#am i un-writer's blocked

[physalian]

How to make your writing sound less stiff

Just a few suggestions. You shouldn’t have to compromise your writing style and voice with any of these, and some situations and scenes might demand some stiff or jerky writing to better convey emotion and immersion. I am not the first to come up with these, just circulating them again.

1. Vary sentence structure.

This is an example paragraph. You might see this generated from AI. I can’t help but read this in a robotic voice. It’s very flat and undynamic. No matter what the words are, it will be boring. It’s boring because you don’t think in stiff sentences. Comedians don’t tell jokes in stiff sentences. We don’t tell campfire stories in stiff sentences. These often lack flow between points, too.

So funnily enough, I had to sit through 87k words of a “romance” written just like this. It was stiff, janky, and very unpoetic. Which is fine, the author didn’t tell me it was erotica. It just felt like an old lady narrator, like Old Rose from Titanic telling the audience decades after the fact instead of living it right in the moment. It was in first person pov, too, which just made it worse. To be able to write something so explicit and yet so un-titillating was a talent. Like, beginner fanfic smut writers at least do it with enthusiasm.

2. Vary dialogue tag placement

You got three options, pre-, mid-, and post-tags.

Leader said, “this is a pre-dialogue tag.”

“This,” Lancer said, “is a mid-dialogue tag.”

“This is a post-dialogue tag,” Heart said.

Pre and Post have about the same effect but mid-tags do a lot of heavy lifting.

They help break up long paragraphs of dialogue that are jank to look at

They give you pauses for ~dramatic effect~

They prompt you to provide some other action, introspection, or scene descriptor with the tag. *don't forget that if you're continuing the sentence as if the tag wasn't there, not to capitalize the first word after the tag. Capitalize if the tag breaks up two complete sentences, not if it interrupts a single sentence.

It also looks better along the lefthand margin when you don’t start every paragraph with either the same character name, the same pronouns, or the same “ as it reads more natural and organic.

3. When the scene demands, get dynamic

General rule of thumb is that action scenes demand quick exchanges, short paragraphs, and very lean descriptors. Action scenes are where you put your juicy verbs to use and cut as many adverbs as you can. But regardless of if you’re in first person, second person, or third person limited, you can let the mood of the narrator bleed out into their narration.

Like, in horror, you can use a lot of onomatopoeia.

Drip Drip Drip

Or let the narration become jerky and unfocused and less strict in punctuation and maybe even a couple run-on sentences as your character struggles to think or catch their breath and is getting very overwhelmed.

You can toss out some grammar rules, too and get more poetic.

Warm breath tickles the back of her neck. It rattles, a quiet, soggy, rasp. She shivers. If she doesn’t look, it’s not there. If she doesn’t look, it’s not there. Sweat beads at her temple. Her heart thunders in her chest. Ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba- It moves on, leaving a void of cold behind. She uncurls her fists, fingers achy and palms stinging from her nails. It’s gone.

4. Remember to balance dialogue, monologue, introspection, action, and descriptors.

The amount of times I have been faced with giant blocks of dialogue with zero tags, zero emotions, just speech on a page like they’re notecards to be read on a stage is higher than I expected. Don’t forget that though you may know exactly how your dialogue sounds in your head, your readers don’t. They need dialogue tags to pick up on things like tone, specifically for sarcasm and sincerity, whether a character is joking or hurt or happy.

If you’ve written a block of text (usually exposition or backstory stuff) that’s longer than 50 words, figure out a way to trim it. No matter what, break it up into multiple sections and fill in those breaks with important narrative that reflects the narrator’s feelings on what they’re saying and whoever they’re speaking to’s reaction to the words being said. Otherwise it’s meaningless.

—

Hope this helps anyone struggling! Now get writing.

[gadriezmannsgirl]

Hello!✨ I'm kind of back to writing, truth is I've been wanting to write some things these past weeks however it's been impossible for me to be able to come up with something, I'm having serious writers block😭it's a bit frustrating because I love writing😭😭😭 but I'll try my best to end all the requests and hopefully fully come back!🫶🏻

This is a kind of small reaction with Barça Boys (Pedri, Gavi, Fermín and Ferran) , let me know what you guys think!✨

Slam Car Door

Pedri:

He jumped in his seat, his eyes wide as he saw you slam the door of his car

"Madre mía" (Dear god) He whispered, you opened the door to his car

"I'm so sorry" You say with your hand covering your mouth "I didn't meant to, I couldn't grab the door properly and the wind knocked it out of my hands"

"No te preocupes, amor. Ten cuidado, ¿Sí?" (Don't worry, love. Be careful, yeah?) You nod smiling

"¿Compro un kilo o dos de plátano?" (Should I buy one or two kilos of bananas?) You ask

"Dos. Uno pa' ti y el otro pa'mi" (Two. One for you and the other for me) You laugh nodding

"Got it" You went to close the door and Pedri once again jumped when you slammed the door. His mouth opened and one of his hands moved in question

"Amor" You could read his lips from the window

"It's the wind! It's the wind!" You hurriedly say opening the door once again

"Be careful, bonita. The door can break and-"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, I'll be careful" You say blowing him a kiss, closing the door.

"Y/N!" He yells when he sees you slamming the door "¡Preciosa!"

"What?" You ask giggling

"Stop doing that!"

"What am I doing?!"

"When we get home I swear I'll slam the door of our bathroom!"

"Don't you dare, Pedro González!"

Gavi:

"Any other thing you want me to buy?" You ask lifting your head up from the notes on your phone to look at your two years boyfriend

"I think that would be it"

"You sure? I don't want to forget anything"

"You can add the things we might need to do burguers"

"You want to eat burguers?" He nods smiling softly, you smile before writing down the items you'll need for the dinner "And that's it?" You look down at his hand in your thigh and played with his fingers.

"Yes I think that would be it, unless you'd like to add something at last minute"

"Probably I will" He laughs "I'll be going then" You undo the seatbelt "Hopefully in fifteen minutes, I'm back" You lean over to kiss his cheek.

"Take your time, preciosa"

He grabs his bottle of water from the cupholder and drinks from it. Only to get choked up by it when he hears the slam, his pouty face turns into his famous frown, eyes full of confusion.

"Are your parents coming tomorrow, right? Or is it next week? I'll be cooking your mom's favorite, so should I buy the ingredients now or wait until we're on a closer date?"

"They're coming next week" He confirms what you already know

"So, should I buy them later?" He nods

"Yes, tomatoes can get bad really quick so it's better that way" He nods his eyebrows furrowed. He looked so cute, you wanted to laugh.

"Perfecto, gracias" (Perfect, thanks) You close the door once again, before almost leaving you saw his eyes wide open, trying to figure out how to call you out on this. "Also, do you want me to buy the big jar of nuts?" You ask "or maybe the medium"

"Any of them it's fine" He nods "Something's wrong?"

"No, why?"

"It seems like you're mad"

"I'm not, baby. Why do you say that?" He gets quiet for a minute before shaking his head "Nothing" He whispers "Try not close the door so hard, bebé"

You look at the door before letting a small -oh- acting as if you didn't knew what was bothering him "Did I close it too hard?" He nods instantly

"Joder, si" (Fuck yeah)

"Ay, lo siento" (Sush, I'm sorry) You nod "I'll be careful" You say blowing him a kiss, he winks back at you, you smile and stopped for a few seconds before slamming the door shut.

You could only see his eyes wide open and the "Me cago en la-" he let out before you ran away while laughing, soon you heard the sound of the honk of your boyfriend's car and his yell of your name. You made sure to buy his favorite chocolate cake that day.

Fermín:

"Want me to go with you, amor?"

"Don't worry, Fer. You can stay here, I'll be back in a few minutes" You lean over to kiss his cheek twice before he moved his head and crashed his lips into yours

"Be careful" He said before giving you another kiss, you giggle

"I'll re-stock my girly things and be back in a few minutes"

"I know but still" You smile

"Te quiero mucho más" You say "Want me to bring something for you?"

"I'm so in love with you, you're too cute"

"Te quiero"

"A muffin would do"

"Got it" You got out of the car and without looking back you slammed the door, you started walking but the honk of your boyfriend's car interrupted you "What's up?"

"I think the door wasn't closed"

"Oh! Let me do it again" You slammed the door once again, a bit stronger than before "Better?" You asked and he shook his head

"Not yet" You opened it and closed it again "More" You did it once again putting all of your strenght, you winced a bit in this last one

"Now?"

"Nope"

"Fermín!"

"You were the one starting it, mi amor!"

Ferran:

"¡Ostras!" (Fuck!) "Cuidado, un poco mas y se te devuelve la puerta, preciosa" (Careful, a little more and the door will be returned to you, precious)

"I'm so sorry, Fer! I didn't meant to!"

"That you pay for my door insurance, nena"

"Ferran, stop. It wasn't that bad!"

"Que no fue tan mal? Casi me tiras la puerta en la cara!" (It wasn't that bad? You almost threw the door in my face)

"Exagerado" (Exaggerated)

"Not exaggerated, I'm just taking precautions" You roll your eyes

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Torres. I'll go" He nods

"I'll be waiting for you, beautiful" You smile and close the door once again. You looked at Ferran who simply looked at you, you tried your best to hold your laughter

"What?"

"I know what you're doing and you won't get any reaction from me!"

"What do you think I'm doing?!"

"You dislike this car and want me to buy another one, right?"

"That's not-"

"Save it. I'll do it"

"No! If you want a new car you don't have to say I influenced you"

"But you did" He said "My mind's already setting everything up"

"But I didn't! All I was doing was slamming your car door to see your reac-" You cut yourself off and Ferran's eyebrows went up lightly. You fell in his trap.

"¿Estabas tirando la puerta de mi coche?" (Were you slamming my cars door?)

"In my defense... I was trying to see your reaction and I didn't do it that hard!"

"No, ¡Un poco más y la puerta llega a mi cara!" (No, a bit more and the door gets to my face!)

"¡Mentira!" (Liar!)

"Venga, vamos" (C'mon, let's go) "I'll go with you"

°°° °°° °°° °°°

Taglist: @gaviymarcsbride @stuckinaf4nfiction @elijahslover @azzpenswrld @http-isabela

[emmylksblog]

Hey I love your stories and account

I wanted to ask if you could do a Hector fort x fem reader story

The reader is Marc guiu‘s sister and she mets hector fort for the first time at an after party (party for winning a match) and then you can come up with something I’m not that creative😭

DANCING DESIRES // H.FORT

requested

content: suggestive, smut

warnings: bad written smut

words: 3613

a/n: sorry for being so late, i got writers block and also tried to figure out how to write smut, hope it’s not that lame 😭

The party is hot and cramped. You push through drunk bodies sweating through clothes and perfume. You don't like parties, but you're here because your brother was insistent that you came here.

Suddenly, someone grabs your hand, yanking you to the side. You turn around, coming face-to-face with Hector Fort. Your brother's teammate and best friend.

His eyes are dark and intense as they lock onto yours, and his grip is firm. "What are you doing here by yourself?" He asks, his voice deep and smooth.

You scan his face, noticing the slightly off-balance nature and the smell of alcohol on his breath. Yep, he's definitely had a few too many drinks.

"I could ask you the same thing," you reply, trying to keep your voice casual. He’s very handsome, with his tousled hair and his intense gaze. Focus, you think to yourself.

"Me? I'm just enjoying a drink after my game," he says, a sly smile playing at the corner of his lips. "But I couldn't help noticing you alone over here. Te ves un poco perdida. (You look a little lost)"

You roll your eyes, feeling a flush of annoyance. "I'm not lost. I'm just here against my will, watching out for my idiot brother. He's somewhere around here, getting drunk off his ass."

Hector chuckles, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Oh, so you're the responsible one. That's a shame, I was hoping for some fun tonight."

"Yeah well, somebody has to be responsible," you say, unable to help feeling a spark of attraction to his confident arrogance. Bad idea, very bad idea, you should just walk away, you think to yourself.

Hector leans in closer, his eyes never leaving hers. "Come on, lighten up a little. I bet you can be fun when you want to be," he says, his voice low and seductive.

You scoff, trying to act unphased by his charm. "Oh please, I've seen your type before. I bet you've got a dozen girls eating out of the palm of your hand at every party you go to."

He grins, unashamed. "And yet here I am, wanting to talk to you." He steps closer, invading her personal space. "There's just something about you that's different. I can't quite put my finger on it."

You raise an eyebrow at him. "That was the most cliché line I've ever heard. Do you use that with every girl you meet?"

Hector laughs, not seeming bothered by your bluntness, if anything it only seems to intrigue him more. "I don't need pickup lines to get girls. But I was hoping it would work on you," he says with a coy smile.

You roll your eyes again and shake your head. "As if. You're going to have to work a lot harder than that."

His smile widens, his eyes lighting up with a challenge. "Oh yeah? And what do I get if I prove to you that I'm serious?"

