#I’ve been meaning to reply to this since you sent it 😅😅😅

[rubydracogirl]

Listen, you. Things have escalated and it's entirely your fault.

I marathoned the series.

I bought Journal 3 and The Book of Bill, the latter of which had to be shipped in from America, and read them both cover to cover. I'm seriously trying to find where all the codes have been translated.

And now I'm writing a fic.

And it's all your fault.

How dare you introduce me to a new obsession.

SKSKSKSKSSK I’M NOT SORRY 🤣🤣🤣

Although you do have my condolences, getting swept into a new obsession is always an Experience™️

If you’re looking for more Gravity Falls material to consume, I HIGHLY recommend the graphic novel Lost Legends!

Good luck with your fanfic writing!

[chickycherrycola]

(no place like) home for the holidays

Its Christmas Eve! Which means its FINALLY TIME for me to unveil the very special project I've been working on! I got a Christmas-y, holiday-themed idea in my head several weeks ago that started out as a few loosely connected scenes, and eventually spiraled into a whole-ass novel 😅 and today I am so pleased to present my most recent labor of love to the Soul Eater fandom: (no place like) home for the holidays. Its centered around Soul and Maka visiting Soul's family for the holidays, and its fluffy, its sappy, its pine-scented, and its so so mushy. I really hope that if you read it, that you enjoy 💝🎄

As always, I gotta give a special shout-out to @moriohpissky for all of her assistance bringing this fic to life. Thank you Leah for the beta read, the idea bouncing, and the assistance with the lovely moodboard! 💕

I'll be posting a chapter a day until the end of the year, starting with Chapter 1 today!

Rating: T

Summary: After a bit of convincing from his overzealous but well-meaning older brother, Soul returns to his hometown in upstate New York for Christmas with his meister in tow. It's been more than ten years since he's been home, and along the way, he'll have to contend with more than just a long-buried past - travel delays, shitty motel rooms with less-than-ideal sleeping arrangements, Wes's horrible ugly sweaters, and, perhaps most daunting of all... his feelings for Maka.

Preview of Chapter 1 under the cut, or read the whole chapter on Ao3!

Ch 1: All I Want For Christmas Is You

His phone rings just as he’s realizing he might be the slightest bit inebriated.

Incoming Call…

Wes

The only reason Soul picks up the phone is because he's on his fourth cup of eggnog - or is it his fifth? Truthfully, he's lost count at this point - and he'd woefully underestimated the potency of one sixteen-ounce pour of eggnog, let alone four or five of them.

(A rookie mistake, honestly, given that this year's Christmas party libations had been supplied by Black Star.)

Before he can think twice about it, he's swiping the green answer button and pressing his phone to the side of his face.

"'Sup?"

It's perhaps a bit too casual a greeting, considering he hasn't spoken to his brother in… months, now.

"Well, color me surprised," Wes chirps through the speaker, and Soul can't help how he cringes in response. "Is that you, little bro, or do my ears deceive me? I suppose I’ve simply forgotten what your voice sounds like, after all this time."

"…Should've sent you straight to voicemail."

"Oh, yes, voicemail, I love leaving those,” Wes hums thoughtfully. “Do you know, I’ve even taken to writing out my messages before I call you. Pity, I was quite excited about this one.”

Soul removes the phone from the side of his face and holds the top of it against his forehead as he draws in a long, slow breath, in part to dredge up his quickly dwindling patience, and in part in an effort to stop the room as it perilously spins around him.

Goddamn eggnog. Goddamn his brother.

When he holds the phone back up to his ear, he asks, as evenly as he can:

"What do you want, Wes?"

“I should think it's fairly obvious,” comes his brother’s reply. “I want to talk to you, Soul. If the fact that I continue to call you once per week despite your insistence on not answering doesn’t make that clear enough.”

"Alright," Soul leans backward against the kitchen counter and crosses one leg over the other. "So talk. Here I am."

Against all better judgment, he brings the red solo cup back to his lips and takes a hearty sip from the spiked eggnog sloshing around inside.

If he must converse with his older brother, maintaining his current level of intoxication will at least make it a tolerable experience.

“Jesus, Soul,” Wes laughs. “Don’t make it sound like talking to me is a death sentence, I just want to chat. What’s new, how’s life, how’s the… what is your title again? Death Knife?”

“Death Scythe.”

“Right! Silly me. How’s the Death Scythe thing going? No ulterior motives, I swear.”

Soul narrows his eyes in suspicion.

“I didn’t ask if you had any ulterior motives.”

Read the rest on Ao3!

[ripplestitchskein]

The replies were off on the Stolitz post but I HAD to tell you that you are a mega genius with an incredible talent for writing, analyzing and explaining things. I don’t know if that’s a thing you do but I’m a professional journalist so that’s what I do. That doesn’t really mean anything here but oh my god it was so well written I wish all my reviews sounded like that. You are truly big brain. Please never stop analyzing shows like that. Sorry if this was a lot lol. I just haven’t read something so beautifully written in a while 😁 also totally agree, they are so perfect for each other ❤️

This made me cry. Like I screen grabbed and sent this to several people like “LOOKIT WHAT THIS BEAUTIFUL HUMAN SAID”. It kind of prompted a whole reflection spiral, but in a good way. In the BEST way.

By profession I am a software engineer, I build middleware business applications for a largish regional corporation, but because of my writing background I also handle a lot of the documentation: trainings, system requirements, scope etc. Technical writing isn’t as fun as fiction or media analysis but I do think it helped me hone skills in structure, word economy and expository essay style writing. It is a lot of explaining highly technical things to non-technical leadership like VPs and Directors who come with a lot of uninformed opinions which I think translates well to media analysis, lol.

I also can’t stop myself from writing a million words. I think it’s an autism thing? It’s a long running joke with my co-workers that if Stephanie sends you an email it will have everything you need to know and be so well organized and structured it looks like it came from a textbook but you have to set aside 30 minutes to read it. Long post should be a default tag for me 😅.

