#I'm laughing waaaay too hard

[thebibliosphere]

I saw your post about ingram, and out of curiosity, is there some advantage to going through the whole self-publishing thing with retailers when you're just starting out? like I mean the way that fandom zines work is that they don't even bother going through ingram or amazon or whatever. they just set up a social media site (usually twitter) to gain followers, open preorders (usually 1-2 months in length) to generate the costs of printing upfront, and then sell anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred copies of their books (usually artbooks, but anthologies exist too). I've seen some zines generate over a thousand orders. they're kind of like pop-up shops, except for books. maybe the sales numbers aren't so impressive to a real author, but the profit generated is typically waaaay more than the $75+ apparently needed for Ingram Spark, so I still feel like new authors could benefit from this method too, especially if they just need some start-up cash to eventually move to ingram if they want to for subsequent runs of their book. I think authors would also have to set aside some of the pre-order money to buy an ISBN number to have printed on their book, and I'm not really sure what other differences there are, but I just wanted to ask about it in case there's some huge disadvantage I'm missing!

So, popup zines work well for some people, and I know some authors who kickstart their work successfully. But for a lot, it's just not feasible as a long-term stratedy. Or even as a means to get off the ground.

Fanzines succeed primarily because an existing fanbase is willing and ready to throw money at something they love. They’ve got a favorite writer or artist they want to support. Supporting all the others is just a happy by-product. They also take a HUGE amount of short-term but intense planning that just doesn’t always jive with how some of us work.

I, for one, would never offer to organize a fanzine. I’ll take part in them as a creator, but I’d rather throw myself off a cliff than subject myself to wrangling that many people and dealing with the legal logistics.

When it comes to authors doing anthologies, it'svery much the same. The success of the funding often hinges on having other big-name authors involved whose existing fans will prop up the project. Or having a huge marketing budget.

Most self-pub authors have zero marketing budget. I’m one of them, and I’m under no illusions that my work would not be as popular and self-sustaining as it is if I didn’t have a large Tumblr blog.

When I thank Tumblr in my forewards, I am utterly sincere. Tumblr brought fandom levels of enthusiasm to an unknown work and broke the Amazon algorithm so hard, that Amazon thought I was bot sniping my way to multiple #1 spots and froze my sales rankings.

That’s not the norm. And while I could probably kickstart my own work as an indie creator, that’s because I’ve put literal decades into building up a readership. I’ve been doing this since I was 16 and realized people thought I was funny. I didn’t know what to do with it or if I’d ever actually write anything, but it meant the groundwork was already there (thank you, past-me). I basically fell upward into my success by virtue of never being able to shut the fuck up and wanting to make people laugh. Clown instincts too strong.

New or first-time authors trying to sell their work without that will find it infinitely harder.

All of that aside, even if an unknown author somehow gets lucky and manages to fund their work, there’s still the question of shipping and distribution logistics. Are you shipping everything yourself? Better hope you’re able-bodied and have the time for it. (for reference, it took me months to ship out 300 patreon hardbacks because of my disabilites. It damaged my back and hands. I couldn’t type for several weeks after I was done.)

Are you going to sell primarily at conventions? Better hope you’re able-bodied, have the time and don’t have cripling anxiety about being in large groups...

Also, will selling a dozen to a few thousand copies in one burst be sustainable in the long run as a career? Not for me. Doing things via Ingram and Amazon means I earn a steady trickle of sales for the rest of my life provided the platforms remain and so long as I keep working and can generate interest in the series, not just when I have funds to pay for physical copies to sell. The one-time (in theory) cost of $75 to distribute through Ingram gets paid off pretty quick that way. And it doesn't require the same logistics as doing the popup/crowdfund.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you are capable of but also the type of work you’re doing. If you’ve got an extended network of fellow creatives who will back you or you’ve got a large following elsewhere, doing it like a popup might work for you.

If you’re an exhausted burnout who can’t fathom the short but intense amount of organization that sort of thing requires, not to mention doing it over and over and over... Ehhhhh. No thank you.

[fanfichubcircuit]

Bullfrog Alphabet NSFW 18+

While I'm working on the Bullfrog x Reader here's my sexy Bullfrog HCs to tide y'all over. Enjoy!

A = Aftercare (What they're like after sex)

Bullfrog is a very sweet person so aftercare can range from laying together talking before sleep to rubbing your sore muscles and cleaning you up. Whatever your comfort level is and whatever you need. You’d probably have to be forward and ask him what he needs. He also has like any juice or Powerade type deal you could want after.

B = Body Part (Their favorite body part of theirs)

Non-sexually he likes his eyes the best. He thinks they’re nice and bright and loves making them pop with his eyeliner. When it comes to the bedroom his tongue is his favorite. It’s really large and soft so his partners enjoy it, and he loves the excuse to taste who he’s with. If you have a size kink, he can definitely satisfy it.

C = Cum (Anything to do with it)

You could literally cum anywhere on him. The only rules are no eyes, nose, or ear holes that just sucks. He likes feeling the proof that you enjoyed it and secretly he likes being marked by it. He wants to mark you too across your stomach and thighs or your back and ass (He couldn’t reach your face if he wanted to). If he gets to cum inside he wants to hold it in. And if you gently wipe some of yours on his face he’ll melt.

D = Dirty secret(s)

He totally stole your underwear. You two had been hot and heavy the night before so it was covered in you. It’s the only thing he’s never asked you permission for, but he was going on a mission solo and wanted you there, so he figured this was the next best thing. Throughout the whole ordeal of sneaking into that facility he kept shoving his face into your underwear to fill his lungs with you. He’s a little sex freak, but he’s YOUR little sex freak. Besides you two were well established at this point he didn’t think much about it.

The other secret he thinks about waaaay too much in his opinion. He had a dream that you clamped a spiked dog collar on his neck and dragged him around, complimenting him in a demeaning tone. You roughed him up and made him beg for a leash. He woke up in a sweat, confused, and blindingly hard. He’s not new to rough sex or the talk the leash stuff however makes him feel.. guilty. He’s very open minded when it comes to sexuality, but being a hybrid the whole leash thing felt like something he shouldn’t want. He totally revisits it when he touches himself.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

Before his guild sect of the brotherhood was wiped out, back when he was first training with all the others in his age group. A bunch of super athletic young adults in close quarters all the time? Yeah. It was as randy as the Olympics. As he got older and moved away from the guild’s main compound he kept in touch with his fellow assassins as fuck buddies until.. well. He also had his fair share of romantic flings and one-night stands. Bullfrog knows his work is dangerous so he’s not ever afraid to shoot his shot. He wants to enjoy life as much as he can and he wants whatever partner he’s with to be as happy as possible as well and with his plethora of experience he is very good at keeping people happy.

F = Favorite position

He loves when you’re on top and pin him down with your hands and your body. But he also loves 69’ing so whatever creative position makes that magic happen he’d be over the moon for. Definitely wants to combine the two. You’re scared of smothering him? “A truly honorable way to go, but I am much too strong for that.”

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment? More humorous?)

He loves to keep you happy and isn’t afraid to be silly. Anything embarrassing that happens turns into a shared laugh before jumping back into things. Any anxieties he jokes away with you. He can be serious too, but he sees the value in both. It’s sex, and his ego isn’t fragile, he’s not afraid to laugh. He loves having fun with you.

H = Hang-Ups (Stuff to Work through possibly) Replacing Hair

See the Collar Dream*. Bullfrog is very leveled out, but he’s not the best at focusing on himself. He loves to give, but you will have to remind him to be selfish sometimes and voice what he wants more.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment? Romantic wise)

He is very intimate even when he’s silly. Being able to laugh and smile with you is a big part of it for him. But he also loves peppering your skin with kisses, tracing patterns into your skin, and if you’re down with eye contact he’s going to give you loads of soft heated looks up through his eyelashes. And the talk during? He’s either sweetly complimenting you or talking about your future together with such confidence you know no matter what Eden throws at you two you can handle it.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation Headcanon)

He uses his bubbles to relive past times instead of watching porn. He can also suck himself off he’s that flexible.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

He has so many. But a few top ones are he loves to be teased and denied. He also likes being rough with each other as long as it’s safe. His absolute favorite is knife play with his hidden blades. The fact that you would trust him so much when he’s so dangerous really gets him going. He doesn’t even need to cut you just having it laying against your neck while he’s in you is enough to make him lose his mind. He would love to cut off your clothes beforehand. He would let you choke him or step on his dick. But if you’re not a fan of rough stuff he doesn’t mind just being soft with you. He is top/bottom sub/dom whatever floats your boat. He loves giving you what you want. Having the power to bring you pleasure. Also wants to watch you masturbate or get dicked down. Not as a cuckold thing, he just wants to watch you in pleasure and doesn’t mind sharing.

L = Location (Where?)

Where do you want to do it? He can probably make it happen. If it’s a crowded room with no hiding spots it might be up in the rafters though. Hope you’re not scared of heights.

M = Motivation (What turns them on?)

Anytime you do something that’s super cute or just reminds him of why he loves you he’s already planning what to do to you when you two have a moment. He just won’t tell you. Unless you like being teased as much as he does. That’s the other part of it if you try to turn him on you’ve already succeeded. Even if you totally fell on your face, he would find it way too cute.

N = No (Hard and Soft boundaries)

Hard Boundaries: No big wounds and nothing dangerous or permanent. He likes things a little rough, but he’s not a maniac about it. He doesn’t like being outright cruel either. He’ll tease, but it never goes that deep emotionally. Soft Boundaries: He doesn’t like roleplaying as other people. He’ll roleplay different scenarios about how y’all first banged etc. all day, but he doesn’t want to ‘be someone else’. If he’s gotta be a pizza delivery guy it’s going to be him as a pizza guy not some dweeb named Paul.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Already stated in B, but his tongue is so big and soft. King of oral. Loves to go down on you and loves to receive. He really likes 69’ing because then the two of you can get lost in each other, but it’s a difficult pose to find with the size difference. Wants to see how much he can fit in you.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual?)

After a high stress mission or long time apart absolutely fast and rough, but if he’s feeling romantic slow and sensual. Either way if you want something and voice it it’s yours. The pace is whatever you want.

Q = Quickie (How do they feel about it?)

Hand stuff and oral absolutely is a go whenever and wherever as long as you two aren’t in mortal danger. Full on penetration though? Nope. Not quickie material. Quickies in his mind are fast and free. Just giggling and touching each other without being super complicated.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment? Do they take risks?)

Absolutely. He’s confident bordering on cocky when it comes to his skill set. You want to fuck in a space you’re not supposed to? He can get y’all there and keep you hidden. You want to try a new kink? He’s probably had experience in it and if not he’s a quick learner. He risks his life all the time. Risk in sex is a cake walk.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go?)

More than you.

T = Toys (Do they own any toys?)

Absolutely. He has some for himself, and some to use with a partner. A good assassin isn’t afraid to take advantage of his tools.

U = Unfair (How much they like to tease)

He’s very teasing when it comes to his flirting, but pulls back when it comes to the bedroom until you prove you can take it.

V = Volume (How loud are they? What sounds do they make?)

His breathes get heavy during, but if you’re doing your job, you could ring some sweet cries out of him. He’s not afraid to get vocal.

W = Wild card (Random Headcanon)

He knows how to pull. He’s not afraid to be cute and sexy and it is a deadly combo. That sensual look he can throw out just by lowering his eyelids? He knows what he’s doing. He’s making you laugh one minute then you look over to him. He’s on his side, head propped up on his fist so his arm pops, looking at you like that. “Would you like to see how flexible assassins have to be?” Yeah, you were screwed from the start.

X = X-ray (Let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

He does have a cock I mean he’s a hybrid he’s bipedal and has eyebrows he’s not exactly 100% bullfrog. But he doesn’t have balls and it’s a reddish purple instead of pink or straight red. Smaller than the average I would say about 4 inches, but he’s really thick.

Y= Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Like I said before you being you turns him on. His drive is very high. But he also likes the anticipation so being ready more often than you and having to wait adds a little something extra for him.

Z = Zzz (How fast do they fall asleep?)

