#I worry I’m going to lose steam on my fanfic I started before I get very far | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

datoneboardedguy · 1 year ago

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Avatar: Legend of Korra Fanfiction - Korra x OC Male Reader.

(DISCLAIMER’S: I DON’T OWN THE LEGEND OF KORRA IP OR IT’S CHARACTERS! & THIS IS A NON CANON FANFICTION THAT ISN’T CONSTRAINED BY THE LIMITATIONS OF THE OFFICIAL AVATAR LOK CANON & ANY ATTEMPT’S TO SILENCE THIS FANFIC IS A BLATANT VIOLATION OF MY FREE SPEECH RIGHT’S!)

Chapter 8: Legacies..

M/R’S POV:

A couple of days have gone by since I nearly got a roasting of a lifetime by pretty woman, I have been on the road since that night hitchhiking left & right. I’ve met some really weird people who’ve developed an unhealthy obsession for Cabbage Corp Cabbages & some very exotic travelers who can’t stop singing everything they say while constantly drinking Cactus Juices of all kinds. I eventually arrived at small village that’s bustling with life, as I’m checking out the local food market an elderly man started starring at me. He seemed to have recognised me even though I didn’t know him he calls me over “Hey kid come over here!” As I reached his food stall he asked “Hello there young lad welcome to Nox’s Tofu Stand, what can I get ya?..” I looked at his food selection as he sets up his recent batch of cooked dishes for display & a specific smell invaded my nasal canals & refused to let me go until I sniffed it out ordered it & pointed at the specific dish asked the stall owner “I’ll take that dish please.” “Alright lad, one dish of spicy steamed chicken Tofu coming right up!” As he sees my visible excitement & anticipation for my order he raises an eyebrow & curiously asks “Say kid would you like to have any ’mushrooms’ added to your ..meal?” I instantly respond “Ugh No thanks, it always disagrees with me..” then Nox’s eyes widened in realisation & points to me while saying “I know you now, you’re Rick’s boy!” Then my eyes widened as I ask “You knew my father?!..” “I sure did boy he used to talk about you all the time& how used to cradle you to sleep with bad jokes when you were a wee little baby!” He then sadly looks down as he says “I also heard about your father’s passing in the line of duty, I’m soo sorry for your loss your father was a good kid.” I then wiped away a tear & asked “Did they mention how he died?” He closed his eyes & sighs “Word is that he was murdered while stopping a prisoner who murdered his own mother from escaping.” The revelation of my farther’s murder being pinned on me is just unbelievable It’s more unbelievable that everyone buys it. As Nox notices how upset I’m getting he pulls out my freshly cooked meal & hands it to me saying “Here kid, your meal’s ready.” As reach into my satchel to pay him he simply puts his hand up & says “You don’t ever have to worry about paying kid, it’s on the house.” “You don’t need to do that for me, you work hard & deserve to be just like everyone else.”- “Your farther dedicated his entire life to helping & protecting others, you don’t ever need to worry about paying for your orders. Just don’t go overboard kid, I don’t want you to start overeating.” “Heh, I won’t. Hey you know where the Town inn is?..” “It’s just that building on the right across that bridge but before ya go I got something that ya have to see kid.” “What about your food stall?”- “Oh don’t worry, it’s fine I’m closing the stall anyway.” He says as he grabs his things & we head off.

Korra’s POV:

After I nearly hurt someone trying to fight my inner demons & easily dealt with a couple of mugger’s I get run over by an oncoming Satomobile thankfully I’m not hurt too much & as I get up I see small white Dog barking at me from a nearby alleyway, started following him to a nearby swamp only for it to turn into the little yellow spirit from before “Wait, I met you from the Tree of Time. You should’ve told me who you were.” “If I did would you’ve followed me?!” “Okay I get your point, why did you bring me here? What am I gonna find in a swamp?” “Not a what, a who.” He says as he flies ahead & I lose sight of him, as I rush behind I shouted “No wait, ..come back!” Trying to catch up only to find myself once again. Just staring at me “You’re just in my mind, y-you’re not real!” I say as she starts Fire bending blasts of flames at me knocking me back, I get up & attack back with two waterbending streams, she dodges them with ease then bends fire, water & earth based attacks at me all at once, knocking me down into another section of the swamp. She strikes down at me with a fire kick & then sends me back further into the muddy ground with a water strike. I get up & try to make a break for it as she shoots another fireball my way, I earthbend a rock back towards her & air jump my way up the nearest tree. She then hooked up my right ankle with with her chains, a puddle of the silver poison that almost killed me years ago then formed around her feet & she started slowly sinking into it pulling me back down into the puddle of silver poison. I tried holding onto the tree branch I was hanging onto but in the end it was no use as I’m pulled out the tree & into the puddle of poison & all I can do before I’m pulled under is scream “H-HELP!” then everything went black.

Hours later-

I’m woken up by a ray of moonlight shining in my face through a hole in a cave as I hear an old lady’s voice saying “Feeling better?” I get up & see a hunched over old woman cooking food by the fire & ask “Where am I? ..What happened?” “I was hoping you’d tell me, I found you passed out in the mud.” “How did you know I was out there?” “I’m pretty tapped into the goings on around here. ..What brings you to the swamp anyway?” “A spirit led me here & told me I was supposed to find someone, is that you?” “Beats me, but if your Avatar Senses led you here you should probably listen to them.” “Wait, you recognise me?” I ask as I stand up & slowly approach her “In a matter of speaking, we were good friends in your previous life.” I then bend a small flame in my hand to get a better look at this woman, only to see those grey eyes blankly staring off into the distance as she turns around to face me then I now recognise her “I-I can’t believe it, Toph?!” She giggles at hearing name & “Hello Twinkle Toes!..”

M/R’s POV:

It’s now nighttime & we’re on the other end of town approaching an old apartment building that’s filled up with people, every Apartment door we pass is bustling with life inside of it until we reach the door that is dead silent Apartment 97. “We’re here kid.” Nox then pulls out the keys to this apartment door, unlocks it then he backs away & tells me “Go on kid, open the door.” “Okay?..” I turn the doorknob & opened the door, we walk into apartment as I’m looking around before curiously asking “Is this your apartment sir?” He simply says “Nah kid, it belonged to your father & now ..it’s yours.” “What?!..” he then pulls out & hands me a family picture of my father, mother & me as a baby standing in front of the Sounther Watertribe ice sculptured water fountain, my father is holding me between them as he’s uncomfortably staring at me while I’m picking my father’s nose as my mother’s just laughing. “Your father asked me to house sit wherever he was on duty keeping him away from his home for several days at a time. Just before left for his shift’s he always used to hand me that photo just in case he didn’t come back but of course he always did until he didn’t.” I then looked down sadly, eyes started welling up as Nox continued talking “Ever since then I’ve been making sure that the Plants watered, the Apartments well maintained just like Rick left it, keeping his bills paid & preserving as much of his legacy as I can.” *Sniffs* “Thank you..” “It’s okay kid, it’s the least I can do. If you ever need anything kid anything I’m only down the hall.” “Wait, I thought you said didn’t live here?” “I only said this isn’t me apartment. I didn’t say that I didn’t live in the building, ya only assumed that I didn’t live the building..” Nox slyly remarked as he walks out of the apartment he turned back to say “Oh & M/R, ..welcome home kid.” Then shuts the door. I sigh being too tired to do any exercise so just quickly use the loo & see the Cactus Plant that Nox’s just told me about & I get a cup of water & pour it into the Cactus soil i then see an inscription on pot that says “Love Always Sprouts, If You Let It Grow.” As I read I slowly started crying into the night..

End of Chapter!-

#male reader #fanfic #avatar #avatar korra #avatar lok #korra x reader #original character #legacies #reunion

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zumpietoo · 2 years ago

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No, Stillbitter, their job is to write the show, as dictated by RAS....now, you can argue the show should seek to please the viewer, their end consumer, buuuuttt as I routinely point out, their are numerous reasons for that.....and your refusal to accept this is not my or their problem.

Dude, it’s the show’s last season and traditional, scripted teevee, especially on the CW is dying....plus, again, Netflix funded it....and will control subsequent liscening, etc....

Also, I thought you were convinced fanfic was the ultimate art form?

I even agree they’re ALL hacks, including RAS, but....irrelevant. You’re just pissed you’re not getting your way and haven’t for, actually, well past 2 seasons....and starting to maybeee realice, you’re never getting your way, after all. And attempting to hide your impotent rage in an “art critique”. Dude, you lose.....because your kween is an unprofessional slut. Suck it.

Also, “respect their own integrity”???? WTF even IS that/does that fucking mean? It’s a dumb teevee show!

No, they don’t worry at all, nor should you....and we know you’re not, so time to also stop with this bullshit.

RAS never had “wonderboy pants’, dude......you just, again, credited him because you liked Jizzy. Kittylitter Swell was shit (and veryyyyy much tracked with his fantasies of what feminity should be, with lots of sleazy cheating, etc) shit and completely the same old narrative....

No, dude, again, you didn’t. If you legit rewatched this thing....you’d see we were “lucky” in season 1, by accident.....everything else really never was and there was never, EVER a “consistently emotionally anchored narrative”. I have no idea what your pretentious word salad even means, but it certainly was never this show....

And no, that’s how you ended it in your mind for your fanfics....don’t confuse the two.

OMG.....A) no, Babyman does what RAS tells him to do, time to accept that. B) never existed. Tho, TBF, Jug still does/is, thanks to Cole’s acting. And, again, WTF is this “emotional consistency”???? Definitely NOT what Slizzy showed....and, actually, if you rewatch, you also see her motivations were never about Jughead, she always used him as a placeholder, looked down on him, took credit for his accomplisments and was an asshole.

No, again, you just don’t like that you don’t have your ship anymoar....

Oh you’ll watch, continue to insert your fanfics/refuse to accept reality and whine a shit ton moar....

I have never understood viewers who can’t see why something happened after an IRL couple split up and thus needed to be separated onscreen, as well. Especially when the show does so consistently...

And yet True Blood’s apparently already set to reboot, per you. And so fucking what? It is what it is and most shows that have gone on for quite awhile tend to run out of steam, etc....it’s why they end them.

Does it matter if they do or don’t?

Gotta love all this concern about their future, all because y’all didn’t get your way!

OMG....again, it makes you “so sad” that a goofy teevee show didn’t end up giving you what you wanted? Dude.....that IS sad, but it certainly doesn’t make me sad, it makes me laugh at how ridiculous you are.....

Again, really do love how NONE of you are willing to see, let alone accept WHY they changed shit.....go than your kween.

(also love the impotent rage, again)

Annnddd.....now “I’m leaving, but I have fanfic!!! So it’s better!!!” Gee, neverrrr heard that before....

Again, Snorty, so don’t watch and try recognizing why.....at least we’re no longer getting your endless fake spoilers and scuttlebutt!

Also “bag fumbling”???? Do their dullard brains mean “ball fumbling”, like in football? Cuz I’ve never heard of “bag fumbling”? Is that what happens if you drop your groceries???

Oh it’s Urban Dictionary....okay, I think it’s still a misversion of “ball fumbling”

Yes, it’s truly wild you didn’t get your way because your kween is an unprofessional slut.....and you refuse to see it.

Dude, they DGAF.....suck it! And we come to the other reason this so utterly infuriates them: it demonstrates they have no power and nobody GAF about them or pleasing them, EVER.....

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thran-duils · 3 years ago

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Was Ich Liebe (P.3, Final)

Title: Was Ich Liebe (Part Three, Final) Summary: Fem!Reader x Dark!Tony Stark. Tony becomes enamored with a stripper at a club his hedonistic friend Thor owns. A casual sexual relationship quickly becomes possessive and the reader sees more of the underground mafia life than she would like to. The cherry on top is that Tony is married and so is she. Him to a woman who has no intention of losing her throne at any cost and the reader to a deadbeat alcoholic. Feeling trapped by both her previous life and the suffocating hold Tony is trying to put on her, the reader steals away in the night, which is not going to go over well. Words: 4,647 Warnings (for whole fic, more may be added): Dub-con, smut, infidelity, stripping, vaginal fingering, public sex, possessive behavior, angst, degradation kink, violence, physical abuse, domestic violence, language, drug use, alcoholism, death Warnings for this chapter: Mention of abortion! Author’s Note: As usual, this is 18+.

Part Two || Masterpost (mobile) || Fanfic masterpost

Tony was calling. He must have gone to the apartment and found you gone by now, especially since you had not been answering him via text or by phone. You sent him to voicemail letting your music start again. You had rented a car to drive away from the city.

The jewelry he had given you came in handy to get cash that you were using for gas and hopefully a down payment on an apartment somewhere. Stripping joints were abundant, and you were sure if you found a sizable city, you would find work without an issue. You were thinking about Milwaukee. It was far enough away from NYC and there was a college there too.

Your phone beeped with another voicemail from him. Signing, against your better judgment, you reached forward to press play, it coming over the car’s speakers.

He was pissed. Unsurprisingly. He had been tight on the last one he had left, wound up that you were not answering him. But this was a whole different level. He was practically shouting.

“This better be a goddamn joke, Y/N. My patience is already up with it though. Did you think I wouldn’t notice you had snuck out? Where the fuck is all the jewelry? Huh? Your clothes? If I find out you left and you’re cheating on me, I’m gonna kill them.”

You did not doubt him when he said that. And he confirmed he was at the apartment if he noticed your stuff was gone.

“And were you planning on telling me about the pregnancy?” Your eyes widened and then you swore remembering you had not emptied the trash in the bathroom. “Or were you just gonna keep that to yourself? Listen very carefully to me, if you do something drastic, I’m not gonna be nice about it. Not in the fucking slightest. You best believe that and take that to heart! Don’t be fucking stupid! Call. Me. Back.”

The voicemail ended.

Yes. The pregnancy. You were already thinking about which office you could go to. You had left a note for Thor about quitting and you wondered how quickly your health insurance was going to stay in place. Before after leaving a job, it had stayed on until the end of the month, but you were unsure, and you were not about to call him and ask. An appointment at a clinic though, that was something you needed to deal with quickly. You were sure there was a facility you could find when you got yourself established.

<><><>

“You’re a psychopath,” Carol said to Tony, smirking.

She was watching him put up security cameras around Y/N’s apartment, hidden from the normal eye with his technology. And when he had taken the lock apart on her door to install tech he could control himself from his cell, she had shook her head.

“I prefer creative,” Tony responded, as he tested it out. It worked perfectly. “Little bitch isn’t going to be leaving without trying extra hard.”

<><><>

You found a hotel in Columbus. You made sure to put a chair underneath the door handle on top of using both locks. It was scary to be traveling alone. And especially when you did not know the area.

The next morning, you woke up to another voicemail from Tony. You had reached over to silence it while you were sleeping, knowing damn well who would be calling you at 2:30am.

He sounded sloshed.

“Do you remember me telling you I was never going to let you go? Cause I said it multiple times. That hasn’t changed, Y/N. It’s been almost 24 hours since you answered to me!” Slip up there with that ‘to’ added in. “It’s really fucking frustrating, and you know goddamn well I don’t like being frustrated. It’s…you’re being disrespectful!” There was a slight pause and you heard him take a drink. He let out a humorless laugh. “You won’t run away from me. I’m going to find you.”

He hung up.

Hearing how mad he was, your stomach was twisting. He was not a man that liked to be thwarted or feel like he was being disrespected. Not to mention that he was a fucking mafia member. If he got his hands back on you, he was not going to be kind. And the time he told you he would never hurt you would be tested, you worried.

Why did you let yourself get so far involved with such a dangerous, jealous man? Again?

Forcing yourself to get up from the bed, you went to take a shower to try to relax in the hot water. Afterward, you walked across the street to the coffee shop. You wanted to get on the road again to put some more distance between you and NYC and ultimately between you and him.

<><><>

You drove around the edge of UW-Milwaukee, stealing glances at the campus. A city like this with a college surely had good clientele for the clubs.

Pulling over and parking, you opened your phone beginning to search for an apartment and a job. There had to be an abundance of apartments available around the college since it was summer and a class had just graduated.

<><><>

He kept calling and kept calling. He was not going to stop. It had been two weeks. You had been trying to convince yourself to answer him and tell him to leave you alone and that it was over. You thought about changing your number and you would, but after the conversation you needed to have.

Piqued, you answered, “Tony, I’m busy—"

“Oh, you’re busy? So busy you couldn’t fucking answer me? Over the last two weeks, you’ve been ‘busy’. Too busy for me? That’s hilarious! You should have your own fucking stand up show.” His tone was dripping with condescension.

Sighing, you said, “I’m getting ready for work! This needs to be quick.”

“Work?” Tony chuckled darkly. “Now you care about work? You fucked Thor over by quitting on the spot. How were you even able to get a reference?”

“I danced. That was reference enough.”

“Of course you did. Of course you’re stripping. Where are you?”

“I’m not going to tell you, Tony!”

“Y/N, baby,” he started, sounding like it was taking everything in him to keep his voice even. “If you just apologize and tell me where you are or just come back, I’ll be able to let this go easier. You can come back to me, and it’ll all be okay.”

You mustered out a strong, “No! I am not going to do that.”

His leash was back off. “Why are we playing this stupid game, Y/N? I can handle you being bratty — cause I love fucking it out of you — but this is really pushing me over the edge!”

“I’m not being a brat! You were suffocating me!”

“Suffocating you? I worship you!” He was so easily able to confuse his possession with love. He continued on irritated, “I shower you with gifts! I make sure you’re well taken care of! I’ve treated you better than anyone else has! And you’re coming at me like this? What is your fucking problem, Y/N? What? Is being on the phone instead of in person giving you some fake confidence? Don’t think I’m not keeping track of this ungrateful bullshit just because you’re not standing in front of me!”

He was quickly losing his temper. You had never made him this mad, had never pushed back.

You were shaking as you tried to stand up for yourself, “I’m not the one with a problem! I didn’t force you to move anywhere or—"

Tony interrupted you furiously. “Do you understand how much that apartment cost? How much that car cost? You barely drove it!”

Frustrated he was steam rolling you as usual. you said fighting to keep tears back, “Sell it then!”

“If that was supposed to be a joke, it was an awful one. This shit isn’t fucking funny, Y/N! When I find out where you are, I’m gonna drag you back by your goddamn hair!”

“Good luck!” you spat, it slipping out before you really thought about it. Your eyes widened at what you had just done, and you quickly hung up as he started to snarl something back.

He was immediately calling you back and you sent him to voicemail again.

<><><>

Tony let out an aggravated shout, throwing his phone down on the desk when she did not answer him back.

Good luck was right.

She had stayed on the line long enough to give him time to trace her down to the general area. Milwaukee. Near the university. He would find her, and he was gonna find her quick with getting eyes on the ground to spot her leaving her place wherever that was in the area. And she was not going to like it when he came knocking to collect her.

<><><>

The bag from the closest grocery store was heavy with groceries for the week. You had returned the rental car when you signed your lease, able to use the bus system until you bought your own car.

You noticed there was a man watching you across the street and you slowed in your pace, narrowing your eyes. He did not look away and you swallowed sharply before resuming your pace. You felt like you could still feel his eyes on the back of your head. You had felt like there had been eyes on you earlier this morning too. A foreboding feeling was creeping; you wanted to get inside and quick.

Entering your apartment, you kicked the door closed and struggled to lock it immediately. The bag crunched as you walked over to the kitchen and placed it on the counter.

You put the few groceries away and walked around the counter, tearing your shirt off and tossing it on the back of one of your chairs. It was hot since you were on the third floor and you had not been able to buy an air conditioner yet.

“This place is a shithole.”

You screamed, startled at the voice, whipping around, your eyes searching wildly.

Tony was sitting in the end of your bed in your room.

He had surprisingly not called you for the last few days, not after the conversation the two of you had. Not hearing from him had set you on edge just as much as him calling you did. You knew he was not going to give up easily and the silence was a trap if you fell into it thinking that it was done.

Your eyes flicked to the door, and he chastised you in low, dangerous tones, “Y/N, you’re already in enough trouble. Don’t make this worse for yourself. Carols outside. So is Rhodey. And a handful of other people I brought along in case you were gonna cause more trouble.”

The man outside. So, you had been being watched.

Tony stood up from the bed and came out of the bedroom, and up to you. You took a few steps back and he tsked you. You stopped immediately, knowing what he wanted. He closed the rest of the space and raked his eyes up and down you.