You cross your arms, raising an eyebrow. "You first have to prove to me why I even should give you my time."

Hector steps closer still, now only a breath away. His voice drops to a low, seductive murmur. "Because you're the most beautiful, captivating woman in this entire room. And I can't take my eyes off of you."

Your heart jumps in your chest, caught off guard by his directness. You try to stay cool, but you can't help the hint of a flush rising to your cheeks. "That's a start. But you're going to have to do better than flattery."

Hector grins, loving the fact that he's gotten a reaction out of her. "Then how about I show you instead? Come dance with me."

You hesitate for a moment, caught between wanting to shut him down and secretly wanting to see where this goes. Finally, you decide to throw caution to the wind. "Fine. One dance."

He grins triumphantly and takes your hand, leading you to the dance floor. The music is loud and the air is thick with bodies grinding together. Hector pulls you close to him, the heat of his body pressing against yours.

Suddenly interrupting the rhythm of your dance your brother Marc emerges from the crowd.

Marc's eyes flick between the two of you, his expression changing from surprise to irritation. "Qué estás haciendo con ella? (what are you doing with her?) " he asks Hector, his voice low and protective.

Hector grins sheepishly, clearly trying to avoid causing a scene. "Calm down, Marc. I was just having a chat with your pretty sister here."

Marc's eyes narrow as he steps closer to the two of you. "Yeah, I can see that. But why do you have your hands all over her?"

"Marc, relájate. Todo está bien. (, relax. Everything's alright) Hector's just had a bit too much to drink," you say, trying to calm your overprotective brother down.

Marc looks at Hector skeptically, but he seems to relax a little at your words. "Are you sure? You don't want me to kick his ass?"

You roll your eyes and shake your head at your overprotective brother. "Marc, eres muy ridículo a veces. Hector está borracho y solo estaba hablando conmigo. Además, él todavía es tu mejor amigo, ¿no es así?" ("Marc, you are very ridiculous sometimes. Hector is drunk and was just talking to me. Besides, he is still your best friend, isn't he?")

Marc huffs, still not fully convinced. "Yeah, he's my best friend. But you're my sister, and I don't like seeing him putting his hands all over you."

You can't help but laugh at your brother's protectiveness. "Marc, I can handle myself, you know that. I'm not some fragile little flower. Besides, Hector's harmless."

Hector chuckles, clearly enjoying the dynamic between you and your brother. "Yeah, I'm harmless. And I have to say, your sister here is quite feisty. You should give her more credit."

Marc looks at Hector and then at you, his gaze softening. "Fine, I'll back off. But if you do anything to hurt her, I will kick your ass. Got it?"

Hector holds up his hands in surrender, his expression mock-serious. "Understood, boss. I promise I'll behave."

Marc gives Hector a firm tap on the shoulder and leans in to whisper something to him. Though you can't hear what he's saying, you see Hector's expression soften, and he nods at whatever your brother had said. Marc then shoots you a final protective look before disappearing into the crowd.

"What did he say to you?" you ask Hector curiously, wondering what your brother could have said that made him look so unusually serious.

You can't help but think about how protective your brother had acted just now, wondering what it was that made him so adamant that you not spend time with Hector. He must think I'm not capable of handling myself, you think to yourself, annoyance prickling up your spine.

"I can tell what you're thinking," Hector says suddenly, breaking the thread of your thoughts.

You turn to look at him, surprised. "And what am I thinking, listo (smartass)?"

Hector grins at your sassiness. "You're thinking that your brother is too protective, and you're wondering why he's so against the idea of us getting to know each other."

You frown, not liking how accurately he had guessed your thoughts. "And if I am? So what?"

He leans in closer, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "If you want to know the truth, I think I know why he's so protective."

You raise an eyebrow, curiosity getting the better of you. "Oh yeah? And what's the reason behind my brother's overprotectiveness?

Hector grins, clearly enjoying having your full attention. "Promise you won't get mad if I tell you?"

You huff, already getting a sense of what he's going to say. "I can't guarantee that. But go on, tell me anyway."

Hector leans in even closer, his voice low and intimate. "I think it's because your brother knows me better than almost anyone. And he knows that I have a bit of a reputation for being a heartbreaker."

You look him straight in the eye, not intimidated. "Is that so? You think you can break my heart that easily?"

Hector chuckles, clearly enjoying your confidence. "I didn't say I could, I just said that's what your brother thinks. But let's be real, I could probably have you begging for more within a week if I wanted to."

Feeling emboldened, you step closer to Hector and whisper in his ear, your voice low and sultry. "Bold of you to assume you could break my heart. But if you think you're up to the challenge, I bet I could have you begging for more before the night is through."

Hector's eyes widen in surprise, clearly not expecting your forwardness. The challenge has been issued, and he can't back down now. "Is that so? You think you could have me wrapped around your little finger that easily?"

You grin, enjoying the flicker of doubt you see in his eyes. "Oh, I know I could. But the question is, are you brave enough to take the bet?"

Hector's gaze heats up with a mix of desire and caution. "I don't back down from a challenge. But you better bring your A-game if you think you can tame me so easily."

You lean in closer, your breath tickling his ear. "Oh, don't worry. I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

Feeling a sense of victory, you decide it's time to start playing your game. You press closer to Hector, your body almost flush against his. You tilt your head, allowing your lips to brush against his ear as you speak. "Here's how this is going to play out. We're going to dance, and every now and then, I'm going to touch you in a way that you wouldn't expect."

Hector shivers, the sensation of your lips against his ear sending a jolt of electricity down his spine. "And what happens if I can't handle it?" he asks, his voice hoarse with anticipation.

You chuckle, enjoying how quickly he's unraveling under your touch. "If you can't handle it, then I win," you reply smoothly. "But be warned, I don't play fair."

Hector grins, clearly enjoying the challenge. "Good. I like a little bit of chaos."

He pulls you closer to him, his hands resting on your hips as he begins to lead you in a slow, sultry dance. His breath is hot against your neck, sending shivers down your spine.

True to your word, you begin to make your moves. Every now and then, you'll brush against his body in a way that's just a little bit more than innocent. You'll lean in to whisper in his ear, your lips brushing against his jawline. You'll let your fingertips trail lightly down his chest, feeling the muscles tense under your touch.

Hector is struggling to maintain his composure. Every touch, every move you make is driving him crazier than the last. He tries to focus on breathing, but it's becoming increasingly difficult. The desire to take control of the situation is growing stronger, but he's determined not to let you win so easily.

Hector is clearly not one to be outdone. As the dance continues, his own touches become more intentional and deliberate. His hands slide from your hips to your waist, pulling you even closer to him. His fingers dance along the edge of your clothing, occasionally skimming across bare skin. He bends his head, his breath hot against your ear as he whispers words that are more than a little provocative.

Each touch from him only fans the flames of desire further. You can feel the heat emanating from his body as his movements become more assertive. He pulls you against him tightly, his body pressing against yours in a way that makes it difficult to think straight. His lips brush against your neck, leaving a trail of kisses that make your knees weak.

Seeing that Hector is starting to gain the upper hand, you silently acknowledge that it's time to up the ante. As you continue to dance, you decide to pull out your "ace in the sleeve". You angle your body so that your back is against his chest, and then you roll your hips against him in a slow, seductive movement.

Hector lets out a sharp intake of breath as your body grinds against his, the action taking him by surprise. His hands on your hips suddenly grip tighter, his fingers digging into your skin as he struggles to maintain his composure. You can feel the heat radiating off his body as his breathing quickens, an obvious sign that he's losing the game.

Emboldened by his reaction, you continue to move against him, enjoying the effect you're having on him. You let your head fall back, exposing your neck to his gaze, and you know he's completely lost. He's too wrapped up in the sensations you're creating to resist anymore.

Hector loses all self-control, the desire to have you all to himself taking over. He snatches your hand and pulls you away from the dance floor, leading you through the crowd and towards a secluded area.

Hector drags you into a private bathroom, the sound of the music muted as soon as the door closes behind you. He pins you against the wall, his body pressing against yours in a way that's both possessive and desperate.

He doesn't say a word, instead his mouth crashing down on yours in a fierce, hungry kiss. His hands begin to roam, exploring every inch of your body with an intensity that's almost primal.

Your mind is spinning, overwhelmed by the sudden whirlwind of sensation. Hector's kisses are greedy and relentless, his fingers digging into your skin as he fights to get closer, to claim every inch of you.

He lifts you up, your legs wrapping around his waist as he carries you across the room. He deposits you on the edge of the sink, his body wedged in between your thighs. His kisses trail down your neck, his teeth nipping and biting at your skin as he presses himself even closer.

Hector's hands move impatient to remove any barriers between you. He pulls the dress over your head, his eyes drinking in the sight of you in only a bra.

He takes a moment to admire you, his hands tracing over the skin of your chest, his gaze dark with desire. "Eres aún más hermosa de lo que imaginé." ("You're even more beautiful than I imagined.")

Your hands are just as eager, tugging off his shirt and exploring the hard planes of his chest and stomach. Your fingers trail along the ridges of his muscles, relishing the feel of his skin against yours.

He growls lowly, the sensation of your touch driving him even wilder. He pulls you back against him, his mouth finding your neck once more. His hands move to your back, deftly unclasping your bra.

The garment falls away, and his lips move lower, his mouth finding the sensitive skin of your chest. He worships your body with his mouth, his hands roaming every inch of you as he feasts on your skin.

Hector's lips and hands continue to roam over your body, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. His kisses become more demanding as he continues to taste your skin, his fingertips tracing light, teasing patterns on your flesh. He whispers your name, his voice deep and rough with desire.

"Me estás volviendo loco," ("You're driving me crazy,") he says, his lips against your ear. "I want you so badly, I can hardly stand it."

Your hands tangle in his hair, holding on as he worships your body with his mouth. You can feel the heat of his skin against yours, the muscles of his chest rippling under your touch. You arch against him, wanting more, needing more.

His hands grip your thighs, pulling you closer to the edge of the sink. His mouth moves down the center of your chest, his tongue trailing a path of kisses down to the hollow of your stomach. He looks up at you, his eyes dark with desire, his voice a growl.

"Tell me you want me," he says, his fingers digging into your thighs.

Your breath catches in your throat, the raw hunger in his eyes setting your body aflame. You pull him back up to your face, your hands framing his face.

"I want you," you murmur, your voice low and sultry. "I want you so badly, it's almost painful."

Hector growls again, the sound primal and feral. He captures your lips in a savage kiss, his tongue delving into your mouth as he presses himself flush against you. You can feel the proof of his desire, hard and demanding, against your hip.

Growling against your lips, he devours you in a hungry kiss, his tongue tangling with yours. His grip on you tightens, as if he's scared to let you go. His hips buck involuntarily, pressing his erection against your hip with an insistent need. Fuck...

Your mind is a haze of lust and need, your body burning for his touch. You wrap your legs around his waist, pulling him closer, trying to get as much contact as possible. Your hands roam over his back, your nails digging into his flesh, leaving marks that will leave a delicious reminder tomorrow.

His body tenses, a moan escaping his throat as he starts rocking his hips, rubbing his erection against your heat. Fuck... He grunts, his hands groping at your body in desperate need.

The feeling of you tightening around him brings Hector to the edge. He groans as he reaches his release, letting out a deep, visceral sound as he pushes himself deeper into you. His muscles tense and his head falls forward, resting against your shoulder as he catches his breath.

You hold onto him, your body continuing to feel the aftershocks of your own release. Hector's weight presses you against the sink, his body still trembling with the aftermath of pleasure.

He lifts his head, his eyes meeting yours. There's a vulnerability there that you've never seen before, a raw honesty that makes your heart flutter.

He strokes your cheek, tracing his thumb over your lips. "You're amazing," he whispers, his voice soft and sincere. "I've never felt anything like that before."

You smile, feeling a warmth spread through your chest at his words. You reach up and touch his face, wanting to return the tender gesture. "Neither have I," you murmur, your voice filled with a mix of wonder and awe.

Hector leans in and kisses you again, this time it's gentle and slow. It's a kiss that's laced with affection and tenderness, a stark contrast to the frenzied passion of moments ago.

He lifts you from the edge of the sink, setting you gently on the ground. He gazes at you, his eyes roaming over your still-trembling body. "We should probably fix ourselves before someone comes looking for us," he says with a soft chuckle.

You nod, knowing that he's right. You quickly pick up your discarded clothes and begin to get dressed, your movements a bit shaky from the intensity of the moment. Hector helps you, gently pulling your arms into the sleeves and zipping your dress.

Once you're both presentable, Hector glances at the mirror and runs a hand through his hair, trying to smooth it down. He looks at you, a mischievous glint in his eye. "You know, we didn't get to finish our dance."

You raise an eyebrow, a smile tugging at the corners of your lips. "You're right, we didn't. Is that your way of asking me for a second dance?"

Hector grins, the cocky smirk returning to his face. "What if it is? Are you going to turn me down?"