He loves pillow talk so most of the time he’s the last out. Unless it’s really cold outside and he’s snuggled against your warmth. He’s out like a light.

[mislamicpearl]

Another Trollhunters fan! Favorite funny moment in the show?

No waaaay another Ninjago fan AND a Trollhunters fan (if you're the same anon which is very likely) OMG please let's be friends!

I'm glad someone acknowledges that Trollhunters IS a funny show and not just about the angst and drama, omgosh it's made me laugh so hard. My personal favorite funny moment (that my sisters and I often quote too) is when Steve and Jim are sent to Strickler's office and we hear this exchange between them:

Steve: You think you can out-poop-joke me? Jim: How can I do that, when you are the biggest piece of-

and then he gets cut off, cause it's a kid's show, but still I can't believe how close he came to swearing🤣 The scene after when Steve gets scared of Jim and Strickler almost duking it out and says "I'm sorry for the poop joke, it wasn't even that funny!" also makes me laugh.

[ragnarokhound]

omg sweetie pie don’t talk about chains I’ll BLUSH. definitely never been into that…

How do you think the rest of the Batfam reacts to Jaytim finally happening (something along the lines of your secretary fic) ?

I think Cass knew how they felt before them, Damian is disgusted (but secretly pleased), Dick found out by walking in on them at Tim’s apartment, and Bruce had no idea and has none until Jason tells him point blank. Alfred? Somehow orchestrated the whole thing.

I'll keep that in mind babe ;) (*adds 'Spicy Hardware' to the budget)

Ohoho, that is a fun question, and one that I often have trouble answering because I am like a horse with blinders on when it comes to my hyperfixations and my ships OTL Jason and Tim usually get the brunt of my obsessive analysis, leaving only minimal room for other characters to squeeze their way in. RIPeroni you two ❤️

That being said, I'm a huge liar because I do actually have some Thoughts lol

It largely depends on the state of the verse we're in and how involved the others were in watching their courtship go down, so without further adieu, here's how I think the batfam would react to finding out about jaytim's newly minted relationship in my secretary!au fic:

So in Secretary!AU in particular, the others weren't involved to an almost suspicious degree 😳 Tim is losing his mind for a month over Jason daylighting as his secretary, and he never finds out anything resembling the truth from anyone? What??

Which of course means some of them were simply unaware because they don't give a shit or assume Tim isn't suffering (Damian, Duke, Bruce) and some ARE aware to some degree that this is unusual and came to their own conclusions. And promptly decided to stay out of it (Dick, Babs, Steph, Cass, Alfred - Duke might actually be here, it depends lol)

In particular, Steph hears Tim's mini rant/breakdown Day 1 and is simply too amused. Because she watched him suddenly start deflecting Jason's attention 3 months ago, and oh boy does this feel like a comeuppance. She's got popcorn and is asking things like, 'i dunno Tim, why do you think Jason followed you to the office where you have to reliably be?' and after all of it, when he shows up with a hickey after patrolling with Jason that night, she golf claps at him

Cass shrugs at Tim when he vents where she can hear, because she's been waiting for them to figure this out for like. A year now. She is surprised when Tim had his Jason-shaped epiphany because she knows that Tim has been Into Jason ever since that time in the park with Poison Ivy, and Jason called him a princess for getting particular about decon. (Similarly, Cass also knew that Jason has been low-key into Tim since the time before that, when Tim ugly laughed so hard at a joke Jason made at Dick's expense that he nearly inhaled a french fry). When they get together, she is standing next to Steph, also golf clapping because Steph told her it would be funny

Dick had to listen to Jason complain about Tim ghosting him a month or two into it (Jason and Dick were in each other's vicinity and Jason asked how Tim was doing. Dick said he was 'fine, why?' And Jason scowled and muttered, 'No reason. Feel like he's been dodging me, is all' and a tiny red alert pinged in the back of Dick's head) so when he hears that Jason is at Wayne Tower and that Tim is having vent sessions about it with Steph, his eyebrows shoot waaaay up. He kind of hopes that the Tower is still standing after Jason's done getting whatever vengeance he has in mind (Jason's prank war game is both legendary and unhinged). When he finds out what actually transpires (or rather, guesses what transpired), he has a small moment of relief because 'oh phew, is that all?' and then immediately BSODs because 'WAIT WHAT, IS THAT WHY YOU GUYS ARE CLAPPING--'

Babs quietly figured out why Tim was panicking pretty early because no one ghosts someone for having a good, fun, tbh flirty relationship for literally any other reason. She wondered vaguely if Jason was going to a) clock it and then b) do anything about it, and then equally quietly paused auto-uploads on Wayne Tower office footage so that she could make Tim review it instead. She simply Will Not be the one to log the data from Monday morning, thanks.

Damian did not and does not give a fuck. He briefly questions Todd's sanity. Then immediately discards that thought because it's Todd. He would like Grayson to quit yelling at that octave though, because his 'i'm secretly happy for you but also hurt that you didn't confide in me' shouting is very grating and makes Damian nervous.

Duke I'm on the fence about, but I lean towards 'i was sitting over on the bench' for him. He was so busy Staying In His Lane that he simply did not notice that this was happening. 'Uh, congrats, I guess?'

Bruce was keeping tabs on the situation. He does not plan to review the footage either. He has ten more gray hairs than he did yesterday, and is pondering how their relationship might affect their performance in the field, but trusts that Tim has likely thought through the ramifications and likely scenarios that should need to be compensated for. (Being involved with your teammate can be frightening and stressful; it could lead to strain between the two of you, and opens new vulnerabilities up for exploitation. But it can also be deeply, deeply rewarding. Hm.) (also shout-out to the one commenter who theorized that Bruce was the one on the other end of the phone call that Jason yanked the cord on. LMAO. ROFL, even.)

Alfred defuses the tension in the cave by reminding everyone to please finish their reports, and that there are refreshments in the dining room upstairs when they are finished, should anyone be joining the household for dinner tonight. He is very pointedly looking at Jason and Tim when he says this, because they Will be joining the household for dinner tonight, because it is the duty and privilege of a grandfather to tease his grandson (Jason) for having a boyfriend (Tim). Idk if Alfred called it in quite the same way as Cass, but he knew there was something interpersonal they needed to work out, and also that Tim has had a crush on Robin for his Entire Life, so he's not exactly surprised.

...aaaand sorry if I skipped anyone, but that's my list lol

[fbfh]

oh my gosh- i also love dance academy! i was wondering your thoughts on ethan karamakov as a bf? thank you!

OH FUCKING BOY. First of all, yes. Season 1 Ethan is very different from seasons 2 and 3 Ethan bc he actually had a shit load of character development. In general though, Ethan has had a lot of practice at getting girls to fall for him. like a lot. like a nauseating amount /j but there are two things that really set you apart from his past flings. first of all, you didn't start out as friends with Kat, Ethan met you on his own terms. second, you really didn't fall for a lot of his games like other girls have. similarly to Logan Huntzberger, he's surprised when you treat your relationship as casually as he does. he's intrigued even. but what really gets Ethan to wake the fuck up and realize what a catch you are, how much he likes you and wants to hold onto you, is when he realizes that you're seeing other people too. he sees some guy from third year that he doesn't really know that well chatting you up, touching your arm and making you laugh. and he does not like it. not one bit. so when you show up to workshop the dance he's been choreographing as promised Ethan simply cannot focus on the steps or what a perfect choice you are. he thinks he can keep it together, but he's already letting his feelings slip out when you're warming up.

"So, you and Darren, huh?"

he thinks it sounds casual enough, but you see right through him (which is one of the reasons you're so perfect for him) so of course you just laugh.

"Ethan Karamakov," you chuckle, looking up at him, "are you jealous?"

he gets all blustery and denies it, but by the time you're done going over the choreo he's insisting you both stop seeing other people, and planning a proper date to take you out on this weekend, and the rest is history. and let me tell you, even though this is his first proper relationship, Ethan falls hard and fast for you. he gets so invested in you, in being the best boyfriend he possibly can. He really, really wants to do a good job, and it shows. what Ethan starts to realize what he loves so much about you is that you really don't scare easy. you're such a stable, consistent presence in his life, and it's something that means more to him than he can even describe. he gets so scared that Natasha or his dad will scare you off, but not even his... interesting family can do that. and full disclosure, Kat will probably not like you much at first, only because she doesn't want to fall into the pattern of getting attached to one of Ethan's girlfriends then having them leave when he acts like an asshole. but once she sees that Ethan is actually trying, that he's trying to be a better boyfriend, better brother, better person, when Kat sees that it looks like you're actually around to stay and not going flake at the first sign of trouble???? Congradulations, you now have both of the Karamakov siblings attached to you at the hip. Kat will periodically requisition you for much needed spur of the moment girl's days/shopping sprees (usually when her mom flakes), so now it's Ethan's turn to find out what it feels like to be stood up for a date. you barely have time to explain when Kat takes your phone out of your hand.

"uh yeah, Ethan? there's a sale so I'm stealing your girlfriend - who is waaaay out of your league, by the way-"

"Okay, thanks for that, Kat."

"anyway, you'll get her back later! bye-"

And under other circumstances sure, it would suck to be canceled on last minute, but it actually makes Ethan really happy when those days do happen. knowing that Kat is getting to spend time with someone who's both a positive influence AND is somewhat stable gives him a lot of peace of mind. besides, if Kat approves of you, he knows there must be something... real between you. and something real like that doesn't come around too often. he knows from experience.

[onestepbackwards]

Our Angel

Hello! Welcome to part 1 of my new fic series, featuring Greaser Submas! No need to worry! I'm still working on Beemas and Love That Bites! This was just something I've been wanting to write for a while. I'm still in love with the Greaser au... And had actually planned to write this waaaay before beemas, but the beemas brainrot hit hard haha. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! （*＾-＾*） Summary: Walking home one day from college, you hear something strange in the nearby alleyway. Morbidly curious, you decide to venture off from your normal trek home, and come across a guy badly injured. Throwing caution to the wind, you decide to take him home to recover his injuries, unaware how drastically your life is about to change... CW: Brief description of injuries, injured Emmet, mentions of unhealthy family relationships, minor anxiety Word Count: 5094 words! Next: Here - - -

From the moment you woke up today, you had a feeling it would be different than normal.

You woke up, got ready for your college classes, ate breakfast, just like normal. Your father had even been kind enough to even drive you to campus for once, since you were up a little earlier than usual.

Classes had been almost painfully average. Most of it was just a review for some tests for Friday. As thankful as you were for the chance to study a bit more, you wish you could have just left to study at home.

Still, you dutifully took your notes (again), and left classes as early as possible. If you stayed any longer, you risked one of your classmates cornering you again, asking you to lunch. As much as your parents liked the man, you had no desire to hang out with him. He made you uncomfortable, and you knew you would be miserable if you agreed to go out.

Walking down the street, with your books in your arms, you held back the urge to sigh. The day had been painfully boring so far after all. Wake up, go to school, walk home… Now all you have to do is get home, eat dinner, study, and go to bed.

The perfect ‘good girl’ your parents had always wanted. You blew a tuft of hair out of your face, though turned your head when you heard the sound of laughing.

Over across the street was a park. It was average compared to Nimbasa’s amusement park, but it was a quaint little place. In the park, you could see a group of people having a pokemon battle. Your heart tugged at the sight, and you couldn’t help but be a little envious.

‘No pokemon allowed in our house!’ Your mother’s voice echoed in your head, a rule your parents kept, even as you were an adult.

Your head dipped low as you looked away. It would do no good to dwell on things you could not have.

Besides, all you had to do was finish college, and you would be free.

You couldn’t wait for that day. Until then, you would abide by the strict rules your parents gave you.

Even if you wished for more, at times.

Shaking your head, you continued onwards back home. You still had a bit of a walk, after all. It was best if you got home before too long so you could study some more. If anything, you would be prepared for Friday, and it would keep your parents placated.

Though you were beginning to get incredibly tired of studying almost every evening.

It wasn’t a rule per say, but if your parents didn’t like the place you wanted to go to, they’d heavily guilt trip you into staying, or make up some excuse saying they needed your help with something.

