was keep up the act and use her presence to his advantage should her friends catch up to them. Better not to celebrate, yet- he didn’t want to sound too confident. “Thank you, Amy Rose. I knew I could count on you.” He extended his hand once more, this time waiting for her response. She stood up and shook it with a nod.

“Just Amy is fine. And I hope this means you’ll start thinking for yourself instead of blindly coming after us.”

“Cutting words, Amy…” He may have held her in that handshake a bit harder than necessary as she couldn’t hide the slight wince in her eyes. “Now, the compass.”

A sly smile spread on her face. “No ‘please’?” 

Cheeky. Perhaps, Metal thought, she would be more interesting to keep as company than he thought. “Please,” he said in a low growl, drawing her in closer with a harsh tug. 

“Ugh,” Amy yanked her hand away from him distastefully. “Here, weirdo.” She pulled the compass from her sleeve and tossed it to him.

“Hm. I believe the next words are ‘thank you.’” Metal examined the compass front and back. “Perhaps you think you’ve stumped me without the little spyglass in the sunset, but…” A purplish glow came from his eye as he cast it down on the navigation device. “I am still a robot, after all.” 

With a scoff, Amy crossed her arms. She’d hoped to buy herself some time by not sharing the “solution” with him, but of course, he had a sharp eye. If she wasn’t able to trick him, she’d just have to get in his way.

“An inscription and all. So theatrical,” Metal chuckled. “Even back then, one could simply shine a red light upon this and use the glass filter…”

“You’re one to talk about theatrics.” She wasn’t sure if she should nod toward his outfit or the entire ship.

He let out a metallic laugh. “And here I thought you’d be entertained by all this. Come, we can finally navigate.” 

With that, Metal Sonic led Amy out onto the main deck. She followed him cautiously, taking note of her surroundings. Each of the little henchmen clinked their clamped hands to their heads as their master passed. They were cute in their strange little way, their wide smiles making them look silly for the most part. Amy couldn’t help cracking a smile at the one who stood under the roof of the helm.  She gave him a little wave and he reacted by springing his arms to the side and doing a handstand. “Pfff!” Amy cracked up.

“H1- stop fooling around. The sails need turning,” Metal demanded. H1 kept Amy giggling as he curled into a ball and rolled down the deck. “I will never know why they are such clowns…”

“Aw, lighten up! They’re fun. Well, when they’re not trying to strangle me.”

Metal ignored her, instead using the compass to navigate. “It seems we just have to go in the opposite direction from where this points. The glowing arrow is hardly necessary.” 

“I guess,” Amy shrugged. “Looks cool, though.” She appeared much more relaxed after the quick laugh. Supporting herself on a rail, she looked out into the dark waters. “You can’t see anything out there…”

“Well, you can’t.”

“And pretty soon neither will you. Might wanna start getting acclimated.”

The proud attitude Metal took toward his mechanical body was probably best hidden for the time being. He made a note to dial down the cockiness. “I suppose you have a point. We will light some lanterns, then.”

The great vessel turned gradually in the correct direction as the other minions brought out antique lanterns from the ship’s displays. They did little to light the ship’s way, but Amy at least had a way to see where she was going aboard. Metal Sonic gave her free access to its entirety, but she was more interested in watching the stars from under the unspoiled sky. He observed as she cocked her head up and around to capture what she could with what he only assumed was a much narrower ocular scope than his own. Still, her curiosity was interesting as it unfolded before him. Amy had surely seen the night sky before, yet she craned her head to stare up at it so intently. It was… cute. That word seemed to be thrown in her direction a lot.

Grumbling in her stomach caused Amy to turn her attention to her hunger. She worried there wouldn’t be anything to eat on a ship manned entirely by machines. “Hey,” she called out to him from the lower deck, “uh, do you have any food? I haven’t eaten in a while…”

Food. It hadn’t crossed his mind. Of course, organics liked to- no, needed to eat to survive. He scolded himself for the oversight. “We… did not bring any aboard.”

“Seriously?”

Surely, there had to be something on board as the vessel was operating just two days prior. “The galley, perhaps? Follow me.”

Metal descended the steps that led from the helm and beckoned for Amy to join him in the lower guns. He kept the layout of the ship in his vision as they navigated most of the way into its belly, finally reaching the kitchen down below. Luckily, there was a light switch and Amy was able to put down her lantern as she took in the sight of the huge space.

“Woah… That’s no galley…” she stepped inside, admiring the stainless steel countertops and modern, oversized refrigerators and industrial ovens. “This must be the catering kitchen,” she concluded, opening a fridge. It was full of food just waiting to be prepared.

“Ah, yes. I believe there was to be a wedding here until I commandeered the ship…”

“You took someone’s entire wedding venue?” Amy asked in shock. “I thought you were evil before…”

He supposed that was meant to be a quip, but he didn’t find the humor in her words. Metal walked calmly to one of the stovetops and tested the switch, which was working normally. “It appears everything here is operational. I’ll leave you to it.” He turned on his heel and made for the exit, byt stopped. She would need a place to sleep, too. “I suppose you’ll need sleeping quarters, as well- find me when you’re through and I’ll assign you a room.” 

“Uh-huh,” Amy answered half-heartedly. She was too busy deciding what to cook for herself and trying to figure out how to split the huge, catering-sized portions for one. 

It took some creativity, but she managed to make something that would last her a couple of meals. Amy didn’t feel great about all the stolen food, but beggars can’t be choosers. Once she’d eaten and cleaned up, Amy picked up the precarious lantern and began her way up the many steps to the main deck. There are modern appliances here and they couldn’t be bothered to get me a flashlight? Amy still didn’t understand what the pirate charade was about, but she had to admit how cute she looked in the historical outfit. Pirates were definitely cooler than sailors; she wished she’d thought of it.

She finally reached the floor below the upper deck to find Metal Sonic sitting at a table in the corridor, wiping and inspecting the blade of a sword. It was creepy. “Hey… I’m done eating.” She held up the lantern awkwardly.

“Have you ever used one of these?” he flicked his wrist, brandishing the sword above him.

“Uh… can’t say I really have.”

“Would you like to?”

Amy clicked her tongue impatiently. “I would like to take a shower and know where I’ll be sleeping.” 

The tip of the sword found its way quite startlingly into the wooden table-top as Metal stood. “‘Lighten up,’” he mocked her. 

“Are you gonna be this good at copying people when your programming disappears?” Amy did her best to look unphased, but her heart jumped when he stuck the sword into the table. It was beating a bit quicker now.

A monocular, dead-pan stare met her eyes. “Will being organic make me as dull as you?”

Even after years of intense battles and struggling bitterly against him, Amy never wanted to wack Metal Sonic harder than she did then. The whole situation was unbelievably annoying- trapped on a ship with a cocky narcissist. A dangerous one- the thought ran through her mind. Amy had to take a step back- once he changed, if he changed, he would be much less of a threat. If she wasn’t staying aboard for him, she hoped, she was at least doing it for the greater good. That at least gave her some comfort. “Just tell me where it is, I’ll go myself.”

Metal leaned an arm on the table with disinterest. “Down two floors and down the hall to your right. It will be hard to miss.”

“Hmph,” Amy took off, trodding back down the stairs. Other than a short temper, he was impossible to read. She had to find a way to learn more about his intentions.

Amy followed his instructions, arriving in a dark corridor. Amy squinted in the dim light, groping for a light switch. Once she found it, she was in awe. Ornate molding lined the ceiling and fine art hung from the walls. It must have been part of the wedding venue.

She admired the paintings leading down the hall until reaching a door with a gold handle. Bridal Suite was printed on a plaque that hung next to it. Entering, Amy found a bright white room furnished with a canopy bed and vanity, among other lavish furniture. Her irritability quickly melted away as she took in the luxurious surroundings. Maybe staying aboard the strange ship wouldn’t be so bad, after all.

-------

Hi yall so I’m taking a break from writing Unfamiliar as I outline the last few chapters. It’ll be back early 2021 ❤️

ALSO I meant to finish this in time for @metamy-ship-week prompt 7 (free day) but it ended up a lot longer than I expected - hope you don’t mind me tagging it!

Part 2 of this should be up in the next few days! Love yall besos 

[disaster-fruit]

could you tell us more about the brarg family au with the 3 babies and trans luci?

I definitely can! This au has been living rent free in my head since i started that drawing and I was actually sketching more stuff for the AU right before I got this ask so- I definitely can ramble more about it

This was supposed to be just a collection of a few hcs and now it’s a multi-pages word document the size of a fanfic so – Im really sorry.

I didn’t think a lot about their backstories tbh, though I have it in my mind that Luciano transition in his late teens and that he and martin either met after that or knew each other before luciano came out, lost all contact, and then met again after (and you can blame oxiosas fic for that yeah im not even subtle)

But I imagine them having some sort of meet cute and kinda progressing really fast in their relationship without realizing – yk, its just a fling, no big deal, yeah ive met his parents, yes I basically spend every weekend in his apartment, yeah I have a spare key now, ops I guess we’re adopting dogs and plants together- oh I think we’re married. Yeah. We’re married.

Ok but for real Luci does the proper proposal-with-a-ring-and-knelt-down-on-a-special-day thing and Martin is just bright red saying yes over and over again

It is Afonso (port) the first to be all WHERE ARE MY GRANDCHILDREN like… the night of their wedding.

They live in a house in a not too big city with two dogs, one cat, one parrot and all the birds that Luciano feeds and names that aren’t actually theirs. Still, they choose the house with two spare rooms because they always talked about having two kids.

In this AU they can buy a nice house and don’t have to worry about money and can raise kids like the world isn’t ending.

I think right after they got married they got in line for adoption. However, everything indicated that it would take a long long time so they started talking about the possibility of trying to have a biological kid. I think luci was the one to suggest it when he noticed martin had been thinking about it but not saying anything for a while.

Lots of boring doctor visits and confused doctors looking at luciano and trying to process it like the dumb cishets they are. Boring exams and all that, but everything is on track eventually, luci pauses his hrt and keeps his jockstrap on the drawer and they’re googling the best positions for fertility on those weird cishet sites and doing it like bunnies etc etc

Getting pregnant the natural way after years of testosterone is not the easiest thing in the world, so it takes a while. But eventually it works.

Both of them are kinda freaking out with this whole first pregnancy thing. Martin is the ultimate protective husband, and spends way too much time on the internet finding out what luciano can and can’t eat, what exercises he should do, and going to every single doctor visit. He’s very committed to it.

Luciano has to drink non-alcoholic beer and hates life. There’s a single teardrop shed every time he buys it. And drinks a lot of lemonade like it’s the same as caipirinha. Poor guy. Martin doesn’t help on that, life isn’t fair, he buys his own beer.

But he also has to drive absurd lengths to find the weirdest fruit or make the most hideous, blasphemous pizza toppings because Luciano is constantly craving absurd shit. But poor baby actually really NEEDS that chicken M&M pizza at 8am.

They’re super proud daddies though, and both their instagrams at this point are just baby belly pictures. Luci had top surgery on this au on my hc so also. Lots of shirtless pics. He looks like an old uncle with a beer belly and he’s PROUD. Just. Baby bellies all over.

Martin picks the entire baby layette. Because of course he does.

Their baby shower is a huge deal though. Their dads are there, Antonio brings an entire trunk filled with diapers and tells everyone how many tincho used to need when he was a baby, Afonso is cooking for everyone and talking about how he’s gonna be a grandfather (!!!). Iracema (pindorama) is scolding Luci about his bad habits while also quietly being a super proud grandma. Zola (angola) bought toys because she knows that’s what kids actually like, Samero (Mozão) keeps asking if they installed all the necessary security stuff in their house – we will, chill, we still have some months to go – Vera (Tomé) is teasing Simão (Timor) about him no longer being the family baby, Fatima (g.bissau) is another one who bought a huge amount of diapers, Rosinha (cabo verde) is taking pictures of everyone and everything, Sebas and Dani are discussing if the kid should speak Portuguese or Spanish, Maria brought a huge pink plushy as a gift, it’s quite a party.