I’ve written professionally in the past, like received laughable pay for it, but it was freelance copywriting and blogging and I kinda hated it. Writing about vacuums and solar panels and having to squeeze search engine optimized keywords into a certain word count is the kind of soulless drudgery that kills any creative spark you have.

Writing fiction, be it fan fiction or my own personal novels (which tend to be queer romances), is something I do for fun, but because of killer imposter syndrome and that sweet AuADHD brain combo I have a hard time finishing things. I have, no joke, FIVE unfinished novels with more than 40k words each.

Fan fiction is easier because of the dopamine hits from comments and kudos, but personal fiction is hard because it’s just me and the void of my intrusive thoughts.

Media analysis though, I can just sit down and brain dump my thoughts about a thing I love and send it out to the world within an hour and see the lovely or interesting things people say. There is no pressure, if someone doesn’t agree with me they are usually nice about it, sometimes you make good friends or they reply with their amazing perspectives and it’s great. And then you get messages like this.

Messages that kind of blow up your brain and light that fire of “I SHOULD focus on writing more, it’s what I love to do, I’ve done it since I could write, and people who don’t know me or have any investment in my feelings tell me I’m good at it”.

You didn’t know when sending this message but I’ve been restructuring my life a bit lately. I tend to bounce from activity to activity, I’ve done game development, digital and traditional art, violin, comic books, roller derby, 3d modeling, and so many crafts I bought a house specifically because it has a detached workshop to put all my craft shit. But I don’t finish most things, or I get stuck and it’s so frustrating I give up. So I’ve been thinking, that rather than bounce between all these things that I should focus on three areas: fiber arts (which encompass enough things I wouldn’t get bored and could still bounce), roller derby for fitness and my friends, and writing.

This message just hit at the right time, it affirmed some plans I was making, some dreams I have, and hopefully will lead to good things in the future. I know you didn’t ask for all this, no one does with me, but I wanted to give a little background on how simple messages like this can be part of a larger personal introspection and come at just the right time to encourage people to do things they want to do but were too scared to do.

So thank you. It really means so so much.

[goobersplat]

Kind-meaning advice for you that you don't have to publish - just some thoughts! For me, there are a few factors as to why I haven't purchased a digital zine from you. One, I don't have a printer, but even if I did, the prices might be slightly too steep for me. I'd recommend (for comparison sake) looking at other sites where artists sell zines, if you haven't already. One of my favourites is https://mushroomy.house/search?q=zine There's obviously a wide range of prices there, but the smaller zines are around $3 - $5, and that's printed (plus doesn't require any clumsy folding from me!) And it feels special! Something the artist put together with their hands and sent out to me, not something I constructed alone in my house. Another thing is, there's no examples of pages inside the zine. Personally, I can't get a feel for a zine from just the cover, though I might be alone in that regard. I prefer to see at least one example page from inside to see if it's a style I think I'd vibe with. Or to already know the artist's style from elsewhere - then I feel safer to go in blind! The same thing goes for the stickers. I love ordering stickers from artists! I have a whole storage box full of 'em :D There's something about choosing stickers that look appealing to me, waiting for them to arrive, then getting to hold them in my hand (and stick them places of course!) that feels magical. Everything's been done for me - my job is just to love them, then stick them. I wouldn't know where to begin printing, cutting, adhering(?) stickers from a digital file. If i did, I'd probably be making my own designs! Also, I'm FUSSY about stickers XD If I, for example, borrowed my parent's inkjet during a visit to print some digital stickers, they wouldn't come out nearly as bright or crisp as I'd want for a sticker I'd want to stick places. I don't think many people have access to high quality printers. I look forward to seeing physical items in your shop in the future (I saw you mention that in a reply.) You're obviously super creative and I hope you do wonderfully well with your new store.

Thank you for the helpful advice and kind words! I’ve never done anything like this before so it’s very helpful. I think I’ve realized my prices were too high for digital products, I think above anything I want people to enjoy them, so I’m totally fine with lowering them!

Also I actually do have previews of the inside, just hidden under the disclaimers, and now that you mention it I can definitely make the previews clearer 😅

The idea of doing a physical store always felt much more daunting to me, and since I have access to my library’s printer, I kind of assumed that’s what most people did—my bad lol. I’m not sure how I’d be able to sell my own stickers without spending a lot of money on manufacturing but I could possibly sell small batches of zines? I definitely agree with homemade being better.

Again, thanks for the advice! If anyone else has thoughts let me know ❤️

[skyward-floored]

Hello Peggy!

Congrats, you've been visited by your LU Self Care Anon!

I hope you had a great day, and if not, don't worry, you did your best, and tomorrow's full of new possibilities!

Have you drank enough water? It can really help, abd since I've bought this really neat canteen with included straw I've been drinking a lot more (I think for me it acts as a stim too) Also, remember to get enough sleep, I might be an hypocrite now that i haven't slept at all this night, but it's only one night and I knew it would come, I'll sleep a lot the next. Did you know sleeping on your side may reduce snore or sleep apnea?

What have you been working on lately? Would you like to show me a wip, or describe it? I'm sure it'll turn out amazing, even if you now think it's nowhere near good!

You can do this! Believe in yourself, you're awesome!

Thank you! My day yesterday when you sent this was fine, and today’s been pretty good! Babysitting my nephew ‘cause my sisters getting her wisdom teeth out.

I have a canteen like that! I don’t use it much unless I’m going out of the house somewhere, but it’s pretty nice :) I’ve been trying to drink more water lately, I think I’ve been succeeding! Sleep on the other hand... well. 😅

I usually tend to sleep on my side actually! I didn’t know that though, that’s interesting.

I’ve been working on all sorts of stuff lately! I’m finally out of the crummy mental state I’ve been in since like, May, (mostly anyways, it’s way better than it’s been) and I’ve been bouncing around and working on a lot of different things. Trying especially to focus on stuff I haven’t updated in a while though, which right now mostly means brethren in a cradle.

Here’s a bit of what I managed to write, since you said you’d like to see a wip :)

Warriors and Wolfie came running back through the bushes, blood staining the fur by Wolfie’s mouth.

“More bokoblins,” Warriors said quickly, wiping some blood from his sword. “Only three, but I’d bet anything there are more around. We need to go.”