You shake your head, a hint of regret in your expression. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid I can't. My brother will start to get suspicious if we disappear for too long."

Hector's expression falls a bit, disappointment evident in his eyes. "Ah, right. Your brother." He sighs, running a hand through his hair again. "I guess we'll have to save the second dance for another night then."

You give him a soft smile, trying to reassure him. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find another opportunity. Plus, it gives us something to look forward to, right?"

Hector grins again, the disappointment replaced with a hint of excitement. "You're right. Something to look forward to." He reaches out and takes your hand, bringing it up to his lips and pressing a tender kiss to your knuckles.

You feel a flutter in your chest at the gentle gesture. "Just so you know, I expect some fancy footwork next time," you tease, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

Hector chuckles, that cocky smirk returning to his face. "My footwork is always fancy, darling. You're the one who's going to have a hard time keeping up with me."

You roll your eyes playfully. "Is that a challenge? Because I might surprise you with my own dancing skills."

Hector laughs, pulling you closer to him. "It's a promise. Next time, we'll dance until the sun comes up."

He gazes at you for a moment, seeming to memorize every detail of your face. Then, he reluctantly releases you. "We should really go back now before your brother starts questioning our absence."

Hector and you make one last check in the mirror, ensuring that you're both presentable. Then, he opens the door and leads you back into the ballroom, where the music and laughter of the other guests envelop you once more.

The rest of the night is spent dancing, drinking, and chatting with friends. However, throughout the evening, you can't help but feel the heat of Hector's gaze on you, and the promise of a second dance hanging in the air between you.

[fulltacs]

fuck it. free the blocklist.

tw for ableism, death threats, cw for general rage-inducing behavior

this is not exhaustive, this is a starting point. BLOCK these people, do not interact.

- literally anyone who interacts with @/ladygoth at this point. I don’t doubt that she and her friends are responsible for at least half of the hate anons received by darkfic writers

- as for the people who were “protecting” codslut/Myka… they’ve all been in my notifs liking my update post and un-liking sheheals post and deleting anything they might’ve said on the situation. yay, I guess. I may have unblocked you, but the other nosy people following everything certainly didn’t.

- on a related note, anyone who goes by “Myka” or “Hannah” gets blocked ON SIGHT (half-joking). I don’t care if that’s your name (please don’t put your real name on the internet) you better make up a new one 😤

- /bookobsessedram, /mothymunson, @starry-eyedblog , /ghostsbimbo, @ghostlywhiskey and @ghostly-whiskey, /angelofacidx, and @ladyxtiger were all involved in being assholes in the discord as seen here. not pictured: /bjornthebearguy and someone going by “spiders” in the server (not to be confused with /notspiders, my bad). and i’m sorely disappointed in /bunnyreaper, as mod, for letting them continue to chase people off, even though it had been brought to their attention before.

AND ESPECIALLY @simonrillleyyysss and @simonrillleyyyysss2 and @joostyklein (all their known alts). As a matter of fact, fuck everyone who’s friends with them (including /konigsblog). Jordi, G***, whatever the fuck you’re going by, I am so fucking sick of seeing your name in my DMs. So many people messaged me to say it was you and your gang’s hateful behavior that drove them away from the fandom, and I can vouch for some of them because I was there the whole time. What the fuck is wrong with you guys. I have a hard time believing your apology means ANYTHING when you used the discord to lead a brigade on Bo back in January, and CLEARLY HAVEN’T STOPPED being an asshole since then (“I still don’t like soapskneebrace either way”). Bo and Madi were not your only victims, again, there were quite a few others who came forward. You bullied anyone who disagreed with you and at the end of the day you only care about your follower count.

The craziest part is that most of the people we watched you bully are open about their autism diagnosis. And this was just a casual observation I made, not even an accusation, but five minutes later you make your first-ever very casual not-at-all-sus claim of having autism.

do you think we were born fucking yesterday. Trying to get ahead of ableism accusations by suddenly claiming to be autistic, even if true, is not gonna have the effect you thought it would, cause I wasn’t the only person who clocked that as WEIRD. (Internalized ableism is still ableism, btw.)

Just shut the fuck up. For once. It’s THAT SIMPLE. Leave everyone alone. Make your little posts without feeling the need to be assholes to other people.

Fun fact: I have received no death or rape threats in my anon mail, and maybe that’s because I’m not a very big blog. Or maybe it’s cause I know what all your fucking faces look like (hello, internet safety where?). I said fuck all y’all yesterday and I stand by that. Hopefully your time here is met with the same amount of love you’ve shown your peers.

[afrowrites]

The Princess and the Farmboy Part One

(Sorry I keep using the same gif lol)

Ok so this one is a little bit of a short one, only because I felt really bad that I didn't post this and I had huge writers block. I will post the full fic by the end of the month (hopefully)

Clark Kent x Black Reader.

Rated: Teen and up

Descrip: Your brother Lex decides that you need a break from the city and takes you to smallville, You think your gonna go insane from ennui. Then you (Un)fourtunately fall into the arms of one titular Farmboy.

“Mercy, tell me why I have to leave the comfort of Metropolis to go to Swampville.” you whine

“Smallville,” Mercy corrects you. “Master Luthor enjoys the small town vibe and he has friends here he wants you to meet.” You scoff and roll your eyes. 

You hail from the richest of the richest, after your parents were robbed and murdered Lionel (out of the blue I add) decided that Lex could use a playmate so he adopted you. You and Lex became attached at the hip. You needed him when the memories of your parents haunting faces marred your mind, and he needed you when Lionel was too much. 

Your car stops, you hear a knock on your side of the car. “(Y/n) you wanna come outside.” You hear your adoptive brother’s voice. The door opens as you take his hand. The surrounding area looks so boring to you it almost makes you barf.

 “Mmm, gotta love that clean air.” Lex sighs. “I don’t know how you could like this place it’s so… boring.” you groan. You and him take a stroll on the bridge not knowing that just across the way a strong tall annoying boy is within earshot.

“I think you’ll start to like it here, It’s great when I need a break and trust me you need one.” Lex meant well when he brought you here. He’s noticed that you’ve thrown yourself into school and work more often, rarely having time for friends or fun.

The bridge starts to crack ever so slightly and Clark taking a walk hears this, he’s cautious but near.

“Fine I’ll try to stay here but the minute something goes wro-” You sooner eat your words as you suddenly fall into the water below Lex with you in tow. Something wizzes past you both, you see Lex get pulled out of the water, He’s sopping wet as Mercy goes to check on him suddenly your pulled out of the water. You cough for a bit letting your eyes adjust when you see the cutest guy you have ever seen in your life. He’s tall, has pretty green/blue eyes and his hand is on your boob right now.

 “Um… your hand.” You nod to his hand. “Oh my god I am so sorry!” he screeches in your ear. He stands you up, Lex starts “You know you always seem to be there whenever I need saving.” Lex joked. 

You just stood there stewing in anger, your wet clothes sticking to you, your sew-in starting to puff up. Yeah you're done with this, “Lex can we go, my hair is soaking wet, I’m cold as hell. We need to go now!” You screech that last line out spooking the annoyingly tall good looking boy standing next to him. 

“She’s a bit annoying, isn’t she.”, “Dude watch it, she’s my sister.” Lex rebuttals.

“I’m annoying, no, what's annoying is that I got dropped in six feet of cold water, My hair is messed up, and now I am stuck in this hick town for god knows how long, And you TOUCHED MY BOOB!” 

Lex and Clark go wide eyed as you hobble to the car with Mercy in tow, “OH AND YOU OWE ME A NEW PAIR OF THAT’S SO KATES!” you yell down to them.

[sayuricorner]

Ever After High x Twisted Wonderland AU Headcanons part 24: Way Too Wonderland

(Mini) special 7

AU concept

MASTERLIST

Warning: English is not my first language so sorry if it’s confusing.

I LIVE!!!

AND I’M BACK WITH A NEW HEADCANONS PART!!! ^^

I am so sorry making you wait for so long, a lot of circonstances in my personal life and very bad cases of writer blocks and lack of motivations got in the way! T_T

But now I did it! The new headcanons part is ready! :D

For this part, you asked for it, you were waiting for it! We’re now going into the Way Too Wonderland arc!!! :D 

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-At NRC, after the festival’s events, the students were going on their daily lives, one student however seemed very distracted: Lizzie Hearts.

-Lizzie was being more home sicking than usual, especially ever since she received an invitation for her mother’s birthday.

-Things go similar to the EAH canon: the EAH transfers find out thanks to Brooke and are tricked into being spirited away in Wonderland but instead of the Evil Queen it's Milton Grimm and Snow White who tricked them.

-Since Apple is either a RSA students(Apple's Happily Ever After path) or locked in a mental institution (Apple's Badly Ever After path), Yuu and Grim took her place in the group for the Wonderland adventure.

-The TWST boys who get spirited away in Wonderland with the EAH transfers: the Heartslabyul gang.

-When Riddle learned there's a conspiracy against the current Queen of Heart, he went on board to help Lizzie and the others and the rest of the Heartslabyul gang got ropped in.

-Just like the EAH girls, the Heartslabyul gang, Yuu and Grim get Wonderland outfits.

-As they explore Wonderland, the group end up caught into Wonderland shenanigans and unwillingly step on Wonderland High ground making them meet Chase and forcing them to attend the school.

-Like in the canon, the group follow the school studying course to graduate and be able to leave.

-Riddle, Lizzie, Maddie and Kitty are the ones that come out the best in those classes.

-The others aren’t going bad at the class but some have big difficulties to go with the classes’s weirdness (*cough*Deuce, Ace and Grim*cough*).

-During their “stay” at the school the group meet Lily, the daughter of the White Queen.

-While talking with her, they learn she found out some times ago a book which looked very much like the Storybook of Legends(as she never saw it in person before Lily isn’t sure) and during a conversation with her mother through mirrorpads, the latter “advised her” to give the book to the Queen of Hearts for her birthday.

-She was about to add more when the group had to go back to classes.

-Back at NRC, everyone is actively searching for the missing students.

-Brooke was very frustrated to not be able to do anything to help, no matter how often she tried to contact someone through NRC’s mirrors but failed every time.

-She then discovered she can interact with objects, an ability she used to send a message which got found by Darling who then without wasting any time put on her armor, took Sir Gallopad and went to Wonderland through NRC’s well to go help her friends.

-She managed to infiltrate Wonderland High and to end up in the same classes than the NRC group and warn them about the conspiracy against the Queen of Hearts. 

-Like in the EAH canon, Courtly made sure to make the classes impossible for the NRC group to succeed.

-At the chess game turned into a un-chess game Raven took Lily’s place as the white queen piece much to Lily’s frustration(‘I never get to play!”).

-Ace profit from the chess game changements to provoke a battle dance which result in a battle dance between Chase and Darling and give the opportunity for the others to sneak away.

-They get however intercepted by Lily who doesn’t understand why they sneak away like that and risking to fail their courses.

-When they explained to Lily about the conspiracy and the possible involvement of the White Queen, Lily was at first in denial ‘cause that would mean that not only her mother is involved in a crime against the Queen of Hearts, which is VERY severe, but also used her as a pawn which in the white chess kingdom and in the red chess kingdom is extremely serious.

-Headcanon: In Wonderland, using a chess piece which is beneath or against it purpose is a crime which could be very severe to an act of treason if the chess piece used is a royal piece.

-The others insist and told Lily to be on the look out and leave.

-Like in the canon, Courtly played with time and make the group failed their classes and get them sent to a trial.

-Things were not doing good for the group and they were about to be found guilty when Deuce objected that Courtly committed a more severe fault by having transgressed some of the Queen of Hearts rules. 

-The rules in questions are “One must not play with time as, like with food, time must not to be wasted” and “Creating more no-sense in a no-sense society only disturb society’s order, this why, any no-sense perpetrator must be punished”.

-Courtly try to deny it but thanks to their magic the NRC group managed to prove she indeed messed with time to sabotage the group’s classes, which had also unwittingly sabotaged the classes of all the other students of Wonderland High.

-The more Courtly tries to justify herself or make up excuses, the more the group, particularly the Heartslabyul group, point out a Queen of Hearts rule she broke.

-Courtly, being so frustrated, end up snapping at them “WHO CARES ABOUT THOSE STUPID LAWS?!”.

-This put her in trouble with the caterpillar judge and in panic, Courtly teleported away thanks to a magical device.

-She teleported in her office to call Milton and Snow White in panic but the two told her to get a grip and that all is still according to plan ‘cause the White Queen reported to them that Lily had give the true Storybook of Legends to the Queen of Hearts for her birthday and told Courtly to go retrieve it.

-Meanwhile, Lily, still a bit shaken by what the NRC group told her, called her mother hoping all this was just a misunderstanding, but to her horror the White Queen confirmed that she was aware that the book Lily give to the Queen of Hearts was the actual Storybook of Legends and revealed that she told Lily to give the book to the Queen of Hearts ‘cause it was part of a plan to give the book back to Milton Grimm and to dethrone the Queen of Hearts to “Make things straight again”.