“Why did you have to go and cause trouble in the first place? You think I was suffocating you? That’ll seem like a cakewalk compared to when you come back with me. See, we’ve lost trust. I can’t have you running around when you know as much as you do. And you running off looks like you were going to squeal.” You opened your mouth to protest but he rose his voice, shutting you up. “And I can’t have that. Not when I have other people to answer to on the team. I will not be the weak link in the chain, which means you are not going to be running off in the middle of the night. Even if it’s not what you planned to do, it looks bad.”

His hands came to rest on your biceps, squeezing in tight, causing you to flinch slightly. His eyes were hard. “You could have had the world and you threw it away.” His thumbs caressed, his tongue slipping between his lips. “But I can be a forgiving man if you make me believe that you’re sorry. Just do that for me, beg for forgiveness, and I’ll take care of you and that baby.”

You gulped at the mention of the baby, and he noticed. His eyes narrowed. He leaned in, searching your face and you looked away, but he forced you to look back at him, his hand holding your jaw tight.

“Y/N, baby… you got something to tell me?”

You were silent, your heart starting to hammer.

“Y/N, you know I don’t like repeating myself.”

His grip tightened and you felt tears pricking, apprehensive of how he was going to react.

Your voice warbled, “I…I had an abortion.”

Tony was frozen, his eyes wide and incendiary. His grip on your jaw loosened and you took a step back away from him. His jaw clicked, eyes not leaving you. You saw he was going to explode.

Raising your hand shakily, as if that was going to hold him off, you started, “Now, Tony—"

His backhand sent you stumbling. He caught you before you could do it yourself and slammed you up against the wall.

“You’re lucky I didn’t cold clock you!” He snarled, his fingers digging in painfully to your arms.

“Tony, don’t—”

“Don’t? Don’t what? Be fucking furious that I told you not to do anything drastic and then you went and did just that? Without even consulting me? I have a goddamn right to be furious! How fucking dare you!”

You were sniffling now, terrified.

He gave you a rough shake before demanding, “What’s the lease on this place?” You took too long to answer. “Answer me!”

“Month to month,” you whimpered.

“Smart. Makes this easier.” His nose was practically brushing yours. “Look, you’re gonna be good and listen to me about exactly what is going to happen—"

“You can’t—"

“Did I tell you that you could talk? No! I told you you were going to listen. Keep your fucking mouth shut!” Tony lashed out. You closed your mouth, your lip warbling. “You’re coming with me. And I haven’t decided yet if I want them all to listen to you beg for forgiveness on the plane or if I’m waiting until we are alone. Not doing it here. Don’t wanna alarm your neighbors and have to injure any of them if they try to interfere. I don’t want, nor need that type of mess.”

He shoved you as he let you go, and you wiped at your eyes.

“I can’t fucking believe you. Can’t even follow simple goddamn directions. What are you? A child?” he snorted angrily. He snapped his fingers at you and pointed at your room. “Get your shit. We are leaving and going home. The jets at the airport.”

<><><>

He had not punished you on the plane. You instead had sat, curled in as tightly as you could to yourself in the chair across from him under a blanket, looking out the window as much as possible. You felt him watching you intensely the whole two hours. You could only imagine the deranged ideas going through his head about what he was going to do to you when he got you alone.

The moment you stepped into your apartment, he ordered you, “Get yourself done up. I want you to look nice for me. I’ll be out here watching the game.”

His goons brought in your suitcases and put them next to the kitchen table before leaving at his order. Tony grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. He saw you were still standing there, and he glared.

“Y/N…” he said dangerously. “I don’t see you moving.”

You grabbed your suitcase with your clothes and trudged down the hall, feeling his hard stare at your back until you disappeared into the bedroom. You had left a lot of your clothes here but there was a dress you had brought with you, one that he liked specifically. Which shocked you a little bit because it was loose and free; still short though.

Taking the time to shower, blow dry, do your makeup, and dress, you felt the anxiety rising about what he was going to do. You thought the extra time would calm you down, but it was doing the opposite because it was giving you more time to think.

When you walked back down the hall, your black wedges announcing your arrival, Tony looked over the back of the couch. You saw the bottle on the coffee table. He had been drinking, not a surprise. He gestured you over and you walked around the couch, coming over to him. He ran his eyes up and down you, taking you in.

“Well, don’t you look just perfect?” he asked, an edge underlying his tone.

He stood up from the couch and you stayed still. He pulled his phone out and took a picture of you without giving you time to prepare. He turned his phone around and you looked dumbstruck in the photo.

But he complimented, “Look at that. Pristine. That’s what good girls look like.” A cruel smile flashed across his features, and he tossed his phone down on the couch. “But you’re not a good girl are you, baby?”

You only had a moment to react before he was forcing you down to your knees. You hissed in pain as your knees slammed against the hardwood.

“You brought this on yourself. You think I like punishing you?” Tony asked, working on his belt with one hand as the other held you by the back of the neck. Your hands came up to grip his thighs, pressing back against the hold he had on your neck. “Ah ah, stay where you are.” He stroked himself with purpose, his hand moving at a steady pace. “Look at you. A pretty little slut that needs to be taught a lesson.”

He was hard now, the head of his cock pressing against your lips.

“Open your damn mouth!” You clenched your teeth, knowing he was gonna be rough and not wanting to choke. He let go of you to slap your cheek and sneered, “Don’t make me ask you again!”

You opened your mouth reluctantly, and he grabbed you by the back of your neck again and shoved his dick in all the way, your nose brushing his pubes. You gagged before he pulled back out, running his head around your lips. He groaned at the sight, slipping back in and using your mouth.

“Tell me you love me!”

“I love you!” you got out around his width.

“Look at me!” You forced your gaze up to meet his and he thrusted faster, hitting the back of your throat. Your hands gripped tight onto his thighs, eyes begging for him to slow down. But he was not relenting, and your throat was aching. Another groan left his lips as he demanded, “Tell me you love me, you little bitch.”

It was hard to say it, you choking now, tears stinging your eyes. “I love you!”

He pulled away roughly, his hand wrapped around your hair tightly, keeping you in place. Your saliva was stringing messily between him and your lips. Your chin as well as his pubes were glistening with your drool. You gasped for air, thankful for the reprieve from your jaw aching from being open so wide.

The reprieve was short lived though and you cried out in pain as he began walking, dragging you by your hair.

“Forgive me that I don’t quite believe you. But I’m gonna make sure I do believe you. I’m gonna get a genuine one out of you before I’m through.”

Tony sat on the edge of the bed and held you tight. “Give me a show. Take that dress off and let me see you. Let me see what I’m going to take.”

Shakily, you stood up as his grip laxed and he was watching you like a hawk. You wiped at your lips, knowing there was little to do about your eye makeup since he had made tears come with how hard he had been choking you. You started to sway your hips, trying to find a rhythm amongst the excitement. You turned away from him so he could not see your face as you struggled to calm down enough to dance.

It was sloppy, unconfident. But that did not seem to bother him. He pulled you into his lip and his hands slipped up your dress and into your underwear.

“Don’t get to tell me now that I can’t touch,” he husked against your cheek, his fingers slipping into your pussy. “All mine.”

He was stroking you, getting you worked up, making you lose focus on grinding. You bit your bottom lip, a strangled moan escaping.

Tony chuckled, nuzzling your cheek. “I know you like that. Gonna get you good and wet for me, sweetheart. Spread your legs further.”

You were falling so easily into his touch, your core wanting more. You were getting wound up and he was loving it. He worked quicker, his breath heavy as he felt how aroused you were, wetting his fingers.

“Maybe you are a good girl. Look how well you are behaving for me. Is this you apologizing?” He pulled away just to lay a hard smack on your cunt. You bucked, crying out and he did it again. You whimpered as his fingers entered again, focusing on your bud. “You’re a needy little slut, aren’t you baby?” You nodded and he sucked at your neck. “You’re repenting so well… but you’ve got a long way to fucking go.”

You were so close, but he suddenly shoved you away roughly, causing you to stumble in your heels.

“Strip.”

You did as he asked, pulling the dress up and tossing it behind you, leaving you in just your underwear. He rose his brows expectantly and you turned around, bending over slowly. You pulled your underwear down, feeling how wet they were at the crotch. You heard him hum at the sight of them and your glistening pussy. They fell to your ankles, and you turned around, kicking them off.

Tony stood up and pointed at the bed. “On your stomach.” You did as he asked and heard him getting undressed. You peeked over your shoulder at him undoing his tie as he walked towards your closet. He emerged again with a scarf, his eyes fixated on you. “Did I tell you you could look at me?” You turned back around quickly, butterflies swarming.

He grabbed one of your ankles and yanked you down the bed. You felt his tie around your ankle, and you tensed as he tied you to the bed frame. He was at your opposite ankle and tied your other leg with your scarf tightly.

“Tony…” you said hoarsely.

He did not answer you and you laid there, spread wide. The bed creaked with his weight and his thick thighs straddled you, holding you even tighter in place. You felt him pressing in and your fingers dug into your quilt. Each inch filled you up more and he exhaled as he reached his base.

“That’s the gentlest thrust you’re going to get, sweetheart. Enjoy it.”

Tony was not lying; he was pounding you into the mattress and you were not being quiet about the intrusion. You were already so wet, and he was adding to the sensation the way he was working you.

“You’re gonna remember who you loves you the most,” he groaned. The bed was shaking with how hard he was driving into you. “You’re gonna remember to behave!”

Pulling out of you, he smacked you hard against your ass. “Get up on your knees. Now!”

You obeyed, maneuvering with the restraints and his fingers replaced his dick, rubbing your clit. You keened, your back arching at the intense contact. You were ashamed that as usual you fell to the arousal, letting him take you over completely even when he was being as mean as he was.

“Fuck, you little whore. Look at you. So needy for cock. Why did you leave me in the first place? You were never going to find anyone that would love you like I do. You hurt my feelings, baby. And I don’t like having my feelings hurt.”

“I’m sorry,” you gasped without any prompting.

Tony’s fingers fell from your sex, and he was up, holding you by the throat. His breath was hot on your ear. “I might just leave you here on the bed right now. Tie those delicate wrists up too. Keep you on display for me. I’ll just walk by and see you stuck here, just dependent on me to come back to release you.”

You shook your head, begging pathetically, “No, p-please.”

“You want me to finish?”

“Yes!”

“Do you deserve it? Cause I don’t think you fucking do.”

You shook your head, “No. I don’t. But, please!” He brushed your pussy lightly with his fingers, teasing and you broke down even further. “I love you! I love you! Please!”

“You’re not gonna leave me again.” It was a statement, not a question.

You shook your head furiously again, gasping, “No! No, I won’t leave you!”

He yanked you up painfully by your hair again and new tears stung your eyes.

“I’m gonna make fucking sure of it. You’re gonna be on house arrest until I see fit to let you out! Face down,” Tony snarled, pushing you roughly down by the shoulders. He was behind you again. “You’re gonna be full of my seed when I’m done.”

Your chest hit the bed as the room filled with skin slapping skin loudly as he ravaged you. It did not take long for your body to tense up and a shriek left you as your pussy clenched around him. Tony’s breath was erratic as his pace lost control, his fingers digging into your hips. Broken husks were falling from his mouth, you could not make it out over the buzz in your ears. You felt the warmth though when he filled you up, his cock buried deep. He was making sure it was up against your cervix. His groan was long and loud, his hands squeezing your ass tight.

When he pulled away, you laid out flat, feeling worn. You heard him leave the room, the hardwood in the hall creaking with his footfalls. Your body was covered in sweat, heavy pants leaving your lips. For a moment, you forgot you were tied and tried to adjust and let out a sigh of disappointment when you felt the tug of the restraint on your ankle.

Tony was back with his phone. He cooed, “Oh, sweetheart. You’re so tired. Look up at me.” You lifted your head and saw him snap a picture of you. His lips curled into a smirk at the photo, and he turned it around to show you. Your makeup was ruined, tear trails on your cheeks, mascara and eyeliner smudged. You looked like a mess.