“But you said we weren’t moving,” Wild replied a little cheekily, and Warriors gave him a flat look.

“That was before I knew there were monsters about. We need a more defensible area— with you and the rancher injured, along with keeping Ember safe, I don’t like our odds in this spot.”

Warriors looked around, frowning in the direction where Twilight has gone.

“Why isn’t he back yet?” he asked worriedly, and Wild and Four looked at each other, then down at Wolfie.

Wolfie twitched an ear.

[spamaccount28007]

(sent my letter via here cuz insta said it was too long.)

i’m too afraid to send this paragraph on my main account but i will say though that i am following you and i actually made a message all the way back to that christmas tree decortree i forget what it was called. 

but cut to the chase, i’ve known you since earlier last year (school started in adnu already), now i think i saw you in ateneo ave not sure where or what cafe it was eventually my friend found your insta in mid of november. I wasn’t really sure how to make my presence known to you (i’m literally a shut in introvert😅😫) But I am writing this to tell you that you have a personality that i find admirable just based on your likes dislikes, sounds like stalker behavior right?(trust me it’s not a f upped way😭) l don’t know really but i get really intrigued when someone has the same interests as me and you’re the first person I’ve seen who likes the things I like, even my friends don’t like things i like lol(not in a way that’s like the pick me type that’s like i’M nOt LiKe tHe oThErS cringe way😅)… I mean you adore animals, laufey(even though i don’t listen to her that much yet i still find her voice beautiful), and lana del rey??? LANA DEL REY???😫😭Call me delulu but I never knew or saw someone in my life who likes her… All I know is that you probably don’t even know I exist yet. But if you do, I am making it clear that I want to have the chance to get to know you better, Idk really kasi hahahhaha😭. i may not be the first to confess a lot to you in this manner or physically but idk how else i’ll get this to you if i think about it lol. i’ve been thinking if i should even send this to you but you know, life is to short not to try.

hope i can talk to you soon

(if you do end up guessing who i am, dm me on my actual account.😫)Just thinking about sending this to you already gives me anxiety and the wait for your reply to this long ass letter doesn’t make me feel at ease either. Questions of are you going to see this, or will you even take the time to read this will just circle through my mind all throughout for days until you finally reply.😅),

🐶🐱

[skyward-floored]

I’m repeating stuff I’ve said (and that might’ve been said earlier in this post but I accidentally missed 😅) before I’m sure, but here’s my thoughts on all of it.

(readmore since I blabbed a bunch)

Basically? Reaching out is hard. For both big and small people, but I get the impression it’s worse for smaller folks then it ever used to be?

Like think back on how I ended up as a big blog, and I mostly just... reached out to bigger blogs. I reblogged art I liked and made sure to be nice in the tags, same with fics and analysis and all that stuff, and I sent asks telling them I loved their ideas and people just... ended up sticking around I guess?

And I don’t know really how to articulate it, but the vibe around here is just... different? Then it used to be?

And that might be because of the large turnover i feel like we go through (changing interests, one too many controversies for some folks I think. I don’t blame them), or just the general change of social media as a whole, but it is different around here. Not all bad, but not all good either.

—Buuuuut I’m getting slightly off-topic.

About different sized blogs and clique-y stuff and interacting, I think a lot of it comes down to just... time? And differing personalities too.

Like for me, I honestly just don’t have the time to reach out to every new person that pops into the fandom (does anyone..?) or even people a bit outside my usual circle. You guys are making awesome stuff I’m sure, and I try to at least check through the tag for neat stuff every other day or so, but I can’t look for new stuff, and keep up with my (unfortunately) large number of notes/asks, and check up on my friends, and scroll through my dash, AND reblog the stuff from blogs I specifically followed. And that’s not even mentioning stuff like making my own stuff, writing fics and analysis and other things, plus irl commitments... I’m only one person. Silver touched on this pretty well I think.

...Plus I often use tumblr on a janky old iPod that sometimes takes several minutes to load things and likes to crash the app at any given moment, so that certainly makes things more difficult 😂

But it’s also just my personality at play here. I’m not good at making friends and never have been, and if somebody doesn’t talk to me I guess I usually assume it’s because they just... don’t want to talk to me 😅. Being an (unfortunately) big blog doesn’t mean I don’t have social anxiety. I’m just slightly more used to it then I used to be cause I’ve been on tumblr for 4-5 years. I mean just replying to this post made me anxious XD

So I tend to stick with folks I know because it’s just... easier for me. And that’s a really lame excuse, I know, but... that's the reason. And I’ve never intended to be clique-y, but I know it can come off that way. I've just known most of my mutuals on here for years now, and it's a different dynamic, you know? I always try to be welcoming to anybody who comes on my blog though, and I hope I've suceeded in that.

But anyway, it's like someone said earlier: interaction goes both ways, we've all got to interact with each other if we want to keep things alive around here. Big and small, and everyone in between.

Uhhh I think that’s about all I got. I'll probably look at this later and wish I'd put it better, but I think that's all I have to say.

For everyone who’s worried about interacting with people on tumblr I have a pro tip:

Use ask games!! Literally the lowest entry bar.

And if that’s still too much, I got nothing 😂 just please don’t expect creators to come track down everyone who secretly wants to be friends 🫠 I see my mutuals post them pretty often so there’s a good chance you have an in with them at some point.

[canirove]

Meu Amor | Chapter 1

Summary: "I don't have time for boys, Taylor. Especially not football players. I want to make the most of this opportunity. Who knows the doors it can open for me."

"The ones of Rúben Dias' house are already open" she says with a smirk.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━   

When an unexpected promotion at your job as a journalist for Sky Sports, may end up not only changing your professional life, but also your personal one.

Author's note: I got the inspiration for this story while watching a basketball game and seeing a Spanish journalist who is married to one of the players. She has to work during many of his games, sometimes even having to interview him, and both of them always are super profesional.

The idea of writing it with Rúben is all thanks to my friend Ana (hi 👋🏻), who has been obssesed with him since the end of last season, and sending me photos and videos daily. You can thank her for it 😅

Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you like it! 💜

Next chapter

Masterlist

“Ok, guys. I’ve got good news and bad news. Where should I start?”