-She was even acting as if Lily was on board with the plan and ended up the call, leaving her daughter drowning in the horrible realization that not only her mother committed the crime of having used her daughter, her heiress, as a simple pawn but also for participating in a conspiracy against the Queen of Hearts.

-With the NRC group things realized that Courtly escaped to go steal the Storybook of Legends and quickly escaped Wonderland High to go to the Card Castle.

-Things go a bit like in the EAH canon and Kitty at one point vanished to go retrieve the book in the present room and Riddle, although at first upset to see Lizzie this distressed, quickly realized that the Queen of Hearts was doing an opposite game.

-Kitty reappeared smuggly when Courtly came with the “book” in her hands thinking she won and used a magical device to permit Milton Grimm and Snow White to enter Wonderland and give her the book.

-But when she asked them about her future “new destiny as Lizzie’s remplacement” like they promised only for Milton, Snow White and the White Queen to look at her as if Courtly was crazy and told her that there was no way she would take Lizzie’s destiny and that this plan was to push her and all the other “EAH students” to go back to the “rightful destiny” making Courtly realized that she have been tricked.

-But when Milton opened the book and try to defuse the illusion magic of the wonderland water, he realized it wasn’t the actual Storybook of Legends but a simple sketchbook stylized like the Storybook of Legends and then noticed a smirking Kitty holding the real book.

-See, when Kitty talked with her mother on Card Castle’s roof, the latter give her a sketchbook looking like the Storybook of Legends under the pretext that those were very popular in Wonderland and that she wanted to give it to Kitty as a gift ‘cause “it would be useful to her”.

-This gave Kitty the idea, once she appeared in the present room, the idea of replacing the disguised Storybook of Legends with the sketchbook so like this Courtly would find it instead of the real one.

-Furious, Milton Grimm by using his magic summoned strange dark creatures to attack the NRC group to take the book.

-The NRC group were shocked to see that the creatures’s aura was the same than the overblot monsters’s.

-The thing is: When Milton got interested in the overblot forms, he studied them, even collected the dark rocks from overblots to create minions with them and his magic.

-As the NRC group were about to fight, despite the creatures outnumbering them, everyone got suddenly interrupted by an army composed of the white chess piece students, Darling, Chase and all of them lead by none other than Lily.

-The White Queen tried to defuse the situation but Lily snapped to her that they don’t take orders from a traitor.

-With the White Queen’s confusion Lily is like “White Queen! You are accused of high acts of treason for having conspired against the Queen of Hearts and for having used your own heiress for a role beneath her role as a royal chess piece!”

-A battle happens with the chess pieces and the NRC group against Milton Grimm, Snow White, the White Queen and their creatures.

-Through the battle, Lily give orders and instructions to the chess pieces students like it was a game of chess.

-At one point, Raven found herself with the book and as she was about to be attacked by Milton’s creatures, she unlocked her unique magic “Mirror on the wall”.

-This unique magic permits Raven to create mirrors which act like portals that Raven can use. 

-She use her new found unique magic to escape the creatures’s assault.

-Thanks to the efforts of the TWST group and of the chess pieces students, Milton’s creatures are little by little defeated.

-Snow White, enraged by how things are going, was about to use the little number of spells she knows to attack Raven only to be blocked and finding herself in a 1v1 against Vil.

-Courtly, that everyone forget about in the heat of the battle, enraged was about to take it out on Lizzie but Riddle spotted her in time and used “Off with your head” to put a collard on Courtly and incapacitate her.

-At one point, Raven noticed Milton Grimm being about to throw a spell attack on Vil, she used her “Mirror on the wall” to teleport herself just in time to throw herself between Vil and the spell, using the Storybook of Legend as a shield which made the spell and the book and turning it into ashes, much to the horror of Milton, Snow White and the White Queen and freeing officially the citizen of the Ever After world from the Destiny ideology.

-With Milton, Snow White and the White Queen been stunned in horror with what happened, Lily and Lizzie profited from the situation to make a direct attract on Snow White and the White Queen and as they incapacitate them both, Lizzie and Lily both tell with a smirk “Check mate!”.

-Seeing his allies defeated, Milton was about to retaliate, he got interrupted by the surprise apparition of the Evil Queen and the teachers of NRC who even destroyed the last creatures.

-Turns out the teachers back at NRC found also Brook’s message about what was happening in Wonderland and after they contacted the Evil Queen, they go to Wonderland through the way in the NRC’s well.

-Seeing they were surrounded, Milton and Snow White got no other choice but to retreat and escape, leaving the White Queen behind.

-Everyone celebrated the victory, the White Queen got arrested for her treason against the Queen of Hearts and got removed from her title as the White Queen and the title was then given to her daughter Lily.

-But the rejoices died down when the atmosphere became tense because of the presence of the elephant in the room: the Evil Queen, the one responsible for the curse in Wonderland, being present.

-But what shocked the Wonderlandians was the Evil Queen, being respectful toward the Queen of Hearts, bowing to her and solemnly apologizing for having put the curse on Wonderland.

-While the Queen of Hearts appreciate the Evil Queen came clean about her wrong doings, she still had committed a big crime against Wonderland by having put the poisoning curse which created more chaos in Wonderland and had broken the “Creating more no-sense in a no-sense society only disturb society’s order, this why, any no-sense perpetrator must be punished”.

-As the atmosphere was becoming a bit uncomfortable, Riddle came up with a solution with the Queen of Hearts rule 053 “You must replace anything you steal”.

-Since the Evil Queen had “stolen” the no-sense order of Wonderland with her curse which made the Wonderlandians madder, her punishment could be that she had to “replace” the no-sense order by removing the curse and bring everything back to “normal” in Wonderland.

-The Queen of Hearts, interested by the suggestion and intrigued by the fact that someone this young and who is not a native from Wonderland seem to understand her rules well enough to know how to use them, accepted the idea and decreed that as punishment for her crimes against Wonderland, the Evil Queen will had to remove the curse she put on Wonderland, punishment the Evil Queen accepted.

-With Raven’s assistance, the Evil Queen and Raven used their magic to remove the curse bringing Wonderland back to “normal” and removed the barrier and the Evil Queen is officially forgiven by the Queen of Hearts.

-Everyone was happy but then came the next matter: what to do with Courtly?

-After much discussion between the adults, it was decided that for having actively participate in the conspiration against the Queen of Hearts Courtly was going to be exile from Wonderland to NRC where she will be a student and being straighten up and being in house arrest where the teachers and the students will keep a very close eye on her.

-Once everything was settled, the Queen of Hearts invited everyone to her birthday party to celebrate the end of the curse.

-During the party the Queen of Hearts get to know Riddle, who was very honored to meet the current Queen of Hearts, and was very impressed by the amount of knowledge and understanding her daughter’s new friend had about her rules.

-If whoever who use the AU go with the Riddle/Lizzie ship: The Queen of Hearts will approve of the relationship, thinking Riddle is a fine young man perfect for her daughter and during a play of croquet during the party she will give Riddle a bright pink flamingo which Riddle and Lizzie will quickly understand the meaning as, as stated by the rule 069 of the Queen of Hearts rules “If the queen approve her heir’s relationship she must give her blessing during a game of croquet by offering her future in-law a bright pink flamingo”(made up rule for the AU).

-During the party Crowley and the other NRC teachers interrogate the NRC group about what happened to the Storybook of Legends and were very pleased to learn that the book was destroyed and Crowley happily announced that he will send a message to their world to be spread across Twisted Wonderland and the Ever After world to announce the wonderful news.

-As the party was going on, back in Twisted Wonderland and the Ever After world everyone received the news about the destruction of the Storybook of Legends, putting everyone in a euphoria, the Ever After world citizen were all overjoyed that they were finally officially free, that the destiny ideology finally came to an end.

-But back in the Never After realm Milton and Snow White, but particularly Milton, are enraged by what happened to the Storybook of Legends, falling step by step into madness in their anger and hunger for going back in control.

———————————————————————————

TAG LIST :( a reblog will get you a place in the tag list! ^^)

@zebrabaker , @twistedwonderlxnd , @cowardlybravette , @iwilldietomorrowyees , @balsae , @shinypainterkid , @biscuitbirdpeach , @feuilleszuyu , @pale-lady-dreamer , @fanartreblogs , @kindestwalkingmentalbreakdown , @yue-caelum , @shuirosansshitposts , @sugarangel121 , @boddah-dreams , @icant-choosename-help , @lunartaravlar , @that-vixen , @houseoftitans , @epel-felmiers , @ur-secret-is-save-with-me , @myscalesofjustice , @palebyulsoo , @minnie-root , @smeraldo-flowers-for-you , @fandom-and-fanficlover-a-lot2005 , @yuu-did-what , @lovelyllamasblog , @justagirlwithtwokatanas , @roseberry-memories , @4mnd4aph , @xianeestrxnger , @la-chica-del-jardin-magico , @roseinbloom02 , @janellemeap , @not-someone-who-matters , @sach216 , @annastasha , @alexglitches , @peskygirl13 , @skag810 , @slumberingprincess-blog , @sam-spectra , @selfshipbabie , @quiet-oracle , @k0tln , @mysticsoulgirl , @autumnlover2018 , @bstormhands , @souleateralicestein , @fairyfel , @anime-discussions , @rgc2001 , @dracupie , @secretlawyercolorscissors , @idk-i-want-mcl-content , @tinkerblunder , @demigodseameg16 , @queenstardusts-blog , @lilmeowmeow7 , @qualityhistorygamingwinner , @boricua-suerte12 , @jasmineblogs43 , @plumass , @itz1the1meme234squad , @anonymousfanfictionlover-blog , @moonsungmylove , @food-lover9000

[skyfallscotland]

Writing Advice: tips, tricks & helpful links, from your friendly neighbourhood fanfic author ✨ (part one—the advice)

see part two—the resources here

I've mentioned this before, but I truly believe no one's born a great writer. A great storyteller, yes. A great writer? That's learned. I've been reading and writing basically as long as I can remember. Learning to write is like...learning through both practice and symbiosis. In saying that, I get asked about this a lot, so here's what I do and some things that might help you.

Write what you're inspired to write, when you're inspired to write it.

So you have an idea—great! Are you a plotter or a pantser? Some people like to start with an outline, others just jot down a few notes and let the keyboard take them where it will. I'm in the latter camp, generally. For me, the best way to avoid writer's block is to write what I'm inspired to write, when I want to write it. Sometimes I'll write five chapters of a story at once, others I'll switch between a multi-chapter and a one-shot.

What's most important for me, personally, is that I don't try and force anything. If you suffer from demand avoidance, the worst thing you could possibly do (in my opinion), is set arbitrary goals. You don't need to write 500 words a day. If you want to, great! If that helps you, also great, but in my experience, that will generally just make my brain say well no, now we're not writing anything for a whole week, maybe a month, if you test me.

I also personally like to have a whole fic written before I start posting it online, or at least most of it written. I like being quite far ahead of what readers are seeing because I am a pantser. It takes the pressure off and honestly, there'd be so many plot holes if I didn't. Which brings me to...

First make it exist, then make it make sense, after that make it good.

What you see me post is not my first run-through. It's not even the second. I've written, read over, and changed things at least a handful of times before ever posting it, especially when it's a multi-chapter work. Sometimes I'll write a scene I love and then realise it just doesn't flow well, because three chapters back I had someone say a certain thing. In that instance, I'll put the scene aside.

Note that I said 'put aside' not 'delete'. I never delete them until I'm finished with a fic and I'm certain I won't need them, ever. Been there, made that mistake for you! Having a separate document with just various scenes you can insert at a later date also helps you to feel like it's ok to write what you want to write when you want to write it. I'll be honest, I jump around a lot. Sometimes I'll be inspired to write a scene I know isn't coming for another five chapters, but in my opinion it's best to just write it because when I get there five chapters down the line, I might not have the inspiration or I might have forgotten how I wanted things to go. Write what your brain wants to, fill in the blanks later!

Write from the heart.

My most popular work is the one I find the easiest to write and I almost never wrote it at all. Isn't that ridiculous? I almost never wrote it because I know it's cliché and excessive, and honestly...looked down upon. I almost didn't write it because of other people's opinions; then I said fuck it, I want to read it so surely there's someone else out there that does, too? Turns out there were thousands of you. Who knew?

But that work has really resonated with so many people and I think that's because I've poured so much of myself, my pain, my own experiences into it, into her. For that reason, I'd tell anyone starting out to try original character fic if that's what they want to do. Fuck the haters. All their favourite works were original characters once too.

Don't read similar fic while you're writing yours...unless you need to.

