#anyway. there is a big update coming up. It took me 3 weeks to finish drawing it out. which means i'm currently low on draft.

[deiaiko]

#22.9 Kindness

Ran woke up with far less aching than he anticipated. Though what shocked him more was that the long haired FUG was the first one to greet him.

"Oh. Hello." The FUG guy, Bam –as A.A called him– wore a soft smile, but half of his face was still hidden behind his long bangs. Ran didn't know if he wanted to respond to him or not. 

"Ran~!" Shibisu cried fake tears, "My cutie~ you made me worried!" Ran grimaced when Shibisu leaped from his seat with two hands outstretched. He was so troublesome, but at least he was good at noticing the line he shouldn't cross, by stopping himself from actually enveloping Ran in an embrace.

Ran gritted his teeth and pushed himself up to sit to get a better look at his surroundings. Seemed like there were only the three of them in the room.

"Mr. Agni said he has healed most of your injuries, and he left you here to rest until you feel better." Bam informed him unprompted. "Khun and Mr. Rak had just left to get lunch at the cafeteria, they should be back soon."

Ran ignored him. He had no intentions to be friendly with this guy. He also noticed that Shibisu was oddly quiet, observing him and Bam. And Ran felt his judging stare pricking his skin and poking his conscience.

Bam glanced at Shibisu, and Shibisu raised an eyebrow. They seemed to have a short telepathic conversation.

"Ah, sorry. I should've introduced myself first. My name's Bam, but you can also call me Viole. I'm Mr– ah, I'm Shibisu's old teammate."

Ran already knew. He had heard about Bam from hushed tales between his allies; about an irregular that took the test with A.A's team and died back on the second floor.

Despite the fact that this person named Bam was long gone, A.A's world seemed to still revolve around him. Like how he couldn't seem to let go of their team that bickered all the time, and how his goal was to take that annoying blonde girl to climb despite his unsubtle hatred toward her.

But the worst of it was how A.A would be so hard on himself to ensure every floor test went perfectly. 

And truthfully, Ran had hated this Bam ever since, for making A.A live like that.

"Are you thirsty, Ran? You haven't spoken in a bit." Shibisu pulled Ran out of his thoughts.

Ran cleared his throat at the mention. And Shibisu was right; his throat actually felt so dry that he wanted to talk even less. Too troublesome.

"Ah, right. Uhm…here." Bam picked up and offered him a glass of water, along with a pill in a small container. "Mr. Agni told us to give this to you, he said it could help relieve some pain."

Ran was skeptical about taking the pill, so he only accepted the water. He watched Bam place the container back on the table, silently glad that neither of them forced him to take it.

Bam was being really thoughtful so far. Maybe he'd consider giving Bam a chance to justify himself. To prove that he could be forgiven for hurting A.A in such a way.

"...Ran." Ran mumbled, "My name's Ran."

Bam beamed and Ran had to mentally squint from the sudden rays of sunlight, "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Ran! If you need anything else, just tell me. I'll do my best to assist you."

Ah, troublesome. Ran immediately regretted his decision.

However, now he understood why A.A had been so devoted. A.A was weak to kindness, because Ran knew they both grew up without it. And as far as Ran knew, A.A had always chased after something hard to attain, one of a kind. Whether it was jewelry, weapons, authority,...even people. And Bam fit the criteria too well.

The automatic door opened and revealed A.A. Their eyes inevitably locked and A.A's disappointment was clear to Ran.

Think of the devil…Ran felt his annoyance bar rapidly rising.

"What did I tell you?" A.A navigated his way to them, not once breaking his glare. "Only consume redan when it's absolutely necessary."

Ran was taking none of it. "Hmph!" He had lots of fun with the spar, so he wouldn't say he regretted it.

A moment passed with A.A still staring daggers into him. It almost made Ran feel bad. Almost. In the end, A.A sighed and let it slide. "Suit yourself."

A.A brought three plates filled with an assortment of food. Though Ran figured that none of them were for him. Ran's stomach rumbled defiantly when the smell reached his nose.

Instead of being teased, Ran was taken aback when Bam offered him his yet untouched food. "You can have this, Mr. Ran."

Ran didn't know how to react to that, feeling a little uncomfortable. He felt like it would be wrong to refuse, but he didn't want it. He looked at A.A instead, hoping that he'd get the hint.

A.A noticed this and said, "You don't have to be nice to him, Bam."

"Hm? Why?"

Unfortunately A.A didn't say a better explanation other than, "Because that's how it is with him."

Shibisu slung his arms around Bam's neck. "What Khun meant is…Ran appreciates your thoughtfulness, but I think he would rather get his own food than take yours because he doesn't want to bother you. Right?"

Isu winked at Ran, and Ran rolled his eyes. That was not exactly true, but it was a softer way to put it. "As he said."

"Ah," Bam retracted his offering hands, "I see."

Ran wasted no time and swung his feet off the bed, glad to find that they weren't hurting as much. 

Bam had leaped from his seat as well, ready to catch Ran with his free hand if Ran didn't make it to stand. However it only made Ran much more eager to leave the room and get away from Bam.

Getting nice gestures from someone else he barely knew usually means they have ulterior motives, and he was so tired of being treated that way.

Bam might have meant well, seeing how much A.A trusted Bam. But Ran just hadn't gotten used to receiving kindness.

"Well then," Ran went for the door and it automatically opened for him. He didn't bother to look back to check if they followed him out. "I'll go and get some food."

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[aklaustaleteller]

Hi sweetie! Hope you're doing well. Could you write a Klaus Mikaelson x reader (the reader is Hope's bio mom, so the whole Dahlia betrayal didn't happen and no one was turned into a wolf) where it's set in season 3, the reader and Klaus are married and happy until Aurora comes along, and with her jealousy she makes y/n believe she and Klaus slept together (they didn't) so they have a big fight where Klaus didn't deny he slept with her (cause he was hurt she didn't trust him and stuff) causing them to split out. They only saw each other because of Hope, and they were verbally hostile towards each other (not much, just petty arguments) and after a while he kills Aurora bcs she threatened yn (or something similar) and they go back together and it's all fluff.

Have a great day!

Said Yes To Heaven

Y/n and Klaus are in love, happy and overwhelmed, especially since having welcomed their newborn baby only weeks ago. But what happens when an unwanted guest appears on their doorstep out of the blue, and suddenly Y/n isn't sure if she's just going crazy or there truly has been some infidelity?

Warnings - Mentions of pregnancy, blood, thoughts + scenes of trying to unalive someone else, and some light after-birth changes/affects our reader is going through.

Word Count - 4.6k

Masterlist | please reblog the fic if you like it!

So, long time no see, everyone? Hahah, it's surreal to me how you have stuck around, but I'm very glad at the same time :) Thank you for sending in this request, anon, and I'm sorry for taking so long! This is part 1/2 and this mainly has fluff, as I wanted to show you the happiness and all about this family before I tore it down in the next part (just so it'd hurt a little better, yanno?) Anyways, I'm a little rusty but I hope you'll enjoy this one even a little and I'll let you go now! Have fun reading <3

UPDATE: You can now read part two here!

Klaus took a few steps back from his doorstep, looking rather unpleasant to see his guest for the day. Because of course, out of the very blue, his ex-lover had been reminded of him. On the very day he had woken up to a crying baby and a cranky wife who was high on hormones after just having given birth.

Some days, he just couldn't get it right. But today was going to be the hardest of it all and he was not ready to face the music.

"Aurora," Y/n spoke from somewhere behind Klaus, her voice carrying a threatening echo. "To what do we owe the pleasure?" She was approaching the door slowly, her eyes and tone an exact contrast to the welcoming words falling out of her mouth like sweet honey.

Klaus' shoulders relaxed when Y/n brushed against him while she moved past to stand in front of him, making him lean against the doorframe.

"It's a lovely day, isn't it?" Aurora spoke, her voice like a little girl’s – sweet and gentle. But Klaus saw straight through it as well as the tick in his wife's jaw. "Heard that you gave birth to a baby g --"

Before Aurora could've finished, Y/n had her pinned to the doorframe opposite to the one Klaus was leaning against.

"Don't you even dare speak of my family," Y/n snarled, her fingers digging into the woman's throat as everything in her told her to rip it out. But before she could've, Klaus' lulling voice began slipping into her ears.

"Now, love," He said softly, grabbing a hold of her shoulders and bringing her back into him, knowing fully well that this wasn't something she truly wanted to do. Then, tucking her lone hair strand back into her braid, he cupped her cheeks – "Why taint the porch with her blood, hm?"

"Because I'd rather see her dead than listen to that filth for another second," she smiled sweetly, her anger evident in the grit of her teeth.

And she'd just begun turning to take a look at an embarrassingly flushed Aurora, when a cry tore through the silent household. For a small second, both Klaus and Y/n shut their eyes, taking a deep breath simultaneously before Y/n was walking back into the house.

"Take a nap with her, why don't you?" Klaus proposed, his back facing the unwanted guest. "I'll take care of this and join you two in a bit," he nodded, passing the exhausted mother of his little girl a sweet smile, encouraging her.

Then he turned back around, almost shutting the door behind him to keep whatever noise was to come at bay.

"What do you think you're doing here, Aurora?"

"I just wanted to see you, Niklaus," she muttered softly, taking a step closer to him. "I miss you," she confessed, reaching to place her hands on his chest.

He backed away just in time, releasing a sharp breath. "I didn't suspect you to be so idiotic and careless with your life," he said sharply.

"Only for you, Klaus." She was looking up at him with a million emotions swirling in her eyes. But Klaus knew better than to not notice malice being one of them.

"Whatever you're planning to do, drop it," he gritted through his teeth. "And stay far, far away, from my family," he warned her as he walked her off their porch and out of their house’ perimeter, tempting the woman in front of him to backtrack.

"Don't test me against this Aurora,” he started, his hands placed behind his back but his frame remained all the more intimidating.

“I will kill you if you even bat an eye in the direction of this house," he was almost beginning to shake now, trying his best to keep his anger at bay and not cause any destruction out here while his little family rested inside the house not too far away.

Leaving her standing, Klaus turned to get back in the house when Aurora called out his name.