“Bad news always first.”

“John had a fall last night while training, injured his knee pretty badly, and will be out for the rest of the year.”

“Oh my God, is he alright?”

“He is in a lot pain, but he is having surgery today. He told me not to worry, that he will be fine. But as much as it sucks, his bad news lead us to the good ones. One of you will be covering for him, and the lucky one is… Taylor!”

“Me? But what about Manu? Shouldn’t he be the one covering for John since he is his assistant?” Taylor asks.

“I was going to tell you once he came back from his holidays, but nevermind. He has accepted an offer to join the Champions League team. It’s less work, and that way he can help at home.”

“So that means that Taylor and I are the new John and Manu?” I ask.

“Exactly. Congratulations girls! Your first game will be the Manchester derby. Hope you enjoy it!”

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━    

“Relax, girl. We’ll be ok and totally nail this, trust me” Taylor says, putting a hand on my leg and trying to make it stop moving.

“Oh, I’m not nervous. Well, maybe a bit. What I am the most, is excited” I reply. We are finally doing pitch side work, and I can’t wait.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━    

I finished my journalism degree two years ago. While most people knew the field they wanted to work in, I wasn’t sure, I liked too many things. But one day, after seeing a female journalist covering a football game, I said to myself: maybe I can do that too. I sent a curriculum to Sky Sports, and God knows why and how, they called me back.

I expected to spend most part of my time doing things for others, from getting coffees to ordering files. Just as you see on movies. But to my surprise, they had me join the Premier League team as an assistant.

During my first year, I helped transcribing the notes others took during games, turning them into articles for the website. They were articles about the smaller teams, those only their fans care about, but I was writing and my name was there.

One day, one of the guys I worked with had to cover for someone from the Big 6 team, aka, the most important clubs in the country, the ones everyone watched on tv. It was a Manchester United – Liverpool, and we weren’t watching it from home. We were at the stadium, sharing our spot with journalists from all around the country, seeing it all first hand. And I fell in love with it. This was what I wanted to do. To actually live the games and share that with those at home.

For some reason, Taylor read the article I wrote that day, asked around… And the following week I was working as her assistant and becoming part of the Big 6 team. I wasn’t writing anymore, but just being by her side during meetings and helping wherever I was needed, was enough. An all this was finally paying off, making me go back to Manchester and to the actual pitch side.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━    

“I’m going to the bathroom before we start. Can you make sure everything is ready and that no one ruins our spot?” Taylor says.

“Sure, don’t worry.”

We are at the Etihad, Manchester City’s stadium, the game starting in 20 minutes. The players are already warming up, and Taylor should be doing her live in just a bit. After that, we’ll stay close to the benches, taking notes during the game, reporting back during the halftime, and doing the interviews once the game is over.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━    

“Taylor, where are you?” I mutter, checking my watch for the 10th time since she left. If she doesn’t come back soon, she’ll miss the live.

As I turn back to look at the pitch and make sure that everything is alright, I see a guy just in the middle of our set. Great.

“Excuse me, sir” I say, walking towards him. “This is a tv set, you can’t be here.”

Nothing, he doesn’t move. He is typing on his phone, the world around him gone. I let out a sigh and try to talk to him again, this time closer. He is way taller than I expected, and his back is huge. Like two times mine. No, maybe three.

“Sir. Sir, this is a tv set, you must move” I say, raising my voice. But nothing. “Sir, please” I say again, touching his arm. Even though he is wearing a jacket, I can feel his bicep. And just as his back, it is huge.

“Oh, hi” he says, starting to turn to look at me.

“Hi, sorry” I say, my hand staying on his arm for longer than it should have. “This is a tv set and we should be having a live any minute now. You must move somewhere else.”

“Yes, yes, I’m very sorry” he replies, his eyes fixed on me.

“Ok, thank you” I say, clearing my throat. Why is he looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?

“Mr. Dias, hello!” Taylor says behind me. Finally! “Such a pity that you aren’t able to play today.”

“Yeah, I know. But please, I already told you. Call me Rúben” he says. Do these two know each other?

“Yes, my bad. Sorry. Could we get you for a halftime interview? Are you watching the game from the VIP area or here next to the bench?” Taylor asks him.

“Yes, of course. And I was going to watch it from upstairs, but I’ve changed my mind” he says, looking at me.

“Oh, great. Then if they give us green light, we’ll see you later.”

“Looking forward to it” he smiles.

“Who was that?” I ask Taylor as I watch him leave. Though before he completely disappears among the crowd, I see him turning around to look back at me, giving me another intense look from head to toe, one that makes me blush a bit. Or a lot.

“Rúben Dias.”

“That’s him?”

“Of course that’s him! You are the most thorough person I know, you check every single detail, and you didn’t recognize him? Him? Last season’s best player?”

“You know Manchester City isn’t my cup of tea” I shrug.

“And Chelsea isn’t mine and I still know all their players faces. Anyway, you should start to pay more attention to him. You’ve definitely caught his” Taylor winks.

“Me? What? No!”

“He only had eyes for you! And he looked at you on purpose when he said that he had changed his mind about from where he was going to watch the game.”

“That was just a coincidence.”

“That was not a coincidence and you know it.”

“That… Ugh, Taylor, we are here to work, not to flirt with players. And we have a live in…” I say, checking my watch “2 minutes! C’mon, we need to get ready!

“Fine, fine” she says, rolling her eyes.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━    

“He fancies you.”

“Taylor, please don’t start again. My head hurts” I say, closing my eyes and trying to find a comfortable position on my seat. We still have an hour left until the train makes it to London, and a nap would do me wonders.

“But it is the truth! He is super serious with his job, something he has in common with you. And he always gives his 100% and puts all his focus on it, even if he isn’t playing. But today? Today he couldn’t stop looking to the side, to where you were. And during the game, I also caught him looking at you a few times.”

“He was just probably looking at the pitch, at his teammates.” Though I must say I also looked at him a few times, and he wasn’t paying attention to the game. He was looking at us. At me.