Let me explain. If I'm writing a certain type of alternate universe, or a certain storyline I know someone else has written, I won't read theirs until I'm done if I can help it, especially not if I'm actively writing my take on it. This isn't a hard and fast rule, it's obviously up to you what you feel comfortable with, but I would never want to have someone else's work influence my own too much, or get our ideas confused in my head, you know?

An exception to this rule, for me personally, is if I'm stuck with specific things in particular, like smut. When I wrote my first smut piece from a male POV, I was struck by the fact that I had no idea what an orgasm felt like for them, or how to describe it, because despite reading M/M fic for years, I apparently never absorbed that particular verbiage, so I went looking and read a whole bunch of smut from the male POV just to get an idea. Which leads into...

So you suck at kung-fu fighting.

Action scenes. I'm convinced we all hate them just as much as each other. I hate them so much I've changed whole plotlines from canon just so I don't have to include them. Unfortunately, my main fandom features a bunch of knife-throwing, sword-wielding, dragon riders at a war college who spar for clout, so I mean...it's unavoidable.

I still suck at writing it though, so what I now do for sparring and other hand-to-hand combat is search up youtube for sparring videos or self-defence lessons. It's much easier to describe what you're seeing than to imagine the mechanics and positioning of an artform you've never performed. The kung-fu thing was a joke, I like capoeira personally.

Stop being so damn hard on yourself.

Listen, everyone wants to be better than they are when they start out, literally everyone. I know I sure did. That's normal. Accept that it's normal before you start because the thing is, no one's a harsher critic on you, than you are and you'll always want to be better. There's a quote from Ira Glass that I'll paraphrase:

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap[...]It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit."

It's very true. Hopefully you have the support of a really welcoming fandom to reassure you that actually, you're nowhere near as bad as you think you are.

READ. BOOKS.

@justallihere says you can’t be good at something you don’t know anything about and it's so true, I've phrased it before as learning by symbiosis, when you read more, you'll internalise more. You're subconsciously learning how story structure works—plot hooks, transitions, metaphors and similie, grammar, style and punctuation.

Show don't tell.

...yeah this one I haven't mastered, I could use some help with that myself if anyone's got any words of wisdom, thanks.

Take all of this with a grain of salt.

I couldn't tell you how many writer's advice threads and blogs and whatever-else I've read over the years—too many, for sure. What I can tell you is 80% of what I've read was crap. It doesn't apply to me at best and it's unhelpful at worst. Maybe it's the neurodivergence, maybe it's just the fact that everyone's different and all you can do is give things a try, but based on that I can say with certainty that not all of this will work for you and that's absolutely fine! But I hope at least a few things do 😌

For links to more specific resources including thesauruses, generators, and other writers' advice, click here.

[ox24g]

Silly Knitter!Sauron Bonus chapter for while I'm writer blocked.

Summary: Mairon has a nightmare.

After a few weeks of pushing through work on knitting, Mairon finally felt as though he had a decent grasp of the craft. He had successfully made a scarf which now sat beautifully about Eonwe’s neck, and Lairiel was suggesting he try to make one with stripes and ribbing next. The beginnings of his next creation were cast on and ready to be started, but Eonwe had insisted that Mairon go to sleep and restart his new project tomorrow.

Sleep was often a little difficult for Mairon- he found that his nature was to sleep during the day and work during the night in order to avoid the painful light of the sun. Tonight he struggled more than usual, with thoughts of wool heavy on his mind, and the darkness of night wonderfully inviting. Even so, Eonwe was right. Mairon was tired and any knitting he did now would be sub-par, which could not be allowed! So, Mairon tossed and turned and thought of needles and loops and wool, and eventually he passed into the realm of dreams.

But when he awoke the following morning, something was horribly wrong.

All nine of his fingers seemed to have disappeared! He pushed up the sleeves of his night shirt with the bizarre stumps that remained of his hands, only to see that both of his arms were now made of a thick, woollen cord, bound together in an un-mistakable knit pattern. Ambling out of bed on legs that were just as blunt and boneless as his arms, he made his way to the bathroom where he nearly collapsed at the sight of himself in the mirror. For all that he wanted to scream, he could not, for upon his knitted face, his mouth was transformed into a few unmoving stitches of thread.

-

Eonwe had got into the habit of resting next to Mairon as he slept. While he didn’t necessarily require sleep, doing so encouraged Mairon to take the rest his frail body absolutely needed. As their weeks together went on, Eonwe found himself enjoying the restful nights they shared.

Tonight, however, was not one of those.

Mairon awoke with a start- shrieking and hyperventilating, with tears and snot rolling down his face. Were Eonwe not so startled, he might have been a little bit amused at the contrast between the Maia who had conquered most of Middle Earth, and the goblin that now panicked from what had clearly been a nightmare.

“Whatever is the matter with you, Mairon?” Eonwe asked as he placed his hands on Mairon’s shoulders. “I turned into knitting!” the fallen Maia howled. “No- look!” Eonwe took Mairon’s hands in his own and showed them to him. “See, your hands aren’t made of knitting at all.” “Am I normal again?” He sniffled, now starting to quiet down. Absolutely not. “Yes, you’re your perfectly normal self. I think you were having a bad dream.”

For a week after that, Mairon didn’t touch his needles, and from then on, he had a strict rule of not knitting after 8pm. Somewhere, Irmo was laughing a normal amount.

Context: A friend told me I should knit a Sauron plushie, but I said that would be weird to me if the knitter was knitted .

[raz-writes-the-thing]

It may be me and my brainrot/writer brain talking but i feel like he's the type to be a bit annoyed and never stop pursuing you if you didn't fall for his charms or usual methods(ex. You felt replused by him) and that only motivated him to go further 😭😭

I have a love/hate relationship with this dude

-💙

Am I about to give you some Brendan Block hcs? I guess so. It's your (un)lucky day, ��.

Brendan Block x GN!Reader HCs.

Disclaimer: I am in no way condoning the behaviour listed below.

If you don't fall for his immediate charms (ie surface level) he's gonna have a Reaction to that.

Brendan would test the waters- seeing where he could "bump" into you by accident. And then it starts happening more and more, and by the time he's bumped into you twice this week he asks you to lunch.

And that's where he puts on the Charm. All stops, all stations charm. Paying for that initial dinner, asking all about you, your family, your life. He seems so interested in you (he is, but it's also about fact-finding)

And by the end of the meal, he's asking for your number. If you give it to him, you're sealing your fate. If you don't? You're also sealing your fate.

Say you do give it to him. He would text you the next day and let you know what an amazing time he had. How he'd love to see you again! This Thursday night? Perfect, he'll be there.

If you don't give him your number, he's gonna find out who your friends are and work his way into your friend circle, instituting himself around you at any time when you and your friends go out.

He's gonna lay on the charm. Getting drinks, cuddling up to you.

When/if you eventually go home with him? Well, you're his after that. He makes himself into the perfect partner for you because he's possessive. He wants you and is not gonna stop until he has you.

That's just who he is.

[that-one-cat-meow]

Pinned Post

Welcome to My AU blog

My AU is a Bendy AU made by me few years ago. After long time I am finally deciding to put this AU on this blog, because I want to finały reveal all the lore into the world.

Rules on the blog (please read all if you don't want to be confused):

My name (creator) is Sophie and I write like this. No color change or anything. Post with this writing have nothing to do with AU. THIS is a writing my main OC Meow will have and these posts will have something to do with the AU. Both posts will be tagged as #meow talks again

Asks will be answered with art, UNLESS it's ask for me (the ✨creator✨ or Sophie or Soph, as you like)

You can except asks to be answered with: digital art, paper art, no art (if it's ask for my OCs I will explain why there is no art. I might be busy or have problems with computer/no paper or anything else, please be understanding). You can't write in asks that 'Can you answer with digital art', because I'm choosing how I want to draw. I won't block you - just please don't do that

I do take requests! But please wait patiently

Of course no wierd asks, no NSFW, no flirting blah blah blah

You CAN ship my characters, but please note that this 97% won't get canon and some of the characters are already in relationship

Feel free to dm me by the way!!

Please remember - some arts might NOT be from AU. If you see that there is no tag #My AU - THIS ONE WAS MADE FOR FUN!!!

❗❗ WARNINGS!! ❗❗

This blog may have:

swearing

blood/gore

alcohol/drug use

physical and mental violence

gambling

creators mental breakdowns- I mean what-

Preferred age for this blog: 12+

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

ALL of my OCs and canon characters are free to ask!

Please meet them (art will come soon):

(💛 - my OC 💚 - lives in 'Outside world'

💜 - canon 💙 - lives in studio)

Meow (main OC)💛💚

Ink💜💙

Bendy💜💙

Sammy💜💙

Ink's and Sammy's kids (Lora, Sally, Dan, Raila, Marshmallow, Bingo)💛💙

Time💛💙

Bubbletea💛💙

Coral💛💙

Voice💛💙

Flower💛💙

Space💛💙

Snuggler/Howl💛💙

Ice💛💚

Ink Demon💜💙

Sugar💛💙

Sam💛💙

Alice💜💙

Boris💜💙

Allison💜💚

Tom💜💚

Henry💜💚

Linda💜💚

Audrey💜💚

Relationships 👭👬👫

Ink x Sammy (tagged as samdy or Bendy x Sammy) - they are married

Henry x Linda - married

Time x Voice - boyfriend and girlfriend (but Time plans something (⁠ ͡⁠°⁠ ͜⁠ʖ⁠ ͡⁠°⁠))

Meow x Ice - boyfriend and girlfriend

Yeah... I think that's all. If not then I'll remake it

Okay, enjoy the blog!!

(also visit my other blogs

@meow-writer-cat @batcm @bendyandinkblog (this one is un-used) @inkdemondraws @nightmare-bendy23

My X: Meow-pls-kys70

My AO3: Meow70

Pinterest: $MEOW70$

Deviantart (don't really use): XxMeow70xX

Roblox (feel free to ask to play with me): Love_Bendy123

Wattpad: Inky_Sky69)

[valoisfulcanellideux]

Pixlriffs as the god of undying, in the same way as totems: requiring effort and ultimately temporary.

The god of remembering those that have died, and of keeping the candles that represent them lit. The god of copper, which ages without upkeep and of lightning, which can de-age it. (What brought back the Copper King from his exile other than a symbol that mistakes could be undone, even if it meant bringing something back to life)

A god that believes there are no good deaths, that there is no point where death is unavoidable, but that death is just when you mess up in a way you cannot recover from. (That everyone dies with something left to do)

A god that looks at a dead city, a dead castle and brings it back. Then when he dies, he brings himself back. Because dead and un-dead are not the same. (But un-death cannot last forever and the Ancient Capital will someday be forgotten again)

A god who built a V161L looking over the tools which he built and repaired and repaired until they could not break more blocks. Who said deaths were not his domain. (But the coins to bring them back are still copper)

And finally, a necromancer specializing in bringing people back, starting with himself. His zombies and dreadglares never last forever, but things don't need to be infinite to matter. (And he's still using copper and lightning and candles)

Nonny, you absolutely get why - as a writer - I'm so fucking obsessed with Pix's characters. There's technically also some RL!Pix (as in, Jonny himself) mixed in with that lore - most notably the 'no good deaths' thing, which he's mentioned several times in places like the Survival Guide, but this man has Death as a leitmotif* and he's acknowledged as much:

“I am going to be… a Revenant. Yes, Pixlriffs chooses something to do with death. Again.” — Pix on his Fantasy Minecraft SMP first stream

You're also trying to put ideas into my head for a future fic, aren't you? xD

Dammit! <shakes fist>

*Yes, I know that's more of a musical term, but damned if it doesn't apply here, too.

