#I'm on season 3 right now and the writing just keeps bouncing all over in terms of quality

[asleepinawell]

as a day one gw2 player who played for about two months at launch and then put it down, it was wild to log in twelve years later and walk into lion's arch. i was like. what city is this? where is the cool wood arch thing? where. is. the. fucking. LION?????

[bumblebee-enjoyer]

The season one ending for Robots in Disguise 2015 was WEAK AS HELL

Through the entire season from episode 3 onwards, Steeljaw was being set up to be to main villain. A cunning, manipulative villain that you could kinda sympathize with if he's being genuine about wanting to live on Earth in peace (but its difficult to tell if he is being genuine or if he's simply being manipulative to get what he wants)

He was getting more and more members in his pack, he was becoming outright dangerous.

Only for all of that to get COMPLETELY UNDERMINED WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF MEGATRONUS.

Which happened in the last few minutes of episode TWENTY ONE OUT OF TWENTY SIX

It came out of complete nowhere and had practically no build up.

Yes Optimus was training in the realm of the Primes to eventually fight Megatronus, but that wasnt *mentioned* it was only said that a "great evil" was coming to Earth.

Which realistically could be *anything.*

Maybe Megatron abandoned his exile at the end of predacons rising and is getting a second wind (or maybe he was reborn into Galvatron which is a thing that could happen)

Maybe its Starscream rebuilding the decepticons

Maybe its fucking UNICRON again because that fucker is harder to get rid of than a roach

This is especially bad because if this is someone's first time watching anything transformers related they wont even know who Megatronus IS so it will feel like it came even MORE out of nowhere for those new to the transformers franchise.

And the actual fight against Megatronus itself was so weak, why was it that easy to take down one of the ORIGINAL THIRTEEN PRIMES? It should've been a long brutal fight, literally only SURVIVING let alone winning by the skin of their teeth.

But it was so easy, Megatronus was literally taken down and everyone had either none or minimal injuries by the end.

Just add some fancy weapons and blow him up? (Those decepticon hunters are so fucking overpowered. Also thats a stupid name they really couldnt think of anything more creative?)

I cant even tell you how infuriating it was to hear Bumblebee talk about beating Megatronus so easily in the first episode of season 4

If the characters dont take a villain seriously why should the audience?

The twist of Megatronus being the season 1 big bad was a dumb twist. It came out of nowhere and had no time to properly build suspense and it completely took away Steeljaw's spot as the season one villain just so they could have a plot twist.

Im not even opposed to having Megatronus be a villain but he would be better off as a SERIES FINALE villain. The big final boss thats been haunting the narrative for so long, ending the series with a massive climatic battle that could even force Bumblebee and Steeljaw to team up and work together to protect their shared home.

That way there would be plenty of time to build suspense, add foreshadowing every now and then to keep the audience on the edge of their seats as Megatronus's return draws closer and closer. Its always a looming threat in the background even when dealing with other plot stuff.

The season one finale should've been all Steeljaw. In fact...let him win.

Let everything he's done come to a head leading to him triumphing over the Bee Team.

It would be an amazingly gutwrenching way to end the season.

The Bee Team, for the first time, loses.

Loses in such a way that they cant easily bounce back from.

They had such a long string of victories, everything was going right for them

Only for it all to come crashing down.

They arent invincible, their luck ran out, now they have to deal with the aftermath.

In fact I'm actually rewriting robots in disguise, making it more into a proper sequel to transformers prime and much darker. (Just writing it very very very slowly because adhd is a BITCH)

And in the revised season one finale, Steeljaw and his pack attack the scrapyard and completely drive the Bee Team out

It doesnt end like how it did in the show where the Bee Team manages to recapture the scrapyard at the end of a single episode. (Which sidenote, Steeljaw finding the scrapyard base shouldve been a MUCH bigger deal because thats where the Bee Team LIVES. That is the one place they have where they can relax, feel safe, take care of injuries and just straight up EXIST without having to hide. And now the most dangerous enemy they have knows where they LIVE)

Instead it ends with the Bee Team scattered to the wind, the scrapyard in FLAMES, and Fix It almost DYING because he stayed behind to hold the cons off for as long as he could to give the rest of the team a chance to escape.

Not only that but none of the team can contact each other because Steeljaw PURPOSEFULLY targeted their coms first and all communications in Crown City will be jammed.

Steeljaw planned everything down to the last detail, especially WHEN he decided to strike.

Because he made sure to strike when Bumblebee wasn't THERE. Bumblebee was picking Russel up from school when it happened.

And he couldn't even help because another part of Steeljaw's plan involved his new very strained alliance with the returning organization M.E.C.H who up till this point have been regrouping behind the scenes after Silas's betrayal.

Steeljaw told them to do whatever it took to take down Bumblebee, and if they wanted to capture him afterwards or dissect him, more power to them but to make sure that his com is taken out first and do NOT let him escape.

Which means that Bumblebee gets BADLY injured. Like near FATALLY injured with only a terrified Russel for help, they are too far away from the scrapyard, coms are down, Bumblebee is actively dying (Russel suddenly realizing that his big robot friends can DIE) they are both completely unaware of whats happening in the scrapyard this is truly the worst case scenario.

At least until Ratchet finds Bumblebee and Russel and takes them back with him to Nevada and calls the rest of Team Prime back to Earth to look for Bumblebee'a team.

Its a devastating loss, one that will have consequences for a long time but it sets Steeljaw up as the dangerous villain he is. (It also parallels the season 2 finale of transformers prime)

And its also the perfect set up for Team Prime's return in season 2 because now the Bee Team has been beaten so badly that they have no chance of taking on Steeljaw without help (and such a massive victory would draw the attention of Starscream and Shockwave, who have been in hiding and carefully rebuilding the decepticon faction so Starscream could take control now that Megatron isnt in the picture)

Idk I just needed to rant and yap about my rewrite

(also this is not me bashing robots in disguise 2015, I actually think its a pretty decent show once you get into it, but this has bothered me since I saw the season one finale last month and I needed to get it out)

[belethlegwen]

The Rescue - Chp 54 - That Dark Old Friend [+ Life Update]

Hey there everyone!

So sorry about the delay in updates since the Christmas season, there's a lot of shit to blame for it and I'll get into it in more detail, but in short this was a wildly busy Christmas season where I had 0 time to write between work and family stuff from like, November-end of December, and then a whole lot of house shit started happening and I've been unbelievably stressed since just before New Years.

Longer details and stuff below the cut for people who are interested, but in short the important details are:

Updates to works on AO3 may be at random times with long delays between for the coming year. Can't be sure, but for now that's how things are looking while I have way too much shit going on IRL.

Please enjoy this little chapter for now, and if you're up for a long winding journey about why it felt like all of my hair has been falling out for two weeks, meet me below <3

So the Christmas season at my job was wildly busy, on top of that there's some issues going on there between the business owner I rent space from and the person who owns the building. It's a mess, for a while it looked like/still kinda looks like we're going to have some major issues with the lot clearing what with winter being a major issue where I live in the Frozen Nor'Atlantic. That was all bad enough.

I had been told back in the fall by my landlord, who I've been renting from for 10 years now, that her mortgage was up for renewal in January and that it looked like it was going to go up a hot amount. Rates are super fucking high in Canada right now, shit's bad, the mortgage specialist at the bank I was talking to yesterday said that it's bad enough they legitimately expect the government to be stepping in soon to do something about it before it's a crisis (or more of a crisis because personally, it's already a fucking crisis and has been, but I digress). She warned me the rent was going to have to go up, I told her I expected it, I knew it was going to happen, she's been amazing to me for 10 years, if it's gotta go up it's gotta go up, I get it.

This past fall is when my partner Zip came to visit for 6 weeks and we got engaged, and when we started to plan to move them up here so we could start immigration and the like, which we were aiming to do for the beginning of this summer.

So as we're gearing up to New Year's and everything, I am expecting to deal with the start of immigration application readying, and expecting rent to increase. December 27th, I got a message from the landlord that uh, someone wants to buy the house (as an investment property and keep the renters) and despite her best efforts to try and bounce around and get a lower mortgage rate, it didn't work out and she's going to have to sell either way. So we suddenly had to get the house ready to be listed and viewed.

Viewings were fucking hell, by the way. While priority for accepting the offer was going to someone who wanted to take the property over and keep the renters in place, Real Estate agents just want the fucking sale, so being in my home while people are wandering around it scaring my cats and talking about how my bedroom was going to be the kid's room and my office was going to be turned into something else? Shit time, don't recommend. Not to mention the agents that were showing up half-hour not just away of their own scheduled appointment but a half hour outside of when viewings were actually permitted to happen.

I'm glad we have such high paying careers available for people who are, apparently, fucking illiterate, but I was getting extremely rude to agents and their desperation for a sale by the end of it. Someone tried to show up yesterday after a offer was accepted literally the night before and we sent them packing fine enough, but now anytime the rain hits the gutters too hard I think someone is walking into my home so that's fun.

We have signs all over the house about keeping doors closed to keep the cats inside, including one on the back door (where it isn't an enclosed porch) that says in extremely large lettering Access To Patio From Outside ONLY, and there were still at least two agents that opened the back door, so. Nightmares all around.

An offering has been accepted, the person who is hopefully going to buy wants to keep us as tenants, and I'm locked in a lease until later this year anyway. Things are at least, as of yesterday when I got the confirmation that an offer was in that stage, stable now that I didn't throw up this morning. Hooray! It's been hell. I can not stress enough that this has been hell.

It still leaves the later part of the year up in the air a lot, because new landlord may still want us out at the end of the lease of whathaveyou, and between now and then I am flying down to America to drive across that wild country with a car full of stuff to move my fiancee here, then we gonna get immigration rolling and the employment switchover and everything else. My Dad has been a massive rock for me during this time in terms of trying to keep me level, and as he says: "this is all just one-step-at-a-time things. You're just keeping ducks in a row".

And as I keep saying: "Yeah but I've got a lot of fuckin' ducks, man."

So that's the kind of thing that's in the air right now for me. Lots and lots of stuff going on. I'm still picking away at writing but to make things easier on myself, I'm going to not stress about any kind of schedule or the like right now and just play with whatever flows come when I have them and have the time/ability to focus on them in the few quiet moments I have between all of the other stuff.

Much love to all of you, thank you all again as always for the wonderful comments you've all left, the kudos, the people who reached out, all of it. You're wonderful <3

Take care of yourselves out there,

~ Belle

[mikodrawnnarratives]

Something that's frequently on my mind as I do the anti stalker rewrite/making them my own characters is how I'm gonna be respectful Abt it. Like, first of all I bounce back and forth on whether it's too niche or not. The fandom on Tumblr is abysmally small but on Webtoon it's both an original and has like 90k plus reading last I checked, I can't remember if it was thousands or mil- 90 m sounds ridiculous scratch that

Second, this ultimately is a rewrite before making them my own, really the only reason I'm redesigning them and changing their names is so I can use them for portfolio and other stuff, just heavy inspo from the webtoon

Also the same face syndrome was really bad they reused hairstyles and faces a lot I got mixed up between characters

AND it's a rewrite out of love. If I ever make a video all about this Webtoon and my rewrite, that's something I want to make especially clear. I read the thang when I was in middle school and ALL of season 1 just had me SO HOOKED I was making headcanons left and right and predicting and theorizing what was gonna happen next MADLY.

And then s1's finale happened which was.. ight? It has problems but it was really when I started going "wait a min..." Season 2 was ehhh for a time and then I REALLY fell off like WHAT. WHAT DO YOU MEAANN I THOUGHT. I THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA HAVE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

(i think what happened was webtoon cut them short and they had to pick and choose what to focus on for s2, meaning a lot of things got unresolved + left behind, or resolved poorly. It took a turn to focus on romance that just hadn't been earned yet. Kira deserved more time to process things, August SHOULD have said sorry. For A TON OF SHIT. In general the jokes from s1 went from, we're poking fun at this but you get the vibe if stuff happens then it'll take time. To, jokes still happen, but they feel more sexist and at the expense of Kira's writing. August's possessiveness doesn't get examined, when that should have been a strictly Pretending to be her stalker thing and Kira doesn't feel the same. She's now a character for the boys to fight over, and while that existed in s1 it wasn't as heavy handed, there was more to focus on and Kira had... Some agency... There's something weird going on when the webtoon starts with Kira with her friends at school, a community she's grown, to an ending only showing her as a mom with August (who's significantly more masculine now for some reason) with their two kids which I CANT SEE KIRA WANTING??? SHE HAS MEDICAL PROBLEMS WITH BEING A ROYAL VAMPIRE AND WEREWOLF'S DAUGHTER IN CANON I can't see her wanting that for her children when it'll be 2x worse for them since BOTH Kira and August have the royal blood in them)

Tangent over.

All that being said, I still love so much of it and my rewrite is a product of "GOD YOUR WORK HAD ME GOING UP AND DOWN THE WALLS I COULDN'T CONCENTRATE DURING SCHOOL I WAS SO EXCITED" and the insanity still drives me to this day and idk dude if I were to make something I worry Abt the author coming across it and feeling hurt yknow, esp since they haven't been online for like 3 years and no one knows if they are ok.... They don't know the insanity their creation has cast upon me. It's largely a positive thing I just want that to be clear yknow

When I create stuff for it, aside from art + ramblings it's probably gonna be on AO3 for fanfic and still, on here for comic. Cuz a lot of my ideas just cannot be recreated in any other format but comic

I still keep coming back to it man. I keep thinking of new ideas for how plotlines could have been handled and it makes me so giddy.

[ranthebow]

Prompts from the writing-themed ask game! For you! In numbers, because I'm on my computer and don't want to try fucking with emojis. 5, 7, 11, 12 <3

Oh no, the time has actually come to respond haha ! I hope my answers are satisfactory! Here goes nothing:

5. ⚠️Which wip your most likely to finish or update next?

(Emily knows I have been bouncing around five - a whole five???! Oh boy haha - WIPs...she also knows i have sit down and commit to one at this point lol)

My Nutcracker retelling is the most likely bet to be finished first, it's the season for it and I've had some good conversation around writing with basically no plan recently, so it feels like the easiest to work on with no outline made by me because there kind of is an outline inherently from the story I'm referencing. I hope that made sense. Basically, it feels like the easiest thing for me to work on right now!