"You love me, though! You know you love me," she shouted at him, and Klaus' eyes glowed golden, knowing exactly what she was trying to do here.

And the moment she saw his eyes, she stumbled a little.

"I know you love me, do you not?" She managed to croak out just before Klaus had his hand wrapped around her throat, enhancing the bruising his wife had marked earlier.

"This is your final warning," he growled in her ear before slamming her against the wall behind her, walking away and trying to lose his temper at the same time as he entered the house and shut the door behind him, wincing when a baby's wails followed the noise.

—

As the next morning rolled around, so did the first official day of Summer.

With Hope's little frame already covered in fresh grass, Y/n couldn't foresee the day getting any better. A loud laugh escaped her when Klaus pretended for it to have been hard work getting a hold of the very frantic Hope, who was as happy to see the sun as Y/n was.

"Look who's gotten herself all dirty," Y/n pouted, dusting off as much dirt as she could off of Hope's onesie, while Klaus softly wiped her face.

"Just learned to crawl and of course she's abusing the skill," Klaus murmured, only making his wife laugh again.

Y/n kept Hope caged in her lap with one arm, leaning back on the other one to soak in the sun. She exhaled a deep breath, before turning to look at Klaus, who was already smiling at her.

"You've been such a good father, have I told you that?"

He laughed at that, looking down to hide the blush creeping up his neck, and nodding with his eyes still set on the little ducklings printed on the blanket they were sitting on.

"You have," he began softly. "Many times, actually," huffing out a laugh, he looked up again, now catching Hope's big wondrous eyes as well.

"Good."

With a light groan, Klaus moved to lay beside her. "Hope couldn't have a better mum, though."

"Wouldn't want her to have another mum anyways," she laughed, leaning in just a bit to press a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth that was curled in a grin.

And as the beautiful day passed them by, with Hope's full cheeks turned red due to the amount of fun she'd had, and Y/n's heart swollen with all the love she couldn't muster up properly at all, no matter how hard she tried – and Klaus knew that he could give it his all and still be unable to put this keen feeling rushing under his skin upon a canvas.

They'd truly said yes to heaven, when they'd said yes to each other on that one day in particular.

So, once they had shuffled back inside their house due to the chilliness increasing, Klaus made his way straight to the kitchen to heat up the leftovers while Y/n changed Hope’s clothes upstairs, in their bedroom. It didn't take long for the tired little girl to slip into sleep's arms and for her head to lull to the side, while Y/n was rocking her back and forth. So she stacked pillows around Hope’s body and went back down to Klaus, reaching just in time when a there was a knock on the door.

Now, with whatever Y/n had been expecting to come across, Aurora Martel at her door once again, was not it.

As she stood still on her ground, looking into the very woman's eyes who was not even supposed to be here anymore, her eyes began to fade to black only for the golden rim of a Hybrid to come through -- to caution the vampire standing in front of her before she attacked.

Because while Y/n hadn’t mentioned it to Klaus, she had heard her fake little love confession to Klaus yesterday and thought about the multiple ways she could unalive Aurora. 

But she decided against putting in such effort and put her body through another wave of pain for the day. She was going to go about his normally, after all, she was the mother of the very man's child that this woman had clearly come after. And his wife, as well.

"Aurora De Martel, the hopeless-romantic human, who only grew more daring once turned into a vampire, at my doorstep all over again," Y/n began, walking to complete a circle around the woman.

"Not an ounce of stupidity was shred in the process-- you know, of your turning; I suppose, since you're clearly still in possession of it," Y/n continued. 

Once she was in front of Aurora again, she took a step closer, the gaze of a predator still present in her eyes.

"Cat got your tongue darling?" She spoke, tilting her head to the side. "Where's that feisty little Vampire that I remember, hm?"

"I'm not that person anymore," Aurora began, struggling once Y/n had her in a choke hold again.

"No need to be a stinking liar, Aurora." Y/n gritted, dropping the choking one on the ground. "I can smell your intentions from miles away."

Y/n didn't tend to be such a threatening and volatile person, that was the reason that she'd fit so well with Klaus. And yet, she wasn't quite sure as to why she'd brought up this side of hers. She knew she wasn’t afraid or insecure that Aurora might get to Klaus; not at all.

But what she did know was that Klaus’ lovers popping back up only made her heart thud because of the potential danger they put Hope in.

She scoffed when Aurora scrambled to her feet, hands around her neck as she swallowed thickly.

“How are you, Y/n?” She croaked out, looking ahead of her despite the fact that Y/n was right by her side, now making another round around her. 

“Hm, concerned, I’d say,” Y/n hummed. “For you, of course.”

Maybe the pregnancy had changed more about her than she’d originally thought. Or maybe, and hopefully, Y/n thought, it was just the hormones. 

“How’s Klaus?” Aurora asked, mustering up the courage to turn and look Y/n in the eyes. “I supposed he’d be here,” she shrugged, "with you." The venom in her voice could be well detected, especially when she mentioned Y/n. And while her guards were high up, prepared for the hybrid to rip her to shreds -- she still held the fake confidence that that won't happen. 

“Why don’t you ask him yourself? I’m sure he’d love to have a chat,” Y/n smiled at her before she walked into the house, towards the room she knew Klaus was putting away Hope’s stray toys in – but not before passing Aurora a cautioning glare, warning her against doing something stupid in her absence. 

“Klaus?” She asked softly, entering the dark room, her eyes already following his figure as he put away the box of toys.

“We have a guest, I hear?” Klaus asked, walking up to her with a lazy smile. One of his arms snuck around her waist to pull her into him to press a kiss on her mouth. 

“No actually – we have a doting lover on our door,” Y/n chuckled. “She’s eager to see you again,” she shrugged, quickly going back to press a kiss on Hope’s forehead before grabbing a very confused Klaus’ hand, leading him outside. 

“Aurora,” he realised in annoyance, a deep frown in between his brows as he caught her sight from the top of the stairs. His mind was racing through a million things, the loudest question in there was, what in the hell was she doing here again? Didn't he warn her just yesterday?

“Isn’t it a pleasant surprise?” Y/n smiled brightly, coming to a halt herself. “I’ll leave you two to it,” she said, ignoring Klaus’ pleading look with an inner laugh as she turned away, most likely to arrange the dishes for their awaiting and heated dinner.

"Just make sure she doesn't ever dare to lose her way and end up here, again," she said, looking straight into Aurora's eyes before crossing over to the kitchen. 

And from the corner of her eye, she saw Klaus shut the door behind him. So, trusting him against making a mess, she quickly cleaned up the kitchen before she was making her way upstairs to Hope’s room, to now feed her some formula and put her to sleep for the night. 

"Are you in there, little wolf?" Y/n spoke from just outside the door, a silly grin on her face as she waited for the same reply she got everyday.

A random babbling noise that showed that Hope was indeed hungry. 

Despite Hope's loud squeak and the sounds of her rolling around in her crib, Y/n walked into the room with the same look on her face – the pretended to have caught her daughter, awake, red handed.

"Hope! You don't wake up once I put you to sleep!" She gasped, swallowing a laugh and reaching with one hand to pick up the little girl, bringing her to sit on her lap while she backed to sit on the rocking chair.

With loud giggles, Hope hit her chest a couple times, grinning up at her while drool began pooling on the boundary of her mouth.

"Uh ah!" Y/n laughed, closing the baby's mouth and watching as she squealed again, this time her palm landing flat on Y/n’s cheek.

Risking a mess by placing the small bowl on her thigh, Y/n held Hope up with her back against her chest and lifted a spoonful.

"Yes!" She cheered when Hope took in the bite without closing her mouth halfway and spilling the rest down her chin.

Slowly and steadily, she let the girl swallow her meal before making her burp.

"Did I get you sleepy, little wolf?" Y/n giggled watching Hope's eyes droop.

"You're so sleepy all the time!" She pouted. "Never got the time on your hands to play with your mummy," chuckling and shaking her head, she got off the chair and walked over to the crib placed near Klaus’ side of the bed upon his insistence, putting the already asleep girl inside.

Lowering with her, Y/n pressed a chaste kiss on her full cheeks that now hung low. Silently, she walked over and peeked out of the door to see if the matter down the stairs had been sorted out.

But she didn't catch sight of either Klaus or Aurora. So, with a sharp frown between her brows and an anxious tick among her fingers, she hurried down the stairs -- only to confirm her first realisation, it seemed.

Knowing that Klaus couldn't have been hurt in any way, she headed back into the master bedroom to get herself into a nice bath and take some time off to relax. 

She lit the candle that Freya had gifted her some time ago, and stepped into the bathtub full of soap foams. Her head lulled back and her eyes shut off, and she began to think of all the time she had been spending building this new little family recently. 

It still felt so surreal, that Hope was finally here. It was all so new and overwhelming, but Y/n knew that neither her nor Klaus would trade this period of their life for anything. It was almost as if everything had fallen into pieces to fit a puzzle the moment they had welcomed their little daughter into this world. 

There was no other source of light in the bathroom apart from the flickering candle, Y/n didn't feel like turning on the bright white light. And, as she began to tune into Hope’s breathing, she felt her heart begin to beat in sync with hers. It would’ve only been silence to human ears, but Y/n could hear the little puffs and the little movements of her mouth that she made in her sleep. 

She could picture Hope’s head lulled to the side, her mouth slightly ajar and her small frame rising and lowering with each breath that she took. Then, Klaus faded into the photo and she could see Hope’s drool slipping onto his arm and drying up there, because of course Klaus had fallen asleep with her on the rocking chair. 

And finally, she entered the picture herself and took the two of them into the master bedroom, laying Hope between the two of them and pressing kisses on both of their foreheads. After turning off the lights, she was looking at the two pieces of her heart sleeping peacefully, because she felt like she couldn’t miss this sight, because she probably won’t feel the time pass before Hope had to be put to sleep in a crib in her own room. 

Just the idea of that brought tears to her eyes. Everything made her cry these days, and she does realise that it’s because of the hormones. But she doesn’t know how to explain the exhaustion of it all. The untrue and mean thoughts she got throughout the day, whether it was regarding her body or her new journey of being a mother and feeling scared that she’d go wrong somewhere and be hated by her own family for the rest of her life. 