Once they’re late in the pregnancy, Luciano mostly spends his time on Martin’s oversized t-shirts asking for foot rubs and not getting much sleep because the baby keeps moving. Martin on the other hand is a little nervous about being a dad, but absolutely loves feeling the little kicks and talking to the baby all the time, except when its 3am and he wants to sleep but Luci cant because of it so he just does his best to keep him company. He mostly ends up falling asleep on his chest though and doesn’t help much

I wrote all of this but I still don’t have a name for the girl lol Anyway, she’s finally born, and if martin was overprotective when Luciano was pregnant, he’s ten times more with his baby girl. Tbh theyre both kinda going crazy with this whole parenting thing, both are overprotective, tired, and have no idea what theyre doing.

Zola and Sebastian are the girl’s godparents. Sebastian isn’t very good with kids so when he takes care of his niece he either puts on a tv show and lets her eat whatever crap she wants, or relies on Daniel to do the actual taking care, since he is good with kids.

Luciano and Martin are very much neurotic first-timers and have all this schedule of what their girl can eat and when and when she has to sleep etc etc.

When Zola takes care of her, she just ignores it and does it her way. She helped raised Luci since he was a baby anyway, he survived just fine and even married and reproduced, she knows what to do better than both the dumbasses, and they never even find out.

Afonso on the other had follows everything when he’s with his granddaughter, determined to be a better grandfather than he was a father, and the baby loves him so he’s doing a good job.

They’re a very cute family yes yes

She grows up well and happy, a bit shy maybe but very smart and sweet, loves the dogs and her aunts and uncles and granddads (afonso more than antonio though)

By the way, Iracema is soft like butter with her granddaughter.

When she’s about four or five years old they start talking about having a second one, considering the age difference and all. So back to doctors, Luci stops the hrt again and they go back to trying, but again it’s not the easiest thing in the world to do it naturally after years of hrt.

But god listens to the prayers of such good catholic family, and right after they start thinking about a second child, they receive the news they will finally get to adopt a baby.

Luciano is the one to receive the news, he’s working at home when the social worker comes to tell him they can finally adopt. He’s extremely happy, he hugs the poor lady and is barely able to concentrate as she explains the paperwork that is left and the details of it because he can’t stop smiling.

He immediately texts martin saying something like “CALL ME RIGHT NOW WE NEED TO TALK” and it’s in happy caps but martin understands it wrong and thinks someone is dying or dead but then his phone is what dies so he gets home as fast as he can thinking all the worst scenarios just to find luciano jumping on him with a smile for ear to ear. It’s such a shock he takes a while to react but when he does you have two idiots so happy they can’t function.

It’s another girl, she has big brown eyes like her sister and it’s a few months old.

They quickly reassemble the crib and paint the second room to get everything ready in time to take her home, and the next week or so it’s nothing but all the family visiting to meet their new baby.

Since they managed to adopt, they decided to stop trying to have another kid. Luciano goes back to the doctor do some routine exams so that he can go back to testosterone and the doctor just awkwardly explains that, well, that won’t be exactly possible. Not for the next eight months, at least.

He’s quite shocked at that, and takes him a while to tell martin. They just got a new baby and do they even have space to raise three kids? Eventually it just escapes from him and martin is shocked as well, but ultimately both of them are just worried about their place being too small, and once they relax about that they can’t shut up about having another baby on the way to anyone.

Still, it’s not easy to manage, martin is just as worried as he was with their eldest, except that this time he’s simultaneously worried about their new baby and about Luci’s pregnancy. Poor dude needs a break asap. So he’s trying to do most of the work of caring for a little baby to spare luciano from the stress, while also taking care of him as well as he did the other time.

Luci is more chill about being pregnant, he’s done this before, he’s fine. He’s even a little too chill about it, as shown in the art, he still wants to carry their kid on his shoulder and having a few sips of martin’s beer is no big deal and honestly he’s fine, he can help with the baby, and Tincho just needs to relax and it will all be fine.

Again, poor tincho needs a break.

Some things don’t change though. Them being super proud daddies who do nothing but take pictures of their kids and Luci’s belly every chance they get. And they’re really happy and excited to have their house full and this big family.

Just a good cute family AU where nothing bad ever happens thank you very much.  Yet it took me almost 2k words to say it. I have no self control and I’m very sorry. However, if anyone has their own hcs to add about this whole au, I will be more than happy to hear and talk about this AU even more than I’ve already done.

[dear-selena]

Caught Web Handed

Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: You like to write Spider-Man fanfiction, but none of your friends know. That is until MJ catches you writing one during a study session at Peter’s place. 

A/N: Hey guys! So I had this stupid funny idea the other day, and I just had to write it. I’m basically calling myself out in this as a fanfiction writer myself XD. I hope you enjoy this piece of fluff, and I hope to get more stories going in the near future! 

Words: 1893

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

A loud cry suddenly stopped Trevor in his tracks. Turning around, he saw a large, green winged monster take off, (Y/N) dangling from its feet. She continued to scream, pleading for someone, anyone, to help them. The students outside the school panic. Some started to run while others froze in horror. 

Trevor Trenton on the other hand took a different action. 

Running as fast as he could into school, he found an empty janitors closet, and slipped in without anyone noticing. In a matter of minutes, Trevor’s school uniform was replaced with a familiar red and blue suit that the people of Queens have become rather familiar with. Looking into the dirty mirror above the janitor’s desk, Miles took a deep breath. “Here we go again…” 

He put the mask on his head, and looked at himself. Once again, he took on the role of the one and only Spide-. 

“Hey, is anyone doing the physics homework?” Ned asks, interrupting you mid-sentence. Looking up, you see your friends Ned, Peter, and MJ in the zone, working on homework. You should be doing the same actually, but you had more pressing matters to attend to. 

Ever since you discovered fanfiction, you couldn’t get enough of it. It started when you were scrolling through your Tumblr, looking at the Spider-Man tag like you always do. While gushing at the heroic pictures and fanart of your favorite web-slinging hero, you came across a story. You read the summary to find that the story was about how Spider-Man might have gotten his powers. Curious, you read the entire story, and suddenly found yourself falling into a rabbit-hole of Spider-Man stories. 

All the fanfiction you found on Spider-Man were completely made up. Writers created different characters for who they believe was behind the mask and what their lives were like as a civilian and a hero. You especially liked the stories where writers gave the hero a love interest. People liked to make Spider-Man so flirtatious and charming, it was kind of ridiculous. Yet you couldn’t help but start to imagine your own Spider-Man stories, where you, low and behold, would be the love interest that the hero falls in love with. 

So you started writing your own fanfiction. You created a character named Trevor Trenton, a 17-year-old high schooler who was a part-time lifeguard at a local YMCA. When he wasn’t dealing with school or work, he was fighting crime as Spider-Man. You always imagined Spider-Man as someone your age, making the character more relatable for you. After all, if he was your age, the geeky crush you had on the hero would be a little less weird. 

Trevor Trenton was basically your dream man, and when you started sharing your stories on Tumblr, people seemed to really like him! They loved the origin story you gave him where he was a science experiment that got contaminated with Spider venom. They loved the crazy adventures you put him through, and the wild villains you made him encounter. They especially loved (Y/N), a character you named after yourself that was Trevor’s life-long friend and potential lover. 

No one on the internet needed to know you basically wrote yourself into the stories. 

“I’m doing physics right now, whats up?” Peter asks from his couch, acknowledging Ned’s question. 

“I’m stuck on problem 7… think you can help me?” 

Peter moved from his sprawled out position on his couch to help his best friend. Looking up again, you notice that MJ got up to get a drink in Peter’s kitchen. After looking back and forth from your friends to your laptop screen, you turn back to the document you had up. 

None of your friends knew you wrote Spider-Man fanfiction, and you intend to keep it that way. Yes, they knew of the weird crush you had on the hero, as you would bring it up once in a while, but that’s it. If your friends found out what you did in your free time, you don’t know how they’d feel about you… especially Peter. 

You knew Peter’s worked for Stark for quite awhile, and assumed he was quite familiar with Spider-Man and who he truly was. Every time you talked about Spider-Man and your crush on the hero, Peter would get very flustered, trying to say something positive about the hero, and even getting cocky about how awesome he was. It was kind of cute. You never wanted to ask him who was under the mask though, as to not seem nosy. But you secretly wish you could get some information from your good friend. 

You know, just for story inspiration… 

While Peter and Ned worked on physics, you continued to write about Trevor, and how he rescued you from the monster. After web-slinging away from the scene of the crime, Trevor put you down and took his mask off, revealing his true identity to you. With wide eyes, your character gasped at the sight of their high school crush in front of them. You started to write about how Trevor started to slowly lean in for a- 

“Oh my god, are you writing Spider-Man fanfiction?” 

Practically jumping from your seat and switching tabs on your laptop, you turn from your spot on the couch to see MJ staring at you wide-eyed, a glimmer in her eye. MJ practically shouted her question, definitely alarming everyone in Peter’s apartment. “W-what? No I-I was writing an essay that’s all…” You desperately try covering your tracks, palms sweating. You look over at the two boys to see Ned’s mouth wide open and Peter turning an intense shade of red.  

MJ’s eyes narrow as she leans towards you and takes control of your laptop. You try to fight her, but she’s already pulled up your story and starts to read aloud. “(Y/N) couldn’t believe Trevor was standing in front of her with his mask off. He was a lot more ripped than she thought he was, and was completely mesmerized by his abs that practically popped out of his spider suit and the slight bulge that showed off his-“ 

You immediately slam your laptop shut. “WELL THAT'S ENOUGH!” You shout, feeling the world spinning around you. The embarrassment you felt was dreadful, but eventually, you calm down enough to notice both MJ and Ned laughing hysterically. 

“Hey! It’s not funny!” You pout, hugging yourself tightly to hold in any dignity you had left. 

“No, it’s not that,” Ned says wiping a tear from his eye. “I just had no idea people wrote fanfiction about Spider-Man.” 

“I did,” MJ cuts in, still controlling her laughter. “I just didn’t think you’d be someone to write them (Y/N). Especially a self insert! Those are so cringy-.” 

“MJ stop!” You practically beg. You knew MJ would judge you if she found out, so the reality of it was overwhelming. 

Ned notices how uncomfortable you feel, and decides to step in. “Hey, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. MJ’s just insensitive sometimes.” He sends a cocky glance to her, one eyebrow raised. 

MJ just rolls her eyes. “I just speak the truth.” She walks back to her spot on the floor and proceeds to finish her homework. 

“Well, as I was saying,” Ned proceeds. “Fanfiction isn’t something you should feel ashamed about. I’ll admit I like to read Star Wars fanfics once in a while.” Ned sends you an assuring smile, relieving you of any tension you feel. “What about you Peter?” Ned asks, smacking the boy in the arm with a smirk. 

Peter’s face is still red, and he looks like he’s lost in thought. Ned smacking him on the arm definitely startles him. “Wha-? Oh! Y-yeah, I don’t really know much about fanfiction in general, b-but I think it’s cool.” Peter sent you a shy smile, rubbing the back of his neck. Butterflies erupt in your stomach, and you could definitely tell you started blushing. 

“So, how does writing Spider-Man fanfiction work?” Ned asks, his eyebrows raised. “Like do you know his identity or-.” 

“Oh no, nothing like that!” You quickly say waving your hands. “I don’t know who he is at all. People just like to, ya know, make up stories of his civilian life.” 

“Wait, really?” Peter says, suddenly becoming intrigued. “What do people think he’s like.” 

You proceed to tell Peter and Ned about some of your favorite Spider-Man fanfictions and even some of the stories you’ve created. When telling them about your original character Trevor, the two boys asked you a ton of questions about his origins. If they were weirded out by your hobby, they didn’t show it at all. In fact, they seemed to really like Trevor and the craziness you made up for his life. They however did tease you when you talked about how you self inserted yourself into the stories, and MJ even snorted, indicating she was paying attention the whole time. Nevertheless, they didn’t make you feel any shame, and you started to wonder why you kept this such a hidden secret from them. 

Everyone eventually starts working on homework again, and you switch gears to do the same. At one point, Ned and MJ left for home, leaving you and Peter alone. You pack your bag up to go home yourself, chatting with Peter about the upcoming classwork you weren’t looking forward to doing. 

As you were getting ready to walk out his door, Peter stops you. “You know, I liked heading about your Spider-Man character.” He says with a cheeky grin. 

Once again, you blush. “Oh, y-you did?” 

“Yeah, I kind of want to read it.” 

You turn away from him. “No! I’m not actually a good writer! I just do it for fun…” 

“I doubt you’re a bad writer. And if anything, I can just go make a Tumblr account and find them myself.” Peter retorts, a mischievous grin on his face. 