It was better not to push it. It only happened a few times, but they would hold your college over your head if you persisted.

‘We let you live here for free, and pay for your college classes. You agreed to follow our rules. You are not to go out tonight, or we’ll consider that you are going back on our deal.’

It left a bitter taste in your mouth.

You continued on your way, though your pace was noticeably slower than before.

As you got lost in your thoughts on your way home, you tried to ignore the heavy feeling in your heart.

However, you nearly missed what sounded like a clank in an alley you were passing. It brought you out of your musings, and you paused for a moment.

You stared into the alley way. It was a long one, one that had a crossroad down the middle. You could have sworn you had heard something.

Just as you shrugged and took a step to move on, you heard it again.

Clink!

You looked around you, to see if anyone had heard it, but no one walking down the streets seemed to care, all wrapped up in their own business.

Before you could consider just moving along again, you heard it once more.

Clink! Clink!

Right after you heard the strange sound again, you tilted your head when you swore you heard a groan.

It could be anything, you were sure. In fact, it was more than likely just a pokemon searching for food in the trash. Or it could even be someone who works in the stores on this street, restocking, or taking a break, or something.

Something easily explainable, no need to go check out a dark alley just for curiosity’s sake.

Though as you nearly decided to leave, you heard the same groan once more, followed by a very weak sounding cough.

Biting your lip, you debated with yourself. Going into an alley like this without a pokemon was just asking for trouble, but…

You couldn’t help but feel drawn to it. Like something wasn’t right.

Slowly, you took a step forward into the alley, feeling tense and nervous. You were ready to bolt at any second, should anything go wrong.

Your books were tightly held in your arms as you made your way towards the corner. If you were being honest with yourself, you were almost frightened by what you may find. And yet… The idea excited you. You couldn’t recall the last time your heart pounded like this.

As you came to the corner, you slowed to a stop, freezing when you heard another ‘clink!’ like noise.

It was now or never. Surely it was nothing, and you’ll get to ease your worries, and say you had a fun mini adventure on an average boring day.

Taking a deep breath, you slowly peered around the corner, and stepped back in shock.

On the ground was a man, with very obvious injuries. Even though he was a bit away from you, you could tell he had several bruises, and must be bleeding from somewhere, if the little pool of dried blood under him was any indication.

He was wearing leather, and had what you assumed was white hair, but it was hard to tell from all the blood in it. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say he almost looked like those greaser guys you heard about around campus…

You nearly jumped when you heard another clink. Your eyes snapped a bit to the left, and your eyes widened.

A Galvantula was by a trash can, hitting it with its front legs.

Was that his pokemon?

Just as you thought that, the spider pokemon saw you peering, and let out a little squeak. The pokemon then carefully scuttled towards you, but kept its distance. You noticed it stayed between you and the man on the ground, but didn’t seem aggressive.

Taking a step forward, you pointed to the man, hands shaking.

“M-May I check on him? Make sure he’s okay?” You asked, feeling a little silly, but nervous. You heard most pokemon could understand human speech, but you didn’t know for sure. The last thing you wanted was for the poor thing to attack you, thinking you were going to do more damage.

However, after asking, you nearly jumped back in surprise when the spider pokemon squeaked, and scuttled over to you. It gently tugged at your pants, tugging you forward.

Briefly, you wondered if perhaps the pokemon was making those noises earlier to draw someone’s attention…

You didn’t have time to think about it, with the pokemon now pushing you forward.

“W-Woah! Easy!” You said, nearly tripping over your feet. The Galvantula tapped its legs against the ground anxiously, but refrained from pushing you again.

Lowering yourself to the ground, you gently sat your books to the side, and looked over the man.

He was on his stomach, and slightly curled in on himself. He must have been taking quite a beating.

Gently, you poked him on the shoulder. He let out a groan.

“Okay… good news, he isn’t dead…” you mumbled. But he didn’t look good. He almost curled in further on himself, and was shaking with each breath he took.

You debated on what to do, before shaking your head. Glancing over at the spider, you showed it your hands.

“I’m going to try and flip him over, and see his injuries, okay?” You told it, and it seemed to nod at you. Pleased you got the pokemon’s permission, you gently grabbed the man’s shoulder that was farthest from you, and rolled him over.

The whole time, your heart was back to thudding in your chest. You were nervous, and a bit anxious over what you might see.

The man let out a moan of pain at the action, but didn’t resist you. Though you gasped when you saw a little bit of his wounds and face.

He had a swelling black eye, and a gnarly cut on his head. He also had a bruise on his chin, and a busted lip.

His white shirt was covered in blood, that especially had you worried.

Carefully, you lifted his shirt, and were surprised at the lack of open wounds. There were a few, but it was mostly bruises, and the open wounds weren’t heavily bleeding.

“Is this blood not all his own?” You mumbled, eyebrows scrunched together as you thought out loud

Taking another look at his jacket, you grimaced at the blood outside of it.

Well, this guy certainly didn’t go out without a fight.

Shaking your head, you slipped your backpack off, and reached inside. You had some tissues you could use to clean him up a little. You even had some band aids you could use on the smaller wounds.

Grabbing a water bottle with your tissues, you slowly began to clean up his face. He almost seemed to relax when the damp kleenex dabbled across his skin.

After a few moments, you reached to grab a new tissue, and when you looked back, you jumped.

The guy was awake, staring right at you.

Despite the condition he was in, you were taken aback by his silver eyes. They were beautiful…

You were frozen, and couldn’t look away.

Though when he spoke, it seemed to pull you from your trance.

“Am I in heaven?” He asked, his tone flat. You shook your head, giving a small smile to try and reassure him.

“No silly, you’re still-“

“-Because I must be looking at an angel.” He finished, cutting you off. His blank face then morphed into a dopey-lovey looking one with a wide smile. Your jaw dropped, and you felt your face growing hot.

“N-No! I’m no angel. I’m glad you are awake though, I should probably dial an ambulance-“ you spoke, and nearly squeaked when his arm shot out, grabbing your wrist.

He coughed a bit before speaking.

“No hospitals…!” He coughed again, wincing in pain, “Ingo will kill me if I end up in one again.”

You had no idea who ‘Ingo’ was, but given he was probably a greaser, he’d probably have a lot of trouble headed his way for ending up in one. “Okay, I won’t call a hospital then…” you told him, a bit uncertain with yourself. He really needed professional medical attention, not just tissues and a bottle of water.

His smile returned though, and you felt your face flush as he watched you.

You thought for a moment, and let out a shaky sigh. You didn’t really have anyone you could call, but you didn’t want to leave him here, or upset him by calling an ambulance anyway.

What could you do?

Suddenly, a stray thought crept up in the back of your mind.

‘Your parents are out late tonight, both on a date… You could take him home… It’s not far…’

Biting your lip, you wondered if that would be truly wise, bringing an injured stranger into your home...

But when you looked down at him, and saw his wounds, how some were still bleeding, you made a decision. You just hoped it wouldn’t come back and bite you. With your decision made, you quickly put your books away in your bag, and slung it over your shoulder, before reaching for the injured man beneath you.

“Come here.” You whispered, and gently began tugging him upward. He didn’t resist you, but he did look a bit confused.

“Angel?” He asked you, and you ignored the nickname. This was important. You could be flustered later.

“If you won’t let me dial an ambulance, I need to take you home so I can patch you up. It’s not far from here, and we can take the back alleys.” You quietly explained as you helped him to his feet, and wrapped an arm over your shoulders to steady him.

He stumbled a bit as he struggled to find his balance, but he eventually found it after leaning on you for a moment. However, you could tell moving put him in a lot of pain.

“Okay, Angel.” He slurred, his eyes narrowed as he tried to keep himself together. You couldn’t help but give him a worried look. This poor guy…

Before you got to walking, you looked at his Galvantula, who seemed curious, but ready to follow wherever you led them.

“I’m taking him to my house, would you please help keep an eye out on our way there? These alleyways are not very safe…” You explained. The little spider gave you a nod, followed by a chirp. You assumed that meant they understood.

It definitely made you feel a little bit better at least. You wouldn’t be defenseless if you both were jumped.

Carefully, you began to walk. It was slow, but the man was thankfully able to keep a pace without too much difficulty. You decided to take that as a good sign, though you hated making him walk in the first place.

Though every so often, he would talk, his words occasionally slurring.

“You’re verrry pretty, Angel.”

“I must be incrrredibly lucky, I have my own guardian Angel.” “Hng… Ingo is going to be so jealous… When I tell him…”

You decided he must have hit his head too hard. No doubt he must have had a concussion, with all the silly things he was saying.

Though that didn’t exactly help your anxieties about the man’s health.

Still, despite the rough condition he was in, he was able to make most of the walk to your house without much trouble. He only had to stop a few times, but otherwise, was able to keep up.

You thanked whatever deity was watching over you that the remaining walk home had been a short one. Especially since it was still daylight, and you had been worried about someone seeing the man, and asking you about it.

Thankfully, even as you escorted him past the main parts of the city into your neighborhood, no one saw you carry him towards the suburban alley way. If they did, no one said a word.

Finally, you approached the gate to your backyard, incredibly thankful that your father had not yet bought a lock for it. It was a small struggle, getting the old gate open, but you managed.

Carrying the man through your backyard, you carefully maneuvered him to your back door. Though you mentally cursed, realizing the door was locked.

“Here, lean against this.” you said, gently having him lean against the wall near the door.

“M’kay, Angel…” He mumbled, doing as you asked. You tried not to fret over how quiet he had gotten, compared to how he was mumbling earlier.

Quickly, you scrambled for the spare key, ignoring how shaky your hands had gotten. Once you found it, you made quick work of the lock, and pushed the door open. You hid the key once more, and once again had the man lean on you to walk.

Once inside your house, you made your way through the home, before making it to the stairs. It was a bit of a struggle, but slowly, you managed to get the injured man to the second floor, and to your bedroom.

Carefully, you led him to your bathroom. You especially thanked any god listening that your parents let you have a room with a bathroom, or this would be so much more difficult. As if you were carrying glass, you gently sat him down on the closed toilet, and took a moment to catch your breath. The man easily sat down, also happy to relax for a moment. All the while, his cute Galvantula jumped up onto the bathroom counter to observe.

“Here. Rest here, and I’ll do my best to patch you up. I have a first aid kit here.” you softly told him, hoping he was able to somewhat comprehend your words.

His head lifted up a bit, and he gave you a dopey smile.

“Whaaatever you say, Angel.” he slurred, before his head rolled a bit, before hanging low again.

You had to fix him up, fast.

Quickly, you grabbed the first aid kit under your sink, thankful your father insisted every bathroom have one.

Putting the large box on the counter next to the pokemon, you quickly opened it up, and nearly sighed in relief when you saw it was mostly untouched. You figured as much, but you did not want to dig around the other first aid kits, just in case your family noticed something was out of place. Moving a bit to a cabinet on the wall behind you, you pulled out a few rags. Once again, you were thanking any deity listening, especially for the fact your towels and rags were black. Blood could still be noticeable, but not near as bad as any other color. You could probably wash them out before your parents even got home if you are quick enough.

Carefully, you wet down a rag, and bent down in front of the man. You gently cupped his face, grabbing his attention.

“Sir? I need you to stay awake so I can clean your wounds, okay?” You told him. His eyes fluttered open, and he gave you a small smile.

“Okay.” You gave him a nod and a small smile.

“Good. I apologize, but this will eventually sting.” You warned him. You were cleaning the blood off with water, but when you used the medicine to clean the wounds further, you had no doubt it would hurt.

The man playfully scoffed, though it came out more as a wheeze.

“I c’n handle ‘t.” He spoke, trying to sound touch as he gave you a smile. Though he kept swaying, and seemed to slur his words even harder. You had to work fast.

Thankfully though, you didn’t have to worry too much about him bleeding out, most of his wounds had started scabbing over, only a few still trying to bleed. You winced as you tugged at his white shirt. You probably should have ripped some clothes or something to help it stop the bleeding. You were such an idiot, you were lucky he was still awake.