7. 🖍 Post Any sentence from your wip

I have no good sentences from the Nutcracker retelling mentioned above, so I'll post a sentence from my biggest WIP right now:

It sets my garden alight, the plant growth wild through my skin, flowers blooming in my lungs and eyes and it’s all I can do to desperately cut through all the flowers, try to pull the roots out, hide the flurry of petals, hoping and praying that he never notices, but convinced it is only time.

11. 🛠 Is there a scene or anything in the WIP you are struggling with right now?

My struggle right now is less about a specific scene and more about the inspiration for my writing. I'm used to being seized by inspiration, obsessing over a character and dreaming scene after scene of their story that can then be translated into writing. I haven't done that in awhile. I can't. But I do have story ideas, at least, in general. And I have such an urge to write right now. If I want to wait until inspiration hits me once again, I won't write for a good amount of time. if I want to write now, I have to change what I'm used to doing. hence the no outline, sit down with my writing utensil and have at it approach I'm inching closer and closer to trying. It's scary to not have a plan, and I don't even know what to write if I haven't dreamed the scene a hundred times. But it's going to have to happen. I'll keep y'all updated how it goes!

12. ❤️ Not a question, just a second kudos to send.

<3

Thanks for sending this my way! :) Now I really want to be writing!!

WIP Ask Game

[sammy-is-not-smiley]

Let It Hurt (Pt 2)

Steve Harrington x fem!reader (afab)

Summary: Steve has been your best friend for years despite his douchery in early high school. You would tell him anything... well, anything except for the fact that you've been feeling his physical pain since elementary school. The way he finds out is less than ideal. But he's been keeping secrets of his own...

Word Count: 5.2k (I went nuts lol)

Warnings/Tags: Soulmate au (kinda), language, no use of (y/n), depictions of severe pain, depictions of torture, injuries mentioned, crying, kind of a breakdown, angst, a period is mentioned so reader is afab, set in season 3, soulmates to lovers, friends to lovers, hurt/comfort (yes there's eventually comfort this time, I promise)

A/N: GOOD GOD Y'ALL I did not expect the last one to absolutely blow up. I've gained like an extra 100 followers from all this so thank you so much. I wouldn't have written something so loved if I hadn't gotten a request. If you have an idea you wanna entrust me to write, don't hesitate to jump in my asks! I love hearing from people. (p.s. angst is my favorite to write) Now here's your part 2!

Part 1: Right Here!

You awoke to echoes of screaming. You didn't want to open your eyes, the light in the room behind your eyelids was already making your head throb with a vengeance.

"Help!! Someone, help!" Robin's desperate voice rang out, the sound bouncing off the walls and judding into your skull. It was then you realized you were sat up, straps compressing your legs, arms, and chest. You were bound even more than before.

"Hey, would you stop yellin'?" You heard Steve's voice grumble behind you.

It took you a moment to register it was him, but when you did, a small light of hope lit up in your chest. You lifted your head up slightly, trying to take in a breath. The pain in your head stemmed down your neck now. In fact, it encapsulated your entire skull.

"Steve! Oh my god," Robin exclaimed, still a bit too loud for your taste.

"Steve?" You croaked out.

"Oh my god! Oh my god, you're both awake," She chuckled slightly, simply out of disbelief. "Both awake. Um, are- are you okay?"

You shook your head no as if she could see from where she sat behind you.

Steve took in a breath. "My ears are ringing, I can't really breathe, and my eye feels like it's about to pop out of my skull…"

"That checks out," You muttered, not intending for anyone to hear. Nobody seemed to.

"But you know, apart from that… I'm doing pretty good." He finished, his nose sounding stuffy. They really liked hitting his nose.

Robin let out a breath. "Alright, well, the good news is they're calling a doctor for you both."

There was a moment of silence before Steve registered her words. "Both?" You felt him turn slightly in your direction. "They hurt you?"

"No," You quickly replied.

"Wait, I thought-"

"Robin, shush," You snapped too loud, making your head throb again.

It was silent once more as Robin connected the dots. Steve didn't know, and you didn't want him to know. "Right, no, I meant… I meant just for you Steve."

"They didn't hurt me," You tried to reinforce. "Robin's just… tired."

"Oh." He uttered, clearly confused.

"Hey, guys," Robin changed the subject. "I have an idea. Steve, you see that table to your right?"

You felt Steve turn his head to your side.

"No, your other right."

"Oh," Steve looked the other way. Apparently the table was behind where you sat.

"You see those scissors?"

"Uh-huh."

"I think if we moved at the same time, we could move over there, I could maybe kick the table, and knock them into my lap."

You snorted, turning your head in her direction. "They left scissors in here with us?"

"What morons," Steve laughed. He was definitely letting on that he was doing better than he felt.

At the count of three, you all scooched in unison, Steve and Robin to their side, you backwards. Just as you finally were seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, only a mere few feet from the table, you all over shot your momentum. All together as a unit, the chairs slid out from under you and you all fell to the floor with a hefty clank of the chairs.

At first you groaned, but then a grin slowly spread across your face. "Shit," You giggled with no choice but to look up at the ceiling as you laid on your back. This was all insane. Absolutely insane.

Robin was obviously feeling the same as she began giggling as well. She shook under you, small squeaks bubbling from her.

"You- You guys okay?" Steve asked, clearly not gathering what could be so funny to you both.

"This is fucking ridiculous," You half suppressed a laugh.

You felt Robin nodding. "I can't believe I'm gonna die in a secret Russian base in a sailor costume." You could hear the smile on her face, jovial despite the situation. The comment only made you laugh harder.

Just as your giggles died down, the door burst open once again and men flooded the room. Your giddy moods were cut short, instantly replaced with terror. Over you now stood a man in uniform, obviously some sort of high ranking official, probably the man in charge. He towered over you, shaking his head and tutting.

"You wake up too, eh? Good," He smirked, looking over the predicament you three had gotten yourselves into. "Where did you think you were going?"

He gestured with his hand, motioning the men in the room to lift you all back upright in your chairs.

"P-please-" You nearly whimpered when sat back up, nothing on your mind but to simply beg. What for, you weren't sure yet, but you were scared and desperate.

"Let us try again," The man said, ignoring your plea. Slowly, he circled around you all, like a predator observing prey, before making it back around to Steve.

Your eyes followed the man as he brought his hand up and thumbed Steve's busted lip. Not only did it elicit a wince from Steve, but you as well.

Your stomach dropped as soon as it happened, making you quickly turn your head away from the man hoping he didn't notice. However, the tingling on your neck told you he had, and he was staring right at you.

"Don't touch him," You breathed. It came out a lot less menacing than you intended.

The man hummed, standing up straight again and murmured something in Russian to one of the men. You watched as the guard walked over to Steve, grabbing him by the hair and raising a fist.

"Wait, stop!" You jolted, fighting against your restraints.

Steve struggled as well, gritting his teeth. "No, no, no, no-"

"Shush!" The general yelled, driving a spike of pain into your skull. He leaned down in front of you, eyes squinted, analyzing you for a moment. Then a question. "Who do you work for?"

"Scoops Ahoy," You responded like it was obvious.

Without hesitation, the guard over Steve delivered a swift blow to the eye socket. You yelped in pain as Steve groaned, now being held up by his hair. You on the other hand were allowed to drop your head, once again tasked with withstanding the pain.

Your breath stuttered in your throat. "Please, s-stop, it… It hurts…"

The general tilted his head, then grasped your chin roughly, tilting your head up and tilting from side to side as he examined you. There were no notable injuries on your person. Other than squinting the same eye as Steve's bruised one, not a scratch was on you. You wanted to kick yourself when you realized he took notice of it, glancing between you and Steve.

His brow was together in thought as he once again gave a command you didn't understand.

Another punch to Steve's jaw made you flinch in the general's hand, pitifully letting out a sob.

Another command, another punch, right into Steve's aching ribs.

If not for the straps holding you upright, you would have once again doubled over. Instead you only moved slightly against the mans hand, your abdomen visibly tensing.

"Stop! Stop it, you bastards!" Robin screamed, however to no avail as she was promptly ignored.

The general let you go as you silently suffered again, standing upright and smiling down at you. "Very interesting…"

The men scattered around the room as soon as another command was uttered from the man's mouth. Hands surrounded you all as the men tugged and removed the straps holding you as a unit only to strap you down again, individually in each of your chairs this time. They pushed Robin into the corner of the room, then grabbed Steve and slid him in front of you to face you. Only then did you see the extent of his wounds. Dried blood smeared on his face from an obvious nose bleed, uniform stained red, his eye a deep shade of purple and nearly swollen shut. Anger bubbled over inside you at the sight, making you finally find your voice.

"Don't touch him, he's had enough!"

The general simply smiled at you as he pulled a red handkerchief from his pocket, then circled around behind you.

The last thing you saw was Steve, worry written all over his face. Then you were shrouded in darkness as the handkerchief was pulled over your eyes, secured at the back of your head.

"What are you doing?" Steve panted as he watched. "Don't you dare hurt her, I swear, if you do anything to her-"

"Oh, not to worry," The man behind you interrupted dismissively. You could hear his footsteps walking around you back to Steve. Your teeth began to chatter as your adrenaline was surely hitting its peak now.

What did they not want you to see?

"We will not hurt her. Only you will."

"What-"

"Just sit. Watch your friend carefully, hm?"

It was silent for a moment before there were footsteps again, then Steve burst to life. "What is that? Wait, no, stop, get that away- Agh!"

Pain instantly webbed over two of your fingers as if they were slowly being crushed by a tool. You fought your restraints and flexed the hand in question, small whimpers emitting from you helplessly.

The pain gradually got worse as Steve yelled and begged, as did you. Then it steadied to a single ongoing pain. "Stop-" A cry slipped from you.

"Where is the pain, little one?" The man called over to you.

You shook your head, mostly in confusion, but the man interpreted it as resistance.

The pain fluctuated, making you lurch. "Agh- Th-the hand! His fingers, the first two fingers," You sobbed in defeat. "Stop, stop, please stop, make it stop…"

The pain was relieved then, if only enough to assure you they weren't going to break Steve's fingers. The ache of a bruise would remain and you flexed your hand again as if it would help. You still let out a sigh of relief.

Light stung your eyes when the blindfold was pulled off, now soaked with tears. When your eyes adjusted, you looked up to meet the half swollen gaze of Steve. Realization, hurt, sympathy, horror, all of it was draped over his face like a thick veil as he stared back at you. You looked down and saw the red impressions on his fingers from whatever had been clamped down on them. Next to him stood a man in white, a metal tool held in his hand.

The general stood there, holding Steve's head up by the hair to watch you. The man's grin was borderline psychotic. "Congratulations, you were correct."

You closed your eyes and lowered your head, teeth still chattering. The jolly expression on the official's face told you he planned on using this new information completely against you. Especially the longer you overstayed your welcome.

The man in power looked over to the man in the white overcoat, the man you assumed was supposed to be the doctor Robin mentioned. Another command in Russian, and the doctor walked to the table behind you. You couldn't bring yourself to look up at anyone, especially Steve.

"Now, try telling the truth this time, yes?" The general asserted as he wandered his eyes over each one of you. They pulled Robin up next to you both again. "It will make your visit with Doctor Zharkov less painful."

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Your body swayed slightly before you let yourself lean back onto the side of the ambulance, watching the smoke rise. The mighty Starcourt was completely destroyed. Destroyed by a-… Well, you had yet to fully comprehend what it was and the events that had even transpired. All you were able to understand clearly was that you were alive, along with a couple adults, a group of middle schoolers, and your co-workers…. Could you technically call them co-workers now? Maybe just leaving it to friends was safer to say.

Your stomach was still a little queasy from whatever drug that doctor had injected you with, and your muscles ached from overexertion. Your eyes were so heavy they felt swollen, yet you knew if you laid down, sleep wouldn't come to you easily. Watching the last remaining flames and the smoke ahead of you was mesmerizing. Like you were sleeping with your eyes open.

The moment was broken as your face twitched a little in pain. Steve must have accidentally scratched his stitches again.

You hadn't looked at him since you all threw up in the bathrooms together. In fact, once you were sober, you had walked out claiming to need another drink of water from the fountain. After that, events happened so quickly you could hardly keep up. You were grateful at the time to have had something to distract you both with. Even now you were trying to distract yourself.

Bringing your hand up to your face you rubbed your forehead, a headache still refusing to leave you and Steve be. You'd come to accept that the pain probably wouldn't subside for a while.

Robin rounded the ambulance, wrapped in a security blanket. Her eyes were still red and it was clear she needed sleep as badly as you. Yet there you both were, still up and running.

"Hey… They look over you already?" Her voice was more gravely than usual, most likely from all the yelling she had done while you all were held hostage.

You nodded, still gazing at the wrecked mall. "Other than a couple bruises, I'm fine."

"Mm-hm," She hummed, clearly unconvinced.

"What?"

She rested her shoulder on the ambulance, leaning in closer. "Look… I don't fully understand a lot of what's happened, but I do think you need to talk to Steve. At least before we go home."

You sighed begrudgingly. You knew that was probably what you should do, yet all you wanted to do was hide from him. "What would I even say, Rob?" You mumbled.

She snorted then, causing you to look at her. "Dude, all you'd probably have to say to him is 'hi' before he'd do all the talking. He always has shit to talk about."

It was your turn to snort. "Yeah, sure…" You sniffled then, guilt blossoming in your chest. "It's… It's because of me they hurt him more…"

"Yeah… I-I mean no!" She caught herself, making you smile. "That all was just…. It was…. A lot. What was all that? With the Russians I mean, and the blindfold?"

By this point, and with everything you had gone through together, you thought Robin could handle what you've kept to yourself for so long. After all, your empathy with Steve was by far the tamest secret of the night.

You let your head rest back on the ambulance and closed your eyes. "I've been able to feel his pain ever since I was a kid," You let out in a breath.

When it was silent for longer than you liked, you looked to her worriedly. She was simply staring at you, looking as though she were thinking.

"You can feel his pain? Like, all of it?"

You nodded. "Physical, yeah."

It took her a moment more, hugging herself in the blanket as she thought. "That…. Makes sense actually." She snapped her fingers and pointed. "That's why they did that stuff, they tested you!"

You nodded, a shadow of gloom over your brow.

"And that's…. Why you passed out. Because he passed out."

Another nod.

"And he doesn't know, does he?"