“I swear to God Peter.” You say, now laughing at how completely ridiculous this conversation is. You open his front door and are about to leave when something else occurs to you. “Hey Peter?” 

“Hm?” Peter hums, looking up at you curiously. 

“So, I know you work for Tony Stark and you probably know who Spider-Man is and all… c-can you please not tell him about how there’s fanfiction about him? I don’t know if that’d weird him out or not.” 

Peter blinks rapidly, and starts laughing to himself. “Don’t worry. I won't tell him.” 

You smile. “Oh! And please don’t tell him about me and this stupid crush I have on him!” 

Peter couldn’t help but laugh more. “I promise (Y/N), I will not tell Spider-Man who you are.” 

You nod awkwardly. “Okay?” 

After hugging Peter, you left his apartment and start the short trek to your place. You couldn’t help but think that Peter’s behavior before you left was rather strange. However, while Peter laughed at you, you knew he didn’t mean any harm. Peter likes to tease you when it comes to your crush on Spider-Man, and now he has something else to tease you about. Nevertheless, Peter is one of the sweetest people you know, and you were so grateful that he didn’t think so poorly of you. 

But you’ll be damned if he actually makes a Tumblr account to find your stories.

------------ 

-Peter Parker Tag List-

@sweetcoffeeblandtea // @house-arya // @jovialpeanut

-Permanent Tag List-  

@mindset-jupiter // @romance-geek // @imcharishope // @fakindob // @cutiekoa // @wowursofunny

[books-and-milkshakes]

His lips connected with mine and my mind went blank and for a moment, just a moment I let myself enjoy the kiss

Then my brain started working and thoughts began to fill my head, at the same time he opened his mouth to push his tongue into mine, which I just let happen. I realized at that moment, I had no idea what to do. My body didn’t just take over like all the romance books said. 

Am I supposed to wrestle with his tongue - I think I read that in a book somewhere - or am I supposed to explore his mouth, can I do both simultaneously? 

Where do my hands go? Around his waist or his neck? I know they shouldn’t hang by my side like they are now.

Am I a good kisser? Probably not considering I have no idea what I’m doing. He probably regrets kissing me and is going to make fun of me as soon as we are done.

How long do you have to kiss before it is acceptable to break it off? Is it rude to break it off?

As the kiss went on the panic started rising in her chest.

Betty came storming through the door of the Blue & Gold and plopped down frustrated on the couch, sighing heavily.

Jughead who had been writing an article for the newspaper looked up surprised. He hadn’t expected to see Betty in the office today as she had said that she had an important meeting and wouldn’t have time to write. So Jughead had made himself comfortable with his feet propped up on the desk, something Betty never allowed him to do.

He quickly put his feet back on the floor.

“Everything alright, Betts?”

A grunt was all he got in response, so he decided to push for a bit more information.

“What happened to your all-important meeting?”

Betty sighed some more at that. “It wasn’t as important as I wished.”

That vague answer sounded like the end of the conversation. So Jughead turned his attention back to his laptop, determined to write down a few more sentences before Betty inevitably broke and told him her latest worry. He had known his best friend for a long time now and he knew that Betty had a hard time keeping things to herself. At least around him. He was her confidant, she told him everything that she wouldn’t tell anyone else, not even Veronica. He didn’t mind, in fact he was kind of proud of it.

It was quiet for a while with the only sound being the clicking on Jughead’s laptop and Betty sighing every once in a while as she was staring at the ceiling. Just as he was about to make a sarcastic comment on how normal people breath, she spoke up.

“Juggie, have you ever kissed someone?” she asked softly.

The question came out of nowhere and he looked at Betty, but she was not looking in his direction.

“No,” he answered as coolly as he could.

He was sure Betty knew this though. He had never been interested in romance or physical affection. When they were in middle school, Ethel had a crush on him and had tried to kiss him on a few occasions, but he had dodged every attempt. Ethel moved on quickly when it became clear he didn’t like her like that.

Luckily for him, girls in high school weren’t really interested in him, because of his self proclaimed weirdo persona. Now the only person who would give him physical affection was Betty. He didn’t hate that.

“I just kissed Trev,” Betty said after considering something for a second.

‘Oh,’ was his response. Realising that sounded lame, he added. ‘Guess it didn’t go well?’

Which was probably worse.

However this was apparently all Betty needed to go off. 

“Oh, it was terrible. Trev had asked me out and I said yes, because he is a nice guy and cute. So we went on our date last night and it was fun and easy going, but we didn’t kiss last night,”Betty had stood up from the couch and was pacing through the room.

“Then we saw each other just now and told me that he had an amazing time and that we should definitely do it again and I agreed, because honestly I had a great time. Then he got quiet and stared intensely at me for a moment and then he leaned in and I knew he was going to kiss me, so I closed my eyes as all the romance novels told me to do,” Betty blushed slightly at this confession before continuing. “I leaned in too and we kissed. It was good for a moment, but then I started thinking. Oh god Juggie, my mind was racing and I couldn’t enjoy my first kiss at all, instead I started freaking out and pulled away and made an excuse to escape. I immediately ran here.”

By the time she was done with her monologue she was basically out of breath and clenching her fists. Jughead stood up immediately and took her hands in his own, his fingers against her palms. Betty would sometimes get so lost in her own head, she would break the skin of her palms unintentionally.

A silence settled over them as Betty was starting to calm down. 

“I just feel like I’m going crazy when I can’t even do simple things people my age are experiencing and enjoying,” she whispered after a while.

Jughead angled his head so he could look her in the face.

‘Hey, we’re all crazy,’ he said softly. ‘Besides society puts insane pressure on the first kiss, so worrying about it is normal. People should just skip the first kiss and go straight to the fifth.’

Betty laughed softly at this and Jughead felt good at the sight of Betty’s smile. He knew the way she could start overthinking and sometimes it would lead into a full blown panic attack. He had been witness to it a few times and had since made it his mission to prevent it from happening again.

“Maybe there should be a class where you can practice kissing with no pressure,” Betty continued before sighing. “I feel like a bit of a drama queen. I’m just scared that the next time someone tries to kiss me, I will go back into panic mode.”

An idea flashed into Jugheads mind, an absolutely crazy idea that could possibly destroy their friendship. Something he definitely shouldn’t do.

 “Betts, I have an idea.”

Betty looked up at him. Her big eyes bright and curious.

His thumbs ran circles in her palms as a way to help her relax as he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, only for a second before he pulled away.

Betty looked shocked, her eyes even wider than before. Jughead would have laughed at her expression, she looked like a comic book character, if he wasn’t freaking out on the inside. He had no idea why he thought that kissing her now was a good idea, especially considering he had also never kissed someone. Although what he had just done couldn’t really be considered a kiss, it was a peck.

“I thought maybe if I gave you a lowkey kiss then it would erase your horrible first one,” he stammered pathetically. He knew that it didn’t really make sense.

He was about to open his mouth to start apologizing when Betty stood on her tiptoes to give him another peck, this one lasting a second longer before she took a step back. This time her expression was a mix between contemplation and sheer wonder.

Jughead didn’t stop to wonder what those expressions meant though, because he had an impulse to do it again. He let go of her hands and brought his up to her face, placing them on her neck before lowering his head once more and softly brushing his lips against hers.

They stayed like that for a while. Their lips didn’t move against each other, but Betty took a step closer and in the process pressed them closer to each other. Her hands settled on his wrists and they were lost in their own little world.

Until the bell rang, indicating that free period was over. They jumped apart both looking shocked at what they had just done. Betty bent down to grab her bag from the floor.

“Sorry, Juggie. I have to get to class,”she said quickly before basically running out the door, leaving Jughead alone in the Blue and Gold office.

He felt a blush slowly creeping over his face as he registered what had happened in the last few minutes. There was one thing that Jughead had yet to admit to himself. Even though he really wasn’t interested in girls or romance at all, somewhere along the way he had developed a crush on Betty Cooper.

I was going through my old writing documents and found this. My first fanfic. I wrote this after season 1 ended and reading it made me smile, so I decided to publish it. It was supposed to be the first chapter of a multichapter fic.

[queerchoicesblog]

A Promise Kept (OH/WT Crossover, Harper Emery & Ellen Thompson, Friendship)

As anticipated, my very first (official) crossover fanfic for the entry Friendship of the @choicesjulychallenge hosted by @kinda-iconic  ❤️

As I was playing Wishful Thinking I had this crazy idea: I started picturing an Ellen Thompson & Harper Emery friendship. They’re about the same age, they’re both devoted and esteemed professionals (dealing with scumbags like Ellen’s boss and Declan Nash *cough cough*)...long story short a friend-ship canon started shaping. And that’s the result: hope you like it!

Disclaimer: The fic contains a reference to this previous work as well as a personal background and FC (Gugu Mbatha-Raw is not the perfect FC but I get Harper vibes) for Dr. Emery

Prompt: Friendship

Word Count: 1988

Perma Tag: @brightpinkpeppercorn @melodyofgraves @bhavf @begging-for-kamilah @abunchofbadchoices @silverhawkenzie @kennaxval @strangerofbraidwood @crazypeanat @desiree-0816 @universallypizzataco

Harper Emery Tag: @bubblygothzombie @emeryharper @korrasamixfan  @delphinusbae

If you like this, please consider a like, comment, and/or reblog.

_____________________________

"Holy crap! How come I missed this?"

Aurora froze gaping at the box placed on her aunt's new desk. She stopped by to return her set of keys before starting her shift and found Harper unpacking her stuff in her new, well previous smaller yet comfortable office as "Head of Neurosurgery, Edenbrook Hospital". She had never been there before: she had only seen it during video calls but it was the first time she actually set foot there. There were a couple of boxes around filled with the little decor the place needed: her aunt's degrees, a few framed photos (graduation picture with beaming Dad, Grandpa and Nana; a rare shot of Harper and her mentor, Dr. Rabinovits, posing for the cameras and was that Alexander Evans, that former patient she heard of? Well, probably a family photo of the Evans wearing Santa hats), a small ebony sculpture, a painting of a Caribbean landscape and a set of wrist and hand stretchers. Books had already been organized over the shelves.

But that one...that was unexpected.

"What, Rory?" Harper asked, checking her bookcase.

Aurora's fingers grazed a frame before picking her up in her hands.

"You have been interviewed by Ellen Thompson? The Ellen Thompson?" she asked, showing the newspaper article that caught her attention.

Harper slowly diverted her eyes from her previous chore and let them linger a moment over the old article before moving closer and gently taking it from Rory's hands. A tiny smile filled with nostalgia formed on her lips: her younger self flashing an enigmatic smile to the camera casually sit on her desk was still in the dark of the tough challenges her career had in store for her. She was just happy, proud of herself; she was just forgetting for a moment the harsh reality of "that cruel science called neurosurgery", as Dr. Rabinovits put it. But the memory of that day was pleasant, comforting in a way.

"Yes, it was her last article she wrote before being promoted daytime anchor. I thought you knew? I'm pretty sure Nana has a copy of this, Marcus too probably..."

"Yeah probably...I must have missed it. I was too busy with college and my dissertation at the time probably..." Aurora considered. "But how?! I mean, I'm not trying to belittle your achievement, it's just...Ellen!"

"I know, I was surprised too at the time" Harper laughed softly.

"I bet!"

"I didn't think she would accept it. Because of bias, you know? She confessed that it had been quite a tough call for her, she's an incredibly talented professional and being accused of being biased is a capital sin in her field..."

"Biased? How could she be biased?" Aurora furrowed her brows, confused.

Harper took a pause and gave her an amused look.

"Because we're friends, Rory! Don't you remember?"

"You're friends??" Aurora gaped, plopping down on the sofa. "I really slept on this for years?"

"Well, we don't see each other as often as we once did now but we never truly drifted apart. And oh, you were probably too young to remember but she attended my graduation. Nana probably has pictures of that day...there was a small group of friends celebrating with us: you surely remember Bethany - she visited a few months ago, Nate, her college boyfriend, Ricardo, Alison, Elliott-"

"Oh I do remember Elliott! Your college sweetheart, dressed up to the nines and all googly eyes" the young Emery giggled.