Tossing the rag into the sink, you grabbed another, and some peroxide and ointment. You then bit your lip, before tugging on his jacket.

“I need to remove your jacket and shirt, sir…” You told him, fighting the urge to become flustered. He was injured, no need to make it weird.

“I am Emmet.” You heard him speak. Was that his name?

“Okay, Emmet. I’m going to remove your jacket and shirt, okay?” You told him gently. He fluttered his eyes at you, his grin widening.

“‘Course, Angel, anything f’ you.”

He then started to shrug off his jacket, which you quickly took off his hands and tossed to the side. You had to help him with the shirt though, his wounds a bit painful to do on his own.

Though when he got his shirt off, you were incredibly thankful to whoever was watching your life right now. The wounds weren’t quite as bad as you feared, but you still had work to do if you wanted to help him get out of this alive without infection. You got to work, grabbing some bandages as well, and setting them off to the side as you began to clean. If you could get the bleeding to stop, and clean these quickly, you could get the wounds bandaged immediately. The moment you began to clean and put pressure on some wounds, Emmet hissed in pain. You were surprised when he jolted away from you, before making himself relax. Maybe he was a bit more lucid than you thought? Or he had one hell of a pain tolerance up to this point. Though you had to ask yourself just how big of a concussion he must have when he spoke to you again as you began bandaging a wound. “D’ya like what y’ see?” He teased, and you attempted to ignore his question. He had a bit of muscle, some slim abs, and noticeable pecs. However, you didn’t want to become distracted when the guy was still so incredibly injured. “You are very injured, forgive me if I am a bit more worried about your wounds than your muscles.” You told him, though your words weren’t harsh. You swore you heard him chuckle.

He then let out a whine as you cleaned and wrapped another injury, one of his hands curled into a fist, before relaxing. You couldn’t help but frown.

“Sorry! I’m trying to be gentle.” You told him. It wasn’t your fault, but you couldn’t help but feel bad for him, knowing this must hurt a lot.

He simply gave you another smile. You wondered how he could do so when no doubt in a lot of discomfort.

“S’okay, Angel. You’re p’fect”

Thinking for a moment, you spoke up, giving him your name. He blinked. “What?”

“That’s my name.” you repeated.

“Okay, Angel.”

You had a feeling Angel was probably your new name from him now. There was a chance he wouldn’t remember much of this, and it seemed Angel was the easiest for him to use.

After you had the bleeding wounds under control, you shifted your focus onto his head. That cut wasn’t bleeding, much to your surprise, but it still looked fairly nasty.

Leaning in close, you began to clean it, only to pause when you heard Emmet speak.

“You’re so gorgeous.”

You then turned to his Galvantula, who had been watching on the counter patiently.

“I think your master hit his head too hard.”

The spider made some clicks in reply, but you simply turned back to Emmet, who was now pouting.

“I mean it. Y’re gorgeous.”

You clicked your tongue, trying to focus.

“Hush. You have a concussion.”

You could test that, but you almost had no doubts he had one. It made blaming his odd behavior on it a bit easier.

This guy was also possibly a huge flirt, you had heard of his type. It would be best to ignore him and not engage in his compliments, no matter how much they made you feel warm inside.

After you finished cleaning the head wound, you began to put on some ointment, and get ready for some bandages. As you were unwrapping the bandages, Emmet spoke again.

“My beautiful Angel, no, a god!” he spoke, staring right at you. You wanted to rub your temples.

Dear Arceus, he upgraded.

“My own guardian angel… What’d I do t’ deserve you?” he mumbled, looking a little more out of it. It would be sweet, if you weren’t so concerned about him. It seemed the exhaustion was finally catching up to him.

You just hoped he wasn’t passing out from blood loss. But you patched those wounds, and they hadn’t bled too much after you found him…

Still, you couldn’t be sure.

Thankfully, you were nearly done cleaning him up, and finished securing the bandage around the wound on his head.

You bit your lip as you looked him over. Where would you put him? Your bed? Maybe you could hide him out on the floor out of sight from your door, in case your parents came to check on you?

That wouldn’t be too bad. You could grab some blankets hidden away in one of the hall closets, and make sure he was comfortable, and he’d be out of sight.

Looking at Emmet, the poor man was slouching, and was more than likely almost asleep. Biting your lip, you gently went over, and put your hand on his cheek.

“Hey, I’m going to move you now, okay? So you can get some rest.”

He didn’t say anything, simply humming in response. However, he did nuzzle into your palm. You decided to take that as an ‘okay’.

You also did your best to ignore how cute it was.

Nodding to yourself, you then gave him a moment, before looping your arms under his own.

“Here we go-” you spoke, grunting when you began to help lift him up. He was even shakier than before, and struggled to find his footing.

When he started to sway, you struggled to hold him steady, and nearly panicked.

“M’Sorry, Angel…” you heard him groan out, and he stumbled over his own feet. The moment you felt him start to tumble, you panicked, and tried to hold him still. It proved to be futile, he began to fall, and you were going down with him.

…Right into the bathtub.

You both fell in rather clumsily, with you landing on his chest as he fell in on his back.

It took you a moment to gather your thoughts, before you quickly began to panic. You were straddling the man, as he lay dizzy on the floor of your tub.

“Oh my gosh, are you alright!?” You asked, quickly looking him over. Did you open any of his wounds? Did he hit his head?

His eyes blinked open, and he gave you a lazy grin. You then felt his arms wrap around you suddenly, and pull you back to his chest. A squeak left your lips as you were pressed against his bare chest, and you felt your face light up.

“N’ver better, Angel.” he spoke, his words heavy as he laid his head down on the floor of the tub. You briefly struggled against his grip, before finally relenting. He held you tight, and you didn’t wish to worsen his injuries after you had just patched him up.

You stayed that way for a while, your own body pressed against his.

It wasn’t so bad. If it wasn’t for the fact you were worried about his wounds, and were in a bathtub, you would even consider this kinda… comfy, if the situation wasn’t so odd.

And the fact he was, you know, a stranger. A stranger that was half naked and injured.

You weren’t sure how long it was until you felt him relax, and his breathing even out. Carefully, you lifted yourself up, and put his arms to the side.

Thankfully he never woke up. You weren’t sure if that was a good sign or not.

A little bit shaky, you stood up, and stepped out of the tub. Your eyes met the Galvantula, who was staring at you curiously from the floor. Glancing back at her owner, who was knocked out still in the tub, you let out a small huff.

“I’m… Going to go and grab some pillows and blankets to make him more comfortable.” you muttered, and quickly left the bathroom.

It didn’t take long to grab the stuff you needed. As you put the stuff aside outside the bathroom, when you went in to check on Emmet, you nearly gasped at the cute sight.

The Galvantula had crawled into the tub, and was now resting on the greaser. Emmet, still asleep, had subconsciously wrapped his arms around her, and held her close as they snuggled.

It was a genuinely cute sight. Precious, if you dare say so.

Quietly, you carried a few pillows and blankets in. The pokemon only gave you a glance, before going back to relaxing on her trainer. Carefully, you placed a pillow under him, and two blankets on top of both. You set a few more pillows inside, before deciding it was enough.

You watched them for a few more moments, before a thought hit you. Just as quiet as you entered, you left, heading to the kitchen. You grabbed a few painkillers, and a sticky note on the way back in your room, and wrote a note, before putting both on the side of the tub.

Hopefully he’d notice the bright blue note if he woke up.

Gently, you closed the door behind you as you left, and sat down on your bed. Letting out a sigh, you dropped your head into your hands, and groaned.

“What am I doing?” you asked yourself, as everything hit all at once. For some Arceus-forsaken reason, you saved some random greaser guy on the street. You didn’t even call the cops, or an ambulance, like you should have.

This was such a bad idea. Probably a huge mistake.

The stranger in your home wasn’t even the only issue! What if your parents found out? No doubt the man would be arrested on the spot, and you would be locked inside your own home for years. Even if you were a grown adult, you doubted your parents would let you live freely for such a ‘transgression’.

Not only was it a boy, it was a greaser. A greaser who no doubt was trouble given how you found him.

But… you may have saved his life. If you hadn’t walked into the alley from sheer morbid curiosity, who knows what would have happened? Would anyone have found him? Would anyone have cared to even call an ambulance, given he was a greaser? You knew a large group of people didn’t care for the gangs running around, so would anyone have cared to call anyone for this guy?

It made you sick to your stomach. Even if you weren’t sure if this was a good idea, you can’t say you regret trying to help him. You wouldn’t have been able to live with yourself if you had just left him there.

You glanced back at the bathroom door, and bit your lip. Your hands shook as you finally took in everything that happened today.

Hopefully this won't come back and bite you.

[muldermuse]

hi! would you be comfortable with writing some headcanons about how mulder would try and cheer her crush up? going through a hard time and lost a friendship. 🥲 if for any reason you don't wanna / don't feel comfortable with it, it's completely ok!

im so sorry u lost a friend :( i hope ur okay, a friendship of mine ended recently and its awful. sending all my love <3

Fox knows you're upset, he can tell when he sees ur muted smile, looks at your red rimmed eyes or hears ur downcast voice. u don't want to tell him what has happened yet, it hurts way too much to say out loud but you don't want to be alone so you invite him round

"I won't be great company...I just really don't want to be by myself”

"I'll be there in 10 minutes" to be honest, as soon as you called and he heard your voice he was grabbing his keys and forcing his feet into his sneakers

he knows that you'll need some time to cry it out, talk about it or do something to distract yourself

when u need to cry it out, he's holding you to his chest in bed. rubbing ur back and pressing kisses to your head. he's whispering reassurances to you but you're sobbing too much to reply. he doesn't try to get you out of bed to do something, he just lets you cry

he'll bring you water because he knows you're close to dehydrating yourself with tears. eventually you choke out an apology to him,

"i'm so sorry for crying this much but it just hurts, like my heart, it just hurts so much Fox"

it physically PAINS him to see you this upset, so he just holds you tighter and when u fall asleep through pure exhaustion he's there

he falls asleep too like he no intention of doing so but ur body is very comforting and warm pushed up against his

he notices u aren't eating, so he'll buy you something small that he knows u like

when u are ready to talk about it, he's there. he never pushes u to tell him, you'll make the occasionally passing comment here or there about what's upsetting u but u don't carry the conversation on so he just leaves it

he invites you round for dinner and after a coffee, you're telling him everything. he doesn't want to interrupt what you're saying so he just lets you talk, the only time he'll interrupt is if you say something negative about yourself

"i mean, it's my fault, if i wasn't so needy an-"

"please don't do that" he holds your hand a little bit tighter

whilst you're recounting what has happened, you go through every emotion, you're crying and then you're laughing and then you're fuming with anger and then you're heartbroken

he just holds your hand through it, a non verbal way of showing you that he's here with absolutely no intention of leaving

you smile a bit brighter after you've told him, he kisses u on the cheek as u leave and reminds you that he's there for you

after a few weeks, u seem to feel a bit better. ur smile is back and you look like you're eating and sleeping normally again SO he plans a day out

nothing major, just a trip to the movies but he figures that a few hours in a dark room watching some shitty rom com is a great way to distract u. he buys the biggest soda, popcorn and candy combo he can and he swears its worth it for the smile that crosses ur face

the movie starts but he's not interested in the plot and waaaay more focused on ur smile and how you're laughing throughout. he hasn't seen u like this in weeks

you press a kiss to his cheek and whisper how grateful you are to have him. "thank you for this, thank you for everything"

[liminalmemories21]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

tagged by @rmd-writes. Thank you!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

31 (apparently? seriously? it doesn't feel like that many)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

451,541 - which is an oddly pleasing number.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

911 Lonestar

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Long Story Short (5 Ways Carlos's Family Could Have Met TK + 1 he met TK's)

a home isn't always the house we live in (Judd's POV on TK and Carlos)

It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags! (Christmas (and Hanukkah) fic)

Always Wear Your Invisible Crown (high school reunion fic - also one of the only stories I've ever written from TK's POV)

When the sun came up you were looking at me (S2 Interstitials)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I love comments, and I try hard to respond to all of them.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't think I've written anything with an ambiguous ending, or an angsty ending. Although @wtfuckevenknows says the end of Knave 3 made her cry (it has a happy ending, I promise. But, apparently it's happy with a side of emotion?)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All of them. No really. All of them.