“Seriously, girl. One of the hottest guys on the Premier League only had eyes for you today. You should be ecstatic!”

“I don’t have time for boys, Taylor. Especially not football players. I want to make the most of this opportunity. Who knows the doors it can open for me.”

“The ones of Rúben Dias’ house are already open” smirks.

“I’m serious, Taylor. You’ve been working for longer than a decade. I haven’t. I need this to work out.”

“I know. And I’m sorry. I promise I won’t play matchmaker anymore and will focus on our job. Unless he sends me a dm asking me for your number or something. That’s the only exception.”

“Fine” I say, giving up. “You need to tell me how you two met, tho.”

“We’ll leave that story for another day. Now try to rest, I’ll wake you up when we make it back to London.”

And as I close my eyes and try to sleep, my mind chooses to relive everything that has happened today. Especially the moments that involve him. Rúben Dias.

[the-widow-sisters]

Hi,

first of all, I just want to say that I absolutely adore all of your stories. You are one of my most favourite writers on AO3 who writes about Widow Sisters. ❤️

Secondly, I want to ask if it would be possible for you to write a role-reversal of Opening Her Heart?

I love that story and I'd love to see the reversal + maybe a little of Kate in it as well, since she wasn't in the original. 🤗

P.S. I love how you portray Kate + Yelena + Natasha dynamic. 🥰

A/N: Thank you so, so much 🥺💗💗💗 You are so sweet, and it means so much that you like the Natkatlena dynamic (and yes I just thought that up on the spot 🤣 It’s a working title) 💖 It’s always the best thing ever to hear from you guys 😊

And gosh, y’all.... Wow! Haven't had a mostly Natasha-and-Yelena-centered one in a while! Hopefully I haven't quite lost my touch when it comes to writing some of our favorite sisters 😂💗 I guess you’re about to dive in and find out 😅😬

I hope y’all enjoy! 🥰

Word Count: 1849

  A text on Natasha’s phone suddenly buzzed in her pocket. Natasha flinched minutely as she reached down and withdrew the thing from her pants’ pocket.

  Natasha looked down at her phone, subtly sneaking a glance underneath the table as she diverted her attention from the utterly riveting meeting that she was being forced to sit through.

  It was yet another painful meeting with Steve droning on and on about something or another that really did not have to be drawn out as long as it was. She was currently bored stiff, and Yelena was not even there to offer her entertainment of any sort.

  Yelena had been spared from going because Carol was currently present for the meeting. Carol had been relatively open to coming to it, happily sitting next to Natasha and settling in, but now that it had gone on for at least an hour, Natasha could see how the blonde was shifting uncomfortably in her seat and casting one too many glances at the clock on the wall.

  “Whatcha looking at?” Carol leaned over and questioned softly, her mouth close to Natasha’s ear as she whispered carefully. Natasha glanced in her direction briefly before tilting the phone to the side to show her the screen. Carol looked down as she eyed the phone alongside Natasha. Natasha pulled up the text that she had received, quickly recognizing it as Kate.

  “Tasha I hope you’re done with the meeting! Yelena turned into Squishzilla!” Kate had sent to her, and Natasha raised an eyebrow, confused as she looked at the text. Carol chuckled heartily, trying to keep her voice down.

  “Squishzilla. Gosh, I wonder what she did to get shortie fired up,” Carol pondered aloud in a whisper, and Natasha narrowed her eyes a little.

  “You don’t know that she did something to fire her up,” Natasha optimistically expressed, trying to give Yelena the benefit of the doubt despite the fact that she knew Kate had likely done something inadvertently to rub Yelena just the wrong way and set her off.

  “I accidentally fired her up!” Kate suddenly sent, following up her last text. Natasha paused before sighing, and Carol almost snorted, barely keeping it down.

  “I called it,” Carol proudly pointed out, and Natasha narrowed her eyes at Carol half-heartedly. Natasha then shifted her gaze back up to look at Steve.

  “I’ve got to go and see about this. And I don’t think he’s anywhere close to finishing up…”

  “I can make him finish up if you want me to,” Carol offered, and Natasha looked at her uncertainly. Natasha finally nodded, and Carol replied with a nod of her own as she diverted her attentions to her boyfriend.

  “Hey, babe, as hot as you are when you’re up there trying to be large and in-charge, we’ve got to get some relief,” Carol spoke up suddenly, interrupting him in the midst of whatever he had been going on about.

  Natasha almost grinned as she looked between Carol and Steve. Steve turned redder than a beet and Carol was just smiling an enormous, suggestive, cheese-eating grin.

  Tony immediately clapped his hands, offering full approval of Carol’s proposition, and Sam waggled his eyebrows at Steve teasingly. Bruce just stared at the group, shaking his head slowly, and Peter was almost as red-faced as Steve even though the comment was not about him whatsoever. Steve stammered for several moments until finally clearing his throat. Rhodey just chuckled at Tony’s overenthusiasm.

  “Yeah, uh… Let’s… Take a brief break,” Steve agreed, his eyes locked onto Carol. Carol grinned, her eyes sparkling as she watched him mischievously. Tony got up, stretching luxuriously before patting Steve on the back affectionately yet roughly.

  “See, Rogers, this is why I always said that you needed to get l—”

  “Stark,” Steve warned, but his reddened face ruined quite a bit of the effect. Tony raised his hands in defense before heading over to talk to Rhodey. Carol flashed Natasha a thumbs-up as she stood up, and Natasha nodded to her gratefully, mouthing a thank-you.

  Carol winked at her before heading over to Steve, and Natasha got up, making her way for the door.

  “So… I have some more… specific… questions that I need you to address,” Natasha overheard Carol flirtatiously addressing Steve. There were immediate catcalls from some of the guys, and definitive groans from others.

  Natasha just rolled her eyes, and without a word, left to go and check on Kate and Yelena and see why Yelena was being considered Squishzilla.

  Kate finally sent her the location that she was currently holed up at, and Natasha soon found herself standing before two large columns that were separated just close enough for Kate to hoist herself up by spreading her legs to inch upward to the ledge above. Fortunately for Kate, Yelena’s legs weren’t long enough for her to inch up between the columns as Kate had done.