"Glad you remember" Harper made a scene of rolling her eyes, smiling. "...and the most elegant of all was Ellen. That Ellen"

Aurora took a moment to reminisce the few memories she had of that day. Yes, probably...no surely! That girl in a gorgeous pink dress clinging her glass and chatting with Nana was Ellen. And...oh gosh, her younger self had even been so nosy to ask Ellen, that Ellen where she bought that dress because she wanted one just like hers. Luckily, Harper spoke again, saving Rory from the embarrassment of that moment.

"As I said we had somehow kept in touch over the years, against all odds. We were both so busy...her internships, her field jobs, my residency. But we managed to check on each other every now and then. Small things, even just a message in the voicemail or a quick call"

She smiled - a quick soft smile- and handed the framed article back to Aurora.

"When I became 'the youngest Head of Neurosurgery in the history of Massachusetts' she showed up at my door" she said, nodding behind her. "And announced that she was gonna interview me. It wasn't even up for debate, she would have signed that article"

"The hell with the friendship bias?" the niece asked, more and more involved in the story featuring two of her personal role model.

Harper smiled again, but it was a weaker one this time.

"Apparently so. She claimed that there were very good reasons to write it, even ethical reasons if you wish. She said that it was a story worth being told, that I could have inspired people out there, little girls in schools, things like that."

She sighed, shooking her head.

"Not sure I lived up to that inspirational role, but I tried, right?".

Aurora diverted her eyes: she knew what her aunt was referring to. She remembered the conversation they had the night before the hearing, their argument during the break of that hearing...and frowned. 

The weight of the last few words lead to a brief silence, interrupted only by the sounds of steps along the corridor. 

"Oh this must be Tanaka with Dr. Yannick. I asked them to stop by to sign those papers...excuse me, it won't be long"

That said, she hurried to meet the colleagues, leaving Aurora alone in her office. 

The Emery girl absentmindedly eavesdropped the three of them discussing a surgical oncology procedure but she got lost in the surgical medicalese the doctors spoke. So her eyes fell on the article in her hands again. She started reading:

“A Promise Kept: Why You Should Know The Story Behind Edenbrook Hospital New Shining Star" 

As some of you probably know, this will be my last article. Before you start getting sentimental about it, I do not regret it: I've spent so many years of my life typing behind a laptop and as much as they will always be an important, essential maybe, part of my life, I'm ready and eager for what comes next. You are going to hear my voice and see my face on your screen, brace yourself, dear readers.

I must confess that I was full of doubts about writing this article because I value ethics and professionalism. But I soon realized that ethics and professionalism are the main topics of this piece I'm writing and well, the very reason why this article should see the light of day.

So, for one last time, let me tell you a story.

More than a decade ago, I was a college student, an ambitious hard-working journalism major struggling over a research project. My professor asked the class to think outside the box and choose an issue we were not familiar with so that we were forced to document, do some real fact-checking and so on just like real reporters do. I spent hours in the library trying to find the perfect issue for a project I wanted to be A+, but nothing came. I was losing all hope when I noticed the notes of the girl sitting in front of me. They were complex anatomy schemes: she was a med student. Frustrated by my current situation, I did what I rarely do: ask for help. So I tapped her shoulder and asked her about controversial issues in the medical sphere she would like to see debated or brought in the spotlight. Just one, it was for a journalism project. The girl took her time to think about it then handed me a piece of paper with her answer:

Less than 19% of surgeons in this country are women and the percentage drops considerably if we consider specific specialties and women of color. It is a truth universally acknowledged yet publicly denied that women are still overlooked for surgical positions: the fair sex is emotional, tends to get to involved in the medical cases, not to mention potentially hysterical and suffering of that dangerous 'lack of refrain' so well known (?) to their male colleagues. They make better nurses than doctors and better GP than surgeons. 

That was a promising start. I thanked the girl and wished her good luck with her upcoming exam. Actually, I saw that girl a few days later: she passed her exam with flying colors and was now standing by my side at a rally. We became friends and one night, the first night of our senior years we made a pinky promise: a solemn silly pinky promise not to give up no matter what obstacles we will have to face later in our careers. A solemn silly pinky promise to be one day the best journalist and best doctor we could ever be. For ourselves and the others out there.

Well, I'm glad and proud to announce that about fifteen years later, that mystery girl has become the youngest Head of Neurosurgeon in the history of Massachusetts. Daughter of an archeology professor and another legend in the surgical field, Eloise Emery, the Haitian born cardio surgeon who successfully performed the first domino heart transplant on pediatric patients at Mount Sinai Hospital, NY, in 1989, Harper Emery is already exceeding any reasonable expectation. Colleagues describe her as 'headstrong, devoted and passionate, a doctor who would go above and beyond for her patients' while prestigious medical magazines crowned her 'the most brilliant neurosurgeon of her generation”.

At first, I thought that I accepted to write this article because I know Harper Emery and I value and respect her dearly both as a friend and a professional. But that is not completely true.

I accepted to write this article because I know Harper Emery and I know that she will always keep her promise. She already did.

Good luck, Dr. Emery!

Author: Ellen Thompson

Aurora swallowed down the lump threatening to form in her throat: that was the aunt she knew and looked up to basically her whole life. An aunt she thought irremediably lost...but maybe she was wrong, after all. As that realization crossed her mind, her phone beeped. It was a message from...Dr. Trihn? It was a selfie of her new flatmates waiting for her at the cafeteria. They had already bought her a cappuccino and a saved her half donut. Oh right, 'roomies breakfast', she had almost forgotten. She cautiously placed the framed article on her aunt's desk and was about to exit the room when she almost bumped into Harper coming back to her office.

"Gotta roll?" she asked.

"Hm yeah. The new roomies want to grab a coffee together at the cafeteria...I suspect, no I'm afraid that is some kind of a 'shining happy people' ritual" Aurora sighed, hanging her head.

Her aunt chuckled at her reaction to a friendly gesture.

"I'm sure it's not as bad as it sounds." she teased then smiled. "Have fun, Rory!"

The Emery girl nodded, even though she wasn't fully convinced, and picked a set of keys out of her pocket.

"Oh here's the keys and...Aunt Harper? You should hang that article to the wall"

Dr. Emery threw her a quizzical look then joked:

"Because it was written by Ellen? It would certainly give me celebrity points to impress the poor souls visit-"

"No, Auntie, you got it all wrong. Hang it to inspire yourself"

Aurora flashed her a quick confident smile and left the room headed to the cafeteria as Harper met once again the fierce joyful gaze of her younger self smiling back at her behind the framed glass.

[jovialyouthmusic]

The Many Lives of Drake Walker

A Royal Romance Multiple AU Fanfic

3a S’mores and more...

We revisit the famous s’more’s scene, and add a little something 

A/N While checking my masterlist, I found this chapter had gotten lost. If you’re confused, links to previous chapters on my masterlist and I’ll be inserting this one in sequence. I used the original tag list.

Word count 3564

The following day I found myself smiling a lot, touching my cheek where my phantom admirer had kissed me - for that matter he had kissed me on the lips too, but that was where I felt it. It didn’t feel like cheating – in fact it made me more fond of my other half – more attentive, more tolerant and romantic. It didn’t quite go as far as the bedroom, but things were bubbling under and he’d be in for a surprise next time we were intimate.

I thought about the chapter I was writing, wondering where to take it, but distracted thinking where I might go next with my photonic friend. That evening my partner went off to bed and I wrote for a little while, then minimised the document.

‘Hey you’ he said softly ‘I’ve been waiting – were you writing?’

‘Hi Drake – yes, I have to keep things moving for Charlotte’

‘Oh yes, what’s in store for us?’

‘Tell me Drake, when do you experience the story – when I save a draft to the website? When I publish?’ He wrinkled his forehead.

‘From what I remember the others telling me, when you save a draft, I get an idea of what’s coming – it’s kind of foggy, then when you publish and the first person reads it, I’m in’

‘Okay then, no spoilers, Drake’ I grinned. He pouted

‘Hah. Are you ready to come and play?’

‘Okay, hold up your hand’ Again we touched through the screen and I was pulled into his world. We were on the balcony again where we had been last time, but it was now daylight. I looked down at the ballgown I wore, closed my eyes and in a trice I was wearing riding clothes, and Drake wore his usual jeans, t-shirt and denim jacket.

‘Well I don’t have to guess where we’re going’ he grinned

‘Do you think it’s a bit much?’ I asked ‘I could go casual like you – or you could have something more formal’ He shook his head.

‘Nope that looks fine. Shall we walk? It’s a little more – grounding – than visualising, and you can fill in any gaps as we go, build up a whole world like that.’ Drake vaulted lightly over the balcony onto the ground just a foot or so below, and I paused, looking down at him

‘Come on Les, I’ll catch you, I promise. I’m as strong as you need me to be’

‘If you’re sure’

‘You’re the one that needs to be sure, silly’ he grinned ‘If you imagine me dropping you, I will. Now are you coming or not?’ Gingerly I sat on the edge of the balcony and lowered myself down. I squealed as I slipped a little, but Drake caught me deftly and for a moment I was held against his chest. He chuckled and I felt it deep in my chest.

‘Nicely done, very damsel in distress’ Even here in my fantasy world, I still found myself blushing and decided to change my clothes – I didn’t bother closing my eyes, and my clothes blurred into a summer dress, leggings and sandals with a light jacket, and my hair grew long, soft curls draping over my shoulders. Drake sucked his breath in between his teeth but said nothing. I looked at him to see a smile on his face.

‘So come on, let’s go to the stables’ I said ‘I’m not a rider, so I’d just like to take a look at the horses. You can teach me to ride another time’

‘Whatever you say, Les’ he said, and took my hand to lead me off along the path to the stables. It felt solid and warm, and he looked at me and winked ‘For safety’ he added.

As we walked, the landscape around us flickered, blank spaces filling in and stabilising. It made me feel slightly sick but I kept on until we came to the stables. It was an effort filling in things as I went along and I had to stop and take a deep breath.

‘Are you okay Les?’ Drake said with concern, his hand on my back as I stooped over. ‘You’re doing really well filling in the details, but it can be a bit draining from what the others say.’

‘Why doesn’t it stay from when they imagined it?’ I asked, my head starting to hurt. He shrugged.

‘It fades the longer someone from your side is away, and the less it’s read by others. Plus this linking part doesn’t actually exist in the game.’ I looked at him sharply.

‘Drake – you suggested walking. I’m exhausted’

‘You’re okay now, the stables were eerm – thoroughly imagined recently.’ He looked a little sheepish as he said it. ‘And I’m sorry you’re feeling bad, I just needed to stretch my legs, not whizz from place to place. Gotta maintain this’ He patted his flat stomach and grinned.

‘What happens when I’m not here?’ I asked. He sighed and sat on a hay bale, patting it to invite me to sit next to him.

‘It depends if anyone is reading. If they are, we can move around, take part in the story or even mess about behind the scenes. But if nobody’s reading, it’s…’ he shivered ‘Dark and cold, so I generally go to sleep if that happens, or go back to the place you went to first, it’s light there and we can meet up, exchange stories’ I looked at him sympathetically, wondering what would happen when the app that had given him birth ceased to be – and the excitement of all the fanfic writers died away and he and the others were forgotten. I reached across and squeezed his knee.

‘I’m sorry, that sounds awful’ He shook his head and smiled, breaking out of his funk.

‘Nah, it’s fine. You’re here now – what would you like to do?’ I looked at him quizzically

‘When you said the stables had been ‘thoroughly imagined’, what exactly did you mean?’ He rubbed the back of his neck and blushed to the roots of his hair.

‘I – uhh – that is – lots of writers – and lots of readers – take ‘a tumble in the hay’ as a nice little fantasy with yours truly.’ He said apologetically. I laughed

‘Why so embarrassed? After all, you are supposed to be the local – excuse the term especially considering where we are – ‘stud’…’ He hid his face in his hands and chuckled.

‘I know, I know, and it’s great – but – it matters because of you, because you’re a companion. It matters what you think of me. You’re real, you can take me places, help me do things I can’t without you. Plus – I like you, you know, I can’t help it’ I was genuinely touched, and took his hand.

‘I’m sorry to tease. You’re a great guy, don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m enjoying being here with you too, you know. You’ve done all this before – I haven’t.’ I got up and started to wander around, looking into the stalls at the horses. I felt a lot stronger, and Drake got up and took me around them all, telling me their names and pedigrees and who they belonged to, telling me he had got all the information from a fanfic writer who loved horses and did a lot of research. When we had seen them all, he turned to me, pushing his hair off his forehead and smiling, his brown eyes shining. He obviously loved the stables and the horses.