You couldn't help but give a grin then, not one of joy, but more out of nihilism. "Of course not."

"And why, exactly?"

"I don't know, I just…. Got into the habit of keeping it from him. I think in general I was just scared. Scared I would scare him away or make life harder somehow." You hugged yourself, finding it hard to look at even Robin now. "I couldn't lose him… or bear him not believing me."

Robin began giggling, catching you off guard.

"What?"

She shook her head, dragging a hand down her tired face in exasperation. "I seriously doubt he would do any of that, especially after tonight. Also, you weren't in the bathroom when he talked about you."

"Talked about me?"

"Mm-hm," She nodded. "You're not the only one keeping secrets."

Your eyes widened and you pushed yourself off the ambulance. "The hell does that mean?"

"Nope, no more," She put her hands up defensively, "I wash my hands of this, I'm not enabling you any further."

"Oh, come on, Rob-"

"No! The only way you'll get more is if you talk to him yourself," She smirked. "Or do I have to actually drag you over there?" Her thumb thrown over her shoulder, she pointed to Steve in the neighboring ambulance, speaking with the paramedic. For the first time you looked past her to gaze at Steve, his shoulders sagged as he had an arm wrapped around his abdomen. You could feel the bruised ribs he was cradling.

You looked back at Robin, giving her a small pout. She returned it, although much more sarcastically. Simultaneously, you both broke out in smiles and giggles.

"You're a dick," You said, shaking your head.

"Only when you guys are idiots."

You rolled your eyes, turning to glance at Steve again. This time you caught him already looking at you, swollen eye and all. He raised his hand ever so slightly to offer a tiny wave, as if he were scared he would drive you away again.

You gave a tiny wave back.

"Fine," You muttered, walking past Robin and making your way over to him, eyes trained in the ground.

From this angle, the police car lights flickered blue and red over Steve's face, almost hiding the fact he was covered in purple bruises. Slowly you slipped next to him, sitting on the bumper between the open doors. Loose gravel crunched under your feet on the asphalt.

"Hi…"

"Hey…"

A shiver ran up your spine, but you weren't sure if it was from the breeze or your nerves.

"So, uh, Robin said I should talk to you."

He nodded, a single strand of grimy hair bouncing to his forehead. "Yeah, she told me to talk to you too."

You blew a puff of air out of your nose in a laugh. "Was that when you wouldn't stop talking about me in the bathrooms?"

Steve let out a laugh then, scratching the back of his head. "She told you what I said, huh?"

"Nah. Only that you said stuff. She left me on a cliffhanger just to get me to come over and talk to you," You dryly chuckled.

"Hm," He replied, "So you were kind of ignoring me after we got out."

You grimaced, looking down at your beat up shoes. "Yeah… Look, I'm sorry, I really didn't wan-"

"Why didn't you tell me?" He interjected, turning to look right at you.

"... Tell you...?"

He scoffed and shook his head in disbelief. "That you can feel this," He lifted his arm and pinched it.

Your hand balled into a fist at the pain and you looked away. Why were you still so scared? Why did you still feel so shameful about all of this?

"You figured that out, huh?"

Steve shifted himself closer, close enough now that your shoulders were touching. "I'm not upset, okay? I just…" He sighed. "It's all so crazy. How long have you been able to feel it— When I hurt?"

You chuckled lightly. "A while. Since like elementary school."

"Shit," His hand reached out and grasped yours. "Look, if I had known, I would've-"

"I know-"

"No, you don't," He turned himself to you, bare knee bumping yours. "You really don't know. You don't know how much I would have done differently. How much more I would've cared, how I would have treated you better, how I would have… How I would have stood up to my dad somehow…" He paused, then cleared his throat. "I wouldn't have thrown myself into fights as much if I knew you were out there feeling everything, thinking you couldn't say a thing about it. If I had known, I would've realized you understood me more than literally anyone I've ever met."

You could feel your nose begin to tingle, a clear warning of tears threatening to bubble up. You pursed your lips, not trusting yourself to reply.

Steve scooched even closer, his knee now pulled up and resting behind your back, his other on the ground. He smelled of sweat, smoke, and blood, yet somehow a small wisp of his cologne still lingered. It all mixed together into a scent that would only ever remind you of this night.

His warm hand left yours to delicately glide up your opposing cheek. You sniffed as he pulled your face to turn and look at him.

"If you had told me, I would have told you that I've felt things too."

Your brow softened when your eyes went round, your heart sinking to your stomach. "Things?"

His face went downcast for a moment, as if in some sort of regret. "Remember when you dislocated your wrist in 3rd grade? And I went and got help?"

You nodded. You remembered the teacher had come to help you after Steve ran off, but then he didn't come back. The next time you saw him wasn't until school the next day. You had been upset that he hadn't come back with the teacher to help or even come over to your house to see if you were okay after school. He had apologized when you went off on him, but that was all. As kids, it was easy to just forgive and move on. Play the next game of tag.

"You were pissed at me… I ran and hid from you because I felt it too." He scratched his chin, looking off at the demolished mall. "That was the first time. It freaked me the hell out. I felt when it happened, and I felt when they popped it back in a few hours later at the hospital. I could tell when you bumped it wrong or strained it. I could feel it all." He looked you dead in the eyes then. "And everything after that."

You shook your head, your brow laden with confusion as you put your hand over his on your face. "You never said anything either…"

He smiled softly and shrugged. "I didn't think you had to know. To be honest, I thought it was all just some weird hallucination or something."

Your expression shifted into one of disapproval.

"Oh don't you even," His smile grew at you, "You're just as guilty for not telling me."

"Yeah, I…. I know… I'm sorry," You muttered, the wounds scattered over his face taunting you again. While only a few hits had been delivered upon the discovery that Russian general had made about you, all of the injuries hurt the same. Both physically and otherwise. "I guess we all have our secrets."

Steve moved his other hand to cradle your face fully, his face moving closer to nearly rest his forehead on yours. While smiling only a second before, his eyes were now filled with something more serious. Something you had never seen directed at you before. It made your attention on him freeze and heat rise to the back of your neck.

"Well, while we're confessing secrets… Can I let one more slip?"

You couldn't tear your eyes away from his, which you quickly noticed kept darting down to your lips. Was he really doing this?

"You… have another?" You squeaked, voice barely audible.

He nodded. "If you'll let me show you?"

You dumbly nodded back, your mouth slightly agape and eyes as round as a couple of full moons.

He leaned in, finally resting his forehead onto yours, one of his hands sliding down to the nape of your neck. When your noses bumped he turned his head slightly, fitting your faces together like a puzzle. His breath brushed over your lips, puzzle pieces almost completely flush.

A jolt went through you like electricity by a single thought. "Wait-" You pushed him back slightly at the chest.

His eyes shot open, gazing at you in anticipation.

You didn't continue, only stared at him a moment, trying to get a handle on the speeding thoughts swirling your mind. Your pause was just long enough to watch sorrow cover his features.

"I read it wrong, didn't I?" The hand on your neck slid down to your shoulder in dismay, the weight of it heavy.

"No… No! God no, I just…. There's…." You squeezed your eyes shut, trying to think. "You don't… Have to do that… if you dont really want to."

He tilted his head. "Who says I don't want to?"

You shook your head, biting your lip nervously. "You don't have to be close and sweet like that just because you feel bad for me." The tingling returned, tears now visibly welling.

Steve leaned back further, far enough to be able to start analyzing you. His eyes darted around, trying to pick apart what you had just said. "Because I feel ba-?… You think I want this just to make it up to you somehow?" He challenged, his thumb stroking your cheek in an attempt to possibly keep you calm.

Alas, a tear still escaped and dripped down your face. "Yeah you don't have to get with me like that just because you feel bad for a few fights, okay? I'm not upset that you-"

"That's not why," He deadpanned.

"Huh?"

"That's not why I want to kiss you."

The tears froze, as did the internalized denial of the situation at the utterance of those words.

I want to kiss you.

"I mean, it's part of it," He admitted, "The whole pain thing I mean. But I don't want this because I pity you or anything or because I feel bad for getting beat up. I mean sure, I never want you to feel that again, but… You have to know those aren't the only reasons, right?"

All you could do was stare back down at your lap, fighting the additional tears threatening to spill and flood the whole parking lot.

"Shit, you really don't…" He muttered, letting the hand on your cheek slide upwards into the roots of your hair. "You're so much more than just that empathy to me. Really, you are, you hear me?"

You sniffled, once again squeezing your eyes shut causing a round of tears to fall down at rapid fire. Steve caught all of them with a gentle brush.

"Seriously, you're one of the funniest people I've ever met. You have the prettiest eyelashes, the most adorable laugh, and you're hell of a lot smarter than I am," He lightly joked, reaching down to grab your hand once more. "You've helped me be better, forgave me when I didn't deserve it, and let me rant to you about whatever shit would piss me off. And you care so much about Henderson and his nerd friends. My life would be so sucky without you... even if I do have to feel your god awful period cramps." He snickered. "I want you in it more for as long as possible. I want you closer."

Despite the joke, your body shuddered in a frame wracking sob. The emotions were now pouring out from you in violent waves. The tears weren't just from Steve, it was buildup from the whole damned night. A dam of hurt, fear, sorrow, anxiety, disappointment, horror, regret, sadness, and pain had been building up over the course of hours and hours. Suddenly, this was the pressure that made everything come flooding out… and you couldn't stop it.

"Oh, babe," Steve cooed, his soft hand hooking your neck and pulling your face into his chest. The pet name sparked something inside you, but it was quickly engulfed by the absolute tornado of intensity ripping you apart from the inside.

Steve couldn't feel your emotions, true, but he could feel how hard you bit your lip trying to stifle any noise that tried to escape. He could feel your body shudder in his clutch. He could feel the wet tears you rubbed into his shirt. And he could feel his heart breaking, not because he was hurt by you— hurt that you thought he would do such a thing to you out of guilt. No, it was because you had genuinely thought he couldn't love you like that. He could see the denial in your face, the false belief you must have come to adopt over time.

Steve waited patiently for you to calm, rubbing your back and resting his cheek on the top of your head. Your lungs began aching with each breath, your throat was going dry and burning. Eventually your choppy inhales slowed and your whimpers began to cease. Deep breaths became easier to take in and the blur in your vision cleared. When you came back to the moment at hand, you realized you had brought your legs up off the ground and to your chest, leaning against the warm body beside you. In a ball, Steve had wrapped around you like a shell, rocking you ever so slightly.

Your body shook again, this time in a small laugh. "I should be the one comforting you, you know. You're the one with broken ribs and stitches in your face."

You felt him chuckle against you, the sound rumbling your ear against his chest. He smiled, relieved to hear you joke around again. Tilting his head, he looked down at you trying to see your eyes. They were finally open again.

When you caught his gaze, you stared back up at him in attention, eyes red and nose runny. While you were sure you looked like hell, all he could see was the damp sheen of tears and sweat highlighting his favorite parts of your face.

"Can I please kiss you now?"

You let out a breath as you sat up, wiping your nose with the back of your hand. "I'm all gross, though."

He grabbed the back of your neck again and gently yanked your face to his. "Shut up and just let me kiss it better."

You rolled your eyes. "You're such a dork-"

His lips greeted yours, warm and soothing, the obvious pain of his busted lip cast aside just to feel each other's being. Your chest exploded once again with overwhelming feeling, but this time it was manageable. It was more than manageable, in fact, it was welcome. It was no longer a spark sucked into a gloomy tornado, but a ray of light, casting a sensation of healing rays from your chest outwards. Both of your movements melded together like clay, as did your breaths, creating a back and forth that you had been longing for. It was as if you were charging each other with hope after a night full of negatives and hopelessness. It was like being at home again after being gone for so long.

He was the first to pull away, his hands holding your head with a slight tremble in them. It made your heart swell. He was just as worked up as you.

"Ouch." He said under his breath.

A woozy smile burst over your face, rays of light reaching the surface. You brought your hand up to lightly brush your thumb over his bottom lip. "I think this should heal more before we try that again."

He shook his head, eyes drooped with lovesick admiration. "Let it hurt," He mumbled before leaning in once more, pressing his mouth to yours.

You accepted it with a grateful hum.

A/N: Thanks again for reading! Seriously loved the new people flowing into this blog and the comments you all leave. It means a lot. My confidence is boosted <3 Requests are open!

Tags: @solarbxby @mxcheese @junglecoxk @iheartmyguitars @freezaz123 @love-kurdt @johnricharddeacy @fangeekkk @kategables @thehybridprincesshatedchild @eternallyvenus @wenddsmuks-blog @spideyharrington @basketcaseeeeee @carinacassiopeiae @impossibelle @artsyjazzs @xjessmorley @vulgarfuckinvirgo77 @alana4610 @reidsgubbler @let-the-music-take-c0ntrol @mynameismothra @munsonzzgf @biscuitbeater15 (if tags are in red, then it would not let me tag you, I'm sorry 😔)

[oblivious-idiot]

Can you write a George Karim x reader? Maybe one where the reader keeps having nightmares and has to keep checking on George to make sure he’s alright?

Midnight Comforts

AN: I really loved writing this! I hope you like it <3

Warnings: fluff, hurt/comfort, season finale spoilers

Word count: 700~

Pairings: George Karim x Reader

A week had past since the Bone Mirror case and you can’t stop thinking about George and how you almost lost him that night. It makes you think back to the previous weeks since the first encounter with the mirror, how you were too distracted on making sure Lucy and Lockwood didn’t end up in the Thames that you hadn’t noticed George’s change of state.

You kick yourself for not being there for him, because with that scare it made you conscious that you’re not sure how you could ever live without him. Yes he can be annoying, doesn’t really think about the words coming out of his mouth, gets a little jealous sometimes, and likes to bake the Skull in the oven, but you wouldn’t change any of those things about him. Even if you did feel a little sorry for the Skull sometimes.

Even though that case is now over, your unconscious mind wouldn't let you rest. You would toss and turn in bed as you tried to sleep, eventually drifting off from exhaustion, but you were only greeted by horrid nightmares. Nightmares that would be a mix of seeing George's lost eyes, his body in Ghost Lock as the phantom closed in over him, and even seeing his eyes glazed over to a milky white colour as if he'd been Ghost Touched. When the nightmares became too much for your tired brain, you would wake up frantically in a cold sweat, heavy breathing as your heart raced inside your chest.