  Which was why Yelena was currently standing at the bottom, her eyes narrowed as she glared up at the brunette. Natasha could practically feel the irritation rolling off of her baby sister in waves, and Kate was sitting just high enough to keep Yelena from effectively reaching her.

  “Okay, so what’s happening here?” Natasha asked, and Yelena turned quickly to look at the redhead. As soon as Yelena made eye contact with her, she loosened up some. To the untrained eye, it was completely unnoticeable, but to Natasha, it was quite obvious. Yelena’s eyes softened just barely, and while there was still a large amount of irritation toward Kate, she was obviously happy to see Natasha.

  “You say that like you knew this was going on,” Yelena astutely pointed out, and Kate let out a long breath.

  “Thank you, Tasha�� Squishzill— Yelena was getting out of hand,” Kate quickly revised her words, trying to keep Yelena from figuring out about the name she had used for her via text. Kate made a slight face, cringing as Yelena swiftly spun around again to glare at Kate.

  “What did you call me?”

  “Well… Obviously Yelena,” Kate chuckled nervously. Yelena narrowed her eyes.

  “No, before that,” Yelena clarified, definitive danger in her voice. Kate laughed nervously, scratching the back of her neck a little as she fidgeted. Natasha glanced between the two. Kate swallowed, wetting her lips just barely before shooting Yelena a winning smile.

  “Y’know… I said whatever you wanted me to say,” Kate declared, and Yelena just stared at her.

  “I mean… I could’ve said Yelena… Could’ve said… Other mentorish figure… Other big si—”

  “Get out of here,” Yelena tiredly interrupted, utterly and completely unimpressed with Kate’s efforts. Kate nodded immediately in reply to her.

  “Will do,” Kate quickly replied before dropping down from the ledge she had climbed up on, barely keeping her footing as she darted away as quickly as she could.

  Yelena groaned, and Natasha stepped a little closer as she lifted her hand slowly to brush against Yelena’s arm. Yelena immediately looked back at her, and Natasha felt her heart melt as she spotted the utterly soft and adoring look in her eyes as she regarded the redhead.

  Yelena immediately turned her body to Natasha, offering the older woman her full attention as she eyed her. Natasha reached out to her lovingly, her hands cupping either side of her baby sister’s neck. Her thumbs gently rubbed the sides of Yelena’s neck, the callouses brushing softly against the soft skin. Yelena leaned toward her instinctively, attempting to draw closer to her.

  Natasha’s heart warmed at the mere sight of her baby sister wanting to be so close, and she moved nearer to oblige her. Yelena immediately moved in as close as she could, her nose pressed firmly into Natasha’s neck as she took a deep, long breath of her.

  Natasha shifted her hands away from the sides of Yelena’s neck to use one to cradle the nape of Yelena’s neck with the other rubbing her back softly. Yelena just leaned her full body into her, and Natasha steadied herself in order to keep Yelena from ploughing over her.

  “Bad day?” Natasha whispered finally, already having her answer from the desperation that Yelena was exhibiting in her every motion and how she was seeking to be as near to Natasha as she could possibly manage. She did not bother asking what Kate had done because knowing Yelena, Kate did not really have to do anything. If she was in one of those moods, anything could have set her off.

  Yelena just let out an indignant harrumph to Natasha’s words. However, it was largely half-hearted as she hugged Natasha’s middle with an arm and pulled Natasha’s shoulder closer against her face with the other to hide a little more efficiently from the world.

  Yelena finally nodded against her, nuzzling her nose against Natasha’s jaw as she rooted her way around to resting her chin on Natasha’s shoulder. Natasha huffed lightly at her little sister, and she turned her head to deliver a gentle kiss to the side of the blonde’s head.

  Natasha gently pulled Yelena over to the couch not too far away from them, and as soon as she pulled Yelena down on top of her, Yelena eyed her quizzically. However, her entire body was just relaxed heavily into Natasha’s.

  “Don’t you have to be at a meeting?” Yelena asked uncertainly.

  “Nah, Carol’s got us covered. She’s provided a pretty nice distraction,” Natasha chuckled, smirking a bit, and Yelena wrinkled her nose.

  “Why does that sound like she did something gross?” Yelena asked tentatively and with evident disgust in her voice.

  Natasha almost chuckled as she thought of Carol and Steve’s relationship and the fact that they would definitely not be going any further than kissing. Of course, with Yelena, it only had to be looking into each other’s eyes or talking about something less than perfectly unrelated to romance for it to be gross to the younger blonde.

  “Because to you,” Natasha paused as she shifted underneath Yelena to tug her down into her arms a little more securely, “it probably is gross.”

  Yelena laid her head on Natasha’s chest immediately, and Natasha stroked through her hair with her fingers, the fingernails brushing the scalp as she dragged long lines down from the crown of her head to the base of her neck.

  “Whatever. As long as the Boomer keeps him busy,” Yelena finally resigned, and Natasha smiled gently, kissing Yelena’s head near her hairline as she held her in her arms.

  There was silence for a long moment until Yelena dug her nose into Natasha’s shirt more deeply and sighed.

  “U menya byl plokhoy den'... No eto uzhe ne tak. Ne seychas, kogda ty zdes',”1 Yelena mumbled into her, and Natasha smiled softly at her words.

  “Mozhet byt', u menya i ne bylo plokhogo dnya, no ty vsegda delayesh' moy den' luchshe, detka,”2 Natasha assured her, and Yelena nestled closer as she closed her eyes. Natasha nuzzled her head, just enjoying her baby sister’s weight on top of her.

  They just made each other’s days better.

(1) "I had a bad day... But it's not anymore... Not now that you're here."

(2) "I might not have been having a bad day, but you always make my day better, baby."

[heavensenthearty]

Hello. I really love your writing. Whenever you write zuko and katara, they are always in character. I was wondering if in one of your fan fictions, you could include a one-shot where Katara learns how Zuko got his scar and the rest of the physical and psychological abuse he suffered at the hands of his father through a mental breakdown he has and then she comforts him. I would like it if it took place during the phoenix king. Don't do any of this if you don't want to. This is just a request :)

TW // Self-harm

(Can't believe I forgot to tag that!)