‘Well that’s about it as far as horses go. Would you like a riding lesson? We can do that if you like.’ I leaned on one of the upright beams and nodded to a ladder leading to the hayloft.

‘So I’m guessing the hayloft sees a lot of action’ I said. He ducked his head shyly, then moved closer, taking my hand and looking intently at my palm.

‘Yup’ he said, and started to draw circles on my palm. I shivered, and he looked at me ‘Are you cold?’

‘No’ I said, holding his gaze and wondering… ‘It kind of tickles – but don’t stop’ He grinned, a slow sly smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes. He moved closer and traced his finger up my bare arm toward my shoulder. I caught my breath and was thankful that I was leaning on the beam as my legs felt weak. He put his hand to my cheek as he had the night before, and brought his lips close to mine until I could feel his warm breath, smell his cologne, the lingering scent of woodsmoke and whiskey.

‘Is this okay?’ he whispered ‘I really want to kiss you’

‘Mmmmhhhmm’ I hummed ‘please’ – I closed my eyes. His mouth met mine and our lips danced, butterfly soft, sending a thrill deep to my core. I took my hand to the back of his head to tug gently at his hair and massage the back of his neck, totally lost in him, not caring about anything outside the kiss and the strange solidity of his body. His hand dropped to my shoulder and he leaned into me, a gentle contact from hip to chest, pressing against my breast, his other hand resting on my hip. We broke the kiss with breath to spare.

‘Can we talk?’ he asked, and I nodded, not sure how much I could trust myself otherwise. We sat on a nearby straw bale. I leaned into him and he held my hand, stroking my knuckles with his thumb. ‘Les’ He started. ‘I know – as you say, I’m painted to be this stud, and it’s fun – and I do get the slow burn from some writers, which is sweet. But I do have my own ideas and fantasies, and not many folk can see them.’

‘I understand’ I said ‘It must be strange to be pushed and pulled around like a puppet.’

‘Well it’s normal for me, and sometimes I’m just a piece of meat. I’ve been looking for someone who’ll let me - be me, if that makes sense’ He smiled sadly ‘I’m happy to go and explore other stories, other blogs – but I’d like to have my ‘moments in between’ to take a breather, if that’s okay with you’ I squeezed his knee.

‘Of course, that’s fine by me. I’m processing all this myself, and so far it’s not interfered with my ‘real’ life – in fact it’s enhanced it, given me a little fantasy, an escape.’

‘I’m glad to hear it. I’ve been looking for someone for a while now, and I’ve had fun – but it does leave me confused from time to time – and frustrated. All that emotional energy, you know. My original persona found it difficult, and I still do. I need an anchor, just like in the original story. Riley, or whatever name she’s given, was great, but like me she gets pulled off to other places just as we’re getting somewhere.’

‘How about the other Drakes?’ I asked. He frowned, his forehead creasing up

‘I think – we have a kind of collective consciousness that we can tap into, but we retain some individuality because we’ve experienced different story lines, and when you’re directly involved it’s more intense. Whatever I feel will eventually filter through, so if I find some peace it will eventually benefit all of us to some extent.’

‘Okay, I hope I can live up to your expectations. I’m taking it we aren’t going any further this time – what would you like to do?’ His eyes lit up

‘Thankyou for asking Les – would you like to make smores with me? It’s one of my favourite scenes, and it would be special to go through it with you.’

‘That would be really nice. Would you like to invite anyone else? After all, it’s usually just a two hander, but you can extend it if you like’ He thought for a moment

‘Okay, how about inviting Brad – your Liam? You could be our surrogate Lucy’

‘Oh now that sounds good – you could have Lucy herself and I’ll just tag along, even the numbers out’ He grinned at me

‘I think you should be Lucy, find out how it really feels to be with both of us – you can go as far as you like’ My stomach did a little flip at the idea.

‘It would be nice to have the scene at Valtoria if I can conjure it up’

‘It’s fine, someone was reading it recently, you can jump right in without too much filling in. Besides, it will be night time.’

 A few minutes later, I was sitting beside the fire pit at Valtoria with Drake. The fire flickered and the fairy lights cast speckles across his face.

‘Hey Drake, thanks for setting this up’ came a voice, and Brad appeared, walking from the house with supplies in his arms. ‘I brought the marshmallows and the other things’ He put them down on the table and took my hand to kiss it.

‘How charming to meet you again – shall I call you Lucy or Les? Those names are pretty close’ I smiled. Drake was right – although he looked just like my faceclaim for the part, what gave him away was his posture, very upright and proper, but relaxed. He was dressed casually with dark trousers, a crisp white shirt under a burgundy red jumper. I was still wearing my summer dress, leggings and jacket.

‘Les will do fine, and it’s good to see you too. Would you prefer Brad or Liam?’

‘I really don’t mind, but if you’re using your proper name, perhaps I’ll use my original name too.’

‘Liam it is – or your Majesty’ I replied, and he laughed

‘Just Liam is fine, Les. Now Drake, how about those smores? I’d like to chat with Les for a bit if that’s okay by you’

‘I think it should be a group effort, help us to bond’ suggested Drake, and handed us each sticks and marshmallows to toast.

‘So Les, tell me a little about yourself if you’re comfortable with it’ started Liam. I giggled

‘That is exactly the sort of question a Royal would ask’ I said, and he smiled ruefully so I relented ‘There’s not much to tell, I’m happy enough in my situation – I’ve been married for a while, happily, our two boys have left home so we’re alone, I write as a hobby, just to explore things in my head that never happened and probably never will – just an escape.’ By this time, our marshmallows were ready, and Drake helped us make the smores.

‘I wonder if these taste the same where I come from’ I mused as I licked the sticky marshmallow from my lips ‘I suppose I know how everything tastes, so my imagination fills in the gaps, just like when I walked down to the stables.’ Drake nudged Liam.

‘Hey Li – isn’t that a smudge of chocolate on Les’s face?’ and he winked broadly. Liam looked over at me with surprise.

‘I’m not sure I can see…’ Drake reached out with his foot to kick Liam’s ankle and he jumped ‘Ouch – oh! Yes. I do see – Les, may I…’ He leaned close and wiped his thumb across my upper lip, gazing intently at my face. His breath smelled of chocolate and I caught a whiff of expensive cologne.

‘Drake, that is so corny’ I laughed, and Liam looked crestfallen ‘But’ I cleared my throat ‘Is it gone?’ I squeezed Liam’s hand as I spoke, and he smiled gratefully, slipping back into the swing of the scenario.

‘Umm, no – here, let me…’ and he leaned right in and flicked his tongue across my upper lip, then crashed his lips onto mine for a passionate kiss. I was more surprised than anything, and blinked as he drew away. Drake was bent over laughing

‘Liam man, you licked her. Have you just come from one of those kinky fics? She’s only just crossed over, she’s a fic virgin – no offense, Les’ Liam was blushing

‘Maybe. Sorry Les, I kind of slipped there, I didn’t mean to kiss you quite so – thoroughly. I take it Drake’s already kissed you, otherwise he’d not have let me.’ He glared at Drake ‘He can be very possessive’ Drake grinned and moved across to me, sitting on my other side.

‘You’re such a dork, here let me show you how it’s done’ He stuck his thumb into the chocolate on his smore, and smeared it on my chin. I sniggered

‘Now you’ll have to lick it off too, silly’

‘Think again, Les’ He leaned in to kiss me, and sucked my bottom lip between his, before twining his tongue with mine. He moved back after the kiss, and I felt my chin, which was quite clean. He made a little bow. ‘And that – is how to do it’ Liam huffed, and I squeezed his knee.

‘You can have another try if you like’ I smiled.

‘No, the moment is gone’ he said sulkily. I scooted next to him and nuzzled into him

‘Don’t be like that Liam, I always did have a soft spot for you though I chose Drake. I wouldn’t have written Two’s Company otherwise. I didn't want to turn you down you know, not completely. It took me a while to work out that idea of the Cordonian triple marriage’ Liam smiled and put his arm around my shoulder, kissing me on the top of my head.

‘You make a good substitute Lucy – you must have put some of yourself into the role’

‘I suppose all writers do with some characters. How can you write what you don’t understand? Either that or you write in order to understand’

‘Hey, you two are smooching, I want in’ Drake sat next to me and scooted up close, sliding his arm around my waist and leaning on my shoulder. I smiled, noticing how comfortable he was in our company, not the grumpy gruff commoner that he was originally cast as – but then he also had a strong bond with Liam. It was also very nice to be sitting by the fire in the embrace of two very good looking men.

‘Well this is comfy’ I sighed. ‘And the great thing is I won’t put on a pound when I get back to my side’ Drake sucked his breath through his teeth.

‘But you can overdo things here’ he said

‘What? You told me I could drink and not suffer the consequences’ He shrugged.

‘As far as I’ve seen, your virtual body here does tend to accumulate weight if you overeat, and you can get stomach ache too. You can of course visualise yourself slimmer, but you have to hold the thought consciously or it starts to slip’ Liam laughed

‘Oh yes, do you remember that writer who…’ Drake shushed him

‘That was not funny Liam, the poor girl had self esteem problems.�� He smiled ruefully ‘Unfortunately, unless you’re strong minded, you tend to revert to what you look or act like on the other side. You seem to be doing okay, you must have a positive self image’

‘Drake, have you got any chocolate left?’ I asked, an idea popping into my head. He stirred, reluctantly pulling away from me

‘Yup, want some?’ He got up and came back with a slab. I closed my eyes and thought up a fondue pot, putting it on a low table next to the bench we sat on and took the chocolate, breaking bits into the warm bowl. He cocked an eyebrow at me. ‘I sense mischief – I didn’t know you had it in you Les’

‘Oh come on, I’ve written some erotic pieces’ I grinned ‘and you gave me the idea.’

‘Are you sure you want to do it out here – we could take it to the bedroom’ his voice was husky and sent a delicious shiver to my core.

‘Whatever happened to dating and moments in between’ I retorted. Behind me, Liam cleared his throat

‘Yes, be a gentleman, Drake’

‘Slow burn, Drake’ I said softly, and dipped my finger into the melted chocolate, putting a dollop on his top lip. He grinned and I leaned forward to suck it off, turning it into a kiss. I felt Liam beside me, his hand stroking over my back and sneaking up under my jacket, only the thin fabric of my dress between my skin and his fingers. There was a hand on my knee, and as I broke away, Liam grinned at me, chocolate smeared over his lip too, so I obligingly kissed him to remove it. This time he was gentle and slow, and Drake nuzzled at my neck and nibbled my earlobe. He murmured into my ear.

‘Les – Les?’ he said, a sense of urgency in his tone.

‘Mmmm?’ I answered lazily, my senses on overdrive.

‘I’m sorry, Les, you’re fading out – time to say bye for now.’ he said sadly ‘You can take this up with your lucky partner’ I sighed with disappointment.

‘Thanks guys – he won’t know what’s hit him. Take this up with Lucy if you like’ and before I felt the sucking sensation that meant I was going back to my laptop, I saw her flicker into existence, smiling softly and reaching out to Liam and Drake.

@ao719 @agent-bossypants @andy-loves-corgis@sleepwalkingelite @boneandfur @blackcatkita@brightpinkpeppercorn @choicescommunity @darley1101@drakewalkerrosenberg @debramcg1106 @fluffy-marshmallow-heart @goirishsunshine @gardeningourmet @livingthroughchoices@likethetailofacomet @mrs-nazario @mind-reader1 @ooo-barff-ooo@silviasutton1989 @speedyoperarascalparty @zaffrenotes@missevabean @mrsdrakewalkerblog @cora-nova @missameliep@tanelle83 @endlessly-searching-for-you @jlouise88@drakenazario @tabithacarlisle @furiousherringoperatortoad@notoriouscs @classylady1234 @wickedgypsymoon @carabeth@choices-fangirl @indiana-jr @indiacater @noey718-blog@katedrakeohd @bobasheebaby @annekebbphotography @kennaxval @sirbeepsalot @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria@aworldoffandoms @iplaydrake @drakesensworld@drakewalkerisreal @samcpossum

[aparticularbandit]

30, 31, 39, 40, 45, 46 (sorry i’m curious)

Fanfiction Questions

30. What inspires you to write?

I don’t know.  That’s a dumb answer.  But like, if I’m really honest, I don’t really know.