Just the energy it took to shut all those thoughts down and to reassure herself, remind herself of what was true and what wasn’t – took so much out of her that when Klaus held her in his arms at the end of the day, she just wanted to let go and fall into pieces, so that he’d bunch her up and tell her or show her stupid brain that Y/n was indeed right and that the thoughts were just her mind playing games. 

Taking in a deep breath, Y/n rose and washed the soap off of her. She could think about this all day and all night, and she could drown in her sorrows for way too long than healthy. But right now, she needed to go and eat dinner if she wanted to sleep on time. 

Which reminded her – she hadn’t heard Klaus come home. Had she missed it, or had he genuinely not come home yet? She began to focus on her hearing, and only came across Hope’s breaths, nothing else. 

Maybe something had occupied him, she thought, wrapping a towel around her and exiting the bathroom. 

—

Klaus was walking in their backyard with Hope in his arms, asleep, as always. He couldn’t balme her though – she was a newborn, after all, and had a lot to register in her brain in the couple hours that she was awake during the day. 

She had been a calm baby so far. The midnight tantrums weren’t as frequent as others had warned him and Y/n about, maybe because they had way more stamina than an average human.

Y/n, right when she had woken up, had been dragged out by Rebekah and Freya. Trust me, Y/n, I’ve been through what you’re going through and it’s been two weeks since you’ve left the house with us! He had heard Rebekah say to Y/n in the kitchen, and he had agreed a hundred percent. 

They had gone out for brunch, and maybe it was because they had a lot to catch up on, that Y/n hadn’t yet come home and it was nearing lunch time. 

And Y/n, as much as she was enjoying her time out in as much sun as New Orleans got on an average, she was dying to go home. She was missing Hope and Klaus and before she could’ve said anything, Rebekah had herself proposed that they should have some dessert already because Klaus and Hope are probably seeing your sight on the doorstep, she’d laughed. 

“I think I’m gonna walk home, the weather’s really nice,” Y/n said when Rebekah began to try and convince her for a lift in her car. 

“Oh, okay!” Rebekah laughed. “You have come out after a long time, so sure!”

Y/n just passed the woman a narrow-eyed glare as she was hugging Freya. 

“Juut text us when you reach home,” Freys said, walking off towards her car. 

Y/n nodded, bidding goodbye and watching the two drive off before she dropped her smile and sighed. God, her cheeks hurt from how much she’d been smiling and laughing. 

She had only walked a couple paces away from their eating spot when she heard footsteps. It was a busy time, a nice day, so many people were out and about. The city was kind of bustling. But still, Y/n turned to look and immediately, she groaned, coming to a pause. 

“Seriously, Aurora?” She almost whined. “You take annoying someone to a whole another scale,” she said with a face that was genuinely twisted into annoyance and irritation. 

“C’mon Y/n,” Aurora said with a newfound confidence, drawing Y/n’s attention right away. “Can’t you have a chat with me, too? Just us girls?” She grinned, and then rolled her eyes when she saw that flash of Hybrid golden in Y/n’s eyes. 

“I’m not here to fight,” she said. “I’m here to make friends with you,” shrugging, she dared to take a step closer, testing the waters. 

“Don’t be so over confident, Aurora,” Y/n gritted, having pinned the woman on a wall. “It almost got you killed, right this moment,” she said, giving her a final flash of her eyes before getting up and walking away. She was not in the mood to kill today, especially not after the amazing brunch she’d had not too long ago. 

But of course, Aurora was too dumb to get that, Y/n noted as she heard feet jogging to catch up to her pace. 

“Just talk to me this once, and I swear I’ll never show you my face ever again,” Aurora rushed to speak, desperate to get Y/n to stop.

They were still a little far from her home, Y/n realised. She could very conveniently kill her right now, and not get blood anywhere near her family home. 

“What?” She asked instead, coming to a stop. 

“I get why you married Klaus now,” Aurora spoke, a smile creeping up on her mouth. Y/n didn’t want to admit that there was a blush as well. It was probably sunburn, she told herself. 

With a slight roll of her eyes, Y/n forced herself to focus. “What do you mean, Aurora?” She asked her, ready to snap her neck if she tried to beat around the bush once more. 

“I mean, you two got together, had a baby so early on in your marriage. I now realise that it’s because he is so good in bed, you had to lock him down somehow, didn’t you?” She laughed, not noticing the gold swarming Y/n’s eyes as she smiled at the ground, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. 

“I would too. Guess I got a bit late, huh?” She continued with a joke, and then stopped. 

Y/n didn’t even talk to her girlfriends like this. How dare this dumb little piece of work, dare to speak of her and Klaus in such a manner? So, she sped through her movements and sunk her fingers in Aurora’s throat, cleansing her insides.

“I rushed. Think I would’ve liked ripping out your dirty fucking tongue instead,” Y/n hissed, her mouth right next to Aurora’s ear and she was so close she could hear the loud thudding of her heart. It made her feel good, and she almost didn’t want to kill her becuase that noise was music to her ears right now. 

Aurora couldn’t say anything, the only noise she could muster up was the sound of choking, because she was. And she was pretty sure her blood was rushing to places inside her where it shouldn’t be. 

But then, something came over Y/n and she slipped her hand out of Aurora’s throat, leaving it intact as she wiped the blood on the very woman’s clothing. “Sleep good. Maybe some rest will knock some sense into you. After all, all this stalking and annoying someone must be exhausting,” Y/n spoke with an understanding shake in her head. 

And then, before Aurora could even realise much, Y/n had her hand placed near her throat and with that, she snapped her neck, quickly rushing to put her back in her house. She wasn’t cruel or angry enough to leave her asleep in the middle of nowhere. 

But she was riled up enough that she needed to rush home and ask Klaus some questions before her mind could get the better of her. 

She knew that this was the time Hope was usually asleep, and she was praying to the gods above that today wouldn’t be any different. And she opened the door to the house, quickly sensing that Hope was, indeed, asleep but she could hear that Klaus wasn’t.

The shower was running. 

Removing her shoes, she walked to the kitchen and washed her hands in the sink. Then, tiredly, walked over and sat on the sofa in the living room, knowing that Hope was in the master bedroom and they couldn’t talk, potentially argue, there. 

A lot was taken out of her today, and she needed Klaus to reassure her so that she wouldn’t have a breakdown somewhere in the house because it felt like she was going crazy. She knew that he hadn’t done it, knew that he couldn’t have done it. 

But just for the sake of her brain, she needed him to say it. Needed the words to come out of his mouth so that she would know for sure. For she trusted him more than she trusted herself. 

Because right now, her brain was telling her that she had heard Aurora’s love confession that day, but she hadn’t heard Klaus’ reply. Or that Klaus mostly shut the door when she left him with Aurora or how that one night he had come home late after she had left the two of them alone for Klaus to sort out the matters, and he’d told her not to worry about it – that it was nothing and he had taken care of it.

She knew that it truly was nothing. But once, just once, she wanted him to tell her that. 

Waiting and waiting for the shower to turn off, Y/n slipped into a slumber. So when she felt someone close to her, she caught Kalus leaning in to pick her up, probably to carry her to their bedroom. 

“Ah, you’re awake,” he smiled, his gaze so soft and his dimples evident as he instead pressed a kiss to her forehead and stood up straight. “The girls tired you out, hm?” He asked her, raising her head and placing it on his lap once he had sat himself. 

Y/n only mumbled something, before turning to hide her face in his hip area. She couldn’t bring herself to talk to him about this when he was caressing her hair so gingerly, but she knew she had to. 

“I wanted to talk to you about something,” she said then, looked up at him. 

“What is it, love?”

God, this was going to be hard. She sat up and fixed her bed head with her fingers before she looked at him again, this time with a wavering sigh. 

“Did you sleep with Aurora?” 

Klaus’ eyes hardened then – the exact response Y/n hadn’t been longing to receive. 

[harrysfluff]

Choices Part 2

a/n: Hi! Yes I know it has been a long time. VERY SORRY! I had a lot of big life events happen (graduated from college, grad school (apps, interviews, drama etc)). So for that i am very sorry. Because this one leaves on a cliff hanger and given my writing updates, I’m halfway done with part 3 and locking myself away to finish it. Anyway thank you for being so patient with me!

Warnings: unprotected sex, oral (f receiving), ANGST

part 1

You could feel your eyes drying out as you stared down at salad in front of you. It was bitter and way too vinegary, but Jules had recommended it. “It is unreal! I swear I argue with myself every time. Like should I get it or try something new!” Nothing had seemed appealing lately to you, so the recommendation was welcomed.

Your eyes wondered around the restaurant as you eyed the tables nearby. You and Jules had a ritual of having lunch together on Fridays as way to decompress from the week. Often the conversation would range from office gossip to the most recent episode of Love Island in the span of an hour. Today Jules was complaining about her going to see her in laws this weekend. “Simon’s mum is so protective and I’m always the bad guy because I told him to try something new.” She said grabbing her drink to take a sip. “Like I swear you would never know the cord was cut at birth,” she laughed with one hand making scissors motions.

You only cracked a smile which earned a frown from Jules. “Oh come on! That was funny. I’m wasting all my good bits on you.”

You sighed, eyes coming to meet hers. “Sorry, it was.” You paused, setting down your fork so your hand could run through your hair. “I’m just in my head. I have a bunch of stuff going on,” You admitted.

“Like a deadline?” She asked, taking another sip.

“No not that.” You bit into your cheek, trying to find the correct phrasing. It had been a week since Harry stormed out and every moment since it had been gnawing at you. Your mind had been replaying each moment transforming it into a distorted nightmare. Additionally, he wasn’t texting beyond reminding you that the electrician was stopping by and telling you he was in LA. There was a deep sense of dread in your stomach preparing for the worst. “Me and H got into a fight last weekend, and I don’t know what’s going to happen.” You felt your eyes watering up as you tried to blink them away. “I said something really mean and he’s not really talking to me and I just don’t think he wants to repair it.” You could feel a tear run down as you were quick to dab it away. “Like ugh I was just so mad at him. And I just wanted to hurt him and I did.” The tears became a quick pour down your face.