“Look at this lovely sight,” he purred. He flipped to the last photo of you looking made up and then back again. “Look how dirty you got pleasing me compared to before. I’m going to keep these.” A malicious glint flashed in his eyes, and he said, “I’ll give you a few to recover. But baby, there’s gonna be round two and no, I’m not going to let you clean up. Let’s see how much dirtier I can get you.”

~~~

Marvel tags: @coconutqueen21 @undecidedsworld @holl2712 @agustdowney @biiskuitx @buttercupfangirl

Fic tags: @buttercandy16

#tony stark x reader #dark tony stark #dark!tony stark #dark marvel #my shit

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rreyie · 4 years ago

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Fight for Us

Chapter i- the reunion

summary- it’s been a long time since you’ve last seen reiner, one of your best friends from your childhood. but he’s changed. a lot.

genre- some fluff, angst, comfort/hurt

warnings- mentions of trauma, alcohol, readers feeling getting hurt, death. major spoilers for those who have not watched aot. eventual smut, not in this chapter- this is mainly just background info.

a/n- i told y’all i would be giving you a reiner fanfic for 500 followers, so i delivered and now it’s probably a series lol

For the past hour, you had been waiting at the train station for the Warriors to arrive once again. You had heard about their recent victory at Fort Slava, which everyone seemed to be giddy about. Another step towards victory.

You hadn’t seen them since you were about fourteen or fifteen, when you used to hang out with them in their free time when they weren’t training. You would all chat about who would be getting each titan and why and what the future would hold for you all.

It was always peaceful except for when Porco and Reiner had their usual clash, a few of which quickly became violent. It would usually end with Reiner having a bloody nose which you would always have to tend to, telling him to tilt his head back as you dabbed a tissue under his nose and on his clothes to wipe off the remaining blood.

Your parents lectured you each and every day about how you shouldn’t be hanging out with Eldian scum like him, that he and the others were spawns of the devil and not to be trusted around their innocent daughter. They scolded you each time you checked on them or decided to bring them bread to eat, and sent you to your room for hanging around them. They claimed it was out of love, but you knew better at this age that it wasn’t out of love- it was out of fear.

But they gave in on the day they were leaving for Paradis, and let you say goodbye one last time. You and Reiner talked for a while about how he will make his parents proud of him and save the world.

——��

“So you think you can do it? You can really turn things around?”

“Of course I can!” Reiner chirped. “I’ll be a hero.”

“But you only have thirteen years, Reiner”, you warn him. “Your life is cut short now. I, I just...”

“Just what?” Reiner asks you, hazel eyes looking your way.

“I just... don’t want to lose you that early.”

You felt your cheeks start to warm, and quickly hid your face in your shirt to save yourself from the embarrassment. Reiners gaze was soft now, mouth slightly agape. You could easily see a pale pink form on his light complexion.

“You’re that worried about me?” He questioned, slightly raising his brow.

“Yeah, sure. You’re one of my best friends and I don’t want you dying early like that. It’s not fair to you”, you said, almost muttering those words.

“Y/n...” Reiner said. “I’m not just doing this for my parents. It’s for you too.”

Your eyes stop staring down at the ground and now avert to Reiner, who’s blush was deep now.

You had no clue what to say. It seemed like this comfortable silence was the best option, just sitting there trying to process your emotions.

The sun was starting to set, and Reiner had to leave at sunrise with the others. He slowly got up from the pavement of the sidewalk and brushed off his uniform pants in case any dirt got on them. You got up with him, wanting to spend every moment you possibly could with him before he left.

“I think this is goodbye, y/n. I should get some sleep before I leave in the morning”, he murmured.

“Okay. Guess I should let you sleep then”, you say. “Just...promise me you’ll come back alive. Fight for us, Reiner.”

Reiners expression turned warm, a smile curling on his rosy lips. “I will. I’ll come back, I promise.”

You both knew what was coming next. Reiner put his hands out for you and pulled you in close, your lips landing on his. You put a hand on his cheek, rubbing at his skin as both of your lips clashed against each other. It wasn’t a rough kiss, but not timid either. It was somewhere perfectly in the middle. Something you both were going to need to remind you of each other.

———

Now the time had finally come to meet eyes with him again. This was the last thing you thought about before the train came rolling in, coughing big clouds of black steam as it entered the station. Cheers could be heard from the crowd on the platform as passengers from inside waved to their families, likely for the first time in years.

You jostled through the crowd once the train came to a stop and started to unload its contents. Soldiers ran to embrace their mothers, fathers, siblings and spouses, some reunions making tears fall from their cheeks. This was the most happiness you had seen in a while.

Nearby, a short brunette girl quite literally flung herself out of the train, shouting into the air about how happy she was to be home. A man with slicked back hair had a rosy-cheeked blonde, clearly intoxicated, slung around his shoulder. For a moment you thought it was Reiner, but you thought otherwise when you continued to observe his features.

“Reiner! I’m so glad you’re home!”

You heard what sounded to be an old woman talking in another direction, the mention of his name making your head instantly turn towards where it was coming from. A woman with short blonde-grey hair was hugging a much taller man, with pale skin, hollow cheeks and noticeable dark circles under his eyes.

No fucking way that’s him, you thought to yourself. The solemn expression on his face did not match what you last saw, the old Reiner you used to know. What the hell had happened while he was in Paradis? Did the island devils get to him?

You gulp and decide to go and see for sure if this was really Reiner. Pushing through the dense crowd again, you walk the direction of the familiar voices.

Once you finally get a clearer glimpse of the old woman and who you assumed to be Reiner, you came to the conclusion that this was in fact him- just a tired, potentially malnourished version of him.

“Reiner!” You call. His head spun around, eyes widening when he saw your figure running towards him. You swore you could see a tiny smile form on his face, a contrast to his exhausted features.

You run into his chest, and wrap your arms around his buff figure. But for some reason, you don’t feel his arms hug you back. It felt strange, but you were going to take what you could get.

“Y/n?” Reiner asked, making you tilt your face up to confirm that it was you. “Oh fuck, I missed you, how are you?”

“Language, Reiner”, the old woman scolded. You could recognize her now, it was his mother- Karina Braun.

“Excuse me mother”, he said. “But really, how have you been?”

“I’m okay, but shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?” You question him. “You’ve been at war for years.”

“Yeah, sure”, he responds. “Just tired.”

You pull away, and see Karina starting to smile, making her dimples appear on her cheeks. “This must be y/n, the girl you wouldn’t stay quiet about when you were little!” She exclaimed.

Reiner scoffed. “Not the time, mother. And I didn’t talk about her that much.”

The dispute between them made you giggle. Karina sighed, slightly exaggerated.

“If you like, you can come over for dinner tonight”, she offers. “I’m making beef stew and my sister and her family will be over to talk about what happened. Her daughter is a warrior candidate too, so I bet Reiner and her would have some interesting stories to tell.”

“Sounds wonderful!”, you say. “I’ll be over whenever.”

“Is seven alright for you?”

“Yes, that’s alright”, you reply. “In that case, I’ll see you two tonight!”

Karina beamed and nodded. Reiner was clearly starting to get bored of the conversation, observing some of the architecture of the station. It looked like he was in his own world, telling from the foreign look in his eyes. They didn’t seem as bright as they used to.

“I should go. I need to run some errands for my family before tonight, but I’ll be over! See you two later!”

“Goodbye, y/n!” Karina yelled as you waved and began to walk away. For some reason, Reiner did not say anything to you before you left, which you found strange. You chose to not question it out of being polite, he may still be adjusting to being back in Marley.

A couple hours had passed since you left the train station. You went to the market to negotiate the high prices of nectarines and plums, to the bank to cash a few checks, and back to your parents house to drop off groceries and a little bit of spare cash to buy toiletries for the week.

But Reiner didn’t leave your mind while you were doing all of this. You were almost scared to ask what happened to the others who went on the mission, in fear of the truth. Perhaps minding your own business was the best thing to do right now.

You walked into the Braun household at exactly 6:55, a smile on your face. Karina hurriedly walked to the door to greet you, a bubbling sound in the distance along with the scent of meat, garlic and rosemary.

“Welcome, welcome!” Karina chimed. “I’ll take your coat, it’s rather warm in here.”

“Thank you”, you say. “It smells delightful in here!”

“That would be the signature Braun family stew”, she said. “My sister is tending to the stew. Reiner and Gabi are in here waiting for you.”

You walked though the hall that connected to the dining room and small kitchen, where the smell was coming from. Reiner and Gabi sat at the table along with a middle aged man, who was Gabis father.

“Is this her?” The man asked. “Nice to meet you, y/n. This is my daughter Gabi, and I bet you know Reiner. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Gabi gave you a toothy smile, while Reiner just looked down staring at his empty bowl.

“Sit down, Reiner and Gabi are about to tell out about their experiences”, he said and pulled out a chair.

The other woman in the kitchen brought in a steaming pot of a red stew, chunks of meat, carrots and celery floating around in the thick broth. She dished you some, then gave some to the others.

Gabi seemed to talk for hours about how she single-handedly took out the rest of the Allied Forces from a grenade she constructed, Reiner not saying anything and only staring at the stew, occasionally poking the contents.

“It was amazing!” Gabi said. “After this it’s just those island demons!”

“Speaking of”, her father said. “Reiner, how was your stay in Paradis?”

“Dad, you shouldn’t ask that stuff!” Gabi yelled. “Most of it is probably classified anyways!”

“You’re right, Gabi”, he sighed. “Reiner, forgive your uncle.”

“Actually”, he began. “Not all of it is a secret. There was this girl who had the courage to eat a potato at the opening ceremony... what was her name again? Sasha Braus? Yep, that sounds about right...”

“That’s wonderful, but I mean the battle. Did they find out? About you know... the titan thing?”

The slight smile on Reiners face soon disappeared and turned into one of terror, his pupils getting small and eyebrows furrowing slightly.

Gabi elbowed her father. Karina flashed a nervous look to her sister, and you looked back to her for guidance.

“Reiner, are you okay?” She asked.

“Y-yeah, just need to step outside. I think the air is getting to m-me”.” He quickly got up and left his seat and hurried out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

You all sat in silence, growing uncomfortable by the second.

You weren’t hungry now.

———

After failing to make conversation due to the recent events, you get up and excuse yourself, only after putting your bowl in your sink and thanking them for dinner. Gabi promised she would tell you more about her adventures before you headed out the door.

The Braun’s had a small porch on the house, and you assumed that Reiner would be sitting there when you came out. But you were shocked to find him nowhere to be found. You told Karina that you would look around for him, and left the house.

You were out for two hours looking for him. The night was starting to become darker, stars twinkling above you and shining down on this messed up world you were a part of.

But after hours of searching and worrying that you may not see him again, you found him on a bench outside of a pub in Liberio.

“Hey, Reiner!” You yell to him. His reaction wasn’t as sudden as the last time you called his name at the train station. Instead, his head was hanging low and slowly lifted up, his eyes reminding you of a stray dog.

You walked towards him, and stood in front of him once you felt that he noticed your presence.

“Your mom is scared, she doesn’t know where you ran off to”, you lecture him. “You should really come back home-“

“I’m not coming back home tonight, y/n.”

“Huh?” You ask him. “Reiner, it’s almost midnight. I’ll take you home if you need someone to walk you home.”

“Stop worrying about me. I’m staying here for the night, gonna have a few beers. Just... go away.”

These words take you by surprise. You can feel your throat tighten, and you try and swallow the feeling down so you wouldn’t have to deal with it right now. You couldn’t cry, not with him in front of you like this.

“I said fuck off. What do you not get about that?” His gruff voice growled. There was hostility in his expression, like you had never known him, or even worse- he was your enemy.

“O-ok, I’ll be going now”, your say as your voice cracked. You did your best to stifle your tears but you couldn’t stop them from collecting at your lash line. “Um, have a good night, Reiner.”

Swiftly, you get up from the bench and head in the direction of home, where you would probably spend the incoming day crying in embarrassment for making Reiner pissed. This was the exact last thing you wanted to do, make him feel uncomfortable to the point where he was pushing you away.

You stopped at a nearby lamppost to collect your thoughts, slumping against the cold pole and letting a few tears trickle down your cheeks. You grab a tissue from your pocket, and try to soak up your salty tears. You felt like absolute and utter shit.

A few footsteps are heard in the distance, and you are quick to reach in your other pocket and pull out a small pocketknife. After all, Liberio after dark wasn’t a safe place for a woman to be. Especially in this lighting.

“Who’s there?” You ask. “Show yourself or I’m drawing my knife.”

“Calm yourself, y/n.”

The familiar deep voice came closer to where you were standing, and a tall figure showed itself in the shadows. The red armband was crimson in the faded yellow light from the lamp, the man wearing a beige uniform.

“Reiner?” You ask, hoping for an answer. “Is that you?”

“I followed you back. I’m sorry for yelling at you”, he grumbled, and scratched the back of his head. “It’s about time I told you what happened.”

You nod, and sit on the curbside of the dimly lit street. He came and sat with you, just like you two did when you were young.

“So are they like people say?” You ask. “You know, the whole devil thing.”

Reiner shrugs. “They’re not evil. But they’re not good people either. It’s... hard to describe.”

“I understand.”

“You do?”

“Well, that’s a stretch”, you say. “I don’t, but I know how you feel. Um, I know you probably don’t want me asking but... what happened to the rest of the people who went with you? Marcel? Bertholdt? Annie?”

Reiner puts a hand to his face and shakes his head.

“Marcel died first. Bertholdt died a year ago I think. His titan was passed down to some blonde boy with a bowl cut in Paradis. And Annie, god who knows where she is? I’m not sure if she’s alive or dead.”

This information was something you were struggling to process. Marcel was a quick thinker, how could he not survive? And Bertholdt- he had what may have been the strongest titan, and who would want to kill his poor gentle soul? Annie though, you still had a bit of hope for.

“Before he died”, Reiner began. “Marcel told me I wasn’t meant to become the Armored. It was supposed to be Porco, but he interfered to protect him. I’m seeing what he means by I wasn’t meant to do this.”

“Don’t say that”, you order him, but not in a pushy tone. More like a gentle one. “If you’ve made it back alive, that’s enough for me.”

“What would you have done if I died?”

“I wouldn’t know”, you say. “I don’t think I want to even think about that.”

He nods. Death was too familiar to him now, it had almost become his friend now. It wasn’t an uncommon thing to see nowadays.

“And you kept that promise to me”, you utter. “You came back in one piece. I’m proud. This entire country is too.”

Reiner doesn’t look to you. Instead he gives a hum of approval, indicating that he heard you. You could see his chiseled features in the moonlight shining down on him to create a perfect shadow. God he was beautiful, he always was.

#attack on titan #shingeki no kyoujin #aot hcs #aot headcanons #snk headcanons #reiner x reader #reader x reiner #reiner braun #reiner braun x reader #aot reiner #reiner aot #snk reiner #reiner snk #aot #snk #aot fanfiction #snk fanfiction #attack on titan fanfiction

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uglifish · 3 years ago

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How do you write long multi-chapter fics without losing steam or motivation?

Hey guys!

Been a while since I made a post answering all the FAQ’s in my inbox, and this is the one I get the most, so here goes my answer/advice:

▽ structure and continuity

(and i still struggle with this lmao its an uphill climb)

1) outline or map out your story path. if it drags and you find yourself getting BORED with your writing or where the story is going, its time to stop, step back, and evaluate.

completely write out the storyline in short-hand nonsense as fast as possible, because its for you only, so go back to fill in the details later. if you want to see what MY outlines look like...... -embarassmentttttt-

Here’s a screencap from underwater chrysalis.

if you’ve read that story, you can probably recognize this scene was an entire chapter, but it was 5 nonsense sentences in my outline.

2) if you can sit down for X hours and write out the outline from start to end (yes, end of the story) then you have a solid skeleton to polish up :D

3) don’t worry about chapter splitting just yet. get it all out first

▽ Marathon time

1) set aside time for yourself to write it out. Find time for it at least once a week or once a day if you can manage that! DON’T leave it sitting for 2+ weeks--unless that’s your creative process--and if it is, and you recognize you get stuck here, leaving the fic alone for more than 2 weeks = abandoning the fic?? then proceed to this step→

go back to it and read it over and over, right up until the point where you stopped, ask yourself questions about where the characters are going (refer to your outline)/ why the characters are doing X scene ...etc (is there tension? is this part boring? why have you stopped writing? tired? take a nap:)

2) know when to ignore (writing) advice. and i wish someone had told me this when i first started marathon fic-writing. advice is great but its not a cure-all and maybe you’re exhausted from trying everyone’s suggestions. literally you do you, but keep an open mind to learn along the way.

3) if you run into a problem, like wanting to change an ENTIRE scene that will affect the ending of your story, stop writing and go back to your outline. you’re wasting your own time this way. write to get to an ending.

4) know that there are formulas to long, captivating stories. its like a curve that goes up and down. (find a formula that works for you!) for me, it’s: scene start tension scene escalating tension resolve tension but then another conflict + 2 conflict + 1 romance = long 3 chapter scene :D scene resolving 1 conflict, romance + 3 yay! scene adding to conflicts and romance above tension resolution? another tension or romance resolve? which slowly helps taper to an end (which i still struggle with)

5) have fun! you’re exploring this character, this universe, don’t get too stuck up your own ass about stuff and let things go. if you finished a scene and re-read it, hate it, don’t give yourself crap about it. if you’re happy with it one day and unhappy with it another day, figure out why or just let it go. Your goal is to write as much as possible to finish your story to the outline you wrote. if you get hung up on the stuff in the middle, you’ll never reach the finish line.

▽ I’ve finished my multi-chapter my pile of crap. Now what?

1) don’t look at it, don’t even think about it. congratulate yourself and go to the beach :D get yourself a coffee and socially-distance-hang-out with your friends

2) 1 - 3 weeks later, re-read it ALL with fresh eyes. don’t tell your friends about it, don’t link it anywhere for feedback. it’s still ALL YOU right now.

3) re-read it round 1: edit it grammatically and for bulk. if you still hate that random interaction you added in, delete it entirely and set it aside. fix all grammar issues and add to more descriptions if some are lacking.

4) re-read it round 2: a week later with your own fresh eyes, make sure everything flows. did you say character X had a green shirt in ch 3 but in ch 4 they were wearing a blue shirt? fix that :O might be a genuine mistake, either you forgot or got up to leave your fic for 4 days and (forgot)

5) re-read again round 3: a week after that, read it again and find it for more errors, add more flow if some scenes have a choppy transition, and start to split it into chapters. Find natural breaks in your writing (or cliff hangers!) and cut them there. 6) recruit a friend! Ask someone you’re ok with baring your soul to and make them read your slightly less steaming pile of crap, which is now a polished turd. hopefully your friend will tell you it IS a polished turd and is OK for posting, or that you still mentioned green shirt character is wearing a blue shirt (again) in ch 56 and you missed it :P

7) post and run, or save it to re-read again 6 months later

i’ve been doing the post and run thing for a while if im medium-proud of my shiny turd, or if im really insecure about it, i’ll sit on it for even a YEAR before i even breathe about it. its not that i hate it, its that i feel it could be better and if i’m continuously writing during that time, I can go back to look at it with fresh(er) eyes.

▽ things to think about / stuff to ask yourself while writing:

- why am i tired (of this, of it?) know yourself and know your limits. if you’re tired (physically, of writing) learn to differentiate that from being mentally tired.

- who are you writing for? a friend’s bday gift fic? submission into Fanfic Award-Winning Novel Writers Club? A novel manuscript to Random House? Nanowrimo? your fandom rare-pair discord server? ....yourself?? and then figure out your motivations for the tone of your writing :D

- i suck at writing X (a violent action scene, smut, small-talk in elevator scene), so i’ll just skip it... no. if you think your story needs it, make your best attempt at writing it and then go back to edit it. you’ll be happy you pushed yourself to write it.

- i’ve never done X (been to a hotspring in Japan, gone hiking in extreme weather, gone on a blind date) how would i know what it feels like? Try your best to envision it or use the wonders of the internet to learn about it. Research is your best friend to express realism in your writing :D

aaaaaaaaaaaand that’s all i got for now :O

*btw you know what works for you as a creative mind, this is all stuff that works for me and I hope you found it helpful!

thank you for reading this super long post, and feel free to PM me if you need a “get me unstuck” buddy in your writing process :D

xooxxo Ugli

#askugli #fanfiction writing #writing in general #its super technical in some parts #writing is hard #help #writing anxiety #prideshipping fanfiction

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morethanalittleconfused · 4 years ago

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I accidentally wrote a 5k fanfic about incidents caused aboard the ghost by differences between species

I've been reading a lot of those old tumblr posts that are like “what if humans are actually just really, really hardy and alien species would be just completely blown away with the shit we put up with without a second thought” and it's got me thinking about the crew of the Ghost trying to get used to each other at first with three humans that are all just absolutely fucking insane, even more so than even your average human.

Rebels spoilers ahead, as well as a trigger warning for blood, vomit and general injuries

It starts with Hera and Kanan. It’s just the two of them, aboard the Ghost, and it takes some getting used to.