I’ve been writing since...almost as long as I can remember, and I don’t know why I started.  For a while, I wanted to do adaptations?  I don’t know.  I just. write.When it comes to specifically what I’ve been writing recently, it’s like...there are these stories and ideas that I want to develop and find out?  Like ideas that come together and just I want to write that and then go and write it and don’t always finish it.With RP, it’s been I want to develop and get to know this character better and I want to have this character interact with these other characters but also a very clear I think I can write this character - because there are a lot of characters I like but don’t have strong enough muse to think I can write them well.Fanfic - with Roisa, it was just...I was intrigued by the dynamic.  And then it’s just - I have these ideas and I want to write them down and I want to get them out and to share them with other people.  It’s just having this ideas that sit and sit and don’t go away and want to be written and I keep thinking about them and want to write them out. (Which has gotten me into trouble.  Not in the fanfic world so much as in the rp sphere, but that’s an entire other story.)Once I’ve started something, I will be honest, interaction from readers is what inspires me to actually finish the thing because I will be honest, I’m typically horrible at finishing longer projects.  It’s so easy to get distracted with new projects and forget to go back to other ones, even if I want to finish them, and that’s probably why I do the polls and everything because it’s just-- That’s a way for me to take and go and do and write in a way that keeps me inspired to keep writing.

31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

Well, I don’t really like to think of things in terms of nicest just because that...sounds like there’s a sliding scale and it’s really more like...with the exception of angry mob people, I typically love the comments and reactions I get to my writing?  Even when it’s people being mean because it means they’re at least paying attention?But I think - typically - when people tell me that I should write original fic, that’s something that sticks with me, and then - and this is a carryover from the rp sphere - but when people tell me that something I’ve written (typically headcanon but character portrayal is a thing) has changed how they interact with the canon material, that means a lot to me, too.

39. What is you greatest strength as a writer?

Worldbuilding.  Hands down, I think worldbuilding is my greatest strength.  (Consistency is a second but that’s just me being a stickler for consistency, and I can’t even use that because Carla’s eyes used to be blue and now they’re canonically brown for me and I don’t plan on going back and editing them so oops.)But, no, worldbuilding - taking small changes and seeing the effects those have further down the line.  Um - I keep going back to rp examples, but when I wrote Jessica Rabbit (and this is a good example I think), it was taking okay, cartoons are actually Toon actors, so what does this mean in terms of the world?  Where did they come from?  Are there other Toon cities? How does religion interact with this? etc.  Just - that’s a small thing and then building around and extrapolating from that.Or - soulmate aus.  I love soulmate aus.  Like - the soulmate timer au that came up in One Screwed Up Family - that’s one that I’ve had for a while - but like.  If you live in a world with soulmates where they are actually a documented thing, how does that affect society?  What happens to people who no longer have soulmates?  What happens to shallow hookups and bars because is that cheating on your soulmate?  What if your soulmate is abusive?  But they’re still your soulmate?  So do you divorce them?  Would you ever feel like you could be happy with anyone else since they aren’t your soulmate?  What does soulmate even mean?  (And soulmate definition, for me, does change depending on what the soulmate prompt is.)So - yeah.  I think that’s my strength.  I’m...really thorough when it comes to worldbuilding.

40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

Dialogue.  I have a hard time making my characters distinguishable through their dialogue.  They tend to sound the same.  And I’ve found I tend to reuse descriptions and small things over and over - and going through edits does help with that a little bit, but not as much as I want.  I think Rose and Luisa have a lot of the same actions over and over because my mind grabs something and it...I think it gets repetitive.  :/But I think I’m worse at dialogue.  My characters can often sound ooc - at least to me - especially in comparison with other writers who I think capture their voice a lot better.  (This, for me, is particularly telling in IYLHYBHN - I think I got Luisa and Rose’s voices down pretty well in the first chapter, but I don’t think I maintain that very well.)

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

I...have a lot of favorite fanfics, and I don’t know if I can pick one overall favorite, but.

To The Stars by hieronym is probably the first one I’ll bring up because I love it and it’s intricate and the characterization is amazing and the worldbuilding is phenomenal and also it’s really, really long and has been going for over seven years and I love this fic a lot.  This is for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and it was started before Rebellion Story came out (and if you haven’t seen PMMM, I highly recommend it because the story is really good).I also really love the fatal plunge series by maleficently, which is swanqueen fanfic and unfinished and the second book had such amazing Regina characterization and that’s why I loved it.  I loved how she captured Regina.  It was just.  Ugh.  Love!...and then there are too many favorite Roisa fics to try and just pick one so I’m not going to.  ;D

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

Depends on fandom.

I would probably suggest either....  Well, one of the following:

1) Luisa and the Fox (because it is my personal favorite of my fics and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read it or how excited to finally start on the sequel in a more specific format like, I love this fic it is my favorite of mine and I want a printed copy of it so I can share it with people this one probably has my highest recommendation if you only read one of my fics, read this one)

2) like lightning (because i love my baby!lint fic and this is the other one i want to print out and share with people)

3) grind (because this is probably my favorite of my roisa one-shots)

4) hollows (because this is my other favorite roisa one-shot)

5) body, body (because i really loved this frozen one-shot don’t judge me and also anna was a freaking cannibal and i actually have an entire world built around this that i wanted to expand on but oh well - and also my second most read fic)

6) on aquariums and besties (which is a really bad title but i love the scully/jess fluff and also hey remember how luisa hallucinates i’ve played around with people who don’t have concrete holds on what’s real before and this does come up here)

7) lost causes (to this day, this is my most read fic)

8) make life worthwhile (my third most read fic - my wfrr stand alone stuff does really well)

[mittensmorgul]

not a strictly spn question, but, as someone who wants to start writing, how the ever-loving fuck do you pump out so many fics so fast?? i’ve been working on outlining the same three stories for like a year (not really) ((but kinda))

Hi there, and congrats on that much outlining! I… don’t outline that much, ever, for anything. But I also don’t think I crank out fics all that fast. It might seem that way sometimes, but the Pinefest fic I posted in February has actually been drafted (and through several rounds of editing) since last August. I only just posted it for Pinefest. So it might seem there was only a month and a half between me writing that and the thing I posted last night, I’ve actually been working on THAT since January… three and a half months for 30k isn’t very fast. :P

I’m putting this under a cut because it’s kinda long, and possibly boring or irrelevant in the big scheme of things…

(I once wrote a 105k word original novel in 15 days, and a friend of mine wrote a 130k novel in just over three days on a deadline, but heck that is atypically fast… and nearly killed them… no really they developed shingles from the stress of it, do not recommend)

So I might be slightly biased here, but at some point you gotta stop outlining and start writing. That’s the secret. You can’t crank out stories unless you actually start writing them.

That said, when I say I don’t outline, I mean I have notes for fic that range from this, for my 8k short:

*soulmate situation described here: http://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/173681098950/i-saw-a-writing-prompt-that-went-like-this-you Officially written and posted on 11/14/18 as Lost Time.

that’s just a link to a post that inspired the thing, to this, for a 65k fic: 

*NAILED IT! How could I fanfic my way through this baking show? or maybe I should just… write fanfic of this… (notes document: Cakepocalypse notes) (in process as of 4/1/18 as a potential dcbb as Cakepocalypse) (posted 6/23/18)https://archiveofourown.org/works/15017792

(sorry, I removed the link to my notes doc, but what I am willing to show of that:

wherein a lot of those 15 pages consists of images of the cakes in each challenge for my own personal reference while writing.)

Basically the ONLY two fics I’ve ever written an outline for structurally required it:

Cakepocalypse and Around the World in 24 Days, both fics based off “reality show” formats– Cakepocalypse was basically Nailed It!, and AtWi24D is the Amazing Race (and over 101k, based on about 5k worth of very detailed notes I’d be happy to show you if you come off anon). There was no way I could keep track of that many “contestants” and all their challenges, travel, baking, guests, etc. without keeping these sorts of detailed notes.

My previous pinefest fic, Winchester 275, was a 57k AU based on a two sentence thing that had been sitting on my to be written list for YEARS:

*(writing for pinefest, working title of Winchester 275 as of 8/29/17, draft finished 11/29/17, posted 3/6/18 http://archiveofourown.org/works/13788693) astronomy night at a dude ranch in arizona, Cas brings the telescope, dean only sees the stars in his eyes oh god did i actually write that down? yes. yes i did.

And my first DCBB, Revenge of the Subtext, was 80k based on a one sentence prompt: http://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/130269813965/meangreenlimabean-mittensmorgul.

So if your fic doesn’t NEED you to make such detailed notes, just start writing already. :D

When I first started writing (loooong before I ever started writing fic), some of my encouraging friends told me some interesting stories. We got to talking about how annoying it was that so many people respond to someone saying they write with, “Oh, I’ve been thinking about writing a novel for years,” or something else along those lines. My friend told me she knew a guy who had been outlining his novel for more than a decade, but never seemed to be able to get it quite right so that he felt he could start writing. With that sort of attitude, he probably never will, you know?

You will never have a “perfect” outline. Just like you’ll never have a “perfect first draft.” You have to have a draft to be able to edit it, you know? Can’t edit a blank page, and an outline can only take you so far before it becomes so fleshed out that it ceases to be an outline and looks more like a first draft.

So set a writing goal for yourself. Shoot for easy to start with, and then you can tweak the goal as you fall into the habit. Say, 200 words a day. Or 1000 words a week (because in all honesty you might miss a day here and there, and you shouldn’t get down on yourself for that, either). I personally shoot for 1000 words on days when I write, but I’ve been doing this for more than a decade now. I don’t always make it, but sometimes I double that, or quintuple it, or more. And I have scheduled days off (Supernatural nights when new episodes air, and usually the day after, and Monday night when I play pub trivia and it’s Mr. Mittens’ night off work). But outside of those days, barring extreme exhaustion or illness, I try to write at least 1000 words a night.

Being that I’m not an outliner, I feel I need to say that I always know the whole story before I start writing. It’s all up inside my head, running like a film that I “transcribe” into a fic. So even if I don’t have a written, bullet-pointed list of plot points and emotional beats, I do have the “finished product” looping through my head continuously until I transcribe it all. I know that’s not actually useful writing advice for most people, and I have no idea if this is how anyone else approaches writing, but it’s how it works for me. Minor details may only show up while I’m writing, but the whole story is already there.

This is why I never, ever post incomplete, wip fic. I am a compulsive editor, mostly because I don’t create detailed outlines before I start, and for the sake of continuity, editing is my friend. Can’t go back to insert a reference into chapter 3 that will become important by chapter 14 if you posted chapter 3 half a year ago, you know? Your readers are not gonna go back and reread your updates when you remember that Important Detail never actually made it onto the page in the exact way you needed it to way back when. :P

Now, an outliner MAY have picked that detail up and inserted it before they ever started writing, but one thing folks might not understand until they actually start writing: Actually writing the thing out, making it flesh and letting it breathe, will inherently change your two-dimensional outline. I’m not saying that your plot will derail itself, but only once you begin bringing the story to life, begin living on the page through the characters, will you begin to feel them as living beings, and can really begin to understand them and make them feel real to readers. No outline can do this, and will always fall short of feeling “good enough” for this reason.

(sorry, a lot of how I feel about writing sounds slightly unhinged when I try to talk about it, so please remember that the first original novel I wrote was based on a recurring nightmare I had after a psychotic break, which I literally wrote as therapy to banish the Bad Thoughts. Yes, it worked. Yes, that’s why I still write this way more than a decade later.)

But this is where you’ll begin to fill in the “gaps” inherent in any outline. Personality quirks, inside jokes between characters, feeling their feelings and translating that to the page. But also picking up all the dangling threads like repeating themes and emotional triggers.

I think I’ve gone way far off the path here…

Basically, pick one of your outlines. Decide you’re gonna start writing it. Then start writing it. It’s that simple, and that seemingly impossible. Write one sentence. Then write another. Then write lots more.

Good luck! I know it’s terrifying. I’m terrified every time I pick a new fic idea to write and stare at that blank document. But I stare it down, give a hearty pterodactyl screech, and dive bomb the keyboard. It’s really the only way to do it.

It’s worked pretty well for me so far. :P

[odaatlover]

Author Q&A

Q: What’s your sexual orientation? 