Jules’ expression softens, sliding her hand across the table for you. “I’m sure it’s gonna be okay, love,” she cooed. “He just needs time, he obsessed with you! I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

You slipped your hand into hers, soaking in the comfort. Your other hand grabbed the napkin next to you, wiping away your tears.“Yeah but I don’t think he’ll forgive me,” you replied in a calm down. You took in several deep breathes as an attempt to regain composure.

“I promise he will, he truly loves you.” Her thumb gently rubbed against your knuckles. You nodded, hoping she was right.

~

The door handle felt cold in your hand as you turned it pushing into the house. Instinctly, your hand found the light switch to flick it. However you stopped your movements noticing the lights were already on. Turning the corner, you jumped at the sudden appearance of Harry coming down the stairs. “Oh sorry for scaring you, I heard the door and assumed it was you.” He said.

He was wearing what he usually wore when lounging around the house which was gym shorts and some old shirt. Your eyes analyzed his face for any evidence of his mental state. His eyes look tired, and he had bit more scruff than usual but nothing more. It seemed your eyes were permanently bloodshot and the bags under your eyes darken. “Hi,” you replied going to set your purse on the kitchen counter. “How are you?” You asked trying to be polite.

“Fine, I just got in this morning.” Harry came to the opposite side of the counter. He was unsure how he should approach you. It felt like you both were the same ends of a magnet. “I um wanted to talk you but wanted to do it in person.” He sunk himself down on the kitchen stool, burying his face in his hands. You took note of his nervous habit.

A seed of panic began to grow inside of you, trying to swallow it all down. “Yeah?”

“I had a lot of time to think and I’m sorry for how I left and how avoidant I have been. I just needed space and I was really angry and hurt by you.” You crossed your arms across your body, feeling the dryness in your throat. “I think I was so hurt because I get comments like that all the time from the world. And to hear that from you,” he sucked in a sharp breath as his face knitted up into a scrunch. “You who is suppose to be my partner and know me. Really suppose to know me, you know?” He curled his lips into his mouth. “And if that’s how you know me then frankly I think we’re too different.”

“Harry I’m really sorry. I was just angry and upset and I know there are no excuses but I’m sorry.” You leaned across the counter, extending yourself to him. “I promise I don’t see you like that. You are such an amazing person and nothing like I said.”

His eyes harden again as they stayed fixated on the countertop. He couldn’t even look you in your eyes. “I just don’t think this is going to work. I think we’re too different.”

Your heart sank to your stomach and you felt a well of tears start to pool in your eyes. “Okay,” you mustered out.

“I’m sorry.” He stood up from his seat coming towards you. He held his arms out before engulfing you in them. You sobbed into his chest while he rubbed your back in gentle circles. After a few moments, he softly spoke. “I still you love, y/n. That’s the other part that hurts in all of this, but it’s for the best.”

Your insides crumbled as you reached your arms around his neck. You nestled your face into his bare skin, trying to memorize his scent. Pushing more into him, your lips began to faintly kiss him.

His hands moved towards your waist, firmly holding it. The familiar feeling began to erupt an explosion of desire inside of him. All week he had felt little to no interest in sex so your skin on his felt amplified. “I don’t know if this is right, y/n,” he sighed. He pushed himself into you as you sucked at his skin.

“Just let me have this,” you pleaded coming up for air. You crashed your lips onto his, “I just want you one final time.” You both melted into each other. You and Harry knew each other’s spots and how to work them perfectly.

“Believe me I want you y/n, but I want to make sure this is right.” His tensed his body as you slipped your hand into his shorts, grabbing at his warm skin.

You leaned your mouth against his ear, “I just really want you to fuck me right now,” you said eagerly. You hopped up onto the counter and Harry pushed himself between your legs. He hooked his fingers into the waistband of your pants, tugging them down along with your panties. Your hands lifted your top over your head, exposing your chest to him. He latched his mouth to your collar bone as left a trail of kisses along them. “Can you do that for me? Please make me cum.”

His mouth went downward and his body slumped down to his knees while his hands brought you closer to the edge. He attached his mouth to you making you heave at the sudden feeling. His tongue licked upwards against your clit giving you a growing bud of pleasure. You swung your leg over his shoulder for better access, leaning backwards to rest your weight on your arms. The intense pleasure would at times mix with the pain you felt which made you want him more. You craved him.

The waves of indulgences began to combine with one another and you could feel your release was imminent. “I’m gonna cum,” you moaned. Harry slipped a finger into you as your orgasmed washed over you. He pulled away from you, his mouth shining in the light. He thought to himself how much he would miss the taste of you. The way he could feel you expand around him when you came and how blissfully your face looked afterwards. He already missed you. He tossed his shirt over his body and quickly ridding his short away too, desiring to only feel your skin. “Do you think you can cum for a second time for me?” You nodded standing up from the counter. You turned around, laying your front side against the cool side. Goosebumps puckered up all over you skin when Harry gave a quick smack to your ass. “Hmm mine.” He immediately regretted the word as he cringed at himself. He was glad he couldn’t see your face.

He slid himself into you, giving himself to you. You moaned at the feeling, your primal needs coming out. Harry’s thumb snaked its way to your sensitive clit, and began to firmly rub in circles. You could start to feel your second orgasm growing.

The kitchen was filled with the sound of your bodies colliding and both of yours grunts. Harry kept a firm grip on you as he felt his own release coming. He wanted to savor the moment but couldn’t hold himself back. “Fuck, I love this pussy. I love the way it feels. Fuck,” he strummed out. His thumb became sloppy as you came down from your second high. Both of you were catching your breaths, Harry laid his head against your back still inside of you. “I love you.” He spoke in a gentle tone.

His words brought you out of your enlightenment, the emptiness finding its way back. “I love you, too.” You finally said after what felt like hours.

He pulled himself out of you and you could feel his cum drip out of you down your leg. Using his shirt, he wiped it away. The weight of the situation fell onto his shoulders as he put on his shorts. “I guess I should have reached for a condom, sorry for that.”

“Yeah I guess so,” you said realizing how awkward it might be to have unprotected sex with someone you’re no longer with. “Should be fine, still not pregnant so.” You felt incredibly stiffed suddenly as you grabbed your clothes. “Maybe one of us is infertile.” You tried to joke to lighten the mood.

He gave a weak laugh which made you feel like another knife had stabbed you in the heart. “You can erm have the bed, I’ll be in the guest room.”

You started to head upstairs wanting to rid yourself of this situation. “Sounds great. We can decide what to do later with all the stuff. Anyway, I’m gonna head upstairs to shower.” Once your body stood under the hot water, all the emotional toll fell over you. You curled your body into a tight ball, letting the water fall.

~

Harry had decided to stay out in LA while you sorted through everything. He felt guilty for staying there and almost gave you the house several times. Actually, he was still debating that idea since it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford another place. Either way, he couldn’t stand to see you since it pained him so deeply. He hoped the sun, beach, and work would let him escape this world he had created.

To be honest, your turmoil had shifted to a newfound panic when you realized you were late. Instead of crying yourself to sleep, you were tossing and turning at idea of you being pregnant with your now ex-boyfriend’s baby. He also dumped you.

You paced the bathroom endlessly, waiting for the timer to go off. The sudden ring jolted practically jolted your bones. Each step towards the plastic test felt like eternity till you were faced with a small “pregnant” in the window.

[wordsofasarcast]

It’s your gal sophie here, and I come bearing a sorta long ask. I’m going to pack a lot of things into this so it might feel a bit rambly-

Firstly, CONGRATULATIONS ON THE NOMINATIONS!!!!

You deserve it, really. The amount of time and thought you put into your fics is absolutely unfathomable, and updates literally make my whole week. 

Secondly, the latest Dolce chapter has me literally spiraling, I’m so excited for the next one! (take your time btw, there’s still a good two weeks until I start rereading and making theories about what happens next)

(You’re really dropping chapters like Nico drops surprise songs tho)

I also went through your ENTIRE tumblr just now, so here are a few observations I had.

You’ve said that in the Dolceverse Silena is a singer/songwriter under the name VALENTINA. I don’t think you’ve mentioned it in Dolce, so I was thinking that you could just plop that name in there sometime.

The song ‘Free Now’ by Gracie Abrams was suggested for Will on JULY TWELFTH. It’s been half a year, and just now it’s been mentioned in Chapter 43. I would’ve forgotten it at this point

Your first post was on June 27, 2024. It’s been half a year-ish.

Lastly, I have a request. The two chapters of ‘stars, hide your fires’ that have been released are pretty lengthy, and I’ve had to read both chapters over the course of a couple days to finish them. (Still working on the second one.) Could you possibly make them shorter? I know they aren’t always going to be this length, but right now it’s really hard to start them because of the rather intimidating word count. 

Love your works, love your writing, and love your personality. Mwah<333

P.S. I know I sound like a stalker, I PROMISE I'M NOT, I’m just really invested. Plus pls excuse me for any weird grammar, I am writing this at one AM.

Hi Sophie!

First off, I love rambles—they are so fun to read and answer. Here's a ramble in exchange :)

I'm still in shock over just how many nominations I got, especially the Author of the Year nomination in my first year of posting fics! LIKE WHAT?!! Whatever the results, I'm super proud and very grateful to everyone who votes <3

The latest Dolce chapter marks the beginning of the very last act of Dolce and that is such a bittersweet feeling. (Also, I smile every time I see your rereading comments, I think you've read Dolce more than I have at this point!)

I don't mind a bit of good natured tumblr stalking, though it might expose how frequently I've pushed back chapter releases lol. Anyway...

Good pick up! So Silena (or VALENTINA) actually had a fairly big part in the secondary storyline for Dolce Dissonance that I decided to cut. So, she won't appear and there is a reason why I've chosen not to mention her at all. I do still have plans for her in the Dolce universe though (eventually).

Has it really been half a year?! That tells you how long Free Now has been sitting in my chapter outline waiting for the latest chapter to be written. Shout out to @solitaire-addict for the great song rec! <3

I started posting my fics on April 20th, 2024 which feels like SUCH a long time ago but really it hasn't even been a full year. And then it took me a few more months to get on tumblr, but I'm so glad I did, I think answering asks might be one of my fav things.