[rollercoasterwords]

different anon, but i thought we all agreed canon remus is a timid, sheltered boy? unlike the fanon's alphamale remus. i think that was an important point. don't know why you said like it was a personal interpretation. and i think when the anon called it fanon toxic heteronormative wolfstar, they meant the r & s in your fic are alphamale-ed remus & abused, shorter sirius. you can make disabled remus fight, but the alphamale-ification of him is. i think we writers should try to not spread that remus. man, i don't think you have to agree with the anon or me, you do you and we do we. sent it just to clarify a few stuff

you guys have caught me in a bad mood so fine let's get into it lmao

"i thought we all agreed canon remus is a timid, sheltered boy?"

well, you thought wrong!! generally speaking if you're saying "i thought we all agreed..." about something in fandom, you are wrong. this space is huge and there are tons of different interpretations of canon. i don't like all of them, but you know what i do when i don't like someone's interpretation? i unfollow them or block them or simply scroll past their post or don't read their fic!! it is sooooooo easy to ignore a stranger on the internet's take on harry fucking potter c'mon now

that being said, the idea that remus is "sheltered" in canon is laughable to me. that kid became a werewolf at six years old, he was forced to deal with the harsh realities of the world wayyyyyy before any of his friends. and i guess you could interpret him as timid, maybe, but i personally don't!! professor lupin in the books is incredibly vivacious, sarcastic, funny--plus, he spent his youth fighting voldemort + death eaters. none of that screams "timid" to me.

and, again, even if that was my interpretation of canon remus, this is not a canon-compliant fic. i am specifically putting the characters in a universe where voldemort won and they grew up separately, without all going to hogwarts together, and exploring my interpretation of how their personalities would change. remus in this world is definitely not fucking sheltered and he literally could not be timid if he wanted to survive. you don't have to read the fic if you don't like seeing him that way!

unlike the fanon's alphamale remus. i think that was an important point. don't know why you said like it was a personal interpretation.

again, the idea that "the fanon" is a single united entity is laughable. there are tons of fanon interpretations of remus. you can choose not to interact with the ones you dislike!!! and i said the "sheltered and timid" thing was a personal interpretation because it is.

and i think when the anon called it fanon toxic heteronormative wolfstar, they meant the r & s in your fic are alphamale-ed remus & abused, shorter sirius.

let's just say what you mean here: you think interpretations of r + s where one is more "feminine" and one is more "masculine" are heteronormative. i think that's bullshit! the idea that gay couples where one is more feminine and one is more masculine are "heteronormative" is the shit that's been ostracizing + marginalizing butches + feminine gay men within the queer community for literal decades--genuinely, it was (and continues to be, apparently!) a huge lesbophobic talking point in feminist circles that butch/femme relationships were un-feminist because butches were basically just "mimicking straight men." not only that, but it leads to pretty blatant transphobia on account of, y'know, trying to police people's gender presentation based on how you think someone of their gender is meant to present. so i don't have ANY fucking patience for this discourse and if you try to bring it to my blog you will get blocked.

and i'll address the idea that remus in my fic is an "alphamale" in a second, but for now--what about having one person be shorter and one person be taller in a relationship makes it heteronormative?? are short people automatically feminine to you?? and what about having one party being abused makes a relationship heteronormative?? is being abused an inherently feminine trait?? i'd recommend thinking about what exactly you're trying to claim here before you bring it to my askbox.

you can make disabled remus fight, but the alphamale-ification of him is. i think we writers should try to not spread that remus.

first of all, i think the idea that The Fandom is spreading some sort of plague of "alphamale remus" is silly. The Fandom is not a monolith; the majority of blogs + writers i follow portray him as a wet sock. so if you're being inundated with "alphamale remus" content that you don't like, start learning to use the block button.

beyond that, the interpretation that remus is an "alphamale" in my fic at all just tells me that both you and the first anon have not read the fic in its entirety. the only reason i can imagine that the first anon even brought that up is the fact that remus is in a werewolf fighting ring and acts flirty with sirius when they first meet. we get an entire chapter from remus's perspective where we learn that this is a specific persona he has had to adapt to survive, and we also learn that he is fighting in this werewolf fighting ring for reasons that are specifically tied to the way he is marginalized in this fictional society. the fic spends a ton of time exploring the way his marginalization has shaped his life and i spend over 20k words writing his pov in his head demonstrating that his anger comes from that marginalization, and that the "aggression" he is interpreted as having is a) partially stereotyping because he's a werewolf and b) partially a persona he has to adapt to survive in the werewolf fighting ring. again, if you don't like reading him like that then you don't have to read the fic. but the idea that fighting other werewolves specifically as a facet of the ways in which werewolves are oppressed in this society is something that makes him an "alpha male"....i mean if that's what you're taking away from it then i simply don't want you to read my fics in the first place.

man, i don't think you have to agree with the anon or me, you do you and we do we. sent it just to clarify a few stuff

the first anon literally asked me to rewrite my fic. sure, i could have just ignored the message and blocked them, and maybe i should have--but like i said, you guys caught me in a bad mood, and this is my blog, so. to answer that ask, i actually did have to disagree with them, because i had to say, "no, i will not rewrite the fic." and you've put me in a position where i actually do have to disagree as well, by saying stuff like "i thought we all agree," where not saying anything would be tacit agreement when i don't agree. i will do me, and i suggest you and the first anon go do you far away from that, because it seems like it would be better for everyone involved! i don't really care if you think you were being polite or helpful with this message; i didn't need you to clarify, and i did not need the holier-than-thou moralizing about what "we writers" should do when it's not even something i'm doing.

again, i don't care if people don't like my fic. just don't read it!!!! and just don't follow this blog!!! there is literally zero point in sending me messages like this nitpicking interpretations, especially not when the crux of your issue is that i'm making wolfstar "heteronormative," an argument that is deeply rooted in homophobia and transphobia. felt like ranting tonight, but generally speaking i will just block anyone who brings that shit into my askbox.

[heyheydidjaknow]

Hey babes! How has your day been?

I read something a bit recently where a character slips into their native tongue when they're having sex, and I was wondering what language you think L would talk in when he's too flustered to translate in his head and what he would say tp you

Anyways thank you for sharing your amazing writing! I haven't stopped thinking about your drunk L oneshot, so thank you so much for posting it!

I am so happy someone asked, honestly. I could and might just write a headcanon regarding the specifics of Drunk L but I’ve been having a lot of writers block recently so it was a lot of fun. Apologies in advance for anyone who has/does/will ever speak Japanese, French/Italian, or Russian; I don’t know a single lick of any of those languages so this piece was carried by Google translate and websites claiming to know phrases in those languages. Also, there’s sex mention in this one, just FYI.

Really depends. Probably one of the first questions he’s asking early in a relationship is whether you speak more than one language, and if you do he will not use that one. If you do not speak a language other than English, it depends on how flustered he is. In level of severity it goes Japanese, French, Russian, with Russian being the most severe.

These are not hard and fast— there is bleeding over between languages because duh— but this is how it usually goes:

Japanese: Really nothing important; it’s most likely just an observation that really has nothing to do with the task at hand but is just a thing that he noticed. Typically how it goes is he’ll say something in Japanese and then say some wild, out of nowhere thing that then turns out to be true. Word of advice: if he is totally on board with an activity, says something in Japanese, and then is suddenly not on board with that activity and is quietly trying to remove you from that activity, let him remove you two from the activity; there is a reason that has nothing to do with his enjoyment of the activity that you guys shouldn’t do that thing.

Example: one time the two of you were watching a stupid home renovation TV show hosted by a married couple. In the middle of a conversation regarding the aesthetic merit of white on white, he mumbled, “���女は彼の視線に会っていない,” around his drink. When asked what he said, instead of telling you, he claimed that the seemingly happy couple was going to be divorced by the end of the year. He went on to predict that the man would still be in love with her years into the future but the woman would have lost all interest by then and would ask to break it off. Sure enough, two months later, the tabloids were reporting on their totally not at all expected break up.

French (+ Italian but he is no longer fluent): this has something to do with you. You can’t prove it because you don’t speak French or Italian, but it 100% has something to do with you. This is going to be your mushy shit, the “you’re so beautiful”s and the “I love you so much”s. This is also where most snide remarks and insults are going to stay; if he’s looking at someone else and he’s speaking French, odds are whatever he’s saying isn’t particularly kind. Once and a while he’ll grumble out a “Vaffanculo a chi t'è morto” at the TV or at a particularly ridiculous lie or slight, but you’ll never hear him say anything longer than a sentence in Italian. This also qualifies for any sort of rant; if he’s talking for a long time in French he’s probably not thrilled about whatever he’s talking about (usually this something regarding general police incompetence on a case he’s working on, the details of which you are not allowed to know.)

Example: The two of you watched a movie together on the couch, his head laid on your lap and your fingers gently scratching his scalp. You were talking about something you noticed— an actor you liked, some discrepancy in the script— when his hand found your thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Tu es un ange. Qu'est-ce que j'ai fait pour te mériter?” When you asked him what he asked, he apologized and claimed it was something to do with the topic at hand, even though you could tell from his tone that he was lying.

Russian: Incredible shock/pain/sex stuff. If he’s having an issue with a word, it’s probably an issue of translating a Russian word to English, which happens almost never in his professional life but at least once a week when in your company. If he is legitimately having some sort of panic, he’s communicating that in Russian. If he is fucking you and he’s out of it to the point of not being able to talk properly, it’s in Russian. If something catches him completely off guard and he doesn’t know how to respond or react, it’s in Russian.

Example: Once, after a particularly long period away from you (about 3 months with little contact) he came back rattled. You left him morning after he arrived to go pick drinks up (coffee, tea, what have you) without telling him. You came back, holding your drinks, when you saw your boyfriend digging through a duffel bag up of work stuff. He looked up at you, blinked once, and let his eyes close, slumping over the bag. “Где ты был?” His words came out harshly, shakily, and quietly. “ты забыл свой телефон. а если бы ты поранился?” After being told where you had gone and reassuring him that nothing happened, he calmed down.

[infin1ty-garden]

NOT ON EARTH

ೃ⁀➷ summary: you and kara decided to stay in for the night ೃ⁀➷ pairing: kara zor-el x gn! reader ೃ⁀➷ warnings: blood & cursing ೃ⁀➷ word count: 450 ೃ⁀➷ author note: the flash movie! kara but without the multiverse stuff. it's short bc i had writers block at the end

masterlist.

Yesterday being a disaster was un understatement. After taking Kara on a night out with some of your friends, instead of talking to new people like you expected her to.

"You know staring like your gonna kill everyone in this room isn't helping." Kara's only answer being switching her death glare to a softer one as she turned to you. "You are the one who dragged me here," she had a point. "In this," she said, gesturing to her dress. "You look stunning." The night went on, you started drinking more and Kara was glued to your side.

"I'm get-tting another drink," she took your wrists, stopping you from leaving. "I think you've had enough," as you were about to reply, a guy grabbed your waist. "Let the girl get another drink," before you could blink the guy was on the floor, spitting blood. The club's guard kicked you out. Your friends offered to leave with you but you assured them that you'd get home safely.

Kara took care of you for the rest of the night, having been through the motions before as you could get carried away sometimes. Now, you'd planned a date for today with some guy you'd met on tinder but your hangover was kicking your ass. Deciding to move the date was a better option.

Kara'd spent the next day looking after you and leaving for a job interview. Even if she hadn't made up her mind on staying, yet alone protecting Earth. She felt bad, you having to work twice as hard to afford paying for food for two people. Most days you would arrive home exhausted.

As the day started to fade into night, the two of you decided to stay at home and order some take out. Neither of you had spoken about what happened yesterday. Just enjoying your food and watching a movie you put on. "You didn't have to do that," the look on Kara's face made you continue in order to clarify. "Last night at the club."

"That guy had anything but good attentions," you nodded. "I am aware but punching the shit out of him wasn't right either."

"Are we really arguing about this? He was a jerk and had what was coming to him," she stood up, heading for the kitchen. You followed her and hugged her from behind. She tensed up. "I know but things here on Earth work differently and I wouldn't want to bail you out of jail." As you talked she slowly untensed.

She turned around bringing you closer to her and engulfing you in a tight hug. After finishing dinner, the two of you cuddled and fell asleep in each other's arms.

Thanks for reading!

[harknessxo]

Chapter VII ✧ A Choice

Pairing: Rhea Ripley x Roman Reigns

Summary: Things get out of control while Rhea and Roman are away.

Warnings; smut (there is a lot of smut in this series 😅), fluff, a bit of angst

Word Count: 4.3k

Playlist

Masterlist

A/n: @tonuitekan wrote this one cuz I’m on writers block 🥲

It was around 9 am when Roman began to stir awake. Rhea remained in his arms, still asleep. He pulled her body closer to his and stared at her sleeping form. She looked so peaceful. He kissed her forehead and that caused her to wake.

“Morning, sunshine,” Roman smiled while Rhea groaned and hid her face in his neck.

“It’s too early. Let’s go back to sleep,” Rhea whined. Roman just chuckled and got on top of her.

“Well, I know a way to wake you up.” By the mischievous smirk on his face, Rhea knew exactly what he meant.

“Roman-”

“Come on, there’s no one here to catch us.” Rhea stared at him for a few seconds, debating until she finally nodded. Roman then began to lick and suck her sweet spot on the right side of her neck, making her moan.

“You’re not gonna leave me another hickey, aren’t you?” She asked him as he then kissed the spot.

“Well, you kinda scratched my back and you probably will do it again this time, so…”

“You don’t know that.” She scoffed before he paused as he gave her a look.

“Wanna bet?” At his comment, she took it more as a challenge as she flipped them over before he could even react or say anything while she straddled him. At this, he looked up at her and couldn’t help but chuckle right before they both kissed as he held his hands around her waist as they traveled through her back as well.

However, that moment was interrupted as soon as Roman’s phone started to ring.

“You’re gonna answer that?” Rhea asked between kisses before he went and left a few kisses on her neck.

“Nah, they can call back later.” He mumbled, his hands sneaking underneath her shirt as she arched her neck back, allowing him more exposure. At the same time, Rhea’s phone also rang.

“Shit…” Rhea grumbled.