As you calmed yourself down, you couldn't get it out of your mind that you had to go check on George, just to see if he was alright. You slowly crept down the first flight of stairs until you were outside of George's room, and as quietly as you could, you slowly opened his bedroom door. You let out the breathe that you hadn't realised you'd been holding as you see George spread out across his double bed in a starfish position, snoring loud enough to scare away any ghosts.

This carried on for the next couple of nights - and each time the nightmares would become worse as you got less and less rest. When you next came down the stairs to check on George, you were surprised to see him stir when you opened the door.

'Y/n... is that you?" his voice raspy from being half asleep. "I- sorry George, I-, I was having a nightmare" you reply back, the exhaustion clearly noticeable in your voice.

George sat up as he turned on his bedside lamp and put on his glasses, giving you a puzzled look "What was it about? You can tell me." he says, scooting over in his bed so you could sit down next to him. Once you'd settled onto the bed, you began to tell him about your horrid nightmares and how scared you had been about losing him, your words spilling out and turning into a sob, unable to stop yourself.

Although he wasn't known for being the most touchy-feely person, George pulled you into his side and cradled your head on his chest, shushing you as he slowly ran his fingers through your hair. "It's all okay y/n, I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere" you turn your head up so your eyes meet his "You better not, who else is going to give the Skull it's regular bakes in the oven?" your comment making the both of you laugh.

Your eyes began to droop as you snuggled into George's safe embrace "You know you sleep like a starfish right. Oh and you snore too." "I do not snore, you're making that up" he replies, his chest lightly bouncing as he chuckles at your sleepy state. "It's the loudest snore I've ever heard," your voice going quieter as you move closer to sleep, finding comfort in his familiar scent of cinnamon and burnt candles "you're lucky I like everything else about you, otherwise I'd probably mind." Unsure what to respond with to your last comment, George rests his head on yours as he closes his eyes "I like you too y/n", your soft snores on his chest indicating your much needed sleep.

(is George wearing any trousers in this? who knows, I’ll let you decide on that)

[feathers-fallen-on-riverdale]

Season 1 Episode 3: Chapter 3 - Body Double GRUNDY'S CORPSE IN THE PALM OF MY-

[Ep. Statues: Already Watched/First Time Watching + Remember/Vaguely/Don't Remeber]

Cheryl you dramatic ass hoe. You literally just said "I'm guilty" in front of your entire class made a whole scene and only waited to elaborate until you got cuffed and taken to a secluded room???! This girl has zero brain cells she just fakes it till she makes it.

Also did they even read her her rights?

I WAS RIGHT HE WAS GONNA RUN AWAY. WITH POLLY(?).

I think she was pregnant but how could I have possibly forgotten such a big detail (says person who has forgoten all the big details up until now).

..... I don't remember much of Cheryl's parents (expect that Cheryl's mother was a dominatrix? Please tell me that's a hallucination) but wow from that 1 scene they said "Fuck subtlety. We are evil mustach twirling villains".

Okay but Alice seems to represent the very real treat of media coverage being pushed by a personal agenda to be a smear campaign.

HOWEVER I know the cw writers aren't that good, so this is a Supernatural brand of accidental good writing.

Fuck ya Archie lets goooo! Ignore Grunkle, confess what you know! Expose her!

Me when he didn't expose Grangle ^^^

Hold up Veronica's dating outside the polycule? I don't remember this!

Betty: Juggy 😘😍😍😊😊

Me:

I got past the cringe and into the emotional hits. Now it's 50/50

They bounce off each other well, they have half decent chemistry. Realising why the fandom fandom latched onto Bughead as the het ship of choice.

Also they are both bi4bi.

Chuck is being suspiciously nice. And they're really speed running this shit....

Okay Grungly not only are you being a crazy freak about Archie coming forward about information (which anybody would have applauded him for and he left your name out) but you're using your power dynamic to punish him for it? Get the fuck out. This woman makes my skin crawl.

"Sticky maple, it's exactly what it sounds like." Mmmmh no it's not. That doesn't elaborate anything at all. Man allos are..

I'm feeling a deep seated glee at Veronica's reaction and that Kevin and Betty 100% support her.

She just... burst in there. Okay. Love that for her! No hesitation no "omg she saw him naked and got all flustered" nah my girl just body slammed him outta the way like Cruella on a highway. Veronica road rages confirmed. Also.

SHE'S HOLDING BETTY'S HAND!

Wait so the first official use of "B & V" is by a slut shaming asshole named Chuck Clayton???? Okay.... how about no. And canon is what I want :)

But man I love the use of "B & V". Sounds like the name of a bed and breakfast. Hmmmm maybe after the show is over Betty and Veronica move to Vermont, open a charming B&B called "B & V's Bed and Breakfast" like another CW queer couple?

Love that Betty snapped at Chuck. Zero hesitation no longer gives half a shit about seeing a dick. Claws out for her girlfriend.

"The betas you dated in New York" ........... RED FLAG ALERT 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩also a really funny one cause you're probably thinking "who in their right mind talks like this"? And then you realise... yeah every teenage fuck boy.

I am actually so concerned. Please somebody talk to Weatherbee about getting these guys thier shots I think they've got rabies. Why the fuck else are they barking?

😑🤨 Doiley is giving alt-right redit incel.

"Anything you want *bites lip* except for my body"

The mf sitting beside her, just trying to graduate high school and get the hell outta here:

Ohhh the pussycats arc. Pretty sure 1 of them quits and bands with Archie.

Wasn't she like, the Gargoyle King's no. 1 groupie?

My support group maker Betty headcanon is being furthered here.

Cheryl??? Girl do you have a story you'd like to share with the class?

Me, pointing to the Cheryl Bitch-O'Meter ready to slide it higher: Honey you can't keep doing this. I can't defend you.

Cheryl: Sluts

I mean they (the writers) aren't doing this whole "we're gonna tackle a social issue experienced by teens, mostly girls" thing great per say, but the intent is there... I think. And it kinda hits when Ethel mentions that she went to the Principle and he didn't do shit.

Cheryl: Proof that what, boys will be boys?

Me, already adding 2 bow and arrows to the meter: yah no. That's enough. It's giving pick me girl

Jughead pulling a Batman got me going like, "oh no, my pathetic bi trans emo boys, they're multiplying".

Of fucking course the gun scare was caused by a fucking idiotic teen with unbridled access to firearms. God help me I don't live in a country where that's a problem but even I can pick up the subtext, it's hitting me in the face like a 2x4.

Okay the scene where Josie is like "you can't write our experience" and Archie is like "shit you're right my bad" is actually very good but ik for a fact that one shitty lyric suggestion from gingerbread later will flip that shit over so fast.

Aaaand I was right. Flipped so fast.

"Just how depraved is this town"

Like I promise you Veronica you're gonna wish it stopped it here.

"A B&E with B&V" lovely alliteration there Cheryl.

"Trev told Valerie, who told Josie, who told Ginger, who told Tina who told me". Okay damn. But far more realistic than I expected. It's a highschool there are no secrets. The only thing I simply refuse to believe is that that the chain of Chinese whispers is that solid or effective.

I wonder how many students hear about the wild shit this lot get up to and just go "Absoulty not. It's our circus sure. But I, as a monkey am not being paid enough for this. Or at all."

"Polly grew up too fast. I don't want to blah blah blah"

"I like it." Oh the helicopter mother damage it showing.

Okay who has a pool in that small a town?

OH the black bob wig my Absoulte Enemy.

Easy on the drinks there Alice- OH she just bitch slapped her huh? Now I feel like I'm just watching the real housewives.

Okay Romeo and Juliet balcony scene. Secret meeting at the masked ball I see you.

OH Fred. "What made you take such an interest in my son?" Get HER ASS FRED 🔪😡🤬

"Park avenue princess to cater waiter" exhibit ... idk H of reasons Alice is actually Karen; disrespect of customer service/servers.

😬 hold up. Thier drugging him?! And those are- okay. Who is writing these scripts??!

Betty... nah.

OH Fred Andrews... this show doesn't deserve you.

Betty, Betty. Denial is a river... ya know.

Okay but can we talk about the fact that only Hermione (Veronica's mom) showed up to negotiate with Weatherbee? Betty's mother? Not even in the shot. How much you will to get that she was willing to leave Betty high and dry, on her own, as an extra punishment.

"Betty and Veronica, now B&V, maybe forever, were forged" BERONICA SWEEP.

ANDREW. WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING.

FINALLY. THE BOMB HAS. GONE. OFF.

~

Archie ab shot count (per episode then added together per season): None this episode but we'll put an honourary 0.5 in there for Chuck.

Cheryl's Bitch-O'Meter: 🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹🏹|🏹 I know this is supposed to be an episode of growth and what not. But the slut shaming and just... general *indicates vaguely* merits this in my opinion.

Is it a bird? A plane? No it's a new headcannon pulled right out of thin air! :

bi4bi Bughead

Veronica has road rage

B&V's B&B (destiel paralle)

Reddit incel Doyley

Tag list (you can ask to be added [or removed]: @youre-only-gay-once

[generallybarzy]

☆star☆

an: ahhh! my semester ends in 3 days so i should be doing missing assignments but instead i’m writing a fic about the isles won tonight!!!! Almosy 2k in 2hours I'm proud of myself!!! But mostly proud of the isles let’s go my babies i’m so proud!!!!!!!! Here's a fic about rewarding barzy with some soft sweet lovin after his game!!

tagging: @selenophileangel @deleausvp @dunnwithlyfe @smit41 @softboybarzal @fallinallincurls @matbaerzal @brokeninsidebutnobodyknows @hockeyhughes11 @folkloreflyers @nazdaddy @shawnsreputation @comphybiscuit @aboveaveragehockeyboys @canadianheaters @ifiwasshawnmendesidslapmyself @baby-cat-nol-pat

word count: 1.9k

warning: smut 

Mat missed this.

No matter how many times he stepped on the ice over the off season to stay in shape, or how many hockey games he played just for fun with his buddies in B.C., nothing could compare to the adrenaline of the real game. And certain games especially- such as playoff games and opening night. Opening night always set a precedent for the rest of the season; a good opening night was a great way to predict the season, and a great opening night… well, that was a great sign. Mat had missed this so much.

But, more than he missed the game, there was something he missed much, much more. Something almost better than the thrill of the game itself- coming home. Getting to come home after a win and seeing you. His girl. 

For a long time, Mat dreaded coming home alone after games. He’d stay out with his buddies as long as he could to revel in the excitement of the win and to feel the glory, maybe find some girls that would spend the night talking about how amazing he is, how much of a star he is, before he brought them to his apartment for the night and had them leaving before he even woke, early in the morning. But now, he didn’t have to do that anymore. No, he loved to come home. Because you were there. If you weren’t at the game with him, you were always there, waiting and ready to jump in his arms and congratulate him the second he stepped in the door.

The second the elevator opened on his floor of the building, he could see you standing in the doorway to his apartment, donned in his jersey and a pair of sweats, eyes locked on your phone. Your eyes shot up at the ding of the elevator that marked Mat’s arrival, and immediately, a smile brightened your face. Oh, how Mat loved the way he could always make you smile. 

“Baby!”

“Baby!” he mimicked with a smile as bright as yours, holding out his arms for you as you bounced over to him, giddy and excited.

“Baby!!!” With one last laugh, you tossed yourself onto him, and Mat caught you with ease, familiar with this post-game routine. His arms tightened around your back and tugged you close, and your legs wrapped around his waist. “You were amazing! My star!! My baby!!” His beautiful little giggles escaped his lips as you peppered kisses all over his cheeks, and soon he was setting you down. 

“Let’s get inside.” 

You grabbed his hand and nearly dashed inside, leaving Mat to chuckle and follow quickly, closing the door behind himself and dropping his backpack at the door before being pulled back down into you. Your arms came up to wrap around his shoulder, holding him tight and curling your fingers through the hair at the back of his neck. You stayed like that for a moment, tangled up in each other in the entrance to his apartment, his hands on your waist and his nose in your hair, just enjoying each other’s presence, the comfort of your bodies touching in such a wholesome way, before you tugged his face down by his hair and lay your lips on him in congratulations.

“You’re so amazing, Maty. You did amazing tonight. It was crazy to watch.” You continued to pepper kisses across his face, his cheeks, the little cut he’d gotten during training, his cute chin, his nose, there wasn’t a part of him you didn't love. “You’re such a star baby, God. First it was your new contract and now tonight’s opener? God, I’m so proud of you. Couldn’t be more proud. I love you so much.”

He pulled back, a smile in his eyes when he saw the honesty in yours. His heart throbbed at the thought of making you proud. “I love you. Thank you for watching.”

“I always watch.” 

“Yeah? You’re my good luck charm.” 

“Yeah?” 

He gripped your waist tighter, sliding his big hands up the back of the jersey you were wearing, over his number, over his name- the name you wore so proudly. “Yeah.” 

“And you’re my star. My gleaming, beautiful star.” 

“Yeah?”

“Mhm. Now, let’s get you out of this suit, okay? Then I can really reward you for how amazing you are.” 

“Yes, please.” 

This was something else Mat missed about the season, the way your hands- so small and gentle compared to his own, compared to how he’d been playing all night- traveled across his body as you undressed him, stripped him down to his boxers and laid him out on the bed. He loved the way you kissed down his chest and thighs and told him to lay back and get comfy- you were loving him like he deserved. He loved it so much, the intimacy, the praise, the sweet talk. You had still done this for him over the off season, of course you had, but there was just something about getting back from a game and getting his reward that he had just missed so much. 

God, he’d missed his post-win blow.

He let his eyes slip shut and his head fall back against the pillow as you kissed his legs and tugged the last piece of fabric down this thighs. “I love your legs, Maty. So strong, they make you so fast, so good at what you do… and they’re hot as fuck.” You kissed all the way up his high and over his hip bones. “You’re hips, God, you can set a rhythm, if you know what I mean.” 

He laughed. “You can’t say ‘if you know what i mean’ if you’re literally about to blow me.” 

“Why not?” Mat just smiled again as you kissed up his stomach and chest, mumbling praises as you went. You curled your fingers through his and brought his hand up to your lips, and he opened his eyes slowly to watch you lay a kiss on each knuckle, gentle and soft. “I love your hands, the way you’re so skilled with them, during games you have all these amazing stick maneuvers, like that goal tonight. I know that was all for me. And you’re so skilled at touching me. It’s amazing.” 