I guess maybe It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags! has the schmoopiest ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Only once so far. [fingers crossed, knock on wood] Not looking forward to more.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes. It took a while, but I got there.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I haven't ever written a crossover! I do kind of want to do a 911/Lonestar crossover, but that is just so many characters.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I'm aware

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not a posted one. I have co-written with a friend before for The Old Guard, but we never actually finished and posted it.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Nope, nope, nope. I have been around waaaay too long to pick a favorite. I can give you a historical selection.

Fraser/Ray K (Due South), McKay/Sheppard (SGA), Arthur/Merlin (Merlin), Arthur/Eames (Inception), Buck/Eddie (911), TK/Carlos (Lonestar), and a lot of others unnamed

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

a bunch of them. I do tend to cannibalize though, and bits of abandoned fics end up in other places.

16. What are your writing strengths?

dialogue? descriptions of internal emotional processing (?) someone else tell me.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm going to say plot, and you are all going to laugh at me after 150K of Knave-verse. But, honestly, plot.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I've included words here and there of Spanish, but it's not one of my languages so I'm always hesitant to try and be colloquial.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Published? Lonestar. Unpublished? Merlin

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Knave 2 (The Knave of Hearts . . . he said he'd steal no more). I think that's easily the best thing I've ever written.

tagging @freneticfloetry, @cha-melodius, @bonheur-cafe, and @carlos-in-glasses in return

[tvrningout-a]

i need y'all to know that cyrillo knows rin bc she was hired to steal from him, and he's one of the only people who has ever caught her in the act asdfh and not bc of any skill!! cyrillo's smart and observant, but he's not a trained rogue. dude is a mage and waaaay too busy to notice every little detail. he's got people for that uvu

but that's not how he caught rin. he caught rin by talking to her. she was on her way to his office to steal some contract a businessman made with him concerning something or other when cyrillo approached her, looking much too handsome and much too curious for her liking. the little event he had welcomed all sorts of people that night, so it really did feel like fate working against her -- why would he approach her, of all his guests? some random elf?

he liked her laugh :' ) that's the reason :' ) at the beginning of the evening, cyrillo heard her laugh by pure chance as she spoke to one of her men; the way she threw her head back, laughed without holding back, and the way her eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief as she clapped a hand on her companion's shoulder grabbed cyrillo's attention completely. and as he continued to watch her, he decided he'd like to know her. she seemed like fun, and he needed a little of that. work was... taxing lately.

so fast forward to their conversation and rin, very begrudgingly, decides she doesn't particularly wanna steal from cyrillo. he's not some stuck up rich guy who deserves a little inconvenience. very unfortunately for rin, he's a nice guy. he's a nice guy acting in the best interests of his people. and he doesn't even!! try to lie to her once!! is totally honest as she pries into his business bc oh my gosh he doesn't have anything to hide.

well, she's sure he has something, but still. how's she supposed to steal from him now?? when she's starting to like the guy?? this is why she doesn't ever meet the people she steals from >:(

so what does rin do? she sighs very deeply and goes " listen, i was gonna steal from you bc i was hired to, but i'm not gonna anymore. you're too nice. you want me to steal for you instead?? " and cyrillo laughs so hard he's got tears in his eyes asdfg he's not even mad :' )) just really amused and tells her nah, no stealing, but how about a little spying? and thus begins a very lovely partnership that's more like a friendship ( rin just won't admit it bc then she couldn't accept payment from him anymore asdfg )

[destinyc1020]

Ik sum black folks lik 2 call Michael "corny" (watever that means 😑) bt that man has showed continuously that hes very goal oriented n smart about his career, i think he/his team will b smart about nt sayin anything. I dnt find him 2 b the strongest actor (compared 2 jonathan), bt i can see him always being booked n having oppurtumites to work BTS

Anon, I cannot tell you how much I HATE this term... I especially hate the fact that people always want to use this "corny" term to describe Black men for some reason.

Sorry, but I'm about to go on a rant here lol.... So WHAT if he's "corny" (whatever that means ��)?? I like Michael and his personality. He's not corny to me. I'm sure that's what that bully who used to be in his class was teasing him for. Like so WHAT?? Can we just BE??? PLEASE?? 🥴We as Black people are NOT a monolith, and Idk why some of us act like we are. We are NOT. We're from different regions of the country, and our ancestors were from different regions and countries in Africa! Why people think we all have to act alike like we're some ROBOTS is just really strange to me. 🥴 The weirdest thing is that we put this restriction on ourselves! 😤 It's not even other races doing it, it's mostly us forcing ourselves into this little box of what a Black man or Black woman should be.

Look, I like ALL types of guys... I even like dorky guys, nerdy guys, eccentric guys, etc. Like, I honestly don't care. If your personality is cool, and you're attractive, I'm not caring one bit how "corny" you are/might be lol.

Michael is nice-looking, he's hard-working, and he seems like a chill and relaxed guy. He's always seemed very nice to me?

I don't see the "corny" vibes with Michael at all. Someone who comes off as cringe and maybe a bit corny to me sometimes is MAYBE Ansel Elgort lol. 😅🤣 But that's only because he always comes off as if he's trying waaaay too harrrd lol. 😅 But even then, I don't hate the guy for that reason (if I dislike him it's because of the allegations against him🥴) . I just laugh and keep it moving. Being "corny" is no reason to hate/dislike someone in other words.

Bullies are sometimes the reason why some adults have PTSD syndrome and trauma for their childhoods. Bullies are the reason why some people retaliate in violence unfortunately.

People just need to be kinder imo. You never know what your words/labels on someone might be doing to their psyche.

[cosmic-has-moved]

Rehired [Chapter 5]

Ao3 Version: [HERE]

[Note: Chapter was waaaay to long, so I made Allison's POV bit a separate chapter so I wouldn't have to worry about it being too much and saving me from reading a long ass page.

And the next chapter is STILL long...]

Allison's POV

Awaking from the repeated beeping of her alarm clock and turning it off, Allison sat up from her bed and gave herself a stretch before forcing herself out of her bed.

Her morning schedule was normal, at least to her. Get up, have breakfast, wash up, get dressed, water her plants and leave to go to work.

As she started her morning schedule by cooking up a plate of scrambled eggs, Allison poured herself a nice cup of coffee and began eating while reading the newspaper. 

Suddenly her home phone rang which made Allison dropped her things and answered it, "Hello? Allison Pendle speaking."

The woman's eyes light up and a wide smile grew on her face upon hearing the voice at the other end, her ex lover. 

"Tom! Long time no talk." She playfully twirled the phone cord with her finger. "I know it's only been a few day, I just like hearing your voice is all."

"I hope your job isn't pushing you too hard, working on all those machines must be exhausting."

She leaned against the kitchen bench, "It's my job to worry, Tom. We're both not young anymore, especially after working with you know who."

"Hm? You want to know how my works going? Is this your way of changing the subject again?" She smiled, "But I guess you're right, I always ask you how your work is going and barely talk about mine."

"You know that girl I told you about? The employee of the month one?" She rolled her eyes and laughed, "Yes, the one that has a crush on Susie, you should really stop calling her that by the way. I know she would boss you around back at the old studio."

Allison blinked in confusion, "What do you mean is it really a crush? The girl lights up like a red themed Christmas tree whenever Susie touches her, granted I have noticed she has a bit of the same reaction when I." She stopped herself and frowned in thought as a small blush appeared on her cheeks, "... Kissed her."

She cocked her brows and crossed her arm, "That better not have been a hum of interest, Tom. And no, there was no tongue! I only did it to see if it was just her questioning her sexuality!" She huffed, "I did feel bad about it but she really didn't seem to mind at all, even mentioned she wanted to do it again, she just wished it was Susie's lips." 

A chuckle escaped her mouth, "And what do you mean by that? You implying my lips turned her gay? Honey, she's gayer than that Wally guy you worked for and I know how much you hate it when I mention that incident with you two." She grinned and scoffed. "How can I tell? There was quite a hot day the other day and the fans were broken, so a lot of the workers, who mind you are rather cute, took their shirts off to ease the heat. Audrey's eyes were still locked onto Susie because she was wearing a short skirt and she tied up her shirt below her chest, she even ignored all the flirts she was getting from the guys."

"And I'm pretty sure the girl kept glancing at her chest." She hummed out a giggle before frowning. "How do I still remember her outfit? I just have a rather good memory. Like that time you had Wally bent over in front of you in the studio closet." She began laughing loudly and smacking her leg. 

"Don't blame me for knowing, blame yourself for getting caught by Henry." She sighed happily while playing with the phone cord. "Hm? She's only in her 20s, she's still got a lot of life to play with and no parents to worry about."

"Her family life? I can't really say, she has mentioned to me that she was in the orphanage for as long as she could remember, she has discovered who her father was but that's as far as I'll say." Allison stood up straight and began thinking, "You don't think that Audrey's been starved of a loving touch, do you?" 

The woman cupped her mouth while frowning at the ground in thought, "It is possible that Susie being all touchy and flirty could've sparked that need for her." She groaned while rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Why didn't I think of that? I'm working today anyway so I'll ask her about it, thank you, Tom."

She lifted her head up in surprise and blushed more, "I am not going to have a chance at her if Susie rejects her! Geez, Tom! I'm not that kind of person! Quit your laughing" She let out a sigh. "You and your dirty mind."

"..." Allison smiled softly, "I miss you too, Tom. I still wish to know why you wanted to separate, but I know you have your reasons."

Her expression shifted to one of sadness, "You have to go? The boat is leaving soon?" She bit her lip and sighed, "Okay, I'll speak to you soon, Tom. I-" She went to say more but the line was cut off, leaving nothing by the long digital rumbling in her ear before she put the phone back on its base. 

"I love you..."

Rubbing her eyes and giving herself a deep breath, Miss Pendle resumed her morning schedule before heading to work.

She had wanted to know how Audrey's confession went yesterday and know if she even did so. She had hoped it went well.

___

Allison stood at the doorway of where Audrey worked, her chipper mood changed to that of concern as the artist sat at her desk emotionless.

Ohhhh no, something wasn't right.

Walking up to her and taking a seat next to her with a soft smile, Allison began speaking.

"How you doing, Audrey? Did you speak to Susie or did you get cold feet?" The older woman tried to lighten up the mood, "If that's the case, I got some wool socks to help." She laughed softly.

"She said I reminded her of my father." Audrey muttered out, immediately tensing up Allison uncomfortably.

"Well." Allison nervously smiled, "At least that wasn't the worst thing she could've said, right?"

Stopping her work and turning her head to the other, Audrey just stared at her with the same blank expression, Allison could've sworn there was a hint of red to them.

"That wasn't the worst thing she said, right?" Miss Pendle asked again, more nervousness in her voice.

Audrey continued staring at her before speaking up again, "She tore up the letter and said she only used me for her entertainment." She bluntly said as Allison stared in wide eyed shock before going back to work, "Now I would like to have some time alone, thank you for your concerns though."

Allison tried to speak and say something but nothing other than stammering came out, clearing her throat and getting up off the chair. "I am so sorry to hear that, Audrey. If you need someone to talk to about it, I'm-"

"I'm fine" The girl cut in with a concealed tone of anger, "Please, let me do my job." Her hand holding her pencil trembled, but not of rage.

Quietening herself from speaking, Allison held her hands for a moment in thought. She thought about what Tom had mentioned in their conversation and the high possibility of it, she had to know. 

"Was it really a crush, Audrey?" 

Halting her work and looking back at the older woman with a frustrated puzzled look, Audrey just questioned her which opened up for Allison to continue. 

"I've had a thought today about you and your possible liking towards Susie." Allison cleared her throat. "There are cases I know of where people who grew up in difficult households without getting any sort of affection from their guardians, they tend to latch onto a person who gives them a certain type of affection."

"What are you implying, Allison?" Audrey cut in, the tone in her voice almost startling Miss Pendle. 