“Just ignore it, we’ll call back later.”

“Reigns, if they’re calling both of us, it means there’s something going on.”

“Fuck…” They both reluctantly broke away as Rhea reached to grab her phone on the nightstand while Roman did the same with his. He decided to go into the bathroom just so whoever was calling Rhea wouldn’t hear him.

Rhea looked at whoever was calling her. Surprisingly it was Damian. She figured that he was only calling to check on her since they didn’t hear from her last night.

Oh how wrong she was.

“Priest?” She said as she answered, sitting down on the bed with a pillow on her lap. “What’s up?”

“Hey- first of all, sorry if I woke you up. Second of all, we have a problem.”

At that, Rhea rested her back against the bed frame as she prepared herself. This happened every single time she wasn’t around. She prayed to God that it wasn’t Dom losing his title again or Damian and Finn losing the tag titles again.

“Alright, hit me. What is it?”

“There’s a rumor going around, many people are saying it but we don’t know if it’s true.” Damian began. “Triple H wants to split the tag titles.”

“He wants to what now?”

“He wants to split them, literally after Roman had them unified in the first place! And mind you, apparently he wants to do this without even letting us know.” She then heard him take a deep breath. “Mira te lo juro, este cabrón no nos quiere dar un break—“

“Hey, deep breaths, Priest. Deep breaths.” Rhea interrupted him, placing the pillow aside as she sat up. “First of all, it’s just a rumor. Secondly, if it turns out to be true, then we have Paul and Roman that can help us with that. Like you said, Roman was the one who got those titles unified to begin with. Meaning that he can talk Triple H out of this. Hell, even Paul can. Remember, Roman is on our side for a reason. Okay? He’s not gonna agree to this either. We’ll find a way around this, but for now, if Triple H approaches any of you about this, let him know that they don’t get to decide that until we come back from SC. Got it?”

“Alright… fine, got it.” From the tone of his voice, Rhea could tell that Rhea was slowly calming down.

“Get with Paul if you haven't already. Does he know?”

“Yeah- and he’s calling Roman about this too.”

At that, Rhea pursed her lips in a thin line. Now it made sense why their moment was interrupted at the same time.

“Okay, he’s probably going to let me know. In the meantime, like I said, don’t do anything and don’t let Triple H, Pearce, or Nick do anything.”

“Fine, okay, okay, um,” Priest sighed. “Just call any of us back to check on you. Paul just got done talking to Roman.”

“Alright, I’ll call you guys later. Take care.” She hung up, and at that same time, the bathroom door opened as Roman went out. She turned to face him.

“We’re gone for literally a day and now shit goes down, again.” He said as he rolled his eyes and went back to bed. “I wonder why.”

“Let me guess, Paul called you about that rumor going on about the tag titles?”

“Yep. I told him to make sure that your boys don’t do anything till we get back if something happens. Because I’m gonna be the first one calling out Triple H’s ass as soon as we come back.”

“It’s too early for this shit…” Rhea sighed as she also sat back on the bed while leaning her head back. For a moment, Roman arched an eyebrow at her.

“So it’s too early for me and you to…?”

“Reigns. You know I didn’t mean that.”

“So you still wanna—“ He was cut off when she suddenly threw a pillow at him and yelped before he caught it until she suddenly got on his lap.

“You ask too many questions.”

“And you argue, a lot.”

“Well, guess we’re even again.” He pulled her into a kiss, one hand caressing her thigh while the other ran through her hair while she ran her fingers through his hair. She momentarily broke away just to remove his shirt as she tossed it somewhere in the room before he switched them once more, with him on top of her. They continued kissing only for a bit until he began to trail down to her neck, chest, stomach, and then her thighs. He swiftly removed her shorts and panties as he tossed them aside.

She relaxed and leaned her head back against the pillow, her right hand still caressing his hair even while he placed her legs on his shoulders as he began to lick her folds.

“Fuck…” She tried to hold back her moans, her grip on his hair almost tightening as he kept eating her out. However, it soon became unbearable as he kept on, determined to hear her beg for him. Her moans only urged him to continue on as he also licked and sucked on her clit.

“Reigns— fuck— I’m close—“ She warned, until she rode her orgasm as she cried out. He lapped her juices away until he broke away, wiping his mouth clean before he went up to her until she flipped them over once again. Quickly, she took her top off before he pulled her yet again into another passionate kiss, his hands holding her waist while she placed her arms around his neck. Her hand then almost urgently gripped at the waistband of his sweatpants, with Roman immediately getting the message as he helped her take them off along with his boxers.

Afterwards, he pulled her close to his body once more as he kissed, licked, and sucked on her neck. His hand rested on the back of her neck whilst his other hand caressed her back and waist as she moaned.

For a moment, both broke away only just to gaze at one another, faces inches away from one another as Rhea rested her forehead against Roman’s.

“I want you,” She mumbled, her hands resting on his chest while he still held her close.

“Rhea…”

“Please.”

He gave her a small nod before he left a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth. Both then adjusted only slightly so that Rhea was able to line herself with his cock as he helped her, slowly sinking down until he was fully in as she adjusted herself to his size, all the while burying her face on his neck and letting out a soft gasp. After a minute or so, she began to move while he held her back and waist in support. Their moans were the only thing that could be heard within the room.

Soon enough, she increased her pace slowly while he also helped her, hearing her moan in his ear before she slightly lifted her head from his neck as she kissed his cheek. Now, it was his turn to also lean to her ear as she rode him.

“You’re mine.”

The phrase alone had irked her. She held onto him for dear life as they continued on. This time with him now kissing her chest and cleavage before going up to her neck, then her lips.

He was on the verge of his own climax soon enough as well, and because of this, he gently held Rhea’s waist before carefully flipped them over. He kept on with a few thrusts while she wrapped her arms around him, moaning his name before he felt himself already close. At that, he pulled out, all the while she also rode her second climax, all the while he came on her left thigh as he then collapsed on the bed beside her.

Their room was silent with the exception of their breathing, both panting and coming down from their high. After some time, he pulled her to his frame while also placing the covers on them as his fingers ran through her hair.

“So, now you’re awake.”

“If you keep touching my hair like that, I’ll fall asleep again.” She said as hid her face on his neck. Her comment made him chuckle as he paused for a moment before his hand caressed her back instead before he felt her cup his cheek and turn his head to face her. They gazed only for a bit while he still held her close to him.

However, that moment was interrupted yet again when Rhea’s alarm on her phone went off. It was already almost 10:00 AM. Cursing,, she broke away from Roman as she reached for her phone and turned off the alarm.

“We gotta be downstairs before they close for breakfast…”

“Want me to go and grab something instead?” Roman asked as he sat up. “I can just bring it here while you get ready.”

“Eh, if you want. I just don’t even want to get up right now, honestly.” She mumbled as she plopped back on the bed. Roman looked at the time from his phone before he took his boxer and sweatpants from the floor.

“We still have time anyways, we don’t leave until 2 PM. You can rest for a bit.” He reassured her.

“Let me take a quick shower…” She said as she sat up and walked to the bathroom. Roman only nodded before he went to brush his teeth, got dressed, and left the room.

Back at the Performance Center, Finn, Damian, Dom, Jimmy, and Solo were all seen training for the next day on Smackdown as they were getting ready. Dom had a title match against Montez, while Finn and Damian were once again set to defend their titles against LWO. Both of them were training with Jimmy and Solo who offered to help them get ready. They arrived earlier just to get a head-start.

After a while, they were taking a small and quick break at the cafeteria as they all sat together.

“So y’all think the rumor could be true then?” Jimmy asked as he came back after fetching himself a protein shake while he sat down between Solo and Dom.

“We ain’t even sure, man. But you know that whatever shit comes from Cody’s mouth lately could be true.” Damian said as he rubbed his forehead. “It’s either true or he’s just bitter because he wasn’t even supposed to get those titles with your brother in the first place.”

“Yeah, about that, I wouldn’t even be talking that loudly about Cody. He’s around here with Jey training as well.” Solo commented as he placed his arms on the table while Damian scoffed.

“And? If he has anything to say, he can say it to my face.”

“Spoke too soon,” Finn mumbled as he ate a breakfast bar that he had in his hand when he saw from behind Damian’s shoulder Jey and Cody walk inside the cafeteria. Both of them having finished their training as they were in to grab a bite and leave.

“They better not come down here.” Jimmy mumbled as he drank his shake. Not even facing the entrance of the cafeteria at all.

“Well, look who’s here.” They suddenly heard Cody speak.

“Again, you spoke too soon.”

“Damn…”

“You just couldn’t wait until Monday, eh?” Damian scoffed as the group turned to face Cody and Jey who walked up to them. “The hell you two want, anyways?”

“Aye, we’re just here to say hi and leave.” Jey simply said as he raised his hands in defense. “We ain’t gonna act like y’all made it so that Roman could come in last Monday and attack me.”

“Pearce isn’t going to be pleased with that, you know.” Cody stated as he crossed his arms. “And he will do something about it.”

“Cody, maybe just leave whatever you gotta say next Monday when we see each other again.” Damian said as he placed his apple aside on the table before he stood and faced him. “Unless you want me to try and injure you again right here, all you gotta do is just let me know.”

“Alright, alright. I’m only telling you the truth, though.” Cody placed a hand in front of Damian to calm him. “If you guys keep on playing like this, it’s not gonna end well. And Jey and I? We’ll gladly sit back and watch.”

“Well, you’ll be waiting for a while.” Dominik said as he drank some of his water. “Because the Judgement Day and the Bloodline aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.”

“Oh, for real?” Jey asked as he crossed his arms. “I mean, eh, I wouldn’t be surprised considering how your “mami” spends more time with Roman lately.”

“Hey, take it easy. Watch your mouth.” Damian immediately said as he turned and pointed at him. “Don’t start any shit.”

“I ain’t starting shit, Uce. I’m only saying facts. Not my fault he can’t stand the truth.”

“Jey. He’s serious.” Solo suddenly spoke, surprisingly for everyone, as he gave Jey a firm look. “This ain’t your business, so back off while you still can.”

“Hey now why are y’all suddenly speaking for him, huh? He can speak for himself.” Jey asked as he turned to face Dom, who had an unreadable expression on his face as he looked at him. “Am I right Dom?”

Dom suddenly stood up, Jimmy and Damian both tried to stop him but he shrugged their hands away. He then faced Jey who was waiting for him to speak.

“Jey, I’m going to tell you this once. Keep Rhea’s name out your mouth.” He told him. “Whatever’s going on is none of your concern, and I mean it. This isn’t a joke.”

At that, Jey tried to hold back a laugh as he rubbed his mouth and looked down at the floor, before he looked back at Dom. “I mean… if it wasn’t for Flair, none of us would’ve known and I wouldn’t be saying this shit. But like… ya might still wanna keep an eye on her cuz she’s been too clingy on Roman lately an—“

Before Jey had the chance to finish his sentence, a fist suddenly met his face as he almost fell. Before anyone could react, Dominik started to beat him up with Finn and Damian immediately jumping to stop him.

“Hey, hey, enough! Stop!”

“Dom, just ignore him—!”

“Come on, let’s get out of here, Uce, he ain’t worth it.” Jimmy quickly commented to Dom who was trying to get out of Finn and Damian’s hold. All the while Cody went to check on Jey as the male Samoan winced in pain while sitting up and rubbing his face.

“I warned you— keep mami’s name out of your damn mouth!” Dominik snapped, all the while Finn and Damian dragged him out from the cafeteria while Solo and Jimmy also followed, the two looking down at Jey and Cody momentarily before they followed the other three out.

“Dom— let’s get out, don’t listen to him alright?” Damian immediately said as the group went outside. As soon as they did, he immediately had the group go into their rental car while he and Solo stood outside of the car as they spoke.

“Where’s Paul at? Is he still talking to Triple H?”

“He texted me back, he should be back in a bit. He was on the phone with him earlier.” Solo told him as he looked at his phone before keeping it in his pocket before he looked at Damian. “Look man, I don’t normally voice out whatever I think out loud for the most part, but Dom needs to keep his head in the game.”

“I know man, I know.” Damian said as he sighed. “Doesn’t help that almost 30% of this company already knows about Rhea cheating on Dom and now they all want to try and use that against Dom any chance they get.”

“At some point, someone’s gonna be bold enough to say something about it during live TV. Raw, Smackdown, NXT, hell, every during Crown Jewel. And if that happens, the whole world’s gonna find out.”

“Look, only a few people know.” Damian told him. “Charlotte knows, Raquel knows, we know, Zelina knows- well, maybe, but I’m not sure if Raquel was the one that told her-, and now, Jey and Cody.”

“Well that’s enough people, motherfucker.” Solo blurted out. “And out of all of them, Cody is the more likely to expose it in front of everyone. And if he does, it’s over for all of us. This alliance? It’ll be over before you know it. And you guys are gonna start falling apart too before you can even blink.”