At first Hera is shocked by the way Kanan's body seemingly has no limits. He has never once complained about the temperature of the ghost, even when they were running low on power and Hera could feel her limbs start to get sluggish from the cold. Two weeks later he somehow managed to find his way back to the ghost after being in -2 degree Celsius weather for a half an hour with no coat on. When he walked back through the hatch with snow blowing in his loose hair and a red nose and said “it's cold as shit out there” after Hera had been panicking about losing him for the literal entire time, she had to practically scrape her jaw off of the floor. She would have been dead after a few minutes, and yet here he was, now steaming from a shower and shirtless, bitching about how the caf maker was broken.

As time went on, she learned his body did have some limits to the heat. At about 35 degrees he got irritable and short, but that was about when she started getting uncomfortably warm, too. But he would tolerate it. And more. He kept impressing her with the things he somehow managed to pull off, in conditions she would have thought would kill him. He could get knocked around far more than she thought he should be able to, and would haul himself back to the ship with a grin every time.

The way his body worked constantly surprised her. She noticed it first in how quickly he healed, and in how much he ate.

He could eat literally anything. Things she thought were poisonous for most species. He loved chocolate, and would easily eat ten times the amount that would send her to the hospital to get her stomach pumped. He could withstand a ridiculous amount of alcohol, and could drink unprocessed coffee with no problem by the cup. Caf didn't seem to really affect him because his body processed it so fast. And he ate so. Much. it was ridiculous. The good thing was it didn't really seem to matter what.

Hera didn't need much food, but it had to be good. It had to count. Too much filler and she would lose strength. Her body couldn't process a lot, and if what she got wasn't exactly what she needed, her health went downhill, quick.

Kanan was not the same. He could, and would, eat anything. He didn't have any noticeable preference for plants or meat, or the quality of the food. If he could get his hands on it, he would eat it. He would eat food out of the refrigerator she would have considered to be dangerous. He put appalling amounts of random, unrelated food in a pan, cooked it, and acted like that was an acceptable thing to do. Omelets? She hated the very idea but he seemed to think they were wonderful.

And yet, for all that, they had once been stranded for over a week with only enough rations for one, and Kanan had insisted that she take the vast majority of the ration bars. She pushed back, and he then presented her with the absolutely shocking fact that humans can survive for over a month with no food. She was absolutely flabbergasted, and he took advantage of her stunned silence to press another ration into her hand, smirk at her and say, “I can take it. Trust me.”

Another thing she noticed very quickly was how fast he healed.

He could be bleeding openly one minute, and the wound seemed to close itself the next. She knew human blood had clotting factors far beyond that of nearly any other being, but it was ridiculous how fast he sealed himself up. Further into their relationship she got to see this close up when she accidentally touched some of his congealed blood on the floor of the refresher after cleaning him up. She had had to turn away and take a few deep breaths at the slimy, gelatinous texture. He had gently huffed out a laugh.

“Kinda gross huh?”

“Yeah... it's… unique.”

“I've always been kind of fascinated by the way it congeals so quickly. Handy I guess.”

Out of sheer curiosity she had run the end of a pen through the small puddle and been horrified to see that it mostly stuck together.

“It just… does that? Inside you? And that doesn't cause problems?”

“It can. If it clots when it's not supposed to. But mostly it keeps me alive.”

And it did. And though she wouldn't say it to his face, his ability to pull through seemingly anything took just one more worry off her plate. His wounds would be almost completely closed in often under a week, where she would have been dealing with bandages and salves for a month. He almost never got infections, and could keep going with seemingly incapacitating injuries.

They had once narrowly escaped a fight with a gang of imps and made it back to the ghost with almost no problems. She had a sprained ankle, so he had supported her most of the way there, and they had patched up each other's scrapes. He had needed a bit of training so he didn't just slap a bandaid on what could have been a potentially life threatening injury for her, but he did alright. It was only later, when they were sitting in the cockpit, well into hyperspace, and he had coughed suddenly, when things went sideways. She turned to see blood seeping out of the corner of his mouth, and more on his hand when he pulled it away. They both looked at it for a moment, then Hera almost blacked out as a sudden wave of adrenaline washed over her.

“Kanan you're- are you- let me make the calc- are you dying?”

“What? Oh- no I had thought I just cracked a few of my ribs but it would appear I must have broken at least one of them.”

“BROKEN? Your bone? Like in half?”

“I- yeah?”

“Chopper we need to get to the nearest med center right now. Tell them were coming. I dont care if its a fucking imperial light cruiser”

“Wait no lets not be hasty-”

“HASTY? YOU BROKE YOUR BONES KANAN”

“Okay i know it looks bad but really i'm not going to keel over and die right now. Make sure it's a safe med center and cheap too. I can wait.”

“Kanan your bones are literally broken.”

“Yeah. It's happened before and it will happen again. I've broken my arm twice. I've broken one of the bones in my lower leg. A couple toes. At least one finger. And don't even get me started on my nose. It didn't always look like this.” At that he had huffed out a small laugh, but then winced and brought a hand to his lower chest. Almost as an afterthought, he reached down and pulled up the hem of his shirt. She had started to avert her eyes at the sliver of hip he showed, but as he pulled the shirt up higher and revealed more, she felt the breath taken out of her. His skin was mottled a whole host of awful colors, angry and puffy. He coughed that wet cough again and said, “Maybe I do need a med center after all”

She was incredibly relieved when they dropped out of hyperspace and into the welcoming arms of medicine. She was less happy when Kanan was returned to her, that night no less, with only bandages around his chest and a note to “take it easy for a while” she was appalled to say the least.

His ridiculously resilient body sometimes created just as many problems as it solved, though. He got into bar fights after downing enough alcohol to kill a bantha, and got the piss kicked out of him. He ran headfirst into danger with little consideration for life or limb. He was reckless, and incredibly hotheaded, and overall behaved like a clown. She had no idea how the Jedi accepted humans into their ranks, if Jedi he was. Restraint, my ass.

His recklessness applied to food as well. He didn't really seem to mind what he ate, content with the knowledge that if it didn’t work out, he could always regurgitate it back up. Twi’leks could not vomit, like many other species. It was yet another bizarre human trait. The ability to purge substances from your body without them having to pass through your entire digestive tract and cause more issues had always seemed like a neat trick to Hera. That is, of course, until she saw it in action.

She was roused one night by a strange noise coming from the refresher, and she had padded to the door, only to find it open. Blinking in the harsh light, she saw Kanan curled on the floor, wearing no shirt. His hair was loose and hanging around his face, and he was panting heavily. She only had time to say “Kanan, what-” before he coughed and vomited into the bowl.

Her immediate reaction ricocheted from “Oh my god he's dying” to “I’m actually going to die just having to witness this” to “Oh stars he is actually dying” so fast she could barely process it. She was immediately horrified but had no idea how to help him.

“Kanan are you- do you need a medic? How- chop- CHOPPER! How do I help you? Are you hurt?”

He had turned and peered up at her with puffy eyes and a runny nose. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He tried to talk but his voice came out too rough and he had to try again. Even then it was strangely thick.

“Hera? Are you okay?”

“Am I okay? Am I okay Kanan? You're in here dying for stars sake and I have no idea how to help you and where the hell is chopper-”

“Hey. hey.” He turned away for a moment and took a long breath in through his nose. “Calm down for a sec. I feel like shit so you're going to have to talk slower. Are you hurt or something?”

“Hurt? No I'm not hurt i’m just- you- you're in here- I don’t even know-”

He closed his eyes and took another long breath in through his nose.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah i’m just… trying really hard not to throw up again.”

“Oh.”

He opened his eyes again and looked up at her again.

She shifted against the door frame. “But you're… okay? This isn't life threatening?”

He huffed out a soft laugh, then seemed to immediately regret it as he dropped his head between his knees for a moment. Then he cleared his throat and tipped his head back up.

“No. I'm good, I just ate something bad at that pub. And I also probably drank a bit too much as well. But I think it was definitely the squids fault.”

“Oh. So this is… normal?”

“More so than I would like. Yes.”

“Okay so…” she took a deep breath to calm her nerves now that it was apparent he wasn't in any imminent danger. “Do you need anything? How can I help you?”

“Some tea maybe. Some crackers. Anything ginger you have. It'll work itself out with time.”

She stood in the door, unsure of what to do, wanting to help him, and watched as he drew a quick breath in and closed his eyes again.

“Hera. Tea. Now”

“Right.”

As she dashed to the kitchen she heard the sounds of retching from behind her.

There were some strange things about humans that became interesting as their relationship developed beyond mere captain and crew. His hair, for example. At first she had thought it was appalling, the sheer volume of it. It was everywhere. But all it took was threading her hands through it a few times, and hearing the wonderful noises he made, before she quickly changed her opinion.

Related to his hair was the fact that humans seemed to enjoy a certain level of pain, which she could not understand. He would moan audibly when she tugged at his hair, which startled her the first time, in the best way. Once, when she was feeling particularly adventurous, she had dragged her sharp canines across the delicate skin of his throat, and had been surprised to find the taste of metal filling her mouth, sharp and bright. She was even more surprised at the way he had shuddered and come apart beneath her, just like that.

Then, later, when Zeb and Sabine joined the crew, there was yet another learning curve as Hera adjusted to another human as well as a Lasat, and Zeb adjusted to Kanan and Sabine at the same time.

Sabine was just as reckless. She was a fighter too, but she didn't have the force to help her out. Hera had more than a few small heart attacks in the early days of Sabine's presence before she fully appreciated that she could take almost as much of a beating as Kanan. Sabine had once walked over a half a mile back to the ship with a broken leg, and when Hera pressed her on just how she managed to do that, Sabine had gotten quickly tired of the argument, ending it with a, “I don't know what to tell you, Hera! I didn't have any other options! I had to do it, so I did.”

Hera was used to most of Kanan's strange human quirks, but Sabine presented a new and entirely alarming one, which Hera first came in contact with on a supply run. Sabine needed a monthly supply of medical supplies. Hera knew very little about menstruation, as that was a trait entirely unique to human females. Why their biology decided that it was necessary was completely beyond Hera, it seemed incredibly inefficient. Sabine made as little fuss about it as possible, but Hera had embarrassed everyone about three months in when Sabine asked hera to go get her data pad from her room. Hera had burst back into the common room, and only then was able to identify the smell Sabine was carrying with her that had been tugging at the edges of Hera’s mind all day. Blood. She turned on Sabine with a very distressed, “Sabine are you injured? Are you sick?”

To which Sabine had responded, with a distinct note of confusion, “No? Why?”

And Hera, without thinking, had said, “There's blood all over your bed? Did you hurt yourself?”

Sabine had gaped at her for a moment, then blushed ever so slightly. “I uh- I forgot to wash my sheets after... Sorry. I forgot about that before I told you to go into my room.”

Hera still had not connected the dots and was opening her mouth to further interrogate Sabine as to why her bedsheets were covered in blood when Kanan had jumped up and said, “Hera! Let's go for a walk, yes?” and pulled her gently out of the room, but not before she heard Zeb turn to Sabine and say, “So, why were you bleeding?”

Zeb apparently hadn't had much contact with the more alarming of the humans' quirks, as he had his own room, until Ezra showed up. Then Zeb had to learn for himself just how absolutely wild human biology was for himself. He arguably had a rougher go of it, because while he had the rest of the crew to help him out, he was literally sharing a room with a teenage human.

The first time Ezra got food poisoning was just about as rough for Zeb as it was for Kanan and Hera, except it happened in Zebs room. Ezra was mostly self-sufficient, but Zeb had come hollering down the hall. He had broken the “do not open my door without knocking” rule Hera kept firmly in place, but she couldn't even be mad at him. Hera was just glad Kanan had been in his own bed that night. She had woken to see Zeb standing in her door, his fur standing up like a spine down his back, one ear folded inside out, panting hard.

“Hera the kid- he’s- I don’t know what the fuck happened but he- I think he’s hurt- or- or something but I don’t know how to help him- it’s Ezra-”

At which point Kanan, who had been woken by Zebs racket, slid open his door wearing only his sleep pants. He took one moment to assess the situation, looked down the hall and said, “Oh, Ezra’s throwing up. Do you want me to take care of him, Hera?”

Hera sighed and got up from her bed.

“No, you get Zeb some tea or something. I've learned well enough how to hold hair back at this point.”

Zeb, still looking entirely horrified by the situation, allowed himself to be led into the galley by Kanan. Sabine poked her head out of her door, decided this crisis did not involve her, and went back to sleep.

The same situation had happened the first time Ezra had gotten a bloody nose in the middle of the night. It was the kind Hera had witnessed with Kanan, and knew firsthand how horrifying it was if one didn't know humans noses just Did That sometimes. It was a middle of the night kind of bloody nose, where Ezra had presumably woken up with blood all over his face and in his mouth and in his hair and on his sheets, and had tried to catch the blood in his hands, which was all well and good until he somehow had to get down from the top bunk and open two doors to get to the refresher. That left Zeb to wake up to a room smelling of blood, with blood on the floor, on the door panel, and a trail leading to the refresher where he found Ezra leaning over the sink which was also, conveniently, covered in blood. All it had taken was for Ezra to turn his face toward the creature standing in the door and say “Zeb?” before Zeb was hurtling down the hall in a panic, calling for Kanan to come help him because the kid was dying.

Sabine, who had been up working on a project, was the first to respond to this particular “The human is dying!” call. She took one look at Ezra, standing in his pajamas with blood on his hands and said, “That sucks,” and turned back to her room.

Hera, who was making her way down the hall to check on if Ezra really was dying this time, had the pleasure of seeing Sabine turn back and say, “If you want a tampon to stop up the bleeding, they're in the bottom left drawer.” This worked surprisingly well at stopping Ezras bloody nose, because he was blushing so hard there was no blood left for his nose. Hera turned back to comfort Zeb, telling him she had reacted the exact same way the first time Kanan had woken up with a bloody nose. She saw him come out of his panic in time to realize she had effectively confessed to sleeping with Kanan, but wisely decided not to say anything. Nothing he didn't already know.

The humans were absolutely bizarre to spend time around. They ended up installing a wall in the galley that had live plants in it, not because they needed fresh plants to eat, but because their brain chemicals got thrown off if they weren't around plants for too long.

They had empathy for everything. Hera had once witnessed Ezra cry in a market when they passed a fruit stand with a deformed Meiloorun. When Hera asked why he was crying, he had looked up at her with these huge eyes, sniffed, and said, “I just feel so bad for it! No one will buy it!” They had, of course, bought it. Kanan tried not to get attached to anything, but he apologized for bumping into inanimate objects, and Sabine got visibly sad when they had to throw out a good piece of gear because it was broken or old.

They all three loved swimming. They were awful at it, just barely flopping around on the surface, but any time they were near even relatively safe water, they were in it, having the time of their lives. Kanan had once explained to Hera that humans have an extra fun little bit of evolution called the mammalian dive reflex, which slows their heart rate and lowers their blood pressure when they are in water, making it calming and enjoyable. Hera was skeptical until she watched Ezra calmly floating down a river on his back and wished she had that, instead of feeling nothing but panic anytime she had to float in water.

They were mimics. They could replicate a stunning array of sounds, from animals to tech. Ezra's favorite way of annoying her was to make the noises her ship made when something went wrong, just to see how much she would panic before she realized it was him. They would sing along to anything, even if it was just instruments, and Hera would never admit it, but she loved Kanan's voice.

They could sleep anywhere. One of her favorite memories was walking around Chopper Base after a particularly exhausting mission and finding the three of them, Kanan in the middle, with one kid leaning on either shoulder, asleep, leaning against a crate. They had looked so peaceful, and yet she was again surprised at them. It was far too cold for her to even consider sleeping, there were fighters landing only a few hundred meters away, people running all over, and they were snoozing with smiles on their faces, just glad to be home.

And humans would pack bond with literally anything. She had thought Kanan was bad until she met Ezra. It was ridiculous. Her father had said that she was improper for developing a fondness for a droid, but the kid formed a relationship with everything that moved. It got them out of a few tight spots, sure, but she would never get used to having to sit still as some enormous predator loomed in their faces. The sight of Ezra staring down a cat the size of the ghost on some jungle planet, the cat's fangs mere inches from his face as it huffed at him, was something she would never forget.

They were wild and hard headed and strong and made her life so much more interesting.

Early on, Kanan’s strange human ability to adapt to seemingly anything had been a momentary point of contention between the two of them, and was still something she struggled with. It took time for her to be okay with the fact that humans and Twi’leks were just built differently. But it frustrated Hera how weak she felt compared to him. It infuriated her the way he could just walk off something that would have killed her. She had always striven to be adaptable and up for anything. She was strong, and she knew it. But she felt her inadequacies sharply next to Kanan. Early in their partnership they had been in the galley repairing themselves from yet another fight, when Hera had turned to see Kanan casually sewing his own skin up with a needle. The way he could just puncture his own skin like that, with nothing more than a wince and a hiss of breath, had made her see red for a moment and she had to excuse herself to the cockpit to take a breath. They had talked about it, and he had helped her to realize that she was, of course, strong. Humans were adapted differently, so it was entirely unfair for her to be comparing them. But they could compare emotionally, and she was one of the strongest people he had ever had the pleasure of knowing. The two of them were forged in war, and had been through incredible things. She had fought prejudice and overcome so many obstacles to get to where she was, the best pilot in the resistance, without question. As he had said the last part, she heard him smirk a bit, and looked over at him, bathed in the blue light of hyperspace, to find him with a little crooked grin on his face and his hair falling down around his ears. She had felt her guarded heart open a little bit more at that, and had to turn and gaze back out at the stars before her heart opened completely to this rogue of a man.

Later, pressed against his chest in a supply closet, hiding from some stormtroopers, she would marvel at just how fast humans' hearts beat. She knew they were supposed to beat about two times faster than a twi’lek, but his seemed like it was fit to fly out of his ribcage. She found herself thinking, “Is it supposed to be doing that? Is this why he's such a hot headed idiot?” Later she would discover it did not always beat that incredibly fast, usually just a bit faster than hers. It made him ridiculously warm, and also may have contributed to why he was so quick to anything. Not rushed. Not hasty. Just quick. Quick to anger. Quick to smile. Quick to fight. Quick to laugh. Quick to love.

Maybe that was why it was such a shock when he finally reached his limit. She had gotten used to him pulling through impossible situations. She had forgotten that they had limits, just like her.

And then, years later, a glimmer of hope. Ahsoka and Sabine, travelling the galaxy over, searching for Ezra. While Kanan was gone forever, she still had a chance to get one of her boys back.

And of course, there was always Jacen. Her beautiful little boy, who was soft and sweet and yet surprisingly strong, just like his father. And Hera was comforted to know that wherever this wild galaxy would take him, he had Kanan Jarrus’ blood coursing through his veins to keep him safe.

#kanan jarrus #kanan x hera #caleb dume #star wars rebels #ezra bridger #hera syndulla #sabine wren #garazeb orrelios #star wars #i accidentally wrote a fanfic #enjoy #tw #blood #angst #blood tw #rebels spoilers #rebels fanfic #fanfic #kanan x hera fanfic

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sword-brainrot · 4 years ago

Note

Hello~! Let's say that the saniwa has a part time job at a cafe to get some more money for the Citadel, and the swords already know this.

One day, some of the swords decided to go visit them while they were working. How would Sanchoumou, Tsurumaru and Shokudaikiri (separate please) react if the first thing they see is an angry customer pouring their steaming hot coffee on top of the saniwa because they got their order wrong (and possibly burning the saniwa too)?

Hello! I wasn't sure whether I wanted to do the headcanon format for this or actually write out each scenario for it (like a little fanfic). I decided on going with the headcanon format but if you wish to see the other way as well, just let me know! I loved this idea and wouldn't mind doing it again ^^

TW: Implied violence, burns/scars

♡ Sanchoumou would actually frequent the café that you work at (even if he scares the other customers a little bit just from his rather intimidating appearance). He would always order the same thing, a black cup of coffee as he watches you work or reads a magazine.

♡ He would always sit in the the table closest to the corner as well. The customers that go there often begin to think it's just his table due to him being there fairly often.

♡ Everyday after your shift ends and you are suppose to clean up and go home, he would be outside waiting for you to walk you back to the citadel together. Making extra sure you are safe. Even on the days where he can't make it, he will make Nikkou or Nansen come and walk you home in his stead. (very rarely he ever asks Norimune to go)

♡ He actually tries really hard to not scare away your customers! He knows he looks rather intimidating for being there so often and his appearance, so if he seems some customers looking at him with concern, he will flash them his most gentlemanly smile.

♡ So the day that a new customer comes in and starts to get all angry? Oh boy...

♡ When he first hears someone raising their voice, he puts down anything he was doing and quickly looks up. He knows that you are independent and can take care of yourself so he will clench his fists until the whites of his knuckles appear and bite his lip, trying to hold himself back from going over there.