“Mmm.” Mat was almost drowsy, the way you touched him and kissed him pulling him into a trance. “I’ll show you some of those skills later.” 

“The ones you use on the stick or on me?”

He laughed again. “Both.”

“After this, baby. I wanna reward you first. My star. My baby, my talented, sweet boy.” You planted one last kiss on his lips before scooting back down to his hips where his desire was aching for you. Your bottom lip tugged between your teeth like it did whenever you saw him, and Mat swore he could’ve come at just the sight. Your fingers rubbed slow circles against his naked hips as you pressed kisses up his length and finally- Mat thought- finally took him into your mouth. A soft moan fell from Mat’s lips, a breath of pleasure, a sigh of relief at the feeling of your lips around him- he would never get over it. You took your time, drawing out his pleasure as much as you could, but never holding anything back from him. This was his night, after all. He deserved this. 

The build up was slow, slow and soft and gentle as ever, starting low in his tummy and growing stronger and stronger by the second. It wasn’t the normal orgasm he’d have when he was on top, where he’d have to work for it, but one that built up and up and up that he got the pleasure of getting to lay back and experience it’s entirety- making it feel even more drawn out. Usually he’d be too busy to notice it until he was practically coming already, but now he could savor it, all the way from the little spark inside him to the rumbling fire that erupted. 

“Baby.” His hand came down to stroke your face.

“Maty,” You pulled back to praise him, laying wet kisses along his length. “I love you. You’re so amazing, so talented. You’re so talented, beautiful, sweet.”

“Baby!”  

“Let go, my sweet boy. Don’t hold back, you deserve it. You deserve it all, the awards, the contract, the 21 million, the star of the game, the attention. God, you deserve it all. And most of all, you deserve to come. Can you do that for me, pretty boy?” 

“Shit. I love you!” His mouth fell open in a string of praises, and his head dropped back again as your lips wrapped around him one last time before he erupted, thighs trembling and hands gripping yours like a life line. The groans that left his lips were some you’d never forget, how needy and desperate they were, how thankful he was to get his relief. He was breathing deeply in the aftermath of his orgasm, listening to your soft praise as you wiped your slick hand on his abdomen, vowing to drag him to the shower later to clean up. 

“C’mere, please.” He urged you to crawl up his body, pushing your hair behind your ear and pulling your down to cuddle against him, holding your body close and letting you feel him clam back to softness- both mentally and physically. He rolled to his side, keeping you tucked against his naked body and laying kisses across your face, just wanting to savor this moment for a few minutes longer. He was always so cuddling after coming, and you always found it so cute. Soon, his whisper broke the warm silence. “Did you mean what you said?”

“About?”

“Me. What I deserve.” 

“Baby.” You lifted a hand to stroke through his hair, knowing exactly what he needed. “You’re so good at what you do, I’m not kidding. And this new contract, it’s amazing for you. Tonight just showed everyone who doubted you just how great you are. How you’re worth it. And I swear, years from now, you’ll be playing with some new kids on the Islanders who grew up watching you, who grew up wanting to be like you. You’re building a legacy right now.” 

A flush lit up his face at the thought and a hopeful grin broke across his lips. With sleepy-half lidded eyes, he sighed. “I love you.” 

“Hm. Not more than I love you, star.”

“Oh no, much more.” 

“Impossible.” 

He just smiled and shook his head, knowing no one was winning this argument. Both of your loves were unmatched, and he was so, so lucky that was the case. 

“You know what else is great about you, Maty? How you’re still such an amazing person. You’re a hockey star, the isles’ golden boy, you have all this money and this fame in the hockey world, but you’re so humble still. You’re modest, you’re down-to-earth. You’re a guy anyone can talk to. I love that about you. It’s not just how talented you are, but it’s you as a person. You’re really going places, one day.” 

“Yeah?” His throat tightened and his words came out harsh and cracking at the thought of that. It was the future he’d always dreamed of. And to be told of it by the girl of his dreams seemed too good to be true. “You think so?”

“Yeah.”

“I hope. And,” he cleared his throat, a little stuffy, but smiling nonetheless. “I want you there for all of them.” And you couldn’t think of any better outcome.

“I can’t wait.”

[kreidewaltz]

christmas rush | s.r.

pairing. suna rintarou x gn!reader

about. after your interesting encounter with the suna sublings, he texted you to meet up at the station and you let him come along to experience what christmas is to you.

word count. 3.1k

genre & warnings. fluff. strangers to friends. mutual pining. suna's sister is cute. timeskip. vague mention of atsumu and msby jackals.

author’s note. my secret santa fic for you @avantaes for the happy holidays exchange of alice's server <3 sorry if i slip up on the pronouns, i'm trying out writing a gn!reader eheh thank you to @haikyuu-is-for-lovers ​for beta-ing this fic ily this is a part of the haikyuu holidays collab which you can check here!

“have a merry christmas!” you say, waving at the girl who looks at you with bright, sparkling eyes that makes your heart warm. her parents, sliding money onto the counter and giving you two heartwarming smiles, stepped away from the store before you could decline and give it back to the family. clasping your hands for a moment, you squeal and shake your co-worker’s shoulders,  resulting in you messing up his bright red cap, showing off your two thousand yen, and doing the thing where you swipe the money off your palm.

“look, look! I’ve got tips, ‘samu!” you exclaim, your voice getting a pitch higher because you can’t contain your excitement from doing well on being a cashier today. it drains your energy from repeatedly talking and keeping up a persona in front of other people to live up to the reputation of the toy store. the jar on your counter filled with crumpled money and coins makes you confident and you excitedly bounce on the wooden chair. he provides you a thumbs up along with a soft smile on his exhausted face before the ringing bell and chatter of people startles you both in your places. 

another christmas rush, you both ponder. 

you prepare yourself by cracking your fingers and stretching for a minute since you’re experienced in the working field– demanding customers, stubborn and loud children, and oldies who whisper and say they know everything about working. both of you have gone through that and it seems fate throws another batch of those people. turning your head and seeing him staring back at you with determination bubbling on his eyes cracks a smile on your dull face.

“osamu, let’s ditch work and celebrate together.” you say, voice lowered to a whisper as you jutted out your bottom lip while waiting for the customers since they take their time picking out plushies or christmas cards. osamu chuckles, his hand playfully punching your arm and murmuring under his breath how you’re confusing which made you step on his white shoes. the look of horror forming on his face is more than enough to leave you satisfied with your revenge, which was childish to begin with. you whisper three, two, one before hearing the bells, indicating that customers are coming in. you mentally prepare yourself for another continuous rush.

-

"spare us ten minutes?" the voice asks, making you startled on your chair and a small smile appear on your face to assist the last customer for the night. there are still people in the mall, but the store got quiet after the rush earlier, so this was expected. but the person got you dumbfounded. locking eyes with the man had you unconsciously gulping because you’d heard of him from your co-worker.

"suna rintarou..?" muttering to yourself and giving him a subtle nod, your tired eyes move to the glass door and a sigh leaves your chapped lips - seeing no one handling the fans is arduous. arching your back for a moment to stretch and feeling your bones crack brings contentment because standing and moving around for eight hours isn’t a pleasant experience. because of the beige bucket hat he’s wearing, you can’t see his expression clearly, but his lips are pressed together and there’s no brightness forming in his eyes. 

the hell? he should be excited about the christmas season!

“taro-nii, let’s go!” a gentle yet loud voice breaks your stretching and you instantly see the resemblance of the volleyball player to his sister, who looks adorable in her olive green sweater and the hair clips resting on her hair, making her stylish at a young age. hearing “wish me luck!” produces chuckles from you because of his monotone voice in contrast to his sister’s. and because you know he’ll be dragged around in the store, your exhausted eyes meet his, a mix of gray and yellow which is beautiful, you muse to yourself. 

as the siblings disappeared on the aisle, you instantly nudge osamu’s waist with your elbow and lean forward to remove his cap since he angles it in a way his eyes are covered. 

“‘samu! he’s hot.” cupping your cheeks before shrieking and shaking your head in disbelief, you bite on your lip to prevent squealing because you two made eye contact earlier, chuckling at the way it’s obvious he didn’t want to be here. the fact that he’s wearing a bucket hat made your palms clammy, picturing him in your mind while swooning over him for the next couple of hours.

“you do remember that he attended inarizaki, right?” your eyes widen like the dangling christmas balls hanging on the ceiling— leaving your mouth open and desperately trying to recall your high school, which is evident due to the furrow of your eyebrows and the continuous bouncing your left leg.

“wait.. you’re kidding right? i’m sure i would’ve seen him somewhere!” 

with your voice turning to a low whisper, you scoot your chair closer to osamu’s because there’s a possibility the other volleyball player could hear you— and you don’t want that to happen.

in your mind, you’re weighing the pros and cons: he’s in the toy aisle and probably helping his sister to pick toys, there’s upbeat christmas songs playing in the store, and add the indistinct yet loud chatter of people in the mall... it's possible that he wouldn't hear you, but you won't take risk— not for now.

“you could, but you didn’t.” throwing a harsh glare in his direction, but reconciling by giving a peace sign after, you recognize that osamu’s words are the truth, but the underlying tone of cockiness didn’t go unnoticed. by nature, you are observant, after all. even if your co-worker denies he’s similar to the nosy blonde that is his brother, but there are some things you couldn’t help but notice, they both love teasing, only osamu is lowkey about it. 

“you’re a literary type of girl, so it makes sense you didn’t watch our game... don’t even say i didn’t invite you.” 

“studying is important, you idiot!” crossing your arms and rolling the stack of papers laying on the counter before slamming it on his head with little force, you pout in distress, only because if you’d attended the games, you could’ve seen suna around the high school, or admired him while he’d practice and get lost in his voice whenever he’d speak.

“why are we even talking about me! we should talk about your cru—“ 

“excuse me but..” a familiar voice interrupted your playful banter and you had to clutch your stomach because of who’s laid in front of your eyes. the glint forming in your eyes makes suna annoyed and let out a tsk, but he didn’t move because his sister was currently fawning over the toys that she’d add to her new collection.

“osamu, don’t just stand there.” you nudge your co-worker to help his friend, but instead he leaned over the counter and whispered something to suna, and the sly smirks forming on their faces makes your toes curl on your shoes in nervousness and the countless worries are starting to overlap in your head. 

you couldn’t help it, you’re a natural overthinker.

“alright! suna, you’re in good hands.” osamu’s hand gives your shoulder a soft squeeze before he disappears through the backdoor. you watch, tapping your fingers on your thighs to the beat of the cheerful christmas song playing right now.

“taro-nii, give it already!” his sister’s voice made you hold back a laugh by lowering your head, and you went to help him scoot over the toys and candies onto the counter. there are plushies on his hand, biscuits squished by his elbow and a reindeer headband he’s wearing which isn’t that neat— you assume his sister put it on and kept being persistent. plus, his soft brown hair looks all over the place.

“look, look! this is cute, right?” his energetic sister beams at you, her small hands holding the fox plushie with a proud smile on her face. you leaned more onto the counter to pat her head, her giggles due to your head pat making you giddy inside. she’s courteous and well behaved; her natural bright energy gives off a great aura. 

“yes! it’s so adorable like you!” patting her head once more and gently grabbing the toy from her, the literal sparkles present in her eyes make you snicker and scan the tags of the items quickly, giving the fox plushie back to her hands, which are welcoming the toy warmly. 

“no! this is taro-nii.” after finishing the scan, you put the items on the two pastel red and green paper bags and your ears perk up. giggling at her enthusiasm towards her brother, your eyes focused on him, faint red visible around his neck as it extended to the tip of his ears.

“how much do you love him?” you whisper, side eyeing the latter while he stands still, holding the two bags without looking in your direction. you and his sister giggle while she squeals at your question.

“this much!” she states, putting her hands to the side and expanding the love she has for her beloved brother— who’s standing, flustered, but somehow still keeping an eye your fingers tapping mindlessly on the counter. he ruffled her hair and poked her cheek to annoy her, only now a distress pout is forming on her lips and she huffs her pink dusted cheeks. 

“let’s go, we’ll come back soon.”

hopping on the counter and helping suna hold the bags while he fixes his sister’s adorable pigtails, the next song blasting on the speakers makes her jump around and slur the lyrics while her hands are wrapped around the plushie as if she’s never letting go. he gave a subtle nod and his eyes went to his arms, catching up on his clues and giving a big wave to the siblings. if you only noticed the faint red tint adorning his cheeks as he ran a hand through his hair because of him doing something discreet without anyone noticing, or you.

this is indeed a memory you can’t forget on christmas. 

-

“he’s so slow, is he a turtle?” you say, murmuring under your breath as you snuggle your head on your pale blue scarf wrapped around your neck comfortably. balling your fists in your coat pocket to not shudder at the cold breeze passing by, regret flooded your mind because you only wore your off white shirt and the coat protecting you from the snow falling from above. you tap your white sneakers against the snow-covered ground as you impatiently wait for suna, who texted you he’d be ahead of you earlier that day. 

“hey, christmas cashier.” seeing him beside you wearing casual clothes got your cheeks to heat up and made you playfully punch his shoulder. tiptoeing a little to adjust the scarf around his neck and pat the snow off his dark gray coat, neither of you said anything. you can’t say anything; the close proximity and being under his sharp gaze makes you nervously uneasy.

“hi to the most discreet and late man i know.” the smirk forming on his face indicates he’s not offended by your statement. by discreet you’re referring to the small paper with his number written on it that he slid smoothly onto the counter while you were busy with his sister. hours later you figured out it was the reason why osamu and him were smirking. his text particularly said “let’s be early and be spontaneous, show me how christmas is to you”. ruffling his hair to purposely annoy him, you tug his hand to skip along the grounds and finally begin the journey of doing christmas activities, showing him how he should appreciate the holiday through your perspective.

since you accidentally ponder out loud, "how many reasons must i provide for you to enjoy winter season with me?" and he shrugs instantly, looking from far away, his eyes longing for something as he softly whispers... "two or three would be enough." 

-

"why the hell are we here?" he narrows his gray-yellow eyes at you while you're busy cupping your cheeks due to the cold temperature at the mall. walking a little further to the back, but enough that you'd see what's happening to the center of the place, people who are in the front (whether they like it or not, they've got no choice) get to sit in santa's lap and get to take pictures with santa claus.