“Okay- okay, okay, here’s what we can do.” Damian calmed Solo down. “As soon as Rhea and Roman come back, we’ll let them know what’s going on. Aside from the tag title issue. Look, Dom punched Jey and he even already gave him a warning back there, so hopefully he’ll keep his damn mouth shut. But until then, we let Roman and Rhea know and follow their plan.”

Solo was silent for a few minutes. He looked back at the car, before he looked at Damian. “You think Roman and Rhea are still…?”

“… no. I don’t.” Damian shook his head. “Rhea‘s trying to fix things with Dom right now. And Roman’s probably not even messing around with her anymore. At least that’s what he told me after everything that went down.”

“… Damian. I’m gonna be honest with you. And this is just me saying what I saw.” Solo suddenly said. “But I don’t think Roman is keeping his word.”

“Wait. What?”

“Back at the bar that night? He was staring at Rhea the entire time.” He explained to him as he crossed his arms. “While Jimmy was with us chatting and talking shit about LA Knight, I noticed Roman wasn’t listening and that he was looking at someone in particular at the crowd. And it was Rhea.”

“Hold on, hold on…” Damian paused him as he placed a hand in front of the Samoan male while he processed his words. “… if he said he’s not interested in going after her again, then why would he…?”

“You tell me.” Solo simply said. “My bet is that he’s lying. If I were you, I’d keep a closer eye on him the second he comes back. Cuz I’m gonna do it too.” With that, Solo got inside the car while Damian stood, pondering over his words before he rubbed his face.

“Que clase mamabicho…” He told himself as he took a deep breath before he calmed himself and got inside the car. He started the car while he looked at Dom who sat on the left side of the backseat. He was looking upset, despite trying to calm himself down.

“Hey, don’t listen to Jey, man.” Damian reassured him. “You know whatever shit coming out from his mouth is just to taunt you. Don’t let it get to you. Cogelo suave.”

“I know.” Dominik sighed and nodded before Damian began to drive them away back to the hotel.

He needed to have a serious talk with Rhea and Roman.

As soon as Roman came back with breakfast to their room, Rhea also came out from the bathroom with a robe around her. He set the bag down at the desk that they had while Rhea also approached to his side.

“They have anything good?”

“I mean, I’d say better than the food from the other hotel.” Roman commented as he took out one bowl for himself, and the other for Rhea. “You prefer turkey bacon over regular bacon, right?”

Rhea nodded before Roman gave her food to her as well as a plastic fork as well as some napkins and a bottle of orange juice. He went to make himself some coffee from the Keurig coffee maker in their room while Rhea sat on the bed and began to eat.

“You know, thinking about back then, before we did all of this,” Roman spoke as he sat beside her with his plate of food after he finished making his coffee. “I was starting to think that you really wanted this whole thing to be over.”

At that, Rhea paused after taking a bite from her eggs and looked down at her food for a second. She then sighed. “Honestly, I was starting to think that too, but…” She leaned her back against the bed frame. “I’m beginning to doubt myself lately.”

“How come?”

Rhea hesitated at first. She looked down at her plate before she set the fork down and spoke. “It’s just… look, it’s not that I’m saying that it’s a bad thing or anything, but- it just- this happened so suddenly, you know? I—“ She tried to find the right words to say while Roman listened and gazed at her. “One minute we were just hooking up, the next thing we know, we’re… suddenly like this. I mean come on, we barely know each other.”

“Well, I know you’re not a morning person, you certainly don’t like coffee, black and purple are your color, you like metal music—“

“I don’t mean by that,” She huffed as she took a sip from her orange juice. “Well- actually, yeah that too, but… What I mean is like, you know, get to actually know more about each other.”

The room was silent for a bit as she looked up at him. He had paused eating momentarily, pondering on his choice of words before he finally broke the momentary silence.

"I understand what you're saying," he responded, his voice gentle and sincere, ”Why don’t we have an actual date when we get back?”

“I can’t.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I have a date with Dom…” She finally said as she exhaled deeply. “And I know- it was dumb of me, because all of the sudden we’re doing all of this but—“

“You told me you were trying to set things straight with him last night.”

“… Yeah, I did. But… the thing is, I don’t know anymore.” She set her own plate aside. “And hey, I won’t judge you if you decide to be mad at me or hate me after this. But… I have a lot to think about. Especially now.”

She then felt her hand being gently held as she looked, Roman being the one who was holding her hand as his thumb caressed her knuckles.

“Yeah about that-“ He began. “… you kinda made it hard for me to be mad at you or hate you. Just saying.”

At this, Rhea snorted and looked away for a second. “Please.”

“I’m serious.” He insisted, Rhea then facing him yet again as he spoke. “Look, last night we talked about this- and like I said, I’m not the one to decide how you’re feeling. If anything, you’re the one that decides that. And I don’t judge you for it. All I'm gonna say is… I’ll wait.” He told her sincerely, gazing at her as he still held her hand. “If you decide to keep this going, I’ll be completely fine with it. But… if you choose not to, I’ll respect it. Just as long as you’re okay.”

Rhea was out of words to say to Roman at that moment as she gazed at him. Like before, her hand reached out to cup his cheek while he also gently held it while his thumb caressed her knuckles as well.

“So you’re saying you’ll wait for me?”

“As long as it takes.” He planted a kiss on her palm. “Just remember that I’m always gonna have your back no matter what.”

He lightly gripped on her hand while she was out of words. Not knowing what to say. All she knew was that she had a lot to think about the second her and Roman returned to their groups.

And this was just their second day in South Carolina. Only three more to go.

Taglist:

@sassginaswanmills @riptideripley

[frankenfossil]

13 books

What’s up readers?! How about a little show and tell? Answer these 13 questions, tag 13 lucky readers and if you’re feeling extra bookish add a shelfie! Let’s Go!

Tagged by @quarkscooljacket

This is perfect because I had an extremely slow start to the year in terms of reading and then SUDDENLY in the last few weeks I got my library card un-blocked and then maxed out my reservations and am now reading a bunch of books!!!!!!!

1) The Last book I read:

Question 7 by Richard Flanagan! I extremely liked it! Very contemplative novel/nonfic/memoir mishmash threading through such things as the way scifi writers & physicists prefigured & led to & failed to prevent the bombing of Hiroshima, his father being a POW in Japan who almost certainly would not have survived (and had him!) if the bombs had not been dropped, the history of Tasmania, his own near drowning while kayaking in the Franklin river, and the way history and memory shapes us and is eternally carried forward with us while also being forgotten/rewritten/impossible to pin down for certain. At least, that's my best go of describing this book.

2) A book I recommend:

This is... so open-ended... if you want to identify native trees in Victoria and nearby areas I would recommend Leon Costerman's Native Trees and Shrubs of South-Eastern Australia lmao. I really like The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, a historical fiction/urban fantasy book about a golem and a jinni living in immigrant communities in New York in the early 1900s, and also the sequel.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

Not a book per se but one of the webcomics I got into relatively recently is What happens next https://whathappensnext.webcomic.ws/ which reminds me a bit of Nevada by Imogen Binnie except if all of the characters were youtubers and/or tumblrinas and either involved in a murder or just big into true crime (in universe, fictional). It's very gripping. Of course now that I'm caught up there's the usual wait for updates but such is life.

I also read The Wicked + the Divine last week, since I'd never previously read the final 2 volumes, and that was good. I'm glad to find out I liked the ending. Comics are always a quick read but nevertheless some are more action-packed and fast paced than others lmao, and I just ripped through these in every spare second.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

Naomi Novik is probably my most read author because I've read most of her books twice or more... So far I've read Spinning Silver & His Majesty's Dragon three times each; those are 2 of my absolute favourites. I've read most of the rest of the Temeraire series 2 or 3 times too but few of them grab me quite as much as the first one, & I read the first Scholomance book twice. I feel like I should reread Uprooted because that's the only one of her books I've not liked (though some of the duller Temeraire books get a bit of a leg-up from being in a series with other books I really like lol); since I only remember vague impressions of it now, which might not be accurate, I would like to see if my feelings have changed, or if not, figure out more specifically what I didn't like about it.

5) A book on my TBR:

Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright also happens to be one of the books I borrowed!! It was mentioned on a podcast along with Question 7 and Search History (currently reading, q12) so that is how I found out about these 3 books and was compelled to reserve them. However, currently I am daunted by how fat it is (700+ pages) so it's just sitting on my bedside table and I am... reading the shorter books first lmao.

I will also leave the blurb copypasted from @quarkscooljacket's answer:

Praiseworthy is an epic set in the north of Australia, told with the richness of language and scale of imagery for which Alexis Wright has become renowned. In a small town dominated by a haze cloud, which heralds both an ecological catastrophe and a gathering of the ancestors, a crazed visionary seeks out donkeys as the solution to the global climate crisis and the economic dependency of the Aboriginal people. His wife seeks solace from his madness in following the dance of butterflies and scouring the internet to find out how she can seek repatriation for her Aboriginal/Chinese family to China. One of their sons, called Aboriginal Sovereignty, is determined to commit suicide. The other, Tommyhawk, wishes his brother dead so that he can pursue his dream of becoming white and powerful. This is a novel which pushes allegory and language to its limits, a cry of outrage against oppression and disadvantage, and a fable for the end of days.

6) A book I’ve put down:

The most recent book I decided I did not want to finish is The Female Man by Joanna Russ. It sounded conceptually cool but I was just finding it way too hard to follow or care about. Too many sections where I couldn't figure out which character/s' perspective it was or whatever. I'm sure there's other books I didn't finish before they became overdue and I had to return them but can't remember, I usually want to finish them eventually. Whether I will get around to it is another matter.

7) A book on my wish list:

I don't normally buy books these days, but nevertheless tempted by A Vast, Pointless Gyration of Radioactive Rocks and Gas in Which You Happen to Occur, edited by the Daniels. It looks extremely interesting and also extremely pretty...

8) A favorite book from childhood:

Hmmmm. I guess I did choose my name from The Wind on Fire trilogy by William Nicholson. Definitely up there among my favourite childhood books.

9) A book you would give to a friend:

Another very open ended one...... this depends so much????? what friend... what occasion... idk... there are books I do kind of want to give people but either I haven't decided or it's supposed to be a surprise and they may see this. although recently I have been incepting Lauren with my impeccable borrowing tastes, reading my library books after me is surely the same thing right??

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own

Ismene's Survivable Resistance by Claire Gaskin... she is one of my favourite poets, and I rly like the concept of this book, and I saw her do a reading of some of the poems! However I think my favourite poems by her are ones that are not in this book.

11) A nonfiction book you own:

Hmm... Evolution's Rainbow by Joan Roughgarden is an interesting book published in 2004 about the diversity of sexual and gender variation in the world. The first section is about other animals, and especially about the ways human biologists have imposed ideological frameworks in classifying them; the middle section is about human intersex variation and biology; and the third section is about human cultural sex and gender roles throughout history.

12) What are you currently reading:

Search History by Amy Taylor. About the dating life of a classic mildly messy millennial woman. In this case she goes through the facebook profile of the most recent guy she starts dating and then finds out that his ex girlfriend died, and then goes through the accounts and photos of the ex girlfriend and gets a bit obsessed with her, but has to not let on to the new guy that she has done this deep dive. It's okay! Enjoyable, pretty fast to read, some funny bits and observations and whatnot, but not particularly a stand out read. She is not as much of a freak as I expected she would be when I started reading it, which is both a relief and also a disappointment. So far everyone seems to just be normal mildly flawed people doing overall reasonable things imperfectly, and the conflict is just navigating life's complexity (there's a lot about everyday sexism though). Mostly I just keep thinking how glad I am to not be a heterosexual woman or ever had to attempt online dating/app dating, which are both quite boring and excessively smug things to feel, however, I am simply a bit boring and smug. Anyway I'm only halfway through, I'm expecting/hoping there'll be some twists or something. Maybe about the boyfriend...?

update: was talking to some friends about it this arvo and they said not only that it does get crazier, but ALSO that supposedly it's a modern telling of Rebecca, which I have not read but have now reserved lmao

13) What are you planning on reading next?

I have borrowed all of Delicious in Dungeon and am very excited to start them! Also the next books I have to read for my book clubs are Marlo by Jay Carmichael, which I'd better get onto as it is in less than 2 weeks, and Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H, which was one of the ones I put on the list myself and am very excited to read (I previously started it and got too busy to finish it but was rly enjoying it so keen to get further), but I actually still have over a month for that one since I can't make this month's meeting for that book club.

As for a shelfie... well here is a photo of all the plant reference books in my desk drawer for quick reference while working (though there's really only 4 I use very often, plus the australian standards on the side there):

Tagging (with ZERO pressure or obligation): @thesleepybabesclub @depthchargeforcutie @petricorrosion @andilovethisnovemberlife @dogelectedmayor @aesterea @commander-diomika @auntytim @zinjanthropusboisei @red-thorn