♡ It is only when the fuming customer stands up and pour their steaming hot coffee on you that he loses control. No longer is he sitting in the corner, far away from the action. You don't even see it happen before you know it, he is right next to you, towering over you and the customer. His ruby eyes feel like you can see the flames coming off of them.

♡ He would grab the rude customer by the front of this clothing, making sure they can't escape before ordering the other staff to come and help you quickly.

♡ The last thing you see before they pull you into the back is Sanchoumou practically dragging the guy out of the café. Almost dragging him on the floor like he weighs nothing.

♡ That afternoon, when you are suppose to go home, Sanchoumou isn't there. It will be Nansen. Right away the poor boy will ask if you are okay and ensure you that will never happen again before taking you home.

♡ When you do get home, Nikkou and Sanchoumou are both not there.

♡ It isn't until very late at night until you will see Sanchoumou. He would ask to go into your bedroom and ask if you are alright.

♡ If you have burns/scarring, he would gently hold the area and give soft kisses to it saying how sorry he is and how he should of stepped in sooner. He would blame himself a lot for letting you get hurt. This will probably the only time he will show the more vulnerable side of himself. He will worry about you a lot and constantly say how it is his fault you got hurt.

♡ Needless the say, that customer never shows his face at the cafe again.

♡ "I promise I will never let you get hurt like that again, my little dove."

♡ Tsurumaru would also show up at the café a lot! Though... Not when you expect it.

♡ He comes in when you aren't there and waits to surprise you when you are coming out (and normally holding drinks... and almost dropping them). He would laugh and apologize while continuing to laugh.

♡ He gets bored at the citadel a lot so he will often sneak out and visit you!

♡ But that also means he sneaked out and could cause trouble else where...

♡ Did he buy those silly glasses with a mustache and a big hat just to sit in the café with a newspaper and freak you out when you go get his order? Oh ya. He tries to find anything to spice up the every life at the citadel and the café.

♡ The customers warmed up to him very quickly and often talk about him when he isn't causing trouble there. They all believe that he is your boyfriend or at least has a crush on you (and are they wrong?).

♡ So the day Tsurumaru comes in (loud and proud) but is met with an angry customer yelling at his saniwa? Oh god. He quickly runs over and puts on his smile to try to calm down the customer. Trying his best to take the attention off of you and onto him. If the customer was going to lash out at anyone and harm them, he wanted it to be him and not you.

♡ But clearly it isn't enough to take the attention off of you and as soon as the coffee hits your skin, his smile drops and his face shifts from nervous happiness, to concern, to anger.

♡ Unlike Sanchoumou, Tsurumaru doesn't even take the customer outside. He quickly grabs their arm, twists it behind their back, and forces them down on the ground to cause them to stop any further damaging actions.

♡ A smile would appear once more as he calls for help for you and to make sure this customer ends up being taken to the authorities. A smile that was poorly hiding a bunch of anger behind it.

♡ After he makes sure that the person is taken away, he would go in the back and gently touch your hands, and ask you if you are okay.

♡ He would give you a slightly worried look with a smile. "Guess I didn't help too much, huh? I'm sorry."

♡ He would feel terrible if you had any burns/scars. He would offer to take your place in the café until you felt safe and healed so you didn't have to worry about making money.

♡ Expect a lot of hugs with his big white coat constantly engulfing you and making sure you are warm and safe in his arms.

♡ Anything he can do for you, he will. With no complaints what so ever. He wants to make sure you know that even if he is a pretty silly guy, you can always rely on him and he would never let you down.

♡ Unlike Sanchoumou and Tsurumaru, Mitsutada doesn't actually come to the café too often! He is often busy at the citadel with making sure everything is clean and making sure to prepare every meal.

♡ But when he does have time (when Kasen or any other sword is planning on cooking that day), he is there!

♡ He likes to order a lot of different stuff from the café. Every time he comes, he orders something new. He wants to taste everything. Also expect him to go over and compliment the chiefs and the baristas after every visit. They quickly warm up to him and actually bring him into the back to teach him how to make things. (More food and drinks at the citadel!)

♡ He will often make you taste whatever he orders on your shift because he wants to find out what you like and dislike! As well make sure you have enough energy throughout the day.

♡ You will also see him in an apron way too small of him when he is in the kitchen. He sometimes won't even noticed that you came in because he is so consumed in whatever he is making/learning. It is very cute how much he gets engrossed in these activities and how much his eyes sparkle being there.

♡ He also makes sure that you two walk together when he is able to make it. If he has a day off, he is gonna use it to the fullest and make sure to spend the whole day at the café and with you!

♡ Mitsutada isn't a man who lets his anger get to him. But when he walked out of the kitchen one day and saw hot coffee be poured onto you? He had some struggles to hold himself back.

♡ He quickly ran over to you, taking off his jacket and putting it over you as he turned to the customer and told them, "Get out and never come back if you know what is good for you."

♡ He doesn't even wait to see their reaction before quickly bringing you into the back and take care of you and try to make sure that your wounds don't scar. He knows very well how scars can really shake up another person. Mitsutada’s hands are scarred badly which is why he constantly wears gloves to hide it from everyone.

♡ All the while, his hands are shaking slightly as he is trying to tend to your wounds and bandaging them up after putting cold water on them and getting you new clothes to change into.

♡ He makes sure you have his jacket still on you in case that helps you feel a little safer.

♡ You don't even hear it at first because he is so quiet as he is treating you but he is constantly saying how sorry he is. It is the only thing he can really get out before sometimes looking up with a very worried expression and asking if you are truly okay.

♡ He wouldn't know what he would do if you got really badly hurt and he couldn't do anything about it.

♡ He would insist that you stay at the citadel for a while and let him make extra money for the citadel in your stead. He doesn't ever want to see you get hurt like that again.

♡ His gloved hands would gently caress your cheek as he looks at you with a worried eye. "You are okay... right? It's okay to lean on us swords too, you know? We will all help out if you need money, aruji(master). We care about you dearly."

#touken ranbu #touken danshi #tourabu #touken ranbu headcanons #touken ranbu imagines #touken ranbu x reader #tkrb #tkrb headcanons #tkrb imagines #tkrb x reader #Sanchoumou #Sanchoumou x reader #Tsurumaru Kuninaga #Tsurumaru Kuninaga x reader #Shokudaikiri Mitsutada #Shokudaikiri Mitsutada x reader

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spidersfanfics · 4 years ago

Text

Memories

JonMartin | Post-Canon | Original AU | Fluff

This is to be the first of (probably) many fanfics set in the same AU where I pretend that everything is okay. The details of this AU will be slowly revealed throughout the fanfics. However the fics themselves will be readable in whatever order/capacity you want. In fact, I’m not even writing them in chronological order. They will be “dated” according to in-universe time for ease of understanding. Enjoy!

March 16, 2019

Martin knocked tentatively on Jon's study before letting himself in, "Hey, are you busy?"

"Hmm? No I'm just finishing up some paperwork," Jon said, stifling a yawn, "Did you need something?"

"Yeah, I had a bit of a theory I wanted to test..." Martin said slowly.

Jon turned to face him and raised an eyebrow, "Go on?"

"Right," said Martin, clearing his throat awkwardly, "So you know how you're basically just a statement machine forever now?"

"I mean I don't love the imagery," Jon said, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

Martin smiled at him sweetly, "Oh don't worry, I'll still love you, even if you are a monster."

Jon laughed and reached forward to pull Martin into his lap. The office chair squeaked slightly in protest but they ignored it. "Martin, I'm touched," Jon said sarcastically, resting his chin on Martin's head.

"Anyway, not the point," Martin said, leaning into Jon, "I was thinking, well, I want you to tell me a story."

Jon leaned over to look at Martin with a puzzled expression, "I thought you didn't like listening to me read statements"

"It's easier when they're about you," Martin said with a shrug, "Nice even."

Jon frowned as he wrapped his arms around Martin and leaned back in the chair again, "You know that's not how it works. I can't just know about myself. An eye can't look inside itself and all that."

"Learn," Martin said, his tone gentle but stern. "Maybe it will be a nicer way for you to let off steam. Rather than continue to look for leftovers or create more nightmares."

He paused for a moment to think of an appropriate allegory, "Think of it as a vegan diet."

Jon sighed in amused resignation, "Okay, fine. I have some time anyway. What do you want to hear?"

Martin blinked, caught off guard, "Oh, I get to decide?"

"Well it was your idea."

"Alright then," Martin said, a little flustered. He had evidently not expecting this to be an interactive activity. "Hmm... Oh I know. Tell me when you decided that you loved me"

"Really Martin," Jon laughed, "That's your choice?"

"Yeah," Martin said, blushing as his voice cracked slightly. "I mean, you know I liked you since basically the beginning but we did get off to a bit of a, uh, rocky start"

"That's an understatement," Jon mumbled.

"So what changed?" Martin asked.

Jon gave him a cheeky grin, "What, you mean besides literally the entire world? I'm surprised you have to ask."

"Oh that's not what I mean and you know it," Martin said with an exaggerated pout. "If that was the only reason then you'd just as likely be with, oh, I don't know... Tim?"

Jon stared at Martin for a beat. "Tim?"

"... Georgie?"

"Martin you were the only one who didn't completely hate me by the time the apocalypse happened," Jon said, squeezing Martin's arm gently. "And that includes myself. Is it any wonder I chose you?"

Martin frowned, "So what you're saying is you had no other options?"

"Well no," Jon admitted, "There's more to it than that. I just don't see how talking about my feelings is going to help with the statements thing."

"You said you'd try," Martin said decisively, "So come on, let's hear it. How did I end up here with the sweetest boyfriend in the new world?"

Jon laughed, "Jeez I could eat your words for dessert." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, "Right, let's see."

"Statement of Jonathan Sims. Subject is never being recorded ever again. Regarding how much he loves Martin. Statement begin."

"It must have been when I brought you out of the Lonely." Jon's voice got quiet, dropping into the soothing rhythm of his statement reading voice almost immediately. "I was so scared that I was going to lose you. I thought that I had already lost you."

"You have to know that I would have rescued you sooner if not for the fact that I was treading on eggshells. It seemed that no matter what I did, somebody was upset. And so when you asked to be left alone, I wanted to respect that. But then it got to the point where I could not ignore you any longer."

He clenched his fists unconsciously and Martin put a hand over his.

Jon jolted slightly, as if he had forgotten Martin was there and took a moment before continuing. "When I found you, I was so happy that you were okay. And then when you saw me, really saw me, I felt so relieved. That made me see how much I lo-"

He broke off and shook his head. "No, that's not right."

"It was before that, when I woke up from my coma. Remember when you mentioned being upset you weren't the one to wake me up? Well I didn't tell you then but I was also disappointed that you weren't there when I woke up. Disappointed, and then worried."

Jon shifted in his chair, his brow furrowed in concentration, "That reminded me that I lo-" He cut himself off again, "No, still earlier than that."

"Before the Unknowing, when we went off on that mission and you agreed to stay behind for your part of the plan. I remember feeling so relieved that you wouldn't be in the worst of it."

"We thought it was going to be dangerous, it *was* dangerous. And if anything had happened to you I would never have forgiven myself. And that's when I knew I lo-"

Yet again, he stopped, "No, still further back. When all of this first started, and we were hiding out in the archives. The worms were such a big threat, but it seems silly now, doesn't it? Anyway, when you told me about yourself, and we were talking about working at the institute."

Jon smiled slightly, thinking of how simple things once were. "I don't think I knew it yet but that's when I started to lo-"

He took a shaky breath and paused for longer than he had before.

Martin touched his arm gently and although Jon didn't jump this time, he did move to make eye contact with Martin.

"No," he said softly, "It was when I first met you. I was so scared of being rejected I couldn't let you in at all. That's when I realized I loved you."

#TMA #The Magnus Archives #AU #Denial AU #Yes I'm in denial #JonMartin #JMart #Fluff #Gay #mlm #Everything is okay #cute #Spider writes TMA #Love Letter to the Institute

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galinophrum · 4 years ago

Text

Iron fey fanfic

here you go @meghanlovesash merry christmas!!

I sighed when I reached the door to my room. It had been a long day, and I couldn’t wait to take my Queen in my arms, feel her soft skin under my hands, smell her sugary perfume. I turned the doorknob and pushed open the door. Almost as soon as I had stepped through the doorway I heard someone sniffing.

“Meghan?” I asked softly.

She was sitting on the edge of the bed facing the huge bay window. The sun already began to set behind the heavy curtains. She turned toward me when she heard her name. A few loose strands of her hair were plastered to her tear-streaked cheeks. Her bottom lip was trembling.

“What’s wrong, angel?” I sat next to her on the bed and pushed the blonde locks out of her face.

“It’s nothing,” she said as she wiped her nose on the sleeve of her shirt.

“You wouldn’t be crying if it was nothing,” I answered. She only started crying harder.

She wrapped her arms around me so fast I almost pushed her away by reflex. Eventually, I mirrored her and kissed her forehead. I can’t tell how long we stayed like that. Her crying seemed endless. My shoulder was wet with tears and I couldn’t feel the end of my fingers because I’d been running them through her hair for too long.

“Is there anything that could make you feel better?” I asked softly after an eternity.

“Chocolate… And wine. And also kittens, that would be nice.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” I smiled against her forehead. “Anything else?”

She sighed.

“I want to take a bath.”

And that’s how we ended up, twenty minutes later, in our bathroom with a huge tray of different sorts of chocolates and each a glass of red wine. My wife was in the bath with steaming water over her shoulders and I was sat on a small chair next to the bath. I honestly didn’t know the kitchen had that much chocolate but when I thought about it, it made sense. Having to feed an entire court would require enormous quantities of food.

The only noise in the room was the sound of droplets falling from Meghan’s hair as I combed through her damp blonde locks. She was looking straight ahead of her, her cheeks still slightly pink from the crying she had done. Once there were no more knots in her hair, I washed away the shampoo that still remained. Watching the white bubbles run down her back was almost mesmerising. We stayed in the bathroom until the water turned cold and her hands became wrinkled.

When we came back to our bedroom, she was quick to wrap herself in the warmest clothes she could find. I sat her down on the bed, in the same spot I had found her when I had entered the room.

“Are you ready to talk about it?” I asked her.

She looked up at me, then down at her hands tangled on her lap.

“It’s because of my book,” she said quietly.

Her answer was so far from what I had expected. I couldn’t find anything to say for a whole minute.

“I’m sorry if I scared you,” she added.

“Oh, Meghan, don’t you worry about that,” I told her as I pulled her head toward mine, bringing our foreheads together. “I thought someone had hurt you.”

“If the characters count as people, then yes, someone hurt me.”

“Really?”

“Well, the ending was very sweet, and you know how I am. I love a happy ending. And now the book is over and I don’t know how to feel.”

“How about you tell me everything? Maybe that could help you sort out your feelings about the ending.”

She did just that. I listened carefully, not wanting to lose a single thing. At first, the words coming out of her mouth didn't make much sense to me but after some time, I started making connections between the characters she was telling about. From what I got from her summary, it seemed like a very good book with a great ending, and knowing how easily Meghan gets attached to fictional characters, I could understand why it made her so emotional. She stifled a yawn as she ended her monologue.

“You look tired,” I told her. “After all this talking, it would be good for you to rest a little. Plus, I'm sure you've had an exhausting day.”

“You’re probably right. Sleep would be nice, right now.”

“You know I’m right.”

She smiled softly. I pulled the covers back so that she could easily slip under them. Taking the covers back up, I kissed her forehead, her cheek, and her mouth.

“Good night,” I whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“You better get in bed, too. And quickly.”

It was my turn to smile.

“Yes, your Majesty. But only if you let me change into something more comfortable.”

“Quickly,” she insisted.

I felt her eyeing my body as I got undressed. I was well aware she was looking, even if she would look away every time I turned toward her. She did this nearly every night.

“Get over here,” she ordered once she deemed me ready for bed. I obeyed.

“I love you, Meghan. Now and forever.”

She smiled again. Oh, how I loved her smile.

“I love you, too, Ash.” Her eyes were already drifting shut. I kissed her forehead one last time before cozying up beside her.

#fanfic #meghan chase #ash #he doesnt have a surname does he?#i guess ash chase works #theyre married after all #ash chase #the iron fey #The Iron King #the iron queen #The Iron Daughter #the iron knight

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chelsfic · 4 years ago

Text

The Hot List, in which the NYC Familiar Discord Ranks their Masters - Nandor x Guillermo Fanfic (one-shot, crack!)

Summary: The familiars of New York City use Discord to connect and blow off steam...and also to rank their masters’ hotness. Nandor discovers this impertinence and throws an internet fit.

Tags: Crack with a touch of angst

A/N: I don’t know.

---

NYC Familiar Chat #thirsty

Celeste-is-Best: nngh, have you guys seen Mr. 50ss’s’s’ss instagram story????

Celeste-is-Best: He’s so pretty! it’s like turn me, already!

Imurdad | colby: I know, right? I can’t believe he’s only 7 on the hot list…

[Gigi the great and sam teh pretty like this]

Gigi the great: Don’t forget to vote on this month’s poll!!

Best Hair!

We’re the ones who make them look pretty--but who’s the prettiest one of all? This month we’re voting on the NYC vampire with the best hair. Cast your vote!

A. Simon the Devious

B. Nandor the Relentless

C. Tilda

D. Evan

E. Houston

F. Nancy the Relentless

---

Guillermo locked his phone with a little smile. If he could he’d vote a hundred times for Nandor’s hair. It was unlikely that his master would win against the likes of Evan, Tilda and Nancy. He’d thrown Simon on there as a joke and was kind of horrified by how many familiars seemed to be into the limp mullet look. To each their own, he guessed.

On that note, it was almost nightfall and Nandor’s hair wasn’t going to brush itself. Guillermo made his way into the crypt, lighting candles and gathering the soft brush, comb, detangler spray and hair oils. Nandor was what he lovingly referred to as “high maintenance.” He was also surprisingly pitiful for a 750-year old warlord. It took Guillermo ages every night to carefully tease out and brush the knots from his hair without hurting him. It should’ve been annoying after so many years, but the chore remained one of the highlights of Guillermo’s day.

For one thing, he got to touch his master without being scolded or hissed at. So that was nice. For another thing, Nandor’s hair was as soft as his personality was prickly. Guillermo would often drag out the task, running his fingers through the silky strands and lightly touching Nandor’s jaw to get him to tilt his head this way or that.

He was doing just that, as well as admiring the expanse of cream and bronze skin revealed by the open collar of Nandor’s loose shirt, when the vampire opened his mouth.

“Guillermooo...Did you happen to get any virgins for tonight?”

Guillermo’s fingers momentarily tightened around a hank of his master’s hair. He imagined giving it a sharp tug. He forced himself to loosen his grip and replied, “No, master, I’m sorry. Virgins are getting pretty thin on the ground lately. I managed to pick up a couple people from a bible study class, though. They should taste pretty innocent, right?”

Nandor made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat before answering, “You’d be surprised.”

---

NYC Familiar Chat #the-struggle

Gigi the great: I know we all jealously guard our sources, but I’ve been in a dry spell for a few weeks and my master is going to lose it and drink me one of these nights. Anyone have any new leads on virgins in the area?

Gigi the great: I’ve tried the usual stuff...LARPers, church socials, chastity clubs (surprisingly unhelpful…). I’m kinda desperate!

Direct Messages

Celeste-is-Best: only because you had my back last month when I ran out of burial sites…

Gigi the great: OMG! Celeste, please!! 🙏 🥺

Celeste-is-Best: there’s a magic the gathering tournament in brighton heights this weekend...😈

Gigi the great: You are like the virgin whisperer, Celeste. Thank you!

Celeste-is-Best: np

Celeste-is-Best: hey! Are you posting the poll results soon? I voted for Tilda--don’t tell Houston!! LOL

#main

Gigi the great: The results are in! The vampire with the best hair in NYC is……..EVAN!

Check out the Google Form for the full results...

docs.google.com...best_hair

Evan (26%)

Tilda (22%)

Nancy the Relentless (17%)

Simon the Devious (16%)

Nandor the Relentless (13%)

Houston (6%)

---

“What are you typing over there on your intelligent phone?”

Guillermo hurriedly tucked his phone away and looked up to find his master mopping blood from his mouth with a lace-trimmed handkerchief. They were in an alleyway a few buildings down from the comic shop. The limp body of Nandor’s victim lay discarded on the dirty ground. Guillermo smiled affectionately at Nandor trying and failing to clean himself. He took the hanky from him and set about doing the job himself. The snow white fabric was quickly drenched in dark red arterial blood.

“I was just, um...checking on another potential virgin source,” he lied.

The familiar Discord was strictly secret. If any of their masters ever found it and saw their human servants’ uncensored discussions... The thought sent a panicked tremor down Guillermo’s spine and he thought--for the thousandth time--that he should delete the app and not look back. But the idea of continuing with this emotionally draining, thankless job without his little support system was just as disturbing. Besides, the server had really come through for him tonight.

“Well done, Guillermo!” Nandor praised him and Guillermo’s heart swelled pathetically. A small, shameful part of him imagined Nandor patting him on the head and he didn’t hate it. “That was the most delicious virgin I’ve had in months!”

“Thank you, master,” Guillermo smiled sweetly, his cheeks dimpling. Nandor watched him for a long moment and he could swear he saw his master’s eyes linger on his mouth. He shut that thought down before it could bloom into a hope that was only doomed for disappointment.

“Well…I’ll see you back at the house.” Nandor vanished before his eyes, taking his bat form and darting out of the alley with a high-pitched squeak and a furious flap of his leathery wings.

Guillermo sighed, looked at the broken body and wondered if he’d be able to fit his car down the narrow alley or if he’d have to drag the corpse to the opening. He fished out his keys and started the short walk back to his parking spot. All the while thinking, with distracted horror, Simon the Devious beat out Nandor for best hair?!? Really?

---

Direct Messages

Gigi the great: Hey, thanks! The Magic tournament was a hit!

Celeste-is-Best: i do live to serve…

Gigi the great: Har har.

#bitch-session

