#authors note is so good

[metagalacticx]

6/? -> favourite fics read in ‘22

if you’re gonna make, it might as well matter by @katsofmeer

[pixiealchemist]

You cannot be her friend. That's the worst part of this job. In order to protect the princess, she cannot form a positive emotional attachment, nobody likes to see the people you care about get hurt. There are other rules, some are obvious: Stay by her side at all times, Do anything she orders you to do, Always put her life above your own no matter what. Then there are the rules I don't fully understand: Do not start any conversation, she must speak first; Do not take off your armour in her presence, especially the helmet; You cannot be her friend. I've been thinking about these rules a lot lately, wondering whether other knights in other kingdoms have similar rules, or if they all still apply outside the city walls. I've decided it's better to continue to follow them, even to the princess' insistence that I may do such things as removing my helmet or being on a first-name basis, but I cannot bring myself to do anything of the sort. I'm just a knight, and that's all I can ever be, a faceless guard, a nameless guardian, just a hollow suit of armour to her.

[nocek]

they unionized 😱

(bigger version of first panel without speech bubbles is here as a treat ;)

[twinklecupcake]

Begging people to not mix up Japanese and Chinese wedding traditions/clothing.  I just saw an LMK fic mention a character wearing “a traditional wedding dress, a red shiromuku.”

Which first of all isn’t even red, it’s white, it’s right there in the name, and second of all holy hell no, that’s Japanese.

Not to mention the actual wedding was a Western Christian one.

[numbuh424]

shoutout to whatever L and Light had going on in Time Speaks

[running-with-kn1ves]

PUNISHMENT: A Reward

A/N: Decided to name our ‘PUNISHMENT’ fic boy Malachi, lemme know if this is a win or a fat L my scrumptious pogchamps. ALSO happy valentines day! (Posting this early let me be)

CW: Toxic relationship, possessive/obsessive behavior, suggestive themes, mentioning future seggsual acts/fantasies

Synopsis: Out on a group date for Valentine's Day with your possessive, jealousy-ridden boyfriend is never a good idea, especially when he finds the special surprise you’re wearing for him.

“Hrmm… seems like they have a lot of Valentine's themed stuff on the menu.” 

“Well it IS the season! No other reason for it being so packed in here...” One of your friends across the table perked up, slightly annoyed at the stuffy atmosphere.

She was right, every table was filled, every booth full of chattering couples or first blind dates, even double or thruple dates just like the one you were on. 

You were lucky your friend's boyfriend had managed to snag this place a week in advance, else you might be thigh to thigh with everyone else in a tinier booth. Ha, as if YOUR boyfriend would allow that; you'd probably be on the edge of the shared booth seat, nearly falling off just to save you from being ‘too close’ to anyone else, even your own friends. 

“Annoying… I don't get why going out on Valentine's Day is so important, what happened to dates in the privacy of your own home.” Said the devil you were thinking of, that comment nudging to how he was far more in favor of spending a “romantic” evening home alone with you instead of being here with your two friends and their spouses. 

“Awe, is puppy dog Malachi upset he has to share? We planned this weeks in advance, so suck it up, we have a right to see OUR friend tonight.” That same friend hissed. 

Your other friend nodded. He would’ve added on, if it weren’t for the death stare your boyfriend was currently drilling into everyone else across the table. You hadn’t been out in a group setting like this in… who knows how long.

“Oh, really? Don’t fucking--”

“C’mon you guys,” You grabbed onto Malachi’s thigh, a tight squeeze making him stop in his angry tracks to look down.”I’m here right now, shouldn’t we be catching up, not fighting? I missed you, missed this.” 

Your sincerity seemed to ease them up, a flash of contrition on your female friend’s face. She hated your boyfriend, clearly, wearing a scowl when she turned back to Mr. moody himself. He rested his face on his palm, looking at the other couples every now and again, always keeping a short glance at you out of the corner of his eye to make sure you weren’t having too much fun. 

One of the spouses --you had forgotten the name of by now after the evening’s short introductions-- had begun talking, complaining about coworkers or customers, one or the other. 