Hey, anon!! I’m sooooooooooooooo sorry about the late reply!! But I want you to know I’ve been thinking about your request every. Single. Day ever since you sent it. I really appreciate that you like my writing and that you approached to say so. I had some trouble following through with your request because I don’t think that Zuko would be in a mental state for a breakdown over Ozai’s abuse at that point in the story, but for you I made a rough draft of a similar scene for my Avatar!Katara AU... that I’ll finish someday 😅. 

The scene takes place right before the Invasion, since in this AU Zuko joined the gang much earlier. I want to clarify that a lot of stuff have happened until this point in the story and Zuko and Katara aren’t yet in completely good terms, but have build some sort of closeness that is like “I still hate you, but you have been very nice to me and you really get me and I feel we have a connection”/“I know you still hate me and that’s okay because I was an asshole, but I agree on the connection thing.”

I hope you enjoy it and that it makes up for the time I took for answering.

                                                Zuko

I am your loyal son.

I’m choking; red fire lacking oxygen burns inside my lungs. I’m sweating cold, my throat is closing as if breathing smoke, my heart is failing. When my hand goes to my heart, my chest is too skinny, adolescent, my fingers can feel the ends of my ribcage. My hand is smaller as well. Everything it’s like it was that day…

Rise and fight, Prince Zuko.

I can’t talk. My lungs are shrinking, my eyes are about to bulb out of my skull.

You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher.

My scream is the one of a much younger voice when the fire touches my face. It’s the same one that once screamed: ‘Dad would never do that to me!’

I wake up with a start, panting for air; it echoes in the silent, open night eclipsing the waves hitting against the shore.

My fingers go to my face, the roughened skin of my scar is cool to the touch and wet from the sweat.

It was a dream. All of it already happened…

I survived.  

(Somehow that’s still not very comforting.)

I keep shaking, frozen by fear, fighting nausea. (I was wrong in what I said to Azula that night, my father would have done something much worse than my scar to me – at age eight.) (He was going to burn me alive – To burn a child alive!)

Oh, Spirits, I think I’m gonna get sick!

I run off to the shore, sliding through the rocky side of the cliff where we settled the camp, hide in one of the smaller caverns incrusted in the earth.  (I mean… it’s not that I am hiding, I just…) (Forget it.)

The salty water I splash on my face does not make me snap out of whatever sickly state I am in now. It’s too cold; it does not ease the iciness beneath my skin that’s causing me chills. And at the same time it’s stinging, it hurts. I’m growing ill from second, still panting, my skin is freezing, but my blood is boiling too hot for my body to handle. I cast one of my fire daggers in my fist, point it at the side of my other hand.

This will distract you, says a distasteful voice at the back of my head that sounds way too much like another dark, bad memory. This… will…

I extinguish the dagger, huffing. Slap my own forehead with the base of my hand. I’m an idiot.

For a while, I just sit there on the sand, keeping my mind blank for not descending down a spiral of self-deprecation – (again) – counting the waves. Some droplets continue to land at my skin.

I don’t want to think about my father. I don’t want to think about his face or his voice. I don’t want to think about the day I left the Fire Nation after my banishment, when he told me…

“What are you doing?”

I yelp and shout dryly. Katara’s standing only a few meters away from me clearly still half-asleep. Her hair is loose and a bit tangled at the ends, but falling in soft curls.

“You scared me,” I say, somewhat annoyed.

“I heard something back at the camp.” Seawater and seafoam float in thin, shiny slices above her, forming a tunnel as she makes her way towards me and keeps the current at bay with her bare hand. “I woke up and you weren’t there.”

I follow her with my eyes until she reaches and sits at my side. “Sorry that I woke you up,” I mutter.

Igniting a small spark between my fingers, I distract myself spinning it between my fingers.

“Are you okay?” her question is detached and hesitant, like she didn’t know if she should ask at all.

“Sure,” I make the flame pirouette amidst my fingers, “why wouldn’t I be?”

“You kind of look sick.”

Before I can answer – or fully turn my head – her hand comes to my forehead, brushing back my hair bangs.

My gaze irremediably fixes itself on her face mere inches away from mine, I only get a faint feedback of the shore while I follow the diminutive drops crashing against her cheek. My skin feels feverish against hers.

Too warm… Too…

I turn away as if slapped.

I can’t…

“Your skin is cold, too,” she sounds confused.

My hands are shaking.

“Zuko, what’s wrong?”

My voice is as well: “Nothing. It’s fine.”

                                        Katara

He. Is. Not. Fine. (That much I can tell.)

He’s shaken and afraid of something – something that I can’t see. Whatever it is though, Zuko looks like it was physically looming over us, invisible. His gaze is glassy looking into nowhere as though there was a threat hiding in the air alone, like there wasn’t even air only shadows.

He’s trembling and his eyes are smothered. He reminds me a bit of me after Hama.

I bite my lip. “Zuko.”

“It’s nothing,” he pinches the bridge of his nose. “It was a nightmare.”

                                       Zuko

“What was the nightmare about?”

(I don’t answer right away.) “The day I got my scar...”

(Katara doesn’t either.)

(It’s understandable, not even I know from where such a straightforward answer came.) (Perhaps I caught a fever or something…)

“What happened?” her voice is thin, but disguisedly eager. “I mean… in the dream.”

(I don’t blame her for being curious, but I…)

“I was thirteen again…” the words come raspy, scratching the raw flesh of my throat from the inside out, “and in an Agni Kai chamber with my father. He wanted me to fight him, and I refused, so he… threw a fireball… at my face.”

My hand goes to my left cheekbone, the hairs on my arms stand up feeling Katara’s palpable horror next to me.

                                       Katara

No wonders he was shaking, now I am shaking, too.

Was that how he really got his scar? How hollow must Fire Lord Ozai’s soul be to do that to his own son?

How much pain can a child endure to survive a strike like that?