mish-bish: Ugh!!! Pretty sure my asshole master is hypnotizing me again.

call-me-karen: That’s rough, Misha! You wanna talk about it? My master lets me take the car whenever I want. I can come pick you up…

mish-bish: Yeah, like...I definitely have a huge black hole in my memories from last night. Fuck.

mish-bish: Oh, that’s ok Karen. Thanks.

Gigi the great: Hey @mish-bish. Sorry you’re having a hard time. If you feel up to it, check out the #support channel. A lot of other familiars have gone through this and talked about it there. Sometimes it helps to hear how others cope!

---

“Guillermo! Guillermoooo!”

Nandor’s panicked bellow reached him all the way in the basement where he was checking his lye supply. Guillermo huffed it up the stairs and raced into the fancy room where he found his master staring aghast at his laptop.

“Wh-what is it, master?” he asked, bent over and catching his breath.

“Someone named...Rap4Unlyfe has sent me a fake news!” Nandor wailed, gesturing to the laptop as if the device was personally responsible.

Guillermo suppressed an eyeroll and walked over to sit beside his master. He watched in dismay as Nandor scooched farther down the couch but he tried not to let it sting too much.

The browser was open to Nandor’s Hotmail account. He leaned forward to read the open message, unsure what to expect. The blood drained from his face as he read.

from: [email protected]

cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] ...

subject: rofl bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahah

yooooooooooooooooOO!

Has ne1 else seen there familiars on this site??? I hypnotized mine last nite to give me his phone password and...👀

Mierda. There were two screenshots attached. One was the survey results page from the “best hair” poll. The other was an excerpt from the chat, specifically Guillermo posting the winner of the poll and the link to the results.

Guillermo’s face fell into an adorably distressed frown. He darted a glance at Nandor but the vampire just looked confused. It wasn’t clear if he yet suspected that his own familiar might be “Gigi the great.”

“Huh…” Guillermo leaned back and smoothed his expression into one of untroubled amusement. “You’re right, looks like fake news. You should probably just ignore it.”

Nandor punched his fist into his thigh and snapped, “But Guillermo! I cannot let this go unanswered! This...this...ludicrous insult! Imagine...me losing a hair contest. Everyone knows I have the most beautiful hair!”

Guillermo blushed magnificently, “Of course, master! This is just...a prank. Someone playing a mean trick on you. You shouldn’t give them the satisfaction--”

The laptop chimed. Guillermo dove to prevent Nandor from reaching it but the vampire simply slapped him away with a petulant whine, “Give me that! Fucking guy…”

Nandor’s lips curled into a snarl as his eyes scanned over the screen.

“Oh, no! Now they are making a mockery of me on the ether net!”

from: [email protected]

cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]…

subject: RE: rofl bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahah

Oh! That is too delicious! Suck it, Houston and Nandor!

It gets even better. Have you seen this, yet?

vamp_hot_list.doc

“Guillermo, what is a hot list?” Nandor asked with a worried frown, clicking on the attachment.

“No, master! Don’t--”

It was too late. He watched as his master’s eyes lit with understanding and then intrigue and finally outrage.

“29?! I am number 29 on your dirty hot vampire list!? What is the meaning of this?” Nandor bristled like an angry porcupine, his eyes shooting metaphorical quills into Guillermo’s soft flesh.

“It’s not my list, master!” he insisted and then, guiltily, “Not only mine…”

“Guillermo!” Nandor gasped, his eyes returning to the screen for a moment before pinning him with outraged accusation. “So, it is you!? You are...Gigi the great? Well, I do not think you are so great, little guy! In fact I think you’re pretty un-great right now! And disrespectful!”

Guillermo sank into the couch cushions, melting under his master’s ire and replying miserably, “It’s not as bad as it looks!”

Nandor turned back to the screen and began reading off names from the top of the list, “Viago! Nancy the Relentless! Evan! I suppose these are all vampires you’ve been dreaming of doing the hanky panky with! Putting them on the top of your list above your own master! That’s two demerits, Guillermo!”

“What!? No! Master, I didn’t make the list! We vote on it! Everyone gets a say. If I made the list of course you’d be at the top--”

Guillermo snapped his mouth shut. His face was on fire and he felt like crying. Nandor must have some inkling of his crush, right? After ten years of service? This couldn’t really be the life-ending mortification that it felt like. He waited, wide-eyed, for his master’s reaction. Nandor stared at him, his huge, dark eyes filled with shock and anger. After a long minute he turned back to the laptop, waving a hand dismissively in Guillermo’s face.

“Go to your room now, Guillermo! I need to think of how to punish this impertinence!”

Guillermo stood, barely holding in humiliated tears. He gestured to the device in Nandor’s lap, “My laptop…”

Nandor held it out of Guillermo’s reach and hissed, “No! Vampire only computer time, Guillermo!”

Guillermo left, trudging out of the room with a sinking feeling in his stomach as the sound of Nandor’s flop-wristed typing followed him out the door.

---

#main

Gigi the great: Is everyone okay?

call-me-karen: not fukcing great!

Imurdad | colby: Seriously! WTF!!?

Gigi the great is typing…

Guillermo lay on his little cot with the crocheted blanket his amá made for him pulled up to his chin. Tears streaked down his cheeks and the phone’s glare reflected in his glasses. He thought back to every off handed complaint, every silly photo turned into a “master-shaming” meme, every confession, every joke. All of them laid bare to the world. The Discord server started out as goofy, harmless fun. The hot list was the perfect embodiment of that. But it became so much more. Being a familiar could be lonely. You were isolated from other humans and surrounded by cold, uncaring monsters all the time. Guillermo loved Nandor. Everyone knew this...there were even memes about it on the server! But sometimes his master’s aloofness got to be too much and he needed to reach out to other humans who understood him!

He threw his phone down onto the mattress, angrily pawing at his teary eyes and wondering if this was it. Not just the end of NYC Familiar Chat, but the end of Guillermo the Great, his long-dreamed-of vampire alias. There was no way Nandor would keep him as a familiar after this…

---

Direct Messages

Celeste-is-Best: OMG! Guillermo, have you seen this?

Celeste-is-Best: http://familiar-hot-list.colinrobinson.net

Celeste-is-Best: hey, if this is Nandor’s big revenge scheme I think you’re going to be ok

Celeste-is-Best: we miss you!

---

Guillermo heard his master calling him and cringed. It had been a week since the hot list incident and Nandor had spent every waking moment making little jabs at his familiar and grousing about how he’d been betrayed on the internet. But to Guillermo’s surprisingly intense relief, he hadn’t been fired. After ten years of disappointment and hopeless pining, Guillermo half-expected to welcome the prospect of finally being put out of his misery, so to speak. He was kind of shocked, therefore, to feel happiness and gratitude that his master had decided to keep him around, even if only as a verbal punching bag.

He found Nandor in the library, smugly brandishing the purloined laptop.

“Come have a look at your punishment, Guillermo,” Nandor patted the couch beside him. “This is what happens when you disrespect vampires on the ether net.”

Guillermo swallowed the lump in his throat and collapsed beside Nandor feeling like a man condemned. Their thighs pressed together but for once Nandor didn’t move away. He shoved the laptop at Guillermo and handed him a yellow sticky note with Colin Robinson’s handwriting on it.

“Colin Robinson has assisted in creating a webpage for your disgrace. We have done our own hot list! A familiar hot list. All of the New York vampires voted. So, now you can see how not nice it feels to have your hotness besmirched for all the world to see.”

Guillermo typed in the URL and blinked as the neon green background scorched his retinas. The page was a hideous callback to the internet of the late 1990s right down to the hit counter at the bottom. There was a border of pixelated dancing Draculas surrounding bright orange text.

NYC Familiar Hotness Ranking

1. Guillermo (Nandor the Relentless) - 19%

Guillermo looked at the screen, then over at Nandor, then back to the screen again.

“Master? Have you looked at the results yet?”

Nandor’s brow knit with confusion, “No, why? What does it say?”

He grabbed the laptop and squinted against the garish colors. Guillermo watched Nandor’s face carefully as he read the results. He looked surprised and almost...pleased at first, before giving in to his patented aggravation.

“Fucking Colin Robinson!”

---

New NYC Familiars Group! #welcome

Imurdad | colby: Hey @everyone! Welcome to the new Discord server. Guillermo has stepped down as a mod but he’ll still be around. We don’t have a perfect solution for the security problems we had with the last server. We’re asking everyone to be vigilant about hypnosis and if you feel like you’re losing time, please be sure to secure your phones/computers away from your masters….

---

to: [email protected]

from: [email protected]

subject: Something you might want to see…

Hey Nandoorman! How’s it hangin’?

Listen, I’m sorry that your revenge didn’t go as planned. I noticed you’ve been a little short with Gizmo ever since this whole thing started. As someone who cares about my roomie, I want to advise you to knock it the hell off. Also, I don’t relish the thought of returning to the days before Gizmo came along. Do you even remember what the house used to look like? Pools of blood everywhere. Dead bodies. Melted candles all over the place...

I digress… I managed to snag this screenshot from Count Rapula. I think you may find it interesting.

Your pal,

Colin Robinson

discord_gizmo.jpg

#confessions

Gigithegreat: Hey guys. This isn’t easy for me to share but I know I’m not the only one who’s dealt with this and if I can help one of you feel less alone then I’ll be glad. As most of you know, I recently “celebrated” my 10th anniversary as Nandor’s familiar. I was convinced, absolutely convinced, that my master was going to make me into a vampire. Well, once again it didn’t happen. He made me this weird portrait out of glitter instead. And the thing is...like, I should leave, right? He’s never going to turn me and that’s the basis for our whole arrangement. I serve him faithfully, he turns me into a vampire. It’s simple, right? So why am I still here? Why am I still burying bodies for him and making human sacrifices? Dressing and feeding him? Treating him like he’s some kind of god and not an ancient cranky baby? It’s because I’m in love with him. Hopelessly, stupidly, self-destructively in love with my vampire master who thinks of me as nothing more than a really well-trained poodle who can talk. Why? WHY? Because he makes me laugh. Because he’s fiercely protective of his vampire family and (sometimes) that includes me. Because when we’re alone he can be so adorably, painfully vulnerable and it feels like a privilege that I get to witness that side of him. Because he does ridiculously stupid but considerate things like spending hours making me a glitter portrait. When he’s happy with me I feel like I could float and when he’s disappointed I feel like being swallowed up by a sinkhole. And, yeah, he’s also man-of-my-dreams outrageously hot and I cannot believe you cretins have him ranked #29 on the hot list. It’s a crime.

Gigithegreat: So, yeah. That’s why I stay. I’m no longer hoping for a bite that will never happen. Now it’s a kiss, a hug, a touch, a look. Anything he’s willing to give me I’ll gladly hoard in my little closet-room along with my glitter portrait. Because I’m pathetic. That’s it. That’s the confession.

Imurdad | colby: Brave words, Guillermo. Hang in there, friend.

blood_princess: this is a mood

sam teh pretty: Sending you healing head scritches ❤️

Celeste-is-Best: look, i think i speak for us all when i say we need to see this glitter portrait!!!

[You’re Viewing Older Messages … Jump To Present? ￬]

---

Nandor looked uncharacteristically thoughtful while Guillermo readied him for sleep. The familiar guessed he was still angry that his little revenge plot had backfired. He couldn’t help but feel a little smug about his position as the hottest NYC familiar. Even if he was pretty sure it was mostly due to the other vampires messing with Nandor. Guillermo couldn’t really enjoy his victory, though, not with Nandor’s feelings of betrayal still weighing on his heart.

Nandor’s face was a stoic mask as Guillermo helped him undress. He cooperated listlessly, picking up his feet for Guillermo to remove his heavy boots, lifting his arms up over his head as Guillermo took off his brocade tunic. Finally, he placed his giant hand in Guillermo’s soft, small one and stepped up into his coffin. Guillermo stood by the side of the coffin as he always did, watching over Nandor with affection choking his throat. Nandor smoothed his hair down and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Sweet dreams, master,” Guillermo whispered, leaning across him to catch the lid of the coffin.

“Wait, Guillermo,” Nandor spoke without looking at him, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. “I wish to say something to you.”

Guillermo’s heart sank in his chest. Oh no...his stupid middle schooler revenge didn’t work and now he’s going to send me away… Tears pricked his eyes and he choked, “C-can’t it wait until tomorrow, master?”

“No. I must say this now,” Nandor responded, oblivious to his familiar’s internal drama. “I want to say to you that--and I think I’m being extremely gracious and lenient here--it is fine for you to have your little, pathetic familiar group on the dark internet.”

“O-oh,” Guillermo quickly swiped the tears from his eyes, “thank you, master…”

“But no more mee-mees, Guillermo! Master-shaming...very disrespectful!”

“Of course!” Guillermo laughed, delirious with relief.

Nandor looked up at him with a final warning glance before softening, “Alright, then. As long as we are clear on that…”

There was a long beat of silence during which Guillermo found himself locked inside his master’s gaze. Nandor’s eyes were like pools of rich, melted chocolate. Guillermo imagined himself as the German kid from Willy Wonka and for a second he was in danger of breaking down into giggles. But then his master spoke in that soft, uncertain tone he only used when they were alone and he was feeling fragile.

“Guillermo...did you really vote for me to be the number one hottest vampire?” Nandor toyed with the buttons on his shirt and looked up at his familiar with a shy, open expression.

Guillermo’s cheeks burned and he wanted to laugh and hide and kiss his master on the mouth all at once.

“Yes, master, I did. You’re…” he cleared his throat and tightened his grip on the lip of the coffin, “so handsome, master. So beautiful...”

He watched his master’s chest expand with pride and his lips twitch into a haughty smirk.

“That’s true, Guillermo. Good job for noticing,” Nandor praised him in a voice that was a little too loud. It rang with a false sense of self-assurance. After a few seconds he went on in a quieter tone, “Do you know, I--this is very silly, Guillermo, you mustn't tell anyone this--I voted for you, too. As the hottest familiar…”

Guillermo’s stomach did a little swoop and his lips curved into a blinding smile. His dumb, beautiful master thought he was attractive? Guillermo tried to reel himself in; he tried to remind himself that Nandor probably only voted for him to boost his own reputation. But--wait?--hadn’t the list been meant as a revenge against Guillermo? God, what a handsome idiot.

“Thank you, master,” Guillermo gushed and now he was certain that Nandor’s eyes strayed too long on his smiling lips and red, dimpled cheeks.

“Alright then!” Nandor pulled the emergency break on the moment. “Time for my evil slumber. Night night, Guillermo!”

And in a slow motion moment that would feature in Guillermo’s dreams that night, Nandor reached up and put his hand over his. Nandor’s cool, smooth palm rubbed over the back of Guillermo’s warm hand and his fingers squeezed slightly. The breath rushed from Guillermo’s lungs and he could only squeak in reply, shutting his master into his coffin and moving away with a dazed smile on his face.

A muffled sound came from the coffin just as Guillermo reached the door to the crypt.

“...And I don’t think of you as a poodle…”

“What was that, master?” Guillermo called.

“Nothing, Guillermo!”

Guillermo shuffled off to his little room feeling like he was carrying a happy little flame inside his chest. For once he gave himself permission to hope without fearing disappointment.

---

New NYC Familiars Group! #thirsty

Celest-is-Best: SORRY NOT SORRY!!!! Simon can get it…

blood_princess: ummmm thirst after your own master, Celeste. Oops sorry she’s 12.

mish-bish: Lmaooo. Gross Celeste!

Celeste-is-Best: listen.

Celeste-is-Best: ...i got nothin. I want his evil dick.

…

Gigi the great: Please look respectfully at this photo I snuck of my master the other night. Do I really need to explain myself further???

Celeste-is-Best: that’s it. guillermo, ask nandor if he needs another familiar. my body is ready!

Gigi the great: Back off, bitch!!!!

Gigi the great: jk love u

Gigi the great: but srsly back off

#master-shaming

mish-bish: submitted without comment

[Imurdad | colby, Gigi the great, Sam teh Cat, and 6 others like this]

...

Gigi the great: 🙄🙄🙄

Gigi the great: I hate him I love him

#main

black-peterrr: ohohoho, has anyone talked to Guillermo lately…..?

black-peterrr: a little raven told me he and Nandor were seen HOLDING HANDS in the park the other night…

call-me-karen: WHATTTTTTTT

Celeste-is-Best: @Gigi the great, CONFIRM OR DENY!! GIIIIIGIIII!

Gigi the great: ……...I don’t kiss and tell 😉

Imurdad | colby pinned a post

Imurdad | colby: This is momentous.

#memes

Gigi the great: hot take…

Imurdad | colby: bahahaha, okay…

Imurdad | colby:

Gigi the great: But have you considered…

Imurdad | colby: lol compelling

Call-me-karen: I mean…..👀

Celeste-is-Best: Ha...ha...ha…*sob*

Direct Messages

Celeste-is-Best: Gigi! we miss you! ur never online lately...

Celeste-is-Best: too busy getting that ottoman empire dick, huhhh??

Gigi the great: OMG Celeste! You’re out of control!

Celeste-is-Best: that wasn’t a denial…

#main

Gigi the great: Hey guys...sorry I haven’t been active lately

Gigi the great: Quick update though....

GIgi the great:

blood_princess: OSDFJweoiflkdfaf omgggggg gggggiiiiiiigiigigig!!!!!!

Jameson: Holy shit, man. Congrats.

Celeste-is-Best: GuillerrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmooooooOooooO!O my baby! you look amazing!

call-me-karen: DO YOU NEED A FAMILIAR!!?!?!?!?

Celeste-is-Best: jesus, karen lol

blood_princess: my master is having an orgy right now. I just locked myself in the bathroom--I’M FREAKING OUT!! What is it like? IS that blood on your collar??? OMG how was ur first feeding?

Imurdad | colby: FAMILIARS ONLY, GUILLERMO!!

Imurdad | colby: I’m kidding. OMG I’m so happy for you! (And burning with jealous rage)

Celeste-is-Best: look how fucking happy Nandor is

Celeste-is-Best: i’ve been shipping you two from the beginning, Gigi!

Celeste-is-Best: …..hope you’re not going to forget who helped you out with those virgins last month…

---

“Guillermo!” Nandor’s voice was half whine, half growl. “It’s very difficult to sleep with that light filling the coffin! What are you doing anyway?”

The screen illuminated Guillermo’s grin as he answered, “Just posted that selfie we took to the familiar chat. They’re freaking out.”

Nandor turned onto his side, nuzzling his face into Guillermo’s neck and tickling him with his beard, “That’s nice. Sleepy time now, Guillermo.”

“Yes, master,” Guillermo breathed and Nandor purred low in his chest. Some things had changed since becoming a vampire and others had stayed the same. Calling Nandor “master” had taken on a new, thrilling subtext.

Nandor’s arms snaked around Guillermo, tugging the smaller vampire into his chest. He let out a contented sigh and his body went still as he began to fall asleep.

“I guess I should probably leave the group,” Guillermo yawned--force of habit. “Since I’m not a familiar anymore.”

Nandor wrenched himself from sleep with the power of his own petulance, “Hey! What do you mean ‘not a familiar anymore’? Just because a guy gives his boyfriend the gift of eternal life he thinks he can quit being his familiar!? Who’s going to brush my hair?! ‘Not a familiar anymore’...fucking guy…”

#nandor x guillermo #guillermo x nandor #nandermo #wwdits #wwdits fanfic #nandor the relentless #guillermo de la cruz

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fieryanmitsu · 4 years ago

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A Shoulder to Lean On | A3! Rare Pairs Week 2020 – Day 3 (Tasuku/Izumi)

And my entry for Day 3 of the A3! Rare Pairs Week is… Tasuku/Izumi!! For anyone who’s read my series “Intertwined Roots”, you’ll know that I absolutely love the same age group that comprises of Izumi, Tsumugi, Tasuku and Itaru. Honestly, Izumi paired with any of these three guys are my top Izumi ships, and I’ve been meaning to write a Tasuku/Izumi fic since I’ve written the other two ships already! So, I’m very glad that this week has kicked my butt into finally getting one out!

A SHOULDER TO LEAN ON

PROMPTS: One’s strength / One’s fear

CHARACTERS: Tasuku Takato, Izumi Tachibana

PAIRINGS: Tasuku/Izumi

My fanfic masterpost: Here

AO3: Link in my Blog Menu

“Seriously! What were you thinking?!” Tasuku growled, carefully examining Izumi’s rapidly swelling foot.

She winced as he placed the ice pack against her ankle.

“S-Sorry, I thought I could handle it.”

“How could you possibly handle anything if the boxes were piled so high that you couldn’t even see past them?” he demanded.

“It-It’s not like they were heavy! And no one was supposed to be over there anyway, so it’s not like I would risk bumping into anyone,” Izumi protested sullenly.

They were currently sitting in the lobby of a theatre on Veludo Way. Another theatre company had asked for Izumi’s help as an extra stagehand during their rehearsals. She had been moving some boxes of spare props and supplies to the storage area backstage when she had tripped over some uneven flooring and fallen, spraining her ankle on the way down.

Tasuku, who was guest acting for the play, had happened to come across her sprawled on the floor when he had come out of the nearby washroom. After he had helped her to the lobby – with a princess carry, much to her embarrassment – he had fetched an ice pack and was currently fiddling with a roll of bandages.

“It doesn’t matter if you thought no one was going to run into you. There were so many other issues with what you were doing! Like the potential of tripping and falling – which is exactly what happened,” he chided gruffly. “And have you considered that there was also a problem with the fact that no one was supposed to be in that area? What if I hadn’t happened to be there? You know that no one usually uses that washroom – I just happened to be using it because the main one was full. What would you have done if no one came to help you? You would have made your ankle so much worse! I can’t believe someone your age can be so stupid! You need to learn what your limits are and stick with it!”

Izumi couldn’t help but flinch at Tasuku’s harsh tirade. He could give Sakyo a run for his money.

“I’m sorry…” she apologized again, having nothing else to say for herself. Though a part of her wanted to refute that she did know her limits, but that she just hadn’t calculated for the uneven floor, she also knew that he was correct that she could have been more careful and carried less boxes at a time. She was also fortunate that none of the props had been damaged when she fell.

“Here. That should do it for now. You should ice it more and elevate it when we get home. We’ll have to find you some extra pillows or cushions or something when we get back to the dorm,” he said as he finished wrapping her foot in a bandage.

“Thanks, Tasuku,” she replied. “I guess we should call someone to pick us up? Hopefully Sakyo or Itaru are home… I don’t have enough cash on me for a taxi.”

“It’s fine, I’ll take you home,” Tasuku responded, slinging his bag over his shoulder and shortening the strap so that it hung snug in front of his stomach.

“Huh? But, you walked here too, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. It’s only a 20-minute walk back to the dorm, so I can just carry you home,” he replied without batting an eye.

“You’re going to what?!” she exclaimed.

“We don’t have enough money for a taxi, right? I can just give you a piggyback. It’s such a short distance home, there’s no point in calling someone,” Tasuku responded. “Besides, it’ll be like resistance training.”

“You’re not serious.”

“Hurry up and get on,” he directed, turning his back to her and crouching down.