And lucky last: 'stars, hide your fires'. The chapters are intimidating to write, too. But I've been wanting to challenge myself to write a long-chaptered fic for a while now, and Stars felt like the perfect opportunity since its very action heavy. So TLDR, they're kind of intentionally long? Future chapters will continue to average around 10K. This won't the case for all my future fics, I will continue to have a little mix of everything to suit different readers. If you'd like I could post a version of Stars that splits each chapter into 3-4 shorter chapters over on my wattpad? Would that make it less intimidating? Let me know...

Also sorry in advance for when you finish Stars Chapter 2 :) Thank you for the ask and of course, for reading along x

More stories to come,

~ Sarc

[elizaditton]

TSTBA And Life Update

Hey everyone, I thought I'd give an update on what's going on with me and on my progress with Too Small To Be Afraid. TL;DR at the bottom for those who just want the quick deets.

I've been struggling to work on the story since the start of the summer, mainly because I got a "real" job (as part of the IT department at a local high school). Despite the fact that it's only 17.5 hours a week (3.5 hours every weekday), it was a lot more than what I was used to (which was literally doing nothing except for volunteering at various places maybe one to three times a week), and it took me a really, really long time to adjust to that mentally. I would come home dead tired and just... not feel like writing. Or doing anything at all. Sometimes I'd come home at 3:00 pm and proceed to take The World's Longest Nap™ only to wake up when it was time to go to bed anyway. Part of this, I realize, is probably the result of an undiagnosed sleeping disorder of some kind (my psychiatrist says maybe sleep apnea) mixed with ADHD telling my brain to Not Work™. But yeah, this has been a major contributing factor in my lack of writing time recently. And on top of that, I got another job working for my church on Sundays as a Production Assistant, which has so far been awesome, but it means I'm also exhausted on weekends. Not only am I working 7 hours on Sunday (setup + rehearsal + service + do all that again for the second service), but I'm also waking up at 4:30 am now at the very latest on Sundays depending on what campus I'm working at. And on top of all that, I'm still working occasionally for my old boss one Saturday out of every month until he wants me to start coming in more frequently. So all in all, I'm pretty much working every day but Saturday, except for when I'm also working on Saturday. And I do enjoy working all of these jobs, it's just that I've been struggling to adjust to working so much and how to balance that with my hobbies and my home and family life. So there's been little time for writing these past few months.

The writing club I was a part of also lowkey disbanded as we haven't been meeting for several months. (Hi if any of you are reading this, I miss you guys lol.) Before we stopped meeting, I was pumping out a new chapter at least every two weeks, and it was amazing! I was part of a group that encouraged each other to write and on top of that even edited/critiqued each other's writing. I really do miss it. The group always got me so motivated to write during the week and to write during our meetings, and I haven't felt that same joy about writing since we stopped meeting. I'm thinking I'll start another writing group, either online or at my church. Leaning towards at my church since I need in-person contact with people, but idk hit me up if you're interested in an online writer's group??? Or being a beta reader???

Lastly, something that's actually related to the story itself. The plot. Hoooooooo boy the plot. The plot is... a thing that exists. There's things I want to tie into the story that I want to be a big deal, but I'm not sure if I introduced enough elements beforehand for things to make sense if I go the route I want? Then there's the fact that I look back at the first few chapters and sort of cringe, thinking of all the things I'd change if I would let myself have at it before the first draft is done. But yeah. Things are... going. I've been very, VERY slowly but surely working on fixing up things in my outline so I know where I'm going, but yeah, all the aforementioned has kinda made it hard to actually write.

So that's where I've been. So where do we go from here?

For one thing, I'm at least somewhat confident that chapter 18 WILL come out in the next few weeks, before the end of the month. It's going to be a long one, and I hope it's worth the wait.

I previously had a goal of finishing my first draft by the end of the year, but if I'm honest, I'm thinking I won't get there until at least the spring of 2025. And then, of course, after that comes editing, revising, rewriting, and so on. I'll likely be writing at least a second draft before I even think about printing.

But can you expect me to update more regularly from now on? To be honest, I have no idea. All I know is that this book is still my dream, and I haven't given up on it yet. As long as this fire continues to burn within me, I'm going to continue to write. As long as it takes. Until it's done. But maybe starting another writing club would help hold me accountable for regular updates, ha ha.

Thank you all for your unwavering support as I've gone through this journey. Whenever I see someone's been enjoying this story, it fills me with so much joy, you don't understand. I hold every little comment close to my heart.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you soon with an update to the story!

TL;DR: I suddenly acquired three jobs and am very tired all the time. This combined with no accountability after my writing club lowkey disbanded has made writing difficult. I'm still writing, slowly but surely. Expect a new (and long) chapter this month for sure. Hmu if interested in starting a writing club/being a beta reader btw

[sunderedazem]

Hey! It's been a while :D I've been off the Internet for a bit but just know both of your updates have been giving me essential bits of life energy, even though I haven't had time to type something out in appreciation until now. First things first I absolutely love what you wrote for the 'stay?' prompt, it's exactly what I hoped and imagined what could have happened if things hadn't gone so wrong back then. Seriously, it's like you took a look into my brain, I was really imagining scenarios of helios coming back and taking care of an exhausted emet selch 😩 such good food thanks so much for that.

Okay so back to the actual ao3 updates, I couldn't believe that you guys did the tempering cure so early XD ahhhhhh it was so good! The way it was just a slight shift of perception, how emet selch goes off just barely holding it together, the line "I always believed I would see them again" broke me so bad like how dare you 😭 but honestly finally processing his grief now is great cause it'll be so much better when Hyth comes back 😈 iirc that that's happening. One of my favourite bits was emet selch having company while the cure was being administered, idk there's always something about having support while you're healing. Corrain's writing is superb as always, in the tempering fic as well as the Sharlayan one, he comforted emet selch so well and it was very interesting to see his point of view when he snapped at thancred, poor guy needs a long break and so much therapy. I haven't read the most recent lelesu writings yet but ahhhhhh she has such big sister energy? Such a solid anchor, it's so great every time she gives support.

I think that's all my thoughts for now, so that this doesn't get too long. Thanks so much for the new content, and I hope the both of you are doing well!! Many well wishes <3

Okay! Now it's time to sob over this ask so excuse me while i

And YEAH we couldn't wait to untemper that bastard man and break him even worse. Like imagine waking up and the thing you've been working towards for the last thirteen thousand years is not only principally opposed to what you believe is right, but also now you have to accept that everyone you'd ever loved is dead and gone and will not come back.

(And then they do. Because we are stealing Hyth. And then also stealing Elidibus from Pandaemonium like sorry Athena that man is ours now. And then Hyth is spotting Lahabrea's soul mixed in with Nidhogg and they are Stealing (and helping him put himself back together, and confiscating his wife's evil space rock) him too. And we are stealing the Sundered Ascians as we find them and curing and collecting them, because they all deserve a chance to recover from the literal apocalypse knowing that the star is actually safe. Anyway. I have emotions about the first Final Days and how nobody who lived then deserved what the world and Hydaelyn ended up giving them, no matter if it was necessary or not.)

To be fair it most likely only feels fast because most of what happens in Shadowbringers and the post 5.0 patches happens as it does in canon and tby rewriting all the Same Stuff seems kinda jejune so we skipped it XD. There are a few more pieces from SHB in process though, we just have to finish them.

And YEAH GOD. Corrain can be very cruel on occasion, and him snapping at Thancred for having EXTREMELY JUSTIFIABLE RESERVATIONS (even if he was a jackass about it) wasn't his finest moment. He doesn't even honestly feel so upset about Minfilia, he liked her alright as a person, and she WAS kind to him, but in the moment he's purely reacting in anger, and it dredges up some really nasty parts of him. This is a trait Helios had as well, if uh. You read the Final Days breakup fic XD.

And YEAH I ALSO NEED MORE LELESU ALWAYS. She is so SASSY sometimes. Hey @azems-familiar give us your girl. Grabby hands.

Honestly I know I'm late actually answering but this made my week last week 🥺🥺🥺💙💙💙

[queenofbaws]

ah, and once more, it's wednesday my dudes!

a slightly different update from me this week - things have been slow in terms of words being put to paper lately, and this will probably be the case for a little while. i'm gonna be trying to get a chapter of something out in the near future (probably like wringing blood, but don't quote me on that), then ya gurl may or may not be taking a slightly more official break from the internet to deal with some stuff here at home ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

such is life. ANYWAY, for this reason, i'm offering a few snippets/sneak peeks of multiple projects this week, just to show y'all what's bubbling away on the backburner. if you're interested in seeing any of that, click the readmore! either way, hope you're all having wonderful weeks so far, and taking care of yourselves as best you can <3

like wringing blood from a stone

There were a million things he could say to that, maybe even a million and one. What he settled on, however, was probably the lesser of all those evils. “You kidnapped my counselors.” Travis’s whole face puckered at that, letting him know in no uncertain terms the lesser of those evils had still been pretty fucking evil, in fact. “What did you want me to do, Chris?! Huh? Huh?! You bit one of them! They both saw—” “Oh for Chrissake, quit fucking whispering, wouldya?” Obviously he’d been expecting something else—an actual fight, maybe—and so Chris took Travis’s surprised spluttering as an opportunity to dig his own heels in. “If you’re gonna bitch me out, at least do it with your big-kid voice.” A vein ticked furiously in Travis’s neck, making it look like something was itching to burst its way out of him. He narrowed his eyes to slits, then leaned in until the two of them were nearly nose to nose. He could smell the blood beginning to clot where Jack had split his eyebrow, the ointment he’d smeared over it before covering it with a bandage. “You and I both know,” he began again, still fucking whispering, “That anyone could be listening outside. I don’t—” Before he could finish that thought, Chris threw his arms up into the air, shouting at the very top of his own voice, “I DON’T CARE! I do not fucking care, Travis! I couldn’t care less if you paid me to! Know what?” He cupped his hands to his mouth then, tipping his head back as he did so, and, tapping even deeper into his (presumably very bruised) diaphragm, hollered, “I HOPE YOU’RE ALL LISTENING! I HOPE EVERYONE IN THE GODDAMN COUNTY CAN HEAR ME LOUD AND FUCKING CLEAR!” If Travis’s face went any redder, it probably would’ve started looking purple. It was Chris’s turn to narrow his eyes; instead of glowering like an asshole, though, he flashed him a grin, sarcastic and savage and sharp enough to nearly slice through his tongue. “Big-kid voices, Travvy. Why the hell not, right?”