"hey! let me explain. in christmas season, mr. suna rintaro, enjoy the free entertainments!" crossing your arms and pointing a finger in his direction before you adjust his scarf and pat his hair, ruffling it to cover his eyes because he's a volleyball figure, you and him watch this with a company can ensue chaos.

"yeah? like sitting on santa's lap?" he stepped a little closer to you because of people passing by - he didn't want injuries to happen. hearing your chuckles has his hands clammy and him shaking his head to compose himself internally.

"don't worry! we're just gonna watch them and bully them— a secret between us only." a giddy smile is visibly present on your face as you hold onto your scarf to cover your smile that can't seem to stop.

"oh my god.. look at that!" slapping a hand over your mouth and shutting your eyes because you had to physically stop yourself from laughing or people will hear you and think you're hysterical. he follows your gaze and he can't help but let out a snicker. he has to tell osamu about this.

there's someone sitting on santa's lap, much to his dismay because he's whining and moving a lot— like a child that doesn't receive candy from the doctors. the faux blonde seems at your age, his pissed off expression is somehow wholesome which makes the group of people here break into fits of laughter.

"that guy, he's a kid at heart." you murmur under your breath and grin at suna as he locks eyes with you and nods at your statement. he didn't talk much after that, just chuckling with you and angling his phone to record the blonde earlier, which had you squealing at it because free entertainments are rare. though one thing you failed to notice was how his black phone captured you tiptoeing to get more of a view in the enormous crowd, a hand on your waist and the brightness of your mesmerizing eyes beating the sparkling christmas ornaments.

you weren't an entertainment, because in his head it seems wrong, and it is. more of, you were just someone beautiful that suna rintaro could stare at for hours and never get bored of— because you are someone who's interesting, and he can't wait to discover the other layers you have.

-

“on christmas, use your charm and coupons to get discounts.” skipping around the streets to see different foods which makes you hungry and act distressed by whining so he’ll go with you to the food stalls. he scoffs at your statement and follows behind you, genuinely curious on what you’ll do because he isn’t the type to use coupons to buy food. he gives the cash and is good to go to savor the food alone.

“one order of oden, please!” you say, waving to the old man behind the oden stall with a bright smile. the former nodded, saying a “comin’ right up!” as you tug suna closer to the stall to inhale the heavenly scent of oden— the dashi soy sauce broth is making you lick your lips in anticipation, and the fish cakes and the deep fried tofu added excitement in your stomach.

“thanks! i’m so hungry.” with a chuckle slipping past your lips, you bow down before stepping to the snow-covered bench across from you. the cold feeling of the snow makes you hiss as you try to make yourself comfortable.

“suna? taste it! perfect food for this hell of a winter.” holding the bowl with delicacy before he accepts it with a small smile adorning his face, he brings down his scarf before taking a big sip of the broth and a bite of the hard boiled egg. a low rumble comes from his chest which you assume is because of the hot broth soothing the cold feeling.

“where’s the charm and discount there?” turning his body towards you and looking at you with soft eyes as he watches you take a bite of the tofu, a smile passing through your lips because it is newly fried while you huff your smooth, pink cheeks. 

“the charm is just.. interacting with people, you know? giving them smiles because god knows what they go through with customers.” he can’t help but chortle at your statement, but still nods after a minute, agreeing with you. his right hand plays with the black button of his coat, needing something to distract himself. 

“he only let me pay in half for the oden. it’s generous, yeah? he always gives me food when i go home years ago, you know, the shitty college phase.” giving the bowl to him once again as he listens attentively, his gaze goes to the oden stall- maybe he can visit once in a while and ask questions about you, or he can tag his sister along. tapping his black boots on the ground in habit while stretching his other leg straight, he hears your breath hitch and it makes him snicker inwardly, probably because of how long his leg is or because you’re amazed by the hot stew. either way, it’s charming.

“mhm, yeah, and i bet you insisted at first.” he feigns innocence as he takes in your offended expression. eyes wide like marble saucers, you purse your lips and cover the bowl with your ice-cold hands, acting like you don’t want to share the food with him anymore. 

“w-well, of course! but you know old people.” you sigh, grabbing the chopsticks and taking a bite of the fish cake while shutting your eyes for a moment to momentarily forget the flaring heat forming on your cheeks and down to your neck. he looks ahead as he attempts to scramble his thoughts, but there's something over his lips and it's the deep fried tofu. you push it further with a smile on your face as he begrudgingly takes it as a whole.

"and yeah! this sums it up, that during christmas you should enjoy the simple things." taking a last sip of the heavenly soy sauce broth before you nudge him for him to take the last gulp. he went along with you, after all; he deserves the last sip of the stew. you grab the bowl from him and stroll back to the trash can nearby the stall—oh, if you only noticed his eyes following your every move with a gentle smile forming on his face.

his thoughts begin to clear out and only come to a conclusion—you're pretty and simple, and he should appreciate it more.

[thestupidhelmet]

Hey there, can you pls help a fellow writer? Here's the thing: I've been writing T70S fanfic for a while, and I feel that I'm managing to keep the characters in character, writing dialogue and their thoughts is easy for me now, but I'm having a whole lot of trouble with their body language.

For instance, when Jackie's really happy or excited about something, she claps her hands enthusiastically, smiles and gives those small adorable jumps. I've seen her doing that on the show and I try to bring that to my stories, but I'm having trouble writing her body language in other situations.

And that's a problem I'm having with all the characters. Like, I know Kelso and Eric both tend to gesticulate a lot with their hands when they're excited about something, but I don't know how to write them when they're scared, or sad, etc. Does that even make sense?

Anyways, I have no trouble writing about the character's feelings, I do have trouble when they need to express their feelings with something other than words, usually, their body language.

I want to give each character their own unique way to express themselves through their body. Like, Hyde and Eric, for example, will behave differently when they're like, really happy or really sad.

Hyde is not the type of guy that claps when he's really excited about something, he's a chill guy and he's the one I struggle the most to write when he's experiencing a strong emotion.

What I mean to ask is: can you give me some tips? I'm really struggling with this. Sorry if this was way too long, I don't even know if this ask made sense to you, but... well, I just could really use some help.

Hi! For my own T7S stories, I’ve made specific choices for the characters’ (emotional) body language based on my understanding / interpretation of who they are, and you can do the same. You’ve obviously observed quite a bit from the actors’ performances from the show, but I’ll describe body language you might not have spotted.

Jackie

She displays a variety of behaviors when she’s sad or upset, depending on what lies underneath her sadness. It also changes depending on her life experiences (basically, how many times her heart has been broken and by whom). You’ll find some commonalities in her body language when she’s upset, however.

When she feels hopeless or is grieving, she stays relatively still, sitting in one spot. She’ll hug a pillow or pick at a stuffed animal’s ear until her feelings overwhelm her. Then she’ll full-out cry while continuing to stay in one spot and picking at whatever she’s grabbed for comfort. See “Ski Trip” (1x13).

As she experiences more heartbreak, her stillness remains when she’s upset. She’ll stare off into the distance while crying. But unlike in “Ski Trip,” she sometimes cries silently. See “Kelso’s Serenade” (2x21).

When she’s depressed, she loses affect in her voice. Her movements are slower. See “Jackie Moves On” (2x22).

When she’s fighting to be understood -- whether she’s angry or sad or wanting desperately for someone to do something specific  -- she becomes animated. She makes pleading gestures with her hands. She’ll also place her hand on her heart.

When she’s fighting for her life -- her emotional life / happiness -- she’ll let snot run down her face while trying to get the other person to understand her needs. See “Don’t Lie to Me” (7x12).

When frustrated, she’ll slap her leg, slam a door after leaving a room, or even kick or pinch the other person. (No! Bad, Jackie!) See “Nobody’s Fault but Mine” (5x23) and “The Immigrant Song” (5x24).

When annoyed or disgusted, she’ll grunt or lean her head back -- or do both at once. With Eric, she’s also sneered. (Too many examples exist to list a specific episode.)

When she’s trying to coax someone to doing what she wants, she’ll do a subtle shoulder shimmy (which I bet she picked up from her mom). She’s done this with Hyde and, I think, Donna. See “Kelso’s Serenade” (2x21) for an example with Hyde.

When she has a sudden idea she thinks is important, she’ll gasp and put her hand on Donna, Kelso, or Hyde’s knee (depending on whom she’s talking to).

Jackie will rub a person’s knee or arm as an expression of emotional support. She’ll also lean her temple against a friend’s (or lovers) when she’s feeling affectionate toward them.

Honestly, I could keep on listing body language for her. But you can find it yourself by watching the episodes. Find an episode where Jackie experiences a specific emotion you’re looking to write into your own story and see how it’s portrayed. This advice stands for the rest of the characters, but I’ll list some body language for them, too.

Kelso

When he’s scared, he closes in on himself physically, trying to make himself a small as possible. He also shakes while doing this. Or he’ll scream. Or he’ll shove someone -- even a person he supposedly loves -- out of the way to get himself to safety. He’ll also find someplace to hide if he feels it’s necessary, usually under a pierce of furniture.

When he’s sad, he’ll cry. Sometimes he’ll hug something with sentimental value to his chest, like a photograph while crying. Or he’ll rip apart something symbolic of how he’s feeling, like a cookie shaped heart.

If feelings of anger or loneliness are mixed into his sadness, he’ll sometimes cry but it’s less forceful. He’ll slump to the couch.

If he feels particularly betrayed, he won’t look at the person who hurt him while in that person’s presence, even if they’re talking to each other.

When anger and betrayal mix, he’ll get physically violent -- usually, but not always, to his own detriment. He’ll run into a screen door then yank it off its hinges. He’ll shoot someone with a BB gun, etc.

When he’s confused, he often stares blankly with a strange expression on his face.

Eric

When he’s scared, the pitch of his voice rises. He’ll swallow more. Sometimes he stutters. He’ll fidget. He’ll look from side to side. He becomes hypervigilant of his surroundings.

Eric often expresses his anger either directly or passive-aggressively. When direct, he’ll shout his feelings and thoughts or speak them at a louder volume than normal. He’s not particularly cruel in what he says.

When passive-aggressive, he’ll smirk smugly while or after making a sharp insult. He’ll rest his hands on his hips or hook his hand / thumbs in his pants pockets in between gesturing. He’ll also laugh smugly while sticking out his tongue then blow a raspberry. This last sequence of behavior seems to be one he and Hyde share, so maybe one of them picked it up from the other while growing up.

If frustration is mixed with his anger, he’ll shout and shove furniture around.

When feeling a particularly overwhelming emotion, whether pleasant or unpleasant, he tends to get on the hood of the Vista Cruiser and look up at the sky. If deeply upset, he might cry silently and slam his fist onto the car’s hood. See “The Promise Ring” (3x25).

After making a devastating choice he believes is right but breaks his heart, he’ll shove his hands in his pockets, look down at the floor or his shoes, and stay quiet. See “Love, Wisconsin Style” (4x27).

The quality of Eric’s voice often reveals a lot about his emotional state. He’ll speak really quietly, not whispering, but as if trying not to scare away a doe when delivering bad news.

Fez

Fez is relatively open and direct with his emotional expression. When he’s sad, he cries. When he’s angry, he shouts. When he’s hurt-angry, he might cry-shout. When he’s happy, he might sing a song and/or do a little dance. Or he’ll hug and kiss his friends (male and female) when he’s grateful.

He’s generally not afraid to speak his mind. If his feelings are particularly intense, he’ll demonstrate his emotional state with a physical display (e.g., ”You dump Fez? I dump fries! There’s your scene!”)

When he’s scared, however, he sometimes pulls in emotionally to protect himself. He won’t speak his mind. Or he’ll clasp his hand in prayer, look up, and ask God for help or answers. He might disregard another person’s boundaries to feel safer (see “Ski Trip” when he’s cold). On the opposite end of the spectrum, he can become obsessive (e.g., calling Eric at three in the morning to ask if they’re still friends).

Fez tends to keep his hands on his hips a lot, regardless of what he’s feeling at any given moment. It’s one of his characterizing personality quirks.

Donna

When she’s angry, she can yell her feelings or an insult (or both). Or completely swallow her anger and talk / act as if she’s fine. She’ll stomp away after an argument, whether up a flight of stairs or to her yard. In season 3, she also takes on a quality of becoming emotionally distant and dismissive, which is reflected in her body language by maintaining a physical distance while looking the other person squarely in the eye.

When she’s sad, she’s doesn’t tend to cry. She’ll talk about what’s upsetting her with emotion in her voice. She’ll gesture with her hands or bite her thumbnail. If she’s discussing her feelings with Eric, she’ll hug him.

When she’s depressed, her posture slumps.

When she’s terrified or feeling betrayed, that’s when she’ll cry. She might reach out to the other person (Eric) with her hand.

Donna tends to act out and/or become self-destructive when she’s feels powerless. Her body language gains a swagger (her walk, her facial expressions, her tone of voice).

If she’s happy, she’ll gesture in excitement with both hands. She smiles and laughs, too, while explaining what’s made her happy. 

Donna will hug friends and family to show emotional support.

Hyde

Hyde does not like people knowing how he’s feeling at any given moment, whether it’s happy, angry, sad, etc. But he does express emotion through body language.

When he’s nervous and he’s sitting, his leg might bounce or his foot will shake. More often, though, he’ll cross his arms over his chest protectively. This latter behavior is true for many of his emotions.

He’ll pace when he’s conflicted. Or stand still and pinch the bridge of his nose while considering all the variables of his internal conflict. He’s very careful when speaking or purposely revealing his (emotional) truth, and he might take a few breaths before actually saying it aloud. 

He’ll also pace and scratch the back of his head he’s antsy or edgy.

Generally, though, he tries hard to suppress his feelings. This often makes him stand stiffly with his arms dangling still at his sides.

When he’s amused, he doesn’t hide it. He’ll chuckle or laugh. If he’s very amused, he’ll laugh hard and press his hands against his stomach. If he’s laughing that hard with a friend, he’ll hold onto that friend for support while lowering his head.

He’s rarely happy, but with Jackie he is. His joy beams out of him like sunlight. See his private moment with Jackie at the start of “Magic Bus” (6x03) and the circle scene with Jackie in “I’m A Boy” (6x08) for examples.