Izumi was dumbfounded by this turn of events. When was the last time someone had given her a piggyback ride? And to be given one now that she was a full-grown adult… A part of her still wanted to call someone, but what Tasuku had said made sense. They really were only a short walk home… Finally, shaking her head and not quite believing that she was going through with it, she slung her purse to sit behind her and put her arms over Tasuku’s shoulders.

Checking to see that she was securely clasped around his neck, he carefully stood up and wrapped his arms snugly under her thighs. Then, without another word, he walked them out of the theatre and into the night air.

For the next couple of minutes, they strode wordlessly down the sidewalk of Veludo Way. As they caught the looks of passersby, Izumi couldn’t help but feel bad for inconveniencing the man carrying her.

She hated this. Hated feeling this way – like she was a burden. Izumi didn’t know when it had all started anymore, but for as long as she could remember, she had always done her best to be helpful and useful. To prove her worth – as if she needed to remind the world that she existed.

This fear of being left behind and forgotten was one of the reasons that drove her to constantly take on jobs with other theatres. She wanted to ensure that she could learn as many skills as possible and gain as much experience as she could so that she could be of continued use to Mankai Company. She didn’t think she could lose that, too.

“Umm, sorry for being such a bother, Tasuku,” Izumi said quietly, her negative thoughts coming to a head. “It really was stupid of me to have been so careless…”

Tasuku didn’t respond right away. Then, she heard – and felt – him sigh.

“I’m not upset, okay? I was just worried. You… you have this bad habit of taking too much on your plate. You’ve been packing your schedule lately, too, and when I saw you on the floor… My heart stopped. If something serious happened to you, I don’t know how everyone would keep it together. We would probably fall apart.”

Izumi silently mulled over his words. It was rare for him to say so much and to be this honest with her. It made a warm feeling bloom inside the depths of her stomach, and she was glad that he couldn’t see her face, because she was fairly certain that she was blushing. Only just a little, though.

“Thanks, Tasuku… I… I just like to keep myself busy. I want to keep improving myself and do as much as I can for the Company. But, I guess I can get a bit overenthusiastic sometimes. Like with those boxes.”

“Well… it’s not always a bad thing. Just know that you aren’t in it alone, when it comes to Mankai. We all call that place home – none of us want to see it go under. You’ve got at least twenty sets of shoulders to lean on, and… mine’s always open if you need it,” Tasuku replied as he stopped walking to readjust her weight on his back. “Also… sorry about earlier. I was too harsh. I know I say more than I need to when I get, uh… heated.”

“That’s true… I do see you scold Tsumugi a lot. I guess this is just how you treat your friends,” she remarked with a chuckle.

Another silence fell between them as he started walking again, and Izumi felt disappointed that their conversation appeared to be over. However, to her surprise, he spoke again a moment later.

“… You know that I don’t see you as a friend, right?”

“What?! You don’t?!” Izumi exclaimed, feeling both shocked and indignant. “After all this time?! We’ve gone drinking so many times together, too! What the heck?!”

She felt Tasuku sigh again as she pounded his back with one fist.

“Look – I didn’t mean it that way. I just— I see you as more than a friend, okay?” he snapped back, resolutely keeping his eyes facing forward.

Izumi froze.

“Wait. What did you just say?” she asked slowly. She was sure she had heard him correctly, but she almost didn’t believe it.

“Nothing. I said nothing. Forget about it.”

“Huh?! No way! There’s no way I’d forget something like that!” Izumi retorted.

“Didn’t you just say you didn’t hear what I said?!” he growled.

“I just want to hear you say it again.”

“No.”

“C’moooon! Say it again!”

“No!”

“Saaaaay iiiittt!”

“I swear – I’m going to leave you here and you can walk home!” Tasuku finally snapped.

“You wouldn’t dare!” she taunted back, butterflies fluttering in her stomach at the familiar banter between them. “If you do, I’ll tell Tsumugi on you. I bet I could get him to tell me tons of embarrassing stories about you as compensation.”

“Okay, I’m really going to drop you.”

Izumi shrieked as she felt Tasuku loosen his grip on her legs and she started to slip down his back. However, he immediately caught her and bounced her up onto his waist again.

“You’re the worst! I can’t believe you just did that!” she scowled, wrapping her arms firmly around his neck – just in case – and definitely not because she wanted to feel closer to him.

“Serves you right,” he snorted.

“Fine, I’ll let you off the hook this time – since you’re carrying me home,” Izumi replied, her voice softening. “Thanks, Tasuku.”

Then, she stretched her neck forward and planted a quick kiss on Tasuku’s cheek before moving back and nuzzling her cheek against his broad and warm shoulder. She couldn’t help a big smile from crossing her face as she glimpsed – from the corner of her eye – his ears turning bright red.

I really do enjoy the relationship between these two. I’m just such a sucker for friends/lovers who banter with each other. It’s just so much fun writing Izumi keeping Tasuku on his toes, too, haha. I also have a lot of feelings about Izumi. I didn’t go too much into it here, but I hope to further explore my take on her in future fics!!

I’m happy I was able to get out three entries within the actual Rare Pairs Week! I just need to ride this wave of productivity and finish up the rest of the entries in the next week or two before I lose steam (and hoping real life won’t get in the way of my plans)!!

Thanks again for reading and please do leave a comment with what you thought! If you enjoyed this, please do help me out with a reblog!

Please stay tuned! Next entry will be that ItaIzu smut I was talking about previously back on Day 1, haha.

-Anmitsu

#a3!#act! addict! actors!#a3! act! addict! actors!#tasuku takato #izumi tachibana #tasuku x izumi #takato tasuku #tachibana izumi #a3! izumi #a3! tasuku #a3! game #a3! actor training game #act addict actors #a3! rare pairs week 2020 #anmitsu writes

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ahiddenpath · 4 years ago

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My Current Thoughts on Writing Fanfics

I’m so glad I’ve had this bloggity since 2012, because I can see how much my approach to writing has changed! I wanted to touch base on where I am now, plus answer the most common questions I receive about writing fanfics beneath the cut.

Obligatory disclaimer: I’m a hobbyist writer, this is meant to be taken as opinion/reflection, not advice, different approaches work for different people, annnnd also check out my digimon fanfics (FFN and AO3).

How do I develop a regular writing habit?

I’d start by setting aside 15 minutes a day to write. Don’t focus on word count- writing x number of words can be intimidating, but most people can sit for 15 minutes and get something down. If you’re writing on a computer, turn off the internet and place your phone out of reach

Gradually increase the session length.

Never worry about the quality of your writing while you’re drafting. That’s what editing and subsequent drafts are for. I have a post on utilizing successive drafts to combat writing paralysis here, but the tl;dr is that the pressure to write a perfect story in the first draft often turns writing into an agonizing trial instead of creative play.

Your first draft is bad, period, at least compared to what it will be. In the kindest way possible, get over it. Your value as a writer- or as a human!- isn’t tied into your questionable first draft. Please explore your story in the earliest stages with enthusiasm, not criticism! You’re going to make it so much better by the time you’re finished!

How do you write so much?

See, here’s one of the biggest changes in my mindset compared to my early days as ahiddenpath. I used to think that doing all of this writing was like... extra credit, like a stretch goal I pushed myself to achieve.

I learned in therapy starting in 2018 that the reason I keep writing is because I have to. I have general anxiety disorder, and my brain... Have you seen an old-timey cartoon with a boiler? They are drawn swollen, metal distorting with steam pressure, rivets groaning and popping free. That’s how I feel if I don’t write. Don’t ask me why or how, but writing is like turning a valve to release the pressure.

(Quick PSA- my therapist calls creative outlets “coping skills.” If you feel like you have boiler brain, make time for your hobbies, no matter how tired you are.)

For me, writing is challenging play. Although I’m often conveying messages that matter to me or exploring ideas I want to work through, and I try to make the best product I can... I don’t take it seriously, and I don’t sweat over it. I’m here to wander, play, and take care of myself.

So basically, I think the recipe for producing lots of writing is: regularity/habit (do it every day, even for just a little while), minimizing distractions, separating the processes of drafting and editing, turning off criticism in the early stages of drafting, and writing for yourself and your own needs.

Do you feel embarrassed about writing fanfic?

Nope. I write for my mental health/because it’s fun, period. However, I also don’t tell people IRL that I write fanfic! But I’m a private person (I don’t tell people IRL that I’m asexual, for example, and I only tell them I have anxiety if I freeze up in front of them).

Do you feel embarrassed about writing OCs/fakemon?

Hahahaha! Look, I know there are lots of people who won’t read OCs and fakemon. I know there are probably people who wish I would stick to more canon stuff (both in terms of OCs and my strong preference for AUs).

But I’m here to write what I want, and while it makes me happy when people read and enjoy my work... It’s no skin off my back if they don’t. I already fulfilled my goal of taking care of myself.

Don’t you want to get published and make money for your writing?

No, not at this time. For everyone who has said that I have the writing skill to be published, thank you so very much. That’s so kind, and I truly appreciate it!

But... The United States has the enormous capitalistic attitude problem that endeavors are only worthwhile if they generate capital. I can’t even begin to tell you how damaging this concept is- literally, I’m not equipped with the sociopolitical educational background.

Sometimes I think I’d like to become a published novelist? But sometimes I recall that I have a dope research gig, and I wanna play around with writing in my free time.

To be clear, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t pursue your creative career dreams!!! And, who knows, maybe some day I’ll get tired of research and want to try swapping to the hobby/skill I’ve spent so much time refining. Just... Never stop doing something fun and harmless you enjoy because “it doesn’t make money.”

I’m not gonna sit here acting like I know what the purpose of life is, but I think having fun and meeting your needs is pivotal.

Okay, so how can I support my favorite fandom content creators?

Bless you, f’real. The easiest way is to comment on their stuff. For meta writers, leave comments, engage, ask questions. For fanfiction writers, leave reviews. I have so many lovely folks who chat with me over Tumblr or discord after reading my stuff, which is so great. But it’s hard to find those sweet messages later. I can always click on reviews any time I need a little positive reinforcement/boost. So, even if you’re going to talk to the writer later... Leave that review!

If the content producer uses social media, reblog their stuff to give them more exposure. Likes are for you, so you can find a post later. Reblogs are for the creators, so other people can see their work.

Things like fanart, fanfic of fanfic, cosplays, and other... fan content of fan content make our year, I promise! We love that so stinkin’ much!

Some fan content producers have a ko-fi and/or a patreon, so sometimes there are monetary ways to show appreciation.

If you’re intimated by a content producer, please remember that we are all massive dorkasauruses. I absolutely guarantee it.

How do you have so many ideas?!

Ah, I have a Future Projects page on my blog- I don’t think pages work on mobile.

But here’s the secret: ideas are the easy part. They are literally a dime a dozen. Heck, there are AU generators! Just pick characters out of a hat and use an AU generator and bam, you’re off! And even then, you don’t need a real idea to start writing! I launched Four Years on the thought of, “hahaha, wouldn’t it be a mess if the Chosen went to college together?!”

We’re writing fanfic; we’re here to play. There’s no need to crush yourself with the expectation that you must write the next hit thriller plot.

In my opinion, the much better question is: how do you manage your projects such that you complete them?

So, uh, how do you manage your projects?

I’ve established that I write fanfic to play and to take care of myself, but I do want to grow as a writer along the way. And the best way to learn how to craft narratives is to practice completing them. If you launch stories over and over and only write roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of the way through the story... All you’re practicing is how to start a story.

When I first started writing as ahiddenpath, I did exactly zero planning (see the Four Years reference above). I ended up with longfics stretching as long as 400K+ words- that’s over six novels (based on the average adult fiction novel length)!!!!! It is so daunting to work on longfics, because you feel like the ending is nowhere to be seen.

SO most of my pointers circle around always writing towards your ending, even before you start!

-Decide what you want to say with your story before you start writing.

First, “what you want to say” doesn’t have to be a big, grand theme. It can be as big as “how the trauma of their adventures impacted them after” or as small as “I think these dorks would have a good time at laser tag.”

I’m not talking about a detailed outline (in fact, I personally hate outlines). Just know what your story is about and make sure what you write points to it. If you can make the structure of your story mimic your theme, even better! But no worries if that doesn’t work out, it’s not always possible.

-Write linearly

The best way to keep moving along in your story is just to... keep writing it in order. This helps achieve regular updates, and prevents you from potentially “losing” material if you change your mind about the plot before reaching the bit you wrote already. This happened to me so frequently that I stopped writing ahead of myself. If I have an idea, I write it down, but I don’t draft future scenes. In my experience, they often never see the light of day.

I’m told people often write the bit of the story they most want to write first? If you have a single scene that you’re really longing to write, but you don’t know how to get there/don’t want to write the rest... May I suggest that you... don’t write the rest? If your scene works as a oneshot, write that oneshot! Don’t torture yourself with a lot of writing you don’t want to do. Most often, people end up forcing their way through 1-4 chapters, then stalling before ever reaching the Good Bit.

A moment of silence for all of the unwritten Good Bits out there. Now, some Enya.

If you can’t reduce Good Bit setup to a oneshot, reduce as much as possible. I think that sometimes, people underestimate the incredible advantages of writing fanfiction? Everyone knows your characters already, and maybe even the setting, if you keep it canon. You can cut out the setup and dive right into what you want to do with the characters!

-Think about the structure of your story before you start

Considering the structure of your story is a fantastic way to estimate how long it will be/ensure that there is an ending in sight from the start. For example, in Voices, I covered a single school year in Japan, writing a diary entry for a different Chosen every day, so I knew that I would write the story for roughly a year. After August had one chapter per Chosen, so each child could help Taichi deal with his post Adventure trauma in their own way, plus an opening and closing chapter. My Tri story, Tri: Integrity Lens, is written and posted in installments covering each Tri movie.

It’s fine if no particular structure strikes you. I could see forced structure turning into a gimmick, you know? But if it naturally works out, it’s a great way to have a solid idea of how much story is ahead of you before you start, and where the story will end. And being cognizant of how and when a story ends from chapter one yields a tighter, shorter fic, one that you’re more likely to complete.

-Consider writing in batches/sections before posting

So lately, I’ve been experimenting with how I deliver fanfic updates. I mentioned that my Tri fic follows the Tri movies. Each movie is covered with a few 3,000-6,000 word updates that I post every other week. I cover an entire movie before posting any of it, and then I plan to take a break in between movies to work on either the next movie or a different fic.

AND THIS IS SO GREAT! Having large chunks of my story written is such a fantastic way to do things! I keep thinking of little details I can add/things I should mention and noticing inconsistencies I can fix before posting. Giving myself a larger picture and time to mull over it by spreading out updates is making a huge difference for me.

Plus, giving yourself little breaks between installments can help keep you fresh and motivated, while leaving your audience waiting at a nice, natural stopping point. Plus, this way they know that you haven’t just... up an vanished or dropped a story. You’re just taking an announced break.

How do you plan stories?

I believe I mentioned hating outlines. I personally respond best to “structured freedom.” I focus on things like: what are my themes/what do I want to say, how will the characters grow or regress, how is this story structured or formatted, what is the overall tone and mood. Other than that, I keep things fluid... Which is why it’s so important for me to enforce some kind of ending point before I begin.

Basically, for me, too much planning = a boring slog where I can’t inject the moods and ideas of the day into my work without derailing meticulous plans. Too little planning = longfic hell. I’m guessing that everyone has to decide for themselves where they land on this continuum! Exploration is vital.

Okay, I am out of steam for today. If you have any other writing/fanfic questions you’d like answered, please let me know! Here are some other resources I’ve made.

-Combating writing paralysis with successive drafts

-Dishing with an artist

-Tips for Fanfic Authors

-More Tips for Fanfic Authors

-Tips for Winning Nanowrimo

-Resources/Advice for Digimon Adventure Fanfic Writers

#writing talk #writing fanfics #writing fanfiction #writing fics

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miguel-manbemel · 4 years ago

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Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 47: The Cave of Doom Part 2: Give Me My Son Back!

New entry in the main storyline of this fanfic blog inspired on Sanders Sides by Thomas Sanders and Joan S. We continue this multipart story and I hope you are enjoying it so far. Until next time.

SYNOPSIS: Knowing that the ghouls have kidnapped Chris, Virgil, Roman and the rest of the Sides make plans to go after them into the cave to rescue Virgil and Roman’s son. Meanwhile, the ghouls take Chris to the center of the cave and tell Chris their desperate story.

WARNINGS: Mentions to blood wounds, moments of angst and a brief panic attack.Virgil shows traces of an unsympathetic cruel behavior towards the ghouls in the story.

EPISODE INDEX

[Roman is in his room, writing in his diary. His royal suit is covered in dirt, he sports some wounds on his face and a tear falls down his cheek as he writes and his voice narrates what he’s writing]

ROMAN: [voice] Dear diary… we have just returned from the most horrible adventure we have ever faced. I can’t believe that, in order to save us all, I had to give up to my own flesh and bone, my own son… It all started innocently. Virgil suggested our son Chris, who was moving out of our room to live independently as an adult, that he could move to his old room, as it was now empty. So that he could have access to every door in the room, Virgil gave him all the keys he owned from it, but there was one particular key he asked him never to use, the key of the front door. After that, we left him to clean the room, very dusty after so much time unused, and we returned to our own room as we had work to do for Thomas. Virgil decided to take a nap first and startled me when he screamed in his dreams, a scream I could hear from the living room. He said he had a nightmare about Chris, and his intuition was on point as when we returned to Chris’ room, we found that the front door was open and Chris was missing. It was then when Virgil confessed that at the other side of that door there was the Cave of Doom, populated by ghouls, each one fulfilling one of Thomas’ fears. He said that they had kidnapped Chris to lure him into coming back as he, as he finally confessed, was the King and Father of ghouls and had left them to live with us. After all these revelations, we tried to make up a plan to follow them into that cave and rescue our son, before it was too late… The adventure was about to begin, and we didn’t know yet how everything was going to end. If only we had known… Maybe I could have been prepared to prevent… [sobs] losing my son…

[intro sequence]

[The Sides and Thomas look at the half open door]

VIRGIL: [sighs] Okay, guys, the time has come. Are we all ready?

DILLON: Actually… I’m kinda scared, dad…

VIRGIL: Oh, Dillon…

DILLON: But at the same time, I want to help. He’s my brother. It’s just that I don’t know if I could be of much help or if I would be a burden instead. I’m too young and inexperienced as a Side to be of any help. But will I ever improve as a Side if I don’t follow you in your missions? I want to be better… but I’m afraid. I’m sorry if that’s a disappointment for you, but I can’t help it.

VIRGIL: [grabbing Dillon’s shoulders] No, Dillon, you’re not a disappointment! You could never be!

ROMAN: It is not a disappointment at all, son. It’s totally okay that you are afraid and we would never ever push you into doing anything you don’t wanna do before you feel ready.

VIRGIL: You can stay here if you want, and that’s not disappointing at all, son. Problem is, what are you going to do on your own in the Mind Palace? You need someone to be with you while we’re out, just in case someone tried to enter the room from the cave. But who could stay with you?

THOMAS: Yeah, I could have asked Joan or Talyn… but they’re busy out of town today, I can’t call them.

IAN: Guys, if you think you can handle this yourselves, I can stay behind with Dillon to take care of him. If something serious happened, I could know through Janus’ memories and join you to help. What do you think?

VIRGIL: Actually, that’s a great idea, Ian, and I’d be very grateful if you would take care of Dillon while we’re gone.

IAN: Then it’s settled. Dillon and I will wait for you here while you guys get in there.

DILLON: Be careful, dad, father. Please, save Chris.

VIRGIL: We’ll be careful, I promise.

ROMAN: And we’ll bring your brother back, you’ll see.

[Dillon hugs his parents]

DILLON: I know you will.

JANUS: Pay attention to every step we take in the cave through my memories, Ian. Who knows if you’ll need to remember the path if you have to follow us for some reason.

IAN: Don’t worry, I have a very good memory as you know. You guys, be careful, okay?

JANUS: We’ll be careful. You two, cover our backs from here.

IAN: We will, right Dillon?

DILLON: Right.

VIRGIL: Okay, guys. Let’s go.

[Virgil opens the door and they all go through it. As soon as they cross the door, they’re in a half-lit cave that goes deep down]

THOMAS: Were is the light coming from? I don’t see any torches or any source of light at all.

VIRGIL: There can’t be shadows without light. And this place is full of shadows ready to strike behind any corner of these caves.

THOMAS: [concerned and ironic] Heh… thanks for cheering us up, Virge…

JANUS: I’m totally not about to poop my pants right now…

[The gang starts walking through the cave, always down on a 45 degree slope. They keep walking and walking]

ROMAN: What I wonder is how we’re going to come back. Descending is more or less easy, but ascending is gonna be like climbing a mountain.

REMUS: If we do have the chance to ascend…

ROMAN: Remus, for goodness sake!

REMUS: What? I’m just saying what we are all thinking right now, that’s all!

THOMAS: What I was thinking is… I thought you said this cave was labyrinthine, and up to this point, this has all been a straight cave with not even a turn or a bifurcation.

VIRGIL: You shouldn’t trust your eyes, Thomas, not in this place. The truth is we’ve already made lots of turns, it’s just that you’re under the illusion that you’re walking straight.

THOMAS: The illusion of walking straight? That’s the story of the first 23 years of my life…

VIRGIL: [beat, frowns] …Only I can defeat the illusion, that’s why I’m guiding you.

THOMAS: I find it hard to believe it…