of mummy men & bathtub soup

“My oh-so-charming brother is just running his oh-so-charming mouth,” Julia said sharply, calling the Smith brothers’ chit-chat to a screeching halt. “Here’s what I think actually happened: Conrad made up a story in his head, decided it was funny, and now he’s done so many mental gymnastics convincing himself it’s true that he believes it too.” Her head swiveled on her neck, only adding to her overall mean girl vibe. “That’s something Connie likes to do, you see, mix up details from stupid made-up bullshit and real life, then decide it’s all real.” Oh. Oh! If she thought he was gonna be easy pickings just because he’d brought a date along tonight, she had another thing coming! Hell, she hadn’t been paying attention to his whole deal! Jules was the one who got embarrassed by this shit when other people were watching—Conrad reveled in it. So he did the one thing he knew would get her goat (the only move a self-respecting sibling could take in a situation such as this): He brought up the bathtub. “If this is about human soup guy, you’re actually calling Dad a liar and not me, sooo…nice try, but my feelings remain totally unhurt.” Then, he waited for what he knew would come next. He held Julia’s gaze. He took a drink. It was Daniel, God bless him, who finally bit. “…human…soup…guy?”

the tale(s) of the champion

“All right. If you are so…determined to have me discuss Hawke, then fine. I will discuss Hawke.” He leaned forward over his desk, a gesture, she thought, meant less to evoke authority than to simply steady himself as he braced against the unpleasant tide of memory. His eyes found hers for only a moment, but that moment was all it took for her to understand perhaps ‘unpleasant’ was too delicate a word to describe a return to Kirkwall. ‘Agonizing,’ maybe. ‘Wretched.’ “Cassandra and I are of a mind on one thing, at the very least—Varric is a liar. However. I would be remiss if I didn’t draw your attention to the one thing, the only thing, I’ve heard him say about our shared time in Kirkwall that at least approaches the truth.” She couldn’t help but notice that Cullen spoke the city’s name in much the same way Hawke had spoken Elthina’s: as though it tasted bitter on his tongue. “Namely, if, for whatever reason, you wanted to find Hawke,” he continued, speaking with a terrible evenness that smacked of everything but calm, “All you had to do was follow the blood. “What blood? Whose blood? Some might argue that since Hawke killed so often, so indiscriminately, that it wouldn’t matter—couldn’t matter—which blood trail you picked. Oh, I’ve heard the jokes. I’ve heard them all. How it must’ve sometimes seemed Kirkwall was populated solely by nameless, faceless throngs of gangs and ruffians that she cut through at nightfall, slashing and hacking her way towards the betterment of the city. How Varric had to keep a running tally of all the vendettas held against her, lest she forget which seedy element might be coming after her next for putting an end to their leader. Hilarious. Truly.” Had Cullen not been wearing his gloves, the Inquisitor had the singular sense she’d be watching his knuckles turn white as bone; the way he’d taken to gripping the edges of his desk, she was a bit shocked that nothing had given way. Yet.

A MYSTERY CREEPS PROJECT OOOOOOOOOOH!!!

"Which is why, boys and ghouls, we’re gonna be packing our bags and taking a roadtrip this weekend.” Which was…also what Ashley was afraid he was going to say. Her shoulders slumped, and she felt Chris turn to her as he noticed, but Josh kept going, as he was wont to do. “Turns out ‘ghost shit’ was a gross understatement. You lovely ladies aren’t going to believe what a little snooping dug up about this place…” “It’s pretty messed up,” Chris nodded. “But pretty messed up in a way that I gotta admit sounds like it’s gonna make a juicy episode or two.” “Or five. So c’mon, hop to. We got a business dinner to catch—on me, obvs—and details to hammer out. You’re not ready for the shit that went down over there. Hope you’re ready to start trending in the true-crime feeds though, because I know I am!” Dropping the book back on the table, Josh hopped to his feet and playfully tweaked Sam’s ear before starting back for the microfiche where he’d left all his stuff. “Hey Edgar,” he said as he passed him by, “level with me here. Have you been a ghost this whole time? Is that why you know all this crap? When we get in the elevator and leave this floor, do you just poof off into the ether and cease existing until we come back?” In a voice so flat, so disaffected, so wistful, that Ashley very nearly forgot about the pang of fear that had seized her at the sight of those five Death cards staring her straight in the face, Edgar sighed, “Don’t I wish.”

[gurugirl]

Guruuuuuuuuu it's meeeeeee 🍸 Tomorrow is the weekend and my brother is coming to town to visit and he wants me to entertain him but I'm exhausted so wish me luck! And I've been meaning to stop in and say hi but I've been so busy since I was promoted at my firm. Just everything has been a big whirlwind. But I love it.

Update ~ My ex (the one who I kept sleeping with after he broke up with me) is seeing someone else now! It's so funny too because the last time he tried to hook up with me apparently he was dating her and I almost gave him and invited him over too. I'm so glad I was too tired because when I found out he'd been seeing this chick (who I know by the way but that's a different story) I was like doing the timeline in my head and yeah... it's very possible I slept with him while they were dating but as far as I know they're not exclusive but for me that's an ick. I'm not casual like that. So I had to go get STD tested and that's when I decided to block him completely. I am a well educated, grown adult who is on her way to some very successful career and saving up to buy a house (on track for end of year) and I'm fucking around with some loser asshole still? So yeah... that's all in the past and I know last time I said it was over with us but this time it's for real 😅

How have you been?? How's school and Mexico and your adorable dog?

Also I just read the ex's dad Harry last night and I'm absolutely hooked already. I don't make it on tumblr often anymore unless I need to shut my brain off after a grueling day at work but for this one? Honey let me tell you how well written and absolutely gripping it is and it's only part 1. No one does that tension like you and this one is no different. So I'm just here to tell you that I will be reading this series and opening up Tumblr every week for this one because it's so good already. Not one paragraph was boring or out of place. That's such a pet peeve of mine when I'm really into a good story and there's a chunk that absolutely does nothing to move the plot forward or it's just for funsies but that takes me right out of the experience of reading when a writer starts to add too much just for bulk.

tootles! -🍸

OH MY GOSH! I've been wondering how you've been! Congrats on the promotion attorney girl!! Amazing! You are such an inspo! 🎉 Busy is good when you're doing something you love! And I hope you have an amazing time with your brother. How nice that he's coming to visit! I miss my brother like you can't even imagine so it's making me all teary eyed just thinking about it.

And I'm so glad you are officially done with the ex. What a weirdo trying to sleep with you while he was seeing someone else. LOL. Men just aren't always the smartest but you were right to get tested because you never know. Smart girl!

And things are good here! The weather is warming up so midday is quite warm! School is good! I took an accelerated communications class and just finished that one (8 week condensed class) and now I'm just waiting on grades to be posted and still have another class I'm taking currently but I think spring break is soon? Also my dog is so fun. He's kind of showing his age these days but he gets 3 good walks every day so he's not just relegated to using the bathroom in our backyard. The walks help with his mind and his body and it puts him in a good mood (me too lol). He has pups he likes to play with up the street but that wears him out and he limps back home after he plays with them because his hips are sort of aging so he usually winds up resting for hours after 20 minutes of playtime. Anyway I could go on about Barry... he's the love of my life (don't tell my SO lol).

So happy to hear your thoughts on ex-boyfriend's dad! Thank you hon! I'm so flattered 🥰 Love that you enjoyed it!!

xoxo

[avemstella]

Random fic updates because I realize it's been a while for all my fics and wanted to let yall know.

I've actually written a lot! I just suffer from much of it being scattered about, so it's not remotely postable until I write the stuff to bring all the pieces together haha.

Most notably, my Neuvi fic is the worst offender of that. I've written what is probably 20k of it (about half is in a notebook so that's why it's an estimate) and uh, it's nowhere near done, good lord. I've written the beginning, a ton of the end, and some random middle bits (of that is 5k of Neuvi interacting with 2 characters who were not in the draft pfft). While I'm loving it, it also was driving me mad, so I've taken a break to write smfwtwd, as I really didn't mean to leave u guys hanging on that cliffhanger for so long lol. Also, I've decided the Neuvi fic will have multiple chapters, probably 3 (I really underestimated how much room I would need for the different parts of his life).

On smfwtwd, it's going really well! I've written a bunch this week and I think I should be done within the week (though with posting I do have to account for editor sister's schedule). A bunch is in a notebook, so word count is ??? but I do think it'll be, while not short by any metric, just for the time it took to come out it's not massive. But I do really like what I've written so far, Dottore is so fun to write haha (also the continued saga of Childe having to grapple with family issues both his own and everyone around him pfft).

I'm sorry Venti fic u will come out when u come out. I think I'll work on a chapter (or two or whatever) right after smfwtwd chap, or I'll finish the first Neuvi chap and then work on it. We shall see. You've been on my brain a lot lately, and I've been super tempted to add a whole extra arc to this fic because of my Fontaine related brainrots. But while I do think it would be really good and does help set up something nicely, I also think it would really fuck up my pacing (not that my pacing is great in the first place, but it would be a big pain to make work without really derailing the narrative for a couple chapters), so I think I'll restrain myself. However, saying that there is a real chance there will be a side story to my side story at some point pfft.

But yeah, if anyone's curious, between my warring desires to write smfwtwd and all my Furina ideas at the same time, going home for a while for christmas, and a slew of other smaller things, my writing schedule has been a mess pfft. Also, there's an incredibly high chance I'm getting a dog and that's been a whole thing that's been highly distracting. Also blame ace attorney haha (to clarify no fic for that coming at all, I've just been finally going through all the games).

Anyway, while that is a lot, I currently feel a lot better about my plan for writing and stuff should hopefully be coming out semi-soon. Thank you for being patient!