(Zuko’s burn was profound enough for the flesh to not to patch itself, even after all these years.) (A blow that strong should have killed him on the spot.) (He could have died!)

Panic stirs my heart rate and, as with an electric shock, it awakens my hand to reach for Zuko – (just for somehow confirming he is alive, that I’m not imagining him, that he is real) – but I recoil. He looks too frail to bear the touch.

His skin is sickly pale, like an ill ghost, the exact same color than rice paper, was the moonlight not coated by the swaying clouds, I could see his veins through it. Drained of all life.

His eyes are still ablaze some way, but not even like fire; they’re stars struggling to continue glowing while they die. I should want to look away. I should want to stay detached from such a picture of sadness, I tell myself that I do want… but I don’t. 

“I’m sorry, Zuko.” My throat feels heavy like I swallowed a bag of sand, the words have to forcibly make their way out of it.

“Don’t be,” he says, “I… um… Remember when I told you my scar marked me?” His hand fully covers his left eye.

How could I forget, I think sarcastically – but it’s not the time to say it out loud. I only nod.

“I did use to believe it was a mark of how much I’ve suffered, how much my father had done to the world and to me… now I believe it marks how much I’ve changed,” he concludes. “It feels mine.”

I stare at the side of his face, at the way the corner of his mouth is just the slightest turned upwards. It appears a relieved expression.

“Don’t feel sorry for me,” he says.

I shake my head. “I don’t.”

“We… um… better get back to the camp,” he stands up, offering me his hand. “Tomorrow’s a big day for everyone.”

I stare at his palm some more. “I’m sorry you have to see your father at the Invasion, Zuko,” I say.

Now it’s his turn to shake his head. “Don’t worry about that either, this is something that I want to do.”

The moonlight shines blindingly over the outline of his silhouette.

I finally take his hand, his skin isn’t so cold anymore.

When I stand up, I put my arms around his neck.

My worries from earlier vanish; I wasn’t imagining him.

                                          Zuko

Katara’s skin feels nearly feverish touching mine.

I don’t exactly return the embrace, I’m not sure if I’m allowed to. I only stare ahead over her shoulder, breathing the scent of the seawater in her hair; all of her feels warm and petite.

Her arms slowly detangle themselves from around me. Yet she doesn’t back off, there’s only a short space of air left between us.

“What was that for?” I wonder.

She shrugs. “Just a feeling.”

[bornoffireandwisdom]

Hi! I finally got a small idea for a prompt! In a story you wrote for a prompt, you mentioned how Shawn and Grant had gotten a call from their friends before. Maybe you could write about them hearing from a friend? If not, that's okay!

I’ll try my best to make this one good! 😄

————

It was midnight when Shawn finally got an answer from one of his friends. One he had been especially worried about since the apocalypse had started. They weren’t close friends, but that didn’t matter much. A friend is still a friend.

The message was from Norman. Replying to Shawn and Grant’s worried voicemails. Hearing that boy’s voice filled him with relief. Thank god he was still alive. Grant was still asleep, so the man went into another room to play the voicemail Norman had sent back.

‘Hey Shawn, hey Grant.. Wendy and I are okay. We’ve been hiding out in a motel near the studio. Wendy’s asleep right now. She doesn’t know I’m on the phone. I’m sure if she did, she’d come running to talk to you guys.. but it’s probably for the best that she’s sleeping. I don’t want her to hear this..’ There was a long pause. Shawn had chills running down his spine the moment he started to fear where this message would go.

‘I.. I’ve been bit. It was while I was exploring the motel. I needed to make sure it was safe for Wendy.. apparently it wasn’t. One of the rooms had a zombie in it. It must’ve spotted me before I spotted it, because by the time I managed to shoot it had already bit my arm.’ Shawn almost dropped his phone. No that isn’t possible. There’s just no way. This has to be some kind of sick joke. He couldn’t have been bitten. The boy was just kidding. Right?Norman had a little sister to take care of. He couldn’t get bit! Wendy would be all alone!

‘It happened an hour ago.. and I’m not sure how much time I have. Wendy was scared.. but I told her I was fine. I just didn’t want her to worry.. but now I’m not sure what to do. We only have each other. I have to be there for her. W-What will happen to her if I’m gone?’ Norman’s voice grew shakier as he spoke through the voicemail. On the brink of sobbing.

‘S-Shawn? G-Grant? I-If I turn.. will you please take care of Wendy? I-If I can’t be there for her anymore.. I at least want to take comfort in k-knowing that she’ll be safe..’ Tears started running down Shawn’s face as he listened carefully.

‘J-Just please.. promise me that you both will do this.. It would mean so much to me..’ There was another pause. Smaller this time, there was the sound of someone yawning in the background. ‘I-I have to go.. Wendy’s waking up. Please.. remember what I said.’

His voicemail ended with a beep. Leaving Shawn staring at his phone with tears streaming down his face, and trying desperately not to sob. Norman had been bit.. and so far no one has been able to find a cure.

Shawn knew what he had to do. He dialed back Norman’s number. Promising to look after Wendy if Norman starts to turn. They wouldn’t let that little girl be alone, and Norman deserved to have some kind of peace in knowing that his sister would still be alive after he passes.. but still. It hurt so much.

A friend was going to lose his life.

“W-What do I tell Grant?” The man whispered. Curling in on himself and crying into his knees in the darkness of the Safehouse.

————

Hey! Sorry if I made this too sad! I was trying to come up with what to write, and I was planning on doing maybe a silly-ish light-hearted thing with Henry, but then this idea came into my head. Also sorry if this isn’t good either! I’m just sleepy! I had a lot of fun writing this though, and thank you so much for the prompt! Sorry again for being tired though! Hopefully tomorrow I won’t be so sleepy! 😅

[nanagoswife]

omg I just read own me and aaahhhhh! I was really busy with company since last night but every chance I got I just plopped down and could not stop reading! so good 💚

I’ve been getting so bad at answering me asks😅

Hi! I know this was sent in a while ago sorry for how late this reply is😅😅😅

Either way, thank you so much! It means so much to hear that with how that became so much of a passion project and how I nearly didn’t post it because of nerves I’m so glad you like it!