"What I'm trying to say is, perhaps the way Susie has been touchy with you somewhat sparked up that desire of love your caregivers failed to you."

Audrey stared at her squinted in deep thought, her expression being difficult for Allison to fully pin point. The girl shifted her face to look down with confliction, her hands rubbing her arms. 

"That's not right." Audrey quietly spoke, the tone of distaste still there. "That wouldn't explain why I would dream of her..." She held her head and leaned down. 

"Dream?" Allison questioned, "What kind of dreams have you been having of her?" She already knew what the answer could be, she just wanted to be sure. 

The artist bit her lip upon the question, she couldn't lie now that she mentioned it. Maybe opening about it could help Allison give Audrey an answer, perhaps it really wasn't a crush. 

"I've had my first wet dream about her the other night and they continued afterwards, only they became more." She lifted her head up and stared at the therapist. "Vivid."

As she finished her sentence she sat up straight and sighed, "But after yesterday, she hadn't appeared in my dream." She bit her lip in quiet frustration. "Yet I still had trouble sleeping, despite her haunting my dreams being one of the reasons I could barely sleep." 

Allison pondered on the small information Audrey had given her, she wanted to know more but she still wanted to keep it short for the girl. 

"How do you feel about her now?" 

The question seemed to shock Audrey for some reason, she glanced down in thought and looked to the side with a mixed emotion. 

"I feel nothing. I usually feel fluttery even by thinking of her, but I just feel." Her lips quivered and her hand covered her mouth. "Nothing, and it hurts."

Allison went to hold her in reassurance but stopped and just held out a hand for her to hold, and Audrey hesitantly went to hold it but swiftly moved her hand back. 

"I appreciate the talking, but I want to go back to work and not think about it..." Audrey sniffled and turned to her desk, avoiding anymore eye contact with Allison. 

Going to speak but stopping herself, Allison sighed and patted Audrey's shoulder before leaving her be, being sure to close the door behind her to give her more privacy. 

As she walked down the hallways of the studio her sympathy slowly turned to that of anger, she decided to go looking for Susie herself to at least know why she had to be so cruel in response. Miss Pendle knew only one place the actress would be, and she was right. 

Sitting in her recording booth with only a small light illuminating the small box was Susie Campbell, the curtain was down but the woman's outfit through the gaps confirmed her presence. 

After marching over to the booth and kicking the door open, startling the actress enough for her to turn while stopping what she was doing and look at Allison wide eyed as she got closer. Susie was quick to cover what she was doing on the desk, but that didn't matter to Allison at the moment. 

"A simple soft let down wasn't enough?" Allison's tone caused Susie to freeze in place, "You had to take painful jabs at her?!" She threw her hands up in disbelief. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE BETTER THAN THAT, SUSIE!" 

Miss Campbell shifted her arms on the table as a look of great regret and surprise formed on her face, "She told you? About the letter?" The crack in her voice made Allison blink out of her angry state and see what Susie was working on.

There on the desk was Audrey's torn letter, bits of it badly put together with tape while the other pieces laid in a small pile waiting to be put back together. 

"I only did it because I thought she would leave me alone." Susie added, "It was last minute thinking and I thought if I was harsh about it, she would lose interest in me and she'll forget about it! I panicked because I had that moment of realization that I was acting like Joey!" 

"Susie." The taller woman stared down at her, not hiding her disappointment. "That's not how you deal with a situation such as that, you of all people know that. You even told me that you had no problem with Audrey's relations to Joey."

"I know!" Burying her face in her hands, Susie stifled what sounded like a sob. "I didn't think she'll have feelings for me, I only saw her as a cute timid girl who needed that certain push to be more confident. I had this interest in her for some reason and she just reminded me of someone I once knew, yet I couldn't put my tongue on it."

Lowering her head to the table, she rested on her arms. "But than I saw that god damn pin that belonged to Joey and it all just hit me, I finally figured out my fascination with her." She turned her gaze to Allison, tears visible. "I lied about not having a problem with their relationship, of course I have a problem with it. It's like it's his way of saying to me that he'll forever haunt me, even after death."

Allison who now sat next to her with the same look of displeasure, "Audrey is nothing like her father, far from it." She looked over at the pieces of paper and began putting them together. "I know not of you and Joey's past relationship, but I wouldn't take it out on her especially considering she only recently found out he was her father."

Susie lifted her head up and sniffled, "And how do you know so much? You only ever mentioned yesterday that you only know who her dad was, unless you also lied." She flinched upon Allison snapping a glare at her. 

"It is not my business to spread around people's personal lives, Campbell." Miss Pendle resumed her task. "All I will say is that what you want to know, you ask her yourself." 

Sheepishly watching her fix up the letter while twiddling her thumbs, Susie asked "She's usually quiet about such things, how did you know?" 

Letting out a sigh, Allison answered. "I proofread the letter for her, it was my idea since I knew it'll be easier than to try to say it vocally. If I had known you would be like that, I wouldn't have encouraged her." 

Wincing at the comment, she asked another question. "How was she when you saw her?" 

Allison slowly looked at her, a look of displeased sadness all over her face. "You'll have to see for yourself." She looked back down at the letter and finished it. "Did you know that she's been losing sleep because of you." 

 

Without giving Susie a chance to react, Allison pushed the letter to the other's chest and stood up off the chair. "Come into my office later tonight and talk to her, I'll be sure she'll be there." She stepped away, "We're both adults here, don't screw it up." That's when she left the booth and closed the door, leaving the actress alone with her thoughts. 

Allison's POV End

[cheerfulmelancholies]

Paradise Rock

Another one from the archives. I wrote this waaaay back in high school for a project, I believe. I did post it on Wattpad but I haven't used that in ages so I figured I'd migrate what little I have from it to here. This was interesting to work on and a bit challenging for me because I usually don't write in this style and I was still just figuring out horror. I also wanted to try making it vaguely mysterious but I was never really satisfied with it and even now I'm still trying to improve on that genre. It definitely reads like my writing from that time period, lol. I actually forgot all about this but it's nice to see how and where I've improved and what I still incorporate into my works.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this blast from my past I dug up. To avoid any confusion in advance, time passes with each new paragraph.

He awakens with a jolt, drenched in sweat and panting. He's disoriented, panicked and has no idea who the middle-aged couple standing over him are. His head feels foggy and it takes his sluggish brain several seconds to realize that the gray-eyed, raven-haired teen staring at him from across the room is his reflection. It takes him a few moments after that to process what the couple is saying.

He is unsure of everything. Nothing is adding up and when he tries to put together what broken pieces he does have they always leave him with even more questions. His parents told him that he cannot remember simply because of an accident and that his memories will return soon enough. He shouldn't push himself so hard to remember, they say. They tell him to just relax and let it run its course. Something deep in the haze of his mind refuses to let that happen.

He hears quiet whispers that warn him of trouble.

He often wanders through the house aimlessly, feeling as if he should be doing something important. He still can't remember a thing and he thinks he's beginning to annoy his parents with his constant drifting. There are snippets of visions he can't decipher; pieces of jewelry, people laughing, faces that he feels he should know. There's something... important about them. Every time an image flashes briefly in his mind, however, he mentions it to his parents and they say it is nothing to worry about. He's always been 'somewhat delusional.' They go so far as to call him extremely paranoid, as he often claims that things appear to be off and how something, possibly even someone, is telling him there is something wrong.

"It's all right," they always say with a smile. "There's nothing wrong here."

Only there is. He knows there is. Things are happening here that shouldn't be, he can see it.

Why don't they notice the people in the shadows, with their silent pleas, or hear the hushed whispers of some invisible being?

Their gentle reassurances do nothing to quell this gut feeling of his and they certainly can't hide the sheer wrongness of this place. However, they continue to tell him that he's fine, that it's just a phase and that things will be better soon. So why, then, have they not gotten better? He's heard that line since the beginning and he never believed it then either.

Their faces begin to scare him. They scare him even more than the voices that whisper in the back of his mind for him to run, run as far away as he can and don't look back.

There never used to be so many.

Their smiles, which are supposed to be beaming with love and understanding, are now taut with distress and discomfort. Sometimes he catches glimpses of something darker underneath the thinly veiled distaste, though it could be his frantic mind playing tricks on him. In any case, they continue to speak to him all friendly-like, and laugh and joke and play as though there is nothing wrong. Outwardly he believes it, but deep inside he knows that it's all a lie and, somewhere even deeper within himself than he can imagine, he knows he has to do something. He's wasted too much time already.

They like to act as if he doesn't remember, couldn't possibly, not with all the things supposedly wrong with his head.

He knows he's not crazy.

They think he's incapable of recalling their slip-ups, the things said that he was never meant to hear. They seem to believe, perhaps through some outside force not at all affected by common science, that he cannot hear their hushed voices radiating from a back room or through a closed door if he wishes to be near enough. Or, just as likely, they don't think he'll do such a thing. No matter the reason, he hears every word with ease and remembers even easier.

Catching people's nervous habits seems to be his natural talent. It's been the one and only thing he can count on in this place, ever since waking up in his room a couple weeks ago with his 'parents' watching over him. The twitch of a hand, the fiddling of an item, the quick glance of an eye. He can name every single flaw about their demeanor and point it out in his sleep. They are terrible liars, surely they must realize that by now.

It doesn't matter how long it took himself to notice.

There is no point in them keeping secrets, he's said as much. Still, they carry on the charade. He's not sure whether they're lying to themselves at this point or if they just don't know any other way to live.

Lying awake in bed one night, ignoring the harsh syllables in his mind and staring vehemently at the dancing silhouettes on the walls that are only getting worse, he wonders. The tight smiles have morphed into disgusted grimaces and he still hasn't received any straightforward answers about his past, his memories. They keep telling him--insisting, really--that he shouldn't be worried about it. He just has to trust them, his parents. They know what's best for him.

Is that why he's never allowed outside? Is it why they get so defensive when he questions them on how different they look from himself? Why they hate when he ponders why he can't interact much with the 'neighbors'?

He feels like he shouldn't believe a word they say. The voices constantly tell him that it's not his imagination running wild and that he needs to leave before it's too late.

He doesn't know who to trust anymore. On one hand, there they are, the people he calls his family. They are supposed to love him more than anything no matter what and, so far, they haven't hurt him in any way. Then there's the talking in his head that mysteriously turned up ever since that first seed of doubt planted itself in his heart. He felt it take root mere hours after regaining consciousness from a supposed accident that he still can't recall. He knows the disembodied voices aren't entirely misleading; he can see through most of the lies with ease. The voices tell him to get away from these people who want to hurt him. Some part of his brain not attacked by the barrage of warnings can tell there's some truth in those whispered words. There's somewhere he has to go.

There's something important he's left behind somewhere.

He can't recognize them anymore. They are not who he thought them to be, who they told him they were. All falsities are gone, their kindness replaced with an inhuman malice that he couldn't possibly have imagined even if he wanted to. He can see it now, more clearly than he ever wanted. He regrets his choice of ignorance.

Rushing out of the house, he takes in the neighborhood, with the brightly painted homes and vibrant flowers. Until now, he'd only seen a small section of the street from the living room windows; a quaint little suburban neighborhood. He now knows it is nothing more than a front for something much, much darker. He can even see it in the people. They look at him, some from porches and others walking along the sidewalks, but he does not see their happy smiles or friendly waves. All he sees are the sinister glares and hungry eyes that are no longer lurking in the background. It's all out in the open, unable to be pinned on his 'mental instability' that he is certain never existed.

He remembers now and he knows it has nothing to do with what his 'parents' told him, what they told all the others before him.

He dreads the possibilities if he'd just blindly accepted their lies.

He turns and sees them too, his false parents, glaring at him in the same way the rest are. It is at that moment he fully grasps the severity of the situation and just how much of an idiot he has been. The voices beg him to run and he does, full sprint, dodging clawing hands and fists. He has no idea where he's going and glances behind himself to see them give chase with snarls and screams. He decides location is irrelevant.