He’ll hug his male friends when they’ve been gone for months or they’re about to leave for a long time. He’ll also hug Kitty and Red when he feels happy for or grateful to them.

That being said, he doesn’t like when people hug him spontaneously. Depending on who’s doing the hugging, he’ll either shove them off angrily (Kelso, Fez, and Eric), endure the hug until he figures out how to make it stop (Kitty), or even panic a little (Roy). Hyde has to be the initiator or co-initiator of the hug. He likely feels trapped and out of control otherwise, which makes sense considering the physical abuse he experienced from his mom.

He’ll clasp or sling his arm around a friend’s shoulder in camaraderie or support.

If you’d like more advice about showing character emotion through body language, I recommend The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman.

I hope this post helps! :D

[agl03]

Given that Iain still seems to be getting starring billing in the press release for S7, do you have thoughts as to why he isn't credited in the first episode? I'm convinced that they're going back to like it was in S2, where you're only credited if you ACTUALLY appear in the episode. I'm assuming to save budget by not having to pay regulars if they're not in an episode.

Hi Anon,

With Iain and Season 7 the reason he isn’t listed as a regular in the opening credits is due to his availability during the filming of Season 7.  Its all TV Contracting and to be a regular on a show you have to be available to work for a specific number of Episodes.   Iain wasn’t, so he’s recurring, that’s it.  I will note that in the past actors have been left off of credits and press releases in order to keep their grand entrance a secret.  I know this isn’t the case with 7.01 the episode aired at D23 no Fitz and May was only in the tag.

Good examples to call out with the Regular vs Recurring:

Jeff in Season 6:  He was indeed a regular but was not in 1, 2, 3, 5, or 6.  However he was available to be in them had he been needed.  Season 5 he started as nearly a one and done but the writers and cast loved him and he went from being a disposable character to Fitzsimmons grandson, so his contract was most definitely extended.    

John Hannah in Season 4:  He was also billed as a regular that season but wasn’t in every episode.  He was available should he be needed, moved to LA while he filmed AOS, but they didn’t need him in every episode.  Also can we please have John back during Time Travel fun times.

Mallory Season 4:  She was Recurring but was in more episodes than John was.  And she played 3 different characters and wound up being the season’s and one of the series Biggest Baddies.  Yeah, I have concerns if she pops back up.

Nick, Henry, and Luke Season 2/3:  They were Recurring in Season two and were promoted to Regulars in Season 3, again not all of them were in every episode in both seasons.  Henry wasn’t in every episode of Season 4,5, and 6 either.  

For me its nothing I’m worried about, this is yet another fort I have built and refused to be removed from, especially when it is something that is out of our control and is well over and done.  

I really enjoyed the format in Season 6 where we would bounce between the two story lines before they literally crashed together.  That meant multiple episodes missing certain characters but I never felt like the story suffered for it.  The writers knew while writing Season 6 and going into Season 7 they wouldn’t have him at certain times and were able to write his story accordingly.  Him being in hiding also allows for things like just voice messages or him filming with himself, no stunts, or a limited cast which goes faster.  I also point out again that the crew said on multiple occasions they were working on multiple episodes at a time which I feel was either for Iain, a super special top secret guest star, or a special location/set they had for a limited time.  My bet is we’ll also start to see more of Fitz once the whole Time Travel portion of the Season ends and the final baddie shows up to crash the party.

There have been many episodes that were very light with Fitz that made major impacts because of the writing and Iain’s acting.  3.01 he had like 5 minutes of screen time but those few scenes he had all packed huge emotional punches and advanced the Maveth story along in that short amount of time.

ABC billing him on the Season Press Release made me even more comfortable with my position.  ABC/AOS still considers him part of the main cast...which means we should get us some promo pics! Yay!

To be honest guys, all I want is for Fitzsimmons to end happy and together (with their secret child, give me one last out there theory that hits writers).  If I have to suffer a prolonged separation and a few episodes without Fitz to get that, I will.  This is the last mission, the stakes are high, so an Endgame couple like Fitzsimmons  who have been to hell and back to be together will have one last major obstacle ...or five to overcome to get that Happy Ending. You are free to disagree with me but please don’t come to my ask box telling me I’m horrible for this line of thinking.  My eyes are on the prize right now.

Other questions that I am getting a lot of due to this situation:

No, I do not know what Iain was working on that limited his availability, US hadn’t started filming yet.  Poor guy might have just needed a break from going non stop since the end of Season 3.

Yes, Iain was spotted both in LA and in the UK at multiple points in the season, traveling back and forth, but thanks to the set lock down its unknown when he was filming and that goes for most of the cast too.  Season 7 was locked down tighter than a submarine.

No, I don’t know if Iain had been filming around Wondercon last year.  When we did the cast signing and the panel he looked pretty post Season 6 “Fitzy” to me but I”m also expecting a nice bit of floof towards the end of the season (thank you US).  

Yes, I really am not concerned about it and believe that we will be pleasantly surprised with the amount of Fitz we do get.

[bunysliper]

Saw the tweet you just posted. You don't have to answer all of them if you don't want to, because I'm submitting a lot... "40 questions - meme for fic writers": 4 - 7 - 8 - 11 - 13 - 17 - 18 - 37 - 38

Thanks Anon! I’ll put the answers here and on twitter (I’m bunysliper there, too) if you’d like: 4. How many fic ideas I’m nurturing right now: So I have a document where I’ve written down ideas/prompts that I think I might write at some point in time. Right now it has.... 24 on it. Around 8 of those are 2x24-based, haha. One that I’m excited to get to, though, is a cute post-Last Call oneshot where Caskett spends some time together exploring the tunnels under The Old Haunt.

7. A snippet of my favorite piece of prose: I put a little explanation on twitter, but this is from echoed on your skin: “He's about to turn twenty-six the day she asks what he thinks of being matched, both in general and to her. It's the first time they have acknowledged their situation to one another, and the short conversation that follows bolsters his spirit; having a Soul Match is odd for them both, but they will make it through.

Just weeks later, he finds himself giving her a hard time about the compass rose tattoo that appears on his hip. It is small, not what he would have chosen for himself, and at first he is a little perturbed to know it will be on his body forever. As time goes on, he likes the idea behind it more and more; the shared compass orients them toward one another.

He finds that comforting, grounding. Even as his professional life takes off, his popularity grows, and he becomes something of a golden boy in some literary circles, the marking on his hip is a reminder that there is more to him than that. He has a Soul Match he will one day meet.

Still, he can't help but push the envelope a bit. He doesn't just sign books, he scrawls his name against skin, hoping to one day see that signature echoed on his own body.

A year passes, and it never does.” 8. A snippet of my favorite piece of dialogue and why: So I went with the first piece of dialogue that popped into my head, from Just the Essentials:

“"What the hell is that?"

Heads have been turning ever since he stepped foot into the precinct with his cargo, but this time the looks – along with Esposito's question – stop him mid-stride.

He's been preparing what he's going to say for the last eight blocks, he's got this.

"What do you mean?" he asks, feigning innocence. Always start with innocence. Never admit guilt until necessary. "Beckett said make a run for food. I'm supplying nourishment to keep us going as we work this case. I got beef lo mein, I got moo shu pork, I got sesame chicke–"

"And a dog," his wife supplies, crossing her arms over her chest, one eyebrow jumping high enough on her forehead to blend in with her hairline. "I'm sorry, two dogs."

"I also got your favorite," Castle deflects, bouncing on his toes. "The spare ribs."

"Castle, the dogs?" Kate prompts, not to be deterred by his sidestep.

"You did say the essentials, didn't you?"“

I like it because it just feels so quick and snappy and I could picture it happening.

11. Is writing my passion or just a fun hobby? It’s a combination of both. For now, it’s a very passionate hobby. That said, maybe sometime in the future it’ll be my passionate career.

13. Best piece of writing advice and why: Just write. Get it all out. The rest - the editing, the fixing stuff, all of that, will happen later.

17. Do I write a story from start to finish or do I write the scenes out of order: I’m a really linear writer, so 99% of the time, I go from start to finish. There are some times when I’ll get inspiration for a scene that goes later and I’ll write that down, but that’s not typical for me.

18. Do I use any tools like worksheets or outlines? For most of my multichapters, I outline so that I won’t forget where I want the story to go in the time it takes me to get there. For oneshots, I just go with it (though if I want to keep an idea, I’ll write one or two sentences about it so I won’t forget it).

37. Talk about my current WIPs: Of the stories/ideas I’m actively working on, I have the multichapter that I teased a couple of times - it’s a continuation of a oneshot that I posted a little bit ago. I outlined it to 18 chapters and I’m working on chapter 3 now so I’ll hopefully start posting that soon. I also have a season 3 fic that I started around Christmas time, so it’s a more Christmas-focused story. And I’m also trying my hand at writing a drabble/double drabble/vingette style thing for every episode. I’m up to 2x03 now, so once I get a few more, I’ll start posting that one. Oh! I have a fic I teased a long time ago but keep stalling on that’s a pre-series AU based on Castle and Beckett meeting online. I also have The Perfect Pairing, another meeting/job AU based on Beckett and Castle bonding over wine and movies. And I have a few other oneshots/prompt responses/continuations that I’ve got a few hundred words on respectively.

38. A review that made my day: All reviews make my day, but the ones that I really love are ones that tell me I changed someone’s mind (about a character, an idea, an ep, etc).

[themagiciansreccenter]

The Great Blank Spot: @hoteldestiel

So much goes into creating fanfiction even before the first words hit the paper. And in-depth spotlight on our writers and the process behind their work.

Tell us about your current project.

Peaches and Plums is my take at a canon-divergent run through of the second half of Season 3 as well as an exploration of all the pieces of the mosaic timeline we didn't get to see. Really, it's my super self-indulgent excuse to dive deep into Eliot's insecurities and darknesses and how they align with/interact with Quentin's. And write these two falling deeply, madly in love with each other as they deserve.

The fics are finally posted from The Trials. Did you participate?

I didn't! I wasn't in deep enough with this fandom until after that challenge was over but I would love to participate in the future!

What is your current word count?

With the draft of Chapter 5 I need edited before I post, I'm at 15,389

Do you try to write daily? Do you have a word count or other goals you try to hit for each writing session?

I do! Not always on this project, I've got a lot of things rolling, but I have been very serious this year about making writing fiction a daily habit for me. Right now my word count goal is 750 words for my 39 Graves timeline and then whatever else I feel like rocking on top of that. Lately I've been averaging around 2k per day.

What was the inspiration for this fic?

A Life in the Day is basically a fanfic writer's dream, really, with all the blank spots waiting to be filled. One of the first things that pulled me into this show was Quentin and Eliot's relationship, and getting to see that in such a powerful way in 3x05 inspired the heck out of me. I also just really wanted a chance to dive into Eliot's head more. I love that chaotic good trauma baby ok??

How do you stay motivated between chapters/stories?

I read (novels, other fanfic, you name it), I work on other projects, I consume other art (music, tv, movies, gifsets lbr those are ART) and I bounce ideas off of people in the fandom, geek out on headcanons, rewatch episodes and meta the heck out of whatever comes my way. Having the daily writing habit helps a lot, it's hard to lose all motivation when you know you have a standing date with your keyboard.

Did this fic require any research? How much research do you typically do for your fics?

So far my only research has been referring back to the second half of season 3 and consulting the Magicians Wiki when I get stuck. If a fic requires me to do some googling (like this idea I have brewing in the back of my mind probably will) I will gladly google whatever I need to to make sure it's right. Usually, though, I don't research until I run up against the thing that needs clarification. If I get too in my head about the details, the prose doesn't come as easily.

Do you typically write ahead or post as you go?

I post as I go! Write a chapter, get it edited/betaed, and out into the ether it goes! I usually sit with it for a couple of days after it's drafted and edited before I publish it, but that's about as close to writing ahead as I get.

How much planning and outlining did you do before you started putting words on paper?

For Peaches and Plums, almost none. I had the idea, and I was driving home from work when the first sentence of it came into my head clear as day. I repeated it to myself the rest of the drive home so I wouldn't lose it by the time I got there, walked through the door and immediately sat down to start writing. I jot down notes for future chapters as they come to me but it's been pretty go-with-the-flow so far.

Has it been pretty smooth sailing or rough waters? When things get rocky, how do you handle needing to rewrite sections or scrap scenes entirely?

It was smooth sailing (punt intended, thanks Muntjac) until Chapter 5. The plot had a pretty clear direction and I knew where I wanted it to go, but Chapter 5 is an all-mosaic chapter and I struggled with that. It stalled me out for a couple of weeks, and the first version of that chapter straight up doesn't exist anymore. I've been writing for a long time so I'm less precious with my writing, I'll cut huge chunks out if I feel they don't really serve the story, and I'm totally okay with rewriting. The biggest thing I try to keep in mind when I'm rewriting is that it can't happen in a vacuum. When I'm done with the rewrite, I make sure to read the whole chapter/piece over again because sometimes it gets messy and confusing, or repetitive without trying. Rocky, for me, is running out of plot steam or being unsure of where to go next, but I think I've got a pretty clear direction of the next few chapters so I'm excited to have some momentum again!

Teaser

“That’s bullshit!” Q said, stepping closer again, reaching Eliot’s side before he had time to do anything drastic.

“You’re right,” Not-Eliot growled. “You can end this, don’t let him talk you out of it.”

“No, Q. It’s not bullshit. It’s smart. The rest of you can figure this out without me,” Eliot said, his foot still perched on the rung.

“Not like you were really much help anyway,” Not-Eliot added, “Quentin didn’t even figure out the mosaic until after you died.”

Eliot shook his head. God, he hadn’t thought of it like that. It made sense. He gripped the rung tighter, willing himself to shift his weight upward.

“No!” Quentin shouted, placing his hand over one of Eliot’s. Eliot stopped.

“Why not, huh? Can you give me one good, legitimate reason? Not some shitty reason about how the quest needs me or how I’m some great magician if I can just stick it out until we get magic back, or how Fillory needs me. That’s all so fucking flimsy, and we both know it. Give me a real reason, Q.”

Quentin was quiet. Eliot took it as an answer. He brought his other foot to the rung, hoisting himself up once more.

“I already lost you once, El, don’t make me lose you again.”