[recurring-polynya]

Writing Update/Art Update 5/9/2023

Many things happened last week. Not very many of them were drawing. I'll get back to that.

I have finally started posting the big (it's not really big. Medium-big. It just felt big) fanfic that I have working on for most of the year. You can start here if you want to read it, Chapters 1-3 are currently available.

I finished the smut. I had mostly finished it by Friday, but then we had a belated-because-we-were-waiting-for-spring-weather backyard birthday party for my daughter this past weekend, so I had to spend a solid 48 hours in the paralyzing deathgrip of anxiety at the prospect of socializing with people I don't know (the parents of some of my daughter's classmates), so I didn't get much of anything else done, although I did clean my house and buy a bunch of hot dogs.

I only got one doodle done this week, which took me three days, spread out over the anxiety deathgrip, but I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. I really would like to start on a more serious project this week, but I may get back to them, we'll see how it goes. I do want to thank everyone who sent in prompts, and I'm sorry I haven't gotten to more of them. Turns out I'm real bad at doing quick, fast-turnaround doodles! Is anyone surprised??

After that, like, I said, I finished up the porno. I was hoping to post it yesterday, but it was pretty late at night by the time I finished my editing sweep. Today was a go places posting day and I didn't really want to post two different fanfics in one day, plus I had made kind of a lot of edits, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to let it sit a day and then do another sweep before posting. In other words, tomorrow, probably.

This morning, I re-read what I've gotten written so far of Ductwork, which is the working title of the next story in the Heart is a Muscle. It's 7707 words at the moment, and I get hot mad every time I read it because I want there to be more of it, and unfortunately, there is only one way to make that happen. But it's gonna!! I keep telling myself that it was really worthwhile to have taken the time to write go places first, because Ductwork is largely about Rukia and Renji finally digging down into a lot of festering insecurities from that time in their afterlives. I have a couple different approaches to writing these days, and I'm gonna try to do the thing that ended up working for go places, which is 1) try to write something every day, 2) chronological schmonological, write whatever I can possibily come up with, I'll just cram it all together at the end, this was very fun and easy last time and definitely did not take six drafts and a color-coded spreadsheet. Based on past experience, I do not think I am going to be able to power through to completion, so my goal is to add at least 20k words to the thing before I flame out in a blaze of beautiful depression and spend the rest of the summer on something insane, like bringing back the Soul Society Tattoo Artist AU. My overall prediction is that it will be around 60k, but I'm not discounting the possibility that it could be another 100k-er. (it better not go over 120k tho, I will die for real)

Anyway, that was my week! Whew!

[splishsplashyouropinionistrash]

hey everyone, I'm still alive! and! I have a writing update!

I haven't done any writing.

okok that's not totally true, I've done bits and pieces since I published 'i still talk to you' (link here, I had fun with that one) but I'm nowhere close to having anything ready to publish. Still, I figured I'd give y'all a (totally sober, for once) update on where I'm at in the stories I've promised.

So, okay, the big one first: TMHYHM. I've got about 3k of chapter 9 done, so we're about halfway through it. I'm starting school again in a few days (senior year, woohoo) and I always seem to write better at school, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that it'll get done in the next few weeks. About ten days from now is the one year anniversary of me 1: starting my AO3 account and 2: publishing chapter one of TMHYHM which is.... both exciting and a little sad? Genuinely didn't expect this story to take so long, but here we are.

A lovely commenter pointed out that I must put a lot into each chapter, and I honestly hadn't really thought much about it but they're right. I'm not gonna ramble about it for much longer, but every chapter takes a lot of time and energy. There was the re-read I did to write down the main plot points I wanted to hit every chapter, and then scouring the internet for quotes to put in once I decided I wanted to go that direction, and then I re-read each individual chapter twice; the first time to get more specific with what happens each chapter, finding places to put extra scenes etc. and a second time to figure out a chapter title. Actually writing the chapters is a lot too. I put a lot of myself and my experience into my interpretation of Andrew, and I feel like it fleshes him out more, but it also makes these chapters so much more mentally draining to write. Anyway, all that to say: happy early birthday to TMHYHM and thank you all for your patience.

Okay anyway, some of you may remember that I started teasing a hospital/amnesia fic (here, here, and here) a month ago during the AO3 outage, and I've almost got three chapters finished (halfway done !) I decided a few months ago that I wasn't going to post multi-part fics until after they're finished from now on, so as soon as I finish the whole thing it'll be up. I took a break from it for a little while, but when I came back and read through it today I genuinely cried a little? I'm evil guys why do I write these things??

Third: the minyard triplets. I'm going to be so honest here, I have not made any progress since last time I updated yall. Looking back at the story, I'm honestly kinda starting to hate it? I don't know, I still like parts of it but it just doesn't feel anywhere close to being my best work. I'll keep working on it and hopefully finish it soon, but I don't know when it'll be done. I had thought about turning it into a series, but I'm just not sure how attainable that is anymore.

Also, you may or may not have read my last fic, but if you did: I'm working on an alternate ending!!! I can't say much (cause spoilers) but I'm working very hard on it so keep an eye out for that one. Not sure if it'll be a separate fic or just a second chapter, but it's coming.

ok uhhhhhh.... i think that's it? TLDR: I don't have a lot of answers for y'all, but I'm working on things.

Oh, also? I'm writing a book. So fics might go on the backburner for a little bit lol. Let me know if that's something you'd like to hear more about though, I'm super excited.

Thank you for all your love and support <3

[the-takosader]

Far shorter post, this time around.

Mostly detailing little ideas that I've had in the past few weeks, but have no idea how to go about them, or why I'd want to go about them in the first place.

Our first candidate is actually a mod I thought of: modifying a Jazz Bass to have 3 pickups. Now, sounds normal, right? Right up until I delve into the little bits. See, I had this thought after watching the R30 concert. From there, you can likely guess which bassist inspired this thought.

In short, this would be modifying a Jazz Bass (most likely a kit, modding a guitar you spent £2k on is not something I feel good about) to have a Rickenbacker neck pickup, most likely a high-gain, but a toaster would be good for those extra vintage tones. Now, people have generally noticed that specifically Jazz Basses and Rickenbackers have similar kinds of thud and twang to them. Hell, 44 years on, we're still arguing the toss about which songs Geddy used the Ricky and the J-Bass for on Moving Pictures.

As an aside, my personal opinion on that matter is that he uses the Ricky for Red Barchetta, and every other song on Side 1 is the J-Bass. Back to it, though, this is my basic comp idea for the thing:

I'd have done a better job making it transparent, but Word's Background Removal is good enough for the purpose I need it for. Anyway, this mostly stems from the large amount of similarity between the two basses, in terms of punchiness. The main difference is that the J-Bass has more midrange, while the Ricky has more low-end growl. That's my experience, anyway.

In my head, I've got a couple names for this, but the one that feels best is the Jazzbacker. Also, in case you're curious, I took the neck pickup and toggle switch (which I imagine would be mounted akin to a Jazzmaster or modern Mustang, with the toggle going parallel to the pickups instead of perpendicular) from an image of a vintage lefty Rickenbacker 4001 from 1980. Why is it lefty? For no better reason than Shits and Giggles.

There's also things I've had ideas for in passing, but not directly thought of as "Oh yeah, I'll do that!" For example, now and again I'll get the idea to build an 8-, 10- or 12-string bass, for reasons beyond my understanding half the time, but nothing ever comes of them. Sometimes, it pops in my head when I'm playing my bass, and try playing something like Jeremy or Achilles Last Stand (yes, it's written like that; I thought there'd be an apostrophe in the title, but no). As for why my first instinct is to build rather than buy, the reason 9 times out of 10 is that no one offers a decent option, no one offers the option at all, or they did and ended up discontinuing it later down the line. The 1 time out of 10 that none of those are an issue, the factor at fault ends up being money, or a lack thereof.

So, back to the matter at hand: what would I design this dual/triple-course bass to look like? On the one hand, I could be sensible, and go with a pre-established shape. On the other, I could do something incredibly wacky, like basing it on the Crusader. Or it could forever stay in my mindscape, never to be built. Who knows.

Now, you might be wondering why this isn't an addition to the Ideas Archive. Quite simply, it's because I can't be arsed adding onto that until there's a big enough change, such as, y'know, something actually being finished? No word on how long that's gonna take, aside from "it'll take as long as it'll take", which is probably the most accurate and least satisfying answer I can give.

Also, slight correction to the last post: apparently we were right in the first place??? For anyone finding me for the first time through this post in specific, the last post was an update on my scratch build, talking about how it started, how it's going, where we're up to, et cetera, et cetera. I mentioned how we ended up thinking it was iroko, because of the coarse and interlocked grain.

Yeah, uh, that turned out to be wrong. It was, in fact, mahogany the whole time. And to be honest, we should have expected this. A thing to remember about wood is that they can be used for a multitude of things based on the "quality" of the cut. If you're going to have an ornate piece of furniture, you're going to want high-quality cuts. The result of this, of course, is that the lower quality cuts, the stuff that might be a bit too difficult or annoying to work, may have an unappealing grain or something akin to those qualities, all those cuts get used for stuff where you won't generally see the grain.

Now, where would you not see the grain on something wooden? If it's painted over with a thick enough paint and varnish combination, of course! Where did we get these "low-quality" solid pieces of mahogany? From a 40-something year old door that was being taken out and being replaced. What do you do to protect a wooden door from the elements? You paint and varnish it.

So yeah, the wood was mahogany the whole time. The spec sheet has not changed, everything is as it was before March 14th. If we make any more progress, I'll make a post about it. Until then, have your fun. See ya!

[standardquip]

Big "pond" Update

Previous update here.

Summary of last update: I had to disassemble my huge pond into 3 kiddie pools and 3 mixing bins to save the plants. That didn't stop wildlife from moving in.

---

My water lillies are in dire need of being split. So I bought a LARGE kiddie pool (that is also deeper), and a bunch of fabric pots, and I started trying to split my lillies last week.

The problem I noticed early was that I had waited so long to split my lillies that most of them were splitting into 3-4 plants (sometimes even 5 or 6) instead of 2.

Unsurprisingly, I ran out of fabric pots and I also had to run out and buy ANOTHER big kiddie pool to house all the extra lillies.