Panting and drenched in sweat he stops, hunched over with his hands on his knees. He is behind a seemingly empty library and the voices are telling him to enter, but he doesn't. He's seen more than enough horror movies to know that you don't corner yourself in a building when there are things trying to kill you, not to mention that it was giving him a bad feeling. He isn't about to put all his faith in a bunch of disembodied voices that did little more than endlessly scream at him to run, no matter how good the advice had been. He feels safer out in the open where he's less likely to be trapped.

Having regained his breath, he stands and listens for any approaching footsteps. There is no sound at all, not even wind.

"Thank you," is all he says as he lets himself drop to the ground. His breathing is no longer labored but his legs ache too much to stand unnecessarily, and he could use a chance to get his bearings. He knows this isn't the place he came from; if one could transition that easily from woods to suburbs then deforestation was worse than he thought. None of the buildings ring any bells and he can't spot a single recognizable feature in the light of the setting sun.

He sighs and wonders how he'd ever forgotten in the first place. His real parents, his sister, his entire life. How had it all slipped out of his mind so easily? What made him believe the nonsense those people fed him? Things didn't feel right from the very beginning. An accident that couldn't be named, blaming the voices and his mistrust on some mental condition, amnesia... And it took him a month to realize the truth. He was supposed to be better than that. Of course the voices would know what they were talking about, they likely had first hand experience...

Something lightly brushes his shoulder and he gasps before leaping up, cursing himself for getting so distracted.

There's nothing there. There are no demon townsfolk ready to devour him and nothing from the library, just empty space. He lets out a shaky breath and continues to stare at the spot where he'd been sitting. The voices have all gone quiet and he feels as though he might miss something important if he turns away.

Just as he's about to give up and look for a new hiding spot the air shimmers, but only for a moment. In a rare twist, it's not something that frightens him. He can hear what seems to be a voice--outside of his head, for once--but can't quite make out what it's saying until he leans in close. The area distorts again, shaking and warping like rippling water, and then he hears it.

"...nt."

It sounds far away, so faint he can hardly hear it, but he knows who it is and that it's calling his name.

"Trent."

It's louder now and the air violently shifts as though the girl on the other side is trying to reach through and grab him. He smiles at the thought.

The silence erupts as footsteps rapidly approach from all around him and he hears horrid sounds, voices morphing into animalistic growls and shrieking. Knowing he's out of time, he reaches his arm into the rippling air in front of him and is mortified at the fact that it does nothing more than give his appendage the same distorted look. The creatures are closing in on him--all beady eyes, sharp teeth and claws--and he has no choice but to dive headfirst into the bubble, hoping and praying that something would happen and he'd be warped back home to his real family, where he wanted to be.

How ironic that it had been the exact opposite that led him here in the first place.

They surround him. Their twisted too-wide smiles and gleaming eyes are all he can see and he becomes frantic, thrashing around in the distorted pocket. Jumping in had been a terrible idea because now he can't escape, can't breathe and his world is quickly darkening. The creatures who called themselves his parents take the front of the crowd, watching his struggle with glee. He looks away from their eyes, their pupils like two glowing red marbles, and curses himself for being so foolish. He stops struggling against the force of the bubble. He'd much rather suffocate than die at the hands of these monsters.

Just as he resigns himself to such a fate, he feels the air stretch and shake and suddenly a human hand is reaching for him. Before the monsters can get their claws on him he is being pulled through what he assumes is space itself, as when he opens his eyes he is lying on his back in the middle of a small clearing surrounded by trees, with his sister--his real living, breathing twin sister--hunched worriedly over him, the sun's rays illuminating her dark hair.

Her eyes are scrunched shut and her hand is poised in the air; he hardly has the chance to blink before she slaps him across the face. He lets out a gasp and she jolts back onto her butt with a shriek.

"Kate?" he says, still in shock. He watches her stare at him incredulously before she has to wipe at her eyes.

"Trent, you idiot!" she shouts, ignoring his shocked expression and crawling back over to his side. "Are you okay?" She takes out her phone and turns on the flashlight so she can try to shine it into his eyes to check his pupils. She gives up when he pushes her away and instead begins pacing. "Mom and Dad were so worried. I was so worried. What's wrong with you? Why would you do this?"

He is still recovering from both the slap and the experience as he shakily gets to his feet and stares. "Huh?" is all he can manage.

Kate whirls and storms back over to him, making him flinch in preparation for another slap. She grabs him by the shoulders and gives him a light shake. "Trent, we thought something might have happened! Usually you at least text me when you do stupid crap like this."

He gasps. "That's right." He steps back when she appears to consider another assault. "I... I ran away."

"I know," she says softly. Her frustration dissipates and she is left standing there like the lost younger sister she is. Though well into her teens and only younger by mere minutes, even she has her limits on what she can handle alone. "It was really stupid you know..."

"That means I'm not crazy," Trent mutters to himself. He's never felt so relieved. A grin forms before he can stop it. "I'm not insane!" A few birds can be heard fluttering away in the trees.

She is both surprised at his sudden outburst and mildly annoyed that her sentiment was cut off so rudely. "Of course you aren't," she says, folding her arms. "I know you're special up there but it's nothing like that." She watches him survey the surrounding area, wide-eyed and ecstatic like a kid in a candy store, and considers rescinding her previous statement. Next thing she knows, he has her in a tight hug, and she can practically feel her ribs bending under the pressure.

"You were gone for five whole days," she wheezes. She awkwardly pats him on the back, asking to be released. When she can breathe again, she adds, "We've all been worried sick. You might be close to eighteen but Mom was practically hysterical. You should really be thanking me that I convinced her not to file a report for you just yet. I told her you were probably just hiding out at a hotel somewhere, and that you'd turn up eventually. You took enough clothes and stuff with you, after all. That only worked for the first few days. She called off work this morning and is probably still harassing people with pictures of you, asking if they'd seen you at all.

"I got worried when you didn't at least shoot me a quick text saying you were okay so I started my own search. I knew you wouldn't go stay at a hotel or somewhere obvious like that after the fight we all had, and there really aren't many places you'd go to if you ran away from home." She takes a breath and stares at him, gray eyes full of concern. "What were you even thinking? You're lucky nothing ate you. When I saw your body just lying spread eagle in the dirt I freaking lost it and scared half the wildlife away. I thought you were dead." Her voice cracks and she sniffles back a few rebellious tears.

Trent absently wraps his arms around her again, gentler this time, and ponders how any of this could even be possible. Five days? He'd been trapped in that nightmare for a month. Not to mention, his body couldn't possibly have been here if it had been...

"Hey. Are you alright?" Kate pulls away and looks him dead in the eyes, mirror images of her own. She watches them come back into focus and she can see her worry reflected back. "Did something happen? How'd you pass out? You didn't hit your head, did you?"

He doesn't remember that. Everything else came rushing back the moment he realized the truth about what was happening, everything except how he'd gotten there in the first place. The supposed 'accident' was still a mystery. "I... I don't know. I don't think anything hurt me..."

"You don't remember? You sure you didn't hit your head or something?" She checked his vitals when she first found him. His breathing, pulse and temperature all seemed normal, or as normal as she had an understanding of. He was still alive and that had been all that really mattered. There's still no blood to be found and aside from his odd confusion, he seems okay mentally. She can't hep but wonder if she missed something.

Trent flinches and tries to get away as her hands feel around his scalp. "Stop it," he says, backing up a few steps. "I'm fine. I didn't hit my head." At least, not in the real world, he thinks.

"Are you sure you're okay? Nothing hurts?"

"Aside from the slightly stinging bitch-slap, no. I'm not in any pain."

Kate lets out a cough to mask a laugh before meeting his gaze again. "Sorry. I couldn't wake you." Her light smile fades when she sees the look on his face.

"How did you find me?" He can't wrap his head around any of this. He was teleported, wasn't he? Like in the stories. He'd somehow ended up in another plane of existence. Or had he left his body behind somehow? Is that what happened? People's souls were ripped out of their bodies, brought into that horrid place, and what was left in the mortal plane eventually got devoured by the animals?

"A hunch," she says, shrugging. "I'd already tried all your usual spots and none of your friends even knew you'd ran off. I just... had this feeling..."

"But how did you find me here?" They were standing in the middle of the woods, probably some sixteen miles or so away from home. Unless he'd been tagged with a GPS tracker at birth, there was no way anyone could have found him so quickly.

"I don't really know myself," she says, looking around. "It just... seemed like the right place to come. I remembered a few days ago before everything boiled over and the fight happened that you and some friends were going on about Paradise Rock." She nods at the unusually shaped rock standing tall at the center of the clearing, right behind her brother.

Trent suddenly feels a chill when he turns and catches sight of the thing, its odd proportions and strange markings--scrapes, lines and gouges that couldn't have come from nature--setting off some primal feeling of fear. His sister's hand is grasping his wrist before he can get too absorbed in the chunk of stone that he swears is whispering to him.

"We should head back," she says, bringing a hand to his forehead. "I think you might be dehydrated or something." The distant glaze leaves his eyes after a few moments.

"Wait." He pulls his arm free and shakes his head to clear it. "Something did happen, okay? I got... pulled into wherever it is those people in the stories went. Except... It's not like the stories at all. I couldn't remember anything. There were these people, they said they were my parents. They kept telling me I had this bad accident and that everything would be okay. I almost believed them."

Kate is staring at him like he'd just lost his mind and suggested they go live in a swamp and groom alligators for a living. He can't stop though, he has to tell someone. "I started hearing these voices and seeing things and having these weird visions. They--my fake parents--told me I was still recovering from my accident. Then they said I was mentally ill. I still couldn't remember, so I just went with it. But the voices wouldn't stop. They kept telling me to leave and that they were lying. I didn't know what to do but I know I didn't trust those people completely. I had this nagging feeling that if I let it go then something horrible would happen.

"Then I just sort of snapped out of it. I finally saw them all for what they were. Demons, or something close to it. I don't know. I just knew I had to get out of there before they could turn me into a disembodied voice like the others. So I ran as fast as I could until I lost them by this library."

"Library?" Kate's brows are furrowed and she's hopelessly lost. Her brother doesn't try to elaborate, just continues on with his insane story.

"The voices were telling me to go inside, but I didn't. It gave me the creeps, y'know? So I waited and tried to figure out what to do, then you showed up. Sort of. I heard you calling me." He finishes with a crooked grin.

"I... You were still breathing okay and everything, so I started shouting at you to wake you up. If you hadn't started twitching I would've had to find reception to call an ambulance. I thought giving you a good jolt would get you to come to." Her eyes are narrowed, though not with anger. She's squinting at him as though he were some sort of puzzle and it was taking all her brainpower to figure him out.

Trent deflates. "You don't believe me." If his own twin wasn't convinced, what chance did he have against his parents? His mother would likely be too relieved that he was home safe to be angry, but his dad...

"It's not that I don't believe you," she says as his shoulders sag. "It's just... You know how Mom and Dad are. They don't believe in all that supernatural stuff. I'm not saying that this couldn't have happened. It can and does, to absolutely anybody, but they aren't gonna accept some out-there story like that. Do you have any idea how mentally unstable you just sounded?"

Trent chews his lip. Even if she backs him up, he still has no chance of proving it happened. He knows Kate believes him, he can see that in the way she's staring at the rock with a bothered expression. His parents, however, are not going to accept a story like that; if anything, they'd grill him for trying to frighten his sister with ghost stories on top of everything else. "Let's get out of here," he finally says, pulling her attention away from the stone.

The two of them slowly make their way through the clearing, up the gentle slope, and into the trees. As Trent tells her where he left his bike and bags he catches her glancing warily at the rock one final time before it disappears into the surrounding bark and foliage. Another chill creeps up his spine and he rubs his arms to stop the goosebumps forming as a single whisper grazes the back of his mind.

"Come back, Trent."

[spookysushi]

So recently I met up with a ler I've been speaking to for my first full-on tickle session (and loved it 🥰). And, spoilers...I'm ticklish 🤭😅 VERY ticklish, in fact. And since some of you are nasty meanie lers, I figured I'd make a little record detailing exactly where and how I'm ticklish 😁

So without further ado, here's a lil chart I filled out:

(I'm afraid I can't remember where I found this one, if you made it thank you and I hope it's ok if I use it)

General ticklishness: Very sensitive! Even the lightest tickling will genuinely make me giggle as well as build goosebumps/anticipation for bursts of intense tickle-torture. Switching between these two meant I just couldn't stop giggling even when I wasn't being tickled 😆 I suspect I'm not the only lee it works well on.