Wow, has it been so long that your friends have completely different lives now, new people that they spend their time with that you weren’t even told about? Well, its not like you’ve exactly been open to receiving that kind of news, or able to be, with so little time to make phonecalls lately, your phone always seeming to disappear, phone numbers no longer existing in your contacts… it was truly a miracle you managed to have this outing, and Malachi thought so too. 

“I swear if she prods at me again,” Your jealous guard dog of a boyfriend started, hand clenching the red, heart-embroidered table cloth.

“Take it easy, okay? I know you don’t want to be here but-- just do it a little longer, for me. Thats what we agreed, right?”

You took his hand in yours, bringing up his clenched fist to your lips. You thanked the skies that physical affection always seemed to drown out his fiery temper. You wondered how much longer that’d last. 

“Fine. But I can’t stand looking at them anymore, come ‘ere.” Malachi patted his thigh, hands moving to your hips to help bring you to your new seat. 

“Seriously? We’re in a.. A nice restaurant, with my friends--”

He gave you a knowing look, one that said ‘if you don’t listen, i’ll drag your ass back to the car without the pleasure of friendly goodbyes.’ 

You didn’t know if you could handle the embarrassing shit he put you through anymore. It tested the strength of your will and the integrity of your soul at this point. 

You did as he demanded, slowly making your way to sit on the edge of his lap. Most of those around you didn’t seem to notice, an occasional glance looking to see what you were doing, but ultimately going back to the lively story of one of the nameless significant others. You tried to hover above him, afraid to fully commit to sitting down on top of him, but a small ‘what are you doing’ and forced downward push of your hips made your butt make soft contact with his lap. 

“That’s right… that’s better.” He cleared his throat, putting one arm around your waist and the other on your knee. You directly blocked his view, your boyfriend not moving to see the rest of the group, instead leaning against you like a perfectly shaped body pillow. 

“Can’t you atleast act normal? Don’t you have any shame around other people,” You whispered, knowing that one of your friends was reading the uncomfortable expression on your face and was in turn, giving a similar expression of discomfort. 

“Hey, you know how bad I can be, this isn’t even the worst of it. You want me to really embarrass you?” 

A waiter  broke the quiet spat you were having with him, asking if you’d like another drink. He didn’t acknowledge the man behind you, either out of not seeing him or to purposefully avoid the dark eyes digging into his soul behind your shoulder. 

You croaked out a polite “yes please,” looking for your friend’s fellow responses. They all answered in kind, the waiter scurrying away to another busy set of tables. 

Malachi scoffed, coiling around you tighter. 

“D’you see that? I knew we shouldn’t have come out here, in front of prying eyes… bet he’s hit on every other pretty thing he’s seen walk in here, so don’t get any ideas.” 

 You almost turned around to gawk at your boyfriend, such an insensitive and insecure string of words wounding you. 

“I would never..” 

You almost let him ruin the rest of your evening, the dreadful pit of wanting to go home entering your tired mind. But you promised yourself you’d try to make an effort in repairing your friendships, attempting to memorialize your friend’s smiles and laughs, trying to come up with the names of their spouses you had just heard a half hour ago. If you wouldn’t see them again for a while, atleast you could have this. 

And with the two-second memory your boyfriend often displayed,(except for when it came to your “betrayals”) he was enamored with something new. 

“Oh, what do we have here…” Malachi tip-toed down the elastic waistband of your pants, looking at the lacey red lingerie underneath. It wasn’t hard to spot, not when it was a drastic change from your usual tame undergarments. Well, tame for him, he had seen them all at this point. 

You wouldn’t have noticed his prodding peculiarity if it weren’t for that worrying heightened pitch in his voice, one that always started trouble. Fingers nipping your tummy and around your wrist weren’t unusual, you had become accustomed to it from how he pawed at you at home, never seeming satisfied, but this, wasn’t the usual lack of personal space.

“Hey! You weren’t supposed to see that.” You slapped his hand away, having which already gotten a full touch of the goods you were hiding. 

“What is that supposed to mean--” Malachi started, and you knew he was about to expect the worst. You shut him up as fast as you could. 