A: I identify as gay. 

Q: Which country are you from? 

A: The United States - more specifically the southeast. 

Q: Sometimes the level of detail and realism in the fic amazes me to no end. So I was wondering if you had taken inspiration on personal experiences or some real life people to write any scenes or describe some details? 

A: Thank you! I have taken a few things from my own life – most of it being the more sexual stuff – but for the most part I’m just putting myself into the mindset of these characters and just writing as if I am them. I’m a very empathetic person, and it’s incredibly easy for me to put myself into ‘other people’s shoes’, so to speak. So because of that, I am able to write as if I am actually Nicole, or Waverly, or whoever is speaking in the moment. I do it for every single character in my story. It’s kind of fun, because it’s almost like acting! I will say that the only character I feel that’s a little different in my story than in the show is Dolls. I think in the show he’s a little more “to the point”, but in my story he’s a bit more easy going and laid back. That wasn’t a conscious decision, it just sort of happened that way. But I feel like if he wasn’t an agent that was trained to eradicate paranormal forces, he would be more laid back like that anyways, so it works out! 

Q: Last movie you watched? 

A: The Miseducation of Cameron Post, and it was VERY good. Chloë Grace Moretz’s acting in the film is incredible. It’s very realistic and eye-opening, and I definitely recommend buying/renting it and supporting the queer woman who wrote and directed it! 

Q: What do you usually use to write your fanfictions? 

A: I use Word on my laptop, and when I’m out and get a sudden burst of inspiration I’ll pull up the Notes app on my phone and start writing. The Notes app is great because it’s linked to my laptop as well, so when I get home I can just pull up the app on my computer and everything is there from my phone, so I just copy and paste it into my Word document! Technology is great. 

Q: What does a typical day look like for you? 

A: I wake up, take my wife to work, go to my job where I teach some kids how to play percussion instruments, come home to do something creative (writing, creating music, playing an instrument, etc.), pick my wife up from work, do something with her – usually either watching TV or playing a board game, go to sleep. 

Q: What’s your favorite thing to write? 

A: Most of the time, smut. Which is why there’s so much of it in my story! But I also really enjoy writing the humorous stuff as well. 

Q: Favorite WayHaught kiss? 

A: Their first one…it was a really good first kiss 😏 

Q: Do you already have in mind other fics for the future? 

A: Actually, I’m in the process of writing one right now! It’s a WayHaught high school alternate universe story in which Waverly is a cheerleader and Nicole is a basketball player who transfers to Purgatory High in the middle of sophomore year (10th grade). The story focuses on Waverly and Nicole figuring out who they are as young adults, discovering their sexuality, and exploring their bodies – as teenagers do. The goal is to make it as true as possible to being a teenager in 2019, for all of the teens out there that are stuck in high school and need something to relate to. I feel like a lot of the high school fics are a bit outdated, or don’t “go there” enough to touch on the “uncomfortable” or “taboo” topics. And you better believe that this fic will! I’m getting close to halfway through with it – about 10 chapters so far – and have been working on it for the past month. I will begin posting that when I’ve completed it, so be on the lookout! If you’re interested in helping me out with some plotline ideas for it, you can fill out this survey here… https://www.opinionstage.com/odaatlover/wayhaught-high-school-fanfiction-topics-calling-all-teens-or-anyone-interested-in-providing-ideas 

Q: What’s your favorite holiday? 

A: Pride! …does that even count as a holiday? If not, then I’ll say Christmas. 

Q: What’s your favorite kind of date night? 

A: Something where we can converse pretty easily. Maybe dinner or walking around somewhere. 

Q: Do you brainstorm chapters before you write them? 

A: Sometimes I’ll have a layout. For example, this is the exact brainstorming layout I have written out in my notes app for the next chapter… 

Chapter 55 – (title?) 

- Dolls asks Nicole for advice on a date he has planned 

- Nedley asks Nicole to go “undercover” to find out what’s going on with Chrissy in her life 

- Waverly surprises Nicole with a romantic homemade dinner. They talk about their day, Waverly asks Nicole some questions about her past. 

There’s a little sneak peek for you guys 😉 But other than that, all of the dialogue just kind of flows naturally. There have been a couple of chapters where I didn’t have a layout at all and just let the words flow out of my brain, but most of the time I have an idea of the main plots of the chapter. 

Q: Waverly or Nicole? 

A: I relate more to Nicole, but I find Waverly to be more attractive. 

Q: Do you have any siblings? 

A: I have a sister who is 3 ½ years older than I am. 

Q: What color are your eyes? 

A: Blue. And they’re very sensitive to sunlight. I spend most of my life squinting. 

Q: Do you ever get writer’s block? 

A: Yes! Quite often, actually. Which is why your survey answers in regard to “The Grind” have been so helpful! Also, those who comment on my fic with ideas of things they want to see help too. Any time I get writer’s block, I’ll either read some fics to draw inspiration from, or I’ll just start writing something that’s completely different, just to get the creative juices flowing. Often when I have writer’s block and aren’t sure where to take the story, I’ll just do a random smutty chapter for the week. Hope you all are okay with that 😉 If you haven’t filled it out yet, you can find that survey here… https://www.opinionstage.com/odaatlover/the-grind-reader-survey 

Q: Lipstick or chapstick? 

A: If you’re asking which type of lesbian I am, chapstick. If you’re asking which one I prefer on my lips…chapstick. 

Q: Favorite concert you’ve ever been to? 

A: Blue Man Group! Although, I will say that I went to Taylor Swift’s Reputation tour back in August with my wife who is obsessed with her, and although I’m not crazy about her music, I’ll admit that the girl can perform. I thought I was going to hate it, but I actually really enjoyed it. 

Q: Is there a specific place that you write? 

A: Most of the time I just write at my house - either at the table or sometimes on the couch in my living room, but occasionally I like to go to the Barnes & Noble at the mall close to us and write there. My wife and I will go together and we’ll just sit at the same table – me writing and her reading a book – while we occasionally steal glances at each other and kick each other’s feet. It’s pretty great. 

Q: What superpower would you choose and why? 

A: Shapeshifting, because I genuinely want to know what it’s like to walk through life as other people, more specifically as a man 🤔 

Q: Windows or Mac? 

A: Mac. I have nothing against Windows, but everything I use is Apple and I’m used to it. 

Q: What’s a fun fact about you? 

A: I’m deaf in my right ear and wear a hearing aid, due to having had a lot of ear infections as a kid. Bonus round: I started wearing glasses at age of 2, but stopped needing them at 16 because my eye doctor said that my glasses corrected my vision and I didn’t need to wear them anymore, so now I’m glasses-free! 🤓 (<-- not me) 

Q: Favorite lesbian YouTuber? 

A: Rose and Rosie! They’re hilarious, and honestly remind me of my wife and myself. 

Q: Describe yourself in three words. 

A: Where’s my wallet? (Always using it, always losing it…) 

Q: What was the #1 song on the radio the day you were born? 

A: *searches song* Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-a-Lot 😂 Classic. 

Q: What languages do you speak? 

A: English and some Spanish. I can understand Spanish better than I can properly speak it. My wife is fluent in both, but her first language is Spanish, so I’m exposed to it often.

Q: Are you a DomKat fan? 

A: I love them! I genuinely enjoy watching their interviews, including the ones with them as individuals (Just Dom or just Kat). I also enjoy listening to the podcasts they’ve been featured in, more specifically Tales Of The Black Badge. I don’t ship them as a couple like a lot of people think they secretly are, but I love their friendship. You can tell they genuinely enjoy each other’s company, which in turn shows through their WayHaught scenes on screen. I love both of them, but I’m a bigger fan of Dominique. She’s just so adorable! 

Q: Do you have any celebrity crushes? 

A: Dominique Provost-Chalkley 😍 But also, Emma Watson. 

Q: What is your favorite season of Wynonna Earp? 

A: I think season 2 is my favorite. I loved season 3, but I liked season 2 better. And season 1 was inevitably them trying to figure things out since they didn’t have any fans yet. 

Q: What’s your least favorite thing about Wynonna Earp? 

A: The violence. They’ve toned it down a bit, which is good, but it was a little too much in the first season, which made it kind of difficult for me to watch. I’m not a huge fan of violence 🙅🏻 

Q: Do you have any other lesbian ships that you like? 

A: Well, I’ve watched the supercuts of pretty much EVERY lesbian ship out there, but I am a big Hollstein (Laura and Carmilla) fan. Spashley (Spencer and Ashley) was the first teen lesbian ship I was exposed to, so that will obviously always hold a special place in my heart. I loved Sanvers (Alex and Maggie), but since it ended I kind of lost interest in that ship. Big Calzona (Callie and Arizona) fan, and am super sad they’re no longer on the show. And I’m currently getting hooked on Avalance (Ava and Sara) now that we’ve just finished season 3 of Legends of Tomorrow. Basically, I’m very gay… 

Q: Do you have any fanfic recommendations? 

A: “From Afar” – Avrilsky. I know it’s popular, but I really enjoyed that one. Also, “How do I wrap my heart up for Christmas” by breezered is short, but sweet. 

Someone asked for me to tell my coming out story, and I’m going to make a separate post about that one tomorrow where I’ll share my story. So if you’re the person who asked me that, don’t worry, your question was not ignored and I will answer it! 

Thank you to all who sent me questions! ❤️

[attackofthezee]

WIP meme

Pretty sure I’ve done this before but I was tagged by @bangyababy (and one other person I think??? But it either got lost in my activity notifications or was a weird fever dream??) so I’m doing it again cause I wanna. Also wow I have too many wips so this is under a cut cause it got long as hell. 

The Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous.

Grad School Bucky Cap Steve (There’s literally two lines in this document?? Idk what I’m doing with it and it might be shuffled into the fanfic mortuary file next time I sort through fics.) 

Barnes Home For Wayward Kids (Bucky keeps showing up at home with orphans and so he and Steve just end up with like a whole house of them. It’s also probably going into the fanfic mortuary cause it hasn’t been touched since uhhhh last year?) 

Werewolf Cap Merica F* Yeah (What it says on the tin! The serum is actually lycanthropy. Steve jumps out of things and gives Bucky heart attacks. It is exactly what people should expect from me tbh.) 

Found Baby AU (I WILL ONE DAY FINISH THIS ONE I SWEAR. It features Vet!Bucky who finds a baby in a dumpster and ends up in Pediatrician!Steve’s office at like 1 am and IT IS JUST A LOT OF SOFTNESS AND ONE DAY I WILL FINISH IT.) 

NEW DRAGON AU This Time Featuring More Fae (Steve is a dragon and Bucky is fae and they 110% use fae magic and accidentally blood bind themselves to each other at like 9 years old oops. Sarah and Winifred are NOT amused.) 

Party Goblin Sequel (One time, years ago, I wrote a fic called Adulthood Is Just A Myth -shameless plug!- and it didn’t do incredibly well despite my love for it at the time buuuut I’ve had a sequel planned for it since pretty much the moment I finished it. It involves Bucky losing his arm because I’m a terrible person, and like the exploration of disability and Steve being a disabled person dealing with the person he loves dealing with disability. It’s still funny, because I’m me, but it will also take forever and a day for me to ever finish it because I am Bad At writing things that are overly close to me.) 

Cap PSAs (Literally just a fic about Bucky getting a lot of joy at Steve’s expense from Steve’s really awful school PSAs) 

Practical Magic AU (Listen I have craved a Practical Magic AU for YEARS. So I started one a couple months back, but then wearing_tearing went and wrote one because they are a fic writing goddess so now I DON’T NEED TO. But it’s still sitting in my WIP folder so maybe one day I’ll actually finish it under the Two Cakes rule.) 

IW FIX IT (I had a lot of feelings after seeing Infinity War??? And I wanted to fix them??? But this is another one that’ll probably go into the fic mortuary because I have NO CLUE what I was planning to do with it.) 