I'd only managed to empty 2 of the 3 mixing tubs so far. I still had the 3 small kiddie pools and that last mixing tub to deal with.

(the third kiddie pool is off-camera.)

Here's where I'm at with the 2 additional big kiddie pools: the top one is already completely full and the bottom one is about half full of lillies already.

I THINK I can fit the rest of the lillies (once they're split) into this large pool and then ONE of the smaller pools, but these large pools are only $18 at walmart so I may just buy a third one because....

Now I have fish [maybe].

Somehow.

I've only had a real, in-ground pond for like 4 years. But no, the fish show up this year. In a god damned kiddie pool.

It's been a while since I've seen frog tadpoles (the toad tadpoles took over years ago) but I don't know, guys. These look suspiciously very fish-like to me!!! What say you???

So I guess what I thought were frog eggs were actually fish eggs. How did they get there?? I have no freaking idea. And why now? IN A KIDDIE POOL. REALLY???? So if they manage to survive til Autumn, I guess I'll start an aquarium after all!

[edit: I'm now questioning myself. These could still be frog tadpoles!]

But wait, there's more!

I had a red slider turtle stop by last year in my big pond. Every year there's always a turtle that comes by, but they never stayed for long. Until last year. Last year, that turtle stayed ALL YEAR.

The turtle that passes through is very young. It's not that big. But today, a slider showed up that was adult-sized. I assume it's the same one from last year. It must be hella confused lol. I picked it up and moved it to one of the large kiddie pools. I didn't get a photo, sorry.

Who knows if it will stay, but hey, updates.

Additionally, I have these new things in most of the kiddie pools as well:

These little clusters of green/yellow things. They look a bit like mini corn on the cobs. I have never seen them before, but I'm pretty sure they're eggs of some kind. From what? I dunno. I'm not interested in looking it up currently. But if you recognize them, feel free to tell me in the comments/reblogs.

[edit: I caved and looked it up. They appear to be caterpillar poop! 😂 Probably dropped into the pools from the trees above them.]

I am surprised, amazed, and baffled by all of this happening this year. I don't know if this will force me to try to build the replacement pond earlier or not. I don't even know if my lillies will survive the winter in these flimsy plastic pools (though they probably will considering they've survived this long already).

(Will the POOLS survive the winter though? I guess that's another argument entirely) Anyway, The fabric pots are arriving next week, so we'll see if I can ever finish splitting these lillies and if all these eggs hatched by then.

[hekkoto]

BIG life update + ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!

Hi my little darklings <3

Here I come with this big life update and some announcements!

So first - Im feeling way better and I can say I will be truly active and post a lot <3 Im so excited!

Important thing - I drew those Patreon prints I owed some people: I will send mail in March and it will have prints for November, December, January and February [+ for March if you will still be my Patron]. Im sorry it took me eternity to catch up on those but finally I can send you those <3 Im super super grateful for your support and understanding that my health was killing me

Print for February will be sent to everyone who are my Patron before 10th of March! Plus then you also will get March one ;p

I gonna focus a lot on my YT this year, I wanna post there artistic stuff but also life vlogs and some gaming. And I will be posting speedpaints where I talk in background ;p My goal is to post 3 videos per week at some point. I also hope to maybe do weekly livestreams?

My other focus will be my Patreon, I wanna go back to posting all planned stuff :> I might do little changes to Patreon tiers but I will let you know!

Oh, about that Gorenuary challenge... Yes, I failed it ;p But I gonna draw arts for every prompt anyway ^^ Hopefully I will finish it to the end of a year hahah >XD

I have idea for some bigger projects for this year, like I wanna start making new game and work on some horror ARG :> I wanna also come back to working a lot on my universe Terroether ^^ Hopefully I will make big progress in designing/redesigning my ocs! I also hope to come back to making lil animations and animatics :>

My health still isnt perfect, also some of illnesses will be present for a rest of my life. I decided to live my life with accepting this as I cant do anything about this. So there will be days I wont do anything. My meds and doctors are super expensive, thankfully right now my parents support us a lot financially. If you wanna donate to help me go through it here is my fundraiser: https://pomagam.pl/nhg96m I will be updating it when it comes to my health

Also, great news - my parents said I dont owe them money I borrowed to upgrade my graphic card. They gave my brother money for car so Im not in debt ;p daaaaaaaaaaaamn, Im so happy about this!

Im again happy and full of motivation; I was able to escape depressive episodes [hopefully they wont be back too often {cause of borderline}] and I found joy in creating again. Im not terrified anymore if Im not good enough or what others think about me. So I hope I will be able to draw and post again regularly :>

Okay, I guess thats all for now :> I missed you a lot guys and I hope to be truly back for real this time :>

[beowulf22121]

I went with the marketing post but am explaining in a comment anyway.

If nobody can take half a page of text and explain the story in a compelling way, I'm not sure the people involved with the story even know what's going on.

I'll give a few examples.

Order of the stick

A dungeons and dragons inspired tale about a group of heroes questing to stop a plot to end the world. It began as a joke a page comic when 3rd edition updated to 3.5 and grew into the almost finished tale it is today. Updates are coming in slowly, but with the backlog of over 1000 pages, it will take a while to catch up anyway.

Grrl Power

A superhero tale about a girl with ADHD who managed to find a powerful artifact, and is recruited by a new government organization trying to get ahead of super law enforcement. Aliens, lycanthropy, vampires, magic, and all kinds of superpowers can be found within the pages of this story. After a slow start (the first big fight took 5 years to draw) the author has sped up progression, and has been updating twice a week for most of the comics lifespan.

Dominic Deegan

Dominic, a seer, looks to the future for profit. Where will you find your keys, who will you marry, and what will lift the curse that makes a fish teleport over his head every time he tries to smoke? Pay him and he'll tell you. Once a larger plot comes into play and the story takes off this tale crosses a diverse world full of interesting characters, diverse environments, and compelling moral points of view. A sequel 200 years in the future is updating now.

Dresden Codak

What if politics got in the way of everything? A thief can't steal your bag without filing an application for the theft with the department of larceny, a scientific discovery can't be doccumented without peer review from a committee that once voted to identify a woman as a weather balloon, and the department of opposition... Opposes. What if the new scientist in town didn't care, and just wanted to do science? What if the forces in charge didn't want her to?

How to be a Werewolf

A young girl bitten by a werewolf has grown into an adult. Thinking she would need to live with her parents forever, she finds a local pack of werewolves who have befriended a mage, and discovers that she's not as unique as her family thought. Now that she has friends she doesn't need to worry about hurting, she can open up and learn more about her condition.

See that's all it takes. Sure, fans should joke about it, authors should post art, I need to become aware of a story before I can read it. That being said, if it's not catchy in the first 3 pages, I need some kind of description to tell me that it does get good.

Random question because I'm discussing webcomic marketing (especially in this current... climate...) with friends:

[shadowsong26fic]

Coming Attractions!

First Monday of the month, so here we go.

As per usual, this also means an open question night--my askbox is always open, but I'll be actively keeping an eye on it tonight. I do take prompts, but am not necessarily fast in filling them. Any fandom I've posted about here or on AO3 is fair game, as is any of my original stuff.

Short one this month, because I didn't get much done last month, whoops...a big work project took up more brainmeats than I expected it would, ah well.

Mostly moved, mostly everything is sorted; a few things I still need to finish organizing/putting away/etc. But that should also free up some brainspace hopefully!

Anyway. Actual updates.

Star Wars:

Pretty much the same as last week--need to catch up on OTP meme fills; poking back at my original plan for last year's SWBB so I can use it for this year. Not a lot of progress, but hopefully this month will be better!

BSG:

Big Bang matches have gone out! I'm excited to see how everything turns out. And hopefully get actually back into writing the many plotlines that are floating around in my head, lol...particularly The Other Battlestar which still needs an Official title and has been waiting to come out of my head and get Shared for like. over a year. even discounting the like 8-10 year gap when I wandered away from the fandom...

I should be picking up my rewatch soon, too! I have the back half of season 3, plus season 4, and maybe the webisodes (I have access to Face of the Enemy but not Resistance, so we'll see if I actually watch those). Which does mean we're coming up on my absolute least favorite episode in the entire series, haha. I haven't even gotten to it yet and I'm already mad about it (and have found an Additional Reason to be mad about it that I hadn't had before! Yay!) But also after that I get Lampkin, who I love, and while season 4 is a mess in terms of cohesion/continuity it has some of my very favorite episodes in the entire series, So.

Castlevania:

I haven't actually sat down and watched Nocturne yet (mostly because of the aforementioned work stuff), so I haven't quite fallen back into this fandom yet. I do want to get back to Incinctus, and I had one other plot thread idea for another fic based on the first series (essentially, shifting Alucard's S3 timeline by six weeks so the night Sumi and Taka plan to attack him is the same night Greta's messenger gets there, and then see where things go from there).

It's kind of interesting--I have approximately zero knowledge of the games, apart from a few bits and pieces I've picked up from reading fics and/or hanging out on a discord server. Which, of course, has been talking a lot about Nocturne...but almost entirely in the context of how it relates to the game characters/plotlines it's drawing from. Which means I'm both...more and less hyped for it? I don't know, I'm not sure how to word how it's impacted my interest/excitement/etc. for the followup series, because a lot of the comments about certain characters/choices completely fly over my head but they Dominate the server and I'm like "...okay?"

Anyway, we'll see how I feel about it when I watch the series. And if I do end up building a VC crossover in my head (because like. armand and the theatre are right there and while I was able to confine myself to a quick Easter Egg reference in Incinctus...lol.)

Les Mis:

The next chapter of P&J is coming, I swear. Also planning to debut Acheron this month because...I mean I know it's technically a Groundhog Day AU set in June, but it feels appropriate to start posting it around Halloween? IDK XD

Original Fic:

Again I do need to catch up on OTP memes. I do like the one piece I put out this month, which was about the Horsemen in Lux. They're a Delight and I love them.

...yeah, that's about it. Like I said, short post this month because I didn't get much actual writing done last month. Hopefully October will be better for me (if nothing else, hopefully I actually will catch up on all the backlogged OTP Meme fills, lol...)