“It’s supposed to be for tonight, idiot!” You whispered with a harsh tone, starting to get fed up with his childish reactions, which always seemed to jump to conclusions. “...Did you forget that it’s Valentine’s day or what?”

You barely let the words escape from between your teeth, not wanting to admit the silent internet escapade you went on to find something that wouldn’t tear your ass in half or be so tight you’d be left with more marks from it than him. But even so, after the sneaking around in trying to catch the package before he could and clearing out your emails as soon as possible, he still managed to see it before you had planned. 

Now, you wondered if it was worth it, with the lace itching your chest and the other giving you a wedgie. 

“awe.. no way, for me? All for me?” Malachi was promptly sweet on you, much different than the heel-biting mood he was in a short few minutes ago. 

You leaned back to get close to his ear, shifting your eyes anxiously. You really didn’t want your friends to know about the violently ravenous side of your boyfriend that wouldn’t stop him from making a scene about it here and now, which you anxiously tried to prepare for in case of the worst. “It’s for when we get back home…so lets just enjoy our time here, just sit still with me for a little longer.” You tried your usual ‘gentle parenting’ method, holding the heavy knuckles around your waist, to soothe him into letting you spend just a little bit longer with your friends.

Malachi kicked his feet, exasperating at this newfound interest and the ways he could torture you with it, could make you beg him for its secrecy. Oh how he could envision having you at his mercy, so cute and sexy but ultimately deserving punishment for going behind his back about something so temptatious, something another man could see and take if he weren’t there.  

“But now, baby I don’t know if I can wait.” He grinned, raking his teeth over his bottom lip so much it looked like it hurt. You felt him shift underneath you, leaning up to grind against your backside. “Man, you really should’ve hid it better, ‘cause now its all I can think about..”

You rolled your eyes, feeling his heavy exhale against your cheek. Your friends were too immersed in their own conversations with their loved ones to notice anything else, legs strewn over one another and fingers interlocked as they felt the cheap haze of their Sweetheart Cocktail’s and Rosé’s of Love. You would’ve much preferred to be tipsy along with them by now, but the truth is you were too nervous with the possessive man beside you to truly let loose anywhere other than alone. On top of that, the scolding you’d get from him for being so relaxed was not worth the extra headache. 

And yet, the wanton expression he held for you, the hands that fiddled to get deep and play with his surprise, made you feel so wanted. More wanted than your friends had  made you feel this evening. They just looked at you with concerned frowns and confused cocks of their heads as they questioned to why you were still with this crazed maniac. 

“What I would do to bend you over in front of these idiots, make you do more than say my name while wearing these adorable lacey little--” 

“Don’t tell me you’re already thinking of heading out.” Your female friend piped up, looking at the credit card Malachi put on top of the split receipt that has been sitting lonesome for a good while. 

He almost broke, annoyed at the sudden interruption. 

“Afraid so,” Your anticipating boyfriend gleamed, not even her sour attitude dampening the rising excitement in his perverted mind and tightening pants. “We have some other plans to attend to.”

“What could be more important than friends?” She asked, looking at you to advocate against your controlling spouse. 

You felt a greedy palm reach up your shirt, falling back down to paw for the thin garment below your waistline. 

“If we don’t go now.. I don’t know how much longer I can wait. Can’t promise that I won’t  rip these fucking shorts off you here to see what all is underneath.” He whispered against you through gritted teeth, barely able to stop from kissing you raw. 

“We’ll stay… just until the waiter comes back for his tip.” You choked out, not letting on about the roll of Malachi’s hips that pressed you up against the table. 

[crownleys]

pov your temperature-sensitive vampire girlfriend keeps insisting on joining you for a walk in the winter weather you love

[cdelphiki]

ITS FINALLY GOT A GREEN CHECK MARK!!!! Final chapter is an epilogue, where we catch up with Bruce from the past and see how he and little-Jason did. Its crazy to think this one-shot has 80k words!!!!!

[sylvrndoodles]

A scene from What Moves the Dead (by @tkingfisher) that has been ringing in my head since I read it ( ˙꒳​˙ )

[joyfuladorable]

Of Darkness and Light by Bayluff

It was running. It was running from him. Surging forward, he snagged the shadow of his prey, and slowly crawled up, sliding up a leg, up a strangehardback and finally, into the back of the neck.