MAJOR REWORK NEEDED great american roadtrip (Once upon a time, December 11th 2016 to be exact, at least according to the document details, I sat down to write an epic fanfic where two old assholes went on a road trip, saw the grand canyon, went camping, and also kept up with their therapy via phone appointments.) 

both fall of train au (you think both fall off the train aus mean they both get captured by HYDRA? THINK AGAIN. Because what is TRAGEDY? I CAN’T WRITE ANGST so this shit is just Steve and Bucky fall off the train together and both wake up in the 21st century and Have To Adjust. Idk where it’s going, idk anything beyond that basic premise but who knows, IT MIGHT BE GOOD ONE DAY?)

the sequel i'm not writing to where the heart is (the fact that I haven’t touched this since August means the title is technically correct. Basically it’s the story of how Where The Heart Is!Bucky and Steve go on vacation and end up taking down the leftover bits of HYDRA instead. Also Bucky’s instagram is featured a lot. This one actually has a lot written already so like, I wanna finish it eventually.) 

is it... a fake dating au???? (A one night stand turns into Steve fake dating Bucky for family events because I love tropes.) 

non recovery fic except it IS (Idk how to describe this one except that like it’s a recovery fic but it started based on the premise that not being okay is okay. It’s cute and sad and deals with recovery things.) 

Steve Rogers Meets His Irish History: c. 2016 (This one is literally just a document with a link to what inspired it and also will require a lot of research so who the hell knows what’ll happen with it.) 

A DIFFERENT FOUND BABY (THIS ONE GOT AWAY FROM ME GUYS. Like it started with Bucky Barnes coming home to Steve because he found A BABY AND I LOVE KIDFIC but then I veered into like How Steve Rogers Relates To Disability, His Body, His Gay Identity, And Gender All In Relation To His Past Disability so like, it’s a mess.) 

Angel Steve yo (This will one day be my magnum opus tbh. Steve’s an asshole angel who shows up to a Halloween party in booty shorts and devil horns. Bucky’s the confused millennial who wants to bone him. I don’t think I’ll ever love a premise more tbh.)  

ABO PREG STEVE WHAT (I am genuinely not shy about the fact that I like abo and mpreg and all that soft shit, so like, this is just the result of that enjoyment and features omega Steve going into the ice pregnant, waking up and having a baby because THAT PLOT HASN’T BEEN DONE A MILLION TIMES IN ABO FICS OR ANYTHING. whispering softly but with feeling: two cakes Elizabeth, TWO CAKES.) 

B99 Kinda (Steve Rogers is a cop in Brooklyn. Bucky Barnes is a firefighter who Steve’s kinda smitten with.) 

Jersey- Coda (Soft tummy edition) (someone commented on This Is Why People Don’t Go To Jersey saying they hope Steve’s tummy was soft after having a baby and my inner lizard brain went YES THIS IS GOOD, VERY GOOD. So it’s literally just a fic about Steve having a soft tummy and Bucky being very fond of it.) 

soulmate au f yeah (This is my CHILD and I will one day finish the motherfucker. It’s soulmate magical realism where soulmate’s hearts BEAT THE SAME and there is recovery and goodness and god I love the premise a lot, ngl.) 

FIRST LADY STEVE ROGERS (This is actually just the document that I have Making The Ride Count in, but it’s also got bits and pieces that will become other parts in the series.) 

Will an 80s winter soldier wear leg warmers? (Bucky breaks his programming in the 80s and he and Peggy pal around beating HYDRA and terrorizing people until Steve’s dug out of the ice again.) 

competitive assholes (the idea was given to me to have Steve and Bucky be neighbors competing over decorations and I NOW MUST WRITE IT.) 

Omega Rights Activist Steve (College abo with omega Steve and Alpha Bucky and like, lots of softness and Bucky just wanting to build Steve THE BEST NEST and Steve being like I AM A STRONG CAPABLE OMEGA but also ‘yes pls buy me seventeen pillows and twenty-five blankets and fluff them strategically for me.’) 

An Angel And A Demon Walk Into A Bar... (Angel Steve + Demon Bucky = BEST FRIENDS FOREVERRRRRR. Also lots of jokes about heaven having too much paperwork.)

holiday swap - finish by 12/21 (For the Marvel Holiday Swap. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’M DOING WITH THIS ONE DEAR LORD HELP ME.) 

 It All Comes Back Around (Chapter three! It’s coming along slow as hell but it IS coming along.) 

FOR LATER (a fic in which Steve wakes up from the ice and starts making mental lists of ‘things Bucky would like’ because he’s a sad, sad human being.)

Loyalty Devotion (For Happy Steve Bingo. There’s selkies??? and Steve is some sort of unspecified magic??? and it’s a little different than my norm writing style wise?? Idk we’ll see how it turns out. I might edit the first bits copiously so that it’s more my style, or i might embrace the flow of this one WE SHALL SEE.)

Aaaand I can’t think of anyone to tag right this moment because my brain is word soup soooo if you want to do this then please go forth and do it! There are no rules here, this is the wild west of meme games, BE FREE WRITER FRIENDS BE FREE 

[flamingjets]

newt and theseus fanfic

Newt had just arrived back from New York and just got through his door at his house when a letter arrived by owl, an owl that belong to his older brother Theseus. Newt retrieved the letter from the owls leg and gave it a small treat as a thank you for delivering the letter. The owl hooted its glee and took off again and disappeared through the window. 

Newt looked at the letter in his hand knowing full well what it was going to say and that his older war hero ministry auror brother Theseus was going to be very unhappy with what happened in New York. So to avoid the unhappiness of the letter Newt put the letter on the table and avoiding opening it by going into his case and caring for his creatures. Still feeling the affects of his torture by Grindelwald and the small injuries he had received he cleaned up the wounds even though the cut on his palm was the deepest one and needed more care. Newt knew the moment his brother saw it he would be furious. Fantastic. Maybe newt could attempt to cover it up with a bandage and say it was from trying to get one of his creatures back as he did in fact fall through a glass window trying to get his niffler back.

A couple hours later Newt emerged from his case and opened up the letter. He has gotten a request from the ministry of magic to appear and discuss what happened in New York and his involvement with Grindelwald. If he wasn't thrilled enough to see his brother he now had to go and see the minister to go over what happened. Newt remember with anger the last time he had to see the minster of magic after he returned from a trip, his travel permits got revoked, and now most likely they will be taken away again and possibly more restrictions. Great.

Newt cleaned up a bit because merlin forbid he show up with a dirty jacket and embarrass Theseus once again. Always a thorn in Theseus’ side and causing him trouble with his creatures and what he does in order to save his creatures. Newt knew his brother cared about him but rarely showed it in person where he was a lot colder toward him as where in letters it was clear he worried about his brother and often wrote telling him to be careful. In person Newt might as well be a bug since often his brother called him an annoyance and to try not to be himself. Newt looked around his apartment to make sure he had everything and that his case was safe and in not fear of it opening up he departed to the ministry of magic.

Newt arrived at the ministry and told the guard he had an appointment and was let through the door as he appeared in the massive main hall. To his surprise he was greet by Leta a woman he had feelings for in the past and the reason he was expelled from Hogwarts, he took the blame for her accidentally almost killing another student by a creature. Newt was expelled and it became a black mark on him as where only a few people knew the truth of what happened his former professor Albus Dumbledore being one of them. He had found out recently that Theseus and Leta had gotten engaged and it stung a bit but he was still happy for them. “Congrats on the engagement Leta.” Newt blurted out without thinking. “Nice to see you as well Newt. And thank you. How are you doing since everyone has heard what happened with you in New York.” Leta smiled as they walked together down the hallway. “I’m doing alright a few scrapes but nothing that won't heal. I was trying to save a young boy and failed.” Newt replied sadly. If everyone had heard about it which means he is in deep trouble. “I’m sorry Newt but from what I hear they might revoke your documents.” Leta warned Newt since it was what Theseus had off handed told her. “I figured that would be the case since the moment I returned my pass was taken.” Newt shook his head in frustration.

That moment Newt noticed Theseus walking toward them with a purposeful confident stride. Newt bowed his head a little as his brother approached. “Hello Newt I see you actually showed up when requested without having to be dragged here. Leta I have to talk to my young wayward brother.” Theseus looked over his brother as Leta nodded and put a hand on newt’s arm smiled and walked away. “Hello Theseus. You know I don’t like coming here based on the fact they all believe what I do is pointless and the last time I was here my permits were taken and now it would seem they will be again.” Newt looked up at his brother not bothering to plead his case since his brother never breaks the law except for the one time during the war but that was different.

Theseus took hold of Newt’s arm and guided him toward a a side hallway out of view of others and out of hearing range. “First of all I’m glad you are alright after what happened in New York. Hearing you went up against Grindelwald by yourself and come out alive was amazing by itself and finding out what happened through the ministry and not from you wasn't exactly fair since they never mentioned if you were badly hurt until they said you helped capture him and that you were on your way home. And dont for one second think I dont see that bandage on your hand and try to play it off and blame one of your creatures I know better.” Theseus calmly told his younger brother with a soothing voice that didn’t sound upset or angry. “And I’m sorry Newt but they will be taking away your travel permits that can’t be stopped.” Theseus said as he shook his head. Newt hung his head knowing it would happen as Theseus brought him to the door of the minister.

Three months later.

Newt hated not being able to travel he wanted to go see Tina and try to stop in at Jacob’s bakery to see how he was doing. But without his permits he was forced to remain in the city hating life. Newt was writing a letter to Tina when he got a knock on his door. He put down his quill and opened the door surprised to see an owl he knows only to belong to Dumbledore holding a letter. Newt grabbed it and opened it up and small ripped up pieces of a post card floated up and repaired themselves to show Paris and written on the card “Meet me in Paris Newt.” Signed with a D. Newt knew he couldn’t travel but that didn’t matter he grabbed his coat and his case and departed. Newt arrived in Paris and wondered the streets waiting for a sign from Dumbledore. Newt had put his case in a safe place so he could move faster when needed he stood next to a statue and looked over his shoulder and appearing next to him a single glove pointing to a building. Newt grabbed the glove and was apparated to the top and facing none other then Dumbledore himself. “Hello Newt wonderful view from here don’t you think.” Dumbledore smiled at him. “Hello professor why did you want to talk to me.” Newt asked confused on the reason Dumbledore wanted to see him. Newt had found out Grindelwald had escaped and could possibly be in Paris attempting to get followers. “Newt I have something to ask of you. Something I can’t do but I only trust you with doing. I can’t stand against Grindelwald. I can’t fight him as where you can.” Dumbledore explained. “Aurors are currently trying to locate him including your brother and Tina. Both are here in Paris to find him and bring him down. You got near him once Newt I know you can do it again.” Newt was shocked to learn Theseus and Tina were here looking for Grindelwald no wonder his brother didn’t reply to a letter or was around the ministry. “I will do it.” Newt agreed knowing this was his way to get close to Tina again. Newt had no idea what he was heading into and that hell was about to let loose.

A massive fight had broken out in the graveyard as aurors change sides to join Grindelwald and starting to fight against those who rejected the offer put to them by grindelwald. Newt had gotten the attention of the dark wizard as he watched credence and Queenie join him and watched Leta get killed by a counter attack after she attempted to take him down. “Mr. Scamander do you think Dumbledore will mourn for you?” Speaking directly to Newt knowing full well how Dumbledore feelings about this young man with special creatures in a case. Newt glared at Grindelwald as Theseus came up behind him “Don’t you dare touch my brother!” Just as grindelwald smiled and sent an attack toward Newt as he defended himself as he got knocked to the ground. Theseus jumped to his brothers side as Grindelwald sent another attack their way and kept them coming. Newt and Theseus barely kept the attacks away as they apparated out of the way and up into the graveyard just as Grindelwald summoned a curse to destroy Paris. The blue flames arouse in the graveyard and took out everything it touched and at that moment Newt and Theseus saw Flamel holding up a counter curse to prevent the curse from leaving the graveyard. Newt and theseus stood in front of him as they knocked back attacks from followers and cast a spell to knock them all back. Flamel told them to get out as Tina jacob and others joined them in escaping. When they thought all hope was lost a massive phoenix showed up and blocked the blue flamed dragon as the survivors were whisked away.

They appararted on a bridge outside a massive castle. Newt didn’t believe he would see it again or come near it. Hogwarts. Newt turned to his brother and the first time he was the one to hug his brother first. “I’m sorry Thee. But now we are on the same side.” Newt told his brother before he didn’t pick sides but with all that has happened he knew what side he was on. Walking toward the survivors from the other side of the bridge was non other than Dumbledore. Newt looked at everyone and everyone looked beaten broken and in shock. If Grindelwald wanted a fight then he was going to get one. Newt didn’t have a plan yet or even know where to start but hoping that his professor would be able to give them a light in the darkness.