The Great Blank Spot is an in-depth spotlight focusing on the writing process and previewing in-progress fics for our fandom. It is meant to be an organic, ever-evolving feature. Previously interviewed fic writers can reach out to us here, to have a specific work featured. If you’d like to have a work featured but haven’t done the author spotlight, reach out to us to get started. If you have suggestions for questions you’d like to see answered, shoot us an ask!

[revasnaslan]

(Hey, it's me, the writing tips anon.) If you have an notes on introducing characters or dialogue in general, that would be super helpful. Sorry I'm so terrible at communication.

no no you’re fine!! it’s just that writing is such a broad topic to cover that it helps me if i have one specific thing to talk about (i’m no actually as articulate as i’m sure my fics lead people to believe lmao y’all should see me in my group chats)

As for introducing characters, it helps if you give them an establishing character moment. That’s not a trope for no reason. I’ve had to do that a lot in my fic Raised Amongst the Stars because so much of the cast is OC’s that the reader isn’t going to be familiar with because before they were on paper, they only existed in my own head.

This got a little long cause I basically picked three of my OC’s and listed off a bunch of things from their introduction scenes that basically establish who they are as people without actually having to come right out and say it. So it’s under a cut :3

Kyren’s Establishing Character Moment (from Chapter 1):

Thace drew his blade, and its form shifted as he held it out in front of him. Ulaz began reaching for his, hugging Keith close to his chest as he tried soothing the cub before upset became a full blown tantrum.

“Sorry!”

A younger Blade slide down a nearby ladder, landing soundly on their feet. Their age was clearly denoted by the make of their armor and also their size. They were just a tad shorter than Thace was. They made no attempt to retrieve their blade from where it had embedded itself in the stone wall of the alley, four inches deep.

This is meant to establish that Kyren is young, but he’s skilled. It takes exceptional aim to nearly take Ulaz’s head off from such a distance and quite a throw to embed a blade into a wall as deeply as he did. Kyren is the ace of his initiate class, so it makes sense that he’d have the most skill out of them (although the class is only made up of three individuals so it’s not saying that much with that alone).

Kyren definitely recognized Thace, as his entire expression brightened. “Sergeant Thace!” he greeted, very close to bouncing up and down on his toes like an excited cub half his age. “I—I didn’t know you would be coming to check on me! Commander Kolivan didn’t—he didn’t tell me I would be having visitors so soon!”

Ulaz cut in before Thace could respond, choosing his words carefully. “This… isn’t exactly a schedule visit, Kyren.”

He wasn’t sure if Kyren had heard him, though. “I haven’t prepared any briefings for you yet, sir,” he explained. “But—but I have all the notes!”

Ulaz forced a smile. “Well, that’s nice of you, but we came here hoping that the local Blade would be in possession of a shuttle—”

A grin broke out on Kyren’s features. “Of course!” he said enthusiastically, “Anything you need, sir! And I can provide you with briefings too, to show Commander Kolivan I’m doing my job! I just need time to type them up and—”

This establishes that Kyren is extremely eager to please. He wants to be helpful and to prove himself, especially since he’s just fresh off of his trial and this is his first field assignment. It also establishes that Kyren really really looks up to Thace and wants to impress him. He’s excitable and extremely talkative and has no qualms with showing that.

Kyren made no attempts to hide his curiosity about Keith, even though Keith was completely and utterly uninterested in the new person he had just met. “Why do you have a cub with you?” he asked, ears alert as he tilted his head.

“Don’t you have a report to write?” Thace asked.

Basic, but establishes that Kyren is very interested in new and unusual things. Also this scene serves as a contrast to a later scene from the yet unposted Chapter 4, where Kyren meets Keith when he’s older. By then Kyren has matured a little bit more (meaning a new establishing character moment since he disappeared from the fic for like three chapters), so he’s a lot more soft spoken and such.

Evren’s Establishing Character Moment (from Chapter 2):

Myrek’s still unawakened blade ricocheted off of Evren’s arm guard, leaving a series of sparks in its wake. The initiate bared his canines in a snarl before lunging at Evren again, but his attack didn’t phase her. Slowly, Evren stepped backwards, reversing the grip on her blade and blocking most of Myrek’s attempted blows—one did actually land, grazing along Evren’s upper arm. Myrek mimicked her then, reversing the grip on his blade as he aimed a blow at Evren’s right side—the wrong side.

During his years of training, Thace had learned that Evren lacked much of the peripheral vision on her left side. While she wasn’t completely blind in her left eye, it did take her longer to react to attacks that were aimed there, leaving her opponents with an opening to strike. As such, she normally tried to keep her opponents on her right—Thace had noticed that Kolivan frequently stayed on her left side whenever they led doubles training matches for the initiates. And now Myrek was forgetting to use her weakness to his advantage.

Seeing Myrek’s attack coming, Evren locked her arm with his and kneed him hard in the stomach, throwing him off balance. Myrek let out a strangled cough as the air was forced out of his lungs, and he yelped as Evren gripped him by the forearm and easily flipped him onto his ass. He hit the floor with a grunt, and his blade clattered across the training room, out of his reach. Then, Evren’s stance shifted so that she was lower to the ground. She crouched over him, and poised her blade to strike, holding the tip just shy of Myrek’s jugular.

“Do you yield?” Evren asked.

This scene is meant to establish that Evren is a seasoned warrior who is very skilled in what she does. Basically, I wanted to establish that she was a badass, while also establishing that she has a handicap. Evren has heavy scarring on the left side of her face as a result of an attempt on her life, and the result wounds caused her to lose peripheral vision in that eye. By having Myrek attack that side, I established the Evren has that handicap while also establishing that she’s worked out methods to deal with said handicap.

... also i just wanted too write her kicking ass lmao

“Then why doesn’t he just put me in maintenance?” Myrek said.

Evren gave a heavy sigh, before she moved forward to lightly place her hands on Myrek’s shoulders. Her mask dematerialized as well, revealing her face as she looked up at him. Her gentle expression contrasted sharply with the scarring that marred the left side of her face, standing out against her dark purple fur.

It was a rare sight, to see Evren without her mask on—a sign of complete and utter trust on her part.

“What, and waste so much potential?” she asked, offering a reassuring smile. She gently began smoothing down the thick fur on the back of Myrek’s neck—something Myrek would have hated had it been anyone else attempting it. When Evren did it, though, some of the tension left his shoulders. “If you just keep training, I promise that you will be able to take your trial.”

“But Kolivan said—” Myrek began muttering.

Evren scoffed, making a show of rolling her eyes, though her smile didn’t fade. “You never mind what Kolivan says. He’s an old blowhard—nothing but hot air.”

Myrek tried to stifle a tearful laugh.

this scene is meant to establish that while she is a fighter and a damn good one with a lot of experience under her belt, she is also exceedingly kind and gentle with those who need comfort. I didn’t just call her a space mom for nothing. Evren very much fits the trope of Team Mom because she’s so gentle and kindhearted, although the aformented ass-kicking also makes it clear that she’s not to be trifled with.

Do no harm, take no shit.

“Good,” Evren said, “Now, go get your blade and stretch for another practice match. I have to speak with Thace.”

“Yes, Evren,” Myrek said, dipping his head and bringing a fist to his chest in the makings of a salute. Then, he moved toward the opposite side of the room, stopping to scoop his blade up off the floor as he went.

“And no slacking!” Evren shouted after him, “I don’t think Kellun would appreciate seeing you so early in the morning because you didn’t stretch properly!”

“You need to stop babying him,” Thace sighed, as Evren finally turned her full attention to him. “He’s not a cub—”

“I worry about all my officers,” Evren retorted.

this establishes that Evren is a trainer in addition to being gentle and kindhearted. she doesn’t need her students slacking, she doesn’t need them being injured, but she’s like that because she worries about them because she sees all her officers like they’re her own cubs.

so yeah, only love and respect for my space mom

Nylak’s Establishing Character Moment (from Chapter 3):

“Hello, Sergeant [Antok],” Nylak greeted him, voice smooth as running water. She didn’t bother to look him in the eye while addressing him, though, and one of her large ears shifted back into a relaxed position at the side of her head. She continued filing one of her claws without further acknowledgment of his presence.

This alone establishes Nylak and Antok’s relationship. Even though Antok outranks her, Nylak shows him only the barest amounts of respect, calling him by his rank. However, she also refuses to give him the courtesy of looking him in the eye when she’s talking to him. The only acknowledgement of his presence is her ear moving in his direction and then shifting back. 

Nylak’s ears gave a couple more irritated twitches before she spoke up, cutting Myrek off. “You’re right, Myrek,” she said stiffly. Her gaze snapped up to meet Antok’s. “I would hate to upset the cub.”

“And I have better things to do than pick fights with a fresh-furred Corporal who has a grandiose opinion of herself,” Antok conceded dryly.

“Oh, do you really?” Nylak questioned.

This establishes that Antok and Nylak bring out the worst in each other. Antok is older than her, and while I tend to write Antok as being somewhat childish in his mannerism, he at least can be mature and doesn’t descend into this kind of childish bickering that isn’t even teasing. Antok and Nylak can’t fucking stand each other and I make that abundantly clear in the text. If Nylak was less put together of a person, perhaps she would have lost her temper by now, but instead she maintains an air of grace with everything she does or says (which as i make clear in the fic, is a result of her upbringing, since she’s imperial-born and was recruited rather than being born into the blade)

“Did you need something, Sergeant?” Nylak asked, as she went back to filing her claw. She only stopped when she seemed satisfied with the edge on it, before moving on to the next one.

“I would hate to interrupt your threat display with more pressing matters,” Antok said, crossing his arms over his chest as the tip of his tail lashed back and forth, sweeping across the ground. Nylak’s ears gave an amused twitch at the sound of it, and Antok’s own ears perked when he heard Myrek’s soft, irritated groan. However, his gaze didn’t stray from Nylak.

She flexed her claws, watching as the light caught and glinted on them in the dimly lit communication hub. “There is nothing wrong with a little claw maintenance, Sergeant,” she retorted. “Don’t be so sensitive… Myrek isn’t bothered by it.”

And here, she’s still filing her claws. In my headcanon, one Galra filing their claws in the presence of another can actually be taken as a threat display. Nylak knows damn well what she’s doing but continues doing it even though she knows that it’s making Antok uncomfortable because... well, she’s a bitch. i mean i love her, but she’s an unrelenting bitch XD

basically nylak’s entire introduction scene is meant to showcase how she’s a really unpleasant person to be around...

[mmecolbert]

So I'm curious, if ASP really wanted Luke/Lorelai to be endgame, why did she fuck them over so badly in s6? Their communication went from bad to non-existent, she broke them up so suddenly, and had the season end with Lorelai sleeping with Chris. Then she never watched s7 and then put them back together in the revival. Why would she end her stay on the show by screwing up what she thinks is the perfect couple?

Great question! I have a few ideas about this…

1) In S6 the tone of the show overall changed. I attribute it to the fact that ASP was inspired by new material. The first few seasons of the show (to me) were written while ASP was watching sitcoms like Seinfeld. I mean, she created the show after writing for years for Roseanne. It makes sense that the tone was more light, with light drama. I feel like sometime in the later seasons ASP got HBO and her mind shifted from Seinfeld to The Sopranos. Seriously, GG went into much more high drama, the world is garbage, the people are garbage, any good thing in your life comes at a high price and the circumstances will fuck it all up kind of direction. This made combining GG comedy with drama far more difficult and in S6 the balance was completely off. They just swung way too far between high (melo)drama to schtick comedy. It was weird. 

2) I don’t think ASP knows how to write healthy, happy couples. She’s stated before that there’s no drama and it’s no fun to watch happy couples be happy. I guess that’s her prerogative, but mine is that a) yes, you can absolutely write good drama while keeping a couple happy and b) ASP’s perspective shows her severe limitations as a writer. I don’t think she knew how to write LL as two people who are growing and learning and solving their problems in order to make their relationship work. She only knew how to write them as completely incapable of communicating or committing or capable of fixing these problems. ASP only knew how to write wrenches being thrown into a happy couple, to create conflict and problems because that’s the only way that she knows to maintain “drama.” So I think her mindset post S5 for LL was “hm, well I have another two or three seasons with this show, how do I keep LL interesting now that they’re together? Oh, I know! Lemme bring out their very worst qualities, up them to the max, and that’ll keep the show going a few more years.” I honestly don’t think ASP knew how to keep the show going with LL happy and together. 

3) I think ASP liked the idea that couples need to reach absolute bottom (i.e., be their absolute worst selves and do maximum amount of damage) in order to decide whether or not they want to be with this person and/or grow from there. I feel like she did that with literally every couple. The only two we ever see bounce back from that to any capacity are LL and Rory/Logan. Again, I think it stems from ASP not knowing how to write good drama among healthy couples and maybe her really pessimistic views on people in general. So I feel like Luke’s storyline with April/Anna and Lorelai sleeping with Chris was meant to be like…them at their absolute worst, now let’s see if they can bounce back from this. Specifically for Lorelai (personally I feel like keeping your kid secret from your fiancee is far worse than sleeping with an ex after breaking up with a guy you love, but w/e) ASP saw Lorelai sleeping with Chris as Lorelai doing the maximum amount of damage to LL, and S7/8 would have been all about “does Luke have the capacity/enough love to forgive this, how does Lorelai actually feel about Chris, if Lorelai wants to be with Luke then what will she need to do about Chris and how will she need to change her ways to repair her relationship with Luke.” I think AYITL shows some clues: yes, Luke will ultimately forgive Lorelai anything, Chris needs to stay away from Lorelai, Lorelai needs to learn that if she doesn’t want to lose Luke then she needs to fight her instincts and fully commit to him. I don’t think that S7 really did all that much to alter ASP’s original plans with LL. Maybe she wouldn’t have had Lorelai marry Chris, but I feel like the general idea would have been the same. 

Personally I don’t think there was anything sudden about LL’s breakup. With every rewatch I feel like it’s coming from the moment that they start dating. They weren’t communicating from beginning, both had commitment issues and had one foot out of the relationship from the start, both had a tendency to keep info from the other, etc. I feel like their relationship was always intensely fragile right up until Fall. This, to me, is just how ASP writes. I think ASP really banked on the idea that people love LL so much, that no matter how many obstacles she wrote for them, people would still love them and want them overcome whatever issue comes up, even secret daughters and sleeping with Chris. I think she thought this made LL and GG interesting and what made audiences come back every week. But that’s just my opinion  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