Mikey suddenly stopped, shuddering, his breath hitching loudly. Leonardo immediately stopped and looked back. "Mikey? Mike what's wrong?" He questioned, concerned his feeling had been right.

"N-Nothing." Michelangelo said after a pause. "I just got real cold for a second." He laughed. "It's gone now."

My angst gremlin heart was appeased by this fic, lol. But also! I was cooing over all the comfort Mikey got while he was having a Bad Time (tm). ALSO, please don't tag this as ship in anyway. That's insta-block behavior.

Less eye-straining first image ^^

[lullaebies]

Req: Helaena helping Aegon with a hangover

“I haven’t drunk that much,” Aegon says against her lap.

Helaena hums, brushing through his hair with her fingers. It used to be much longer, and her knuckles would wrestle against knots that would be impossible to untangle; it was a pastime she would appreciate, though he had always been less keen on it. Ouch, he would yip ever so often, and then he began cutting his hair. He has never been keen on her working through his troubles as a whole.

“I haven’t,” he says once more, opening his eyes for the shortest of moments, only to sink against her belly again.

“Is that why you tripped onto the bed?” she asks him, rubbing on his nape. 

“It’s my bed,” he answers grumpily, his arms encircling her further. He’s like a cat oftentimes, but especially when the beverages set him free of his pride. Never fully, but just enough for him to spill onto her. “I can do that.”

“You fell on top of me, though,” she replies.

He breathes deeply against her. She keeps her fingers running against his hair. She knows his head hurts, even when he refuses to drink his water, or move fully below the covers. He doesn’t care about his body as much as he cares for the feeling of caring touch.

“You are my wife,” he finally says after a pause. His tone grows defensive. “Why shouldn’t I?” 

 Helaena moves her fingers to touch his cheek. Aegon remembers he can rely on her, when he sinks into his cups. He looks like the boy she has always cared for, when he lets himself do so. He cut his hair so she wouldn’t pull his knots out, but he returns to their bed asking for touch of old, before he has taken it upon himself to believe his troubles are daggers to distance all people away.

“You should,” she says, and tugs on one particular tangle in his hair to undo it. He grumbles but keeps his head against her, sighing when she continues to thread through his hair. “Perhaps more often.”

Aegon keeps himself quiet from thereon. Slowly, she feels his breaths become soft snores against her. He will forget it all on the morrow, but for now, he sleeps calmly in his wife’s arms.

[orcboxer]

Fanfiction is a great practice tool for new writers, it's kind of like training wheels because, generally speaking, it can help you practice storytelling without having to worry about introducing things like characters or setting. Your readers are already sold on those, which takes care of a lot of the initial heavy lifting. It's also a great, artistic form of critique, and thus is a vital part of the literary ecosystem.

But y'all really oughtta dip into original fiction more. For writers, making original fiction is a whole different beast, and not only does it teach you a hell of a lot about writing in general, but it can be, in its own right, an extremely fulfilling form of self-expression.

For readers, there are more settings and characters out there than you could ever read in a lifetime and so many of them kick massive ass.

There are so many indie authors out there whose work never gets the attention it deserves because they don't have marketing teams and 90% of word-of-mouth recommendations on this site are for fanfics endlessly rehashing the same 12 franchises. Hell, pick a random writing prompt post and half the notes will be like "someone send me a fanfic about thisssss" like I guarantee there's an indie novel out there for any given prompt, and not only would you be supporting an underpaid author, but I bet you'll fuckin love it. And then you could make fanfics about that, and the author will probably be thrilled.

Please just give original fiction a shot, because it's gettin kind of depressing out here

[the-kr8tor]

It is done

[ponury-grajek]

holding hands

[kickbutts-singsongs]

Hi.

Just wanted to say that I just read “From the Sidelines” for the first time.

Ummmmmmmmmm if u wanna be emotionally destroyed and then put back together again, I highly recommend.

Many tears were shed (and are still currently shedding)

so yeah 🥲✌️

[north-noire]

having that ao3 authors curse where i'm writing my fic chapter while everything around me is on the verge of falling apart