VIRGIL: You do? Well, how do you explain this? Look behind you.

[Thomas and everybody looks behind them. There’s a wall a few steps behind them, no sign of an exit anywhere]

ROMAN: [impersonating Frollo from Hunchback of Notre Dame] Witchcraft!

JANUS: How are we going to come back if there’s no path anymore?

VIRGIL: Don’t worry, as I said, it’s all an illusion. That wall isn’t real and if I stand in front… [Virgil walks to the rear part of the group in front of the wall, and the wall suddenly dissolves and shows an ascending pathway] …you’ll see how the wall evaporates as if it was steam from just-made coffee.

THOMAS: Goodness… Sorry for doubting you, Virge… Then it’s clear we mustn’t split out, under any circumstances, or we’ll get lost in the caves.

VIRGIL: Exactly. Whatever it happens, don’t… walk… away from me. Now, let’s go on. I think we’re not too far away from where we need to go now.

ROMAN: Okay, your majesty, lead the way.

VIRGIL: Please, don’t call me “your majesty”. I’ll only admit “your highness” as consort prince of Sandersia, nothing more.

ROMAN: As you wish, your highness.

[The gang keeps on walking through the cave. Meanwhile, in a huge cavern well lit a group of shadows carry a huge tied bag shaking. Chris’ voice is heard in muffled yells]

CHRIS: Let me outta here, whoever you are! This is outrageous!

GHOUL #1: In a minute, your majesty. We’ve finally arrived.

GHOUL #2: He surely has put out a fight all the way. I’m gonna have sore arms for days!

CHRIS: Let me out and the sore arms will be the most insignificant of your pains

GHOUL #1: Heh, you were always so funny, your majesty. Your dark humor was always the best.

CHRIS: Why do you call me your majesty!? And let me out NOW!

[The ghouls place the bag on the ground, then they untie it and Chris takes his head out gasping for air]

CHRIS: Finally, I can breath again! I mean, I can’t die of suffocation, but it’s so uncomfortable… who are you?

GHOUL #1: We are your humble servants, your majesty, and we’re glad to have you back in our kingdom which is all yours as always.

CHRIS: [getting rid of the bag and standing up] What are you talking about? I’ve never seen you in my life! What is this place!?

GHOUL #2: Okay, your majesty, for a joke, it’s been funny, but, please, cut it out. You have a kingdom to govern and we need your help. Nice new outfit, by the way.

CHRIS: Do I look like a joker to you? I’m telling you I’ve never been in this place and I don’t know who you are or where I am!

GHOUL #1: [scared, to his ghoul friend] Oh, no. Could it be that… we got the wrong guy, Rejection?

CHRIS: You did get the wrong guy, certainly! Get me back to where you found me, right now!

REJECTION: That’s impossible, Height. He was in our king’s bedroom in his private room. Who else would sleep in that bed other than the king himself?

[Chris shows a face of realization and starts understanding what is going on]

CHRIS: Wait, wait a second… that king you’re mentioning… Is his name… Virgil, by any chance?

HEIGHT: [beat] Yes…?

CHRIS: Well, you got the wrong Side. I’m not Virgil! Virgil is my father! And what do you want him for!?

HEIGHT: Your father!? You mean, he’s had offspring?

CHRIS: Yes. He has two children, my brother Dillon and me. My name is Christian, but you can call me Chris… if you were friends, that is, because you have kidnapped me, and you intended to kidnap my father! I demand you to take me back to where you found me and leave my father alone!

REJECTION: I… I’m very sorry for the confusion… your highness, but that won’t be possible.

CHRIS: What do you mean it won’t be possible!? You brought me here, you’ll send me back! And, once again, I demand you to tell me where here is.

HEIGHT: Certainly, your highness. You’re standing in the center of the ancient underground kingdom called the Cave of Doom. Your father, King Virgil the 1st, Father of Ghouls, ruled and protected our kingdom for many years.

CHRIS: My father… a king? A real king?

HEIGHT: Yes, and since you’re his son, that makes you a prince. Sorry if the news of discovering that you’re royalty are too shocking for you.

CHRIS: I mean… I’m already a prince. Prince Christian Gerard Sanders, heir of the Principality of Sandersia. My other father, and Virgil’s husband, is Prince Roman, ruler of said principality.

HEIGHT: Principality of Sandersia? A principality is like a kingdom, is it not? A foreign kingdom… Does that mean that… we could enter in a diplomatic conflict over what we’ve just done? Just what we needed, a war with a neighbor nation when our homeland is in such a serious disadvantage!

REJECTION: Don’t be silly. If our King has married that prince, that means that he’s annexed that place, Sandersia, for our kingdom, under the same government. No wonder he didn’t give sign of life, our monarch has been busy bringing glory to the Cave of Doom.

HEIGHT: Well, glory or not, we need our King here and now! This place is collapsing! Oh, no, don’t worry your highness, I didn’t mean the ceiling literally collapsing over our heads, it was just an expression…

CHRIS: [beat] I got you the first time… What do you mean this place is collapsing?

HEIGHT: You see, since his majesty left us, we’ve been ungoverned. Now, chaos has spread throughout all of the cave. We remain loyal to the legitimate king and wait patiently for his return, but there are other ghouls…

REJECTION: A bunch of vile traitors, those are the other ghouls! They think that the King is not coming back, so one of them decided to seize power and push their evil agenda over the rest of the ghouls. I can’t begin to narrate the atrocities they committed over their own brothers of shadow who didn’t want to betray King Virgil. Everyday we were less and less… We need your father. He’s the only one who can save us. We need him desperately.

CHRIS: Well, I’m very sorry to hear that, but my father never mentioned your existence at all. Perhaps it’s true that he doesn’t want to come back.

HEIGHT: But he must! If he doesn’t, what have we been fighting for? What have so many ghouls like us lost their freedom for? He wouldn’t just leave us like this? He’s our father of shadow!

CHRIS: Father of shadow? What does that exactly mean?

HEIGHT: We’re incarnations of Thomas’ fears… Yes, we never get out of this cave, but we know about Thomas, because our King usually mentioned him when he was here. Virgil’s our father of shadow, because he gave us birth. He created us as Thomas felt us. For instance, I’m Thomas’ fear of heights. Call me Height for short.

REJECTION: And I’m Thomas’ fear of rejection. That’s why Height called me Rejection.

CHRIS: I understand. Nice to meet you, I guess. But still, if he never mentioned you, he must have a good reason.

VIRGIL: [speaking behind them] I do.

[everybody turns around. The gang has just entered the place. Virgil looks at them with a mixed face of relieve and anger]

CHRIS: Dad! You’re here! I’m so happy to see you!

HEIGHT: Your majesty! It’s an honor to see you again!

VIRGIL: [yelling, angry, with his tempest tongue] How dare you speak to me without being spoken to! Be quiet in my presence! And how dare you take my son! I should crush you till you’re nothing but dust!

REJECTION: We’re sorry, your majesty… We were desperate…

CHRIS: It’s okay, dad. They didn’t mean any harm to me, they told me the whole story and…

VIRGIL: [still in tempest tongue] And you! Why did you disobey me!? I gave you strict orders about not opening the front door under any circumstances! Look what you have forced me to do! I hate putting on this dark warlord persona! I never wanted to do it again and I had to, and it was your fault!

CHRIS: Wait, wait, wait, what are you talking about? I didn’t open the front door! I didn’t even know that this place was beyond the front door! Someone got me while I was taking a nap, put me in a sack and brought me here. I didn’t open the door! I wouldn’t disobey you, dad, much less when it seemed so important and serious for you to leave that door locked. I didn’t open it, I promise! I… I’m not even carrying the key chain, I left it on the kitchen counter before I went to the bedroom! If you don’t believe me, search me if you want!

[Virgil shows a face of confusion]

VIRGIL: [normal voice] But if it wasn’t you… Then who…?

JANUS: [suddenly yelling in pain and grabbing his head with both hands] Awww! My head! Awww!

[Everybody gets startled and looks at Janus]

REMUS: [scared] Janus, what’s wrong with you!?

JANUS: [a little relieved, he lowers his hands] I don’t… I don’t know… I suddenly felt a huge headache, as if I had been hit on the head again, like the last time… then the headache suddenly disappeared.

REMUS: But you’re okay now, right?

JANUS: I don’t know… I’m feeling okay… mostly, but at the same time, I don’t know, I feel something weird in my head, I don’t know… But I’m okay now, sorry for startling you.

PATTON: What could have caused that sudden pain? It’s had to happen for a reason.

VIRGIL: We’ll think about it later. Now, the important thing is to get back to my room and out of this place.

HEIGHT: Please, your majesty, we’re begging of you! Don’t leave us! We’re desperate!

REJECTION: [panicking] I’m getting heightened… I’m getting heightened… He’s rejecting us! Everything’s lost! Everything’s lost!

CHRIS: Please, dad, listen to them. They told me their story and they really need our…

VIRGIL: That’s completely out of the question! For starters, you’re coming back to our room with Roman and I until we find a safer place for you in the Mind Palace. [looking at the ghouls] And as for you, I can’t lock my room without my key chain, but that won’t be necessary, cause you can’t get out of my room to other places of the Mind Palace and no one is gonna return to that room ever again!

HEIGHT: I knew you were dark and ominous… but I never thought you could be so cruel and cold hearted…

VIRGIL: How dare you speak to your king with such disrespect!

HEIGHT: Except you’re not, you said it yourself, and I didn’t say any lies! You’re being cruel and cold with us, your children of shadow, the children you’ve blatantly denied. Don’t worry, your former highness, we won’t disturb you in your bright life under the sun anymore. We’ll escort you back to your room, then you can do as you want while we just perish in here. Follow us, please.

[The ghouls lead the way through the caverns. Time goes by and they reach the door]

HEIGHT: Well, you’re here, your majesty, safe and sound. I wish we could say the same about ourselves.

CHRIS: Dad, please… these guys may be ghouls, but they seem nice and in danger. Why not helping them if we can?

VIRGIL: I said no. The only one whose safety I’m worried about is you. Do you have any idea of how worried I was about your safety?

CHRIS: [angry] Yes, I do, cause you’ve always been like this! You’re always trying to overprotect me! I know it’s part of who you are, but I became independent for a reason, dad, to take care of myself on my own terms without the need for your protection. And let me remind you that you agreed on these terms and recognized I needed to be on my own. So when are you going to stop treating me like a baby and consider me an equal adult like all the rest of the Sides? Tell me, dad, when!?

[Virgil does not have time to answer as Thomas interrupts them]

THOMAS: I can’t open the door! It is locked!

VIRGIL: What!?

[Virgil tries to open the door too. He can’t]

VIRGIL: [to the ghouls] You two! You locked the door, didn’t you!? Give me the keys right now!

HEIGHT: What are you talking about? We don’t have the keys!

VIRGIL: But you got in there, and if Chris didn’t open the door, it had to be you! Who else!?

REJECT: The door was open when we got in. Besides, think carefully. You all went through that door and it was still open. When you crossed the door, we were already deep in the caves carrying your son. How could we have locked the door? We can’t teleport.

VIRGIL: Then it was one of your accomplices! You gave the keys to someone and…

HEIGHT: We have no accomplices. We are the two last ghouls of our kind, no other ghoul in their current subjugated state of mind would have wanted you back to this kingdom. And besides, the keys were originally in the room on the other side of the door. We’re shadows, not ghosts. We couldn’t go through the door to fetch the keys, and if we could, what would have we needed the keys for in the first place?

LOGAN: Virgil, you must admit that his logic is completely sound.

VIRGIL: [beat] I know… but there’s something amiss here. That door couldn’t have opened itself! Someone must have opened it… and the only ones who knew of the existence of that key chain, other than the ghouls, were Chris himself, Roman and me.

ROMAN: Well, I…

VIRGIL: I know you didn’t Roman, I know you’d never do that to our son.

ROMAN: Thanks for trusting me, my love.

VIRGIL: And it’s out of the question I didn’t do it, I would have never opened that door on my own free will.

REMUS: Speaking about free will…

VIRGIL: What?

REMUS: Could it be that someone had been forced to open the door against his will?

ROMAN: I know what you’re implying Remus, and if you think the Paladin took control of me and forced me to open the door, I can confirm that’s not the case. I didn’t open the door and the Paladin didn’t take my body. I would have remembered everything I’d have done as the Paladin, and certainly I would have never hidden that to you, much less to Virgil.

REMUS: Okay, it was only a theory… a Remus theory.

ROMAN: A wrong theory. Besides, since Thomas got released from hospital, I’ve been feeling better than ever. I have never had any visits from the Paladin again after the last brief one that almost costed me my marriage. Not ever again. I think the Paladin’s very well reined in and we won’t know about him for a long time. I don’t even feel any trace of his presence at all, as if he had left me for good. I hope that’s the case.

REMUS: Okay, if you say so. Sorry if I’ve offended you, brother.

ROMAN: It’s okay. You had the right to ask and it was good that you did, so that I could clarify it.

VIRGIL: But then, who?

VOICE: Awww…

JANUS: [overlapping with the voice that no one seems to notice] Awww… My head… it’s started hurting again… Aw…

REMUS: Let me see, Janus, take your bowler hat off…

[Remus takes Janus’ hat off. He gets scared when he sees blood on the hair]

REMUS: Honey, you’re bleeding! Your hair is stained in blood! I’m not impressed by the sight of blood, of course, I’m accustomed to it… but if it’s your blood, that concerns me a lot! Did you hit your head or something?

JANUS: No, not at all. How is this possible?

VOICE: Awww…

LOGAN: Wait, what’s that sound? I heard it before but I thought it was Janus. And it certainly is not coming from him.

VOICE: Awww…

VIRGIL: It comes from that corner of the cave on the right side of the door.

[they all come to check the origin of the sound and they all get horrified when they find Ian with his head full of blood, lying on the ground]

JANUS: For goodness sake, Ian, are you okay!?

[Janus lies down to attend Ian, he’s barely conscious, unable to answer Janus, other than with painful groaning]

LOGAN: Well, that explains Janus’ sudden headache and his weird later sensation. Ian is Janus’ Siamese brother and they share memories, and what affects one affects the other, just like Roman and Remus. If Ian was knocked out, he couldn’t feel his memories anymore. And that explains the blood on his head too… but what it doesn’t explain is who did this to Ian.

PATTON: Step aside, Janus, maybe I can be of help. I’ll try to heal him with the gift from the Core.

JANUS: Thank you, Patton.

[Patton gets closer to Ian and puts his hand on Ian’s forehead. A light blue aura surrounds them both. The wound on Ian’s head then slowly disappears. The aura disappears and Ian opens his eyes]

JANUS: The wound is gone from me too, I can feel the pain is gone. Thank you, Patton.

PATTON: Happy to oblige, kiddo.

IAN: How… how did I get here? Where am I?

JANUS: Thank goodness you’re okay, Ian. What happened?

IAN: I’m not sure… I can’t remember… My last memories were that I was with Dillon watching a rerun of The Munsters on TV. Then, I remember I got up from the couch, for some reason, and after that my memories are blurry, then nothing. I can’t remember anything else.

VIRGIL: My son, Dillon, where is he?

IAN: I’m sorry, I don’t remember. What happened to me? [touches his face, and his hand gets stained with a trace of blood falling from his now healed forehead, he sees the blood on his fingers and gets scared] And how did my head get covered in blood? What is going on?

LOGAN: Obviously, someone must have attacked you from behind and rendered you unconscious. You must have lost the last few minutes before the attack due to the damage in your head, otherwise you would remember the attack. Then, while you were unconscious, the attacker, whoever they are, dragged you to the cave and locked the door. They must be the one who unlocked the door in the first place.

VIRGIL: [panicking] If the attacker hit Ian so easily, they must have done the same to my son! He could be anywhere and he could be wounded or worse! Can’t you remember anything, Ian? At all? Please, this is important, try to remember!

IAN: [anxious over Virgil’s state of panic] I’m… I’m sorry, Virgil… I can’t… I can’t!

ROMAN: [holding Virgil’s shoulders] Calm down, Virgil. Don’t harass Ian. He’s helping as much as he can now and we need to give him some room to recover.

VIRGIL: [after breathing slowly for a couple times] You’re right… I’m sorry, Ian.

IAN: It’s okay, I understand your concern and I would help if I could. But I can’t. I have no idea where Dillon is.

THOMAS: Guys, I suddenly had a thought. When we couldn’t get to Logan’s library because of his door being locked, you made me conjure a new key to unlock it. Can’t I do the same with this door?

VIRGIL: You could, Thomas… if you were in the Mind Palace, on the other side of the door. As long as we’re here, you can’t conjure a new key, just like I can’t conjure it myself. I should have conjured it before entering the cave, that was a terrible oversight on my part. But I thought Chris had the keys with him, and most importantly, I never thought someone would shut us out here.

REMUS: I’m sorry for being the Devil’s lawyer again, Virgil, but… if none of us unlocked the door, and the only one out of sight right now when we’re all trapped here is Dillon… couldn’t it have been Dillon who opened the door in the first place?

VIRGIL: What? Dillon? That’s the craziest thing you’ve ever said, and it was difficult to top them! That’s impossible!

REMUS: Sorry for insisting, but he’s the only prime suspect we have. Think about it. Ian was alone with Dillon when he was attacked. Who else could have attacked him? And he could have been the only one able to open the door, drag Ian inside and lock the door again.

VIRGIL: No, I can’t believe it. I refuse to believe it! Why would he do that in the first place? You say he’s the prime suspect, but to be a suspect, you need a motivation. What motivation would Dillon have to do that to us, to his own brother and family who love him?

REMUS: I’m sorry, Virgil. I really am. Dillon is my nephew too and it hurts me too to bring up these accusations, but you know that it’s a very strong possibility. You’re right, I don’t know why he would do that, but reviewing the facts, he’s the only one who could have done it. Maybe he’s being controlled by someone, like when the Dark Master’s Dark Sprite took control of Ira, I don’t know.

VIRGIL: Oh, gosh… you may be right… Dillon would have never done that on his own free will… but perhaps this is all another of the Dark Master’s plans to return to the Mind Palace. Gosh, not even being trapped in the Core is gonna stop him? Is he never gonna let us live happily ever after?

ROMAN: Relax, Virge. If this is the Dark Master’s doing, we’ll find a way to defeat him, as we’ve always done, and if he has our son, we’ll set him free. But for now, we must find a way to get out of this place, and soon. It won’t be long till someone starts missing Thomas in the outer world, and that could put him in trouble, as if it wasn’t enough the trouble we’re currently facing in this cave.

[to be continued, guys gals and non binary pals]

[end card]

[Remus is furiously hitting the door with his Morningstar, trying to bring it down, but despite his furious efforts and the violence of the bumps, the door doesn’t show a single dent]

VIRGIL: Don’t tire yourself up, Remus. I told you it’s completely useless. That door, like all our front doors, is completely indestructible and impossible to open without the key.

REMUS: [panting, frustrated] Not even a dent… [yelling] F*ck!

LOGAN: Well, it seems to be obvious that we can’t get away from this cave, at least through this door, so we need to think on something else.

HEIGHT: I have an idea that could be of help. We, ghouls, could help you search the whole cave to find the key, wherever it’s hidden.

CHRIS: Although we don’t even know if it’s hidden here. The culprit could very well have stayed in the Mind Palace and locked us all here. And besides, didn’t you just say that there were only two of you left?

VIRGIL: I find it hard to believe. Where are all the other ghouls. There used to be hundreds.

REJECTION: Yeah, we used to be a lot, until you abandoned us. Then one of the ghouls decided to take charge and started subjugating the other ghouls into following him. Only the two of us are left out of his control, and frankly, I don’t know how we have lasted for so long.

VIRGIL: Let’s see… if I helped you get rid of that ghoul and liberated all the rest of the ghouls that are under his control, would you help us find the key to get us out of here?

HEIGHT: You would do that for us, your highness?

VIRGIL: I would do that for the key, that’s my number one priority.

REJECTION: Your majesty… what did we ever do to you so that you hate us so much? Why did you abandon us like this?

[Virgil sighs]

VIRGIL: It’s not that I hate you… I don’t hate you… In any case, the only ghoul I hate is… myself.

PATTON: I will physically fight you!

VIRGIL: I don’t mean that I hate myself as a whole, dad, I mean that I hate the ghoul part of myself. I don’t want to be a ghoul anymore.

HEIGHT: That’s not much better for us, in all honesty. What’s so wrong about being a ghoul?

VIRGIL: You are all of Thomas’ fears. You cause him to feel fear and that makes Thomas suffer… and I don’t want Thomas to suffer, much less because of me.

REJECTION: We don’t want Thomas to suffer either, your majesty. We don’t do our work to torture him. It’s just… that that’s what we’re programmed to do and we have to do it. We don’t understand why, but we have to, and something inside us tells us that, in fact, we are supposed to do what we do and it would be worse for Thomas if we didn’t do it.

THOMAS: I think I understand. It’s the same principle about why we accepted you in the first place, Virgil. These ghouls you created don’t exist to make my life a misery. They exist to help me get my guard up and protect myself from the dangers in the world. If I didn’t have any fears at all, yeah, that would be a utopianly wonderfully calm and relaxed life… but I would be unable to identify danger and I eventually would end up hurt or even dead if I didn’t know when to respond to threats. Just like this cave is an extension of your room, these ghouls are an extension of your purpose, Virgil. You shouldn’t feel ashamed for making me feel fear. Sure, some fears may be irrational and hindering, and I might benefit from not having those in particular, but most of the times… these ghouls could be saving my life, and it would be thanks to you because you created them to protect me. Embrace that part of yourself just as I’m embracing it too, because there’s nothing in you that you should look at in shame. Be proud of being the King of Ghouls. I am proud of who you are, of each and every aspect of who you are, my dear friend Virge.

[Virgil looks at Thomas, emotional. He doesn’t say a word, he just hugs Thomas tightly. Then he looks at the ghouls]

VIRGIL: I’m sorry. Thomas is right and I owe you an apology. Everything you have been going through has been my fault. I hope you can forgive me, and I’ll do my best to help you in your ordeal and make sure it never happens again.

HEIGHT: Of course we forgive you, your majesty. You are our father of shadow. We knew that, eventually, you would help us.

REJECTION: And after that, we’ll help you all find a way to get out of here back to your world. We promise.

VIRGIL: Thank you…

THOMAS: Who would have thought? These ghouls are actually very nice.

VIRGIL: [low voice] Wait to see them doing their job, Thomas… [Thomas goes a little pale over Virgil’s gloomy way of saying that, but he says nothing] Okay, then let’s get cracking. Who is the ghoul that has rebelled against my legacy and wants to overthrow me in the throne? In other words, whose face do I need to punch.

HEIGHT: The truth is, not much is known about that ghoul. It’s one of the latest ghouls to be added to the cave. Before he assumed power, the only thing we knew about him, and not everyone knew it, was his name.

VIRGIL: And what’s his name? I’m asking because I didn’t know I could create ghouls without noticing. If you say he came recently, I was out of here when he was born.

REJECTION: Yes, your majesty, he came recently. In fact, he showed up barely a couple months ago and turned this cave into a mess in such short time. His name is… Paranoia.

[Virgil shows a face of shock when he hears that name and is rendered speechless, with a dash of fear in his eyes]

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