Individual spots:

Neck (6/10): More ticklish than I thought! I underestimated how flustering being tickled first one side, then the other would be 🤭 not a super ticklish spot, but definitely enough to coax some giggles out.

Underarms (9/10): Eeek! My underarms are hugely ticklish, especially in the middle-upper hollows but they're sensitive across all areas. Light tickling techniques such as slow strokes and soft one- or two-finger tickles will elicit lots of giggles while gentle but consistent 5-finger scribbling is best if you want me to lose it. Tickling under both arms at the same time is 5x as effective. A prime spot for wiggling your fingertips over 😳 Restraints may be a good idea if you're planning on tickling intensely.

Ribs (4/10): Less ticklish than I thought they'd be, but still enough to make me gently giggle. My ribs jut out a little, so just under the bottom pair is an evil spot 😆 Overall not a hugely ticklish area though, good if you want me to recover a little.

Sides (7/10): Very ticklish! Slightly firmer tickles work well on the soft flesh here, gentle squeezes (not too firm) will make me laugh a lot with very little way to defend against them, though slowly tracing fingertips up and down can effective too.

Belly (10/10): Insanely ticklish. Even slow tickles are enough to make me lose it here 🥰 A mix of light scribbling and tracing the abs is most effective, but most techniques will dissolve me into intense giggling. The areas just above and just below my navel are probably the most ticklish spots on my whole body, to the point that I can't handle it for long 😅 so please go easy hehe! A single finger teasing either of them is lethal 😵🤭

Belly button (4/10): Honestly, not very ticklish, especially compared to the surrounding area. It's a little sensitive, enough to make me giggle, but I can handle being tickled here. I have an outie, which probably makes the area less ticklish, but you're welcome to prove me wrong 😋

Hips (8/10): Ackk! Gentle squeezing with the fingertips pressed into the softer, more ticklish spots works best and is impossible to escape from. Much like sides they are very hard to defend 😅 so expect a lot of squirming and get a good grip. Lightly tracing the lower hips where it's bony is VERY tickly too 😅 not enough to be torturous, but will definitely give me goosebumps.

Tops of knees (7/10): WAAAAY more ticklish than I thought! Knees caught me so off guard 😆 light fingertip-brushing on the kneecaps was incredibly ticklish even through my jeans, as well as gentle squeezes on the lower thighs. I have a habit of kicking my feet a lot regardless of where I'm being tickled, so sit on/restrain my legs for maximum tickle-lethality.

Bottoms of knees (6/10): Pretty ticklish too! Very sensitive to the odd touch or poke, I squealed when my ler first tickled me there 😅 though continuous tickling isn't so bad. The perfect spot to deploy an occasional tickle to while focusing another area.

Feet (9/10): Hoo boy. I...have very ticklish feet 😆 my ler was kind enough to spend a good while down there, so I'm going to split them up into different areas, listed below. Overall a very ticklish spot however 😅 ideal for a variety of tools and techniques, and easily pinned down for better access (I'm very squirmy and tend to wiggle my legs/feet when being tickled, so it's probably a good idea if you don't want a flailing kick to the face)

Heels (7/10): Not the worst, but way more ticklish that I thought 😅 the backs of my heels are very sensitive to lighter finger-tracing. The bottoms are less so, but thicker skin there means slightly firmer tickle-tools like a hairbrush are very effective. Also SO hard to wiggle away from being tickled there 😆

Arches (9/10): Extremely ticklish 🤭 A few fingers here or a feather-tip is enough to make me giggle within a few seconds of tickling. They're also very sensitive in general, and even some techniques that would be considered less-intense are a little painful for me here. Tickles are welcome and it's an easy spot to wreck me in - but not too firm please!

Balls (of my feet, you naughty ler) (8/10): Almost polar opposites to my arches, but still very ticklish 😅 softer touches do nothing here, but thicker skin means somewhat rougher tickling will have me screaming with laughter. Consider firmer fingers or scrubbing with a hairbrush. A great spot to oil up before tickling.

Toes (8/10): Pretty ticklish, when I wasn't sure how sensitive they'd be! Funnily enough, between the toes isn't that bad for me, but under the bottoms is very tickly indeed 🤭 peeling toes back for ultra-gentle finger strokes or introducing them to a feather-tip works best here.

I was going to include how much each tool we tried tickled me in this post, but it's quite long already so I may do that another time, I don't know yet. If you made it this far in the post stay well away from me please 😅 you now possess the forbidden knowledge...

[homosexual-fanfiction]

Hi Camp! :D

I just wanted to say thank you so much for posting The Negligible Self, I loved it so much! The ANGST and tension literally had me squeeing out loud, I was hooked. Omigosh I'm such a fan of these dorks. I was like, GET TOGETHER ALREADY DAMMIT.

Also, the way you write is so wonderful! The chapters went by so fast and I ended up staying up waaaay later than I should on a work night (the curse of "oh, one more chapter" attacked me). The entire story felt like so much love and care was put into it and was so so so well thought out.

AND REIGANS INTERNAL MONOLOGUING WAS SO WELL WRITTEN. I find Reigan to be a kinda hard character to write tbh but the way you wrote his thought process out and him refusing to come to terms with his feelings and even consider his emotions are requited with Serizawa is so accurate and so obnoxious to read (in a good way).

ALSO ALMI AAAAAA I REALLY LIKED HER WHHHHY!!! My heart! I adored her character and the complexities you added with her relationship with the guys. Her part of the story was so sad and I really became attached and started wondering how she was doing and if she was okay and aaaaa. I became attached to the sweet older lady character.

Literally some parts made me chuckle out loud too like with Dimple being well, himself.

Also, your notes on the chapters were really fun and made me smile too. I love the voice you use when writing your thoughts. (Literally laughed at Reigan pushing you down the stairs, your dorky laugh noises, stepping over Reigans body, etc.) It really helped lighten the mood. I actually looked forward to your notes alot too! I'll miss those.

The ending is so wonderful and I loved your story so much the the life you breathed into all the characters and their relationships.

I'm looking forward to reading more of your works, sorry I gushed so much and thanks for reading my word vomit ashdgbdhcj! Great job, I loved it so much and thank you again so much for writing and posting it! Please never stop writing! (well, unless you want to obvs but yeah you know what I mean.)

-☆Rosie

BAUUH! hello! thank YOU for reading & going out of your way to come leave me a message :) i'm so glad you enjoyed it, it was a blast to write!! i'm already missing it haha [facing very deliberately away from the epilogue wip]

i hope you got enough sleep in the end lol, and yeah i tried very hard to make reigen rationalize everything he was doing in his own infuriatingly reigen way. i've said this before so apologies if you've already heard it, but it's funny how such a huge plot point was reigen REFUSING to come clean about shit when i generally hate to read a fic that relies on miscommunication or just a lack of communication.

but like reigen is obnoxious and he really wouldn't believe serizawa liked him back even if it slapped him in the face (or held him and cared about him and put a flower behind his ear and tucked him into bed and brought him food and came back to his apartment again and again and again to make sure he was okay (reigen voice if they found out who i really was they'd reject me in an instant)) so i tried my best to play off of that in the most reigen way i could lol. very glad that didn't seem to annoy people out of reading

god aimi AHH aimi... i'm so glad you like her! my poor little lesbian lady, she was only doing what she could. wanted to have her cake and eat it too, but unfortunately... yeah

and aw i'm glad you liked my goofing in the notes too, most of that really was just the first thing that came to my mind lol. the stepping over reigens body one was planned a few days in advance tho, i could not pass up that opportunity. and dimple was so fun to write he does NOT miss a chance to take a shot and we love that about him. dimple our favorite little hater

thank you so much again, it really was a ride to get that all done start to finish and i'm very happy that people out there enjoyed/are enjoying the story :) and you don't need to apologize at all haha. i'll write for as long as i have the inspiration to <3

[a-tale-of-legends]

Eva: Aaaaaand- there! Okay, just wait here while I get your readings, okay?

Leon: Hm.

Eva: I do suggest going back to the doctor after this. I'm not a medical professional, just making sure your signatures are alright.

Leon: ( grimaces) Ugh. I think I've had enough doctors in my lifetime.

Eva: ( snorts, back turned to him, writing some things down) Yeah, I get that. But for you're health I strongly advise it.

Leon: Can't....uh. Don't you have people that can heal?

Eva: Healing can only do so much. Your not getting out of this one Leon~

Leon: Uuuuuugh.

Leon: ....

Leon: So...

Eva: Mm-hmmmm?

Leon: Kyurem.... it's....

Eva: Not dead, more of a husk, but not dead. You're a peculiar case, if Jude's rants weren't clear by now.

Leon: Y-yeah. ( He bites his lower lip) Elliot said that you and Kyurem had a....rough start?

Eva: .....

Leon: I-I'm sorry if that's too personal-

Eva: Hm? Oh no you're fine, just making sure this thing is working properly ( a few clicks on her keyboard) Yeah, me and Kyurem didn't exactly have the best start. I didn't want it to Choose me, and it didn't exactly like me either but ( shrugs) It needed protection,and having a Chosen was its best option.

Leon: O-oh...that sounds terrible, I'm sorry....can I ask why you didn't want Kyurem to Choose you?

Eva: ( gives a short laugh) Why would I want to be Chosen by the being instructed to kill me?

Leon: ( eyes widen) Oh! Oh, fuck, I didn't- I should have put the dots together, I'm sorry-

Eva: D'aaaaw, you're fine, Leon. It's been a long time since then. Me and Kyurem did a lot of healing together. Still not fond of the cold, but not in the way I was back then. Plus ( gestures to her tech) the cold energy I have now means I have a free cooler for my tech! Which is always a win in my books!

Leon: I see....

Eva: But yeah, we're good now. Dare I say, Kyurem is actually nice. Still grumpy though. And kind of a bitch. But nice.

Leon: Hm...

Eva: Yep! .......Any reason you asked?

Leon: Oh, uh-

Eva: Is it about Eternatus?

Leon: ........( Sighs) It's fond of me. Protective, from what Naomi and Hop told me. And....and I know I've always felt some connection to it,even before I truly knew what it was going to do. But....

Eva: You could have died.

Leon: ( grazes a hand over his scars) Yeah.

Eva: ( hums) Yeah. Never easy bonding with a legendary that tried to kill you- even if it wasn't intended.

Leon: .....

Eva: Well. If you want my advice, try talking to it. Earnestly. If it's fond of you, then you'll have a waaaay better time that I did with Kyurem, heh.

Leon: .....and for healing? How do I heal? I....I don't know what to do.

Eva: ( shrugs) Healing isn't a linear path, Leon. No one knows what to do. Just...... don't be too hard on yourself, okay?

Leon: ( he laughs, bitter) That sounds impossible.

Eva: It does, doesn't it? But it's not. It'll just take time ( she walks over, and gently rests a hand on Leon's shoulders) Tienes a este León. Solo se necesita tiempo.

Leon: Yo.... Lo tendré en cuenta. Gracias.

Eva: ( giggles) No problemo! ( Heard a beep) Oh! The signatures are done~ Give me a minute~

Leon: ( chuckles) I'll be here.

~~~~

Quick translations.

Eva: You got this Leon. It just takes time.

Leon: I....I'll keep that in mind. Thank you.

[bewitchingbaker]

💨

"Nate?" The baker coughs, one hand holding the almost finished joint in his hand. His mind wanders to various memories with the youngest Jacob child. The first time he wandered intot he bakery, the time he revealed his father's secrets, and when he finally brought him on as an apprentice of sorts.

"The lad's a hard shell to crack, " he laughs. "Man I would throw my best material at this dude and not even a smirk. Like damn bro I know shits hard but have a laugh!"

Another took.

"But he's lightening up," he smiles. "But...I'm scared he might go back to that dark shit he was on. I don't know. I'm waaaay too high for this."

[ @predatorymaniac ]